Are you sick of seeing vinyl signs yet?? January 15, 2012

I know, there’s been a lot lately – but they make great presents! So here are a couple more I made for family for Christmas…

 

 

This families are forever sign was made for my Nana.

  

 Another version of families are forever. The family surname is behind in a lighter vinyl.

 

And finally, this one was made for my parents. Growing up my mum would tell us she wanted to name our home “Gunnadoo”, because we were always gunna do something. I thought I’d make her this sentimental sign. It’s hanging in the hallway above the photos of each of the children in my family (with husbands where applicable – hopefully we’ll add some wives in the next couple of years!) that we gave to mum and dad this year for Christmas.

 Anyway, that is all for today. Only 1 more week before the kiddies head back to school. Our 3rd child starts prep this year – I hope it all goes smoothly and the only tears are mine!

Thanks for stopping in

Happy Crafting

Aliessa

January Card Class January 2, 2012

I hope you have all enjoyed a relaxing and peaceful week. Our family have loved Christmas and New Years – family, food, friends, food, fun, and oh did I mention food?? It was so lovely to enjoy a Sunday Christmas. We attend church each week, but having Christmas day on a church day made it so special.

 So, the next card class will be held on Thursday January 19, 7.30pm at my house (address given on RSVP), $20 to make 8 cards (2 each of 4 designs)

Here are the cards we’ll be making

Card 1 – The design for this card is a CASE from the Stampin’ Up! Catalogue and Ideas book, with a twist

Card 2

Card 3 – something for the boys

and card 4.

Looking forward to an exciting and happy year, and wishing all of you the same

Happy Crafting!

Aliessa

Come What May…

Just another quick post. One of the ladies I Visit teach for church mentioned that she really liked the quote from Joseph B Wirthlin “Come what may and love it”. So for Christmas I made her this sign…

I really like the quote too. It’s a good reminder to be happy with life and all that I have been blessed with.

Happy Crafting!

Aliessa

 

 

The final piece December 21, 2011

I wanted to pop in and show you the last item we made at the December card class.

How cute is this?? I waited and waited for my top note die to arrive in the post. Somehow the parcel was lost and I had to have it re-ordered. Two weeks after my original order both orders turned up in the same delivery!

To make the bag I started with an 8″ x 6″ rectangle of chocolate chip cardstock. I scored 3″ in from each end on the long side and 1 1/2″ in from each edge on the short side. Then cut and fold it up to make a box.

Next I die cut 2 chip board top notes and 4 whisper white top notes. On 2 of the WW top notes I stamped snowflakes from SU Snow Swirled and PTI Post marks. I stamped the largest snowflake in Cherry Cobbler, the next size in Pear Pizzazz, the smallest from Snow swirled inDaffodil Delight and then the snow flake from PTI Post marks in Tempting Turquoise. I LOVE these colours all together – it makes it look like a beautiful designer paper!

Next I cut 2 9″ lengths of ribbon for the handles and made my front and back sandwiches. I adhered one plain white top note to a chip board top note, with the ribbon poisitioned and secured between them, then repeated this with the other pieces. Then I adhered the “designer” white top note to the front. I set these aside to dry while I made my little reindeer, then used strong double sided tape to fix them to the front and back of the box.

To make the reindeer I used my cricut to cut a 2″ oval and a 1″ circle from choc chip cardstock. These make the head and snout. I punched 2 white 1/2″ circles and stamped them with a black circle to make the eyes, and a red 1/2″ cricle for the rudolph nose. The ears are the tail of SU bird punch and the antlers are the SU Swirls and Scribbles die (this was something else I was waiting for in the order that went missing), cut from crumb cake cardstock.

I’ve adhered it all together with snail adhesive. Then for the finishing touches I used a white gel pen to add a little “shine” to each eye and his nose. I’ve also used my basic black marker to draw a line down from his nose on the snout – it just made him look finished.

Before I popped him on the front with foam adhesive I quickly cut a strip of Cherry Cobbler cardstock, layered on a whisper white banner that I stamped with the greeting from Snow Swirled in Cherry Cobbler. Aaah, this makes me happy.

The card class was great fun! Everyone has a few extra tags and cards to give away this Christmas and this cute little bag to pop some yummy treats in for someone special! (Although, from what was said, I’m not sure too many will be given away – he’s so cute we all want to keep him for ourselves!!)

Thanks for stopping in today,

Happy Crafting!

Aliessa

Vinyl Sign December 18, 2011

Just a quick post, I recently made this sign for a friend for her birthday…

Hope, the light that shines in the darkness.

Very simple to make. I painted a piece of MDF white, sanded it. Then used my cricut and SCAL2 to make the lettering in brown vinyl. I love the font of the “Hope”, it was a freebie off the internet – don’t ask me where, I can’t remember

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting

Aliessa

 

Teacher Christmas Gifts December 15, 2011

This year our second youngest son went to Kindy (pre-prep). He’s our first child to attend a kindergarten, as previously the school offered Pre-school. With the introduction of Prep instead, we thought it was a good idea to send him to Kindergarten.

Anyway, we have LOVED his teachers this year and I wanted to give them a nice gift for Christmas to say thank you.

This is what I decided on

A mini countdown calendar! I made a few of these a couple of years ago, and had some blocks left over, so I decided to make up the 3 I would need.

I covered each of the blocks with SU DSP (retired stock I had in my stash). Then I sanded the edges and put the numbers and words on in vinyl, cut with my cricut. Wrap a pretty bow around to keep them all together and voila, done!

I also made a litte bag for each set of blocks to be gifted in, a different colour for each teacher (he has 3 – the main teacher, the teacher aide and a special needs teacher)

Red

orange

and green.

For the bags I have used SU DSP (again retired) to create the bag. I have then added a PTI Mat Stack 4 Die, stamped with a PTI Mat Stack 4 collection image. On top of that I have layered with foam adhesive a 1 3/4″ circle stamped with a circle image from PTI Everyday treats and the presents are from SU I dig you stamp set. I was so pleasantly surprised when I discovered they fit together perfectly! I’ve alternated colours for each bag. The colours I have used are SU Riding Hood Red, Pear Pizzazz, and pool party for the mat, RH Red for the circle and then RH Red, Yo Yo Yellow and Tempting Turquoise for the presents.  

A sweet gift they can pull out every year and remember our little boy! And they can regift the bag!

What crafts have you made this year for teachers? I’d love to hear about them

Thanks for popping in

Happy Crafting

Aliessa

 

 

Christmas Card Class November 14, 2011

Oh life, why do you fly by?? Can you believe it is Christmas again already? We put up our tree and decorations yesterday! We usually wait until the first week in December, but last year the holiday season was gone before we knew it, so when the question was asked last week, we decided now was a great time to get festive!

Since my last post we moved house. Not very far from where we have lived for the last 4 years, but a little closer to school for the kids (now we can walk when we feel like it!), and the house is bigger! We are no longer squashed in. The older 2 kids have their own rooms, I have a craft room (oh yay, oh yay, oh yay!), and all the stuff that used to be squeezed into cupboards and under beds and just be cluttering up the living area has a place under the house! We’re all loving the new place and I’m so glad we moved!

Anyway, onto the meat of the post – Christmas Card class. It’s been so long since I’ve held a card class, I’d almost forgotten how to get ready

Here are the cards we’ll be making:

Although you can’t see it in the photo, this last card is all shimmery! It looks so pretty IRL.

Details of the class:

Make 8 cards (2 each of 4 designs) for $20.

Thursday 17 November, 7.30pm at my place (in the craft room!)

Thanks for stopping in, happy crafting to you all!

Aliessa

I love Vinyl September 12, 2011

I know it can’t just be my children that have to pushed every step of the way from the moment I get up each morning until we finally pull up at school, right? It’s not just me is it? Over the years I’ve made various charts to encourage the kids to move a little faster and they’ve all worked for a period of time – ususally until the chart won’t stick to the wall anymore or it’s torn or crushed or peices are missing. So, I was sitting at my kitchen table a few weeks ago, contemplating a new chart. I had watched my daughter that morning perform her usual stall tactics until I gave her a firm “this is what you need to do”, which she then made herself a checklist for. She moved much quicker then and enjoyed ticking off each task as she completed it.

This gave me an idea! As I sat looking at our pantry cupboard and it’s dirty front, I thought, “why can’t I clean that front and use my cricut to cut out vinyl words for a chart?” Why not indeed! So I got to work. I cleared off the cupboard front of the various papers that were blu tacked there, wiped it over and dried it. Then I made a list of tasks I wanted the kids to complete each morning and afternoon. Next I measured the space I had to work with and worked out how big the lettering would need to be.

As you can see, I seperated it into morning and afternoon (because afternoon’s are possibly harder than the mornings as far as homework goes! ). Then I have each child’s name with a red dot for each task. I am yet to make their faces to move from one dot to the next as they progress through.

The kids have been super excited about the prospect of the chart – just need mum to get moving on the last little element!

And just so you know – it took qute a long time to get all those words burnished on to the cupboard doors. So if you plan to do anything like this yourself and you have a few kiddies, leave yourself plenty of time. I did it over 2 days, because I was so knackered after one side!

What works for you to get the kids moving? I’d love to know, maybe other’s would too!

Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Crafting!

Aliessa

 

More from the school fete September 5, 2011

The School fete is this weekend! Come along and see all the exciting stalls and rides. All the classes will be performing a dance, then there is the orchestra and bands, the choir and other arts. It’s sure to be a fun day!

SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2011,

 11am – 4pm, Mansfield State Primary School

Ham Road, Mansfield

On the school ovals.

So we’ve been busy making plenty of craft items for the arts and crafts stall. I have had a few serious health problems in the last 2 months (which is why I haven’t blogged in so long). As a result I’ve had a lot of time at home without being able to do much. Sitting for too long hasn’t been very comfortable, so I’ve had a bit of time to make some items for donation, but not as many as I had planned. Oh well! Here are some piccies of what I did get through…(I’ll give you warning, it’s a rather longish post)

flower peg magnets (18 sets of 4 of these)

Some Christmas tags in not-so-traditional colours of cream and chocolate brown. Each pack contains 4 tags…

 

To make these I started with 4 cream tags cut with my cricut, stamped some swirls/stars/snowflakes directly on to the tag. I added a bit of glitter to the swirls. I then added a 1/4 of a parisian lace doily (die cut with PTI die and big shot), and topped it with one of three things – a stamped christmas tree or flower from SU Season of Joy, or a snowflake cut with my cricut. Add a pretty bow and they’re done. The fourth tag was the same, just without one of those three things.

Some home baked goods tags. Each pack contains 4 tags for different home made treats. This design I CASED from Besty Veldman

So, for these tags I again used a cream tag cut on my cricut. I stamped the background image with the beautiful motif in the SU SAB (retired) Bliss set. The middle layer is PTI mat stack 1 stamp  (hand cut – I don’t own their die), and the top layer is a 1 3/4 ” circle stamped with an image from PTI Everyday treats set. I used a few different images, and mixed them up in the bags.

Some more traditional coloured Christmas tags. Again, 4 in each pack, I made these sets in 3 different colours

To make these I die cut the cream tag base with PTI Mat stack 4 die. I then stamped a Mat Stack 4 background image in one of three colours, SU Riding Hood Red, Crumb Cake or Pear Pizazz. Next I added a length of ribbon looped at the top and cut into tails at the bottom. I topped that with a circle of coloured cardstock (RH red or Old olive green), then another circle in cream stamped with a snowflake from SU Snow Swirled (in the co ordinating colour). Just for a little extra sparkle I adhered a small diamonte in the centre.

Baby tags – 4 in a pack. I love these, so, so cute!!

