12.31.10

Are you ready to ring in the New Year tonight?? I have a lot of crafting to do before counting down to 2011, but I wanted to share a few things first. I have been busy making more birthday cards, this time for my Grandma's Birthday Calendar - thankfully we decided to celebrate Christmas on January 2nd with my mom's side which gave me more time to get her book in order and filled with cards! Here are just a couple that I have made. (I can't wait until I can take pictures outside again, it's so hard to get good lighting in my house.)

When I get bored with birthday cards, I switch to quilting. Here's a shot off all the fabric cut into strips just waiting to be stitched together. From the blue print to the first set of thin brown strips will be one quilt and from the green print to the second set of thin brown strips will be the other.

Yesterday, I managed to sew all the strips for one quilt together and get them cut into squares!! And even though it was late, I couldn't resist laying the squares out to see if I actually liked the fabrics we picked. Good News: I do!!

The agenda for today includes more birthday cards and a few anniversary ones as well and sewing the strips for the second quilt! Sometime this afternoon we will be heading down to some friends house to welcome 2011! I even bought myself a bottle of sparkling grape juice for the celebration!

Have a wonderful, safe and happy New Year's Eve! Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

The post of Randomness

I have several random things to share with you today. The first being the cards and gifts my students' made for their parents. We started out by making these cards, they always love using my Cuttlebug!

Then we stamped lunch bags, added a container of Hot Cocoa and topped it off with some candy canes and marshmallows that we dipped it chocolate. I think they turned out pretty cute and I hope the parents appreciate it!

Next up is the Birthday Calendar book I made my mom for Christmas. I just adore this cover which was inspired by the layout of a card Maile Belles did awhile back (if I'm remembering correctly).

Today I was able to go shopping with my best friend! All through high school we would make trips to the fabric store to pick out material for miscellaneous projects...garters and dresses for prom, dresses for a Madrigal Dinner, numerous altered shirts in support of our school's athletic teams, the list could go on and on! Now that she lives on the West Coast and I'm still in Wisconsin, our shopping adventures are few and far between, but today we were able to head back to the fabric store for baby quilt material! Here is what will **hopefully** turn into 2 beautiful baby quilts in the coming weeks...

I pre-washed it all when I got home and am in the process of pressing it so I can start cutting the strips and squares tomorrow. I figure if I don't get a good start on them before I head back to school next week, all I will have in April is a pile of fabric! I have a pretty easy pattern picked out so it should be pretty smooth sailing if I can manage to cut the pieces out without any mistakes!

Wish me luck!

Hope you are recovering from your Christmas celebrations and gearing up for the New Year!

~Anika

Winter in Wisconsin

No card to share today, although I did make a bunch yesterday while watching the snow fall! We were told to expect a blizzard beginning Friday night and lasting through Saturday. So I managed to talk my husband into going for dinner Friday evening and finding a place to take our Christmas picture. (I had been putting it off, waiting for the baby bump to grow a bit more.) We took my brother in law along as our photographer. Here is the picture we ended up with...

(There is no way I would go out in short sleeves now, but it actually wasn't too bad at the time...but maybe that's just the pregnancy heat wave talking!)

Sure enough, we woke up Saturday morning to blowing and drifting snow that lasted all day! It was really hard to tell how much snow we were getting since we live on a relatively wide open hill where it blows all over the place. A few trucks in our neighborhood ventured out and this car made an attempt...but it was a huge fail!

It wasn't until this morning that we even attempted to go out in the mess! At about 9:30 we were still waiting for the city plow to come by when my dad came by. He had to plow a path on the road to get to our driveway. (Not sure why our street is last on the plow list...it's noon now and there is still no sign of the plow.)

Anyway, see that big bare spot on the driveway?? All the snow that was supposed to be there, blew up against our garage door instead!

Andrew and a neighbor worked on shoveling that while my dad took care of the rest of the driveway and I stayed warm and dry in the house! (At least I have a good excuse for not being out there this year!)

Now that we can actually drive out of our garage and down the road, we are headed out with my parents to a bakery for a Christmas Cookie Exchange. For $45, we get to sample about 30 kinds of cookies while sipping on Hot Cocoa and Cider, then we can pick 12 dozen of our favorites to take home! As much as I love to bake cookies this time of year, I don't really think this deal can be beat - especially since my kitchen won't need to be cleaned up afterwards!!

Enjoy your day!

~Anika

A Card and The Bump

Where do the weeks go? I am finally back to blog world with a few things to share, so here we go...

A Birthday card using Color Couture that I made for my best friend last month.

And my bump at 17 weeks. At our last appointment Baby A's heartbeat was 160 and Baby B's was 150! So far, they aren't kicking me, but I can feel them move around quite a bit. I'm still pretty tired...no 2nd Trimester energy yet like everyone told me I would get, but that's okay.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend. We are looking forward to celebrating with family tomorrow and doing some shopping, wrapping and decorating on Friday!!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Paper: Select White, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise Bitty Box, White A2 Envelope

Ink: Tea Dye Duo

Color Couture: Volume 6

Other: Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Polka Dot 2 Impression Plate, A2 Envelope Die, Hawaiian Shores Button, Rustic Cream Twine

Giveaway Winners!

