Piccadilly Peddlers

Noir Halloween

2011-10-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

I just love the black and white Halloween decor I've been seeing throughout the blogosphere for the last few years. I have a little black bench in my entry way and this is how I added my own Noir Halloween touch to it. I taught a class today about the french artist, Henri Mattisse and have french on the brain.My favorite part is the lovely iron scroll tied on with ribbon. Those scroll handles are impossible to find in Texas. Fortunately "Pick your Plum" hooked me up! I made one available on my Etsy shop today. It's a little late in the season to sell Halloween decor, I know. But, just getting a jump on next year...or something.

Story Book Baby Shower

2011-09-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Two of my adorable friends are having babies any day now. In honor of their hard work, I hosted a story book baby shower for them last Saturday.

The event was so much fun to put together. I had a blast living vicariously through them for a few days! Most of the decor was made up from found items in my own house.

For example, an old paperback became this wreath.

I never really did like that book anyway. I won't share which one I mutilated at risk of ticking someone off!

A little close-up!

The same book made its way into my pinwheels.

Obviously, I was going for a grey and yellow theme. One of the moms to be wanted to keep the gender of her baby a surprise, so things needed to be androgynous. Beside, yellow and grey just look so chic together!

These bins may have been my favorite part of the whole shebang!

Found them at Lowes near the paint section and then spruced them up with some vinyl and ribbon.

More book pages were used to make the fanned circles for the garland

and of course, some more pinwheels.

You can't have a baby shower without delicious munchies. I started by brainstorming some nursery rhyme themed treats (Martha Stewarts web site helped out a bit here). Several sweet friends of my contributed by offering to bring some of the dishes. I never could have pulled it off without them! Seriously, I never could have made multiple dishes by myself, and have them taste good, and have a clean house for every one to party in.

We had Little Miss Muffets Tuffits.

Little Boy Blueberry Muffins

Humpty Dumpty Deviled Eggs

Mary Quite Contrary's Garden Salad

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Parmesan Stars

Little Bo Peep's Punch

Jack and Jill's Water

And you can't forget...the Dish ran away with the spoon

Another Book wreath acted as a center piece

And mini books and stars were strung as a backdrop

I wanted all the serving trays to be silver but, only had a few. Thus, I supplemented with a couple $1.99 plastic ones from Hobby Lobby. They blended in perfectly.

I loved the flowery table runner down the center. I saw it at Home Goods and had to take it home. I'm thinking it might find its way onto my Easter Table next year as well. The mini star tea light holders added a touch of sparkle. I found them a couple of years ago at Walmart of all places.

Before my guest left, I made sure each received a bookmark to take home

I made them using bottle caps and jumbo paper clips

That's pretty much a wrap. We just added some lovely ladies and some terribly fine books and had ourselves a great time.

It was scrumdidillyumptious!

Pantry

2011-07-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a snazzy new decal added just this morning to my Etsy Shop.

Isn't she cute?

Up close and personal

I'm loving the wreath hanging above. Just a little something from Desert Book store to remind me of my trip to Salt Lake last year.

Playing catch-up

2011-05-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give my blogger friends a peek at what I've been up to lately. O.k. lets be honest, it's been A WHILE and these projects took place over a couple of months. Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of what I've really been up to. A.K.A. running after three boys who don't like to wear clothes but do like to make messes. Anyways, it's nice to post a little progress every once in a while. So, here it goes.

I revamped my office with some Roman numerals.

Made a birthday cookie for a cute 2 year old.

Made some fun baby shower gifts.

Gave our Young Women's Easter lesson at church. I made these blocks using 1"x2"x7" wood and vinyl.

And showered some teachers with appreciation. These are some bottle cap magnets packaged on an upside down metal lid.

We love our Momma's

2011-04-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

We love our momma's don't we! Sure, sometimes they drive us crazy. But, most of the time they're knock-your-socks-off amazing. This saying pretty much sums up how I feel about my own mom. She's such a sweet Grandma.

Just last week she surprised my boys through Easter Cards in the mail. They came complete with stickers tucked inside. She does so many little things that make life special.

In honor of all the amazing moms out there, I designed these little plaques just in time for the Mother of all holidays (ok, it's really late, sorry).

There's a stack in my Etsy shop waiting to be given to some well deserving MOMs.

A chance to Give a little ... and Receive

2011-04-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Hope you're having beautiful weekends. This weekend has two birthday parties in store for my eight year old. That means two birthday gifts to shop for (insert a little grumbling by me). So, I decided to use my skills as a crafter and a cheapskate to create them some personalized gifts.

I bought a couple of T-shirts and some of this screen printing paint at Hobby Lobby.

My son and his friends are really into Pokemon right now, so I decided to paint their favorite Pokemon characters on their shirts. I did this by using a vinyl decal as a stencil. I found the graphics online and then weeded out the negative areas of the decals.

I stuffed a little foil inside the shirts to keep the paint from bleeding through.

Once they were dry, I combined them with some dollar store silly string for a couple of extra fun birthday gifts.

Then, I printed out a couple for vinyl decals for the birthday bags ($.50 at Hobby Lobby)

In total, since I was able to get the shirts 50% off, the gifts cost only $4.50 each (and that included the gift bag and silly string). Not bad considering I've spent almost that much before on a gift bag alone. And...bonus! I have lots of screen paint left over to make more shirts. My husband has already put in several requests involving old punk bands and sports teams.

Now, here's for the serious part of this post. While making these Pokemon shirts, I kept thinking about the country where Pokemon was created. A country full of good, honest, kind people who are now in serious need. While my kids are off to birthday parties this weekend, many kids in Japan are just trying to stay warm and find something to eat. We have so much, it just doesn't seem fair. I desperately want to do something to help but, like most people, we live on a budget. I'd love to just write a fat check, but then what would I do next month when the mortgage is due.

So... that's how I hatched this little scheme. I own an Etsy shop called Piccadilly Peddlers. For the next week, (April 18th through April 24th). I am going to donate all the proceeds from sales of in-stock items from my shop to the American Red Cross for the aid of individuals of Japan. Yep, you read that correctly...100% of the proceeds. Here's where you guys can help. All you have to do is go to my shop, pick something out and buy it. It's a win-win situation. You get something you love for your home or a friend, and you also feel great that the entire price is going to people who need that dough much more than we do.

My job will be to do my best to keep up. Watch out if you live near me, you might be enlisted.

If you can't afford to buy something right now, I totally understand, but maybe you could just spread the word. If you love this idea, and want to do something similar on your own, then by all means, do it! I'd be over the moon to see this idea catch on.

I'll be spreading the word myself by linking up to some of these parties.

I really hope I'll be making a nice donation to the American Red Cross on Easter Sunday!

Teacher appreciation subway tile

2011-04-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my son came home with a PTA calendar for the month. A quick scan revealed that Teacher Appreciation week is only four weeks away. This year it's being held May 2nd through May 6th. Every year I tell myself that I'll come up with some adorable and personalized crafts for our beloved teachers. But, the reality is that I put it off every year until the last minute when I inevitably throw a notepad and candy bar in the back pack instead. Don't get me wrong, I'm pro notepads and candy bars. They're both delicious and useful. But, since I'm a crafter through and through, I feel like I can do a bit better.

So, this year I'm turning over a new leaf! Presenting... teacher appreciation subway art!

I made them from 6" wide boards cut into squares. Then I painted them white, roughed them up with some sandpaper and then added a touch of antiquing glaze. My glaze was found at Lowes in their paint section and I can't praise the product enough!

The vinyl decal was designed by me on my Sign Blazer software, using a few of my favorite fonts. I stress the word FEW because really there are so many winning fonts out there!

I finished them off with a piece of skinny beading twine.

I made a few extra and have them in my Etsy shop while they last.
I love linky parties and will participate in a few of these.

Three new designs

2011-04-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a little break from all the Girl's camp crafts to share three new designs that were recently added to My Etsy Shop. First of all, I have to apologize for the spacing of these images. There was a lot of negative space involved that I can't seem to get rid of.

Now I just have to find a perfect spot for each one :)

Girl's camp craft #4 - Flower pins

2011-03-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

This craft was super easy on the pocket book. We asked for fabric donations and ended up with way more than we even needed. The other supplies included safety pins and hot glue. Since we were lucky enough to have a hefty stash of both in our stake young women's closet, we got by without spending a single penny. Cha Ching! Bonus: the girls looked super cute walking around camp with flowers pinned to their hats, backpacks, sweaters, etc.

Here are the instructions I provided our young women:

Flower Pins

1. Start by heating up a hot glue gun. Make sure you keep it on something that it can’t damage (there’s a trivet provided). Also, please, PLEASE don’t burn yourself! A little glue goes a long ways so, prevent dripping on yourself by using just a tiny bit. I think most of the little hot glue guns don’t heat up as hot and thus are better than the large ones!

2. Cut a long strip of fabric about 2-3” wide.

3. Fold it in half and then fold it in half again. A little hot glue can help keep it folded.

4. Roll it around itself a few times. This will be the center of your flower. Secure with hot glue.

5. Now, wrap the fabric around the roll while twisting it to form petals. After every twist, use a dab of hot glue to hold it.

6. When your flower is as big as you want it or you run out of fabric, cut a circle out of matching fabric to use as a backing. It doesn’t need to be perfect but, it should be slightly smaller than your flower.

7. Now cut two slits in the back of your circle to allow a place for your safety pin to poke through.

8. Slide the safety pin into position and then hot glue it down to the center, back of your flower

Finish it off by hot glue the edges of the circle down around the back of the flower.

Now you can pin it to sweaters, headbands, hats, jackets, purses, backpacks, etc.

Girls camp craft #3 - Bottle cap magnets

2011-03-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

I think the bottle cap magnets were the crowd favorite craft at girl's camp this year. Everyone was having such a hard time choosing just one to make. I think next year we might make a set eight that incorporate all the young women value colors. Cute idea right? Anyways, here's how we created these little pretties.

Bottle Cap Magnets

1. Using the 1” circle punch, punch the circle image you choose to use out of the photo paper. Be careful not to destroy any of the other images so others can use them. When punching, hold the punch upside down so you can see that you are punching in the correct spot.

2. Now apply modge podge to the inside of a bottle cap using a small paint brush

3. Place your circle image inside the center of the bottle cap

4. Apply another layer of modge podge to the top of your image to make sure everything is sealed in.

5. After the modge podge has dried (this takes a few minutes) apply glossy accents inside the bottle cap, covering your image. You don’t need to fill the whole bottle cap up. In fact, we would prefer you don’t so we have enough glossy accents for everyone’s project.

6. Now squeeze a small amount of E-600 glue onto the back of a magnet and glue it to the back of your bottle cap. Don’t tip your bottle cap upside down while doing this or the glossy accents will run out. ***Make sure the magnetic side of the magnet is facing out so it will work as a magnet for your fridge or magnet board.

7. Find a safe place for it to dry. It will take about 24 hours.

Girls camp craft #2 - Subway art

2011-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

For the second craft I put together for our Girl's Camp was a simple little subway art project based on our camp's theme. Our theme was the word "SEEK" taken from the 13th article of Faith. "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent...if there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, we SEEK after these things." Obviously, I own a vinyl cutter and thus was able to do this craft really inexpensively. I just donated all my time to the project. Crazy amount of time, but it was worth is to work with those sweet girls. Anyways, here are the instructions we gave the girls for the project.

SEEK Subway Art

1. Choose a block of wood and write your name on the back

2. Paint the sides and front of your wood black

3. Sand the edges after the paint dries

Apply your vinyl decal.

a. Your decal comes in a sheet of letters made up of three layers. (1) the top layer – or transfer tape (2) the middle layer – which are the letters themselves (3) the shiny blue backing layer

b. Carefully peel of the blue backing layer. Start at a corner and peel back slowly, carefully making sure the letters stay on the transfer tape

c. Now position your decal on your painted wood square and make sure everything is centered. Rub it onto the board.

d. Slowly peel off the transfer tape, leaving the letters themselves on your wood square.

Your completed project should look something like this:

Hope you Love it!

Girls camp projects

2011-03-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months I've been in Girl's Camp craft land. Girl's camp is a yearly program done in our church for the young women ages 12-18. They all camp together and have projects and experiences that help them form friendships and grow spiritually and emotionally. We chose to do that this year during spring break cause it's so smoking hot here in the summer. The weather in March was awesome and the camp was beautiful so I highly recommend it for all you southern gals. I was asked a couple months ago to oversee the crafts for our girls at camp. That meant I put together 10 crafts for almost 200 gals on the cheap - very cheap. It was an insane couple of months with MANY trips to Hobby Lobby using that 40% off coupon. I'm still tired from it all. However, it went smoothly (for the most part) and I've even decided the ideas were worth sharing since they could be used for all kinds of crafty gatherings.

The first project I worked on were scrabble tile necklaces - here are the instructions I gave the girls:

Scrabble Tile necklaces

1. Get a small paper plate and write your name and cabin on it. This project requires some drying time and we need a safe place for everyone’s to dry.

2. Choose one of the little square pictures on the photo paper and carefully cut it out. We need all those pictures so don’t cut through anyone else’s!

Spread a little modge podge on a scrabble tile. Do this on the side you want covered up by your picture.

Center the picture on top and trim the edges using the exacto knife. Only do this on top of the glass cutting map (we don’t want to ruin any tables!) Please, please, be careful. The exacto blade is extremely sharp. If you don’t trust yourself, ask a leader to do it for you.

5. Now apply modge podge to the top of your cute little picture and around the edges to seal everything up really well.

After the modge podge has dried (this takes a few minutes) apply the glossy accents. Start by making a border around the outside edges and then filling in the middle. Don’t use too much or it will slide off the edges. If you get a bubble in your glossy accents, you can use a straight pin to pull it out.

7. Now we have to wait 24 hours for your tile to dry before we can glue on the bail- that’s the silver thing that holds your necklace chain or ribbon.

8. Next day – now that your tile is dry, flip it over and apply a small amount of E-600 glue to the back, top, middle. That’s to glue on your little silver bail. Make sure you don’t glue in on upside down or backwards.

Choose a ribbon or cord to serve as your necklace chain. It will be ready to wear as soon as the glue dries (about 24 hours).

They turned out so cute and the girls loved them. The images were ones I came up with using digital scrapbook elements in photoshop elements. The scrapbook goodies mostly came from Creativity by Crystal.

Have fun crafting!

Do not Disturb please!

2011-02-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine came to me the other day with a little dilemma. Her husband, who works from home on a regular basis was tired of being interrupted at the most inopportune moments by his sweet but talkative daughters. A little creativity sparked the idea for a sign on their home office door that explained..."I'm on the phone right now, so don't bug me" on one side, and on the other side..."I'm working but if you need something, it's ok to come in and ask me". What a mouthful, right? I wished I had a picture of the original hand-drawn sign that her girls came up with. It was seriously precious (complete with illustrations), although maybe a bit on the tacky side. My friend wanted to surprise her husband with something a little more permanent and succinct that could take the place of her daughter's 8 1/2" by 11" piece of paper. Here's what I came up with...

A two sided board for the door knob. One side reads...

And the other side looks like this...

Hopefully this will simplify their family's life. They've got such a fun family. Maybe it could even benefit a family you know. I made an extra just in case. It will show up in my etsy shop soon.

Will you be mine?

2011-02-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hi there all you lovers out there!With valentines day right around the corner, I thought it was finally time for me to give cupid a nod and share my valentines decor. Wish I would have posted this earlier right? Better late than never.

A little LOVE for the Mantel

And for the Kitchen window.

Look at how frosty its been outside that window! I know its pathetic compared to the entire Northern 2/3 of the United States, but for San Antonio, this is down right shocking!

Seriously! It required a work at home day...

LOVE it when he gets to work from home!

And it needed a cinnamon roll with hot chocolate breakfast to take off the chill. Yum!

Just look at all that winter gear drying on my impromptu clothesline. Dripping from a morning trying to make snowballs. I say trying because the success rate was limited.

But, it did put me in the mood to create a bunch of these.

I've been giving them out to happy teachers and friends all week.

And I finally got around to printing off this.

Isn't it amazing? It's a free printable from here. She did a Christmas one too that I had Costco print out at the same time. I'm storing it behind the valentines one in the same frame. I really, really hope she has time to do them for every holiday this year. Wouldn't that be fantastic!

Next to it I filled my bubbly cloche with LOVE.

I just LOVE that cloche. I scored it at the Pottery Barn outlet for $4!

Those letters are propped up using a little votive holder and some strategically placed scotch tape.

Another cold winter years ago prompted me to stitch these.

Super cheap to make and super good for stress relief. I seem to always have an ongoing stitching project or two.

Hope you all have a lovely valentines days followed shortly by some lovely weather!

5th Birthday

2011-01-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

My middle child turned five last week!

Very exciting, especially if you're the birthday boy. I told him that this was his year for a birthday party. We made a rule a couple years ago that birthday parties with friends would happen only every other year. On the off years, they'd get to celebrate with family, but I wouldn't host a big party. My three boys have birthdays in the months of January, February, and March. Three in a row! I would go nuts if I tried to plan and execute a big party for each of them every year. All the same, this year was his big 5 and that meant we sat down together and planned a little party. In years past, I've scoured the internet for cute birthday party themes and then made immaculate arrangements to go with the chosen theme. They're very cute, but they're also a ton of work and often pretty expensive. And, frankly, the little boys don't even appreciate them. I've even had a stressed-out birthday boy in tears at his own party. Pretty sure it had something to do with how stressed out his mom was. So, this year I decided to simplify and just ask the five year old what he wanted.

It went something like this:

Me: what kind of birthday party do you want this year?

Him: Star wars

Me: ok, what do you want do at your star wars party?

Him: decorate gingerbread houses.

Me: really? you know it will be after Christmas

Him: no, it will still be Christmas. Remember the 12 days of Christmas mom?

Me: hmmm...ok, do you want to do anything besides decorate gingerbread houses like play a game or have a piñata.

Him: No. just gingerbread houses.

Me: ok, what kind of cake do you want?

Him: Commander Cody (from star wars the clone wars)

Me: ok, do you want ice cream?

Him: yes, I want vanilla

Me: you can have any flavor you want. Are you sure you want vanilla?

Him: yes

Me: do you want to put toppings on it, like caramel?

Him: no, just vanilla.

Me: ok...how should we decorate the house for you party?

Him: with blue streamers and blue balloons.

Me: anything else, any other colors.

Him: no, just blue

Me: Ok, I can do that. Who do you want to invite to your party?

Him: he lists three friends

Me: what about so and so, or so and so

Him: no, just those three

Me: alrighty then

You can see I had a bit of a hard time with this whole simplify approach. I kept trying to complicate things to make then fit my opinions and designs. But, in the end, I spent $2 on streamers and balloons that I bought at walmart. We had over three friends who spent the whole time decorating gingerbread houses that I purchase at walmart's after Christmas clearance sale.

And then we had to tear them away from the decorating project to open presents and eat cake with vanilla ice cream. They took their gingerbread houses home as their party favor and everyone left with huge smiles on their faces. It was easily the simplest birthday party I've ever thrown, and definitely the most successful. No one was stressed, no one cried because they didn't win a game, everyone was more than eager to decorate a gingerbread house, and everyone loved their vanilla ice cream.

I've been schooled by a five year old. Seriously, he knew more about throwing a successful party for he and his friends than I did.

I did, however, put my own spin on the commander Cody cake. I think he appreciated it...I think.

It's made using two stacked eight inch round cakes that I carved to look helmet-ish. Then I covered it in homemade marshmallow fondant. I got the recipe here.

Happy, Happy Birthday to my favorite five year old!

Another project bites the dust

2011-01-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

I'm listening to my kids playing DJ hero in the background. They're mixing the tune, "Another one Bites the Dust". Subliminal messages creeping into my post title. Anyhow, I did get to check another project off my to do list last week. It felt awesome since it had been on the list for almost an entire year.

It all came about when last spring I asked my seven year old what he wanted his room to look like in our new house. We had a little planning session. Some of his ideas got vetoed due to complexity (he's a very creative soul). However one idea he had that I wanted to run with was to have a giant map of the world in his room. The kid loves maps! He gets more excited at amusement parks about the map he gets to carry around then the rides or food. And if we enter a bookstore, he zooms towards the atlases.

I adored the whole map idea. First of all, we are talking CHEAP artwork! And secondly, very educational. I'd love my children to be more globally minded and what better way to start than with a global picture :) So, the next time we went to the bookstore, I bought the giant map in the atlas section ($10 - not bad). But, that's where my enthusiasm slowed down. The project got pushed to the back of my list and even though every few weeks my sweet boy would ask about it, I didn't deliver. Finally, I got motivated and made that map happen.

Here's a simple tutorial for anyone who wants to add this to their own home.

First I measured the outside of the map and bought enough molding at home depot to cut a frame. When measuring, don't forget that you'll need enough to account for the angled cuts at the corners. So, add the width of the molding times two and the width of the map together to get the total width of molding you need (of course you have to do that for all four sides to get a complete length needed). It's always a good rule of thumb to over buy a bit in case you make a mistake.

Then I used my miter saw to cut the four pieces of molding to make up my frame. My best framing tip is to measure and cut one side out, and then use that already cut piece to trace the next side out. This works better than measuring them separately because they always end up being off slightly. When building a frame, the two sides opposite each other need to be exact mirror images of each other or the frame will not line up correctly and you'll end up with gaps in your corners.

I tried to adjoin the corners of my large-ish frame using a plate joiner - otherwise known as a biscuit cutter. However, the molding I chose was not thick enough for my plate joiner (thank goodness for wood filler). So, instead I did the best I could with glue and staples on the back. This made for a rather flimsy frame so, in the end I ended up just screwing the frame directly into the wall around the map. I was trying to avoid this so it could be easily moved but, that ended up being the best option. I was too afraid of it being knocked down while my boys used the bed as a wrestling arena.

I spray painted the frame to match my son's headboard. But spray paint definitely isn't the only option. I chose Krylon brand (found it at Lowes) satin spray paint in navy blue. It required a couple coats.

Before bringing the frame inside, I taped the map directly to the wall making sure it was centered and level.

Then, my son helped me carry it upstairs and held it steady while I used a drill to attach it into place.

Here it is hung up with the bed actually made. Woohoo! (that remark was for both the completed map and the neat bed)

Let's get organized part I

2011-01-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Every January I get the urge to organize the chaos in my life. Not sure if that has more to do with detoxing from Christmas clutter or a new year with new beginnings. Irregardless, its nice to actually get something done that results in a lasting improvement. All you multi-tasking moms know what I'm talking about. We're always busy but, usually it's busy with things that we'll just have to do again tomorrow. Sometimes, we have to do them again in 20 minutes. Thus, sinking our teeth into a task that will actually change the way we live, or at least the way our closets look, now that feels awesome.

Speaking of closets, we've been blessed with quite a few good sized ones. However, sometimes that means just more room for things to get messy in. Last week, I made a simple adjustment that has already proven to be most helpful. I added shelves.

Previously, our closets had one shelf way up high above the top clothes rack/rod, whatever you call that thing . I just added a second shelf above the lower clothes rod thingy.

It was super simple. I bought prefinished MDF shelving boards and cut them to length. Then I slide them in and added a couple of screws. Since the racks were already in place, that's all there was too it. No routing, painting, sanding, etc. required. And, they were very affordable. I really don't know why the builder and/or previous home owner didn't do it before. Because having extra shelves totally rocks!

And now I have a place to store my 5 year old's six sets of Legos he got for Christmas and his birthday. That's right, 6 sets - mostly star wars. He's slightly obsessed.

I used some vinyl labels to keep things organized. This is only three of the six boxes he now has in there. I'm liking these labels so much that I think I'm going to add them to my laundry room and pantry (hence the part I title). Hopefully I'll even add them to my etsy shop soon.

Do you guys have any favorite organizing tips.

Luv Sweet Luv

2011-01-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

Monday was my mother in laws birthday. To help her celebrate her special day, I made a little something to adorn her home for valentines day.

I followed the same idea as the Peace on Earth Banner I made for Christmas.

Lots of fun papers in a valentine hue, modge podged on Bazzill Basics Chipboard.

Click here to see the details on making those flowers.

This time, however, a little heart in the center.

I used my own vinyl letters to finish it off.

And strung it on a sweet ribbon.

Have fun crafting for LUV.

I'm participating in some of these parties.

Best Orange Sugar Cookies ever!

2011-01-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

Man I really shouldn't be writing this post right now. Those beautiful cookies are making me hungry... and not for salad. I made these last week before my resolution to avoid sugar began. But, for all you smart girls out there who don't make silly resolutions to deny yourselves of life's simple pleasures, this is one recipe you really should have in your back pocket. These cookies are super scrumptious. They actually inspired my baby to learn a new word. "Cookie" Yup, he spoke it often while these were sitting on the counter. Believe me, they weren't there for long. Enough already! Here's the good stuff:

Orange - iced sugar cookies

2 cups flour
1 teas baking powder
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teas vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating well to combine. With mixer on low, add half flour mixture followed by sour cream, then remaining flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Scoop onto greased cookie sheet and bake until cookies are set but not browned. about 12 minutes. Cool and frost.

Icing:
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons Orange juice
1/2 teas lemmon zest
1/2 teas vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
2 drops yellow food coloring & 2 drops red food coloring

1/2 cup Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips
Melt chocolate in microwave at half-power stirring often. Transfer melted chocolate to small Ziploc bag. Snip on small corner off of bag and pipe a thin ribbon of chocolate back and forth across the cookies. Let chocolate set before serving or packaging.

Try these! You'll be so glad you did.
p.s. they freeze well too!

Mini Tin Tiled Magnet Board

2010-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I was hidden away in my garage working in a creative frenzy. I had several projects under way including one that involves some rusty tin tiles for my bathroom. I'm sure I'll post about that at a latter date. However, right now the spotlight is on this little craft I made using leftovers. It measures about 7.5" inches square so, it's not a big impact piece. But, it is a lovely little accent and is utilitarian beside. Those two white dots you see are actually magnets. Thus, it's a mini magnet board. Let me show you how awesome little magnet boards can be...

You could use it as a picture frame.

Yup, that's my hubby and I in our early years.

It could work over time in your kitchen to hold your current recipe card.

yummy recipe by the way.

It could be used in the bathroom to hold little love notes.

It could be used in the office to hold a to do list, or a grocery list, etc...

Well, you get the picture. Not only is it lovely but it earns its keep as well.

I had enough materials to make a couple and have posted them in my etsy shop.

Now I have to go grate a pound of cheese by hand for my fondue party tonight. The good stuff never comes pre-grated. So sad, but worth the elbow grease. mmmmmm

Our Christmas Traditions

2010-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas is by far the highlight of the year for me. I stretch it out as long as reasonably possible. The decorations go up right after Thanksgiving and don't come down till that new years ball has dropped. Even though its almost behind us, I wanted to share a few of my favorite traditions with you. They're nothing complicated but they do make us happy and thus are worth repeating.

Firstly, the card pantry. Every year I try to get my Christmas cards in the mail right after Thanksgiving to make sure everyone on the list is given our correct address (we move a lot) and a little Christmas card enthusiasm. I know that postage has gotten expensive and I know that blogging and face book has taken away a lot of need for the traditional card. But, I STILL LOVE THEM! Opening my mailbox in December is THE BEST. It warms my heart to see the sweet notes and smiling pictures of our loved ones. I'm hanging onto this tradition as long as I can!

Another tradition we love...our Christmas Eve TAMALE FEAST! They may not pretty, but we love these tasty guys. Maybe it's because we live 2 hours from the border, or maybe it's because half the US population is now Hispanic, but the stores around here always have lots of Tamales on hand the week before Christmas. Every year I tell myself I'm going to learn to make them, and every year I just buy them instead. Hey, I'm not super mom or anything. Plus, Costco makes some very delicious tamales!

A cute little tradition that came from my husband's family is to have a birthday cake for baby Jesus with our Christmas dinner. I love how this helps the young crowd remember why we really celebrate Christmas after all and it leads to great conversations during Christmas dinner. And, I LOVE the way a few cheap candy canes dresses up a simple white cake from a box. My secret ingredient is a cup of coconut mixed into the butter cream. YUM! This cake is never around for long.

And I saved this one for last because I have a fantastic recipe to share. Every year we have Butterscotch rolls for breakfast. You have to try these because not only are they a crowd pleaser, but they take just a few minutes to put together. Here's the famed recipe:

Christmas Morning Goodness (Butterscotch Rolls)

18-24 Rhodes rolls
1 package butterscotch pudding (not instant)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Layer rolls in a well greased bundt pan - don't thaw. Pour dry pudding mix over rolls. Melt butter and brown sugar and pour over rolls, then sprinkle with nuts. Let raise 8 hours to overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (watch closely after about 30 minutes so that they don't burn).

Enjoy!

aftermath

2010-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

I went a little crazy at the after Christmas sales. Soooo many good deals.

My number one after Christmas shopping tip is to buy next year's wrapping paper at World Market. They always mark their wrapping paper down by 75%. That's a bit better than the 50% off that most stores offer. And furthermore...their wrapping paper is THE BEST. We're talking big rolls of thick, gorgeous paper. I get asked every year where I get my cute paper and well, there you have it.

After my little shopping spree. I came home and picked these from my garden.

I live in THE STRANGEST place. Seriously, it's almost January and I'm getting bushels of tomatoes. Last week I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce with them. Anyone know a good salsa recipe!?

We believe!

2010-12-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

Like many people,I hold my beliefs close to my heart. I believe in all kinds of things. I believe in God, I believe in families, I believe in my kids, I could go on and on. When I saw the LDS young Women's theme for 2011, I knew I wanted it displayed in my house. Here it is in abbreviated form:

This sentiment is like a little daily reminder of those beliefs. Every time I see it, I feel blessed for my beliefs and my hopes. In case you're getting sentimental the way I did when I first saw this, I am offering the vinyl decal to make your own little reminder in my ETSY shop. My decal measures 3" tall by 11" wide. It fits perfectly on a 4" by 12" block of wood or tile. To learn more about what I believe, click here. I'm so grateful to have these beliefs to hold onto because simply said, life is hard and we all need a little hope!

Little Debbie knock offs

2010-12-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my eldest son got into the car after church, bragging that he got 3 Christmas tree shaped brownies in his Primary class (our church's name for children's Sunday school). Three brownies of the Little Debbie variety and he ate them all up! I know, disgusting on several levels. Needless to say, he didn't each much lunch. But, this left my four year old green with envy. Never mind that his teacher showered his class that week with three adorable crafts. When you're a four year old little boy, tummies are very, very important to you. So, he asked me in a very sweet voice if we could make Christmas tree brownies when we got home. My thoughts immediately turned to the six dozen cookies and three loaves of banana bread I'd made just days before. Do we really need brownies too! But, that voice was so sweet and it rarely is used in such a polite way and so, I gave in and said yes. He had to drag me from my nap to do it. I said I was so tired, but again he wooed me by saying it wouldn't be hard. I could just get the ingredients out and he'd put them in and do the rest. What a sweet boy! So off to the kitchen aid we went and made one SMALL pan of brownies from scratch. Lucky for me, there was extra frosting already in the fridge left over from last week's cookie marathon. And thus, surprisingly, it really wasn't hard at all.

They turned out pretty cute don't you think?

Peace on Earth Garland tutorial

2010-12-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

This little Garland has been adorning my mantel this holiday season. I wanted to share a tutorial on its creation.

It all began with the lovely tinsel & twig paper collection by The Girls' Paperie

I modge podged swatches of the paper onto 2" square chip board

Each square was then hole punched in the top corners.

I created some vinyl letters for myself and rubbed them on. Then, I strung the decorated chip board on some ribbon.

The paper flowers were made using 12 strips of 4" by 1/5" paper.

Each was folded and scotch taped at the end. Then a little hot glue connected them all at the center. I glued together a set of six at a time and then connected the two halves. The centers were pre-made dimensional stickers from the twig and tinsel paper collection. But, you could probably substitute buttons, flowers, etc.

The flowers got a couple of hole-punches too and slid up next to the chipboard.

The whole garland was lite enough to tape up with scotch tape.

Here's to much, much more Peace on Earth!

I just might link up to a couple of these parties:

Christmassy time of the year

2010-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

I hopped onto Becky Higgins (isn't she the best!) blog for a few minutes this afternoon and got inspired by her family's holiday decor. I may not be Becky but, I do have some favorite decorations around my house that make me feel merry and bright this time of year. I wanted to share some of them with you.

An oldy but a goody, I used to sell tons of these stackers at Mckinney Trade days. I saved on for myself and am glad it's still around.

My impromptu wrapping station came about because I was tired of dragging the gift wrap box out from under the bed every other day. I love these colors and lots of polka dots!

To remind me what snowflakes look like :)

My sweet SIL gave this sconce to me for my birthday. I'm looking forward to changing it's topper seasonally.

found this cute guy at a Christmas bazaar a few years ago with my mom. Now he sits in the kitchen window.

LOVE this idea! just turn a bell jar upside down, fill with ornaments and then cover the bottom to upright. My bell jar is from West Elm but, I found it at the outlets for $4! I know, SERIOUSLY filled with possibilities.

A close up of the Christmas tree. I couldn't get the lighting right to take one of the whole thing. It's fairly eclectic but tons of memories in those ornaments.

A new addition this year. The letters were originally a plain white from Hobby Lobby and I jazzed them up with scrapbooking goodies.

My favorite...our nativity scene! My mother in Law sent a section of it each year for several years. I love having a beautiful nativity to remind us each year what we're really celebrating.

Here's a close-up of the garland. Maybe if I get really on the ball, I'll post a tutorial of this one.

That's all for now. There's more, but my dinner is burning. What are your favorite holiday decorations?

A Wedding and A Monogram

2010-12-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got to take a little trip to spend time with family and attend the wedding of my cousin.

Here's the happy couple.

Their special day began with a beautiful ceremony here:

The bride called me a few months ago to ask for my ideas and help with the reception. Since I'm the vinyl decal queen, that's quickly where my thoughts turned. I designed the cute couple a monogram and then stuck it everywhere. Here it is on the chapel doors.

I wish my pictures were better but the evening reception lighting was all I had to work with.

Lighting the way to these doors, were a row of lumiares. I couldn't get enough of the snow. It's a rare treat for a southern girl like me.

Once inside, a row of bow hung engagement photos greeted the guests.

Then the sweetest little table beckoned guest to pause and jote down a note for the new couple.

Is that not the greatest guest book ever!?

And of course, the monogram popped up again.

And again!

I also used it on the dance floor

And surrounded it with some scattered snowflakes. The littlest guests had such a fun time hopping from flake to flake.

You have to see her cake and it's carraige

And the milk and cookie buffet

We made these poof balls the day before out of tissue paper. An inexpensive touch of softness.

And last but not least, I couldn't leave the centerpieces out. They got a monogram treatment of their own.

And that in a nutshell was my sweet cousins wedding. Soooo glad I got to be a part of it.

Movember

2010-11-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

My husband (who never ceases to crack me up) is bringing the Mustache back this month as he competes to raise money for men's health. It's all part of an initiative known as Movember.

Click on this link to learn more:
http://us.movember.com/mospace/783638/index/tp/1

He'd love a donation if you're able. The funds raised through Movember’s US campaign benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

My Grandpa passed away from Prostate cancer when I was sixteen. It was extrememly sad to see all that he went through. I'm sure you guys have been somehow affected by men's cancer in your lives as well. It's a great cause to support.

I'll post a picture of Chad's mustache the end of the month. I'm voting on a handlebar. What do you think?

Review/Giveaway Monday

2010-11-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

My shop is being featured today at The Crafty Charlestonian:
http://www.thecraftycharlestonian.com/2010/11/hmg-piccadilly-peddler-review-giveaway.html#more

She's giving away a $25 gift card to my etsy shop. So, hop on over and check it out!

Goal!!!!!

2010-10-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Soccer season always keeps us on our toes. I love to see my boys out there on the field, giggling while they chase the ball. But, I'm often equally excited for the busy Saturdays to be over. For our final game, my son was assigned the snack. I wanted it to be a little extra special for their farewell efforts. This idea came to me while making pumpkin sugar cookies last week.

They're made out of round sugar cookies, butter cream frosting, and chocolate chips. Bet you're wondering how the chocolate chips transformed into that. Well, I stuck a handful in a ziplock bag for 30 seconds. Smooshed them around and then another 30 seconds of microwaving. Then I snipped off a little corner and piped it on. I used a soccer ball clipart image to help me with the vision.

They're weren't perfect but looked pretty much like soccer balls, so I felt successful. The little soccer players sure weren't complaining!

Front Door House Numbers 33% off Today only

2010-10-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

Certifi Kid is featuring my Front Door house numbers today for 33% of the traditional retail on Etsy. This offer is good for today only, so hurry on over to http://www.certifikid.com/!

Flourishing Pumpkin

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Introducing a new vinyl decal to my Piccadilly Line...

I'm in love with this little lovely and can't wait to try her out on a few different projects. Meanwhile, she's available in my Etsy shop for all you creative cats.

www.piccadillypeddler.etsy.com

Ribbon - my favorite

2010-10-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

October is always a busy month for me and this one has definately been true to form. I've seen soooo many cute halloween decor ideas this year but, who has the time for them all? Yet, one idea jumped out at me from my PB kids catalog that even I had time to try.

Mini Ribbon pumpkins:

All I needed was a bag of mini pumpkins from walmart. My hot glue gun. And some black ribbon from the stash.

I got so ribbon happy that I added some to a candle too.

Both are now giving me something to smile about in the kitchen.

Now it's time for some exciting news. My Front Door Decals will be featured this Wednesday over at Certifikid. All Wednesday long, they'll be on sale for just $10 a piece with shipping included! That's 33% off my Etsy price. So, hop on over to www.certifikid.com for some great deals.

I'll be linking up to a few of these parties.

BOO

2010-09-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't wait for October to start decorating my porch and these perfectly round pumpkins couldn't be passed up. So I ended up with this trio.

I get asked a lot if I painted those pots - I did not, they are metal and came that color. They were left over from my sister's wedding, but were originally bought at Garden Ridge. However, I'm sure that if you wanted some spooky pots, some spray paint could get you there easy enough.

When my son ran off the school bus today he started giggling. I had no idea what was making him so giddy until he pointed to the "BOO". Apparently vinyl decals can make a 7 year old boy giggle. If you need a set of your own, feel free to visit my etsy shop.

If I get around to it tonight, I just may link up to some of these parties.

Pumpkin

2010-09-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone's favorite fall emblem - the pumpkin, has made his way onto my modge podged blocks.

The tallest block of the bunch measures four inches high.

They've made their way into my Etsy shop.

Fall mantel

2010-09-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent our time here tubing the river. It was the perfect last summer fling.

This morning I woke to heavy rains. The break in the hot weather filled me with a hunger for fall. So much so, that I pulled out our box of fall goodies and trimmed up the mantel. Its still a little early, so I avoided halloween and thanksgiving specifics. Here's what I came up with.

The wreath is one I made a couple years ago using berry garlands and a pre-made grapevine wreath.

I filled these with a layer of river rocks and then some fall foilage. I LOVE the combo of smooth river rocks next to crunchy fall leaves.

A couple of signs came from my piccadilly collection.

These little acorns are the only new purchase this year. They're from World Market.

And of course, the centerpiece is our picture of Jesus Christ. Hopefully he'll help us remember to behave ourselves.

I'm linking up to these parties

SPOOKY

2010-09-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

My modgepodge marathon continues with this SPOOKY sign. It's made from a 12" by 3.5" board painted black and of course, modge podged with scrapbook paper.

Then I added a dash of glitter to kick it up a notch.

I just love those creepy eyes.

And here's what my little guy found to do while I modge podged.

He's available to take home at my ETSY shop. (the sign, not the little guy)

i'm linking up to these parties

Boo Blocks

2010-09-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Any Follower of my blog probably knows about my addiction to modge podge. This week it took hold of me in a bad way. Here's one of the projects I took it out on.

I used 3.5" wooden blocks and painted them black. Then came my favorite modge podge and scrapbook paper. And finally some vinyl letters.

Can't wait to decorate for halloween.

There's a couple of extra sets waiting in my Etsy shop to find a new home.

I'm linking up to these parties.

Reading Rack

2010-08-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a reader. Always have been. But, especially since having kids I find that nothing beats a good novel to escape into. I've been known to start a book after putting the kiddos to bed and keep reading until it's done. I wouldn't recommend it. It makes for very grumpy mornings. But, with the right book, sometimes I just can't help myself.

This morning during a jaunt to Hobby Lobby I came accross this little number:

I think it was originally intended as a plate rack but to me it screamed, fill me with books and put me on your nightstand.

And so I did.

Now I have a special place to store my current stash of reading material. And it looks pretty cute too. This nifty piece of organizational nirvana was on sell this morning and thus only set me back $6.

I just love that Hobby Lobby!

Trick or Treat buckets

2010-08-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

I added a new item to my Etsy shop.

Trick or Treat buckets.

This gallon sized, stainless steel bucket is the perfect size to for your goblins to carry from door to door. Or you could save it for your stash of candy at home. It can be personalized with a name or will simply say "trick or treat".

It is decorated front to back with a splash of bats and a cheery pumpkin.

Ribbon generously adorns the handle. And since my boys are already asking me where their's is, I can do it without the ribbon too.

If your interested, see more details at my Etsy shop. I just love Halloween!

Halloween Table cloth

2010-08-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago a good friend of mine came to visit. We stayed up for hours talking like we always do and somehow got onto the topic of table ware. Just one of the many random things we find to talk about. We're both in our early 30's now and are determined to graduate from entertaining with paper plates. She told me she recently started collecting table clothes for special occasions. And that got me thinking. I have two table clothes. One is plastic and covered with paint. The other was my $10 clearance table cloth that I picked up for Easter dinner this year. It's been getting way more usage than just Easter dinner and so I decided to become a table cloth collector too. There's just one problem with my goal. Most table cloths I find are either less than cute or more than my budget. Thus, for the next upcoming table cloth, I decided to start from scratch. I had some black and white polka dot yardage on hand but, like most fabrics, it wasn't wide enough to use alone. I didn't want to invest in some extra wide home dec fabric and thus found a couple more prints to add to it. My table seats up to eight people so I needed about 2 yards of the polka dot and a yard and a half of the prints for the borders. I had to piece my borders together a little to get the length I wanted but since this isn't a formal table cloth, I was fine with that this time.

After a couple evening of stiching and a few rolls of ribbon, I ended up with this.

I think I need to host a Halloween celebration now to break her in.

Everything's washable so Halloween partying here we come!

I'm linking up to these parties

New Arrival - Celadon

2010-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to introduce the newest member of the Piccadilly vinyl color collection. This light grey-green otherwise known as celadon is rocking my world. It looks fabulous paired with red, white and chocolate brown. My head is already reeling with christmasy possibilities.

Here's a complete list of my color selections (at least for now)

with so many delicious vinyl colors available, I'm sure this list will be growing soon.

Back to school

2010-08-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

This morning I escorted my eldest munchkin to his new class for the start of a new school year. Last night we had a back to school party in his honor. We wore crowns, ate his favorite meal (pizza), and popped balloons with our hineys.

Then we talked about a family theme for the year..." Love more". Just a little something I want my kids to think about when they face the challenges this year will bring. I made a new sign to hang above our door to remind us as we leave the door to conquer the world each day.

First day back was a success. He was all smiles and full of stories as I picked him up. Here's to a hopefully successful and loving year!

Kitchen makeover

2010-08-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our house, our cabinets looked like this.

But, the past few weeks have involved a lot of paint and sanding and even a miter saw. This post is all about our kitchen progress. I must confess, my "after" pictures have been strategically taken to hide the unfinished parts. I'm during this transformation in stages because, well, I have a sixteen month old. That's really all the explanation that's necessary. I'll be posting my progress here and hopefully in several weeks, they'll be true "after" pictures to share.

First off...the crown molding. To begin with, there was only a little dinky sad excuse for crown molding atop my cabinets. I considered removing it completely to make room for the real stuff, but then I realised it could stay nicely as a separator. So, it stayed. My first project, therefore was to add a furring strip (a cheap 1 x 2") to the top of my cabinets. This was necessary so there would be something for my molding to be screwed into.

Notice I said screwed. Originally I thought I could do the whole project with furniture nails. But, I learned the hard way that those little nails were no match for my industrial strength molding plans. The whole thing was litterally collapsing. So, furniture screws it was.

Next came a 1x6" board that wrapped all the way across my cabinets. This was for hiegth. My boring builder grade cabinets needed a lift to look established.

You can see if you look closely that I screwed another furring strip to the top of the 1x6"s but, this was entirely unnecessary because when I held the crown molding up I realised it would look best attached directly to the 1x6. So, I used a ruler and drew a line all the way across the board about one inch from the top to act as my guide line so that I'd have some level molding. No one likes unlevel stuff and gaps in the corners.

and finally came the crown molding. I thought this would be a snap. After all, I have a lovely miter saw that I'm very familiar with and has special little read lines to mark exactly which angle I need to tilt it to for crown molding. But, I must admit, this made for one very tense afternoon. I think I even cried at one point. And those you tube video tutorials that made it look so easy weren't making me feel any better. Word to the wise, buy extra molding. A lot extra. But, we got through it and my miter saw and I will be one speaking terms again...someday.

I did pick up two very helpful tips. Predrill your holes! Nothing is worse than finally getting a board cut to the right length with the right angles only to have it split when nailing it up! And secondly, after nailing up your molding, predrill a small hole at the top corner point where your molding meets and then using a small nail, attach them together. The nail can be hidden with wood filler. This holds your molding together so it lines up nicely with no gaps. No gaps = no one will know you did it yourself. Unless you blog about it of course.

Next came the easier though much messier stage of the kitchen redo. I removed all the doors and hardware and then scuffed everything up with my electric sander.

Then everything got a coat of primer that is specially formulated to stick to shiny surfaces (a.k.a. fake foiled builder cabinets)

Next I went with a pure white semi-gloss. I was so afraid of my cabinets turning out yellow that I decided to forgo the cream, offwhite, linen, etc. paintchips I'd been mulling over for a few months (that's how long it took me to muster the courage to take on this project).

Then came the magic part. Antiquing glaze found at Lowes. It's less than $10 for a bottle and a bottle goes a very long ways. You just dry brush in on and then wipe it off.

It basically stays only in the corners and warmed up my bright white just a tint. I'm in love. I'll probably use it on all my painting projects for ever more! You only think I'm joking.

After a week of sneaking into the garage when my baby didn't notice to put another coat on those doors...here's the result.

The bottom cabinets are still in progress and I hope to replace lights, paint the walls, add hardware, etc. So, I'm far from finished but enjoying the process.

Dog days of Summer

2010-08-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's hot here. Really, REALLY, hot. Even the pool seems to simmer. My AC is working overtime and we're doing are best to enjoy it inside. But somehow, a girl has to keep the munchkins from having a revolt. And, spending all day watching Phineus and Ferb isn't going to cut it. (although there's been a fair share of that going on as well.) So, being me, the over achieving glutton for punishment that I am, I turn to crafts. Kids' crafts specifically. I'm not really sure these are blog worthy. We've had very mixed results. But, my blog was feeling a little neglected so, I thought I'd share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First, I'll start with the good: a Fairy House

made completely out of scrap wood and project leftovers. This turned out better than I expected and the little girl who's room it's going in was so excited about it. Basically I let her be the designer and I just handled the power tools and the hot glue gun. She did a great job didn't she.

Next came the bad: Bleach sprayed T-shirts
I saw the idea once to put a shape on a colored t-shirt and then spray around it using bleach. I thought this would be such a fun project. I applied butterflies and pokemon characters by request using my vinyl decals.

Then I inserted foil into the shirts to prevent bleed-through. I handed the kids a spray gun with a mixture of water and bleach and let them go crazy on the drive-way.

But sadly, after the shirts dried, we discovered the bleach had bled through beneath the vinyl decal removing all traces of a picture. Maybe less water next time.

I think I'm going to have to redo the images with fabric paint cause those kids were fairly disappointed. Darn it all!

Finally, the ugly: Paper Mache Pinatas.

I was the most excited about this project. I mean, who can resist the lure of a candy filled, colorfully painted, festive creation that you're SuPPoseD to beat to a pulp!

But, less than two minutes into the process, the glue filled bowl was knocked to the ground and it splattered EvErYwHerE! Do you know how tough it is to clean up glue?...Twice! Ah yes, it happened a second time too. While I was in the middle of cleaning (that time frame is pretty open since it took a while), I noticed the kids dropping out one by one. They weren't a fan of flour/water up to the elbows. So, I got to construct four pinatas almost single handedly. I kinda wish it was single handedly because I'm still cleaning up glue.

But they did look pretty cute hanging up ready to dry. I wanted to paint them like Easter eggs.

A few days, some crayola paint, and a couple bags of candy later, we got to knock the stuffing out of them. This almost made up for the glue on the floor...almost.

Just in case you are a glutton for punishment like me, here's the recipe I used for my pinata glue.

1 part flour mixed with two parts water. It's cheap and it worked.

I'd love to hear all about your summer time kid's crafts. There's one week left before school. Plenty of time to get messy.

Play Room Art

2010-08-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I snuck away with my Mother-in-law for a few minutes to peruse a garage sale on the corner. So glad I did because I found several canvases in perfect shape for only 25 cents a piece. I litterally paid for them using only coins from the bottom of my purse. LOVE it when that happens!

There were a couple of 20" by 16" ones that were calling for immediate action. This morning they received two coats of black paint. (I used a semi-gloss interior latex because that's what I had on hand and I figured it would be more durable than my Apple Barrel craft paint from Walmart. When Light Sabor duals are a daily event in one's house, durability is an absolute must!

Then I whipped out a couple of Alphabet decals using my vinyl cutter and rubbed them on.

They went from blank canvases to hanging on the wall in just a few hours. Easy peasy.

I'm going to post the decals on my Etsy shop in case you have a couple of canvases calling to you but need a little rub-on magic.

I'm linking up to these parties.

Noel

2010-08-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I've been working on.

Unfortunately, I don't have a tutorial for this one since the center piece is a metal plate that I had to commision a sheet metal supplier to make for me.

However, I do have them posted over at my Etsy shoppe.

I'm saying Adieu to the Christmas crafts for at least a few weeks. But, no worries, I've been cooking up a bundle of new projects that will be making their way onto the blog shortly.

Creative Crate Giveaway

2010-07-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to announce that Stacie over at The Creative Crate is hosting a giveaway for me. Hurry and head over to her blog for your chance to win an item from my Etsy shop.

Bon chance!

Let it Snow

2010-07-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Growing up in the south, one learns just how magical snow is. We hoped and prayed for the elusive stuff every time a northern front moved our direction. On the rare occasion flakes started falling, we'd scuttel outside as fast as we could to soak it up because you never knew how long those flakes would last.

Such was the inspiration for this craft. The creation process was very similar to how I made the JOY blocks earlier in the month except I stained the blocks rather than painting them.

Just for an extra measure of whimsy, I sprinkled some glitter on one of the sets when the modge podge was still wet.

Maybe putting these on the mantel will bring us a snow day next winter - one can only hope!

If you're interested, I am going to be selling a couple sets of these over at my Etsy Shop.

Check out the linky parties I've joined here.

Snow Balls

2010-07-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this recipe last week and knew I had to try it out for my Christmas in July series. Not only are they the tastiest snowballs you'll ever come across, but they also work double time as a dessert for both the Christmas season and summer time. Our dinner guests gave us rave reviews and I hope you'll enjoy them too.

Faux fried ice cream

1 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons butter

dash salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

2 1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal, crushed

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 gallon vanilla bean ice cream

Saute almonds in butter over medium heat until lightly browned. Salt them lightly and cool on paper towels. Stir together cooled almonds, brown sugar, coconut, crushed Rice chex and melted butter.

Let ice cream soften slightly. Form ice cream balls with a soop. Roll each ball in almond/Chex mixture until well-coated and place on a baking wheet in your freezer. When finished, cover tray with plastic wrap and keep frozen. Ice cream balls can be prepared several hours in advance. Serve with your favorite hot fudge or hot caramel toppings.

Ruffled Dishcloth

2010-07-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

As my trusty followers know, I'm working on a little segment known as Christmas in July. My kitchen can always use some festooning during the holidays so I wanted to try my hand at some festooned dish towels. I'm usually not much of a fan of commercially sold holiday dish towels. They're typically hum drum and sometimes even boarderline kooky. I've definately seen some great ones, but didn't find their price tag really all that great. But, here's a little solution that even a novice sewer can enjoy. Seriously, this would be a fantastic project for a novice sewer. First of all, no one has to WEAR it! It's not going to hang on your windows for a decade. It's just a dish towell. Something you'll probably toss in a couple seasons. Unless of course you decide to frame it.

Here's the tutorial to prove just how simple they are.

Start with some absorbant fabric (white, colored, printed - whatever floats your boat) Cottons are good. Fold it on itself to cut an even rectangle. The size isn't super important, use one of your old dish towels as a guide if you want.

Then sew a 1/4" rolled hem on all four sides (fold in 1/4 " - iron - fold in 1/4" again - iron again - and sew.)

Next cut an approximately 2 inch wide strip of fabric for your ruffle. It should be about twice as long as your dish towel is wide. I had to stich together a couple of strips because my scrap of fabric wasn't long enough. I just hid that seam inside one of my "ruffles"

Then go ahead and stich around all four edges of your ruffle piece about 1/4" inside the edge. This allows it to fray some without completely unraveling and creating a stringy mess in your dryer.

Now comes the fun part. When you sew on the "ruffle" simply free-form the gathers as you go.

Next you can embellish more if desired with ribbon, buttons, ric rac, etc.

Here she is!

And just because I need a little more PINK in my life...

Now wasn't that easy!?

Check out the linky parties I've joined here.

Christmas in July Card Swap

2010-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

While day dreaming about all the Christmas crafts I could do this month, it occured to me that I'm going to need a bundle of cards to send out come this December. We moved since last Christmas card season, leaving some amazing friends behind. Thus, my card list has expanded. I previously bought a couple boxes of cards at the after Christmas clearance section at Target. But, those aren't going to quite cover it. So, I gave myself a challenge - see how many cards you can come up with using only materials from my stash in one afternoon. Admittedly, the afternoon stretched into dinner time and bedtime. It pretty much looked like a bomb went off in my kitchen. But, I accomplished a goal, so who really cares about that kitchen anyway. Here's the results.

I was suprised at how quickly those creative juices flowed once I convinced myself that they weren't going to be perfect. I was using leftovers after all. But, I ended up making 23 cards that I'm not entirely too ashamed to mail and they didn't cost me a dime (until I think about postage - yuck). If we happen to be personally aquainted, tell me which one is your favorite and you just might see it in your mail box come December.

Check out these linky parties that I've joined

Joy Blocks

2010-07-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

In honor of Christmas in July - presenting Joy blocks.

This craft is super simple. But sometimes even the simplest of things turn out cute. I started by cutting out three wooden blocks from a 4" by 1" board. The largest block measures approximately 5.25" by 3.5".

Next I riffled through my paper stash to find a trio just begging to be used. Then I painted my blocks and sanded the edges. Honestly, when I was done painting, I wished I hadn't because the paper looked so good with the natural wood - just a little something to keep in mind.

Then came the magic of modge podge which was followed last but not least by a vinyl letter decal. I love giving crafts like these as gifts because everyone kind find a little corner to spruce up during the holidays.

And, if anyone's interested, I've used the rest of those papers to create a few ready to assemble kits for the Joy blocks on my etsy page. They come complete with the precut wooden blocks, paper, and vinyl decals. Just a little something to make someone's crafting ambitions a little easier.

I'm linked up to these Parties!

Christmas in a Bowl!

2010-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's about time my Christmas in July series featured a recipe to get our taste buds prepped. I'm telling you, the Gingerbread Pudding Cake is litterally like Christmas in a bowl.

It's not much to look at but the aroma that fills your home while it's baking will get your taste buds tingiling. A warm bowl full of this topped off with some whipped cream will make you trunky for fireplaces, frosty mornings and trimming the tree. Have I got you convinced to try it yet? Well, without further delay, Here's the recipe as promised.

Gingerbread Pudding Cake

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in egg, molasses and water. Stir together dry ingredients, then add to molasses mixture and mix well. Transfer batter to a greased 8"x8" baking dish.

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups hot water
5 tablespoons butter, melted

Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the batter. Mix together hot water and melted butter, then gently pour over the top of brown sugar (do not stir). Bake at 350 degrees until gingerbread is cracked on top, center is set and pudding underneath has thickened, about 45 to 55 minutes. Scoop into bowls and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Christmas in July Day two

2010-07-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm in LOVE with this wreath. My husband would have to disagree. He just thinks it's plain wierd. Never the less, come December, it's for sure going to be adorning our door. To me, it looks like something to could grace the pages of Potter Barn kids. I just Love their appliqued stockings and ribbon ornaments. However, unlike Pottery Barn, this project definitely won't break the bank.

I started with a $3.99 18" grapevine wreath from Hobby Lobby (and that's without a coupon)

Everything else I needed, I already had at home - fabric scraps, brads, and hot glue.

To get started, I traced some of my measuring cups on the fabric scraps. I doubled up the fabric to make the cutting go faster. I was able to get everything cut out while watching "So you Think you can dance" last night - LOVE that show.

Then I layered them up and added some scrapbooking brads I have in my collection. I didn't even close the backs of the brads-just left them pointy.

That's where the hot glue came in. I put a generous dot of hot glue right over the point of the brad and then stuck them in the grapevine wreath.

A few glue sticks later, I ended up with this.

SOOOO fun huh? I looped it with a ribbon and tried it out on my front door.

Don't worry, it's not still hanging out there. I may LOVE Christmas, but I do try to contain myself a little bit.

The best part...this huge wreath that I simply adore, cost me a whopping $4.00!

Check out the linky parties I've joined here.

Christmas in July

2010-07-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Before you start thinking I'm absolutely nuts to be making Christmas ornaments in July, let me explain myself. I LOVE Christmas time of the year. AND every year my head is swimming with Christmas crafts to make. BUT I never do hardly any of them because the closer I get to Christmas, the more complicated my life gets. That's the season when my business picks up, and between juggling orders, school parties, cookie baking, shopping...you can see where I'm going with this.

So, with independence day behind us and almost four months till Halloween, I'm dedicating my creative juices to all things Christmas. Each week of July I hope to share more Christmas craftiness, wanna join me?

To start things off, I personalised some run-of-the-mill ornaments.

I went from this - snagged at Target's after Christmas clearance this year...

To this...

In case you don't have a vinyl cutter but want to create some ornaments of your own, I'm adding these decals to my collection at my Etsy shop.

The color choices are practically endless. And I currently have a choice of two fonts. I call this one Western Polka.

And here's a little Whimsy Polka.

And finally I tried to create something that can be used to document baby's first Christmas, or be used as a favor for a wedding or other special event.

Soooo...I recommend turning the AC way down, getting out your favorite Christmas candle and get busy with your favorite time of the year!

I'm linked to these parties...

Family Tree Wall Board

2010-07-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

First of all, I must say that this wasn't originally my idea. I've seen several things similar on other blogs. But, a fantastic idea it was!

Have you ever tried to price a board over 12" wide? They're outrageous! Of course, the kind of trees that are cut into boards don't generally grow more than 12" wide. That means that those wider boards require a special fusion of two boards to make one. Irregardless. sometimes you just want a larger piece of wood rather than a canvas or a flimsy piece of plywood. Besides, I absolutely LOVE the texture that results from boards being combined to form one piece. Here's how it's done...

I had some wooden slats left over from a little bunk bed repair - apparently there can be too many MONKIES jumping on the bed!!! My slats were a little more curved on the edges than if you just bought a 1x3" board at the hardware store. So, the shadowed gaps you see are unique to this piece. I'm not sure if I like it or not. Anyhow, just cut several boards to the desired width and then place them upside down lined up next to each other.

Then, find a scrap piece of plywood or thin masonite that is slightly smaller than your completed project will be and place it on the back. Use small furniture nails to hold it all together.

Paint any color you want. I used my trusty walmart craft brown paint and a VERY loved/used foam brush.

Sand a little to rough it up and highlight the texture.

And finally, decorate the front. I went with my Family Tree decal. But, I saw some super duper cute Americana flags done earlier this month. It can be hung with a sawtooth hanger or just prop it up on your fireplace/entry table/etc...

Alma Mater

2010-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Those who know me personally, know of my devotion to my Alma Mater, BYU.

I've recently proudly branded my mom car with a custom Alma Mater decal.

This decal can be customized to display your own School's moniker. See my ETSY shop for details.

Happy Fourth of July ya'll!

2010-07-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hope you have been enjoying your holiday weekend. We've spent ours watching a parade, dancing in the living room, and eating WAY too much. Unfortunately, I didn't get these crafts posted in time to inspire much of anyone. But, since I know I like to see cuteness even when it's untimely, I decided to go ahead and post anyway.

materials: scrap block of wood, paint, modge podge, scrapbook paper, and vinyl lettering

materials: metal planter, scrapbook paper, cookie cutter to trace stars, bamboo skewers, hot glue, foam block in bottom of planter, and a fat quarter of fabric smooshed in to hide the foam.

materials: 1x3" wood board cut in three varying lengths, scrapbook paper, modge podge, paint, ribbon, brown wreath wire twisted, hot glue, and a drill to make little holes in the top.

Yes, that's a bazillion french knots. Someone just might be a glutton for punishment!

Hope ya'll get some fantastic fireworks tonight!!!

Alex inspired Artwork

2010-07-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Alex has brought us some very tropical weather the past couple of days. We've been staying snuggled up indoors watching it through the windows. There's nothing more inspiring to me than a good rainy day and a pile of craft supplies. Here's my recent Alex inspired Artwork.

I already had the frames, recycled from some artwork that no longer worked in my new house. Then, while filling an order, I incorrectly printed a family tree decal, not once, but twice. Sometimes my multi-tasking gets a little out of control. I couldn't bear the sight of so much wasted vinyl and those lovely trees just couldn't be trashed. That's when this project came to me.

It was so simple to accomplish. I simply modge podged scrapbook paper onto a couple of canvas panels and then rubbed on the trees. Canvas panels are canvases that are completely flat, opposed to the ones wrapped on wood frames. They're still sturdy and can be used with a variety of media, but are WAY easier to frame.

I tore the paper at the horizon line to get an organic look. I've had the paper for a while but I know some of it is from Basic Grey's Mellow line. I'm in LOVE with Basic Grey paper!

If you don't have access to a vinyl cutter or want to save some mula, the trees could also be painted on.

Next up, tackle the mountain of laundry I had to move to take these pictures. Folding laundry is my LEAST favorite job. I wish rainy days gave me a little laundry inspiration too.

Floral Initial Tile

2010-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

This idea came to me via a friend last Christmas who was looking for a gift that she could use for everyone on her list.

Wouldn't this be an awesome wedding gift as well? I'm offering the vinyl decals to make this item at my Etsy shop. Unfortunately, the tile is not included - I'm too afraid to ship them. Cracked tiles aren't much fun to get in the mail. But, the decal is simple to apply, and is perfectly sized for a 12" tile that can be picked up at Lowe's or HomeDepot for less than $1.

Check out what your Initial would look like down here.

Head Board Tutorial

2010-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

9 years ago, I was living in my first apartment as a married gal. My new living space led to a new favorite show, TLC's Trading Spaces. I must have watched every episode those first few seasons. I learned all kinds if tricks, including how to create a headboard in about a hundred different ways. Well, my taste in decorating has evolved, but the headboard phenominon, must have stuck with me cause I recently got the urge to transform a garage sale headboard.

