'Oh, Hello' Card

I mentioned last week that my crafty mojo was gone, and had been for a while.

Well...I think it's finding its way back :)

Today's card was inspired by THIS CARD.

It gave me the perfect excuse to pull out my new 

'Oh, Hello' stamp set and put it to good use.

Have a great Monday!

Supply List (all supplies are from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Polka Dot Parade, Real Red CS, Whisper White CS, Kraft CS (non SU!), Cocoa CS (non SU!)
Ink: Real Red
Stamp: Oh, Hello
Tools: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Flourish Square punch (non SU!)

'Zoo Babies' Cards

There's nothing like sitting down to make cards, 

and having them turn out just like you pictured them in your head :)

The cards I'm sharing today were inspired by THIS CARD.  

I loved the simple layout, and knew that I could make lots of cards 

in a short amount of time.

When I was making the elephant card, I realized that I didn't have 

a scalloped circle punch large enough to layer with the 2" circle punch.  

So I made use of what punches I DO have, and came up with this fun little trick.

I punched 2 Flourish Squares like this...

And then glued them together to make a scalloped circle. 

It ended up being the perfect size for what I needed!

Love it when that happens!

Supply List: (all supplies are from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Polka Dot Parade, Rich Razzleberry CS, Old Olive CS, Basic Gray CS, Whisper White CS
Stamp Set: Zoo Babies
Ink: Basic Gray, Old Olive
Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, 2" Circle Punch (non SU!), 
2" Scalloped Circle Punch (non SU!), Flourish Square Punch (non SU!)
Other: White ribbon, White yarn 

Christmas Gift Box

No, I haven't completely fallen off the face of the earth ;)

I had every intention of doing my annual 12 Days of Christmas this year.  

Things just got too busy, and I never got around to it.  

I hope you'll forgive me!

Boxes are something that I love to make.  

Whenever I see a tutorial for a new one, especially if it's super cute, 

I always end up making at least one.

This little box measures approximately 4.5" x 2" x 1.5".

It's the perfect size for a small bottle of lotion, a few tubes of chapstick, candy, etc.

The bow on top was made using the new 

Envelope Punch Board from Stampin' Up!.  

Isn't it too cute?!

Want to make your own?

The box tutorial can be found HERE,

and HERE is a great video on making the little bow.

Have a fabulous weekend!

2013 Young Women in Excellence {Stand in Holy Places}

I've been busy the last couple of weeks planning and preparing

 for our Young Women in Excellence 

(this is a program in my church for young women ages 12-18 to celebrate 

what they've accomplished in the Personal Progress program throughout the year).  

Our theme was "Stand in Holy Places". 

 Here's a rundown of few of the things we did.

I bought THIS IMAGE of a high heel shoe made from the 8 Young Women Values.  

We used it for our invitations, in our programs, and made cupcake toppers with it.  

Here's our invitations (I loved THIS INVITATION so much that I patterned ours after it!).

I didn't get any pictures of our cupcakes with the toppers (darn!), 

but here's a few other pictures from that night.

'Stand Ye in Holy Places' printable can be found HERE.

 Value printables can be found HERE.

Our gift to the girls was these cute paper high heels filled with Hershey's Kisses.  

They were a hit!! (and a LOT of work!)  

We also gave them each a temple recommend holder 

that says "Stand Ye in Holy Places"

A close up of the cute shoes...

The printable pattern for these shoes can be found HERE.

We've got a wonderful group of girls in our ward!  

It was fun to be able to have a night to celebrate them 

and all the wonderful things they are doing!

Pumpkin Lollipop Holders

October already?

I've been itching to make something fun for Halloween, 

and these cute Pumpkin Lollipop Holders were the perfect thing 

to satisfy my crafty itch.

Here's a view from the side.

How fun are these?  

Want to make your own?

  

Directions can be found HERE,  

and the pumpkin idea came from HERE.

More DIY Magnet Boards

There are a few thrift stores in my little town, and my SIL and I 

like to go to them each week to see what treasures we can find.

Last week I found some gold trays hiding on a bottom shelf of one of the stores, 

and knew immediately what I could make with them.....more magnet boards!

