Nothin Like a Little Herb and Scrapbooking!

Check out this cute little gift Crafty Cat brought to our scrapbooking get-together recently! If there's one thing scrapbookers like- it is gifts!  She brought little baggies filled with her own fresh grown dill, parsley and basil, embellished with a cute little sunflower and fibers (of course!)!! She also bought us a little paw print hole punch!! Too cute-- loved the gift Cat!

Next time you get together with friends, why not bring a little token of your appreciation? It will surely be a hit!  Make it a tradition to exchange handmade treats every few months at your craft night soiree.

Tasty Tuesday: Italian Love

Two types of Italian meat, Fontina cheese, kalamata olives and homemade spicy pickled eggplant on 12 grain bread! 

Living in the Northeast, we have access to some of the best Italian meats and cheeses in the U.S. I can't wait to go to Italy some day to taste their authentic creations. Until then, I will enjoy this!

The meats are rich and a bit spicy. The cheese is robust at first, then melt on your palette in excitement and OH!! The pickled eggplant??  It's tart from the vinegar, yet smooth because of the olive oil and, oh yes, you get a surprise by one of the hot peppers.  This dish is one of my favorites!

Crazy Accordion Book

This is a puzzling twist on your traditional brag book.  I've been on a kick showing you some of the make-n-takes Crafty Girl and I brought home after our scrapbooking retreats over the years.  I have a box full of them.  I really should fill them and give them away as gifts.  That little task is on a long to-do list, stored in the back of my brain.  First, I need to show you how to make one.  I can't be the only person with a box full of little books taking up room in my crafting area.

Here's what I could make of this handmade treat:  Start with a full piece of paper and envision a sharp-edged spiral.  Ultimately, you'll need 16 squares.  That's four rows across and four rows from top to bottom.  Once you've made your folds, it will be easier to figure out where to cut.

Fold it up in different directions, so the squares come together in a flat book.  You can use a thick card stock as your front and back covers.  Before you adhere the card stock, fold your favorite paper design over the top of it.  You can fold the paper around the edges and cover the center with the front and back pages of your spiral book.

Embellish the cover and hold it all together with a cute ribbon.  Fill it with pictures for a gift.  You can either use 16 different photos or one large photo that fits together like a puzzle when the book is opened.  I recommend starting with a traditional flip book.  But, if you've made a million of those and would like to try something different, this is one idea that was shared with us.  Go for it!!

Shutterbug Sunday: Posing Dolls

This is kind of a "pulling the curtain back" moment like in the Wizard of Oz. I honestly wondered, how did girls get their dolls to stand up and pose in these great positions when my doll's head seemed too heavy?  She'd always fall over. Well, I asked my friends on the social networking site, Blythe Kingdom.  Their answer was so so simple and should have been obvious!

To pose a doll you need to prop her up against something and do your best to hide the item.  So, it should look as if the doll is standing up on her own!  The best items to use are either chopsticks or skewers. I had a ton of BBQ skewers left over from a gathering and pulled mine out.  Instantly my girl came to life.

You dig the item into the ground and then strategically prop the doll's head against the other end. Some women use photoshop to get rid of any sign of sticks. I prefer to strategically pose and not have to worry about post editing.

When working on a surface in which you can't dig the stick into the ground, try to use a pencil!  This is such an easy solution to help your doll come alive!

Crazy Little Box

I think I took a trip to crazy town for this little treasure box. It was a fun little trip! LOL- Really, I wasn't so sure what I was going to do with this box.  So, I decided to stain the wood.  Once the stain dried it seemed to be just about the same color as the original wood.  That's when I decided to slap some yellow acrylic paint on my finger and experiment.  I was in a playful mood and the ink was right there, beside a squiggly little stamp. Before I knew it, the box was covered in little beige squiggles. Is that a word? 

Honestly, I think I'm going to revisit this project later and Mod Podge over it or something! I'll be sure to share my adventures with you if I decide to revisit this crazy little box!

Tiny Accordion Book

Why do cute lockets, keychains, and picture frames always come in sizes that are impossible to fill?  Because tiny is just cute.  Simple.  How can I find a picture of my cute niece the size of a quarter?  We always find a way to figure it out and the results are sweet when we open our necklace to reveal the teeny face of someone who we can't get enough of.

If a locket isn't big enough to show off your whole family, make your own tiny brag book.  This is another credit to the girls from Captured Moments in Rotterdam, NY.  They taught Crafty Girl and I how to make accordion books.  We've loved making them ever since.  Start with a strip of paper that you  fold in typical "accordion" style.  You'll need two small pieces of chip board to put on each end of your book...the back and front covers.  Cut pretty paper for your front cover and fold the edges around to the inside.  You'll cover the inside with the end of your accordion strip.

Repeat the process for the other end of the book.  But, put a piece of ribbon on the inside of the back cover, before you adhere that end of the accordion strip.  That will wrap around your front cover to keep it closed.  You can either tie the ribbon or attach a tiny metal clasp.  Throw a few cute flowers on the cover or any small embellishment.  Done!!  Giving credit where credit is due...check out more of the Captured Moments creativity on their website, www.capturedmomentsstore.com.  This is shaping up to be sort of a Captured Moments make-n-take tribute month.  Monday we'll show you a twist on this type of book that they came up with.  Plus, I'll bring you one of my favorite CM creations soon...a paper bag book!!  Keep checking in.  Until then, give this to a friend empty and let them fill it OR fill it with pictures of a special occasion.  I like to keep one in my purse to look at when I need a tiny smile.

