That I Would Be Good

Distress Ink Flower Set

Heavily inspired by this post by Betsy Veldman, I wanted to create some cards with my YOF sets and Distress Inks. I'm not a very 'distressy' person, but I thought even I could make this work.

I put this set together to send to my beautiful aunt for her birthday (even though it was last week, oops!).

YOF Roses

YOF Daffodils

YOF Marigolds

YOF Violets

Friends Till the End

Delightful Dahlia

YOF Morning Glories

I used sentiments from various PTI sets and mounted the watercolor paper on a coordinating PTI cardstock color. I like this technique and will definitely try it again, I think I could use the practice!

Thanks for looking!

Rosie Posie birthday gift

Happy Friday!! Today is Friday the 13th....Are you superstitious? Today is actually my sister's birthday. She was born on Friday the 13th as well. My *much* older sister...hahaha. She's five and a half years older than me, and I never let her forget it!

She's sliding very quickly into the big 4-0 (next year), which is strange because I am only 26! Ha!

I've done a lot of reflection in the past year or two, on myself and those in my life. I know my sister isn't someone that I may have chosen in life, as we don't have a lot of common interests, but I am so glad she was chosen for me. She was absolutely my best friend growing up, she took care of me in so many ways. If anything happened to me (trust me, I got myself into some crazy situations), she was the first to (sometimes literally) pull me out. We never really fought a lot, I think because we are far apart in age. We were always in different stages of life until adulthood.

Our regular routine is she calls me when she leaves work in the mornings, which means I am usually on my way into work. We chit chat and gossip, then she goes to bed and I start work. I find myself looking forward to her "Enjoy the rest of your day" before I start work in the morning.

I like this photo of her. Taking a sip of coffee, with a smile in her eyes. We're not really a mushy sappy family, but I love her and like her a lot. Through all the crap I've been going through in the past few years, she absolutely has been there to listen, not judge, and help however she can. I appreciate that more than she knows.

On one of our morning chats, she mentioned in passing that she wanted to read some of the "classics" that she never got to read in school. I thought this would be a great opportunity for a birthday gift! I went to Barnes and Noble and got her Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and.... Great Expectations. I think. Now that the gift is wrapped and in the mail, I can't remember the fourth book I got. Whatevs. It was in the Classics section. I know it was well known. Anyhoo.

Even though she doesn't live that far from me, we don't see each other all that often. So I decided to mail this to her so she can hopefully open it on her actual birthday instead of waiting until the next time I see her. I wrapped the books in kraft paper, tied them with twine, and put some die cut Rosie Posie flowers on them with pop dots. I made a bookmark and card to match. The bookmark is laminated (with my Xyron) so it will hopefully stand the test of time!

The 'Danielle' stamp I've had for years. We got them maybe 20 years ago?? Of course I had to have one special ordered for my name! Not that I'm bitter or anything....

Happy 39th birthday to my sister Danielle!

Anniversary Wishes

This is a card I made for my BFFs sixth wedding anniversary, which is this weekend. My BFF and her husband are the best ever. We even call their house South and my house North. I love them both!

I used my favorite Hero Arts Fabric background and the beautiful Waltzingmouse Big Day set. Gorgeous font.

Have a great night and enjoy your Friday!

Moxie Fab card #2

Here's the second Orly Kiely inspired card!

Moxie Fab card #1

This is my first card inspired by the Orla Kiely photo on Moxie Fab. I *never* use orange! But I'm glad I did. The card is still pretty simple but the colors are so fun! That patterned paper is from Paper Source. Love it!

I'm in love with this card

This one just went into my stash, and then promptly got snatched up by my BFF to send out to a friend of hers. I definitely will be making more of this!

PTI Botanical Silhouettes and Dearest Jane paper.

Special thank you cards

About a month ago, I found out through Facebook that a friend of mine from high school lost her husband in a helicopter accident. He was a Lt. Colonel in the Marines and was training to deploy to Iraq again. Seven men were killed in the accident preparing to defend our country.
Even though I haven't seen this friend in several years, her dad is still a close friend. He is the band director at my high school and he asks me to participate in many of the schools musical productions (in the pit mostly).

I wanted to send my friend Dianna something that would be useful to her during this tough time. Shes in California, so it's not like I can drop off a lasagna or offer to babysit her two year old. So I sent her some thank you cards. I'm sure there are many people she would like to thank right now and hopefully this small gesture will take some stress of her, she doesn't have to remember to buy the cards.
I kept these super super simple. Not only for mass production, but also because of the circumstances.
I made five of each design and wrapped them in glassine bags with twine.

Happy birthday cards

There are so many possibilities with the PTI letter die cuts! I love those things. Here I paired them with an impression plate and some patterned paper.

Pinterest Challenge

So last week Sherry and Katie issued a challenge to actually DO something with all the ideas that we have pinned on on Pinterest. Hmmm...novel idea!

I've actually pinned a bunch of home decor and organization ideas, but none that I'm really ready to commit to yet. So I decided to dive into my Color Combos board. Which is actually more of an 'inspiration for cards' board. But hey, tomato, tomahto.

So I made some cards based on the pins from my Color Combos board. Here we go!

Up first, this gorgeous photo with that beautiful green dress with a lace/doily overlay.

Though who is that scary man behind them? Oh wait, maybe an officiant? Like this is their 'you may kiss the bride' moment? That makes sense. Deena's inner monologue, stop talking now.

So here's my card interpretation:

I used PTI New Leaf cardstock and some doilies from Michaels (which stick together like mofos). I even added a Prima flower in that fun raspberry color to match her shoes. The sentiments is from Waltzingmouse Stamps Big Day Additions set.

Next....

I liked the way the leaves were around the perimeter of this. And I'm a sucker for anything with pretty leaves.

And now the card:

I stamped around the cream layer with PTI's Turning a New Leaf. I used Spring Moss ink and then layered with Aqua Mist ink. I used some patterned paper layers as well, from My Minds Eye Stella and Rose Hattie collection. The card base is PTI Pure Poppy. The quote stamp is from Waltzingmouse Stamps Words of Wisdom set.

(insert best announcer voice here)
And now..... The final entry into the Pinterest Challenge....

In this corner, hailing from the online archives of Pinterest.com, this photo!

And in this corner, the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge

And in *this* corner, my bff's birthday. Which is only three weeks away from mine, so we do a combined celebration every year.

(how many corners am I up to?)

They all converge in the middle to make this loveliness!

A birthday card for my bff using PTI Ocean Tides and more paper from MME. I'm on an orange kick lately, so that flower is front and center. You can also see a hint of a Vera Bradley gift card peeking out there.The number dies and stamps are from PTI's Big Birthday Wishes set.

Oh, and my bff isn't 29 anymore, but she refuses to admit it...(she just hit her mid-30s). But no matter how old she is, I love her to death. And she'll always be older than me. HA!

So there you have it. My entries into the Pinterest Challenge. Thanks Sherry, Katie, Emily and Lana for hosting!

Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop!

Hey everyone! I decided to take part in the Young Crafters Unite! blog hop, hosted by Britta and Marie.

Now, I know I'm not the youngest crafter out there, but I think 32 still qualifies! And some days I feel like I'm about 14 because I'm so overwhelmed by the world. Thank God I have my friends and family to help me through!

You should have gotten here from Amber's blog.

Here is my card for the hop. My cousin is having a baby shower/dinner this weekend. It's out in Colorado, so I won't be attending. But I will see her later this summer, hopefully she can hold that baby in until after my visit! Here is my card for the gift that is on its way to her in the mail!

 

Supplies:
PTI cardstock in Ocean Mist and Stampers Select (plus a hint of Raspberry Fizz and Hawaiian Shores)
Stamp is Stampin Up!
Patterned paper is MME Fine and Dandy and PTI

I didn't intend for the papers to be all crooked, but one landed that way and I decided to just go for it. My favorite "thing" here is spotlighting a part of a stamp with paper piece and pop dots. I love pop dots!

Thanks for looking at my contribution to the Hop. Please leave a comment, randomly selected commenters will win their choice of $20 from Simon Says Stamp, a set from Lawn Fawn, or a set from Paper Smooches. Pretty cool!! I have purchased from all those places and they are awesome.

The next stop on the hop is: Kristy Smith.

Enjoy the hop!