Kioshi Love + Happy News

Bakerella I am not. I enjoy homemade treats very much. (Very, very much local friends! *hint*) But I often give my friends craft-related treats. My go-to favorite - RIBBON. When it's winter, fill a kraft bag with earth tones, velvet, and felt ribbon. Now that it's spring, a glass jar of fresh greens and pastels seems appropriate.

I don't know about you, but when I receive a gift wrapped with ribbon - real ribbon, not the curl-with-your-scissors kind - it's like two gifts in one. I always save the ribbon in my craft stash.




I also enjoyed playing with some of my Kioshi freebies from BasicGrey. The focal image on this card is a rub-on from the collection.



Now for my happy news - on a whim, I decided to submit some cards for publication. Does anyone ever think they're Big League enough for that? I kindof felt silly. BUT - as luck would have it - all three of my cards were accepted! *squeal* Assuming all goes as planned, look for three of my cards in the upcoming Holidays Cards & More - Vol. 5, a special publication of Paper Crafts magazine. I'm sure I'll be so excited that I'll give a big ol' reminder here on the blog-o when its released. :)

In other news, my husband is taking me country dancing tonight. Bushwhackers here we come! Since this is part of my anniversary present, Ben let me know this is the only time he will ever go. Well, maybe next anniversary if tonight is "halfway tolerable." Though he's acting a bit grumbly, secretly I think he's just as excited as I am. Are any of your husbands like that? If so, what does your man keep a macho cool face about?

Enjoy your night! I know I will. :)

Ribbon Jar Supplies:
Stamp: Stampin' Up! (Cute & Curly).
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray).
Paper: BasicGrey (Kioshi collection).
Punches: Stampin' Up! (tag corner punch, curly label punch), Fiskars (1/8" circle punch).
Fibers: Stampin' Up! (linen thread), assorted ribbons.
Embellishments: Kaiser Scrapbook (rhinestones), BasicGrey (adhesive die cuts from Kioshi collection).

You've Been So Kind Card Supplies:
Rub-on: BasicGrey (from the Kioshi collection).
Paper: Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss), BasicGrey (Kioshi collection).
Stamp: Papertrey Ink (Everyday Button Bits).
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Basic Gray).
Fibers: American Crafts (purple ribbon).
Embellishments: Stampin' Up! (rhinestone brad), BasicGrey (adhesive die cut from Kioshi collection).

To My Fabulous Husband

My hottie hubs and I have now been married for nine years. :) Happy anniversary, babe!

This was my first opportunity to play with my new BasicGrey Kioshi supplies. I tell you what...see that plaid paper?...if someone made shorts in that fabric, I'd buy them for my boys in a heartbeat!



Also, see that notebook paper? I made it!


Yes, I, with the graphic design skills of a gnat, made notebook paper. Sure, I had the real stuff on hand, but it was too bright white. Plus the red and blue lines didn't look very good with the colors of my card.

How to make notebook-patterned paper: I don't have graphic design software, so I used MS Word. Starting with a blank page, I inserted several parallel lines and colored them green. Then I inserted a pair of vertical lines and colored them orange. I printed my notebook paper onto cardstock, punched the spiral holes, and voila! Coordinating ruled paper.

Excuse me while I go snuggle on the couch with my husband...American Idol calls.

Supplies
Paper: Stampin' Up! (Apricot Appeal, Naturals White), BasicGrey (Kioshi collection).
Fibers: Stampin' Up! (Old Olive polytwill ribbon, linen thread), Offray (tan twill), hemp twine.
Punch: Stampin' Up! (spiral punch).

Birthday Notepads

Confession: I've been stealing chocolate from my kids' Easter baskets.

Apparently my lack of maternal ethics applies to my friends as well. One mother stole her children's Christmas notepads because - she reasons - they're the perfect size for her daily To Do Lists. tsk, tsk, sneaky mom! ;-) In her defense, she and I have searched high and low for long, skinny, spiral-bound notepads. They're nowhere! I cleared out our local Office Max at Christmas and they've since stopped carrying them.


So for this thieving friend's birthday, I made a set of notepads just for her. I picked patterned papers for the covers and took them, along with a stack of white paper for the insides, to my local FedEx Office. The shop cut and bound the papers, then added protective covers to the front and back of each notepad. You can probably see the glare from the clear covers in the photo, but hopefully it's not too bad.

Happy birthday, my friend! Hope the rest of you have a wonderful day too!

Supplies
Paper: American Crafts (from the Play collection - Ring Around the Rosie, Dominoes).
Computer Font: Futura Bk BT.
Flower: Bazzill Basics Paper (Bitty Blossoms Neutrals).
Brad: American Crafts.
Ribbon: Offray (SideSaddle BlkWht), Stampin' Up! (black hemp twine).

Happy Easter

What the kids and I have been doing this Easter season...


Making paper eggs...


...and hanging them around the house.


Tye dying eggs.


Racing with the eggs we didn't dye. (It was Ben's idea to do the egg race on the carpet. Thankfully there were no casualties.)


Picnicing and enjoying snacktime outside on the sunny days.


Making pom pom chicks.


Painting egg carton caterpillars.


Remembering the reason we celebrate. Photo of the empty Garden Tomb.

Happy Easter!