Flutter by atomicbutterfly

Welcome, Little Baby Girl!

2013-06-14T20:25:00.000-06:00

I thought I had better start sharing some of the designs I made for the card set I gave my friend last week. I still have quite a few more to share. I used a Mojo Monday sketch for this particular card. I also made a boy one using all of the same elements, except the paper colors and focal image. I will share that one with you later.

I really love paper piecing this sweet little carriage. I used pattern paper for the larger bits and then colored the rest. I added some glossy accents to the pattern paper for some shine.

The word "baby" was die-cut using one of the new dies from PTI. I can see myself using this one a lot. Of course, you all know I am obsessed with the rolled felt flowers, so I added two using two shades of pink. I had to add some bling to the carriage, flowers and the letter "o' in welcome. I had a lot of fun making this card. Thanks for fluttering by!

Flippin' out!

2013-06-13T17:50:00.001-06:00

My daughter is headed to a birthday party any minute now...as soon as I get this posted! LOL! Of course the birthday girl needed a card and I found some fun, summery gift bags at Dollar Tree the other day which inspired this design. I actually bought 3 different bags and made 3 cards to go with them. I will share the other designs later.

Last week's Make it Monday for PTI was to create a flagged border, which you can see I did here. I just used some scraps of left over paper and called it good! Of course, I am obsessed with adding a die-cut number if I know how old the recipient is, or if they aren't ashamed of me putting it on the front! LOL! I die-cut this one using pattern paper and then added some glossy accents over the top.

It has been a while since I used narrow grosgrain ribbon on a card, but it seemed to work nicely with this design since I had already used a lot of patterns and things on the border. I added some stickles to the hearts on the flip-flops, which I smeared! Ughh! I tried my best to clean it up, and truly it shows up more in the photo than in real life!

You can see part of the gift sack here. Fun and summery!Thanks for fluttering by!

Dad's Grand Slam Birthday

2013-06-11T14:21:00.000-06:00

I thought I would stick with the masculine card theme and show you the card I made for my husband's birthday which is today! Happy Birthday! I didn't think it was weird to have the word "Dad" at the top until I started to write my post. My dad passed away many years ago, so I never need to make a Father's Day card or Birthday card that would actually say "Dad". I do for my FIL, though. Anyway, my husband is just "
Dad" around these parts! LOL!

June is a busy month for us...my husband's birthday, Father's Day and our Anniversary! I guess I will be sharing more cards that I make for him as the month goes on. I was thrilled to use this newer PTI set called "7th inning stretch". I knew that with 4 boys it would come in handy, especially for coaches gifts, etc. My oldest decided not to play baseball this year, which is a first in a very long time, so I haven't been able to use it until now. My husband has been playing a baseball video game after the kids go to bed, so I thought he would enjoy the theme. It is funny, but I never like to spend a lot of time on the cards that my husband gets. I guess it is because I know what is going to happen to them. I am sure most of the cards that I make end up in the trash, but I don't have to actually see it or be the one doing it.

I chose the background paper because it was masculine and it reminded me of a baseball diamond. I love the colors, too. I have been trying to pull out my tremendous amounts of SU! paper and start using it. It has been so long since I have been a demonstrator that I can't even remember when half of the paper came out. If I like it, I am using it and I don't care how old it is.

Since I was making one card, it seemed silly not to make two and have one on hand. I changed it up just a little as you can see and I couldn't resist adding some felt ric-rac to the bottom. I hope I didn't make it girly! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I have quite a few projects to share with you. It seems so weird to have so much to share! I might make my goal of posting more than I did in 2010, too!

To Infinity and Beyond.....

2013-06-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

I thought I would step out of my girly card world and show you something a little more boyish! I *thought* I was done with the card set that I made for my friend, but I thought that it needed something perfect for a little boy. I still haven't posted all of them, but I am skipping to the end just to change things up. I have loved this little space set since it came out, but never bought it until recently.

As you can see as you look at this photo and the one above is that I changed the sentiment on the front for the two cards. I thought they were both cute and wanted to incorporate each of them. I was really wishing this set had a coordinating die set, but it doesn't so I had to hand cut the fire at the bottom. Poor me, right? LOL! The stars were stamped using the " Star Prints" set that I love and use all the time.

I colored everything using copics and added some "star dust" stickles here and there for some spacey sparkle! I actually have decorated the inside of every card, but didn't think to photograph them. Shame on me and now the gift has been delivered! They are out of my hands!

Well...everything is pretty straightforward so thanks for fluttering by!

Reverse Confetti June Blog Hop

2013-06-08T04:00:00.000-06:00

Hello June and Hello Reverse Confetti Fans! It’s the 8th of the month and that means it’s time for an creative Blog Hop from Reverse Confetti. Last month’s release was fantastic and today we are inspiring you with projects and cards using those stamps. We’ve also invited some extra friends that helped us launch the new company last month, to join in on the fun! Are you ready?

The hop started over on the Reverse Confetti blog, and you should have made it here from Amy K's blog. It would be worth your while to start at the beginning of the hop, so you don’t miss a thing. We have tons of inspiration for you to see using Reverse Confetti’s first 4 amazing stamp sets!

The card I created today uses Reverse Confetti's fun set called Dream In Color. You can see all of the fun images included in this set later on in my post. I had a lot of fun creating this card! I used the brand spankin' new SFYTT which you can check out on the Reverse Confetti blog!

I hope you’ve enjoyed hopping with us today. Be sure and hop with us on the 8th of EVERY MONTH for more REVERSE CONFETTI inspiration! Now it’s time to hop on over to Amy S's blog. If you get lost along the way, you can find the hop order and list of all the participating designers over on the Reverse Confetti blog. Celebrate the creative side of you!

Thanks for fluttering by!!!!

Let your dreams take flight

2013-06-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

I was asked if I had on hand or if I could make a graduation card for one of the girls at church. I knew I had something that would "work", but I wanted to make something perfect! I love this "Butterfly Dreams" set from PTI, but I never use the sentiments with it because they never seem to fit the theme I am working with. Yay for a graduation, right? I thought these two sentiments were perfect for a young girl with her future ahead of her. I actually don't own a graduation set, if you can believe it. I was only asked to make a card, but I never can resist making a 3-D project as well. I am glad I took the extra time.

I usually don't use the butterflies that require coloring which is strange because I love to color so much, but I did for this card to add some extra detail. I actually had a dream about a beautiful butterfly so maybe that inspired me. I colored them with copics and prismacolor markers and then added some stickles (surprise, surprise). When I started out making the card, I had originally wanted to use 3 butterflies, but space didn't permit, so it was great to have one already cut and colored for the box.

I used the leftover scraps from my "Bloom" banner which you can see on the title of my blog. I really love the unexpected mix of papers.

I hope she enjoys her card and knows how proud we are of her! Thanks for fluttering by!

Life is a beautiful ride!!

2013-06-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

As soon as I saw the new "Pedal Pushers" stamp set from PTI, I knew that it was an absolute "must have"! My daughter got a shirt for Easter with a bike on the front with a basket of flowers and how I wished I had a stamp just like it! Now I do, thanks to PTI! I swear Nichole reads my mind! LOL! Anyway, I haven't been able to put this set down since I have gotten it. I have made a PTA door prize, 3 thank you cards for friends, a teacher thank-you and these two cards. Yes...I am obsessed. I will share everything I made, too. Just give me time.

Of course, I had to get the coordinating dies, which I love because there are two different ones for the bike. You can have one that the wheels spin, pictured here, or you can just have it stationary. I love all of the different "fillers" for the basket as well. I used the flowers here, but you can see I used the presents in the last photo. I mentioned that while making this card set for my friend I was making two of every design. Some have the exact same sentiment, like the 2 I have posted previously, but these two cards, I changed it up. I found that I could make a more versatile set for my friend, while getting the cards done quickly.

I found this scrumptious paper from Pebbles at my LSS and fell in love. I want to use it on everything, but that would get boring, wouldn't it? It is super cute, though. I love the mix of prints and colors...perfect!!! I especially love the polka-dot clouds that I die-cut. I added some white ink to the edges to define them a bit better and then added stickles to every other polka dot for some added interest. You can't really tell from the photos, either.

Here you can see the birthday design. The packages are so cute stacked in the basket. I hope you all don't get bored to tears as I share the rest of my "Pedal Pushers" creations. I will space them out so they don't get too repetitive. Thanks for fluttering by!

