Target Gift Card, Anyone?

My best friend, Hadar in the real world, Miss Kindergarten in the blog world, is hosting a giveaway! YAY! Follow the link below to check it out.

Target Treasures Gift Card Giveaway

1st Birthdays

Today is my second cousin's 1st birthday. Happy 1st Birthday, Langdon! Langdon lives in North Carolina and has three older siblings. The four of them are cute as can be. My cousin is the oldest and the only one married with kids. That just means that the rest of the family oohs and aahs at his kids until they're cranky or dirty and then we hand them back. Below is his bright balloon card.

To Make: Balloons were cut using Celebrations Cricut cartridge. Stampin Up colors - Bashful Blue (patterned paper), Pumpkin Pie (cardstock and ribbon), Wild Wasabi (cardstock).

Happy Crafting!

Water Bottle Labels

In case you haven't noticed, I make water bottle labels for all the parties I plan. They are super easy and really add some customization (word?) to the party. Below are the pink and black, polka-dot and stripe labels I made for my first client... Yes. You read that right. A client! Remember Erit's Graduation Party? Well her boss was at the party and apparently loved the water bottle labels so she asked that I make some for her upcoming party. I even made super cute invoices!

What do you think? Etsy Shop? I could sell personalized invitations and water bottle labels. They would coordinate, of course. See some of my other water bottle labels here. Happy crafting all!

More Time Means More Awash with Flowers

I think my favorite part of summer is the fact that I have time. Time to bake. Time to cook. Time to craft. Time to exercise. Time to visit with friends. Not only do I have time to do whatever I want, but I also have time to do things HOW I want. For example, I now have enough time to not only make cards, but make individual cards designed for individual people. Get out! In the past, I would count up the number of birthday cards I needed for two or three months, design one, and power out that many. Now I can make one per person. Isn't time grand? (I think the phrase is "isn't love grand", but I'm gonna go with "time" today.) So today is my Aunt Judy's birthday. Happy Birthday, Aunt Judy!

By the way, I have two Aunt Judys. (And two Uncle Toms, but that's another story.) Aunt Judy Deslatte lives in Colorado (dad's side) and Aunt Judy Bailey lives in North Carolina (mom's side). I grew up calling my Aunt Judy Bailey, "Auntie Poodie." No idea where it came from. But today is Aunt Judy Deslatte's birthday. And she is actually married to one of my Uncle Toms... Just to confuse you all. Happy crafting!

And The Winner Is...

Congrats, Katie! Email me at ms.ashleydeslatte@yahoo.com with your card choices and mailing address! And thanks to all those who spread the word in support! Happy crafting!

Giveaway Ends Today!

It's your last chance to enter my giveaway! I'm celebrating my 100th blog post with a giveaway! What am I going to giveaway? You guessed it... CARDS!

GIVEAWAY: Set of 10 Custom Handmade Cards

TO ENTER:

• Become a follower on my blog and leave me a comment.
• Already a follower? Great! Just leave me a comment. Tell me either what post got you to follow me or what your favorite post is so far.
• Bonus entry! If you're a blogger yourself, you can get an extra entry by posting about my giveaway on your blog and leaving me a separate comment with the link.

GIVEAWAY RULES: It's pretty simple, any follower living in the contiguous United States who leaves a comment is eligible to win. Exclusions: You can't be my family because you already get cards every Christmas.

A winner will be chosen at random from the comments added to MY PREVIOUS POST and that winner will be able to choose what type(s) of cards he/she would like. Sets might include all of the same card or an assortment of different cards. An assortment might include BIRTHDAY, BLANK, GET WELL, HOLIDAY, ROMANCE, SYMPATHY, THANK YOU, or a MIX! The winner will get to customize his/her set.

GIVEAWAY ENDS TODAY AT 7:11 PM (PST)!

Napkin Rose Tutorial

I was making dinner for Daniel and I when I decided to fold our napkins into roses. Napkin folding can be super complicated, but it can also be super easy. This rose is definitely an easy one. You'll find a photo tutorial below.

I garnished our rose napkins with fresh basil from the garden. Below is an additional picture of our rose napkins in action!

By the way, I steamed our entire meal in Daniel's rice cooker. Get out! I did! And now I only have one dish to wash (well that's not entirely true, but you get the idea). Happy cooking and happy crafting!

