Card of the Week...

Laura's Sketch 33 from 2 Sketches 4 U was a fun one to work with this week. My camera is crappy and for some reason the Happy Birthday stamp is fuzzy in the picture... I promise this card is lots cuter in real life!

Messenger Style Bags...

My cousin Lorie makes the cutest messenger style bags out of Capri Sun pouches. We visited her booth at Tuacahn last Saturday, and when my girls saw them, they BEGGED me to make some. I finally gave in, and whipped up 3 of them that afternoon.



The handle on this one ripped, so I bought some material from JoAnn's and sewed it on. It's different than the others, but still cute.
My girls get lots of compliments on their bags at school....everyone loves them! They've even got friends who asked if I'd make one for them if they saved up their Capri Sun pouches....we'll see what I can do!

Card of the Week...

I loved Kazan's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 U this week and decided to give it a try...

This is what I came up with....
I can't say that I'm 100% happy with it. I really wish I had a bigger variety of punches and other tools (don't we all?!). I finally figured out how to use my corner rounder punch to make scalloped edges, but as you can see, I still need to work on the corners! This sketch is definitely a keeper though. I will keep playing around with it and maybe I'll post the other cards I make using it....maybe!!

Giveaway Reminder...

This is just a reminder to head on over to The Dress Up Drawer for your chance to win a cute Purse Card Holder with matching cards made by yours truly! Go on....get over there and leave a comment!

Journals, Cards, and a Giveaway!!

Several weeks ago my sister asked me to help her with a special project. One of her friends has breast cancer and my sister wanted to send a care package to her and her family. She wanted me to make each of them journals so they could have a place to write down what they were thinking and feeling as their Mom went through surgery and treatments.

She also wanted to send her friend some "Thank You" cards that she could use. I ended up making her a Purse Card holder with matching Thank You cards.


I was touched that my sister asked me to help her out with this. And my admiration for my sister was magnified as she sought a way to serve her friend in her time of need. Thank you for your example, Sister!! My thoughts and prayers are with your friend and her family.


Now, for the Giveaway part of this post.....

How would you like to win this cute Purse Card holder with matching cards?




I'm part of The Dress Up Drawer's Super Giveaway! My item will be featured tomorrow....so make sure you go there and leave a comment for your chance to win!! And while you're there, you may as well leave comments for all the other fabulous items that are featured. I've got my eye on a few!!

Card of the Week...

Nothing makes me happier than crafting. Well, almost nothing! My husband knows what kind of a day I've had if I'm making cards when he calls (he works out of town during the week).

Yesterday was one of those days. It was the first day of school, and things got pretty chaotic once my kids got home. After they had their baths, I pulled out some scraps from another project (I'll be posting about it next week) and made some cards. I got the idea for this one from Pebbles in My Pocket.
It was fun to branch out from the type of cards that I usually make and try something new. I think I'll have to try a new card layout a week just to add variety to my stash. We'll see how I do!

For those of you who are card makers....where do you get the ideas for your cards from? I have a few sites on my sidebar that I like to stalk for ideas, but if there are any others that you'd recommend, please share!

Juice Pouch Purses...

These cuties have been on my "To Do List" for quite a while now. Last weekend I decided to pull out my sewing machine and make some. I don't know why I waited for so long! They were easier than I anticipated...even though I did mess up the first one...oops!

I made several of these small ones. Each of my girls got one, and we gave one to a friend for her birthday.


My oldest daughter decided she wanted a big one with long handles. We experimented a little and came up with this one. After it was made, we decided it needed to be a bit wider. We'll know that for next time!


Then my 2nd born decided she wanted a bigger one too. We went with one that was 3 pouches wide by 2 pouches tall. We were going to make this one 2 pouches wide, but it seemed a little too wide. So we compensated by sewing them together in the middle. It turned out the perfect size!


Here's all of the sizes together. It was fun to experiment and try and come up with our own designs for the bigger ones. And we learned a lot too! We're running a little low on our juice pouches now, but will make more of these cuties when we've saved up some more!


**The instructions I used can be found here.

Paper Bag Purses...

I have become a HUGE fan of Inking Idaho! All of her cards and craft projects are awesome! I always find something to try from her ideas!

These Paper Bag Purses are one of her many cute ideas! When I saw them, I knew they'd be perfect for my Activity Days girls. They are easy to make, and adorable to boot!

I made one for each of my AD girls in 'school themed' paper. Our activity was about the importance of education...perfect for Back to School!!


Here's a view from the side...


I filled each sack with glue and crayons. The glue was a tight fit...I wish I'd gone with glue sticks like I had originally planned!


We made cute little altered note pads too. This one was just an example that I made for them to get an idea of how they could decorate theirs.
I'm totally loving the paper bag purses! Think how cute they'd be to put gifts in for birthdays and holidays! Can't wait to make more!

Journals...

For as long as I can remember, leaders from my church have counseled us to keep a personal journal. I started my first journal when I was in 4th grade and it quickly became a habit. I started out just writing a few sentences and then graduated to writing pages each day. I was better about writing in my journal daily when I was younger. Now I feel like I'm doing good if I write once a week!

A few weeks ago I did an activity for my 10-11 year old Activity Days girls on journals. We talked about how important it is to keep a journal. I showed them my journals and even read some entries to them. They laughed about me calling a boy I had a crush on "gorgeous", among other things! My entries were proof to them that you can write about anything in your journals...even silly things!!

I bought some journals from the Dollar Tree and let the girls decorate them however they wanted. Most opted to stamp their names along with some flowers on them...they did a fabulous job!

On the inside cover I taped a quote from President Henry B. Eyring's talk from the October 2007 General Conference titled "O Remember, Remember". It says: "Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see his hand in my life? I will do that. And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love, will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him."
I hope the girls have taken to heart what we talked about and have started writing in their journals. As I was preparing this activity, I read through some of my journals and was amazed at the stuff that I didn't remember! I'd read about something and think "Oh yeah....now I remember doing that!" It made me grateful that I kept journals and wrote faithfully!

How about you? Do you keep a journal? If you don't, I encourage you to start one! It's never too late, and it will be something that you and your family will come to treasure!