Sympathy greenery card

It's a shame to have to make a sympathy card on such a beautiful sunny day. :-(
But it is the way life is, right?... Sometimes the passing of others reminds us of how lucky we are to just be alive and to appreciate our imperfect life and not take anything for granted...

For this card, I actually got my inspiration from the ribbon, and created a background paper to kind of match.

Chocolate!...

Well, Valentine's day wouldn't be Valentine's day without a little chocolate for the teachers right?... ;-) (Yes, in case you are wondering, there is no white chocolate truffle in the props because I ate the leftovers ones... ;-))
I LOVE the milk carton svg from Lettering Delight! It's a simple shape that's easy to jazz up, and it still looks great all by itself if you use patterned cardstock... :-)
I had a hard time with the 1st one, figuring out where/how to fold everything (even though score lines are perforated) but afterwards I was good to go and those came together in a cinch.
I used the version that has a window, and glued a piece of acetate on the opening.

On the back I attached little tags from the "Love Labels" collection.
Who wouldn't like a little chocolate fix packaged in a little fun milk carton?... ;-)

{A side note about Lettering Delights: If you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for? The milk carton file is only $3 and you get 5 different versions! There are special offers for new customers, and every time you make a purchase you get a coupon for discount on your next purchase... They come out with new collections all the time, and have a lot of cool freebies...What's not to love?... ;-) Check it out by clicking on the button in my right margin. :-)}

ETA: To answer someone's question, I resized those  to 90% of their original size with SCAL.

Matryoshka's house

My autistic son has been really into Matryoshkas lately. He found an old Sesame Street video on youtube called "Russian dolls" and he keeps requesting it.
So for Valentine's day I got him... russian dolls! :-)
I wanted to package them in a fun way, so I made a little house...

Now let me tell you, I never make anything this elaborate for Noah because I don't know how long it will last in his hands!! ;-) But I thought for once I would try, and I'm entering it in the February Lettering Delights "Red" challenge. For details about the challenge, check here.

I used the milk carton svg as the body of my house (love this file!) and then the house facade of the Matryoshka dolls' set. I removed some elements and moved the little window so that it would open right in front of the dolls face. The window from the milk carton became a little door...

I added a second house shape in the back. I embossed both of them to make it look like bricks. I cut some grass by hand (yes too lazy to look through my cartridges!!) and added little flowers with brads as centers. Same thing for the front, where I also added a white felt heart and little red felt heart on the window shutters.

On the side of the house I put a little Matryoshka Doll (from the same collection). I used a little felt heart and cut some greenery with a corner punch to make for easy decorations.

One of the smaller sizes of the doll fits right through the little side door... ;-)

I made a little pull-out to carry the box around and keep the top closed by threading a ribbon through a button, and slid it into a hole made with my crop-adile.

Valentine's Day

Being french, Valentine's Day has never been a big deal for me... That is until I lived in the US and had kids! ;-) In France Valentine's Day is all about couples (really annoying when you are not in a relationship!), and I was happy to shift the focus back on family. See I don't like being commanded to do something, so to me it is a bit of an oxymoron to HAVE to be all lovey dovey on the 14th and who cares about the rest of the year!... ;-) My poor hubby knows better than to come home with chocolate and/or flowers on the 14th!... LOL (any other day of the year is welcome! ;-)) Actually he did bring an extra bag of Lindor truffles yesterday with the ones I asked him to buy for the teachers... He thought I might eat some while giftwrapping them and then run short!!... Who would do something like that?? LOL...

But anyway... The kids have had to bring Valentine's Day cards to school, and this is what I made this year. Naomi colored hers and I colored the ones for Noah... I found out afterwards that nobody in Noah's class made/brought valentines this year! How weird!?...  :-(
I used the Valentines Tiny Treats stamp set from PTI. I love acrylic stamps, it is so cool to be able to bend and shape them. The base cards are made with the lunch box note die. Love that die... :-)

For Naomi's class

For Noah's class

Isn't that little guy cute? :-)

On a felt kick...

I have been on a felt kick lately! (yes, of course I plan on pairing it with the twine!... ;-))
Today I tried some of my dies with felt and am happy to report I got great results!

I recently ordered some PaperTrey Ink wool felt and, let me tell you, it's nothing like the acrylic stuff you find at Michaels!... I tried both with the dies and, needless to say, the wool felt performed way better. The acrylic was ok for basic shapes like the heart or a scalloped circle but anything slightly intricate, even buttons, didn't work at all. The wool felt is pricey, but in that instance you get what you paid for... ;-)

A lot of companies are now selling thin steel dies that you can use in your Cuttlebug, and they cut cardstock but also felt and fabric. Before I got my Cricut a year ago, I was using dies with my Cuttlebug, and even now they are still a staple for me. I like their convenience, and the fact that I can use them to make a dent in my stash of scraps, (something my Cricut doesn't help with!). :-)
Today I used dies from The cat's pajama, PaperTrey Ink, CuttleBug, and some shapeabilities...

I apologize for the yucky pics but it was night time, and I wanted to take pics quickly before putting those away since, as you know from yesterday's post, I cannot leave anything on my desk! ;-)

Shapeabilities




 How cool are those butterflies?!...

The Cat's Pajama

 Now, won't that look lovely with twine?!...

Cuttlebug

PaperTrey Ink

Cuttlebug

 Aren't those Paisleys awesome?!... Can't wait to put them on a card or something!...

Cuttlebug

Now all I need is time to try and use my little stash of felt embellies!!...
So next time your mojo took a vacation, grab your dies and your Cuttlebug (or your big Shot, or your Sizzix, or your Wizard.... ;-)) , get some (good) felt and start making some embellishments! While you're at it, also use some of your scraps of designer paper!... ;-)
 

Why I need my own craftroom...

...or to use the lock on my bedroom door!... ;-)

This is the scene I walked upon this afternoon, when I went to my room to investigate some strange noise!...
My little craft corner is in my bedroom and a little someone has been very interested in it lately.... :-S
I had such a laugh when I saw him that I just had to snap pics, my camera being on my desk I was able to get all the action before the tower collapsed after the 5th jar!... :-S Luckily nothing broke....


I guess it's time to use the toddler locks...

(PS: Yes my bedroom has p... -ahem-, I mean brown colored walls, and it's from the previous owners and I hate it but haven't gotten a chance to paint over it.... Watching this little guy is a full time job! ;-))



 

Valentine's Take-out box

This is my entry for the Valentine's challenge on SVGCuts forum. I used the take-out box from the "Crush on you" file, but put my little spin on it by folding the flaps the opposite way to reveal the underside of that gorgeous paper! (yes, still the "Que sera sera" pack from K&Company ;-))

I used die cut felt hearts (PTI dies), (Martha Stewart) punches (heart and butterfly) and Prima flowers to decorate it.

I know what you are thinking though... "No sign of the beloved new twine?" LOL Well I did this project before getting the twine!... ;-)  And I'm afraid you'll soon suffer from twine overload anyway!... ;-)

I believe love is in the little details... so I added little hearts at the end of my ribbon... <3
My daughter is getting this little box for Valentine's day with Matryoshka dolls in it (more about those in another post...;-))



In the spotlight:TheTwinery

I swear I did try to resist. I was good and managed for a while....

I even tried the kitchen stores in hopes of finding just the red one and be reasonable...

But I finally jumped on the multicolor twine bandwagon! :-P

How could I resist those gorgeous colors?... I swear, sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me for being more excited about paper and ribbons than say jewelry or shoes!... ;-)

In case you have been living under a rock (what with this rough winter and all...) twine is all the rage right now in papercrafting projects everywhere!... Yeah, like we really needed another product to get addicted to!... *sigh*

This sampler set can be found at The Twinery. Since I got mine they added even more colors in another sampler's set!.. :-)

Butterfly Thanks

I'm happily taking a break from the Cricut!... ;-) I made this card for my grandmother using just Nestabilities and a punch...
The papers are from my beloved K&Company "Que sera sera" pack, (-> simply stunning papers!). I added some music notes in brown ink with the "music sheet" stamp from PTI, then distressed my butterflies with gold and chianti inks, and finished it off with tiny pearls on the butterflies' bodies and at the ends of my sentiment tag.
It's a very simple card but I love it.  (as usual, bigger pic by clicking on it)