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!

Cute as a Button *SFYTT*

I can't believe it is already May! I think I say that at the beginning of every month, but seriously...where does the time go? I am happy that it is May and the flowers are blooming and the weather is warming up (at least some days here in Utah) and school is almost out. I can't believe my kids only have three more weeks! Well...since it is the first Saturday of the month, you know what that means....another great SFYTT! I really love this month's sketch and I think I will be using it often. For some reason I really like it when the sketch involves some sort of circle. This month's sketch is sponsored by Your Next Stamp. I love their sweet, fun and whimsical images. As you can see, they are offering a discount to all of the SFYTT particpants so you will definitely want to check it out.

I was in need of a baby card so I chose to use my go-to baby set from PTI, "Baby Button Bits". If you read my last post, you know that I have been in "stamping limbo" which is still the case. It took me forever to get all of the supplies to get this card done and I even simplified it. I can see why people don't stamp if they don't have a "space" to do it. I know that my situation is only temporary, but if it was going to be like this forever, I think I wouldn't stamp as much. So...for those of you crafters who don't have your own space, I feel your pain!!!!

For my card, I started with a Kraft base and used kraft for all of the mats and the focal image. The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye and is quite old, but I love it and it worked out perfectly for the look and feel I was going for with this card.

I stamped the image using white ink and then colored the snail using a copic marker. I used my PTI die cut to make the ric-rac border and used the scraps from either side to add to the left edge of the card as well as the opening, too. Since my "supplies at hand" are limited, I opted to stretch what I already had, and I think it turned out great!

This is the sketch for May. I hope you all get a chance to play along. It's not too late to sit down and make a card for Mom! This sketch would be perfect! By the way, Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mother's out there!

You won't want to miss the other designers:!Jen Del Muro and New Guest Designer

We are proud to welcome Jen Tapler as the newest SFYTT sister!

Terri Moore ,

Susan Liles ,

Amy Sheffer

Amber Hight

Megan Lock

Sony Christoph

Jodi Collins

CAROLE

Kerry Johnson Thanks for fluttering by!

Making room for baby

With the upcoming arrival of baby number 4, we need to make some room. With the bathroom/laundry room complete, it is now time to move onto phase 2 of our project which is to turn my craft space into my oldest son's bedroom. The walls will be going up on Friday, which means I need to get the space cleared out. I will be downsizing in a major way and will not be stamping at all in the upcoming weeks. I thought I would let you know so that you don't think that I have fallen off the face of the earth. I should be back in a few weeks stamping from my new space, which might be a 2 foot by 2 foot corner, but I will be stamping! LOL! At least I have some great photos of my space from Stampin' Success a few years back. Sniff Sniff...It is sad saying goodbye!

Egg*stra Special Friend *SFYTT*

It's the first Saturday of the month and that means a new SFYTT! The weather has turned warm; at least for a few days, so I thought I would make a springy creation! Spring is definitely one of my favorite seasons!

This month's sketch is sponsored by Unity Stamp Company.

For my card, I started out making all of the panels and pieces using "Pretty Pastels" paper from PTI. My stamps are also from PTI.

The stamping is actually quite minimal on this design. I kept staring at my stamps hoping to find something that required some coloring, but decided on this instead. I got so used to coloring during my guest designer position with flourishes, it seemed weird not to color.

Since the stamping was so minimal, I decided to spice things up by adding some tiny rhinestones to the centers of all of the flowers around the focal image, add some sewing. I also played around with the sentiment to give the card some more visual interest.

I was wishing I had some egg shaped buttons to go along the bottom, but I didn't so I just used some coordinating PTI buttons.

As you can see, this month's sketch has a lot of fun options, especially with pattern paper or different textures. I hope you all get a chance to play along this month! You won't want to miss the other designers! !Jen Del Muro and New Guest Designer and welcoming Terri Moore Amy Rohl ( we are saying goodbye to her (sniff, sniff) Susan Liles (she is sitting this one out) {HUgs} Amy Sheffer Leigh O' Brien, (we are saying goodbye to her as well (more sniffles) Amber Hight Megan Lock Sony Christoph Jodi Collins CAROLE Kerry Johnson Thanks for fluttering by!

Seeds *sneak peek*

Hello! This is my last project to share with you as March's Limelight Designer over at Flourishes! I can't believe how fast the month has flown by! My kids are off-track from school so my days are filled with swimming lessons and just plain being a Mom. I love having them home, though. We are also working on our bathroom/laundry room in the basement so things have been a little crazy with workmen going in and out. My husband has started painting which means I need to stay away since I am pregnant. It is right next to my craft area, so I don't know how much I will be sharing next week! Thanks for fluttering by!

Fancy Buttons

I know that I am feeling good when I sit down and stamp just for fun and for no particular reason! I wanted to use my "Button Boutique" stamp set, so I just used the paper that was already on my desk from my last creation and got to work. I chose to use the "fancy buttons" header for my button card, so I had fun looking through my button stash for some "fancy" buttons. I really like the green one with the gold around the center. I don't own the die cut for the button card, so I just punched a hole at the top to mimic the "off the rack" look. I also found that if you pair a small hole punch with the slot punch from SU! you can also get the same look as the die cut.

I actually threaded all of the buttons onto the card, just as you would find them at the sewing store. I found it easier to do it that way rather than sit and tie thread around each button and then glueing them down. If I recieved this card, I don't know if I would have the heart to actually take all of the buttons of and use them, but I hope that whomever recieves this card will use them, if they are crafty!

In the end, I added the " cute as a button" sentiment and decided to add it to my baby stash. There are a rash of babies due in the neighborhood really soon, so it will nice to be prepared. I am working on a quilt that this particular card could actually work with. I have been working on it slowly, but surely, but mostly slowly! LOL! I was making an effort to sew one row each day, but I haven't worked on it for a few weeks now. It is on my "craft to-do list", though! I actually crossed three things off last week! Yay me! I won't tell you how many are still left, though. Oh well....Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I had a comment from someone saying that my blog is hard to read with the current format. This isn't the first time I have heard this, so I am going to work on getting it a little bit easier to read. I have also missed adding my banners to the title, so stay tuned for a change!

Flowers feed the soul *sneak peek*

You can check out my third post as March's Limelight Designer here! I can't believe how fast the month is flying by! I had a lot of fun with this card! Enjoy! Thanks for fluttering by!

ETA: I had a question about what paper I used; All of the papers are from the Sweet Nectar collection from K & Co. I have a 6 by 6 slab that I picked up at Michael's.



P.S. I salvaged all of the little St. Patty's day boxes for my daughter's dance class and the girls loved them. I am glad I took the time to fix them!