Heart Necklace

Happy Sunday, Friends!  Are you all ready for Valentine's Day tomorrow?  :)  I've decided to make dinner for Mr. Sutch and myself since the monkey will be home with us.  What are your plans?

Do you ever make something and then forget to post about it?  I made this Jeweled Heart Necklace back in January.

I saw it over at Martha's when I was checking out her site for Valentine's inspiration.  I made one, loved it, wore it, and completely forgot all about it until Jen from Tatertots and Jello showed off some she had made!  I love her addition of ribbon!  So cute and I like the punch of color!

I used black, smoky gray, clear, and light pink crystals.  I wanted something I could wear year-round and I wear a lot of black.  Then I threaded it onto a black chain.  Sweet and simple.

Wishing you all have a LOVEly Valentine's Day tomorrow! :)

TWEET TWEET and a Printable Color Change

Hello Blogland Friends!  Guess what!  Crafts & Sutch is on Twitter!  I like to think of myself as pretty tech savvy, but Twitter is like a foreign world and it has me feeling like a total newb...not noob, newb.  There is a difference.  See?  Urban Dictionary says so:

Noob:  A "noob" is a person who is new or inexperienced in a subject, usually an online game. Noobs are usually annoying and excessively stupid.

Newb:  A term used to describe a inexperienced gamer/person/etc. Unlike a noob, a newb is someone who actually wants to get better.

I'm definitely a newb!  It may take a few days to get this whole @, #, RT, FT, etc. down, but I'm hoping to go pro by next week. :)

Now on to fun, free stuff!  A super duper fantastic reader asked for the But the Greatest of these is Love Printables in a few different colors.  So her request is everyone's gain!  :)

 Have a wonderful weekend!

Love Song Love Letters with {Printables}

February is just flying by!  I cannot believe Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  I'm so excited!  The house has little touches of red and pink here and there and I've just added the last decoration!  As promised, a project you will LOVE!

The original plan was to cover the letters L-O-V-E in old love letters that Mr. Sutch and I had written to one another, but I could not find them for the life of me.  ...and honestly now, I'm glad.  When I find them, they will be in tact and we can read through them and get all sparky. :)

So plan B was to cover the letters in love songs that were special to the hubs and me.   I copied the lyrics into Photoshop, made them pretty, and printed them out.  Now on to the good stuff...

To get started, you will need printouts of song lyrics (love letters, etc.), Mod Podge, craft paint, letters (I got mine at Hobby Lobby), paint brush, foam brush, pencil, scissors, super duper glue, and a skewer or Popsicle stick.

Plan the layout of the design.

Turn over each printout and the letter.  Trace around the outside of the letter with a pencil.

Paint the outside edge of each letter.

While the paint is drying, cut out the letters from the printouts.

Use Mod Podge to glue the printouts on to each letter.

Turn the letters over and glue them together.  Be careful not to use too much glue in between the letters.  You do not want it to seep out the front.

Use skewers or Popsicle sticks to add stability and support to the letters.  Glue them in place.

Let the glue dry overnight, display, and LOVE!

 Here are the printables for the songs I used to complete the project.  Please feel free to print them out and create your own Love Song Love Letters, or just pop your favorite one into a frame!

Someone Like You by Van Morrison

The Reason by Hoobastank

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton (Kathy, thank you for the suggestion)

Your Day Has Come by Bebo Norman

To print, click on the image, click again so it displays in full resolution, right click, and select Save Image As.  Then open the file and print. :)

I adore this project because every time I look at it, I flash back to my wedding night and remember how much fun the hubs and I had dancing to each of these songs and it makes me feel all swoony. :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!  I'll be linking up to these fantastic parties!

Valentine's Messages {Printables}

Hello, Dear Friends!  I hope you had a super weekend!  :)  Can you believe that it was in the 70s in Houston this weekend?  The monkey and I took advantage of the beautiful weather by going on a nice, long nature walk...and when I say nature, I mean off roading in my neighborhood. :)

Well, I couldn't let you start February without these babies!!!  I hope you love them as much as I do!

I'm all about the "I love you to the moon and back" one for the kiddos...

...and the "Will you be my Valentine?  Check: yes or no" one for your sweetie! :)  I just love how it looks like it's on old, crumpled up piece of notebook paper.

If you would like to print these for your kiddos or sweetie, then click on the image, click again to open it in full resolution, and then right-click on the image.  Select Save Image As, print it, and then cut each message out so you can drop them into lunch bags for your kiddos or your sweetie's briefcase!  :)

So which one is your favorite(s)?  I'll be linking up to these super duper parties!

