Blessings

Here is the latest project for the My Favorite Things weekly sketch challenge.  This is week 12.  This set is just as darling as all of the Pure Innocence ones are.  This card will be going to a friend of my mom who faithfully kept us on her prayer list as we were selling our last house.  I am so happy to say that a new family will be making our last house a home as of this last Thursday.  After over a year on the market and with the help of our wonderful real estate agent and a lot of prayers it is SOLD.  I think I will miss that house forever.  We had wonderful neighbors, my own craft room, and a view of farmland that was heaven. 
Well, now on to the card.  The base is old olive.  The DSP is a combination of American crafts everyday line and some SU.  the solid pink and blue are the reverse sides of the AC paper.  I stamped the little girl on whisper white and paper pieced her dress (soon regretted it too-next time plain colored dress).  She is colored in with copics and the grass is with copic marker free hand-saw the technique on a you tube video.
The flower and brad are both from SU.  The flowers are available on their clearance rack.  I've been hoarding 2 packages.  The flower got a little lost so I punched a flower out of old olive to mat it.
The ribbon at the top is also American crafts.  I just love when paper and ribbon from the same company go together.

Thanks so much for looking.

They're Multiplying

Isn't that what rabbits do...well these guys are so much fun to make that 2 more popped up on my desk today.  One even volunteered to be the tutorial model.  I've taken several photos to lay out the instructions for you.  I hope they all make sense but feel free to let me know if you have any questions.  You'll need a piece of CS 6 3/4" by 4 1/2 ".  So you can get 2 out of one sheet of standard CS.  A word about measurements...DON'T BE SCARED.  Your trimmer has marks for 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 and all the combinations in between.  When I give you the score measurements I'm going to put in parentheses how I count to figure out the measurement.  If it helps each "panel" is 1 7/8 (one eighth less than 2) and each following score is 3/8" (if 2 eighths is one fourth than 3 eighths is one eighth more).
On the long side of your CS score at 1 7/8 the 2 1/4, 4 1/8, 4 1/2, 6 3/8 (one eighth less than 6 1/2) and 6 3/4....see not that bad.
You need to cut about a half inch wide by 10 inch long piece of plastic grocery bag.  This is the mechanism.
For more on this it is really helpful to watch Dawn's video.  Attach the strip ends to themselves ...here you'll see I used scor-tape but you can use red line tape as well.  This is on the first panel you scored.  The skinny last piece is on your right.  Punch half of a 3/4" punch in the middle panel to be a pull slot.
Attach the chocolate bunny to the far left panel.  Glue his "bottom" to the bottom. He should only be attached to the grocery bag.   Fold him over on his tummy and attach your message slider.  I used a piece of whisper white cut at 1 3/4 by 4".  Your message is important so attach it to the TOP (that's just a way to remember where to attach the bunny and the message).
Apply tape to the skinny last bit and make sure it cups over and around the message slider...I always wanted to be a hand model.  That's it....decorate the front and stamp your inside message.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial and I hope they bring joy to all who see them.

Herbert Nininger

OK...if you don't have a toddler or don't watch Curious George I'm sure the post title is a little strange.  A young man who is a friend of Curious George (the monkey) has lots of rabbits with very rabbit names...browny, spotty, cotton-tail and the last one named is Herbert Nininger.  Don't ask why..it's just silly.  I could have named this rabbit Kangaroo as that is the name of my son's immaginary pet rabbit.  It's so cute.

Anyway this rabbit comes from inspiration on SCS http://www.mercedesweber.blogspot.com/and Dawn Griffith http://www.dawnsstampingthoughts.net/.  I had to re-do the measurements of the slider to make it fit these smaller Hershey bunnie (got mine at Target).  I think I will make another one today with a different decoration on front (something more simple) and then post a tutorial tomorrow.  Thanks for looking and come back tomorrow for measurements.

Fun Fold Tulip

I hope you can see the video below.  It is not of me but I found this video and had to do a card with the technique.  I think a video is the perfect way to explain how to make this card.  Reasons why this is a great design: 1) you can get 2 cards out of one sheet of 8. x 11. 2) you can use skinny scraps of DSP. 3) a fun fold that adds dimension without adding bulk 4) fits in a regular envelope 5) great for narrow or small main images.
The 2 step tulip stamp is the first thing I bought fell in love with from Stampin' Up.  This is stamped in Tangerine Tango and old olive.  The DSP is retired Haiku.  The butterflies are die cut from SU in so safron and the sentiment is a rub on from Archiver's.  This will go to a lovely lady who had invited my mom, dad, son and I to view over 5,000 tulips on a property near Atlanta.  I can't wait and hope for lovely weather and lots of great pictures.

Come back tomorrow for a SUPER cute Easter project that would be great table favors or class room gifts.

Fun Fold Card

Cupcake CASE

Do you know what a CASE is ....it's when you take someone else's art and make it your own.  It stands for Copy And Share Everything.  This great idea came from a card I saw on splitcoast http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1924128.  It was super fast and easy to put together.  The stamp set and matching punch are from SU.  The DSP is retired but any matching CS and DSP would make a great card.  This is my second choice for my mom to pick from for the April birthday girl.  Thanks for looking.  I am working on an Easter project today as well as a few Thank You cards.  Check back tomorrow to see what I get done (in between cleaning the floors).

Birthday Girl

Isn't she precious!  I have fallen in love with the Pure Innocence line of stamps from My Favorite Things.  When I first saw them I was hesitant to get them because I have a little boy.  But they were too cute to resist.

This is one of two cards I made for an April birthday girl.  I'm going to let my mom use one and I'll use the other...I wonder which one she'll pick.  This image was stamped, colored with copics and paper pieced with paper from a My Mind's Eye paper pack called Fine and Dandy...tickled pink.  The image is of a half ballon.  I punched a circle, inked the edges then added a high light with the white gel pen before covering the whole thing in versamark and clear EP.  I think it gives the little extra texture to the balloon.  I inked the edges of the main image in baja breeze.  Thanks for looking.  Come back tomorrow for the other card.

Under the weather?

It's spring and I feel great.  Definately not under the weather...unless you count pollen.  This is my latest entry in the MFT weekly sketch challenge.  As sson as I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to use one of my new sets (free for winning the week 5 challenge).  The backgound is some felt.  With the polka dots I felt (no pun intended) it looked like sky and rain.  The umbrella is SO cute in the pawsitively prints 2 DSP from SU.  In fact if SU sees this they might market an actual umbrella in the print (if only).

 I hope you can see from the picture the glossy accents used on her mack and wellies (pardon the spelling and UK terminology).  The cloud is punched with the fiskars cloud out of SU shimmer white.  The brads (hopefully looks like rain drops) are SU glimmer brads...gotta get more of them.  A little early for April Showers but maybe this will bring you a little spring weather wherever you are.

Jar Full of Friendship

Check out what I got in the mail the other day.  I love it!  My sweet friend Jen used her brand new stash of sweet stitches fabric to make these jars.  She did such an awesome job.  I should have taken a picture of the inside because it is honestly as neat and cute as the top.  She gathered the material on the inside and covered the part where it all comes together with a scallop circle out of felt.
Now....hmmm....what should I put in them?  Buttons, ribbon, bobbins, pins..ahh the possibilities.

Thanks Jen..I'll always have these on my craft shelf and think of you when I see them.

MFT challenge week #10

Wow...10 of 52 weeks have passed.  Time flies!  This week's sketch was pretty easy to follow.  Not to worry, my supply of MFT stamps is about to increase by 3.  Back on week 5 I WON!  I was so excited to get the email.  I asked and they said even if you've won you can keep participating...plus it is a fun way to increase my card stash.
This week I used the my how you've grown set.  It is filled in with sweet and sour DSP and copic markers and SU daffodil delight marker for the baby's onsie.  The background paper is from the retired sweet pea pack.  I used the MFT scallop die twice for the vertical element and topped with a piece of pretty in pink ribbon.  The heart element is punched and then "inlaid embossed" with smaller melon mambo hearts.

Thanks for looking.  I'm over 3000 visitors which is amazing.  Have a great day crafting!

Bright Flower blanket

This is for baby Kennedy who is scheduled to make her debut in a few short weeks.  I have been working on this blanket since September.  Why so long?  It's a good project to just do a few squares or should I say hexagons at a time.  Making the hexagons was easy but the sewing together took a while.  I made all of the large flowers as an anxiety aid as I watched the BCS National Championship game.  Most of the construction was done on a "vacation" week at my mom's.  The pattern did not call for a border but at the last minute I decided to add one.  I went around once in single crochet then again in half double crochet.  In the valleys I did an increase of 2 HDC and on the peaks I did 3 HDC increase.  The pattern is called Bright Flowers Throw on the lion brand website http://cache.lionbrand.com/.  I love the Vanna White yarn and the colors have such cute names: the white is lamb, the pink is pink poodle, the green is sweet pea and the orange is goldfish.  Thanks for looking.

triple tier aviary

I had seen a tutorial for this on Heather Summer's blog http://www.stampwithheather.typepad.com/ a while back but she did another for SCS a few weeks ago.  I decided to give it a try for a fellow blogger's b-day.
I really love chic-n-scratch's blog http://www.mychicnscratch.com/ and in honor of her bird theme pulled out some retired DSP and a current favorite SU set Aviary.  The tutorial is pretty easy but there is something wrong with the measurements of the second level so I has to kind of "wing it" (no birds were harmed in the typing of this pun).
I like the color combo of pacific point and old olive.  The ribbon I got off the SU clearance rack.  The button is also Stampin Up.  With more thought you could probably make one huge long bird cage on the card but I like the balance of having several. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Come back tomorrow for my latest crochet project....yes it is another baby blanket.

Hooty O'Brien

The newest star of late night TV...no.  But he is super cute with his orange vest.  In my family we always wear a touch of orange on the greenest day of the year.  Plus March 17 is a special day for us beyond St. Patrick's Day.  For us 3/17 is embryo transfer day.  Anyone with experience or knowledge of in-vitro fertilization will know what that means.  Four years ago on 3/17 our little guy started his 41 week "incarceration". 
For this card I used the color combo garden green and pumpkin pie.  The pumpkin pie DSP is from the sweet and sour pack and the garden green is from a hostess pack a while back.  The scallops were made with the MFT die. The shamrock was made from 3 of the small hearts from the trio punch.  I embossed the background with the swiss dot folder (just the upper half).  The pumpkin pie ribbon is retired but may still be on the SU clearance rack.  The sentiment is from teeny tiny wishes ties to the ribbon with twine.

Happy St Patricks Day.  Thanks for looking.  Come back tomorrow I have a triple tier card to show you.