confetti

welcome home

this is the first time i've been able to get on the computer today, but i have another card to share with new, *now available* images from the saltbox studio!  both of these stamps are from the saltbox greetings set.  i'm excited to have a saltbox house in my collection and the open greetings in this release are really fun to color!  i had this key hanging around on my old desk for while and once i started working on the card, it came to mind.  luckily, i didn't have to look far for it!  i'll try to be back with another card tomorrow, but in addition to unpacking and settling in, i'm also packing mignon's camp trunk and finding the last minute odds and ends she needs--it's definitely easier the second year, but we put it off because of the move, so now it's crunch time!

'nite!
:) lexi

the new stamps are here!

today's the day that the new stamps are available for purchase from the saltbox studio!  my weekend was crazy with house stuff and a revolving door of visitors, and i wasn't able to post.  so i thought i'd kick off release day with a two-fer and two ways to use the adorable cow from farm friends.  i used the complete image of the cow in the field for the first card--the sentiment is a perfect pairing!  i chose yellow for the background layer, but i think it would also look really good on green.  for the second, i pulled out an old favorite from the launch and must-have set, fences, and cut out just the cow to pop up in front of the little picket fence...

moooving!!!  too cute and just what i need, right?!  the lime peel band note provides the perfect grass, with no extra cutting and layering.  for added interest, i positioned the sentiment to look like the cow is saying it.  clean and simple--just the way i like it!  be sure to check out my fellow designers' blogs for more inspiration and the saltbox sampler blog to see all of the new images...

happy saltbox shopping!
:) lexi

the ants go marching!

here's another peek at the new saltbox studio stamps, to be released in just a few days.  aren't these ants so cute?  i decided they needed to have a watermelon feast of their own!  now, i'm trying to think of what else i have in my collection for the ants to carry away.  the images i used are from two of the new sets--americana and simple summer--there are lots of opportunities for mixing and matching the images!  be sure to check out the saltbox sampler and see what the other designers are up to on their blogs...

:) lexi

such a ham!

i stamped again--and with yet another cute soon-to-be released saltbox stamp!!!  this little pig is from a set called farm friends and is just adorable.  mignon has a collection of piggies that began when she was a baby, so she was particularly excited to add one to stamp with.  and isn't that sentiment so fun?!  i paper pieced the piggy's body with pink pretty little paper, layering it on the same paper, but coloring in the circles with a shadow pink copic marker to match the paper frill element that i'd also colored in with the same marker.  it's another quick card, with a little less hunting today!  don't forget to check out the saltbox sampler and the rest of design team blogs...

:) lexi

it's a sunshine day...

i stamped in my new house!  and just in time for sneak peeks from the saltbox studio to begin--aren't these sunflowers great?!  i have always had a thing for sunflowers.  they're so big and bright and yellow.  i love seeing the huge ones around town here and there and had a photograph of one hanging in my studio.  speaking of my studio, i thought i had a few of my favorite things packed for easy access, but i did not think of everything.  as simple as it is, creating this card involved quite a bit of hunting!  i think i have a better handle of where things are now, but i really look forward to getting my new furniture and unpacking my supplies completely.  i'll be back tomorrow with another peek at the new stamps, but until then, be sure to check out the saltbox sampler, as well as the blogs of my fellow team members listed to the right...

happy blog-hopping!
:) lexi

welcome baby elephant

even in the midst of moving, i was baking!  my dad's wife was throwing a shower for her daughter-in-law and asked me to do the cake.  the baby is a boy and the decorations for the shower were noah's ark, so we came up with an elephant carrying a sign with the name they'd picked out.  it had to be somewhat easy since i was creating in a kitchen that was being taken apart around me.  i made the ear 3-d using one layer of the cut-out between the legs, rounding the edges a bit.  the feet and eye details are mini marshmallows cut in half and pressed into place and the eye color is a candy pearl i found in my cake candy stash--if i hadn't been packing the pantry at the time, i may not have been inspired to use it!  the stove in my new house hasn't been used in a while and has a weird beeping malfunction, but it should be worked out soon.  i'm most excited about the subzero fridge and being able to fit my cakes in it more easily than before!!

thanks for checking in during my busy move...
:) lexi

home sweet new home!

wow it's been a frantic couple of weeks, but wednesday was closing and moving day and we made it!  i'll miss my first house, but i love my new home sweet home.  packing up eleven years and two kids of accumulated stuff was very time consuming, and it felt good to get rid of a lot of it.  there's still so much to unpack and organize, but at least there's no actual deadline on that!  my studio is still in boxes, but i have some basics at the ready.  i have to buy some new furniture and figure out an organization and storage system in my new room--so fun!  this card is one i created a while back but never posted.  i figured it was perfect for this week.  plus, it has a white picket fence just like my house!  i'm still uber busy, so i might still miss days here and there, but i promise to be back to regular blogging as soon as possible!

'nite!
:) lexi

p.s.  all stamps by the saltbox studio, notecards by a muse.

pretty polka dots

today i have another round of what's on my desk.  i actually started this one for michelle's polka dot challenge on the a*muse*a*palooza blog last week, but never got back to it.  better late than never, right!  there's still lots of fun going on over there, so check it out.  boris is earning tons of frequent flyer miles--so funny!

back to the boxes...
:) lexi

pink chicks

i've been so busy with invitations and packing my house that stamping time is harder and harder to find.  i'm dreading packing up my studio!  this card represents a little of the mess that is my desk--an odd mix of saltbox and a muse stamps and card scraps!  as i surveyed the bits and pieces while trying to straighten up a bit, i thought it would be fun to create a little funky pink-on-pink pattern including the chicks to go with the fun phrase--a perfect girlfriend card!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

more flag fun!

as promised, here's the second card i created yesterday.  the flag is another one from the patriotic basket and the one i had originally planned to have the chicks hold, but it was facing the wrong way for their parade.  it's such a cute flag that i had to use it for something, so it didn't take long to figure out that it was perfect for stud muffin and a festive 4th of july cupcake!  of course, stud muffin needed to wear red, white, and blue, too, so i played clothing designer on his shirt and he's ready for a party!  stud muffin and the flag are both from the saltbox studio; the sparkler (fireworks) and sentiment (from the birthday builder set) are a muse.

happy 4th!
:) lexi

patriotic chicks!

how about a parade of patriotic chicks for the holiday tomorrow?  the chicks in a row are a single stamp from the recent saltbox studio release, hen and chicks; and the flag is selectively inked from the patriotic basket in a basket celebration 1 from the company debut.  the first chick looks like he's leading a parade and the flag makes it even more official!  my stamping time is quick and random these days with our upcoming move, so please bear with me if i skip a day here and there.  while creating this card, i came up with another, so i definitely have something to post tomorrow!

'til then,
:) lexi

sweet baby sheep

today was a busy swim meet day and i didn't get to stamp, so i thought i'd share the second choice invite for the baby shower.  this little sheep from the saltbox studio is perfect for baby invites and cards.  when i do invitations like this, i format the text 4 per page, with any margins to the right and bottom for the most efficient cuts.  yesterday's invitation is larger and was 2 per page.  once they're printed, i cut, stamp, and layer.  sometimes i color first, other times after layering.  for this one, i colored the sheep last with prismacolor markers--brick white for the face, ear, legs, and tail; and cream for the body.  i love all the special details you can add when doing personalized invitations!

:) lexi