Menu Board (dry eraseable)

I can't remember which blog I got the idea from :( , but the original poster had printed out the days of the week in a typewriter key font and it was in a skinnier frame. They may have even painted the frame... but I digress. I went out and bought a black 12x12 inch frame, and put the rest together with scrapbooking paper and Cricut-cut letters and flourishes. I used paper for the "menu" and flourishes next to it, and vinyl for the days of the week. It's very basic. I even cheated a little and because I wanted ribbon hanging it, I used the hanger at the back of the frame and hung it that way, and used glue dots to stick the ribbon on the back, making it look like it's hung by the ribbon, when it's not. Since I didn't stick anything to the frame on itself, I can change the paper out and redo it in different colors/themes. I want to play around with more frames for a to-do list or something like that. I'm seeing a lot of frames being used in 'blog-land' and it's making me itch to play around with some. All I need now is a dry erase pen, and I can write the meals I plan out for each day (eliminating paper notes all around). I realize some people already just use a dry erase board on their refrigerator or wall, but I like this version too... and I'm glad I got to "play", after the move recently, I needed some craft therapy!

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..

Cards for the Women's Retreat: Pictures

So here are the cards we came up with for the kits for the Women's Retreat. They're not embellished as much as I'd like, but we were faced with a tight budget and not a lot of time, also not wanting to overwhelm people who may not have made cards before... I hope people will want to them, and hopefully it's mostly self-explanatory so that I don't make something difficult that shouldn't be.

Some Fabulous blogs for craft ideas that I stumbled across last night!

Okay, I'm a self-professed craft nerd, and I'm relatively okay with that- so much so that I got really excited last night when I found some new craft blogs with some awesome ideas that are inexpensive and WAY CUTE!!! I plan on trying to see how I can implement some of them into MOPS crafts for next year, and definitely plan on making some for gifts- I suppose I should do some for myself too, but I always end up making things for gifts instead- since I love to be 'gifty'. Anyhow, check out these fabulous ladies' blogs: it all started at http://ikkiscuttlebugcupboard.blogspot.com/ when I was checking out some of her links at the bottom of the post for Transformational Thursday- where people can link up to their own blogs and such where they've taken something that perhaps might have been trash or Goodwilled, and turn it into something better. I love this idea because I am always happier making something cute out of somthing that would have been landfill somewhere. I think we throw away way too much when it's perfectly useful- often something just needs some imagination and a coat of paint and embellishment. Thanks Ikki, for a great blog! So my blogging travels took me to www.HowDoesShe.com , there's just too much to mention, all I can say (trying to restrain my gushing) is that it's great! That blog featured another fabulous lady's blog - who also loves to make great things out of the inexpensive and also repurpose things to make them great- and this is : http://infarrantlycreative.blogspot.com/ Um yeah, my happy craft nerd dance is seriously grooving right now, which is probably quite the spectacle, but I love new craft ideas!! :) Anyhow, I just thought I'd share since I love new ideas and if you're checking out this blog, chances are it's out of some kind of crafty curiosity too. I hope you check out these fantastic blogs and get a chance to create some of their fun crafts for gifts or even yourself. I'll be sure to post when I get a chance to try some.