Put a Cork in it

Hello Sweets, and happy Monday to you all! Hope your week is off to a great start! Today is our first day back to the old routine after a very lovely 11 days off for spring break. And so far, it’s definitely been difficult trying to get back into gear. I am missing those late nights and sleep ins already.

Today I have a fun project to share that I made for the Little Yellow Bicycle blog last week for our special Put a Cork in it feature showcasing the cork elements from the Naturals collection. I made my own little gift bag from scratch using the adorable new Fern & Forest Boy collection, and of course, lots of yummy cork, too.

I don’t always keep a stash of gift bags on hand, so in a pinch, I love being able to craft my own from my scrapbook supplies. It’s super easy to make a gift bag from any kraft or wrapping paper you may have on hand. Simply cut to size, fold and adhere the two sides first, then fold and secure the bottom flap last. I like to run the bottom of my bags through the sewing machine for extra strength and security.

The papers from the Fern & Forest Boy 6×6 Paper Pad were the perfect size for the front of my bag. I added several layers, along with some matching Chipboard Shapes, Naturals buttons, and trim for extra detail.

The Naturals cork elements blend perfectly with the rugged look of the kraft bag, and are so fun and easy to alter to fit your design. You can ink and paint the cork, like I did here, or even add stitching for a decorative touch. It’s anything goes with Naturals cork!

For a fun twist on a traditional gift wrap packaging, try adding a paper insert into the bag, instead of tissue paper. It works just as well, and is guaranteed to coordinate. And for a bit of final fun, I made matching party picks from leftover supplies to slip alongside the gift.

For more creative ideas using Naturals cork, be sure to visit the Little Yellow Bicycle blog. And if you haven’t seen yet, the winners from last week’s blog hop have been announced. You never know, it could be you!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

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LYB Products:
NA-CRH20 Naturals Cork Shapes – Zig-Zag Rounds
NA-CR20 Naturals Cork Stickers – Flags
NA-SP10 Naturals Stick Pins – Wood Buttons
FNB-604 Fern & Forest Boy 6X6 Paper Pack
FNB-579 Fern & Forest Boy Chipboard Shapes – with thermography
Border Punch: Fiskars
Ink: Clearsnap, SEI
Paint: Delta
Trim: Divine Twine, Craft Supply
Craft Paper: Wrapping Supply

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Birthday Boy

Hiya everyone! Happy, happy Friday to you! We made it! It was a bit touch and go, but we’ve managed to make it through our first week of school.  What a busy week it’s been, too. Not only have we been struggling to re-adjust back to a routine schedule, but this weekend is also a certain someone’s birthday. And since this someone is leaving this afternoon to go camping for the long holiday weekend, we celebrated the big day yesterday.

So I’m afraid I have nothing crafty to share with you today. I’ve been busy getting things ready, instead. I wanted everything to be just perfect.

And I think my birthday boy enjoyed his special day. He had fresh chocolate chip M&M cookies still warm from the oven waiting for him. And of course a few presents, too. I prowled through the used book stores to find him some of his most favorite books that he’s asked me to check out from the library over and over for years. Now he has his own library.

And I made him a special request dinner……….which must not say much for my cooking.

Sheepish grin……..

But the boy was happy. And mom was happy that her boy was happy. It was a good day.

I hope you all have a good day, too!

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Holiday Weekend

Hello everyone!  Happy Friday! Are you as excited as me, my friends, that the weekend has rolled around once more? And a long, holiday weekend, to boot! Do you have fun plans? Perhaps a last summer fling? A long weekend away?

We are still in birthday mode at our house. Pete is hoping to have his buddies over for a sleepover. ALL his buddies. That means I need to clear out the game room and stop by the grocery store to purchase every snack item and soda beverage  available. I sure hope they know I’m coming.

I want to thank all of you for your sweet birthday wishes yesterday. Your comments helped make the day even more special and the birthday boy truly thanks you. I do have a special message, however, that I am supposed to relay to Kathy… Keep out of Peter’s cookies.

The birthday boy got goodies galore. New games, new cool stuff for his room, some candy, and even a few bucks for the piggybank. He is one happy camper. And that’s all I could hope for.

Did you notice a few Halloween things hiding in the photos? A couple of items are starting to make their appearance here at the house, special request of the birthday boy. I’ll be sure to give you all a tour soon.  But in the mean time, I have one more photo to share with you today. It seems a lot of you were curious as to what the striped thing in Peter’s gift basket was yesterday. I loved hearing all your guesses, especially the one about the tricked out lobster. But as most of you correctly guessed….

It is, indeed, a stripey spider.

Thank YOU so much for stopping by! I hope that whatever you do this holiday weekend, you have a fabulous time. Can’t wait to hear all about it!

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Birthday Boy

I have to give a great, big birthday shout-out to my boy, Peter, today!  He is 14!

And he is very excited about it, too.  Not because of the age, mind you…..but just because a birthday might mean a couple of presents are lurking.   Nothing brightens up this child’s day more than a bit of bounty.  Here he is in all his birthday glory.

It’s a bit hard to tell from his expressions……..but I think he’s really into it.  And nothing more so than a little bit of this.

And this.

And this.

The boy scored today, that’s for sure!  And he’s pleased as punch about it, as you can see.  He now has many more months of online computer gaming ahead of him, which is just about the best thing on earth to this 14 year old. Happy Birthday, Pete!  Glad you had such a great day!

Thanks for stopping by!  I’ll have a scrappy share for you all tomorrow.

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Rock On

In looking outside today, one would never guess that in just a few short days, summer will be officially upon us.  What a miserable, cool, gloomy, and rainy day we’ve been having.  I know we need rain, but I’m more in the mood for sunshine and the beach than downpours and flash flooding. Oh well……at least my grass and plants must be happy!

Life is still busy these days as we wind down our last few weeks of school.  I’ve just returned from the school where Nik was participating in a “young author’s tea”, and now we are heading out for her first swim meet of the year.  I’ve also been having a few houseguests these past few days which keep me busy, too.  I don’t know why I ever agreed to take care of this little guy, because he is a tremendous amount of work.  Take a look.

This is Otis, my friend’s hermit crab.  And I am completely kidding about him being a lot of work.  I mean, the guy doesn’t DO anything.  Nothing.  Just look at him.

That is the extent of what he does!  Slooooooooooooooow down, Otis….you’re going to hurt yourself.

Also have this little dude visiting with us.  As you can see, he feels quite at home here.

It’s a hard life, isn’t it?

And before I run off to the swim meet, I have one quick scrappy share for today.  Did this page for a little friendly challenge over the weekend to use 3 or more photos, Thickers, something old and something new,  and a stamp.

I love these pictures of Peter rocking out on the paper mache guitar he made in art class at school this year.  The guitar cracks me up because it’s missing the bridge, the pickups, and even the strings….but that doesn’t stop my boy.

I used a bunch of old goodies on here, including papers from Basic Grey’s Granola line and music rub-ons from Reminisce.  My something new is the Basic Grey Marrakesh paper, which I realize isn’t all that new..but it’s new to me.   Used two different fonts of Thickers, and mixed them in with some mini ledger alphas from Making Memories.  My stamp is the journaling lines from a 7Gypsies stamp.  It looks at first glance that there are only two photos, but I did sneak a third one in by the title.  That guitar accent is actually a photograph that I cut out.

Better get going or we will be late!  Thanks for stopping by everyone!

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