Words of Inspiration

Inspiration for thought.

My friend Michelle Homme has a wonderful book, blog and facebook page.  She is a Women's Group Leader and Motivational Speaker.  She is a Giver and a Doer.  She is an inspiration to me!

I put her words (quotes) on tiles, wood and metal.  She sells these items, along with bracelets, necklaces, magnets and her books.  She has an ETSY page as well.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, because I mentioned that she is an inspiration to me.  Her current project (if you will) is collecting clothing, pajamas and scrapbook supplies for a homeless women's shelter.  These ladies need business clothes for the job they are required to have in order to live there.  They now have a revolving closet of clothes, shoes and accessories thanks to Michelle.  She wants to give these ladies a pajama party for fun!  All moms know that when a baby is born, all the gifts are for the baby - Michelle wanted to give the moms a nice pair of pjs.

Here are some of the recent signs I designed for Michelle:

These marble tiles are 3" x 8" and I put two of her quotes on them in black vinyl.  I used my Cameo and fonts from my computer to design them. 

This is a black metal 8" x 8" sign.  I copied and traced her quote from Pinterest and cut it out on my Cameo in light blue vinyl.

This is another black metal 8" x 8" sign.  I used a font from my computer and lime green vinyl for this one.

These wood signs are 3" x 9".  I painted two of them black and two of them brown.  I cut out the quotes in vinyl and placed them on the wood.  I painted over the vinyl. 

 Once the paint was dry, I peeled off the vinyl letters so the black (and brown) showed through.  I sanded, inked the edges and sealed them.

If the words on these signs have inspired you at all, consider checking out Michelle's Pinterest page for more!

Wedding Tile Gift

A good friend of mine got married last night and I made her a tile as a wedding gift.  I had no idea the gift would be part of the ceremony!!

I used a split letter from the Silhouette Online Store and added Karyn and Doug and the date.  I cut it in black vinyl and put it on a marble tile.  I bought a stand from Hobby Lobby that would hold the heavy tile.

I did not wrap it as I was afraid the box would be deceiving and the gift may get dropped.  Karyn's step mom grabbed it out of my hands and placed it by the unity candle for the ceremony. 

It looked so pretty up there!!!  Karyn knew right away who made it for her as she has seen me make these for others!! 

Karyn is a dear friend - we have been through a lot together and I am so happy for her.  Her new husband is a gem!!! 

Karyn was my daycare helper for several years and my friend Renee (on the left) has a set of twins that Miss Karyn and Miss Lori spent a lot of time with the past 5 years!!

And Karyn lived Happily Ever After!!!

Constant Change

I don't have ads on my blog, but every now and I come across something I really want to share with you.  My friend wrote a book once she realized she had a purpose in life that was separate from being a wife, mother, daughter, friend and employee (among other wonderful things).

I have known Michelle for years.  Our children went to the same schools, played baseball in the same town, played in the same neighborhood - but none of our 6 boys are the same age.  We crossed paths often - mostly on the baseball fields and at parent-teacher conferences.

My middle son made National Honor Society as a junior in high school, and Michelle was the featured speaker at the induction ceremony.  I was so moved by her words.  The next time I saw her at the baseball field, I told her how much her speech meant to me.  I was shocked to hear it was her very first speaking engagement!!  She also told me she was writing a book.  That was 2 years ago.

Our paths crossed again a few months ago when she asked for help - something most women have trouble with.  She now leads a women's group and her book signings are taking off as well as her speaking engagements.  She also wrote a lot of quotes as they came to her (they are on her website) and someone asked if she would consider putting them on tiles and selling them.  She contacted me when she saw other vinyl projects I made and asked for help.

What started as a "teach me how to do this" conversation quickly switched to "would you do this with/for me" conversation.  Here are a few that I made for her to sell:

I made this glass block for Michelle to take with her to her events.  Love this question!!!

The first chapter in her book is titled Embrace the Journey.  This book is filled with inspiration, tough questions and lots of insight.  This is a book I will refer to again and again!!!  I encourage you to check out her website and facebook page.

I am giving away one SIGNED copy of Michelle's book.  You can earn a chance by #1 leaving me a comment here, #2 subscribing to her YouTube Channel and leave me a separate comment that you did here, #3 "like" her facebook page and leave me a separate comment that you did here. #4 subscribe to her website/blog and leave me a separate comment that you did here, and #5 follow her on Pinterest and leave me a separate comment that you did here!

I will draw a winner February 28, 2014!

Order Her Book
Facebook Page
Website
You Tube Channel
Pinterest

Halloween Coasters

Hello and Welcome to Day 2 of the UnBOOlievable Blog Hop!!

