Happy Valentine's Day (what, it's still Feb at least!)

Well hello there strangers! Anyone remember me? This is when I suggest anyone who is on facebook follows me there too, I'm much better about posting photos and chatting then I am at writing up posts.

I realize Valentine's Day was a couple weeks ago, however it's still Feb. so I say I can still post some of my cards (especially since I didn't even mail them out until this week OPPS LOL)

I've been keeping busy working on other projects too, I've built a table (no really I did, with my almost 9yr old daughters help!), have a canopy bed for her American Girl doll almost finished, am refurbing my dining room chairs (new stain & covering the cushions), and even made some cute wall art. See I've been busy, just not busying posting.

So without further delay.... some cards :)

The first is my favorite, I made it for my Dad and when my mom saw it she insisted I make her one too. I have the ever generous Bird from BirdsCards to thank for this card, the free cut files can be found on her DT post here: Cupid Suspension Files

You'll see I did modify it a bit, I really like making 5x7 cards (because I'm too cheap to pay extra to mail square cards LOL) and I added the LOVE to the bottom. I also modified the interior heart so that it hinges up and my sentiment could be written under it so it wasn't visible from the outside. 

I just love how the little cupid can twist and turn on the fishing line I used!

Look at that little belly, eeekkkk so cute (and so much cuter on him then it is on me). I used glimmer cardstock for his wings and metallic for his bow & arrow. I love how perfectly the Cameo cuts even these very small items. The bow string & arrow are hardly any thicker then my thin fishing line!

Next up is a card with a homemade action wobble, you guys know I use those any chance I can get! 

The background was a quick PNC and then I added the layered frog from Lettering Delights

He's all ready to hop right off the card for a hug! 

Lastly was another quick card. Using one of the adorable hedgehog images from Penny Black

Thank you for visiting today, I promise to be back again soon! Right now I have to go dig out some of the snow we got! 

Dashing By...

I'm squeezing in one last project this month, a cute card for Trendy Twine featuring one of my favorite twists, Watermelon Taffy <~~~ pssttt go buy your spool here!

I did a pnc for the background using my Cameo, I also added a top layer to the tree and coated it with distress stickles in picket fence (one of my favorites) and then cut out the adorable little sledding girl from the Letting Delights set Eskimo Pie as another PNC and pop dotted it.

 I cut out her mittens & the dogs scarf so that I could layer them over the Trendy Twine. Lastly I scribbled some glue on the bottom of the card and sprinkled on some glitter for snow. 

Thanks so much for looking, be sure to check the Trendy Twine blog again tomorrow as a new challenge for Feb. and new DT projects will be listed! I can't wait to see what the ladies came up with! 

Pretty in Pink Blog Hop with Trendy Twine

Welcome to my stop on the Pretty in Pink Blog Hop!!! Are you loving the new Pink Licorice & Pink Midnight twines? The design team has made some adorable projects for you to see & of course there is some blog candy!

Trendy Twine - http://twineitup.com

Candi - http://chaos-n-crafts.blogspot.com/ <~~~ YOU ARE HERE

Dawn - http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/

Helen - http://www.htbcreations.com/

Jamie - http://jamiek711designs.blogspot.com/

Jessi - http://kissinkrafts.blogspot.com/

Jessica - http://chick-n-scrap.blogspot.com/

Kate - http://www.scrapperscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Sukie - http://scrappindhilly.blogspot.com/

Yvonne -http://onecreativemomma.blogspot.com/

As those of you who follow me know I've been bitten by a wood working bug, so of course I had to combine two of my favorite things into a project. I did a string (or should I say twine) art project for Valentine's Day decor.

You can skip making your own plaque and just buy one from the craft store but since I now own the tools I wanted to save money and make my own. I started with an inexpensive piece of pine which I trimmed square with my miter saw. Then I added a decorative edge with my router & table

To line up the nails for my heart I simply used the rhinestone feature in Silhouette Studio DE, I sized a heart and then turned the edge into a rhinestone template. I printed this off and stuck it with double sided tape to my painted wood. Then it was as simple as nailing in the nails. 

Don't laugh at my mini hammer, full sized ones can be so hard to control and this little guy is perfect, no more smashed fingers or missed nails, you can find it on Amazon right here for less then $7: perfect little hammer In order to keep the nails close to even in height I first nailed every other hole, then when putting the nail in the middle the hammer head leveled them all out

Then it was just a matter of wrapping my twine around the nails, I had no rhyme or reason with this.. I like things to be symetrical so I went with this look (though it does look a bit like a spider web, my daughter suggested I add a pink glitter love spider LOL) You can try different ways of wrapping to see what you like best. 

Lastly I decided to add some pink stickles to the heads of the nails, rhinestones would have also been really cute. 

I can't decide which of the two new releases I like better, since you probably can't either go ahead and get both <wink>. We have then on special for this weekend only. 

The full spool set is on sale for $16.50 right here: Pink Licorice & Pink Midnight Spools 

The minis are on special for $3.95 for the set right here: Pink Licorice & Pink Midnight Minis

Want to be entered to win one of three prizes? To be entered for the blog candy, make sure you follow the TT blog, comment on each blog in the hop, and like the Trendy Twine Facebook Page.

You must do all three to be eligible. Deadline to enter is 10:00 pm CST, Monday, Jan 28th. Winners will be chosen by Random.org

Thanks so much for looking, next stop on the hop is with Dawn http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/

Power Tools & Squid

Hi Everyone!

Wow it's been way too long! Those of you who follow me on facebook know that I've been a bit all consumed with woodworking stuff lately (mostly buying books, tools, and watching youtube videos... but I have made a few little things as I get a feel for my new tools). I'll be posting better photos/videos/info in the future but wanted to give you a sneak peak for now. When I named my blog Chaos -n- Crafts I wasn't kidding about the Chaos portion, and my woodworking area (in the unfinished side of our basement storage area) is also deserving of the name.

The main star of the show is the workbench, which I'm proud to say I built all by myself. It's from a 2x4 basics kit, they give you the screws and the plastic legs & supports and you build the rest by cutting down 2x4's and then shelves/table top. It was my first experience using my new miter saw and WOW, not even kidding when I say that using power tools can give you a huge rush! I call my miter saw Chomp since he cuts through wood like butter (and he's green). 

Of course my favorite tool so far is my scroll saw (sorry no close up of it, but it's a Dewalt 788 if anyone is interested and I <3 it), I can't wait to really get good at using it.. the things people make with them are amazing. Think paper crafting but with wood. I'm actually planning to use many of my Cameo files but to cut them out of wood using the scroll saw! I also bought a small router & router table. Basically this photo shows what I've done so far. 

You take a plain piece of wood and you can add decorative edges, like the crazy over priced plaques you can buy at the craft store, now I can make them myself in any shape and with lots of different edges. That piece there you will see again if you check out the Trendy Twine blog hop this Saturday <wink> 

This tool is called a Kreg Jig, I keep cracking myself up because I keep singing how much I love Kreg, because Kreg can build anything (my husband's name is Craig, and he has NO interest in building anything). Basically it helps you line up something called a pocket hole, which is a super fast & easy way to attach wood together. I used it to make a little pasta organizer some of you saw on facebook. I can't wait to really use it to build something BIG :) My next purchase is going to be a table saw, I'm terrified of them (I like my fingers) but know that having one would really make building things easier... and hopefully I have an accessory that I plan to use with one that would make it MUCH safer, more on that soon too! Any of you who work with wood or have a husband/father/someone who does will want one too! 

Lastly, how about a card? Along with playing with  my new tools it was my husband's birthday this past weekend. A squid might seem like a strange subject for a b'day card for my husband but one of the only things he's ever purchased on his own for the house was a print of a kraken overtaking a ship... so it seemed fitting. 

The squid is from letting delights, the background is a digital paper from Echo Park I believe. The balloon was pressed into an embossing pad and heat embossed with clear embossing powder to give it a bit of latex look and of course my balloon string is made of Trendy Twine in one of my favorite new colors Orangesicle (which I can see using a ton of this summer, it's a super vibrant & fun twist). 

I did a PNC for his eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with the tiny little circles, and I coated them with some glossy accents. I also used distress inks to shade my cuts to give them some life. The squid is of course on a homemade action wobble so he can shake. 

I also opted to do a PNC for the inside of my card as well (the little crab represents me of course LOL)

Hope you've enjoyed the peak into my new woodworking obsession & my squidilicious card :) 

Be sure to check back on Saturday for my post as part of the Trendy Twine Pretty in Pink blog hop to see what I did with my homemade wooden plaque. 

