Nautical Baby Shower {featuring Paper Smooches, Sizzix and Carta Bella}

I am finally here to share all the details and tidbits of the nautical baby shower that I recently decorated for. WARNING: This post is photo heavy, link heavy, and info heavy! Hang in there!

My sweet friend Sara is having a baby boy in just a few short weeks, and some of her friends got together to host a shower. My job was to decorate and to bake cupcakes, and I had a blast doing both! I have a ton of pictures to share with you, and lots of great links and ideas that I collected along the way.

The Ahoy There collection from Carta Bella, is what jumpstarted this whole theme. I just love the colors, (you might know how I love a pop of AQUA) and I thought the theme would be perfect for a baby boy shower. I like that it all came together in a very non-baby way though - these decorations and theme could have been made for a birthday party, or any occasion really, so don't be scared away by the word BABY!)

The first project I started was the banner. I created a banner for my friend Sara's first child, and it hangs above her bedroom door. So now, the new little mister will have a banner to hang above his room too. Now that his name has been chosen, I'm going to add his name onto the banner and get it ready to welcome him home! Banners are one of the first party decorations I start, because the Sizzix Banner Framelits dies make it so easy and fun. I love to layer them and combine patterns and colors. I added pinwheels and anchors to the banner for fun details.

The next project I created was a framed piece of art to serve as the centerpiece. I created the text in a word processing document, printed it on cardstock and then added patterned paper matting, and stickers to embellish it. I put it in a simple IKEA frame. It reads "Mightier than the waves of the sea is His great love for you." Many people attribute this as a Bible verse, but it's a pretty (extremely) loose translation from what I can find, so I left off the verse number. 

Now, onward to the cupcakes. This recipe is my very favorite. It's absolutely delicious, and although it starts as a cake mix, you'd never know it! They're called Wedding Cake Cupcakes - and thats truly what they taste like! To decorate the cupcakes, I stamped and die cut fun little embellishments and adhered them to toothpicks.

I turned again and again to my Paper Smooches stamps and dies for all of the projects here. The stamp set Wicked Nauticool and the coordinating dies made these projects so fun to create! I also used a stamp or two from Lawn Fawn's Float My Boat set. 

For the party favors, I followed some great tutorials (you can find them on my Pinterest board) to create paper boats. They turned out really cute, although some of them didn't want to stay standing up! I created sails from the Sizzix Banner Framelits, and adhered them to skewers. After forming the boats from kraft paper, I poked the skewer and sail through each boat. Then we filled the boats with Lifesavers candies, for the guests. They also doubled as cute decorations scattered around. 

And finally, as a gift to the lovely mama, I created a coordinated 6x6 scrapbook with the leftover papers I had. I simply cut papers and cardstock into 6x6 blocks, added some simple layers and embellishments, punched holes and threaded twine through. Usually when I create these fun little books, I use metal book rings, but I didn't have any, and I love the way the twine looks. Sometimes they are a little tight to open and close at first, but they loosen up over time. 

Also as part of the gift I created, I made coordinating thank you cards - because hey, what's one MORE project??? I tried to keep it as simple. . . and I love the way they turned out! Paper Smooches anchor die, banner dies, and sentiment dies made it pretty fun to just mix and match. I ended up with a few different combinations. . .these were my two favorites! 

So I think those are the highlights. I always love decorating for parties, but I must admit, I'm always happy when they're over! Sometimes my brain just can't stop thinking about new ideas and projects, and I tend to overwhelm myself! The weekend after this shower, we hosted my five-year-olds Sharks and Fishies party. I'll be working on that blog post next!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Products I used: (affiliate links)
Carta Bella Ahoy There 12x12 Collection Kit
Sizzix Banner Framelits dies and scalloped dies
The Cat's Pajamas pinwheel die
Paper Smooches anchor die
Paper Smooches Wicked Nauticool clear stamps and dies
Lawn Fawn Float My Boat clear stamps
Paper Smooches Banners Dies
Paper Smooches Thanks Die
Paper Smooches Quote Tag (with sentiments)

PS You can find all the things that inspired me on my Pinterest board, Party: Nautical Baby Shower. Many of the products I used are also linked there, as well as products that might be perfect for YOUR next party!