Again, don't forget about my GIVEAWAY!

Moffatt Girls Giveaway

Moffatt Girls is a super cute blog I just found. Annie was an elementary school teacher, but now stays home with her two darling girls. She's celebrating 500 followers with a giveway. What's the prize?

 CHECK IT OUT!

A Little Yummy

I felt like making a little yummy today...The leftover slices of triple chocolate cheesecake are going to Hadar today, so I decided to decorate the baggie for her. Below is the product.

To Make: Fold patterned paper in half over the top of a Ziploc bag, covering the zippy part, and decorate. I used my yummy stamp from my Yummy stamp set from Stampin Up and some ribbon.

Don't Forget: My GIVEAWAY ends Thurs, July 7th @ 7:11pm!

Awash with Flowers

YAY for new stamps! And by new stamps, I mean stamps I've had since February and just haven't had a chance to use yet. Daniel's mom, Jan, gave me the Awash with Flowers stamp set from Stampin' Up! for my birthday. Thanks again, Jan! I'm sort of obsessed now. Below is the first card I made with my new stamp set. It's my Aunt Dot's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Aunt Dot! She lives in Alaska and I've literally only seen her twice in my life, but she taught me how to french braid my own hair when I was about 8-years-old. And she gives a lot of hugs.

Lately I've been including a separate sheet of cardstock inside my cards so that the recipient can recycle the card and give it to someone else. It's like a card within a card... Well, not really. A gift that keeps on giving? Sure! That works! Happy crafting!

Classroom Management Linky Party

I'm joining the Classroom Management Linky Party with Miss Kindergarten! So one of my strenghts and weaknesses in teaching is definitely classroom management. I am oober consistent, but am also ridiculously strict sometimes... meaning I don't tolerate much. This can be good and bad. My students know they won't get away with ANYTHING. They know they won't be warned repeatedly. And they know exactly what the consequences are when my expectations aren't met. I've overheard students telling others about me saying, "she's fun, but she's REALLY strict." YES! That's exactly what I want to be!

Classroom Management Strategy: My favorite strategy from teaching kindergarten was "Freeze 1, 2, 3." While students were working, whether independently or in groups, and I needed their attention, I would say "Freeze 1, 2, and 3." This meant...

Freeze 1 - hands on your head
Freeze 2 - hands on your shoulders
Freeze 3 - hands in your lap

The idea behind it? When you ask for students' attention, the majority of students (in Irvine, mind you) will give it to you, no problem. But there are always a few stragglers. By asking students to give some sort of response when you ask for their attention, you end up with EVERYONE'S attention. And! By having students respond with their hands, they also stop whatever it is they are doing so you have their undivided attention (one of my pet peeves!).

Now I did mention that I used this strategy in kindergaten, but not with my middle schoolers. I plan, however, to try it next year. I think it will really help my students to actually STOP and LISTEN. Of course, I can't have them putting their hands on their heads, shoulders, and laps... My Thoughts: As I say, "Freeze 1, 2, and 3", students can make faces or poses. I think a lot of my students will have fun with this, even get totally into it. However, I worry about those few that will think it is totally lame and possibly discourage the remainder of the class from participating. Thoughts?

Join Miss Kindergarten's Linky Party Below!

4th of July Headbands

It's the 4th of July and I woke up this morning needing some festivity in my hair. My first thought was bow. Then I rememberd that with a bow in my hair, I look about 12 years old. My next thought was buttons and flowers. Below are my experiments.

To Make: Crochet a flower (see previous crocheted flower post here) using red string (the friendship bracelet kind), then tie it to a navy headband. It seriously took me less than 2 minutes. I'll be wearing this one today.

To Make: Cut a piece of wide ribbon (I used navy and white striped ribbon), wrap string (or twine) around the center, then tie to a headband. Again, less than 2 minutes to make. This one did make me look about 12 years old, so I won't be wearing it. It does, however, match the party I'll be throwing Daniel in September. I think I will give this one to my co-host to wear... She looks GREAT in bows and headbands!

To Make: Sew a button (I found a navy button with an anchor) to a headband. Again, only about 2 minutes to make. And this one also matches Daniel's party for September. I'll be wearing this one.

