Heartwarming Vintage Blog

Hey crafty friends! Guess what! I was featured on the Heartwarming Vintage blog today. Click here to see the story. I made this chandelier using their products in 2009 (before our third baby was born, you know... when I had time to do crafts and scrapbook. ;) ) It still hangs in the hallway at halloween and it is one of my favorite Halloween decorations too!

I was so surprised someone remembered one of my creations!

Little joys!
Thanks for checking in,
Christy

Halloween

Normally, we are REALLY into Halloween but this year, not so much. Kids were sick a lot in October and we have been so busy. Nonetheless, we had fun and the kids loved their costumes.

Well... Max only loved his costume for a couple minutes then he made every effort to just get it off. You should have heard the yells of frustration! I couldn't bear it so after a few photos, we just took the costume off.

Sam loved being a pirate. The funny thing is, he dresses like a pirate about once a week throughout the year anyway. He thought getting candy just for being his usual Pirate-self was just fabulous. Now to deal with all the sugar...
Trick or treating in our neighborhood is fun but I think Maddie and Max would rather have been playing with the firetruck ride-on. (Still one of the all-time favorite toys in the house!) They both groaned a little when I told them it was time to stop playing and get costumes on. Weird.
She just adores him!Now, onto "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" The kids are at such fun ages and my parents and brother will be here this year, it will be an amazingly wonderful season! Can't wait!
Have a great day!
Christy

Speed Post

Holy cow--November already?!?!? SERIOUSLY? How did that happen!?!

Panic. Stress. I don't have much time to write but I wanted to make sure I posted a few pictures from Halloween.

Doesn't Max look adorable in his pumpkin costume? He has been growing so quickly, he almost didn't fit in it!
I made the family pose for this picture right before we went out to trick-or-treat. That was the best bribe to get Maddie and Sam to cooperate!Here are the kids' pumpkins. We carved them as "self portaits." Of course, Maddie's pumpkin is all glammed-out, Sam's has a scary face, and you can't miss Max's pumpkin. This was so fun! I hope your Halloween was fun too!
Cheers!
Christy

P.S. ONLY 50 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Boy, do I have a lot to do!

Sparkly, not spooky

I'm trying to squeeze a few Halloween crafts in before little Max is born. Here's my latest, new favorite. Its a Halloween chandelier made from some vintage Halloween images from Crafty Secrets, glittered wood halloween shapes, beads, and crystals. The center ring is actually the inside of a huge tape roll, painted silver and embellished. Its so thick that my crop-a-dile wouldn't punch through it, I had to use a drill driver. It was so easy I think I might make one for Christmas with a snowflake theme. Maybe a baby mobile? Other ideas???On another note, Brentt and Maddie have went to school a couple times on the trailer-bike. She has so much fun! I snapped this picture the other day and I'm not sure who is happier. Enjoy your week! Thanks for checking in!
Christy

Boo!

Last weekend we celebrated Halloween at the "Boo!" Parade. Here are a few pictures:

Bella the angel:

Maddie the wicked witch:

Maddie the sweet witch:

Keegan, the protector:The group of kids at the Boo Parade.My sweeties:

We hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Because its NOT a dress rehearsal...

Sammy has gotten into full character and is ready for Halloween. We made this pirate costume on-the-fly because his Firefighter costume is way too hot. Its been in the 90s for weeks here. Looking forward to fall weather...soon we hope!

Oh so much inspiration!

For some reason, I've been attracted to a vintage/shabby chic style lately. So, I bought this book called Vintage Paper Crafts by Anna Corba and I'm in LOVE! This book is so inspiring. So many projects are so simple, yet elegant. Now I'm on the hunt for vintage sheet music and all things French (no surprise on that one!). Inspired by this book, I made this little candle in about 5 minutes with a few things I had on hand. Cute, eh?

