Teacher Appreciation Purses

I am on the teacher appreciation committee at one of Micaela's schools. Every month we're going to do a little something for all the teachers and staff. Our date for the first token was a week after we met so we decided to go the simple route and get the teachers Sonic gift cards since there is a Sonic very close to the school. I couldn't bare the thought of just handing out gift cards so I volunteered on my own to make some sort of holder.

Last night when I started the project, I really didn't know what I was going to do. In the end, I went with one of my old faithful projects that I learned early on when I became a demonstrator.... a little purse card. I've made hundreds of these over the years.

I struggled with the color scheme because they want us to stick to the school colors which are purple and gold. I decided to go the pastel route on the purse because I just couldn't bring myself to use the colors 'full strength'.

I made 20 of these babies.

The font is cuttlebugged with the swirl embossing folder. I used my brand new Spellbinders Nestabilities to make the top flap and then just punched 1/8 holes in the scallops to dress it up. I used some pastel brads to make a clasp for the purse and a dime size Velcro cirlce cut in half to hold the flap in place.

I printed the inside of the card on the computer and used some white

holiday sparkly gift wrap twine for the handle.

The teachers will get these tomorrow and I hope they like them. Thanks for stopping by...

Busy... Busy...

I can't believe how busy September has been for us. We went on a weekend trip after Labor Day and it's been non-stop. Micaela is in two preschool programs so everyday I am taking her somewhere and then heading off to work for a full day. I've managed to work on a few projects late at night and will be sharing them in the next few days.

Halloween is around the corner

Halloween is around the corner. I was visiting my local Williams Sonoma store over the weekend and they have a whole collection of fun baking items for Halloween.

My favorite was this set of Stamped Cookie Cutters. They are a set of four cookie cutters, a flying witch, pumpkin, cat and skull (not too crazy about skull).

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First, you use the nylon cutters to shape a flat cookie from rolled dough. Then gently press the spring-loaded stamp to add imprinted detail. Pressing harder creates a cutout surface. You can also sandwich a flat cookie and cutout cookie, with a filling of frosting or jam in between. Aren't these adorable?

Green Tip #1

Each year the average American throws away about 100 polystyrene foam cups, each expected to last over 500 years.

Source: Dinegreen.com

Bunch of One Sheet Wonders

My sister in law asked me to make a BUNCH of thank you notes for her. I decided the one sheet wonder technique would be the fastest way to make alot of cards quickly. She wanted simple, tailored cards in earth tones, (she likes brown, blue and green) so I mostly used papers with those colors. All the designer papers I used were 12x12, typically each sheet yeilded enough to make 6 to 8 cards. I didn't use a pattern, just cut the dsp into blocks and started layering. The sentiment was computer generated. I used a circle label Avery template in Word but just printed on card stock.


Here's a sample of each of the sets I made for her. No stamping involved, just paper & punches-- easy peasy!



This last set is my favorite... I made 8 cards with this paper. The circles were dry embossed, I almost don't want to give her these...lol. The paper is from the Nana's Kids glitter stack by DCWV. (Available at JoAnn & Hobby Lobby)

I am back...

Didn't mean to take such a long break. We went to Vegas for my BIL's wedding, it was fabulous. Had out of town company twice and then started to get Micaela ready for preschool-- so I blinked and it's now September. I love autumn!

Home from Las Vegas

We're home from Las Vegas. It was a wonderful trip. My BIL is officially hitched.

Here's a picture of the happy couple.

Picture taken at Ceasar's Palace where the wedding was held.

Flip Flop Card

Today was my boss's last day at work. She was responsible for most of the water conservation efforts of the city. She's did not leave to pursue another opportunity, only to stay home and relax because she's got some health issues. I thought it would be fun to make a flip flop card because what could be more relaxing than flip flops in the summer. We ended up making the theme of her party summer pool type stuff. (Read the next post to see the cute cake I had made for her)

Here's the front of the card. I purchased the ribbon in a spool a couple of years ago at JoAnn, I love how a simple knot looks on the card. I used the Cuttlebug for the Yo Yo Yellow dotted background.

Here's the inside of the card, the alphabet was the retired Whimsical Letters and the chair and Umbrella is from Sparkling Summer also retired. Recipe: Tempting Turquois, Pink Passion, Yo Yo Yellow card stock & markers.

Flip Flop Cake

This was the cake I had made for my boss's going away party. Originally I was going to try to do it myself but with company here and us trying to leave town, I decided my friend Traci would do a much better job. I got the original idea from the Betty Crocker website, they have a video tutorial on how to make it and many others.

