No better bling than a Granddaughter's Smile!

Can you believe this cutie

is three years old today?!

 

 

HaPpY birthday

to my dear granddaughter,

CHARLOTTE!

 

 

 Today, Charlotte and her Mommy Emily and I are going out to see the new animated movie, "Frozen."  It's the first time Charlotte is seeing a movie in the theaters and we think she's ready to handle it. Charlotte is a little bit afraid of the dark so she said she'll bring a glow bracelet and a "fwashlight" just in case. 

 

Tomorrow is the party with more family -- Daddy Josh, Pot (my hubby John), Bubba (Josh's Mom), Grandpa Steve (..and Josh's stepdad), and Uncles Nick and Matt. The theme will be a surprise to me; depending on the weather I think, Charlotte tells one of us or the other that she wants a Doc McStuffin party, an Ariel party, a dolphin party, a Minion party or a Princess party. All I know for sure is that she wants "balloons" and "cake ... lots of cake!"  (late breaking news: I'm told the cake is MINION!!)

 

Pot and I gave Charlotte her own "pink iPad" for her birthday. It's actually my 1-yr old iPad but she has more apps and videos on it than I do. So we upgraded the case to a heavy-duty pink "childproof" case and gave it to her last week when she visited.  We have a few other "prezzies" for her, but none is as nice as the gift she gives us all year long.  She gives us life ... joy ... and makes the air so much sweeter to breathe. Being a grandparent is THE BEST!

 

Now a little bit about crafting, just because that's the reason you stopped here. Charlotte's Mom Emily asked me to make the Age Shirt for kiddo.First I backed the cute bubble fabric with Pellon Light adhesive interfacing. Then, fabric side onto the mat, I cut the fabric using my Cricut Expression 2, and peeled the adhesive backing off the "3" and ironed it onto a shirt from Old Navy. I machine-appliqued the number using a tight zig-zag stitch on my Husqvarna Diamond Viking sewing/embroidery machine.

For the cute sneakers -- Charlotte's "Chucks" -- Emily traced a paper template for the toes. Then she lightly taped the template onto the Dazzling Diamond rhinestone resin adhesive sheets from The Buckle Boutique* and cut the clear "diamonds" using regular scissors. She peeled off the paper backing and applied the sheet -- no individual rhinestones, no choking hazard -- GREAT for kids' and adult shoes alike!

 

I made the crazy bows and sewed them onto crocodile hair clips. The Chucks were laced with satin ribbons and the removable bows were added for the pictures and party.

 

 

Here's Charlotte's month-by-month progression, from 2 years to 3, almost all in 2013.

I have a massive crush on this girl!!

Happy birthday,
darling Charley!!

LOVE ALWAYS,

 

Gii
also known as

Too many toys! So much to do!

Hello again, friends!

I had every good intention of making a card or two today. I had some wonderful inspirations while Blog Hopping yesterday (thank you, Kim at Kreative Krafts, for letting me in on the 10-stop hop). Then the invitations for the baby shower need doing, I'm trying to bead a bracelet a day and then ....

My day yesterday came to a crashing halt.


Egads, my dear daughter Emily -- driving her 2007 VW Jetta -- with her hubby Josh as passenger, got into a major car crash. Three cars, high-speed impact, spinning, airbags ... oh God! After the glass dust settled, Emily was badly shaken and was having cramping and nausea. We were VERY blessed as it turns out -- the baby is no worse for the wild ride, and Emily has only seatbelt and airbag welts. The other drivers drove their cars home, Josh is fine too (and THANK YOU, Josh, for leaning over to brace and protect your wife and baby!!!!), but the car .... not so good.

Here it is, brace yourselves for what's likely a "totaled" disaster:

The car looks nearly as bad on the driver's side too. The axel is cracked, the tires are toed-in, and as you can see, all of the side impact curtains came down to shield the passengers from the exploding glass.

The miracle is how all of the safety equipment and crush zones worked perfectly. How fortunate we are! We are grateful, and no one is happier than I am that my daughter and her husband and their wee little baby-under-development (20 weeks along) were spared. Thank you, God -- He is good and merciful!

So I was distracted ... and just wanted to spend a little time today doing something crafty for my Grandbaby-to-be.

I turned on that sewing machine (the one I stitch my cards with) and embroidered this darling little bib for Baby, shown above worn by the stuffed monkey who will adorn the diaper cake. It's relatively plain -- just words. I thought about doing more decorating or embellishment, but there's something about the colors and the text that tell me that's enough.

What do you think? Can you tell this Baby is going to be spoiled ...errrr, I mean, well-loved?

To Stitch or Not to Stitch

Hello, Friends and Fellow Bloggers!

First, my apologies for being delinquent in a daily post. Some sort of intestinal bug had gotten the better of me so I'd spent a few days in the hospital. While in the hospital, I didn't have my card stash (shocking!), but I did get Mr. Smiley to bring me my bead collection, so I made a few nice bracelets. More on that later ...

I actually made two versions of this "Thinking of You" card, and I'd love to hear your comments as to which one you like better. On the top right here, you'll notice that there is stitching around each of the paper pieces. This was done using my Husqvarna Designer Diamond sewing machine -- the ultimate machine for those who've figured out how to use it. (I'm not one of those, and lately it's been relegated to my paper crafting.)

At left here is the unstitched version, with pieces just glued onto the formed card onto which I'd printed (HP printer) the sentiment.

As you can see, I used a collection of soft pastels in complimenting tones. I cut 1.5" squares, and then rounded the two opposite corners using my Martha Stewart rounding punch.

I've left the inside blank, onto which I'll write personal messages to some friends who need extra *hugs* these days.

What is your opinion: to stitch or not to stitch, that is the question?

Thinking of You

This morning while the loads of laundry were running ... thank goodness we're no longer beating our clothes on rocks down by the river! ... I was upstairs in the craft loft, finishing the 60 baby shower cards, and straightening up a bit.

I must have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder, because the smallest bits of usable treasure found on the floor leads me back to crafting ...

First, I found this lovely mottled bit of peach paper and the lavendar cardstock circle. I set them aside as I continued dealing with the mess, but they were calling me.... AHA! Louder and louder they called, until I found a darker purple butterfly that I'd recently cut from a pop-up template I purchased from a gal in England. (More on that another day!)

Then I spied my relatively-new, terribly expensive, and unfortunately not well-used Husqvarna Designer Diamond sewing machine. Hmmm. It was sitting there, lonely, already set with lavendar thread. It seemed like a perfect time to try out a decorative stitch around the peach paper.

On to the message: Thinking of You, which I have been doing a lot of today and yesterday, wondering if I will attract readers to my new blog. More importantly, I do want to give a bit of the joy back to the many bloggers from whom I get so much inspiration. I hope they know how much I appreciate their work!

One of the bloggers led me to Wild Orchid Crafts where I found the most beautiful paper roses, and I'd just received my precious boxful of them from England. Another blogger taught me by video how to make these myself ... which I haven't yet tackled ... but for now, isn't this just stunning?

The message, meant for all the paper artist bloggers in the blogosphere, comes from the Cricut Calligraphy cartridge, cut in 2" in both standard (dark orchid) and in shadow (cream, to match the card and the rose). Stickles glitter glue (I'm an addict) in deep purple and opal finished off the butterfly. Voila!

I hope you know I'm thinking of YOU today!