Thursday, December 5, 2013

A Milkbone Christmas


Trying desperately to keep up with my December Daily and documenting every way I can.  This qualifies as a Christmas moment since the tree is in the background, right?

Yes, that's a dog biscuit in Cal's mouth.  And let the record show that he won't let anything green pass his lips, but a Milkbone...of course!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A Dog Party!

It's no secret that Claire loves dogs.  If dogs had a fan club, Claire would be in it.  She may even found a group next year for anyone interested.

She has a dog shirt I bought in 3 sizes and she wears one of them every day, rotating as they become dirty (you might have noticed her lack of wardrobe diversity on my Instagram feed).

Going into her 3rd birthday, I wanted her to have an extra special day.  She is at that age where she remembers everything and I wanted this birthday to really stand out.  What better way than throwing a dog party?

Thanks so help from members of the Studio Calico community, Claire had a magical day with lots of dogs.  You can read all the ideas I received here in case you want to throw a similar celebration for your dog-crazy youngin'.



The banner was created in 3 pieces.
  • Stars - cut from cardstock on my Silhouette machine, then sewed through.
  • Dogs, tags, gold doilies. Dogs were cut with the Silhouette as well.  All pieces stitched through.
  • Leaves - cut from cardstock on my Silhouette machine as well, then stitched through.
We picked out stuffed dogs for our party guests to "adopt" at the end of the night.  But by that time, the temptation of them had overwhelmed Claire and when I went to gather the kids to collect them, I noticed all the bags were on the floor, crinkle paper everywhere and missing dogs.  So, we put out a search and collected enough for the kids to choose from.
Quote from Claire's favorite book....I know you never would have guessed it!


Pinwheels cut from my silhouette and attached together with large brads.  These are probably the simplest decorations to make and they came together quickly as well.


Cupcakes from Ivey in Franklin, TN.  They were SO GOOD!  I heard they were good enough for Carrie Underwood, so I figured they'd be good enough for me.  Confirmed.



And, some left over die cuts I used on Claire's packages.  I didn't think she'd actually appreciate them, but I was wrong.  She wants to keep anything with a dog on it.








The festive dress we got for the occasion from Mini Boden. This made her day, plus got her out of the aforementioned dog shirt for a few hours.

A couple ideas we implemented but didn't take photos of:
  • Decorated treat bags with leftover scrapbook supplies (gems, enamel dots) and puffy dog stickers from the Target $1 section.
  • Dog Ears.  Every guest got to pick a pair of dog ears to wear for the evening.  We all got into the fun because Claire was having such a good time with it.  I just googled "dog ear headband" and lots of party supply stores popped up.


I'll leave with a cute pic of the birthday girl.

Thanks again for all your ideas and for celebrating along with us!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Winner of Summer Card Camp!

And the winner is.....................

Puppy Kisses and Paper Dreams said...I am sooooo looking forward to this class - and would love to win. I have taken several Online Card Classes already, and they are REALLY REALLY good! Very well done, great inspiration, incredible videos and instructions! Great job Kristina, Jennifer & Friends :)

Please email me (april@studiocalico.com) with your name and we'll get you enrolled!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Summer Card Camp 2!

I was beyond excited to be asked to participate in the Summer Card Camp 2 by Online Card Classes.  Then, I saw the list of the awesome contributors and I feel even more honored, plus anxious to dive into the class myself to see what they have done with the sketches and color combos provided in the class content.

I hope you'll join us...more details below plus a giveaway!

Join your Online Card Classes Summer Camp counselors—Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, and friends (including me!)—for a three-week adventure packed with cardmaking ideas! Each day, you’ll discover a new way to have fun with your cardmaking supplies, whether we’re exploring a color combo, transforming a design sketch, or learning a new technique together. Summer Card Camp 2 includes designs from over 40 guest artists (yay!), lively videos, PDFs containing step-by-step instructions, shopping discounts, and loads of giveaways! Plus, you’ll have lifetime access to all of the class content—talk about making that summertime feeling last! Summer Card Camp 2 runs July 8-29. Sign up now for only $35!


GIVEAWAY

Want to take the class? Just leave a comment on this blog entry by 11:59pmEST on 7/8/13 for a chance to win a free spot in class! If you win and are already signed up, your class fees will be refunded. Good luck!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Silhouette Tutorial

Just logging in to post a quick tutorial for how I created this Silhouette file on my favorite layout this month. I designed some triangle strips in the Silhouette Studio software, then used pieces from the 34th Street kit and Murray Hill add-on to complete the design.
First, create a triangle freehand using the polygon tool. To make my triangle symmetrical, I just eyeballed it lining the cursor with the gridlines.

Next, I copy and pasted that shape repeatedly.
After you've drawn your row of triangles, highlight them all, then click the offset icon.
Last, simply weld the shape together.
Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

3 months - we made it!

I find it so amazing how my love of my children just grows and grows every day, and as I get to know them better.  I'm sure it'll plateau at some point (maybe in those teenage years), but for now, I'm happy with the sleepless nights, full arms, and love beyond measure.

At 3 months Cal:
  • Is so much less fussy (not exactly an easy baby, but less a difficult one)
  • Still bows his back like you wouldn't believe
  • Is strong and can jump out of your arms really easily!
  • Loves the bumbo seat
  • Coos and smiles at his carseat toys (so SUPER cute)
  • Loves to blow bubbles (shown below)





At 3 months, Sam:
  • Still has gorgeous HUGE blue eyes.  At birth we said maybe he'd grow into them and he's beginning to, but they're still so beautiful and big.
  • Is such a happy baby.  He smiles constantly and loves interaction.
  • Is an insanely messy eater.  Oh my.  Make sure you have a burp cloth or two or 3 if you feed him a bottle.
  • Loves taking baths.
  • Is so content in the swing sometimes I forget he's there.  Just sometimes.





Love these 2!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Sneaks!

Had such a good time playing with the October Scrapbook Kit, Card Kit, and Toe Stop add-on kit this month. Maybe it was the fact that the babies are sleeping much better and I'm feeling more and more like myself again, but I also think it was just a really fun kit to work with. I loved the colors and embellishments (hello exclusive enamel dots!) this time.
This is a card made from a hodge podge of my leftover kits.  LOVE that asterisk stamp from the Roller Rink Scrapbook Kit.

All items in the sneak above were made with the Roller Rink card kit.  It's already sold out on preorder, but do get on the waitlist so you won't miss out on the November Card kit goodies.

This layout was made using items from the Scrapbook kit and the ToeStop add-on.  LOVED how this turned out!

And this layout (and below) were made all with items from the Scrapbook kit, which is still available, but you'll need to preorder it.  Several exclusive items in this kit, four that you can see here are the enamel dots, Basic Grey alpha, wide washi tape, and vellum die cuts.

Claire's Tricks

Hope you get a good laugh from this one.
They're all working for some Babybel cheese here.


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cal & Sam

After several trips to the hospital, this one finally had the result we wanted: two healthy boys.


Look at them all stretched out, finally with room to move!  I'm just so happy.  Overwhelmed, but happy.


On Friday night, I went to the hospital because I was concerned about my blood pressure.  It had been 119/something at my doctor visit on Thursday and that was high for me.  I had swollen more and was having lots of contractions, so we decided to go in.  When we arrived, I was hooked up, and my blood pressure was in the mid-120s to mid-130s, so not bad, but definitely elevated, but I was in pain and that contributed to it.  After my contractions slowed, they released me early the next morning. 

Saturday, I was able to attend a fundraiser I had been working on during my bedrest for a wonderful organization that financially assists adopting couples.  I was on my feet quite a bit and it was a thrill to be there and help meet people who also believed in the same cause.

Sunday, I was even more swollen, so I went to Walgreen's to have my BP taken on the way to lunch.  In no pain, it was 133/93, so that had me concerned.  I called the doctor and he wanted me to go in to the hospital for some bloodwork and a 24-hour urine analysis.  The next evening, we turned in my brown jug of urine (quite possibly one of the grossest things I've ever done in my life).

Tuesday, I was on a business call when I got a couple beeps from a local number I didn't recognize.  It was the doctor's office calling with the results from my bloodwork and urine tests.  They called Greg, my emergency contact, and he took the message to go to the hospital for some follow-up tests.  When I got off the phone, he woke up Claire and told me we needed to go to the hospital for bloodwork.  Thinking I was just going to be stuck with a needle, I decided to call Lorie anyway and see if we could drop Claire off since it's not the most convenient to have an 18month-old in the Labor & Delivery department.  I'm so glad I did!

When we got to the hospital, I was told to get into a gown...not what I expected for bloodwork. I was there for a full preeclamptic workup.  At that point, my contractions were about 1-5 minutes apart, but I fully expected them to stop.  This was ongoing every night...they'd start, be painful, be close together, then around 11:00pm, they'd fade away.  I seriously wanted an epidural nightly for the last 2-3 weeks. 


Later that night, we learned I'd be started on Pitocin at 5:00am Wednesday since my platelets were a little low.  After that began, I immediately asked for my epidural.  Once I got it, I could still feel my legs and everything.  I kept telling the nurses I didn't think it was working.  As the pitocin was added, I could DEFINITELY tell the epidural wasn't working.  It wasn't until 8:30am that I got another epidural, and at 9:09am, Cal came.  I got to hold him for a split second and then it was time for Sam to come.  On a recent ultrasound, he was head-down, but apparently had flipped at this point and was coming breech.  Thankfully, he came quickly and was born at 9:11am.

Cal Wesley | 9:09am | 6lbs 1oz | 19" long
Sam Alexander | 9:11am | 5lbs 5oz | 18.75" long



They are both doing so well, and we're so happy to have them home and healthy.  After their follow-up doctor visit today, Sam continues to be the champion eater and Cal is gaining as well.  We just can't wait to get to know these little guys.  Claire is adjusting as well.  I don't even think she remembers life before the boys now.  She's so sweet to them, but could definitely do some unintended damage, so we're keeping a close eye on that.


Their middle names are both family names.  Wesley is my adopted grandfather and Alexander is my maiden name.  Claire's middle name, Thomas, was from Greg's grandfather, so we're trying to keep it fair :)

Thursday, June 14, 2012


Hope you're enjoying the Heyday Arrival party!

I love the feel of this collection so so so much.  So warm and fresh for summer. 

The only items I used here that aren't part of the Heyday collection are:
  • White Mister Huey
  • Glossy Accents
  • Foam Dots
  • Precision Pen
  • Twine from a kit
I should mention there was a delay in production of the Hexagon Mask, so put it on your shopping list to purchase later....I think July.