Happy Life . Crafty Wife

Ch-ch- ch-chain of heeeeearts.... ooooh..ooooh.

*I was singing to myself as I wrote my title*

Sooooo... want to make a super cute and easy Valentine's Day decoration? (I am pretty sure I've mentioned in my blog a time or two that I am sick of Valentine's Day crafts.. but.. I lied.) This is something the kiddos will totally enjoy making.. I think so anyways, lol. My girls are at school and Austin would just eat the tape, glue, and paper and then manage chop a finger off somehow... so...yeah. I had fun making this!

And the best part? Ya don't even need a Cricut! (But, you should get one.. because it's awesome!) You can just cut out 9" long strips at 1/2" wide and there ya go.

But... for my Cricut peeps that have SCAL (or something of the sort) you can get this done a lot faster! And since I should be working on my eBay auctions instead of playing with paper, I was all about getting done fast! (I eBay my kiddos small clothes twice a year.. it's a total pain and takes forever but I like the cash when it's all said and done).

This is how you do this in SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) Not sure if there is a way you can do this in Design Studio or not?.. Anyhoot..

Open SCAL and open a 12x12 mat. (or 6x12 if you have a smaller Cricut) and go to your shapes window (Window>Shapes) and select the rectangle. In properties uncheck 'Keep Proportions' and enter 9.000 wide and .500 high. Fill up your mat with as many as you can (copy paste) and then you are ready to cut!

Cut as many colors as you'd like..

Man.. I really wish I had a Starbucks coffee right now.. random, I know.. but yikes I got a craving!.

OK, now fold your strips in half.. like so.

(this is where I would like two extra hands to take pictures to show you all... but, I don't.. ) You need to fold the two ends in to form a heart shape. Use glue if you want.. but it slows ya down having to hold them to dry.. or, you can whip out your hair clips like I do..

But, even that gets irritating. Get yourself some double sided tape. Works wonders and holds it really well! :) Then get busy making your chain! If you're like me you will forget to attach a heart or two.. or 7 *ahem* to your chain before you tape it. Then you will grumble to yourself how dumb you are and then think you can take it apart to save your paper heart.. and nope.. it rips.. then you remind yourself how dumb you are.. again.

Not saying that happened or anything.. *whistles*

 

TA-DA!!!! Are you impressed? Yes, I know you are!

Cute.. easy... If you have your kiddos make it then it will keep them outta your hair for a good 10-15 minutes (score!) Have fun with it!

My True Love - Valentine Heart Candy Box

Valentine's day is coming soon and I have been trying to get all my little goodies done! I always give the kiddos a little box of chocolate on Valentine's day.. Well, this is my first Valentine's with a Cricut so I wanted to step it up a bit and make my own. I had these awesome Conversation Heart Box files from Svg Cuts and was trying to think of some way to make it an actual top and bottom for that traditional candy heart box look.

After some thinking it came to me! And I LOVE it! I honestly think it looks better in person for some reason.. So pretty! ignore the wrinkled paper... I am using  a spare glue and it's mean and wrinkles my pretty paper.

I love the stickers in this paper collection! I used a few of them on my project.

 

 

 

This 3d rose makes me happy *love*

 

 

 

And.. because I know you are dying to make one..

SVG files - Candy Heart Boxes : Breezy Butterflies : Crush On You Boxes (rose)

Cartridges needed - Sentimentals (I only used a tag from here. You can use your own tags or snag one from this SVG Collection Tags Galore)

Cut your hearts and tab strip in SCAL or MTC at 11" Cut an additional tab strip at 11" (Go to OBJECT> BREAK APART and delete your two hearts *this is in SCAL*)

Take your tab strips and trim them at 2". SO you will have a 2" strip and a smaller strip. Do this for both.

Cut your tabs so they are pretty small. This helps form a smoother shape to the box.

Score your tabs (or just fold them over) and attach like so:

 

You will want a fast drying glue to work quickly. Also.. to have a 'lip' I went around the edges of the heart and marked off at 1/2". This will help form the box better and make sure you lid fits nicely.

Now, because I wanted a larger box I had to glue together two tab strips... just make sure you do not cut one upside down like I did, LOL! You can hide this line later with an embellishment or sticker. if you make your box smaller then it would be best to weld the two in SCAL.

Once you get back to your starting point then connect it with your loose tab strip. (You will need to trim the loose strip down about 5" or so)

Yes... I use hair clips to hold things in place to dry..

Do the same for the lid. IMPORTANT -- Your box will not close nicely if you do not match up the 'V' in the heart.. make sure you glue them in the same spots!

