Vanlikethecar Designs - Grand Opening

This past weekend, I was honored to be a part of a Handmade Open House graciously hosted by Autumn, an amazing crafter and owner of Beauty by the Sea Designs.  This was my first time ever participating in an event like this.  Let me tell you, I had so much fun chatting it up with other crafters, friends and shoppers as they browsed through all the beautiful handmade gifts that were for sale.

Participating in the open house also gave me the perfect excuse to finally launch Vanlikethecar Designs, an online craft shop to showcase my handmade paper crafts (and sometimes non-paper crafts).  

I have no idea what will become of this tiny little venture but I think that it will be fun and the perfect distraction while we I'm on my east coast sabbatical (or so I like to call it). So if you're in the need for some custom cards, birthday banners or other crafty gifts, please keep me in mind.  And in the meantime, please visit us either on facebook or etsy!

And since no blog post is ever quite complete without some photos, here is a sampling of what we have in the shop!

1.  Yarn Wreath.  This is an 8 inch wreath hand wrapped with a stunning gray colored yarn and then embellished with handmade pink and yellow felt flowers.  I then wrapped the top with gray satin ribbon.  Perfect for an interior door and the colors make for year-round decor. 

2.  Hair Clip Greeting Cards.  I got this idea from Under a Cherry Tree and I think it's the perfect gift when you want to send just a little something more than a card.  All the hair clips are handmade with American Crafts ribbon and lined with white velvet.  If you want a custom hair color, just let me know and I can make one for you.

3.  Glass Etched Ornaments.  Using my Cricut to make vinyl templates, I can etch into any glass or mirror surface (think ornaments, glasses, mirrors, frames, etc.).  While I don't have any pictures of the beer glasses (Justin took them to a White Elephant Party and I was told they were quite the hit), here are some of the ornaments I've made.

4.  Custom Banners.  I love to make custom banners for the holidays, birthday parties - basically, any and all types of celebrations.  Most banners are made up of 3-5 layers of high quality cardstock and include some pretty adorable details.  Here are a few samples which I recently made for a friend's Baby Sprinkle and for Charlotte's upcoming birthday.  Just message me if you want to put in a custom order.

So please go and "like" us on facebook and visit us over on etsy.  I'll try to post new items over on the blog every once in awhile.  But as always, thanks to everyone for their continued love and support.  It truly does mean the world to me.

Happy Holidays!!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Well, thankfully there is no snow on the ground.  But with a chill in the air and the Christmas lights twinkling in around the windows, it is definitely starting to look a lot like Christmas around our home.  

Some Christmas Crafts.  Here's a boxwood wreath I made for the front door.  It was the first time I have ever made a wreath out of real greenery and it was so amazingly fun and easy!

This is a paper string of lights and stockings I made for the fireplace.  Charlotte likes to point at hers and say "sock." 

We have also filled our days with lots of holiday activities, as directed by our advent calendar.  

December First.  I pulled out some green, red and while paint for Charlotte to make a holiday masterpiece.  She just LOVES to swirl the paint around.

December Second.  We went to Justin's school for a Christmas party.  They had a few arts and crafts tables for the kids, a TON of pizza, and Santa even dropped by for a brief visit to hand out early presents.  Here is Charlotte with her little toy dolly.

December Third.  The third day of December was especially busy.  We started the afternoon by attending a fantastic holiday fair hosted by the Newport Rotary Club down at Easton's Beach.  For just $5, the kids got to ride on the carousel, the mini train, decorate a sugar cookie, visit Santa, and play all the arts and crafts tables.  Charlotte had so much fun and just crashed when we got home. 

 

 

Afterwards, we celebrated a friend's first birthday in a perfectly pink and blue snowflake wonderland (complete with delicious homemade marshmallows)!  I was especially smitten that the mom (a super amazing crafter herself) used a banner I made for them.

December Fourth.  We visited Charlotte's school in the evening for their annual tree lighting and lantern walk.  It was really nice to see the other parents and just walk around the school ground.

Anyways, there is so much more to do this month.  I have a very long list of Christmas and birthday crafts to complete.  But to the extent I can muster the energy, I'll try to share the creations and photos with everyone.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Crafting with my November Counterfeit Kit (Part III)

I know that it's officially December.  And there are lots of holiday (and birthday) things to plan this month.  But I wanted to share the last of my projects using my November Counterfeit Kit.

1.  Happy Thanksgiving {a scrapbook layout}

I actually made a coloring page/ placemat for Charlotte using my Cricut, svg cuts from Lettering Delights and the Cricut sketch pens.  I think they turned out wonderfully and was the perfect distraction for Charlotte during dinner.  Since I wanted to somehow preserve the coloring page,  I used it as my background paper for this Thanksgiving layout.  I also loosely based this layout on the Opal #8 sketch by Kristy Lee over at Scrapbook Steals.

Here are some closeups.

2.  You Are My Hero {a card}

And here is a quick card I made using some Studio Calico paper scraps, American Crafts mix tape, Pebbles candy dots, and some Amuse stamps.  It's actually for a family member that was recently honored as a "hometown hero" which is why I used the non-traditional colors.  

Anyways, HAPPY DECEMBER to everyone!!!!!  And as always, thanks for stopping by!

Yale, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Yale.

This past weekend, we drove down to New Haven for the annual Yale-Harvard football game.  While we never actually watched the football game, we did find some tasty food at the Siliman College tailgate. 

We also quickly realized that there were absolutely no children around.  So we headed across the street towards the stadium.  There, we saw Handsome Dan and took a quick photo.

The rest of our afternoon was spent visiting my old favorite spots around campus and taking A LOT of photos of Charlotte.  Here we are on the shuttle back to campus from the football stadium. Charlotte loves singing "Wheels on the Bus" so this was definitely a treat for her.

Here she is sitting on a bench right outside of Welch Hall on Old Campus (my freshman dorm). 

Charlotte loved playing in the leaves in Old Campus.  At one point, they came right up to her knees! 

For lunch, we ate at the Ivy Noodle.  Henry, Mel and I would go here all the time for scallion pancakes and pan fried dumplings.  Sadly, the food was far from the deliciousness that I remembered.  But Charlotte enjoyed getting out of the cold for just a bit.

Our next stop was Morse College, my residential college.  It was renovated since I was there but still felt like home.

We briefly stopped by Cross Campus before walking along Wall Street, across Swing Space and then back to our car behind the Payne Whitney Gym.

And now, if you ask Charlotte what her favorite college is, she'll point to the Y.  Cause, yes, that would be Yale.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!