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here's a recent invitation i created for a surprise 40th birthday. the request was for something fun and festive, with bright colors and birthday images. i went for bold shape drawings and circles with different line styles. glitter stickles on each image and on the center of the stars gave it just the right amount of glitz. i really like the outcome!
have a great weekend...
:) lexi
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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
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if you read my blog often, you know i'm always making very quick last minute cards for birthday gifts--sometimes literally on my way out the door! colleen's friends are mostly turning 8 right now, and with all the "text-speak" my girlies like say and write, this design got stuck in my head. and since she had a party to go to on saturday, i quickly made it work on paper. i did write it out inside just in case: happy great 8!
lol & cul8r!
:) lexi
supplies: birthday builder, personal stationery & polka dot letters lc sm clear sets {a muse}, color box fluid chalk cat's eyes, pinking shears, & white and lt. purple card stock.
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well, i was too busy to stamp five cards this weekend, but i did stamp a little and do have several things to post this week. today, i have two baby versions of one of my favorite note card designs. these are "pre-birth" baby designs to be used as thank you notes after a shower or for any other baby correspondence. once a baby is born, i create something similar, but personalized with the baby's name. the top pink one is for an expected baby girl, the bottom for expected boy twins. and since we're talking babies...
i thought i'd share a picture of colleen's rice baby, sapphire jewel daly--what a name, huh?! every year, the second graders make these based on their own birth weights and do a variety of activities with them. we found one of colleen's old burpie cloths and baby blankets for her to use with her little one, along with a baby doll basket to make carrying her around easier. it's a fun day to be a parent helper--i especially love to see how the boys get so into it, even holding their new charges correctly, supporting the head and all!!
have a great day...
:) lexi
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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
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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!
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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we had a busy weekend of running around with the girls, but i managed to find a little stamping time so i would have few cards to post this week. this idea has been playing around in my head for a few days, so i really needed to get it on paper before it was gone. this is one my favorite snowmen from the saltbox studio--or snowmouse i should say! it's from the winter wonders set which is full of not-your-typical snowmen. snow much fun! the sentiment is created with a muse clear stamps: happy from the birthday builder set, and brrday using the polka dot lowercase small alpha. and because i used twinkle stickers, it actually fits heather's latest share your spark to use bling. although twinkles for buttons isn't exactly innovative and i only used three, it is one of my favorite ways to use 'em!
thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi
p.s. we finally have "cold" weather, so after buying uggs for my girls for christmas and having to get them online, i was very excited to find a pair in my size, in town *and* on sale!
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i've been cleaning my desk today and found a few invitations from the end of '08 that never got posted. these first two are two options for the same invite--the birthday girl chose the
hanging trapeze design! i've also done a similar version for two
birthday girls using both on the same card.
i love doing game ticket invitations like this one. it's such a fun layout for any sport and easy to personalize with your favorite team colors.
and last, but not least, a fortieth anniversary invite. the princess kissed the right frog--definitely cause for celebration!
tgif!
:) lexi
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i received a request for a pirate invitation, and since i created one five years ago that has always been one of my faves, i thought i'd post it for all to see. i really like creating for boys, because having two girls means i tend to do more girl stuff. in this case, the pirate theme was particularly fun--there are so many touches and details to play with, like printing on parchment, making it look like a treasure map, and burning the edges. it would also be really cool to roll it into a bottle. all of the pictures were drawn on the computer--just think how much easier it would be now with my new pen tablet!
:) lexi
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the kids are back at school, so i got busy today taking down decorations and diving back into orders. i also managed to sneak a few minutes to stamp a quick card to post. this little guy and sentiment are from the saltbox studio debut last year, from the winter wonders set. isn't he cute? i thought he would enjoy taking his snowball for a spin! it's been pretty warm here lately--our snow day only a vague memory!--so these images spoke to me. it's only january!! of course when it does get cold, i'll be wishing for warmth...
:) lexi
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so a little more time on my hands, now that the holidays are winding down, means that i can hopefully catch up on some blogs and play with my new toys--which i did a bit of today. while surfing and reading, i saw that missy ballance got a pen & tablet too and her post inspired me to doodle on a photo...
i know i said this already, but this is sooo cool!! mignon thinks so, too and tried to put a mustache and beard on li'l sis, but i thought the princess hat was more fitting! we were at a cocktail party in this picture and colleen was stalking the waiters passing food, looking for more crawfish beignets, which they brought straight to her. and i had finally given in to them being plugged into their ipods on the balcony, so they were happy campers. i take pictures of everything...
back to playing!!!
:) lexi
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