Busy, busy, busy!

Yes, I'm still blogging.  No, I didn't die or disappear.  I've just been super-duper busy over this past week.

After my last post about the monogram I made my friend Julie, 

I received a lot of interest in making them for others.

So, I've spent the past several days making examples for people, and I've actually received two orders!  I've really had minimal problems with the actual designing and cutting of the monogram, but I've been pulling my hair out when it comes to the glass in the frames!  Out of the four I've made, TWO pieces of the glass have broken while I've tried to take them out of the frame!  It's been really frustrating, especially when it's been late at night and the store isn't open.  Hobby Lobby did replace the glass in one for free, (and I didn't even ask for them to do it for free), so I am going to take the second one in and see if they will replace it, too.

But even with all of my glass problems, I've finally managed to finish my two paying orders.

I'm trying to copy Kim Wheeler's wrapping style.  HAHA!

I'm delivering one tonight, and the other on Sunday.  I hope they like them as much as I do!

I've also had people wanting to know if I am selling these.  The answer is YES!  If you live local to me (within 60 miles) or can meet me where I work in Georgia, I can make this either with the frame or without the frame.  

If I would have to mail to you, unfortunately, I can only do it without the frame.  As much trouble as I've had with the glass breaking, I just couldn't guarantee it would arrive in one piece.

The frames have a 12" x 12" opening and the entire thing measures approximately 15" x 15", depending on the actual frame I'm able to find.  The vinyl on these are actually put on the outside of the glass, to make it have a 3-dimensional look.  The vinyl can be put on the inside of the glass or on the actual cardstock.  The color and sheen of the vinyl does look different if put on the inside of the glass, that's why I prefer to put it on the outside. 

I can also do less intricate designs, similar to this:

 Or if you have a font that you love, I can use that, too!  These are completely custom!

The price with the frame is $40.00

The price without the frame is $25.00

So, if you would like one of these for yourself or for a gift, please contact me at:

robinandmarty1@yahoo.com

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!!

Birthday present accomplished!

This weekend was my great friend, Julie's birthday!

This was at Miss Mal's 1st birthday party.

Most of the time, I'm the gift card queen.  I love receiving gift cards, so I like giving them to others, too!  But since it was Julie's special day and she gave me such a fantastic gift for Christmas:

I wanted to do something a little extra-special for her on her birthday.

I decided to put my Silhouette to work and this is what I came up with:

I've been wanting to try doing something like this for a while and felt that this would be the perfect opportunity.  Even though there are a few mistakes, I am tickled at how it turned out!

Happy {25th} Birthday Julie!

We love you very much!!

Somebody is having a special 1st birthday!

I cannot believe that precious baby Mallory is going to be ONE in just a few weeks!

It seems like she was just born yesterday!

Her mama, Julie, and I have been working on and planning her birthday party for the past 11 months. (What? Doesn't every first-time mom plan birthday parties months in advance???)  Everything is going to be so cute!

One of the biggest things I've been working on is the invitations.  Since I am completely in love with my Silhouette softwear, I just knew I had to try to make something extra-special for this precious little girl!

Julie and I have scanned the Internet for months, and finally found "the one" on Pinterest a couple of months ago.  All credit for this idea goes to the original designer on Pinterest.  We changed the colors around a little to match the party better, and we think it turned out fantastic!

(Edited for personal information)

I just love how the pictures show her growth from little baby, to an "almost" one year old little girl!

We have so many super-cute plans for this party!  I can't wait to share them all with you!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful and fantastic week!

I guess I will just do one project at a time.

I love Halloween!

I have so many cute and wonderful ideas running around in my head.  My Pinterest boards are filled with incredible things that I want to do to this house.

BUT, I just can't seem to get anything finished.  I totally envy all of the people out there who grab all of their decor things, and have it all put up and finished within a day or two.

HOW DO Y'ALL DO IT????

I know what I want to do, I just can't seem to pull it all together and get it done.  I guess I will just always be one of those people who live in an unfinished house!

So frustrating!

Well, since I can't get everything complete, I guess I will do just one project at a time.

This weekend, I managed to complete one more thing to go on my front porch.  Just like everything else, I got the idea from Pinterest.  LOL

(Sorry for the horrible pictures, it was already dark outside by the time I got them put where I wanted).

