Where, Oh Where Has October Gone?

I really can't believe October is almost through.
I'm so sad...it went far too quickly!

Where are those crisp and sunny Fall days? You know, the ones that start with foggy mornings, reminding you of waiting for the school bus in the morning?

Watching the leaves change into a rainbow of colors has been such a delight - what a beautiful reminder of God's creative goodness. Thank you Lord, for creating such beauty!

I just wish it would've lasted a little longer...half of them are already on the ground & I haven't taken a picture yet! :(

I found some pictures on my computer and realized...these are almost a month old & I haven't shared them yet!  Here are a few of my faves to share from our trip to a local pumpkin farm...which will have to suffice for Fall pics, this year. Maybe next year I'll get those coveted Fall foilage pics! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Mom's Vitamins...and More

So, remember the baby shower that I co-hosted awhile back?
The one I crazily made 21 adorable baby onsie invites for?

Well, the crafting didn't stop there, lol.

First....whatever could this be?

Oh, you want to know?  You want to see the rest of it?
Okey-dokey. :)

Hmmmm....still not making sense?

How bout now?

Ha ha...I just love the ditty on this bottle of "Mom's Vitamins".

I've done these shower gift/game bottles before
(found online eons ago). So fun!

Attendees guess how many M&Ms are in the bottle, and the closest one wins a prize.
Sadly, the bottle is not the prize - nope, it goes to the new mom. ;-)

***

Do you want to see more?  OK, I'll show you.

I made this little coaster scrapbook titled:
"Mom to Mom"
Each attendee wrote their bit of wisdom on a page.

It's not my handwriting...it's a computer font. :)

Look close at the buttons....see the thread?

It's actually cardstock - made to match the colors used in the book!

Well, that's all for today....hope you enjoyed the gift ideas!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

For All You Do...A Gift Set

I made a gift set this summer for a Stampin' friend of mine, a customer-turned-friend...

She's a real sweetheart of a gal, more than I could ever ask for.
I'm so thankful God brought her into my life!

The stamp set I used here is Stampin' Up's "For All You Do."
The colors are from the Designer Paper that I fell in love with the minute I saw it: Cottage Wall.

Here's the inside view of the notecard set with folder & matching pen:

The Small Print :
(All SU! except for envelopes)
Stamps: For All You Do
Cardstock: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Cottage Wall DSP (front & pen)
Ink: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon, RSVP pen, Eyelets, Envelopes

Thank you for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Wonderful You

Another one of those simple cards made recently....
Seriously. Wonderfully, SIMPLE. Yet it makes a nice statement.

PERFECT for a guy! :)

Well, it could be for a gal too...but for some reason, this card screams "guy".

Maybe because it says "For My Wonderful Brother"
Hmmm...yeah, that could be it. ;-)

I made this card for another brother (yes, I have 2), because, well...sometimes I just like to send someone a card!  You don't need to know all the deets, mostly because mentioning stuff like this is probably embarassing enough to them, lol. :)

Anyways...here it is! A clean and simple card for you to try out:

The Small Print (All Stampin Up!)

Stamps: Wonderful Favorites
Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Garden Green DSP
Ink: Garden Green, Basic Black
Accessories: Lg. star punch, Silver brad, Dimensionals, Stampamajig

NOTE: Using the "Wonderful Favorites" set is so fun - there are so many options! It comes with two big words: "Wonderful" & "Favorite"....then there are a bunch of little stamps you can add to make it say what you want to! :) The stampamajig (yes, that's the real name) makes it possible to align them whichever way you'd like! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Clean, Simple....and Hoarding

In the last two weeks, I've made a TON of new cards for display at my Open House, losing count around 40.  Sheesh... I'm craving simplicity now!

Here's a great way to use those wonderful, glorious paper scraps.

Yes, I keep my paper scraps. ALL of them.
Well....maybe not if they're smaller than 1/2 my pinky finger. ;-)

"Hello, my name is Crystal, and I'm a paper-hoarder"

Why? Well, it's simple:  because I might use them someday! :-)
I seriously DO get excited when I use scraps on a card.  I think because it means it was worth keeping, and I didn't "waste" it by throwing it away!  Maybe that's the bit of Dutch in me. lol ;-)

Does that not speak simplicity?
Think of all the cards you could make just by changing the DSP!
LOVE it!!

The small print (all Stampin' Up):
Stamps: Oval All
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop and large oval punches, Chocolate chip ribbon, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

You can DO it!

This is one of those clean & simple cards I made this summer....which I thought appropriate to share now. :)

My brother is in the midst of those awful CPA tests...you know, study real hard, drive a ways to take it, get through it, find out 6 weeks later how well you did, etc...

Well, he found out (right before his wedding - whew!) that he passed the most recent section, so I made him this card to celebrate the achievement.

Hee hee...I just love the sentiment, from SU's " Full of Life" set.
Just a little something to make him laugh.

He's been studying again....and is taking the next one tomorrow....
GOOD LUCK, BROTHER!!!!!  You can DO it!!!
(I'm only embarassing you b/c I love you.) ;-)

The Small Print (all Stampin' Up)
Inspiration: Lateblossom on SCS...made mine a bit more simple/masuline?
Stamps: Full of Life, Seeing Stars
Cardstock: Whisper White
Ink: Crushed Curry
Accessories: Large & small star punches, dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

Monday, Monday....

I don't know about you, but I actually look forward to Mondays.

It's a day for me to "get back to it."  Over the weekend, the laundry, dishes, & clutter tend to pile up.  Most of it seems to happen on Sunday...why IS that?  I suppose that other than getting up & going to church in the morning, maybe it's that I just feel plain lazy on Sundays.  Well, plus I've got 5 & 3 year old girls...so, the place just gets a little messy.  There - I've admitted it. ;-)

But then Monday morning arrives, and it's like a fresh start!  I dig into that mountain of laundry, unload and reload the dishwasher, clean up clutter, and more...ahhh...I just love Mondays!  I feel so productive! lol

Now, this week may be a slight exception to that love of Mondays.  Why?  Because my Annual Stampin' Up! Open House is this coming weekend.

So, what does that matter, you ask? 

I'll tell you. :)  Those that know me well, know that I get a little stressed the week of my Annual Open House.  Ha ha ha!  I'm usually in a crafting frenzy.  A lot of "finishing up" - trying to complete all those samples I've been creating, figure out the free Make & Takes, door prizes, plan/make food, clean, etc...I put way too much pressure on myself...but once the people are here enjoying themselves, I LOVE it!! :)

That being said....I am not afraid.  I can make it through this week, because Christ strengthens me.  Though this Monday means the start of a crazy week....it also means getting back on track! :)

So Monday, Monday, I embrace you wholeheartedly!

Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Grocery Store Bliss

I'll bet you've never thought of those three words in the same sentence, am I right?

Well, I'm here to tell you that it CAN happen! :)

This morning, I went to the grocery store - by MYSELF!!!  Yay!

It wasn't:
Simultaneously unloading kids, locking van, watching for cars, & keeping kids closeby...
Kids arguing about which grocery cart to take...
Kids running off ahead of me, or stepping in front of people...
Kids taking things off the shelf or asking about getting things...

It was:
Taking care of only myself.
Quiet.  Wow, not many shoppers on a Saturday morning...ahh...
Calm...is there a smile on my face??!
People smiling and saying good morning to each other...were they on a blissful adventure, too?

Now, don't get me wrong.  I LOVE my kids, soooo very much. I can't imagine my life without them.  They're my joy, and they're actually pretty well-behaved.  :)

However, sometimes I just need a break once in awhile.  I struggle with the fact that it may be selfish to need that, but I've also come to this realization:  In order for me to be a good mommy, I need to recharge my mommy batteries once in awhile.

Even if it's just a trip to the grocery store for 45 minutes. :)


Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

You're Grrrrreat!

Here are a couple of camping-related thank you cards I made this summer.

We had some sweet people involved in our camping trips this year, and I wanted to make sure they knew we appreciated them.

I knew EXACTLY which stamp set I wanted to use: "Under The Stars" (Stampin' Up!).  There are two versions, because I was just having so much fun! lol

I stamped main image on SU's watercolor paper, then colored it in with SU's markers and aquapainter.  Ahhhh..I just love watercoloring...it's so relaxing!

Check out the two versions below....hee hee....and check out the last pic too (inside). :)

And inside...

Well, what do you think?  Fun, no?  The marshmallow on the S'more is actually puffy! :)

The small print (all Stampin' Up)
Idea: casegj on SCS...I just changed a few things

Stamps: Under The Stars, Lovely As A Tree

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, More Mustard, watercolor

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Brown Stazon

Accessories: Stampin' write markers, Aquapainter, RHred taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by, and have a Grrrrreat Day! :)

Crystal

Happy Birthday, Dude!

I made this card for my brother's birthday.  I really love how it turned out...perfect for a guy's summer birthday!  I made the layout simple, kept the colors to a masculine minimum. ;-)  Oh, and btw, he doesn't say "dude" all the time or anything...I just like that title for this image! lol

The main image (Extreme Surfboard from Stampin' Up!) is embossed in black...there's some sponging around edges, and the inside...well, scroll down to see the inside! :)

Inside, it's a pop-up money holder!  Super-fun, no? :)

The Small Print (all Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Extreme Surfboard, Four Square
Ink: Black craft, Basic Black & Kiwi Kiss classic
Cardstock: Basic Black, Basic Grey, Basic White, Kiwi Kiss textured, Urban Garden DSP
Accessories: Black brads, Black EP, Embossing buddy, Dimensionals, Sponges, Hobby blade, Circle, square & scalloped square punches
Technique: Embossing

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

Wedding Wishes

Continuing in the wedding theme...
To be honest, it's not one of my favorites (I liked the shower card better!, lol).  That's okay though...the words on the outside and inside are what matters most, right? :)

I continued on with the dark puple & swirls theme...as seen below!  The stamp set used is "God's Blessings" from Stampin' Up...I really love this set.  Sometimes the inside of a handmade card is a struggle, and this set is perfect for that!  With beautiful sentiments for all sorts of occasions, it's one of my go-to's! :) 

The small print
Stamps: God's Blessings
Cardstock: Whisper White, Dk. purple, Amethyst
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swirls EF, Large oval punches, Bridal confetti flowers, Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

A Wedding Shower Cake

The next little while, I'll be sharing some fave cards I made over the summer. This way I can continue on my current projects, and not post them until it's safe to do so.  (Meaning, I've given them away)  ;-)

This first one is the card I made for my sister-in-law for a wedding shower.  Their wedding color was a dark purple (lapis?)...so I tried to incorporate that in this card.  This is one of those simple "looking" cards...and for the most part it was.  The hardest part was getting those cake layers proportioned how I wanted! lol

The small print - all Stampin' Up!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Vintage Violet, Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Big Shot, Little Leaves sizzlit
Non-SU: Bridal confetti flowers, Pearl strings, Cuttlebug, Swirls EF,

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

Farewell, September...

I flipped the calendar page this morning...

It's a bittersweet moment, to be honest. September was a SUPER-busy month for us, yet it was filled with so many WONDERFUL blessings, I'm also sad to see it go! lol

I sent off my oldest to Kindergarten...with that, came a plethora of "firsts" and new things...making lunches, riding the school bus, milk $, school pictures, Jog-A-Thon...and so much more.

My youngest turned 3...weren't we taking her home from the hospital just yesterday? Now she's talking our ears off, testing her limits, AND making us laugh, too. I still try to cuddle her from time to time, if she lets me. ;)

My baby brother got married...what a sweet moment in our lives. Each in our little family was involved, and in the moments leading to that special occasion, I saw a glimpse of how much they love each other, and what a solid, sweet Christian gal she is. So happy for them! :)

My hubby was insanely busy with fieldwork. Chopping grass, then corn, then grass again...we are SOOO happy to have him back!! :)

September was unseasonably warm. The girls & I slept in a tent in the backyard for the first time ever! :) It also brought sunflowers to our yard for the first time...yes, we planted a little late. ;-) It's been a joy to watch as my daughter planted, cared for, and watched them grow!

So, farewell September...

may October be as wonderful! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal