All Paper Arts

Okay. I am no where near ready for bikini season. Even prior to having my newest baby girl it had been a while since I would wear a true bikini. But (no pun intended) if my butt looked this good I would be more than happy to wear a bikini. My friend Lori saw cards like these at splitcoaststampers.com and forwarded me the page. It seems that they were a card challenge with some catchy title of “Put Your Big Girl Panties On”. There is even a template you can download for free. I decided they needed some embellishments so that is why i have the “button” on them. The button is actually a fabric covered brad I found in the scrapbook section of the craft store. I put the brad through a transparent silk flower before adding it to the bikini. I thought they were so cute I made a leopard print one for my honey for Valentine’s Day. Actually, I thought they were so cute that I made them for this past Sunday’s card party. The one I made for my Valentine was a two sided card. On the front was the bikini bottoms on the back was the bikini top. I would download it but it seems it is still in his briefcase. So instead I’ll just show you this one. I got smart and stopped cutting the “lace” out of paper, instead I used wavy rickrack. Whether you call them bikini bottoms or thongs they are still just too cute. I love using a little heart stamp and stamping the bottom right cheek with a “tattoo”. By the way if you want to be a little bit more demure you can make Granny Panties or bloomers instead. Just make the panty legs a little lower.

all paper arts, card making, rickrack, scrapbooking, splitcoaststampers.com

Look what I found while I was actually working on one of my goals. That would be the goal to get my craft area organized. Okay, the craft room is not organized….yet. However, I must have dug a little bit in the abyss that is the paper arts area. How else would I have found this cute little invite that is from my now 7 1/2 year olds 5th birthday party?

Once you pull the smiley face out pops the flower with the tag and the flower pot. This let the guests know that it was a garden theme party. On the other side of the tag I had written that the kids would be planting flowers. The parents appreciated this because they knew not to let their kiddos get dressed up.

At the beginning of the party the children decorated their own little flower pots then after the pots were dry they planted flowers in the pots and took them home as favors. Instead of cake and ice cream I made a dirt cake and had it in a beach pail. It was a great little party.

dirt cake, handmade party invitations, card making, scrapbooking, all paper arts, childrens birthday parties

! Happy New Year! I am not one for making resolutions. To be honest I don’t really keep them. It’s not that I don’t keep them as I just tend to forget about them. Instead I try to make a few goals to complete. So here are a few of mine for the year.
1. Start posting on this blog daily again. I have let down everybody by not doing so.
2. Get my craft room organized again and keep it that way.
3. Actually put stuff on my personal website so people can buy some of my stuff or contract my services.
4. Start a book for not only the baby but for my 6 year old. Somehow I never managed to buy her a baby book. I am pretty sure it was because I was going to scrapbook and paper arts one for her.
5. Go back for another semester of college. This one is pretty easy; I have already registered and paid.
6. Get all my thank yous out. The ones for baby gifts, people who brought dinners, my kids thank yous for Christmas presents, and so on. Don’t worry my children will be making their own thank yous. So I should actually say getting the thank yous in the mail.

There is much more I could write down. Like now that I am smaller than I was before I was pregnant to work at getting toned. Or to finally figure out how to keep my house in order and stay that way. Instead I will leave it at a short list. I am sure you have your own list going through your head.

So here is my number one reason for not posting in awhile. Isn’t she beautiful? Another great reason to scrapbook. She arrived last Friday. What a good baby she is. Although she was due on Thursday she let her mommy get through finals first. Little did I know on Friday morning when I was beyond sick that I was in labor. The nurse on call told me there was a virus going around and that I would only feel worst. Luckily, there were plenty of wonderful moms at my daughter’s school that realized it was more then a virus. I have already thought of dozen of things I want to make and post. Needless to say I have some great inspiration. Oh and by the way if you are wondering I passed all my exams and all my classes with A’s and B’s not bad for someone who hasn’t gone to college in over 15 years.

Wow! Here it is December 6th and I have not made a post in awhile. Sorry, friends I have not forgotten you. However, I have forgotten my manners and my brains. I have had so many things I have wanted to do. So many projects I have wanted to show. So may ideas I wanted to share. Fear not I plan on getting my stuff together again. So no baby yet. Let’s hope she keeps holding out. If you remember my due date is the same day as my last final exam, December 13th. We all think I am going to make it (crossing my fingers). Then after that I will be ready, well as ready as I can be. Until I can get to some serious blogging done I am going to post some handmade holiday cards.

Here is the first. I made this Victorian inspired card for a Christmas Card Swap Party last month. I made several of this style but with different background papers. This one was not my favorite I think it is too plain. This is probably why I ended up making about 5 other versions that I will be posting the next few days. The Santa is actually embossed. I used a white pigment ink pad and then used a cranberry embossing powder. Also the green paper was a plain hunter green but I used a green glitter spray to make it sparkle.

