Happy Thanksgiving!

Just want to share a pic or two of the cards I sent out to family. Also, wanted everyone to know how thankful I am for a very long list of things, including, of course, you, my family (that's you, hubby!) and friends. I appreciate your support of my creative endeavors and all other aspects of my life.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!

Chris

Halloween Projects

Hello All! School started, so I've been M.I.A. Time flies, so "they" say, and as I get older, it flies faster and faster. With Halloween now over, I know that Christmas will be here before we know it. It always seems that from Halloween to Christmas is a blur. So although Christmas music is playing at the stores, I'm going to to go back in time four days and share a few Halloween projects.

My Halloween card this year was inspired by Pinterest. I know one of my nephews got a kick out of the "googly eyes."

These candy coffins were made using my Cricut cartridge. 

And finally, my costume...a cupcake! The bottom is a plastic tub with the bottom cut off. It was then covered with silver wrapping paper (the cupcake liner) and hung in place with suspenders. The frosting was made by sewing scalloped pieces of quilt batting onto a men's 3X t-shirt and has sprinkles of colored straws decorating it. The cherry on top is a dollar store hat with a pipe cleaner stem. It was a hit in my school's Halloween parade!

Halloween ended after seven bags of candy were handed out and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!

Chris

Memory Keeper

This project is for my second grade classroom. For several years now my school has had all students do an end of the year writing sample about their favorite memory from that grade. So we always start off by brainstorming events we can remember. This year I thought we could record special events on index cards as they happen and keep them in this memory box to read at the end of the year. Of course, now that I came up with this idea, I have probably jinxed myself and our end of the year writing sample topic will probably change. Oh well, it will be fun anyway and I had a chance to be creative and feel like I was getting ready for school to start at the same time.

This started out as a plain, white, metal container. I painted the top and bottom edge yellow. After applying the paper, I also mod podged the entire thing before embellishing.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

More from Craft Your Art Out!

Three more mornings of craft Your Art Out flew by. The eleven girls were kept busy creating at least 3 projects a day. Below are pictures of many of the projects we did. Somehow I was kept busy too and forgot to take pictures of several of our crafts.

Water Sponges - a favorite, simply and easily made by cutting 3 sponges lengthwise into thirds. Stack them in mixed order, three on-top of three (makes a cube.) Then tie tightly with fishing line. It will take shape as you tie it. Wet, throw, repeat.

 Here's a mini-clipboard and magnet. The clipboard is just a thin piece of wood covered with scrapbook paper and a ribbon adorned clip holds papers in place. The magnet is made by gluing paper and a magnet on the back of those larger sized clear stones (like melted marbles) from the dollar store.

These are hair ties. A couple of ribbons and several beads and you're all set!

Homemade whiteboards made from cutting and drilling a large sheet of shower board (purchased at any home store.) These were decorated with vinyl pieces I had from Uppercase Living. I would suggest adding a marker with velcro.

Dog toys braided from strips of fleece. Cat toys were also made by tying smaller strips of fleece and feathers to a dowel rod using elastic string.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting1
Chris

Craft Your Art Out!

I had the pleasure of working with 11 girls for a new session with the Victor Parks and Rec. It was a quiet group that opened up over the 4 days. Day 1 was a "road trip/vacation" theme. We made Tic Tac Totes (a travel game), funky multi-colored crayons and water bottle carriers.

Tic Tac Totes were made from small (6" X 6") totes, ribbon strips, puffy paint and pom poms for game pieces that were stored inside the totes. I'm amazed that puffy paint is still used and that even the 2nd grade girls could use it well. Here's the final results...

The crayons were done by putting broken up pieces of old crayons in a mini muffin pan and melting them down on low heat for a short time in the oven. Honestly they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I think the colors ended up mixing too much. Luckily the girls liked them none the less.

