My Favorite Things

A Lesson on Frogs!

FLORIST FROGS, that is!!  :) 

I get lots of questions about the 'spikey thingy that I put my cards on in photos' so I thought maybe I'd just do a blog post about this so you'll all be in the know.  AND, I'll put a link to this post in the FAQ section over in the left hand side bar so if you need to reference it again at a later date, it'll be easy for you to find.  

And now, let me introduce you to my collection of FROGS!  Frogs come in all different shapes and sizes and these were originally designed for flower arranging.  These frogs would be placed in the bottom of vases and when the flowers were added to the vases, the stems would either be shoved down onto the spikes or would go down in the holes of the frog, thus holding the flower arrangement in place.  That way the flowers wouldn't move around.  

My frogs are all vintage frogs that have been given to me and came from various antique shops and flea markets.  There are still some companies that make new versions of these as well, and you should be able to find them with a simple google search.  If you prefer these vintage beauties, you can usually find several listings on ebay if you just search 'florist frog'.  

See how this one has holes that the flowers would slide down into?  This is a very heavy glass, by the way.  This one makes a fun pencil/pen holder now.  

Notice that with this one, I've flipped it upside down from how it was in the previous photo.  It could be used either way, depending on the vase's shape.

And then, there are my little treasures for taking card photos.  I love these little guys.  I love the chipped paint and imperfect prongs.  These are super heavy weight and are just perfect for holding a card in place while taking a photo.  

I hope you've enjoyed this little FROG lesson!  :)  Let me know if you have any other questions!

Kristina's Color Inspo. #43

Hi all,

I'm back tonight with a card for Kristina Werner's color inspiration challenge.  Isn't this a fun card for the boy or man in your life??  I used Melissa Bickford's Men of Life set as well as her brand new Background Basics: Retro set to create the striped background and the scalloped background which kind of reminded me of waves.  :)

Bart reffed a game at the University of North Dakota last night and flew home early this morning to be back in time for his afternoon game today, only to find out that today's game had been cancelled because of all the snow!  Yippee!!  So tonight, we're totally hangin' out in front of the fireplace.  I think we'll watch a movie and order a pizza and just veg which I'm so looking forward to.  We took a nap today (LOVE that!  Ha!) and I've gotten some work done in the studio too.  It's been a great day.  

OH, did you ever wonder about that spikey thing in the photo above, that's holding my card??  Coming up next: a blog post all about it!  :)

And tomorrow, I'm playing along with the Papertrey Senior Design Team challenge for this month so I'll be back with a post for that too!  Have a GREAT day!

{I Love You Supplies}

Paper: PTI dark chocolate, stamper's select white; SU! ruby red, pumpkin pie, old olive, brocade blue

Stamps: Background Basics: Retro, Men of Life

Ink: PTI dark chocolate, ripe avocado; SU! ruby red, old olive

Other: dark chocolate topnotch twill ribbon, SU! slit punch

Thank You, Nichole.

 

Good morning All,

Today I have a card to share with you that I've made for one of my dearest friends, for someone who has taught me so much, who amazes me daily with her creativity and ingenuity........for Nichole Heady.  I have loved Nichole's work for ages and have been continually inspired and amazed by her blog posts since long before I ever met her.  When I met Nichole for the first time, I was totally star-struck and yet it was no time at all before she put me at ease and has been such a dear friend ever since.  Being on Nichole's design team is a total dream come true and now designing stamps for Papertrey Ink is........well, it's even more than that because that was a bigger dream than I had even dared to imagine. 

I'm so thankful to Nichole for all that she has taught me.  I'm thankful for her cheerful outlook and the way she treats people.  I'm always amazed at the grace with which she handles shedules and juggles everything.  No one pays attention to detail like Nichole does.......which benefits each and every Papertrey customer out there.  She treats her design team with such caring and respect.......she's a GEM and I'm so, so thankful that God brought her into my life.....it hasn't been the same since!  :)

Love you, Nichole.  Thank you so much for all you've done for me.  You've blessed me immensely. 

If Nichole has inspired you at some point along the way, I'd encourage you to pop over to her blog and let her know.  She works SO hard behind the scenes to bring all of these fabulous products about, that we've all come to love so much.  I'm sure she'd love hearing from you and knowing that all her hard work is appreciated.  Several of the other design team members also have cards posted today to tell Nichole how much she means to each of us so check those out.  (You'll find the links over in my left hand side bar)   

 
For Nichole's card, I used her fabulous Friends 'Til the End stamp set.  I heat embossed the flowers using Versamark ink and Filigree detail white embossing powder.  The buttons are Papertrey's vintage white buttons and notice the 'grateful for you' sentiment.....that stamp is all one straight line, however I needed it to fit in a smaller space so I just inked up 'for you' first and stamped it.  Then I cleaned my stamp really well and just inked up 'grateful' and stamped it above the 'for you', creating a sentiment that fit perfectly in the space that I needed.  Just another way to get even more mileage out of your stamp sets!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!  I'm sending this card off in the mail to Nichole.  Is there someone you could make a card for today, to tell them how much you love and appreciate them?  If so, make that card and mail it out -- you'll be so glad you did and you'll brighten someone else's day too!

 

Smooches!
Dawn

{Grateful for You Supplies}
Paper: dark chocolate, spring moss, summer sunrise, SU! tangerine tango
Stamps: Friends 'Til the End
Ink: dark chocolate, versamark
Other: spring moss classic grosgrain ribbon, Filigree detail white embossing powder, sewing machine/thread, SU! scallop edge punch, PTI white vintage buttons

Damask Designs is BACK IN STOCK!!!

Yep, you read that right!  Just wanted to let you know that my Damask Designs stamp set is back in stock at Papertrey Ink......I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting it's arrival so you could run over and place your order!  :)  

Happy Shopping, Friends!!

Smooches!

Dawn

So, So Thoughtful.

Have you ever had a friend do something for you that was out-of-the-blue and totally unexpected, just because?  I most definitely have.......did you see Mish's post about the adorable stationary set she made for me??  She used my Damask Designs stamp set along with some of the sentiments I contributed to the Handwritten Notes set to create an amazing little stationary set and to top it all off, she even used Raspberry Fizz as the main color.........awwwww.  Does this girl know me or what?!  Check out her post for all the details about how she created the set!  So, I just had to make a thank you card for Mishie.  :)   (Also for those of you that were wondering about who wrote which sentiments in the Handwritten Notes set, you can see the set broken down by designer HERE.)

I used the Friends 'Til the End stamp set and added some buttons, scallops and the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder on the kraft card stock.  I embossed the flower using Versamark ink and Filigree detail white embossing powder.  Mish is such a dear friend....I'm so glad to know her and can't wait to send her my little thank you to let her know just how grateful I am for her friendship!  Love you, Mish!

And in other news, some of you have asked what book I'm reading (while on the treadmill).  :)  I haven't shared any books with you in quite awhile, have I?  So sorry.....I just haven't had much time for reading but now that I'm back in the swing of things, I'll try to share books with you more often.  At the moment, I'm reading "The Secret's in the Sauce (Potluck Catering Club: Book 1)" which is a follow up series to "The Potluck Club" books I read awhile back.  They're some fun fiction - which you know I love. 

(Click on the book cover to read more about it at Amazon.com.)

All righty, Crew......I'm watching American Idol w/Bartley while doing some computer work so I'll chat atchya later!  

Have a goodie!

{You're a true Friend supplies}

• Paper: aqua mist, raspberry fizz, kraft, stamper's select white
• Stamps: Friends 'Til the End
• Ink: raspberry fizz, versamark
• Other: Filigree detail white embossing powder, raspberry fizz swiss dot satin ribbon, white buttons, hemp twine, Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing powder, sewing machine/thread, slit punch

Today: In List Form

• So glad that the sun was shining today but also a little sad that we haven't had a bit more 'winter' this winter.  :)  We still have firewood left to burn and I love those cold, frosty days when we can burrow in at home and enjoy our fireplace.
• Downloaded a handy-dandy to-do list app on my iPhone to hopefully help eliminate my constant lists on paper that I tote around.  It's very cool to be able to add and delete things from my list and it still looks neat and tidy, rather than marking stuff out as I do them on paper which just makes me feel like I need to start a new list again!  Ha!  (App is called "To Do's")
• Have decided that I really do like being able to read while on the treadmill!  I'm getting a great workout AND I'm getting to enjoy a great book at the same time!  Looking forward to finishing this one and moving on to the next.
• Realizing that my design to do list this week is kind of lengthy.  Must get right on that, however I was super productive tonight and that felt awesome.
• Bart brought home Krispy Kreme donuts tonight after his game.  I'm not gonna lie.....I'm extremely excited to head downstairs for a little decaf and donuts w/my hubs before bed.  Yes, yes.....I'm aware of how bad that is, but I haven't had a Krispy Kreme in a looong time.  AND, have YOU ever had one??  They're only the best donuts anywhere.  When they're warm, they practically melt in your mouth!  I will not regret one bite of that donut tonight!  Hee. 

  
 As for today's card....it's just some more Damask-ness (yes, I made that word up) for you!  All images and the sentiment are from my Damask Designs stamp set!  I also added some yummy vintage cream buttons and more bitty dot basics paper.  Mmmm....

Night, Peeps!

{I Love You supplies}

• Paper: kraft, plum pudding, lavender moon
• Stamps: Damask Designs
• Ink: plum pudding, lavender moon, SU! sahara sand
• Other: vintage cream buttons, bitty dot basics patterned paper, linen thread, plum pudding topnotch twill ribbon, mega circle punch, giga scalloped circle punch, sewing machine/thread

You've Been a Deer Friend...

Hi-ya Peeps!  Well, I'm busy, busy working in the studio so I thought I'd share this little diddy that I made a couple weeks ago using Candice's Forest Friends & Forest Friends Sentiments stamp sets and some more of that delish Bitty Dot Basics patterned paper!  So fun to mix colors of the dots on the same card.  

The card is a 5x5" square and I cut out the bracket frame using my Cricut Expression and the Storybook cartridge.  Added some stitching, some Kaiser pearls and a fun little bow and there you have it...a fun little note to send to a friend!

Well, have you been using your Damask Designs stamp set or are you still waiting for them to come back in stock?  I've had so much fun seeing what you are making with the set!!  I'm itching to ink mine up again....but I have some paperwork to do first.  Boohoo.  :)

Hope you all have a great night!  I've got to get some stuff done so I can spend a little time with my hubby later.  

Take care!

D

{Deer Friend Supplies}

Paper: dark chocolate, stamper's select white, bitty dot basics-raspberry fizz/plum pudding

Stamps: Forest Friends & Forest Friends Sentiments

Ink: dark chocolate, raspberry fizz

Other: Cricut Expression/Storybook cartridge, Kaiser Scrapbook pearls, plum pudding topnotch twill ribbon, sewing machine/thread

CPS Sunday!

Hi-ya!

Today, Papertrey Ink is sponsoring another card sketch over at the Card Positioning Systems blog so I decided to play along and make a card for the sketch!  Check out the CPS blog to see the sketch for yourself and if you play along and make a card with the sketch too, be sure to upload a link to your card over at CPS to be entered to win a prize!  Fun, huh?  :)

For my card, I used stamps from 3 different stamp sets.  Friends 'Til the End, Background Basics: Retro, & Handwritten Notes.  Yes, that's another one of the sentiments I wrote for the stamp set!  Still SO weird to stamp with my own hand-writing!  LOL!  But totally fun too!  Do you have the Handwritten Notes set?  Have you used my hand-writing on one of YOUR cards???  If so, leave me a link in the comments section - I'd love to see what you've created!  

I heat embossed the flowers with detail white embossing powder and then I used a glue pen to add some glitter to the flower centers.