I cut vinyl out with my Silhouette and just stuck them to the pumpkins.  That way, when I want to try something else, I can just peel everything right off!

I'm still not anywhere near finished, but hopefully I can get close by doing one project at a time!

I hope you all are having a wonderful and fantastic week!

Pinterest strikes again!

I've talked many times about my obsession with Pinterest.  You can find ideas on just about anything and everything.  So, when I was trying to come up with a creative idea to wrap a gift card, I went straight to Pinterest!

I have been crazy about these owls since I first started looking:

Detailed instructions HERE.

I thought these would be perfect for gift cards!

Luckily, I had already downloaded a free pattern for the pillow box shape for my Silhouette.  I sized the pattern to make it fit on one piece of paper, then I figured out the sizes for the other pieces and created those shapes with the Silhouette software.  I found some cute papers, and started cutting.  It took very little time to put everything together (glue dots would have made my task a lot easier!).  I couldn't believe that it actually looked like an owl when I was finished!

It is the absolute perfect size for a gift card!

Since I decided to use this instead of a card, I wanted to make sure I had the name and a message on the owl.

I loved it, but I still thought it needed a little something...

Ahhhhh, much better!

Happy Birthday to my sister, Diane (on Sunday)!  I love you and I hope you have a fantastic day!

If you would like to make some owls of your own, go HERE for instructions!

Colorful Birthday Party Banner

I finally got the opportunity to make another banner for someone and I have been really excited.  I'm excited because it will be my first banner since I bought my Silhouette!

Up until this point, I've only used it mainly for small vinyl projects like my mailbox:

and my chalk board:

I have been TOTALLY in love with the Silhouette software, too!  I have been able to make some really cute cards using the software:

So a few weeks ago, when a coworker asked me to help with a surprise birthday party for my boss, I jumped at the chance to make a few things! 

I just happened to be Dr. O's nurse when she turned the big 5-0, ten years ago. We went wild with the black and white "Over the Hill" decor all over the office.  There may have also been signs up-and-down the Interstate that marked her path to work.  And there may have been a HUGE sign plastered on the side of our building, too. 

This time we wanted everything to be really bright and colorful and I hope I managed to do that!

I spent a lot of time looking through different blogs and Google images, trying to find some fun ideas.  This is the banner I managed to come up with:

When it's hanging at the party, it will say "Happy Birthday Dr. O".  It's hanging this way because of the length of the strings...LOL

I was able to use the Silhouette to cut the outer white and colored borders and also used it to cut out the letters.  And OH let me tell you, how much easier it is to cut out the letters!  Normally, I cut all the letters out by hand and it is extremely time consuming.  Now, it literally takes minutes to cut out the letters!

It cut the letters out so quickly, I actually cut them out of white and black cardstock and stacked them to give the letters a three dimensional look!  They seriously look "cartoon-like" in person.  SO CUTE!  I love the way the letters turned out so much, I wish I had put a black border under the patterned paper, too.

Next time....next time.....

I also made these cute and colorful goody bags:

I thought these could be scattered on the table for color and then everyone could take a baggie home with them!

I can't wait for her to see everything Saturday and I hope she likes it!

Oh, and if you KNOW my boss, PLEASE don't say anything to her until after Saturday!  LOL

My Post-Christmas week is looking up!

Since this Christmas would have to be one of the worst I've ever had, this week is looking much better!

First, I am starting to feel more human again.  I'm still walking around in a Tamiflu-induced brain fog, but at least I feel like I will actually live!

Marty was able to finish getting everything cleaned out of the old place, so that chapter of our lives is now officially closed!

However, I'm not convinced the garage will ever be the same again!

 It is going to be interesting to see what crap treasures I can find in all the clutter.  I will definitely have to keep you all updated with my finds!

The black and silver under the plastic wrap?  My prom dress from 1987.....

And finally, I may have gotten something that I have wanted for a L-O-N-G time in the mail today...

This is my first attempt like 10 minutes after I got it out of the box!

I've only tried a few things, and so far, it's FANTASTIC!  I can't wait to start creating!

I hope this good week will carry over into a fantastic 2011!