Just For You

I'm finally back with my last craft fair item.  I wanted to make some gift card holders and I wanted them to fit inside an A2 envelope.  I used my cocoa packet holder as inspiration to create this Mrs. Claus dress gift card holder.  I saw the idea for the dress on Pinterest and decided that it would make a cute gift card holder.  After playing around with several tutorials (that didn't work) I just designed one of my own.  Here's what the inside looks like.

Pretty simple, but it fit the bill.  I will have these for sale at my last craft show of the season tomorrow at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church.  I hope to see a lot of you there.  Remember, there are six fewer shopping days after Thanksgiving this year.  So, you better start early!  I'm not sure what I will be back with next or when.  I will be busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I will try to blog some.

Till then,
Mary

Sing, Choirs of Angels

Good Wednesday morning to you all.  It is quite cold here this morning, but sunny.  Hopefully the sun will warm us up a little.  In the meantime, how about some cute little angels to warm your heart?  I saw these little cuties on Pinterest and just knew I had to make some.  I added faces to mine and adhered them to covered Hersey nuggets.  I then went through my piano bench and found some Christmas Carol sheet music.  I copied it onto cardstock and then cut it into strips to use as a base to hold my angels.  These slipped into pretzel bags that I topped with the top note die cut and tied it up with twine.  I think they turned out so cute.  Here is a close up of one of the angels.

These will be available at my craft show this Saturday at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church.  Wouldn't they make cute stocking stuffers or gifts for members of a children's choir?  I hope that you will be able to make it out to the show.  I heard yesterday that since Thanksgiving is so late this year that there are six less shopping days till Christmas.  This just makes me panic!  Got to get busy.  I have one more craft show item to share with you.  Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow with that.

Till then,
Mary

Craft Show Frenzy

Wow!  It has been a while since I last blogged.  I have been busy taking care of Sydney and preparing/participating in craft shows.  The picture above is of the show I did a little over a week ago.  This was the first time for me at this particular show.  I did OK, not as well as I had hoped.  I did get two custom orders from this show, so with that taken into account I did about what I had hoped for.  I am busy preparing for my next show which is this Saturday at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church.  Historically, this has been a big show for MD Designs.  This will be my last show for this season, so I am hoping that it lives up to its past.  Here are this year's candy tubes.

These have always sold well.  I love the little "merry" stocking.  And isn't that sweet gingerbread man so cute atop the heart?  Here are close-ups of each one.

These are great for stocking stuffers.  Come on out Saturday and pick some up for your stockings.  Or, I think they would be cute as package decorations, too. 

I have a couple of other items I want to share with you, so hopefully I will be back this week to show you those.

Till then,
Mary

Busy, Busy, Busy

I'm so busy this morning preparing for a craft show tomorrow.  I did want to take time to show you one of the new items that I will have for sale.  These are bottle tags.  I know a lot of people give wine or sparkling cider for gifts or hostess gifts during the holidays.  Why not dress that bottle up with a cute tag.  I didn't have a bottle to hang one on to show you how it works, but I think you can get the idea.  These sell for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.  Come by the Brambleton Center tomorrow from 8:00 till 2:00 and pick some of these up for your holiday gifting.  Hope to see you there.  Here are pictures of each tag individually.

 I'll be back next week with more "goodies" to share.

Till then,
Mary

Better Late Than Never

I'm finally back with the card set that I promised to share with you.  Time just seems to slip away from me lately.  Anyhow, I shared two of these cards with you earlier.  I am in love with the Festive Flurry set and matching framelits.  They make the most beautiful snowflakes and are stunning on cards.  Today I have the whole set of cards that I made.  This set sold at my last craft show so I'm making another set for my upcoming show.  Here are pictures of the two new cards.

I am very pleased with how this set turned out.  I have another show this Saturday at the Brambleton Center from 8:00 - 2:00.  If you live in town, stop by and check out all the "made with Love" items that I have for sale.

I'll try to blog again tomorrow as I have a new item to show you.

