KCRR31 - Zoo Baby Zebra

It has been WAY too long since Karly and I have posted a new KCRR challenge! After the busyness of craft fair season and then Christmas, it's good to get back into a routine with card challenges again!

We randomly chose the following two elements to be included in our papercraft project this week:

Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder

Basic Gray

 



This was a nice and simple challenge to start off the new year with! To go along with the simple elements, I chose a clean and simple sketch from Sketch Saturday and decided to make a baby card. I used Basic Gray as my card base colour and then added a lighter gray - Smokey Slate - to complement it. It needed a pop of colour so I chose one of the new Stampin Up in-colours - Crisp Cantaloupe, as well as Pool Party. I pulled out my new favourite animal stamp set - Zoo Babies - and this is the end result:

 

I think this makes a very sweet baby card. The zebra is adorable and I love the pastel colour combo (my new Stampin Up Colour Coach came in handy!)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to hop on over to Karly's Creations to see how she used these two elements in her papercraft creation!

 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps; Zoo Babies

Paper: Basic Gray, Smokey Slate, Whisper White, Pool Party, 2014-2015 In-Colour DSP

Ink: Basic Gray

Tools: 1-1/4" Circle punch, 1" circle punch, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder

Handmade Photo Cards

Before I wrap up the Christmas blog posts, I want to share with you the Christmas cards that I gave to my family and friends this year. Digital photo cards have become quite popular over the years, and this year I wanted to make my own version. I chose a photo from our California road trip and put together a collage of designer paper, cardstock and embellishments. Here are some of my favourites:

And that completes Christmas 2013!

Christmas 2013 Highlights

I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas holidays. A little late, I know, but nevertheless, it's good to be back in a routine again.
We had a wonderful Christmas vacation in Ontario! The two weeks went by so quickly!
Here's a recap of some of the highlights:

1. Christmas Day was spent at the in-laws where we had a delicious turkey/ham dinner and a fun evening of gift opening:

 

Each year we pick names for the gift exchange. This year I had my sister-in-law, Rachel. I gave her a smoothie cookbook, a pair of feather earrings, and a little gag gift - Poo Pourri -- If you haven't seen the commercial, you must! It's absolutely hilarious!

 

 

I added my own personal touch to her gift with some creative wrapping:

 

I created a gift bag topper and decorated it with designer paper, stamped images, and ribbon. Simply add a slit using the Word Window punch at the top of the bag topper and slide the gift bag handles through it - brilliant! (I followed this simple tutorial for the measurements).

 

I used coordinating designer paper and ribbon for the gift wrap of each gift inside the bag:

 

 

2. Another highlight was Christmas with my family on New Year's Eve. We had another delicious meal and a great evening of gift opening. One tradition we like to keep every year is writing poems to go along with our gifts. As hard as it may be sometimes to think of rhymes, it adds such a fun aspect to the gift exchange! Here are a few photos of our time spent together: 

 

 

 

 

3. For an evening out, my family went to the bowling alley. I love outings like this where we can get out of the house and spend some time together doing something fun!

 

 

4. On a different outing, we went to the Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls. This was especially fun for the kids, but I also loved it!

 

 



 

I held a snake for the first time!

 

5. I got to spend some good quality time with my sister, Esther, as well as my Mom. I really miss them, being so far from home!

 

It really was a great Christmas! I'm so thankful for all the time we got to spend with family and look forward to the next visit!







New Year, New Goals

It's a brand new year, which usually means a fresh start, new beginnings and a time to set new goals. I usually feel motivated at this time of year, making lists of things I want to try or things I want to improve on.

This year, one of my goals is to be a bit more organized. Some people may question this, as I am already a very organized person. However, I think this is still something I can always improve on. I've been getting lots of inspiration from one of my favourite organizing blogs: I Heart Organizing. She has so many great ideas!

I think it would be very helpful to have things a bit more organized in the apartment, having a spot for everything, making it easier to find things. I've started walking through our apartment room by room, cleaning, organizing, and purging things we don't need/use anymore. While it's a daunting task that may take a few weeks or more to complete, it feels rewarding as I get little bits and pieces done!

Another goal is to be more prepared each week with a meal plan. Every day after work, I struggle with what to make for dinner and whether or not we have the ingredients in the house. I'd like to start keeping an inventory of freezer and pantry items, for example, and create a meal plan binder. I also want to put together a recipe binder of my favourite recipes or recipes that I'd like to try. I've found a few blog posts on integrating scrapbooking into a recipe binder and love the idea!

A goal in the crafting world, is to take up scrapbooking again. I have set this aside for too many years and feel like I'm falling far behind. And with the amount of pictures my husband and I like to take on our trips or family events, it seems to keep piling up! However, I still LOVE cardmaking and will continue to keep this as my regular hobby. Participating in card challenges is one of my favourite things and keeps me motivated to have a regular stock of cards. Along with this, I hope to blog more consistently. When I first started (already a year ago!), I tried to blog every day. After a while, I realized this was a bit unrealistic. With working full time and keeping up with everything else, blogging almost felt like it was a chore. I want to keep it as something I love to do and use it as a place where I can share my paper craft creations and on occasion, any other 'snippets' of life events, organization tips, and DIY ideas.

These are just a few of the things I'd like to work on this year. The hard part is achieving these goals! I look forward to sharing with you along the way!

Winter Frost Double Pocket Card

I've been making Christmas papercrafts to the very last minute before we head home to see family tomorrow! I plan on sharing each and every one of them when we return!

Amongst all the Christmas cards, I made a special one for my coworker. We are a great team at work and she has become a good friend of mine, so I thought something unique would be most appropriate :)

I chose the double pocket fold for this card. It's quite simple really. I followed this tutorial on youtube and added my own creative touch. I chose the Winter Frost designer paper from Stampin up - this paper is gorgeous! (I've pretty much used all of it up this year!) Bermuday Bay, Coastal Cabana and Smokey Slate have become one of my favourite colour combos! Here's how it turned out:

 

 I finally made use of the chevron punch! I bought it quite some time ago with good intentions to use it... Months later, I pulled it out and have now used it on multiple projects. I love it! I think the rhinestones and the eyelet border really add some detail to this card front. Pull the tag out of the front pocket....

 

 

A simple tag with a little designer paper and adorable sentiment, and of course... rhinestones!

 

Let's take a look inside:

 

 

I simply added little ornaments hanging over the edge of the 2nd pocket. I filled this pocket with a tag from David's Tea filled with White Chocolate Frost tea (sounds delicious!) I pasted a small labels framelit to the space below the pocket so I had a spot to write my message.

 

I love how it turned out! And like I said earlier, this colour combo is fabulous!

 

This will be my last post until 2014! (I hope to be a bit more dedicated to my blog in the new year) :)

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!





 

Card Ingredients:

Stamps: Tree Trimmings, Four Holidays, Word Play

Paper: Winter Frost DSP, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Smokey Slate, Whisper White

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana

Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Large Scallop Circle punch, Eyelet Border punch (ret.), Snowflake Punch (ret.), Chevron Border Punch

Accessories: Rhinestones (Michael's), Pool Party Bakers Twine, Silver ribbon



Very Merry

It's been quite some time since I've posted about my latest papercrafts (sorry about that!). After craft fair season, I start preparing for the upcoming Christmas season. And like every year, Christmas seems to sneak up on me!
But, I always love this time of year - the lights and decorations everywhere, cheery Christmas music, the smell of evergreen Christmas trees, delicious turkey dinners, gift exchanges, time spent with family, and most importantly, celebrating the birth of Jesus. It really is a wonderful time of year!

Today, I want to share with you a Christmas card I made just this past week for a friend of mine:

 

I love how this card came together! I've been wanting to use the Pennant Parade stamp set on a Christmas card, and finally got to making one! The pennants in the stamp set are so versatile! I love that you can use them for either a banner or little trees!

 

After stamping the lined pattern from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and placing the trees on the embossed cut-out circle, there was just too much white space (clean and simple just isn't my style!). I created a banner from striped designer paper and placed it in one corner. I then added some linen thread to fill the white space on the bottom half of the card. And finally, I completed it with rhinestones.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Season of Style DSP
Ink: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler
Tools: Circles nestabilities, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder
Accessories: Linen thread, rhinestones (Michael's)

Craft Fair Finds and Belated Birthday Wishes

Craft fair season is over! It's sad, but also a relief. It's been a good year. Three big craft fairs kept me busy almost every night, making everything from mini albums to punch art gift tags to bookmarks.  Here is a photo of my latest display:

 

My hubby has been a big help with setting up/cleaning up, manning my booth and even demonstrating my pop-up ornaments and mini-albums! I couldn't be more grateful for all the support he gives me during the crazy craft fair season.

Not only do I love to share my crafts at these fairs, I also love walking around and getting to know other vendors. There are so many talented people in Prince George! I always stop to see my fellow vendor, TC Creations. She makes the cutest bibs, burpies, crinklers, and more. I know that when we have kids, she will be one of the first shops I go to for baby stuff!

Another vendor I love to see is Orange U Creative. She is one talented lady! She makes the most beautiful feather headpieces, earrings, necklaces, hairclips... I already own quite a few feather earrings and have asked for a couple more custom orders. Check her out on facebook!  

Every year we see a retired fellow selling wooden birdhouses and birdfeeders. This year we decided to purchase one:

 

I love it! The reason it's displayed in our apartment right now is because we live in a basement suite and really wouldn't get to enjoy watching the birds from our window. So for now it will make a nice house decor piece until we move :)

 

To add to my ornament collection, I bought this cute handmade wooden angel ornament from another vendor:

 

 

How cute is that? I love unique ornaments.

 

I look forward to craft fair season next year, wherever it may be and hope to start preparing much earlier this time around. I will also be spending time updating my Etsy shop in the meantime! Stay tuned! :)

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Yesterday, my brother-in-law, Eugene, celebrated his 40th birthday! I normally send family members my handmade cards, but this time I thought I would send him something different. My hubby is an awesome photographer, taking photos of landscapes and wildlife mostly. We saw a lot of sheep on our last mini camping trip in Jasper and this one caught our eye...

 

 

So funny! What a perfect picture to put on a card and send to Eugene for his 40th! :)

 

I'm hoping this put a smile on his face :) Happy Birthday Eugene!