Joy Block Christmas Gift & Decoration

Each year Hubs and I put a lot of thought into what to make for our friend and coworker gifts for Christmas.  We love, love, love making things and try really hard to come up with a product that is well done and that everyone will love as much as we do.

Last year we made these Joy blocks:

We used 2x6 blocks, Mod Podged scrapbook paper on, then added the 3x3 thin wood squares for the center.  We purchased the cute vinyl "Joy" pattern from the Silhouette website.  To finish them off, we couldn't find any pre-made toppers that we loved, so we just made our own using burlap, berries, pine cones, tree garland and leaves:

They were a hit, everyone seemed to really like them!  Mine looks darling in my hutch:

This is my Christmas Hutch for 2014:

I just adore this time of year!!!

Reversible Santa & Snowman Sign

Hello!  I hope you had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as I did!  I can't believe how quickly 2014 has gone by.  I definitely haven't blogged nearly as much as I had planned, but it's okay because as I've looked back at my pictures from the last 11 months, I can honestly say that this year has been fantastic.  My arm issues and surgery were not at all fun and although it prevented me from crafting and blogging, I was still able to make some incredible memories with my family and see some beautiful parts of our country.  Soooo, hopefully 2015 can be about balance and blogging more!

Anyhow,  I've done a little bit of crafting and needed something "Christmasy" for my porch. This is what I came up with:

It stands about 4 feet tall.  The best part about it is that I made it reversible, so when Christmas is over, I can just turn it around, add a hat and scarf and I will have this for my winter porch:

He is covered in a an adorable coat of glitter paint, which my camera never shows very well, but he truly is darling and sparkly!

Reversible Spring/Summer Wood Blocks

Dual purpose crafts are the best!  Awhile back I decided to make a Spring block set with a chick on it and as I was looking at it, I decided to make the best use of the wood and add a Summer theme on the back of the blocks.  The Spring side:

Flip it all over and this is the Summer side:

It sure makes swapping decorations from Spring to Summer easy!

Linked to:
anti-procrastination-tuesday
nifty-thrifty-tuesday
take-look-tuesday
too-cute-tuesday
whatever-goes-wednesday
wow-me-wednesday
flusters-creativemuster

DIY Planter Boxes

I was so excited about our Mother's Day gifts this year!  I ask hubs to cut wood for and assemble four wooden planter boxes.  As always he did a fabulous job!  Once they were all assembled, we painted, sanded, and antiqued them and then added drawer handles.  For a final touch, we cut each person's last name out in vinyl on the Silhouette and put them on the front of each box.  Finally, we put flowers in and filled them with Spanish moss.  I love, love, love the way they turned out!

Everyone seemed to love them!

Linked to:
whatever-goes-wednesday
wow-me-wednesday
flusters-creativemuster
under-100-link-party
Put A Bird On It
made-by-you-monday
spring-crafts-Monday Funday
masterpiece-monday
craftastic-monday

Paper Strip Bunny Art with DIY Wood Shim Frame

I'm loving wood shims right now.  They make darling mini pallets, so I got to thinking that they could also make a pretty cute and easy DIY frame.  I had the perfect project that needed to be framed anyways!  I had made this Bunny Art using paper strips and the negative of a bunny that I had cut out on my Silhouette Cameo:

I painted the wood shims white and then Mod Podged matching strips of paper to the front.  I glued them all together and attached the bunny art:

So very easy!!!

Old Board Welcome Spring Sign

Who doesn't love old wood?  Old wooden signs are definitely big right now.  I have some old pallets that had some really nice weathered wood so I broke them down and decided to make a sign for my Spring porch.  Here is what I came up with:

I cut the boards at two different lengths and then attached them so that they were uneven on one edge.  I cut the flowers and lettering off using my Silhouette Cameo and then used them as stencils.  I love the pink and orange!

It was so easy and looks so cute on my porch!

