before october's gone. . .

Here are a few of the cards I created with the Apron Strings All Year Cheer card kit for October! I figured I better show you QUICK, before October is over! :)

This kit featured paper from Girls Paperie, Fancy Pants, and Basic Grey.

You can find out all about the terrific card kits at Apron Strings, on their website!   

(They also have fabulous scrapbooking kits too!)

Come back and visit me tomorrow, and I'll have some brand NEW stamps to share from The {Stamps} of Life! (Trust me, there is serious CUTENESS coming your way! I can hardly stand it!)
xoxo

I realized that I have a few Apron Strings cards that I never shared, from the August All Year Cheer Card kit.  Hello, where have I been!??? ;)  We'll just pretend that it isn't actually OCTOBER already.

Here are four of the cards I created.  This kit has Pink Paislee Hometown papers, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE.  There is also some Fancy Pants, and Cosmo Cricket papers in the kit.  Lots of bright colors, which I LOVE!!!! :)

Apron Strings kits are always PACKED with goodies.  There is always enough paper and cardstock to make at LEAST 8 cards.  Usually more!!!! I create, create, and CREATE, and still have supplies left over! Even if I didn't design for them, I would still recommend them to you!!! :)

My littlest man has tipped over all of the chairs at the dinner table, and is now attempting to drag them across the room.  I think I better stop this before things get ugly!!! :) Have a terrific day! 

xoxo

bye bye june!

My poor Apron Strings cards from June never got posted! ACK! So here are a few of them, for ya, along with an image of all the goodies in the kit! 

Be sure to check out the June and the July kits at Apron Strings.  I always make a TON of cards from each kit.  There are tons of embellishments, and lots of paper and cardstock!  And when you get the kit, you get instructions and measurements for all of the cards shown! A quick and easy way to knock out 

some cards!

Happy 4th of July weekend! Stay safe, and have a GREAT time!

the paper towel experiment. . .and a pink card

First things first - Apron Strings April kit . . . . this is the first of my cards created with the kit that I'd like to share with you today! I created EIGHT cards with the kit, and I still have a bunch of paper and embellishments left.  Lots of cute stickers in this kit too!  Definitely go check out Apron Strings, if you are looking for a card kit with bright fun colors!

Second of all . . .a few weeks ago, probably about two weeks ago - we ran out of paper towels on the paper towel dispenser.  There were more upstairs, but I just hadn't gotten up there to get them.  And hubby and I have been talking a lot about ways to simplify, cut back, and be a little more earth-friendly.  So I thought I'd see how long we could make a roll of paper towels last. But guess what? I didn't replace the paper towels.  And then I thought I'd see how long I could last without the paper towels at all.
And guess what?
It's really not that bad.
I got a package of white wash cloths, for about $6 at Ross.
I put them in a pretty little basket on the counter.
I do a load of laundry every day anyway, so I'm not adding any more laundry, and it has gone much better than I anticipated.
Granted there have been a FEW times that I wished I had a paper towel.  But in the end, the towels or a kitchen sponge did the job just fine.
I thought that wiping the toddler face was going to be the biggest drag.  Who wants a damp towel covered in oatmeal and yogurt, hanging around all afternoon on the side of the sink?  But it really hasn't been bad.
So - anyone up for the challenge?  See how long you can make that roll of paper towels last.
Or just ditch them altogether.
And tell me all about it, because I really want to know!!!
(And doesn't it figure, we had just bought a Costco sized package of paper towels before we decided to ditch them!? So now, I have a bathroom cabinet FULL of paper towel rolls!!!)

You Go Girl! (the winner is. .. )

Oh Stefeni. . .come on down!!! You're the winner of the Cookie Jar Treats, from the Apron Strings store! Please email Lori, at lori@apronstringsdesigns.com and let her know that you are the winner from my blog! Congrats!


"stefeni said...

This isthe first I heard of Apron Strings. Love everything about it! Great cards, love the paper airplane paper.
spunkycrayon at yahoo dot com"

Thanks so much to everyone for your sweet comments! I am so glad you blog hopped with us! (And even if you didn't, I'm so glad you stopped by!) I have been going through photos this week, and I realized I have a lot of cards and goodies I haven't shared yet! SO, I will attempt to get caught up from my holiday step-back from blogging, and do a bit more. If this weekend was your first visit here, I hope you'll be back again!

I'll leave you with one more card I created with the Apron Strings December card kit. I added the letters from my stash (they are American Crafts Dear Lizzie) They worked just perfectly with the kit goodies!

