Top 12 of 2012

It is hard to  believe in just a few days 2012 will be over. Overall it was a pretty good year. I was not able to make as many new projects and blog as much as I have in past years because things have finally taken off with my Etsy shop but today I want to share my favorite projects of 2012. Click on the month under the photo to find out more about it.

January

February

March

                                                                       

April

                                                                           

May

                                                                               

June

July

                                                                           

August

                                                                       

September

                                                                      

October

                                                                           

November

December

                                                                     
Which projects were your favorites? I hope good health, happiness and lots of mojo comes your way in the New Year!  As always I am grateful for your visit and look forward to sharing more with you in 2013!

Christmas Recap

Happy Wednesday. If  you celebrated Christmas yesterday I hope it was a good one. We woke up to a couple of inches of snow so it was a white one for us.  Emilia was thrilled because she loves it, Rich and I not so much. Emilia opened all her presents in the morning and was very happy with all she got. This year it was mostly cooking stuff and books and movies but we are all loving the Karaoke Wii Singing game Sing 4 she got! Rich and I exchanged small gifts before Christmas. He gave me a new Nintendo DS, my other one broke and an art game to go with it. I got him a record.  The rest of the day was a pretty quite one but in the evening we went for a drive to see the lights. Unfortunately not many houses had lights up this year but we still had fun even if it was freezing out at least we were in the car. Emilia and I finished up the night by watching Christmas Vacation, one of our favorite holiday movies. Here are a few photos of the morning.

I have been busy working on Etsy orders again but today I wanted to share a card set I made for one of my nail clients as a holiday gift this year. One day we were talking as I was doing her nails and she was telling me how she likes to send handwritten notes but was finding it hard to find stationary so I though this gift would be perfect for her.

I started with the new Card Wrapper Template from My Time Made Easy. After cutting the base out of Stampers Select White Cardstock I embossed it with the stripes impression plate from PTI. After that I added the top using a pattern from the Dainty Damask paper pack. It is suppose to be sky blue but when I print using Silhouette Studio the color comes out different. If anyone knows a way solve that problem please let me know. After adding the top piece I created the monogram using the digtial images from the Merriest Monograms set  then I cut it out using print and cut in Silhouette Designer Studio and created a black mat.
Inside are 6 matching notecards  which I also created using Silhouette Designer Studio

I gave it to her this morning and she really seemed to like it. Unfortunatley I also found out she is not going to be coming back in the new year because she does not want to drive so far anymore. I was really sad to hear that but she is 80 years old  so I understand. She was  a great client to have for the last 3 years though so I am really going to miss her.
That's all for now I hope to be back soon with a year end post. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one.

Tea Time Part 2

Happy Monday and Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish readers! I hope your weekend was a good one. We lit the first candle Saturday night but are saving the presents for Christmas. Last weekend we were enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures but this weekend that all changed and snow and cold returned. The snow didn't last long but the cold is still hanging around.Thankfully it is suppose to be back in the 50's by the end of the week though. I hope it is warmer where you are.
Today as promised I want to share the rest of the items I made for the tea party. First is the invitation.

I used the same layout for the brunch invitations I made here but this time I added die cut tea cups from the Tea For Two Additions set with tiny flowers using the flower die from the Flipping Out Dies.
Next is the tea bag favor

The base was made with the PTI lunchbox note die but I enlarged it using SCAL to hold a tea bag and made mats to go with it..The tea pot from Tea For Two was die cut and stamped. The leaves are from turning a new leaf dies but this time I shrunk them with SCAL so they were tiny and my Silhouette cut them out. The rose was made using the smallest MFT rolled rose die and to finish it off I added a liquid pearl to the middle. When you take the teabag out you will find this sentiment from Tea For Two that has been die cut behind it.

Finally here are the matching food and drink cards.

These were all created digitally with  Silhouette Designer Studio. I hope you have enjoyed my tea party.I had a lot of fun making it. I will be back soon with more to share until then I hope your week is a great one.

Tea Time Part 1

Happy Saturday. I hope your weekend has been a good one. It is hard to believe it is December 1st and was in the 60's here today. I am not complaining but we could use some moisture just no big snows though.
Today I want to share a new party theme I have been working on for a few weeks now in between orders. Introducing the  Shabby Chic Tea Party

Since there are so many pieces to this set I thought I would break it into 2 posts highlighting each item so I don't overwhelm you with it. Today I want to start with the banner, teapot and teacup.
A couple of months ago I asked Lauren Meader from My Time Made easy if she could make me a round teapot template. If anyone could do it I knew she could and she did.  This is what I came up with using her Apothecary Jar Template and what  started my new tea party theme. I was also inspired by the paper in the Ella Rose Shabby Chic digital paper pack. It reminds me of Cath Kidson and Laura Ashley.

The template comes with a different spout but I ended up changing it to the one that comes with her other Tea For You template because I liked it better and it fit perfectly. The base of the teapot was made out of white cardstock. The sentiment from the PTI Tea For Two Set was handstamped then diecut and attached to the front. Hibiscus Satin Ribbon was added to the rim tied it in a bow then I added a felt flower that I made with the MFT rolled rose die and a tiny pearl. To finish it off I added some white pom pom trim to the bottom.
Now you can't have a teapot without a cup so I created this matching tea cup.

When Lauren came out with the Cuppy Cake template she mentioned that the top could be used as a cup. I thought that was a brilliant idea but was not sure what to do for a handle.When I saw the handle for the teapot I shrunk it to 65% and it worked perfectly. The top of the cupcake also matches the teapot style too. I  also used more of the patterned paper I used for the teapot to decorate it.  The saucer was made using this template from Claire at Waltzing Mouse. I think these would make great favors at a tea party. Just fill them with candy. I used lemon drops then attached a tag. This one was made using the new Do Me A Favor Tags Stamp set stamped with Hibiscus Ink. Then I added some Spring Rain Satin ribbon and attached it to the bag. Some petite white pom pom trim finishes it off.
Finally the banner

I love how this came out. I think it would also look great in a baby girls room as a name banner too. I used  the SVG pennant banners from Perfect Presentation and more patterened paper. I added tissue paper trim that I made to the tops. The letters were die cut and covered with angel dust glitter. The teapots and butterflies were die cut then a felt rose was added to the middles and finished off with tiny pearls. Hibiscus Satin Ribbon holds it all together. Click on the photo to see it close up.
That's all for now I will be back next week to share the rest with you until then I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Happy Birthday Alexandra

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week has been a good one so far. It is a beautiful day here. I hope the weather is nice where you are too. Thankfully so far this week my health has been better but we have been dealing with a sick dog again. She had been doing great for the last few weeks and had been off the anitbiotic for about 8 days when she relapsed again on  Friday night. The vet put her back on the antibitotic on Saturday but it still took 2 days for her to recover. We really need to figure out what is causing this. We think it is her ear but won't know for sure until someone can look into her inner ear. We have to figure out what kind of procedure can be done to do that and we can afford.  In the meantime she will stay on the antibiotic for another 30 days and we are very thankful she is back to her old self again.
Today is also my niece Alexandra's 17th birthday. I know I say this every year but where does the time go? It seems like yesterday I was at the hospital with my family waiting for her to be born. it was a Wednesday and the day before Thanksgiving that year too. When she was little her favorite characters were Sleeping Beauty and Ariel. Those days are long gone but still loves Hello Kitty so I made this card for her

This year her requested colors were purple, yellow and blue. I found the free SVG file here then made it into a shape card using Silhouette Studio. I used Bitty Dots Lavender Moon and Lemon Tart patterned paper for the heart and the bow. The Happy Birthday sentiment from Fillable Frames #4 was stamped and embossed on the heart. The only place I could think to fit the blue in was the eyes so I added blue jewels. I hope she likes it. She is off to get her tagus pierced today so I will be giving this to her tomorrow with a little spending money. My dads birthday is tomorrow too so we will celebrate both birthdays a long with Thanksgiving then. I will be doing the cooking with Emilia's help. . I will be back soon with something new to share that I have been working on it for awhile now and am really happy with how it is coming out. I look forward to sharing it with you. Until then  I hope your Thanksgiving will be a good one and you have a lot to be thankful for; I know we do.

Shabby Autumn

 ETA: This project was a winner!

Happy Friday, I hope you week has been a good one. I have been dealing with health problems again. Last week it was female problems, this week it was a gum infection. I finally went to the dentist on Wednesday because I was in so much pain. Thankfully my teeth are okay and they were able to treat just the gum without me having to take oral antibiotics. The gum is better but my ear and mouth are still hurting. I am going to see a new ENT next week so hopefully she will be able to help with those things.
Even though I have been in a lot of pain most of the week I still wanted to participate in this weeks Shabby Tea Room Challenge which is to use the inspiration photo below include a pumpkin and make it shabby. I have been wanting to make a pumpkin shaped card for awhile now and when I saw this weeks challenge I knew this was the perfect chance. This is the inspiration photo

This is what I came up with

I started by using the Perfect Pumpkin Card SVG file from My Time Made easy as my base. The digital papers are from the Vintage Points Bright Paper Pack  I reduced them by 50% then pieced them on Vintage Cream Cardstock. The stem was cut from Kraft cardstock then embossed with woodgrain and distressed with chai ink.  I stamped the main image and sentiment from Think Big Favorites #19 then I cut maple leaves that I found in SCAL and attached them in a cluster at the top. Grey seam binding tide in a double bow, a handmade rolled flower with a tiny pearl finishes it off.
I am really happy with how this came out. I hope you like it too. It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away. This card would be perfect for your Thanksgiving table too. We are expecting snow and cold here starting tomorrow.  I hope the weather will be better where you are and your weekend is a good one.

To The Point Dreidle Box

Happy Friday. I hope your week has been a good one and if you live in the East you made it through Sandy without any problems. My heart goes out to everyone that was affected by the storm. We have had our share of bad weather here but we have never experienced something like that. Unfortunately weather is something we can't control though hopefully with time and help things will get back to some kind of normal for them soon.

Now that Halloween is over Christmas and Hanukkah will be here before we know it. This year Hanukkah starts on Sunday December 9th. I have made quite a few Hanukkah items in past years but I still wanted to make a dreidel box. When I saw this template designed by Lauren Meader last year I was going to make one then but never got a chance. I finally had some time this week though and this is what I came up with.

I started by cutting out the base of the box from white cardstock. After that I printed out the damask pattern from Amy Jaz Designs Very Merry Christmas digital paper pack from last year. The symbols were cut from Enchanted Evening Cardstock, embossed with the linen impression plate then added with foam tape to give them some dimension I made the tag in Silhouette Studio then stamped the Happy Hanukkah Sentiment from the new Menorah Medley Set. Finally I tied it together with Enchanted Evening Saddle Stitched Ribbon and tied it in a bow. This is a good size box and would make a great gift filled with some Hanukkah Candy/Gelt and a gift card.
That's all for now. I hope your weekend is a good one.

October Papertrey Bloghop

Happy Thursday! Thankfully everything seems to be working again since my last post and nothing else has broken. Our dog Sophie got very sick again though a few days after she finished the antibiotics she had been on earlier this month. This time she was was crying out in pain and we could not figure out why so we ended up visiting the doggie ER again.The only thing they could come up with this time was an inner ear infection so they put her on a different antibiotic and sent her home. It took 3 days for the medicine to kick in but thankfully she is back to normal now. This time she is on the antibiotic for a month. Hopefully this time when she is done with it she won't relapse again.
Rich and Emilia also took a Sushi class a few weeks ago at a local Sushi restaurant. They both love Sushi. I don't. Unfortunately she didn't learn anything she didn't already know. Rich asked the sushi chef to take a photo of them with their sushi but he could not figure out how to use the camera on his iPhone so the photos didn't come out very well, they still had fun though.
Today is also the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.

I have not been able to participate for the last 2 months mainly because I have been busy with Etsy orders and was not inspired by the challenges but things have slowed down for now and this month I was inspired by the challenge so I am really happy that I am able to play along today.
This month the challenge was to make a holiday card or tag using one of the non-traditional color schemes on Nicole's Blog. All of the color combinations are great and I hope to make something with them all eventually but this time I decided make all tags with the 3 that inspired me the most. 
The first is my favorite color combo

This is what I came up with.

When I saw what Betsy Veldman did with the house in Lizzie Jones Gingerbread Lane Stamp Set I knew I had to have it ( I love anything that has to do with houses). She graciously shared a template for the houses she made here but when I saw this SVG file I liked the way it opened better and after reducing it to 75% it worked perfectly with the die cut of the house on the front. You can use this tag a couple of  different ways. First you can hang it from your tree. Since our is still in storage I had to take the photo on a bush out front. You can also use it on a gift bag. After the gift is given you can take the house off and display it. There is also a magnetic piece on back for you to use as a magnet if you want to or you can display it on a shelf. The box holds 6 Hershey Kisses but I only put three in because it made it to heavy to hang from the tag with all six. These would make great gifts for kids
The next color combo I tried was this one.

I am not a fan of  the color Ocean Tides, I wish it looked more like it does in the photo but in real life it looks like a polluted ocean to me. This was the only color combo I thought worked for Hanukkah though so I decided to give it a try anyways. This is what I came up with.

With the other colors in the photo I am starting to like it better. When I saw the new Menorah Medley Set I wanted to use it with Heather Nichols new Winter Snow Globe set I got last month but it is a lot bigger than the globe part so I used Tag Sale Die #4 with it instead and made it into a  shaker tag. On the back I stamped and embossed the Happy Hanukkah Sentiment that is also in the set.

I finished it off with Aqua Mist ribbon an Ocean tides button and some silver cording.
Finally I gave this color combo a try.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this color combo was red gingham and gingerbread people. This is what I came up with.

I was still determined to use the Winter Snow Globe set I bought last month because I loved the tags Betsy and Christina K made with it. Fortunately the little gingerbread people in the Gingerbread Lane set fit perfectly. After stamping them with dark chocolate ink I added the little heart in sweet blush. I stamped the base with Ripe Avocado ink. The red gingham paper is from this digital paper pack. I stamped the sentiment on a thin piece of sweet blush cardstock then finished it off with 2 clear rhinestones, Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitched Ribbon and a wood button.  These would be great to add to packages of real gingerbread people.
That's all for now. I hope you have been inspired by some of my projects using these color combos. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come with on Nicole's Blog now. I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by. 

Breakdowns And A Birthday

Happy Monday. I hope you all had a good weekend. Ours ended like it started which was not very good.  Last Monday my replacement Silhouette which was only a week old started going crazy while I was right in the middle of an working on an order. Of course it was after 5:00 so I had to wait until the next day to call Silhouette but I had a breakdown in the process. After doing some troubleshooting on my own and going through many sheets of good paper I finally got it working again.  When I told them what happened the next day they decided it was another bad machine and said they would send another one. I was not convinced it was the machine though so I asked to speak to a supervisor and after telling him what happened and doing some troubleshooting together we both think it may be a problem with the blade getting stuck on the paper rather than the machine itself but a new one arrived today anyways. He is sending me a new fabric blade to try to see if that helps too. I sure hope so because I really love the machine I  just want one that works!
On Tuesday my sewing machine broke, Once again I needed it for an order I was working on so I had another breakdown. After calming down I called my mom and she brought over her vintage 1975 singer for me to use and the order finally got finished. 
On Thursday Rich got sick with what he thought was allergies but that turned out to be a cold which Emilia has now caught too. 
On Friday I went to turn the heat on because the weather got really cold here and it would not come on. This furnace is only 2 years old. The problem was solved $200.00 later but in the process the technician discovered our water heater was leaking so we have been without hot water most of the weekend but are getting a new one right now. This is going to be very costly though because of where it is located in our house.I am really hoping that this is the last of things breaking now and this week is a better one. 
I am still very busy with Etsy orders but I was able to squeeze in some time this weekend to make a card for my mother's birthday which is today. This is the card I made for her

I finally got a chance to use the new Harlequin cover plate from Papertrey that I ordered last month. I cut out the patterns from this digital paper pack. They are my moms favorite colors. The Happy Birthday Sentiment is from Think Big Favorites #11. The flower was made from Papertrey felt and Beautiful Bloom dies. It can be taken off the card and used as a magnet.

This is a photo of my sister and I when we were little. My mom didn't want to do anything special to celebrate today even though I offered many options but hopefully she will enjoy this card and the gift my sister and I sent her.
I am going back to work on orders now.I hope to get caught up on them soon and then be able to make something new to share with you. In the meantime I hope your week ahead is a good one and nothing breaks where you are!

Checking In

Happy Sunday! It is hard to believe that it has been over 3 weeks since I last updated my blog and October starts tomorrow. Etsy orders have been keeping me very busy but today I want to share a few of them.
I finally finished the orange and pink cupcake party last week. I had been working on for 2 months. There were 3 different parts. The invitations, a banner, cupcake toppers, cake topper, hat, photo banner, and finally matching thank you cards. Here is a collage of all the items together. It was the biggest party I have done so far and was a lot of work but I am really happy with how everything came out and the buyer was too.

I also had a buyer from Canada contact me about this oven box I made a few years ago but wanted one that would hold a standard size cupcake. After doing some searching I was able to find an SVG file here that would work so I came up with this version too. 

Finally a return buyer from Spain requested a sailboat card like the one I made here for a  2 yr old boy who is very sick. I changed the design by adding his name and the colors to red and blue.

I think it came out really cute. Hopefully he will enjoy looking at it while going through treatment. My party hats have also been selling like crazy too.
I  received a box of new Papertrey goodies last week but have not had time to make anything with them yet. I am thankful for all the orders but am hoping to get a little extra time soon to use them because I have lots of ideas and really want to make something new. I was also having problems with my Silhouette again but finally got them to send me a new one which arrived last week. Hopefully that has solved the problems. So far so good.
Besides all that our big dog Sophie got very sick last week and ended up at the Emergency Vet. We had been giving her a new medication for her arthritis and think she had a bad reaction to it. She was fine on Saturday but on Sunday I knew something was seriously wrong because she stopped eating. Rich finally took her to the Emergency Vet Monday morning and she had a fever of almost 105. I never even knew she had a fever and found out that is very dangerous in dogs. After running a bunch of tests they could not really find a cause and finally sent her home with antibiotics which thankfully started working about 24 hours later but in the meantime it was very scary to see her that way. I just hate it when animals get sick because they can't tell you what is wrong. She is not that old either so hopefully she will be okay now and will have more life to live. We still need to figure out what to do about her arthritis though.
Yesterday we had a chance to do something else that was on our summer adventure list now that it has finally cooled off here. We went to Berry Patch Farms. It is a really fun place to go and pick organic fruits and vegetables. This time we picked strawberries, raspberries, and plums. We also bought some tomatoes, peppers, and apples in the store  Here are a few photos from the day. It was a lot of fun and a great place to visit if live or or come to visit Colorado and the produce is delicious!

That's all for now hopefully next month I will be able to blog more. My mom's birthday is on the 8th so I will be back soon with something I want to make for her. until then I hope the rest of your weekend is a good one and as always thank for stopping by.

Poodle Party Part 2

Happy Saturday, I hope your week was a good one. It has finally cooled off here. After 71 days of 90 degrees or hotter temperatures the weather has only been in the 70's the last few days and it feels good. I hope the weather is nice where you are too.
Today we went to the Wild Animal Sanctuary It is a wonderful place for large animals that can't be in the wild anymore. Many of the stories about why the animals are there were heartbreaking but at least there is a place like this that they can still live a good life. I am glad that we were able to visit. If you ever come to Colorado you should go for a visit too. Here is a photo that Rich took of one of the beautiful tigers that is there.

I also finally finished up the poodle party that I started and shared in my last post. I have added a hat

A banner; click on the photo to see it close up. And cupcake toppers and wrappers

The patterned paper and poodle are the same as the ones I used in the last post. The pennants for the banner were cut using the SVG file from Perfect Presentation. The rosettes were made using an SVG cut file from My time Made Easy. The Poodle Party is done now Hopefully someone will want to have one in the future.

I am off to finish some circus cupcake toppers and wrappers for a buyer then on to something new. I hope to be back soon to share it with you. I hope your weekend is a good one and as always thanks for stopping by.

A Poodle Party

Happy Monday again. I hope your weekend was a good one. It finally cooled off a little here on Saturday so we went to play mini golf. It was fun and nice to be outside without sweltering. The heat has returned now though and we are back to the 90's for most of the week.
This has been the hottest summer on record. I am ready for some cooler weather but definitely not snow.
This was the first time since the Papertrey Bloghops started that I didn't participate. I was just not inspired by this months challenge and I have been busy working on a first birthday cupcake party for a buyer. While waiting to finalize things for the cupcake party I had some time to start a new party theme that has been on my list for awhile. Thankfully all my electronics are working again too this is what I have come up with so far. This is the invitation.

I used this months Sketch For You to try for the layout. The patterned paper and poodle are from this digital paper pack. The balloon was cut with my silhouette then stamped with the you're invited stamp set from the PTI Tiny Tags set. A small pink bow was added to the balloon with a tiny black dot. I  I cut the poodle out with my Silhouette and attached it with foam tape to give it dimension. A tiny party hat complete with a pom pom and scalloped trim was placed on the poodles head to finsih it off.
I also made this Favor Bag to go with it.

Inside you will find this

I have also been wanting to make one of these cupcake purses for awhile now and this was the perfect time to give it a try. I love the way it came out. You can get the svg file here. I used more of the digital paper that I used on the card,then I created a thank you tag with Silhouette Designer Studio and added another poodle to the middle. I think these would make great favors for guests to take with them. They could also hold other small items such as Webkins. I still plan on making a matching banner, hat and cupcake toppers to go with this party theme so be sure to check back because I will be adding more things as I make them. That's all for now. I hope your week ahead is a good one and it is cooler where you are.