Upcycled Halloween Jar

Is it a bit too early to be thinking about Halloween?  I made this jar a few months ago and have been waiting to share it here. 



I used an empty 7 oz Yankee Candle jar and lid that I cleaned out and washed.  Does anyone else save these jars with good intentions to give them a second life?  I have about a dozen just sitting on top of the pantry that I have a hard time parting with.  I always think they will make a great container for a gift of some sorts but they still sit in there.  We will be moving next year and I need to use them or drop them in the recycling bin. 

I pulled out some super cute My Mind’s Eye patterned paper and tag for this and used a strong adhesive to attach the paper to the jar.  I traced the lid onto the black paper and then used a white Uni-Ball Signo pen to hand draw on the spider web.  A black pom pom, pipe cleaner and googley eyes quickly became the spider and I attached him with hot glue.  I also cut a thin strip of the black paper to go around the edge of the jar and that is also attached with strong adhesive. 


Top it off with some bakers twine and a tag and in 20 minutes you have a super cute container ready to fill with a bit of candy and give to a friend. 

I am linking up with Tip Junkie’s Tip Me Tuesday for the first time!  I love all the creativity that is shared each week and wanted to join in.

Her Smile

 

I always get sad looking back on pictures of the girls.  Lolo’s sweet smile just melts my heart.  She was just 5 weeks old when this photo was taken in May 2008.  Time is moving at lightning speed and my heart is begging for it to slow down. 

I played along with Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays Layout Sketch 22 from August 23rd.  I am just under the noon deadline and glad that I played along.  I changed up the circle part of the sketch but kept the cluster of embellishments and the flourish.  I hand stitched the flourish's and used stickles on the top of the white flowers to make them stand out.  I printed a quote I found online onto a transparency and added it below the cluster.  It reads “Her smile beams like sunshine, which fills our hearts with love.” 

 

 

Here is the original sketch:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Blog Hop Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who came by my blog this weekend.  I hope you had fun and finished with a bit of inspiration.  The winner of a RAK prize is #13 - Lady of the Lake!  I will send you a message on Club CK to get your snail mail addy.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Sketch Blog Hop

Welcome!  If you are following along with the blog hop you should have arrived here from Adele’s blog.  If you are just stopping by you want to join in on all the fun and inspiration from 22 more creative friends you can go to Amanda’s blog and start at the beginning.

Here is the sketch that we all used:


And here is my layout based on the sketch:



I changed up the orientation of the photos and moved the title but I stuck to the basic design as far as the placement of the papers and embellies.  This is the second layout I have made with the My Minds Eye American Made line they released a few months ago.  I don’t have many photos of myself in uniform so I do cherish the ones that I do have and wanted to get these put away.

I used some pretty ribbons to soften the page and some black Rainboots Thickers (my most favorite font of all the Thickers) for the title.  The flower is punched circles from tissue paper and I used a little bit of Stickles to help define the edges.



How about a prize for making it halfway through the blog hop?  Just become a follower if you are not already and leave a comment on this post.  I will select a winner early Monday morning and post the winner in a new post.  If you are a Club CKer leave your board name and I will convo you if you are the winner. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Your next stop on the blog hop is the talented Heather.  If you like the sketch and want to play along you can link up your own project on Amanda's blog for a chance to win another prize!

Beach Layout

I am always amazed at how fast life is passing me by.  These photos of Aubrey are from 3 years ago.  We went to Ocean Shores,WA one last time before we moved overseas.  I loved going to that beach even if it wasn’t the kind where you dip  your toes into the water because it is just too cold.  Within minutes Aubrey was wet and muddy and having fun. 

I used the 8/4 Sketchy Thursday sketch to finally get these photos scrapped.  I sorted some of my photos last week and this sketch was just perfect for them.  I also added this layout to the Club CK Summer Camp challenge of the day which was to use colored pencils or paint on a layout.  I colored the circles with watercolor pencils, inked the edges and added a bit of Stickles to mimic the bubbles on the patterned paper.

I just love the Cosmo Cricket Salt Air line.  The colors are perfect and the embellies are adorable.  I cannot get enough of Cosmo Cricket.  I used my Cricut and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to cut the title. 

This page came together quickly for me and I am always happy to get our stories told. 

Have a great day!

The More You Read…

I have been pretty busy busting out layouts since JG deployed.  It has been two weeks and I am glad I have the distraction.  I have been working on pages late at night after the girls have gone to bed and JG and I have finished up our Skype call or late morning while the girls play and watch some preschool shows on TV.

This layout is from the Sketchy Thursdays sketch for the September Guest Design Team spot.  They mentioned doing a reading themed page and I knew immediately which pictures to use.  Last year Club CK had a back to school challenge to take a photo of your kids with their favorite books or something back to school-ish.  I stacked up their favorite books on the table and I got some great shots.  I didn’t pose the girls…Aubrey is a ham! 

Let’s talk page details!  I am so pleased with the way this layout came together.  Obviously the page sketch was fantastic and I all did was make it my own.  I had picked up the Echo Park Little Girl digi paper pack from Jessica Sprague this week when it was featured on One Buck Wednesday.  The colors are so cheery and I loooooove me some Echo Park.  So I printed a couple pages onto cardstock and then punched out the circles and inked the edges pink.  The flowers are made from pages in a book that I read and didn’t like!  I cut the pages into 1 inch strips and then used a Fiskar’s border punch and made the scalloped edges.  I also inked the edges and then folded them into a circle.  Add a pretty circle center and you have easy flowers.

The quote was a long one and I had to mix colors because I didn’t have enough t’s and e’s to use just one color.  I also had plans to stitch the words but that didn’t work out since I had limited space.  So I layered the “read” and “learn” into a scrap of patterned paper, trimmed away the excess and outlined with a black pen.   

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

Rovinj, Croatia

Rovinj (roh-veen) is a small city that sits on a peninsula in the Istrian region of Croatia, about 40 minutes from Pula.  Rovinj has an Italian feel and was part of the Republic of Venice for 5 centuries but the city prospered under the Austrians during the 1800’s.  Today, you can walk the streets that all seem to climb up to the Church of St. Euphemia and beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea and the harbor. 

Rovinj has so much charm!  We walked up to the Church of St. Euphemia and enjoyed the view, the old world feeling and people watching.  Along the way as I was taking the photo of Aubrey and the grapes a nice local woman was chatting with James and Lolo.  The lady was smitten by Lolo and give her a bracelet and when she saw Aub and I she gave another one to Aub.  It was so generous and thoughtful of her to do that and the girls just loved feeling so special.  We tried to offer her some money but she didn’t want it.

As we walked back down the hill we came across the adorable little kitten who was sweet, fairly friendly and not camera shy.  We bid him adieu and made our way down to the farmer’s market where vendors were busy trying to sell  us truffle oil, olive oil and many different fruits and vegetables but we didn’t get anything even though it was tempting.  Right across the street from the market is the Communist-Era Monument which stands out in contrast to the old feeling of the city.

I really loved Rovinj and it is a fantastic day trip from Pula.  The cities are so different from each other and it is an easy way to experience more culture.  Pula is industrial where Rovinj is more traditional.  Honestly, I loved Croatia!  Even though the trip is still fresh I smile when I think about this lovely country and the amazing time we had on vacation.  I still have many more photos to share so thanks to those who have stuck around to see them. 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend.