Happy Easter!

Good Morning Everyone!

Happy Easter!  This Easter Bunny is happy to report that she has finished her Easter work for this year.  I made little Easter baskets for the place settings at Annie's table and for Bob, Jan, Holly, and Jeanne.  Marie and Robbie will wake up to the same baskets that they have had all of their lives. Their baskets are made of pink and yellow plastic and we tuck them away year after year. 

I made oatmeal carrot muffins and a huge bowl of yummy fresh fruit cup for us to have for breakfast this morning with our chocolate eggs!  Here's the box I created for Bob and Jan's muffins.

 

One of these days I will take the time to photograph the steps I use to create those boxes for cupcakes, mini cakes, and muffins.  Here's what's inside the box for Bob and Jan.

 



Holly likes butterflies so here's the box I made for her.  I used the "Pack a Picnic" template from PaperTrey Ink to create it.

Now it's time to make the salad that we'll be eating at Annie's today.  Happy Easter Everyone!

Enjoy your day!
Carol

Last Minute Easter Basket

Hi Everyone!

I am guessing that if you are in need of a last minute Easter basket you probably aren't reading my blog the day before Easter, but then again maybe you googled "last minute Easter basket" and my blog came up.  If you don't need an Easter basket you might still use this idea.

We're going to a friend's house for Easter dinner.  In addition to the salad that I will make tomorrow morning, I want to bring something for each place setting.  I have templates for all sorts of bags and baskets, but they all take a while to create so I wanted something that I could put together quickly.

I used the scalloped blade on my paper trimmer to cut tag weight paper so that it measured 8.25" x 8.25".  If you don't have a scalloped blade just use the straight one and the basket will still look fine. 

 

I scored at 2.75" and 5.5" along one side, turned the paper 90 degrees, and scored again at 2.75" and 5.5".  I used my bone folder to crease the folds I had made.  After you crease the folds you will see 9 little squares on your paper. 

Cut along the 2 creases you see at the top of your paper and the 2 creases you see at the bottom of the paper until you reach the intersecting lines. 

Pull 2 of the side pieces together until they make a little point. 

Then pull the square that is between them up and staple the 3 pieces together. 

Do the same thing to the opposite side. 

 

Add a handle and you're done.



You can add decorations to the side panels or just keep that basket at it is.  Fill it with Easter grass and Easter treats. 

Have a Happy Easter!
Carol

Hang in There!

Hi Everyone!

Life has continued to be crazy-busy lately so I haven't had the time that I want and need for crafting.  I do, however, have a couple of cards to share with you. 

A friend of mine is going through some difficult times and could use a hug or two.  I made this first card for her.  I'm happy with the way it turned out, but a part of me wants to add Glossy Accents to the banana peels or the bananas.  But there are 10 bananas on the card and I am afraid that if I mess up when I add the Glossy Accents I may ruin the card.  So here is how it looks right now and I may or may not end up adding Glossy Accents to it.  I have more than 100 people reading my blog each day and would really appreciate comments from some of you telling me whether I should or should not add Glossy Accents and if I should would it be to the banana peels or bananas?

The monkey is from Stampendous.  The sentiment is from Inky Antics and the banana is from Lawn Fawn.  I fussy cut the bananas and adhered them to my card by using my Xyron "X" Create a Sticker.  The monkey/sentiment is attached to the card with foam tape. 

Another friend of mine orders personalized cards from me on a regular basis.  This time she wanted a wedding card.  Here's the card.

I used my computer to create the names.  The love birds and sentiment were created with Hero Arts Stamps. 

That's it for today!

Have a nice night!
Carol

speedy recovery and thanks a bunch

Hi Everyone!

I am happy to say that I have finally finished creating the thank you cards I wanted to make to thank my friends and family for my birthday gifts.  It occured to me that there was no reason why I couldn't duplicate or slightly alter some of the cards I had already finished so that is what I did.  I have a couple of new cards to share today. 

I used Lawn Fawn paper, one of my favorite Denami Design's chickie stamps, and a Lockhart sentiment stamp to create these 2 cards.   I tied a little twine onto all of the cards I made today.  The banners that I stamped the sentiment onto were in my stash.  I found them at Marshalls ages ago and knew I would put them to good use.  The trick is finding sentiments that fit on them. 