Till then,
Mary

One Down, Two to Go

Hello, again.  I know it has been a while since I last posted.  My life got a little crazy with my mom's surgery and other things.  Last Saturday I participated in a Fall Bazaar.  This is my third year participating in this Bazaar and this year was the most successful. I will definitely keep this event on my calendar for next year.  I also loved that several of my facebook friends came out to shop.  I also ran into a couple of people whom I worked with when I was teaching.  What a great day!  I am now preparing for my next show which will be at the Brambleton Center on Nov. 2, from 8:00-2:00.  If you didn't make it to the Fall Bazaar I hope that you will make it out to the Brambleton Center.  This is the first time that I've done this show.  I've heard that it is well attended so I'm hoping for another successful event.  I'll be back soon to share with you some cards that I made and sold at the Fall Bazaar.  I fell in love with this set and am planning on making another for the Brambleton show.  So, check back with me.

Till then,
Mary

Getting in the Spirit

Hello!  I'm back today with yet another Christmas Card.  This card is a CASE of a card that I found on Pinterest.  I changed the sentiment and the placement of the ribbon and sentiment.  I added two additional snowflakes, as well.  It is hard to see in the photo, but the white cs is embossed with the new diagonal striped ef.  This card used the Festive Flurry stamp set and framelits and the Winter frost dp.  The sentiment comes from Many Merry Messages.  I really like how this card turned out.  I'm liking this Festive Flurry set so much that I think I might make a whole set of cards using it.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Gotta go for now.  I might not be blogging for a while.  My mom is having surgery tomorrow and I will be away taking care of her.  I'll be back as soon as I can with more cards and craft items.

Till then,
Mary

Festive Flurry on a Monday

I'm back today with another Christmas card.  I used the Mojo 314 sketch to create this card.  This is the first time I've inked up the new Festive Flurry stamp set.  I think I'm going to really enjoy this set.  I paired it with the coordinating dp called Winter Frost.  I love the colors in this paper.  I altered the sketch a little to suit my images.  The sentiment is from the Greetings of the Season set.  I used the Apothecary Accents framelits for the sentiment and sponged the edges with Coastal Cabana ink.   I added one of the gorgeous Frosted Finishes to the center of the snowflake.  They really are gorgeous.  I'm going to have a hard time letting these beauties go.  I'm slowly getting over my hoarding- very slowly.

I'm so glad that I had some time to stamp today.  Yesterday was a beautiful day and David and I took advantage of it.  We know warm days are numbered.  Today I kept Sydney and she slept long enough for me to put this card together.  She is so sweet and gets more and more fun everyday.  I can't wait for her to come back tomorrow.

Here's another view of my card.  I don't like the shadow, but as it is already dark outside, I couldn't get an upright shot of it without a shadow.  Anyway, I hope you like it. 

Till tomorrow,
Mary

A Day Late

When I last blogged on Thursday I promised to be back on Friday with some Christmas cards.  Well, yesterday was such a beautiful day and I had some errands that I needed to do, so I didn't stamp.  I know these beautiful days will not last, so I'm trying to enjoy them to the fullest.  Today is gorgeous, also.  But, since I promised and I really need to get some cards made for my upcoming show I've forced (tongue in cheek) myself to stamp.  I made an eight card set (2 of each design) using the Ornament Keepsakes set.  Here are the individual cards.

It's hard to see in the photos, but the last two have a snowflake brad in the center with a goose bump rhinestone.  I also added smaller rhinestones on each of these ornaments.  This set sells for $20.00.  This set and (hopefully) more will be for sell at my craft shows.

Now that I've stamped, it is time to get outside for a while.  Hope you have a great Saturday.  I'll be back soon with more cards.

Till then,
Mary

Birthdays Everyday

It seems that a lot of my friends and family members are having birthdays this week, including me!  Mine was Sunday and I had a great day.  The weather was gorgeous and David treated me to blueberry pancakes for breakfast and a yummy steak dinner for supper.  I received many cards in the mail and wishes on Facebook.  I do thank you all and appreciate you thinking of me on my special day.  So, in return I created a birthday card to send to each of you via cyberspace.  I hope you like it.

I used the Freshly Made Sketch 106 to create this beauty.  And, I used some of my new "toys".  I just love the Flower Shop stamp set and matching punch from Stampin' Up.  I stamped and punched the
flower image three times in pumpkin pie, rich razzleberry, and tempting turquoise.  I added a daffodil delight brad to the center of each flower to help tie in the strip of dp.  Another new "toy" I used is the large scallop edgelit.  I paper pierced the scallops to fancy it up a bit.  My background dp is from Twitterpated.  The sentiment comes from Teeny Tiny Wishes and I punched that out with the word window punch and layered it on a punched piece of rich razzleberry cs using the modern label punch.  The paper doily and ribbon give it just the right amount of girlyness, I think.

Well, that's about it for today.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day, even if it's not your birthday.  Celebrate anyway.  Life is short.  We need to learn to enjoy it more.  Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with some Christmas cards to share.  Yes, I said Christmas cards.  It's never too early to start preparing for the upcoming holidays.

Till then,
Mary

Save the Date

Hello and welcome back to MD Designs.  Today I want to share with you some magnetic calendars that I have been working on.  Above is a photo of three of the designs that I've made and here are photos of them individually.

I used a variety of framelits to create my bases and then added designer paper and embellishments.  The calendars are the tear off kind.  I've made these three plus more that I haven't photographed yet.  I will have these to sell at my upcoming shows.  These make great gifts and sell for $5.00 each.  So, save the dates and come on out.  Below is my schedule of shows.  Hope to see you at one or all.

I'll be back soon with more cards.

Till then,
Mary

Oct. 19- Peters Creek Church of the Brethren- 8:00-2:00
Nov. 2- Brambleton Center- 8:00-2:00
Nov. 16- Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church- 9:00-3:00

Happy Fall

Fall is here!  We have had some cool days, but not today.  It is sunny and warm-just the way I like it.  But, I can't deny that Fall is here.  So, I crafted some cute little baskets to get me in the Fall spirit.  I found this cute little basket on Pinterest and it came with a tutorial!  Those finds are my favorites.

http://www.suestampfield.com/blog/2013/09/trick-or-treat-halloween-kitty-in-a-pumpkin.html

Here is my version of that cute little basket.  I had to change a few things because I didn't have all the same supplies.

This one has a Reese's cup tucked inside.  It is perfect as a small gift for your  favorite people and can be presented all Fall long.  I so loved how this one turned out that I decided to try one with a turkey.  Here's that one.

I filled this one with pumpkin spice Kisses!  They are yummy.  I will have these at my upcoming craft show at Peters Creek Church of the Brethren on Oct. 19.  Come on out and pick up some of these cuties.  They would be great as Thanksgiving table favors, too.  Let me know if you need any special items for the Fall season.  I will try to meet your needs.

I'm off to craft.  I'll be back tomorrow with a new project.

Till then,
Mary

Yikes! Time Flies

Well, another week passed by and I didn't blog.  I'm so sorry.  But, I did craft some so I do have some items to share with you this week.  The first items I'm going to share are some cards that I made.  I got my inspiration from Pinterest (again).  Here are the cards that I CASed.

http://cantstamptherain.blogspot.de/2013/09/sympathy-for-friday-mashup.html

And here are my versions.

I changed them up just a bit by using different color combos, adding texture, and changing the sentiment.  Overall, I like how they turned out and they were very quick and easy.  I hope you like them.  I will be offering cards like these at my upcoming craft show at Peters Creek Church of the Brethren on Oct. 19.  I hope you can come out and see all the things I have for sale.

Till tomorrow (hopefully),
Mary

Where did the Week Go?

Oh, my!  I haven't blogged all week.  I guess you might be curious about what I've been up to this week.  Well, I think this picture will explain.

Yep!  I spent most of the week playing with darling Sydney.  She is such a doll.  I have some other pictures but I have a hard time getting clear pictures as she is always moving.  Here are a few more.

She is so much fun!  But I did sneak in a little crafting time this week.  I put together more of these really cute Santas.

They are filled with Kisses and can also be used as a decoration when the candy is all gone.  These cuties sell for $4.00 each and will be included in my Fall craft fairs beginning on Oct. 19.

It is rainy today so I am going to try to get some more crafting done.  I hope to be back soon with some more craft items to share.

