Wedding favors...

 Finally finished the wedding favors for my friend's sister-in-law's wedding.   I made the first 25 for them for the wedding shower, but they liked them so much that they wanted 100 more for the wedding.  I ended up making 120 more for them.  :) 

I first decided that since I only had 25 to make, I would use the sizzix die that I bought at Michael's for $5, and put a piece of the lace paper on them. Problem was, when I cut the first one, it didn't cut all the way through.  So I used my handy dandy dentist pick, and poked out all the centers.  Yep, Poked out all the centers.  I had little paper dots everywhere!  LOL You know, back when I was stamping cards, they used to have this lace paper at the stores.  Not anymore.  OMG,  so I ended up doing this for all 120.

After gluing both papers on the mints, I tied a bit of hemp twine around the mints and I actually made the tags as well.  Tags are easy.  I usually lay them out like I'm making labels, and cut them with the paper cutter.  And I used the large crop-a-dile to punch the holes in the tags.

I was going to use the paper flowers that I found on clearance at Michael's but they ran out of them.  So, I found really pretty artificial roses that were the right size.  And I'd curl the ends of the twine with a little stick.

 Here is how they turned out:

 Since the wedding was a bit last minute, I just used different color flowers.  Thank goodness they didn't care about color, cause it was hard to find the colors that I needed to find.

 I think they turned out pretty cute.  :)

RIP Cory Monteith

 Most of you who know me know that I LOVE Glee.  And I am so saddened by the loss of such a talented young man with a beautiful soul.

I was up last night scrapping wedding photos of my step-son when the news came across the wire.  And I just couldn't believe that it was true.  Cory?  Really?? It can't be.

Sad but true, Cory died yesterday.  It hit me a lot harder than most celebrity deaths because we actually were lucky enough to actually meet him.  A friend of mine knows his roommate's mom, so she asked him to get us tickets for the last Glee concert in San Jose.

 He got us tickets to the show, and we also met him backstage.  It was funny cause we couldn't find where we were supposed to be when we got there, and he actually came out looking for us!  What a guy, to be worried enough to come out to find us.  LOL

 And while backstage we got some photos, but one of my favorite photos is of him taking the time to talk to his young fans.  That is what I really loved about him, he would stop what he was doing to talk to his fans, and to thank them.  There was also a young man in a wheelchair who didn't have backstage passes, but wanted to meet Cory.  The security guard asked him if it would be ok, and of course Cory said yes.  That really told me what kind of guy he was, just your everyday guy who appreciated where he was and the people who helped him to get there.

Thank you Cory for all the great memories, and great performances.  You will be missed so very much.

Wedding favors...

 And the weddings continue.  I've been working on wedding items for months now.  My step-daughter Ashley is having a reception BBQ in a couple of weeks, so we're gearing up for that, plus one of my co-workers' sister-in-law is getting married in a couple of weeks, so his wife asked me to help her out with the favors.  She found these really cute favors online, and asked me to help her to figure out how to make them.

Here is my version:
You get a roll of mints and cover them with Burlap printed paper.  And you can get the mints at Smart & Final in packages of 24.

I then put a strip of lace paper that I die cut with the Sizzix die cut machine.

Found the cute orange and yellow paper flowers at Michael's and printed the tags myself and cut them myself.  Put them all together with twine and you have this:

 Easy Peasy!  I even curled the twine using a small rod.

 I've also been making burlap flowers for my step-daughter to decorate for her reception:

 And making these paper flowers using Martha Stewart's Hydrangea flower punch and pearl centers from Michael's.

 These are 3 different flowers colored with different methods.  The first one I rubbed the burlap with a Tim Holtz distress stamp pad before putting together,  The second one I sprayed with pink spritz after I made the flower, the third one I sprayed with pink spritz after making the flower.  I like how they came out.

 And I'm now getting into the medallions that my friends have been doing for years.  I used the Tim Holtz die for these:

Am making pins with a couple of these.  Will post those later.

Wedding reception crafts...

 So, my step-daughter and son-in-law (step son in law?) decided to have a bbq to celebrate their marriage.  And of course, we're making many of the items we're going to be using at the reception.  She's going for an outdoor chic style since her brother had used the outdoors theme.  So, we went on pinterest, found some really cool things to make, and now are implementing the ideas that we liked.

First up, cake plates made from plates and candle holders.  We've found some really great plates and candle holders at the $1 store and Target/Walmart/Home Goods.  I loved the pale blue plates, and used the candlesticks that were going to be for my son's weddding.  I think they turned out really pretty.  I found the wood candlestick on clearance at Cost Plus, and the very large plate at the Goodwill store.

 I just love the look of the plates, they are so vintage looking!

 Then Ashley saw some burlap flowers that she liked on etsy, but knew that I could make them for her, so there's my try at Burlap flowers.

 I used the flowers on this really cool box that she found, and used a big piece of lace that I just fell in love with!

This should be such a really pretty reception.  I can't wait to see how we put this all together.

Weddings!

 Last week was the week of weddings for me.  Both my step-daughter and step-son were married!

My step-daughter married her longtime boyfriend, Alex in a civil ceremony.  He's been a big part of our lives for such a long time, it was such a happy day for us when he became part of our family.  

Here is a photo of all of us at the ceremony.  It was a surprise for all of us, they just decided at the last minute to get married.  A very nice surprise.  It was a simple ceremony, and then we all decided to go to dinner at the Cheesecake factory.  A very special day for us all.

 

 My step-son's marriage ceremony was a planned event on our niece's family's ranch.  It was a very nice ceremony, and we had a great party later.

My step-daughter was one of the bridesmaids, and they dressed in Indian clothes.  She looked so very pretty! 

 

 Here are the cousins.  Al, Diane, Ashley, Heather, Sofia, and Alex.

Phil with the newlyweds.

So happy for both kids that they have found happiness!

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Yarn Bomb & Tahoe.

 Today we were walking in Downtown San Mateo and we came across this really cool Yarn Bomb.  I just love the little guy on the bicycle.  I can't imagine how long it took to do this, it takes me awhile to make one scarf.  I just love it!!

 Last weekend my daughter invited us to go to Tahoe with them  So of course we jumped at the chance.  Phil and I went up a day early just to have a couple of extra days off to the weekend.  And it was just beautiful up there.  Love the snow!

Of course we had to stop at our favorite places while we were there.  Our first stop was Cabela's.  And I could not believe how empty some of the shelves were in the store.  You know, the ammo shelves.  It's just unbelievable how in one year you can go from having stock in certain items to nothing at all.

 Here's a picture of us driving into Kings Beach.  I just love the lake and just the calmness of life out there.  I don't know if it's just cause we're on vacation, or if it's just the attitude of people out there, but I know someday I'll have to live out this way.

 Especially since rush hour traffic in Reno was like this:

 Here's a photo of Phil and Alex in Cabela's. 

 And of course we had to eat at our favorite place, Lanza's.  LOVE their deep fried ravioli.

 This is their deep fried mozzarella cheese.

 My most favorite dish that they make is chicken marsala.  Can you say YUM?

 Here is the cabin we stayed in, it's actually a townhouse.  It was so nice to stay there and relax.  No worries at all. The one bad thing was not being wired to the internet.  But that was kind of a good thing cause we all got to sit around and talk to each other.

 This is the view leaving the cabin.  It's absolutely beautiful!

Queen Anne's Lace Scarf

 Lately I've really been into crocheting.  I saw some things that I really like that people have made, and I really wanted to challenge myself to read patterns because I was SO confused by them with all their abbreviations.  They really looked like a different language to me.  So, I started out watching videos, and then decided to jump in on a few patterns.  I made a baby blanket for a co-worker's new baby.  That was a challenge for me because I had to concentrate on one pattern for a long time.  LOL  (Of course I forgot to take photos of the blanket).

I have crocheted different scarves.  And of course, no photos.  The Knifty Knitter loom is really fun to use, and I made a few scarves with that.  But this just caught my eye the other day, the Queen Anne's Lace pattern.  And I just had to try it.  The pattern I found  on Pinterest through 1craftyboy's weblog. 

I don't know why I tried a pattern without photos, but I did.  And I used the Red Heart Super Saver Camo yarns cause I just love all the different colors. I've always loved lots of colors as a little kid.  So this is how they've turned out:

The above photo is the "Urban Camo" yarn.  Love the grey/blue colors.

But I really love how the Platoon scarf came out. Love the different shades of brown. 

I'm working on the "Camoflage" yarn right now, and have a purple shimmer one as well.  Will post as I go along.

Felt Fortune Cookies

 So on pinterest, I saw these really cool felt fortune cookies from the Martha Stewart website.  They looked so cool and look easy to make.  So of course I pinned them, thinking they would make a really great favor or something, and I should check them out later.

So, the day after Valentine's day, one of the guys at work asked if I had some construction paper in my office.  Well, no, but I had some scrapbook paper in my car. And of course, I had to know why he wanted to have some construction paper.

He had actually made the felt fortune cookies, and wanted to cover the Chinese food box with the colored paper!  Luckily for him I also had some heart templates in my car... (Don't ask me why I have those things in my car, but I do).  LOL

I think he did a great job on the "Fortune Cookies" and at decorating the box.  What a great gift!  And the Slim Jim chopsticks are pretty cool too!

Great job Dan!  :)

Go Niners! and scarves

 It's been awhile since I've posted, and a lot of things have been happening in my world.   Most importantly the Niners are going to the Super Bowl!!  I'm so excited.  My family has been 49er fans since forever, so this is so very exciting for all of us in the Bay Area.  Of course the day they won the NFC Championship, I was on my traditional trip to Sports Authority to buy my shirts to wear the next day to work.  And I wasn't the only Niner fan who was excited that they won...

These guys came in cheering and jumping around.  It was so very cool!  They even posed for a photo for me.  :)  Only bad part was the store we got our shirts from only let each of us buy one shirt and one hat each.  Normally I buy for my folks, sisters, and niece.  But this time only I got the shirt.

 I was a bit bummed at the fact.  But I saved a bunch of money by waiting.  Since I have to mail out stuff to my sisters, I could get theirs at a different store.  Hmmm, maybe I'll do that when they win the Super Bowl??  LOL

I found this shirt at Walmart last night:

 I just LOVE Kaepernick.  Yep, I do.  So I was SO excited when Phil saw this shirt at Walmart.  Of course I had to get one for me and one for my mom.

 This is the front of the shirt.  And of course, I went back today and they were sold out!  I'm so bummed. I shoulda woulda coulda bought everyone's yesterday.    Oh well.  We'll see what happens next week!

So my new thing is that I've relearned how to crochet.  I've seen so many cool scarves, so I thought I could actually do this.  I started researching and watching videos on youtube.  The internet is such an amazing thing.  I can't read a pattern worth a darn, so the videos have been so very helpful.

 Here are the ruffle scarves I've made with Sashay yarn.  They're so easy and quick to make.

My niece Heather on her way out to New Year's Eve in SF, wearing the scarf I made for her.  She said she's had a bunch of compliments on it.  :) 

So I'm still in crochet mode.  Will have to check in again with more scarves I'm making.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!