Craft Dash 17!!

It's SPRING!!  And I don't know about you, but in my family, that means a WHOLE LOT OF EVERYTHING going on right now! lol.  We've got birthdays, Communions, Baptisms, Showers, Weddings, Anniversaries!  WOW!  So, needless to say, I've been busy making cards!  I haven't photographed all of them, because I run out of time :( ) but I have gotten a few, so I'll have some new things to share here soon!

BUT -- today I am here, playing along with the Craft Dash Challenge again!  Paulina comes up with some fun challenges, and I REALLLLLY want to get playing consistently.  This week's challenge is below:

Here's my take on the challenge:

One less birthday card to make for the weekend, WOOHOO! lol.  

Of course, let us not forget...how long did this take me???  Wellllll.....

MADE IT! :D

Speaking of making it...I've just started on a self improvement project...so I may post about here from time to time.  I've decided it's time to take my body back after not taking care of it pretty much since I became a mom.  I signed up for some fitness classes at the martial arts school where my children take class, figuring there's total accountability...I'm Irish, so I'm naturally guilty, lol.  I took my first two classes this past Friday, and it was INTENSE for someone as out of shape as I am -- BUT -- I made it through the first class (hour of upper body) and made it part of the way through the second (hour of lower body).  I made it farther than I expected, truthfully, but am glad to get going.  My muscles are still sore today, though I can finally walk down a set of stairs without wanting to cry ;).  I go back this Friday for more, and I'll update more on where I go from there :).  

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great week!!

Tracey

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Super Stars, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Classic Kraft, Smokey Shadow

Paper: Select White

Accessories: sequins

We're "Bubbling" With Excitement!

So, 2013 is shaping up to be a banner year!  LOTS of Weddings and BABIES BABIES BABIES!!!  My husband and I have 20 nieces and nephews, and this year, we'll have 2 more!  One nephew has already arrived, and the other will be here in a few short weeks!  It's nice to have little babies in the family again, the last ones were my little one who is 5, my nephew (on my side) who is 5, and my niece (on DH's side) that will be 5 in a few weeks.  We also have a bunch of friends all expecting -- it's so exciting - I LOVE IT!

Well, tonight we had a little "sprinkle" for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.  It's been a while since they've had a baby, and we want to make sure the new little guy has all he needs!  Another sister in law found these cute bubble gum tubes, and I offered to make new tags for them, because the ones that came on them were kind of...well...lame.

So, I sat down at the computer, and made myself a template of a bunch of 1.75" circles, and made a computer generated sentiment "We're bubbling with excitement for new baby "K"!" and printed them out.  I broke out the Cuttlebug, and cut out all of the circles, along with the outer die cut shape, in red.  I stamped the single largest dot from Polka Dot Basics I (Papertrey Ink) stamping off once, in a few different colors, and added the "shine" with my sakura white glaze pen.  mounted them to the red scalloped circles, and then tied them on with some silver stretchy cord I got from SU! ages ago.  They came out really cute I think -- and could work for a bunch of different occasions -- with bubbles even, if you don't want to give something sugary (good call Alicia!!)

Thanks for popping by today!

Supplies (all Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics 1
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf
Paper: Select White, Pure Poppy
Accessories: "Cocktail" font on my PC, Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle dies, Silver elastic cord (SU! - retired)

Babies, Babies, Babies!!!

Nope!  Not for me!  BUT -- I think I know 5 or 6, or is it 7 people (I've lost count!) who are pregnant and having babies this year! :)  I'm so excited for them all.  For some it's their first, for one it's their 5th!  2 of them will be related to me, I'm excited to be an auntie again, it's been 5 years since we've had any babies in the family.

Well, with babies, come baby gifts!  I made this card a few weeks ago (sorry for the poor lighting, it was dark out when I finished!) but I really liked it, and thought I'd share it here.

The background was done using the My Mother, My Friend stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  I just adore that wavy flower image!  I used the coordinating dies for My Mother, My Friend to cut out the layers for the sentiment, which is from the Sweet Baby set, also from Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder.

Lastly, I added a little crocheted flower, to tie into the gift, as one of the gifts I gave my sister-in-law was a blanket her mom made for my oldest.  My SIL has other children, but this is the first being born after the passing of her Mom. My DD and I spoke about how we thought it might be nice to pass the blanket that was made for her by SIL's mom to the new baby, so he/she can have a blanket made by his/her grandma.

We've been BUUUUSY around here - I had been on such a good roll stamping - I need to clear the clutter on my table and get back at it!  Hope things are well where you are!

Stars and Smiles

So, how was everyone's weekend??  Mine was not exactly as planned, but still pretty darn good :).  We took my girls to a Math and Science night at their school, and it was really cool - lots of fun, hands on experiments for the kids to do!  Friday night - the little one started complaining about her ear -- so Saturday morning, instead of our usual Taekwondo (and this week we were supposed to meet friends for breakfast) we went to the doctor.  Ear infection.  Booooo.  We still managed to get a lot done, and I met a friend for dinner - it was fun catching up!

Today -- uuugggghhhh -- today I hit the play area in my family room, and WENT NUTS.  I got rid of 2 HUGE bags full of stuff - some garbage, some stuff that just needed to go.  We have TOO much stuff - and my girls never want to throw ANYTHING away (I foresee the show 'Hoarders' in my future!) So yeah, it was a busy day -- but Daddy took them to the park, and then they got to watch the new Monster High special, so all was right with their world, even if Mommy threw a bunch of stuff out ;).

