Sew Cute...

It was a very early morning in our house today (awoke at 3:30am to make sure we didn't sleep past the 5:00am alarm clock-ugh!) as today was the day we took our 11 year old daughter to the airport for a solo trip to Boston. She is on her way to Girl Scout camp on Cape Cod for a two week sailing program- lucky girl! I wanted to figure out a way to be the camp doctor for the summer-lol!

I am going to try to be a good mother and mail her a card each day so she has something at mail call- she's not a homesick type of kid, but it's nice to have something in your box! I've been working my way through this "Material Girl" paper pack by Cosmo Cricket and playing with the images from the coordinating stamp set. My daughter will get a kick out of this card because she's learning to sew and has just begun to master using the guide to stay straight.

I stamped the girl in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored her with Copics. Her dress was stamped on a scrap of the flowered paper, cut out and paper pieced over her body. The stamp set comes with 4 paper doll type dresses, so you can change them out- have to think making a girl with changeable dresses for the next card! I used SU's Riding Hood Red and Vanilla card stock to coordinate with the patterned paper (love how the RHR matches so many papers!) and added some lace trim and a button tied bow as accents.

I left plenty of space on the inside so the whole family can write their own notes and added a strip of the patterned paper and lace trim to finish it off.

I am seriously thinking about a nap but am feeling guilted by the beautiful day outside (albeit 90+ degrees)- have to ponder that one while I get this card off to my little sailor!

Have a relaxing day!

Sentimental Journey...

What a crazy weekend this has been! Swim meets both days, an hour drive each way. Girl Scout camp shopping list. Teaching elderly mother to use my new sewing machine. Definitely a full weekend!

I started this card Friday night (before all the craziness began) by digging through my scrap box. Sometimes it's so inspiring to go through the scrap box- it spurs combinations that I would not otherwise think of. Since all the paper and ribbon was from Stampin' Up I wanted to try to go with the theme and use a SU set to go along with it. I haven't played with the Pedaling Past set very much, although I really like the image, so I decided to go with then vintage feel of these colors!

I really like all of the new SU colors, and the "Marina Mist" used in this card is a particular favorite-so fab with yellows and browns! The card base is a 5 1/4" square, slightly smaller than my usual, onto Wichita I stitched a square of Whisper White and Saffron dotted DP. I pleated and zig zag stitched some Chocolate striped ribbon to the bottom of then card and added some buttons to finish it off. The bicycle image was stamped in Chocolate Chip and colored with SU Marina Mist and So Saffron markers to match. The bicycle and supporting layers were cut out on my Sizzix machine using nested dies. The greeting was punched out with the Word Window punch and a few aged copper brads finished off the corners.

The inside of the card was finished with strips of the patterned paper, with the Saffron dots passed through a large scallop punch. I punched some of the Chocolate patterned paper with a swirly edge punch and used the scraps that came out for the corners- it's great when a punch can be used for both the punched out image and the scraps it produces!

Now I'm off to work- trying to gear up for my last week in the NICU and another set of new residents. It's like the movie Groundhog Day- starting all over again at the beginning!

Have a great week!






Supplies:
Stamps: Pedaling Past
Paper:
Marina Mist, Whisper White, So Saffron Designer Paper, Bella Rose DP (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip classic, Marina Mist and So Saffron markers
Accessories: Chocolate 1-1/4" striped grosgrain ribbon, aged copper brads, buttons, Word Window punch, wide scalloped edge punch, Swirly edge punch, Sizzix Big Shot machine, Nestabilities dies

Pull you through...

Whew! What a long week this has been! I was so glad to sleep in (7am as opposed to 6am-lol!) and be able to piddle around in my craft room this morning, drinking my coffee and finishing this card I started earlier in the week. I feel like I got a "get out of jail free" pass last night when I found out that a deadline I had this week was cancelled- preparing for that was going to take all my free time this weekend, so now I can do whatever I want-yay!

I started my card with this week's Sketches for You To Try (SFYTT) from I Heart 2 Stamp. Those of you who follow me regularly know how much I love sketches. They give you an easy place to start and make the card go together super fast- just plug in the paper and image and you're almost done!

I've had this stamp set from Unity for a few months (from the April KOM) and thought it would be a great one to use for this week's "Crazy for Challenges" challenge to use buttons in your layout- definitely not hard for me!  I layered all the background papers together, then stitched over the top with a wide straight stitch on my sewing machine using heavy duty thread- the thickness of that thread tends to show up better on cards. The spools were stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copics- I kept it pretty neutral since the paper was pretty busy. I used the new Stampin' Up colors Poppy Parade and Baja Breeze which match almost perfectly with the patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket's "Material Girl" collection.

The inside was finished by stitching together layers of Vanilla, Poppy and a patterned paper strip. Given how my life has been going lately, I feel like I need to give this card to myself-lol!

Check out the I Heart 2 Stamp and the Crazy for Challenges blogs for more inspiration!

Have a great weekend~

Sew Sweet..

Happy Monday Everyone! When I first woke up this morning I was so convinced that it was Sunday-  until I heard my husband taking my daughter out to early (6am) swim team practice and had the awful realization that it was Monday. Needless to say, the day didn't really improve from there-lol!

I have been trying to be better about completing some sketch challenges that I subscribe to, as this gives me a good jumping off point- just add paper and stamps and you're on your way. This week's "sketch for you to try" (SFYTT) from the I heart 2 stamp blog seemed like a good one. If you haven't checked out the site, click on the sketch and browse through their sketch challenges! It's also cool to see how people used the sketch, turned it sideways or expanded the size to a square, as I did.

Now that I had a sketch, onto paper and stamp set. I was organizing my 6x6 patterned paper yesterday and I came across a pack of Cosmo Cricket paper I bought recently called "Material Girl". I have gotten back into sewing recently and loved the thread and pattern themes on this paper. This paper was a double bonus because Unity Stamps has a stamp set made in conjunction with Cosmo Cricket to match with it {and I just happen to have it :)}.

Because this is a sewing themed card, I stched the background layers together with a straight stitch and the gingham contrast piece with a zigzag. The girl was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, colored with Copics and mounted on a large scallop die cut from the same Cajun Craze as the card base. I used Cherry Cobbler for the greeting to be a bit richer in color and added the buttons from my stash to finish it off.

The inside was finished with a piece of gingham paper punched with a large scallop edge punch and a left-over strip of the flowered paper. The greeting, from the "Thank You Kindly" set, was stamped in Cherry Cobbler.

Hope you've had a good start to your week!





Supplies:
Stamps: Material Girl- Unity Stamps, Thank You Kindly- Stampin' Up
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist: Stampin' Up, "Material Girl"-Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler-SU
Accessories: buttons, hemp twine, sewing machine, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Nestabilities

Digging in the dirt...

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted anything, let alone stepped into my craft room! I am in the NICU taking care of the babies this month, as well as traveling a bit, so it's been crazy to say the least. I'm trying to motivate myself to do some of the things that are on my "to-do" list, including tending to my garden, but it's hard when it's nearly 100 degrees outside-yikes! So instead of venturing outside, I've been puttering in my craft room, reorganizing a bit and fiddling with different patterned paper combinations. I had the background for this card all put together, including the scalloped border and white satin ribbon, then had to go in search of a stamp to go with it (harder than it sounds with my stamp collection-lol)!

A friend sent me some images she stamped with a new Pure Innocence set from MFT and this particular one seemed a perfect match for this paper. For all who follow my blog regularly, you know how much I love this little girl- she's too cute! I colored her with Copics and gave her some dirt to dig in- the stamp set has little dirt mounds but that would have made the scene too wide for what I wanted.

I cut her out with an oval die and added layers of Pear Pizazz and Poppy Parade to make her stand out. I really love the new Stampin' Up In Colors- they really hit the mark this year! I cut out one of the flowers from the patterned paper to tie in with the background and popped it up on a dimensional.

The inside is finished with Pear Pizazz, White and a piece of the circles paper punched with a scallop edge punch. The greeting was computer generated, punched out with the large oval punch and mounted on a scalloped oval shape cut on my Sizziz Big Shot machine.

This little girl is on her way to my SIL as a VERY late birthday card (her birthday was in April...)-she's a serious garden fanatic, so this will go along with her garden themed birthday presents.

I'm off to see just how hot it really is outside and see if I can get hubby to dig in some roses :) Have a great Sunday!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mud Buddies-MFT
Paper: "Pure Joy"-Happy Stripe, "Pure Joy"-Pure Posies, "No Worries"-Content Circles (MME); Pear Pizazz, Poppy Parade, Whisper White (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: White satin ribbon, Earth Elements brads (retired), scallop edge punch, large oval punch, Nestabilities, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, Copic markers

Scoot on over...

Good morning everyone! This is another busy week for me at work, so just a quick post of a card I finished last evening while winding down. Somehow making a card- coloring, cutting and paper piecing are so much more relaxing to me than zoning in front of the TV. I used to knit to relax at night, but living in Houston has really made that less pleasant than when I was in CT- it's too hot to sit on the couch with a big hunk of yarn on my lap!

When I saw this little scooter in one of the kits I purchased from Unity stamps, I was in love- it's so stinkin' cute! I have been going through the stamps that have never seen ink and trying to plan some cards using different layouts I have collected in my files. This was a super simple card made with a So Saffron 5-3/4" card base, patterned paper from the Cosmo Cricket "Girl Friday" collection and the cute little scooter colored with markers. The frame in the center was cut with a Spellbinders nested die on my Sizzix machine, trimming the patterned piece to the embossed line to make the inner frame stand out.The lines on the Cosmo Cricket DP were perfect road lines for a girlie scooter and the button and ribbon finish off the frame.

The inside was finished simply with a layered greeting and some more of the DP from this set. This card will probably go to a friend who moved across the country several years ago that I miss a bunch. This scooter is so darned cute, I am definitely going to have to find other greetings to go with it so I can use it more!

Hope you're having a happy hump day and thanks for stopping by!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Unity KOM
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Cosmo Cricket "Girl Friday"
Ink: So Saffron, Pretty In Pink, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Marina Mist markers
Accessories: Soft subtles brads, Saffron Grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities dies, Scallop oval punch, large oval punch, button, hemp twine

Keep in touch...

This is always the time of year in academics that people graduate programs, move on to new jobs, and take the opportunity for a change in life. I have several colleagues who will be leaving our group in the next week or so and I wanted to make a few of them special cards to let them know they will be missed.

I just bought a whole bunch of 6x6 patterned paper packs from a seller on Etsy (like I needed more paper-lol!) and thought the colors and patterns from the Cosmo Cricket "Early Bird" collection would be perfect for this card. I used my sewing machine to straight stitch the background layers together and used a zigzag for the top layer. The Saffron dotted paper comes from my scrap pile and was punched with a large scallop edge punch that also embosses the edge- so cool!

The sweet Pure Innocence image is a digital image from Heather Ellis which I downloaded from her Etsy site- I do love her drawings! I printed the image twice- once on Very Vanilla card stock and once on the same flowered paper as the background. When paper piecing, it's best to color you image with markers, then glue the cut out (her dress in this case) over the top. The main image and the scalloped oval background were cut out with a set of nested dies on a Sizzix Big Shot machine. The greeting was computer generated and cut by hand.

The inside was decorated to coordinated with the outside and uses a greeting generated on the computer and cut out with nested dies. Hopefully my friend will like this card as much as I do!

My husband and kids just texted to let me know their movie s over and it's time for dinner and a margarita-yay! Hope you're having a great weekend~