handmade cass

Today I set out to use my new hexagon stamps from Papertrey Ink.  I have a bad habit of buying new stamps and then putting them away - never to be seen again.  Not this time! I wanted to do various colors of pink and coral on the hexagons, and ended up using all VersaMagic and Brilliance inks. After all that inking and cleaning and stamping and more cleaning (seriously, this took almost an hour to get about a dozen hexagons that I liked), I got stuck at this point. I was thinking I would do a pennant banner hanging down with a sentiment on it.  Then I couldn't decide on a color for the pennant. So I considered something with pink baker's twine and buttons - too many trends I decided.  So I ended up with some hand lettering and a bumble bee because the hexagons reminded me of honeycomb.  Pink honeycomb.  And because I ran out of time. Supplies: Hexagon stamps: Papertrey Ink Buble Bee stamp: Memory Box Ink: VersaMagic and Brilliance Cardstock: ...

When presented with free time for crafting I often get overwhelmed (by the mess in my crafting area) and don't get much done.  But today my husband took the baby to the zoo and I was very productive. First things first, I had to add some new products to the Fresh Crafts etsy shop .  I'm slowly but surely adding some of the packaging that I really love.   It sure does take a long time to get decent pictures for the shop.  I'm considering getting a small light box so I don't have to rely on the sun.  Then I could stay up all night listing items... After the shop update I had a little bit more time to make a card for my mother-in-law who has been having a rough couple weeks.  Hope this frilly card lifts her spirits.  And pulling everything together for it reminded me how easy it is when you have a matching collection - like the collection packs from Basic Grey. Supplies: cardstock: Stardream, Basic Grey (Oh Baby Girl! collection) alphabet...

I just recently got my hands on a few bottles of Mister Huey's sprays and I have to say - now I know what the fuss is about.  I resisted for a long time because I told myself that I enough "sparkle" sprays.  But that fact that these ones aren't too shiny is actually one of my favorite things about them.  Best features after one use: You don't have to spend 5 minutes shaking up the non-shiny colors (no pigment piles at the bottom).  Just a quick shake and then spray! The bottle wasn't half gone after one use - sorry Smooch Spritz but you know it's true. The non-blobby parts dried quickly.  I still need to work on those blobby parts... My orange ombre, courtesy of Mister Huey's sprays and the chevron mask from Studio Calico. One of my only complaints about the Mister Huey's sprays is lack of an all-inclusive color chart.  I literally searched for an hour before placing my online order, but alas, I managed to order two colors that are almos...

I have been really good about not buying too many extra crafty things this year...but June was the exception.  I had to do my last Hambly order, and then I needed a few things from Papertrey this month (I am madly in love with the hexagons), and lastly a new color obsession from Stampin' Up.   I go to a monthly card making class put on by my Stampin' Up demonstrator and our projects last month used the Calypso Coral color.  Coral happens to be my favorite at the moment - I usually have a new favorite color every other year.  So I had to get this: Calypso Coral card stock and {new style} stamp pad, Tangerine Tango ribbon, Champagne shimmer mist, and chevron embossing folder.   Then I got a surprise from Christine (aka Listgirl) .  This date stamp from Dear Lizzy (by American Crafts) has been on my wish list since I started my Book of Lists.  Thank you!

My husband's grandma turned 100 last week - amazing right?!  The fact that she is still healthy and happy is pretty incredible.  So we packed up and went to Florida for a week to help her celebrate.  My mother and sister in law are both very crafty and had big ideas for the party - see this pinterest board for inspiration . I volunteered to make some birthday banners and bring some berry baskets for take home treats. My sister in law tied tulle around each place setting and they looked so nice! The lighting was terrible, but wanted to get the whole birthday banner effect.  See below for detail. Each letter had some ants "crawling" along to fit with the picnic theme.  And the letters are strung on twine. I made this pennant banner with fabric and seam binding - really easy.  Planning a future tutorial. And the fruit salad was just one of the delicious things my sister cooked up...yum!   I am hoping to get more pictures from m...

This is what addiction looks like... I started to clean up some of the mess in my crafting area tonight and look what happened.  I discovered that I have 41 rolls of washi tape and some other decorative tapes.  So many rolls that they needed their own cubby in my storage cabinet.   Time to really buckle down with my resolution this year - to only buy the supplies that I am going to immediately use.  I had a little backslide this month, with Hambly going out of business .  I had to place my very last order and build my Hambly paper stash to keep me going to a couple more decades.

I'm jumping in!  I had this great idea to make a few gift baskets for birthdays and mother's day, and while I was at it I figured I might as well open my etsy shop  too.  So please take a look and I promise to add more fun and exciting things soon.  I have big plans! These were a couple of the gift baskets I made... And the tags - using stamps from Papertrey Ink and baker's twine from Divine Twine.