Saying Goodbye to a CoWorker

I started a new job last year and found that many of my co-workers have been at this company for more than a decade.  It wasn't too long before a few of them decided that retirement was for them.  Since I had made my boss' day card, I was soon asked to make a card for those leaving.  This resulted in a string of requests that I am working feverishly to fulfill.  Enthusiastically, feverishly!

This card was made for a lovely young lady whose last day was yesterday.  We sent her off with well wishes hoping that her hard earned retirement will be satisfying and productive, just in a new way. She had been with the company since the start 30 years ago.  Here's the details of the card:

• All the patterned papers are Heartfelt Creations Once Upon a Time collection.  I used one of the card toppers for the top layer of the card and some of the patterned papers for the layers.
• The flowers are Arianna Blooms which I've clear embossed onto mauve cardstock and then die cut.  they are finished with some Vintage Photo Distress ink which was resisted by the clear emboss and the centers are finished with A Penny Saved prills.    
• The sentiment is one of the tags that come in the paper pack which I matched with green leaves die cuts.  The leaves are also edged with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.
• A cream cardstock die cut using my Raindrops on Roses die which I cut in half and affixed to the top and bottom finishes the card nicely.  

Wishing Barb all the best on her coming adventures.

I'm  entering this in Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: No Rules!  and the Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes and over at Word Art Wednesday: Challenge #172: Anything Goes.  Come join the fun!

Such a Sweet Little Angel

Friends of ours welcomed their first grand baby a little while ago.  Oh goodie- a chance to break out my Heartfelt Creations Sweet Lullaby stamp set!  Here's the details:

• The sentiments were stamped in black Archival ink using my Sweet Lullaby stamp set and die cut using my Once Upon a Time die.  
• A white cardstock lacey circle die cut is edged with Worn Lipstick Distress ink which is layered onto top of a patterned paper Labels 18 die cut edged in Scattered Straw Distress ink.
• The flowers are stamped in black Archival ink using my Heartfelt Creations Classic Sunflower stamp and die.  They are colored with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink and the centers are variegated prills.  
• The sprigs are cut from green cardstock using my Arianna Lace die.  
• Finally, the butterflies are cut from the same paper pad of patterned paper- MME's The Sweetest Thing Lavender using my Prickly Pear mini butterflies die accented with some pearls.  This die is just so cute- I've used it a lot lately and can't seem to get away from it...

Such a beautiful card, but that baby girl Evie is even more beautiful.  I have prayed for this young lady's safe arrival and gladly turn to praying for her and her entire family to enjoy this precious time.

I'm entering this card in the City Crafter Challenge Blog: Week #250 Use It Up.  I used leftover die cut butterflies, flowers, and even the Sweet Lullaby pieces were leftover from a previous stamping project.

I'm also entering this in Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: No Rules!  I just had a ton of fun making this card with my scraps and decided to share it there too.

Come on over and join the fun!

Quilting Made Slightly Better

So I still had some of the 1/2 inch squares cut for my coasters and after the miserable fail I posted just the other day I thought I should try it once more.  This card definitely came out better.  No gaps in between to be horribly crooked.  The papers are from MME's Collectable 6 x 6 paper pad.  There's very little left of the pad now.  I'm struggling with myself to let these bits go- I've made many projects with that paper pad and it is probably time to move on.  Please don't hold your breathe though, I've admitted I have a disease and it is a severe case!

Hope your day is going spectacularly.  Thanks for stopping by.

Not Necessarily a Card Fail

OK- I'll fess up to not liking how this card turned out at all.  What I thought was quilted pieces perfectly placed in the light of day look like I was COMPLETELY drunk at the time I made this card.  I am ashamed to admit that I've never been drunk and I still made this card....  I'd love to claim an outside influence, maybe I can go with aging eyes.  Anyway- It felt like I should share it if only to remind myself that sometimes I need to think through these things a little further.  I still think the card design could work, just executed a little better next time...

I mustache you a question...

I'm sharing a project made by Brandy today.  She warned me this one would be significantly different than what she usually makes.  I think she was absolutely right!

This folio was made with the same techniques as previously shared in this post.  The inside structure is a heavy chipboard which is put together using a wet glue to make sure it stays together.

This album is filled with clever and adorable little trinkets most of which came from Hobby Lobby.  The checkerboard is a washi tape along with the mustaches and glasses.

Each little waterfall page in the ablum is covered with a different patterned paper and mustaches line the entire project.

So, I mustache you a question- don't you love it?

One Last Valentine's Day Gift

Just popping in for a quick post to share Brandy's Valentine's creations.  She made these cute gift bags for co-workers on Friday.  Whipped them up in no time flat Thursday evening.  The red glitter paper was cut using her Spellbinders Heart Circles die and the heart cut out of silver glitter paper using a simple heart die.

These are the mini-kraft bags found at craft stores like Hobby Lobby.  The tissue bought at Hobby Lobby as well.  Simple candy to fill and she had a lovely small gift for her co-workers.

Simple, right?

Happy Valetine's Day

Just a quick pop in to share a Valentine's Day treat I whipped up to give out at work.  The flowers were all previously cut and in the stash.  I simply punched a hole (or holes- man those Tootsie Pop sticks are big) and used a glue dot to hold the flower and die cut leaves in place.  A small, but thoughtful treat for those in the workplace to enjoy.

I hope this post finds you happily enjoying your own Valentine's Day.

