Heart Punch Paper Flower Tutorial

We're going to make this flower today!

So, I saw this flower on Pinterest. But, when I clicked on it, it didn't take me to a tutorial. It looked pretty easy though, so I decided to try it out myself. And what do you know, it worked! So I decided to make my own little tutorial.
What You Need:

Heart Punch (I used my Stampin Up one, but I'm pretty sure any heart will work. You just need to adjust the size of your cirlce.
Circle Punch--size depends on size of heart your using. You can just freehand a circle if you don't have a punch. No one will see it once your flower is done. Mine is a 1-3/4" Punch from EK Success.
Cardstock--any old color will do. You won't see it once the 'petals' are glued to it
Double Sided Patterned Paper--Mine is an old Stampin UP series
Glue of some sort--I prefer the Tombow Mono permanent adhesive roller or snail adhesive from Stampin Up
Something to roll the petals with --I used an H size crochet hook because it is small in diameter. You could use any round stick like object.
Pretty Brad for Center of Flower--Mine is a Stampin Up jewel brad

Directions:
Punch 8 hearts from your double sided paper. I think this qty works for all heart punches, but not sure since I've only done this once.

Fold Each Heart in half and 'curl' one side of the heart back with your stick object.

 Ewww........can you tell I've been crafting? My nails are dirty and my cuticles cracked. *Sigh*

Continue to do this to each heart punch. Once they are all done, you can see the flower beginning to take shape by setting them next to each other in 'heart shapes' as seen below.

Punch a circle out of the cardstock piece. Fold the cardstock in half twice creating a center point.

Apply some glue to the first quarter of your cardstock and begin placing the 'petals'. Continue all the way around the circle. You can see I also poked a hole for my brad. You can do this now or later.

Once you are done, push your brad through the hole in the center of your cardstock, and voila--a pretty easy heart paper flower!

More Cards

Oi to the vey! I haven't blogged in two weeks! I have been trying to get some cards done for Mother's Day and birthdays to sell in my friend's salon. So, when I get done with that, the last thing I want to do is blog lol.
I took these up to her salon, and the Mother's Day ones sold all at once to one lady--like 5 minutes after I left--so now I have to do some more. That's good I guess, but I was thinking I might have a little time lol.
But, I do enjoy sharing my creations with people. So I'm glad I took pictures.
I also found a new picture editing sight. Yay! I was so depressed when I found out that Picnik was closing. I felt distraught lol. But then I saw that they recommended PicMonkey, and now I'm doing a happy dance. It is very similar to Picnik and does what I need, so I am thrilled.
I am not ashamed to admit that I case almost everything I do. I don't really come up with layouts easily on my own, but I like to create with paper. So I just copy everyone else's ideas. Sometimes down to the colors and everything. Others I just copy the layout. I just like to make cards. I don't think that is wrong, as long as you give credit where credit is due, right?

I made this card for a wedding my sister went to. I cased this card at SCS. I've been wanting to try that one for awhile. I like the heart punch used as the tuxedo and wedding dress. I thought that was a really cute idea.

 I cased this card from Pinterest, originally it was on SCS.

 Same here, I cased this one from Pinterest, but originally it is from SCS.

 I think I actually did this one on my own. Although, I've seen many like this. So it is just my own interpretation not totally cased from anyone lol.

I fell in love with these cards (it was probably the butterfly) on Pinterest and had to try them.

 This is a card that we made at our Stampin UP club meeting in April.

 This is a card that I cased off of this one that I found on the Clean and Simple

Sketch blog for sketch #FTL183.

 And here is yet another one I cased from SCS. You can see the original card here.

Earring Holder from Pinterest

So a few weeks ago my sister got a cool earring holder off of Etsy or somewhere. But, she wasn't really too happy with it because it was made with a cheaper picture frame than she thought it looked like in the photo on Etsy.
I really loved the idea, and I started to see them all over Pinterest. So, I decided to give it a shot. I went out and bought this old picture frame at a thrift store for $4.

Then I got a fine grit sanding block, some black spray paint, a clear coat spray paint, some screen (to repair screen doors), and some pretty fabric.

I sanded the frame, wiped it down with a dry cloth, spray painted with three coats of gloss black, sprayed it with two coats of the clear coat spray, cut the screen down to a manageable size and stapled into into the inside of the opening on the frame, cut and stapled in the fabric, then cut the excess screen and fabric away. Then I just added a pretty ribbon bow to hang it with, and voila--a pretty cute earring organizer!

I would link you to a tutorial if I had used one, but it looked pretty easy, so I just made it up as I went along. I think it turned out pretty well!

I still have a lot of earrings that can't go on  here because they are hoops or little studs that don't really hang. So I still have a jewelry box, but it isn't near as crowded. And now I can find my earring pairs without making a huge freakin mess every morning.

