Bird Tassel for Grandfather - Clock, That Is.

I took a break from paper crafting and spent a bit of time making a decorative tassel, known to some as jewelry for your home.  I wanted a little something special to hang from the key on my grandfather clock door.  Previously I had a cranberry colored tassel hanging from the key and while cute, the tassel was very ordinary looking.  I wanted to jazz things up a bit.

I started by checking out some of my favorite tablescaping/home decorating blogs.  I carefully searched for ideas to enhance this small area.  One of the ads/links I followed lead me to an Etsy shop specializing in decorative tassels.  I promptly selected a tassel and ordered. 

When the tassel arrived I had a good news/bad news moment; while I loved the tassel, it was too large for the clock door.  I ended up handing that cute tassel, with it's large ceramic bird, full and bushy tassel, and adorable bow, on the switch to the Tiffany stained glass lamp on the buffet.   But before finding a home for the purchased tassel, I inspected how it was made. (insert wink)!!

I found a source for this cute little bird - made of metal - and I purchased him.  I then purchased tassel trim.   I wrapped the tassel trim around the original cranberry colored clock tassel that was on the clock door.  Using wire and hot glue gun/glue, I assembled the tassel into a nice full cone shape.  I almost attached the bird at this point, but decided that the bird needed a pretty nest. 

I went and looked around my scrap room and found this awesome Prima flower.  I hot glued the flower to the top of the tassel, then hot glued the bird to the flower. 

I know these photos have a lot of glare, but trust me, this small bird nest tassel is adorable on my grandfather clock door. 

I will be back with another project to share tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  The Easter Bunny and the table-setting fairy just came to my house!  Actually I feel asleep on the sofa earlier and woke up at 1:00, TV on, computer, dog and husband also sleeping on the sofa beside me!  I sent Doug off to bed and then decided to set the table for breakfast.  One less thing to do in the  morning and I could use the breakfast plates to hold the Easter goodies.  Bethany and Ian were asleep in their rooms so I did not want to wake them to get their Easter baskets.

Doug, Ian, and I had a WONDERFUL trip to Anderson, SC yesterday to visit with my aunt and two of my cousins and their spouses. It was such a lovely afternoon and I enjoyed myself so much. Such a perfect way to spend the day before Easter!  But the long trip and a nice dinner on the way home contributed to my untimely nap!

I am using my pink Bordallo Pinheiro plates for Easter breakfast.  I think the pink plates are perfect for Easter morning!  I went with everyday stainless (can you say, goes in the dishwasher) instead of silver, though I did add stemmed beverage glasses.  I didn't think about before this very moment, but I SHOULD have used my Yudu and made Easter napkins!

Above is another view of the table.  Below is a view of Ian's plate before I added his DVD set and CDs to his placesetting.  As my children have aged they prefer more "stuff", less candy, in their baskets.  Bethany has a bit of candy and two gift cards.  Aaron and Crissie, who will not make it for breakfast, will get a Zoku frozen pop maker, Zoku tool set, candy, a Longaberger Easter basket for Crissie to match Aaron's basket, and a gift card.

Finally, here is one more view of the centerpiece - embellished with Easter 2010 eggs and glitter eggs.  I have had this egg tree in the entryway since completing the decorating.  But I thought it could sit in the middle of the lazy Susan (a name I find so unfair!!) for Easter day.

BBTB2 Easter Egg Challenge

Happy Bitten by the Bug 2 Monday!  This week's challenge cut was selected by my design team sister, the lovely Krista.  Krista selected any Easter egg cut from the Easter 2010 cartridge - or if you do not have Easter 2010, as some design team members did not, any Easter egg from any cartridge will work.

I have the Easter 2010 cartridge - and I love it.  The eggs on this cartridge are so pretty and there are so many other fun Easter cuts.  I chose the floral cut out egg for my project.

I started by creating a basic egg shaped card, using Design Studio to weld two eggs together.  I then sized the scalloped egg background cut, the floral front cut and decorative inside eggs to fit the base card.

As I assembled the layers of the card, I added green inserts behind the leaves, lavender strips behind the small dots, and purple cardstock behind the large flower cut out.  I added white and brown doodles and pink flowers with pearl centers and green leaves.

