Thank you cards

I received some wonderful gifts for my 30th birthday and wanted to get my thank you cards out to everyone. One of my favorite color combos is soft pink and green..Two of my favorite colors. I decided to keep it very simple and sweet and created this card...it was so simple to make and easy to mass produce. Once it was finished I felt it had a Hawaiian feel..it could have been the hemp used as the ribbon or the fact that it has been 40 below zero here the last 5 days..help me.. I'm also really into polka dots these days..they are so fun and can be used to really dress a card up or make it more playful...It is definitely a classic design that works for many projects. The sentiment I chose is from the Mixed Messages set from PTI. Hope you like it!!

Supplies..Supplies

I'm so excited!! I received a couple of gift cards to Micheal's to stock up on supplies!! I dragged the whole family there on Saturday evening and shopped my little heart out! I was throwing everything into my cart that I saw and let's just say it was everything I saw..then aisle 6 and what do I see with my spying eye??? A Cuttlebug!! YAAA... I have always wanted one and have read about Nichole using hers for many projects so back went most of the supplies I had thrown into my cart and in went the Cuttlebug!! Now, I just need to start stocking up on the Spellbinder Nestibilities at PTI!! I cannot wait to try cutting and embossing with those..they look like an excellent product!! This cardmaking hobby of mine definitely is not cheap but like I tell my husband..life is too short and this makes me happy!!

I have some great ideas for this coming month to send to PTI!! I'm hoping for another honorable mention if not a gueststar appearance..We'll just have to see..fingers crossed!!! I created a couple of cards over the weekend that I would like to share with you...the first is a card I made using the sheep set from My Punny Valentine and the second is a Welcome Baby card created by using the Mixed Messages set..(which I just love)...

Countdown to Valentine's Day S.W.A.K challenge!!

I just loved the little heart template that Lisa Johnson created to go along with PTI's new heart tins!! I'm waiting for mine to arrive in the mail here..fingers crossed!! Although I was not part of the challenge I thought I would do one for fun!! My brain was swimming with ideas last night while I was running back and forth to get different paper, supplies and embellishments for my creation..there is nothing more exciting than coming up with your ideas..I just love it.. Not sure about you but I'm definitely a talk-to-myself-out loud kinda person.. My husband thinks I'm crazy that's for sure.. I've even caught myself talking to my cards!!LOL! Anyway, once I got the kids to bed I got to work.. Every year since I have met my husband I have given him "love tickets" at Valentine's Day..Usually things like 1 ticket to sleep in; 1 ticket for a night at the movies; 1 ticket for a massage(of course, his favorite!!) and so on.. Well, I thought this year my tickets could be the hearts!! What an easier and adorable way to use them.. and once I receive my tin hearts that is where they will be stored.. So, I cut out 14 hearts from a beautiful patterned paper..I tried to keep it a bit masculine..I then stamped the sentiment Be Mine from the Limitless Label set from PTI to put on the outside of my heart..I then put a piece of cardstock inside the heart to form an envelope for my "ticket". I then punched a small heart in the front of the card so you could see the cardstock through it. This is where I placed my numbers for my countdown to Valentines.. I then cut small strips of cardstock and wrote out each of my "tickets"..Some examples, Walk by moonlight; Dinner and a movie; Body massage; Sleep as late as you want and so on...this is great because YOU can do whatever you want to do... I folded them once in half and tied a small ribbon around them. I then just placed them inside my little envelope in the heart. Now, once I receive my small tin I will place my hearts in order starting with the number 14 and make my way down to number 1..Then each day he will open up a new heart to read the "ticket". I wanted to make my number 1 ticket more special so I wrote on the ticket "Look on kitchen table" Here is where my bigger tin comes into play.. I will fill it with Hershey truffles(his favorite) along with Minnesota Gopher Basketball tickets!! He is going to just love it!!! So, I thought this little Valentine creation would be fun for both of us..it will keep our romance alive(sorta..with a 2 and 1 year old that is almost impossible) and get us through most of the month of February(the winters here just kill me)!! I'm looking forward to February 1st for when I can give it to him and hoping my tins get here today so I can finish!!! Thanks again for the template Lisa!! I just love your work!!! And, please keep me in mind for the next time around!!

Make a Wish!!

Well, I will be celebrating a big milestone in my life on Tuesday..Yes..I will be turning the big 3 0!!! YAAA!! That is a bit scary for me..where has the time gone?? It feels like I just celebrated my 20th birthday...still in college, living a crazy and carefree life and now here I am ten years later married with two beautiful babies..The saying that time goes by faster the older you get is definitely true.. I have to be positive with the whole thing and I'm actually looking forward to my thirties..watching my children grow into little people, hopefully adding more little people into the world, spending time with my husband and family and continuing my passion of creating cards!! So, I thought it would be fitting to leave you a card I made titled "Make a Wish". I have my wish all planned out and ready for when I blow out all 30 candles on Tuesday..and no, I can't tell you what it is or it won't come true!!!

