Love @ Home Recipe Box Project

I’m headed over to Studio 5 this morning for a fun crafting segment. Here’s one of the projects I’ll be sharing. The theme of the segment is celebrating the little things, and this altered recipe box is a way to write down and keep track of those memorable moments. Simply write down the moments you want to remember on the enclosed notecards, which I created from lined patterned paper and cardstock. 

Here’s something I’d write down for the box. “I’m thankful for a husband who is kind enough to tell me when my L in “love” is upside down and who can tell me in a gentle way so that I don’t feel completely mental.” (BTW, the “L” has been switched since this picture was taken. 

I made divider cards for from cardstock and used chipboard buttons as the tabs. You can put in a divider card for each member of your family. 

Thanksgiving Alternative

Are you headed somewhere this Thanksgiving? If so, consider taking a recipe box with a favorite recipe or two as a hostess gift. Whether you create your box or buy a box, this is a thoughtful gift that I’m sure any hostess would appreciate!

Cheers!

P.S. For more of my Studio 5 projects, check out my segments here. 

Cuckcoo for Cone Crafts

Here’s an elegant fall craft to try, whether you’re decorating for Thanksgiving or just want to warm up your home as the weather outside cools. It’s a Happy Fall banner made from rolled paper cones. Call me a conehead, but I just can’t get enough of the paper cones. And this is yet another idea for creating with them. 

Step 1: Cut 6” x 6” cones from paper (I used vintage music paper), one square for each cone in your banner.

Step 2: Roll your paper through a paper crimper for added texture. (Note: This step is optional.)

Step 3: Cut two of the four edges of the square with decorative scissors. (This creates the decorative edge around the top of the cone.) 

Step 4: Fold corners of paper in to form cone shape, making sure the cut edges are at the top (the cone opening), and glue or staple cone into place.

Step 5: Punch holes in both sides of the cone. You will eventually string your cones onto your banner using these holes, so you’ll want a larger enough hole punch to fit your ribbon choice through. 

Step 6: Color cone with spray ink (optional). 

Step 7: Create accordion flowers from scraps of paper. Attach letters to centers of flowers to spell your banner’s greeting. (I spelled out “happy fall,” but you could also do words like “thankful,” “home,” “family,” or “love” if you want your banner to be less seasonal.) Adhere accordion flowers to cones.

Step 8: String cones to form banner. Note: I strung mine with tulle. This works well, because it holds the cones in place, where they might slide around on a thinner or smoother trim. 

Happy fall! 

Blog Follower Freebie

Guess what?! I have blog followers! Okay, so this is probably a nerdy statement, but I have much to learn about Blogger, and finding my followers is a relatively new thing. And I’m excited about this discovery.

With ALL of the incredible blogs out there (seriously, there are so many I could do nothing but blog bounce until I'm old and gray), I’m beyond honored that you would devote some of your blog time to me. I love that you were interested enough in the goings-ons here to click the “follow” button on the right side of the screen. I want to thank you followers with a little freebie fun. Every once in a while I’m going to randomly select a follower to receive a token of my appreciation. (Some may tell you this is also a weak attempt at gaining more followers. Lies. Lies, I tell ya.) ;)

This post’s Follower Freebie goes to cute Scrap Happy.

Thanks for your interest in my blog! I have a special gift with your name on it (a box o’ scrap delights that are sure to make you happy). Please e-mail me at M2E2G [@] aol.com with your mailing address, and I’ll get the fun in the mail.

And thanks to all of my friends who follow. Let's give away more goodies soon.

Cheers!

Thx and a card how-to

I have much to be thankful for, so I decided to share this Thx card with you. But I’d first like to thank a few friends:

1. Skipping Stones Designs for raising more than $1,000 for the Susan G. Koman Foundation last month in their blog hop. (BTW, today is the last day of an awesome 33% of promotion they have going on. If you’re in the market for new stamps, you should check them out.)
2. My talented friend Kimber, who helped Skipping Stones reach their wonderful goal by placing the winning bid for my cards and bracelet, as well as all of the other beautiful friends who put in bids.
3. My dear friend Reyanna, for sending a random package of kindness my way. It came just when I needed it, sweet girl!
4. My incredible pal Holly, who hosted an awesome craft boutique last Friday and let me participate. And all of the happy friends (new and old) who came out to enjoy a little creative fun.

