Birthday Card

 

One of my mother’s employee’s commissioned me to make a Squirrel card for a coworker’s birthday this coming Monday. I’ve been slowly acquiring different things to use on my projects and I decided to use my new Core’dinations Couture glitter cardstock. I’m super pleased with how it turned out.

Here are the details:

Cardstock: DCWV navy for the 5” x 7” base. Core’dinations Couture Glitter Cardstock in Stiletto and Blue Diamond. The Blue Diamond strip was cut at 2.5” x 4.75” and punched with Fiskars punch.

Patterned Paper: DCWV Stack 7. The mat was cut at 4.75” x 6.75”.

The yellow strip was a scrap that I cut at 1.75” x 4.75”. The purple layers on the squirrel were scraps also, but most of my cardstock is from the Paper Company (until I get more Stampin’ Up!).

Ribbon: Offray Yellow Gingham.

Stamps: TPC Studio Greetings.

Ink: Studio G.

Adhesives: A lot of Zig and my trusty Glue Glider Pro!

The squirrel was cut at 4”. I didn’t do the shadow, however. I just cut the base image.

I love this card, it just made me so happy when it came together.

Everyone Loves Red Velvet, Right?

 

So, I don’t know exactly how to explain this, but something about seeing everyone’s Valentine’s Day projects has made me want to join in. Personally, I’m kind of anti-Valentine’s – I think it’s way too commercial and that we have 365 days to tell people close to us that we love them. I suppose I’m going soft . . .

 

Fenton Hobnail Milk Glass Cake Stand

 

I’ve been planning to use my From the Kitchen cartridge since I bought it last week, and thankfully, Robyn over at My Pink Stamper gave me a reason. Her challenge was to make something, “yummy.” In addition to wanting to use my FTK cart, I wanted to make a more elegant card and I wanted it to be appropriate for Valentine’s Day. I immediately knew I wanted to make a red velvet cake. I’m a diehard traditionalist and I love vintage hobnail milk glass. All of these ideas evolved into my inspiration for this card.

This card took very little time and was extremely easy to make.
Here are the details, or the “recipe,” if you will:

Cardstock: Paper Company Vintage Fashion Colors Red for the 5”x7” Card base; tan mat is 4.75” x 6.75”.
Patterned Paper: K.I. Memories Classic Print Paper Pad; the mat is cut at 4.5” x 6.5”.
The cake plate and cake were cut at 4” and the plate was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.
Stamp: TPC Studio Greetings.
Ink: Studio G.
Adhesives: ZIg 2 Way and Glue Glider Pro.

I know it looks extremely simple, but I think that’s what makes it great. Nothing says I love you like a red velvet cake!

Have a Blessed Day!

Happy Birthday to My Pink Stamper, Robyn

 

This is actually a two card post as I meant to post the other last week, but I was stuck in the kitchen with the aforementioned wedding cake. I digress!

Today is Robyn's 38 birthday and she has a challenge on her blog to make something birthday related. I cut the squirrel with the intention of using it on a project last week, but again, that didn’t happen, but she came in handy for this quick card.

This was a very simple card to make. The dark green base is a standard A2 that I made by cutting an 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of cardstock in half. The dark pink mat is 5 1/4” x 4,” the light pink strip is 2 1/4” x 4.” and the striped strip was around 2” x 4” before I punched it with a Fiskars border punch.

Here are the rest of the details:

Squirrel: Create a Critter, cut at 3 1/4”

Cardstock: The Paper Company

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso

Stamp: TPC Studio Greetings

Ribbon: Offray 5/8” Hot Pink & 3/8” Light Pink (Both Satin)

Adhesive: Glue Glider Pro, Zig 2 Way, and Thermoweb Dimensionals

And here is my second card:

Hello there, Butterfly!

Details:

Butterfly: Storybook, cut at 2 1/4”

Frame: Lite Live Simply, cut at 4 1/4

Cardstock: The Paper Company Vintage, Rainy Day, and Carnival Fashion Value Packs

Cuttlebug D’Vine Swirls and Sentimentals Brocade

Stamp: TPC Studio Greetings

Ink: Studio G

Close up of Butterfly

Have an awesome day!

Trell

Me . . . a Stylish Blogger?!

 

For the last week and a half, I’ve been extremely busy with work and a wedding cake, so the most I’ve done on my computer has been checking email. Actually, I think I checked it on my iPhone more often.

Needless to say, I was TOTALLY surprised to find out that Girlia gave me a Stylish Blogger Award! I’ve been in a really good place lately, but this just caught me off guard and I shed a few tears. Happy ones of course!

Upon receiving the award, I have to thank the person and link back to their blog, tell 8 things about myself, pass the award on to 8 individuals (blogs) that I’ve recently discovered, and inform them of their award.

Thanks to the wonderful Girlia. Her blog is amazing and she has talent that is out of this world. Hers is one of the first blogs that I visit.

