Hey there, Cupcake!

Here is my latest creation scraplifted from the Stamp Goddess Tresa Black!  This was so much fun to make.  Took 4 hours but I like the results so much that I've already got 5 more in the works!  I'm thinking I can get this down to less than an hour if I prep all the pieces/parts before hand.  Tresa has a wonderful video on her blog http://www.fabulouslyartsy.com/ listed under her tutorials and named "Cupcake Gift Card Holder."  Check it out! 

I used one of the Daydream B&T papers for the base.  The ribbons, flowers, and wooden bead for the cherry I found at Michael's.  I would like to find a larger wooden ball for the cherry.  The paper flowers are Making Memories but I think the Just Blooms from CTMH would be better.  I didn't have any on hand.  Need a little more practice with the base and placing the ribbons just so, but all in all I like it. 

The nicest thing about making these is no oven required!  And anytime I can get out of using my oven in Florida, I'm there!  Oh, yeah, and there are no calories but they produce lots of smiles when friends see them! 

I think I'm going to add a "To/From" tag that says Happy Birthday, Great Job, or Congratulations, and attach it to the binder clip.  I think a greeting card could be attached to the clip, too, instead of a gift card.  Lots of possibilities!

Gotta go make ribbon ruffles so I can "ice" the cupcakes tomorrow!

First Visit to Ikea, Tampa, Florida

What an afternoon!  I went to Tampa today with two girlfriends intent on finding out what all the buzz is about Ikea Stores.  WOW!  I get it!  What a great place to shop for inexpensive, great design in home furnishings.  My goal was to find a storage solution for my cardmaking and scrapbooking supplies. 

The stash has overtaken my home office.  Every week, available floor space gets smaller and surfaces become more covered.  The My Acrylix storage boxes are three across, half way up the wall and each one holds 15 or more stamp sets.  Paper packs and loose sheets are in piles everywhere.  And that's to say nothing of the embellishments, stickers, stamp pads, embossing folders, ribbons, and glitter hiding in plastic shopping bags.  By the time I find what I need to do a project, I'm exhausted.  Ikea, take me away!

Five feet inside the showroom and I've already picked out three possible solutions to my storage/organization dilemma.  Each one has its own "personality" and function and all are full of potential!  Fifteen feet in and the list has grown from three choices to seven.  This place is an amusement park for shoppers!  Follow the arrows on the gray painted floor past vignettes set up for living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices, and kids' rooms with most unique stuff!  There is even a restaurant at the end of the showroom trail!  Needing time to think, I wander into the eatery looking for something to quench my thirst.  I bought an order of Swedish meatballs, bottled water and apple cake.  Then, down the elevator to the Marketplace!  This is like an attraction at Disney World.  Go on the ride, and at the end, buy all the stuff related to it.  Those Swedes were paying attention when they went to our theme parks! 

If you haven't been to an Ikea store, GO!  Make it a day trip; it took us four and half hours and we didn't even see it all.  Hint, measure your space if interested in furniture before you go and wear comfortable shoes!

Pictures of Peacocks in Paradise

Oops!  Published the post before I put in the pictures!  Here they are! Aren't they gorgeous?

Peacocks in Paradise!

Wow!  Take a look at these beautiful birds!  I took my friends to a little restaurant on North Longboat Key tonight and we came across these colorful creatures.  They were as interested in us as we were in them.  The male strutted right up to the car and the female followed.  There is a flock of these beautiful peacocks inhabiting a certain section of Longboat Key and their territory is very close to MarVista Restaurant, our dinner destination. 

I stopped the car and grabbed the Blackberry out of my purse to take these pictures; of course, the camera was charging at home!  My girlfriend, Kathy, was amazed that she could get so close to them.  The males evidently lose their tail feathers after they mate, and it was apparent that they had.  The tails on the males were just starting to regrow and some were showing signs of molting.  By the beginning of the next mating season, their tails will be long, beautiful, iridescent blue plumes that fan out behind them as they strut their stuff in hopes of attracting the ladies.  Actually the females haven't totally been ignored when it comes to having a little influence on the males.  The ladies' necks are adorned in little, iridescent green feathers and when the sun hits them just right, they sparkle.  You should see the chicks!  So cute!  They look like little ducklings with 3 or 4 T-shaped feathers standing perfectly straight on the tops of their heads.  The mommas wouldn't let us get close to their babies and were making very sure the little ones laid low in the grass.  But you could still see those little feathers sticking up like little weeds or blades of grass.  Mother Nature has done an amazing job providing camouflage for its next generations, hasn't she? 

To top off the evening, we sat outside by the lagoon under the live oaks; drank Margaronas (a margarita with a 7-ounce Corona turned upside down in the glass - delicious!); devoured our dinners of crab-crusted scallops, stuffed flounder, and shrimp scampi; and finished off sharing a piece of creamy Key lime pie.  Yum!  Our waiter, Anthony, was a treat as well - very cute!  And when dinner was done, we walked back to the car by the light of a gorgeous full moon shining on the dark, still water of Sarasota Bay. 

And tomorrow I'm going to make cards again, influenced by the blues, greens, and silvers of a wonderful evening spent with great friends in.....Ahhh, Paradise....

World Card Making Day Blog Hop - October 3, 2009

Hi, Ladies!  If you've hopped in from Laurie's blog (http://westmanscrapbooks.blogspot.com/), welcome to the debut of Cardmaking in Paradise!  Can you believe I joined the World Card Making Day Blog Hop without a blog?  I thought I could join this blog hop and just see all the wonderful creations you ladies have posted, but NO, I'm supposed to have a place to for you to hop to!  Haley has convinced me that this is a great way to present myself to the world, so here goes! 

I made this bookmark/card combination using the Jingle Level 2 paper pack.  This paper pack surprised me because one doesn't usually associate pink with Christmas but I love the soft look of juniper mixed with tulip, baby pink and blush or hollyhock (this color was tough to determine because it is sort of second generation to me). 

I found this bookmark style in the July 09 issue of Cardmaker magazine. The card base is 8 x 3-1/2 of white daisy cardstock.  I embossed the stamp image "JOY" from the new Holiday Jingle stamp set and added a clear sparkle in the middle of the snowflake.  All the B&T papers used are edge distressed with coordinating inks and the tulip band is scissor distressed using the CTMH edge distresser. 

The present that is exposed when the bookmark is removed from the card is cut from the B&T "presents" paper.  It is embellished with a crocheted flower highlighted by a clear button threaded with a narrow strip of juniper cardstock.

The card front is attached using foam tape at the top, center, and bottom and finished off with juniper grosgrain ribbon.  I think the inside of the card can be slit to hold a gift card from a bookstore to make this an ideal gift for the readers on your Christmas lists.

I hope you like it as much as I!  Enjoy the blog hop and I certainly look forward to getting inspired by all of you.  I've got to get back to cardmaking in paradise (Sarasota, Florida, that is!).  After all, there are so many visions of cards dancing in my head and so many holidays will soon be here.  Back to the paper cutter (but not until I've finished blog hopping myself)!

Here is your next link:  http://scrapbookczar.blogspot.com/2009/10/world-cardmaking-day-ctmh-blog-hop-ctmh.html     Have fun blog hopping and a great day celebrating the art of cardmaking!