My Addictions

Christmas Swap Goodies

2010-12-07T08:16:00.006-05:00

Heather received her package yesterday so now I can show you what I sent her! I had so much fun putting this all together.

Something Chocolatey: Chocolate Charlie, it's made here in South Bend and is only available during the holidays!

Bits of Fabric: She has 3 boys already and is pregnant with a girl, so I thought a charm pack of Bliss would be nice. Very girly.

Something Homemade: I tried my hand at a wonky star. I put three of them together and they made the cutest table runner. I used Christmas fabric but not so Christmasy that it couldn't be used other times.

Something Unexpected: I put together some homemade Christmas cards for her to use. I actully added 2 more to the four shown in the picture.

And I threw in an ornament just for the heck of it :)

Table runner

Close up of a star. I just did some simple quilting around the star and around the frame of the quilt. I love the scrappy border :)

Hey Mom!......look familiar?

2010-12-03T17:01:00.006-05:00

My Mom made these sweatshirts for us girls about 18 years ago! How I ended up with both of them I don't know, but I know I kept them for something because 2 kids later I knew they would never fit! Well...

With a little cutting....

a little interfacing for stability....

a little pinning and sewing....

they are now my newest Christmas pillows!

The design itself was closer to the neckline of the sweatshirt than it was towards the bottom so the blue one didn't have enough material at the top of the design for it to be centered on the pillow, but I like the way it looks :)

Christmas Swap!!

2010-12-02T09:18:00.002-05:00

My Christmas swap is wrapped and ready to go! Just need the right size box and it will go in the mail tomorrow! I hope Heather likes everything...and she better open everything right away :)

Christmas Cookie Exchange

2010-12-01T19:10:00.003-05:00

Click on the picture below to head over to Jodis Blog! She's hosting a Christmas Cookie Exchange next week, Dec 6th-13th! It will be a week long of recipes, tutorials, cookie packaging ideas, giveaways and MORE. Even a Linky Party that everyone can join and share their favorite Christmas cookie recipe! I already have a favorite in mind!

Lucky ME!!

2010-11-28T15:08:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited to be the WINNER of Jodi's scrapy giveaway!! I can't wait to see what goodies are in that box! Check out her blog, Pleasant Home , it's one of my favorites!

Little Sneek Peak

2010-11-23T10:56:00.002-05:00

What I've been working on. Can't show it quite yet because it's for a certain someone. Whatever it is, it's super easy and super cute and I'm addicted.

Christmas Cactus

2010-11-15T17:15:00.003-05:00

I WANT TO MAKE ONE OF THESE!!..... eventually

GO IRISH!

2010-11-13T08:00:00.003-05:00

This posting everday for a month is actually really hard!

Today is kind of a lame post. I've been here for what seems like the last 48 hours! My 8th Notre Dame football season is quicly coming to an end!! Although it wasn't a season to write home about, we're all looking forward to next year! Farwell Irish Football 2010. Now bring on the basketball, women's basketball, and hockey season! Not to mention Christmas break, we're all looking forward to that!

Inspiration

2010-11-12T07:50:00.002-05:00

So I have this swap to do. I have little time left to get everything together. It's the Homemade Goodness that just has me confused. I want to make something really nice for her. I know people say they're not picky but, yeah, I think they are, I am, I mean, I'm not snobby picky, I appreciate anything home made, but we all want something that we'll actully use or display, right? I started just gathering stuff up to give me a little inspiration for some idea of what to do. I also spend way to much time online surfing all the wonderful blogs out there. Not to mention flickr, or google search. Where do all those other quilters come up with those fabulous ides?! Anyway, I have a few ideas rattling around in my head and I hope to get started soon!!

HAPPY VETERANS DAY

2010-11-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas Cards

2010-11-10T14:19:00.005-05:00

My Christmas cards are finished!! All I need to do now is take the kids picture! I'll even be done addressing envelopes before the weekend is over!
This is my rendition of Nicole's Shining Star card. I used 2 birds, didn't use the vellum, and what's a Christmas card with glitter? I glittered my star instead of embossing it! Now that I look at them together I do kind of like just the one bird in the tree, oh well.

My Card

Nicole's Card

UFO's

2010-11-09T12:19:00.006-05:00

We all got 'em. Stashed away. Stuffed in boxes. Crammed in bags. Tossed aside for whatever reason. I'm showing some of mine with the hopes that the embarrassment alone will help me get out of my UFO funk and get them done already!
The first I guess you could say isn't really an "unfinished" project, but one that needs to be started! KarrieLyne hosted an awesome charmpack quilt along back in July. I got everything together and.........

STUFFED IT IN A BOX.

My next project is a pair of window treatments for my bedroom. I went to visit my parents back in June and Mom helped me cut them out. I need to find just the right color material for the back. In the meantime........

I CRAMMED THEM IN A BAG.

Finally, this "beauty" is waitng to be covered with a gorgeous black and white fabric. I actually have the fabric torn off the ottoman but for now is been....

