Cupcake Inspirations Color Challenge

Hello there! Today is officially the last day of my summer, as I go back to work tomorrow! Of course I had to play in this week's summery color challenge over at Cupcake Inspirations. This adorable dino shows exactly how I'm feeling trying to enjoy my last moments of carefree frolicking. I did stray a little from the colors today and used more of a lavender color rather than eggplant... I'll blame that on summer since I recently went through quite a bit of my stash and was reminded of these fun frames which I had to use for my card today!

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My cute dino is from Meljen's Designs, our sponsor today. I did a paper piecing and coloring hybrid on him and popped him onto one of those fun frames from my hoard, er... stash. This card was super quick to make since I just slapped on some stitched grosgrain ribbon, some cute flowers, buttons, and the sentiment from SU!'s Best of Greetings, paired with a little curly bracket.

I hope you'll stop by Cupcake Inspirations today and check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the Sweeties. Then, be sure to make something fun using these colors (or something really close) from the yummy inspiration cupcakes. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge

Well, hello there! I'm here today with another lovely sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts from our Resident Artist, Margaret Moody. I'm loving today's layout...

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Hexagons are everywhere, aren't they? I love how their bold geometric pattern somehow brings a delicate detail to everything. Today I've used the Hexagon punch on some Whisper White card stock stamped with the Dictionary image in Basic Gray. I laid out my pattern on some Crisp Cantaloupe - are you loving this color as much as I am? And added a bit of Coastal Cabana Ruffle Stretch Ribbon underneath. I'm dying to do something totally creative with this ribbon, but so far, it's just been my go to trim to add on the edge of stuff... Next, I added some Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon and the sentiment from Lots of Thanks. A few butterflies punched from Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana DSP and adorned with rhinestones finish things off.

I hope you'll stop by Pals Paper Arts for some more fabulous inspiration from our Resident Artists. Then pull our your crafty goods and create something inspired by Margaret's sketch and link up!

Crafts from the Past: Cork Strip

Several years ago, I saw the idea of gluing wine corks on a yardstick to make a clever vertical memo board to hang in a skinny space. We're not wine drinkers around here, so it's weird that I love all sorts of wine cork crafts, but I do. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted it for the piece of wall next to our refrigerator. This project is a little difficult to do when you aren't a wine drinker. I know you can buy corks, but that seemed a little silly to me, so I asked a few friends and sweet Meredith from school came through with a bag of corks that she'd saved up. Hooray! 

I didn't have quite enough to fill up a yardstick, but no matter. I just wanted a small strip. I cut off the edge of one of those 12 x 12 mountable cork pieces and hot glued the corks right on! It was such a quick and easy project. It's so cute that I don't even want to put any messages on it and cover up those corks!

It's kind of a strange space to photograph... My apologies... So what kind of fun crafts have you made using corks? Are you a wine drinker? Or did you have to rally corks from friends?

Cupcake Inspirations Theme Challenge

Hello dear friends! I hope you've had a lovely weekend! Today I have a fun patterned birthday card to share with you for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge. Today's challenge is a birthday theme. How fun!

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I started by printing out my image from Wags and Whiskers on some fun chevron DSP from I Am Me. I paired it with some Birthday Basics DSP and some Basic Gray card stock. I colored in some fun accents in the image - the party hats, present and wee mouse, Squeak. I'm still torn on whether or not I should color in Ellie, the elephant. I think she might look okay, but my coloring skills aren't so fabulous and you know that once I start, there's no turning back... For now, I'm liking her chevron pattern. Then I embellished the card with some Pool Party Baker's Twine, some designer buttons, and the Chalk Talk stamp that I embossed in White on some Basic Gray card stock and die cut with the coordinating die. Hope you like it and are having a fabulous day!

Be sure to stop over at the Cupcake Inspirations Blog for some more fun birthday cards that our sweeties have designed. Then, won't you create a sweet birthday card and link up with us? We'd love to see what you create!

Five Friday Favorites: Tea Time

It's no secret that I love me some Starbucks. They even know my name at the Starbucks I frequent. Yes! But not really.... They think my name is Christina... Oops! My favorite drink is a Venti Caramel Frappuccino. I especially like it when they make it with the caramel drizzle inside the cup - yum! But I also happen to love a good cup of tea, which happens to be the topic of my random ramblings for today...

