this year, i decided to do a fairly simple card (left) and only do the amount i thought i'd actually need (20). last year, i made close to 50 cards and had 10+ left over. i did not want leftovers this year! i figured if i needed more, i'd just make them as i needed them. well, i ended up not needing more than twenty and since i didn't over do it, i had scraps left over for thank you notes (right). some family sent gifts and/or money and i wanted to be sure they got a thank you from us this year. i can't say that i've really been good at thank you notes in the past, but i thought i'd turn over a new leaf:) sorry for the lackluster photo, i can't seem to find my good flash!
supplies: pattern paper: making memories texture folder: basic grey by sizzix cardstock: bazzill ink: colorbox, versamark embossing powder: ranger ornament die: quickutz stamps: the paper co. rubon: pebbles mini staples: tim holtz other: various ribbon, twine
p.s. be sure to look out for 14 days of valentine's coming in february! go here to see last years cards!
although i just recently shared my halloween card from last year, i'm here early sharing this year's card. look at me, the early bird. what?!?!
supplies:
cardstock: bazzill pattern paper: making memories, my mind's eye button: making memories mini staples: tim holtz ink: colorbox, tim holtz, versamark embossing powder: ranger stamp: inkadinkado other: twine
i love halloween. i love the season it's in. i love the smells, the candy, the colors and the decorations! the banner is from last year, but i don't think i ever got around to sharing it. the rosette thingy i just made tonight. super easy to make and came together in a jiffy.
i just wanted to stop in and share something nifty. i love vintage stuff. pretty much anything with a little nostalgic character will catch my eye. and i've always wanted a reason to have one of those old wooden coke/pepsi crates until the other day... i had an eureka! moment:) frankly, i got tired of my ink drawer becoming so full that i could barely get it open. i store my inks, acrylic blocks, chalks and other small stamping related items in one drawer and it constantly gets stuck because new things move in, but nothing ever moves out. i always see coke crates at the flea market and remembered seeing this one that was divided... what a great thing for inks! luckily, the next weekend we went back to the flea market, it was still there! i didn't even have to drill any holes in the crate... i just screwed some screws in the wall and they catch on the bottom slats of the crate! genius! the sections are even big enough to hold the larger ink pads that stampin' up has (not that i own a lot of them:). so now my drawer opens and is organized and my ink pads are out where i can see them. double score! it's the little things, you know?
truth be told, i rarely ever scrapbook. i think the permanence of the gluing down of photos makes me a little uneasy. plus, my tastes change so much... what if i don't like this in 5 years? but, i've recently changed my mind. i like it now & my family will enjoy what i'm creating... so what's the big hold-up?!?! i am promising myself that i will document these things, these times i am sharing with my children, because before you know it, they'll be older and not so nice;) i am finding that it's a little like creative therapy for me. here's to preserving my life's story with paper and glue.
supplies used: cardstock: bazzill pp & sticker: cosmo cricket ribbon: may arts letters: american crafts, cosmo cricket diecut machine: silhouette font: ck_peaches (can't seem to find a link for this font... sorry!)
so here i am sharing another oldie but goodie. i really liked the making memories spook alley line that came out this past fall. such cute little ghosties!
supplies used: cardstock: paper reflections, bazzill pp, lace, felt ghost, rhinestones: making memories ink: stazon, colorbox border punch: ek success stamp: hero arts acrylic tag: apple pie memories
lil's dress. we made an xl, which was sized 18-24 months by the pattern's directions (lily is 17 months) and it was WAY huge. so i made a medium a couple days later and it fits perfectly. darn her for being so small! haha. she looks super cute, but i just might be biased:) next on our sewing agenda, this pattern by simplicity. and in cute cherry print fabric! can't wait!
my mother (who hasn't sewn in quite a while) and myself will attempt to make lily one of these little rompers today. i am soooo excited! i am also itching to make a pillowcase dress that i saw featured in the june/july issue of simply handmade. i want to head to some thrift stores and scope out some really cute vintage pillowcases. lily will be the cutest thing this spring/summer! ack! i will post photos as soon as i can! oh, and wish us luck! hahaha:)
so this card is actually new... i had some time earlier to get crafty and seized the opportunity. i based it a little on one of the sketches in the most recent paper crafts magazine. you can see the sketch here toward the bottom of the page. i didn't include the half-circle element because i wanted the focus to be more on the ribbon. i seriously bought the ribbon because i liked the color and the width. i just so happened to have paper that was similar enough to match it:)
supplies: cardstock: bazzill pattern paper: my mind's eye, collage press ribbon: american crafts ink: versamark, colorbox embossing powder: american crafts stamp: ki memories
i wanted to start sharing some of my older cards with you all, so i have to go back a bit and you'll have to bare with me. it's now march and i'm showing you a thanksgiving card. hahaha. better late than never?
