shout-out + "my memories" giveaway

Hi all!

First of all, can I just give a little shout-out to the lawnscaping girls?  I'm so thrilled that I was chosen "queen of green!"  Pretty soon, all my critters will be sporting adorable hats - can you guess which set I asked for?  hee.

Also, there is still time to enter the "my memories suite" digital software giveaway.  The software allows you to create digital scrapbooking albums, photocards, calendars, print out digital patterned paper, and more! All you have to do is click HERE to view my original post and leave a comment.  That's it, folks!  So far there are only 2 comments, so the "odds are ever in your favor..."  Today is the last day to enter, and I will announce the winner tomorrow.

We're off to the Easter petting zoo with the kids this morning.  I can't wait to see if Maia likes it or is totally freaked out by the big llamas... she was too young to know what was going on last year :)  The other 2 will totally be feeding the animals *shudders*.  I try hard not to let the kids see how much animal tongues gross me out.

Happy weekend!

ColourQ #130

I whipped up a quick card for this week's colour Q.  (Quick, because I'm in the middle of sewing 7 stuffed, fleece monsters, and making monster party invitations... I can't wait to start sharing all the party stuff!)

If the card looks familiar, it's because I just finished making baptism invites with a similar pattern, but the brighter colors freshen it up a bit...

Here's is the challenge inspiration... so pretty for Easter:

and my card:

I used the colors listed, but the closest thing to tempting turquoise that I have is SU's pool party.  I'm wishing I had that stronger blue to pack in a good punch!

I stamped a floral pattern onto my focal panel, then die-cut a PTI "fillable frame" and stamped the coordinating image onto my card base.  I mounted the floral panel onto the base with foam squares.

Have a great weekend, all!

crepe bar party pack with lawn fawn.

I was recently asked to make little food identifiers and a banner for an upcoming 12 year old's birthday party.  The birthday girl herself told me that she liked polka dots, stars, and the blue-green-purple combo.

When her mom added that she liked "cute" things, I immediately grabbed for my lawn fawn stamps.  I used "love 'n breakfast" to create the tents for the savory ingredients, and "critters ever after" with some PTI "fancy flourishes" for the sweet toppings.  (This party sounds YUMS!  I'm thinking I need to do a crepe bar at some point in the future...)

Sorry for the pictures - I was a little rushed in getting them photographed!

I first printed the toppings onto cardstock, cut and folded it, and proceeded to stamp the tray over-top (I love clear stamps for this reason!)  I colored everything in, masked the tray, and stamped a polka dot background (PTI) on top.  I also created a little rosette and leaf combo for each one.  Some nice dimension, without being too fussy.

 The sweet toppings all look like this (I emailed the birthday girl's mommy both options, and she couldn't choose!  So we went with both designs - I love an easy client, hee!)  I used the star from "critters ever after" and a fancy flourish (from PTI).

I had all the leftover shapes from the sweet topping tents, so I made some bonus signs for the birthday girl.  She could stick these into some of the foods for extra fun :)

I also made a v-e-r-y long banner.  Here are 2 of the panels:

The whole thing has about 12 panels, where the 4 focal panels are separated by hanging stars and read: "happy 12th birthday, Lauren!"

I hope the birthday girl likes everything as much as I do!  I had so much fun making this set.

In case you'd like to see, this wasn't my first design for Lauren.  Initially, when we chatted about what she wanted, she didn't want the colors to be too light.  I created this option for her:

When I emailed this option, I didn't hear back for a full day - that's the first clue that something was wrong :)  But as soon as her mom said the word "cute" and asked me to lighten the colors.... we were in business!

This is an already too-long post, but can I just squeeze in a little gem from Maia for our weekly TMKS segment?  Please keep in mind she's not yet 2.... She asked me for some goldfish crackers yesterday.  I must have ignored her (where's an eye-rolling-smiley face when you need one...) so she asked again: "fishy crackers, mom!"  Again, ignored.  I was deep into making supper.  She climbed onto her booster seat at the table, and started singing the happy birthday song, but with different lyrics:  "fishy crackers, crackers... fishy crackers, crackers... happy birthday, FISHY CRACKERS!!!" All caps on that last part because she got l-o-u-d.  And then she suddenly stopped because she saw she had my attention.  She may have also glared a bit.  I gave her the crackers.  I may have even clapped a little.  It was too much.

