It's a Baby Boy Shower!

This is a special blog for me because it's finally out of the bag and I can say that I'm going to be a grammy to a baby boy. My only baby is having a baby! I'm going to be sharing some of her baby shower ideas. She's not big on paper crafting, per se, so I had to back off a bit from what I would have done if I had full reign.
Her baby shower was an Adventure theme. This would have been the theme whether she had a boy or a girl. No pink and blue for this girl! So many cute pink/blue baby things to choose from, and with this declaration my area of creativity was greatly reduced. But, I have to admit, I love this theme!

The first item of importance at the shower was the gender reveal. These little scratch-off cards were the first game. Each person at the shower got a card and a penny, and on the count of 3 everyone scratched, and one person was the winner and got to announce the gender. The scratch-off circles came from Enchanting By Design on Etsy. 

I re-purposed this old poster frame and added a thin piece of wood sprayed with chalkboard paint for a welcome sign.

I wanted to make some paper trees, but since paper was not really an option, I designed the trees and made a paper template, and then had my husband cut them out of wood on his band saw. The tree stumps had been made by friends for their daughter's wedding. They put votives in the little holes. I made a little trunk on some of the trees to fit into the votive hole.

My daughter's only request was that she wanted some little clothing rod dividers for the baby's closet. I designed these using the animal images painted by her best friend, whose Etsy shop, Studio South Seas, I featured in my last blog post. They are laminated and made into stickers (the stickers are on both sides of the dividers) using print-2-cut on my Sizzix Eclips.

These needed a box, which I made from SVG Cuts' Wet and Wild SVG Kit. Added a little burlap and some string, and made a little graphic for the top.

To match this theme, I also made some monthly photo markers. They are made double-thickness card stock. They can be laid on the baby, leaned on the baby, double-stick taped on a background, or set/leaned on a little stuffed toy. Or, when able, the baby can hold them in their hands. I went this route because I didn't want to guess onesie sizes or to use them as stickers that could be used only once. This way, they can be shared or used for another child someday. Again, I used the amazing art of Regina Moomjean, artist and owner of Studio South Seas.

This box was altered from SVG Cuts' Camp Firefly SVG Kit. I used the bottom of the S'more, and took the "chocolate drippings" off the top edge of the box, and made a graphic for the top.  Each of the boxes has a personalized message on the inside bottom.

Tied them together with a little tag, and there you go!

 As a thank you to the guests, I made a little thank you card with a pocket and a custom-made flower packet envelope that was filled with real flower seeds.

And, that does it! Hope you enjoyed some of the shower goodies. It was a wonderful celebration of what is to come. Thank you to my sweet Vanarama for hostessing the shower at her beautiful home.

Life is an Adventure! Enjoy!

Studio South Seas

Today I'll be blogging on a bit of a different note than usual. My dear friend (and basically second daughter), the incredibly musically and artistically talented Regina Moomjean, has just started an Etsy store called "Studio South Seas." Her art is whimsical and joyful, and I hope you like it as much as I do! You can visit her Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/studiosouthseas

Regina lives in San Diego, and sings in the Benedetti Trio along with her sister, both being accompanied by their very accomplished musician dad, Fred. She also majored in Art in college, and has recently been following that passion, turning it into a small business. You'll love her designs. My favorite is Eleanor the Elephant. There's just something about her (and her crown) that I love.

When Regina got married in 2011 she designed and hand drew her own wedding invitations. I was able to help her and set them up and print them out for her. They turned out so darling. I was always so in love with the top border graphic, and ever since that time I have been wanting to make something for her using it. I just didn't know exactly what. When she started Studio South Seas, she drew her initial title word art, and it suddenly hit me. I had just started to try my hand at cutting vinyl, so I came up with a combination of the wedding invite image and the title word art. I cut them out of heat transfer vinyl. I made her a tank top using what I came up with, and the two images blended together perfectly. Here's the tank I made for her.

I ended up also making one for her sister and my daughter (pictured here).

 

And one more for her husband (black t-shirt with white). I'm so happy with the way they turned out. I still have some learning to do with htv, but I'll get there.

Thanks for letting me introduce you to Studio South Seas and Regina Benedetti Moomjean! Please take a look at her Etsy store or visit her Facebook page. And maybe purchase one of her beautiful works of art. They would be perfect for a child's room or really for any area of your home! It'll make you happy every time you look at it!

Sailing on the South Seas...Now that would be an Adventure!

Custom Wedding Favors

I volunteered to make the wedding favors for my very special niece's wedding. Much was discussed, but she pretty much said she would appreciate anything at all. Her wedding reception was very muted colors, white and beach sand and gold. After much thought, we came up with these little pyramid boxes.

The basic pyramid box came from SVG Cuts' Gift Boxes SVG Kit. I removed the small holes at the top that are used to tie it shut. I also made them small enough that I could cut two per 12x12 sheet of scrapbook card stock. The base ended up at about 2-1/2"x2-1/2". I cut out 120 of them on my Sizzix Eclips, and embossed each one with my Big Shot.
I then cut out the beige triangles for the front. I made a small hole at the top of the triangle in order to hang a silver star fish charm with some 1/16" wide gold ribbon. Each of the triangles was also embossed at the bottom edge.

I next designed these inserts with a message printed on top (p2c). Had to glue the four corners on 120 of them. They were then glued into the bottom inside of the pyramid.

These were made so that when I inserted the "message in a bottle," they would not fall over in the box. The bottles fit snugly, but not too tight.
I printed and cut out some little bottle shapes, and put a Bible verse that the bride and groom chose on either side of them. They were then put into the bottle, along with some sand and tiny shells.

 

There was another triangle that was glued onto the inside back of the pyramid that held a ribbon that was threaded into that back seam. Once the box was closed, the ribbon was tied around to the front to hold all of the sides up. And, all that needed to be done to open the box was to lift the bow over the top of the pyramid box, and the sides would open down.

 

 

 

These were a lot of work, but I found that after the initial cutting, the rest could be done leisurely while watching a movie with the family. I don't know how people do these types of things for a living. For one, they are extremely time consuming. Secondly, you'd never be able to charge a customer enough for each one to cover the materials and the time. These were definitely done as a labor of love, and I was thrilled to be able to do it for her.

Congrats to the Bride and Groom!

Wishing you both much happiness

What's the Story, Morning Glory?

I had been wanting to make this little telephone for quite some time now, but was just not sure who I'd make it for, and for what occasion. The right time came when I designed a poster for a children's theater company that will be performing Bye Bye Birdie. I made this telephone box as a fun gift for the director. The pattern came from SVG Cuts' Call Me Later SVG Kit.

 The telephone is a box that opens up, and I put some candies inside. I chose to glue the receiver down so there weren't so many loose pieces. The coiled telephone cord is from a little key chain.

 And, this is the show poster I designed (and photographed).

What's the Word, Hummingbird?

Pop-Up Box Cards (or Card in a Box)

These pop-up box cards seem to be very popular right now, and after making a few of them I know why. Firstly, they are so fun to look at. Secondly, they fold flat so you can slip it into an envelope for mailing. And, they are so easy to make, and can be made and personalized for virtually any occasion. This first one I'm posting was for a 60th birthday of a good friend, whose name is also Deb.

 

All of the elements came from SVG Cuts' The Green Room SVG Kit. The finished box is just over 6" tall. There is another panel on the very back where I put a sentiment and signed it.
The next one was made for my sis-in-law.  I printed a photo of her as a baby and used that for the front panel.

Here you can see how it folds down flat. There is no bottom on the box, so it's folds very easily. I made the envelope for it with the Envelope Punch Board from We R Memory Keepers.

And, here's the back of this one.

Here's another one made for a friend's birthday. I love the beach/underwater theme.

On the back of this one I made a little pocket where I made a couple of tickets for an event and lunch.

Here's one made for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I used my own cut file for the box itself, but the darling elements and design came from SVG Cuts' Box Cards SVG Kit. There are five different box cards in the kit, each one as darling as the next.

And, here's one more that I made for a graduation. You can make these for pretty much any occasion at all. The sky's the limit! There was a little pocket on the back side where some $$ was inserted. I made the 2014 background design paper myself.

The papers I used for all of the boxes was digi paper (and elements) purchased from Jessica Sprague and solid A/C card stock and Bazzill card stock. I made the pattern for this box myself. You can find tutorials on youtube. Or, if you purchase the SVG Cuts kits, they come with not only the decorated boxes with the elements, but also the basic boxes so that you can design your own.

Sending Wishes in a Box!

From the Seamstress's Room

What a fun project this dress form was! I was a bit intimidated by the pieces when I first cut it out, but I watched Mary's tutorial and did it step by step, following her directions to just take your time and attach each tab one at a time. It went together much easier than I thought it would!
This dress form cut file is from SVG Cuts' Dress Shop SVG Kit.  It won't be the only thing I make from this kit. I don't know how Mary makes these cut files, but she is the best out there. This was made for my sis-in-law's birthday.

I know I got a bit carried away with the butterflies, but I just liked them so much I couldn't stop! I did a small addition to the base of the stand. I wanted to add a bit of weight to stabilize the base a bit, since it's made completely out of paper. So, I traced the bottom piece (octagon) of the base onto heavy chipboard, and cut it out with scissors right inside the trace lines. Then I cut a hole in the center, such that I could put my finger well inside to guide it into the bottom. It's not a pretty hole, but it does the job.

I took some rocks (I believe they came from the dollar store in the floral section), and used some Beacon's 3-in-1 glue to glue the rocks to the chipboard. I put a little more glue between the rocks. I then opened the tabs on the bottom of the base and inserted the chipboard into the base.

I used the finger hole to pull the chipboard to the edge of the tabs, and put glue on all of the tabs. Then folded the tabs onto the chipboard.

Once that was done, I was able to just glue the solid black bottom onto the base, and you can't tell I put anything inside of it. It's not too heavy, but just makes the base feel a little more stable.

For her card, I made a card-in-a-box or a pop-up-box-card. I made the cut file myself. It's a pretty simple concept, that ends up being quite impressive. The box folds flat to fit in an envelope for mailing. If you're interested in them, you can find lots of tutorials on youtube.com that will show you all of the measurements and how to make them.

Hope she doesn't see this in the next couple of days!

Happy Designing!

Walking Dead Birthday

This is a short post on a few items I made for my great-niece's 13th birthday. When I inquired about what her birthday theme was, I was surprised that she had requested The Walking Dead.  Really? 13 years old and wants The Walking Dead? OK. Also funny is that The Walking Dead is also her grandma's favorite program.

First was the cake. I used elements and did a cut-to-print, and just attached each to a thin wooden dowel, and that was it. The Happy Birthday font was a zombie font, and had hands and zombie faces in it. Nice and simple. They loved it.

 Next I cut vinyl and applied to a tumbler (her fave color is blue).

And, lastly, I made a box for the tumbler and decorated it with Walking Dead panels. The box is from SVG Cuts' Gift Boxes SVG Kit. I made the box 2" taller to accommodate the straw.

And, that's it!

Watch Your Back, and Craft On!