Owls!

What a super day! Play date this morning... LOVE grown-up time. Coffee, breakfast tacos, grown-ups... and nobody said, "EEEWW gross! Does he do that all the time??" When the babe spit up his entire bottle down my back. No, instead, I was given support and accolades for remembering to bring a change of clothes with me. Ahh... empathy. :) And, tonight off to my grandparent's for dinner. No cooking and more love. Perfect!

So, here is the latest inspiration from the Etsy Inspired Challenge Blog. Super cute, huh?! Check out the shop by Vivikas if you have a chance.

These little owls were the inspiration behind my little owl tag. I guess I shouldn't call it little since I made it "jumbo." The tag is 5 1/2 inches high. I love it. And... bonus! I listed these tags in my Etsy shop yesterday afternoon, and this morning they were front page. My first ever front pager. Too fun!

ps... I'm looking for papercrafters to interview for the blog. If you are interested, email me at thepaperstop@gmail.com. Looking forward to getting to know you better.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas??? But, what happened to Halloween?

Busy Morning!

After bath time, my aunt came over for a scrapbooking date. Well... really, it was a hold the baby while I scrapbook date, but whatever. We had a ton of fun. (By the way, it is WAY too cold for bath time. How are we going to survive the winter??)

Then, I created this Christmas card for two challenges. The sketch is from Mojo Monday and the colors are from Color Throwdown. The snowman stamp is new and I think he is just too sweet. Doesn't he just scream "Joy?"


And, this afternoon, my first Etsy Christmas presents arrived. Yes, I know, I'm starting Christmas a bit early... but according to my usual schedule, I'm late. I used to (pre-baby) have all of my shopping done by Thanksgiving, wrapping done soon after that. Things have slowed down a bit this year for obvious and adorable reasons. I can show you a picture, but you would really have to smell them to appreciate them. I bought two yummy soaps from Bathing in Luxury. Shown is the honey scent, um yum, but I also purchased the pumpkin pie... Yummy smells and beautifully packaged. Plus, they came with samples, so I can dive in. :)

Inspired by Etsy

Play date day! I love Play Date day. Now, granted, when your babies are newborns, play dates are mostly for the mommas, but I'll take it. Coffee with the girls. . . love, love, love. Coffee with other girls who also happen to smell like spit-up and don't quite fit into their clothes, even better.

Today's challenge is from the EtsyInspired Challenges blog. This challenge was inspired by The Little Red Door, a fun Etsy shop featuring ceramic miniatures and other pottery. Check it out when you get a a chance. For my card, I really wanted to focus on the "miniature - ness" of the houses, so I tried to make the card a bit bigger than usual... 6x6 with little houses nestled in the corner.

Speaking of Etsy, I've been doing a lot of hunting for Christmas presents - yes, already. But, somehow, I've gotten a bit distracted and found some great papercrafting finds. Here is one of my favorites. It is the "Mini Signs of Christmas" flashcard set from CariKraft. They are little tiny flashcards with Christmas themed words. I already have a ton of ideas for them... cards, tags, scrapbook embellishments. So fun! Can't wait until it arrives!

Thanks for stopping by!

So Much to Share!

So, on Friday, I asked the hubby, "Is it Friday? Oh, thank goodness."

His response was, "What do you care?" I guess he figures that since I'm on maternity leave, everyday is Saturday for me.

So, he was surprised (for some reason!) when I said, "Because if it is Friday, then tomorrow, I get help."

Lot's to share today...

I've been combining challenges this weekend to catch-up. First, for Pink Elephant sketch, I took this week's sketch and flipped it on it's side. I added some twine for one of this week's 365 Cards challenges. Here is what I came up with.

This is my first Friday Sketchers challenge. I was excited to use my new "gracias" stamp for it. I think it is the cutest. I added some paisley papers for 365 Cards.

Finally, I created this card for the Finally Friday challenge by Kristina Werner at Two Peas. I chose colors from the Color Throwdown. I was really NOT happy with this pomegranate colored paper when I started, but I think that the striped papers in the background really tie it together.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

Joy - 365 Cards

Today's challenge at 365 Cards was to use a favorite fabric as inspiration. These afghans are technically not a fabric, but it is the same idea. Both are handmade (and you can guess how much I love that). The first is by an old family friend - made long before I was born, and the second was made by my mother-in-law a few years ago. I took the colors from the green and the shape from the brown. Together, this just screamed "Christmas" to me. So, I have officially made my first Christmas card of the season. What do you think?

Wish Birthday Card for 365 Cards

Today's sketch for the 365 Cards Challenge seemed super busy to me... and I guess that my card turned out super busy, too. I think the large graphic letters anchor it, though. I love that it is a birthday card... Strangely, I need the most birthday cards, and I make them far less frequently than any other kind of card.

"hey!" 2S4Y

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by this week's 24SY sketch. . . but it kept rolling around in my head until I figured out what I wanted to do with it this week. It is not a strict interpretation of the sketch, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you think.

"hello" Dragonfly, Color Throwdown #64

My first challenge in a while... a newborn provides one with the best kind of distraction. I am finding a moment here and there to dabble in paper again. Here is my first card in a while. It was inspired by this week's Color Throwdown. I created a set of 8 available on Etsy: http://thepaperstop.Etsy.com.