Bon Voyage!

A friend of mine is leaving for an overseas vacation today so I made her a little Bon Voyage card using one of my favorite Dustin Pike characters, Dudley. Since she had taken a little fall last month and hurt her arm, I decided to include a note on the inside that read: "I was going to wish you a good "TRIP" but I was afraid you would take it literally!"

I sure hope she chuckles at it, otherwise I can forget about any chance of receiving a European postcard from her, lol!



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Sisters

I prefer lifestyle photography and I love to snap pics of my two girls when they don't know I'm lurking.  I love to capture both their quiet moments and the giggly ones they share, but it's the ones with them walking and talking and holding hands in their own little world that always tug at my heart the most. 

I caught this one on Father's Day when they were strolling by the water after brunch.  My Princesses.  ...sigh...

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Happy Summer!!

Little things that make you smile are worth sharing, and for whatever reason when Google puts a fun design on their search page I always smile - and so I am sharing.

Happy Summer :)

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School's OUT!!

Today is my daughter's last day of Kindergarten.  It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out if she would even be brave enough to step foot on the bus that first day it stopped at our house.  She did, and she smiled so big and proud while signing "I love you" in the window as it drove away.  Ok, now it seems like a lifetime ago too.  Time flies.

I made some cards and post it note holders for her teachers, the secretaries and the bus drivers.  Just simple ones since I waited until this past weekend to start them, ugh.  How can someone who likes to have things planned out be such a procrastinator anyway??  LOL!

Dustin Pike saved me once again with his pre-colored digis.  I used his fun freebie from a few weeks ago and added a caption and mat.  The insides of the cards simply say "Have a great summer!".

And I found a nice simple post-it-note holder pattern on Wendy's blog.

My daughter signed each of the cards herself using all of the colored note holder gel pens because she said she had to be sure they all worked good, lol!  A few of the cards are even signed in "rainbow colors".

I am still trying to process that today my little princess becomes a First Grader.  Wow.



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Happy Father's Day!!

What a perfect Father's Day here in the northeast today!  Last minute the other night my hubby decided he wanted to do brunch with his parents at a restaurant near the ocean today.  I was surprised when I was still able to get reservations for all of us and even more surprised when we had our choice to eat outside.  Gorgeous I tell ya!  Temps were just right, light breeze was just right, and the view of the old sailing ships at the seaport museum was an added plus.  Oh and the food - yummmm!  We went for a little walk around the water after we finished and I can't remember the last time we had such a relaxing and completely enjoyable time out.  The best part is that we all ate so much that we are still full even now at dinner time - so no cooking for me tonight, yay!  LOL!

I made my hubby a card for Father's Day and was careful to make it 'masculine' since I gave the poor guy froofy fluff on our anniversary card - and he loved it!  I used a new stamp that I received in a recent swap (thank you Kimi!!!) and dragged out my poor neglected Prismas - oh how I miss my babies!!  I've been so busy with other projects that I haven't colored anything in a couple months.  The paisley paper is K&Co.  I also (finally) tried the stenciling option with my Nesties....ooooooh boy do I LOVE that!  I'm gonna be doing this on lots of stuff now because I just love the little extra it gives my project.

I also made my father-in-law a card for today using another couple of stamps in the same set from Kimi.  I love this sentiment.

I am loving this stamp set but I'm too lazy to get up right now and see what the set is called or who makes it so if you need to know just ask and I'll let ya know later, lol!

I hope all the dads out there had a great day too!


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Fishy Sliceform

I wanted to send a friend a get well card but one thing or another (or a dozen) got in the way and I am super late mailing it now.  To try and make up for that I decided to add a little extra something to her card and came up with this fishbowl sliceform. 

I've seen so many sliceforms online and they have always fascinated me to my inner core, but it hasn't been until now that I've actually tried my hand at making one.

Oh. My. Gosh. WOW!

This is a super simple design really, but it is soooo cool.  I found the pattern on Extreme Cards blog, added a couple of Dustin Pike images and used my Martha Stewart branch punch.  It folds flat and tucks into a little pocket inside the card. 

So I'm sending my get well fishes late but I'm crossing my fingers that she smiles when she opens it!


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Forever Lovebirds Anniversary Card

I'm LOVIN this Tim Holtz crackle paint!!  Well, I'm lovin his bird/birdcage die too (thanks for the cuts Deb!).   And my G45 Romantique paper.  And my Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page punches.   And because I'm lovin my hubby too I made this purty card for him to celebrate our anniversary!

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GIBBS Happy Mail mobile

The final wish list item on Lisa's list said "Surprise me!" so I had total freedom and decided to make an all white butterfly mobile to go in her purple craft room.  I used my new Tim Holtz movers and shapers die to cut chipboard butterflies and then covered them with some of his Picket Fence crackle paint.  I've never tried that paint before -OooooohBoy is it awesome!  I strung them from a wire hoop that I first covered in plain white ribbon and then stitched a fancy lacy ribbon around the outside edge to hide the tied strings.

This was super fun with the only tricky part being the task of keeping my curious cat away while I was trying to tie all those dang dangling butterflies, lol! 

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GIBBS Happy Mail ATC's

Lisa asked for ATC's on her wish list.  I made this set of 4 using my fantabulously gorgeous G45 Once Upon A Springtime paper.  Oh how I love that set, thanks again Deb!!  I added a bit of stickles to the fairy wings, a simple sentiment and of course a teeny stickled butterfly.  These are more 'my' style and I hope Lisa likes them, but I'll gladly take 'em back if not, lol!

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GIBBS Happy Mail clock

Item 3 on Lisa's wish list was for a wall clock to put in her craft room - again she requested purple and butterflies and although the design I came up with was super simple, I really like the silhouette design.  I covered a clock base with cardstock, added the flowers and numbers that I cut using my Silhouette, and finished it off with a few metallic butterfly stickers.  I sealed it all with mod podge and then held my breath and crossed my fingers and toes as I tried to reassemble the clock mechanism.  I was absolutely thrilled that it still worked when it was all put back together again, lol!!

Oh, and I remembered to take the battery out of it before shipping, I didn't think that a ticking package would make the USPS too comfortable, lol!

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GIBBS Happy Mail banner

The second thing on Lisa's wish list was for wall decorations for her craft room.  I decided to make MY version of a ROYGBIV banner (what is a rainbow without pink or aqua? LOL!) using my Silhouette.  I added rosettes that spell out "CREATE!" and a few color coordinated and glittered butterflies and a couple of the biggest buttons I ever saw as end pieces.

I did have a devil of a time trying to cut these pieces though because we had a week and a half of rain and the paper was so damp my poor Sil struggled to cut and not tear it.  I ended up trimming most of the pieces using my craft knife - but they were so worth it because I love the filigree look of these designs.  (Be sure to click on the pics to see closer detail)


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GIBBS Happy Mail Swap!

According to USPS tracking, the box of goodies I sent to my secret swap partner, Lisa, is sitting on her door step right now, YAY!!!  So it is safe to post my pics ; )

I made all 5 things that she posted in her wish list, not realizing that I only had to choose a few of the items.  Yep I'm a goober I guess, but that's a good thing for her, eh?  LOL!!

The first thing she asked for was a perpetual calendar.  I decided to make a magnetic one and I used a metal dry erase board for the base that I painted matte white.  The day markers are metal rimmed tags that I also painted, then glued onto magnets and covered with punched out numbers that I had printed from my computer.  The month labels were printed from my computer too and then backed with magnet sheets that I cut using my nesties.  I stitched the calendar grid to help with alignment and bordered the entire thing with flourishes cut with my Silhouette.  Extra calendar pieces fit nicely into one of the Stampin' Up! tins that I had stocked up on this winter when they went on clearance. 

I was kind of timid when designing all of the swap items for her since I am not totally sure of her style, but I know she likes purple (her scrap room color) and butterflies so I went with those hoping to play it safe.

I hope you like it Lisa!!



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