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. 

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."

Father's Day

Nick did not want kids. It wasn't really something we ever talked about. The closer we got to 30 though, I started to get the itch. Unfortunately, he didn't. I had thoughts in my head about growing old and having no one to take care of us, no wedding or graduations to attend. We got pregnant...not planned and honestly, I think it took Nick by surprise. He had no interest in kids and I was scared about what kind of parents we would be. 

With that said, you would never know that he didn't want kids. He is a great dad to Owen. I know that our work schedules are difficult and we are both essentially single parents during the week. He does the work on a mom and dad sometimes and I appreciate all the love and care he takes with our son. He loves him so much and it shows. I know that Owen wasn't really in our future, but once he got here, you could never tell that it wasn't planned that way. 

We both have our faults as parents, as everyone does, but I could ask for a better dad for my son. 

I put together a special Father's Day card for him to show my and Owen's appreciation. 

I took inspiration today from Colour Q's Challenge #244 and from Cas(e) This Sketch Challenge #79. 

I used Stampin' Up's Work of Art stamp set and Papertrey Ink's Signature Greetings for the sentiment. 

Happy Father's Day this weekend to all the dads out there!

Dude, You Rock!

I don't know how many times I can say this, but I loooove Dawn McVey's super cute, scrawly handwriting in the Signature Greetings set. She is fabulous and I adore this set. I love the mix of handwriting with traditional text. 

I've been in the mood lately to make some man cards, as I never seem to have enough around. I think making a good man card has a lot of elements to it: color choice, use of stamps vs. creative use of paper, and how all the elements come together at the end. I think less is more when it comes to these cards. 

I used Cas(e) This Sketch #71 for a very simple layout and the rest they say, is history. 

I used a previous die cut frame (with Hardwood image already stamped) that I had lying around forever. I rounded the edges for a more finished look. I stamped a variety of circles from Sketched Shapes (another favorite) and then, BAM! a cool sentiment like, "Dude, You Rock!" right over the top of it all.  

Dude, I'm in love!

Hoping you are loving all you are creating as well. 

Great Chemistry

Well the weekend is shaping up to be a good one, but the rest of my Spring Break looks terrible with weather in the 40's and possible SNOW! Someone tell Mother Nature that Spring is here please. 

My teaching partner is phenomenal. She was on maternity leave during the middle part of this year and I almost lost my s**t. Pardon my language. I never realized how much I relied on her until she wasn't there. I just wanted to show her my appreciation for all she does for our students, me, and our team with a little card. 

We work in a two-person team so she is the Math and Science/ELA teacher and I am the Math and World Geography/ELA teacher. I just got this stinkin' cute stamp set and dies from Papertrey Ink called Love Potion and away I went. 

I used Cas(e) This Sketch #70 for a very clean and open layout. 

and Dynamic Duos Challenge #96.

I chose Pool Party for my "other" color. I also used a smidge of Navy for the sentiment, because I am obsessed with Navy right now. 

PTI's coordinated stamps and dies are perfect for whipping out easy and adorable cards and card pieces. I hope my teaching partner loves this card as much as I do. Side note: The inside says, "We've got great Chemistry!" I love it!

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. 

Welcome Baby

I am a part of our school's good cheer committee and wowza there have been a lot of babies born lately. Apparently we are running out of baby cards, so I thought I would whip some up. 

I used the very simple sketch from Cas(e) This Sketch Challenge #61

and a simple pastel color selection that would suit a baby boy or girl. I used the Dots embossing folder that I got free by spending $50 at Stampin' Up for Sale-a-Bration and the cute banner punch (which was also free.) I used the little ducky stamp from Embellished Events and some sweet words from A Word for You. 

I decided to make two cards so we had more in our card store for Good Cheer. More babies are on the way and we are going to need them. 

Stay warm today!

Enjoy the New Year

I've been under a bit of self-induced pressure. I made a quilt for each of my nephews for Christmas and all my Owen nap time lately has been devoted to cutting, ironing, and sewing. (Pictures of quilts will be posted in a future post.) Don't get me wrong, I love it and the results were awesome, but it left little time for anything else. I'm glad to get to craft how I want to during naps over this winter break. Now if only our dog would quit waking up the baby. 

I went back to my tired and true challenges and whipped up a card to ring in the new year. Thanks to Cas-ual Fridays #124 New Year, Cas(e) This Sketch #58, and Cas-ology #76 Party for the fabulous inspiration today! 

The DSP is a Sale-a-Bration pick called Sweet Sorbet. I love the polka dots. They reminded me of confetti falling after the ball drops in New York City. All these sweet little dots are broken up by a white piece of cardstock and the simple word "enjoy" stamped in Basic Black. To add a bit more sparkle and shine I randomly balled up some new Silver Baker's Twine and punched out star and one single sequin. This was my nod at the ball drop. 

I love this sweet little card and the fact that it could be used for so many different occasions. I love that inspiration comes in many forms. Thank you to all that visit and pin our projects. We hope to have more to share throughout the new year. Happy New Year!

Color Wash Thanks

Archiver's and I have become pretty good friends lately. I am hooked on Project Life and can't help myself from going there to by more goodies and expansion cards (that I really don't need.) They're so adorable though, so I go anyway. (Currently I am just putting my wedding pictures into the album from almost 10 years ago...maybe I try scrapping each week after the first of the year.)

Anyway, as I was wandering around I found this really cute polymer stamp set by Pink Paislee called Color Wash. It gives three brushstroke options and many sentiment outlines. So I decided to challenge it up again and combine a few to make the perfect card. 

First, Paper Pal Arts Challenge #174 provided the color selection this week with Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz, and Baked Brown Sugar. I was a little unsure about this color combo until it all came together. Now I think it is gorgeous!

Cas(e) This Sketch Challenge #48 provided the perfect keep it simple layout. 

I love how it looks like I wiped ink across the page. I also love how much open white (vanilla) space I have on this card. 

These are exactly the kind of cards I love to make. 

Back to School

Back to School began this week for us. I had lots of mixed feelings at the beginning of this school year. On the one hand, I'm a teacher. I am beginning my 10th year of teaching and I love it. I always look forward and get nervous about meeting new students and having a routine. There is no job I would rather have. On the other hand, I'm now a mom. Owen has been a hoot this summer and is getting more fun by the day. I have enjoyed all the time I've gotten to spend with him and know now that I will have less time with him. 

My nephew, Austin, is beginning his first year of school and couldn't be more excited. He even let Aunt Manda take some pictures of him to capture the moment. 

Back to school reminds me of a quote from the movie Hope Floats. 

"Beginnings are usually scary. Endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts."

There's more, but this is the part I really need to keep reminding myself of throughout the tough parts of the year. 

In honor of Back to School I decided to join a couple challenges this week with a Back to School theme. 

Cas-ual Fridays Challenge #114

Cas(E) This Sketch Challenge #44

Casology Cue Card #60

The Friday Mashup #126

I was excited to use the Vintage Picnic set by Papertrey Ink. I love the mixy-matchyness of the set. It reminds my of summer and fall at the same time, which is what going back to school reminds me of as well. I used my Copic markers again to color in the apples and picnic basket. I layed down a piece of washi tape to act as a blanket under my basket. Cute. Clean. Simple. Just my style. 

Everyone, have a great school year!

On the Hunt for More Challenges

I was on the hunt the other day for some more challenge websites. I love CAS-ual Fridays and Pals Paper Arts, but when I am prepping for a new year of stamp classes, I find that these challenge websites revive my otherwise empty idea pot. 

While I was scouring the internet, I came across the website CAS(E) this Sketch! It's pretty cool. I like cards that are clean and simple and these layouts looked like they provided that type of opportunity. Not only that but Challenge #38 this week reminded me of a melted crayon MIY (make it yourself) project I have seen all over Pinterest. This was all the prompting I needed. 

This first card I made used a variety of blue shades from Stampin' Up: Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Pool Party, and Night of Navy. I used the Gorgeous Grunge set and actually made the card look like the melted crayon art. The sentiment is from PTI and it's called Think Big Favorites #1. Add a little rhinestone for bling and done. Quick and easy. I love this card, but I also feel like it looked too much like the examples given on the challenge website. 

So I decided to try again. This time I was back in the Christmas spirit and I took a color combo right from Stampin' Up's Holiday catalog: Real Red and Coastal Cabana. This time I decided to turn the sketch sideways for a different look. I used A Banner Christmas set for the chevron stamp and Sweet Essentials for the sentiment. Again I added some bling and another quick and easy card was complete. 

For a cool and quick sketch website, check out CAS(E) this Sketch!