You should have arrived from HERE.  If you found me first, please go to the BEGINNING so you don't miss a thing!!!  We have two days of Halloween projects for you - so sit back and enjoy!!  We hope to inspire you!!  If you missed yesterdays projects, you can always take a peek by clicking HOME at the top of each blog.

For my project today, I made a set of spooky tiles to give as a gift.

 I purchased some white 4x4 tiles from Home Depot.  

I purchased these fun tile images from the Silhouette Online store. I sized them to fit my tiles and cut them out in black vinyl.

These can be used as coasters or home decor.

I added some pretty Halloween ribbon to tie the tiles together.

I put this vinyl "Wicked" on a gift bag and added a simple bow.

Your next stop in the hop is LUCY!

Here is the blog line up in case you get lost along the way:

1. Lisa ~ http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/

2. Angela ~ http://crazy3monkeys.blogspot.com/

3. Lori ~ http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/****HERE

4. Lucy ~ http://love2createitall.com/***NEXT

5. Sarah -www.sarahbiswabic.blogspot.com

6. Diana ~ http://daisylovecreations.blogspot.com/

7. Deb~ http://debspaperpalooza.blogspot.com/

8. Teresa~ http://freshandrenewed.blogspot.com/

9. Jessica ~ http://craftinandstampin.blogspot.com/

10. Tricia ~ http://mysticalcardcreations.blogspot.com/

11. Elecia ~ http://creationsby-kahaulani.blogspot.com/

12 Aisha ~ http://londonskyedesigns.net/

13. Sandy ~ http://simplycraftycreationsbysandys.blogspot.com/

14. Daphne ~ http://craftyscrapsofstuff.blogspot.com/

15. Miranda ~ www.nanasscrapspot.com

16. Denise ~ www.craftconfectionery.com

Teacher Tile (3 or More Cartridge Challenge)

Today I am the Designer at Sweet Sassy Diva's!  

Here is my project for the challenge ~ 3 or more cartridges.

I wanted to make something special for Tanner's kindergarten teacher.  Mrs. Stock is an awesome teacher! I wanted to personalize something for her and kept coming back to a tile.

I started with gold vinyl, but the gold seemed thin and I had some issues with it bubbling and tearing.  I was ready to scrap the whole project and started removing the gold words and decided to leave the apple.  I kept thinking that a golden apple is kind of like an academy award for teachers.....so I kept going.

Here is my screen shot.  I used several words and icons from 15 cartridges:  Cheerful Seasons, Cindy Loo, George, Graphically Speaking, Gypsy Wandering, Hannah Montana, Home Accents, Home Decor, Locker Talk, Lovely Floral, Lyrical Letters, Makin' the Grade, Elegant Cake Art, Nursery Rhyme and Plantin' Schoolbook.

I opened a 12x24 mat and put all of the words and icons on my mat.  I started with Mrs. Stock (used a heart instead of a period) in the center.  I like subway art and wanted to make this look like some.  The words I chose are: discover, create, patience, inspire, transform, direction, explore, #1 Teacher, guide, adventure, learn details energy and 2011-2012.

It took some time to move words around and size them to get my final piece.

I erased the apple from my screen and cut out the rest in black vinyl.  

When you cut vinyl, set your Cricut to 3-3-3 (speed, pressure and blade depth) for a kiss cut.  I use my Cricut pokey tool (dental tool) to weed out the extra vinyl pieces.

I usually use clear contact paper with vinyl, but I was having trouble with the amount of stick and my pieces were tearing and not clinging to the tile.  I was getting frustrated not knowing if it was the gold vinyl or the contact paper or a combination of both.  I bought the ProvoCraft transfer tape and had much better luck!

I use my scraper to burnish the vinyl to the transfer tape.

I used my E2 and set it to cut on Vinyl.  You can see here that the blade did cut through the paper backing in a couple of places.  I honestly have better luck with my E cutting vinyl, but it is a pain to dig it out for one project!!

I bought my 12x12 tile at Home Depot.

  Here is my tile with the gold apple still on it.  I set the transfer tape right over it, burnished the vinyl into the tile and peeled the tape off.

Here is my tile all finished up!  I just need to get an easel so she can display it in her room.

Thanks for having me over today Bobbi Jo!!

Photo on a tile

Here is a photo of a 4 inch tile that I made into a keepsake. I copied a 3.5" x 3.5" photo onto a piece of white tissue paper. I taped the tissue paper to a piece of cardstock and fed it into my copier. I brushed a thin layer of mod podge on the tile and put down the photo. I carefully brushed a thin coat on top of the photo. I added two more coats, letting them completely dry in between. I sealed it with a spray sealer and then put sticky back cork on the back. I made these for my daycare parents this year for Christmas.