Sparkle and Fizz

OK Friends, I'm back at it again!  Isn't it funny how life just gets crazy busy!?  Well, it's definitely been that for us---summer winding down, but it seems like daily activities are just winding up!  So, I'm going to take a moment to share with you a favorite Throwback Thursday item, that also teams up with my Transformation Thursday theme, as well. I bought a ton  of the A Little Foxy Designer Series Paper last year, thinking that with all the upcoming babies there were in my life, I'd go through it like water!  The truth is, I ended up just hoarding it all because I loved it so much.  Well...that was silly.  Because now I'm struggling to use it all up! Well, I had a need to make a card for a little boy who was having a birthday and I had a grand idea to make an ice cream themed card.  I used a bit of the A Little Foxy Designer Series Paper and made an adorable awning that was perfect for a non-feminine colored Ice Cream Parlor! The Calypso Coral c

Hello, my friends!  Today I have decided to share with you a Transformation Thursday  Post versus our regular Throwback  because I am super excited to show you how minimalism can actually enhance  your projects.  Sometimes, less truly can be more. My friend, Stephanie, owns a local Paint & Sip Studio, here in town.  (She is amazing, everyone!  I cannot paint, but she has helped me get over that fear and enjoy creating on an actual canvas!  Visit her website here for more information on the Studio.) Stephanie asked me to make her some thank you cards to send to some of her clients.  So, I started on my task.  I had wanted to keep these rather simple, as they will all be mailed and I don't want a lot of embellishments to get ruined during delivery. Here is my first attempt: It calls for a basic Whisper White A2 card base with a layer of Whisper White popped up with some Stampin' Dimensionals .  I used a combination of stamps from  Painter's Palette , Playful Ba

I really enjoy mixing and matching stamp sets to create a unique, one-of-a-kind piece.  Sometimes it's a pain, because then I have to own  more than one stamp set, but sometimes, I just can't  help myself!  Haha!  So, if you're like Moi, and have a whole repertoire of things in your arsenal, then this simple gift tag may just be right up your alley! I welcomed a new neighbor to our street this month and I wanted to gift him and his family something useful.  Hand soap.  Everyone (hopefully!) washes their hands!  So I went to Bath & Body Works and picked up a few of their yummy scents and they gave me a perfect cellophane wrap, ribbon, and a gift tag.  Of course, I didn't use their gift tag---I made my own.  And you can, too! Here's what it looked like: I did use quite a few products for this gift tag, but I love how different elements came together, coordinated beautifully, and created this simple, but elegant, fun and whimsical gift tag.  (That's a

This Simple Saturday Creation was made part because I was exhausted and up suuuuuper late crafting and part because I wasn't sure what kind of a card to make for a 100-year old lady that I don't know!  Haha! I bake cookies every quarter for an organization called the Iowa Cookie Crumbs (check out more about the Crumbs here ) and they wanted to recognize Iowa and  America's oldest female Marine---Elleen Wheatley.  So, of course, I wanted to make a special card for such a special lady!! Here's what my sleepy-brain came up with: With just a basic card base out of Night of Navy Cardstock , some Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper , a little bit of Whisper White Cardstock , and some ribbon/sparkle, the card turned out great!  I love sentiments that take Center Stage on a project and I love pretty paper that needs nothing more than itself to look great! I stamped the Stylized Birthday  stamp onto the Whisper White Cardstock in Night of Navy Ink  (to coordinate w

If you're one of those lucky folks who own the "Word Play" Stamp Set by Stampin' Up!, then you are quite fortunate indeed!  I recently discovered this little gem of a set the other evening at my Best Friend's house when we got together to stamp! I found myself needing to make a few Get Well cards, two were for men.  I, myself, had no appropriate stamp choices for these particular cards, so I asked if I could peruse through her stash.  I found the Word Play Stamp Set and saw that this beautiful collection had so many different sentiments and gorgeous font choices.  It was just perfect for what I needed to use it for! Here is a look at those sentiments and fonts: Aren't they gorgeous!?  Of course, this set is now retired and it's going for a pretty penny online through eBay and other pre-owned sources.  BUT, if you already own it, then feast your eyes on what I made with our current product that features a couple of these sentiments!  You'll also

