Family Photos

First off, let me say that I am so sorry I've been MIA for a while.  We've all had a bout with the stomach bug and I'm sure you don't want ANY details.  We barely made it to our family photo shoot this Saturday, but still a little under the weather, we were able to at least fake feeling well for about an hour.  This is our youngest and I can't believe she's already 8 months old.  In this picture, she's actually under a blanket because it was quite chilly.  I lifted up the blanket to sneak a peek and the photographer took a quick shot of her.  Isn't she a cutie?

This is one of my favorites, even though Corinne was taking a bottle.  I saw something similar to this done before, so we brought a mirror along, just in case.  Isn't it a cool shot? I can't wait to do a little MDSing with these photos.

Here's another fun shot we wanted to try.  Our photographer was amazing and just loved experimenting with us.  This is something called "forced perspective" I believe.  I'm just a novice, so correct me if I'm wrong.  Matt and Hannah were probably 25 yards away from us when this picture was taken.  Fun??

These last two shots are probably the most genuine of our family.  With three kids, it's difficult to get a good posed shot without looking hokey.  I LOVE candid shots.  By this point in the photo shoot, Corinne was fast asleep being held by a friend of ours.  Thanks, Kim!

Monogrammed Aprons with SU! Fabric

First off, I need to apologize for the lighting in the photo.  I assure you that these aprons are MUCH cuter in person.  As soon as I get a model, I'll take photos for you to see.  I wanted to do something nice for the cafeteria ladies at our school this year, and since they always wear aprons, this seemed like an obvious choice.  Both aprons are made using SU! fabric.  I just love them!  Here's a quick tutorial so you can make your own.

You will need an apron (any color of your choosing, I got mine at WalMart for around $6), a sewing machine with a 4 X 4 embroidery hoop, tear away backing, tape measure, scissors, fabric, and spray adhesive.

1. Measure your apron from the top and sides to find the center. (mine was 7 in from the top and 7 1/2 in from the side)

2. Place your backing within your hoop and spray with the spray adhesive.

3. Line up your apron so the center is in the center of the hoop (you may use a grid if it is helpful, but you don't have to have one)

4. Place your hoop in your sewing machine and let it do the outline stitch.

5. Cut your fabric big enough to cover the outline stitch.  Spray with adhesive and stick on your apron.  Put it back in the sewing machine for another outline stitch.

6. Pull your hoop out and cut the excess fabric as closely as you can to the stitch.  This is tedious, but the closer you get, the better it looks.

7. Put your hoop back in the machine and watch in awe.  In about 10 short minutes, you will have your very own monogrammed apron!  

These make wonderful Christmas gifts and are very inexpensive!  Enjoy, and please comment if you have any questions.

Thanksgiving Treat Card

This is a card and a treat box all in one.  Don't you just love the cards that can double as a gift as well?  I found this tutorial HERE and modified it a little to better fit my needs.  I HATE to waste anything...especially current SU product.  I changed the measurement of the width of the card to 6 inches.  This way, I could get two out of one sheet of 12X12!  Smart, eh?  The only thing I will warn you about though is that the chocolates fit better if you leave the measurements the same.  I put the same number in mine though and they are just a little scrunched!  Do as you wish, it's your card!

This card uses my favorite DSP (Spice Cake) and the Gently Falling stamp set in More Mustard and Pool Party!  The base is 12X12 Pool Party textured card stock.  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!

Shotgun Wedding Card

Well, it's not really a "Shotgun Wedding" Card, it's more like a really fast card to whip up...somewhat like a shotgun wedding.  My husband and I dated for 6 weeks and then just decided to get married on a Monday morning.  Ha!  Talk about fast!  It makes for a great story though.  

About the card...I needed a VERY quick and easy card for a girl at work who is having a shower on Thursday.  I LOVE being in charge of that, but it seems like it's always at the worst time when I am busiest.  I got the inspiration for this card from The Village Stamper  I just loved it's simplicity and thought it would make a beautiful wedding shower card.  I hope you enjoy it!

Flower Child MDS

Here are some pages that I've done in the last month or so.  I've been getting behind on my scrapbooking since school started back.  Hopefully, around Christmas break, I can catch back up again!  I'm sure all of you working moms know exactly what I'm talking about!  The first page was inspired by one of Heather Summers' pages.  I love looking to her for inspiration.  The second one is straight from the Downtown Grunge templates.  There are two VERY simple pages to recreate.  Enjoy!

Christmas Lodge Hybrid

Okay...I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted.  I've been busy creating.  I've just finished making 180 Thanksgiving cards for my parents to send out to their clients.  It has consumed a lot of my time.

Here is a hybrid card I created using MDS. Can I just say...I LOVE MDS for card making!!!  I used the Christmas Lodge stamp set on MDS and made it slightly bigger so it would fit in the oval that I embossed around.  I took my Very Vanilla card stock to Copy Max and had them printed 4 to a page.  Then I off-centered an oval mat (for a 4 x 6 picture frame) that I bought at hobby lobby and stuck it to the embossing folder.  I ran some Champagne shimmer paint across the embossing folder, ran it through the Big Shot and voila!  Though you can't really see the shimmer paint in the picture, it DOES make a difference in person.  I'm sad to say another element that does not show up in the photo is the amazing Dazzling Details that I ran across the snowy rooftops.  Again, it's simply beautiful in person.

The sentiment is from the same set.  I cut a 1 x 4 in piece and stamped the sentiment in soft suede.  I punched the corners and daubed the sides.  Then I ran some soft suede ribbon behind and attached.  I just love the clean and simple look of it.  Please, let me know what you think!

Christmas CASE

This is a CASE from a card I first saw on Stampin' Connection.  I've since seen it virtually everywhere.  It is such a clean and simple, yet gorgeous card, I couldn't resist.  This stamp set lends itself beautifully to layering one sentiment on top of another.  Both of the bigger stamps in the set look wonderful on top of the star.  For those of you who don't already own the set, the star is filled with the lyrics of "Joy to the World".  Okay...to the nitty gritty...I stamped the star in Crumb Cake and then embossed the "Joy" in Cherry Cobbler.  The embossed portion at the bottom is done by painting the embossing folder (very gently) with champagne shimmer paint.  The effect is not apparent in the picture, but in person, it is just beautiful.  The two Very Vanilla pieces are divided with a piece of Cherry Cobbler punched out and then covered up with the NEW quilted ribbon.  Ahh!  I just love the way it adds such elegance to the card.  I hope you enjoy the card (if you haven't already seen a version of it elsewhere)  Have a wonderful day!