You're #1 In My Book

Back again today to share another bookmark! CAS has always been my favorite--I love the impact of a simple design. Today's bookmark I used some lined paper with a cute sentiment from Way to Go Kiddo (I just love that name! And I call Alexander kiddo too!).

I made it into a double sided bookmark and embossed the back using a PTI impression plate to give it some dimension and interest.

My new favorite crafty thing to do is make double sided bookmarks with impressions on the back--it adds interest without adding bulk! ;)

And I did another version to look like well worn paper. I roughed up the edges and added ink blots. I love the subliminal message to this one--that even though you're not perfect, you're still number one in my book! ;)

And it's been awhile since I posted an updated pic of Alexander--here he is dressed up as a chef!

That's all for today!! Have a wonderful sunny day!

Simply Jane notebook set!

Sorry I have been MIA recently! Life has been completely crazy. I am never giving up on crafting or blogging though so I do hope you'll continue follow me when I am able to post. I've really missed my blog friends and posting!

Last winter I put a few of my handmade things for sale in a store in the mall. It was a lot of fun and it got me crafting again. This set is one of the things I made and it sold almost right away (so sorry I couldn't get a better pic). I'll be posting some of the others over the next few days.

I love the PTI Simply Jane set, but hadn't really put it to use. It's such a unique set and I love to read so it's one of my favorites.

I used the Simply Jane paper and dies to make a notebook, pen and bookmark set. I rolled up one of the patterned papers inside the pen to coordinate and used the bookmark die (one of my most used dies) to finish the set!

Thanks for stopping by!! See you again real soon! :)

Art from the Heart tags

I saw the cool embossing technique Danielle was sharing for Make It Monday and decided I had to play along this week! I thought the gold gilded edges had a painterly look to it, so I randomly added it to the edges of this tag to look like an artist in the process of painting.

This could be a tag you add to a handmade item or art project or even a kid's project given as a gift.

I made the tags in a couple of different sizes. The tags are from the Tremendous Tags die set by PTI. The sentiment is from Friendship Jar Fillers stamp set.

Heat embossing is one of my favorites and doing this technique, reminds me a little of the sprinkle embossing I did on this card here. I really like the look and can't wait to try it again.

I also made some using PTI kraft paper and Chai inked edges.

I've been making a bunch of crafts lately for craft shows and also just started displaying and selling my work at a new handmade store in the mall called Unique Designs, which I'm really excited about! It was fun incorporating this technique into the designs.

Thanks for stopping by today! Today was actually cooler and in the 70s here in Florida. It's an autumn miracle! ;) Hope you've had a pleasant day wherever you are! :)

Papertrey Ink Felt and DMC Floss Matches

As I promised in the last post, these are the all of the individual floss matches I found for the Papertrey Ink felt colors that I currently have. I backstitched the thread into the felt to get a better idea of what it would look like on the project. If you click on the image you can see it enlarged.

Autumn Rose - 3687

Aqua Mist - 964 

Blueberry Sky - 799

Classic Kraft - 3864

Dark Chocolate - 801

Harvest Gold - 3855

Hawaiian Shores - 3846

Hibiscus Burst - 602

Melon Berry - 3824

Ocean Tides - 503

Pure Poppy - 321

Orange Zest - 721

Pinefeather - 500

Raspberry Fizz - 3804

Royal Velvet - 333

Scarlet Jewel - 3802

Simply Chartreuse - 734

Smokey Shadow - 535

Terracotta Tile - 351

True Black - 310

Vintage Cream - 3865

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***Edited to add a few more matches! :) I still need to take pics of these 6 below.*****

Canyon Clay - 3776
Lavender Moon - 3609
Limeade Ice - 165
Spring Moss - 3047
Summer Sunrise - 977
Tropical Teal - 3812
And I'm still looking for a good match for Winter Wisteria if anyone knows of one!
-----------------------

And here are all the felt colors and DMC thread in one pic.

I poked a little hole out of the top of each felt sample and put it on a ring. I've been referring to it often. I also didn't trim the thread off after I sewed the stitch on so that I would have a loose string hanging off the back to also use for reference.

The Apple app store has an app called, Thread Tracker, that can keep track of all your DMC floss colors so you know which colors you have when you're at the store or out and about. I've found it to be pretty useful and definitely recommend it if you have a lot of floss.

I hope this is helpful and makes it easier to find floss colors that match. I'll update this post as I get new PTI colors of felt or new DMC matches. Thanks for stopping by!

Springtime Bunny Coin Purse + a few tips!

Spring is finally here and I got inspired to make a springtime bunny purse! Papertrey Ink has released the best stitching dies and it has been so fun to do some hand stitching and make coin purses.

I used PTI's felt colors in: Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold and Vintage Cream. The ribbon is Berry Sorbet saddle stitch. I backstitched around the edges, used a running stitch for the hops, and whipstitched the bunny's tail (and thanks to PTI, a couple of weeks ago I wouldn't have even known the terms for any of those stitches!)

To create the hopping stitches, I taped a cut out stencil of the PTI Birthday Style confetti dies to the coin purse and used the negative as a stitching guide. (And then I'm using the positive cut outs of the confetti lines for another purse.) This technique could probably work with a lot of other dies too.

The zipper is a 4 inch Mango Smoothie zipper from the Etsy shop that Erin Lincoln (who designed the dies) recommended here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/zipit. It is so fun to stitch in zippers of all different colors!

I also used Erin's tip to add fabric tape to the inside of the purse to hide the zipper stitches. It's a cute addition, and you just have to be careful to apply the tape so it doesn't buckle.

Here are some zipper matches I've found so far with the Zipit zippers and PTI felt:
Mango Smoothie (lighter but coordinates) = PTI Harvest Gold
Copen Blue = PTI Blueberry Sky
Beige = PTI Classic Kraft
Mauve = PTI Autumn Rose
Ocean Blue (lighter but coordinates) = PTI Hawaiian Shores
Red = PTI Pure Poppy
Peach = Melon Berry

At least for me, there has been a learning curve for these purses and I thought I'd share a few tips for stitching the coin purses that seemed to work. Fortunately, it does seem to get easier as you do more purses.

Zipper tips:
1. To backstitch around the 4" zipper uses about 4 feet of floss.
2. It's easier to use a thin strip of sewing tape to attach the zipper then pins. It keeps the zipper in place and aligned and is much more pleasant to stitch. Just avoid putting tape under the actual stitching holes.
3. Align the zipper cut out and begin your stitching at the very start of the zipper (where the zipper head is located when the zipper is zipped), to ensure that it lines up properly. Otherwise you will have an open hole in your purse (learned this the hard way!)
4. Stitch vertically, not horizontally. You have more control if the stitch is facing towards you.
5. Stitch and pull slowly and gently, not only to avoid tearing but so that you have more control over how the stitch looks.
6. Sew the zipper zipped open for a 4" coin purse or closed for a 6" coin purse, to ensure the zipper lies flat properly (this worked for me anyway, is there a correct method for whether a zipper is open or closed?)

And if you are a sewer or have other tips please list them in the comments! :)

To make things a little easier, I also made a swatch ring by cutting a 1 inch swatch of each PTI felt color and diecutting a stitch line to use as reference when making new felt/floss projects.

I took the felts swatches to the craft store and found some good DMC floss matches for the PTI felt colors. Some of the felt colors vary from their cardstock matches, so it was helpful to find new matches with the felt. I will list the felt color matches and show pics of the floss and felt matches in my next post!

Thanks for stopping by today and hope your day is sunny! :)

Post-it Note Holder

I made these note holders awhile ago, but realized that I never posted them. They are super simple but fun to make, and they work great slipped inside your purse or bag. 

I cut these note holders out using Papertrey Ink's lunchbox note die (if you have been to my blog before then you might know that it's my favorite PTI die!), and then I stamped a simple design using PTI's Take Note stamp set. 

