Kelli's Krafts - My First Craft Event

I know I've already told you the results of my craft fair but I wanted to show you some pictures from the event:

It was a Back to School Bash for a local elementary school. They went all out...there were games, bounce houses, ponies, food, and even a band. I'm sure it was a big success for the school.

They took kids around the neighborhood on this bus. It looked like a lot of fun.

My mom was there and she sold soap that her co-worker makes.

Here's my price sign. I am so proud of it. Since it was a back to school event I used a school digital scrapbook kit to do the letters and the embellishments. While I love paper scrapbooking, I love using the digital kits to make things like this.

I made a variety of cards...Birthday, Thinking of You, Thank You, Sympathy, and For the Teacher. I put them in individual baskets with labels. I used lunch bags, that I stamped with a little butterfly, to put the cards in when people purchased them.

Here's also a close up of the labels. I saw something like these here (it's a great organizing blog) and I thought they were perfect. I simply layered some SU cardstock and Designer Series paper and then printed out the out the words I needed for each label. I (and by "I" I mean Rondell) took them to be laminated (one day I will invest in a laminating machine!).

So there you have it...my first event! While it wasn't what I'd hoped for it was still a good experience.

Next week I'll be back to show you a fun Halloween (yes, Halloween) card :)

miscellany monday

1. So lately I've been having a lot of talks with myself...I do that often (and blog about it too). I've been thinking about all of the things I want to do...get organized, master sewing, really take off with my Stampin Up! business, etc. But I'm constantly thinking about these things and listing about them and blogging about them, but I need to really get down and dirty with it and take action. I need to concentrate on my word of 2010. I'm always reading blogs and thinking "I want to do that" and I CAN. This change in routine has thrown me for a loop and I've realized some changes that need to be made...not stopping procrastinating, be more purposeful, take deep breaths, tackle little things at a time... It's time to bust a move!

2. I have to admit something...I've never had a Pumpkin Spice latte...can we still be friends? I am going to try one this Fall because I hear so much about it and it sounds yummy. I believe they start selling them on Wednesday.

3. The craft fair didn't go so well :( The main purpose of the event was a Back to School Bash, so everyone was mainly over by the games and rides instead of the vendor area. Overall it was a good experience and I really enjoyed hanging out with my mom and Rondell for the afternoon (thanks for your help and support guys!). And my friend Lyndsey and her family stopped by to support me as well and that meant a lot to me.

It is also nice to have my evenings back now and not have to spend them making dozens of cards at a time...making all of those cards took up a lot of time. I'll post pictures of the event tomorrow.

4. Where did August go? Just sayin.

Thanking God on Friday

~ I am thankful for all of Rondell's help in preparing for my craft fair. He has printed things for me, stamped, and helped with ideas. Thanks Ron...I appreciate you.

~ I am thankful that Caleb had a good first day with the new sitter. Jamison's friend's mom is watching him this year and he did just fine all day. I'm not a fan of change and I had (and probably still have) quite a bit of anxiety regarding this change in childcare. I pray that it continues to go smoothly.

~ I am thankful that I was already off when I caught this nasty cold. It has really worn me down and I am grateful that I was off and able to get some rest (like napping with the kids).

~ I am thankful for my friend Lyndsey...thankful that I can be totally open with her, thankful that we can share some of the same experiences (and vent about them), and thankful that she's always there when I need her.

~ I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. I am reading Fresh Power and it is showing me, through Scripture, just how important the Holy Spirit is and how it is an amazing Gift from God!

To Do Thursday!

Hello and Happy Thursday. This week's list was all about my craft fair and I have ideas in motion, but not a lot of action. This cold has really taken a toll on me since Sunday and I haven't been able to do much at all...sigh. Rondell is going to help me out today so that I can have some things finalized.

1. Make cards...DONE. I have 75 so far and if the spirit moves me I'll make a few more. I also have some 3x3 gift cards that I will sell too.

2. Make labels for card baskets...NO. I have been going back and forth about what I want to do as far as labels. I thought about tags and then I've thought about little place cards...thoughts?

