Crafts, gifts and a whole lot of love
Love from the Heartland Find me on Etsy! After much thought and consideration, I have decided to shift my store over to Etsy. As a trusted selling platform, Etsy is a winner for both myself and all of you. Let’s face it, I would much […]
Who doesn’t love a bargain? From now through the end of February 2024, I’m offering a 20% discount on everything in the store.
About a year or so ago I started dabbling in interactive mini albums and folios. As a self-proclaimed non-scrap booker, I admit this was an interesting path for me to take, but guess what. I LOVE making them which means I have a LOT of them. More on that later.
So, there I was, happily puttering away at another new craft adventure and then last week I got the message that every creative person lives for. One of my very favorite album artists (Frances Long) approached me about sharing one of the photo albums I had made. I’d already shared the album on her Facebook Group Page (Your Book of Memories Mini Album Artists) and received more than my share of kudos and compliments there. I mean really. How many accolades does one person deserve? Of course, I love and appreciate every one, but my first though was, really? Me? She can’t be serious. This was followed immediately by, holy cow this is SUPER exciting and a little scary. I mean, I had to pack up this rather precious album that commemorates our trip to Vienna, Austria and trust the postal service to handle my baby with care. Okay. Deep breath. There’s bubble wrap and packing material and safeguards we can put in place to protect the flowers on the cover… and I knew that Frances would handle it with the utmost care. So, I did it. I tucked my nerves away, packed it up and shipped it to Frances who wasted no time at all in posting this video.
Yes, I cried a little because she’s just so darned sweet and genuine and lovely. Who wouldn’t want to be honored in this way? To say I feel blessed and honored is not even close to the mark. Of course, I am delighted at how beautifully this album came together but the inspiration for it was all from Frances and her class. Rich and I were blessed with a beautiful city to vacation in and more photos than I really knew what to do with. This album gave me a spot to showcase over 100 of those photos and will forever be a keepsake of our vacation to the glorious cities of Vienna and Salzburg. Thank you Frances for the inspiration and the class that guided me through the creation of this book.
I’ve created several different mini albums (and I use that term lightly because they often don’t seem “mini” to me), and have given some away as gifts. Here’s the thing you need to know about these books: If all I was after was the chance to see the joy on the face of the person who receives them, a gift I made with my own hands, my heart would be filled to the brim every time. It’s more than a little addicting actually! What I didn’t consider when I started creating these albums is that I would accumulate them faster than I could give them away. If my friends and relatives are to be believed, offering them up for sale would make a lot of people very happy. So… I will be opening a new section in my store very soon where I will offer some of the albums I am making for sale. Bear in mind, these are one of a kind, (literally) and prices will vary depending upon the scope of the work involved in creating them and the size of the album. It’s going to take me a little time to get them photographed and added to the store, but do watch for them to appear soon. I hope you will love them as much as I do.
and if you made it this far…
Starting February 1st and running for the entire month, I will be offering a 20% discount off your entire order from my store (excluding the albums). It’s a sweetheart of a deal so be sure to come back to shop!
Thanks for stopping by today and stay warm !
And wasn’t 2023 a blur? I know, I know, I say this every year. But really? Where did the year go? My resolutions went out the window early on I admit and sadly, this blog really took a hit in terms of regular updates and […]
After a whole year of planning, the first ever GIRLS Retreat hosted by yours truly will happen. I am so, so excited to take on this new adventure.
From now until December 10th, all candles in tins are on sale with a buy 3; get 1 free offer. Simply choose any 4 candles in tins, add them to your cart and one of them will be free. Yes. FREE. YAY!
Now tell me THAT isn’t easy AND a great deal to boot!