Victorian Christmas, scrapbooking, handmade cards, card making, rubber stamping, embossing powder, all paper arts

I always forget how much people appreciate getting something you have made with your own hands. These little hats are no exceptions. Neither are handmade cards. All of the thank you cards I send are lovingly handmade cards. I think people appreciate them as much as I appreciate their gifts. Or at least it seems that way. So next weekend I am going to one of my card party friends house and we are going to make holiday cards. There will be six or seven of us there. Each of us will make 4 cards of each person’s samples. It is very similar to our normal card parties only we are making more cards and we have less people. The goal is to have 28 handmade holiday cards to send out, pass out, or even give as gifts. So somewhere in between doing research and writing my third composition paper I have to figure out what kind of card I am going to design.

I had this big plan that this year I was going to make a lot of holiday gifts. Yeah, I am thinking that might be a big ambition. I still got to go get shopping done sometime before the little one arrives so I don’t have to drag a newborn out to the Christmas shopping crowds. If you are looking for ideas for handmade gifts check out Creative Mom Café. She has really been posting some great ideas.

scrapbooking, cardmaking, creative mom cafe, handmade Christmas cards, handmade thank you cards, all paper arts

Okay, I’ll admit these past few weeks the only paper I have had time for has had to do with school. Sometimes I wonder what was I thinking going back to school at 30 something years old. Then finding out I was expecting my fourth little one on top of that. Needless to say it has had some overwhelming moments. Not to mention the lack of having time to work on my paper arts. This is sad because my paper arts are my release. However, I have been working on some crafts. On the days I get home from taking my kids to school, going to school myself, picking up the girls from school, and the taking them to choir practice my legs have really had it. I don’t even mind sitting on the couch while my husband watches all of his outdoor shows. As long as it means I can put my feet up and if I can stay awake then I will work on some knitting, using my knifty knitter. I have tons of little baby hats. I have gotten really quick at knitting those up. No, they aren’t all for our baby. Most of them have been for people I have known who have had babies.

I love my knifty knitter. We have three sets here at home and are about to get two of the long loom sets. The girls love them, too. I wish I had the patience and was talented enough to knit and crochet on my own. My grandmother taught me once how to do granny squares but I completely forget. I also took a little class on how to knit but I just don’t seem to be able to get the hang of it. Plus my hands get so cramped up. Yes, I know it is because I am doing it to tight but I’ll just stick with easy projects and the knifty knitter. If you are looking for tips for “real” knitting check out Knitting Passion.

scrapbooking, card making, knifty knitter, provo craft, knitting passion, all paper arts

So, I am trying to get an area in my bedroom ready to set up our pack-n-play for the baby, once she arrives, to sleep in the first few months. I was really hoping for a bassinet this time around or even a new model pack-n-play but since we still have one from when the girls were little, I really can’t justify buying a new one. The area right now is full of some of my business stuff. Mainly a product I had been a distributor for but there are a few craft fair items mixed in.
I know…I know…it isn’t even Halloween yet why am I posting something for Christmas? Well, it is never to early to start working on something you might want to make a lot of. These are little Reindeer Dust packages I sold at a craft fair last Christmas. I had many people buy them for their children’s classmates. These are really simple. The contents are dry oatmeal, colored sugar, and glitter. Pretty easy huh? This year I am not sure what I will be making for the craft fair. Between my school and the girls school, my homework and the girls homework, the girls golf and choir, and preparing for a baby I don’t have a lot of time. Just ask my husband who keeps wondering when I am going to get things done around the house.

I am not the only one thinking about Christmas right now. Just check out Jummy’s post today.www.gettingcrafty.com

reindeer dust, scrapbooking, card making, all paper arts

My friend asked me to make a card for her. She has a friend who has remarried and she wanted to get her something. She thought she’d get her something like gift cards to the movies and dinner. So she asked me to make something to put them in. Here is what I came up with. Unfortunately, the cream paper has sheen to it so scanning or taking a picture doesn’t give it justice. Basically the concept is a card within a card. The smallest card is folded to have two pockets for gift cards. That goes inside of a cream card that then goes in to the large envelope.

Does this card make you think of weddings? Are you planning or know someone who is planning a wedding? check out the wedding tactics site. It is full of ideas for that special day.

card making, handmade wedding cards, scrapbooking, all paper arts

Here is another distressed pumpkin. This one without the jack a lantern face. Imagine a little group of these all different sizes as a center piece. How much more fun if everyone in the family made one. Then you are sure to have a unique pumpkin patch. A great rainy day project. Of course that is if you are anywhere that is getting any rain. Here it is just hot and humid. So it is more of a too hot to play outside day project. I can’t believe it is October and we are still walking around in tank tops and shorts trying to stay cool. At least I can make all these paper arts for fall and pretend it is nice outside. As a matter of fact I think I might go make some homemade applesauce. The smell of simmering apples, cinnamon, and spices should help. After I finish the apple sauce maybe I will use the recipe Jackie posted for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm…that sounds good. Since the girls are at home today for a school holiday it might be worth checking out kids dish.

