Hello Friend

I needed a few cards to send out before the end of the month so I made them quick, easy and used the same design on all three. It is so easy to mass produce! I knew that I wanted something bright and cheerful to welcome in spring and chase away the gray, so I chose to use Bird Watching and Bird Watching Additions. I love these sets, but haven't used them in a while.

The background was embossed using an embossing folder and my cuttlebug; a quick and easy way to get some texture and detail without much work! The blue paper is also textured. When making simple designs, things like that can make all the difference.

I knew that I wanted to add some felt flowers to the design. After I was done die-cutting each piece, I thought that it might be kindof fun to make them into hair clips, since all of the ladies who will be getting these have little girls. It seemed such a waste to make all of those pretty flowers just to have them sit on the card!

Since I needed a place to "clip" the flowers without making it too hard to get them off. I simply adhered the "Hello Friend" strip with two glue dots on each side. It made a perfect place to clip the flower.


Thanks for fluttering by!

Celebrate Today and Everyday *SFYTT*

If February flew by as fast for you as it did for me, then you might not have gotten a chance to play along with this month's SFYTT! It's not too late...you still have the entire weekend to play along! Remember there are always prizes involved, so you may want to head over to her blog to find out all of the deets! Jen always does an amazing job and this month is no exception! I am in love with this sketch. Remember, this month's sketch is sponsored by Anita BeSTampin!

I decided to use the same paper as I did for my "Lucky" banner in my previous post. I added in some of the backside of one of the sheets to really change the entire look! The pop of burgundy really made a difference and made the card look really "homespun", which is the direction I decided to head in as I finished it off.

I started off by using PTI's Butterfly Dreams for the focal image and Autumn Abundance for the sentiment. I really liked the shape of the flowers in the background paper and I knew I had a punch with a similar shape, so I layered the flowers along the bottom. I normally wouldn't make black butterflies, but they were just what this card needed.

The circular piece the butterflies are on is a nestabilites die that I picked up the other day when I was "St. Patty's day" shopping. I just couldn't resist since I got $10 off! When it was all said and done, this card ended up having quite a "Debbie-Mummish" look to it, which I really like. She has been a favorite for years!

Remember, it is not too late to play along! Here is this month's sketch! Take some time
out for yourself and make a card for someone you love! Thanks for fluttering by!

Lucky Banner

I normally don't decorate for St. Patrick's Day, but since Easter isn't until the end of April, I decided to whip something up! Making banners is kindof an addiction for me and since I pretty much have every other holiday/season, it was the perfect excuse. I don't know about you, but really cute and classy St. Patrick's Day decor is kindof hard to find; at least around here. Everything seems to be made out of shiny metallic cellophane or tinsel and just isn't my taste. Since I love green so much anyway, I just used a few things I already had with some new purchases to put together a cute little ensemble on my bench under the banner.


The paper is all from Graphic 45, but from different collections. I just grabbed the patterns that I liked in green and called it good. The little image under the letter "c" is from Crafty Secrets. I was wishing that I hadn't gotten rid of all of the horseshoes I bought for one of my kid's Cowboy/Cowgirl birthday parties. I noticed how cute the little horshoe tied up with ribbon looked next to the Leprochaun in the little image.

Everything else is pretty straightforward and standard on my banners. It whipped up quite quickly since it only used 5 letters. It is shorter than most of my banners so it doesn't span the entire length of the board. I found something green to hang on the last handle to fill things up!

Everyone loved their little Valentine's treats when I passed them out at school. I ended up making chocolate dippped strawberries for the teachers. I put them on silver platters that I found at the dollar store and tied them up with cellophane. I gave the principal the stacked boxes from my last post which she absolutely loved. She confessed to me this week when I dropped into the office to tell me that she had re-gifted. I guess her son needed something quick for his girlfriend and wanted to give her that. I thought that was cute!

Alot has been going on here; throw-up, diarrhea, more throw up (thank goodness none of those for me, I am actually feeling quite good these days), going forward with some construction (Rowan threw up all over the floor when the workmen were here), a fender-bender, weening Rowan onto a sippy cup, tantrums, we are most likely expecting another boy, homework,etc. February has almost come and gone. I will be back tomorrow with my second design for this month's SFYTT! Thanks for fluttering by!

Language of Love

One of my favorite projects that I have ever made was for PTI when I was on the template team. It was for the "Shaker Style Stacker" boxes. It sits in my kitchen and I look at it every day. One of the reasons I like it so much is because of the words that I used around the lids. I wanted to make something similar for Valentine's day. I needed it quick and easy so that I would be willing to part with it and not keep it for myself. LOL! I used old SU! supplies, as far as the paper is concerned, but I paired it with PTI's "Heart Prints". Can you tell I really like this set?

Since the papers all came from the same collection, it was easy to keep things cohesive. I was worried that it might seem too busy using that many different prints, but I think it turned out quite well. The boxes each share the same height for the base as well as the same lid length for the top. I didn't keep track of measurements or anything. I just winged it and used a ruler as I went. I did wonder if it would have been cute to try different heights, etc. I may be giving it a try later. I still need a few more little gifty things to give to teachers, etc.

"Heart Prints" was the ideal set for this particular project since it has so many fun sentiments. They were perfect for all of the stamping I did on the lids.One thing you will want to remember if you want to make something like this, is to stamp all of your sentiments before you assemble the boxes. Everything is really quite simple. I did stamp some sentiments on the inside of each box using "Heart Prints Sentiments" as well as a popped heart on the middle box. I thought that it would be a fun surprise for the recipient as they took out the goodies inside. Of course a few little rhinestones were in order, but other than that the paper really does all of the work. I should be back this week with some more fun Valentine's projects. Emma needs to take some things to dance for all of her friends there. Thanks for fluttering by!

Love You Forever *SFYTT*

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and it is one of my favorite holidays! I love putting together little gifts and treats to celebrate the people I love. Today's SFYTT card is in honor of someone I love very much; little miss Emma! I thought this little girl from SU's "Greeting Card Kids" was just too sweet and so perfect for Emma! I paired it with PTI's "Heart Prints" and "Just the Ticket". I bought the coordinating die for the ticket set and I have had fun messing around with it, but nothing has ever made it onto a card until today!

This month's sponsor is Antita Be Stampin! I didn't get any stamps, but she sure has some darling images you will definitely want to check out! You can view her things here and here! The other gals have used her stuff as well so you won't want to miss seeing their creations.

For my card, I decided to stamp my focal image, cut it out and mount it onto a pattern paper background. I really like how it turned out. I glittered her little heart with some red chunky glitter from SU! It just seemed to be begging for it. If any holiday calls for glitter, it has to be Valentine's Day! I remember doing all kinds of Valentine's projects growing up and they all seemed to include glitter. I just couldn't resist adding this sweet little sentiment to the side, even though I strayed from the sketch a bit. The tickets were the perfect touch and gave it just the feel I was looking for. I hope Emma enjoys her card as well as the fun little presents I have picked up for her.

You won't want to miss the other designers!
Jen Del Muro and New Guest Designer
Amy Rohl
Susan Liles
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O' Brien,
Amber Hight
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
CAROLE

Kerry Johnson

Thanks for fluttering by!