Getting Ready!!

 

  I have been getting ready for an upcoming craft fair at USM on April 22nd. My sisters and I are excited about doing a spring fair. We did this one last year and did pretty well.

A work in progress

      This is a music box I am working on. I am finishing it up. It plays the tune from the Cats Broadway show, "Memories".  It was super fun to work on. I wanted a different look from the other two I had made. I think this is a little different from a regular music box.

  These are the other 2 music boxes I have made. One plays "Moon River" and the other one plays "Over the Rainbow". I really like how I used flowers and jewelry to make them a little feminine because who usually likes music boxes.

Front Cover

Another project I have finished is recycling books. This one is a children's book about ants. I had fun adding additional pages for students to write about ants. I also printed real pictures of ants to add to their understanding of what they look like in real life.

Inside pages

 I added pages like the ones pictured here to make it more interesting. I think it gives the book more of a journal use than just reading the author's writing. I love how someone can use the book to record thoughts . It won't be just sitting on a shelf.

A plate rack in my kitchen

 My husband made this plate rack for me, which I absolutely love. I have been watching "The Chateau Diaries" and noticed the plate rack in her kitchen. I thought it would be perfect for the new dishes I had purchased from Goodwill recently. I was right. It looks awesome on a wall in our kitchen. I used a spray paint I had picked out from the Magnolia line by Joanna Gaines. I love how subtle the color looks against the wall. 

Valentine's Day

 I just wanted to give a big hug to my husband for getting me these lovely flowers for Valentine's Day. We don't usually do much but go out for dinner, but we have been super busy so he bought these for me to celebrate. Isn't just so thoughtful??

 

I think this is lettuce?

 I am so looking forward to spring this year. I has not been a bad winter until this last week where we had snow about every other day. Anyway, I decided to start my seeds for planting when the snow is gone. They are coming up now. I love to see them grow. My granddaughter, Izzy, helped me with planting and she is excited to see them growing. I sent her pictures so she can watch them too.

Bone china flower

I have started selling items on ebay to help support my addiction to crafting. This is a bone china flower from HomeCor. I really really like it, so if it doesn't sell I will keep it happily. I bought it at Goodwill for a reasonable price. I just love Goodwill. You can get things so much more reasonable than if you shopped new. And you are saving stuff from going into the dump that can be loved again. 

Crafting with the girls.

 
  I love having the girls with us any time we can. They are both in school now, so vacation time is best. They stayed over 2 nights. We had a ball. Here they are working on something. I am not sure what, but I love seeing them enjoy what they like to work on in  my craftroom.

  I will continue to work on items for our upcoming craft fair. It should be alot of fun seeing people again and talking about what we love to do. Hope the snow is melting as I sit here working. 

 Here's to another post....

 

 

 

 

About time I Made a New Post-Sorry!

   It has been ages since my last post. I think I am just lazy. I need to decide to save a day a week to work on posting on my blog. Let's see how I do...

  I have just finished working on Scrapbook Albums for my granddaughters after our visit to Walt Disney World this past December. 

  We had such fun with the girls. They were so much fun at the parks with the rides we got to ride. 

The time went so fast. We stayed at Saratoga Springs on Disney property. We had a ground floor room which was perfect for us. Alice and Ken (Kristin's parents) stayed across the hall in a studio room. We just loved it.

  The albums were so much fun to make. I have not yet done the journaling. That I usually do on my computer because my handwriting is so awful. 

  The albums are 8 x 8 inches in size. This gives me the opportunity to really add alot of pictures. I used pockets and flip pages so that I could add more and more pictures.

  The paper I used was a Mickey & Minnie Mouse collection I already had in my stash. Izzy liked Minnie more so I made that her cover, and Evy likes Mickey more so her album is on the right. 

  I am giving the albums to them this Thursday so I hope they really like them. I did leave room in places for them to add their own words in case they would like the opportunity to do that .

  I look at tutorials that I found on Pinterest as I worked on each page. So many people have great ideas on different ways to make an album. I used the ones I liked on these albums. 

 I highly recommend Pinterest  for tutorials on how to make your own albums. Sometimes I do buy an album and just add cool pages. But sometimes I like to make them myself.

  My brother-in-law, Mark, just had a birthday. The card on the right was the one I made for him. Although he probably would have liked the unicorn one.

 The unicorn card I made for my granddaughter, Evy. It is her 8th birthday. She really likes unicorns so this was perfect for her.  I used glitter paper for the horns. 

 I cut the eye lashes on my Cricut machine, which I love using.

 During the winter I usually take stock of my craft room to make it more organized and easier to find stuff. I decided to clean off the top of my craft table to make it so I could see outside instead of having "stuff" in the way. 

  I really like it better. But as always, I put things in different places which means, " Where did I put that??"

  My friend, Elaine, says she likes it better too. She crafts with me once a week. We have great fun. We always go out to lunch at Pat's down the road. I look forward to those days with her.

 

    Well, it is still winter here. Although spring is around the corner. The girls made a little snowman this past January. We didn't have much snow at the time. 

  We got more but not a whole lot. The temps are moving towards the higher 40's. I will take it as a sign that spring is near. I know.. I know... there will be colder temps here and there. It has not been a bad winter so far.

  I guess this is a long post to make up for my lapse of posting. Hopefully I will be doing more.

 We applied for the USM craft fair this spring and the one in November. We hope we get in. I will let you know if we do and what I will be working on. We have quite a bit of inventory cause we never stopped crafting, even during Covid shut down. We need to downsize some. 

  Hoping you are enjoying the last of winter. I am looking forward to the warmth. See you next week.

Hot...Hot... Summer!

   It has been a hot summer this year. Last year we put central air in our home, and am I glad we did.  Except I do kinda miss having the windows open with fresh air flowing in. I open the windows first thing in the morning, but as the hot air begins we close them. 

  Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons. Then I can keep windows open and hear the birds tweeting from outside. It's August so I guess we still have some hot warm days ahead.

  We took our granddaughters for an afternoon of mini-golf. They really enjoyed learning how to hit the ball. They had some great shots.

 I was pretty happy with my game, too. I was able to on at least two hole hit it in to the hole in two putts. Proud, I am. I have not golfed for years. Putting was my favorite part of golfing anyway. 

  Izzy did a great job this time. Last year she was not impressed with golf, but this year she seemed to really want to finish the course. 

 Evy really tries to follow form and get the ball in. It was a hot day so I was surprised the girls lasted the whole course. It was a little busy but we did not have to hurry at all.

Mini-golf training

 
 The ice cream at the end of the day was the best part. We watched as other families were playing at each hole. But the ice cream really cooled us off under the umbrella shade.

 It was a lovely day with the granddaughters. Love this memory. We might be able to try another mini golf course before the summer is over. Hoping it won't be so hot, too.

/The front

It took me forever to make my granddaughter's 5th birthday card for her. She is into cheetahs right now so I wanted to make one with a cheetah on it. I  used my Cricut to find just the right cheetah . Most of them looked like they would eat you. This cheetah looked the friendliest of them all. 

  I found a tutorial on how to make this center fold card. Perfect for the images and sentiment I wanted to use. 

  I love my Cricut. I used it to draw the sentiment you see on either side of the center.

The back

      I didn't want the back to be blank so I used a running cheetah in the jungle to finish the theme.

I hope she likes it. I also hope she doesn't see it before her birthday at the end of the month.  Five years has gone so fast. 

  This doll that was made my Christina Ruigulles is on our Etsy store now. It is a vintage doll since I bought back in the 1980's, I think.

  She is in good shape as she has only been on display all these years. I really love the detail that she put into her face. She does an awesome job. I am not sure if she is still making these dolls, though. 

  I have a link to our store: Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy. Be sure and check  it out. 

  Well it is going to be another really not day her in Yarmouth. The weatherman is say the humidity will be high as well at tempertures reaching 90 degrees.

  I think we will be staying inside today  in our central air conditioning. I would really like to spend some time outdoors but I do not like the humidity.

  I hope your day is cool and comfortable. 

Been Too Long!!

   I cannot believe I have not posted anything for so long. I feel ashamed and yet I have been really busy. I am going to try and make a commitment to posting more often and more regularly. I must set a routine to remember to post. 

  This summer has flown by. I worked on doing the crafts for our chuches VBS (Vacation Bible School) for most of the spring. We had over 50 kids come around the end of June. I enjoyed working with students again. They were so interested in the crafts I had set up for them. 

  I have been working on fewer crafts of my own because our inventory is so high right now. We are doing The Italian Heritage Craft Fair in December , but we have plenty of projects ready. 

This is a decorated cigar box .

This cigar box is one example of what we have available for sale. We backed out of Cole's Corner because we did not do well there. We believe it is the state of our economy that are keeping people from buying right now. 

 I don't blame them with gas and food prices so high. Crafts would be way down on my list of things that you have to have. So we are just working on fun things that we enjoy making. 

  I

  I have been working on cards mostly because August is a big month for birthdays in my family. The top card is for my brother-in-law, Tom. He turns 70 next month.

I used my Cricut to cut out the images on golf. The number 70 is a die cut I have on hand. I have Cricut Access so that I can find all the images I need to make a unique card. 

