B is for Baby...Blocks!

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! It's actually been a little cold and wet here this weekend (I know, I'm a complainer!) Or, maybe it's just my apartment...my heater just went on by itself for the first time in awhile! Anyway, as I'm sitting wrapped in my blankets, trying to find the gumption to get up and start working on (the tons of) things on my list of to-do's, I was looking through all of the pictures of projects I've been working on and decided that maybe I should start sharing some of them. (That, and who would rather clean up than look at cute things?!)
The project I wanted to share today was one I worked on for a shower gift for our friend back home. It is a set of blocks that can be used to document the baby's age, etc. It's similar to a perpetual wood block calendar, so I guess it can sort of be used for that, as well. Since they are both gym teachers, and they're having a little boy, I went with the sports theme here. There are quite a few pictures, and I thought I did a good job of getting pictures of all of the numbers, but I didn't, so there are a few missing.

I tried to include a wide range of sports, or at least those that could be easily cut out of the vinyl. Since we were teammates on the track team, and she's a coach, I had to include the winged foot. He is also a basketball and football coach, so I included those sports, as well:

I also included some references to their favorite sports teams (I conveniently  placed the Patriots logo on the four for a reason ;) one that would be frowned upon out here. Oh well!!)

 

Hopefully they enjoy using it and take lots of pictures of the little guy! (And that they don't mind that it was like a month late...sorry!!) Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great day!

A Little Man is on His Way!

Good afternoon! We hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend, apart from the new snow back home. This has been a busy week here. I feel like I say that all the time... The days were spent at work and all of my free time was working on orders, party decorations, and shower gifts! I was fortunate enough to have three pretty large orders this week, including an order of 60 invitations and another of 30 party favors. I also started work on a (almost full-fledged) Spiderman birthday party. Today was also Sister's family shower, and fortunately, I had most of those decorations done beforehand. We went with a "Little Man" theme, and decided that the use of the Seahawks colors would include Dad in the decor.

There were a few more decorations, including matching invitations and centerpieces, but the pictures didn't come out nearly as good as I was hoping. Grr. Here is a picture of one of the banners I did make:

 I plan on setting them up and taking more pictures this week, so I can also post them on Etsy soon. There was also a matching cake, which was just too cute (and delish!)

(As it has been pointed out, Baby's real name is not going to be 'Rocky'- it's a nickname that was picked up because of his initials. We wouldn't want to confuse the little guy!) In the little free time I had, I worked on some gifts for the family, which are absolutely adorable (don't mind if I toot my own horn...) The gifts were fabric projects, and let's just say that, although they are uber cute, I'm  definitely not even close to Aunt Debbie-level sewing skills. I'm just happy that all my pieces are sewn together and will hopefully stay that way! Here is one project I did get a picture of- it went over quite well in the sea of Hawks fans...

The back has the last name and a '15' for the year. I didn't get pictures of the other two projects, but they included a blanket and a nursing scarf (that would be super cute any time!) I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of time to take those, though! Only 2.5 weeks to go! Hopefully Grandma and Grandpa will make it out of the snow and get here in time!!I think it's time for a nap now, even though I should really take those pictures so I get them done. Oh well! Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

A New Chapter!

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! It has been an uber busy week around here. Between work (having to leave the apartment at 6:15, before the sun rises, is never fun. And on top of that, spending the week with rambunctious 7th graders...), crafting work (at least that's fun!) and party planning, I was definitely looking forward to last night, which was my first chance to relax a bit. And fall asleep at 10:00!
As you might have noticed, we have gone with a springy baby boy themed with the newest update to the blog and our other pages. We are right in the middle of baby season, and figured that there will be quite a few baby posts coming in the next month. To signal the start of baby season, we held the first of two showers for Sister last night. Fortunately, she has amazing coworkers who helped put it all together. Since it was her school shower, we decided to go with a storybook theme. Unfortunately, I didn't take very many pictures, but others did, so I'll post them when I can! I was put in charge of the decorations, or at least the paper ones, including the invitations. To set the mood, we went with baby Winnie the Pooh taking a bath in a tub, along with a Pooh quote. (I didn't get a picture of these. Yet. But there were a few comments on how cute they were!)
Two things I did take pictures of were the cupcake toppers and party favors. The menu matched storybooks, so we decided to make blue velvet cupcakes for dessert, which went with the book "The Velveteen Rabbit".

The toppers were kind of quickly thrown together, but feature both solid and polka dot paper, along with some circles punched from real story books. (The top one fittingly says 'Stork Laundry'!) And here are the party favors (I apologize for the poor picture):

The favors were chocolate chip cookies that go along with the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"! The bag toppers have the little mouse holding a pop-dotted chocolate chip cookie and reads: "If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll say thanks for coming to our shower!"
I also created a banner for the shower that read "Welcome Baby". Since I took the pictures with my phone, and the position of the banner, I had to take a few to get all of it.

The first and last spaces have story books on them, and the middle one features the very hungry caterpillar, all pop-dotted, of course!

And it wouldn't be a party without the new momma opening her gifts:

Soo many cute things! I don't know who was more excited- mom or auntie!!Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Means One Thing...

Other than warmer, drier weather, flowers blooming, birds chirping, and the sun being up before 8:00. It's time for a ton of baby projects! And I mean a ton! Today was actually our friend's baby shower, but unfortunately work got in the way and prevented me from making the trip back home (which is probably a good thing- the latest storm would have probably been a blizzard with my luck). However, I do have some pictures of the card I made for her:

 

After spending longer than normal on card layout and design, I decided to go with a design similar to another part of her gift (more pictures to follow. Eventually.) and came up with this. It doesn't fold up quite as nicely as I'd like, but that's because I kind of went pop-dot happy on the inside:

 

Each little design is pieced together, including the little pacifier in the corner that you can't see too well. Then there is a little blank space to write a little note to the new mommy-to-be!

(So Cari, if you're reading this, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you today, and I hope it was a great day! Also, expect a package in the coming weeks, hopefully before Baby gets here! Miss you and I'm definitely looking forward to visiting this summer and meeting the little guy!)

Thanks for stopping by!

A Plethora of Projects!

Good morning, friends!! It has, unfortunately, been quite a long time since we’ve posted something new. Between the usual, school and work, we’ve been pretty busy. And on top of that, the kiddos have passed on the cold bug, so we had been fighting that, too. That was a huge pain, but it seems to have cleared up. Hopefully that’ll be the last of it, although the fall/winter season is in full swing here. The rain does help with the productivity- who wants to go outside in the rain?! In the little bit of healthy free-time we’ve had, we’ve been uber busy with our crafting projects, and a few projects for ourselves. We’ve had a handful of superhero projects- some invitations and a ton of bags, and this little set of a card and a banner we created for our little cousin’s Hulk-themed birthday:

We were also tasked with creating a few new bag designs. Here is a picture of some of our new ones, which include The Incredibles (no capes!), Robin, and the Ninja Turtles, though only two are shown

We also worked on some cards in the last few weeks, including these two “punny” cards. The first one is a card we sent out to our family and friends- a little farm-themed card that reads “Cow’s it Going?”. The other is one we wanted to post a while back, but never got to it. It is a fall inspired, little shape card that features a fox in a pile of leaves. The inside of the card reads “Sending you piles of smiles”

 

The biggest, most exciting news of the last few weeks is that our very close friend (hopefully she still thinks this…) and her husband are expecting a little one this April!! It’s all very exciting! We made a few cards to send to congratulate them:

How cute are these two?! The Winnie the Pooh card was inspired by the scrapbook paper that was used in some of the details, like the crib sheet. It’s kind of hard to see, but it’s there. And the paper has been in our collection for a while now, so we figured why not use it?! We also included a little basketball because they both used to play and are now gym teachers. And like all of our projects, we used a ton of pop dots! The second is a super cute side step card designed to look like a baby’s nursery. We included the dresser, with clothes and all, along with some toys and dolls. We couldn’t forget the crib with the sleeping baby and the mobile hanging over!

