Hello Sunshine! - CAS(E) this Sketch #34

Well the weather here is absolutely gorgeous and should be for at least the next week.  So, when I popped into my craft room for a few minutes yesterday I just couldn't resist making this little sunshine card! 

I have been seeing a lot of people playing along with CAS(E) this Sketch so I decided to check it out since I  am a pretty CAS kind of gal and always love a good sketch.  :)  This card is based off of the CAS(E) this Sketch #34 and it doesn't get much more Clean and Simple than a few stickers and a lot of 'white' space.

The stickers are all from Doodlebug's Fruit Stand collection and my sun is actually a lemon that I just added the sun face to (which I cut out of the patterned paper).  I keep looking at this card thinking it needs just a touch of something more...a few rhinestones or sequins maybe?  I'll let you know if I add to it.

ETA:  I decided that this card really needed a few sequins, so here is what it looks like now...

What do you think?!  I definitely like it better now...amazing what a few sequins can do for a card! :)

Here is the CAS(E) sketch:



You can click HERE to play along or to just see the other great entries.

Have a lovely afternoon!

Hello Tuesday Trigger!

Well, I just had to play along with another one of Cath's Tuesday Triggers.  This week the image has such fresh, fun colors.  Take a look at a Scene in Tangerine...

When I saw this image, I was immediately inspired to get out Doodlebug's adorable Fruit Stand collection to create this cheery hello card.

Aren't the colors just about a perfect match?!  I love these sweet little fruits and didn't want to take away from the great paper and stickers by over embellishing so I just added 3 strands of coordinating Doodlebug twine (which was also inspired by the Trigger image) to finish off this cute and quick card!  :)

If you want to play along in this challenge or just view some of the other wonderful entries, you can check it out HERE.

May your day be filled with creative moments!

Vintage Love

Although I am not much of a vintage crafter, this week's Tuesday Trigger - Vintage Vagabond really inspired me.  I just loved the rich, earthy tones and the wood and metal accents. 

So, I got out my Bo Bunny Weekend Market collection and created this...

My hubby and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage this year (and I just read that Cath and her husband celebrated 18 years...congrats!) so I created this card with our anniversary in mind.  I just love that rich navy patterned paper and the vintage labels in this collection.  And don't you love the ruler paper?!  It sent me searching for a quote and I thought this one was perfect.  Did you notice my little flag?  I made sure to use the 10 for our years together and cut a little heart out to embellish it with love.  :)  Then I used one of Stampin' Up's fabulous mini library clips to attach it.

I am really happy with how this turned out...a masculine, vintage, romantic card.  That is a challenging combination, don't you think?!  :)  I am also entering this card into Bo Bunny's June Card challenge which is to make a masculine (or Father's Day) card. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

The Best Dad - Mixy Matchy Fusion!

Happy Saturday!  The sun is shining here...such a lovely day for swimming, soccer, and hopefully a little crafting.   Last night I made time to create because I was itching to play along with a few challenges.  When I saw the Mixy Matchy Style Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, I knew I wanted to try my hand at mixing multiple patterns/colors in a fun way.  Then on Friday, when the new Fusion challenge was posted and I saw that inspiration photo with all those mixy-matchy ties I just couldn't wait to get out my papers and start crafting!  :)

At first I thought I might do a Father's Day card with ties in various patterns but then I started playing along with the sketch side of the Fusion challenge too (which is soooo the beauty of this challenge...so many possibilities!) and came up with this:

I just love how this came together!  My best tip for achieving this mixy-matchy style is to gather various patterned papers and lay them out on your table (or floor) and start to pair different patterns together until you get a group that you love.  I found that sticking with rich/masculine colors was a great way to mix it up while still coordinating enough to make the card work...the same would be true of various pastels, brights, or a more feminine color palette.

The papers are from Bo Bunny's Mistletoe collection and My Mind's Eye's Stella & Rose, Miss Caroline, and Collectable collections.

And a close-up...

I popped the loyal and kind squares up on 3D foam to help balance the dimension from the 'you are...' and 'dad' chipboard.

And here is part of my inspiration...

I still have all these papers out on my craft table, so I might just work up another card if I get the chance today.  And there is still plenty of time for you to participate in either of these challenges too!  Click HERE to participate (or see all the great entries) in the Fusion challenge or HERE for the Mixy-Matchy Style Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Sweet Thing! - Ice Cream Card

Hello friends!  I am still in birthday mode here...enjoying all the photos from our party and starting to scrapbook them too.  So, I thought I would share another birthday card that I made recently.  Sometimes I like to get out some pen and paper and draw out ideas I have for cards or layouts and that is how this card came together.  After a little trial and error, I designed this triple scoop ice cream card...

For the cone I stamped Unity's Worn Grid background stamp at a diagonal to give the cone a more textured/realistic look and I scored some lines around the top too. But, the cone still looked too plain so I decided it was the perfect spot for the sentiment.  I used a sweet paperclip from GCD Studios Pure Bliss collection and created two little flags for the stamped sentiment.

Then for the ice cream scoops, I used my Bo Bunny Double Dot paper...I just love the sweet little dots and vibrant colors.  :)  I simply used a circle die to trace an arc and then used scalloped scissors along the bottom of each scoop.  Finally I topped off my ice cream cone with real sprinkles...fun, right?! 

We are in end of school year mode around here...lots of celebrations, fun activities, and tons of excitement as we get ready for summer.  I am looking forward to relaxing days at home with my boys, trying new things (like rock climbing), and a trip to the coast.   Wishing you all a wonderful start to your summer!

Step Right Up! - Tips for throwing a fun Carnival Party

So, for those of you who haven't heard me talking about it yet, for my son's first birthday party we had a carnival theme and it was sooooo much fun!  In fact, both kids and adults had such a great time that I am considering having a carnival BBQ this summer! :)  I mean...really...who doesn't love a good fair with games, prizes, and treats?!

I wanted to share some sites that inspired me, ideas for games, treats, decorations, and prizes, and photos from our party that hopefully will get you excited about throwing your own carnival party! 

First up, a little eye candy to get you in the spirit...

Click HERE to see these fabulous Etsy items up close along with links to the great shops that make them.

For decorations I went super colorful and fun with THESE great printable items, bright little buckets and baskets from the Target dollar spot, that great popcorn bucket from The Dollar Tree, lots of jars wrapped with Bo Bunny Double Dot papers (to hold various signs, prizes or treats), THIS cute collection from Party City, and of course lots of balloons.

Now, onto the food.  It was easy to find lots of treat ideas for a carnival themed party but not much in the way of 'real' food.  We went ahead with hot dogs, marinated chicken wings, and my personal favorite...'fruit on a stick'.  The boys had a lot of fun making these fruit skewers and I love the color they added to the food table.

For treats we had just about everything you could imagine...popcorn (I found cinnamon sugar and apple crisp popcorn at Whole Foods), cotton candy (freshly spun from THIS Etsy seller), strongman dumbbells (lollipop sticks with chocolate donut holes on each side), lemon cupcakes, caramel apples, and of course cake!

I drew up a sketch for the cake and gave it to my local bakery along with one of our dessert plates for inspiration and they did an amazing job, don't you think?!  Then for a little dimension I created a sweet little banner using two wooden skewers, some Doodlebug Twine, and Bo Bunny Double Dot paper.   I also placed the cake on top of a round hat box to give it the attention it deserved.

And although I didn't make these, they look fabulous...
http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2012/09/classic-candied-apples-and-marshmallow.html

Next...the games:
We had a horseshoe toss (ring toss is also great), basketball free throw, baseball toss, and the fish bowl game (definitely a must!). 

 Find a few hat/circle boxes of different sizes, attach them to a piece of plywood, and lean up against a wall for this deceivingly simple game.  The angle of the plywood does make a difference so test out the game ahead of time to see what angle is challenging but not practically impossible.  We used hard foam baseballs for this which tended to bounce out just enough to make you really proud when you actually got it in!

 Set up some clear plastic cups on a table, fill with water and some plastic fish.  Then have 3 cups of ping pong balls so more than one person can play at a time.

We also had a kissing booth and a photo booth...so much fun!

The photo booth was such a great way to capture special memories from our day and who doesn't love to play dress up?!  :) Decorative frames painted in bright colors, mustaches are a must have, fun headbands, hats, and glasses from The Dollar Tree, chalkboard looking signs/speech bubbles (made with black posterboard and a white pen), and a strongman dumb bell (not shown...but simply paint two styrafoam balls black and stick onto a wooden rod).

Extra photobooth inspiration: https://www.etsy.com/listing/77444825/luna-bella-on-the-high-wire-circus?ref=shop_home_active

Finally...the prizes:
I wanted everyone to win a prize and did not want to be handing out prizes at each table/game so I decided to create a Prize Table that guests could choose a few prizes from when they were headed home.  This worked out great...everyone loved picking their prizes and it was like a goody bag/thank you for attending the party.   The sign says..."Ladies and Gentlemen...At the close of the show, please help yourself to a few prizes." 

And I wish I had discovered these before the party...so fun!  (They are on my list for next time...these are especially perfect if you have the fish bowl toss game.)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/120836472/pet-goldfish-soap-carnival-party-favor?ref=shop_home_active

Here are 2 other parties that inspired me as well:
http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/the-wedding-carnivalcarnival-games/
http://celebrationsathomeblog.com/2011/07/circus-themed-birthday-party.html

Whew!  Well, if you are still with me, maybe you are just as excited as I was about a carnival party!  So, I hope this post helps you and please don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment with any questions...I have a few more tips I'd be happy to share.  Once I got the idea in my head, I got quite ambitious with all my plans but it all came together fabulously and will be a party that we talk about for years to come.  It created many wonderful memories of my son's first birthday and for that reason it was totally worth it!  :)

Happy Bot-Day! - Boy Birthday Card

With 3 boys of my own and 2 nephews, I am always in need of fun cards for boys.  And I think sometimes masculine/boy cards can be challenging since so many wonderful embellishments are sparkly or floral or more feminine in nature.  However, recently I played around with My Mind's Eye's Boy Crazy collection to create this robot themed birthday card that is just perfect for the little guy in your life!

I just love the great colors and patterns in this collection...not to mention the fun brads!

Since there were not enough layered brads, I simply punched out two circles from coordinating patterned papers to create a third layered brad (the one to the left of the robot brad).  And I wanted a little bit more dimension so I broke off the prongs on the robot brad and popped it up with foam squares along with the arrow.

The letter stickers are from Carta Bella's So Noted collection.

I will be back later this week to share pictures of my son's first birthday along with tips and links to help you plan your own fun carnival themed party.  We had a blast and it is a party that will be remembered by all for years to come!  :)

Have a wonderful day!  The sun is shining here so we are headed outside to play!