Voila'!

Time to decorate it!

Before I even made this I knew I had to have a 3d rose on it! The SVG Cuts roses are easier to put together than I thought they would be, especially with a hot glue gun!

I inked my edges... I left some white area to show through the paper core because I like the way it looks in this project! If you need some help with the roses check out the SVG Cuts video

To create the fanned circles you just cut a strips at 1 1/4' x 11" (for the top one) and another at 1" x 11" for the side. Score/fold them at 1/2". Glue the ends together for a circle and that's it!

The paper collection is STUNNING! From the wonderful Echo Park line 'Be Mine'. 

I really hope you love this project and it inspires you! I had so much fun making it that I am working on a dinosaur box for my son! I will show you all in a few days!

Toodles!

I gots me a table!... and announcing the winner for the SVG Cuts giftcard! Yeah, buddy!

(My little guy always says 'gots' no matter how often I correct him.. he is rubbin' off on me)

Sooooo.... I posted recently about my hubby and I building some large craft tables with a hutch for me. I am SO excited because one is finally done and in the house! The other should be done tomorrow and then we will start the hutch next weekend, hopefully! I love how beat up and 'farmhouse' it looks, totally my style! I also had fun beating the crud out of the table with a hammer and chisel!

Cruddy pics. My craft area is a mess right now and I couldn't get in there very well.

 

 

 

We got the plans from ana-white.com.. LOVE her website! We did make this table to our our measurements though.

And here are some bonus pics of daddy's little helper :)

 

Now to announce the winner of the $10.00 SVG Cuts giftcard!!! *drumroll please*

YAY! Betsy, please email me at [email protected] to claim your prize! :)

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who joined in and recommended my Facebook page to your friends and shared/followed my blog! I loved all the traffic! I hope you all continue to read and keep sharing with your friends! It's nice not to feel like I am talking to myself all the time....

Even though I do.. but.. shhhhh. It's a secret.

Happy crafting!

Part of my 'Happy Life'

This little guy here... he is a little monster, a total boy! He loves mama and gives me a million 'mooches' a day. He turned 3 on December 28th and I finally had a chance to take his 3yr pictures. Mainly because I was too lazy to drag out all my equipment. I put him in a cool outfit from Crazy 8 and he was ready to go... Well, as long as he could wear his hat! This boy loves his hats!

Now, before you see the pictures I have to tell you that he is a very happy and loving child... BUT... he has this thing where he has to be a 'tough guy' when I take his pictures. Drives me nuts sometimes but, that's how he is. Just a silly little tough guy.

 

Technical stuff for the photographers-

Canon 5d, 50mm 1.4 lens, x-lrg softbox camera left shot with an Alien bee 800, feathered. No reflector. Settings ISO 100, F 5.0, SS 250. Light set at 1/8th power.

 

Heeeeere's Austin!

 LOL!! Seriously, half these expressions crack me up!

 

A smile?... Yep, a little one!

 

 This picture brought me to tears from laughing so hard when I first saw it. OK, maybe just because he is my son.. anyways.. I asked him to fix his shirt and happen to catch this one LOL! Mr. Stud Muffin.

 Fixin' his hat.. love his eyes :)

 This is his 'scratchin' records' pose. Future DJ?

 

 

 And.. just to show he has personality..

Yeah.. not too many great poses or anything... *sigh* 3 year old boy.. need I say more?

Pretty Little Valentine

Sunday... bleh! Football... double 'bleh!'

I made this little box about a week ago. It's so simple and just purty! Yes, I meant to type 'purty'. I used DCWV's paper stack 'Rustic' it's a great stack to have!

 

I didn't keep track of my sizes but these are the SVG Collections I used to make this cute box!

Candy Hearts : Breezy Meadow Butterflies : Rosies Ribbons : 3D Flowers : The bow from Charlotte's Favor Boxes : Text is cut in SCAL with one of my fonts.

I've been sitting here thinking of soooomething to make while I am dealing with football on in the background. I am not feeling very crafty at the moment.. so, I think I will go paint this cute little table we found at our community dump.. yes, I am serious. I wear many hats and you can just add a 'trash digger' hat to my head, LOL! I was going to keep it for my craft area but, I decided it would look great in my older daughter Autumn's room (she has a vintage-ish looking room going on, if I can ever get it finished!) And speaking of her, I snapped a few quick pics of her this morning. *sigh* she is growing so fast! she will be 8 in April!

OK, crafty peeps.. toodles!

'Tweet' Surprise Door Hanger!

