Guest Designer for Top Dog Dies

Hello, friends! On my last post, "A little about me . . . ", I mentioned that I'd be back soon with an all-crafting post for a guest designer gig that I was super excited about. Well, the time has come!! I was absolutely thrilled when I was contacted a few months ago by Top Dog Dies, asking me if I'd be interested in guest designing for them. Boy, was I!!! Not familiar with Top Dog? Here's a little about them:

Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

The wonderful folks at Top Dog Dies sent me three fantastic die sets to play with--Top Dog Dies Birds & Nest, Top Dog Dies Vintage Alphabet, and Top Dog Dies Tag Album--and I couldn’t wait to get started with them.

I made three Top Dog Dies projects in all, and you'll find the first two over on the Top Dog blog today. One is a set of note cards and the other is a masculine birthday card. I hope you'll go and check them out!

My third project is a gift tag that I made to coordinate with a lovely box I picked up (on clearance!) at IKEA recently. I thought it would make the perfect gift box! I used the smaller tag from the Top Dog Dies Tag Album set and diecut letters from the Top Dog Dies Vintage Alphabet set to personalize it. The apple stamp and sentiment come from Unity's to the core! Itty Bitty stamp set.

Perfect for Mom's next birthday, don't you think?

And now, how about a giveaway?

Top Dog Dies is doing a guest designer giveaway for the whole month of August! The winner will receive $50 worth of exclusive wafer-thin dies of their choice from Top Dog Dies.  Enter HERE! Deadline to enter will be Sunday, August 31, 2014, at midnight Central Standard Time.

Thank you so much for dropping by to visit me today. Don't forget to visit the Top Dog Dies blog today to see my other Top Dog projects AND enter the Guest Designer Giveaway!!

Have a day filled with bliss!
Emily

DeNami Touch of Twine Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! And welcome to the DeNami Design Touch of Twine Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing projects that show off any kind of twine.

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Ruza Rebel's blog, Ruza's Craft Corner. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, November 11, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

Have you seen the great selection of baker's twine 3-packs that DeNami Design carries in the store? That's where I went for my twine on this card for today's hop:

That harvest-y twine that I used to frame the center panel comes from the Autumn 3-pack. I also used these items from the DeNami Design store:

Happy Thanksgiving stamp
Cornucopia stamp
EK Success Deco Scallop border punch
Rich Cocoa Memento ink
Vintage Sepia Versafine ink
Metallic Color Crystal Lacquer Pearl Pens

I'm so pleased with how my design turned out for this card!

I'm the last stop on today's hop, so that wraps it up! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.

Thanks for popping in today!
Emily

Photo Tutorial: Pencil Toppers

It's my turn to share another tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today! This time around I'm showing how to create fun little pencil toppers, perfect for back to school or as kid-friendly (non-candy!) favors for birthdays or holidays. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog to see how to create these:

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks so much for dropping by!
Emily 

Good Teaching

Yesterday was my kids's first day of school for the 2013-2014 academic year. The summer went by so fast! And that's not the only thing going fast--my first-born started high school yesterday. Eek!! I can't possibly be old enough to be the parent of a high school student, can I???? {apparently the answer to that is "yes," but it sure doesn't seem possible!}

I expect my children to write thank you notes to their teachers at the end of the year, and I figure it's never too early to start accumulating a stash. So, here's my first teacher thank-you note of the year (it's also being featured over on the DeNami blog today):

I printed that awesome quote by Josef Albers directly on the card base, and then added a sweet teacher-appropriate decoration made with the Small Apple stamp and "thanks" sentiment from the Everyday Greetings stamp set, both from DeNami Design.

I heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder and then watercolor painted it using dye inks.

Thanks so much for dropping by today. I hope you have a fabulous day! :D
Emily

Sweet Apples

Welcome to the first DeNami Product Spotlight of August! Today the DeNami Design team is sharing design ideas for the utterly delightful Apples & Pears stamp set.

I paired this sweet little set with the equally sweet Apple Basket stamp to make a clean and simple card that would be perfect for thanking someone who's been super sweet to you!

To make this card, I also used these products from the DeNami Design store: You Are Sweet cling stamp, brown kraft cardstock, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, Satin Red Versafine ink, and Red/White Dot Line washi tape.

