Happy Holidays!

Wow, where has the time gone? I didn't mean for 2 1/2 weeks to go by without posting. (How did that happen?) Well, on second thought, Christmas parties, holiday concerts, Christmas shopping, rushing Christmas orders out, making several hand-crafted mini scrapbooks with customized photo CD's, waiting at the post office....

Yes, it's been a busy time here.

I hope all of you had a marvelous Christmas or Hanukkah, and that your new year is full of love and happiness.

Until the new year actually starts, I thought I'd share some photos of the mini-scrapbooks I made. These were taken before I added photos and other embellishments since I don't want to post personal pictures of the recipients.

There were five books in all. The papers largely coordinated for all five, though there were some slight variations between the different books. (If you look at the photos, you'll see what I mean).

These books are made from CD holders which are covered in patterned paper and held together by adhering them to solid colored cardstock. The covers and spines were made from solid-colored cardstock as well.

Frosty the Snowflake

Okay, so I was trying to think of a clever title. Anyhow, I thought I'd post another holiday card. I decided to depart from my usual colors of red & green, and I'm very happy with out it turned out. I have to confess, I got my courage after Meridith Anne from Lizzie Anne Designs sent me a Christmas card. I'm pretty sure I hung onto it, so if I find it I just might post it.

Anyhow, I used a white craft pad on the snowflakes. I liked how they were a little more translucent that way. I also used whisper white to set off the boxed snowflakes, though if I had some shimmering white I might have used that instead. I made this card before I saw Lizzie Anne's snowflake. Cute huh?

You use what you've got though, right?

So, what is your favorite holiday card color combo?

Baby on the Brain

In honor of my friend's new baby boy, I'm posting a picture of the block I made for her. I made it generic since she's not done having children, and may have another boy--so it can be used again in her nursery. (Also, I gave it to her before she had the little cutie and before they had decided on a name).

If she wants, I may change it so it says, "C is for Cameron". (That's the nice thing about vinyl--you can peel it off and start over if you want). :D

What's Wrong With This Picture?

So after wishing for snow the other day we actually got some white stuff. However.....



It stuck on the streets & sidewalks (and was rather icy), but it didn't really stick to the brown lawn.

LOL. Oh well. Happy December.

Let it Snow!

Well, it's November 29, and the ground is..... brown. Uggh.

So, here's wishing we get some white stuff sometime before too much longer. (As long as I don't have to drive in it).

There's a good idea--snow that falls only where you want it to. :D

Thanks for being patient with the lack of posts this week or so. I've been helping a dear friend who is 9 months pregnant (well not anymore since she had the baby today!)

She's done the baby thing before, but not with a broken kneecap (hence the reason she's needed extra help). Hopefully she'll be out of the brace in a couple of weeks (she was in a cast until a week ago). It's going to be a long road to recovery, but we're all trying to be as supportive as we can.

So, thanks again for understanding why there was a sudden drop in posts. I'll try to be a bit more frequent, but it might be hard until my friend is on her feet again.

Holiday Fun!

Wow, what a busy weekend. I fully intended on posting more blog entries, but time truly got away from me.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We spent a lot of it with my in-laws who came into town. We also put up the Christmas tree (no, it's not decorated yet), and did some "fall" cleaning. (Leaves, move mattresses around, etc). It's only just stated to calm down, and tomorrow we're back in school!

In any case, after so much vinyl, I thought I'd post a fun little holiday card I made a couple of years ago.

This card I used two different naturals paper. The gingerbread men were stamped on kraft paper, cut out, embellished with marker & a painty pen, then popped onto the card with dimensionals. I got the idea from some wood gingerbread men I made years ago. The real wooden gingerbread men I painted have holes in their hands and are tied together with jute. For my card version, I drew little bows between their hands with a zig pen. (I probably would have used wire, but I came up with this card before Stampin' Up! carried decorative wire.

Stay tuned for more fun projects.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you get full of turkey and lots of yummy foods. I'm up late trying to bake somethings for our early dinner tomorrow (we're eating at 11:00 am). I'll try & have a card or some vinyl ready to post sometime tomorrow. I just didn't want to let another day go by without posting.

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Thanksgiving!

We have a Winner!

Congrats to Tricia! Her comment was chosen by a random number generator. I'll be emailing you shortly, and we can arrange delivery of your new tile.

I just want to say thank you to all who have participated in this giveaway. You guys rock. Not only did I hit 500 views, but we got close to 700! I'm thrilled with all the nice comments, and I'm so glad to know you like what we're doing with vinyl. It's very encouraging.

I had so much fun with this blog candy, that I'm definitely going to be doing it again, so look for that in the future.

