Sparkly Monday

Happy Monday, lovlies!

As you can see from my lack of blogg-o time, it's been a very busy week. It has been a very productive week though, and I'm happy with everything that we accomplished. I could write the longest blog post ever, but I doubt anyone wants to read everything we did last week, so I'll give you highlights :)

1. I joined Twitter. Look to the left, and you can find a link to follow me on Twitter. I'll be tweeting when I write a new post on the blog, upload an item to my Etsy store, or just find something interesting to tell you about (my personal, creative life included.)

2. I've updated the Project 365 photo album. I'm finding that as I spend more time at home, this project becomes even more challenging. I'm struggling to figure out exactly what I'd like to remember about each day. I'm remembering to tell myself not to photograph "events" so much as reminders of my daily life.

3. I've created a few cards for friends this week. I'll only post a couple because I don't want to spoil the surprise, and I know these folks have already received them. First, my dear friend Karen's birthday card:

Karen was celebrating a milestone birthday, so I wanted to make a really special card for her. This card isn't my typical style, but I do like the way it turned out. And, apparently I'm really into black, white and red color schemes lately. Here's a close-up of the ribbon and Heidi Swapp's beautiful chandelier stamp:

Next, here's a card that I sent to friends of mine from college, JT & Heather. They were just married and I wasn't able to attend the wedding. Their colors were black, white and red, so my color scheme obsession fit in perfectly! (I love when things work out like that)

Again, this isn't usually the style of card I make, but I'm challenging myself to try new things :) I wanted to create something elegant and romantic. I used an organza ribbon I found in a clearance bin at Hobby Lobby, a lace border punch from Martha Stewart and the sweet sentiment "Happily Ever After" to help convey that image.

4. I've been creating more embellishments for my Etsy shop. I love these little coordinating embellishment sheets. They make scrapbooking and card making so much easier. When I create an embellishment for a scrapbook page or card, I usually create a few extras while I have my supplies out. It saves me a ton of time if I want to duplicate the card, use the same color scheme, or create a coordinating scrapbook page. Check out PaperMeadowsDesigns on Etsy to see what I've come up with!

Have a fantastic day!

{Sparkle supplies}

Cardstock: whisper white (Stampin' Up!) Stamps: warm words (Stampin' Up!), chandelier (Heidi Swapp) Ink: basic black (Stampin' Up!), Other: real red grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!), red rhinestones (Prima), labels two nestabilities (Spellbinders), stardust gelly roll pen (Sakura)

{Happily Ever After supplies}

Cardstock: pure poppy (Papertrey Ink), whisper white, basic gray (Stampin' Up!) Stamps: guidelines, favor it weddings Ink: basic black (Stampin' Up!), fresh snow (Papertrey Ink) Other: black organza ribbon (Hobby Lobby), true black vintage button (Papertrey Ink), rustic cream button twine (Papertrey Ink), red rhinestones (Prima), word window punch, corner rounder punch (Stampin' Up!), doily lace border punch (Martha Stewart)