Oh, Happy Day

It's Friday and I'm sharing one last happy card before I head off for my six week (or so) hiatus. I made this one back in September before all the crazy happened... It's so nice how a little bit of gold and shimmer can make you so happy huh? Oh, Happy Day :)

DEEtails:
I started by stamping the fun sentiment with VersaMark ink on some Basic Black card stock and embossed it in Gold.. The coordinating die help to make this little saying into something like a fun little award ribbon. I added some tassels using some Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum (try saying that ten times fast!), some Gold Metallic Baker's Twine and some Gold Sequin Trim. I probably could have added some more tassels for some more pizzazz, but I think that'll do for now. I backed my Basic Black card with some more Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum for a quick, simple, yet snazzy card. Hope you like it!

Paper: Basic Black card stock, Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum
Stamps: Starburst Sayings
Ink: VersaMark
Embellishments: Gold Metallic Baker's Twine, Gold Sequin Trim
Tools: Gold Stampin' Emboss, Starburst Framelits

What I Wore

Hi there! Ready for another edition of What I Wore? These are actually my outfits from the first week of September, which is why there are only four days (Monday was a holiday).

Now that you've seen some of my outfits, you'll notice some repeating items and themes. Mainly, I wear dresses A LOT! And I love Kate Spade and Coach jewelry :) ...and I'm not very good at photographing myself. Haha!

DAY ONE

 dress: tj maxx by soprano / necklace: loft / bracelet: pandora / ring: premier designs

DAY TWO

dress: tj maxx by max studio / necklace: groopdealz (also sold here) / bracelets: kohls, american eagle, and groopdealz (sold here by this vendor) / ring: kate spade

DAY THREE

dress: loft (similar) / necklace: kate spade / ring: coach

DAY FOUR

jeans day!

jeans: tommy hilfiger / top: target / necklace: groopdealz (similar) / ring: kate spade

So, yes... I wear dresses to work nearly every single day. Some Fridays are jeans days, so I do dress down on those days, but I actually find wearing dresses more comfortable! I wear yoga shorts and a camisole under all of my dresses, so I can move around freely without my underwear showing. Since I work at an elementary school, I do spend time sitting (and sometimes crawling around) on the floor with the kiddos. It's surprisingly much easier to do so in a dress! Not to mention, wearing dresses means I don't have to worry about matching tops and bottoms. Plus, I find it much easier to find dresses that fit than pants. I don't like to spend a lot of money on my clothes, so I get a lot of my dresses at TJ Maxx. I love Max Studio brand, which is stocked quite regularly there. 

As for my jewelry, I mentioned before that I'm addicted to deal of the day shops like Groopdealz and Jane, where I get a lot of my fun statement pieces. You'll also notice that I wear a lot of Kate Spade and Coach - my favorites. You never see my ears in these photos, but I often wear matching earrings, like spade ones that go with the necklace I wore on Day Three.

What about you? Are there any brands you love? Any shops that I should be checking out for cute dresses and fun jewelry pieces? 

Happy Birthday Word Bubbles

Is your family like mine with lots of fall birthdays? It's always handy to have extra birthday cards around for all the special people in my life... Here's one that I created recently.

DEEtails:
After pulling out my dies for my butterfly cards, I decided to try out the Starburst and Word Bubbles Framelits. Both were new purchases for me in the spring. I layered some fun patterned papers from Birthday Basics. I'm loving these colors. I decided to pair the Word Bubbles Framelits with the sentiment from After Thoughts and layered it over some Crisp Cantaloupe Twine from the Sweet Sorbet Accessory pack. It's not too busy, is it?

Paper: Birthday Basics DSP, Crisp Cantaloupe card stock, Gumball Green card stock, Gumball Green patterned DSP, Summer Starfruit card stock, Summer Starfruit patterned DSP
Stamps: After Thoughts
Ink: Basic Gray
Embellishments: Crisp Cantaloupe Twine
Tools: 1" Square Punch, Starburst Framelits, Word Bubbles Framelits

Five Friday Favorites: Desserts

Stressed? 

source

:)

I thought I'd share some of my favorite desserts in this edition of Five Friday Favorites. Enjoy :)

1. Coffee Jelly. 

Essentially coffee flavored gelatin with cream poured over it. It's a favorite of mine from Japan. I've found a recipe here if you'd like to try it. It's a great treat without being too sweet!

2. Strawberry Pistachio Daquoise from Pistacia Vera. 

Oh my yum. I love this place. My favorite dessert here is the Strawberry Pistachio Daquoise, but of course their French Macarons top the list. 

source

3. Pineapple Dole Whip from Disneyland. 

Or maybe even better, from Hawaii... :) There are lots of copycat recipes out there, but quite honestly, nothing beats the real thing.

4. Chamomile Ice Cream.

I blogged about Jeni's and their yummy ice cream a few weeks ago. Chamomile is my favorite flavor there, although I think it is only available in the spring and early summer. I've done some searching and found a recipe here that I'd love to try.

5. Tiramisu from Olive Garden.
This one is a classic favorite :).

What about you? What are your favorite desserts? Do share!

A Different Butterfly CASE

I had so much fun layering patterned papers and butterflies that I wanted to keep on going! But I'm sure it would make for quite a boring blog if I posted basically the same card every day. Haha. So I looked to my favorite source of inspiration... Pinterest, of course, and found this lovely card by Maile Bailes that I decided to CASE for today's card.

DEEtails:
The patterned papers that I decided to use today are old ones from Sycamore Street. I was able to strategically place some card stock on that Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die to create my focal point. I added a few Rich Razzleberry embellishments and a sentiment and I had this fun card. Is it too purpley?

Paper: Rich Razzleberry card stock, Sycamore Street DSP, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: So Very Grateful
Ink: Basic Black
Embellishments: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Sycamore Street Buttons
Tools: Banner Punch, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die

Another Butterfly CASE

I'm back with another simple card, CASEing an old favorite.

DEEtails:
For this card, I pulled out some of my brand new Designer Series Paper. Okay, really, it isn't new... It's from the Spring Catalog, but I only just started playing with the goodies that I ordered back in April. I followed the same steps from the card I posted yesterday and created a bright and colorful version on my layered butterfly card.

Paper: Bermuda Bay card stock, Kaleidoscope DSP, Melon Mambo card stock, Melon Mambo patterned DSP, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Just Believe
Ink: Melon Mambo
Tools: 1" Square Punch, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die

CASEing an Old Favorite

I know it's been a long time since I've created anything or stamped a card. I've kind of been itching to go in my craft space, which I'm sure is a good sign that I'm getting better. But the place is kind of a disaster! While I was sick and unable to do much crafting, we just piled things into my craft space. The space itself is already pretty tiny, so piled with a bunch of extras makes the place almost completely impossible to navigate through.

I recently sent out this card to my aunt and loved the simplicity of the card and the use of all the fun patterned papers. I thought it might be fun to CASE my previous creation. I've been collecting quite a bit of patterned papers, so it was a nice way to flip through and use some of them. This card was actually a good choice to start with, since I've found that not being in my craft space for so long has caused me to forget where a lot of my tools and embellishments are stored. Haha!

DEEtails:
I started by selecting some various patterned papers. I turned to the retired Patio Party DSP and added some patterned Summer Starfruit and Baja Breeze. Then I used my Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die, also retired, but you can use any butterfly punch or layer any shaped die for that matter. I stamped the sentiment from Four You onto some Whisper White card stock and used the 1" square punch to create a simple banner. Lots of layering and I was able to create this quick and easy birthday card!

Paper: Baja Breeze card stock, Baja Breeze patterned DSP, Midnight Muse card stock, Patio Party DSP, Summer Starfruit patterned DSP, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Four You
Ink: Midnight Muse
Tools: 1" Square Punch, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die

My New School

Back in July, I shared that I was transferring to a new school this year. It's been quite a great experience and challenging in so many good ways. :)

There were a number of different reasons that led me to this decision, and although it was a difficult one, I'm glad to have made the choice. I had grown very fond of my previous school, having been there for eight years. Last year, we got a new principal and quite honestly, I was finding it difficult at times to not feel so attached to the "old way" of doing things. In addition, I was feeling a little tired and worn. You see, after working there for so long, I had started taking on more and more jobs each year and was finding that my plate was a bit full. It was difficult for me to relinquish the responsibilities I had taken on, mostly because I was so personally vested. I knew it was time for a fresh start.

