Fun Safari Nursery Gift

My cute niece Amy had to have a virtual baby shower a few weeks back with everything that’s happening with "social distancing". I didn’t get these done in time to send to her but she just got her package so that means I can share what I painted for her baby’s nursery. I found the idea on Pinterest (posted that so you can see down below) but I went with four 8x8 wood panel/frames I found at Michael’s for only $2.49 each!!! Crazy inexpensive gift! My version came out a little darker than I wanted but it was still fun and Amy loves them so that made me happy to hear this morning! Just thought I would share one of my creative “projects” I’ve done while having extra time at home. I didn’t get cute staged photos of them hung on the wall before I shipped them cause my brain doesn’t always go there DARN IT!!!! But hopefully you can see how cute they turned out. Have a fantastic weekend friends! 

Get out and get a little sunshine!  

 

 

 

You Gnome Me So Well

I know a lot of folks are taking creative advantage of their extra time at home during this crazy quarantine. ME INCLUDED. It's actually shown me I have always had time if I made it and was just better about sticking to a schedule. I also forgot just how much JOY it brings me to create things with paper and not just 

CRAFTS or digital projects.  

So I played some more this weekend and created this fun GNOME card using the die cut cardstock pieces from the Tulla & Norbert Collection by Photo Play. I love the color combo on this card and I have a HUGE obsession with polka dots so no surprise here. I searched around online last week and found a couple more scrappy challenges to inspire the direction I took this card. 

The actual design of it was based off this week's sketch challenge over at My Favorite Things. I used their Cute Critters Clear Stamps set to make that sweet tree stump. And the paper is from their Birthday Blowout 6x6 paper pad which are both older products. The THEME of it however... was inspired by the KNOCK ON WOOD challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I love that I got to incorporate the little Gnome from the April SCT Sampler kit too!! Lots of fun goodies in that every month if you're looking to get some current products to play with for only a few bucks a month! I purged EVERYTHING a couple years back so I feel like
I'm starting from scratch! 

This next card was one I created and submitted to Scrapbook & Cards Today's Summer Call but it didn't get picked up. I DID HOWEVER HAVE MY WHOLE WEEK MADE when I had a layout I created for the same issue get requested for publication and I am still happy dancing about it. It's literally been like 6+ years since I've submitted any of my work so you can imagine my excitement!
This card was created using PhotoPlay's line called Monterey Bay! I was looking at both of these cards today before coming here to share and realized you could sum my style up in ONE WORD.... LAYERS!!! Ha ha .... I LOVE DIMENSION.
That lends to BULKY cards but that's okay. I love it. It's fun and I'm pretty sure I can't make a card without it. LOL

The last thing I want to share before I go is my BEAUTIFUL SENIOR!!! I am, like all parents of Seniors in High School, sooooo sad about them losing the best part of their last year of High School! We are still working on her Graduation Announcements to mail out but I thought I would share this digital layout I made using some of her Senior Photos. She's an amazing girl and I love the young woman she has grown into! She is going to Northern Arizona University (NAU) in the fall and can't wait to see where life takes her! PROUD OF YOU CASSIDY!!! <3

HOME, WELCOME & GRACE

Wow.... so much has happened the last couple years. 

Back in 2018 I made the decision to get my Real Estate license and work on another stream of income for our family. It's been the BIGGEST blessing ever and I actually surprised myself with what I was able to accomplish even though it was HARD HARD HARD!!!! 

Within a few months of getting my license Shane and I bought our very first home together and we are SUPER proud of that having rented for the first 10 years of our marriage. 

I have REALLY ENJOYED making it feel like home. It would be close to impossible to catch up on all that has happened since I last posted here so I am not going to try. Just wanted to jump right in... share a few of my favorite home decor projects I've done and then HOPEFULLY find time to check in on a much more frequent basis!  

This HOME hanger was one of the first projects I made for our front door. I found the idea for it on Pinterest and then had a friend cut the word "HOME" out of 1/8" birch using her laser wood cutter. Super easy and fun! I have a thing for buffalo plaid so I hope it stays around for a while. 

