Creating Me

Farmhouse Valentine Canvas

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Anita

Hi friends,

Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? I like to put a few things scattered around to brighten things up during the (sometimes) long, cold days of Winter. I’m in Alabama so we don’t experience the Winter like so many of you in other areas do! But the days can be dreary and rainy so it’s nice to add a little love around the house. ❤️

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 made this Farmhouse Valentine Canvas using an 8 by 10 inch stretched canvas (like these). You’ll also need 20 split natural wood balls (I found mine here), buffalo plaid fabric, and ribbon for the bow. I found my galvanized metal “love” word at Dollar Tree. It came in a package of 3 different words – you may also be able to find a metal or chipboard word at your local craft store. Or you can simply leave the word off. 🙂

I cut a piece of fabric to fit my canvas and used Mod Podge to adhere it to the canvas. After it was dry, I brushed a thin coat of Mod Podge over the top of the fabric using a foam brush.

After that was dry, I laid out my split wood balls in a heart shape on the canvas and then glued them using a white craft glue – I like Crafter’s Pick Ultimate Glue it dries quickly, but not too quickly if you need to adjust the placement of the balls. I attached the word “love” using foam tape to give it a little dimension.

I used several ribbons to make a small bow using this super easy method I found on Re-fabbed and attached it to the upper left corner.

When I was finished, it looked a bit stark to me. It needed a little softening, so I used some white chalky finish paint and lightly dry brushed the wood balls, the word “love”, and around the edges of the canvas.

A simple and fun project to add a little Valentine love to your home! ❤️

Happy Crafting!

Anita

Posted in Decor, Uncategorized, Valentine | Tagged Decor, Farmhouse | 4 Comments

Panda (welcome, little one) card

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Anita

Hi friends,

This was such a fun card to make! I made it to welcome a sweet baby boy to our world using the Party Pandas set from Stampin’ Up. The set is no longer available – it was part of their Sale-a-bration in 2018 – but look in your collection, you probably have a very cute stamp that you could use in place of the panda.

I stamped the panda with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white card stock. I colored the balloon and added the shadow beneath the panda with Copic markers. I stamped the sentiment with blue ink. The sentiment stamp I used has been in my collection forever! You probably have a great baby sentiment stamp in your collection. If you are looking for something new, I love this set from Lawn Fawn.

I used this set of Dotted Scallop Rectangle dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs to die cut the stamped image and a larger rectangle from brown card stock. I layered the stamped image to the brown rectangle. (This is my favorite adhesive for card making and here are the refills.)

I embossed a panel of bright blue card stock with the Softly Falling embossing folder from Stampin’ Up – also no longer available 😦 But this Dot Embossing Folder would be great! Or use your favorite embossing folder in your collection. I tied some brown and white bakers twine around the panel and then attached it to a white card. The stamped image is attached to the card with foam tape.

This would also make a great birthday card for a little one – just change the sentiment to Happy Birthday.

Happy Stamping!

Anita

Posted in Cards, Stamping | Tagged Baby, Cards, Stamping | 4 Comments

Crochet Lillian Infinity Scarf

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Anita

Hi friends,

How did you learn to crochet? Did you teach yourself or did someone sit down with you and show you what to do? My Grandmother taught me when I was about 10 years old. She always told me I held my crochet hook wrong – I’m a knife-hold girl, she was a pencil-hold girl – but she also said I could crochet much faster than her so it was ok. 🙂

She made lots of afghans and one of her favorite patterns to use was the ripple afghan pattern. I designed the Lillian Infinity Scarf using this pattern in memory of my Grandmother Lillian. Because she taught me young, crochet has given me a lot of joy through the years and I have been able to pass the art onto several young girls. I think my hook has never been far away – I’ve either had a work in progress or was thinking about the next project I wanted to begin. Thanks, Grandma!