Till then,
Mary

Playing the Challenge

Yesterday I showed you a card that I CASEd using the dress up framelits from Stampin' Up.  Well, I liked it so much that I thought I would try another card using the dress today.  I found last Wednesday's Freshly Made sketch 102 to be the perfect layout for my card.  I used the Festival of Prints dsp and the Oh, Hello stamp set.  The sentiment is from one of the first stamps I ever bought.  It is not a Stampin' Up stamp, but I thought it would go well on my card.  I like how the embossing folder mimics the print of the dress.  I finished the card off with some Early Espresso taffeta ribbon.  I hope you like it as much as I do.  It would be perfect for that special girl friend or daughter, or cousin, or niece or- you get the idea.  Let me know if you need this card of any other special request.

Till tomorrow,
Mary

Night Blogging

How about a little night time blogging?  I've had a busy day and I didn't find time to blog, so I thought I would try to get a post in before I retire for the night.  Even though my day was busy, I did get a little stamping time while baby Sydney napped.  I actually had time to make two cards.  They are not originals, but at least I got some stamping time.  Here's the first card that I made.

It is a shameless CASE of a card I found on Pinterest created by Susan Haddad.  I love the dress up framelits from Stampin' Up.  I did add the butterfly, but that's the only thing that is different from Susan's card.  I love this card and it came together rather quickly.

My second card is a CASE also, but I did change the color combo and added the flowers.  My inspiration again came from a card that I found on Pinterest.  That card was created by Paula Knall.  Here's my card.

I had this piece of Purely Pomegranate ribbon lying on my stamp table for months.  Today I finally found a use for it.  Purely Pomegranate was one of my favorite In Colors, but my stash of card stock and ribbon is about out.  Oh well, all good things must come to an end.  At least that's what I've heard.

Anyway, I hope you like the cards that I made today.  I hope to have more cards for you tomorrow.  If you need a card for someone special let me know.  My cards sell for $3.00 each and I will take special requests.

Till then,
Mary

Four Generations

Sorry I haven't posted much this week.  It has been a very busy week.  I'm trying to get things back to normal after vacation.  I still haven't finished the laundry.  I've also been able to babysit Sydney this week while Riley prepares to open the dance studio for the Fall session.  Sydney is so much fun!  On Thursday, Riley and I took Sydney to visit my parents.  They so enjoyed seeing her.  The picture above is of the four generations.  From left to right are me, Riley, and my mom, Adreana.  Sydney is on Riley's lap.  But I think you probably figured that out.  My dad took the picture.  I think he did a pretty good job!  He was not left out, of course.  Here are some pictures of him with Sydney.

I think he and Sydney both enjoyed themselves.  That's all I have for you today.  I hope to have some cards to show next week.

Till then,
Mary

Saying Good-bye to Summer

I have to admit that I am very sad to see summer leaving us.  It is my favorite season.  I love the warm sunshine and wearing shorts and t-shirts.  I am not a fan of temperatures below 70 degrees.  The picture above is of the Surfside pier.  We spent a week there with Riley, Brian and Sydney.  The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time.  David and I greatly enjoyed spending time with Riley and her family.  Sydney is just a doll.  Here are a few more pictures of our trip.

Beautiful sunset over Murrel's Inlet.

Sydney in her pink bikini.

Riley and Sydney.  Riley, Brian and Sydney.  Aren't they a beautiful family?

As you can see we had a great time.  On the way home, David and I stopped by Raleigh to visit Laura, David, Robin, and Ken.  It was so great to see them.  I hope they enjoyed our visit as much as we enjoyed it.  Here are a couple of pictures of Laura and me.

Now that summer is coming to an end, I need to start preparing for the craft shows that I've signed up to participate in.  Stay tuned for sneak peeks.  If there is anything special that you would like to see me include in my inventory for the craft shows, please let me know.  I'll be spending today gathering ideas and maybe even stamping a little.  I hope to see my friends at the shows, but if you can't come to one of them and would like to purchase anything just let me know and we'll work out something.  I will take special orders, as well.  Hope you have a great day!

Till tomorrow,
Mary