{DIY} photo pallet project

I'm a sucker for anything DIY. I see projects that other people make, and I think, "I can do that!" These photos on pallet wood have been floating around my Facebook news feed for awhile now in some of my Silhouette crafting groups. I had an 8x10 of one of my favorite pictures of Grayson, so I decided to give it a try. I love how it turned out and had planned to give it to my mama as a Christmas gift, but I couldn't wait! She already has it. :) 

I followed the instructions on this YouTube video, except for the sanding, I just used some coarse sandpaper. I also skipped the step on staining because I bought this pre-made board at Hobby Lobby, and it was already this pretty color. My mama loved it, and now I need to make one for my house!

Here's the video tutorial by Pink Sawdust.

This would be a very simple Christmas gift project, especially if you buy the boards pre-made like I did. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

supplies:

pallet board, photo, sandpaper, paintbrush, mod podge, ruler, pencil, something to cut your photo with (I used a paper trimmer)

Jot This Down - Skinny Notepads

Hi there! Happy Sunday, and Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there! Since I shared my Mother's Day cards already, today I am sharing a few notepads I made to put in with the gifts I gave for Mother's Day. Who doesn't love cute notepads? I know I definitely do...notepads, pens...I think I collect them. It must be a teacher thing. 

I used this Skinny Notepad Tutorial from Kim O'Connell at Paper Perfect Designs. Thanks, Kim, for this great tutorial! I had everything on hand to make these and with her simple directions, I was able to make these in just a few minutes. 

To make these notepads, you will need some Skinny Notepads from Papertrey Ink. You can purchase them in white or cream. I also used the Take Note stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I decorated my notepads by using some patterned paper and ribbon. I even did a little stitching around the edges and accented the circle panels with a pearl pen. I love how these turned out, and as simple as they are, I will definitely make them again when I need a little gift. 

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Supplies:

Paper: PTI Cardstock, Echo Park Country Drive

Stamps: Take Note by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Ice White Viva Pearl pen, sewing machine, ribbon, MFT Mini Scallop Die-namics, adhesive, skinny notepads from Papertrey Ink

Thank You!

Hi there!

I'm popping in today to share some little happies that I made for the labor and delivery nurses at my hospital. I've gotten to know them because I have to go twice a week to get the baby monitored, so I wanted to do something special for them. 

My original plan to make happies for the nurses was to fix up little gift bags of chocolates and other goodies. However, then I was put on bedrest, and I can't go shopping. Bath and Body Works was having a great sale on their soaps earlier in the week, and I remembered spying this idea on Pinterest, so I picked up some soaps. Who doesn't love B&BW soaps?! This was something super simple that I could put together, and it still has a lot of thought behind it. 

This idea comes from the Eighteen25 blog. She has printables like this for teachers or just the general ones that I used. I printed them out and added them to the soap bottle with some coordinating twine like she did. 

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

A Christmas Treat Box

Hi there!

I meant to post this on Friday, but oops...I forgot! Last week I was Trendsetter of the Week at There She Goes, and I made this for my Anything But a Card Friday post. You may remember this Valentine's treat box I made in the past. These boxes are so much fun to make, and they are easy, too! 

I used the Maria's Treat Box instructions from over at Split Coast Stampers and went with a Christmas theme this time. 

I filled my candy bag with some chocolate Kisses and tied it with some V-Striped Twill Ribbon from Ribbon Carousel. I embellished my box with the Holly Jolly stamp set and die from There She Goes. 

These would make perfect gifts for neighbors, teachers, etc., and you could fill them with candy, homemade goodies, or other little happies. No matter what you put in this little box, I'm sure the recipient will love it! Have fun making these treat boxes! 

Supplies:

Cardstock: PTI Pure Poppy, X-Press It Blending Card

Patterned Paper: Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas

Stamps: Holly Jolly by There She Goes

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers

Embellishments: V-Striped Twill Ribbon (ribboncarousel.com)

Tools: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Other: cello bag, chocolate candy

TSG Pull-Up Treat

Hi there!

Since this month was There She Goes' Birthday Celebration, we are wrapping up the celebration by posting all sorts of yummy treats today!

