Baby Giraffe

I love giraffes. I think it's because when I was little I had a book that was about a giraffe, which in itself isn't all that exciting I know. But the great thing about that book was that it was specially ordered by either my mom or a relative, and the giraffe had all these things in common with me. It's address was the same as mine, it's name was the same as mine, it had a dog who's name was the same as my dog, etc. This was very exciting to a 5 year old, as you can imagine. I wonder if my mom still has this book somewhere in her house. I wonder where it was ordered from. I wonder if you can still order something like this today. There's my next google search! Anyway, I think my love of giraffes started with that book. Did you know giraffes don't lay down? Did you know they can go long periods of time without drinking? Apparently drinking at the watering hole can be dangerous because the position they need to get themselves into to take a sip makes them very vulnerable to predators. Did you know they only sleep for about 30 minutes per day and only for about 10 minutes at a time? Also due to the need to watch out for predators. Man, I'm glad I'm not a giraffe. Laying down...sleeping...drinking...some of my favorite things! Although, the sleeping for short periods of time does sound like my life when my kids were newborns.

Anyway, here is a little baby card I made with my good friend, the giraffe. All supplies were from SU except the buttons, they were from an unknown source.

Sketch Challenge Card

This is the card I made for this week's sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers. It's so much easier to make a card when you have the layout all figured out for you, and this one was no exception. It was super easy and the colors are so happy!

All supplies were from SU.

Clothes Pin Recipe Holder

I was cleaning out my junk drawer the other day and came across a few clothes pins. I don't remember putting them in there but I probably found them in my kids' backpacks and thought I could use them for a craft someday. Well that day finally came. Sometimes when I'm baking something I either misplace the recipe in all of my baking supplies on the counter, or it gets dirty from flour, oil, or some other stray baking ingredient. I was thinking that it would be great if the recipe could be stuck up on the cupboard or someplace out of the way but easily seen. So I came up with this. You can clip the recipe in the clothespin which has a magnet on the back so it can be placed on the range hood. Super cute!

CS and Ink- SU

Stamp set- unknown source (I think I got it at Archivers for $1.00)

Ribbon- Offray

Treat Box

This little box is from last week's Weekly Inkling from Splitcoaststampers. It was a little involved to make but the result is worth it. I just need to figure out how to make it on a larger scale, it's pretty tiny so you can't fit many treats into it...when I give someone some treats I want to give them a lot!

All supplies from SU.

Envelope Card

This is a cute and quick card that would be great for gift cards and a little note. It has and envelope that has been folded in half, cut along the fold, and then glued to the inside. So when you open the card you can see the open pockets of the envelope where you can place the gift card. Give it a try, it's really easy!

All supplies from SU.

Fresh Cut Note

Hi everyone! Hope you're enjoying these last few weeks of summer. I can't believe school starts 3 weeks from Wednesday, terrible! We've had a great summer and I don't look forward to the daily grind of homework and keeping track of all the kids' activities, etc. I think I'm more upset about it than the kids are! :)

Anyway, here's a quick little card I made the other day. It's a Fresh Cut Note from SU that I stamped, placed a piece of purple CS behind, and glued and button in the middle. Super quick and great to have around for those Thank Yous or Happy Birthdays that you need at the last minute.

All Supplies from SU.

Birdie Thanks

Have you been noticing all of the birdies in the card crafting lately? I think they are so cute. This one is from one of SU's chip board set. I covered him with CS to try to match the birdies on the background DP. Too cute!

CS- SU

DP- Pebbles

Chip board birdie- SU

Scallop Circles- Nestabilities Die

Oval Punch- SU

Ribbon- Michael's

Sentiment- SU

Ink- SU

Baby Thank Yous

The friend at work that I have mentioned several times has a daughter who is pregnant. She is such a sweet gal and will make a wonderful mother. She has been waiting so long to find the right guy, get married, and start a family. And in about the last 2 years she has done all of that. I wanted to share my happiness for her by making her these thank yous. She won't know what she is having until the baby comes so I had to choose non-gender specific colors. I think these will do.

CS- SU

DP- SU

Top Note Die Cut- SU

Pearl embellishments- SU

Oval Punch- SU

Scallop Oval Nestabilities Die

Ribbon- Offray

New Home

I have a friend at work who, after almost 1 1/2 years, has finally finished building her house. Well, it's not a regular house really. And, the house isn't really finished-finished yet. Are you confused yet? It's what will be her garage when the rest of her house in finished. She bought a bunch of land out in the country...5 acres, lots of trees, etc. and she didn't have much money to make house payments somewhere else and pay for the building of the new house at the same time. And she didn't have enough money to build the entire house. So she rented out the house she was living in, moved into a pop-up trailer on her new land and had a contractor come in and build a small building that will eventually become the garage when she is able to finish the entire house. I know you're probably thinking "garage?...that's just a big box!...how long can that take?" It's actually a pretty good sized building that has lots of windows, a staircase, radiant heated flooring, etc. It has a kitchen, bathroom, and upstairs, so it's really like an apartment with a loft. She did a lot of the work herself too. She put up insulation, drywall, mudded and sanded the drywall, painted, and put up trim. It has been a very very long, tiring, and stressful project for her. She has worried and cried many times because of delays and things not going right. She is divorced so she did this almost entirely by herself. I could never have done it. But she persevered and it is now finally done! The inspector will be coming soon but she feels confident that it will all check out fine. I am so happy for her. Anyway, this is a card I made for her to help celebrate this huge achievement in her life.

Green Project

I have to admit...I have a lot to learn about becoming "green". But this project is a good start. It would make a great project for a Girl Scout or school activity about recycling. When I was done with a canister of Crystal Light lemonade I looked at it and thought that it would make a great altered project. The label pealed off easily and cleanly. I used leftover DP and some ribbon I've had for ages but never had the chance to use. I used the "You're Sweet" stamp because I think I'll fill it with candies and either give it away or keep in my locker at work. Take another look at what you're throwing away as see if there's anything you can alter.

Happy Birthday America and Dad!

Happy 4th of July!! I hope you are having a good holiday. We have gotten a lot of things done already today but will be taking some time out to see the movie Ice Age 3 this afternoon. We are expecting rain any minute so we don't have many outdoor plans for today. I hope it's nice where you are.

Not only is this weekend special because of the holiday but yesterday was my Dad's 78th birthday. 78 years, wow! He doesn't look a day over 75! Just kidding Dad. :) Anyway, we spent a very nice day with him and my Mom yesterday. We gave them this swing as a combo Mother's Day, Father's Day and Birthday gift. They liked it very much. I'm glad we took the time to help them put it together because there were quite a few pieces and my Dad's lack of desire to read directions may have hampered his assembly just a bit and they may have had to make time for a trip to the hospital during their holiday. Just kidding again Dad. :) And now I can imagine them sitting on it under the tree just-a-swingin' away. Aren't they cute little love birds?

Here is the birthday card I made for my Dad. I was going to make a 4th of July themed one but his birthday gets thrown together with the holiday so often I thought it would be nice to do something a little different. (Even though he is a little firecracker!)

Hope you all enjoy the holiday whatever you end up doing. By the way, have you looked at SU's new catalog? I just love their new punches, and did you know they are now making markers for the In Colors?! Take care, Mary