Howdy Card

 As things get busy, sometimes it's really nice to get a sweet little note just to say hi. Think about it, how much would you love to get a random greeting card for no reason other than to say hello!

That is why I made this little cutie - to brighten a friend's day. It is super simple, which is the way I love making them. I used a black polka dot paper and punched the corners, added a simple tag, rub on word, a small flower and that tiny touch of bling.

My favorite part of this card is the ombre hearts down the right hand side. Guess how I did! Punched a paint chip card! I love using those - the color card was free and I only paid a $1 for the punch at Walmart. Granted it wasn't the greatest punch in the world, or the easiest to use, but it did the trick for minimal investment.

Things here have been pretty busy. I have a few things I have been able to get done, but not nearly as much crafting as I would have liked over the past few months. I'm hoping with the changing season I will be able to get more accomplished, I have a couple of blankets that I am in the middle of crocheting, DH is just about finished with some living room additions that I am super excited about.

And with everything I am working on and wanting to get done, I also have some pretty big organization projects in the works. Some are for around the house, others just for my office. I have to be honest here - my office is no longer controlled chaos, no it has gotten to where it is just a mess. That is my biggest work in progress at the moment.

Anyway... I should be able to share a couple other projects I have gotten done. Please be patient with me!

He Makes Me Happy - Anniversary Card

Yesterday I told you that I challenged myself to come up with a more manly card to give my DH for our anniversary. The card I shared was a good start, but I was a little worried the pink/red LOVE sticker was still a bit girly.

So I made this one instead. I had the main embellishment (the dimension sticker sentiment) in my stash for years. I think I bought it with a set of wedding stickers when we first got married. The gray/blue/brown stripes were actually leftover strips of paper from other projects.

Once again, this is a very simple design. I love simple designs. I see a lot of cards that are beautiful, but seem to have a lot going on. I like to keep the focus on the sentiment.

My DH is not very judgmental when it comes to these things. He knows I made it and it comes from the heart. That's really how most people view a handmade card. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to look designer or have a lot of bells and whistles going. Yes, some of those super snazzy and complicated cards are amazing and would be great to give. But don't stress about making simple cards.

N says what's the point - no one keeps the cards anyway and she has decided to not buy them anymore. I don't blame her. That's why I make them and hope there will be some sentimental attachment.

A Very Simple Love Note

DH and I celebrate our wedding anniversary in October. (This weekend actually.)  I love making cards but I usually worry about the cards being a little too feminine. So I challenged myself to make a less girly card for my hubby. I came up with a different ideas.

This was probably the easiest card I've ever done! The main part of the card is a piece of gray paper I glued to a blank card. The gray paper was left over from one of the pages in the graduation book I made. It had the white stripes and black distressed look. The only things I added were the "LOVE" sticker and key sticker from a $1 set of stickers from Walmart. The metallic heart on the key came from a set I got from Joann's.

This was a super simple card that could be easily copied. (Go ahead, you have my permission :)  ) And this is a great design if you are in a hurry. Some pretty paper and a couple stickers to compliment and add sentiment.

Card for the Expectant Parents

 K and G are expecting their first child at the end of January and recently found out they are having a little girl. I made this card before they knew for sure what they were having, but the colors seem to it now.

This is a super simple card, and a good reason to splurge on some of the $1 paper craft/scrapbook supplies available at Joann's.

The purple paper came from my stash and I used a decorative punch to filigree the corner. The yellow around the quote stands out so nicely on the purple.

The whole reason for the yellow flower in the lower right corner, which is set on a pink plaid chip board sticker, is to cover up a mistake I made with the punch. It never fails, I always seem to goof up one corner. But in this case you would never know if I didn't tell you.

The quote says "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson  Personally, I think this is a great sentiment for expectant parents. I may use it on another card in the future...

Remembering the First Day

The new school year began this month and who doesn't love that! School age kids are back in class instead of wanting rides and money to hang out with friends. This year E started kindergarten and little A started preschool. So naturally, I got to get the first day of school pictures and then I had to put them on a new layout. (If I'm going to scrapbook, I might as well do it when it happens instead of waiting a couple years! haha)

Sorry for the horrible picture, I used my phone just because it was easier. Besides, I can sacrifice a little picture clarity if you still get the general layout idea.

Each of the little ones got their own page but I planned to have them facing in the book so I made the layouts complimentary. I kept it super simple and really only embellished with a few rhinestones and a contrasting paper on each page. My absolute favorite part is the family picture. How perfect is that?! The whole family walking E to her first day of kindergarten.