Be sure to check out the rest of the team's lovely creations today on the DeNami blog. Like what you see? Then you can score a great deal on the Apples & Pears stamp set--as our Spotlight Product, it's on sale at 10% off for the next week!!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight June Blog Hop

It's the last Wednesday of the month and that means it is time to show off another awesome DeNami Design stamp with a blog hop! This month we are featuring the summery Tropical Drinks set.

When I was thinking about what approach to take to this project, it occurred to me that the middle drink in the set could be a soda. Then I wondered who or what in DeNami World would drink it? So I pulled out all of my DeNami animal stamps and immediately noticed that the squirrel is facing the right way and is the perfect size. Thus, my lime-and-Diet-Coke-drinking squirrel was born! Have a Coke and a smile! :D

My card also features these great items from the DeNami store:

Squirrel

Heartfelt Greetings Set

Modern Borders Set

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Smokey Gray Versafine Ink

Celery Cardstock

Charcoal Cardstock

Lime/White Dots Washi Tape

Brown/White Dots Washi Tape

Bakers Twine

You can purchase this fun Tropical Drinks stamp set for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Kanani Kawamura
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

June Pinspired at DeNami

Greetings, friends! Today I'm bringing you another Pinspired post along with a few of my other DeNami Design teammates. This month we were inspired by this photo:

I picked up on the fruits in this photo and immediately reached for my DeNami Tropical Fruit petit four stamp set. That sweet little stamp set has been getting quite a workout from me lately!

I also used the "you're sweet" sentiment from the Love Sentiments petit four stamp set. I rounded out my project with some Lime Versacolor ink, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and some pretty DeNami patterned paper from the Watermelon Sampler paper pack.

Want to see what the other designers did with this inspiration photo? Be sure to check out the DeNami blog today!

Thanks so much for visiting today! May you have a day filled with bliss!
Emily

Strawberry Magnets for a Sweet Friend

I'm popping in with a quick post to share a project that's being featured over on the DeNami blog today.

I made this set of strawberry magnets as a gift for a very dear friend of mine. When I was growing up in Ohio, June was the month of pick-your-own strawberries, so this little gift is perfect for this time of year in my mind!

I used the little strawberry stamp from DeNami's Tropical Fruit stamp set and the Arched Sweet Friend stamp. The patterned paper is a digital print from the Sweet Strawberry collection by Shery K Designs. I adhered a circle of the printed patterned paper to the metal lid of a depleted Yankee Candle. It's perfect for attaching, presenting, and gifting magnets!

Have a fabulous day today, friends!
Emily

DeNami Patterned Paper Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! And welcome to the DeNami Design Patterned Paper Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing projects that show off patterned paper in any way.

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Jennifer Harris's blog, Jen & Paper. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, June 10, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 

Did you know that DeNami Design sells patterned paper designed by Nami? If you didn't, you should totally check it out! There is a fun array of patterned papers that coordinate perfectly with motifs of many popular DeNami rubber stamps. I used papers from the delightfully summery Watermelon Sampler Pack, which coordinates beautifully with the Tropical Fruit stamp set that I used, as well. 

I also used the Arched Sweet Friend stamp, various colors of baker's twine, Deco Scallop border punch, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, Leaf Green cardstock, and Magenta cardstock, all from the DeNami Design store.

I love how this sweet card turned out!


That wraps it up for me! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop, the blog of Diana Fernandez. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

More Summer Lovin'

I have another card to share for the Summer Lovin' release-week challenge over at Flourishes.

This one was inspired by the colors in the challenge graphic.

I used two Flourishes stamp sets for my creation: Strawberries and Tiny Flowers and Tags. That beautiful crocheted mat was handmade by my sweet friend Jessi. You can buy them from Jessi here. You'll love them--I know that I do :D.

It will be a busy day--I'm gearing up for the kids' Spring Break next week. Gotta run!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

DeNami Sneak Peeks: CHICKIES

Welcome to Day 2 of the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Member Tammy Hobbs and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the always-fun CHICKIES category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway :D.

If you are a DeNami chickie lover, you will positively swoon over the chick-tastic new release! There are new chickies for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and some fun new chickies for spring and summer. I had SO much fun with my new chickie stamps getting ready for this release! It was hard to decide where to start. Well, let's dive right in, shall we?

Valentine's Day

That adorable Cupid Chickie stamp is brand-new, but that's not the only new stamp I used on this card. You can also drool over the new Love Flourish stamp, the Houndstooth Background stamp, and the Elegant Oval Frame stamp.  Aren't these awesome? I also used some petal pink card stock from DeNami Design,  Satin Red ink, and some red baker's twine from the DeNami Design store as well.

