Creating Me

I’ll Always Love You

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Anita

This is the sweetest little cupcake stamp from the I’ll Always Love You set from Unity Stamp Company. I love the way this Valentine card turned out – not the traditional colors, but really sweet and soft.

I stamped the cupcake with brown ink on white card stock, colored it with Copic markers, and punched it out with a circle punch. I lightly inked the edges of the circle with turquoise ink and attached it to a scalloped circle punched from pink card stock.

I stamped the sentiment included in the stamp set with turquoise ink on white card stock, punched it with a scalloped oval punch, and inked the edges with turquoise ink. I stamped a strip of pink card stock with one of the edge stamps from the Delicate Details stamp set from Stampin’ Up (the set is from this year’s Sale-A-Bration catalog) using turquoise ink.

To put the card together, I embossed a panel of turquoise card stock with the Falling Petals embossing folder from Stampin’ Up and attached it to a pink card. Then I attached the stamped strip of pink card stock and attached both the cupcake and the sentiment with foam tape.

Have a sweet Valentine’s Day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

Posted in Cards, Uncategorized, Valentine | Leave a comment

Easy ❤️ Treat Bags

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Anita

I found these cute little burlap bags on clearance after Christmas at Michael’s. They came in packs of two and I got them for 75 cents each-score!! I wasn’t sure what I would use them for at the time, but I just couldn’t pass them up. 🙂

So now it’s almost Valentine’s Day and I remembered my cute little red burlap bags – perfect size to share a little treat with friends.

I made little tags using a tag punch and white card stock. (Or just cut your tag shape with scissors) Then I stamped a heart and “sweet treats” with red ink on each tag. After punching a little hole at the top of the tag, I used the drawstring on the bag to tie the tag to the bag. Each bag is filled with a few chocolate kisses.

Super quick and simple – but a sweet way to share a little ❤️.

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

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Pom Pom Garland

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Anita

I picked up these 1-inch pom poms on clearance after Christmas. Do you shop for Valentine decor in the Christmas clearance section? You can find great red and white things that can be used to craft and decorate for Valentine’s Day. Put it on your calendar to remind you to look for fun stuff after Christmas this year! 🎄➡️❤️

I already had the red and white baker’s twine. I simply used a needle to string the pom poms onto the twine. I left a little space between them so the twine could peek through.I hung my pom pom garland on my fireplace along with my Valentine Garland that I made last year.I still had plenty of pom poms left, so I strung them onto the twine and wrapped them around my grapevine wreath along with the little Valentine banner from this post.Decorating for different holidays throughout the year doesn’t have to be expensive – use what you have and be creative with things you can find on clearance after each holiday has passed. You might surprise yourself by thinking a little outside the box! Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

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Time for ❤️❤️❤️

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Anita

I ❤️decorating for Valentine’s Day! (See what I did there 😉) It makes me feel like the end of winter is near – and it doesn’t hurt that red is one of my favorite colors.

I have this big roll of jute webbing (it’s 3 1/2-inches wide!) with red stitching, a roll of twine, and red felt just waiting for me to play. (This is a link to the jute webbing on Amazon – you can probably find it in your local craft store, too.)

I cut a piece of the jute webbing into a banner shape, punched a couple of holes at the top with my crop-a-dile from We R Memory Keepers, and added some twine by tying knots on the back. I used my Spellbinders heart die to cut a heart from the red felt and glued it to the front of the little banner. So easy!! You could also make several little banners and string them together with twine to make a garland for your mantel or window.

I hung my banner on my wreath stand with my grapevine wreath for just a little touch of ❤️day. But I needed something else…

I found these glittery heart pics at the dollar store. They are made of styrofoam and the pick just slides out.

I pulled out the picks and added them to my hobnail glass vases with some gray and cream grapevine vase filler balls. I left 3 hearts on the pick and put them in another vase. And here’s the result…

A little corner of ❤️’s for Valentine’s Day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

Posted in Decor, Valentine | 1 Comment

Crochet Newborn Baby Beanies

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Anita

These are so tiny!!! I made these sweet little beanies for a precious little boy who will be joining us soon. They match the blanket I made for him that I shared in this post.

