Hi, ho, hi, ho - it's off to work I go...

Well, not me really. One of my close friends is going back to work this week after being a SAHM for many, many years. She is working in the office at one of our local schools. The job she took seems perfect for her schedule since she is only part time and goes in at 11am and leave by 2pm. She is still able to be home in the morning and see her kids off to school and come home in the afternoon to be there for when they get back! I think that's a great thing.

So, I wanted to make my buddy something for her to take with her as she heads back to work. I will miss her for those few hours! I got inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, MISH MASH. Michelle's sense of style, whimsy and color combo make her work stand out from the rest, IMHO. She is always creating new and exciting things and I just love her packaging for her gifts as well.

Here is a notebook that I made for my friend. I used a lot of different MME papers to make this.

I figure that she is going to have a lot of little notes to take while she gets the hang of her new job. Plus, it will be all hers and no one will take it off her desk.

I used my sewing machine to stitch around the outside of the front cover. I also stitched the ribbon in place on both the front and back covers so that it won't fall off when she opens it. This makes it easy to re-tie when she is done with it. I am planning on putting a little pen in there for her and the knot in the ribbon should keep it from slipping. :)

Here is a quick peek at the card that I also made her.

I am putting these in a wax paper sack and tying it with some ribbon and tags. You can find the sacks that I am using here. The notebook peeks out just a little over the top of these sacks but I just love the translucency and feel of them so it doesn't matter.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week.

Mojo Monday #254 and ColourQ

Next up is this card that I made using the Mojo Monday #254 Sketch. Again, if you know anything about me you know that I am a creature of habit. And that means that once again I find a sketch that inspires me. Here's the sketch that I worked with for this card:

Over at ColourQ this week they have a beautiful color palette to work with. Since it seems like summer is coming to an end I especially appreciate these colors since they make me think of sitting outside on my patio and enjoying the summer with my kiddos.

I'd like to chat more about how I made this card and other fun stuff that went through my head while making it, but I'm just too tired for now. But if you have a question about the stamps or such just shoot me a message and I'll be happy to answer it for you. Right now, however, it is midnight and my bed is calling me.

Under the Weather?

Hello, again. I am going to post a couple of quick things before bed. I have a couple of contests that I'm squeezing in this weekend.

Here is one that I made for Make it Monday #78 over at Papertrey. It is a stamping and stitching challenge. Here is the card that I made:

I really like this Heart 2 Heart Stamp set over at PTI. I hadn't had an opportunity to use it so I thought it was about time! I took some white felt and die cut the clouds. Then I took some DMC floss that matches the aqua mist color and stitched all around 3 clouds (1 large, 2 small). I die cut a sun out of cardstock instead of felt because i really wanted the clouds to stand out.

I don't do a lot of hand stitching and I am kinda sad since embroidery seems like a dying art. My grandmothers both did lots of cross-stitching and other embroidery. They tried to teach it to when I was little and it just never really stuck. But I love the nostalgia of it.

I used this sketch from retro sketches for my card. I just love to have a quick sketch handy since it saves so much time on where to place my elements on my card.

Gotta post one more card before I hit the hay!

Retro Back 2 School Mini Scrapbook

We are in full swing with school and sports right now! My boys just finished their first week back {picture me gasping for air}. It was quite a week! My oldest started up in Middle School and is trying cross country for the first time. My youngest is still in elementary but he is also in LAX. sooooo..... the middle of my day is free but I feel like I need to put on my running shoes around 4pm.

Anywhoo, I did get the chance to make a mini scrapbook album this week. I made it with back to school in mind. I love these papers from October Afternoon!

I used little coin envelopes to make the pockets and added some die cut rolodex cards that are removable. Each pocket has a tag to add funny things to remember or pictures.

Here's a look at one of the rolodex pull out cards. i think these would be great for quotes, journaling or even address book stuff.

The cool thing, too, is that I am entering this in the Ribbon Reel Challenge. Their challenge is to use Retro colors (see the blog for the list), a flower, and ribbon/twine. Check, check and check!

You can find this item by clicking on my etsy link on the right hand column. Thanks for stopping by!

Teensy Weensy Kits

I would like to introduce you to some kits that I made this week. They are small. They are cute. They are easy to assemble. That's why I like to call them teensy weensy kits. I find these gift sacks perfect for teacher gifts at back to school night. I made a few for our teachers this year and am putting a few of tem in my shop. They require just a little assembly but give back such a cute presentation!

Each kit comes with a paper sack that can be used as a gift bag. The sack has a scalloped edge to make it  pretty and comes pre-punched with two holes in it. The kit includes one large stitched tag, one small stitched tag, felt and button bit, polka dot ticket stub, lace, wrinkled ribbon, wreath circle tag with "for you" stamped on it, vintage inspired brad, patterned paper pieces and a swatch of fabric.

Here is what I came up with but you can design your own how ever you wish. I think that is what makes the weensies so fun; you can add your own creativity to them without it being a lot of work. I've gone and prepped it all for you... I even added the fabric swatch and stitched around both tags. :) You get to add the goodies and give it away.

These tags are a perfect size for gift giving but they can also be used for cards or scrapbooking projects, too.  Not only is it back to school for us here in Colorado, but it is also just about canning season. I like to make jams and other canned goodies so that I can always have some hand for quick gifts.

I am also going to be selling the little wreath circle tags in my shop separately. If you're like me, I can never seem to get enough tags. Fun shapes, patterns and styles make for quick and fun add-ons to lots of my paper projects. It's a quick and easy place to add a little note or sentiment for your cards.

Thanks for stopping by and tell me what you think. Also, what are you doing for back to school teacher gifts? I can never thank teachers enough for all the long grueling hours that they put into their jobs and how special they are in the lives of my children. I look for ways to help out in the class and also surprise them with little gifts throughout the year. It's my way of saying that I appreciate them. :)

MIM #77 - Ink Pads as Watercolors

Hey, friend. I'm back with a challenge over at Papertrey Ink. This week's MIM can be found here. The challenge is a new technique to me: use your ink pads as watercolors. I am not very good at using watercolors to begin with but this was too fun of a challenge to pass up.

I used PTI's Pretty Peonies stamp set along with the coordinating die set. I stamp the image on vintage cream cardstock using memento's brown ink (I find that it dries quickly and doesn't bleed like other inks). I also cut out an extra flower using the die so that i could later pop that up on the card. The inks that I used to "paint" the flower where melon berry and terracotta tile. I used simply chartreuse and ripe avocado to paint the leaves.

I wasn't able to stay completely in the lines but i'm hoping that just adds to the watercolor feel. I then stamped some notebook patterned paper with leaves to paint in with ink. I stamped one of the solid flowers in Pretty Peonies with fine linen ink. The cute frame is also a part of the Peonies stamp set. I stamped it on kraft cardstock using that same memento brown ink.

Thanks for popping in. I'll hopefully be updating my blog more regularly now that the kids are going back to school next week. It's shocking to me that they start before Labor Day but I do enjoy getting a fall break and a week off at Thanksgiving.

And with school starting, you know what that means? More cute back to school style notebooks and teacher gifts. Cheers!!!

Mini Album - 1st Year of Marriage

Hey, there! I'm back with a quick photo album/mini journal that I made for a bride to be. Summer is crazy busy with weddings and baby showers; sometimes I have time to take photos of my gifts and sometimes I don't. But here is one that I made for a dear friend.

I made this mini album with the thought in mind that she will want to record bits and pieces of how cool that first year is as a newlywed. There are plenty of pages in this journal to put photos and notes about their favorite take out places, favorite shows to watch together... their first home.

I used simple stories summertime paper and it all came together much quicker than I thought. And I just love when that happens. :)