Do you make resolutions? Let me ramble to you :)

I think this is my first post without a project, it feels wrong LOL however one of the things I'd like to do this year is ramble aimlessly to you more :D  Seriously though, I was considering stepping away from the online word (ie facebook/blogging/blogs/etc) because I feel like it is taking up too much of my very stretched out attention and time, then I decided I'd miss everyone and all the projects so instead I'm going to try to limit my time online but also include more of my actual self/family in my online time.

Besides the cliche idea of New Years = resolutions, this time of year does make me think forward to the coming year and look back at the past year. January is sort of a thinking time for me, the world (at least in freezing Michigan) is wrapped in a blanket of snow and sort of hibernating waiting for spring to start anew, similar to this are my thoughts... I'm thinking and planning and deciding what changes I hope to bring about this coming year. I also need to really commit to something in my head before I ever hope to make it happen in real life, I'm a huge planner like that LOL

So here are some of my top ideas that I'm going to sort of toss around in my mind and hopefully come to terms with incorporating into my life.

1. the before mentioned reorganizing of my digital life... both in cutting back on the time I  waste  spend online and in how I present myself online.

2. spending more 1:1 time with my girls, I'm with them 24/7 but much of this time is spent with the whole "in a min..." routine as I'm doing something else (um pinterest much?) or with them dissing me as they do something (not so much Lily she is my little shadow but Aliya has this pesky habit of growing up and developing her own interests) I want to make sure we spend some quality time together making memories and enjoying each others company, not just existing in the same space. (this goes for time with my husband too, maybe we'll get a chance to go out on our 6th date in 9yrs this year... I wish I was kidding here people... no one ever watches our girls).

3. I've only been saying this for 9yrs... but I want to get back in shape. I went from skinny (I actually used to get paid for modeling) to "OMG you got big" when I was pregnant with Aliya, and I've never lost most of it. Actually the thinnest I've been in the past 9yrs was when I was pregnant with Lily 3yrs ago and so sick I couldn't even keep down water, yup I was my thinnest pregnant. I hate dieting, I can't follow any sort of plan (being told what to do goes against my very being LOL), and exercise sucks in my mind but I really want to get back into my skinny clothing (they should be coming back in style soon LOL) and just feel better about myself. I remember that feeling of my pants sitting low on my hip bone, I loved that feeling. Much better then the one of my chin resting on my other chin. I'm going to start easy with more/more intense walking on my treadmill, playing xbox kinnect with Aliya, dancing & bouncing on the trampoline with the girls etc. I might even bust out the expensive juicer I bought last year (I went a little too crazy, made intense green juice that I gagged so bad choking down I haven't used it again) maybe we'll do some fruits and a touch of spinach and save the kale for later. All in all I'd love to be back in a few months talking about how I lost 10, 15, 20+ lbs (my ultimate goal would be 30ish lbs)

4. This will actually be the hardest for me, yes even harder then losing weight. I saw this on pinterest today and it's actually what influenced this whole post for me.

we were really broke when I was growing up, it was just my mom & I and things were very tight. I was a teenager before I learned about actual malls & stores that carried a shirt in more then one size (we only shopped at TJ Max where if you liked a shirt you better hope it was in your size because there was only one), I treasured my toys because I didn't have many, I was teased at school for wearing the same jeans all week (I only had one pair!), etc. So now that I'm an adult and am blessed to have a husband who makes a nice living I openly admit to going a bit totally overboard. My girls want for nothing, I know we have too much "stuff" but I can't seem to stop buying more. I remember having nothing and now I go into crazed squirrel must hoard everything mode w/o even realizing it. The irony is that I hate clutter, a cluttered house affects my mind and I feel awful just staring at stuff everywhere. I keep my decorating all neutrals like creams/white/dark browns because it soothes me and yet we're tripping on stuff. I need to change this. I need to change it for my (and my daughters) well being, and frankly to stop wasting money. We had to rent a house when we moved back home to MI almost 2yrs ago since we were selling our house in NJ, obviously buying at the market high and selling at the low meant we had to short our house... and now we're rebuilding our savings that we depleted trying to float the NJ mortgage while paying rent in MI for a year while we waited for it to sell to save up for a house of our own again (I'm so not a good renter you guys, I like painting things... sure shades or cream or brown but still LOL) and I want to change light fixtures, hang curtains, and replace appliances and all that goes along with making your house your home. I need to remind myself that every little silly trinket I get myself or the girls is money taking away from my dream of owning my own house again. Honestly they have enough toys to NEVER EVER EVER run out of things to play with even if they picked something new every day. They don't treasure their belongings like I did because they have so many. I have enough craft supplies to open my own craft store and started hoarding tools this past month. Enough is enough. I'm committing here (where my husband might see this YIKES) and to all of you that I'm going to make an honest effort to save and not spend. To use the things I have instead of just hoarding them (yes I'm talking about you countless containers of glitter & stickles & packs of paper), and I'm going to force myself to part with things that we don't use or need anymore instead of my typical "but we paid good money for that, we might need it in the future" if I haven't used it in 5+yrs there's a good chance I won't need it in the next 5 either. 