These trays were gold, so I spray painted the edges a chocolate brown color 

before mod- podging scrapbook paper onto them.  

They turned out so cute!

I think there may have been a few more trays at the store....

and I'm hoping they're still there!  

My girls and I will be making more of these 

for Christmas gifts for their friends this year.

(if I can find more trays!)

Paper Purses

Do you know any ladies that are really into purses?  

I have always been a simple girl, and have never seen 

a need to own more than one very plain purse at a time.  

Until recently.  

I've discovered that having a cute purse adds a little bounce 

to my step, and am always on the lookout for another fun one 

to add to my meager collection.

So when I saw THESE CUTE PURSES from Jill's Card Creations, 

I knew I had to make a few...

These tiny purses would be a perfect gift bag for lotions, nail polish, or even some treats!

Yep.  I think I'm addicted!

{Favorite} Back to School Teacher Gift Ideas

Confession time.  

I didn't get around to making my kids' teachers Back to School gifts this year.  

Hiss....Boo!  

I'm disappointed in myself over not getting anything made, 

but figure we can make up for it later.

Since I was such a slacker this year, 

I thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane 

and share some of my favorite gifts we've given their teachers in the past.

'From the Desk of...' Gift Set

Back to School Teacher Backpacks

Back to School Box of Goodies

And here's a few that would be great Back to School teacher gifts as well...

Water Bottle Drink Tag Gift

Custom Hand Sanitizer Bottles

I haven't decided yet what I'm making the kids' teachers for this year.  

Any ideas?

'Sending You Birthday Wishes' Card

Today is our last official day of summer.  

4 of my kiddos start school tomorrow, and the boy starts kindergarten on Thursday.  

Where did the time go?  We've had a fun summer, 

but I think everyone is ready to get back on a schedule again.

Today's card was created using THIS SKETCH for inspiration.

Here's a close up shot...

Have a splendid Tuesday!

Supplies:

Paper: "Fancy Floral" & "Blissful Floral" (Echo Park 'Sweet Day' line)
Stamp: "Card Chatter- Birthday" (CTMH)

A Quick Card...

Good Morning!

I'm always on the lookout for quick cards to make, 

because let's face it, 

I don't always have the time or patience to spend more than a few minutes on a card!

Today's card was inspired by THIS ONE...

Here's a close up shot.  I used 3-D foam squares on the flowers to pop them up a bit.

Such a fun card!!  And quick to put together too!

Supplies:

Paper: Dots & Stripes (Echo Park), Kraft Cardstock, Cocoa Cardstock

Stamps: Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)

Punches: Flower punch, 1-3/8" square punch, 1/2" circle punch, corner rounder

'Thanks!' Card

Truth time.  

I love checking out 'card making challenge' blogs.  

And every week when I see the new sketches, 

I tell myself that I'm going to get a card made in time to submit it.  

But I'm always a week or two behind, it seems.

Maybe one of these days I'll get my act together.

Today's card was made using THIS SKETCH as inspiration...

I decided to add some ribbon to the top, and like how it turned out!

The stamped sentiment needed some dimension, 

so I cut out the oval section and used pop dots on it.  

You can kind of see it in this picture...

Hope you have a fabulous day!

'Happy Birthday' Card x3

I get inspiration for my cards from lots of different places, 

but Andrea Walford's style has always caught my attention.  

She makes cards that are clean and beautiful, 

and I've cased many of her creations.

Usually I'm happy with what I make when it's patterned after one of her cards, 

but that wasn't the case with this one. (Sorry, I couldn't find her card to link to!)  

After making card #1, I just wasn't happy with it and thought it needed something else.

So I tried again.  And I really wasn't happy with this one!  

If I had it to do all over, I wouldn't have added the 'birthday' sentiment like I did...

or the patterned paper behind the sentiment!

That brings me to card #3.  I added a circle behind the sentiment, 

and was mostly happy with it this time.

I think if I had it to do all over again, I would've just 

added some rhinestones to card #1.  Maybe I'll try again another day!

What about you?  

Do you ever have days when you're just not happy with what you make?

Supplies:
Paper: 'Dream Come True' (Leeza Gibbons "Wishes & Dreams")
Stamps: 'Happy Everything' (Stampin' Up!)