Merry Christmas Wands

I have the wonderful opportunity of directing a little performing and competition dance troupe called "The Sparklers". They are delightful four to six year old girls and they couldn't be cuter! I decided to make them wands that they could twirl around with for the holidays:

Using Magic Wands from SRM Stickers, I filled the wands with little chocolate candies and then wrapped each one with decorative tape. This tape is from last year's line by Martha Stewart. I loved the candy cane stripe effect :).

The toppers are actually ornaments and I glued them on in such a way that they could easily be removed from the wands and added to a tree. I used a snowflake ornament as my base, then added an accordion fold rosette. Next came a punched heart and a banner-cut sentiment (SRM of course). A little aqua twine and the wands were done :).

The girls loved them, especially the fact that they were wands. They started twirling immediately :). You can find more about these wands on the SRM Stickers blog today, here. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Attitude of Gratitude: Day 2

Today I am grateful for the sound of little, chubby feet that run with reckless abandon down the hallway when Mommy comes home. I'm grateful for the tackle-style hug I get when those feet reach me, even when I lose my balance and down we go. I'm grateful for the gleeful shout of "Mommy!" and the newly learned phrase, "I miss you at the store, Mommy." I'm grateful for Jaxon and the opportunity to be his mother. And even though it was nice to go grocery shopping last night sans boys, I was so glad to get home and see them all.

Have you been by the SRM Stickers blog lately? They have kicked off a new contest, all about Tubes. You can read more about it here. And while you're there, you can check out this Grateful Wand that I made.

While you are expressing your gratitude this month, take every chance you get to express your gratitude for someone to that someone. Everyone needs to hear that they are appreciated, and whether you do it with a handmade gift, a card, or even just an email or phone call, it's important that it be said.

Enjoy your day! Tessa

Pink Projects

I have a couple of projects out in blogland today, both of which are of the pink variety :). First up, a layout for the latest challenge at Scrapbook Circle - In Stitches:

Isn't my niece adorable?! She is SO cute :). The challenge is to use stitching on a layout, inspired by the sewing-themed papers in the October kit, Fresh Picked.

Everyone is welcome to play along, subscriber or not, so head over here for all the details. There's an awesome Halloween kit up for grabs.

I also have a project up on the SRM Stickers blog today.

I found a pink tennis shoe key chain in the dollar bin at JoAnn and just knew it had to become a wand for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Did you know that SRM Stickers has a whole line of BCA stickers? I used a phrase from one of the sheets on the tag.

Check out the SRM blog for more information and links to the BCA stickers. If you are looking for more BCA embellishments, take a peek at the kit in my Etsy shop here. Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope your Thursday is wonderful :). Tessa

Catching up at GCD Studios

Happy Monday! I've had a couple of posts go live at the GCD Studios blog that I didn't have a chance to mention here, so I thought I would share my projects today. First, a color palette-inspired layout:

This photo/color palette was my starting point:

The layered patterned papers and die-cut lace are by GCD Studios, as well as the brads and cabochons. The journaling is hidden on the tag behind the photo.

My latest project was inspired by this image that I found on Pinterest (source):

I basically made another wand like the one here, but with butterflies instead of flowers. All the patterned papers are by GCD Studios and the wand is by SRM Stickers. You can see more photos in my flickr photostream here.

The DT has been sworn to secrecy, but GCD has some really great things coming up! They are going to wow the floor at CHA-Winter :). Well, I'm off to get a very productive Monday in full swing. I hope yours is a good one! Tessa

Wedding Wand

Hello! I wanted to start this week off by sharing a project that was on the SRM Stickers blog on Friday:

SRM asked me to play with their new wedding stickers. As soon as I received the assignment I knew exactly what I wanted to make - a bouquet! I started with an SRM wand and filled it with pearl candies.  Next, I took a 5 inch styrofoam ball and bored a hole the same width as the wand through the center.

I glued over 40 handmade paper flowers to the ball and added the wand. I embellished the wand with a strand of vintage pearl trim, felt leaves, ribbon and a tag with one of the new stickers.

I love how it turned out and am already planning other versions - fabric flowers for a birthday bouquet, silk flowers for a get well bouquet, etc. You can see the original post at the SRM blog here.

I hope your weekend was wonderful and that your week is looking bright, too :). Thanks for stopping by - I love all my visitors and appreciate the time you take to see what I've been up to.  Have a great day! Tessa

Short and Sweet and SRM

Hello! How are you? I have lots to share today :).  It's Thursday, which means I have a Sketchy Thursdays layout to share:

I got the itch to cut my hair and my sister/stylist obliged :).  We took out the blond highlights I added in late Spring and went dark.  I love the color, but I miss the length.  She took off five inches!

I used some bits and pieces from various manufacturers, including a polka dot Cupcake Poppy from my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper.  I just restocked this color, too :).

I chose to do the left side of the double-page sketch, flipped to suit my photos:

I'm definitely going to save this sketch for a future two-pager :).  If you'd like to play along this week, you can find all the details here, along with fantastic samples by the design team.

My dance studio's annual showcase was a couple of weeks ago. In years past I've taught 20-30 classes every week, and making something special for each student wasn't an option.  However, since I only had three classes this year, I took the opportunity to spoil them with treats :).  SRM stickers, tubes and wands were my inspiration and here is what I created:

You can see detailed shots on the SRM blog today, as well as more pictures in my flickr photostream.