What a delightful list! Now, let’s put this card together:

Step 1: Accordion fold strips of dictionary paper and fold to form flower shape; color flower with spray ink.

Step 2: Stamp “Thx” and punch out sentiment with circle punch. Adhere sentiment and splash of tulle to center of your accordion flower.

Step 3: Color doily with spray ink, cut doily into fourths, and fold fourth into cone to create leaf. Adhere leaf to card base with sewing machine.

Step 4: Cut strip of dictionary paper and stitch to card base to create grass.

Step 5: Attach flower to top of stitched stem to complete card.

Supplies: Cardstock: Die Cuts with a View; Stamp: American Crafts; Ink: Stampin' Up!; Spray ink: Tattered Angels; Glitter pen: Copic; Circle punch: Martha Stewart Crafts; Adhesive: Beacon's; Other: Dictionary paper, doily, and tulle.

Thx for visiting today!

A lost a friend and some found perspective

Image (and a tasty bread recipe) from tasteofhome.com

This weekend, the smell of homemade bread fills our house in honor of a friend who passed away a few days ago. Why bread? Well, she gave us our bread maker as a wedding gift, so it just felt like a good thing to do.

I’m struggling with this loss, which is natural. Losing a friend is hard. But this particular loss is hitting me on a few different levels. You see, she and Mom were both diagnosed with cancer right around the same time. (You can read more about Mom’s diagnosis here.)

The thing about cancer is it can go one of two ways. Mom’s has gone one way (she continues to heal and find some much needed strength), and our friend's, heartbreakingly, went the other way. It just goes to show you that life is incredibly unstable. Why are our hands dealt the way they are?

I was recently visiting a narcolepsy message board as I’m known to do on occasion, and I came across a thread about a person who said something along the lines of this, “Sometimes I’d rather be dead than have to deal with narcolepsy.” Narcolepsy is difficult and my heart absolutely goes out to this person, but I just can’t imagine feeling this way. Life is precious. Sure, having this illness is a pain in the ass, but we all have our challenges to deal with. At least our paths are still on the road of living. At least we still have time to eat those tasty doughnuts, to play with those rambunctious doggies, to hug the ones we love...to live!

I miss my friend. She was a very good, very gentle, very kindhearted woman. Her passing leaves an absence in this world. But I’m thankful I’m alive to miss her. I’m thankful Mom is alive to miss her. And whether it’s November, a wonderful month for expressing gratitude, or any other month of the year, I hope we can all recognize the blessings that surround us on our paths.

A Boutique and a Bracelet Sale

What are you doing this Friday? I have just the splash of happiness you need to welcome the weekend. It’s an Autumn Boutique, and you’re invited! Check out some of the delights you’ll find here.

My cute and VERY talented friend Holly Jones is hosting this shindig, and she’s kindly invited me to participate, so I’ll be there selling some of my crafts, including my handmade rosette bracelets. Here’s just a taste of what you’ll find.

Place an Online Order

Want a bracelet but won’t be able to attend the event this Friday? No worries, I also make them to order. Simply e-mail me at M2E2G [@] aol.com with the color(s) you want, and I’ll see that you have a bracelet (or lots of bracelets) just in time for the holidays. Yay!

Hope to see you (and your friends) this Friday! :)

Halloween Costume Party 2010

Yesterday, Cor and I had the pleasure of showing off our plumber’s cracks at a hauntingly good Halloween brunch. (Thanks, Brady and Andrew!)

We were asked to bring a little treat, so I went with Mario mystery boxes (AKA Ghirardelli chocolates covered with cardstock question marks.) I simply copied the question box from this website, pasted it several times in a Word file, and printed it on cardstock. I then cut it out and adhered it to the chocolate for a surprise sweet!

BTW, our costumes were inspired by this awesome 80s cartoon (and the game, of course). Do you remember this gem? "Come on, it's time to go. Do the Mario!"

Over at Cackling Keepsakes magazine, we didn’t dress up this year. Instead it was business as usual for our team. I kid. I kid. We came to work as a pretty coven of creepies.

For this celebration, I filled these small candle holders from IKEA with candy.

From cute candle holder to bubbling cauldron in minutes.

Naturally, I have a couple of puppy pics to share as well. Little Jack was my witchy-poo pup this year, complete with a candy corn bandana.

Kiss, feeling too old for the costume craze, opted for a Halloween t-shirt, which reads “No tricks, just treats!” As you can see by the shirts snug fit, he gets more than his fair share of treats.

I hope you (and your pets) had a happy Halloween!

Cheers!

A Happy (and quick) Halloween Craft

Here’s a quick (and super cute) project idea, whether you’re headed to a party this weekend and need a hostess gift or you’re hosting a frightening fiesta and are in need of a fun favor. It’s a rolled paper candy corn!

Fill the cone with candy corns and tie it up with a little baker’s twine for a cute and creative Halloween treat.

I made these in a matter of minutes with a little white cardstock, a hot glue gun, and a bit of tissue paper. Quick and easy! Download the pattern for free and find instructions for creating this sweet treat here.

Happy (and sweet) haunting!

Halloween Happiness: A Card & a Banner

My creative garden is full of accordion flowers right now. I just can’t seem to get enough of these fun-to-make paper pretties. Here's a spirited assortment!

Another spooky goodie I can’t get enough of is this paper from Making Memories. I love the bitty playing cards. Aren’t they cute? That’s right, I’m calling Halloween ghosts and goblins “cute.”

I recently sat down and made a few projects using accordion flowers and this freaky-fun paper. First, I cut out the bitty cards and strung them on black tinsel, creating a festive little banner, which I hung using a couple of my flowers.

To string the cards, I simply punched two holes in the top of each card and threaded them on the tinsel.

Whenever I pull out my camera, the pups automatically think it’s showtime. Here’s Jack posing with the banner.

And even though Kisses is far too big to be jumping up on this bench, he too decided to get in on the fun! Silly old dog.

It’s not too late to make and send a happy haunt of a greeting. I used the playing cards to make this p...p...p...poker card. I think it needs a little ‘splainin’. You see the black upside down V is supposed to be a carrot--a tool in editing that indicates you’re inserting a word. “Full Haunted House.” Get it? Yeah, it’s probably not the best card if it requires explanation, but I do like the play on words.

The playing cards pull out of the paper-crimped pocket. I think it would be fun to write little notes on the back of them.

And here’s a look at the inside, complete with a little spooky laughter!

Halloween is coming! Such a fun time to paper craft and watch old-school cartoons. Which cartoon is your favorite? I think I’ll go watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and have a little more flower fun.

Cheers!

Another Awesome October Occasion

October is a big month in the Hoeppner-Suggs household. As you know from my recent post, Cory and I were married in Oct. (Thanks for all of the lovely comments on that post. They put great big grins on our faces!)

We also adopted our sweet Jack from a shelter in October of 2007. He’s been a wonderful, bright, bouncy addition to our home and our family.

As you may remember from this post, my sweet Cory took his life back in Oct. 2008 when he checked himself into rehab after being on prescription pain meds (used as prescribed) for several years. This was a HUGE time in our lives. A turning point that we’ll never forget.

But these happy things aren’t why I’m writing today. I’m writing because today marks the 11-year anniversary of the day Cory and I met. We were just youngins when we met at Crapplebee’s on this night, 11 years ago, but it was easy to see that we were MFEO. (That’s a Sleepless in Seattle reference. Do you know what it means?)

11 years later, and I still get lost in these pretty eyes!

Anyway, I’m thrilled to celebrate this special occasion over a delicious oriental chicken salad at Crapplebee’s tonight. Yum! And, if you’re interested, you’re invited to read our silly love story here. With details including an abusive manager, a filthy bumblebee uniform, a bird-flippin’ teen sent from Heaven, and an adorable stranger in a sports car, how can you resist? ;)

This is a pic taken in those early years. It's pretty easy to see why I was smitten. What a cutie!

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I’ll be on Studio 5 again today. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll check it out this morning at 11:00. Here’s a peek at one of the projects I’ll be sharing. More on that in a future post.

Cheers!