What Happens In Vegas...

Doesn't always stay in Vegas! Several years ago, the husband and I lived there...it's where we got married (five years ago tomorrow!) and where GQ was born. Couldn't leave either of them there! :D

As I was browsing the net yesterday I came across an awesome Zoe + Sprout. They offer some fun and funky fashions for the little people in our lives. And they offer organic cotton versions of their products, which helps with our continuing effort to be as green as we can.

I bought GQ this shirt:
I {love} it and know the husband will too! It's perfect for the annual Crawfish Party we attend. We're supposed to wear crazy t-shirts, now GQ and the husband are covered. I was going to avoid wearing a crazy t-shirt but the husband asked last night what I was going to buy. Guess I should start my search...

If you have a little one and enjoy the humor, be sure to check out Zoe + Sprout, they have so many cute t-shirts and caps to browse through and buy...several with the organic option. Some of my favorites:

I shot J.R.
my tricycle is a hybrid
I'm with the band
The Dog Hates Me
Bo & Luke (set for twins)
Backseat Driver (GQ totally needs this one!)
Crumb Snatcher

Have a good one!

Beyond the Sea

My little bug has been sick for about five days now. We've been stuck inside resting and trying to shake the virus that's wrecking havoc on his little body. Today, he seems to be feeling better, finally! He got 11.5 hours of straight sleep last night, so I'm seeing signs that things are getting back to normal, except for the lingering and annoying couch.

While GQ has been resting I was able to get started on some scrapbooking that needed to get done. I have lots of pictures that are waiting for me to scrap and I am now designing for our local scrapbook store, so I've had layouts to get done for there too. I'm also working on the display for a class I'll be teaching there later in July. Lots going on...and I still have about eight more scrapbook pages worth of pictures to get done!

Beyond the Sea...so simple and so cute! I just loved the little fish paper and it went perfectly with GQ's swimming in the rain picture. The little fish at the bottom right and in the circle cut out at the top were cut from the patterned paper. I used some liquid applique to make puffy fish bubbles.

elements:
cardstock: Prism
patterned paper: have to check on this one...
cardstock letter stickers: Doodlebug

In the meantime...

I have some pictures to post, starting tomorrow, I promise! In the meantime, here is a reading by my favorite author, David Sedaris. It's a little over five minutes, but it's completely hilarious and witty...my kind of humor! (Thank you Scheffie for a girls night out several years ago where we listened to and met David!)

I've found another hobby...

Running! Can't say it's a hobby that I love as much as paper crafting, but I'm liking it. We have sort of a love/hate relationship...I hate getting up early to beat the heat when I run, I hate the running part but I'm loving how I feel immediately after and what it's doing for my body. And I'm thinking as I move along in my training I'll actually love (well, maybe enjoy) running.

I've been running (running = jogging) for about six weeks now and am building up my endurance. I've never been a runner. I always joked that the only time I'd run would be if somebody was chasing me. But now I'm getting up around 6:15am to just go out and do it on my own. I would definitely love to run a 5k this fall but am not making any commitments yet. I just want to see how I progress and maybe in October when the weather cools off a bit I'll sign up for one.

Last week while I was in Ohio visiting family I did run one day. Wanted to get two in but the lack of sleep and my own bed caught up with me and the 2nd run didn't happen. I found out on Wednesday when I was back home that my running shoes got damaged on the plane ride home. The toe on my right shoe now has a hole in it. Annoying. But I needed to be fitted for proper shoes and this gave me reason to go and do it. I dreaded this shoe shopping adventure because I knew I was going to a running shop and going to run while somebody watched my actual run. I warned them that it wasn't pretty but he promised not to make fun of me, at least in front of me. LOL! Big thanks to Run For Your Life in Stonecrest for making my shoe shopping adventure pretty painless. Thanks for not making fun of me :D

I promise I'm not going to let running overtake my paper crafting hobby. I have lots of new projects waiting to be done. I need to get some supplies and get started. And I think I'm going to scrap that picture above. It will help keep me motivated and hopefully that pair will be my first in a long line of worn out running shoes.

Can I get a Whoot! Whoot!

I needed a graduation card and didn't want to the whole the tassel was worth the hassle thing. So I used another owl and a little Whoot! Whoot! I just can't get over how cute the little guy is!

elements:
cardstock: PaperTrey Ink, Prism, Stampin' Up, Bazzill
patterned-paper: Pebbles Inc
ribbon: American Crafts
ink: Ranger Espresso

I'll need a doggy bag, please...

In preparation for our visit up north GQ and I have been busy getting gifts ready for the family dogs. Each pup is getting a special something from GQ, including my brother's feisty little Lucy! We can't play with her because we've heard she can be unpredictable with the kiddos sometimes, but we still wanted to get her a little something.

I made this quick bag topper with my Stampin' Up Top Notch die. Cut out a little cardstock, then a little patterned-paper, tie on a ribbon and voila, it's done! Hope you like Loo Loo!

elements:
cardstock: Stampin Up
patterned paper: not sure, scraps from my stash
ribbon: May Arts

Graduation Stationary Set

My awesome friend Karie showed me a gorgeous stationary set she made for her kid's teachers. I begged her to teach me so I could use it as a graduation gift. After tons of pestering she'd had enough and gave in! LOL!




The box holds a monogrammed card set, a small 2.5 inch square note card set, some gift tags, postage stamps and a gift card. It's not exactly how Karie made hers, but this one fits my needs.


The monogrammed cards:


The small note card set:


The gift tags:


elements:
cardstock: Prism, Bazzill, Stampin' Up
patterned paper: Heidi Grace
bling: Heidi Swapp

Owl Miss You!

I was commissioned to create a good-bye, good luck card for a great friend of mine. She's pretty awesome and a very talented crafter herself, so I feel quite honored when she asks me to create something for her!

I think this little owl is just adorable! I made it w/a die cutter when I had a crafty slumber party on my last visit to Cincinnati to see Karie. We stayed up all night making owls! LOL! I think I'm going to buy that die myself and make some more cards like this.

elements:
cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Archivers, Stampin Up
patterned paper: Basic Grey
ribbon: scrap, so I'm not sure...maybe May Arts

Update: I'm continuing to use scraps of patterned papers and cardstock for my cards. I did cut fresh patterned paper for this one, but I loved it and had to use it. But the cardstock, except for the base, is all from my scraps stash!

One last thing...I jotted a sketch down that I used for this card and for the life of me can't remember where I got the sketch. I'd like to give credit but I need to figure out where it's from first.

Pink + Green = Preppy Paper Girl

My fabulous friend Jenny posted about a pretty awesome paper giveaway on her blog. Being a {paper lover} decided I needed to investigate to see how I can get my hands on some FREE pretty paper! Click here to see how you could possibly get your pretty hands on some good from Preppy Paper Girl!

I'll miss ewe!

Isn't that sheep darling? My so very crafty friend, Karie, sent me a picture of a card that had a very similar idea of a sheep. It used a flower die cut to make the feet and head, but I don't have that cutter. I improvised and used a heart die cut that I have and did some tracing and cutting. The flower would have been much easier but this worked out alright.

elements:
cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Stampin' Up and Archivers
patterned paper: Pebbles Inc
ribbon: Michael's