pumpkins, rubber stamping, paper bag crafts, all paper arts, kids dish, pumpkin recipes

Well distressed that is. Since it is still in the 90’s here in Texas we haven’t bought any real pumpkins. Here is a sample of the pumpkins my girls and I make sometimes. You can fill them with candy for a gift. If you just want to use it for decorations then simply fill it with newspaper or plastic shopping bags. It really is simple. When the bag is flat use a white crayon to make lines. Afterwards you can put on a face if you would like. I just use my ink pads to get the distressed look. Just rub the ink pad all over. Always start with the lightest color pad and build up to the darker or else your ink pads could get smudged. I happened to have some orange embossing powder so I just sprinkled some over the bag after I used a pigment ink pad then set it with my heat tool. Don’t forget to get the sides. After you are happy with your design go ahead a fill your bag and tie it up. These are so fun to make you can make great tablescapes with them as well. Remember the face is optional so if you just make a pumpkin it can last you throughout Thanksgiving.

Like the idea of making crafts with your kiddos? I am not the only one here at 451press that does. check out Creative Mom cafe, Michelle is always finding cute crafts to do with kids

scrapbooking, rubber stamping, embossing powders, fall crafts for kids, all paper arts

Since I have already had pumpkins in all my posts this week I decided to go ahead and finish the week with pumpkins. Who doesn’t love a good pumpkin? Goodness knows I look like I have swallowed a couple right now. Actually, just the other night I was wearing some new PJ’s when I heard my husband talking to our friend who was over. He kept saying, “look, now, see the pumpkin?” I thought they were talking about something on the video game they were playing. Nope, my wonderful hubby was pointing me out when I would turn sideways. I guess buying orange PJ’s when you are 28 weeks pregnant isn’t a good choice. I should have known when I heard my step daughter’s snickers that they weren’t talking about the video game. So back to real pumpkins. For this years card swap I picked Halloween as the card I would make. Each of us is suppose to make 32 cards. After the swap we will each have 2 sets of 16 cards. These make great gifts. I give them to the girls teachers at the end of every year. Last year my oldest daughter’s teacher told me it was the best teacher’s gift she had received in all of her years of teaching. When I saw her this year she told me she gave one of the cards to her friend who framed it because she liked it so much!

Here is a super easy gift bag great for autumn. You could use it for a gift bag or a treat bag. I kept the bag flat in order to scan it for you so you could see more detail. It is much more awwwspiring when it is filled. I used a stamp roller for the lines of leaves and acorns. Simply fold overr the top edge and punch two holes for the ribbon. My punch actually makes a small rectangle slit for ribbon to go through but you can use a regular hole punch and still get the same effect. The pumpkins are some of those felt pumpkins in a bag that were only $1. I tried to stay very simplistic with this but you can go as elaborate as you’d like.

Yesterday was Moose You So Much. I picked the moose you yesterday because I really am missing autumn. I want signs of it to start now! My patience is not as good as usual. I am blaming pregnancy on that. Just like I blame pregnancy brain for the really silly little things I seem to do at least once a day. Like leaving my engine running while I was at a meeting. Don’t worry my door was locked. Oh again don’t worry my husband was there in his car so he was unable to lock the car for me. Then there was the time after I had mowed the lawn and I thought I had locked myself in the backyard. My back door was locked and I had already locked my gate so I didn’t know how I was going to get out of my yard. That was until after I finally realized I had the keys to the gate lock and the front door in my hand the whole time I was freaking out. Those are just a few examples and probably the funniest of my pregnancy brain. At least I haven’t forgotten to pick my kids up from school…yet.

Today is Such a Deer. This is another version of yesterdays post. I just love the way the googly eyes really make these pop! Not to mention the dimension it adds. The little pumpkins are felt they were near the register in Joann’s only $1 for over 30 pumpkins. I thought the pumpkins would make a great border for a scrapbook page. I am also going to use them for a “closure for a gift bag” that will be posted tomorrow.

It is official, it is now fall. Ah fall, the time of year when the sky smells clean and crisp and leaves start dropping from the trees in brilliant shades. Pumpkins and apples, warm cider and pecan pie, the smell of cloves and cinnamon. Yes, autumn is my favorite season of all. Of course I have to drive a long while to find these smells and sights. Either drive or unlock my memories from when I lived on the east coast or Germany and seasons actually happened. Then I wake up and remember I am in North Texas where the high for today is in the 90’s. A cool front is coming in tonight or tomorrow though…yep it is probably only going to be 90 tomorrow with 100% humidity. Can you sense the sarcasm? If I wanted to go buy some “real” pumpkins to put outside for decorations they would rot in a matter of a week or so. Ho-hum… If you live some place where you can see fall all around send me some pictures will you? Until then I will just have to rely on making cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper arts to imagine it is fall around here. Here is a cute card to get me in the autumn mood.