caitlyn's tea party

4 years old - wham!  It sneaks up on you.  Suddenly your baby is gone and there's this fun little kid in her place.  We had a tea party - with Alice-y touches here & there.  The favors are one of the new templates at PTI and designed to compliment the invitations (here).

 The polka dots are white filigree embossed and the buttons are tied with 1/4" white silk ribbon.  The handles are cute, cheap-o Michael's ribbons, where I picked up the color-coordinated M&Ms (NOT cheap).  They only had dark green chocolates, which would not do, but I found green gums balls in the wedding area.  Perfect.  Gum is relatively new to most 4 year olds, so it was fun to watch them run around the backyard with their bags of candy *bad Waldorf mom* 

 

I put the Cricut to use with a sign taped to the side of our house (and not the best morning light).  There's also a little peak of the red roses & Mad Hatter hats I cut out in the upper corner of this shot (I meant to stick a little 10/6 tag in the hat but, you know, ran out of time).  Check out that amazing homemade hat gift.

The kids decorated paper bag hats - of course I took no photos.  We had a good playset sesh, a borrowed jumpy-jump, and an easy finger-food buffet.  There were pitchers on the side of Iced Cookie Tea & Peppermint Candy Iced Tea.  Everything went off well :)

More photos are coming - I just can't remember which Mac I downloaded them on to...

xoxo,

affirmations, pt.II

Well, I admit, I've been in somewhat of a funk lately - life in a pressure cooker.  But!  For the last 3 days I started doing my goofy affirmation again each morning ("I am so happy that only wonderful things happen to me all of the time" posted here), even though I felt like it was ridiculous since I was feeling so stressed.   I can only say that I have been having some AWESOME DAYS!  Don't get me wrong - it's not that every moment of the day has felt super-duper, fantastic at the time - but all in all, every event that's come to pass has led me to a happier place.  I'm brimming!

Here's a picture I grabbed today - I was reading on the back patio when Caitlyn yelled out, "Take my picture!"  She was all snuggled up on the ground, with an umbrella.  How could I resist.  Since she's been four, she's been a dream.  Two and three were a challenge ;)

valentines

Caitlyn did a great job making valentines for her kindergarten classmates this year!  I stamped & punched a scalloped circle glued to a folding flap card a la Pine (here).  We used plain ol' red construction paper.

 Caitlyn stamped the animals and sentiments herself (she turned 4 a week ago).  I colored in the little heart.

But the original art inside each one truly warmed my heart and stole the show.  She took so much time and was so careful with each picture - and there were 16 to do!

cps valentine

Papertrey Ink is hosting the CPS sketch this week, so I thought I'd play along!  I wanted to make a really fun, really bold Valentine for my good friend and maid of honor.  How could I resist 4 different patterns and stitching out the wazoo? lol

I embossed PTI Damask Designs with white filagree powder onto  true black CS, and with clear glitter onto raspberry fizz for the embellishment.  The heart stamp is from Borders & Corners Hearts.

Hope your Valentine's crafting is going well! It's a blast, isn't it?

xoxo,

Christy

emboss resist toolbox

My poor DH always gets the shaft - his birthday is just days after our niece's, DD's, and Valentines Day.  By then, I'm crafted OUT.  So, I took advantage of the recent anniversary challenge at PTI.  The technique is emboss resist which was PERFECT for my needs. I wanted a toolbox like we have on the truck (DH is an umemployed commercial/industrial electrician).  I couldn't WAIT to use the lil' tools from Daily Designs :)

I sponged smokey shadow over embossed pewter on soft stone cardstock.  The stone was a little too soft, and the pewter too shiny, so the shadow ink helped tone it down.  I also used my T6 Copic on the bright metal tag.  The orange saddle stitch ribbon is a nod to Rigid tools (orange & black) - my DH's favorite tool brand ;)  The tools are also embossed in pewter - Alli Miles, they are toooooo cute (for guy things...)

I'm lovin' this one.

xoxo,
Christy

pearl's birthday

My beautiful niece Pearl is turning one this weekend.  

Here's a lovely card to go with a cute dress - beige with brown & blue striped ruffles, and an image of bird on a tree with swirls.

 

Thanks to Becky for the image download - all part of the fun today at PTI!  

I wanted to get those swirls in the card, and I snuck the sentiment into the clouds.  That little pop balloon - too cute! lol

blog hop - inside & out

Opsy!!  I almost forgot about the PTI blog hop tonight!  I didn't have a post prepped, so I'm just adding in a few shots of my latest creation - party invites for my almost-4 year old.  She's having an "Alice's tea party" as she calls it.  Very unbirthday.

I used a combination of PTI and Basic Grey stamps.  The neutral cardstock is a gorgeous textured celery - the last remnants from my wedding crafting :)

 

 

 

Ok!  Those were tons o' fun to make.  Hope you enjoyed them!  I also have an 'inside & out' wedding stationary set in my next post - feel free to take a look!

xoxo,

cch