STASHED AWAY

Oh, not to mention the missing trim in the above picture that needs to be done. I won't even tell you how long that's been gone.

NaBloPoMo

2010-11-08T09:26:00.003-05:00

Apparently, November is National Blog Posting Month. If you have a blog, any kind of blog, you have to post once a day for the entire month of November. You can sign up here and even win prizes. I didn't officially sign up because I WAS going to do it, then decide NOT to, then decided to give it a try anyway, 2 days late of course. It seems to have helped me get things done though just so I'd have something to blog about each day :) Some of my posts might just be random pictures, or have nothing to do with crafts at all. Hopefully I'll have lots more to show you, but for now, this is my post for today. I'm headed off to work, and don't know when I'll be back so today I kept it simple. :)

Ahhh...Bliss

2010-11-07T15:22:00.005-05:00

Ever have one of those days where you feel like sewing, but don't really have anything in mind? That's how I felt about this little charm pack of Bliss that I bought. Sooooo, I cut the charms up into half square triangles......

.......and just started sewing them into rows. I had some white fabric leftover from my Pinwheel sampler so it came in handy! Not sure what to call it and I don't know if it's any kind of official pattern that's been done before, but I like how it turned out! It's crib size, but all the preggers I know have had boys!

I LOVE the colors in this fabric and will use again soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH

2010-11-06T00:05:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to take the time to wish my oldest son a very Happy 20th Birthday! You've been an absolute joy! I don't know where the time has gone. Love you

5 months

19 & 3/4

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-11-05T11:55:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again, and my head just gets overwhelmed with ideas for Christmas! I've already started my Christmas cards and right now I'm about 80% done! I've also joined a Christmas Swap over at Little Miss Shabbys place! Our package needs to contain some chocolatey goodness, a hearfelt homemade item, some yummy fabric bits, a Christmas card and something unexpected. I'm very excited to put this all together for my swap partner Heather! I've already started her goodies and might show some little peaks later!

My Christmas card pieces! I'm actually a copy cat this year when it comes to my cards. I saw the design here and just had to tweak it a little so it's not an exact copy :)

Summer in the City Giveaway

2010-11-04T22:35:00.006-04:00

I really hate blogging about these giveaways......it ruins my chances of winning :)
But, Little Miss Shabby is giving away this gorgeous stack of Summer in the City fabric. Go enter and take the time to read her blog too!

Denim Quilt

2010-11-03T15:09:00.005-04:00

This has to be one of my favorite quilts so far! I started this way back as a graduation gift, but....I loved it so much that I didn't have the heart to give it away! It took me a while to find the right backing for it. I originally wanted to use a flannel sheet. I made a trip to our local thrift shop and found the PERFECT cotton sheet for the back! It has huge hydrangeas on it in the same tones of blue as the jeans! I couldn't have been more lucky! It's my TV watching quilt and is nice and heavy for the winter :) And the best part about this quilt is the cost:

Denim from old jeans-FREE
Cotton Sheet-$1.99
Thread-about $3 worth

Close up of the quilting. Just an easy loopy line.

The Perfect Back

Two Words: 50% Off

2010-10-29T23:27:00.004-04:00

I guess you could call this my first pile of actual "stash".
I have no use for it....yet.
But it was 50% off and I couldn't resist :)
6 yards of yummieness!

Happy Fall Y'all

2010-10-28T11:03:00.003-04:00

This is a pattern I bought about 3 years ago and never did anything with. As I was decorating for the upcoming holiday, I realized that I didn't have anything fall/halloween'ish for my table and remembered I had the pattern. It called for a black background but instead I re-used and recyled an old coat that I was going to throw out! The brown tweedy fabric worked perfect as a background, and to me, made it look more like fall than Halloween.

Latest Projects

2010-10-27T09:52:00.003-04:00

I have a bunch of projects to show but I'm going to space them out and not show them all at once, that way I might actually update this blog a little more often :)
The latest project is Christophers Halloween costume. The Scarecrow from Batman. I have a little more detail work to finish on it but you get the idea. It was pretty simple to do once I figured out that by using some fusible web on the inside, the burlap would actually hold together better. It's woven together so loosely that everytime I put a handstitch in it would just come apart.

And this little baby is finally finished! My Pinwheel Sampler. Well, the top anyway. I LOVE the way it turned out!! I added some extra borders because I'd like to use it on our bed sometime and I needed it a little longer on the sides. I hope to work on it over Christmas break.

Lots more to show later this week :)

A MUST HAVE Giveaway!!

2010-08-24T13:42:00.003-04:00

Just have to let everyone know that KarrieLyne at Freckled Whimsy is giving away an AccuQuilt Go! I would just love to get my hands on one of these!! Go check it out!

Friendship Star

2010-05-27T14:28:00.002-04:00

My very first actual, usable quilt is finished! Actaully it has been for a while I just hadn't posted a picture of it yet :) Still waiting for my background fabric to come in so I can get my pinwheel quilt done. I might look for it elsewhere!

