Lots of birthday's this week!

So much to celebrate this week! My nephew turns 10, my oldest son turns 11 on Thursday, our friends are expecting baby Max on Thursday, and my parents are celebrating their anniversary on July 4!

Here is the card I made for my nephew. He's having a Special Ops celebration. I used this image from the Free & the Brave, now retired (but not to worry - there is another awesome set in the new catty), on Old Olive card stock in VersaMark with clear embossing powder. I added the Old Olive ribbon to the bottom with a star punched from Old Olive card stock. Super fast and easy.

Thanks from Hannah!

Here are a few pictures of Hannah's nursery and a Thank You card.

Her room is painted Pale Plum!

The rocking chair is the same chair that I had with my first son 11 years ago!

We still need to paint her name letters to hang on the wall. The hold up is that I'm not sure if I want to paint them purple or stain them the same color as the furniture. What do you think?



She won't go naked - that's for sure!



And now for the thank you card...



I used a Whisper White base and stamped the carriage from the Fun & Fast Notes set in Basic Black, and colored it in with a Pale Plum marker and Pretty in Pink marker. I ran the card stock through my Big Shot using the Polka Dot textures plate. The top strip is Pale Plum (of course). The greeting is from the Heard from the Heart set. I added two gems to give it a little something.

Hannah will be here soon!

Not much time for crafting these days. I've been MIA because we have been preparing for baby Hannah. There is a very real chance that she could be here this weekend!

I am so very excited to meet my baby girl, but so very scared too! We have been praying for her health and safe delivery. Last Friday we received some test results that caused some concern and decided to induce labor to help protect her and myself. So, if you would... please say a little prayer for us.

Sneak a Peek!

I made this card super quick for a friend's baby shower. We are due 2 weeks apart. It's quite funny how many looks we get when we go out together. Anyway...

Don't you LOVE this color? Yes, it is a new In-Color! It's called Rich Razzleberry!

Don't you LOVE the polka-dot ribbon? Yes, it is Rich Razzleberry too. And yes, it will be in the new catalog!

Don't you LOVE the elephant stamp? Yes, it is new too! It's called Animal Stories. Wait until you see the adorable DSP that coordinates with the Animal Stories set!! Soo cute!

Bear with me

I love this bear from the Under the Stars set! It's "grrreat!"

This is a clear envelope brag book that we made at Hostess Club. We used Sahara Sand card stock, Sweet Slumber DSP, and Very Vanilla card stock. For a tutorial on how to create your own brag book... go here.

Just bleach it!

Here's a card made at our Hostess night using the Inspired by Nature set. The set is currently on the Dormant List - but it will be back in the catalog in July! Woo hoo! I love this set!!

We used a So Saffron base, Basic Black mat that we scratched the edges of, and Basic Gray to actually stamp the image on.

To get the bleached image - just pour some fresh bleach onto a paper towel to create your "stamp pad" then "ink" the stamp with the bleach and stamp away!

This is quite a scarry technique if you've never tried it before. But it is so cool! I love how the Basic Gray turned So Saffron! You've got to try your favorite color - they all produce something different!

Matchbox and Chocolate!

This was a fun project! I used the Matchbox die that is available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I used a Chocolate Chip card stock base with To the Nines Specialty DSP for the cover.

I stamped Avery labels with the paisley stamp from the Wanted set in Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss Classic Ink, and then wrapped the label around a Hershey nugget. 4 nuggets fit nicely in the Matchbox.

The Just for You sentiment is from the Only Oval set, also available in the Occasions Mini. I stamped it twice on Sahara Sand card stock in Chocolate Chip Classic ink. I then punched one image out with the Large Oval punch, and the other image was punched using the new Scallop Oval punch. I layered the Large oval on top of the Scallop Oval using 2 dimensionals. This created a place to slide the Chocolate Chip ribbon through the tag, so the ribbon could be wrapped around the Matchbox.

You have until June 30th to take advantage of the Occasions Mini!

Hannah at 31 weeks!

Here is baby Hannah at 31 weeks! That would be her foot pressed up against her face!

She was practicing her yoga poses. In another pose she had the back of her hand up against her forehead - think Southern Belle! She has my nose and little indentation above her top lip.

Here she is actually smiling!

The measurements taken support my theory that she will be here before the 17th! She is estimated to be 4 lbs 4 oz - which is about a pound bigger than where she should be at 31 weeks. Her overall body measurement is showing a gestational age of 34 weeks!

I guess time will tell!

Thoughts & Prayers

Here is a card we made at our Hostess Club. We used Kraft card stock for the base. The card stock was cut from 8-1/2 x 11, but cut length wise rather than by the width. Yes, it still fits in a regular size envelope - it just opens from right to left rather than top to bottom!

Paper: Kraft card stock, Urban Oasis DSP, Chocolate Chip card stock, Close to Cocoa card stock, Very Vanilla card stock

Ink: Close to Cocoa Classic ink

Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Antique Brass brad

Sunshine Garden Challenge

Each Hostess Club, I give my members a challenge piece. They received a piece of the Sunshine Garden Simply Scrappin' Kit, and a sheet of the die cuts to go with it. This page is what I came up with.

I cut the strip of flowers from the 12x12 page and added it to a piece of Baja Breeze card stock. I cut the strip of stripes from the same page and adhered them to pieces of Kiwi Kiss card stock. I really like these colors, and am going to miss them when they retire this summer!