Thank You Cards

Although we had a very small, private wedding in Reno, there were still a few people who were responsible for it being so sweet and special. I made these Thank You cards for them.

Pay it Forward

A good friend posted a Pay It Forward RAK on facebook. I participated, and the stipulation was to make something and pay it forward to 5 other people. I made these cute tags for Jeanette, Erin, Larae, Tina & Christy.

Twins turn 1

The twin grandbabies turned a year old in March. Again, I couldn't be with them, so these are the cards from MiMi.

Grandson's Birthday Card

My first grandson turned 2 in January. I made him this card for his birthday, since I couldn't be with him. He loves animals.

Distressed Roses

I thought this would be a fun project to share. I love these little roses (you can make them bigger or smaller to fit your project). No tools except a glue gun.

Start with a 3" square. Tear the square by hand into a circle.

Start at the outer edge and tear the circle into a spiral, ending with just a dot at the center. This would be the point where you'd want to ink the torn edge if you like.

Start at the outside of the spiral and roll your spiral "strip" into your rose shape.

Make sure the inner edge stays even as you roll. Your rolling will be more cone shaped than coiled.

Continue rolling to the center dot. Put a gob of hot glue on the dot, then let your coil unroll slightly into the glue.

It takes a little practice. The trick is to make sure that bottom edge stays even. If you roll too tightly, you will actually end up with a tall spiral. That's not right.

Sunflowers/Daisies

I love these flowers. They can be sunflowers or daisies, depending on the thread you use. And they're super simple. Use 2 colors.

With color 1, chain 5, slip stitch in first chain to form circle. Chain 3. Work 15 double crochet in circle. Slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3. Fasten off.

Join color 2 in any dc. Chain 1. Work petals around as follows:

Single crochet in dc below. Chain 10.

Last petal - slip stitch in first sc. Fasten off.

Engagement Page

I finally got my "engagement" page done. I don't think it needs any journaling. Everything kind of speaks for itself. I love the black and white look, but really wanted the hearts to pop, representing the vibrancy and boldness and the true color of our love. I love this page.

The flower is made from used dryer sheets, sprayed with my own custom-blended perfect pearl mist, with lace and 2 paper flowers. The dryer sheet was cut in strips, colored, the edges stickled, and then pleated onto a Gluber (I love glubers).

The hearts were cut from chipboard with my cricut, then simply covered with pink and Christmas red stickles. The red heart is adhered directly to the page, the pink heart is pop-dotted.

The letters are chipboard letters I bought at work. I painted them white with my Adironack paint dabber, then stamped random flourishes all over with black archival ink. I then stickled the edges with silver stickles and adhered them flat.

The rhinestone flourish is part of a prima set I got at work.

Large flower

Here are the directions for the larger 6-petal flower. Adorable with a button in the middle.

Chain 4, slip stitch in first chain to form circle. Chain 5. In circle, work (double crochet, chain 2) 5 times. Slip stitch in third chain of starting chain. You should have 6 "loops" in your starting circle.

Work 6 petals as follows:

Chain 2. In chain 2 space below, work 4 double crochet, chain 2, single crochet in double crochet below.

On last petal, finish with chain 2, slip stitch in first single crochet. Fasten off.

Medium 5-petal flower

So here are the crochet directions for another flower. This one is a little larger than the small one, so you get a matching set.

Chain 5, slip stitch in first chain  to form circle. Chain 1. Work 20 single crochet in circle. Slip stitch in first sc.

Work 5 petals as follows:

Chain 3, (2 double crochet in next SC) two times. Chain 3, sc in next sc.

On last petal, chain 3, slip stitch in first SC. Fasten off.

Crochet Flowers

Ok, so I'm noticing more and more crochet flowers for sale in the Scrap world. And they're CRAZY expensive. So I'm gonna post directions for my friends to make their own. If you crochet, here are the directions for the smallest 5-petal flower:

Chain 5; slip stitch in first chain to form circle.

Work 5 petals in circle as follows:

Chain 2, 3 double crochet, ch 2, slip stitch in circle.

Fasten off.

20 days & counting

Well, we're down to the wire now. Bryan & I leave for Reno in 16 days for his annual National Bowling Tournament. His best friend Dennis and his wife, my friend, Patty, are going with us. Bryan's parents are also going. Dennis & Bryan's Dad are bowling with him. His sister is flying out on Monday. We get married on Tuesday, while we're there. A sweet little wedding chapel called The Antique Angel. We're getting married in a gazebo by the river. That's June 7, 2011. 20 days from now. So excited. It took me so long to find the man who satisfies my EVERY need - physical, emotional, intellectual. All my life I dreamed of what I wanted in a man. My last 2 husbands were "settle" marriages. They were what was available. This time, it's for real. He meets everything on my "checklist". I'm so happy and excited. True likes him. That's a good thing. Heather's on the fence, but that's cuz I'm not as close to home for her. Mom didn't kill him at Christmas and actually said he's ok. Those are really the only people I care about liking, or at least, accepting him. 20 days. And I don't have my wedding clothes picked out yet. Well, I picked them out, but when I ordered them, they were out of stock. Gonna try again.

Happy New Year

Happy 2011 to everyone! We went back to NC for a few days over Christmas. Bryan and my mom met. He didn't come home with any bullet holes, so that's a good thing. They got along really well.

Spent a day with my daughter and the 3 grandbabies. They're all so beautiful. Got lots of pics. Will post later.

Spent New Year's Eve at the bowling alley. Lots of fun. I drank coffee all night, and one swallow of (nasty & cheap) champagne at midnight. Proud of myself.

Still excited about work. Upcoming classes are Valentine Minis and Vintage Valentines. Beautiful cards and a fun new way to make gorgeous realistic looking mini flowers.

I'm back on the Wii. 30 minutes each yesterday and today. It felt great. Gonna take this weight off so I can be around for many many years to come.

Best news of all (we always save the best for last, right?), Bryan and I are getting married in June when we go to Reno. Yay! This time it's for real, for right, and forever.

Hopefully I'll keep a little more up to date on the blog this year.