I used the Parker Crochet Newborn Hat pattern that you can find here. They are stitched from the same Caron Simply Soft yarn that I used to make the blanket and an H hook. They worked up super fast because they are just so tiny! 🙂

This is a great way to add a little something extra for the new little one and also use up yarn left from making other projects.

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

Posted in Crochet, Gifts | 3 Comments

Crochet Chevron Baby Blanket

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Anita

I so love crocheting blankets for new little babies. It’s so fun to pick out the pattern and colors I’m going to use each time. This one is for a sweet little boy that will be here soon.

I fell in love with this pattern by Leelee Knits as soon as I saw it. I love the soft waves of the chevron pattern – so different from the normal chevron pattern. I followed the pattern to get started, but changed the stripe sequence and added more rows to make it more of a square. My finished blanket ended up to be about 36 by 39 inches.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Grey Heather, Soft Blue, and White with an H hook. I started with the blue and crocheted 9 rows. Then I continued with 9 rows of each color. The color order I used was blue, white, grey, blue, grey, white, blue for a total of 63 rows. Then I crocheted a border of 3 rows of single crochet in grey.

I love the way this turned out! It’s big enough to cover a car seat or to lay on the floor for tummy time. I hope the new mommy likes it, too. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

Posted in Crochet, Gifts | 8 Comments

Crochet Kendall Square Infinity Scarf

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Anita

A sweet friend asked if I would make her an infinity scarf. She lives in northern Indiana and it gets quite cold up there in the winter so I was happy to make one for her!

I chose this free Kendall Square Infinity Scarf pattern by Kristina Olson that I found on Ravelry – which is a great place to find all kinds of crochet patterns! I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in Gray Mist with a K hook.

Here’s a closeup of the pattern…

I really love the infinity scarves that are long enough to double up and keep you snuggly and warm!

I hope my friend doesn’t mind that I tried her scarf on to make sure the length was good. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

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Easy Cinnamon Swirl Loaf

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Anita

I love any and all things with cinnamon! This is a super quick and easy cinnamon swirl loaf – and I’ll bet you have everything you need to make it in your kitchen right now.

The recipe can be found here on the Love Foodies blog. It really is super easy to make and your kitchen will smell wonderful!

Note: to substitute for the buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a measuring cup and then add regular milk to measure 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes. This recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups buttermilk so I added a little more than a tablespoon of vinegar and then added my milk to measure 1 1/4 cups.

Here it is just before I put it in the oven…

And this is fresh and hot from the oven…

After I drizzled it with the sweet glaze…

Sliced and ready to eat!!

This is so yummy with a cup of hot coffee or tea – or maybe a big glass of cold milk for a special breakfast treat! 🙂

Next time I think I may add a little cinnamon to the glaze – because you can never have too much cinnamon. 😉

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

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Crochet Messy Bun Hat

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Anita

I finally jumped onto the band wagon and made my first Messy Bun Hat. My soon-to-be niece requested one and I decided to use this pattern from Repeat Crafter Me. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in black and antique white and an H hook.

I followed Sarah’s pattern but added a couple of extra rows to the band to make it just a little longer.

I hope it will keep her toasty warm. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

Posted in Crochet, Gifts | 2 Comments

Hobnail Glass Candle Holders

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Anita

So…I was in Target perusing the Dollar Spot (such a fun place 🙂) and found these hobnail glass candle holders for $3 each. Although they are so pretty just as they are, I couldn’t help but think about altering them! They are a really thick, heavy glass and with all that texture I thought they would be great to paint.

I got out my white chalk-finish paint and painted them with 2 coats – making sure to let the paint dry thoroughly between coats. After the paint was completely dry, I dry-brushed them lightly with brown antique wax to soften the color a little. To finish them off, I took sand paper and lightly sanded the candle holders to distress them a bit. You can spray them lightly with a clear matte sealing spray for a little added protection if you’d like.

I love the way they turned out! It’s hard to see in the picture, but they look so pretty with a votive candle flickering inside.