December Design Team Projects

I absolutely LOVE this line of Christmas paper from Jillibean! I have been using the same pad of Peppermint Twist paper from K. & Company for YEARS (and I still love it!) but it was great to find something new and fresh and fun!! I have seen so many projects using Papertrey Ink's Christmas tree die and I am amazed by how quickly these projects came together just by having a theme to work with! I learned to make this little bag topper a hundred years ago, maybe even before I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and it is one of the easiest and prettiest way to dress up a plain white or Kraft bag. And you don't have to use tissue paper, which I am ALWAYS searching for even though I have a ton stashed around the house. I may have another project or two to post this week, but please don't hold your breath - I've been baking like crazy and I still have a little more to do!! Hope y'all have a very merry Christmas!! 

Make It Monday #142: Decorated Kraft Bags

I have seen so many beautiful projects using PTI's Christmas tree die that when I saw this week's MIM challenge, I knew I had to use it! I LOVE to use Kraft bags for gifts. There are limitless possibilities for decorating these wonderful blank canvases! I used a pad of Christmas paper from K & Company that I have had forever and a Christmas sentiments background stamp that I bought at Archiver's a couple of years ago. The ribbon is a BEAUTIFUL satin from Paper Source and I added four clear rhinestone brads from Stampin' Up! for a bit of pizzazz. Thanks for stopping by on this Thanksgiving Eve . . . I really have LOTS to do but here I sit, blogging!! Happy Thanksgiving - I hope you have many things for which to be thankful this year!!

Turkey Day's A'Comin'



If you haven't yet made a cute Thanksgiving card for someone special in your life, there's still time!! I found the inspiration for this card on Pinterest and I used the sunburst card tutorial that I found on-line. I have tried to fake this technique a couple of times without success, but this tutorial is almost foolproof. The cute little turkey is easy to put together with a couple of punches and the details are easy to cut out from cardstock scraps. I LOVE the googly eyes - they are one of my favorite embellishments!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week prepping for Thanksgiving!

colourQ challenge #216

 

I sure have missed making cards and blogging about them! For the past two challenges, I have actually made cards but not in time for the challenge cut-off {pouty face}. So anyway, this week, I needed a couple of cards and the colourQ challenge colors just screamed trees to me! But I have to say, the Mighty Oak stamp set and coverplate from PTI are an absolute NIGHTMARE to work with!! I have tried several ways to improve how well the coverplate cuts out and I finally found that several rectangles of lightweight cardstock stacked together act as a shim to improve the impressions. Although, I nearly broke my Cuttlebug!! So, after making this card and another one that I'll post later in the week, I think I'll take a break from this particular die for a while . . . maybe till next fall!!

colourQ challenge #214

I was afraid this week's colourQ challenge color palette wasn't going to inspire me until I found the inspiration for this card on Pinterest! I was surprised by how much I loved the Dusty Durango with the other colors and the Bashful Blue gives the card a beautiful brightness. The stamp set I used is PTI's Bigger Blooms and I can already tell, even though I haven't used it very much, that it is going to be one of my go-to stamp sets. It is beautiful! I think this card is perfect for fall and I hope y'all are having beautiful weather where you live like we are here in TN! Thanks for stopping by!

Candy Corn Card with tutorial

I saw the inspiration for this card on Pinterest and thought it was one of the cutest cards I had ever seen! And since I recently bought Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar stamp set, I was easily able to CASE it!! The best part, though, was how easy it was to make the paper candy corn!! Aren't they adorable? I was amazed by how quick and easy they are to make. I always appreciate a good tutorial for cute ideas, so here it one just for you. Enjoy making lots and lots of candy corn!



Punch 1.75", 1.25", and .75" circles

Adhere circles using lots of adhesive

Cut stack of circles in half

Cut each half in half and then in half
again to make 8 candy pieces 

 

colourQ challenge #212

I found the inspiration for this card on Pinterest a month of so ago and saved it for THIS COLOR CHALLENGE!! I knew there would have to be a Halloween challenge and this card is perfect. Isn't this tic-tac-toe design so clever? And I had almost all the colors this time - that never happens!! I did have to sub Lovely Lilac for Wisteria Wonder, but I think it's close enough. The banner is handmade using a trick my friend, Annie B., taught me. It's super easy, but I barely remembered it myself and it's been a long day, so I will try to post a tutorial another time. Unless, Annie B. is feeling generous and will post one for me!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great night. I'll be watching "Pretty Little Liars!!" Woo hoo!!

colourQ challenge #211

WOW WOW WOW!! I really like the colors in this week's colourQ challenge. These colors may not typically "go together," but I REALLY like how my card turned out. The stamp I used is the unsung hero of Papertrey Ink's Baby Button Bits Stamp Set, and the sentiment is from PTI's Iconic Images. I made this card for a dear friend who came to visit me yesterday when my sweet, 12-year-old daughter had knee surgery. This same wonderful friend also brought us a delicious Oreo ice cream pie from Bruster's so, obviously, I wanted to make her an extra-special card to thank her for her kindness! This card definitely fits the bill! Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening!

colourQ challenge #210

I'm afraid this week's colourQ challenge didn't really speak to me. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the turquoise, yellow, and white together, but the Dusty Durango threw me off a bit. But I gave it a go and this is what I came up with. I found the inspiration for this card on the Neat and Tangled blog this week. The technique is called bokeh, which I did not know the meaning of until a few minutes ago. If I understand it correctly, the idea is that the images are blurred, which is the effect you get when you layer vellum over stamped images. I used the splatter stamp from my new Sweet Stamp Shop Zombies set on a white cardstock base and then I stamped my sentiment in black Versafine ink onto vellum. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

 

Spooky Eyes - an easy Halloween card

Today's easy Halloween inspiration is from Pinterest, of course! I made several of these cards in just a few minutes. The most time-consuming part of the process is the embossing, which is absolutely essential to giving this card pizzazz!! I used black, Pumpkin Pie, and Rich Razzleberry cardstock but you could use any of your favorite Halloween colors. There are so many possibilities!! Thanks for stopping by - now, go make some Halloween cards!!

colourQ challenge #209

This week completely got away from me! I have been making lots of Halloween cards for Scrappin' in the City and hopefully, for my new etsy store that I would love to have up and running soon. The colors in this week's colourQ challenge #209 are some of my very favorite, but I just could not create the floral fantasy I was hoping for. This is a super simple card, but wouldn't a child LOVE to find this sweet little card in their lunchbox or backpack? Thanks for stopping by! Come back tomorrow for some Halloween inspiration!!

colourQ challenge #208

Y'all may not be aware of it (until this sentence!), but I was born and raised in the South. I love everything about the South . . . except the heat & humidity! But the things I love include the food, the slower pace, the drawl, the food, the friendliness and genuine kindness, good manners, did I mention the food? There are few things more delicious than shrimp  & grits! And if you are mentally wondering what grits are, I am genuinely grieving for you!! There are simply too many wonderful things about the South to list in this post, so I'll tell you about my card. As much as I love red, I knew immediately that I wanted hot pink to be my spot color for this week's colourQ challenge. I found these amazing hot pink glitter Thickers at Archiver's and thought they would be perfect on a black and white background. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - have a great weekend!!

colourQ challenge #207

As usual, I only had ONE of the colors in this week's colourQ challenge! But I winged it and pulled out some colors that may or may not be comparable (Tim Holtz Festive Berries and Vintage Photo distress inks, Cameo Coral), then I added copper Stickles for some razzle dazzle! This is the first time I've used my new PTI set, Bigger Blooms, and I think I'm really going to like it. You will likely see this set more and more in my color challenge submissions. Thanks for stopping by! Can you believe two posts in one day!! And it's been SOME day!

Make It Monday #132: Layered Border Die Cuts

This week's Make It Monday Challenge is one that is near and dear to my heart! I have made lots of cards and tags using the layered scalloped border technique. It is simple but absolutely beautiful! I am once again on the Scrappin' in the City design team and this was the perfect project for the store, too. I used a beautiful line of paper by Carta Bella from the Rough & Tumble collection by Samantha Walker (LOVE the stripes and polka dots) along with my very favorite Papertrey Ink birthday stamp set, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday. Seriously, if you do not own this set, you must go RIGHT NOW and order it! I use it all the time and it is fantastic! Thanks for stopping by - have a great hump day!!

Morgan's Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

I must admit that I have been thinking about throwing a Very Hungry Caterpillar party for Morgan for more than a year. I was going to do it last year for her 2nd birthday, but all of the ideas I found on Pinterest simply overwhelmed me. I didn't know where to begin! So, I made a list of the details I definitely wanted to do and tried to stick to that list as much as possible. I still searched Pinterest for new ideas DAILY, but I wasn't as tempted to add to the list once I had it written down. There are lots of items on etsy (here, here, here, and here) that you can buy and print out at home or at your local photo lab, which is a tremendous time and money saver. I also decided at the beginning the details I wanted to splurge on (the cake and the cookies) and the ones that I needed to be more frugal on. Also, since I am a rabid papercrafter, I already had lots of things I could use for the party - cardstock for the banners and bean bag toss game, lots of paper punch and templates for the circles and ovals, cellophane bags for the party favors, felt for the bean bags and did I mention lots and lots of cardstock?!?! Here are some of my favorite pics from Morgan's Very Hungry Caterpillar Third Birthday Party!

 

The beautiful and delicious cake from Rita's Bakery. I took in several cake pics that I found on Pinterest for them to go by.

I made this bean bag toss out of a box an a giant piece of red paper I got from my church. The details are made from cardstock.

I can barely sew on a button (seriously) but when I was faced with spending $25 for a girl I know to make bean bags, I decided I would give it a shot! They were surprisingly easy and since felt I only 34 cents a sheet at the local craft store, they were cheap, too. And I would rather spend that money on food!

Cookies that a friend of mine made. TOTALLY worth splurging on! They were delicious and absolutely adorable!!

Our precious niece sharing a Cheeto with the birthday girl!

I also made Morgan's party hat out of a store-bought hat, lots of cardstock ovals, and bits of ribbon for the tassel.

We have exactly zero funny candid photos of our family so this is my favorite shot of the day!!

Morgan's new wheels that her cousin, Samuel, loved more than she did!

Poorly framed pic but cute of my baby!! I made the banner and the balloon centerpieces.

A kiss for the caterpillar!!

The younger kids LOVED the bean bag toss!!

I adore how the food table looked! I framed a pic of the birthday girl and personalized subway art that I bought on etsy (link above) and used the book as table decorations.

Reading the story before supper was served.

Thanks for stopping by - now go plan a party!!