Birthday Celebrations?

There are a lot of October birthdays being celebrated, including my husband's. How about you? Do you know of anyone having a birthday this month? Is it your birthday this month? Would you like to see a couple birthday cards I created? 

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This first card was made with Doodlebug Design's Day to Day collection. Have you seen it? It's quite fantastic! I love the cameras! 

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This is a Bella Blvd. design using their Snapshots collection. Both of these lines are perfect for everyday events with lots of color and fun accents.

If interested, they're available in my Etsy shop for just $2.99 each!

Have a great one! Hopefully a sunny one! After eight days of no sunshine the sun came out for a couple hours yesterday and now it's missing again. I feel like I live in the north west! I should dig out Bella Blvd's Sunshine and Happiness line and play!!!! ;)

New Vintage Goodies

Hey!

I think it's awesome how many of my fellow scrapbook and blog buddies also love vintage goods and how I can talk about both on my blog and not bore too many visitors! ;)

I had the chance to go on a vintage treasure hunt and the Raleigh Flea Market last Saturday and picked up some fun goodies that I thought I'd show you.

I believe I mentioned that I found an old school desk for just $10? I did! I couldn't believe what a steal it was! I don't always get that lucky! As I always say, "You never know what you will find!"

Isn't this desk cool? I know this goes back before my elementary school days because we had a protective laminate type coating on our desks and this one doesn't. For now, I plan to just clean it up and display it in the house somewhere. At some point I may repaint the metal portion to get rid of the rust.

I also found the following items to list in my Etsy shop!

These soda crates will be listed for $20 a piece. I love that they are in great shape, still colorful and easy to read. The yellow box is stamped from Charleston, South Carolina, I believe from 1964. The red one is dated 1979 from Temple-Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Look at this unique treasure...a 1950's 'Bandages' apothecary jar from a doctor's office. Until someone snatches this up from my shop, I think I'll display it in our bathroom! This will list for $39 since these are hard to come by.

I love this old metal American Family Scale! The food images on it are so fun and it's in great shape! This one will list for $22.

How about a vintage wood coffee grinder? This one is from Germany and is very clean...the owner must have given up on grinding their own beans! ;) I'll list this piece for $25.

Here's the last one...a fun little cheese box with a leather strap attached. This box was made before Kraft and American split into two separate companies. It's in great shape and has a lovely patina. This little goody will list for $18.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a preview of the goodies that will be listed in my shop as soon as I can get them up. If you are interested in any of them or have a question, please leave a comment and I'll try to get back to you quickly. :) Kathy

The Music of My Heart

Good day!

I love three day weekends! Not just because we have three days to play, but when the new week starts back up it's already Tuesday and that means we're one day closer to another weekend! Yippee!

Over the memorial day weekend I spent a little time crafting and made this card.

How about this for the music lover in your life? I really like to include sheet music in so many of my projects and with this new 'Musical'

digital kit by Polka Dot Pixels, I'll aways have it on my computer to print out anytime in any size I need! How awesome is that?

I just so happened to have the perfect little music note charm for this card! I sell these and other charms in my Etsy shop if you're interested.

For the violin focal point, I first printed out some of the sheet music and then I printed over that with the violin accent. I also used three different Spellbinders

die cuts to make the layered frame.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look see at my latest project. I hope you enjoy your week. How hot will it be in your neck of the woods? We're expecting upper 90s all week! Feels like August! Stay cool and crafty! ;) Kathy

Happy Birthday

Hi! :)

I have a birthday card share for you! :) Last night I was working with some adorable new papers from The Girls' Paperie, their new Kitch line. I LOVE these papers! I'll need to buy a second set because I am so smitten with them!

Just look at these paper colors and patterns! (sigh)

And how about the crochet flowers? I just got those in the mail yesterday from a fabulous site on Etsy called Sunshine Stitches. I'll be a regular at that shop! :)

I added my usual inked edges, hand stitching and buttons. :)

The sentiment is a Pebbles Inc rub on and the stacked flower buttons are Pebbles as well. I made the little butterfly pin with an old Paper Shapers punch and a sewing pin.

Well, I'm off. Always lots to do. Never a dull moment, right? I have packages for the post office, weeds to pull in the yard, a couple fabulous new Two Peas in a Bucket digital kits to make projects for. The list goes on, but you get the idea. The old list probably looks a like like yours! Hope it's a great day for you! :) Kathy

Christmas Crafts

Good day! Can you believe we have less than two weeks until Christmas? It's such a fun time of year that goes by quickly so we're trying to enjoy every moment to the fullest!

One of the things I enjoy most about Christmas is crafting! I think I've mentioned that once or twice before! ;) And I love to share my projects with you and see those that you make too! Did you see the latest projects from the Papertrey Ink team this morning? Oh, they get me every time! I want all the new releases that comes out on the 15th! Do you think it's too late to add them to my Christmas list? ;)

Okay, chatty Kathy, get to the projects! ;) Here's a little Christmas box I made with a new digital kit from Two Peas in a Bucket.

The tree on my tag is from a kit called 'Christmas Watercolors' from Wilna Furstenberg. There are nine gorgeous watercolor creations included in Wilan's kit that you should see! I had a difficult time deciding which one to use!

I bought an unfinished birch wood box from A.C. Moore and painted the sides of the bottom piece with white and light blue paints. It has a watercolor looking finish to match the tag. I papered the top of lid with 1927 sheet music and then topped it with vintage mother-of-pearl buttons and chunky snow glitter. Around the sides of the lid I added some lace trim that you can buy in my Etsy shop along with vintage buttons.

With brown card stock and my Wizard die cut machine, I created a frame for the watercolor image. I added some glitter with a glue pen by coloring in the circles on the tree. The final touches include the seam binding ribbon, another pearl button, baker's twine and a couple mini jingle bells.

My next project is also made with a digital kit called 'Clair's Nutcracker Ballet Digital Stickers' from Holly Brooke Jones.

I am smitten over the colorful and fun stickers in this kit! I used two patterned papers from October Afternoon, one from this year's holiday line called 'Very Merry' and one from last year. They coordinate together perfectly!

With this detailed photo you can see that I glittered some of the nutcracker and the edges of the oval with glitter . I'm able to easily glitter small areas by using a glue pen.

I did a little hand zigzag stitching and added a die cut tag for my sentiment. The ribbon was made with seam binding that I dampened and scrunched up to wrinkle it. I tied the seam binding in a bow with some baker's twine , a felt poinsettia bloom and a little red button.

Did you enjoy my projects? I'm in the middle of creating some others that I hope to share throughout the week! I hope you have time during this busy season to come take a peek. Have a wonderful day and keep warm...there's some awfully cold air coming down from the north! :) Kathy

Christmas Crafting

Hello! How are you today? Are you busy with Christmas activities? I've been crafting up a storm! Each day I've been working on our December Daily album and holiday decor projects. Today I will start making some gingerbread ornaments for our friends and family. Tomorrow we will head to the mall to visit Santa! Christopher is so excited! How about you? Have you been baking? Wrapping gifts yet? Christopher is the only one who has his gifts wrapped and under the tree so far! :)

Here's one of the decor projects I made this week, a Let it Snow frame.

The patterned paper I used for this frame is from October Afternoon's Very Merry collection.

I used a glue pen to trace all the snowflakes and added Crystal Fine Glitter from Martha Stewart. I love all the sparkle it creates!

The sheet music is from 1927 and I also outlined all the notes and bars with a glue pen and glittered them.  The tag, from Staples, was stamped with a Papertrey Ink stamp and glittered around the edges.

The snowflake in the center is a foam sticker from my local craft store. I topped it with a pink button and a pair of mini jingle bells. If interested, this is listed in my Etsy shop.

Would you like to see our latest December Daily album pages? I've seen many beautiful December Daily albums that are so inspiring!

For the 6th of December I created a page about working on our December Daily book! ;) I had to catch up from the weekend before and created three pages on the sixth!

I printed small wallet size photos of the three pages I worked on and tied them together with baker's twine and made a little library card pocket with a Papertrey Ink die. The journaling tickets and stamped edges are also Papertrey Ink.

