Handmade Christmas Gifts

Tis’ the season for finding the perfect gifts to give to our family and friends. I Decided to make a few gifts again this year, to add that personal handmade thought and touch to each one. So I put the wood working tools, paint brushes and Cricut to good use this holiday season.

I started with another Family sign for my sons Great Grandparents (they have been asking what I’ve been working on all year long… every time their saw was borrowed to cut my wood in fact) LOL. I chose the colors that I knew where in their new furniture and I must say, it looks great in their home.

Then I wanted to do something a little different for the boys’ grandmother, so I decided to make a smaller sign with a different phrase. “Home is Where the Heart is” is what I chose. I knew shelf space was limited so this one fits in nicely. Again I used the colors that were in the furniture to tie the look together.

The next couple I did for my Sisters in Law. One of them is very much into the Primitive Décor, country sayings and plaids so I made this set of words that are stackable in pyramid form. Another 2x4 project, and I made sure to keep the biggest of the 3 under 12 inches wide so I did not have to piece and seam the background paper. They are 10”, 8” and 6”.

The next is probably the most personalized of all. My other sister in law loves shoes! When I was looking for ideas I kept seeing references to the Wizard of Oz and the Ruby slippers and an idea hit me right away! I had a vision in my head of exactly how I wanted things to look and I achieved just that by keeping things classic with the black and white AND by making the paint job very rough looking. I added some bling to the shoes to make them appear fancy and the project was complete. This one was made on a 10” wide pine board, cut 2 feet long, and I did use mod podge to seal everything in to place.Everyone was pleased with what they got and only then did I know I did a good job.

Happy Crafting!

~Jenn

My Christmas Signs

It is true, I am picky. LOL To elaborate, I have an idea in my head of how I would like my home to be decorated during the holidays, and since it is very hard to find what I want I decided to make some things for myself.

First thing I made was this set of stacking blocks (made from 2x4). I love all things with peppermint and candy cane stripes (just red & white, not really green). I saw a set of painted blocks on the internet with just these words. I changed it up a bit by adding background papers to mine.

Next I made a few signs out of pine boards 3 are from 6 inch pine, the other is of 10 inch pine. All words were cut using my Cricut, and I did seal all of these over with Mod Podge.

In my house we are believers of Santa Claus. I do collect Santa’s so I decided to make this sign to put over my window that says “We Believe in Santa Claus”. I was happy with how it turned out so I kept going….

I made another sign in the same color for the same room except with pegs for the boys to hang their Stockings on since we don’t have a mantle of any kind or a fire place. I cut the phrase “The Stockings Were Hung” for this sign. It looked so cute with the stockings hanging and served its purpose well.

This year was the first year I had decided to decorate my Kitchen. As I said before I am not a huge fan of green, BUT with forest greens mixed with old minty greens and white things looked really frosty and cool. Of course I still added the Red in there with words, berries and my Peppermint/snowy accessories.

I went with a theme in my Kitchen of my Favorite Holiday Movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. With my windows being different and having nice lengths I made signs to sit on the tops of each of them. The first being simple and saying “It’s a Wonderful Life”, the second being like the road sign in the movie saying “You are Now Entering Bedford Falls” (I know the movie says you are now IN Bedford Falls, but this just looked better).

I THINK next year I will add to this theme and make a sign to hang on the wall on the other side of the Kitchen that says “Bailey Brother’s Building & Loan”, or something like that. J

Thanks for reading along and checking to see what I’ve been up to. I wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday Season and maybe you have a wonderful New Year!

Happy Crafting!

~Jenn

Teacher's Gifts

I was asked this holiday season if it were possible to make a few Teacher’s Gifts. I was excited to create something different than what I have been doing so I accepted the job. I was sent a photo of the type of idea she was looking for, and I went ahead and did my own thing and came up with these.Pretty simple… again I chose to work with 2x4’s, kept it classic with black paint, but instead of using background papers, I opted just to do the letters, and to give it a more finished look I tied a piece of Ribbon around each “I”. Each set is personalized with the Teacher’s name.

