Share Handmade Kindess Week 1

Hi friends!  I hope that you are well!  We are ok.  We had a busy day of errands.  I had to go to two different grocery stores and I'm off to a crop in a little bit.  I'm hoping to get some projects done that I can post here.

Today, I wanted to share a card I made for a challenge.  Ohhhhh, a challenge!  Remember when I used to do those all the time??  Yeah, me either.  My sweet friend Jennifer McGuire started a month long challenge called Share Handmade Kindness.  I love this premise!  And I love that since Jennifer has such a big reach so many people are getting involved!  It really only take a tiny ripple to start change.

I made this card for Share Handmade Kindness Week 1 and the challenge was to make something for a friend or family member.  Obviously, this is the easiest way to go since you can just hand a card or project or baked item or ANYTHING handmade to a friend and family member and show them how much you care.  I made this card for a friend of mine who is also my son's teacher.  I'm so glad that I've gotten to know her!  Beyond being my son's teacher, she has other children who are friends with my kids.  She invites my kids to their birthday parties.  She encouraged her son to play with my son when we first started at this school and didn't know anyone.  Most recently, she gave my son a ride home after music lessons when Dustin had to go to the doctor.  Obviously, she's a great candidate to receive a little handmade item.

I used some My Mind's Eye Jubilee papers and a Lawn Fawn stamp set for this card.  This paper has a lovely watercolor effect on it.  I stamped the butterflies 3 times on the same paper and cut them out and got this beautiful gradient effect.  I added some purple Stickles to the butterflies for my sparkle.  Purple and butterflies are a couple of my friend's favorite things.  I am also entering this card in the current Lawnscaping Challenge which is Thinking of You.  

Have a great day, friends!  Go Share Handmade Kindness and enter to WIN a prize on Jennifer's blog!

*Affiliate links used in this post.

Springtime Bird House

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  We are doing ok around here.  We are slowly getting into a routine and I'm sleeping enough to keep me going through the day (most nights).  I can't believe my baby is already over 9 weeks old!  It goes by SO fast!

Today, I'm sharing a project that screams spring to me.  I love when the sun comes out, the flowers start blooming, and the birds are singing.  I decided to alter a small wooden birdhouse for decor.  I ripped apart some paper from My Mind's Eye and used Mod Podge to adhere it onto the birdhouse.  Then I added some May Arts ribbon using some i {stick} papers red line tape from i {heart} papers.  I'm linking this up to the Paper Issues Spring Challenge.

Have a great day, friends!  

Project Life : Monterey Trip

Hi friends!  I hope you are doing well.  We are doing pretty good.  Baby Avery is gaining weight well and looks pretty healthy.  I'm having a few small issues after delivery and I'm taking some medicine to help with bleeding and blood clots but I should be fine in no time.  The boys are doing good.

Today, I'm sharing my Project Life layouts from when we took a trip to Monterey this summer.  (I made these a LONG TIME AGO and just never blogged them.  I have TONS of PL layouts to blog.)  For those of you who don't know, it's COLD there even in the summer.  It's right on the coast but in Northern California which is not warm like Southern California.  Though, we live in the valley which is SUPER HOT in the summer.  Ok, enough weather lessons.  ;)  

Here's our short trip to Fisherman's Wharf and some of the food we ate.  I used My Mind's Eye paper for these layouts.

Left side

Right side

Here's our trip to the beach and the aquarium.

Left side

Right side

I made these photos really big since I really like looking at the detail on Project Life layouts.  What do you think?  Too big?  I can scale them back.  

Have a great day, friends!  Hope to talk to you soon.

Linking Up:

Hey Foxy

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great weekend!  Yesterday, we went to a memorial.  It was hard but nice to see such a lovely celebration of William's life.  The kids painted rocks for the rock garden.  We left early since I started to feel really sick in the heat.  I wish we had been able to stay for the tree planting.  But, Parker was asleep before we even got home and Dustin and I both fell asleep for 3 hours so it's probably for the best that we went home.

On a lighter note, here's a card I made for a couple challenges.  Can I first say that I'm NO good at coloring fur?  I should have just done basic shading on this poor fox.  I'm entering this card in the Some Odd Girl August sketch (yes, another one for that same challenge) and the Simon Says Stamp Animal Antics challenge.  I love this sweet image and sentiment from Some Odd Girl!  The paper is from My Mind's Eye.  I was pretty thrilled with myself for not going outside the lines with my markers, so I just die cut the whole circle that the fox is on and adhered it with foam tape.

Have a great day, friends!  

I Know You Can!

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  The kids are still sick with a cold.  Brady has been out of school all week.  I'm getting rather restless here at home but at the same time, I'm so tired I just don't feel like leaving.  Hopefully, we'll be all better this weekend and then Brady will go back to school next week.

Here's a card I made for the Paper Crafts Mag Gallery Idol contest.  I was inspired by the children's book, The Little Engine That Could.  I'm also posting this for Unity's Fabulous Friday Friends.  I used a stamp from Unity/Echo Park Boys Will be Boys.  The paper is from My Mind's Eye.  I printed out the sentiment on my computer using the chalkduster font because I thought this would be a great card for a kid.  The clouds are cut with an MFT die.

Don't forget to leave a comment and you could be entered to win the Unity giveaway!  Check out the Unity Blog to see everyone participating in today's hop.  Have a great weekend, friends!

Creating is Fun Baby Hop (Giveaway)

Hi friends!  Hope you're having a great day!  Today is a full day on my blog!  This will be my first blog hop for today, please come back at 3am for the reveal of my next blog hop.

Welcome to the Creating is Fun Baby Themed Blog Hop!  To start this hop, you should go to Martha's Blog.  If you came here from Leticia's Blog, you are in the right place!  Don't forget to leave comments on each blog to be entered to win the $25 gift card to the store!  And some of the team members have blog candy too, so be sure to check that out!

 

Here's my card for today's hop.  I love baby cards!  They are so fun!  For this card, I used a doily, some 1 inch white lace, and white satin ribbon.  The paper is my My Mind's Eye.  

Next up on the hop is LACEE!  Enjoy your day!  

Mommy To Be

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  We had a very laid back day over here.  It's getting HOT!  Gah!  I'm not ready for this awful weather yet!

Today, I'm sharing a card I made on Sunday for a challenge over at the Craft Warehouse Facebook page.  The challenge was to use 6 patterned papers and one or more of the following: brads, journalling tag, and tapes.  I used My Mind's Eye paper, journal tag, and brad.  The sentiment is My Thought Exactly More Big Thoughts.  I also used Light Pink Lace Tape from Love My Tapes.  This card is for my sister in law who is pregnant with her first baby.  I do have a few more baby cards to make too.        

Have a great day, friends!  

MTE Design Team Blind Blog Hop

Hi friends!  Hope that you're having a fabulous day!  I have a fun blog hop for you today with a PRIZE so without further adieu....

Welcome to the My Thoughts Exactly Design Team Blind Blog Hop!  We're searching for the newest additions to the MTE team!  I am NOT a new member, but you should check of the next person HERE!  If you stopped by my blog today and you don't know what I'm talking about be sure to stop by the My Thoughts Exactly Blog for all the details on the hop, plus a GIVEAWAY!!!

And here's a card I made with some of my FAVORITE My Thoughts Exactly Stamps.  I used Mini Thoughts for this.  This set is AMAZING!  The sentiments are so easy to use and just a delightful mix for lots of different occasions.  I made this card using Jen Shultz's Deconstructed Sketch #49.  The paper is My Mind's Eye, as are the stickers.  

Good luck and have a great day, friends!

Farewell to Flutter By

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  I'm not feeling fabulous but I think I'll get over it.  I'm going to take it easy this weekend.  We have a birthday party on Sunday but that's about it.

I was sad to hear that the Flutter By Wednesday's challenge is saying goodbye this week.  This challenge is how I met my friend Danni (the creator of the challenge) who I absolutely love.  I was on this team until I had to go on maternity leave with Parker.  I made tons of friends and throughly enjoyed making butterfly cards.  Of course, I had to play along with their last challenge #200!  There is a sketch by Jen Shults to play along with.  Here is my take on it using My Mind's Eye papers and brad.  The pleated trim is from Creating is Fun.

Have a great day, friends!  

Oh Baby!

Hi friends! I hope you had a lovely weekend! We had a great Easter with the kids! :D Brady enjoyed himself so much and as my little introvert, it really warmed my heart when he said "Mommy, that is a VERY nice Easter." Of course, Parker thinks that any day with candy is the best ever so I didn't have to worry about that.

Today, I'm sharing a baby card I made. We have several new babies coming into our family this year and I'm so excited! I'm loading up on baby cards to send. I used My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Howdy Doody for this card, that's the paper, journaling die thing, and the pin. The lace is from Creating is Fun. I added some seam binding too.

Have a great day, friends!

One of My Favorite Things

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great day! I'm doing ok. My kids are at Dustin's parent's house for a few days so I'm hoping to get some rest. Hopefully, it will help and I'll be good as new soon.

I have a card to share with you today that I'm rather in love with. I used some new My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally for this. I guess it's not really that new but it's one of the newer releases. The whole card was built around the layered sticker at the bottom. I LOVE it! This is kind of a different layout for me, I'm trying to venture out. ;) The seam binding actually came off a package that I received in the mail. I thought it was the perfect color so I saved it from going in the trash. I also didn't love the brad that was in the middle of the star embellishment so I just changed that out. I know, I'm some sort of crafting genius. Using brads and saving ribbon from the trash. ;)

Have a great day, friends!

Hexagon Challenge

***Please scroll down for the Paper Made Bakery Sneak Peek post or CLICK HERE to view my post on the Paper Made Bakery Blog.***

Hi friends! I hope you are having a lovely day! I'm not feeling so hot. I felt great yesterday. I got up and took Brady to school. Then Parker and I went grocery shopping. I did some chores, picked up Brady, and ended the day with sushi and shopping with a great friend. And I'm PAYING for it today. Every bit of me is so sore and tired. I guess I need to stick to only doing one or two things a day until my meds have had at least a week to kick in. :(

Here's a card I made for the Create Blog challenge this week, to make a card with hexagons or honeycomb patterns. I used some My Mind's Eye paper with Sweet Stamp Shop's Sweet Victoria stamp set to make a vintage card. I accented with Love My Tapes 19mm white Lace Tape and a pearl. Speaking of Love My Tapes, there's still time to enter the lace challenge, details HERE.

Have a great day, friends!

Walking the Line

Hi friends! I hope you are having a lovely day! Happy St. Patrick's Day! We aren't Irish but we celebrate a little. A leprechaun left some silly things out for the kids like green milk and gold coins in the shape of a happy face. This evening, we're going to have corned beef and cabbage.

Here's a card I made when I was cropping with my friends a while ago. The stamp is from My Mind's Eye. They have REALLY inexpensive clear stamps and I'm quite impressed by the quality. The paper is Colorbok. I finished with some pink burlap string (May Arts) and a button. I'm pretty sure these punches belong to my friend Kristi who I miss a WHOLE lot!

Have a wonderful day, friends! Don't get pinched!

Love Bird Card

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great day! I'm still battling with this "kidney infection" and I'm beginning to think it might be something else. My tests haven't shown anything out of the ordinary. I have no idea why an infection would be so resistant to 3 kinds of antibiotics. :( Prayers would be appreciated on this.

Here's a card I posted today on the Love My Tapes Blog. For this card I used the Light Pink Lace Tape and the Pink Stripe Fabric Tape. All the other elements on this card are from My Mind's Eye, I believe this line is Fine and Dandy.

Have a wonderful day, friends!

Finishing Up the CPS Anniversary Challenge

Hi friends! I hope you are having lovely weekend! We had family fun night last night. We went to a new pizza place in town, got cookies for dessert, went to Trader Joe's (they have a stuffed elk that the kids have to find in the store to get a prize), and picked up some groceries. Parker fell asleep on the way home. So cute!

I finally finished up the last of the Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Challenges. It was really important to me to do to this because it's been a really long time since I was able to finish a huge set of challenges like this. I just wanted to show myself that I still had it in me.

Challenge #14: My Mind's Eye paper and stamps, May Arts lace, CTMH crocheted flower, and Stickles.

Challenge #13: My Mind's Eye paper, stickers and embellishments, My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks stamp, and Love My Tapes 19mm white lace tape.
Challenge 10: My Mind's Eye papers and Love My Tapes 19mm white lace tape.
Challenge #15: My Mind's Eye papers and stamps, EK Success border punch from my friend Savannah that she gave me for my birthday! :D
Have a great day, friends!

Howdy Doody

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great day! We are doing good. Today is our weekend, kind of. Brady has school but Dustin is off work. I ran a bunch of errands this morning. I need to sit down and craft a bit more.

I have two cards to share with you today. This first one is for CASE Challenge #78 which is sponsored by My Thoughts Exactly. There's a lovely card that you are supposed to CASE and this is what I came up with. I used some My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody paper and My Thoughts Exactly Many Thanks stamp set.

This next card is for Card Positioning Systems Anniversary Challenge #8. Again I used elements from My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody. I love this soft pretty floral paper! The doily edge is a stamp from this collection as well.
Have a great day, friends!

Creating is Fun Valentine's Hop (GIVEAWAY!!)

***For my Glimpses Paper giveaway, click HERE! For my Paper Make Bakery post, please scroll down.***

Hi friends! Today I have a super fun post to share with you! Creating is Fun is having a blog hop and there are PRIZES ON EVERY SINGLE STOP! What?! That's crazy! Not only that but there's one GRAND PRIZE of a $25 gift certificate the the store! Holy smokes! I wish I could win!

If you are here from Carissa's Blog, then you are in the right place. To start the hop go to Martha's Blog. You don't wanna miss a single stop because EVERY SINGLE person has a prize! Woot! Martha has the whole list on her blog so if you get lost, you can head back there.

Here's my card for this hop. I used a bunch of products from my Valentine's DT kit that Martha sent me. The flower, lace, ribbon and trims are all from the Creating is Fun Store. The paper is Pink Paislee Sweetness, the stamp is My Mind's Eye, and the mist is from Tattered Angels.

GIVEAWAY! I'm giving away ONE ITEM of the winner's choice for this hop. Just leave a comment to win! And don't forget the WHOLE design team has prizes on their blogs. Leave a comment on each post to win and to be entered for the GRAND PRIZE!

Next up on the hop is MARIA!

My Thoughts Exactly DT Thurs

Hi friends! I hope you're having a great week! We are doing pretty good. The days just seem to fly by here. I need to try to blog more.

This week, I have my first DT Thurs post for My Thoughts Exactly. I had a great time working with these stamps. Right now I only have two sets, Holly Jolly Tags and Under the Sea. I had a lot of fun trying to combine these sets to make some birthday cards that can be used all year long.

My first card uses the ornament from Holly Jolly Tags as petals to a flower and the sentiment from Under the Sea. It's a little bit of a stretch. Perhaps next time, I'll use the back of the of the paper for just the shape. But it kind of comes out fun, don't you think? The paper is My Mind's Eye.

My second card is uses a tag from Holly Jolly Tags and the same sentiment from Under the Sea. I turned the tag upside-down to make the ornaments look like little trees. They would also be cute if you made them into lollipops. The paper is Echo Park and the twine is Cotton Candy Divine Twine.

Be sure to check out the My Thoughts Exactly Blog for all the other DT cards. Have a great day, friends!

Bright Anna Griffin Card

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great week! I'm sorry that I've been so distant. I just haven't been well lately, both physically or emotionally. The last month has been extremely trying and I haven't crafted in a few weeks. I've been posting some older stuff and I've tried to force a few creations.

Here's a card I made last time I cropped with some friends here at my house. I used some Anna Griffin paper that I got from Joann Fabrics and some My Mind's Eye stamps. I used lace, a doily, and some Glitz Stickles to try to make it more vintage. I don't know if I succeeded but it turned out alright.

Have a great day, everyone!

Hoppy Birthday!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fantastic Saturday. I'm ok. I went to the post office and Target this morning and let me tell you, that was not fun! I stood in lines for a very long time! I don't think I'll be doing anymore shopping this week if I can help it!

Here's a card I made with Amber Ink Love Bunny Nosey. Don't you love these adorable Amber Ink bunnies?! They are so cute! I made this card using Jen del Muro's SFYTT December Sketch. The papers are My Mind's Eye and the sentiment is spelled out with Making Memories alphabet stickers.

Have a great day friends! And stay healthy, unlike us! ;)