You've Got {heart} Mail...

..just another Target Dollar Spot mailbox. Love these for Valentines.. 

I know.  We see these cute little boxes every year.  You really can't go wrong for a $1. They are so easy to alter... and perfect when you need a little something fast.

To decorate the box simply cut a piece of designer paper measuring 4x12 and adhere with sticky tape.  Decorate the front and back with what you like, add embellishments and fill with a yummy treat or gift card or both.  Perfect for your sweetheart or a Valentine for your child's teacher. 

ps.  Our Target had these mailboxes in pink, red, and white this year - woot!

Additional Info
Stamps: Hambo DigiShop: Heart Basket
Paper: MME, basic black, white
Ink: stazon
Accessories: ribbon, heart charm, bling, primas, heart punch, oval punches, tag punch

Thanks for stopping by.

BUTTERFLY SHADOWBOX...

My Dad collects butterflies and gives them to my girls in frames. Recently he gave them some that were in shadowboxes on quilt batting. I was looking at them this morning and thought, well I could replace the batting with some cardstock and pop them up on popdots. It took a long time (one even lots it's wing), but with determination, glue dots and crystal effects, here is the finished product. It was difficult to get a good picture with the reflections bouncing off the glass.  I wish you could see them irl, they are awesome.  Thanks Dad, I'm going to hang them in the kid's rooms now.
Thanks for looking.

Additional Info:
Stamps: SU
Paper: bazzil
Ink: stazon
Accessories: punches, ribbon

WELCOME FRIENDS

This is for Sunday's Featured Stamper, Cindy! I loved browsing through her gallery. On my travels I came across this wonderful frame that she made call Fun with Tall Tales, you can see it here. I love the way she use her tags, ribbon, swirly clips, and buttons. I used these on mine as well.
What I changed:

• 1. paper, ink color
• 2. sentiment - I added "friends"
• 3. frame size

Cindy you have an amazing gallery, and not only that, but you always leave such kind comments on everyone else's work. Thank you! I'm so glad you were the Featured Stamper!

Additional Info
Stamps: taffy alphabet
Paper: cutie pie dp, whisper white, basic black, wild wasabi
Ink: purely pomegranate
Accessories: tag punch, ribbon, jumbo eyelets, flower punch, brads, SU! markers

ALTERED GIFT SET FOR MRS. BURNETT

I made this for my DD's Kindergarten teacher. I bought the cd box and clothespin from ACMoore. I gave the box a thin wash of white paint, then used decoupage to adhere the dp. I did the same for the clothespin. I used my taffy alphabet set to stamp out the teacher's name on one side and the school initials on the other side. Used the dp to make a coordinated double pocket bag and filled with a set of matching cards. The jar candle is baked apple - how perfect - and came from my friend Tabby.What do you think?

Below are close-ups of each item..

Target 1$ Spot Pail for Mom

Well, I am a sucker for the Target $1 spot... I sometimes go there just to look at the dollar spot stuff which is right by the front door, then head out to take care of other stuff.. I just can't help myself.... So, I found these cute little pails when my neighbor and I were out one day doing "girl-stuff!" Now Toni, my neighbor, wasn't so sure about my idea of fixing these up for Mother's Day.. and I sometimes lovingly refer to her as the "anti-craft".. 'cause she says she isn't crafty, doesn't like crafts, has no desire, yada, yada, yada.. and well, whadda ya know.. lookie, lookie at the pretty little pails we made! Yaye for Toni.. I knew she could craft! There is a craftin' diva just dying to come outta that girl! She made he sewing notions pail and will put sewing notions in for her MIL.. and I made the fru-fru one with the yummies from The Farmbasket for my dear MIL..thanks for looking... and if you see a crazy lady going nuts over the $1 Spot junk at Target, then it is problaby me!

MY SWAP JAR from Edith and a few AWARDS!

