Friday, March 4, 2016

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite things. Some old and some new.

We'll start with all things birthday. I've always loved celebrating birthdays. You get cards in the mail, presents, and cake! Did I say cake? I love homemade cake with the traditional crisco or buttercream icing. I love it so much, I can only make it occasionally (or I'd eat way too much and it's really not part of the healthy food groups). So in my house it shows up on birthdays.

I'm hosting a birthday card making class soon, and I came up with a really cool idea on how to store and sort all our lovely handmade cards. I'll share some photos today and I'm hoping to make a tutorial next week, so check back then. I call it the Birthday Card Book. It's a 6x6 book made up of 12 pockets, one for each month so that you can file away the cards you make AND then you'll know where they are so you can do the important part of getting them in the mail.


Here's the front, which you can decorate any way you like. I covered the light weight cardboard that comes in our DSP packs. I used binder circles ( I don't really know what they're called) to hold it together.


The inside is minimally decorated as I want to have plenty of space to write down the birthdays on each month.


There are 12 pockets, and each can hold 3-4 cards. I think on the next go round, I'll add a ribbon so that you can tie it closed.

Here is the link to the blogpost with the instructions. There's a video to help you out too!

Next up are a few cute birthday cards to fill up your book.



If you're looking for a super cute mini box to put a gift in, check out this box, I learned how to make it from my demonstrator friend Pesci. She adapted it from one she saw on Pinterest. I absolutely love it and see many small cake and hat boxes in my future.


Leaving birthday's behind, I want to share a card intended for Valentine's day, but really it could be used for almost any occasion, depending on what you put inside.


And finally, I'll share a peek into my Project Life by Stampin' Up! scrapbooking. I had two weddings this past Fall and I'm having fun getting the pages done quick and cute with the Love Story bundle.


I like to scrapbook in the living room when we watch TV. Which besides a little mess is a good thing. But my sweet little dog is not always such a fan.


This is her giving me a sad face as she thinks her spot should be next to me and there is too much stuff in the way.


This is her squeezing into the small space I made next to me.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and seeing a few of my favorite things.
Stay Crafty!








Thursday, February 11, 2016

A Birthday Bundle, Remarkable Blog Hop

My post today features the Number of Years bundle from the Stampin' Up! Occasions catalog. Can you say easy? This set is so easy and so fun! And it can be used for more than birthdays, but today it's birthdays.

We'll start at the beginning, what can be more fun than a 1st birthday? Here are a couple of ideas:



And a super cute idea for celebrating someone a bit older.



Here's how I got the cool arch, I curved the photopolymer stamp a bit when I mounted it on the block so that it would fit with the framelit. Then I cut it out with my big shot and snipped them apart.


This next card has a nice masculine feel, it's for my Dad's birthday in April.


And on this one, I'm having a little fun for my Mother-in-law, who turned 70 last year. You could also leave the again banner off and have a super nice card, although not quite as funny.


That's all for birthday cards today, although I have tons of ideas, just need to get them made of paper. 

I've also made a bunch of anniversary cards with this set (and I'm almost thinking I blogged about them before? But I'll share them anyway).


The cards with DSP are using the Birthday Bouquet DSP and I used the coordinating card stock and ink colors (I love how Stampin' Up! does that! I mean it's amazing!).

I hope I've inspired you a bit! 
Stay crafty!

For more inspiration, click on the image below or on the list below that. 













Friday, January 22, 2016

Let It Snow, It's Snow Fun!

OK crafty friends, we are at the beginning of Snowzilla, a big mid-east snow storm reported to be of monumental proportions. So I thought we'd have some fun.

First, find me on Facebook: https://https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyYogicards/?ref=hl
I'll be posting creative ideas all weekend.

I am proposing two contests--with prizes!

1. Guess how many inches of snow I'll have on my back deck by Sunday at 6pm.
2. Guess how many crafty projects I'll make by Sunday at 10pm.
**note on the crafting, I am easily distracted by Facebook and Pinterest, I have 2 new books, I'll probably watch a few movies, there will be cookies to bake, and a dog to walk.**

Guesses are due by midnight tonight, Friday Jan 22. Post them in the comments of the Facebook post with the link to this blog post. If you don't Facebook, you can post your guesses in the comments here. The closest with not going over will receive some "happy mail" or "blog candy" from me!

