handmade cass

I recently returned from an amazing family vacation in Hawaii. My husband's parents live there, so it was great to play with cousins and hang out at the beach. During some vacation downtime I ordered the Stay Fresh stamp and die set from Avery Elle because I knew that I would need it for my scrapbook. Now I am using it for everything! This shadowbox came together quickly and I love this little pineapple more than ever.  This project was made for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog, Anything Goes . Supplies : frame - Ikea stamp - Avery Elle die - Avery Elle ink - Archival Ink by Ranger Distress Stickles paint - Prang Watercolors

I used to be semi-obsessed with this amazing DIY blog called Young House Love. And they wrote about house portraits a number of times: here , and here , and here .  I kept this idea in the back of my head for a few years.   So when my family finally moved into our very own home I had to make it happen. Then I saw a write up in our paper about a local (who also happened to be our neighbor when we first moved to town) that painted buildings around town .  I sent an email and the next thing I knew, this was happening... I will be taking my custom portrait to get matted and framed so I can proudly display it in the home where we are creating memories every day. You can  check out Terry Brooks' artwork here . 

I have a few YouTube channels that I watch every week. One my favorites is Laura Bassen, and her masked card this week had me so inspired! I pulled out an older Avery Elle set that I had not used yet for the "anything goes" challenge at Simon Says . Love the sentiments in this Modern Leaves set!  Just wish I could find a better white ink. I have tried a number of them and they never turn out to be opaque on dark card stock. Suggestions? Supplies : Stamps - Avery Elle Ink - Memento | Hero Arts | Brilliance Cardstock - Papertrey Ink

I just bought this "Stuck On You" set from Lawn Fawn and I couldn't wait to use it. I did some Copic shading to add some color to the middle succulent and I love it! I used the Lawn Fawn "Claire's ABCs" set to add a sentiment for the Simon Says thank you challenge . And I have been wanting to try Copic coloring with polka dots using the colorless blender. Need to use these markers more often. They're fun! Supplies : Stamps - Lawn Fawn Ink - Hero Arts Shadow Ink | Memento Die - Lawn Fawn Markers - Copic | Wink of Stella

The XYZ challenge from Simon Says this week made me think of a gift for my daughter's preschool teacher. I knew that I wanted to make something super practical and not knick knacky. A set of thank you cards seemed perfect because I know she uses them throughout the school year.  I made sure there was a yellow one in there just because of the challenge! And I will package them up in a little gift bag with some apple stamps and a bow. Supplies : Embossing folders - Provo Craft Die - Memory Box Stamps - Hero Arts Bow punch - Stampin' Up Cards & cardstock - Michael's  

I've been participating in the weekly challenges from Simon Says Stamp as a way to force me to finish some projects. And it is actually really fun! The challenges don't have stringent requirements and I have all the supplies on hand. No excuses! Instead of a card this week I decided to make a gift tag for the stencil challenge . It turned out too matchy-matchy in the end...but it's finished. I'm hoping this forced creativity will rub off so I can finish some other projects around the house. Supplies : Stencil - Simon Says Stamp Embossing Paste - Viva Mist - Studio Calico Tag Punch - Stampin' Up Crochet Thread - Aunt Lydia's

I have been using this Simon Says Stamp "love you" die so much lately. I especially like it with the thick, sparkly Stardream cardstock. One line of straight stitching on my sewing machine turned this into a matchbook style card - perfect for a gift card. Supplies : Love You Die - Simon Says Stamp Tag Punch, Doily Stamp, Ink - Stampin' Up Cardstock - DCWV Other - doily, ribbon, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher