"Welcome Baby" card

Since when do I get to post something to my blog two days in a row?  I know, I can't believe it either!  But, I just finished this baby card and the boys were still napping, so I decided to play around with the Manual settings on my camera and try to get a decent picture of it.  And after a few attempts, I *think* I got one...and the boys are still asleep so I figured I'd get it posted quick!

And, how about a cute picture from bath time the other night??

I think this was taken just seconds before I got attacked by their crazy splashing!  I guess that's one way to get the bathroom floor clean! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
~Anika

Less than 24 hours!

With less than 24 hours until we get to meet our babies, I am attempting to finish packing and cleaning, but Andrew told me to take it easy today, so I'm mostly just lounging around, watching TV, and watching my belly wiggle all over the place! I'm going to miss that. I'm going to miss my belly and being pregnant. I'm not going to miss my swollen feet, ankles, and legs!

I managed to do a little something crafty yesterday. (That REALLY made my feet swell!)

We will be filling these containers with mini cookies for the the OB and Radiology departments as a thank you for taking such good care of us over the past nine months. Having always been a rather healthy person, my weekly ultrasounds and appointments over the past 7 weeks have made me feel like I should just bring my pillow and jammies with and live in the waiting room! The last container of cookies is for the hospital nurses...might as well suck up a bit to ensure good care from them during our stay - not that I'm at all worried about that! I also have paper cut to size with scor-tape already on the back so I can write a little thank you to attach to the lid before delivering them - I want to wait to write them so I can include the babies names.

Here's a close up of one.

And before I go, one last belly picture. This was taken last Thursday when I was 37 weeks along and the babies estimated weighted were 7lbs 6oz and 7lbs 5oz! It will be interesting to see how accurate they were.

Hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!

~Anika

Baby Shower Thank You

Tomorrow is our first Baby Shower so I decided I should whip up some Thank You cards today.

We have been working on the nursery over the past couple weeks. The cribs my dad built are amazing! Last weekend I found curtains and we bought car seats. Less than 6 weeks to go now! If you haven't voted in our gender poll, check out my previous post and cast your vote on the right side of my blog.

I have weekly ultrasounds now until they are born, here are a couple pictures from this weeks. They were so wiggly it was hard to get clear pictures, but they needed to wiggle to "pass" the test so I guess they were just being good "students"!

Baby A weighed in at 4lbs 7oz and is head down. Baby A spends most of his/her time kicking Baby B in the face...awesome, right?? I just hope it doesn't continue once they are born! :)

Baby B weighed in at 4lb 12oz and is breech. I was also a breech baby and my mom has told me many times how much it hurt to have my head in her ribs...I am quickly realizing what she meant! Baby B is getting good at blocking the kicks to the face with his/her fists.

My doctor told me I look better than many singleton mom's do at 32 weeks! She also told me that I probably won't get any stretch marks on my stomach at this point!! WOO-HOO!! Then she said that also means my skin will bounce back better since it isn't 'damaged'. I had come to terms with the idea of "Twin Skin" so the possibility of not having a stretch marked flap of skin was certainly exciting news!

Whether I end up with "Twin Skin" or not, we are so excited that April is almost here and that my pregnancy has been so easy. Hope you are having a great Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Kraft, Vintage Cream

Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Star Prints, A Little Argyle

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores, VersaMark

Other: Sweet Blush Twill Ribbon, Hawaiian Shores Button, Cream Button Twine, American Crafts ZING! Clear Embossing Powder

Make It Monday #1: Go-To Sentiment Card

For the Third Day of Papertrey Ink's Anniversary Celebration, they are kicking off their "Make It Monday" Series. For details, visit Nichole's blog. I am so in love with the idea of using several sentiments surrounding the same theme to create a card - I never seem to have the right image to fill space on a card, but I sure do have plenty of sentiments!

I went with a baby card for my first crack at this concept.

It was more challenging than I thought it would be to get all the sentiments arranged just right, but I had a lot of fun working on this card and will definitely be using this idea on cards in the future!

Hope you are having a fabulous day! Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Vintage Cream

Patterned Paper: It's Official, Bitty Box

Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Bitty Baby Blessings, Signature Greetings

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate

Other: Rustic Jute Button Twine, Dark Chocolate Button, pink buttons from Spring Mix button collection, Small Scallop Border Die

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

Paper Dolls Challenge #10

I'm trying to catch up on some of the Paper Dolls Challenges so here is #10: A Sketch by Amy.  I rotated the sketch - it was tall with the scallops on the bottom.  

And here is my card.  If you saw my pink baby girl tag in yesterday's post, here is it's boy counterpart.  I thought the snail was an appropriate image since my friend is nearly a week overdue! (I know that is common, but mommy-to-be probably feels like she's a month overdue.)  I wish the sentiment said "look who has finally arrived!" though. :) 

So girl or boy, I am all set!  Just have to pick up a boy or girl outfit on the way to the hospital to go with the rest of the gift!

Well, I am trying to organize our trip to Chicago for CHA.  In February, I asked my mom to go with me and she agreed.  Then we mentioned it to my aunt, since her son's family lives in Chicago.  She decided to come.  Last week we thought it would be fun if all the girls on that side of the family came so we checked with my other aunts and girl cousins and 1 aunt and 4 cousins decided to come!!  So there will be 8 of us!  I think just my mom and I will be attending CHA on Friday though and then we will spend the rest of the weekend sightseeing with the family.  It's going to be a riot, I'm so excited!!  I'm off to scour the web for some deals on hotels!

Hope you have recovered from the holiday weekend.  Thanks for stopping by! 

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Kraft, Spring Rain, Patterned Paper from Animal Crackers Mat Stack

Stamps: A Little Argyle, Baby Button Bits

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Enchanted Evening, Tea Dye Duo

Other: Spring Rain Buttons, Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Large Scalloped Die

Monochromatic Tag

A friend of mine is expecting a little one any day now.  They didn't find out if it was a boy or a girl, so I am getting prepared for either!!  When I saw the CARDS blog challenge was to make a Monochromatic project, I knew I had to make something all pink in case this baby is a girl.  After much trial and error, I finally ended up with this flowery pink tag.

I adore the color pink!!

Here you can see the whole package.  Love how it dresses up the plain Kraft bag!

Hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July!  We have been busy with friends and family since Friday and it's been a blast.  We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Pretty Pastels Designer Paper

Stamps: Baby Button Bits

Ink: Raspberry Fizz

Other: Beautiful Blooms II #3 Die Collection, Raspberry Fizz & Scarlet Jewel Buttons, Cream Button Twine

Paper Dolls Challenge #11

It was my turn to post the challenge over at the Paper Dolls Blog today.  The challenge is to make a non-standard size card - anything but 5.5" x 4.25".  This is the card I made.  

It is 3" x 8" on Sweet Blush Card Stock.  The patterned paper is from the Pretty Pastels collection and I inked the edges lightly with the Tea Dye Duo.  The sentiment is from Bitty Baby Blessings and is stamped in Raspberry Fizz.  I cut the flowers from fabric I had left after making this blanket.

I am in love with this floral fabric from JoAnn's! The card and blanket are for my husband's cousin who is expecting a baby girl in September! 

If you create a non-standard sized card, be sure to stop by the Paper Dolls blog and link it up so we can all see it!  You have 3 weeks.

Happy July!!

~Anika

Papertrey Paper Dolls: Challenge #6

Wowzers!  Where has the time gone!  It's been forever since I've been able to update - that will all change next week though when school is done!  Here is the Paper Dolls Challenge for the week.  It was supposed to be a gift card holder, but I rarely give gift cards and I needed a baby card so I just used the layout instead.

I used Soft Stone for the base and Spring Moss for the mat layer. Then added a bunch of patterned papers - the polka dot one is from PTI Pretty Pastels the others are from a Glitter & Animal Crackers Mat Stack that I had laying around.  The stamp is from Baby Button Bits and is stamped in Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I used misc buttons and some Rustic Cream Button Twine to attach the 'o' button.

I have a few reasons for being so absent from my blog lately, the main one being that it's the end of the school year.  Another one being the basement family room project.

This is what it looks like today.  We have to trim and clean up tonight, because carpet goes in tomorrow morning!  This corner will be my craft space so I am very excited to wrap this project up and start organizing and decorating the space!

We have also been enjoying so fabulous weather!  Last week we went to the Twins game at the brand new Target Field Stadium.  We lucked out and had a beautiful day to go and the Twins won in extra innings!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are having a great Memorial Day!

~Anika

Baby Card

I'm finally getting around to posting a project again!  It's been a busy week with wonderful weather so I haven't been at my craft table much.  Not to mention the fact that my craft space has been moved again because we started working the the basement family room!  My things are all scattered in an unfinished bedroom that only has one light and none of the outlets are live yet, so I can't even plug in a lamp.  I just keep reminding myself that it will be short term and the next time I move it, it will be put in its permanent place! 

Tomorrow, I am going to a baby shower for one of my good friends, she is due in about a month!  I can't wait to meet her little boy.  I decided to make him this little flannel blanket.  It's so soft!

And here is the coordinating card.  I got my copy of Go-To Sketches in the mail this week and this is one of my favorite sketches from the magazine...although I have tabbed about 3/4 of them!
Sorry for the bad lighting, but it's too windy to take pictures outside today!

And here is the basement!  The first coat of tape is on the drywall so it should be ready for paint by the end of next week - I just have to pick a color!  Then we will lay some tile by the walk out, trim and have the carpet installed.  Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies:  (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Spring Rain Bitty Box, Polka Dot paper from Animal Crackers Mat Stack, Green paper from my scraps

Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings

Ink: True Black

Other: Orange Zest ribbon, Misc. Buttons

Mojo Monday - Week 133

When I saw this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch I decided to play along!  I have been loving all the fun patterns in the BasicGrey Kioshi paper pad that I picked up last week and thought this was the perfect sketch to use some more of it!  Here's the sketch...

And here's my take on it.

The papers in this Kioshi pack are amazing!!  I bought the 6x6 pad so I believe the scale of the patterns is smaller, which makes them perfect for cards!  The base and other white cardstock is Stampers Select White from Papertrey Ink.  I used Plum Pudding Swiss Dot Ribbon.  The green buttons are from the Holiday Mix jar and the stamps are from Baby Button Bits.  I used Dusty Concord and Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  You can barely see it in this picture, but I ran the green background paper through my Cuttlebug using the Giga Guidelines Impression Plate.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

~Anika

*Ribbon, Buttons & Stamps are from Papertrey Ink.

baby boy elephant card

Just a quick post today.  Another baby card.  This time it's for baby Owen.  

I have a few projects to get done tonight so I best be on my way!

Thanks for stopping!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Bitty Box PP in Dark Chocolate, Kraft, the blue Polka Dot paper is some misc. stuff from my stash

Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings

Ink: Enchanted Evening and Dark Chocolate (around the Kraft paper)

Other: Misc. buttons from my collection & Ribbon from American Crafts, brown and white floss

bundle of joy

I've got a little baby girl card to share today.  We have many families in our little church who are having babies these days!  I made this baby girl card for a family who recently welcomed baby Lillian into the world!  

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Kraft, & misc. patterned paper from my stash

Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings, Polka Dot Basics II,

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow

Other: Button Twine, Buttons & Eyelet ruffle from my stash

Yesterday I mentioned that I had rearranged our basement family room to include my crafting space.  So here is my corner...

Our family room is long and narrow, and obviously unfinished!  We are hoping to have the sheetrock taped soon, then we can paint and put carpet in.  However, my husband was not completely sold on the idea of having a corner of it be my craft space, he would rather it was in one of the bedrooms.  So I convinced him to let me try it out since we aren't planning to finish either of the bedrooms until we have children.  I don't want to buy new furniture until I've had time to be in the space and figure out just how I want everything.  I got everything moved onto the bookshelf and card table and set up the other table in front of the window so I have some nice natural light at my work space.  Even unfinished, it's still an upgrade from our Kitchen island!  P.S. Even thought that bar stool is hideous, it's super comfy!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

My First PTI Blog Hop!

I have always loved looking at everyone's PTI Blog Hop creations, so I thought I would join in the fun now that I have my own blog!  This months challenge was to not only decorate the front of the card, but also to adorn the inside of the card and even the envelope.  I decided to make a card for my cousin who just had her second son.

I chose Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist & Kraft as my color scheme and used the Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set.  The little sail boat is adorable!  I debated what to stamp on the sail and thought about cutting a separate piece of paper to fit the space, but decided to use the little elephant.

My mom loves it when I make cards for her to give away, but she always asks me to stamp something on the inside so she doesn't have to think of so much to write, so this challenge was the push I needed to try adding something to the inside.  I used another sentiment from the Bitty Baby Blessings set and then wrapped Rustic Twine around the card a few times.  It's simple, but I like it!

Here is the envelope to match.  I will have to mail this card so I just added a little embellishment to the bottom corner. I'm not sure what happened to the color in this picture, but I left my camera at school today so I can't take another one, but you get the idea!  

Thanks for checking it out!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink, except the envelope!)

Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings

Paper: Oceans Tides, Kraft, Bitty Box PP in Ocean Tides and Aqua Mist

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Other: Rustic Twine

welcome little one!

I made this card for a friend of mine who just had her second daughter - barely 18 months after her first! She always tells me to get my card making in now, because I won't have time for it once I have kids. Her favorite color combo is pink and brown so I decided to go with that when making this card for her.

I love the little sentiment tags that I've been seeing everywhere so I had to incorporate that - I'm sure I'll be using them much more.

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics II, I believe the sentiment and onesie stamp are from a little Fiskars set

Card stock: Hibiscus Burst, Kraft, Bitty Box in Raspberry Fizz

Ink: Dark Chocolate & Versamark

Extras: Rustic Twine, Satin Ribbon in Dark Chocolate, & Copper Embossing Powder from a la mode by Hampton Art

A Baby Card

Papertrey Ink has just announced that their January theme is "Babies"! I thought it would be appropriate for my first card that I share to be a baby card.  I made this for some of our good friends who had just found out they were expecting - hence the blue and pink.  We now know that they are having a boy in May!

Supplies:

Paper - misc. cardstock, PTI Bitty Box in Dark Chocolate

Stamps - PTI Fresh Alphabet, PTI Fancy Flourishes 

Ink - PTI Perfect Match in Dark Chocolate