Lucky...

Today is my husband's 45th birthday.  It is hard to believe we met at the Burger King Drive Thru when I was just 16 years old.  We dated through high school and college before finally tying the knot 20 years ago.  I am truly blessed to have this man in my life. 

I created this LO for the February issue of Cricut Magazine. I used several cartridges including, Kate's ABC's, Flower Shoppe, and Cricut Font and Basic Shapes. I did a bit of painting, and used rhinestones.  (Which has become a fairly new obsession of mine)

I love adding depth to my projects with the dimensional foam circles.  I was able to incorporate the ruffled ribbon and allowing enough room for it using these handy little buggers!

I have always enjoyed photography, ever since my kids were little.  But lately, I have been taking my camera off the auto mode and learning to use it in manual.  I have a lot to learn and all I can say is thank goodness for digital!  After 25 or so shots, I finally get one or two that I like! ;)

So here is my attempt once again at being a real "photographer!"

I pulled my son outside trying to find those catch lights photographers talk about all the time.  He is a pretty good sport with his crazy, camera toting mother!

And when all else fails, I torture my dogs.  They don't seem to mind too much the camera in their sweet furry faces. ;) 

Can you say "groomers?"  I like to say he is extraordinarily fluffy.  

And of course there is always Cortney.  She is always pretty easy going.  My challenge with her is to get those baby blues open and straight.  She has severe visual impairment, nystagmus, and a lazy eye.  Many photos get trashed because I am simply not happy with how her eyes look.  But every now and then, I get that "money shot!"  (Think prom photos!) ;)

Thanks for letting me share a bit!  I am off to run some errands and get ready for hubby's birthday weekend!

Have a great one my friends!

How I Color My Seam Binding Tutorial!

Good morning!

 I use seam binding frequently on my projects. It adds a finishing touch that I love. When I buy it off of Amazon it comes in two colors, cream and white. I've bought both kinds and love them equally. But many times I don't want cream or white, I want a color. So today I am going to show you how I color my seam binding like you see in the card below.

First you will need to gather your supplies.

1. Glimmer Mist 

2. Seam Binding

3. old coffee grounds. (This is the secret ingredient right here!)

4. An old container for each color you desire. 

Cut the length of seam binding that you like, and place each section in its own container.

Now just spray the heck out of the seam binding.  I usually use my hands to get the color to coat it fairly evenly.  But I warn you, your hands will turn colors if you do this!  I looked like a Smurf for an entire day after this! ;)

Since I create mostly shabby vintage projects, I wanted to tone down the colors a bit and "age" them.  I use old wet coffee grounds to dump on top. 

For quicker drying I took them out of the containers and placed them on an Elmo paper plate.  Any paper plate will do, it doesn't have to be an Elmo one! LOL!

Here's what it looks like when it's finished.  You can see that there are areas of light and dark, and areas that are more brown then others.  When I am ready to use them on my projects I do iron them flat.  I know some people like them crinkled, it's all in what your preference is. 

I hope you will try to create your own seam binding in an array of colors!  You can try mixing colors to get an interesting effect too!

Have a great day my friends!

Summer Break!

I have officially starting my summer break today!  So my plans for today?  I get to spend my morning down at the social security office to apply for benefits for Cortney. Fun.

I have so many things on my "to-do" list this summer. Important stuff.  

But I am glad I have the time off to get it all done. :)

I have a Crafty Secret's card to share with you today using new digital images from the Flower Garden collection.

I colored the flowers with my Copic Markers.  The seed packet itself got a bit of shadowing using Prisma Pencils. I adhered it to the floral image using dimensional foam tape. It created a subtle shadow box effect.   

I added glossy accents to the flowers for a bit more dimension and pop.  I also added touches of glitter to the seed packet. 

Sorry for the short post, but I am off and running today!

Enjoy your day!