Thank you again everyone!

Tiffiny

Blog Candy!

Well, we've hit a couple of milestones. They're little ones, but hey--any excuse to celebrate, right? First of all, I hit 25 posts this week. When I first started, I thought that it would take me forever to get there. I had planned on updating only 1x week. I soon discovered though, that I have a lot more to say than that. (Who'd have thought?)

Second, as I've mentioned previously, its the Utah Chocolate show this weekend. Chocolate in an of itself is a reason to celebrate, right?

Third, and this is where you can help me out, I'm within a stone's throw of reaching 500 hits on my blog. I put in the counter about a month ago, and I'm so excited to see that people are coming to check out my blog. Soooooo, in anticipation of this third one, and in honor of the other two, I'm going to be giving away some blog candy. I'll be giving away the 8x8 tile pictured below. So what do you say? Leave a comment & I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner Monday Morning.

Thanks for playing, and thanks for visiting!

It's Friday!

It's Friday, and I'm so glad. (Of course it also means I have to tackle laundry, but we can't have everything, right)?

This new sign uses a fun font called Passion's Conflict. It's one of my favorite new fonts (along with Ma Sexy). I think this will work well for some of my scrapbooking titles as well.

Do you have a favorite font?

Wash Your Mouth Out.

What more needs to be said???

LOL. The chocolate show starts tomorrow, and we've had so much fun getting ready for it. Who knew there were so many great quotes about chocolate out there? I also just wanted to say thanks for your kind suggestions & complements.

I actually have managed to do a little scrapbooking and card making in the midst of all this. My friend Peggy hosted a 10-10-20 at her home, and we made some great cards. I'll be posting them over the next few weeks.

I also finally had a chance to work on my mini-scrapbooks from our craft day at the church. I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product when it's done. It may take me a while, but I will get it done. :D

Have a great day!

Hand Over the Chocolate.

Well, it was a busy day today. One of my sweet kids got a cold & has been miserable. Fortunately the kidlet is feeling better tonight. I also sent off a "care package" to Jodee full of ready-to go vinyl quotes.

It looks like it will be a busy weekend for her too.

Is it Love?

So how many of us have secret stashes of chocolate? ::raising hand:: Guilty as charged. I have a secret stash of dark chocolate (my favorite) that I indulge in when I've had a rough day. What can I say? It makes me happy.

Apparently it makes my daughter happy too. When she was potty training, all she wanted for rewards for using the potty were chocolate truffles.

Now there's a girl after my own heart.

I guess you can say Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Balanced Diet

It's been a very long day, so I will make this a quick post with one of my favorite quotes. (See above). Let me clarify right now that I'm definitely a chocolate lover. I just adore chocolate--especially dark chocolate... mmmm. And I'm one of those people who think a lot of things taste better dipped in chocolate. Things like pretzels, nuts, & strawberries, as well as raisins, & peanut butter (so long as it is a butterfinger).

Afterall,

There are four basic food groups-milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.
-Anonymous

Have a great chocolate day.

(Oh & in case you are wondering, I will be posting chocolate quotes all week--I'll do two tomorrow to make up for missing yesterday. On Saturday I'll be giving away some blog candy in celebration of the Utah Chocolate Show).

Hot Chocolate...mmmm

Well, yesterday I mentioned the hot cocoa mugs we sold at the Utah Chocolate Show, so I thought I'd post a picture of them here. We used a different grade vinyl than what we normally use for the walls. (It's a stickier vinyl which adheres better when the mugs are washed--handwash

only). We also did a mug & plate set with "Santa's Cocoa" and "Santa's Cookies" on them.

Jodee came up with this idea, and it's been really popular. Last year I offered them at a few holiday craft boutiques locally & personalized a several for teacher gifts. And one of the craft day projects we did this year were mugs with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Santa & Teacher's cocoa on them. They all turned out really cute.

In my own family, my kids like having their own mugs. It means no fighting over which mug belongs to whom--much like the personalized Trick-or-Treat buckets. (I love doing things that cut down on fighting). Last year we started having hot chocolate as their after school treat. It's cold walking home from school!

Chocolate anyone?

One of the nice things about fall and early winter is that chocolate seems to be in abundance. Those yummy truffles at Costco come back (they are covered in cocoa powder and literally melt in your mouth). There is also hot chocolate, homemade fudge for the holidays, and cookie exchanges (the more chocolate the better).

Next weekend is the Utah Chocolate Show in Salt Lake City. We did some signage for them last year and sold some of our cocoa mugs at a booth. This year we're making up some 2 ft. long quotes for boards or for your wall (personal choice). We've found some hilarious chocolate quotes, and as I prepare them, I'll be posting pictures.

