Happy Birthday Lisa

Hello and Welcome!

Today we are having a fun blog hop for our friend Lisa, who happens to be celebrating a birthday today!
Our little Pacific Northwest Crafty group likes to make the birthday girl feel special by making cards, hosting a hop and inviting others to hop along.

Here is the card I made for Lisa:

I used the Concord and 9th Hello Lovely stamp set and watercolored it with Distress Markers.  So easy and with this beautiful image you really can't go wrong with however you decide to color it.  I added a sentiment from Altenew Label Love and some striped washi tape on the side.  I think this floral spray is so pretty - just like the birthday girl.  Lisa - I hope you have a wonderful day filled with all of your favorite things!  Have an extra slice of cake for me - okay?

Here is the rest of the group - be sure to hop along to see what other beautiful cards are in store for Lisa. Then stop by her blog and wish her a happy day!

Amy
Laura   <<You are here
Kimberly
Toni <<Hop hostess
Tonya
Kate
Lisa  <<Birthday Girl

Thanks for coming by today!
Laura

Happy Birthday Tonya

Hello, Hello!
Today I am part of a fun blog hop to help celebrate Tonya's Birthday!  Tonya is part of the Pacific Northwest Crafty group, where we get together about once a month to craft, talk, eat, laugh, and have a great time.  Tonya is so much fun to have at these get togethers, as she is often the one who has us laughing the most.  She is quite funny, and is never shy about speaking her mind.  

Here is the card I made for her to celebrate her special day!

I stamped the feathers in HA Bold ink - Summer Sky and the pretty flower in HA Bold ink - Dandelion and added some diamond stickles to the center of the flowers.  I added the sentiment right over the top of the feathers and embossed it with liquid platinum embossing powder.

Here is the blog hop order - be sure to hop along to see what everyone else came up with and stop by Tonya's blog to wish her a happy day.

Amy

Laura    <<you are here

Kimberly

Toni

Tonya  << birthday girl

Happy Birthday my friend, I hope your day is as wonderful as you are!

Amy's Birthday Blog Hop

Hello!

Today we are having a birthday blog hop for the wonderful Amy Tsuruta.  Amy is one of our Pacific Northwest Crafty group members, so what better way to celebrate than with a blog hop!

I am the hostess for Miss Amy's blog hop, so I decided to challenge the other gals to come up with a card that incorporated some of Amy's all time favorite things.  I'm sure you can guess what at least one of those things is...right?  

Did you say coffee?  ✔Check
Did you say the color green?  ✔Check
Did you say the Pacific Northwest?  ✔Check

My card includes a little bit of all three of these things that Amy loves, so I am hoping that she loves this card:

My card includes coffee in the form of the ribbon across the bottom.  This ribbon was actually a gift from a PNW Crafty group member!  The card also includes the color green in the Washington State die cut.  And my card includes the Pacific Northwest in the form of rain and the the little sparkly heart over the city of Seattle right here in the great state of Washington!

And I know that Amy is wishing for it to rain again here in Seattle, since we have been in the middle of a heat wave for a while now.  Let's hope this cute rainy card will do the trick and bring the cool weather back!

Here is the rest of the hop - I can't wait to see what the other girls have come up with that is green, coffee related and Seattle-y!  Be sure to stop over at Amy's blog too and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Amy <<<Birthday Girl

Laura  <<<Hop Hostess - you are here!

Kimberly

Toni

Tonya

Lisa

Kate 

Amy - I hope you have a wonderful Birthday and get lots of cake, ice cream and presents! Thanks for being such a good friend, walking buddy, and all around wonderful person!  I'm glad you are in my life!

Happy Birthday Toni

Happy Birthday Toni

Today we are celebrating Toni's Birthday with a fun blog hop!  Kate was the hostess of the blog hop this time and she put together a fun mood board for us to take inspiration from.  

Isn't that great inspiration?  All the red-white-and blue is perfect for a July Birthday!!  I loved the image with the aqua walls and the pop of red on the chair.  With that in mind, I made this card for Toni:

The cutie-patootie girl is floating on a donut floatie with red and blue sprinkles and she is wearing her favorite 4th of July bikini. I used the aqua inspiration for the water and the card base. I actually got this cute girl from Toni. At our last crafty get together at her house, she had stamped and cut out quite a few of these girls for us to take home if we wanted. Of course I brought one home - and turned it into a card for her! And my daughter fell in love with it, so sweet Toni is making me some more so we can use it on my daughter's birthday party invites!

Here is the hop list - be sure to stop by and see what everyone else has created for Toni. I can't wait to see what they have all come up with!

Amy Laura  <<<you are here Kimberly Toni  <<<birthday girl Tonya Lisa Kate  <<<hop hostess

Happy Birthday to you Toni!!  I hope you have a wonderful day and get spoiled rotten.  I'm so glad that we are friends. ❤

Happy Birthday Kimberly

Hello!!
It's time to celebrate another birthday in the PNW Crafter's group.  This time we get to help Kimberly celebrate her special day.  You should have arrived here from Amy's blog.

I love Kimberly's ability to color - whether it be an image or a background.  She just has a way of bringing the most out of each color.  She can make colors pop and be so bold.  In deciding on a card to make for her birthday, I decided to CASE one of hers.

Here is her card:

See what I mean about the coloring???

I loved her floral image with a black sentiment and matted with a colored card base.  I'm sure my card doesn't do hers justice - but I hope she likes it anyway!  I have been loving this Concord & 9th Hello Lovely stamp set lately.  I guess because it is so pretty no matter how you color it!!

Next on the hop is the birthday girl herself.  Be sure to stop over there and wish her a happy day!  Then keep hopping- I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with for Miss Kimberly!

Amy
Laura <<you are here
Kimberly  <<Birthday Girl
Toni 
Tonya
Lisa
Kate

I hope you have a wonderful birthday Kimberly!!  Thanks for always bringing such fun make-n-takes to our crafty get-togethers!!  You are the best!

Laura

Happy Birthday Kate!

Hello friends!  

Today we are having a birthday blog hop to celebrate the sweet and talented Kate!  You may know Kate from her blog pinned & penned, where she shares her beautiful creations.

Kate has an ability to layer many different elements on a card and have it turn out stunning!  I am much more of a clean and simple girl, so I am always amazed by her talent.  To honor Kate, I tried to create a layered card - but alas! it wasn't as layered as I had originally planned!  This was the best I could do:

My card features the Hero Arts Make a Wish stamp set colored with copics and layered onto some Basic Grey patterned paper.  The celebrate die cut is Paper Smooches.

I know it isn't quite up to Kate layering standards, but I hope she likes it anyway.  Happy Happy Day to you my friend!  I hope you have a fantastical, wonderful, present filled day!

Here are the rest of the participants in today's hop:  Be sure to stop by each of their blogs to see what they made for Kate and then head over and give the birthday girl some good wishes!

Katie

Amy

Kimberly

Laura <<<<you are here

Lenae

Lisa 

Toni-

Tonya

Vicki 

Birthday Girl Kate- 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Laura

Happy Birthday Lisa

Hello All,

Today I am participating in a blog hop to help celebrate Lisa Lara's Birthday!  Lisa is a member of our Pacific Northwest Crafty friends, and we try to get together once a month or so to craft, chat, eat, laugh and have fun!  It is always a pleasure when Lisa can make it!  She is such an awesome colorist, and I hope that by sitting next to her some of that magical power will work its way over to me!  I haven't noticed it yet, but I'll keep trying and let you know how it goes!!