So to get you started, here is project number 1.
A card inspired by the Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge # 178. http://www.papercraftcrew.com/pcccs-178-card-sketch/
Here's the sketch.


And here is my card:


See I told you this would be snow fun!

And here are some photos of the snow so far:

12:30 pm

3:15 pm

So have fun and stay crafty!




Friday, January 15, 2016

Flowering Fields Stamps With Wildflower Fields DSP

It's a celebration of a Sale-A-Bration! You can earn the products, one for each $50 ordered.

I saw the idea on Stampin' Up's website putting these two beautiful freebie projects together and I loved it. So simple, so pretty.

I stamped the images in our new-ish black archival ink and my preference is the Shimmery White card stock colored with the Blender Pens. But just for fun I have a demo of the three card stocks and the three coloring tools.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!


Here's the whole group of cards together. And the following is each one solo:






I mean really aren't they so pretty? And quick to make. And fun.

Here are the images stamped on our three types of paper:


And here they are colored with three different tools:



For both the Blender Pens and the Aqua Painters, I like to use some ink from the lid of the ink pad.
Do you have a favorite way to color?

Any questions, let me know.
Stay Crafty!

Do you follow me on Facebook? I'm lots of fun there.








Thursday, January 14, 2016

Love Bundles, Remarkable Blog Hop

Love Bundles! Have you started your Valentine's cards yet? I may have mentioned before that I love to send cards to all my little nieces and nephews as well as to my kids in college. So it helps to get busy a little early.

For this month's blog hop I decided to challenge myself to use a set in a creative way. I used the Acorny Thank You bundle. It's a returning favorite from the Holiday catalog, so maybe you already have it!

So I'm going to show you a bunch of pictures, then I'll tell you the basic supplies I used, then I'll share the exciting information about Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration special (and there will be more pictures!).





I mean, how cute are these cards? You could send them to kids, to friends, and you could even give them to your honey.

Supply list:
Acorny Thank You bundle, #140841, $28
Timeless Textures Stamp Set clear, #140517, $20
Love Blossoms Cardstock Pack (Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Rose Red), #140549, $7
Hearts Border Punch, #133784, $16
Rose Red Ink Pad, #126954, $6.50
Crumb Cake Ink Pad, #126975, $6.50
Linen Thread, #104199, $4.50

If you have a few more supplies laying around, you could make this one:



The supply list totals up to $87.50 (not counting shipping and handling or tax). 
You may be wondering, why is she telling me this? She doesn't normally price things out. Well, here's the deal: until Jan 31, Stampin' Up! is running their Sale-A-Bration special, for every $50 (not count ion S&H and tax) you can earn a FREE item from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. So, if you add another $12.50 to this list (maybe adhesives, more ink pads, or DSP) you could get 2 sale-a-bration items and you could make these super cute cards (I saw the basic idea on Stampin' Up's website and they were so cute, I had to make them!).


I mean really aren't they cute!
I'll post the close ups and more info tomorrow evening.

I hope I've inspired you at least a little. For more inspiration, check out what Maria has to share.
Stay Crafty!

 


You can find the rest of the Remarkable bloggers here:







Thursday, December 10, 2015

Last Minute Holiday Ideas, Remarkable Blog Hop

So, things are winding down towards Christmas and maybe you're looking for a few more Christmassy projects to do.  Why not make your thank you cards? Or make some to give as gifts.

For this idea filled blog post, I used a stamp set that is in the annual catalog (so maybe you already have it, or you can order it anytime) and The Reason For The Season set featured in my blog last month. And apparently I used a retired set! But I'm including it anyway as we have so many awesome and similar snowflakes in the Holiday catalog that you could use with the same layout. I used Stampin' Up's notecards and envelopes for all of the projects.

So, let's get started!

