Kim's Hospitality Gift

You first saw this mini in my retreat post but I thought I would give you a better look. This is a really cool mini designed by the uber-talented PaperCrafter45. I don't even know her name (Sock Monkey?) as she does silent videos but I have loved every video she's put out there and this "Skinny Mini" tutorial did not disappoint.

I used K & Company's Wild Saffron paper and kraft cardstock. Ribbon is from my stash. Border punch is Stampin' Up's scallop border punch.

The front cover with the ribbon untied.

 Opens to a pocket page on the right and a page with a flap on the left.

Same as above but with the flap open.

Next page(s) have vertical flaps that lift up.

Same as above but with flaps open.

Next page(s) have another pocket page on the left and the inside of the back cover.

Back cover. *Note: don't use ribbon that thick. Stick with the thin width.

Front with ribbon tied. I couldn't for the life of me get that ribbon to "face" the right way!

Thanks again, Kim, for inviting me and letting me crash at your place! Good times were had. :)

Hope this finds you happy and healthy.

Simon Says Stamp!

This store is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. They have tons of different companies for sale not to mention their own exclusives, which are ADORBS. SSS's dies are amazing, the card club kits are super stocked at a great price (I just joined!!!), and the blog is pretty cool to boot. I nabbed this grab bag (May Card Club Kit) just by participating in a blog hop they hosted. And by participate, I mean I went from designer to designer, getting amazing ideas from their gorgeous creations.

"You Can Do Anything" SSS Stamp set; American Crafts cardstock in
Grapefruit Pink (not shown), Crimson Red (not shown), and Robin's Egg Blue; Ultra Heavy #120 White Cardstock (not shown)

Assorted buttons by Doodlebug; May Arts Black and White Diagonal Ribbon;
Red and White Polka Dot Washi Tape (at top)

Pebbles Aqua Self Adhesive Backed Buttons; Pebbles Felt Cloud Stickers

Die cuts and overlays from BasicGrey's What's Up collection

6x6 papers from BasicGrey's What's Up collection

And, of course, the infamous sucker!!

Thanks SimonSaysStamp.com!! Keep up the good work. :)

Hope this finds you happy and healthy. 

First Scrap Retreat

I enjoyed my first scrap weekend at the 14th annual Bluebonnet Retreat in College Station, Texas. My cousin, Kim, invited me to join her and her daughter, Lindsey, and we had bunches of fun! There was A LOT of laughing and I even got a few projects completed (or at least done enough to bring home and embellish). It was a scrapbooking retreat, and since I don't scrapbook (yet, anyway :)), I brought some projects that needed finishing, minis I wanted to start, and Christmas in July challenge supplies.

Here's my mess (between projects). I have never had so much space to work on! Even though it was smaller than most of the ladies were used to, it was so much bigger than my space at home. I had just finished that Cosmo Cricket Tea for Two mini right there in the middle.

Here are some of the projects I got finished...

Before I left the house I made a hospitality gift for Kim to thank her for not only inviting me but hosting me as well.

This picture is actually upside-down but my bow would not tie right!

I got the Christmas in July projects finished up to embellishing.

A few minis start to finish.

Cosmo Cricket mini seen above

Not pictured, I fixed the Kids' Summer Adventure Mini Album spine that was giving me fits and a mini I have been working on (for YEARS) for Meg's kiddos.

I will post completed pictures of these projects as I finish embellishing them. :)

What do you take on your retreats? Must haves? Just for fun? I would love to know. I found that, though I thought I was bringing a lot, maybe too much, I didn't bring enough.

I would like to thank my awesome husband and mom for agreeing to stay with the kiddos this weekend so I could stay up until 2 a.m. mini-making. :) I love you so much.

Hope this finds you happy and healthy.

And another birthday...last one, maybe. For awhile.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!!!

This is a little late as Charlie's birthday was July 15th but I hope it makes him happy none-the-less. I mean what's a birthday if not stretched out for a couples days (weeks)? So I made little him a mini book for his first birthday. Technically, I should say, it's for his mom. :)

Again, I used the amazingly colorful DCWV's Celebration stack. I tried to stick with the more neutral colors to create more of a "boy" version, as opposed to my last post of the "girl" version. But like I said, it's mostly for Mom and so I didn't try too hard. Again, I used kraft cardstock and a tutorial by Chandra at YT: SuperHappyScrapper. Love this mini!

Happy first birthday, Charlie! Wish we could have been there to celebrate but hopefully we will see you soon. :)

Hope this finds you happy and healthy.

Another Birthday...

My sweet oldest child turns seven today. SEVEN! Crazy.

Birthday

First birthday

Second birthday

Third birthday

Fourth birthday (and very tired because her three boy cousins were staying with us.) 

Fifth birthday

Sixth birthday (and loves Legos still)

I will put her seventh birthday picture(s) here this evening. 

E- You are such a little lady, most of the time. :) You can light up the room with your presence. You are graceful and kind, funny and smart. We are so lucky to call you daughter. Thank you for picking us to be your parents. Love, Mommy and Daddy

Hope this finds you happy and healthy.

Happy Birthday, Whitney!!!

My precious goddaughter turns THREE today! I can hardly believe it! My BFF, LT, gave birth to her the day before my oldest turned four. I was hoping they would share a birthday but it's close enough. :) I was able to meet Whitney the next day (after all of our birthday party guests left) and I've been in love every since.

This year, I decided I would make her a mini. I haven't made one specifically for her and I thought she was probably old enough to at least give it a try. I didn't use any big embellishments just in case the temptation became to great and they were pulled off or sucked on or whatever. All the embellishments I did use are made of paper so even if they do come off, they shouldn't be toxic if nibbled. If you would rather, you can watch the VIDEO HERE.

I started with DCWV's Celebration stack. LOVE this paper! It's so colorful and it's easy to turn it into a girl birthday or a boy birthday (will show that mini in the future :)). I used kraft cardstock and a tutorial by Chandra at YT: SuperHappyScrapper. I grabbed chipboard letters from my stash and the purple matched perfectly. I didn't want then to be too distressed but I had to remove the little bits that attached to the bigger page. I think they came out all right.

I had to put tape on the binding because my paper started ripping. I made the spine a little too small. This also makes this book not close very well.

I had fun using all the colorful, glittered/foiled papers throughout.

  

I tried to keep my tags clean and simple as not to add any more bulk to the book and because I wanted Whitney to be able to manipulate them herself. I also wanted LT to be able to add lots of pictures and journaling.

A card I made out of the colorful scraps. Couldn't let those go to waste. :)

A few more little details...

I hope you like it, Whitney! We love you so very much and hope to see you soon! Happy Birthday!!

I hope this finds you happy and healthy!