Our New Niece Arrived This Week!!

Our precious niece, Eliza, arrived this week, and she is so beautiful!! We can't wait to see her in a few weeks!!! I received a card like this one from my sweet friend, Alice, and I couldn't wait to make one for Eliza's parents, Greg & Rebekah. I am so glad I kept this adorable SU! set, Very Punny, from several years ago, and I can't wait to make more of these sweet piggy cards!!

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

I am so sorry I've been such a delinquent!! Our computer died and it's been at the shop awhile. Is this not the CUTEST baby gift you've ever seen!?!?!? I found this idea on the blog, Stamps Alot, and couldn't wait to make it for a friend who just had her third child, but her first little girl!! If you haven't checked out the baby clothes at Target lately, you are truly missing out! I found a set of three of the cutest onesies I've ever seen for only $8! I cut the set apart and folded each onesie several times till it was pretty narrow. Then I rolled them in a little coil and wrapped them in cellophane bags and tied them with ribbon. Don't they look like little lollipops? I bought 8-inch Wilton sticks and stuck them behind the onesie in the bag. The container is a clear paint can - if you cut the paper correctly, you can just slip it into the little grooves and you don't need adhesive! I tied several pieces of ribbon on the handle and made a coordinating gift card and VOILA!! The most awesome baby gift ever!! Thanks for stopping by!

Same Song, Second Verse!

I totally LOVE this layout by Dawn McVey and how cool is it that on Papertrey Lady Nichole Heady's blog last week, there were several PTI color combinations (you'll have to scroll down a bit) that are just FANTASTIC!! Takes all the guesswork out of creating cards! For this card, I used Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, and Dark Chocolate. I made this card for my friend, Rebekah, who took me out to lunch last week to celebrate my pregnancy! It was such a treat and a nice surprise. We had a great time at Brixx - if you've never been there, go right now and get the Hawaiian Pizza. It's DE-LISH!! Have a great weekend and come back in a day or two to see the cutest baby gift ever!!

Thanks, Alli!!

Since I haven't made anything in a few days, I thought I'd show you this ADORABLE card my friend, Alli, made me for my birthday! Isn't it the cutest?!?! I can't wait to CASE it and since we have a little one on the way, it looks like I'll be getting back into Sesame Street and can make all the furry creatures I want!! Thanks for the inspiration, Alli!! Have a great weekend!!

Masculine Birthday Card

Well, I'm just 8.5 short weeks into my pregnancy and I can already tell that my crafting mojo is going to be hit or miss for a few weeks!! Some days, I can't wait to make something, and then other days (or several days in a row), I can't even bear to go into my craft room!! So today, when I felt a little mojo coming on, I ran into the craft room and made this card. I needed a simple, masculine card, and I like the way this one turned out! I haven't used Branching Out in awhile, even though it's still one of my all-time favorite SU! sets, so I dusted it off today. Very simple color palette but a nice result. Thanks for stopping by on this cold, cold day!!

Inspired by Dawn McVey . . . Again!!

I just love this card of Dawn's and couldn't wait to make it for some friends of mine who are in the process of adopting a precious little 16-month-old girl. They are so excited, of course!! And I was super excited that my card turned out so well!! Usually, when I CASE Dawn, I am less than impressed, but this one came together beautifully and I am delighted! Have a great week and enjoy this day off if you have it!!

Here's the reveal . . .

Well, I've alluded to some big news in my recent posts and here it is . . . I'M PREGNANT!! We found out the day before my birthday and we are so excited!! Chris has wanted another child since, um, Bailey was born 9 years ago, so he is beyond over the moon!! And Bailey can't wait to be a big sister! She's already making BIG plans for this baby!! So, this card sort of represents our little family - mom and dad hearts (big), Bailey heart (smaller), and our baby's heart (tiny and red). I know it's not an artistic masterpiece, but to me, it's perfect!! Keep up in your prayers for the next 7 months!! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

Sweets for Your Sweetie!!

For some reason, teacher gifts always baffle me even though I have enough paper, stamps, and embellishments to make nearly anything related to paper!! I have seen a few CUTE ideas on-line, but was completely sold on this idea that my friend, Christa, made for our Circle bake sale last Sunday!! Her delectable cakes are made from scratch, but I had to go with what I know, so I made mini Chocolate Covered Cherry Bundt cakes! If you don't own the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, you must buy it because it contains some of the best cakes I've ever tasted, and they are super-simple, so they're recipes you'll turn to again and again!! Anyway, Christa packaged her little cakes in these adorable boxes that she found at the $1 store so, of course, I had to get some, too! I cannot wait for Bailey to give these to her teachers and staff on Friday! I sure hope they find them as "sweet" as I do!!

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY CAKE

Combine a box of Devil's Food cake mix, 1 can of cherry pie filling, 1 tsp. almond extract, and 2 eggs first on low speed for 1 minute and then on medium speed for 2 minutes - batter will be thick - pour into greased mini Bundt pans, filling about half-full, and bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes - allow to cool in the pan - frost with prepared chocolate frosting that has been heated to a pouring consistency in the microwave (the original recipe calls for the cake to be baked in a 9x13 pan for 30-35 minutes and has an additional recipe for the chocolate frosting - you can also bake in a full-size Bundt pan for 45 minutes).

Inspired by Connie & Julie

This is my most favorite Valentine that I have found this year on the blogs I stalk! I don't have the heart-shaped Nesties that were used to make the card, but I lucked out when we went to visit our relatives in West Virginia a few weeks ago. My SIL and I went to a crop, and the hostess had EVERYTHING I needed to make this card, including the mini envelope die!! I was so excited! It was so much fun to mix all of these red and pink patterned hearts - there's really no right or wrong way to do it in my opinion! This card is for my sweet parents - hope they like it!! Have a great weekend and remember all the sweeties in your life on Valentine's Day!!

Origami Box

I made this cute little note pad holder awhile back but wanted to post it today to take part in today's Papertrey Ink contest. They are having some great contests this week with some amazing prizes, so I had to get in on it!! This is such a simple project that is perfect for teacher gifts or hostess gifts. I know I would like to receive one!! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!!

Harriet ROCKS!!

This is another beautiful card from the Tuesday Night Stamp Group! Ms. Harriet really outdid herself this time - we all had such fun "antiquing" every element of this project to make it look aged. I have really got to get some Ranger distressing inks now that I've used them - they are fantastic! I haven't yet decided who the lucky recipient of this card is, but I sure hope they like it!! Thanks for stopping by!

"The best laid plans . . ."

So, I had this grand notion that I would posts lots of Valentine projects this week and, sadly, I have not done that. More info on that later! My friend, Mary Ann, showed us how to make this card at our Tuesday Night Stamping Group a few weeks ago and I LOVE it!! Since, I'm not up on the latest from SU!, all I know is that the DSP is from the current mini and I believe that stamp set is, too. We used the acrylic version of this set and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use! I think the new script stamp sets are amazing!! Hope you're inspired to make a few Valentines for the ones you love this week!

Well, it was Worth a Try . . .

I can honestly say that I am completely underwhelmed by the card, but I really wanted to enter Papertrey's latest contest and, after three tries, this is what I came up with. The challenge was to use the Emboss Resist technique and all of my previous tries looked very muddy. So, I finally tried stamping on a lighter colored cardstock and the embossed image showed up much better. Thanks for stopping by - I hope to post some pretty Valentines in the next few days . . . and perhaps a surprise!!