Wedding Card

Hey 'yall!  You know...Mondays can be kind of tough to take sometimes, but when you have a day like mine, you'd wish everyday was Monday!  After getting the kiddos off to school, I was able to do some leisurely grocery shopping and then spent an hour at Panera sipping my tea and reading my new book...The Hunger Games (which I HIGHLY recommend!).  I picked Coley up from school, and we had a lunch "picnic" watching Cars 2 during which time I snuck in a few more minutes of reading.  I then laid down with Coley for about 45 minutes (how I love a nap!) before having to leave to pick up my other two boys from school.  Normally a friend of mine brings them home, but today she had an appointment.  Luckily John was home so I didn't have to wake Cole.  It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day outside today, so I enjoyed sitting in carpool line doing a little more READING!  We came home and the boys did a little decompressing in front of the TV while mom buried her nose in her book yet again.  After a while I suggested we go outside where they guys played with friends and I...you guessed it...read.  When the sun started to go down, I finally decided that it was time for homework and then McAllister's for dinner.  I also managed to sell the rug I had listed on Craigslist for full price today!  Woohoo!!  Now time for a little crafting...and then some more READING!

Today's card was made for my dear friend Jessica who recently got married.  I wanted this card to be very CAS (for my non crafty friends that means clean and simple), and I was inspired by Chelsea Clinton's wedding dress.  I just LOVED her dress!  Here's a picture in case you don't remember it.

Can you see the connection between the two? I actually LOVE this card!  I hope Jess does as well!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White, DCWV Lemon Flower Stack

Stamps: PTI Big Bold Wishes

Ink: Studio G from Michael's dollar bin

Other: Rhinestones

Sending a Hug

Hi everyone!  Well, this weekend we celebrated my Brady-Bug's 6th birthday with a great Baseball themed bash.  It turned out well and he had a great time!  I also spent some time trying to sell a few items on Craigslist.  One transaction went very smoothly, but the other two have not gone so well.  I have a large projection TV I'm selling, as well as a large tan carpet, and several people have expressed what I thought was serious interest...going so far as to tell me when they would be able to come and pick up the items...and then they never showed up or emailed me back.  My husband and neighbor hauled the huge TV out of our basement (backbreaking work I tell 'ya), and it is now sitting in our garage.  Well, this was the TV our boys used for video games, so we knew we'd need to replace it ASAP.  So, we went to WalMart this morning and purchased a 47" LCD beauty!  I have to say...the picture is pretty amazing!  I'm looking forward to watching some good chick flicks on it!

On to today's project.  This is a sympathy card I made for a friend who recently lost her mother.  My heart goes out to her becuase she and her mother were extremely close...just as my mom and I are.  I can't imagine my life without my mom, and I know that my friend is really hurting right now.  I hope that this card can in some way bring her some small comfort. 

This one came together pretty quickly since I used a bunch of patterned paper.  I am loving all combinations of gray lately! 

Thanks for visiting, and thanks for all of your sweet comments lately!  I LOVE them!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White and patterned paper from DCWV Lemon Flower Stack

Stamps: PTI Big Bold Wishes

Ink: Palette Noir Black

Other: Rhinestones and yellow ribbon from Michael's dollar bin



PTI Jan Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  So, I wanted to participate in PTI's blog hop this month which asked participants to choose one of their favorite projects from last year and make a companion project inspired by the first.

I chose this card I made for one of the boys' friend's birthdays.  I love the colors on this card, I like the layout, and I love the stamp set. 

I made a companion card using some of the same colors and primarily the same stamp set.  I also used the technique demonstrated in last week's PTI Make it Monday.  I had this card in mind to make for that challenge, but I never got around to doing it.  I really like how this new one turned out, but if I'm completely honest...I still like the first one better.  I guess that's the way it goes sometimes!  Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Stamps: PTI Star Prints and Think Big Favorites #12

Ink:  PTI Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise and Hawaiian Shores, also Pallet Noir Black

Paper: PTI Enchanted Evening, Hawaiian Shores, and White

Last baby one...for now!

Hi everyone!  Guess what!  Today's my BIRTHDAY!  I'm the big 3-6 and my husband says he's going to trade me in for a newer model. :)  Anyway, I'm spending the day in my jammies and am looking forward to a nice nap with my little Coley later.  We celebrated with my family at Famous Dave's last night (soooo yummy!) and then spice cake (my fav) at my parents' house.  On Saturday I got to go with my friend Betsy to Archivers for Scrap Mania.  It was too fun!  I was really productive too!  Can't wait to show you all of those projects too!  For now though, on to the last of the latest baby series.

