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!