Thanks for looking!

Easter advent.

I thought I would share how my family is celebrating Easter this year.  My sister and her good friend created an Easter countdown that includes 12 tiny items and a Bible verse to accompany each one... and they were kind enough to gift me with my own "kit."  I popped each verse + item into dollar store plastic eggs, and we opened the first one this morning:

Egg #1!

 The kids, drinking their green smoothies while Dad reads the Bible verse for today and shows off the felt palm branches.  (ps, are you as distracted as I am by the crazy mop on my kid's head? it refuses to be styled.)

The morning was spent reading the Bible passage and talking to the kids about Palm Sunday.  I'm so excited to open the eggs as we go along, and Trisha and Melissa did such an amazing job with all of the tiny items.  (The fimo bread+grapes are so very cute, representing the last supper).

There is still time to make your own kit if you would like!  Here are the 12 days of Easter:

1. People waved palm branches as Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11)
2. Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus' head (John 12: 2-8)
3. Jesus shared the last supper with his disciples (Matthew 26: 17-19)
4. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 27:3)
5. Jesus carried his own cross (John 19: 17)
6. Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head (John 19:2)
7. Soldiers parted Jesus' garments and cast lots for his clothes (John 19:23)
8. Jesus was nailed to a cross and pierced in his side (John 19:18, 37; 20: 25-29)
9. They gave Jesus vinegar mixed with gall on a sponge to drink (Matthew 27:34)
10.Spices were used to prepare Jesus' body for burial (John 19:40)
11.The stone covering Jesus' tomb was rolled away (John 20:1)
12.The grave linens lay empty! He is alive! (John 20:6-7)

Have a great day!

Retro sketch #4.

I was pretty loose with the retro sketch this week:

I enlarged the focal panel quite a bit, but I did follow the sketch the rest of the way ;)

I started out with a 3.25-inch white circle, and stamped a little lawn fawn scene on it.  I used the new frog from "critters ever after" and had him sit on the log from "critters in the forest."  The bird and tulip are from "gnome sweet gnome" and the grass clumps, from "critters in the 'burbs."  I did some simple copic-coloring and then masked all of the elements so that I could stamp the hero arts envelope pattern overtop in blue ink.

Since I was inspired by the retro sketch of the week, I'm also throwing this card into the current lawnscaping challenge - all about being inspired by fellow crafters.

Hope you like it!  Have a great day!

shake your tail-feather for CAS-ual Fridays.

There was an old Nelly song back in the day (i'm so old) and the whole song and video was all about shaking your tail-feather (and obviously, many close-to-naked women obliged.)

Just in case you were wondering about the background of my card... inspiration is a funny thing sometimes!

I used lawn fawn's "quinn's abcs" for the letters (and had a mask a few for them to fit the right way....)  The feather, from "lovestruck," was stamped once near the "it's your birthday" sentiment, and then without re-inking, stamped a few more times so it looks like the feather was floating down... you know, a stray plume came loose from one of those floozy video girls costumes... hee hee.  I stamped another feather onto a separate sheet of white cardstock, and colored & cut it out.

I also added a bit of shimmer to the bottom:

I adhered a strip of double-sided tape, and dumped glitter on top.    Instant bling.

I'm entering my card into this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge: using pastels with black.

Thanks for peeking!

My memories suite giveaway!

I was recently approached by the folks over at "my memories" to review their digital scrapbooking software.  My memories is a comprehensive scrapbooking software that allows you to create albums, calendars, photocards and more.  I received a copy of the software in order to review it, and was given a 2nd one to give away to one of you lucky readers (a 40$ value)!  I am also making a 10$ off coupon for the software available at the end of my post (yeah, you hafta read the whole thing, hee hee.)

Here is my honest review of the product:

1. the good:

-I have been searching for a digital scrapbooking kit, and this one is not only quite easy to use, it is very affordable as well.  The basic package is only 40$, and there are weekly deals for add-on kits, as well as many kits for 0.99$ and as many freebies.

-Being the most technologically un-savvy person ever, I did run into some trouble when I couldn't access the free downloads that I was attempting to add-on.  I emailed customer support and my email was addressed within 15 minutes.  That is a very big plus for me - I loved that I could continue working on my projects right away!

-you can share your albums, add narration to the pages (how cool is that!), animation, and other very cool features.

2. the bad:

-I do wish that more stuff was included in the basic software.  I feel like to get the looks I wanted, I had to venture outside of it.  That being said, there are so many digital paper and embellishment add-ons available that I had no trouble finding things that I loved.... like this mother owl designer pack - how cute!

-A little caveat: the program is quite large.  I couldn't properly install it on my laptop, and had to install it on my husband's computer.  That was a bit of a disappointment, so make sure you have enough space for it!

3. the projects:

-Are you asking yourself why I would need a digital scapbooking software?  Sometimes, even this stamp-obsessed-gal doesn't feel like getting "inky."  And sometimes, it's just quicker to whip up something digital and add some paper-crafting goodness to it :)

I made a little banner for my hubs and hung it on our headboard:

I created the patterned paper panels with a few quick runs through my die-cutter and gave center-stage to the cute subway-style print that I found for free on the "my memories" site.

I also added a little journaling tag to a digital scrap page I made about Thomas:

I also found the layout in the free section, and simply popped Thomas' picture in the middle and pushed print. So quick!  I added a little tag for journaling and embellished with a button.  I love mixing a little handmade with the digital scrap page - so fun!

Without further ado, I have a coupon for 10$ off the "my memories" scrapbook software: STMMMS27385.   This coupon code is for everyone - enjoy!

To enter into the draw for a free "my memories suite" here's what you need to do:

1. leave me a comment.
2. for another chance, visit "my memories" and tell me which digital paper pack catches your eye.
3. for a 3rd chance, become a follower of my blog.  If you already follow this blog, leave me a comment saying that.
4. for a fourth and final chance, "like" my memories on fb *click here* and tell them Elena from justmeprints sent you.  Then, come back and leave me a message that you did.

You will have until March 31st to enter, and I will announce the winner on April 1st (and that's no April fool's joke! *groan*)

Good luck, peeps!

lawnscaping challenge: inspiration

For the latest lawnscaping challenge, we're to take inspiration from a fellow crafter.  I had this invite in my etsy favorites and used it as inspiration to create my own barnyard card.

I might have changed the colors around a bit... and paper-pieced the entire thing... and changed the animals to chicks... but the inspiration is definitely there.

 I used patterned papers from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection - I am in love with the patterns and the bright summer colors... I stamped images from lawn fawn's "critters on the farm" to create the barnyard scene, and a hero arts background stamp to get the sun-rayed effect.

Oh, and the little basket I created behind the card?  You're getting a sneak peek, my friends!  Sofia's "sew seven" birthday party is in a month and I've started creating little decorations, favor baskets, and invites - I'm so excited to share it all... very soon!

And now, time for another installment of "things my kids said thursdays": this one comes to you in visual form... and sorry for the fuzzy pic, but there was alot of running around and screaming of "en garde, monsieur!" going on (from both Thomas and Maia...)  For the record, dress-up is a way of life in our home... we regularly feed breakfast to Wolverine, and dinner to Zorro... Maia is just starting to get into it all, but she puts together her own outfits.  Here, an upside down tiara and a superhero cape, and a princess wand.  In a word: awesome.

Thanks for peeking!

Simply Jane card set.

Good morning!  I just want to give a little shout-out to my little sis, who birthed a gloriously cute baby yesterday.  I snuggled her last night and she is perfect.  It was love at first sight :)

I have another card set to show you, and I used the latest embellish challenge as my jumping off point:

The packaged gift-box, sitting atop 2 of my favorite Austen novels... any guesses which ones? (fun fact about me: I was an English-lit major in university...)

And here is the card.

All of the embellish challenge colors are there, I promise!  I used SU's marina mist for the aqua, the silhouette head was die-cut from a soft pink patterned paper, the hot pink is there in the stamped necklace, and the kraft color is abundant :)

I started out with a white card base, added a mat of "dearest jane" patterned paper over-top and an off-set kraft banner on top of that.  The tag shape was cut in double - once in white and once in the blue.  I only glued the tag together at the top - I thought it gave the tag some movement.  (I love that memory box piestra tile die!)  The white tag was stamped with images from "pretty peonies" and the silhouette was adhered to it with foam squares.  The rosette was so easy to create!  I die-cut 8 flower fusion shapes, folded each one, and folded again (so that the flower is a quarter of its full size).  I then stacked 7 of the shapes, and sewed through them all.  When it "opens up," you get this beautiful little floral embellishment!  I hot-glued it onto the last die-cut bloom, and adhered it to my card.

Thanks for peeking!

CAS-ual Fridays + Retro sketches.

I have been crafting alot lately.  But it's all been business, and hardly any play :)

What's a gal to do but grab a cheery new lawn fawn set and ink it up for a challenge... or 2...

I'm entering my card into this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge: a pattern, an image, and a sentiment.  I used some patterned paper on the side (it wraps around the back like a book spine), the unicorn image from "critters ever after" and a sentiment from the same set.

I did a bit of masking to get the rainbow (from PTI's up up & away) stamped "behind" the unicorn.  I then also masked the rainbow to be able to stamp Hero Arts' cloud background "behind" the rainbow and unicorn.  Layering stamped images is my happy place.  For reals.

I'm also entering this card into this week's Retro sketches challenge.  I've never participated in this weekly challenge, but the sketch was too fantastic to pass up!

Thanks for peeking!

Using leftovers+PTI princess challenge.

Sometimes, happy things happen.  Like, the baptism invites you were in the middle of creating gave you enough extra pieces to create a(nother) card set by request....  

And, in spring colors too!  So I'm entering it into our latest PTI princess challenge :)  Let's peek inside, shall we?  (ps, today's pics are courtesy of Tanya.... these are the kinds of photos I want to take when I grow up.)

This is what happens when you place a beautiful little rosette onto 10 card-fronts... no box would hold these fatsos, so into a bag they went :)

I love the pitter-patter of rain behind the gift bag.  le sigh.

For this card, I used a hero arts grid-pattern background, and a mix of PTI stamps to create the floral pattern in pinks and peaches.  The little rosettes were cut out of sunny yellow cardstock.  

Thanks for peeking!

a crafty gift + TMKS

Hi peeps!

I loved our discussion yesterday - you all rock for taking the time to write down more than a "I love your photos" comment :)  And to those of you who really said you liked my card photos, thank you sweeties!  I'm still really on the fence about which direction I want to take, so until I "find myself", you might see some funky experimentation going on...

I went a little artsy with today's project :)

I taught a card class on the weekend, and I needed a gift to present my hostess (never show up empty handed, right?)  I could have made her a card set, but I just did for her birthday the previous week.  So this is what I came up with:

A set of tiny papers, decorated with images from hero arts' "my happy" in light grey and pink.

Along with a set of dainty little pink envelopes in a mix of patterns...

They fit inside, see?  

Package them up in a glassine bag, top it all with a cute tag, and you're done!  A sweet crafty gift.  And for the pictures, get a beautiful little model to hold it up.  I want to kiss that dainty pinky she stuck in the air!

And now, TMKS.  If you read my facebook yesterday, you'll already know part of this story...Yesterday morning, my not-even-2-year-old Maia refused to wear a shirt.  Socks? yes.  Pants? ok.  Shirt?  Nooooooooo sssssshirt!!!!!!!  (a lot of yelling.)  Ok, so it's not worth a fight.  I figured, she'll ask for a shirt when she's cold, or she'll forget that this was a big deal to her in a bit and I'll sneak one on her while we're talking about Backyardigans :)  But this kid went shirtless for, like, almost 4 hours, and despite pleas from her brother, who was very bothered to see her walking around looking like a male-trucker... And then she started saying she was cold.  But still refused a shirt.  and refused.  and refused.  Until Thomas had the amazing thought to offer her something else: a sweater.  She smiled and put it on without a fuss.  She was given an out, and was able to save-face.  Amazing.