Making My Own Coasters

During the holidays we decided on a few home improvement projects that we will (hopefully) accomplish throughout the year.  The first of which was to purchase two new Laz-y-Boy chairs for our family room.  We purchased two chairs 18 years ago when my son was born.  My chair lasted longer than my husband's so we replaced his chair about 10 years ago.  When my chair wore out about 5 years ago, we didn't replace it (times were tougher then).  We've limped along needing a fourth sitting location for a while now.

With the new chairs, we also decided to purchase a new table to sit between.  The table is not very expensive, but is made of wood which brings me to this project.  I needed some new coasters and turned to Pinterest for ideas.  The place is full of ideas so I decided to make my own coasters with some tile from Lowes.

I simply cut 1/2 squares from my MME Collectable paper pad leftovers.  I have all but demolished this paper pad, but a sentiment sheet and strips of patterned paper were left.  Each rectangle sentiment was cut from the paper pack and the 1/2 squares arranged around the sentiment.  I used matte finish Modge Podge to glue the cut pieces onto the tiles.  I added a couple of layers of Modge Podge over the top to finish the project.   On the bottom of the tile I cut black felt to size and hot glued it to the tile.  This prevents scuffs from the tile on the wood table.

I think they turned out cute, don't you?  The only downside is that hot beverages will sometimes stick to the Modge Podge. I've gotten use to it, but a visitor might be shocked.  If I figure a way to cure the Modge Podge I'll let you know.

I'm entering this into Simon Says Stamps' Wednesday Challenge: Red & Pink.  Come join the fun!

A Valentine's Card Set

My very good blog friend, Karon, graced me with a gift before Christmas.  This was unexpected and filled me with joy.  However, I would be remiss if I didn't put a couple of the gifts to immediate good use.  So, I made up these Valentine's to send out.  I used the Recollections kraft card set which had hearts covering the front of the cards.  This made for a perfect foundation.  I used the Quickutz Heart Frame die to create the layered centerpiece in both red cardstock and kraft paper.  How lovely to alternate for effect, don't you think?  The LOVE was cut with the Quickutz Love die which is retired.  I substituted a heart from my Simon Says Stamp heart dies.


I decided to make the entire card set- too easy and too cute not to finish up the project.  All pieces are edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

This was so much fun and so delightful.  I can't wait to pop these babies in the mail to send out to my valentines.  Hope your preparations for the Day of Love are well under way.

A Butterfly Card Set

I am just loving my Prickly Pear Mini Butterflies die.  I so adored the card I made last week that I just couldn't keep myself from making a couple extra.  I'm stopping in today to show you the fruits of that labor.  The concept is the same, but I choose different color and pattern combinations.  Do you have a favorite?  I think of all the cards I made the one above is my favorite.  Of course, that is true until I look at the next one- then that one is my favorite... and on and on it goes until I've looked through all six of the combinations that I made for this set.

I'll probably tie these up and give them as a gift. They will brighten someone's day.  Thanks for stopping in and seeing my production line card set.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamps: All Things Bright and Beauitful

Wordart Wednesday's Challenge # 169: Anything Goes

So Sweet

I received this picture from Brandy for a birthday card she recently made.  I'm just so impressed with the sweet simplicity of this card, that stamp and the intricate details Brandy added to the card.  I'm going to try to summarize the details:

• The young lady is Simply Gorjuss The Black Star stamp stamped in black Archival Ink onto watercolor paper and colored with Distress Markers, Distress inks and a watercolor pen.She was fussy cut out with scissors.
• The ivy is cut with Cottage Cutz Ivy Made Easy die which she then colored with Distress Inks and a watercolor pen.
• The balloons were stamped onto watercolor paper and colored with Distress Inks as well.  The stamp is from Hobby Lobby
• The white lattice was die cut using Spellbinders Fancy Lattice die and the grass was cut with IO's Grass Border die.
• The remainder are fence pieces cut using the Cricut and embossed with woodgrain embossing folder. 

She's just such a sweetly adorable image, I think that face makes the card, don't you?  I hope you have occasion to use your supplies to make someone a beautiful birthday card this week.  Join me in a round of applause for Brandy's hard work.

She's so sweet I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Challenge: H is for....  Holtz since she was colored with Distress Markers.

Celebrating 50 Wonderful Years

My husband's sister turned the big 5-0 this year.  This means he is the last of seven to reach the 1/2 century mark.  He'll do so soon enough, but in the meantime, we needed to celebrate this event.  She is typically not interested in a self focused celebration, but we didn't ask her and held a surprise party that wasn't much of a surprise to her.  She guessed.  Note to self- don't try to surprise Dan because he's expecting it.

This card was made with my Heartfelt Creations classic sunflower stamp and die set.  The patterned papers come from the paper pack.  I simply stamped the sunflowers in brown Archival Ink and colored with Scattered Straw Distress ink.  The centers of the sunflowers are Good Earth Elements from ArtGlitter.  The sentiment was printed out using my computer and then die cut using my Spellbinders Lacey Circles die.  Everything else is a piece on a patterned paper in the pack that I just took advantage of.

I am so pleased with this card, I'm entering it in a couple of online challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge # 168: Anything Goes

Of course I also needed to wrap a gift for the party.  Inside is a medal rack (she runs marathons and does Ironman competitions).  If you know someone who runs, you need to check out this Etsy shop out of Sedona, AZ.  I thought those sunflowers were so nice I decided to make some full size ones for the front of the package.

What do you think?  I was pleased and hope that it just made her feel very special.