Costumes?

Really? Yup, if you daughter is in an elementary school Lip Sync concert that is.

My sweetie and two of her girlfriends are lip syncing and dancing to Cupid’s Shuffle on Friday night (hopefully the snowstorm won’t delay it) at her school. It’s such a BIG DEAL and altho’ she’s only in first grade, you’d think it was the most important thing EV-ER.

So, as the ‘parent in charge’ of this dynamic group, I talked to the girls about their costumes.

So I asked, “What colors do you girls like?”

“Black and white,” said in unison. (Ah, they talked about this ahead of time….)

“Okay,” I say, “Black and white is very good. How about a color?”

B. chimes in, “No pink. We just don’t like pink ANYMORE!” S. concurs, “Yeah, no pink. Nobody likes pink.” My daughter softly adds, “I don’t like pink {since when?} but purple is my favorite color…”

B. and S. respond enthusiastically, “We LUUUVVV purple. Purple rocks. It is so cool!”

“Oh, and it has to sparkle. We just LUUUVVV sparkles!” Heads nodding all around.

Got it. Black and white outfits. Purple is the accent color. It has to sparkle. Who knew three first graders could be so definitive? The rest of the discussion went pretty much the same way and we ended up agreeing on decorated white t-shirts, poufy black skirts and black leggings. Oh, and they all have to SPARKLE.

Here are the t-shirts. I had the girls decorate the fronts the other day:

Hard to tell in the pic, but the rhinestones are stuck on with purple shimmer fabric paint. I did embellish the collar and sleeves with the same shimmer paint.

And one of the other moms gave me this cool easy idea…take this:

and this:

and a can of this:

and do this:

(Use your Cricut to cut out heavy cardstock letters. Place them on your prewashed shirt with no softener BTW and spray lightly with spray-on fabric paint. Remove the cardstock letters.)

I added more rhinestones for sparkle and viola! Personalized shirts for the concert. And they are SPARKLY all over!

I’ll post a picture of the completed ensemble soon. It’s going to be too adorable!

Heartfelt gift

I so wanted to make a heartfelt gift for my good friend Robin.
My kids and her kids are the bestest of friends. Really. I babysit her little guy a few mornings a week, and he is just the cutest.
What to do?
Oh, and really, it is 4 days before Christmas. I am just a wee bit late in thinking about this.
I know, I am in the scrapbooking, photos, quilting business….that seems almost too predictable. I did make her little guy his own playmat for Christmas. I blogged about that here. What to do for his mom?
Then I found this in my daughter’s craft supplies:

And then I found this in my own stuff:

All I needed was these…

And viola! The perfect memory gift for my friend. (And of course I had to make one for me, too!) My son’s hands will grow all too quickly…and now I have his little handprint preserved forever {sniff}.

I used a simple toothpick to engrave their names. I also put “2010” on the back side. Altho’ they aren’t yet dry (it takes 24 to 48 hours for Model Magic to air-dry), I carefully put the ribbon in. One less thing to do this busy holiday week.
Added bonuses? Model Magic is available at any craft store. I’ve even seen it in my local grocery store. It is super lightweight, so it won’t weigh down the Christmas tree branches. It also has a better chance of longevity as it won’t crack or break like plastic will. AND, the boys LOVED doing it! Note – have extra Model Magic on hand for them to play with after the handprints are done. Kept them busy for a LONG time!!!!
Hope you’re enjoying today – the 1st day of winter!

UPDATE: Robin received her precious handprint yesterday, and yes, it was the perfect gift. She smiled from ear to ear! And guess what? My mom did the exact same thing for me with my children, and just today gave me two wonderful impressions of their little hands. I am one lucky gal {big toothy grin}.

Gift Card in a Pinch

Good afternoon!

Had to come up with a fast baby gift card today, and it was so easy! I used SU!'s new textured 3x3 note cards (So Saffron) and their Very Punny Set and it came together fast.

Stamp the image in Stazon Jet Black and color with watercolor pencils and your Aquapainter. I used generic colors as the card is for a friend who is newly pregnant and it's too early to know girl or boy. Punch out with Creative Memories' Square Maker (1-1/4") and mount with a SU! DP Almost Amethyst Square (1-1/2"). Mount a scrap of SU! DP Certainly Celery across card, add white grosgrain ribbon with sticky tape and add the image on top with a pop-up glue dot. I find these glue dots work well when there is ribbon underneath. Personalize the inside to fit the gift recipient and you are DONE!

Enjoy your day...as my friend Tina often says ~ onward!

5-Minute Layout

Hi! I am so excited! Today I took a few minutes while Jewels was at preschool to work on some sample pages using Creative Memories (CM) new products for this month. I LOVE the Starry Night Album Kit and matching Starry Night Perfect Fit Paper Pack!!!! I used it here in this layout (recipe CASE'd from Splitcoatstampers about a year ago, didn't write down artist, so sorry!)

The scan came out kind of dull - look at the papers on my site at http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/cgraziano/catalog-index?event=productdetails&eventId=701&productGroupId=&categoryId=118&categoryIdParm=%7C118%7Cprod701%7C&pageTitle=Starry+Night+Album+Kit&relatedItem=N&qtyOrdered=&productId=&itemSku=&act=to see the true colors...they are just spectacular! I like the patterns and how they are subtle, but add a ton on texture and depth. I used the pink sparingly just to make the layout pop. The stickers saying "Warms the Heart" is from CM's Vintage Jumbo GL Titles Stickers.

Can't wait to try these papers for cards now!

Keeping it Simple

Sometimes I think that more is better. Recently I realized I'd be seeing a student (and friend) that just retired, I had to make up a card - fast! Since I pride myself on quality, immediately, I began pulling out everything to make one card. It was important to me that it be meaningful, but did I need all of my supplies, inks and papers to convey that? Not at all....

Once the dust settled, I pulled out a few Amuse supplies (I've just recently discovered this comany) and a Stampin Up! set. I had a completed, lovely card in under a few minutes - no kidding! Auntie Em loved it, and I loved watching her open it with delight.

Remember, less really is MORE!

How did I do this card? Using the SU Springtime Stems set, I stamped the pre-decorated Amuse card with SU Pale Plum background circles, then overstamped the circles with SU Perfect Plum flowers. I did the same on a scrap of Whisper White cardstock, and then punched it out using a Creative Memories mini circle maker. I stuck this circle to an Amuse creative candy clear sticker and then applied glitter to the back. Using a Pop-up glue dot, I adhered the sticker to the card front. Stamp the sentiment with Perfect Plum and it's done! This card also made an beautiful wedding card, too. Just change the sentiment.