A very happy birthday to YOU!

2013-06-04T10:03:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for your sweet comments yesterday! You are all so sweet! You made my day! I decided to share a quick, simple card I made last week. I decided that I better have a birthday card to give to my friend who is getting the card set. I decided not to make it too fancy so that she wouldn't wish that I had made more of that one for her set. LOL! It was quick to put together since I already had the base made from another project, which I will be sharing later. I used the new "Rosie Posie" stamp set and dies from PTI for a quick assembly.

It's funny how naked buttons don't bother me until I start editing my photos...then they look so sad and un-loved. I guess I need to start making a better effort to take the time to thread my buttons. I used to make sure they were always threaded, but I guess I have gotten lazy....or maybe just excited to get the project done!

I might make a little coordinating box for some treats or something. We will see. Her birthday is Thursday, but I am sure I can find time to get it done. If I do, I will share it since I will be sharing EVERYTHING from now on! LOL!

I added a little adhesive pearl to the center of the O in the word You for some added detail and some stickles to the outside of the flowers. I like adding fast details like this for some added punch, especially when the design is simple. Again, thanks for your support and sweet comments! Thanks for fluttering by!

Memorial Day "Thanks"

2013-06-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a little break from posting the cards from the card set that I have been working on and show you a little thank you card that I whipped up the other day for my In-Laws. We spent Memorial Day with them putting flowers on graves and then they treated us to lunch afterward. I wanted to let them know how much we appreciate them. I used the older "Let Freedom Ring" set from PTI that hasn't seen ink for a while and paired it with a sentiment from the brand new "Pedal Pushers". I have some other projects to show you with that new set, which I can't seem to put down, that I will share with you later.

I have been struggling a bit lately with how I am feeling about blogging. Sometimes I don't post things because I feel they aren't "blog worthy", but I decided to change my attitude and just post everything I make. Since I am not affiliated with any stamp companies or anything anymore,I don't quite know where I "fit" in the blog world, but I have realized that I enjoy creating so I may as well share it, even if it feels like no one is out there. I actually have enjoyed re-reading my blog because it has, in a way, become a scrapbook of all of the gift-giving and events that have taken place over the last few years. I have recorded things that didn't seem all that significant at the time, but as I re-read them, I realized that they were important and I had forgotten about them. So....with that being said, I am just going to post everything that I make and hope that it benefits someone, somewhere. Creating is therapy for me and I wouldn't be "me" without it, so I will just share a little bit of "me". Thanks for fluttering by!

Fabulous Birthday

2013-05-31T21:23:00.002-06:00

Here is the 2nd design in my card set. I was excited to use this set because I had just bought the coordinating dies. Baby button bits has been one of my favorites since it came out and I was super excited when the coordinating dies just came out in May! I love this cupcake image and use it quite a bit either for baby or for birthday.

If any of you were keeping up with my last set of cards I made a few months back, you might remember that I said that I used old sketches to keep things moving along. I did the same thing with this set and this is a semi-recent Mojo Monday sketch.

Rather than add a button on top, like the stamp set suggests, I used a rolled felt rose. If you haven't noticed...I am just a little bit obsessed. I added a little pearl to the center for some added interest as well as some glitter on the icing of the cupcake. I paper pieced the cupcake liner which is one of my favorite things to do with this particular image.

The finishing touches are some ribbon folded in half with a button and twine cinching it in half. I also used the new label and die from the Boutique collection from PTI. The coordinating phrases are for baby, but this birthday sentiment worked just as well. A button and stitching at the top finished it off! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. When my husband saw this card he mentioned that it looked like it was for a juvenile girl, but I had intended it to be for any female. You will have to let me know what you think.

So Grateful for You!

2013-05-30T19:41:00.003-06:00

I have been super busy working on lots of cards that I am excited to share with you. I decided last week to make a set of cards for one of my friends for her birthday. This is the first one that I made. I actually made two of each design. I ordered Lovely Layers from PTI with the coordinating dies so I was anxious to start using it. I can tell that it is going to be well used/loved.

I also used the new boutique borders die cut for the sentiment panel. It was originally made for the coordinating baby sentiments, but this one fit nicely, too. I loved creating all of the different layers for the focal piece...I guess that is why it is called Lovely Layers! LOL!

No card set would be complete without a thank you, so that is what I started out with first. I actually thought her birthday was this week, so I scrambled to get these done, but now that I know I have another week, I might make more. There are 20 cards in all, so I am excited to share them all with you. I can't tell you how nice it is to create every day!!! It is great therapy for me! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I just read on FB today that Jen DelMuro is bringing SFYTT back on her Reverse Confetti blog starting this weekend! I am so excited. Her sketches are amazing and have been some of my faves since forever!!! Can you guess where I will be?

P.S.S. I have officially posted more than I did in 2012 and 2011! Let's see if I can outpost 2010!

With Gratitude

2013-05-21T09:11:00.000-06:00

I needed to make 6 thank you cards for a fun reason the other day, which I will tell you about at the end. I have been just a little bit obsessed with the "frame" series of stamps and diecuts from PTI lately. I have used them on quite a few projects and these were no exception.

I am also obsessed with felt rolled flowers as well. Thank goodness for My Favorite Things and their fabulous dies. I was trying to keep things simple since I was making six and all in all they look simple, but they ended up taking more time than I had thought. The sentiment stamp is not from the same frame set as the actual frame. I mixed and matched and I can't remember which frame # they are.

Again, my photos are horrible and I don't know how to fix it. So...I will get started with my story. First of all, I forgot to announce here that we are expecting another BOY! I will admit that I was hoping for a girl SO BAD!!!! Everyone knew it, too. So, when we found out we were expecting a boy one of my sweet friends threw a surprise "3 Amigos" Fiesta. Now, really I will have 4 Amigos, but since the last three are boys, she went with that, which I think is super cute! The guests were supposed to bring gifts for me and not for baby. It was a fun night to chat and laugh! So...I needed thank you cards! There you have it! Thanks for fluttering by!

Bloom Banner

2013-05-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

I made a banner exactly like this one for my Mom for Mother's Day! I liked it so well, I sat down yesterday and made one for myself. I have a bench directly below the banner which is now empty, but I will hopefully have time today to "shop" my home to get things to decorate it.

I know that you are probably sick of me talking about how my photos look, but if you look at my blog title photo and then scroll down to the post photo, you can totally see the difference. The two photos are exactly the same! If anyone knows how I can get this fixed, please let me know! It would be greatly appreciated!!!!
I used some butterfly die-cuts from PTI as well as the coordinating stamp set "Butterfly Dreams" for this banner. You all know how much I love using black butterflies! LOL! Each accordion medallion has some stardust stickles added to the edges for some sparkle and shine.

When letter doesn't completely cover the center of the accordion medallion, I am always looking for a fitting way to cover it up. In this case, I used some rolled felt flowers, which went nicely with the "bloom" theme.

The chipboard letters I used for this banner are from "The Paper Studio" found at Hobby Lobby. They were bare, so I used some SU! craft ink and a sponge dauber to turn them green. I also didn't have a spare "O" on hand since I made one for my mom, so I just turned a Q into and O! I find myself needing to do that a lot!

I made a large felt flower for either end of the banner. This is a detail that I did not add to my Mom's banner, but I will ask her if she wants me to make some for her. I am only "slightly" obsessed with all of the great 3-D flower dies that "My Favorite Things" carries! I only wish I would have bought them sooner! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I posted a baby ensemble HERE if you are interested!

My heart is always with you....Mom!

2013-05-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

I decided to get a head start on the two Mother's Day cards that I need. I have been using this set quite a bit lately for some different projects that I have been working on and I knew that I could make it work for a Mother's Day design as well. I absolutely adore the little house image and coordinating die. Just the sentiment alone would never give it away that it is for a Mom, so I added the die-cut letters using a felt rolled rose as the "o". I thought it was super cute if I do say so myself. I added a little pearl to the center. I think Mother's Day and pearls just go hand in hand. The letters were die-cut using pattern paper, adhered to a second sheet of white cardstock that had also been die-cut and then I added glossy accents to the top.

I haven't really been getting too fancy with my layouts...I am thinking I need to participate in some sketch challenges a little more often. They always help me to get out of my rut. Once I had the house die-cut and stamped, I added it to a circle with the grass and flowers all stamped out. You can't tell from the photo, but there is a little dot of stardust stickles in the center of each flower.

I also stamped a little sentiment on the inside of the card, but I didn't photograph it. The final touch was some ribbon with the butterfly attached. I added some more pearls to the butterfly. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I hope my mom doesn't stop by here before Sunday!

Here comes baby in the baby carriage!

2013-05-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

ETA: The baby carriage is from the Papertrey Ink set "Bitty Baby Blessings" and it also has a coordinating die.I have been working on two baby gifts this week and I was sick of sewing, so I sat down to make the coordinating cards. I made two identical cards, but obviously just photographed the one. I happened to have a Mojo Monday sketch all printed out and waiting for me to try, so I used it. I used some super old SU! paper for this design because it coordinated nicely with the fabrics I am using. It's always nice to use up old stuff!

I die-cut the carriage and then paper pieced the striped paper. Once that was done, I colored the rest of the image using my Copic markers. I added some glossy accents to the bottom striped part of the carriage. The finishing touch was to add some adhesive pearls to the handle and hinge. I wanted to keep it sweet and feminine.

I made some rolled roses that I die-cut out of felt as well as the ric-rac at the bottom. I had alot of fun putting these cards together and hopefully I will get the rest of the items made for the gift ensemble. I have to have both of them done by Friday. Thanks for fluttering by!

Reverse Confetti Release Blog Hop

2013-05-08T10:08:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it’s finally here?!! It’s the day you’ve all been waiting for—REVERSE CONFETTI’S VERY FIRST Release Day is today! To get things started, we invite YOU to hop along with the Confetti Crew and a few other talented stampers that are helping us launch this fabulous new stamp company! You can check it out HERE

The hop started over on the Reverse Confetti blog, and you should have made it here from Dawn's blog. It would be worth your while to start at the beginning of the hop, so you don’t miss a thing. We have tons of inspiration for you to see using Reverse Confetti’s first 4 brand new stamp sets! The whole list of hoppers can be found HERE

I hope you’ve enjoyed hopping with us today. Be sure and hop with us on the 8th of EVERY MONTH for more REVERSE CONFETTI inspiration! Now it’s time to hop on over to Laurie's blog. If you get lost along the way, you can find the hop order and list of all the participating designers over on the Reverse Confetti blog. Celebrate the creative side of you! Thanks for fluttering by!

Dream In Color Sneak Peek

2013-05-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

Hello and Welcome! I was super excited when Jen asked me to be a part of launching her new stamp company "Reverse Confetti! You can check it out HERE. You can see all of the other designer who are helping to launch this set!I am excited to share two projects that I made using one of the new sets called "Dream In Color"! It is a great, versatile set and perfect for anyone who loves to use COLOR!!! I will admit that when I first received the set and it didn't have any "pictures"...I was worried! Those worries were quickly put to rest as soon as my mind started churning idea after idea and then I couldn't stop! That is why I decided to share two projects with you today, rather than just one! I must be excited...all of my sentences have ended with exclamation points! LOL!

First of all, I am in love with this quote. It is great....so versatile and so true. I channeled my inner hippie for this one. I didn't intend for it to head in such a hippie direction, but that is where it ended up and I don't mind at all. Both of my projects today incorporate butterflies. I guess I just link color, rainbows and butterflies together. The main inspiration for this particular design came from "Gossip Girl". Go figure, right? Anyway...Serena's head board in the show had a cluster of butterflies flying away from a circle. I have been wanting to incorporate this into a design for years, but never did it....until now! I think the task seemed a little daunting to have to use so many butterflies, but in the end it was quite gratifying and not hard at all. The hardest part was that my punch was on the fritz and I got an abdominal workout while trying to punch! Hopefully the baby didn't mind! LOL!

Once I was finished adhering all of the butterflies, it still didn't have quite the impact I was aiming for so I got out my old color spritzing tool...which I have been using alot lately, by the way....and sprayed ink in all of the different colors over those particular butterflies. I then added some stickles to the middle of some of the butterflies. I love adding gems, but I would have had to use quite a few and you all know, there's a hoarder in me....deep down!!!! Well...maybe not that deep! It still gave it the sparkle and shine I was after. I stamped the word color on the side strip of pattern paper. I also added some stickles here. I guess I am not a hippie after all.

For my next project, I decided to go in a "safer" direction...at least safe for me. I stayed true to the design elements that I use a lot. During my "brainstorming" I had this idea to stamp onto a butterfly, but also have the same image underneath. I didn't know how well this would work and not have it look too off kilter. I was really pleased with the results. I did end up adding some distress ink the the edges of the butterfly to make it stand out a little bit more.

I also added some stickles to every other letter starting with the letter c. I colored the letters using Copic markers and then used my color spritzing tool to add even more color. I told you I have been using it a lot lately. I found all of the pattern papers at Hobby Lobby and are a mix...they weren't part of a collection. The felt border at the top was stitched in place using a sewing machine for some added interest. I broke up the sentiment into three parts. I really like this sentiment! This truly is a really fun stamp set to work with.

We have a little something for YOU! Leave a comment on my post today for your chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate to REVERSE CONFETTI! You have until 1 pm EST on May 7th to leave a comment. (Only one comment per blog per day, please!). The winner will be randomly chosen from all the DT blogs and Sneak Peeks for May 5-7th and announced on the Reverse Confetti blog at 5 pm EST on May 7th. Good Luck!!

Wishing you rainbows and sunshine!

2013-05-03T11:20:00.003-06:00

I still haven't figured out why my photos look so blurry and washed out on Blogger. So sorry! It is frustrating me SOOOOOOmuch!!!! This isn't how they look when I am editing them!!!!My sweet niece is celebrating her 8th birthday tomorrow! I knew I wanted to incorporate a "rainbow" theme into her card, so "Up, Up and Away" was the perfect stamp set to start with. I have never actually used the rainbow image from this set, so it was fun to get it inky. Because the rainbow only had four stripes, I knew that I would need to incorporate the rest of the colors of the rainbow using the hot air balloons. These darling images are some of my favorite to work with and I have been using them quite a bit lately.

Of course they needed to have some Diamond Stickles to really make them sparkle. I also added some to the clouds for some fun dimension and shine. The felt border at the top, the number eight and the rolled rose were all die-cut using felt. I liked the eyelet border at the top because I thought that it looked like a whole bunch of 8s on their sides! LOL!

She isn't super girly so I didn't want to add too much pink or too many flowers, but no girl can resist a little sparkle now and then, right? I had to add some rhinestone gems for some extra detail! I hope she likes it...I enjoyed making it! Thanks for fluttering by!

"You are wonderful" & "Plant a seed"

2013-04-30T12:59:00.000-06:00

I am in charge of the door prize at our PTA meetings. I have been a slacker and haven't done it the last two months! I decided to make the one for our meeting tomorrow, plus the two I missed. The one for tomorrow is further down and these are the other two. I really love using this pillow box die from PTI. It is just the right size for favors or little gifts and even better for gift cards!

These little boxes were die-cut using some old SU! paper that I have had, but worked nicely with the color scheme I was going for. I actually made the other box (the one further down) first, so I wanted to tie the colors all together. I made the rolled roses using a My Favorite Things die-cut. I am obsessed with these! I also added some punched butterflies for some added interest. I love the little quote and I think it works well to give to someone who volunteers their time and efforts with the PTA.

I was really struggling to get a good photo of this box. The light is funky today and I am too impatient to wait for the "right" light and I need to give it away tomorrow. I tried to take a few more pictures so you could see each of the different aspects. The box is a simple open-ended box with a cello bag filled with chocolate and a coordinating tag. When I first got this stamp set last year I was in love and then when they made the coordinating dies I was even more thrilled. I haven't used it since last fall, but with Spring in full bloom, I was itching to use it!

For the tag, I used the gardening gloves and tool, and another rolled rose. I told you I was obsessed. I really like this quote and I thought it was especially fitting to give to someone in the PTA. I added some sparkle using Diamond Stickles, one of my favorites!

Here is a little better view of the front of the box, not perfect, but better. I used the seed packet die-cut that coordinates with this stamp set. Again, another rolled rose with a gem in the center. I had a lot of fun putting these boxes together. I hope the ladies like them! We find out what we are having on Thursday! I am so excited! I will share with you when I find out! Thanks for fluttering by!

