clair087

It's a sunny morning here and just a perfect day for this kind of post! It also helps that there is a fresh, new layer of snow on our ground, rending me more and more of the season to come!  I've been itching for some time to get into Christmas crafting, but I'm still oh-so-hung-up on pretty, candy colors. And with a little summery-vibe vacation thrown into the mix recently, I'm crushing on bright colors more than ever! So what's a girl to do, but to make the best of it all! Infusing some color into a set of Christmas cards... Well, friends, turns out I love color for the holidays and I have a feeling many more cards like these are to come. To create the first card, I started with a polka dot base patterned paper, and if you look really closely, you will see that some of the dots have teensy snowflakes on them..major win! For the center of the card, I used a mix of colorful buttons to create a wreath, and stamped a sentiment in the center, using PTI's Rustic Wre...

O how have I been itching to post this! Now that we're back from our travels, I'll be back soon to share a few highlights of our trip, but for the time being, I'll just share a few little pieces inspired by a a tad of poolside lounging and way too many pretty watercolors to play with. For my first card, I wanted to preserve the entirety of this little watercolored piece, so I decided to use the whole floral design as a background. It's the easiest way to incorporate any small art. It can be used as is, or like I've done, added to with other paper crafting bits such as dies. If you're like me and short on time to do all the things you love, try incorporating them into your travel routine, soccer practice, or wherever you might have a bit of idle time. I'm soooo in love with watercolors but I rarely have the time to just devote to painting. So I make it a point to bring my palette with whenever we travel. Even if it's just on the plane, or while waiting at...

Good morning friends!  It's a sunny, but crisp Autumn morning here, and I'm finally feeling the spirit of the season, as I've been putting away all the Summer decor around our home, and slowly shifting to more earthy tones. Even the baking around here has changed...From Summery rhubarb crisp to plenty of spiced things.  I love that we get to experience the beauty of the seasons changing. Even though I long for a warm sunny days most of the year, I don't know that I would ever be ready to say goodbye to the turning leaves, or the smell of fresh Autumn rain that comes with Seasons changing. It has been just SO beautiful around here the last couple of weeks. My morning walks are that much more special with the kaleidoscope of colors that Autumn brings. And when the days became too cool to enjoy the outdoors, I can't think of anything more satisfying than snuggling up in a cozy sweater beside the crackling fire, with a cup of mulled cider, and a pile of paper and scisso...

Morning everyone!  I'd like to share something a little different today... Some techniques that are near and dear to my heart, and that hopefully might help someone.  I often get emails asking how I get my cards to look so textured, and more specifically, how to work with layering + textured products in paper crafting. While there really is no one single answer, and I am certainly not the expert on this in any way, there definitely are some go-to's that I turn to time and time again, and I'd love to share them with you here today. I hope it will inspire someone to just go ahead and start working with more of these products and to play with the art of layering. I know that personally, I can't get enough of this style, and no card feels complete to me without a little bit of that something-something that pops! So, here we go! I created these two specifically with extra texture in mind. First up, I'd like to share with you this card, and my top ten ways to create textu...

Hello Friends! Just popping in quickly to share a little shabby card. I've strayed a bit from this style in recent times, but it's always good to reminisce with an old favorite, don't you think? To start this card, I stamped some zigzag patterns on plain cardstock and added a little diagonal stripe to the bottom with some dotted washi tape.  For the frame of the card, I used a scalloped chipboard, and tucked just underneath it, some more patterned paper as well as a wreath cut using PTI's Rustic Wreath die. I love, love, love this little die so much. It's incredibly versatile and so fun to use when your project needs that little extra something. Plus it works for all seasons, all themes and it's just so fun to decorate! (I'm working on a batch of Holiday cards, decked out with this little wreath, and I'll be sure to share them soon!) To decorate the center, I added a couple of paper straws (I love this shoppe  the mostest -they have so many colors!) and...

G'mornin Friends! How was your week?  I hope you've had a little time to enjoy moments with loved ones, and of course, time doing what you love.  In our home, we love the bustling energy of the local farmers market, and after a busy week, it's just the kind of thing we love to do to unwind. Strolling the stands with a delicious coffee in tow (such as from  Collective Coffee ) dreaming up just how we'll use the fresh ingredients and treasures we find. This kind of a day is SUCH a fave of ours. We only visited the market a few times during the Summer, but it's just fine by us. Autumn is when things slow down a little bit, crowds are smaller and the stands fill up with beautiful and seasonal root vegetables, squashes, and wonderful preserves. I'm super excited for our gourmet am date tomorrow, but before I get to that, I thought I'd pop by and share a birthday card with you! Maybe it's the gingham, or the fresh florals, idk... But it screams market stands a...

Happy Friday!  How are you all doing? I hope your week has been lovely.  It's been a beautiful week here, and more lovely temps are expected for the weekend...yay! And even though I would love to pull out shades of pumpkin and straw, I'm going to stick to as much cheery and bright as I can for at least a couple more weeks, while the Summer weather sticks around.  Given the nicer weather, I've been pretty serious about running every day, which has significantly cut back my crafting time. So I really didn't think I would have time to make anything this week, but I've been trying really hard to fit in at least a little bit of crafting even during the busiest of weeks.  As I keep experimenting, I'm finding some products are just way easier to work with when in a time crunch.  Two of my faves: chipboard and felt! This little pocket is made out of felt, and decorated with chipboard, paper, ribbons, and sequins. I love how felt instantly gives projects a bit of an ele...