Again I started with a cream tag cut with my cricut. I used PTI Baby Button Bits stamp set to stamp and embellish. I stamped the tag with the swirl and the sentiment, then I stamped the pea pod, rattle and cup cake/pie on another piece of cream and cut them out. I used foam adhesive to stick them on the tag. Lastly I added some buttons in the right places, adds that extra bit of something! Each pack has 2 pea pod tags and 1 of each of the other 2.

And lastly some notebooks

The background is the lovely swirl from SU Baroque Motifs, the little butterfly is from PTI Postmarks, and the flower embellishment I made by die cutting 3 flowers in 3 sizes then layered them, holding them together with a brad.

The background for this one is PTI Background basics: Sheet Music. The sentiment is PTI Postmarks and the embelishment is a scallop circle topped with a cream circle stamped with SU Cheep Talk’s birdy .

Same as above, only the embellishment is 2 die cut butterflies.

For this notebook I used PTI Button Boutique stamp set. I made a button card by stamping button images and the price stripe on the left. Then I adhered it to the cover and stamped above it the Quality buttons.

 For this one I’ve made the background with PTI Background Basics: Newsprint. Then I stamped a few different images from PTI Postmarks to make the smaller rectangle.

And the last notebook! I’ve used PTI Mendhi Medallion to stamp the background then used the faux silk technique. I saw this on a card that Betsy made and couldn’t wait to try it myself! The “sentiment” is from PTI Button Boutique. I think this one is my favourite

So that’s all that I have to show today. I did make a number of packs of embellishments (butterflies, birds, scallop circles, etc), but I neglected to take photos. I do apologise, as always, for the horrible quality of the photos. Today’s excuse? I was forced to take the photos on a rainy day.

I hope you can see them ok anyway. Real Life is much nicer, but that’s the way it goes

The craft stall at the fete will have a great variety of goodies on sale, not just paper craft. The talented mum’s, grandma’s, Aunties and friends of the school have been busy making hair clips, head bands, scarves, hair clip holders, crocheted top hand towels, embroidered tea towels, hand made jewellery (earrings, bracelets, necklaces), washers that look like handbags, christmas decorations, kitchen scourers that look like houses, beaded book marks, and so much more!

Thanks for stopping in, happy crafting!

Aliessa

School Fete art and craft stall June 26, 2011

Our kids school fete is coming up in September, and I am helping out with organising the art and craft stall (I’m sooo excited!!)

We’ve had a couple of gatherings and made a few items. I went home all inspired. So I went through my ever growing craft supplies and pulled out a few bits and pieces – left over kits from a card class, some scraps of cardstock I had that I had no immediate plans for and put together a few things to donate.

I had 4 of these cards with note pads left from the teacher gift card class last year. So I popped 1 card and 1 note pad togther into a cellophane bag and made up a topper for each bag. So cute!

And this is what I made with my bits and pieces of cardstock and DSP. I’m not sure how many packs I made up, but in each pack is 4 note cards and 4 matching envelopes. I use a rectangle of white cardstock, folded into a note card. I added the strip of DSP and the white banner with “a note for you” stamped on it. Then I added a stamped and cut out flower from Petal Pizzaz (SU) in a co-ordinating colour. So simple, and it made it really easy to mass produce them.

The envelope was cut on my cricut using an SVG file in SCAL2 from the same DSP that I used on the front of the cards.

I popped them in the cellophane bags and added a stamped topper. Super cute and super easy!

I’ve got heaps more ideas running through my head trying to make their way into reality. After the school holidays we’ll be meeting once a week to craft together and I am lucky enough to be showing everyone how to make a few different things, and then we’ll all make 20 or so and then move on to the next thing, so that we have a great variety of items for sale on the day.

If you enjoy school fetes, Mansfield SS will have theirs on Saturday 10th September from 11am-4pm, on the school oval; Ham Road Mansfield. I’ll post more details closer to the day, I may have more projects we make to show you too!

Thanks for dropping by

Happy Crafting

Aliessa