A Fabulous Cup of Joe

My last free time act before returning to school next week was to bust out some card challenges because, let's be honest, I kind of forget to update my blog during the school year. I hope I can change that, but I know it won't be easy. 

I am completely obsessed with black and white right now. Good thing I got my Stampin' Up order with the new Back to Black DSP. I'm in heaven. I combined a couple challenges and whipped a birthday card for the teacher across the hall from me. My birthday is September 1st and her's is the 2nd (also our first day with students.)

Once I had it in my mind to make her a birthday card, I knew that I could incorporate Cas-ology's JAVA challenge and Freshly Made's Layout #150. 

Lisa loves her coffee and tea. I am in love with Stampin' Up's Perfect Blend coffee cup. I love making cute wraps to go around the cup. I paired it with PTI's Signature Greetings. I added a touch of sparkle by using a strip of gold sequins. Simple, clean, and classy. I'll add a Starbucks gift card and hope she does indeed have a fabulous birthday!

Black & White Birthday

Obsessed. I only have one word for my love of Stampin' Up's Back to Black DSP. I am rocking a mix of cool prints with minimal color for a man card for a teacher friend of mine. We both have September birthdays and I'm trying to get ahead of myself before the school year consumes me. 

John has a Keurig in his classroom so I thought that making a coffee themed card could be paired with a box of K-cups for his birthday. I combined Cas-ology's Java Challenge and Pals Paper Arts Layout #216 to make a simple and easy card. 

I tried to keep my pattern choices neutral so they would work for a guy, but I feel like something might be missing for this card. I didn't want to put any bling because I think it would have quickly turned feminine, but I'm not quite sure what it's missing. Suggestions?

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!

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!

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. ;)

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. 

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. 

Cool as a...Popsicle

I was in love with the Summer Sweetness stamp set by Papertrey Ink before it ever arrived at my door. I love the cool popsicle designs. They are very summertime indeed. 

Not only was I inspired by Cas(e) This Sketch Challenge #82, but also by the fast approach of one of my favorite holidays, Fourth of July. 

I used both the Circle Scribbles and Summer Sweetness by Papertrey Ink to create this sweet card. 

I used a little Crystal Effects by Stampin' Up to make the popsicle look wet and juicy. 

Overall, I love the layout and think this could be a go-to design for me from now on. Happy weekend and stay "cool."

Go Bold...Go Gold

So I was wandering around Hobby Lobby with my little man Owen the other day and I became instantly in love with these cute phrases and sayings that were in gold. Typically decorating with gold wouldn't be my thing, but these totally caught my attention. 

I went back to the scrapbooking department and bought myself some gold embossing powder. I just bought the Splat stamp set from Papertrey Ink and I thought it would make for a really great bold image. 

I was also inspired by Cas-ology's Wood challenge 

and this was the result. 

I used the Woodgrain embossing folder to make one of the banner flags. I love this embossing folder. I also embossed some paint splatter from the Gorgeous Grunge set on the background. I love the look of the gold embossing on the Espresso cardstock. It looks rich and reminds me of the Rolos commercial. I think this card could/would work great for a masculine card. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Owen was actually due on June 13th, which is also my mom's birthday. Usually people aren't that I excited to share a birthday, but my mom wanted nothing more than to share a birthday with Owen. He was born at 8:54 pm on June 12th. My mom was disappointed. She swears that her birthday is now June 12th so they can share. 

Although her and Owen don't share an actual birthday, she said that he was the best birthday gift that year. How can I ever top that?

I made her a card inspired by a sketch on Papertrey's June Inspiration Archive. 

A simple card for my mom's special day. 

Shades of Gray Birthday

It must be a gray thing, because currently I am repainting our coral bathroom (it looks like a Mexican restaurant) to a shade of gray. I love that gray is the new go-to neutral. Although I still love me some Crumb Cake. 

I was inspired today to make this sweet little birthday card by Cas(e) This Sketch #66

Cas-ual Friday #129 Challenge: Shades of Gray

and again The Friday Mash-up #149: Flowers

Here's the result. 

I love the simple femininity of this card without being overly girly. I used the Sale-a-Bration set Petal Parade in Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron, and Calypso Coral. I stamped on a grid card from my Project Life kit and bordered in in Smokey Slate. I wrapped the image in the Silver Twine from Stampin' Up's Occasions catalog. I used a PTI die cut for the "birthday" sentiment and actually cut it from a gray and white houndstooth card from Project Life again. I used my chalk pen to create the lines. I am over the moon about the card. I can't wait to find a lucky recipient. 

Look Who's 5: Birthday Card for Austin

Austin is my oldest nephew and a favorite. He is so snuggly and caring. He is also really good to Owen. I love him so. This March he will be turning 5...I can't believe it! I remember holding that little munchkin in my arms on the day he was born. It's hard to believe that he is growing so old so quickly. 

I found this sweet color palette from My Favorite Things and I knew needed to be for an Austin card. He is so bright and happy. I used Kraft, Daffodil, and Coastal Cabana. 

I love everything about this card, EXCEPT my handwriting on it. I usually love my handwriting, but something about this doesn't look quite finished, so it will have to do until I find the perfect stamped sentiment. My Austin deserves the best after all!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Little Bit of Love

Valentine's Day is coming soon and I actually not that big of a fan. For the most part I would rather my husband and love ones save their money on candy, stuffed animals, or flowers because I think love should be celebrated everyday, not just of February 14th! (Stepping off my soap box...)

I will say though that I liked playing with Colour Q's Valentine colors in Challenge #226 

and Fusion Challenge #3 gave me a super clean card layout with made love be the focus on this card.

I used my new Geometrical stamp set and triangle punch and just a bit of twine so pull this card together. 

I liked it so much, I changed the colors and sentiment for a fun, gender neutral birthday card. 

Hooray for Today

So Owen and I ran some errands this morning. We went to the fabric store and I don't know what it is, but I just can't stop myself from buying fabric. I don't even know what I'm going to use it for. I think I also keep buying some of the same fabrics over and over again without realizing it because I love them so much. Owen is such a good shopper too. He helped put the bolts of fabric on the counter for cutting. 

We only went to pick up the fabric for the center part of the lap quilt I'm making for our house. I loved the ones I made for the boys so much that I wanted to make one for us. So much for that idea, because I walked out of Jo-Ann Fabric with 9 fabrics. Good thing I hide my fabric right away so my husband doesn't see how much I bought. ;)

It is another warmish day is WI and the roads were a mess because all the rain froze last night, but the mini relief of our inevitable cold winter has given me inspiration to make another card with a pop of color. 

This time Cas-ual Friday #125 and The Friday Mash-Up #142 both provided inspiration with the ideas One Word and the use of twine and a birthday theme. 

Fusion #1 provided a sketch and a picture containing a beautiful color selection such as Coral, Sky Blue, and Gray. 

My card came to life by using just paper and punches. A small scallop circle and a butterfly in alternating Coral and Silver foil cardstock create the stunning centerpiece. A bit of Coral twine and a sentiment from Stampin' Up's Geometrical set and we were on our way. 

Enjoy the weekend and find your little piece of sunshine. 

Sweet Tea Anyone?

Yesterday I made a second birthday card and saved it to show today. It is sort of a companion piece to the card posted yesterday because I used the same color palette and a few of the same challenges. 

Again, Dynamic Duos #76 provided the fresh and sweet color selection with a couple neutrals thrown in for good measure. 

This time the Fusion Card Challenge #16 provided both inspiration and the card sketch as I decided to use both pieces for this card. I really love mason jars, have I mentioned that before? So, naturally I decided to use Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar stamp set and die again. 

This time, though, I decided to fill it up with sweet tea. One thing I love about summer. The tag pieces are a combination of ribbon and scrap pieces of paper. I love that flags are a simple way to use small scraps. 

Simple, but sweet. Just like tea! Enjoy!

Mason Jar Love

Not only is my birthday coming up in September, but a bunch of teacher friends of mine have birthday's in September as well. I thought I would do a bit of sketch combining again and create a couple birthday cards with a hint of summer in them. 

Dynamic Duos Challenge #67 provided a summery and romantic color story. 

Fusion Card Challenge #16 gave us a little mason jar inspiration. Who doesn't love a mason jar?

And Retro Sketches #78 provided a simple, but amazing layout. 

I used Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge set for the background and Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar stamp set and die for the mason jar. I also used Papertrey Ink's Think Big #1 for my birthday sentiment. I stamped on vellum and then decided to sew the vellum to the cardstock because I never know how to attach vellum without seeing the adhesive. 

Here's a close up of the stamped vellum and mason jar. 

This makes me want to enjoy a cool glass of lemonade in my own mason jar on this very hot Wisconsin weekend. 

Update: You can also view this card at 52 Card Pickup 235 at Old Back Porch.