Look at me!

Blogging two days in a row!  It's been a while since I've done that.  Today I bring you a simple little card and some ribbon.

I wanted to make a little mini card, so here it is.  It's only 3x3,  I love the little size, and kept it simple inside.

I also took the plunge and made some of my own wrinkle ribbon. It turned out beautifully! The picture doesn't really do it justice.  I'll definitely be adding some of this ribbon to my shop.  Think I'm going to try and make some bows/flowers out of it as well. As if my list of ideas and things to do isn't long enough already.

Supplies
Card
Paper: Kraft cardstock, Green Boutique patterned paper (PTI)
Stamps: Fillable Frames 9, Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)
Ink:  Versafine black, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink
Fun Stuff: Vintage Cream grosgrain ribbon, Aqua Mist Topnotch Twill Tape, Holiday mix buttons, Jute Button Twine (all PTI)


Wrinkle Ribbon
Sew Binding Ribbon
Dusty Concord Distress Ink

8

Sew Sew, Etsy shop open!

First of all my Etsy shop is open! Woot woot! My goal was before Thanksgiving, but hey, I'm pretty pleased with myself for only being a few days off.  If you have time go take a peek, there are only a few items, but I'll be adding more each day this week.

Sooo...after finding Nichole from PTI's post about her cozy blanket I immediately needed to try to make one.  Mind you, I've never sewn more than a straight line across a piece of cardstock so this could have been disastrous.  Actually, I take that back. I just remembered,  I had to sew a skirt in high school Home Ec. and it really sucked, I must have been trying to repress that memory.

I rounded up G and the Hubs after breakfast Sunday and made them go with me to Joann's to get some fabric. I was super nervous because I had no idea what to do. Luckily it was pretty obvious once I saw the huge fabric cutting station.  After  a hour few minutes of searching for the perfect flannel we were on our way home.  I washed, dried, and pressed my flannel as instructed that afternoon.  After dinner I set to pinning it, and making some little 1/2 inch marks since my sewing machine has no such marking for me to go by when trying to keep a straight line.  Forgive me for not taking pictures of the process, but I just didn't feel like going back to get my camera once I started.

Then I started sewing. YIKES. My little sewing machine was not made for sewing through 2 sheets of flannel, but I managed to get it done with some force.

I probably shouldn't have, I kept thinking "I'll be so made if this machine breaks since I've only had it for like a month", yet I didn't stop sewing.  Foolish looking back, but she survived.  Boy did I have a hard time keeping a straight line, probably because I had to drag the flannel through the machine to get it to go. Luckily it doesn't really show unless you take a good look at the edges.   And, ta-da! Here is the finished project.  It is quite large, almost 2 yards long, so it is perfect for 2 people to snuggle. It has the patterned flannel on one side, and a solid on the other.  There is actually supposed to be a decorative top stitch all the way around, but I was too afraid to do that and break my machine.  Pretty cute for my little man, can't wait to put it to use! Now off to make some pizza for dinner, because I am so over turkey.

7

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!

It's the most wonderful time of the month! 

Today is Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop, and it is my first time participating! 

The Challenge: Design a holiday tag or two using all of your favorite goodies and share it with all of us!  We will all have plenty of inspiration to create a large stash and try to get ahead of the hustle and bustle of the season!

So here is my tag!  I wanted to use a few of the new things I picked up in November. Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

So you can see the little embossed snowflakes

Supplies:
Paper: Vintage Cream and Ripe Avocado card stock, Distressed Dots (PTI)
Stamps: Warm Happiness Too and Library Card(PTI), Sending Holiday Cheer (Hero Arts)
Ink: Versafine Black, Antique Linen (Distress Ink)
Dies: Warm Happiness, Tag Sale 2,  Double-ended Banners
Other: Stampendous Clear Embossing powder, Jute button twine (PTI)

23

Shutterfly = Lifesaver

Am I exaggerating? No way.

Last year I was a new mom with a 2 month old baby when I realized I hadn't even thought of Christmas cards. In years past I had spent a night or two writing them out, but now my time was precious (aka I wasn't about to spend time I could be sleeping writing cards.)  Then I had a genius idea to just order cards from Shutterfly...

and then I ordered personalized calenders, mugs, and magnets too.  So in one sweep I was able to shop for cute gifts for our parents (b/c you know they only want stuff with baby G on it now), and get my Christmas cards done!  Plus they were super cute since they were holiday photo cards with our little family picture. Hubs actually got me this gorgeous canvas print of G through them. It's huge and hangs in our living room and everyone loves it. People always think we must have had it done at some fancy schmancy place and spent a ton of money, but nope...Shutterfly!

I actually print all my pictures through Shutterfly, and we even did G's first birthday party invitations through them.  These were the ones I used:

No this is not the actual invite, no this is not G!

I am definitely using them again this year, it's so easy and they always look great. I'm leaning towards these styles, but they have a huge selection of holiday cards.

So if you are looking for some cute gifts, or want to save your hands from cramping definitely check them out!

Also, Shutterfly is having an awesome promotion. If you have a blog click HERE to sign up for their free holiday cards promotion. 

0

And the winner is...

courtesy of the random number generator

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:3Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to lucky #3 - Colleen! You'll be receiving an email from CSNstores shortly with instructions on how to use your $20 gift certificate! Happy shopping :o)

 

0

On the mend

Thank you so much for your well wishes! We are on the mend, but still not 100%. Hoping to be back to normal for Thanksgiving.

I was able to finish up my few projects last night, and snap a few pictures this morning.  Forgive the short post, but I've got to get to the grocery store!  I am making a pumpkin cheesecake for Thursday.  I know, I know, your not supposed to try any new recipes for Thanksgiving, but this seems pretty fail safe. I saw it on the Food Network, it's Gina's Pumpkin Cheesecake.  What sold it for me was the gingersnap crust. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Don't forget, you have until 5pm EST today to enter for a $20 Gift Certificate to any of the 200+ CSN Stores!

So here is the next little animal for my Etsy shop, a sweet little elephant.

 And a card!

Just something simple and a little whimsical, and I got to use my sewing machine which was fun. It was hard to capture the sparkle on the 'snow' since the sun decided not to cooperate while I was outside, but you get the idea.

Supplies:
Paper: Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, White (PTI)
Stamps: Wonderfully Whimsical, Snowfall (PTI)
Ink: Versamark; Milled Lavender, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Barn Door, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint (Distress Inks)
Embellishments: Pearls (Queen and Co.), Stickles, Course Glitter (Martha Stewart)

8

Isn't it ironic?

G has been sick for the past few days, and Hubs schedule has been absolutely crazy this week with him not getting home until after 8 a few nights.  Anyone with a sick kid knows how much more demanding it is, plus my little heart breaks because he is still too little to understand what's going on.  Last night I used my tired body to climb into bed and break open my book, This Christmas. It's 3 short stories, and I was finishing up the second. It was about a do-it all mother who had lost herself in the shuffle of life, blah blah blah, the usual. Anyway, another character in the book mentioned how women always take care of others first, even subconsciously, like when mothers are the last ones to get sick in a household.  They take care of everyone else, and when they are all okay, her body finally says 'okay, now you can fall apart'. Interesting concept, I looked back on my childhood and could recall this happening on several occasions to my mom.

Can you see where this is going?

I swear I was feeling fine all day, and the minute Hubs walked in from his 6 hours of flag football playing (don't ask), and I knew the craziness of our schedules was over, my throat felt the teeeeensiest bit sore.  I went to lay down for a few, and when I got up it was full blown. I'm talking sore throat, throbbing ears, chills, body aches. Noooooooooooooo. Better now than Thanksgiving I imagine.  Want to know how bad I feel?  I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE ENERGY TO CROCHET OR STAMP. Yes folks, it's serious.

I have quarantined myself to the bedroom with a large cup of tea and honey, and thank God for Hallmark Christmas movies.

Before I go, I have a few teaser pics of things I am almost finished.  My apologies for the poor picture quality, but I'm sure you'll understand.

OH, and don't forget to enter the CSNstores Giveaway here...a free $20 gift card! Who doesn't like free? All you have to do is leave a comment.

10

Tiny Backpacks & CSN Giveaway!

Some day I'll share the tales of Hubs riding his bike(bicycle, not motorcycle) to work. Needless to say there are a lot of good stories, and that phase was very short lived.  Curtailed probably because of the 2 bikes he went through, the time he almost flipped off the front, the time he got a flat and had to carry it all the way back home, the time kids riding the bus made fun of him, etc. Ah memories, I only wish I had pictures to go with the stories.

When he decided to 'go green' and save us money by getting a bike (which actually ended up costing us quite a bit), he realized he needed something to carry his work clothes in.  He found a backpack for $5 somewhere. Great deal! Too bad it's like infant sized. Here is a picture of something very similar to the actual backpack.

Ok ok, his isn't so juvenille, but you get the idea. It's just too small for a grown man. Sadly, the Hubs tiny backpack has seen the end of its days (somehow it's all sorts of ripped up and I'm really just afraid to ask).  Enter CSN.

For those of you unfamiliar with CSN it's a great company with over 200 websites you can shop.  I swear you can find anything you need!  I thought it would be funny to get the Hubs a new little back pack (as a joke, sort of) for Christmas, so I perused CSN's selection of children's backpacks, and I think I found the perfect one!

(There is a whole other story that goes with the shark, but again for another day)

Aside from backpacks CSN has cookware, holiday decorations, and any kind of baby gear you may need.

CSN was kind enough to let me do a giveaway for a $20 Gift Certificate to ANY of their 200+ Stores! Just in time for the holidays too, so you could use it to pick up a gift for someone or a little something for yourself!  

(CSN Stores ships only to the US and Canada. International shipping charges may apply for Canadian addresses.)

TO ENTER:

To enter to win the $20 Gift Certificate all you need to do is leave a comment. Tell me, will you use this to treat yourself or someone else?

For an extra chance to win,  mention this giveaway on your blog, and leave me a separate comment with the link to your post.

I'll choose the winner at random on November 23rd!

13

Could my day get any better?

Today was actually incredibly draining and stressful.  My mom and sister share a car. Their car was in the shop, so G and I played chauffeur. Just what a 1 year old wants to do! (Can you feel the sarcasm?)  So I spent most of the day in the car driving to and fro.  It wasn't until 7:30 when I put him to bed that I finally had a moment to myself. That's when it happened.  I spotted this beauty on the table

Hubs must have brought it in when he stopped home on his way to a meeting.  He also made the most delicious little stir-fry for me and Mr. G. It feels so good to be home.

9

Third Times a Charm

This card took me for-ev-er to finish. Ugh.  I don't know what my problem was, but it took several test cards before I finally figured out what I wanted to make.

Idea 1: FAIL

Idea 2: FAIL

Ideas 3-100000: FAIL

I'm blaming it on the time change and the Hubs schedule the past few weeks. I am so tired I can't even sleep, does that make sense? THANK GOD his coaching season is over and I have my life back!!!!!!  I can get back to my gym routine, I can FINALLY get my Etsy shop finished and open, I can craft my little heart out. Plus, I get to spend more time with hubs which is really nice.


So, here is the card. Blending and embossing out the wazoo, and I got to use my new Corner Chomper.

Hope you enjoy!

Supplies

Paper: Kraft, White, and Summer Sunrise Cardstock, Distressed Dots patterned paper (all PTI)
Stamps: Cozy Christmas and Teeny Tiny Backdrops (Lawn Fawn), Tea for Two (Hero Arts)
Ink: Versafine Black, ColorBox Frost White,  Distress Inks in Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Antique Linen, Chipped Sapphire, Peel Paint, Barn Door
Embellishments: Jute Button Twine (PTI)

PS- For those who care, Hallmark Channel started their Countdown to Christmas this weekend. This means Christmas movies everyday....I love it! If you don't, too bad.

20

Sock Bombs

I know I know, what's a sock bomb you ask? Well, I am glad I can enlighten you.  I just learned of sock bombs the other night.

At some point in the wee hours of Sunday morning I vaguely recall the Hubs yelling at Lucy to be quiet.  The poor thing snores up a storm most nights, and it wakes Hubs up because he claims it sounds like his phone alarm vibrating.

We wake up Sunday morning and Hubs is complaining about how he woke up at 3am to Lucy snoring and couldn't get back to sleep. He said he doesn't like to yell at her because it will wake me up (very true), so he has a supply of sock bombs to do the job now.  Needless to say I gave him a puzzled look, so he reached under his pillow and pulled out a handful of these babies.  Sock bombs!

So essentially it is a sock tied in a knot.  His plan is to toss it into Lucy's bed when she is snoring to get her to wake up and stop. He called it 'a silent solution'.  Pretty clever.  The only flaw in his plan is that Lucy loves socks and loves to hoard them even more.  I have a feeling he may regret this plan if he ever hopes to have matching socks.

Update: I stole one of the sock bombs and threw it at Babs when he was acting like a nutball while I was trying to catch a quick nap. Success!

4

The Darkness

It is so crazy that it is dark at like 5pm now.  Can't say I'm too crazy about it, although I was ready for the change of seasons.

This is a picture from our walk this (early) evening.  It was really beautiful.

I just got home from my monthly lia sophia meeting, and there were a few houses with their Christmas lights up already! I tried to snap a picture but my phone camera just wasn't having it.

0

My Saturday Night

This is how I spent my Saturday night...

Hard to believe I'm 26 and not 76 huh? Just kidding just kidding!  It was nice to have a quiet relaxing evening at home.  I made this little monkey for someone to give as a gift at a baby shower.  I'm not 100% happy wit his muzzle...looking back I should have used felt but I just couldn't find it in the right color.  Oh well, live and learn.

Tonight we are having some friends over for dinner which will be fun.  Then it's off to bed early for me. G missed the memo about the time change and did not take advantage of an extra hour of sleep. So, neither did I. Hopefully I'll catch a nap later.

0

Take Two

So, I finished my 2nd card! Just under the gun too, seeing as how I'm shooting for one thing a week and tomorrow is Friday.

This card took me 3 days to finish. I actually saw a color challenge for gray, white, and teal and thought it would be fun to enter. It was over at the EBTKS blog.

  I came up with my idea on Tuesday, did the background, die cut the ornaments, and played around with layout on Wednesday. I hit a wall as far as layout and embellishments, I just had too many ideas floating around so I slept on it.  Today I finished it.  The Stickles around the edges and ribbon was such a last minute addition, it wasn't even dry when I took the pictures!

Here's what I came up with

I'm going to do a similar card with shades of purple and pink.  These ornaments were inspired by actual ornaments my Baczi (grandmom) had. They were similar in color and super sparkly and truly vintage. My mom still has a few we put on our tree every year.  So, this card makes me smile :o)

Supplies

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Aqua Mist, and Ocean Tides (PTI)

Ink: Distress Inks in Pumice Stone, Broken China, and Tumbled Glass, Versafine

Stamps: Vintage Ornaments, Merry Little Christmas, Tin Types

Embellishments: Aqua Mist Twill Ribbon and Rhinestones (PTI)

Other: Stickles, Winter Wonderland and clear embossing powder

Oh, and here is what it looks like when I'm working

In other words, a mess. Seeing as how my desk is so small I need to make use of the floor as well. Someday I'll have a full size craft room...a girl can dream.

12