Paper Players - Mom's Birthday

My mother's birthday is tomorrow. I almost had the same birthday, but decided to wait one more day to make my appearance into the world so I could have my own birthday - or leave Mom her own.  I turned to the Paper Players Sketch this week for inspiration for her card. She loves butterflies so I used PinkPaislee's Butterfly Garden Designer Paper. I love the romantic look of the paper and thought it fit her taste perfectly. 

Speaking of romantic - I can't wait until tomorrow when I can order Stampin' Up!'s new Designer Series Paper Beau Chateau ( just beautiful). I am sure I will be using that quite a bit. Another must have for me is denim ribbon. Stampin' Up!'s new 2011-2012 catalog items are available for purchase tomorrow. I AM SO EXCITED!!! Make sure you visit tomorrow after noon to order your new items.

Stamps - Watercolor Trio

Paper - PinkPaislee Butterfly Garden, crumb cake, very vanilla card stock

Ink - crumb cake, blush blossom

Accessories - Beautiful Wings sizzlet die, scallop circle punch, very vanilla seam binding ribbon

Fitting Birthday

Another birthday card today. I wanted to break out my Webster's Pages - Trend Setters/Ladies and Gents   and loved this color combination. The papers are so beautiful that the layout of the card can be very simple and quick to create. Gotta love a quick card!

Stamps - Chic Boutique ( retiring at the end of the month)

Ink - early espresso, pear pizzaz

Paper - Webster's Pages - Trend Setters/Ladies and Gents, SU pear pizzaz, baja breeze, early espresso, very vanilla card stock

Accessoires - Beautiful Wings embosslit die, old olive button, Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, dimensionals, beads

A Silly Card for a Silly Guy

Megan had another birthday party to attend so I went out of the box and made this card for her friend. He is such a goofy, nice boy so I wanted the card to reflect that. I used Picnik to create the special colors and effects of the photos then imported them into my publishing program. If you want to edit photos quickly check out the Picnik site.

Stamps - Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper - basic gray, black, whisper white card stock
Ink - basic black
Accessories - black brads, dimensionals

Another Mojo Card

I loved the Mojo Monday sketch and used it once again for this Bar Mitzvah card. Just changing the color scheme to a more masculine one gives it a different feel. 

Stamp - Shalom Sayings

Ink - Early Espresso, Soft Suede

Paper - Basic Grey Max and Whiskers, Bazzil Basics Simon, Stampin' Up early espresso, cajun craze and very vanilla card stock

Accessories - 1" and 1 1/4" circle punch, early espresso satin ribbon

Mojo Monday - Goodbye to You My Trusted Friend.....

Today was the last day of school for my son Jake. I needed a card and gift for his teacher so I turned to the Mojo Monday Sketch Blog for inspiration. Oh My GOODNESS! there are so many beautiful cards submitted this week by the design team and all the participants. I guess it is indicative of a great sketch. Make sure you pop over to the Mojo Monday blog and check out all the amazing talent.

Anywhooo, so I am saying goodbye to a trusted friend - Play Date DSP. It was my go-to for a bright uplifting card. I thought this paper was perfect for my son's teacher. Make sure you take the opportunity to order this paper before June 30th before it's gone for good.

Stamps - Silhouette Sentiments
Paper - Play Date  DSP, real red and whisper white card stock
Accessories - paper daisies, 1" and 3/4" circle punches, Play Date Quick Accents

A Go To Sketch Site - Sweet Sketch Wednesday

Raised number "13", stamped image and circles

One of my go-to sites for sketches is Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I am amazed at the quality and challenge of the sketches the design team produces each week. Make sure you "bug on over" and check out their challenge  and the beautiful work of the design team each Wednesday. I have the site bookmarked and visit each week for great inspiration. What amazing talent! Anywhooo....

I was in need of a 13 year old birthday card for my dear friend's son ( who is like a son to me) and used their sketch for inspiration. Even though the DT has such cute, pretty cards, I used the sketch for a more masculine feel. My "son from another mother" loves orange so I had to incorporate lots of orange in the card. Yes, I am using all retired items, but they were the great ones that I held on to. 

All items Stampin' Up!

Stamps - Bring On the Cake ( Spring Mini 2011- retired)

Paper - Travel Journal DSp ( Summer Mini 2010 - retired), night of navy, wisper white, pumpkin pie card stock

Ink - basic black, night of navy, pumpkin pie 

Accessories - 1" 3/4" 1/2" circle punches, dimensionals, glitter brads.

So while I was away.....

While I was focusing on the 8th grade project many things around the house were neglected so I have been  doing a bit of delayed spring cleaning. My main concern was my kitchen "command center".  This is the typical center from which everything important in the household is controlled . I do not have a calendar posted with all sorts of activities on it since everything is controlled via iCal and iPhone and Weplay (which is a must for team moms and any sports family- I will have to do a separate post on that later) programs on our individual phones and computers ( I love Apple!).  My go to drawer and cabinet were just getting too out of control and over run so I worked on that and other kitchen cabinets over the past few days and I feel much more mentally stable:).

So here is what I have been doing

Command Center Cabinet Before

Command Center Cabinet After

Total Command Center

Pens and Pencils OUTSIDE of the junk drawer

One of the first cabinets that I organized was my spice cabinet. I went through my various bottles and transferred the spices into same size bottles and labeled them, throwing away expired spices. I was amazed at how many bottles were expired - cha-ching!$$ I have always arranged them alphabetically but this is the first time I have transferred them into same-sized bottles and I love it; however, I need to restock all those out of date spices like Oregano.

A Very Empty Spice Cabinet

Labeled Spice Jars

I still have a few more cabinets and then it will be on to the next room.

Where I Have Been Focusing My Time - 8th Grade dance

The past month I haven't been stamping as much as I would like to due to being on the 8th grade dance committee. Graduation from my daughter's catholic school is a big deal and the dance is a huge hi-light of the festivities. The gym is divided into sections to decorate and transformed by the parents for the week of the dance and festivities of graduation.  A theme is chosen and kept secret until the night of the dance ( this year it was Disney). I was the coordinator of the gym entrance or facade and have been working with my trusty crew of 4 to do our section. Our only draw back compared to the other sections is that we have to erect our section in one day. We had a plan but didn't know if the measurements, theory of support, etc. would work until that day. Thank goodness for duck tape!

So here is the before and after of the gym and our project

Before

After

The best thing of the evening was bringing Megan home and hearing all about the wonderful evening she had with her friends. ( You can tell she is my first right?) Here she is dancing the first dance with her dad ( they are both gorgeous yeah? Yes, she is almost as tall as he is) The first dance  of the evening is for mothers and sons and fathers and daughters then they kick the parents out.

Megan and Marc