Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Tap Tap Shakin' Thank You!


School's out in 3 days! We have been counting down for weeks! I remember the excitement as a child as school drew near to an end. The last days were filled with SLAM books, photos of friends, and cleaning of classrooms & desks. (We were always grossed out by all the gum that HAD to be scraped off.) 

I taught French for 5 years, and believe me, teachers are ALMOST as excited for the last day of school as the students. Now I'm experiencing the last week of school for the first time as a parent. I can't wait to have my sweet Kindergartner home with me all day! One of my favorite things is to listen to him & his little sister play together. They really are best buddies. They fight like all siblings do, but they're over it and playing again within a matter of minutes. It just breaks their tender hearts to see the other one sad.
Sophie was so lonely when her best friend left her for school!

I can't believe how fast they are growing up, and I can't believe how much they've grown just this school year! I was just flipping through photos and Sophie still had her binky last fall! That seems like AGES ago! (Seriously. She acts like she's 13 now.) It's fun to have milestones like the first and last days of school to compare the progress and growth. I'll tell you one thing is for CERTAIN, there are a LOT of people to thank for helping these kids (and every kid) grow! It takes a village, doesn't it? Now is a great time to give a final shout out to those who have helped mould these young minds. I know I don't express it as often as I could. Take it from a "retired" teacher, you cannot hear the simple words "THANK YOU!" enough! 



I've been so inspired by the new catalog that I was a little stumped today. I can't wait to get my new goodies!!! But I really wanted to make an awesome card for an awesome teacher. So I turned to Splitcoast Stampers to see what their weekly challenges were and found inspiration from the Inspiration Challenge! (what else?) IC547 is all about shaker cards and the idea for this one just popped into my mind. (Of course I had to use my favorite stamp set at least one last time!)

I created this as a grand finale Thank You for the year! It was a fun one to make, and who doesn't get excited about a shaker card?? Even you crazy glitter-phobes can enjoy the sparkle contained behind the window. ;) There are a lot of little pieces to this card, but it came together pretty quickly! I used a lot of great punches, which are a quick and easy way to add an embellishment and step up your card! 


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Saturday, May 21, 2016

Guy Greetings Birthday

Generally I think cards for guys are....not as fun, but for some reason I absolutely love this set! And with the TGIF Challenge this week, I'm putting it to good use!


So take two for #TGIFC56 I used this funny man image from Guy Greetings and made a couple of these for some of my nephews.


I wanted to keep it simple (one layer) due to the vintage feel of Mr. Mustachio here, so I stamped him directly onto a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock. I masked his hands so it looks like he's holding the balloon strings but I think if I were to do it over, I would just freehand draw the strings. That would help the strings line-up better with the balloons, BUT (as I had to teach my 3 year old daughter who got VERY upset that she didn't write the "P" perfectly on her name when she signed it) the only person that notices if it's not PERFECT is you! They will still be SO happy to receive a birthday card! (Oh boy the lessons this family (including Mom) needs to learn in overcoming perfectionism...I have no idea where to start!)

I love the way the stamped balloons blend over each other like real balloons would! You can really use ANY colors but I would recommend a "rainbow" of colors from both the Brights and Subtles collections. (Wild Wasabi is probably my favorite balloon color!)

This is a quick and easy one layer card, which means it would be a GREAT one to either demo or use as a make & take for a workshop! You don't even need adhesive!!!

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Hot Rod!

Ok is anyone else experiencing a crazy burst of creativity now that some of your favorite products are going away??? There's nothing like a last minute deadline to get me going! NOT a bad thing! I also finally decided to join in on a challenge! (Always great for giving you a place to start!) This is TGIF Challenges!: #tgifc56- For Dudes. Masculine cards are always challenging because I love to add sparkle! I think I figured out that some SHINE is fine. (Poetic. haha)


I make cards so I can send out awesome birthday cards to my siblings, their spouses, and their children (which equals somewhere around 50 people). Usually, I get my birthday cards made and ready to send and then realize it will be sent ON the actual birthday or even a date later...oopsie. But not today! (Megamind voice)

I'm a WHOLE MONTH EARLY on this one! Father's Day is June 19th, and what better stamp set to use than Guy Greetings! Especially when your Dad owns this:


I'm not an experienced flame draw-er, but I think the custom paint job on this card turned out great. It's a keeper. I love making cards unique so the recipient KNOWS it was made just for them. These are the cards that will be kept forever. It's just a little way to say "YOU are important to ME."



Again I used that beautiful typeset DSP. What are we ever going to do without it?? A fun fact on this card: that gold strip on the front? It's a leftover piece from the tin of cards kit. I LOVE kits for a quick yet awesome card! And there are always LOTS of leftovers so you can still use your own creativity!


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