And then, just like that… it was over.

November 16, 2016November 16, 2016Leave a comment

Sue’s Holiday Workshop is the start to all my favorite Christmas activities.

It’s something that I look forward to every year.

Just like Christmas, so much time and thought goes into planning.

And then… just like that, it’s over.

I was so lucky to be able to spend the day with these lovely ladies last Saturday.

They are such a fun and special group. I appreciate each and everyone of them.

This year, I believe…the Frosted Winter Window was their favorite project.

I know it was mine.

As always… I intend on taking a lot of pictures. (but, I get too busy and forget.)

Always a fun day! Till next year.

Thanks Again Ladies!

Simple Stories Classic Christmas Cards

November 6, 2016November 15, 2016Leave a comment

I’ll be teaching a new class at The Paper Forest in December.

Simple Stories Classic Christmas Cards…

You may want to grab your elf hat and shoes for this fast-paced Christmas Card Class.

In this class we will create 8 Christmas cards using the Simple Stories Classic Christmas Collection.

All you need to bring is your double stick tape roller, plenty of 3D foam mounting squares and scissors.

Please join me…

Thursday, December 1st
at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Cost: $25

Contact The Paper Forest at 309-745-3868 to sign up.
If there is enough interest we may add a daytime class.

Sue’s Holiday Workshop 2016

October 12, 20162 Comments

Sign ups are now open for the 8th annual Sue’s Holiday Workshop…

The workshop will be held Saturday, November 12th from 10 to 3.

It’s a great jump start into the Holiday Season. And… a good way to spend quality time with friends laughing and creating.

We will be making cards, tags, a Winter Window, wood slice ornament, Christmas Tree in a bottle necklace, gift bag and a more.

The price of the workshop is only $45 for the day and includes a hot lunch, yummy desert and every one wins a door-prize.

The workshop will be held at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Washington, IL in my church’s large Family Life Center. Great lighting and plenty of space.

It’s going to be fun.

To sign up or for more information contact me at:
seldred2@frontier.com

Boo Door Hanger and Autumn Wreath

October 9, 2016October 12, 20162 Comments

The plan was to make the “Boo Door Hanger” and the “Autumn Wreath”

as two separate projects with two separate blog posts.

But… while I was working on decorating my front porch for Fall,

I tried them together and decided I liked it.

The “Boo Door Hanger” is a separate piece that I can remove after Halloween.

I assembled the wreath using a grapevine wreath, a couple of fall silk floral bouquets, ribbon and my

hot melt glue gun. After cutting the stems apart from the bouquet, I played around with the

arrangement of the flowers and glued them in place.

A simple bow glued into place finished off the Autumn Wreath.

The entire project took less than a half hour.

The Boo Door Hanger was a little more involved…

I used Black Sign Tags that come with a White Wet Erase Marker from Deflecto Craft Solutions

and Halloween paper and stickers from Paper House Productions.

I applied the Halloween paper onto thin chipboard and cut out three die-cut frames.

I cut the sign tags just slightly bigger than the opening of the frame and adhered it to the back.

I drew in my letters using the white dry erase pen.

Make a mistake? Just wipe the sign tag with a damp paper towel and start over.

I punched two holes in the top and bottom of the first two frames and the top only of the last frame.

I added a black eyelet to each hole and connected the frames with small garment pins.

I embellished each frame with Spooktacular 3D Stickers from Paper House Productions.

“This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Paper House Productions and Deflecto Design Team I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions.”

It’s getting to be that time of year again…

September 13, 2016September 13, 2016Leave a comment

It’ll be here before we know it.

Did you know it’s only 103 until Christmas?

To me that means one thing…

It’s time to start thinking about Sue’s Holiday Workshop.

I’ve got the date and place reserved and a couple of the projects decided on.

It’s going to be good.

So save the date. Details Coming Soon.

How to make a Halloween Hauntings Treat Bag

September 7, 2016September 2, 2016Leave a comment

You can make a Spooky Halloween Treat bag using only one piece of 12″ x 12″ paper.

That is as long as you’re not afraid of a few measurements… it really is pretty easy.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Directions:

Cut All Hallows Moon double sided Halloween paper to 8 1/4″ x 11 3/4″.
Score the long width of the paper at 3/4″, 4 3/4″, 5 1/2″, 6 1/4″, 10 1/4″ and 11″.
Score the top of the paper at 3/4″.
Score the bottom 1 1/2″.
Fold along score lines
Cut away the first 3/4″ corner piece.
Fold over the top 3/4″ and adhere in place. (top diagram)
Fold along lines to create a 4″ x 6″ box.
Tape Side and bottom of the box.
Cut “toad saliva” bottle section from the Apothecary scrapbook paper and adhere to the front of the bag.
Add 3D foam mounting squares to the back of the “raven” and “bottles” stickers and use to embellish the bag.
Punch two holes on the top of the bag.
Fill with goodies (or NOT) and tie with a black cord.

The Halloween Treat Bag was created for and sponsored by Paper House Productions.

Patriotic Tie Dyed Shirts for the 4th of July

July 4, 2016June 5, 20171 Comment

We’re at it again.

This past week, my daughter in law and I did a little Summer Tie Dying.

(see last year’s shirts here)

Inspired by photo’s she saw on Pinterest,

Bonnie made these cute Patriotic Tie Dyed shirts for the boys.

We used Tie Dye Kits that come with the premeasured squeeze bottles.

She gathered the shirt at one corner and rubber banded it in three sections and squeezed the

dye directly onto the shirt and then covered it with Saran Wrap.

We allowed several hours before rinsing out the dye.

Too Cute! (don’t you agree?)

For more summer fun… click on ad below.

Disclaimer: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial

Craft Sticks… not just for Kids!

June 8, 2016May 11, 2020Leave a comment

Craft Sticks for Grown-ups?

Who knew the craft medium we used as kids could produce a grown-up look.

I was messing around one day, looking for something different to stencil on.

Inspired by my favorite “Fixer Upper” show, I decided to create my own mini shiplap.

The projects below are the result of my “playtime”.

This one’s for anyone who loves Americana, old signs, topography and the look of old shiplap.

Or for anyone who loves playing with wood craft sticks.

How to make the Americana Sign: (*Amazon Affiliate Links)

12 Wood Sticky Sticks with Adhesive Tips*
Decoart Americana Decor Stencil American Tribute*
DecoArt Americana Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint: Night Sky*, Dark Scarlet*, Cotton Ball*
Red Twine*
Deco Art Americana Decor Angle Flat Brush, 1-Inch* and Stencil Brush*
Craft Glue*>
Drill
Fine Sandpaper or Sanding Sponge*
Removable Painters Tape*

Finished Size: 6” x 6”

*Disclosure: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

Directions:

Create a sign by gluing together 8 tongue depressors on the front and 4 tongue depressors on the back.
Paint both sides of the sign with blue paint.
Using select sections of the stencil, tape stencil in place using removable painters tape.
Using a stencil brush, dip just the tip of your brush into the paint. Tap off excess paint before applying to prevent the paint from seeping under the edges of the stencil.
Apply paint with stencil brush in a straight up and down motion called stippling.
Drill small hole in the top corners and insert red twine to use as a hanger.
Optional Step: For a distressed look, lightly sand the edges of the sign with extra fine sand paper.

Here’s a project I did a few years ago using a product called sticky sticks.

The paint and stencils used in these projects were sponsored by DecoArts.

Shop Amazon Scrapbooking Supplies*

A little Americana for your front porch swing

May 30, 2016May 22, 20184 Comments

The quickest way to spruce up the front porch swing for summer is with new pillows.

And if your a little bit handy and have a sewing machine why not try making a few of your own.

When it comes to sewing I’m very simple and it doesn’t get much easier than this.

A simple stenciled and stitched pillow.

Deco Arts has so many 12″ stencils in a variety of patterns, you’re sure to find one you’d love.

DecoArts® Products Used: (*affiliate link)

ADS16 American Tribute Stencil*
Americana® Multi-Surface Satin Acrylics: Dark Scarlet, Cotton Ball, Night Sky
Splendid Gold Dazzling Metallics® Acrylic Paint

Additional Products:

14” x 14” Muslin Fabric
14” x 14” Red and Cream Ticking Fabric
Fairfield Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Fiber, White, 1 Bag, 12-Ounce*
Stencil Brush*
Removal Painters Tape*
X-ACTO Craft Knife*
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Needle and Thread

Directions:

Lay paper under muslin fabric before stenciling.
Center and tape stencil onto muslin with removable painter’s tape so that the stencil won’t move.
Work one color at a time and mask off with painter’s tape the areas that won’t be painted.
Remove the “star section” of the flag using a craft knife and set aside.
Stenciling is a “dry” brush technique. Using a stencil brush, dip just the tip of your brush into the paint. Tap off excess paint before applying to prevent the paint from seeping under the edges of the stencil.
Apply paint with stencil brush in a straight up and down motion called stippling.
Once you’ve added the red, blue and gold colors. Replace the star section of the flag back onto the stencil and stencil the stars with white paint.
Create a simple pillow by sewing the muslin onto the red and cream ticking fabric.
Stuff pillow with Poly-fil®.

This project was sponsored by DecoArts.

Disclosure: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

Americana Ribbon Wreath

May 25, 2016May 22, 20186 Comments

How to Create a Americana Ribbon Wreath…

I’ve been concentrating a lot on sprucing up my front porch for Summer.

To complete the look, my front door needed a fresh fun new wreath.

I created a Summer themed Americana Wreath using one of the ruled wreaths* from Smoothfoam. (*affiliate link)

Smoothfoam Ruled Wreaths make design and layout easy.

They molded lines and numbers into the foam to make design and layout simple.

Even on one side, odd on the other.

The wreaths come in several sizes… 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″.

Proudly Made in the USA

How to make the Americana Ribbon Wreath

I used the 14″ ruled wreath.
Glue one end of the ribbon down onto the foam wreath and wrap the ribbon tightly around the first section. Glue second end of the ribbon in place before starting second color. (I used Beacon Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive* to glue my ribbon in place.)
Using a thin floral wire, wire the small floral stems onto the base of the wreath.
Glue larger flowers and leaves onto the wreath over the wire.
Add large stemmed butterfly and ribbon to hang.

So many possibilities.