Easter Morning

Easter morning, just waiting to get the okay to head down and see what the Easter Bunny brought this morning. Also, this is Peyton's latest furry friend, Tisket {She named her Tisket-a-Tasket!}

The Easter Bunny sure was tricky this year at hiding eggs! They were in plain site, but sooo hard to find them all!

Another egg found!

And the Grand Prize!

Mom, look at all the stuff inside!

Peyton, do you know just how beautiful you are :).

Hey, Mom, my Easter basket has my name on it!

Can you see the banner hanging from the basket handle? Love this punch from Stampin' Up!!

Here is the front view of the banner from the inside of the cellophane.

Easter Basket Supplies:

Paper Doilies - Wilton {found in the cake decorating section of Walmart}

Patterned Paper - American Crafts, October Afternoon, Stampin' Up!

Cardstock - Very Vanilla from Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Easter Memories, Letter It, Mixed Bunch from Stampin' Up!

Inks - Island Indigo, Soft Suede, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party from Stampin' Up!

Brads - copper, Everyday Elegance {Sale-A-Bration - butterfly brad} from Stampin' Up

Jewels - Basic Pearls from Stampin' Up!

Punches - Fancy Label, Blossom, Petite Pennant Builder, Small Heart, Itty Bitty Flower {4 Petal) all from Stampin' Up!

Other - Dimensionals foam adhesive from Stampin' Up!

Ribbon - Offray, All My Memories

Twine - Pool Party Bakers Twine from Stampin' Up!

I love the Easter Memories stamp set that Stampin' Up! came out with last year! The silhouette shape of the little girl with the Easter basket is my favorite image from it. When Easter was approaching this year, I knew I would be getting it out to decorate Peyton's Easter basket again. {I don't think I ever took pictures of the tag from last year's Easter basket.}

This year, Peyton kept seeing all the Easter baskets when we would go shopping and kept saying that she hoped the Easter Bunny would bring her one of those. I remember when I was a kid asking for the very same thing. I didn't realize that the one my mom put together was soooo much cooler! Well, now that I am experiencing it from the perspective of a mother, it gives me a whole new appreciation for the little things my mom did for me when I was a kid :).

I don't know what it is exactly about this time of year, but I get itchy for warm weather, and at the same time, I start to focus more so on vintage furniture and vintage inspired papers and such. Nothing says more to me about vintage than the paper from October Afternoon. I can't get enough of their papers!

Now that Picnic - the free photo editing site - is going away, I am excited to have discovered a new one, Pic Monkey. It's free and just as easy to use as Picnic! All the photo's that I have uploaded today are edited using that site. I really want to get more familiar with Photo Shop so I can start learning so many of the amazing edit options out there, but there is nothing like going to a web site to do photo editing. It makes it so simple and fast.

Alright, I am off to spend the rest of this beautiful day outside in the warm sunshine! It's about time :)

Stay crafty everyone!

Thank You Cards Bundle

Hi Everyone! I made these thank you cards a while back. They were a requested order. I think they turned out pretty cute. I love small cards, as I have said many times before. These cards are all made by Stampin' Up! And they have coordinating envelopes for each that fit perfectly. They are all retired cards, so you can't order these particular ones anymore. But they still do have some currently in their catalog.

Here are the ones I made:

Stampin' Up!; Cricut, Baker's Twine, October Afternoon

Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up, Cricut, May Arts, Target $1 Spot

Stampin' Up!; October Afternoon; My Mind's Eye; Cricut

These cards were all really simple and fun to make. My favorite turned out to be the button one. But I actually loved all of them.

I have Friday off this week, so 4 more working days, then 4 days off!!!

Hi TJ. This Post Is For You - Enjoy The Journey Together card

So as some of you know, I have my blog set up to post to Facebook anytime I post. Plus I also have a photo album on it specifically for my crafty projects. I was told today, by a friend that I work with if I keep posting crafty projects, then another friend of ours was going to block me from being his friend. So it is to TJ, that I dedicate this post to. I love ya TJ. But no worries. If you can't handle the crafting, so be it. : D

Back to the cards. It's that time again. Amber, Marci and I all got our Stampin' Up! orders, so here is what I made. I am so loving the Smooch Spritz from Stampin' Up! I got it in Vanilla this time, but I would love it in all of the colors. The one downside is that it is a smaller bottle. And mind you, I used it on almost all of the pieces to these cards. But making just the 3 of them, I went through half the bottle. Besides the Smooch Spritz from Stampin' Up! I also used Tattered Angels Coffee House spray. I am having a hard time being sparing with it. It sprays a lot and so on small pieces, it goes on really thick. I am learning to be better with it though.

