Lazy Days of Summer

I always think that I'm going to have all this time in the summer to make tons and tons of projects and then do wonderfully detailed blog posts about them. Ha! I've once again fallen prey to the lazy days of summer...and I'm not even sorry about it. In fact, I've been reading (for FUN), enjoying my flowers and plants, organizing and doing all sorts of lazy summer stuff. Yesterday, I did break through the haze for about a half hour - long enough to do a couple of birthday cards. This one was made with odds and ends that my friend Dayna and I whipped up during her visit. It's fun to be able to slap a card together in just a few minutes!

I don't want to give you the wrong impression...I have been doing some other papercraft related things as well. For instance, there are just a few days before the July issue of Scrap n' Art comes out and there are lots of fun things to see: stamps, stencils, techie gadgets and one of my fav companies ever is featured as well.

Thanks for taking a peek!

My best friend and her husband came to visit us for a long weekend and we had the BEST time! Dayna and I don't have many chances to papercraft together, so we took full advantage of our time and cranked out tons of things. We used each other's stamps, inks, embossing folders, dies, punches - it was awesome. Now we both have a lot of pieces to use on cards and layouts and hopefully it will make it easier for Dayna to have some creative time on her own. I told her I would make a blog post about her to make sure she gets some cards done...so here it is! Get some cards done, Dayna! ☺

This is a card that I did a couple of weeks ago to sell at the store. I love how the gold embossing powder looks on the doily stamps! I will have to experiment a bit more with that. I've been working on the July Scrap n' Art projects, but I may have something new to share here in the next few days. Thanks for taking a peek!

Simplicity

I got a new Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page set when I was home in May and I have been putting that baby to work! It's a deep edge punch (LOVE THOSE!) called Double Arches. I just love how it transforms a plain piece of white cardstock into a decorative piece of art! I didn't want to take away from that on this card, so I kept the embellishments really simple. The beautiful scalloped edge ribbon is from May Arts. I cut the pink glitter cardstock by American Crafts with a Spellbinders Butterflies 2 die. The sentiment is by Papertrey Ink. Thanks for taking a peek!

Handmade Wedding

My good friend and neighbor, Ann, got married this past Saturday. The theme of her wedding was "handmade" and she spend countless hours making the decorations with the help of her fiance (now husband) Toni. Toni is a jewelry maker from Lebanon and so you can only imagine the beautiful beaded accents that were everywhere - on the cake, on the wine glasses, napkins...everywhere! Ann is also an artist and it was amazing to see what she had created.
I wanted to make them a card that mirrored that handmade sentiment - one that utilized their wedding colors. I decided upon this beautiful stamp from Loralie Designs. I colored it with Copics and Sparkling H2Os and die cut it with a Spellbinders Nestabilty (Labels Seventeen). I used a Spellbinders "Lacey Circle" die and American Crafts Thicker for the monogram. The blue paper is metallic and very shiny. I also used one of my new toys, a Martha Stewart Deep Edge Punch Around the Page (Double Arches). I embellished the earrings with blue Dew Drops because they reminded me of some of the beautiful beaded items Toni made. It was a beautiful wedding and as you can see, I was inspired!

Thanks for taking a peek!

April Scrap n' Art

Here are some items from the April Scrap n' Art issue and blog. Thanks for taking a peek!

Frilly Baby Girl Card

I love to doctor up girly cards with tons of trims and ribbons. There are so many different textures and colors available! I like to adhere the bulky ones with Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac. it always does an excellent job of holding things in place. With bulky items like these, I have found that dry adhesives just don't stand the test of time. I've never had something come off when I've used Fabri-Tac.

On this card, I used Spellbinders Lacey Circles and an SRM Sticker. The cardstock (glittery white included) is all from American Crafts. Trims are from Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for taking a peek!

On the Cusp

It's not summer yet. The weather here is still pretty unstable and it can't quite decide if it wants to warm up. We've had warm days, but they've been followed by cold spells. Today seems bright and sunny so far and I'm hoping for a little bit of summer. The kids get out of school tomorrow and we're going to be visiting family for a bit, so I won't be posting for about a week and a half - maybe two.

I'll leave you with a cute little dress form that is super easy to make. All you need is some different types of ribbons/lace, a dress form (chipboard will do, it doesn't have to be padded), Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac and some embellishments of your choice. The dress form I used is from Ooh LaLa Design Originals.


You can click on the tutorial strip to make it a bit bigger if you like.
1. Choose a wide ribbon that takes folds fairly well. I used one that is wired. Put Fabri-Tac in a line across the bottom part of the form and fold the ribbon over it.
2. Do the same thing right above it to make a tiered skirt.
3. Use some thin ribbon for the under-bodice, just wrap it around and around, securing the ends with a dab of Fabri-Tac.
4. Pick some nice lace that will form the outer-bodice. Just secure it in the back - pull it tightly so it doesn't sag.
5. Use some decorative trim for the waist/belt and secure it in the back as well.

6. Embellish with flowers, pearls, gems, etc. I made a "price tag" for the sentiment using Spellbinders Labels Four. The paper I used was glossy, so I heat embossed the stamp so it wouldn't smear.

You can use these on cards or they can be incorporated into any home decor. They can also stand alone - you can make a stand for them or make them into ornaments and hang them. As you can see, the possibilities are endless with colors and patterns. These are a lot of fun :)

Well, thanks for taking a peek!