A little candle re-do

Hi there! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Was almost like summer Saturday, not so much today, and it looks like rain may be headed our way again. So, I hope like me, you took advantage of the nice weather yesterday and got outdoors!
As the weekend is winding to an end and John and I were sitting on the couch after dinner, I took a look at my mantle and thought it needed a little something. ???? I remembered I had some really nice vintage looking scrapbook paper that Julia had given me. So I took these plain looking faux candles (purchased the set of 5 at Costco a couple of years ago for $35 or $36) And I transformed them into this:

I cut 2 pieces of 3" X 12" pieces of paper, with 2 - 1" X 12"pieces of contrasting paper to center on the 3" paper for the small candles on the end. For the 2 candles surrounding the middle, I cut 4" X 12" and 1 1/2" X 12"contrasting pieces. For the large candle I used a 5" X 12" piece of paper and a 1 1/2" strip for the center. I used fine twine to tie them around the candles. They can easily be removed when I get tired of them.
I am already thinking of what cool 4th of July paper I can use for these candles.

Here is a closeup so you can better see the paper. Nice vintage paisley print with stripes. John suggested the stripes. Good call!
A quick and easy change to the mantle!!!
OK, I am going to sit down again to relax and try not to look around to see what else I can change tonight. :)

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Here she is my beautiful mom Emily hugging my beautiful daughter Valerie. I love them both so much! What can I say except that my mom is awesome and I hope to be just like her when I grow up. :) She's my hero! Her grandchildren adore her too!

We have had a wonderful Mother's day weekend. Let's see, it all started Thursday when I won 2 not just one Mother's Day Raffle baskets!!! I could hardly believe I won these awesome baskets. I gave my mom the Reading basket. It was filled with books, magazines, chocolates and so much more! I swear it weighed 10 pounds, and I am not exaggerating. It also contained 2 $25.00 book store gift certificates! She loved it!!! I couldn't keep it a secret until Sunday, I gave it to her on Friday.

Friday evening I took her to an Elegant Women's Dinner at Bear Creek Church here in Lodi Ca. We got the chance to dress up and enjoy a ladies only evening.

This morning my mom, her 4 grandchildren and I attended church. My brother later made dinner for us at her house and I was finally able to present her with the cake slices made out of paper. It was a great Mother's Day Weekend.

More Mother's Day Gifts and an Award!

I guess I am on a craft frenzy just in time for Mothers Day. I had gotten the tutorial for these Ghirardelli Chocolate favor boxes from Kay here is the tutorial. These little boxes are easy to put together. Kay has many awesome boxes and containers on her blog! I loved the cake slices so much that I made a couple more. This tutorial was purchased from Kay. These too will make cute little Mothers day gifts for friends.

I must also mention that my friend, craft mentor and biggest fan Julia gave me an award on her blog for being one of her favorites!!! Thanks Julia!!!!

Hope you are having a great week!!!!

Calorie Free Mothers Day Cake

It's another one of those days, where there is much to be done around the house and yard, but I was on a mission to make my mom this cake for Mother's Day. Just about every night this upcoming week there is something going on, so today was it.
I saw this lovely idea over at Kay's Creations on Paper. I purchased the tutorial for $4.99.
My nice and very generous friend Julia at Julia Luvs 2 Stamp was kind enough to cut the scallop circles for me and give me the brown paper for the chocolate part of the cake.
I will admit that I do not like following written directions and this was a big tutorial. I managed and I am sure when I make the project again it will be easier. The roses were the easiest part. If I could figure this one out anyone can!!!
I am going to fill each little slice of cake with a goodie for my mom. One slice will have a Macy's gift card, another nail polish, another tea and so on. I am sure you get the picture.
I think my mom will love this!!!!!

Thank you Kay for the great idea and tutorial and thank you Julia for your encouragement and generosity.