Twins Invitation

This was the batch of invitations for my friend, Susan.  She was hosting a baby shower for her sister in law who was pregnant with twin girls.  She wanted a classic pink invitation, and these came out so cute!  I used two ribbons, a lace and a scalloped velvet, and the combination resembles ruffle-butt panties.  I embellished silk flowers with stickles and rhinestones, and put two (for the twins) on the top.  

Cupcake Birthday #2

This one was for my niece, for her first birthday.  It's the first time I've done one that is action-packed.  I actually constructed this two ways.  The first, and the one pictured, involves untying the ribbon and the cupcake wrapper folds out and you can see the copy.

The way I decided to do it in the long run, was a bit different.  

I made the wrapper permanent, and made the cupcake a separate piece that you slid out of the wrapper.  It looked the same as the final product (top pic), but Mark felt like it was a stretch to expect the casual recipient to understand they were supposed to untie the bow.  So I changed the design!

This was not a Cricut project.  I handcut each piece and then bordered it with the Stickles glitter glue.  

Also, just to let you know, you'll get much cuter bows/knots, if you tie your ribbon upside down.  Flip the whole thing over, tie your bow, and then you'll see what I mean.  I don't know why, but it just turns out better.

Cupcake Birthday #1

Cupcakes are so "in" right now.  Being a baker would be a helpful skill.  

I don't have it.

So I make my cupcakes out of paper!

Here's another shot without the flash - that reflective vellum is tricky with the camera.

Be My Valentine Birthday Invitation

My daughter's birthday is February 10th.  So, of course, one year her party fell on Valentines Day.  I thought about rescheduling - but then I just ran with it.  And I'm glad I did!

This one has some major Cricut action happening.  I used 3d foamy stickers to pop out the hearts from the background.  Because of the holiday paper selection, I was able to find plenty of cutie papers to choose from.  The base paper is actually a pre-made card in the invitation section of Archivers.  I bought the matching envelopes, too, in watermelon.  No cutting, perfect density, and matching envelopes.  Hello??  I'll take it!

Tangled Birthday Invitation

This one - totally - is my favorite.  It was last year, when Lizzie turned 5 and she wanted a Tangled party.  Thankfully, I had no trouble finding the bohemian style papers, crushed velvet ribbon in just-the-right brown.  Seriously, it's just perfect for her tower in the hidden meadow!  Oh my gosh one this was so fun!

The base cardstock is a plum, with another dark brown square as a double mat.  Then there are four different patterned papers.  One is actually gold vellum, one a tan paper with a cracked finish, and the other two are floral patterns that coordinate.  The harlequin pattern is actually a paper I already had.  It was so perfect for this project.

The flowers (there are 5, of course) were sort of a project.  First off, they come in white at the store.  Actually, a cream color.  Then I bought this spray glitter paint that comes in every color (I used sugar plum) and sprayed them until I got the color I wanted.  Some are darker, some lighter, some have full coverage with no white visible, and some are a bit less opaque.  They are paper flowers, but they act like fabric the way they soak in the spray.  I used a cardboard box and lined it with newspaper and sprayed away, then let them dry overnight.

Then I took this glitter glue, called Stickles, I think, and added glitter effects.  The flowers come already textured, so some I just rubbed the glitter on them, others I did the outline.  Then I stuck embellishments with my Dot adhesive into the center of each bloom.  I used rhinestones, sequins, etc.  Whatever struck my fancy!

I used the 3d foamy squares to pop out the copy, which I rubbed pink chalk on the border of for an extra softness.  It's such an easy technique and adds so much to pretty much everything.

Polka Dot Birthday

This one is actually very simple, and would be an easy one to start with, if you are so inclined.  I used various ribbons - some I had already - to make this little bouquet of color.  The dollar spot at target would be a super place to find cheap ribbon.  You don't need a ton, just get some variety.  There are solids, polka dot, grosgrain, and satin in my little group.  But anything would work.  Sometimes they sell spools of coordinated ribbons all together.  Jackpot.

So I started with my thick, brown cardstock - you want something sturdy for the base - and stuck on my two background papers.  I used Dots - they are little 'dots' of adhesive that stick to anything and come in various sizes for all your needs!  I grouped my ribbons together loosely and then stapled them together.  Not to the paper - that would obviously go all the way through.  Just staple the ribbons together.  Then I used my Dots to stick the group to the paper and covered the staple with my "2" circles.  If you don't have a cricut, you could buy a sticker to put here and cut the circle out yourself.  Totally doable.

Zane's Baby Shower

It was incredibly handy for my friend to name her son in such a way that his initials gave me a theme for his invitations.  Thanks Taylor!

Actually, this design was inspired by her very fresh and modern nursery.  She had black furniture and the bedding was grey and black and deep caramel yellow.  I found this paper under "wedding" at Archivers.  Basically anything muted is considered wedding - which is bizzarre in my opinion. You can't tell from the photo, but the paper is a thick vellum and has this perfect, textural shimmer.  Not traditional baby shower paper, let me tell you!

With my Cricut, I used Doodletype for the letters, and the In My Garden cartridge for the leaves.  That is the border style, so those three leaves are actually one piece.