confetti

love, marriage, baby carriage!

one of the things that's been keeping me busy was throwing a baby shower this past weekend for my sister-in-law with a few of her friends.  i was in charge of invitations, location, and cake--my favorite party jobs!  not knowing what the baby is, we chose yellow and green as our colors based on the baby's room and decided on a baby carriage for the invitation, which then led to the age-old phrase about love and marriage.  this was a fun invite to put together and everyone got a kick out of it!  here are a few other party pics...

the invitation also inspired me to create a standing baby buggy cake for the first time.  it was a little ambitious and it almost fell apart at the last minute, but in the end i was able to fix it and brainstorm about what to do if i ever want to attempt it again.  one of my favorite details is the wire handle.  even though the cake wasn't perfect, it was still cute and luckily, it tasted just right!

one of my favorite little touches for the party was using cloth diapers for napkins.  i saw this at a shower i attended way back when i was pregnant and had it filed away in my head ever since, so i was excited to be able to do it myself.  i found a few different patterned ribbons in the party colors and tied them around the wrapped silverware--very cute and a fun surprise for the guests!

i found these cute color coordinated bottles and binkies at target and used them in a few places around the party, including the door and with some flower arrangements that i forgot to photograph.  i also put a binky on a long piece of the pretty yellow ribbon for the honoree to wear--another fun and unique touch rather than the typical corsage or button.

this is a card i printed to record the gifts.  i thought it would be nice to have it on a piece that coordinated with the invite, so she can put them in an album together if she wants to.  i also created a set of thank you notes using the same colors.  since there are sheep on the nursery bedding, i used them on the card--plus sheep just make me think baby, especially this one by the saltbox studio!

speaking of gifts, here's my quick wrapping job.  since i had cut the phrase off of an extra invitation for the cake, i had a leftover buggy scrap--perfect for a gift card!  i also used the last little bit of ribbon from my party ribbon.  it wasn't long enough to tie, so i wrapped it, secured it with monoadhesive, and added a few jewels for added interest, kind of like a buckle.  i know i say it a lot--but i love quick and cute!!

and last, but definitely not least, every party should end with a favor.  one of the other hosts made these adorable onesie cookies.  they're all yellow, but each one has a cute different pattern in white--buttons, scallops, stripes, etc.  aren't they perfect?!  it was fun to throw a grown up party again!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

moo-chas grass-ias!

i had so much fun with tisha's square card sketch that i had to do the 4-bar sketch too.  my summer has just gotten a little busier with the sale of one house and the purchase of another, so a•muse•a•palooza challenges are so good for getting me stamping these days.  anyway, as soon as i saw lisa spangler's sushi grass card for the a muse/hero arts designer swap, i wondered why i'd never thought to save it before--lucky for me, my husband brought sushi home a few nights later! so, i snagged the grass, and there it sat on my desk until i was looking through my stamps for this sketch and it caught my eye at the same time as the cow and the rest is card-making history--i just love that sentiment!!  credits:  a muse stamps and note cards + black and white card stock and fruit punch stickles.  hope you're having a great weekend...

:) lexi

happy bird-day!

i've been a bit busy this week and stamping time has been short, so today i checked out a few challenges for a jump start and found two that worked together nicely.  tisha's sketch challenge for a•muse•a•palooza this week and today's splitcoast challenge--ways to use birds!  one of my favorite ways to use birds is for "bird-day" cards and this a muse sentiment along with one of my favorite saltbox tweets were perfect for the sketch.  quick and easy--just what i needed!

:) lexi

surf's up!

today, i have a recent invitation for a swimming party.  the challenge was to include basketball with swimming and, with the birthday boy's input, we ended up with a basketball themed surf board.  i drew the board and the waves on the computer and stamped the basketball and net.  my other idea was swim trunks...

i've done this one a couple of times before as hawaiian swim trunks in different colors.  both the surfboard and the swim trunks are great invitation canvases--they can easily be designed to fit the party colors or theme.

cowabunga, dudes!
:) lexi

creative candy ~ craft critique

one of my favorite and most used embellishments is a muse creative candy, so when i had to pick an embellishment to review for craft critique, i jumped at the chance to review it.  here's a quick card using a row of micro dot twinkle stickers.  because of how they're packaged, using rows is one of the really cool things you can do with the twinkles--and so easy, too, once you get used to the idea of using so many at once!!  basically, you just have to be sure to always have a lot on hand!  so, go check out my review and let me know if you have any cool new creative candy ideas!

