Artful Thursday ~ Week 8

We are going to Gatlinburg for the weekend. As I was thinking of what I could bring to wear, I thought about a few of my jackets. And that got me thinking about once upon a time, I wanted to make a brooch out of some vintage millinery flowers...so with this being Artful Thursday, I got started!

First, I had this poor, once beautiful flower...

You can see the wonderful velvet flower petals mixed in the flower

After a nice hot, steam bath, she was ready for her transformation!!

Gathering some extra fabric from around the house...

And playing in my jewelry box...

some playing a little more than others :0)

I now present you with Chloe!

Isn't she beautiful?!? I'm so excited about wearing her around town!

~Happy Artful Thursday~

XoXo,
Kristal

He's Finally 7 Years Old

Dane has been so excited about turning 7 this year. I suppose I was the same way...until I turned 37, and then I wanted them to stop!!

I had posted about the handmade Birthday banner and party hats I made. And those are about the only pictures I got besides these few!! Charlie had to work so our party didn't start until late, and since I was home all day, I really couldn't do much decorating without Dane seeing it. So between trying to bake a cake (which I never do, I do cupcakes, but Birthday Boy wanted a cake!) trying to get 3 pizzas in the oven when only two would fit and trying to hang the banner and get the hats out WITHOUT him seeing me was a treat in itself! But Charlie helped me out and when it was finally time to say "It's Time!" well, things just kinda took off! He had a friend from next door over and between the three kids eating and tearing into presents, my little camera sat all alone on the kitchen counter. I think when I was on my 10th piece of cake did I think about taking pictures!!! So today, I made Dane and Gracyn put their party hats on so I could get a picture of them!!


I did get to pull a good prank on Dane though. We let him pick out what he wanted this year so he knew what he was getting. But I wanted to make it a little more fun...so I took all the Legos out of their original boxes...

and put all the pieces in these! No, we really don't eat THIS much Bisquick, but I do save boxes as those of you who won my OWOH giveaway might have already gathered~LOL!!!

I filled the original boxes up with filler paper and let him open them all up. He neighbor friend was even a little confused. We had a good old time going off on Wal-Mart, saying we were never going to buy toys from there again, it was a rip-off!! Finally, Challie asked Dane to help him make some pancakes. Poor Dane didn't want to help, but we finally got him to open up the Bisquick boxes!! He was so happy to find his Legos. I woke up this morning to find him asleep with the Legos in bed with him!

Now we get to do it all over again this Sunday for this little sweet thing. She'll be turning 2!!!

Artful Thursday ~ Week 7

February is a busy month for us when it comes to birthdays. First there is Hubby's on the 12th, then Dane's is the 21st and finally Gracyn on the 28th. And then there is Valentine's Day, so lots of fun stuff for the month.

Due to our gypsy wandering and not staying in any one place very long, we usually only make one or two good friends in each place. So I don't usually plan a big birthday party for the kids unless we can make plans to go back home to Mobile, where all of our family and life-long friends are. But Hubby has to work all week, so we'll be celebrating the kids' birthdays here. I got the crazy notion that I wanted to have a "Carnival" style party, but since I can't afford to rent a ferris wheel nor an elephant, I thought I might just pull some of those colors together: Red, yellow and blue. I'm still keeping the "Carnival" idea in my head...who knows, I might turn rich one day and even be able to afford to buy my own carousal :0)
Since I have been smitten with the crepe paper bug, it was my first medium. I started wanting to make a birthday banner. I started working on this a few days ago and don't have any before pictures, but I will go back and take some better ones. Basically, I ruffled a larger piece of the blue slightly, then ruffled the red a little more and finally ruffled the yellow a lot and glued it all together to make the banner. Then I spent more days agonizing over have to print out large letters to spell out the words. When I finally figured out how to do that on the photo editing software, I hand cut all the letters and using curling ribbon, taped them to the back of the banner.

Final results


Somebody is ALWAYS gotta be in the picture!!



Another fun thing I wanted to make were party hats. I had seen some beautiful one's on Etsy, but money was running low...so a browse through party hat templates on Google was all it took to find two good ones.

Then an old cereal box...

I discovered after the third one, if you line the folding tab of the pattern onto one of the folded edges of the box, it makes life a little easier.

I didn't get a picture, but once my template was cut out of the cereal box, I used wrapping paper to cover each one.

Then it was back to the crepe paper. I started cutting fringe to add along the bottom of the hats and at the top. Glue, glue, glue...

I know present you with four adorable party hats like no one else!!

I can hardly wait until Dane's birthday. He has always wanted a pinata, and I saw a cute one at the Dollar Store. So we'll do that.

I still haven't attached the string to tie them to our heads, I'll get that tomorrow. He'll be home from school soon and I have to go hide all the evidence!!

I'll be sure to take LOTS of pictures at his party! I might even get a few more little things done...it's like once you start, you just can't stop!! LOL!!

Happy Artful Thursday!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

We have winners!! I had already planned on giving out more than one prize, so we will be having a Grand Prize of the "Queen of the Day" and three winners for one of my paper Medallions.

And the winner of the "Queen of the Day" is....

BARBARA OLIVO CAGLE!!!!

Congratulations Barbara!!

And the three Medallions will go to these lucky people:
1. Red at Red's Artist Cottage
2. Jennifer Pearson Vanier
3. Diana at Adventuring Through Life

I have sent emails to each of you, but I am posting this here just in case.

And I would like to say a H-U-G-E Thank you to Lisa for hosting this. I can only imagine the headache it must be. But most of all, I would love to give each and every one of you who stopped by my blog and left a sweet comment a big ole hug!! I have attempted to return comments and follow blogs, and will continue to do so until I make it through the whole list. Blogging is truly a rewarding experience and I would like to let each of you know who much it means to me when one of you stops by and leaves a comment. Thanks to each and every one of you!!!!

Things to Do On a Snow Day

Can you believe that it is snowing in Alabama? I mean REALLY snowing!!

Before all the white madness started, it was just plain ole' cold outside. So to stay warm, I fixed a nice big pot of coffee and started away on the One World, One Heart tour. Somewhere along the way, I guess I fell down the magical hole, because I ended up in a few places I had never been before. But the wonderful things was...there were still goodies to be had!!!

First up, come with me to visit Patina Soul. With a motto of "the love of all things old, time-worn, chipped, tattered, torn and aged to perfection" you can't go wrong! It's their one year blog anniversary and a huge giveaway is being offered.

Then, click your ruby slippers (I'm mixing Dorothy with Alice, but could you imagine the stories they could tell!), and fly over to Tarnished and Tattered. Another amazing blog, I could just sit and look at for h-o-u-r-s....and the giveaway is drool-able.

And for one more piece of eye-candy, skip over to Dawn's blog, The Feathered Nest, where she is hosting a giveaway to celebrate 3 wonderful years on her blog! It is an amazing package of items to make you swoon!

Well, I must be running. Today is the King of Hearts aka My Hubby's birthday. And wouldn't you know it, he got the stomach bug that Dane had! Came home early from work. But I'm so glad. The roads had started to ice over and since we live on top of a mountain, it can get pretty tricky. But he still asked for some of my Soon-to-be Famous Chili tonight, so I'm off to start cooking!!! And maybe a batch of warm brownies for dessert. After all, it IS his birthday!

Stay warm,
Kristal

Artful Thursday Week 6

Like most of my project's for this event, this has been a long time in the making. And this is why I'm so grateful to Julie for hosting this wonderful event!!

This week, I will be framing a cross stitch piece that I had completed in 2006. This is actually part of a series entitled "Tongue Twisters" by the Trilogy. There is Pumpkin Pete, Sal, Stanley and Beatrice. I have Beatrice, and spent the better part of yesterday looking for her, but I guess she just shy...couldn't find her anywhere!! So, only Pumpkin Pete will be getting framed!!

For this piece, I had found a really nice frame that fit, but as usual, I felt like it could use a spruce up. So I pulled out some paints, and got to work. Other than painting the frame, there were not too many supplies needed for this project.

