I love the way this birthday card turned out! Sometimes an idea in my head really does turn out when I create it. 😉
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I stamped the word “happy” on turquoise patterned paper and die cut it with the matching die. You can find the stamp here and the die here.
I used the Say It Big die set to die cut “birthday” from red card stock and the background from patterned paper. I love this Quickie Glue Pen for attaching thin due cuts. Both words are attached to the card using foam tape.
I punched 3/8 inch circles from red and turquoise card stock and scattered them randomly on the card.
This is a great layout to use for just about anyone! It can be done in any color scheme and is a great way to send birthday wishes. 🎈
I have a quick and fun Patriotic Wood Bead Garland to share with you today. It’s so easy to make and would be a fun project to do with the kids. 🇺🇸
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All you need to make your own Patriotic Wood Bead Garland are some red, white, and blue wood beads and cotton butcher’s twine. These are similar to the beads I used, although the blue is royal rather than navy. I had some red with white stripes and red with white polka dots beads in my craft stash that I added to my garland. There are also some patriotic bead sets like this that would make a fun garland. 🇺🇸
I started out by making a tassel for the first end. I wrapped twine around my fingers 20-25 times to get the size I wanted. Then I tied another piece of twine tightly near one end. Trim the loops at the opposite end and your tassel is ready.
I cut a long piece of twine – about 6 feet – and threaded one end through the loops at the top of my tassel and tied a double knot. I used a crochet hook to help make it easier the get through all of the loops.
I threaded the other end of my long piece of twine onto a large-eyed needle and started to string the beads onto the twine. I threaded the short end from the knot on the tassel through the first few beads to help secure it. Continue threading beads onto the twine in whatever pattern you like until your garland is the length you want.
When you have your garland the length you want, make another tassel for the other end. I threaded the twine from my garland through the top of the tassel and tied it as close to the last bead as I could with a double knot. Then I took another piece of twine and tied it around the tassel near the top. I trimmed the loops at the bottom to finish the tassel.
Here is the finished garland. It measures about 57 inches plus the tassels on each end.
This Patriotic Wood Bead Garland will make a fun addition to your decor from Memorial Day through the 4th of July! You can drape it onto your tiered tray, hang it on your mantel, or arrange it on a coffee table tray. I think it would also look great wrapped around a grapevine wreath on your front door. 🇺🇸
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Today I’m sharing how I’ve organized my stencil collection. Taylored Expressions has this great binder for storing their stencil sleeves that fit 6 by 6 stencils. They also have a set of 6 by 6 dividers that includes some printed labels along with blank labels to organize your stencils into categories.
The binder will hold up to 40 stencil sleeves and I think you could easily put 2 stencils in each sleeve. I cut gray card stock to 6 by 6 inches to slip into the sleeve behind the stencil to make it easier to see what it looks like. I also have labels for each stencil attached to each sleeve. I need to redo the labels so they are at the bottom of the sleeve instead of the side. I had them stored a different way when those labels were applied and now I think it would be better to have them at the bottom. I’ll use my Brother P-Touch Label Maker to make the new labels. I guess that will be my next project. 😊
I have a few slimline stencils that measure 6.25 inches long, but because the sleeves are open at the top I’ve still been able to include them in the binder. You can see them peeking out at the top of the photo on the right above.
This is a great way to keep all of my stencils in one place and the binder takes up very little space on my shelf.
It’s graduation season and I have a fun card for you today that can be given to any graduate. It’s super easy to make and only takes a few minutes. 🎓
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I used the Say It Big die set from Unity to die cut the word “congrats” from white card stock. I die cut the matching background from red card stock and attached the word to it using my favorite Quickie Glue Pen. The piece is attached to the card with foam tape. To finish the card and add a little bling, I randomly added red sequins and gold sequins.
This card would be fun to make in school colors. It would also be cute in primary colors for a preschool or kindergarten graduate. 🎓
A couple of weeks ago we were able to take a few days for a getaway to Gatlinburg, TN. We live just a few hours away and it’s one of our favorite places to go and relax. We love to get a hotel room or condo that has a balcony overlooking the Little Pigeon River so we can watch the water flow by. So peaceful!
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On our way to Gatlinburg through the mountains, we were following this fun Airstream camper. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of The Silver Beagle! 😊
As we were rounding the bend on the winding mountain road towards Gatlinburg, we were surprised by a stunning view of the trees still covered in snow! It was quite a surprising sight to see and thankfully there was a parking area that we (and everyone else) were able to pull into. I snapped a few photos because it was so beautiful. The photos really don’t do justice to the scene. The temperature on the mountain was about 40 degrees that day so I’m sure the snow didn’t last too much longer, but what an unexpected treat to see it!
We stayed at the Historic Rocky Waters Inn which was a new place for us. It dates back to 1935, but no worries, it is completely updated and beautiful. 😉 We had a wonderful room with a king bed and balcony overlooking the Little Pigeon River. The balcony had 2 rocking chairs, a little table, and an outdoor rug. It was just perfect!
The room was well equipped with a Nespresso coffee maker, tea bags, real ceramic coffee mugs, and glass glasses – no paper or plastic cups! There was a small fridge with a glass door – great if you’re like me and tend to forget things in there when it’s time to leave. 🙄 There was also a small safe in the room.
