Secret Sister Gifts

As I mentioned before, this past month we had our girls camp.  It was a lot of fun; we got by on very little sleep, ate great (thanks to Larene), tried to stay dry and warm in the rain, went for a hike, did lots of crafts and oh yeah, saw three baby bears!  I kid you not, three little cubs got stuck in the dumpster and the camp missionaries let us come down and watch as they released them.  It was so cool and something I don't think the girls will ever forget.  I know I will not.

Anyway, I wanted to share some little gifts I made for my secret sister.  I just used things I had around the house so they were pretty inexpensive but a total hit. (and a lot of fun to put together also.)

 

For Day 1 I used chocolate.  I had these cute little boxes just laying around.  (I think a Friend and I ordered them in bulk a few years ago and these just happened to be left- you know that stash you have that you don't want to throw away because "someday" you might use it?)

I bought some Hersey Treasures candy and wrapped each piece in a scrap of printed paper.  (You will have to be sure to secure it well- I used red tacky tape.) Because the candies didn't fit in the box perfectly (do they ever?) I crumpled up some tissue paper to place around the side.

Next I wrapped a band of printed paper around the outside and then used a boarder punch to make the lacy white band. 

I made a little paper roset, punched a scalloped circle and stamped a circle tag, then glued it all together and added a button.  To finish the gift, I added a little tag that I was able to write the girls name on once we got to camp.

 

It really wasnt' as complicated as it sounds and she loved it.

 

Day 2 was even easier.  My son drinks Jones Sodas like crazy.  I simply washed out a bottle and let it dry really well.  I spray painted the lid white.  Using the same tools and supplies as I already had, I wrapped the bottle and made a little card to go over the top.

 

The bottle is filled with the little fruit shaped candies (can't remember what they are called right now)

It does take a lot of candies but they are so yummy!

 

Day 3 was the easiest of them all.  I simply put a bottle of yummy smelling lotion in a cello bag, made a card using leftover scraps of paper and tied a few strings of ribbon to it. 

 

What fun and inexpensive gifts.  I hope this will inspire you to give a little something to someone special this week!

 

Thank You!

I just wanted to send a shout out to everyone who has commented, emailed or reposted mine and my sisters chairs.  It really was a fun project and every ones comments makes me want to do more.

We took a bunch of photos and if I can gather them up I think it would be fun to put a post together explaining how we did it.  No promises but I will see what I can figure out.

While you are waiting, keep following, I have lots of new and fun things coming up.

 By the way, I would love to increase our followers, we are so close to 100.  Invite your friends and maybe I will do a contest here in a while.

Thanks again for all your support and encouragement.

 

Birthday Kits

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday...

Well you know the rest of the song.

If you love birthdays as much as we do, you are going to really like these two new kits.

Happy Birthday Blocks

cost $16.00

These blocks can be used for every one's birthday because the last block has a chalk board  to write the birthday persons name and date if you would like.

Kit comes with painted wood, paper, vinyl, chalk board vinyl and all the embellishments to finish.

This will also be taught as a class @ Heartfelt Creations on Wednesday, Sept 5th from 6 to 8 PM

(cost for class is $18.00)

Happy Birthday Banner

cost $15.00

This is the biggest banner I have done yet.  Comes with 12 pennants, all the paper, letters, stars, embellishments and string.  All you need to finish it is your favorite adhesive and some foam pop dots.

Let everyone know someone in your house is celebrating a birthday!!

Please have all orders turned in by Friday Aug 31.

Simply email me at rushton_tracy@yahoo.com

Grandma's Chairs

Wondering where I have been this past month?  Well I started a new job.  I have been teaching and designing for Heartfelt Creations for the past two years but last month I started working there.  I mostly design the weekly page kits, put story board and displays together;  I also get to work with new products.  Its really been fun but going back to work has taken some getting use to!

Last week we also took D3 back to school, so this week we have been cleaning, making DI runs and rearranging bedrooms.

I am also working on new kits for Birthday, Back to School and Halloween.

That's not all... here is a project I have been working on with my sister.

My New Red Chair

Here is the story of my new red chair.

These 2 yellow chairs have been a part of my Grandma's house for as long as I can remember...even longer than that.  My mom said she remembers as a little girl helping her mother reupholstered them.

When my grandma got sick she would sit in one of the chairs and visit with anybody that would come to call.  She always sat in one and gave the other one to her visitor, insisting they were the most comfortable chairs in the house.

Two years ago this August, Grandma passed away.  Last summer when my sister and I went with my mom to help clean out grandma's house, we asked if we could each have one of the chairs. My yellow chair sat in my front room for a year.  Every time I looked at it I was reminded of Grandma;  however the yellow just looked out of place in my home.

Last month my sister and I decided it was time to do something with our chairs.  I remember mom telling us how grandma had reupholstered them so many years ago so I didn't think she would mind if we did it again.

The first step was Stripping the chairs down.  We did it in my mom's unfinished basement.

As we worked we took lots of photos and notes so we would know how to put it back (keep in mind, neither one of us had ever done anything like this before!)

After we stripped all the old yellow fabric, we sanded the wood and painted it a glossy black.

We worked together to finish them, but I have to say honestly I wouldn't have been able to do it without Carla's help.  (My hammer and Tack skills leave a little to be desired--but we got a good laugh!)

Carla's house is all done in creams and blacks so her chair (the one with the writing) was perfect.

I have always wanted a Red Chair to go in my front room to match my browns, blacks and reds.

I love how they turned out.  And now when I see my new Red Chair, I still think of Grandma but I think she is smiling and a little proud of what we did!