Thank you again for all your kind thoughts and prayers for Jaxon.  After we did all we could do, he just wouldn't cooperate at the dentist's yesterday.  We are going to try another pediatric dentist who works more often with really young, stubborn kiddos like Jaxon before we go the oral surgeon route.  He isn't in any pain, so other than a weird smile, he's doing okay.  Your well wishes have been heartwarming and comforting.  Have a fabulous day! Tessa

4th of July Wand and Tutorial

My favorite holiday is just around the corner - the 4th of July! We are celebrating Independence Day (and other summer fun) on the SRM blog today.  I am sharing these wands, perfect for waving at a parade or enjoying before the fireworks show begins:

Would you like to see how I made them?  Here goes :).  Gather your materials: wands, glue dots, E6000 glue, scissors, necklaces or garland, and a pom pom.

1. Begin by trimming down your pom pom for the wand topper. You will want a fairly large, flat end for gluing the pom pom to the wand's lid.

2. Remove the lid from your wand. Add a generous dab of E6000 glue to the lid and place the pom pom firmly in the center.  Lay aside to dry. Tip: Don't play with the glue!  It won't seem very sticky at first, but if you let it dry without fussing over it, you'll get a secure attachment.

3. Cut your necklace into a strand. Add a glue dot to the back of a star and adhere to your wand, leaving enough room for the lid.

4. Fill with candy and replace the lid (once dry!).  Tip: I used Red Hots and York Peppermint Patty Pieces for my red, white and blue candies.

Continue adding glue dots to the stars as you wind the strand around the wand.  When you've reached the end, simply snip off the remaining necklace.

If you are interested in making wands or tubes, and your local scrapbook store isn't carrying them, you can order some directly from SRM Stickers here.  I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Let me know if you have any questions :).  Have a great day! Tessa

PS - My class at Miss Art's Papercrafting School starts today! If your journaling is in need of jazzing up, be sure to take a look here :).

Monkeys and Bling

You may recall that a few weeks ago my little man turned two.  We had a monkey-themed birthday party for him:

For favors, I made a jungle of tubes and wands by SRM Stickers.  A little leftover greenery from a floral design project, rosettes with monkey faces, and chocolates that looked trunk-like made these favors a hit :).

The tubes stood by themselves perfectly, but because my wands were a little top heavy, I displayed them in large, glass vases.

A few years ago I won this party kit from Martha Stewart, but the monkey theme was a little too young for my boys at the time.  So I saved it and luckily remembered that I had it when I started preparing for Jaxon's party.  We call him monkey all the time, so it was very fitting :).

You can check out this party on the SRM Stickers blog today, and if you scroll down to Friday's post, you will also see the magic wand I made one of my soloists right before her first competition this year.  The colors match her costume perfectly :).

My favorite part was the bling wrapped around the wand.  I used three or four strips of rhinestones, just lining them up end to end and trying to wrap the wand as evenly as possible.  I loved the effect :).

I have several more of these wands and tubes to share with you soon - they are so fun to play with!  Favors, little gifts, containers, thank yous....  If you don't have a retailer near you that sells SRM products, you should check out their website and pick some up :).  Have a wonderful day everyone! Tessa

Chelsea's Wand

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a birthday party for one of my students at the dance studio.  Chelsea chose a Rock Star theme and we transformed the studio into a pink, purple, and turquoise wonderland of guitars, streamers, glittered microphones and feather boas.  It was so much fun!  Before the craziness of the party, I just had to make her a little gift and looked no further than a magic wand from SRM Stickers.

I made an asterisk shape from three colors of tulle and glued a big checkered bow to the center.  A pink guitar and an SRM Stickers sentiment finished off the wand and I filled it with flavored tootsie rolls (in pink, of course!).

You can find more ideas for wands and tubes at the SRM blog all week, and I have several more projects to share soon.

Today is the last day of the Scrapbook Circle Blog Hop.  If you would like to be in the running for one of two full kits, join us!  One of those kits could be yours, or you could win a $10.00 credit at any of the designers' blogs.

Have a great day! Tessa

More Birthday Details and a Giveaway

Happy Thursday! I've been a bit absent again, haven't I?  I've just been busy with field trips, the Etsy shop, and life in general.  I'm dying to really get into some crafty/scrappy things this weekend, so you'll see much more from me soon :).

Today is Thursday, which means I get to share a layout inspired by this week's newest sketch at Sketchy Thursdays.  It's a fabulous double-page sketch, but I opted to use just one side for this layout:

The morning of Colten's birthday I treated him to donuts for breakfast.  Then I surprised him by sending him with two dozen glazed to share with his class.  He was a happy kid :).

Isn't this birthday line by Basic Grey fun?  I love all the woodgrain colors, pinwheels and banners.  It's a great boyish birthday line.

And speaking of Colten's birthday, several people were inquiring about the mustache party favors I made for the party.  I can finally share - my "make a wish" mustache wands are featured at the SRM blog today.

I also made a few really cute garlands out of red, yellow and white tickets, as well as punched circles.  I don't have another use for them and would love to pass them on to someone who could use them.  Are you interested?  Leave me a comment telling me that you'd like them and I'll draw a name on Monday.

Have a wonderful day! Tessa