I really liked how these turned out. Later in the week my nephew had asked me to make a gift for his Teacher, so I decided to make another one of these. As I was working I had a domino effect of ideas and decided to make one for my nieces Teacher and also some for my sons Teachers as well.

So in total I made up 7 of these and couldn’t have been more pleased with how they all turned out.

Happy Crafting

~Jenn

Signs Orders - Family Dance? :)

It’s that time of year and orders have been rolling in for some handmade gifts. This year I made 6 Family Signs and a Dance Sign. I was fun making a bulk order and it did help me figure out ways to create these projects more easily and use my time more efficiently.

All of these are the same as what I have been doing all along. 2x4’s as the material of choice, color combinations to what was asked for and my Cricut for all my lettering needs. Without my little bug I’d be making NOTHING, because I definitely wouldn’t want to be cutting out all of these letters by hand! LOLI was also asked to make a Dance Sign. Because of the Darker paper used I opted for White Font instead of black… I wasn’t 100% happy with the white until I added the bling to each letter to make them stand out more, after that I was thrilled with how this one turned out!!Until Next time, Happy Crafting!

~Jenn

Our New Michael's!!!

FINALLY!!!! After years of hoping and wishing there is finally a Michael’s Store in New Minas!!!! Unfortunately I no longer live close by like I once did so I still rarely get to go there, but hey, at least it’s close. LOL

I was lucky enough to be in the area on opening day (nope not a coincidence, it was planned that way, but don’t tell everyone else that!!). It’s a great store, smaller than the Michael’s Stores I’ve been to in the city, but organized and set up a LOT better than they are. I didn’t have a lot of money with me (that was probably a good thing for the budget), but I did have enough to pick up something I have always wanted but have been unwilling to pay the shipping costs to get it from the states and that item was the ATG Adhesive! YAY!!!

My ATG was not only CHEAPER than any I have looked at o

nline (even with better US pricing), but it was way cuter too because it was the Breast Cancer Awareness edition so it’s pretty in PINK!

I can’t wait to go back again and walk around when it’s not so busy…. Opening day was kind of crowded but I was glad to be a part of it. I was a VERY happy Girl that day! A new Store AND a new toy for The Cherry Pit!!! J Now to figure out how and when I can move back to that area!!! LOL

Until Next Time, Happy Scrappin’!

~Jenn

Tick Tock Goes The Clock!

I always seem to lose track of 'time' when I'm crafting, I guess it's true what they say..."Time flies when you're having fun!" :) I've been wanting to alter a clock for a long time but just never found anything I liked that was at a reasonable price. I found this plain white clock at Dollarama (my favorite store! I get all my alterables there!), and I bought it!

As soon as I got it home I took it out of the packaging and took the whole thing apart and got to work right away. I chose papers in colors that I've been using in my other decor projects for the Cherry Pit, it was a bit of a challenge to use only papers and not layering too much because I had to keep everything as flat as possible so the clock hands would still be able to move around. Speaking of the clock hands, I thought I was NEVER going to get them back in place! I had to take every part apart to be able to put my paper in place.... I lost and found a few pieces along the way, and I am proud to say this clock is ticking right along and keeping time well. :)

Thanks for stopping by today, I haven't been doing a lot this year in the crafty part of my world, so I was pretty excited to have started AND completed this little project.

Happy Scrappin'

~Jenn

Baby: A Gift From Above

I’ve been making a lot of these signs lately, and I wanted to do something a little different just to see how it would look. This is my “Test” piece of a baby sign, but I think it turned out to be one of my best signs yet!

“Baby: a gift from above”, done in browns and blues, with a hint of orange and green looks very boyish or just rustic. A Perfect item to put in a Baby’s Nursery, or to give as a gift to an expecting family or at a Baby Shower.