The last two projects we have to share are some Halloween ones we were working on. The first was a set of cards we made for our sister-in-law (don’t mind the pajama pants in the background- we got an early start that day!). These easel cards feature a little googly-eyed witch and her broom. We also embossed a spider web on the background and added some rhinestones in the corner of the card. The inside of the card reads “Witch-ing you a Happy Halloween” and a little bat that holds the easel up. And as with all cute, “girly” cards, there’s some sparkle, too!

The last project we’ve worked on was a banner we made for a customer. This one was a personalized Halloween banner that features two teddy bears, one a ghoulish witch and the other a spooky jack-o’-lantern.

We, of course, used pop dots on the characters and letters. We finished off with some rhinestones on the letters. Each piece is tied together with multiple colored ribbons and some glitter tulle!

Phew! Quite a long post today, huh?! Sorry about that! We probably could have (and maybe should have) done them individually. Hopefully we’ll finish and post some of our new holiday items that we've been working on and some holiday projects we have planned! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

A Little Bundle of Joy

Happy Tuesday! We hope everyone is having a great week. It's been a while since we posted, but now that it's Spring Break, we have a little more time on our hands. Today also happens to be one of those days when it's just nicer to stay in and craft. We'll take one rainy day out of a week that's supposed to be sunny and mid-60! Any way, today's card is a quick one we whipped up that should have been sent out a month ago. Our cousin and his wife had a cutie-patootie little boy early last month and this is the card we made for them:

 Like most of our projects, the first ideas for this card wasn't this. The only thing we were sure of was that we wanted a little onesie on it. We weren't sure what to do on the onesie, but realized that simpler was better. Luckily we had matching ribbon for the final added touch! Now that it's finally made, hopefully it won't take just as long to mail it out (even with it filled out, in its envelope, and stamped already!!)
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Welcome, Baby!

Good morning! We hope everyone is having a superb weekend so far. Time to enjoy the extra day off, if you're fortunate enough to have it! Our mom was supposed to go to a baby shower this weekend (darn snow storms! Is it spring yet?!) for our cousin and his wife, who are expecting their first baby this year. We were asked to make a card to go along with the gift, so this is what we came up with:

Since they don't want to know the gender of the baby, the hardest part was trying to keep it neutral. Between the colors and the rhinestones, it seems that it could fit for either gender. I'd like to think we were kind of successful in that task. The inside of the card was designed in the same colors:

We wanted to keep it simple, but thought the little ducky in the corner was just the right touch. (Too bad the light bounced off the mirror right into the middle of the picture...) Hopefully they liked it.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Few New Cards

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I know we did. It was a fantastically crafty weekend, getting orders done, redoing our crafty area so it's not spread out over the entire apartment, and getting some new cards finished. We have three to share with you today. (I'm sorry in advance for the terrible lighting in the pictures. I guess my phone didn't want to be cooperative today.)

With Royal Baby Fever at an all-time high today, our first two cards are geared towards a younger crowd.
While neither "royal" or "newborn," they are adorable cards for youngsters. These personalized cards would make great birthday cards, with the child's name and age. The little critters and their big buggy eyes are too cute to pass up! (Is it just me, or does everything look better with googly eyes?)

Our third card to share today is a simple Christmas card. (Hey, it's never too early to start, is it? I just got an email with 75 Christmas gifts to make today.) I was looking for different challenges to put our work into, and found some new ones. The links are below. 

Challenges:
CAS on Sunday "Kraft and Twine" here.
Paper Crafting Journey "Christmas in July" here.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Sneak Peek!

I'm so excited to share this project today. It's a small part of a bigger project we're going to work on, but this is what we've done so far.

There's no baby on the way for anyone we know, but we were making some shower cards for others and thought the baby Pooh characters would be awesome for a shower. This centerpiece would make any table complete!

Not too much to say about this project, because the pictures say enough of the adorableness here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Baby!

Today's  post is a card we made for our cousin and his wife. They welcomed their first son today.

He's the second second-cousin (?) in the family this year. With only three girls fortunate enough to be born in this family, it's time to add some girls!!

