Third Time's a Charm!

When Saucy announced her Halloween Charm Bracelet Swap I knew I wanted to participate right away! Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays, and this is the first time I've ever participated in a swap - what a great way to start!

Essentially, there are about two dozen of us making a set of 12 charms each. We mail them all to Saucy who divvies them up and sends us back a charm bracelet kit complete with twelve charms from the aformentioned bloggers. NEAT-O!

I knew right away that I wanted to do something with Shrinky Dinks to make my charms. This is funny, because I've never used Shrinky Dinks before. But in true Joanne fashion I figured I'd just work it out as I went along and it would be easy as pie!

Well... it WAS easy, in theory....

I just made some SILLY mistakes along the way...

Learning curve?

After two failed batches (trial and error folks, trial and error!) I finally had a finished product I was proud of.

To make my pumpkin charms, I used a pumpkin stamp stamped in black ink on paper, and with the Shrinky Dink plastic over the top I traced my pumpkins in black Sharpie marker.



Once dry, I flipped the plastic over and colored the pumpkins with an orange Sharpie marker.


I then cut them all out, and punched a hole in each with a regular sized hole punch.


After that they went into the oven for some shrinking magic!



I sealed the colored side of the charms with a coat of clear nail polish, which gave the charms a nice sheen, and then added 6mm rings to each.


Then it was time to package them individually for the swappers...



And wrap them up (just for fun - check out the ribbon!) and mail off to Miss Saucy!


I can't wait to get my charms back and assemble my bracelet - don't worry, I'll be sure to share pics!

So reader, what Halloween-y projects are you working on right now? Do share! And expect to see more SPOOKY things on Ready, Set, Craft very soon!

Stampin' Up!

As I mentioned before, I am now a Demonstrator for Stampin' Up! Stampin' Up! is a fabulous range of rubber stamps, cardstocks, scrapbook paper, punches, inks, ribbons and so much more! They have beautiful color choices and everything coordinates. The products are well made and long lasting - and I just really enjoy using them!

I became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator both to further my knowledge and share my love for stamping and card making. It's so easy! You don't have to be "artsy" to enjoy or be good at stamping!

As a Demonstrator, I can lead parties your home with you acting as hostess (you can receive free stamps and discounts on merchandise just by hosting a party!), lead workshops and classes in my home, and teach classes elsewhere as well.

Coming up, I have four in-home parties, two classes at the YMCA, and several Christmas Card classes in the works as well. I'm very much looking forward to sharing Stampin' Up! with friends old and new!

If you live in Michigan and would like to host a party or class, or just attend one, do let me know! I can travel all over the state and would be happy to get together with you and your riends for some stamping fun!

If you live out of state, but are interested in learning more about Stampin' Up!, I can put you on my distribution list for catalogs, specials, and promotions, and you can order with preferred pricing through me on the Stampin' Up! website! Just let me know!

I'm busy prepping for all of my upcoming stamping events, and thought I'd share a few samples with you. I'm not necessarily going to demo all or any of these particular projects, but thought you might like to see all the same!

Have a wonderful weekend!

4x6 card using "In Color" inks and stocks with "For All You Do" stamp set

4x6 card using "In Color" inks and stocks with "All Natural" stamp set

2x2 gift cards using "In Color" inks and stocks with "For All You Do" stamp set

Tablecloth & Bulletin Board Tutorials

Now that Fall is creeping up on us and I'm spending a little less time outside, I've been antsy to get going on some projects around the house.

Since I'm working on my masters full-time and will be spending lots of time studying and at the computer, I figured the office needed a bit of a makeover first.

My office is a very small room, and while we have two desk workspaces they are both in use with a large computer monitor, printer, etc. I wanted just a little more space to work.

In addition to adding some shelving, I had this little table that had been sitting in a closet since we moved into our house. I whipped up a little tablecloth to cover it...

Tablecloth Tutorial:

1) Cut a piece of fabric (I used lightweight decorator fabric) the approximate size that you would like your table cloth. My fabric was 37 inches square.

2) Zigzag all the way around to stop fraying.

3) Fold and press a hem using the zig zag as a guide.

4) Fold and press again to completely cover rough edge of fabric. Then stitch all the way around! I used a pretty decorative leaves stitch on my machine. Love!

It's the perfect place for our in/out box trays and page-a-day calendar. Removing those things from my desk gives me some more open workspace.

Once I was done with the tablecloth, I attacked an old bulletin board that was hanging in our kitchen but never got any use. I figured it would be better used in the office.

Fabric Bulletin Board Tutorial:

1) Spray paint bulletin board the color of your choice.

2) Drape fabric over bulletin board and cut to size.

3) Fold and press edges.

4) Place on board to check size.

5) Begin at one corner and staple along each edge as close to the frame as possible.

6) Pull tightly as you go.

7) Continue pulling and stapling all the way around. You may have some excess fabric on some sides, fold it under before stapling.

8) Finished!

It was fun to make over my office a little bit! Now I'm off to finish re-organizing and making my space a clean, relaxing and workable work space! I hope you enjoyed my tutorials!

PJ Pants Phase Two & Labor Day Sale

Have you been just dying for an update on the PJ pants?! : )

Well... after a slight mishap...

(Oops! One leg is inside out!)

I finished them! I actually got them done mid-week last week and have been holding out for a picture of me in them before I posted. Ta Da!


Now, there are certainly some things I would do differently. For instance, the waist to crotch measurement is really long. I'd definitely take some more fabric off the waist and make the waist to crotch shorter if I made them again. I think I might try the size smaller actually. I like big and comfy pants but these are pretty large.

As I was working on constructing these pants I was awed by how much I have picked up throughout life from my mother - the sewing queen - without even realizing! I knew exactly how to put the elastic through the waistband because I had watched her thread elastic through hair scrunchies for me a million times when I was a little girl. So many little things came easier than I think they would have if I'd never been around sewing before.

So now that the PJ pants are done it's off to other things! I've already completed a little home decor project that I'll be posting later today...

This past weekend JoAnn Fabrics had a CRAZY sale for Labor Day! I HAD to check it out of course! Here's what I came back with...


Would you believe me if I told you that all of this cost me just $20? No joke. $20 even! The patterns were on sale for $1.99, the notions were buy one get one free, and flannel was on sale for 50% off! Score!

I purchased some cutsie kiddo flannel to make some PJ pants for the little ones in my life for Christmas gifts. What do you think?




I hope that you're all having a wonderful week! Check back soon for more sewing, cupcaking, stamping, and Halloween goodness!

September Cupkins: Caramel Apple Cupcakes!

Today is the first Monday of the month and the first official Cupkins post - a collaboration between myself and Meg at Mega•Crafty. We hope that you enjoy our recipes!

Fall is well on its way, and what better way to welcome it than with some apple-y goodness? I LOVE those caramel apple suckers that come into the stores for Halloween around this time of year, and it was my inspiration for this cupcake!

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

For the cupcakes...

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 2 cups Granny Smith apples peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, beat eggs with milk, butter and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.

Add to egg mixture; stir just until moistened. (Do not overmix.)

Stir in apples.

Pour into pan filling each at least 2/3 full. Cupcakes will NOT rise a lot!

Bake 18-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting...

1/2	cup butter or margarine
1	cup packed brown sugar
1/4	cup milk
2	cups powdered sugar

Melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat.

Stir in 1 cup brown sugar.

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat.

Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

Gradually stir in powdered sugar.


And for fun...

Garnish with a caramel apple sucker. Yum!


Now, click on the button below to head over to Meg's and check out her Apple Cider Muffins - delicious!