Go-to Gals Challenge: Bella Blvd.

Once a month, the Paper Crafts Go-to Gals like to get together and create projects using some fun products that we've received.  This month, we're featuring products from Bella Blvd.

My oldest son just finished his regular season of soccer & their team made its way to the final championship game.  The big game is in about a week & a half & we're all so excited!!!  I never thought I would be one of those parents who get completely absorbed into their kids' sporting events... but I am definitely a whole-hearted soccer mom these days!  Watching Eli having fun out on the field just makes my heart swell.

But anyway... back to the crafting world!  ;)  I decided to make the coach a small 'thank you' gift & these products from Bella Blvd. made it super easy to put together.  I love their variety of paper & stickers.  All of the different collections work together so nicely!

The big award ribbon comes from a 12x12 sheet of paper that's filled with fun images that can easily be trimmed to create your own embellishment.

I made a gift box using a clear card box and several Bella Blvd. stickers.  It's the perfect size to hold a gift card or movie tickets along with some candy treats for the family.

Make sure to visit some of the other GTG's blogs today to see what they've created using these fun products!

Betsy

Teri

Kim

Windy

Project Supplies: (click pictures for links)

A Gift For Coffee Lovers

Good morning!  Can I just tell you how much fun it is to have both of my boys home with me?  I love having days off from work. (Hopefully I'll still be saying the same thing later in the summer.)  ;)  We've had such a nice day so far... eating some yummy, made-from-scratch breakfast, watching a couple of cute cartoons together, playing Sorry (my oldest's favorite board game) -- And now, my boys are building Legos while I sort through totes of clothes.  That's one really great thing about having 2 boys.  Between my oldest son's out grown clothes & those from other family members... I don't think I'm ever going to have to buy my youngest son anything for years!

So... onto something crafty!  Have you seen the latest challenge on the Moxie Fab World blog?!?  It's called Fun With Fabric & there are LOTS of cool fabric projects linked to inspire you.  I love incorporating fabric in my projects & today I have something that I made with felt.

My charge nurse at work knows how much I love coffee & buys me a "Friday Treat" from the hospital coffee shop when we've had a tough week.  I usually try to sneak some $$$ into her office, but she finds me out more often than not.  So... I wanted to make her a little something to say 'thank you.

I've been oogling these cute coffee sleeves on Etsy and wanted to try one out for myself.  I buy my felt from Heather Bailey's shop (she has the softest, most colorful felt that I've found!).  I die cut some decorative pieces from a couple of Papertrey Ink dies and then hand-cut some flowers and leaves and stitched everything together.  The crochet flower was from My Mind's Eye.

I think my sleeve turned out kind of cute, but I wanted a card to go along with it... so I just hand-cut a coffee mug shape out of kraft paper and added a stamped sentiment (from MFT).  The card is two pieces.  The piece with the handle is the back and the front was the same shape, minus the handle.  The top of the mug is adhered together and the coffee sleeve just slides right onto the front of the card.  (sorry if this is confusing)  In lieu of an envelope, I slipped my coffee giftie into a little glassine bag and hand delivered it.

Well.... I need to scoot!  My youngest has decided to try on almost every piece of clothing that I've folded while I've been typing my blog post.  ;)  Hope you all have a great day!

Embellish Magazine Blog Hop!!!

Hey everyone!  I'm super excited today to be a part of the very first Embellish Magazine Blog Hop!!! 

If you haven't checked out this PHENOMENAL online issue, I really encourage you to do so!  It is so inspiring!  Each magazine has a theme, and the premiere issues challenge was to create a paper craft project using: red, brown, kraft, turquoise and use twine.  To get your creative juices flowing, each participant in the hop has created a new project for you to check out! 

Don't forget to leave comments on every blog.  Embellish is offering four prizes for 10 lucky winners.  The winners will be randomly selected from each of the blog hop participant blogs.  A comment left on each of the blog hop participant's web site will give you an entry to win one of the prizes, which include Lawn Fawn stamps, May Arts twine, Subscription to Embellish Magazine, and A New Design crinkly stained ribbon.

• Prize contest is open until Monday, 5pm EST.  Winners will be announced Tuesday, June 1st. 

(click picture to enlarge)

And... here's my card!  I cut a butterfly out of some vintage fabric & paired it with some Cosmo Cricket patterned paper.  The sentiment is from PTI.

Your next stop on the hop will be to Sara Martina Parker's blog!  But... just in case you didn't start from the beginning, here is a list of all of the participants:

Participants:

Embellish Blog

Ryann Salamon

Tessa Wise

Charlene Austin

Renee Van Stralen

Lori Roop

Julie Campbell (*You Are Here!)

Sara Martina Parker

Tammy Fite

Heather Pulvirenti

Regan D'Agostino

Emily Niehaus

Maile Belles

Tiffany Johnson

Anya Schrier

Leigh Ann Baird

Amy Rohl

Mariana Grigsby

Kelly Marie Alvarez

Michelle Woerner

Tina Fussell

Maureen Plut

Brenda Weaver

Julie Lacey

Ashley Cannon Newell

Thank You Berry Much!

Good morning! I have a couple of posts for you today. I was definitely in the 'Spring-time' mood yesterday and made a couple of cards.

OK. Let me be honest with you. Actually... I was in a terrible mood yesterday & needed craft therapy with happy, peaceful colors. :) For those of you who read my blog yesterday... my car has been giving me fits. I was praying that we could avoid a major repair for ONCE after getting our tax return --- because our finances are SO tight that it's nice to have a little cushion to live on. For some reason, every year about this time... something major goes wrong & our tax return comes to the rescue.

But -- the biggest issue yesterday was dealing with my 4 yr. old. For some reason, he was in a MOOD yesterday. --- I had to peel him off the stacks of tires at the tire repair shop... peel him off the ground from a tantrum... deal with his screaming fits at home -- fun stuff like that. And, to top it off, an old friend that I hadn't seen in years was getting her car repaired too -- so I'm sure she thought my son acted like this all the time. Very embarrassing. I was never happier to see him fall asleep. LOL! -- And that's when I ran to my craft room to 'vent'. Believe me -- words can not describe how terrible he was yesterday. And then, today... he's like an angel. ???

OK. Enough of that. ;) Here is a card I made from a little Spring-time inspiration from Betsy Veldman & Papertrey Ink. (I cut a piece of felt to mimic the strawberry stems.) The 'Green Thumbs' set was my very first non-Stampin' Up! set I purchased YEARS ago. This set opened my eyes to the wide world of crafts. I was definitely 'stuck in a box' before that fateful purchase. LOVE this set! :)
Thanks for letting me vent. Love you guys! :)