It's been a busy past few weeks...

But that's because I've been learning how to decorate cakes.  My sister wanted me to take a cake decorating class with her, so I did.  The past four weeks have flown by because of how busy life has been, but add to that making multiple batches of buttercream icing and a few cakes and, well, it was busier!  I do have to say that in the middle of all this cake decorating I was able to go see my WONDERFUL friends for a weekend of scrapbooking, laughing, and hanging out together in Pennsylvania.  That weekend was definitely NOT long enough, but I am so thankful I got to go!  And it gives me something to look forward to since we'll definitely be getting together again!

But I digress ;)... 

So the last cake decorating class was this past Tuesday and we had to bring a cake to class.  It just had to be iced since we were going to be doing the decorating during class.  This was how my final cake turned out:

 I was pleased.  The roses need a LOT of work, but for my first attempts I don't think they're too awful.  My icing was just a little too stiff for even my drop flowers on the top layer of the cake, but they didn't come out too awful, either.  The cake itself is a yellow cake and I torted it with the same chocolate buttercream icing I frosted the cake with, so when the tallest pieces are cut, there are four layers of cake.  YUM!  Michael and Megan were very sweet and told me that this cake was the best they've ever tasted (I highly doubt that), and Jeremy just wanted more.  So I guess you could say the cake was a hit and the class paid off!

Speaking of the class paying off... My sister's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, but rather than celebrate ON Thanksgiving, we're celebrating tonight at my house.  I'm cooking dinner and she requested the daisy cake for her birthday since she liked Megan's so much back in August.  Well, I worked on the cake last night after our Thanksgiving meal was finished, and I must say that I impressed even myself with her cake!  She wanted purple and pink, so I did the sides and top in a light purple and the outlines in pink.  The center is golden yellow with a white swirl, and there are white dots on the petals, too.  The colors don't seem to come through as pretty in the pictures as they are in person :(.  Here is a top view of her cake:

And here is a side view of her cake:

Yeah, I admit that I am proud of the decorating I did on her cake!  (If you look back at Megan's cake in August you'll notice just how sloppy it was... Oh well- at least it won't be next year!)  I think I'm done with cake for a little while after tonight, though.  I've had enough to last me quite some time ;). 

CAS-ual Friday challenge- CFC19

Yay!  I had time to make a couple of cards this week.  I was hoping I would be able to make one to enter into a challenge, so I looked over on the CAS-ual Friday blog.  The challenge was to use paper piecing on a fall-themed clean and simple card, so I gave it a whirl. 

This is what I came up with:

The stamp I used is from EK Success, and I used paper from KI Memories to paper piece the chicken.  I wasn't sure how I would like the card considering there is really nothing around the chicken and it's a white background, but I really like it!  Chickens can be considered fall, right (work with me here... ;)...)?  I mean, you wouldn't "turkey in" on someone... (bad, I know... oh well- I tried!!)  This little chicken makes me smile every time I look at it.  I think I'll use this stamp a little more often!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please feel free to leave a comment- I enjoy hearing from everyone who stops by!

Another Birthday Card

Wow- it's been a while since I have been able to get any crafting done!  But, school is over for a while and I have a good friend celebrating a birthday this Friday, so I got to make her a card!  I used the new Oliver and Amelia set "Surprise" to make the card, and I used her favorite color, purple.  Here's the card:

I colored Amelia with copic markers and then cut her out so I could place her inside the circle.  Here are the copics I used:
skin:  E00, E000, R20
hair:  E57, E55, E53
dress & bow:  V15, V12, V01, atyou spica lilac glitter pen (on bow)
tights:  V01, V000
shoes:  C3, C5, C7
gifts:  B32, B34, R20, R21, BG15, BG11

I had a lot of fun making this card- I just love using my copic markers!  I know the coloring isn't perfect, but I think I'm getting a little better :).  And I think my friend will like the card, too.  Now I need to make her and her husband a Congratulations card since they just had a baby girl yesterday morning!!

Well, I'm off- got lots to do and it won't get done on it's own!!  Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to leave me a comment- I love hearing what you have to say!

Celebrating FIVE big years!

I can't believe it- my little girl is turning FIVE!  It seems like just a few weeks ago I was bringing her home from the hospital.  Time sure does fly, and today we celebrated Megan's 5th birthday.  My parents have been on vacation and stopped in so they could be here for her birthday, so it was nice having the whole family together to celebrate.  I'm going to spare everyone of seeing ALL the pictures and just highlight a few.  (Bear with me, I've been feeling pretty run down and under the weather lately)

The first picture I'm sharing is of Megan's birthday card.  I made this a few weeks ago using a Greeting Farm stamp named Megan.  On the actual image there is a bow in her hair where her ponytail is at the top of her head, but I covered that with a crown brad from Recollections.  It worked perfect for the birthday princess!  Here's the card:

Now that you've seen the card itself... here is a picture of Megan holding her card:

And, last, but not least... here is the birthday cake she requested for this year.  I'm NOT a decorator, but she loved the way it turned out, so that's all that really matters!

So my little girl is now five... I still can't believe it.  It's like you blink and they grow in the second your eyes are closed!  Happy Birthday, Megan!

Two more cards!

I finished my homework a day early this week, so I was able to play for a few hours on Friday!  YAY!  I made three cards, but I'm only showing two of them here because one is for my daughter's birthday in a few weeks and I don't want her to accidentally see it on my blog. 

One of the cards I made is actually for the CAS-ual Friday challenge!  I have never entered a challenge there before, but after visiting their site and getting inspired, I decided I would give it a try.  This week's challenge is called "The long and short of it."  The card needs to be a 4x9 card and be kept clean and simple.  So I gave it a whirl, and the card I came up with is:

I used Bazzil Basics Paper Guava Sensation cardstock, Bazzil Basics Paper Walnut cardstock, Stampin' Up Whisper White cardstock, an EK Success border punch, pink ribbon (given to me, sorry I don't know who made it), Stampin' Up stamps (Tiny Talk and another one I can't remember the name of), copic markers R81, R83, and V01, and Mark Richards rhinestones.  Oh, I also used a corner rounder to round the edges of the card and the stamped image and it's mat.  I no plan when I made this card- just a 4x9 area with which to work.  I must say I'm pleased with the way this turned out!

The next card I made is for a friend of my daughter's.  Her friend just turned four, and since her party is next weekend I needed to make a card.  I haven't used my Riley and Co. stamps in a while, so I decided to use one for her card.  Here's how it turned out:

I colored Riley and the gift box he is popping out of with copic markers (V06,V15, V17, R81, E57, E55,  E53, C1, & C3).  I honestly do not remember where the paper came from- I used pieces from my scrap stash.  The ribbon on the card is from American Crafts.  The "birthday wishes" stamp is from Stampin' Up.  I'm pretty sure my daughter's friend will like the card... and her gift, too.

Ok, I KNOW I said I was buried in school work, and I really am during the week.  I just happened to finish early (like I said before) this week, so I took some time to play.  I have three more weeks left in this semester, so even if I don't get a chance to play again before then, at least I'll have some time when class ends! 

Thanks for stopping by and takin' a peek!

Another Quick Card

I know I said I wouldn't be able to post for a few more weeks (until school is out), but I had to make a birthday card for a friend of Michael's, so I thought I would share it here.  This card uses another really cool set from The Greeting Farm called "Amazing Duo."  I only used the little super hero boy from it, but that's because the card is going to an 8 year old boy... makes sense, right?  I thought so, too!  Anyway, I used a few of the words in the set to stamp on the background paper and a few more on the inside.  Overall, I'm REALLY pleased with how this card turned out!  When I asked my husband if he thought the card would appeal to an eight year old boy, he replied with, "Heck yeah!  I'm not a boy turning eight and that card appeals to ME!!"  I guess it works then... {big grin}  Here's the card:

Well, there you have it- a cool card for a cool kid turning 8!  How fun!
Ok, now for the next three weeks or so I might be consumed with school work, so please... if you hear muffled cries, reach under the stacks of papers and books and pull me out! Thanks!!  ;)

A "Quick" Card

After all the craziness that has been going on here the past few weeks with schedules and events, I needed some therapy time.  I don't really have any available, but on those nights when I just can't sleep (and there are a lot lately) I'll sometimes get up and do a little copic coloring.  This weekend happened to be one of those times.  My wonderful friend Amy has the Wild Sprouts Vivi stamp from The Greeting Farm and when we were in Pennsylvania last month she let me stamp a bunch (You ROCK, Amy!!).  I had some holiday paper left from last year that I really like and thought would work with the image, so I colored Vivi in blues and purples and made the card.  Here is what it looks like:

I couldn't resist using Liquid Applique on the brim of the hat!  I really like the way it turned out!  And I'm one more card closer to my goal of having all my Christmas cards done on time this year (despite my hectic schedule!)!  YAY!  I also distressed the edges of the papers with my edge distresser (fancy name, I know!) and used Stampin' Up dimensionals to pop the image off the card slightly. 
Here is a list of supplies (not ALL of them) I used on this card- just in case you're interested:
EK Success Art Blanche paper- Winter Dot
Stampin' UP "warmest wishes" stamp
Stampin' UP Pale Plum ink
Liquid Applique
Copics:
- hair- E37, E33, E31
- skin- E00, E000, R20
- clothes & bell- V000, V01, V12, B95, B93, C1, C3
- present- B21, BV02, clear spica glitter pen

Well, until school breaks again between classes, I'm going to be busy with school.  I'll hopefully catch a minute or two here and there to be crafty- we'll see.  But, until next time... Be safe and Happy Scrappin'!!

A few cards...

During my break from school I was able to enjoy a scrapbooking retreat in PA with my BFFs, but I didn't take any pictures of the pages I made (sorry!). Before I went and right after I got home I made a few cards. I just adore the images from The Greeting Farm stamps, and C.C. Designs! They're perfect for coloring with copic markers! Here's what I did:

The card above isn't from The Greeting Farm or C.C. Designs. It's actually an image from a Hero Arts set called "Sweet Wonderful You." She's so cute- I just had to make a card with her!

The image above is from The Greeting Farm's Creeper Crew Collection. His name is Tyler- don't you just love how he's rockin' on his guitar?! When I made this card I had a good friend from church in mind- it totally fits her husband!

This card is not made with a Greeting Farm image... it's a C.C. Designs image! She's adorable- I love how sweet she looks holding the balloons and cupcake with a candle! I made this card for a little girl at church who turned 5 at the beginning of the month- she LOVED it! :)

At our retreat at the end of June a few of us spent some time coloring with copic markers. We talked about which stamps were our favorites to color with and we even mentioned digital stamps. I couldn't resist getting a few when I got home, and the adorable Hallo Witch from The Greeting Farm is one of the ones I bought. I have never made a Halloween card before, believe it or not! I really like the way this one turned out, though!

The card above is another digital stamp. This one is called "Rain Rain" and she is also from The Greeting Farm. I happened to see the color scheme on her outfit on another blog and thought I would give it a try- I really like the pink and teal colors together. And when I found cardstock that matched I was even more thrilled! I can't help but smile when I see this card!!

So that's what I have been up to. School is back in session now, though, so my crafting time will be cut short again until the last week of August when I get another week off. Hopefully, though, I will be able to squeeze some time in before then! Thanks for stopping by!