girl scout leader's day (+ father's day)

Talk about preparations, in the next five days we've got Easter, Earth Day and... Girl Scout Leader's Day!

I haven't had much crafty inspiration lately, but finding the cute T-shirt below got my creative juices flowing again:

(photo credit Girl Scouts San Diego)

The shirt I found is a lighter purple and the lavender print is GLITTER! I made a fun patch into a mini-card for the leader's daughter by cutting a window out of the card front.

The gift wrap came together by scrounging through my stash - don't you love that?  Of course, the sticker hides a rip in the bag :)

I wanted a badge card again, which is a CASE of a CASE I did from Heather Nichols. I searched for her original card but couldn't find it, so here's my original CASE:

The card design is entirely Heather's.  The matching coupons set is mine (coupons were printed and sewed together inside a cover with a booklet wrap):

Upon further inspection I discovered only 2 coupons had been used!  But isn't that what always happens with these kinds of gifts ;)

Now here's the freshened-up Girl Scout version:

The badges have a light border stitching from the Daily Designs.  I hand stamped 'LEADER'S' (in case that wasn't already obvious :) ) then masked off 'Happy Father's Day' to create the font strip. I'm wondering why I didn't use pop dots before?  The extra dimension is just what the card needed. 

So if you know a Girl Scout leader yourself, tell them thanks on April 22nd!  :)

Christy

xo

SUPPLIES: (all PTI except where noted)

STAMPS: Background Basics: Woodgrain, Masculine Motifs, Daily Designs & Joann's brand Studio G Series 3 Alphabet rubber stamps

INK: Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow & Versamark

CARDSTOCK: Kraft, New Leaf, Plum Pudding, Winter Wisteria

DIES: Woodgrain impression plate

EMBELLISHMENTS: Plum Pudding buttons, Winter Wisteria twill ribbon

TOOLS: Marvy Super Jumbo (blue) circle punch, EK Success 1 3/4" circle punch

blogger sabbatical

Ahhh.  It was a good blogger sabbatical :)  

One discovery this year off was that the fancy DSLR camera doesn't cut it when photographing 2 1/2 year old boys.  I smashed the UV filter when one dove head-first off a carved animal bench at the zoo.  

(Could this be why I'm still patching together two years worth of Project Life?)

But let's not miss this opportunity to share bits from my favorite season... fall!  This is the time in San Diego when I finally go to the beach.  The tourists are gone, you can actually find parking, and it's cool mornings & warm afternoons.  

I'm also proud of my 1st adventure on a stroller-free excursion just one parent! C (my 7 yr.old) took great pics...

Halls hangin at Crystal Pier:

Then... Halloween.  We enjoyed the SeaWorld Spooktacular, school carnivals and neighborhood trick-or-treating.  C dressed up as Frankie Stein & the boys were a pair of monsters (of course).  I snuck in a few photos of some teacher BFFs, too.

We'll be busy bees in November.  For fun, here's a look at daily holiday prep & C's extracurriculars... let the crazies begin!... :

• Sushi Deli day out!
• UCSD field trip (my AVID class)
• yoga 
• choir
• robotics & birthday party
• soccer game & SeaWorld Xmas celebration
• zoo or Wild Animal Park trip
• lacrosse
• Girl Scouts
• yoga; parent-teacher conferences (my students)
• choir; ten-year anniversary of meeting M!
• robotics & date night
• soccer gamer; brownie troop in holiday parade
• soccer team BBQ
• thanksgiving prep/cleaning
• Jet Propulsion Laboratories field trip (C & me)
• turkey brining
• Thanksgiving at home
• Black Friday shopping?
• tree decorating
• holiday choir concert
• lacrosse
• Girl Scouts
• yoga
• choir
• robotics & December Nights at Balboa Park
• Lion King performance in LA
• choir performance at Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park

The activity slows down later in December to leave time for parties, friends, Christmas books & crafting, and a family trip to the Compton cabin (up among the joshua trees in the high desert).

Come by to see what's in store :)

Christy

xox

creepy cast of characters

Happy Halloween!  It's my favorite day of the year - so full of magic!

I went Clean & Simple on the card... just coloring, punching, embossing, edging & a ribbon wrap around the popped-up panel.  It's a longer card - made to fit a business envelope.

A bit of die cutting & stamping on the inside.

And here's the spooky family at C's Halloween Carnival:

Mom with a vampire bat & the skeleton crew - James & Dean.

Dad & the vampire as she reveals her reverse fangs - that 1st grader smile :)

Enjoy your day! (Hope everyone on the east coast's safe & sound.)

Christy

xo

SAF haul

It's time to throw in the towel :)  I'll return to earn some final badges, but for now it's time to move on with the week.  What fun!  I learned so much and shared such good times with good friends.

See you all next year!!

xoxo,

Christy

SAF 5: MiniBook

Lots of cranking for this next project - a Summer 2012 Mini-Book.  It's my 1st full day of summer break so I have weeks to take photos, print them on white border wallet size, and embellish the pages.

I used a paper pack that I love so I'd always be able to see it again :)  The center of each page is a stamper's select cardstock base, and each side is lined with paper - patterned on the front and solid on the back.  This made each page nice & study, and all I'll have to do is insert the photos and embellish (if I want, or not!).

The colors on the back are in a rainbowish pattern (because, I'm like that).

Can't wait to fill those pages with family love!


xoxo,
Christy

SUPPLIES:

paper - PTI stamper's select white, stamper's select white; Basic Grey Urban Prairie (entire back)

dies - PTI Card Base-ics 2
accents - 1" binder clips in black & white

SAF 4: Tie-dye

I finally got to try two things I've been wanting to do - rainbow tie-dye with my Copic airbrush and a circle card.

This is a little tribute to an old Deee-lite song, 'Mind Melt', from the album Dewdrops in the Garden.  A 90's classic.  I thought it might be fun to try cards inspired by music, so we'll see what else I come up with.

Funk-a-delic.

xoxo,

Christy

SUPPLIES:

stamps - graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime

ink - PTI true black

paper - PTI raspberry fizz, stamper's select white

tools - Copics

SAF 3: Beads

Since the day was suddenly gone, we decided to jump straight to the friendship beads.  Making a bracelet was F-U-N!  Neither of us had done any bead work, so we all enjoyed a new craft.

We used matte Modge Podge, metal & glass beads, and shiny cat eye hearts.  This was my FAV part of the day - not that I really need a new way to spend $... :)

It wasn't a massive haul, but we left with full bellies, cards, notepads, and bracelets.

SAF 2: Ribbons

I love all things rainbow so I picked the satin dots ribbon strips technique:

 So shiny - but hard to see in the early light.  Lovely!

Well... it took all day what with the twins, yet finally we managed to pull off:

I'm so impressed with Jyothi!  Her notepad on the left is a true original - all her own design - and only her second creation after the morning make & take.  It is awesome!

I must say, I'm diggin' this new technique!!

xoxo,

Christy

SUPPLIES:

stamps - PTI Cupcake Collection

ink - PTI smokey shadow

paper - PTI soft stone, Pretty Pastels

dies - PTI Cupcake Collection, Tiny Tags
accents - PTI cream twine, vintage buttons in harvest gold & lemon tart, swiss dots ribbon in sweet blush, harvest gold, lemon tart, spring moss, aqua mist, spring rain & lavendar moon; EK Success border punch, Marvy scalloped circle punch (pink), pearl accent
other - white notepad

SAF 1: Make & Take + Crafting Crew

Despite a few early challenges I managed to complete the warm-up.

Then, the full crafting crew arrived:

First, some were wearing glasses.  Then, not.  Weird.

The girls were quite crafty.  The boys were pure trouble.

SAF Meet & Greet

It's 5am... it's my 1st day of summer vacation from teaching middle school science!  Why not make some crafty crafts!!  I'll be in & out all day with my DD and my dear college friend who will be making cards for the first time.  I also have 15 month old twin boys who I'm sure will need my attention, so we'll see what actually gets done.  But, the supplies are organized, the snacks are ready, and I'm up before the sun here!

This is where the magic happens *smirk*:

Even the now-1st-grader's Art Table got cleaned:

Here's my SAF 'kit' ready to go.  I made colored coded hanging files with pre-cut papers and little colored flags to make it easier to find all my supplies.  I'll be crafting, hosting, and doing mommy duties, so I need to be ready!

And one notebook from a batch I made for the Paper Dolls who I heard would be joining in the SAF fun, with my pencil case & icy cold water bottle.  (Although, it's 5am... really, I'm drinking cuppa #1).

Let the fun begin!!

xoxo,

Christy

baby train

Choo choo!  Baby train.  

A little friend turned one so I cranked out this card.  I've known about the party for weeks but couldn't get in gear to make something until, oh, last night.

The train track border is pink shimmer cardstock and twill ribbon colored with a Copic.  My sweet blush ink is the old spongy pad formula and it doesn't photograph well - I had to jack the photo up pretty good.  Love the flower/smoke idea from the PTI tip sheet (saved it into Evernote before the website switched).  And I just had to have a flower tag tied with a silk ribbon even though it made the card heavy in that corner.  So I balanced it out with some silver-lined clouds.  Only they take your eye away from the flowers, so.. :(  Still, I can live with it.

Here's another idea for when I get a good pink ink with better coverage... kiss the pink inked alpha-block stamp with a tiny floral pattern stamp to get floral detail on the letter blocks.  Ooooo. That would be cool.

Hope you're enjoying summer!  We went to a party at the bay in San Diego and I expected hot weather but it was quite cool.  I think we're in for the heat soon but so far it's been mellow here.

xoxo, 

Christy

SUPPLIES:

stamps - PTI Train Tracks, Alpha-Blocks, Honey Bees; Basic Grey gamma series stamps (flowers)

ink - PTI sweet blush, true black

paper - PTI pink shimmer, stamper's select white, Bitty Star Basics

dies - PTI Train Tracks, Alpha-Blocks

accents - PTI white twill ribbon; border punch, pearl accents, heart confetti, Copic

may blog hop + mim 67: key to my heart

It's been awhile since I played along at PTI, but I love the inspiration photo for the May blog hop (black & white patterns with chartreuse) & the Make-it-Monday (combining patterns from several different packs).  I needed to make something EXTRA special for my hubs who surprised me Mother's Day with black diamond earrings (one birthstone each for the twins who turned one in April). 

I couldn't resist folkart lovebirds.  Or trip-hop funky & washi tape.  Yes, I added in a little more color.  It was fun - the design & execution flowed quickly this time!

Tricky bits:

 1. The colored green dots on the left panel really tone things down;

2. I masked a horizontal sentiment to go vertical;

3. The heat embossed key has brown baker's twine colored black;

4. I added white dots to the bird pattern to tie things together (hard to see).

My one regret... I'm out of foam tape or I would have 'popped' the panels :(

I can't wait to see your creation for the hop!

xoxo,

Christy

SUPPLIES:

stamps - PTI Lock & Key, Friendship Jar Spring Fillers (heart)

ink - PTI true black, hibiscus; Versamark

paper - PTI true black, stamper's select white, Black & White Basics, Bitty Star Basics; Basic Grey Urban Prairie corn stack, meadow,

dies - PTI Lock & Key

accents - PTI chocolate button twine;  washi tape, Copic #YG93 (Grayish Yellow)