My Favorite Things

Little Lady Revisited

Hello, my dears....

Happy October (!) to you!  Can you believe how fast this year is buzzing by?  The older I get, the faster time flies!  With today being the first of October, that also means that it's time again for another Senior Design Team Challenge at Papertrey Ink.  We're pulling out another long ago-released stamp set, dusting off the Little Lady and inking her up to create some fun new projects with her. 

Now of course, you can use Little Lady to stamp adorable little lady bugs, but don't be afraid to stamp her in other colors -- wouldn't she make a cute little green bug, or perhaps even bright pink or turquoise?  Plus, with a little thinking outside the box, you can use Little Lady to create even more fun goodies.  Take my second card today, for instance......I'm starting to think that you can use just about any image to create a flower!  Haha.  Keep reading.....I'll tell you what I did.  :)

So first up is a traditional little lady bug, except that I chose to glam her up a bit by adding black rhinestones to the spots on her back.  Along the bottom of the card, I stamped the largest flower from Little Lady over and over, to create a flowery little border.

After I stamped the little lady herself, I cut her out and layered her on a bit of pure poppy card stock that I punched out with a 1 3/4" circle punch.  I layered that on a bit of vintage cream card stock that I die cut using the mat stack 3 die, which had been stamped with the pretty label image from All Booked Up in pure poppy ink.  To that, I also added a sentiment (stamped in true black ink) from Little Lady, as well as a small flower on either side of the sentiment.

Now, are you looking at this flower and thinking to yourself, "I see no Little Lady-ness anywhere on this card?"  Well, check out that big ole flower.  Those petals were stamped 5 times using the lady bug wings from Little Lady.  I just stamped them in a circle on berry sorbet card stock using versamark ink and then cut them out and piled on lots of layers of goodies! 

The frame around the flower is from the Framed stamp set and the "Celebrate!" sentiment is also from Little Lady.  I used one of the leaf dies from the Leaf Prints Die Collection to die cut a few leaves from simply chartreuse card stock.

As for that great big flower, the back layer (stamped with lady bug wings) is berry sorbet card stock.  Next is a paper doily from Martha Stewart followed by a pure poppy layer that was punched with a super jumbo scalloped circle punch.  Then, a punched circle of berry sorbet card stock -- I roughed up the edge of that layer with my Heidi Swapp edge distressor and then layered on another smaller punched circle of patterned paper from my It's Official collection.  Lastly, I added a huge-ish pure poppy button which I tied on with chocolate baker's twine.  Don't you just love all of those yummy layers?  

Well, I hope you've been inspired to pull out your Little Lady stamp set and put her to good use again.......or perhaps you're running for a pen and paper so you can add her to your wish list now??  :)  Either way, thanks so much for stopping in to see me today!  

You'll want to be sure and pop 'round to all the other girlies on the Senior Design Team to see what they've created using Little Lady today as well!

Nichole Heady (our fearless leader)

Betsy Veldman
Mish Wooderson
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson

See you again soon, Dearies.

{With Thanks supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, vintage cream
Stamps: Little Lady, All Booked Up
Ink: pure poppy, true black, versamark
Other: mat stack 3 die, vintage cream saddle stitch ribbon, 1 3/4" circle punch, black rhinestones

{Celebrate! supplies}
Paper: hawaiian shores, simply chartreuse, berry sorbet, pure poppy, stamper's select white, It's Official
Stamps: Little Lady, Framed
Ink: dark chocolate, versamark
Other: Leaf Prints Collection die, pure poppy button, chocolate baker's twine, circle punches, super jumbo scalloped circle punch, Martha Stewart paper doily

 

Wednesday Update

Hi-ya, Peeps!  Just a quickie update to let you know that all is well here at the McVey ranch.  I've started getting email asking if I'm all right so I figured I'd just post a reply here.  We're doing quite well.....we're just super busy.  I've got several design deadlines this week including the biggest one of the year as we prepare for 2011!!  (Can you believe it's just around the corner?!!)

SO....Shirley (my computer) and I are pretty much attached at the hip these days.  Well, technically not "at the hip", cause that'd be kind of an awkward way to try and design anything......but you know what I mean.  :) 

I'll be back as soon as I can to post pictures from our niece's wedding -- I know some of you are anxious to see them.  (It was wonderful!  COLD and rainy, but wonderful just the same.)  And, it's almost time for the Papertrey Senior Design Team challenge, so stay tuned for that too!

In the mean time, what's up with YOU??  I'd love to hear!

Smooches,

Giveaway Winner??

Still haven't heard from Donna Budnik -- the winner of my most recent giveaway.

 

Donna, you have until Saturday, Oct. 2 at 9pm CST to email me and claim your prize.  (email in left hand side bar)  If I don't hear from you before then, we'll just choose another winner for the giveaway!  

Thanks!

Wedding Day Thoughts

Hello, friends.....

Just thought I'd pop in and share a few quickie photos from last night's wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  

This is the bride-to-be and her mama.....also known as my niece and my sister-in-law.  Oh, how I love these girls.  

In fact, I'm sitting here waiting for the two of them to get here so I can do Raegen's make-up for the wedding and honestly, I'm feeling a little emotional thinking about how grown up Raegen is now, compared to the girl she was when I first came into the family years ago.  I have loved being Raegen's aunt, but I've also loved becoming her friend over the years.  And today, the sweet girl is going to get married and will be moving away from here.  She's becoming an Air Force wife today -- in about 6 hours, actually (!) -- and I'm so, so proud of her.

This is the historic barn she's chosen to get married in.  Last night was the first time I'd seen it in person and I fell in love with it's charm.  So many great details, my favorite among them are these huge arched doors.  There are 3 of them, to be exact.  One each on 3 of the 4 barn walls.

This is a look at the rehearsal in progress last night.  There will be LOTS more chairs in the barn today for the big event.  Isn't it so pretty though?

Love the windows and the stone walls and all of the old, old wood.

The happy couple at the rehearsal dinner.  Adorable, right?  I know I'm not just biased here!  ;)

I'd better scoot since the bride and her mama should be here soon.  She's getting her hair done this morning and then our house is stop number 2 on her agenda, so I can do her make-up.  I'm so, so, so honored to be a part of this sweet girl's wedding day.

{Love you, Raegen Girly.}

As for you, my dear readers, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.  Pray for the rain to hold off for us tonight, as part of the festivities are to take place outside.  :)

Talk with you all soon,

 

 

It's Gonna Be a Doozy...

 

Hello, my dear friends....

Just thought I'd pop in and wish you a happy weekend in case I don't get another chance to before it's here!  You see, while last weekend, we were chasing a tiny niece and nephew from my side of the family, this weekend we will be celebrating with a niece, from Bart's side of the family.  She's getting married on Saturday, so tonight, my mother-in-law is coming to town to stay with us for the wedding festivities this weekend.

My niece has asked me to do her make-up for the wedding and me being the MAC-loving girl that I am, said, "But of course!" and so, she's coming over tomorrow morning for us to do a test run make-up session.  Then, tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner.  Saturday morning will be the real-deal make-up session and then, touch-ups that afternoon -- for pictures -- at the historic barn where the wedding is to be held, followed by the wedding & reception Saturday evening.  

Then, I'm singing at church at both Sunday morning services this weekend and after lunch, is the gift-opening gathering to watch the newlyweds open their gifts!

And in the midst of all of that, I'll be tied to my computer as often as I can since I'm designing Raspberry Suite stamps for 2011, like crazy.  :)  

So like I said....it's gonna be a doozy of a weekend around here, but with all of the wedding festivities, I'm sure it'll be a fun one!  How about you?  What's your weekend looking like?

Just a few cards to share with you tonight, all of which were published in the August issue of CARDS Magazine.  Papertrey Ink goodies on the first and last card and some adorable Hero Arts stamps on this "cuckoo card".  

Have a fabulous weekend, Lovelies.....

Chat with you again soon,

Purple Peppers

Purple peppers.......say that 5 times really fast!  Ha.

While we had the munchkins (aka: my niece and nephew) last weekend, we took them to a local farmer's market.  My friend, Judy, had posted some photos on her blog of their most recent trip to this same market, and in some of those photos were purple peppers (?!?!) as well as white ones!!  I was so intrigued by those peppers, as I'm a huge fan of the standard green, red, orange and yellow bell peppers with hummus or in my daily chopped salad......ooh, that's good stuff.  So, all week long, those crazy purple peppers were on my mind.  I really wanted to get a purple one and a white one, just to try them and see what they're like!  

What we ended up getting was a basket of 5 peppers -- purple, white, green, red and orange -- and all for $2.50.  The lady we bought them from said they're called Carnival Peppers and that they're sweeter than other peppers, and that they all come from the same plant.

We brought them home, sliced into them and gave them a try.  Now I have to tell you that I eat peppers nearly 5 days a week since I've been making my chopped salads for lunch and these peppers were most definitely NOT sweeter than standard bell peppers.  In fact, they had a bit less flavor in general and they don't seem nearly as "meaty" if that makes any sense.  BUT, they're awfully pretty to look at and were fun to eat!  I thought it was interesting that the purple ones are sort of white-ish on the inside.  

Anyway, I probably wouldn't buy them all the time, but they sure were a fun little experiment.

In other news (but still sorta related), our tomato plants have finally pooped out (SO SAD) so while we were at the farmer's market, we also got a few heirloom tomatoes that are the craziest green/purple color but they are the ABSOLUTE BEST tomatoes we've had all year.  I might even go so far as to say they're some of the best tomatoes I've had in my life.  Goodness gracious, they're so darn good!  I'm hoping we can find some again this coming weekend, because we will surely be heading back to the farmer's market!  Perhaps if we do, I'll share photos.  (I know how important these things are to you...)  :)

Happy Wednesday!  I'm glued to my computer this week, designing all sorts of fun stuff!  Hope you're doing well.

xo,

The Littles and A WINNER!!

Hello, my dear friends....

It has been busy, busy around here since we last chatted.  My sweet niece and nephew were here to stay with us for a few days which was SO much fun!  They are 1 and 2 years old -- technically, they're 11 1/2 months apart in age and their mama has another one on the way!!  Eee!  So, since their mama was going on a trip and their daddy had to work, they got to come stay with Auntie and Uncle and we had a ball.  My goal was to get them out of the house for a bit each day, to wear them out a little and to give us all a break from being in the same setting.  Turns out, it worked perfectly.....we went on outings to the park, the mall and Target.  But, the highlight of our outings was our trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead.  It's super close to home and turned out to be sooooo cool!  It will definitely be on our list of things to do every time they come for a visit because we all had so much fun AND it's free Monday - Thursday!  Even better!  Honestly, based on how much there was to see and do, I was shocked that they only charge admission on the weekends.  

As you can see in the photo above, they're loaded in their stroller and we're on our way thru the front gate in the big red barn.  

They have a hen house that you can go inside (the chickens are on the other side of a fence) -- we even wheeled the stroller right in the hen house.  There were chickens in the coop as well as out in their little yard.  There were also about 20 eggs on the floor in the corner of the hen house, just waiting to be collected!

One of the calves....I think they currently have 6 of them.  Sweet, right?  He looks so soft and fluffy!

 

Ahhhhh......I love this photo SO much.  I broke one of the cardinal rules and let them both out of the stroller!  LOL!  Well, the thing is, if you let one out, you have to let them both out and if you do that.....well let's just say, you'd better be faster than they are.  And trust me, they're fast!  Hahaha.  BUT, we were SO close to thish big black beauty.....the cow came right over to the fence to us, but his head was just a bit higher than they could reach and I just couldn't stand the thought of cheating them out of getting to pet the cow since we were RIGHT THERE.  KWIM??  ;)  So, I let them out and had to lift them up so they could pet Bessy's nose.  (I don't really know if her name is Bessy.  It could have just as easily been Pete.)  