  I got the sentiment off the computer looking up on Pinterest. I is wicked cute. I think Tom will like it since he is an avid golfer. The gof cart is from Cricut also. 

  Love using the black and white for vivid contrast. Easy to read and enjoy the pictures.

Mike's Card

 The other card is for Mike who is our daughter's partner. We hope to see them soon as they live out in Colorado.  Flying right now does not sound too good, though.

 The running man is from Cricut Access too. Mike is a runner and helps to set up races in Colorado. I think he will enjoy this card.

This item is for sale on Etsy.

  This flattened tin can flower holder is on sale now on our new Etsy Store. My sisters' and I decided to try online sales. 

  We are hoping that we will do well and therefore do less craft fairs. So far it has been slow. The economy is not much better.

 Anyway if you are interest in checking out Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy just put our name in the search or use this link.

Cooksistersdesigns

 You will find our crafts are upscaling items, new ways to use old items , and a few items that someone else crafted and we are ready to part with them.

 Hopefully you will see something that you like or will inspire you to put something of your own together. 

  We went on a trip to Boston in June. We went with the our son and his family, our grandchildren. It was fun. My sister, Adrianne, let us stay with them as they are in Rockland, Mass. She went with us to the Boston Aquarium, too. The kids loved The Science Museum and the Aquarium. 

 Adrianne and Lenny have an awesome pool that is heated. It was a lovely time. The weather was perfect.

Here are a few pictures from our trip. I made an album for each girl to be able to look back and remember what fun we had with family. 

We are going to Disney World this year and I plan on making an album for each of them to put their pictures in to remember the time spent together. 

When they are in high school/college I love the idea that these photos will be a way to look back and think about their awesome chldhood. 

 Well, I am getting my Sunday School lesson ready for this week. So I will sign off and hope that I will be on again soon. 

 Hope everyone is having a great summer. It will be gone before we know it. 

Happy New Year!

I have not been blogging for awhile now. Feeling guilty, so I am starting before the New Year to get me off to a good start. My New Year's Resolution is to keep up my blog on a weekly basis. I think I can put that in my plans now. 

Sisters' Designs now has a small area at Cole's Corner in Wells to try and sell our crafted items. We are excited about this venture. Diane, the owner, has been so nice to us as we try and create a niche that will attract people to our endeavors. 

This is a music box that I made using a prebought box from Tate's in West Bath. It was perfect for this lovely little song, "Love Story".  I love the pink rose on top.

Music Box for sale.

I made another music box , but I actually made the box from chipboard and decorated it with Graphic 45 paper called, "Love Notes". 

 It is an awesome collection of paper that is perfect for Valentine's Day. 

This music box plays " Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Love the little feminine accents such as the pearls and the pink shoe. Could it be any prettier?

I think this would be great for anyone looking for a gift for someone to give on Valentine's Day. I am thinking of charging $30.00 for each music box. If they don't sell, I plan on giving them to my granddaughters for Valentine's Day. So either way I am happy that I made them.

Music Box for sale.

   I also took some small ball jars and decorated them with snowmen using my Cricut machine to cut out the images in my SVG file. 

  I thought they were super cute especially for a saleable item this winter. Who would not love receiving these little guys. I am thinking that the jar could be filled with candy, or soaps, or anything that would be fitting for a gift or a favor. 

 I like recycling items so they do not end up in the trash. This idea is one of our driving thoughts for my sisters and I. We plan on trying to use our talents in making old items new again. Not an easy task I will tell you.

Snowmen gift idea!

    On a side note, I am please as punch, to show you my new acquisition for our bedroom. This is a storage solution I found on Amazon for my scarves, winter sweaters, and whatever does not fit in my bureau. 

   It fit perfectly in this little area outside of our bathroom door.

I love how the handles are a wooden color and show off the black of each little cubby. 

  I can't tell you how it puts a smile on my face to be more organized than I was before this item was put together by my DH.

    We had such a fun Christmas with our kids this year! It was good to be together and enjoy the happiness of seeing our grandchildren open their gifts. This picture is when they saw the innertubes their parents gave them to use on our hilly hills around the area. They have tried them out for real and you can imagine how much fun they had. 

 

Fun at Christmas....

  I hope everyone stays well and has a Happy New Year. I know we are going to try and see the silver lining in all things.

  Stay positive and healthy. 

Where Has Summer Gone?

 Summer has shot by like a rocket. I have been busy doing gardening work and crafting. The hydrangeas are coming in quite well this summer. We bought two more because they do so well here. 

 We hired our neighbor to use his tractor to pull two mini lilac bushes away from our shed and help us plant them in the front . What a job! 

