Man this week has been BUSY! Life can just get so hectic, can't it? My mom came into town so I was spending my evenings and weekend with her, which mean no stamping! Uh. I really think that I am going through withdrawls. It seems like my stamping sessions are getting fewer and farther in between. It just seems like life has just gotten crazier since moving up here. I guess before Hubby and I just had each other, a few friends and a few select things to do in our Southern small town, but now, we have lots of family nearby and tons of big city options! Anyway, since I couldn't get into my craft room, I thought I would share these coasters and trivets that I made back during Christmas. Money was kind of tight this year since we had the move and because we had to go a couple months on only one income. So, I made these sets for everyone. All the adults (the kids/young adults got different gifts, but I'll show those another time) got 4 coasters and 2 trivets but all were a different design. This one was my favorite. I think the tumbled marble tiles with the grapes gives this set a very Tuscan feel. I used one of my favorite sets - Gorgeous Grapes. I *LOVE* it!!! These beautiful grapes are so versitle - guy or girl, sophisticated or fun, simple or ornate, modern or antique, it just doesn't matter! Anyway, these are super easy to make! All you need is some tumbled marble tiles (I got mine from Lowes - I think they're called Bottocino), Stazon ink, your stamps and something to put on the back of the tiles to protect your table - I used cork shelf liner, but you could also use felt, those little rubber feet, even the scrap left-overs from when you cut-out your stamps! Here is how you make them:- Get a damp cloth and wipes your tiles clean. They tend to have dust and dirt on them.
- Let them dry for 24 hours or bake them at 325 degrees for 20 minutes and wait until cool
- Stamp your images onto the tiles with Stazon ink. You can use SU! craft ink, but then you have to use a sealant on the tiles which makes them unasorbable (is that a word? oh well, you get my drift)
- Bake the tiles at 325 degrees for 20 minutes and wait until cool
- Adhere your protective backing
That's it - quick, easy, cheap and FUN! I *love* making these for a real *WOW* sorta gift! :-D
As for my week ... my Mom came in on the 13th to take care of me when I went to the while I was at the hospital on the 14th (everything is fine, I just had to have some tests run to get a good all-around check up) and she ended up staying until yesterday. Hubby was going to take me to the hospital himself, but he would have had to take half a day off and my Mom isn't working right now, so she offered to come do it instead. It was really nice seeing her. We found a local Thai market, which was wonderful. I've been shopping at a local Asian store, H-Mart. While they do carry some Thai food, it is mostly Korean and some Japanese. But oh is their produce fresh - yum! We even did what Mom and Daughters do best - clothes shopping! My Dad had some airmiles left on one of his credit cards and couldn't use them before they expire, so he cashed them out for their dollar value in a Gap giftcard, so my Mom took me on a mini shopping spree. Isn't it funny that I am a grown adult and even married, but my Mom still comes to take care of me when I'm "sick" and my parents still buy me clothes? hahahaha I just love it!
My mom also went with me this weekend to get yet another bridesmaid dress. This will mark the 5th wedding, besides my own, that I have been in ... wow. Anyway, the dress to the right is for the wedding of one of my oldest and best friends, Virgina. I don't know why the two pieces look different colors in the picture, but they are supposed to be the same color, buttercup (which is more like the color on the skirt).
The dress was purchased from Davids Bridal, the "Make and Match" collection. Virginia picked the color and the skirt (style number 8730) but let us pick any shirt we wanted as long as it was the same color. That's why I had to have my Mom come with me. There were 2 that I liked, but I needed her opinion so I would be sure to get the one that looked best on me. We chose this v-neck one (style number 81331). It looks *so* cute. When I got married in 2005, my dresses also came from Davids Bridal, but I gotta tell you, they have *MUCH* cuter options now then they did back then (I say that as if it was so long ago, don't I?). I got married in July in San Diego and wanted to get strappy short dresses for my girls, but there just weren't any really cute ones. I ended up picking a beautiful red color (Davids Bridal's "Apple" - they still have it) and let them pick any style that they wanted. It worked, but I would have much prefered something like what I got for Virgina's wedding. Anyway, too cute. I think I would totally wear it again say to another wedding (if I ever get just invited without having to be in it!) or to a fancy dinner party or something. I'm not much of a yellow person, though, so we'll have to see.
Anyway, that was my week in a nutshell. I will hopefully get into my craft room in the next couple of days and have something new to show you! Thanks for looking! :-D
0 comments:
Post a Comment