Picture Frame Embellishment

I took a plane clear acrylic picture frame purchased at the dollar store and embellished it with a vinyl rose cutout. Once again I put the Silhouette to good use.



I could see using this method to create a desk sign or perhaps a table number at a reception. Anyone planning a wedding?

Birthday Card for Sarah

My daughter went to a birthday party yesterday and brought along this butterfly birthday card. The flowers, birthday caption and butterfly are all cut from cardstock using the Silhouette. Happy birthday Sarah!

Mailbox Gets a Makeover

I wanted to try cutting out vinyl with my Silhouette and needed an uncomplicated project. I decided to add a white vinyl flourish to my plain, rather boring black mailbox. Voila!



Not so boring any more! I think I shall go a bit crazy now slapping vinyl embellishments on all sorts of things!

Card with a Mission

This dragonfly card is my contribution to the Taylored Expressions Card Drive. The cards will be donated to the NICU nurses at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD where they use the dragonfly as a symbol of hope for families who have lost a child during delivery or in the early stages of life.

For more information visit:
Taylored Expressions: Dragonfly Card Drive - TESC101

The mailing address for donations is:

Taylored Expressions Card Drive

924 NW 33rd Street
Ankeny, IA 50023

Sláinte (To your Good Health)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I just thought I would share some special cards I created to celebrate the occasion. These were all created using cutouts made with my Silhouette digital cutter.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Paper Mache Creation

Many apologies for my lengthy hiatus from blogging. I've been quite busy with a variety of projects including this one:

It starts off with a large balloon covered in paper mache - paper strips generously coated with a goo of white glue and water.

After I have a few layers of newspaper, I add some layers of paper towel, and glue goo.

Now it's time to add some 3D features to my creation. I used expanding spray insulation (like they use for around pipes) to build up some cheeks, a chin and an ear.

Looks a little bulbous, but a bit more like a face and less like an egg. When it's dry the foam can be carved with a knife to refine the features a bit.

Time to add some more paper mache. Then paint and add a stocking cap.

Putting it together with the rest of the costume and we have: Bonhomme! Bonhomme is the snowman ambassador to the Quebec Winter Carnival. This Bonhomme was created for an elementary school winter carnival.

What a handsome fellow! Bonhomme and the Winter Queen were quite a hit. Seeing all the kids' happy faces made it worth all that work.

Happy New Year!!!

New Years Day is traditionally a time for contemplating last year's blessings and setting new goals. One of my goals for 2010 is to do something creative every day. I thought it might be fun to share my creative journey with everyone in Blogland.

One of the projects I've started is knitting a new scarf. Before Christmas I helped my daughter shop for a new hat and scarf for her sister. I was surprised at how expensive they were! I decided that my knitting skills were up to the task of knitting a scarf or two or three. The price of yarn and needles was approximately one third of the retail price of a scarf.

I was able to complete one just in time for Christmas and am currently working on a second. This one might be a gift for next Christmas or I might just keep it myself! It is going together pretty quickly using chunky textured yarn and size 9mm needles.

I have some other crafty projects up my sleeve too. I am currently working on a wedding scrapbook album and I plan on making lots of cards. It's going to be a busy year!