Friday, November 11, 2011

A Very Vintage Christmas And Unwanted Visitors

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. Mine did not start out very well. Last Wednesday night Emilia thought she saw a lizard in the house. I thought she was imagining things because as far as I know we don't have lizards here in Denver. Well fast forward to late Saturday night. We were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden she looked at me and I knew from the look on her face what she saw was back and it wasn't a lizard it was my worst nightmare it was a mouse! I am terrified of those things so I screamed for Rich and starting climbing on top of the couch. He went to look for it but it was no were to be found. We did discover where it came from though and Sunday morning Rich fixed that problem. On top of that we put poison down. I thought the problem was solved but Monday morning Rich said he heard something inside one of our kitchen walls where he had drilled holes for a computer cable a few years ago so he patched those. Once again I thought we solved the problem but fast forward again to Tuesday afternoon. I went to throw something away in the trash under the kitchen sink and I thought I saw a tail. I quickly shut the cupboard door and my heart started racing. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Of course Rich was at work so I convinced Emilia to look. Sure enough there was a dead mouse in there. The good news is at least it was dead but just the thought of those things in my house dead or alive really creeps me out. I am just praying that the poison has taken care of the problem and they are all gone now. On top of that my printer starting acting up on Monday night. The ink kept getting clogged. I think I have it fixed for now, I sure hope so because this printer is only a year old. I also had issues with my SCAL this week too. Just the thought of losing that program had me in tears. Thankfully it is still working though. After all this there is some good news to share. I had my 100th sale in my Etsy shop Wednedsay night. I was hoping to met that goal by the end of the year but it happened earlier! I am super happy about this because I have been working very hard for the last few years to get sales there. It is not easy but at least all my hard work is starting to pay off. Speaking of Etsy. My Etsygreeting team is currently having a holiday boutique.

There are lots of great deals so be sure to check it out. Anyways here is to hoping the week ends better than it started. Now if you are still with me on to some crafty stuff.
Today Amy J is releasing another Digi kit. This one is called Vintage Christmas and is packed full of goodness.

This is what I came up with

I started by making my own version of the PTI Front And Center Die. I loved the concept of that die but wanted it to fit the PTI stamp boxes so I was thrilled to be able to make it work for that. I created the base in SCAL but still had to use a punch for the holes because they are so small, the Cricut did not cut them out enough. After cutting the front and back panels I cut another piece a bit smaller than the base cut off the top then added strips of patterned paper from the digital kit and machine stitched it. After that I machine stitched the quilted piece to the base and added a piece of paper lace. Next I cut off the top of a stamp box then attached the front and back pieces to it.
When I was done with that I made a poinsettia flower using this cut file that was reduced to 50% and more digital paper. I tied a double bow made from olive seam binding and attached it to the bottom of the flower. Finally I finished it off with a jingle bell,tiny tag and the Merry Christmas Sentiment from the original mixed messages set then attached it to the box. These boxes could make great packaging for gifts this Christmas and is a great way to recycle all those stamp boxes too. I would be happy to share the file with you if you have SCAL. Email me and I will send it to you. That's all for now. hope your weekend will be a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

17 comments:

Joyce said...

I hope your weekend turns out better than your week. Mice in the house are no fun at all. Don't ask me ow I know that! Great idea to make your own front and center panels to fit the PTI boxes. Yours looks terrific.

Sheryl Berglund said...

We've had the whole "mouse in the house" problem too.....not fun, I hope it's resolved soon! I love your version of the front and center die.....you did a GREAT job!

Sue Ann said...

LOVE the die cut ....... so real!!! What a great idea to make your own version. I really should be doing that more but it is a pain because my DS is on my husbands computer and it is a pc and I work on a Mac ........ hummm I really need to figure all this out so I can use my cricut more. This is a good example of not really needing the die if I took time to do something in DS, I would not cut this with felt so it really is not a MUST HAVE ........ maybe I should sell it and force myself to make one in DS ....... another beautifully executed project!!!! BRAVO~~

Myrna said...

