Sweet Cuppa's

Mornin' Y'all!

Every Christmas time I think I should have started earlier on presents. This year I should have started earlier but it is hard to get yourself into that mode of thinking. Especially when it is over 100 degrees and about 40% humidity. We don't have air conditioning so I can't just crank up the AC like some of my friends do. I wanted to make some special gifts for our choir members that work so hard all year long to bring music to our church. So I used the coffee cups from (most of us drink coffee, tea or water) Good Day at the Office SVG Kit.

I cut the coffee cups out at the size they import but on hind site I am thinking making them a little smaller would have been better as they are a tall coffee size. This means I have no idea if the candy pkg I am ordering for these will fill all these cups. I thought 5lbs of Jolly Rancher Fire Candy would be enough but it may not be. We use those to clear our throats and sinus's so we can sing better. Plus we all love them.
 Most say the hardest part of making Mary's files is picking the paper. This is true of myself as well. Girls are fairly easy but guys???? That is a horse of a different color! Most of our guys love the outdoors so I had a lot of Imaginisce camping paper which worked well. I also used Echo Parks This & That and some Happy days by Echo Park for the guys. For the girls I used A ton of My Minds Eye I will list all the papers collections I used and the solid card stock at the bottom of this post.

These cups were easy to put together and went together fairly fast. I don't usually get done so quick on something like this. I used the top label to make my note to our choir. Very simply said Merry Christmas Choir. I printed these on two Clear Sticker Sheets from Silhouette and did a print and cut. It was a tiny bit off but maybe that is something I need to adjust. I haven't looked into it much as I typically don't use a lot of print and cut. The only reason for that is I don't have continuous ink system. I would love to but it can be pretty pricey getting the printer and ink system set up. Anyhoo, I adhered those to the a white bottom label and glued those onto the front of the sleeves. Because these will be in a box until the appointed time, I didn't want to put a lot of decorations on the front. I used the butterfly for the girls embossing the top wings with a Sizzix Flourishes emboss folder with enamel dots down the center. I folded flower centers in half and hot glued those to the sleeves, then hot glued the butterflies on top of that.   For the guys cups I cut mustaches, adding enamel dots for the buttons on a shirt. The stashes were mostly a silhouette file as I wanted curly stashes but a few are from the New Years Eve SVG Kit. The mustache can be found in the photo props part of that file.

That was pretty much it. I know I will have to make a few more when we start practice for Christmas as we always pick of a few extra people for the program but having most of them done really helps. I am off to do a little sewing, I saw a simple pattern for a cozy for your hot drink I want to try. I am going to use one of Mary's files again to cut the some of the pieces for it. I haven't tired this before using my Silhouette but I am told it works quite well. I will let you know. If you don't see it, know it was a complete fail and it went into the trash. LOL Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. I really should have a cup of coffee ready for ya and a swing to sit on too! ;) Thanks again and Happy Craftin' Y'all! Blessings Sharalyn

PS You may have noticed I have a new gadget on my page, this is the new SVG cuts Top 40 gadget I am honored to be a part of. Thanks so much To SVG cuts for considering me a part of your Top 40! Let's hear it for SVGCuts Yay!!!!

SVG Kit's Used:
Good Day at the Office


Supplies Used:
American Craft Card Stock: Rouge, Peony, Raspberry, Black, Oregano, Coffee
Bazzill Card Stock: Turquoise Mist, Black, Arctic, White
My Minds Eye Card Stock: Market Street Ashbury Heights, The Sweetest Thing Lavender, My Minds Eye The Sweetest Thing Bluebell, Now and Then Milo, Cut & Paste Flair Wow
Echo Park Card Stock: Happy Day's, This & That Vintage Boy, Everyday Eclectic
Imaginisce: Great Outdoors
Sizzix Emboss Folder: Flourishes
Enamel dots: My Minds Eye, Recollections
Flower Centers: Michales
Hot Glue
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

A Thank You Card for Mom (Please Don't Eat the Daisies)

Hi Everyone!!!!

I thought I would switch it up a bit with that greeting, LOL. I wanted to make a card for two people that are special to me in my life, so this is how this card got started. I needed a thank you card for my MIL. She gave me a little birthday check and I was taught to say thank you and she likes to know what I did with the money. I was also making a card for a special friend I have never met in person but talked to often. He is a really sweet guy and near the same age as my own son. He feels often like my son and I truly love his talent and gifts, but that card will not be appearing for y'all but will be special just for him.

I started with the picket fence and remembering the huge Daisies that my mom used to have and how they seemed to me to be wavy hello in the wind at 10. Yeah I do a lot of remembering when I was young, that seems to be the way it is as you get older. Then I thought of that wonderful show I used to watch on TV. It was called Please don't eat the Daisies. I think my favorite part was watching the big dog tromp around in the daisies and mess them up. I do remember the show but not much. So that is where this idea for this card was born from. Yes, I know a long way to go for the card but I got to it finally.;)

Read the instructions first before putting the card together as I jumped the gun on putting on the eyes, sorry about that.
Glue the box form together at the tab then center the fence pieces onto the box form. The fence pieces should be glued with the box edge lining up with the top rung on the fence. Do this to all sides till you have a little fenced box. Glue the flowers and centers to the extra flower pieces then glue those to the one matching the center piece for the card. This is to add stability to the center piece. Glue the flowers with the tabs facing toward the back of the fence in the inside. to make sure the card will fold flat, fold it each way flat to the right and to the left. If a side pops out of place adjust it down a bit. You will need to make sure the flower leaves fit between the rungs of your fence. Choose your sign. I made three that I used my silhouette sketch pens to write on the cards. You can use a stamp if you like and it will fit. I made an extra sign to put onto the front you can use it to write on or stamp on, or you can stamp or write onto the single sign. The extra is for stability if you so desire.

 The little dog is made to look like the dog from the TV show but you can make it any color or pattern you like. The rounded tuft of fur is for his head then there are two pieces for his nose and mouth area. One white or whatever color and one black to make his nose black. I did end up using Black Glossy accents to make his nose and eyes, anyway but the choice is yours. I am sure you could use a white heart and color it with a Copic or permanent marker and make the nose and little black pearls for his eyes. The white part sticking down is his tongue. I used Taffy Smooch to color his tongue, but a pink or red maker would work as well. The legs are put on next and the left (when your looking at it from the top) foot fits into a slight bulge on the bottom next to his hind leg. The right leg is set just a bit off the edge at the bottom.The second tuft is for his chest area and should be put on before you put the collar on, as the tag fits a bit over it. Glue the tail to the back edge of the dog. I used a light grey ink to ink the edges a bit and give it a bit of dimension before I adhered the tail. Now glue the black to the back and all those pieces to the white. I kind of jumped the gun about the eyes but now you'll see where the eyes go and can decide what you will use to make them. The insert with the dog is to  be adhered to the back inside of the fence, flush with the top rung. Make sure when you add your inserts you can fold it either way so that it lies flat. The extra white piece is for the back for you to adhere it to the back of the card so you can write a personal message but you don't have to add it if you don't want to. 

The extra dog and the flower are for you to see how the dog goes together and are not meant for you to cut them. Make the doggie anyway you like leave the tufts off or on patterned paper or not. Your creative and I know it will look cute no matter how you make it. The flower was left that way so if you desired to write something different on your fence piece, you could place the flower on the sign and that would give you a better idea as to where to place your letters to make it fit. Of course you can make it however you like. To me that is the beauty of files like this is you can make it your own. Please use this for personal use only and if someone asks about where you got it send them to me. I would be happy to share. I do not have it is svg form though and do not have a way to convert it. I create on Silhouette DE and use the newest version as I love the new features. I do have it saved in version 2 as well. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Have a blessed day and Happy Craftin! Blessings, Sharalyn

 Supplies Used:
Bazzill Cardstock:White,black
American Craft Card stock: Olive, Clay
 Inkssentials Enamel Accents, Black
Clearsnap Smooch: Taffy (looks like a nail polish bottle)
Patterned Card stock from Stash

A Special Card for Thomas

Hi Y'all!!!!!!!
Boy did I miss you!
We took a much needed vacation to the mountains as some of you know and spent about a week in the coolness of Big Bear. One of my favorite places to go. I celebrated my 54th birthday up there and could not believe what came out of my hubs mouth! He said I would be 60 in 6 yrs, What? when did that happen???? LOL anyway, we had a wonderful time and I knew when I got back I needed to get cracking on my grandson Thomas's birthday card. He is 5 this year! Whoa! no wonder I am getting older, it is my grand children's fault! Just kidding I love those kiddos!

