the.amanda.sewell

Continuing my appreciate the teachers during the year rather than just at the end of the year quest (it is helping me to be in the now, for now is the only moment we ever have to truly live). . . for September, I decided to get the teachers hand sanitizer (apple scented) and give them an apple (not in the traditional sense of course, but I think that they will appreciate this apple more!)  Anything to keep the kid germies at bay . . . I googled and found this little poem (I used all but the last line because it sounded too end of the year-ish).  Simple little giftie, but I hope they realize how much they are appreciated!  A bright red shiny apple, a gift of thanks for all you do The seeds of learning taking root, sown with care by you Your daily smiles and guiding hand, Your encouragement and praise Shape our hearts and minds and light so many ways. Insistence in hard work in school and belief in our best, Sets the course for future goals and a life...

If you are as addicted to Papertrey Ink as I am, then no doubt somewhere along the line, you have picked up a bag, or two, or three . . . or five of the vintage buttons they sell. Well fear not my papercrafting friend, here is an awesome idea to use some of them up so you don't have quite as large a stash . . . thank you to Martha Stewart for this idea: Button Ornaments and Button Wreath Ornament While making mine . . . I discovered a couple things that worked well -- especially on the santa and snowman. I folded the pipe cleaner in half and then threaded it through two holes -- this seemed to make it more even looking. I think it worked okay with just one strand on the wreath due to the unbalanced nature of it. A wreath doesn't often look perfectly circular. These were really easy, if you have kids, they could totally make them with you. They reminded me of the bead candy canes that I am sure you have seen made before. It was fun too! And here are some pictures of my finished ...

Need something really quick to make for someone who is dropping by, or maybe for a class party? These " tiny treat baskets " are SO quick and easy and just perfect! Seriously, they are addictive to make! The tutorial over on Splitcoast makes it easy! The only problem I encountered is that York Peppermint patties now do not come wrapped in foils like they used to, they are wrapped in a more chocolate bar like wrapper, so they are not as cute. The Palmers ones are okay still though, although a little smaller . . . The other fun discovery I made -- remember how I busted my "C" plate for my cuttlebug so long long ago . . . well I used the pieces of it and made do with that -- and then a couple weeks ago I cracked one of those (so now they are not useable) . . . well, I discovered that you can use the "A" plate, a cuttlebug embossing folder and then your die and paper between two "B" plates and it cuts and embosses the edge a bit. Just like my "...

I cannot believe how fast this month has zoomed by! Seriously time is flying this year. EEK! I had fun playing with my Vintage Picnic set again. I know, I know . . . but there are just so many fantastic stamps in it, good for so many purposes, I just had to. I also used my awesome Cosmo Cricket - Early Bird crafting kit ( available by clicking here to go to Embellish-Online ). Check back in with me tomorrow for my final project this month for Embellish-Online. Stamps : Vintage Picnic (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket), Retro Mod Squad -{red} (Core'dinations), chocolate chip (SU!), old olive (SU!), solar white classic crest (Neenah) Ink : Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko), Creamy Caramel Classic (SU!) Accessories : Chocolate CandyDots (Pebbles Inc.), Chesnut Mini brads (American Crafts Elements), Tangerine Mini brads (Doodlebug Design Inc.), 1" Bloom White Paper Flowers (Bazzill Basics Paper), Assorted paper flowers (Prima Marketing) Copic ciao markers (Imaginati...

THE CHALLENGE: August is the month that Papertrey celebrates all things autumn! What better way to get inspired for the upcoming season change than each other! Our challenge to you is to create a project inspired by any aspect of fall. How about texture like fabrics, burlap, courduroy or stitching. Then there is color with hues found in autumn leaves, fall berries and other late season delectables. Patterns or motifs such as leaves, pumpkins, wheat and more. Try to use these attributes in fun and interesting ways that may be a little out of your normal comfort zone. We look forward to seeing what you come up with! I have been a closet Papertrey Ink junkie for a long time . . . but I decided that this month I would take my purchases and put them to use for my first ever blog hop with Papertrey. Stamps : Vintage Picnic (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Retro Mod Squad - Vintage Collection (Core'dinations), Sugared (Basic Grey), Recess (Basic Grey), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah) Ink : Onyx...

I am not a HUGE tea drinker, but from time to time, I really need a cup of tea. It calms the soul. It settles my tummy sometimes while I am pregnant. I came up with the idea to make a tea box, and at first I was thinking larger scale, like to hold a lot of tea, but then I came across this metal gift card tin from Lowes in my alterables stash, and I thought it looked about the right size to hold tea bags, so I tried it and it worked, fit perfectly, and this project was born. I was thinking you could keep this in your purse and always have tea at the ready for those *stressful* moments when you need it! I used some more of my Basic Grey Lemonade papers and jounaling cards with transperancies(Basic Grey), which you can purchase over at Embellish-Online. The ribbon I found which just happened to match perfectly, was from Basic Grey Lily Kate collection, which apparently has some similar colors. Stamps : Tea For Two (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Lemonade (Basic Grey) Ink : Onyx Black versafine (T...

I am absolutely in LOVE with this Basic Grey lemonade paper that you can pick up at Embellish-Online . I love that yesterday's card and the one I have for you today look SO different but came from the exact same paper pad. HELLO -- can we say versatile???? Awesome!!! Sketch is Mojo Monday 98 (Mojo98) Stamps : Pink Passion, Bashful Blue, Solar White (Neenah), Basic Grey - Lemonade Ink : Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Versafine (Onyx Black) Accessories: Large Pink Fabric Brads (The Paper Studio - Hobby Lobby), white button brads (Making Memories), sewing machine, white thread, white rick rack

I know some of you may have read this on the sidebar, but I am the guest designer this month over at Embellish-Online . I am so excited for this opportunity! I thought I would share a project with you today that I made just for them. This project and I are featured on the Embellish Online blog today ! Go check out my funny interview! Layout is WSC92. Stamps : True Friends (F1189 - Stampabilities), With Sympathy - Loss of a Child (Papertrey Ink) Paper : Creamy Caramel (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah), Lemonade (Basic Grey) - available at Embellish-Online Ink : Creamy Caramel Classic Ink (SU!), Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko) Accessories : Labels 2 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Candy Dots (Pebbles Inc.), sponge, sewing machine (Singer), white thread (Sulky), brown stitched ribbon (The Paper Studio) Be sure to check back tomorrow for another fun project I have designed exclusively for Embellish-Online!

Okay, so my real excuse for making this card was because I saw this most adorable apple paper by Carolee's Creations (Adornit) at the "Paper Vineyard" (which I just found the location of and plan to shop at more often). I could not resist, even though I had NO idea what I would use it for. Anyway, I bought it, and then I was coloring in my apples in a basket (part of a new Papertrey Ink set I bought called "Vintage Picnic") and noticed how well they would go together. So really, this card was a no brainer, throw together card! I can't believe the summer is almost over. My kids head back to school August 10th. That seems SO early to me. I remember being free on summer vacation till the first week of September. Oh well, I am sure I will use this at some point this fall. This was such an easy sketch to work with, so if you haven't played with it yet, head on over to Julie's MOJO MONDAY blog and play. Happy Stamping! Stamps : Vintage Picnic (Papertrey In...