Stencilling with a Cricut

My next adventure in Cricuting was making stencils out of clear contact paper.  I went out to my crap craft shed and found the bottle of Armour Etch that I bought years ago.  I had no idea whether it was still any good or not, but decided to see.

I am woefully behind on wedding gifts and needed one for a young couple whose surname is Byrd.  I had a nice vase, so I decided to decorate it for them.  I cut a fancy B out of the contact paper and, just for fun, also cut out a little bird on a branch right over the "B"  I applied the vinyl to the vase, although I had to cut the sides of the vinyl AROUND the design in order to accommodate the curve of the vase.

I pressed the contact paper down really well, especially around the edges of the design, and then I applied the etching cream and prayed that it would still work in spite of being 10+ years old.  I waited about 15 minutes, and then scraped the etching cream back into the bottle and ran the vase under running water to wash off the rest of the etching cream.  I then removed the contact paper to see if the etching cream worked.

IT WORKED!!!  WOO HOO!  No need to buy more of that expensive stuff!

I put a blue towel inside the vase in hopes of getting a decent picture, but you can barely see the branch on which the little birdie is sitting.  Anyway, I think it turned out pretty cute, and I hope that T and C like it!

I then started thinking about what else I could etch.  I thought about my Pyrex bowls and pans, and how I've always had to write my name on a piece of masking tape to stick to the bottom of the dish at pot luck suppers.  So, I cut out another stencil, along with a curvy little design on each side, and stuck it on my Pyrex meat loaf pan.  I did both sides of the pan this way.  I should be pretty "cool" at the next pot luck supper with my monogrammed cookware!



While I was looking for the Armour Etch cream, I came across some candles that I had bought on sale a couple of years ago.  I had intended to try my hand at hand-painting candles but never got "a round tuit".  I also found the bottle of candle medium that I bought for that unattempted project, along with a bottle of black craft paint.  Yeah!  I was in business!

Well, I did a couple of candles, and I'm not thrilled with either one of them.  I wiped down the candles with alcohol, let them dry and then applied the contact paper.  It was hard to get the contact paper to stick down very well on the candles,, and the paint is best when applied with a wide foam brush.  The nativity scene was supposed to have a very thin arch over the whole scene, but I ended up scraping it off.  I also got the bright idea of applying glitter to the star, but managed to glitter Joseph's head, as well.  Oh, well, this will do for us, but I wouldn't give it to anyone else!

My next candlepainting project was this fancy monogram.  Again, it was hard to get the contact paper to stick to the candle well, and while I was stuggling with it, I managed to get it crooked!  This design is too fancy, and some of the parts of it are just too thin to do well as a stencil on candles.  It'll do for us, though!



A poster on the HGTV craft boards suggested that I cut my designs out of black tissue paper and use a piece of waxed paper to hold the design against the candle while I use a blow dryer to melt the candle wax just enough to soak into the tissue paper design.  I have a few more candles, so I'm going to give that idea a try.

I've been painting the doors and trim in my entry way this week, so I will be back as soon as I finish that job and get the walls painted!

My Latest Obsession

I just realized that if I had waited until MONDAY to post my previous post, I would have had something for Smiling Sally's BLUE MONDAY!   That's what I get for jumping in and posting without my brain in gear!

My sweet hubby bought me a Cricut Create for Christmas.  He totally missed Walmart's Black Frday sale of the Cricut Expression that I really wanted, but...oh, well, it's the thought that counts, right?

However, when I opened the box, there was no cartridge inside!  Apparently, someone had stolen the cartridge.  So, off to Walmart I went.  They had one more Create in stock...and someone had stolen the cartridge out of that box, too!  Finally, Walmart's manager just gave me a cartridge.  The only problem was that it was a "Home Decor" cartridge.  Sure, it had lots of cute stuff on it, and I did play with it for quite a while, but that cartridge had NO FONTS!  It's kind of hard to personalize stuff without any fonts.

Given our financial situation, my hubby didn't see any need for spending money on either a cartridge or the Make The Cut program that I really wanted.  With Make The Cut, I wouldn't need any more cartridges!

So, my Cricut Create sat, mostly unused, until September, when my wonderful mom gave me birthday money!  WooHoo!!!  I promptly sat down and ordered MTC!

It is super simple to use, and I really like that I can take simple images and convert them into die cuts!

All I needed was something to cut...preferably vinyl.  I was out of money, so I asked a friend who owns a printing/sign business if I could buy some of her scrap vinyl.  She GAVE me a whole box full! WooHoo, again!

The very first thing I made was this 4" tile as a gift for my cousin and his wife who were both celebrating their birthdays.  I had planned on making a set of 4 coasters; but, I was running out of time, and this intricate design took quite a bit of time to weed out the unwanted vinyl.  I turned it into a wall decoration, instead.

This is not the finished version.  I had to stop at Walmart on the way to the party to get some ribbon and sticky-back felt to finish it off.  I used E6000 glue to glue a length of 1-1/4" wide sheer black ribbon to the back.  I glued ribbon all the way down the back of the tile for extra security.  I then cut a square of black felt and applied that to the back.  For what it's worth, I do NOT like the sticky-back felt...it's very hard to work with, IMHO!  I was pleased with how well it turned out, and my cousins were delighted.

Then, my hubby came up with a request.  He had just gotten back from a fishing trip to our trailer in Arkansas with his buddies.  His buddy, Daryl, had rotten fishing luck that weekend, and my hubby likes to "rub it in" a little.  He asked me to decorate a coffee cup for Daryl, who was a good enough sport to laugh about it!



 My daugher-in-law likes to decorate for Halloween, so I made her this tile and finished it with the ribbon in the same way that I finished my cousins' tile.

For a more serious gift, I bought this fall charger at Walmart and applied a vinyl monogram.  She said that this was just the kind of thing she likes!

Then, my hubby came back with another request.  Our business phone numbers changed a while back, but we had not yet changed the numbers on our work trucks.  The work trucks got new phone numbers, and then I made new vinyl signs to put in the back windows.  We figure that people might notice those signs better than they might notice the signs on the sides of the trucks.  Maybe my signs will help our business!

I'll be back later with some more pictures of my obsession craft projects! Have a great week!

I'm still around...alive and kicking!

WOW!  It's been a LONG time since I posted!

In case anyone was wondering, no, I'm not dead, nor did I drop off the face of the earth!

With all the hullabaloo of my husband's illness, my own health issues, and our financial setbacks last year, I just lost my posting and crafting mojo.  I did make a few things for Christmas, but that was about it, as far as crafting goes.

Hubby is doing very well now, despite a few set-backs.  He had issues with his blood thickening up, so had to take blood-thinners for about 8 months.  He also had another foot injury which put him back into the hospital for a few days, but the infection wasn't as bad as it was last year.  He now has a CPAP machine, which alleviates my fears that I might wake up to find that he quit breathing without starting back up again.  He had some issues with heart palpitations, but another heart catherization showed NO BLOCKAGES.  Thank goodness!  I'm inclined to think that the palpitations may have been mild anxiety attacks, as he's not had another spell of them since the catherization.  I believe that the catherization probably alleviated his worries, and thus eliminated the palpitations.

I'm at home full-time now, as my arthritis in my knee, hip, hands, and spine make it very difficult to be on my feet for very long or even do computer work on a full-time basis.  I'm currently awaiting a disability hearing...sometime within the next 8 months...MAYBE!   The knee was functioning OK for a couple of yeras, after I had a cortisone shot directly into the joint; however, the shot is now wearing off.  I'm hoping to be able to get another shot very soon.

Our oldest grandson graduated from high school in May, and is in his first semester at college.  It was a blessing that he won  enough scholarships to pay for his first semester!  We're very proud of him!

I started getting my crafting mojo back by monogramming sheets and towels for him to take to college.  I didn't take a picture of those, for some reason.

Our youngest grandson turned 3 in August, and since he graduated to a full-sized "big boy" bed, I decorated some sheets for him with machine embroidery and a little red rick-rack..

Here's the top sheet, from left to right.  The bottom sheet matches the pillowcases and coordinates with the top sheet.

I've been making quite a few things over the past month, but I'll save those for another post!

Trials and Blessings!

My husband is a diabetic with diabetic neuropathy in his feet.

In March, he stepped on a nail and walked around for half a day without realizing that he had a nail sticking in his foot.

He was headed to our trailer in Arkansas for a weekend of fishing with our grandson, so he loaded up his foot-doctoring supplies and headed out.

The following Sunday night, he came home and was pleased that his foot was looking good.

Monday, he went to work and was on his feet all day. Monday night, he showed me his foot, which was black and blue all over the top. My immediate thought was that he had dropped something really heavy on his foot. He said, "No. I haven't done anything but walk around on it all day."

He wasn't feeling very well, so he stayed home the next two days. In the meantime, I called his doctor for an appointment, but she was out of town for a week.

Wednesday night, I got home to find that his foot had a huge blister on top of his toe. He asked me what I thought, and I said, "I think we need to go to the ER!"

The ER doctor took one look and said, "We're admitting you for IV antibiotics."

By that time, the blister had ruptured and his foot looked like something out of a horror movie. My first thought was that he had that flesh-eating bacteria, and the doctor did order testing for that.

It turned out that my husband had a staph infection, a bone infection, and another kind of infection in his foot.

He was in the hospital for a week, but needed IV antibiotics at home for 4 more weeks.

Which would cost us about $4,500!

Our insurance would cover the cost of home health care, but NOT the cost of the medication. We had no clue as to what to do! We certainly did not have the money!

Praise the Lord for good friends!

For years, we have volunteered, along with our friends, with the Clydesdale Children's Christmas Store. Our main focus is provided needy children with toys, food and clothing at Christmas time, but we also provide small scholarships to deserving students and do fundraisers to help anyone with a genuine need throughout the year. This organization is entirely volunteer, with no salaries being paid out.

On Roger's last day in the hospital, the social worker came by and told us that she had good news for us.

The Clydesdale Children's Christmas Store was going to pay for the IV meds! We called our friends, Ronnie and Brenda, (with tears rolling down our cheeks!) to thank them. Ronnie was so sweet...he said that Roger had done so much for others (working fundraisers, cooking BBQ, etc.) that it was just time to help Roger.

I should also mention that the company providing the meds also agreed to reduce the price by $1200.

Because of their generosity, Roger did not lose any part of his foot and his foot began to heal nicely.

When his foot was nearly healed, we learned that Roger had 4 blockages in the arteries to his heart. He then had to have a quadruple bypass surgery.

Since my husband works in our family business, which is already suffering from the collapse of the housing industry, our income was virtually dropped to almost nothing. What little business we were doing was barely enough to pay our son, who kept the business going on his own.

In addition to the generosity of the Clydesdale Christmas Store "family", a whole bunch of friends threw a huge fundraiser for us, and raised enough money to keep us going through the months of recuperation that lay ahead.

God truly does answer our prayers. We are not out of the financial woods, yet, but we are rich in friends...friends who not only get to work and do what they can to help us out, but friends who offer up their prayers for us. We are truly blessed to have all these friends in our lives, and I thank God for them every day!

True friends are angels without wings who live on this earth and walk amongst us!

I am so proud to know so many angels!

Who are the angels in your lives?

My daughter must have blonde roots!

First...apologies in advance to my blonde friends!

Anyway...I got a load of Target merchandise in at my store this week. In the load was a bunch of flannel Christmas pajamas.

So..my daughter called me the next day and asked, "What price did you put on those pajamas?"

"Three bucks," I replied.

DD: "Well, that's a good price, so they should sell; but, I dunno...with it getting to be warmer weather, you might have them a while."

Me: "Well, some folks might buy them to put back as Christmas gifts, but if they don't sell, I can put them on Ebay and sell them to people in places like Australia."

DD: "Why Australia?"

Me: "Cuz it's fixin' to be their winter. The seasons are different on their side of the equator."

DD: "Really? Then, they haven't had their Christmas yet!"

Me: "Um...honey...December 25 is December 25, although it comes a day earlier for them than us."

I coulda SWORN that her hair was DARK when she was born!!! LOL!

BTW, I do know that she was thinking about the fact that these are pajamas with Christmas print fabric! Still ain't gonna stop me from teasing her, though! Turn about is fair play!

Springtime in Dixie

The grass is greening.


My redbud tree is blooming.

My Bradford pear tree is in full bloom.

The crocuses are running amok!

And, my purple irises are fixin' to bloom, too!

YEAH!!! Spring is finally here!

I'm so happy!!!

Should I post this on RMS? Opinions, please!

Isn't this a beautiful view? It's a lake about 10 miles from our house.


This is the same lake, but a little further along. Wouldn't you just love to live at a place with such a gorgeous view?

I've been thinking about posting this place on RMS...you know...show all the gals how REAL MEN decorate!

Yep, this lovely view is at MY HUSBAND'S DEER CAMP!!!

One side of the porch. Note the LOVELY green plastic lawn chair and the stunning blue garbage can. The blue thing behind the chair is for holding kegs of beer and ice! The red coolers are for those who prefer to drink their beer from a can!

The other side of the porch. The door opens directly into the kitchen. Note the convenient TV up in the corner, so the guys can both admire the lake view and watch the boob tube at the same time! An extra microwave on the porch is an added convenience. The sheet of pressboard on the left is intended for some additional improvements!

A view of the driveway and the "guest houses" from the porch. The "guest house" on the left is called the bunk house, and is filled with beds for the camp members, who are not allowed to sleep in the main house. The "guest house" just to the left of the truck is my husband's private sleeping quarters. You really gotta suck up if you want to sleep in the spare bedroom there!

This is the view of the kitchen as you walk in from the back door. Note the clever creation of a pantry by stacking one base cabinet unit on top of another cabinet unit and topping it off with an over-the-refrigerator cabinet!

Also note the stunning Harvest Gold refrigerator that brings out the beauty of the different woods in the cabinetry. For that "pop" of red color, the fire extinguisher on the floor is just perfect! The fire extinguisher is also very practical...since the previous lodge house burned to the ground because hubby's friend Johnny left a pan of grease on the stove to go outside and check out a fresh deer kill!

On the other side of the kitch is the sink area. The white cabinet really brightens up the space, don't you think? The flourescent lighting is hung in an interesting pattern designed to provide ample lighting for each work area. The guys have all the comforts of home, including a dishwasher, which also served as a dirty underwear washer until one of my hubby's buddies opened it to discover that fact. That same buddy hustled around and found a regular washer and dryer so hubby wouldn't wash his whitey-tighties in the dishwasher any more.

The lodge house has an open floorplan, with the kitchen opening onto the dining area and the common living area.

The walls are covered with stunning camouflage paneling, which is designed to complement any color scheme. There are a variety of textures and patterns in the room...plaid sofas, southwestern print chairs and ottomans, black leather/vinyl...you name it, it's in there!

The entertainment center is mounted in the corner on the left for easy viewing from anywhere in the house. The beer bottle light between the TV and the window provides ambience.

Since Johnny burned the previous lodgehouse down, the members are ever mindful of the need for quick action. The fire extinguisher mounted on the post is very convenient for anyone in the common living area to just grab as necessary. The "pop" of red is...umm...indicative of the guys' pride in being SOUTHERN REDNECKS. Note the innovative storage system for the extra fold-up table....just fold that sucker up and put it upside-down on the floor under the other table!

For convenience, the bar area has an extra refrigerator so that there is always a nice cold drink handy! The bar is adjacent to the kitchen and also serves as a handy buffet serving area. The pot rack over the bar provides out-of-the way storage for pots and pans. The deer on the wall just keeps an eye on everything!

So, whaddya think? Should I post these pics over on Rate My Space? Do you think that Mary Rogers (is she still over there, spreading goodwill?) would like this? If I post these pics on RMS, do you think I should show the guys what folks have to say about their decorating?

BTW, we have FINALLY got SNOW! TWO DAYS after I noticed that the daffodils (we call 'em "buttercups") and the wild pears were blooming! TWO WHOLE INCHES!