Baby shower invitations!

Well I finally got my baby shower invites done & in the mail so I can share them here! :)
Let's get to it shall we? The theme is Cupcakes & Tea :)
Here is the whole invite (it's a cardstock pocket card with an insert)

 The words you can see above the pocket say: "A Baby is coming, As cute as can be, so come & celebrate with Cupcakes & Tea!"  I've had this saying saved in my 'idea' file for months and I changed a few words because while I know what I'm having my family does not so I had to make it gender neutral and go with my theme. The original words were: "A baby girl is coming, as sweet as can be, so come out and celebrate with crumpets & tea"  (Forgive me I forgot to copy and paste the url from where I got this invite wording so if it's your work or you know where it was please leave a comment and let me know so I can give credit! Thanks!)

Next we have the insert itself:

Sorry for the bad lighting on this one. Yikes! Anyway this is a vellum overlay that the words are on. The bottom half of the insert says: "Kristi has a Baby on the way, A boy? A girl? We cannot say! Baby ___ will be coming soon, so we're celebrating with Cupcakes & Tea one afternoon, The fun doesn't stop there; give extra thought to what you will wear, Dress in clothes that are PINK or BLUE depending on what you think Kristi will have on the day she is due!"  (Idea & wording came from this post on Head Of the Table)

And lastly this is what it looks like with the vellum underlay lifted up:

Also the shower details are on the back of the insert (printed there in the same font) which is why there is an arrow pointing the way (people were asking haha I guess no one flips over cards anymore!)

Anyway I have lots of gorgeous details planned for this party! I have at least 4 flavors of cupcakes planned to make, lots of cute decorations and I've been too Goodwill a bunch of times buying out their teacups/saucers each time to have enough for the party! I can't wait to share it all with you after the party is over! (Only a couple more weeks don't worry!)
Have a good week if I don't get a chance to post!




Supplies used for invites:
Polka Dot digital paper from: "Kit essentials" by Gina Cabrera
Cardstock: Kraft by Papertrey, Ink, white by Georgia Pacific (wal-mart), Vellum found at Wal-mart also.
Font:  "Loved by the King" 
Stamps: It's A Celebration, Love Songs, and Everyday Classics By Papertrey, Ink (not available-it was a limited edition Anniversary set)
 Ink: Dark Chocolate, Landscape & Summer Sunrise (All Papertrey, Ink)
Other: Corner Rounder, adhesive, Scor-Pal, black Sharpie, Circle punch

Papertrey, Ink Challenge- Emboss Resist!

Ooooo! Have you heard?! Papertrey Ink is turning 3 and are celebrating in a BIG way! Prizes & Challenges galore! Head on over to Nichole's Blog to get the day to day updates and surprises!

Today she announced that starting in the spring they will be having "Make It Mondays" featuring a new technique video every Monday! So exciting! To start off she posted a video of a technique I actually had never heard of: Emboss Resist. I watched the video and thought it was the coolest thing! So I went and dug out all my old embossing stuff and tried it out. LOVE! L-O-V-E! So fun!

This is my VERY first time posting a card and linking it to anyone associated with Papertrey, Ink (always intimidating!) but there is $200 of emboss resist goodies up for grabs! I had to at LEAST take a deep breath and hit the 'publish' button for this one!

So without further a-do here is my very first emboss resist card!

 

The bottom half of the card showcases the emboss resist. It is the Background Basics: Spots & Dots stamp set embosses on Sweet Blush cardstock then rubbed with Berry Sorbet ink.

Let me know what you think!
-Kristi

Supplies:
All supplies are Papertrey, Ink unless noted.
Paper: White cardstock, sweet blush cardstock, vellum 
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise, Clear Emboss it (manufacturer: Ranger)
Embossing powder: Antiquities Frosted Crystal (manufacturer: Ranger)
Stamp sets: Background Basics: Spots & Dots, Heart Prints
Other: Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, corner rounder, Scor-pal, adhesive,dimensional pop dot,  scissors 
 

Wedding Gifts

Today I'm sharing some wedding gifts & card I made for some friends this past fall.

First I etched their initial on a large vase using etching cream. Here is a little mini tutorial to show you how anything you can print off your computer can be etched into glass:
Supplies:
Vase, scissors, etching cream, print out of letter (or simple picture), exacto knife, tape, something to burnish the edges of your contact paper (I used a craft stick), any type of contact paper (I used a sheet of clear), and glass cleaner (I used my 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water mixture).

Clean your surface completely then dry. Place your clear contact paper on the surface keeping it larger than your image. Next you want to lay your printout exactly where you want it and tape it in place over the contact paper. Then here comes the *fun* part- carefully cut your image out using your exacto knife and lift away the part you want to be etched. Remove the rest of the computer paper and burnish (rub) the edges where you just cut the contact paper to make sure they are sealed down tight.


Follow the directions on your specific etching cream bottle (mine told me to lay it on pretty thick and leave it on for about 20 minutes). Whatever you do- do not get this on your skin!! Wear gloves & work outside. I left it on the required amount of time but when I used the hose to rinse it off I wasn't really happy so I re-did it to get more etching. (another note- I wouldn't rinse it off inside in a sink...it might harm your pipes)

Ta-da! How expensive and classy does that look? I LOVE it and will be etching just about everything I can get my hands on when winter is over and I can be outside again!! :)

Ok Next onto the rest of the presents:

I framed the invitation they sent us in a floating glass frame. Which apparently was a HUGE hit because they had forgotten to save one for themselves. Score one for me!



I also used their first initials, stamps & tissue paper to make custom 'embossed' candles.
To do this get a candle, matching tissue paper (I used white candles & white tissue paper), stamps, ink & a heat gun (maybe you could use a hairdryer but I've never tried it- if you do let me know if it works!)
So stamp your image on the tissue paper, cut it out pretty close to the image and lay it on your candle. Next heat up the candle and watch as the wax melts and makes the tissue paper "disappear". You can see it half finished in the candle on the left below and fully done on the candle on the right (I used different colored ink for each candle so don't be scared that your ink color will change)

And then the card I made to go with the gift:



So there you go a complete wedding present done for under $15 that looks like a million bucks!


Have a good rest of the week!
-Kristi