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