Altered Book - The Grad Book

 My baby brother, J, graduated high school this year. Family issues and drama caused a lot stress around what should have been a happy event, a milestone moving him from childhood into manly adulthood.

I thought I would try to make something special for him. Something that would show him he really did have family that cared for him, was proud of him and happy to see him succeed. DH's family have taken him in and treat him like any other grandchild, nephew or cousin.

Rather than just having everyone sign a photo mat or a card, I wanted to do something a little more special. J is worth the extra effort. Sooo, I made my first altered book as a guest book for his graduation party. The pages are rough, but it was my first attempt. I bought a cheap hard cover book from a local thrift store, gutted it, added stickers to the front for a "title", covered the spine with "Class of 2013" ribbon and created pages.

The pages were the biggest challenge for me. I needed them to be sturdy so I used a heavy base paper and adhered scrapbook papers to each page. The first couple of pages have his announcement, senior pictures, and shots from the ceremony. The majority of the book is shots of J with each of the 20 people that were there to support him with a hand written not of encouragement on the facing page. It is finished with pictures from the barbecue we had to celebrate him.

Being an 18 year old, he said thank you, but I know the sentiment is a bit beyond him now. In years to come he will appreciate having the reminder of that huge moment in his life.

Feeling Scrappy

I have decided to start scrapbooking. This is a big thing for me. I've never been a big fan of that particular craft simply because it seems like you spend $50 on stickers and embellishments all for one picture on a 12" x 12" piece of pretty paper. Personally, I love my pictures and the stories they tell too much to have them be lost in a sea of stuff that is actually supposed to make them stand out.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great layouts that really do make the picture the center of attention. In fact those are the ones that have inspired me. That and the fact that I love the beautiful papers you can find and the idea of telling my story and holding the memories that I hold so dear. (Basically I need to use the stack of papers and printed pictures I have before I can justify buying more paper!)

The layout I made for this post features pictures from Easter this year. I loved the bright colors of the base paper and contrast of the flowery side panel. I opted to punch out the main focus of the pictures and set them on a bright green solid, which will also serve to frame some journaling (that's why there is the random huge green rectangle in the middle there). And balanced the page with a few gems on the flower paper and dimensional flower stickers to the right.

My personal favorite part is the main picture at the top of the page - my step-daughter N taking pictures of her hubby and their little girls E and A. I love that it is someone taking a picture of their family and I punched the family group out and raised it with some double sided foam mounts just to make it pop out a little.

I think I might actually start to enjoy this as a hobby, which may scare my sweet hubby.

Give A Hug Card

 Today the school year officially started where I am. This means there are plenty of students off to college and there are lots of moms wishing they could still give them a hug.

That thought inspired this card. It is very simple with the happy colors of the pink tag set off against the warm fall toned background. A glittery hug sticker and sparkly stones will make a loved one smile when they receive it.

This is the time of year when life tends to get even busier than usual. At least in my neck of the woods it does. I have buckets of tomatoes and cucumbers to can, just received a few dozen ears of corn to deal with, along with fall cleaning, getting ready for the cold of winter, my hubby possibly changing jobs and the holidays to plan for.

I would like to think I am a little better prepared this year. Jars are ready for canning, gifts have been bought throughout the summer and I'm about have done with my holiday shopping. Being able to make these simple cards offers a nice, relaxing escape from all the stuff that needs to be done. Or, let's be honest, a productive way to procrastinate on cleaning and canning. But hey, I can still say I got something accomplished!

Anyway - time to tackle all that corn!

The Practical Gift

Families are getting busier and busier. It can get hard to keep track of everything that needs to be done. Some times what we all need is that visual reminder of what what is coming up for the week. Or like me, to let the family know what I am planning to make for dinners for the week.

So I got an 11x14 frame, some scrapbook paper, ruler, sharpie, glue and pretty stickers to create a cute dry erase board. I got everything put together, divided the page in to eight sections, one for each day and one section for notes.

This is such a cute little functional gift for the busy people in your life. We can all get so overwhelmed with everything we have to do that we forget some of them.

The best things about this type of gift: it is affordable, it is functional, it can be personalized to match and decor, it is reusable because dry erase markers will wipe right off. This is another gift that doesn't take long to put together and shows a lot of thought on your part.

Sentimental Picture Gift

It is a little scary to think about, but we are eight days from Christmas! People may be starting to panic trying to figure out gifts for those hard-to-shop for loved ones. Or how to fit one more gift in to an already tight budget. You don't want to give some generic gift that will be forgotten about or re-gifted next year.

