I think I can!

My son has to go in for a medical test. While the test is in no way invasive or painful, it is long - we're talking at least three hours. He's a boy. He doesn't sit for three hours! So to help keep him contained in the office I thought a surprise might be in order. I took the FREE Cutesy Cover from My Time Made Easy and dolled it up just a bit for the boy.

I went with his favorite theme - trains. I used the, now retired, circus train from Stampin Up to wrap it's way around the box going up the "mountain."



And then I added the famous line from one of his favorite books, The Little Engine that Could.

I finished it off with a couple of buttons since the child loves my buttons. And adjusted the top so it would close by just tucking in the lid like a deck of cards. Then I filled it up with a new matchbox (boys are so easy!), some treats, and some of the new school papers from My Time Made Easy so he could practice his letters. A perfect, simple little surprise to help the time pass.

Challenges:
Stampin' for the Weekend: Your Favorite book (in this case, my son's)

Thanks for looking.

Hats off!

My dearest friend's son is graduating from high school in a few weeks. He is a very sweet young man who was once a fabulous babysitter for my son. Despite all the wonderful things about him, he is a male and when it comes to graduation things for boys I am always at a loss. I broke down and sent a gift card with the card I made because really, I don't know what teenage boys really WANT. He will be heading off to college in the fall and as I recall there are always a ton of things you didn't know you would need. Hopefully, he sees it that way too.
Here's the super quick card I made up for him.

The background is really a sheer fabric with the design on already on it covering a bright blue cardstock. Talk about a quick solution! The graduation cap is from Stampin Up. I don't know where I got the unmounted "Congratulations" though I wish I did because I really like the font. All the stamped images are heat embossed for an extra little something.

Challenges:
Paper cutz: graduation

Thanks for looking!

I finally finished my Mother's Day projects. This card is going to my suppose-to-be-mom. The tulip is from Gina K. stamped and then heat embossed with pink puff embossing powder. The puff part gives it a very nice flowery texture with little effort. On the bottom it says "Happy Mother's Day." The background is something I made with alcohol inks. I think it brightens the card while giving it a some interest without a pattern.



This card is going up on the following challenges:
Sweet sketch Wednesday: sketch
Crafty Creations: Make your own background paper
Cute Card Thursday: make something (background)
S2G Challenges: use the word Mother
Challenge up your life: Mother's Day card in orange and pink

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Anniversary!

As has been happening a lot of late, our wedding anniversary got away from me. Before I realized it I only had days left to get my act together. Luckily, I was inspired by several challenge blogs that when brought together made everything fall into place.
Here is the card I came up with:

The photograph is a black and white that was taken at our wedding. The background is from Damask Designs (PTI). The words were printed on the computer. It says, "Remember the day..." "Remember the love..." And the inside it simply says "Happy Anniversary."
My husband loved it!

Challenges that brought it about:
Project Tuesday: folded paper frame
Tuesday Taggers: Memories
Papertake: Something different (I had never done the folded paper frame before)
Cards for Men: Monochromatic

Thanks for looking.

Thank you...everywhere!

As I said, I'm going to try to focus on thank you cards for a bit after the May and June rush, but before I even get to the rush I needed one more. For this one I used the sketch from Unscripted Sketches and I'll put it up on the ABC Challenge also since T is for Thank you. I think I could enter the ABC Challenge 10 times and still need more of them.
Here's my fun little spring thank you for whoever in the world I need it for.

Once again the image is from Stamping Bella. I swear I do have other stamps. It seems they just fit my mood of late. The sentiments are actually one stamp inked up individually.

Rough day??

This is the second post today. Wow! That's the first time I've had to say that. Anyway, have you ever noticed how much a compliment can really make someones day? Especially when they're having a bad day or just don't feel like themselves. Sending a card is such an easy way to give someone a pick me up and yet, I seem to forget or run out of time during the day to get it done. A few challenges this week got me to thinking outside of my obligatory card box. You know the box with all the birthdays, thank yous, anniversaries, etc. that you have to send cards for. Thinking all this brought together the following card:

The image is from Stamping Bella. We've all had "those" days. The sentiment was put together with a font set from Just Right Stampers. It says, "even on your roughest day" and the inside says, "you are beautiful."
The sketch came from Sweet Sketch Wednesday. The color came from Raise the Bar where the challenge was to use your favorite color. I love purple, but hardly ever use it. I am quite happy with it's application here. Thanks to Paperplay Challenges I didn't use any patterned paper though I did emboss the strip along the botton and highlight it with sponged ink. It will also go up on Magical Crafts. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you will think of someone special today.

April Showers...

For the most part we haven't seen April showers this year. That probably means we'll have a really wet May, which works for me since we'll be gone for most of the month. We have been enjoying flowers though. The tulips are looking exceptionally good this year with their bright cheery colors and they are everywhere. Despite having wonderful weather and skipping the rain, I am choosing to honor the typical April Showers with Truly Scrumptious. Generally, our spring is nothing but rain so Spring has sprung with some flowers too over at S2G Challenges.

Here's my card.

The image is from Stamping Bella.
Enjoy the rain (or sunshine)!