Shhh. . . don't tell Sara

(**APRON STRINGS BLOG HOP WEEKEND . . .SEE POST BELOW!!!!**)

I am over-the-moon excited for my dear friends, Paul and Sara, who had their baby girl this past week. I created this 6x6 album for them (but don't tell. . .because I haven't given it to them yet!) It was posted on the October Afternoon blog on Friday, and there are more pictures there! I'd love for you to go over there and check it out!!!! It's a super simple project that you can create in an afternoon! Gotta love that!


Be sure to head down below this post to join in the Apron Strings Blog Hop. There are chances to win lots of goodies!

Have a great week!

Apron Strings New Years Blog Hop!

Happy Weekend! I am participating in the Apron Strings blog hop this weekend! I've been a card designer with Apron Strings for a few years, and I am thrilled to be starting another year on the team! If you are starting at my blog, be sure to hop around to the other designers' blogs. At each blog, you'll collect an answer to the important question. . . "WHY APRON STRINGS?" Once you've collected all the answers, send them all in an email to Lori, at lori@apronstringsdesigns.com for a chance to win a Basic Grey 2011 Calendar, shown below! (How cool is that!?)So what's MY answer to the question, Why Apron Strings?

"Full color instructions in the card kits"

And I surely didn't want to leave you without some eye candy today, plus I realized that in the midst of December's chaos, I never shared my December Apron Strings cards! SO, here are three of my favorites from the December All Year Cheer Card Kit!



And here are the other designers blogs to hop around to:

Laura Williams (thats me!)

Melanie Holzwarth

Amy Crockett

Anet Tietjen

Jennifer Halleck

Kristin Perez

Maria Swiatkowski

Sarah Fleming

Patricia Moussatche (Patchi)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure to hop around to the other designers, collect the answers, and email Lori! (Emails must be received by Sunday evening!)

Oh and I almost forgot!!!! Leave a comment on each designer's blog, for chances to win Cookie Jar Treats from the Apron Strings store! (We'll each draw a random winner on Monday morning!)

Lovely Fall

This is one more of the cards I created with October's Apron Strings Card Kit. It makes me think of fall. . .all warm and snuggly. It got COOL here last night!!!! Although the sun isn't up yet, I can tell it's going to be a GREAT day! Despite the sniffles, and a few other bumps in my path, I am ready to spend some time in the kitchen, and do some cleaning - all with the windows wide open, enjoying the weather! I am going to attempt two firsts in the kitchen - baking a cheesecake (pumpkin cheesecake to be exact) and drying a big bag of cranberries. (I'll be using the oven instructions here.) Wish me luck!!!
The days, as always, are whizzing by, and I am doing my best to stay focused on the must-do's, and repeat my mantra, "do-not-procrastinate!!!" so that I can spend more time doing what I want to be doing - enjoying the season!!!! So my blog posts may be a little less frequent - but I'll be around. I've given up the idea of being a "big-time, tons of readers, update every day, always something fabulous to post" blogger - I'm glad I have a blog, but really, dear old blog. . .what have you done for me lately? Is it really worth spending quite so much time? (Certainly no offense to the six of you who read my blog. I am QUITE happy you stop by, and I hope you will continue to!) So look for me once or twice a week, and perhaps posting less frequently will allow me more interesting things to say!!!
HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!!!!
XOXO

Apron Strings . . .before the month is over!

I realized I never finished sharing my cards using the October Apron Strings kit! I better show you QUICK, so you can run right over and scoop up the goodies! :)

These cards both feature paper from American Crafts. I had THE best time cutting out all these little butterflies, bending up their wings a bit, and sticking them on. I suppose these would be the types of cards to hand-deliver, as the butterflies would certainly lose their charm, all smooshed up in an envelope!
You can find all the goodies shown on these cards, in the Apron Strings October kit! Go. . .hurry! Check it out HERE!

We are looking forward to the Air Show this weekend. . .especially because we'll be watching it WITHOUT the crowded mob of people, comfortably from Eric's grandparents dock, right across the river from the Navy base where it's held. I think the boys are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Have a great weekend!
XXOOX

Boo! (Apron Strings October kit)

I. Love. This. Paper. It's the Blackbird line from My Mind's Eye. Somehow, even though I LOVE MME, I hadn't seen this paper before it arrived in my October kit from Apron Strings Designs. It is ADORABLE! Lots of polka dots, and these CUTIE PIE trick-or-treaters. I love CUTE Halloween stuff! On this first card, I pretty much just cut the images off the paper, and stuck them onto a card base. I added some foam tape in a few spots, and I "opened" up the doors, and added one of my trick-or-treaters inside. Even the letters were on the piece of paper, so although it was intricate, it was fun, mindless work. And I LOVE how it turned out.This second card is more of a quick and simple card. The gold rub-on alphabet is from Jenni Bowlin, and oh my, those rub-ons go on like BUTTER. Simply smooth as can be, and they look AWESOME on the black cardstock.

Apron String's October kit is NOT all about Halloween. There are some other really pretty papers from BasicGrey and American Crafts. If you are looking for something fun to play with, I highly recommend this kit! You can see the whole kit on the website (plus a sneak peek at some of my other samples on the slideshow.) I'll have more to share over the next few weeks!

hi!

Today I'm just hopping in to share a quick Apron Strings card with you today! Everyone was up bright and early today, and I need to get OFF the computer! The paper and chipboard I used on this card is from Piggy Tales. And everything you see (including the white pen I used for those dots) is part of the August card kit at Apron Strings Designs!

There was more paper in this kit than I could even use up, as usual! I made NINE cards with this kit, and still have paper and goodies left over. And the chipboard is a great add-on available to go with this kit! Although I always think they look so cute and fun, sometimes I really struggle to use those GIANT brads, but I think that green brad worked PERFECTLY for the dot on my "i"!

Off to make breakfast. . .although we had breakfast for dinner last night - so does that mean I have to make dinner for breakfast???? Yuck. ;)

XOXO

little one (apron strings!)

I had the priveledge of working with the Apron Strings card kit for the month of August, and this is one of my favorite cards that I created this month. I am soooo into clean and simple lately. (You know this already, don't you?) This card uses one of my favorite products in the kit - this sentiment is from a sheet of Cut Outs at Elle's Studio. Never used anything from Elle's Studio before, but I am hooked! These little tags, are darling, and super easy to trim apart and use! Be sure to check out the entire Apron Strings kit HERE, it has Jillibean Soup, Scenic Route, and Piggy Tales paper in it! I'll be sharing more of my cards from this kit, througout the month!

summery flowers and sanity

Hello weekend! It is definitely feeling like summer vacation now. We are still trying to find our groove - although the days were quite busy this week, they still seemed to drag on, by afternoon time. I hit that afternoon lull, around 1:30-2:00, and all I want to do is TAKE A NAP, (which generally doesn't coordinate with the boys schedules or moods in allownig me a catnap!) I am trying to establish some sort of routine to our days so that things will run a bit more smoothly. And I'm making some cards in the evenings, but I don't have ANYTHING new to show you. . .darn for you, all these publication calls that want "never before seen" work - throws a damper on all 11 of you that visit my blog. Right? :)

But I do have an Apron Strings card to share with you today. And tomorrow or Monday I will be back with a CPS card too!! Today's card features a bit of Scenic Route and a bit of Jillibean Soup paper. Along with some flowers and twill. This card feels super summery to me. And I left it without a sentiment, so I can just add on whatever I need to(or leave it blank!) when I am ready to use it.

We've had a couple days of swimming lessons now, and Mr. B is finally getting more comfortable putting his head in the water. I feel like we just have to get him in the pool as much as possible now, so we don't lose momentum!!! We lured him underwater yesterday by hunting for coins on the steps. $1.63 seemed to do the trick! Nothing like a good old fashioned BRIBE!!!!

We have lots of changes and LIFE going on in our household right now, and crafty business definitely helps my sanity level. . .. I hope your weekend is terrific, and that you are finding lots of sanity and craftiness in your days! XOXO

Friendship is . . . (Apron Strings)

Wednesday, Wednesday - in some ways the week seems to be flying by, and in others I am thinking "Geesh, is it only WEDNESDAY?" It's been a busy week around here though - definitely no 5 year old with the Summertime "I'm bored" Blues, around here! Today we head back to the pool for swimming lessons, so I'll be practicing my pep talk of the century for the drive over there. (Little man LOVES the pool, but is not a huge fan of someone he doesn't know, telling him to put his head in the water!)

You probably didn't come here to listen to me ramble (well, maybe you did) so here is a CARD to share with you!!! I created this using the June Apron Strings card kit. Jillibean Soup papers (love these little trees!!!) and Bazzill cardstock. The sentiment is on vellum, but I wanted a sharper look so I mounted it on white cardstock. This card was based on a sketch from Apron Strings, designed by Gloria Strengel. You can see the sketch, and Gloria's card on her blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!! Think lots of happy splashy thoughts for us as we spend the morning by the pool, (and then eat icecream at 10:30 in the morning to celebrate afterwards. Bribe? Noooo, of course not. ;)

my star (Apron Strings)

The Apron Strings card kit for June has something for all your summertime cards . . .it's got some Kaisercraft paper just perfect for weddings and graduations, some starry Scenic Route paper terrific for summer holidays and get-togethers, plus some bright cheery Jillibean Soup paper with a darling tree pattern! And of course, about a million embellies, ribbon, and do-dads for dressing up your projects. (I added alphabet stamps from CTMH to this card.)

