Have a ball...

Hello Friends! Wow, it's been over a month since my last post! I'm telling you being a working mom is no joke! I recently got a promotion and things are just busy, busy, busy! Then I get home with my family and things are just busy, busy, busy! Paige turned three earlier this month and we had a really fun bowling party for her, and she had a BLAST! I'm telling you things are just moving a lightening speed in the Weatherspoon household! LOL!

So, I wanted to pop in and give you a quick update on my whereabouts and also leave you with a couple of cards. I recently made a set of birthday cards for my sweet friend Chi. I love mason jars and all things that look shabby chic, so why not make a card that fits this description?

Ahh, there's nothing like good ole fashion lemonade in a mason jar! I think it makes it taste a whole lot better! I used the stamp set Mason Jar Labels from MFT and the Public Library paper pad from October Afternoon and stamped On Your Birthday inside the drawers. Don't you love that straw? It's the little things that just totally make me smile!

So, I'll leave you today with a photo of my little one enjoying her birthday! Isn't she getting big!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol

Back to School Teacher Gift

Hello Friends! I hope you all had a nice weekend. My weekend was fantastic because I had a date night with my hubby on Saturday. We are making an effort to go out at least once a month so we can have some adult time. We went to a great Polynesian restaurant and had dinner and a show with Polynesian dancers, it was great! After that, we headed to a bar in Ft. Lauderdale and met up with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. We really had fun! Paige was in great hands with her awesome babysitter so we didn't have any worries while we were away.

So, today I have a teacher gift to share. Paige is in a new classroom and this year she only has two main teachers, so I think I'll do more teacher gifts this year. ;-)

Is this not the cutest pencil you've ever seen?! It's a Lori Whitlock 3D cut file that I found in the Silhouette Design Store. It's a great size, and pretty roomy inside. I fit a super-sized bag of M&M's in there with no problem. The teachers absolutely loved it and it was a cinch to put together. I added the just for you sentiment using a mini stamp set from Papertrey Ink.

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you have a great Monday, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Belated Birthday Part 2

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday! I hope you had a great week and are ready for a wonderful weekend. We're expecting lots of rain this weekend due to a tropical system out there in the Atlantic, so more than likely we'll be inside most of the weekend. That's fine by me, I love hanging in the house with my fam. :-)

Today, I have another belated birthday card to share (are you sensing a theme?). The sentiment on this card cracks me up!

This stamp set is from Reverse Confetti, it's called The Buzz. I colored the bee with Copic markers and added that great sentiment to a banner I cut with my Silhouette. I used very neutral tones on this card, you know to down play the fact that it's late! LOL! It's sad to say, but I'm sure I'll be using this stamp set again. 

Well, I hope you have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Belated Birthday

Hello Friends! I hope all of you had a nice weekend. Have you been watching the Olympics? The games were absolutely amazing, and I enjoyed every event that we watched. The US did outstanding and it's such a joy to see so many awesome athletes realize their dreams. Loved it!

Well, it's the start to another week and I can't believe that August is almost over! I'm starting to see a lot of stamp companies coming out with their fall and winter releases, so that just means that we'll be singing Jingle Bells pretty soon here at the blog! Today I have a belated birthday card to share. You know, it's really a shame when you're a card maker and you still figure out a way to be late with one of your BFF's birthday's (Sorry Chi!). I made this card using the Some Like it Hot stamp set from PTI.

Can I just tell you that I'm in love with this stamp set?! Don' be surprised if you see red and green flamingos on my Christmas cards this year! (I'm so not kidding!!) The sentiment on this card is from Blue Skies stamp set, also from PTI. Although it's a belated card, it's still cute, right? :-)

Well, I better get ready for work and get this Monday started with a smile. I hope you have a great day, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol

Take Note

Hello Friends! Happy Monday to all of you! I hope you had a great weekend. My weekend was fabulous because my mom is here!! She got here on Saturday and we've been chatting and laughing every since. Paige has been full of hugs and kisses since she's been here so it's been great watching the two of them bond.

I'm popping in today to share a couple of notepads. You know I absolutely love a notepad, and these are so great to keep in your purse. You never know when you need to jot down a little note, or make a list for your groceries so it's nice to have a handy dandy notepad.

So, you know I have a thing for typewriters and I just found out a couple of days ago that Michael's is selling a We R Memory Keepers typecast typewriter!!! For some reason, I can't add the link, but I'll work on that because you really need to see it. The beautiful part is it comes in PINK!! What the what!!!! I want it SO bad, but it carries a hefty price tag...$199.00 and you can't use the coupon. I guess I'll need to start saving my pennies, and selling more cards so I can buy one! 

Okay, I digress...I used patterned paper and a print cut and cut typewriter from the Silhouette Design Store to make the notepads. These came together pretty quickly and I believe I made four of them. More than likely I'll add them to my back-to-school teacher gifts. :-)

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day and thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol 

Hello Beautiful!

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! I hope you're having a great week and getting ready for the weekend! I returned home from Philly yesterday and yes, I had a Philly cheese steak while I was there!  So, I'm heading to work today and then I'll be racing to get home because my mom is coming in town tomorrow! I'm super excited!! All I can say is Paige is going to have a great time! Talk about getting a lot of attention and being even more spoiled than she already is! LOL!

Today I'm sharing a card I made for my stash. Remember, I'm trying to get better with having cards on hand so I don't have to make a card every time I need one...I know, novel right?!

I absolutely, positively love that sentiment! Who wouldn't want to open a card that says Hello Beautiful! The stamp set is from Simon Says Stamp and of course it's entitled Hello Beautiful. I pulled out my plaid paper from Lawn Fawn (again) and the watercolor frame was a print and cut from the Silhouette Design Store. I used some Ranger distress ink to ink up the background paper and that's about it.

Well, I gotta get out of here and I'll work on containing my excitement about my mom coming down...nah not really! I'll try to pop in next week to give you an update!

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol 

A Good Day

Hello Friends,! I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was good, but way too short! I'm actually heading out of town on a business trip today, so I spent my weekend washing, packing, shopping, and making sure my hubby has everything he needs for our little princess.

I can't believe that August is already here! I realized over the weekend that I need to start planning Paige's birthday party because October will be here before you know it! I remember when I was pregnant, our friends told us that once she gets here time was going to fly! They were not kidding!! I personally treasure every minute I spend with Paige because she's already getting very independent. It's going to suck when she doesn't "need" me to do things for her anymore.

Okay, before I start crying let's get on to today's card! You all know that I love my coffee, and today I'm sharing yet another coffee card. Hey, it's Monday, what better way to start the week?

This sentiment could not be more true! I try to start every day with a smile and a positive attitude, it's amazing how far a smile will go! So, I broke out my Copics to color the coffee mugs, I know my coloring isn't great, but I tried! I also used my go-to plaid patterned paper from Lawn Fawn. They recently released new plaid papers for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter. You know I'll be picking those up! The stamp set I used is called Latte Love from PTI, it's one of my all-time faves!

Well, I hope all of you have a very Happy Monday and a wonderful week. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol

Hello There

Hello Friends! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. It's been SO HOT, I can't even make it my car without breaking a sweat! My weekend was pretty low-key, but it was still really nice. We had another Food Truck Invasion in my neighborhood on Saturday so of course we had to go! I had a delicious Cuban sandwich along with a strawberry milkshake. Can you say delicious?! It was funny because Paige almost ate the whole thing! We had fun, but it was so darn hot we couldn't stay long.

So, about two weeks ago I took some time to make some cards for my stash. It seems that I'm always scrambling to make a card at the last minute, so the light bulb finally went off and I realized that I need to have cards on hand for any occasion. Today's card is just a simple hello. From time to time, a person may come to mind that you haven't spoken to in a while and when that happens, why not send a card? I know everyone loves to text, but how sweet is it when you receive a card in the mail and it's not even your birthday!

This card was quick to make because I finally pulled out my Mini Misti! Why did I wait so long to start using this awesome tool?? I used it for the flowers and the sentiment. The tool allows you stamp in the same area multiple times without a fuss. I love it!!! I used Raspberry Fizz cardstock from PTI for my card base. I pulled out a die that I got in a $25 goodie box from Amber Kemp-Gerstel to make the holes in the second layer. I finished off the card by stamping flowers from The Sweet Life and the sentiment is from the Scripted stamp set, both from PTI. Although this card is simple, I can see myself making lots of these in a rainbow of colors. 

Well, I hope your Monday is off to a great start and thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol

Classroom Gift

Hello Friends! Sorry for the long absence! Geez, I didn't realize how long it had been until I opened up the blog and saw the last date I posted! Trust me, I've been busy crafting and have lots to share, I just have to find the time to take pics and share with all of you.

So, Paige will be going into a new classroom in August and of course I had to make something for the new room. She'll be going from Tiny Tots to Tot Time and will now be on the regular school year calendar, she's getting to be a big girl! I decided to make a canvas project that can be hung on the one of the walls in her classroom.

I used Echo Park Teacher's Pet patterned paper and the All Apples stamp set from Reverse Confetti. I am loving that stamp set! I see many teacher gifts being made with it. I adhered everything with Mod Podge and also added more on top to give it a nice finish. I'm excited for the school year to begin and I can't wait to find out who her lead teacher will be.

Well, that's it for me today and I hope to be back soon with more crafty goodness! I hope you have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by.

Carol

It's Official...

Hello Friends! Happy Hump Day! I hope you're having a great week so far. My week didn't start out too well, I was sick on Monday and Tuesday and that's never fun! I'm feeling much better today, so I'll be going to work and getting myself back into the swing of things. I have to say that although it's nice to have a short work week, it sucks to burn PTO!

I'm very excited today because my husband has officially become a paying customer to Carol's Custom Cards! I think you all know that I sell my cards and recently my husband asked me to make a set of Thank You cards for him. He says "babe, I'll pay you." My ears immediately perked up and I said "really?" He proceeded to tell me that I do good work and I should get paid for it. He is so sweet and I just love him so darn much! So, this is the card I made.

I used the Harvest Berries and Graceful Greetings stamp sets from PTI for the focal point of this card. I added that little strip to the bottom using the Travel Girl paper pad from October Afternoon - an oldie but definitely a goodie. A little red and white baker's twine completed the look. I always say that I have such a tough time making masculine cards, but I think the color scheme helped this card not look too feminine. And I think I hit the mark because my husband really liked them.

Well, I guess I better get a move on and get my day started. I hope you have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Birthday Wishes

Hello Friends! I hope you've been enjoying the weekend. It's been super wet and rainy here, so we haven't spent too much time outdoors. But, it's been nice just having the opportunity to relax a little bit. My poor honey has a cold, so he's been resting and trying to get better. Paige and I have been hanging out just playing, laughing and singing every song imaginable. I think my little one is a songbird, she LOVES to sing!

Today, I have a cute birthday card to share.

So, I whipped out my awesome Lawn Fawn plaid patterned paper (AGAIN) and built the card from there. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the bike and a Spellbinder die for the shape behind the bike. I used some Distress Ink for the sky and grass, aded a few clouds and the sentiment at the bottom, and the card was done. To me, the card looks really sweet and peaceful.

Well, I better go check on my hubby to make sure he's okay. Perhaps a little more tea is in his future! I hope you all have a great day, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Carol

End of year teacher gift

Hello Friends! First, I'd like to wish everyone in the US a Happy Memorial Day, and extend my thanks to all of those who have lost their lives serving for our great country.

I'm popping in quickly today to share an end of the year teacher gift. The last day of "school" for Paige was Friday and she starts her first Summer Camp this week. I'm so excited for her! So, one of the mom's in Paige's class emailed me and asked if we could raise money for our two teachers and provide them with gift cards on the last day of school. Since I'm the Room Parent, I immediately said Yes! It was kind of last minute but in five days we raised $250.00! I purchased Visa gift cards for both teachers, and of course I had to make a cute card!

I absolutely love this shaker pencil from PTI. There are tiny letters in the "eraser" that shake, and then the body of the pencil has sequins. I used Echo Park Teacher's Pet patterned paper - this is such a cute paper pad! I added a strip of notebook paper to the bottom and stamped For A Special Teacher using PTI's Keep it Simple: Teacher set. You have no idea how excited I am that Paige is in daycare, because I am thoroughly enjoying making teacher gifts!

 

Well, we are spending the holiday weekend potty training...it is no easy task! I'm sure she'll catch on soon (at least that's what I'm praying!). If you have any potty training tips, feel free to drop me a line! :-)

 

Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Mini album

Hello Friends! I hope you're having a great weekend! Ours has been very nice, even though it's been raining like crazy every afternoon. I guess the summer has officially arrived! Well, today I have something a little different to share...a mini album! It's funny because scrapbooking is what led me to cardmaking, and now I rarely scrapbook. I really need to get back into it especially since Paige is growing like a weed. I need to capture all of these moments!

Okay, so back to the mini album. One of the mom's at Paige's school is a sweetheart and she recently had a baby girl. I wanted to make something for her and decided to go with a mini onesie album from Lori Whitlock (Silhouette Design Store #68101). I personalized it with the baby's name, Soma (so cute).

I cut each of the onesies with chipboard to give it a little stability then I used the same patterned paper pack for the entire album - Happy Girl by Dena. I added a few chipboard embellishments and tied some ribbon to the O-rings. All Jessica has to do is add photos!

 

I also made a matching card (also from Silhouette - Lori Whitlock):

I enjoyed this project a lot! I need to make one for my own daughter, LOL! Well, I hope the rest of your day is fantastic! Thank you so much for stopping by.

 

Carol

May your coffee be strong...

Hello Friends! I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was really good, but very HOT! I can't believe how hot and humid it is already! It's funny, living in South Florida, you seem to conveniently forget how darn hot it is down here until summer hits again! Oh well, I guess I better up the water intake, and note to self: buy more sleeveless tops! LOL!

So, today I'm popping in to share a cute coffee card with you. You all know that I love me some coffee, and when I saw this sentiment from Taylored Expressions I knew it had to be mine!

Isn't that awesome! I've had the stamp set for a little while now, but just recently had a chance to ink it up. I gave this card to one of the mom's at Paige's school, Candice, she is so sweet! We had a quick conversation one day and she mentioned that she drinks an iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts every morning, it's her "me" time. So, I decided to make her a card and drop a DD gift card inside. She really liked it, and I was so happy to make her day.

 

As you can see, I pulled out my plaid patterned paper from Lawn Fawn {again} and added those coffee cup stains to the background. That's actually a wood block stamp from Hero Arts called Painted Circle. I added that cute mug from PTI's Candy Cane Christmas stamp and die set, even though it's a holiday set, it's definitely all-year-around worthy!

 

Well, I have to get ready for a business trip so I will leave you for now. But, as the card says, May your Coffee be Strong and your Monday be Short! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Carol

You are a sweetheart

Hello Friends! I know it's been awhile, I sure hope you missed me! Happy Friday the 13th! Any horror film fans out there? I know I am, I think that a Friday the 13th marathon is coming on tonight! I may have to check it out! LOL! I'm back today with a card to share that I made for a sweet co-worker of mine.

This card was a cinch to whip up! I used some of my favorite patterned paper from PTI, Vintage Linens. Then I embellished it a little with some die cut flowers from the Rosie Posie stamp set, also from PTI. I decided to do something a little different for me, and die cut a circle and added some blue shading with Tim Holtz distress ink.  The cute sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp and it's called Hello Beautiful (love that name). Last but not least, I used a little glossy accents for the heart to add a some shine and dimension.

 

So, I am truly trying to make a conscious effort to post more on the blog and Instagram. Did I mention I LOVE Instagram??!! I have plenty of projects to share, it's just finding the time to sit down and get it all together. Hopefully I can work something out with my sweet hubby, so I can get a few hours of crafting time in every week. Keep your fingers crossed on that!

 

Well, I'm off to do some mommy stuff! Oh, speaking of mommy stuff, I'll post some recent pics of Paige soon. Just wait until you see how big she's getting. Absolutely amazing!

 

I hope you all have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Kindness

Hello Friends! I hope you all had a great weekend! We went bowling on Saturday to "Strike out Cancer" a fundraiser that my husband's co-worker invited us to attend. We had a great time, and it felt really good to give to such a worthy cause.

Today's post is all about kindness. With all the crazy news stories out there, it makes it hard to remember that people truly can be kind. I live my life filled with kindness, and it's amazing how far something as simple as a smile can go. Quick story...I stopped by CVS on my lunch break on Friday (they always have great prices on chocolate), while I was there the gentleman at the register mentioned that I had a nice smile. Not flirting or anything, just making a statement. When I got back to work I couldn't find my badge to get in, and that's never a good thing! I patiently waited for someone to let me in and when I got back to my desk, I decided to wait a little while before I made the dreaded call that I lost my badge, AGAIN! About 30 minutes later I received a phone call, and it was the gentleman from CVS. He told me that he found my badge and it would be in the manager's office when I pick it up. How nice was that!! I was completely surprised, and it just made me feel good to know that a total stranger was willing to go the extra mile to show kindness.