These Clover hooks are some of my favorite crochet hooks – easy on the hands so I can crochet longer. 🙂

Crochet Lillian Infinity Scarf

By Anita Young at creatingme.net

Size J/6mm hook

Worsted weight yarn – approximately 8 to 10 ounces

I used Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek in Chili Red and White

Stitches in US terms:

Chain – ch

Single crochet – sc

Single crochet 2 together – sc2tog

Slip stitch – ss

Back Loop only – blo

Ch 33

Row 1: sc2tog 2nd and 3rd ch from hook. Sc in next 5 ch. 3 sc in next ch. Sc in next 7 ch. Skip 2 ch. Sc in next 7 ch. 3 sc in next ch. Sc in next 5 ch. Sc2tog last 2 ch. Turn. (32 stitches)

Row 2: Ch 1. sc2tog blo of first 2 stitches. Sc in blo of next 5 stitches. 3 sc in blo of next stitch. Sc in blo of next 7 stitches. Skip next 2 stitches. Sc in blo of next 7 stitches. 3 sc in blo of next stitch. Sc in blo of next 5 stitches. Sc2tog blo of last 2 stitches. Turn. (32 stitches)

Rows 3-40: Repeat Row 2.

Change to white at the end of Row 40.

Rows 41-80: Repeat Row 2.

Change to red at the end of Row 80.

Rows 81-120: Repeat Row 2.

Change to white at the end of Row 120.

Rows 121-160: Repeat Row 2.

Matching stitches from last row to beginning row, fold scarf in half and ss together.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Scarf measures about 6.5 inches wide by 60 inches long (before slip stitching ends together)

Here’s a pdf for easy printing!

Crochet Lillian Infinity Scarf Download

You can make this scarf in any color combo or even just one color. I hope you enjoy this pattern. 🙂

Happy Stitching!

Anita

Posted in Crochet, Gifts | Tagged Crochet, Gifts | 9 Comments

A Look Back at 2019

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Anita

Hi friends,

It’s 2020!! How did that happen?!??! It’s always a good thing for me to look back at the year we just finished to remind myself of all the things – the good, the hard, the happy, the sad, the fun – all those things that make life an adventure…because I’m just like you and don’t always think of life that way 🙂

The first part of our year was filled with the ordinary things of life – laundry, shopping, errands, cleaning the house – all those things that need to be done whether we want to do them or not. 😉 One of the highlights of May was the girls in our church youth group remembering me with sweet cards and a group hug on Mother’s Day. ❤️

We celebrated our 37th anniversary in May in Destin, FL – at the beach. It is one of our favorite places to go for relaxing and getting away from it all. The sound of the waves, the warm sand, morning walks along the beach, evening walks at sunset, the gulf breezes – it just can’t be beat!

In June, I helped my Mom pack up her house where she had lived for over 50 years and where we grew up – somehow the yard was bigger when we were kids. 🙂 Lots of memories…

August brought us a visit from 2 of our favorite girls and their parents. We are so thankful that even though the miles separate us – our hearts are still very connected! ❤️❤️❤️

Near the end of August, we made another trip to the beach to celebrate my husband’s 60th 😳 birthday. This time we stayed in Seaside, FL. (I have a post about it here.) And even though we had a few storms roll in, there is still nothing like the beach.

Our sweet friends had a new baby girl. (She is wrapped in the blanket and sporting one of the beanies I made for her.)

In October, we celebrated my Mom’s 85th birthday in her new home. 🙂

A fun holiday tradition is our Youth Group Progressive Dinner. We drive the students to 4 different homes for appetizers, soup & salad, the main course, and dessert. A portion of the story of Jesus’ birth is read at each home, carols are sung, and the food is always amazing. It’s a great time of being together and remembering the reason for the season is Jesus!

We ended the year spending Christmas with my family in Michigan City, IN. The city puts up an amazing Christmas light display in the park every year – here are a couple of pictures.

And even in Winter, Lake Michigan is still beautiful! This was a wonderfully calm, warmer day in December which doesn’t always happen this time of year.

2019 was filled with lots of wonderful, lots of good, and lots of love. Things weren’t always smooth and easy – just like they weren’t always smooth and easy for you. But life is an adventure which means there will be ups and downs. Today I’m focusing on the ups and looking forward to what 2020 has in store! 🙂

Happy New Year!

Anita

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

A Little Christmas Thanks

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

I have a quick Christmas thank you card to share with you today. I used this very cute stamp set called A Little Mousy from Unity Stamp Company. The set includes 5 different little mice, so it could be used for lots of different occasions.

I stamped the little mouse holding the tree with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white card stock and colored the image with Copic markers. I punched the image out with an oval punch and layered it to a scalloped oval punched from green card stock. (If you are looking for oval dies, this is a great set of ovals and this is a good scalloped oval set.)