Just a quick post to announce the winners of my 100th post giveaways...

Teresa (@ baseret.blogspot.com) is the winner of Papertrey Inks CHA Stamp Set - Four of a Kind

Amy (@ stamp-n-paradise.blogspot.com) is the winner of the PTI goodies

Congratulations! I'll be sending you both a PM on the PTI forum.

~Anika

100th Post & Giveaways!!!

So I've finally made it to my 100th post! I'm getting some energy back now that I have officially entered 2nd Trimester and I feel like I'm in the swing of things at school. So hopefully, I can get back to blogging on a regular schedule!

A friend asked me to make a couple of card sets for her last week so I thought I'd share some of them for this post. With all the Christmas inspiration going on at PTI, I was in the mood to pull out my Christmas sets and this is what I came up with...

Now for the Giveaways. I have the CHA 2010 Exclusive set, Four of a Kind, up for grabs and for those of you who already have that set I am putting together a little box of some PTI things...ribbons, die cuts, buttons, etc...

To win you need to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post. Be sure to let me know if you want the stamp set or the box of PTI stuff in case you win! (I will ship internationally as well.) I will draw 2 winners on Saturday, October 30th. Good Luck!!

~Anika

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun!

I have a really good excuse for not blogging the past few weeks...We are expecting in April! And it's twins! We just shared the news with our families and friends this weekend. It's been so hard to keep it a secret, especially since we found out there were 2 little beans!

Tomorrow I will be sharing the news with my coworkers and wanted to do it in a creative way, so I bought a bunch of little packs of DoubleMint Gum and attached a little poem to it. I'm planning to just leave it in the staff work room in the morning and listen for the shrieks and squeals from my classroom that's just across the hall and down one room. (I work with some very excitable people!)

So here's the little basket all ready to go.

And here's a close up of the poem.

I hope to be back to my perky, crafty, blogging self soon, but I have a feeling that it might be a couple more weeks before I get my energy back. Keep an eye out though, because this is post number 99, meaning the next post is my 100th post and I will have a giveaway!

Have a great week!

~Anika

Labor Day Weekend

What a weekend it's been! My husband was in his cousin's wedding on Saturday - which meant we had rehearsal on Friday evening, a full day Saturday, and breakfast and gift opening yesterday morning. Then last night - after I took a nap - we had some friends over for supper. They are missionaries at a school in Africa and have been gone for the past 4 years. It was fun to catch up with them and see how much their 5 children have grown!

Here's a picture of the family at the wedding reception...

BIL's Girlfriend, BIL, SIL, Me, Andrew, MIL, FIL

Now onto a card...

I just love this card and the best part is it was so incredibly easy to put together! Stamped the background, added some ribbon, and adhered a Color Couture Embellishment.

Hope you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend! We are spending today recovering and then heading to a cook out at some friend's house before heading back to work tomorrow. And speaking of work, tomorrow is Andrew's first day at his new job!! Yeah!

Thanks for stopping by and listening to my ramblings!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Vintage Cream

Stamps: Damask Designs

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Other: Raspberry Fizz Satin Ribbon, Color Couture Volume 1 Embellishment

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school. It went great, but I was so exhausted by the end of the day - I forget every year how long it takes me to adjust to being back with students all day!

Anyway, I made a these cards - one for the other Kindergarten Teacher and one for the Aide in my room.

I'm still trying to make it to 100 posts...this is 97. Not sure when I'll get there now, but if you still want a CHA set keep your eyes peeled for my giveaway when I finally get to 100!

Have a great day!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Orange Zest, Ripe Avocado, Select White, miscellaneous brown scraps

Stamps: Leaf Prints, Signature Greetings

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Other: Book Print Impression Plate

Thank You, Nichole!

Nichole,

Just a Thank You for giving of your time and talents month after month. I can't even begin to imagine how much energy it must take to prepare for each release, but I want you to know that every moment you spend is truly appreciated and does not go unnoticed. Thank you for answering all of our questions, listening to our concerns, and being a source of inspiration! Papertrey Ink is an amazing company because of you! (No one else has me staying up late or waking up early from the 5th-15th of each month!!)

Thanks Again!

~Anika

Altered T-Shirt

A couple months ago, I saw this post on Kimberly Kesti's blog and since then, I have been scouring the clearance section of every store I go into for cheap t-shirts that I can spruce up.

Well, I hit the jackpot at Target about a week ago when I found these purple t-shirts on clearance for $2! Here's what you do...buy 2 of them - it doesn't matter if they don't have 2 in your size, because you are just going to cut the second one up anyway. In my case, I bought a small to embellish and a large to cut apart.

I made my flowers a little differently than Kim did. I cut out 5 inch circles and then spiral cut them like this. (They don't have to be perfect!)

Then, I stitched the inside edge of the spiral to gather the material.

Once it was all stitched, I wound it into a flower and stitched it together at the bottom.

