Homespun Birthday...

This was our first time throwing a BIG party for Addison. The girls birthdays are usually spent with family and relatively small. Since it was pretty HOT here in NC we decided with a July birthday, a water slide was in order! Just a few shots from last Sunday's birthday party. Birthday girl Addie (3 yrs.) and big Sister Gracie (5 years).
Birthday invite! I kept them relatively simple since I made 20 of them. The Star theme was based around my Star Stamps from PTI's 2nd anniversary set.
Goodie boxes! I printed off the box tags and added a simple scalloped nesty die border and of course, more stars! I attached a silly straw on the side of the Chinese take-out boxes which also doubled for candy "catchers" for the pinata.
Addie getting geared up for the Hello Kitty pinata!
Here is the cupcake stand I showed you a few posts down (previous post with the brownies). Just goes to show the versatility of what you can display on this stand. I've seen some neat ideas to also store art supplies as well themed parties/holidays.

Magical Tooth Fairy Box...

...because it's for someone very special to me...my Gracie bug! I have made several tooth fairy boxes in the past, this time around it's for my oldest Daughter! When she first told me her tooth was loose all I could think was, "oh man, ALREADY?" Every developmental stage seems to be creeping up on me and they seem to be coming much faster than I'd like them to:( While we were on vacation in GA, Grace lost her tooth and I started to panic about not being prepared and having a box ready for her. I explained to her that since we were on vacation that she'd have to wait until we got home because the tooth fairy wouldn't know she was on vacation...this totally bought me some time to whip up a special box for her...ha! The previous boxes I've made were from circular wood boxes and since I didn't have anymore, I decided to use a gift card tin. The fairy is a sticker that I laid down on some Pixie Pink CS and trimmed close, leaving a small border so it would pop on the YoYo Yellow CS. I cut all my CS to size and sewed on the yellow cs. To create the wording I used my Karen Foster Snap Stamps. I also took a long strip of adhesive rhinestones and traced around my circle with them for a little extra sparkle!I love this slick container...made it much easier to slip in and out of her pillow! Gracie was beyond excited when she woke up the next morning:)

Retirement Banner...

Another fun banner! I love the bright colors and glitter (LOTS of Stickles going on here!). I needed to make this banner small enough to fit into a glass window for display. I "think" I cut each triangle at 4 inches on the top for a perfect fit!
I used several pieces of chipboard and spread coordinating Stickles on each one. Every time I think I'm about to run out of my glitter glue, I always find new ones I've never used...still with wrapper on the lid! The reason I prefer Stickles over regular glitter and glue is because the Stickles have a nice clean finish and the glitter doesn't "flake" off. I do have several large bottles of Martha Stewart glitter just sitting around...those bottles will probably end up in my girls' craft stash...lol
The 3-D vacation stickers are from Michael's. I love the extra depth the stickers add to the over all theme. The patterned paper is from a free pack I received at Archiver's...had just enough to complete this project!

Here is Baby Kate!!!

Hard to believe she is 2 weeks old already! Here is my beautiful new Niece, Katelyn Elizabeth! She was born on July 8th weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. in Atlanta, Georgia. I always give my twin sis a hard time saying she is the one who has BIG babies...lol Big Brother Aidan L to R: my Daughter Gracie, Me, Baby Kate & Sisters Christie and Jill! My beautiful older sister Jill with all her Nieces, the 2 oldest are mine(although you wouldn't know it with those tans!), Addison and Grace!
Holding Kate for the first time...Addison kept telling me that "Chrissy have new Baby Mommy!" Too precious.My hubby with the girls...
The first thing they wanted to do was "dig" for her tiny feet, they were so excited!
I think the 3 girls are going to enjoy growing up with each other...they are already asking for another one??!!!!

Glue-Art & Paper Studio Project...

The "lazy days" of Summer have hit home this year! I have been enjoying my little ones and we've been on the road here and there! With most of the BIG things out of the way, I think I'm home for the rest of the Summer before school is back in session in August...where does the time go? I also just returned from GA where my beautiful new Niece Kate was born on July 8th! I will be sure to share a few pics of Baby Kate this week. My 2 girls were all over her and wanted to bring her back with us! It has been nice to take an extended break from blogging as there is A LOT of behind the scenes work that goes on before I can even post something fun to share. Sooo, without further delays, I bring you the Glue-Art & Paper Studio Cupcake Stand! The whole Patriotic Theme will go in conjunction with a party we are throwing my now 3 year old this weekend. Her actual birthday was on the 18th, but this year we decided it'd be fun to throw a party! I originally had a princess theme on this cupcake stand, but my little girls had pulled off more flowers and it began looking bald, so it was time for a makeover. Since I will be making cupcakes this weekend, I thought it'd be fun to show this display with some fresh baked brownies! You really could use and finger foods or desserts on here, but don't those brownies look scrumptious????
Pulled out the ol' 2nd Anniversary PTI set again...love it! I repeated the star theme thru out the 3 tiers and added a few stamped flowers here and there. The outer rim of the second tier is trimmed in punched flowers (Martha Stewart Punch), SU! small circle punch, and rhinestones.
See that cute bow that I tied on the triangles? Well, it did start out as a mini pennant banner, however, once I got it all cut and strung with the cross-stitch thread it was too long for displaying on the front. I figured I'd mess around with it and tossed it aside while I worked on the rest of the project. The banner happened to fall in place of a circle and I thought it'd be fun to try to circle idea on the tier itself...VOILA! Once I tied and glued the banner down, I went back in between and added the silver (dew drops silver ink on blue cs) stars with buttons.

Fun nautical stripes!
Now, now, it's not what you think??!!! I didn't eat all the brownies by the end of this post...I did pass them on to my neighbors and kiddos though! Thought you might like to see what it looks like in plain glory:) I would suggest if you plan on using this for food, simply cut some wax paper to fit and set it on the tiers before you display the food. The grease from the brownies and cupcakes could stain your beautiful artwork. Another option for easy wipe off would be to put a few coats of mod podge on the tiers to prevent staining if you want to use this often. The possibilities are endless! I just totally thought of a cute idea for a baby shower...fill small glass jars with baby essentials and use them as a centerpiece at the party! Be sure to check out more ideas from the Design Team!

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