Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'm a little late in posting this I know....the sad thing is that I'm even later in sending this to Topher!  He'll probably end up getting his valentine's day card in April by the rate I'm going.  So Topher is now down in Ft. Myers for Spring Training.  He's working in the front office with the Boston Red Sox.  To celebrate his new job I made him a little Red Sox Card, Riley included!

I chose the Sweetheart Riley and cut out the little note that he holds on the left.  I used the Sure Cuts a Lot Software and cut a Boston Red Sox logo and had him holding that instead!  Riley is popdotted up along with the Red Sox "B".  The white background is cuttlebugged with the argyle folder and then matted on a Boston red mat.  I added a strip of baseball paper and then sandwiched it between two strips of blue paper.

 

I also made Topher a more traditional V-day card using more traditional colors.  

The little paper stamps were actually from some patterned paper I got from Michaels several months ago.  I cut each one out and matted each on their own little pink mat.  Tried to space them out as evenly as possible.  I then cut out a label....I have no idea where I picked it out from (I seem to forget more often now that I've gotten a Gypsy).  I stamped the background using this dollar bin stamp I have using Tim Holtz Red Brick Distress ink.  Then I stamped the I love you sentiment (I think another dollar bin buy).  I chose a grey background to masculinize it up a bit more and of course cuttlebugged it with my favorite folder of the moment, the argyle folder.  I used plain white cardstock base just because I wanted to keep it from getting too frou frou. 

It's that time of year......Baseball Season!!  So I'm sure you've all heard of Bakerella, the awesome lady who brings us her infamous cake pops.  Well I've been dying to make some Cake Pops (I have the book and everything), but didn't get the nerve up to do so until now.  I decided to make them for the start of our seasoner for our home opener. 

It actually came out pretty well!  I need to work on shaping my balls into rounder shapes!  I used Edible ink pens to make the seams and baseball logo (American Crafts I believe is the brand). I used chocolate cake maked with plain white frosting.  Now usually I don't like really swet things, but these were so good I ended up eating ALL my mistakes.  With relish!  I used Almond Bark for the coating. 

So for each of my guys, I made a cake pop with their name and number on the back and the South Alabama logo on the front.  I wrapped each in cellophane and a twist tie.

I'm excited to try making more, especially the cupcake pop and maybe an easter treat!  Happy opening season everyone!

It's been awhile since I've made something so I wanted to share with you a card I made back in the summertime.  It was a birthday card I made for my former roommate, and one of my best friends Tommy.  He loves the show Dexter so I wanted to make him a Dexter themed card.  I cut the card base using the Cricut cartridge beyond birthdays.  The two stamps are Birthday Riley and Sock Monkey Riley.  The balloons was cut from another riley stamp and then paper pieced and pop dotted behind the sock monkey Riley.

Now the reason behind the sock monkey is because my friend Tommy is deathly afraid of sock monkeys, he finds their texture, dead eyes, and red lips very creepy.  Because of this, he is ensured some sort of sock monkey item each year.  I found the Dexter picture online, and just printed it out.  Inside, I printed the sentiment "Hope you have a Killer birthday!"

Sorry for the blurry picture, I really need to get an actual camera instead of always using my iphone!

So this is a set of cards I've been working on for quite awhile.  I started them over the summer and was meaning to give them to some of my former VMI (Virginia Military Institute) athletes who are now stationed all over the country and world.  I wanted to give it to them for 4th of July, and then Veteren's Day, and then Memorial Day...but I just couldn't get them to look the way I wanted.  So FINALLY, I was able to sit down and get everything squared away!  I'll admit, I'm very proud of this set of cards, almost as proud as I am of the people they went to.

So this card is for Jakes who is now stationed in Afghanistan.  He's in the army and so I paper pieced a little camo background for him. The frame and My Hero cut for all of these comes from the stand and salute cartridge.  Military Riley was the stamped I used.  SOOO CUTE AND I LOVE IT!!  I scored the edges for some interest.  Here's a pic of Jakes over there in Afghanistan.

