NEW PROJECT: Child's Lap Desk

Like I said in my last post, my new project for 2014 is vinyl. 

I'm so in love with vinyl and my Silhouette. 

I feel like lettering everything. EVERYTHING.

I actually thought about putting some sort of pattern on the the ceiling fan blades. Of course, I didn't mention this to the husband because I'm pretty sure he would look at me like I have 5 eyeballs. However, I'm still thinking that's not a bad idea (the ceiling fan, not the eyeballs.)

This particular project is not my first project with my Silhouette. I've lettered my sign I use at the craft shows, I gave away a monogram, made a coaster...

...but this is the first that I blogged about.

I saw this lap desk at Five and Below. If you've never been to one of these stores, I highly recommend that you go. It's kinda like Target. You can't not buy anything while you are there. They have pretty cool stuff and it's cheap. That's the best part!

Anyway, back to the desk. I saw this desk and I was like, "OMG! That would make a perfect gift for Austin!"

Austin is my best friend's little boy. He's adorable and his birthday is coming up.

I loved the amount of blank space on the desk because it was perfect for personalization. I never questioned it once. I had to buy it.  

Austin loves dinosaurs. Then again, what little boy doesn't? I found this dingbat font called Ding-o-Saurs and the name font is Poplar Standard. 

Perfect! 

I can't wait to give it to him because I already know he loves it! He saw it on Facebook and he claimed it before he knew it was his. Smart kid. 

I really hope Five and Below keeps stocking these desks because I'm hoping they are going to be a hit. Plus, it was fun to design!

...until next time...

-Sam

No-Kink Hair Ties

I have curly, thick, sometimes unruly hair and I alway carry a hair tie on my wrist or in my purse. I've finally joined the bandwagon on these no-kink hair ties made out of elastic. I love them!! They also look great on your wrist - they make a cute bracelet as well!

I have a ton made so far. They are an easy and fun thing to do while watching TV. In my case, I was watching some of the first season of Friends. I have to say that I've never really watched that show until now. A really good friend of mine let me borrow the complete first season and it's kind of addicting. I will be watching more today because it's a rainy Sunday. I love rainy Sundays!

The only problem that I have with this project is the elastic is kind of tricky to find. I couldn't find any at Michael's. Hobby Lobby has it in the hair accessories section and Joann's has it tucked away in the sewing section in the back corner of the store.

You really don't have to follow a tutorial to make these but if you do, I used this one. If you know how to tie a knot and use a lighter, it's easy peasy. If you are going to try and make them, I recommend cutting the elastic at 9" intervals.

I plan on packaging and selling these on Facebook in my Just Darlin' store and also at upcoming craft shows. 

Enjoy your Sunday and have fun making these awesome hair accessories!

...until next time...

-Sam 

Sn@p Update - Brody's Birthday

I finally got around to cleaning my craft room. 

FINALLY!

It's gorgeous! I love it! A happy craft room makes a happy Sam.

The very first picture is what I like to call a miracle. There's nothing on the floor, no random stuff just out and about, clean. You can tell that I cleaned because there's still a can of pledge on my desk. =)

....because my room is now clean, I finally finished Brody's birthday Sn@p album page. I finished the page pretty late last night which isn't really a big deal. I get more crafty the later it gets.  The top picture has a horrible example of my handwriting. I may get more crafty the later it gets but apparently my handwriting doesn't work the same way. My handwriting is normally pretty neat. How embarrassing!

Look at it. Funny, huh? He's all about that little cake!

I kept his cake topper. It was too cute not to!

I am having so much fun with this Project Life format. So easy and fun! If you haven't given it a try yet, I highly recommend that you do. You'll be hooked. 

If you have started. I would love to see some of your pages! 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone. Please remember what this holiday is all about and pray for our troops who are our past, present and future. 

...until next time...

-Sam

Herbs, Toys and Puppies

Hello! It's me again, Sam, bringing you the life of me from my Mac and my kitchen table with my cup of coffee in hand and only a corner left of my cinnamon raisin toast - which will probably be fed to Brody.

It's that time of year again where everything is blooming and thawing out from winter. We are growing herbs this year. We didn't do that last year but we had really good luck with tomatoes. They were everywhere! A lot of them went to friends and family because we would have never eaten so many tomatoes! Hopefully, the tomatoes will be plentiful this year because I will be making salsa - which is why we are growing cilantro! The Mexican restaurants probably run out of salsa every time I visit. Mmmmm....

I'm not sure if this is cilantro. There are two pots planted - one with basil and one with cilantro. The other pot wasn't very picture worthy because the seedlings are just now coming up out of the dirt - except for one over achiever.

Lately, I haven't been feeling very inspired to make anything. I'm feeling that I just need to take a little bit of a break, not completely stop making things, but maybe just slow down a little bit. I was really cranking out some stuff right before the notorious "craft show," and I guess I'm feeling just a little burnt out. Just a little. 

