Taggie Toys

This past weekend we were invited to a Baptism for a good friend's daughter. I wasn't able to attend due to prior commitments, but my husband took Noodle.

I know what an important and special time this is for families and I wanted to make a gift from the heart that the child could enjoy.

I originally considered making a "quiet book" for the little one to enjoy during her many church services to come. However, I didn't have enough time to make one the way I wanted to- and it wouldn't be something she could use right away.

I decided to make some taggie toys for her instead. No squeakers, no crinkles, no noise at all. Just soft toys with tags of different shapes, textures, colors, and sizes for her to play with at church.

I tossed around a bunch of ideas as to what shapes to make- animals, regular shapes, fruits, etc. Ultimately, I decided to make the letters of her name (since it's both relatively short and appropriate to the occasion).

Each letter has two different fabrics (in blue shades)- so the front and back are coordinating fabrics, but not matching. The tags are just different ribbons I pulled out of my stash- some are ribbed, some are satin, and all different colors.

When I went to wrap up the gift, I decided to make a very quick bag to store the letters in. That way it was a cute way to package the gift and reusable storage for the toys. Win win.

My husband was confused by what the toys were, so he let Noodle (our daughter) demonstrate. Don't worry- we didn't let her chew on them! We left that honor to the young lady we were celebrating.

Cape for a Princess

This is the second part of the dress up gift I made for a little girl who turned two recently.

The birthday girl's favorite colors are aqua (turquoise) and purple. I fell in love with this purple and silver striped fabric when I was shopping for materials. It's very lightweight, so even on the hottest of summer days (and boy we've had some hot ones here this summer) it's still wearable.

I got the pattern for this over at Prudent Baby (one of my new favorite sites for kid projects). They used faux fur for the collar, but I opted to use a sweatshirt material (because I had it in my fabric stash and I feel like it's easier to clean than faux fur).

I used a simple lilac ribbon for the tie on the cape. In the inset photo you can see how the drape a little better (sorry, all I had to model was my iron).

It was really easy to sew up and it turned out fantastic. I know that when I was two, I would have loved running around the yard with this waving in the breeze.

Craft Room Organization

Craft Room
Originally uploaded by Cup O'Cake Designs

Ever since I moved into the new house, I've been trying to find a way to be more organized with my craft space than I ever have been before. See, the thing is, the house is bigger. My craft space is bigger. So there's an even greater potential for me to end up with more craft items than I could use in a year.

I don't know about you, but I have a horrible habit of buying things at craft stores on impulse, and then completely forgetting they're in my "stash." I am in the midst of a self imposed "paper ban" because of how much paper I have. (I do allow myself to purchase paper for specific projects- only things that require multiples of the same color/patterned paper: ie. invitations)

Clearly, I am an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of crafter.

My solution? To get organized, in a very visable way.

My craft room is far from complete, but I am really pleased with the progress I've made.

At the old apartment, I had a steel storage unit, consisting of eight drawers per side (two of those, per side), with an opening in the middle. The unit also had a top "shelf." I got it from Ikea, and it served me pretty well.

The new house, having a larger space for my crafts (which is a shared space for our office and music room), needed something more. I have a great work space (again, from Ikea) that's deep enough to be the home for my sewing machine, Cricut, and Cuttlebug- even when one is not in use.

My parents were visiting last weekend and wanted to go to Ikea (they were in search of a bed frame for their guest room). I was more than happy to accompany them. While wandering around the showroom, I came across the Bygel rail system. A-ha! Perfect.

I picked up one Bygel rail, two baskets, one package of s-hooks, one package of spice jars, and one bygel plastic cup. All for under $20. When I arrived home, eager to brag to my husband about my finds, he reminded me that we had an extra rail from the old apartment (we used to house kitchen items hanging from the rail).

On Saturday, I had my husband hang the rails above my craft desk. Then I went about the task of deciding what was important enough to warrant space on the rail.

Each spice jar holds a different type of embellishement (brads, eyelets, buttons, google eyes), the second basket holds ribbons (with seldom used christmas and animal print ribbons in another storage space), and the cup on the end holds pens, pencils, and glue. The top rail holds hole punches (shaped and regular), scissors, glitter, and beads from s-hooks.

The space is far from done, but it makes me excited about crafting. I already have plans on a few more things to pick up at Ikea, including more s-hooks. Eventually we hope to pain the room (a nice slate gray color, we're not too into the beige/yellow feel right now), and I plan to use orange as an accent color (for a trash can, clock, etc).

Who knew Ikea could revolutionize my craft space?