Sorry for the blurry picture.  This is for Lynn, my marine who flys helicopters and is stationed in Pensacola for the time being.  I used patterned paper from Michaels for the inside, and the white frame was cuttlebugged with the diamond plate folder and rubbed with a silver stamp to bring out the pattern.  I used a gold sakura gelly roll pen to color in the anchor.  

Here's Lynn

Last but certainly not least, here's the card I made Tommy who is in the airforce and flying jets in Wichita.  Same diamond plate paper, I just arranged it different, and also added a scored border on his.  

Here's Tommy in his formal wear.

I loved making these cards and the people I made them for.  I think these will be a favorite for a long time coming.  

Since it's been awhile since I've posted since I've gotten busy with the holidays and being home in California for a bit without my crafting supplies, here's something I made that I didn't remember to post. 

For a housewarming gift for a friend, I purchased a yankee candle and just made a cute seasonal wrapper.  It was during the fall so I figured that the Pumpkin Patch Riley would be perfect (especially since the candle smelled like pumpkin pie!  I colored in Riley with copics, and the sentiment was printed out (I wish I had printed it out bigger!)  I distressed the edges with Tim Holtz antique linen to make the white less harsh.  I then added a brown spotted ribbon (dollar bin!)and some pumpkin colored cardstock.  Nice and simple! 

Here are some holiday projects that Topher and I have done throughout this month.  Every Sunday this month we've had Christmas Sunday!  Basically, all we do is stay at home, listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, bake Christmas goodies, and work on a Christmas puzzle or crafts.  Here is our little tree that we decorated.  We were excited since it was our first Christmas as a little family together.  We bought little mini ornaments as well as made out own.  

We made ornaments using the floor wax method.  All you do is buy that magic stuff (Pledge Floor Care with the Future label) and poor it into clear glass ornaments that we picked up at Michaels.  We used Martha Stewart Glittee in Blue, Silver and White...poured just a bit in there and rolled it around!  Beautiful results and Topher loved making them!

Next, we made these snowflakes off of this idea I saw in the Martha Stewart Living Magazine.  I purchased the Snowflake snowpunch, and punched out a billion of them in grey, blue and white.  I glued three together using my zig 2 way pen to give them some stiffness and then covered them with modpodge and covered them with glitter!  Added a little ribbon loop and there you go!  I then started getting a little crazy and making dual colored snowflakes.  I kind of like the way they look!

Here's Topher hanging em up

We also spent one Sunday making scarves.  I've been dying for a cute plaid scarf all season, but I can't seem to pony up 30 bucks for a scarf that I'll wear sporadically.  So I just went to Joanns fabric, bought some material and cut it up and used fusible webbing to bond it to make it long enough.  Some of them didn't come out all too pretty (drat my lack of ability to cut in a straight line!!!) but when it's all wrapped up you can't really tell (or that's what I tell myself).  Topher has decided to be a stylish model for us, displaying all our wares. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Peppermint bark anyone?  So I have 40 college baseball players and so I wanted to make them a little gift for the holidays.  I figured guys would rather have sweets instead of a frou frou card, so I decided to make them little goody bags of homemade sweets.

My version of "Peppermint bark"is really simple and easy to make.  I just melt down a bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave and add rice crispy cereal until it's the consistency of rice crispy treats.  Spread it out nice and flat so it's just a thin layer on a sheet of foil and then sprinkle Andes Peppermint baking bits on top.  Pat down to make sure the baking bits are in!  Put in the fridge for about 15 minutes and break it up!  It keeps forever but it probably won't last very long.  Guys especially find it irresistible.

I just used the little reindeer guy from the Create a Critter cartridge and I believe I cut him out at 3/4 inch.    Paper was bazzil basics from Michaels and I just cut alternate scarves in green and red.  (By the way, the gypsy is a god send in mass production, thank you, thank you, thank you).  The tags were just labels I printed out on the computer and slapped on to the little treat bags!