I am making stuff here and there. Last night I made a dog toy following this tutorial by FabYouBliss. I thought it was pretty simple. I used fabric instead of jersey knit and I knotted the ends a little bit different but it's basically the same concept and Brody seems to really like it. I actually let him take it outside this morning for a photo op. Normally, inside toys don't go outside and outside toys don't come inside. So, he really seemed to enjoy taking his new inside toy, well, outside. He ran around the yard like a crazy dog. I couldn't get really good pictures because he wouldn't stand still. 

I have a feeling that this toy may not last a long time with Brody. He likes to pull the tassels at the end of the toy. He can be very destructive. 

Finally! A decent picture! Even though I had to hold his head to get it but it worked out. Boxers aren't really the most calm breed of dog. 

I'm going to make another toy for this guy....

Meet Buddy, formerly known as, Reggie. This is my new baby brother. If you don't understand what I mean by that, well, my mom and dad got a new puppy through a chain of events and I'm the only child so, he's my baby brother and he's sooooo cute!!! Look at that face!!! I think he'll appreciate and handmade toy. He wants to chew on things that aren't toys anyway, like my mom's ankles. She may appreciate a new toy much more than he will. Ha!

I guess I need to get up and start some laundry and may be tidy up a bit.

I hope you have a great weekend and feel inspired to make something for yourself, others or a furry friend. 

Also, it's a great day to plant a garden!! Go outside!!

...until next time...

-Sam

P.S. - Brody enjoyed the toast. =)

A Little Hello and Some Mother's Day Cards

I'm snowed in. It's a winter wonderland outside today and I'm loving it! I've made some new cards in the past couple of days and just wanted to share them with everyone. 

I'm totally in love with these corrugated cards that I got from Michael's a few weeks back!!

I thought these 2 corrugated cards would be great for Mother's Day or a wedding!

I hope everyone enjoys their Wednesday!

...until next time...

-Sam

It's Been Forever

I just wanted to take a little bit of your time on this chilly Saturday morning to share my newest card with you! It's seems that everywhere I look these days pennants/banners are all over the place! This definitely has to be my favorite pack of paper ever! It coordinates so well. I don't even know what it's called but it's the Recollections brand at Michaels. 

I hope everyone has a great Saturday! 

...until next time...

-Sam

This & That

It's a snowy day here in the Shenandoah Valley - technically it's an icy day. It's been coming down all day long. It's beautiful and frustrating all in one because I would like to go out and get some shopping done, however, the roads are terrible. 

Of course, snow and ice makes for a great photo op and I can't pass that up!

Brody, the Boxer, thinks the frozen tundra that is our backyard, is exceptionally fun!

 

As of yesterday, I found out that I'm going to be pretty busy in the upcoming year. My cousin had a business proposition for us to do a Christmas bazaar next year. She'll be making some hymnal angels - see below - and I'll be making some coasters, magnets, cards and some other exciting things that I can't wait to share with everyone!

Pretty cute, huh?!  

I also am going to start doing a gratitude journal made out of this old book that I bought at a local thrift store for $3.00. 

Sorry for the non-rotated photo. Anyway, the book is a navy blue color with a nice monogram on the front. I can't wait to start but I probably need to invest in some new printer ink so my pictures aren't a total nightmare.

Today, while watching the frozen stuff fall out of the sky, I followed a tutorial from splitcoaststampers.com to make small boxes.

The best thing about these little boxes is that they are made to fit Ghirardelli chocolate squares perfectly.  Now that's my kind of box! The ones that I made need a little dressing up but they are still cute for a party favor or as a small gift for the chocolate lover in your life. 

So, keep your eyes open for something new and for the new year I'm going to try to keep everyone updated a little bit more often about what's going on with Just Darlin'!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Santa brought everything that you wanted. He was great to me!

...until next time...

-Sam

Pinteresting Tuesday

Today, I just wanted to share some awesome things that I've come across on Pinterest in the past several days. 

Take a look!

Pinteresting Thing #1

I love this idea. I have a ton of these $1 stamps and they just take up space in my drawers. I'm definitely doing this and I'm also going to be getting more $1 stamps! 

{source: scrapinxoxo}

Pinteresting Thing #2

Words to live by.

Pinteresting Thing #3

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the source to this fabulous December Daily but I'm so in love with this I had to share.. Everything about this is beautiful. I absolutely love the tabs!

Pinteresting Thing #4

Aren't these tags just goregous?? I love the aqua and red together. Very inspiring!

{source: just me and my mary janes}

Pinteresting Thing #5

Shrinky Dink Snowflake Necklace! You could use these also as embellishments on your cards or scrapbooks!

{source: the long thread}

Just keep pinning! Thank you to everyone who had these awesome ideas and creations to share! 

...until next time...

-Sam

A Very Small Pizza

Happy Labor Day everyone!