Catching Up

2010-05-14T08:10:00.004-04:00

Well, unfortunately my pinwheel quilt has been but on hold for a bit. I ran out of the back ground fabric for the sashing and as luck would have it the quilt shop is out of it and it's on back order:( Hopefully it comes in soon because I'm excited to get it done.
On another note, thanks to this little beauty I'll be able to get a few other projects finished!! This was my Mothers Day gift and I absolutely love it! Nice even stitches, dropping feed dogs, lots of extras, including a quilters accessory package with everything I need, and it's soooo quiet!!

The first project to get finished is my friendship star quilt. It took some practice (ok, a lot) but I finally got the hang of the free motion quilting! It's not perfect, I have some sharp points and some loops I didn't want in there, but overall I'm happy with it.

I love how the back looks!

More blocks and a layout

2010-04-26T13:58:00.008-04:00

Rachels block #8 was to find our favorite pinwheel block and make 2. I did a little searching online for some different blocks.....but then found these.....Aren't they awesome! Thanks to KarrieLyne I found my favorite block! It's done by paper piecing, and was quite simple......after some trial and error of course.

These area couple other blocks I found, but I'm not too crazy about them.

These 2 are definately going in my quilt.

This is my first layout. I'm not sure if I want to add more or not. I really like the size of a 4x5, but I really like the way it looks on my bed so it may get bigger :)

Pinwheel #7

2010-04-13T10:49:00.000-04:00

Block #7 is done! I notice that instead of "measure twice and cut once".... I think that measuring 6 TIMES and cutting once seems to help keep things straighter! This is one of my favorite blocks so far! And I was wrong about the finished size of these, I said before they were 10 inches, they're actually 12!! I'll have to post a picture of them all together soon.

Pin Cushions

2010-04-08T15:47:00.000-04:00

Not much to share today. The next pinwheel block in the Quilt Along won't be up until Saaturday so I haven't done much sewing this week.
I thought I'd share these adorable pin cushions I made from Heather Baileys pattern. I think they are the cutest things ever! There's also a little strawberry pattern that came with it but I need to find some emory powder to stuff it with. You use it to keep your pins and needles sharp. I've also read that you can use crushed walnut shells that you can buy in the lizard section of the pet store! I'm off tomorrow so I'll be checking those items out.

Block #1

2010-04-02T09:07:00.000-04:00

Finally got block #1 completed. I stopped at the quilt shop yesterday to see if they had yardage of the Frolic fabric. It was all still in the back waiting to be cut into fat quarters and put out on the floor :( BUT, the nice lady offered to cut me the fat quarters that I needed!!! I LOVE Erica's!

What's this mess? Yup, I started another project. I have this great Ginger Blossom fabric that's just dying to get made into another pinwheel quilt! I guess I don't completely hate triangles.

Finally, I just had to share this adorable picture. He had his first baseball "tryout"/practice yesterday evening and was just whomped out! He fell asleep on the couch, so I woke him up and told him to go to bed. Well, he made it half way off the couch. He slept like that for about 20 minutes before I realized he hadn't gone to bed yet!

Clay 4 Warsaw 7

2010-04-01T08:50:00.000-04:00

So Clay High School lost their first game, man the other team could hit! Brad had an awesome snag at third and made some great outs!

Block #6

2010-03-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

These blocks made me want to pull my hair out!!!! I think I took the yellow one apart 4 different times! There's even a hole in the green fabric somewhere where I got a little aggressive with my seam ripper! I might actually redo that one completely, it just looks messy and puckery. I still have to do block 1. It called for a little more fabric than the layer cake piece actually had so I have to go and hopefully find a fat quarter to match the fabric I want to use.
Thanks for stopping by, off to Bradleys first baseball game of the season!!

Pinwheels

2010-03-30T08:52:00.000-04:00

I am loving, loving, LOVING this quilt along!! These blocks are so much fun to put together. Well, it's fun AFTER their put together, triangles give me migraines! Please, don't zoom in :)
What I like most about these blocks are their finished size, they're a whopping 10 inches! What an impact the fabric has when you can see so much more of the pattern in the block.

Blocks 3 and 6

Blocks 2 and 4
I think I could make a quilt out of block 2 alone, so simple!

Chop Chop

2010-03-29T11:13:00.000-04:00

Since I was so late in finding and signing up for Rachels Quilt along, I had to catch up and cut my fabric for the 1st 5 blocks that she posted over the last 5 weeks. Block #6 should be posted sometime today. I plan on getting them all sewn up this week!

Score!