I wish I had thought of this back when I was still putting together baby rooms for my boys. J

Happy Crafting!

~Jenn

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

My Niece has been in Dance classes for years. This year I was lucky to be living close enough to go to her recital. She did a great job (and so did her Mom, who dances also). She is getting to that age where she has accumulated a ton of toys, and though she still loves them, she is growing up, and starting to ask for more grown up things. So instead of purchasing a toy I have no idea if she’d even like, I opted to make her a gist this year. I made this sign just for her, pinks, silvers and black as a more “grown up” yet still girly color combination and lots of sparkle (just like her). J

Happy Crafting!
~Jenn

Show a Little Team Spirit

This year I took on the task of helping to Coach my boys' t-ball team. I was pretty excited, and because me being me, I wanted something with me that showed my Team Spirit. So I decided to get a clipboard to alter and here's what I came up with.

I even managed to find a baseball eraser top to put on my pencil....lol

The photo on the clipboard is of two of my boys and my niece who were all on the team together. It's been a fun season so far, and I'm sure it's only gonna get better from here.

Happy Scrappin'

~Jenn

Finally some things to post!!!

Hi to all!!! I hope you are all having good days and have found some time to be creative. I have slowly been finding my groove and slowly completing projects I had long ago started. Gonna make a few posts here today just to break things up a little bit.... today was all about alterations.

Of all these projects not one of them was started today..... no sir, they were all started months ago and have been waiting for me to brave putting up with the cricut long enough to cut my words and images. I love my cricut, but sometimes it's so much of a pain in the butt that I dred using it, but that was NOT the case today :)

The following I have made to put in my Scrap Room.... The Cherry Pit :) Another wooden block sign, with an inspirational scrappy saying. This one is a bit different than ones I have made previously as I used a few different paint colors instead of sticking with all black. I wasn't sure at first how it was going to turn out, but in the end I really like the look.

This is a baking sheet I altered in to a maganetic board. Titled for the Cherry Pit, and using the same coordinating papers as the block sign. The maganets I made by cutting the tails off of brads and gluing on a maganet in their place, this was pretty fun and simple to make.

This sign I made to put in my kitchen to help tie in all the colors I've got going on in there. I painted a 12x15 canvas in the color blocking you see here, then used my Cricut along with Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) to cut my words and the mugs. I used multiple fonts as I like the look of mixed media. Such a fun and inexpensive project to make.

Lastly I finished up these signs I had started to make to hang in my bathroom. Not the most traditional saying to use for home decor, but it tickles my sense of humor, besides I really wanted something that would "match" these cute toilet paper rolls. :) I really like how these turned out and how they look hanging in the bathroom.

As far as finished altered projects this is it for now. I have one more thing in the works but it is going to take a bit more time to complete. I hope to get it done and posted soon as I cannot wait to show it off!!!! ;)

Ok, off to set up my next entry, just a few pages and cards I have made lately.

Happy Scrappin'
~Jenn

I'm still HERE!

I'm still here, I haven't forgotten about my blog yet! haha I'm slowly picking away at a few ideas and getting some things done in the Cherry Pit. Some creative stuff and some organization stuff... both of which are helping me get back in to my creative groove!

It appears as though spring has sprung early (gosh I hope I didn't just jinx all this nice weather we've been having) and with that the boys and myself have been taking every opportunity we can get to get out there and enjoy our days not being cooped up in the house. As you can imagine I've been out there with them being their own personal version of the paparazzi and I have been getting lots of new stuff to get scrappy with! I tell ya, it is helping a LOT with making me want to be creative, I can't help it! New pictures get me excited!

Here are just a few things that w have done this past week.

Took the boys to the park to play....

Went to the Prim Point Lightstation.

My Nephew Trenton turned 11!

Xavier tried on Uncle Keith's old Football gear and that was pretty amusing....LOL

Preston outside riding his trike :) He loves that thing!

... and Robbie decided he wanted to try out the Sponge Bob Roller Sneakers out. :)

This week-end I am going away, hopefully lots more photos ops come from my days. I am also excited that I will be able to pick up my scrappy stuff I left at my friends house so I can bring it all home and finish these things I have been working on. I left them behind thinking, "I'm not using the stuff, why lug it back and forth?" Well that logic bit me in the butt didn't it?! LOL As soon as I get back I'll be able to finish things up that I've been working on and I'll then have some new things to post for you all to see.... woohoo!

So, today I am back at the organization of stuff.... maybe a bit of de-cluttering too, who knows. I hope you all are taking some time to be creative! Until next time.......

Happy Scrappin'!
~Jenn

Creations Recap

I said I'd come back and show you the few things I have made during the winter to get you caught up on where I am creatively. As I said in my previous entry, I have had a bad case of scrappers block all winter long, it's very disappointing knowing I did nothing to get myself cause up during the months where I don't take many pictures and don't really do much of anything else but craft (usually).

However, I have found a new thing I like to do crafty-wise and that is work with wood. Now, I've always liked tole painted things and crafts for the home, but never really got in to making anything for myself because well, I'll admit, when it comes to painting designs, I suck at it! LOL I discovered a happy medium this winter though, that has allowed me to think outside the box and combine my like of wooden decor, with my love for paper crafting!

Here is what I made for my Sister in law and my Mom for Christmas that got me started on this new crafty adventure.

These are so simple to make... chop up a 2x4, paint it, gloss it, glue paper to it, put the Cricut to work cutting out letters and it's done. The possibilities are endless really!!!

I also did some altered jars to put in a few gift baskets. I thought they turned out pretty cute also.


These are fun to make also... the glass jars came from the Dollar Store (that is my favorite place in the world by the way for finding treasures to alter!!!), a little paper and ribbon and ya got something that looks pretty 'homey' to hold your treats in your house :)

Ok, so if those were all gifts, you MIGHT be wondering "Well, Jenn what have you made for yourself?" If you weren't wondering that then you are probably done reading my blog for today, but if you were wondering then keep scrolling down...hehe

The first thing I wanted to do for myself was make my own 'Family" sign. So I picked out papers that matched my curtains and other items around the house and here is what I came up with.

I made the letters a little bit smaller along the bottom on this one than the others I made, not so sure I like that part... it's nice having more space top to bottom, but the bigger space between words bugs me a bit; but it's done, and that's how it is staying, create and learn! LOL

So from the 3 patterned papers I used I had lots of scrap left over, sooooooo I made as many coordinating items as I possibly could using only the left over scraps. Here is what came of that:
These plaques were fun to make. Found the wood shapes at the dollar store, painted them up, cut the papers to size, worked the Cricut and here ya go. :)

and then I made myself a set of matching jars..... (they are still empty.... candy and me aren't getting along right now with my lack of eating it and all....LOL).


Found this little clip board at the Dollar store also. It was just white to begin with, I painted then covered it, covered the pencil and added a border to the the pad of paper that came with it, and then tied ribbons along the bar that is holding the pad in place. I think it's cute!

These magnets came last. I altered a couple of coasters, & added a magnet to the backs. I made 3 with the initials of each of my boys. They are meant to be photo magnets but I have yet to find and print pics off of each of the boys that I'd like to put on them....LOL

So there you have it.... my crafty projects that have nothing to do with scrapping pictures! LOL not to say I haven't scrapped any pages at all.... I think I've completed a have dozen or so over the winter, maybe I'll post pics of them next time.

Right now I have an altered cookie sheet, and three more wood sign projects on the go at the same time as well as a painting..... all of which are waiting for me to head out to wal-mart and pick up some new cutting mats for my Cricut so I can get started cutting the shapes, words and phrases that I need to finish them up. So I am gonna head out and fix that problem now :)

Until next Time, Happy Scrappin'!
~Jenn