Happy Birthday, Baby!

My best friend's daughter turns one soon so I made her a birthday card. I recently purchased a Sizzix embossing machine (so I'll be embossing EVERYTHING!) and decided to give it a whirl for this card. I also used some shapes from my Silhouette. Here's the final product:



Yes, this card is kind of fancy for a one-year old. But if you knew this one-year old, you'd understand. :) She's pretty stylin' for her age.

I love how this turned out! I used embroidery floss to jazz up the background paper (as if the paisley-printed, embossed background paper needed anymore jazzing up). The "Happy Birthday" banner is on 3D foam tape to make it stand out a bit from the rest of the busy card. I also used what little of the MME Penny Lane papers that I have left. It's cute, if I do say so myself. :)

A "Thank You" Card...

I needed to make a masculine thank you card for my Grandpa. I'm good at making girly/feminine cards, but I never really tackle the masculine variety. I recently snagged a MME Bella Bella paper pack at my local Home Goods and I knew I had to put some of those papers to use. Here's what I came up with:



Yes, there is a flower on it, but I think my Grandpa will be able to appreciate it. :) I colored it with Glimmer Mist and think it matches the papers so well! I wish my printer would stop hating me and start printing the color I choose in Word and not something way darker or not even close, but this will do. I'm pleased with the way this card turned out and I hope my Grandpa appreciates it. :)

Sketchy Thursdays DT Entry

Anyone who follows my blog knows that I RELY on sketches or scraplifting to do my layouts. I couldn't scrap my way out of a cardboard box without a sketch. I love them because they make me look like I know what I'm doing.

This is why I decided to take a stab at being a Sketchy Thursday Guest Design Team member. Here is the sketch for the challenge:



Doing sketches 1) with any kind of "artsy" look and 2) that much white space is outside the realm of what I'm used to, so I was definitely up for this challenge. And you know what? I think I did a pretty good job. (If I do say so myself.) :)

Here is the layout I created:



When I decided to scrap this picture, I knew the Echo Park "Little Girl" line was the only one I should use. The colors all go together so well. I used some purple and pink Glimmer Mists for the splatters and Sew Easy floss for the stitching. I am THRILLED with the way this layout turned out! I recently figured out how to distress papers and went a little distress-happy, but I'm happy with the effect. One small thing I'm proud of is the chipboard flower that I embossed and sprayed with Glimmer Mist to look like the flower on the hat my daughter's wearing. So cute!

Fingers crossed! :)

SIDE NOTE: I didn't make it, but I had fun trying!

I'm in disbelief!

I can't believe my baby girl turns TWO a week from today. Seems like just yesterday my little Brutus came speeding into our lives. She was a week early, came out in three pushes after 4 hours of labor, started walking at 9.5 months and hasn't slowed down yet! (Much to mommy's dismay.) Brutus has added a whole new level of chaos to our lives on ALL levels (her big sister was the calm, centered child...B is COMPLETELY opposite - hence the nickname). But I wouldn't trade any of the years she's shaved off my life due to frequent heart-attack moments for ANYTHING! :)

Anyway, this is the birthday card I made for my sweet girl. I am in LOVE with it!!



I created my own "twine" by taking apart two strands of embroidery floss, getting them damp, twisting them together, then leaving to dry. Next time, I might just keep the two strands whole before twisting them together because I like the thicker look better, but this isn't bad for a first try! The Imaginisce Enchanted collection works so well for anything girly related. I cut out the cake and candles using my Silhouette. Let me tell you...next time I will cut out BIGGER images because working with those tiny, delicate candles was definitely a challenge. Lesson learned! I sprayed the top layer of cake with Cadillac Pink Glimmer Mist. I think everything goes so well together...even the blue ribbon with pink polka dots!

I had fun making this card and I hope she enjoys looking at it when she gets older.

DCWV Giveaway!

DCWV is having a FANTASTIC giveaway for those of us blog followers who don't live locally and can't attend their huge warehouse sale going on right now. Anyone would be so lucky to get all of this loot!

Who hearts American Crafts?

Better question...WHO DOESN'T?! :) One of my fellow Scrapbooksteals sisters is having a giveaway! Be sure to check out Heather's blog for more info!!