A BIG thank you to everyone for joining us on the Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff Hop, Crop, and Shop last week.  There were lots of amazing projects and chit chat in the My Grafico crop room.  So, without further ado – the winner of my candy – Lindsay’s Envelope Bonanza template set is: (drum roll)

Joanne Gilch

Congratulations Joanne – I know you’ll love the set as much as I do!

Wow – our weekend has flown by – at least today we were able to relax a little bit.  Nadya and I spent most of Thursday in town – she had gymnastics lessons at 10 and then we met a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen ages for lunch – thanks Lori – it was yummy!  After lunch we went to our favorite car wash – Daddy O’s to get the bugs off the Freestyle and remove the Cheerio farm that threatened to overtake the backseat (ok maybe a little exaggeration, but not much).  Then we had to make a quick stop at Target for dog treats (Wal-Mart doesn’t carry them) followed by some relaxation and an ice cream cone at Sonic with Donna.  We rounded out our evening with a quick visit turned play date with one of Nadya’s little friends who has just become a big sister.  If you recall my post from last week, I showcased an adorable baby gift ensemble – well Nadya thought Abby should have something too so we found a Big Sister t-shirt and put together a cute little gift box for her too. The box was super easy to put together – I used an awesome rectangle box cutting file from SVGcuts (Betty’s Bags and Boxes I) combined with one of the card frames in the A2 Cards for All Occasions set.  Using SCAL I broke apart the frame and deleted the outer edge so that the design was incorporated into the box top and cut! I used retired SU DP for my box and a scrap of acetate/transparency to reinforce the lid but still allow a peak at the goodies inside.  The flower is comprised of 2 SU Daisies and a Paper Studio pink flower that I brushed with Iridescent Medium and attached with a Paper Studio pearl brad.  I also applied a light coating of Iridescent Medium to the flower stem and swirl on the box top.I finished the package with pink grosgrain ribbon, which doubled as a bit of extra support in keeping the box closed since Nadya was hand delivering the gift. I am really happy with the results – and it was so easy to do!!!

Then yesterday, Nadya and I attended a baby shower for one of my coworkers (before I became a SAHM that is).  Donna did a lovely job hosting Jessica’s shower and I enjoyed visiting with people I hadn’t seen in a long time. Jessica’s having a little boy and the theme was dragons – so here’s what I came up with: I’m a member of Dustin Pike’s Yahoo Group, so I asked if he had any dragons playing stork stamps – which he didn’t, but he did have this adorable stork with a baby dragon – perfect for what I needed!The card base is embossed with an SU texture plate and my Big Shot. I used cut the scallop shapes (I was trying to mimic clouds) in SCAL using files from SVGCuts Rosie’s Ribbons set. I cut them in both white and in Bashful Blue DP (to match one of the gift boxes). I added the stitching with a ruler and my Spica Sky Blue pen. The rhinestones are from my stash. Dustin’s baby dragon was colored in Photoshop using Jodiann’s Chalkies – Vicki’s Beach Styles.  I created the background using a combination of styles and Obsidian Dawn brushes. For the “handmade” box containing adorable little animal themed onesies, I used Heather M’s scalloped box (I omitted the liner) combined with one of Penny Duncan’s nested shapes to create the window in the lid.  The DP is SU Bashful Blue – which matches the card.The scallop flourish behind the flower is cut from DCWV glitter CS using SCAL and a, SVGCuts swirl file ( Swirlies).  The flower is comprised of SU fabric Daisies and Paper Studio paper flowers (I used a brown flower to “tie” the colors of the 2 packages together) – finished off with a Paper Studio pearl brad.The last package (an awesome baby bathtub in the shape of a duck) is wrapped in pretty paper I found at Target.  I wanted the ensemble to “go together” if that makes sense, so I added 7/8” white grosgrain ribbon and another layered flower – substituting a blue flower that matched the blue in the paper for the white flower on the other package.

We finished off our evening with a bonfire/gathering at a friend’s home.  Nadya enjoyed playing with the older kids since they were playing in, on, and around the sand/dirt dunes.  She definitely required a bath once we arrived home!

Have a fabulous week!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff Hop, Crop and Shop Birthday PARTY! I know it’s Wednesday and you’re used to hearing from me on Thursdays, but since this is a special week, we’re changing things up a bit.  If you didn’t get a chance to play – be sure to check Lindsay’s blog post from yesterday and then check out the goodies the girls showcased – each one of us is giving away one of Lindsay’s awesome sets – so you don’t want to miss out.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Crop Room at My Grafico – be sure to stop in there as well – Lindsay has some fun challenges and daily freebies just for stopping in and her ENTIRE store is on-sale 50% off – you can’t beat that!!!!  Ok – on with the hop!  Didn’t you just love Lisa’s project? If you are just starting out today and didn’t come from Lisa’s blog – you’ll want to start with Lindsay’s blog – or if you get lost along the way – Lindsay will have the map for you.

This is month for babies!  I have a shower to go to this weekend and another of my friends just had a little boy – so I definitely needed to work on at least one baby project…so here’s part 1:My combined project works for several different challenges – a definite change for me!  Melissa’s recipe challenge over at Tuesday Morning Sketches; SVGCuts Bag & Box Challenge; and Lindsay’s challenges #4 (blue and masculine are not my style) and #7 (the SU DP I used is from my stash). I started out by creating the gift box (there’s an adorable onesie and matching bib inside).  The box was super easy using files from SVGcuts – it’s one of the files in Betty’s Boxes and Bags – I used SCAL to add a scallop edge (Annie’s Edge) in the center and cut it out of double-sided DP, so when the box is opened there are cute little flowers inside.  The begonia flower (3D Flowers set 1 – which really doesn’t dwarf the box in real life) was cut twice in SCAL, once on DP and once on white CS. I sponged Brocade and Bashful Blue inks around the edges and then layered the flower.   I used a fabric brad (Paper Studio) and glue dots to secure everything together and then coated it with a light layer of Iridescent medium (Winsor & Newton) to add some sparkle and shine.  The ribbon is 7/8” white grosgrain from my stash. My box meets Melissa’s challenge as it is comprised of soft colors, ribbon, and flowers. My card is rather simple, but I’m really happy with the way it turned out.  I started out by embossing a white A5 (4.25”x5.5”) card base with an SU texture plate (tips: I misted the CS lightly with water since I didn’t have any ink to run and it really helped make a deeper impression and since I only wanted to emboss the front, I used a bit of drafting tape to secure the card to my plate with the back off of the plate and rubber mat and top plate placed at the fold). If you guessed the the scallop edge is the cut-out from my box, you would be correct – I didn’t want to “waste” any of my DP. The ribbon and pearls (Michaels) are from my stash and are layered for texture, depth, and interest.  I used an EK Success punch to edge my card.  The cute little baby shoes are  from Lindsay’s Babies and Bows set – I resized (~1.9”x1.5”), layered and colored (using SU RGB colors and different opacity settings) them in Photoshop before printing.  I trimmed them and used pop-up glue dots to add them to my card front.  The inside sentiment (SU) reads “A little something for a little someone” and is stamped in Bashful Blue. The last part of my project was to create a matching envelope.  Once again, I turned to Lindsay’s Envelope Bonanza set – with both SVG files and printable templates – it truly makes the creative possibilities almost endless.  In this case, I created my DP in Photoshop by filling an 8.5×11 layer with a solid color (though it doesn’t matter which one) and applying Jodiann’s Dot Cute style set (I added a color overlay to better match my colors, but that was totally optional) and then printing out.  In SCAL I opted for the Bracket Envelope cutting it out of my homemade DP.  Since this set will be hand delivered rather than mailed, I added a tiny pearl to the bracket center for interest and to tie the envelope and card details together.

Whew! If you’ve made it this far you definitely deserve a reward!  Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered for a chance to win Lindsay’s Envelope Bonanza template set – you have until Monday morning to comment at which time I’ll use Random Number to pick a winner! For a 2nd chance to win, grab Lindsay’s fan blinkie from my sidebar, add it to your blog linked to Lindsay’s store, and then come leave me a 2nd comment with your link. Easy peasy!!! If you already have Lindsay’s the template set or don’t want to wait ‘til Monday since it’s 50% OFF right now, not to worry – Lindsay will let you select another set in its place – so what are YOU waiting for!??!  Your next stop along the hop is Tanya – and when you’re done hopping, stop by the Crop Room for today’s freebie and to see what’s happening – we’d love to have you join in the fun! Have a FABULOUS Wednesday!