Halloween Memories

Just a quick little Halloween layout to brighten your day! I love love love this color combo - rich cream with orange and black. The vintage "Halloween Memories" image from Crafty Secrets Seasonal Titles sets the stage and is the main focal point of this piece. Gorgeous Prima flowers and Jolees mingle with vintage goodies and pretty ribbons and pins from Maya Road. A fun Halloween themed tissue paper fringe rests on top of an adorably spooky stamped image from impression obsession. And together....spooktacular goodness!

Thanks so much for stopping by! And have a Happy Halloween weekend!

Yummy Halloween Goodie Bags

Need a quick project for your little one's Halloween treats? Or maybe just a goodie bag to have on hand to fill with yummies for some special loved ones or co-workers? Then this quick project is just for you! All you need are brown paper sacks, vintage goodies, and Crafty Secrets! This adorable stamp set is part of the Crafty Secrets Vintage Halloween Postcard kit. I just love it because it is the perfect size to fit on small labels and tags!






Hope you're having a great weekend!!

Halloween Candy Layout

Have you seen the wide array of talent and yummy goodness out there this Halloween! I am just amazed at what some people can create with food - especially desserts! My hubby and I have been watching "Just Desserts" on Bravo and can't get enough of the delicious morsels created each week!

In honor of these "sweet" creations, I have a Halloween Candy layout to share with you! This time I loaded a lot of glitz into my design (literally! I had glitter EVERYWHERE! lol!) This layout also has a few vintage elements (I just couldn't resist), many handmade flowers, and a lot of bling! It actually didn't take me that long to make since the paper was my main focal point. Did you notice the adorable candy (Jolees) peeping out of the jack-o-lantern bag?




The candy corn charm was made by my friend Bridgette over at Tweety Peetie Designs. Talk about talent in creating delicious goodies - you have to check her out!



Recipe for this Layout:
Paper: Best Creations & We R Memories
Bingo Card: Crafty Secrets (Halloween Greetings Double Sided Creative Scraps)
Pins: Maya Road
Candy & Bag Embellishments: Jolee's
Flowers: Prima and handmade by me :o)
Punch: EK Success & Clever Lever
Brads: Queen & Co.
Vintage: Lace & buttons

Finally, here are a few of the sweets I found online that I can't wait to try! What is your favorite Halloween candy/treat?

Night!

Ghostly Guzzle

Butterfinger Eyeballs

Spider Brownie Bites

Crafty Secrets Sewing Challenge

A special heartfelt welcome to this month's guest designer Sheila Rumney!

When creating a project have you ever tried a stitch here or there? Whether by hand or machine, stitching adds an eye appealing dimension to your designs. For this month's challenge, design team members were to add any type of stitching to their creations. I used my trusty sewing machine and went to town! Since the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to make that an underlying theme of this little mini album. Just a small momento to tell a gal that she is not alone and warm hugs, prayers, and memories surround her.



I experimented with different stitches on my basic sewing machine. Each page has a straight stitch border with an ivory thread and dark brown thread base to give more depth and shadow. I think it is important to pick one color and stick with it throughout your design. Make sure it is complimentary to your color palette.







You can see on one of my envelopes that I used a blanket stitch with the default setting. On the cute prayer picture next to it, I used a straight stitch but increased the length of the stitch. The shabby tag is a mixture of two different stitches. Doing this, created a simple vintage feel that I love! Start out with a longer straight stitch then stop your machine and switch the stitch to zig zag. Stitch a few zigs and zags, then switch back to the straight stitch (I like using a longer straight stitch for this). Finally, under my "girlfriend" stamped image there is a faux zigzag stitch stamped below.


Other tips:

• make sure you have a strong needle that can handle thick papers in your machine
• make sure you have enough thread in your bobbin to avoid unnecessary holes in your project
• sew your mats on your layouts to save money on adhesives. Just a dab in the middle will do!
• experiment with lengths and widths of stitches and jot down your favorites
• try using a darker color thread on your bobbin to give a little shadow and attention to hole punctures
• experiment with different threads. I just L-O-V-E the variegated color thread!

Recipe for this mini album:
Crafty Secrets Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Crafty Secrets Girlfriends Images & Journal Notes
Crafty Secrets Sew Art Stamps
Melissa Frances - paper. glitter, rose applique
Maya Road - album, leaf pin
Websters Pages - rosette trim
Vintage - lace, doilies, ribbons, buttons, cookie cutter, wool roving
Other - tea stained envelopes, wooden heart, white acrylic paint, flower applique, tea stained paper doilies and tag, shabby fabric


There are so many different ways to add stitching to your own special projects! Check out our other Design Team members to see what tips and techniques they have to share!

• Vicki Chrisman Team Leader
• Pam Hooten
• Heidi Blankenship
• Linda Duke
• Michele Kovack
• Melissa Phillips
• Flo Teixeira from France
• Julie Campbell
• Mary Hamer
• Guest Designer Sheila Rumney

Heartwarming Vintage Blog

Crafty Secrets website


Hugs...

Websters Pages - Wonderfall

Have you seen the new fall line by Websters Pages called "Wonderfall"? It is just gorgeous! Websters just has an amazing way of creating beautiful patterned papers. I usually come out of my local scrap store with my bag full of their beautiful designs.



I made this layout a week ago and wanted to wait and share it with you until I bought my new camera. I took pictures with my trusty old camera and now my new one -and let me tell you - I am in love! It's sort of like when you switch over to HD on your television - you don't know what you are missing until you actually see the quality change! It was totally worth it's high price tag! I feel like a little kid - just experimenting and taking pictures of everything that moves (and doesn't) :o)



Recipe for this design:
Websters Pages - paper and bloomer ribbon
Basic Grey - paper
American Crafts - cardstock
Prima - butterfly spray, flowers
Maya Road - stick pin
Melissa Frances - crown
Tattered Angels - glimmer mist, scroll frame
Martaha Stewart - daisies
Vintage - doily, buttons, lace
Other - leaves, pumpkin twill tape, paper leaf doily


Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Musings

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."

- Stanley Horowitz

I can't tell you how much I adore the colors of fall. Shades of browns, burnt oranges, golden yellows and regal reds are spilling over the treetops and beyond. This is the time of year I miss the mountains of Pennsylvania. It seems like if you blink in the midwest you might miss nature's beautiful "fireworks". I try to enjoy these vibrant tones as long as I can before winter's stark bareness.

To celebrate, I made this yummy fall layout. Fresh and fun - full of my favorite fall colors. And who can forget a few vintage goodies? Doilies, laces, buttons - even an antique demitasse spoon - are fill the page. Because this layout is so loaded it would be better used as a display piece for your favorite fall photo.

Recipe for this layout:
Crafty Secrets Autumn Blessings Vintage Cuts
Basic Grey - Mellow
My Minds Eye paper
Martha Stewart border and corner punch
Vintage goodies

Blog Candy Winner!!

Thank you so much for playing along this past weekeveryone! The lucky winner of my scrumptious blog candy is.....
Pryn!!

Congratulations! When you get a chance, please email me your address when you get a chance so I can send you your goodies! (pieces_of_home@yahoo.com)

It's a Jungle out There!

“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people” - Eleanor Roosevelt

I have had the pleasure of working with a dear lady who is working on historical scrapbooks for a few of our most notable first ladies. Recently, I finished a custom order of little Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor had a wonderful relationship with her daddy. He would sit her down and tell her about his many traveling adventures with Eleanor eagerly listening at his side. Even though their time together was short, Eleanor treasured every moment. This particular layout depicts Eleanor daydreaming about her father's adventures in the jungle - wishing, she too, could explore the world someday.


So thank you Anne, for letting me be apart of your beautiful project. I have learned so much about these many extraordinary women and can't wait to learn more.