Inspiration.

I’m excited to be at the point where I can move my computer and vinyl cutter up to my “second home” next month! I have been trolling the internet and have found the cutest ideas for easy, inexpensive and personalized gifts! These are just a few of them:

1. Candle Holders – they can say absolutely anything. They can be for a holiday, a season, a take home gift for a YW night, they can be for any occasion really!

creationsbykara.com

2. Wooden Nativity Blocks – perfect for families with little-ones. I made a set of these a few years ago and still love setting them up each Christmas (although I love the colors of this one). And they are SO easy to make and won’t break when the kids knock them over!

lubirdbaby.com

3. GEEK ALERT!!! I don’t think Dad reads my blog but I know he will love these star-trek pillows for Christmas J One in red and one in blue too of course! Side-note: I thank and love my Dad for introducing me to all things sci-fi!

technabob.com

4. Any cute quote can be cut and put on a board, a sheet of metal (for use with magnets), chalkboard paint (weekly menu’s), walls, glass, tiles, etc…

craftywoodcutouts.com

5. I have wanted to cut a chandelier forever but never felt I had the right wall to put it on… Why did I never think to put in on a board??? Or a picture frame even! I can put it wherever I want – and then I can move it when I get tired of it – LOVE IT!

joysofhome.blogspot.com

6. What a great idea! My son has re-arranged his medals so many times I can’t even count…this would give him the perfect display option.

craftsinthebend.blogspot.com

7. Subway Art. Anything goes. Any holiday. Any song lyric. And it looks put together in a random-y way! Kind of like me!

stikmup.blogspot.com

8. Made a slew of countdown numbers for Enrichment Night a few years back, but I never was able to make the completed project. I might make one that just says “countdown” with everyday scrapbook paper so I can use it for anything… would be good for gifts too – baby showers, Halloween, birthdays, vacations, etc…

iasign.com

Nerd Alert.

My dad always told me that he didn’t feel productive unless he learned at least one new thing that day. It must be in the genes.

I am 7 classes away from earning my AA but have no desire to take math or science. Lol. Now learning random things like photography, Autism 101, how to podcast, and setting up databases in Access… I’m all over it! Which is why I LOVE www.alison.com. I was sad to learn that I would have to pay for my completion certificates (because being the weirdo I am, I like to have proof that I know stuff…), but the classes are online and completely free! There are hundreds of classes to choose from and you can take as many as you want! I totally recommend their photography class. The guy who teaches in the videos (Karl Taylor) is great at explaining and showing you what he means by demonstrating instead of just talking. And it doesn’t hurt that he has an amazing accent that leaves you hanging on every word…hehe.

So if you are a nerd like me and like to learn new and random things but don’t feel like shelling out hundreds of dollars on credit hours and books, check out www.alison.com. It’s pretty cool stuff!!!

Chipboard

So I’m at work the other day, doing my thing… and as I have to open a new box of checks, I notice the most amazing thing…  CHIPBOARD!!! Woo hoo! And not just the two in the bundle I was opening but there was a huge stack that previous employees had been saving…for no reason… just building a two foot stack of chipboard pages 8.5”x 14”s of scrapbook-y goodness!!!

 

So I (asked first then) grabbed what I wanted!!! I’m still kind of thinking about what I want to do with all of it, but I know I want to make some family chipboard albums for some friends (Christmas presents?!?!?) but I’m also thinking about delving in to the world of quiet books. These would be perfect for making the pages stiff enough without being too heavy. Maybe the ones that are actual cardboard I will use for that purpose… hmm.

Decisions, decisions.

Again, using the trusty internet, I found this great tutorial which I will be using the basics from:

Hope you will find it as simple and do-able as I do!!!

Christmas in May?

For about three weeks now I have been obsessing about Christmas gifts. Christmas? In May? YES… I don’t know what is going on in my crazy head… but I’m glad I will at least have all my gift ideas ready for sure! I am going to try and stick with homemade gifts this year to make them kind of special. Yes I am cheap, and yes I love to craft… but honestly, it’s more about making it personal. With Pintrest and all of the other amazing bloggers willing to share tutorials, I don’t think it will be that hard to do.

So here’s my plan:
1. Make a list of people to make gifts for
2. Next to each name, note a gift category that they fit into (sports, décor, food, etc.)
3. Scout the inter-web for “how-to’s”… for projects in each of the categories
4. Are there any that I want to make that might take a long time? (I want to make vanilla and I know it takes months of letting the flavors infuse… so I will want to start on that soon)
5. What materials or items do I have already for the projects? What materials do I need to purchase? Can I purchase them online? Thru Ebates.com? With a JoAnn’s coupon? Michaels coupon? If I start thinking about this stuff now, I can begin purchasing items on sale a little at a time.

I realize this list will be added to as I go, but for me (lover of all things listy) this is a good start.