Lastly, the water bottle carriers. These were an innovation I came up with using thin, rectangular mousepads and that ol' camp favorite - boondogle (sp?). You know it,it's that plastic string stuff. Anyway, hole punches were done along the bottom and sides, making it easier to "sew" together, and then the a hanging string was braided together to a desired length. (P.S. the bottom was gathered with it's own piece to form the bottom.)

Suffice it to say, we were busy for a full 2 hours. More to come on our other creations.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

One final project for the kiddos!

Hi! This was the last project I did with the 3 girls I had in my Victor Parks & Rec class. We spent 4 mornings together, but somehow I forgot to take a picture of their projects for Day 3 and I didn't have an example to show. On the 3rd day, the girls did a chipboard mini-album. They adhered papers on with Mod Podge and went crazy with a variety of embellishments. (Bling, bling, bling!)

So, a paperbag album was the project for Day 4. I decided to use white paperbags and it was no surprise that they absolutely loved the pink & purple papers we used. The inserts with tabs that went into the bags' open ends were also a big hit. One of the girls actually came up with the idea of placing the album title on an angle (love it). And luckily their moms are all determined to print pictures for the girls to put in their albums.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!

Chris

Day 2 of creating with kiddos!

The fun with my little group of girls continued with 3 paper crafting projects. I must give credit to others who taught me these at sometime over the years. Two, if not all 3, were from Amy, a terrific CTMH consultant-friend.

This is a book mark using a giant paper clip. (Paper clips were found at Wal-Mart.)

Next is a double picture frame made from coasters. This shows the original finished project. The pink & turquoise papers are the ones we actually used (and the girls really liked). I should have taken a picture of one of the girls' projects, because I did not complete one like theirs. 

Finally, we did  a "pocket-sized" mini scrapbook that closed with velcro. They loved stamping the large flower and then stamping the outline of the flower in a different color - they thought that was really cool!

There's more to come another day.
Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Sharing the passion with kiddos!

Hi! I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted. I visit blogs daily, but seem to have avoided my own. That's probably because my time to create was used up by the necessity of writing report cards and all the other stuff June demands of teachers. But alas, I've returned to my craft room with joy and have some projects to share.

The last week of June I had the pleasure of teaching a few young girls stampin' and scrappin' through a Victor Parks & Rec class. They did so well learning to use tape runners, corner rounders, the cuttlebug and heat guns. They used wood-mounted/acrylic /cling stamps, glue dots and a variety of embellishments. And like pretty much all females, they loved bling! Here are the cards we made the first day (2 are postcards).
In upcoming posts, I'll share other projects they enjoyed.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Kudos To My Hubby, Again!

Forget "he went to Jared's", better yet, he went to Buffalo Stamps and Stuff! Since he was going to a Buffalo office, I asked if he would please go to the specialty store for me. He agreed as long as I gave him the address and exactly what I wanted. I don't think he expected a place busting with so much goodness - my words, and bustling with, his words - so many old ladies. He got me several wool felt pieces I was craving, so I could play around with making die-cut flowers. (As far as I know, the craft stores around here only have the acrylic felt squares.) Mike always goes out of his way to make me happy and he sure did! Thanks, honey!!!

So here's a peek at what I've been trying with my Die-namics dies for the Cuttlebug. I think there's a trick for using the Cricut too. I'll have to look into how to do that.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Inspiration, Really?

Hi! So, blogs I read often mention where they get their inspiration from. Really? I know I did a week of posts last summer that were basically "copy the comforter" designs. I guess, however, if I am looking for card ideas well then, I usually look at card books/magazines. Well, picture this. Every morning I sit at my vanity and blow dry my hair while I just blankly stare off because I'm still waking up. Then one day I realize that I often am staring at a lotion bottle near the sink. A lightbulb goes off (okay, I know, it doesn't happen often), but it dawns on me that I like the color combo and the design. So I decide that I'm "inspired' to make a card.
Here's the inspiration and the results...

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

For my PEEPS!

