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Now that May is upon us, time to post March crafts! Ha! I was going to combine it with April crafts but I did not do much in April. I’ve been slowing down the swapping so I can better concentrate on other things. My mailbox will surely be lonely! I haven’t stopped swapping completely, just being more selective.

I’m kinda being lazy to write descriptions but they are all for swaps except for the 6 shirt, which I made for Sienna’s birthday. The wire bracelet with red seed beads and hemp and leather bead bracelet was for a Covert Robin swap.

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A quick update of the creative things I’ve been doing. There’s more than what I am posting but these are ones I want to remember (for good or for bad!) I hope to update with a March one!

Journal page swap. My word for 2013. Not doing so well with it so far! HA! Done with gesso, stencils and ink sprays. Word handwritten but style copied from graffiti creator

Rainbow journal page swap. Do not like but posting in the hopes that I will look back at this and marvel at how far I’ve come!

For a handcarved stamp swap.

Made this for Sienna’s bestie using spray inks and stencils

For a friend’s son’s birthday. He’s a Monty Python and dragon fan!

These 2 were for a stamped masterboard swap. Tutorial here.

These cards are pretty self explanatory! The first card was used with a stamped masterboard I received. The Valentine’s card is used with Shimmer Sheetz and Sizzix embossing folder and sanded (maybe alcohol ink too? Can’t remember!)

Made this for Yves for Valentine’s day. File from the Silhouette store.

For a doodle me some notecards swap. I really am happy with how they came out!

For a Keepsake Book swap. Front and 1 spread shown. Too lazy to post all the spreads. Tutorial here.

Envelope book swap. Front and 1 spread. This uses business size envelopes and scrapbook paper. Tutorial here.

Gift tags using hand carved stamps

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I may have not posted much, especially my crafts, but I’m still making stuff! For Christmas I decided to sew some pencil cases for the kids and wanted to try a new pouch pattern. I probably have only pulled out my sewing machine twice before my sew-a-thon the week before Christmas so I guess I made up the time!

I had wanted to make Sienna a pencil case since the start of school and I’ve used Noodlehead’s pattern before so I knew it was a good one. I made Sienna’s and Emma’s using Princess fabric and Sylvie’s using Hello Kitty, both fabrics from Japan.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the names. I actually made a mistake with Emma’s and Sylvie’s (the names aren’t on the same side) but when I did it first on Emma’s, I liked it so repeated it with Sylvie’s. I made Nico’s using Superman fabric.

I liked how I positioned his name on each side. I also made a Snoopy one for a swap. It was also my first time making a key fob from this tutorial.

The new pattern I wanted to try is called a mini clutch from Sew4Home. Since this was the first time making one, I made one for myself first to work out any kinks.

I think I actually did better on the first one than I did with Jessica’s (Emma’s mom). The sizing on hers is a little smaller but her phone is smaller than mine so it worked out!

I also made Jessica this bracelet, since she admired the one I made for myself:

I was struggling to figure out what to give for Sienna’s teacher, since she lost her house due to Hurricane Sandy (she lived in Breezy Point. The surfer that died in Puerto Rico was who saved her and her husband!). What do you give someone that lost everything? Your standard smelly soaps seemed kind of silly. And Sienna’s suggestion of buying her a house was noble but not realistic! LOL. So, remembering that the teacher has an art background, I decided to make her one of my coptic stitch journals. Only the 3rd one I ever made! I covered it with mulberry paper and used watercolor paper inside. I think it came out rather nice! I also sewed her a bookmark/pen holder (I’ve made before) and key fob. Sienna picked out the fabric for the key fob. You might not be able to tell but it’s owls. The teacher told Sienna how she was just saying the other day how she needed a journal!

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This might end up being a big post so I can be up to date on the crafts I have done. Some date back to March, like this shirt I made for Sienna’s birthday!

Me and Sienna made this pirate hat and eye patch together as part of the monthly kit I signed her up for called Kiwi Crate. She loves getting the box in the mail!

I also made a few notecards that I’m showcasing each separately since they are all different. I had a lot of fun with these, using stencils, stamps and embossing folders.

This embroidery was for a swap via Wild Olive’s blog. My partner loves unicorns.

This was for a swap to carve a set of stamps to create a scene. My partner is a gardener.

I made this juggler stationery using a stencil I made with my Cameo machine.