They milk the cows in the barn twice a day and if you go at milking time, you can watch that process.  We were a bit late for that though.

As you can see, this little baby is pitching a fit at the injustice of having to be outside when clearly his mama was in the barn.  He didn't sound happy at all.

 

Another one of the big beauties.....eating her breakfast.

They also have an Indian Encampment area where you can learn about the Indians.  They have 3 teepees set up outside that were open for the kids to go in.  ....stroller and all.  Ha.

Now, I personally had a BALL watching this event!  You can pay $1 to "buy" a baby bottle to feed the baby goats with!  It was HILARIOUS!  Ally took right to it.  This little girl is not afraid of ANYthing!  Haha.  She marched right in and held on tight to the bottle while the goats drank it all up!

Oh my gosh........can you handle the cuteness??

Malachi, on the other hand, was much more content to just pet the goats.  You see, the goats are greedy little bottle-drinkin' babies, and he had a harder time hanging on to the bottle once a goat got to sucking on it!  Heee.  I don't know how many times I got jumped on by the little goaties while I was trying to take pictures!  

 

When we left the baby goat area, we wandered around to see all of the other animals, including this big old goat.  He was soooooooo sweet and he looooooved Ally & Malachi.

I'm pretty sure they loooooooved him too!  Just look at her face!

 

There are machines stationed all around the park with various types of feed you can buy for a quarter, so you can feed lots of different animals.  I love that the park is set up so that even little ones in strollers can get up close and personal with the animals.  

There are also 3 different playgrounds for kidlets depending on their age.  These two would swing all day if you let them!  So we swang...swung......swinged.....sat in the swings for quite awhile before heading home.  

Just look at that face!  I can still hear her saying, "Push me higher, Auntie Dawn!"  Not afraid of anything, I tell ya!

We went to another park the next day and I managed to snag these two piccies before it got dark.

The last day they were here, when they woke up from their nap, they sat down to read books with Uncle Bart.  Notice Buzz Lightyear and Woody looking over their shoulders?!!  Hahahaha.  Too funny!

 

And lastly for today, I leave you with the winner of last week's Great Big Giveaway.  The winner is Donna Budnik who said...

Donna, if you'll email me (link in left side bar) with your mailing address, I'll get your goodies sent out to you!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope your week is off to a great start!

Smooches,

 

 

 

Papertrey Dies Storage Solution

Edited to answer a couple of your questions: In instances where there are 3 or 4 dies in a set, I stuck all 3 or 4 dies in one pocket together.  I was able to easily fit 3 Beautiful Blooms dies in a pocket.  Same for the 4 Leaf Prints dies, all 4 slid into one pocket without any trouble.  There are a couple of dies that are a bit larger in scale and they still slid into the pockets but may stick out the top a bit, as seen in the photo above.  As for really large dies or long, skinny border dies, those are simply standing up in a basket with all of my impression plates.  They're already fairly easy to flip thru, so I didn't need to create more storage for them.

Also, in such cases as the mat stack dies where there are multiple stamp sets that have images that coordinate with that die, you could easily write the names of the coordinating stamp sets on the back of the die pocket.

Hi-ya!  Happy Friday!  

If you've become one of the many that have fallen in LOVE with Papertrey's exclusive line of dies over the last few months, then you might be like me and in need of a better storage system for housing all of those cute little dies I keep collecting!  I've got a do-it-yourself storage solution for you that is not only easy to create but it also repurposes and reuses a few items that you may already have around your house!  I created custom die pockets in their own little file of sorts.....die pockets that let me see the dies easily as I flip thru the file, and are labeled for quick and easy reference!

Here's how.....

