Indie Chic Saffron Card Set!

Happy Friday!  Hope you have great plans for the weekend!  I am currently at the cabin but I scheduled this post ahead of time!

I've shared already the photo blocks I gave as teacher gifts this year and how I wrapped them and the cards I gave with them.  But I also made 1 card set as a gift for the gym teacher.  I am always at a loss on how many cards should a card set be.  4, 6 or 8?  Well this time since I had 4 flowers this card set is 4!  If I am going to use pattered paper for my card sets I just can't seem to cut up a 6 by 6 pad for it and prefer to use a full 12 by 12 sheet for it!  I whipped this set up pretty quickly:

The flowers are from Maya Road and I paired them up with a sheet of Indie Chic by My Mind's Eye.  Pretty easy to tell what I did.  Sometimes we overthink card sets but going with something simple and fast using patterned paper makes it work!  And not hoarding the pretty flowers was a good move!  :>

I wanted to share some cute kid stuff!  The other day I was getting ready to go out during lunch time I just wanted to finish styling my hair before I whipped the kids up some lunch.  Well I didn't have to Ariel did that for me and look at the healthy lunch she made:

A peanut butter sandwich for herself, a cheese one for Carter, sugar snap peas, strawberries and yogurt!  Great job I was so impressed!  Than that evening Ariel made herself a chore chart.  She took one of my old 12 by 12 papers and on the back drew pictures of each chore she would do and made columns for check marks!  She also asked for chores and came up with her own, like making the bed (something I wanted her to do already) feeding the fish (good thing since I've been forgetting!) washing dishes (she seems to really like this) after a meal put dirty dishes in the sink, and help me make breakfast!  Seriously she is such an amazing kid!  What a blessing she is!  

Well I am off!  Having fun at the cabin with the kids!  I did take along some craft stuff to make cards or work on a wreath!  Currently my door is wreathless and that is no good!  Can't wait to catch up with all of you!

Indie Chic Flower Card

Hello!  Happy Thursday!  It's super hot over here as I am sure it's for a lot of you too.  It's also super sticky and humid and I think that's worse!  Thankful that it did rain yesterday and it seems to be a bit windy today so hopefully the humidity disappears!  Enjoying being inside with the central air conditioning as the kids and I are headed to the cabin with my mother in law for a few days!

Today I am here with my first card for the new design team I am on, Scrapbooking Cafe Online which is an Canadian online retailer whose motto is "Making Crafting Affordable!'  Which I know we all love!  Her prices really are great!  This is the card I made:

For details on this card please visit the blog here.  Every Thursday I will be posting over there!  :>  Quite excited!  

I also have some very exciting news!  As you know I recently finished my real estate course and on Tuesday I got hired by RE/MAX!  Yay it was a great day driving all over the city filling out forms and paying various fees, but now I am a real estate agent!  So excited to be working with my husband Chad!

Some thoughts on this and my life!  I've had some comments that I hope I still have time to stamp lol!  Well if my husband can find time to watch his sports I think I can find time to create!  Obviously at certain times of the year when it's busy I may not be able to do it as much but there are slow times too.  So many of you who I admire work and have high stress and busy jobs and still find time to create.  It's a great way to unwind.  For me my relationship with God comes first, than with my husband and than with my children before work just like so many of you.  I think working with Chad and sharing the work makes it different too!  I am excited for this!  With my kids getting older it's time for me.  And I really feel called to this.  I love working with people my worst nightmare is sitting in an office with no one to talk to!

Well I am off to pack up and clean up the house before we head out to the cabin!  :>  Hope your enjoying the heat or staying cool where you are!

Wild Blooms Cards and Bag

Hello!  It's super duper hot over here.  We've been enjoying a lot of fun in the sun and all have tans to prove it!  :>  Very much enjoying the weather but not the high sticky humidity that seems to go along with it.  We had an afternoon of dark clouds and all got excited for the showers that were coming than they did not!  :>  So thankful for central air conditioning I can tell you!  :>

The other day I shared with you the photo blocks that I made as Teacher gifts this year and today I will share how I wrapped them.  I came up and worked on the photo blocks for weeks beforehand.  The wrap and thank you cards I made the night before!  LOL  I may  have forgotten that I needed them!  Still happy with what I came up with!  It's funny how when you don't have much time it just comes together:

A week before my package from Simon Says Stamps came with my first memory box die, wild blooms!  I was truly itching to use it so I put it to work!  Love it! I am actually really desiring to play with dies so you will see me slowly get more and more!  I used a sheet from Indie Chic by My Mind's Eye and cut the flowers out and used the negative for both the cards and the bag. I made the cards first and than when I went to wrap it came up on the spot for the idea for the bag.  I think it was close to midnight when I got around to that!  But that's the nice thing about dies it can be super fast!

On Canada day we took the kids to see the fireworks!  They loved it!  We went with some friends and I got a few cute photos:

Well that's it from me!  Hope your staying cool where you are!

June Pub!

Today is Canada Day!  Happy Birthday Canada!  We started our Sunday off in church and have been having a restful afternoon.  Before we head to a friends for a bbq and fireworks tonight I wanted to pop in and share a June publication I had in Cards magazine! 

What a thrill and a blessing is when I receive an email that one of my cards has been picked up for publication!  :>  And the anticipation and joy when I do see it in the magazine!  I often make a lot of Father's Day cards so it really is a joy for me when one of them is picked up!

Well I am off.  It's much too hot here but I am enjoying every minute of it.  Probably helps that we have central air conditioning!  Tomorrow if it's still so hot we are going to take the kids to a fantastic pool! :> Looking forward to celebrating Canada with our friends at a bbq but we may sit inside, it's that hot!  :>  See you Soon!

Photo Blocks!