I hope your February is filled with love!

But the GREATEST of these is LOVE {printable}

I so LOVE Valentine's Day!  I love that the first two weeks of February are a reminder to all of us to show our friends and family how much we love and care for them.  I think in the midst of life, sometimes we forget.

I made this printable of one of my favorite verses.  What a fantastic reminder of how powerful LOVE is.

I made them in a few different color stories, so please print whichever one suits your decor (if you would like one in a different color, please leave a comment.  I'm happy to make it for you).  :)  Simply click on the image, click on it again so it displays it's full resolution, right-click and select save, and then print. :)

Wishing you more LOVE than you can measure!

I'll be linking up to these lovely parties!

Freezer Paper Stenciled Valentine's Day T-shirts

Hello and Happy Friday!  I cannot believe we are in our last weekend of January.  It just flew by and now we are heading into a month of red, pink, and love. :)

I really wanted to get the monkey a Valentine's Day t-shirt, but I had a hard time finding one for a boy.  They have tons of super cutie girlie stuff, but not a whole lot for little guys.  I decided to make my own. :)  Well, I couldn't make just one t-shirt, so I made one for each of the kiddos at Kason's daycare.

I think these are adorable and super affordable!  I got the t-shirts at Wal-Mart for $3.50.  I used my Sure Cuts a Lot software to design each of the emblems, and cut the freezer paper with my Cricut (you could also trace the design onto freezer paper and cut it out by hand like I did HERE). 

I first heard about freezer paper stenciling from Cheri at I am Momma - Hear Me Roar, and I always follow her easy tutorial HERE.

I used plain ole craft paint and mixed it with Delta Ceramcoat Textile Medium.  The textile medium turns any acrylic paint into a washable fabric paint.  How cool is that?

 

Here are the designs:

The heart breaker design is perfect for any little man in your life.

This is Kason's Love Rocks T...it matches his mailbox. :)

 I LOVE this peace and love T!  The L appears a little dark in the pic, but it is actually red.

I think the tic-tac-toe, hearts in a row T is too sweet. 

This one is by far my fav!  I love the color combo and the sweet, "hidden" message.  You know if you mouth the words olive juice it looks like you are saying I love you! :)

I think the kiddos are going to look adorable for Valentine's Day!  I can't wait to see pics of all of them in their t-shirts!

I love freezer paper stenciling!  It is super simple and pocketbook friendly. You could easily add a little Valentine's flair to your home by using the same technique for dish towels, place mats, napkins, or even on a canvas for some wall art!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

I'll be linking up to these wonderful parties!

Valentine's Day Mailboxes

Hi Friends!  I hope you all have been well!  I've missed you!  These past two weeks have been extremely busy at work, so I haven't had much time to create.  Now that things have died down a bit, I've had a chance to finish up this project that has been sitting half done on the shelf in my office. :)

This project has been on my TO DO list since last year!  I was inspired by Stephanie Lynn over at Under the Table and Dreaming.  She is always a source of inspiration for me, and this was too cute to pass up!  She made this Pottery Barn inspired version for her little boy. 

For this project, you will need:  a mailbox (small - Target $1.00 bin, large - Michael's), wooden candlesticks, round plaque for base, super glue, craft paint, paint brush, and embellishments (depending on the embellishment you use, you might also need Mod Podge and a foam brush).

I gathered some "prizes" for Kason's (a.k.a. The Monkey) mailbox.  I didn't spend a lot of money.  In fact one of the prizes is a Happy Meal toy from my lunch one day. :)  Other prizes include: crayons, socks, Little People figures, a silverware set, a stuffed monkey, and fruit snacks.

To get started, construct the bases by stacking and gluing the candlesticks on top of one another and then gluing to the round base.

Each base got a coat of white paint.

While the glue and the paint are drying, decorate the mailbox.  I used my Cricut and vinyl to create Kason's Love Rocks themed mailbox and Keith's binary code mailbox.

 Creating Valentine's Day things for a guy is a little challenging.  Even though Keith said I could cover his mailbox in hearts (so love him), I knew that I wouldn't be happy with it.  He is pretty technologically savvy, so I decided to go with I love you in binary code.  I cut it out on vinyl using my Cricut and changed out some of the zeros and ones for I "heart" U. :)

I Mod Podged some floral embellishments onto mine and all of the bases got dressed up with a little craft paint.

 

I love how each one reflects a little bit of our personalities and I can't wait to start filling these (and opening mine) on the 1st of February!

I love the little "rock hand sign" on Kason's!  Too cool!

Is love in the air around your home too?

I'll be showing these off at my favorite parties!