Christmas Countdown Day 6 {Christmas Eve!!!}

I have a few more cards to share with you today. . . .because we're running out of time! Today, Christmas Eve, is day 6 of my oldie-but-goodie Christmas countdown. I'm sharing one of my favorite past holiday projects each day as we count down to Christmas.   

These cards feature a few more of my favorite things. . . a little more October Afternoon paper, plus some dotted swiss cardstock. 

I'll keep it short and sweet today . . . we all have lots to do!  Enjoy the celebrating, the festivity, the warmth, and the joy of the days! xoxo

Christmas Countdown Day 3 {October Afternoon}

Welcome to day 3 of my oldie-but-goodie Christmas countdown. I'm sharing one of my favorite past holiday projects each day as we count down to Christmas. 

Today's gift back was created with lots of lovely October Afternoon product. I have been a die-hard October Afternoon fan since their very first release. . .and this collection is definitely from a few years ago, but it's just as lovely today as it was when it was released! 

This gift bag is very different from my usual style - it's way more layered and busy than I normally work. Maybe that's why I like it! 

Will I see you tomorrow? I hope so! I'll be back with some holiday projects featuring The Stamps of Life! See you then! xoxo

Go Your Own Way! {Hero Arts}

Remember last week when I was telling you how I had hardly any travel stamps? And that I had recently accumulated some really GREAT ones!? (Like the Close To My Heart set I featured in the previous post!) I also mentioned some new Hero Arts stamps, so I thought I'd show them to you today!

I used the Travel set from Hero Arts on this card, along with patterned paper from October Afternoon (Farm Girl and Travel Girl).  These stamps are cling stamps, meaning they are rubber stamps, that stick onto a clear block.  What I LOVE about them, is that the image is also stamped onto the cling back, so even though it isn't a clear stamp, I can SEE where I'm stamping my image. LOVE LOVE LOVE that.

There are some great journaling squares to stamp, plus lots of great little graphics and sentiments, in this stamp set.  I created a little travel scene, and popped the vehicles up on foam tape.  Which reminds me. . . .I actually used an airplane from another stamp set, because it was facing the right direction.  (I think it's October Afternoon. . . . I'll have to double check on that for you!!!!)

In other news, today is Open House, and Monday my not-so-little 3rd grader starts school.  I'll admit, I'm getting a little anxious to establish a new routine, and get on a schedule.  We've been flitting around all summer, and it has been AWESOME. . . but it's TIME.  Know what I mean??

Okay, off to the last weekend of summer fun. Please, PLEASE - come back on Monday! I'm blog hopping with the Tombow Adhesive crew, and I am excited to share a GREAT project.  (You may have seen it featured on the Paper Crafts blog, this past week. . . . but I'll be back with more details, photos, and explanations! Oh and of course - a PRIZE!)

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo

Post-vacation craftiness

{card details: patterned paper, stickers - October Afternoon}

A little post-vacay card for you.
I didn't create it post-vacation.
But it fits. And I have post-vacation-blog-guilt.
I haven't blogged or had a post prescheduled for too many days!
Blog-guilt.  Who'd have thought?!
Anyhooooo, I am home and happy and we had a FABULOUS time away.
The kiddos (and the adults) were pretty much in the creek the ENTIRE time.
We caught up with friends along the way, admired how big all of our kids have gotten, and shared lots of delicious food.
And the weather in North Carolina. . .ohmygosh. So much nicer than Florida! We actually saw the thermometer say SIXTY TWO in the mornings.
SIXTY TWO!!???

Okay, so I super love this picture of my boys. But seriously - doesn't that backdrop look FAKE?! It's like some cheesy  1980's portrait background.  But I promise you, people.  This is completely REAL. Juneywhank Falls, near Bryson City NC. Stunningly beautiful! 

lots and lots of time in the creek.

the COLD creek.

But now I'm BACK. And I got some FUN product in my mailbox while I was away, so I'm diving in and getting back to crafty business.  I think it was good for me to get away from my desk. I've gotten organized, and I'm ready to get it in gear!

Two more weeks till school starts.  {Hoping that will give me more crafty time, but I'm not so sure!}

Hoping your August has gotten off to a beautiful start!!!!! 

Thanks for coming by!

xoxo

award2stamp {new from TSOL!}

Welcome to July, and a new stamp set from The Stamps of Life! 

I am often forced to GASP when I see the sneak peek of the new stamps heading my way, each month, from TSOL.  This month was no different. . . and I instantly thought of all the award-winning moments in my family's life, and all the cute little projects I could make, to celebrate school achievements, special occasions, and even the simple every-day moments that could use a little blue ribbon treatment!  Plus, the circles make AWESOME flair, to use even without the ribbon.

Today I have a few cards to share with you, featuring these new great stamps! 

This first is a simple card featuring the little tiny ribbon. And I love this LITTLE "congratulations".  It makes the perfect finishing touch (as you'll see on ALL of my cards today!) 

(patterned paper is from Penny Black)

 I pulled out some oldie-but-a-goodie October Afternoon paper to put together this next card.  Oh - and have I mentioned the icing on the cake? Stephanie's zig zag circle Framelits, and banner stamp/Framelits dies coordinate PERFECTLY! This is going to make whipping up a whole BUNCH of banners easy peasy! (I'm envisioning some sort of classroom project for school next year!)

 And on this last card, I used the zig zag circle die again, but just grouped together some of the fun circle sentiments. (patterned paper is from Pebbles)

 Be sure to visit the TSOL gallery to see all of the designers' projects showcasing this new must-have stamp set! I definitely see this as a set I'll be turning to for projects again and again!  Thanks so much for stopping by today! Happy JULY!!!!! xoxo

{Sizzix} Easter eggs and me catching up!

I was away with the fam this weekend, enjoying a fun day at SeaWorld. 

Love to get away.

Love to come back home! 

Our official family picture from the trip. Lovely, eh? 

Came home to enjoy Spring Break with the second-grader and the three-year-old, which we ARE enjoying. . .in between wrestling matches, arguments, and general disagreements over important things like: who has the most army men on their team, who has more M&M's in their bowl, and who has received the most attention in the past 5 minutes.  The two of them are a pretty volatile combination right now.  We'll just say my patience is being seriously tested. 

Yesterday I cut out a bunch of Easter eggs, with new dies from Stephanie Barnard and Sizzix.  I made fun little scalloped strips, flowers - CUTE stuff, and got the boys all fired up about decorating paper eggs to give to family members this weekend at our Easter festivities. 

Guess which two little people lost interest after one half of an egg? And guess who ended up making cute eggs, while the boys played and argued {about such important things as listed above.}

Anyhoo, here's a quick picture of my cute eggs.  I attached them to a length of twine, using tiny clothespins, to make an Easter garland.  I have no where to hang my little creation, but I love the way it turned out! 

FYI. . .I'll be back at 9am tomorrow morning.

Join me. . .kay? 

(project goodies: dies - Sizzix, patterned paper - October Afternoon, pearls - Hero Arts, twine - May Arts)

last minute christmas cards

Scroll down to enter the Paper Smooches Vegtastic, and Muir Glen tomatoes giveaway 

(Giveaway ends on Saturday!)

Although our family doesn't send out Christmas cards to a long list of family and friends each year, I do like to have some cards on hand for Eric's coworkers, our neighbors, and to attach to gifts.  

A few days ago, I took a break from the 27,853 items on my to-do list, and just made some cards - because I WANTED to.  I collected up a pile of October Afternoon paper. A few of the sheets are from  one of their holiday collections, but some of them are not - and I love that! I also had one sheet of OA Christmas stickers, and my new Christmas stamp set from Paper Smooches, that I was super excited to ink up!! (Kim's sentiment stamps are just SO FUN fun to play with!) 

