Valentine Cards

Stamps.  A must when card-making:)  I prefer Cavallini.  I now have so many sets that they have to be stacked in TWO stacks on the shelf where I keep them.  You just can't have too many great stamp sets can you??

A trug full of supplies and tools.  Scissors, punches, twine, ribbon, tape, tickets, glue...

Cut some card stock into card size pieces.  No measuring or perfectness here, just wing it.

Hot glue gun.  Another must.

Make some arrows out of skewers and Japanese Washi tape.

(if you want some of this tape and you live close to me let me know.  I will be ordering some soon and I'd be glad to add yours to my order.  Saves on shipping!)

Follow the instructions HERE to make the arrows.

We made several small arrows by cutting the skewers into 2 and sometimes 3 or 4 pieces.

And by using toothpicks.  This sized them for gluing to cards.

I love texture.  Layer it up!

Old maps are a favorite crafting item of mine too.  I bought a huge book of old maps at the Springfield flea one year for $3.  It's a wonderful thing to have around:)

Have you made any valentines this year?  Do you buy them from the store? 

I have seen some adorable altered valentines that originated from good old Wal-mart!

Getting Crafty

So Little Sister had been asking to do some crafts.  Thinking up crafts for her to do wasn't really very high on my list of 'things-to-do'.  Then I thought of the crafty tutorials Kara had put on her blog!

So I set up my laptop on the dining room table, got out some supplies and we all got crafty!

Little Sister was thrilled.  She thought it was so cool to have the computer sitting right there with the craft showing.  And as it turns out she is a natural crafter.  She has an eye for what looks good.  I was impressed:)

www.mcmasterandstorm.blogspot.com

Little Sister doing a careful job of covering the arrow head with Japanese washi tape.

A skewer, arrow head and arrow end ready for the hot glue gun.

(I handled all the gluing)

Showing off her creation.

Finished product

This was one I made.

This one is Middle Sisters.  She made a removable point for the pointy end of the skewer. 

It just cracked me up how each girls arrows looked just like them.  Middle Sister made hers extra long.  It ended up with way more tape on it than this even!  And looked sort of messy.

The Teenager (who will really be a true teenager in just a few more days!) did a great job on her arrows.  Then she put her name and initial on them.  Sounds just like her.  And I have NO idea where she would have picked up that trait.

The Teenager likes to be silly!

:)

If you need crafting ideas for you kiddos I highly recommend checking out Kara's blog. 

She's given us some really fun stuff lately.

~Getting Crafty~

Kara is doing some really cute Valentine crafts and sharing them over on her blog.

You really must hop on over there and see what all she is creating.

Little Sister has been wanting to do crafty stuff lately.  I got the stamps, some valentine stickers, and some card stock out for her the other day but she soon lost interest.

This morning I thought about these delightful arrows Kara had made. 

So I showed Little Sister and she was so excited.  We all ended up making arrows.  They each have their own distinct look and look like the person that made them!  Pics are on my camera - I will down load them soon.  For now, feast your eyes on all this crafty goodness in Kara's photo above and head on over to her blog for more!

A Tad Bit of Valentine's Decor

I don't go all out for Valentine Decor.  Sometimes I don't do any at all.

For some absolutely adorable crafting fun go here.  Tutorial is great!

And just might get you into the Valentine card making mood!

Since my china cupboard needed a deep cleaning I had The Teenager help me with that on Saturday.  When we got everything back in and I had arranged it well enough to do for now I added just a couple touches of red and hearts.  The heart picks are vintage, I picked them up at an antique shop somewhere.

The detailed Annie Oakley card was from a friend years ago and I kept it.

This little valentine was purchased at McMaster and Storm when their Brick and Mortar was still open.  It makes an appearance almost every February.

(egg from my sister - via Andrea Singarella)

Technically an egg and labeled an Easter decor item, this made its appearance early.  It's pink so it fits right in with any Valentine's theme.  And it's cheery.  Cheer is desperately needed right now.  It is gray and gloomy outside.  (If you will notice I spelled it 'gray'.  If you are very astute and know me very well at all you will recall that I spell it 'grey'.  I like that spelling better.  But since I don't like what it looks like outside I am spelling it 'gray'.  Yes, I'm going crazy)

61 days till April.

{The Brick Farmhouse}

It was, after all, a BRICK FARMHOUSE event!  So named because it was located on the front lawn of Kara's 1860's brick farmhouse.  What they have done with the landscaping and this house is truly amazing.  It fits Kara so well.  Yes, old houses are a ton of work and come with quite a few headaches. But the character just cannot be duplicated.  Don't you agree that this is just beautiful?

The inside is just as inspiring:)

Continue down to the following post to see pics of McMaster and Storm's tent and the goodies they sold at the Brick Farmhouse Event.

{McMaster and Storm}

Cute laminated sign came in very handy with the rain we had Friday morning.

Isn't the artwork on that great?  Created by Katie Runnels.

McMaster and Storm's tent was just adorable.

Great urns.  Two of these will grace our home next spring.  Can't wait!

Kara and her Mother made some simple, cute nametags for the vendors.

(I was supposed to help with these but got too busy.  Sorry Kara, thanks Karen!)

Levi providing the morning coffee!

Here's to a great event!

And now, let's browse through some of the yummy goodies sold my McMaster and Storm!

This photo via

Green Italian Glassware.  Lovely.

Soaps.  Deliciousness.

More Glassware.

All kinds of fun things for the home.

Homemade Laundry soap.  It's great, you should try it.  And it's cheap.  Very Cheap.  And easy.

Old books.  Oh the possibilities!

I want one of those zinc medals.  I still have some shopping to do it seems!

One of my very favorite photos!

Cutest little shopper there!  So glad her Mom is getting her started on her way to being a great shopper!!!

Absolutely too cute.

This basket came home with me.  I used it today for clean laundry.  Wow can you get a TON of laundry in this thing!  And having unfolded laundry sitting around is so much better if it's in a fun basket.  Yes, I know I already had some fun laundry baskets.  But they were full too.  Now I can have even MORE clean, unfolded laundry that is piled in baskets instead of trailing all over the floor because the stack got too tall.  What good are cute, fun laundry baskets if the clothes spill over and hide the basket????