2010-03-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

So one day last weekend was National Quilting Day and I knew nothing about it! I saw the pretty fabrics people bought themselves to celebrate, and all the projects people started. I felt robbed because I wanted to shop to celebrat too! So I waited patiently all week for my awesome quilt store to have their We Feed You, You Feed Them event today!! All you had to do was bring in 2 canned goods for the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, and if you got there between 6-6:30 am you got 30% off everything, 6:30-7:30 you got 25%, 7:30- 3:30 you get 20% off. What time was I there? Yup, I was there at 6:08! I don't even do that on Black Friday. I don't even get up that early on school days! Anyway, I bought a Frolic layer cake and 3yds of a vintage white fabric to start my Pinwheel Sampler Quilt, a couple really cute fat quarters and the denim needles I need to hopefully get my denim quilt together this weekend. It was totally worth the lack of sleep :)

2010-03-26T19:34:00.000-04:00

Here's the progress so far on the denim quilt. I have the blocks together and will hopefully have the rows together tomorrow. I need a heavy duty needle for the extra layers of denim at the seems. I also have a friend with an embroidery machine who is going to help me embelish a square or two ;)

More Giveaways!!!!

2010-03-26T17:09:00.000-04:00

Run don't walk to Abbey Lane Quilts! It was my first visit to Abbey Lane and it quickly became one of my favorites! Just look at these Abbey Bags! You could win one! They have some SUPER CUTE quilt patterns too!

2010-03-25T15:36:00.000-04:00

HOP DOWN THE BUNNY TRAIL!! GOOD EGGS GIVEAWAY
Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches has put together a celebration of spring giveaway! She contacted a great group of bloggers to host a blog hop. Everyone that is participating is giving away goodies! Simply visit their blogs and leave a comment to be entered to win some really generous prizes. Good Luck!
Be sure to check out Kellys blog too! She's having a 30 Days of Giveaways!

Thursday

2010-03-25T09:42:00.001-04:00

Nothing much to show today. I've been busy digging for old jeans and cutting them to shreads. I've decided to make a couple of these. It can't get much easier than sewing together 6 1/2 in squares!

Aren't the holes kind of cool?!

I thought that I'd share a picture of my sewing buddy Frankie.....if I'm at my sewing machine, that's where he's sleeping, right at my feet! If I get up to use the iron, I have to pry him off the pedal.

A Little Inspiration

2010-03-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

I'm a copy cat. I see lots of ideas and projects on all the wonderful blogs out there that I want to make EVERYTHING! I've recently been inspired by Casey at Little Adventures to make a denim quilt. I dug up all the old jeans I could find!

I would also like to take part in Rachel Griffiths Pinwheel sampler quilt along. She started back in January so I have to get busy and get started! On my way to the quilt store now!

A Little Ambicious

2010-03-22T09:45:00.000-04:00

My second quilting class was a Friendship Star wall hanging. I didn't feel the need to have another wall hanging so I thought I would basically triple the "recipe" and make myself the perfect lap quilt to cuddle with on the couch!
I was instantly drawn to the Oz collection by Moda as it sat right outside the classroom door. Many Thangles later I had lots to work with.

As the laundry piled up I was busy putting all the blocks together.

My dining room table, where I do all my sewing, was the perfect size to put all the yummy blocks in perfect order!

This is my quilt 85% done. I used a twin size flat sheet in a taupey color for the back so I wouldn't have to piece fabric together. I plan on machine quilting it. Being new to quilting there's still many tools that I don't have and one of them is a darning foot for my machine, I will hopefully find one this week and get it finished! I know it's bright, but I love the colors, perhaps growing up in the 80's influenced my color choices :)

Gracie's Quilt

2010-03-19T19:53:00.001-04:00

I made this adorable baby doll quilt for my niece! It's done with pre cut Verna fabric by Moda. I think it's one my favorite fabric lines so far! I just love how fresh and springy it is!
And what's a cute baby doll quilt without some little matching pillows? I just couldn't resist!

My First Quilt

2010-03-19T17:07:00.001-04:00

Here it is, my very first quilt! It may or may not hang in the bedroom. I might just find a pattern that I like better, or at least get some more practice before actually displaying any of my work in full view :) I had a blast learning the basics of quilting and can't wait to keep creating! I've quickly fallen in love with fabric and just love all the delicious patterns and colors! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more!

I'm back!!!

2010-03-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

I wish I could say I've been on an extended vacation somewhere warm and toasty, but the truth is I got lazy and just didn't have anything exciting to blog about. Life got kind of busy with the boys getting older so this wasn't a priority. BUT.....now I've learned to quilt! :) I fell head over heals in love with fabric and all the wonderful things you can make with it. Similar to the way I fell in love with paper when I stamped, only more so! I may still stamp once in a while but I didn't name this blog My Addictions for nothing.
After being away from this for so long I need to figure how to blog again. I've spent a lot time browsing and being inspired by tons of wonderful blogs, I want to make everything I see! Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon to show my newest creations :)
Cris

Quilt Giveaway!!

2008-10-16T09:42:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Cranmer is giving away the most beautiful quilt. I had to share the opportunity with you, even though it just adds more names to the pot. I adore this quilt!

My Guys

2008-10-14T09:08:00.001-04:00

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of what keeps me going, going, going.
My oldest, Josh, is a senoir this year. This Friday will be his last home football game :(

Chrisrtopher is in 4th grade and plays for the citys Pop Warner League. His team is also purple and gold like Joshs and he's also #7. His team is number 1 in their division, and the championship game is this Sat!!