A couple other things to note that are subtle but make this card so pretty IRL, I used my absolute FAVIE stamp from Background Basics: Retro to create this background using Fresh Snow ink.  Don't you just LOVE that stamp?  Melissa Bickford did an amazing job when she designed it.  Also, if you look closely (click on image for closer view), you can see the strip of glitter running along the bottom of the card.  I just took my 2-Way Glue Pen from Stampin' Up! and drew a line of glue along the bottom edge of the card and then sprinkled on the glitter.  Such and easy and inexpensive way to add some bling to your cards!  

Well crew, I've got some work to do today, now that we're home from church and I have big plans to sit on the couch with my husband tonight and watch Amazing Race!  It's all about the little things, you know?  

I hope you all have a fabulous day!

Chat with you later!

{Hi-ya! Supplies}

Paper: PTI aqua mist, pure poppy, summer sunrise, raspberry fizz, stamper's select white

Stamps: Friends 'Til the End, Background Basics: Retro, Handwritten Notes

Ink: versamark, fresh snow, pure poppy

Other: Palette glitter, SU! scallop edge punch, Filigree detail white embossing powder, pure poppy saddle stitch ribbon

Kristina's Color Inspo. #42

Hi All!  Happy Saturday to you!  I'm back again with a card for Kristina Werner's latest color challenge.  I used my new Damask Designs stamp set from Papertrey to create the background as well as the sentiment.  Then I added some scallops, sewing and another bow.  I can't seem to stop using bows -- I just love 'em!

And for those of you that were asking to see baby pictures of my new nephew (as well as a picture of my hottie hubs - although you can't really see much of his muscles here - ha!), here are a couple for you.  These pictures are from a family birthday party last weekend.  This was also "Uncle Bart's" first chance to meet Baby Malachi.  Such a fun day!

Ahh.....so cute.  And here's a pic of me with the little sweetie.  Check out that hair!  :)  (Um, HIS.....not mine!)  LOL!

Have a great day, all!  I'll check in with you tomorrow!

Toodles!

{Praying for you Supplies}

Paper: PTI spring moss, stamper's select white, SU! really rust, more mustard

Stamps: Damask Designs

Ink: SU! more mustard, PTI dark chocolate

Other: PTI spring moss classic grosgrain ribbon, PTI new leaf vintage button, SU! hemp twine, SU! scallop edge punch, sewing machine/thread

Nuts About You.

Hellooooooo!  

It's finally FRIDAY........oh, how I love dear sweet Fridays!  Seriously, the whole weekend is stretched out before us.  Never mind that it will be over in a blink.  I'm just gonna sit here in my happy little Friday bliss and pretend that the weekend will last forever!  Haha!  

I have high hopes for cranking out some goodies in the studio this weekend so I'd better get to it.  But first, let me tell you a quick bit about this little card.  I used one of the labels from the 2008 Holiday Tag Collection stamp set and put a little squirrel on it from the Forest Friends stamp set.  That fun little sentiment is also from Forest Friends.  I totally love that retro font!  I cut out the fun flourish with my Cricut Expression and the Accent Essentials cartridge and those delish brown buttons are from Rusty Pickle.  Did you ever notice how much I use brown compared to black??  Brown is my black, I tell ya.  I love brown.  :)  

All right......I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.  I'll be back here tomorrow so stop on by.  Oh, and I know quite a few of you are starting to get your new Papertrey goodies in the mail (EEEEEE!!!) so if you've gotten your Damask Designs stamp set, be sure and post a link to your project here in the comments section -- I'd love to see what you create!  A few of you have already shared you projects with me and I've had so much fun taking a peek!

Smooches!

{Nuts About You Supplies}

Paper: berry sorbet, dark chocolate, raspberry fizz, stamper's select white, bitty dot basics-summer sunrise

Stamps: 2008 Holiday Tag Collection, Forest Friends

Ink: dark chocolate, berry sorbet

Other: Rusty Pickle buttons, Marvy super jumbo scallop circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, SU! scallop edge punch, Cricut Expression/Accent Essentials cartridge