Soaring by to say Hi *SFYTT*

Well...another week has come and gone and so has my mind, I think! I was able to get all of the teacher, secretary, librarian, etc. gifts done and delivered to the school yesterday. I will share them later. The only gift I have left to put together is for the principal. She will be leaving our school in July and I will miss her. She is great and I have gotten to know her pretty well through PTA. Our last meeting will be in June, so I will bring her gift then. I want to do something extra special for her.

I have decided that it is a pretty great thing that I am on the SFYTT team; mostly because of the amazing sketches Jen puts together each week, but also because at least this way I am posting at least once a week. LOL! I really am trying, but it just isn't happening.

This week's sketch is really fun. I had fun creating my card using one of the new PTI stamp sets which I believe is called "Fly Away". My desk is way too messy after creating, so I can't find the packaging that it came in. LOL! It is a tiny set; one of the five dollar ones, and well worth every penny.

The image is colored using copic and prismacolor markers. I used a lot of sewing on this card, some piercing and sponging. The sentiment is from "Everyday Button Bits" which I thought suited this card well. I was proud of myself for not using more than one piece of patterned paper on this card. I used background stamps and images to create the other papers. I took my color cues from the pattern paper, which is a great combo. I had fun using them all together.

The kids are finally out of school. I am sure it will take us a week or so to get into a new routine. I am hoping that the new routine will be baby friendly and that he won't get too upset having them home. Emma's dance recital was great; she did a great job and looked so cute. I took some pictures of her afterward that I will have to share. I also have some cute ones of Rowan, too.

You won't want to miss the other designers! I have been having a hard time getting myself to everybody's blogs, but they always do such a wonderful job!
Jen Del Muro and May guest designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
Thanks for fluttering by!

Good Luck *SFYTT*

My daughter has her Spring Spectacular "Finding Neverland" dance recital tonight. I can't wait to see her dance her little heart out! In honor of tonight's festivities, I thought it only fitting to make her a card for good luck. The inside used the sentiment from the butterfly set that says, "Let your dreams take flight" which I thought was perfect for this card. I got her a few little presents that I will give her along with the card at our special dinner we are having before the show starts.
I mentioned last week that I had some Papertrey goodies on their way and they arrived earlier in the week, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and use them. I was excited to use Butterfly Dreams on this card. I still have quite a few other sets that I haven't even gotten out of the boxes, so I will be playing quite a bit in the near future. This week has been one of those non-stamping weeks, which I never like. It has been crazy with dance and baseball! Sometimes I wonder how I *ever* have time to stamp.

I did finish my project for Tweety Jill and got it sent off, which felt good.

Next week will be the last week of school for my kids so I absolutely *need* to get some projects done for end of year gifts, etc. I am definitely looking forward to having them out so that we can enjoy some time together! My only fear is that having them home will mess up Rowan's schedule that seems to be working well for me and for him. We shall see and adjust if needs be!

You won't want to miss the other designers!
Jen Del Muro and May guest designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
Thanks for fluttering by!

Praying for You *SFYTT*

When I was picking up my Mom's Mother's Day gift, I picked up a few sheets of "Lush" pattern paper by My Mind's Eye. I was going to use it for a different project, but it was beckoning me to use it for today's SFYTT. I paired it with Damask Designs; one of my favorite stamp sets. I wanted to keep it crisp, clean and simple. I have been working on another project for the last couple of days that is anything but simple! LOL!

I actually used this sketch for my Mom's Mother's Day card, but I didn't have a chance to photograph it before we left to visit. For her card, I used scraps from the wrapping paper that I wrapped her gift in. I had been hoarding the paper for years; it was a Toile pattern that I picked up at a specialty store and never wanted to use it because it was "too" nice. I thought "Who better to use it for than my Mom". I still have a few scraps left that I tucked away on my desk, so you may see it in a design in the near future.

The stamping and design is pretty straightforward. I did add a few rhinestone gems to the corners and on the two damask images. The focal piece and ribbon slide were die-cut using nestabilities and my cuttlebug. I also embossed the background using the swiss dot embossing folder.
I have a Papertrey Ink order coming on Monday with lots of fun goodies that I can't wait to play with. I purchased the 'Teacher's Apple" stamp set so that I can get some end of year projects done for school. We only have two weeks left so I better get busy!
Emma got her new glasses on Wednesday and she looks absolutely adorable! She was able to read much quicker with them on! I hope we can get to the bottom of all of this and get on a plan to help her!