Bradley is 14 and this is his freshman year. He didn't want to play football this year. He's our babseball player. This is after winning the city championship last year in 8th grade. He plays ball during the summer too.

Thank God winter is coming...it's my only break from bleacher butt!!

Better Late Than Never

2008-10-12T21:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's taken so long to post a couple cards I made with the card candy. My life has been nothing but work, and football.

I've been busy with last minute baby shower prep too. I'd love to show you the cute things I've done but my sister DOES read this blog. Or at least she did the day I posted her shower invitations! Little brat! Oh wait...she's 6 months preggers...BIG brat!!

Halloween/Autumn Card Candy

2008-09-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

This yummy card candy is for yet another swap that I joined! I really like the way they turned out. I'll have to make some extra for myself!

Cuttlebug Blog Challenge

2008-09-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

This card is for a challenge at Nildas Cuttlebug BLOG. Her first challenge was to Ink it up!
I inked up the snowflake side of my cuttlebug folder with Bashful Blue and ran it through my little green machine. I used the same layout as the invites in the previous post and added some red rhinestones for the "sparkle".

I'm back!

2008-09-27T10:15:00.000-04:00

It sure doesn't feel like it's been that long since I posted....but it has been forever!!

I have been busy working on my sisters baby shower. I finally finished her invitations!! All 84 of them!! I completely changed my mind from the last post about her invites. She found out she's having a girl (YEAH) so I designed the invites to match the crib bedding she picked out.
I used Papertrey Blush and Chocolate Brown, and also used the polkadot color match ribbon on some of them. I ordered 15 yrds of ribbon but that only got me through half of the invitations. I ran to three different stores trying to find a similar ribbon. I found the brown satin ribbon at Walmart and actually like it better than the polka dotted ribbon. I had all the info printed up at Kinkos in dark brown ink on white paper.
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out! They're so her style!

HER BEDDING (super cute!)

THE INVITATION

WHAT 84 INVITATIONS LOOK LIKE !

Blog Candy!

2008-08-31T18:22:00.000-04:00

No blog candy here...yet. But Kristin has some GREAT candy available! She has a great blog too!! Be sure to check it out.

3 X 3 Swap

2008-08-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

I feel like it's been forever since I posted anything...oh wait...it has been forever! Thank God it's Monday, and the kids are in school, hubby is at work, I have the day off, and the cleaning I need to do is minimal! I need to get some swaps done and ready to go.

These cards are for a 3x3 embossed card swap. I used Papertreys Birds of a Feather and Birds and Swirls Cuttlebug Folder. I folded my card in half and ran the whole thing through the folder. It embossed both the front and the back of the card. I really like the look if it.

A Thank You

2008-08-19T10:57:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update, finally!
I thought I'd have all this time to stamp when the kiddos went back to school. But when school started, so did sports and all the weigh ins, scrimmages and practices that come along with it. Plus, I still have to go to work. Anyway, here's a thank you card I needed. I haven't used this set in a while. The watercoloring is awful, and the picture is blurry, but I liked the way the card turned out. I need more Papertrey ribbon!! I keep grabbing this one every time!!

More Blog Bling!!

2008-08-14T16:01:00.000-04:00

Monique has given me some Blog Bling!! Thanks Monique! I will be on here later to pass it on!

Great Finds

2008-08-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

I have to show you the things I got yesterday....for nothin'!
We were in the dollar store, wandering down the aisle with all the paper, folders, notebooks and such, and I found this whole stack of envelopes in one of the bins. There was no box, or any type of package lying around that they might of come from....but I wanted those envelopes. I figured they would charge me a dollar for them, right. So I took them up to the counter and told them they were just sitting in a bin mixed in with other stuff. The lady said they probably go with these books that you can send in the mail. She also said that if there weren't many books left they would just throw the envelopes away, and she run back and check when she was done ringing people up. The line suddenly got long, but I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the lady said to the other clerk, "just throw them in a bag, she can have them." Pretty awesome huh! I guess patience does pay off.
They are kind of an odd size, but that's okay. They're 7"x 6"1/4. I can make them work! Oh...and there's 82 of them!!!

Later that night, hubby and I were on our walk.
Now, I don't make a habit of digging through people's trash, but as we topped a hill, these old soda crates were just sitting on top of someones garbage. Aren't they kind of cool. I can just picture the Pepsi one on a checkered tablecloth, at a summer party, with some kind of treats or tall glasses of lemonade in it! The one on the bottom does have the Coke Cola logo on it, but it's very faint.

Altered Notebook....the Tutorial

2008-08-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

I had some time on my hands today before work. It's the first day of school here, Christopher is now in 4th grade, Bradley is a FRESHMAN!! and my Joshie Poo is a SENIOR!!! Really, where does the time go :(

Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself, onto the fun stuff....
I had so much fun doing the last tutorial that I'm going to show you how I altered the Michaels notebooks.
There's no set in stone way to do it, this is just how I did it, and I'll try my best to explain it.

