Christmas Crafting

It was fun to get some paper crafting done in December.  I enjoyed making cards and pages.  Didn't do too many other crafty projects this year - school took up so much of my time. 








I had fun with my Christmas card this year.  It was one that I created myself without copying!  I loved the felt snowflakes from Stampin' Up and they worked perfect.  After making 45 though, I was a bit tired of glitter!

I am loving the swaps I get each month at stamp club!  Each lady does such a good job of making cute cards.  In December our theme was "anything goes" so I made a birthday card.

 

Here are the pages we made at our December club:

Mary Lynn always does the cutest pages!!  I loved this one.  The window scene we created was adorable.  The paper came already embossed with the white lines and then we white embossed the kids sledding.   Then we just went over the top 3/4 with blue ink and a sponge.  The ink wipes off the white embossing.  Too cute!!!  Here is a close up of the window:

The cute curtains were made with Stampin' Up fabric that matches the paper.  The pages worked out great for our tree trimming photos.

 

Last but not least - here is my card for our swap this week.  The theme this month is Birthday - I'm glad too, my birthday card stash is getting low.

 

 

I love this card - but I should have thought twice before starting to make a dozen - there are 12 circles on each card............that's ALOT of circles!!!

YES!!! Did something crafty :)

Man, this semester of school is pretty intense.  I didn't realize how much studying I would have to do or how much memorizing.  I really needed a creative break and when I saw this post over at www.eighteen25.blogspot.com,  I knew I just had to give it a try.  These sisters make the cutest crafts PLUS they live here in Las Vegas!  They were guest bloggers on another site and when I saw what they made....................CUTE!!!!!

It's a quick, easy and cheap craft. Here is a photo of my inspiration:

I found pumpkins for $1 at Wal-Mart and already had the frame and paper.  Here's how mine turned out:

And a little side view so you can see the detail.  Really, the hardest part was cutting the pumpkin in half and that wasn't very hard (it's styrofoam in the middle).  I used the other half to make a second frame and just used some fall leaves where the stem should be.  I got 2 decorations finished for $1 and in less than 30 minutes!!!  I love fall, halloween and thanksgiving and this little decoration makes me want to get busy enjoying the autumn air :)

..............now back to the books, only 8 more weeks until Winter Break!!!!

Wedding Time

I worked hard last week on a wedding cake.  I spent a great amount of time worrying about it.  It's HOT here, I mean come on.......it's the Desert and this cake had to sit out side for over 2 hours.  I was sure it would melt.  Well, Saturday evening came and dark storm clouds blew in.  By reception time the clouds had cooled the desert and the winds turned into a nice summer breeze.  HOORAY!  The bride loved the cake so the baker/decorator was happy. 

The top tier was chocolate fudge cake with raspberry mousse, the 2nd tier was french vanilla cake with vanilla filling, the 3rd was for looks only (styrofoam - got to love it!) and the bottom was vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and cream.  The whole cake was frosted with whipped cream icing and accented with blue satin ribbon and fresh red and white roses. (and yes we served the top tier - I tell all my brides that it is useless to try and save the top.  No matter what you do it tastes icky a year later!!  I give them a gift certificate for a replica of their top for their 1st Anniversary).

I loved the cute Precious Moments topper:

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs!!!

Cake Time

I haven't had much time for cards lately.  The end of the school year, 3 birthdays and summer school have made things a bit busy around here.  (I'm the one taking summer classes .......CRAZY I know!)

I have made a couple of cakes lately, though.  We had our oldest's birthday on May 21, our youngest's on May 31 and kiddo #3 on June 8, plus a cake for one of my "regular" clients.

This one was for my client.  Her niece had her First Communion and they wanted a "girly cake".  It was almond poppyseed with whipped cream icing. I thought the pearls made it pretty girly (they were not edible).

This is Austin (our oldest) with his Aunt Sheilah.  They share the same birthday, so we had her over for birthday dinner and cake.  Not a very fancy cake (mom was BUSY).  Austin loves almond poppyseed cake so I baked that one and iced it with homemade buttercream.

Our youngest has been wanting a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday for the last six months.  His big day finally arrived.  We went on a picnic to the park with our family and some extended family and this was his cake.  Chocolate fudge cake with buttercream icing and fondant accents.  The cute Mickey and Friends are made of chipboard.  I just attached them to straws.  I saved them to use in his scrapbook :)

Finally, #3 had his birthday on June 8.  He is a baseball junkey!  He loves to play, watch, read about.....you name it, so I decided to do a baseball sitting in some grass.  He is another of mine that loves almond poppyseed with buttercream.  (I have had enough of that flavor for awhile)

Hopefully I will get some Father's Day cards made today and get them posted in between school assignments.

I made this card last week for my cute niece.  She turned 8 (even though I still feel like she is 4) and was so excited to get baptized.  The funky colors just remind me of her spunky personality.

While I was in the mood and using this fun color combo, I decided to make another birthday card.  You can never have too many..............right?


Also had a cake order last week.  My first Communion cake.  I can't believe I've been doing cakes for as long as I have and never done one.  It was for cute twin boys, and I was happy with how it turned out.

Happy Birthday Mom!

It is a big month in my family. My mom will be 70 this week and my parents also celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. We are having a big family/friends reception to honor them and the amazing marriage they have this weekend.

I took some time off from party preparations to make mom a b-day card today. I used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday. If you have never visited, they post a new sketch each Monday. It is a good place to look for new card ideas!

Here is my card for this week:

It is a 5x7 card. Supplies: Cardstock: (Chocolate Chip, Whisper White), Stampin'Up
Pattern Paper: My Mind's Eye "Magnolia" collection (Starburst Beauty Floral/Red),
SEI Winnie's Walls (I think)
Stamps: Vintage Labels, Stampin'Up
Accessories: Oval punch, Scallop Punch, Stampin'Up
Eyelet Border punch, Martha Stewart
Ink Pads (Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose) Stampin'Up
Ribbon, Stampin' Up
Die, Stampin'Up/Sizzix (Top Note)

Hope mom likes it as much as I do !!!!

Vinyl!

We have been updating around the house lately.  For the last 2 years all the walls have been white.  Boring old white.  Since we know we will be here for a few more years it was time to add some color!  The family room and kitchen got painted last month and have gone from boring to warm and inviting.  The family room walls are chocolate brown (we call it "Nutella Brown") and the wall where the tv lives is red.  The kitchen has a red wall also and the others are a nice warm brown called "Roman Brick". 

This week I added a vinyl accent to the red wall in the kitchen.  I ordered it from Stampin' Up because it was just what I wanted. 

Here is a shot of the kitchen "before":

See - white and boring~

And here is the kitchen after the paint job:

Here is the family room (it's a huge room so I can't get the whole thing in one photo):

And finally here is the kitchen after my vinyl went up:

I love it!  it adds to the wall and it's just plain cute!  I did learn that Stampin' Up is right and vinyl does not love textured walls, but with a little patience it is stuck just fine.  I would love to do some more vinyl accents around my house and I really want to try and cut my own with my Cricut someday.

Eventually the Living room is going to be a couple of shades lighter than the kitchen - but that is another huge project.  Maybe next Spring I'll be ready :)