My First Caardvarks Challenge Card!

The current challenge at Caardvarks is to create a card with My Stamp Box's signature logo colors, Black, White and Hot Pink! This is my first card for a challenge at Caardvarks, I decided to do it because not only do I love that color combo but My Stamp Box is from Toronto, Canada! As being a Canadian that totally thrills me! I cruised around there website (http://www.mystampbox.com/) and they have some really cute stuff, I think I may have to place an order!

I decided to use the stamp set Be Yourself by CTMH. I love the silhouette ladies but haven't used the stamps all that much! I embossed my favorite one in black, love her dress! My pink may not be a dark hot pink but it's what I had and I wanted to play along! I used my nesties Label 1, and embossed the white in my big shot with the small dots (not too noticeable in the picture!) I am loving this card!

Products used: Bazzill cardstock, walmart ribbon, nesties label 1, pearls, CTMH Be Yourself, Sabrina PP by Making Memories, Birthday Greetings SU.

Hope you all have a great week, I have a lot to post this week!

Carter's Birthday Papercrafts!

As my baby Carter's first birthday approached it was bittwesweet for me! I had a very hard time when my daughter Ariel turned one, I think it took me a month to get over it! I just love babies and I feel that the time goes too fast and you can never get it again! A few days before Carter's first birthday I decided to distract myself and get excited for it I would do some papercrafting for his party! It worked I totally got excited and into it! I had purchased the choo choo stamp set at one of my stampin up 10-4-10 group parties and had planned to make his birthday invites but sadly waited too long to finalize his party! I decided that I should use it for his party to get some use of it! I made a birthday hat, a pennant banner, tags for the goody bags and cupcake toppers! Of course inspiration hit for the goodybag tags and cupcake toppers later friday afternoon with the party on saturday! His party turned out wonderfully! Ariel is a winter baby and it's not that easy to organize a party indoors with all the people we like to invite! Since Carter is a summer baby all year I thought to have his party in the park! We have a large park nearby that has a great area with playstructures and swings and I knew I wanted the party there. But this summer has been full of rain but thankfully it was a decent day, not too hot nor chilly and the sun was out!

Here is the pennant banner I made. I got my colors for the party from the patterned paper for the hat. I embossed the triangles with my big shot with the sizzix texture plates using the large dots. The first three and the last three triangles were the train and the others were Carter's name.





The pennant hanging in the tree above the picnic table!

Here is the hat I made! I love having birthday hats for my kids and had a few kicking around, I used one of them for the template. The patterned paper is one of my favorites by Kauser. My friend cut out the # 1 with her cricut. I used tissue paper to make the frays. I loved making this hat and already have plans for Ariel's birthday in Novemeber!

The cucpcake toppers I made. I was at Michaels on friday and was looking in the cake decoration aisle and saw that they sold cupcake toppers that were princess crowns and I thought of making these! I stamped the train and than cut it out and poped it up with a pop it dot on a scallop. (I made chocolate and cherry chip cupcakes!)
A bunch of the cupcakes all togather. My friend Elaine borrowed me her cupcake holder. (Sidenote I had a matching table cloth but come party time couldnt' find it! It had been left in my dad's truck!)

The goodbag tags. I made something like 30 goodybags so I made an easy tag! But I think it was still cute!

And lastly the birthday boy enjoying his cupcake!

Later that night I had to try to get a picture of Carter smiling in his hat! This is the best I could do, I don't think he liked that elastic! IT's a cute smile though!

I had a lot of fun making Carter's party specail! And I look forward to my daughter's birthday!

An Uncle who can fix Anything!!

I made this card for my uncle and for the Hero Arts Blog current challenge of mailit. This is my first blog post with a card made for a HA challenge. I love Hero Arts stamps! I love the clear ones, when I was new to stamping my first clear set was the cupcakes clear one. I still love that set! I love the HA rubber stamps too! I had a few of those when stamping was just a small part of my card making, mostly for sentiments. I love the Hero Arts blog it totally rocks! I had been reading it for a almost a year when I decided to finally take part in a challenge. I joined the HA flickr group at the end of May 09 and have enjoyed every minute! There are so many who are part of the HA flickr group who make it such a great place for papercrafters. The comments I recieve on my cards are so encouraging and just amazing!



This card is for my uncle, the currrent challenge is to make a card to mail instead of using technology, nothing is better than real mail! Soon as I saw the challenge it reminded me that I was way overdue in making my uncle a thank you card! I know that he would prefer me to mail it to him as they often mail us cards! In June one day returning home I drove with the car into the water tap that is in the garage. Water sprayed everywhere! I broke the tap! I was freaking out over the damage and how much it would cost to repair! I called my uncle and he came within half an hour to look at it and told me he would come the next morning to fix! Which he did and quickly! I am so blessed that my uncle was able to fix it! I love this sentiment from the Dad's Day clear set and I stamped it leaving out the word dad and instead wrote with a marker Uncle in red. I also cut out the wrench (since that's one of the tools he used to fix the tap!) and popped it up with pop up dots. The wrench has water droplets dripping off it, which I think is a cute touch. I drew them in with a light blue marker water and added crystal effects layer by layer on top! I like this card, it's manly and it suits the occasion!

Happy 1st Birthday Carter!

Today is my son's first birthday! I can't believe that a year has gone by so quickly! The first year is such an amazing year a baby grows and changes so much! I still remember his birth vividly happily because it was such a wonderful birth! I want to post this here for him:

Carter your one already! How it makes me tear up! I still remember your birth and how wonderful it was. So quickly, going to the hospital thinking several hours to go only to find out I was 10 cm already! And 15 minutes later you were in my arms! And what an adorable newborn you were! All the nurses commented on how cute you were and how much you looked like a boy! From the first time your sister Ariel saw you she has loved you and have been happy you were here! As you have grown you delight in her just as much as she delights in you! You smile as soon as you see her and "talk" to her! Once you learnt how to crawl often you would crawl to her room when she would be sleeping! You have been such a wonderful baby, so happy and content. Once you learnt how to smile you did it all the time! Grandma R would always comment on how you were always smiling! Friends and strangers always comment on what a great baby you are, although the number one comment is your big blue eyes! Lately you have been an explorer baby and loves getting into everything! I look forward to enjoying you while your still my baby, watching you grow into a boy and than a man. I look forward to raising you to be a warrior of God and to accomplish your destiny. I am so happy that you are my son and that you are part of this family it wouldn't be the same without you!


Right after Carter's birth!

Just before taking him home!

Ariel loving her baby brother! So happy that

he is here!

Carter a few weeks old!

Looking back at the pictures of when Carter was a newborn it really hits home how fast time goes! Today we will just celebrate as a family. On saturday we are having a big party at the park for him! I am working on some "things" for his party and will of course share it here on my blog!

First post with the cards!

For my first post with actual pictures of my cards I wanted to go with some nice cards but yet recent cards. For these three cards I used my new stamp set by Papertrey Ink, my first stamps by PTI Button Bits. Oh how I love this set. I discovered it on Dawn McVey's blog when she did a card for it with the sneak peak and I knew I had to have it! I think it's so unique and creative, and a really fun stamp set! Looking through my button stack I realized I should have ordered some buttons too! Oh well I had some great purple buttons from actually the dollar store of all things! So I searched through my patterned papers and found these two favorites of mine by SEI that had purple in them! Here are my first three cards I made with it, very simple:

Products used: Button Bits by PTI, Kraft cardstock by Bazzill, random buttons, Michaels ribbon, PP by SEI Spring.

Introduction to Me!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first post as Crafty Girl Designs! My name is Anita and I have been happily married to my husband Chad for 7 years! I am so blessed to be able to call Chad my husband, he is such an amazing guy and I love the relationship that we share! Marriage is one of the best parts of life, to have someone with who you can be truly be yourself and experience everything with is beyond words how great it is!

Chad and I are blessed to be the parents to two wonderful children! Ariel Brooke who is 3 1/2 (turning four in November!) and our baby Carter Evan who will be turning one tomorrow! Every parent praises there child and says how perfect they are, no one is perfect but our children arepretty close! The best word to describe Ariel is sweet. She is a girly girl who is full of happiness and behaves so well! It's easy to go places with her and with a busy life it is such a blessing! I have noticed how well Ariel makes friends, among a few of her friends she is one of the favorites, everyone wants to be her friend! I love how if we go to the park she quickly makes a friend and has someone to play with! The best word to describe Carter is that he is smiley! Every since he has learnt to smile he does it all the time! Other people comment on this and his wonderful big blue eyes! Carter has been such a great baby, in some ways so similar to his sister as a baby and some ways so different. Having a boy has been an experience also! Carter is a boy for sure and lately has been quite the explorer and getting into all sorts of things. Ariel was the same but at an older age!

After describing my children I should share some photos with you!

My family and I are Christains. It is important for my husband and I to raise our children for the Lord and in the ways of the Lord. We are involved in our local church and love it! Our church is so amazing and our Pastor is one of the best! We are so blessed to be able to attend such a wonderful church full of wonderful people! I enjoy being involved since it allows me to meet new people and get to know people I otherwise would not have! http://www.springschurch.com/

This blog is dedicated to my paper crafting and my life. I am blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom. I do have a small job at a popular children's clothing store but it is very part time! I feel that being a stay at home mom is the best job in the world but it is important for me to have something for myself. I started paper crafting mainly card making when Ariel was a baby. I had received cards from other people and I knew that I would love that hobby too! I have only been into stamping for about a year and love it!

To all my readers be it that I know you personally or just through the web welcome and I hope you enjoy it!

Anita