Crafting in Secret

Crafting in secret is exciting, fun, and mildly aggravating. I'm the type of person who likes to show things off when I complete them, especially if they turn out well. However, if you are making things that will later become gifts, you can't exactly do that! I've been making gifts and decorations for my best friend Amanda's baby shower, and now that the shower is over, I can finally share what I've been working on! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen a few of the cryptic pics I posted as a tease. (I had to post something!)

Well, here's what some of those things became:

I found all of the ideas on Pinterest (of course!). Stroller butterflies Click here for the tutorial. 

plush blocks Click here for the tutorial.  A decorated bag for books Click here. a sign for the dog, and a shadow box. 

My favorite thing I made was this adorable plush bunny! It was my first time making a plushie from an actual pattern. It came from the book Storybook Toys by Jill Hamor. Which is an awesome book btw.

So cute!! And here's the one 'making of' pic I couldn't post to social media. 

Let's face it, those are clearly bunny ears!

My mom & I were also in charge of the decorations. 

The streamer 'rain wall' idea I stole from my fabulous friend Kayla Schuler who did a rainbow version at another friends shower. The block centerpieces were my own doing - I folded them using WeRMemory Keeper's Gift Box Punch Board and then cut the letters/borders on my Cricut. The name banner was also cut on the Cricut. The other ideas came from Pinterest. The chandelier is made of a metal ring, clear thread, ribbon, and lots and LOTS of punched butterflies. The alphabet book was a joint effort - mom & I created the blank pages and then the guests at the shower picked a letter to draw a picture for. We will eventually bind them all into a book. It all came together in the end and looked great! It was a labor of love for my best friend Amanda. I can't wait to meet baby Ellie!

BELIEVE Vision Board

      The February prompt for OLW was to create a 'vision board.' Ali described is as "a visual intention—a collection of images and words of what you’d like to invite into your life." So I busted out some canvas, paint, mod podge, glimmer mist, and stickles and went to work. I collected images from a couple different magazines as well as some I printed out from Pinterest, and I cut two images on my Cricut to use. On went the paint, then the mod podge, a medium I have never used before. Can't say that I love it; I don't like how it makes the paper crinkle. Since I knew it would turn out that way from looking at Ali's example I was okay with it. Once I got everything glued down, I sprayed some glimmer mist and make some stickle shooting stars. 
      I also wrote a verse my friend Caleb has been talking about lately - 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." It seemed to go right along with my word and my intentions for it. Some of the images relate directly to my word: cross - believe in God's promises, mirrors - believe in myself, fantasy/mediaeval dress - make believe. Other's are just one's I found that I like. All of it combined makes an interesting visual for my word.
     Here's the finished board: