Little Chocolate Cards

I think I have mentioned before that I live right down the street from the most WONDERFUL little family-owned chocolate shop ... Hatch Family Chocolates!! LOVE that place!! (And since my son works there, I have a built-in excuse to visit the place ... often!).

Group One
Stamps: Oh So Sweet, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Button Buddies, Little Additions
Paper: Real Red, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP, Rich Razzleberry, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Ink: Real Red, Garden Green, Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:   Decorative Label Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Certainly Celery Ribbon, Certainly Celery Button, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Large (Wide) Oval Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Corner Rounder Punch, Small (Large) Oval Punch, Dotted Ribbon Border Punch

I started making gift cards for these guys a few years back ... kinda got out of the habit and didn't start up again until just before Valentine's Day. And then life got CRAZY!! So I finally got around to making some more little cards for them (totally FORGOT to take pictures of the last batch I did!)! The folded cards are 3"x3", and the non-folded cards are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" ... that's pretty much it!

Group Two
Stamps:  SWAK, Fancy Flexible Phrases (Retired), Bright Blossoms, Fabulous Phrases, Field Flowers, Oh So Sweet
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso
Ink: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, Rose Red, Garden Green, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Rhinestone Basics, Dazzling Details (on the lips), Small Oval Punch, Pearl Basics

Can Ya Handle ONE More??

It was my father-in-law's 80th birthday last night ... and he makes people half his age look like they are standing STILL. No kidding ... he works 10+ hours a day and on Saturday. He is amazing ...

We had a family get-together last night to celebrate. And because I had such a CRAZY day, I literally had about 25 minutes to make him a card. This is one of those rare occasions when I was able to go from concept to completion in such a short amount of time!!! This has happened to me TWICE in the last two weeks ... I think perhaps it was all the "down" time I have had the last 2 1/2 months. Maybe??

So here is what I came up with. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I gotta make ANOTHER "dude" card for my cousin. Seems like all the "dudes" in my family are having birthdays at the same time!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps: Bring on the Cake
Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Mocha Morning DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Pretty Postage Punch, Wide Oval Punch, 1" Square Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Tag Corner Punch, Linen Thread, Neutrals Buttons

2012 Retiring Accessories List

For those who wanna know ... here is a list of retiring accessories ... get 'em before they're gone! Shop HERE!!

  2012 Retiring Accessories PDF
  2012 Retiring Accessories Sortable Excel File

 

Open Sea Birthday

Looks like I'm at it again ... trying to figure out WHAT I can put together to make another masculine card! I like twill tape ... haven't used it much for years until recently. I got this stuff way-back-in-the-day when Stampin' Up still offered it in the super wide size. I kinda like how this turned out! I have been frantically trying to catch up with all the birthday cards I am behind on. Seems like I have written "Happy Belated Birthday" in LOTS of cards lately!! I think I am up to date again, so I don't need another one until THURSDAY. And it's another DUDE card!! Better get crackin', right?? Another day at the races ... much to do (probably more than I can in one day), so I guess it's time to get rolling on everything, too. Sigh ... what I wouldn't give for a day when I have NOWHERE to go and NOTHIN' to do!!
  At least it's gonna be in the 80's again today (seriously??? It's April 24th!! I LOVE it!)!


Stamps: The Open Sea, Perfectly Penned
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Mocha Morning, Rich Regals Patterned Paper
Ink: Soft Suede, Night of Navy
Accessories: Circle Cutter, Twill Tape, Metallic Brads, Paper Distressing Tool
 

Stamp Club Projects

I got to meet with my Stamp Club girls this week. It's always so much fun when we get together!! I am also always happy when I am able to think of something we can do together! (No pressure, right??) We actually made one of the cards I made for the Freak Tour the other day (it is the first one in my post HERE). We also made this little card/envelope combo (the envelope is 3 1/8"x 3 1/8" and is made with the new Simply Scored Diagonal Plate ... LOVE it!). Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Teeny Tiny Wishes Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP Ink: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade Accessories: Wide (Large) Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon

And then, of course. we HAD to make one of these dahhhhling little purses using the new Petite Purse Bigz Die. Ohmygosh!! These things are freakin' ADORABLE!! Sooo much fun to make, and so EASY, too!

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Island Indigo, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: NONE!
Accessories: Petite Purse Bigz Die, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, Boho Blossoms Punch, In Color Printed Brad, Small Heart Punch (for the scalloped border on the purse flap), Houndstooth Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Ta-DA!!! It's so fun to be able to find some time to create something ... and I'm SOOOOO happy that my room is clean! Makes the creative process much more fun!

Smoochin' With the Freaks!

Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog Tour!! This time around we are playing with the Summer Smooches products. I hafta admit that I {{heart}} the paper!! I {{heart}} the purse die!! And I {{heart}} the stamps!! (Not to mention the Daffodil Delight seam binding and the brads ... neither of which I used!) You should have just come from the smoochaLICIOUS blog of my BFF, Jan Tink! Wizard??? Yes I think so!!

First off, I made this little card. Ya know how every once in a while a card just rolls outta your brain, through your fingers and into a completed project??? (I know, I know ... it hardly EVER happens to me, either!!) This was one of those cards ... it just kinda happened ... in, like, 15 minutes!! I like it so well that I am going to use it for my Stamp Club girls tonight!! YAY me!!

Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Petite Pairs
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Basic Black, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Island Indigo, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Scallop Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine

Next, I wanted to do something a little bit different and unconventional ... which is where this card came from. I used the Summer Smooches stencil, sponged it with Calypso Coral and Rich Razzleberry ink, then stamped one of the images from the Bright Blossoms stamp set in Rich Razzleberry over the top of the image. Kinda different, but it's growing on me!!

Stamps: Curly Cute
Paper: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Calypso Coral, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch, Summer Smooches Decor Stencil, Pearl Basics

Finally ... I am SURE you have seen a TON of the little purses made with the purse die. They are SOOOOO stinkin' ca-YOOT!! I decided to try something a little different. This is actual four of the purses ... I cut off the larger of the two side flaps and the back side of the purse. Then, I connected the four purses together via the small side flap that was left over to make a box ... Simple Simon!!

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Island Indigo, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: NONE!
Accessores: Petite Purse Bigz Die, 5-Petal Flower Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (I used it on the 5-petal flower/leaves ... hard to see in the photo)

So, there ya have it!! Next, you'll be moving on the the specTACular blog of Barb Mullikin!! LOVE her stuff!!

Dude Trio

It's that time again ... time for me to make a few "dude" cards. Struggle-struggle-struggle ... don't know WHY I always struggle with "dude" cards. As simple as these look, they took me a bit to put together!

I was happy that I was able to use up these big ol' buttons, though!! Just HAD to have 'em when they were on sale last fall. Up until I made these cards, I had only used ONE of them. It's always nice when you can use something you bought and make your purchase feel justified!!

Stamps: Mat Stack 3 (Papertrey), Crazy for Cupcakes (sentiment)
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Nursery Nest DSP, Domestic Goddess DSP, Spice Cake DSP
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Spice Cake Buttons, Linen Thread, Mat Stack 3 Die (Paper Trey), Small Oval Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon




And you KNOW that since we are coming up on the 20th of the month ... which means it is nearly time for the Control Freaks Blog Tour!! Come back and check it out!!

Babies and the Bermuda Triangle ...

I KNEW that would get your attention!! First of all, this is a baby announcement I did for my nephew's new baby daughter, Vivian (don't you just LOVE that name??). I made 26 of these "babies" over the weekend. It was sooo fun to be able to channel my energy into something creative (and I hafta admit I was inspired, once again, by a card I saw SOMEwhere on Pinterest ... no idea where, or who made it ... I'm really gonna have to start paying attention ... so if this looks like something YOU made, please let me know and I'll give ya some credit!) I seriously love me that little stocking punch! Just trimmed it down at the top to create booties. Soooo sad that it's not going to be carried over into the new big catalog this year ... sigh ...

Stamps: Stitched Stockings, Petitie Pairs
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White
Accessories: Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Spellbinders Small Scallop Oval Nestabilities Die, Ovals Bigz Die, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Eyelet Border Punch, Small Oval Punch, Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon, Whisper White Embossing Powder, Whisper White Baker's Twine

Now, on to the Bermuda Triangle (aka my stamp/craft room)!! This is seriously how this place has looked for the past two months (well, it didn't start out THIS bad, but it was a cumulative effort, for sure!)! It was really kinda depressing ... I usually try to keep my room relatively clean in between projects so that it I don't hafta start a project by cleaning up! Scary, isn't it??? It took me half the day, even WITH the aid of a shovel!!


And here it is AFTER!! Ahhhhhhhh, THAT'S better!! I was very proud of myself while I made those baby announcements, too! I used the "clean-as-you-go" method It really does work surprisingly well, so why don't I ALWAYS do that??? I guess it is because sometimes Creative Genius takes over!!


OH!! I almost FORGOT!!! Here is a link to the Retirement List (posted at midnight between Saturday and Sunday). It's a BIGGUN!!

2012 Retirement List in PDF (USA)

2012 Retirement List in Sortable Excel File (USA)

Here's a link to my webpage if you wanna buy any of these retiring sets before they DISAPPEAR!!

Happy Monday, Y'all!!

What's "Normal"??

After two months of crazy-running back and forth, sitting, worrying and waiting, BOTH of my moms are now officially HOME!! My mom came home on Wednesday and you cannot even BEGIN to wipe the smile off of her face. She still has a very long road to recovery ahead, but she has taken the next step, And through much phone calling and begging, we are SOOOO blessed to have my BFF, Tootie, be her home-healthcare nurse. Words cannot describe what a blessing this is going to be for our family. We are SOOO fortunate to have finagled this. LOVE YA, girlie!! My mama is gonna {{heart}} you as much as I do!!

Which hopefully means that I'm gonna be able to get back to some sort of "normal" ... and I'm not quite sure what that is. Hopefully it will mean that I can actually have a little more time to create ... and do laundry and housework (okay, well ... maybe not!). I WAS at my mom's 5 times yesterday (good thing she lives a few short blocks away!) ... mostly picking up and dropping off for hair and doctor appointments ...

I made a card, see????? And because my craft room still looks like the Bermuda Triangle (in which everything is LOST!), and because the Summer Smooches paper was still sitting on the top of the mountain (aka the pile of STUFF that has been accumulating) ... this is what I came up with. SOOOOO fun to be able to create because I want to!!

I have my first session of physical therapy this morning at 6:45 a.m. (yep, you read that right!!). I am actually looking forward to it (which may feel differently a few hours from now!). And guess what??? I have absolutely NOWHERE I "have" to be tomorrow (I will check in on my mom) Can't remember a Saturday in recent history when I could say that ... I have some baby announcements to make for my dear friend, so stay tuned for those ...

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Petite Pairs
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Summer Smooches
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Peach Parfait, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Little Leaves Sizzlets Die, Poppy Stamps Grand WIndow Die, Large Oval Punch, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Pearl Basics

Springtime and Easter Baskets!

It seems like the weeks have gone whizzing by lately ... and y'all should SEE my craft room!! It is a DISASTER area!! I haven't really cleaned it up for nearly two months ... I haven't done a lot of crafting, either, so everything I have done in the past two months has remnants of itself piled in one place or the other ... sigh ... I need to find some time to clean this up ... but I'm gonna need a shovel to do so!!

On the good news front ... my mother in law came home from the rehab center on Thursday. She is doing incredibly well ... bones are all knitting nicely, and the thing that she is going to have to work on now is regaining strength and range of motion in her healing upper arm (where her humerus bone shattered). She is such an inspiration. My own sweet mom is going to be headed home from the rehab center on Wednesday. She is thrilled and scared ... she is still on the mend, but they say it may take up to six months for her to regain the strength she had before this episode (and she wasn't all that strong to begin with). But, she IS getting better, so that makes us happy!! My foot is making slow progress, but I am working on massaging/exercising it every day. Patience will win ...

And I am FINALLY posting the long-promised tutorial for the little basket I made for the Control Freaks Blog Tour way back in February ... like I said, no idea where the time went!!





First of all, you are going to need a 6"x6" piece of patterned/designer series paper. Score each side at 2" and 4", so that what you have resembles a tic-tac-toe board. Fold along score lines.









I used my Simply Scored board to help me with my cut lines. I scored a line at 5/8" and 1 3/8" from the top left edge to the first horizontal score line at 2". Flip your paper so that you can do this same thing in each corner of your "tic-tac-toe" board. Snip the score lines so that your paper looks like the image pictured here ...



Next, you will mark the top and bottom center pieces halfway across the top edge (since the section you are marking is 2" wide, mark it at 1"). Then, score a diagonal line from the mark you made to each of the lower corners of the 2" square (which would equate to the top center and bottom center of the "tic-tac-toe" board). Cut the lines so that you have triangle shapes, as shown.




You are now going to take the flaps you made in each corner and overlap them on each other so that the flap that ends up on top (the one on the outer edge of the "board") is parallel with the bottom of the basket. Do the same with the flaps in the other corner.








Once the flaps are secured (I used glue dots), It will look like this photo ... snip the little triangle piece that is sticking out at the top off ...









Punch two 1" circles from coordinating cardstock. Place the punched circles over the top center of the front and the back of the basket.







To create the handles, cut two 1/2" by 6" strips of cardstock or patterned paper. Secure the handles to the basket about 3/4" from the outside edge with a brad.

Embellish the circles with buttons and twine, if you wish!





Fill the basket with treats and adorn the bag with something fun (you knew a butterfly was gonna figure in here sooner or later, didn't ya??)!!

Ta-DA!!! That's it. Really quite easy ... I hope my instructions make sense. Sometimes it is so hard to get what is in your brain into words!!



Paper: Summer Smooches DSP, Whisper White, Lucky Limeage
Accessories: Simply Scored, 1" Circle Punch, Summer Smooches Brads, Bold Brights Button, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Rhinestone Basics, Cellophane Bag

Have a lovely Easter weekend! Eat some chocolate!!

Greetings from Seattle!!

Wow!! Is it ever BEAUTIFUL here!! My daughter and I arrived yesterday to hook up with her school choir (they arrived Saturday morning). We are already exhausted, but we're looking forward to the next couple of days and the fun things that are planned (the only bad thing is that the case of DVD's that my daughter packed for entertainment on the bus ride home seems to have gone missing ... keeping my fingers crossed that we can locate it today at some point!!)!

I owe y'all a HUGE apology ... as you can see, this is NOT the tutorial I have been promising for the cute little basket (once again!). I actually got a nasty flu-bug-type of thing on Friday and Saturday that totally wiped me out!!! And I had to get everything ready so we could leave early Sunday morning, so suffice it to say, something had to give. I will be sooooo glad when I can resume some sorta "normal" life once the moms get well ... which seems to be getting close all the time!! I PROMISE I will get that tutorial together and post it after I get back (which will be a little later this week). Thanks for your patience with me ... sigh ...

So here are a couple more layouts that we have been playing with on Tink and Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club ... we are having a GREAT time!! Check the link in the tab at the top of my blog page if ya wanna know more about what we're doing and going in the fun!!

This first layout is one that I did of my son's graduation day ... it was raining CATS and DOGS that day!! But the picture of him with his two grandmas is my favorite, actually ...

And this is one of Jan's layouts ... I love the combination of circles and squares. Make for a great balance, don'tcha think??

Well, it's off to the races!! We have a full day of workshops and sightseeing today ... hope my foot can keep up with the rest of me (and everyone else, for that matter!!)!!

Toodle-oooo!