Here and there, I've been trying to purge and get rid of things -- it's just taking the time to do it.  We have a very modest home, and the biggest thing is lack of storage -- so I'm always on a quest to be more organized.  I'll get the house to a good place, and then after a few weeks -- back to the old mess.  Do you have any tips or blogs or websites that have helped you become more organized??  I'm always happy to listen.

BUT -- this is not why I am posting!!  I came to share a card I made for my nephew Joe.  He just turned 5, and had a really cool party at Monster Mini Golf last weekend - lots of fun!  I needed to be quick, and try as I might -- this wasn't SO quick, but it was fun, and colorful.

These new birthday sentiments from Papertrey Ink are awesome, I've used them a few times already!  Unfortunately, I don't have the stars dies from PTI, so I hand cut the stars that weren't stamped directly on the card base, but at least they are all straight cuts, right?  That was what took the most time, but start to finish, it was probably about 25-30 minutes...not TERRIBLE.

Thanks so much for popping by -- I hope you had a great weekend!!

Tracey

Supplies (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday, Super Stars

Ink: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, True Black

Paper: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Select White

Dash to Make it Monday! - Glitter Trim

Ok, I know...this is really getting scary now!  ha!  I guess I've found a renewed sense of stampiness, or something. :)  Since playing in a few other challenges/hops, I found this fun challenge, called the 10 minute craft dash.  I thought it looked kind of fun, and figured why not give it a shot??  I decided to combine it with this week's Make it Monday challenge of die cut glitter trims.

Note to self: when doing a timed challenge, probably NOT a great idea to incorporate glitter...especially pink glitter...especially when you are wearing black..just sayin'.

OK -- so here's the craft dash challenge colors:

Here's what I did with them:

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out...AND I got it done in less than 10 minutes!!!

What are some of your favorite challenges to participate in??

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday, Heart-2-Heart #6

Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate

Paper: Dark Chocolate, Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores

Accessories: Heart border die

February PTI Blog Hop! Monograms

Hi there!!  I can't believe it -- 3 posts in a week - I must have a fever, lol.  When I saw the blog post inspiration, I wasn't sure what I could come up with.  I thought, and searched through my stamps, and I just wasn't "feeling" any of it!  Then, I had a thought - and I think it came together quite nicely on paper.  I went clean and simple!

I used my new Watercolor Wonder stamp set from PTI, and the block alphabet dies - and this is what you get:

This card LITERALLY took me less than five minutes, but I think it fun and colorful, and that's what I seem to be gravitating toward these days.  I'm just happy to be stamping!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Watercolor Wonder (PTI)
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Royal Velvet
Paper: Select White
Accessories: block alphabet dies

What a Weekend!! And a Cool Find :)

WHEW!  It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, but filled with all happy, wonderful things.  Saturday we were at my nephew's 5th birthday at this cool place, called Monster Mini Golf.  If you've never been - you should see if they have one near you - totally cool.  It's a mini golf course that's inside - everything is painted with neon paint, and there are blacklights all in the main room, so everything glows.  My daughter picked out her shirt 2 weeks in advance, it's white, with neon orange sleeves, yeah, I had NO trouble finding her, lol.

After the birthday party, we headed back near home and took the girls to "Kids' Night Out" at a local gymnastics place.  It was a fundraiser for a new playground at the school.  The hubs and I went out to dinner at a local place -- if any of you watch "The Dead Files" on the Travel Channel, Smalley's Inn was where we ate, and it was featured on the show.  I personally, have never had an encounter there, but it's neat to hear all of the stories!

Today, was a different fun occasion.  A very old long-time friend was up to visit making plans for her wedding in the fall, and her Mom had a little luncheon for the bride-to-be before she returns home.  My sister-in-law pinned this really cute gift idea on Pinterest, and I thought it would be nice to do this for Amanda, instead of toasting flutes, or some other "routine" wedding gift.  I found a great vendor on Etsy, quick turn around - and she was able to engrave the wedding date on the ends of the forks as well.

So, I made a little box (nothing fancy - the templates I have weren't quite the right size to fit the forks) and a coordinating card that held a gift card to where she is registered.  Silly to buy a gift that will have to be shipped, or packed to go back home!  Here's the box with the forks:

a very simple box with a clear lid.  It's hard to see, but I used Stitches and Swirls to add a little something on the orange panel in the bottom of the box.  The forks say "I do" and "Me Too!" with their wedding date on the ends of the forks.  

Up next is the card 

I used Orange Zest, and cryogen white (Shimmery) cardstock.  The leaf flourish is from Embroidered Blooms, and stamped in Simply Chartreuse and Ripe Avocado.  The blooms are die cut with Beautiful Blooms II #3 dies, and also stamped with images from Embroidered Blooms in Orange Zest and Terra Cotta Tile.  The sentiment (one of my favorites!) is from Think Big Favorites #5.  

Here they are together:

I spent a really nice afternoon with Amanda and her family, and am so happy for her as she is about to embark on this wonderful journey with her lucky guy.  Now --- it's back to work tomorrow!  Blech.  But - at least I have a wonderful weekend to look back upon!

So, what did YOU do this weekend???  Hope it was something great!  Thanks for stopping by!