St. Patrick's Day

I don't know what you look for in the pot at the end of the rainbow on St. Patrick's Day, but I am only too happy to find chocolate in that pot ;-). My next project is a little St. Patrick's Day goodie bag. I started with a clear gusseted bag from the DeNami Design store and filled it with green wrapped chocolates. After tying the bag shut with some emerald grosgrain ribbon from DeNami Design, I tied on a Leprechaun chickie "for you" tag with more baker's twine. The chickie comes from the new Shamrock Chickies stamp which is a large scene; I just clipped out the single chickie that I wanted for my small tag. Doesn't he look sweet surrounded by the For You Circle stamp and the Medium Dot Circle stamp? I also used DeNami Design's desert orange card stock and iridescent emerald green card stock, along with Habanero ink and Olympia Green ink.

And what if you would rather give a card for St. Patrick's Day instead? Well, I've got that covered too. ;-)

This is a small card, only 3.25" x 4.25". I clipped another leprechaun chickie from the new Shamrock Chickies stamp to layer over a shamrock that I created using the new Solid Flower Accents cling set. That sweet sentiment also comes from the new Shamrock Chickie stamp; I just masked it out to create a banner.

Sweet, Fruity Summer

We write a lot of notes and letters at my house, so I like to have some stationery on hand and as well as note cards. For my last project I made a stationery set featuring the brand new Fruit Chickies stamp set. So perfect for a fruity summer!

I simply cut 8.5" x 11" sheets of printer paper in half to make the sheets of stationery.

That "Thanks chickie" sentiment is another new stamp in this release.

To contain and protect all of my new sheets of stationery, I decorated a 6" x 9" manila envelope. I stamped a background using that adorable pineapple chickie and the orange slice stamp from DeNami Design's Tropical Fruit stamp set. The circle frame stamps are also from DeNami Design, as well as the emerald grosgrain ribbon.

OK, are you still with me? Thanks for hanging in there through this long post. :-) I mentioned a giveaway way back at the beginning of this post. DeNami Design is giving away multiple gift certificates today. Be sure to leave a comment here on my blog post and on Tammy's chickie sneak peek blog post, too. Then head over to the DeNami design blog to find out the other ways you can win today!


I'm so glad that you dropped in to check out some of the new chickie stamps in the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release! Be sure to tune into the DeNami blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks and giveaways.

Until then, have a day filled with bliss, 
Emily

DeNami Back-to-School Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! And welcome to the DeNami Design Back-to-School Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing projects that are just perfect for this time of year: anything having to do with going back to school!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Pattie Goldman's blog, Paper Silhouettes. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, September 10, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

So, for my back-to-school project I made packaging for a yummy back-to-school muffin! Perfect for surprising your favorite student or teacher with a good-luck breakfast send-off. :D

Isn't that DeNami Cupcake Boutique Box absolutely adorable? It's a 4.25" cube, the perfect size for packaging up decorated cupcakes or gourmet muffins. You can order them directly from the DeNami web store in packages of six. You can also purchase an awesome downloadable cupcake holder template from DeNami. It fits in the Cupcake Boutique Boxes perfectly! I printed my template directly on a sheet of white cardstock and trimmed it down. Then I used the DeNami Small Apple in red to stamp a background all over the cupcake holder.

My other back-to-school accent for this first-day-of-school muffin box was made by stamping the sweet Chickie School Bus on white cardstock and then coloring it in with my colored pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump.

All that was left then was to pop in a yummy muffin and tie it up with some red ribbon! Perfect for getting the new year off to a great start with a special breakfast treat!


That wraps it up for me! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop, the blog of Virginia Larsen, GinnyLou Studio. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

Growing In Unity ~ Day 4: A Two-Fer

Is it just me, or is this week absolutely flying?? Here we are at Day 4 of my Growing In Unity Week, already! As I was creating projects for my five days of GIU, I somehow ended up with six projects to share. So today you get a bonus project!

And we're off . . .