1. One of my favorite gifts that I've received is this awesome Tea Steeper that I got for my birthday last year. It makes the perfect cup of tea - and fast too! It heats up water in less than a minute to just the right temperature for your tea. It's home for the summer right now, but I usually keep it at school - even though it seems a little frivolous to have such a fancy machine there. It's great because I don't always have time to wait for water to heat up and this thing does it in a jiffy. Plus, it automatically shuts off after 30 minutes, so if I have to run off to an emergency, I don't have to worry about checking to make sure I turned off my teapot! You can also use it for just heating up water, which is nice for meetings in my office. I like to put out assorted teas and hot chocolate packets so people can make their perfect drink during our long days of meetings!

2. I picked up a cute little tea bag holder from Target a while back. I don't have a photo of it, but it's shaped like a little tea bag and it just makes drinking tea more fun :)

photo credit

3. Teavana sells German Rock Sugar which is just amazing. It brings out the flavor in the tea in such a unique way. I can't even describe it. If you haven't tried it yet, you'll definitely have to taste it to experience your tea in a wonderfully new way!

4. A while back, I found these Lipton teas in some very tasty flavors. They're great to keep at school since they're fairly inexpensive (I keep my Teavana teas at home since they are pricey). And they're a nice variety to put out for meetings.

5. My Takeya pitcher is wonderful. I actually purchased both my mom and myself a second one because I like it so much! It can hold hot (as in boiling) or cold liquids in it. Plus it's airtight and leakproof, so you can lay it on it's side in your fridge if you don't have upright space. I keep them at home - one for tea, one for coffee!

So there you have it... My favorite tea-loving products. Are you a tea lover or a coffee lover? Do you have any favorite products? I'd love to hear!

Crafts from the Past: Chalk Art

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I had completed a few crafty projects around the home. I promised to share them, so here I am today with one of them...

Chalk board Art has been around for a while and I adore the look of it. Being an educator, I like to have tiny touches of school in my home. Unfortunately, chalk and I aren't fans of each other, so it hasn't been too easy for me to try it out. When Stampin' Up! came out with a Chalk Marker, I was quite thrilled. Although it's not REALLY chalk, (it's a permanent marker with a chalk-like look) I figured it would work for this project.

Ages ago, Hubby and I put up a gallery wall that I'll have to eventually show you. I haven't shown it yet because it's still not 100% finished. The completion of the chalk art project I'm showing you today brings us one step closer! :) It's in our foyer (if you can call it that), which is really a little corner with three doors (the front door, a closet door, and a door that leads to the bathroom) that opens up to our dining room. Centered above the closet door, I hung a pretty frame that I had picked up at Home Goods with a piece of chalkboard vinyl in it (also from Stampin' Up!). I finally got around to adding text on that piece of chalkboard vinyl. Here it is:

I've known what I wanted it to say for a while now... Our pup is a huge part of what makes this place a home, so I knew that little saying was perfect. It's simple really. I didn't go all fancy like some of those chalkboard art pieces out there. The Chalk Marker is thick, so it doesn't allow for a ton of detail. That's all right because I mostly just wanted it to have a saying since the frame is so pretty and ornate, not necessarily be chalk ART. Oops. Maybe I should have titled today's post "Framed Chalk Saying" instead. Plus, for my first attempt, I didn't want to go all crazy. At least not yet. I'm hoping to try out something a little more detailed in the future.

There are a ton of fabulous Chalk Art tutorials out there. Here are a few of my favorites that I've rounded up:

Emily from Jones Design Company does a fabulous job talking about the different chalk options out there 

I'm leaning towards trying out the chalk pencil next time

Diane from In My Own Style has a step by step tutorial for making an awesome chalkboard sign

She used to do displays for a living, so she knows what she's talking about

Here's another method for creating chalkboard art 

This one is great if you are't as inclined to freehand the writing

This may be the best round up of chalkboard inspiration on Pinterest

Be warned, there are over 300 pins... You'll be here for a while.

Yellow Bliss Road shares a collection of fabulous chalkboard fonts if you prefer a mess free method

These fonts are also great for other print projects too!

That's it for now... I'll be back with some more craftiness soon! Have you attempted some chalk art? Do share!

Cupcake Inspirations Color Challenge

Today I'm here with some lovely cupcakes and a pretty color combination for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.

