*Valentine* Banner

Last year I made this banner for Valentine's Day. I still really like it, but I wanted to make a new one so that I could put last year's in my kitchen and put the new one in my entry way. This one used more letters than most of my other banners so it hangs a little lower, but it fits perfectly. One more letter and I would have run into trouble. In fact, I shouldn't admit it, but I did run into some trouble. I use a ton of the letter "e" when I am making my banners and I had completely run out. I had to get creative and turn a c into a letter e....it is the last one on the banner. So....if you ever get in a crunch, look and see what letters you can trim, cut or glue back together to make something else! LOL!

All of the papers are "Lost and Found" and they are perfect for the feel I was going for. I used paper doilies for the medallions on the v, e and i and then decided that I needed one under every single accordion medallion as well. This banner is super thick and super heavy, but I really like how it turned out.

I stamped the crown images and punched them out using one of my Martha Stewart punches. I placed them in-between each of the rosettes on the top. The rosettes are from Prima and I love them. They are perfect! The tickets are from Tim Holtz. I die cut the ric-rac using the PTI die and black felt. I only used two pieces since the banner was starting to get very heavy and I worried it might look a little "over embellished" by the time I was done. As much as I like heavy embellishment, sometimes more is just more!

Of course I had to add a little bit of sewing. I chose to use a black thread to really make it pop. I was hoping that what ever was in my sewing machine would work, but it was light pink and I thought it would get lost. I need black thread in my machine for my next project anyway. I will share that with you soon, too. I distressed all of the edges using Walnut Stain distress ink by Tim Holtz. It is one of my favorites and while it is super dark, it worked nicely with all of the dark papers. Thanks for fluttering by! ETA* I realized that my watermark on the banner photos gives the image copyright to Papertrey Ink which is not correct.

Tea for Two, Me and You

Hello! I know you all might just die of shock that I am posting. I needed a card...not just a quick card, but something a little more special. I have been doing a lot of "quick" cards; just to get by here and there, but not today. Not only that, but I needed a little "creative" therapy. For times like this, I find it is best to go to your tried and true stamps; for me it is "Tea for Two" from Papertrey Ink. I am a little rusty, too, so I needed something that I felt comfortable with. I also decided to use Jen's January SFYTT. Once I got to work, it seems like I haven't been away for so long.

This card is going to a sweet friend and I hope she likes it.

Once I got started, I realized that my color scheme was just a hair Christmasy, but maybe a little Valentinesy, too? Hopefully.

I thought the papers went well together, regardless. I used nestablities for the circle pieces, but hand-cut the tea pot, even though I own the die. I actually really enjoy cutting out that darn tea pot. Go figure! I guess it is part of the "creative" therapy I was in need of. The card is pretty straightforward, so rather than go on and on about that, I hope you don't mind me filling you in on some things that I have been up to in the last little while.

For starters, Rowan turned two! Can you believe it? We had a simple little family party for him and then took him to the local children's museum for some fun! He is so adorable! We went to Disneyland at the beginning of the month and had a lot of fun! The babies were both sooooooooo good! It was amazing! Rhys will be six months old on Thursday! I can't believe that one either. Where does the time go? He is sooooo good and so sweet, I just feel so blessed. Things get crazy with the two babies, but it is sooo much fun!!!! They actually nap at the same time in the afternoon which would give me some fabulous stamping time if I had my space all set up. Hopefully soon! I told my husband today to buy me a tuff shed and I will go set up shop in that! LOL! I hope that you are all well, too. I have some fun Valentine's Day projects that I am hoping to get done, so stay tuned. Thanks for fluttering by!

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Oh my word...how are you all doing? It has been quite awhile, hasn't it? We are doing great! Rhys is growing like a weed....he is huge. I don't have any papercrafting projects to share right this second, but I did make something that you can check out here! I have actually been stamping and making cards, but they have been so last minute that I haven't had time to photograph them. They have mostly been baby cards and little girl birthday cards for the parties Emma has been going to. I did make some Halloween invites the other day for our Halloween party we are having for the kids and their friends. I thought I would share a few precious photos of Rhys that I took last week.

Welcoming our new baby boy....

We welcomed Rhys Gregor Lunceford to the world on August 2nd at 4:07 A.M. Rhys is such a wonderful, sweet baby! We are all in love. He weighed 8 pounds even and measured 20 1/2 inches. He is my biggest baby so far!

