Monday, July 14, 2014

Fabric Tote for Lindsay's Birthday

Although she hardly ever posts to our blog, (eh hmmm) my sister is a pretty crafty person. She is the mother of 3 boys and unofficially to mine as well during the school year, as she is our daycare. She is a great cook and handy to boot. This girl has got it all. I posted her birthday card last week here and provided the background to the great little lightning bug card I made for her. This girl deserves so much more than I could ever give her. 

I got so lucky to have her as my little sister and even more lucky that as we have grown, she is by far my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her. So even though she didn't know which birthday she was celebrating, (it's her 31st by the way) she deserves a little pampering. I am planning on taking her for lunch and a mani/pedi, but in the meantime I made her this cute little fabric tote. 


I scored this outdoor fabric at Jo-Ann Fabric when a woman put it down at the cutting counter because it wasn't on sale. I had a coupon and scooped it up. It was destiny. I followed the great photo tutorial here and made her this tote for whatever suits her fancy...kids' snacks, sewing supplies, Scentsy business stuff...the sky's the limit. It was pretty easy to make and only took two nap times to put together. That's quick in my book. I hope she likes it and that she has a great birthday! Love you Linz!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Happy 33rd Birthday to Nick!

My husband, Nick, turns 33 today. We've been together since high school (15 years) and it is amazing to think that I pretty much known him over half of his life. We usually are pretty low-key for his birthday. I love that he and my sister have birthdays right next to each other. We usually celebrate them together, but this year we aren't. 

Nick and I went out for sushi last night to celebrate his birthday. I decided to call it his international birthday because we started in Japan for sushi, then headed to a downtown German pub for a liter of bier, ending the night drinking martinis and today we had Hmong eggrolls for lunch, and Italian lasagna for dinner. I even made a carrot cake, from scratch, for his cake. I'm assuming carrot cake is American, but I'd love to be wrong. It would add so much more to our international theme. 

As with my sister, I enjoy making a homemade card, but man cards are so much harder to produce. Why is that? I took a cue from the Colour Q #249 challenge and rounded up a bunch of 1/2" scraps to pull this card together lickity-split. 


I have a feeling this just might be a go-to layout, especially for the men in my life. I like that it is simple and that I can include any sentiment for whatever the occasion might be. Happy 33rd to my darling Nick!

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Glow Little Lightning Bug

Wow, summer is cruising by at a breakneck speed. This upcoming weekend we are celebrating my husband and sister's (and co-blogger) birthdays. It was funny because Lindsay and I just had a conversation about her age and she couldn't remember if she was turning 31 or 32 this year. After a certain point, do some people just stop counting? My uncle "sold" his birthday to his grandson for a buck. Now Cole has 2 birthdays and my uncle said he never has to worry about getting older again. Maybe it's not a bad idea. For now, I think I'll keep my birthday. I quite like it. 

I sat down today to make a card for my sister and fellow crafter. I saw Cas-ology's challenge this week was GLOW and right away inspiration struck. I combined it with The Friday Mash-up's Challenge #168 and an idea was born. The only thing I could think about was lightning bugs. 



You see, our great grandmother used to live in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. I don't know if it was the humid weather or the location, but her backyard was always full of them. There were so many that we used to catch them in jars. This is a fond memory both my sister and I share about the time we spent there. 

There aren't too many opportunities to see lightning bugs around here. I have the bonus of living further out of our small city and near a retention pond that has some long grass. I see lightning bugs throughout the summer right from the comfort of my backyard, but my sister doesn't have that. 

I started by stamping PTI's Friendship Jar on paper, but then changed to vellum as it gave a better appearance of glass. I used my Copic markers to give the jar a blue hue. Gotta love those beautiful blue mason jars. I used a sponge dauber to make the glow from the lightning bug and used a black brad for the bug itself. I used PTI's Ombre Builder for the dotted background and their Sketched Shapes for the birthday sentiment. 

This card will be a nice way to remind here of summertime and the memories of our childhood. I love her to pieces and I hope she has a nice birthday, however old she is turning. ;)

Friday, July 11, 2014

Mad about Plaid

My little devil of a nephew, Sawyer, will be celebrating his 3rd birthday in early August. He is spunky and has that "I'm into some trouble" sparkle in his eye. He is a daddy's boy for sure and I knew I needed to make him a special birthday card. My sister is thinking about doing a farm/barnyard theme for his birthday. This kid is flannel and overalls all the way. 

I wanted to use the Color Throwdown #300 challenge. First I started by cutting out a "3" from some Navy cardstock. I thought I could make a cool pattern behind it, like plaid from a flannel. Once I covered up the pattern, I didn't like how dark it looked. I had to step back for a bit and reenvision it. I loved the plaid, so I made it simple by just leaving the plaid image in the corner and attaching the Navy "3" I had punched out and discarded. 


I'm not going to lie. I had to check out Google to see how to make a plaid pattern. Once I saw it and did it, I felt kind of dumb because it was so darn easy. I hope he will like the card and his barnyard party. 


Thursday, July 10, 2014

A Quick Thank You

I needed to send out a quick thank you card for Owen's birthday and Cas(e) This Sketch #84 provided the perfect and simple solution. I've seen this layout around and I admire so many beautiful cards that use this template, but hadn't attempted it myself...until now. 


I started by placing a mask over the space I wanted my sentiment to go. I actually could have made it a bit smaller, but you live and learn as they say. 

I went to a classic color combo, especially fitting for a thank you from Owen, of Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, and Island Indigo. I used PTI's Scribbled Circles to create the pattern and a large "Thank You" stamp from PTI is a coordinating color. 

Simple, clean, and ready to put a stamp on. 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Blue Ribbon Birthday

I am on a roll with birthday cards this month. Maybe it is because our family has so darn many summer birthdays. I took a cue from Pals Paper Arts Challenge #211 and used the three listed colors to make a simple birthday card. 


I clear embossed the chevron image from Stampin' Up's A Work of Art. I then stamped the ribbon and birthday sentiments from the Blue Ribbon set. I made a graduation card using this same layout, but just adjusted the colors. It was simple and easy. 


Thursday, July 3, 2014

Mason Jar Lanterns- 4th of July Edition

Mason jar lanterns!

My big sister has been on my butt about not posting to our blog, so here it is. Out of all the amazing Pinterest crafts out there, I decided on this little beauty. I must first say that pealing the stickers off was a huge pain in the butt. Second, craft paint and glass don't get along very well. Amanda did the red and white ones; I did the blue. Always an amazing time crafting with my sister. Now only if we could figure out how to do it with out four toddler boys fighting over every toy in the toy box.

Flying by...

The 4th of July is probably one of my favorite holidays. I love being outside, with family, and especially watching fireworks. My dad's backyard is the perfect spot to watch fireworks from a nearby park. It is close and loud. I love it! Owen fell asleep last year during the festivities, but I don't think he will let the "big booms" escape him this year. 

We are going to celebrate with my mom today and watch a neighboring cities fireworks tonight. I just can't get enough...unless it is random fireworks being set off well into the night. Before we head over for a cookout, I decided to whip up something fun before I go. 

This cute card was inspired by Cas-ology's Float Challenge 




Drum roll, please....


I have had this Lawn Fawn set for a while and when I saw FLOAT, I knew this was the set to use. I embossed the paper airplanes and then I white washed them with white craft ink and a watercolor marker. The circle was made with a mask. I had cut a circle out from a previous project and I used the negative space to sponge the circle. I like that this made it feel light and airy and not heavy. 

What is your favorite part of the July 4th holiday? Have a good one!

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Simple Celebrate

Do you ever find that your craft space, no matter how big or small, seems to have no room at all? Mine didn't and that meant it was time for a clean up. While I was doing this, I found a bunch of bits and pieces from previous projects, bits of stamped paper here, bits and baubles there, punched out shapes. You name it and I felt like I had it. Well these bits and pieces were the muse, along with Freshly Made Sketches #143 layout for my newest beauty. 

We have lots of birthdays and other celebrations coming up in July and August, so these little gem will come in handy. 


I used PTI's Ombre Builder for the swatch of green, it almost looks like grass. The circle is a Project Life journaling card. A small piece of Afternoon Tea DSP and the wood element come from Stampin' Up. I also had a small piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that had been stamped with the Hardwood stamp from Stampin' Up. All these pieces came together to create a super simple and easy card.