Cute Flip Flops

Look at these cute Flip Flops I just got Micaela!

I wish I could get some for me but I feel like I might get some funny looks. My friend Trina makes these and ships them all over the US.

This is Micaela's second pair, I was so bummed when she outgrew her first pair that I decided to "preserve" them in a shadow box because I couldn't bare to part with them!

Check out Trina's store, "Prissy Princess Bowtique" she's got alot of cute bows for girls. Trina has been Micaela's personal bow maker since she was a baby. When I have a special dress that I need a bow for, I just email her a picture and she makes a bow to match!

She's offering a discount for all my readers, 10% off. Just enter MARTHA in the coupon code box.

Ginger Blossoms Friendship Card

Here's a simple card using the Ginger Blossoms Designer Paper and the Think Happy Thoughts stamp set. I love the richness of the Ruby Red floral paper, I am sad to see this paper retire.
I love using the sentiments from the
Think Happy Thoughts stamp set and layering them with different size circles, the scallop circle and brads. I used the retired Spring Flower punch to make the small flower in the center and my 1/8 inch punch for the circles on the petals.


Recipe:
Ginger Blossoms DSP
Ruby Red, River Rock, Groovy Guava card stocks. Ruby Red classic ink.

Cutie Pie Birthday Card

Here is another card using the Cutie Pie designer paper which is also retiring.

The sentiment is from the retired Friend to Friend stamp set and the candles and Happy Birthday image is from the So Many Scallops stamp set. I used the Itty Bitty Backgrounds to make the dots on the So Saffron layer.

I made Kristina's TOP TEN!

OMG... I am so excited! I made Kristina Werner's TOP TEN!

After reading her blog for more than a year, I finally started participating in her challenges two weeks ago (after much pestering from my downline Tina).

There was more than 200 entries. You can see the other top choices by clicking here, I am super small potatoes compared to everyone else. Nancy Riley from AZ (my blog fairy) was also one of the other cards chosen, you can see her card by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by, I am in la la land! I'll have a card to post tonight.

Bye Bye Baby Room

It is with much sadness that I started to 'dismantle' our daughter's room this past week. She is over 3 yrs old now and it's time to move from baby decor to "little girl stuff". It was long overdue. I hated to take all the stuff down, I remember how much thought and time went into putting the room together when I was pregnant.

We had a garage sale this weekend and everything was purchased in a matter of hours... window treatments, blankets, crib bedding, rocking chair, all the gear like stroller, car seat, high chair, swing-- everything. The real sad thing is that you can't really get any decent money at a garage sale, I estimate we sold about $3000 worth of stuff and got about $300. Ugh!

Thank goodness stamps have a higher resale value. Oh well, the good thing is that now it's time to redecorate.

Ride' Em Cowgirl

I've been wanting to use this cowgirl stamp ever since my downline Tina gave it to me. I love western stuff, (afterall I am born and raised in Texas). Well, I finally had the opportunity today!. I was putting away left overs from a previous stamp class and had the card base and layers already done (left over from this Father's Day card). I quickly added the cowgirl image and a few star brads and was done. This cute cowgirl is from My Favorite Things "Ride'Em Cowgirl" stamp set. Thanks Tina!

Recipe: Black, Kraft & Chocolate Chip card stock , Black Craft Ink, Outlaw Designer Paper

Dolly visiting my hometown....

Dolly is visiting my hometown!

Thanks for those of you who have asked.

As of this evening, all of my friends & family in the Rio Grande Valley (deep South Texas) are doing fine. Like everyone else, they are hunkered down-- just riding out the storm. Some have lost electricity but so far no damage to anyone's home or property.

I chatted with my single and available brother, to see how he was weathering the storm. Wouldn't I know it, he & his friends are having a "Hurricane Party". Ah, to be single and carefree!

My 2nd KW Color Challenge

Ok Ms. Tina, (my downline) I think I am hooked on this challenge thing....
Kristina Werner, a former demonstrator and design guru does a color challenge every week on her blog. Here is the inspiration for this week's challenge.
I love that dress! I am definitely going to use that color combination again, maybe even this week. Here's what I came up with.

This is the old faithful "Roses In Winter" stamp set along with one of my all time favorite sentiments from the "All Holidays stamp set. The sentiment was stamped in Rose Red Craft Ink and embossed with clear powder, layered and put on dimensionals.

Thanks for looking!

