Just keep swimming...

As Dori says "Just keep swimming, Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep swimming...."  And that is just what I am doing today, working on my ocean theme party... Found some great things at the dollar store today. Can't wait to pull it all together next weekend!  And then I can share everything then!  But for now, can I share: Coolest Birthday Cakes?  My lovely sister will be creating our ocean theme cake for me ( she is a much better baker than I) and she showed me some samples from here, some people are so talented especially these with frosting!  Me. Not so much.

This may be a no-brainer...

Have you ever watched any of the Rachael Ray cooking shows?  Have you ever noticed that she does not use a garbage can, but a garbage bowl?

Well, I do not use a garbage bowl when I am cooking, but I have started to use a garbage bowl when I am crafting!  When I would use a waste basket on the floor I would miss, or it would overflow onto the floor. Now, I use this:

And I know it is not the prettiest, it is just a clear "shoe box" tupperware without the lid on it, but it works wonders for me. It sits on the end of my craft counter and if I need a piece of scrap paper to scratch a note on I can use it, or when its full I just dump it in my kitchen trash.

Sometimes the smallest things make life in my craft area that much better!

Burpers Craze!

Before I had my son, I got hooked ( like many other sewers) with the burper craze!  I liked the shape that was used in Jill's tutorial.  But I did it a little different, by not using anything in between the fabric layers and using pinking shears to do all the work for adding the edges... here are some that I have made, used and loved!

A set for a friend:

A set for a friend of a friend:

A set for my little "sailor":

Spoons...

Have you ever seen the book Crafty Mama Makes 49 Fast, Fabulous, Foolproof (Baby & Toddler) Projects?  This is a great book for crafters, especially new mommies, and new crafters!  I've been crafting for years, whether it be sewing, paper crafting and jewelery... and whats best about this book is that it walks you through each step, so easily that beginners can enjoy it!

I loved the idea of personalizing baby spoons... They are quick and easy.. It took more time picking up the supplies then it did to whip a couple of these up!

A set for a friend:

My little man with his:

What I have been up too...

So, I have been busy busy busy... And I know I have already said that.. But I was able to finish and even mail out my son's first birthday invite!  We are having an ocean themed party, and my lovely friend who let me borrow the cricut, had a beach themed cartridge.. so how could I buy invites when I could make them!  So thats exactly what I did... Super Simple!

I "googled" some cute first birthday wording, edited to fit our time, place, and guest of honor.. printed and then went to work.

Using the "Life is a Beach" Cricut Catridge, I used the "photo Card" setting, using the whale design, had it cut to size so they fit into my envelope and thats it! Glued the two together and ta-da! Personalized handmade invites!

This CRAZY WEEK!

Well this past week has been crazy!  Therefore, the lack of posts!  We had visitors leaving, then we had things to do, and then a non planned doctors appointment or two! Plus I reworked my craft area again! 

All is well.. and the crafting has re-begun...

Some sneak peeks!

Any ideas what I am working on???

Corny but Educational

Now, I know my son is way to young for this. But... I always thought the "50 states" song was nice tool for memorizing the states. And all it is them all in alphabetical order!

For Christmas we bought our son a box set of puzzles, and low and behold it had a USA puzzle. Which we havent opened yet because he is too little, but I thought we could still look at it and as he is older he might be able to learn them and their capitals. so.. I thought why not make it a little easier with a list of them.

I did a quick search, and found the list online ( to save some time, and so that I didnt have to type it all) and made a Word document and printed it out. I made a tiny slit into the back so that I could slide the list in the plastic and taped it back shut. So instead of going from state to state, we can eventually learn them in order ( like the song) and maybe it will be easier to memorize the states and capitals...

Another similar idea, we also got him a block set, that is like a puzzle, in order for it to fit in the tray you have to put it back in a semi-specific order.  We took a picture so that we can find all the pieces, and make sure they go back in the tray...  I'm thinking about putting it right on the bottom of the tray, or even inside it... That way you can quickly clean up using the picture as a reference...

A Cricut Dilema!

I was borrowing a friends Cricut (Such an awesome product!) to do some scrap booking... And my paper started to not stick so well, and was crushing the letters instead of cutting them nicely.. Ugh. How frustrating too, as I was just getting into my groove!

So what to do??? A quick google search came to the rescue! Instead of going out and purchasing a new cutting mat, I found the answer for much cheaper!

After the search, I ran to my local Michael's store and purchased Krylon Brand, Easy Tack Repositionable Adhesive. This stuff is a life saver, well not really but in a scrap booking incident it was!

First, you need to peel any paper that may still be stuck to the mat off, and give it a quick hot soapy scrub. Then, you mask off the non sticky edge of your Cricut Mat and spray an even coat across. The information from the search said they left theirs overnight, but I didn't know why, and I am impatient. So I used it a couple hours later. It is pretty sticky, for the first few pages but then works like new after that.

Gotta love money saving tips! So for a couple bucks I can reuse my friends mat over and over!

Three Column Blog Help

After trying and trying, I finally found a good site that correctly walked me through the steps to create a three column blog instead of the standard two column!  If you too would like a Three Column Template, try using the instructions found here!

Once I figured out how to get the three columns, I went in and played with the numbers to get my center as wide as I wanted, and still have the two side columns.

Love, Love Love...

A friend shared a new blog with me, so I thought I would share it with you!

                                   Blue Cricket Design

I love her post about adding your signature to your posts... and look it worked!

An AWESOME Giveaway...

Wouldn't you love to have a clean, new sparkly blog? Without all the work? Well it could happen to you! Go on over to Designer Blogs and enter to win a blog makeover!

Ribbons, Ribbons Everywhere!

When I was pregnant last year, so were a couple friends, and I got into the "tag" blanket craze. And what do you need to make them, Ribbons! And lots of different shapes and sizes... So I purchased a couple bags ( at Joann's for $1!) that had different lengths, colors, textures all in one bag, perfect for my project... Well then I had a ton of ribbon and a big old mess.

So I scoured the internet and came across this beautiful studio, and started to do the same thing with the close pins. And just threw them into a big old bucket... Thinking I would never have enough to sort into individual containers...

Well, here it is over a year later and I was reminded over on Little Birdie Secrets about Nichole's ribbon jars, and as I have been revamping my craft space decided to finally fix the ribbon issue!

Now, I didn't have enough to sort last year, but this year was a totally different story. And the sad part is I do not remember buying all this ribbon.. Oops.

So, for now, I have each color sorted into their own bag. So I now know if I see 10 canisters big enough to fit a gallon bag in it, its big enough for my current collection of ribbon... See?

A knitting frenzy!

So, for a couple Christmas gifts for friends and my son, I knitted some hats. They were so quick and easy because they are for little ones! Here are the two for our friends children.

( Stitch and Bitch's Umbilical Cord Hat)

( So simple, took less than 2 hours to complete!)

(Slouchy Beret)

(translated from this pattern, here.)

My Craft Space!

**Just a warning, this post will be photo heavy!**

About two weeks ago, I was able to get two pieces of FREE countertop! I knew exactly where it was going, in my craft space! I was just what I wanted and needed. Space for my computer,

Sewing/Embroidery Machine, and a borrowed Serger. Plus room to work when I am in the mood!

Here are a couple before pics!

(left wall)

(back wall)

When this was my office/craft area, many of my crafts would spill out into the dining room, and hubby did not appreciate that! Most nights dinner would be a little cramped either at the island in the kitchen or on a small section of the dining room. NOT FUN! But now....

( in process of finding a place for everything)

And finally, my craft space... With lots of room for all my things, and different projects!

(my space to create!)

(my "office area")

A New Year, A New Fee!

Alright, with only being a few days into the New Year I have completed my list of resolutions. I know I'm a couple days late, but I wanted to be realistic so I really thought about my choices. Some of my resolutions are personal (Sorry!) but some are not, and those are what I want to share here.

First and foremost, I want to get myself organized. I have finally created a workable craft space and now I want it to be organized. If my space is organized I feel I will be able to create when I want, because I will know if I have something, or need something. I have already started to work on organizing myself and I will share that with you in my next post...

Second, I really want to make the leap. I want to open my etsy shop! I have created things and have been ready to open, but just haven't had the guts. Well I want to open my shop by the end of the month. Thats my deadline and I am sticking to it!

So, here's to a New Year, and a New Fee. I hope you enjoy what this year brings, I know I will!