For the inside, I cut strips of post-it notes to fit inside, and there are 12 notes of each of the 5 colors (12 is the most that my trimmer can cut at one time, and the ideal amount before the lunchbox note gets too thick). The measurement of each strip is 1/2" wide x 2-1/2" long. You could also make them a bit wider and include just a couple of colors instead. These can be used as bookmarks, reminder notes or tags.

I bought a pack of 18 full size post-it note pads at Staples for $5 so it's very economical to make these and include as flat little gifts to put inside a card that you mail out. Just a little something extra to make someone smile when they open their card! :)

That's all for today. Have a great and sunny (and soon to be Spring) day!

Alexander's First Valentines

It's been quite awhile since I've posted, and I'm so sorry for that. Life has had its up and downs in a big way over the past year. I'll tell a little bit more about things at the end of the post, but I'll begin with a craft I made. And this craft is a milestone of sorts too: the first valentines I have made for Alexander to give to his classmates. :)

 

Last September Alexander began going to a preschool for a few hours each week, and I imagine there will be dozens if not hundreds more valentines to make over the next few years! ;)

You might notice that there isn't any stamping on the tags. I love to stamp, but I got a Silhouette machine and it has been getting a lot of use. When you have a two year old running around everywhere, then minimizing materials, time and clean up is so important. Using the Silhouette helped me to start crafting again, when I went through a time that I worried I might never craft again. I will still post projects using stamps and dies too, and many will also now use the Silhouette.

I cut out a variety of tags. Here's another.

The Silhouette shapes were all bought from the Silhouette store: onlinesilhouettestore.com. I have a subscription there and LOVE their images. If you are interested, I could list which of the 6-7 cut files I used.

And here's another tag.

I taped a Smartees to the front using patterned washi tape. Who doesn't love Smartees? I discovered that my son definitely does. I had to hide them from him. ;)

And another with a different color scheme.

They were so much fun to make and assemble! A tip for making these is to use ribbon not glue to hold them together. Despite the layers, I didn't have to use adhesive because I tied the ribbon tightly at the top. It's really a time saver!

All of them lined up and ready to hand out!

I realize it's also been awhile since I've posted a pic of Alexander and me. He's doing very well. He is so genuinely sweet, loving (he constantly comes up to me, hugs my leg and softly says, "I vuve you, Mama."), friendly and smart too. At 2 years old, he knew his alphabet, phonics, numbers, colors, shapes, etc. His memory is amazing, and he definitely did not get that from me. :)

To tell a little bit more about what's been going on, last year both of my grandparents passed away. While growing up, they lived only a couple streets away from us, so they have really been like a second set of parents to my siblings and me. They were both truly amazing and caring people, and I'm so grateful they were in our lives. I'm also in the process of moving back to Florida. I haven't told many people about what's been going on, but it's a long, unfortunate story and without going into too many personal details, just Alexander and I will be moving down here for now. But after a long and hard year, I will say that things are starting to look much happier, so I have hope that things will get better.

Hope you are doing well and keeping warm in this cold weather wherever you are. May you have a truly wonderful, sunny and a great Valentine's Day!

Easter basket treats

Yesterday I shared some bag topper treats and today I've got some easter basket treats I made for my niece and nephew. I've always loved to surprise them with special cards and treats during each holiday when I can.

Here are the baskets.

I used Lawn Fawn's Harold alphabet, to spell out their names.

Just a tip, if you haven't tried them yet, Lawn Fawn has the BEST alphabet stamps. They were designed and cut out in a narrow, rectangle shape, so the letters line up perfectly next to one another. Give them a try if you have a chance, you will love them!

The "You're sweeter than jelly beans" sentiment and jellybeans image are from a My Cute Stamps set.

I can't get enough of these May Arts chevron ribbons too! A Muse sells those, and you can find them many other places as well.

The green baskets were in a bundle at the dollar spot at Target. Gotta love that dollar spot! ;)

Alexander loves his cousins!

Here he is playing and cuddling with cousin Alexa.

And playing ball with Jackson!

That's all for today. Hope you're having a nice, sunny day wherever you may be! :)

To One of My Favorite Peeps!

Hello!! It has been so long since I've updated, and it seemed time to correct that finally with a new post! So sorry it's been so long. Life has been very hectic and overwhelming these past few months, traveling back and forth between Florida and Maryland quite a bit. My grandmother passed away and I was trying to spend as much time with her as I could in the final weeks and days. I'm glad a lot of family could be there to honor her and be there to support her. She has been the best, most kind grandma and I'm so glad to have had her influence and presence in my life.

Alexander is 17 months old now, and running around and getting into everything. In otherwards, a normal toddler! ;) Here's a pic I took a couple days ago. He's ready for his first haircut too, I think! :)

And today I'm sharing with you some Easter treats I made last year. Making treats is one of my favorite crafty things to do. I used some A Muse stamps and inks.

I made the topper using Petite polka dot orange cardstock and the A Muse Studio "For Peeps Sake" stamp set.

 

And I made a pink version too.

 

 

And here are the rest of them!

Only 30 days until Easter! How did that happen so fast? ;) Be back tomorrow with some treat baskets I made for my niece and nephew! The post is all ready to go!

Thanks for stopping by and have a happy and sunny day!! :)

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! :) Just wanted to share with you a simple Halloween card I made for a friend! We fortunately made it through the hurricane okay without losing power, and my thoughts are with those who are still dealing with the aftermath of this huge storm.

Here is today's Halloween card.

I used PTI's Limeade Ice patterned paper with a PTI Limitless Layers square scallop die and PTI Winter Wisteria ribbon. The stamp is from the dollar spot at Joann's. If you use pigment ink, then the acrylic stamps usually stamp okay.

Have fun trick or treating and Happy Halloween everyone!!

Monster Munchies

Hi there, thought I would pop in and share with you some monster treats I made! Hope your Halloween preparations are coming along well. Alexander has got a costume, but not sure if we'll be able to actually trick or treat with the hurricane headed our way, yikes! Praying that everything works out okay for everyone and that it's just a lot of rain.

So onto the treats for today, Monster Munchies. Those mischevious monsters have teamed up and have broken into the treat bag to steal all the treats! :) The top monster is feeding a real candy corn to the other monster.

I used the Monster Bash set from A Muse Studio to make these treats. Love that set: it's got the cutest little monsters. I also used the Halloween washi tape and a glassine bag, so you can get a peek of the treats inside. Gotta watch out for those monsters: they hide under your bed and also love candy apparently! ;)

And here's a peek at Alexander's costume this year. He is all decked out and ready for Halloween! Arr, arr matey! 

His favorite show on Disney Junior is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so I just had to dress him up. He also really loves that hook. When he wore it at the kid's Halloween party this past week, he never put it down! :)

Have a great Halloween!!

Free Stamp set!!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, A Muse Studio is giving away a FREE copy of the "Fight Like a Girl" stamp set (retail value: $18). It is an exclusive stamp set available only through October. They are available free to everyone, one per customer. There is a $3 shipping and handling charge and that's it!

The free stamp set is available at my web store here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

Also included in the package is: a 20% discount on a future purchase (expires Dec. 31), a postcard to be entered into a giveaway, and information about breast cancer awareness. I have been, like so many others, affected by breast cancer. My grandma passed away from breast cancer when I was 8 years old and she was only 61. Breast cancer awareness and prevention is so important. These stamps are perfect to cheer someone up and to encourage those who have or are currently trying to fight cancer!

Giveaway Winners!!

Thanks so much for those who entered the giveaway! We had a nice trip to Europe and Alexander got to meet his grandma for the first time. And now he will be celebrating his first birthday in 4 days!!

I'm so sorry for the delay in posting the winners. So without further delay, the winners are:

The winner of the "If You Dare" stamp set is random.org #2:

Jennifer Rzasa!

And the winner of the $10 crafting gift certificate is random.org #5:

Sonja!

Congrats to the winners, and I hope you enjoy your prizes! Please email me by clicking on the email in my sidebar and I'll mail you the goodies.

Have a wonderful and sunshine-filled day!

Halloween treats and another giveaway!!

Hope it's okay that I'm jumping into Halloween already! ;) I thought I would share with you some Halloween treats I made. They're great to hand out at Halloween to friends or co-workers and could work for school treats too.

 

I actually made these treats last year, a couple months after giving birth. It was such a crazy time and I'm not quite sure how I managed to make these! However, I didn't find time to post it so wanted to share it with you now. :)

I used the A Muse Studio stamp set, "If You Dare", which I'm giving away a copy of at the end of this post.

Here's a closeup:

I attached a diecut using the fun A Muse web die, which measures 2" wide and looks great on lots of projects. If you have the PTI web dies, I'm sure those would also work great as well. The stamped sentiment was heat embossed with A muse white embossing powder on a diecut tag and then wrapped overtop the thin treat bag. I cut out the stamped spider and dangled him over the web to add some whimsy and fun. It was so much fun making these.

I'm also doing another giveaway!!! Both giveaways are open to everyone including international readers.

Giveaway #1: "If You Dare" A Muse Studio stamp set 

This is the stamp set I used on the project above and it's so fun to stamp with! It is rubber stamps on cling mount and I'm giving away one copy of it.

Giveaway #2: $10 gift certificate to ANY online crafting store of your choice (Papertrey Ink, A Muse Studio, etc.)

All you have to do to enter both giveaways is be a follower of this blog (click "follow me" to the right) and comment on this post! That's it! ;) Also, it is not required, but if you spread the news about this giveaway on your blog or anywhere else, you may enter twice!

You have 2 weeks to enter this time, which is when I get back from my trip. I will choose two winners by random.org on September 10, 2012 and so you must enter by September 9th at 11:59 pm to be eligible.

Thanks as always for stopping by and good luck with the giveaway! Have a wonderful, sunshine-filled day!

Winners of the Giveaway!

Thanks so much for all of you who entered my giveaway. Only a few people entered, so you all had great odds of winning! ;)

It was fun reading your answers where you love to travel. To answer my own question that I asked of you, my favorite place to travel is London (obvious from the last post, ;) and my dream vacation would be Bali or Sydney (or maybe both since they're somewhat close)!

First of all, I'm posting one more giveaway in a few hours so if you don't win this time, you still have another chance!

Without further ado, the winners are:

The winner of Stamp It magazine is random.org #7:

Miriam Prantner!

And the winner of the $10 crafting gift certificate is random.org #5:

Amy!

Big congrats to the winners, and I hope you enjoy your prizes! Please email me by clicking on the email in my sidebar and I'll mail you the goodies.

Remember, if you didn't win this time another giveaway is being posted today so check back by if you get a chance! Have a sunny day!

It's holiday crafting time! :)

I just love the time of year when everyone gears up for holiday crafting! It's so fun to see all the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas things being made!

A Muse Studio has just recently released it's 2012 Holiday catalog filled with lots of stamps, dies, papers and other fun things to help make some of these fun holiday items.

The holiday catalog can be viewed online here: https://www.securedcontent.net/amuse/pdfs/2012ASHolidayCatalog.pdf

Or you can order a catalog from me directly by emailing me at: amuse1303@gmail.com

To help celebrate the launch of the new catalog, I'm offering a free holiday catalog with any purchase over $50 and a free stamp set with a purchase of $150 or more (my choice, but will offer options for you to choose from) through Dec. 31, 2012.

Also, if you place an order over $150 you will also receive $25 of free product too, if you contact me before ordering. To get these free items, simply email me and I'll mail them out to you. If you have any questions, as always I'd be happy to answer them too.

Thanks so much for those who have ordered from me before, it is so appreciated! As a thank you, ALL orders placed during the holiday season will automatically receive a handmade thank you card from me using the new holiday supplies and also a little sampler product to play with too.

All products from the holiday catalog and main catalog are available from my webstore here:

www.amusestudio.com/monicak

Also, there's still time to enter my giveaway here: http://www.craftinginsunshine.com/2012/08/british-invasion-card-and-giveaway.html

British Invasion card and a Giveaway!!

