This gift is going to a lady in our Sunday school class. I’ve had it sitting around for awhile, but her shower is tomorrow, so I hope posting it this soon is ok. I made her new little guy two burp cloths, a cloth block with a bell inside and a fabric basket that matches. I used some jersey knit from the upcycled pouches for the e and some coordinating flannel.
Sharing at :: Tatertots and Jello :: Funky Junk Interiors ::
***Update*** The app worked perfectly. The guy at the store said you could only use the code once, but it didn’t remove it from my coupon list when I used it. I may try it again, just to see what happens.
While clipping my 50% off coupon, I noticed a “text this number” message at the bottom. Upon further investigation, I realized you could download a free app for JoAnn’s that would give you the coupon code right on your phone. I didn’t get a chance to use it today, but I plan to try it tomorrow. I have the paper copy just in case something doesn’t work right. Go check it out. I’m all about not carrying around the coupons if I don’t have to.
Thanks to all of you who entered my drawing to help me celebrate my first year in blog land. The winner of the Valentine fabric basket is Courtney.
Courtney (22:43:50)
How cute are these? I heard about your giveaway from Somday Crafts giveaway link list.
I will contact you and get specifics. Congrats!
Don’t be sad if you didn’t win, I have a freebie for you below. If you have a Silhouette machine, I have the cut file for the Subway art.
click to download Silhouette cut file
Since my first post was Valentine related, let me start year 2 by showing you my Valentine decorations for this year. Yesterday I made a subway art Valentine sign inspired by Tatertots and Jello but on a much smaller scale because I already had a piece of mdf and a small piece of left over trim. I had another small little piece of trim and I made the little hugs and kisses sign. 
And I fell in love with the sewn heart garland from little birdie secret (or you can see it on my pinterest) and made one for myself. The poms are a smaller version of some I saw on diary of a craftaholic.
The rest of the decoration you have seen before. There are a few more empty spaces to be filled and I bought pieces for another apothecary jar at a thrift store (50 cents each, yay) so I’m not done with the Valentine crafting AND we still have the whole Valentine party thing to create for!
Thanks again for a great first year and I hope to see you in blog year 2.
I made two more upcycled pouches for T2’s friends. It’s VERY addictive. I’m thinking single letters for Valentine goodie bags… (maybe too ambitious, we’ll see). Supper tonight was burgers and shakes. I try to make take-out style food at home every now and then and every time I make burgers and shakes, T4 makes Krusty Krab signs and insists on putting the fixins’ on the burgers just like he was Sponge Bob. Tonight he made a paper label for his hat as well. I’m not sure he will look back when he is older and appreciate that I aired his funny creativity 🙂
I was etsy stalking browsing the other day and found this incredible shop selling upcycled pouches made from shirt sleeves and letters cut from t-shirts. I would LOVE to purchase from her, but it’s not in the budget. What I do have a plethora of is t-shirts. So I made my own. I don’t want to take any glory away from ZJayne and her shop on etsy, so if you love her product and it’s in your budget, order from her. She has other VERY cool “green” products to choose from. If you have some t-shirts lying around the house, try a pouch of your own. If you have some scraps left, you might make an upcycled scarf from Living with punks.
T4 didn’t want an upcycled pouch. He wanted an eye patch. He must want to watch a pirate movie, because we must dress thematically for any movie we watch. Spiderman graced our presence today while he watched, you guessed it, Spiderman. He does make a pretty cute pirate.
**don’t forget to sign up to win a Valentine basket for my blogiversary**
sharing at :: somewhat simple-strut your stuff :: seven thirty three – snips and snails :: The Shabby Chic Cottage-Transformation Thursday :: Fireflies and Jellybeans-Show off your stuff party :: Yesterday on Tuesday-A Crafty Soiree :: Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop ::
My daughter has been wanting one of the neoprene lunch boxes, but she didn’t really “need” it, she just wanted it. So I didn’t get her one, even when they were on clearance at Target for 2 for $10 (that’s not a huge clearance if you ask me!) What I did find was a solid colored one in the clearance section of Wal-Mart for $2. I can do $2. But, it was solid colored and who knows how many other people will have the exact same lunch box… enter Silhouette (I love that machine!) I decided to use some of the iron-on vinyl I got from Expressions Vinyl. They even have a video tutorial, which I didn’t watch until I had already cut the vinyl of the wrong side, but we learn… (you need to flip your image in reverse too.) I cut out 5 dandelions, but managed to iron two of them to my iron and no, it wasn’t my best night and no it’s REALLY not that difficult to use this stuff, I was just NOT with it that night. I digress… the lunchbox is much cuter than it was before and no one should have a lunchbox like hers.
standard run of the mill lunchbox
one of a kind AWESOME lunchbox
Don’t forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway
Blue Cricket Designs-Show & Tell :: Some Day Crafts-Whatever Goes :: Thrifty Home-Penny Pinching Party :: My Backyard Eden – Make It Yours Day :: seven thirty three – Sugar and Spice
In honor of my blogiversary coming up on January 24th I wanted to have my first giveaway. And since my first blog posts were Valentine related, I thought it would be appropriate to give away a Valentine item. I love making baskets and wanted to create some Valentine ones for a craft swap and for myself. Why not make a few extras and give one away?
I made the labels using printable cotton. I made my fabric labels for my sewing projects with it and they have been washed in my kids pajamas many times and the ink is still on the labels with minimal fading. The label inspiration came from Sweetwater. I would LOVE to be able to subscribe to their label crew each month, but right now it’s not in the budget, so making my own is the next best thing. I used Photoshop and some brushes I found around the internet to create the graphics for the labels. It’ not Sweetwater, but still kinda sweet 🙂
To enter the drawing, please leave a comment on this post letting me know where you heard about the giveaway or what link party you came from.
If you want a second entry, subscribe to my blog and leave a second comment telling me you subscribed.
The winner will get to choose between the two baskets in the photo below.
The drawing will be on Monday, January 24th, so check back to see if you are the winner.
Good Luck!Sharing at these linky parties:
I have two of these frames purchased at the Dollar General last year. I found them when unpacking a box the other day and was super excited to do something with them. Using my Silhouette machine, I cut the letters out of black card stock using the font cheri liney. I also found the little boy and girl on clker.com a website with royalty free clipart. The background paper is my design and you can download it from this site. I did shrink it a bit in Photoshop to use behind the words. I have another project I’m working on with this same paper and some scrabble tiles (my Dad bought me an old set at an auction – go Dad!)
12 x 12 Love Notes paper-download link above
Yes, I finally made a signature and watermark for my photos. It only took almost a year 🙂
Sharing at 
I LOVE apothecary jars and have wanted to try my had at making them. On the morning of snow day #3, I asked the Mr. T to run me to Goodwill so I could get some craft on (I had stuff to do here, but really wanted to find stuff to make this.) The candle stick was to tall, but I think it still looks good. The jar I found had a plastic insert, but I took it out so it looked less cheap. I used e6000 glue, my go to glue, and jazzed it up with some vinyl. I can’t wait to get some candy to put in it.
I did sand the bottom of the jar and the top of the candlestick a little before I applied the glue.
I used the font Freebooter Script from fontgarden and the hearts are a Photoshop brush called harts brushes by hawksmont. I don’t know where I downloaded them from, maybe deviantart.com
Sharing at 
Have I mentioned how much I love snow days? This is a project that I have wanted to do since the arrival of my Silhouette. I needed help from Mr. T, so it had to wait until I had time and he had time, which doesn’t happen as often as it should. With my second snow day, I decided to tackle the project. I really like how it turned out. Sorry for the bad pics; still using the iPhone as my camera.
I am a mom to four wonderful kids, a wife to a great man, a teacher, and a crafter. This is our family blog where we share projects, recipes, and ideas from all of us.
tolen family fun 