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  I hope that your week is going well!  Can you believe that August is half-way over??  I have seen lots of Social Media posts about kids already going back to school; the kids in my area go back next week!  Eek!  I imagine that means that there's a lot of last minute shopping, meal-planning, and organization happening for many households.  (Or all households, really.  I mean, everyone has shopping, meal-planning, and organization to do!) Well, I'd like to share with you a quick and easy 3D project that you may be able to utilize for this busy Back-to-School Rush!  I shared it with a group of ladies a couple weeks ago at a Crop Event and it was huge hit! This multi-purpose Gift Box is super versatile!  You can use it if you want to present your kiddo's new teacher with a little summin'-summin' to start the year off, as a special way to present a home-baked cookie treat to a loved one in their lunchbox, or if you need a vessel to hold some

I never was much of a fan of embossing folders, but I have become much more fond of them over the years.  They add dimension, texture, and you can do some really neat things with them! Have you used embossing folders much?  If not, let me just run you through (no pun intended!) some basics about them.  An embossing folder can be used two ways.  To emboss a texture/design into paper (make the texture/design raised on the paper) or deboss a texture/design into paper (make the texture/design sink into  the paper). Today, I'll show you a technqiue called "debossed inking".  This takes your embossing folder to a whole new level!  Take a look at this image: This is what a debossed image that has been inked looks like!  Super cool, right?!  It provides a little extra oomph, by giving it a distressed, vintage-y feel.  And it's so easy to do! Here's what you need: Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine #143263 Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (I used Pine

It's finally here!  My official  birthday!  You know, while I love getting to celebrate my birthday, I want to take a quick moment to reflect on a thought I had today. For those who don't know, I was adopted from South Korea by two amazing people.  I was only three months old when I was welcomed home by these two glorious folks and I am beyond blessed that they were chosen by God to be my parents. While today is the day that I get to celebrate the day that I was born, I really want to celebrate the two amazing people who raised  me to be the woman that I am today.  My birthday isn't really about me , but about the life that was created and nurtured  by my parents .  Without them, I wouldn't be me.  I love you, Mom & Dad.  So very, very much. Today, I also want to celebrate the family I was physically born into and the bravery they had to make a difficult decision to award me a life they weren't capable of providing.  So, to whomever they are and wherever

My best friend's mom had surgery and I wanted to send her a card to brighten her spirits.  I wasn't feeling going down the floral road (as that seems to be my go-to theme for a "thinking of you" or "get well" occasion) so I took the non-traditional route and did a throwback with a stamp set from Sale-A-Bration 2017. This set is the " Hey Chick! " stamp set and it was not  my fave when I first got the Sale-A-Bration catalog.  In fact, I didn't like it at all!  It was way out of my comfort zone, I never thought I'd use it, I swore I wouldn't get it.  But then, Pinterest changed all of that for me.  I saw all of the adorable creations, I saw endless possibilities, I saw so much untapped, non-floraly, out-of-my-box potential, that I finally snatched it up.  And I'm glad I did! If you have this stamp set, then chances are you probably have the  Hexagons 3D Dynamic Impressions Embossing Folder  (which is still current!) to make chicke

It's August 1st!!!  There's lots of exciting things happening today.  To start, it's Tutorial Tuesday.  And then there's also only *four* days until my birthday!  Woohoo!!!  I told my nephew that I'm turning 24 this year.  He guessed I was turning 25; no need to break his little heart!  Hahaha!  (Did I mention, I love that kid!?) Birthdays.  This month is going to be ALL. ABOUT. BIRTHDAYS.  I love extending my birthday celebration for as long as humanly possible (or until everyone is darn near sick of me touting around my "birthday month"!) so I am encouraging all of you to join my Birthday Train and let's #bringbirthdaysback!  (If you join me on Instagram , use the #bringbirthdaysback and share your inspiration with me!) Ok, moving onto Tutorial Tuesday.  My first love on my Papercrafting journey was Scrapbooking.  I scrapbooked since I was three.  Seriously.  I pasted pictures into a leather-bound "guest book" that my mom just had lying