Monkey See, Monkey Do, How Bout' a Birthday for You...

Well, I didn't get the chance to play around with those new stamps just yet! I've been on a "banner-making" kick lately and I have one to share here today. I also have a retirement banner in the works, so you'll have to stay tuned for that one! They are such a fun and nice way to display some color splash and can be easily stored...until next time! I put this ensemble together for a friend who requested a monkey theme for her little girls first birthday. I had the hardest time finding a cute girlie monkey, so I came up with this brilliant idea to buy a packet of stickers (there was only 1 image of this cute monkey in there!!) and photo copy the image on PTI white card stock. I was able to get 6 monkey images on a full sheet of cs...you don't want any more than 6 on a full sheet because you need to allow room for you nesty dies to cut them out. Once I got the monkey image center cut, I stamped my pink scallop (PTI-Faux Ribbon) and used my Karen Foster snap stamps for "Kathryn". I stamped each letter individually vs. having them attached, otherwise they would not have fit! I cut several more SU! coordinating cs colors and on the pink cs I used a SU! Polka Dot bg stamp. There is also a little added touch of yellow to the monkey's flower with an adhesive rhinestone. I printed all the party info. on a nesty cut circle and adhered it to the back. The banner is probably my favorite to date! I love to make these! The colors on this particular banner are so fun and vibrant! My gf asked if I could use Kathryn's middle name as well. I wasn't able to fit it on the invites so I incorporated it with the beginning and end pieces of the banner. I cut out all the rectangles with my nesty dies. I was really sporadic with my PTI-Polka Dot Basics set here. I used an open polka dot first, then went back and filled in sporadically with my solid polka dots. To connect all the rectangles I used a regular paper hole punch and strung thru some May Arts ribbon (I buy May Arts ribbon by the spool from Jody!) and then I went back and added coordinating ribbons in between the rectangles.

Vintage Barbie & Harley Combo...

Awww, the joys of summer...HUMIDITY! You would think that living rather close to the coast, the humidity would be mild, but it has been a killer weekend! I'm a "outdoorsy" girl when it comes to gardening and mowing the lawn, but it's not a whole lot of fun when your soaked before you even turn the key to the lawnmower...lol This weeks forecast is pretty much the same so I guess I will be staying inside and playing with some new stamp sets!

Anyhoo, on to the FUN stuff! I've had this vintage Barbie paper sitting in my stash and a dear friend just happened to be looking for something for her Mom in this pattern! The Barbie's are printed in silhouettes on a 12x12 sheet and I just chose 3 that would fit the size of this notebook. After I cut out the Barbie's I decided they just didn't have the "pop" in color that I was looking for. I sewed on the first layer of cs then matted all of them in SU! Ballet Blue cs. The SU! Pixie Pink cs is stamped with my PTI-Polka Dot Basics (I think I use this set on just about everything!). The write ribbon is simple offray from Wal-Mart and I wrapped it under the cover and added the bows with E6000. I don't know if you can see from the photo, but I also added a few pink rhinestones on the hats and the hair of the middle Barbie. What better combo to go with Barbie's than Harley's? A simple 4x6 photo album customized just for Mom! I replaced the inside cover with the Harley colors. Luckily with this type of album, you have 2 separate pockets for the cover vs. having to fiddle with one large cover which can buckle when you try to fiddle with it! First, I cut the coordinating card stocks and stamped PTI-Sympathy (vines) in black. And of course, then I ran it thru my sewing machine before adding the name (SU! alpha set) and adding some extra matte colors. Lastly, I added the 3-D Harley images and she was complete! This the perfect size album to stash in your purse or bike luggage!

Graduation Ensemble...

A special request I put together for a recent graduate. It was nice to do something for an older graduate (college grad) this time around. I'm usually in the midst of making gifts, cards, etc for the younger crowds lately...lol Besides, the weather is nice and just ripe for "picking" season...this SU! patterned paper reminds me of the strawberry patch! Simple post-it pad notebook. Altered reporters notebook. These are super quick and easy to put together! I found the right size clear bag to put these notebooks in once they are completed...totally makes it even easier to give as a quick gift! I usually keep several made up in a basket, because you never know who's birthday is coming around the corner:) I also love the Heidi Swapp ghost flower shapes!
Long 6 piece chocolate box! I wanted to add a little flair to the outside of the box, so I sewed a creme thread on the patterned paper. The "sweet" stamp is from an old SU! set I have and then I used my SU! scallop punch to matte. The nugget wrappers are avery address labels and I used my PTI set to stamp them out!Short 4 piece chocolate box!Personalized post-it notebook. I especially love that I changed out the handle on the purse this time. In previous purse construction I have used a paper handle as well, but I really like the whimsy look of the satin ribbon.

Don't Forget About Teacher's...

Last Friday was the end of my BIG girl being a baby! She is more than ready for Kindergarten and had a blast celebrating Field Day with all her classmates. I feel very blessed that she was also taught by two wonderful teacher's, Ms. Queen and Ms. Sue. I was certainly hoping they would follow us to Gracie's new school, but no such luck! I hope they both know how much WE appreciate them! These "little people" images are the same that I used in the previous posts only this time I used the 3-D clothes that come with the set! Check out the girls shoes...snazzy!
Nothing says, "I'm a big girl" like some dazzling diamonds and satin ribbon! The names are stamped out with my PTI alpha set and then I used the scalloped circle (yellow one) punch for a little color POP!I stamped all the edges with my PTI sympathy set and added the flowers. I was sporadic with the flowers stamps, no particular order and followed the same method when adding the adhesive rhinestones.
I wanted to add this quick little number on today's post as well! You know when you go the florist and they have all those "generic" cards you can add to your bouquets? Well, since this bouquet was a sympathy set for someone who lost a close family member, no "generic" card would do. I really wanted something nice and elegant so I pulled out my PTI sympathy set and cut the ovals with my nesty dies. I'd say it coordinates pretty well with the flowers eh?

Pre-K Graduation Certificates...

ETA: stamp set can be found at Michael's...it was on an end cap when I first walked in the store...I think for most stores, it will be in the NEW product section!

This school year has really ZIPPED by! Tomorrow is Gracie's last day of Pre-K and it's going to be a day filled with fun and moving on to the next step...Kindergarten! My Daughter is very ready for Kindergarten, Mommy on the other hand, is NOT! Its been exciting to see all the changes in her educational development and to watch her grow in to a mature little lady! Since Pre-K doesn't have a "real" graduation, her teacher had asked if there was something I could make for the kids, sort of like a certificate, that could be a nice little send off for their last day. I had just purchased this Me & My Big Ideas stick figure stamp set and I found it to be very fitting for the occasion. These stamps are fairly large (FUN!) at approx. 4-5 inches! The set also came with 3-D outfits, shoes, and accessories so you can dress them up! I didn't have enough outfits for the quantity of cards I needed, so they got "copic" dresses and shorts...lol I cut my white cs to 5x7, outer cs is cut 1/4 in larger for a border. On the white cs I measured 1 inch all the way around (the line black line) so I would have a nice border and line guide for the abc/123 stamps (SU!). The flower stamp comes with the M&MBI stamp set. The first and last (blurred out on the bottom) names were stamped with my Karen Foster Snap Stamps.

It was fun making sure each card is going to mean something special to the children. I even made sure to color just the right skin tone! I've been asked a lot if Gracie is Hispanic since she has rather dark skin tone for being half Caucasian and Chinese, but I assure you she has been blessed with her darker tone from her Daddy. My youngest is 2.5 and is pretty light like her Mommy, but she tells everyone she is ONLY Chinese! My sister-in-law is always teasing me that the next child will be totally Caucasian...lol

Busy start to the week and a baby surprise...

So what else do you do on a Monday AND it also happens to be your birthday??!!! Welllll, you spend it at the DMV of course...LOL! I would have loved to spend my birthday any other way, but since my license expired THAT DAY, it had to be taken care of! Plus, it's the only DMV I've been to where your 2 yr. old can sit on your lap while taking the written test...she was soo good for being there almost 4 hours! Needless to say, I did pass (barely!) and I officially carry a NC license now:) I've also been trying clean up my messy craft room, but then the urge passes and I'm back to square one!

Anyhoo, on with the fun "baby surprise" I made for my sister's baby-on-the-way! And you thought I was going to say "we" had a baby surprise right?? I love making baby stuff for friends and family. I was trying to think of a neat way to keep all the baby essentials organized, yet easy to see and readily available. All four jars here were only 8 bucks at Wal-Mart. These jars come in 3 different sizes and I used the medium size.To get started I wanted some material that would match the crib bedding. I ironed the material with a little starch to stiffen it up before running thru my wizard machine. After I cut the material out, I cut another circle the same size and mod-podged it on to the cs for strength. The letters are cut with my Cricut and the added flower embellishments are from my cuttlebug and foo-fa-la buttons. The wide polka-dot ribbon is some inexpensive stuff I picked up at Wal-Mart.The medium sized jars fit all the miniatures perfectly! In another jar I also put mylicon drops, baby tylenol, teething gel etc. You could make so many wonderful gifts with jars...think about the holidays...maybe a hot chocolate set for the kids, or cookie mix for teachers? Just a quick snapshot of sis' baby bedding. Our family friend, Sharon, made this bright ensemble. I think baby Kate is going to be very excited with all the bright colors:)