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...

No tricks... just treats!

Happy Halloween! Today, I wanted to share the last of my Halloween cards that I made...

This one is for my crafty niece, Kendall that loves *glitter*! The witch is covered in crystal glitter and her shoes are red. Kendall is also going to be a candy corn witch for Halloween, so "good little witch" was perfect!

These last two are just random... no one in mind and they didn't even get sent! Sheesh... I am bad at actually getting a card in the mail.

Hope you and all the little goblins out there have a happy, safe Halloween! I'll post a picture of my little creeps dressed up tomorrow! Anna's costume is a hoot! ;)

Cards, Cards, Cards!

I swear, I am being crafty and creating a lot, but since doing so, I haven't had time to post and share. So, today, I'm going to just go on and post 'em all! Woo-hoo! Let's get to it:

First, I'll start with birthday cards. This one was for my nephew, Graham. It was his very first birthday:

Next up, a belated birthday card. This one was for one of my oldest, dearest friends who lives in Chicago. I sent her a texty birthday wish the day of, but to bandage any possible hurt feelings, I also added a Starbucks gift card. ;)

Now, time for some friendly little creations. These cards were for some friends "just because."

Here's a thank you card, I love how this turned out...

And lastly, a baby congrats card. I had one dear friend tell me she is expecting and another had her baby! Yay! I love babies!

Most of my cards are created with scraps left over from scrapbooking. I love making cards because it takes little thinking, prepping and planning and they are finished quickly! I'm an instant gratification kind of girl. :)

Okay, now I'm off to run 8 miles with my running group. We reward ourselves with margaritas and tacos afterward. Ole!

With Sympathy...

Unfortunately, I've had to send a few sympathy cards in the last week. I got out my new Basic Grey Out of Print paper pad and used Paper Smooches Friendly Flowers stamp set. Added some ribbon, colored and paper pieced the flower and then used my Papertrey set for the sentiment. Easy, pretty, tasteful.  

 

I hope the recipients felt a little sun on their face when they got the card. It's always hard to lose someone you love...

A Weeks Worth...

Lots of fun stuff to share today... a weeks worth of news and creations!

It's been a whole seven days since my last post, and I apologize for that! It was so busy with the kids on spring break and I had a three days girls weekend! So, let me start the roll of events that happened:

I got a few new stamp sets in the mail. One from Papertrey and a couple from Paper Smooches. I love this monster and cute sentiment that I used from 2 sets of Paper Smooches stamps:

I taught Anna how to use my SLR camera. Of course her favorite photo op was of me chopping onions:

*Note: for those of you who have sensitive eyes and cry buckets when you chop onions, put on a pair of goggles. I keep them in the kitchen drawer. ;)

We made a trip to the Zoo, spent a day hiking, the kids saw the new movie "Hop," went fishing a couple of times, and had a few play dates:

We celebrated my sister-in-law's, my niece and my birthday:

And Mac finally lost his first tooth:

I'm pretty sure he holds the record for loosing his first tooth at such a late age... he's 8!

And last but certainly not least... I got word Friday night I am being *PUBLISHED* for the very first time in CARDS September 2011 issue!!! I am so excited. Persistence finally pays off. :) Thanks to those of you who really believed in me. You know who you are and I love you for it!

I have a TON of layouts, cards and a mini album that I did on my 3 day scrappin' trip with the girls. I just got back yesterday evening, so I haven't had a chance to photograph any of my projects. I will post them asap!

Anna's Creations

This past Monday, Anna was out of school. I asked her what she wanted to do. Her response? Make cards! So, we sat at my desk and started crafting. The two of us sat together and just rummaged through the scraps I had laying on my desk and in baggies that I had put aside. She want to make a couple birthday cards. This one is for my niece, Lucy, who will be 4 on April 4th. Lucy is having a "zoo animal" party, so this card is perfect! It was all part of Anna's plan! This one is for *me*... aren't I lucky!? My birthday is on April 6. She wouldn't let me see the inside, but didn't mind that I saw the front. ;)

This is the one I made. It's not as fantastic as Anna's cards, but I am still learning from her. ;)

And, even Elan joined in the card making fun, but I regret to inform you that I forgot to take a picture of his creation. His card is piled up with festive goodies!

So, if you would be kind enough, please leave Miss Anna (she is six) some crafty LOVE! She gets so giddy when people comment on her craftiness!

A few more rejects...

Moving right along with the head held high, in good spirit of rejection, here are a few more cards from the latest Paper Crafts submission call that weren't picked up. I can't remember which sketch I used to create these cards, but they were rejected! So, I will share them here, with you...

That's all for today... my morning was spent in a meeting and running errands, so I need to get some laundry done! Have a good afternoon!

Paper Smooches Cards!

Hello there! It's a rainy day... perfect for snuggling or crafting! I am working on an awesome project for a friend right now, I'll share more when it's done.

Today, I want to share two more cards I made for the Paper Smooches chance to be the guest design spot for April. Both the shamrock and the sentiment "lucky to have you" are *FREE!* They are digital images, so you can make them however big or small you want. Click here for your free images.

On this card, I used a scrap of printed transparency and I love how it added to the grid look: On this one, I colored the shamrock with Copics first, then added some green Stickles. I stamped "Good luck" in Smokey Shadow ink- both from Papertrey Ink.

If you have a chance to play along with the challenge... do! The images are super cute! And, if you get picked, you get 2 free stamp sets and 2 card templates! I just ordered my first set and I'm so excited!

Sweet Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! My day has been filled with play dates, cupcakes, sweet cards and maybe even some pretty bling. ;)

Just wanted to pop in quickly and share some of the Valentine's I made this year:

A pretty, pink collage of sweetness...
A simpler version, but still cute!
This one was for one of my niece's and I love how it turned out...And another for a baby niece... the colors are precious on this one...

I had so much fun making my Valentines, all 22 of them!

I hope you have a great day filled with sweets and surprises!

Cute Cards

Here are a few cute cards...

Anna made this one by herself:

The airplane paper is from Echo Park and I'm not gonna lie when I say my eye twitched a little when she used a piece, and the fabric kite is Martha Stewart. The sentiment is a Papertrey stamp. Anna continues to amaze me with her creativity! She LOVES to make cards and I totally encourage it... as long as she doesn't use my favorite papers... I suppose I'm gonna have to get over that because she likes the same stuff I do!

These are two quick ones that I made:

The sentiment stamps are Papertrey Ink and the curly swirl is American Crafts. I made the layered fabric flowers with some scraps my mom gave me and finished them off with a button center. Super easy to make... I have been getting into fabric lately... it's a nice change and a great compliment to paper!

I fear that school will be cancelling for another snow day tomorrow. We already have about 4 inches and it's still snowing. Good thing I got to the craft store today and got some new stuff to play with! You never know when you might be stuck inside for a few days! ;)

It's hip to be square!

Good morning! I thought I would start off the week with not one, but two cards! I made these square, which yes, they are more expensive to send, but the "wow" factor is worth it... especially if they are sent in a colored or decorated square envelope! So unexpected and fun!

This one is made with the new Echo Park papers. I got an entire pack of the "Little Boy" collection as a Christmas gift from my crafty friend, Sammye Jo. I have put a big dent in the pack already, so many cute papers. The squares are 1.5 inches each and placed in a quilt like pattern on a 5x5" square card. The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment is a mounted SRM sticker.

Same concept here, but the papers are from Basic Grey, the Eskimo Kisses line. I stuck the SRM sticker on to one of the plain squares, which worked out perfectly, as far as placement went!

My kids are off from school today for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, so we are off to the craft store to get Batman stickers for Mac's Pinewood Derby car and Anna wants to start on her Valentine's. Elan has informed me that he would like to hand out my Banana Chocolate Chip muffins for his Valentine's. Stephen thought that was a great idea! ;) We'll see... enjoy the day.

Happy Halloween!

Thought I would share a picture of my little goblins... These are a couple of cards I made last year, I still love the simple, vintage style. Sadly, all 8 that I made have sold.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

School Ends for Summer!

It's the end of the school year (Yay!) and I needed to make thank you cards for teachers and coaches! I made two of these cards for Mac's soccer coaches and, as a team, we added a gift card to a restaurant. I used SRM stickers with my papers and I love the look! I am not much of a sticker user, but these SRM stickers are awesome! They have a matte finish, so it looks like its been stamped. And the teacher card... more SRM stickers! I also used a strip of fabric to make the bow.

Mac's last day is Wednesday and we are all so excited... we are ready for summer! And then, Saturday, we are off to the beach! Have a great Memorial Day!

It's safe to say...

That I didn't get chosen as a "Stamping Royalty" finalist for Paper Crafts magazine. That's okay... I just may continue to try. Last year, in 2009, I made a New Years resolution, and it was to actually send in some creations (scrap layouts and cards) to try and be considered for publication. I wasn't successful in 2009, so the same resolution was made in 2010. I have tried... and still, no dice! Boo! So, I think it's safe to say, these items I sent in didn't get picked (yet) and so I will share them here, with you...

Thinking of you...Birthday...
Thank You...
Christmas/Season's Greetings...

Love...Have a fantastic evening, we are grilling out! I'll post my Christmas layout tomorrow...

Friday Fun

It's Friday... and I'm feelin' fine...
It was such a busy week with running around, doing errands, welcoming a new baby, and just settling back in after a scrap weekend away. It takes me a while to get back into the groove of things and not to mention catching up on laundry and cleaning house!
I have so many wonderful cards and layouts to share with you that I didn't know where to start, so I decided to do a little of both!
First, one of my favorite layouts from my trip was of Elan and Uncle Scotty. I love the grid of circles below the pictures, that idea/inspiration came from the 52 More Scrapbook Challenges by Elizabeth Kartchner, page 40 if you have it! :)


I punched circles out of some of my favorite papers and then used stickers, chipboard and ink to embellish.
Once the pictures and paper circles were in place, I doodled an edge around the border with a ink pen. This layout came together rather quickly! And I love how it turned out!

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Next up, a couple of cards I made last week to send out to some friends for the birthday treats they gave me. I am loving the color yellow right now. I made both cards with scraps! Gotta love that!

This flower is made from black crepe paper... isn't it cute? My friend Mindy made it!

Enjoy! Have a great weekend! I have a date tonight with Mr. Wonderful and this weekend Thunder Over Louisville kicks off the Derby festivities!