Fabulous Fall Cards

Now that it is most definitely, officially October, I feel safe posting some pictures of the adorable cards made in the monthly card class. The cards we made this time around were Halloween inspired and are just so precious! I have tried to get Monica, my friend who leads the class to create a blog and post her awesome card creations, but she refuses...so I will just post for her! Below are the ones made in class and I can't wait to address and send these out! They were all so easy to make! My favorite is the candy holder, which was a bonus in the class. Seriously to make this, you just create a cylinder of paper and pinch the ends--done! So simple and so cute! Enjoy these fabulous fall cards.

save on sales!

With Autumn here and Halloween JUST around the corner, it seems all the craft stores are putting their summer items on sale. And a sale=big time money saving! I'm not sure if you are like me, but I like to buy things 'off season' for the better price (especially clothes!). When I went to Michaels today I saw all the cute summer items on sale...and for the record I was surprisingly good to only buy what I went in there for!

Anyway, in honor of the great sales I thought I would post some of the summer cards I made and haven't posted yet. Tomorrow I will be joining the monthly card class and we will be making Halloween cards, so I guess it is time these last few summer cards get their debut on this 'ole blog! The good news is that with all the summer things on sale right now, you could make these cheaper and just save them for next year!

Just a thought...a polka-dot thought!

Moving Reminders...only a year late!

I'm actually able to have a really relaxing weekend! The forecast is calling for rain, and for once I am looking forward to being forced to stay inside and accomplish some things around the house. As I was cleaning tonight and organizing some boxes from moving in a year ago (still!), I was reminded of my adorable moving reminders I had EVERY intention of printing and mailing out to family and friends!

I never realized this until now, but there is a common theme in my designing...I like polka dots and the color blue! Ha ha! Even a little over a year ago when I designed these, I see my design trademark of the color palette and simple, yet adorable dots. Now, my husband and I have no intention of moving in the future because we love it here, so since I never got to send these out then...I will just share with you what was designed and intended for mailing so you can enjoy it! Of course, I have blurred out the important information, but you get the picture!

a thank you to my blog readers

So for today's post, I wanted to send each and everyone of you a 'Thank You' for reading my blog...and what better way to do that than to show my thanks in one of the home made cards recently made!

This card is actually one of my favorites because of the contrast in colors and the texture in the paper stock, and it was so simple to make! Really! This card only required a scored white card stock, black and yellow paper and a flower die. After sizing and cutting the paper, and punching the flower out, it was just a matter of piecing it together and stamping the final 'thank you' on the yellow strip.


So enjoy the card created, and again I just wanted to thank you all for stopping by my blog, commenting and taking in my ideas! I have also enjoyed visiting each and everyone of your blogs and will continue to do my best to share my 'polka dot thoughts'.

Thank you!

A Homemade Card that Kicks..Butt!

In preparing for a future bachelorette party, I was on the hunt for the perfect, clean and tasteful bachelorette card to make. Monica introduced me to this adorable card that displays a bra on the front side and a butt on the backside--perfect for this occasion! After seeing this card, I felt I had to make it and luckily Monica needed to make one as well, so the 2 of us got working.


The main template for this card is really simple...just like you would make a heart (folding the card and cutting half of the card), you do this cutting pattern, except you cut in the shape of an 'w'. Once you have cut, when you open the card it should look like a butterfly. Next on the front you start to cut decorated paper for the bra look. You can then embellish the bra by adding some lace for the straps.

To work on the butt, just flip the card over and using the same paper pattern, create your thong (or underwear) look. Finally, if desired, simply add a cute heart 'tattoo' stamp on the butt. You can then personalize the card and share it with your soon to be wedded friend! Again, this is such a perfect card for this occasion and is easily created with little paper and ribbon. Once completed, it is sure to create some smiles among friends!

Back 2 School...Cool!

So, I'm not sure about you guys, but tomorrow is the first day of school for the 2009 year! What does this mean...well this definitely means more traffic for me getting to work, requiring me to leave at least 10 minutes earlier than normal with the hopes I don't get stuck behind any school buses. After all, I only pass 4 elementary schools on my way to work!

But the start of school also means other things...football season is in session, tourist season is dying down here at the beach (thank goodness!) and kids, parents and teachers are gearing up for another big year. Parents are ensuring their kids have new clothes, supplies, haircut and are ready to face another year of learning and growing. They want their kids to start the school year on the right foot, and I agree with the parents! First impressions are lasting, which is why I think going above and beyond is a must!

Now, I do not have any children yet, but I imagine if I did I would want my child to do something a little special for the teacher to make a lasting first impression. It doesn't have to be anything huge, but something small and sweet is a nice added touch. I think a great idea is to make some simple personalized note cards for the new teachers. Who doesn't like personalized note cards? They are very simple to create and I'm sure the new teachers appreciate this over the cliche apple, lotions, candles, candy... (no offense if anyone has ever done those, those are very sweet ideas as well!).

Below are some samples of personalized cards I have made in the past. Simply purchase the note cards that are already have a designed background and you can personalize them yourself with the use of various graphic programs. Once the design is completed, just run them through the printer and you have a very nice set of cards for the new teachers. It doesn't cost a fortune and makes a lasting impression! I give this an A+ for Back to School musts!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

Make an adorable Lemonade Card! Every now and then my good friend, Monica, hosts a Stampin' Up party where she teaches us how to make some adorable homemade cards. I went to one Wednesday night and as always it was a great time of food, socializing and crafting cards.

It just amazes me how much you can actually do with stamps! A few jobs ago I use to work at a crafting company, and there one of the products produced was stamps. I never realized it at that time all the awesome things you can make with stamps! In my mind, stamps were old fashioned and used by teachers when grading papers...boy was I wrong! There is so much you can do with stamps. With the right tools you can create colorful patterns. You can even emboss or create scratch and sniff items with stamps!

Perhaps the most impressive thing to me about the Stampin' Up brand is how everything is color coordinated and matches perfectly, which I love! You can buy Stampin' Up paper, ribbon, ink, markers and much more that ALL match the same color...meaning if you use a pale blue in the paper, you can get the same pale blue ribbon to match perfectly.

One of the cards made in the class is this adorable Lemonade Card that is actually 3D. By simply cutting the paper, making a few punches, stamping the lemons, using a vellum for the cup and an actual straw, we were able to create this adorable card! It is so cute, I almost want to keep it and not send out, but of course I'll send it out so someone else can enjoy the card and special message.

Welcome Guests!

Since this is my first official blog posting, and anyone viewing this is officially a guest, I thought the perfect topic would in fact be...guests! Even though the summer is winding down and school is about to start back up, tourists and guests are still vacating to the beach. There's a saying that goes something like "You never know how many friends you have until you live on the beach". Well, although my husband and I aren't right on the beach, we are still close enough. From friends to family, we have been fortunate enough to be able to save money and travel less this year because everyone has been traveling to see us!

I personally love being a host and showing off our town and beach. If I could greet each guest with a welcome basket, I would, but since that could get pretty pricey, I do the little things for an added touch. One such thing I do for guests is personalize a welcome card that sits in a basket in the guest room complete with towels, lotions and small reading. Below is a sample card created. Most of my guests choose to take them home as a 'souvenir'.

This is such a simple, yet special thing that friends and family eat up! I had some extra invitation stock for reply cards (from creating a friend's wedding invitations), that I am able to print on and create these little cards. Take a peak, enjoy and next time you have company, doing something simple and sweet like this is the perfect added bonus to being a great host/hostess!