Fifth Avenue

I've been making projects with this line of paper from Making Memories for over a year now and I still love it! Some paper lines get old after a while, but this one, Fifth Avenue, has staying power. Here's just a sampling of the projects I've created. If interested, you can purchase the card in the first photo and/or a 6"x6" stack of these gorgeous papers in my Etsy shop at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/.

For the Garden

Spring is finally here! My favorite season of the year! A time to flock to the garden, plant some flowers and enjoy the birds. In the spirit of spring, I thought I'd share some favorite garden finds from my fellow Etsy shopkeepers.

The first item I'd like to share is this unique and oh so pretty 'You Grow Girl' planter drawer by Semper Nova. Not only a beautiful piece for the garden but recycled as well. These shopkeepers salvage furniture, window frames and anything they can get their hands on and re-purpose them. To see their treasures click on http://www.sempernova.etsy.com/.

The second find is from Wood Elements, a shop from Tennessee that creates hand-turned wood items such as the 'Gardening Paper Pot Maker' pictured above. This handy little tool allows you turn your recycled newspaper into seed starting pots. Wood Elements also turns out beautiful French rolling pins, biscuit cutters and garden dibbles. To visit this shopkeeper log onto http://www.woodelements.etsy.com/.

Last, but certainly not least is another re-purposed item for the garden, a bird bath and feeder made from a beautiful china cup and saucer set. Ohthepollybilities also sells bird houses made of tea pots and ceramic jars that can be found at http://www.ohthepollybilities.etsy.com/. Perfect for your own backyard or for Mother's Day gifts.

That wraps up my garden finds on Etsy...time to go out to the garden and play.

Featured on Two Peas in a Bucket

One of the things we scrapbookers love is sharing our work with one another! I'm always so excited to show off my latest creations and I can't wait each day to log onto Two Peas in a Bucket and see all the work my friends have done. I was excited to see that my 'Spring' scrapbook page was featured as the project of the day last week on March 17th! Now how fun is that!

Hey Baby!

Yes, it's true, people have babies everyday! Your best friend and sister do not, however. So when it comes to this life altering event, a handmade congratulations card is perfect for the occasion. Card-Blanc specializes in handmade cards for births as well as birthdays and more. To see their line visit www.cardblanc.etsy.com.

Chloe's Closet

I love new scrapbook paper lines with pretty matching embellishments and ribbons and Chloe's closet is my new favorite. This line is manufactured by Making Memories and I found it at Michael's of all places. I made the cards and scrapbook page above with the line and find these colors are perfect for spring crafting.

Spreading the Love

I recently discovered a cool website and project aimed at sharing a little love with our fellow man . I don't know about you, but I'm getting rather tired of all the bad news about the economy and environmental issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm doing my part to conserve energy and our rain forests and I'm rather smart when it comes to finances. But, lets not hang our heads all the time...let's smile and give a little love.

If you log onto http://www.iloveyoucards.org/, you can order a set of 'i love you' cards that are business card size and start passing them out. Give them to your waiter along with their tip. Leave one on a bench at the mall. Hand one to a friend that needs a hug or your neighbor. And guess what? These little pink cards are free! All that's asked is that you take a picture of a couple cards you've handed out, upload a photo and share a story.

I received my cards in the mail Tuesday and I gave one to a friend that I met for lunch and to our waitress. I left one on the bananas at the grocery store and gave one to a helpful sales clerk at the mall. So what will you do with your cards? Perhaps you could give one to that guy in the office you've had your eyes on?

Fun at the Playground

I had the best time scrapbooking with the design team gals at the Paper-Playground yesterday!Their new March kit is fabulous and so much fun to work with! I made these goodies with the kit. The thank you card was made with one of two Daisy Bucket blank cards included in the kit. I love how this card turned out and want more! For more details about this month's kit go to http://www.paper-playground.com/ . The frame will go on sale in my Etsy shop at www.cardblanc.etsy.com. Thanks for stopping by!

I Wish I Could Scrapbook

New to my Etsy site are already made scrapbook pages! I often have people rave about my pages and say they wish they could make them or had the time to scrapbook. So I thought I'd see if there was an interest in Etsyland. Here's the first page I put up for sale. It's an 8 1/2" by 11" and it's made for spring break memories. I can also do custom pages so leave a comment here or hop on over to http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/ if interested.

2 Sketches 4 You

This week I decided to try making a card based on a sketch from the blog site 2 Sketches 4 You at http://www.2sketches4you.blogspot.com/. I used Kazan's 21 sketch and came up with this fun card for mother's day. I was excited that I could make this lovely card with scraps, everything except for the embellishments came from my scrap box. Cool, huh? And those little birds...are they not too adorable? Those are manufactured by Maya Road and can be purchased at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/. So you think you're not that crafty or don't have the time to make cards, no problem, this card is for sale on my Etsy site at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Cute on Etsy

I love shopping on Etsy! Why buy gifts and home decor items anywhere else? The wares on Etsy are handcrafted one of a kind pieces that you will find no where else. And I'd rather support individual artisans instead of mass marketing. Have you perused Etsy lately? There are so many down right adorable things to be found! Case in point, this little blue bird jewelry dish by Elm Studios at http://www.elmstudiosonline.etsy.com/. The shopkeeper takes custom orders so I ordered a few dishes for end-of-the-year teacher gifts with two birds, a teacher and student, printed with the word 'fly.'

The second photo, featuring a fabric poppy is made by Middleburg, a folk art studio. How cool to dress up an ordinary denim jacket with a pretty little flower. This shop features papier mache figures made of 100% recycled newspaper, so this is also an environmentally friendly shop. To view these adorable pieces log onto http://www.middleburg.etsy.com/.

Now, how about this elephant in the last photo? Irresistible, huh? Too cute with it's pink and white polka dot outfit holding onto a little pear. This little guy would make one smile every time they walked by! To see more adorable critters made by Lizzie Jane click on http://www.lizziejane.etsy.com/. Happy shopping!

It's a Girl Thing

Once in a while I just have to scrapbook a page or work on a project that's girly! I have a son that I make a lot of scrapbook pages for so I have a lot of boyish scrapbook papers and accents. After doing a bunch of masculine pages, it's fun to get to use some pastel colors, buttons, flowers and ribbon and make something really feminine, like this wall hanging. I attended a crop over the weekend and I packed nothing but a K & Company pad of 'Doll House' papers and cute little embellishments to match. And here it is...my girly project! Fun huh? If interested, it's for sale at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/. Are you feeling like scrappin' something girly now?