I realize that we're already over a week into May and I'm only now posting April's tag, but as they say...better late than never.  I've been so busy fulfilling Mother's Day orders and creating cards for Teacher Appreciation week that something had to give, and unfortunately it had to be the blog.

So, without any further delay (because I have soooo much to share with you) here is April's tag:

The inspiration for the tag was the gorgeous butterfly from Renea Bouquets.  I received two of these beauties in my Scraps of Elegance kit.

 I love the color combination of peach and light blue....and the glitter, of course!

Our school department does a fine job of celebrating our teachers during Teacher Appreciation week.  They provide them with a catered breakfast and luncheon, surprises such as supplies for their classrooms, and drawings for chances to win fabulous and frivolous prizes for themselves.  Obviously, we could never do enough to show our appreciation for all that they do for our children, but it's nice that we try in some small way.  I created a card for each of my daughter's teachers and classroom aides and included a gift card to our local coffee shop in each.

This first card is the only masculine one I had to do.  It's for my oldest daughter's teacher, Mr. Thorne. He's been such an inspiration to her because of their mutual love of math and science.

He also has a wicked sense of humor, so I chose this vintage pic of a boy seemingly cheating off his classmate.

We all have our kryptonite, and Molly's is anything to do with letters.  Her other teacher, Miss Weymouth has spent quite a bit of time (and let's be realistic, patience) on working with her spelling and grammar.  This card is for her:

I loved the vintage image so much that I also used it for Madison's teacher as well.

I just changed up the design a little bit.

Madison's teacher, Mrs. Curtis, is actually retiring this year after 40+ years of teaching.  We're going to miss her.

Madison is in a gifted and talented program for math and reading, so she has another teacher, Mrs. Plummer.  I created this card for her:

I actually created two...one for Mackenzie's classroom aide, Mrs. Plummer (#2).  This next card uses the same silhouette image only cut in half for Mackenzie's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Robertson.

The silhouettes were fun to work with though I chose not to cut them out due to time constraints, but I think they would look beautiful cut out and put in a nice frame.

I do hope the girls' teachers love the cards as much as I loved creating them, and I especially hope they realize just how much I appreciate each and every one of them.

Speaking of appreciation, I mentioned a while back about the little gifts I like to include in my customer orders.  Well, I created these tags as a little something to attach to their packages.

A simple way to say 'thank you' (and use up some of those scraps!).

I appreciate you as well.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my little blog, and I hope I've inspired you to create something special today.

M.

My Mom just had a birthday this past weekend.  I'm not going to spill on her age, but let's just say that she looks wonderful and I should be so lucky to look that good when I'm a Grandmother!

I created this card for her:

I can't take credit for the design, and I can't remember where I found it.  If you know, please contact me so that I can give credit where credit is due.  

The paper is Colorbok and the felt flower and pearl flourish are from Prima.  An elegant design...perfect for my Mom.

And while we're talking Moms and Grandmothers, I created this next card for my daughter's teacher (who is also my dear friend's Mom).  She just became a first-time Grandmother to baby girl, Ilanna Grace.

The paper is Crafty Secrets and Melissa Frances and the flowers are Petaloo and Prima.  I've added vintage doilies and lace along with Making Memories pearls and buttons.   The vintage image reminds me of my Nana, so I thought it worked well with this card.

Be sure and stop by sometime over the next few days because I'll be posting April's tag.

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

M.

Nothing compares to a bouquet of beautiful roses; except maybe a first class ticket to Greece!  A woman can dream, right?!

This week's "Beautiful Roses" challenge at The Shabby Tea Room was based on this photo:

We were asked to utilize aqua, pink, neutrals and flowers on our projects, and I was so inspired by both the color combination and the photo that I created two cards.

On this first card, I used Melissa Frances paper and a Glitz Design transparency for the background along with some stitching.  

The birdcage was painted with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle paint in Picket Fence (one of my favs!) and finished off with Prima roses and pearls.  I topped it off with some glorious crinkle seam binding in Bubble Gum pink and created a glittered petite banner from vintage sheet music.

This next card was based on both TSTR challenge and Mojo Monday's sketch challenge.

Again, I used Melissa Frances paper for the background, some vintage sheet music, and a paper doily spritzed with some Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist in Vintage Rose.  The chipboard button is Jenni Bowlin and the roses and art tile from Prima.  

I'm extremely proud to have finished both cards as well as keeping up with my shipping this week since the kiddos are home on school vacation.  I even managed to take them to our neighborhood park for some sun and swimming.  I know, I know...in April?  Well, we've had two 80 degree days at the beginning of the week, but today it's barely eking out of the 50s!  Crazy, huh?

I do appreciate your time and hope you'll stop by again soon.

Have a wonderful day!

My friend's son is stationed over in Japan and he and his wife are expecting their second child (a girl) sometime in May, so she asked me to create birth announcements to send over.

The base is a sweet vanilla cream card stock and Glitz Design paper.

The sentiment on the front and the inside stamps are from K&Company.

I remember when my girls were babies as if it were only yesterday.  Of course, it wasn't yesterday...here is a recent layout of my youngest, Mackenzie, turning 6 years old!

I used quite a bit of the goodies in my April Scraps of Elegance kit for this layout.  The colors were perfect for the photos!

Materials used:  Pink Paislee paper, Glitz Design paper, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose, Prima felt flowers, foil trim, Etsy tag, Making Memories crochet flowers and glittered alpha stickers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink, crinkle seam binding, paper doilies, millinery roses, Making Memories pearls and machine stitching.

I also created a layout (I was on a roll) of Mackenzie and Madison from Halloween last year.

I got a little 'dirty' with this one...love using the Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper and acrylic paint!

 I came up with the title based on their costumes.  "Good vs. Evil" seemed appropriate in so many ways;)

On this Halloween, the girls had to wear layers of clothing underneath their costumes because we had snow on the ground!  That's early for snow...even in Maine! 

I appreciate you stopping by, and certainly hope you have a wonderful day!

The Shabby Tea Room offers up amazing weekly challenges and this week was no exception.  Just look at this inspiration photo:

Those cupcakes look almost too perfect to eat!  Though I have to admit that it wouldn't stop me!

Week #109's "Birthday Bash" challenge was to create a birthday project and include a cupcake.  Since I was lucky enough to have received my April kit from Scraps of Elegance, I used a few pages of the gorgeous Glitz Design paper to create this card:

I'm not sure how I feel about the cupcake because my daughter thought it was a tree at first glance. :)  Can't win 'em all!

I was able to use more of my Scraps of Elegance kit to create this card based on Mojo Monday's sketch challenge.  This was my first time participating in one of their challenges, but I can assure you that it won't be my last.

For this card, I went with a printed image of a cupcake...saves on explaining the pink tree! :)

I used the Glitz Design paper, the ribbon and paper roses from April's kit.  The glittered alpha stickers are from Making Memories and since they were a bit hard to see against the white doily, I highlighted them with a brown marker.

As it turns out, it was a week for pink cupcakes!

I'll be sharing a couple of layouts in my next post, so be sure to stop by to check them out.  It's been quite some time since I've worked on anything but cards and canvases, so your comments would be welcomed.

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

M. 

Since Easter is tomorrow, I wanted to take some time this afternoon to share the cards and tags I created for my family.

This first card was created for my younger sister.  I used the same bunny image for both her card and my parent's because I thought it was too cute.  The flower was created using hand dyed cotton fabric that was ripped into strips and then folded over and fastened with a button.

This next card is for my parents.

Yellow and light blue are a perfect pair and it works nicely for this card.  Though you could also use it for a baby card.

  The glittered flowers are from Petaloo, and the paper and butterfly brad are from Bo Bunny.

Rather than create another 5 cards for my three daughters and two nephews, I opted instead to make tags to tie to their goodie bags.

Each tag was created using a printed vintage image, buttons, lace or twine and crinkle seam binding.  Easy peasy and oh so cute!  I had so much fun finding images that fit each of their unique personalities.

My family and I usually get together for brunch at my sister's house where we all bring a few dishes to share, and then we have an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos.  It's something I look forward to every year (as with all holidays) because spending time with my family means a great deal to me.  I am so very fortunate that we live near one another.

I certainly hope you have a wonderful Easter celebration with your loved ones.

Enjoy!

One can never have too many flowers around whether it's in a garden or on a project; especially the homegrown kind, and it would seem that Lenet over at The Shabby Tea Room can't get her fill either.  She's challenged us to create something using only homemade/handmade flowers and asked us to use this photo for inspiration:

I wanted to do something other than a card, so I opted instead for a mixed media piece.

