male cards

I really struggle with male birthday cards. Especially adult males. What sort of embellishments can you use? I mean, flowers and ribbon and bows just don't cut it, aka. 90% of scrapbook stuff. Except maybe grosgrain ribbon. So, in my discouragement as my father-in-law and grandpa's birthdays are coming up I got on the computer and designed my own embellishments. Do the graphics look familiar? I still wonder if they might be a little juvenile, but then, who spends more than 10 seconds looking at the outside of the card (besides me) anyway? When I'm not under as much of a time crunch I think I may go back and do some line drawings of cars, trucks, and bikes. Those might be to little-kiddy too . . .

It's already Wednesday

So, the after Halloween days have left me not wanting to do much. Hence, I don't have much to post. But here are our costumes all finished . . . one little lion which really needed two lion tamers :)

A week of MIA

So, I don't have any good excuses for not posting this week. I guess the little buddy and I were just having too much fun in this gorgeous fall weather.



But, here are a few things I've been up to:

1. making cards
2. figuring out how to make your own bows using this tutorial. I used scrapbook paper, but I think it may be a little too stiff. In looking for a tutorial though, I stumbled upon the cutest bunch of flower making tutorials here.
3. Finished the bag part for the "cheeky monkey laundry bags" I'm making yet again from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. I still have the heads to go . . .
4. Lastly, loving the beautiful colors and textures of fall.

memory game

Yesterday was a rainy day. The little buddy and I needed something fun and new to do. So . . . using many graphics I had already drawn, and adding a few more, I made these go fish or memory game cards. We played the memory game with them - except kept the cards face up. I think the lemon yellow bird and the chartreuse alligator are my favorites! A few things need to be fixed, but I think they may end up in my shop!

train board

The other day my little buddy was playing trains with a friend. We have a little train track, but it was clearly not big enough for the two of them to both have long trains on it. I started thinking, especially because we have carpet instead of wood floors, that a board could be a pretty good surface to play on. I came up with this. It's a 2 foot square 1/8" thick particle board that I simply drew some tracks on with a black sharpie, modge-podged a few stations, some trees, a water filling station, and coal mine onto. Oh, and don't forget the helicopter landing pad. I tried to use scrapbook paper (versus cardstock) as much as possible because it will be harder for it to come dislodged. I think he may still be a little young for it, but we'll see. He doesn't really like that the "tracks" don't have a groove for his wheels to go in. Maybe it will become my train track . . .

a few gifts

I am in love with Amy Butler's book, Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. If only my little buddy were a little smaller . . . lucky for me I have 3 sisters and a good friend who are pregnant right now. I've already tried out the little booties. Other than some tight corners they were fairly easy to do, if you try them remember when they say use a medium to light weight fabric they mean it. Flannel is a little thick.





I've also been playing around with lace up cards. This is a set I made as a present for some good friends. The clothes are designed to be laced up with the doll so they have changeable clothes. I've been thinking about selling them in my etsy shop . . .

Halloween Costumes

I love to create Halloween costumes . . . We make a family theme of it every year. I'm afraid this year may be the last year though. Our little buddy may have his own ideas next year. That will be fun too. But can you guess what it will be this year. . . I've been making hats!


2008 Mulan, a Hun, & Mushu


2007 Superman & his parents (ignore my scary smile)


2006 Kronk & Isma (from The Emperor's New Groove)