Sweet Sheep

As I was going through my crafty supplies recently, I noticed this little sheep staring at me.  I thought it would be a fun favor at a child's birthday party, especially if you have the party at a zoo!!

Once or twice a year, I spend a weekend away from dishes and other demands.  I go to a scrapbooking retreat with friends and it is the best getaway EVER!!  The time we spend actually scrapbooking is minimal.  Instead, we spend hours eating, getting chair massages, playing games, and attending classes.  We always learn how to make something cute.  One of my favorite things about the retreat is the "make-n-take" sessions.  Vendors supply all of the materials and the idea for a project.  You just make it and then you take it home.

This sweet sheep was our "make-n-take" one year.  It is very EASY and there is a yummy treat hidden inside.

Supplies include black and white paper, eyeballs, adhesive, and a small piece of flat candy.  You'll need a  hole punch with bubbled edges or shaped scissors to form the sheep's head.

Pop two white pieces out and ink the edges.  Adhere the candy wrapper between the two circles.

You'll need one more cloud-shaped pieces for the "forehead" of your sheep.  Study the shape of the ears and give it a shot.  Adhere the ear pieces to the back of the "forehead".  A little glue or glue dots is best for this.  Tape didn't work well.

Next, cut the black center of the face.  Place that on the white circle that goes on top of your candy.  Don't forget to add your eyeballs!!

Then, add the ear and "forehead" piece.  I can't take credit for this idea (I think the girls from Captured Moments came up with it).  But, I think it is cute.  So, I'm passing it along, hoping it inspires your own sweet idea.  If your kiddo loves kitties...adapt the design.  If you can imagine it, you can make it.


Come back tomorrow for another make-n-take by the Captured Moments girls and see their shop at www.capturedmomentsstore.com.

My Mess!!

Am I alone in my need to spread out?  Do all crafty gals with three kids have piles of yarn, crayons, and glue stacked up in the kitchen?

I gave you a glimpse of my Scrap Shack when it was pretty tidy.  A clean room made me feel so inspired.  As I told you in that post, I have to heat it up in the winter, before I can spend time there.  It was 20 degrees here in Upstate New York for a long time.  It was a brutal winter.  When I needed to craft at a moments notice, waiting 20 minutes to heat up my building is just not possible!!  I have lots of excuses don't I?!  He he!  Now that it's warm out, I'm trying to return my crafting items to the Scrap Shack- and now my haven is a mess!

Oh well!  Like it or not, one of my counters becomes the drop off location for everything!!  Even when I spend time neatly piling up supplies- it looks messy.  The advantage is having everything within reach.  When the kids want to create an art journal- embellishments, colored pencils, and adhesives are all right there. When I want to create this, this, this, and even this very popular Crafty Life and Style creation--- I have it all within reach! Kind of embarrassing- but what can I do? When inspiration strikes- I need to seize the moment!

Tasty Tuesday: Basil=Pesto

We had a bountiful harvest of basil last year! As you are planting your garden this year, you may consider basil. You may ask how do you make it last through the winter?  Make pesto--- lots and lots of pesto. The recipe isn't scientific.  So, there aren't exact measurements.  I'm married to a chef-- they eyeball it!! Have fun trying it yourself.

mix in a Cuisinart:

- lots of fresh basil

- olive oil

- salt

- pepper

- pine nuts

It will blend down into a soupy concoction.

Then, add fresh Parmesan cheese into the Cuisinart to thicken it up. Pour it into an ice cube tray and then freeze them. You can pop out a cube anytime you want to add some pesto to a recipe. We did this all winter and it was amazing. I can't wait until we plant some basil again this year!

DELICIOUS!

Adventures In Sewing

 For those of us who call ourselves "Crafty", it can be a humbling experience to embark on a new craft and find it very hard to finish. I mean- come on--- we're CRAFTY!!  For me, there are several crafts that I think, in my mind, I should be able to do easily- sewing was one of them. I took "home economics" a long time ago. I remember sewing some pillows and an ill-fitted apron, but the adult Crafty Girl thought...oh- this couldn't be too hard.

One of the aspects that attracted me to making over the dolls was the cute little dresses they wear. I thought how hard could it be for me to sew a couple of dresses. Well, I realize it is a skill like any other that needs to be studied, practiced and repeated over and over to get it right. Above you see my first attempt at sewing a very small doll dress.

Blythe dolls fit "Skipper doll" size clothing and I found a pattern on Ebay and anxiously waited for it to come in the mail. I opened it up and it looked like a foreign language. Words like bodice and with the grain made no sense to me- so I put the pattern down for another day. Finally I had several hours to sew- and figured I could make a couple of dresses. I started with the easiest pattern- a whopping 4 steps- how hard could that be? I figured I'd be done with it in under an hour and moving on to a more difficult pattern.  HA!

FOUR hours later I was finally trying to put the dress on my little doll. Yes- 4 steps, 4 hours! Cutting the pattern was no problem. I found it a real challenge to actually sew on such a small scale. Folding over 1/8 inch of fabric and then trying to sew a straight line that was no longer than an inch was virtually impossible.

I ended up hand sewing the most challenging parts of this dress, around the arms and neck line. I later learned that there is a wax that doesn't leave residue on the fabric, that I could use to hold the hem I would need to sew on.  I still wonder how I could sew such a short distance. 

This has been a humbling experience for me. I admit- I haven't even looked at my machine since my four hour adventure. I do hope to get a lesson or two from someone crafty in the sewing world. I really do want to learn how to sew. Right now- I'm just thankful the dress is wearable-- even if the most interesting side of the dress is the back!