Starting at a new school means a lot of new challenges in a lot of new ways. The school population is larger and quite different from my previous school, which was very rural. I'm always up for good challenge! I'm quite excited to work with my previous principal as well. With the difficult summer I've had, it's been nice to get a new start, but still be with some old friends.

There are a lot of positive things about working in this new building. For one, it is really close to home. I've been working a lot of long hours recently, so it's been helpful not to have a long commute after a tiring day. I also mentioned that it's a larger school, which means a larger staff. In many ways, this helps lighten my load. There are quite a few roles that I had taken on at my previous school that I don't have to fulfill any more because there are so many willing hands to lighten the load.

Still, it has been a challenge. Having been out a lot last year, and being in a new building, I almost feel like I am "starting over" as a counselor. I miss my old friends too. I struggled a lot with this during the first few days of school, feeling as though I had "abandoned" many of them. Although I knew that my friends understood and were supportive of my decision, I really had to remind myself that this change was a good one and what I really needed right now.

So, here we are at the start of a new school year, with lots of exciting things on the horizon. I'm so happy to be sharing my adventure with you! :)

Cupcake Inspirations Theme Challenge

Finally! A card! Hooray!

It's been a long time since I participate in a Cupcake Inspirations Challenge too... I'm feeling a little rusty at this card making thing, but at least I'm back in action :)

DEEtails:
I stamped the two apple images from Perfectly Preserved to create a fun background, which I paired with the red striped pattern from the Fresh Prints Designer Paper Stack. I added some Burlap Ribbon and Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine to add some texture and added the stamped sentiment from Hello, Lovely.

Paper: Fresh Prints Designer Paper Stack, Real Red card stock, Whisper White card stock
Stamps: Hello, Lovely, Perfectly Preserved
Ink: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Real Red,
Embellishments: Burlap Ribbon, Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine

Crafts from the Past: Princess Pegs

Finally... a crafty post! I haven't been able to craft much recently because I've been so busy with the start of the new school year, but I dug this one up from a few months ago. I had so much fun with this. I hope you like it!

My friend Rebecca's little one celebrated her fifth birthday earlier this year. It had been a while since I was able to craft, but I was determined to DIY a fabulous gift for her.

I was inspired by the Princess Peg Doll tutorial from Lil Blue Boo and was eager to make my own. I also did a little search on Pinterest, which was loaded with ideas and inspiration.

I actually did a bit of researching on the Disney Princesses to make sure that I was including all the right characters. I can't say that I completely agree with this whole list, but here are the princesses that I made, based on the official list: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Merida, Rapunzel, Anna, & Elsa. Of course, being the crazy person that I am, I created the princesses in chronological order.

I purchased the peg dolls from our local craft store and used some acrylic paint that I had on hand. I did end up buying a few new fine tip paintbrushes and a painter's palette which was great for mixing to get the right shades of hair and skin color. I used clay for the little buns and my hubby helped with spraying them all with sealer. I had originally started sewing a tiny cape for Snow White and had a real ribbon sash for Mulan, but in the end decided that it just didn't look right. I liked the simplicity of just the painted peg dolls.

Here's a line up of the 13 pretty princesses :) I especially love all their different hair styles.

I'm gonna be honest and tell you that it was really hard to give these up after working hard to create them. I so desperately wanted to keep them and play with them myself. :) I even went out and bought extra presents for Rebecca's daughter just in case I changed my mind at the last minute. Haha. My hubby finally coaxed me into giving them up by buying me more supplies to make my own set and told me that I'd probably want to make all the Princes too. I think he was right. :)

But in the end it was worth it as I watched Rebecca's daughter open her Princesses and saw her eyes light up. She immediately wanted to play with these little figures and lined them up and down and named each one. She has an amazing mathematical brain and immediately started sorting them by hair color, eye color, hairstyle and more. Then she started asking questions like, what do you think will split them into the most number of groups? And what do you think will split them into the least number of groups? What a brainiac! I love it :)

So, which one is your favorite Princess?

What I Wore

So you know that I don't post photos of myself on the interwebs as a general rule... But then I found Hi Sugarplum! and loved the way she photographed her outfits and decided to finally join the mainstream and post What I Wore. I struggled with this for a bit because I don't want to seem vain in posting photos of me and my clothes or anything like that. Mostly, I'm hoping that this will motivate me to actually think about what I put on in the morning. It's easy to get into a rut and wear the same outfits day in and day out. Quite honestly, I like to wear a simple black dress and black flats on most days. If my mom or brothers read this, they would probably roll their eyes and think "BORING!" Knowing that I wanted to share my outfits online has actually encouraged me to try to wear a little more color this past week.

A couple things to note: I'm not about taking selfies out in broad daylight, especially living in an apartment complex where everyone will see me, so you'll have to forgive some of the poorly lit photos. It does appear that I get a little better with morning photography as the week goes on... Also, most of my clothing and accessories are not very new. You'll see that I have trouble sourcing a lot of it and/or most items are no longer available. My apologies for that... Anyway, here we go!

DAY ONE

First day of school! First day of school!

dress: to adorn (sold here by this vendor) / belt: I can't remember! / necklace: pearls from my grandma / bracelet & ring: premier designs

DAY TWO

dress: tj maxx by sweet storm (similar dress sold here) / necklace: kate spade / bracelets: coach & groopdealz (sold here by this vendor)

DAY THREE

dress: ross by enfocus studio / cardigan: target / necklace: coach / bracelet: kate spade

DAY FOUR

dress: macys by bcx / camisole: gap / necklace: premier designs / bracelet: coach

 DAY FIVE

 dress: tj maxx by sweet storm / necklace: groopdealz

So clearly, as the week went on, I started to get into my neutral colors :) but at least I'm not wearing all black! I've been doing some online shopping recently, mostly at deal of the day sites like groopdealz and jane, so I'm hoping to have some more colorful accessories once I do start back into the habit of wearing a lot of black dresses. Because honestly, I know it's going to happen eventually. 

Hope you enjoyed this random post today. Crafty posts are coming soon! :)

Currently...

Happy September! Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend. I thought I'd try something new today and give you a little glimpse of the everyday happenings in my life. Hopefully, I won't bore you too much... And I promise, a little crafty post coming your way later this week! :)

Here's what I'm currently up to...

WATCHING: The Harry Potter Octalogy 

(it's something that I like to turn on whenever we have a long weekend at home)

READING: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 

(obviously I'm on a HP kick right now!)

I have the original hard covers, but I love the design of these Bloomsbury covers

LISTENING: to Pentatonix. 
Although I'm almost always listening to them... 

I can't wait for their new album to come out! 

EATING: a lot of chocolate chip cookies

DRINKING: the new Starbucks Iced Coffee that comes in the giant 48 ounce bottles!

I like it with milk and a little Reddi Wip on top :)

WEARING: a lot of color recently, which is totally unlike me and my usual neutral wardrobe. 

(Stop by on Wednesday to see what I mean)

MAKING: various projects to finish up my new office decorations. 

(I'm hoping to be ready to reveal my new office soon!)

PLANNING: new lessons for school. 

I just finished up some fun lessons for introducing myself to the new students. I'm pretty excited about teaching to this new crew!

TRYING: to get up earlier to exercise a bit in the morning. 
(Gotta work off those cookies, you know...)

WANTING: these gorgeous bracelets from Wrenn Jewelry.

They have a new geode collection coming out later this morning that looks pretty amazing!

FEELING: excited about my grandmother's 80th birthday that is coming up soon!

ENJOYING: deal of the day shops like Jane and GroopDealz, maybe a little too much! If you know of any other good ones, please let me know!