Sweet Little "Bunny"

2013-04-25T06:30:00.000-06:00

I spent the afternoon working on a little baby girl gift ensemble that my sister asked me to make for a co-worker of hers. She only asked me to make some shoes, but I couldn't help making a matching bib and headband. Once I was done with that, I thought she might like a card to go with it as well. She really likes buying Hallmark cards, so maybe she won't use it, but I had fun making it. If she doesn't need it, I will happily add it to my stash. You can check out the baby ensemble HERE.

This little bunny is the ultimate "paper pieced" creation I have made in a while. Each section is pieced with a different pattern. I couldn't resist adding some pink "flower soft" flocking to the tail and nose. Once I was done getting it all pieced, I added some glossy accents to the ear portion for some extra dimension and shine. The flowers were made using some of my recently purchased 3-D rolled flower die cuts from My Favorite Things. I have added them to a few projects recently, but nothing that I can show you right now. I was also thrilled to use this button! Do you ever have buttons that have words on them that you pick out, but the words aren't fitting for the card? I liked how this one fit with the baby card.

My last addition, which turned out to be a regret was the die-cut felt ric-rac. I sewed it on CROOKED!!!!! GRRRR! Do you know how mad I was? I was all done and decided that it needed a bit of stitching! I usually sew quite straight, but not today! Thanks for fluttering by!

Secretary "Thanks"

2013-04-24T10:35:00.004-06:00

Just a quick little post to share with you today! Yesterday I glanced at the calendar as I was passing by and noticed that today is "Administrative Professionals Day" or in other words; Secretaries! I decided to whip something up for my daughter to give to the school secretaries today. I used the PTI pillow box die, apple die and frame die. I can't live without my dies! They make life so easy! Part of me really didn't want to go for a traditional school theme, but use flowers or something instead, but in the end I realized that I have such few chances to use the "school" stuff that I should go with that! The apples were stamped with Pure Poppy ink and the leaves in Simply Chartreuse. I chose black for the frame to kind of give it a "Mary Engelbreit" feel. I chose three ribbons because I couldn't choose just one. I made six, so there was two of each ribbon.

I really like the "Teach and Inspire" stamp set because there are sentiments in there that aren't just for the teacher, like this one for example. I put a package of cinnamon trident gum in each pillow box to coordinate with the colors. Just something quick, but I hope that you enjoyed them! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. Something funny....when my son saw the pillow boxes without the tags, he asked why I made something for the school secretaries out of empty toilet paper rolls! LOL!

Enjoy the Ride!

2013-04-18T12:29:00.001-06:00

Emma is off to a birthday party, but before she went I needed to make a card! Yes...I know I have a nice stash to pick from...finally, but I wanted to make one to match the gift bag we put the gift in! It was so cute and I loved the color combo. I had time, so I got to work. I have decided that I will only use the cards in my stash if I don't have time to make one. I have loved the PTI set "Everyday Button Bits" since it came out, but I have never used the bike image! Shame on me! I have wanted to, but it never "worked out". The gift bag had a really cute bike on the front, almost exactly like this one; it was perfect. I love it when I have the "perfect" stamp!

I did struggle trying to find the right buttons for the wheels. I was too caught up in finding two that matched. I ended up using two "specialty" buttons that were both feminine and fun! I really like the one in the front; it seems like it was made to go. I was originally planning on using the "Enjoy the Ride" sentiment that comes with the "Everyday Button Bits" set, but as I looked at the sentiments included in this new birthday set, I realized that this one would be perfect!!!!

The birthday girl is ten today, so I die-cut the numbers out of pattern paper and added some glossy accents to make them shine. I added a flower and trimmed the sentiment to fit over the numbers. The bottom panel is embossed using a cuttlebug embossing folder for some extra dimension and texture. The final touch was a piece of felt ric-rac that I die-cut as well. I am happy with the end result and hope that the birthday girl likes it, too! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I still have the last card in my card set to share with you.

{From little acorns...} teacher gift

2013-04-08T11:06:00.004-06:00

Before I start, I just have to mention that I have already done more blog posts this year than I did in ALL of 2012. That is really sad! I am glad to be back blogging again! Okay...enough with that. I know that the end of the school year isn't for a few more months, but I know it will sneak up on me faster than I can blink. I decided to get started early. I actually may give this to Emma's teacher when she goes back on track (we have year round school). I usually make all kinds of fun seasonal things to give to my kid's teachers, but she hasn't gotten anything handmade all year!

I fell in love with this teacher set from PTI when it came out and purchased it immediately. It has been sitting unopened since. I was glad to get it out and start playing with it. I actually used a lot of images from the set. I tried to lay it out in a way that I could use a lot, but not get too cluttery. All of the paper is old Scenic Route paper that I have loved using in the past. I only had a few scraps left, so I put it to good use.

The banner piece that says "begins" was stamped separately and then cut out and adhered using foam squares. I applied some glossy accents to it as well as the pencil. The apple images were giving me trouble...my Pure Poppy inkpad must need some ink refill on it, but they are out at PTI. I decided in the end that it just kind of makes it look like the "shine" on the apple. Right? Or am I just trying to make myself feel better?

The box is one of my favorite to make. I have been using this same template for years. It closes with velcro dots, so the recipient doesn't have to "un-do" anything.

It must be my pregnancy hormones or something, because every time I read this quote, I cry! Go figure! I guess I just think how much our little ones need us and good teachers. I had fun creating this little ensemble and has inspired me to get going on little gifts for the principal, librarian, etc. Thanks for fluttering by!

Lily of the Valley "Thank You"

2013-04-05T08:51:00.001-06:00

Before I show you the last card design in the set, I decided to show you the quick little box I made yesterday for a friend. We had the opportunity to take our girls to the dress rehearsal of Ballet West's upcoming performance of the ballet "Jewels". She drove so I wanted to give her a little "thank you".

When I was shopping for paper for my card sets, I came across this beautiful paper from Graphic 45. I was going to incorporate it into a card, but it never happened. I had really been itching to use it and it worked very nicely on this box. The papers are from the Secret Garden collection and perfect for Spring!

There isn't any actual stamping on this project, even though I would love to take credit for coloring the beautiful image. I did add some diamond stickles all around the border as well as on the flowers. I also made a tiny felt rosette to add with the cluster of buttons on the bottom. I die-cut so much felt ricrac while I was making my cards, that I had quite a bit of felt left over so I thought I would put it to good use and make a rosette. The center pearl is just an adhesive one that fit perfectly.

Whenever I give little gifts like this, the recipient is always wary of "ruining" it by undoing the bow. I have learned to make things simple by attaching the ribbon to the inside of the box top and then tying the bow on top. I attached the main image to the top as well, that way she only needs to slide the lid off. You can see what I mean in the photo below. On a side note, I took some time the other day to revisit my earliest blog posts. Not only was it fun to take a stroll down memory lane, but I realized that I no longer use some of my favorite sets. I decided to venture to my storage under the stairs and find some of them. Hopefully I won't bore you with using old SU! sets, but I love them. Thanks for fluttering by!

Sweet Little Baby

2013-04-03T15:10:00.004-06:00

Well, they're done! I have all of the cards made, packaged and delivered to my friend! I am feeling really good about my accomplishment; and the best part of all of it....I have 20 cards of my OWN all ready to go! Do you know how long it has been since I have had such a large stash of cards to pick from? Well...it's been a while! I will admit that I was really losing steam toward the end. I had intentionally left the baby cards until the end because they are some of my favorite to make. Big mistake....I just wanted to be done!

As you can see, I didn't make the boy and girl design exactly the same. I made the girl one with a little more detail. That's just kindof how girls are, huh? Simple boys...complicated girls. Anyway...I used the coordinating die cuts with this stamp set as I have with every other card. Die-cuts to the rescue! I just recently bought this set even though it is an older PTI set. I have always wanted it, but never ended up by getting it. I can't tell you how many times it has been in my "cart" but always gets removed.

The papers for both cards are from a super old My Mind's Eye slab that I got on clearance years ago at Hobby Lobby. I don't know what I will do when the papers are all gone! I hadn't printed out any more sketches, so I just used a simple design. The little elephant was diecut out of white, but then I paper pieced it with coordinating paper so that I didn't have to color it.

The baby boy card is pretty simple, but I think it is cute. I used copic markers to color the sailboat since it was small. I was tempted to paper piece this as well, but I think the pattern would have been lost in the small spaces.

A little tag, wool diecut ric-rac and buttons finish off the design. I can't believe I am done! I will share the last design with you later. It is the simplest of the bunch, but I had better share it anyway. I hope you all had a good Easter. Thanks for fluttering by!