*drumroll please*

"PREEESENTING..... TAMARA'S VERY FIRST PROJECT MADE WITH HER NEW GYPSY!"

 

I did it, folks! I made something on my Gypsy! I can safely say I love this thing!

I have a weird obsession with door hanger treat boxes.. and so do my kids! They love finding little things on their doors after school! You can add a giftcard, candy, little toys (silly bands!), etc.

I used the Gypsy to weld the house from Create a Critter with a rectangle shape to create this. I used Wonder Tape to hold the box from Tags, bags, boxes and more to it. Check out the photos and details!

 

 

Cartridges used - Create a Critter, From My Kitchen (Used this for the rectangle but you can use any rectangle shape) and tags, bags, boxes and more!

Cut sizes:

Grass - 1 1/2 cut 2

Mushroom - 2 1/4

Branch - 2 1/4

Flower from the word "Hoot" - 2 1/2 cut 2

Bird - 2"

Stump - 1"

'Smile' - 1"

 

Gypsy Info - Weld the house from Create a Critter with a rectangle (I used one from 'From My Kitchen'). My house is sized at 5.50 high. The total length with the rectangle welded will be 10.5". Add a circle that is about 2.25" wide for a doorknob. The box is sized at 5.59 high. I cut off the handles ;) If I can, I am going to attach a Gypsy file for download later. I will TRY..

TIP - Cut two houses and glue them together if you are putting something heavy in the box.

 

Ta-Ta!

Want to win a $10.00 giftcard to svgcuts.com?

I finally have 200 'likes' on FACEBOOK and decided to do a giveaway for a $10.00 SVG Cuts giftcard. SVG Cuts sells SVG files to use with Sure Cuts A Lot or Make The Cut programs.

1). 'Like' me on Facebook. and Reply to the post on my wall for the giftcard giveaway.

2). Reply to THIS post for another entry!

BONUS: For an extra entry share my blog or Facebook page on your Facebook or your own blog and reply back to this post with a link!

I will randomly pick a winner on MONDAY JANUARY 24th at 11:00PST. You have until then to enter! Good luck! SVG Cuts is awesome!

4 cartridges..... One super cute little table decoration!

........ Now, before I show you pictures of my newest project I have to say hello to ALL my new followers and Facebook friends! I logged into my email to a bunch of blog comments, new followers and my Facebook 'likes' grew overnight. I was wondering what the heck happened. So, I logged into my blog to see nearly 4000 hits *thud*......

"I'm under attack!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

LOL!

One of my commenters said she found me from the Cricut newsletter.. say what?! After doing some poking around, there I was! In the 'Cricut Chirp' with MY photo shown with a link to one of my message board posts (I shared my valentine boxes) I couldn't believe it! Little ol' me.. CHECK IT OUT!

Tee-hee... I'm a soupa-star, baby! lol j/k....

 

Anyhow... want to see my super-dooper cute spring table decoration?! Yes, I know.. spring? What the hey?! Aren't we in the midde of winter? Why yes, yes we are. BUT, I was getting tired of Valentine's projects.. Well, that was until SVG Cuts released THIS collection.. (Cute, right?! Of course! I mean, how can you look at that and not want to make all 3 of them?) But yeah.. where was I going with this?... Um.

Ah yes, I was tired of Valentine's projects so I decided to do something springy and cute with some of my favorite paper from Echo Park.

Wanna see?....

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Are you ready?....

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TA-DA!!!!!!

Introducing the 'Happy Spring' table decor! Everyone now, "Oooohhh.... Ahhhhhh"

I can not tell you how much fun I had creating this! All the colors and cute cuts! Now.. I will overload you with pictures.

I added buttons for some extra cuteness.

Don't even try to tell me this caterpillar is not cute! Stinkin' ADORABLE!

Oh yes, little snail.. you are adorable too!

 

 

 

 

Want to make one? Of course you do!

Carts Used - Forever Young (FY) : Create a Critter (CaC) : Straight From The Nest (SFTN) :Tags, bags, boxes and more (TBB&M).

Paper used - Echo Park (LOVE!) Collection : Walk in the Park.

Items Needed - 3d glue dots, chalk or ink, a popsicle stick, styrofoam squares, toothpicks, 20 gauge jewelry wire (I used blue), hot glue, buttons, paper thread (found in the jewelry making section at Joanns)

Here are the cuts I used. I hope I got them all..

Box - (TBB&M) : 5 3/4" I like to seal my boxes with Wonder Tape.

Grass (SFTN) : 2 3/4" (Cut 8. You will cut them to fit around the styrofoam and inside a bit for more of a 3D look) Chalk/Ink the edges in a darker green.

