Saturday, June 30, 2012

Happy 4th of July


Here's a simple yet fun idea to give as a hostess gift for your Fourth of July celebrations.
Start with a mason jar, fill with blue sand, add a candle, then finish off by tying a bell and fabric to jar. Tie another piece of fabric to handles on the gift bag, add a couple of stickers, write Happy 4th and add red glitter. Easy peasy!


Saturday, June 2, 2012

Wheatfield Lane

 There are several things that I've missed about our last house. It's only been three months now since the move. And we have done a ton of work to the new house to make it feel like home!!! 
These are just a few of the things I miss the most...

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I miss my tile shower!!!
It was the most difficult project! I bought the tile at least a year before convincing Chad to help me rip out the little fiberglass shower stall to tile it. We were on vacation the week of Parker's 4th birthday. I planned the entire week out, what steps we needed to accomplish everyday. Things were going according to plan. We removed the shower stall, made the custom shower pan, and laid the travertine mosaic tile floor and waited two days before we were to start the walls. The pre-mixed grout we were sold did not dry! OMG it did not dry!!! The product we were specifically sold for tiling our bathroom shower did not dry after 2 whole days! A minimum of 24 hours was recommended. We waited 2 whole days! Chas was so angry! I cried because I wanted a tile shower so badly and the project was going down hill fast! We were no longer on schedule. I had to scrap it all out and scrub that new concrete shower pan, hoping that I would not have to break out the shower pan and start all over!!! Chad did not want to even start this project and hated it from the word go! After all the drama it turned out totally fabulous! It was at least foot wider and 18 inches deeper. It was amazing just how much more room we had in that same space. Look at the tile all the way to the ceiling, how perfect the tile was along the wall, how beautifully Chad finished the chair rail next to it!
I miss my tile shower! I can hardly wait to convince him to do it again in our new home :)

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Another detail I miss is the picture frame he made around the mirrors. I know Chad will do it again soon, after some of the bigger projects are finished.
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I really miss the tile in my last kitchen. I swear I fell in love with the house because of the tile! I just loved the color! Yes brown really is my favorite color. It had the most fabulous shades of brown and terracotta in it! Chad put in the under counter lighting in. I had no idea just how much I would love it until it was done!
For my Mother's Day gift he put under counter lighting in my new kitchen. Love it!!!
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I'm lucky Chad is so talented! Doesn't this built in look great!
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It was actually a secret door to our attic space! It looked so ridiculous before with a tiny door in the middle of the wall! He built the shelf and put it on a piano hinge with a hidden latch.

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I miss everything about our back yard! The fountain was my very first Mother's Day present! Chad did such an incredible jib building it for me! I planted daffodils, red tulips, tiger lilies and variegated monkey grass all around it. The sound of the water was so soothing!

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I miss the pergola Chad built and that lush green grass!

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The deck really was set up for entertaining with the hot tub, fireplace all the seating and the bar. Chad is really missing his bar! He's missing having a refrigerator outside. I give it 2 months tops before he builds another! Now that it's getting crazy hot outside I'm missing the hot tub! We would cool it down during the summer and treat it like a pool. Great summer tunes like Bob Marley playing, the cool water with the jets,  Parker playing with his pirate ships.

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And finally this is what Parker is missing the most. The play fort Chad built for Parker's second birthday.

It was a good neighborhood and a great home. We did so much work there that I guess we needed another project! Ha!  I'm sure these were a few of the reasons it sold within a week! We have so many fond memories from there. It was the home we lived in when Parker was born. He started kindergarten while we lived there.