Linking to:
made-by-you-monday
spring-craft-2
bunny-carrot-projects-block-party
masterpiece-monday
craftastic-monday
anti-procrastination-tuesday
nifty-thrifty-tuesday
take-look-tuesday
handmade-projects
too-cute-tuesday

Mini Pallet Lucky Sign

I decided to put another twist on the mini pallet signs using wood shims.  Instead of making a full square, I decided to make a horizontal sign using only 3 shims.  This is what I came up with:

I used wood glue to glue the shims together and then also glued a large Popsicle stick on the back to hold it together.  I created a stencil for the L, C, K and Y using my Silhouette and then cut out the gold U.

 I painted it green and then filled in the letters and sanded everything down and placed the gold U.  I painted and sanded the clover, added the burlap and button and glued it on:

That's it!  So easy!

Linked to:
craft-o-maniac-monday
show-me-what-ya-got
too-cute-tuesday
one-project-at-a-time
take-look-tuesday
whatever-goes-wednesday
wow-me-wednesday
flusters-creative-muster
creative-inspirations
under-100-link-party

Baby It's Cold Outside Rustic Wood Sign

We are near the end of our first week of January 2014 and I have so far kept my New Year's resolutions!  Yay me!  One of my resolutions is to craft at least once a week.  I find that it really relaxes me and also makes me feel like I've accomplished something.  Another resolution is to blog at least once a week.  Because I work full time outside of my home, this is actually a really big challenge for me, but again, it's something that I truly enjoy doing and want to keep up on it.  So, here is one of my latest creations:

I'm in Utah, so this is truly applicable!  As always, i used my Silhouette Cameo to  design this.

Instead of using vinyl for the wording and snowflakes, I painted them and then antiqued the board.  I love the way it looks on my winter hutch:

Another shot of the winter hutch lit up, as well as my table centerpiece snowmen!

 I hope everyone had a safe New Year's.  2014 is going to be a terrific year!

Sharing with:
craft-o-maniac-monday
made-by-you-monday
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too-cute-tuesday
take-look-tuesday
wow-me-wednesday
whatever-goes-wednesday
creative-inspirations

Christmas Countdown

I love, love, love, Christmas decorations!  I was so excited for Christmas this year that I made this Christmas countdown back in October:

It was super easy!  I used a board that I already had and painted the edges white. Then, I Mod Podged the chevron paper to the back of the board, cut my vinyl from my Silhouette Cameo, painted a square piece of wood with chalkboard paint and then added all of the embellishments.  I also antiqued around the edge of the board.

The chalkboard makes it easy to change the days without having to find the right numbers:

The cute little Santa is just a 3D sticker and the Believe is actually a Christmas ornament:

I liked it so much that I even made one for my sister!

Linking to:
craft-o-maniac-monday
made-by-you-monday-
mad-skills-party
give-goods-link-party
nifty-thrifty-tuesday
time-sparkle
too-cute-tuesday
show-ya-got
take-look-tuesday
flusters-creative-muster
whatever-goes-wednesday
dandelion-wishes-wednesday
wow-me-wednesday

Halloween Mini Pallets...

I made these mini pallets a couple of weekends ago and I'm just loving them. Instead of being huge full size pallets, they are only about 12x12 size which makes them much easier to decorate with:

The spider:

The Ghost:

The owl:

I made them by gluing wood shims together. I used my Silhouette to cut out the images.  I just can't wait to make some for other holidays as well!

Linked up to these awesome parties:


Let's Get Social Sunday"
whatever-goes-wednesday
creative-bloggers-party-hop
nifty-thrifty-tuesday
craft-o-maniac-monday
give-goods
made-by-you-monday
time-sparkle-link-party
tell-us-tuesday
all-my-bloggy-friends
too-cute-tuesday-linky-par-tay
show-me-what-ya-got
take-look-tuesday
pinterest-power-party
dandelion-wishes-wednesday
wow-me-wednesday

Rustic Flag...

My rustic flag made from old wood:

Perfect for my porch for the month of July.  I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

Hello Summer Plaque...

I made this cute summer plaque using my Silhouette:

I love the bright colors. So simple!

