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

Leaping into Summer.

I love summer. It's a time to sit back, relax, and enjoy life. Now all that's missing from my life is an endless supply of the summer foods I love: watermelon, strawberries, and steak right off the grill. Yum!

I was so excited to see that Kristina Werner had posted a color inspiration challenge the other day. I think I might have to made another one. I love these colors!

Here's what I came up with:

Featuring a simple, embossed butterfly:

And lots of cute layers:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Spring Rain, Sweet Blush and Stamper's Select White) and Bazzill (Grey), Patterned Paper- Making Memories, Stamps- Hero Arts (Antique Engravings CL383), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss), Edge Punch- Fiskars, Embossing Powder and Ink- Ranger, White Pen- Signo.

So that's what I have for you today. I'm starting a new project this week with my first week of summer- a card gift set for my mom. Apparently the 25 cards that I gave her a couple holidays ago had to run out sometime. Ha. I'll keep you updated on that one.

I'm planning a picnic date for Friday afternoon and am thinking about making these for one of the dishes. Do you have any picnic food links to share? I would love some suggestions!

(Picnic Potato and Chicken Salad Cups from Food Network.)

Thanks for stopping by today! Come back soon; I've been busy making pretty things :)

Love.

Brit

Oh Happy Day.

Today's a fantastic day... I'm done with my finals, I got to sleep all day after my early test, I'm making funfetti cupcakes later, and I found out from the lovely Tiffany that I was featured on today's Social Club over at Hero Arts. Remember this card?

I'm so excited! Click on over to see my card and the other lovely features. So happy. :) Now on to today's post- all about celebration because today is a day to celebrate!

1. Firstly, this is what I've been up to lately.... school:

Like studying for my Art History Final- almost 500 different prints by various artists from the late 1800's. Thank goodness that's over. The semester is over... hoorah! Time for summer. Well, my summer will consist of work and more classes, but at least I get a break.

And I've fallen in love... with my new Nikon D90:

Ha, I'll post more pictures once I put real clothes on, put makeup on, and go outside. Right now I just want to relax for a couple days.

2. How about some cards now? I wanted to play around with some of the new things that I've acquired recently, like Look Up! from Practicing Creativity Designs. Love this set!

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Ink- Tsukineko (black) and Papertrey Ink (Plum Pudding), Stamps- Practicing Creativity Designs, Pen- Signo.

2. How about some hot air balloons and a Hero Arts Background stamp? This is for my roomate as a "congrats, we made it!" card:

I masked off the label area after stamping the title and then stamped CG125 in Plum Pudding Ink and added some Broken China Distress Ink, added a few hot air balloons and ribbon, and there you go- a happy "we did it!" card. Close up:

Supplies: Cardstock-Papertrey Ink, Ink- Tsukineko (black), Papertrey Ink (Plum Pudding), and Ranger (Broken China), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink, Stamps- Hero Arts (CG125 Friends Definition Background) and Practicing Creativity Designs (Look Up!).

4. Have you seeeeen this? You all know I'm a huge Papertrey Ink fan, and tomorrow's release looks like it's going to be amazing. Three things that I need right. now.

a. Simply Chartreuse everything

b. Beautiful Blooms Patterned Paper

c. the Sunshine Impressions Plate

Goodness- I can't wait until they reveal everything tomorrow. My favorite scrappy night of the month :)

So I think that's about it for today. I hope to be back soon with more crafty things. I'm so happy to be able to have time to make things again. I'm also leaving for Australia in 13 days. Need to do some trip planning there. Any suggestions for places to go in Sydney on vacation? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Until next time...

Love.

Brit

New Post Coming Very Shortly!

I'm done with finals except for a couple quizzes to catch up on, but for all intents and purposes, I'm free to blog again! I'm going to work on a post right now and should have it up this afternoon. Make sure to stop by!


Love.

Brit