I created a Pull-Up Treat using this tutorial I found on Split Coast Stampers. It holds a Hershey bar. I sent my hubby over to the gas station just to get a Hershey bar for me to put in here. :) I used the Sentimental Thank You stamp set for my treat container. You can see all of the other supplies I used in the supply list at the bottom of this post. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure you head over to the TSG blog to see all of the other treats the Trendsetters have made!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, X-Press It Blending Card

Patterned Paper: Simple Stories Fabulous

Stamps: Sentimental Thank You by There She Goes

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Embellishments: crocheted flower, Maya Road wooden button, ribbon, twine

Tools: MFT Simply Scallops Border Die-namics, MFT 1st Place Ribbon Award Die-namics, sewing machine

A Birthday Gift Ensemble

Hi there! 

I always see gift sets all over Pinterest and when I'm blog-hopping, and I've always wanted to alter a gift bag. Awhile back, I made some of these dry erase note boards for my cousins, and my aunt wanted one. Her birthday was last week, so I made one for her as a gift. I was in Michael's, and I decided to pick up a gift bag. That's when I saw the Kraft bags and decided to try and decorate it to match the gift. You can't beat 99 cents for a gift bag either. Do y'all know how much gift bags are? I looked at them in Walmart recently, and they wanted $4 for a medium-sized bag. Ummm...no. I usually go to the Dollar Tree, but I like my handmade bag better than the store-bought bags! I couldn't stop at just a gift bag. I had to make a card, too!

I love how this set turned out!! It was super easy, too!

I used the Funky Town paper collection by Papertrey Ink on all three items and tried to keep the basic design the same throughout. 

To make the dry-erase note board, I purchased an inexpensive picture frame from Walmart. For the inside, I used a piece of 8x10 white cardstock and embellished it. The letters were cut out with the MFT By the Letters Dienamics. The loopy bloom is adhered to the outside of the frame with hot glue. 

For the gift bag, I wanted to put "hb2u," but I didn't have any number dies, so I used some Thickers that I've been hoarding since my scrapbooking days. I knew they'd come in handy some day. I think they look better on the gift bag because they're a little bolder. 

For the matching card, I stamped a sentiment from the Wrapped in Joy stamp set by There She Goes. 

I hope you enjoyed my little gift set!! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Supplies:

Cardstock: True Black, Raspberry Fizz, Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Patterned Paper: PTI Funky Town

Stamps: Wrapped in Joy by There She Goes

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Embellishments:Benzie Bazzaar Felt, Kaisercraft rhinestones, Thickers

Tools:MFT Loopy Bloom Dienamic, MFT Simply Scallops Border Dienamic, We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Other: Kraft gift bag (Michael's), picture frame (Walmart)

Meljen's Designs #116 - Bookmark

Hi there!! 

This week's Meljen's Designs Challenge #116 is to make a bookmark. I honestly think that in all my time of stamping, I have never made a bookmark, so this was fun!

I bought some of these paper-clip bookmarks awhile back with intentions to make bookmarks for gifts, and well, I never got around to it. So, I pulled out one of these to do my bookmark with.

I used the Pre-Colored Penpal Mouse image and cut it out with Circle Nestabilities. I layered it on a scalloped circle and hot-glued it to the paperclip base. I added a ribbon to finish it off.

Super easy! These would make great teacher gifts! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! :)

Supplies:

Cardstock: PTI Harvest Gold, Stamper's Select White

Stamps: Meljen's Designs Pre-Colored Penpal Mouse

Embellishments: PTI ribbon

Other: paperclip bookmark (Etsy)

TSG Cute as a Button Blog Hop Challenge

Hi there! It's Day Three of the previews this week at There She Goes! This set is definitely one of my favorites!!

What can we say about this new set from Torico, other than…it’s Cute As a Button?! The perfect sewing set for ANY crafter, full from top to bottom, end to end, with as MANY stamps as you could POSSIBLY need to make the perfect card or scrapbook page, this whimsically cute set is sure to have EVERYTHING you need to celebrate the crafter in your life!

Cute As a Button is a 6x8 set that includes a total of 33 stamps and will sell for $24.00.

My friend Kelly made me a pin-cushion frame that was adorable!! I was inspired to make one for my grandmother, who is a very gifted seamstress! I knew the Cute as a Button stamp set would be PERFECT to embellish it!

The frame is one that Andrew and I received for our wedding...lol! We got sooo many frames and I didn't have a chance to use all of them yet. I thought this one was so pretty and would be great for this project. I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out some fabrics that I thought my grandmother would like. To make this, I cut a piece of chipboard (or heavy cardstock) to fit in the frame. Then, I cut a piece of quilt batting the same size as the chipboard. I adhered the batting to the chipboard. I placed the fabric over the batting and wrapped it around the back and adhered it to the back of the chipboard. I placed it in the frame (without the glass, of course) and then replaced the frame backing. 

I made a few Yo-Yo flowers for the bottom corner. I stamped the sewing machine in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored it with Copic markers. I also stamped the sentiment and sponged around the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I added some ribbons and a flower to finish it off. 

I LOVE how this project turned out, and my grandmother LOVED it, too! I gave it to her for Mother's Day. :)

Would you like to win the new Cute As a Button  stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, May 26th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Supplies:

Stamps: Cute as a Button by There She Goes

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Antique Linen Distress Ink

Fabric: Hobby Lobby

Embellishments: ribbon, twine, Wild Orchid Crafts flower

Tools: MFT Leafy Flourish Dienamic

Other: Frame

Springtime Wreath

Hey y'all!

I made this spring wreath a few weeks ago, and I just remembered to take a photo of it today! 

I was going for this look. Kristen's wreath is sooo pretty! She is so good with flowers and things like that. I am NOT good at arranging flowers. I wanted to fill my wreath up with flowers like she did, but when I started putting my flowers on, the wreath just looked stupid. Fail. Oh well!

I thought it turned out cute, though. The bunnies didn't really scream "Easter" to me, so I think I'm going to go ahead and leave it for the rest of the month and then make me a summer one with some bright colors. I love making these mesh wreaths. They are a lot of fun!

You can click here to see Kristen's tutorial on how to make your own mesh wreath. 

All of the supplies were purchased at Hobby Lobby...50% off of everything, too! Ya can't beat that with a stick! :)

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Pinterest-Inspired Message Boards

Hi there!! As much as I love to make cards, I also love to alter items. It's fun to take something and make it look a different way! I especially love to alter things I can give as gifts or use in my craft room. So, when I saw this message board on Joanne Basille's blog, I knew that I had to make one for myself! I have seen several ideas on Pinterest where someone took a pretty piece of patterned paper and put it inside a frame for a message board, but I love how Joanne decorated hers, so I decided to pretty mine up as well! Actually, when I saw her frame, I "pinned it!"

Three of my cousins all have February birthdays, and since they are all in high school or college, I thought these message boards would be the perfect thing to help them jot down little notes.

These boards were all so easy to make. I just measured my paper to fit the frame (8x10-inches), and decorated it. I used an assortment of border, alpha, and flower dienamics by MFT Stamps to embellish them. I put the paper on the inside and hot-glued my flowers and other embellishments to the outside of the frame. I added a dry erase marker to each one, and they made perfect gifts!

Oh, and I'm so sorry about the horrible photos! It is very hard to take a good photo of something with glass in it. Maybe I just need some camera pointers.

This one is my favorite...LOVE those bright Girl Friday papers!

This one I made using the colors for the school that my cousin goes to.

And last, I made this one to match my cousin's bedding in her room. I think it turned out to be the most elegant one.

I still haven't made myself one, but I did buy the frame! I just need to get it done. I want to use it to keep up with design team reminders.

Thanks, Joanne, for the inspiration!! I hope I've inspired you readers to alter something!

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

MFT Dienamics Used: Monarch Border, Simply Scallops Border, Hearts a Plenty, Loopy Bloom, By the Letters, Rolled Scallop Flower. All of the felt is from Benzie Bazaar. It cuts with the MFT Dienamics like a dream! 



Valentine's Treat Box

Hi there! If you saw my blog yesterday, then you saw the cookies I made for my Valentine's treats to hand out at school. I had some crafty mojo going on over the weekend, so after I got done with the tags for my treat bags, I decided to try making one of these treat boxes from the tutorial I saw at Split Coast Stampers and fill it with some Hershey's chocolates. 

I thought this treat box was sooo cute, but I must be directionally challenged, but I just could not get it right...even with watching the video! Finally, after goofing up the scoring/cutting TWICE, I got it right on the third try! Third time's the charm right? :) 

I decorated my box with paper from the Echo Park Yours Truly collection. I stamped the image from the Buckets of Love stamp set by There She Goes Clear Stamps and colored it with Copic markers. I added lots of glitter to the hearts and accented the image panel with White Opal Liquid Pearls. I stamped the sentiment and cut it out with Oval Nestabilities and popped it up with a Jody Booster. I love how it turned out! I will definitely be making these little boxes again in the future.