We are all going through an adjustment period, especially Rowan who has been a bit "thrown off" by the whole baby thing. Rhys (pronounced Reese) fits in perfectly, yet probably wonders what kind of crazy he is living in now! LOL! I am so thrilled to not be pregnant anymore and I am feeling great! I am not sure when I will be crafting since I am still without a space. We are finally getting all of the kids situated, so once that is done, I can focus on myself. I have been selfish for so long and I guess it is time to take care of others. My wonderful shelves are now in the boys' room housing books and toys, but are really working out great. I am really missing being crafty and creative, but I know in time I will be back. Thanks for fluttering by!

Plant Kindness, Grow Love *SFYTT*

When I said there would be a delay, I really didn't think it would be THIS long! I sincerely apologize. For those of you who read my blog regularly, know that I have given up my craft space. I am still homeless as far as a new craft space goes. It is making it VERY difficult to get to my supplies and create. It is driving me bonkers, but I know that it will be remedied in time. You will all be the first to know when it happens! LOL! In the mean time, I am trying to take care of my family, get things ready for the baby and have a fun summer!


For this month's sketch, I chose to use some Flourishes stamps which I love. I am really obsessed with geraniums this year. I have always loved them, but I made a special point to plant quite a few this year. Last year when I would take Emma to summer school, there was a house that had the most beautiful yard and as I took a closer look to see what it was about the yard that I loved, it was the multitude of bright pink geraniums that caught my eye. So....I decided to use the geranium image, of course.

The papers are from an old MME slab and the ribbon is from PTI. The focal image and slide are die-cut using Nestabilities. The image was stamped with Palette Black ink and colored using copic and prismacolor markers. Very straight forward; but I love this sketch and can see myself using it again and again!

I am watching three of my neices and nephews today, so I had better dash, but thanks for fluttering by! Don't give up on me, yet! LOL!

I hope you all get a chance to play along this month. This month's sketch would be perfect for all of the Father's Day cards we all need to make! It is simple and straight forward without a lot of fuss!

SFYTT Delay!

hello! I just wanted to let you know that I will be a bit behind on getting my design using the new June SFYTT posted! Here is the sketch so you can get started, though! Have a great weekend! Thanks for fluttering by!

Teacher's Apple

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my kiddos! I still don't have a "crafting space" but I needed to get the teacher's cards and gifts done regardless. My daughter has two teachers; one for the morning and one in the afternoon. On Friday's, one of them doesn't come at all, so I had to make sure I sent everything today. After all of my careful planning, my daughter told me that the other teacher wouldn't even be there for the last two days! Oh well! I told her to stick it on her desk and pray that she comes back to clean upI wanted an "Americana" theme for the cards since I had purchased the new "Apple Pie" hand soap and sanitizer from Bath and Body Works. I thought it worked nicely for a teacher. I am so proud of myself that I didn't use Olive and Red this year, like I usually do!

I used this month's SFYTT sketch and some left over Graphic 45 paper from this project. I had just enough to get the three cards done with a few scraps to spare. This month's sketch is sponsored by Your NExt Stamp and I think you still have time to take advantage of the 10 percent off sale. Check my last post for more info! I chose to use "Teacher's Apple" from PTI. It is the perfect set to have on hand when you have little ones going to school. I have used it every year since I bought it and have loved having it!

Everything is pretty straightforward, but I did use some super thin cork paper for the scallop around the focal image. It is super easy to punch and I love it. All of the buttons and ribbon are from PTI as well. I hope you get a chance to play this month; you still have a few days left.

The construction projects are taking much longer than expected. The sheetrock is all done in the bedroom, but it still needs to be taped and mudded (that doesn't sound right)painted, electrical finished, carpeted and then the fun part; moving all of my son's stuff downstairs! I can't even begin to work on the baby's room until all of that is done! This baby is coming whether we are ready or not! I am feeling great right now despite a big belly that makes it hard to bend over. We have had a ton of rain so the temperatures have stayed cool which has been a benefit for a pregnant gal! Once the heat hits, I think I will swell up like I did with Emma. Once all of the construction is done, my son is moved and the baby's room is done, I can focus on getting my space put together. Right now my crafting is on the "way" back burner. Thanks for fluttering by!