You won't want to miss the other designers!
Jen Del Muro and May guest designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph

Jodi Collins
Thanks for fluttering by!

The "Berry" Best Teacher! *SFYTT*

I mentioned the other day that I had made chocolate dipped strawberries for my kid's school teachers with a tag. I decided to use the same sentiment and papers that I used for the tag, to create a card. My daughter's teacher at church gave her a really cute necklace a few months ago and I still haven't sent a thank you card. Why not celebrate all of the teachers in our lives this week? I think I will make her some chocolate strawberries as well and make something for my son's church teacher, too. We will see how much time I end up with this weekend.

The sentiment was created on my computer and then printed onto Vintage Cream cardstock from PTI. I sponged the edges using Antique Linen distress ink by Ranger. The strawberry is from one of my all-time favorite PTI stamp sets: Green Thumb. The paper is from the "Fly a Kite" collection of papers by October Afternoon.

I added some buttons, ribbon and rick-rack. There wasn't much stamping on this one since I used the sentiment as the focal image. I was lucky that the thread in my sewing machine matched the paper so well! It worked perfectly!

I do want to thank all of you who left such sweet and encouraging comments in regard to Emma. She had her eye appointment on Friday and her glasses will be coming in next week. She picked out a really cute pink pair that are absolutely adorable on her. She looks like a Mary Engelbreit illustration with them on! The eye doctor dilated her eyes so that he could get a really good idea of how hard she is working to see the words when she reads. His diagnosis was that she is working really hard and that the glasses should help out a lot. They will only be needed for reading, which is nice so that we won't have to worry about them all of the time.

Rowan is growing like a weed. I have been taking pictures of him each week on his "week" anniversary of his birth. I missed this Wednesday, so I made up for it on Friday. He has some adorable bear pajamas that he got for Easter with a bear hat. I thought that I would really "cheese" things up and add some "beary" cute pictures of him!

You won't want to miss the other designers!

Jen Del Muro and new May guest designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph

Jodi Collins
Thanks for fluttering by!

I'd "Chews" You!

It's Teacher Appreciation week and that means that I have an excuse to get crafty! Yesterday I made chocolate dipped strawberries for both of my kid's teachers with a cute tag. I had to go to the PTA meeting and of course I was running late, so I didn't get a chance to photograph them. I bought a bunch of Trident gum yesterday at the store because I had coupons for them, so I decided to create another little teacher gift to send to school today! The saying is pretty cheesy, but if anyone can appreciate a little cheese, it has to be elementary school teachers, right?

I have been wanting to create a little box using my Nestabilites dies and this was the perfect opportunity. Two packs of Trident gum fit nicely side by side in the little box I created and the nestabilities die fit perfectly on the top and the bottom. I really should have taken a picture with the lid off so that you could get a better idea of how I did it, but they are already on their way to school! LOL! I will probably be making some more of these boxes in the future, so I will show it then.

The base of each box is created using Kraft cardstock for a heavy duty base. I used some scraps of paper that I had laying around (October Afternoon-Thrift Shop Collection) which is always nice! I like to get things utilized and used up. I used "Baby Button Bits" again, which I promised I wouldn't, but this image looked so nice with the paper, I couldn't resist. I have been getting a lot of use out of that set besides baby projects.

I created the sentiment on my computer (ETA: I used "Castellar" and "Kunstler Script" for the fonts) and printed it out onto PTI's stampers select Vintage Cream cardstock which is my favorite! If I can come up with another fun, inexpensive idea, I will put together another little something for tomorrow. Our "Teacher Appreciaton" committee has done a great job putting together cute gifts, so I don't want to do a repeat. I also don't want to spend a lot of money since the end of the year is creeping up at the end of this month. I would rather save my money and do something nice then. Also, our Principal is leaving this year and I will want to do a nice gift for her as well.

