Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

     I'm starting to feel the chill in the air, and the Halloween crafting vibes are starting to flow! Fall is my favorite time of year, and I can't wait for the pumpkin picking to start! In the meantime, I've been working on some crafty home decor projects for the season. I love decorating my house for the holidays since I have children coming over for piano lessons every day of the week. They always think it's special, and it creates a fun atmosphere for our musical adventures!

For this project, I used a page from a chipboard album and a tag from Authentique's Halloween line. 

     I also created this chipboard raven with the rusted enamel technique, some grungeboard goodies, and Stampin' Up's "Dark and Dreary" stamp set. I cut my satin ribbon in half to help it fray and added some buttons.

Thanks for stopping by, my friends!

Sweet Princess Birthday

     I can't believe my little girls turned nine last week! Children change so much at this age, and I'm just amazed to think back to even a few years ago. Their understanding of the world is so different, and they have to deal with complicated social situations at such a young age. I'm so grateful that they typically look at life through a lense of kindness and compassion, and I'm so blessed by all the lessons they've taught me.

     Even with their growing sense of style, their newfound interests, and their newfound love of "hanging out" with their friends instead of having "play dates," they still love to be little girls sometimes. I created their birthday cards this year with my favorite Cricut cartridge, Storybook, and some leftover Basic Gray Lemonade scraps. Cricut makes it so easy to create awesome shaped cards, and I had a blast making these!

     I was thrilled when the girls asked to have a birthday party just with family at Grandma's house, and it was a truly special day spent with all of our favorite people! Happy birthday, sweet girls!

Sweet Surprises

I just love filling my house with sweet little surprises, so when I was inspired by Lisa Pace's book, Delight in the Details, to make these pretty knob ornaments, I couldn't wait to get started!  These little cuties use all my favorite details: Book paper, vintage images, crystals, and all kinds of glitter!

  I decided to make you a short tutorial so you can whip up some little surprises of your own. These would be great for any theme: Christmas, Halloween, Valentines Day, Autumn, you name it!



Trace layered frame templates onto lightweight cardstock and cut out. I got these at a Christmas ornament class long ago and have been using them as templates.



Trace the frame background onto vintage book paper and cut out. Adhere with Mod Podge or other liquid glue and sand and ink edges. (I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye.)



Punch holes in top and bottom of frame before glittering.



Glue edges (I used Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue) and coat with glass glitter. Set aside to dry.



Paint foreground frame with acrylic paint and set aside to dry.



Cut out a vintage image (I used Creative Scraps by Crafty Secrets) and coat with Distress Rock Candy Crackle. Set aside to dry.



Apply liquid glue to foreground frame and cover with glitter. (I used Dazzling Diamonds from Stampin' Up because it's soooo sparkly!)



Make baker's twin hangers for the top and bottom of your ornament. I threaded the bottom with a vintage button and a chandelier piece by Maya Road before tying it on. The baker's twine is from Stampin' Up.

Adhere the foreground to the background with foam adhesive. Lightly ink your crackled vintage image, highlight with Stickles, and adhere in the center of the ornament with dimensional adhesive. Whala!

I hope you enjoy making some sweet little surprises of your own!