Still gotta take out the other plant.

They seem happy in their new place.

Cool tractor!

  We were so happy to have him work with us cause we were pooped. We could not have done it without him. 

  I really like how everything came out though. I plan on planting flowers in front of the shed. 

  It is raining now so no planting until it clears off. I will use flowers from my other two beds to help with the cost of buying new flowers. I love how I can move plants to where I want them because I have so many.

  I have also been using my Cricut Machine to make August birthday cards. Whew! I have alot of family with birthdays in August. This is just one for my brother-in-law. He is an avid golfer so this is perfect for him. I bought the SVG file from Lori Whitlock. It was so easy to put together.

The front

 The golfer on back is a stamp I have from Stampin Up. I just fussy cut him out after coloring him. I like how it came out.

The back.

  I am excited because Sisters' Designs 

Candlestick with moulds

got accepted into the Kennebunk Craft

Fair for 3 Saturdays in August and September. 

 This is new for us so I hope we do well and have fun meeting new people that like our crafts.

  This candlestick is one I was working on. I used moulds from IOD . I glued them on and then painted them a mineral chalk paint color. I decided that using a white was on the whole candlestick would give it a beachy look. It came out great.

  You will have to come to the Pavillion on Main Street Kennebunk to see it in its finished form.

Banana holder is now hold a basket.

     Here is another piece I am trying to sell at the Kennebunk Craft Show. I used a 

transfer on the bottom. I added a lacy handkerchief to the basket to make it look a little more elegant.

  I love that mineral color and use it alot. I need to buy more. 

  You could hang anything you want from the hook, but I really like the small basket.

  Our granddaughters are growing up but we still love babysitting them whenever we can. This is a great picture of them having fun together.

  They are so sweet and kind to each other. Such a joy to be with on these days. I try and take pictures each time to keep a memory .

  Hope you have had a good summer so  far. Maybe I will see you in Kennebunk Artisan Market Place on August 14th. 

February Fun~

This is the weather outside our home this February. We have had 
snow and more ice.

This month has been a busy month so far. We just got back from our trip to Florida, which was a fun trip. 

  We quarantined and then got out Covid test which proved negative. Amen.

We were able to see our grandkids again which is always fun. It is good to be back to our regular routine again too. 

We have not had alot of snow this month, but have some of the light fluffy stuff which I will take any day compared to the heavy snow. I HATE the ice because of my fear of falling. However, it is pretty on all the trees and shrubs. We did not lose power which I am so grateful for in this cold weather. Not as cold as Texas though. Praying for them down there.

Love these drawers. Not from Ikea.

   My DH was so good to me this month. For my Valentine gift he put these 4 drawers together and the 4 cubbies on top. He anchored the top to the bottom which is awesome because it makes the whole unit so strong. I love them.

   These drawers are not from Ikea, though. I purchased them from Wayfair. They were ten dollars cheaper than Ikea and free shipping. Color me happy. I am still moving things around to fill these drawers. I have not labelled them yet til I am done moving. But  I absolutely love them. They look so clean and neat. I have organized the rest of my craftroom around this inspirational drawer organization. I feel a halo about to land on top of my head. 

Valentine Cards

I worked on these Valentine cards for my family. I used my Cricut machine to cut them out from My Scrapchick file that I bought. I have not heat embossed the sayings yet onto each card. I was waiting for my Versa mark pen to come so I could finish them. One said, "Toadily  Awesome, Lovin every inch of you, Bee mine, and Love Bug". I thought they were wicked cute. 

    

Happy Valentine's Day

  I also made these candy

 boxes for my grandkids.

 This was also a file I bought from My Scrapchick. She was having a sale so I got them for half price. She is great for having sales on occasion. I love her files. Most of them are super cute. 

 These boxes were easy to make and held about 8 pieces of chocolate. This was perfect as we were going to celebrate Evy's 6th birthday the next day.

Birthday Girl!

Sharing 

  Evy is into Transformers as you can tell from her shirt. She has a new haircut too which looks adorable on her. We had great fun watching her open her gifts. She is such a good sister to , Izzy. Izzy would play with one of her gifts as Evy opened another one. Evy was fine with sharing. Both girls are so sweet to each other most of the time.

Tags for Evy's gifts

  I made these tags to go on Evy's gifts. I think they are so cute. I bought them from Wish so I do not know who makes them. I colored them with my Copic markers which was fun. I did not have any Transformer stamps so this would have to do. 

   I will end this post with a picture I took while in sunny Florida. The weather was so great while we were there. Thanks Chris and Tom for a wonderful visit. Hope we can do it again next year without masks and hand sanitizer. 

Florida