Ruff

Sometimes, things get a little Ruff. Some people are a little Ruff around the edges. I Ruff You! Ruff-roh!! Whatever Ruff means to you, there's no denying that this little guy is so cute and guaranteed to put a smile on someone's face.

Miss You

I made this card for the St. Jude's charity a few years ago. The puppy looks a little lonesome as he sleeps under a night sky. The inside of the card very simply says, "Miss You."

Spring Blooms

I love spring flowers. Living in Oregon, you cherish the warmer months, the pops of color and the smell of flowers in the air (I love it even though I have allergies). After seven months of rain, it's wonderful to see color everywhere you go. This card captures what spring in Oregon looks like. Fresh, simple and brightly colored.

Tinker Bell

I have always loved Tinker Bell, so I handled this one with special care. Her wings are hand-painted and glittered. It was a lot of work, but very worth it. I think she's stunning against the black and white background.

Argyle

Argyle was made for Allen. He loves earth-tone colors, especially when combined with a plaid pattern. I certainly had him in mind when I made this card. He loved it!

Holidays08: Bath Snow

Well, it's no secret that money is tight for everyone this year. So, in an effort to spend a minimal amount of money but get a large yield of gifts, I decided to make scented bath salts for my girlfriends this year. I decided to call it "Bath Snow" because the salt itself is really fine and we're in the midst of a very rare blizzard (rarely snows here unless you live near the mountain or high in the hills).

For those of you that haven't tried making them, they are really easy to do and the expense is minimal. The most expensive part is the glass jars you put them in, but you can use any old jars; they don't have to be anything fancy or special. I normally find glass jars for $1-$3 at Michael's but they were out of those kind, and i couldn't find any mason jar sets at the stores (too close to the holidays, everyone is canning...or planning for canning). These glass jars all ran at $5, but again, this was the most expensive portion of the craft.

Anyway, to make the bath salts, all you do is buy a couple cartons of Epsom Salts (they sell it in the craft stores for $8 for a 12oz jar...but you can find them in your local supermarket or drugstore--i went to walgreens--for $2-$3 a 3lb. carton), essential oils or soap fragrance, vitamin E (drug store find) and soap dye. Some people use food coloring, but I don't recommend it, as it can turn your loved ones and their bathtub whatever color you chose. Not good!

Measure your salt to the size jar. I like to pour a bunch of epsom salt in the jar and then dump it into a bowl. Since your jars may be different shapes and sizes, it's hard to say, "use X cups." Dump your salts into a bowl, add your desired fragrance (start slowly cuz a little goes a long way), a squirt of vitamin E oil, and start adding your color (again, go slow). Mix with a whisker to get everything combined and put it in your jar(s). I put a small wooden craft spoon in each jar for the recipient to scoop their Bath Snow into the tub.

The purple is lavender (with real lavender flowers in it); yellow is linen/lilly of the valley; orange is tangerine/lychee, and the brown is vanilla/lavender. So yummy!

I made the tags using the JOTS cart ornament feature and tied it to the jars using silver elastic string.

Really easy project that's inexpensive and with a high yield. Besides, what women doesn't want to take a nice, relaxing bath with yummy scents?

Enjoy (and maybe even try it at home)!

Have Your Cake

Here's the second birthday card I made for another co-worker who shares my Dec. 1st birthday with me. I had a lot of fun making this card and love the "visual" interpretation of the saying, "Have your cake and eat it, too!" The six pink cakes are decorated with free-hand designs using glitter glue, and are assembled using popdots (double-sided foam circles) to create a 3D image. I also added metallic silver cake stands, also decorated with clear glitter and glitter candles on each cake. Card measures 61/2 x 5.