Baby Shower Invitations

A friend of mine contacted me and asked if I made Baby Shower invitations. I haven't until now, so I showed her some of my baby cards for newborns. She was looking for something for her cousin who is having a shower in July. I showed her the stamps that I had and she immediately choose the monkey saying the theme was Jungle Animals. So we came to an agreement, and I set off home to get an idea of how they would look.
I had to go to Office Depot to buy some new blue cardstock, and some more envelopes. Most of the other items I already had. Adhesive, ribbon, patterned paper, ink and stamps.

Here they are:

and here is the box I put them in:

Art Journal

I had just expressed to a friend how I seemed to have lost my creativity, when I got an email from someone asking if I was interested in an upcoming workshop at BizzyB in September. She put a link to Dina Wakley's blog and I found a video on 'warming up.' It suggests that we need to warm up before creating, and showed how to make a journal page with no expectations. 
I was excited to get started and try to let my inner artist play. I am not that loose with my crafts, I usually like to have my work clean and linear. So I was anxious to see how this would work out.
I went on a hunt for a book, one of 3 that I have, but I only found one that I had already used for something else. So I ended up having to make one. I found some watercolour paper and cut it to size. I sewed it and bound it into a cover. It took a lot longer than I expected, but I like the end result.

After completing the book I used ink, paint, spray glitter, chalk and any other mediums I could find. I used some masks and finally some stamps.
When it dried I found a couple of sentiments and added them too. I was inspired to write in it. Here is the finished product.

The second pages reads, "Get off your butt and create."
I am hopeful that I can make many of these pages.

Cover

Easter card for Beatriz

Here's is a delicious chocolate Easter Bunny that is fat free!

Easter Treats

I wanted to make a little something for the kids at school, and although I searched for an idea, I couldn't find anything that I loved. So I came up with these.

The first one was too labour intensive, the second one was too big, so the third one is the one I liked the best.

Here is the tutorial. Enjoy.
Cardstock 11" x 2 1/2"
Patterned paper 10 3/4" x 2 1/4"
Cardstock strip 1" x 9"
Scallop punch
Circle punch
Stamps
Scrap cardstock

Cut cardstock and patterned paper.

Adhere paper to card, then score at 3 1/4, 3 3/4, 7 1/4, 7 3/4, 9 1/4 and 9 3/4

Punch out an oval between the 9 1/4" and 9 3/4"

 Fold score lines and adhere the smallest flap down to the inside. This will leave the oval shape open where you put the mini chocolate bar.

Cut a 1" x 9" strip, score at 2 3/8", 3", 6 1/2" and 7 1/8". Wrap around the box and adhere to the other end, to make the belly band.

Punch a scallop circle and a circle. Stamp the image on the circle, adhere to the scallop then to the belly band.

Slide the belly band onto the box and you are done.

I also added a sentiment on the inside flap.

 I like the smaller size with the belly band. When there are lots to make, finding ways to cut down the time is essential!

Hope you can find some use for this tutorial.

HAPPY EASTER!

Valentines for the Sweet

I wanted to enter My Pink Stamper's challenge so I decided to make these sweet little Valentines cards for the kids at school. They look good enough to eat!

I used brown card stock, some Martha Stewart Christmas paper from a couple of years ago, pink ribbon, glitter covered Styrofoam hearts from the dollar store, some punches and some Stamps of Life stamps. I got the idea from something I saw on dollar store crafts last year.
First I cut the Styrofoam hearts

I used a serrated bread knife to slice them in half

Then I punched out the circles and labels and stamped them.

I added red ink to the edges

I added brown ink to the edges

I tied small bows and cut thin strips for the stick, then assembled it all together.

Admit it, you want to eat them!

No Valentine stamp, so I combined 3 stamps to make this

The perfect stamp for the back of the card

Thanks for looking.

Saturday's cards

I was checking out my email this morning and saw some card sketches that really spoke to me, simple but beautiful. They offered a free download, so I took it and made these 4 cards. It is unfortunate that the website I took it from is having a contest that I can't enter because I don't own any Papertrey Ink products. This is a must to renter their contest. I did try to order some products once, but when I saw how much the shipping was, I screeched to a halt. I do get stamps from another American company, and they charge me $1.50 USD for shipping. So I order from stampsoflife every month.
Anyway enough gripping, here are the cards

Improvements

I was checking out some old cards I made a few years ago, and decided they needed an upgrade.  So here are two sets that I made.
The first set I used Stampin' Up stamps and then coloured them in.  (Note to self: buy new markers). There are 3 of each in this set.

Then I improves a set of 4 with a stamp set that I found at Winners or Home Sense, (I have no idea who makes the stamps, but they are different, and I like them.  The sentiments I gathered from a bunch of different sets.

A gift for Frances

Frances is one of the lunch supervisors in my school. She helps out with the senior school, and I usually go to her lunch room with the child I work with during the week.
She is leaving on Tuesday as she is retiring. I know she is looking forward to it, so I wish her all the best.

I made two sets of cards for her, and here they are.

Butterflies and Friends

This is a birthday card for my aunt in England. She is turning 85.

This one didn't quite turn out the way I planned, but it's okay anyway

Owl Miss You

I got word that the OA at school was leaving, and decided I needed to make her a little gift.  For some strange reason I felt that Veronica and I had a connection some how. Anyway I set to work making this pack of cards using an owl, because it just seemed right.
However, shortly after making the cards, I discovered that I had wrong information, and that she isn't leaving.  Then over the winter break our connection made itself known. Veronica knew George, my partner who died 15 years ago. She used to babysit his kids!
I held on to the cards to give her at a later date, but in the end I wanted her to have them, and explained my mistake. Turns out she loves owls, because she is a Brownie leader!

Here they are:

I added a mini pen, pencil and eraser, and stamped all the envelopes too.

Danny's 60th birthday

My cousin Marilyn is married to Danny. He is turning 60 in a few days and I heard from my sister that there is a party for him in England. She can't go because she is vacationing in Egypt. When I was talking to my aunt last week, I asked where the party was going to held, and she said she couldn't tell me because it was a secret. I told her I wouldn't tell anyone, because I'm not even in England. She said I'd probably post it on Facebook!!!
Anyway here is the card I made for Danny. He sells luxury cars, so I remembered there was a cut on the Nifty Fifties cart.

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Latest Baby Boy Book

  I heard at the end of last week that my friend's daughter had her baby, a little boy named Calvin. In the same email with that information was the annual invitation to my friend's home, after Christmas. So I got busy on making yet another paper bag book. Here is the result.

His name is Calvin

These are places to add photos

There are many tags to add journaling or photos

I embossed the rabbit on this page

Perhaps add a baby sleeping photo here

Other memories can be added here

I love this page

This is the last page

And this is the bag I made to put it in.

Please add any comment below, I'd really appreciate it.