handmade for hc

My friend, Heather (H.C.) just moved from Huntsville, Alabama to the top of a mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. She saw my recent blog post where I had made a onesie with a bowtie and wanted one for her little guy.

I couldn't decide which houndstooth to use (Alabama football fans) so I made two...


But then I felt as if her daughter might feel a little left out, so she got a shirt, too!


So sorry for the blurry pictures...I was in a hurry to get these to the post office so I only had a quick second to use the old camera phone.

Heather and her family (Hi A.C. We miss you too!) are taking a trip to the beach this weekend (so jealous) and she wanted some cute towels for the kiddos. Here is my first attempt at making beach towels.












Well? What do you think? I think they'll be rockin' them out! Need a personalized beach towel this summer? You know who to call!

blinginghomethebacon@me.com

cherry-o

I had to share this cute little hat I knitted up last Saturday...don't you just love it?! I'm so in love with the dangling cherries!


Since I'm new to the Chicagoland area and don't really know anyone, I just a knitting circle. I'm meeting so many nice people and getting a lot of knitting done!

If you're in the Napreville area on Thursdays and Fridays, come knit with us at "Gentler Times Stiching"! Who knew a knitting circle could be so much fun?!

lots of new stuff

Stampin' Up! has revamped their entire catalog (which will benefit you, the consumers in a positive way). They decided to get rid of all their current stamp pads...in their place will be "better" ones.

I didn't believe it.

I was very upset when I learned that SU was changing their ink pads...especially after spending so much money acquiring all of the current pads.  I've been whining and complaining all week to my sister-in-law, who is also an SU demo, and we both agreed that it was "so stupid" on their behalf!

HOWEVER...

I ordered a bunch of the new products and had them overnighted (one of the MANY perks to being a demonstrator is that you get to order products before anyone else!)...I received them today and...WOW!  The pads are really so different!

They aren't as thread-like as the old ones, more like dense sponges.  Also, I always stayed away from ordering stamp sets that contained "solid" stamps...because I could never get the whole image stamped!  It was so frustrating.

I was on the phone with my SIL when the UPS guy arrived...the first thing I did was open the new ink pads and tried them out.  I used the bird from the "Always" set to test.  Perfect!

Another plus?!  They are now making colored labels to put at the end of the ink pads (in English, French, and Spanish).  FINALLY, I don't have to use my label maker to do this anymore (they're affixed to the bottom of the ink pads, you just peel off the one you want).

I'm so excited!  I had to share!

Oh, and the other products?! AMAZING!!!  More framelits and embosslits please!!!

You need it all!!!

In case you don't want to miss anything that is saying farewell...check out the retiring lists!

Stampin' Up! retiring accessories list

Stampin' Up! retiring stamp sets

Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini carryover list

There are also some items that you can still purchase that were not put on the carryover list:

Simply Scored Scoring Tool (122334)

Simple Scored Diagonal Plate (125586)

Mixed Bunch Stamp Set (Wood-Mount 125535, Clear-Mount 125537)

Apothecary Art Stamp Set (Wood-Mount 125525, Clear-Mount 125527)

Loving Thoughts (Wood-Mount 125843, Clear-Mount 125845)

Love & Laughter (Wood-Mount 125475, Clear-Mount 125477)

Baby Prints (Wood-Mount 125470, Clear-Mount 125472)

Tea Shoppe (Wood-Mount 125545, Clear-Mount 125547)

BUT YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF MAY!!!! 

THE NEW CATALOG IS RELEASED JUNE 1ST...A FULL MONTH EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR!!!  WOO-HOO!!!

Want to place an order?  Host a party?  Come to a workshop? Join SU for only $99?

Email Me!

blinginghomethebacon@me.com

a fine day for a pink wedding

Quite a while back I posted the save-the date cards I made
for my friends Mallory and Nicholas.  

Well, the time is drawing near and the invitations are all done!

They are getting married on Bastille Day, French Independence
Day for those of you who aren't familiar with it.
Both the bride and groom have lived and traveled all over
France and he now teaches French.

So it would only be fitting that their wedding is on that day.

They are both such great people and I'm so excited for them!

Their colors are black, white, and pink...oh so Parisian!

(or Basic Black, Whisper White, and Pretty In Pink...
in the Stampin' Up! world)

I just shipped off their invitations this week and they were thrilled
(phew!)

They decided on the pocket invitation style.
I used 12 x 12 cardstock to make the folder, 

scored, added a pocket, and corner-rounded the flap.

The background of the invitation was hand stamped using
the "Artistic Etchings" stamp set on white and the verbiage
was printed on vellum and layered on top, accented by an
organdy ribbon.

I had also hand stamped each response card...
I think it just added a little extra touch!

Mallory's sister asked to also make some decorations for her 

shower.  I made giant pink tissue paper pom poms, 

which I wasn't smart enough to take pictures of 

before I sent them off in the mail!

I also made 3-dimensional Eiffel Towers...

How cute are these?!

I also made the shower invitations...

yes, there was more verbiage, but I blurred out personal information.

The bride requested that the invitation be written in French!

How clever!

Do you need invites or announcements for an upcoming event?

Email me!

blinginghomethebacon@me.com

onesies for baby H

My friend Monisha back in Cincinnati just had a beautiful 

baby boy named Hezekiah.  Of course that gave 

me an excuse to hop on the sewing machine!

I made two onesie sets for him...

The "H" is for both his first and last name...

His daddy is a huge fan of wearing bow ties,
so what would be more appropriate?

I just love the bright colors!  I hope he likes them!

draw something

For those of you who are iPhone or iPad users...you HAVE to download and play "draw something"...so addictive! It's like Pictionary, only you can play one word at a time, at your own pace.  For each word you guess/draw correctly, you earn coins which can be used to buy more colors.

My husband has been suckered into this game now as well.  His word was "wedding".  Now, if I had that word, I would probably draw a bride and a groom with a church, right?  Here was his drawing...

You wouldn't be able to make the connection unless you saw where we got married (in the Dominican Republic)...

Look familiar?  I think it's too cute how he automatically thought of this scene when trying to draw the word.  Love!

If you want to play with me, my name, of course, is "Blinging Home the Bacon"!

what did we do before internet?

We have settled into our new Chicago home and we FINALLY got Internet! We had to wait a few weeks before they had the line installed and that was painful! I've decided I can go without a phone, I can go without TV...but Internet?! I've missed my blog, Pinterest, and the general feeling of being in touch with the world.

Hello world!

button buddies & summer smooches

Have you seen the "Button Buddies" stamp set?


This stamp set is so versatile...you can stamp in various colors, as usual, or you can add one of the color coordinating SU buttons to the circle areas to make your card or project pop! Love!


And speaking of love, don't you just love the new "Summer Smooches" designer series paper (used on this card)?


This is a fun and easy set to make a big impact!

everyday enchantment chip clip

Yesterday was my last day visiting my parents in Cincinnati before heading back to Chicago to lose on our new house...on Tuesday!

We are sad to see our house go...Although when we moved in a year and a half ago, we had a feeling that it wasn't going to be for long. We were right!

Out with the old...


In with the brand new...


Our new place is brand new, and we love it! It's almost finished being built and they have 2 days left to pour the concrete in the driveway, porch and sidewalk.

My mom and I decided to spend yesterday shopping, of course. After hitting up the mall we had to check out the toy store...The Container Store, that is! That's the best place to go to get all the stuff you never knew you needed!

I picked up a bag of bamboo clothespins (much nicer than the old wooden ones I might add). I really have no use for good old fashioned clothespins, so I repurposed them into cute little chip clips!






I cut strips of "Everyday Enchantment" DSP paper from the current Sale-a-Bration catalog, which I think is the prettiest Stampin' Up! paper ever! After I glued those on, I covered the whole clip with a thin layer of Mod Podge, to protect the paper. Then, I tied on ribbon (also Sale-a-Bration) and glued on butterflies that I cut out using then "Beautiful Wings" embosslits. To finish, I sprayed a layer of Smooch, which just makes everything it touches prettier!






What do you think? A set of these would make a cute gift...maybe a housewarming present? I'm thinking of making some sets of these to give to my new neighbors as they start moving in as well.

I'm pooped...shopping and crafting has worn me out! Tomorrow...on the road again!

little additions

I've been eyeing the "Little Additions" stamp set ever since it came out in the new catalog last July. I'm always making baby gifts and cards and thought this set would be perfect! Things have been so crazy recently that I've neglected all of my new stamp sets!

Fortunately I had a little bit of time yesterday to put together a baby card...






Looking back I think I needed to add some more pizzazz, but it'll do for now...