I made all 5 flowers and then I stitched them onto the other t-shirt. Easy peasy and I have a cute t-shirt in an hour for $4! After trying it on, I'm actually thinking that I will add a couple more flowers to it - I think they need to go all the way up to the shoulder, but for now...here's the finished shirt.

Sorry the colors are so wacky in these pictures, I was working on this late last night.

Hope you are having a great Saturday!

~Anika

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop: August 2010

The challenge for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop this month is to use a lunch bag in some way. The details and list of participants can be found here on Nichole's blog. With the beginning of the school year approaching quickly, I didn't have a lot of time to make something super creative, but I did come up with this cute little gift gift bag.

I cut the top off and ran the bag through my Cuttlebug to get the scallops on the top, then I stamped the background, added some ribbon and a sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the Blog Hop!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Raspberry Fizz, Kraft

Stamps: Embellishments, Signature Greetings

Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate

Other: Raspberry Fizz Satin Ribbon, Small Scallop Border Die, Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities, brown lunch bag

One week from today...

will be my last day of Summer Vacation. I can't believe how fast the months have flown by! I am certainly looking forward to a new school year, but I will miss my low key summer days.

Last week, I posted this card using Hawaiian Shores. I decided to give the same layout a try in a few different colors so here we have...

Orange Zest

Raspberry Fizz

and Plum Pudding!

These were so simple to put together since I only needed one stamp set.

Hope you have had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz, Plum Pudding, Vintage Cream

Stamps: Round & Round

Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate, True Black, Tea Dye Duo; Spiced Marmalade & Dusty Concord Distress Inks

Ribbon: Orange Zest Saddle Stitch, Raspberry Fizz Satin, Plum Pudding Swiss Dot

Other: Mat Stack 2 Die, Hole Punch

Cute as a Button Tag

I made this gift tag in a matter of minutes for the Baby Shower for Katie & Asher that we are having tomorrow. Love it when things come together so quickly! (Katie, hope Asher is sleeping for you tonight so you don't see this before tomorrow!)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Kraft, Ripe Avocado Bitty Box paper

Stamps: Baby Button Bits

Ink: Peeled Paint Distress Ink

Other: New Leaf Buttons, Cream Button Twine

Card Set

I think this is the first set of cards that I have made that are all similar.

These all use Vintage Cream Cardstock and a Black Creative Memories fine tip marker.

Stamp Sets: Star Prints & Scattered Showers

Ink: True Black & Peeled Paint Distress Ink

Stamp Set: Signature Greetings

Ink: Raspberry Fizz

Cardstock: Raspberry Fizz & Dotty Biscotti Patterned Paper

cut with Beautiful Blooms 2 Die Collection #3

Stamp Sets: Embellishments & Leaf Prints

Ink: Pure Poppy & Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Stamp Set: Star Prints

Ink: Enchanted Evening

Cardstock: Enchanted Evening & Spring Rain Bitty Box

cut with a Cricut Cartridge

I've got a busy weekend ahead of me, but I am determined to make it to 100 posts before the first day of school so I will try to post some other projects I have been working on soon!

Have a great day!

~Anika

All Supplies listed are Papertrey Ink, unless noted otherwise.

Hawaiian Shores

I just adore this color! I've got a super simple card to share today.

I just love all that Hawaiian Shores...paper, ink, ribbon! I bought the Mat Stack 2 Die at CHA and I made this card primarily to try it out!

I'm headed out to go Back-to-School shopping with my mom today! Hope you have a great Tuesday!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream

Stamps: Round & Round

Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo

Other: Mat Stack 2 Die, Hawaiian Shores Bitty Dot ribbon

Thank You card & Desk Organizer

A couple things to share today. The first is a Thank You card and it's the last in my first set of cards for the baby shower game prize. I just love how simple this card is and plan on making many more with the same layout just different colors and sentiments.

I was having 'sew' much fun with my sewing machine on some cards when I came across this adorable desk organizer. You can find official patterns and directions here.

Since my machine was out, I decided to modified the design to fit some material I had on hand and came up with this!

It was so easy peasy! I think I finished it in under an hour and now that I have the kinks worked out, I don't even think they would take that long. Any guesses as to what is in between the layers of material that make up the sides and bottom? Here is a hint...I would have to buy 5 PTI Stamp sets in order to make 2 organizers. I'll let you think on that one for a second. (You can find the answer in the supply list below.) Since I don't have the scalloped square die cut that the original version uses, I just cut squares and then clipped and frayed the seam allowances after it was all sewn together.

This is going to be a back to school gift for the other Kindergarten teacher on my team. It happens to match this tote bag that I made for her for Christmas last year. (She's a coffee fanatic.)

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful Sunday!

~Anika

Supplies:

Thank You Card (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Simply Chartreuse

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics 2, Asian Fusion

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Other: Beautiful Blooms 2 #3 Die Collection, Brown Thread

Desk Organizer

10 - 5x5 inch squares of fabric

4 - 3x5 inch squares of fabric

5 - 4x4 inch squares of acetate (I used the clear boxes that my PTI stamps come in...finally a use for the many I have collected! And it cuts easily with my paper cutter.) Note: You could leave the bottom acetate sheet out and then the organizer would be foldable like the original version.