Happy Monday to all! =)

Hello everyone!  Well, this is my last week of freedom before I go back to school!  I've got lots of crafty plans for this weekend, and also plan to work on cleaning up the house and whatnot.  It's been a super busy but AWESOME summer! 

This past weekend was a TON of fun!  It was my hubby's birthday, so we went out to BRGR (the best burger place ever) for dinner and had a great meal!  Then we went to the State College Microbrew Expo on Saturday with some friends.  It was AWESOME!  So many amazing microbrews!  It was really neat to get to try so many delicious beers and talk to the breweries about how they got started, how they decided to make certain types of beer, etc...  Finally, Sunday the hubs went golfing and I got to see my Dad perform in the local Senior Follies music and talent show!  It's a huge fundraiser for his Aging Agency, and it's always a great time!  We all met up for dinner after too, for a perfect ending to the weekend!  =) 

Ok, so onto the card!  I made this last Friday, but didn't get to post it until today!  This card uses several stamps and stamp companies, and I LOVE how it turned out: 

Can you spy all of the stamp companies on this card?  There's FOUR: Hot off the Press (scroll and border), Studio G (butterfly), Papertrey Ink (Circle), AND Lawn Fawn (sentiment).  I also love that I once again got to use several of my favorite techniques -- distressing and embossing!  The middle strip is embossed with clear powder and then covered with Mustard Seed Distress Ink -- I LOVE this particular stamp/color combination here!  So vivid and pretty!  I also heat embossed the sentiment and used watermark ink for the borders.   I also added some teeny tiny pearls and embroidery floss to finish off the card.  =) 

So, this card was also inspired by a couple of my favorite challenge blogs: 
CR84FN #36 - Yellow, Kraft and Neutral Colors

CAS-ual Fridays #16 - Embossing

Also, don't forget to check out my BLOGOVERSARY GIVEAWAY!  There's only four more days to comment for a fabulous $25 giftcard to your favorite store!  =) 

Casual Fridays #2

Well hi there blogland!  WOW it's been a really long time since my last post!  This month of May has so SO much going on that I really haven't had much time for crafting!  Luckily, I've finally found a little time and I'm SO excited to play along with my first challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays!  This week's challenge was Buttons and Twine:

Both buttons and twine are two things that I really enjoy putting on my cards, so here's what I came up with:

How cute is that background stamp?  It's a Studio G cling stamp and I couldn't wait to ink it up!  Then I colored the flowers with copics, and created the center focal point!  I thought it would be fun to make little "balloon buttons" using some Divine Twine and buttons from my stash!  I then made the button and twine border to finish off the card!

=)  In other news, my Father-in-Law got remarried over the weekend!  Basically, they've been together since I've known my hubby, and we've all always considered ourselves one big happy family!  It was nice to just finally make it official!  They got married at a lighthouse in Annapolis (it was an amazing ceremony filled with both families' cultures - Irish and Persian) and we all got to have a part.  It was super special and the entire weekend was filled with a lot of love and blessings. 

As part of their wedding gift, I made their wedding announcements!  Here's what they looked like:

 

I really had a great time doing this for them, and they absolutely loved them!  They displayed them at the reception and used a picture of it for their u-stream of the wedding!  Needless to say, making 70 of these has consumed my every crafty minute for a good while, but it was ABSOLUTELY worth it!  =)

Ok, that's it from here!  Have a splendiforous day! 

Some Fun Cards! =)

Hello readers!  Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on the pictures of the party!  It was a really fun time... though I think I'm still recovering from it!  LOL!  =)

Tonight I have a challenge card to share with you and a fun card to share with you!  The first one took a LOT of work but I think it turned out really great:

  

I ended up really liking the way this card turned out!  This was my FIRST attempt at stitching on a card! It didn't go perfectly, but it did turn out pretty nice!  I really like the look that the stitching creates!  The pearls didn't photograph too well here, but they are a more burgundy-esque color that matches the ribbon and paper on the card.

This card was inspired by the following challenges:
1.  The Play Date Cafe #53
2. 2S4Y Sketch #64

   

Ok!  So lately I've been trying my hand at lots of smaller projects that I'm going to post periodically.  I've been working on making my own Christmas gift tags, as well as making small, one layer cards that are versatile and great for gifts!

A few days ago, I found the *cutest* little set of clear stamps from Studio G.  I bought it and made this cute little card to give to my hubs this morning to brighten his day:

     

Isn't this just the cutest little stamp?  I added the "we're" at the top using Lawn Fawn's Harold's ABC's, however, unless you look closely I don't think you'd notice that it doesn't go with the rest!  I also added a little bit of my new twine that I got on Etsy from a lovely lady named Ryann Marin!  Anyhow, I really loved how this little guy turned out, and it was SUPER quick and easy!

Well, that's all I have for you today!  Happy stamping and crafting!  =) 

 
"Best Wishes" Card: 
Paper:

* Neenah and DCVW Cardstock

Stamps and Ink:

* Inkadinkado - Garden Greetings
* Memento - Tuexedo Black

Embellishments:

* Burgundy Organza Ribbon

* Black Satin Ribbon

* Burgundy Pearls

* Chipboard from AR Creations

"Quite the Pear Card: 

Paper:

* Neenah and Recollections Cardstock

Stamps and Ink:

* Studio G - "Quite the Pear"

* Lawn Fawn - Harold's ABC's
* Studio G - Green Chalk Ink

Embellishments:

* Orange Baker's Twine from Ryann Marin