That's it for me today! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Supplies:

Cardstock: Hibiscus Burst, Stamper's Select White, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Echo Park Yours Truly

Stamps: Buckets of Love by There She Goes Clear Stamps

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rose Bud, Copic markers

Embellishments: White Opal Liquid Pearls, Jody Boosters, Dazzling Details glitter (Stampin' Up), rose (Wild Orchid Crafts)

Tools: Classic Oval Nestabilities, Scallop Oval Nestabilities
Other: cellophane bag, Hershey's Kisses

Handmade Stick Pins and a Giveaway!

Hi there! I am participating in a swap on Split Coast Stampers for handmade stick pins. I love to use stick pins on my card, but it's hard to find pretty ones, so I was really excited to find this swap. This was the first time I made my own. I made five sets to swap, and then I made a bunch of others just to have on hand. They were so easy and fun to make.

I got these pins at Michael's. They are corsage pins. Hobby Lobby has corsage pins also, but theirs have more of an oblong pearl on top, and I liked the round pearl on the pins at Michael's. I shopped both craft stores for beads that were 50% off. Oh, and I also picked up some of the clear earring backs from Michael's (Hobby Lobby didn't have these), to put at the end to keep someone from getting poked.

My favorite beads were some I swiped from my Mama. :) It's okay...she said I could have them. Ha! It was a box of multi-colored pearls that she got at Walmart for around $9. They made the prettiest stick pins! They are the ones I used in the teapot pins below, but they made beautiful pins just by themselves. They come in different colors and sizes.

To make these pins, I just arranged my beads on the pins. Then, I added the earring cap. This kept my beads from falling off the pin. I actually did a whole bunch and then went back later and used my adhesive to attach the beads to the pins. I used Glossy Accents to attach the beads to the pins. I slid the beads down, used Glossy Accents in between each bead, and then slid the beads back up. Then I pushed up my earring back to hold it in place while it dried. I let them dry overnight just to be on the safe side, but I really don't know how long it actually takes to dry. You could use Super Glue to adhere the beads, and I did try this, but I liked the Glossy Accents better. If some of my adhesive seeped out a bit, it dried perfectly clear, whereas if the Super Glue seeped out, it dried white on the bead.

Again, I can't say enough how much fun these were. I made so many different styles and color combinations. I can't wait to make more, and I think you'll be seeing a lot of them on my cards!

Here are four of the five sets I made to swap. I even made a Christmas one! Oh, and check out those teapots! Aren't those precious? I got the teapot bead caps on ebay. Just search "teapot bead cap" and several different ones will come up. They're very inexpensive.

Because I had so many extras, I want to do a little giveaway here on my blog!

All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment here on this post. I'll pick two lucky commenters on October 24.

I'll be giving away a set of stick pins and a 6x6 BasicGrey paper pad to each winner! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Meljen's Release & Challenge

Hi there! It's Thursday, so that means there's a new release and challenge over at the Meljen's Designs blog! Melissa amazes us each week with her adorable, hand-drawn creations, and this week's images are no different...just so cute! Check out these Noah's Ark images!

This week's challenge is to make an ATC. I will just go ahead and admit that ATCs and I have never been very good friends, so I was just a bit scared of this challenge. However, when I saw these images, an idea came to mind, and making ATCs really wasn't so bad after all. :) My friend Rachel and her husband have tried for many years to have a baby, and after many trials, she is due next month with a healthy baby boy. This sweet baby boy truly is an answer to many prayers. They have jungle animals in the nursery, so I knew that these images would be so perfect for a handmade gift for the nursery, and I set out to make a frame of ATCs.

I used each digi in the set, and I colored them with Copic markers. I cut them out with Classic Circle Nestabilities and layered them on Kraft scalloped circles. The green ATC backgrounds were embossed with the Polka Dots embossing folder and stitched to a Kraft cardstock base. Brown brads were added to each corner. I cut out the words with my Cricut and some brown vinyl, which I added very simply to the blue cardstock base by using some transfer tape. I hardly ever use my Cricut, but it's projects like this that make me glad I have it! I put the finished page in an 8.5x11-inch frame that I got from Walmart. They didn't have any white frames, so this is a wooden one that I painted white.

Be sure to hop over to the Meljen's Designs blog to see the rest of the design team's creations today and to check out the challenge details. Have a great day! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (blue), Kraft (Bazzill)
Stamps: Noah's Ark digis by Meljen's Designs
Ink: Copic markers
Embellishments: brown brads
Tools: Cricut, sewing machine, Classic Circle Nestabilities, Scallop Circle Nestabilities

Hey Hot Stuff!

