Alyson Raynes's Blog

Are you a bride looking to make your own decorations for your upcoming wedding?  It’s not as tough as you might think and you’ll save yourself a bit of money doing some of the decorations yourself.  One of the most popular decoration ideas floating around on social media and platforms like Pinterest are the Chalkboard signs using vinyl.

I made this beautiful chalkboard sign for a bridal shower for my daughter’s best friend.  However, you can use them to make any sign, not just for a wedding.  I will be making more of these as my own daughter’s wedding approaches.  I will be using them as table decorations to welcome guests to the wedding and reception.  These signs are so versatile, I absolutely love them.

What if you make a mistake?  No worries.  The vinyl can be pulled up so that making a mistake can be removed easily; making each sign reusable for whatever need you may have.

Below is a quick and easy tutorial that I have put together to get you started on your own personalized project.

Font Used:

Scriptina Pro

Cricut Supplies:

Welcome to my strip quilt series.  In these videos I show you how to create a strip quilt from start to finish, using the Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method.  I also cover how to attach borders using the QAYG method, as well as, how to add binding to a quilt.  Remember that quilting is supposed to be fun, your own creation and made with love.  Be sure to follow me on YouTube at: The Crafty Author on YouTube 

I will be sharing more quilting videos in the future.

2- Jelly Rolls (Unless you have 40 in a roll, in that case, you only need 1)

3 Yards of Fabric for borders

3/4 yards for sashing

Rotary Cutter

Cutting Mat

Scissors

Sewing Machine

Iron

Ruler for squaring up your block

This block measures 10″ finished before sashing.

1- Package of batting (Lap Size)

HOME

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In this post, I will be sharing how to make your own Mickey Mouse Easter Basket.  Over the weekend, I sat down and made this cute little basket for my Grandson.  As I promised prior, I would not only be sharing my writing journey with all of you, but also my crafting journey as well.  I hope this gives you some of your own ideas and if not, feel free to replicate it for the special kiddos in your life.

This is not my original idea, but when I saw it, I knew I had to try it.  I added a little extra to the basket to make it my own unique design.  The original idea came from Auntie Tay and you can check out her video right here:  Show Me Auntie Tay’s Video

SUPPLIES:

Posterboard- $1

Fabric for Bow Tie- $1.18 (I purchased an 1/8 of a yard)

Glue Gun- I already own one but they typically cost around $5

Easter Basket- $1

Buttons- $1

ASSEMBLY:

I used a Spaghetti O can to trace the ears and made a total 4.  I glued the ears on the basket, using one circle for the front and one on the back.  For Mickey’s buttons on his outfit, I glued two large buttons on the basket.  As for his bowtie, I took some Mickey Mouse fabric and created a bow tie.   I then filled the basket with toys and candy and we’re already for Easter!  I hope you give this cute and inexpensive craft a try.  If you do, please let me know, I’d love to see what variations you come up with.

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I’ve seen the movie, The Wedding Planner, with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, about hundred times.  It’s one of my favorite shows to watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon, curled up on the couch with my black lab Sophie.  I never really put much thought into the movie since it’s been twenty-six years since I had my own wedding.  Yep, it’s been that long.

That is, until my daughter’s fiance’ asked my husband for her hand in marriage.  He did it the old fashioned way, by asking her daddy first.  Of course he said, “yes,” and the rest is history from there.  Flash forward two years and here we are, planning the wedding of the century.  Or so it seems.

My daughter was dead set on having a destination wedding in the Colorado Rockies.  For those of you not familiar with that, it means that everything is triple the price than what it would be here down in town.

Have you ever seen that movie, Father of the Bride?  You know the one with Steve Martin where he loses his shit because his little girl is getting married?  Yeah, that one.   That has quite literally been my life for the past year.  Anytime the wedding is mentioned, my husband starts having this panic attack, freaking out about the smallest detail that there is.  It’s comical.  It really is.  I wish I could write every experience, but he reads my blog posts and we wouldn’t want him to have another panic attack, now would we?

In all fairness, it has been one of the most enjoyable things that I’ve been able to do with my daughter.  Planning her special day has been both stressful and wonderful all at the same time.  I know how blessed I am to be able to do this and believe it or not, so does George Banks (aka: My Hubby).

The big day is coming soon and thank God all of the big vendors have been booked and secured.  I never knew how far in advance you had to book this stuff out.  When I got married, six months was long enough.  Today, a year or more is when you start securing vendors and such.  It’s been a real culture shock in that aspect. I’ve also learned that Millennials do things very differently than we did back in the 80’s and 90’s.  That’s another topic for another day.  I could start an entire blog on Millennial wedding etiquette alone.  Ha!  I’ll keep you updated as the planning continues.  Who knows, maybe there will be a book of bloopers in the near future.

With all of that in mind, I am still working on Paper Dolls  A Malicious Beauty Novel.  I am hoping to release sometime in May or June, but that may need to be pushed back a bit due to the wedding and such.  I do promise though, that I will be publishing a book in 2018.  I know it’s been a while and I thank all of you for sticking with me and for being such an amazing support system.

Hugs,

Alyson

ps: If you would like to keep up with all of my craziness, click the links below to follow me on social media and join my private group.  And…if you sign up for my newsletter, you will receive 2 FREE ebooks!

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It’s been a long time since my last blog post and I have no good excuse other than, life.  Sometimes life gets crazy and things don’t go the way that I’d like it to go.  I’ve even failed on the social media front.  No matter how hard I try to keep up with the daily communications, I seem to drop the ball.

Yesterday was a tough day for me.  Hell, who am I kidding, this past week has been insane.  I’m currently functioning on about 3 hours of sleep over the past 4 days.  My world feels like it is crashing in on me and I am extremely angry.  I’ve shelved all of my writing, when in fact, that’s the one thing I should be doing, because that’s my outlet and it keeps me sane.  I just seem not to be able to find any words that are worth writing when I’m raging.

I haven’t talked about the things that are bothering me, because we all go through things in our lives and I don’t want to bring anyone down with my problems.  I try very hard to be a positive, uplifting person, and I’m afraid this post will be anything but that.  As a matter of fact, I’m sure there are some that will identify with exactly what I am going through and how I am feeling.

As some of you know, I have a child with special needs.  I’ve been working very hard to help him get SSI benefits so that he has a little bit of money to live on, since they have started cutting his hours at work.  He doesn’t work much, just eight hours a week, which has now been reduced to four and sometimes they don’t put him on the schedule at all due to everyone’s hours being cut.  Physically, eight hours is about all he can handle.  I spent two hours on the phone yesterday, waiting to talk to a live person at the Social Security office.  I know this is standard, but it just really pissed me off!  And then I went to fill out the hundreds of pages of paperwork online, and got locked out of the system.  Just a shitty day!

Back in July 2017, which is when I started taking my hiatus from social media, my father-in-law was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  Two days later, my mother had a stroke.  And this Friday, I will be taking my mother in for a biopsy on her breasts because her second mammogram came back funky.  I’m scared.  I’m angry.  And honestly, I just want to sit down, scream and cry.  And there’s more.  Stuff that I can’t share in a blog post.  Things that I must keep to myself, but are driving me crazy and stressing me out beyond belief.

I am well aware that I haven’t put out a book in over a year, and that drives me crazy as well.  I just can’t seem to find the time to sit down and focus on writing.  I think my words would just be shit and full of anger.

I am really trying to remain positive, and focus on the good things in life.  Because things are good!  It’s just the bad seems to be getting to me right now.  I know it will pass.  My daughter is getting married next August and I am helping her with her wedding and all of the planning.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I don’t feel like I’m helping her enough.  And of course…I enjoy spending time with my beautiful, precious grandson.  He is such a little sweetheart.  I can’t believe that he is almost 11 months old and walking everywhere.

I’m glad I got some of this off my chest.  I needed to and now I see that I have so much to be thankful for and that’s what I need to focus on.  For those of you going through similar things, you are not alone.  I will close here for now, and hopefully, I will have more positive news the next time we talk.

Love and Hugs,

Alyson

The post Don’t Be Deceived By…Doubt appeared first on Alyson Raynes Author| Romance Author| Romance Novels| Alyson Raynes.

Each signing that I attend gives me the opportunity to sit down and create book swag for fans that will visit my table.  I’m in the process of preparing for Authors, Books and Poker Chips taking place at the Las Vegas, Flamingo Hilton on August 12, 2017, and I thought I’d share with you how I make some of my own swag for these types of events.

For more information on this event, click on the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/authors-books-poker-chips-author-event-tickets-25883285604

Here is the finished product. I think they turned out beautiful!

All the Best,

Alyson

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Greetings Friends,

It has been a very long time since I made a blog post.  My apologies for that and the reason is…I needed to take some time for myself, to figure out which direction I wanted to go into next.  If you remember, then you know I’m an avid quilter and crafty gal, having shared some of my creations with you in the past.  I have since decided that in addition to writing books, I will also be combining my craftier side with it.

I have never been more excited to share my writing, crafting and quilting experience with you!  It is my happy place!   And the best part is, you will be able to find it all in one place!  Right here on my blog!

I will also be selling some of the quilted items I make right here on alysonraynes.com, along with signed paperback books of my stories.

Your love and support means the world to me as I embark on this next chapter.  Stay up to date by becoming a blog post subscriber.

Follow my craft page here on Facebook:  The Crafty Author

My YouTube link is here:  The Crafty Author – This is where I do teaching videos on the things I am making.  Please be sure to Subscribe and sharing is always appreciated!

Love and Hugs,

Alyson

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Tag along with me to Walmart on a Saturday night with my husband.