Monday, September 30, 2013

Birthday Present Idea: Card Kit In An Altered Box


Not only am I luck enough to share a birthday month with two of my oldest and bestest friends, as fate would have it, they share the same date! They both get to remind me that I am in one case, a few days older and in another, a year older, but September is our month. They also share the date with another friend of mine from work. 

Like me, one of my besties also celebrated her 32nd birthday for the 18th time. Every year when we get together to celebrate, she tells me that she re-purposes many of the cards I send her throughout the year into her own ( fabulous) cards. So I decided last year, I would make her a "card kit in a box" to include all kinds of goodies she could use to make her own cards, re-purpose mine etc. 

I started with a cigar box and for no reason other than I did, went over all of the edges with silver tape before I Mod Podged on the paper. Michaels recently had paper stacks on sale for $5 and I picked up a great one by Crate Paper in pinks, oranges, neutrals and browns. 


Since all of the papers coordinated, I just randomly chose patterns and tore pieces, used scraps did whatever felt right. Then I added some black and clear stickers in a vintage theme. 


To finish it off, I cut layers of flowers using a Tim Holtz die, and then used a scrap of the paper along with a Tim Holtz "Ornate Plate" and Glossy Accents to make a faux closure for the box. 



I filled the box with blank cards, embellishments, baker's twine and papers so she can play. I made her birthday card using some of the same papers and some KandCo 3D birthday stickers:





She and I celebrated on Saturday by going to one of my favorite places, Shipwreck Beads.  which is a creative person's candy store. Since we were celebrating a milestone birthday. I picked up these mini glittered top hats for us to wear ( and yes, we did wear them and no, I'm not showing you!) 


I used the same colors and papers to make birthday cards for my two other special birthday buddies.











Thursday, September 26, 2013

BFF Open House Link Party #124 and Features

The Answer Is Chocolate

Hope the first official week of Fall was a good one for you. Here we are on the cusp of October which is hard to believe. The crafterverse is in full creative mode so here are a few features from last week's party that inspired me. 


You all know I have a slight paper addiction. I'm looking forward to using some of mine up making a big bouquet of these paper flowers from Artsy VaVa



Can't even tell you how much I love these confetti pumpkins from Kim at Made In A Day. Oh. Em. Gee. 


If you need an easy way to bring some fall into your home, check out this idea from Fonda at Southern Scraps. Wouldn't this look great next to some confetti pumpkins?


This week's chocolate feature speaks for itself. Chocolate truffles from the aptly named blog Dieter's Downfall. Resistance is futile. 

OK let's see what you all have been up to this week !







Saturday, September 21, 2013

A Shakespeare Halloween: Toil and Trouble Printable


I'm planning on swapping out my Edgar Allen Poe themed mantle for another guy this year. Bill. Will. The Bard. You know "that Shakespeare dude".  It occurred to me that Shakespeare has a lot of quotes and themes that are perfect for Halloween. Some are obvious like Macbeth, which was the inspiration for this printable. A quote from the Three Witches. 

I created this one in PicMonkey. You should be able to click on to bring to full resolution, then right click to save as. If you use, I'd love to see how! 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

BFF Open House # 123 Happy Fall Features!

The Answer Is Chocolate

Can you believe it's time for Summer to come to an end this weekend? Doesn't it seem like it just started? Truthfully, I am really ready for Fall. I love the crispness of the air, the changing of the leaves, sweaters, boots...

You all are gearing up for Fall if last week's party is any indication. Lots of wonderful Fall and Halloween ideas. Let's see a few:

Antonella from Quilling, Art and Expression shared this delightfully spooky spider card. I just love the dimension on the spider and of course the black and white! I can't wait to get started on some Halloween cards. 


You have to check out these DIY Felt Halloween Pillows from Christine at I Dig Pinterest. Love how simple yet bold they are. 


Wouldn't Christine's pillows work perfectly with this Fall wreath shared by Laura at The Shed? You will have to go visit to find out the secret for making these flowers. Can't wait to try. 


And after you're done making these great projects or before you sit down to pin them on Pinterest, be sure to whip up a batch of these Caramel Milky Way brownies from Danielle at Busy Mom's Helper.  When I think Fall, I think caramel. Of course chocolate is year round. YUM!

Now on to this week's party. What tricks and treats do you have up your sleeve this week? 










Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Back to School for College Kids: Coffee Run Card

Coffee Run Card

Those of you who are coffee drinkers, remember when you weren’t? Remember when you thought it tasted gross and wondered how and why anyone would ever drink the stuff?  I do. And I think I was about the same age as College Boy when that changed forever. Is there a coffee switch that clicks on in College?


Now that coffee is a major food group, we usually help him out with a Starbucks card to cover Pumpkin Spice Lattes and supplement the dining hall coffee. Funny how the frequency of Starbucks trips is in direct proportion to who's paying for the Lattes isn't it? Mom and Dad pay...frequency goes up. College kid pays? Dining hall coffee YUM!

I remembered this Canvas Corp paper I had in my stash. PERFECT!

Coffee Run Supplies

For this project you will need:
  • Cardstock ( I used kraft to match my patterned paper and because it reminded me of the Starbucks “sleeves”) and matching envelope
  • Coffee themed paper (Canvas Corp “Coffee Words on Kraft”)
  • Gift card
  • Coordinating theme stamps
Cut cardstock to make 5.25 x 5.25 card. Cut patterned paper to cover front and back. Cover front of card. On inside of card, cut a slit to fit your gift card. I used an XActo knife and cut down the short side of the GC:

Coffee Run Inside

Slide GC through slit; cover back of card with remaining panel and use a scrap of the paper to line the inside of the card as shown.

Coffee Run Closeup

I debated about just leaving the card alone but me? Leave something alone? So I stamped a coffee stamp on a kraft scrap using watermark ink, finished with some decorative pearls, trimmed the image and mounted with foam dots.

Coffee Run envelope

I liked how the watermark ink looked on the kraft paper so I stamped the back of the envelope too!

So who else went from “coffee is the grossest thing ever” to “is there life before coffee”?



Thursday, September 12, 2013

BFF Open House Link Party #122: The Better Late Than Never Edition!

The Answer Is Chocolate

Betcha thought I forgot ! Nope...delayed but still time to party. Won't bore you with the details but it'll be a week w/out features. It's almost been a week w/out showers so be glad this isn't live video and smell-e-blogging. Trust me! 

So we will get right to the party and thanks for hanging in and out here at TAIC!                           





Monday, September 9, 2013

Anniversary Card in Black, Silver and Gold. Handmade Paper Is The Star !

25th Anniversary Card

Sharing a very quick Anniversary card I had to get out the door. Thankfully my paper hoarding paid off since this beautiful black and silver floral print handmade paper didn’t need much else!
Products used in this card:
  • Stardream Metallics gold cardstock
  • Handmade paper
  • Die Cutting Machine and Die (I used a Spellbinders die)
  • Glittered Stickers ( I used Thickers by American Crafts)
  • Embellishment ( 3-D sticker I had in my stash)
Spellbinders and Thickers

The card is 5x7. Cut cardstock to size and score down the middle. Trim handmade paper to 4.75 x 6.75 and trim cardstock scrap leftover from your card to 4.75 and adhere across middle of patterned paper.
Anniversary Card

For the focal, I layered a scrap of the patterned paper onto a piece of silver metallic cardstock and then cut the whole thing using my Spellbinders die. Added the Thickers glitter stickers to the front and adhered the focal to the card with a foam dot. Finished with a gold embellishment I had in my stash.

Die Cut Negative

This is the negative from that little experiment which I think I’ll use in another card!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

BFF Open House LInk Party #120

The Answer Is Chocolate

Welcome to another party here at The Answer Is Chocolate! Hope those of you who sent kids back to school this week survived all of the fun that comes with that. College boy started his Junior year which I still can't believe. 

Here are a few features from last week's party to get us started: 


Loving this made over memo board from Artsy Va Va, especially since she re-purposed a beloved old frame to give it new life. 


Theresa at Junk to Jewels DIY also shared a repurposed transformation. Glam up an old piece of furniture with a glazing technique.


Mr. Chocolate would love to have a cute little camper like this. The closest we may get is an embroidered towel like this one from Closet Crafter Ohio


And this week's chocolate feature is simple and classic and makes me want to lick the computer screen. Is there anything more perfect than a chocolate cupcake? Molly from 100% Molly Made shared her recipe. YUM! 

Now let's see what everyone's been up to this week! If you're new linking up please say hi so I can visit you back! 







Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Better Late Than Never Project Life Notecards Winner!

Yikes and shame on me. I have been so busy with work, The Mumster visiting, celebrating our anniversary, work, and the long weekend that I forgot to announce the winner of the little "Project Life Vintage Travel" notecard giveaway.


And the winner is:  Megan!

Thanks to all who participated. I was at Michaels yesterday and saw the other Project Life kits they carry....DANGEROUS!

Happy September everyone. I can't believe I just typed SEPTEMBER.