A Switch...

I've been working on a new project for a while and so excited that it is finally ready... come join me at my new blog digs...

High-flying Birthday...

Happy Wednesday! The week is flying by! I'm back with the latest Embellish challenge. I am on a roll! LOL.

I stayed pretty literal to the challenge this week and used the exact shades depicted in the picture (which by the way, I must say, are always SO fab. I love how we get the polaroids of the colors in addition to the fun pics! Great job on the challenge pics, Ashley!!) So this one was, relatively speaking, probably the easiest from a color perspective for me. Scrapping and making cards for all occasions for my 3 (young) boys means lots of primary colors for me. This one is of course for another party we have coming up. Easy peasy as always, but I think perfect for the intended recipient - a soon to be 5 year old boy.

I combined a bunch of different stamp companies on this one - there's a little bit of CHF, PTI, LAD and even Rubber Romance(!) thrown in the mix for good measure. The grass was an accident actually - I was trying to figure out how to "ground" the building and I noticed a extra scrap from my place cards project that never found its way to the garbage can. I'm one of those crafters that has to clean up everything (stamps, paper and supplies) before starting the next project, so the green scrap totally jumped out at me. The brads are from SU. The helicopter body was covered in SU Crystal Effect for a bit more... effect! :)

Anyways, hope you like the card. I'm off to bed in a bit. See ya!

For the last week...

This is what I was working on (when I wasn't working or with the kiddos).

My hubs, SIL and I threw a 70th surprse birthday party for my father-in-law. Tons of work, but the party was a blast. People definitely seemed to have a blast - tons of laughter, chatting, dancing (and quite few beverages too!).

Definitely a night to remember.

I made the centerpieces (I got the idea somewhere on the web and then gave it my own touch!), placecards and invites too - although I forgot to take a pic of one. I'm going to have to track one down and do that. I really loved how everything came out. I used a whole host of sets in my aresenal - lots of PTI, an SU number set and a $1 Michael's stamp (that was on the aforementioned invite... - I really wish I had save an invite!) Obviously we used a golf theme (my FIL's an avid player).

It's very nice to be winding down an amazing weekend and now I hoping I will get a breather in the week coming up. Besides prepping for the party, I've had a crazy busy time at work, parent-teacher conferences for the boys at night (they are all doing awesome in school!), on top of the usual every day fun.

Holy Cow! (or Owl?)

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted. But I'm back and with a challenge card. I went wtih a bit of a darker interpretation of the colors for the latest Embellish Owl challenge so that it fit for a boy card (hope that wasn't stretching too much - the colors are still in the coral and green family IRL!) I used Basic Grey Archaic papers and thought it worked pretty darn well. :)

Now I must admit, this is my first and only owl card ever made (yes, I know... so behind the crafting times). In fact, I didn't think that I even had an owl stamp in my collection, but remembered this Hero Arts stamp set that I bought for Halloween pages (which have yet to be scrapped, again - so behind the times). So even though it is not a Halloween card, I still thought this particular owl would work for a birthday card I needed this past weekend. I used M's sketch to make the card (I think that I should have titled this post - "LATE," but seriously, how many times can I reference how late I always am!!). So while I know that the challenge due date had past, I just wanted Savitri and M to know that I did use the sketch.

Life is busy (as always), and I need to get sleep, so hopefully I'll see you again soon.

Rainy... with a {Definite} Chance of Sports

Hello, hello on this rainy, {but not too rainy to cancel our sports line-up, but too rainy to have the other boys watch and support their brother who is on the field} Saturday. Ughh - we have had this horrible stretch of luck of beautiful weather during the week and rainy weather on Saturday and Sunday. But luckily we are getting most of the games in today.

Anyways, so since I'm at home, while my hubs is out there with one of the boys, I'll take some time to post something I made a couple of days ago. This was actually the first pink project to kick off this trend I seem to be on of late. I made this birthday gift card holder (including the handmade flower embellie) for one of Alex's friends. So about gift cards... I must admit I am a fan of them. Yes, I know that on one hand, they may seem impersonal, but it truly is the most practical way to ensure your celebrant gets what they want. And at the end of the day, let's face it... the receiver knows best what they want. :) And while I'm thinking about it, I can't imagine what I would do without registries (especially for showers) - I think they are the best thing to come along in gift giving. LOL. Do you know that the local toy store has started a registry program too - LOVE it! It's always a bonus when you can go it a store, know exactly what the child wants and can leave with a wrapped gift that only needs a card - wahoo. It can't get better than that... The owners are geniuses. Nothing like the value of convenience - which is worth a ton to me when you have birthday parties to go to almost every weekend.

So back to the g/c holder - I used one of Lauren's Timeless Templates to make this card holder. It was such a snap. I'd been planning on getting a template - I have loved each of the ones that come out every month, but just hadn't gotten around to it. But that was until the Cash and Charge Collection came out this month. I feel like she'd designed it just for me - seriously! And I love how this template actually came with 3 - what a deal. I can't imagine how much time she pours into making these templates for people like, but I absolute appreciate it very much so :)

I know these templates will get much use in my house...

Pink AGAIN!

Like I mentioned in my last post, I NEVER use pink, especially the fuschia-kind-of-pink. But I saw Dawn's latest color challenge and I still had the other 1/2 of the sheet of Raspberry Fizz sitting on my craft desk, so I figured I'd take on the Lilly Pulitzer challenge (c'mon, you have to admit that a Lilly Pulitzer sweater comes to mind whenever you see bright pink and green together, right?)!

I also jumped on the make-my-own-embellie craze with my new Sizzix die that I just got from SU. I think it turned out ok and really does look like the flower I intended it to be. I even gave my flower leaves by using the largest die to ground it. I think that the card turned out pretty much how I planned it in my head, which is such a bonus to boot.

So thanks for a real challenge this week, Dawn. Now I have to get back to watching the Yankees game, which has been such a topsy turvy game... which seems to be par for the course of this series. Ughhh.

Three Birds... One card

I'm in a very efficient mood in a crafty kind of way tonight :) and decided to make a card that I need for an upcoming party and try my hand at 3 challenges that are going on right now on 3 blogs I follow.

I'm absolutely enjoying my downtime tonight and relaxing while I watch the Yankees win game 4 of their series with the Angels (woohoo) and make cards after spending the day in Cleveland for a bunch of meetings for work. I travel a decent amount (relatively) for work and always love when I can get a day trip in that does not require a red eye, and Cleveland TOTALLY fits the bill. And it was such a bonus to get home before the kiddos went to bed (translation - 6:15 flight this morning!). But it was a good day at work, so no complaints. Plus my plane was early both ways... which of course means I'm in for a serious delay in the near future. And this is not that much of a stretch of the imagination considering I fly in and out of Newark - LOL.

Anyways back to the card... we have ruffles, sketches and colors for a cure going on, so with one card, I have a Moxie Fab/Embellish's Colors for a Cure & Bling/M's #2 challenges covered! I haven't done a Moxie card in a little while and I was determined not to be late on M's challenge this time and I just have been having fun with the Embellish challenges, so I was quite pleased with myself to be able to tie it all together. And I REALLY mean pleased :), given that my cards usually just find their way to the finish line so to speak, with usually not too much planning other than the 1 challenge I am usually trying to do. I also used a few stamps and ribbon that I haven't used in a while because 1. I liked to remind myself why I bought different stamps in the first place, vs. just using them when they are "new" and 2. I really have to make myself use pink - dunno why it doesn't come more naturally... maybe because I am just surrounded in a house with boys!

And OH - HOLY COW! I can't finish this blog entry without mentioning that I was actually mentioned in the wrap-up for the second Embellish challenge. Look!! (Not too surprisingly) I've NEVER won/been recognized in any kind of a "competitive" crafting blog or been in a publication, other than on PTI's GSS in a category where I was LITERALLY the only entrant... good thing I didn't get 2nd place - LOL!!, so this was TOTALLY not expected. Heck, I consider it quite the accomplishment that I can make a deadline on time - LOL!!!. I honestly do this hobby purely for my enjoyment and relaxation, so it is a pretty spiffy feeling that someone else thinks my cards, well at the very least my froggy one, aren't half bad.

So THANK YOU, Ashley, for making my day in that crafty kind of way. ;)

Deets (haven't had the chance to do this in a little while!)

Stamps: Imaginesce cupcake, LAD Sketched Sentiments, PTI Birthday Basics; CS: PTI Raspberry Fizz (I hardly EVER use this color!), SU Prints Pack (broke open the plastic on this one after having it sit on my shelf for more than 1 yr!), PTI white, Ink: Adirondack - Pebble, SU Pink Passion (again - never use this color!); Other: Kaiser rhinestones, petite scallop nestie, PTI Sweet Blush saddle stitch ribbon (all scrunched up for the ruffles!), Stardust Stickles all over the icing of the cupcake, copics