All in Black

Black is slimming.  Black is classic.  Black goes with everything.

I really enjoyed putting some lovely black fashion silhouettes on stylish paper.  There were several different ladies images and I had some trouble picking just five.  Guess I will have to make some others.

Once the cards were together, I had a hard time picking my favourite.  I was able to pick one that reminded me of each of my daughters, one that seemed to be my style and ones that really matched my friends.

Also tried a few of the fashion silhouettes in cream.  They came out great too.

Best Part of Any Holiday - CARDS

I love putting a little note with any gift.  It just makes everything a bit more personal.  I had fun learning how to use my cricut writting tools.  Instead of cutting the image, I was able to draw these fun little Halloween critters.

You can't think about Halloween without picturing skeletons, pumpkins, black cats and bats.  The fun was finding just the right paper to go with them.  Who needs orange and black when red and rust work great!




I made some for a friend of mine to give to her kids during the month of October.  She writes a fun note inside and puts it in their lunch box.  Everything from 'good luck on your test' to 'don't forget about practice tonight' or even 'I'm proud of you' means more when it comes in a cute note.

More Costumes

I haven't decided how I want to decorate the house for Halloween.  There are even a few ideas for the front porch that I am tossing around.  My kids aren't sure what they want to be for Halloween. I am acquiring quite a few posts on pinterest of things I want to try. 

I don't know if you are like me, but the list of ideas is always bigger then I will actually get done.  Too many possibilities. 

So....   in the meantime I have been creating paper costumes.  It is challenging to try to get a look that works so well with fabric, complete in paper.  The unlimited amount of ideas and colors makes so many options.

These are fun to put over a picture of a friend and help them 'look' festive. 

My Favorite Earrings

My husband, Mike, has discovered that he has a real talent for creating jewelry.  It is pretty amazing what this man can do.  One moment he is tiling our hallway, the next - doing drywall and then in the quiet time, helping me make wonderful jewelry creations.

Mike made a really nice pair of earings with a brown semi precious stone. Each time he starts to work on a pair, it is always the same.  "What should I do?"  "What goes best?"  The options for earrings is never ending.  I really liked these brown stones.  There is just something about their earthy color that just strikes me.  I tend to wear a lot of natural tones and this pair of earrings fits right in.

It was a bit difficult to list them for sale, but I do have a promise from Mike that he will make me another pair.  Some lucky person is going to get this pair!  Enjoy!

Flowers Galour - Pink, White and Red

These buttons make the perfect flowers.  I added some handstitching and made a lovely bouquet.  It is really fun finding different buttons and seeing the beauty in them.

One of my friends makes great bracelets with the buttons she collects. 

I am collecting a tin of white buttons that I want to put on a pillow for my sitting room. 

Sharing the latest store listings!!

Shopping Spree Gift Certificates

I really love the idea of being able to give a gift that takes some time to receive. Each year I give my girls a “Shopping Spree” certificate that allows them to shop for their favourite things, while spending the day with me to do it.


These make great birthday gift or stocking stuffers. I put the ones for my girls right into the Christmas Tree!

PJ Party

I made a set of notecards like these one year for invitations to a birthday party.   They were a hit. 


PJ Fashion Notecards



The night of the party, the girls were asked to bring their invite with them.  All that was needed was a bin of scrap paper, some ribbons, buttons and other fun craft supplies.  Add a few pictures from the evening and the girls were busily adding the PJ fashion from their card to a scrapbook page. 

Some of the girls made pages, while others just made a page large enough to fit in a photo frame.   It is amazing to see the variety of creativity that abounds with a group of girls.

This really helped keep the party theme going, provide an activity for the evening and give the girls a great memory forever.
 

Joined Facebook

So I decided to take my etsy shop and share it on Facebook.  Not sure just how I should be doing this, but in the meantime, I'll have some fun.  The girls are helping me with ideas.  The first thing I need to work on is finding an appropriate cover photo.  Not sure if I should use a picture of the craft room or a grouping of our crafts. Going to have something up by the end of the weekend.  I'll post it here too.

A New Habit

I have officially discovered the fun of being able to put together Treasuries from all the great items on etsy.  It amazes me in how many diverse ways people can express their creativity.  Please have some fun exploring the great Treasuries on etsy.com.  Here are a few I made:

Add a Little Rain
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzQ5NTY5N3wyNzIzMTYxMDEw/add-a-little-rain

K is for...
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzQ5NTY5N3wyNzIzMTUxNTU2/k-is-for?index=3

J is for...
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzQ5NTY5N3wyNzIwNTg2NTA3/j-is-for?index=4

Too Much Heat

The heat outside has driven us to the craftroom.  Even with some rain showers, the heat and humid continues.  Oh well, it has been very rewarding to work together on some projects.  There are some coasters and button bracelets in process.  I think my hubby is having lots of fun creating some works with the military buttons.  His latest are the tie tacks and lapel pins.

Historic Button Jewelry

Just took a few of the historic buttons we have cast and played around to create some great pieces.  Such simple elegance.  Really excited to see how well they do.

Their solid forms and 100% lead free pewter make them perfect on their own or paired with some semi precious stones. 

We made a few pairs of earrings for pierced ears and a necklace.  I am working on a heart button necklace with a lovely red stone.  Please visit the store and let me know which ones work best. 

My hubby is even working on some tie tacks. 

Been Too Long

Seems like too many things can get in the way of working on crafts.  Each day I think of some great ideas I would really enjoy trying and each day, something else seems to get in the way.  Yeah, I know, if I was truly dedicated, crafting would take priority.

Thought I would spend some attention to updating my craftroom.  A few alterations and now there is more room for not only myself, but my daughters, to create. 

This week has been spent bringing to life some of the favourites of my mom's and incorporating a bit of the new look and feel.  I remember spending hours sorting through my mother's bin of buttons.  The ideas are limitless when it comes to beautiful and colourful vintage buttons.

My favourite is adding them with stitching to make wonderful cards and scrapbook embellishments.  This card with the classic brown button center is just classic.

Visit J and K Hideaway on etsy.ca to see more.