Hope you're all having a nice summer! Did you get a chance to watch any of the Olympics? We really enjoyed watching the Olympics and are going to London in a few days, so thought I'd post a card celebrating London.

I used the A Muse Studio stamp set called, British Invasion. It is my favorite set, and I just love all the architecture icons in the set. London is such an awesome city.

And here's the inside:

The happy birthday icon is a remake of the London tube "mind the gap" icon and the bottom has a piece of washi tape. (I also had to blur out the message that I wrote to the recipient.) 

In late celebration of the Olympics, because it's my birthday next Friday and also because it's been so long since I've done a giveaway, I thought I'd post a new giveaway for you! :)

GIveaway #1: Paper Crafts Stamp It magazine

I recently won an embossing prize package on the Paper Crafts connection blog, and one of the things included in it was a copy of "Stamp It" magazine which I already own! So I thought I would pass it on to one of my blog readers!

To enter this giveaway for the magazine you must be a U.S. resident (International readers, keep reading, there's a giveaway for you too).

Giveaway #2: $10 GCF

I'm also doing a giveaway open to everyone, including international readers. It is a $10 gift certificate to the online craft store of your choice (PTI, A Muse Studio, etc, or anywhere else that sells gift certificates).

To enter either giveaway, you must also be a follower of this blog, so please sign up to the right if you're not yet a follower. It's not required, but would be appreciated if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too! In the comments below, specify if you are interested in just one prize, otherwise you'll be entered into both giveaways! Also, in the your comment mention where your favorite place is to travel and where your dream vacation would be! You must enter by this Weds, August 23 at 11:59 pm. I will choose 2 winners by random.org generator on Thursday. So enter quickly, because it will be over in a few days!

Thanks for entering and have a very sunny day! :)

Lovely Layers mini cards

It's been awhile since I've been able to place a PTI order, and on a whim last month,  I added Lovely Layers and the square dies at the last second. And I'm so glad I did! It's been so much fun playing with them, and I've seen the coolest things made with them too. When I was experimenting with them, it seemed like they would make a nice mini card set. So I made several in many colors. The cards are 3-1/4" square.

For the first one, I used the negative diecut of the leaves to frame the flower.

I also made a softer, more feminine version.

The small sentiment is from the Mixed Messages set. So many of those mini sentiments fit perfectly in the flower's center and it's very simple to switch out the sentiment, if you need it for a different occasion. I embossed the entire  base of the card (front and back) using the Simple Stripes IP (love!), which adds a nice texture. Then I matted the inside with a piece of white cardstock, to keep from writing on the texture.

This one is similar to the first, but matted with a different square.

And the last one has a diecut similar to the first one, but I embossed the background with the woodgrain IP.

I added dimension to the leaves using the rock 'n roll technique, graduating to a darker color as I got to the end of the leaves. It helps to make the leaves pop and glow a bit more!

If you know any tips to line up the stamps with the diecut, I'd love to hear it! I had such a hard time lining these up. Here's a couple of tips I learned when using Lovely Layers: if you stamp on the diecuts, mat them from behind with the same color paper. If your stamping isn't exactly centered on the diecut, it somewhat helps to disguise it (for example: white on white). Also, I learned this tip and it makes a huge difference: stamp in versamark ink first, then ink up your stamp. The stickiness helps to hold the ink better so you don't get gaps in your coverage.

I'm entering this set of 4 cards into A Passion for Papertrey's Anything Goes challenge! It's been awhile since I played their challenge, and it's fun to be participating again!

Also, here are some updated photos of Alexander taken today. He's almost 10 months old now. He's got two teeth on the bottom and is getting four new teeth on top. He loves to jump in his jumper and has started to stand on his own too!

Then a few minutes after I took the pictures, I looked over at him and he had passed out in his jumper.

The first time he's done that, haha! Guess he jumped so much he wore himself out. :)

Thanks for taking a look and have a very sunny summer day! :)