Birthday Cards

Here are a few Birthday cards I made with some scraps, a few buckles, and of course RIBBON!!! It uses one of my favorite paper packs from Stampin' Up that is now retired. I love the all the purple colors in this paper pack! There are times where I wished I had bought more packs, but honestly, I have so much paper that I have to use what I have! Even if I love it! LOL  

ATC's - Spring theme

 Here are a few ATC's I made for a swap for an online group that I belong to, Absolutely Alter It , which used to Life Preserves. The ladies are so great over there and because I hadn't been very craft lately, I decided to participate in a swap. I hoped it would kick my mojo back into gear. I think they turned out cute and I hope you like them too!! :)

Thank you box with sweets

Here is the little thank you box I made earlier this week. I finally got them into the mail but not before I realized I forgot to take a picture of them first!! Silly me! No worries because I was able to make another one and I will probably give it to a friend of mine. They are really easy to make and I am so happy that it only takes 1/2 sheet of an 8 1/2x11 sheet of retired Stampin' Up cardstock, a few score lines, a little patterned paper from Basic Grey, some May Arts ribbon, a small tag, and done! Don't forget the little goodies that go inside. I put a small package of the mini M&M's and skittles with a few chocolates. I hope the recipients enjoy them! I did make a video of putting one together and I hope to get it up here by Friday. Until then...

Just thoughts...and a layout

Hi there! So this weekend was just crazy! Ian had his Recreational Day Parade Saturday morning and he was suppose to have his first T-ball game that afternoon at 5pm. Well, it didn't happen! We had some really crazy weather! There were tornadoes all around and one not far from us. Our power went out for hours but others have lost it till Wed. Several schools were damaged and one university is closed for the remainder of the semester. I pray for those families as they go through these tough times and the ones ahead. One of our local high schools is a shelter for all the displaced families. They have 120 families right now and will get 150 more this evening as they are being transfered from another high school. Sunday, Allen had his Weeblos, including Andrew as he is a Weeblo, at the local park to pick up debris, 4 bags. They put the tree limbs and such back into the woods area to keep it all in nature. He said he had other people there thanking the Cub Scouts for volunteering to pick up the debris. I am so proud of him for doing this as this is his first year scouting and he is doing an amazing job with those young boys!

So...I wanted to craft a little last night and I got one layout completed. I am working on a project today that I hope to get sent out tomorrow to some friends who have been very, very nice to me. I hope to make another video as well of this little project. Stay tuned...until then, here is my layout. I have journaling behind the tag that tells about the pictures of my mom, my sister, and I at Archivers for a scrappy weekend. So much fun!!!

Oh...I forgot...I hope to be an exceptional blog poster one day, but until then, my goal is to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Wish me luck! LOL

Butterfly Paper Bag Album

Here's another butterfly project I did for Emma. I decided to make a paper bag album for her to give to all her friends as their gift for coming. I used 3 white paper bags folded in half. I used the DCWV Blossoms and Butterflies stack again to cover the pages of the album. The ribbon is from May Arts of course! Don't they all just must make this album look so girlie?? It turned out so much cuter than I anticipated! There are 2 tags in the bag part and one under each the bag flaps. I made 10 of these and of course only 2 girls could come. I had to change the date because she got the flu on her birthday and with her party being on the weekend, I didn't want to chance it of her infecting the other girls with it. So with 2 for the girls, one for Emma, I ended up with 7 left!! My mom and sister took one so that left me with 5. I kept one for myself, so what to do with the other 4?? I had thought about selling them on Etsy but I know nothing about them! And what would I sell them for? Never really sold anything I made, except for a few cards they hubby took to work for Valentine's Day. Good idea though. LOL

Front cover

Pages 2 & 3

Pages 4 & 5

Pages 6 & 7

Pages 8 & 9

Pages 10 & 11

I left the back page blank so they could write who's party it was and who was invited.

Butterfly wreath

This is a butterfly wreath I made for the front door to welcome Emma's guests to her birthday party. I used DCWV's Blossoms and Butterflies stack and May Arts beautiful ribbon, green and sheer with butterflies. DCWV had a youtube video on how to make the album and I followed it. The only thing that was different was I didn't need as many small strips as she did in the video. Could be because my wreath was a little smaller than the one she used. But Emma loves it and it will be going on her wall in her room. She may change her mind and put it on her bedroom door. It was an easy project and I may do it again for Erin. Who knows??? How do you like???

Oh...the pink and purple butterflies came from the Dollar Tree.

Emma's Name Frames

Oh my goodness! I am so excited! I have officially made my first video! I think I only had to push record 6 times to finally use the last cut. It was really fun, but I know there is so much room for improvement! I can see more in the future and hubby says the same thing. He is always so encouraging!

I did this video for the May Arts Ribbon Blog DT Call's Spring Challenge. The theme for this challenge is Spring Flowers. I knew I wanted to make something for Emma using her name and when the challenge came along, I knew this was the time to do it. I had worked on her paper bag albums for her "treats" for her friends for her birthday party, back in March, and I had all this left over paper from Die Cuts With a View's Blossom's and Butterflies stack. I love this paper and so does Emma. This was a total surprise for her and she loved it. So with May Arts having a challenge, I wanted to participate. How could I resist?? I love May Arts ribbon!! I requested 7 different ribbons for this project, but one of the colors just didn't match (brown), so I didn't use it. They are the 1.5" Grosgrain striped ribbon in green, blue, orange, and pink. Also the 1" Solid/Reversible Dots in blue with pink dots and purple with green dots. I also used some sheer ribbon from previous projects where I cut out the flowers and butterflies from. This ribbon is from May Arts as well. Check out the video to see the rest. I hope I become a finalist, but I am okay if I was not chosen. It was a blast to enter and I will continue to enter May Arts challenges each quarter and maybe one day...who knows.

Ian's and Emma's birthday cakes

Here is Ian's birthday cupcakes. He wanted a Spiderman party and even though it was at McDonald's, I went searching how to make the spider cupcakes. I think they turned out quite cute. Everyone liked them. Especially Ian and he was the only one that mattered!

Here is Emma's birthday cake. She wanted a butterfly party and I searched online how to make a butterfly cake. It was pretty easy since the butterfly only took one round cake. The cupcakes are leftovers from Ian's, so they went to good use. The smaller butterfly was a cut out stacked one on top of the other. That one was for Emma only. She liked the cake too.

I am not a cake decorator by any means, but these were fun to put together and one day, I hope the kids look back at the pictures and know that mom put her love into them even if they aren't store bought or perfect. I love my kiddos!!!!! They are my world and I would do anything for them!!!!

I need help!

I know I want to blog and get my creative creations on here, but sometimes it is just overwhelming, this whole blog world! I have the basics down but where do I go to have my blog look like others, all nice and cute with all the links and side by side pictures and videos?? I guess I will have to view my new favorite site, You Tube and check out to see if I can get some guidance. I made my very first video on You Tube and I want all of you to see it. Check back later to see if I can get it posted! LOL :)