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 

and My Favorite Things Sketch #183

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!

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. 

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. 

Owen's Birthday Quilt: Aqua, Green, and Gray

I have been busting it on this cute aqua, green, and gray quilt for Owen's birthday. I am not an excellent seamstress by any means, and there are a lot of mistakes on this quilt, A LOT, but I am so proud of the time and effort I put into making something special for my O's 2nd birthday. 

It was the first Twin sized quilt I've done, and man was it a beast to quilt. I just stitched in the ditch because it was super cumbersome to think of doing any more. I also made a real binding, for the first time. I was lazy before this and would roll the backing to the front to create a binding. I am proud I took time time and effort. 

I am looking forward to picnics and looking at stars on this blanket. I hope Owen loves it as much as I do. 

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. 

A Busy Weekend

With the school year over, it is time to kick it into crafty high gear. Kidding, but I love that I have a bit of extra time during the day to craft while school is out, otherwise it usually has to take place between 9-10pm. I don't know about you, but this isn't really my best time to think. So...with it being my first official day off for the summer, I decided to whip up some cards. 

This upcoming weekend is going to be a busy one. My baby turns 2 on Thursday. I can hardly believe that time has gone by so quickly already. My mom's birthday is on Friday. We are having a birthday party for Owen on Saturday and Sunday is Father's Day. Way to pack it all in one weekend, eh?

Let's go backwards. Today, I decided to spend some time making Father's Day cards for the grandfathers/fathers in our lives. 

I used a couple challenges and a new Stampin' Up set: Work of Art to make a simple and clean Father's Day card. 

First, the inspiration: 

Pals Paper Arts Challenge #206 provided the colors

Fusion gave us the card layout

and Cas-ual Fridays Challenge #132 set the manly card parameters. 

Walla...a card fit for a father!

I used Papertrey's Signature Greetings by Dawn McVey for the sentiment, some thick twine, and a big shiny button. I'm glad to make a card for two great fathers. We are lucky to have them as grandfathers to Owen and fathers to us. 

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!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. It is another great day in WI. The weather is beautiful. Today my hubby and little guy took me to buy veggies for our garden and flowers for the two pots in the front of our house. Man, flowers are expensive. I can't wait to work on landscaping the yard so we can plant bushes and perennials and be done with the racket. I love buying veggies for the garden though. I can taste the tomatoes already. 

I made a second Mother's Day card this weekend and this time they were going to my mother-in-law and grandmother. I decided to play along with Pals Paper Arts Challenge #203 even though the colors aren't very springy. 

and came up with this. 

I wanted the card to be light and fun, so for the first time, I played with masking and Dear Lizzy sprays. I used the Opaque White and Shine sprays. I like that this lightened up the Navy cardstock and made it its own piece of DSP. I added a piece of DSP from the Retro Fresh pack and a couple copper sequins for good measure. Although I made a little mess with the sprays, I am in love with the over all look. I used Papertrey Ink's Signature Greetings by Dawn McVey again, but this time punched them out with the Word Bubbles framelits. 

I have another graduation coming up soon and I think I could play around with the colors in order to make this work for a guy. 

Happy Mother's Day today! Relax ladies and enjoy yourself. 

A Sunny Forecast

There was finally sun in the forecast this weekend and boy do we need it. In honor of Mother's Day, and the beautiful weather, I put together this sweet little card for my mom and sister for the celebration on Sunday. 

I borrowed Colour Q Challenge #240

and Cas-ual Fridays Challenge #131: Three Thirds

to make a sweet little card for two lovely women. 

I used Papertrey Ink's Signature Greetings by Dawn McVey for the "You're a Peach" sentiment and just a bit of twine, a button, and a bit of sparkle around the edge for a finished off look. 

Enjoy the weather and have a fabulous weekend moms!