Great project.
I just had to comment on your blog. We were visiting in Fort Lupton this September. Our bedroom was in the basement and with the heat I needed a bit of relief so decided to open the window. Unfortunately for me, there was no screen on the window. During the night something cold fell on my face. I thought it was my husbands cold hand and brushed it off and went back to sleep. In the morning when I got out of bed there was a little yellow and orange spotted lizard trying his best to get away. So Yes ma'm you have lizards in Denver. LOL
Myrna

Carol's Ink Spot said...

What a week you have had! We always know when winter is approaching because the mice find their way into the house. My husband has searched for several months and cannot find the opening but we think they are gone (dead) now.

Excellent project. Love the digi paper. Congrats on making the goal on your Esty shop too.

Cara said...

Super cute, Terri! Congrats on your sales...you go girl!! Oh, the mouse...we saw one outside our basement window the other day and watched him crawl into the foundation. He's cute but he's got to go!! Poison is out tomorrow. Hope your mouse doesn't have friends.
Hugs!!
Cara

Mad for Paper said...

Brilliant, what a clever use.
makes it all even more versatile.
TFS
Ang

scrapsnsuch@gmail.com said...

I like!!! That flower is fab.
As for your little problem...no poison, they will die in your walls and create a bigger problem!

pattylt said...

Wow, Terri. The cute box, not the mouse. I hate mice, too and they are one of few things that make me act like a stupid, squealing girl.

I'd love a copy of your cut file. I tried to make one, too, but was unable to figure out how to make the scalloped edge. I'm not very advanced in Inkscape. How have you been?(besides miced)

carol (krillsister) said...

Congratulations on your 100th sale. I love how you improvised and made your own front & center die. I intend to do this myself using the edgers die.
Thepattern papers are wonderful. Love the flower and ribbon. super job!

Sharron said...

What a fantastic project, Terri! I am always amazed with the fabulous things you design! Just imagine all the front & center designs you will be able to make. Love the digi paper too! Luckily our mouse problems have been limited to our detached garage & under the gazebo but I have seen a few brave ones scurry out to get bird seed that has fallen beneath the feeders. Just try to be sure yours don't get trapped or die somewhere in your house. They can smell AWFUL!

Kim O'Connell said...

Mouse horror stories! I think we all have at least one! On a brighter note, I just LOVE that little jingle bell in the center of your pretty flower and I am a sucker for a tiny tag any day!

BethieJ said...

Terri that was some story! SORRY about the mice.. I hope they are GONE for GOOD!! ICK I hate them too!!
Now on to the project.. I LOVE it! I was thinking at first WHAT that die fits the boxes (because I LOVE to reuse them too!) then saw you did it.. your so GOOD!! LOVE the kit.. it is a GREAT xmas one!!
Hope your weekend is GREAT!

Lindsay said...

Whoa, mice are so annoying. Small, busy and just not cool in one's house! Here's hoping that they stay gone!

Congrats on your 100th sale! That is awesome! But I am not surprised because you do some amazing work Terri! Take this little project for instance, amazing! I LOVE it so much!

Renee said...

This is fabulous!!
Absolutely love it...
and what a great idea to use up all those clear stamp boxes!!
Would love the file too!
And mice...
eeekkk!!
Unfortunately we built in a field...
and every year as fall is turning to Winter...
yup!
I HATE them...but we nip them in the bud at the first sign!
And at our old house...
you'll die on this one...
one of the heat/air units had been replaced right before we bought...
one morning I went to get the girls out of bed...
it was worse than a mouse...
worse than a lizard...
it was...
a baby snake!!
AAAAWWWW!!
A gap had been left at the unit...we didn't know...and it had gotten stuck on a sticky pad that I insisted the "bug man" lay down so I would then be certain we didn't have a spider problem...
we had only been there a couple of months and I was a new mom!
I screamed...ran and refused to enter the house for over a week until every inch had been inspected by the "bug man".

Amy Kolling said...

Hi Terri! Your front and center box front turned out beautiful! I love your version and it just goes to show with a little creativity, we don't need that $20 die!

Did you order last night? It was interesting as things were still not right!

Webb said...

I like!!! That flower is fab. As for your little problem...no poison, they will die in your walls and create a bigger problem!