Spring Plaque: Tweet

My plaque for Spring:

Yellow and blues are my favorite for Spring :)

My April Hutch:

I'm so ready for Spring and sunshine and being outdoors in the warm weather!

Linked up to these fabulous parties:
craft-o-maniac-monday
& creative-bloggers-party-hop
& serenityyou
& too-cute-tuesday-linky-par-tay
& show-me-what-ya-got
& take-look-tuesday
& trendy-tuesday
& in-and-out-of-kitchen
& wednesdays-adorned-from-above
& wow-me-wednesday
& lil-luna-link-party

Frame with Sister Quote....

My cute friend wanted to us a specific quote for her sister's birthday, so she asked me to come up with a cute way to turn it into a gift for her.  Here is what I came up with:

Simple, yet perfect!

Linking to:
craft-o-maniac-monday
& creative-bloggers-party-hop
& all-my-bloggy-friends
& show-me-what-ya-got
& take-look-tuesday
& whatever-goes-wednesday
& wednesdays-adorned-from-above-blog-hop
& show-off-your-stuff-party
& creative-inspirations-linky-party
& under-100-linky-party

Wedding Tile With Vinyl...

A couple of wedding tiles that Hubs & I recently made with the Silhouette:

These make excellent wedding or anniversary gifts and can be done on tiles, plates, frames, wood... The possibilities are endless :)

Easy Friend/ Neighbor Gift....

My December plate of the month is a perfect gift to give adult friends, neighbors and co-workers:

It's super easy to make. Wrap it in some cellophane (make sure to include an easel for it) tie the cellophane with a cute ribbon and add a cute gift tag and you're done!

Linking to:
dianarambles-pin-me
& somedaycrafts-christmas
& craft-o-maniac-monday
& creative-bloggers-party-hop
& its-craft-christmas-link-party
& m-m-m-134
& take-look-tuesday
& will-see-it-wednesday
& wow-me-wednesday
& under-100-linky-party

Sign From Old Board

My sis built a beautiful home a few years back and has been working on their game room/bar area.  For her birthday, Hubs and I made her this wall hanger sign using some old weathered boards:

I spray painted and sanded the old boards and used my Silhouette Cameo to do the words and then used the negative portion as a stencil. When the lettering was dry, I gave it all a really good sanding and then drilled holes and then used the wire to hold it all together. I'm so in love with old boards and signs!

 I hope she loves it and that it looks great in her bar!


Linking to:
show-off-your-stuff  &
hookin-up-with-hoh
& its-hodgepodge-life
& link-up-with-me-liz-marie 

Wedding Gift Sign...

The first of my 19 year old daughter's best friends from school got married this past month (YIKES!), so I made her this gift to give her:

                                                                    Obviously their last name and wedding date...

I hope they loved it and wish Mr. & Mrs. Shields a lifetime of love, health and happiness!

Linking to:
craftomaniac-monday
& m-m-m-129
& creative-bloggers-party-hop

Halloween Subway Art...

Things are getting spooky around my house!  I put up my Halloween decorations today and it made me so happy!!!  I love pulling out all of my Halloween totes and finding all of my cute decorations.  It's almost like Christmas morning :)  This is the other subway art that I made about a month ago:

Of course I designed it with my Silhouette, painted it on a 12X12 board and then I really scuffed it and scratched it up, just because I thought it would give it more of a Halloween-ish look.

Halloween is one of my favorites to decorate for, this is such a fun time of year!  I have a few other new Fall projects that I will post over the next few weeks so stay tuned and thanks so much for all of the sweet comments, I really do appreciate every one of them.  Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Linking to:
creative-bloggers-party-hop
& craftomaniac-monday
& m-m-m-124
too-cute-tuesday

Fall Subway Art....

My new Fall Subway Art Plaque.  I initially did it in Orange and tan and just didn't love it.  I hate it when that happens!  I decided to redo it in these colors and definitely loved it!

Fall is such a fun time of year to decorate for!

Linking to:
creative-bloggers-party-hop
& creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com
& craft-o-maniac-monday