Sultry Summer

Its time once again for another stunning kit from Tidbitz In Time. Let me show you.... Sultry Summer

She is full of rich colors, jewels, tantalizing textures (tulle, velvet, satin, burlap like trims) and lovely laciness

Here are a few of the layouts I created using the kit

 This kit is beyond stunning and you get the fiull line of the delicious Basic Grey Indian Summer papers. Go check it out and see what the rest of the designers did here

A sexy lil Christmas card .... in July?

Last week while I was making a few Christmas projects for an upcoming design team blog hop. It got me in a bit of a Christmasy mood... and when I uncovered my sexy little christmas elf stamp I knew I had to make a card.

I have no idea who makes this darling little snow vixen. I know I bought her on ebay about 5 years ago. She is mounted (unlike most of my ebay finds) but there is nothing marked on the wood. She is one of my favorites.

I left her white because I imagine she as a snow faerie would be white. I thought about making her sparkly (but not vampire sparkly), but i couldnt find my sakura pen at the time. Isnt she cool?

and here is a close up picture. i doodled around the scallops and stamped image

I want to make a batch of cards with her! Im sure you'll be seeing her again soon.

Peek-a-boo

For a recent design team project I got to work with the super cute Peek-a-boo line from Kaisercraft now available at the thoughts2paper store. The cool thing about this line is that it is gender neutral. That pretty much makes it perfect for projects created before that precious lil baby gets here. Here are a few projects I created with this line.

Here is a layout of my sweet nephew Wyatt crashed out in my stroller.

Supplies used: Kaisercraft Peek-a-boo papers, Bazzil cardstock from the thoughts2paper store Other supplies: Basic Grey Obscure buttons, American Crafts foam thickers, ribbon(from my stash)

It also works well for a non-baby project. Here is a layout I created of my husband and I at the fair.

Supplies: Kaiser crafts peek-a-boo patterned papers, American Crafts Dear Lizzy Warble stamps, Krafts carsstock, cream lace, pop dots and misc buttons from the thoughts2paper store. Also used: American Crafts vinyl thickers, cosmo cricket tiny alphas, staz-on ink, hambly green graph transparency, sharpie ultra fine marker.

I also made this baby card using my scraps!

Supplies used: Kaisercraft Peek-a-boo papers, Bazzil cardstock from the thoughts2paper store Other supplies: Basic Grey Obscure buttons, American Crafts foam thickers, ribbon(from my stash), Marvy Uchida scallop circle punches 3" and 2.5", Fiskars large circle punch.

I hope you check out this line! It was so much fun to work with.

Birthday fun

Today is my nephew Tyler's birthday party. He is 5!! F*I*V*E! I cant believe he is that old. It seems like yesterday he was a little guy crab walking around.

I have been trying to figure out what to get him for his birthday. It should be easy... he loves games, cars, spongebob square pants, crafts... all kinds of things. Problem is he has everything and there is no way of knowing if its a repeat. I was out grocery shopping yesterday and they had all their summer fun toys on clearance for 90% off. I bought him a TON of stuff on the cheap! Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, paddleball, ball catchers, foam darts, a foam pellet type gun... all kinds of fun. I bought a 49 cent bucket and tossed everything in it...

Then I made a little taggie with some acrylic stamps and stuff from my scrap bag. I tied it to the bucket... here is a close up

The whole present cost me $6 for everything. He loved it! and had a SUPER birthday

My lil froggie

Im so glad the weekend is here. Not that weekends are drastically different around here or anything, but since this past week has been crazy Im looking forward to some downtime with my husband. It seems like every day this week has been something. Sometimes fun, sometimes not so fun.

On the downside i havent been able to get any creative me time all week which makes me cranky.... and Ive been to the Dr 3 times in the past 10 days.... and that makes me crankier.

On the upside Thursday night we went to a big family pool party for 5 summer birthdays. It was a blast! It was the first time that Aubrey got to play in a BIG pool. She squealed and laughed and kicked her legs like a little froggie. I cant believe how much fun she had. I really need to get her in mommy & me swim classes. I bet she'd love it!

Check her out in her cute lil suit.... nevermind her chubby mommy (hormone issues suck)

She also loved getting thrown into the air and daddy was happy to oblige. (check out her chunky thighs!!)

I did get a few things scrappy done last week Mostly design team projects that I cant reveal for awhile. Here is one a little card using Hero Arts stamps and leftovers from an old tallyscrapper kit

I havent been on a card kick since caardvarks but I made 6 last week . Maybe I'm getting my card mojo back :)

Have a happy Saturday :)

Crop hangover!

Im back from the crop! It was so much fun. We ate, we laughed, we cropped, we swapped, we shared flower tutorials and we went SHOPPING. I cannot wait to do it again. Kris needs to move to Ohio!!

Friday night late I made a few gift bags for the gals coming Saturday morning to be filled with scrappy goodies.  I snapped a quick pic in the crappy lighting of my mom's basement but you can at least see them here. Fingers crossed my mom got better photos with her SLR.

I used a bunch of cheapo (like 35 cents) red paper bags and the delicious Ala Carte line from American Crafts that I had to have 2 years ago (um because it's gorgeous)  I bought a TON of it. It matched the bag perfectly! I made the big ruffled flower.... and now Im addicted to them! I probably made 15 this weekend and showed the girls how to make them as well. I smell a tutorial coming soon!

But now its back to the everyday. I have another Dr's appointment tomorrow. Fun fun.... and in other news I found a super FUN swap site and I cant wait to play! Im a sucker for happiness in the mailbox.

Countdown to crop time!!

Happy Thursday! Only one more day until the Ohio tally rally. I cant wait to meet and scrap with Kris, Alicia, Ginny and Jill..... and of course my mom and my grandma. 3 days of cropping , shopping, movie watching, alcohol drinking, snack eating FUN!.Its not a total break.. I am taking the baby with me. I dont go many places without her really and since its an overnight trip she is coming along.

And here she is...... this is just a  simple layout of Miss Aubrey I created for Scrap that Baby prompt #7. I listed everything that I could think of that Aubrey LOVED at seven months. The stars are stamped on chipboard and covered in epoxy so they are super glossy. The flower is handmade using punches, newspaper and cardstock.

Speaking of Scrap that Baby.... we have a DESIGN TEAM call going on! Im looking for at least 4 more designers to round off my current team of fabulous ladies. Just a few more days left to send in your applications! You can also check out our current challenge... All around the nursery and win a kit from Scrappy Jo's

Dear Lizzy stamped ribbon tutorial

 I love to STAMP on my layouts! The other day I was playing around a bit with the incredibly cute American Crafts Dear Lizzy Warble stamps from the thoughts2paper store and I wanted to show you this quick and EASY way to make unique printed ribbons to use on your layouts or cards

Check out this close up view of my stamped heart ribbon.......

Want to make some?? Check out how to make some of your own!

You will need.....

Ribbons ( i used the ribbons that came with my AC baby kit)
Staz On ink
Acrylic Stamps
Clear block

1. Choose a stamp and stick your stamp to your acrylic block.  (stamp doesnt need to totally fit... experiment to make patterns you like)

2. Ink up your stamp with Staz On. Get it nice and inky

 3. Applying even pressure, press your stamp to your ribbon

 4. Repeat (probably shoulda cleaned up my painty table huh)

5. Use your unique printed ribbon on a layout

Supplies used: American Crafts Dear Lizzy Warble Stamps, American Crafts Baby kit, ZVA creative jewels and pearl strips, Staz On ink (black), Sharpie Ultra fine marker (black). Most supplies found in the Thoughts2Paper store

Presents

I have been having a bad week. I just havnet been feeling very well. Im pretty sure I am anemic.(I go to the Dr on Monday) Im tired ALL the time and have been having more than my fair share of migraine headaches.  Needless to say my house isnt as clean as it usually is and I have spent more time that I should have scrapping because well.... it just makes me feel better.

So Matt came home yesterday bearing gifts! He bought me these beautiful vibrant flowers and he bought Aubrey 2 different balls. One is gigantic and blue (like the one I lost in the lake while playing volleyball drunk), the other is smaller and pink. Here she is playing with her ball when she was up and hyper in the middle of the night (what is up with that!)

She is really loving playing with the balls.Its so funny to watch her chase them around the room and talk to them. I cant believe how big she is getting. Only a few more days until she is 9 months old.

The flowers did make me feel a little better (that and he let me take a 2 hour NAP!!) Im just pretty sick of  feeling crappy and I feel guilty when I dont get everything done I think I should. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. Tomorrow we are taking Aubrey going to the Olde Canal Days festival.  It should be a lot of fun!! Nothing like fair food and sunshine to take a girl feel a little better.(plus I dont have to make dinner so that is a bonus)

Have a happy saturday!

Playing with American Crafts Baby

Today is the day my first post goes up on the thoughts2paper blog! I am so excited that Liz asked me to be a part of the team. Her store carries all kinds of delicious scrappy goodies! You really must check it out!

I squealed with delight when I opened my box to discover this darling baby kit from American Crafts. I have wanted the kit ever since it went up as a prize on Scrap That Baby.

The kit contains 8 12x12 papers, 2 12x12 sheets of cardstock, a sheet of cute stickers, THICKERS, 6 cardstock photo mounts, 3 pieces of flair, and 3 pretty ribbons. The kit is currently available in the Thoughts2Paper store.

Here are 2 layouts I created with the kit:

I love Sunshine

Other supplies used include: Helmar 450 quick dry adhesive, Sassafras Lass flowers, Cosmo Cricket tiny alphas, 8x8 notched die cut, cardstock circle diecut, stazon ink(black), sharpie marker (black) and Dear Lizzy Acrylic Warble Stamps from the store

 
Green Green Grass

Other Supplies used include: American Crafts Dear Lizzy Warble Stamps, Fancy Pants Roadshow trims, prima essentials flowers, Maya Road chipboard flourish, sharpie markers black and lime green Most items available from the store

Around the yard....

Im so excited that my little herb garden seems to be sprouting! The basil and cilantro are growing strong. No sign of the mint. I also added thyme and oregano this afternoon so hopefully they pop their way through the dirt soon.

I LOVE cooking with fresh herbs but my store only sells them in the plastic packs from $2.89 each. I usually cant use the whole thing within the 5 days before they wilt so I end up with expensive waste. This way I can snip off what I need when I need it. I cant wait til they are bit enough to cut. I can just smell the tomato basil sauce and the fresh salsa with cilantro. (not to mention my beloved caprese salad)

The same day I planted the seeds (3 weeks ago) I noticed there was a birds nest on top of the light for the patio. I took Aubrey out and showed her and couldnt wait til we had baby birdies. I told my husband about the nest and he started to grumble. He actually pouted saying the birds would poop on the patio (like he cleans the patio or something) and told me he was getting rid of the nest. I threatened to kick his ass if there were eggs... so he checked first before getting rid of it.

Three days later I was back on the patio with Aubrey having lunch and I noticed this.....

another nest in the exact same place. Little Miss Birdy has been BUSY! Of course this time I didnt say a word to DH about the nest. He rarely goes out on the patio anyways and once the eggs appear he is STUCK. There is no WAY he would ever get rid of a nest with babies in it.

Yesterday I aimed my camera up over my head (since it is afterall on the spotlight) and snapped a quick pic and noticed this...

4 pretty little blue eggies!! I ran in and excited told dh who was less than thrilled but promised not to touch the nest. I cant wait until we have baby birdies!

I know its silly to be excited about a birds nest, but I had been an apartment dweller for over 10 years. Its been a LONG time since I had a yard of my own.

I also did some scrapping the other day. Here is my latest layout with pictures of my silly Lulu climbing up her toybox last month. I swear she will be walking any day

I used the KI Memories BLOOM line. I found it at Tuesday Morning a few weeks ago for $2.99! SCORE!
Happy Scrapping!