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 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

merry's blog hop

Happy Birthday Merry!  

From your friends at the PTI forum, this hop is for YOU!

I wanted a red velvet cupcake in a jar card with warm, earthy colors. The card base design is a CASE of Betsy Veldman's Night, Night Moon card (link here).   

Hard to see, but there's a layer of clear cardstock to complete the jar look.  The candle also has a glittered star topper.  I Love this look!

On a personal note, our six-week old twin boys (spontaneous & fraternal) are nursing heartily and getting more regular sleep.  We just moved them out of our bedroom into their crib in the nursery.  It's been so nice not hearing grunts and giggles all night!

Twin A is Dean Michael - mellow guy.  He's the rather quiet, long & lean, blondie boy.  Our Dean Machine.

Twin B is James Madison - the squeaky wheel.  He's the vocal, stocky and solid, brown-haired boy.  Our Budgie, Jimmy James.

That's all for now...thanks for visiting!

xoxo,
Christy

SUPPLIES 

stamps - PTI Friendship Jar, Cupcake Collection, Mixed Messages, Star Prints, Night Night Moon (small star)

ink - PTI dark chocolate, true black, pure poppy; Distress Ink antique linen, Versamark

paper - PTI fine linen, rustic cream, clear cardstock, Distressed Dots

accents - PTI harvest gold felt, pure poppy baker's twine, new leaf saddle stitch ribbon, pure poppy vintage buttons; crystal glitter multi ultrafine

dies - PTI Mat Stack 2 & 4, Rickrack Border, Jar & Jar Toppers, Moroccan Motifs impression plate

tools - Copics R29 & Y32, corner rounder, hole punch

ppd33 - baby card trio

It's been a busy and crafty week!  Lot of lesson planning (I'm off duty from teaching since the babies have 'dropped'), new home organizing (we moved 3 months ago), doctor's appointments/twice weekly 'non-stress tests' (36 wks now), crafting cards, and work on baby & family albums (I'm lovin' Project Life).

One special project was my first set of cards for the 'kids'.  We've long been a comfy family of three (mom, dad, DD), but soon we'll be five and we couldn't be happier! 

For our #1 daughter and big-sis-to-be, Caitlyn May, a glittered cupcake treat:

I love the cupcake liner pp from Pink Patterns.  And I couldn't believe I found the perfect flower buttons in berry and blush.  The polka dot top is glittered though hard to see.

(I got a migraine right as I was stamping the 'smiles' and adhering the diecut sentiment.  I knew it was coming because I kept thinking, 'Why can't I SEE right to get this straight?"  Then, bam!  Migraine.)

For Twin A, Dean Michael, our first baby-boy-to-be:

I LOVE this snail (stamped in sage & aqua).  The fun, wavy sentiment was the inspiration for the side border on all three cards.

A little practice at coloring with Copics, which can be trickier than you anticipate.

And for Twin B ('bee'), James Madison, our second baby-boy-to-be:

I had no idea I'd be cutting out the trail when I started but I just did it - and I love the surprise 3D curliness it has!  Thankfully, these don't need to be mailed :)

Room enough for a quick welcome note once the little guys arrive.

These cards were also designed with Leish's baby card challenge in mind.  Go on and join the fun over at the PTI Paper Dolls blog (link here).  I made a girl card, a boy card - and a gender neutral card, since I'm thinking multiples :)

xoxo,

Christy

Baby Card Trio 

stamps - PTI Baby Button Bits, Borders & Corners: Circle, Fillable Frames #5, Cupcake Collection; Basic Grey gamma series (tiny cupcake with cherry topper)

ink - PTI sweet blush, aqua mist, berry sorbet, ripe avocado; Versamagic sage, Distress Ink antique linen

paper - PTI sweet blush, aqua mist, spring moss, stamper's select white, Polka Dot Parade, Pink Patterns, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics, Bitty Box Basics

accents - PTI sweet blush, berry sorbet, aqua mist, spring moss & lemon tart vintage buttons, rustic jute button twine; Crystal Glitter multi ultra-fine

dies - PTI Fillable Frames #5

tools - Copic markers (BG18/13/11, YG 95/93, T1, 0), Marvy giga circle punch (purple), EK Success border punch

ipod - Deee-Lite

birthday party

The holidays in this house start with Halloween and slowly gain speed until February, when things really get going. We had three expected family birthdays, then another one came along out of the blue! In planning Caitlyn's 3rd, I came across Cathy Gaubert's blog with some super cute ideas here

The invites use Papertrey Ink Forest Friends stamps, and Nana's Nursery patterned papers from DCWV. For party favors and cake/cupcake toppers, I found a set of unfinished wooden people from A Toy Garden here. They're painted with watercolors and finished with acrylic glaze. The Forest Prince, Red Riding Hood and Little Gnome all have cute felt hats sewed from a template I made. There's also a mushroom and a bowling ball tied off with a tag in lollipop bags. The mushroom toppers are shaker pegs from the wood area at Michaels - just trim and file the end of the mushrooms in the favor bags so they will stand up like bowling pins. The ones on the cake were left as-is. I adore the green sprinkles - like shredded Easter grass!

With homemade food, decor, and all, I thought a boxed organic cake was more than justified. But halfway into the recipe I realized it was for ONE cake round - and I needed to fill a Bundt! There was no time for the store so I whipped up another round of Amy Sedaris cupcakes (recipe here - love her!) (Fact - she and Stephen Colbert co-wrote the TV show Strangers with Candy.)

I had no idea how long to bake the combo-batter, so the cake turned out pretty dry. It's totally humbling to serve a non-delicious cake :) But Caitlyn LOVED it - despite the goofy picture. And the party was all about her so that's all that really matters.