Tape-a-licious!

As soon as I spied this faux bois tape by A Muse I knew I had to have it to make my Dad a Father’s Day card. And I gotta tell ya, I giggled the whole time I made it!

I think tape makes the perfect embellishment for “guy” cards — it’s not too frou-frou like ribbon — and just forget flowers for my Dad, ha!  And it adds that “little something” so that the card can be simple, yet no way it’s boring.

Supplies: notecard and envelope from Paper Source, deer stamp (love!) and woodgrain tape from A Muse, celadon washi tape by MT, another typewriter font (that name cracks me!) and bark ink by Tsukineko (thought that was fitting).

And the tape that I added to the photo? That’s a free download from Katrina over at Pugly Pixel. I just discovered her blog a few days ago, and I am totally smitten. So much good stuff!

Do you have any tips for making cards for guys?  I’d love to hear!

AND!  One more thing before I go!

My friend Piper over at One Sydney Road is hosting an alphabet walk blog hop — check it out and join the fun!

Inspired by Marisa from Creative Thursday!

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday, not Thursday.  But, I think any day is a great day to be inspired by Marisa from Creative Thursday! Have you seen her work?  It is so happy and fun — it always makes me smile. I want to own every single piece in her shop. Since that would mean there would be no room left for me in the house, I guess I will have to settle for Sunday the owl, photo opp. 4, and sheep counting sheep – hee hee.

So, last night it looked like it was about to rain any minute — the prefect time to break out my Partly Cloudy set from Lawn Fawn and make a card for J inspired by this print by Marisa!

And boy did it rain.  And rain.  And thunder and lightening and RAIN!

In fact, it’s still raining right now.

But as it says on the inside of the card — “we will weather the storm together”. Love you J!

Supplies and tips: The clouds and raindrops are in the Partly Cloudy set by Lawn Fawn — so fun!  Can’t wait to play with them more.  I colored them with markers and then misted them with shimmer spritz — both by Tsukineko.    I made everything extra super wet so that it would look like rain!  It has a really subtle shimmer that’s hard to see on a cloudy day. The ticket is one that I saved from when we went to the Zilker Kite Festival. Graph Paper Background stamp and blue notecard are both by Hero Arts. And the white die cut is by Spellbinders.  Japanese masking tape (also in graph paper!) by tinted mint. I sponged the edges of the card with London Fog and Summer Sky ink by Tsukineko using one of their daubers — they rock!

I love how rainy days make me feel all happy, and cozy, and nice and dry in the house.  Days for curling up and reading a book or crocheting.  But I love hiking in the rain too — everything smells so fresh and alive!  Do you like rainy days?  What are your favorite things to do?

washi tape discovery!

I made a new discovery today: washi tape – aka Japanese masking tape – makes great bows!  Just fold it in half so that the sticky sides are together, then tie away.  Yay!

You already know about this?  Why didn’t you tell me?  :)

A few more things — I love how washi tape is translucent — check out how the stem shows through it on the tag with the single flower.

AND!  I love these sweet stamps from Mostly Hearts. They are so fun to color with markers,  mist with a shimmer spray, and stamp.  Finishing it all off is as simple as adding a pearl or gemstone to the flower center.  And I must mention that Krystn, the owner of Mostly Hearts, is super special.  I think she is sweeter than her stamps!

(Supplies: Pearls and gemstones by Hero Arts.  Fabriano notecards.  Tags are from my stash.  Japanese masking tape from tinted mint — I got mine when they were at the Austin Renegade Craft Fair. But now I must get more.  All stamps by Mostly Hearts — love that typewriter font.  Shimmer mist and markers from Tsukineko.)

Hope your day is full of fun discoveries,

Bird-day Bunting

There’s a big bunting craze going on all around blog-land, and I’ve been trying to find the time to sew some out of fabric — I think it would be super cute hanging from a shelf above my computer here in the office.  Then it hit me: why not use Japanese masking tape and make some for a card?

Just fold a piece of tape over some twine, stick the two sides together and trim into a triangle.  Instant bunting gratification!  I think it would be cute to make flags for cupcake toppers, too — wrap the tape around a toothpick!

(Supplies: Japanese masking tape, bird and message by A Muse, twine saved from a shipping tag. Fabriano notecard.)

Want more Japanese masking tape inspiration?  Check out this and this.  More bunting goodness?  Check out this and this and this!

Have a tweet day,

Sometimes…

I’m not normally a fan of “red tape”, ha! But sometimes, just sometimes…

Hee hee.

It can be especially good when you get to go for a little bike ride for the first time in over three months after you’ve had ankle surgery, and you are wearing a jersey that someone designed that even has your name on it in Kanji.

Add in the birds singing, the sun shining, trees budding and stamping a quick card to thank said friend, and that makes for one happy day.

(Supplies: Bicycle and thank you stamps by Hero Arts, the chop has my maiden name on it — a friend had it carved for me in Hong Kong, Fabriano notecards, Fuji Instax camera, Japanese masking tape.  And oh yes, I did wear a helmet while I rode.)

Wishing you a day full of sweet, simple joys,