Making an Effort...

I seem to go in spurts, posting to the blog here, but I REALLY am going to try to keep this a consistent thing.  It's pretty amazing, how easy it can be to neglect writing new posts.  Today, I am sharing a card I made for one of my nephews.  I saw a similar design (and I apologize, because I now can not find the original source) and I thought it would be a great 'boy' design.

I pulled out my papers, inks, stamps and dies and got myself ready to create a masterpiece!  Alright, well, maybe not a MASTERPIECE, but the birthday boy liked it, so all good in my eyes :).

I started out with a Tropical Teal base, if you've never used Papertrey Ink's Cardstock, it is heavenly - nice and thick and sturdy, love it!  On the white layer, I stamped some images from Grunge Me in Kraft ink, to anchor the focal point.

Next, I die cut some stars using the Sketched Stars dies, in a few different colors (Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, and Tropical Teal), and on top of that, I placed a Kraft star, stamped with images from Star Prints, die cut with the Seeing Stars dies.

To add my sentiment, I used the 3 colors of ink that coordinated with the die cut stars, and made an 'ombre effect' on the 'happy' from Wet Paint - and finished off the sentiment with True Black ink.

Off to another birthday party today -- with a family as big as ours, we're BOUND to be headed off to a party on any given weekend, lol... Thanks for stopping by!!!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Wet Paint, Star Prints, Grunge Me
Ink: Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, True Black, Classic Kraft
Paper: Tropical Teal, Select White, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Classic Kraft
Accessories: Seeing Stars Dies, Sketched Stars Dies, Corner rounder punch

Alice in Wonderland!

Hey there!!!  LOOOOOONG time no see!  It's been one heck of a year.  Some good, some bad, but it's ALL flying by!  I've made some cards here and there throughout the year, but most haven't made it here to the blog, but check out my Instagram account, they usually at very least make it there :). (link is in the upper right of the screen)

I came by to share this card with you that I made this past weekend. My neighbor is turning 7, and wanted an Alice in Wonderland party.  I thought long and hard, and the idea hit me!  How about a card with the Cheshire Cat??  You know, when we first meet him, in the dark??  YUP!  I can do that! lol.  I broke out my punches, and my large circle nestabilities, and got to work.  Here's the front -- the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Stylish Sentiments: Birthday.

Ok, so that came out kind of cute -- used a thin line black marker to draw his teeth.  Next, on to the inside!  I drew his tail freehand on an old piece of Orchid Opulence CS from SU!, and cut it out, then added some strips of Rich Razzleberry (Also SU!) to make the stripes on his tail.  The sentiment inside are cut from various Papertrey Ink Dies.  This has GOT to be one of my favorite cards that I have made recently...just fun.

My girls each made something too - A made her card 2 months ago in anticipation of this day, so she was disappointed that hers wasn't Alice themed, but I thought she did a great job.  The only thing I helped with was die cutting the '7'.

This was the front:

And here is the back:

Lastly S made this one, to look like a playing card, another nod to the movie, and she colored the adorable Rio image from Simply Betty Stamps like Alice:

A lot of fun we had with this birthday!! :)  Thanks for stopping by!!

Cheshire Cat Card:
Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark
Paper: True Black, Select White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI) Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence (retired), Yoyo Yellow (Retired) (SU!)
Accessories: White EP, Circle Nestabilities (Large), 1" Circle punch, 1/4" circle punch (I think), Birthday Trio Dies, By the Numbers and By the Numbers Mats dies,   Block Alphabet dies, One Liners: Happy dies, Suffix Style dies

Weddings!

Well heeelloooooooo there!

We've had a CAH-RAAAYYYY- ZZZZYYY September!  Between back to school routines, and birthdays, and weddings, we've been SUPER busy!!  We were invited to 2 weddings, back to back weekends - and I'm POOPED!  It was so nice this past weekend not to have to get all gussied up ;0).

Anyway - for the first wedding (on Sept. 21) I thought I would share some of the things I helped the bride with -- They held their wedding in their back yard, it was rustic, elegant, and comfortable.  I loved how nice it was, though it wasn't a great weather day.

For the guests, everyone got a mason jar mug with a handle to drink from, which also served as their seating arrangement.

The bride's friend made this great sign!

Here are the mugs:

I used my Cricut to cut out the chalkboard labels.  Then 3 of us put the labels on all of the jars, and I wrote the names on allllllllll of the jars, while the other 2 cranked out a WHOLE LOTTA TAGS and a BAJILLION little numbers for the tags, it was a lot of effort, but I think they came out great!  (Yes, the jars are wet, because it was POURING, and blowing in under the tent!

Here are the centerpieces, She cut each and every wine bottle, and I made the table numbers.  They are in the shape of the plate on the front of a motocross bike, as that is one of the groom's favorite things to do.  We used a popular 'racing font' for the numbers -- I made these with my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot (I haven't updated my machine, or the software, so I can still use it! yaaaaayyyy lol).

Here's one of my favorite photos I took that day...I had NOTHING to do with this one, but wanted to point out that the flower in the bride's hair was made from her Mom's wedding dress, how cool is that?

Oh - and I did make them a card... just in case you were thinking I didn't, lol.  The girls' dresses were a teal green - more to the green side, but I didn't have anything closer than hawaiian shores, so...

This card was cased from this beauty by Gayatri Murali.  I used PTI's Quatrefoil Cover Plate die to emboss the hawaiian shores layer - and accented it with flat back crystals.  The sentiment is from Beautiful Butterflies.  I loved the design so much, I incorporated it into the card for the other wedding as well.

I'll be back with some photos of wedding number 2 a little later this week :).

Thanks for stopping by!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 10 Minute Craft Dash!!!

WHEW!  What a CRAZY few weeks it's been!  Running around like mad, but SO glad, at the very last minute, I was able to participate in the big birthday extravaganza over at the 10 minute Craft Dash!

So, this time around, we are to use a birthday theme, and keep it under 10 minutes... easy, right?  One would think...I started one card, and after getting started, there was NO WAY I was going to complete the card in less than 10 minutes, and then realized I totally messed it up - so off to the garbage that one went, lol.  BUT -- I did get to make this little ditty for the dash --

It was close, but I made it!

Can't wait to get to REALLY go through the entries, I always love to see what everyone can do in 10 minutes!!  So much fun.  Thank you Paulina for starting this challenge, it's my favorite!  Congratulations on your first year!!  Looking forward to the second!

Supplies (All PTI unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Big Birthday Wishes, Hello, Sunshine, Bitty Background Blocks II

Ink: Orange Zest, Pure Poppy, True Black, Enchanted Evening

Paper: Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, Orange Zest, New Leaf, Pacific Point(SU!)

Accessories: Star Nestie dies, Birthday trio die collection, Suffix style die collection, By the Numbers dies, By the Numbers Mats dies

Tuesday Trigger on Saturday!

I was surfing around a bit earlier this week, and came across the latest Tuesday Trigger challenge, from MoxieFab blogger, Cath Edvalson.  Check out this photo:

I LOVE all of the fun color - and circles.... I went ahead and took the inspiration photo quite literally, and made this:

It kind of reminds me of a watercolor paint palette, I really love the transition from cool colors to warm colors.  I used Bitty Background Blocks II to give the circles a little more texture, and the sentiment is from Trendy Tree Tops.

I added a little bling, and that was it!  A fun little card, I think.  Thanks for popping by!

Supplies (All PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Bitty Background Blocks II, Trendy Tree Tops

Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Enchanted Evening, Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold, Spring Moss, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, True Black

Paper: Hawaiian Shores, Evening, Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold, Spring Moss, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Pacific Point (SU! retired), Bermuda Bay (SU! retired), Select White, Going Gray (SU!)

Accessories: Doodlebug Bling, Sketched Shapes dies

PTI Blog Hop - July!

Thanks for stopping by!  I had such big plans to make numerous projects for this blog hop, and then last night it dawned on me that the hop was TODAY!  I don't know about you, but Summer has been FLYING by!  

Let's get down to business though, shall we??

This month's challenge was to use one of these wonderful color palettes posted on Nichole's blog.  I chose this combo:

I have to admit, Melon Berry is not a color I use often.  Not sure why, but it's just not a color I run to, unlike Hawaiian Shores, or Raspberry Fizz (two of my all time faves!) so this really was a challenge for me.  Unfortunately I needed a Sympathy card, I really should make a few to have on hand, but I guess since it's my least favorite card to have to make, I don't want to make them when I'm playing around for fun, KWIM??

