Fast Photo Friday: Sledding

Winter Moment:
We have lived in a state with a full blown, all out chilly winter for most of our lives. But as a family we've only taken our youngest sledding once. Mom = failure! But we finally got up the courage to brave the wet and cold and headed out to our local golf course last year to hit the slopes (the driving range has a set of super steep hills). I think I must have been traumatized as a kid because I remember the freezing wet of winter activities. Of course hardly anyone owned a pair of snow pants back then, and "moon boots" were just becoming the norm. So I was pleasantly surprised to see how toasty warm and dry we stayed the entire time. Clearly we all enjoyed ourselves. (And obviously this the perfect way to transport your sled back up the hill. Put your back into it, baby!)

Create Magazine: Vintage Makeovers

I remember thinking that people over 20 were ancient. It's true. At 8 years old the thought of having a real life past my teens seemed beyond impossible. What could possibly be interesting at that age? Well, I'm obviously well past my 20's, and good riddance, as I've come so far and learned so much in that time. I will welcome the (cough, cough) 40's later this year.

My kids are not that different from I, and think my friends and I are already just as ancient as I once perceived this age group to be. While from this standpoint, I can hardly agree, I do understand their perspective.

While I may not be old, many of the clothing pieces that I wore would now be considered vintage. Does that make me vintage as well?

For one of my last assignments for Northridge Publishing, I wrote and contributed the projects for the article within the "Vintage" Idea Book called "Flea Market Chic."

I thoroughly enjoy shopping at antique and second hand stores looking for treasures that can be altered and displayed in my own home. Under the guise of my "assignment," I was able to collect a few new pieces and give them a "vintage vibe" to share within the pages of this article.

One my very favorite projects was the discovery of this rather dated brass frame with a floral poster glued inside.

To give it just the vibe I wanted:
1. I removed the poster and frame backing.
2. I spray painted the frame with matte black spray paint.
3. I covered the wooden backing with poly-fill.
4. I stretched burlap fabric over the poly-fill and stapled it onto the back of the wooden piece.
5. I screwed the wooden piece with the poly-fill and burlap back onto the frame with slightly longer screws than came with the frame (it was obviously a little thicker now).
6. I cut my initials from black vinyl with my electronic die cutting machine and placed them on the fabric.
7. I cut several banner shapes from leftover fabric and hung them from the twine strung across the frame and attached to the frame with buttons. The fabric banner is held in place with small natural wooden clothespins.
8. I added photos or memorabilia to the frame with stick pins.

This is going in a special place in my home and is one of my most favorite pieces I've ever altered. But this is just one of five projects I altered within this article. Be sure to purchase or download the issue here to discover the other items I gave some "Flea Market Chic."

20 Amazingly Long, Difficult, Sweet Years

I was one of those little girls who thought getting married would be like the princess who gets carried off into the sunset by the handsome prince. And while I did meet my prince, our life afterwards was no "happily ever after for ever and all time." Rather it has been filled with the sweetest of memories, the most difficult of times. Times when we loved each other fiercely, times when we could hardly get along, times when we stood together and stood strong, and times when we couldn't see eye to eye. The secret is knowing you are in it for the long haul. That this moment, however difficult, may end up being just a tiny blip on the radar of a life-long relationship.

I am certainly no example of how to do it right and do it well all of the time. I've made more than my share of mistakes. But I do love my husband, and he loves me; and we TRY to figure it out as we go along. We rely on the commitment that we made to each other when we were married. We pray often for guidance. We try to apologize and treat each other respectfully.

Some people seem to get this whole program much more quickly than have I. I think I'm a slow learner. But I'm determined to figure it out and maybe that's why my husband and I have been together 20 years (married 19). There are days when it seems like FOREVER and there are other times when I can hardly believe how quickly it's gone. I suppose that's natural. Either way, I'm grateful for what we have. I know it can and will get better and that makes me happy to know that he and I are on this journey together.

Here is a layout I created for Two Peas in a Bucket about the lessons I have learned over those 20 years:

For the left side of the layout, I used my Silhouette machine to cut the large "20" and the "years" text. (I actually welded together two words to get the word "years"). I then hand cut the dimensional banner and hung tags from it with twine.

Rather than just journal one long paragraph of text, I created paper banner strips that I hung vertically on my page. No reason not to make a layout more interesting just by changing up the way you approach your journaling:

Below you will find supplies to use to recreate this layout. Look for unique ways to present your story: eye-catching elements that elevate the journaling!

Supplies: (Click photos to link back to the supplies.)

InLinkz.com

Tutorial Tuesday: Cupcake Wrappers!

Welcome to "Tutorial Tuesday" in which I walk you through some basic steps for creating a crafting project. Today I created some "Cupcake Wrappers and "Toppers" using the "Yours Truly" collection from Echo Park Paper. Below you will find the steps for creating this project.

First, upload your die cut shape to your digital die cut machine software. Copy the image as many times as you can on the mat to save time and paper.

Cut paper to the size of the mat and cut out the shapes.

Cupcake wrappers will be cut to standard cupcake size. Mini cupcakes will require a size adjustment within your digital die cut software.

Use glue dots or a strong adhesive to assemble and glue the edges of the cupcake wrapper together.

Fold the "XOXO" stickers 1/2" from the top. Thread twine through a black button and attach to the sticker. Mount the sticker on a toothpick to create the cupcake topper.

Stick the toothpick into the center of a cupcake and place the cupcake inside the cupcake wrapper.

These wrappers make ordinary cupcakes look extraordinary and will dress up any Valentine party you have planned!

Valentine Cupcake Topper Supplies:

InLinkz.com