3. Buy table cloth...NO. I'm going after work today.

4. Buy envelopes for cards...NO. Rondell is picking them up on his way home today.

5. Look around for table decorations...DONE. I have some frames that I'm going to use for my price sign. I'm going to type up my sign tonight using a digital scrapbook program that has a school theme since it's a Back to School Kickoff.

** I will say that I have other things ready, like my business cards, order forms, catalogs, etc. Everything has been stamped with my personal SU stamp (thanks Ron) and I have a sitter for the kids. Ooh, and the weather is supposed to be really nice (I found out that the event is outside!).

This Week's To Do List

1. Get through the craft fair.

2. Get used to our new routine of getting everyone up in the morning and out the door. I realized this morning that we must pack lunches and lay out clothes the night before.

Kelli's Krafts - Teacher Cards

Hello Friends. The cards I'm showing you today are ones that I made for my upcoming craft fair. The craft fair is a part of a back to school bash at a local elementary school so I decided to make a few teacher cards, either for teachers to give as 'thank you's' or for parents to give the teachers. Here's what I came up with:

Again, I used a sketch from this site and it worked out well. On both cards I used a retired DSP (sorry, I don't remember the name - Edited: it's called Summer Picnic...thanks Rach), Short & Sweet for my sentiment, and my Scallop Edge and 1-3/4 X 7/8 Inch Oval Punches.

For the first card I used Bouquet Bunch for my image (which you must run out and order right now because the Summer Mini ends August 31) and Real Red and Pumpkin Pie for my ink and paper colors.

For the second card I used Silhouette Sentiments for my image, which is a Level One Hostess set (which you too could earn with a qualifying workshop!) and Real Red and Old Olive for my ink and paper colors.

miscellany monday

A. I was on Angie's blog the other day and she posted the most amazing dinner...steak and potatoes. That's right up there with pizza for me (those of you who know, know that I LOVE pizza). I sent Rondell the link right away and our dinner plan for the weekend was in motion. This was dinner last night:

B. I have a bad cold...I caught it from Caleb. I have to toughen up though as I'm about to take 3 kids to the movies...I hope I don't fall asleep :)

C. This is a big week in our house...Jamison is off to 2nd grade on Wednesday, Caleb goes to a new sitter, and I have my first craft fair. There will be a lot of disorder before the order begins as we all prepare...packing school supplies and laying out outfits, making lists about Caleb's likes and dislikes and the fact that he doesn't eat (sigh), and continuing to make cards and finalize the details for my table.

D. I finally made Jamison bookbag tag. I love making them and this year it matches her red bookbag. Here's the one I made last year. Here's this year's version:

Jamison loves to read and loves art so I put 'reading' on her tag as well as the crayons. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

Thanking God on Friday

~ I am thankful that I am able to take a few days off next week for Jamison's first week of school. She starts on Wednesday and we have fun plans for Monday and Tuesday...including Jamison Appreciation Day (where we do something fun that she wants to do and kind of spoil her a bit), going to a movie (Ramona & Beezus), and maybe the Spray Park.

~ I am thankful that Rondell's mom and stepdad brought us dinner the other night. They were leaving the next day for vacation and wanted to surprise us and spend a little time. It's a good thing too because grilled cheese was on the menu for that night.

~ I am thankful that Tastefully Simple makes making beer bread so easy...open a package, pour in some beer, cover with butter and bake. SO good!

~ I am thankful for a few blogs that I've come across lately...ones that have inspired me to be a better Christian, wife, mother, friend...like this one and this one and this one. You should check them out.

NOTE: Please pray for my step mother, Renee...her sister just passed away. Thank you.

To Do Thursday!

Another week, another incomplete list. I'm not down about it though...this is still a great way to stay accountable. Here's the run down:

1. Take more pictures. DONE! I did pull the camera out more than the week before, but I would have liked to have taken more pictures. I'm hoping to connect with my friend Lyndsey one of these weeks so that she can help me learn to take better pictures of my cards.

2. Work on cards for upcoming craft fair. DONE! Actually I have spent a lot of time making cards and planning for other cards. I still have a lot more to go so I will be working hard on that over the next couple of days.