First off, I had to find the container that would serve as my "die file".  Now, I could certainly have gone out and bought another storage container, but I had a feeling that if I poked around the house enough, I would probably find just the right thing.  What I ended up finding was PERFECT!  We had a vintage loaf pan in the kitchen cabinet that honestly hasn't been used in years, however it is just the right size to house my little die file and will leave me with lots of room to keep adding to my collection of dies, because let's face it -- us crafters are pretty much collectors too, right?!  Haha.  

Keep in mind that if you don't happen to have a vintage loaf pan laying around your houses *wink*, you can buy a new one at lots of places like Target and Wal-mart or you could find another container that would work for you as well.  The dimensions I'll be giving you today though, fit a standard loaf pan.

So, after I'd decided on my die container, I wanted to create custom die pockets that would hold the dies and allow me to easily flip thru my collection and see everything at a glance.  That meant that I wanted to incorporate some clear card stock on the front of the pockets.  

Here's where you can be a bit 'green'!  When you buy Papertrey stamps, do you throw out the clear acetate sheets that the stamps are packaged on or do you save them thinking that just surely, some day, there will come along the perfect need for them??  Well, today is that day!  The above photo is my stash of those acetate sheets.  I've been saving them for ages because they do come in handy once in awhile.  :)

I cut down the acetate sheets to 3 3/8" x 3".  Now keep in mind that if you don't have any of those sheets on hand, you can purchase Clearly Creative card stock from Papertrey to make your pockets.  

Next, I pulled out a few sheets of card stock in colors that coordinate with the decor in my studio.  (Of course, color coordination with your surroundings is not a must -- it's just my own little quirk.  Ha.)  I cut a stack of card stock pieces, each piece measuring 3 3/8" x 4".  I was able to get 6 pocket pieces out of a single sheet of card stock.

Then, I laid a piece of clear card stock along the bottom portion of the colored card stock and stitched them together on 3 sides.  Tip: I used my two-way glue pen to add a bit of glue in the center of the bottom edge of the card stock, just to hold the acetate in place while I stitched it.

The end result is a beautiful little stack of stitched pockets just waiting to be filled! 

Now, if you don't want to sew these pockets, you could easily use a bit of scor-tape or other adhesive to hold your pockets together in place of stitching.  

As you can see, I labeled the top of each die pocket with the name of the die.  This will make it nice and easy to find dies when I'm on the hunt for a specific one, and it will make it easy to remember what the die is called when typing up supply lists.  

The dies are so easy to flip thru now and I love that there is so much room left in the loaf pan for my collection to continue to grow!  I can even make up more pockets to have on hand just waiting for new dies.  :)

Thanks so much for visiting me today!  I hope your weekend is a marvelous one!!  

xo,

 

Great Big Giveaway!

Well, dear readers, today is the first full day that the littles are here staying with us -- my niece and nephew -- ages 1 & 2.  (Heaven help me!  Hahaha!)  I have grand plans to get them out of the house and go to fun places today to wear them out where we can laugh and play and have a grand old time!  :)  I'm hoping that the rain will stay away today so that we can go to a local farm where the littles can pet the cows and bottle feed the baby goats and ride fun little pedal tractors and things like that.  We'll see if it works out.  Hint, hint, Mr. Rain.  I'd also like to take along Laverne -- the Nikon -- if the rain will cooperate, in which case, I'll be sure to share photos of our Auntie-and-the-littles adventures!

Anyway, since I'll likely be chasing kiddos all day and since I'll be brushing up on my macaroni and cheese makin' skills and since I love ya and I'm so grateful that you come visit me here and since it's Thursday and well, every Thursday worth it's salt should have a giveaway........I'm giving away a pile of goodies!

 

Giveaway includes:

1 Signature Greetings stamp set
1 Background Basics: Woodgrain stamp set
1 Signature Christmas stamp set
1 Vintage Ornaments stamp set
1 Vintage Ornaments Additions stamp set
1 bag of Papertrey's Raspberry Fizz buttons
1 package of Papertrey's Vintage Cream felt

All you have to do to be entered to win is leave a comment on this post and answer the following question: What's one thing you're grateful for today?  I'm grateful to have time with a couple of my favorite munchkins for a few days.  :)

Only one entry per person.  Contest closes Saturday, September 18 at 9pm CST.  Winner will be randomly selected and will be announced here at the blog-o.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!  I do so appreciate you.  Have a fabulous day and if you think of it, say a little prayer for some extra energy for me for the next couple of days!!  :)

xoxo,

Papertrey September Release Projects

Hi there!!  I'm back today with a few more projects from this month's release.  First up is a card featuring Wreath For All Seasons and the mat stack 4 die.  Loved creating that gradient border by having the die cuts peeking out from behind the cream card stock!  

Don't you love this color combo of pure poppy, terracotta tile and summer sunrise?

Next up is Lisa Johnson's Background Basics: Christmas paired with Becky Oehlers' Framed set.  I also pulled out Tree Trimming Trio to use with the new Christmas Tree die.  

Loved stitching buttons the to Christmas tree.  The tree is stamped in versamark ink on kraft card stock.  So soft and subtle.

 

Went a little bold with the new Year of Flowers: Morning Glories!  The patterned paper is from Lisa's new Sugar Plum collection and yes, that's another mat stack 4 die cut peeking out at the bottom.  :)

The flowers were stamped on a bit of stamper's select card stock that I die cut using the new Tag Sale #1 die.

Here are the Copics I used to color my morning glories.

 

This little happy winter card was created with Heather Nichols' new Peace Be Still set.  The border on this one was created with the Fillable Frames #4 die.

I used the two new coordinating snowflake dies to give a bit of pop to the sentiment.

 

And last but not least, Beth Silaika's new Trees With Trimmings set was used to create this cheery little Fa La La card.

 

I added some glitter and rhinestones to the trees to jazz them up a bit!

The sentiment I stamped inside the card is one from the new Inside & Out: Holiday stamp set.

Well, have you done your Papertrey shopping yet?  Is your wish list a mile long again this month?  :)  

I hope you have a fabulous day!  I'm off and running.......tonight is the night my niece and nephew are coming to stay with us.  They're 1 & 2 years old.....so yeah.....say a little prayer for me!  LOL!  They'll be with us for a few days and I'm SOOOO looking forward to some fun Auntie-time with them, but let's face it.  They're 1 and 2 years old.  They're likely to run me ragged!  Hahahaha!  So.....wish me well!  I'm sure there are some breakables I should go put away!

Toodles....

 

{Happy Fall supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, terracotta tile, orange zest, kraft, rustic cream
Stamps: Wreath For All Seasons
Ink: pure poppy, terracotta tile, orange zest, dark chocolate
Other: pure poppy, terracotta tile & orange zest buttons, rustic cream button twine, mat stack 4 die

{JOY supplies}
Paper: pure poppy, kraft, rustic cream
Stamps: Framed, Background Basics: Christmas, Tree Trimming Trio
Ink: dark chocolate, pure poppy, versamark
Other: small scallop border die, Christmas tree die, pure poppy buttons, chocolate baker's twine, pure poppy topnotch twill ribbon

{Thank You supplies}
Paper: raspberry fizz, plum pudding, stamper's select white, Sugar Plum
Stamps: Year of Flowers: Morning Glories
Ink: palette noir, true black
Other: Copic markers, Tag Sale #1 die, plum pudding saddle stitch ribbon, mat stack 4 die

{Happy Winter supplies}
Paper: rustic cream, kraft, pure poppy 
Stamps: Peace Be Still
Ink: pure poppy, dark chocolate, vintage touch tea dye
Other: fillable frames #4 die, peace be still dies, pure poppy buttons

{Fa La La supplies}
Paper: rustic cream, aqua mist
Stamps: Trees With Trimmings, Inside & Out: Holiday
Ink: hawaiian shores, versamark, vintage touch tea dye
Other: Background Basics: Diamonds impression plate, aqua mist saddle stitch ribbon, glitter, rhinestones