The bats I have done in previous years, but the idea was renewed when I saw the idea in Martha’s magazine. I used her template (you can find here) and cut them out of black cardstock, then tied fishing line to them. I tied the other end to paper clips and then hung them in places around the house, like in the doorway shown, above my kitchen sink, and on the lights near the bathroom and in the living room. They are just so cute and wave a little in the breeze.

I also took my fishing line and strung it through the behind of some of my spiders, which had a very realistic appeal. I just loved putting these in random places that hung down.

And this idea was a bigger hit than I even could have imagined. I have three frames that hang in my dining room with tomato prints (usually)… I decided to cover those up with some monster prints in black and white. I found Frankenstein, Dracula, and a Werewolf online, turned them black and white, and printed them on cardstock to hang in the frames. Someone even offered to pay me for these at my party! Can you believe it?! I told him I would give him the digital prints and he could print them and he wanted what I had done! LOL!

And then there is my cheapie little graveyard. I thought we needed it for our murder mystery, which we didn’t, but I found the gravestones at the dollar store. That was a big find because these stupid things are expensive usually. I was quite pleased to pay only $1. I tried to make them more realistic by mounding some dried lawn clippings on them and putting a little spanish moss on the stones. I even put a few candle votives to hang above a few. My funny one is the vampire one… found a slivered piece of wood and staked the grave.

I really liked the technique used for this page (above) . You use the border punches on the strip and join the pieces to make a large frame (seen on right-hand page). I just thought it was rather clever and I like learning cost-effective ways to use your supplies.

I thought I would also post a little tip I learned after coming home from the convention… if you do not have a scallop border punch, you can actually use your corner rounder punch. Just take the corner guide off and punch along the bottom, lining up the half circles. I like quick tips like this so that you don’t have to go buy other tools.

I wanted to post this one because David and I celebrated our 8-year anniversary yesterday. He was not here to celebrate with me because he is in the Dominican republic to see his dad (who he hasn’t seen in over 2 years). This page is in the front of our scrapbook and says, “We have ups and downs, but we always figure things out because you cannot break our love.” We have been through a lot, but our relationship has become so much stronger because of it. I never thought I could love him more than I did before, and I am finding that I love him more and more each day. Happy Anniversary, Babe!

My second anniversary marks the fourth year that I have gone to the Creating Keepsakes Convention (CKC). It was this past weekend and my friend Susan and I had such a ball together (while spending far too much money on so many yummy products). We were also able to spend some time with our old friends Theresa and Betty, plus a few new-comers. I did not take as many classes this year, but I hope to post some of the pages in the weeks to come.

Loving it!

This is just the starting point for the couch in David’s office. Fabric is from Old Time Pottery’s remnant spot for 3.50 a yard… can’t beat it!

I have quite the dilemma…i got this fabric discounted and i need more and don’t know the name of it and can’t find it anywherd. It’s a brown and cream floral on a red background by P. Kaufmann. I need it for couch cushions and I’m hoping someone out there can help me.

These two were from the Donna Downey inspired class, using her sketches (I changed them a tiny bit, as always):

And this one is my own creation based off the same class. The papers are Basic Grey.

These ones were from the Scenic Route classes, which were possibly the best classes ever.

(The one below I changed a bit):

And this was from a Speedy Scrapbooking class taught by Jessica Sprague… I think it was a one pager that I added an additional page (the stuff came in one of those All-In-One Scrapbook kits by CK):

And these were a few that I did with leftovers from the same class:

This is probably my favorite find from eBay:

I purchased the letters separately for $7.99 a piece. They measure 10″ high and actually have a darker patina that what’s shown in the shop keeper’s photo. They are very cool and any kind of letters that size go for a hefty price so it was a good deal. I put them above the kitchen cabinets and the bottom gets a little lost so I will have to hang them eventually… now it looks like it says FAT because you can’t see the bottom of the “E”. I will take a picture when I figure out exactly where to hang it.

I also got some vintage graters that I attached to the side of the cabinet near the kitchen sink… it hold my towels. These came from eBay at a total of $3 for the lot.You can see it in the picture of my kitchen down further.

And this little baby came from my favorite little vintage store, the Village Emporium, and it was only $8. It’s an old pulley of sorts… I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet but for now it hangs on the hook near the sink. Something about this little find really makes me happy… Maybe it’s just the feel of the old wood paired with the old iron at the top. Anyway, I like being able to see it in the kitchen when I wash dishes. Eventually, maybe I’ll hang it from the ceiling with a planter or something. I just love the old feeling of it… how could you not? It’s heavier than the dickens though, and a pretty good size! You can see a picture of my kitchen sink area below and see that it’s hanging off to the left.

I also got these cool iron scrolly things at the Village Emporium for above my window (and you can see my grater towell hanger and pulley, as well as my newly sewn curtain). I think it adds a nice touch to the country style kitchen feeling I am after… now if only I could get the cabinets painted. That will have to be a project for another day though because we have enough to do. And I have already scoped out my butcher block counter topys from IKEA… me want badly!

And here’s my finished sewn curtains for the breakfast nook:

I still may add a bottom valence that hangs down from the center, covering more of the window, but for now at least there is something. I think I did a pretty good job for my second attempt at sewing. And what’s even better is that I got the fabric clearanced at Hancock Fabrics for $3.50 a yard. It was down to $7 and they had it 50% off… and originally it was Waverly which means it was probably $20+ a yard. I believe the fabric is called “Window Plaid” but it hard to find… the only other place I could find it was on eBay HERE and it’s $9.95/yd. plus shipping.

My 2nd sewing project

I finally decided to tackle learning my new Singer Traditional sewing machine last night (it was my Christmas present from David that I asked for). I knew what my first project would be… Brenner’s bed that was chewed open with foam flying everywhere each time he laid on it.

Mom, what are you doing to my bed. Leave it alone and stop putting it in that machine. I like all the foam falling out and making a mess… that’s why I chewed it open.

Fine, if I lay on it then you cannot pick it up again. Stop touching it (he kept grabbing it from me with his mouth).

The finished bed… Brenner loves it, even though he didn’t like me messin’ with it. It’s two fleece blankets sewn together like a pillow case that hide the original bed that I sewed shut. I may add some snaps on the end to hold it shut later, but for now it looks better than it did and all the foam won’t go everywhere anymore, plus the cover is removable for washing.

Sorry about that crappy photos… all I had was my camera phone.