Flower (FY) 3" and cut circles at 1 1/4" x5 These will be curled and make into petals. It helps to hot glue them.

The yellow circle will be cut at 1". Attach a button.

Snail (CaC) : 1 1/4"

Caterpillar (CaC) : 1 3/4"

Hive (CaC) : 2 1/4"

Butterfly (CaC) : 1 3/4"

Frog (CaC) : 2"

Dragonfly (CaC) : 1 1/4"

Bird House (CaC) : - 2 1/2"

Sun (CaC) : 2 1/2"

Kite (CaC) : 3.5 or 4" I didn't write it down and I forgot.

Cloud (CaC) : (forgot size) and the text on the cloud was cut in SCAL.

Stem/leaves of the flower : Use a popsicle stick and hot glue paper to it. I cut my leaves in SCAL but you can just free hand cut 2 ovals.

When sticking your items into the styrofoam I used toothpicks (green to match the grass better) and a bit of hot glue so they stay put!

Make your box first and then attach the styrofoam with hot glue. Use two 2x4" squares and cut them in half. You will also need to trim the side down a little.

I hope you love this little project as much as I do! Please share my blog with your crafty friends and of course, join my Facebook page!! PRETTY PLEASE?

Thanks for coming by!

Toodles!

Giving my crap room a makeover..

.. Yes, I said crap room. That is exactly what it is right now! Back when all I did was sew I was pretty organized (well, unless it was my 'busy time' then.. yeah... I was always busy! Who am I kidding?) Anyhow.. now that I sew, papercraft, Mod Podge everything plus all my other little crafting adventures I need better storage and a bigger stable table! Right now I am using a cheap pop-up plastic party table that shakes like crazy when my serger starts going. No fun! My serger will literally run away from me when I use it!

I have been wanting to build myself some custom furniture for awhile now but, as usual.. I am super busy all the time (*cough* too lazy *cough*) Hmmm. Who said that?

Soooo.. I decided enough was enough with crafting in this chaos! I told...... umm.. asked hubby if he would build me a table this weekend (He has a 4 day weekend this week). Before he could say that he didn't feel like it I made sure to mention how excited I was and started to say "Thank you, thank you!" LOL! Muahaha!!...

 

Whoo-hooooooooo! I am so excited! I have plans for an 'L' shaped table complete with hutch! I am also going to work up a custom scrapbook paper shelf to hold my 12x12 sheets and stacks with a cabinet underneath for fabrics!

I am going to stain it espresso brown and then do some distressed off white over the top! It will look right from Restoration Hardware for much, MUCH cheaper!

If we get brave enough we're going to add some lighting to the hutch and possibly a bench that I will make a cushion for.. yes, we're getting all Ty Pennington up in this hiz-ouse! It will probably take a month before everything is done and all, but, I can't wait to see it! Before I get too excited I just want to make sure this table can get done, LOL! Hubby and I have never built anything like this so I am crossing my fingers and toes that we can put our mind's together and create awesomness out of wood!

On a side note.. My Gypsy arrived! I was freaking out at first thinking I got a broken one because I could not get it to turn on. I let it charge for 5 hours and still, nothing! I was not a happy camper... and then.. I grew a brain. Yes, a real live working BRAIN! I was not pressing the power button at all. I was pressing some other button in the front, LMAO! For what it's worth, several people have done this from what I read on the Cricut message boards. Pesky little power buttons! Who needs 'em anyways?.... *Pfffft!*

So, yeah! That's it for now! I have high hopes the table will be done today and I can start staining it tomorrow! Yay for new craft space! *high five*

 

Simply cute Valentine's goodie box!

I swear.. with all the goodie boxes I make you would think all I do is pass out candy and whatnot, lol. No, I don't.. I just really enjoy making them!

This one is simple and quick to make with a mix of a cartridge and a couple SVG files.

Cricut cartridge Simply Charmed (I cut the legs off the ladybug) : SVG Cuts Favor boxes : SVG Cuts Rosie's Ribbons : Swiss dot embossing folder : Hearts embossing folder : Paper of your choice

Use a Cuttlebug for embossing! Fill up with some candy (or even a cupcake would fit in here!) and give it to your love bug! :)

Yes, I know Valentine's Day is still a month away.. LOL! 

A quick and cheap way to brighten up ANY room!