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I love the adorable mermaid images from A Day for Daisies and this one is no exception. I colored it in with my Stampin' Write markers, taking advantage of the textured look the markers give when you get those little marker lines... You know, the ones I usually hate! I colored the little fish using some gold Smooch paint and then added a little sparkle with some Smooch spritz that I sprayed onto a rag first and then patted on, so as not to smear my ink. I'm so bummed that you can't see the subtle shimmer on the card. I layered my image over some So Saffron DSP with some Stampin' Dimensionals and stamped the sentiment from the Best of Greetings set. Then I added on some pretty Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffle Stretch Ribbon. Silly me, I used Coastal Cabana here as my green, when I really should have used Pistachio Pudding! Oops! Finally, a few little Rhinestone Jewels add a little sparkle. What do you think? 

Swing over to the Cupcake Inspirations Blog to check out what the rest of the Sweeties have created. I can't wait to see what beautiful projects you create with this color combination! 

Five Friday Favorites: Home

Last week, Hubby and I took a little trip to Ohio to visit our families. We had a great time, but it's good to be back. It's funny, the things we appreciate more once we come back from a week away from home. This may be the most random post ever, but I'm trying to add a little more me on the blog-o instead of just showing you my card creations. So, here's the rundown of what we missed while we were away.

1. Our Bed. I am in love with our bed. Our smooth sheets, our fluffy pillows, and my cloud-like blankets, it's such a nice little place to be! Hubby and I have what we think is the most comfortable mattress in the world. We've traveled and stayed in some pretty nice hotels with those really comfy beds, but we still love ours the most! It's nothing fancy - just a mattress we picked out at Value City years ago, but we love it. After a week away, we slept like babies! :)

2. Toilet Paper. There's nothing quite like using the TP that you pick out and purchase yourself. It's selected just for my tush, so it seems just right. Is that weird that I miss my toilet paper? Sorry for the weirdness... Moving on...

3. Thermostat. It's just another one of those personal preferences. I always grew up with the house a little on the cool side. I used to freeze practically to death in high school, but now bedtime just isn't right if I don't feel like a popsicle laying on my cloud bed. Since I've moved out, my parents have chosen to be more energy efficient, which means that the thermostat is adjusted to be a few degrees warmer. Coming back to our apartment and feeling chilled was quite nice.

4. Icy Hot. I'm addicted to this stuff. Seriously. I love the way it feels and smells. But when we're traveling, I try my best not to use it since the smell is a bit overpowering. You know, I'm just trying to be courteous to the fam. I definitely take a tube with me, but it stays in my bag unless I really really need it. You betcha I slathered some on as soon as I got into bed our first night home! I have a good hubby who puts up with my Icy Hot addiction.

5. Snuggle Pup. Since our families only live about 15 minutes away from each other and we want to maximize our time spent with them, Hubby and I go our separate ways when we visit Ohio. I stay with my fam and he stays with his. We still do things together, but the majority of our time in Ohio is spent apart. It works out well since our families have different interests - I enjoy shopping with my mom while he goes canoeing and fishing with his dad. Our pup stays with Hubby and his family since they have a huge outdoors to explore. Plus they have lots of big dogs (and even a new puppy!) and they love to play together. When we get home, we toss her in the shower and clean her off after all that outdoor exploring. She loves giving super snuggles at bedtime and I kind of missed having to share my pillow with her.

So there you have it. The five random things that I missed while I was away. What about you? What makes you give that nice sigh of "it's good to be home" when you return from a trip away?

P.S. I've updated my DEEscounted Stamps page with a bunch more of my stamps. Plus, I"m working on adding even more today, so be sure to check it out! :)

Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge

August...? What in the world? I can't believe how quickly these days pass! And before you know it, it's time for another color challenge at Pals Paper Arts! Here we go...

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I cheated a little on this one... But it just wasn't right with that little bit of Gumball Green Stippled Blossoms leaves peeking out behind my Strawberry Slush Flower Shop flowers. I do apologize. Behind them, I layered some DSP and some Strawberry Slush card stock. More cheating - I used So Saffron since I didn't have Daffodil Delight. It's a tad on the dull side, but it works. I used a white gel pen to add some faux stitching on paper banners. Then I added some Chevron ribbon. Will the cheating ever stop?! This time I used Crushed Curry. Everything is layered over some cute chevron DSP from I Am Me and matted with some Basic Gray on my Smoky Slate card. Some Rhinestone Jewels add a little pizzazz to my card.

Now it's your turn! Get out your favorite crafty goodies and link up your creation to the Pals Paper Arts blog. It's okay if you cheat a little... I won't tell! :)