Dizzy Little Monster

I love Evan's little hat that I found him at a garage sale.  It has matching little green furry monster mittens to match too!  Well if you are anything like me and LOVE rubber stamps and everything that goes along w/ them, sometimes you have to be thrifty in other areas.  I garage sale when I can especially for Evan's clothes.  There are so many sales w/ kid's clothes w/ prices just a fraction of buying new.  I never knew I was so politically correct--I'm recycling and having fun doing it!  HOW GREEN!

If you like to save cents and want to scrapbook about it,  type alt+0162 to create the cent symbol. 

***Notice Evan's jeans and shirt also garage sale goodies! :)

Ribbon Share Update:

I have (1) Scallop Dot Ribbon Share left and the ends of the 1/8" taffeta ribbon -- it's a little more than 2 yards on some rolls a little less on others, but comes up to the same amount of ribbon.  If you are interested in either on of these ribbon shares, shoot me an email.  :)

Happy Stampin' 

Frame It!

It's been awhile.  Sorry about that, but we are in the home stretch.  It is 25 days until Dani leaves for college!  There is so much to do.  I can't believe all those little things that we have neglected until now.  EEK!  For those of you who have sent kids off to college, I would love to hear how you stayed sane. 

I have had this card in my head for days. I finally bought the French Foliage set and I am so stoked. I LOVE IT!  It is a great set that I didn't think I needed when it came out in the holiday mini last fall. I knew I was mistaken when I kept seeing all the beautiful cards made w/ it. :)

This card is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".  I made a frame the same size as my card front and left a 1" border around the edge. 

I stamped in Early Espresso, More Mustard and (you won't believe this) Lucky Limeade. I used More Mustard and Lucky Limeade Markers and colored directly on my leaf stamp, cut it out and popped it out. 

Happy Stamping!

Baby Announcements

Did you know that My Digital Studio is for more than scrapbooking?

Today, I wanted to show off another use for MDS.... announcements!

Whether you are having a baby or grandbaby or know someone who's expecting, what a beautiful way to welcome a new little one.

Working on a New Look

***CAUTION BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION***

In a couple of weeks, Heather Wright-Porto (http://www.blogsbyheather.com/) is going to add my new blog header that I designed w/ MDS.   I don't have the software or the know how to add it myself so I thought it was best left to the professionals. 

 I have been working on some other goodies for my blog. 

Here's a few of the things I have designed for my blog. 

 Please, be kind!  This is my first try at any of this.

 

A Boy & His Bear

Ni-Night Bear has successfully made it through the washing machine yet again. He lost his mouth and nose in a previous washing, but Evan doesn't seem to mind at all.  True friends can overlook those little things. 

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Evan and Ni-Night Bear watching a  Signing Time DVD together yesterday. Evan looks pretty comfy with his sippy cup of almond milk and his best bear. They remind me of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin.

A Boy & His Bear

Two Shades of PINK- Quilted Card

 There are two shades of PINK at Krista's Cards & Things Challenge Blog this week.  These are the types of challenges that make us pink lovin' gals grin. 

I have a workshop coming up and I know that a couple of the ladies are quilters.  I do not quilt and well I knew I wasn't going to wow them w/ my abilites with fabric. I thought I would try my hand at "paper quilting".  I went online and Googled quilt patterns.  Omgosh, I would love to do a whole mess of different cards.  There are so many amazing different patterns to try.  I had a hard time deciding, so I chose more of a beginning design for me. 

I cut squares that are 3/4" x 3/4".  You may not be able to tell, but squares are a mixture of DSP (Blushing Bride and the retired Sweet Pea) and cardstock. I glued all the squares down onto a piece of scrap cardstock.  I cheated and I added the Rose Red triangles last. I didn't want to risk gaps and thought when I ran it through the Big Shot to quilt--emboss it--you would never be able to tell.  :)

I added a birthday sentiment from the set On Your Birthday and a satin bow with a button and linen thread in the center.  I found a couple quilting pins in my stash and inserted through the backside of the bow under the button.  If I were to send this card, I would probably snip off the sharp points of the pins. 

Hint for making perfect tails on the end of the cardstock w/ the sentiment---a square punch!  Try it--it works PERFECT!  :)

Choo Choo Challenged

Confession:  I have had the Choo-Choo set ever since it first made it's appearance in the catalog. *deep breath*  Today, I mounted it.  Omgosh, I have had this set for over a year, because I think it was first introduced in a mini catalog.  LOL  If anyone would like to come and mount my sets, I would gladly pay you.  I honestly, dislike putting stamps together and choose which stamps I use for my cards by which ones are already mounted. 

Today, I wanted to use this 'boy stripe' paper from the Celebrations dsp and I looked for 'boy' sets to go with it.  Choo Choo was perfect.  So out come the scissors and a couple minutes later, I was ready to go.  Hmmmm..why do I have such a problem w/ mounting when it REALLY doesn't take that much time?

It took much longer to cut out the train...  LOL

 

And the #3...
(I found that I don't have any die cut numbers, but luckily the Celebrations DSP has a sheet of designer paper w/ numbers on it.  YEA!)

Here it my Choo-Choo card after several attempts to get it just right.  LOL.. I guess I'm Choo Choo Challenged.  *giggle*

I Throw Myself Down

It's cold and windy in Wisconsin today.  It reminds me more of a fall day than a spring day.  Yesterday, it was beautiful and we were given a little bit of spring weather to enjoy.... the kids were outside with Terry burning some sticks and I was in the house mopping floors.  Hmmmph..how does that work?  I know how that works.  We have a graduation at the end of May and it is going to be here before we know it.  I have never had a party for more than 30 guests so this is a whole new experience for me.  I'm hoping to have everything done that I can by the first of May.  LOL...  we'll see how that goes!

Today with the blustery weather,  it was a good time to make my card for this week's Cards & Things sketch challenge.  This is a great sketch!

I made this thank you card for Evan's great aunt and uncle who sent him a nice gift. It was actually a very belated baby shower gift.  How nice was that?! I thought I would make them a "he's definitely a toddler" thank you.

 

I love this image.  I found it online--it's a digital image that's for sale.

Evan just started throwing himself down when he's protesting--yep, he's 2!  When our oldest daughter, Dani was this age she would announce when she was upset.  " I throw myself down!"  My husband and I spent a lot of time stepping over her and giggling when she wasn't looking.  I forgot how fun 2 is.  :)

Here's my favorite part of the image--THE SOCKS!  Aren't they cute?!

Card Recipe:
CS: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Marina Mist
DSP: In Color Peach Parfait (Hostess Level 1)
Accessories: Non-SU! markers, digital image (Two Toby), Scallop Edge Punch, Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Promotions, Promotions, Promotions!

Stampin Up! really has a couple REALLY great promotions going on right now.

Promotion #1
 Grab Bags!  Oh my goodness, head on over to my online store and check them out!  If you haven't visited the SU! Clearance Rack, you should definitely head over and check out what is there that you may have missed out on while it was in the catalog.  There's some good deals to be had and now with the Grab Bags--it's a STEAL!  :)

Promotion #2
This one is a sneak peek from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog debuting in July! The stamps and the paper are absolutely gorgeous! 
To take a closer look, you can visit my online store.

 April 1- April 30th

Four Frames Stamp Set

W: Item 123440 $20.95
C:  Item 123442  $15.95

Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper
Item 122367 $9.95

•Customers must spend $20 to be eligible to purchase the Four Frames stamp set and/or Paisley Prints Designer Series Paper from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog.

•Both items can be purchased once the $20 minimum is met; there is a limit of five per product once the $20 minimum is met. Ordering another $20 of Stampin' Up! products resets the limit and allows the customer to purchase another five Designer Series Papers and/or stamp sets.

Host a $350 workshop and get the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper for FREE!

Creative Parenting 101

Some days, mommies just have to be creative--especially if they want to get something done around the house. Today my goal was to clean up the laundry room. Evan definitely had other ideas.  While I'm in the laundry room, he was unpacking the folded clothes, on the counter in the kitchen helping himself to whatever he could find, reprogramming the televison.  You know--those things that toddlers do to help keep mommies busy. 

 I had just finished cleaning the laundry tub when I had a thought.  Evan needs a bath and I know he'll fit in here.  I gave him a couple clean containers and enough water to wash himself and half of the laundry room floor.  :)  He's clean.  The laundry room is clean. 

Just another day in the life of Creative Parenting 101.

Criss Cross Cards 101

Several people have requested dimensions for the criss cross card that I am making for Dani's graduation invite. They are really very simple.

First, cut your 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock in half so that you have 2- 4 1/4" x 11" pieces.

Score both of the pieces at 5 1/2" on the 11" side

Cut off the corner of each both pieces from the bottom corner to the top of the score line.

 Here are the cut pieces.
Tape the 2 square portions of the cs together so that you have a flap on each side.

Cut a piece of DSP 5 1/4" x 4
Then cut diagonally.  If you are going to use DSP on both flaps make sure that you use a pattern that can be flapped and not be upside down or you can use the backside for the other flap.  **I learned the hard way.**  LOL

Then cut a piece of cardstock for the bellyband 3/4" x 12"
I score the band a few inches from the one end so I can have a straight edge to wrap around to start the band. :)

Dress it up and VOILA! a criss cross card.

Your insert for your card should be about 5 1/4" x 4".  (I haven't printed all the graduation information out yet, but as of this morning I have 50 invites made.  That's a lot of criss-crossing!)

Real Men...

...can handle a little pink! 

This week's challenge over at Cards & Things just screamed Extreme Skateboard to me.  I don't know why these crazy notions pop into my head, but I had to make a masculine card using these colors. 

 Here's my card!  This is also the sketch from Mojo Monday. I have never participated in their challenges but I thought this would be a fun one to try. :)

I think it turned out pretty good and most guys wouldn't be too upset about the Pink Pirouette in the background.  Can you find it?  It's subtle, but it is stamped back there twice.  :)

Here's a close-up.  There's pink in that thar left hand top corner!!!!  LOL

I think I know just the 'cool guy' for this card. 

Graduation Invites--Mass Production in Thrifty Style

After viewing the Josten's catalog that was sent home with our high school senior, I decided that I was definitely going to make Dani's graduation invites and thank you cards. I have never seen such crazy inflated prices.  For a family on a tight budget right now, these prices made me feel a little faint.  I'm so glad that Dani was all about being thrifty like her mom when it came to the invites!  We did REALLY good today--I think I made the invites for maybe .50 each. Granted there's no fancy embellishments, but they will be much easier to mail out this way. 

 So today I sat down and my goal was to finish 2 dozen invites.  I wanted to do most of it while Evan was napping, because he is in full destruction mode when he's awake.  I must have forgotten that 2 year olds have no mercy.  I also learned that big sisters have absolutely no interest in chasing him while mom makes cards. 

Dani really liked criss-cross cards  and we decided that we liked just one flap covered w/ DSP.  That was great, because each piece of 12" x 12" DSP would cover a dozen flaps. 

We chose a textured cardstock for the belly band.  We contemplated using ribbon, but again much less costly.  Today, I used not quite 2 sheets of 12" x 12" Pumpkin Pie Cardstock. 

Using the corners I cut away to make the criss-cross card bases, I punched the Basic Black scalloped circles.  I also used scraps of Whisper White cardstock that were big enough to punch out 1 3/8" circles.

 

My friend, Wendy was so nice.  She used her die cut machine and cut out these cute little bitty number 1's for us.  I just didn't have anything the right size.  Thanks, Wendy! ♥

They were buggers to get on though--they were tiny!

Yep, thrifty moment.  I cut my dimensionals into halves or fourths.  They go 2 to 4 times further and work just as well.

All popped up! We are in the home stretch....

Here are the 2 dozen invites (minus the party information).  No one seems to know what time the ceremony is so I have no idea what to put for a start time for her party.  LOL  You know those last minute details.  :)  Dani said she will find out tomorrow so I can type up and print out the insert.

I think they turned out pretty cute.  Now I have to pick another day to make another couple dozen.  Oh boy! 

Ribbon of Hope

 A little over a month ago, my brother in law, Jeff went into the emergency room with stomach pain.  After several tests, the results came back that Jeff has cancer.  He had spots on his liver, in his lymphnodes in his groin and a tumor on his esophogus.  It is inoperable and incurable.  He had his second chemo treatment yesterday..... 

  This afternoon is the benefit for him.   I wanted to make Jeff and my sister, Julie some simple thank you cards for some of those who gave them gifts and donated items for the benefit. 

Using the Ribbon of Hope stamp and the retired color Almost Amethyst (close to periwinkle right?), I made them almost 3 dozen thank you cards.   They aren't fancy, but they are functional. 

I found this great poem online.  I thought it was absolutely perfect.

If you would like to send cards to Jeff.  He sure does appreciate receiving mail.

Jeff Qualley
1005 21st Street
Monroe WI 53516

Friends

 I can't believe how fast the last week has past by.  Last Thursday Terry had hernia surgery and I have been his nursemaid for the last few days.  He started out with a lot of pain, but seems to be doing a little better now.  It's amazing how little I get done with him home, science fair projects and Evan.  LOL

I did take some time out this morning after Evan's Speech Therapist left to play along with Krista's Card & Things Sketch Challenge this week.  I love the squares--it was a lot of fun!

This is a birthday card for my friend, Wendy. She will be celebrating her birthday on Thursday. :)

My card is a 4 1/2" square. 

Stamp: Just Believe

DSP: Elegant Soiree

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Whisper White, So Saffron

Punches:  Non-SU scallop and circle, SU 1 1/4" square

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Sponge, Non-SU vintage brad, pearls

Angie Juda's Hershey Nugget Boxes (Tutorial)

I fell in love with these little Hershey's Nugget Boxes over on Angie Juda's blog.  She did a vidoeo tutorial over on her site.  Here's the link to Angie's Video.  I can't believe these little itty bitty boxes will hold 2 Hershey's Nuggets, but they do.  :)

Here's what I used to make my Nugget Box or Nugget Purse

 1 piece 3" x 6" DSP
Scoring Tool or SU! Paper Cutter and Bone Folder
Corner Rounder
Fire Rhinestone Brad
Mat Pack
Paper Piercer
5" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon
3/4" Real Red Circle
Snail
Nuggets

First, score the long sides of your box at 2 1/2"
Turn and score at 2", 2 1/2", 4 1/2" and 5

The end with the the smallest space (1") between the last score line and the end of the DSP is the FLAP of your box.Clip off the outter part of the first two score marks.

 Round your flap.

 Tape up your box.

 Putting a little snail on each end of your taffeta ribbon, add your ribbon.  I also took an extra little piece of ribbon and wrapped around the handle to make a faux bow. 

Using your paper piercer make a hole right below where the flap ends.  You may need to bore out the hole a little so that you can get your brad through.  :)

 Make a hole through the center of your 3/4" circle.

Insert brad through the circle and front of the box.

Add your nuggets....Can you believe those chocolates fit in such a little box????

Here they are?  I think they are great little gifts.... 

Thanks, Angie!