Shabby- Chic Serving Plates

I made these several years ago now, I got the idea from a lady at church who is very creative, and I love the idea of "repurposing" things. I picked out the plates and bases from Goodwill- I used a short vase with a wide base for one of them, and a metal candlestick for the base of another. I chose pretty plates to coordinate in a way that pleased my eye. I then used E600 Glue which works well on ceramic/glass objects, to glue the base to the bottom of the plate. Once you use these, you'll want to hand wash carefully, not immersing it in water. It's a great way to make your own unique serving plate.

Teacher Gifts

I found the idea for this from a blog somewhere, a couple of years ago, probably, so I can't give credit where it's due- so for the record, I'm not taking credit for thinking of this myself.. The original that I saw had some kind of clip art or stamps that were cute and it was a little more dressed up- but, I was crunched for time and lucky that I even got these done. You get any kind of small container and fill with either Smarties candies or Dum Dum suckers. For the Smarties jar, I made a little sign that says "Thanks to you I'm a Smartie! " and for the Dum Dums jar, the sign said "Thanks to you, I'm no Dum Dum! ". My kids got a kick out of the play on the words for the candies (as did I :) ).

Dollar Frame Dress Up

I got these frames when my daughter was a baby, and I wanted to celebrate the "big brother" relationships of my older boys with their baby sister. I found these frames in the wood section of Michael's, for a dollar each. I painted the frame first, then found a color that I liked to coordinate with the base color. I cut strips of clear contact paper to mask it so I could make stripes. I used a little make-up sponge to sponge paint the coordinating color on. When it dried, I took off the contact paper and then touched up the stripes to look clean where there were a few smudges. I used rub-ons for the lettering, then used a clear coat sealer. I think for a dollar each, they are nice, and I like the group of them together. Ooh, these could be cute with polka dots instead of stripes, doncha think? There's so many things you could do with little ol' frames like this..

Framed "Sisters" Layout

I finally finished this layout of two sweet sisters meeting for the first time. I love pictures, but I especially love scrapping those sweet moments captured by the camera. The pictures in this layout are of the meeting of a new sister. I love the wonder on big sister's face. These little girls belong to a friend of mine from church. I knew as soon as I saw these pictures that they should be framed, and so this became my gift instead of new baby clothes, toys, or diapers. Maybe I'm just a real sap when it comes to pictures and people... but... isn't that what makes a scrapper? (at least sometimes.. :) ? ) Ooh, and I played with the ribbon and ruffling this time, which I haven't tried before, and I think I'm hooked already..