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!

Hello Friend - Fusion Card Challenge

 

Have you all checked out the Fusion Card Challenge yet?  I love that they made it like a science experiment (so creative!) and that there is both a sketch and inspiration challenge that you can combine or use separately to create your card.  Also, I think it is fun to go and vote for your favorite 3 each week! :)  I found a little time tonight to play along is the challenge for this week.  Here is my card based on the sketch only...

 

I created this card using American Crafts' XOXO collection...love the pretty pinks and greens in this collection.   I really like how this card turned out and my absolute favorite thing about this card is that pink fluffy stuff which I discovered by mistake!  I had some cute pink pom pom trim that I was going to use but when I cut a little piece to put on the card some of the fuzz was coming out of one of the little pom poms.  So, I went to see if I could pull the fuzz out and the whole trim began to unravel and voila, fluffy pink crafty goodness! :)  My card was based on the Fusion sketch (shown below) although I did flip it.

To play in the challenge or see the other entries and vote for your favorites you can check out the Fusion blog HERE.

Legoland Layout

Happy Saturday!  We are having some gorgeous weather here in the Northwest...can't wait to head outside!  Last summer we enjoyed a lovely vacation to San Diego, CA and had a ton of fun at Legoland.  If you have kids and haven't been...I highly recommend it.  Plus while you're down there you can enjoy Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, & San Diego Zoo too!  Here's a fairly simple layout I created to document our trip to Legoland.

I used bright Lego colors, BoBunny double dot paper, and of course LEGOS!  I also used Papertrey Ink's ticket die to create the bottom border and then separated the tickets and turned them vertically to create the title and accent the pictures a little.  I really love how this turned out...unfortunately it didn't get picked up for the magazine call I submitted it to.  :(

Such great memories!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

You're a true Friend - Moxie Fab World Challenge

Blue has always been my favorite color.  There are so many beautiful shades, it reminds me of the ocean, and is just a peaceful/calming color for me.  So, when I saw that the Moxie Fab World was having a Cure for the Winter Blues challenge, I just had to play along!

I just love this Stella & Rose collection by My Mind's Eye.  All the shades of blue with a touch of mustard yellow...gorgeous!   The stamp set is from Papertrey Ink and I love how the Not Quite Navy ink (from Stampin' Up) looks on the kraft cardstock (also PTI).  The flowers are popped up on foam squares for dimension.  I threaded navy blue ribbon through some Hero Arts crocheted lace to add a touch of texture and a little more navy to the card.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful weekend!

First Christmas - Elle's Studio Layout Challenge

Happy Sunday!   Will you be enjoying the day off tomorrow?  I have to go into the doctor in the morning for my gestational diabetes test which I am hoping will come back okay.  Then I get to enjoy the day with my boys!

I found some time this weekend to create a few layouts.  This one was inspired by Elle's Studio Thursday Sketch, which you can see HERE.

Yes, I am making great progress with my son's 'first year' album!  This will actually be part of an 8x8 double page layout but the other page is simply going to be filled with pictures from Christmas (maybe I'll add a coordinating embellishment or two to tie it in a little more). 

This page uses BoBunny clover double dot paper, May Arts ribbon, a Simple Stories journal card, along with some Crate Paper, Creative Cafe, and Papertrey Ink embellishments, American Crafts Thickers, and a little Maraschino twine from The Twinery.

Thanks to Elle's Studio for the inspiration!  If you want to play along in the challenge you still have a few days and can win a $10 g.c. to use toward purchasing their great tags and crafting goodies! :)

We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Etsy Inspired Challenge #114

Hello all! Well, I have a weekend full of special time with my boys. Today we are relaxing at home...perfect for a Saturday, right?! And Saturdays are always a good time to do a little crafting too! So, this week for the Etsy Inspired Challenge we have another fabulous shop to spark your creativity. Happy Day Designs is a lovely jewelry shop with the most gorgeous color combinations...each piece is truly a work of art. I was inspired by these beautiful pieces.



I was immediately attracted to the green but when I saw that beautiful red in the shop too, I was inspired to create a Christmas card.

So simple but it still makes a statement, don't you think? I thought this design would make for a cute and simple gift box/bag too. The paper and ribbon are both American Crafts and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I was also inspired to create a festive treasury on Etsy.

You can see these items up close along with the links to the fabulous Etsy shops that sell them by clicking HERE.

To play along in the Etsy Inspired Challenge:
~Go to the Happy Days Designs shop and pick an item to be inspired by
~Make any creation you'd like and post a link to your creation on the EtsyInspired blog
~Please include a link to the shop in your post~Challenge ends on Friday Nov 19, noon Pacific time

~If you upload to an online gallery please use keyword EIC114

I'm sure there will be some colorful creations in the gallery this week! Especially since you could win a lovely necklace from Happy Day Designs or a stamp from our sponsor, Whiff of Joy, by playing along in the challenge! See the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details.

And be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team to see their Etsy Inspired projects!

* Angie (November Guest Designer)

• Ashley


• De


• Emily B


• Emily N


• Joy


• Kerry


• Savannah


• Stephanie


• Virginia

Enjoy your weekend!

For the Love of Buttons!

Raise your hand if you love buttons! I don't know what it is about these small round things but if I could have jars of them in every color available I would. :) They are the perfect accent to just about any project, which is why I was immediately drawn to the 365 Cards challenge to use 15 buttons on a card. And I also decided to use Kazan's sketch #64 over at 2 Sketches 4 You.

I love how this card turned out. Thanks Kazan for the inspiring sketch! I simply turned the sketch on it's side. The yummy buttons and lovely senitment are from Papertrey Ink. The adorable snowman is from an older MME collection that I have been hoarding for 2 years. The great patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses collection and the large rikrak is May Arts.

Thanks for visiting!

Oh and if you are a button lover too you might be interested in these creative buttons from some talented crafters on Etsy!
Tessa Ann
Such Sweet Tierney
Kimmieprout

Sweet Summertime Pinwheels

Happy Friday everyone! I have been trying to find time to craft lately but I have been too busy playing outside with my boys! :) I did make some time this morning though to participate in a new challenge that I have had my eye on for awhile now, The Shabby Tea Room.


The challenge this week was to be inspired by this photo which immediately made me think of Echo Park's Sweet Summertime collection. I also was inspired by Scrapbook Trends current challenge to use circles on a project.

If you want to participate in either of these challenges you still have time...projects are due by Sunday.

Okay, that's it for me today...off to play some more with my boys! Don't you just love summertime?! Maybe I'll have enough energy to work on some projects after they go to bed tonight! :)

Merci

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! We did a lot of spring cleaning...slowly trying to get ready for putting our house on the market. We want to make sure our house shows well so we are really going through everything and donating things we don't need or use anymore, reorganizing our closets and the boys rooms, plus just general detailed cleaning and small home improvement projects.

I wanted to share the two other thank you cards that I created for Paper Crafts Gallery Idol auditions. I didn't make the cut for the top 20 but there are a ton of talented ladies who did so make sure to go vote and support them next week!

Here is one of my favorites that I made for this call.

I just love this Hero Arts stamp and the soft, natural colors and twine (May Arts). I stamped the image in brown on both white and kraft cardstock and then cut out the sentiment from the kraft image and popped it up on foam squares on the white image. All of the paper and the Ocean Tides button is Papertrey Ink. The border punch is Martha Stewart.

Next is a card that is a little different than my normal style I think. It's a little more romantic...kind of french wedding thank you note feel maybe? You be the judge! :)

The pretty blue paper and pearl accents are from MME Lush collection. The pink accents are from KI Memories (Lace Hearts), Making Memories (rose brad), and American Crafts (letters).

I'm off to do some more cleaning and purging...gotta start on my craft space! :)

So Glad We're Friends - Etsy Inspired Challenge #79

Hi everyone, happy Saturday! I am honored to introduce you to this weeks featured Etsy shop, 3 Dots Jewelry. The jewelry in this shop is fabulous...I should know since I have already purchased 3 necklaces! :) I absolutely love them! Lucie (the owner) has a beautiful, modern style that is inspired by nature and it is truly reflected in her wonderful pieces. Take a look...



I was inspired by the colors, the wood, and overall natural feel of the pieces. Here is my creation:

Cute, right?! The patterned paper, tree sticker, and owls (which I popped up on foam circles) are all from My Mind's Eye Little Boy Blue collection. The kraft cardstock and stamps are from Papertrey Ink.

Okay, now it's your turn! To play along with our challenge, all you have to do is go to 3 Dots Jewelry and pick any item to be inspired by. Make your creation and post a link to it on the Etsy Inspired Blog by next Friday, Mar 19th by noon Pacific time. Everyone will be entered into a random drawing to win. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword EIC79. And please remember to give credit to the shop that you found your inspiration from.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Stretch N' Bubbles, a fun digital stamp site. Personally, I am in love with THIS little rocket image. Alison is generously giving away 4 prizes!!! So your odds of winning this week are great! :) The first winner will receive 4 free digital images and 3 runners up will receive one digital image of their choice from Stretch N' Bubbles.



Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team created for you too!

• Ashley
• De
• Emily
• Heather
• Jackie
• Joy
• Laurel (March Guest Designer)
• Lisa (March Guest Designer)
• Shannon

One of a Kind Grandma

I have been a crafting fool lately and have been trying to participate in lots of challenges...they are a great motivation and starting point for me. Cath's current challenge over at the Moxie Fab World is to showcase doilies and/or lace on a project. Now this was definitely a stretch for me as I rarely venture into the vintage or shabby chic style but sometimes stretching ourselves leads us to wonderful things right?!

For this card I used some fabulous doily patterned paper from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry collection. Then I used one of those paper heart doilies (that you can find just about everywhere around Valentine's day) to create the flower. I basically just cut the inside of the doily heart out and then worked the lacy edge around in a circle, cutting little slits in the center as needed to get it to form this little blossom.

I finished the card off with some Papertrey Ink buttons and stamp, fun pom pom trim, and American Crafts Thickers. All the doilies and vintage feel made me think that this would be a perfect card for a special grandma like mine! :)