This "Sweet 16" card is for my husband's niece who, quite unbelievably, is turning--you guessed it!!--16 next week. Unity's Sweetest Day Itty Bitty stamp, a co-brand with Jillibean Soup, takes center stage. This adorable strawberry is ideal for paper piecing, and I think that sentiment is just perfect. I know I'll be using it a lot, with or without that fat berry. :) And do you know what else is perfect? That fabulous two-toned sheer ribbon from May Arts (a huge thanks to Jessi!), which looks amazing with some ivory rick-rack layered over top. I'm entering this in the Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.

Up next: a little something different for me. After slicing off a panel of the pink striped paper I used on my strawberry card, I happened to flip over the piece that was left and thought it would make a fabulous frame:

I just needed a little something for the middle, and thought I knew just what it should be: a sentiment from Unity's Quote Bundle Pack. I added some matting and stitching, plus some buttons and rhinestones and paper flowers for dimension. Ta-da! A quick, easy, colorful, and inspiring card. And lots of flowers qualifies it for the current {ippity} challenge: Flowers.

So, now you may be asking "How are you doing on your personal patterned paper challenge?" Well, I can add two more collections to my utilized-papers list: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found--Madison Avenue 6 x 6 paper pad (dots and dark rose print on the strawberry card) and My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy--Tickled Pink 6 x 6 paper pad (leaves and stripes on the strawberry card, plus the entire panel on the second card). That should bring my total up to five different paper collections so far, and it's just Day 4 ;).

And there you have it--my Unity two-fer day! Come on back tomorrow for my last {sniff} GIU post. I can't wait to show you my creation!

Thanks for sharing a little slice of bliss with me today,
Emily

Thank You, Teacher

Still having trouble getting in the groove after a {meh} week last week. So this is just a quick card today to re-insert and play along with two challenges (both new to me) that are ending today: Go Fish! Challenge #3, a color challenge to use orange, yellow, and white, and Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge #99 I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which is an "Anything Goes" challenge.

All stamps are from TradeFish Designs' Back 2 School set, which I was lucky enough to win earlier this month.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

An Original for FWF

Thank goodness it's Friday! This has been the week that would not end. If you visited me during last week's Friends with Flair hop, then you probably read that I was enjoying a visit with my sister. It's true! We had a great--and very productive--visit. Turns out that she needed to make 4-card sets for 15 people, not the originally thought 10. I do believe we worked our poor little fingers to the bone!! Yup, that's 60 cards in two-and-a-half days, and I'm not talking about a bunch of cookie-cutter, whip-them-out-assembly-line-style cards. Each set was tailored to the recipient! She loved how they turned out and will be so proud to give these thoughtful, personal gifts at Christmastime. But then she left on Sunday :( and my week has been spent catching up with the day-to-day stuff that slid while she was here, along with a bunch of other unpleasantness. I've gotta say, I'm wiped out physically, emotionally, and creatively.

But I realized early this morning that it is Friends with Flair day (hooray!) and I had nothing to share. This was the perfect opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and finally create something. I did mention that I'm wiped out creatively, right?? (See above, just in case you missed that.) So this is just a quick, easy card to reclaim just a tiny bit of time for me.

I used {ippity}'s Love in Return and {ippity}'s A Bit of Burlap along with some cute patterned paper from the Pumpkin Pie collection by K& Co.

I'm throwing this in a few challenges. Why not, right? It's for the Unity Stamp Company Challenge, which is to use an Autumn Harvest theme; the {ippity} Challenge, which is to make a mini card (4" x 4" or smaller)--mine is 3 1/2" x 4"; the Simon Says Stamp Challege, which is an "Anything Goes" challenge this week; and, finally, Chick Challenges with {ippity} #4, which is to use this sketch:

Be sure to check the Unity blog for a list of all of today's Friends with Flair blog hop participants!

Thanks for sharing a little slice of bliss with me today!

Emily

A Flourishes Sketch

Just a quick post to play along with one of the September Flourishes Release Week challenges, FLLC911A, which is to use this sketch. Another birthday card for my dwindling stash!

Thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss for today!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes Lemons, Life, & Love; Flourishes Tag Lines
Paper: SU Dusty Durango textured CS, patterned papers from BasicGrey's Nook and Pantry collection
Ink: Versafine vintage sepia, Ranger antique linen distress ink
Accessories: colored pencils, foam tape, sewing machine, gold brads, button sticker from Recollections
Techniques: machine stitching

DeNami Product Spotlight: Small Apple

Today the DeNami Design Team is doing a Product Spotlight on an adorable DeNami stamp, so timely for fall projects. It's the Small Apple stamp!