Baby's First Year Album, Part III

This is the last post for the baby album we made. The last two days show the other pages in the album. This post shows June through September, and the last page. This was such a fun project to work on. I hope it lasts a long time and will hold tons of memories for the family!!

This is the June page. The little baby is all ready for a swim on a hot day. He has his little floatie on- safety first! He is also in the shallow end, so no worries! The water is textured, but the picture doesn't show it. There is also a chair, to relax in.

This July page is one of my favorites. The baby is all ready for his Fourth of July festivities. He's dressed in his patriotic best to watch the fireworks! The picture spot is all decorated with bunting, too!

August has the baby spending the day at the beach. He's looking good in his little diaper and sunglasses.  There is also a huge sandcastle that he was working on! As long as a beach ball doesn't knock down the castle!!

This is the last month in the book. So, the baby isn't quite ready to go to school, but is ready to learn! There is a pile of books on the corner, and an apple. The page also has a bunch of crayons, as long as there is no coloring on the walls! I must admit, this page made me nervous at first, but I love how it came out!

 The next page, which isn't shown, is a double-page of hand-prints. We included a spot for each month, so the parents can take a print and see how the baby grows over the year.

This is the last page of the album. It has a spot for a picture from the baby's first birthday and some journaling about the last year.









Baby's First Year Album, Part II

This is a continuation of yesterday's post. This post goes up to May, so there will be one more tomorrow. Enjoy!

This is the January page. It gives me chills just looking at it! The baby is in all his warm clothes. There is a little snowman dancing in the corner, ready to play. There are a few snowflakes falling to the ground, too.

February's page has baby Cupid, with his golden arrow, looking for some love. The bigger heart in the corner is a box of chocoaltes, but it's kind of hard to tell by the picture. In the other corner, there is a flourish, surrounded by some hearts. The green spot on the last day is a little frog, since 2012 is a leap year. The pages are all a-flutter with hearts, too!

The March page has all the luck of the Irish. The baby is in his little leprechaun outfit, ready to spread some luck. There is a pot of gold, which has a little gleam to it. There is also a rainbow coming from behind the picture frame. Like they say, there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! And apparently the lucky leprechaun isn't too far away!!

The April page features a cute little bunny or two. The little baby is has found his basket of goodies, and has gotten into the chocolate bunny! (I don't know if you can tell, but a bite was taken out of his ear.) From the picture, it looks like there is a white spot in the bottom right hand corner. It is actually a little bunny running away before being caught!

This is the last page for the day. This is May's page. The little baby is all set to catch some butterflies. The page is covered in little butterflies, but they are kind of hard to see, especially the yellow ones, so it looks like there are only a few on there. There is also a little pot of flowers in the corner, because everyone knows that April showers bring May flowers!!



Baby's First Year Album

This is the album we made for our cousins. It is a scrapbook that they can fill in with pictures and notes, for events that over the year. Since there are quite a few pages, we'll post a few at a time, over the next few days. Each page has generally the same set-up. The left side of the page has the month and a baby in a "matching" out fit. There is a spot for a picture and some spaces for journaling. The right side is a calendar, to write down little tid-bits that happen during the month.

The first page is title "My First Year", which is pretty obvious, I guess. The four little yellow rectangles are for the parents to write down the baby's birthday, weight, time, and length. It was all labeled, but not when the picture was taken.

Since the baby was born in October, it would only make sense to start with October. This page is decorated with some bats, spider webs, and a cauldron of slime. The little baby is all set for Trick-or-Treating in his little jack-o-lantern costume.

This page has the little baby in his Thanksgiving best. The turkey in the corner is just too cute to have for dinner! In the spirit of the season, there are leavings falling around the page. In the corner of the other page, the paper says "Happy Thanksgiving".

The last page on this post is for December. I don't think the picture does it justice. The baby is dressed in his elf outfit, ready to help the Big Guy during the holidays. The spot for the picture is bordered by some presents. There are some poinsettia and holly around the page, with gold sparkle accents.