First step is to take the cover off the notebook and find some coordinating scrapbook paper. These notebooks have some color on the paper itself so it looks nice to have the cover colors match. The binding is also very easy to pull apart. My notebook has a light orange color inside so I chose this pretty paper from The Paper Studio.

I cut my paper to be about 1/2 inch longer than the cover, if it's much longer you will cover up the holes when you go to fold the paper over the side, and about 1 inch wider.
I used Stampin' Up!s spiral punch. I don't know if there's another version out there or not. This particular punch has a little metal "nub" inside on the end to use for lining up the corner of your paper. The white arrows are pointing to it. I didn't want to start punching the tabs at the end of my paper or there would be extra holes that would show up on the edge of my cover. What I did was lay down my cover on the paper and mark with a pencil the last hole. Then with my scissors I cut a little slit for the "nub" to fit into to start my hole puching further away from the edge. As I got near the end I placed the "nub" in the second to last hole in order to punch only one hole at the end. Again, I didn't want extra holes.

To go back and puch the hole where I cut my slit, I simply flipped my paper over and put the "nub" in the second to last hole again to get only one hole punched.

Now that I have my paper for the covers cut I cut a small strip of paper the same length as the longest side. This is to cover the exposed edge where the binding goes and give it a more finished look, Because there is no way to wrap the paper aroung where the tabs are. I use Modge Podge to glue the paper on.

Cover the entire surface of the cover with glue, line up your holes and attach your paper. This is another reason to have matching paper, sometimes the holes don't line up exactly and some of the cover color may show. What do you expect with a $1 notebook, right.

I completely for got to take pictures of wrapping the paper around the notebook, but just flip your cover over and like a present, fold and glue the paper around the edges of your cover. I like to start with the shorter ends.

Next you need to cover up the inside of the cover where the paper was glued down. I chose a matching green. I started with an 8 1/2 inch long piece and punched holes all along the edge. It doesn't matter this time if you have extra holes because you will trim it short anyway.
Finished cover. Repeat all the above steps for the other cover.

This is a picture of the edge where I glued the small strip of paper. If I hadn't done it, this would show the original orange color.

Put your cover back onto the spirals. Make sure they are facing the right way and not inside out. Then just pinch the binding back together.
I know this shows brown on the inside, I was originally going to use brown, but changed my mind to the green. Then, when I was doing the back cover I grabbed the wrong color. So just ignore it and pretend it's green :).

Embellish your finished product anyway you want!

I hope this is easy to understand. If something confuses you, please feel free to ask me any questions. And for those in suspense...the Comcast guy was right on time this morning!!
Thanks for looking!

Ink Embossed Cuttlebug background

2008-08-11T17:47:00.000-04:00

My First Tutorial:
I've been busy with the whole back to school ritual today. Not to mention waiting for the Comcast guy, who never showed up, because they changed my appointment, and apparently didn't think I needed to know!! So, I had a little spare moment and thought I'd try something I found on You Tube! What would the world be like without You Tube? I know my house would be cleaner that's for sure!
You may have already seen this technique, but it's my first time trying it. I love the look of it and can't wait to use it more.

Start by brayering ink onto the smoother side of the Cuttlebug folder, the side where the design is etched out.

Place your cardstock inside and run it through your Cuttlebug like you normally would to emboss the paper.

The outside of the design will be the color of your ink, while the embossed part will remain the color of your cardstock.

Here's my finished product. This is the first time I tried it so I can see where it needs some tweeking, but I like the way it turned out.

BRAVO CHINA!!!!

2008-08-09T00:06:00.000-04:00

The Olympic opening ceremony was the most amazing thing I've ever watched! Tim was on his walk so I was recording it for him, when he got home we watched it from the beginning and it still gave me goose bumps the second time! Anybody else watch it?
How do you follow a show like that?!

Lovely as a Tree

2008-08-05T10:02:00.001-04:00

This is one of those sets that I just had to have after seeing sooo many great cards made with it. Then I got it, and never use it!
This is another card for a swap. It's a mans card so I wanted to keep it simple. Not that men are simple creatures, but, well, you know what I mean. This is also the first time I really used my watercolor paper. I've seen some gorgeous, detailed coloring of this tree but I wanted a messy, watercolored look. I then layered it on another piece of watercolor paper to make it look like I embossed it with the square nestebilities. The background paper is Stampin' Ups Wintergreen. It's hard to tell but the brown strip across the middle is rough on the edges for some more texture.

Birds of a Feather

2008-08-01T22:33:00.000-04:00

I need your votes!!! These are two examples of my sisters baby shower invitations, using Papertreys Birds of a Feather. The stamps themselves are small so I thought I'd make the cards 3X3. I used River Rock cardstock and Papertreys Spring Moss ribbon. Please leave a comment and let me know which one you like best. As far as we know, she's not finding out what she's having, otherwise I would use blue or pink. I don't think she reads this blog either so I'm not worried about her seeing them
Choice A: A little birdie told me...

