Flower Power!

I have made a lot of bags in my time...sadly, not very many for myself. I decided it was time to make myself a new bag for summer. I wanted it big and bold! So, here is my newest bag;

I said big and bold!!! I love this bag! I can fit a ton of stuff in this baby! 

The center of attention on the bag is the flower, and it is one big flower! 

The center of the flower is an antique broach that a girlfriend gave to me. A really big button would have worked too, but the broach definitely added some bling to the bag. 

The inside is super spacious and has four interior pocket, for more stuff. 

I know orange is such a big color right now, and I love it! I used a hint of the orange for the two ends and the center of the flower.

I hope everyone is having a happy Monday! 

Linking my bag here:

Sew Many Ways

Craftomaniac

Cherished Treasures

New Chalkboard!

I have had this frame for almost a year. It's been sitting in the garage waiting for me to decide what the heck to do with it!

The frame is big, 2 feet by 4 feet big. 

I bought the frame at Hobby Lobby...BUT NOT FOR $89.99! The frame was on the clearance isle for 90% off! Yup, I paid about 10 bucks for the frame!

I had my dad cut a piece of MDF board to fit perfectly inside the frame. 

I took the board out back and applied chalkboard paint to the board. 

While paint was drying, I had to do some touch up work to the frame. I am certain the frame was on sale because of the little chips on the frames. 

I took a sharpie to the frame and fixed it right up. 

After hanging up the new chalkboard, it seemed a bit big and black!  

So I decided to add a picture that I picked up at Wally World to break up the "blackness". 

There is still plenty of room to write happy notes to the family!

In the end, the chalkboard paint is really kinda cool!

6 More Months!

As most of you know, I have a son, Taylor, who is serving a mission for our church in the Jacksonville, Florida mission. On the 17th of May he will have been out for 18 months! I can hardly believe it. But, I have to say, I think the last 6 months are going to be the hardest, and the slowest!

I wanted to make a "countdown" of sorts to send to Taylor, just so he knows how great we think he is. So, last night, I made this for him...

6 months to go

A monthly countdown using a 5x7 frame as the base. Each month will have a little note from either a sibling or parent. 

5 months to go

On the 17th of each month, Taylor will flip a page over and see another note from us. 

4 months to go 

3 months to go 

2 months to go 

Only 1 more month! 

Then, on the last page, I just did a quick page to finish it off.

To say I am so proud of Taylor would be an understatement. I just hope that the next 6 months will go by quickly!

Givaway at Cherished Treasures!

My friend Terry from is offering a really fun giveaway and I wanted to share the giveaway with you! Hop on over to Cherished Treasures and enter the giveaway! You will have a chance to win something from Isaboo Designs! Personally, this is my favorite from Isaboo Designs:



Good Luck & Happy Saturday!

Time for some cards...

What do you get when your husband and kids are all gone for the night camping? A very quiet house and lots of time to create! YEA! I did a lot of crafting tonight and I wanted to share one of the things that I did. I made a BUNCH of much needed cards!

I belong to a monthly scrap kit club called My Scrapbook Nook and most everything I used tonight is from the May kit. 

I LOVE the mini canvas butterflies from Maya Road! 

As you can tell I did kinda a production line of card making. I figure, why deviate from something that is so cute! 

I ran out of the stinking cute canvas butterflies, so I used a Martha Stewart butterfly punch instead. 

Super easy cards!  

I love to add dimension to cards. 

Last, but not least, I wanted to make a card for our daughter who is away at college...ok, maybe I got a little but carried away, but I still love it! :) It's easy to get carried away when it is 5:00 a.m. and still haven't gone to bed! 

My inspiration for my cards came from a dear friend, Kristy from Craftin-on-my-door who inspired me with this card that she made.....

When Kristy made this card, I loved it instantly! I love using the doily as the base of the cards! The sky is starting to get light...maybe I should go lay down for a bit, or go back to crafting! :)

Sorry!

It seems as though some people, with different views than mine, have decided to make comments on my blog concerning the religious beliefs that I hold. First off, to those readers that take time out of your busy life to visit my blog, I am sorry if you read any of those negative comments.

What I blog about is for me. It is for my family. It is for my friends. I have never asked anyone to follow or read my blog. If your beliefs are different than mine, that is great - keep your beliefs and I will keep mine.

It makes me very sad that there are mean people in this world.

Chrissy's bag!

One of the secretaries at my husband's office has a sister that is having a baby. Well, every new baby needs a cute diaper bag. Chrissy and I talked and looked at diaper bags and fabric for a while. Chrissy finally picked a style and fabric and I finished the bag and wanted to share it with you.

I think that this diaper bag turned out super cute!

I love the contrast of the fabric! Chrissy picked a Micheal Miller fabric for the exterior of the bag and an Amy Butler for the lining and contrast fabric. Super fun together!

The lining is happy and bright! There are 8 pockets on the exterior of the bag and 4 large interior pockets. There is also a removable shoulder strap and a key fob for momma's keys.

I added the removable bow at the end. I think it finishes the look of the bag.

And, finally on the bottom of the bag I added the silver stud feet to help protect the bottom of the bag.

There ya go Chrissy! I hope you like it! And, more importantly, I hope your sister loves it!