If you're like me.. you love great things at great prices.. but, sometimes I splurge and get what I want because I can't find it anywhere else! I redecorated my youngest daughter's room in this adorable set from Pottery Barn Kids. I LOVE owls, tree, birds.. flowers! So cute! I searched high and low for some cute butterflies to match because I really didn't want to spend about $30.00 on a set of 12 paper butterflies! (This was before my Cricut days) Well, no can do.. I caved and bought them! They do look great on the walls!

Someone on a message board I am on saw these in a post about girls rooms, asked me where I found them. I looked for them on Pottery Barn's website and they don't have them for sale anymore.

Anyhow.. on to the other night. I was crafting and used a little butterfly from SVG Cut's Breezy meadow Butterflies Collection and I thought.. Oh WOW!! Ummm, hello!? WALL ART Pottery Barn style! I've made butterflies for the wall before with a cartridge but they were small because it was 3 on a 12x12 page (This was before I knew what Sure Cuts A Lot was). Nothing like the gorgeous designs Mary at SVG Cuts created! I love the shape of them. In the SVG collection there are several shapes you can use. I only used the bottom files to make a blackout pretty much. And well.. lookie here!

And this is what PB's look like.

Let's see... make your own to match your space for about $9.99 for a huge stack of cardstock (I used DCWV's Citrus stack) OR use PB's set of 12 and only about half of them matched the room.. and they cost about $30.00! Yeah.. it's a no-brainer! (well, unless you don't have a Cricut... if that's the case, what are you waiting for?! lol)

 Cut out your files. I did my two large ones at 11" wide. The small one is 8" wide. Score them along the side of the butterfly's body.

I use this adhesive. It's VERY strong. If you rather not have them so permanent, use a wall putty! Bend the wings up slightly.

 

Voila'! Super cute... super easy.. super cheap!

 

You likey? I sure hope so!

Before I go... I got a little package today! New Cuttlebug folders! Yeah!! One of the sets matches my Robots Cricut cartridge so it will come in handy when making Austin's birthday party decorations! I also got some stamp blocks! Joanns had a great little sale going on so I got some good deals!

Happy crafting, friends!

My first design team project for Svgcuts.com!

I finished this up the other day and just adore these little treat boxes! Want to learn how to make these and the recipe for cake balls? Check out the blog post over at SVG Cuts! Tamara's Corner

Now.. a few pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

Yummy! Don't forget to pick up the SVG files at svgcuts.com to make your own!

A new dress.. and I bought myself a present!

I made this little dress the other night. I've always wanted to make a dress with little gathers on the side like this. I love it! It was kind of a pain to figure out at first since I didn't use a pattern. I think I will make my girls matching Easter sets using the gathering look.. it's so cute!

 

Annnnnnd... I got me a new present! A Gypsy I got mine from cricutmachine.com for a GREAT price though! $87.00! Yeah, buddy! I can't wait for it to get here! I'm sad I can't use my SVG's with it.. but, I promised myself to start using my cartridges more so this will help with that! The other day when I made my Valentine Boxes and had to switch cartridges a million times is when I really decided I needed one. Plus, it's SO cold in my craft area (dang drafty door!) that it will be nice to sit by a fire and plan out my attack before going into the war, LOL!

Anyhow... I finished my very first project for SVG Cuts! I love it.. and I hope you all do too! I can't wait for it to be on their blog (should be tomorrow!) So fun! I have another Valentines project for them in the works that I will get to finish this weekend! It's super cute and the kiddos will love to help! (well, with both projects, really!)

Also, please, please 'like' my page on Facebook and send your crafty friends! When I get to 200 fans I will be giving away a giftcard to svgcuts.com!

Happy crafting!

 

Have you snagged your FREE SVG file yet?

SVG Cuts has this adorable file availiable for free download! I suggest getting it if you would like to make the next project I will be sharing! Yep, yep.. get it before it's gone!

SVG Cuts Freebie

Are you swaggin'?

And if not.. you should! (And I would love for you to sign up with my link!)

I use to think this was a gimmick.. how do people make 'hundreds' searching the internet? Well, until I tried it! I love Swagbucks! Basically, you install their toolbar and search the internet just like you would with Google. You can also earn swagbucks (virtual money basically) by shopping online, watching little video clips, etc (I've only used the search function though) It's super easy and who doesn't like free stuff!? You can get all sorts of things but I usually order the Amazon $5.00 gift cards. I've made over $100 now and only really started doing this a couple months before Christmas. Ready to SIGN UP? I know many people say they don't search the internet all that much, but.. if you check your mail.. type in 'gmail' into the searchbar instead and maybe get a few swagbucks! Need to go to facebook? Just type it in and go.. easy peasy!

So yeah, check it out! Just wanted to share... I *heart* free money!