Happy Bouquet

Happy Monday Folks!  We are enjoying some time up in Maine this week with the fam, so for me it is a happy start to the week. :)

I've switched from all those sun related creations of the last couple weeks back to my daisy obsession. LOL!  I managed to find one lone package of the old style of Wilson cupcake doilies.  I wish they had kept this design.  I'm not a big fan of the new version I've had to get at JoAnn's and Michael's. :(

This card gave me a good excuse to ease myself back into using my copics again.  I realized I haven't used them much lately and the book I am reading with my tutoring student got me back into them.  The main character likes to draw and just got a new package of colored pencils- the large pack- and she was so excited to have so many colors it got me thinking about all the colors of copics I have been ignoring.  A little wonky on my lines when you look up close, but overall I like the final product.

Have a great week peeps!

Walden Pond circa 2004

Oh my goodness where have the last 2 weeks gone?!?  I was all set to share this layout with y'all last week, but life totally got in the way.  Sorry about that! 

Today is an awesome day to share this layout.  It is a magically perfect summer day.  70's with a light breeze and fantastically low humidity.  The kinda day where you can wear whatever you like and not be too hot or too cold. :)  Kinda like the autumn day when this pictures were taken by our friend Jeff.  He took the pictures at our wedding and each year since he has taken pictures of us. :)  His photography skills are spectacular and can be seen in their glory on his wife's blog Olives for Dinner.

When I saw the background paper it made me think of this photo shoot.  I knew I was going to have to actually put together a 12x12 layout- and for a change I didn't take forever to do it!!! :D  I'm also crushing on all things nautical, so I was thrilled to finally use the dies I got from MFT (an embarrassingly long time ago!)

What have you gotten accomplished lately that make you proud of yourself?  Don't say nothing!  I know you have done something fabulous big, or small, that made you happy with yourself.  Share it below.  I love inspiration!!!

A French Read

Happy Monday!  Today I have my last Graphic 45 French Country creation to share with you. :)  When I was down at The Cape last week we were talking about reading, 'cause of course teachers LOVE to read, and who reads in a book vs. kindle/iPad app.

All that talk got me thinking about how I need a new bookmark!  I've been tutoring this summer and the books we are reading together are all hardcopy rather than electronic.  Good excuse to whip out my goodies and create this little gem.

When I showed my husband what I made his response was "Wow!  That seems too nice for a book."  Well my response "Nothing is too nice for a book!". *smile*

Grab some goods to make your own page marker:
Graphic 45 French Country- Abundance
Graphic 45 Signature Cardstock- Bon Voyage
Graphic 45 French Country- Flowers
Graphic 45 French Country-Tags

Happy Sunshiny Day!

I'm on a "sun" theme these last couple weeks huh?  Today is a throwback post.  Remember this card I made for my retiring co-worker?  Remember I said I made another version of this card 'cause there were so many people who wanted to write messages?  Remember I said I would share that other card- a MONTH AGO??  Well, finally.  Hope you like it. ;)

I used the same sketch for both cards 'cause I like to see how different colors and patterns can change the feel of a sketch.  Hope you don't mind.  I'm cutting this post short as it is late and I still need to pack for The Cape.  It's our annual girls-mid-week-summer-get-together so I'm trying to get a couple posts ready for y'all while I'm gone. 

Have a fantastic Wednesday!  I'll be back Friday with a *gasp* LAYOUT.  Yup, I finished a scrapbook page!  :D

Happy Birthday with Graphic 45!

Good Morning Everyone!  As you read this I am on my way to enjoy some gal pal time at The Cape.  Have no fear though because I have an easy 'n fun tutorial for you today! :)  It's a birthday themed set which seems appropriate since today is my FIL- Don's birthday and 2 teacher pals birthday's as well!

 Here's another peek at Graphic 45's French Country line that inspired this card set. :) 
 

 I started with cutting some yellow cardstock 4 1/16" X 3 5/16".  Then I cut the Sunflower paper 2 1/2" X 3 7/8", the Deja Vu paper  2 1/4" X 3 7/8", and the Rendezvous paper 1 1/2" X 3 7/8".

 I layered everything leaving a 1/8" yellow border.  In retrospect, I probably didn't need to make the middle layer quite as big because I covered a good chunk of it with the bottom clock paper.  Oh well. :)

Next I cut 4 pieces of burlap ribbon about 4 inches each.  I added score-tape to the back of each one 'cause I've had the best luck with score-tape and burlap ribbon. :)

After adhering the burlap ribbon to the card fronts I set about getting the sentiments ready.  I used a couple of dies to cut more of the yellow paper & some cream, layered them together, added a sentiment, blinged them up, and foam taped them on the cards.  I adhered each one to a cream card base with some score-tape.  Now everything is ready to sign 'n send!!


Goodies used to create this set:
Tim Holtz - Distress Card Stock- Straw
Graphic 45- French Country- Sunflower
Graphic 45- French Country- Deja Vu
Graphic 45- French Country- Rendezvous
My Minds Eye- Sweetest Thing- Enamel Dots
Mon Ami Gabby- Burlap Ribbon- Green


Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Rays of Sunshine

Hiya Peeps!  Happy Monday!  Hope you had a relaxing weekend.  On Saturday I taught a new 5x5 class and had a great time with a wonderful group of gals.  I'm already thinking about another one after seeing all the CHA releases this past week.  Totally crushing on a bunch of the new lines for Halloween and Christmas.  It's gonna be so hard to wait for them to become available for purchase!!!!!  Well, in the meantime I dug into my current stash (gotta make room for the new stuff) to create this ray card.  Have you made one?  They are so fun!

I knew I wanted to make this card have lots of eye candy so I pulled out my chipboard stickers, dies, ribbon, and enamel dots.  These colors make me think of lemonade on the porch on a summer evening.  Ah, the idea of being able to sit outside tonight is exciting!  The humidity has finally broken and we may get the chance to eat dinner outside tonight and enjoy that lemonade too. :)

I'm getting ready to head down to the Cape tomorrow to meet up with friends and get our craft, beach, shopping, and fabulous eats on!  Each summer a group of us get together to catch up and have fun.  Some years we make cards, some times its jewelry and sometimes we just end up looking at ideas for both!  LOL!  This year we are going to make a few Christmas cards for our craft and we get to catch up with a fellow teacher who retired 2 years ago- so we've got lots to catch up on!!

No worries though.  I'm leaving you with a tutorial post for tomorrow and a couple of other fun posts.  Have a great week and stay tuned!

Sunshine

Well, it is hot!  Ridiculous, South Carolina in August with full on humidity that steams the wrinkles out of your face hot.  But I'm not in South Carolina anymore, I'm in Massachusetts!  I moved back to the North to get away from this.  Oh well.  Nothing to be done about it, so I'm gonna enjoy some time in Blogland instead. ;)  Truth be told, this ribbon is helping me cool off.  It reminds me of creamsicles, which also make me think of dream pops.  Have you ever had a dream pop?  Vanilla ice cream covered in fruity popsicle.  Delicious!!!  Perfect for these hot, hot days we've been having.

Hard to believe that only months ago we were buried under snow.  Of course next winter when we are again buried under snow and freezing we won't believe we had 110 degree (with heat index) days.  So should I think of the sparkly bling as ice or water droplets to help with my thinking cool thoughts?  Or maybe they are bits of melted popsicles.  I think the number of times I have mentioned popsicles means I need to go buy some! LOL!
  

 

Eeek!  This card is so stinkin' cute!  It's so happy with a girly sophistication.  This is the first card I've made with a flair.  Gotta say, I understand what all the fuss is about. ;)  They are so much fun to play with, especially when they have fun sayings like this one.  It's great for birthday, thank you, or this one could even be a tongue-and-cheek get well card!

Heading out for popsicles and on the way I'm stopping at these fun places:

Cardabilities- Sketch 79
Creative Inspirations- Inspired by ribbon and bling

Stay Frosty!