another birthday card

my baby sister turned 21 this year. i think she's officially all grown up. :)

i sent her a card - yes, late! -  but also sent a bunch of goodies with it to make up for it. so we're good.

i used BasicGrey's Sweet Threads collection - of course. :) gotta break it in right! almost EVERYTHING is from that collection - all the paper, solid & patterned, the sticker on the card front, the sticker border on the envelope front, even the letter stickers. i used Paper Smooches Word Salad stamp set to stamp the sentiment in versamark, then embossed in white. then, i took a rag/paper towel/whatever you have on hand, and, after marking on the rag with a purple marker, rubbed it across the embossed sentiment to really make it pop. the embossed image resists the marker, so it looks like you just stacked the words on top of the smudging.

which, now that i think about it, you probably could've done, too.

anyway. hope you're having a good week! my wisdom teeth are coming out today, so don't laugh at me when i show up in a viral video making a fool of myself, okay? thanks.

dear penpal

just a fun little card i did for a friend some time ago.

BasicGrey's Origins Collection is my favorite when it comes to making a masculine-style card. i love that i can have patterns that include flowers & it not feel too girly. :)

thanks for stopping by!!!

sunday school encouragement

a few weeks ago in the sunday school class i help with, we made cards of encouragement for leaders in our church. knowing third graders & their attention span (or lack of) i thought making a couple for reference would be a great jumping off-point. so here's what i came up with in about 10 minutes. don't judge. :)



one girl copied the cat & bunny freehand - it was pretty impressive for a nine year old. it was alot of fun to see the kids get so excited about making their cards their own, & then eagerly give them away.

materials used: all paper from BasicGrey's Sweat Threads Collection, Paper Smooches Sets: Word Salad, Chit Chat, & Party Pals, AC Alpha Stickers & Martha Stewart punches.

welcome baby

this card was an official welcome to my gorgeous neice, who was born on 12/11/12. her name is kylie caroline & she is seriously one of the cutest babies. i might just need to get permission from her mom & dad and put up a picture. being an aunt is just so exciting already! i can't wait to spoil her & my nephew (born 3 months earlier!!!)

i told you i would just go crazy with my new purchase of basicgrey's sweet threads collection.... i haven't made anything without it since i got it over a month ago.... it's just so fun!

i have had that ric rac for ages, and it pretty much went with the pink in the cardstock like they were made for each other.... & seeing how it was a baby GIRL card, it was the per-fect accent. i weaved the ribbon & adhered to the back of my solid pieces of cardstock & then stuck them onto the card base. i used Paper Smooches Word Up & Word Salad to make the sentiment, & embossed in white for a little pop. the flower & leaves are from sweet threads, and i just stuck some foam tape on the back of the flower for a little dimension. and voila, a cute girly card!



paper crafting without paper

A few months ago i saw an AWESOME wreath on pinterest (yes, i  have been sucked in by all it's glory), and finally got around to making it. now, this would be totally easier if you have a cutting machine of some sort (big shot, cricut,e tc) but i have not invested in one yet. :) but this can definitely be done without.

here's the original inspiration:

and here's mine:

you can visit the source here for instructions on how to do it.

 i used about 1 1/2 yards of canvas. don't be afraid to use more than just one color!!! you could use lots of pastels for an easter wreath or maybe some fall shades for a seasonal wreath later in the year. this really only took a few hours (and most of that was tracing & cutting out the circles by hand) & it looks so fresh & simple on our front door.

thanks for stopping by!

doilies!

simple yet cute card today: i started with a cardstock base using AC’s Botanique Opal (this paper is gorgeous!). i got several pages from this collection pieced out on clearance at a local shop & have used all of it up already! the opposite side is a nice peachy cream. i was really wanting to use one of my new Martha Stewart doily diecuts, so the whole card revolved around that. i decided where i wanted to put the doily, and then adhered some brown satin ribbon around the card base and put the doily on (they’re self-adhesive!).

i then stamped my sentiment on a scrap of brown cardstock & embossed with ZING! white powder…. i’m getting a lot better at embossing, if i do say so myself… J the brown cardstock is from CoredinationsFoundations.com and has this awesomely smooth finish. i’ve noticed the smoother the texture, the easier it is to emboss CLEANLY.

thanks for stopping by. J

and the obsession continues...

just bought BasicGrey's Sweet Threads collection pack.

digging in. more to come! :)

demotivate



so, lately i have been having some crafting-motivation issues….i will be amped up to work on some stuff when i’m at my job, but by the time i get home, it’s gone. BOO. this needs to be fixed asap.

this card was for a friend of mine for her birthday. my inspiration came from the paper smooches SPARKS challenge, which i meant to enter this card into, but lo and behold, i just didn’t have the motiv to get it blogged & linked up. oh well.

i used kraft paper for the base & a big swatch of patterned paper from the LUSH Red Diamonds collection from My Mind’s Eye for the main focus. i got a new Martha Steward punch for Christmas that i used for the scalloped squares.

i have had these red metal flower accents from ColorBok for awhile, and the patterned paper was calling them. a simple sentiment (Paper Smooches) embossed with ZING Red Glitter embossing powder on a kraft flag finished her up.

birthday card for my sister!

wouldn't this patterned paper make an awesome wallpaper??? that's what i kept thinking when i was making this card!

this is a birthday card (obviously) for my older sister. red & black are such classic colors (and her wedding colors, now that i think about it...) and i wanted something clean & timeless.

i trimmed the patterned paper to size & wrapped the black ribbon and secured. i then stamped the sentiment in red on grey paper (scraps! yay!!!) and popped up on foam tape over the ribbon & embellished with pearls.

materials used: Lush Red Diamonds by My Mind's Eye double-sided cardstock, MS small pearls, Paper Smooches Chit Chat stamp set, Black Satin Ribbon

best hairdresser award

i met my friend lacey 3 years ago when we lived in the same apartment building and not only is she a great hairdresser, but a wonderful friend. she recently convinced me to get some highlights done (which was slightly terrifying) and i absolutely love them. and just the other night i enjoyed some hot cocoa ::with marshmallows:: out of my new mug emblazoned with ‘cat lover’ that she gave me just because. so, yeah, she rocks.

the card is technically a post card, so no scoring involved. i used some patterned paper scraps for the background & used my new Martha Stewart punch for the bottom. i used the same punch on a pre-made tag and then went over the pattern with Glossy Accents. i stamped & embossed the sentiment and layered some cardstock before adhering to the tag. i absolutely love how versatile those paper smooches stamps are!!!

  

the envelope was embellished with a paper rosette made with the same patterned paper as the card that was punched before scoring. when you punch a border on the strip you plan to use for the rosette, not only does it give it an extra pop, but it makes it way easier to score evenly by following the pattern. i would loooooove to get THIS scor-pal to help make that less of a pain, but i just can’t justify it right now. J sometimes, it’s good to have to be creative to be creative. haha!

thanks for stopping by!!!

materials used: Paper Smooches Chit Chat stamps, Martha Stewart punch, ZING white embossing powder, Paper Studio pre-made tag, black satin ribbon & PS cardstock. 

stop sopa

go HERE for more info.

card for my mama

quick thank you to my mama for all the awesome christmas gifts. she's the best!!!!

i made the card base out of a 12x12 sheet from BasicGrey’s LBD collection & rounded the corners. i stamped the sentiment using Paper Smooches Chit Chat in versamark & embossed in white. Then i just embellished with a sticker border from LBD and some simple black ribbon to tie it all together. i really like the country feel to it.

materials: Paper Smooches Chit Chat Stamps, BasicGrey Little Black Dress, ZING white embossing powder, AC Corner Rounder, Black Satin Ribbon & AC black cardstock.

Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge!

This is my first play-along with the Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge and i am pretty excited!

This was the picture Kim posted as inspiration:

i was inspired by the simplicity of the picture & the rainbow colors, obviously. :) i was not planning on this being a wedding thank-you, but my right brain was apparently not communicating with me tonight. but that's fine - i was pretty pleased with the outcome.

this was the perfect excuse to ::literally:: dust off my prismacolors. they have been ignored for quite awhile. i embossed the 'wedded' couple in white & popped the conversation cloud up on foam tape squares. i had to really restrain myself from adding more to the card. :)

materials used: AC white textured cardstock card base & paper, Paper Smooches Chit Chat, Prismacolor Colored Pencils, ZING white embossing powder, Corner Rounder & Foam Tape.

aaaaand i'm back.

you'd think with the very little traveling we did over the holiday season, i'd have all kinds of time to kill. where in the world did that time go? i know i would like it back... i have a house to clean!

did you get lots of goodies for christmas? i was really looking forward to one in particular from my mama.... she always seems to get me the best christmas gift: WONDERFUL FABULOUS BASICGREY PAPER!!! and she got me plenty of one of their new collections, the classy Little Black Dress! and this cheetah print was in there.

my little sister (being the silly minimal-papercrafter that she is) giggled at the sight of the cheetah print, so i told her she would be getting an awesome card made from said paper.

voila.

love you wendell.

hope your holiday season was great!!!!