It All Started With a Skirt

It's been a couple of months now since I've moved into my new home, and I'm still trying to set up my sewing room so that I can just walk in and sew.  Needless to say, it's not quite at that stage right now!

However, I had a birthday party to go to for a special friend turning one-year old and wanted to make her a little something.  It all started with this skirt.

I had her Mom measure her waist and then I took out some cute coordinating fabric that I had in my stash to make her the skirt.  I went out and bought some pink rick-rack to add to the bottom to make it even more girly.

Then I went in the stamping room to make a card to match.  To my surprise, I actually found designer paper that matched the skirt!  It was paper from Heidi Grace designs that had purchased it a few years ago and have never used.  I added the cute little owl stamp (because her party theme was owls) and love how it matches the skirt.  :)

Then while browsing on Pinterest, I came across some cute little owl stuffed toys and decided to make a couple of them to match, too!  The original idea came from CakeShop Craft, and I modified it so that a little child can play with them with no buttons that can come off.

Here's the whole set.  What do you think?

Now just to wrap it up and get it off to my little friend.  :)

Still More Summer!

Last week I made this card that I copied from Mary Fish.  I just think it's the cutest summery card ever!  I took out the Jars of Love stamp set, stamped the 3 jars first onto white cardstock and then onto the pretty Fruit Stand designer paper.  I used the framelits to cut out the white jars, and then I hand-cut the jars on the designer paper, cutting just inside of the second jar lines.  This makes the "fruit" look like it's inside of the jars.

I embossed the jar lids with gold embossing powders and then arranged the jars on the card using some dimensional dots on the left side of the jars, giving them the look like they are sitting on a shelf.  The saying is from Apple of My Eye. 

Seriously, can it get any cuter than this?  I'm off to make more.  :)

Ah, Still More Summer

 I just love the end of summer when the air gets less humid and the nights get a little cooler.  This time of year I love sunflowers and the mellow yellows and browns.  I saw this card idea by Kathy Beck on Pinterest.  I used the Awesomely Artistic stamp set to make it. 

My next card using the same color scheme is this Happy Day quick-and-easy card.  I used The Perfectly Wrapped stamp set and then stamped and punched out the saying using the 2" circle punch and the 2 3/8" scallop punch.  I colored some pearls with a deep yellow Sharpie marker for the centers of the flowers. 

Which one reminds you more of late summer?

But It's Still Summer!

Today I'm supposed to be working on coming up with some Christmas cards and projects for my next stamping class.  I just have such a hard time making holiday things months before the holidays are here!  I'm still wanting to enjoy the last bits of summer and early fall. 

While looking for ideas on Pinterest, I came across this little guy who caught my eye!  I just got back from a weekend at the lake and wanted to still make something "summery."  He came out so cute, that I made a whole batch of the little guys.  What a fun set - You're Sublime; it has cute single images in it.  I think the "googly eyes" made him come alive!  I used the Everyday Chic designer paper for the bottom portion - got the idea from Connie Babbert. 

Do you ever have a hard time making projects out of season?  Let me know what your secrets are for getting in the holiday "spirit" during August and September.

The Power of a 2" Square!

This week's stamping challenge for class was to make 2" squares using Blooms & Bliss designer paper.  To start out, I cut 2" squares from some cardstock colors to match those in the designer paper.  Then I cut out 1 3/4" squares of the designer paper to insert into the 2" squares, cutting some out in just plain white to give contrast.

Here is what I came up with first.  The colors in this match my new bedroom colors perfectly.  I used the thinlits that match the Botanical Blooms stamp set.  They have such dimension to them that it makes any project look awesome. 

Next I wanted to make a little gift for one of my friends who likes to go geocaching with me.  I thought that I had a hiking boot stamp, but after searching around for a while, I remembered that I didn't have one after all!  So I put a compass from the Open Sea stamp set in the corner.  I used some assorted punches for accents and flowers from the Grateful Bunch stamp set.

We are always looking for "adventures" together!

Next up I made a frame for my daughter.  She has burgundy and teal colors in her bedroom and I thought this would match well.  I haven't given it to her yet; it's going to be a surprise for when she gets home! 

And who doesn't want to be reminded that they are loved every day?

Last up, I made this card using some of the squares.  I didn't really decorate each square, just arranged them on the card.  I like how it turned out. 

Why not take out some designer paper today and make some 2" square projects?  They're lots of fun!  Once you get started, you just can't stop, sort of like eating potato chips!  Let me know what you come up with. 

Botanical Blooms and Candy Box Favor (with Tutorial Link)

This week in my stamping class we made this card using the stamp set thinlits from Botanical Blooms.  The colors are Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride and Wild Wasabi for the leaves.  The flowers are embellished with rhinestones to give the card a sparkle.

The only stamping is the imprint on the leaf and the saying from the set, Bunch of Blossoms.  I just love how the colors work together!

Then we made a little box favor filled with Hershey's chocolates to coordinate with the card.  The flower is mounted on a little belly band that slips off to open the box.  For instructions on how to make the box, click here. 

It fits 4 little candies just perfectly! Great to give as a gift or to keep on your desk.  :)

They're so pretty, I'm off to make some more!  Let me know how your candy box turned out. 

Going to the Ocean from My Stamping Room

Last weekend I took a trip to the Connecticut/Rhode Island border with a couple friends to visit the ocean.  It was so lovely there.  Sitting on the beach just watching the waves and soaking up the sun was just what I needed.  :)

Coming back into my stamping room this week, I made an ocean-themed card with the little sandpipers from the Wetland set.  I especially love this set now because I recently moved to Sandpiper Lane!

Honestly, it took me a while to find the watercolor paper (some of my supplies are still in boxes), but once I did I was quite happy with this card.  I used Gorgeous Grunge to make the sand appear and then I highlighted it with Wink of Stella to give it a little glisten.

I think you can see the hint of glitter that the Stella brush gives this card.

 I made several versions of this card, trying out different inks to see which one that I liked the best.  This one is made using black Memento pad and the others are made with Early Espresso brown ink.  I like the espresso ink the best.  I found the idea for this card on Pinterest  by Debbie Lamb.

This next card is an easy-to-make card using washi tape as an embellishment.  I used the Flower Shop stamp set that comes with a coordinating punch that makes the stamping so quick and easy.

On this alternative version of the card, I stamped on vellum using Rose Red ink and clear embossing powder.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but the bottom half of the card is embossed with a pretty scallop.  During my class, I let the students choose if they wanted to emboss on the vellum or just stamp on the pink paper.  It was pretty much 50-50.  The idea for this card came from Rachel Tessman.

After we accented the card with pearls, we used a little Wink of Stella to give the flowers a silvery glow.  Have you not heard about Wink of Stella?  You can order it here for only $8.00.  Click on Shop Now and enter Stella into the look-up box.  (If you want to look at the catalog, it's on page 181.)  What a great new product it is!

 The third and final card for this week's class is this pretty card made using the Number of Years stamp set.  I saw this idea by Elizabeth Miller on Pinterest. 

While I did like the card made in the mint macaron green, the other side of the paper has this pretty floral pattern on it.  The stampers could use either side of the paper.

I thought the colors were very pretty for this card.  We used Mint Macaron, Flirty Flamingo, Baja Breeze (an older color) and Old Olive for the leaves.

After adding mini pearls and a ruched ribbon in Flirty Flamingo, we colored in the flowers with Wink of Stella.  Everyone loved using this new product.

When the evening was over, I had everyone vote for which card they liked the best.  How about you?  Which one would you pick?  Unanimously, the Sandpipers won for the day.  :)