So, needless to say today's card is about kindness...

I posted this card on Instagram a few days ago (yes I'm on Instagram - carolscustomcards), and I wanted to make sure I posted it on the blog as well! Instagram is totally addicting, I absolutely cannot get enough! So many talented people out there with amazing cards and scrapbook pages, total eye candy!

 

I hope you have a great Monday and an awesome week! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Carol

Have a Rockin' Birthday

Hello Friends! Is it Monday already? Geez, do the weekends go by faster and faster, or is it just me? Well, although it went by in a flash, I had a really good weekend. We went to a wedding on Saturday and I absolutely LOVE weddings! We had a great time, and when I tell you we danced the night away, I mean it! They had a band at the reception and they were phenomenal! They played songs from Earth, Wind, and Fire to Bruno Mars, they were excellent! Needless to say, on Sunday we were a little sore and had really hard time getting out of bed, LOL! We don't bounce back as quick as we used to! Ahhh, the joys of getting older.

Today, I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards that were included in the set that I made for my co-worker awhile back. I pulled out my Keep on Rockin' stamp set from MFT and got to work.

I love those little ipods! I decided to make one a little more masculine than the other so my co-worker can use them for anyone's birthday. I think they turned out kinda cute! ;-)

 

Well, I guess I better get ready for work and slowly slide into another work week. Enjoy your day and thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Carol 

Happy Easter!

Hello Friends! Happy Easter! I'm literally just "hopping" in to share the Easter treats I made for Paige's teachers and classmates. I promised my husband that I would start getting ready for church early today, and I definitely don't want to break that promise!

I made these sweet peeps treats for the kiddos.

I found the printable tags on Pinterest. These were super easy to make, just pop them on the decorative straw, add some cellophane and baker's twine, and you're done! As I like to say, Easy Peasy!!

 

Next are the treat boxes for her teachers.

 

I made these boxes with my Silhouette by printing the patterned paper onto some heavyweight cardstock. That cute little chick was also a Print & Cut from the Silhouette Design Store. It truly gets no easier than this! I added some chocolate inside the box, added a bow and the gifts were done. The teachers absolutely loved them!

 

Well that's it for me today, thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Thank you

Hello Friends! I hope you had a great weekend! I think I'm finally starting to get used to "springing forward" with the time change. Hopefully today will be the start of a wonderful week!

Today, I'm sharing a thank you card that I made for my co-worker's wife. I've been having a really hard time finding someone to braid Paige's hair on a regular basis. So, she recommended a hair salon just for kids! Unfortunately, it's an hour away from my house but the stylist did a fantastic job! I've decided that we'll take the trip down there once a month. That shouldn't be too bad, plus Paige looks really cute so it's worth it! Here's the thank you card I made.

I found that cute little girl in the Silhouette Design Store, it was a print and cut file. I just added that gorgeous plaid patterned paper from Lawn Fawn and that script Thanks sentiment is from PTI, the stamp set is called Graceful Greetings. Another super easy card with super cute results!

 

That's it for me today, I hope to back soon with more crafty goodness to share! Have a fantastic day and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Hello Beautiful

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! The weekend is finally here and I am ready to enjoy it! I don't know how the weather is in your neck of the woods, but it's been absolutely beautiful here. Low 80's, low humidity, really nice. We're planning on spending some time with David's extended family tomorrow night and that should be a lot of fun. Lots of food, drinks, games and plenty of laughter. That's always a recipe for a good time!

Today, I have a birthday card to share with you.

The first thing I want to say about this card is it had me at Hello! Calling me Beautiful was just icing on the cake - LOL! So, I've recently started to broaden my crafting horizons by purchasing stamps and inks for other companies. I must say that Simon Says Stamp is starting to become a favorite of mine! I bought their February Card Kit and I have not been disappointed.

 

I stamped the sentiment from the February Card Kit and the female silhouette at the bottom is a stamp from PTI's Fashion Sense set. The set was available during their 2015 Stamp-A-Faire and was free with purchase. I made this card along with a few others for my co-worker, she told me that she absolutely loved the cards and can't wait to start mailing them out. That always makes me feel so good!

 

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you have a great weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol 

Hot Chocolate Jars Part II

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday! I hope you all had a great week and are ready to unwind and have a fantastic weekend! As usual, things have been busy in my neck of the woods. Work has been insanely busy, and of course our life at home never slows down. I love it though, my days at work fly by which mean I get to see my family much sooner at the end of every day. Once I see my little girl's face and get a hug from my sweet husband I know all is well.

We don't have much planned this weekend, which is A-Okay with me. I'm ready to have a little down time. So, today I'm popping in with more hot chocolate jars. Oh my goodness, they have been a hit with my co-workers! Since I made the jar for my lovely friend Leslie, I've made five more! And, I have an order for two more!!! Woot, Woot!! Okay, so let's get to the pictures! LOL! These jars were made as a teacher gift, wait until you see this little school house!

 

What do you think? Did you see that flag! LOVE IT!! And how about the slide and swing set? Amazing! As usual Betsy Veldman from PTI really made another awesome petite places stamp/die set! My co-worker loved it and she said the teachers texted her and said they really liked them. These jars are totally my new favorite thing. My last two customers requested the dry ingredients for cookies so I used this recipe for cowboy cookies! I'll be sharing photos soon.

 

I hope your weekend is wonderful, and thanks for stopping by!

 

Carol

 

Valentine's for the kiddos

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! I am so happy it's the weekend. I'm only working a half day today and my hubby and I both have the day off on Monday (President's Day), so it's a nice long weekend in the Weatherspoon household! Today, I'm sharing Valentine's Day cards that I made for Paige's classmates. It's funny, when I first started this project, there were only 8 kids in her class, now that number has ballooned to 20! Thank goodness I started early!

All of these cards use the Love You to Pieces stamp set, patterned paper, and dies from Papertrey Ink.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the super cool thing about this set is the kiddos can make a 3D airplane or fox! How cute is that?! Of course they will need adult supervision, and hopefully their parents are up for the challenge. LOL! I had a great time putting these together, and a BIG shout out to my girlfriend Leslie for hooking me up with the fox set! I'll be getting it back in the mail to you real soon!

 

Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day? We typically stay away from restaurants because it's just SO busy and the service seems to suffer a bit. So, we've decided to stay in and have a nice homemade lobster dinner. Since we're off on Monday, we may drop Paige off at school and possibly check out a matinee. That's always fun! I also hope to sneak some crafting time in as well, I have so many things that I want to create! If only there were more hours in the day...

 

Well, that's it for me. I hope you have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Baby it's cold outside

Hello Friends! Happy Hump Day! I hope you're having a great week thus far and staying warm wherever you may be! Can you believe it got down to the 40's in south Florida over the weekend? We actually had to turn our heat on, it was quite chilly. I know that's not saying much considering the serious winter storm that's tearing up the country, but it's a bit out of the norm for us down here.

So, I thought I'd pop in with a cute little gift that will make you feel warm on the inside...hot cocoa!

I found a recipe for Classic Cocoa on Pinterest and it's super easy to just layer all of the ingredients. Well, I will say that cocoa powder can get out of control...don't ask me how I know! After I layered everything, I sealed it tight and added that cute tag. The sentiments are from the Canned stamp set from PTI and don't you love that little sentiment on the spoon! I {heart} that spoon! The tag and the spoons are from PTI as well.

 

And, last but certainly not least are you peeping that dome on top of the hot cocoa mix? Yup, you guessed it, also from PTI and the set is called Petite Places: Main Street. The way the die set works, is there is a little extra room after the initial cut to fold the pieces in order for them to stand or to make a 3D image like the cafe. Oh my word, I just love this SO much! Those little trees are an add-on and as you can see I cut them a little too close to the edge of the dome, so they are what I'm calling swaying in the wind! LOL! So, under the dome I have the cocoa shop, a couple of scooters, the table and chairs and hopefully my girlfriend will think of me every time she sees it. I added some Flower Soft to make it look pretty and the clear dome is also from PTI.

