Bridal Shower Invitations

I am hosting my friend's bridal shower later this month. I had so many ideas of where to go with the theme, decor, food, and invites. I finally decided to sit down and commit to something. Her wedding color is purple, but for the invites I decided to go in a very different direction. I found this great washi tape and other decor accessories on sale at Michael's last week. I decided to build my invite color palette off of that that. So in Stampin' Up color terms, the party with be Strawberry Slush, Blushing Bride, Pistachio Pudding, Crumb Cake, and Black. Instead of a card that opens, I went with just a front and back design on one piece of cardstock. The final result ended up being as thick as a card, but doesn't open. The back is pretty simplistic. I layered on a piece of Pistachio, Blushing, or Strawberry onto the Kraft paper. From there I added a piece of white stamped with the invite info and two pieces of washi tape. Each of the 36 invites looks a little different. I tried to mix up the combo of washi tapes and ink colors.

The front side has a lot more going on. I layered a piece of Strawberry or Pistachio DSP on top of the Kraft paper. Then I added a banner in the opposite color. The stamped banner is from Your Perfect Day. Initially that was all I was going to do, but the card looked too plain. A stamped Petal Potpurri flower and a Something Borrowed jewel complete the invite. I'll share photos of the event and decor after it happens later this month. I can't wait!

30 Days of Lists: Days 6-10

I'm participating once again in 30 Days of Lists. See days 1-5. Here are my lists for days 6 through 10:

30 Days of Lists - Day 1-5

I'm participating once again in 30 Days of Lists. Here are my lists for days 1 through 5:

30 Days of Lists March 2015

I signed up for 30 Days of Lists again. I participated last March and had so much fun. I tried again in December, but ultimately failed to document my lists. I did do the lists, but on regular notebook paper. I decided to prep before the retreat to give me a heads up. Last March, I used 4x6 PL cards and did a lot of embellishments. I didn't want to go that crazy this time. I decided on 3x4 cards with very minimal embellishments. As an added fun visual, I picked my cards to create a rainbow of color. I love all the color! As a last touch, I added numbers for each day. Now I just need to embellish the title card and wait for March 1st to begin...

If you would like to join in the fun, go sign up!

Personalized Tags

For the retreat this weekend, I made these cute name tags for our surprise gift bags. I raided my stash. One of my crafting goals is to make a dent in the scrap pile. Every one of these tags came out of that scrap pile. I decided to make each tag different to give some nice variety. The alphas came from my giant alpha stash. The embellishments also came from my stash. I didn't buy anything new to make these. Yeah me! 

OLW January

Let’s take a look at what I did this past month for my OLW. This year’s focus is HOME.

My monthly intentions:

1. Project List – Got a master list. Now to start getting those items checked off.

2. Home Management Binder – I wanted to create a place to keep all my to-do lists, coupons, important info, and random bits of whatever that seem to multiple. I checked out a few posts on Pinterest and started formulating my own binder. I have a major projects page, my weekly to-do list, a pocket for coupons, and the rest of my OLW pages.

3. Craft Space Organization – I spent a fair amount of money at The Container Store to organize all the cabinets in my new craft space. It’s in a great space right now and so very usable.

4. Daily Housekeeping – My intention was to do at least one housekeeping duty per day. I’ve been very good sticking to this goal.

5. Curate Pinterest Board – I’ve got a nice collection of pins right now. I can’t wait to really dive into those.

Extras:

— January PL pages: I just completed all of my monthly pages this week. Loving how this new approach is working.

— Dining room: We’ve got most of the pieces in place for the dining room. I just need to add some curtains and this room is complete. Very excited. 

— Arthur’s playroom: I started with a completely blank canvas at the start of January. A few weeks later and things are shaping up. I need a few more decorative pieces and to organize the rest of his toys. Plus, I’ve got to get some curtains up there. One of next month’s intentions!

My OLW Pages:

I decided to add in my monthly OLW pages to my home management binder. My first page includes a nice self-portrait, some decorative cards, and the big prompts from January.

The next two pages hold my monthly intentions. While it wasn’t a prompt for January, I wanted to lay out my proposed large projects. This should help my keep me on track throughout the year. I may add to these intentions, but this is a good start.

Modified Notebooks

Last Sunday, I held a modified notebooks class at my house. I've held the class once before, but decided it was such a great project that they needed to be featured today.

For my examples, I used a mix of SU and non-SU products.  This is a great project to use up scraps and random embellishments.  For the big notebooks, I glue on a full sheet of DSP using sticky strip. I then cut around the notebook to get the perfect fit. I add a 1" strip on the binding. Lastly I re-enforce the small strip and cover the rest of the binding with washi tape. From there I embellish.

• Bases: Mead Compositions Books (bought one super sale during Back to School); $1 journals from Michael's/Joann's/etc
• Paper: SU DSP (mostly retired); Coordinating Recollections Patterned Paper; Kraft paper (cover smaller journals)
• Stamps: Hello There (Hostess); Kinda Eclectic
• Ink: Night of Navy; Chocolate Chip; Blackberry Bliss; Baked Brown Sugar; Gumball Green (retired)
• Embellishments: Mambi alphas; Various washi tape; Recollections fabric flowers; scrap paper; SU Candy Dots
• Tools: Ovals Framelits; Starburst Framelits; Floral Frames Framelits; Butterfly Punches; Decorative masks

I love how my class attendees customized their notebooks. They picked their favorite colors and patterned paper. For the small notebooks, they changed up the decorative masks and and butterflies.

For the upcoming mom's retreat, I decided to make modified notebooks for the participants. Each one of the ten notebooks uses different paper combinations and washi tape. My plan is to let each participant chose their notebook and then add an initial sticker. I think my personal favorite is the hot pink and green notebook.

Top Ten 2014 Crafts

In no particular order, here are my favorite 10 crafts made in 2014...

1. Card from my Gingham Garden DSP Purge:

2. Card from my Comfort Cafe DSP Purge:

3. Card from our June Swap:

4. Notebook from my Modified Notebooks Class:

5. Card from my October Card Challenge:

6. 30 Days of Gratitude Project:

7. Bird card from my PL Swaps:

8. My swap card for the Unite and Excite Event:

9. Card using my new Moonlight DSP stack:

10. Cards from my Eastern Elegance DSP purge:

Christmas Gift: DIY Calendar

Two years ago I made my grandma and mom homemade calendars.  They were great presents, but pretty time consuming.  Because of the move, I wasn't going to make these this year.  Last minute, I decided to just do one for my grandmother.  Before I left for Indiana, I raided my craft stash for appropriate papers and embellishments.  In the end I ended up pulling enough supplies for probably 60% of the project.  I packed it all up and got on the plane.  Once in Indiana I hit up Michaels for the rest of the supplies and set to work making the pages.  The idea is that each page has a spot for a picture to be added later. Once all the supplies were gathered, it didn't take me that long to actual make the project.  Here are the completed pages:

Modified Notebooks

I recently hosted a modified notebooks class.  I had seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest that I had to try some for myself.  In class we transformed two composition books and two of SU's small Kraft Journals.

Notebook #1

For this notebook I wanted to play around with patterns.  I grabbed one of my huge coordinating 12x12 stacks and pulled patterns I enjoy.  From there, I layered on the paper with my floral framelits until I had filled most of the cover.  The back has the light blue paper with a strip of yellow and washi tape.  For both of the comp notebooks, I added a few strips of washi tape at the binging to give them more visual interest.

• Stamps: Hello There
• Inks: Chocolate Chip
• Cardstock: Random scraps
• Accessories: Washi tape
• Tools: Floral Frames Framlits

Notebook #2

For the second comp book I wanted to be bolder and simpler.  I went with a pack of SU's Confetti DSP as my base paper.  Added in some fun washi tape and a glitter initial to complete the notebook.  Simple but very cute.

• Stamps:
• Inks:
• Cardstock: Confetti DSP
• Accessories: Glitter letters; Washi Tape
• Tools: Starburst Framelits

Notebook #3

For this small kraft journal, I knew I wanted to use the gold leaves I just acquired from Michaels.  I built the rest of the notebook from those leaves.  I love how the stars are sprinkled in the background.  They also appear on the backside.

• Stamps:
• Inks: Blackberry Bliss
• Cardstock:
• Accessories: Color Me Autumn washi tape; Alphas; Gold leaves; Jewel
• Tools: Stars Decorative Mask

Notebook #4

The last notebook is a modification of a notebook design from SU's convention in July.  I added the fun blue washi tape all the way around the notebook.

• Stamps: Kinda Eclectic
• Inks: Baked Brown Sugar; Mossy Meadow; Midnight Muse (retired)
• Cardstock: Whisper White; Random scraps
• Accessories: Brights candy dots; Washi tape
• Tools: Ovals Framelits; Sponge daubers