Filling a Jar of Hearts

I'm sending out a bigger-than-usual package of Hope Hearts today.  Suzy, whom I know from the Craft Gossip blogger's meet-ups  in Little Rock, Arkansas, asked for my help as she assembles a jar of hearts for her sister who will be having surgery in November.

In addition to the three hearts that come in every Hope Hearts kit that I mail, there are three extra hearts from me to her sister.  Two of them have faith-related messages, and one is made from the damaged  vintage quilt I have been repurposing.

When I was thinking of how I could best help Suzy with this jar, I had the brilliant idea of making some extra hearts with a blank piece of white fabric on the front and leaving them unstuffed, so non-crafty family members or friends can contribute to the jar by writing a message on a heart.  Suzy will then stuff them and sew them closed.

Suzy, I hope for all the best for your sister.

My First--and Second--Hand-Carved Stamp

For the longest time I've wanted to make a hand-carved rubber stamp; I've seen them on Craftster ever since I became a member of that site, and I think they are cool!  I bought a set of linoleum-cutting tools about a year ago, and several months ago I picked up two blocks of "Speedy-Carve".

The only thing missing was an ink pad, and that fell into my hands when I attended Fork and Talk in Little Rock, Arkansas, (hosted by Craft Gossip and sponsored by EK Success Brands).  One of the items in the huge bag of products I received that day was this big black ink pad.  Perfect! With all the materials ready to go, I finally had the motivation to give it a try.

Here is an in-progress shot of my SECOND carved stamp; you can see the tool I used at the top of the picture.  I traced the heart and wings from a plastic template I already had made (I use it to make sewn hearts).

And below you can see the finished products:  my first two carved stamps!  Yay!  The one at the top of the picture is actually the first one I made.  I tried to carve the words in the center...and realized what a newbie I was, when I stamped it the first time and the words were BACKWARDS!  AARGGG!  So I just carved them off the stamp and resovled to try again later.  I finished the second stamp last night, in about an hour.

To get the words onto the stamp, I printed them off the computer, then drew over them (on the right side of the paper) with pencil.  Then I put the words face-down in the center of the heart and traced each letter with a pen (I thought it would give firmer pressure than a pencil) to transfer the pencil marks onto the stamp.  It worked great!  (Although I must say, the directions that came with the stamp did NOT work great:  "Use slightly warm iron to transfer images:  pencil drawn, newsprint, freshly printed ink-jet and laser-print images."  My freshly printed ink-jet letters did not transfer at all with the slightly warm iron.)

So, now that I have these awesome new stamps, what am I going to do with them?  I tried stamping the one with words onto a card; hmmm, looks okay, but kind of plain and boring.  So I tried something else.

Oh, yeah, that's better--I glued some randomly-cut pieces of bright paper to the card, then stamped on top of them:

I made a lot of cards!

And I stamped a envelope for each card using the stamp without words.  I intend to use these as inserts with swap packages and etsy sales, and I will write the recipient's name inside the heart on the envelope.  (Hey, if you join a swap I'm in, maybe that will be YOUR name!)

I'm so happy with how this stamp came out; I especially like the all the little lines in the background that make it look hand-made.  The carving was actually much easier than I expected; it just takes patience and a steady hand.

I've ordered more Speedy-Carve...now I just need another good idea...

Monsters and Pin-Back Buttons

It was back in March that the Monster Pouch Swap ended on Craftster; I sent packages to two partners.

This one went to CraftyMamaBee.  In case you couldn't tell, she loves pink, and cupcakes!  I made this girly monster to fit her Kindle Fire.  I also included a lavender sachet with a scripture quote, because she likes both lavender and scripture, and a piece of fabric with cupcakes on it.

I made a pin-back button for the monster to wear:

I had a second, unofficial partner, Photochris.  She hadn't been a member of Craftster long enough to be eligible for the swap, but when she sent me a message inquiring about it, I was interested in her as a person (she is German, but living in Russia with her husband and children, and has recently spend four years in New Jersey!) that I wanted to do this swap with her as a personal swap.  I sent her a package similar to CraftyMamaBee's--the pouch was the same size and style, in colors she likes, and with a slightly different monster face (I guess a third eye is only slightly different, if you're a  monster!)  I also included a tissue cover with tissues, and a piece of scissors-print fabric.

Her monster also wore a pin (it's either "his" girlfriend or "her" boyfriend...I'm not sure if this monster is a girl or a boy...)

Here's a group shot (below) with the first monster pouch I made in the middle.  After making it I realized that the teeth were wool felt, and CraftyMamaBee is allergic to wool!!  So I made the pink one for her, and used the gray one in my Seven Days of Giveaways in March.

The cupcake monster arrived at her new home in California on March 8th, a few days after I sent out both packages.  But--the blue monster IS STILL IN TRANSIT!!  Yes, that's right, today is May 4th, and still no sign of it.  Apparently, mail to Russia moves slower than a snail's pace.  I received my package from Photochris about a week after it was mailed--but she mailed it from Germany, where she was visiting her parents.  I haven't given up on it though; maybe she will get it for a Christmas present!

 And now, a gratuitous repeat of the picture of the pin-back buttons I made for all the bloggers who gathered for Craft Gossip's Fork and Talk luncheon in Little Rock two weeks ago.  It came to my attention that the quilting editor, Scarlett, ran a short post about these buttons yesterday!  So if you are visiting my blog from that Craft Gossip post, welcome!  You can read my post about making these buttons here.

Hmm, that gets me to thinking...maybe I should do a button giveaway sometime?

We Forked and Talked, Part 2--The Goodies!

In my last post, I left you in suspense about the contents of the big yellow bags we each received at the Fork and Talk event in Little Rock last Saturday (hosted by Craft Gossip and sponsored by EK Success Brands.)  Let me show you everything I got, starting with the bag!  It is one of those big, reuseable shopping bags; I never have enough of these!

We got this nice assortment of scrapbooking supplies; most of the items pictured below are stickers (yes, even the ones that look like cake decorations!), but there is also a large package of ephemera, and some beautiful Martha Stewart glitter.

We also received three heavy-duty paper punches in different designs, several rubber stamps, and a large ink pad.  My favorite in this group is the stamp set on the far left; you can use it to turn index cards into recipe cards, and the food images on the stamps are really cute!

Then, there were the two embroidery kits (in the back); one makes a pillow and the other is for embroidering kitchen towels (I love that one!)  There was also a kit to make a ring, and the item in the foreground is a finished flower clip to put on your bag or shoe or shirt.

Yes, there's more!  We all got a great set of perler beads, some Martha Stewart pie-shaped boxes for goodies (not just pie!), and a big, wonderful pad of scrapbooking paper.  I will use that for all kinds of things other than scrapbooking (which I don't do!)

The picture below shows my favorite thing in the bag: an American Girl Crafts kit, containing a nice wooden box, and lots of  stencils and paints to decorate it with.  I know I will have fun with this, but I can't guarantee mine will come out looking like the picture (I have a feeling mine will include weird things glued all over it!!)

I'm showing you this "Java" kit last (below), because we were all asked to evaluate it.  We started working on it at the Fork and Talk event after the lunch, and it was a good group activity since we could chat while we sewed.  The kit includes pre-cut felt pieces to make a coaster and a coffee cup cozy, and the thread.  It should also include directions and a needle--but my kit was lacking these!!  One of the ladies at my table was kind enough to let me borrow her needle for a while so I could get started on mine.

The kit is well-thought-out and easy to do.  The instructions give you the basics, then advise you to look at the picture to decide which color thread to sew where--I like that, because I hate to read directions! 

This would be a good kit for any beginning sewist, young or old (although I don't think many young girls drink coffee, but they could make this as a gift for an adult.)  I hope that a person who starts sewing with this kit would use the experience as a stepping-stone to explore other ways of using felt, and fabric, and sewing in general.

Just before everyone left the restaurant, we posed for a group photo.  I'm in the back on the right.  I love this picture!  It captures the happiness and energy we all felt from spending time with other crafty-minded women!

We Forked, We Talked...

I just got back from my weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I attended the second blogger's meet-up, called "Fork and Talk", hosted by the website Craft Gossip and sponsored by EK Success Brands on Saturday.  I had so much fun!  Since I had also attended the Fork and Talk in September, seeing the editors and many of the same bloggers was like meeting up with old friends!

The meeting took place in a private dining room at the classy Trio's restaurant.  I took the picture below facing the mirrored wall, so you can see the whole dining room.  This was before we started. That's the quilting editor, Scarlett, seated at the table.

Needlework editor Denise got things started, then we went around the room and each blogger told a little about herself.

When it was my turn to speak, I showed off my Scrappy Snappy Pouches, because they were such a hit when they were featured on Craft Gossip last fall!

I sat next to Suzy, whom I have kept in touch with since the last meet-up (she has joined Craftster and we have been craft-swap partners); she announced that she is expecting her first baby in December!  Congrats, Suzy!!!

We had a lovely lunch, with our choice of five selections from Trio's menu.  (The "I Heart Craftgossip.com" buttons I made and handed out to everyone were a big hit!  You can see that I had some left over, so they are posing with my menu!) 

I had the Quiche Lorraine--YUM!

We played a fun game:  each table was given an 8" x 10" photograph of the editor at that table, and we gave the photo a makeover!  Here are the editors posing with their photos.  And the winner is...

SCARLETT, at my table!  We won--again!  I was at her table last time too!!

Everyone at the table got to choose a prize, and I was quick to snatch up this vintage embroidered tablecloth that Scarlett had brought.  She has encouraged me to get crafty with it--so I am going to cut into it when I am brave enough!  I'll show you the results when that happens!

As things were winding down, we each got a packet containing everyone's business card, so we can find each other on-line and keep in touch.

And for the grand finale...we each got a BIG BAG OF GOODIES from EK Success Brands!  I am going to keep you in suspense about what's inside...check back on Thursday, when I reveal the contents!

Thanks so much, Craft Gossip and EK Success Brands, and especially to the four editors who worked so hard to make the afternoon a fun success:  Denise Felton (needlework editor), Scarlett Burroughs (quilting editor), Anne Weaver (sewing editor), and Stacie de Klerk (jewelry editor).  It was fantastic!

My Blog is a Book!

If you have a blog, you are probably aware that there is at least one place you can go online to have your blog content turned into a book.  I decided to give it a try, and I had all my blog posts from 2011 printed and bound so I could give the book to my mom, who doesn't use a computer.

I used Blog 2 Print after seeing one of their ads online.  The process was easy but pricey--it costs around $50 for one copy!  The price goes up if you choose a hard cover, or if you have a lot of pages.  I chose the soft cover and my number of pages was included in the basic price.  I searched online for a coupon, so I ended up paying only $45.  I wouldn't have done it for myself, but I want to be able to share my blog with my mother, and this seemed like a great way to do that.

The front cover (above) doesn't please me as much as the back cover (below).  The small image I saw on the website as I chose the background for the covers didn't help me that much!  I would have used a picture with a dark background for the front cover if I had known better.  They offer a lot of different cover colors and designs, so if I ever decide to do this again I will choose my cover photos to coordinate better with the cover.

Here's a glimpse at the inside pages.  I chose the space-saving option of having the text run along the side of the pictures.  Although it is different than the actual layout of my blog, I think it looks fine, and it kept me below the number of pages that would have cost more!

Everything in all of my posts is included, but the reader comments are not.  That's too bad, because the comments add a lot!

If I do this again, I think I will pay the extra $10 for the hard cover.  After paying $45, I want my book to last!

I'm on my way to Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend for the Craft Gossip Fork and Talk event; conveniently enough, that's where my mother lives, so I will be visiting her and giving her this book!  (Of course, my mom is the real reason I travel to Arkansas regularly; it is a great bonus that I can schedule my trip to coincide with this blogger's meet-up.)   I will post again on Tuesday; see you then!

Craft Gossip Invitation!

I've gotten my invitation!  On Friday I will travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, to attend the second "Fork and Talk" blogger's meet-up, hosted by editors of the website Craft Gossip, and sponsored by EK Success Brands (which produces crafting supplies and kits, including Martha Stewart and American Girl Dolls).

I attended the first Fork and Talk last September.  Since then I've had several of my projects featured on the Craft Gossip website, which has really helped to boost my readership, and inspired me to constantly work to make my blog as interesting as possible.  I love Craft Gossip!  Since I also love making little crafty things and giving them away, and I know all the other bloggers at the meet-up love Craft Gossip too, I decided to make pin-back buttons to bring with me and distribute to everyone at Fork and Talk next Saturday.

I got this wonderful button-making machine for my birthday last year.  It makes high-quality buttons, and I've discovered that I can be very creative with them--often I print words from the computer, like I did for these buttons, but I can also draw a tiny piece of art and turn it into a button.

The words are printed on pretty scrapbook paper, and the hearts are stickers (I started out cutting each little heart from paper...it was taking too long, so it was stickers to the rescue!)

I'll be blogging all about it next week--I can't wait to see what new products will be in the swag bags--I'll show you everything, and I just might be giving some of it away to readers!

Giveaway PREVIEW

Sometime yesterday afternoon, my number of followers hit the 100 mark!  I'm so thrilled about that, and the timing is perfect, because my Seven Days of Giveaways celebration (in honor of 100 followers, and my blog's one year anniversary) starts on Saturday.  Today is a preview of what I will be giving away.

The whole kit and kaboodle:

There's so much stuff it will hardly stay within the confines of this blog!!  Each day I will post a picture of that days' prizes.  The first person to comment will get one of the bigger handmade items plus an extra goodie or two.  The second person to comment will get three Michael Miller fat quarters (pictured below--THANKS Susan!) plus an extra goodie.

Below are some of the "goodies"--EK Success Brands craft kits and products that I received at the Fork and Talk event hosted by  Craft Gossip in Little Rock, Arkansas, last September. (They are having another one in April--I hope I can go!)

The fun starts on Saturday, March 17th and will go on for seven days.  Each day I will post pictures of the days' prizes, but the trick is, I will post at a different, random time each day, so whoever are the first two to see the post and comment on it (and give me their mailing addresses) will win.  Good luck to all of you!

Exciting Project Updates!!

I have two exciting updates to share with you today: 

Remember my Happy Heart Card Tutorial?  It has been included in an e-book of Valentine projects for all ages!  Go to  Sidetracked Sarah to download your FREE copy!  Sarah only asks that you subscribe to her blog in return for the free e-book.  Thanks, Sarah!

Also, my cute little Ring Dish  tutorial will be featured on Craft Gossip this coming Tuesday, Feb. 7th.  If you are not familiar with Craft Gossip, you are missing out!  Go there and subscribe, and each morning you will get an e-mail full of all kinds of really great new crafty projects (like my ring dish!).  Every day I find several things that pique my interest, and I am sure you will find interesting things there too.

While I have your attention...don't forget about the great big, incredible, awesome, unprecidented  Seven Days of Giveaways that will begin here the day my blog reaches 100 followers!  Check back often so you don't miss out!

I LOVE SCISSORS!!

In case you've ever wondered what my favorite sewing/crafting tool is, wonder no more--it's SCISSORS! 

I love them because they are so functional, and they come in so many sizes, shapes, and colors.  Here are most of the scissors I own; I know I have more (where are my two pairs of stork-shaped embroidery scissors?) but these were all I could find when I wanted to take a group photo:

This is the first pair of real scissors I ever owned.  My parents brought them back for me when they went on a short trip to Spain, when I was 13 years old. They are pretty dull now, and the screw tends to fall out when you are cutting, but I love the decoration on them.  They are my favorite pair!

One of these two is my most expensive pair of scissors--but I don't know which!  I remember that the embroidery scissors were really expensive when I asked my husband to get them for me for my birthday about 20 years ago; they are super-sharp and well-made.  The Ginghers are my prettiest scissors; I treated myself to them a couple of years ago.  I am left-handed, and so are these scissors; one of the things that made me want them was that they are "true" left-handed scissors--they don't just have a left-handed grip, but the cutting edges of the blades are actually reversed--it sounded great, but in reality, as a person who has always used right-handed scissors, it seems very awkward and is hard to get used to.  Otherwise, they are great!

These three are my "work horses"' that I use every time I sew.  The orange handled ones are left-handed Fiskars; I've had them forever and they always work great and rarely need sharpening.  The blue handled pair has the name "Durasharp" on the blade; I don't remember where I got them, but they are amazingly great scissors!  This is the only pair that I use for both fabric and paper, and they never get dull!

These Cutter Bees are my newest pair of scissors.  They were part of the huge bag of goodies I got at the Blogger's Meet-up hosted by Craft Gossip and sponsored by EK Success Brands, back in September, in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Everyone had a pair of these sitting at her place at the table when we walked in--I was so excited to see free scissors!! 

I already had this pink pair, and let me tell you, if you need scissors for scrap-booking or other kinds of paper-cutting, these are the ones to get!  They are fantastically sharp, but best of all, the tip is extremely small and sharp too, so you can easily cut into small corners.  I love them!  But then again,

 I love all my scissors!!