Speaking of school, we have been having some troubles with Emma in regards to her reading, spelling and writing. I have been wondering if she has Dyslexia. I went and spoke to her teacher yesterday when I dropped off the chocolate dipped strawberries to voice my concerns. I had brought it up earlier in the year at a Parent Teacher Conference, but nothing ever came of it. When I spoke to her yesterday, she was worried and had noticed some problems. Needless to say, we are having her eyes checked today to see if that could be a factor. When I googled "Dyslexia" yesterday and read the warning signs, I was really scared and cried for hours. I believe that she does indeed have it. We have a Dr.'s appointment in June (that was the soonest they could see me) which seems like an eternity away! The information I read said that early intervention is the best and not to wait until it is too late! EEEk! I feel like we have already waited too long. I know that everything will work out, but I know that we will have a lifetime of struggle and I will have to learn the elusive art of patience.

I will be back for sure for Saturday's SFYTT!Thanks for fluttering by!

A New Little Someone

My friend had her baby yesterday! I already made a card for her, but I didn't have a chance to get or make a "coordinating" gift. I decided to quickly make her a new one to match the "Gymboree" gift box that her gift is in. I usually end up by wrapping the gift boxes, but it came with such a cute ribbon and sticker for the top, that I decided to leave it as it is.

I liked the panels from yesterday's card so much that I decided to make panels again. I stamped the three colors using white ink and Polka Dot Basics. The gift box has polka dots all over it, so I thought that I would continue with the theme.

The outfit that I am giving her has a cake or cupcake on the shirt, so I couldn't resist using the cupcake image from Baby Button Bits. I know that I promised that I would try not to use it, but it was the perfect fit. I colored the image using copic and prismacolor markers. I added some tinsel glitter for fun!

I had already made the little snail image, so I decided to add that to the inside. It is simply stamped in white and then colored using copic markers. I added all of the buttons using glue dots.

The hospital is less than five minutes away, so I am going to give her a call and see if I can come and see her new little bundle. My other friend had her baby last Monday and I was able to go see him on Thursday. It really made me realize how big my little one is getting!

I am hoping to get a new banner made this week so stay tuned for that! I am also hoping to get some Teacher Appreciation gifts done like I mentioned yesterday! Thanks for fluttering by!

Big Birthday Cake *SFYTT*

I am here! Finally! Whew! What a morning! I really should have had this ready to go last night, but I decided to go over to my friends house and chit-chat for hours! LOL! I was in such a rush that my creative juices were no where to be found, so it is what it is!

I knew that I wanted to use this K & Company paper, so I got all of the panels ready to go. Then I sat and sat and sat trying to decide what I should use for the focal image. I was *really* tempted to use a tea pot or a baby image, but restrained. I tried a couple of different options with little success. When I was almost ready to throw the whole thing away, I spotted a scrap of October Afternoon ("Fly a Kite" collection) paper. It was a collage of different vintage children doing various things. I decided that this litte vintage girl would be perfect for the focal image.

I used a variety of copic and prismacolor markers to color the image. After I was done photographing the card, I realized that I forgot to add some depth to her hair, so I went back and did that, but I didn't take any new photos. Everything else is pretty straightforward. I didn't add too many bells and whistles since I was in a rush.

I barely got my daughter to the dance studio in time for her pictures. I pride myself on being on-time, but that has seriously changed since I have had Rowan. We are late everywhere we go lately. My kids make it on time to school, but that is about it!

As far as my creative time goes, I really didn't do much this week. We switched satellite companies and I had random workers in my house two days this week, which interrupted naps and such and I thought I was going to go crazy! Rowan finally had a good afternoon nap yesterday, which was a nice change! I am hoping to have more time next week to get things done. I have said it before, but I really hate going from SFYTT to SFYTT, so I apologize! Teacher appreciation is next week, so I am hoping to get some fun things put together for my kid's teachers.

You won't want to miss the other designers! Jodi Collins is joining the SFYTT sisterhood and I couldn't be happier! I Love her work!
Jen Del Muro and new May guest designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Jenn Diercks,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Thanks for fluttering by!

I'll be back!

I am so sorry! I have my SFYTT card done, but I don't have time to get it photographed,etc. My daughter is having her dance pictures taken today and I am running seriously late! Ughhh ! Look for it later today!