Hello!  Hope your having a great day!  It is so gorgeous here and finally hot!  Yesterday we went and spent the afternoon with a great friend and enjoyed swimming in her amazing backyard pool!  Today I took the kids to a splash park, starting summer off right!

Today I want to share my teacher gifts that I made!  I came up with the idea all on my own!  Go me!  LOL First I'll show you them and than explain them:

I made photo blocks!  I emailed Ariel's music teacher's husband and asked for him to send me a bunch of photos, emailed her teacher's daughter and DIL asked for photos, and emailed the other teacher myself and asked for photos.  Of course when I actually thought of the best way to take a photo it's blurry!

The teacher's loved them!  Perfect for there desk at school or even at home!

I also made one last week for Chad's cousin as a baby present:

I emailed and asked for some baby photos and made this!  I stamped the baby's name and birth details onto a piece of pp with staz on ink!  She loved it!  It's great decor for the baby's nursery!

Now I'll share how I made them.  Most craft stores sell wooden blocks the same size as this.  When I went to get one I was a bit surprised by the price and on the spot came up with the idea to hit a hardware store instead!  I bought a fence post and had them cut them into squares for me!  Usually they cut 3 cuts for free but since I had a car (couldn't fit the post in it) and it was slow they cut me much more!

The mistake I made was buying pressure treated wood I should have bought a solid piece but that's okay!  The cost of the post is the same as the cost of one block at the craft store!  And I can get I am guessing 20 blocks, the ones in the photo are not even half of what he cut for me!  I plan on sending the rest of this post home with a handy friend of Chad's to cut for me!  :>  

Here is how to make this:

1.  Buy a fence post in good quality wood.  Measure end and cut into blocks (Mine are 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches)

2.  Sand edges of blocks really well. (I got Chad to do this part!)

3.  Because you are using real wood you have to use a wood stain on it before painting it your desired color.  Yes this is an extra cost but if you plan to  make many of these blocks for birthday's or Christmas it pays off!  A friend had grey wood stain and let me use it so that worked out well!  Paint and let dry.  I painted mine in the basement.

4.  Sand any drips or rough paint spots.  Now paint your desired color.  I used acrylic paint.  For the pink I had to do two coats, but for the black I only did one.  Let dry.

5.  Print out your pictures and crop to 3.25 (if your block is 3.5) use photos taken at a distance so that your not cutting anyone off!

6.  Apply Mod Podge to all of square and apply photo, put a thin layer of mod podge all over the photo.  I use a brush and only brush it in one direction.  Let dry add another layer.  Let dry.

7. In the garage or a well ventilated area spray with a Clear Finishing Coat I used Kyron Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating! Let dry!  And your done!  

I hope that explains it well!  I enjoyed making this!  And I plan to make more! 

And Gallery Idol is over...

Hello! I want to start off this post by congratulting the Gallery Idol winner Joscelyn Cutchens!  What an amazing card she made with the polariod camera!  Who can compete with a light?  So happy for her!

I want to share that even being part of the 20 for Gallery Idol is something I didn't think I would be.  To have made it all the way to the Top 5 is a huge honor and something I am proud of!  Really proud of!  I feel that I worked hard and did make great cards for this so I have no regrets.  I am beyond thankful and overwhelmed with all your love and support.You have rallied behind me and encouraged me to do my best!  You have been amazing to me!  You've made me feel like the most talented crafty girl in the world!  And with that I am a winner!  :>  Big thank yous!

To my fellow 20's I have absolutely loved getting to know all of you!  Our facebook group has made this even better and less bite my nails and a bag of stress!  It was fun to chat about everything and encourage each other! You are all amazing women who are so talented!  I count myself blessed to be included with you!  I hope we all stay in touch and friends!

I'll be back soon with my teacher gifts, cannot wait to share with you!  :>

My first cover!

Hello!  I am very excited to be here today to share something amazing, surreal, can't believe it but one of my cards is on the cover of Stamp It by Paper Crafts!

Which one do you think is mine???  

Of course the Newspaper Tulips one!  :>  Do you like it?  You can find more details on page 138!

Last night I had to celebrate:

Yup cheesecake!  Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake!  Yummy!

Getting a card on the cover is beyond something I ever thought possible or even thought of!  This is my first publication in Paper Crafts magazine!  I remember back in February (if I remember correctly) when I finally got a happy email from them!  I cried tears of joy because it was I think my third time trying!  It felt so unattainable and I am really glad that the rejection didn't put me off. Than in April when I received the email that my card was going to be on the cover I sat by my laptop in my kitchen at my island in shock.  It felt surreal from the top of my head to my toes!  I cried and was just plain surprised!  I have always loved and bought Stamp It,  for years before I even started being online.  All those years ago if someone had told me that  my card would be on the cover one day I would not have believed them! 

I've been beyond blessed this last little while!  I hope that I never appear to be boastful or a show off.  I share with you because I know you all really get it.  Most of my friends and family get it too and rejoice with me but I still come across people who don't get it and don't always say the nicest things.  I know that you all get it the most!  I love this hobby.  I love stamping, I love playing with paper, I love creating!  It really helps me to be the best (or just good at lol) at everything else if I have some time for me to paper craft!  

This is the only card I have in this issue!  I submitted I think 7 and one of was picked up.  I want to share that I rejoice in the one card and not think or dwell or be sad in the other 6 that weren't picked up.  If I have 1 card picked up I am happy.  Not every card we make and submit will be picked up.  Doesn't mean that those cards aren't good, it just means it probably didn't fit and someone else's did fit.  If things aren't picked up it doesn't mean we aren't good enough either, don't let that define you! Keep true to yourself, keep on crafting because crafting is the best part!  

I want to say a big thank you to all of you again.  I am so blessed by all of your friendships!  Crafting is so much more fun having friends who have great blogs!  :>