The quote says:  "Love blooms where it's planted".

The flowers were leftovers from other projects, so it felt good to use them up rather than have them sit on a shelf in a bowl.

They've been created using a variety of mediums such as burlap, muslin, hand dyed cotton, ribbon, yarn and paper.  I used a vintage doily as a 'vase' and added some gold glittered leaves to tie it all together.  

The background includes a vintage book page, sheet music, acrylic paints, rub-ons, marker and several stamps were used.  I absolutely love the way it turned out.

If you want to get your groove on, but haven't been inspired, check out The Shabby Tea Room.  Those lovely ladies certainly know how to get your mojo movin'!

I appreciate your time and hope you'll stop back by again soon.

Have you looked around lately?  You can't really miss the latest trend...
FEATHERS!
They've inundated every detail of our lives...
from hair accessories to body art...
home decor and artistic flair...
feathers, feathers are everywhere!

I created this pillow in honor of this new trend and entered it into the Moxie Fab World's "Fascination With Feathers" challenge.
The flowers were handmade using burlap and cotton, and the centers are beads from a vintage necklace.
What fun I had creating with feathers...who would have thought?
I do appreciate your time, and please take a minute to stop on over to Moxie Fab World and check out the other feathered creations.
Have a great day!
M.

I'm not Irish, but I really like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so this month's tag has a bit of an Irish theme (in that it has a green shamrock :).

I used DCWV's Chateau Lavender paper as my background and hand cut a frame from Kraft card stock to highlight the sweet vintage image.  Can you see the Shimmerz Blinz?  I used it around the edges of the tag as well as on the heat embossed frame.

The shamrock was also hand cut out of Kraft card stock then loaded up with some gorgeous glitter, and the flower was fashioned from vintage dress pattern paper and added to the top of the tag for balance.

Not a difficult tag to create, but I thought it turned out nicely given my lack of time as of late.

I'll be posting a project that I'm working on for my oldest daughter's birthday sometime over the next few days.  It follows along with the feather trend running rampant in every aspect of fashion and art these days, so I hope you'll stop back and check it out.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day!

I received some Shimmerz Blingz paint (Under the Sea) in my March Scraps of Elegance kit, and I absolutely love it!  The sparkle is just subtle enough and the thin consistency is great for blending and adding layers of color to any project.  I now want every color they make!

With that said, I've used it on quite a few of my latest projects including The Shabby Tea Room's week #107 challenge ("Bright and Beautiful Spring").

We were asked to use lilac, yellow, blue, Kraft and a butterfly and to be inspired by this photo:

I immediately thought of my Blingz paint for the blue!  I brushed it around the edges of the Kraft card stock along with some white acrylic paint and machine stitching.

The frame was hand drawn, cut and glittered as a focal point...almost as if you were looking through a window.

I fussy cut the butterfly from Bo Bunny Country Garden paper and the butterfly brad is from the same collection (also included in my Scraps of Elegance March kit).  

You can purchase this sweet little card in my Etsy shop.

I do appreciate you taking the time to stop in, and I look forward to your comments.  Please take a minute to check out the other fabulous interpretations of this week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room, and then wander on over to Scraps of Elegance to check out April's kit (the big reveal is April 1st).  You wouldn't be disappointed if you signed up to receive one of their gorgeous kits every month!

Have a great day crafting!

M. 

My sweet baby-girl, Mackenzie, turned 6 this past week!  Time passes in the blink of an eye, and it seems more so when you have children.

She is such an angel and deserves nothing but happiness and success.  

Her birthday inspired my next card created for The Shabby Tea Room's Week #106 "Pennant Party" Challenge.  We were asked to use the colors in the inspiration photo and to include either a flag, banner or pennant.

"Happy Everything"

I tend to lean towards creating mixed media types of cards because I love layering and using various textures.  With this one I included scraps of muslin, a bottle cap and some Blingz paint around the edges.  

I machine stitched each of the flags on the banner as well as around the edges of the card.  I also chose to hand draw stitching to anchor the printed vintage image.

It's a little different than the cards I normally create...more of a retro feel, but I think it will fit well with The Shabby Tea Room's challenge.

As always I appreciate your time, and be sure to stop by my shop where you can purchase this card or one of my other unique creations.