Teacher Gifts

Well, having sick kids for about a month has given me some much needed craft time. I was asked by Kammy's teachers to whip up some notecards and such for a student teacher who has been in their classroom all semester. She leaves this week so here is what I delivered this morning. I think they turned out cute and had a little bit of a hard time letting go :)











And here is what all the teachers are getting for Christmas. My fabulously talented friend, Roxanne, made the cute "snow" shovels. We added hot chocolate, a yummy chocolate bar, and some marshmellows for snow :)



Thanks for looking! Happy Crafting!

Kimberly

Boxes, Boxes and More Boxes

I had a moment of insanity or spurt of creativity and bought a ton of cigar boxes. I got some on ebay and some on craigslist. I had no plan whatsoever for them. I had never done anything with them prior. I just felt like I needed to have them and thought I was getting them for a steal -- which I have confirmed :) They are so cool! Lots of different sizes, shapes; some cardboard, some wooden. And I have been making jewelry boxes! The insides are covered in felt, some have dividers to keep your jewels nice and tangle free, and they include a mirror on the top cover to check out how beautiful you are :)

What do you think??? I am going to charge $15-$25 per box. Anyone want to order one??







Thanks for looking :)

One Project Finished

I have actually had a lot of time in my craft room lately. Not sure exactly how I managed that?? And Tim starts his marathon of work in August. So, that should continue for a while. I am officially a married single mom. Just until after Labor Day.

Anyway, next Tuesday, I start a book club at Kammy's preschool and wanted to have something to take notes in for that. Plus I wanted to post some altered composition books on my etsy store, Creations By SeaStar. So here is my finished project!





We are reading, No! Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It by David Walsh, PhD. I have only read chapter 1 so far, but it is really good! I am super excited about the club and the book. So, now I am already with my cute journal, too!

I have also made some progress on the other two projects on my craft table, but not enough to post yet. I want them to be completed -- who wants to see another sneak peek at the same unfinished project, right? Besides that gives me a little incentive for finishing them up.

Thanks for looking! Happy Crafting :)

Works in Progress

I don't usually start more than one project at once, but for some reason I was feeling a little ADD at my craft table this past week or so. Nothing is finished, of course! Thats what happens with too many things in progress at once. But I didn't want to disappear from my blog again for too long, so here is a super sneak peek!

My sister won the "whats the weirdest thing you have used in a stamp project" question. She made a pencil box for her desk out a tampon box. In fact, she made three of them because they turned out so cute :)

So, here is a sneak at her "prize". When its all finished I will show the complete picture.



Then, I wanted to alter some composition books since school is coming up fast, I thought those might be quick sales on my Etsy Store. And I am starting a book club at Kammy's preschool so this will be used as a sample for the store and my personal journal for that.



And lastly, another work in progress using some fun flocked paper I found on sale at Hobby Lobby. This one is really rough but stayed tuned for the finished masterpiece :)



Happy Crafting,

I am back!

Okay, so I am making a "Spring Resolution" and that is to get back to my blog :) I may have made the same resolution at the beginning of 2009, but that obviously did not work out so well. I have not been crafting as much as I would like, which is part of the absence. But I finally got some stuff done and uploaded some pictures so here goes:

I was inspired by the cute stacked canisters in the new SU! catalog. I have been storing my markers in these altered canisters but they were standing up and I worried about the ink. So, this was the perfect solution. They also save space and makes them easier to get to when I need them.



I have been meaning to make these plaques for my kiddos for awhile now. We can now hang these nifty little things and clip their artwork to them for display.



Here is an album that I made for my hubby for Valentine's Day present. We were going economical and this was a heartfelt and inexpensive gift. I found the LOVE album at Archivers (on sale) and had always wanted to try making one. It was super easy and I can almost guarantee that you will see more of these suckers on my blog in the future. Fabulous fun!



I am embarrassed to say that I did not make my kid's valentines this year. Ugh! But I couldn't let the whole holiday pass without some craftiness going on. These were quick and easy. The kids got to help with the cookies (good ol' slice and bakes) and with a quick and easy bag topper they got rave reviews from the teachers.



Thanks for looking :)

I really have been crafting ....

Here are some things I have been working on:

An altered composition notebook using some of my new TAC stamps. I am going to have a few of these at a craft show I plan to do in October. I also made a matching beaded pen. I did these while I was on vacation and the pen is currently MIA, which is why its not shown. Hopefully I can find it!




I purchased some plain albums with the thought of embellishing them. I was so nervous, though, that it took some time for me to use them. They have been in my basement for months! I finally got brave and did a couple. The baby girl one was fun to do because I got to dig around and use some embellishments and paper that I was saving for God knows what ... I guess this :) Now, if I just knew someone having a girl soon. I think this will make its way to Etsy or the craft show, too.


On this linen album I wanted to try rub ons. I had read on SCS that they would work but, again, I was a little nervous. I think it turned out so cute. I am really pleased. I stamped the word FAMILY in stazon ink and it isn't as crisp an image as the rub ons, but I don't think it takes anything away from the album at all. I got these rub ons at an SU! garage sale so you may see more of these in the future.

And these cute little suckers I am SO EXCITED about :) They are coasters covered in last year's Halloween Designer Series paper, and embellished with binder clips to hold the pictures and stand the coaster up. Viola' the most adorable frame. I am in the process of making some of these for Christmas, too. The pictures is one of my favorites of Teagan right before he turned one. Does he not make the cutest monkey with a binkie you ever saw?? I am also using this as my entry into Shelli's SoShelli Creative Contest for October where her challenge was to create something for Halloween.
I hope to get some more stuff done soon. I have been trying to get caught up on cleaning and straightening after vacation so the basement has not been used much. I am itching to be creative, though, so maybe tomorrow.


