Restoration Hardware Inspired...picture HEAVY!

Have you ever had the pleasure of turning the pages of the Restoration Hardware Kids Catalog? Well, I can say I've never bought anything from them, but continue to receive their catalogs. If you thumb through the pages, the designs are all the same...simple blues and pinks with chocolates! Their designs inspired me to make up several things up while I had the same stamp set out. I wanted to keep all these projects on one post since I used the same stamp sets...you get a visual of how many different projects you can create! All stamps are PTI and cs is from SU! The little feet are from the Loss of a Child set and I pulled the double layer circle from the Borders & Corners set. The pleated pink skirting is made from crate paper! Yes, the same streamers you use to decorate for the kids birthdays?! I was so excited to play with this. It is thin, very thin, but as long as you don't tug too tight with your adhesive, you get a really fun look to your projects and you don't have to worry about the extra bulk for postage! I was on a roll here...so I kept going and made up a stash of tags! WHEW! That's a long post! The next few days will be super busy getting my table finalized and last minute things I need to grab for the craft show. I'm almost...not even close really...to being ready! Happy crafting my friends ;)

For the DUDE'S...

If I make some for the ladies, I've got to make some for the men as well! For all these cards I used MASCULINE MOTIFS from PTI. The paper is current from the Recollections collection....whoa, say that 10 times! I also picked up the ribbon at Mike's!

This show I'm prepared as these were a BIG seller over the holidays. I made several different themes and in my next post, I will share some baby gc holders that I also made into coordinating cards!

Gift Card Bouquet...

Happy Monday ya'll...in my finest Oklahoma twang! I'm feverishly getting things prepped and finished for the Martson Craft Show this weekend, April 2nd and 3rd!! I've still got some more space to kill on my pegboards, but it's finally getting to where I'm not in a mad dash like I was last week. In the meantime, this week I will be featuring gc holders for ladies and gents! HERE are some other fun holders I've made. The damask paper is from Michael's Recollection line. This paper is current and it comes in lots of different patterns such as polka dots, stripes, etc. It is thinner than normal cs, but when layering, I prefer it not be as thick as the other cs I'm using. This helps cut down on bulk ;) Sentiments and damask stamp are from PTI. I added some shimmery black rhinestones to the center.

Chipboard Notebooks...

ETA: I didn't realize I pulled from 2 different paper pads...I also used Garden Variety from Cosmo Cricket!

Today's notebooks are not of the 'mini' type, but rather the larger(Reporter's Notebooks) ones I normally use. The patterns and colors I chose for these notebooks are a tad on the vintage...70's-ish side! Boy I HEAR it coming loud and clear now...lol! I used a mixed-combo of products here! The sentiments are from THIS PTI SET. The paper is from COSMO CRICKET and coordinates with THIS chipboard...super ca-ute! The glitter heart make look familiar...it's from my heart strings that I hung on my chandelier for my Vday post! Re-use and recycle! I took a close-up of the little girl so you could see how 3-D she is! Now her clothes are separate, so you can dress her up in a few different outfits. Once you decide, you cannot redress her...the entire chipboard piece is adhesive backed and it is STRONG! When I packaged her up in a cello bag, I didn't have to worry about snagging her threading needle...she's NOT going anywhere!
A few more fun pieces! Love the vintage colors on the dress form! I laughed when I saw this sewing machine was smiling. Lord only knows my sewing machine is not doing the same when I shove paper through her...ha! Funny thing is, this is the only notebook I did not sew on...signs?!

Grocery Notebooks...

SQUEE!!! As promised, here are the grocery list notebooks! I absolutely LOVE this paper...I'm biased about cherries...even though I have roosters in my kitchen! As I was cleaning out my craft supplies this last week, I'd remembered I had some cooking charms....somewhere! I believe I bought these at Archiver's years ago. They came in a package of 8 and used all of them! The favorite part about this paper is the TEXTURE! The entire paper pad is actually made with recycled paper, so it has a grocery bag look on the back side, with a grid-texture on the front side.
Thought I'd do a few with strawberries ;)

Feeling Spring-y...

An appropriate post for the first day of Spring! It's a bit chilly where I am, but I can't complain as the last 2 days here in NC were in the 80's! I'm feeling very ready for Spring and Easter this year! I've been wanting to make some simple, but fun cards and had BRIGHT scallops and white ink in my heads for a few days now. I dug out In Bloom and white craft ink for this project. I love how well the white ink shows up on these bright colors! The top scallop is just plain white cs that I added my pastel yellow ribbon on to. My scallop strips were originally cut in 2 inch increments, but after punching them out, I discovered they were much too wide. I cut off a 1/2 inch and used those strips on notebooks! How fun, right?! The sentiments used are from Take Note! I love the little pencil! Stay tuned to the blog this week...I will be dedicating this weeks posts to all things mini-notebooks! I even found some old cooking charms that worked perfect for my grocery list notebooks...squeee!

Amy Butler...pattern overload here!

I couldn't wait to finally dip in to my Amy Butler patterned paper! I've had this paper pad for some time, but wasn't sure if the colors were really my cup of tea. Turns out...I REALLY DO like them! I'm not sure I could have pulled off all these patterns with image stamps, but I think just using a sentiment still allowed for the colors to show off without being too overpowering. After making these cards, it got me thinking I should make some notebooks to match?! My sentiment is from PTI's-with sympathy as well as the woodgrain bg.A great card for someone who could use a little pick me up! Sentiment is from Verve-blue skies and polka basics-PTI.

Teacher Thank You Cards...

Getting back to making loads of cards for the Marston Craft Show. I think these stamps by MFT are just adorable for the kids teachers. I made these up in burnette and blonde and also different skin tones. It's a pretty simple layout and added a simple clear button over some patterned paper. Her little dress is paper pieced. The clouds are made by die cutting a few cloud images from eclipse tape. Eclipse tape is like a full sticky post-it note and it works great for masking. Once I had my first layer of clouds, I laid the images over again, but off centered and that's how you get a fully loaded fluffy sky. If anyone is interested in a tutorial, let me know and I'd be glad to put one up!

Rockin' Out...

What a busy week and fun filled weekend here at The House of Chau! I took the week off from blogging to catch up on several home projects...second phase of the fire pit we are building as well as helping the hubby out with a bench extension on our deck. The weather is really starting to warm up around here and the trees and flowers are in full bloom! I'm ready...BRING IT! I had so much fun with the rockstar tags I posted the week before, that I just had to make some rockin' cards! The photo does not pick up the details all that well, but I did the same design as the tags, but on kraft cs with shimmer pink ink. There wasn't much room to add a sentiment so I came up with the idea of just ripping and distressing a small piece of kraft cs...makes it a little rugged! Lastly, I did a little sewing and added the polka dot ribbon....LOVE IT! For the guys! No fancy embellishments or sewing, just added some brads.