Congrats Wedding Card for Caleb

This dude I work with got married this past weekend. The other guys I work with tried very hard to talk him outta it. They are all scared of their wives but usually get to do anything they want, so the advice was a bit hollow.

It's double embossed...started with the gold and then added the alcohol ink and then added some sparkle...it's pretty delish!

I got it from Close to My Heart and it was so pretty I had to break the I'm not Buying Any More Stamps Period Rule.

I paired the card up with some vintage wrapping paper and a glass rose. Not sure Caleb will be big either of them, but I betcha his new Mrs. will love em! Her wedding colors were purple, pink and she had lots of chalk boards all over! Very trendy! Tried to at least use some of those colors!

Happy Tuesday!

Deer Me, More Junkin!

This past week involved a couple of sweet finds. The first was some wooden scrolls at the Crooked River Co-op in Wavery, NY. I love using those on furniture and I have Casper Clay's craft desk that might need a couple...they are pretty easy to add with the air nailer and I'll spray paint them black & distress...They are made local to me but there is an Etsy Store called Wood N What Knots.

And then there is the huge bowl of white knobs...that I got at the ReStore and plan on using on those little drawers that need to be upcycled from when Lexi was little...I am thinking some cool patterned paper and white knobs....but first I'll probably spray paint it something neutral...

I love those little deer salt and paper shakers that my family claims are fugly. They kinda make me wanna do a Christmas theme on that set of drawers even tho it's summer here! ;-)

And then (you can't see them well) I found those itty bitty knobs that are also from Wood N What Knots. ...they would fit a very small chest of drawers! I am thinking I'll use them on THE CUTTING CAFE Dresser Box...all these things are making me inspired!

It's Monday so I'll need all the help I can get!

Memories of Grandma Pratt Layout or Pea Pickin' Cake Recipe

Years ago, the ladies who were invited to my wedding shower were asked to bring their favorite recipe. All the recipe cards were carefully gathered up and placed in a keepsake box. I realised at that moment that being married may also involve cooking and I felt a moment of panic.

I have outgrown that fear, thankfully. The other day we were having a Crafternoon over at my house and I decided we needed a nice summer cake. Dug through that box and found a Grandma Pratt original:  Pea Pickin Cake. It was in her handwriting and as she has since long passed, it made me smile to remember her.

For this blog post, I actually bothered to google the name to see if was a Pratt thing or just something from that generation and discovered low and behold, it's a recipe from that time frame. Kinda like those jello salads you might find still at church suppers or three bean salad.

That cool purple doily, some washi tape, super huge Maya Road bloom, and those vintage leaves really do the hard work of making this page pretty! Of course, the recipe is the star of the show! I just scanned and printed on photopaper.






































It's really a mostly flat page for once! Not even a lot of splatters or smudged on paint. Just some really yummy colors!

Happy Thursday! We are slowly creeping towards the weekend...seems like it's taking forever to get here!

Vintage Handkerchief Butterfly Quilt

The other day I walked into a serious quilt shop. I could tell it was serious as it gave me the Heebie Jeebies. Somebody once told me that the thought of making a scrapbook page gave them tremors, so I kinda got what they meant right at that very moment.

I don't sew. I could hear sewing machines. Yes very terrifying.

Anyhow, I was there to show off a huge box of vintage hankies and ask nicely for someone to turn them into a piece of art. They suggested butterflies. In fact, here is a tutorial for doing that very thing.

Here is a photo to give you an idea of what I'm talking about that I borrowed from the interwebs. Pretty cool!

Anyhow I got the extremely stuffed box of vintage hankies from the Aunt who was cleaning out some stuff that my naughty Grandma Skip had. Nobody knows if they were hers from younger days or perhaps something she picked up along the way.

The concept of blowing one's nose on a piece of material is foreign to me anyhows and also gives me the willies kinda like a huge shop devoted just to sewing. However these have pretty patterns, lace and embroidery so will make a lovely throw! Hoping nobodys nose was really involved...

I got that photo at the top text messaged to me from the quilter, Cricket's Crafts! I cannot wait to get my hands on it! She is preserving the awesome cool lace on the edges!

It's Grandma Week here at Pratt Inc. so tomorrow's post will be about another Granny.

Happy Hump Day!

Broke Back Cankle

The other day I took myself to the doctor. The same back ache for two weeks was getting old and not being able to reach my toes kinda stunk. So away I went.

In the spirit of cooperation, I offered to pee in a cup right off so we could rule out bladder infection. I also proudly displayed my cankle. My ankle has been ugly since Mother's Day, but I was pretty sure it wasn't bad enough to wrap or you know get in to see the doc. But hey, since I was already there and had paid my $20 copay...it was fair game. 

The twenty something year old doc who could have also had a career in modeling listened a bit and said well....Your cankle as you call it is causing the back ache. 

Seriously? WTF. I didn't recall my back hurting since Mother's Day. Just two weeks back I woke up in the morning in pain. Who hurts themselves while sleeping anyhows?

She then went on to suggest that we wrap said cankle and called for an x-ray and oh by the way, should it be broken, I'm going to get a boot to wear. 

I gave her a hairy eye ball. Wrap cankle? It doesn't even hurt, it just looks nasty. And I sure as hell wasn't gunna wear a boot. Hello, it's summer! I politely declined to have my cankle wrapped. 

Ten seconds later, the nurse was wrapping it. 

I was overruled. I considered a quick smack down since I was pretty sure I had at least 50 lbs on said twiggy model doctor, but then thought the nurse would get involved and then things would get ugly. 

When I got home with a wrapped ankle and the supper I had picked up, THE MAN said it was about time I listened to someone. 

Oh yeah I said? She also said to keep moving.

Which meant we were up to our normal shenanigans this weekend. THE MAN stuck me on the tractor so I could help him take down a telephone pole. I also moved plants and push mowed. While I was at it, I planted my new rose bush. It's called Jump for Joy. No, there will be no jumping for a bit.

Still having trouble putting my socks on, but I think I'm on the mend finally!

U R Sew Sweet Cupcake Shaker Card for Grandma Skip and THE CUTTING CAFE

My little Grandma Skip got kicked outta her nursing home for multiple escape attempts and for hitting her roommate. Naughty Grandma!  I imagine I'll be equally as bad when I'm older! 

Anyhow, she is settled back into a new nursing home where it's more locked down and she has her own room. I thought it was high time for another box of chocolates and a cool card!

My U R Sew Sweet Sentiment is also a bit tongue in cheek. I figure she's giving the nurses a run for their money! Maybe I should be sending them the chocolate...

Anyhow, my favorite part on this card is the cupcake! I used a real metal cupcake wrapper for the base and lots of glitter for my frosting! Regina has a super cool cutting file over at THE CUTTING CAFE called 13 Shaker Cards Templates and Cutting Files.

You might have noticed there is a bit of a sewing theme on here! I've got a project in the works that involves vintage hankies and a throw. I can't wait to show you photos!

Hope your Saturday is amazing! 

Happy Memorial Day: Rochester Air Show Layout

Ohhhhh what a fun day! I really wanted a red, white and blue theme due to spending the Memorial Day weekend holiday at the Rochester Air Show. Had to add some pretty doilies and music paper!

I was most excited about my red, white and blue candy stick that I found & added as a base to my photo collage! Made that in Picasa, thank you very much! I added a bit of glitter to the stick which matched my glitter tape. I had spotted some cool straws on a page that Helen at Scrap Addict made so a shout out to her for inspiring me!

I found a Blue Angel badge image on-line so I printed that and used a white heart doily cut in half with some crinkle ribbon on the corner of my page! Love that splash of yellow! I also tied two little glass heart beads to the ends...kinda hard to see here, but they are super cool. Those Blue Angels were really the stars of the show! Amazing to see. 

As you can see in this side view, the page is pretty flat. I printed on my title when I made the large background sky print using a large format printer. Fun times though, it's always nice to add a page that won't bulk up my book too much for once!

Happy Friday! May your weekend be amazing!

Seam Binding Spool Holder outta Junk!

THE MAN would claim that the dowel for this project lurked in his garage for months and it's possible that he might be correct. However, it's finally put together! Here is my Seam Binding spool holder in it's pre spray paint glory! The bottom is a wire wheeled piece of cast iron I had in my stash, then the wood dowel, then a little lamp finial. Everything is held together with bolts as we threaded the wooden rod.

Here is my spool all sprayed with a Hammered metal paint. Love my spray paint stump don't ya!
It's very handy. I am not looking forward to the day when THE MAN rents a stump grinder.

Here is my spool all set up with my vintage seam binding! Looks like I need to score some more!

And while we are on the topic of putting things together...

A second hand store $10 concrete bird bath base, a metal spray painted base from a dish all topped off with a glass gazing ball holder off Amazon! I am just waiting for my gazing ball to arrive so I can install this in the garden!

Happy Hump Day!

A Perfect Night: Lindsey Stirling Concert Layout for Scrap Around World

I almost scrapbooked this photo the VERY NEXT DAY after we got back from Lindey Stirling's show in Syracuse NY. It was THAT GOOD.

To say she plays the volin is kinda like saying that is all she is. She puts on a SHOW! Anyhow, I had to use some really pretty sparkly paper to make this page! She sparkled all night!

Got my mixed media on. Helenthe owner of Scrap Around the World is big at that so I thought I'd take their mood board and have a little play myself. Plus, check out that chevron! That was the second reason I used that super cool gold glitter paper!

The reason I opted to go with this mood board is that Lindsey Stirling told us that she wasn't always a positive person and didn't like who she saw when she looked in the mirror. She told us that she had to change her own attitude and herself. Fits right in with the quote on the mood board!

Just popping in a view from the side. Love those ink splatters! I was also inspired by the colors and those lovely flowers on the hair comb!

And if you wanna check out a video of Lindsey Stirling, here is THE MAN's favorite! 

Happy Tuesday!

Yea! Grad Layout

The school year is wrapping up nicely and summer vacation will be upon us before we know it!. So it's time for me to get some pages out of the way! Lexi graduated from her Young Entrepreneurs Academy class a bit back and I needed to make a page about her graduation, trade show, and also use her business card!

The colors she choose to use were purple, gold and black so I went with those same colors on my page. She had made her own background paper and I used a sheet of it on my page! Love that black and white striped heart that I glued on her business card. So pretty! She designed her own logo and that is what was used for her business card. Cihparg Design was the company she launched (The first word is Graphic spelled backwards). Her business plan was to provide graphics, blog designs, headers, etc to people who didn't have time or the talent to make them.

The black doilies make me happy as does that gold heart that was on the paper I used and I fussy cut it a bit so it would pop up. Just a few flowers to bling out the page! Luke is with her in the photo because he was her assistant at the trade show. It was awesome to see them working together.

Hope your Monday is awesome!

Dusk Layout: Rochester Air Show

Got all painty this past weekend! Got my gold on too! Love these two papers that I used to match a Rochester Air Show photo. Can you see the teeny tiny planes in the sky against the sunset?

A close up of the flowers and layers around the photo. Lexi grabbed this photo on her cell. I wanted a few of the fireworks that came after, but we were watching those from the truck due to extremely cold weather!

Really love that doily tucked in at the top and that silky ribbon that tumbles around under the ribbon rose. Makes me happy! Just like gold sequins!

Those are new purchase and I intend to use a LOT of them!

Happy Hump Day!

Alcohol Ink & Gold Embossed Scrap Cards

I recently bought myself some gold embossing power. I ran out a while ago and I had a hankering to use this giant stamp I have. It looks awesome on kraft paper! Glad I made friends again with my embossing gun!

I added some alcohol inks to stain thinks up a bit and some of them mixed to that lovely deep purple color. Loved the random nature of the inks!

These CARDS make me happy!

Hope your Tuesday is awesome!

Spray Painted Lines in the Dirt

THE MAN and I argue rarely and generally only when someone is either hungry or tired. So, the disagreements are usually pretty lame. This time Miss Artistic argued with Mr. Practical about how we are laying out the sidewalk. I wanted an artistic Better Homes and Garden curve and THE MAN wanted straight lines.

At one point someone may have mumbled under their breath about spending too much time on Pinterest and not basing Pratt Inc. projects in reality and on a budget.

Good thing my curved sidewalk takes up less yard space and less concrete. You can kinda see it lightly painted in. I used purple to differenciate between the white marking paint.

We are now into the Sick of this Project phase. It's had a lot of different parts going on at the same time. We had to get the Corning Natural Gas guys up to run a new gas line. We also pulled the electric down from the poles on the side hill and ran it underground. When I'm using the term "we" I really mean THE MAN who has done all the tractor work and also rough landscaping. He is always the brains behind the operation although I did find this ancient cement mixer for the project sans motor for $40.

THE MAN added a small engine he had in his stash & made sure it turns slow enough for concrete. This means at the moment we are planning on doing our own pour. Although we are also considering getting a couple of quotes. Having only ever hired a couple things done ever, it's somewhat terrifying to me. 

The weekend the electric came down so we could run it underground had a moment of excitement too.  THE MAN was pulling the wires back so he could show me how to put tension on the pole so we could cut it down carefully with the chainsaw when it started to fall on it's own. It was THAT rotten. We are thanking our lucky stars it fell in the perfect spot so nothing was damaged including the DIYers!


























Since there is only one tractor, I have been messing around with a new garden with pavers. I had marked it all out with purple spray paint and did all the dirt moving myself. It will wrap around after we get the new sidewalk in. The previous owner had wished for a garden there so I was thining of her as I built it.

I'm in no hurry to fill it or chip it. The cheap plant time of year is coming, I just have to wait a few months! I was all kinds of excited to see my cheap bought in fall climbing roses bloom so I'm cool with some scratch and dent plants. It's like Christmas in spring. 

They are super pretty! Really velvety!

Well, wish us luck! We're getting there!

Happy Monday!

LESSology's Lace Challenge: Altered Candle Stick

The other day I came across a lovely black single candle stick at the second hand store. It was really heavy, smooth and oh so lonely since there was only one. I thought it would make a fantastic perch for the wooden bird my Mom gave me at Mother's Day. 

Check out what I started with for the bird. It was originally a little hanger and I couldn't settle on where to hang it. 

Love the little circle in the middle! Makes a great place to stash a pretty little purple crystal that I've been hoarding. 

My favorite part of this whole thing is the spray painted gold base with the alcohol inked peals. I only had cream colored ones and I wanted them to match, so I added alcohol ink!

Honestly the whole project came about because I wanted something to tie a nice chunk of lace on! I also wanted it to match a basket I made so I used similar flowers. I am really pleased at how it turned out!

If you get a chance, please play along with our Lace Challenge over at LESSology!

Design Team Planner for THE CUTTING CAFE & Pressie for Miss Lizzy Hill

This planner was a simple three ring binder until it was covered in cardboard & a treatment of spray paints, alcohol inks, and washi. What better to decorate a design team planner with!

I even decorated the spine of the book! Love those drips!

This is what I started with before I got all crazy with the paints and doilies! 

The flowers even got some drips of paint! Love the shimmer on this binder. So pretty!

I added some gold, silver, and copper washi tape! Those hints of metallics are super cool!

And now for the inside! That really cool flower was already there so I worked around that graphic with the color scheme for the rest of the binder. 

It's full of organizing pages for a Scrapbooker who has design team commitments and likes to play along with challenges!

Regina over at THE CUTTING CAFE came up with a ton of great pages to fill a binder to organise the busiest of designers! Check out all the pages here. From a calendar to a page for addresses, it will help get you all straight!

I hope my friend Lizzy Hill likes it. She is on the Kraft + Design team so I thought she'd appreciate the color of these pages. ;-) 

And that I even decorated the back!

Happy Hump Day peeps!