:) lexi

chicken soup

this is a design that's been cooking in my head since hen and chicks arrived from the saltbox studio!  i thought maybe it would work for elena's out of the box challenge??  i'm just not sure if it's out of the box enough--it's more of a play on words and images.  i think i've seen a stamp like this and i've definitely seen similar chicken in the bowl or pot pictures on other things.  anyway, i made the bowl with a blue marvy circle punch, punching only a partial circle from the edge of a yellow ric-rac pretty little paper.  i wanted the chicken to be white, so i colored the bowl with a cream prismacolor marker for better contrast.  the chicken and bowl are on foam tape and the steam is from the a muse coffee break clear set.  i didn't have the right get well sentiment, so i used a provo craft alpha wheel stamp to spell it out.  have you gotten your hen and chicks set yet?  i'd love to see what you're cooking up!

:) lexi

vera bradley bling

as promised, i finished another a•muse•a•palooza card--jenn's inspiration challenge based on a vera bradley purse.  vera bradley is very popular here right now, too.  i also added a little bling for taylor's twinkle time challenge to play along with a current challenge at the same time.  so, here's the result!  i was drawn to the pattern and took time here and there over the last week to get it just right using only a muse stamps.  the main flower is created with a scalloped border from the bracket frames clear set, curved on the block.  i guess that qualifies for elena's out of the box challenge, too, since it's not really a flower!  some other out of the box uses in the design are the dotted line and open circle line from the personal stationery set, also curved on the block.  the various flowers scattered here and there include the wood mounted daisy doodle, and flowers from the oval frames and nature clear sets.  after stamping in both red and navy, i colored it all in with two shades of blue copics--powder blue and manganese blue--and added various white details with a signo gel pen.  i used a little sliver from trimming the focal piece on the trim detail and created the sentiment to mimic the tag on the purse--i even chose "hi girlfriend!" because it was the closest i had to the look of vera's signature on the purse tag!  micro dot twinkle stickers in cabana blue, all over the focal piece and on the exclamation point in the sentiment, were the final touch--gotta love bling!  i haven't had much uninterrupted time lately, so i worked on this off and on, but even so, it was such a fun challenge to pull together!!

have an a•muse-ing day!
:) lexi

playing catch up!

i wasn't able to get to the a•muse•a•palooza challenges last week, but i wanted to play along so badly.  actually, i started them but just couldn't get back to them in time.  but better late than never, right?  especially with such fun challenges!!  i love this layout from amy's ambassador challenge and it was perfect for the cute little saltbox chicks.  the a muse sentiment, equally perfect, is usually one straight line, but a little selective inking and creative stamping made it fit just right in the circle punch.  tomorrow, i should have my jenn-spiration challenge and maybe i'll throw in something for taylor's twinkles to keep it current!  there's so much fun going on over there--have you been playing a muse clue?

:) lexi

swimming sunfish!

it's swim meet again today and i was in charge of treats.  actually i was in charge of them last week, but we got stormed out--luckily, it was a treat that could wait!  i've done this for a mermaid water party once--goldfish mixed with two shades of blue m&m's--i actually put them in a fish bowl for that!  but the concept was perfect for swim team, too, and a great sweet & salty snack after finishing their first race.  of course, i had to include a little stamped label!  i've had this unmounted fish for a while and i'm not sure who makes it, but it matches the team t-shirts, so i use it every year.  i recently purchased the swimmer from a muse, which colleen adores, so i decorated the bag that holds the treats, too...

i even stamped colleen's lunch bag with waves and swimmers to get her excited, but i forgot to take a picture.  not a surprise since i usually stamp those right when i need them!

go sunfish!
:) lexi

born to ride

here's one last fun item i made over the weekend for my dad, although it isn't necessarily limited to father's day giving.  my dad is a harley enthusiast, so i purchased the now retired set born to ride when it first appeared in the su! catalog so that i could create things for him from time to time.  so far, i've decorated a photo album, created personalized note card sets, and made a variety of other cards to give him, but i think this is the first framed art i've made using it.  i was obviously inspired by andy warhol along with my dad's many bikes and the fun new garage showroom he keeps his bikes and cars in.  i think it will go well with the eclectic mix of posters, pictures and lights he has going on.  i'll have to think of something for the car side of the garage next!

enjoy...
:) lexi

not your typical tie

here's another project i created at the last minute yesterday.  little thoughts for my brother-in-law and my soon-to-be-daddy brother.  i saw tie shaped gift cards at best buy and thought wrapping them up like a tie instead of just folding them up would be fun.  so i created the box to fit the tie and added another quick and easy card.  the a muse shirt and tie from the mainly men set was perfect--and notice the dotted line was still on my desk!  here's a picture of the box open so you can see the "tie"...

each box is made with two pieces of 6.5 x 11 card stock--the bottom is scored and folded 1 inch on all sides and the top is scored and folded just a hair less than 1 inch to fit over the bottom without having to force it.  the finished size is about 9 x 4.5 x 1 inch thick.  i love last minute brain storms!!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

super dad & more!

here a few cards i made late last night for today.  i just love the different "manly" images a muse has!  superhero is one of my favorites and this sentiment is a must to go with him.  i just got it along with the mainly men clear set and the trophy.  it's always fun to ink up new stuff!!!

the dotted line from the personal stationery clear set found it's way onto each design--i love it, so once it's out, i do tend to use it over and over!!

happy father's day!
:) lexi

it's flag day again...

and the anniversary of the day i said "i do!"  this year we are celebrating eleven wonderful years--our "steel" anniversary.  it's been a crazy week around here with camp pick ups, sleepovers, dinner, swim team, house showings, invitations, a party, friends in town, etc. etc.  why did i think summer would be slower?  i managed to squeeze in a few minutes today between events to stamp out a very quick card for david's gift of shiny new steak knives--i like to follow the traditional gift list!  anyway, if i'd had more time to think it through, i might have masked the words to stamp the circle, but i'm really happy with it considering that it only took 5 minutes and items that were within arms reach!  all stamps + heart twinkle stickers are a muse, note card and ribbon are stampin' up!

happy flag day!
:) lexi

the chef's table

one of my best friends and i were both june brides--her 13th anniversary was tuesday and my 11th is saturday.  we've shared many anniversary dinners over the years, so when she asked us to join them at the commander's chef's table, of course we said yes!  the table is actually *in* the kitchen, with all the sizzling action happing right in front of you--and fabulous food and wine that just kept coming!  the picture above is the special menu they gave us at the end of the night so we could remember everything we ate.  i almost forgot i had my camera, but the waiters and i managed to get a few shots at the end of the meal...

this is a peek of the view we had as seen through the mirrored wall above our booth.

blue blazer, anyone?  isn't that the coolest mixology--or maybe i should say the hottest!  it was tasty, too!

dessert time brought eight different delicious desserts to try.  the ones they placed directly in front of each of us all said happy anniversary in chocolate--such a sweet personal touch!  (you can see my glasses piling up at this point!)  and check out the creme brulée...

needless to say, i was a little droopy and slow today!  but, it was so worth it.  in fact, i want to go back next year!!

thank you chef!
:) lexi

today's the day!

the oh so cute hen and chicks set from the saltbox studio is available to purchase today!  the little chicks make me think of babies, so i created a simple, sweet baby card, using my favorite little girl chick.  clear stamps make it easy to ink up just what you want, even if it's in the middle of the full image like she is.  i used the pointed end of a tuxedo black memento dew drop pad--great for coloring with copics!  for the sentiment, i added the word "baby" from the mama mouse and more set to the word "chick" from "chick magnet" and i have a card perfect for a new little chickie gift!  i've had so much fun sharing the peeks with you over the last few days--thanks for stopping by and keep checking back for more!

happy shopping & stamping...
:) lexi

chick magnet mouse

how about another chick card from the saltbox studio?  the seed mouse is yet another fun image to use with hen and chicks.  here, he makes an adorable chick magnet!!  so, tomorrow's the day--check back here for more inspiration and head to the saltbox sampler to get your own hen and chicks to play with...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

a•muse•a•palooza '08

the third annual a•muse•a•palooza started up this past week and i can't believe i've actually been around for all of them--the first year, i followed along closely on the designers' blogs, and last year, i played all of the challenges religiously!  this year, i'm a little busier with the saltbox studio, but i can't not play!!   so, i finally made time to make something with geeta's color challenge today.  it's a quickie, but i really like how it came out.  first, i pulled out all of the note cards and scraps i had in the challenge colors--chocolate kitchen, cabana blue, and purple passion--and fiddled with different combos.  finally i decided to punch one of the circles from a cabana blue mod dot scrap with a 1 3/8 circle punch, which left a sliver of the darker shade around the edge.  on that i stamped the sandals and sentiment in brown and colored the sandals with the cool shadow copic marker--a perfect match for cabana blue!  i layered the circle on a purple passion scallop circle and mounted that over the cabana blue stitched ribbon on the chocolate kitchen note.  to finish it off i added micro dot twinkle stickers to the sandals--they might be surf officially, but the darker shade looked best.  i pair brown and blue together a lot, and i really love the pop that the purple adds!  check out the AP08COLOR gallery at splitcoast to see all of the entries.  and if you haven't played yet, you still have a tiny bit of time to enter for the drawing, so get stamping!!

:) lexi

kitchen chicken

try saying that five times fast!  today's saltbox studio hen & chicks design features the hen as a ceramic kitchen chicken, with a basket of fresh farm eggs out on the counter with her.  again, the eggs are a perfect partner image!  it's hard to tell in the picture, but i popped up only the center of the hen to give it shape and colored over it with a clear glaze pen for shine.  i used two different a muse note card patterns in brown to create the tiles, and a solid brown strip for the counter top.  i tried the focal piece on different color cards to get the right one and finally decided on the sunny kitchen yellow.  kitchen red was another choice, but i like how the little bit of red on the chicken stands out with all of the brown and yellow surrounding it.  the sentiment is from the older set, candle glow companion.  i hope you're enjoying the peeks--i always love seeing what the rest of the designers do!  there's just a few more days to go...

:) lexi

chickens & eggs

now that i have the three dress inspired cards out of the way, here is a card that features the chicken, the first two chicks in the row of chicks and the individual chick--who is facing the other way--along with the egg basket from basket celebration 1.  all from the saltbox studio, of course!  i love punching portions of stamped images like this.  i balanced them by having the images face each other or hang off the edges in different directions.  i also balanced the color diagonally.  i used the scor-pal to score the dark red piece and swiped on two shades of brown ink to make it look a little like wood.  in the end, the individual chick was the perfect size to allow for the sentiment to be added on his square.  i had fun playing around with these pieces--actually, it was kind of like putting together a puzzle, since i didn't go into it with a picture already in my head.  i just knew i wanted to use the squares and went from there!

don't forget to check out the saltbox sampler and the other team members' blogs for more great ideas...

:) lexi

chicks rule!

today i give you both a hen *and* a chick from the saltbox studio hen and chicks!  there is an individual chick in the set, but this one is actually the first in the row of chicks from yesterday--it was facing the direction i needed and i love that you can so easily ink selectively and place your stamp perfectly with clear stamps.   this also came in handy for the sentiment which is actually one word each from two sentiments in the set, with the letter "s" doodled in.  i actually found the picture of this dress...

isn't mignon a cutie?!  i had originally planned to color the hens red, but after digging out the picture, i stamped them again on a kitchen red note card scrap and paper pieced them for a more perfect match.  i had a blast searching for this picture to make sure i remembered it right--the girls did too.  they love to see baby pictures of themselves and i look at them and wonder how they got so big so fast!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi