Olive Juice.

Over the past weekend I became inspired and pumped out 11 (yep, that’s right, E-LEV-EN) Valentine’s Day cards for my family and friends. That number, by the way, is a major record for me since I usually use up a full day making each card (I’m a slow and careful crafter). Considering the amount of Valentine’s Day cards I made and the amount of time it took me, I am pretty darn proud of myself. And this is because some of these cards can be lumped in the category of my all-time-favorite cards that I have ever made. So, on to the cards…

      

From top left:

(1) “Such A Sweetheart” for my niece Riley, (2) “Puppy Love” for my best friend Stephanie, (3) “You Are Sew Sweet” for my mom, (4) “Mwah!” for my sister Kelsey, (5) “Owl Always Love You” for my uncle Bob and my aunt Mary Beth, (6) “I’m Nuts For You” for my cousin Sarah and her husband Chad, and (7) “Love Is So Sweet” for my cousin Emma, (8) “Honey Bunch” for my dad, (9) “I Love You A Latte” for my sister Ashley, (10) “Sugar Is Sweet” for my cousin Molly, (11) “Valentine’s Riddle” for my friend Jessica, and the inside of (12) “Valentine’s Riddle”.

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Let Them Eat Cupcakes!

I took a theme of "Let Them Eat Cupcakes" for February and ran with it. From my brainstorming came 2 different designs revolving around yummy yummy cupcakes. Let's be honest, cupcakes are a much cuter version of cake, and therefore, perfect for a birthday card theme.

My first "Let Them Eat Cupcakes" birthday card was made on 1/22/2010 for my mom. I made it early and it was burning a hole in my pocket holding on to it, so I couldn't resist on throwing it in the mail a tad early...unfortunately it made it to Wisconsin about a week too early...oops! This card took me FOR-EV-ER, let me tell you. It may not look it, but there are a ton of little pieces that had to be measured AND cut AND glued down using a tweezers. Definitely not as tedious as my "Many Thanks" octopus thank you card of a few months back that I vow to never make again, but still very tedious.

My second "Let Them Eat Cupcakes" birthday card was made on 2/1/2010 for my boyfriend Chris's mom's birthday. In the case of this card, I could think of no better combination than cupcakes and dogs, so I made a puppy leaving a bakery carrying a birthday cupcake home to its owner. More little pieces on this card (like usual), but for some reason it didn't take nearly as long. Maybe I was a little more focused...or perhaps growing more accustomed to the new glue I recently purchased (and am still hating by the way).

I think these are the only birthday cards for February, which means I can now fully focus my attention to Valentine's Day cards!!! And upcoming March birthdays too if I really get ahead of schedule (but we'll see about that).

New year...new birthday cards.

After Christmas...WHAM! January sneaks up on you. I barely have time to put all the year's birthdays and special occasions on my new calendar, when the first birthday of the year is upon me.

My "Delicious Birthday" birthday card was made on 1/11/2010 for my cousin Christine. Inspiration came from this beautiful photo from Carolina Wahnish Rivera Photography of custom cupcakes (made by a friend of her's at Sonia's Sweet Perfections) that I stumbled upon. Take a look at her website and blog. She's A-mazing. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, the photo inspiration evolved to this idea of a "delicious" themed birthday card decorated with all kinds of tasty sweets.



My "I Spot a Birthday" birthday card was made on 1/13/2010 for my dad's 64th birthday. In the case of this card, and most of my cards for that matter, the phrase idea came before the design. Once I had that idea in my mind, I decided I wanted lots of color and patterns, so I rummaged through my pile of scrapbook paper to find all the most lovely shades and patterns, and then went crazy cutting circles.



My "Dynamite" birthday card was made on 1/17/2010 for my sister's boyfriend Matt to celebrate his 25th birthday. I have been floating around the idea of making a "dynamite" themed card for awhile, and finally it came into fruition...with a BANG! Okay, that was a bit cheesy, but come on, so is the theme of the card. And that's why I like it.



Where oh where has January gone?

When she decides to get involved, she jumps in with both feet.

jump in with both feet also jump with both feet into something

to become involved in something quickly and completely. When she decides to get involved, she jumps in with both feet.

Courtesy of http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/jump+in+feet+first

I am new to this whole blogging thing...unless you count Facebook that is...but I have become a bit addicted to reading a handful of blogs (that hand is overflowing now as the number increases every day!). So why not make my own blog to promote my cards? Here I am, jumping in with both feet, and not sure where this will take me.

I hope you enjoy the cards I post. Right now I make them purely for enjoyment for family and friends. Who knows? Maybe one day I will finally get my etsy storefront up and running and sell some cards. In the meantime, take a peek at my cards (old and new) and feel free to leave feedback. :)