FISKARS: Yo-Yo Pillow

this is a project that i've had in my head waiting to come out for a super long time, but i've never made the time to do it. but, i'm SO excited i finally got to do it with the help of some amazing Fiskars tools. and now, i get to share it with you! :)

if you've been a blog reader for some time, or in any of my Embellishments: Beautifully Handmade classes, you know how incredibly obsessed i am with making yo-yos.

they are so easy to whip up, super pretty. and they give me a good excuse to do some more shopping at the fabric store. heee.

so that pretty pile of fabric circles, quickly turned to these...

and 25 of those got handpicked and placed like this....then, stitched down and turned into this pillow...

which is hands-down my most favorite thing i've ever made, EVER!

come find out how to make your very own Yo-Yo Pillow, step-by-step-by-step. it's my most recently featured project over at Fiskars!

it's a completely FREE tutorial...........what'cha waitin' for!?!

let's talk teacher's gifts....

do you use gifts a small notes of encouragement to help start the year off right when your student(s) return to school?

if so, give me some of your ideas, please. :)

and in return, i'll share a closer peek at what we're doing........

we're delivering some handmade card sets that the teacher can use to reward, recognize or encourage her students (or colleagues) throughout the year. for each occasion in which i'd normally give a teacher's gift, i'll just add to her supply with a few more sets of cards.


my favorite one of the bunch is this award ribbon. :) i'm kinda obsession with layering Fiskars punches and using my SRM stickers to make these ribbons. they look rather complicated, but i assure you, i made 4 of them in less than 15 minutes. :)

punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, snip, snip snip, fold and layer. easy peasy.

this particular ribbon is removable and has a pin back on it so the student can actually wear it for his/her accomplishment.


every teacher needs a supply of birthday cards! heck, they could use a whole basket of nothing but birthday cards. making them 5x7 leaves plenty of room for it to be passed around for all the classmates to sign too.

and who doesn't like a little pat on the back once in a while. i know this card looks complicated to duplicate, but i assure you it isn't. learn how by heading over to my article at Fiskars.com.

Stickers are from these SRM sets:
Sticker Sentiments - Congratulations
We've Got Your Sticker - Happy

so, hey. i wanna help you build up your supply of Fiskars products.

head on over to Fiskars and read my latest article, Teacher's Gift: Card Sets, to learn more tips and ideas on how to do quickly and efficiently.

then come back and enter your name in the comments to win one of these.......
it's the Seal of Approval Extra Large Squeeze Punch.

no jumping through hoops, no shenanigans and i'll pay shipping. but, i would like to hear any other ideas you have regarding gift giving for teachers, but it's totally not necessary for your entry. :)

just leave your name and make sure to check back or i have a way to contact you to win! Good Luck! :) i'll draw a winner monday morning.

congrats...

several weeks ago.....or months ago.....i challenged myself to make a handful of cards using just one sticker sheet from SRM Stickers (Sticker Sentiments - Congratulations, shown below) along with only products that were on my studio table, within immediate reach.

here's what i ended up with.....
this one is new Cosmo Cricket patterned paper from their Social Club collection, woodgrain paper (unknown source), along with chipboard stickers from the same Cosmo Cricket collection, matched with some pleated ribbon from May Arts, and the 'Scalloped Sentiment Fiskars border punch. super simple.

this one is a mix of Cosmo Cricket Social Club and Circa 1934. super simple with lots of layers to make it look more sophisticated.

a super simple way---and one of my favorites---to add depth to your solid backgrounds is to punch circles from the same color cardstock, then attach them randomly to the background cardstock. it creates a lovely dimension and depth to an otherwise boring piece of solid cardstock. for this one i used my Round N Round Medium Fiskars Squeeze Punch.

this one is a mix of Little Yellow Bicycle, Cosmo Cricket and October Afternoon patterned paper, May Arts ribbons, Little Yellow Bicycle stick pins, Jillibean Soup journaling spot, Fiskars Leaves Border Punch and Cloud Punches, and old, old chipboard that i can't even remember where it came from. and of course SRM stickers.

this one is some Cosmo Cricket, Little Yellow Bicycle & KI Memories patterned paper, May Arts ribbons, that same old, old chipboard (anyone know where that's from), and a few brads. super simple.


and this one looks so much better in real life. what is it about pinks and purples not photographing well? anywho. pink dotted strip was cut from and old heidi swapp file folder, mixed with some bazzill dotted swiss cardstock, Scalloped Sentiment Fiskars border punch again, felt flowers from American Crafts, and stitched button flower from Sassafras Lass. all old, old, old products.

SRM Sticker Sentiments - Congratulations

like i mentioned, all sentiment stickers on these cards came from this sticker sheet. and i still have enough to make at least a dozen more cards. loooooooove these sticker sheets from SRM. love them.

Week In The Life 2011: Friday

(source: etsy)

a month later and i'm finally wrapping up the last few days of my Week In the Life 2011 project here on the blog. sheesh. life has been moving a lightning speed lately.

Monday-Thursday can be seen here.

noticing::
that, corny as it sounds, life is perfectly imperfect, and just plain beautiful.

enjoying::
dinner out. mexican again. this time a lovely treat from my dad for my birthday. that makes mexican four time this week....or was it five? i dunno, but wow---we hardly ever eat out and somehow we've managed to eat out more this week than we have in the last three months. ha.

loving::
watching spidergirl eat chips and queso. that girl eats so much cheese i keep telling her she's going to turn into a piece of cheese.

wishing::
that i could drop everything and make one of those "this is my happy place" signs. RIGHT NOW. i love it. i love it. i love it. i can't tell you how many times doug and i have had the conversation about how i want our house to feel. the conversation that ends with me saying....i just want this to be my happy place. whenever things are chaotic at home, i get a little discouraged. so doug, lovingly mocks me, and says...."welcome to your happy place." and it makes me laugh every.single.time. it made me smile so big when i came across the image on Pinterest.

waiting::
it's a little tradition of ours to head for icecream after eating at the mexican place, then going to visit the pet store right next door. emma is a lover of all animals, but those dang allergies keep us from having our own pets. she's not allowed to hold the animals, but can pet with two fingers. then we all sanitize our hands and take showers as soon as we walk in the door. i hate that she has such a reaction to pets. this particular evening we found ourselves stuck in the pet shop for an hour while we waited for a torrential downpour to let up enough to be safe driving home. (and i love how my step-mom, dad, and grandma are all looking on in the background)

anticipating::
vacation to myrtle beach! the anticipation was just made a little stronger when little grandma handed over a wad full of ones to each girl after dinner. souvenir money. how sweet of her. :)

hardly believing::
that ashlyn is in her room, laying in her own bed, with no one else around. this rarely happens. rarely. she doesn't normally sit still, let alone spend time in a room by herself. and time with her baby is becoming less and less. she's growing up.

shopping::
clothes to wear in 100 degree weather on vacation for me, watershoes for ashlyn, earplugs for spidergirl, and, um...nothing for doug. he sees something he likes he buys it all year long so he rarely needs anything when i'm out shopping.

smiling::
every time i glance over at the picture drawn by Chuck E Cheese of me and spidergirl. she's definitely my mini-me, no doubt about it. crazy cool kinda resemblence. i love it.

ahhhhhh, vacation...

i've always said "i hate going to the beach." but, after this trip, i think i'll have to retract that statement...or rephrase it.

what i really hate is cleaning up all the sand after going to the beach, not the beach itself. :)

because let's face it. no matter how long you try to shower off that sand at the beach and again once you return home, you're still finding sand in your hair, in your car, in your shoes and at the bottom of your suitcase weeks later.

it's all worth it though when you come home with pictures like these and memories they won't ever forget.


we're ever so grateful to have family living so close to the beach that is willing to allow us a week-long stay at their home, free of charge, so we could go on vacation.

for.the.first.time.in.six.years.

why did we wait so long? i'll never know.

we've already vowed that we won't wait that long again and we've already started saving our pennies for another vacation. i'd love to be able to take the girls to disney world before they are too old to enjoy it. but we've been told to prepared for it to cost thousands. :(

so for now, it's just a big dream. *sigh*. someday.

p.s. we did way more on vacation than just go to the beach, so i have many more pictures to share.

back to school...

spidergirl: entering first grade this year.

ashlyn: entering fourth grade this year.

it's gonna be a good year!

how do you start the year off right with your student's teachers?

if you're looking for an idea, i have a new article up on the Fiskars website talking about what we'll be doing, along with several sample photos so you can create your very own.

check out the full article, Teacher's Gift: Sets of Cards.

*sigh* i wanna go back....

school starts tomorrow.

we're busy labeling supplies, packing bookbags, making lunches, picking out 'first day' outfits, and spending one last summer night together before our nights are consumed with dinner, homework, bath and bedtime with not much time for anything else.

i'm looking forward to morning routines again. but, oh how i wish we could go to the beach and spend one last carefree day together.

*sigh*

i am looking forward to getting back into daily blogging again, though. i have so many photos to share, so much that's gone unsaid and so many projects waiting for their limelight. :)

see you back here tomorrow?