Here's my garage sale find. Not bad, but not quite what I was looking for either.

First, I filled in the back with some plywood. I had to use a couple of pieces cut to size and then attached it with furniture nails.

Then I filled in some of the cracks and imperfections with wood filler and sanded it down a bit.

Following that, I sprayed it up with primer and a coat of navy satin paint.

After that first coat of paint, it became clear to me that the plywood was still a little rough, so I did some more sanding. I wanted it to look as smooth as the original wood slats.

A couple more coats were required to complete the coverage. I had to go buy two more cans of the navy spray paint. I guess no project's complete without a couple extra trips to the hardware store.

Here's the headboard in it's new room.

Ribbon Hung

2010-06-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

This post is a little continuation from the last. I wanted to do a tutorial on the custom made artwork I did for our star wars room because it is such a super duper simple idea but turns out expertly cute. It's extremely versatile as well and can be done using any shape or in any color scheme. The concept simply is to frame a sillouetted shape. And then hang with Ribbon.

The ones shown were done with vinyl decals but I've done it before with iron-on fabric, wooden initials, and even silk Gerber daises.

Here's how it works.

Start with a frame, or two or three, or four. Mine were made using moulding from the hardware store. I'll have to post a frame making tutorial sometime soon. But, if you haven't entered the world of frame creation yet, plenty of inexpensive options are available at thrift stores, garage sales, dollar stores, walmart, etc.
Paint your frames if needed. Spray paint works wonders and comes in a rainbow of colors. But, a brushed on acrylic is also terrif.
Glue a backing into your frame. These particular ones used mats found at walmart and navy card stock. I did brush some modgepodge on my card stock with the intention of keeping the paper from collecting as much dust. In the past, I've used backers of fabric, scrapbook paper, and painted plywood.
Then add your silhouettes to the middle.
Finally, hang with ribbon (or in this case, ric rac). There's something about hanging a picture with ribbon that increases it's cute factor exponentially. Usually, I just staple the ribbon to the back of the picture using a staple gun. But, sometimes I actually drill holes into the frame and thread the ribbon through as in this item.

Now, there's always the question of how to hide the nail your ribbon is hanging from. I've come up with a few solutions to that problem. I'm sure there are many more out there.

Hang using a small furniture nail in the top of a molding. That's the course I took this time around. The nail is still visible but it usually doesn't look tacky when done this way.

My mother in law has a lovely mirror in her front room that she rotates wreaths seasonally on. She has a small nail centered in the tip top of the mirror's molding and then hangs her wreaths with ribbon from it. It looks amazing!

No molding available? Try decorative wrought iron or a curtain rod to hang from.

Buy a hook or knob meant just for this purpose. (cute, but I've found them difficult to find)

Or, create your own decorative knob to hang from. This is super simple. Just find a knob (hardware store, Hobby Lobby), and then find a screw or nail that can be inserted into the back of the knob, and glue it pointy side out.

I've used hot glue in a hurry but recommend industrial strength glue for a tight hold. It works, I promise, and no one will know you made it yourself (unless you brag about it on your blog of course).

The knob holding the wall art in this picture... that was hot-glued. Awesome, huh!?

Boy's Star Wars Room

2010-06-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Just like my last post said, we've been transforming our boy's bedroom into a Star Wars meca. Here's a few more pictures of our progress.

You'll notice a heavy usage of vinyl decals. I geuss I just can't help myself.

The walls were painted two shades of blue from Valspar's Signature collection (Lowes). The darker shade is called Fly-by-night blue and the lighter is School Boy Blue. I seperated the two with a simple molding and then applied white vinyl stars and ships.

I'll be posting a set of star decals for purchase on my Etsy shop soon in case anyone else needs a starry night bedroom.

Here's a detail of some of the ships. Liam has been sitting in that top bunk having make-believe battles with his ships all week long.

One final picture. Those hanging frames with R2D2- and Yoda sillouettes are my favorite. And yes, I used vinyl decals.

I'd still like to find/make some matching quilts for the beds and maybe do some modular storage. There's an empty wall I didn't show you that is hinting to me that it needs a little something. I geuss a home is never 100% completed.

May the Force Be With you

2010-06-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

With three little boys in the house, we currently have some serious Star Wars worship going on. It cracks me up how much my kids get into characters from a movie that came out the year I was born.

Since moving into our house last December, we've been starring at a lot of white walls. I've been working to change that in one little corner of our house for a couple of weeks. Here's a little taste of the boy's new Star Wars Room

This decal bids farewell to all who leave the room.

Man, kids rooms are so much fun to work on. A little creativity, and unconventionality along with thrifty budgets can all coexist wonderfully when working on these projects.

Vinyl House numbers for your Door

2010-06-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

This blog has been a bit neglected as of late. But, I've still been busy creating. Here's one of my latest creations that has been popular at my Etsy shop.

House and apartments numbers are commonly placed on the door over in Europe but for reasons beyond me, we traditionally land ours on the curb. This is way more fun! My vinyl version is easily applied and comes in your choice of color. (white, black, beige, chocolate brown, nutmeg brown, navy blue, red, apple green, pink, lavender, purple, orange, and sky blue. The one shown was done in beige. Once applied, it mimics the look of hand painted lettering and will last for years. Definately better than the curb!

Family Definition Wall decal

2010-03-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about this business is the fun projects people enlist me to do for their homes. I can't take credit for this idea but loved how it turned out. It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but the vinyl is actually done in two shades. Beige for the main body of text and white to highlight favorite words. I love the dramatic and unique way it impacted this room. I'm trying to find the perfect wall in my new house to do this too. If you are interested in similar lettering, email me for a quote.

Valentine

2010-02-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Surprise your sweetie with a fun valentive decal. These are approximately 10" square and can go on any hard, flat surface (i.e. mirrors, doors, windows, laptop, etc.)

They will be personalized, of course.

Wall monograms

2010-02-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a few monogram designs I've done over the past several months. Like all my vinyl decals, they can be done in the color of your choice. They measure approximately 2 feet by 2 feet. However, if you need a smaller size, please email me.

Lacy Frame Monogram

Dot to Dot Monogram

Collegiate Monogram

Fancy Smancy Initials

2010-02-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

This decal is a fun and simple way to fill up small up that wall that's been starring at you since you moved in. They measure approximately 2 feet by 2 feet (depending on the letter ordered).

I'm back

2009-10-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Previously I had a post in this section that we were in the process of moving. I'm settled in my home now and would love to pick this business back up. So, don't hesitate to email me if you have a vinyl lettering wish!

Treat Bucket

2009-08-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Does candy taste better when it's in a cute container?
Maybe not, but I still love this bucket. I designed it for the upcoming Melissa super Saturday but could cut the vinyl for one of your own. The one shown was made using a two gallon bucket from a farm supply store, and ribbon and beads from Hobby Lobby. It's definitely roomy enough to hold treats for all the little goblins coming your way.

Beautiful Butterflies

2009-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you might know the little girl I designed this one for I had so much fun doing it!

Check out my etsy shop for details! http://www.piccadillypeddler.etsy.com/

Blossom Tree

2009-07-23T13:24:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to expand my vinyl horizons and consequently came up with this.

My tree is decorated in sweet blossoms creating a whimsical focal point. It measures approximately 53" tall by 25" wide depending on how you place your blossoms. The blossoms come seperately but are included in the purchase price. There are 10 2" blossoms and 14 1.5"blossoms for you to place as desired.

I've re-opened my etsy shop and would love for you to check me out here www.piccadillypeddler.etsy.com

Welcome Door

2009-06-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Greet all your friends and neighbors with a cheerful vinyl decal for your door. This "welcome" sign applies directly to your door and can be done in a variety of colors.

Wall Monograms

2009-05-21T09:01:00.001-07:00

Introducing one of the newest trends in vinyl wall art... Personalized monograms. I added this one to my son's room earlier this week. Isn't it sweet!? It measures approximately two feet across.

Fridge Art

2009-05-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm in the habit of turning my fridge into a masterpiece showcase. Usually it's my kids artworks. But, I thought this idea was a little more sophisticated and clean. It could just as easily be used to display your last name and then be a space for displaying family pictures. This vinyl applique comes in a two piece set. I've used black but, any color would do.

Binkies

2009-05-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's official, my baby Easton is here and doing well. We love him to pieces but sometimes wish he would sleep a little more. Thank goodness for binkies.

My only issues with the beloved pacifier are not being able to find one when you need it and not having a sanitary place to store them. To solve our frustration, I created this binky jar. I just used a jar I already had on hand and added the lettering. If you'd like, I could create this lettering in any color for your own container.

Thanks for all the well wishes and hope your lives are as fun as mine.

Easter Tile Class

2009-03-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! I'm hosting a new class to spruce up your homes for Easter. This time, we have two choices of designs. "Hippity Hoppity", or "He is Risen". Both are made on 6"x8" tiles hung by ribbon.

The class will be on Friday, March, 13th at 10:00 a.m. at my house. The cost will be $9 per ribbon hung tile. If you can't make it to the class but want a kit which includes a 6x8" pre-drilled tile, ribbon, and the lettering, those kits will also cost $9 each. Email me if you'd like to participate and specify which tile/tiles you want to create. I need to know by Tuesday, March 10th at 9:00 a.m.