baby book

awhile ago, my husband suggested that it really wasn't that crazy to think that there might be people out there that would actually pay for my paper crafting wonders (or just plain ol' cards) and i think i may have laughed out loud. possibly.

and then i actually got an order. and he can't get enough of the 'yes, honey - you were right.'

and here's a few peeks at the baby book i made:

it's an 8x8 album made using mostly a paper/sticker pad from Paper Studio (i think) and i used almost every last bit of that paper. i have become one of those crafters that uses every little scrap!

don't you just LOVE that onesie???

the book is meant to help guide the parents in documenting the baby's 1st year, and ends with their first birthday!

i'm pretty proud of it. plus, i heard it was a big hit with the new mom & dad to be! yay!

thanks for stopping by!

welcome baby

so, maybe i have been a little mia. i kinda had the plague for a week straight (or just a nasty cold) and i have been a little preoccupied with the gazillions (or just fifty) christmas cards i am handmaking this year. i have never made christmas cards before & am really cranking them out. and i know i need to get them finished asap because i have close to <no> christmas shopping done & my niece is due to make her entrance into the world this week. :) eek! so excited!

so, despite all my excuses, i'm sorry i kinda disappeared. so here's a simple card to say i'm sorry. and later this week, i'll have a gigantor post with a few peeks at a baby book i did a few weeks ago.

this was for a coworker's baby shower. she is due 2 days after my brother & sister-in-law. i had to design a card to match the gift bag, so i went with green squares & polka dots. the card & envelope match. :)

thanks for stopping by!

birthday tag!

i have just recently been trying out tags & really enjoying it. you can really go crazy with embellishments since you don't have to try & stuff them into an envelope. :) this one is for a birthday!
wanna know a secret? i heat embossed the circles on the bottom AFTER adhering the REAL wax birthday candle & kinda melted blue wax all over. with my husband watching. ::sigh:: so much for impressing him with my mad skills.

and yes, that is my amazing model, Smalls. it's always difficult trying to finish a project with both of my cats climbing all over my desk & tapping my to get my attention. or stealing all my stuff. but i love them too much to shut them out of the room. :) so i can't complain.

i used a premade tag and adhered patterned paper. i glued the candle down & used foam tape on both the polkda dot label & sentiment for dimension. then i embossed the dots (obviously in the wrong order, so learn from my mistakes).

materials used: Paper Studio tag base & patterned paper, Hero Arts Assorted Dot Border Stamp, White ZING embossing powder & Paper Smooches Chit Chat Stamps.

saying goodbye

there were two coworkers of mine that left the company i work for in the same week, so i made a couple good luck cards. this was the first time i was really showing off my hobby at work, so i was pretty nervous... but i got a lot of compliments. :)

materials used: Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Punches, Offray ribbon, BasicGrey Origins Collection, PS Cardstock, Card Bases & Glitter Alphabet stickers.

white elephant : reinvented

so, despite my husband STRONGLY disagreeing that i am not following the white elephant gift rules (NO SPENDING, give only something you have already), i am giving a small collection of christmas cards. i can't see how i'm breaking the rules... seriously, i didn't buy anything for this!

so, here are the cards:

simple sentiment on the inside

they're all small (4.25 x 5.5) and have the same sentiment. i have red envelopes to give with them. i got the christmas stamps from The Stamps of Life & it was my first purchase from there, so i was excited to ink up as many as possible. they have really crisp lines & i had to double stamp them a couple of times on a few cards to get the strength i wanted in the main sentiment.

materials used: Paper Studio textured cardstock (deep red & forest green) & kraft paper (used for card base), BasicGrey collections Figgy Pudding, Jovial & Nordic Holiday 6x6, Stamps of Life Holly4Christmas, Offray 1/8" white ribbon, Martha Stewart Edge Punch, Martha Stewart White Mini Pearls, Stampabilities Present Stamp & Corner Punch. ::whew::

this card...

was for one of my husband's coworkers, whom i have never met. so it was a definite challenge to not have someone in mind when making this one (but a really good learning experience!).

i don't typically make my card bases out of vellum, but i wanted this to be a really sweet card and the slightly pink color seemed perfect. my favorite part of working with vellum is the more you layer it, the more versatile it is.

thanks for peeking in!

materials used: BasicGrey Porcelain collection (patterned paper & alpha stickers), Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page scallop 3 dot punch, Martha Stewart Dove Punch, & a Stampabilities Stamp with Black Ink.

i love fall!

i have been baking apple pies & carving pumpkins & getting those awesome fall-ish candles from yankee candle. we had a carving contest and here's what we came up with:

i am looooving the weather we have been having! my husband and i have only had our house for a year and a half, so i am still realizing that i can decorate for the seasons & holidays. :) but we got a beautiful wreath this year & i can't wait to put the christmas tree up & get things all wintery.

another thank you for another great person: my best friend growing up! she is one of the few people i have kept in touch with from high school and it's nice to know i'll always get a birthday card from her. I enjoyed sticking with a fall theme.

materials used: Paper Studio card base, Martha Stewart Punch around the page Double Loops, Paper Smooches Chit Chat & Houndstooth patterned paper.

card for the pet-sitters

this card was totally necessary as it was for our pet-sitters! we were out of town for a week, and having 2 cats and a dog (who is practically the same as an extremely energetic toddler), we needed someone to be taking care of them.


this is more my style, having lots of layers & patterns & no stamps. but i am excited to see what i can do with stamps & embellishments. :)

materials used: basicgrey origins collection (paper & stickers) & Paper Studio Glitter Alphabet stickers.

silly cards are my forte, by the way...

i feel like when you send a card, you should mean what it says; that's why i started making my own. all those corny poems & silly sayings that seem so forced just didn't cut it! this card was for my dad - he turned 55 last week, therefore: 

the inside says 'see, there are BIG perks to getting older!' this was made using some houndstooth paper i had & chipboard stickers. i wanted to use alot of patterns (don't ask me why), so i used the vellum & blocks of simple woodgrain paper to calm it down a bit. my dad likes to spend time outdoors, so i thought the woodgrain was perfect. plus, it's basicgrey & i am a bit obsessed with their products.

thanks for coming by!

materials used: BasicGrey Life of the Party 6x6, own vellum, chipboard stickers & patterned paper.

babies everywhere!

this weekend was another baby shower. i swear, everyone i know is having babies!!!! so, staying in the baby theme, here's a few cards i've made recently...


this one was for my brand spankin' new nephew (very first one, too!!!) & his mama, my older sister. she is a big reason i started scrapbooking in the first place, so she deserves more random cards than a lot of other people. i always fancy up the envelopes the cards go in (since almost all my cards are mailed - also why i don't embellish much). i used the same heart stamp on both the card & envelope and just masked off areas to get the look i wanted. the paper is one 12x12 double sided sheet. those make it easy to coordinate. i stamped the sentiment using my new Paper Smooches Chit Chat set and fussy cut the 'smooches' to add a smidge of dimension since it was on white.

this one was for a friend of mine that recently had their first child as well. they kept the name a secret until he was born, so i wanted to highlight that on the card. masculine cards are so difficult! i would rather girly everything up... but it's nice to have a challenge once in a while.

obviously, i need a better camera, so bear with me until santa brings me one. ;)

thanks for visiting!!!

materials used: Paper Smooches Chit Chat, AC double sided cardstock, stampabilites stamps, BasicGrey Oxford Collection & BasicGrey Life of the Party 6x6 .

First Blog Post Ever

so, i'm pretty new to this whole 'blogging' thing, but i'm really excited to start showing off my creations. Typically, when i make a card, i have the recipient in mind & we are the only two that see the final product (unless, of course, i have the husband take a peek). But lately, i have had a hard time NOT thinking about papercrafting & figured it was time to take the next step. :)

i made this particular card for my little sister. she sent me the sweetest card for my birthday, and i wanted to say thanks in a bigger way than a text or facebook post. and the 'friend' part was perfect since there's a bit of an inside joke there. i had just bought myself the paper smooches stamp set and was super eager to try them, and LOVE that you can bend the sentiments into a curve.

thanks for stopping by!

materials used: Paper Smooches Chit Chat stamps, American Crafts Cardstock, Stampabilites Heart Stamp, Black Inkpad, American Crafts ZING embossing powder.