confetti by lexi

barnyard birthday

my nephew had a farm animal petting zoo party this weekend, so i whipped together this cute barnyard birthday card for him.  my old, well-loved saltbox studio sheep and farm friends came to the rescue when i was deciding what to create.  i stacked them for a little whimsical fun, but it ended up being an especially perfect card because the birthday boy kept picking up chickens and putting them on top of the sheep--and he hadn't even seen the card yet!

i hope to have the promised "after" pictures of my studio tomorrow.  i missed my window of good lighting before the rains came today because i was at the hospital welcoming a new niece to the family!  she's so beautiful and you can bet that something pink will follow later this week!!

:) lexi

happy thanksgiving!

these were such a hit last year that my sil wanted a set for thanksgiving dinner at her parents' house this year.  i made them again for our kids' table, too--it's been a year, so hopefully the answers won't be too easy or boring!  i'll probably make a new one next year, though--and one for christmas this year too...

happy eating tomorrow!
:) lexi

the runner up

this is the runner up to yesterday's communion invitation.  it was actually a little too similar to big sis' invitation two years ago because of the blue sky paper.  which is why we then spent way too much time creating the new background diamond paper and figuring out just the right color!  the little birdhouse church from the saltbox studio tweets is another great communion image, though.  and hey, all saltbox stamp sets are now on sale on the a muse website, so get 'em while the gettin's good!

:) lexi

another first communion

today was colleen's first communion.  as with most other special milestones, the occasion called for an invitation and cake.  i showed her two options for the invite and she fell in love with the bible in church mice from the saltbox studio...

it took us a while to design the perfect background paper and finalize the color scheme, but it finally came together!  as we were working on it, she asked if i could make the cake match the bible stamp...

so of course, i had to deliver!  it was pretty easy too--a 9 x 13 cake cut in half and stacked.  after icing the three "paper" sides with white buttercream, i used a texture triangle to add lines for the pages.  the look of a cover was easy with a little extra line of icing around the top edges and the base.  rolled fondant made the perfect cross detail, as well as the ribbon marker.  colleen was thrilled with the outcome!

i also printed my blue diamond design on text weight paper so that i could wrap her cross pendant to match the invite...

and onto labels to make favors for our guests--i found these great dove sweet tarts at party city and they were a big hit!  the new a muse anniversary set was also perfect for adding a green frame around the bible to mimic what i'd already done on the invitation.  have you placed an order to recieve your free set yet?  and speaking of a muse's anniversary, don't forget that there are chances to win lots of different a muse stuff on the a muse news blog every other day during the celebration--in fact, i hosted today's contest!  so if you haven't already, be sure to head over there and tell me what your first a muse stamp was...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

easter, already?!

i can't believe it's almost easter!  i haven't had time for any blog stamping the last few days, so i thought i'd post two saltbox favorites from easter last year that were originally posted on the old saltbox blog and seem to be lost in cyberspace.  i love this egg basket as a simple basket of farm eggs, but add a few pastel patterns and finish off with a handle, and it's the perfect easter basket!

boy, was i stuck on these sheep for a while--so it shouldn't be surprising that i dyed them like eggs!  the soft white wool was just begging for it!!  don't they look cute?!

:) lexi

birthday mouse

here's another birthday card i made for mignon--can't just do one right?!  i love this little balloon mouse from the saltbox studio and it's perfect for birthdays.  i really liked how the paper pieced umbrellas turned out earlier this week, which gave me the idea to do a few balloons that way.  normally, the mouse is holding just one, but i wanted more so i just added them and doodled the strings, popping the front two up for dimension.  for the first time, i colored the mouse white for a little bit of pop on the blue background--i usually color him gray or brown, but i think i like the change.  and since the other card said happy birthday, i chose "onward & upward" since turning 10 is definitely that!

have a great weekend!  i have a busy one, so i probably won't be back until monday...
:) lexi

supplies:  celebration companion {the saltbox studio}, sky blue note card + latte, blush, & sage juliette papers {a muse}, memento tuxedo black dew drop, white signo pen, copics and foam tape.

green, green & more green!

lucky ewe!  i could not get the idea of a green saltbox sheep out of my head, so i just had to put ink to paper.  of course he needed a little shamrock, too, which was easy peasy with a mini heart--one of my favorite little tricks!  i wasn't sure about sentiment, but finally came up with "lucky ewe" after spying the "thank ewe" in the sheep set.  so i wrote "lucky" and stamped "ewe" from that.  quick, simple & cute--but most importantly, i stamped for fun!!  and because you can never have too much green on st. patrick's day...

by special request, i created the girls' favorite green meal again.  a little green food coloring goes a long way!  i still have so much to share, but also so much to do.  i'm getting there, though and should be back to normal soon...

happy st. patrick's day!
:) lexi

think spring

it's always funny to feel like you need a vacation after your vacation, but as much fun as a disney vacation is, it's not a relaxing one.  we were constantly on the go and i loved every minute of it.  and now that i've had a weekend of sleeping in, i feel much more rested!  i even squeezed in a few minutes to stamp a new card to share today--warm weather is here for us and coming soon for others, so spring colors and themes are in order!  yellow is my favorite color and i love combining orange and green--the three together were perfect for this adorable saltbox garden bunny.  i'm still busy catching up with orders and design work, and have lots of stuff to share from last month, so stay tuned...

:) lexi

supplies:  april banner {the saltbox studio}; kitchen yellow, irish green, & orange crush mod dots note cards, summer tiny flower pretty little papers, micro dot twinkle stickers {a muse}; memento rich cocoa dew drop, su! garden green ink pad, marvy punches, and copic markers

gearing up...

as i drive around new orleans right now, there are many signs of mardi gras.  viewing stands going up, barricades at the ready, and lots of flags and bunting hanging on buildings and fences--i love it all!  it suddenly hit me that i have a bunting stamp and the perfect fence on which to hang it, both from the saltbox studio.  the little ballerina mouse is even raising up her hands as though she were yelling the usual, "throw me something mister!"  i dressed her in purple, put a purple, green & gold crown on her head and she's ready for fun!!  the mardi gras season officially began on january 6, or twelfth night, and the actual mardi gras day, or fat tuesday, is february 24.  it's a little later this year, so it doesn't seem as hectic as it did last year, which is nice.  we have a few events this weekend and next weekend, building up to the main event the weekend after that.  busy, busy, but tons of fun, too...

yippee!
:) lexi

supplies:  ballerina mouse & crown from momma mouse & more, fence from fences 1, bunting from americana {the saltbox studio}; yippee from celebration kids, yellow micro dot twinkle stickers {a muse}, memento tuxedo black dew drop, color box fluid chalk cat's eyes, black fine liner, copics, white & purple c/s.

won't you bee mine?

after seeing my card on the a muse news blog today for saltbox studio day, i had to squeeze in a little time for another "bees knees" card to share over here!  i chose the other bee from the may banner set, adding the little heart from winter wonders.  the strip of cottage red pinwheel note, already stamped with the same heart, was a leftover piece from making the original card, so i threw it on there too.  i guess i should throw those things away, but then i end up using them on things like this!  super quick and easy...

happy saltbox stamping!
:) lexi

year round tree: january revised

when i changed the ornaments on my little year round tree from december/christmas to january, i thought they needed a little update.  i had some blue mittens with the snowflakes before, but i kept thinking about the new mittens from the saltbox brrrrr set.  i thought the different patterns on them was perfect for adding a little more color to the tree and the size was just right.  i love the outcome!

:) lexi

love ewe hearts

more hearts, more pink, more love!  here is one last card from last weekend's stamping session--and another valentine pun!  all stamps are from the saltbox studio, colored with copics, on papers from a muse.  have a great weekend!  i hope i get to stamp another week of cards...

:) lexi

tweet love

i told you i was on a valentine kick!  these two little birds are my favorite of the saltbox tweets set.  for this card i cut them out (another spark card!) because i didn't want the twig and flower they usually carry.  i thought the more simplified mirror image was a better fit for the punched heart, facing the twinkle heart.  mounting the birds on foam tape and leaving their tail feathers hanging over the edge added an additional visual interest.  i selectively stamped the word "tweet" from the larger phrase "home tweet home" and centered "love" below it.  i actually had them on the same acrylic block for stamping--i love how easy perfect placement is with clear stamps.  this was a super quick card to create and it turned out *exactly* how i pictured it in my head...

tweet!
:) lexi

edited to add:  the sister card to this one, tweet on you, is posted on the a muse news blog today.  that idea led to this one--the domino effect of stamping!

another punny cow!

my habit of two's continues with a second take on the punny cow.  it's the same cow as yesterday, cut out again, but this time including the bird sitting on her back.  i also colored her spots in a lighter color and added red stickles to the cowbell and center of the bow.  i'm sure there's no such thing as a pale pink crow, but it was just the extra touch of pink i needed!  i played way too long with various layers and layouts and finally this one worked.  i tried to add a bow or knot, but with all of the different pieces and parts, ribbon seemed to be one piece too many, so i left it plain at the top.  i've always liked white space and things slightly off center, so that works for me!  again, the pun is handwritten.  actually, i think there are several that would fit.  replace the hearts with the barn from the same saltbox set and stamp "moooving" and you have a new address card, or "what's mooo?" and you have a hey, what's up card.  so many punny possibilities...

mooooo!
:) lexi

in the moood for love!

i totally went off on a valentine's kick with my stamping this weekend.  i'm definitely in the mooo-d for love as the card says!  lots of hearts and red and pink are in store over the next few days.  i thought this cow from the saltbox studio was the perfect valentine subject--the cowbell and bow allow for a nice touch of red.  i didn't have the perfect sentiment, so i wrote one myself--a little hokey i guess, but valentine puns are so fun.  i added the heart twinkle to punctuate her mood!  anyway, she's part of a larger image, so i cut her out in order to showcase just her.  which means i finished yet another one of heather's share your spark challenges.  two weeks in a row--cool!  in fact, i cut images out a lot, and the next two cards this week feature cut images as well.  my scissors of choice are my orange & gray fiskars snips, which live on my desk.  small, sharp & pointy--definitely one of my must have tools.  my stamping wouldn't be the same without them...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

comfy cozy + a color challenge

once again, i managed to make time for stamping this weekend ~ enough for a week of posts!  today's card is for a color challenge elena came up with for the saltbox studio design team and friends from the larger a muse creative team.  the challenge was to use a muse colors swiss red & cabana blue with any saltbox stamps.  this little stocking from the brrrrr set has been on my mind lately thanks to the hip knee highs my girls are sporting in our "cold" weather, so i decided to stamp it twice (omitting the loop) and turn it into a pair of comfy, cozy, cool socks!  i used a cabana blue tiny dots card, along with scraps of both cabana blue and swiss red solids to meet the challenge--i have too many scraps on my desk right now!  i think this would be a fun card in lots of colors.  don't forget to check out the rest of the design team & friends' blogs to see more "swiss cabana saltbox" creations...

elena
jennifer
mary rose
geeta
emily
lori
novell
sherry
rhonda

happy surfing!  if you want to play along, feel free and then come back and leave a link so i can add you to the list, too...

:) lexi

new warm mittens...

i think i forgot to mention that it finally got cold here--well, maybe not the same cold as minnesota, but cold for new orleans!  and today promises to be the coldest day of all.  hats & gloves required!  this cute little pair of heart mittens is part of a trio of mittens on a line from brrrrr, another great set from the saltbox studio.  it's hard to tell from the picture, but the hearts & cuffs are actually flocked with red flocking, not colored.  love that stuff!  and hey, i just realized that this is one of my newest saltbox stamp sets & the first time i inked it up too.  so it works for the first monthly challenge at the new a muse lounge--have you stopped in there yet?  it's *the* place to be for all things a muse & saltbox!!  and you can get there anytime from the a muse website...

stay warm!
:) lexi

she's one cool snowchick!

today i have one more snowgirl card!  often one card idea leads to another and i love when i can follow that stream of consciousness instead of switching gears altogether.  so that's what happened here--i thought about the wide open scarf and "doodle coloring" it and i just had to get it done!  the doodle coloring was made easy with triplus fineliners--little lines, dots, zigzags.  i also used copics to add lighter shades of color behind the doodling.  i wanted the scarf to have a textured look.  i opted for a new color scheme, choosing orange where i often go for red on a snowy card and i love the results.  i also went for a very "precise" layout--when i dropped the pieces on the paper, i liked it so much that i stuck 'em down after only nudging them just a bit!!!  credits: snowgirl/winter wonders from the saltbox studio; sentiment, notecard & ribbon, a muse; snowflake punch, martha stewart crafts.

enjoy!
:) lexi

hello snowgirl!

this is my other favorite not-your-typical snowperson from the saltbox studio winter wonders set.  isn't she cute?!  and though i didn't do it here, that scarf is perfect for a little doodling.  today was more about quick & easy.  the punched piece was already on my desk, so it went like this:  stamp, color, layer, stick, stickle, and done!

:) lexi

happy brrday! ~ take 2

actually this was the first take, at least the stamped panel part of it.  i decided to change to blue and purple and alter the spacing a bit, so i finished that one first.  but i always need birthday cards, and i couldn't just throw away a perfectly fine piece, so this second card came to life too!  easy peasy!!

:) lexi