I look forward to making many more great memories in our new home! I'll post some of our progess soon :)

I'm sharing this with Tatertots and Jello,  Classy Clutter and Passionately Artistic.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Polka Dots

Polka Dots are the theme for this week's challenge at Papercraft Star.
I started my card with kraft cardstock and used a corner rounder on 3 corners. Next I used a scalloped border punch from Stampin' Up! with brown cardstock. The bitty yellow Polka dot paper came from Papertrey Ink. The two shades of pink paper with tiny heart "polka dots" also came from Stampin' Up! I used the fancy label punch from SU! and hand cut the heart. The sheer brown polka dot ribbon came from Close  To My Heart. I used Liquid pearls along the scalloped border. I could not seem to get the right lighting to photograph the heart, but I used Liquid Glass all over it. It has a lovely reflective surface.
I can hardly wait to see what you create with Polka Dots! I am totally confident the other designers will inspire you too! Our sponsor The House Across the Bay has so many fabulous digital images in the shop and each week the winner gets to pick a couple, plus the runner up wins one as well! Come play along in the fun!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Bonjour

The challenge this week at Papercraft Star is to include something French.
I immediately thought of the Eiffel Tower. Some of the other ideas that had come to mind was the classic blue and white toile patterns, lace, fluer de lis, and words like Merci Beaucoup.

I started with kraft cardstock then layered it with black cardstock and White Grunge Squares 139 from our sponsor The House Across The Bay.
 I probably printed this square about six months ago, and until now could not decide how to use it. I also finally inked up the Eiffel Tower, Fluer de Lis and Bonjour stamp. It was probably only 5 years ago I bought them! lol Yep, I'm guilty of hoarding beautiful papers and buying fabulous stamps that go unused for weeks, months or even years at a time. Well this lil' ol' blog o' mine is my Crafters Anonymous. I'm addicted!
 I randomly stamped Bonjour all over the background paper. I used Soft Suede ink to stamp the Fluer De Lis on the strip of kraft cardstock. I used more Soft Suede ink with the script and postmark rubber stamp from MSE! Over that I used black ink to stamp the Eiffel Tower. I used a punch from EK Success to cut out the image, then layered it with black cardstock. I stamped Bonjour on ivory cardstock, used an oval punch from Stampin' Up! and layered it with black cardstock. I used a pair of scissors to lightly distress the edges.
Voila!
I can hardly wait to see what you and the other designers come up with!
I'm sharing my card with The Kraft Outlet. 
Supplies:
Digital image "White Grunge Squares 139" from The House Across The Bay
Bonjour, Fluer De Lis, Eiffel Tower stamps, Oval Punch and Soft Suede Ink from Stampin' Up!
Postmark / Script stamp from MSE!
Fancy Label punch from EK Success

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Cheers To You

The challenge this week at Papercraft Star is umbrellas.
It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do. I was originally thinking April Showers. But I don't have a single umbrella stamp. Hmmm what's a girl to do. Then the light bulb came on...a cocktail umbrella!
The fun red polka dot paper, fruit stamps and sentiment are from Stampin' Up! I'm sure all long retired, because I think I've had them for a good 5 or 6 years. Yep, I did it. I finally did it. I cut some of that paper I hoard and finally inked up a stamp I just had to have years ago! YAY! It was a bit over due! Lol
The glass was made from vellum paper that I inked up to have some yellow color. I used some scor-tape to add the salt  glitter to the glass and envelope. I used one of my son's bendy straws and a cocktail umbrella to finish off my fruity drink. Ta da!
Victorian Women ATC Digital Collage ACEO Backgrounds Vintage Digital Collage 2.5 x 3.5 Vintage Victorian Images Tags Card  170
So I can hardly wait to see your take on the theme of umbrellas!
 Our sponsor The House Across The Bay has some fabulous digital images like Victorian Women 170 that would be perfect for this week's challenge! You have until 6 am Eastern time on Monday to share your talent and possibly win some digital images from The House Across The Bay!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

You Rock

This week at Papercraft Star the theme is Anything Goes!!!
I used several digital images from our sponsor The House Across The Bay to make my card.