So here's what I came up with.  I put together about 8 cards that night, and felt like I accomplished a lot! I love putting together patterned papers and using up some serious stash!  If you still have a few cards you need to throw together, I hope this will inspire you! All of these cards follow the same basic formula.  I just adjusted each one depending on the sentiment I wanted to use, and how it coordinated with the patterned paper.  (For instance, on darker or busier patterned papers, I matted and mounted my sentiment on a separate block of cardstock.)

 So get busy - take a few minutes, and make something fun!!! And if you are totally sick of Christmas cards, use the same formula and grab some birthday stamps - get a head start on next year's special occasions!  Thank so much for stopping by, my friends!!!! And don't forget, if you haven't entered my Paper Smooches Vegtastic, and Muir Glen tomatoes giveaway, scroll on down and give it a shot!!! (Giveaway ends on Saturday!)

Merry Christmas!!!! xoxo

Oh look. . .I'm back :)

I left for vacation, and I bet you thought I'd never come back right? You've just been sitting there waiting for me, huh? HA! We had a fabulous, busy, exhausting, and terrific trip to New York.  It was filled with ups and downs, and after two flat tires on a cab ride to the airport, for a few minutes, I thought maybe we'd never make it home. . . .
but we did, and a week later, I am still trying to catch up on laundry.

ANYHOOOO . . .
it's a new month, and there are NEW Stamps of Life goodies to share. Plus I want to sell you something. . .but we'll wait till the end of the post for THAT.

This adorable little raccoon is part of the new stamp set, and I love him. . .but I totally love these acorns too! They are really quite fun to paper-piece, in a weird sort of way! :)

My little raccoon comes out of this card, to be used as a bookmark. . .fun huh?

Okay, on to other business. . .the enabling, selling-stuff business.

You may know that I totally LOVE October Afternoon.  I have loved October Afternoon since wayyyy back when, before they even made paper. (Do you even remember them then?) 

But I have a GIGANTIC stash of some of the papers, and they need to move on.

I have a big priority box filled with Campfire, Schoolhouse, Modern Homemaker, and Seaside papers.  46 papers all together(two sheets of most designs,)  plus 5 diecut edge papers, 4 sheets of 6x12 alpha stickers, 2 sheets of 12x12 alpha stickers, Tin Pins, Wild Cards, and a flashcard album.  The box is $50, which includes the free priority shipping.  Please email me at TomatoL at aol dot com, if you are interested! I'll accept PayPal only, and I'm only shipping within the US.  (Sorry!)

update: IT SOLD!!! THANKS FOR CHECKING IT OUT!!! :)

a few more up close images of the goods!!! 

do you hear that?

Is it totally bugging anyone else, that once again Christmas seems to have started even EARLIER this year!? The 24-hour Christmas music started up here, on like - November 5th, I think?! What the heck!? Remember when it started the day AFTER Thanksgiving?

Now, don't get me wrong - I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas music.  But I don't want to miss out on FALL FESTIVITIES (anyone remember poor old Turkey Day!) because I am already stressing about Christmas! At any rate, I made myself wait until November 15th.  And now, I have deemed it OFFICIALLY Christmas music season in my household. 

HOORAY!!!!!

(But we made hand print turkeys this weekend, just to make sure Thanksgiving didn't get lost!)

If you are making Christmas cards this year, I hope you've started! It's time to get busy! If you read my post a few days ago, about ORDERING Christmas cards. . .then you KNOW I'm not sending out a zillion homemade cards, but I WILL send out SOME.  

Here are three Christmas cards I've made recently. .  . .

(Unity Stamps, and Bella Blvd patterned paper)

(Discount Cardstock, October Afternoon paper and Wild Card, pinwheel die from The Cat's Pajamas)

(Discount Cardstock, and Close To My Heart stamps)

Alright my friends, that's all I've got for ya today.  All those blog hops (and one more to come, on Friday) have my little blogging self, WORN OUT! It's almost the weekend, so hang in there! Thanks so much for coming by! I seem to have lots of new friends stopping by lately, (probably thanks to all these blog hops) - feel free to say HI! :) 

xoxo

Paper Crafts magazine Presents: 365 Cards Blog Hop

Eeek! It's here, it's here! I've been waiting for Paper Crafts Magazine's 365 Cards issue to come out for what feels like FOREVER!  This magazine literally has a card a day to inspire you throughout the entire YEAR! I will not soon forget the day that acceptance emails went out, and I found out that I had NINE cards picked up for publication in this issue!  I was walking on air for QUITE a few days! I am thrilled to participate in the 365 Card blog hop today, with a September card.

My card features beautiful Brilliant White card stock from Discount Cardstock, stickers from EAD Designs, a chipboard apple from October Afternoon's Schoolhouse line, plus lots of blingity-bling from Want2Scrap. And what card would be complete without a great big red BOW!? 

I hope you'll visit all the talented designers on the hop, for some month-by-month inspiration, and then head to the Paper Crafts Connection blog, (if you haven't already!) and leave a comment for a chance to win a spectacular prize!  Be sure to leave a comment on the designer's blogs too, because we'll each be choosing a random winner to have their very own copy of 365 Cards!

• Chan Vuong (January)
• Kalyn Kepner (February)
• Carly Robertson (March)
• Cristina Kowalczyk (April)
• Kelley Eubanks (May)
• Amber Daigre (June)
• Vanessa Menhorn (July)
• Windy Robinson (August)
• Laura Williams (September) (you are here!)
• Betsy Veldman (October)
• Teri Anderson (November)
• Julia Stainton (December)

(*Comments must be posted by midnight (MDT) on Sunday, November 13th! Be sure to check back and see if you are a winner, and leave us a way to contact you!)

Thank you so very much for coming by today! I cannot explain how excited I am to be participating in a Paper Crafts Magazine blog hop! Eeek! It's so exciting! Please come back and visit me again! Happy hopping!!! xoxo

Looking for more crafty card ideas? You might love these too:

4 Birthday Card Ideas for Everyone on your list

Sweet and Simple Coffee Card Ideas

links updated 3/13/24

crafts for sale! :)

One of my favorite childhood books is, Caps For Sale.  I don't have any caps for sale, but I will have some CRAFTS for sale, (but hopefully I won't have to balance them on my head, and hopefully they won't be stolen by monkeys . . .if you're confused, read the book!) Next month my church is having a craft fair and I've decided to have a booth.  My plan was to try and sell of the 200 or so cards that are sitting ALL OVER MY HOUSE.  But I've gone a little crazy, making OTHER things to sell as well.  Hopefully they will sell, otherwise I'll have a lot more than just cards sitting around!

The Christmas tags are about the only things (other than cards) that are fully packaged and ready to go. There are assorted patterns of paper, but they all have a red base, and extra twine for hanging. I LOVE the way these turned out!

a mini composition book.  these books are a little less sturdy than the ones shown below.  I think I'm going do do some kid-themed ones, and package them with a few crayons.

 Thanksgiving Place Cards . . . .loved pulling out my old Kim Hughes stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms, to make these.  They took some time, with all the cutting - but I enjoyed it.  I'll probably sell them for less than what my time is worth, but I had fun - so it's okay!

 A full sized composition book.  I have one all packed and ready to go, but I forgot to photo it.  This one is sort of a vacation/beach theme - a vacation or summer journal maybe????

 another set of Christmas gift tags.  These will have self adhesive on the back.  Pretty quick and simple.  I'm hoping to make up a bunch more of these.  I wasn't originally planning to sell them in the tin, but they might be kind of cute - a tin of tags?????

These are the "nicer" mini composition books.  They have the nice binding on them, and they are a little more detailed.  I love the way they turned out!!!

I haven't finished them yet, to photograph them, but I've done a bunch of candy pails (like the plain pail shown above) They are decorated and have lots of ribbon tied on them.  I'm going to fill some with candy, and some with crayons.  I'll show them to you when they're ready!!!!  I have a few other projects I am hoping to get done.  I still have some time!

This has been a great project to use up a lot of STUFF. . .patterned paper that's been sitting around, and the MASSIVE tangle of baker's twine that a couple of friends and I bought in bulk.  :)  I promise I'll share more pictures when it gets closer!!!

Also, speaking of SALE. . .I still have stamps for sale at 2Peas - you can find the threads here:
assorted stamps for sale
Close To My Heart stamps for sale
PM me at 2Peas if you are interested, or email me at TomatoL at aol dot com.

(project goodies: patterned paper on all of these projects is October Afternoon, all cardstock is Discount Cardstock,  felt pineapple - Sassafras Lass, Thanksgiving stamps - Cornish Heritage Farms, to/from and "just a note" stamps - The {Stamps} of Life, "tooty fruity. . " stamp - My Favorite Things, frame stamps on mini comps - Gina K)

sending a line. . .

Yikes, a week since I posted anything!? I have to bop out of here in just a few minutes, but SUPER QUICK. . . .here's a card I made a few weeks ago with NEW stamps from Unity Stamp Company, (Watermelon Gazpacho Soup, from Jillibean Soup!)

The paper is Seaside by October Afternoon, and the cardstock. . .of COURSE, Discount Cardstock, silly! ;)

I used a combo of paper-piecing, and coloring on this card, even busting out a few of my ancient Tombow markers, which I hardly EVER do (because. . .well, they're ancient, and don't work that great!)

OKAY, a million things to do, and very little motivation.  I MUST get moving!

Have a fab week, and I'll be back in LESS THAN A WEEK, to share new new NEW stamps from The {Stamps} of Life, on the 1st of September!

xoxo

Up and Down . . crossword style!

Hey there chickies! How much FUN was the DCS/The Twinery blog hop last week!? Thank you SO much for all of your sweet comments.  I had THE best time reading them all!! I am trying to swing by some of YOUR blogs to say hello too!

Today I'd like to share two of my cards using one of the new releases at The {Stamps} of Life.  It's called standup4sentiments, and as you can see. . .the sentiments are standing up! Fun, huh!? I immediately thought of this October Afternoon patterned paper with the crossword print on it! PERFECTION!

On this second card, I used TWO of the new sets.  The sentiment is another from standup4sentiments, but I also used type4backgrounds.  It's an alphabet background stamp, and after I stamped it, I punched out some circles to put behind my buttons.  (I also used the dotted circle from the very FIRST TSOL stamp set, called Back2Basics.)  You can find all of the sets on the PRODUCTS page.

I must say, I am rather proud of this second card, mainly because I used PURPLE.  And I HATE purple.  But I also HATE wasting paper.  I had the cardstock, plus some unloved, unused purple buttons, and I was determined to make it work! And I don't even hate the way it turned out.  Miraculous!

Thanks so much for coming by today, especially if you are new to my blog!  I didn't update this week, because I was trying to keep the blog hop post at the top, but I will be back in a few days with some more NEW CARDS!!!

Happy Thursday!
xoxo

the key to my heart

Discount Cardstock, October Afternoon, and Unity Stamp Company - three of my favorite things! Oh - and polka-dots.  FOUR of my favorite things!

The big boy was up with Daddy until ELEVEN o'clock last night, so I am pleased to report that he is still asleep, at 8:15am.  But as soon as he wakes up, we are off to the grocery store after this fun busy beachy weekend.  I hope your 4th was safe and happy, and filled with family, fun, and food!

(card goodies: Kraft, Coco, and mulberry - Discount Cardstock, patterned paper - October Afternoon, stamps - Unity Stamp Co)

kickin' it old school.

I was cleaning out some of my crafty stuff the other day, (it seems like I'm ALWAYS doing that!) and I was purging some published cards, from long ago. I came across a few of my very first cards that were published. It was funny looking back at some of them. I had to keep them, of course, because they are totally sentimental!!!! I thought I'd share a few with you today!

This was my very first card published. It was in the November issue of CARDS. . .2007. I borrowed October Afternoon stamps from my dear friend Angie (she's my favorite and my best, when it comes to begging, borrowing, and stealing supplies). This was wayyy back when, I think before OA even had paper. I have been obsessed with them, from the very very begining! I used CTMH ribbon, and cardstock. I still love this card. Sometimes when you look back at cards, they look so dated and not quite as cute as they once seemed. But I still really like this one.
This was my very first layout ever published. I did an assignment for Simple Scrapbooks magazine - it was in the very last issue (sniff sniff!) This, and one other layout that I did. It is super cool seeing my cards published, but even MORE exciting to see my pictures, and my family, and ME on a magazine page!!! It was a fabulous experience!!! (This is the only time I've had my scrapbooking published. .. maybe because I don't really scrapbook anymore! ha ha!)
I think this was the second published card. It was in CARDS, March 2008, I think. This one looks a little more dated to me! But I love that it was picked up, because I sat down specifically to create some St. Patrick's Day cards, because there was a call out for them. I thought to myself, "St. Patrick's Day. . .that just might be obscure enough that I have a decent chance!" And I guess I did!

Thanks for wandering down memory lane with me!!!! It was fun! I hope you have a terrific weekend! We are hoping to head to the park, and take advantage of the spring-like weather!

XOXO

Ooh la la! Lookin' fancy!

Happy Day After Valentines Day!!!! I had a GREAT time scooping up some post-V Day goodies at Target this morning! New heart shaped plates, and place mats for next year! (And I think tonight we will celebrate our first ever "Night After Valentines Dinner" so that we can use them, just once, before I pack them away!

So, have you seen the new releases at The {Stamps} of Life yet!? Easter eggs, and coffee and sentiments - OH MY! Be sure to go over to the TSOL website and see the full stamp sets.

I sent these cards to Stephanie, because she needed some samples for her video. I had so much fun watching the video, and seeing her talking about my projects! Crazy me forgot to photograph them before I mailed them to her (it was in the midst of The Great Computer Disaster of 2011) so she was sweet enough to send these CUTE photos to me, so I could post them around. (Having someone else take pictures of your work makes it look SO much cuter, I've decided!) I have some more projects I will share in a few days, but these should getcha started!

The new Easter set is called eggs2hunt. I used it, along with last year's Easter set (which includes the smaller eggs, and the grass,) to create a little gift bag.
Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. This stamp set is adorable! It's called coffee4two and it has a BIG coffee cup, a small one, and lots of fun sentiments to stick on the cup.
I used October Afternoon patterned paper, and my favorite Kraft cardstock (from Discount Cardstock) on both of these cards!!!

I have one more Easter card to share in a few days, so be sure to come back and visit me!!! But for now, the wee one (who has not yet had a nap today) is at my feet, and crying for my attention, so I think I better GO!

House obsession (CPS 203)

(card goodies: stamps - Stampotique "Row Houses", patterned paper - October Afternoon, Kraft cardstock, buttons - Discount Cardstock, ribbon, ink - Close To My Heart)

I told you that I am obsessed with houses. I have made quite a few cards with these cute houses, from Stampotique. This is my card for this week's CPS sketch, number 203. After I started stamping the houses on patterned paper, I just kept mixing and matching what I had, and I created a few cards with the same paper.

So the new iMac arrived yesterday afternoon. Hubby just finished loading Photoshop for me, and I am happy to be reunited with my old friend :) Finally - something that looks familiar, as I adjust to the world of Mac! (Although I was just barely adjusting to the PSE 9.0, after upgrading at Christmas, so really, even Photoshop isn't all that familiar now!)

I'm looking forward to getting all my pictures and files organized this weekend, and hope to have things running smoothly by next week. Come by tomorrow though - I have something exciting to share with you!!! :)

XOXO