Hey y'all! I'm super excited about my first challenge post for Meljen's Designs! There is a super-cute new release today as well. Check out these new digis now available in the shop!

This week's challenge is to create a gift tag. I decided to make a tag for a candy jar using the "Hey Hot Stuff" image.

I picked up the jar in the kitchen section at Walmart and filled it with some heart-shaped Red Hots. My gift tag was super simple to make. I colored the image with Copic markers and layered it on a pink scalloped circle. Then, I layered that on a heart doilie. I added a ribbon to the rim of the jar and a button to finish it off.

You can check out all of the challenge details at the Meljen's Designs blog. I hope you'll play along with us this week. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Hey Hot Stuff by Meljen's Designs
Ink: Copic markers
Embellishments: ribbon (Offray), button
Tools: Classic Circle Nestabilities, Scalloped Circle Nestabilities
Other: glass jar, candy

Sweet Valentine's Treat

Hi there! I have something extra yummy to share with you today. I wanted to make something special for my Secret Valentine at school. We've been swapping gifts with a secret pal leading up until Valentine's Day when we will reveal who our secret pal is! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure my pal knows that it's me. I'm not very good at keeping secrets.

Here is what I made her for this week.

I have always wanted to try altering one of these clear paint buckets. I picked one up at Michael's the last time I was there. I knew that I wanted to fill this with something sweet for my pal.

I kept my design for the bucket very simple. I used a strip of Valentine's paper from my stash and edged it with my Fiskars Apron Lace border punch. Have y'all ever noticed that I use that on practically everything I make? Love it! I cut out a pink and a red heart with my Cricut and embossed them with my Cuttlebug and the swirls folder. I added a simple tag that I stamped to say "With Love from My Kitchen." That sentiment was from the Tag Treats set from Taylored Expressions.

Now, I know you're wondering what the treats were that I filled my bucket with! I made some peanut butter balls and dipped them in milk chocolate. Then, I used Wilton candy melts in red and white to drizzle them. We usually make these at Christmas and we never do the drizzling, but I wanted them to be festive for Valentine's Day. I found the candy melts on the Valentine's aisle at my Walmart, but they also have them at Hobby Lobby and Michael's.

If you do this, here's a tip for melting the red and white chocolate. I took the Wilton cake decorating classes at Hobby Lobby awhile back, so I had some cake decorating bags on hand. I put my desired amount of chocolate wafers (it doesn't take a lot) in each bag (without a decorating tip) and secured the bag with an icing bag tie. Then, I put the bags in the microwave and melted according to the package directions. After they were melted, I snipped off the edge and did my drizzling. That was the best part...fun! Here's how they turned out!

Peanut Butter Balls
16 ounces creamy peanut butter
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick of melted butter
Mix all ingredients together. Roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper to harden.
The chocolate that works best for these is the chocolate almond bark. It melts great and hardens quickly - no need to refrigerate. However, my peanut butter balls were a little soft prior to dipping, so I refrigerated them for a few minutes befor I dipped them in the chocolate. Also, it helps if you roll out all of the balls first, and then do the dipping. I use a toothpick to dip mine.
Enjoy! :)

{SSCC #22} Joshua 24:15

Happy Sunday! There's a new challenge up today at Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenges and the hostess is...ME! :) We are sponsored this week by Layers of Color. Speaking of them, they have this set that I just *have* to have. It's chickens! For those of you that don't know, we have all kinds of animals at my house, like chickens, goats, and bunnies. So, this set is perfect to make cards for my family. Of course, there are lots of other stamps sets to choose from in their store, so be sure and check them out! Also, they are generously donating this set to one random winner this week!

Scripture

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

I believe that a home based on Christ will always be filled with love, and it is so important for him to be first and foremost in the home.

Challenge

The challenge this week is to make a housewarming card or a project for the home.

For my take on the challenge, I chose to alter a canvas. I used some BasicGrey Wisteria scraps and printed the verse on the computer. I cut out "house" and "Lord" using Sure-Cuts-A-Lot with my Cricut. The house is from Ippity's Devoted set by Unity. I sponged the edges with brown ink. That was basically it...super easy! Now, I just have no idea what I'm going to do with this project. LOL!

I love what the design team did with the challenge this week, because there's quite a mixture of projects. Some did projects and some did cards, so there's definitely lots of different inspiration. Each creation is unique and so beautiful! Be sure and stop by the SSCC blog to check them out.

Have a great day!!

A Yummy Taylored Expressions Blog Hop!

It is a VERY happy day for me! I am sooo excited to get to be a part of the Taylored Expressions January Key Ingredients blog hop today! Taylor emailed me a few weeks ago and asked me to be a guest designer, along with some other talented ladies, and I didn't even have to think twice about it. I replied "yes!" right away. I think by now we all know how much I *love* Taylored Expressions. So, you can only imagine my surprise when I got Taylor's email. I've been looking forward to this day ever since then. I am so honored to be among such awesome talent today. Taylor, thank you again for this AMAZING opportunity! I think I'm still in shock...

Before I get to my project, I'd like to tell you a little about why I truly love being a Key Ingredients subscriber.

1) You absolutely cannot beat the AWESOME customer service!

2) I love that the shipping is only $7 and that you can place an order to combine with your Key Ingredients and save 10% on that order. That's not all! You also get free shipping since it is combined with your Key Ingredients!

3) I'm horrible at "matching" things, so I love that the hard part is already done for me. It makes card-making a breeze. The products are also of great quality, great variety, and all-in-all, it's a great value.

4) This one may sound silly, but I just love getting that happy mail every month! Sometimes I come home from a hard day at school, and it just makes me so happy to see that package. I can open it up and go play and forget about all the stress.

Now, let's get to the good stuff!

Taylor's challenge was to let food inspire you. Use your favorite foods or sweet treats as a jumping off point for your creations! Use food images, create recipe cards, or other creations for your kitchen.

I knew immediately what I wanted to do for this challenge. Awhile back my sweet Sassy Blinging Babes and I did a 6x6 recipe card swap. I've had all of these beautiful creations from my babes with no album to store them in. So, I took on the challenge and came up with this...

I purchased this great stand from the TE store. I wanted to spray paint it white, and I actually tried to, but the windy 20-degree weather wasn't exactly cooperating with me last Saturday. Paint doesn't really dry in that kind of weather. I knew that spray painting inside would be a huge mess, so the stand itself isn't finished yet. You get the general idea, though.

I kept my design of the cover and divider pages very simple. When that cute striped paper caught my eye, I knew that I wanted it for the cover page. It reminded me of an apron. Of course, I had to use my Fiskars Apron Lace punch (my favorite!) and I did lots of stitching around my borders. I used Modge Podge on the cover and for the last step, I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch two holes for eyelets. All of the word cut-outs are from the Cricut From My Kitchen cartridge. This cartridge has really inspired me to use my Cricut more. It has TONS of stuff on it.

For my divider pages, I did not use Modge Podge since I was putting them in page protectors. The timer and pot holder were both from the From My Kitchen cartridge.

This was my favorite page to do because I love cupcakes so much!

Now, I'd love to share with you some exciting news about Taylored Expressions!

**There is a Brand Spankin' New Key Ingredients Website! I am so excited about this. My favorite part is the gallery, so that I can get inspiration and see what others have created with the kit. It's so great to see how many people took the same products and all created something different, yet beautiful.

**Limited Time Subscription Special - Purchase (or renew) a 6 month subscription on or before January 17th and receive a FREE Key Ingredients kit upon the completion of your 6 month subscription. This kit (a $23.95 value including shipping) will be an exclusive kit that will never be available in the TE Store! I just renewed my subscription for 6 months and I cannot wait to see the free kit!

**Beat the price increase - As of January 18th, prices will increase to $23.95 per month for 6 month subscriptions and $25.95 per month for 3 month subscriptions. However, if you subscribe or renew by January 17th you’ll receive the current pricing of $21.95 per month for 6 months or $22.95 per month for 3 months. You can renew your subscription no matter how many months you have remaining on your current subscription. Your renewal will simply add 3 or 6 additional months. Remember you only get the FREE EXCLUSIVE KI with the 6 month option. Just click here to sign up!
Thank you so much for stopping by today, and I hope you enjoyed seeing what I created. Be sure to hop around and see what the Baker's Dozen as well as the other guest designers have in store for you. I'm positive you'll love what you see!

Laura Leonard
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Mercurio
Randi Barrett
Sunghee Chon
Kathie Bailey
Taylor VanBruggen
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melissa Sauls
Donna Baker
Charmaine Ikach
Jeanie Witmer

Have a GREAT day! :)