ckc was just in town this past weekend. i had a blast, totally. it's like being a kid again and waking up on christmas morning... i was giddy like no other. i love going to the vendor fair... you get to see so much stuff! it is truly inpiring. and not to mention, hard to be good there and not spend your whole life's savings! hahaha! i took two classes; one on friday morning before i went into work (i know, hardcore, right? haha) with my sister, called "top techniques for tantalizing cards", hosted by technique tuesday and then the paper crafts card swap with my mom that night. the technique tuesday class was a lot of fun. we made 5 cards and even got a set of their clear stamps and a small ink pad. i like the stamp set we used... very versatile for every day cards. definitely something i will use over and over again. i was introduced to their "technique tiles" which are like chipboard shapes except they are cream colored instead of the kraft/brown color of most chipboard shapes. the appeal of their technique tiles being cream colored is that you can just ink them to add color... instead of having to paint them, etc. and wait for them to dry. and since you can ink them a color you are stamping with, they will definitely match your project to a t! very, very cool! the card swap was also a blast. i've never done one and i must say that they are just too much fun! we made 4 cards, which were very cute and gave me lot of ideas . after going through the cards we swapped the ones we made prior to the class with the other ladies. so we all came home with 20 handmade cards. i love the idea of this. i almost wish i could put together a swap here locally. hmmm, that's something to think about:) so onto the "babies" part of this post. my younger sister is having a baby! we are all definitely excited. friday we all went to her ultrasound appointment and found out that she is going to have... a BOY! yay! now we can start shopping! hahaha. so friday was a majorly good day. i wish i had pictures to share, but i was lazy at the convention... well, i was probably just more absorbed in all the pretties! did you go to ckc here in louisville? or somewhere else recently? what did you think? leave me a comment!
also, i almost forgot to mention that i entered the card contest ckc hosts... i didn't win (total bummer), but a friend from work, deanne, did! she won second place! they are supposed to post the winners online and i'll be sure to post a link once they do! wooo-whooo, deanne!!!
for the last day, i decided to not do a card, but this little tin of "10 things i love about you" with the "you" being my husband:) i had a good time putting it all together, so i hope you enjoy it!
1. he always puts our family first.
2. he is very inventive. (and the little gears on this one really move!)
3. he's a pretty funny guy:)
4. he is a great father (and step-father!)
5. i think he's pretty cute!
6. he can cook (i.e. he makes me eggs benedict on special occasions:)
i apologize for the delay... i wasn't feeling very well last night and when i went to take photos of the card i noticed my camera's battery was dead. i knew then there was no way my post was going to make it for day 13. i was exhausted and retreated to bed while the battery charged. so, here it is on day 14, so you'll have to forgive me:)
supplies: cardstock: paper reflections pattern paper: making memories dies: spellbinders ink: colorbox marker: zig rub-ons: american crafts
we are nearing the end of 14 days of valentine's. i have two more projects in the works and then we will call it quits for now. i am going to share some past cards with you once valentine's day is over, so keep a look out for more new stuff!
supplies: cardstock: paper reflections pattern paper: making memories ink: colorbox die cut machine: silhouette embossing folder: cuttlebug marker: zig other: ribbon, vellum
valentine link of the day: cute vintage cards on lea's blog here!
i went in to work today to these lovely flowers on my desk. it seems that my husband sneakily ordered these for me as i had no idea. i check our accounts nearly every day, so i had no clue that he was cooking something like this up for me. i've never had flowers sent to my place of employment before, so this really floored me. i immediately called him at work to thank him and let him know he made my week. i wasn't really expecting anything from him because of the "agreement" we came to about vday and this was a nice surprise. however, he claims that these "aren't for valentine's day, but just because i love you". awww, swoon:) it really kind of made me see that making all of these cards for him has been worthwhile. even so, if he hadn't sent me the flowers, i would think the same thing. he deserves the attention.
now onto today's card. i was inspired by the layout of dawn mcvey's card here and tried it out with a little of my own flair. really, any thing that dawn puts on her blog is inspiring. her and the other papertrey gals are truly a talented bunch. i've even made some of the "poofy vintage print button flowers" dawn posted a how-to video about in this post... they make a really cute embellishment!
supplies: cardstock: bazzill pattern paper and cupid sticker: making memories stamps: target, hero arts border punch: fiskars ink: colorbox, versamark
valentine link of the day: today's link isn't valentine related, but more so just a crafty goodness link that should get your creative juices flowing... check out nichole heady's blog here and see what great new stuff papertrey is releasing this year!
so here we are, day 9 of 14. i can say this has been a lot of fun... more so because i've gotten to give my husband some personal attention every day. even if i'm not around when he finds his card, i know he is reminded of my love for him. and that's what this has been all about:)
supplies: cardstock: paper reflections pattern paper: making memories stamps: hero arts ink: versamark embossing powder: american crafts other: ribbon, watercolor pencils
valentine link of the day: some cute, simple valentine's here by wendy bretz.
this is probably one of my favorite cards i've done so far and yet, it is so simple. i've seen the heart of flowers done on scrapbooking pages, etc. and thought i'd give it a go on a card. i think it turned out well!
supplies: cardstock: paper reflections pattern paper: making memories flowers: kaiser craft pearls: mark richards stamps: target ink: colorbox other: ribbon
today's card was inspired by the sketch on the cps blog. it was nice to have a layout suggested and then all i had to do was fill in the details. kind of like coloring in a line-drawing in a coloring book; the idea is laid out for you, you just have to fill in all the pretties:) i've never really used a card sketch before and i will have to say i will do it again, for sure!
supplies: cardstock: paper reflections, bazzill pattern paper, stick pin, bird sticker, kiss ticket sticker: making memories border punch: fiskars ink: colorbox other: ribbon
i can't say that this is my favorite card... i went in with an idea and even then, sometimes your ideas don't pan out. oh well. this has been a lot of fun to do and share with an audience (if anyone is reading this). but nonetheless, i think my blog will get some much need attention following the conclusion of 14 days of valentines. i hope you all are having fun as well:)
supplies: cardstock: bazzill, paper reflections pattern paper and tag: making memories flowers: prima pearls: mark richards border punch: fiskars other: lace
my husband always puts our family first. we've been married for a year and a half now, and he still says "whatever you want, dear". some people say that i need to soak it up because that won't last forever. but somehow, i think it will. now, will it last to our 50th anniversary? we'll just have to see;) nevertheless, he still pulls on my heart strings.
supplies: cardstock: bazzill, paper reflections pattern paper: making memories pearls: mark richards chipboard hearts: basic grey ink: colorbox markers: copic other: twine
honestly, i was ready for valentine's day a month ago. once we started getting in new vday lines at work, i was inspired to start making cards. i've even made quite a few cards for my little monsters (brendan, 8 and lily, 15 months). they all deserve a little gushy attention. so the cards are just a little reminder that mom loves them dearly. now onto today's card.
supplies: cardstock: bazzill pattern paper: making memories pearls: mark richards ribbon: may arts ink: colorbox
valentine link of the day: debbie marcinkiewicz has some very cute vday ideas here and here:)
we're moving right along with the 14 days of valentine's. day three has some vintage inspired goodness to share. i just love doilies on stuff. why don't we use doilies anymore? maybe our grandma's know better than we do. hehehe.
supplies: scored card: papertrey ink. pattern paper: making memories stamp: hero arts flowers: making memories ink: versamark embossing powder: american crafts other: ribbon, doily
what made me want to start these cards is the fact that this year, my husband and i opted out of buying each other fancy gifts for valentine's day. but i couldn't just leave it at that... i had to do something. a couple of weeks ago i thought about doing a card a day from the 1st of february til valentine's day. he should get the picture, right? :)
supplies: cardstock: bazzill, paper reflections pattern paper: making memories mini paper clips: tim holtz chipboard heart: basic grey markers: copic stamp: stampabilities ink: versamark, colorbox embossing powder: american crafts other: staples, twine
i wanted to show that you can easily "lift" an idea from any magazine you see out there. the original card was in the jan/feb '10 paper crafts magazine. in fact, it was on the cover! i loved the idea of this card... i mean, who doesn't have 5 packs of playing cards around that are missing one or two? to the right is my "lifted" version. very simple and easy to put together.
supplies: cardstock: bazzill, paper reflections stamp: stampabilities letter stickers: sticko stick pin: fancy pants crochet flower: making memories ink: colorbox, versamark embossing powder: ranger other: playing card, twine
this year, i decided to do a fairly simple card (left) and only do the amount i thought i'd actually need (20). last year, i made close to 50 cards and had 10+ left over. i did not want leftovers this year! i figured if i needed more, i'd just make them as i needed them. well, i ended up not needing more than twenty and since i didn't over do it, i had scraps left over for thank you notes (right). some family sent gifts and/or money and i wanted to be sure they got a thank you from us this year. i can't say that i've really been good at thank you notes in the past, but i thought i'd turn over a new leaf:) sorry for the lackluster photo, i can't seem to find my good flash!
