Turning Life's Tricks into Treats

Sometimes you have great plans and everything seems in order until life plays a little trick on you and you are left to scramble. This recently happened with our make-n-take project at a show I was at in Orlando.We had everything neatly prepared in kits, ready to assemble, but we discovered that the box was no where to be found shortly before the session was to begin. Richard ran on a mission to get replacement items nearby while Betty, Richard's lovely fiance, and I got to experience crafting on the fly. She is not a crafter and was a REAL trooper to step in and help out. Talk about designing under pressure. I just happened to have brought my Sizzix diecut machine with me and a fall leaf die. Hmmm, just gotta believe there was some intuition involved there!

We scrounged up some papers, cut up some ribbons as we waited for Richard's return. Then we would figure out the revised project idea. With some quick prep trimming and our Popsicle Stick Table Top Labels turned out to be a quick and easy to make hit! We joked afterwards how Betty officially crossed over to the crafting world and Richard may just come home one day to find her crafting away!

 I would say we made lemonade out of lemons, however I think it was more like pumpkin pie out of some smashed pumpkins!

The photos are a bit dark, but it gives you an idea of this easy and decorative fall project, which can be used for parties to label food at the table or used as party favors. I decorated the mini flower pots with trim and ribbon using Glue Arts ribbon adhesive and filled them with some M&Ms. Each of the popscicle stick labels turned out so cute and were made in minutes!

This was a Halloween themed version done with a Jolee's Pumpkin sticker. We used the extreme adhesive squares and extreme adhesive cartridge for the Glue Glider Pro to assemble. For the pots, it was the ribbon adhesive. The diecut labels were punched from kraft cards stock using a hand held punch from EK Success. This craft project is easy to duplicate for any holiday or them by switching out the colors and embellishments with the appropriate colors and themes for the season or occasion. 

Just had to get a picture of Richard and Betty with one of their make-n-take creations! The store owners loved the simplicity of the idea especially as a fun craft project to do with kids. Each person could add their own creativity in the assembly process to make it unique. You can wrap the sticks with ribbon using adhesive squares to fasten on each end, add buttons easily with the adhesive squares on back and make ribbon loops, too! Experiment to come up with some other fun uses for extreme adhesive squares.

What do you get when you combine Halloween & silhouette designs?

Why it is my latest set of digital designs...Hallowettes!

The 7 designs come in these formats: 300 dpi eps, 300 dpi transparent PNG, abr brush and svg cutting files...all for only $5. Just think of the possibilities!!!

Use this set of Halloween silhouettes with distressed edges for your next crafting project. Have fun scaling, colorizing, hand coloring or using these b&w images for your projects. Also usable as b&w clip art. You can even digitize these bold art images for embroidery. 

Combine with patterned papers to create cool digital graphics and titles or use the svg files with a die cutting machine and software to cut out the shapes in assorted colors and patterns. Use the brushes to create Halloween overlays, patterned background paper and more!

Here is just one idea combining some of the graphics:

 Have fun crafting & creating!

A Perfect Pick from my Paper Pumpkin Patch

O.K. Crafters, try and say that phrase several times in a row! LOL! Just had to add a little humor and fun to this post. So by now, that perfectly carved Halloween pumpkin probably looks like a 2 week old refrigerator specimen or possibly your beautifully decorated masterpiece looks better suited for the retirement home than as a door step decoration. If this is the case, I have the perfect solution, just in time for your Thanksgiving festivities! Check out this cool Pumpkin Candy Dish creation I made from a clay pot, paper bag and a CD. It took some paint, papers, floss, buttons, pipe cleaners, leaves and Glue Arts adhesives to totally complete the look, but what a cheerful and functional pumpkin it turned out to be! Use this as a table decoration, fill with nuts or candies, and when it is time to store it away for next year, simply stuff some tissue paper between the paper pieces to prevent it from getting scrunched! If you would like to know how I created this project, send me an email!