Yes, I am a Yo-Yo....

....well yo-yo maker that is. If you have never seen the wonderful yo-yo makers made by Clover you simply MUST check them out. They come in circles, hearts, flowers, butterflies, shamrocks and my new fave that I intend to add to my collection: an oval. They make creating yo-yo's easy peasy!!

Anywho.....I have found some new patterns to make. I found this one online that makes the cutest monkey ever? Is he not adorable? I bought this awesome purple fabric for him for an friend's upcoming baby.

The second one, ironically has a monkey but no where near as cute as my other one. But the lion and hippo and super cute, don't you think?? I especially LOVE the hippo.

The 3rd pattern is a very cool collection of brooch, belt, necklace, headband, scarf and bags. Pretty funky!! Oh, and by the way....WHEN did sewing patterns become $15.95?? Holy Cow Batman!! I nearly passed out!! Good thing one was on sale for $1.99 and I had a coupon for the other. I nearly needed oxygen....geesh!!

I have one other pattern on my wish list by Indygo Junction for these pincushions......just LOVE them. I think they might be great for Mother's Day gifts.

I LOVE making yo-yo's because it is portable and quick. It is very travel and "waiting" friendly.

On my bucket list is making a yo-yo quilt.....but hey.....that's not starting today.

That's my yo-yo story and I'm sticking to it!! :)

Pizza Style Gift Box

I needed to make a special size gift box, well 2 actually for Mother's Day. I wanted it to be styled after a Pizza Box. Here is what I ended up with. Remember to click the pics to see them larger.

I made a simple PDF to share as well.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15040283/Pizza-Box-Template

Basically you can make your box any size you wish if you follow my simple tutorial!! The box can be square or rectangular. The height of the box is determined by you.

For my box, I began with a sheet of ART paper, 12 x 18 inches. I wanted my box to be 1 1/2 inches high. Once you have your height measurement you simply score fold lines that measurement along each side and on each side of the center. These lines are in RED in the diagram. Follow the attached diagrams for you cutting lines, shown in BLUE. Fold all scored lines and glue the bottom four corners together to form the box. I used terrifically tacky tape.

For strength I added a chipboard insert and then covered that with an additional insert that matched the box paper. I chose to round the corners of the lid to ease the folding process. It was so great to have the perfect sized box for my gifts.

To decorate the tops I used 2 sizzix dies in my cuttlebug and cut some leaves and flowers. I ran them through my xyron and arranged them on top. I am very pleased with my "I didn't have to go buy any wrappings" gifts.

:) Enjoy