This one I've prepped the vinyl, but I haven't applied the application tape just yet. I'll be sending these unmounted to Salt Lake, where Jodee (my friend who started this business with me) will be putting some on boards and selling some as unmounted quotes. I'll definitely post pictures of any finished products I've got. Afterall, who doesn't love chocolate?

Count Your Blessings

Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, I thought it was appropriate to post this vinyl project. I think that in the whirl of being a mom & coordinating all of our family's activities, I get so busy that I forget that the best things in life are not "things," but the family I live with everyday.

My friend put this above her kitchen table. It's her way of reminding herself that what we do as moms is important. Above my kitchen table I have, "Laughter is our favorite recipe." It's what my parents are quoted saying when a friend of theirs wrote a cookbook. It reminds me of the dinnertimes of my childhood and how much we all need to laugh and create good memories together.

It's time to make your Christmas Cards

I was clearing out the set samplers again and I came across this Christmas card I created. I used the embossing gun on the ribbon to make it shrink & shrivel the way it does. It is a simple, yet elegant touch. You have to be careful though—if you hold the heat gun in one place too long you can melt a hole into the ribbon. You can see what I mean in the close-up. The hole in the ribbon and the frayed edges are why I hung on to this card--I didn't want to send a damaged one to a friend.

If you want to try shriveling your own ribbon, I recommend trying the heat gun on a test sample first to make sure you don’t end up with a ribbon that pulls too tight on your cardstock. (I found it easiest to tie the ribbon first, then use the heat gun).

I also don't recommend sending too many of these through the mail. The year I did these I discovered I had to pay extra postage due to the bulk they created in the envelope.

All materials are Stampin’ Up!

World Card Making Day Card

Well, things have finally slowed down enough for me to finish assembling my WCMD card & take a picture of it. I used High Hellos from Lizzie Anne Designs & Stampin' Up! inks. I was sitting in the dentist office waiting for my kids to get their check-ups done, when this idea came to me. I love this color combination--it's very earthy and organic to me.

I love High Hellos from Lizzie Anne Designs. It is light & whimsical--perfect for the fun stamper in me.

Do you have a favorite Lizzie Anne stamp set?

Take a Breath

Wow. It's November already. (Where did October go?) Have you figured out your holiday presents yet? What about your cards? Are you making them, buying them??

Well, I've started buying presents already, but they are not anywhere near being finished.

Before the bustle of the holidays hit (I saw Christmas and Hanukkah items in the store 2 weeks ago--before you know it, we'll be leaving them up all year long--oh wait, some things I already do, like my holiday lights), :) take a deep breath and focus.

Remember what is truly important in your life. Count your blessings. It really will help you focus on what absolutely has to get done, and the best way to do it. If you get the "big rocks" (family, health, faith) into place, the rest of it (the sand & water) will fall into place too.

I know one thing I am grateful for is all the women who helped me prepare for two massive craft nights (200+ projects). I couldn't have made it without them. If you are one of them (and you know who you are) and you are reading this, THANK YOU!!!!! You are the best!

More Halloween Fun!

Last year I wanted to create a wall hanging that I could switch out for my regular art on the walls. This is what I came up with first. It is a 12x12 wood board spray painted in a shiny black acrylic. I have a font with fun Halloween-themed dingbats, and I wanted to incorporate them into a square sign. I also wanted it to be versatile for smaller displays, so this particular design also works well on 4x4 black bathroom tiles.

I came up with the idea for this second sign after I made the Boo board. I was playing around with the idea of spiders and using two colors of vinyl to make a sign (much like our overlays). I love how it turned out. Now that I've gotten my orange vinyl, I'm thinking of tackling a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern design. It looks like I'll be finishing those after Halloween since this week I am trying to finish up the last of the Friday Frenzy orders, and I also need to help my sister-in-law who just fractured her kneecap and is 3rd term pregnancy. (Yikes!)

I've got one more Halloween inspired idea that I will try & post for you tomorrow. Let me just say, it's gone a long-way in preventing fights over candy. Until then, Happy Fall!
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Halloween Fun

This is a cute little sign I made for my home two years when we were first starting out. We love fall & Halloween around here. There is something in the air when leaves are falling that I just love. Orange reminds me of fall for so many reasons--leaves, pumpkins, Halloween & football (orange & blue were my high school colors).

And speaking of falling leaves, Melissa Allen, who took some of the professional shots for our website, just posted these gorgeous leaves on her photography blog. Check it out.

Still busy

Wow! I'm so excited! The response to the proposed craft day projects has been excellent. The ladies groups put out displays with several different options for vinyl projects (as well as some sewing, painting, card making & the like). Between the various women's groups I'm processing vinyl for over 325+ projects!

One of the most popular items has been the "Believe" blocks. You can see a picture of it below. It's a little hard to see, but instead of a dot for the "i" in believe--there is a gold star. This believe block is a super easy project to do--perhaps that is why it is so popular. :)

I've also been playing around with more project ideas in my head. I've got a couple of ideas for Halloween (now that I have my orange vinyl) that I'm excited to try out. I'll try & post pictures of a the projects I did last year over the next few days.

Another baby card!

So, I still haven't had time to finish assembling my latest stamped card (using Lizzie Anne Designs' High Hellos). But as I was clearing out my stamp room, I found another baby card. This one was my daughter’s birth announcement. I’ve got a tiny “she’s here” embossed in the corner. By Definition (Stampin' Up!) provides the background. I was careful to make sure love showed up in the top corner of all the announcements. It's a pretty simple color scheme, but it works for an announcement.

Do you have a favorite color combination for baby announcements/cards that is a little unusual, or do you stick with the basics too?

Blog Tag - About Me

So blogspot is having another technical error day. I'm not able to upload photos again.

Instead I'll post my answers to the tag game.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) –Cindy Maxima

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Pumpkin Oreo

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) T-Gun. Oooh I sound vicious.

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) –Celadon Tiger .

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Hannah Houston. Okay not really, but it sounds good, right?

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) – Gun-ti –sounds like a Gungan name unless I stick the hyphen in there like Shaak-ti. (Yes I’m a geek).

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Red Smoothie.

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- William Harold

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Colors Twix.

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) none and none…so I will make up one…Jane Lawrence? or better yet... Jane Peters (after two of my favorite authors, Jane Austen & Elizabeth Peters).

Well, enough silliness for now. I've got to play with the kidlets and run some more orders.

Another Tile Idea

Phew! I made it through last week. I finally got a picture posted of the tile project we did. Blogspot was apparently having problems loading photos for a few days.

This week looks like it will be busy as well. My sister-in-law is expecting and getting very close to her delivery date. Consequently she's got several appointments & a birthing class, so I'll be watching her children a few days this week. My own kids have parent-teacher conferences coming up soon too. (Mom duty first guys!) In addition one of my sweet darlings may be having some food sensitivity issues, so I've got to change his diet. Hopefully this will be a positive thing for everyone. Fortunately, of all the children, he loves the biggest variety of foods. Wish me luck with these changes.

I'm posting a picture of another tile we're creating for one of the craft days I mentioned. It's a good reminder that we should take time to enjoy the things around us--not just muddle through the day/week/month/year (take your pick). :D

So even though you may be busy too, enjoy the small things around you. After all, as I've heard it said, "Any day above ground is a good one." :D

Crunch Time!

Well, it's only a week & a half into October--which means it's crunch time. From now until the holidays are over, we'll be going full-speed with our vinyl projects.

I did manage to stamp a new card for WCMD, but haven't been able to assemble or photograph it yet. (Yes, I'm that busy). :D

One of the reasons we've been so busy is all the craft days we're preparing for. In some places they call them Super Saturdays and in others they are Friday Frenzy. Either way it means a ton of cute new projects!

This new tile is one we've done for a church group. It looks nice sitting on an easel (haven't found one I like yet for my home decor) any time of year, or it could be considered a Christmas decoration.

I'll try and keep you posted on any other new projects we've created. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get them up on our Walls of Wisdom website since our webmaster & his wife just had their first baby. (Congrats guys!)

Looking Back in Time for World Cardmaking Day!

Have you heard about World Card Making Day? I heard about it from Lizzie Anne Designs. I think this a wonderful idea, and I'm going to be entering some new creations in their contest. I just got High Hellos in the mail, and after I take care of a couple of vinyl orders I plan on making up a couple of new cards using that set. I'll post them here when I'm done.

For the last couple of months, I’ve been cleaning out my stamp room. Now that I’m no longer a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, (which I did for 8+ years) I find I don’t need any of my set samplers. I've uncovered some buried treasures as well as some cards that make me laugh. (What were we thinking?)

I’ve been turning a few of the nicer card fronts into full-fledged cards. I think I'll use these are my backup cards when I don’t have time to make new creations.

Now as for those cards that make me laugh--as I’ve been looking back I’ve found some cards I made during my early days into stamping. I remember how awed I felt by the things you could do with Brush markers (see the Thank You sample in which we separated the flower from the verse). I also remember my first attempt at a wedding card and my first foray into spectrum pads. I’m posting them here for you to see. Don’t mock—these are from the days when I had only eight pads, two kinds of paper (white & naturals) and a couple of markers. I've definitely come a long way in style and technique since then.