Isn't this fantastic! I just loooove Edith, she is so incredibly talented. I wish I could show you some of the other projects she is working on. I am working on some 3-d art for a local Fire & Rescue fundraiser. Will post pictures later! Happy crafting!

My friend Julia Aston has bestowed another award on me. Thank you Julia. I think I am supposed to post them here. I'm not so techno savvy, so I hope this works.




This is the Arte Y Pico Award which is given to bloggers who share their art and creativity making their contribution to the blogging world.













This is the "You Make my Day Award"





This is the most recent, Bloggin with a Purpose award.
Please check out Julia's blog... she has made some AMAZING origami Father's Day cards.. and leave her a comment!

A Good Thing for Edith

This is for my crafty friend Edith. She and I give each other stuff to alter, then swap. She gave this cute little glass jar to me last week and today it finally recieved some attention. I thought at first that I would just use rub-ons.. but I really wanted to play with some vibrant colors today, so I used bali breeze dp coupled with time well spent stamps. I will fill it with some yummy skittles.. on the opposite side is the sentiment "too much of a good this is a good thing" I hope she likes it.. and I will post her jar on my blog when I get it! Thanks for looking!

Additional Info
Stamps: time well spent
Paper: bali breeze dp, whisper white
Ink: jet black stazon
Accessories: various SU! marker, gemstone brads, yar

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IS MAY?

...and with May comes lots of birthdays.. So, I have two completed cards to share with you.. Both of them I just love and enjoyed making!

This first one is for Papa Don
...and also for TLC166.. Two-way open.. I am so excited that I actually made a "man-card".. hooray! This is for Papa Don... he is celebrating his birthday this weekend.. and what better gift than a handcrafted card with a gift card holder on the front. That's right.. I love the gift card holders.. but they are so small, so I just mounted mine onto a card front.. and that way the kids have the inside to sign (since they are K and 1st and write REALLY BIG!) And the entire thing was made from scraps.. I didn't even use the first full sheet of anything.. yep, I have a huge scrap pile.. need to work on that!

Additional Info

Stamps: birthday whimsey
Paper: very vanilla, river rock, not quite navy, always artichoke, non-SU! dp
Ink: not quite navy
Accessories: ribbon, brads
Techniques: 2-way open gc holder

Here is the next one...

I just LOVE this image!! It take me forevah to color it.. but in the end, it is sooo worth the effort.. even if I don't have any copics *sigh*pout*.. I needed a birthday card and loved the Limited Supply Challenge for today, which was to use circles.. so, there are lots of circles and dot on my card.... The sentiment is computer generated - in a circle - woo hoo!! and, I just had to post the inside.. that is the best part!Thanks for looking and have a Happy Friday!

Additional Info
Stamps: art impressions birthday gang
Paper: whisper white, basic black, pink passion, various dp
Ink: jet black stazon
Accessories: SU! markers, various circle punches and cutters, brads, corner rounder

Oh... and I wanted to also share this..

My upline had a class showing her ladies how to makes these fun and funky name frames.. I loved it so much, I tried my hand at it! How easy and fun, especially with the cutie-pie dp.. and I know.. I should have some bees on it.. I may go back and add some.. thanks Tabitha for pointing that out to me *wink*....

Additional Info
Stamps: alphabet
Paper: whisper white, purely pomegranate, wild wasabi, cutie pie dp
Ink: purely pomegranate
Accessories: hph, flower punch
Difficulty (1-Easy 5-Advanced): 1

MOM.. DON'T LOOK AT THE NEXT TWO!!!

So, I can't take credit for this.. I actually cased it from the Stampin' Success magazine that demos get every month.. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to make one for my mother (who has everything, but this!) Next came the weekly challenge from Fran for the DDC that I participate in with a couple of fabulous stampers.. and the challenge was to use a bird or other animal on a mother's day card.. we this is not a card so I hope I'm not disqualified.. btw.. the MOM is computer-generated as I don't have an alphabet set.. crazy right?! what demo doesn't own at least one of those!