This kit was for a DIY art-o-mat swap. Learn more about art-o-mat here. I provided materials to make a macramé bracelet and made a little booklet of instructions.

This is the outside of an egg carton decorated for the Easter Egg Hunt swap. I put little Easter themed items inside eggs. Unfortunately, I got flaked on for this swap!

A butterfly pendant

A faux dichroic glass pendant using Friendly Plastic. Looks a lot better in real life.

A felt skull keychain

A skull wire wrap ring

A t-shirt for Nico’s 6th birthday! Made with vinyl and Cameo.

A macramé bead bracelet for Sienna’s Pre-K assistant teacher.

A set of notecards for Sienna’s main Pre-K teacher.

The card I made for her

And the necklace I made her (the pendant is glitter, resin, vinyl)

Another faux dichroic pendant, I think I like it better smaller and with a focal point.

I did the same pendant again for a swap via Craftaholics Anonymous Summer Gift Exchange but I also made the cord. Her favorite colors are pink and black. I used the kumihino technique.

And finally, a nerd pendant. I was inspired by these awesome pendants and wrote out nerd myself and scanned it in.

Whew! I made it through! If you are still reading down here, thank you! I haven’t done much crafting in July but the month isn’t over yet. But don’t think I haven’t been creative! I’ve been taking Joanne Sharpe’s Letter Love class (part of my birthday present from the hubs) and getting into some zentangle with another Joanne, Joanne Fink.

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I had a groupon for Brooklyn Bead Box that I bought last year. I finally used it last month for a wire wrap ring class even though I had pinned a wire wrap ring tutorial on my pinterest. I like to take classe as you never know what tips and tricks you can learn and it’s focused time. No other distractions (except all the beautiful beads and jewelry that surrounds you!) Well, I loved the class! The teacher was super cool and the class was small (we were 3 and it goes up to 4). I think I made about 4 rings. The technique they taught was slightly different than the tutorial on my pinterest. At home I tried the tutorial and I like both ways. So, can you say addicted? Here’s the rings I made in class.

This was the very first ring I made. The stone was like 50 cents so I was ok with it if I screwed up. I think I did pretty well!

This stone was pretty big, that’s why there is wire across it as well. I have yet to wear this one. I’m ambivalent on this one.

I think this one is my favorite. I love that it’s not round and I like the colors.

I couldn’t resist this pink skull! This one is a little awkward as I wanted to make the skull look right side up, which means the holes are on the top and bottom. It’s easier to wrap when the holes are on the sides. I might do this one over as the bead is a little loose.

Here is what I made at home from the tutorial.

The stone is from the bead shop and I thought it would be fun to use a bright wire for it.

Bead from my stash. I really love how this one came out. I wear it the most, I think. Until the black started scratching off. I realized that the wire I used is square, as opposed to round, which I guess makes it more prone to scratches. The scratches are on the other side, I wanted to show the good side!

I made this pink stone ring for Sienna. She asked me to make her one after seeing all the rings I was making for myself. She still hasn’t worn it for more than 5 minutes!

The bee is a mood bead that I bought from beadaholique. I thought it would be fun, although I don’t know how accurately it reads your moods! HA!

I just made this ring today for a swap. I haven’t mailed it yet so I hope my partner is not reading this! The bead is actually a swarovski crystal button and it changes color depending on what it is reflecting.
And some earrings too:

Wire wrapped rhinestone chain around a ring. Got the idea from ornamentea. Their so sparkly and kinda fancy. Haven’t worn them yet!

These earrings are copied from the bookA Bounty of Bead and Wire Earrings that I got from the library. Lots of inspiration in the book.

And here is the last item, a wire wrapped pendant. I usually glue a bail to the back but thought this would be more interesting. I made this for a swap and my partner should be receiving it any day now. I hope she likes it.

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Let’s get right to the crafts I haven’t posted yet, those that weren’t heart related.

I hosted a swap called Anything But My Heart in the hand carved stamps group. Carve something love related that isn’t a heart. These are the ones I made my partner. Only 1 other person joined so it was like a private swap. My partner sent me 2 bunnies kissing. Super cute! I’ll need to post a photo of that one!