Thanks for looking! G'night!

Success!

I have mastered the wine tote! I wasn't feeling very optimistic after my first try to alter this thingy but after some risky and destructive moves I have come up with something that I love :) There is only one thing I would do differently on the next one but I am not going to tell you what that is :) Hee hee! This is for a housewarming present for the friend I mentioned in my last post.

I also finished her card. I found this sketch in an old SU! Idea Book which was kind of fun. I think it was actually a scrapbook page but it just jumped out at me. I also love the Bali Breeze paper so use that a lot ... and I have a lot of little scraps of that I can't part with so those come in handy for the photo corners punch. I have also made a point of using my hodgepodge kits. I am just waiting for some new finishes to come out in the next catalog so better make room! I am also trying to use old In Colors that I was hoarding. Again, I think I am going to be in love with the new ones so need to make some more room. So I used Marigold Morning on her card and paired that with Close to Cocoa - I like this color combo a lot :)

I also had picked up some stuff at the dollar bin my last trip to Joann's that I have been meaning to do something with. So, here is a coupon booklet that I thought turned out pretty cute. I totally screwed up the first attempt so need to figure out how to fix that one. This was was stamped with some foam stamps from Archivers using Stazon ink. The purse and cell phone were block foam stamps from Michael's and used up some spare ribbon. If I can "fix" the boo boo on the other one I have I think I might make it a photo booklet for scrapbooking.

I am scrapbooking with friends today and also have some album type projects to work on for Pixie Posie - the photography company of my friend, Jennifer! She takes the most adorable candid shots of kids that you will ever see ... check her out here: Pixie Posie

Catch you all later :) Have a blessed Sunday and be creative!

Happy Birthday to Me :)

Yep, its my birthday today and I am admitting it! I have come a long way in the year. Last year's birthday had me in tears. Today I am thankful for another year and decided to grin and bear it! My brother and I have decided that we are 20 somethings this year so that made it even easier ;)

I have treated myself this week to some quality stamp time down in my craft room. Here is what I have come up with:

A friend has just recently purchased a house and here is part of a housewarming gift. I also have a wine tote that I'd like to alter but am having some challenges with that. I will keep you posted on my progress on that. I am not so optimistic, unfortunately.

I also made a few cards for my ETSY store (stop by ... give me feedback, buy something!!):

I also finished my swap card ... and maybe I should keep it a secret, but we are swapping on Sunday so I am going to go ahead and post a *version* of it.

Thanks for looking! We are going out to dinner and to the Cardinals game with OUT kids tonight so I won't be stamping or crafting again until Friday evening, probably! Hope you have a wonderful crafty day!

Kids, Kids, Kids ....

Oh, my gosh, I am on serious KID OVERLOAD today!!!! I have my neices so four running around terrorizing my poor puppy is just TOO MUCH TODAY! They all look so innocent, huh??

Anyway ... :( .... it is so hot here, also (probaby making me even more crabby!) so I have been trying to spend some time in my cool basement which is where my craft area is located. My sister and stampin' pal has been in a funk lately so I made her this coffee can full of some stuff to help get her in the mood and reenergized! I wasn't sure what this would look like altered but in the end of I loved it. And she was excited to get it, too! My hubby drinks A LOT of coffee so I have a few of these to alter. I don't drink coffee, myself, but love the smell so I am hoping that the faint yummy smell of coffee might also motivate the receipent! hee hee!

Because of the craziness which is my life today I am going to keep this short! Hope you are having a calm and peaceful day ... if you are a praying kind of person, please say one for me -- I need some patience today!

Off to Cincinnati for a KID FREE weekend!!

Before I leave though, I have FINALLY finished my cousin's thank you notes. What a gratifying feeling to have completed 100 cards. I just need to pack them up and send them off now :) Yea! I think they look beautiful and were definitely a learning experience. I am new at this and each project is going to present new challenges. I am better prepared now to handle large projects than I was a month ago!

Also, I was able to do something for myself. I finished my sketch book :) Here it is! I have been adding to it daily and might need volume 2 very soon. I think it is so fun to find a card layout that really appeals to you, jot it down and see it transformed into your very own unique creation! You should try it. I found these STL Art Museum sketch books at a garage sale for $.25 a piece. I have three of them but you could even grab one of those $1 journals at Michaels and make it yours.














And I made a card for the wedding we are going to. Their colors are blue and brown (according to the save the date card we recieved). Those are very popular colors -- same as my cousin's wedding in a few weeks! I might need to put away the Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip for a while after this!! I feel like I might have been able to add something to it but I couldn't figure it out so I left it. The rings are (wet) embossed and the chocolate chip frame was run through the sizzix with a cuttlebug embossing folder. Around the rings it says "to have and to hold" -- this is an older stamp set that I hardly ever use. And right now I am forgetting the name of it???













We are leaving around noon today. I have packed up my scrapbooking stuff and hope to get lots done. Tim is in the wedding so I will have some much needed "ALONE" time ... and I could NOT be more excited :) Kids and Pup are going to my sisters! Woo hoo!! I'll have a computer but will probably not get a chance to post again until Monday.

Happy Stampin'!