handmade cass

My family went through some big changes recently!  We packed up and moved from Southern California all the way up to the very top of Washington state.  Did I mention we did it all in less than 14 days?  It was crazy. Now that things have started to settle down and I'm not spending every free moment unpacking (don't get me wrong, there is still a ton to unpack), I got creative and made some moving announcements.  I was inspired by a few I had seen on Pinterest ( mainly this one ), and knew that I wanted to use kraft envelopes because they remind me of moving boxes and packing paper. You can also see a bit of the return address stamp that I designed (more on that later). I used an old Thomas Bros. California map book to make a bunch of USA die cuts and printed up the cards using my new Canon PIXMA MG5320 printer .  The inside has all of our contact info and a picture of our family in front of our new house.  I loved printing the picture right on the ...

I just received a big, fun order from my favorite Stampin' Up demonstrator and got to thinking about using up some of the leftovers.   In case you didn't know, Stampin' Up stamps come with some assembly required and you end up with a foam-backed rubber piece like this at the end. I thought I would just cut out some fun shapes for my daughter to use as stamps.  It took me a few hours to figure out what I would adhere them to, since I don't have extra stamping blocks sitting around.   Then I saw these champagne corks that I had been saving for a different project - but they are perfect for little hands to hold onto.  The Tim Holtz scissors were perfect for cutting the foam-backed rubber, but I found that straight cuts turned out much better than curves. Just look at all the fun we were having!  And since I ordered a wood mounted stamp set from Stampin' Up the adhesive was already on the foam.  But if you ordered a cling rubber stamp set you coul...

I saw a very punny valentine in the last Paper Source catalog and had to make my own version.  Now I am using the hedgehog stamp from Lawn Fawn's "Critters in the Forest" set on all my valentine's cards.    And I am squeezing a sentiment about hedge-hugs wherever I can. This bookmark using the Lawn Fawn hedgehog will be included in a card for a friend that is always reading. These were the colors I used for inks and Copic markers: And I made a couple valentine's cards at my last monthly Stampin' Up card class.  I love the new honeycomb embossing folder! This card also has a bookmark that tucks into the die cut heart pocket on the front.

You can check out my latest Craft Critique review here: CHA Winter 2013 - Crafts for Kids

I was really glad that Craft Critique was re-launched right before the CHA Winter 2013 show, because the timing was perfect for me to attend as a reporter.  It is such a special conference for any crafter to attend - full of all the latest and greatest products, tons of inspiration and projects, and even some celebrity crafters.  Here is just a small portion of what I saw.  At CHA I made a beeline to the American Crafts booth to check out the new Amy Tangerine line " Yes Please".   LOVE the new stitching kit from the "Yes Please" line.  This set has chevrons too!  Amy was doing a make and take project, so we could test out the stitching kit.   Loved the Amy Tangerine travel kit that I have seen online.  Perfect for vacation mini books! Smitten with the colors and patterns in "Lucky Charm" from Dear Lizzy and American Crafts. My favorite color is glitter.  And I can't believe how awesome the POW glitter paper is...

Miles traveled: 175.6 (round trip) Pictures taken: 110 Hours walking: 7 Make and take projects completed: 8 Really, really tired feet: 2 I had so much fun at CHA today but I am exhausted and now I have to pack for vacation.  But before I do I thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures from today.  Lots more to come on my blog and Craft Critique !