Here I Am!

I know... It's been a while. A looooong while! Things have been busy and they are just about to get even busier. But, before they do, I wanted to fill you in on what's going on. Get a snack and a cup of coffee or tea... this one is lengthy.

First off, after our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley passed away, I found myself lost without a dog. It was awful. I wondered the house trying to figure out what I was suppose to be doing. Our home just wasn't the same without a dog. So, we got another yellow lab and named him Walter. He was 8 weeks old when we got him and he is 6 months old now.

Walter is the worlds worst dog. Think Marley, but worse. Somehow, he won our hearts over with his funny personality and warm eyes. He has tons of energy and is generally a bad dog. Thank goodness he's so cute. He's growing by leaps and bounds, and quickly! If it's possible, he's even a bigger mama's boy than Wrigley was.

The kids started school in August. Mac is in 4th grade, Anna is in 2nd and Elan started kindergarten. For the most part, they all like school. Elan tried to find excuses to stay home with me for the first month- my tummy hurts, my eye hurts, I'm too tired, we don't learn anything at school, etc. He went anyway...

This past October, I finished my second full marathon. I ran in Columbus, OH and finished 43 minutes faster than last year! I was so excited that I finished in under 4:30 (4:27:45). Two of my brothers surprised me on the course at mile 17. I was so surprised and excited. It definitely gave me the energy to finish the race strong.

 

My sweet Anna made her First Communion a couple of weeks ago. She looked like an angel and we were so proud of her. She has had a rough start to the school year with some emotional ups and downs, but she is getting better and on this special day, she was floating!

Stephen shot his first buck this year with a bow and arrow. We were all so proud of him! The kids were ecstatic! This week, over the Thanksgiving holiday, he took each child out individually to hunt. No one brought home any meat, but they saw plenty of wildlife and had a great time. 

I have been crafting plenty... sorry... no pictures. I will take some soon though. I'm making Christmas gifts this year, so I will share what I can! ;) I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so much, but mostly for my family, my strong faith and my health. Life is so good.

We say goodbye...

Wrigley

4-26-02 to 7-7-12

Yesterday, we said goodbye to our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley. Wrigley was 10 years old and our first "child." My three brothers gave him to Stephen and I for our wedding gift. He turned out to be the best gift we could have ever hoped for. Wrigley was sweet, gentle, funny, friendly, neurotic, so toerrant, and made our family so happy.

Elan and Wrigley watching a show together.

The big Wrig put up with so much: kids laying on him, dressing him up, poking out his eyes, examining every orifice, fingers in his mouth and ears, the list goes on... and he never minded one second of it if his kids were happy.

Anna snuggling with Wrigley.

Wrigley had many blankies and toys. However he didn't care much for "dog" toys. He loved the homemade blankets and stuffed animals that his kids shared with him. He would carry his current favorites all over the house and even into the back yard.

Mac and Wrigley on the beach.

We took Wrigley for his first and last beach trip last year. He loved it! I loved how he always stayed with one or all three of the kids, almost as a protector. He was always guarding the kids when they were little: next to the crib when they were babies, alongside the stroller and bikes when they got bigger. He loved the kids, everyone was his friend and he never harmed a fly... he may have even been afraid of them!

I'm going to miss my shadow... he was a member of the family and a best friend. He was always something good to come home to, a soft thing to pet, love and cuddle. He always understood when something was wrong or if someone was sick because you would get extra love at those times. I hope he knows how much we loved him and how much he is missed already.

I love you, buddy.

Mini Album/Art Journal Kit

Good morning! I just put together a mini album for myself to create a "pieces of me" book. I choose papers and embellishments that I love that are bright, cheerful and fun. The papers are trendy and full of texture and even a couple flocked transparencies.
Anyway, as I was putting together my mini album, I realized I had enough stuff to do a few more. So, I have 3 kits up for sale in my Etsy shop. The kits are $20 each and come neatly packaged full of papercrafting happiness. This would make a great gift for a papercrafter too!

As you can see, there is a lot of stuff in this kit! There are over 20 pages of decorative paper, pockets, envelopes, transparencies, and cute papers! Vintage buttons, colored twine, felt embellies and more!

Visit my Etsy shop, Crafty Paper Girl for a full description and more photos.

Long Time...

No see! Holy smokes... I've been away waaay too long! Sorry 'bout that! Not that I haven't been crafting, I have, just haven't had any spare moments to post any creations! It's the end of the school year and we have been busy: soccer ended and swim team began, school ends for the year Thursday and summer begins! Yippee! I love summer... no schedules, grilling out, lazy days by the pool, sleeping in past 6:30, and... Marathon training begins.
Before you sign off from pure boredom in my everyday life, I have a couple thank you cards to share:

Love how this one looks so rustic. I used a chipboard "marquis" and punched the PTI sentiment with my large circle punch. Added a little ink, some buttons and twine.

Easy peasy... love this flower stamp from Paper Source! I've used it a ton- very versatile. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and I used a Copic to color in the loops. Added some blue pearls and voile!

This card literally took me a few minutes. Layer some pretty paper, add a sticker, cut a scrap piece of paper into a flag and stamp it. Sentiment is from a Hero Arts set. Added a pearl and some Lime Twist twine and BAM! Done.

So, I hope you feel inspired! Whip up something crafty today! Enjoy...

Balloons!

I made this birthday card for a friend. I didn't forget her birthday, but I did forget to put the card in the mail. I hat it when that happens! Anyway, I love how it turned out and got to color with my Copic markers! The balloon stamps are from Papertrey Ink and I just cut them out and mounted them on some cute, cloud vellum paper (American Crafts), then embellished with cloud chipboard from Studio Calico.

Enjoy your day, hope it's sunny where you are!

Happy Easter

From our family to yours,

many blessings for a happy Easter!

Happy Birthday...

To me! It's my birthday today! Thought I would share a card I made over a month ago and never posted. I love the felt embellishments from Sassafrass on this one:

Short and sweet! Now I'm off to have my birthday!

March in a Nutshell...

The month of March seemed to fly by for me. It was busy to say the least. So, here we are on the first day of the new month... a few things to share before we head full steam into April:

Our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley had to have some surgery to remove a tumor. Sadly, he has cancer and we found out that the tumor will grow back quickly. He has nerve cancer and it's apparently a fast growing type. He is doing well now and isn't in any pain, so needless to say, this is going to be his best summer ever! I love that big, furry Mama's boy!

I am continuing with my running. Yesterday was the last leg of the Louisville Triple Crown with the Papa John's 10 miler. It was a tough race through a very hilly Iroquois Park, but I finished strong and my brother, Adam kept me going. I beat last years time by almost 20 minutes- that's HUGE!

April 28 will be the Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon. I'm ready... running has become a part of my life and a part of my schedule. In March alone, I have run over 68 miles! I will be training all summer long with super long miles on the weekends to prepare for the Columbus, OH Marathon in October. Here I am in my first Marathon in Chicago, an experience I will never forget. 

Mac participated in the St. Baldrick's head shaving/fund raiser again this year at his school. He raised $525 and went over his goal to fund research for childhood cancers. We are so proud of him and his tender heart makes all of us smile! Here's a before and after picture... no teeth and now, no hair!

Lastly, I got a part-time job. I was offered a position at Paper Source. I'm only working 1-2 days a week and I took the job because I felt like I needed to be around creative people. I gain inspiration and gather ideas every time I work! Not to mention a really great discount! ;)

So, it's been busy. My stationery business has also taken off quickly in 2012. Lots of new designs and I plan to have a 20% off discount code as soon as the Facebook fan page reaches 200. If you're on Facebook, click like on the Paper Doll Stationery page!

A Birthday Card

Lately, I have been making lots of birthday cards. I have been stock piling them for when I need a special card for a special someone! I have been using SRM birthday stickers to make my job a tad easier and Papertrey Ink dies to stick them on.

All put together on a couple layers of pretty paper! Here's a similar one with different colors:

Do you LOVE that music note paper from My Minds Eye? It's practically singing the birthday song for you! So, now I have a few birthday cards in my stash... I just hope I can remember to send them out! ;)

Papertrey Blog Hop!

Good afternoon, crafty person! Today is the Papertrey Ink blog hop! They provided us with a photo challenge, which I LOVE! One of my favorite colors is yellow, so this was a wonderful inspiration photo for me! 

Make something wonderful using that photo above?! No problem-o! It's so happy! So, this is what I made:

I used the new AC Dear Lizzy Neapolitan paper (the yellow polka dots), Maya Road ruffled ribbon, a scrap of silver glittery paper that I used a border punch on and the buttons, stamp, ink in Shadow, die cut and twine are all Papertrey Ink. The stamp was a complimentary exclusive stamp and I love it! I have used it so many times and it fits perfectly in that label die!

If you want to participate in the blog hop or just see all the creations to gain some inspiration, CLICK HERE. Have a happy Sunday, friends!

I did some scrappin'! I know you are surprised... it's been a while. This is Elan and some of his many hats. He loves hats, helmets, hoods, and plays the part when he has one on! I captured a picture or two for every season from last year and it was so fun to compare how much he has grown.

Supplies: White and Kraft cardstock, Smash polka dot tape, Studio Calico cloud chip shapes and Mister Huey in white, AC Dear Lizzy paper garland, Fiskars punch, SEI letter stickers, Chipboard letters, and

October Afternoon stickers and letters.

I hope to scrap some more very soon! I have pictures printed and everything! It's just finding a couple hours to make something wonderful! Hope you find some time this weekend to create.

Enjoy, and GO CARDS! ;)

Cards for Boys

Mornin', y'all. It's so beautiful here this morning! Spring has sprung! Just a quick share today, cards for boys! It's so easy to make pretty pink girly cards, but boy cards are a bit more challenging! Here are a couple I made fairly quickly:

I made this one for my nephew, Bo. He just started wearing big boy undies! I added treats and stickers inside the envelope for a little something extra. All kids love to get mail!

All stamps are from Papertrey Ink.

This one was for a new baby boy in the family. I just used scraps from my Echo Park kit, a few stickers and punched and inked the star before adhering with foam tape.

That's it! Get out and enjoy the weather! I'm running the St. Pat's Dash tonight and then heading over to a local Irish pub for my St. Patrick's Day "taper." He he...

Making Tile Coasters

Good morning, friends! Last week, I had a friend over and while we drank coffee, nibbled treats and chit-chatted, we made some tile coasters! It was so much fun and so easy! I made several sets at once to save for gifts. So, I'm going to show you my easy as 1-2-3 step process:

Gather your materials:

4.5 inch square tiles from Home Depot- $0.16 each!

1 jar of Mod Podge- we used the matte finish- $6.99

1 Can of Krylon Sealer to spray over the finished coasters

1 Bottle 3in1 Glue by Beacon

Sponge Brush

Pretty Scrapbook Paper

Felt (for the bottom of the coaster)

First, I decided what paper I wanted to use. Then, I got into my felt stash. I have so much felt that I was able to match my paper to the felt. I cut all my paper in 4.25 inch squares and then used my paper as a guide to cut my felt squares.

Then, I glued my felt to the bottom of each tile. Use your 3in1 craft glue for this part. 

After your felt is glued to the bottom of your tile, you're ready to adhere your pretty paper. Apply a coat of Mod Podge on top and then lay your paper on to adhere it. Smooth it out with your fingers and then add another coat of Mod Podge to the top and edges.

Once the first layer of Mod Podge is dry, add another coat and then repeat. You should do at least 3 coats of Mod Podge.

When you're finished with your last coat of Mod Podge and it's good and dry, take all your tiles outside and line them up. I put mine on our deck. I placed them very close together and then sprayed the Krylon sealer on them. I went back and forth a few times to make sure that I got them all real good. 

The spray finisher dries very quickly, about 30 minutes. Once the tiles are dry, you can stack them and package them any way you like. This is how I did mine:

Simply tied with beautiful satin ribbon in a coordinating color. This set was done with the owl paper and moss satin ribbon from Paper-Source.
This project did take some time, but I also made 7 sets of 4 coasters. So, if you plan to make a bunch as gifts, set aside a full day and do the process with a friend or while you have a bunch of laundry going! ;)
Enjoy your day!

Birthdays are Sweet!

Good morning! It's another beautiful day here... sunny and in the 60's! You can't beat that! I wanted to share another birthday card I made recently:

I used some leftover scraps of that cute banner paper, seam binding ribbon, SRM Stickers and Sassafrass felt embellies. It came together quickly- which I love.

I desperately want to do some scrapbooking, but my desk is such a mess that I can't spread out and work. Todays agenda is to clean it up! Hope you can get out and enjoy some of this day!

Send a Card & Feel Better...

I woke up this morning to snow flurries. Only in Louisville, KY can you have 70 degrees with tornadoes one day, and snow the next. We all escaped the tornado path here, but our friends up the road in Indiana weren't so lucky. My family has been devoting lots of prayers to the victims who lost homes, family, friends, animals and special belongings.

I recently visited my local Archiver's and saw the new Dear Lizzy line, Neapolitan. *LOVE.* Everything about it reminds me of spring and summer! I especially loved the 12x12 paper "twinkling lights" that is filled with empty jars. Those empties leave a lot of room for creativity! Here's a quick card I made:

Sentiment stamp, raspberry felt and twine: Papertrey Ink; strawberry card base: Paper-Source;

Background paper: K&Co., Sweet Nectar.

I think the watercolor effect on the jars is super cute! Looks like I added that... but didn't! Anyway, I think I will make a few more of these. They were easy, fun and sadly, we have several sick people in our lives right now. I think getting a card like this would brighten their day, don't you?

I encourage you to make/buy a card for someone that needs a boost. This person doesn't need to be sick, but choose someone that needs encouragement or a lift of happiness. Let someone know you care. Hugs!

Sweet and Simple

I whipped up this card last week so fast... it's sweet and it's simple. I love it when you let patterned paper do all the creative work for you!

I used a Martha Stewart doily as my backdrop for my crepe paper flower. The center buttons and seam binding tape are vintage. The sentiment is from Papertrey.

Cute for a springtime birthday!

Have a good weekend!

GROW

I haven't shared a layout in sooo long! I took these pictures of the kids while they played outside in the tree last August. When I saw the colorful tree paper from Little Yellow Bicycle in September, I knew exactly what I was going to do. Sadly, the paper and the photos sat on my desk until just yesterday.

I added some other papers, fringed the green to make it look like grass with my Martha Stewart scissors, and a Dear Lizzy glittered chipboard "grow." The little embellies next to the pictures are from Fancy Pants.

I always say how fast the kiddos are growing up. I want them to grow, but just a little s l o w e r. I miss the days where they just want to cuddle on a lap and read a book. Now, they play soccer together in the mud and have to strip down in the garage before even thinking of coming in the house. Anna reads to Elan and Mac is loosing all his teeth. Elan makes himself a snack without wanting any help and they all go on "path hiking" adventures together. I sit home and wait for someone that needs a hug or kiss... and I'm not ashamed to say that I bribe them with treats so they will sit and talk to me.

Grow on little buddies...

Hearts + Hugs

I love Valentine's Day. I think I love it because it's all pink and red with chocolate all over! Stephen thinks it's a made up holiday so Hallmark can make more money. I've been trying to change his mind for years. This year I made some fun heart garland that I tied on to my dining room chandelier. It turned out so cute!

The tulips? From Stephen? No... got them at Costco. They look so pretty and they were only $6!!! I just couldn't pass them up.

The dining room looked so nice that the kids decided to make their Valentine's in there. Mac just stuck stickers on the back of a sucker, but Anna and Elan went to town! Anna actually made all 28 of hers from start to finish. She decorated a glassine envelope and stuck a chocolate inside. Complete with hearts, jewels, polka dot stickers and a cute mini red clothespin. 

Elan did good just signing his name on 23 Valentines! In the process, he ate several pieces of chocolate.

This is the Valentine I made Stephen... It's very glittery. The plaid paper is from My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found" collection and I LOVE it! The "X" and "O" are covered in little red and white seed beads. Cute, huh?! 

And that concludes my Valentine decor/card/activity for the night. Have a good night. ;)