Two days.

In two days, I leave for Australia. I'm packing and preparing, and I couldn't be any more excited. I'll have my computer with me on my vacation, so I hope to blog while I'm there about my adventures. Here's hoping that I will. Hehe. Here are some things that have been going on with me lately:

1. I've been making simple, elegant cards. Lately I've been using more elegant cards versus cute ones for my new job and the little notes I send out to my boss's colleagues when he requests that I do so. Here are my favorite ones from the last few crafty days:

Simple butterflies and sentiment. I'm in love with the one-layer cards lately. I think it's so much more difficult to restrain myself from adding to much than it is to layer things on until I like it. It's a great exercise in editing. Here's the closeup:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Embossing Ink and Powder- Ranger, Ink- Papertrey Ink (Berry Sorbet) and Colorbox (Chestnut Roan), Stamps- Hero Arts (Butterfly) and Papertrey Ink (Autumn Abundance).

As soon as I saw this ribbon from Practicing Creativity, I fell in love. I wanted to make a card to celebrate my love for it. Hehe.

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Ribbon- May Arts, Embossing Ink- Versamark, Embossing Powder- American Crafts, Ink- Colorbox, Stamps- Papertrey Ink (Background Basics: Diamonds and Butterfly Dreams), Corner Rounder- WRMK.

This is just a simple card I whipped up from a pre-printed card I bought on the dollar rack at Michael's. I added a text print flower, a button, and some ribbon. Easy, and now I'll have a little note to give away the next time I forget I needed one.

Supplies: Notecard- Michael's, Paper- Book by Henry David Thoreau, Scalloped Circle Punch- McGill, Ink- Tsukineko, Ribbon- May Arts, Button- Unknown.

This one is a little less simple, but still work-appropriate. I've discovered that the tricks to making a colleague-appropriate card are neutral colors, neutral phrases, and a small punch of color. You can't go wrong with that :)

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream and Kraft), Ink- Colorbox (Chestnut Roan), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss), Buttons- Papertrey Ink (pring Moss), Thread- DMC, Stamps- Hero Arts ( Poppy Background CG140) and Papertrey Ink (Autumn Abundance).

I wanted to use this set of chipboard flowers from the "I Do" collection by American Crafts that I picked up a while ago, so here's what I came up with. I love the color combo, but I think I want to try this one again. The spacing seems to be a little off. I love this little cluster though:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink (Enchanted Evening), Chipboard Flowers- American Crafts, Buttons- Papertrey Ink (Lemon Tart), White Pen- Signo.

2. The picnic was fantastic. The menu:
Chicken Ramen Salad (One packet of Ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed, smashed and mixed together with almonds, a package of broccoli slaw mix, and zesty italian dressing mixed with the seasoning packet)
Fresh Rolls from the Bakery
Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps - Delicious!
Red Velvet Cake Balls - Freaking amazing, but sooooo rich. Everyone who comes over to visit loves them but can only eat a couple before calling it quits. Ha.

So the meal was a success. He loved everything I made, which was good because I knew he was a picky eater. Ha. We went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, sat by the big spoon, and ate. After dinner, we walked around the garden for a little while and enjoyed the art. It was magical. Here's a very cute picture that we took:

So yeah, I had fun. :)

3. I'm totally going to do this in my room next year. It would be the perfect headboard. Hehe.

4. Did I mention that I leave for Australia in less than 48 hours? Holy cow! I need to go pack...

Thanks for stopping by as always! I hope to get another post up for you, loves, tomorrow. Lots to share :)

Love.

Brit