Happy 4th of July everyone! And happy crafting!

Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY!

Love and Music

When Daniel and I first started dating, he lived and Azusa, CA and I lived in Irvine, CA... A 45 minute drive apart. We met at my childhood church as he leads worship there on Sunday mornings. For most of the first year of our relationship, we saw each other on Tuesday nights (band rehearsal) and Sundays (church). I made him cards on Tuesday, then cut back to cards once a month, and lately , cut WAY back to once every 6 months! Now that I have time (YAY for SUMMER!), I'm back to making him cards whenever I get the chance... Today marks 2 years and 9 months that we've been together (a.k.a an excuse for a card!). Below is a music inspired card as Daniel has such a passion and talent for music. My heart melts every time I hear him sing. He's seriously amazing. I love you so much, Daniel. Happy 2+ years! I am such a lucky girl!

P.S. The moment I knew I was falling in love with Daniel was about a month and a half into dating while listening to him sing. Again, he's amazing. (I would attach a clip of him singing, but he probably wouldn't like that very much.) You'll just have to trust me, I guess. Happy crafting all!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Oh, baby! Daniel and I are having dinner with friends tonight, so as usual, I made dessert. I LOVE the triple chocolate cheesecake that comes in the "Cheesecake Dillema" box at Trader Joe's, so I thought I'd try making that. I didn't have an actual recipe, but 3 seperate cheesecake recipes that I combined... And it TOTALLY worked! In reality, I made a chocolate graham cracker crust, filled it with chocolate cheesecake, then topped it off with mini chocolate chips. You'll find the recipes below.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe:

HERSHEY'S Crust

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. HERSHEY's Cocoa

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Combine graham crackers, sugar, cocoa, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 minutes at 325.

HERSHEY'S Chocolate Cheesecake

3 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. HERSHEY's Cocoa

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared crust.* Bake 45-50 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Loosen cake from side of pan before removing side of pan completely. Cover and refrigerate several hours. Enjoy!

* One mistake I made was not mixing in the mini chocolate chips before pouring the filling into the crust. Next time, I plan on pouring about half of the cheesecake filling into the crust., mixing the mini chocolate chips with the remaining filling, then pouring that chocolately batch on top of the cheesecake. Maybe a nice chocolate drizzle over that?

VOTE: Which do you prefer, Original (vanilla) Cheesecake or Chocolate Cheesecake?

And don't forget about my GIVEAWAY!

Yep, I'm Still Obsessed

So in making my summer birthday cards, I thought I'd pull out the old Chic Boutique stamp set and see if I'm still as obsessed as I was the last time I used it (see here, here, and here)... I DEFINITELY am! And I hadn't used the Eiffel Tower stamp yet, so that was a must. I made this card for my cousin, Katrina, and my friend, Erit. Remember Erit's graduation party? Their birthdays are in August and September, so I'm way ahead of the game. Happy Birthday, Katrina and Erit!

To Make: I used black cardstock, cream cardstock, fancy gold floral patterned paper in blue (left over from some old thank you cards I had), black ribbon, and Chic Boutique stamp set from Stampin Up!

GIVEAWAY REMINDER: Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY to win 10 custom handmade cards! Giveaway ends on Thurs. July 7, 2011 at 7:11pm.

100th Post Giveaway!

WOW! It's no joke... This is my 100th blog post! I started Cards & Cardigans back in March of 2010. It's been over a year (apparenlty I post on average every 4 1/2 days... that needs to change!). I started off only posting the cards I make, but have since grown to share other crafts and even parties. I've made a lot of cards, worn a lot of cardigans, and shared some really great memories. So in celebration of my 100th blog post, I'm having a giveaway! What am I going to giveaway? You guessed it... CARDS!

GIVEAWAY: Set of 10 Custom Handmade Cards

TO ENTER:

• Become a follower on my blog and leave me a comment.
• Already a follower? Great! Just leave me a comment. Tell me either what post got you to follow me or what your favorite post is so far.
• Bonus entry! If you're a blogger yourself, you can get an extra entry by posting about my giveaway on your blog and leaving me a separate comment with the link. 

GIVEAWAY RULES: It's pretty simple, any follower living in the contiguous United States who leaves a comment is eligible to win. Exclusions: You can't be my family because you already get cards every Christmas.