Honorable Mention!!!

I'm just soooo excited!! I received Honorable Mention again this month from Nichole Heady and Papertrey...This is such an honor!! I'm just so suprised because the women I am mentioned with are soooo talented...Nichole is a sweetheart for even considering my work..it just makes me want to try even harder!! I worked soo hard to come up with another project that she would enjoy and she actually did!! So cool!!!! She chose my basket that I created and I'm just so happy!! It was so funny because I checked her blog last night before bed to see if she had posted anything and there were the Honorable Mentions...As I scrolled down the page my heart was beating a mile a minute..One after another my hopes slowly dwindled away and all of a sudden I saw my name...the last one..YAAA.. I just started screaming and jumping up and down!! I just get sooo excited...You can definitely tell I'm an amateur at this stuff..all the other mentions have professional pictures and their signature watermarks..my picture is rather blah and doesn't do justice to my basket..but my husband promised to help me this next month so I'm definitely taking him up on it!! Nichole is doing a really cool thing this month by allowing us..the customers to vote on which Honorable Mention we like the best...Well, I haven't received any votes yet but hey..I can't get too cocky here!! LOL!! Thanks again Nichole..you made my month once again!!!

Basket made with love

Now that I'm a mom one of my favorite times of the day is right before falling asleep. I have just checked on my babies and they are peacefully sleeping..(best feeling in the whole world) I crawl into my bed, sink my head into my pillow and find my cozy position...I say my prayers and then the ideas just start flowing..I try and think of ways to alter my cards and to come up with something completely new! I eventually fall asleep and dream of my ideas.. Once I awake in the morning I find my journal, jot down my fresh ideas and then look forward to the time I can try them out!! Well, one of my bedtime ideas came to me the other night.. One of the stamp sets from Papertrey Ink that I received from my brother Ben for Christmas(thanks Ben.. love you) is called My Punny Valentine.. some of the stamps included in this set are strawberries with a small twist..they look like hearts!! For some reason I kept thinking of a basket full of strawberries..So, the next day I starting playing around with paper and made an adorable basket out of long, thin strips of paper..it was actually fairly simple and easy to make! The great thing about it is that it can be made to any size that you would like..I think it really turned out cute and it can be used for so many different projects/themes..I'm really looking forward to Easter..so many ideas... Once the basket was complete I stamped ribbon with the smaller strawberry stamp to go along my handle. I then added ribbon around the basket that held my sentiment..Love you Berry Much!! I knew I had to fill my basket with "strawberries" and found the yummy Strawberry and Creme Lifesavers. If you are familiar with Nichole Heady's creations she is known for her label designs...She takes white mailing labels and creates stamps to fill in the area..she then uses those to cover different candies..so, in this case I used her small strawberry stamp to go along with one of her label stamps from her new stamp set Limitless Labels. I cut it out to fit around the lifesaver..It couldn't have worked out more perfect.. And now I have a basket full of "strawberries" made with love!!

Cheers!

Happy New Year!! Wow..I can't believe it is 2008! That is definitely crazy...where does the time go?? I know..lots of hugs and kisses and oh yeah, diapers!!! I'm looking forward to another great year full of excitement!! Now that I have found my new passion I have set some goals for myself for the coming year....1) Find a wonderful design team 2) Get at least 2-3 items published 3) Receive honorable mention/guest star stamper on Nichole Heady's blog 4) Sell some of my work in a local store here in town 5)Continue to LOVE what I'm doing at the end of the year!! There you have it.. I know those are some big goals but definitely doable as long as I put my heart and soul into my work!! I was so excited today..my husband Brian was off of work so I piled everyone into the car and we drove to Michael's Craft Store.. I put a movie on in the car for the kids and had Brian drive around while I shopped by MYSELF!! It was sooo exciting because I was able to actually shop for my supplies without chasing around two toddlers and didn't have to leave the store with 2 packs of Thomas the Train stickers that cost 6 dollars!! YEAH!!! I picked out some new ink, glitter, glue, paper..lots of cool paper.. I was in the Valentine mood so lots of pinks, reds and real girly prints.. Just beautiful! And of course..my favorite..ribbon!! One of the reasons for my shopping excursion goes along with one of my goals..to sell some of my work in a local store...Well, my mother-in-law did a bit of a sales pitch for me at a store here in our downtown that sells beautiful women clothing and jewelry. They just opened a new section in the store where they sell unique gifts. The manager of the store would like to see some of my cards and would be willing to sell some in her store if she likes them.. YAAA..pressure..it makes me so nervous but this is what I want.. what can I lose??? Nothing! Just a great opportunity!! So, we will see!! I may be crossing off one of my goals here shortly!! Wish me luck!! I hope you all had a great New Years and Cheers!!