Mother’s Day Brunch

So you might be looking at this picture and thinking that I’m slightly behind the times seeing as how it was Father’s Day yesterday and Mother’s Day was about a month ago; or you might be thinking that I like to plan really far ahead!  Either way read on because, although this is what I did to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, my Ideas, Tutorials, and Recipes can be used for any party, and any time of the year. 


So I knew I wanted a theme that was really bright and happy.  Something a little bit modern and definitely fun.  Off to Pinterest I went in search of inspiration.  I came across the picture above.  It’s from Amanda's Parties To Go.  She has a great site and freebies to print.  Her freebies also inspired me to make my own from scratch.  I made them using Photoshop.   

I made these signs to stick in with my flowers in vases and to pin to crepe streamers which I tied around the chairs. 




I also made little circle tags to attach to my napkin rings and narrow tags to wrap around the stems of glasses.
















I really like how my napkin rings turned out.  They were so very easy to do.  Here’s How I made them… (click 'read more' to keep reading)

Cards Galore!

So there have been a few events in my life in the past couple of months that all warranted a hand-made greeting card.  I thought you might like to see what I’ve been up too…


This was a birthday card for my brother-in-law.  I have a hard time with making male cards but I love how this turned out.  I printed out the ship and frame separately from Photoshop so I could have the 3D effect.  The tag I also designed in Photoshop but was inspired from Stamping Up.  You can see more of my “male” cards here.


This was a super easy Thank You card for a family friend.  I love purple and orange together.  Check out some other Thank You Cards.


I made this card for a baby shower.  I really enjoy hand coloring images, especially ones with kids or Precious Moments characters.  Download some free Precious Moments Boy images here.


Another Precious Moments card.  This one I had made for a special anniversary.  I love layering papers, it helps give a card more depth.

 
This card is one of my new favorites.  I had a different version of this card that I had made last year for a friends wedding but my new 2-1 border punch from EK Success really makes this version pop!  The image is a royalty free stock photo that I found and the tag is made by me through Photoshop.  You can’t tell in the photo but both are raised up to be 3D.


More Precious Moments…I think I have a slight obsession!  I made this card using a template from Wendy Bird Designs.  It was great fun to cut up the different papers and arrange them on the different sections of card. 


This was my card to my mother for Mother’s Day this year.  The card is stamped with Stampin’ Up’s “Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel Stamp”.  Love that stamp.  It provides such a great, aged look.  I cut the chick out and made her 3D with pop dot stickers;  embossed the “Oh My God” with my Versarmark Marker and Bronze embossing powder.  If you don’t own a Versamark Marker then get one—it has become my favorite embossing tool!  The half flower on the right side of the card is made like my Accordion Flowers post. 


And my last card for this post.  This was the card from my little guy to his Mamaie (that’s Grandma in Romanian).  Isn’t he sooo talented at just 2 & 1/2?!  LOL.  The image of the little fellow I printed out in Photoshop along with the surrounding frame.  The pretty punch is a 2-1 border and chain punch from eksuccess.  Watch for my next post to see how I used that punch for party décor…

So glad you stopped by to see what I’ve been up too…
Hope we can visit again soon and if you have any questions about how I made any of my cards leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to get back to you.

Happy Cardmaking!

Favor Me!

So I wish they'd accomplish cloning humans already!  So far this summer has been busy and there are always so many things that I want to be doing that sometimes it would be really helpful if I could be in multiple places at once, hence the wish for cloning.  Anyways somehow I manged to finally get this post together and I'm pretty excited for it.  I’ve got a fun little project this week, favor boxes!

These precious little boxes are superb for sharing with guests at your latest soirée. Or make them as a gift for a friend, something a little different from a card.

Either way go to my Facebook page, and get the free templates for the boxes under the ‘Exclusive Content’ tab.  (Update: May 2012:  The templates are no longer on Facebook.  You can leave me a comment at the end of the post and I will share them with you personally) Then follow my tutorial below to learn how to make your own.












Now you can decorate your boxes any way you like.  I’ve made two.  One that would be so cute at a wedding reception;  one at each place setting as a thank you from the bride and groom.  The second one has a little window cut out where you can actually see the little goodies waiting for you inside.  Perfect as party favors or make a larger version and fill it with home made cookies for a friend.


Have fun with your boxes!

Lampshade

I've got a fantastic little project for you today. An adorable tea light lampshade! I'll be honest, I did not come up with this, but when I saw it on Bird's Party Blog I knew I had to make my own. What a simple and impressive way to jazz up a dinner table or add some fun to an evening garden party. So here is my version and I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did.

First you need the lampshade template. You can click on the image here and print it out for yourself.

Now for my brief tutorial.







My Finished Tea Light Lampshade!  I made a tissue flower and tied my butterfly to it and then glued it to my lampshade.  I put a tea light in a wine glass and Voila!
 

"Fire" Card Tutorial

Here's the tutorial I promised for my "fire" birthday card.

First we pick our main cardstock.  I used a white sheet for the main card and folded it on the longest side (shall now be referd to as 'card') and then picked out two more sheets of cardstock for my accents. (Note the sizes are in the picture, click to englarge)

Then, taking a glue runner (or any type of glue you prefer), run glue around the edge of the black cardstock and center over the white card.

Now we get to do some stamping!  I love stamping!!! Grab your third piece of cardstock, your favorite stamp and some black ink.  Stamp away all over the page.  Voilà!  Homemade patterend paper!  Center your new paper over the card and glue down.

Okay, this piece of cardstock I had not originally planned on, however I decided that my card needed more depth so I grabbed an additional piece of white cardstock (11cm*16cm) and doodled some black lines and colored in randomly with a yellow marker and goldenrod marker (prismacolor brand).  Alternatively you could use whatever patterned cardstock you have on hand, I just didn't have the right colors so I very quickly improvised!  Now, gently tear the edges of the paper on all sides and then glue down at an angle over your yellow cardstock.

We're going to make a 3D fireman sticker!  We print our little fireman out, twice.  1) We trim out one complete image and only the parts we want 3D from the second image (refer to picture) and then glue the images onto whatever random cardstock you have (does not matter because you won't be able to see it).  Next we color him and the other clipped images (I used Prismacolor markers again).
2) Then we cut out the cardstock onto which he is glued.  Then cut out your other images (refer to picture).
3)Flip over your trimed pieces and place your 'pop dots' where they would stick to your complete fireman image.  Remove the backing and glue the images onto your complete fireman.  Voilà! You just made your own homemade 3D sticker!

Now do that all over again for your fire sticker! 
Print your fire twice.  Cut out one complete fire and then cut out the smaller inner flame.  Glue to cardstock; color; cut out.  Place your pop dots.
Take double sided tape and place on the back of the fireman and your fire and glue to card where you like.

 Lets make a ribbon border.  Take a long piece of ribbon (about twice the length that you want for the finished border;  so if you want a 7" border then the ribbon should be close to 14" long aprox).  Cut a strip of cardstock the length of your border, but skinnier than your ribbon's width to ensure you don't see it peeking out.  Take your "Tacky Glue" and draw a line of glue down a small portion of your cardstock.  Place your ribbon down on it, then take up a little section to make a bump and place down your ribbon on the other side.  Continue adding glue and making bumps with your ribbon until you are done your border.  Glue your border down onto your card.

And a tag if you like, and cake on fire inside and your done!

Click here for the fireman, fire and cake images.