The base of my card is kraft cardstock. I enlarged the blue stripe from Patriot Squares 138. Above that is Leaf Green grosgrain ribbon from Papertrey Ink. I punched a blue star from Crayola Grunge Nine 024 set and layered over a round tag from Grunge Tags 048. I used a label punch on another tag from Grunge Tags 048 and stamped "You Rock!". I'm thinking it was from Stampin' Up! I love the color combination and masculine feel. It's fun mixing up all the digital images to create something unique!
I can hardly wait to see your creations this week, Anything Goes!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Happy Easter

This weeks theme at Papercraft Star is Easter - include a bunny, chick or egg.
Easy right! Come play along with us! I love to see what you make! You have until 6am Eastern time Monday to link up your project. All of the designers have totally different styles which makes it so fun!
For the challenge I made a simple punch art tag using round and oval punches. I love the google eyes on the bunny. The eggs are made with digital images from our sponsor The House Across The Bay. The pink stripe is from  Elegant Stripes 181, the blue and purple is from Feeling Blue 053. The "Happy Easter" stamp is from MSE! The ribbon, twine, cardstock and tag were all from my stash.
Can you believe the color and blooms on my azalea!?! I can hardly wait to hide eggs for Parker this year!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Happy Spring

Happy Spring!
The challenge this week at Papercraft Star is Spring! Come play along with us for a chance to win some digital downloads from our sponsor The House Across The Bay!
The daffodil center of this card was repurposed from another card. I love the soft shades of yellow and the hints of glitter that it has. The Black Damask is decorative tape from Tapeswell. The New Leaf green satin ribbon is from Papertrey Ink. The base is Barely Banana cardstock from Stampin' Up!
It's time for a picnic!
I found a plain unfinished wood serving tray and spray painted it white. Next I added Tapeswell's Black Damask Tape to decorate the tray. I just love it!!! I added the tape to the bottom of a plain glass plate I found at The Dollar Tree. I also made the napkin ring and decorated the glass vase. Aren't my daffodils pretty! I just love spring. It's time to enjoy some beautiful weather by having a picnic!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Kindness

This week the challenge at Papercraft Star is Green. I had so many ideas about this one rolling around in my head on this one...golf, recycling, another St. Patty's Day creation. But alas my office is not yet unpacked and organized from our move. Sad face. So I'm sharing a card I made sometime ago. I love the sentiment "Kindness comes in many forms but always from the heart". One of the things I love the most about Papercraft Star is the kindness of the other Designers. I also love just how different all of us are as Paper Crafters! We all have totally different styles. So inspiring! I hope you will come play along this week. Our sponsor The House Across The Bay has so many wonderful digital images! The winner gets to pick two and the runner up gets to pick one from the shop! You have until 6am Eastern time Monday to play along.
Supplies:
Large Tag Punch and Extra Large Tag Punch from Stampin' Up!
Stampsets from Stampin' Up! (retired sorry I can not remember their names)
Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip Ink and cardstock from Stampin' Up!
Ribbon and brads from stash

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Lucky Me

The challenge this week at Papercraft Star is St Patrick's Day - Lucky. I hope you will show off your green! You have until 6am Eastern time Monday to come play along. You could win some digital downloads from our sponsor The House Across The Bay.  
I made the cute little leprechaun with a scalloped circle punch, hole punch and google eyes. His hat and mustache were cut by hand. The background stamp was created from a retired jumbo wheel from Stampin' Up! I also hand cut the hat shaped card. The clover was created with another retired stamp from Stampin' Up! I bought them so many years ago that I'm not sure of the name, I'm thinking Lucky Me?

I'm so happy to have Internet access again! When I logged into my email I had over 600 emails! Most were email updates from blogs or companies that I love. Things have not gone quite as smoothly with our move as we had hoped. No major issues, just adjusting to change. We almost have finished painting all the rooms on the first floor. Yay! It's starting to feel like our home. We still have unpacking to do and pictures to hang.  I've gotten the important rooms like the kitchen and bathrooms fairly organized.  At this point it looks like it will be another couple of weeks before my craft room gets touched :(
 It will be so awesome when it's done though!!!

Supplies:
Google eyes
Scalloped Circle Punch
Hole Punch
Clover Stamp and Jumbo Wheel Stamp from Stampin' Up!
Cardstock and Ink from Stash