These 3 photos were not for swaps but for one of Sienna’s best buds from school. It was Emma’s birthday on Jan. 31st so I made the front of her card while Sienna decorated the envelope and wrote on the inside. I made the shirt too. I always forget how easy the glitter heat vinyl can mess up especially when I use the newer (and hotter) iron. If you look closely enough, perhaps you can see the mess up?

Another birthday card, this one is for Daniel. As you can see, he turned 2 and he likes trains. The pop up is from the Silhouette store.

Before getting back to swap crafts, I made the top shirt for Daniel also. I gave it to Shirley at her baby shower brunch in January and didn’t give her the onesie until she gave birth to Lucila in February (they opted to be surprised!)

I crocheted this rose and made it into a pin for the How Do I Love Thee swap I hosted.

A huge 4 inch wide stamp I carved of a coffee cup for a Wacky Holiday swap. My partner was in search of a rubber stamp of this size so I thought I would carve her one. Forgot what holiday I made this for!

January 23rd was Asian New Year and it was Year of the Dragon. I joined a card swap for that. The dragon pop up was free online and I traced it in my Silhouette program so I wouldn’t have to cut it by hand. The Cameo spoiled me! I also had the Cameo write the sentiment on the front of the card.

I was excited that I won the My Friendship Bracelet Maker on a blog so I joined a friendship bracelet swap! It was really fun to make and I’ll have to make some more.

Another chalkboard pin!

I can’t remember the swap I made this for but this is so cute, I have to make a set for myself!

I made this one for a pendant swap. The star is a bezel and I embedded some gems inside with diamond glaze colored with some pearl ex.

oop! A Valentine card that I guess did not make it into the heart post. I crocheted the heart although it doesn’t really look like a heart, does it?

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For the Monster Brooch swap, my partner justingrid. Based off a cute monster I saw in the Silhouette store!


These bracelets are for the Happy Crafters USA Favorite Craft swap and my partner ncsue. I’ve just started learning macramé and I love it! The first one is from the book Micro Macramé Jewellery that I have renewed from the library like 3 times already! The bottom one is kumihimo, something else I just started learning as well.


These 2 are not for swaps but for 2 friends that had babies recently. A former coworker of mine had a baby girl in August and another friend actually had her baby boy back in April so that one was a little late! I made the Brooklyn onesie, the Texas state and the “live with my parents” items with the Silhouette (as well as the bibs) and the month/date onesie is an iron on.

Bookmark for my swap partner whose name is Catherine!

Some Halloween cards I made at a Rubber, Paper, Ink meetup I went to in September!

A Pumpkin and Jack O Lantern stamp carve for my partner LavendarLizard.

A Birthday card for Sienna’s friend Leah!

For the Round 15 Craft Your Partner A Craft. Patterns from the same book I mentioned above!

For the Handmade Halloween/Spooky Charm swap. Even though the swap didn’t require the necklace, I wanted to macramé one anyway! Pattern from the same book mentioned above! For the pendant, I stamped a spider onto Halloween themed scrapbook paper and then embossed the whole thing with sparkly embossing powder and then coated with UV resin.

This pendant was made the same way as mentioned above. It was included with other goodies in the coffin shown below for the Halloween in a Trick-or-Treat baggie swap.

My partner likes skulls, as do I, so I made this for her the same way as the other pendants. Another Halloween swap, Halloween in a treat bag!

I made 3 of these adorable bats (from the new Super Cute Felt book by Laura Howard, I really love the book, BTW!)

And here’s that coffin I told you about. I used Martha Stewart’s template and traced it in my Silhouette program.

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I joined a superheroine swap and found out my partner likes She-Ra. I thought it was quite convenient as Sienna is really into She-Ra too (yay for Netflix streaming!) I suppose I should also link this photo too!

Made for a swap and sent to a Gone With The Wind fan. I guess I should watch that movie one day!

Cut the elephant with my Silhouette. I really like how this came out!

This is one of my favorites! It was for an Etsy inspiration swap where you check out your partner’s Etsy favorites list and make something inspired by something on their list. Being a fan of zombies, I really wanted to make this or something similiar. Of course, the original item is laser cut from stainless steel! I made mine with paper, vinyl and UV resin! I’ve done something similar a couple of times before, see here, here and here. And at first, I attempted to do the same way, cut several pieces out with paper and layer them together with glue. It wasn’t working out. Too many details and the Silhouette could not cut cleanly on the paper. I almost gave up. Then I though of vinyl! Or course, that would mean I couldn’t make the middle see through as I had to lay the vinyl on something! So I used red glitter paper to cut a frame, put the vinyl on top (which cut perfectly!) and then decided to coat it with Magic Glos. I’m not totally happy with how the hole for the jump ring got messed up and that is definitely something I will be extra careful with for the next one! My partner loved it!

I decided to use vinyl again for these hummingbirds since the beak is so small and delicate. I used dimensional fabric paint to make the flowers. I really like how they came out. By the way, this is 2 pendants that I made into one double sided one.

This was also for the Etsy inspire swap for the same person that got the zombie pendant. I am also a big fan of anatomical hearts so I carved one for myself as well!

Wall vinyl for the last item for the Etsy inspire swap. Just in time for Halloween!

Bookmarks! The one with beads is strung onto elastic cord. The top right is ribbon and the bottom right is scrapbook paper.

I saw this idea on pinterest (btw, totally love pinterest!) but on a bracelet so I adjusted it for these old earrings I had. Well, after this, I am totally addicted to doing macramé! More projects with macramé this to come!

When I saw this tutorial on Honestly…WTF (love that blog name too!), I couldn’t wait to give it a try! I plan on making more!

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The weather is starting to get cooler and I couldn’t be more happier! Autumn is my favorite time of year! Comfort food cooking, light jackets, getting cuddly and cozy and having more time for crafting! The summer days went by so fast with keeping Sienna occupied, road trips and just being worn out from the humidity. I didn’t feel like I did a lot of crafts over these past few months but when I compiled all my photos, there were a lot more than I thought. So I decided to just break it up into 2 posts.

I attempted shrinky dinks again with some rubber stamps. I colored them in with pencils and put glitter paper in the back and made them pins. Sorry for the bad photo!

Raven stamp carve

This was for my niece, Elianna, who lives in Thailand. Apparently Our World is big with the 10 year olds and it’s hard to get stuff so I made this with t-shirt vinyl. I heard she likes the shirt!

I bought this princess fabric from This and That from Japan. I love their shop! I love the fabric as it is a little thicker than quilting cotton. I made this pouch for Sienna to hold her little tiny princess dolls, it has since turned into the snack pouch.

I also made this Superman/Batman pouch to hold her Batman and villians dolls (see a couple here). The reason it is half and half is because I used remnants I had after making her these pillowcases:


I made this pouch for a Hello Kitty/skull fan on swap-bot.

This was for a bird brooch swap

I made these lighthouse notecards with my Silhouette. I’m not really happy with how poorly it cut the tiny details like the windows but it’s still better than hand cutting!

I made these photo notecards using my photos. The flower and tree frames were cut with the Silhouette.
And to round off this post, Thank you cards, also cut with the Silhouette:

Sienna’s goofy face is a little extra bonus for you! HA! Anyway, I totally cased this card from another Silhouette user. I really loved it so I made 2! One is for Yves’ cousin in Tunisia, who sent Sienna these cute outfits (see here) and yummy Tunisian pastries for us (I can’t believe I forgot to take a photo of them! I was really impressed with how intricate some of the designs were!) The other card was for the Olson’s, whose house we stayed at during our Chicago trip.

Summer Crafts 2 to follow!

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Let’s get right to it!

Kliban cat rubber stamps and shrinky dinks. Still haven’t mastered the art of shrinky dinking.

This set was made for a Mail Art inside and out swap. You had to create 3 Mail Art related things so I made postal stickers, notecards (cards were made using a postal theme digital graphics, envelopes from old maps!) and a set of 3 postcards I stamped and colored.

I hosted a swap to make fabric luggage tags.

Bottle cap charms

Embroidered a set of 4 napkins using patterns from Wild Olive

View Master stamp carving for myself. Inspired by some view master fabric I saw online. Need to carve the viewer next!

For 2 carving swaps, beach themed that I hosted (inspired by our Myrtle Beach vacation) and a sun theme.

Hedge hog! Made these 2 for 2 different swaps, woodland brooch and woodland theme in a ziplock.

Jumped at the chance to join a july birthday card swap so I could get some in the mail!

Another birthday party for a former classmates of Sienna’s so I made the same card as I did for the twins in May! His party was at the Party Gym.

My partner loves the Monkees in this swap for Wacky Holidays June.

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