3. Clean laundry area...NO. I did find a blog post (here) about some cute contact paper at The Container Store (oh how I love that store). Once the craft fair is over I'll put this back on the list.

4. Clean van...NO.

5. Continue typing recipe cards...NO. I stopped because now I'm debating whether or not I want to use a digital scrapbook kit to create them rather than typing them in Word. After the craft fair is over I'll play around with it some more and decide.

This Week's To Do List - Theme: Craft Fair!

1. Finish making cards...I have Halloween, Christmas, and more thank you cards to make.

2. Make labels for card baskets.

3. Buy table cloth.

4. Buy envelopes for cards.

5. Look around for table decorations.

Wordless Wednesday - My Almost Second Grader

Head over to my friend Tanya's to see more WW!

Kelli's Krafts - Who Needs Creativity

I have a secret...you have to come close because I don't want this getting out...I.am.not.creative. No seriously. I do not have initial creativity, but can copy other people's creativity without any problems. With making cards there are so many ways to copy (it's called CASE...Copy And Share Everything) and there are a lot of guides (or sketches) available as well.

Since I need to make a bazillion cards for my upcoming craft fair I am utilizing these tools to help me along. Over the weekend I was able to use this site as a tool to crank out some cards. Here is one of my results (noting that this is, to date, my most favorite card that I've made so far):

Ta da! I used one of the sketches from the site linked above and I was able to come up with this card pretty quickly. Here's what I used (all items by Stampin Up!):

~ Pocket Silhouettes Stamp Set
~ Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi & Whisper White card stock
~ Sunny Garden DSP (LOVE this paper)
~ Poppy Parade & Wild Wasabi ink
~ My Scallop Oval & 1-3/4 X 7/8 Inch Oval Punches

Here's a close up of the stamped images.

Another close up...the sentiment & you can see that the Wild Wasabi paper is SU's textured card stock.

Now that the secret is out we have to be friends for life :)

miscellany monday

First down...Football season is almost here and pre-season is in full swing! I love this time of year...my husband and mom get all excited and Sundays are really relaxing. I grew up watching football with my mom and have come to love the sport. I don't get into all of the stats or have a fantasy team, but I do love sitting down, kicking back and watching a game. I have grown to love college (sorry Ron and Mom) more than the NFL, but it is all still wonderful.

Second down...I love blog friends, don't you?! Sometimes it does feel strange to call someone you've never met a friend, but that is truly how it feels. Recently I received a wonderful package from one of my blog friends...Ruby Red! I won a giveaway (the ever so emotional, yet so good so far Heart of the Matter) on her book blog (here) and with it she included some great mango soap from the area where she's vacationing at her cottage as well as the cutest photo collage of her time at the cottage. How cute that she has a cottage! You must go and check her out...I'm sure she'll welcome you with open arms. Thanks Ruby Red!!!

Third down...We went to one of our local fruit farms yesterday to buy peaches. My mom went too and picked up some corn, tomatoes, a block of cheese and a fried pie. Aren't these peaches beautiful:

They actually aren't as sweet as I thought they would be, but that didn't stop me from making the peach crisp that I wanted to try. I used a variation of PW's recipe (here), except I added some oats and didn't add the maple syrup to the peaches...not a huge fan of maple unless it's on my pancakes.

Here are my peaches all cut up and ready for topping...don't they look pretty.

Here's the finished product (with a little taste spooned out). It turned out pretty well...can't really go too wrong with crisp. I think if my peaches were sweeter it would have been even better. I will say that it's not my beloved apple crisp, but it's up there. Ahh...apple crisp how I love you and now know that you are my favorite dessert...where was I?

Fourth down...I'm done with summer. There, I said it out loud. I am OK with heat but the humidity this summer has been crazy and no fun at all. I'm SO ready for Fall...opening windows, apple cider, apple picking (you know, to make apple crisp), Halloween, beautiful leaves (though I don't look forward to raking, right Mom), the decorations...pretty much all things Fall. Let the countdown begin!

Extra point...I completely forgot to link up last week. I did my post and scheduled it but didn't enter it on Carissa's site until the next day. That won't happen this week :)

Thanking God on Friday!

~ I am thankful that my aunt was able to come over & watch the kids this week. We had some childcare conflicts and I'm so grateful that she was free this week and agreed to care for my babies. They have all had a lot of fun and it has been a nice feeling to have her around.

~ I am thankful that one of my friends is going to teach me how to "coupon." I use coupons but I don't have any sort of system and my friend Tasha and her friend get together often to go over the ads and coupons and figure out the best deals. Next week I'm going to join them and try to learn how to save some extra money.

~ I am thankful that Caleb pooped on the potty two days this week...TMI I know, but I'm really excited about this one.

~ I am thankful for God's grace, mercy & forgiveness...I could use all three right now.

To Do Thursday!

Well I'm just moving along with my little lists. One of these weeks I'm going to finish the entire list and then....watch out because I will be excited!!! Here's the rundown:

1. Find scrapbook paper and make BSF cover (Life of Moses)...DONE (but I am hanging my head as I forgot to take a picture...I will post that this evening). I finally made it to my local scrapbook store and man oh man...the paper there is beautiful. The kids were able to help me cut out the letters using my Cricut. Now I just have to make a cover for my notes from Matthew, John and this year's Isaiah.

2. Clean out school bin in kitchen...DONE. I threw away a ton of paper and now there is more order to the bin. Now it looks like this again. I do find that this is a good system to have...everything in one place.

3. Buy school supplies...DONE...for the most part. Some of the supplies on the list are teacher-specific, and don't get me started on how I don't know who Jamison's teacher is yet...sigh. As soon as we find who her teacher is we will be able to complete the list.

4. Continue typing out recipes for recipe binder...DONE. I , again, forgot to take pictures of what I'm doing (maybe this needs to be its own list item...taking pictures). I also found some really cute scrapbook paper that I'm going to use for the cover and maybe for the dividers too.

5. Clean laundry area...FAIL. I haven't found the contact paper I want to use on the shelf yet. I'm going to make a trip to Lowes this weekend (even though, of the two, Home Depot is my favorite, but sometimes Lowes has "cuter" stuff...Home Depot has the BEST customer service!).

This Week's To Do List

1. Take more pictures. I didn't even have a WW this week because I haven't taken any pictures...sigh.

2. Work on cards for upcoming craft fair. I need to find some layouts to use so that I can have a variety of styles.

3. Clean laundry area.

4. Clean out van and restock car bin items.

5. Continue typing recipes for recipe binder.

Kelli's Krafts - Same Format...4 Unique Cards

Today I want to show you how to make multiple cards using pretty much the same format. **Please excuse the terrible pictures, it was late and my lighting was not good at all.

Basically, I used the same stamp set (Bouquet Bunch), the same sentiment (from Teeny Tiny Wishes...everyone should have this set), and the same two colors (Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive) for all four cards. I used the same format for each too, changing it up just a bit for each card so that they would each be unique.

Here I stamped the image twice and put the sentiment in the middle. I used Pumpkin Pie as the base of all of the cards and added a strip of Old Olive card stock in the middle. A strip of card stock can be used at times in place of ribbon!

Here I stamped the images closer together and then put the sentiment off to the side just a little (I think this one if my favorite).

Here I went bold (lol) and added three images and then added the sentiment (in Old Olive) to the strip of card stock.

Lastly, I stamped this card with two images and then punched out my sentiment with my 2 X 1-3/8 Inch Oval Punch and layered it with my Scallop Oval Punch.

Because I used all of the same items these cards were really quick and easy to make!

miscellany monday

1. I love Michael Jackson's music and I have one of his greatest hits CDs. It gets me all livened up if I'm feeling a little sleepy on my way into work or if I just need a pick-me up. But last week I realized that in a lot of his songs I have no idea what he's saying :)

2. I've toyed with the idea to word verify or not to word verify. Right now I have the word verification turned on but I always wonder how much spam you really get without it. Hmmm...

3. Lately I've been keeping this post in draft status because I am that forgetful. I'll think of something random and then put "notes" in a draft so that I will remember to post about it. Am I the only one who does this?

