wishing tree tags

i started crafting again for my girl's baby shower. i rarely get to craft these days. when i do get a bit of me time, it fills up quickly with long overdue errands or sleep! i enjoy making things from scratch and sometimes forget that. it's therapeutic and peaceful and makes me light up when i see the finished product. so, with the lack of crafting i've done... i really went all out...

for my first project, i made tags for the wishing tree.  not familiar with a wishing tree?  it's a fairly new trend that's cropped up at weddings, baby showers, birthdays, etc and often takes the place of a guest book.  i find it's an absolutely beautiful way to capture everyone's wishes and thoughts and makes a great decoration piece in your home.

i started with a 8.5"x11" white cardstock and cut that into 4.25"x4.25" which makes 4 per sheet. i used photoshop (love!) to create the tags with the cutest "fill-in-the-blank" message i came across at another baby shower this year. what a perfect idea for someone like me who can never think of anything clever or profound to say. all done and time to print!

next up, i punched a hole at the top-center of the tag using the crop-a-dile to run the twine through later.  i then grabbed one of my favorite tools; 4-in-1 embossing corner punch. imo, this is such a great tool b'coz it takes a simple square card and adds a little flare. if i wanted to, i could stop right here and be done with this project... but that isn't my style...

... inking the edges and corners always makes a statement for me. i love that old, tattered, and rustic look.  depending on how much you ink and what colors you choose can create many different moods in your project.  i ink the corners in a darker color to make sure the embossed symbol pops out.

for the back, i used rubber stamps to create a background and a center focus piece, which in this case was the theme of the event. and of course, i followed that up with more inking. lastly, i ran twine through the hole to create the ability to hang the tag on the wishing tree.

materials + tools:

• white cardstock


• computer w/photoshop or similar


• printer


• twine


• 2 rubber stamps


• stampin' up classic inkpad in bashful blue


• stampin' up classic inkpad in early espresso


• colorbox cat's eye pigment inkpads in 3 shades of brown


• fiskar's 4-in-1 embossing corner punch


• we r memory keepers crop-a-dile all-in-one-tool

 

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photo booth fun

this past weekend i started making photo booth props for my girl's shower.  when i found the templates online and read the instructions, i thought to myself, "this is cake. i'll have this done in a couple hours."  not quite as easy as i thought it would be... the spray adhesive stuck to EVERYTHING and i dulled out a dozen of my x-acto blades.  finding out your blade went dull was not a fun moment... i ruined four templates and had to re-print.  i think the worse was cutting out the eyewear.  but despite all the mess and sticky fingers... despite almost cutting myself a few times... despite the non-stop blade dulling action... despite getting adhesive all over my glass-top coffee table... despite all the long unexpected hours... the props came out great!! i'm thankful i'll get to use these props more than once this year... i plan on getting a lot of miles outta these suckas!

 



 

thanks to ohhappyday.com for most of the templates and the wonderful idea!

tweeny twelve

ryna wanted to have a slumber party for her birthday this year and so we did.  at first i wasn't planning on doing anything since i only allowed 3 friends to spend the night... but the planner in me creeped out.  it went from ordering pizza and baking cupcakes to putting together a full spread.  and i couldn't host a party without goody bags!  managed to pull everything together in less than a week which is a record for me, but this is also the smallest party i've planned/hosted.  i'm so happy with how the decor and everything turned out.  the girls had a blast and so did i.

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