Crafting for a Cause

     One night a few years ago, Matt and I were discussing the situation in Haiti at the dinner table. The girls had been talking about the devastation at school, and they were very concerned for the children in that country who had lost so much. They expressed a desire  to do something for Haiti, and our annual school bookmark sale was born.

     We broke out the paper scraps and got to work a little at a time. What could be better than spending a rainy Saturday afternoon getting inky?

     After we'd made what we thought would be an appropriate number of bookmarks, the girls wrote a proposal to our delightful principal requesting a date to sell our 50-cent creations. The 30 bookmarks we'd created our first year sold out in 15 minutes, so we tried for 50 this year.

     As usual the students and staff rallied to support our little sale, and we raised another $25 for Haiti relief. Twenty dollars isn't much in the big scheme of things, but the time we spent together was priceless, and the feeling of turning our scraps into something more made all those rainy Saturday afternoons worth every moment.

Once Upon a Springtime

      When I saw Irene Tan's post using one of Graphic 45's new lines, "Once Upon a Springtime," I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! I think this paper was designed just for me. How did they know I have such a sweet daughter who is obsessed with bunnies and fairies ... at the same time?

     I knew I would just have to scraplift Irene's design and add a few of my own touches. I think this just might be my favorite layout yet thanks to these gorgeous papers and Irene's inspiration!

     This line includes tons of die cut frames and tags which are just as gorgeous as the papers! Aren't the fairies so beautiful?

     These bunnies are just so adorable! I can't wait to add them to another project!

          I hope you'll all visit Irene's blog ... she's truly amazing! Have a lovely week, and thanks for stopping by!

Materials:

Once Upon a Springtime papers, tags, and frames by Graphic 45

Peach, Gold Glimmer Mist, Tattered Angels

Clock Mask, Tim Holtz

Diamond, Gold, and Green Stickles

Crochet and Pearl Trim, Joann Fabrics

Rick Rack, Maya Road

Grungeboard Wings, Tim Holtz

Hat Pin, Maya Road

Embroidered Rose, Devonshire Collection, Kaisercraft
Paper Doily, Michael's
Crackle Medium, Michael's
Gold, Ivory Acrylic Paint

Medallion Stamped Tile Coasters

     A huge thank you to Michelle Wecksler for this idea! She has an instructional video on YouTube, and I knew I had to try this technique as soon as I saw it!

     I think these tiles would make for a great class this summer, since they can be customized with many different stamped motifs. What do you think? I'm still pondering how I might be able to waterproof large, colorful graphic images. If you have any ideas, please comment!

     These would make a great housewarming gift, and they're super cute and inexpensive to make!


Materials:
Tumbled marble tile, Home Depot
Staz-On ink
Medallion Background Stamp, Stampin' Up! 
Self-Adhesive foam sheet

Gift for a Special Mom

     I have been blessed with a beautiful set of mothers, and I wanted to make something extra special for my Mom-in-Love who lives far away from us in Oklahoma for Mother's Day. Since she doesn't get to see my daughters very often, I thought it might be special to make her this triptych with recent photos of the girls. I love how it turned out -- very much my style. (ie. Gregarious and over-stated Victorian which hopefully she'll overlook enough to love anyway.)

    Step one of this particular creative process involved gussying the girls up with a little lip gloss and special dresses. I poked Sophia in the eye during our make-up session, so that got things off to a slammin' start. I'd been meaning to take pictures for weeks, but it's been snowing literally every weekend all spring. When I saw the sun on Saturday, I knew the time had come. There was still snow on the ground, but it was almost 50 degrees.

     Step two involved an ice cream bribe, since picture-taking in our family is literal torture. No matter our intentions and no matter how great the light or how perfect the weather, getting two kids to stand next to each other without making faces or poking each other in the eye would try the patience of Mother Theresa. I can't tell you how many photos turned out just like this:

      We made it to the park without coats after repeated attempts by me to convince two 8-year-olds that 50 degrees can get a bit chilly after standing around with your feet in slushy snow for an hour. Because cute shoes are essential to every great photo shoot involving mostly head shots, I was forced to carry a 60 pound child at least half a mile (okay, more like 50 yards) to the nearest patch of grass. We proceeded to shoot more than a hundred photos, of which three were passable enough to send to Grandma.

     As predicted, the cold set in before the aforementioned three photos were taken, at which point reminders of the bribe seemed less useful, since ice cream is cold too. A trip to the museum replaced the ice cream bribe, and we managed to get the job done after shedding a few tears.

     The museum was fun, but I think I would have preferred a massage. In the end, there's something to be said for hiring someone else to take pictures of your kids. 

     Happy Mother's Day!

Materials used:

12x12 chipboard

Webster's Pages "Light the Way"

Pink Paislee, "Father Christmas" 

Tags from Graphic 45's "Once Upon a Springtime"

Crop-a-Dile

Twill Tape from Stampin' Up

Crochet Trim, Joann Fabrics

Chipboard Cameo, Maya Road

Acrylic Butterflies, Melody Ross

Artisan Elements, Pink Paislee

Light Yellow Acrylic Paint, Ben Franklin ca. 1992 (see, everything is useful eventually!)

Dark Gold Acrylic Paint (for back of frame)

Gold Stickles

Gold Shimmer Mist, Tattered Angels

White Flowers, Prima

Pink Paper Roses, local thrift shop :)

Pearl Beads, Joann Fabrics

Boho Blossoms Punch, Stampin' Up

Aleene's Paper Glaze