One Ornament Two Ways!

Whew!  We are in the final lap before Christmas!  I was up late wrapping gifts for Cort's teachers, therapists, and bus drivers.  I also got my gifts ready for my 5th grade team and my students. I am such a last minute procrastinator!

Before chaos ensued in this household of mine, I actually managed to make several ornaments that I will be sharing over the next few days.  

I purchased two paper mache stars, but decided to go in two completely different directions with them. 

The first one is for my downstairs tree, which is done in bright colors.

I spray painted it with a lime green paint.  I brushed the entire star with glossy accents and sprinkled clear glass glitter over it.  I cut a snowflake using a Spellbinder's die.  I covered it with hot pink Stickles. 

I added a satin ribbon, lime green jingle bells, and some fun "sprigs."  

The second star was painted in a soft silver.  And believe it or not....don't faint.....I did NOT use glitter! GASP!

I used the Festive Poinsettia set from JustRite. It was stamped on vellum and cut out.  The pieces were layered and glued to the top of the star.  I added a bit of seam binding, and another glittery "sprig."  

I love how color choices can affect the overall mood of a project. 

Cort has her first choir concert today.  I can't attend, but her two grandma's will be there to cheer her on. 

Darn work. ;)

Tomorrow I am hosting a Christmas get together. 

So a bit of grocery shopping is in order....as well as a clean house.....and wrapped gifts......

Off I go!

Have a great weekend!

Winter Greetings!

The weather lately seems to be so unpredictable, and no parts of the country seem to be safe from Mother's Nature's wrath! Here in the Windy City we've had a lot of snow that suddenly changes to wet soggy rain. (Not pleasant when you have two dogs who seems to always find mud!);)

My card seems to depict that snowy, windy winter weather that Chicago is known for.  

This sweet image is from Crafty Secret's Winter Wishes digital set.  

I colored it with Copic markers.  I added a glitter frame around the perimeter.  

It kind of reminds me of a window....

I created a stick pin with "snowballs" on it.  I just threaded took 3 pom poms, swiped a bit of glue around them, and rolled them in glitter. I added a bit of lace, string, and 2 gold jingle bells to finish my card. 

And totally off subject here....but cheer leading season has begun!  

The girls have new uniforms this year....so at least my zillion pictures of her will be with a different color on!

Can you tell she is excited to get out there and cheer again? ;)

Her team is up to 8 girls and hopefully after the holidays I will get a decent picture of the group together.  

That's all for now!

Off to do a bit of last minute Christmas shopping tonight!

Have a great day!

Bath and Body Wallflower to a Holiday Ornament Tutorial!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I had a busy one  to start and then came down with a touch of the flu.  Nothing too major but some icky stomach thing and feeling extremely tired.  I am feeling better today, and am so glad, because my "to-do" list is a mile long!

I have a tutorial today on something I created because my brain works in strange and mysterious ways. ;)  One day I was changing out the bulb from a Bath And Body room diffuser and thought to myself, "Hey! This looks  a lot like a Christmas bulb!"  One thing led to another and I decided to create ornaments out of them!  This is recycling at its finest! ;)

I did my ornaments in several ways.  Here is my first one....all pretty in frosty white and blue.

A bit of ribbon, felt snowflakes, glitter, and coordinating jingle bells. 

My second one is a soft pastel pink.  I added some acrylic gems, twine, and of course loads of glitter!

This silver ornament uses German glass glitter, a silver Prima poinsettia, pink pom pom trim, and a few leaves. 

This last one used Modge Podge and music paper and then rolled in glitter.  I added a red Prima Poinsettia and leaves. 

So here is what you start with.  Of course you may want to wait until all of the oil has diffused.  Why be wasteful? ;)

Once empty, take the cap and insert out.  Wash it thoroughly. 

For my first ornament (The blue one) I skipped the paint step.  But if you want a color, like the pastel pink ornament above then these are the steps you want to follow. 

Pour a few drops of paint inside and shake until completely covered.  Turn upside down and let the paint drip and dry. 

You will need Mod Podge, a foam brush, and glitter of your choice.  

Brush the outside of the bulb and then sprinkle with glitter.

I wasn't sure where to dry it, so I just plopped it right in the glitter container. (And yes, "plopped" is an official crafty term!) ;)

Once dry, I added an ornament topper that fit the top and added a few drops to secure it.  

Add your pretty decorations and a ribbon to hang it.

Here's one more peek.....

I hope I've inspired you to save those lil' Wallflower buggers!  ;)

Have a great day!

joy....

Last year I created this little rustic ornament of my two favorite girls. It was published in last year's issue of Cricut Magazine.  This was one of the photos Katie Driscoll took for Changing the Face of Beauty. I love how it captured the mutual adoration they have for each other. 

I used my Cricut and the Joys of the Season Cartridge to cut the pine cones.

Each "section" of the pine cone was cut separately, dipped in texture paste, and then sprinkled with glitter.  

I put them back together once it was dry.  I added a bit of texture paste and glitter to the swirls too!

Since the ornament is glass, I cut the word joy out of vinyl.  Then you can stick it on there, no glue needed.   I added a couple of pearls in a turquoise blue for a pop of color. 

Cort and I are going for haircuts and highlighting tonight. 

Unfortunately it is only supposed to make it to the single digits....which makes going out a bit painful. 

The things we do for beauty! ;)

Have a great day! Stay warm!

A Bit of Holiday Cheer!

The holidays are in full swing, and like many of you, am finding that I am busier than I have ever been! There is so much to do, that sometimes I have to take a step back and take a breath. 

I have to remind myself to enjoy all of the little blessings the season brings. 

Like, Cortney's innocence, her unwavering belief in Santa, and the little breathless, "Santa," she whispers when she meets him. Her sweet little voice singing to the Christmas carols playing in our kitchen as I cook dinner. 

My son buying his "perfect" gifts for his dad....and yes, his girlfriend. ;) 

Dressing my silly dogs up for the holidays....just because I can. 

Listening to my 5th graders sing at their concert with their best singing voices.

Watching the snow fall outside, knowing that I have a warm safe home to take comfort in.

Eggnog Latte from Starbucks. ;)

Spending time with family and reconnecting with people that I haven't seen for awhile.

Creating holidays cards....which are my favorite. 

My list is much longer, but I won't bore you with it any longer. ;) 

My card today is a sweet digital image from Crafty Secrets, called Winter Wishes.

It was colored with my Copic markers.

I added a few fun details like flocked jingle bells, mica flakes, lace, and a bit of ribbon.

Here's my little gal with her sweet smile, blue eyes, and a voice that will melt your heart. Her and I spent the day shopping and going out to lunch, so I couldn't resist taking a few photos of her by the trees. 

We had brunch with Santa last week, and we were lucky enough to take this photo before meeting the jolly guy! ;)  I will post those later since they are not yet edited. 

And then there is my handsome, soon to be 17 year old, with a witty sense of humor, and kind heart.

He is growing so fast.....makes me want time to just stop in its tracks!

I have much to be thankful for.

The holidays have a way of reminding us of that.

Have a wonderful day my friends!

JustRite's New Release-Elegant Celebrations

Today is JustRite's last day of their new release for December....so we saved the best for last. ;) It is a beautiful set designed by our very own talented Becca Feekin.  The set is called Elegant Celebrations. The fonts in this set are beautiful and I love the sayings.

She has also designed a Spellbinder's die, Heirloom Flourishes, that is elegant and goes beautifully with any project. 

Since it is only in the teens here, my thoughts turned to a winter wedding. I chose soft purples and silver. 

I used the pretty flourishes stamp to add a bit of purple to the back panel.

The snowflake/sentiment was matted against a Spellbinder's Label's Four die.  I left the die in place, took my Sakura glue pen to outline the perimeter and then sprinkled it with silver glitter. 

I wanted to add a bit of texture to the base of the card so I used the CrissCross Spellbinder's die.  I once again used my glue pen to the perimeter and sprinkled it with silver glitter. 

I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and embossed it in silver.  The snowflakes are by Spellbinders and were given a bit of purple with my Copic airbrush system.

I added two Heirloom Flourishes...one at the top of the image and another at the bottom.  I added a glittery silver pearl to it. :) 

Be sure to visit the other girls' blogs.  Each and every project is a stunner!

JustRite Inspiration

Becca Feeken

Debbie Olson

Marisa Job

Eva Dobilas

Kristi Schurr

Heidi Blankenship

Darsie Bruno

Sheri Holt

Michele Kovack

Kazan Clark

Angela Barkhouse

I am off to do a bit of Christmas shopping today.  I feel so very far behind this year......but I am hoping to knock it out of the park today! Wish me luck! ;)

Have a great day my friends!

JustRite's New Release-Just a Note Vintage Sentiment Tags

It's Friday people!  That means only one more work day until the weekend! ;)

It also means another peek at this month's new release from JustRite.

It is such a fun vintage inspired set called, Just a Note.

I decided to create another box for Cortney's teachers to slip in a gift card. 

The box cut can be found at the Silhouette store.  

I stamped the sentiment with Versamark and embossed it with pink Zing powder. 

the fountain pens were stamped in red and given a coat of glossy accents. 

I matted the sentiment using several different Spellbinder's dies. 

I also added a bit of lace, seam binding, and a flower created using yet another Spellbinder's die. 

Be sure to say hello to these talented girls!

JustRite Inspiration

Marisa Job 

Michele Kovack

Barb Schram 

Eva Dobilas

Heidi Blankenship

Kathy Jones

Darsie Bruno  

Kristi Schurr 

Sheri Holt

Angela Barkhouse

Enjoy your Friday!