Once Marci and Amber get their projects finished, I'll post those as well.

Here is the inside of my card. If you look closely, you can see the Vanilla Smooch Spritzer everywhere.

The Supplies Used:

• Cardstock - Crushed Curry and Very Vanilla Stampin' Up!
• Patterned Paper - Fly A Kite October Afternoon
• Stamp Sets - Punched Posies, Pedaling Past and Simple Serif Mini Alphabet Stampin' Up!
• Inks - Soft Suede and Baha Breeze Stampin' Up!, Coffee Shop Tattered Angels, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz Stampin' Up!
• Punches - Decorative Tag EK Success, Scallop Oval Punch Stampin' Up for EK Success
• Ribbon - Brown Gingham Making Memories
• Other - small scissors {used to cut out the bicycle}, Pop Dots Glue Dots

Although the colors aren't a traditional color scheme for a wedding card, I couldn't resist paring this cute bicycle made for two and the October Afternoon paper. I think they compliment each other pretty well. When I had first planned out the card, I wanted to use Thickers to say "Together" on the outside of the card. But then I decided to go with the small card format instead. So I ended up using my Simple Serif Mini alphabet that I haven't used in forever instead. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I just went with it. I have always had a hard time with getting the letters to line up straight, so I just stamped and pretended that I meant for it to be crooked : D.

I was hostess this month, so I was excited to get a few extras that I have been wanting for a while. So I got the Punched Posies as my hostess set, and then I also got the Scallop Oval punch that I have been wanting forever and an embossing plate. It's fun to be hostess :D Gotta love free stuff!!!

I just got finished watching some clips and then cast interview for True Blood on Ustream. I am looking forward to it coming back on. I haven't hidden the fact that I haven't liked a lot of the liberties taken in the show. But Aaron Ball said something that made sense to me. He said that the reason why characters in later books are being pulled in sooner is because with the series being 10 books now and counting, they can use material from later books sooner instead of making stuff up {not that there wasn't enough material before in the first few seasons}. I can't imagine the show running 10 seasons though and Sookie being only 27 8 seasons from now, like she is in the books. Only a few years have past by in the timeline of the books. And when you are watching actual actors instead of just picturing the characters in your head, 10 years is a lot. So I am thinking that - although I know they will change things a lot - the show is going to rely more on other books in the series instead of just making things up. On this upcoming season, I can't wait to see Alcide on the Small Screen this season! He's still one of my favorite characters in the series. I was sad they didn't have the actor that plays him in on the live stream. In the mean time, I just finished book 10 and loved it. Not as much as 9, but it was still really good. Can't wait for the next novella to come out and then see where the story goes from here. The one thing about the series that I love is that it isn't completely predictable. That's something to be said considering how many books in it is now. And I love the cast of characters!

After I finished the cards yesterday, I started on a scrapbook page. But it wasn't with photos. Instead it was lyrics to one of my favorite Ingrid Michaelson songs. I have been a big fan of music lyrics for quite some time. I don't care what the genre is, if the song has lyrics I can relate to, I usually end up loving it. I know I am a total dork, but I have notebooks of lyrics to some of my favorite songs. When I saw New Moon in the theatre for the second time, I took my notebook, so I could write down what songs where in the different scenes. I know! Total dork :D. So I decided to start scrapbooking my favorite songs and I hope to have quite a collection over time. Speaking of scrapbooking, I will get back to pictures of Peyton here shortly. I've been working on so many projects that I haven't scrapbooked for a little while.

Last thing before I go. I should get my tutorial up this week! Sorry again for taking so long with it!

Off to bed!

Mother's Day Present To My Mom

 

Hi Mom! Just want to take a moment to tell you thank you for being my mom. Thank you for teaching me to always remember who I am and to try to be the best I can be. Thank you for loving me even when you haven't agreed with the choices I have made. Thank you for loving my daughter like she was your daughter. Thank you for teaching me how to sew and not getting mad at me - too bad - when I totally messed up that service project. Thank you for all of the times you have babysat, bought me lunch, told me you liked my outfit even when you didn't : ), put myself and my siblings needs before yours. Thank you for teaching me what being a mom is all about. I love you.

 

I can't help it. When any type of holiday is around that is a chance to give a gift to someone, I always have to make something. It's rare these days when I don't. Okay, one exception is that for my niece and nephews I always give books. My nephew Trae has become a total book nerd just like his aunt! But I still always end up making my niece something. And for my sister and Mother and pretty much anyone else, it's usually something hand made.

 

My friend Amber had made the cutest birdhouse for her mother. And as Mother's Day drew near, I couldn't think of anything other than doing the same for my mom. Our friend Cori also made some for her mother and mother-in-law that turned out super cute. Ok, so I copied the idea from Cori who had copied the idea from Amber. All of the results look completely different though : D

 

At Roberts they have these adorable bird houses that are super inexpensive. So I got the house for less than $3 after my coupon! I think even less than that. I completed the whole thing in about 2 hours. 

 

Here are some closeups of the fun details: 

 

 

As I have said before, I am addicted to making these paper roses. I can't help it. I love them. They take a little time, but are super easy to make. I did take some pictures for that tutorial that I talked about next week, but I need to do them again. So I am shooting for this weekend to have my tutorial up. 

 

                                  

 

I took the Scallop Circle punch and cut the hearts out from the circle, punched them on each side with my 1/16" hole punch and strung them with linen thread. I thought this was A fun take on all the banners that are showing up on all sorts of projects these days.

 

 

This bird is from Stampin' Up. I love that it cuts out the bird and wing separately so you can make them two different patterns. The twigs are from Taipan Trading. You can also see where I used the Scallop Circle punch to make a border around the opening to the house. Amber used her Cricut to do that instead and got a thinner border around the opening. I like the way hers looked better, but alas, I don't have a Cricut! : D. She is really good at cutting stuff out for me when I ask her though. Our friend Marci, who also has one, has also cut things out for me as well.

 

 

I used the Pinking Hearts border punch also from Stampin' Up to make the fun trim on the side of the roof. I feel like this is a little cookie cottage from a fairy tale. Can I live here!

 

Ok, so I liked my mom's so much, that I am now in the process of making myself one. It will also have October Afternoon paper, but on mine, it will be from the Fly A Kite line - which I absolutely adore!

 

So here are the supplies for my Mom's house:

• Robert's Crafts - bird house
• Tai Pan Trading - twigs
• October Afternoon - patterned paper {wish I could remember the line name. I'll find out and update it here}
• American Crafts Dear Lizzy Line - patterned paper {only the yellow with white polka dots and bees}
• Americana - cream paint {I'll look up the exact color of this as well}
• Mod Podge glue
• Glue Dots - Pop Dots, Memory Dots
• Martha Stewart - Butterfly Punch
• Stampin' Up - Bird, Scallop border, Pinking Hearts, Scallop Circle punches. All ribbon and linen thread. Tempting Turquoise Ice circle brad.
• My stash - light fabric starch {used to make the paper rose}, 1/16" hole punch , low heat glue gun {to attach the twig bundle}

Something to note: Mod Podge can be tricky. I tend to apply it on in a thin coat, lay the paper down, then apply another thin coat. I do this because if too much is applied it starts to bubble. Plus it takes longer to dry. I have also found that it works best if you are doing a lot of altering to whatever paper you Mod Podge, to let it dry completely over night and then come back and work on it. And it doesn't hurt to put some weight on the project to help the paper dry flat. It can still be tricky, but for the most part is really easy to work with. 

 

As I mentioned above, I have a bird house that I am now making for myself. It's going to be more in the color scheme of my living room/kitchen of red, black/brown, green and blue. The Fly A Kite papers have more of a raspberry color to them than red, but I think I can make it work. I saw the papers and I just went crazy for them. Of course as soon as I get it finished, I will also post it. 

 

I have a fun project that I have been working on using the My Little Shoebox brand. I eluded to it in my previous post. It's almost finished, so I can't wait to get that posted too. Plus I still have the project I am working on for my daughters room and a bunch of stuff swimming around in my head that I want to do. And I got some super adorable photo's of Peyton from this weekend that my sister took and I can't wait to get them printed and scrabooked as well. So needless to say, I have a lot I am working on, but I don't mind because it is a lot of fun to me and the results always make me happy. 

 

Hope you guys are doing well!