Choice B: New Beginnings

I've Been Tagged!!

2008-08-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sooo excited to have been tagged with the Blogging Friends Forever award by Jackie!! My first award! I visit Jackies blog a lot, she has some great scrapbook pages and cards. Not to mention getting it all done with 5 girls! Thanks Jackie. Now, I have to pass it on....

The rules are:
1. Only five people allowed
2. 4 of them have to be dedicated followers of your blog and 1 has to be new and live in another part of the world.
3. You have to link back to who gave you the award.
It was kind of hard to chose who to give the awards to because I'm very new to the whole blogging world and don't have too many followers, so if any of you think it's corny or cheesy I apologize :)

The award goes to...
Jennifer, we actually met because of our avatars on SCS,(cutest dogs in the world) and have become blogging friends. She's a Stampin' Up! demo and has some awesome cards on her site. She's currently at convention so I'm very jealous of her right now!!
Judy, her cards are gorgeous! I love all the layering and detail.
Tessa, also has some great eye candy on her blog and was recently choosen for the Serendipity Scrapbooks design team!
Scrappinmominky, she just amazes me with her beautiful work. She's also an adoptive mom (of many) which is close to my heart.
And last but not least ...
Judy, she is new to the stamping blogging world and has some great ideas going on her blog. Some yummy blog candy too. She's from Idaho, which is another part of the world to me :)

Personalized Notebook

2008-07-29T09:39:00.000-04:00

These notebooks are so much fun to play with. I tried personalizing one for a neighbor girl. I don't have girls, so this was too much fun to work on. I was only going to put the ribbons at the top but soon realized they had to go all the way down. The name goes from the bottom of the notebook to the top. This is for a neighbor girl who comes over once in a while to play with my youngest. I'll be glad when he's over the whole "girls aren't cool" to play with thing.

Altered Notebooks

2008-07-26T14:00:00.000-04:00

I found these notebooks in Michaels $1 bins and thought I'd try to alter them. It's really easy once you mess the first one up and figure out a few tricks to cover the entire thing. The notebook lying down is the "before". I tried a matching bookmark too.

Vintage Quilt

2008-07-25T20:12:00.000-04:00

I found these great old, vintage looking papers by KC Company and thought they would look good with Papertreys Quilted Sampler. I watercolored the quilt blocks, then went over it with a wash of Creamy Caramel to muddy the colors together and give it a worn look to coordinate with the worn look of the paper. I Cuttlebugged the background in Vanilla and topped it off with Papertreys Spring Moss ribbon!

Sweet As Can Be

2008-07-25T15:57:00.001-04:00

Just a quick card today. I found some great notebooks at Michaels that I'd like to alter, but I had this card started, so I finished it really quick so I could clean up and make another mess. I used C.C Designs Sweet Treats. I wanted to use some crystal effects on the ice cream but the tip is clogged AGAIN!! I even stored it upside down like some people said to do. I used the same paper as I did on the cupcake card below, and what's a card without a Cuttlebugged background!! I can't forget the yummy ribbon from Stampin' Up! I wish they had it in every color!

ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!

2008-07-23T17:54:00.000-04:00

Okay...no new post from me today, I'm too depressed from not winning Danas' quilt!
:(

Surfs Up

2008-07-22T09:25:00.000-04:00

I'm such a copy cat. This card is totally copied from Amy Rysavy. Well, not totally but the idea of the surfer coming out of the background. Sorry for the crooked picture. She has some mad Copic skills! My Copic collection so far consisits of 4 markers, so I had to watercolor my puppy. He looks like he has a wicked tan though doesn't he? I might use these as my sons bday invites.

Inspiration Card

2008-07-21T17:02:00.000-04:00

One of my stamping idols is Michelle Wooderson. My card layout was inspired by this one that she did. The colors I chose were inspired by this beatuiful quilt!!

Quilted 2

2008-07-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

Not your traditional quilt colors, but I like them together. I paper pieced the quilt blocks this time with Stampin' Up!s Wintergreen designer paper, and Soft Sky. I think the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots is one the best purchases I've ever made!

Christmas Quilt

2008-07-21T13:54:00.000-04:00

This is the first card I made using my Quilters Sampler from Papertrey. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to somehow use my Star Santa set from Stampin' Up!. Star Santa was one of the first stamp sets I ever bought and I still love it just as much. It has that homespun look that I thought would look good with a quilt card. I watercolored the blocks and crumpled the red paper to give it a softer look.
Thanks for looking. I have yet to master the art of a really good clear picture!

New Toys

2008-07-21T11:53:00.000-04:00

I got my goodies from Papertrey and my order from All That Scraps!!! I just love those C.C Designs stamps! I wish I had taken a picture of the Papertrey stamps before I put them all together, the packaging was just beautiful. It was like getting a present! I got some cute "beachy" paper too to use with the Summertime Fun set! I love this card that Amy Rysavy made! Her samples made me want this set!!
I'm rushing around trying to get housework done so I can actually sit for more than a minute and play with them today. Wish me luck!