Ok, so Easter's long gone now (and hopefully this week's snow is too), but I just have to post my Easter projects now that they have been received. I don't know which I like better, the card or the s'more kit. They are both so stinkin' cute!I really like the pink and green of the card, and with Close To My Heart's new spring product, I was told the peep just popped out of the envelope upon opening. The peep is a CTMH stamp and it  was just the thing for the peep s'more idea I found on Pinterest. Since peeps are appearing in various seasonal shapes now, I just might have to make up these s'more kits for other holidays too. (Do I dare admit I don't eat peeps?)

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

Hi! Last month was full of birthdays, including my own. Here are some cards I sent to others birthday celebrities and thank yous to those who helped me celebrate. BTW, my last post showed a card that I was so excited to send my mom for her birthday. Well, good thing I at least posted it, because that's the only sight of it she's seen. In a month's time, it has not appeared in her mailbox nor in mine. Not only had I put extra postage on in it, but I took it into a post office to have it hand stamped as well. Such a bummer!

More posts to follow soon. I have the most unusual inspiration to share with you, Easter projects, and numerous layouts that I have come out of my craft room.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mom!

Hi everyone! I've been holding off on posting this card until my mother received it. Today's her birthday and unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time. I should have mailed it sooner since I actually had it done a few weeks ago. Maybe I wanted to keep looking at it?! I'm posting it now anyway, so she can get a peek at it and so can you. Some of you have seen it at a crop since I was proud to show it off. I was excited for stretching myself beyond my typical style. I know my mother will appreciate my efforts, and I'm sure you all know oh so well, that if your recipient values your work, you work that much more on your creation. 
Well mom, I hope you have it in your hands on Monday, and...Happy Birthday!

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!

Chris

Each day is Valentine's Day

Hi! A few weeks back I believe I promised a look-see at a valentine I made for several friends. I wish I could have made more, because there are others I would have liked to have included in my mailing. I am fortunate to have many wonderful friends. Of course this is "card-lifted" (with minor tweaks) from a great consultant. (Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to reinvent the wheel!)

The inside read "a real friend listens with their heart." So true. Now if only I had remembered to snap a pic of the cards I sent to my nieces/nephews. It was "card-lifted" also (with minor tweaks) and very cute.

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Mark Your Page Valentine

Valentine's Day. It really is a cute holiday for primary school children. They love opening all the little, corny cards they exchange with each other and it's just as much fun to watch them. As a second grade teacher, I feel it's even that much better for second graders because for most of them, it's the first year they can really read their cards and "get" the humor of them. Over the years however, the valentine "mailboxes" we prepare have had to become larger in size. The reason? All the candy that now accompany valentines. Now don't get me wrong. I'm an admitted chocoholic, but, this is Valentine's Day, not Halloween. So, you can bet, the kids won't be getting any candy from me, not even chocolate (BTW, it didn't happen on Halloween either.) I prefer to do something for them that is useful. So, my class of avid readers, is getting special, handmade bookmarks. Given the time I spent cutting and assembling, I hope they get used. I think they will because the kids will probably like the unique way the bookmark goes over the top corner of the page rather than your typical rectangular, paper strip. (It was also a great way for me to use up some paper scraps.)
Check back mid-week and I'll share a valentine I made for friends. They just need to receive them first!

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris

Everything old is new again!

I recently spent a long weekend in the Chicago area visiting my parents and other family members. I found out that my dear mother has been saving every single handmade card I have ever sent. (somebody loves me!) Many of them I had forgotten about, so to remember the techniques, I took pictures. Here are a couple for old times sake:

Enjoy & THANKS for visiting! (and hope I can remember how those ribbon roses were done!)
Chris

Thank you for the inspiration Mike!

My husband Mike knows how important cards are to me. Therefore buying a card for me, becomes a real challenge for him. He tells me the time it takes him to find a card that I would find not only creatively interesting but also says just the right things. I tell him that he does a wonderful job of being successful each time. Below is  the Christmas card Mike gave me and the a thank you note I created based on it. So, thank you Mike for the inspiration!

Enjoy and THANKS for visiting!
Chris