There are so many awesome possibilities for this sweet image--and you can get a ton of apple inspiration from the design team on today's post on the DeNami blog. And, as September Guest Designer at DeNami Design, I get to play along with the rest of the Design Team! Here's the project that I came up with:

I pack lunches for my two kids to eat at school every day. As I was preparing my project for this Product Spotlight last week, my kids were getting ready for their first day back to school--which, of course, got me thinking. They both use durable, re-usable Lands End lunchboxes, so we don't use many paper lunch bags. However, whenever my kids go on school field trips, they need to take their lunches in a disposable bag. I thought it would be cool to make each of them a decorated lunch bag so they'll be all set for their first field trips of the year (whenever those may be!). A specially decorated bag should help them spot their lunches in the crush of all those brown bags thrown in the crate their teachers use for transporting everyone's lunches--or that's the theory, anyway. I colored in a row of apples on each bag--that will be for writing their names (one letter per apple, of course!) on their bags later when it's time to pack a field trip lunch.

When I finished decorating these lunch bags, I just couldn't stop! So I expanded this into a "lunch set" by stamping matching paper napkins to send along with lunch and making a pair of "lunchbox notes" to drop in, too, to let the kiddos know that I love them and am thinking of them! Let the onslaught of field trips begin!

Don't have lunches to pack for anyone at your house? Not to worry! You could use a similar idea to make a quick and easy gift bag or party goodie bag. Wouldn't it be fun to package a half dozen apple cinnamon muffins for a neighbor or friend in a sweet little apple-decorated bag like this??

Thanks so much for stopping by for my little slice of bliss today!! See you again soon. :)
Emily

Project Recipe:
Stamps: DeNami Small Apple stamp
Paper: DeNami Red cardstock, Mark's Finest Papers white cardstock
Ink: Versafine Red Satin
Accessories: SU scalloped trim border punch, colored pencils, brown paper lunch bag, white paper napkins, red gingham ribbon

Berry Notes for Mrs. Berry

I was hoping to make a little thank-you gift for my son's second grade teacher to go along with the card we made for her, but I didn't think I'd have time and made sure I had a Staples gift card at the ready. Last Friday morning I found a few bonus hours (woohoo!) and decided to play along with several of the Flourishes Release Week challenges. These were just what I needed to put together a sweet little set of note cards designed just for Mrs. Berry, who likes to sign her notes to the kids as "Mrs." followed by a sketched strawberry!

My first card was inspired by a red, white, and blue challenge. (The "from Mrs." portion was computer generated.)
My second card was inspired by a color challenge to use light, medium, and dark pinks.
And finally, my third card was created for a sketch challenge. The berries were watercolor painted, and the leaves/stems were colored with Prismacolor pencils.
Clean and simple? Yes. Quick and easy? Yes. But with a set of strawberry decorated envelopes and some spiffy packaging (see below), I think this will make a nice gift that will hopefully let Mrs. Berry know how much we appreciated all of her wonderful work this past year. :)



That snazzy label and sentiment on the bag topper came from the Timeless Tags set by The Craft's Meow. This is one of five sets that I won last week in The Craft's Meow June release blog hop. Awesome sets! I can't wait to play with them some more. I know for certain that this Timeless Tags set will be a go-to set for me. Just the kind of thing I needed!

Thanks for dropping by today!
Emily

Card #1:
Stamps: Flourishes Strawberries, Flourishes Taglines
Paper: MFP snow storm CS
Ink: SU pacific point, Palette l'amore red
Accessories: scoring tool
Techniques: one-layer card, scoring

Card #2:
Stamps: Flourishes Strawberries, Flourishes Taglines
Paper: MFP snow storm CS, SU pink pirouette, SU pretty in pink
Ink: SU melon mambo
Accessories: MS topiary corner and border punches, foam tape, Pink Sorbet baker's twine from The Twinery

Card #3:
Stamps: Flourishes Strawberries, Flourishes Taglines
Paper: MFP snow storm CS, SU wild wasabi CS, Canson watercolor paper, BasicGrey Nook & Pantry DP
Ink: Versafine onyx
Accessories: watercolor brushes, Prismacolor pencils, foam tape, white grosgrain ribbon, Prima flowers, brad
Techniques: watercolor painting

Bag Topper:
Stamps: Timeless Tags by The Craft's Meow; Love in Return (dots pattern on berry) by {ippity}
Paper: red, white CS by The Paper Company, SU pretty in pink CS, SU wild wasabi CS, SU whisper white CS
Ink: ColorBox frost white, Palette l'amore red, Versafine onyx
Accessories: SU wide heart punch, SU two-step bird punch, Marvy LePlume II marker for pen stitching, rhinestones
Techniques: pen stitching

Unity FWF~~Teacher Thanks

Today I'm playing along with Unity's
Friends with Flair!

You can find out all of the details over on the Unity Stamp Company blog. (You should check it out--there are prizes involved!)

First, you should know that I am a thank-you kind of gal. I thank people for holding the door, for bagging my groceries, for stopping to let us cross the street. I thank my kids for emptying the dishwasher, my husband for mowing the grass, my neighbor for taking my son to school. I say thank you, I write thank you, I sing thank you. I'm teaching my kids to do the same. I'm a big believer in "Thank You" and its power!!

That said, I think June is the "Thank You" season! My kids' last day of school (June 22) is fast approaching, and we have a long list of people to thank for their leadership and service this year: teachers, helpers, coaches, scout leaders, youth advisers. The list could go on and on! So I'm trying to kick the end-of-year thank-you-gift-and-card-making into high gear!! And today I'm sharing a thank-you project that I collaborated on with my 8YO son for his second-grade teacher.
I stamped the adorable books image from {ippity}'s Books a'Flutter kit on a piece of notebook paper, and my son colored it in with crayons. The sentiment is a digital one that I downloaded from Paper Crafts magazine (here). I sorted through my kids' crayon boxes to find four that were still in decent shape (quite the task, I tell ya!) and used them to frame our notebook panel. Glossy Accents was perfect for gluing on the crayons!!

The background paper is actually a page from the 1964 edition of Webster's New World Dictionary. I bought it at a used bookstore last year for $3, specifically to cut up in paper projects. A great investment! (And in the long run, so much cheaper than buying text patterned paper by the sheet.) Anyway, I used the "T" dictionary page that included "teacher" and cut up the page so that the "teacher" entry would peek out strategically at the bottom of the panel. Fortunately, that approach to cutting also ensured that the entry for "teat," just one line down from "teacher" in the next column, was eliminated from the layout. Whew! As wonderful and fun-loving as Mrs. Berry is, I doubt that she would have found that amusing.

So, there you have it!! My son will write a thank you note inside following his patented thank-you-note-writing formula (which is suspiciously similar to the paragraph-writing recipe he learned from Mrs. Berry this year. See? They do pay attention! And won't that make Mrs. Berry proud?): greeting, opening sentence, 2-3 details, wrap-up sentence, "love."

I know it makes me proud.

Thanks for joining me for my little slice of bliss for today!!
Emily

5.5" x 5.5" Card Recipe:
Stamps: Books a'Flutter from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co.
Paper: Wild Wasabi CS from Stampin' Up!, red CS from The Paper Company, notebook paper, page from vintage dictionary
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: crayons, Glossy Accents, craft foam sheets, Martha Stewart loops punch-around-the-page set

The Apple of My Eye

And this was the other card I worked on today--a nice clean and simple creation to soothe the soul after the turmoil of my previous creation!
I started this card wanting to make something for the Stamping with Markers Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World. I have no Copics and am truly uninitiated in the art of coloring with markers, so I fell back on my favorite stamping-with-markers technique: "coloring" directly on the rubber of the stamp before making an impression. When I was first introduced to stamping back in 2004, this is the technique that gave me my "aha!" moment and made me fall in love with the versatility of stamping. It is especially good, I think, on an image with solid regions, like this apple from Stampin' Up's Tart & Tangy stamp set. The sentiment is a clear stamp from We R Memory Keepers.

I'm also playing along with these challenges:

• One Stop Craft Challenge: Love is in the Air
• Wee Memories: Live, Laugh, Love (my card celebrates LOVE with its sentiment)
• Stamptacular Sunday: Food

Thank you so much for checking out my little slice of bliss for today. :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! Tart & Tangy, We R Memory Keepers (sentiment)
Paper: Mark's Finest Papers snowstorm card stock, DCWV red card stock
Ink: Various markers
Accessories: SU scallop trim corner punch, dimensionals, scoring tool, The Twinery maraschino baker's twine, brass apple charm from Mark's Finest Papers
Techniques: scoring, stamping with markers