Fall is my favorite season and I find inspiration everywhere. Outside hiking, warm apple crisp, cozy sweaters, and of course, making Halloween plans. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so when I found this fabric print of the Wicked Witch of the West on etsy from Vintage Bella, I knew exactly what I would use it for...a scrapbook layout, of course! Last year, our family did the Wizard of Oz theme for Halloween and Madeleine was Dorothy.

Take a look....I am madly in love with this layout!

And here's a halloween card made from the scraps of the layout.

Back to the vintage stuff... I just wanted to share another canvas collage I've made. This one is of my Mom's family. My Momma is the cute girl sitting on my Grandpa's lap. I love making these collages and am considering making custom ones and selling them in an etsy shop. I wonder if they'd sell, and if so, for how much? Hmmm....
On a more personal note, last week Maddie started Karate. She loves it and has been practicing her kicks on the ottoman. And she never forgets the loud "hi-yaa" as she does it. This could be an interesting experience for my living room furniture.

Also, Sam started a "Tiny Sports" class where he'll learn T-ball, soccer, and basketball. But, perhaps "learn" is too big of a word here. Really, its a bunch of 2 & 3 year olds running around randomly and occasionally following instructions. Its like herding cats. I'm exhausted by the end of class. Its all about us being fit together I guess....

Anyways, I hope you're finding lots of inspiration in your everyday moments too. Thanks for checking in!

Christy

Some things you can make...

I've been busy creating so many new projects. The kids have been sick so they've been sleeping more and we've been confined to the house. My lack of adult interaction has been vented through my scrap projects.

After the CHA new releases of Halloween lines, I've been inspired to use more of last year's stuff. BTW, have you seen the new Pink Paislee Halloween line called Vintage Moon. I LOVE IT! Oh, but I also adore the Halloween Cosmo Cricket line. Oh and Little Yellow bicycle has these fabulous velvet embellishments. Oh the excitement! Ha... I'm such a scrap nerd. But its that energy that inspired this creation.

Here's how you can make it: This is a 12 by 12 sheet of acrylic cut to this shape ( I just traced another piece of paper this shape). I inked the edges with Staz-On black, added some patterned paper (the purple spiderweb paper is from Making Memories, the black glittery paper is from Doodlebug, the witch shoes are from Reminisce patterned paper), and the bat and the saying are a sticker from Rusty Pickle. I punched holes in the top with my crop-a-dile and set the eyelets. With a little black rickrack, it makes such a spooky wall hanging. I hope you'll try it!
This next project started as a design team challenge for Yellowbird Scrapbook Store. The challenge was to "Go Green" by taking something that would have been trash and give it new life. I was not really excited about this challenge because quite frankly, trash doesn't excite me. But after a few cups of coffee, this coffee can became inspiring and is now our dog's treat bucket. This would also make an adorable cookie jar or piggy bank.

Here how you make it: Cover the coffee can with patterned paper. This paper from Sonburn Designs already had the cute dog pattern. Add the felt yellow scalloped trim from Creative Cafe to border the pattern. Add letter stickers to spell "TREATS". These letters are from American Crafts remarks book. Then I added black rickrack to the edge of the top. The top is embellished with dog buttons from "Dress it Up." I just cut off the back of the buttons with a scissors. Just make sure you use a heavy-duty glue for these. Last one here was another assignment for the design team. The project uses all items from Daisy D's or from around the house. My favorite part is the denim pocket. Madeleine had outgrown a pair of shorts and I simply couldn't wait to give them a new life.


The flowers are circles cut from plain cotton fabric (old sheets, a dish towel or curtain linings work great.) I cut them using my pinking shears but using a straight edge or fraying the edge of the fabric looks nice too. You gather the flower in the center and stitch it together (at the center) when you've arranged it the way you like. I brushed the tips with copper colored acrylic paint and added a brad. The ribbon "stem" is loosely adhered to the page with glue dots.
I hope you make some of these things. Feel free to email me or comment if you want more instructions or have questions. I'd also love to see what you make from these ideas.

Cheers!
Christy