Additional Info
Stamps: define life, fun & fast notes
Paper: blue bayou, soft sky, river rock, porcelain prints dp, very vanilla
Ink: jet black stazon, blue bayou
Accessories: SU! markers, square punch, ticket corner punch, corner rounder, brads, primas, ribbon

Additional Info
Stamps: all-year cheer II, fun & fast notes, kind thoughts
Paper: handsome hunter, very vanilla, blue bayou, soft sky, river rock. porcelain prints dp
Ink: jet black stazon, not quite navy
Accessories: punch, oval templates, ribbon, brads, ep
Techniques: heat embossing

AN UPSIDE DOWN MILK CARTON AND A SURPRISE!

I attended a meeting the other day, where one of my sidelines demos a new technique. Darlene showed us how to make these cute little milk cartons.. I think they are so adorable.. not to mention I got to play with her scor-pal! Nice! She warned us to pay attention to the direction we were scoring, etc because of the stems on the image... yada, yada, yada... of course mine ended up, upside down. Is anyone surprised by that?! I always seem to do things upside down and backwards... just how my mind works, and could possibly explain why I still can't tie a proper bow. Thanks Delores and Debbie for trying to show me how to do that.. still not mastered.. aargh..

Now for the real SURPRISE! A dear friend and neighbor of mine, Edith, and I participate in a little surprise swap. It all began when she came to my first open house as a new demo a couple of months ago. We hit it off right away as we are both avid crafters. (you should see her attic)... Edith creates some AMAZING stuff... and she sells her stuff at local festivals, a store downtown, and a place in NC... her business is called Attic Elves.... (just love that).. but I digress.. I bought some of these ginormous clothespins from AC Moore and thought it would be fun if I gave her one to decorate. I would also decorate one and then we would swap.. Here is her completed project! WOWSA! I haven't finished mine yet, but the wheels in my mind are turning.. I'm still playing catch-up from our vacation... so, I wanted to share hers and will post a pic of mine when it is all done. She also gave me our next challenge - a clear, glass, bowl....hhhmmm.. I'm thinking rub-ons.....and few other fun embellies..

Thanks for looking.. we are off for a camping weekend with 4 other families!! Should be fun!

Sketch Challenge and Just Spray It

SKETCH CHALLENGE

So, I am a little late on uploading this challenge. I was at my parent's for the week and suffice it to say - her dino computer and my camera were not friends... you know, the gizmo wouldn't fit in the whozi-ma-whatzit! I loved the sketch Rox.. and am very pleased with how this card turned out! I used Boho Backgrounds (looove it) set with Friendship blooms. The "thank you" sentiment is computer generated as I couldn't take ALL of my stamps with me - lol! Thanks for looking!

Additional Info
Stamps: boho backgrounds, friendship blooms
Paper: whisper white, blue bayou, soft sky
Ink: blue bayou, purely pomegranate
Accessories: brads, label punch JUST SPRAY IT!

For this challenge it was to use some sort of spray. Here is what I did...

I was at my mother's (spring break and all, yada, yada, yada) - she is just nuts about birdhouses and everytime I go, she has another one for me to paint! (while I was there she bought about 5 more from the dollar tree... ) So, this time I suggested that I stamp on them - no problem. Did one, but with the wood grain I wasn't pleased with how it turned out. The lines are not sharp and I ended up going over most of them with paint. It is cute, my mom likes it, but the stamper in me was really disgusted with it.. So, onto birdhouse #2.. Here is how I used this challenge...I stamped the entire bloomin' beautiful set onto some whisper white cardstock. Then I colored everything with either SU! markers or with my blender pen and the blue bayou ink pad. I then sprayed it with a fixative so that I could cut it out and decoupage it onto a birdhouse.. It is the cutest thing! In order for this to work with the SU! markers, the ink must be set with a spray of some sort, otherwise when you wipe it with the decoupage it will smear into an inky mess and all of the hard work of coloring is destroyed!!!It is sooo cute. Birdhouse #1 is the green roof.. notice the not so sharp images - yuck! The decoupage is Birdhouse #2.

FRAZZLED FRIDAY....

Gosh, where did this week go? I mean, wasn't just yesterday Monday! It has been a whirlwind of activity here at our home with Easter egg hunts, girl scout award ceremonies.... you name it. And of course there were 3 parties to attend.. all of separate days, as well as teacher appreciation week..

This week has also been a week of fun surprises... I won some blog candy, got a card in the mail from and SCSer that I just adore, and recieved my DSS (Divine Secret Sister) reveal package in the mail.. loaded with tons of goodies!! Also Julia (Create with Me) tagged me yesterday, which was also the Ways to Use it Challenge.. and guess what we had to use... tags!! LOL, what a coincidence! So, go get your self a cup of coffee and sit back.. this will be a rather lengthy entry as I have several things to post!

THURSDAY'S CHALLENGE - WAYS TO USE IT - TAGS!

This is for today's Ways to Use It Challenge. To the best of my ability, I tried to make a "Faith" card. I love her style and had fun trying to make a knock-off... I also love tags, and forget that I have this punch..

Additional Info
Stamps: fun & fast notes
Paper: whisper white, basic black, lovely lilac, dp by K&Company
Ink: jet black stazon
Accessories: SU! markers, ticket corner punch, brads, ribbon

FRIDAY'S CHALLENGE - LIMITED SUPPLY - SAG, YOU'RE IT!

This is for today's Limited Supply Challenge. The card on the left is a kickstand without sentiment.. the one on the right is a traditional with sentiment. I stuck to the rules:

Stamp: 1 stamp used (computer generated sentiment)

Cardstock: 1 piece of DP, 2 colors, 1 neutral

Tools: ticket corner punch.

My image is so big that I wanted that the be the main focal point. This can easily be switched up by running the dp through the cuttlebug for a different look... punching the sentiment out of the scallop punch -(which is on backorder *pout*).. you get the idea.Thanks for looking!

Additional Info
Stamps: gossip club by art impressions
Paper: whisper white, old olive, chocolate chip, dp by K&Company
Ink: jet black stazon
Accessories: SU! markers, ticket corner punch, brads, ribbon

MY DSS REVEAL PACKAGE...

This is the super, fantastic reveal package that I got in the mail today! WOW! THANK YOU TABITHA - YOU ARE THE BEST SISTER EVAH! I just can't believe all of the stuff.... I am sooo blessed!

EASTER EGG HUNTS, TEACHER APPRECIATION, GIRL SCOUTS.. ETC..

The many Easter festivites were so fun, and I am so glad that I could make it to most of them, with the exception of Andrew's (I had a meeting).. the weather was exceptional, just a cool, brisk wind which is traditional for this time of year for us.

This is for Sarah and Allison's

teachers.... we appreciate all of the time and effort she puts into teaching her class. I made a very small card to match the target $1 spot mailbox, and filled it with some goodies..

Additional Info
Stamps: teachabella
Paper: whisper white, taken with teal, dp by provocraft super slab rob&bob studio
Ink: jet black stazon
Accessories: SU! markers, friskars circle cutter, circle punch, ribbon, brad

...I'll be back later to post the blog candy....yummmmm..........................

More Faux Cloisonne' & Using Up Scraps...

If you paper craft, you know about scraps... that one word conjurs up many pictures I am sure. How to organize, what to save, what to throw away?? I cannot bring myself to throw away good paper.. cause you never know.. one day, I might need that scrap! Today, I decided that I would use only scraps (with exception to card bases).. and put all of those Cloisonne' flowers that I went crazy stamping the other day, to good use. So.. I will not bore you with the details. If you want directions for making your own Cloisonne' card, you will find it in the previous post. I made a ton of cards with these things, as well as decorated some favor boxes.. yet, I still have 10 of them left. I guess they will adjorn to my scrap box with the rest of the red-headed step children - lol!