One thing I love to do as an affordable and very meaningful gift is a scrapbook inspired framed picture. There are so many possibilities if you have a huge stash of supplies. If you don't, not to worry - this is still a fairly inexpensive gift that really doesn't take long to create.

What you need:
- picture frame (I used 8x10)
- pictures (I used two trimmed to fit, but you can use as many as you can fit)
- scrapbook papers
- sentiment stickers
- scissors
- glue
- ruler or paper cutter

The process is super simple and pretty straightforward. Trim your main background to fit the frame. Deciding on your layout may take awhile, but take the time to play with it, see what you like and don't glue anything down until you are sure you love it. I trimmed a strip of coordinating paper to put the sentiment on and help it stand out and trimmed the pictures so they would fit well.

I used an inexpensive frame from my local Walmart. For the papers and sticker sentiments you can either go to a craft store and buy individual pages and matched stickers. Or you can do what I did - check out the stationary/gift wrap area of your local Walmart or Target. I paid $1 each for a set of coordinated papers (that had several pages in it) and a sheet of matched stickers. Total, after printing the pictures was about $6 for this project. It may not cost a lot, but it will surely get an "AWWW" when opened!

It's In The Air

Yep, it's Valentine's Day again which means cards, candy and dinner out. My in-laws have this wonderful tradition of giving each other the same cards every year, adding the year and maybe a little note of love.


For me, I like to make my honey his Valentine's card. It's relaxing for me to have to worry about finding just the right card and I can really poor my heart in to the design.


This year, I made a couple extra cards just for the fun of it. I'm one of those people that once I get started, I just can't stop. And these were so easy to make - it took only ten minutes to complete both of them.


The only supplies needed were the blank cards, striped card stock cut to size, die cuts, one sticker and a adhesive. If you are really stumped and want a simple and quick card with that hand made feel, you can't go wrong with these!

Guest Book...

The guestbook at a wedding is so important to the couple once the day is over. There is just not always enough time to spend with all of the guests that attend the ceremony and reception. Having everyone sign in is a great way to remember everyone that attended and know who to send thank you cards to.

My step-son and his bride decided on a snowflake theme for their wedding. So all of the accessories had to match that theme. When I was deciding on what to do with the guestbook, I knew I wanted to do something special. Most guestbooks are five pages of signatures and fifty blank pages. I wanted to give the couple a book they would be happy to look through again and again.

For the outside, I created a book cover out of white sateen and used white embroidery thread to stitch a snowflake. It was a long process but so worth it when it was finished. The completed cover fit snuggly over the book and looked amazing.

Each page was hand made and embellished with either snowflakes, ribbon in the wedding colors or a picture of the couple. By making each page a little different, the entire book is unique and filled with visual memories of the day that will last forever.

The guestbook must also have a matching pen. I bought a plain silver guestbook pen on a clear plastic base. There was not much that needed to be done to this. Because of the small size, too much embellishing would have easily been overkill. To decorate the base, I cut the tabs off of silver snowflake brads that I found in the scrapbook section of Michaels. Using double-sided adhesive foam, it was easy to fix the embellishments to the base.

This is how the guestbook was presented to guests the day of the wedding.

Happy Crafting All!

A Spooky Greeting

It is the time of year to plan for the sugar-fest known as Halloween! Are you having a party? Maybe just want to say hi to former ghoul you tricked and treated with? A simple little handmade card is a great way to send that greeting or invitation.

The above card was so quick and simple to make that I whipped it up in about five minutes. I glued the orange cardstock paper to the blank card, used two different $1 Michael's stamps and some black metallic dots ($1 at Joann's) and I was done. These would make great invitations to Halloween party because you could make as many as you need in a very short amount of time. Then you can focus on all the other frighteningly fun things about Halloween!

Happy Crafting All!

Thinking Of You Card

This is the time of year when it is so nice to remember our friends and family that may not be close to us. Kids that have gone off to school or siblings who have followed a path that led them to another state. Whomever you want to remember, a simple handmade card can bring a warmer feeling than any store bought card.

The card above was made with a simple $1 stamp, some metallic dots, scrapbook paper and self-adhesive ribbon along the bottom. Using colored pencils, I added a little more color to the stamp. This is one of my favorite cards - at least that I made this year! I am typically not a big fan of brown, but it seems to work here.

Happy Crafting All!

