When it rains... It pours!!!

Geesh, I go for weeks and post nothing, but then all of a sudden, I get a few nights in my craft room with my tunes going and I'm getting my groove on! lol Here's another card I just finished for our previous babysitter who just graduated from college and has an identical twin sister, so I made two. She will be moving to Door County, Wisconsin and so we will lose one of our best babysitters ever! She's awesome and my children love her! She knows when she's in town to let us know, we'll be calling her up! lol I looked up their college to find out the school colors, and to my pleasant surprise, they are the same colors as my Minnesota Vikings!!!

I used to be Stampin' Up! demo so I tend to use most of their paper and inks, etc. On this card I used Summer Sun and Elegant Eggplant cardstock. I used the same colors to color in Diplomabella and found a matching sheer ribbon to go with it. I used Stampin' Up! Riveting stamp set for the circle and the 1-1/4" and 1-3/8" circle punches. Then added a couple of purple gemstone brads to liven it up a bit.

PMS...is it real, or is it just my personality?!

I love that saying! Boy, since turning 40 and having twins, I have not been the same! Hot flashes, night sweats, moooodddd swings, memory loss, you name it!!! lol My doctor says it's a little early for perimenopause, but I sure hope that's the explanation! lol

I made this PMSbella card last night. I had a Bella Box Card Kit (from Paper Pretties) that I had not used yet. It had all the cardstock, ribbon, embellishments, and directions for the card. This is the first time I've used the fun flock. It's on the big over-sized chair, it was fun to use and makes the card cute, but a little tricky around the edges so I outlined it after it dried. I need more practice with this technique for sure! Then I used liquid applique for the popcorn. I like how it turned out. I have enough paper and embellishments to make 5 more cards, but think I will play around and make some different layout designs and colors. I like how this card turned out. I have another PMSbella on my blog that I altered to be a Minnesota Vikings fan watching the game. PMSbella has lots of options and versatility!

Life really is "How You Bake It!"

I made this Chefabella a little different than the first one I did (I ran out of the correct color paper!) I like the sentiment and really loved the colors on this one. I was looking for something to go with it and found this ribbon I've had forever. You cannot tell in the picture, but the ribbon is a sheer pink and then has orange and yellow spots, matched great with the card! Then I used a chef hat and rolling pin charm from Stamping Bella to go with it. I also used orange stickles on her pants and tried to highlight with a white gel pen, sort of worked out!

Happy Birthday Flowahbella!

I made this card for my step-sister, Bev's, birthday. So about my extended family.... keep this one straight... I have 4 step-sisters, 2 step-brothers, 3 half brothers and 1 half sister. Whew! I am actually the only child of my parents and grew up being the only child in the house after my parents got divorced. Wait until I have to explain this one to my kids... lol!!

Anyway, I really loved this card, I saw a similar one on SCS. The colors and the white background just called out to me. I CASEd the layout and colors, but changed the image and the flowers. I really like how it turned out! I used stickles on the hem of her dress and on her flowers. Then I could not get the right combination of scallop and circle punches going, so I used these foam sticker flowers that I had bought for the kids to play with. Turns out they were the perfect color and sizes and add texture to the card! Oh, I have to explain the orange stickles near the flowers. Since having the twins after Parker, we really needed more space, so had to combine my craft room with the office (which includes 2 computers). So now my desk is also my working/crafting table as well as my desk for the bills, and every other piece of paper that comes through the door, kids' school projects, junk mail, pictures, etc. It's just crazy! So anyway, I did orange stickles on the flowers and of course while I had it laying down to dry, I smudged the stickles before they dried. Too much junk around me! Happens every time! I had completely finished the card though, so I just made it longer to look like a ribbon, don't know if it really worked?! Oops!

I made the sentiment on the computer and printed it out on colored card stock. I really don't have many sentiment or alphabet stamps, but for now the computer works just as well!

Gardeners Know the Best Dirt!

This is a Veggiebella card that I had started a couple of months ago, but just couldn't get it to come together. Ever have that happen to you?! Well I added some Crystal Effects to the strawberries to make them pop. Then I used these stickers I found at Michael's in the $1 bin. One is gardening gloves, the other is a gardening hat. I think it added a little something to make it fun.

Fun with Cakeabella

Here are some cards that I made today for various birthdays! I'm way behind this year again in getting cards done and out in time!! I'm happy with how these turned out. Of course, they were CASE'd from some of my favorite SCS artists (except for the paper, ribbon, and embellishment choices, and a few changes here and there!) lol

The first Cakeabella I used Basic Grey Gypsy PP, SU Almost Amethyst, Green Galore, and Pale Plum cardstock. The ribbon is from SU and flower embellishments are from Target (I forget the company), but aren't they cute?! I added yellow lemon ice stickles to her hair and the candle flame. I also added crystal ice stickles to the bottom row of icing on the cake. I used SU markers to color her in.

The second Cakeabella I used SU Gable Green, Pixie Pink, and Confetti White cardstock. The ribbon is from Michael's. I also added green brads in the cornders and lemon ice stickles to her hair. I used SU markers to color her in as well.

The last Bella, I love! I CASE'd this one from the very talented Julie Masse (with the exception of the sentiment and flower). I used Basic Grey Gypsy PP, SU Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore, and Whisper White cardstock. The ribbon is from a misc. stamp shop. I paper-pieced her apron from the Gypsy paper and added a black brad in the flower center!

On all of these cards, I tried out some of my favorite techniques and used different punches. I had a lot of fun playing and today and am excited to get some of my birthday cards in the mail tomorrow! Thanks for looking

Goodbye to Preschool...

Today was my son's last day of preschool before he goes to Kindergarten this fall. It's been such a great year and Parker made so many friends! None of the boys are going to be going to the same schools, so it was bittersweet today saying our goodbyes to the teachers and the kids, and for me too, saying goodbye to the moms that I've made friends with! Hopefully we will meet up with many of them this summer for playdates at the parks or beaches nearby!

I've been working hard to catch up on some crafting projects and get things mailed out. This is a card I made using Chefabella. I admit I did CASE most of the card, but did a few original things with it. I just love the colors together and the charm is from Stamping Bella, it's a chef's hat and rolling pin! So cute! The ribbon is from my Bella Sistah, Jennifer Kraynak, I could not wait to use it!! Thanks Jennifer!

Will post more this week when I finish up some things! I hope everyone has a great week!

Teacher Appreciation Day!

I almost forgot, amidst the craziness of the spring, I did find time to make some nugget boxes for Parker's teachers at school. I had ordered these fabulous nugget tins a while back and wanted to try them out! I really like how they turned out and the teachers loved them! The school that Parker and the girls attend is just fabulous! All the teachers and staff have bent over backwards to help support our family and address each and every one of their needs, and mine! There is no state funding for preschool programs, but these people work very hard every day to make sure that each child receives a wonderful preschool education! Next year they are going to have a class just for multiples (twins, triplets, etc.) I am very excited to network with more moms who have multiples and to address the issues with them that go along with having twins! Also, I am joining the Parent Advisory Council next year, which helps to do fundraisers, and other fun events for the preschool. I feel like I want to give back to the school and help them in any way that I can so they can continue this program! Have a great day!

Where does the time go??!!

Well I just don't know where the time goes, it has been a busy, busy spring! I have received two new shipments of Bellas and some from Stampendous and High Hopes and have not even had a chance to play with them yet. But I figured it was time for some updates on my kiddos and I also wanted to post this awesome Mother's Day card I received from Andi with a huge Thank You and also a huge Thank You to Terri for sending me some terrific Fairy images from Stamping Bella!!! She did such a nice job on the stamping, such crisp and clear images!

These pictures of my girls are from our annual Mother/Daughter tea held at my mother-in-law's church. This is her oppotunity every year to show off her only granddaughters! Also there are pics of Parker from his "graduation" program from Preschool today! I can't believe my baby is going to be 5 this summer and going to Kindergarten this fall!!! {sniff, sniff} They did a program where they sang songs and he was singing the loudest and would bow after each song ended. The teachers commented on how he likes to perform! Not a shy boy at all!!