Using the same floral egg cut, I created additional pages in the cut file to cut eggs for the Easter egg tree.  I made the eggs double sided since many can be seen from both sides.   I added the Easter 2010 eggs and sparkling eggs both to the tree and placed it in my entry way.

This is a look at the upper tier of the Easter egg tree.  And below is a final look at my BBTB2 Easter egg card.  Be sure to go by Bitten by the Bug 2 and check out the great projects the design team made this week.  Also please do play along on the challenge - you can post your project in the Mr. Linky at BBTB2.

I will be back tomorrow with another new project to share, and later in the week we will begin a new contest!!!

Finished Recovering My Footstool

Woo-hoo!  I finally finished slip covering my little Parisian footstool!  It is photographing a bit bright, which annoying because I would love for you to see the actual color.  The fabric is a bit more rust than the photographs appears.  The fabric actually matches the rust/pumpkin color in the upholstery quite well.

I did a simple slip cover - pleats in the middle of each side of the skirt, a braid trim around the the top of the skirt, and tucks on the upper corners.

A photograph of the foot stool under the chair - again, the color is much more rust/pumpkin than this photo shows.

And finally Mr. Doug agreed to model the stool for you, as long as I only photographed his feet! 

Early Delivery Surprise

We had a pleasant surprise at our  home yesterday - our new pieces of furniture delivered early!  We purchased a new leather sectional and a new occasional chair.  I am posting photos for MARY and anyone else who may care!!!  Note: Duncan was not cooperating during the photo session.  And yes, we are Easter-ized at the moment - lots of antique linens and Easter porcelain. 

Additional note - the baker's rack will be replace with a cherry buffet as soon as the buffet is delivered.  I will be adding a large clock between the buffet and the plate rack.

I love the chair (not so much the amplifier cord sneaking out from under the chair).  The real life colors are rich and it is so comfortable.

I decided to show you the whole room.  This is, of course, the entertainment center.  The crazy painted cabinet on the left is from Michael's and I painted it.  It hold CDs.  The crazy mini-UK-phone booth on the right housed DVD (as do the shelves in the bottom of the cabinet). 

The fireplace and an antique rocker with hand-knit throw..... Very warm on winter nights.   Note the Cricut vinyl over the shelves - and YES, I needed an eight foot ladder to install the vinyl!

And basically this is the room view from the dining room.  Very warm comfy, while somewhat neutral.  And though the Fender guitar area is a bit messy looking, it is my concession to Doug's hobby.

Heart Wrapped Votive with MS Seasonal Art

Happy Valentine's Day!  This week it is my turn to select the weekly "challenge cut" at Bitten by the Bug 2 and in honor of Valentine's Day, I chose the heart border AND a decorative heart from Martha Stewart's Seasonal Art Cake cartridge.  I must tell you, the cake cartridges offer so much more than just cake cuts!  I love paper crafting with this particular MS cake cartridge.

Originally I designed a heart shaped card in design studio using this week's challenge cuts.  However, while looking at the votive candles on my dining table in the wedding vignettes, I decided to return to the Cricut Design Studio drawing board.   

 

I welded four sets of heart borders (the first of the two challenge cuts) together.  I then attached four lacey hearts (the second of the two challenge cuts) to the heart borders.  I completed these welded cuts in a fun, flirty pink cardstock.

I cut the welded shadow border hearts in white cardstock.  And finally I cut four more of the lacey hearts in white, with basic hearts from the Calligraphy cartridge inserted to remove the middle of the hearts.  This created the lacey white accents on the large hearts. 

After attaching all of the pieces together, I added pink accent stones using the I-Rock tool (LOVE my I-Rock).  

The photo below shows more of the details, the the light photographed a bit too yellow. 

If you have not already done so, please do go by BBTB2 and check out the fabulous Valentine's created by my FABULOUS design team sisters!   They are an amazingly talented group of women who manage to "rock it" each week at BBTB2!!!

Everyday Cricut Hostess Set with Thanksgiving Seasonal Cartridge

It's the third Saturday of the month and that means it is my day as the Saturday designer at Everyday Cricut!  Melanie and Joy have returned to Christmas holiday projects, but I wanted to share one last Thanksgiving project.  Besides I am doing a week of Thanksgiving projects here at Busy with the Cricky and I did not want to change my theme!

My featured project at Everyday Cricut is a four part Thanksgiving hostess set:  place cards, wine glass tags, decorative plate pumpkins, and Yudu printed napkins (previously featured here). 

Please head over to Everyday Cricut for more information and additional photos.   Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

BBTB2 Banner & Blog Hop

Hello everyone, welcome to the monthly Bitten By the Bug 2 blog hop. You may have arrived here from our sweet Carole's blog, or you may have just dropped in to check out my monthly project. If you did not start at the beginning after you finish here you may want to go to BBTB2 and check out the fabulous banners made by my fantastic design team sisters!

This week's challenge cut was selected by our design team sister, the lovely Beth (Runs with Scraps). Beth asked the design team to use any of the banners on the banner feature from the Country Life cartridge. I do not have this particular cartridge but there are other several other banners on several other cartridges. I used two different banners from two different cartridges to create my HAPPY FALL banner.


The scalloped base banner was cut using Tie the Knot. The floral print banner with the rectangular topper is from Straight from the Nest. I added an additional triangle from George and Basic Shapes to create more interest. The maple leaf flourish decoration across the top of each section is from the seasonal Thanksgiving cartridge, as are the images on the first, last, and middle banners. I used the cornucopia, the turkey, and the corn for the image banners. I finished each section of the banner with the I-Rock and assorted gems.

Orange sheer ribbon was laced through the holes on each section of the banner. I then tied the ends of the ribbon to the iron sconces on my mantel. The orange was a perfect color in that it blends well with the cardstock colors and the leave garland on the mantel. I love decorating for fall and this fun banner added to the overall effect.

So did I mention a blog hop??? Did I tell you that with the blog hop comes BLOG CANDY? What? I forgot to mention that??? I have great blog candy for one lucky reader!!! I am giving away a $25 gift voucher from CUSTOM CROPS so one lucky person will get to do a bit of FREE shopping!!! All you have to do is leave a comment under this post. A random winner will be selected on Thursday of this week.

After you post your comment you will be continuing along on the blog hop. Your next stop is at our amazing Donna's fabulous blog. I cannot wait to see her awesome project; she inspires me every single week!!!

Thanks for coming by today. I will be back tomorrow with another new project.

CWTC Home Decor Tuesday - Guest Designer Spot

Happy Home Decor Tuesday!  Over at the Christmas With The Cricut the ladies are celebrating Home Deco Tuesday so I made this adorable recipe box complete with section dividers and matching recipe cards.

The box is made by Bare Elements and is actually a chest.  Bare Elements does produce a rectangular recipe box but is lacks the cute curved top of the treasure chest.  To get started on the recipe box, I painted all of the edges with red ink.  I wanted any "white" that might peek through to be red to match the trim.  I then used Inaginisece Polar Bear Expressions cardstock to cover the chest (with careful measuring and placement it took a little less than two 12 x 12 inch sheets).

I used a combination of Core'dination cardstock, Bazzill cardstock, and additional Inaginisece Polar Bear Expressions cardstock to cut the mittens, shadows, and Recipe label and shadow.  I chose the mitten cut from Winter Woodlands to embellish the top of the box because of the mitten sets in the background of the polar bear paper.

The band around the edge of the lid was created using a snowflake from Winter Woodland welded together over and over to create a decorative band.  I will admit that I worried if the flakes would cut cleanly since they were so timy.  But never fear, they came out perfect.  Oh my Cricut makes me so happy sometimes!!!

I used From My Kitchen to create labels and food images as well as the basic cards for my section dividers.  I used more of the lovely tags from Winter Woodlands as backgrounds for the food cuts, which were, of course, cut with the FMY cartridge.

And finally a rear view!  Oh to look that good from the rear!!! LOL.

If you have not already done so, be sure to visit Jeannie's blog, A Place for my Cards and check out her Home Decor Tuesday project.  She is sure to knock your socks off so you'd better be sitting down!!!

Busy, Busy Week of Designs

I have a busy week with designs posted in different places.  Today I am a guest designer at the FABULOUS Christmas With The Cricut site.  I love CWTC.  These ladies inspire me every single day!  And in addition to being great designers and awesomely creative, they are three of the nicest women you would EVER want to meet.

There are two other guest designer projects at CWTC also - when you go by, and you should go by CWTC, be sure to look at Teri's and Christina's holiday home decor ideas.