Card for a Special Baby Girl

A family we know from church has an infant daughter having very necessary surgery on her skull in a couple of weeks. She has a condition called trigonocephaly. I wanted to send a card expressing how we will keep all of them in our prayers throughout the process.

Here is the card I came up with. This is a 5.5" square card. I chose pastels because afterall, it's for a baby girl. The card base is Pretty in Pink and the layers are Almost Amethyst. The bible verse "Shine on You" from Stampendous was stamped in Pearlescent Lavender Brilliance Pigment Ink by Tsukineko and embossed with clear powder. The designer paper is from American Crafts. I wanted to hang a silver cross charm from the ribbon but didn't have one the right size. In the end I punched out this cross using my Cross True Faith punch by EK Success. I covered the cross in the same Lavender Pearlescent ink and embossed it with clear thick embossing powder, it looks glittery in the picture but actually more of a pearlized finish IRL. I am happy with the way the card turned out. Thanks for stopping by and if you have room on your prayer list, please add baby Kenna.

My First Color Challenge

For a while now my downline Tina has been bugging me about participating in a color challenge. She has no idea what trying to stamp with a 3 yr old around is like. Nonetheless, tonight after everyone went to bed, I thought I would give a challenge a try. I decided I would try Kristina Werner's color challenge #16.

This was alot harder than I thought, I struggled with the color combination but in the end this is what I came up with, (it's certainly not a favorite). I missed the deadline by a couple of hours but at least I tried. Maybe next week I will do better.

Recipe:
Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla and Soft Sky

Blueberry Pomegranate Fruit Smoothie

I wasn't a fan of tea until recently. Now it's all we drink at home. Here's a recipe I found on the Lipton website, it's delicious!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Brew Time: 5 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 cup boiling water
4 LIPTON® White Tea with Blueberry & Pomegranate Flavor Pyramid Tea Bags
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 pint (2 cups) frozen nonfat vanilla yogurt


Directions:
Pour boiling water over LIPTON® White Tea with Blueberry & Pomegranate Flavor Pyramid Tea Bags; cover and brew 5 minutes. Remove Tea Bags and squeeze. Stir in sugar until dissolved; chill. In blender, process tea mixture with remaining ingredients until smooth. Serve immediately.

Card Front Recycling....

You know I am all about recycling. I've been cleaning out my craft room and I have an over abundance of swaps from the last two conventions and regionals. As much as I would like to keep everything, I just don't have the space. After going through all the cards, I came up with about 500 pcs that I did not want to keep. A few days ago after my card buffet, we spread them all out on the kitchen table and l let my ladies go through them and take any they wanted. They were thrilled and I am just happy they went to a good home.

Cherry Limeade Sherbert

Here's a plug for Braum's. I went through the drive-thru at Braum's yesterday and ordered my usual #11 which includes a small shake. Well I always substitute the shake for a sherbert freeze. When the attendant listed the flavors, she mentioned Cherry Limeade. I thought she was mistaken but I ordered that flavor anyway. Well, OMG, that is the most delicious sherbert I have ever had! It tastes just like a Cherry Limeade. If you have a Braums in your area, try it!

A friend is a gift

This is one of the other cards on the card buffet for tomorrow night. We're using all the images the "Year After Year" stamp set, so the cards need to be pretty simple or my ladies will be here all night... (not that would be a bad thing).

I love this sentiment, not sure what retired stamp set it came from because when I keep retired sets with images and quotes I usually sort them by theme. Nonetheless, I need to mass produce this card and send one to each of mt friends.

Pink or Blue?

We are using the Year After Year stamp set to make a variety of cards at my next 'card buffet'. Here's the cards we'll make with the cute elephant stamp.It's difficult to see but the elephant was stamped on Pretty in Pink card stock, cut out, covered in versamark, embossed with Irridecent Ice, and popped up with dimensionals. I did the same with the blue card but skipped the glitter (just didn't think glitter would be for boys).Recipe: Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Whisper White- card stocks, American Crafts DP, Basic Grey classic ink

We are going to Las Vegas in less than a month. My brother in law is getting married in Ceasar's Palace on 08-08-08. We are so excited, I am thrilled to have another sister in law! While I have been to LV before, I have never really had a chance to play. I went there once for work, had a crisis back in D and spent all my time on computer in the hotel room, the time before that I was a toddler in 1971.... so I am excited.

About 30 friends and family are attending, it will be a fun time. If you're in the area let me know, maybe we can meet up and if you know of some places we must go please drop me a line.