Been awhile....

2008-07-20T11:19:00.000-04:00

I just had to post this. Mayas Hobbyblogg is giving away some delicious blog candy! Take at look at her wonderful blog and those adorable images she's giving away!

What the.....

2008-07-18T09:19:00.001-04:00

No new card from me yet, to busy cleaning up this mess!
What happens when the cold water from a sprinkler hits a hot glass table in 90 degree weather?......

"Classic" Birthday

2008-07-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

I needed some male birthday cards for another swap I'm doing. I soon realized that I don't really have anything to use for a mans card except the Classic Convertible or a tree. :(
I didn't want to color the car so I stamped it in Navy. I also used the Cuttlebug for a little detail on the Buckaroo Blue,(Yes, I have other cuttlebug folders).There were originally only three holes in the corner for some brads, but I kind of liked the look of the holes, so I left them empty. I still need some kind of embellishment for the swap so the rest of the cards will probably have the brads on them. And check it out....a different layout!
Thanks for looking.

I LOVE These Colors!!

2008-07-16T10:35:00.000-04:00

Dana at Old Red Barn Co. is giving away this GORGEOUS quilt!! How she can part with it, I have no idea! All I know is I WANT IT!!! These are some of the prettiest fabrics! See my sidebar for a chance to win! Good Luck!

Hey Cupcake

2008-07-15T17:17:00.000-04:00

This card was inpspired by the yummy paper by 3 Bugs in a Rug, that I got in anticipation of my CC Designs Sweet Treats. I couldn't wait any longer and had to use it. It reminds me a little of neopolitan ice cream so I went with some chocolatey ribbon! I promise I'll use a different layout next time, this one is just so EASY.:)

Added a Little More

2008-07-14T13:06:00.000-04:00

The more I looked at the clown card, the more I thought it could use something else. So I added a few more details.

More Mass Production

2008-07-14T09:41:00.000-04:00

I just had to make some girly clown cards to go with the other ones. Again, I got 12 cards out of 2 sheets of 12X12 scrapbook paper. I'd really like to find some brightly colored Primas to put on these, they seem to missing something since I used a smaller clown, and it doesn't take up as much space on the card. Plus, they're for a girl and what girl doesn't like a little bling! The Happy Birthday stamp is stamped inside. I liked the look of the wide grosgrain ribbon on the other cards but I don't have any to match these so ~~now I have to get it all~~ I used two thinner colors to make it look as thick as the wider ribbon. I may have to try a craft show if I can keep making 12 cards in a day!

Clownin' Around

2008-07-11T17:00:00.001-04:00

Two posts in one day! And I got the laundry done!
Scrapbook paper is my new favorite must have. The two I used in this card are from my local scrapbook store Pages in Time. I Wish I could remember which company. I'll have to look before I use it all up next time.

I actually needed two birthday cards this weekend and decided to just mass produce until my scrapbook paper ran out, because I never have extra cards on hand and this would be a great way to use what I have and not just throw the scraps in a pile to be forgotten about. The two 12X12 sheets made me 12 cards!!!

Flowahbella

2008-07-11T10:39:00.000-04:00

I absolutly LOVE the colors on this! Used the cuttlebug again, and I can't get enough of the big flowers. I just wish I could get a really clear picture, the colors are much brighter in person.

Card Candy Close Ups

2008-07-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

Just took some pictures closer up to show some of the detail of the Halloween card candy. These are really fun to make. I plan on doing lots more!

My 1st swaps

2008-07-10T20:19:00.000-04:00

I decided to join my first swap on Splitcoast the other day. After looking around at all the choices I ended up joining FOUR!!! Even though they aren't due until Sept/ Oct. I got busy aand started on Autumn/Halloween card candy and the 3X3 Halloween cards, which was inspired by the tag I did.

Explosion Card

2008-07-08T15:02:00.000-04:00

I found this explosion card on Jennys blog Stamping Moments, and just had to try one. I love the colors in the Ginger Blossom Designer Paper! I cut a flower out of the paper and used my Spring Flower Bouquet punch for the other two.

Veggiebella

2008-07-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

I LOVE the Bellas!! I don't have nearly as many as I'd like though. I don't even have this one, it's from an image swap I did a while ago and I'm just getting around to using it. And once again, I had to use my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder!

Color Inspiration

2008-07-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

Kristina Werners color inspiration challenge. I decided to start giving these a whirl and actually using some of my stamping stuff instead of just hoarding everything.
This is the picture Kristina posted on her blog to give us inspiration for a card.

This is the card I made with the above picture in mind.
The flowers are embossed in white and the twill tape is just stamped with Ruby Red.

Thanks for looking!

First Post on My New Stamping Blog

2008-07-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new stamping blog.
I decided to keep the family blog separate from my stamping stuff so I set up another blog for my little addictions

This card was inspired by the 4th of July. This is a VERY old set from Stampin' Up! but I love it. It just screams summer to me. I stamped the Brilliant Blue before running it through my cuttlebug.

Shows the dimenssion.