As you may remember from previous posts, my daughter's August wedding is a do it yourselfer. That means I am always on the lookout for certain items. This week it was grapevines. My friend told me she has wild grapevines growing in the woodsy area directly behind her house and I can take all I want! Yay! 


So I trekked over there wearing hiking boots, long jeans, socks over my jeans, and a long sleeve shirt, all because of ticks, poison ivy, and mosquitoes. I really did not want to deal with any of those things - but I needed those grapevines!  To get to the vines I had to go down a steep embankment. Then I had to pull them out of the trees and off the arbor they built years ago. The vines were very reluctant to come with me! But I got my grapevines.


Oh the things we do for our children. My friend took pictures with her phone so she could send them to my daughter. I wish I had a few to show you but I don't. Instead I have a card. I didn't have time to make a fancy one so I just pulled out some scraps I had. The twitterpated dsp is still available by the way!

This design is so versatile. I just used the Postage Stamp Punch for the squares and my scissors for the strips of paper. The button is long retired but the card just needed something, and since I wasn't mailing it, I added the button to the front. 


Stamps: Perfectly Penned
Paper: Twitterpated - still available
Cardstock: Baja Breeze
Ink: Baja Breeze
Other: Postage Stamp Punch, Corner Rounder, Baja Breeze button, baker's twine

It's Friday! Hope it's a creative one.

Nature Walk Thank You

I am on a roll with posting! It helps that I needed to make some thank you cards for friends who have helped me thus far with the bridal shower/wedding. Here is another clean and simple thank you that I made.

I added the strip of musical notes just because I had it in my stash and it goes with birds. You know - birds singing. And again, I used textured Crumb Cake cardstock which is retired. 

Stamps: Nature Walk, Musical Notes Wheel, Fabulous Phrases

Cardstock: Textured Crumb Cake (retired), Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Black, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze

Other: Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, Color Spritzer Tool, Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Bigz die

Thanks for stopping by!

Four Frames in Primrose and Raspberry

I finally unwrapped all of my new In Color stamp pads and cardstock! I am loving all of the In Colors this year and can see myself using them quite a bit. I wasn't sure how I would like the newly designed stamp pads but I think once I am used to them, I will love them!

In case you haven't heard, Stampin' Up! discontinued the old style of ink pad. The case is the same, but the ink pad itself is different. By different I mean it is now a foam pad which provides better stamp coverage and you don't have to tap as hard! Every stamp pad that you now order will be the new style.

My card today is a clean and simple thank you using Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals cardstock and Primrose Petals ink (I think). I already sent the card so I can't double check on the ink. Sorry about that!

The card base is actually textured Crumb Cake cardstock which is sadly retired. I happened to have some on my craft table so I used it. Other than that the card is pretty basic. I have a feeling I will be stamping clean and simple in the next few months!

Stamps: Four Frames, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Textured Crumb Cake (retired), Whisper White, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple

Ink: Primrose Petals 

Other: Square Punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Designer Label punch, Basic Pearls

Have a wonderful creative day!

In my previous post I mentioned (and pictured) the Tissue Paper Pom Poms I made. My post can be found Here. The directions I used to make them is found Here. Martha used 8 pieces of tissue. I found that 12 made a poofier pom pom.

Today I am posting the final pictures from my daughter's bridal shower. I wanted to really add some details to the place settings.  And it was alot of fun creating the napkins, tableware and favor! 

The idea for the napkin came from this talented lady. I used an embossed heart for the bodice instead because it coordinated nicely with the invitation. I also had extra napkins available thank goodness because many of the guests wanted to save their "dress". 

I used the Petite Pocket Bigz Die for my tableware holder. Once it was assembled I embossed the Doily with White embossing Powder. The idea for this is my own. I just took the holder found in This Post and changed the colors.

To add even more detail to the place settings, I decided to add some Basic Pearls to each knife, spoon, and fork! To make sure they really stayed on, I adhered them with Crystal Effects. I got the idea for the Basic Pearls from This Birthday Party.

I agonized over what kind of gift to give each guest. I ended up making some awesome Sugar Scrub and decorating each jar with Sale-a-bration designer paper, crochet trim, twine, and a little spoon. The label is hand stamped with an image from Apothecary Art which worked perfectly. 