Here is the card I made for Lisa

I used one of my favorite Essentials by Ellen die sets - Wild Garden.  Seriously I love this set and always pull it out when I can't think of anything else.  It never disappoints!  I cut the roses out of some gold foil paper for a little glam, after all a December birthday deserves a little glam don't you think?  I like that one is filled in and one is open.  I mounted them on some woodgrain paper and stamped a sentiment from another Essentials by Ellen set - Bold Blooms.  (SHHH - Don't tell, but it is hard to get a good impression on woodgrain paper, so I filled in the gaps with a black pen!)  

I hope Lisa has a wonderful day filled with friends, family, cake, icecream and presents! Here are the rest of the participants- hop along and see what everyone else created for the birthday girl.

Amy
Toni
Vicki
Kimberly
Tonya
Katie
Laura  <<<You are here
Kate
Lenae
Lisa   <<<Birthday girl

Thanks for stopping by today!
Laura

Happy Birthday Lenae!!

It's time for another Birthday Blog Hop!  

This time we are celebrating the super sweet Lenae's birthday.  You may know Lenae from her blog SugarGems.  She is crafty, fun, talented, generous and sweet!  I'm glad that I have gotten to know her through our crafty get-togethers with the PNW crafty group.

Here is the card that I made for her:

I used the adorable bear from the Essentials by Ellen All Inside set along with some of the accessories from the Bear Wear set.  He is all ready for the party, complete with balloon, cupcake and a pile of presents!  What could be better??

Happy Birthday Lenae! I hope you have a wonderful cake filled day!
Now hop along to see what everyone else created for the birthday girl, and be sure to stop by her blog to send along your own good wishes.

AMY

KATE

KATIE

KIMBERLY

LAURA  <<You are here

LISA

TONI
TONYA
VICKI
LENAE  <<Birthday Girl

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday Tonya

Hello!

Today we are celebrating a birthday!  Tonya of The Heart Desires is turning another year younger and we are having a fun blog hop to help her celebrate!

I created this card for her:

I used the new Essentials by Ellen Stay Salty stamp set to create my CAS nautical card.  I know that Tonya loves all things nautical. She also has a great sense of humor, so she will appreciate the punny sentiment!  Not to mention that Tonya has been know to let a *@!# word or two slip out of her mouth, so I hope she finds the sentiment extra funny!!

I hope you have a super happy birthday Tonya!  Thanks for bringing a lot of laughs to our crafty get togethers.

Here is the complete list of participants, be sure to hop along to see what everyone else has made and then stop by her blog to wish her a happy day!


Laura  <-- you are here
Toni
Kimberly
Lisa
Katie
Kate
Amy
Lenae
Tonya  <-- birthday girl

Miss you Pig Time

Hello my crafty friends,

Today I have a cute card made for a friend I haven't seen in awhile.  I hope it brings a smile to her face when she opens her mail!

I used the adorable MFT Hog Heaven set and my copics to create this card.  The fence was stamped directly onto the white panel, and then I fussy cut the pig and the sweet little flower.  The pink polka dot paper was the perfect background.

I am entering this into the Live Love Cards challenge for September where the theme is cute critters.  Even though you can't see this little piggies face, he is still pretty cute!!

Thanks for stopping by today!
-Laura

Birthday Trip for Amy!

Hello, and welcome to the final destination on Amy's Birthday blog hop!  WOW!  What a whirlwind trip she has had!  You should have arrived here from Friday Harbor where Amy was spending some time with Kimberly.  If you would like to go along on the entire birthday adventure, then head to Kate's blog for the first leg of the journey in New York. 

For her final stop, Amy is headed back home to Seattle!  In fact, the entire city came out to wish her a Happy Birthday!  They hung a special banner across the skyline to help her celebrate!

For my card, I tried to include things that Amy likes best:

• Coffee
• The color green
• The Seattle skyline

I hope you have enjoyed this wonderful birthday adventure Amy!  Thanks for being a great friend, always so supportive and encouraging!  You're the best!!

I was the last stop on the birthday journey, so now head on over to Amy's blog and let her know how much fun you had going on this trip with her!!

-Laura

CASology - Chevron

Hello there!
I am here with a last minute entry to the current CASology challenge where the cue word is:

Here is my card:

I used the Reverse Confetti quick card panels with a fun chevron pattern as the backdrop for my cute little birds.  I think I got the bird at the Michael's dollar bin!!  But I only had one bird, so I used Jennifer McGuire's mirror stamping trick to make one facing the other way.  I then colored them with copics and adhered them to the card with foam tape.  The card base is SU Old Olive.

Thanks for stopping by - it was great to play along with CASology again!  It's been too long!

-Laura

Happy Birthday Toni!

Hello!

It's Birthday Blog Hop time!  Toni is celebrating her special day today, so we are having a blog hop in her honor!  You may know Toni from her blog Frankie Helps Craft.  I feel lucky to know Toni IRL.  This girl is such a crack up!!  She is always so funny and makes our crafty get togethers so much fun!!  Thanks for bringing so much laughter into our lives Toni!!

Toni loves bright bold colors so I made this card just for her:

I used my Gansai Tambi watercolors to create this bold background, letting the red and yellow blend together in the middle to create a nice orange color.  The sentiment is from a older HA set.  I completely CASed this card from Darlene of Live Love Cards.  She was doing a series on Quick and Easy cards, and this one was so great, I had to try it for myself. She was right, it was quick and easy, but still packs a punch!!

Here is the hop list - stop by everyone's blog to see what they created for Toni, then be sure to stop by Toni's blog to wish her a Happy Birthday too!

Kate

Amy

Vicki

Kimberly

Tonya

Lisa

Katie

Laura  <<<you are here

Lenae

Toni    <<<birthday girl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Toni!!  I hope you have an amazing day!

-Laura

Sea you soon!

Hello my friends,

I'm excited to be featured as guest designer over at The Heart Desires blog again!

They are wrapping up Nautical month over on the blog, so I am featuring some fun nautical papers from the store.  Here is the card I made for my guestie spot:  

Be sure to head over to The Heart Desires Blog to find out all the details of my Mermaid card.  Thanks again to the Design Team for letting me join them this month!  I had lots of fun playing with those great nautical papers!

-Laura

Happy Birthday Katie!

Hi Everyone!

It's time for another Birthday Blog Hop!  Today is Katie Brooks' birthday, so the gals from our Pacific Northwest crafty group are getting together to help her celebrate.  Katie is so much fun when we get together to craft, always bringing a smile and her cheerful attitude!  I'm glad you are part of our group Katie!!

Here is the card I made for her:

This card is from a SU kit that I have had for a while, and am just getting around to using. There are so many pieces in this kit - it was hard to decide which to use!  I chose the card base with the gold diagonal stripes and added some HA ink to the middle of the fun swirl, which is a die cut piece.  The sentiment is Altenew's label love.  The twine and the gold stars (which are part of the kit) add a nice finishing touch and help tie it all together.

Hop along to see what everyone else made to help brighten Katie's day.  Then stop by the birthday girl's blog to wish her a happy day too!

Kate
Amy
Toni
Vicki
Kimberly
Tonya
Lisa
Laura  <<<You are here
Lenae
Katie   <<<Birthday Girl


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Katie, I hope your day is filled with friends, family, presents, cake and lots of love!

-Laura

Anchor's Away

Hello Friends!

Today I am guesting over on The Heart Desires blog. They are having a Nautical themed month, so I am highlighting some of the great 6 X 6 paper pads they carry in the store.

Be sure to check out my full post over at The Heart Desires to find out all the details about my card.  I'll be back again later this month for another guest spot and a HUGE thank you to the awesome DT over there letting me have some fun with them too!

-Laura

Happy Birthday Vicki!!

