confetti by lexi

a note from the mom of...

now that labor day is behind us, school is back in session pretty much everywhere.  that means writing notes to teacher, especially if you have busy kids like mine!  and as i say about so many things, it's a lot more fun to write on pretty paper than random scraps!  my original mommy notes feature stick kids to represent each child and i print them on colored or white paper.  these pads are a more recent version of the same idea--the check boxes are still there to identify who the note is about, but instead of stick figures, each child has an icon to personalize it further.  i've even designed one pad with a school mascot!  as with the original, there is room at the bottom for mom's name and you can even include your contact information so the recipient has it handy if necessary.  these also make great gifts...

:) lexi

mail call!

while i wait for mail from my happy campers, i thought i'd share a few recent camp stationery sets i've created.  although perfect for camp and in camp colors, the daisies above are not really too camp specific, so they will be great for year round thank yous or letters to new friends once camp is over.  i hope a few were used to say hi to mom and dad first!

these designs were gifts to a couple of camp captains, so the colors and symbols were group specific.  even if they don't use them all at camp, they will be great reminders of summer fun whenever they are used.

and finally, two sets of simple stationery--two colors, a fun font, and plenty of space to write a quick note.  the matching gift enclosures are perfect for sticking to any birthday gift.  these are my most popular design, created in a variety of colors--everyone loves polka dots!  i'm off to stalk the camp website for daily photos, and hopefully the mailman has something for me soon...

:) lexi

sugar & spice

here's the invitation that inspired yesterday's polka dot cake and baby cookies.  a baby girl will be here soon and her room is lavender, which was the basis for my design.  pink + lavender = a perfect sugar and spice color combo!

matching thank you notes are more fun to write on, too!

:) lexi

cute & campy

as important as it is to send kids to camp with writing supplies, it's even more important to have friends write to them while they're there.  and of course, the notes should be cute and campy!  my girls wrote their first letters to friends this week and the tent, campfire, and sun from a muse were just right for the occasion.  even better--it was the perfect project for the girls to do on their own.  it doesn't get cuter or campy-er than that!

:) lexi

camp notes

another camp necessity is stationery--and cute stationery makes writing home more fun!  this set includes a stack of personalized papers, envelopes, and return labels to match.  like the laundry bags, i usually design around camp colors or, in this case, the camper's faves.  i've also created fold over cards and flat note cards.  my daughters like the stationery pages for camp since there's a little more room.  hopefully they use more than one piece when it's their turn to write home this year!

:) lexi

how does your garden grow?

this invitation came to life originally for colleen's birthday 3 1/2 years ago, and immediately became an all time favorite.  so when asked if i could do a gardening party invite, i quickly forwarded the pics of it--i love when i get a chance to re-create an old favorite!

they also asked for matching thank you notes, which was equally as fun to create!  something old & something new...

:) lexi

messages from mars!

how about a few visitors from outer space today?  i received a request recently for personalized alien notecards and little green men with lots of eyes immediately popped into my head.  of course, they needed a flying saucer style space ship, too!  i hope james enjoys writing notes on them!

:) lexi

more mommy notes

here's another recent mommy note design, this time for the mom of two girls.  pink was to be the main color and she requested a flower for big sis, and a bee for little sis, bea!  how perfect is that?!

:) lexi

pad-it x-press ~ craft critique

i get a lot of questions about how i make notepads, so when i was looking around my studio for something to review for craft critique, i decided to write about my padding tool, the ellison pad-it x-press.  the press, along with the padding compound that came in the kit, make pads like the ones above easy to produce.  notepads make such great gifts!  click here to read all about the pad-it x-press and see a few more examples of the pads i make...

enjoy!
:) lexi

school shopping bazaar

we had a shopping event at school yesterday along with a picnic and the opening of the book fair--lots of fun!  i packaged up a variety of hand stamped cards and created a few notepads for it, and still have a few available.  so if you see something in the basket that you want (other than my dolly helper!), just let me know...

:) lexi

new mommy notes!

one of the first things i started creating way back when was mommy notes.  my original version has simple stick people kids in size order along with check boxes for each of the kids.  while that design is still very popular, some of my customers have been around long enough to outgrow the stick people or just want something different.  while no picture is perfectly cute with the right font, i had a light bulb moment while working on these and created a new version using a school icon and colors.  i love how it came out and have a few others in the works already!  mommy notes are perfect for back to school--buy them for yourself or buy them for a friend...

:) lexi

order up!

super simple stationery--choose two fun colors and add a name in a fun font.  these sets were for a couple of sisters to write letters from camp.

and these were gifts for older friends.  different font and color choices make the same basic design look more grown up, especially when you add other pieces, like the coordinating gift cards.

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

simple monograms

with all of the deadlines and orders i've had lately, i had to come up with something quick to give to the moms in my family.  it shouldn't be a surprise that it's stationery!  i came up with a quick monogrammed flat card based on some gift cards i created recently, trying different color combos for each one.  another simple, but cute design to add to my line-up!

:) lexi

simple stationery

just a quick post today--simple stationery.  a great friend of mine loves to give personalized little notes and gift enclosures for this and that--birthday gifts, hostess treats, thank you's, etc.  she likes simple borders and clean line designs paired with cool color combos.  i like all that too, so i always look forward to pulling these orders together!  i'm working hard this week, but i'll do my best to keep up with regular posting...

'nite!
:) lexi

more baby gifts

i'm on a roll!!  today, i have another recent baby gift--this time, for the cutest little girl.  a while back, i was on a "b is for baby" kick and made lots of these, so when i needed something super cute and super quick, it was perfect.  i love the simplicity of this design, but thought it needed just a little something extra, so i trimmed the edges with scallop shears for a more dainty look.  the stickers, personalized with the baby face, are a special label with vinyl in them and can be washed--great for bottles and all kinds of baby stuff!

while i'm showing baby gifts, i wanted to be sure to share this one, too.  a few weeks ago, i posted a baby boat gift set including gift enclosures, stickers, and a luggage tag.  when one of my customers saw it, it inspired her to order a set, but she wanted note cards instead of the luggage tag.  so now, i have more options for an even more complete baby boat set.  i think i need a baby boy to give a set to myself!

my posting streak will definitely continue tomorrow--with something stampy & new...

don't miss it!!
:) lexi

message in a bottle

i did it--i made it back for a second day in a row!!  a few weeks ago, i posted this pirate invitation i created a long time ago for a new customer interested in throwing a pirate party.  i also suggested that it would be great in a bottle since she was planning on sending them from school rather than mailing them.  so i just had to repost the new version including the awesome bottles she found.  it was too windy to burn the edges outside, so i had to do it inside--i don't recommend that unless you have to like me!  but, that aside, these will probably always be one of my favorite designs.

she also had me create a set of personalized note cards for thank you's.  the a muse poison bottle was the perfect image.  she wanted to see a couple of font options, so i mixed up the colors, too--choices, choices!  the one on the left was the final pick.  and while we're talking pirates...

how about a few highlights from the "pirates in the caribbean" party on the disney cruise?!  you can click for a closer look.  this was definitely one of our favorite nights--dressing up, lots of characters singing pirate songs, a take-over by captain hook & co., and mickey zip-lining in to save the day...

followed by fireworks, dancing, and a late night dessert buffet!  aren't those the cutest pirates ever?!

:) lexi

boat baby

i drew this boat a while back for an invitation and it ended up being the perfect choice for a new baby boy gift set.  the set includes a luggage tag, stickers and gift enclosures.  little clayton will be all set when he starts going to birthday parties!

:) lexi

baby, baby

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

a boxed set

three more days of school to go and the light at the end of the tunnel actually seems to be brighter!  i'll mostly be trading in the added rush of orders for less time to finish the others i might have, but that sounds good to me for now.  i know a lot of kids are gearing up for camp, so i thought i'd share this cute stationery set today.  the box from target was a perfect way to showcase the design and different elements of the set...

return address labels, stationery pages, foldover notes, address calling cards, and post cards--i should have photographed the back, but it looks just like a post card you'd buy.  all perfectly personalized for the camper who actually writes home--unlike my daughter!!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

baby season!

here's one more baby shower invitation from last weekend, this time for an expected boy with a boat theme.  after studying lots of different tugboat pictures, i drew the boat on the computer using the basic shape tools.  i thought the design needed a little water and the scallop stamp from the a muse fancy borders clear stamp set fit the bill perfectly, especially since i could easily see through it to stamp it three times and space it just right!  i accidentally printed way too many of the little boats, so i offered the hostess a set of matching thank you notes to give to the honoree...

i still have lots more, so i'll have to come up with some new designs and more reasons to use them up!  when i'm creating sets like this (as well as individual cards), i rely on my teflon bone folder to press my creases perfectly.  do you have one?  it's such an unsung "behind-the-scenes" tool, but i really do use it every day, so it was the perfect tool to review for craft critique.  if you want to know more, my article was posted this morning--go check it out!

:) lexi