I Need More... Disney [Hot Dog! Mickey Mouse Invitations]

After tossing around birthday themes for quite some time, my 2 year old daughter finally settled on Mickey Mouse. Let the party planning begin! And by begin, I mean I'd better get some invitations made and out or this is going to be one lame party...
MICKEY INVITATION POCKET:

1) Basic Mickey Mouse silhouette designed in Adobe Illustrator and saved as an SVG. (This SVG can be cut by the Sure Cuts A Lot program that allows you to cut your own designs and fonts with the Cricut.)

2) Mickey shape cut in both black and red cardstock. The red Mickey is cut in half to create the front of the pocket to hold the actual invitation. A simple stitch on the sewing machine holds the two pieces together.

3) A couple of glue dots hold the buttons in place.

INVITATION:

1) Again, designed in Adobe Illustrator using the Walt Disney handwriting font for titles. Printed on white cardstock.

2) Stapled a short length of ribbon to the invitation for a little color.

3) Folded in thirds and inserted into the Mickey pocket. The whole thing measures about 4x5-inches to fit nicely into an A-6 envelope.

I Need More... Magazine Inspiration [Welcome to Our Nest]

I love Simply Handmade magazine to get my creative juices flowing!  Inspired by their wall hanging (Feb/Mar 2009, pp. 120-1), I made a smaller version for my aunt.
Armed with a borrowed Cricut machine (Thanks, Celeste!), I cut the shape of the body, birds, a branch, and a couple of other things that didn't get used in this project.  The different papers are simply layered on top of one another, stitched for embellishment, or glittered with the most delicious glitter - Martha Stewart's glitter.  I used my Xyron machine in lieu of glue and a few foam stickies to give the birds a 3D quality.  The "Welcome" text and ornate frame (clip art) were printed on translucent vellum.  It all hangs from a simple string of beads.

I Need More... Magazine Inspiration [Heart T-shirt]

I've made lots and lots of embellished onesies and t-shirts in my day.  And I'm always on the lookout for a new variation of something to stitch onto them.  Simply Handmade had a darling version in their Feb/Mar 2009 issue (pp. 28-35).  With help from my favorite Stampin' Up Consultant and dear friend, Kasia Jackson, and her fabulous Big Shot die cut machine, we produced the scalloped circle which is the base for the design.

Simplified directions:

1) Back fabric with fusible web like Wonder Under and cut out your shape(s).

2) Pin and stitch a length of ribbon onto the shirt and fuse your shape(s) on top of them.

3) Zig zag around your shapes to secure them in place.

4) Hand stitch a button somewhere onto your design.

Notes: Target has t-shirts for $5 in quite a few colors for boys and girls right now.  Snatch them up!  They go quickly.  How many shirts a day does your kid go through in a day?  Mine?  About a million!

I Need More... Easy Art [I Am a Child of God Frame]

I'm not sure that this counts as a "craft" worthy of a post on my craft blog, but... it did take me all of ten minutes to create but it left me feeling like I accomplished something today.  So I think that makes is post-worthy.

I found this fabulous baroque frame at TJ Maxx and filled it with a simple, sweet sentiment (and a favorite song of Amelia's).  The font is "dirty headline", the text is printed on a plain piece of white cardstock, and trimmed to size for the frame.  It now hangs in Amelia's bedroom by the door so she sees it every time she exits her room.  And I hope that it always helps her remember who she is.

I Need More... Giveaways [I love Roberts Crafts!]

And I am very sorry if you live outside of Utah and do not have a Roberts Arts & Crafts store anywhere near you.  (One silver lining of living in Salt Lake, I suppose...)  Not only can you pick up a 40-50% off discount coupon at the front door any day of the week (Michael's, you stingy store - take note!) but now and then they have really fun promotions.  This week is their 50s week and they have decorated with balloons, a soda fountain with free drinks, have crafts inspired by a 1950s drive-in, etc.

This morning I stopped in and noticed numbers scattered throughout the store, pasted to the floor.  I asked about them and learned that at the top of every hour today Roberts would be giving away two Cricut cartridges.  Just stand on a number and if your number is picked, you're a winner.  Well, guess what?  I WAS A WINNER!!!  Thanks, Roberts.

UPDATE:  I just found out that they are doing the drawing again all day tomorrow (4/25).  It's just one Doodletype cartridge per hour.

I Need More... Delicious Details [Velvet Ribbon Flowers]

I needed some velvet flowers for a project but decided that I was too cheap to pay $5 for a package of three teeny, tiny flowers.  Flowers that I was sure that I could make myself.  Here are the instructions to save you $5, too:

Supplies: 4-inches of velvet ribbon per flower (the scalloped-edged ribbon makes a really fantastic flower), pearl beads (I used super cheap plastic ones that I found in the bottom of my bead drawer), sewing thread and needle, and scissors.

1) Knot your thread and stitch (in and out) along one edge of your ribbon.  If using scalloped-edge ribbon, this would be the straight side.2) Pull your thread and gather the ribbon into your flower.  Pull gently.  Yanking only results in broken thread and frustrated crafters!3) On the backside of your flower, stitch together the start end and finish end of your ribbon, completing the flower shape.  This will leave you with a small opening in the center of the flower.  Loosely stitch this opening closed.  Don't make a mess of things.  It does not need to be water tight, just closed enough that you won't lose the beads into it when you move to the next step.4) Stitch your beads into the center.  There is no exact number of beads to use or perfect arrangement that I've found.  Think about the variation found in nature as your guide.  (I used five pearl beads because they fit well, covered the gathering, and I like odd numbers.)

Super simple!  Super cheap!  And now I'm looking for projects for just these little flowers.

I Need More... Visitors [House Warming Frame]

"Blogging around" as I often so, I was inspired by a House Warming Book featured on the House of Three blog.  (House of Three is really fun.  Three well-known scrapbook designers, Heidi Swapp, Rhonna Farrer, and Janet Hopkins come together to share their creativity and differing perspectives on similar projects.)  Houseof3.com sells a digital kit that has this Edgar A. Guest quote beautifully laid out and ready to include in your project.  But of course, I had a frame in mind that required the poem be oriented differently.  With a quick visit to Adobe Illustrator, I had re-set the quote and then printed it on a clear transparency.  I glittered up the way cool chipboard mat inside the frame and backed everything with a piece of scrapbook paper.  That's about it.

It was the frame that I found at a TJ Maxx that started me searching for a great quote in the first place.  I wish I could include the link to purchase the frame but I looked on the company's web site (SixTrees.com) and apparently, they only sell wholesale.  Apologies.