My Favorite Things

Spiral Bouquet Revisited

  

Hi there!  It's the first of the month which means it's time for the Senior Design Team Challenge at Papertrey Ink.  This month, Nichole asked us to dust off our Spiral Bouquet stamp sets and give 'em some lovin'.......that's so fun to do now and then, isn't it?  I've got a couple of cards to show you today.  I used the same single flower image on both, but by stamping them multiple times and in different patterns, I was able to create two completely different looks!

 

For this first card, I wanted to create a jumbo flower and I achieved that look by taking this single flower image and stamping it 3 times, basically in a triangle shape and then cutting it out.  Then I stacked some buttons in the center and added a bit of aqua mist grosgrain ribbon behind it, to serve as some little leaves.

 

I layered the flower on a bit of ledger paper from the Library Ledger collection that I die cut using the Mat Stack 3 die.  Goodness, I love that die!  I stamped the sentiment from Spiral Bouquet in dark chocolate ink and finished things off with a vintage cream grosgrain bow and a bit of dotty paper also from the Library Ledger collection.

On this card, I used that same dotty paper that I used on the previous card.  I stamped the sentiments from Spiral Bouquet on the bottom portion of the aqua mist card front using versamark ink and then I heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.  I wanted the sentiment to pop without being to harsh.  Heat embossing with clear embossing powder is always just the ticket for this look!

 

See the "leaves" that I stamped behind the flower?  That's the same flower image from Spiral Bouquet that I used on the previous card!  I die cut a bit of rustic cream card stock with the Mat Stack 1 die and then stamped the flower image twice -- pointing the tips of the petals toward the outside edges of the card stock, using spring moss ink.  The harvest gold felt flower was created with the Beautiful Blooms II dies and I cut little slits into the center of the flower between each petal.

Be sure to bop around to all of the other girls on the Sr. Design Team -- they've all got fun Spiral Bouquet projects to share with you today!  

Nichole Heady

Heather Nichols
Mish Wooderson
Lisa Johnson
Betsy Veldman

 

Have a goodie, my friends!  We'll chat again soon!

{Friends supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, rustic cream, Library Ledger
Stamps: Spiral Bouquet
Ink: pure poppy, dark chocolate, vintage touch tea dye
Other: Mat Stack 3 die, pure poppy & aqua mist buttons, aqua mist & vintage cream classic grosgrain ribbons, baker's twine

{You Make Everything Bloom supplies}
Paper: aqua mist, rustic cream, Library Ledger
Stamps: Spiral Bouquet
Ink: spring moss, vintage touch tea dye, versamark
Other: clear embossing powder, harvest gold felt, beautiful blooms II dies, mat stack 1 die, aqua mist button, rustic cream button twine, harvest gold saddle stitch ribbon
  

Library Cards

Hi there, Peeps!  

I have a fun and eeeeeasy project to share with you!  I have to say that I LOVE having friends that love to read and so when I needed some gifts for a few friends recently, I decided the perfect thing would be a book.  I have told you before (quite often - ha!) that I really enjoy Tracie Peterson's books and decided on this one to give to some of my friends.  I thought about making them book plates and book marks and including a card, but then it occurred to me that there is a really cute way to accomplish all of that with one little project!  

 

These are the supplies I started out with.  On the left, you can see the library pocket die as well as 4 pieces of plum pudding paper from the Dotty Biscotti collection that I die cut with that die.  Next up is the bookmark topper die and 4 little pieces of kraft card stock that I die cut with that die.  Then on the right, are 4 pieces of lavender moon card stock that I stamped with the Library Card stamp using plum pudding ink.  And lastly in front are some little kraft circles, punched with a 1" circle punch and stamped with the "Let me save your spot" sentiment from the All Booked Up stamp set.  I chose the papers that I did, to color coordinate with the colors on the cover of the book.

 

You can see here that I folded up the little pockets using a bit of scor-tape.  Then, I used the little library cards to write a little note on, one for each friend.  

 

Here, you can see that I then attached the bookmark toppers in the upper right hand corner of the library card and I adhered the little circles on top of the topper.  I also stamped a sweet little flourish image (from Fancy Flourishes) twice on each library card using versamark ink.  I just wanted a subtle little accent......one that also mirrors the flourishes on the book cover!

 

Here's the fun part -- I stuck the "library cards" in the front of each book, just like the old days when libraries really had the little library cards in books!  You know....the ones that they stamped the due date on.  I LOOOOOOVE this!  It's so great because it can serve as the card for your gift, the bookmark and the bookplate all rolled into one!  And it's kind of on the cute side too!  *wink*

 

The little "library card" slides out easily allowing the recipient to read her little note and later when she's reading the book, she's also got a handy dandy bookmark.

  

See how cute it looks when serving as a bookmark and peeking out the top of the book?!

 

Lastly, since these are gifts, I wanted to pretty them up just a bit.  However, they all needed to be easily packed since they're flying with me.  *wink*  I tied a simple little knot from lavender moon classic grosgrain ribbon (so I don't have to worry about smooshing a bow) and then I added a little tag.  The lavender moon card stock was die cut using the jar label die and then stamped with the "to:/from:" image from All Booked Up, to create the tag.  

So there you have it -- a super simple and cute, yet very practical way to give the gift of a good read!

I hope you've enjoyed this post.  I can't wait to tell you all about Chicago when I get home.  Until then, thanks for stopping by and have a fabby day!

{Library Card gift packaging supplies}
Paper: lavender moon, dotty biscotti
Stamps: Library Card, All Booked Up, Fancy Flourishes
Ink: plum pudding, versamark
Other: library pocket die, bookmark topper die, jar label die, 1" circle punch, lavender moon classic grosgrain ribbon

A Gift of Dahlias

Hey there,

Back today with another set of note cards that I whipped up to give as a gift.  I pulled out my Delightful Dahlia stamp set and coordinating dies for this one, as well as 4 papers from the Dotty Biscotti collection.  Aren't they so cheery all together like that?  :)

I decided to make each card somewhat monochromatic, so I paired aqua mist with hawaiian shores, raspberry fizz with hibiscus burst, new leaf with spring moss and orange zest with summer sunrise.

 

I die cut the large flowers and stamped them in true black ink.  The large leaf image was die cut from kraft card stock for each card to help tie in the kraft color from the dotty paper.  Remember that things like leaves don't always have to be green when used on your crafty projects.  By using kraft for the leaves, I was able to keep the colors cohesive and more visually appealing.

 

I layered each flower and leaf on a simple paper doily (from the cake decorating section at Hobby Lobby).  I added a threaded button to the center of each flower, using buttons that are the same colors as the card bases.  I also used those same colors for the grosgrain ribbons I chose and the sentiments stamped in the upper right corner (with true black ink) are both sentiments from Delightful Dahlia as well.

I hope you're having a great day!  Chat soon!

{Dahlia note card supplies}
Paper: hawaiian shores, aqua mist, raspberry fizz, hibiscus burst, new leaf, spring moss, orange zest, summer sunrise, kraft, dotty biscotti
Stamps: Delightful Dahlia
Ink: true black
Other: Delightful Dahlia dies, hawaiian shores, raspberry fizz, new leaf, orange zest grosgrain ribbon; hawaiian shores, raspberry fizz, new leaf, orange zest buttons; rustic cream button twine, paper doilies (Hobby Lobby), corner chomper

Wedding Favors - the tags

Hi there!  Thought I'd share a fun little project with you that I've been working on with some of the girls on Bart's side of the family.  Our sweet niece is getting married this fall so we've had a couple of "wedding favor parties" in our dining room in the last week, creating the adorable little gift tags that will be attached to bags of individual servings of S'mores fixins that will be given out as favors to all of the wedding guests.  That meant that we had about 150 tags to make which meant that we needed a plan......and as many hands on deck as we could get!  

 

Here's me, the first night of production.  I was Die-Cut Girl and my job was to die cut all of the pieces for the tags.  I cranked the Big Shot and cut out shapes and cranked and cut and cranked and cut.....for hours.  :)  I used the Jar & Lid die, the Jar Label die and the Jar Toppers die.......over and over and over.  You see, the wedding and reception are taking place at a historic barn and there will be a bonfire that night after the wedding....and some of the decor will involve mason jars so it seemed only fitting that the S'mores party favors should have little mason jar tags.  Don't you agree???  Perfect!

 

All in all, there were 7 of us that worked at putting all of these tags together.  We totally assembly-lined it.  The job descriptions were as follows:

• die cutter
• jar outline stamper
• jar dots stamper
• lid stamper
• scalloped ruffle stamper
• tag label stamper
• tag sentiment stamper
• lid adherer with regular adhesive
• foam adhesive cutter-outer
• ruffle adherer with foam adhesive
• tag adherer with foam adhesive
• hole puncher
• twine tie-er

Each one had their respective job(s) to do and some rotated between jobs depending on what needed to be done at the moment.

All of the pieces were stamped with images from Papertrey's Friendship Jar stamp set -- the jar, the jar filler, the lid, the ruffle trim, the tag and the sentiment on the tag.  As you can see, there were a lot of steps to the process, but I think the end result was well worth our time.  Here they are.....all 160+ of them!

 

Whew!  Aren't they cute though?  Won't they look adorable tied on to little bags of S'mores goodies?  I'm not sure if I'll be a part of the S'mores Packing Party, but if I am, I'll be sure and share photos of the finished product!  :)

 

Have a fabulous day, sweet friends!

Smooches,

 

Chicago, Here I Come!

 

So today is the day that my dear friend Mish Wooderson will come to my house and together we'll make our way to the airport to get on a plane that will whisk us away to the Windy City for CHA -- the Craft & Hobby Association trade show.  We're in for a TON of fun as we meet up with lots of dear friends that we usually only get to see once a year or so, plus we'll walk the CHA showroom floor and check out all of the products that lots of crafting companies, will be releasing this fall.  I'm so looking forward to the trade show!  

THEN comes the CHA SuperShow which happens on Friday and Saturday.  The SuperShow is open to the public (unlike the trade show) and will feature lots and lots of companies that sell their products directly to customers.....and all of those booths will have products for sale to take home that day.  Papertrey is one of those booths!  It will be stocked FULL of Papertrey goodness and Mish and I will be working in the booth along with some of the others from the Papertrey team including Nichole Heady, Heather Nichols and Debbie Olson.  It will be SO much fun to meet up with friends and blog readers and customers who come to the booth!  I can't wait!  If you're coming, be sure to stop by and say hi!  I'd love to meet you or see you again, if we've met in the past!  Seriously, don't be shy!

AND THEN, after all of the CHA excitement ends, my hottie hubs is flying to Chicago to meet me for a little rendezvous in what has become one of our favorite US cities!  I can't even tell you how excited I am for THAT part of my trip too!  (So grateful for a sister and her hubs who are always so willing to house/dog sit for us!)  

Once CHA ends and Bart and I begin our adventures in Chicago, there are 3 things that you can be certain of.  There will be Lou Malnati's Pizza.

 

There will be shopping on Michigan Avenue.

 

And there WILL be Garrett's Popcorn!  LOL!

 

Soooo......I've got some crafty projects I'll be sharing with you here at the blog-o to entertain you while I'm away.  And you can be sure I'll be taking lots of photos of the trade show, the SuperShow and my adventures with Bart as well!  I'll share those when I get home.  I'll also be tweeting, so if you want to follow along with all of the action minute by minute, I'll be tweeting what I'm up to at the moment.  You can follow me on Twitter, or you can check in here at the blog-o.....my most recent Twitter updates are posted over in the right hand side-bar.  

It's gonna be a week of fun with a healthy dose of exhaustion thrown in for good measure (heeee.), but you know I wouldn't miss it for the world!  Can't wait to share the excitement with you!

Be good while I'm away and I'll chat with you soon,

 

**All photos are from our Chicago Weekend Getaway, Oct. 2009.
 

Damask & Dots & Tickets....Oh My

Hello there!

I have another fun gift set of note cards to share with you today.  I wanted to create something that is easily mailable (aka: nice and flat), not super-duper girly but still fun and trendy, and of course cute.  This is what I came up with!  What do you think?

 

To start out with, I took two strips of aqua mist card stock and stamped them with my favorite image from my Damask Designs set, using hawaiian shores ink.  Oh my Lordy bees......I could stare at those papers all DAY!  Aren't they preeeeeeeeetty?  What a fabulous color combo when used in conjunction with the damask pattern!  Love.  Pure love.

 

So here is some of that paper in action.  I layered it on a hawaiian shores card with a dotty patterned paper from my Dotty Biscotti collection, as well as a strip of kraft card stock that I scalloped with the small scallop border die.

As for the tickets, I die cut some rustic cream card stock using the new ticket border die and then stamped sentiments and images from the Just The Ticket stamp set on the tickets.  I adhered the strip of tickets with foam adhesive just to give them a bit of a pop.  

That's it for me for now.....I'm off to get a few last minute things done.

Have a FANTASTIC Monday.  Seriously.  :)

love ya,

{Damask Ticket Set supplies}
Paper: hawaiian shores, aqua mist, kraft, rustic cream, dotty biscotti
Stamps: Damask Designs, Just the Ticket
Ink: hawaiian shores, dark chocolate
Other: ticket border die, small scallop border die, corner chomper 

Tomato Talk

Hey there!

So I figured it was about time to talk tomatoes with you.  I absolutely LOVE Sherelle Christensen's blog.  I love her photos of her kids and her farm and all the farm-iness that comes with it!  Not long ago, she shared what I thought was a fabulous idea.  She has a rather large garden and she got an old kitchen scale and decided that she'd weigh all of the produce that they harvest out of her garden this year, just to see how many pounds of veggies they're able to grow and eat in a season.  I love that!

Well, around here, we don't have a large veggie garden.  However, we do have 4 tomato plants --- one Beefmaster, one Better Boy, one Celebrity and one Rainbow Heirloom.  I can't even begin to tell you the amount of joy they have brought me so far this summer.  We planted them when they were little tiny plants and it's been such a thrill to watch them grow by leaps and bounds (some are taller than ME now!) and they now have lots and LOTS of green tomatoes on them, that we'll be enjoying even more once they're ready to be eaten in a few more weeks!  

As a side note, I should probably tell you that if I were left to my own devices, I would love to buy an old farm house -- you know, the kind with a huge wrap-around porch -- and would renovate it, keeping as much of the "old" as I could, while adding all of the new modern conveniences that one needs to survive on a farm.  :)  Perhaps something like the old farm house that Sarah Richardson bought and renovated on her show, Sarah's House.  

I would likely also have a chicken coop.  Never mind that it would be messy and there would be chicken poop to deal with and a coop to clean out.  I'm not sure how I'd get around that part, but I love the idea of going out and gathering our own eggs every day.  Don't even mind the fact that we really don't eat that many eggs, it just being the two of us here at the McVey Ranch.  That's beside the point.

And if I had the modern old farm house and the chicken coop, I would also have a huge garden.  One that weeded itself, perhaps?  However, it's just us and our flowers and 4 tomato plants.  So I told Bartley about Sherelle's fabulous idea about weighing the produce from her garden and we decided that even though we don't have a cool vintage kitchen scale like Sherelle does, we can at least track how many tomatoes we pull off of each of the 4 varieties of plants, so that next year we'll know if we want to put in those same varieties or perhaps swap out for others.  

Fast forward to two days ago when my mother-in-law arrived.  We were all talking about the tomatoes and our plan to track the numbers and she said that we should weigh them!  Haha......to which we replied, "But we don't have a kitchen scale"......to which she replied, "Well I'm sure you can get them at lots of places".....and so the hunt began!  We hopped on our computers and voila!  We found the cute little Paula Deen kitchen scale in the photo above at Wal-mart of all places, for just $14!  I love that even though it's a new scale, it's at least a bit vintage in style.  And so, we brought home the kitchen scale and put our first fat Beefmaster tomato in and weighed it.....all 3/4 of a pound!

 

I'm so, SO excited to continue tracking not only the amount of tomatoes we harvest from our plants, but also how much they weigh.  After all, most of the time when you buy tomatoes in the store, they're sold based on their weight.  This will be a fun little venture for us and at the end of the summer, we'll be able to see how much money we would have had to spend if we'd bought all of those tomatoes in the store instead of the 4 little plants we purchased to the tune of maybe $6!  :)

 

I should also mention that we ate that fat Beefmaster baby with lunch today and it was SCRUMPTIOUS.  There is nothing like a home-grown tomato.  HOME-grown.  Love it.

 

 

And as you can see by these photos, there are lots more where that baby came from!

 

You know how some people show lots of pictures of their sweet little children on their blogs?  I show you my delicious tomatoes.  Hahaha!  What can I say?  These are important topics we cover here at the blog-o!

Hope you're having a fabulous day.  I'm singing at church this morning -- both services, and then my mother-in-law and I are off to my niece's bridal shower.  By the time I get home, it will likely be about supper time and I will hopefully be able to put my feet up for a bit and relax.

Take care, Peeps....

 
 
 

Helloooooooooo!!

Hello.....tap, tap......this thing on?  

Haha.  I've always wanted to use that line!  :)  Obviously it doesn't take much to make me happy!  LOL! 

So how the heck ARE you?!  I've been working some looooooong hours lately and I've been MISSING you!  I was bound and determined that I was going to blog today, come h-e-double hockey sticks or high water!  .....so here I am.  :)  Although, perhaps I should leave off that last bit about the high water as it's currently pouring rain outside.  *smile*

Ahhh.....so I have many, many things to share with you in the coming days, my dear friends.  I'm so sorry to have not been around much at all this past week.  It pained me, truly it did.  But unfortunately there are only so many hours in a day and when I'm spending 10 or 11 of them working in the studio, it doesn't leave much time for blogging.  I leave on Tuesday for CHA (Craft & Hobby Association trade show) and while there are lots of things to be done for CHA and in order to be gone for a week, there are also all of the regular deadlines still to meet for things such as future product releases and magazine calls and such.  It has made for a crazy week and will likely be pretty hairy around here for a bit once I get home from Chicago as well, but in the meantime, you can rest easy because I've got several fun projects that I'll be sharing with you while I'm away.  Hurray -- it won't be a ghost town around here anymore!  Ha.

One of the things I've been working on in my spare time (hardy-har-har!) is a few gifts that I needed for a few special people who shall remain nameless.  *wink*  First up is this sweet little set of note cards.

 

 

I started with berry sorbet card bases and stamped my favorite image from Background Basics: Retro in versamark ink.  In case I haven't said it before, I am of the belief that EVERY paper crafter should have a versamark ink pad.  Not only can you use it on almost EVERY color of card stock, but you can also use it when heat embossing.  It's one of the unsung heros here in the Raspberry Suite studio!  Haha.  

I also added one of the fun patterns from Heather's Library Ledger paper along the bottom of the card.  I rounded the corners with my corner chomper and tied a simple knot with vintage cream topnotch twill ribbon.

 

For the focal point on these cards, I used the mat stack 3 die to cut out the fun label shape and stamped the coordinating image from All Booked Up in berry sorbet ink.  Then, I pulled out Papertrey's free anniversary set from this year -- Round and Round -- and stamped the circle/bird image in dark chocolate ink and punched it out with a 1 3/4" circle punch.  I also chose two sentiments from Round and Round -- "Birthday Wishes" and "With Gratitude" and stamped them in dark chocolate ink in the handy little sentiment space on the label.  This way, the recipient will have two birthday cards as well as two thank you cards on hand.  

All righty, I have lots more to accomplish so I'd better run along.  I just have one more biggie deadline that I need to meet before I leave town and then......I should probably pack!  Haha.  

I'll be back tomorrow with another fun post so I'll see you soon.  Thanks so much for your patience with me this past week and thank you for stopping by today!

Much love,

{Birthday/Gratitude Set supplies}
Paper: berry sorbet, vintage cream, library ledger
Stamps: Background Basics: Retro, Round and Round
Ink: berry sorbet, dark chocolate, versamark
Other: mat stack 3 die, 1 3/4" circle punch, vintage cream topnotch twill, corner chomper 

 
 

 

Disappearing Act :)

Hi-ya, Friends!  So sorry to have done a disappearing act on you!  With each day that's passed, I've been meaning to get over here and blog but goodness, things have gotten buuuuuuusy.  We've now entered what I like to call the Pre-CHA Mad Dash.  Ha.  That's when I run around like a crazy person trying to get all sorts of loose ends tied up before leaving for CHA (a week from today!).  I'm starting to get SUPER excited about CHA as I've been preparing to go and I can't wait to meet those of you that will be there!

Since I last "saw you", we were heading into the weekend and I was looking forward to some quality time with my hottie husband -- which I'm happy to report, was wonderful.  But then Monday came and with it, a giant list of deadlines and to-do's that I've been working feverishly to check off the list.  Add to that, the fact that my oldest niece on Bart's side of the family is getting married in a few months and so last night, she and the other girls in the fam came over and we had a wedding-favor-creating party for the wedding favors.  What that really means is that I die-cut lots of little pieces for about 3 hours while some of the girls stamped on those pieces and others assembled the pieces and others hole punched and added twine....you get the picture.  Don't worry -- when that project is completed, I'll be sure to share it (and the process) with you!  The favors are gonna be ca-UTE!

Now for tonight, I'm getting ready to eat dinner (home-made pizza that my hottie hubs is currently making in the kitchen...it's one of his specialties) and then I'm going to run out the door and head to church (in the pouring rain) for worship team practice because I'm singing at church on Sunday.  :)  

Later in the week, my dear MIL will be staying with us for a few days so that we can all attend a bridal shower for the afore-mentioned niece on Sunday after church.  And in the middle of all of that are a few more deadlines to meet and things to get done and blog posts to prep for while I'm away next week.  

So, all that being said, I'm so sorry to have disappeared on you!  Haha.  I'm hoping to get some projects created in the next few days to share with you but the honest truth is that most of what I'm creating in the studio right now are projects that I can't share just yet.  Hold tight though....  :)

In the meantime, I do have a few books to recommend.  These are all titles that I've read in the last month or so, while on the elliptical or while eating lunch.  Good thing I know how to multi-task, huh?  Ha.  

 

A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley

 

The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble  (I believe the next in this series is due out in October!)

 

Claim by Lisa T. Bergren  (this is book 3 in the Homeward Trilogy -- ALL were great)

 

She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell
 

Clearly, based on these titles, I've been on a bit of a historical fiction kick lately!  Ha.  But that's all changed with the modern-day fiction I'm reading now.  I'll save that one for another post.  ;)

All right, I'm off to the kitchen for a quickie dinner with Bartley.  I hope you're all doing well!  I've missed chatting with you these last few days!

much love,

 

 

Best Wishes

 

Happy FRIDAY!!!!  Woohoo!  It's the weekend.  Aren't you glad? 

For today, I thought I'd share a card with you that is published in the new Paper Crafts special feature magazine, Card Style.  I have 7 cards published in this issue (Thank you, PC) so I thought I'd share one of them with you today.

For the Inspired Style feature, I was asked to create a card in the "Classy & Elegant" style category, that was inspired by a photo they provided of a vintage style beaded purse and this is what I came up with. 

 

I used Year of Flowers: Violets to stamp the flowers and leaves and then I colored them in with Copic markers.  I used a glue pen to add a bit of glitter to the flowers.  The sentiment is one from Mega Mixed Messages.  I used the small scallop border die to add a scalloped border along the bottom of the card and finished things off with a sweet blush grosgrain bow.

 

Have you checked out Card Style yet?  It's out on news-stands now or you can order it online HERE!

Hope you have a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to ours....

• no major plans other than church on Sunday morning and the chocolate flavored coffee that we'll take with us in our new BPA-free go-mugs  (hee)
• sleeping in on Saturday morning, lazing around the house with my hottie hubs
• working on some design projects
• replenishing our veggie/fruit supply (aka = grocery store run, which is no fun by myself but will be much more fun when Bartley and I go together)
• maybe a little paper crafting  (then again, maybe not.  Ha!  We'll have to see about that one)
• watching Leap Year again (We watched it together awhile back and loved it and B knows that I've been wanting to buy the DVD but have been waiting for the $20 price to come down just a bit.  He found a deal online, bought it and surprised me with it yesterday when the mail came.)  happy sigh...
• maybe an Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich from the Pizza Man  :)   (You know, just practicing for when we're actually in Chicago in a week or so for CHA!)

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you have a great one!  Don't forget to take some time to just REST!

much love,

 

{Best Wishes supplies}
Paper: sweet blush, berry sorbet, vintage cream, kraft
Stamps: Year of Flowers: Violets, Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Palette Noir, dark chocolate
Other: sweet blush classic grosgrain ribbon, glitter, small scallop border die