Just the Stitching, the frame and some making tape. And a LOT of patience!!

A note on cross stitching. It's nice to have the back of your piece to look just as good as the front!!

I measures around the edges and then starting on one side, I taped down an edge. And then started slowly pulling the length, until I got to an edge. I would then tape that down and start on another side.

The main thing to look for on this type of fabric, is that the edge aline with a row of the fabric. And it's easier said than done!!!! LOL!!

Finally, after a good hour of pulling, tugging and a few choice cuss words thrown in for good measure, my frame was dry and Pumpkin Pete was ready for his new home!

I used some brown, cream, orange and dark blue to highlight the frame. Then for the last coat, I did a thin wash of a metallic Bordeaux.

Love how it turned out!!
I can't wait to finish this series. I have had an idea in my head for awhile of getting a great shelf that I can decorate for each holiday/season and have a spot on the wall to hang each one of these. That way I can change each one out with out having to hammer in new nail holes. But with us moving so much lately, this whole concept has been put on hold. But I think now I will at least finish off stitching up all the series and getting them framed.

Thanks for joining me for another Artful Thursday. And be sure to stop by Julie's blog and check out the other participants for this week!

And in case any of you missed it, a few post belong is my One World, One Heart giveaway. If you haven't entered, be sure to leave a comment on THAT post and I'll be sure to enter your name for my giveaway!

♥ Happy Artful Thursday ♥

Junk Yard Wars

Last week, my Hubby & I went on a little road trip. We found this junk yard that I just couldn't resist with acres and acres of old cars. Just couldn't resist.

Hope you enjoy them!

This one reminds me of the creepy truck in "Jeepers Creepers"!

I have a sick little boy at home today, but I'm gathering all my supplies for tomorrow's Artful Thursday post, some stop back by tomorrow to see what I've been working on.

Ciao for now,
♥Kristal

One World, One Heart 2010

~♥~ I will be accepting comments until 6 pm Central Time. ~♥~
So hurry up and leave a comment if you haven't already!!!
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It's finally here! One World, One Heart, 2010, hosted by the ever wonderful Lisa Swifka. She has been hosting this phenomenal event since 2007. I was lucky enough to participate last year with my old blog, but this will be the first for Grace Goods! And I am SO excited! I have been crafting away, working on this little goodie kit for awhile now. I will have a Main giveaway and will be offering 3 smaller ones.

So, without further adieu, here is my "Queen for the Day" kit!

I put together a little kit of goodies that I thought might just bring a smile to someones face!! A little of this, a little of that, to do whatever your little heart desires.

A sweet little heart ornament I made for vintage floral fabric. I just love the unique colors of the purple, turquoise and deep red!

A cute little Mary Engelbreit box "Queen for the Day"!

Some vintage lace, distressed and glitter, to add some GLAM~ All Queen's need some!!

And last in the little kit is more of the lovely purple and red items. A lovely length (63 inches!) of purple and red ruffled crepe paper garland. Also, another sweet little message to hang from the pins "Happiness must be grown in one's own garden".

In keeping with the unique combination of the red and purple in the vintage fabric, I painted a set of 6 clothespins to match! I think these would be so cute hanging from the crepe paper garland holding a sweet Valentine or picture of a loved one...or a small crown!

I hope you like it! I would love to see what the winner decides to do with all the lovely items.




And for another treat, I will be offering 3 of my handmade paper medallions!

These are made from vintage encyclopedia pages and crepe paper.

Colors choices are:
Paris Pink
Athens White
Florentine Blue
Vienna Blue
Bohemia Purple
Tuscan Yellow
Venetian Red

I can either do an initial or a date, like an anniversary or a birthday date.

I add a little piece of rick rack so you can hang the medallion.

I have more listed in my shop if you want to see different color combinations.

>>>>> ♥ <<<<< The Details: To be entered, please leave a comment on THIS post. You do NOT have to have a blog, but at least some way for me to get in touch with you. The winner will be picked on February 15th!! And a H-U-G-E Thank you to all who stop by and just say "Hi!"