Some More Cards

I have a couple more cards to share really quick. A friend of mine is a stylist, and she said I could trade her some cards for a color--woop woop! My blue streaks have faded to green, and I'm getting more gray as we speak, so I was really excited. And, whatever she doesn't keep for herself she lets me sell there at her salon. So, win win!
I think I'm just going to get my natural color back this time, or maybe just slightly darker brown. Then maybe when summer comes I will get some highlights.
Anyway, here are the three new cards I wanted to share today.

Let me know whatcha think!

A Couple of Pretty Birthday Cards

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I made a couple of cards last night. But it was too dark inside to take a picture. Plus my camera was pretty much dead. My camera was still dead today because I forgot to charge the batteries, but I did manage to get a couple of photos before it died.
Just so you know, I shamelessly copied this card from Catherine Pooler on the Splitcoast Stampers website. I copy nearly everything I do. I don't really have a 'creative' bone in my body. I have a crafting bone, but my 'creative' one is stunted :)
Anyway, here are the pictures. I like them both a lot, but I ended up loving the yellow one more. I was in love with the hot pink one first because I made it first. But then the yellow one just ended up so much softer and prettier to me.
I made the tiny bow on the yellow one with my cool new bow maker tool that I talked about yesterday (see the below post).

Thanks for visiting!

Fun New Tool

So I got this fun new tool from a fellow blogger, and I just had to share it.
Just a little background here. I remember when I was little. My mom used to have us hold out our fingers to help her tie her bows. I loved to do it. I thought it was so neat that you could make a bow that way. My son?......Well not so much. He hates it. Because I pull the ribbon tight and he just lets his fingers slack inward. So I make him do it again. And, what am I supposed to do when no one is home to lend me a couple fingers? Lol.
Hence the reason, when I saw this on Sarah's YouTube Channel, I HAD to have it. Seriously. I couldn't wait to get it. And, I was surprised to find when I did that an extra set of smaller holes and dowel pieces had been added to make tiny bows--oh yeah. I love it.
Anyway, I didn't waste my time making a tutorial. You can see Sarah's video here.
I've only had time to try it out a little bit. And I did manage to make a card tonight with a tiny bow on it. I can tell this baby will get some use. So happy to have made this purchase!
I'll post my card tomorrow. My camera is dead right now, and my phone is taking some awful pictures inside. But I wanted to make a post on my blog because it is being severely neglected. So I thought I would share my new toy with y'all. 

Rag Tie Wreath

So me and Lacy (or is that Lacy and I? hmmm.....whatev) decided to get a little crafty on Sunday. We saw this wreath on Pinterest and HAD to try our hand. I just thought it was so cute. And all the other ideas I saw for St Patrick's Day wreaths just were not my style. I briefly considered this one, but it looked like it required way too much effort lol.
We actually made the trip to Hobby Lobby on Friday to just buy all of the supplies and stuff together. We were going to make them separately at our own houses. But then Shane decided to go 4-wheeling on Sunday, and I wasn't going to stay home by myself when I could craft with a sistie (combo of sister and bestie--you like it, right?).
Anyway, I ended up with 7 different fabrics we bought in 1/4 yard increments and cut about 1.5"X8". I didn't measure. Cause I don't do that lol. I say "I" because that's what "I" did. Lacy cut hers different and all neat and tidy. I just went at it chopping away with my scissors and it turned out all right.
We bought wire wreath forms and had the husbands cut them apart for us. You could just use a wire hanger though. In fact, in hindsight, it might have been easier. And definitely would have been cheaper lol.
Once you have you hanger or wreath form in a circle, just tie the strips on it in any order you please, fashion a bow out of ribbon or, as in my case, tulle, hot glue that sucker down, and find some cute thing to hang in the middle. Easy peasy. And I really like the way it turned out. Makes me want to do one for all the holidays lol. But that would be boring I guess. I'll have to find something else to do on the oh so addictive Pinterest.
What do y'all think? Did we do good?

Things are Better

Just reread my last post--how depressing! Well, I was having a pretty bad day. But, things have gotten better. After we had come to the conclusion that the car was really just done, we decided to call a couple of dealerships and see if maybe we could trade it in. I really didn't have any hope. I mean, why would they want to pay us for a broken down piece of junk?
But, every dealership I called said yes they would do that. We decided to go to one in Provo because we didn't feel like our last experience with the one in Spanish Fork was very good at all. And the other dealerships here were too small.
We went to the one that would give us the biggest trade-in amount. They couldn't give us what we owed, but it came close. We wanted an SUV this time around. And they brought a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer out for us to test drive. It rode like a dream, and the color is one of my faves--charcoal gray with a little shimmer. So, of course, I fell in love right off the bat lol. Shane was too, but he hides it better than I do.
We talked about price, and we talked them down a little bit. They needed $750 down though, which was a problem. We had no money. But, I had done our taxes the night before and knew we would have it at the end of February. So, I asked my sister to borrow it to me until then. She agreed, thank goodness.
I don't know if we made the smartest decision. We're back in debt for another 5 years now. And we're upside down a little on the SUV because of the amount owed on our old car. But not too much. And, I'd rather be paying for something I can actually drive than just looking at it sit in the driveway useless. Plus, I really hated driving Shane's car. It smells like cigarette smoke and oil--yuck.
Don't get me wrong. I would have if I'd had to. But I'm glad I didn't lol.
And, once we get our taxes back the house payment and all the bills will be caught up. So that's good. Hopefully we can keep on top of things and get a little room to breathe. Anyway, here are some pictures I took with my phone.

Terrible No Good Very Bad Day.......

So, we're already really having financial trouble around here. I mean, our house payment is more than a month behind and we eat hot dogs a lot kind of broke. Being unemployed for almost a year will really do a number on your financial situation people.
But, today we decided that we needed a break. So we decided to splurge a little bit and went out to eat at a local buffet. Nice little family dinner. We haven't been out in forever. Well, on the way home, my car just stopped running. Right there in the middle of the freeway.......nothing.
Shane called a friend of his from work that knows a lot about cars--even more than Shane. So they both think it's the fuel pump or some other fuel related problem because it's acting like it isn't getting any fuel--cutting out, won't stay running, etc.
We put some more gas in it, and it decides to run. Runs like a champ all the way off of the exit and to the first stop light. Then it dies again. It starts up, we get it home. Shane starts looking into things. Hmmm.....it didn't get hot, the heater didn't stop working (which is a sign of some sort I guess), he can't see any leaking or anyting obviously wrong under the hood.
Then he checks the oil. O. M. G. There is water in my oil. That is a REALLY BAD sign. It might mean, and most likely does mean, that my head gasket is blown. That costs like thousands to fix. My car isn't worth that. But we still owe money on it, and what will I drive to work?
We'll have to license Shane's truck. It needs a new windshield--and it's a gas HOG. Then I will drive his car--which is in serious need of CV joints. If those go out, I could lose steering and breaks. Scary!
But, I guess you do what ya gotta do. At least we have two vehicles we can get going. Maybe. Don't know where we'll get the money to do even the most necessary of those repairs. But I have to have faith that things will work out. We'll find a way. We have to.
All we wanted was a nice little family dinner splurge. Should have stayed home :(

Shoebox Party Valentine Card

Today my cousin, Cassie, is throwing a shoebox cardmaking party! For those of you who don't know what that is--basically a group of women (or people, whatever:) get together to make cards. You plan in advance so you know how many people you'll be sharing with. Each of you design a card, cut all the paper pieces to make the qty you need, and bring the necessary items to make the card (such as stamps, ink, punches, etc.). Then you put everything in a 'shoebox' and take it to the party. Everyone sits around, munches, gossips (ahem, I mean visits :), and makes a bunch of cards to take home.
For example, today I'm taking enough pieces to make 10 of my card--we're hoping for 10 people. When I come home, I will have 10 different cards. One from each person at the party.
So, here is my card. I totally copied this card from one that I found on Pinterest. The card was actually originally from Splitcoast Stampers, and  you can see it here. I just changed the papers and stuff, but the layout is the same.
Here is my card. Hope you like it. The inside says "You Make My Heart Sing!"

The Little Lighthouse

Stupid blogger is turning my photo, and stupid photobucket won't help me either. Stupid!

Today I am sharing a page I did about a tiny little lighthouse we visited the first day we were in Salem, MA. I was so excited to see a lighthouse that I have like a zillion pictures of it lol. It's probably no big deal to most people that live on or near the coast, but I just think they are so cool. Especially the bigger ones. I even saw one once that had been converted into a home inside. It was awesome.
Anyway, this was the first one that I had ever seen, so I was super stoked. And the bay that it was in was gorgeous. I'm so jealous of people that live right on the ocean. I don't know that I could ever leave my mountains though. But it is gorgeous nonetheless.
I used a sketch by Amy Alvis. It is the 12X12-6 sketch on her website here.
Journaling:
We were so excited to see a real live lighthouse that we took a ton of pictures lol. This is a really small lighthouse built in 1871 so that there would be three to guide the way into the main channel. It is at the end of the pier on Derby Wharf.
The bay is beautiful & there are houses right on the water-I wish!

Salem Beer Works

I did this page a couple of days ago, but I haven't been able to get a decent picture. It gets dark too fast lol. Anyway, I'm not really happy with this picture either, but I'm tired of waiting to post it.
This is my sisters and I at a local brewery (actually, it's part of a small chain I guess) in Salem during our Boston trip.
I used a sketch from a new site for this one. It's called Scrap Support. I used sketch #5 in the one page sketches. I really like their stuff. I'll have to try a couple more. They ask that you don't share pics of their sketches without permission, so you'll have to check out the site on your own to get the sketch :(
*Note* there are links to Scrap Support in the above paragraph. Just hover over Scrap Support or sketch to be taken to the website.

Journaling:
We stopped at Salem Beer Works (part of a local chain of breweries) for some dinner and a few beers before heading out to try to find a light house before dark.
Dark comes early on the east coast. It was pitch dark by about 4:30 every day. Weird for us west coast girls.