A winner will be chosen at random from the comments added to this post and that winner will be able to choose what type(s) of cards he/she would like. Sets might include all of the same card or an assortment of different cards. An assortment might include BIRTHDAY, BLANK, GET WELL, HOLIDAY, ROMANCE, SYMPATHY, THANK YOU, or a MIX! The winner will get to customize his/her set.

Giveaway ends on Thurs. July 7, 2011 at 7:11pm. That's 7/7/11 @ 7:11. Cute, right? Good luck!

And as always, happy crafting!

Cookie Mix in a Jar

My friend, Heather, and her husband, Alex, just bought and moved into their first home together. Congratulations, Heather and Alex! As a housewarming gift, I put together a cookie mix... Nothing says home like the smell of fresh baked cookies! I layered all of the dry ingredients in a quart-sized glass jar, then included the recipe for the remaining wet ingredients and baking instructions. Of course, I decorated the jar and a bag to carry the jar. Heather's favorite color is purple, so I went with that. Below are the pictures...

For the bag: I typed up the recipe, printed on cardstock, then backed with patterned paper. I actually attached it with photo tape (you know, the kind that is sort of removable), that way she can remove the recipe and reuse the bag if she likes. Then I included a wooden spoon for cuteness and practicality. Who knows? She may not have a spoon.

 

For the jar: I calculated and layered the dry ingredients for my recipe (Note on calculating: Since I was using a quart-sized jar, I had to calculate so as to fill the jar perfectly with my dry ingredients. Luckily! The recipe called for exactly 2 quarts of dry ingredients. No problem! I cut the recipe in half. Other recipes may not be that easy, though.). Then I used a 2" circle punch to make a tag on cardstock and tied it onto the jar with a bow. As cute as the layering is, I think next time I'll break up the flour and oats into more layers.

For the lid: I used that same 2"circle punch, but this time I punched from sticker paper (I always have full page sticker paper on hand... usually used for water bottle labels) and stamped with my "yummy" stamp. Viola! Happy crafting!

Grad Party 2011

Last weekend was another graduation party, but this time I got to host it... YAY! My friend Erit graduated with a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from UCI. Congratulations, Erit! Below are some pictures from the event.

UCI's school colors are navy blue and gold, so we ended up with a navy blue and white polka-dot theme... Don't ask me how that happened, I think I just like polka-dots. Above are the banner I hung over the dessert table, as well as the tissue paper poms I made. I will have to post a tutorial for the poms later.

Above are the water bottle labels I made (I know they look like a lot of work, but I completed that project, start to finish, in less than 20 minutes at about 10:30pm). They are so super easy. I'll have to do a tutorial for those later, too. I also made food labels that matched the banner and water bottes.

And for dessert, I made my usual chocolate graduation caps. What would a graduation party be without my chocolate graduation caps? (Not fun at all, I tell you!) Oh, and of course I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. What would a party be without my cream cheese frosting? (Well now it's just not worth attending!) And while I'm on a tutorial kick, I'll have to make a tutorial for these, too... I don't know which is easier, the chocolate graduation caps or the water bottle labels... both are pretty darn simple.

 And what would a blog post about a graduation party be without pictures of the graduate? Above is Erit. Again, Congratulations, Erit! I had the mustaches out once again, but this time I added the eyeglasses... Too fun! What would a party be without eyeglasses and mustaches, you say? (I think you know the answer.) Happy crafting, happy partying, and congratulations to all the 2011 graduates!

Sailing

As promised, below are a couple of sailing pictures... and by sailing pictures, I mean close-up pictures of Daniel and I with sailboats in the background. I swear we did sail one!

Aren't we a cute couple? Okay, so I may be a little biased, but I still think so! Happy sailing!

Ashley

Sailor's Birthday

It's the boyfriend's birthday today! Happy Birthday, Daniel! Daniel loves sailing, so I thought it appropriate to make him a birthday card fit for a sailor. We've actually taken sailing lessons together, where he learned how to sail and I learned how to look pretty while getting sea sick... I've almost got it down. I'll post some sailing pictures tomorrow...

To Make This Card: I used Old Olive cardstock and patterned paper. The sailboat is printed on cardstock and colored using my stampin' write pens from Stampin' Up!. Happy crafting!

Ashley