Thursday, June 30, 2011

An unfinished Thursday.

Wow, can you believe it's the end of June already?  I've been busy getting things together for the party on Sunday and you know what comes after a party?  Thank you cards :)  I don't have them finished yet, but I wanted to share with you my process for making my most favorite, one layer thank yous, which can also double as fabulous note cards!

I saw these on Amy Rohl's blog at least a year ago, maybe two years ago and just fell in love with them!  I have used the same layout but changed the border punch and main image depending on my needs at the time.  You ready?


I started out by trimming my main piece of cardstock, in this case pink, to 4 1/4 by 5 1/2.  Then I trimmed my white cardstock to 4 1/4 by 5 1/4.


Next, I punch the edges of all of the white cardstock.  Then I cut out all of the banners with my Cuttlebug.  Now before I had my Papertrey Ink Double Ended Banner Die, I would cut these with my trimmer.  I would only angle one end :)  I just lay everything out like this to get a rough idea of what it's going to look like.  I'm getting excited... 

I'll be back tomorrow to show you guys the finished project!  What are you working on right now?  Any mass production projects like this? 

Have a great Thursday and I'll see you tomorrow!  Thanks for coming by today!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

CFC #8

Good morning!  How are you today?  I was able to make a card for Casual Fridays Challenge this week, click on the link for the details.  It was so much fun this week!  The challenge was to get edgy!  How fun is that?  I actually came up with the idea for this card while I was sitting in traffic.  I probably should have had my mind on the other cars, but summer means road construction on the highway here, which means a longer commute and that equals a mind wandering to crafting.  I can't help myself :)




This card makes me feel all happy and patriotic :)  especially with the upcoming holiday!
We're halfway through the week peeps!  Woo hoo!  Thanks for coming by today and I'll see you tomorrow! 

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Some little crafty extras!

It's Tuesday and I'm thrilled I made it through Monday.  I had a really busy day yesterday and you know how I feel so accomplished when I get through Monday, right?  So, I'm here on this Tuesday, already feeling very accomplished for the week :)

Today I have a couple of extra crafty things I wanted to share with you.  I helped out with my friendy neighbors Saturday morning and fixed up the ring bearer box and basket that held their programs.


This was the basket.  I used some of Leah's ribbon and just tied a couple of quick bows on each side of the handle to add a little something to dress up the basket.




The ring bearer box was one of those little paper mache boxes and Leah had already spray painted it silver, but she wanted it dressed up a bit more.  To the top I added a cream colored doily with, yes another, a kraft colored leaf and two felt butterflies.  I wrapped coral and apple green ribbon, compliments of Leah, around the outside of the box.

So, that's it for my little crafty extras today.  A couple of little simple projects for this Tuesday.  I was hoping to have a card for you today, but you know, sometimes a girl gets lazy ;) and wants to catch up on reality TV after a busy day.

Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you guys tomorrow!  Have a FUN Tuesday!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Just one more banner...

Hello fabulous Monday morning and hello fabulous bloggy friends!!!!  How are you today?  You know our friendy neighbors got married this weekend and I made those banners for them, right?  Right.  Well, Leah asked me to make a fourth banner, one that said Thank You, I think they were going to have their picture taken with it and have thank you cards made out of it?  Not sure about that though.  Anyway, I whipped her up a banner, lickety split!



Once again I busted out my Birthday Bash cartridge for the banner shapes, ovals this time, and used my Alphalicous cartridge for the letters cut at 5 1/2".  I strung the ovals on cream colored tulle and for a little something extra, I added a couple of spritzes of green tulle on each end of the banners.

Did you have a nice weekend?  We had the wedding on Saturday and it was just perfect...and amazing.  Nick and Leah are just the sweetest couple and we love them, so anything they would have done would have been great.  But, the four of us had such a great time, dancing, eating, talking with friends, it was a great night!  On Sunday, we spent the day getting things ready for Landry's birthday party next weekend.

That's about it for me.  Thanks so much for coming by today to see me!  I'll be back tomorrow with another little crafty somethin' :)  Have a FANTASTIC Monday! 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Bloggy Award!

So one of my WONDERFUL bloggy friends, TRACY over at Tracy's Treasures gifted my this blog award!






Now, there are a few rules with this yummy looking award..

1)  Send a thank you to the person who gave you the award (I left Tracy a comment on her blog   thanking her) and link their blog (her blog is linked above and if you haven't checked her blog out, GO THERE NOW, SHE IS AMAZING!)

2)  Answer 7 random facts about yourself.

3)  Pass this award out to 8 other blogs.

Okay here are my 7 random facts:

1)  I don't like to drive at night.
2)  I'm afraid of needles.
3)  I love to have people over for dinner.
4)  I don't have a best girlfriend.
5)  My best friend is my husband.
6)  I love to watch cooking shows, but would rather have my husband do the cooking :)
7) 

Okay, now to pass this on to eight blog friends!