Sun Valley Scrapbook Page

Sun Valley Idaho is a winter wonderland that attracts people from all over the world for not only it's winter sports but also its sheer beauty. We are lucky to live only about an hour and a half south of Sun Valley so we can drive up on the weekends to explore the scenery and shops. Earlier this year we did just that.

I chose a simple black cardstock paper for the background because it allowed the white snow, blue sky and green trees to really jump at you. Using dark green accent paper and glittering foam snow flake stickers to add character, these pages are so simple yet so elegant. I didn't have very many pictures to choose from so I decided to group the pictures I did have and added the typed journaling and title.

Again, so simple and so elegant. Anyone could do pages like these without spending a fortune!

Happy Crafting All!

Thinking Of You Card

The new school year has begun, and a lot of us have children who have gone off to college. This can be a scary time for the student and parent a like. Why not remind your child how much they mean to you with a simple hand made card. The card above was made with a scrap of pretty scrapbook paper, two different $1 stamps from Michaels, some $1 metallic accent dots from Joann's, colored pencils and stamp pads. It took only a few minutes to whip together but what a wonderful way to say hi to your loved one 'Just Because'.

Happy Crafting All!

A Day At The Falls

One great thing about having family visit from another state is being able to show off the natural beauty of the area I live in. Believe it or not, Idaho has more than just potato fields! Shoshone Falls is wonder that rivals Niagara Falls in size and sheer splendor. When the water is pouring over the rock face, it is an awe-inspiring site.

Obviously I had to show this gem off to my sister and nephew when they came to visit. The resulting pages showcase a simple layout on a black background, really complimenting the vivid colors. Though there is very little embellishment, the striking blue rick-rack at the top and bottom make a bright statement and add to the continuity of the two pages. Personally, I feel it is best to let the pictures and journal entry tell the story, rather than the embellishments!

Happy Crafting All!

Family Fun Journaling

Being in a fairly rural area, we have the good fortune to be able to enjoy the outdoors in ways that people in urban areas just can't. Especially when you have access to four-wheelers and miles of open desert! So when we had a Sunday with nothing to do and perfect weather, we jumped at the chance to go get dusty and have fun.

Those kinds of spontaneous adventures usually make the best and most vivid memories. They are the kinds of days that are perfect for journaling. The page layout is, again, simple and filled with pictures rather than embellishments. One of the big differences between this page and my other recent pages is that I used hand-written journaling rather than printing off the title and excerpt.

The only embellishments used were a couple of chipboard tags fastened to the pages with decorative brads and a scrap of scrapbook paper. All the written elements were done on blank tags. The black pages bring out the vivid summer colors in the pictures. So simple!

Happy Crafting All!

Just A Little Note

It makes me feel incredibly old to say this, but I miss getting letters in the mail. I remember as a kid I would always get extra excited as any holiday approached because it meant I would get a card from my grandmother. It made me feel important to get mail.

Now, I would love to find something in my mailbox other than bills and advertisements. Don't get me wrong - email is a wonderful thing, allowing me to keep in touch with family and friends in ways I couldn't as child. At the same, though, I'm sure a lot of people out there would love getting something pretty in the mail.

The card above took me all of 15 minutes to put together. On a blank card, I glued the green rectangle of textured card stock and embellished it with a photograph of a rose (made into a die-cut). Using an inexpensive stamp, ink pad and colored pencil, I added the embellishment to the right of the picture. For very little expense and not very much time, I created a card that will make someone's day when it shows up in their mailbox. Why not try to make a card for someone special in your life, and see just how happy it will make them!

Happy Crafting All!

Silver Creek Remembered

I love journaling because it gives me a chance to revisit great days of the not so distant past and allows me to relive some of those wonderful memories. Way back in May, my husband and I took a drive up to Silver Creek which is south of Sun Valley. Naturally, we took our dogs to give them a day of roaming the countryside, exploring to smells and sites.

When I was putting these pages together, I knew I didn't want a lot of embellishment on them. I wanted to remember the day, the sights and the people I was with. Using a lot of pictures is the best way to capture that give a lot of visual reminders. The journaling and title element for the pages were both done in Word which allowed me to preserve the written memories in a more legible script and I was able to design the pieces in a way that complimented the layout. The only real embellishment on the pages are the strips of self-adhesive ribbon on the outside edge. The ribbon adds interest and a different dynamic without competing with the pictures.

It's not hard to create a lovely page to preserve memories without losing those memories to the fancy embellishments. Pages like these prove that less really is sometimes more!

Happy Crafting All!