They met us at our car and showed us to our designated parking spot which is under the hotel so it is covered which is nice if it happens to be raining. Their customer service was great! We ran out of coffee so we texted them to let them know and they left a whole box of the little pods at our door. Everything was done through text including our check out. Oh, and there is no key/keycard to keep track off – each room has its own keypad entry.
Can you tell how much we enjoyed staying here? It’s on the main Parkway, but far enough away from the hustle and bustle of all the shops and restaurants that it’s very peaceful. It’s just a short walk to anything on the strip.
We took a short drive into Great Smoky Mountains National Park along a beautiful winding road to visit Daisy Town. Daisy Town is called the birth place of tourism in the Smokies. The quiet road has a number of preserved vacation homes built between 1910 and 1935. You can’t rent them out, but they are fun to wander into. The area was originally a logging camp until 1925 when the logging industry here ended. This was a favorite vacation spot for the wealthier people of mainly Knoxville, TN until the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established in 1934. You can find a little more info here and here if you’re interested.
I can see why people loved to vacation here. It is very quiet and beautiful!
This little blue house was one of my favorites. I loved the big front porch and the large covered back deck for catching the breeze. The linoleum in the front room must have been really pretty in its heyday and look at that amazing farmhouse sink! This seems like it would have been a great place to get away from everything for a while.
I love the big wrap around porch on this one!
The beautiful flowers added some lovely spring color along the Parkway.
Gatlinburg, TN has something for everyone. Camping, hiking, beautiful drives, yummy food, lots of family activities, and gorgeous scenery. We’ve been there quite a few times and never tire of it!
This Blueberry-Pineapple Dessert is super easy to make and it is so good! 🫐🍍
You can make it with fresh or frozen blueberries. It’s baked in a 9×13 inch pan so there is plenty to share – but you may not want to! 😉
Disclosure: Some of the links on my site are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Blueberry- Pineapple Dessert
1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple
3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup sugar
1 box yellow or lemon cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°. Layer 1/2 of the pineapple, 1/2 of the blueberries, and 1/2 of the 3/4 cup sugar in a 9 x 13 pan. Repeat layers.
Sprinkle cake mix over the layers, then sprinkle with the 1/4 cup sugar. Slice butter and place all over the top. Sprinkle with pecans.
Bake for 45 minutes until browned and bubbly. (I used frozen blueberries and had to bake it about 10 minutes longer.)
Here’s what it will look like just before you put it in the oven…
And here it is hot, fresh, and bubbly from the oven.
This is so good warm with a little vanilla ice cream! But it’s also good at room temp or even cold from the fridge. (I always store leftovers in the fridge.) You can pop it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds if you’d rather have it warm.
This is such a yummy dessert for anytime of the year – I especially like it in the Spring and Summer. 😋
This little mouse is so fun for sending Spring birthday wishes. He’s from the stamp set called Country Mouse Hello from Unity Stamp Company. The set includes another sweet mouse along with 3 sentiments and a couple more stamps.
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Using the same die set, I die cut a piece of patterned paper and attached it to a white card. The stamped image is attached to the card with foam tape. The sentiment is stamped on pink card stock and die cut using these Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting Dies. The sentiment is attached to the stamped image along with a small piece of foam tape on the left side. My “Happy Birthday” stamp is no longer available, use your favorite birthday stamp from your collection.
This is another fun stamp that can be used for different occasions – thinking of you, just a note, and missing you would be great sentiments to use.
Whew! I made it just in time to post April’s Christmas card. 🎄
I’m making a few Christmas cards each month so I’ll be ready to send them out when the busy holiday season hits. You can find the cards I’ve created so far this year in these posts- January, February, and March.
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Using these Deckle & Stitches Nesting Dies, I die cut around the image and layered it to red card stock die cut with the same set. The piece is attached to a white card. The sentiment is stamped with black ink on white card stock and die cut with these Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting Dies. The sentiment is layered to red card stock die cut with the same set and attached to the card using foam tape.
This is a super clean and simple card, but I love how it turned out! I mean, how can you go wrong with Pooh Bear?!?!? 🙂
These adorable Crochet Boho Baby Bibs are so fun to make! You can find the free pattern here at A Crafty Concept. Ashley also has tons of other patterns, stickers, wrap labels, tips, and all things crochet on her site. You should check her out! 🧶
Disclosure: Some of the links on my site are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I stitched up my bibs using I Love This Cotton yarn in White and Rosy with a G/4mm crochet hook. My finished bibs measure about 6.5 inches across. You can adjust the size of the strap to make it longer if you want by adding a few more stitches. I think you could also go up to an H/5mm crochet hook and your bib would be slightly larger without losing any of the great texture.
The pattern also has instructions on how to add fringe to the bib to add even more of a boho vibe if you’d like. So cute!
These make great gifts for the new baby – practical and cute! 😊
Disclosure: Some of the links on my site are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
To make the card, I used these Scallops & Rectangles Nesting Dies to die cut patterned paper and attached it to a white card. My patterned paper came from this Kindness is Magic paper pack. The bunny image is attached to the card using foam tape. I stamped the sentiment with black ink on yellow card stock and die cut around it with these Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Nesting Dies. It is attached to the circle along with a little foam tape on the left side. I’ve had my birthday sentiment stamp in my collection forever and it’s no longer available. Use your favorite sentiment stamp from your collection on your card.
This little bunny is great for so many different cards – birthday, thinking of you, just a note, or even a new baby card. She’s one of my favorite stamps! 🙂
Disclosure: Some of the links on my site are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Creating Me 