Celebrate Today

I had a couple custom orders for bridal shower cards last week. I made the first one and delivered it...WITHOUT taking a photo. Dang it, I hate it when I do that! It was a really cute one too :) Luckily I have some similar supplies so I will probably make another that is based on the first one - and this time take a picture.
This started out to be the 2nd custom order, but I don't know. I think I will make another and take both in to let her choose. I like how this one turned out, but I'm not so sure it's what she wanted, know what I mean?
As you can see, I once again used that yummy beaded and sequins bridal lace. Even without the layered butterfly part, this card looked so elegant. I might actually do another one with just the lace and sentiment and experiment with different colors.


Anyway, back to this card. I cut the butterfly with one of my Spellbinders Butterflies dies and the labels are Spellbinders as well - Curved Rectangles and Labels Seventeen. The cardstock is all by Paper Accents and I used Zip Dry adhesive by Beacon Adhesives. The sentiment is by Papertrey Ink - "Mega Mixed Messages" and I heat embossed it with Ranger "Sea Foam" embossing powder. I glittered up the butterfly with some el cheapo (not really the name ;) ) glitter from Hobby Lobby. Seriously, for a nice sized container, it was only $1.47 for the regular price! It was great for this card because it reflects the blue, purple and pink of the labels.

In other news, we're all white and frosty again. sigh.

The nice weather brought the robins back and when it started to snow, they all congregated angrily in the trees and cried their birdy little eyes out. I could empathize with them. Now they're all fluffed up and pouting. Again, I empathize.

Thanks for taking a peek :)

Unexpected Surprises

Some unexpected surprises are fantastic and some are just plain yuck. In the case of today's unexpected surprise, I have to say it's definitely the former :) I'd like to thank Nora for bequeathing me with a Stylish Blogger Award!


In order to accept the award, I must pass this on to 8 other stylish blogs (it will be my privilege to do so) and list 8 things about myself.
1. I am a full time student.
2. I can say all 50 United States in alphabetical order.
3. I have two cats, Max and Ace.
4. I have been married for 10 years (it will be 11 in May) and have 2 kids.
5. I have visited 7 countries.
6. I am a natural redhead.
7. I "inherited" papercrafting from my grandmother.
8. Someday I would love to design stamps!

And without further ado, here are the 8 blogs I have chosen. I love so many - this was a hard decision!


http://seesterk.blogspot.com/
http://manyminimemories.blogspot.com/
http://byondbzr.blogspot.com/
http://basicallyami.blogspot.com/
http://jarfullofjoy.blogspot.com/
http://willrunforstamps.blogspot.com/
http://poetryinapotoftea.blogspot.com/
http://candyscraps.typepad.com/

Thanks for the honor, Nora :)

Best Wishes

If you're a follower, you know that I love to use trims and pretty ribbons on my cards. I went to Hobby Lobby this week and stocked up on a few pieces I really liked and here is a card that shows one of them off. The pretty beaded/sequins trims are a tad expensive, so I wait until I have a coupon or until they go on sale. One thing about them is that I use so little of the actual trim on a card, so that makes them last longer than I originally anticipate.

On this card, I adhered a buttery yellow cardstock to the white base. Then I adhered a "Swiss Dot" (Cuttlebug) embossed vellum panel to the right side. Where the panel left off, I adhered my bridal trim with Beacon Adhesives "Fabri-Tac."

I used a Spellbinders Lacey Circle die for the sentiment along with Papertrey Ink's "Mega Mixed Messages" set and some Prima Marketing pearls. And that's it! This card is very easy to do, but I love how that elegant trim sets it off.

Thanks for taking a peek! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Thinking of You

I can say at this point that I am done with winter cards. No more snowflakes, no more hot cocoa. For the next few weeks, it's all SPRING!
We've been having some lovely weather here - today we have mid 60s! the sky is blue, there is a slight breeze, and I have seen a few early blooming flowers starting to get brave enough to peek out from the dirt. Along with that bright and sunny mood, I have a bright and sunny card to share.
The pretty glittered paper is from GCD Studios (Melody Ross - "Homespun Chic"). The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's "Lily of the Valley" set. I didn't want to take away from the paper by adding a solid color label, so I decided to stamp it directly onto the pattern. The flower is from ETSY and the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.
I used some Beacon Adhesives "Fabri-Tac" to adhere the flower to the ribbon - it just takes a tiny bit.
Well, thanks for taking a peek on this lovely spring-like day!

Miss You

The weeks are starting to fly by again - it's that time in the semester! This semester seems to be sucking the life out of me on top of that. I have a couple of classes (required, not in my field of study) that I just do not care for. I got spoiled last semester having classes all within my major!
Anyway, in between studying, reading Paradise Lost and doing some special design team work, I had the chance to make a card for my bff. She had a rough week last week, and she needed a paper hug.

I used Papertrey Ink's "Woodgrain Basics" set to make the background paper (Memento Bahama Blue ink). I had made up several white die cuts with my Spellbinders dies, so I picked through my stash and got the ones I wanted for this card. The bigger one is a Beaded Circle and the smaller one is an Eyelet Circle. I used Papertrey Ink's "Mega Mixed Messages" for the sentiment (Memento Rose Bud ink). The cutie pie vintage image is from Paper Dreams Factory. I LOVE their vintage art images!

For the punched borders, I used a Martha Steward Crafts Deco Shell border punch and an EK Success bracket punch. The little line of white butterflies is a piece of trim from my stash.
Well, thanks for taking a peek! Hopefully I'll be back later this week...and I probably won't be rhyming :)

PTI "Ultimate Card Kit"

If you like Papertrey, head on over to Nicole's blog because they're having a contest! Link your favorite project that uses PTI product from the past year to their blog for a chance to win. Also leave a comment for another chance.

Here is my favorite - I just love how the balloons, clouds and banners captured the feel of the place in the photos. We could see for miles and miles and the air was so clear and clean. The clouds were white and puffy and the weather was lovely. When I look at this layout, it brings all that back and that is why it's my favorite.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Thanks, Grandma

I happened to inherit what I like to call the papercrafting gene from my Grandma Helen. She passed away a few years ago, and amazingly enough, is still gifting me things! I had a little stash of her art supplies (she was an artist and teacher) handed down to me, and one of these items was a pad of old watercolor paper. It's the paper you see the stamped image on in this card.

I decided I wanted to use it because of its unique texture, and when I went to sew the edges, it took the thread like fabric - it's quite flexible. And then when I inked over it, I was delighted to see the fun texture. And it was a moment where I just thought: thank you, Grandma. :)

The stamp comes from Loralie Designs. I just think it's the cutest thing! There are actually two sewing machines in the set and both are equally amazing. This stitching is sort of my "thing" that I like to do. I use two different colors of thread (one on the bobbin and the other threaded through the machine) and then make sure I stitch off the edge of the paper a bit. That makes the bottom thread show through, so if you take a closer look, you'll see the tan and black threads. The messier the better with this technique!

Thanks for taking a peek :