So I guess my main "resolution" is to declutter. Declutter my mind, my house, and my body. Wish me luck! 

Happy New Year - a toast!

Hi Everyone! Did you have a nice New Year's Eve? Our little tradition is to have baby back ribs & stay home (well that's been the tradition since we had kids at least LOL we won't discuss the goings on of my 20's, mainly because there was too much champagne involved and the details are a bit fuzzy <wink>)

I created a quick card mock up last night to post on facebook:

Get it, toasting a new year... hehehe yeah I crack myself up

This morning I had to take my idea and make it into an actual card to share. As you'll see I changed the background (after going crazy last night to find a simple but cute confetti background it occurred to me that I should check the Silhouette store and sure enough there was what I needed. I also had to incorporate some of my favorite Trendy Twine (I used midnight) and some sparkle in the form of of a glitter paper ball dropping :) The toaster is a Hero Arts image from Silhouette, by releasing the compound path I was able to add a bit of color to it and I used the often forgotten shear options in Studio to get the 2013 lined up just right on the piece of toast. 

Those of you who follow the Trendy Twine blog might have seen that the new design team was announced, and you'll likely wonder what the heck my name was still doing on there since I just told you a week ago I had resigned. Well when it came time for me to say goodbye, I didn't want to. Lesley and the other ladies were kind enough to allow me to stay on in a modified role. I'll be helping some "behind the scenes" and while I won't be participating in all of the group or monthly posts you'll probably still see a few projects here and there from me <wink> I'm honored they valued my sassy sense of humor to keep me around as comic relief LOL 

Speaking of Trendy Twine, they have a little contest going today so head over to the blog to see some other New Year's cards and enter! Trendy Twine New Years!

Wishing you all the very best this coming year! 

Merry Christmas, and a farewell

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

Wishing everyone who celebrates a very Merry Christmas! This whole year has flown by and I've loved sharing some of it with you!!! I've just finished putting all of my girls gifts around the tree and I'm not sure who is more excited... the two of them up dreaming in their beds or me... who can't wait to see their faces tomorrow morning (though I do wish it would be after 7am LOL) 

This post is a bit bitter sweet for me, our 6 month design team term has come to an end with Trendy Twine... and while I was honored to be asked to come back for another 6 months I ended up having to decline. I've absolutely LOVED working with Lesley & all the ladies on the design team, and there simply is no better twine in my opinion however as those of you who follow me on facebook know I've been bitten by the sawdust bug lately. I've decided to branch off a bit into wood working (my new scroll saw is awesome) and with my youngest giving up naps my free time is limited now so I've decided it's in everyone's best interest if I step down. I'm really going to miss being part of the team but you can be sure I'll still be using and posting about Trendy Twine here on my blog! 

Now with that sort of sad news behind us... let's see my final project as a member of the design team! Head over to the Trendy Twine Blog to see all the cute Christmas cards the design team made!

I've made a snow globe shaker card! The card file is from Silhouette and it goes together super easily, you just cut your top layer from acetate and then glue it around your base, I added some great faux snow glitter to mine & a fun pop dotted snowman. I used my favorite of the Christmas colors, the limited edition Candy Cane Trendy Twine (which is still on sale!) to add the perfect finishing touch with a cute little double loop bow. 

If you haven't entered the challenge yet for December you still have some time left, head on over and link up a project for your chance to win some twine of your own right HERE.

As always, thank you for looking & for your comments!