I stamped the word “thanks” with the Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a panel of red card stock. (My stamp is an older one I’ve had forever, this one would be really cute.) Then I embossed the panel with a Dotted Swiss embossing folder. I attached the panel to a white card and the mouse image is attached to the card with foam tape.

Just FYI in case you’re interested, this is my favorite adhesive for card making. You can also get refills for the dispenser.

These little mice are so adorable! By using one of the other little mouse images in the set and changing the sentiment, this layout could be used for birthday, hello, or thinking of you cards – there’s even a sweet sleeping mouse that would be perfect for a new baby card.

Happy Stamping and Happy New Year!

Anita

Posted in Cards, Christmas | Tagged Cards, Christmas, Stamping | 3 Comments

White Texas Sheet Cake

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

I have a great recipe to share with you today! White Texas Sheet Cake from The Semisweet Sisters. I made it for a Thanksgiving potluck (hence the Fall sprinkles) and it was so yummy! It would be a great dessert for your New Year’s Eve (or day) gathering – change the color of the sprinkles or just leave them off. 🙂

You may have most of the ingredients you’ll need in your kitchen right now. You can find the full recipe here at The Semisweet Sisters. It’s made in a jelly roll pan so there will be plenty for everyone to have a piece.

This is how it looks fresh from the oven waiting for the icing.

After adding the icing and sprinkles.

White Texas Sheet Cake anyone? 🙂

The recipe can by made with either vanilla extract or almond extract. I made mine with vanilla – next time I want to try it with almond extract. I think that would be so tasty!

White Texas Sheet Cake is easy to make and would be a great dessert any time of the year!

Happy Baking!

Anita

Posted in Recipes | Tagged Recipe | 2 Comments

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

I hope your day is filled with love and wonder! 🎄

Anita

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Slow Cooker Salty Sweet Candy

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

Need a last minute sweet treat for Christmas? This Slow Cooker Salty Sweet Candy is super easy to make. You can find the full recipe here at Real Housemoms.

You put all the white chocolate goodness in your slow cooker (this is the slow cooker I have and I love it!!) and walk away for an hour! You can go wrap those last minute gifts while you’re waiting for everything to melt. 🙂

This is what it looks like after an hour on low in the slow cooker.

Stir it all together until it is smooth.

Add in the peanuts and pretzel pieces.

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and add sprinkles. They set up pretty quickly!

These aren’t just for Christmas – change the color of sprinkles for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Halloween. So easy and so yummy – good for anytime of the year! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Recipes | Tagged Christmas, Recipe | 2 Comments

Cookies & Cream Oreo Blondies

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

Do you need another yummy cookie for those Christmas celebrations – or just to have on hand for guests who pop by? These tasty Cookies & Cream Oreo Blondies are easy to make, and since they are baked in a 9 x 13 pan (I love my pyrex baking dish), it will save you time in the kitchen. 🙂

I found the recipe here at Six Sisters’ Stuff. These ladies have THE BEST recipes – browse their site and you’ll see what I mean…

Here are the blondies ready to go in the oven.

And fresh from the oven. My kitchen smells so good! 😋

A big glass of cold milk or a hot cup of coffee or tea would go perfectly with this yummy treat.

Happy Baking!

Anita

Posted in Recipes | Tagged Recipe | Leave a comment

Mini Chalkboard Ornaments

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Anita

Hi friends,

Do you ever shop at the Dollar Spot in Target? Sometimes I can find the cutest things there! I found these adorable chalkboard signs and just knew they had to come home with me. 🙂 There are 3 in the package for just $3.00 and measure about 3 1/2 by 5 inches – a great deal!

They had packages of sprigs – 4 to a package – for $1.00 each. They also had peel and stick vinyl sheets for $1.00 each. I thought by putting this all together, I could make some cute Christmas ornaments.

Since the chalkboard frames are already painted red, I just kept them that way. There was a red and green plaid ribbon on them for hanging, but I took that off and changed it to twine. That’s just a personal preference, leave the ribbon if you love it!

I tried die cutting the letters from the vinyl using an alphabet set I’ve had forever. They cut fine, but didn’t want to stick to the chalkboard. 🙁 So I cut the letters from white card stock and glued them to the chalkboard using a Quickie Glue Pen. I also punched a few snowflakes (here’s a similar punch) from white card stock and glued them on. I hot glued a sprig or two of greenery to the frame of the chalkboard.