Something Pretty for a Sweet Lady

I am linking this project to Use it Tuesday's Challenge #47 "Make it Sparkle."  There is a ton of bling and sparkle in this project so I think it qualifies for sure.  I am also linking it to DL.ART's most recent anything goes Linky Party.  These are two of my favorite challenge blogs.  Check them out.  There are a TON of great projects featured there.  You get so many ideas and meet some new crafty friends along the way.  :)

I just HAD to have this tray when I first saw it at Hobby Lobby almost two years ago.  My hubby and I were on an anniversary weekend away in Daphne, AL (one of my favorite places in my small world), and I had printed out coupons for each of us for each of the 3 days of our stay.  I know.  We're wild and crazy and can't be trusted when we go off together. ;)  lol!  Anyway, I got it.  Then promptly become too intimidated by it to do anything with it.  It has been in my craft room causing all kinds of mischief ever since.  It always seemed to be covering up something that I needed, or sliding off the shelf onto my head when I tried to look for something.  Sometimes, it would be in a place other than where I thought I had left it.  Not as creepy as that weird clown doll in the USPS commercials, but it definitely had to be used.  

There is this sweet lady that works at my school, who lost her mother several years ago.  I got some pictures from her to make a memorial candle and decided to make this as well.  The candle will be in a future post since I am out of wax paper.  

Her mother loved the color burgundy, so I used the Mirabelle mat stack from The Paper Studio.  The papers are SO pretty!
 

 In this frame, I used some great epoxy brads from The Paper Studio that seemed made for this paper stack.  

I cut the letters from a lighter piece of paper from the paper stack and from a Cheerios box.  I used the Mod Podge to adhere the paper and box layers together and sponged the edges with Walnut distress ink.  Then, I spread Crystal Effects by Stampin' Up on it and sprinkled a tiny bit of Dazzling Diamonds over the letters to dress them up just a bit.  This was a first for me, and I'm so happy with how they turned out.

I used the "Faith, Hope, Love" stamp set from Stampabilities on a scrap of paper.  The ribbon is also from The Paper Studio.  (I'm thinking I should be president of their fan club.)  I can't remember the name of the company for the pendant, but I got it from the jewelry section at Hobby Lobby.  I originally did it with Crystal Effects over the picture, but I didn't like it so I pulled it out and redid it with just the picture.  

Sorry about the blurriness.  I didn't notice it until I had already taken the photo tray to school.  This is a scanned copy of something my friend had written on the back of one of her mother's photos.  I was so touched that I decided it needed its own tray.  I printed it on vellum and layered it over one of the papers from the stack.  The lattice punch is one I've had for a month or so.  I was so excited to find that punch and get it 50% off that I came home and punched out a piece of my favorite paper just to see the effect.  Then, I couldn't decide what to do with it so I set it aside to wait for the perfect project.  It was buried under other things, and I stumbled upon it looking for my adhesive eraser.  Perfect project indeed!  The die is from Spellbinders.

This is the most recent photo of my friend's mother.  I embellished with a brass bottlecap that I covered with a circle cut out of the same paper as the tray background.  I stamped the word "adore" and covered with Crystal Effects.  

 

I think the stamp is from Stampabilities, but I'm not sure.  (Packaging gets in the way so I usually toss it.)  The pearls are from Stampin' Up!

 

 

This is a really good picture, but I'm afraid I might have ruined it with too many pearls.  I used permanent adhesive to keep them from falling off in the humidity of our summers so I can't change it.  I hope she doesn't think I over-blinged.  :(
 

 The love my friend had for her mother was so obvious that I thought this sentiment would be perfect.  It's from the "Faith, Hope, Love" set.  I stamped it in Bravo Burgundy by Stampin' Up!  The tag is from Stampendous "Timeless Tags."  I stamped it in River Rock by Stampin' Up! and then sponged the edges with it as well.  I got the jewel from Hobby Lobby, but I can't remember who it's from.  I refer to it as "big, honkin' bling."

I meant to sponge the edges of all of the pieces with the Walnut distress ink, but I was so nervous and excited about this project when it all started to come together that I forgot until I had most of the pieces adhered down.  Oh well, I think it still turned out pretty.  :)

I hope it brings her comfort and she knows what an impression she has made on the lives of others as a result of her mother's love and nurturing throughout her life. 

Gift Card Holders

I found the cutest and super easiest gift card holders while browsing YouTube the other night.  My mother-in-law's best friend is always giving gift cards for various reasons and requested that I make her something cute to present them in.  I have a lot of ideas that are a little more involved than this that I plan on doing for her, but in the meantime, school is back in, and time is a rare commodity.  :)

(I will be adding more details about the supplies this weekend.  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.)

Personalized Composition Notebook

Just a quick post.  I gave this notebook to my mom-in-law for Christmas.  I wasn't originally going to.  I was going to hoard it.  I love this paper.  It's called Spice Cake by Stampin' Up! and it is probably my favorite of all of their patterned paper.  When I found myself inventing a need for the notebook (I already have so many other notebooks that I use for various purposes), I decided to go ahead and share the love and include this as a gift on Christmas.  When you're struggling for excuses to keep something, it's time to give it away.  

Funny thing, though.  Later that evening I drove over to my bestie's house so my daughter and I could ride with her and her mother to the movie theater to see Les Miserables.  She presented me with TWO MORE PACKS of this paper for Christmas!  Woot woot!  What an awesome gift from an awesome friend.  Love her!

Split Monogram Vinyl on Tile

This is what I made for my best friend (and her husband) for Christmas.  I had to wait to post it, because I wasn't able to give it to her on Christmas like I had planned.  I had those horrible vinyl issues that set my timeline for gifting back.  Strangely, we haven't seen each other since Christmas night.  Normally, we would have had at least one sleepover by now, but she's dealing with some stuff with her parents, and I've been crafting like a beast and burning up the miles on my new treadmill.  Anyway, we went back to work today so I just walked the four doors down from my classroom where her classroom is to give it to her.

Who's Out of the Classroom?

Just a quick bonus post for today.....

In my classroom, only one boy and one girl can be out at a time.  When a student leaves the classroom to use the bathroom, they have to give me one of the two bathroom tickets they are issued each quarter and then put the appropriate bottle of hand sanitizer on his/her desk.  When the student comes back, he/she uses it and then puts it back in the student supply center.

I cut these shapes using eCAL for the Sizzix Eclips.  The shapes were included in the software so they didn't cost me anything extra.

New Card for the Recruit

The inspiration for this card came straight from Robin at My Pink Stamper.  She posted a video for the cutest card the other day, and I was just so excited to make one myself.  I don't have the Cricut cartridge she used, and it was going to be about $30.00 to buy it (not the time of the year for extra stuff like that) so I looked through the ones I already had.  I found this cute little birdy on my Create a Critter cartridge, which I have NEVER used but just HAD to have.  I actually have a lot of cartridges that fall into that category.  I really need to start using more of my stuff.  I don't even know what I have!

Isn't he just the cutest thing?  I used Night of Navy from Stampin' Up! for his body with a brown I got from Michael's during one of their 8 sheets for $1.00 sales.  The yellow came from Hobby Lobby and the patterned papers are scraps that I've been using for all of his cards (leftover from the sendoff back in September).  I drew a little 'glint' in his eye, because it seemed so plain.  The ribbon is 1/4" grosgrain from Stampin' Up! in Chocolate Chip.

I don't have any of Robin's stamp sets (sniff sniff).  I never could decide which one I wanted to start my collection with.  Then she announced her retirement and it was at a bad financial time for me.  By the time I could get any, all the ones I wanted were sold out everywhere.  Ah, well.  I can take the same ideas and use my Eclips (Which I named Soleil Moon.  I know.  By the way, I named my Cricut Jiminy and my Samsung Galaxy is named Andromeda.) to draw the words for me.  Zoomed in, it doesn't look very clear and pretty, but you can't tell it by just looking at the card.  I used my Night of Navy stampin' markers.  The Eclips drew the trace-line, which it wasn't supposed to do.  I filled it in after.  I'll be playing around tomorrow to find out why it did the outline when I asked it to just do the 'fill'.

Overall, I really like it.  :)