BTW, all sets copyrighted Stampin’ Up! and are retired. If you’re dying to recreate these masterpieces--I’d be happy to sell you the set if I still have it. :P

Baby Gifts

As I mentioned, I’ve had lots of friends having babies lately. My new favorite gift to give is our Bath Time tin filled with lots of baby bath supplies. The little hippo was designed by Meridith Anne of Lizzie Anne Designs, and licensed for a fee. He’s too cute! This vinyl project started off as wall art for a tub surround in a kid’s bathroom--(which was darling by the way).

One day last year I needed to make a baby shower gift, and I was playing around with different container ideas. I happened to have an empty paint can and voila! The Bath Time Tin was born.

A friend of mine had me make a few for her which she filled with things like bath crayons, colored bubble bath and other things older kids would like in the tub. Her son gave it away as a fun birthday present.

I'm always looking for cute containers to put gifts into, and I love that I can customize them now too.

Back to My Roots Baby!

I've had a lot of friends having babies lately, so I felt the urge to get back to my creative roots and create a simple card to go with their baby gifts. The stamp sets I used are Scrappin Stamps & Scrappin Stamps II from Lizzie Anne Designs. I also used Warmest Regards and I'm Here from Stampin' Up! Inks & paper are Stampin' Up!

I tend to like fairly simple, clean designs in stamping. I love little embellishments (like the flower eyelet) which add some interest and don't detract from the overall picture. I'm that way in decorating my home. Clean lines--no clutter.

Of course when are we ever clutter-free when we've got kids running around?

Still it's a dream I aspire to. :D

It's been a while since I've had time to sit down and stamp. I'm hoping now that school has started back up I might find the occasional 15 minutes to stamp here & there. I'm hoping I'll be able to post slightly more than once a week too.

If you have children, how do you make time for your creative pursuits? Leave a comment--maybe we can give each other some great ideas.

Disney Inspirations

Lizzie Anne Design's Meridith & Tricia's made a recent trip to Disneyland. Their trip inspired me to create some Disney themed ideas. I've posted just three of them here. First idea--The Winnie the Pooh theme song would be a perfect border or text block in a nursery. Second--Mickey Ears (Isabel) or Minnie fonts (Jackson) are fun ways to feature your child's name over their bed(s). Third idea--The Dream quote could go on a wall above a picture from a Disney park.

You could also customize a picture frame (on the glass or actual frame) or a mat board with a name or short phrase.

I've got a ton of Disney photos to go through, so check back in the future for my own completed project.

(See, inspiration really can come from anywhere!)

Spirited Walls for the Sports Fan

You can take inspiration for decorating your walls from pretty much anywhere.

These photos come from my friend's son's room. He is a HUGE football fan. (Though he loves sports in general).

To achieve this look, she first measured the length of each wall. We figured out how much lyric she could have based upon the approximate height she wanted the letters to be as well as the wall space we had to work with.

Then she painted her walls in the school colors, used a laser level to make sure the lyrics were straight, and presto--a fun collegiate sports themed room is born. She added a plaque above some football pictures and some fun pillows as well as drawer pulls and other themed accessories.

Do you have a sports fanatic in your family? Consider doing something similar with their room.

Kitchen Project Idea

Want a fun way to "spice" up your kitchen? (Yes, pun was intended.) Try placing a food related phrase or quote on your walls. Since our vinyl is removable, you can always change your mind on what you want it to say.

My tip for the day is this. Since vinyl is a one-time application, try placing your vinyl on the wall (backing paper still attached) and tape it there. Move it around to different locations to see if one appeals to you more than another. Here you see the vinyl on the overhang between the family room and breakfast nook as well as above the patio door.

Welcome!

Welcome to Tiffiny's Walls of Wisdom page. I hope you enjoy visiting here and getting a few creative ideas. If you are new to Walls of Wisdom, we specialize in removable decorative vinyl which give a hand-painted look that only takes minutes to apply. We'll customize your phrase and any image size to your specifications. All you have to do is apply it to your your flat surface. (Walls, mirrors, tiles, plastic, & plaques work well--brick does not).

Since this is my personal blog for posting ideas, (you can link to Walls of Wisdom here), I'll occasionally be posting card & scrapbook pages images (my first love that led to this). They will feature stamps from Lizzie Anne Designs. Lizzie Anne Designs have created some of our very fun graphic images. Check out the gallery for examples.

If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to email or call us! We’d be delighted to help you determine what your wall word needs are.