simple thank yous

Only one day till school is out!! I am just as excited as the kids!! I really look forward to the time we get to spend together during the summer! I have great kiddos and we love spending time together!!! We have one last awards ceremony tomorrow for Austin...he is graduating from 5th grade!! After that I can breathe a huge sigh of relief that I made it through my crazy May calender!! Ok...on to card deets!
I made these 3x3 cards for a friend...she wanted just a small thank you note to attach to a gift she was giving them! I finally broke down and got the "So Much" stamp set...(& it only took me 11 months to do it!) I love it and now I can't believe I didn't get it sooner...isn't that always the way? I used some fun summery colors and the die-cut blooms (I hope those show up in the new catalog) I also used my fingernails to distress the edges of the flowers to give it a little more dimension. This was easy peasy! I hope that you have a fantastic Thursday!!! Thanks for coming by!!
chat at ya soon!
what's in it?...
stamps...So Much
paper...white
ink...tempting turquoise, so saffron, pumpkin pie, old olive, real red
accessories...die-cut blooms, turquoise, red, pumpkin, olive brads
other...stamp-a-ma-jig

I'm baaaaack!!! What an absolutely fabulous weekend! I wish it wouldn't have ended so quickly!! Shawn and I left on Friday morning to go to South Padre...just the 2 of us! We went with some friends of ours...they have a condo down there and it was such a beautiful condo!! Good friends, good food, gorgeous views, beautiful weather...it was a great weekend! Shawn tried his hand at windsurfing which he loved! I lounged by the pool, took a walk on the beach, read, got a toe ring, and caught up on my sleep! I was wonderful...but now it is Tuesday and that means back to real life and getting lots of things done by the end of the week before the kids get out of school!
I made these flower pots for Kyler's teachers for an end of the year thank you. I saw this cute idea from Jackie on her blog...check out her flower pot here. I made my flowers using my die-cut blooms and attached them to lollipop sticks. (my sister Alli who came to town to watch the kids for us also helped me with these flowers!!) I found the buckets at the Target dollar spot...I filled them with Hershey kisses. The sticks stood up well by themselves in there. The bucket had hearts on it...so I threaded the ribbon through and tied a knot in the front.
Thanks to Jackie for the great idea!
thanks for being patient while I was away....chat at ya later!
what's in it?...
accessories...die-cut blooms, lollipop sticks, silver brads, "fat" 5/8 in. red ribbon, blue, red & orange striped ribbon, tape, Hershey Kisses

another feel better

Just a quick post today...gotta get dinner ready now so we can eat in the 45 minutes of free time we have this evening between swim team and 6th grade awards night!! It's all good though...only 2 weeks left of the school year and only 4 days...yes 4 days till Shawn and I go to South Padre for the weekend!! :) Can't wait!!!
Hope your Monday is off to a good start! ...chat at ya later
what's in it?...
stamps...Paper Tray sentiments, Pick a Petal
paper...kraft, so saffron, real red, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, whisper white, Spring Break dsp
ink...old olive, tempting turquoise, so saffron, real red
accessories...pewter brad, "fat" olive ribbon
other...stamp-a-ma-jig, dimensionals, paper piercer and mat pack

build-a-brad bracelets

Yeah for beautiful Sunday afternoons!!! We are getting ready to head over to a friends house for dinner. I guess it's really more of an afternoon BBQ...but whatever cuz it means no cooking for me...we were in charge of watermelon, corn on the cob and dessert!! yumm-eee...I can't wait for dinner!
So in the midst of my blog surfing the other day...I ran across this post from Patty...check it out here. Are these not the most creative & cutest things? I am stunned still by what people come up with! (you can see a previous rant here about that) I happened to be heading to Hobby Lobby so I thought I would pick up the few things I needed to attempt this fun little bracelet. I have never made jewelery before and I have to say this was quite easy. It took me about a 30-45 minutes to do. Not bad for a first timer! Although I love the look of this pewter bracelet and it matches my brads so well...it doesn't lay flat like Patty's does. It looks fine on but I want to try one like hers with the pewter and silver. I also didn't add rhinestone brads to mine. I would like to try adding those to the next one as well. I used my Friends & Flowers Scrap Kit for the pieces in the build-a-brad. Once you find the colors or the papers you like...the possibilities are endless. I am going to be offering a class in June to make these...so if your in my area...keep an eye out for more details to come! **ALSO if there are any of you out there who would like one of these darling bracelets I am going to be taking orders for them. You can choose your own colors and it can be made to fit your personality or for whoever you might like to give it to! It would also be very easy to add your own charms to! I will be posting more details about the bracelet and the cost soon. If you are interesed you can email me for more info!
ok...time to go...I have a few more things to get done before the BBQ!
chat at ya later...Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
what's in it?...
accessories...Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kit, build-a-brads, chain, jump rings, toggle clasp, jingley charms (something that hangs and makes a little noise)
other...pliers, 1/2 in. circle punch...a little patience!!

a card fit for a princess

I'm sorry I haven't been around for a few days...with it being the last couple of weeks of the school year...it's been crazy busy. I feel like I have needed to schedule time for breathing!! This last week was the worst of it I think...there is still alot going on but it should be more manageable now!...here's hoping! Yesterday I had exactly 25 minutes...that I should have spent doing laundry or unloading the dishwasher...but instead I made a card. My friend's daughter is graduating from high school and I wanted to do something a little more than just $$ in the card. She is a super sweet and darling girl...she loves pink and bright colors! If you knew her...you would know that this card screams Kylie!! I decided to get her these towels to take with her when she heads off to college...cuz she needs her own cute ones. Inside the card I also slipped in a Target gift cert. so she can get a few more things she might need for college life!! I realized when I got the towels home from the store that they matched some SU colors pretty good...how lucky huh! So that was the inspiration for this card! I used this retired patterned paper from SU (can't remember the name) cuz it had all the right colors! I added lots of sparkle and bling to this card so it would match the "princess" getting it!
Have a fantastic rest of your weekend!!! Thanks for comin' by!
chat at ya later!!!
what's in it?...
stamps...A Perfect Princess
paper...pink passion, green galore, only orange, whisper white, SU dsp
ink...basic black, pink passion, green galore, only orange pixie pink
accessories...pink crystals, green brads, diamond stickles, apple ribbon
other...dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, blender pens

Chipboard

I am trying to get ready for my Stamp Club tomorrow...but with not much success! I am having a major creativity block!! I decided to case a card from the cover of this month's Stampin' Success. (this is the super helpful magazine you get every month from Stampin' Up! if you are a demonstrator!) The promo this month is "OnBoard with Chipboard" so I made this card to at least show one thing you can do with the chipboard pieces that SU sells. I accordion folded the olive dsp and distressed it with my sanding block. I also sanded the edge of the chipboard flower to match the paper. I love my color spritzer and don't use it nearly enough so that was one of the reasons I was drawn to this card. Hope you have a great rest of your day! We have about a million places to run to tonight! (ok not really...just feels like it) Swim team, scouts, youth activities, store, picking up kids from school...so much back and forth!! whew....just typing it makes my head start spinning!
Anywoooo....chat at ya later!
what's in it?...
stamps...Baroque Motifs
paper...soft sky, old olive, pumpkin pie, Spring Break dsp
ink...whisper white craft, old olive, old olive marker
accessories...rhinestone brad, pumpkin ribbon, clear embossing powder, chipboard
other...sand block, 1/2 in. & 1 1/4 in. circle punches, heat tool, color spritzer

Taylor's cupcake challenge

This is my first time to be able to participate in Taylor's cupcake challenge. I love Cupcake Friday over at her blog! I am with Taylor on this one! I LOVE CUPCAKES!! I would eat them every day all day if I could!! So here is my card. Pretty much exactly like the layout she gave. I used my Crew Girl SS Kit to make this card. The cupcake is from Cuttlekids that I bought for my kiddos. I just ran the diecut through a few times with different papers to get all the pieces that I wanted. ...chat at ya later!!
what's in it?...
stamps...none
paper...wild wasabi, whisper white, basic grey, regal rose (all textured), Crew Girls SS Kit dsp
ink...regal rose, basic grey, wild wasabi
accessories...pewter brads, rose ribbon, love and happiness rub-ons
other...Cuttlekids, Cuttlekids cupcake diecut, rub-on tool, corner rounder, paper piercer, dimensionals

grad card $$ holders

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all those wonderful mothers and wives out there!!! I have had THE best day so far...actually yesterday morning I proclaimed this weekend was Mother's Day weekend! I thought I have put in alot of years as mother and wife and I should really just get 2 days! ...right!!? So yesterday was part one and today is part two. I will share more tomorrow on my family blog if you are interested. I will just say that I have THE sweetest kids and they have made these last 2 days extremely fun and special and I am lucky to be their mom!! Ok...on to the card details!! A friend of mine asked if I could make some $$ holders for lots of graduates she needed cards for. I told her no problem....as soon as she asked an idea popped into my head. I took the same idea for a gift certificate I made back in March and just changed it up a bit to make them graduation friendly. She said it would be fun to have them all different and that was great with me cuz it was a great way to use up some paper that's been laying around.
This was a fun and fairly quick project. I made them to fit into envelopes that are 6 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. In the picture above where you see the piece of striped paper is the pocket to put the $$ in. The band just slides off and on. Thanks for stoppin' in....I hope that you have had a fantabulous weekend!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU for always leaving such nice comments....you gals are awesome!!!!!
{{luv ya...mean it....Tara}}
chat at ya later!
what's in it?...
stamps...Event Full, Hugs and Wishes
paper...cardstock and lots of designer papers...a little of this and a little of that
ink...lots of colors...inks and markers
accessories...brads, silver pen
other...blender pens, giga rectangle scallop punch, stamp-a-ma-jig, sticky strip

a super cute water bottle

Ok..how cute is this water bottle? I know...darling huh...almost to cute to actually use!! I know I have seen these before but I totally snagged this idea from Nancy...she made water bottles for the girls that came to her Tart & Tangy class and did a whole theme...great idea huh!! Well, I tried this one and then decided to do a whole case of water bottles and I am sending them to the school to give to the teachers...just another very easy way to THANK YOU to all our hard working teachers!!! I used the same dimensions as Nancy did...a strip of cardstock that is 2 x 7 3/4 inches. You will have to figure out the strip around the water bottle depending on what kind of water you use. Thanks again Nancy for your great inspiration!!!
what's in it?...
stamps...Tart & Tangy
paper...real red, Summer Picnic dsp
ink...real red, old olive markers
accessories...silver brads
other...1 3/8 & 1 1/2 circle punch, scallop punch, sticky strip, aquafina, crystal light fruit punch

"sewing"

Happy Tuesday...I feel like its been forever since I last blogged! I took a break from card making...I needed some down time after finally finishing all of my orders!! The fam and I went to a Crawfish Boil at our friend's house this weekend...it was a lot of fun. Then Shawn and I were able to sneak away for a date night! I even got a nap on Sunday!! It was a great weekend! Ok...on to card details...So for forever now I have been wanting to sew on a card and I decided yesterday to take a short break from my house cleaning and laundry duties to give it a try! When I finally decided to do it this was as brave as I got...to sew a stitch down the middle of the stem and to accent the leaves. I was going to do around the edge of the card but I didn't want to mess it up. It's a start though! I will keep practicing and see how much braver I get! I added some crystal effects to the flowers to make them shine and I added a tiny piece of chocolate chip dsp behind the stem to make it stand out more. I opted to leave the rest of the card empty so that you could see the gorgeous design on the paper!
Have a good rest of your day!
chat at ya later!!
what's in it?...
stamps...Absolutely Fabulous, Time Well Spent
paper...wild wasabi, whisper white, Afternoon Tea dsp
ink...chocolate chip, regal rose, rose red, so saffron, soft sky, so saffron marker
accessories...green rhinestone brad, crystal effects, apricot ribbon
other...sewing machine, dimensionals, blender pens

another scrap card

These cards are just too fast and too easy...so this is what you get today...a complete repeat of Wednesday but with different designer paper. I used my Spring Break paper which has been patiently waiting to be opened for quite some time! I used die cut blooms again but only the olive and pumpkin so it would match the paper. Can you also tell I am loving the Absolutely Fabulous set? I don't think I have even used any other sentiments since I got this set!! Gotta run still in super busy mode this week!!
Have a fantastic weekend!!!
what's in it?...
stamps...Absolutely Fabulous
paper...kraft, Spring Break dsp
ink...blue bayou
accessories...blue bayou ds ribbon
other...die-cut blooms