easter fun

Spring has officially sprung when we went to Blue Mountain during the long Easter weekend.  So we were not expecting the mountains to still be open for skiing.  Imagine our (pleasant) surprise when we were told otherwise. That meant one more weekend to enjoy the snow on a gorgeous sunny day.

Here is a layout I made of  the fun we had that weekend!  There were so many great moments I want to capture so I decided to create a collage type layout. 

I used Papertrey dies (polka dot parade for the bunny and headline alphabets - love this font and I can't stop using it so you will see this in many future layouts, ha!), cardstock (harvest gold and smokey shadow for the title) and patterned paper (bitty dots from one of PTI's 8x8 patterned papers).  I also used Martha Stewart 12x12 cardstock and stripes patterned paper fron Echo Park.

I printed the journaling above by cutting my 12x12 cardstock in half and running it through my printer using a landscape orientation. 

Here's a close up of that adorable little bunny which I embellished with a small white pompom ball I got from Michaels.

Thanks for stopping by!

a jungle party

Baby Ibrahim recently celebrated his first birthday party with a jungle themed celebration.  I created this three tiered cake (lemon, chocolate and strawberry shortcake) topped with little edible baby monkeys all over.

Thank you for looking! And may y'all have a sweet week!

Bebsy

Beaded Bib

Last weekend, I finally organized my bead drawer - a task I've been dreading since we moved.  It wasn't as bad as I expected.  In fact, the process felt like a treasure hunt as I unearthed long-forgotten beads.  I found some that would be perfect for a project I have in mind. 

From memory, I tried to re-create the pattern for the beaded bib. 

I joined the beads together using craft wire. 

Finally, I added the chain and closures.

 

 

Have a wonderful Sunday!

cutting garden cards

Last weekend, I was glad to have found the time to create some cards using Papertrey's Cutting Garden set.  Oh my word... this set is now my new favourite floral set.  So easy to use. And the big, bold flowers make such a statement that you do not really need much to add to your card.  The sentiments are also quite gorgeous!

Here is my first card... I kept it relatively flat since I am sending this card to my Mom who is celebrating her birthday this May. 

Aside from the Cutting Garden set, I also used Papertrey ink (Smokey Shadow, Orange Zest and Ripe Avocado), Amuse's Watermelon ink and Stampin' Up pink cardstock.

Here is the other card I made...

I just changed the colours a bit and used the die cut on one of the blooms to give it some dimension.  For the inks, I used Papertrey's kraft, summer sunrise and Amuse's orange ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

papertrey april blog hop

It's time for another blog hop again over at Papertrey Ink. 

This month is all about creating a project that features something tilted. Here is this month's inspiration photo.

I made 2 projects for this blog hop.  First up is a card made with my new Mini Blooms set.  I got this set last March but never really had the chance to play with it until now. I love the little blooms on this set and I used them to build my background.  Here is my card...

I used Papertrey's Stamper's Select white cardstock, Simple Stripes impression plate, journal tab die, Mega Mixed Messages for the sentiment and of course, Mini Blooms.

Here's a side view look of the card.  I first created my card panel and then later adhered it to the base using some foam adhesives.

For my next project, I created a layout.  I recently bought the SN@P collection from Simple Stories.  I decided that eventhough I am not making Project Life albums, I can still create layouts of our everyday.  This collection makes it so easy to put together a page so I may just create layouts for all of the little things we do daily, ha! 

Here is my tilted layout.  I am not a big fan of anything tilted (that's just how my brain works!) but I can say that I am happy with how this layout came out (still clean and fun which is what I am going for).

I used Papertrey dies (journal tab, fabulous frames, double ended banner), stamps (fabulous frames, little bitty bird for the "live simply. love much" sentiment- i love that!) and patterned paper (raspberry fizz and hawaiian shores bitty dots).  All the other elements are from Simple Stories. 

Here's a close up of my journaling...  I have recently grown fond of printing my journaling directly to a journaling tag.  I first printed it on a regular copy paper.  Then using a small piece of washi tape, I adhered my journaling tag on said copy paper (after eyeballing to my preferred spot where I want it printed) and ran it  through my printer again.  Makes it faster for me especially if I do not want to use my own handwriting.

Here's another close up...

Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

pwp sketch # 20-- hello spring

Eventhough it does not look like it, it really is spring!  My daughter came home one day singing:

It's spring, it's spring
We're really glad it's spring
The flowers grow
There's no more snow
We're really glad it's spring

Here is a layout I made of her first trip to the park this spring. 

I used Papertrey dies (wonderful words: hello, banners (which I cut in half)  from countdown details), button (pure poppy), stamps (calendar basics for the date and simple alphabet for the "x" mark) and patterned paper (pure poppy, enchanted evening and harvest gold for the pennants). The word "spring" is from American Crafts and the rest of the patterned papers and journaling tag are from Simple Stories' 24/Seven collection.  This is my new favourite set  nowadays.. love the colours and the elements are perfect for everyday layouts.

I am entering this to Leigh Penner's Pages with Papertrey Sketch challenge found here.  Here is her sketch (which I love!).

Here's a close up of my fun embellishment cluster...

Closer look at the journaling...

Thanks for stopping by!

Homegirl Anna

A friend invited me to go to Anna Olson's lecture at the public library.  I was thrilled as I enjoy watching Anna Olson's shows and considers myself a novice baker.  To those not familiar with Anna, she is a renowned cookbook author and a popular TV host for Food Network.  


Photo from Food Network

Anna had a way of addressing a crowd in a way that made you feel like you were just enjoying an afternoon tea with a girlfriend.   She revealed fascinating tidbits about herself including the major influence to her career choice, her grandmother; and that she grudgingly worked in finance before pursuing her true passion, culinary arts.  She talked about the meticulous process for recipe and cookbook development as well as the elaborate production sequence of her TV show.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Anna lives in Welland, ON in the Niagara region.  She speaks passionately about the area and its abundant produce that inspires much of her recipes and ideas for her show.  Anna is a regular at the roadside fruit & vegetable stand and the farmers markets.  She reinforced our decision that living in rural Niagara has a lot of tangible benefits.

The hour-long lecture went by so quickly.  At the end of the talk, I was so inspired (not to mention star-struck) that I wanted to purchase her latest cookbook for Anna to sign.  But, I didn't bring enough cash and the library didn't take credit nor debit cards.  However, knowing that Anna frequents farmer's market, I'm sure I'll bump into my homey again one of these days.

Photo from Amazon.com

Happy Sunday,

baby cards

‘Tis the season for babies around here where I live!  A number of my friends had or are having babies.  I mentioned in my last post that a friend of ours (whom we gave a princess baby shower) is having a baby girl this spring. 

Here is the card I made for her...

The princess image is from My Cute Stamps’ Royal Celebration set.  I also used Papertrey’s Polka Dot Basics, Hanging Out set for the sentiment and Bells and Boughs for the bow. 

The inside of the card has sentiments from  Papertrey’s Celebration set and MCS’s Royal Celebration.

  

Again I used Laurie’s gift card hanger die found here on my gift.  So cute!

 

One of our friends was still out of the country and unable to join the baby shower.  She sent me her gift which I included inside this card which I made for her.

 

I used Papertrey’s Sweet Baby die for the giraffe, Background Basics: Twinkle and Lovely Layers for the sentiment.

Lastly, I made the parents-to-be a little notebook where guests can write their well wishes and parenting tips. This reminds me of the notebook you bring around Disney for your favourite characters' signatures!

I used my pink Bind It All tool to put together the pages.  To decorate it, I used My Cute Stamps' Royal Celebration set, Papertrey's Background Basics: Twinkle, Alphablocks stamp and die set and Spellbinder's Circle and Scallop dies.

Here is a look at the inside of the book...

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a magical weekend!

diaper cake

Last weekend, we had a surprise baby shower for our friends who are having a baby girl this spring.   The mommy-to-be is especially fond of Disney princesses so we decided to give them a royal celebration.   I got  the tutorial for this no-roll diaper cake here. Most tutorials call for the diapers to be individually rolled up.  So glad I found this no-roll tutorial which was a huge time saver!

Here is my princess diaper cake.

Here's the top view of the cake where you can see the no-roll diapers inside.

To decorate it, I used some My Mind’s Eye patterned paper for wrapping the cake layers.  Then I used my Lil Inker’s bow die to embellish.  The banner is from MME and I used Papertrey’s Modern Alphabet die for their sweet baby’s name.  Of course, a princess cake will not be complete without feathers, tulle and a tiara!

I also baked some cupcakes  which I covered with pink cupcake sleeves I cut from my beloved (but often neglected) Cricut.    The “A Royal Celebration” sentiment is from My Cute Stamps’ Royal Celebration set.

This is how I displayed them at the dessert table...



And this is how they all look together...

Thanks for stopping by!