Now 8 things about little ole me:

1. I am a total mamma’s boy.

2. I love pens. Ball point, thank you.

3. We have a Yorkie named Zeus. He’s so cute. More often than not, I refer to him as Monkey or Wooshie. I love him.

Zeus

4. Favorite city: Chicago

5. Favorite Candy bar: Goo Goo Cluster

6. Favorite Jeans: Gap 1969 Boot Fit

7. Sometimes, she gets on my nerves, but I love my sister to pieces.

Horrible picture, but that’s me and my sis. Her name is LaDonna, but I call her Sheree. I just realized I didn’t have my glasses on . . . I’m blind as a bat. Anyway, as you can see, she’s the pretty one in the family

8. I LOVE Mickey Mouse!

Just a little bit about moi, but I like working things about me into my posts.

Here are the 8 bloggers I’m passing the award on to, and links to their blogs:

Kyle - The Green Cricut

Courtney - Court's Crafts

Wendy - Bling Queen

Michelle - Meesh's Pieces

Melissa - Moe's Creations

Tanner - Mr. Cricutcrazy

Maria - Colour Me Happy

Joy - Obsessed with Scrapbooking

I’m sure you’ll love their blogs as much as I do!

Trell

Sunny Days Card and Crafting Soundtrack

 

For those out there that don’t know, Michael’s is having an amazing sale on their Cricut products, especially cartridges. A number of them are being sold for $9.99! Unfortunately, Florence hasn’t had a Michael’s for about 6 years now. I decided to see if my manager at Jo-Ann would price match, and I thank the stars that she said yes! So, I was able to get Create a Critter, Sweet Treats, and Winter Woodland.

Today’s project is from Create a Critter, which is definitely my new favorite. I’m in love with it! If you’re new to all things Cricut (like me!), I think this is the perfect cart to learn with because the layering is incredibly easy.

Here’s everything I used to make the card:

Create a Critter Cricut Cartridge

D’Vine Swirls Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Thermoweb dimensional adhesives

The Paper Company Rainy Day Cardstock Pack

- Light Gray Card base 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” (Standard A2)

- Blue Layer 5 1/4” x 4”

- Light Purple Sunny Days Top Layer cut at 2 1/4”

The Paper Company Carnival Cardstock Pack

- Pink Strip 2 1/2” x 4” (edged with Fiskars Majestic Edgers)

- Green Sunny Days Base Layer cut at 2 1/4”

The Paper Company Primary Colors Cardstock Pack

- Yellow Sun Face cut at 2 1/4”

Paper Studio The Basics Stack

- Yellow Striped Sun Layer 1 cut at 2 1/4”

- Yellow Polka Dot Strip 2” x 4” (edged with Fiskars Colonial Edgers)

Lemongrass 5/8”  Satin Offray Ribbon

Zig 2 Way Glue Pen

Glue Glider Pro

My first card!

And because I have a tendency to break into random dance routines while crafting (or just because!) here’s my card making soundtrack:

Phoenix – 1901

Glee Cast – Singing in the Rain/Umbrella (feat. Gwyneth Paltrow)

Glee Cast – Halo/Walking on Sunshine

Solange – Would Have Been the One (Groove Police Remix) – I LOVE this one!

Diddy & Dirty Money – Hello, Good Morning

Leighton Meester – Your Love’s a Drug

Sia – Clap Your Hands

Kylie Minogue – Spinning Around

Katy Perry – Hummingbird Heartbeat (I never thought I’d buy a Katy Perry album, but iTunes makes it so easy. It’s a good one though!)

Have a Blessed Day!

Rainbows and Sunshine!

 

I have no idea why this is, but I always feel like a new year brings the prospect of a fresh start. Even though, however, I think that change can be made at any point during the year. I haven’t made a lot of posts on my blog. I’ve always intended to write regularly, but I guess the simplest thing to say is that life gets in our way sometimes. If there is one thing to know about me, it’s that I am a worrier to the nth degree. I worry about both things that I have control over and things that are completely beyond my control. I would be lying if I said that I was 100% happy with my life. I would love to be spending my days designing spaces for people, but unfortunately, that’s not my current reality. That’s not to say that I’m not happy with my current job. Actually, I have two jobs, both in retail. One that I love, and one that . . . I could love again, but only if some things change.

With that said, I’ve decided, in the words of Oprah, to start, “living my best life.” The first way I’m going to do that is to try my hardest not to worry about things. I know that I haven’t used my work ethic, talent, interests, and brain to best of my ability. In the past, I felt as if whenever I tried and worked my hardest for something, the goal or reward, whatever it may have been, never came to fruition. I’ve always known that I could make my blog whatever I wanted it to be. In my head, I started it with the intent of making it somewhat of a lifestyle blog. My greatest passion is interior design, but I’m also a baker and cake decorator - a little bit of a cook, organizer, and as my last post shows, a burgeoning paper crafter. Because of these reasons, I’ve decided that The Traditional Home is going to undergo some changes. The most notable and important change is the name. I feel like, currently, it’s way to stuffy and with the topics I plan to discuss, not accurate. I want to make it more fun and colorful. I was racking my brain trying to come up with a great name that was a reflection of me. And, after consulting my BFF (Thanks Lena!), decided that: Polka Dots, Paint, and Cake Batter fit the bill. It’s kind of random, but I can be a pretty random boy at times. With the name change, I feel like I can post a cake recipe or a card I make, as well as design articles.

So, I feel like the new year is going to bring great things for my blog (my first followers, shot out to Norma and Girlia!!) and my life. Instead of worrying, I’m being positive. My new philosophy is rainbows and sunshine!!