Enjoy the Journey {Avocado Arts}

I was so happy to be invited to play with Avocado Arts this month! Avocado Arts sells clear photopolymer stamps, made in the USA. I got to play with the new stamp set, Enjoy The Journey.

You can head over to the Avocado Arts blog to view more photos of these projects, but here are some details about them.

On my One Step at a Time card, I used dies cut the hills, and cloud (supplies are linked below.) When I created this, I was actually intending to put the car on the scene (that you'll see on a card below) but then I saw how perfectly the sentiment fit here, and I decided to do something quirky and just put the shoes walking across. I punched holes in each one to thread twine through for the laces.

Next up, I paper-pieced some lighthouses to create this card, and tag. The Nautical collection from Fancy Pants was just perfect with this! And the wave die was the perfect finishing touch on this card. 

And finally, my tie-died car. I really wanted to create a super colorful car, and I debated how to achieve that. I ended up stamping it, and then adding Hero Arts Ink Daubers over the top.  Big thanks to Avocado Arts for inviting me to play this month! 

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Spring Showers dies (cloud, sunshine) 
Avery Elle Custom Panels dies (hills) 
Wave die (The Stamps of Life) 
Fancy Pants Nautical collection
Hero Arts Daubers

So Totally Awesome {Technique Tuesday}

I've been playing with some new goodies from Technique Tuesday lately. Would you like to stay around for a few minutes and see? :)

This first card uses the new Tis' the Season stamp set. Yup, the stars are actually part of a Christmas set! I paper-pieced them, (with paper from Lawn Fawn) and added the sentiment, using a great go-to stamp set, Incredible, by Ali Edwards. (I added in the parentheses with a Sharpie!) 

This card features the brand spankin' new Good to Snow set. These snowmen melt my heart! {hahaha!} I had so much fun coloring them and trimming them and clustering them up. They are totally adorable. I colored these little guys with Touch Twin markers.

I'll be back in a day or two to share some more Technique goodness. Their new Story Card dies are . . .to DIE for! {I'm full of horrible puns today, aren't I!}

Hopping with Tombow! {Mini Color Book}

Hello! I'm so excited for today. . . .I'm blog hopping with the designers from Tombow! 

Tombow makes all kinds of great adhesives and supplies for papercrafters.  Today I am sharing a project that was inspired by one of Tombow's products - their Fastener Tabs.  

Tombow Fastener Tabs  are like velcro, but they're paper thin, and perfect for papercrafting! I used the tabs to create an interactive book for THIS cute little guy. . . .

You may have seen this project last week on the Paper Crafts Connection. (If you missed it, you can click over and check out more pictures there!) Today I'm going to share a few tips and tricks about creating your own board book. 

Here's the premise of the book - each page focuses on a color.  Each image on the page is attached with Fastener Tabs.  That way, I can pull all the images from the book, and my son can match them on the pages where they belong. I had a great time going through my stash of stamps to find images to match each color.  I stamped and colored each one, trimmed it, and adhered the Fastener Tabs.  In the next two images you can see both sides of the red pepper. If you look carefully, you'll see one side of the tab attached to the book, and in the second picture, you can see the coordinating tab on the pepper.

Let me talk for a minute about the actual BOOK.  I created this book with 6x6 sheets of chipboard.  You can trim pieces from a box or packaging - or you can buy a premade chipboard book.  I covered the 6x6 sheets with patterned paper, on the front and back of each. After covering each piece with patterned paper, I adhered them together using We R Memory Keepers Washi Adhesive Sheets.  (Think washi tape, on a sheet.) This stuff is great - you can cut it to whatever size you want (in this case, I trimmed 2x6 inch strips) I adhered each chipboard piece to the next, and then used one strip to cover the outside covers of the book.

{Note: Words or images that you want stamped directly onto pages should be done BEFORE attaching the book together - otherwise you might have a not-quite-flat surface to stamp on.}

A few other tips and tricks that I learned along the way:

*Use extra heavy cardstock or adhere two sheets of cardstock together, for extra strength and sturdiness of your images.  You could also laminate them before adhering the tabs, to make them more durable for little hands.

*Even if you don't have children at home, think about gifts for family members, or even a friend who might be a teacher or childcare worker. 

*Choosing images that have coordinating dies, will make less cutting work for you!

*Other board book possibilities: a number or alphabet book, or an interactive album with family pictures. The possibilities are endless!

If you're just joining in the Tombow blog hop, here's the lineup! 

Tombow Blog:
http://blog.tombowusa.com/

Debbie:
http://debbiedee.blogspot.com/

Melissa:

http://www.inkclinations.blogspot.com/

Jennie:

http://earthyscrap.blogspot.com/

Marie:

http://mariebrowning.wordpress.com/

Laura: (you are HERE!)
http://lauralooloo.blogspot.com/     

Tombow Blog:
http://blog.tombowusa.com/

The more blogs you comment on, the better your chance of winning a FABULOUS Tombow prize pack, including the Fastener Tabs that I used on today's project, plus Tombow Foam Tabs and Power Tabs. The winner will be announced Friday the 23rd at 3:30 EST.

Thanks so VERY much for stopping by today! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or email me any time! Hugs!

xoxo

Supplies: stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn (including Quinn's alphabet stamps), Paper Smooches, and The Stamps of Life (including the crayons and their coordinating dies) washi adhesive sheets - We R Memory Keepers, patterned paper - Pebbles Inc

i thank my lucky stars. . . {thank you cards!}

Hey there friends! I have two cards for you today, but I realized I still owe this little blog some pictures and a recap of my trip to Utah, with the Paper Crafts magazine chicks.  I'll get right on that, I promise.  The days have been whizzing by since I got home, and I've neglected the old blog. 

But right now, quickly, while the kids are happily playing with army men AND dinosaurs on the kitchen floor, let's get through these to cards, before the army men and dinos start flying across the room. 

Shall we?

First up - Hero Arts! I was so excited to dip into the funky and fun neon ink pads from Hero Arts.  The colors are so vibrant and fabulous!!!  The Year Round Sentiments, also from Hero Arts is one of those "super practical - keep using it again and again" stamp sets.  But even better than being practical. . . . it's CUTE too! 

 Next up, Lawn Fawn! I used Daphne's Closet 6x6 paper on this card, along with Quinn's ABCs dies.  There is a great accompanying stamp set too, but I used simply the dies for this - and I kind of love it! This is my FIRST set of alphabet dies, and I have a feeling they will be getting a LOT LOT LOT of use!

I created both of these cards on Brilliant White cardstock, from Discount Cardstock.  It's my go-to white cardstock. It holds ink well, and it folds nicely.  It's one of my favorites! 

Okay, my promise to you - many goofy photos from ed board in Utah. Coming soon.  

xoxo

Surprises are fun!

So today's the day! I'm off to Utah!  It's going to be a long day of traveling, from Florida to Utah. . . 5 hours on an airplane, by myself (plus a little time in airports!)  I'm not quite sure what I'll do with all that time to MYSELF. No kiddos to clean up, entertain, chase, and keep safe and accounted for.  I have some books loaded on my ipad though, and I suppose somehow I'll make it through the long trip! :)

I'd like to share some fun little projects that I made for my sweet Go-to Gals.  It's funny how you can consider someone a FRIEND, even if you've never actually MET.  It will make the hugs and giggles even more special, to finally see them all in PERSON for a few days!

So for each of the girls, I covered a mini-composition book, using some gorgeous Teresa Collins paper.  I added their initial on each one.

these first two are for kim kesti, and betsy veldman 

for teri anderson, and kimberly crawford

and for heather campbell

I put each one in a cute bag from Whisker Graphics, and added a Teresa Collins tag.  I diecut the girls initials, and clipped it together with pinwheel clips made from a clothespin and a stamp from The Stamps of Life.

To create the pinwheel clips, I covered each with a small strip of patterned paper.  Then I stamped the pinwheels on cardstock and patterned papers. I paper pieced them together, and adhered to the clip with foam tape.  These clips are SO fun to make, and you can even add a magnet to the back for extra versatility. They are great for packages, for paper clips, or bookmarks. {Love making them!}

A lot of people are hunting for teacher-appreciation gifts right about now. . .this is a quick and sweet little project you could put together for a child's teacher too! 

I hope you like them! These were fun little gifts to make for my friends.  I waited until today to show them, because hopefully they are all enjoying their plane flights and not reading my blog! Come on back on the 1st, because I have NEW goodies from The Stamps of Life to share! (It's SO SO cute!)

See ya on the flipside!

xoxo

(project goodies: mini-composition books - Dollar Tree, patterned paper and diecuts - Teresa Collins, Memories, alpha rub-ons - Close To My Heart, aqua letters - Heidi Swapp (Pink Paislee) twine - The Twinery, letter diecuts - Lawn Fawn pinwheel stamp - The Stamps of Life, bags - Whisker Graphics)

PS be sure to check out this previous post, with a chance to win a non-crafty giveaway. Non crafty?! I know - what's THAT!?

Pop Tones! {my new love!}

Discount Cardstock has some NEW fabulous card stock, called Pop Tones, that I simply MUST share with you today! The colors are absolutely DELISH, and they have super fun (and delicious names) like Berrylicious, Limeade, and Banana Split.  (And right now, the Pink Lemonade is on sale!!! YUM!)

On this first card, I used Limeade card stock, and stamps from Lawn Fawn (Chevron Backdrops) and a sentiment stamp from Paper Smooches. I stamped a piece of card stock and stuck it inside the envelope too, to create a liner. I LOVE the way it came out, and it is such a quick and easy finishing touch!

 

 I used Berrylicious card stock on the next card . .. along with a chocolate envelope (also for sale at Discount Cardstock.) I paired some My Little Shoebox papers and sticker, along with another Paper Smooches sentiment.

I hope you like this bright summery FUN! I've had fun playing with these great new cardstock choices, and I can't wait to stock up on some MORE! If you need to grab some cardstock, I highly recommend Discount Cardstock.  They have a great selection of the companies you normally buy (like Bazzill, Neenah, and DoubleMate) plus they have some of their own FANTASTIC colors and patterns, like the Posh Paper Collection, with lots of beautiful textures and colors. They also carry envelopes, and pre-scored cards!  

summer fun!

Last week's CPS sketch was sponsored by Lawn Fawn stamps.  I had SUCH a hard time choosing which stamp set I wanted to play with, because really, let's be honest - I wanted to play with them ALL!!!! I don't have much of a summer collection of stamps though, so I chose Swimsuit Season - and I'm glad I did! It coordinates really well with my new Pink Paislee Hometown Summer patterned paper, plus I already had a card picked up for publication using the stamps!! (Watch for it, plus eight - SQUEEEAL! of my other cards - in Paper Crafts A Card A Day book, which will be out in November!)
I'm still PINCHING myself over the email from Paper Crafts, requesting my cards.  I have never had so many cards picked up at one time - granted, I submitted quite a few - but I was completely blown away! Haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face, every time I think about it!!!! :)  If you are submitting your work, and crossing your fingers - keep working hard!!! I've been submitting cards since early in 2007.  I had my first card published in the November 2007 issue of CARDS.  It takes time and persistence - but you can do it!  Don't give up!

keep cool!

Oh how I have wanted some Lawn Fawn stamps for SO long!

The images are SO stinkin' cute, and the lines are thick enough to be PERFECTLY PERFECT for paper-piecing!

This is just a quick little card I made, playing with the Swimsuit Season stamp set.  I paper-pieced it in some OH-SO-CUTE Pink Paislee paper, and used a matching Border Sticker, from the Hometown Summer collection. My mama got me a whole bunch of goodies from this collection for my birthday, and they are ADORABLE.  I also used some twine from The Twinery, and my favorite color of cardstock, Frosted Teal Prismatic, from Discount Cardstock.  (I've been making Frosted Teal cards in crazy amounts lately! I can't stop with the teal!)

On Wednesday we are LEAVING for Disney World!!!! Mr. B doesn't know.  We are attempting to surprise him!!  Eric and I went to Disney World on our honeymoon 10 years ago, and although we've been back a zillion times (we lived in Kissimmee for a few years) it's been quite a few years since we've been there - and Tanner has NEVER been.  So it's quite momentous, and it will be a great way to celebrate our anniversary!  We are just a bit giddy about it!!!! :) I'll try to schedule a few blog posts while I'm away, but in case I don't get it together, SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!!

xoxo