washi monograms

Hi there!

I don't usually post so late in the day, but i'm sliding one in for the Paper Crafts gallery idol competition.



This card set is going to someone special, and I know she'll love it.



I laid washi tape onto white cardstock, careful to repeat the pattern properly, and die-cut a huge monogram M out of each.



I then colored and die-cut the cute storybook critters, before using their dies to cut into the monograms.  I wanted the letter and the critter to sit flush on each card.



I mounted the monogram and the critter with foam squares onto the stitched mat, and then again with foam squares onto the scalloped card base.



I hope you like it!

♥.

Tea for three and three for tea.

I am so excited to be able to share Maia's 3rd birthday party with you today.  Maia is my littlest babe, and full of personality.  Among other things, she is a complete ham, so affectionate, extremely strong-willed, and skittish in a crowd.  I had an idea to throw her a tiny tea party months earlier, and sent some designs and concepts over to Nicki (Clear and Simple Stamps owner) and Steph (illustrator for CSS) brought my vision to life.

(If you make it all the way to the end of the post, I'll share how you can win these 3 new CSS stamp sets and a matching die!)

I am also beyond lucky to have a talented friend like Marlyn (of Montreal Confections) who baked some beautiful goodies for the occasion.

We re-arranged our living room a bit to create a little party space just for Maia...





















I wanted the entire party to be very Maia-accessible.  "Lambie" (an old best friend) and the cute handmade doll (a new best friend, which you'll learn more about this upcoming week!) came together for her birthday.  Maia had so much fun playing with the set-up, and I loved seeing her so full of joy.

I bought the table and chairs, the tea set, and the little felt cake from Ikea - they were her birthday gift, and doubled as party set-up.  Not too shabby.

Even though we kept it small, we still invited family over for treats - so really, it was a full house by the time grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles got involved.  hee hee.

A little cart is the perfect place to show off some tea treats...

My vision for the party was soft, vintage, shabby, and yet still toddler-friendly.  I mixed a lot of grown up florals with the adorable images from the stamp sets.  Stuffed bears and rabbits with granny-patterned fabrics and washi tape?  love it.

I hope you love it too!  I'm so excited to have shared Maia's party with you.  I'd love to hear what you think about Maia's tea party, and the images from the stamp sets that I helped design!

If you'd like a chance to win the 3 stamps sets I used to craft this party (rag doll: tea party, rag doll: tea party extras, and tablescapes) as well as the matching tea tag die, all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post.  The giveaway will be quick - comment before Sunday at 9pm EST and I'll randomly pick a lucky winner on Monday morning.

♥.

Love notes {bee mine}

Because smaller is definitely cuter.



I stamped the bee, then masked the bee and the bottom half of the tiny card, and sponged blue ink over the top.  Some pink accents, a matching sentiment, and glittery wings.  Done.



Hand-stamped enveloped sealed the deal.  Stripes inside, hexes out.



Actually, smaller-bee stickers sealed the deal.  For reals.

Check out more love-note-inspiration: Kim ♥ Laurie ♥ Lori ♥ Audrey  ♥ Laura ♥ Tracy ♥ CSS


Supplies:
stamps: (from Clear and Simple stamps) taglines: critters, background basics 1, designer lines
ink: tumbled glass distress ink, melon (fresh ink)
paper: a blanc check (clear and simple)
misc: mini tri-fold 2 die

JOY {new limited edition CSS release)

December is Clear and Simple Stamps' customer appreciation month.  All online customers will receive a handmade card and a sentiment stamp from CSS.

And, since 'tis the season of JOY, I'm thrilled that I was able to put the new set to use in creating holiday decor for our home.



I created a set of layered, but still easy to reproduce, paper ornaments.



I layered the "joy" and "to the world" sentiments from the set, and added the blue striped banner beneath them.  Everything was layered onto a red paper-rosette, then onto a kraft doily, given a huge shot of shine mist, and is now ready to hang on the holiday tree.

I hope you like it!

For more details of how this set will be gifted, check out the CSS blog.



These designers are also featuring the new "JOY" set today:

Laurie ♥ Lori ♥ Dana ♥ Jaclyn ♥ Kim ♥ Jennifer ♥ Tracy ♥ Laura ♥ CSS

mason jar thanks {CSS release in review}

My final day in a string of CSS posts brings on the mason jar love.

I used the smallest mason jar images and the "alpha duo" set to create a fun little thank you card set.  I strung up the jars, plunked the letters inside (and outside!) and called it done.

I love the little detail of that heart (from "taglines: critters") in each jar...

And, why not add some jar-shaped stickers?  I ran die-cut-and-stamped-jars through my xyron sticker maker.  How fun would it be to seal the envelopes with these?

Click over to see what the other canned goodness the designers have cooked up:

Jen ♥ Amber ♥ CSS

a superhero's breakfast {CSS release in review}

Even superheroes need a good breakfast!

On Saturday morning (make that early Saturday morning, when it's much too dark to take the amazing pictures I'd like to have taken,) the kids found this sign, along with their best superhero costumes laid out for them:

Once in costume, they were led to the kitchen for a fun surprise:

 I love Sofia's face!  This is probably the angle she was looking at:

 Superheroes, power up to save the day!

I staged a fun little breakfast for the kids, using stamps and dies from Clear and Simple Stamps.

 They were greeted with their regular breakfast fare, only a bit dressed up for some extra special fun.

 Their regular green smoothie became "hulk smash smoothies" (yes, they get one almost every morning:  banana, peanut butter, wads of spinach, and milk.)

Kapow!

 Comic bursts makes the cutest muffin toppers.

 Boom! banana muffins.  (and a thank you to my crafty bff, Denise, for helping me come up with some of the breakfast names.)

For each breakfast food label, I stamped and accessorized a rag doll in superhero fashion, and then created a mask to be able to stamp either the sunburst or the comic book backgrounds "in behind."

 I did buy some special treat cereals for the occasion:  chocolate cheerios became "rings of power..."

 ...and frosted flakes cereal turned into "mr. freeze flakes."

 I re-created "captain america's shield" with a waffle star, surrounded by yogurt and berries in the appropriate red and blue colors.

 This banner hung off the table, so as not to compete with the chalkboard decorations...

I treated each banner panel the same way as I did the breakfast labels... my favorite part?  The s-u-p-e-r that I thought to stick into rag doll Mia's banner.

 The kids were seriously thrilled.  They were so excited and giddily happy for the rest of the day, and never changed out of their costumes.  (just as an aside, Maia was also eating breakfast, but she wouldn't don a costume, and demanded to eat on the floor, so as not to be photographed.  sigh.  but she was just as happy!)

After their superhero "power-up" breakfast, they were each awarded with these certificates:

Because, you aren't really certified until you've been doubly hereby certified.  *hee*

I hope you've enjoyed our little dressed up breakfast!  These designers have fun things to show off as well:

Jen ♥ Lori ♥ CSS