Today we are having a blog hop to help celebrate Vicki's Birthday.  Vicki is a member of our crafty group that gets together once a month or so at Amy's house. You might know here from her great blog All I do is Stamp  Isn't her card above a beauty?  Vicki loves flowers, so I made her a card with flowers, albeit a much more CAS card than hers. 

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love, laughter and lots of cake!!

I am the last stop on the hop, but here are the rest of the hop participants in case you missed any along the way.  Be sure to head to Vicki's blog to wish her a Happy Happy Day!!

Lisa

Amy

Toni

Kimberly

Tonya

Katie

Kate

Laura     <<<<You are here

Vicki

Happy Birthday Kimberly!

It's a Birthday Blog Hop!!   

Today is Kimberly's Birthday!!  Our group of PNW crafters is having a blog hop to help celebrate. You should have arrived here from Kate's blog.  If you want to start at the beginning, head over to Toni's blog to see the complete list of participants.


Kimberly is so sweet, nice, creative, generous, talented, humble, encouraging...the list goes on. And I am happy to call her my friend!  I hope you have a wonderful day filled with special surprises and lots of cake!!

Just last week, it was my birthday and this same group of friends gave me a blog hop.  In that hop, Kimberly had made an adorable card for me.  The pictures on her blog of that card completely inspired the card I made for her!  I hope she likes it:

I used the Lawn Fawn flirty frames stamp set and some masking to add cute critters peeking out to wish her a happy birthday!  Most of the critters are Lawn Fawn, but the bear is Ellen Hutson.

Here is the complete list of participants in case you missed any along the way:

Amy  

Lenae   

Vicki  

Katie

Toni  

Tonya   

BIRTHDAY GIRL: Kimberly  

Lisa  

Kate  

Laura <-----you are here

I'm the last stop on the hop, but be sure to hop along and wish Kimberly a Happy Birthday on the way!

Hope your day is extra special!
Laura

Washington DC Trip

Hello!
Our family just returned from a wonderful vacation in our nation's capital, Washington DC.  Being from Washington State, we kept having to refer to the 'other' Washington!

There is so much to see and do in this wonderful city, and I'm sure we only scratched the surface, but it was fantastic.  Here are a few pictures from our trip:

We were lucky enough to have a tour guide, my sister in law lives in Maryland, right outside of DC, so she was kind enough to show us around (And lend us some Metro Passes!)

Here are the kids with their Aunt Eileen in front of the Smithsonian Castle

We missed the majority of the cherry blossoms, but the tulips were beautiful all over town

It is hard to describe the emotions and feelings you get from standing in front of the War Memorials.  Such a sacrifice these men and women gave for all of us to enjoy the lifestyle we have. 

Natalie at the WWII memorial

The Washington Monument and reflecting pool as seen from the Lincoln Memorial

Jack in front of the Lincoln Memorial

Jack in the Museum of Natural History in the ocean exhibit.

Natalie and her cousin Marcela checking out the dinosaurs

The main reading room of the Library of Congress

My family at the Capital Building.  

We saw many more things, but I don't want to bore you too much!!  If you ever get the opportunity to visit DC, I highly recommend it.   It will reinforce your pride in being an American, even with all the crazy politics!
Thanks for stopping in!
Laura

Kate's Birthday Blog Hop

Hello!
Today we are having a blog hop for Kate who is celebrating her birthday!  Kate is an amazing woman!  She is a teacher and you know how special you have to be to excel at that profession!!  She is sweet, thoughtful, fun, and you can find her at her great blog: Pinnedandpenned.  Stop by and wish her a happy birthday! 

I made my card with the Essentials by Ellen Bohemian Garden stamp set and some fun washi tape.  The sentiment was stamped with Delicata gold ink - it is so pretty in real life! No need to emboss :)

Hop along to all the others in our crafty group to see what they came up with for Kate!  

Toni

Lenae

Lisa

Katie

Amy

Kimberly

Laura  <<---you are here

Novell

I hope your birthday is as special as you are Kate!  I'm glad to call you my friend!