I knew I wanted to do something special for Thomas and happened on an ad with the planes photo in it. Now I have not seen this movie but if you've read my blog before you know I love Disney movies. When I was a young girl I would sit on the floor with a pad of paper and markers and draw for hours. All Disney stuff and actually wanted to work in animation department when I was young, about 14. 

I thought It would be pretty easy to alter a box card from SVG Cuts to make the card I wanted but my husband and his blunt honesty told me I needed to start over. Not in those words but he said no matter what I did to narrow the flaps on the box card it would still look like a box with flaps. Hmph! back to the drawing board so to speak. I remembered Mary's design of the paino box card and thought well that is the right shape. When I looked at it I thought ok I can cut off this cut off that.Then I thought wow it would be easier to just start from scratch and make it all myself, so I did.

Now you need to remember what I tell you about designing when you look at this. I started with shapes, looking at the photo I printed in my printer to "copy" it. I say "copy" because it is NOT an exact match. It looks close enough that my soon to be 5 grandson will not care.
So here is the best I can do on telling you how to put it together. Cut out all the pieces of the box card,  the wings and flaps (yes there is a flap on the back like real airplanes and yes it folds),eyes and accent pieces. Glue the box as you would any box card that Mary from SVG Cuts makes. If you have made the piano it is the flap to a straight side and so forth till you have a square shape. The head of the plane is glued in with the flaps facing the front, but first glue the eyes in place I used the photo to look at where they should be placed then placed the top piece on to make sure I had them in the right place. After your sure it is all in the right place glue it all together.  I will tried to think of a way to make it easier for y'all but I couldn't. I am going to change one piece so it will be all one and then you just use a piece of vellum (color it with pigment ink first then cut on the side you didn't ink it) in the center of the little window. I used a black sakura pen to draw the black around the edge. The white dots on the eyes is a done using a white gel pen. To add a bit of dimension to the eyes I used a darker orange pen and inked around the sides and top of the orange cut out before I glued it all together. The tail piece is designed the same way as the front  only there is a cut out for the tail-fin. Put the flap through the whole and glue the flap to the back facing right. This is so that when you fold the card you are folding the tail-fin to the left. The D is glued the the left side of the fin and the 7 is glued to the right. The tiny pieces on the fin are glued on the fin flush with the score line. Both sides of the fin on my card have the blue accent pieces but that is totally up to you. I glued the blue accent lines onto the silver accent pieces then onto the sides of the plane. Glue the rest of the silver accent pieces in place. Be sure to glue the silver nose piece onto the top of the flap. (I have done the reverse on another card duh) line your propeller onto the lower edge of the nose and poke a hole then insert a small brad to hold it in place. The tag is just glued to the back inside after I wrote on it. here is the part you didn't see. There are two flaps on the back for the moving part of the plane. My hubs says it helps them fly, Thank God for that cuz I already am not fond of small planes. Glue the long part of the flaps together leaving the scored part open to glue to the back of the plane. Think of it as a sandwich the two are glued facing each other so that you have a Y shape the top of the Y will be glued to the back of your plane. Glue the small flaps onto the back sides of the plane above your accent pieces. Now to fold it flat to mail, Bend the nose piece up so that the propeller faces in. Fold the wings up and the tail-fin to the left. The flaps on the back can be folded to the right. I did not make an envelope for it as I usually put cards like this in a bubble wrap envelope I get at the dollar tree. Two for 1 dollar. This is a good value to me as I prefer my cards not to be mangled by the post office machines. Y'all know what I am talking about. :) If you make one of these I would love you to post a picture on my Facebook page or you can email me. This card came out of a desire to make something special for my grandson and as most of you know already God helped me make it. Please be kind if you make one and let the person know it was my design. I do not have a Etsy shop or anything else I just love making this stuff so very very much. Blessings Everyone and Happy Crafting.
Blessings Sharalyn
Here are some photos I hope this helps, please be patient with me I have not made it into a zip yet.

Supplies Used:
American Craft Card stock: White, Black,Sapphire,Concrete,Lagoon,Marine
Recollections Silver Brushed Small Brad.
My Minds Eye Orange Enamel Dot
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive