Happy Birthday!

Hello everyone and welcome!  I am sooo honored to be asked to help celebrate someone very special.  She is an amazing lady ... a truly talented artist and such a giving soul.  You can just imagine my excitement and surprise when I receive a "care package" in the mail ... my heart is warmed by her generosity.  Her kind words in each and every comment are chosen with thought and meaning.  Her hand picked Design Team at The City Crafter are the best and they continue to inspire us all with every post.  So it is with great joy that I wish Kirsty a very Happy Birthday.  Thank you for all you do!

I have never met Kirsty in person but I follow her blog as well as her challenges.  She brightens our day with her cards and shares her family with her gorgeous pages.  I think she would enjoy a vintage Chevron pattern with a fun feel from Moxie Fab World .

A length of lace softens the look and adds texture.  A brayer was used to dye my doily a buttery shade of So Saffron.  The seam binding is also dyed but with shades of green and wrinkled to perfection.  The whimsical polka dot pattern is a treasure found in my scrap drawer.

En Francais script stamped in Basic Grey Classic Ink provided the background for my Birthday Wishes sentiment in Basic Black.  A decorative stick pin with a sweet flower bead displays the banner.  The oak leaf is cut from felt with my newest toy ... a leaves die and I love it!  Of course I needed to use glitter to add sparkle to Kirsty's day.  I hope she enjoys every moment!  Happy Birthday!

Thanks for stopping by ... be sure to visit Kirsty and The City Crafter to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Robins egg blue ...

Hello again my friends.  Have you seen all the wonderful inspiration on the blogs this week?  Oh my, there is so much I want to try and so little time!  I counted no less than six of my favorite sites that have the most beautiful images and samples created by incredible design teams ... I hope to jump into them all!  For today, I have combined two challenges into one project to share with you - I hope that's ok.  The City Crafter shares this fabulous image of polka dots and stripes ... such a sweet pairing of patterns.  The Play Date Cafe takes us to "days gone by" with a vintage photo in colors of sepia and a touch of robin egg blue.  Delicious!

I began with a fold of So Saffron cardstock layered with polka dot paper of the same shade and a scrap of lovely blue stripes.  The cocoa herringbone and remaining color coordinated prints are from my scrap drawer.  Some old pieces of chipboard were cut into squares ... painted or covered in papers, distressed and sewn.  I didn't have a blue flower so I made one by layering three punched flowers and curling up the petals to create a bud.  That big beautiful button adds the perfect balance to my crocheted heart.

The bow is seam binding dyed with  So Saffron Classic Ink ... scrunched and slightly tattered.  The tag is stamped in Soft Suede Classic Ink with a sentiment from All Holidays and punched out with Jewelry Tag Punch.  Topping off the bow is a glorious pin from Viola - you just have to get yourself some of these!

Thanks for stopping by .. I hope you get to spend some time creating something beautiful for yourself today.

You have my heart ...

Goodness - two posts in two days .... I told you I missed you!  Volleyball is a big part of my life in the springtime - following my daughter as we travel the state together...enjoying every minute with her.  However, I am not one who can just sit.  Like you ... our minds and hands are always crafting or visualizing our next project.  So my idle time, while she is not on the court, has been spent crocheting ... sweet delicate white hearts have been my latest love.  I use the softest of yarn which makes them so elegant.  You'll see one featured on today's project and more in my ETSY shop.  The Play Date Cafe has a color challenge this week combining purple, green, and grey.  Isn't this wallpaper fabulous?!  Don't miss seeing the work of the design team ... you'll enjoy the visit! 

I began with Very Vanilla card stock and layered on scraps of decorative papers .. one a simple newsprint the other in shades of purple.  The print in the lower right is created with the gorgeous Bella Toile background stamp and Old Olive Classic Ink on Very Vanilla card stock.  This background stamp is wonderful and makes such a beautiful background pattern ... I love it.  I also used  Basic Gray Classic Ink paired with a script background stamp ... En Francias to create a space for your eye to rest.  My sentiment is retired but I love the message it sends.  The layered butterflies are made from a creme felt and a fun decorative paper ... cut with the Beautiful Wings die and embellished with a pearl.

My seam binding was dyed with reinkers in shades of green and the button is from the Designer Buttons - Brights collection.  While the antique lace adds a vintage feel, the soft white crocheted heart is the perfect compliment to a shabby bow.  

I enjoyed creating this for you and my thanks to the Play Date Cafe team for the colorful inspiration!

The Open Sea ...

Hello friends!  It's wonderful to be back sharing with you again!  I won't be a bore with a list all the activities that have distracted me over the past couple weeks ... but it's all good (as they say).  On Mother's Day (after a weekend of volleyball on the other side of the state), I returned home to find my son with the GREAT BIG HEART did this ....

 ... he planted my old clay pots with beautiful flowers!  Utterly exhausted, I pulled into the driveway and saw these "gifts" from him - I was so touched and so very proud.  He also photographed some flowers in the garden that he thought were special  - I think they are special too.

Even though I've been "away", I've tried to visit all your blogs ... leaving notes here and there - you keep me inspired and wishing for more time in my craft room!  I'm sure you've seen the adorable beach scene over at The City Crafter Challenge Blog.  Kirsty and her team of fabulous designers have done it once again ... so much to see and sigh over ... be sure to pay them a visit!  Here's the inspiration -

Beginning with Very Vanilla Cardstock, I layered on prints from the new Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper collection.  It's gorgeous with shade of blues and neutrals.  It also has wonderful red prints and I really wish I would have used one as a splash of color on this card.  (Next time...)

The nautical images are from The Open Sea  and the sentiment from the retired "In A Word".  The buttons are from wherever I can collect them (you can never have too many buttons).  My seam binding is an old piece laying around that I dyed with reinkers ... shades of blue that I don't recall which I used.  The flower is handmade from cardstock with a pearl to embellish the center.

That's all for today but I'll be back again tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate your visit!

Best Wishes ...

Hello friends!  Although I missed seeing the royal wedding live (work gets in the way sometimes), I was able to catch all the highlights later that same day.  Catherine was beautiful in her gorgeous dress and William ... so handsome in his uniform.  And those hats ... why don't we wear hats like that?  I have my mother's hats that she wore to church every Sunday when she was young - I love them.  Perhaps we should bring hats back in style ... I'm all for that!  Creating this wedding card to share with you today is my little way to celebrate the occasion.

Beginning with color is always a great way to start.  A visit to the Design Team over at the ColourQ challenge blog never disappoints.  This uber-talented group of ladies are so amazing.  Green is my favorite color and just look at this wonderful inspiration ...

Whisper White cardstock served as my base with layers of paisley and polka-dot prints adding color.  A scalloped chipboard square was painted, distressed, and covered with First Edition Newsprint before stitching was added.  The sentiment stamped in Basic Black Classic Ink is from the Curvey Verses stamp set - a trusty stand by when I need a little whimsy.  Some lace from Shirley (thank you!) along with seam binding I dyed with Baja Breeze Classic Ink and embellished with a button and pearl.

My flower is handmade and is created from Very Vanilla cardstock.  I've made extra's that you can find available in my new ETSY shop!  To finish off the look, a velvet leaf in wonderful shades of green was tucked in behind the bow adding further texture and completing my card.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  I'll be back tomorrow with something new to share ... see you soon!