Dear Lizzy for American Crafts Neapolitan Pinwheels Embellishments; Pinwheels die by Silhouette; Pinwheel Bigz Die by Sizzix; Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheels Embellishments by Pebbles; Unity Stamp Co. Smile.Giggle.Laugh stamp set; Martha Stewart Crafts Modern Festive Pinwheel Kit

I’m starting to get that end-of-winter itch… you know, the itch for spring. I can’t wait for longer, sunny days, when I can step outside to a warm breeze and finally bring out the flip flops and tank tops.

One of the trends I’ve been seeing lately that’s getting me excited for those days are delightful pinwheels. Don’t they just exude spring? Pinwheels seem to be popping up in all sorts of embellishments, a new take on the ever-popular banners and paper rosettes. You can also find them in die-cut form (I’ve already purchased the $1 Silhouette digital die) or make your own (Martha Stewart has a good tutorial here).

These whimsical ‘wheels can be used in a variety of ways. Here are a few creative ideas I spotted on Pinterest…

Glamorous pinwheel cupcake toppers (love the sparkly paper!)…

Colorful and country-chic pinwheel drink straws…

Quirky yet girly pinwheel bows…

A dainty pinwheel baby mobile…

…and a full bouquet of pinwheels.

Whether or not the spring weather comes soon, I’m definitely looking forward to playing with pinwheels in my paper crafting! How about you?

The silhouette trend is one I have yet to grow tired of… I love the elegance of these timeless images. You can see some more of my favorite silhouette portrait-inspired products in my post here.

The latest Paper Crafts is, as always, full of so much paper crafting inspiration! I’m delighted to have a few projects inside the magazine. You won’t want to miss it! If you don’t already have your copy, you can buy one here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Back again with some more Valentine’s Day items to share. While watching the Grammys I got busy wrapping up Valentine’s Day gifts with the Martha Stewart Enchanted Woodland collection. I made a few gift bags (plain white bags are from Michaels) and a pair of cards. Here’s a peek:

The sentiments on the last two cards are from Papertrey Ink’s Tiny Treats stamp set.

Hello all and happy Valentine’s weekend! Are you busy making last-minute cards and gifts? Here’s a box I made in minutes, thanks to the Silhouette. I’m really loving this machine. I used the 3d heart-shaped box template (available in the Silhouette online store) to make this pretty-in-pink package. The patterned paper and heart sticker is from an older Stampin’ Up! Simply Scrappin’ kit and I also used Stampin’ Up! cardstock for the box base. Shiny satin ribbon and bright pink tissue paper finish the gift… all it’s missing is the chocolate. :)

P.S. Some good news… As you may have seen on Twitter I am thrilled to be among those who received “happy mail” from Paper Crafts magazine today! I submitted 5 projects and they all got picked up for publication in the newest Stamp It! Cards magazine! Also this week the March/April issue came in the mail with three of my projects published inside. (I’ll be sharing one of my favs from the issue soon!) This is a great issue filled with so many beautiful projects by many other talented designers. I sometimes want to pinch myself when I think about how lucky I am to have my designs featured in PC. Hooray!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back soon with some more Valentine’s Day projects. Feel free to leave a comment with any crafting projects you’re working on, as always, love to see what and how you’re creating.

xoxo

Quick post today, a simple get well soon card I made for a friend recently using Papertrey Ink stamps. I can’t take credit for the idea to make the holiday label a Band-Aid… I saw it awhile ago in an online gallery (I think PTI’s?) and thought it was such a cute way to repurpose a holiday stamp! Here’s a photo of the full card with a handmade lined envelope to match. Thanks for stopping by today!

Papertrey Ink stamps: Holiday Treats, Tea for Two, Friends ‘Til the End; BasicGrey chipboard heart; American Crafts patterned paper

I love beachy papers and my fiance and I were just dreaming out loud about a Florida Keys getaway, so I was immediately drawn to Webster’s Pages new Palm Beach line. This collection takes me to sunny shores with its creamy color palette and breezy palm trees. I cannot wait to make a vacation mini album with these papers.

BasicGrey departs from the typical baby/park/wedding themes for spring and shouts  “HELLO!” — or rather, Konnichiwa! — with a new Japanese-inspired collection of bright colors and geometric prints. Love it!

Oh Dear Lizzy I am so happy you are back. No one can quite welcome spring like Elizabeth Kartchner I’m convinced… her collaborations thus far with American Crafts have blown me away and I’m looking forward to scrapping with her latest, the Neapolitan collection. The pastels and watercolor elements give it a dreamy quality, don’t you think?

Crate Paper has this awesome way of making papers that are vintage-y while still being completely accessible for creating modern projects. The sentiment stickers in Pretty Party would work for both cards and albums (versatility is always a positive in my book) and I’m pretty sure that the seafoam green on the letter stickers is the perfect shade of green.

And finally… Pebbles Inc’s Hip Hip Hooray is everything a birthday collection should be: colorful, festive and FUN. And I am a sucker for mini clothespins. Those little guys stole my heart as soon as I spotted them on the Pebbles blog!

If these five favorite sneak peeks are any indication… CHA has lots of paper crafting goodness in store. Which of these collections are your favorite? Any others out there you’ve spotted that are missing from my round-up?

The snowy weather on Saturday gave me a good excuse to stay inside and get some baking and crafting done. I’ve been wanting to use my Crate & Barrel mini muffin pan to whip up some bite-size cupcakes and I couldn’t resist getting a head start on celebrating Valentine’s Day… and these festive Martha Stewart cupcake liners, some Pillsbury pink frosting and red sprinkles did just the trick.

If you’ve been reading my blog you might remember that I recently got the new Silhouette Cameo digital cutter. I spotted an XOXO treat box template in the online store and downloaded it with my gift card (so nice they give you a free download card in the box with the machine!) When I saw the template I immediately thought of mini cupcakes and hoped that they would fit inside the o’s without any adjustments. And they did! A perfect fit:

Box template: 3d box by Lori Witlock, available in the Silhouette Online Store; patterned paper from Martha Stewart Crafts Enchanted Woodland 12×12 stack

And the great thing about the Silhouette, which I tend to forget about until I cut something, is you’re left with the negatives. In this case, perfect XOXO cut-outs. So I made this card with them:

Pink cardstock: Envelopper Inc.; XOXO cut-outs from 3d box template in the Silhouette Online Store,
cut from Martha Stewart Enchanted Woodland paper; pink Memento marker; American Crafts Dear Lizzy ribbon; BasicGrey buttons & hearts adhesive chipboard

I’m entering both of these projects into Cath’s Die Cutting Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, too. Check it out… get out your paper crafting tools now and play along in any of her inspiring challenges on the MFW blog!

Finally, awhile ago I saw this on Pinterest:

And since I had mini cupcakes already baked, I couldn’t resist making my own arrangement on the table… just for fun! I also think it would be a cute idea to spell out initials or words for birthday parties, engagement parties, baby showers, etc.

Are you making any Valentine’s Day treats and packaging? Would love to see what you’re crafting (or baking :) I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs!

Valentine paper from Paper Heart collection by Crate Paper, Adore paper from Yours Truly by Echo Park Paper Co., “Be Happy” Happy Doily Paper from Follow Your Heart collection by My Mind’s Eye, Kisses Pink Foil Paper from Promise Me collection by SEI Crafts, “you and me” sticker from Kissing Booth collection by Basic Grey, script heart stamp from Love & Marriage set by Papertrey Ink, Cerise Pink pearls/bling from FabScraps, Kaisercraft mini paper blooms in Fairy Floss, trio of papers from Martha Stewart Enchanted Woodland Paper Pad; Velvet Ruffle Pink Trim from Western Romance Collection by Webster’s Pages

My product posts have gone by the wayside lately and I figured with Valentine’s Day less than one month away, now would be good time to bring it back! Now is the time to stock up on your supplies for making treat boxes, tags & bags, mini-albums and, of course, cards – so above is a product inspiration board that might help with your shopping.

I’m loving the delicate feel of the Valentine’s Day collections… they’re formal but not too frilly. The shades and patterns are versatile enough that the supplies could easily be used for other spring/love layouts and other projects year-round. I looove lace and happy to find that the doily trend is sticking around… and ruffly ribbons, paper roses and magenta pearls are fun ways to complement and add dimension to romantic papers.

What are you making for Valentine’s Day? Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day paper or collection you’re planning to create with?

I have to say that I am still completely blown away at the response on my Paper Crafts blog hop post on Friday. I am still pretty new to blogging and it was amazing the amount of people who visited my blog over the weekend and how many of you left such kind comments. I read each and every one of your comments and they truly brightened my weekend (hence the card below!) I visited all your blogs and it wonderful to find so many people around the world that that also share a passion for paper crafting. I’m so happy you stopped by my blog on the hop, hope you learned something from each stop along the way, and that we can continue to connect!

I wish I could give every one of you a copy of Cool Tools, but Paper Crafts wouldn’t allow that :) so here is the randomly selected, lucky winner:

Congrats, Kathy Browns!

Kathy Browns says:

Here’s a full of version of the opening image on tonight’s post. This is a simple card that features adorable sun & cloud Puffies by KI Memories (realizing that I’m into “cute” embellishments lately for some reason?) I typed and printed out the sentiment myself. The background paper is from an older Stampin’ Up! patterned paper pack (I think it was a limited edition Sale-a-Bration pack).

Have you made anything with any of the KI Puffies? Would love to see – or anything else you’re crafting! Feel free to leave a comment, as always…