happy halloween, husband!

this is my first Halloween with a husband! we both like the walking dead and have a few zombie jokes so I really wanted to make him a zombie card this year. I couldn't decide if I wanted to draw one or print one or what -- then I decided to try to make one with my paper doll cricut cart. here is what I came up with...

I made the eyes and mouth myself as there weren't a lot of creepy zombie options in the cartridge. then I used red stickles for the blood. the front says "bwaaaains" and the inside says "is zombie for 'I love you".

 I also made him a treat bag like I did for many of our family members. of course his was the biggest!

I covered it with glow in the dark spider web. I cut the rings off the bat rings and glued them to the front of the bag. he loved his card and treat bag!

hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!

happy halloween!

Boo!!! it is Halloween once again! this year I made cute little treat bags from my cricut and filled them with candy (as my niece kaylie said -- the good stuff)
i made 3 different sizes in different shades of orange. each has a different Halloween image stamped on the front and they all are covered in glow in the dark spider webs! i hooked plastic bat rings around the handle and hung nametags from there. this was a fun project that took hardly any time at all.

hope you enjoy! have a safe and happy Halloween!

made with love (and paper) project #31

hello there crafty friends and followers. I have once again made it upstairs from my studio to post some of the things I have been making. this project was created for my design team *made with love (and paper)*
project #31
when: july, 2014
theme: fun folds
requirements: create any kind of project and incorporate some fun/different folding techniques.

not long ago I was taking some personal time to waste on pinterest and I came across an adorable gift box. unlike many projects I pin or mark in magazines I did not immediately forget about this one so the next day I got to work on creating.

this was a trial run so I did not use any pretty papers, which I plan on doing next time around. the best part of  this oven, to me and my fiancé, is the burners. it was pretty hilarious that I have had these swirl brads for years and every time I want to add them to a card or scrapbook page I comment on how they look too much like stovetop burners. HA!

so this was my 30th birthday gift to me - spending time making something pretty and keeping it just for myself.

 

click here for the tutorial and to give the creator of this gift box a huge compliment - amazing!

some recent cards...

wow.....my last post was in may! well I didn't even share my father's day cards so I better get them posted now! plus the other few I have completed in the last month. it has been so hectic but what's new?!?

vintage typewriter: this is the card that I gave my fiancé from all our furry babies. his favorite color is blue so that was my inspiration. I also saw a card in an old paper-crafting mag that had a typewriter with a word bubble and really liked that idea.

vintage truck: this card was for my fiancé's stepdad. I don't often use blue in my creations -- must have been inspired! all the father's day cards this year had a significant amount of blue in them!

this card was for my stepdad. the inside said "'t' is for terry...and thank you."

 

I gave my dad a small journal and wrote in the inside cover so I did not make a card for him this year.

we were invited to a graduation party this year and although we were unable to attend I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try a fun new folding card I had never made before. the school colors are purple and gold so I wanted to incorporate those. here is the link for the tutorial on how to make this super cute card.  

 

hedgehog birthday: for my stepdad

angel birthday: for my friend and design team member, krista

elephant birthday: for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Janie

tim holtz 12 tags of 2014 -- may

it has been a couple of months since I have participated in the 12 tags of 2014. as I was going through my stash of goodies I was really drawn to things with bright, cheery colors. I decided to do something along the lines of spring / summer. things that make me happy. here is what I came up with:

I used picked raspberry, salty ocean, and squeezed lemonade distress paints for the background. then I used those same colors in ink for the edges of all the collage pieces. most of the pieces are stickers. the deer and the cupcake are the puffy stickers which I love! both of those images make me smile! :) hope you enjoy. thanks for looking!
check out tim's 2014 may tag here

emma's first year

one of my soon-to-be sisters-in-law is a soon-to-be mommy and today was her baby shower. unfortunately, we do not live close enough for me to go but we sent her gifts (of course!) and one was a handmade album for Emma's first year. there are 12 pages that each hold a 4x6 photo and feature a different animal from the create a critter cart. there are also pockets on the inside of the front and back cover, as well as slide outs between the pages with more pockets and little journaling cards. this was so fun to make and I hope Emma, and her parents, love it!!!

 I put little sticky tabs so it is easier to add photos. just peel of the blue pieces and stick them on! :)

 the pieces that overlap the photo mattes are not glued down so the pictures can slide right behind them.

here are all the pullouts with pockets. some of the journaling cards say things like "the things I love" and "remember when..." for the last page so they can reflect on the first year of Emma's life!

The End.

birthday cards!!!

every time I make a card / project I take a picture of it with the intention of posting it for all to see. So far this year I have made quite a few birthday cards and have yet to post any so here they all are:

 for my fiancé's mom. the inside says: "another year wiser".

for my fiancé's stepdad. really like this bird embossing folder!

for our nephew conner -- love that monkey background paper -- they have boomboxes :)

 this was for my aunt -- made a fry box instead of a card and filled with dove chocolates and a starbucks giftcard.

this card was for my sisters bday. I love that stamp so much so I used it again for my friend (and maid of honor!) Amanda who's birthday was just a couple of weeks later.

 

  this card was for my dad. the inside says: "when we were all a little younger...and TV was free".

 birthday card for friend and coworker. has a pocket on the inside to tuck giftcards in to.

birthday card for friend and design team member desiree. I used my distress ink pads with a paintbrush tip to color in the stamp. so fun and whimsical!!

 

happy valentine's day!

this is our first and only year as an engaged couple so every little holiday and event is exciting! but planning a wedding takes a lot of time and money so we decided to not give gifts this valentine's day. WELL ~~ I saw the CUTEST thing on pinterest the other night and I KNEW I had all the supplies needed so my sweetheart got a little gift after all! <3

i painted the heart red and then used fine red glitter to cover. i also covered some areas in red stickles then glued it to the chalkboard which i painted white and then teal and sanded. i used my distress paint dabber with alphabet stamps for the "i love you because..." so now we can just fill in whatever we want with chalk. like this:

 and wouldn't you know -- he did a little something for me too! flowers and a card. happy valentine's day!

this was my inspiration:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/74590937552685668/