One Fish, Two Fish, Brown Fish, Bling Fish

Well, I was able to make some forward progress despite a few set-backs. I copied the VBS clipart fish onto some brown paper I had (from Xpedx). I copied them with their mirror image, cut them out, stapled them partially, stuffed them with some the scraps, and stapled them closed. I had finished a couple fish, but gave one a way for someone else to have as a sample. I sprayed this fish with glitter spray. I like the shimmery look, but I am not certain all the fish will get the same blingy treatment that she got since it's pretty subtle.

I took this funky angle to try to show you the dimension. If you click on the pictures you should be able to pull up a larger view (not sure....computers aren't my thing). You might actually be able to see the shimmer too.

These fish are going to be hanging in nets in various rooms. A few will be hanging from a boat. A few will be in a fishing basket. On one of my scavenging trips to the grocery store I begged asked very nicely for the Frito-Lay vendor to donate a couple displays that look like wooden crates. They have potatoes and corn on them, but they will soon have fish, crabs, nets, and crayfish on them. I will take pictures when they are done.

What are all these turtles you ask? They are for one the crafts for VBS. I tell you I have some amazing volunteers. The woman that cut and sewed all 75 of these adorable turtles has grandkids that aren't even going to be able to go to VBS this year as they will be out of town. Talk about selfless!

Enough chatter for today, I have some props to go paint!

Sheri

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Have you seen Tortoise and the Hare? I am hoping slow and steady wins the race because I am way behind! Here are some pictures of the slow progress I am making on preparations for VBS. There will (hopefully) be four other turtle pictures to go with this one to make a filmstrip type progression. They will also be cut out. Of course, I had to have a reference point for size. My lost and found hound had to get some attention too.

The raccoons are incomplete, but I wanted to share them with you any way.

This is going to eventually be a pier post/pylon or whatever they are called. I was going to buy some cement forms but this is less expensive and I can flatten them out to store them. I used cardboard and scored it so it would make a circle. I have made some with the cement forms in the past and got some serious indigestion when they were thrown away (clearly, by someone who had no idea how much time it took to create them). I will show pictures of the completed projects soon.

Dollar Tree jackpots: dragonfly windsock, butterfly windsock, nylon dragonfly, tea light dragonfly, straw hat, tropical fish (although they are not exactly Bayou fish, I like the color), and bird feeder cattail.

Enjoy your weekend!

Sheri

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

Here are few pictures of the boat Hubby and I built for VBS. I will hopefully, get them painted by Monday. I will post pictures when it is finished. I put my kids in the pics so you can see the size. Of course, you can't be in a picture without props. I am not sure what they are holding, but they were very insistent that their toys were needed.

Do you see that leaf on the boat? That was already there. I got the cardboard from Michael's. It was used to cover their fake trees. One less feature I have to add;) Oh, did you also notice the perfect placement of the "prop"? OK, Mom, now we're ready!

In other news, about 3:30 yesterday my oldest informed me he had an orchestra concert that night, and he had to be there by 6:00. UMMM, Honey, did you just find out about this? Yeah, a couple days ago. And I thought I was a last minute person! Anyway...you can see that the 4 year old is less than thrilled to be there and be quiet.

I am not so sure the performer is all that thrilled either. He actually does enjoy playing and music. He inherited that from his dad. Although, I enjoy music, I was not gifted with singing or playing abilities. I am proud of him because he was selected for Honors Orchestra and All-State Orchestra this year. I have learned that only a couple pictures are needed at concerts because they all pretty much look the same...dark, hard to find the child (sometimes), etc.

Have great day!

Sheri

Life Is Like A Yo-Yo!

There are so many ups and downs in life. I guess that is what keeps it interesting. Over the weekend our beloved dog ran away. It was dramatic and traumatic for the boys, especially. We finally tracked him down to a neighbors house 2 doors down. We were excited to get him back, but the family that found him were not excited to give him back. They, too, have four children and one of the boys cried when we took him home. We are going to make a thank you card and cookies to take to them. I wish I had it done so I could show you, but life is crazy busy with VBS. So I am going to show you some canvases I painted 2 years ago for VBS. These hung in the church like they were windows. Afterwards, we auctioned them off to help raise money for the next year. I think the igloo one is my favorite. What's yours? Have a great day!

Sheri

Beanie Wienies!

The scrapbook is almost complete. I will be finishing it today. So instead of any pictures I will leave you with the recipe I will be taking to the celebration picnic. I so love easy recipes and I hope you like this one too.

Beanie Wienies
3 cans (two 28 oz., one 16 oz.) pork and beans
1 package (1 lb) hot dogs, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Sheri

Cowgirl Up!

The clerk at my church is retiring, and we are going to miss her dearly. I made this little gift card holder and envelope for her. There is a crafting blog that I frequent. I got on there yesterday and she had instructions for a gift card holder. Talk about perfect timing! For Valentine's day I made this type of envelope for the boys to put the candy for their classmates into. There is a tutorial here . If you want to see a picture of just the envelope for this project you can go to my SCS gallery . I only used one stamp on the whole project. It is a Stampin' Up! stamp. I am not going to be able to give proper credit to the paper maker because it is mostly scraps from my stash.

Some friends are coming over to paper mache some projects for VBS (vacation Bible school). I am always astounded that I still have the same friends after VBS as I do before VBS. I have fabulous friends that bail me out every year. If you stick around for a couple months you'll get to see pictures and understand what I mean when I say bail me out. Hey, Mom, do you miss Arizona? I would love to put you to work see you again. Have an amazing day!
Sheri

Catching Up...

on pictures I promised to share. The first two are the backside of the purse I shared the other day. The top view isn't a great picture, but it lets you see the depth of the pocket for the note. The one oversight I had was, how in the world is she going to get the note out? That thought came to mind as I adhered the pocket. Well, I tied a ribbon on it so it could pull out, kind of like the ribbon used to get batteries out of toys, games, etc.

Today I am working on a scrapbook and gift card holder. I will share them over the next couple days. Oddly enough, I feel like I can predict the future. I envision lots of recipes coming your way over the next month and a half. Vacation Bible School is sneaking up on me and I play a large part in directing/planning and decorating for the week long event. It is a ton of work, but so worth it. I am about two months behind where I usually am so I need to light a flame. I have some awesome volunteers so I need to take advantage of them!

Now onto the Botanical Gardens. There was some really cool glass sculptures. I am not sure if that was a special event or if it is something they always have. I do know they were working on new ones. I am only going to post one picture of the sculptures because there are kiddos in the others and I don't have permission to post them. This blue sculpture is so cool. The kids said it looked like flames or birds. Check out that striped flower. I can see it turning into inspiration for a card! I have lots of pictures of different butterflies, but I am not going get too carried away. I love this Zebra Longwing picture. Are you impressed that I knew the name? Well, don't be, I have a butterfly identification guide. The cool thing about the last picture is that it is the food chain in motion. These two fish jumped out of the water to catch and eat that butterfly. I am such a boy mom. I thought it was cool while others weren't so impressed. We saw another science lesson when another butterfly got caught in a web. The rather large spider patiently drooled over it's lunch waiting for it to get completely stuck. Have a creative day!

Sheri

Nature Does It Best!

We went to the Desert Botanical Gardens yesterday. It was a school fieldtrip. The best part was the butterfly pavillion. I am giving you two pictures to enjoy and I will be back this afternoon or this evening with more details and pictures. I have a crazy busy day today. Enjoy yours!
Sheri

A "Purse-o-nel" Project!

This purse is made from chipboard. I found these fun purses that are supposed to be a scrapbook album. They come in a set of five and are hooked together with a key ring that opens up (can't think of the proper name). They were in the dollar section at Michael's (big surprise, I know). I have a few ideas for them so don't say I didn't warn ya when they keep on coming! This one took a little time to come together only because I wanted it to be just so for the person I am giving it to. I love the shabby chic look! I used embossing powder on the handle. I embossed it 3 times to get it thick and even enough for my liking. I am not quite finished, but close enough to share. On the back of this I am going to make it so that opens up. I will have a button on the front with an elastic piece that will hold the backside shut. I have made a list of 50 reasons my friend is important to me so that if she is ever having an off day or needs a smile she can read through them. I will post pictures of the backside when I am finished. I am like a kid at Christmas, I just can't wait to share!

I was going to make it a little differently on the backside, but when I showed my hubby this morning he asked if it were a card. I said "no, but do you like it?" He said, "I told you what I think would be cool." So typical I tell ya! Where was he last night when I was making it? It's like when I buy a new shirt (which rarely happens because clearly when I spend money it goes towards crafting) he won't say anything. When I put the shirt on to go somewhere he asks, "are you going to wear that?" No, honey, this is the pregame show. Afterwards, I thought I'd decorate the closet with new clothes. Where was your opinion when I bought it? Sheesh!

I get to chaperone a field trip today, so I should have some fun, but not crafty pictures tomorrow. Have a great Monday!
Sheri

Candy Bouquet

My Mom and I put together a fun get well basket with a candy bouquet for my sister-in-law. It was fun to make, and it was the first time I had made something like it. It's funny because barely a month later I have a ton of ideas to "improve" it. I have to apologize for the photos. I was taking them as I was running out the door to deliver it. Therefore, they are not "staged". At least you get the general idea. The big flowers have a Ghiradelli chocolate in them and the smaller ones have the mini Hershey's. We wrapped the leftovers and included them in the gift set. The bouquet has wint-o-green mints in the jar. The picture with the two yellow flowers and leaves is a pack of gum. I am not experienced enough to figure out how to write directly under each photo. Sorry.

It's approaching teacher appreciation week and I generally make stuff to give the teachers. I may have to try one of these again. The challenging part this year is that one of my kiddos has a male teacher. Do I still give him the same gifts in a masculine paper/theme or do I change it altogether? He does have a wife and kids, but is it fair to make something that will mainly benefit his wife? He's throwing me off, I tell ya! I only have a couple weeks to figure it out. I was also thinking about putting together a recipe book or box. There again, would he really appreciate it and the countless hours that will go into it? Oh, the decisions I face are just unbearable (note sarcasm)!

Have a yummy day! I'm thinkin' I should clean house today or I just might get banned from the crafting world ;)

Sheri