Of course there are SO MANY OPTIONS to choose from and if you order before December 10th you’ll have them before Christmas. Plenty of time to wrap them and tuck them under the tree or light ’em up and enjoy them yourself. These fragrant little gems are great for thank you gifts for all your holiday party hosts, neighbors, co-workers, teachers… you get the idea. *wink*
The Noel gift set is just perfect for this season’s gift giving. It even comes packaged in a bright red box and includes a hand-stamped gift card for your recipient. The Noel candle is a sweet peppermint and vanilla scent that will fit right in this holiday season and is poured into a cute little square glass jar with a candy-stripe ribbon. This set really is gift giving made easy!
Thanks for stopping in today and I hope you find something special here. Reach out if you have questions! I am always happy to help!
Everywhere you look there are options for sustainable products that minimize waste. Whether it’s refillable bottles, silicone zip-loc bags or re-usable lunch bags, there are lots of ways we can all help a little with reducing the waste we produce on the daily. So, let’s […]
Sometimes you just need options. A good friend of mine recently ordered several items from me that fell under the category of “special requests”. Of course I was, and am, happy to oblige. It got me thinking though, that maybe the options that I think […]
Good morning all! I’m happy to say I have another video tutorial completed. This one is the first in a series of videos I will be doing using the One Sheet Wonder method. If you aren’t familiar with the concept; basically it is a method for cutting your papers that pretty much eliminates any waste. Now, who doesn’t love that idea? Especially when you’re surrounded by pretty paper that you’ve been hoarding, ahem, collecting that is just “too pretty to use”? Am I right? Who’s with me? Hellooo???
Well, whether you admit it or not, I know there are some of you out there. *wink*.
The One Sheet Wonder method begins with a basic template that you use to cut your designer paper so that you can 1) make multiple cards from a single sheet and 2) (as I said) eliminate waste. I currently have several 6×6 templates all ready to go over on my cutting templates page, and I’ll be posting videos for each one using different stamp sets. Let’s get started!
The first set of cards in this new series uses some designer paper I “collected” a few years ago and re-discovered recently. It’s from Stampin’ Up! but is, of course, discontinued now. In any case, it’s a fresh and contemporary design and I thought it paired well with the Silhouette Scenes stamp set.
The template for this set yields eight pieces that you can layer over a coordinating cardstock for a little added interest. You can grab it here. The cardstock backer is SU! Hello Honey but the coral or light turquoise colors would have been nice options as well and I cut it at 6.75×6.75 to give myself the extra 1/8 inch edge around each of the designer paper pieces. If you want wider borders, cut the cardstock layer a tad larger.
I kept the embellishments to a minimum with just a few pieces of coordinating ribbon but you could easily dress these up a bit more with some sequins or adhesive dots. See it all come together in the video!
Now, before I get too far here, I should point out that everything I am using to create these cards is what I have on hand. Way back before a career change and a trip back to college to get my degree, I used to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I probably don’t need to tell you how many stamps I accumulated doing that or, for that matter, in the time since. I HAVE cleaned out from time to time but let’s all pretend it’s not an obsession that I need psychological help for, shall we? What I am trying to say here, is that I am not being compensated by Stampin’ Up!, Hero Arts, Close to My Heart or any other stamp, ink or paper company in any way. I also cannot guarantee that what I choose to use will always be available for purchase. I can, however, put you in contact with a fantastic Stampin’ Up! demonstrator if you need one! I encourage you to use what I do here as a launching pad for your own designs. Really, the templates will work with pretty much everything!
I’m not sure where my Summer went, but there is a definite nip in the air lately. Especially in the mornings. I ran out to the mailbox barefoot on Friday and realized that those days are likely at an end. Dang it. Anyway, this is the perfect time to remind you that there are oodles of great candles in the shop and the Autumn scents are back! I’ve got a nice selection in stock in both tins and jars, so now is the time to stock up for the cooler months on Autumn, Orchard Spice, November Morning and yes, Oh My Gourd. Of course, if you aren’t ready to surrender to the change of season, there are lots of yummy Summer scents available too!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!
If you need three super-easy and fast to make cards, you’re in the right place. I dusted off my stamping mojo last weekend and recorded three new videos for cards that you can make in minutes. 3-Piece Quilt Card trio First up in my video […]