One of my dearest girly girls is heading into town today, with her sweet LITTLE girly girls. . .the boys and I cannot WAIT to see them! And then we all leave town on Wednesday, so I am scrambling to get everything ready, so we can just PLAY for the next few days, instead of packing and cleaning. (Again.)

I am also on a MISSION to make cards. I have been knocking out at least one or two each night the past few evenings. But. .. sorry, I can't show you yet. So many publication calls are looking for never-before-seen cards - so I must save the cuteness. But not to fear, if they become not-quite-right for the magazines, they will become just-right for my blog!!! (And maybe even some lucky loved one's mailbox!)

And now. . ..I am going to attempt an early morning trip to the grocery store before the hubby leaves for work. I am off to score Yoplait YoPlus 4-packs for 25 cents a pack!!! LOVE IT!!!!
XOXO

Apron Strings - Life is goooood!

Life IS good, isn't it? And with the super cute piece of ribbon on this card, how could you NOT smile!? Isn't it adorable!? You can find it in the Apron Strings Designs April card kit! The sentiment is a rub-on that I applied to cardstock, and punched it out with a circle punch. I LOVE it when circle punches line up perfectly what I need to punch out! This card was also based on one of our CPS sketches from a few weeks ago . . .number 160 I think. It's one of my favorite sketches! Sweet and simple. You'll see me using it a lot! (In fact I think I have another card to share with it next week!)

Apron Strings - simple and elegant butterflies

Sometimes I really like the cards I throw together with a few scraps of cardstock. It's like a happy little accident, created from scraps that happen to be laying together on my desk. I added this little strip of butterflies, and some adhesive pearls. This card was created with the Apron Strings Designs April kit. There is always a ton of cardstock in these kits . . . I think I created 8 cards with the kit, and still had paper and goodies left over! Gotta love that!

Apron Strings - My Heart Adores You

Today I saved the best for. . .FIRST! This is my favorite of my Apron Strings card, using the April kit. This kit features papers from Jenni Bowlin, Sweetwater, and Fancy Pants, plus lots of coordinating cardstock and embellishments.
Check out the full kit, here at the Apron Strings website, and stop by the Apron Strings Designs blog when you get a chance, and see what fun stuff Lori has to share.

hugs!

I design cards for Apron Strings Designs card kits every other month. I just got my kit for April. . .which means the last time I designed was for the month of February. . .and guess what? I just realized that I don't think I ever finished sharing all of my February cards! Where do the days and weeks go running off to?
So here is a FEBRUARY card from Apron Strings. . .created with Pink Paislee patterned papers and rub-ons.

I know that April is going to be here in about one blink of the eye, and I am attempting to get myself organized in time for the new month. Watch for much more organized blogging. . . right now I think that Sunday will be CPS day. . .Tuesday will be The Stamps of Life Day (as well as whatever the first day of the month is), and Thursday will be a new day. . .Close To My Heart Day! (I am doing some CTMH exclusive projects for my sweet mama and HER blog.) Friday will be Apron Strings Day, during the months that I design there. In between, will just be whatever else I am playing with!! So that's my plan . .. until I change it :) Hopefully it will help me stay on top of my blogging a bit better! Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Apron Strings lovelies!

Happy Saturday everyone!!!! Two little cards to share with you today!

The February kit from Apron Strings has some beautiful BasicGrey papers in it. These are two cards, made exclusively from the kit . . .Pink Paislee rub-ons, Bazzill cardstock, BasicGrey paper, and little bits of this and that, all included in the kit! (click on the link to see the complete kit!)

I am SO excited about the start of the Olympics. The only thing I like more than making cards, is making cards while watching the Olympics!!! Especially now that I have a baby who is sleeping in HIS room, rather than mine, and we can actually have the light on past 7pm. (Granted he still isn't SLEEPING for long at a time, but at least he's doing it in HIS room.)

I have been working on some new cards this week. . .just totally playing with whatever I want. Nothing for an assignment, or anything that HAS to be done. It's been totally fun, and I can't wait to share what I've been working on!!! Now that we have some sunshine today, I will try to take some pictures and post them soon!!!
Have a GREAT weekend!!!!
Happy Valentines' Day!!! :)