 

 

Today I learned that a dear friend of mine is having gall bladder surgery on Thursday.  I wanted to get a card into the mail for her so I put this one together.  I used a couple of stamps from Lawn Fawn's "On the Mend" clear stamp set and some Lawn Fawn paper.  I added glossy accents to the heating pad that the turtle is carrying on his back.

 

 

Now that my cards are created I need to write my thank you's!  Have a nice night.

Carol

 

More Thank You Cards

Hi Everyone!

Well, this day certainly flew by.  I've been busy since 8 AM and have barely taken a break.  I've mostly been doing  housework and schoolwork, but I also finished a few more cards.  Robbie did the grocery shopping.  I still need to do some laundry and finish my lesson plans for the week. 

First up is a very quick and easy card.  Used some Lawn Fawn paper, a Lockhart sentiment stamp, and a sticker.

 

 

Today's second card is much prettier in person than its picture.  Toni gave me the paper and the Martha Stewart flowers for my birthday.  I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the leaves and A Country Welcome stamp to create the sentiment.

 

 

Here's my last card for today.  I'm not sure which company created the stamp that I used as there are no markings on it.  Had the sticker, ribbon and ric rac in my stash.  The paper is from Lawn Fawn.

 

 

 

Have a wonderful night!

Carol







Shopping

Hi Everyone!

I told you that last Sunday Marie, Robbie and Jeanne gave me a surprise party.  In addition to the trip to California that my sisters are giving me, jewelry from Marie, and a Walker DVD from Robbie, my friends gave me all sorts of amazing gifts including a Vera Bradley wristlet and ID holder, shirts, papercrafting supplies, body lotions, a tulip plant, and gift cards to Panera, 2 Chinese restaurants, Michaels, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Absolutely Everything.

I put my gift cards in my wristlet and Janet and I went shopping at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, MA.  Some of you have commented that you love to see what I buy on my shopping trips so in this second post of the day I will share what I bought today. 

Mushrooms fascinate me.  I don't like to eat them, but I love to create cards with them.  You know how much I love Lockhart stamps so today I added this one to my collection.

You know how much Robbie and I bond over owls so I had to get this sentiment stamp from Hero Arts to use with the many owl stamps I have.

 

 

When I first saw a card using these stamps from Technique Tuesday I knew I had to own them.  Diane ,I thought of you when I saw them.  Maybe we can use the sentiments in a shadow box or collage frame.

 

 

I saw this die used on a simple but adorable Easter card and decided it belonged in my stash.

 



I plan to use these stamps from Technique Tuesday on a card for Marie. 

I know that you cannot read the words on this die.  It says "Get Well".  Teri Anderson created a simple and adorable card with it at this link. 

 

 

That's what I bought today and I have money left on my card for another day. 

 



Having dinner with Sandy and Toni tonight.  Hope you are doing something fun too.
Carol

Thank You Cards

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited.  The sun is shining and I am spending the day with my friend Janet.  We are going  shopping at one of our favorite stores, Absolutely Everything, in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  Wahoo!  I have 2 gift certificates to spend.  Before I head out the door I have 2 more thank you cards to share with you.

Last night I decided to use some of my "thanks a bunch" wooden stamps.  I looked up in front of me where my wooden stamps are displayed to find some of my stamps that have a "bunch" image. 

This first card will be for one of my sisters and all of them will know which sister.  The carrots were created with a Lockhart stamp.  I used colored pencils to color the image.   The sentiment was created with a Penny black stamp.  The green papers are from Graphic 45 and the twine is from The Twinery. 

This second card will be for one of my friends.  The penguin was created with a Memory Box stamp.  I used a Lockhart stamp for the sentiment.  The floral paper is from Lawn Fawn and the ribbon was in my stash.

Sorry that the images aren't just a little clearer.

That's all for now folks!  Enjoy your day.  I know I will enjoy mine.
Carol

Many Thanks

Hi Everyone!

My progress on my thank you cards has been incredibly slow.  I have been spending so much time creating things for school that I haven't done much else all week long.  I took today off because of the snowstorm and didn't accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped to do.  In the past hour I have created 2 cards that I will share with you.

