Tag, you're it!

Lawn fawn inspiration week hits day 5! Today, we're showing off winter gifts and tag, you're it!

Sometimes I like to mass-produce, and sometimes I like to take my time.  You guess which scenario these tags fall into:

I couldn't help but pull images from a few other sets to create my tags: winter bunny, yeti set go, trim the tree, and into the woods.

The yeti, double-fisting his gifts, cracks me up.  To match his double-up on gifts, I put a second tag on this gift, cut out of patterned paper.  Double your pleasure, double your fun.

Add a red gem and the deer turns into a reindeer just like that.  I dangled the end of the twine and added a festive pom to the end.

The sledding bunny is playing peekaboo.  I took the pieces that I had chopped (to make him fit within the frame of the tag) and adhered them underneath.  I did take an extra white tag to the very bottom to hide those unslightly edges. don't you worry.

I hope you like what I've created!  Visit the lawn fawn blog for even more tag-gy inspiration!

chalkboard thanks {PTI blog hop}

if you're looking for my lawn fawn inspiration week post, click *here*

I've already started decorating for the fall:  My leafy garland is up, my "be thankful" frame is being put to good use, and jars full of acorns line my mantel.  Oh, and I've already baked an apple pie. that's important.

Possibly the only thing missing is a beautiful wreath for the front door.  I'm still working on that one.  

In the meanwhile, I created a stamped wreath for today's PTI blog hop:



mini blooms + bells & boughs + headline alphabet, all heat-embossed onto a piece of black card-stock.



Floral and boughs might not be a natural pairing, but I think they make a cute fall couple.

Thanks for hopping my way!

♥.

peace on earth

Welcome back to another day of lawn fawn inspiration!  Yesterday, we showed off the paperie.  Today, the matching stamp set.  Here is my offering for Peace, Joy, Love:

This little ditty was more complicated to put together than it looks.  I isolated the berries from the holly leaves in winter gifts and stamped the berry trio in the middle of each curved leavy border.  The potential for error was high.  I scrapped a few attempts before accepting this one.

Next, I grabbed Milo's abcs and stamped out "and on earth."  I layered the word "peace" underneath so that it kissed the top line - I love that pop of blue.

The little bird with the branch and different papers from the matching collection finished it all off.

I hope you like it!  Visit the lawn fawn blog for even more amazing inspiration!

♥.

Christmas wishlists {lawn fawn inspiration week}

Hi there!

Welcome back to another day of lawn fawn inspiration.  Today, we're showcasing the Peace, Joy, Love paper collection.  It is perfect for holiday card and project crafting!

For my project, I bought a set of 3 mini composition books for 1$ at our local Dollar Store, and made little book jackets for each one:



Nothing super technical or fancy, just measured and scored and folded the papers.

If you have kids in your life, and they are anything like mine, they are starting to yell things whenever commercials come on the tv: "mommy, I neeeeeeeed this!" "mommy, this looks so cool!" "mommy, can we buy this for me?"

My new catch-phrase: put it on your list.  and then we vow to avoid tv-watching for a few days, but that somehow never works out...

I decorated each booklet with the cutest snowman and a banner from winter gifts.  The sentiment is computer-generated.



I hope you like them!  Visit the lawn fawn blog for even more Peace, Joy, Love inspiration.

♥.

Trim the tree {lawn fawn inspiration week}

I am so excited to get into some Christmas crafting with you!

Fall? wut.

Thanksgiving? ok.

Halloween? it's aiight.

But Christmas?  oh by golly, let's be jolly!

Today, we are showcasing "trim the tree" and its matching set of dies:

Lawn fawn images are already "cute" but apparently, not cute enough - I had to go and add a smiley face to the tree.

I started out by stamping the tree onto my card-stock, and then only masked the base of the tree before creating the background.  I stamped out the "be merry" strip from peace, joy, love to cover my entire mat.

I colored in the tree's trunk and base and then paper-pieced the greenery.  Even when paper-piecing, I like to add a little bit of depth by swiping a matching copic marker where the shadows would appear.

A smiley-face, some blushy cheeks, and his best gingerbread bud to hang out with.  What more could a tree ask for?



A little shimmer on the star never hurt anybody.

I hope you liked today's card!  Check out the lawn fawn blog for many non-smiley tree options (hee.)

♥.

Lawn fawn inspiration week begins!

It's time for Lawn Fawn's September inspiration week:

Click over to the lawn fawn blog for your chance to win big!

And, starting tomorrow, the design team will be showing off Trim the tree, Cole's ABCs, the Stitched Journaling card, the Peace Love Joy paper collection and coordinating stamp set, Winter Gifts, and Tag You're It.

ALSO, by popular demand, Lawn Fawn made dies for the super cute "into the woods" stamp set.  No more fussy cutting those adorable critters!  The dies will be available for purchase as of September 27th.

Come back tomorrow for my first project!

♥.

my favorite boo.

This one's a little quirky:



I used the cute ghost from Neat and Tangled's halloween scene and mixed it with a computer-generated sentiment and the half-sunburst image from Wplus9's super star.

Some halloween twine and a little flapper fringe at the bottom finish it off.

A bit too out there for Paper Crafts?  ha.

Did you know that the next lawn fawn inspiration week starts on Saturday?  I'll be switching gears from Halloween to Christmas.  I can't wait - see you then!

♥.

If the broom fits...

As promised, here is the first of the halloween cards that did not get picked up by Paper Crafts magazine:



Totally tongue in cheek, just the way I like it.

I used a mix of different sets to create the card, and did a mix of heat embossing and regular white-ink-stamping to provide some variation in the white tones.

I hope you like it! It still makes me grin.

Until tomorrow,

♥.

rsvp to the mummy.

Have you checked out the September/October digital issue of paper crafts magazine?

I have a fun halloween invitation published there, on page 45:



Admittedly, the picture of the card in the magazine is much less boring.  I die-cut an owl, and a vellum ghostly overlay (all dies are by Clear and Simple Stamps.)  A simple stitch-line at the top secured the pieces together.

My favorite part is the text on the owl belly:



rsvp to the mummy.  still my fave.

I hope you like it!  I have a few halloween rejects to show you over the next few days - cards that didn't fit what Paper Crafts was looking for, but that I still really love!

♥.

lawnscaping challenge #66 - pumpkin smiles.

Happy monday, and welcome to another lawnscaping challenge!

I won't lie - even though I don't use bright colors, or even very many colors on my cards, monochromatic was hard for me this time.  I picked a fall-appropriate orange:



Mixing it with neutral white and kraft still gave me the pop that I craved.  White grass, anyone?  Thank goodness for creative license. I used a mix of sets to create this card: critters in costume, into the woods, so thankful and the grassy strip from gnome sweet gnome.

I hope you join in the fun! This week's challenge is sponsored by lawn fawn!

Thanks for popping by!

Blog hopping with Core'dinations

The lawn fawn girls have been hopping with the Core'dinations team this week!

I just love their cardstock - perfect for embossing and sanding techniques that give a card an amazing amount of texture... check it:

I did a different coloring technique on the fox - doesn't he look fuzzy?  I stamped the outline in a very light memento ink.  As I colored him, the outline became less and less distinct.  It's so soft and artsy.  I want to try this on everything lawn fawn!

And then, there is the gorgeous woodgrain background to talk about...

I embossed a woodgrain pattern onto a piece of their brown cardstock and then used their sanding tool to bring out the pattern even more.  I love the kraft color that is revealed underneath, and the texture is so fun.

To add even more touchy-feely goodness, I roughed up the edges of the woodgrain piece and then sewed a wonky border all around.  

I hope you like it!  Check out the lawn fawn blog for even more inspiration.

♥.

getting better each day {a little celebration}

Throwing all the parties that I do, the kids come to expect things.  Sofia asked, while she was on the hospital bed with her double casts: "when we get home, will there be a party for me?"

of course. but maybe not when we walk through the door, honey, because your dad has no clue.

ha.

So, after being home for a solid week, I gathered enough energy to print and cut a few decorations and bake a few treats.

(This is the thing.  I often get asked how I have the time to do what I do.  My best trick is to freeze desserts.  The cupcakes and the chocolate chip cookies were defrosted and served. I just had to whip up some frosting, but who doesn't like doing that?)



I made a strawberry buttercream frosting, and I'm still sneaking into the fridge to swipe a finger in the leftovers. so yummy.



I did take the time to make more sugar cookies.  They do look cuter smaller!



All of the decorations were printed from HERE.



The dessert that had the whole family in stitches:



Yep. I went there. and my husband kept telling everyone there might be a surprise in one of those cups. guess how many got eaten? ew.

As for my girl, I am happy to say that she had a smile on her face the entire time.

That makes it all worth it.

♥.

Nurse-y thank yous.

Before Sofia went in to the hospital, we debated homemaking little gifts, or buying a little something.  In the end, we handed out little homemade goodies and gave a bigger something else too.  The care that Sofia received, and the support that was extended to me during the 5 days we were in the hospital following her knee surgeries was an experience I will never forget.



I used the most adorable nurse image and THIS perfect sentiment to create our treat bags.

I kept the tags pretty simple: mimi was colored, cut out and stuck onto a plain white tag, with that wonderful greeting tucked under her arm.



Inside the treat bags?



As one of the nurses put it: the biggest pills I will ever chew on! haha.  Yeah, maybe they would have been cuter in a smaller size (which, because I'm insane, I went back and re-made them just for us in tiny format.  I'll show you those tomorrow!)

It's obvious from looking at these that I'm no cookie decorator, but they were still yummy.  I'll work on my icing skills and knock your socks off by Christmas. of next year...



In the meantime, my motto is: just add sprinkles.

♥.

happy birthday, Kelly Marie!

Yay! Welcome to our {surprise} blog hop in honor of the sweet Kelly Marie, owner of lawn fawn stamps!  There is a long list of participants, so if you ever lose your way, you can refer to the full list of stops over at Tiffany's blog (click *here*)

You should have clicked over from Cristina's blog (my fawnie idol, by the way. I am constantly awed by the amazing stuff she creates!)

I hope Kelly is in a good mood by the time she reaches my blog.  This could go either way:

hee hee.  are you giving me a one-eyebrow stare, or an eye-roll? (because between this and the dancing hot dog card, I am definitely on a groan-inducing punny roll...)

I used critters on the farm, fanciful frames, into the woods, and milo's abcs to create this card.

Kelly, I hope we've put a smile on your face today!  You are such a beautiful person, so generous and kind, and I am honored to be getting to know you better and designing for lawn fawn!  mwah!  I hope you have an amazing 33rd birthday!

Keep on hoppin'! Your next stop is to the lovely Britta's blog.  click!

♥.

happy halloweenie.

Are you ready another halloween card?  But honestly, I would share this one anytime of year, just because it's good for a laugh.

Look at the cute wiener, shaking his groove thang!  I saw *this card* on ETSY, and immediately giggled my way through making my own, handstamped version.

Who knew turning a hot-dog image upright and adding some doodly arms and legs could be so fun?



This card is sitting on my craft desk, and will probably stay there for awhile.  And yes, I tend to laugh at my own jokes before giving anyone else the chance.

I just giggled, by the way.

☻.


Supply list
stamps: foodie fun, curly label frames 1 (both CSS), sharp backdrops (lawn fawn)
font: traveling typewriter

Bootastic, 2 ways {mama elephant stamps}

I'm so happy that I stamped and crafted a ton before Sofia went into her surgery.  It helped to calm my pre-op jitters, and even though I'm too exhausted to craft anything right now, I still have things to show you. Win-win.

You know me & cute images, so I obviously had to snap up the new Mama Elephant set, "bootastic."  I made a few cards, just for fun:

I selectively inked the greeting, so I could stretch out the joke a little more... you have to be looking for that "just kidding" at the bottom!  And I used the solid stripe from "message bands" to create the background.



The images are adorable. especially the mummy. but I can't help thinking they all look stunned, like they were all making spooky noises with the light off and then someone's mom came and flicked it on. how embarrassing.

I went somewhere different for the next card:

Before I chatter about the card, I would just like to point out that these cards were photographed one right after the other. (same location, same lighting.) The choice of background made a huge difference!  I'm not usually a fan of red or orange backgrounds, but for halloween I'll pretend that it works.  I much prefer the cool, blue backdrop.

I used lawn fawn's new journaling card die, and a sentiment from "critters ever after."  They work perfectly with this little princess.



I masked the edges of the journaling card die and the cloud border to be able to sponge a blue sky behind our girl.  A few touches of gold glitter and some rosy cheeks and she's positively regal. hee.

Until next time!

♥.