confetti by lexi

flashback friday :: just married

i figured i would finish up the week with a look at one more "vintage" wedding stamp from my collection, and a flashback to something i loved making for the brides in my life - a set of postcards to take on the honeymoon. sure, she could find something on location, but with these in her bag, she could write 'em on the plane and not think about it the rest of the trip! anyway, i'm pretty sure i've used this cute car image for a few other projects, but this postcard is definitely what i've created the most. although i posted it back when my brother got married, the picture wasn't great, so i whipped one up today for a new photo. quick & easy, clean & simple. just the way i like it! especially when stamping multiples is involved. hmmm, maybe i should whip up some camp ones for the girlies - #moremailplease!

happy weekend!
:) lexi

original post: april 10, 2007

wedding cake

the bride and groom stamp from yesterday reminded me of this cake stamp, another go-to wedding image from years ago. it's called fat wedding from paper source and does not have a copyright date on it, but it was on the first card i posted here back in 2007, so i've had at least that long. i was playing around with coloring and decided to stamp it on a punched square and color around it with copics in order to have a nice white cake. but then i couldn't figure out what to do with it, so i set it aside and made the card below. when i came back to it, i had the idea to put it back in the punched hole and trim it like a polaroid after stamping the sentiment (from just a kiss) below. finally a layout started to take shape! a punched heart, a few cream sequins, and a random sheer ribbon flower finished it off. i love little clusters like this and i'm always partial to cream and white together on a wedding card.

i also love white on white. and the gold everywhere lately! so for this card, i decided to pair up the gold glitter tape with gold washi and keep everything else crisp and white. again, i had no vision. after trying this, and testing that, i ended up with a pretty straightforward cas card - tape, tape, tape, sentiment, image, built up from the bottom, then layered on foam tape. originally it was going to be a standard quarter card, with a lot more white space, but it seemed like too much. so i decided to cut it off and square it. i forgot how much i love a good square card! to make the white cake pop a bit, i added a little shading just outside the edges and went with yellow flowers to coordinate with all that gold. the sentiment is also from just a kiss. very cas, very me!

:) lexi

way back wednesday :: bride & groom

with the girls away at camp, i was finally able to make time for another installment of way back wednesday. it's so nice to stamp for fun! this time, i pulled out bride and groom (stampendous ©2000) in honor of june weddings, including my own 16 years ago. the small size and simplicity of this sweet little stamp made it a go-to choice in the days of back to back weddings. shower gift tags, wedding cards, and even a really cute paper cake topper on the cover of a wedding wish book! today, a sentiment from my own just a kiss set, plus triangle patterned paper and golden glitter tape, are the perfect touches to dress up the classic bride and groom for june 2013.

happy stamping!
:) lexi

hello mother, hello father...

my girls went off to camp this past weekend. they love their summer home away from home! i've been stalking the website for pictures as soon as they're supposed to be up the past few nights. i love catching the little glimpses of them as they enjoy their activities. so far, i've mostly seen the 9th grader, but i know the 7th grader made it there too, because she's in a cabin pic from invasion day. fingers crossed she pops up in a few shots tomorrow!! this is year 5 and 7 at camp for them, so we're pretty set on crafty camp items. but there are plenty of new campers around town that come calling for stationery and accompaniments like those i created for them. the decorated clipboard box is always a popular request...

this box is particarly great because it has pockets to organize stationery, envelopes, address labels, and stamps, as well as compartments for pens and other treasures. the big open space is perfect for drawing paper, markers, and the dreaded summer reading. everything you need for quiet time can be tucked right inside, easy to grab on the way up to your bunk. and then it's a desk to write on, too!

i get a variety of requests when it comes to stationery and box design. these three were designed to match the green cove logo, with trees, mountains, and a lake. peace, love, sunshine, and sailing are often popular camp related motifs as well. the daisies above are similar to the ones i created for my girls way back when, but in colors chosen by this particular camper to coordinate with the stationery she also chose. of course, personalization is a fun must! i hope these little campers are writing lots of letters. i should get a couple any day now myself...

fingers crossed!
:) lexi

flashback friday :: happy meal

like yesterday's post, my flashback friday this week was prompted by a fellow blogger's post earlier this week. audrey of pink ink originals shared her version of these mini hamburgers and it brought back so many memories! i learned about these sweet little treats from a fellow teacher in my early preschool teaching days and they quickly became one of my annual "cooking" projects. i created step by step picture cards that my little students would follow around the table until they had a finished cookie burger, all wrapped up, complete with french fries to go with. you know, those canned potato sticks? perfect scale! it was definitely a favorite activity. and as with all of my classroom faves, i couldn't wait to create them with my girls as soon as they were old enough.

my younger daughter loved them so much that she requested them for a school birthday treat when she was in pre-k (she just turned 12 last month!), which is what these photos are from. my preschool teaching days were also pre-stamping, so for packaging then, i would go to mcdonald's and ask for a few unused burger wrappers and cut them into smaller squares. but by the time colleen was in pre-k, stamping was a part of my everyday life, so of course i had to stamp the packaging to mimic the real deal. these stamps are mainly from an old stampin' up! set (bbq fun?), with the exception of the atomic star, which is from hot potatoes - one of my oldest and dearest! of course, there are many new stamps out there today that would be great for this project. a cookie burger & potato sticks alone are pretty cool, but supercute packaging is what really makes it the happiest of happy meals!

let's eat!
:) lexi

original post: miscellaneous stamped stuff photo album

oh, baby!

now that summer is here, i'm trying to catch up and keep up with some of my favorite blogs. blog surfing is one of the first things that goes when i'm super busy and i miss it. this week, carole from mother's little helper, posted a fifty shades inspired father's day canvas, which reminded me of my very own grey tie card waiting in the to be posted file, using world's greatest, baby face, and limitless labels from pti. i was holding on to it to post with these pictures that i also hadn't taken the time to edit yet...

my book club doesn't meet regularly over the summer, but we usually pick a light beach read along with something more book club worthy to pass the time. last summer, with all of the hype surrounding it, of course that book was fifty shades of grey, with the assumption that many of us would continue on with the rest of the trilogy. and because i had recently thrown an epic hunger games party for my daughter (which i also still need to share!), i was nominated to host the fifty shades book club when school started up again. so, to live up to that expectation, i went all out and had tons of fun with it, starting with my email reminder invite above. straight from the book!

the topic and dominant details of the book, along with the timing of the book club definitely called for more festive decor than usual, so i continued to deliver the fun in my dining room. rope, hand cuffs, and the tie, along with roses and kisses - and yes, i even recreated the contract! i also used mini zip ties as napkin rings and printed a few fun signs and tent cards with some of the more memorable (um, overused) quotes from the books. oh my!

everyone brings food to share - i think i made a pizza (a nod the girls' packing night) and maybe a salad or pasta. i can't remember anymore, but the important thing from the book was that anastasia ate. it was in that contract up there! in addition to my dinner dish offerings, i had a few book inspired snacks in the living room to be enjoyed during our discussion - kisses & twizzler "ties" (hee hee!) plus a small assortment ranging from "very vanilla" to "spice it up" (haha!). as an added touch on this table, i tied bows around the various pieces of controlling technology christian gifted to anastasia. so much fun and everyone got a kick out of it all! creative credit goes to the book, pinterest, and google for all the fun inspiration. and today, i have to thank carole for the kick in the pants to edit these pics! if you're looking for a beach read and never got around to it before, i say go for it!

laters, baby.
:) lexi

instagrammed :: watercolor 2013

last week was the second week of summer for us, our favorite time to hit the beach! watercolor and seaside were never better. the forecast on my phone when we got there (i don't like to check it before since you can't do anything about it!) was solid thunderstorms, but after one day of heavy rain, it changed and we had sunny blue skies for the rest of the week. the thunderstorm symbol did pop up again on friday, but it was only 30% and never actually came our way. i'm so glad i remembered to take my phone in to the apple store before we left. the camera had suddenly stopped focusing a couple of months ago and they had to swap it out. i take my big camera everywhere, but i love the convenience of my phone. and all the fun apps! i ended up spending most of my time planted comfortably in my beach chair, so most of my pics are from that perspective. but i added the #abeautifulmess app to my line up and had tons of fun with it. quick and easy frames, text, and doodles. love! the teen didn't appreciate me "blowing up her instagram feed" but that's just too bad. when i'm on vacation, taking pics is what i do!!

i wanna go back...
:) lexi

motorcycle man

hi there! long time, no blog. the end of the school year proved to be a major race to the finish line, followed by requests for camp stationery before getting out of town for our annual beach vacation. i have so much to share from recent orders and events, but i thought i'd start with the personalized subway sign i made for father's day yesterday. like many dads, mine is hard to buy for. if he wants it, he gets it, and at this point in life, he has a lot! but, i often find cool motorcycle or vintage car art to go with his two main hobbies (he has a really cool "garage" lined with signs and posters) or interesting grocery art or signs for his office (he's a grocer). this year, i hadn't seen anything at the different fairs and shops i frequent, so i decided to make one myself - his name, a nickname, a reference to the grocery store (and all of his license plates), some bike and car phrases, and i was good to go. i had fun playing with fonts and lining things up. i can easily spend hours obsessing over the little details, but this time it all came together pretty quickly. and of course, i had to photograph it on one of his bikes. now, i can't wait to see where he hangs it...

zoom! zoom!
:) lexi