Winter Welcome?

I figured something out this week.

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No WONDER Winter's cold weather is still sticking around!!

No WONDER Spring is having a hard time arriving!!

If our front door welcome weren't enough...take a gander at THIS, as you walk in the door!

Ummm...hello.

Time to change out the decor. ;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT Spring day! :)

Crystal

Happy Polka Dots

Weird title, I suppose.
Except that it reminds me of my friend (and her birthday gift).
Polka dots. She likes them. Happy. She is.

She's a fun-lovin', bubbly, chipper, spitfire, full of energy kinda gal.
She would probably try to dispell that - or at least blame her creamerized coffee. ;-) And yes, I know...she's a normal person and probably isn't happy 24-7...but she's got a great outlook on life and it shows.
It makes me happy just to be in her company. :)
She has a great sense of humor.
She's uber-talented, a creative genious!

Greets with a hug (I love hugs!), and has a beautiful smile that lights up the room.

She listens. Advises.
We enjoy chatting/commiserating over creamerized coffee. :)
Did I mention she loves chocolate like I do? Yay!

As if all this weren't enough, there's something more - she's got depth too.
Did you know she's my sistah?
Well, not flesh and blood...we are Sisters in the Lord!  :)

Here's what I made for her Bday - Happy Birthday, Polka Dot Style (see - multi-functional title!) ;-)






Want to know a little more?
OK.

What IS that little box??  You know, the one that has a chocolate on top and says "All you need in life is a friend who has chocolate."

It's one of those items in my collection in the garage (much to hubby's dismay) for a someday I'll find a way to use this project. ;-)  YAY - I've used one!  Now I only have 20 billion more of them to use (jk)...it's a little gerber baby food container, and I can't wait to show hubby this pic. ;-)

And what does that card look like on the inside?

It's actually a gift card holder and card all in one! :)










Well, what do you think?



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

Sweet Thanks

Awhile back, you may remember me talking writing about having a SAB (Sale-A-Bration) party at my home. LOTS of work as a demo, but oh so fun that night as we gathered! :)

Every once in awhile, I like to put a little 'thank you' treat with my stampin' friends' orders. It's usually when I have an Open House, but I decided to this time also. :)

Here's what I did for that party (Mar 1):








Easy-peasy.

SU's small cello bags, filled with sour watermelons (YUM!), added white satin ribbon, added tag.

Tag - "thank you" stamped from Because I Care (Hostess set) in Regal Rose ink on Whisper White cardstock. Punched with lg. oval punch, scallop oval in Pear Pizzazz behind it.


Well, what do you think?

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

A Special Moment

In yesterday's post, I was telling you about how busy our March has been...mostly with birthdays, but other special occasions as well.  One of those special occasions was a baptism for my niece.  What a sweet, tender, special moment that is.

I made a card for her/her parents to commemorate the moment.
I have made this type before, but this time I did it a little differently.
First, I'll show you the most recent card (made for my niece).

The design is made with the Big Shot & the Manhattan Flower (?) embossing folder. The ribbon is from my stash...I have no idea where originally from. :-b

I was kind of bummed when I figured out that I was out of the tiny ribbon used on my last ones (see below)...but I really like how this one turned out with the bigger ribbon, too! :)



Here are the two I got my inspiration from:

These were made in May 2009 - funny thing is, one of them was for her sister! :)










Well, what do you think?

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

Birthdays Galore!

March has been such a busy month for our family.
Many of those days have been birthday-related.
A few I've already shared (Mom's Birthday, Sister-in-Law's Birthday)
Some friend birthdays (will share at later date)...
A baptism (will share soon)...
Today I'll share a couple of niece birthdays!

They both turned 2 (one on hubby's side, one on mine) this month.

Soooo...I know I've shared before that I've scaled back on the kiddo cards. I have. But for some strange unknown reason, I got carried away the other day while making a birthday card for my 2 year old niece.

What can I say? I got inspired!




After that event, I said 'never again'!  It received a brief glance at gift opening...then I saw it later, torn and crumpled ((sigh)). Exactly the reason why I shouldn't (and haven't been) spend too much time on kiddo cards.  You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, no?



Welllll...days later, I was inspired again, this time with a butterfly theme for another neice.  I will say that this one was probably a little less work than the first one, but it still took time.  She loved it. Tried to take the butterfly off, even. ;-)  Thankfully momma grabbed it before she could, lol!



I still think I'll return to my previous assessment that not spending too much time on kiddo cards is a good thing, lol.  I can only hope inspiration doesn't strike again! lol


Well, what do you think?






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

Trying Something New

Okay, I'm pretty excited about this one.  I'll admit it. :)

Today I'll be showing you the card I made for my sister-in-law.
She's such a sweetheart, a gem of a gal and I'm so glad she married my brother (over 6 years ago).  It was her birthday this weekend and I was determined to make her card using her favorite color, green. :)

It came together nicely, and I had fun doing something I hadn't done before:

I'm actually not sure exactly what to call it, since I've heard it a few different ways. lol

Tissue flower? Puffy flower? Fluffy flower? 

I like tissue flower. Sounds a little less made-up. lol!

Ready to see the whole card?

To make the tissue flower, I layered the tissue (for giftwrapping) several layers thick, punched out with my scallop circle punch. Scrunched it up, then poked a brad through to hold it all together. I then attached a faux button (NEW Sweet Buttons Embosslit - Occasions Mini) on top of the brad with glue dot! Fluff up the flower, and you're good to go! :)

That's about all! Easy-peasy...don't know why I waited so long to try! I'll definitely be doing more of these!! :)

Well, what do you think?

The Small Print (All Stampin' Up)

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Early Espresso

Paper/Cardstock: Jolly Holiday DSP, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Whisper White

Accessories: 5/8" Early Espresso satin ribbon, Scallop circle punch, Decorative Label punch, Word Window punch, Little Leaves sizzlit, Sweet Buttons embosslit, Big Shot, Brad

Other: Tissue paper

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

Slow down!!

You know when the week is taking forever & you're wishing Friday to arrive?

This is NOT one of those weeks for me, lol.

Is it REALLY Friday already??!!

Wondering what I've been up to this week? Why I haven't posted as much?

I'll give you a glimpse of a portion:

 

Wondering what all this means?

Well, for one...no extra time to stamp for fun. ;-)

First pic - making raspberry jam

Second pic - making banana bread (2 times, separate days!)

Third pic - working on a custom Etsy order

Fourth pic - laundry. A revolving door of sorts. ;-)

Oh, and helping in my daughter's class. So fun. Seriously, I soooo enjoy it and look forward to more! :)

Soooo....hopefully I'll have more to share next week.

No, I KNOW I do. I can think of three things right off the top of my head! :) Wahoo!

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

Crystal

Stylish, again

Who knew I was so stylish?! lol

During my bloggy hiatus vacation, I was awarded with the Stylish Blogger award for a second time! Wow, I am so deeply honored...wow.  Seriously. Thank you soooo much, Jamie!

Since I can't seem to think of 8 additional random things about myself,

please follow the my link to the original 8 random things (and people I awarded)

...it's a good read, I promise! lol.

Please go check out Jamie's blog Unique Ink too - wow, what talent!

Thanks again, Jamie!

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

Crystal

Chocolate To-Do List

I thought maybe today I'd break away from the soft, pretty, Spring cards I've been sharing this week, and share something else. Dark colors, yes...but perfect for the project! :)

Do you make to-do lists?
I do.
Can't say I've ever written this on my list, though:

Ha ha ha ha!  As a chocoholic, I'm sure I'd love to be able to cross that off my list each day, lol! ;-)










Here's the inside...

It's one of the sets that I *had* to have when I saw it in the Occasions Mini.  Called...get this...Eat Chocolate. LOL! :)  Wouldn't you love to make this little gift for that chocolate-lover you know?  I'm thinking I'll be keeping an eye open for Ghiradelli chocolates to go on sale for that very reason! ;-)

Did you know you can purchase this set through me? Yup, sure can. It'll even be delivered to you!  Go ahead, click on the Stampin' Up logo at the top RH of sidebar, and it'll lead you to my SU page. And remember, it's Sale-A-Bration time, which means for every $50 you spend, you can get something for FREE! :)

The Small Print: Eat Chocolate, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

Well, what do you think?

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

Crystal

Tulip Framed Flowers

Hmm...yes, it's an interesting title. ;-)

Today's card is one that I made for display at a recent party. It uses something NEW out of the Occasions Mini, and a few things that have been around for awhile...almost a year! lol

It also uses one of my favorite color combos...Baja Breeze, Early Espresso, and Very Vanilla.












I stamped the flower (from Elements of Style)  with Black Stazon ink so that I could easily color it in without the ink smearing. I used my aquapainter and ink pad lid to color in the flowers and leaves, and markers to highlight areas I wanted darker (including yellow centers).

The ribbon is our Early Espresso 5/8" satin, and the whole shebang is framed with tulips! Do you see them?? Look closely...it's the raised design along the edges. How did I do it?? Well, I used the new tulip frame embossing folder and the Big Shot. Fun, huh?  I love how it gives a little something extra.

Well, what do you think?

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

Springtime Vintage Sympathy

Today's post is a quick one. Mostly because it's a quick and easy card to make!

Awhile back, I was asked to make some Sympathy, or Thinking of You type cards.
One of the very easiest ones I made is what I'm sharing with you today.

It uses 1 stamp, 2 colors of cardstock, 1 ink pad, a strip of designer paper, and some ribbon. Oh, and a panel of dry embossed (Big Shot) polka dots, and 3 punches. :)

Ha ha..now that I type it all out it looks like a lot, doesn't it?  Well, when you see the card you'll understand just how easy it really is. :)

I do need to give you one warning, however. The weather here is SUPER-gray and dark, so I just couldn't manage to get a good picture taken. Even after playing with it a bit, it still looks funny to me.

I love the soft muted colors of the designer paper...it's the new one in the Occasions Mini, called Springtime Vintage. I also like that this layout could be used for many occasions...in fact, I may just get started on making a bunch! lol

Well, what do you think?

The Small Print (All Stampin' Up)
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers/ Ink: Pear Pizazz/ Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz/ Paper: Springtime Vintage DSP/ Accessories: Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon, Scalloped Oval punch, Lg Oval punch, Eyelet Border punch, Dimensionals, Polka Dots EF, Big Shot

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

Create A Cupcake Birthday

Hello again!
I know....2 posts in one week! ;-)  Hopefully it'll be more...it feels good to be back!

No, we're not making cupcakes today. Well, actually we are.
But we won't be putting them in the oven. ;-)

I knew when I saw the Create A Cupcake stamp set in the Occasions mini catalog, it was on my list of must-haves. Then I saw the matching Build A Cupcake punch. SERIOUSLY?!!!  Okay, this duo is a must-have! :)

I had so much fun playing with these new items while prepping for my Sale-A-Bration party. In fact, I decided to make it one of the free Make & Takes. :)  Wanna see?? OK.




















What I love about this (other than the colors, etc) was that you could change the layout so many different ways, but still keep the same elements!

The DSP is called Elegant Soiree, the ribbon is Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon. The cupcake colors are Soft Suede and Baja Breeze. The cherry on top is a stamp colored with SU markers, stamped, then punched out. After attaching the cherry to the frosting with a glue dot, I had the ladies add some dazzling diamonds to it for a little extra somethin'. :)

I had the ladies choose between Soft Suede and Crumb Cake for the scallop circle behind main image.

Well, what do you think?

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

My Momma

Pretty simple and to-the-point title, isn't it?  How do you sum everything up and make it sound catchy? Doesn't always work - I'm no poet, and I know it! lol  Okay, so that rhymed, but that was an easy one. ;-) You know who's a good writer? My momma. She has a gift of words, something I can only admire.

There are actually many things I admire about her.

She is giving - in so many ways.
Kind. An encourager.
A good listener - oye, I can sure talk her ear off at times - lol!

A great cook/baker. She can just throw things together and make great "something" --- famous for whipping together cookies by just adding things from the cupboard, lol. Ask her for a recipe and oftentimes, she'll say "I don't know, I just threw it together."

She loves God's nature and spending time outside...
She gives great hugs.
She's a wonderful grandmother to my girls.
She's always willing to help.

My hubby says she's the BEST mother-in-law anyone could have. :)

She's fun-loving.
She's not afraid of a little hard work.
She's a faithful, godly woman.
She is wise.
She is my FRIEND.

I am so thankful for her, for our relationship. I only hope that when my daughters grow up, we have the kind of relationship that I have with my mom now.  I really could go on and on...but I've done enough of that already. :)

Happy Birthday to my mother, my friend.
Proverbs 31:28

This is her birthday card...In fact, I bought this set because it reminded me of her. :)  It's a new set, called Nature Walk.




Well, what do you think?
I took the pic on the run...sorry it's not the best quality.

The Small Print (All Stampin' Up)
Nature Walk, Well Scripted, Pear Pizzaz, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Perfect Plum, Color Spritzer, Sponges, Paper snips, Aquapainter, Seam binding ribbon

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