Cupcake Congratulations

Cupcake Congratulations
Originally uploaded by Cup O'Cake Designs

I haven't been making or blogging my papercrafts as much as I'd like as of late. So, I'm working on correcting that.

A friend of mine recently got engaged. I wanted to send her a card because it's what I do, but also because I remember how much I enjoyed the handful of engagement cards I received (hard to believe that was four years ago now).

My friend is an avid cupcake lover. I know that no matter what, I can't go wrong if her gifts/cards have cupcakes involved.

I used my Cricut to cut out the cupcake, and the shapes for the engagement ring. Instead of topping the cupcake with sprinkles or a cherry, I used the engagement ring.

The cupcake ribbon is from Michael's (I think the dollar bin a while back, it has a little sparkle to it). Then I used gel pens to decorate the engagement ring and to write the "congrats!" sentiment.

I'm really pleased with the way this card came out. It's simple and sweet, and I think it works well for the occasion.

Inspiration from NYC

Christyn, of Bead Up, does wonderful posts where she shares the inspiration behind some of her pieces. I love those posts and they make me think about where my inspiration comes from.

Truth be told, more often then not I am inspired by what materials I have on hand. Sometimes the inspiration comes from the person who'll be receiving the card or the mood that I am in. All of these things are a little difficult to showcase.

Last weekend, my husband and I took a trip into NYC to see a show and visit a museum. I've been to NYC a number of times, but it never ceases to capture my imagination. Once, on a trip, I was ruthlessly teased for whipping out my camera at every available opportunity. After my local tour guide (a friend) realized I wasn't taking the typical "tourist" pictures, he eased up.

After returning home from our trip, I was inspired by some of the things I saw there and began working on some overdue thank you cards.

While in NYC I visited FAO Schwarz. I am a Barbie collector and FAO is one of the few stores that I can actually see an upscale doll in person before making a purchase (their selection is limited, and typically a little overpriced). A silkstone doll came home with me (she just hopped in my bag, I swear I don't know how it happened), and when I took a look at the inside of the box I found inspiration to create one of my overdue thank you cards.

The card uses the same color scheme of ivory, gold, and a little black for the lettering. I used my Cricut to cut out the square shape. The phrase and gold corner details are stamped on. I went over the stamps with gel pens to enhance their look. The final touch was a little gold ribbon.

After pulling the tissue paper back to get a better look at my new doll, her swimsuit (inspired by the original Barbie's swimsuit back in 1959- yes, this is Barbie's 50th Anniversary!) was a definite inspiration. I love the simplicity of the swimsuit, and how the black and white really draw your eye.

I used the swimsuit and the turquoise pashmina I bought as inspiration for another long overdue thank you card. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the flower design on the black paper. Then I went over the embossed design with white and turquoise gel pens. The quadrilateral shape was cut out using my Cricut. Thank you was stamped and then enhanced using my gel pens.

Hopefully, in the future I can do more posts like this, where I can share the source of my inspiration. The trick will be remembering to snap a photo of the inspiration before it's too late.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Birthday Cow

Birthday Cow
Originally uploaded by Cup O'Cake Designs

Waay back in November (I told you I'd try to catch you up on all I did while I took a haitus from blogging), a good friend of mine hired me to make her 24 cards (a mixture of Birthday, Thank You, and blank cards). I was beyond excited, and also a little overwhelmed.

When I make cards, I tend to either make them one at a time, or end up with a series of cards that all look similiar. I was a little nervous about being able to offer my client (I love that word, by the way!) a broad range of cards that she would be able to use. I wanted to make sure that there was a card in there for everyone on her list.

This card was one of the Birthday cards that I created. I have loved this cow stamp (part of an older Stampin' Up set) as long as I have had it, but I definitely have not used it enough in the past 8 years.

Even though the card includes flowers on the patterned paper (though, they could be sunbursts) and a ribbon, I still believe it is neutral enough to serve as a birthday card for men.

You can see some of the other 23 cards at my flickr.

Make a Wish (Birthday)

I made this card last week for a friend who had a birthday. It was inspired by a card over at the Pink Stamper.

I used my Cricut to cut out the cupcake as well as the squares. The squares are put on the card using pop dots for dimension. I used a gel pen for the sprinkles on the cupcake.

Two different colored papers are used for the background, with a ribbon pulling them together.

The sentiment in the upper left corner is stamped.

Enjoy (Birthday)

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I made this card for a friend's 30th birthday. I wanted something that went with the theme (well, my theme) for the night- my husband & I gave the birthday boy Guinness and home brewed beer as a gift and I'd made a delicious Guinness cake for the party. Thus, the beer on the card.

The Guinness itself was paper pieced. I cut out the beer and the foam first, and then used an Overhead (clear plastic sheets) to cut out the pint glass- and yes, I cut out two pieces (one for the back and one for the front) to make it more authentic.

After I put the pint together, I stamped the sentiment and went over it with a gel pen. I cut out the piece of paper to make it look like it was curved along the glass. Then I attached a ribbon to the sentiment using brads, and put the ribbon around the pint. The pint is raised off the paper using pop dots.

Finally, I stamped "30" in the upper left corner with Versamark and rounded my edges with a paper punch.

Congrats- Mortgage Burning

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For the Mortgage party, I also made a sign. My Mom had made a set of fliers with photos and stories of the past 30 years at our house. This sign was the perfect addition to her display.

I used the Cricut to cut out the letters and the background. I also cut out a "mortgage" covered in flames, and a home that was stamped as "paid." I used glitter glue to accent certain portions of the sign.

Jingle All the Way

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I really should have been working on my Christmas cards since November, but that did not happen this year. So, here's the first one I've done this season!

I used my Cricut for the large bell, tag, and the swirly branch at the top of the card. I thought I had gold paper, but I did not- so the accents on the bell were cut out in white cardstock, which was then colored using a gold gel pen.

I stamped the tag (with one of my new $1 stamps- love these!) and added a ribbon to draw attention to the stamp. I also used a strip of patterned paper on the right side to make the card a little more interesting.

I'll be working on the rest of my Holiday Cards this week- so expect to see more posts later next week (after they've been delivered, so I don't spoil the surprise for anyone!).

Best Wishes (Wedding)

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I made this card for friends of ours who are getting married this weekend. The bride made her own wedding invitations, so I wanted to use some of those elements in the card I made.

I was inspired by the "L & R" theme on the wedding invitation and the colors (red, orange, and yellow). I used my cricut to cut out the circle tag as well as the "L & R." I used an orange eyelet to attach the tag to the card. I stamped the wedding cakes and used yellow ribbon to accent that section of the card.

The inside sentiment says "Best Wishes!"

Good Luck!

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This card was a gift for my Ballroom Dance instructor. She and another instructor have a competition this weekend. Unfortunately, I can't attend as I will be out of town- but I wanted to let her know that I was rooting for her.

I used my Cricut to cut out the tag and the letters in my instructor's name. I used a small stamp for the senitment on the tag, and then went over the ink with a gel pen to help it stand out more. I also outlined and dotted the green portion of the letters with the gel pen.

2007 (Congrats)

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Yet another card I made for a graduating student.

I cut out the 2007 using the Cricut. I used some black glitter glue in the circles cut out of the 2007.

The blue ribbon says "Congrats!" and had adhesive already on the back.

Diaper Cake & Exploding Scrapbook

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This is my first ever diaper cake. I wanted to keep it small mainly because I wasn't sure how many diapers it would take or how heavy it would get. I actually like the size a lot. I used close to two packages of diapers (one newborn size, and one the next size up). My only regret is that the larger diapers had a picture printed on them.

To make the diaper cake I used instructions at Wiki-How. I used a cardboard cake circle as a base. If I had gotten a bit of a larger circle, I probably would have decorated it around the edges.

I didn't add a lot of "extras" to the cake. I know that a lot of people hide other gifts and things inside, but diapers are quite expensive. And, I didn't really see a lot that went with my color theme (this was for a shower with both parents, I didn't want the father to feel overwhelmed with "pink/girlie" colors- as they are having a girl). I added two wrist rattles to the cake, and a teething ring.

To top the cake, I used an Exploding Scrapbook. I decorated the entire scrapbook, so that once the baby is born, all the parents need to do is add photos and journaling. I even cut out letters and numbers so that they could have the date of birth.

Side view, other side, view from the top, and view of open exploding scrapbook.

Congrats (Baby)

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I made this card a while ago for a friend who is expecting. Since I wasn't sure whether the baby was a boy or a girl, I went with "neutral" colors. (I am a huge fan of very bright and bold colors/prints. I'm currently working on branching out a bit from that.)

I used my Cricut to cut out the squares and "congrats." I desperately wanted to fit "congratulations," but that's quite a long word.

The bibs are a Stampin' Up stamp that I bought at least six years ago. (Thank goodness I don't know any Stampin' Up demonstrators, because it is impossible to only buy one set of stamps if you see a catalogue.) I tried coloring in the stars on the bibs, but I didn't like the way it looked, so I added jeweled stars. Then I thought the card needed balance at the bottom, so I added the ribbons.

I left the inside blank, so that I could write my own message.