So quick, so simple, it's White Christmas. I mean really, I'm not sure anything could be cuter.



Here's your Reason For The Season, again, super simple but a bit more sophisticated.


The Thank You greeting is from the Four You stamp set. 
I used it again here, with some Home for Christmas DSP.


And the last one features some snowflakes.


Here are all the cards together:


I packaged them up with five to a pack to give as gifts.

I hope you enjoyed your stop here with me. For more crafty ideas, check out the rest of the blog hop!

Stay crafty!



Here are all the links:

Nancy Amato - http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2015/12/last-minute-holiday-ideas-from.html

Melissa Bolinger -  http://creativeblessingsbymissy.blogspot.com/2015/12/remarkable-blog-tour-last-minute-gifts.html

Tamra Davis - http://www.theCardLadies.com/remarkable-blog-hop-last-minute-girl-here/

Arden Dougan - http://stampinarden.blogspot.com/2015/12/remarkables-blog-tour-december.html

Tracie Langley - http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/traciesallaboutstamping/blog?directBlogUrl=/blog/86481/entry/remarkable_stampers_blog_tour_las

Anne Matasci - http://wp.me/pCcBw-206

Heather Mathieson - https://inkyladybug.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/remarkables-blog-tour-o-christmas-tree

Ann Monhollen - http://annscreativenook.blogspot.com/2015/12/last-minute-holiday-gifts.html


Audra Monk - http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2015/12/last-minute-holiday-ideas-remarkable.html

Maria Pane - http://stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com/2015/12/home-for-holidays-last-minute-su.html

Michele Reynolds -  http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2015/12/december-holiday-bundle-blog-tour.html

Pam Staples  - http://wp.me/p3p2VA-1cs

Janet Wakeland - http://wp.me/pHIQD-7tA











Thursday, November 12, 2015

More Bundles, More Fun!

Hello crafty friends!

This month on the Remarkables blog hop, I'm featuring the Reason for the Season stamp set, which you can get bundled with the Festive Flower Builder Punch (15% savings).

Things are a bit busy in my crafty land so I'm going to keep this short and sweet.


So, the cool thing about this stamp set, is that it's a two step set--actually in this case, a three step. You stamp the outline, then the petal color, then the leaf color. It's so easy!  And it makes such a great impact. For this card, I went traditional and sophisticated. Cherry Cobbler and Mossy Meadow ink paired with Very Vanilla. 

Next, at the encouragement from my upline, she challenged us to make a card that sparkled and had bling. Check this out!


Isn't it lovely?? I embossed the outline in silver and added Pool Party to color the petals. Small rhinestones at the center, Glimmer paper, and two kinds of silver ribbon. Whew! It's a present I'd like to receive.

So you're probably wondering, Audra, when are you going to use the Festive Flower Punch? Well, the correct answer, is in the future. You'll have to check back next week and see the fun things that are in my head make it to the paper.

Stay Crafty!




For more inspiration, check out the other Remarkables blogs:

Nancy Amato - http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com/2015/11/bundle-up-for-holidays.html
Melissa Bolinger - http://creativeblessingsbymissy.blogspot.com/2015/11/remarkable-blog-tour-holiday-bundles.html
Arden Dougan - http://stampinarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/remarkable-blog-tour-november.html
Tracie Langley - http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/traciesallaboutstamping/blog?directBlogUrl=/blog/86481/entry/remarkable_stampers_blog_tour_bundle
Anne Matasci - http://wp.me/pCcBw-1Zx
Heather Mathieson - https://inkyladybug.wordpress.com/?p=215
Audra Monk - http://thecraftyyogi.blogspot.com/2015/11/more-bundles-more-fun.html
Maria Pane - http://stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com/2015/11/home-for-holidays-remarkable-stampers.html
Michele Reynolds -  http://inspirationink.typepad.com/inspiration-ink/2015/11/november-holiday-bundle-blog-tour.html
Pam Staples  - http://www.sunnygirlscraps.com/remarkable-stampers-holiday-bundle-blog-tour 
Janet Wakeland - http://wp.me/pHIQD-7rc