just a couple of cards

Just a couple simple cards made with some fun Doodlebug papers & embellies. I love adding butterflies to cards. Heck, I love adding butterflies to all of my projects!

I spent nearly the entire day today hitting yard sales, working on some crafty stuff for both my etsy shop & a new shop in town. 

And when I got home I realized that Addie has a low grade fever. Poor thing has a stuffy nose, too. Bring on the teething! 

TGIF :)

birthday cards

I'm still sifting through the last of my boxes & trying to get organized. I still don't have phone or internet...looks like I won't have it til sometime next week (I hope). Oh, and our {brand new} microwave has been out for the last week...waiting on a part for that so it can be fixed. Never a dull moment!

But I managed to get a few birthday cards done. My card reserves are pretty low so I need to replenish.

Not much to these cards, pretty simple :) I used Noel Mignon's Mary Ellen kit for these.

I love that We R Memory Keepers tag that came in the last kit...perfect embellishment for a card. I also added a Jenni Bowlin pearl flower that came in a previous kit.

I added some butterflies to this card accented with stickles. I just love that lace ribbon!

I also love using double sided patterned paper for cards because not only the outside of the card is pretty but so is the inside!

And that's it! Happy Tuesday friends :)

a few cards

Whenever I'm scrappin' I always like to take a minute & create a card or 2 with either the papers I've been playing with or the leftover scraps.

I created these cards with the 6x6 paper pad from Jillibean Soup. Those pads of paper are perfect for card making because the pattern is printed smaller which looks so much nicer on cards & tags. If I really like a certain line of paper I'll usually try to pick up the smaller paper pad specifically for that reason.

These cards were pretty simple, mostly strips of paper, a border punch, some die cuts &/or stickers, a rhinestone or 2 (or buttons) and voila!

This last one I just picked up a new border punch (from Target of all places) and I immediately knew I wanted to use it for cards. Doesn't it make a pretty edge??

I also added some more of that twine...told you I loved it!

Happy Monday friends :)

cards from scraps - Noel Mignon challenge

I love taking leftover scraps & using them to make cards so this week's challenge over at Noel Mignon was right up my alley. 

The easiest way to make some cards from scraps is to simply take random strips & place them on the card along with some embellishments. I also added stitching around the outside.

I cut the transparency with a Papertrey Ink die (using my Sizzix) and backed it with another piece of patterned paper to make it stand out a bit more.


Here's another one from some scraps. I cut the card itself from patterned paper...love doing that with double sided paper.

Simply added some ribbon, used another Papertrey die along with some stamping & rhinestones.


For more info on the challenge, head over here.

ribbon butterflies (and using up those ribbon scraps)

I have a post up over at the Noel Mignon Tips & Techniques blog on how to make these cute ribbon butterfly embellishments. You can head over there for step by step instructions. They're super easy :) 

I made a small one for this card using a Stampin' Up! Sizzix butterfly die.

I added one of those Martha Stewart doily tags along with a stamped sentiment from Papertrey Ink. I have a few wedding cards to send out and the Truly Scrumptious papers fit my theme perfectly!

Then I made a larger butterfly & added it to a tag that will probably be used at some point for a gift bag.

Again, I used one of the doily tags. I'm addicted to those, I tell ya!

You can make whatever shape you want. You can use them to decorate cards, gift bags, whatever. You might remember I made one of the bigger ones last year to add to this decorated printers tray:

So use up those ribbon scraps :)

hi

Just popping in today with a quick card. I'm waiting on my blood test results today. Why do they make me wait so long?? hehe 

I love the journaling sprouts by Jillibean Soup. They're great for journaling & adding accents to cards, layouts & projects.

Again, I have to say, Pasta Fagioli is my new fave from them :)

For a supply list, click here.

First Communion party planning

I've mentioned before that my daughter's First Communion is next Sunday. Since I was making her invitations I wanted them to be pretty but not super fancy cause I just don't have that kind of time. 

Quite accidentally we fell into a color scheme for her party. About a month ago I bought some adorable fabrics at this cute little shop in town. I had decided it would be the dress Olivia could wear at her First Communion party that will be at our house after church. 

I have it just about done:

The only thing I have left to do is sew the buttons on the back and sew the hem. Isn't that fabric adorable?!! Just love it.

Then I saw these adorable cupcakes from Bakerella that I shared in a previous post:

Are you seeing a theme yet? Pink & brown. So I chose to make the invitations with that theme as well.

stamp set ~ Echoes of Kindness (Stampin' Up!)

ink ~ chocolate chip 

The invites measure 5"x5". I chose that size so I wouldn't have trouble getting all of the info on there and still leaving room at the top to put the ribbon. I found that cute polka dot ribbon at Michaels. By the way, that invitation is sitting on my new patio. Eeeek!! But that's for a different post :)

And no, that info on the invite is not our real address or church. I'm sure any of my friends who know where I live were probably looking at that going Whah??? I can't be sharing my address for all the internet to see...just in case someone decides to stalk me. You never know, it could happen!

Anyway, I stamped the flower and then not-so-perfectly colored with couple Copic markers. I wanted it to have kind of a watercolor look. I didn't do any shading because I didn't have another pink that looked good with my color ribbon.

I've also been working on her first communion dress. This is what my dining room table looked like the other day:

It's coming along nicely. I need to make an adjustment or 2 in the bodice before attaching it to the skirt. And boy, let me tell you, I am SO glad I looked at the measurements of this dress before cutting. This is the dress I'm making:

I'm making the sleeveless version in white silk with a pale pink sash. The previous dress I showed you (and the Easter dress I made for her) were both a size 10 which is pretty much the size she wears in dresses.

This pattern said she should be a size 14. Now, if you sew, you know that women's sizes are WAY off when it comes to patterns but kids' sizes are usually pretty close to what you'd buy in the store. But I still thought that was odd since the other ones were so close to her size. Do you know, I did a test run with a scrap piece of fabric and she did need the size 14 for the bodice! I cut the skirt length for a size 10 but everything else pretty much in the 14. 

So glad my sewing instructor told me to do the test run! When you're cutting silk you don't want to make too many mistakes!! Especially considering you bought the last of the silk that the one store in town carries. 

Anyway, back to the dress. Check out this cute beaded trim I'm going to be putting along the neckline.

It's a pretty simple dress so I wanted to add something special to it. I really hope it turns out nice. I'm sure it will. You know how it is, something this special you want to be perfect.

Oh, and one more party thing. I'm planning on making these cute pom poms for inside and out:

Except in pink, of course! Found the idea here. I originally was thinking of paper lanterns but could not find what I was looking for anywhere. Why is it that you see something all the time until the minute you actually need it?! Hmmmm....

That's how things are going in our house right now. It'll be a bit crazy around here til next weekend is over. But I'm so excited!

more Jillibean Soup

Yes, I have more Jillibean Soup projects to share :) I told you I got some fun goodies last weekend! Plus, I'm submitting my projects to their DT call. I know it's a long shot...there's a lot of great talent out there. And even though I don't think I have a huge shot of getting one of those coveted spots, I figure you can't get anything unless your try, right?! I still have a few projects I'm working on and then I can figure out which ones to send to JS.


Here's a few layouts I created:

As soon as I saw those cute piggies I knew what layout I wanted to do. We're always calling my daughter's guinea pig "little piggy" so it was fitting.

I cut out the little piggies and popped them up to add some dimension on the page. And since there wasn't much room for journaling I simply wrote around the outside of the layout...something I end up doing a lot since I don't really think about where I'm going to put journaling until the page is pretty much completed.

Another layout of my daughter. I actually took these pictures at the movies on Friday. We came out and it was pouring down rain. So while we were waiting for the rain to let up a little (so we wouldn't get totally drenched) I took some pics. They ended up being perfect for this layout.

Added some butterflies (so loving butterflies lately!) and the title and scallop circle were cut with my Silhouette.

And some cards...

The little birdie punch is from Stampin' Up.

I used a journaling sprout for the center, red scallops are punched with a circle scallop punch, and the 'thank you' stamp is Stampin' Up. 

This next card I used my new 'Everyday Button Bits' stamp set from Papertrey. I'd been eying that stamp set for a while...finally broke down and bought it :) The little cherries go great with that cherry paper.

Circle & scallop circle were cut with Spellbinders dies. I also used the Swiss Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder.


I also created a layout for their sketch challenge, so I'll share that tomorrow. Have a wonderful Sunday friends :)

jazzing up store bought cards

I think it's been nearly 5 years since I bought a greeting card from a store. Ever since I started stamping and creating my own I've just never needed to buy one. Plus, don't homemade cards look so pretty?! I love getting one in the mail. But recently I had to break down and buy some. I still have some lingering thank you notes that need to be mailed from when my daughter was in the hospital. Yep, a bit behind on a few. She made some and sent those out but we still have some people that need to be thanked. Normally I have a stash of cards where I can just grab what I need but those reserves are low as well. 

So I found this cute set of thank you cards on clearance at Target:

I love the bright colors. And I thought I could jazz them up a bit and not make them look so boring...all while saving time and getting these darn thank you notes out in the mail!!

So here's some of the cards I came up with:

(click on the image to enlarge) 

A little less borning, no? Some felt flowers, Primas, buttons, ribbon and you have some cute cards! 

Now, I would certainly prefer to send handmade cards but when you're in a pinch, these work just fine. And that pink ribbon?? My recent find and absolute fave right now. Isn't it pretty??

Well, we're headed off to Smokey Bones in a little bit so we can catch the Olympics ~ USA vs Canada for the gold in hockey. Go USA!!! 

Delightful Decorations

This is one of the cards that I worked on a couple weeks back. I've been waiting to play with this new stamp set (Delightful Decorations) for a while. When I originally ordered it I mistakenly ordered the spanish version. Aaaarrgghhh.... So I had to wait to send it back and get a new one. But I love that there's a matching punch for this set. Makes things a whoooole lot easier.

Other supplies used: Jillibean Soup papers, Martha Stewart punch

I used the snowflake embossing folder along with some baker's twine. And don't forget the stickles to make the snowflakes sparkle and some green crystals!

happy haunting

Happy Saturday :) I've been busying sewing a bunch of fall tote bags but I thought I'd drop in really quick and share a cute little Halloween card I made the other day.

I used a Sizzix scallop square die for the front along with some Halloween papers & Home is Where the Haunt Is stamp set (Stampin' Up). I used my circle & scallop circle Nestibilities for the haunted house and I used a pop dot for the moon to make it stand out a bit. 

At first I used a smaller circle punch for the moon but then realized I liked it better with a little white around the edge.

And that's it! Hope you're all having a wonderful fall weekend!