There are lots of recipes for DIY Sugar Scrub out there. I used This Recipe with a few changes. I used Safflower Oil even tho Olive Oil does a better job. I just don't like the strong Olive Oil smell. And I omitted the Epsom Salts and honey. 

I am relieved the shower is over even tho I had lots of fun creating/baking/cooking. Now I can concentrate on the wedding. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

More shower pictures

I thought I would show some pictures of my daughter's bridal shower. I hosted it in the cafe area of our church. It is air conditioned. :) Our house is not!

Her colors are coral and ivory but I threw in some mint, aqua, and peach. These are the tissue paper pom poms I made. They are super easy and really added a wow factor.

My dear friend picked flowers from her garden and made this gorgeous centerpiece for the food table. 

I saved some designer paper from Sale-a-bration and made rosettes and a "Gifts" banner which is hard to see in this photo. I should add that this was taken before the guests arrived. The black and white gift bag doesn't really "fit" with the color scheme.

I also had a banner for "Cards". Lace was another key part of the shower theme and  I was able to purchase many beautiful old lace table clothes at yard sales.

Again, I used the dsp from Sale-a-bration for the banner. I pulled out my old Headline Alphabet set (retired) to stamp the letters.

That's it for today! My next post will be the table setting which turned out to be a big hit!

My absence and a Bridal Shower Invitation

This intro is going to be a long one - just warning you.

First, I would like to apologize for my silence this past month and a half. I didn't realize how long it had been since my last blog post until I began to receive emails! Thank you for your concern - you really do like my blog. :)

Secondly, I want to assure you I am fine. The reason for my absence is wedding, wedding, wedding! My middle daughter is getting married in August and it is, what we call, a do it yourself kind of wedding with a church ceremony and outdoor reception. We are trying to save money by doing alot of the work ourselves. To complicate it a bit - she lives in Ohio but is getting married here in Massachusetts!

I have been digging, planting (the flowers), and weeding. Plus I've been hitting up yard sales and thrift stores, and watching the sales, as has my daughter. We were able to get together once in May when my husband and I went to Ohio for a long weekend. If you live in the Dayton area, we were there the weekend of a fabulous neighborhood yard sale in Centerville. It seriously was an endless yard sale and we got some great stuff! Thank goodness for Pinterest! I cruise it regularly for ideas. 

I also was able to go to a wonderful flea market in New Jersey when we drove our other daughter down to Ocean City, NJ. My husband is from Mt. Holly, NJ so he grew up going to Columbus Sale (hope I got the name right). This was my first time and I Loved it! I found some great items for the wedding. And I went crazy at the Amish Farmers Market that is there. Shoo Fly Pie - Yum!!

This past weekend, my daughter drove here for the Bridal Shower I gave her. That was another big reason I haven't been blogging! It was a small intimate group of friends - 16 in all - so I wanted to make it personal and special and I kind of got carried away with details. But it was so much fun! I am going to post it a little at a time I think.

Today, I can show you the invitation that I made. My daughter's colors are coral and ivory. She also loves the vintage minty green and the tiffany blue but for her invitation I stuck with Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla.

The dress is actually 2 pieces. I die cut the skirt first with the Scallop Circle Bigz die and my Big Shot and then trimmed it by hand using a premade template. The bodice was done one of the Hearts Collection Framelits. The final step was embossing with the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder and adding either Crochet Trim or Calypso Coral Ribbon. 

The sentiment was stamped with the now retired Sincere Salutations. 

For the inside of the invitation, I just typed everything on the computer, printed it onto Very Vanilla cardstock, trimmed it, and adhered it to the card base. 

Stamps: Sincere Salutations (retired)

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral

Ink: Calypso Coral

Other: Big Shot, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Hearts Collection Framelits, Scallop Circle Bigz die, Crochet Trim (or Calypso Coral Ribbon), Corner Rounder, Large Pearl

And I just realized the Large Pearl is missing! Every invitation had one glued to the "V" of the bodice. 

Thanks for reading this very long blog post. I'll try to post some more this week.