 

I sure hope you like it Leslie!!! And I also hope you see this post after you receive it! :-)

 

I know this was a little longer than usual, but I sure hope you enjoyed it! Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Sympathy cards

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday! Do you have any fun plans? I know much of the northeast is bracing for a winter storm so if you're in that area, I hope you're someplace warm and cozy. Paige and I will be heading to a birthday party today. Our friend's daughter is turning one, so we're excited to be celebrating with her.

I have a couple of cards to share today. I never like making Sympathy cards, but it's inevitable that you'll need them. I made these cards to add to the set I made for my mom at Christmas time.

I will never grow tired of this patterned paper. It's the Vintage Linens paper pad from Papertrey Ink. It's so beautiful already, you really don't need to add much. As you can see with both cards, the only thing I added was the sentiment. I used the Boutique Borders mini stamp set (also from PTI) for the sentiment and it just adds a soft sweetness to the cards. I think I made both of these cards in under 15 minutes, easy peasy.

 

Okay, call me a procrastinator, but Paige and I still need to pick up a gift for the birthday party so we gotta get out of here! Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Thinking of you

Hello Friends! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! Believe it or not, we had a tornado warning yesterday! It was so crazy because all of sudden everyone's cell phone at work started buzzing with the tornado warning message! Kinda scary! The skies got really dark and we had some heavy rain, but thank God no tornado. At least not where I was. Talk about an interesting start to the weekend, LOL!

I'm excited today because I'm taking Paige to one of the indoor gyms that she loves. We're meeting up with her God-Sister so it should be a lot of fun. Paige is just getting so big, and she's becoming a lot more vocal. She repeats EVERYTHING! I told my husband that he needs to watch his language! She's so darn sweet, and she may be one of the happiest toddlers ever!

Today, I'm sharing a couple of cards I made for my mom. She always makes comments while we're on the phone like, I wish I had some more of your cards...Not much of hint, it's kinda like a knock over the head, so I made her some cards last month. :-)

I used the Petite Places: Main Street stamp set from PTI for these cards. I am loving the Petite Places stamps/dies, they are awesome! I'll have some other projects to share using them in the 3-D way they were designed to be used soon. It's another goodie from Besty Veldman - the woman is a crafty genius! I'm pretty sure I used my Silhouette for the Thinking of You sentiment, I absolutely love that font!

 

I'm hoping to get in some crafting time this weekend. I have the day off on Monday to celebrate MLK Day and I have my morning blocked off to do some crafting. Then I plan on marching in one of the local MLK parades with my honey in the afternoon. It should be a great day!

 

I hope you have a fantastic weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Congrats

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a great start to the New Year. I don't know about you, but this first week back to work was a rough one! Oh my goodness, it just seemed like the week dragged on...geez I gotta get myself back into work mode!

So, I've been reading blogs from other crafty girls to see what they do for organizing their "stuff." I think I found some really good ideas, so I've ordered some things and hopefully it will help me to get better organized. I've also had at least five people tell me that I need to get on Etsy, and that's just this week! I guess that means I need to start working towards that too. Goals are good, so Etsy is one of my goals for 2015.

Today, I'm sharing a cute little gift I made for Paige's teacher. She recently graduated from college and I made her a little something to congratulate her.

So, I filled up a cute mason jar with lemonade packets and made that cute little owl gift card holder with my Silhouette. I added movie tickets to the gift card holder so she could have a little down time with her hubby. It didn't take much time to put this together, but that cute little owl just makes me smile!

 

Well we are heading to our friends house for dinner tonight so I'm looking forward to that. I hope the rest of your day is great, and thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Carol

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends! Happy 2016! How did you celebrate last night? We had a quiet night at home, rented a movie, popped popcorn and actually stayed up past midnight this year! I was able to get a sweet kiss from my husband after the ball dropped and that made my night! So, I wanted to pop in on this first day of the new year to wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2016. I decided that I'm not going to make a list of New Year's Resolutions, instead I have just one thing I would like to focus on, and that's being more organized. I think if I can accomplish that, everything else will just fall into place.

Today I thought it would be fun to post my Top 5 cards/projects from 2015, so here you go!

5.


4.


3.


2.


1.


Is it any shock that my #1 card would be a shaker card?! LOL! Well, I enjoyed this quick little year in review post, I sure hope you did to. Enjoy your day today and again Happy New Year. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by from time to time to check in on me. I am so excited to get my craft on this year and to share with all of you!

Hugs,
Carol