4. I'm starting to be a little over Facebook. I used to be on it all of the time and now I don't get on often at all unless it's to get in touch with someone who I know is on there all of the time. I'm not sure what it is...maybe because I put a lot into my blog and I don't want to repeat the same thing on FB.

5. There are only two more weeks till school...TWO WEEKS!

6. I visited some friends in their new home this weekend...and let's just say that I'm not proud of the envy that followed. It was beautiful and spacious and there was a room upstairs that I could picture as my stamping/craft room. Maybe Dave Ramsey and I need to become friends...

Thanking God on Friday!

~ I am thankful that our church put on a great VBS program this year. Jamison has really enjoyed each and every night...learning verses, playing games, and meeting new friends. The theme was Son Quest Rainforest and this year they had our local zoo bring in animals from the rain forest...pretty cool.

~ I am thankful that while Jamison was at VBS I was able to spend time with some girlfriends. Our church is not close to our house, so I was able to drop her off and visit with friends from church who do live close to church. It's been really nice to sit and have some relaxing conversations with friends. Tonight...I'm having dinner with my friend Kim!

~ I am thankful that I made a "business" connection. I recently connected with my Tastefully Simple rep and I was telling her about my new adventure as a Stampin Up! demonstrator. She told me about an upcoming craft fair that I could participate in and said she'd pass along my information...and she did! I am now scheduled to be in a craft fair at the end of this month :)

To Do Thursday!

This week I'm feeling pretty good about that I was able to get done (especially since I had company all weekend and VBS all this week). There are no pictures this week, sorry.

1. Clean hall...DONE! Finally, things are picked up, put away, and thrown away. I also rearranged my hall closet (bonus!) because I decided to put some of the items in different locations (like my nail polish). I decided to only have a first aid bin (ooh, I should do a post on that) and an extra dental item bin (and of course towels and sheets).

2. Clean under sink...DONE. I wanted to gather like-items together and throw away any old sponges or cleaning products. Now it's not so cluttered and I even found a plug in refill!

3. Go through school bin...FAIL. This will need to be done this weekend since I only have 3 weeks till school.

4. Buy sticky sheet and make BSF cover...Semi-done. The sticky sheet was purchased but I haven't been able to find the paper that I want to use on the cover. I looked at one craft store, but didn't see any that I liked so I think I'm going to have to try my local scrapbook store. Pray for me because I can get lost in there and come out with much more than I need :)

This Week's To Do List

1. Find scrapbook paper and make BSF cover!

2. Clean out school bin in kitchen.

3. Buy school supplies (don't even get me started on how I am JUST now getting the list).

4. Continue typing out recipes for recipe binder (I'll show you my progress).

5. Clean laundry area.

Wordless Wednesday - Fun Fair & Family Time

For more head over to Tanya's place!

Kelli's Krafts - A Quick Thanks

I decided to give each guest a thank you card with her order to show how grateful I am that they came out to support me at my first workshop.

I made 3x3 cards...perfect to include with gifts or a quick thank you. I used Butterfly Prints, a stamp set that I recently ordered. I stamped the image and the sentiment in Poppy Parade, one of Stampin Up's new In Colors.

Up close and personal. It doesn't take long to show someone you are thankful.

miscellany monday

1. Each week I think I'm going to spell miscellany wrong. I usually go back a few times to make sure that it's right.

2. I have a few have to's in life...I have to wash my hands after removing nail polish (because my mama said so) or if I have something sticky on my hands, I have to drink a Coke with pizza, I have to sleep with a fan, I have to have a glass of water on my nightstand before bed... Do you have any have to's?

3. My mother has always told me that cheaper is not always better. Cheaper sauce (I talked about that here), taco season, polish remover...not better. I will stick with Ragu, Old El Paso and Cutex.

4. This weekend when my cousin's best friend saw Caleb she said "Caleb, you are so cute" and Caleb said "I know." We might need to have a lesson on being humble.

5. When traveling through blogland you can always tell what foods are in season...first, there were tons of posts about strawberries (I even did one here), now I see that zucchini and cucumbers are ripe (check out what Darby posted here...and don't blame me if you also fall in love with her blog), and soon we'll be reading all about apples (and I can't wait for that!).