Message Monday

I often wonder how many people are in their own way and what the world would be in we just got moving a little.

Happy Day to You

I love looking at other people's blogs. I always find inspiration, even when I'm not planning on it. I was checking my usual blogs when I saw this cut little post by Karen Giron on her blog The Sweetest Thing.

I took the simple layout and adjusted the DSP, sentiment, and main image. I used Every Little Bit (the cute little bubblegum machine) for my main image. It was also my first time using Friendly Phrases, which I can't get enough of. I really like this card because it is simple, but makes a big statement. Thank you Karen for your amazing, creative mind.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

I went to another birthday party this weekend and I wanted to bring the birthday girl a special treat. I asked about her favorite flavors, but she told me that if it was a cupcake (any flavor) she would eat it. I decided to try something that reminds me of summer...Creamsicles.

These turned out pretty good, but I think I can make the cake part more moist. Frosting was pretty good too. I put orange slices on the regular sized cupcakes, but I made a bunch of mini cupcakes as well. My friend Kurt suggested that the mini cupcakes should have a orange gumdrop garnish. This one my be a summertime contender. Next cupcake to make...Pink Lemonade. Yes, please!

Organization Makes Me Happy

For those of you who don't really know me well, I'm an organization queen. I love to organize. I'm like my dad in that respect. Everything has a place and there's a place for everything. I'm a wee bit of a maniac about it. I do believe I have a mild case of OCD, if that's possible. I like things neat, straight, organized.

Well the other day I was cleaning out my closet. I was sorting things to keep and what to donate to Goodwill. I refolded and reorganized. My clothes are all hung up according to color. You know things that make me feel good and accomplished.

One area I don't really have a spot for is jewelry. I don't really wear a lot, so I never gave it too much attention. I decided to use some extra shower curtain hooks to make a place for my hanging jewelry. It's a nice way to have your jewelry visible and not take up dresser space, cause I just couldn't handle that. I apologize about the picture. It isn't the best photo, but I'm not a professional.

Embellish Patterned Paper Color Trends Challenge

I'm participating in another Embellish Magazine challenge this week. I've done the last two and I really like that not only do they give you a color selection, but also a trend challenge. This week's trend challenge was all about patterned paper.

I liked the idea of using up some of the packs of patterned paper (designer paper) I had lying around the house, but what I found challenging about this was not really having lots of patterned paper that fit the color selection. I found a mini patterned paper pack and an old sketch I had on my design table and away I went.

I am not the kind of person who gets all their Christmas cards done in the summer, so this stamp set pick was a little out of the ordinary. I do love Season of Joy though. It is by far one of my favorite winter stamp sets from Stampin' Up. I also turned up the scallop edge using the side of my paper piercing tool. I think it looks a little like those cute ruffled undies.

Goodies

(All products are Stampin' Up)

Paper: DSP Mini Pack, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Stamps: Season of Joy

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Satin ribbon, Glue dots, Dimensionals

Message Monday

Here's my little message for the day. I think it's funny, but I've been teaching Algebra for a couple years. Maybe it's only funny to math teachers!

Off to Minnesota

My friend, Michelle, and I will be heading to Minneapolis tomorrow for a little mini vacation before school starts in September. This is the only trip I'm taking the summer. At least as far as I know. She is from Minnesota and I've never been. We decided to take a couple day adventure.

She is calling this our trial run trip for our large European vacation next summer. I went to Europe last summer with my dad...London, Rome, Munich. It was amazing and I am excited to be going back next summer. I love it there. We are actually going to be planning some of our vacation this afternoon. So like I said, this is our trial run together.

I'll be posting some pictures when I return. Can't wait to go shopping at the Mall of America. Yeah!

Big Surprise

I was checking my e-mail today and I got a big, wonderful surprise sitting in my inbox. It was a message from the ladies at The Paper Players telling me that I (my card) was selected as one of the winners for the challenge. I was A Cut Above... I'm so excited! It's like Christmas. Now I get to put this nifty little badge on my blog.

I can't tell you how honored I am that my card was selected as one of the winners. Check out the post here. I think the reason that this is such a big surprise to me is that I was completely unsure of what I was doing on this card or if I even liked it. It was my sister's birthday card and she only deserves the best. I'm so pumped right now. Can you tell? Here's the real winner...

Delicate Doillies Friend Card

I haven't had much chance to play around with some of my new stamp sets from the new 2011-2012 Stampin' Up catalogue. This was my first opportunity to play with the new Delicate Doillies stamp set.

I've been into vintagey things lately and this is right my ally. I played along with Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #126 over at The Sweetest Thing. I really like her sketches. She has a way of making the layout simple, but detailed. I know that doesn't make much sense, but one thing is for sure. I love to use her layouts when making cards. Here's the sketch I was working with.

I used a color sheme from another favorite website called Design Seeds. The color inspiration used colors like More Mustard, Tempting Turquoise, and the very new, very cool Indigo Island. I also used Crumb Cake for the base of the card.

So here's my little beauty...I thinks I'm in love.

Baby Shower Gift & Card

This weekend my sister and I will be attending the baby shower of our cousin Alicia. This is her first child and my sister and I were excited about creating a gift together. I am a huge fan of theme baskets. I personally think it makes gift giving and buying easy. Not only that, but we wanted to create something that was useful and not necessarily just on a registery.

Since I know nothing about babies or baby stuff, I looked to my sister for guidance. She suggested a laundry basket since we all know babies are messy. Now for a cute little name for our basket. Fortunately, we borrowed the name of a Stampin' Up stamp set...Loads of Love. Cute, right?

The contents of our basket includes: All detergent (Free & Clear), package of washcloths, lingerie bag (for little people socks and such), baby hangers, Tide To-Go pen, Clorox pen for colors, Clorox Bleach pen, baby burp rags (made by me), a cute 0-3 month outfit (which end up in the laundry for sure), Wet Ones travel pack, Tide Sink Travel Packets, and a little flannel blanket for tummy time. We put all this in a basket we found at Hobby Lobby.

Here is the tag I secured to the basket. It was created with scraps of Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, and Early Espresso cardstock. It is the first time I used my sewing machine to sew paper. I love it already and I think I'm addicted. I attached a cute little lion from the Fox & Friends set.

Last, but certainly not least is the mini card I made. I like mini cards because then you don't feel like you have to write a novel inside the card. I am a little bit obsessed with this layout. (I used it on my last baby card...with the boat.) The little baby is from the All in the Family stamp set. I used Honeydew baker's twine from the Twinery.

Can't wait to give this to Alicia and Craig and see what they think. I hope they like it as much as I do. Makes me want to have a baby...well, maybe not!