This one features a stamped background and some clean and simple lines.  I thought it was a little more sophisticated than some of the others. Maybe a good one for a more formal shower or something.  Here's another look:

I'm not sure I love the colors, but I do like the layout.  I think I'll try it in other colors next time...maybe a pink one or a blue one. 

Well kids, that's it for now.  I'm off to do some more relaxing!  It's tough, but somebody's got to do it!

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White, Simply Chartreuse, and Lemon Tart

Stamps:  PTI Mehndi Medallion, Half and Half, and Signature Greetings

Ink: PTI Spring Moss

Dies: PTI Half and Half

Other: Yellow rhinestones

Another Baby One?

Hey 'yall!   I just got back from church and we have a full day planned, but I wanted to sneak in a post before things got going.  The boys have a scouting event this afternoon - Space Rocket Derby.  They put together these balsa wood rockets and they get to go race them this afternoon.  I don't know who's more excited/nervous - the boys or JOHN!!  Anyway, I'm really looking forward to dinner out tonight for my birthday!  This is my last day of being 35, and we're celebrating with my family at Famous Dave's tonight.  They have the best BBQ sauce and the absolute BEST cornbread!  It's like cake!  Tomorrow I get to stay home with the guys and hang out in our pjs all day.  I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday!

Today's card is my 3rd in the latest baby series of 4.  The idea for this one was totally taken from this card by Laura Bassen for one of PTI's Make It Monday challenges.  I actually like how hers turned out better, but this one will do.  I used neutral "baby" colors so that it could be for a mom having either a boy or a girl, but this card could also be for someone who isn't having a baby since the sentiment is pretty generic! 

I think that I will make more versions of these with different ribbon more tailored to either a boy or a girl next time.   I sure hope that Laura is ok with me using her design!

Thanks for visiting!  Look for the last in this series tomorrow!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI Kraft and White

Cricut: SCAL

Stamps: Stampin' Up

Ink: Palette Black

Other: Ribbon from WalMart, yellow button from my stash and button twine

Chevron Baby

Hi everyone!  It finally snowed here today!  The boys were so excited, and even got out of school early.  They had high hopes of finally going sledding.  However, as expected, the snow petered out pretty quickly and was definitely not enough for sledding.  The guys were disappointed, but mom was secretly happy that she didn't have to go stand out in the cold with them!

Today's card is the next in my series of 4 for the baby boutique I make cards for.  This one was REALLY simple to make, but I think it has a big impact.  The different patterned papers were cut to 2.5" x 1".  I arranged them in a chevron pattern and added the felt letters and bling to the bottom.  Way easy!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you have a great Friday and a good long weekend!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White and Simply Chartreuse cardstock; patterned papers from DCWV Lemon Flower Stack

Dies:  PTI Block Alphabet Die Collection

Other: Green and yellow rhinestones, grey felt from Hobby Lobby

Baby Clothesline

Hey 'yall!  So, I think I mentioned that my son had walking pneumonia this past weekend.  Well, guess who has it now???  ME!  I really don't feel bad at all, but I was feeling the rattle in my chest and thought I should go to the doctor and nip it in the bud.  I seem to be prone to it.  Anyway, turns out I have asthma that is triggered by infection, and they did a chest x-ray to confirm the pneumonia.  Good times.

Anyway, I'm so excited about today's project.  A few months ago I announced that I was starting to sell some of my creations at a local baby boutique.  Well...the gal that owns the place has asked for more cards!!  Yea!!!  This one is the first in my series of four for this order.  It also happens to be my favorite of the four!

I love the color combo, the sentiment, and the subject matter.  I absolutely love to see clothes hanging on the line, blowing in the breeze.  It reminds me of when I would spend summers at the beach with my grandma growing up.  Great memories!!  I sure hope the customers like this one as much as I do!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Ingredients:

Paper: PTI Kraft, White, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist and Spring Moss cardstock

Cricut: April Showers cart, Plantin Schoolbook cart, and Everyday Paperdolls cart

Stamps: PTI Signature Greetings

Ink: Burnt Umber Palette ink
Other: Cream embroidery floss

You're So FAB!

Hi yall!  I'm going to make this quick.  We have tons going on today...getting all of the Christmas stuff put away, digging out my office from all the holiday "I don't really care about this right now" stuff, laundry, etc.  Our poor Jakers has pneumonia as well.  While that sounds really awful, he doesn't feel bad at all...thank heavens!!  He and his best bud (brother Brady) are playing video games as we speak because he's not allowed to go outside and run around in this beautiful weather! 

Today's card was one I made for my sister-in-law's birthday back in October.  She's a super fashionable, gorgeous girl who sells Premier Jewelry in her spare time.  I wanted her card to really reflect her personality.  I wanted it to be something she could hang on her office wall to remind her that she is so fabulous!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Ingredients:

Cricut Cartridge: Create A Critter

Stamps: Mini letter stamps found in the dollar bin at WalMart

Paper: All from my scrap stash

Other: A little bling!

Minnie Mouse!

Hey there!  Whew...what a day!  Work was nuts yet again.  I really hope that things calm down soon.  I was so pooped after work today that we went out for Mexican tonight (I say that like we never go out to eat...but in fact, if you ask my husband he would say that we eat out more than we eat at home...he would be wrong, but he would say it).  Those fajitas sure were yummy!

Today's card was one that I made for my little neice Anna who just turned 2.  She had a Minnie Mouse birthday, so I just had to borrow a cart from my friend Betsy (I don't own any Disney carts...Disney isn't really my thing).  I think it turned out pretty cute, but not as cute as little Anna!!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Ingredients:

Paper: PTI White, Kraft and various others from my scraps

Cricut: Disney Mickey and Friends cart for Minnie and SCAL for the #2

Dies: PTI Limitless Layers 1 3/4" and Block Alphabet

Just a Quickie!

Hi everyone!  I am posting a quickie today!  I created this card for my mother-in-law's birthday in early December.  I wanted to do something fresh and pretty (read as NOT Christmas-ey). 

I think that it turned out beautifully and she really enjoyed it!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Ingredients:

Paper: PTI Hawaiian Shores and Harvest Gold

Stamps: PTI Signature Greetings, Beautiful Blooms II and Boxes, Bags, and Tags

Ink: PTI Fresh Snow and Spring Moss, and Palette Burnt Umber

Other: Bone folder and Martha Stewart Scoreboard for score lines

John's Bowling Book

Hi friends!  Well, it was back to work today, and what a day it was!  I am the database administrator at a local girls’ high school, and I am responsible for getting all of the report cards out after each quarter.  Today I was supposed to begin the process for the second quarter report cards, but we were having MAJOR technical difficulties and it was a lot of trouble shooting and then waiting all day.  I sure hope that tomorrow goes smoother than today!

On to today’s project…a memory book for my Dubber’s 40^th birthday.  Who the heck is Dubber you ask?  My “Hubber-Dubber,” of course!  When we first got married, I started calling John my “Hubbers,” and then it stretched into “Hubber-Dubber”, and then was shortened again to “Dubber”.   He calls me “Babe.”  We very rarely call each other by name, and when we do…you KNOW it’s serious!  I know that this sounds all sappy and stuff, but really it’s not.  We are definitely not the sweet, sugary types.  We just have a very lighthearted relationship and calling each other by name sounds so serious!

Anyway, John/Dubber actually didn’t turn 40 until two days after Christmas, but to really surprise him, I planned his surprise party at a bowling alley a couple of days after Thanksgiving.   Most of his family lives out of town, and they were all visiting for Thanksgiving so I thought that was a great opportunity to get everyone together and celebrate John!!  I had T-Shirts made for the guests…in fact, here’s a picture of the birthday boy in his shirt!  He's holding a bottle of his favorite bourbon with an altered label courtesy of his aunt!

One thing I really love about John is that he is extremely sentimental.  He tends to keep every scrap of paper or object that has any sort of meaning to him, so I thought he would really enjoy having a memory book that all of the guests could sign while at the party.  This was such a good idea that unbeknownst to me, his mom also came up with a cute idea to have everyone sign an old bowling pin which she had painted.  We now have lots of mementos from this fun day! 

The book was really simple to make.  I just covered some plain pre-cut chipboard pieces that found at Michaels (a set of 4 for $1) with some cute but masculine (and even a little bit retro) patterned paper.  I cut out a bunch of bowling pins and balls using SCAL and my Cricut.  Here are a few shots of the inside of the book before anyone had signed it.

Here's a look at one of the pages after it had been signed.

Now, here’s a look at my favorite page, signed by our oldes son at the party.

John was really surprised, and everyone (all 50 of us) had a great time!!  Here are a couple of shots from the party (sorry the second one is so blurry, but it's the only one I have of the whole group...I sure hope someone else's turned out better than mine!).

As always, thanks for visiting!  See you tomorrow!

Kate

Paper: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist collection

Cricut Cuts: Plantin Schoolbook (40th) and SVG files (bowling balls and pins)

Other: Chipboard Pages and Rings from Michaels dollar bin, Alphabet Stickers from my stash

Teacher Gifts

Hi friends!  Today was soooo productive!!  I'm so proud of myself!  I got the two upstairs bathrooms totally cleaned (including the big jetted tub that we never use - it just collects dust), all the beds changed, all the towels changed, all the laundry put away, haircuts done for all 3 boys, huge grocery run done and put away, and baths and all the essential grooming for all 3 boys done too!!  I think we are all ready for tomorrow back to school and work!  I have really loved the time that we have had off together...especially this past week with John home too...but I'm really looking forward to getting back to a routine.  I know that I'll be hoping for another long break soon, but for now I'm going to relish in the regularity of a routine. 

Today's project is the one that I did for the boys' teachers this Christmas.  Last year after Christmas I found these really great magnetic boards at Target on clearance.  They came with the cute little magnets, and were covered in the great green damask paper you see here.  What you don't see pictured is the cute black velvet ribbon that is attached on the back to hang the board on the wall.  I decided that I wanted to customise these a little bit so I added the teacher's intial at the top and a flourish on each side.  Here are some closeups:

Having been a teacher before, I think I would have thoroughly enjoyed a gift like this!  I sure hope they did!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

Fresh Starts

Happy New Year everyone!  I so love this time of year...a time of renewal...a time for fresh starts...a time for do-overs!  My brain is so overloaded with all of the plans I have to make myself better, my family better, my house better, my job better, my relationships better, my BLOGGING better!  I know that it will be nearly impossible to implement all of these plans, but I always start out with the best of intentions.  So, I'm vowing to post more frequently for several reasons.  I love the interaction I have with all of you out there in blogger land...I love hearing your comments and participating in challenges with you.  I also like having a record of the projects I have done in the past.  It's fun to look back and see how my style has changed, and the older posts are often a good resource when I want to recreate something.  I have not been very good about keeping my "records" up to date, because at the moment, I have 12 projects completed, photographed, but NOT BLOGGED!  So, that means that you are going to get at LEAST 12 posts in a row from me.  Exciting right??

I've also decided that I want to add more personal notes in my posts.  The bloggers that I love to read the most are the ones that incorporate some of their personal lives into their posts.  So...less "technical stuff" and more of the personal stuff.  From now on, you'll find all of the technical details of my projects at the end of my posts, similar to what I've been seeing other bloggers do.  I like this format a lot because it is really easy to go to the end of the post and see what went into making the project when you don't have time to read all of the text of the post. 

Now...on to the first project.  I think I'll get all of the Christmas related projects out of the way first since I know that most people are getting sick of them by now!!  I have to say, this year, I felt like the Christmas season went by way too quickly.  Many years I have had enough of the music, decorations, food, shopping, etc. by now, but this year I'm actually sad to see it all go.  We started taking everything down today and I was really reluctant.  I plan to spend tomorrow packing it all away in the boxes, and I plan to take my time, lingering over each decoration...soaking in all of the memories. 

I think maybe I'm more sentimental this year because I am starting to realize how fleeting these magical Santa years are with my boys.  My oldest is 8 and I'm not sure how many more "magical" Christmases we have left with him!  These little guys are soooo precious and I don't want to forget a single moment.  Something many people don't know about me is that I DO NOT have a good memory.  I don't remember a lot of specifics about my childhood, I don't usually remember stories people have told me over one week ago, all of the little details of the memories I make in my life fade VERY quickly for me.  I'm not sure why this is...I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with me...I just think that my brain is deficient in this way.  So, I'm really scared that I won't remember all of the precious details of these special years with my little boys.  I'm constantly trying to soak in their smells, thier hugs and kisses, their funny little sayings, the way their chubby little hands look inside of mine, their hearts beating against my chest as I hold them...oh God...please don't let me forget!

Wow...that was deep!  Ok...moving on...time for a project!!! :) 

I was so inspired by a project that Sherry Wright made a few weeks ago for the PTI Make it Monday Challenge: Glue Pad Technique.  In fact, I was so inspired, I pretty much copied her whole project!  I gave this cute little ornament to my secret buddy at work.  I sure hope she liked it!

The little frame was found in the dollar bin at Michaels...what a great spot to find some really cute things!! 

I hope to make more of these next year as gifts...I just ran out of time this year!!!

As always, thanks for visiting!!  Happy New Year!

Kate

Cardstock: PTI Aqua Mist, and various gray and white scraps

Stamps: PTI "In the Meadow"

Cricut Cartridges: Winter Woodland

Other: Michael's frame, chunky white glitter, Recollections rhinestones