In between the 6th and 7th pages, I added this transparency to jazz up our album a bit.

December 7th is all about hot chocolate! Yum! We drink a lot of it this time of year!

On December 8th we had snow on the ground and a morning temperature of only 18 degrees! That's cold for us, 20 degrees below normal! While I was uttering "brrrrr," Latte was sounding a "purrrrr" as he was curled up in the sun on the couch! ;)

I have one more share for you before I take off and work on this year's ornaments. For years I've wanted a Christmas tree in my bedroom. It stems from wanting to sleep under the tree when I was a girl! At 44, spending the night in front of the tree in a sleeping bag doesn't sound all the comfortable, but I still like the idea of falling asleep under the glow of Christmas lights. This year I found a sweet little flocked tree that I set up in the bedroom.

Here it is! Isn't it lovely? I took all the vintage mercury glass ornaments I've been collecting to decorate it. I think it's so beautiful and I feel so spoiled when I get into bed at night to read with just the soft glowing lights of this little tree! I am able to read without a light on because I read books on my iPad.

I'd like to leave you with a little assignment! That's right, homework! ;) Wait! It's good homework! I want you to do something special for yourself. Spoil yourself with a tree in your bedroom or whatever it is that would make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps that would be a hot toddy?!  If it means you have to spend $100 dollars, tell your husband that Kathy told you to do it! ;)

The Weather Outside is Frightful & Giveaway

Brrrrr! It's 18 degrees outside right now! You may be hovering in the teens too or colder, but in our neck of the woods, North Carolina, this is about 20 degrees below normal! Brrrr!

My big boy Latte doesn't mind the cold temperatures because he's got a thick fur coat and a sunny spot on the couch where he's taking his morning nap! :)

Over the past couple days I've been sharing our holiday home with you and today I'd like to show you one of my favorite spots in the family room. Apparently, it's Latte's favorite spot right now too! ;) This is the couch I sit on each morning drinking my Starbucks Christmas blend, checking e-mails and gazing at our beautiful tinsel tree.

I love how the sun makes this tinsel tree and ornaments sparkle and casts speckled light on the ceiling!

This snowman and children figurine found at a second hand shop is actually an ornament, but I like to use some of our larger ornaments for decorating. Notice the square milk glass dish below? That's a lovely recent find at a local antique store. Plates like this are harder to find because of their fancy edges that are susceptible to breaking.

This a simple and inexpensive holiday decor idea...a vintage Ball jar filled with jingle bells.

This white doe was a recent purchase at another local antique shop. I believe I only paid about $5 for her. She had a bow around her neck that was too narrow and in bad shape so I replaced it with this silver bow complete with a couple jingle bells.

I made this snowman bottle last year with an empty Prima Flower bottle, rub-ons, and vintage sheet music. If you like him, I have one for sale in my Etsy shop! :)

I love this tiny white wagon. I found it at a flea market for $1! It looks adorable on my table with a couple vintage tags I made placed inside. There's a recipe for Apple Pie Cider on the back. I would love to give one to one of you who leaves a comment on this post. I will draw that name tomorrow morning and announce it on my post!

Here's one of the holiday cards I created this year. I enjoy using my cards, tags and other handmade items to decorate with.

This silver glittered 'JOY' sign was found at Target last year in their Dollar Spot department and I made the little blue snow box from an unfinished birch box you can buy at your local craft store.

As you can see, decorating doesn't have to cost a lot when you use things you make. Remember that thrift shops, flea markets and after holiday sales are a great places to find inexpensive decorating treasures. Another thing to  keep in mind when looking for decorating items is to look for things that will work for all holidays, like ball jars, glass and white pieces, etc.

Now, to announce the winner of yesterday's Helen Keller tag....Sandra Correale of Daily Re-Creation! Congratulations Sandra! I'll be in touch to get your mailing address. Thank you for visiting my blog!

I hope I've helped give you some fun crafting and holiday decorating ideas today. Do you have some you would like to share on your blog? Please leave me a comment and I'll come take a look. :) Kathy