I keep all of my "thanks" and "thank you" clear stamps in their own cd case.  If I purchase a set of stamps that has either of those sentiments in it, I pull out the stamp and add it to the collection.  That way I don't overlook the stamp when I am creating thank you cards.  I do the same thing with "birthday" and "hello" sentiments. 

So tonight I pulled out the "thanks" cd and got to work.  I stamped each of the stamps onto a Lawn Fawn patterned paper.  "Many thanks" is attached to the card with foam tape.

My "Flower Friend" clear stamps from Simon Says Stamp arrived earlier this week.  I used some of those stamps on the next card.  It took me a while to get the look that I wanted, but finally I feel successful.  Here's the card.

I've done enough school work for today so I hope to make more cards in just a while.

Have a great night! 
Please THINK SPRING!
Carol

Thank you cards

Hi Everyone!

We had a staff meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 tonight and now I am finally home.  I haven't had a chance to tell you about my 60th birthday party.  On Sunday I drove to my sister Jeanne's house expecting to have a birthday dinner with my sister (Jeanne), my son (Robbie), and my daughter (Marie).   Robbie rode with me, but Marie was already at Jeanne's supposedly making the birthday dinner. 

When I walked into Jeanne's house she thrust her laptop into my face showing me that she was skyping with our two other sisters, Paula and Pam.  They said, "Happy birthday" to me and then Jeanne called out, "Okay, everyone come on out".  Suddenly many of my friends came out of the guest room on one side of the house and out of the dining room on the other side of the house exclaiming, "Surprise!  Surprise!  Happy birthday!"

I didn't know where to look first.  I was TOTALLY surprised.  Shocked!  Excited!  Not one single person had given even the tiniest detail of this party away to me.  Robbie made 3 pans of baked ziti.  Marie made the appetizers, the salad and the lemon meringue cupcakes.  Jeanne did all of the shopping and paid for everything.  The 3 of them decorated the living room, the dining room, and the porch. 

My 3 sisters are giving me a trip to California for a birthday gift so that I can spend some time with Paula and Pam.  My friends also gave me all sorts of amazing and thoughtful gifts.  The entire day was so awesome. 

Last night I went out with some other friends to dinner and they also gave me the yummiest cake ever along with more amazing gifts. 

So now...I want to stop playing around and create about 2 dozen thank you cards.  So expect to be seeing a lot of thank you cards for the next week or so. 

Angela gave me an adorable 12" x 12" Heidi Grace paper pad along with coordinating stickers, two other pads of paper, colored pencils, and a clear storage container.  I used a little of the Heidi Grace paper on this first card. 

 

 

I used some of my new Graphic 45 paper to create this second card.  Diane gave me the lace that I used a long time ago. The flowers and ribbon were in my stash.

 

And that's all I have to share today. 
Enjoy what's left of this night!
Carol

 

 



Tulips

Hi Everyone!

I don't think there is anything more beautiful than spring flowers.  Daffodils, irises, and tulips are my favorite.  As I have told you I am not a fan of winter so I want spring to be here NOW!  I decided that even if it's winter outside I can create spring inside.  I looked through my supplies and found some tulip ribbon, a tulip paper punch, a wooden tulip stamp, and a clear tulip stamp. 

I've created many cards that are similar to this one.  The newspaper tulip stamp from Hero Arts is one of my favorite stamps.  I love how clearly the embossing shows.  The sentiment was created with a Lockhart stamp.

The embossing also shows up really well on this card.  The tops of the paper punched tulips are adhered to the card with foam tape.  It really helps them stand out.  The tiny tulips were created with a stamp from Lawn Fawn.  The sentiment was created with a Lockhart stamp.

 

The sun is shining!  Maybe Spring really is on the way.

Carol

 



Pussy Willows

Hi Everyone!

A friend of mine could use a "thinking of you" card along about now so I just finished creating one for her.  The teacher in me has been planning pussy willow activities for school so I decided to create a pussy willow card.

I used a vase and blossom stems from The Stamps of Life's "Flowers2share" clear stamp set to create the images on this card.  I used a silver Uniball pen to add color to the blossoms and to make them look like pussy willows.  I couldn't decide where to put the sentiment so I put it inside the card.

Have a great day!
Carol