A very vintage birthday!

 Hello! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday week. I loved having my kids home from school on Monday. We didn't do anything fancy, but we went to lunch and spent the day together.  I truly miss year-round school. I loved the breaks we had to go and do things together, but those days are over. Anyway, on to the real reason you are here! I had a request from a friend to make a birthday card. I asked her which style she would like and she requested vintage. Come on....twist my arm! Vintage is one of my favorite styles to create in. I couldn't have been happier! As you can see, this particular card only uses one stamp and it is one of the sentiments from PTI's Ruby Rose stamp set. I absolutely love the two sentiments that are included.

 I was secretly hoping that she wouldn't need to mail it because I was having a lot of fun with all of the 3-D embellishments. Thank heavens she wasn't! I was actually making two at the same time. One of my friends was having a birthday as well and I was making one for her, too. The funny thing is, I didn't even end up by giving it to her because it didn't match the gift sack. I made her a new card altogether in a mad dash and didn't get it photographed. Yes...I know I am crazy!  Anyway, I now have a spare on hand.

  The felt roses were made using dies from MFT and I love them. I don't know how I lived without them for so long. I added some gems to the middle for some extra detail using tombow mono multi glue. I use that stuff all the time!!  The pattern paper is from the Marcella by K & Company design collection, but it is quite old. I love it, though, and have a huge slab. Of course, I love adding accordion medallions and doilies to my vintage designs.

A button here or there, zig-zag stitching and some distressing and the cards were done! I had so much fun creating them, but when I was done I second guessed myself as to whether she would like it. She told me she loved it so I am going to believe her. Oh...I also used one of the Mojo Monday sketches for the design. It was one where there was a contest, but I didn't get it photographed in time to enter...not saying I was going to win or anything, but it is always fun to see what everyone does. I love how everyone's creativity and minds think!

I have been super busy sewing up a storm. I have made three rag quilts in the last few weeks. Two of them were made last week. I gave two away, but kept one for myself. Hopefully I will have time to make some St. Patrick's Day things. I found some fun paper the other day when I was picking up some fabric, so I will get busy and show you what I come up with. Thanks for fluttering by!

Christmas Thanks

I hate to admit it, but I don't always send thank you cards after Christmas, but this year I was really in the mood. My husband was home, it was snowy and seemed like such a nice thing to do. I think in this day and age people really appreciate some snail mail that isn't a bill.  It is kindof making me sad that technology has changed so many of the "niceties" that we used to enjoy. This particulare card was made for a friend who invited us to their annual Christmas party. We are new in the neighborhood and it was super sweet of her to have us. I actually packaged up some cookies and cocoa and wrapped it in cellophane to give her.

I actually made the card and tag exactly alike...don't know why, but I did. Now I guess she can give one away to someone else and keep one if she likes.  I chose some non-traditional holiday colors since it was after Christmas.  I really like the color combo and it includes SU!'s "Orchid Opulence". I don't use that color much but according to the fashion expert orchid  is supposed to be THE color for 2014. We will see........

I used PTI's "Vintage Picnic" set which I absolutely love. I have barely inked it since I got it which is such a shame. I used it on another super cute project which I gave away, and didn't photograph. I will have to tell you the story about that later.  I used some stickles and glossy accents on the picnic basket, stars and berries for some extra detail.

Here are the thank you cards for the gifts my family received this Christmas. I have way too many Christmas stamp sets and I don't get a chance to use every single one each year, but this was one I wanted to use. I like that it comes with this particular sentiment. Again, I used the same paper and layout as the card/tag above.  I like the unexpected color combo. I needed extra postage of course, but I didn't make them super fat so they could be mailed easier. I am sure the post office grows weary of my postal requests. LOL!

Thanks for fluttering by! I have a baby shower at my home tonight, so I will share all of the fun things I have been working on for that.

You make my heart smile!

 Hello Friends! It is really embarrassing that the last time I blogged was for Parent Teacher Conferences. Well guess what we have tonight? You guessed it; Parent Teacher Conferences! I absolutely love my daughter's teacher so I love to show up with something special for her.  Today's project is small but sweet.I have made little boxes like this before and they are some of my favorites. You can see what I did here. It is funny...they are almost the same colors and everything. I love these boxes because they fit a 3 by 3 card inside perfectly. For the box I am showing you today, I filled it with Dove chocolate hearts. It was the perfect size; I was actually surprised at how many chocolates fit inside.

 You can see the side view better here before I added the ribbon. You can omit the ribbon if you'd like.  I strategically placed the focal circle with foam squares so that I could slide the ribbon on easily.  Sometimes with smaller projects we might tend to leave off some of the details. Most of the time I leave off the smaller details because I am pressed for time, but in this case, I took some extra time to thread my buttons, etc.

The stamp set that I used is a small frame set from PTI. I can't remember which number, but I used the coordinating dies as well. I also used nestabilities to create my box. I am sure in my link above, I talked about it a bit more. If anyone would like a tutorial, I would love to put one together. Also, just because I haven't blogged doesn't mean I haven't been creating. I have some projects from Christmas that I can share it you would like. Just leave a comment and I will get them posted. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. My little baby is not so little anymore and just turned 4 months on January 25th.

Apple of my Eye!

 I really wanted to make something for my daughter's teacher at the beginning of the school year, but with moving and being preggo, I didn't get a chance. I redeemed myself by taking her a basket of goodies to her parent/teacher conference that we had last night.  She seemed really happy, especially with the box of tissue. I think I will have to send her more on a regular basis.

 The box is full of yummy chocolate...I am sure that is a must-have for most teachers to stay sane. We found out last night that her life is super stressful right now anyway. Chocolate always helps.  I made a simple card to just say thanks with a short message. I didn't want anything too long or drawn out, especially with Christmas coming up. I am sure I will want to write something longer then.  Of course, no gift basket would be complete without a tag.

 I was thrilled to use up some of this older SU! paper that I have been hanging on to. It is one of my favorite collections so I have been hoarding it, but I have SO much stuff that I have to start using it up.

You can see the basket all wrapped up in cellophane here.  I gave her some clorox wipes, tissue, hand sanitizer, gum, chocolate and a bottle of Bath and Body Works soap, Apple of course.  I had a lot of fun making this ensemble. I am hoping to have more time in the future to create.  In my new home, we have a big family room in the basement which is devoted to my craft space, kids play area and T.V. area. It is perfect so I can have the little ones playing while I am creating. NOw....if there were just more hours in the day. Thanks for fluttering by!

Happy Birthday to you!

 A while back, I started buying as many cute gift sacks at the dollar store that I could find.  Once I had them, I would make cards to coordinate with them. Once I was done making the card, I would slide it inside the flat bag and set them both aside until I needed them. I had the intention of not photographing the card until I was ready to give it and then post them here. Well....life has a way of making other plans. Between moving and having a baby and losing ALL of my digital photos from the last 5 years or so, things have been hard.  We were able to recover the last batch of photos from both cameras, but that was all. I have been sick inside. I won't bore you with any more details of that, but I was able to recover these photos so I thought I would share them with you. Would I rather have some precious photos of my kids rather than something for my blog.....ABSOLUTELY YES!!, but here it is anyway.

 
 




 I loved the colors of the gift bag and the cute little bird. I had just recently bought this bird stamp from PTI and it was perfect. I had a lot of fun recreating some of the fun glittery details from the gift sack as well as the fun colors. I really like making this fun challenge for myself. I just went to the dollar store and bought 4 more bags to make cards for.

I love the dimension that you can achieve using the diecuts that go with this cute bird set. I have only used it the once, but I can tell it will be a favorite. I also added some die cut felt ric-rac which I Love to make. 

My baby is doing really good and he is growing so fast! I will keep you posted with fun pictures.  This is him at 6 weeks which was last Wednesday! Thanks for fluttering by!! P.S. I have been working on a fun teacher ensemble this afternoon that I am planning on giving to Emma's teacher at Parent Teacher conferences on Wednesday. I will share it with you when I am done!

He's here....welcoming Raiden Grey!

We welcomed our newest addition, Raiden Grey into our family on September 25, 2013 at 11:21 p.m. He weighed 8 lb 14 oz and is precious as can be.  Life has been crazy since he has been born and I am hoping to get more creative time once things settle down. Thanks for fluttering by!

Welcome Home!

It has officially been a week since our family moved into our new home.  It has been super crazy, super stressful and super busy!!! I am sure you have all been wondering where I have been, but between putting our house up for sale, having it sell within the week and trying to find a new one, pack and move, I haven't had a spare second for blogging.  I still have lots of designs to share with you, but haven't had time. I am super excited because I have a new creative space. It will be the last thing I get set up since I have 4 kids, a husband and a baby on the way, but I can't wait to set it up and get crafty!  I look forward to a new season of crafting in my new space! Thanks for fluttering by!