Steph at Charming Paper Crafts
Vanessa at Delightfully Bright
Mary Pat at Siehled With a Kiss
Tammy at Your Memory Connection
Jamie at Wayward Girls' Crafts
MaryJo at Scrapbook Treehouse
Schell at Schell's Craft Corner
Amy at Abstracts Mixed with Extracts

Thanks again to Tracy for this wonderful award!  Baby, you're the greatest! 

Friday, June 24, 2011

Hostess Taggy

Happy Friday!  It's the big wedding weekend here and we couldn't be more excited about it!  The festivities started last night, but continue on tonight with the rehersal dinner which is being held at Nick's parents house.  I thought I would take them a bottle of wine and I made a little tag to attach around the neck of the bottle.


I have to say that I'm in a bit of a rut with those Papertrey Ink Turning a New Leaf Tag Dies.  I use them on EVERYTHING!!!!  They are so easy to roll out of my Cuttlebug and just tuck in here or there on a project.  I even use them naked, meaning I don't stamp the Turning a New Leaf stamp on top of the die, and I love them that way too!  This particular leaf, I dressed up a bit with a few pearls...isn't she pretty?  :)

Do you have big plans for your weekend?  Any pool time or picnics?  Whatever you do, be safe and have fun! Thanks so much for coming by today and I'll see you soon!!!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Birthday Invites

Thursday already?  Can you believe it?  I've been so busy that Landry's birthday has crept up on me!  Her actual birthday is on July 4th and we have lucked out the last few years and been able to have the party on the weekend.  This year we went back and forth about whether or not to have the party on the 4th or not.  Prior to Landry's birth :)  we would always have family over for the fourth that's why this has turned into such a discussion for us.  Anyway, we decided to have the party on Sunday, the third.  That way we can stay up late and any one who has to work on the fifth won't have to worry about it! 

My other decision I had to make was about color scheme.  I have made patriotic invites the last several years and this year I went a completely different direction.


I used my Birthday Bash cartridge and cut these at 7 1/4".  I layered the pink on top of the purple and added the white pom pom, marabou, and glittery 4 from Alphalicous.  On the back, I stamped all the details.  
Let me tell you what I learned about this project.  Marabou goes EVERYWHERE when you cut it!  I still have a huge mess to clean up!  :)

Have a great Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow with a little something I whipped up for a hostess gift.  Thanks for popping in today!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

CFC#7

Happy Wednesday folks!  I've been so busy the last couple of weeks with other projects I haven't been able to play along with any challenges.  Until last night!  I was able to whip up a card for the Casual Fridays Challenge!  This week the challenge was...




Here's my take on the challenge:


Ooooohhhh, I had so much fun making this card!  I punched out four squares, two kraft, two black, and alternated them on my white card base.  Then before I adhered them with foam squares, I rounded the corners of the two kraft squares.  I went back and punched out four butterflies, two kraft, two black and placed them on the opposite color square.  To finish it off, I added a little Hero Arts sentiment!

Stamps:  Hero Arts
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  PTI Stampers Select White, Hobby Lobby Kraft and Black
Other:  Marvy Uchida square punch, Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Okay I'm out for today!  Have the most pleasant of Wednesdays my friends.  As always, I appreciate you stopping by and I can't express to how much each and every comment means to me.  It puts a smile on my face and a skip in my step!  Ta ta for now!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Pillow box

Morning!  Last week I was browsing around the Internet when I ran into THIS over at the October Afternoon blog.  If you scroll down a bit you'll see the cutest little pillow box all decorated up!  I knew what I was getting my dad for Father's Day, I just wasn't sure what vessel I would be giving it to him in!  This pillow box idea was perfect! 

Here's my version of it...



I used my Stampin' Up! pillow box die and cut out kraft colored paper.  Then I stamped the wood grain pattern with brown ink, before I folded the box up.  All that was left to do was embellish!  I just love how this turned out! 

I hope you have a great Tuesday!  Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you back here tomorrow :)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Happy belated Father's Day

Good morning everyone!  Did you have a good weekend?  Mike was away and we enjoyed our girls weekend to the fullest!  But, he came home yesterday and fixed us dinner...for Father's Day!  Haha!  What a great dad!  :)

A few weeks ago I shared a little paper bag I decorated, not really sure what I was going to do with it.  I decided to make a Father's Day card out of it.


All I did was add "Dad" to the banner and adhere the whole bag to the black card base. I think I might make more of these little bags up.  I had so much fun creating this and then when it came time to make the card, it was so quick and easy...and we all know how much I love quick and easy!

For the inside of the card, I trimmed a piece of white cardstock and stamped a new stamp in black ink...


Isn't that sentiment PERFECT?  :)

I hope you have a wonderful Monday!  Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Banner Week, Day 5

Happy Friday everyone!  Here we are at the end of banner week.  Are you a little sad?  Haha!  I wanted to show you the last two banners I made. 





For this banner, Leah wanted just a tiny bit of embellishing.  I repeated three leaves, in different directions, and embellished the center of each one in a different way.








For this banner, Leah wanted a bit more more embellishing.  I cut out a bunch of different images from my Storybook cartridge, sprinkled glitter on some, added buttons, ribbon, pins, flowers and brads.  I added a little bit to each letter until I was satisfied with the way they looked.  This was the fun part for me!

Well that wraps up banner week for me.  Thanks for hanging out with me this week and checking out my banner making process :)

Do you have big plans this weekend?  It's a girls weekend here.  Mike is going to the lake for a bachelor party with our neighbor, the one who I made the banners for.  Not sure yet what the girls and I will do, but we'll make the most of it I'm sure.  Then on Sunday, Mike will be home and I'll head over to see my dad for a bit for Father's Day. 

Have a fabulous Friday my friends and I'll chat with you later!!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Banner Week, Day 4 and a finished banner!

Morning my dears!  I have a finished banner to share with you today.  Can you guess where this one will be displayed?  Haha!




If you missed my previous posts about my banner making process, I used the Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge for the circle bases and cut them at 7 3/4".  I used Alphalicous for the letters and cut them at 5".  I strung cream colored tulle through the holes in the circles and attached my green tulle pom poms in between each of the letters!  Voila, finished banner! 

Mike made it back safely from his work trip and my parents made it back safe from theirs.  So I'm a very happy girl today :)  I hope you have a GREAT Thursday and thank you so much for coming by to see me today!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Banner Week, Day 3

Hello there my friends.  Do you ever have a day that just wipes you out?  I had one of those yesterday.  :)  I had training for work and it was outside, in 90 degree heat, however there was a breeze which I was grateful for!  Mike was also out of town for work so by the time I got home I made the executive decision to order a pizza and have a picnic with the girls in the living room!  It was awesome.  The perfect way to end a tiresome day!

Today I have a little tutorial for you.  I wanted to share some tulle pom poms I made for one of the banners.


To get this baby rolling all you need is tulle, fabric scissors, a piece of 4x6 cardstock, wire and scissors that will cut wire.  Look, everything fits in your lap.  What a great project to work on while you're watching zombie movies, right Tracy?  ;)


 First thing you do is wrap your tulle around the cardstock.  My tulle was 6" wide and I wrapped it around the 4" side of the cardstock.

Pull the tulle off the cardstock, being careful not to unroll what you just wrapped up, and twist a piece of wire around the middle of your tulle.  Snip of any excess wire with your wire scissors.  You'll be left with a fabulous looking tulle bow tie :)

Next up, take your fabric scissors and cut through the folded ends of your bow tie.

 After, pull and fluff the layers of your tulle until you end up with something like this!  Isn't it adorable?  Almost as cute as my hubby over there.  Ha!


Here's another view of my tulle pom pom.  I can't wait to make more of these.  I'm picturing hair accessories!  What will you use YOUR pom poms for?

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow and see finished banner #1 and check out these pom poms in action!  Thanks for coming to see me today!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Banner Week, Day 2!

Good morning!!!!  I always feel so accomplished when I make it through Monday.  How about you?  ;)  Welcome back to day two of banner week!  Are you preparing of your materials and supplies for your banners?  Haha!  I love to use the Birthday Bash cartridge for my Cricut for all my banner needs.  It has a ton of banner shapes to choose from, which I love!

After I have all my shapes, mats and letters cut out.  I sit down and assemble everything.  This usually goes pretty easy, I just have to make sure that all the mats are facing the right way before I stick anything down.  This assures I won't have to RE-cut anything.  Ha!




Here's a picture of all three banners.  Now keep in mind, these are NOT FINISHED!!!!  These are just assembled :)


Be sure to join me tomorrow for a fun tutorial that I'm using as a banner embellishment!

Have a fantastic Tuesday friends and I'll see you here tomorrow.  Thank you so much for stopping by for a minute today :)

Monday, June 13, 2011

Banner Week!

Good morning everyone!  It's banner week here at the blog :)  Last week my friend/neighbor, neighbor/friend Leah asked me to make some banners for her upcoming wedding.  I thought I would share my banner making process with you this week.

I started by sketching out the three banners and making a list of ingredients BEFORE I went shopping.  That way I only bought what I needed.  Then I used scrap paper to make test cuts with my Cricut, so I wouldn't wasted my bee-u-tee-ful new paper once I started cutting. 

Here's a peek at my work space during my cutting spree!


It was a mess!  Isn't it great :)

I cut out all three banners and their mats along with all the letters and their mats.  This way, all of my cutting was done and I could clean up my area and assemble.

Here's a pic of the three different shapes for the three different banners.


This banner will say DRINKS


This banner will say GIFTS


And this banner will say Mr. & Mrs.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I'll have some more banner fun for you!

Did you all have a nice weekend?  We had beautiful weather here on Saturday and spent the whole day outside, on into the night with the neighbors.  The kids were running around playing, chasing lightening bugs and it's just one of the many reasons I love our neighborhood.  Sunday was spent on the motorcycle, crafting, doing laundry and relaxing a bit.  It was a wonderful weekend and I needed it to be because I have quite the week coming up this week!

I hope you have a wonderful Monday and I'll see you tomorrow!