This project was inspired by one of my crafty
 crushes..... Rebecca Propes!
Here's a link to hers so you can see it! I have this hanging on the wall outside our door in our entry way on the porch. I love the boho-chic vibe and the fun succulents!

This last project is a canvas I painted when I decided what my OLW (One Little Word) would be for 2020. Grace is something I constantly find myself NEEDING and also trying to extend as well.
I have this near my desk in my room so I am always
keeping GRACE in my heart.

 

Okay ..... I guess I will end with that. I have so much to share but want to focus on the future as well. Hopefully I can be better at posting all that's going on creatively and with my amazing family. 

The other INCREDIBLE thing that happened last year is that my 26 year old daughter who I placed for adoption so long ago FOUND ME because of the site 23 & Me and a family member who was on there as well. This is something that I have PRAYED FOR ALL MY LIFE. Shane, my girls, Brody and Chloe... everyone LOVES HER and she fits into our family perfectly and fills a whole in my heart that has been forever missing. I can barely type this without my eyes welling up with tears. I will have to share more about all of 

that in a future post. 

Life is blessed even in the middle of a CRAZY unprecedented quarantine and Pandemic with COVID-19. Praying things get back to normal soon! Until next time!  

Birthday Monkey Invites

Hi there! So happy you found your way to my blog! I share creative things here of all kinds and mediums. I like to call myself a Lifestyle Crafter. I lead a super busy life with a large family and I run my own business in my home as well so carving out SPECIFIC time during the days and weeks isn't always something that takes priority. BUT... the need to design and create and use my hands to express my love of color and art is something I NEED to make time for or it bottles up inside meand that's not good. 

SOOOO.... when every day life happens I tend to use times like these to CREATE and then my heart is happy and my soul is creatively nourished!  It may sound silly to some but this is part of who I am. My sweet Chloe Bug is celebrating her 7th Birthday TODAY!!!!  We have much planned over the next 3 days but one thing she is SUPER EXCITED about is a trip to the Phoenix Zoo with a few of her favorite friends! Since it didn't require sending out A LOT of invitations I decided to make the three of them super special and handmade from the heart!  

Before I show you the invites.... 

here's a fun photo of my Birthday Girl! 

She's our darling caboose and making birthdays fun for her is something I look forward to!  When she decided she wanted to visit the ZOO for her birthday and I asked her what animal she wanted on her invites she immediately said... "Monkey!!!" The monkeys are her favorite exhibit! So it was only fitting. I started first by finding a free monkey png file online then added the leaves and wording to it using PicMonkey.com (ha ha that's funny!) But seriously I love PicMonkey for editing my photos and creating fun graphics. Once I designed what I wanted I saved it and printed them thru Walgreen's one hour photo as 5x7 prints. Here's the base design I saved for future use. I keep them saved to share or make invites again for someone else. 

You're welcome to save this and use it too!  

Here's the final after I added the wording and then matted it on white cardstock. Also a little machine stitched sewing around the edges for a handmade touch.  

We found some generic wooden Monkeys at Hobby Lobby that I just added the bows and heart to then tied them on to the front of these large polka dot envelopes I made. Personal touches make things fun and sweet!  These little ones are only small for a short time so I try and add a little sparkle to their lives when I can! That's it for today!  Thanks for stopping by!  

MFT Sketch 302

Yay! I got a little time to create this morning! I've been itching to play with the little cactus in the Llama Love Clear Stamp set by My Favorite Things.  Of course being a native of Arizona I had to have this set and decided the saguaro needed a Santa Hat. 

Anyway.... this was a fairly quick and easy card to put together but this week's sketch from MFT is one that can have limitless possibilities!  Thanks for stopping by! 

Season's Greetings from Arizona! 

MFT Products used on this card:

Llama Love Clear Stamps

Christmas Cuteness Clear Stamps

Joyous Christmas Sentiments Clear Stamps 

Donut Thank You tags with Free Printable

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by! 

I thought I would share something fun I made for all our teachers at our monthly Enrichment activity at church!  I took a photo with some yummy donuts bagged up so you could see how fun and simple this little thank you gift was!  They were a hit! And these could be used for anything really!
Here's a link to download the PDF I created....

Donut Thank You Tags Free Printable 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Halloween Black Snake Wreath

So super excited about this wreath! I found it online from a friend or through pinterest... I honestly can't remember. But there's lots of versions of these when you search on Pinterest. We LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween over here and I especially love fun holiday wreaths for our front door! This was too easy and unique and creepy to pass up making! Between the Dollar store, Michael's and Walmart for the wreath, spray paint and plastic snakes.... this was a REALLY FUN and inexpensive project at around $15 total!  I used E6000 glue to adhere the snakes because hot glue and me don't get along. I also want it to last more than a few years!!! Anyway.... all I did was randomly glue on a ton of snakes then covered the entire thing in several coats of matte black spray paint!  EASY PEASY!!!! 

If y'all have any questions just post them in the comments and I will do the best I can!  Excited to hear how you like it!  

Happy Halloween! 

Merry & Bright

Super excited to share my second card I am throwing in the proverbial ring!!! My Favorite Things is hosting a card contest that you can check out here.  It is really bringing out some amazing and talented designers!  The deadline is tomorrow so I'm sure there will be even more cards shared over the next 24 hours and I can't wait to go through 

all the entries again myself!  

There are many different things that will be considered as they choose their TOP 10 favorite Superstar cards.  Since I am not super great yet at the Copic coloring I thought I would take a "fresh" approach with "clever uses" of their products! 

When I saw this Fringe die that MFT recently released I had all kinds of ideas running through my brain about what it could be used for. The other day as it was sitting on my table next to a set of Christmas stamps I immediately thought of a Christmas Tree!!! 

So here it is... My Mini FRINGE DIE Christmas tree. 

I didn't want to add too much to this because I felt the tree needed to shine so I added just a dusting of iridescent glitter against the white chevron die background along with a 

BOLD Christmas greeting. 

There's a lot of dimension and texture on this which adds a ton of interest!  Even if it doesn't make the cuts I am SO SUPER HAPPY with how it turned out and look forward to gifting it this Holiday Season.  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

 MFT Products used:

Joyous Christmas Sentiments Clear Stamps

Inside & Out Stitched Stars Dies

Split Chevron Cover-Up Die

Wonky Stitched Oval Stax Die

Mini Fringe Die 

Nuts About You

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this card. This is my first official "Copic-colored" image as I have finally jumped head first into them thanks to a special friend of mine who so graciously donated some of her collection to help me get started on mine!  When I saw the colors I had to work with and these fun stamps I had in my collection from My Favorite Things... I knew I was doing a fall themed card. This is my first of hopefully three cards I am creating for their current Super Star Card Contest  There are sooooo many amazing entries and so much talent I can't help but be inspired to play along and throw my hat in the ring!  

Thanks for stopping by my blog! 

Have a fabulous day! 

MFT Supplies used: 

Stitched Scallop Basic Edges Dies 

Fall Friends Clear Stamps

Cute Critters Clear Stamps (discontinued)

Pure Innocence Jumping With Joy 

Stamp & Scrapbook Expo

This weekend was crazy busy. Such is life in large families but I wouldn't change it for the world. My weekend started Friday afternoon as I headed over to the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo for the first time in many, many years. I thought it would be a fun way to step out of my comfort zone and current social circle (which isn't very large anyway) and register for their card swap class they held. It was awesome and a very relaxed atmosphere. Some cool things were shared by different attendees about how they created their cards and then there were lots of fun prizes.  

Right up my alley!  

Anyway.... everyone was required to create 16 of the same card and the two different color schemes that we could choose from basically left us choosing to create Halloween or Christmas cards. 

I had to get really creative since I no longer own a ton of supplies but it was super fun and this is what I came up with.  This fun card is just the right amount of bulk and texture! I struggle with the "flat" card thing for whatever reason. I love the saying "all hearts come home for Christmas" so I knew I wanted that to be the sentiment on this card. I didn't have a stamp I could use so I designed my own banner and printed them on card stock and printed them out.  I am including it in this post for you so you can save it and use it if you like.  I did the same with the house but I drew it myself.  I sized it how I needed it.... then added water coloring pencils to it and then finished it off with iridescent glitter. I love glitter and it makes anything magical
especially Christmas cards.  If you end up using my graphic/digital stamp on anything I would love to see what you've created!  Be sure to share!  Hope everyone has a fantastic week!!

MFT Sketch Challenge 297

Super excited to share this card because I got some time to play with my new goodies from My Favorite Things and their current Sketch Challenge as well!  This sketch was so simple but the sky is the limit. This darling little owl was begging to come to life so I used him on this fun card. I made this with a special friend in mind and can't wait to give it to her this week!
Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulously creative week! 

MFT Supplies used on this card:

Tiny Check Brights 6x6 paper pack

Single Stitch Line Square Frames

Lined Up Dots Background 

Blue Raspberry Dye Ink

Fall Friends Clear Stamp Set 

Sensational Stitched Flowers Die Set 

MFT Sketch 296

Loved the simplicity of this sketch over at My Favorite things. 

Here's a couple simple cards I created using the sketch. 

Was excited to play with their new Stitched Flowers. 

Supplies for Many Thanks card: 

MFT Many Thanks Die

Pretty Pink Posh Sweetheart Sequins Mix 

MFT Kraft Collection Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots 6x6 (NEW)

MFT Fresh Squeezed Chevron 6x6

MFT Stitched Flowers Die-Namics (NEW)

MFT Smooth White Cardstock

MFT Cotton Candy Cardstock

MFT Gumdrop Green Cardstock

Supplies for You're All Heart card:

MFT Pierced Heart Stax Die-Namics 

MFT Birthday Blowout 6x6

Pure Innocence "I Love You This Big" Clear Stamp set (retired)

MFT Cherry Crisp Prestige Cardstock 

MFT Smooth White Cardstock

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Happy Creating! 

Color Throwdown #407

I know..... shocking! I've been creating like a mad woman this week and it feels FANTASTIC!!! It's been way too long!  I am going to share one more project I got done today and this will probably be it for the weekend. I ran across this week's color combo over at the Color Throwdown Challenge Blog and knew I needed to play along. This card might not count for their rules because I created a digital graphic and printed it and scrapped with it but that's okay. Sometimes when I have a certain quote or phrase stuck in my head and I want to create something using it there isn't always a stamp just right for the job. SO I MAKE ONE. ha ha  Anyway.... here's the color challenge.  My Card. And then the graphic I made to print and use on this card. Feel free to save it and use it too on something if you'd like. I don't mind sharing. In fact... I have many more freebie graphics on the side of my blog you're more than welcome to use. If you do, I would just appreciate a link back here with a shout out. That's always nice to have!  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  

MFT Color Challenge #52

So I have to confess I was wildly intimidated by this new color combo for challenge 52 cause I tend to create mostly with bright colors.... gray is a HARD color for me to process creatively speaking. But I was itching to incorporate that brick stencil somehow on a project cause I had still never used it. As I was looking through my MFT Stamps last night I ran across this one from the Cute Critters set and it struck me as "Graffiti" style lettering so I knew right away what I would do with it! Pretty excited with how this turned out! Can you see the glitter in the heart? I'm a little obsessed with that stuff right now. HA!!!! If you'd like to play along with the current Color Challenge over at My Favorite Things CLICK HERE. Have a happy Saturday friends! Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Smooches Monthly Challenge

Hi there and Happy Friday!  I'm super excited to share this fun card with you today.  I know, I know!!!! Stop with the pre-mature Christmas cards already! But I can't help it. And I need to get a jump start on them so I have plenty to gift come December! HA!  

PLUS..... when you see WHY I was inspired to create this card you might forgive me that it's Christmas themed already! HA!  

So one of my favorite stamp companies called Paper Smooches has a monthly challenge blog and this month the theme was FRIENDSHIP.  Here's the link to the Paper Smooches Blog where you can see this challenge and all the other awesome entries.  

Here's my fun card using the Swanky Snowdudes set.

 FUN RIGHT???  I hope you can see the sparkly iridescent glitter on their bodies I added!  It just screams winter fun to me!  

 

 

Also.... before you go... I need to tell you something else that's pretty dang awesome happening over there in Paper Smooches land!  It's Pep Rally week as they are sharing their new releases! Lots of giveaways and excitement going on over there.... 

 CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FUN! 

That's all for this post! Thanks for stopping by and have

 a fabulous weekend! 

MFT Sketch 294

Yay! I think I am squeaking in JUST IN TIME for the current sketch contest over at MY FAVORITE THINGS.   

When I first saw it I was instantly inspired to use some retired MFT Stamps that are an old favorite and create a Halloween themed card. Halloween is my favorite Holiday in all it's fun colors and creatures and quirkiness!!! Anyway... Here's the sketch and my take on it. Can't wait to see the NEW sketch tomorrow! Hope you have a great day! ARRGH!! 

OH!!! And I don't want to forget sharing this little gem. Sometimes if I can't find just the right embellishment or stamp to fit the look I'm trying to achieve then I create little graphics over at PicMonkey.com and then add those to my creations like I did here. And it was just the right touch of sentiment and Pirate flair!

MFT Color Challenge #51

I love Sundays. I love to get to church each week and fill my spiritual cup. Now that our block moved to 8am that means I get a little quiet time that rarely happens while my teenagers take their beloved naps and my littles play legos, read, and color or create too. I love that I can come home and put on my pj's cause the rest of the day is spent relaxing at home. 

I am excited to share this card I created this afternoon based on the current Color Challenge over at My Favorite Things. Since we still have temps that feel like Summer... this color combo screams happy and summery and inspirational to me. One of my favorite stamps sets from MFT that I used for the message on this card is actually on sale right now so go get Chalkboard Greetings Too before it's gone forever! I posted a photo of the
whole set below so you can see it. 

Here's my card that was inspired by Color Challenge #51 with some fun black accents. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love some polka dots so that addition is no surprise. 

I also found a couple of amazing inspirational images using the same quote that I thought I would leave you with!  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I am excited to 

update it more frequently! Have a fabulous Sunday!! 

My Favorite Things Sketch 261

Hi and welcome and thanks so much for stopping by my newly freshened up blog!  It's been a tad neglected over the last few years as I've not been able to play with paper as much as my crafty heart desires.  It is however a NEW YEAR and I've promised myself to make it a priority to give myself some creative time at least once a week.  So I'm super excited to share the card I made for the current Sketch at My Favorite Things.  I adore their products and don't have as many as I would like but this is the card I created using flower dies, paper, ink, and stamps. It's major basic but should make the recipient smile!  Thanks again for stopping by and have a fabulous week!  

Sketch Day & THRIVE delivery

Today they shared a new sketch over at My Favorite Things Challenge Blog. Loved this sketch so much I knew right away how I would interpret it with the products I had to play along with.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE February as a month for paper-crafting. I have a weakness for hearts and reds and pinks so of course it will reflect in my creations.  Here's the sketch for this two weeks: 

And here's my take on it: 

Supplies:

Wood You Be Mine Stamp Set 

Die-Namics Party Banner 

Razzle Berry Pigment Ink Pad 

Simple Stories Hey Mom! Sweetheart cardstock

Teresa Collins Nine & Co. Alpha Stickers 

Another reason I am super excited today is I got a LeVel package with lots of amazing goodies in it but MOSTLY I was excited to get the new Pink Camo DFT

 they just released!  

Thrive truly does amazing things for people. In ways 

I could never explain. 

and thank goodness I don't have to. I just love sharing how it's helping people and sending samples for people to try it themselves. Easy Peasy!  I've never found anything that works so well and is so easy to do as a business before. I don't have time for home shows, parties or chasing people down all the time and Thrive just WORKS so of course I was stalking my Fed Ex guy today! HA!

Isn't this pretty!!! You should read how it's helping people!!  Here's a post on Facebook I started and asked my friends, customers and fellow promoters to chime in on about how they have been affected by Thrive.  The comments will amaze you.  It's the real deal!  I can send you a sample if you're interested!  Let me know 

and thanks for stopping by! 

READ THESE AMAZING COMMENTS!!! 

If you've never heard of Thrive but think you'd like to know more... please register for a free customer account here at http://ThriveAndChangeLives.com  and I will be in touch with you super soon!  

Have a great week!  Thrive on!