Anyway, here's my card:

I used The Sweet Life, the small butterfly from Natural Beauties, and the sentiment is from Think Big Favorites #3.  The sentiment was stamped once in Melon Berry, and then I offset slightly, and stamped it again, and embossed it in gold.  I used Summer Sunrise and Harvest gold for the roses, and New Leaf (stamped off once for the base image) for the leaves.  Can't wait to hop around and check out all of the entries!  Have a great day!

A Card for Cadence....

So the other day, I'm scrolling through my Facebook feed, and I see a link from a friend, requesting that her card-making friends consider making a card for Cadence.  I clicked on the link, to see what it was about.  You see, Cadence is a beautiful little almost 7 year old girl, and just a few weeks ago, her whole life was turned upside down.  She was in a car accident, with the rest of her family, and she was the only one who survived.  She lost her Mom, her Dad, and her 2 year old little sister.  Every time I think about it, I cry.  I just don't get it.  SO - today I sat down to make a card for Cadence.  I needed a place to start from.  I chose to use this week's Deconstructed Sketch (#109).

I was inspired by this awesome card by Dawn Easton.  So, I set off to make my own creation.  I used Kraft for my background layer, clear embossed using my Background Basics: Herringbone stamp set.  Then I cut 3/4" strips of Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, Limeade Ice, Hawaiian Shores, and Winter Wistera (I also used the heart border die to cut a strip of hearts from the same colors).  I glued the strips to the Kraft layer, and then adhered a piece of vellum CS over it (adhering it with glue behind the heart strips.  Then I adhered the heart strips on top.

I die cut a piece of select white CS with the scalloped circle from the Limitless Layers Circle 1.75" dies, and stamped a sentiment from Birthday Bash Sentiments in Smokey Shadow ink.  To finish off the sentiment, I used the tiny heart image from Teach & Inspire and stamped them in a rainbow pattern above and below the sentiment.  Attached a Hawaiian Shores felt flower, and used a fun jeweled embellishment from Jolie's Boutique. (Purchased at Michael's)

I plan to pop this in the mail on Monday, it should get there in time for Cadence's birthday on 7/23.  If you would like to send a card -- here is a Facebook page that includes the information, and some more pictures of this sweet little girl.  www.facebook.com/cardsforcadence

Thanks for stopping by...

Tracey

Supplies (All PTI unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Teach & Inspire (heart), Birthday Bash Sentiments, Background Basics: Herringbone
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, Limeade ice, Hawaiian Shores, Winter Wisteria, Smokey Shadow
Paper: Select White, Classic Kraft, Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, Limeade ice, Hawaiian Shores, Winter Wisteria, Vellum CS
Accessories: 1.75" Circle Limitless Layers Dies, Heart Border Die, Clear embossing powder, Beautiful Blooms II #3 dies, Hawaiian Shores Felt, Jolie's Boutique jeweled sticker.

Craft Dash #20!

Happy Summer!!  Things are in full swing here this week - the girls started camp, and I AM NOT used to this new routine!  I thought Summer was supposed to be relaxing...mmmmmmm...my days have gotten LONGER, and I'm pooped! lol. I'm sure once I'm used to the routine, it will get better...I hope. :)

ANYHOO - I took a few minutes (literally!) for myself last night, and put something together for the latest 10 Minute Craft Dash.  I have to say, I really do LOVE this challenge, because so many times I will start a project, and not have ANY idea where I'm going with it -- and then it takes FOREVER -- well, when you are doing the 10 minute craft dash, you don't have TIME for that, so you need a plan.  Even at that, things don't always go as planned (like my last entry - I had issues with the size of the focal panel, so having to trim it cost me valuable time, and put me over) but more often than not, if you have a plan, you're good.

Keep your idea realistic, even the most simple of designs can be time consuming.

Here is the challenge graphic:

I totally LOVE these colors, by the way!

Here's my card:

Is it my favorite card ever?  no.  But -I think it is clean and simple, it's got a great pop of color.  The dimensionals I used were TOO big, in my opinion, popped a little too far off the page.  Also, I had to hand cut the triangles, because the dies were out of stock, and I think that would have made a big difference, too. I like the texture of the sketched images on the triangles, and I think I might definitely try this again once I can get my hands on those dies, I might be more pleased with the outcome.  BUT --Overall, still happy with it, quirks and all.

Best of all -- I made time :)

If you haven't already checked out the challenge, you should give it a shot -- it's a ton of fun!  Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Sketched Shapes 

Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, Fresh snow

Paper: Smoky Shadow, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise

Accessories: White embossing powder, dimesionals

Craft Dash and Sketch for you to try!!

Off to LOTS of celebrating today, but wanted to squeak in a card for the latest Craft Dash Challenge!  I combined it with the Sketch for You to Try (even though I missed the deadline).

Reverse Confetti is a great new company started by Jen delMuro -- fun fun designs -- I totally loved the "I Like You" set she released this past month.

Here's my card:

UNFORTUNATELY- I didn't make time, but I thought I would share it anyway!  :(  Maybe next time!!! 

Thanks for popping by -- have a GREAT DAY!!!!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: I Like You (Reverse Confetti), Hello Sunshine (PTI), Heart-2-Heart #6 (PTI)
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold, Pure Poppy (All PTI)
Paper: Harvest Gold, Pure Poppy, Select White, Spring Rain (All PTI)
Accessories: Heart-2-Heart #6 dies (PTI), heart border die (PTI), Cloud 1&2 die collection (PTI), corner rounder (CM)

Craft Dash 17!!

It's SPRING!!  And I don't know about you, but in my family, that means a WHOLE LOT OF EVERYTHING going on right now! lol.  We've got birthdays, Communions, Baptisms, Showers, Weddings, Anniversaries!  WOW!  So, needless to say, I've been busy making cards!  I haven't photographed all of them, because I run out of time :( ) but I have gotten a few, so I'll have some new things to share here soon!

BUT -- today I am here, playing along with the Craft Dash Challenge again!  Paulina comes up with some fun challenges, and I REALLLLLY want to get playing consistently.  This week's challenge is below:

Here's my take on the challenge:

One less birthday card to make for the weekend, WOOHOO! lol.  

Of course, let us not forget...how long did this take me???  Wellllll.....

MADE IT! :D

Speaking of making it...I've just started on a self improvement project...so I may post about here from time to time.  I've decided it's time to take my body back after not taking care of it pretty much since I became a mom.  I signed up for some fitness classes at the martial arts school where my children take class, figuring there's total accountability...I'm Irish, so I'm naturally guilty, lol.  I took my first two classes this past Friday, and it was INTENSE for someone as out of shape as I am -- BUT -- I made it through the first class (hour of upper body) and made it part of the way through the second (hour of lower body).  I made it farther than I expected, truthfully, but am glad to get going.  My muscles are still sore today, though I can finally walk down a set of stairs without wanting to cry ;).  I go back this Friday for more, and I'll update more on where I go from there :).  

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great week!!

Tracey

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Super Stars, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Classic Kraft, Smokey Shadow

Paper: Select White

Accessories: sequins

We're "Bubbling" With Excitement!

So, 2013 is shaping up to be a banner year!  LOTS of Weddings and BABIES BABIES BABIES!!!  My husband and I have 20 nieces and nephews, and this year, we'll have 2 more!  One nephew has already arrived, and the other will be here in a few short weeks!  It's nice to have little babies in the family again, the last ones were my little one who is 5, my nephew (on my side) who is 5, and my niece (on DH's side) that will be 5 in a few weeks.  We also have a bunch of friends all expecting -- it's so exciting - I LOVE IT!

Well, tonight we had a little "sprinkle" for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  It's been a while since they've had a baby, and we want to make sure the new little guy has all he needs!  Another sister in law found these cute bubble gum tubes, and I offered to make new tags for them, because the ones that came on them were kind of...well...lame.

So, I sat down at the computer, and made myself a template of a bunch of 1.75" circles, and made a computer generated sentiment "We're bubbling with excitement for new baby "K"!" and printed them out.  I broke out the Cuttlebug, and cut out all of the circles, along with the outer die cut shape, in red.  I stamped the single largest dot from Polka Dot Basics I (Papertrey Ink) stamping off once, in a few different colors, and added the "shine" with my sakura white glaze pen.  mounted them to the red scalloped circles, and then tied them on with some silver stretchy cord I got from SU! ages ago.  They came out really cute I think -- and could work for a bunch of different occasions -- with bubbles even, if you don't want to give something sugary (good call Alicia!!)

Thanks for popping by today!

Supplies (all Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics 1
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf
Paper: Select White, Pure Poppy
Accessories: "Cocktail" font on my PC, Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle dies, Silver elastic cord (SU! - retired)

Babies, Babies, Babies!!!

Nope!  Not for me!  BUT -- I think I know 5 or 6, or is it 7 people (I've lost count!) who are pregnant and having babies this year! :)  I'm so excited for them all.  For some it's their first, for one it's their 5th!  2 of them will be related to me, I'm excited to be an auntie again, it's been 5 years since we've had any babies in the family.

Well, with babies, come baby gifts!  I made this card a few weeks ago (sorry for the poor lighting, it was dark out when I finished!) but I really liked it, and thought I'd share it here.

The background was done using the My Mother, My Friend stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  I just adore that wavy flower image!  I used the coordinating dies for My Mother, My Friend to cut out the layers for the sentiment, which is from the Sweet Baby set, also from Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder.

Lastly, I added a little crocheted flower, to tie into the gift, as one of the gifts I gave my sister-in-law was a blanket her mom made for my oldest.  My SIL has other children, but this is the first being born after the passing of her Mom. My DD and I spoke about how we thought it might be nice to pass the blanket that was made for her by SIL's mom to the new baby, so he/she can have a blanket made by his/her grandma.

We've been BUUUUSY around here - I had been on such a good roll stamping - I need to clear the clutter on my table and get back at it!  Hope things are well where you are!

Stars and Smiles

So, how was everyone's weekend??  Mine was not exactly as planned, but still pretty darn good :).  We took my girls to a Math and Science night at their school, and it was really cool - lots of fun, hands on experiments for the kids to do!  Friday night - the little one started complaining about her ear -- so Saturday morning, instead of our usual Taekwondo (and this week we were supposed to meet friends for breakfast) we went to the doctor.  Ear infection.  Booooo.  We still managed to get a lot done, and I met a friend for dinner - it was fun catching up!

Today -- uuugggghhhh -- today I hit the play area in my family room, and WENT NUTS.  I got rid of 2 HUGE bags full of stuff - some garbage, some stuff that just needed to go.  We have TOO much stuff - and my girls never want to throw ANYTHING away (I foresee the show 'Hoarders' in my future!) So yeah, it was a busy day -- but Daddy took them to the park, and then they got to watch the new Monster High special, so all was right with their world, even if Mommy threw a bunch of stuff out ;).

Here and there, I've been trying to purge and get rid of things -- it's just taking the time to do it.  We have a very modest home, and the biggest thing is lack of storage -- so I'm always on a quest to be more organized.  I'll get the house to a good place, and then after a few weeks -- back to the old mess.  Do you have any tips or blogs or websites that have helped you become more organized??  I'm always happy to listen.

BUT -- this is not why I am posting!!  I came to share a card I made for my nephew Joe.  He just turned 5, and had a really cool party at Monster Mini Golf last weekend - lots of fun!  I needed to be quick, and try as I might -- this wasn't SO quick, but it was fun, and colorful.

These new birthday sentiments from Papertrey Ink are awesome, I've used them a few times already!  Unfortunately, I don't have the stars dies from PTI, so I hand cut the stars that weren't stamped directly on the card base, but at least they are all straight cuts, right?  That was what took the most time, but start to finish, it was probably about 25-30 minutes...not TERRIBLE.

Thanks so much for popping by -- I hope you had a great weekend!!

Tracey

Supplies (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday, Super Stars

Ink: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, True Black

Paper: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Select White

Dash to Make it Monday! - Glitter Trim

Ok, I know...this is really getting scary now!  ha!  I guess I've found a renewed sense of stampiness, or something. :)  Since playing in a few other challenges/hops, I found this fun challenge, called the 10 minute craft dash.  I thought it looked kind of fun, and figured why not give it a shot??  I decided to combine it with this week's Make it Monday challenge of die cut glitter trims.

Note to self: when doing a timed challenge, probably NOT a great idea to incorporate glitter...especially pink glitter...especially when you are wearing black..just sayin'.

OK -- so here's the craft dash challenge colors:

Here's what I did with them:

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out...AND I got it done in less than 10 minutes!!!

What are some of your favorite challenges to participate in??

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday, Heart-2-Heart #6

Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate

Paper: Dark Chocolate, Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores

Accessories: Heart border die

February PTI Blog Hop! Monograms

Hi there!!  I can't believe it -- 3 posts in a week - I must have a fever, lol.  When I saw the blog post inspiration, I wasn't sure what I could come up with.  I thought, and searched through my stamps, and I just wasn't "feeling" any of it!  Then, I had a thought - and I think it came together quite nicely on paper.  I went clean and simple!

I used my new Watercolor Wonder stamp set from PTI, and the block alphabet dies - and this is what you get:

This card LITERALLY took me less than five minutes, but I think it fun and colorful, and that's what I seem to be gravitating toward these days.  I'm just happy to be stamping!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Watercolor Wonder (PTI)
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Royal Velvet
Paper: Select White
Accessories: block alphabet dies

What a Weekend!! And a Cool Find :)

WHEW!  It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, but filled with all happy, wonderful things.  Saturday we were at my nephew's 5th birthday at this cool place, called Monster Mini Golf.  If you've never been - you should see if they have one near you - totally cool.  It's a mini golf course that's inside - everything is painted with neon paint, and there are blacklights all in the main room, so everything glows.  My daughter picked out her shirt 2 weeks in advance, it's white, with neon orange sleeves, yeah, I had NO trouble finding her, lol.

After the birthday party, we headed back near home and took the girls to "Kids' Night Out" at a local gymnastics place.  It was a fundraiser for a new playground at the school.  The hubs and I went out to dinner at a local place -- if any of you watch "The Dead Files" on the Travel Channel, Smalley's Inn was where we ate, and it was featured on the show.  I personally, have never had an encounter there, but it's neat to hear all of the stories!

Today, was a different fun occasion.  A very old long-time friend was up to visit making plans for her wedding in the fall, and her Mom had a little luncheon for the bride-to-be before she returns home.  My sister-in-law pinned this really cute gift idea on Pinterest, and I thought it would be nice to do this for Amanda, instead of toasting flutes, or some other "routine" wedding gift.  I found a great vendor on Etsy, quick turn around - and she was able to engrave the wedding date on the ends of the forks as well.

So, I made a little box (nothing fancy - the templates I have weren't quite the right size to fit the forks) and a coordinating card that held a gift card to where she is registered.  Silly to buy a gift that will have to be shipped, or packed to go back home!  Here's the box with the forks:

a very simple box with a clear lid.  It's hard to see, but I used Stitches and Swirls to add a little something on the orange panel in the bottom of the box.  The forks say "I do" and "Me Too!" with their wedding date on the ends of the forks.  

Up next is the card 

I used Orange Zest, and cryogen white (Shimmery) cardstock.  The leaf flourish is from Embroidered Blooms, and stamped in Simply Chartreuse and Ripe Avocado.  The blooms are die cut with Beautiful Blooms II #3 dies, and also stamped with images from Embroidered Blooms in Orange Zest and Terra Cotta Tile.  The sentiment (one of my favorites!) is from Think Big Favorites #5.  

Here they are together:

I spent a really nice afternoon with Amanda and her family, and am so happy for her as she is about to embark on this wonderful journey with her lucky guy.  Now --- it's back to work tomorrow!  Blech.  But - at least I have a wonderful weekend to look back upon!

So, what did YOU do this weekend???  Hope it was something great!  Thanks for stopping by!

Make It Monday - Pinwheels!

Well, helllooooooooo strangers!!  It's been a long time since I've been over here at the blog - and I'm SO sad about that!!  It's been a whirlwind with the holidays, and a bunch of other things in "real life" that I haven't been too crafty - nor ready to post anything here.

The New Year started off well - my husband (an Electrician) has decided to go out on his own instead of working for a contractor...this is a HUGE, SCARY step - but each day, I am encouraged more and more that this was the right step.  My girls are SUPER busy with activities, which is another big reason I haven't been around much!  All this running around, I'm POOPED by night time (which is when I usually create!  Talk about stealing your mojo!)

Anyhoo -- I really adored the challenge this week over at Papertrey - the Make It Monday challenge this week was to incorporate a handmade pinwheel into your project.  I'll be honest, I didn't actually WATCH the video before I started, and I thought I was so clever to use some patterned PTI paper back to back, only to find out it was IN the video, lol.

Here's my take:

I went big and bold -- a cheery happy card, I think!  The sentiment was embossed with white EP, and I made the background on the base with the Hello Sunshine stamp set.  It felt great to create - and I hope this is the jumpstart I needed to get back in the game!  Thanks for popping by!

Supplies (All PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Think Big Favorites #15, Hello Sunshine

Ink: Versamark, Hawaiian Shores

Paper: Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise Patterned Paper Pack, Raspberry Fizz Patterned Paper Pack

Accessories: White embossing powder, Recollections frosted jewels, Royal Velvet Vintage buttons

Are You Still Full From Thursday????

Thankfully, I am not.  I did well to pace myself this year, lol.  Hello out there!  Hope this message finds everyone refreshed after Thanksgiving, and looking forward to Christmas!


We've got our tree up, and the decorations up outside, too.  This is my favorite time of year!

Figured I'd pop by and share a little something here on the blog, it's been a while!

This is the card I made for my sweet husband for our Anniversary this year :).  He's not a sweet, sappy kind of guy, and boy, do we LOOOOOVE coffee.  Oh, and the fact that I even LIKE coffee is all his fault.I used an actual coffee mug to make the coffee rings on the card front, a little scrap of some patterned paper, and those sweet little 'to go' cups from Heart-2-Heart 1.

Way back when, before we had a house, kids, etc.  We would take a ride to this gas station JUST for a cup of coffee.  That was before Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks came to town...funny to think that we'd drive all that way just to get a cup of coffee...oh yeah, gas was probably $.99 a gallon then, too!  I could fill my tank, and buy 2 cups of coffee for less than $15!  Those were the days, lol.

But I digress...

I am so lucky to have such an amazing guy in my life, he completes me, and I truly am very, very blessed, one of the MANY things I am very grateful for...

Did you do any shopping this weekend?  I'm kind of down and out with a bit of a cold, so I stayed home, but did do a little shopping today via the internet.  Felt good to get started, but not even sure of everything I need to get...THAT'S the hard part!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Supplies: (All PTI unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Heart-2-Heat 1, Signature Greetings II
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Tea dye duo
Paper: Dark Chocolate patterned paper pack, Kraft, Select White
Accessories: Heart-2-Heart 1 die

PTI Blog Hop Time!

It's the 25th - so it's Papertrey's monthly blog hop today!

This month's challenge was to utilize a non-traditional color scheme for a holiday card.  I fell in love with this color combo when I saw it:

However - when I sat down to make something...I think this looks more like a Spring card, instead of Christmas, lol.  

I liked the idea of the colored snowflakes...and I liked the idea of the glittery flourish...but I can't help but think upon quick glance that those snowflakes are flowers...maybe it's the pearls??  I don't know...but anyway -- I'm loving all of the inspiration I've seen so far, can't wait to take some time tonight, and hop around some more.  Thanks for stopping by -- wishing you all a GREAT day!!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday

Ink: Versamark, Berry Sorbet

Paper: Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, Harvest Gold, Select White

Accessories: Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Heat & Stick Powder (SU!), Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU!), Pearls and rhinestones (Reflections by Michaels)

A Little Birthday Ombre...

Had some fun playing around with an ombre technique (that's fancy for repeated stamping without re-inking, lol).

I used the long line with a curl at the end image from Waltzingmouse Stamps Free Spirit -Boy set, obviously not using the curl part ;).  I just stamped, and then lined the stamp up next to the previous line, and worked my way out to the corner.  A nice big sentiment from PTI, and I was good to go!

I liked it so much - I made another one, but with different colors...and this time I added some cute little wood veneer stars...

Orange is my favorite color, so I think I may be a little partial to this one, which one do you like better??  This inquiring mind would like to know :).

I'm grateful the weekend is upon us, though it will be a busy one!  Thanks for stopping by, wishing you all a great day!!

Supplies:

Blue Happy Birthday:

Stamps: Free Spirit-Boy, Waltzingmouse Stamps, Think Big Favorites #14

Ink: Pacific Point (SU!), Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Pacific Point (SU!), Select White (PTI)

Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch

Orange Happy Birthday:

Stamps: Free Spirit-Boy, Waltzingmouse Stamps, Think Big Favorites #14

Ink: Orange Zest (PTI), Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Orange Zest (PTI), Classic Kraft (PTI)

Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Wooden Veneer Stars (Studio Calico)