It's so nice not to have to rush around this morning to get ready to go to work. There's definite beauty in that. There's also definite beauty in me only having to work 3 days this week. Nate and I are going to New York this weekend for vacation and I'm so excited. It's going to be my first time ever in the Big Apple!

Everyone knows that pizza is synonymous with New York and Chicago. I think these 2 cities have been fighting it out for decades.

Personally, I couldn't tell you. I've only ever been to the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and they definitely don't have pizza vendors in the terminal. Although, that would be a very good idea. You wouldn't have to eat the crappy airline food that now comes with needles. Am I right? Yes.

Why am I talking about pizza? Well, because of this tutorial that I found on Pinterest on how to make a very small pizza box out of cardstock. The tutorial is courtesy of Split Coast Stampers and it is soooo easy.

Clicky here for your amazingly easy pizza box tutorial.

This is my version of the pizza box. Of course, mine isn't as detailed and as pretty as the one on the tutorial but it's fun. This was the first time I had ever used this stamp and it broke. Those acrylic stamps are really hard to get off of that plastic sheeting.

These boxes would be great for jewelry or candy. They would also make great wedding favor boxes! I do not recommend these for pizza. The cheese would slide everywhere and the grease would just ruin your box.

You can also make 2 boxes out of one 12"x12" cardstock sheet! You really don't have any scraps to throw away which is nice and they are pretty cost effective!

Stay dry on this Labor Day. It's going to be another muggy and wet day here in Winchester, VA.

...until next time...

-Sam

GIVEAWAY!

Happy Thursday!

I'm going to give something away. How does a set of free coasters sound? I have quite a few of them made and they are all sitting in a huge box in my craft room just taking up an obscene amount of space, not including the mess that I have scattered all over the floor. It always get messier before you really get organized.

Here's how to enter:

1. Follow me on Facebook

2. Follow me on Pinterest

3. Follow this blog

4. Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you have completed the above tasks and which set you would like to have! I will announce the winner Saturday, September 1 by Random.org.

You do not have to do all of the tasks to be entered into the giveaway but by doing all of the above it gives you more opportunities to win! Good luck to all those who enter and don't forget to tell your friends!

The photos below are the coasters that are up for grabs.

Black & White Damask

Glitter 

 Pink Paisley

Purple Garden 

Red & White Damask

 

Tan Lattice 

Simply Smashing Friday: Issue No. 8

(Insert TV Host voice here - maybe a little Martha Stewart-esque)

Today we will be having a new guest on the show, Samantha from Just Darlin', and she will be showing us how to make our own homemade journals! Welcome, Samantha!!!

(Insert the crowd applauding and cheering here)

Me: (Waving and smiling) Hey everybody! I'm so glad to be here today! I wanted to share with you a journal that I have in progress made out of a few simple elements that most hoarders of the crafty sort have lying around their craft room.

Martha Stewart TV Host: Wow! That's beautiful. What a great job you did on that! Tell us more about this.

Me: Of course! So, the first thing I did was to paint the kraft cardstock with yellow paint. I didn't do it neatly because sometimes messy turns out better. Then, I added the blue and tan border with the doily attached to the tan washi tape down the right side. The striped border is a cardstock sticker as well as the hot air balloon. I had to come up with a title and those letters are just some alphabet stickers that I had lying around. The last thing that was done on the cover page is the punched border. 

Audience: Ooooooo, ahhhhhhh!

Martha Stewart TV Host: Can we see the inside of this homemade journal now?

Me: You sure can! 

Martha Stewart TV Host: That is very interesting. I see where you placed some envelopes and what it up with this popcorn box?

Me: Haha! I used up some popcorn and I just thought that instead of throwing the whole box away I would use the front of it and place it in a homemade journal. It could be used for a movie night page or a girls' night out page. Whatever you want it to be. That's what Smash*ing is all about. It doesn't have to be the best or the neatest. You can just use the things that you have around you. You can even use a composition book. All you have to do is dress it up a little bit or you can also use an old hardback book.  The options are endless. 

Martha Stewart TV Host: Is this book completed? What would you change?

Me: No. I have several more things I want to add like a back cover, of course. Haha! I would also like to get more binder rings. The one that I have in the middle is too big so I would like for them to be a bit smaller. There is quite a few more pages than what I have shown you. A lot of the paper that I have isn't two-sided so I doesn't really make for a pretty picture. There is definitely a bunch of blank canvases in this book to make what you want out of it. 

Martha Stewart TV Host: Samantha, it was great having you on the show today. I'm sure you have inspired many people to create their own homemade journal or to go out and purchase a Smash* journal. 

Me: Thanks for having me. I loved being here. One more thing, I just want everyone to know not to stress about their book. If you like it, that's all that matters. Your personality should shine through your pages. 

Martha Stewart TV Host: That's great advice! Everyone give Samantha a round of applause. You can also find her creations on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jdgreetingcards!

Audience: Woooooooo!!! (Clapping)

Me: (Waving and leaving) Goodbye!!