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Hybrid Card Tutorial

Design House Digital, Tutorials / carina

I’ve been meaning to post this awesome tutorial from CT Member Joyce. This is a fantastic tutorial showing off how easy it is to take digital products and turn them into cards. Take it away, Joyce!

1.Create your cardstock pieces with a program like Photoshop Elements. I created 4×4, 5×5, and 4×5 shapes and clipped the patterened papers to them. I flattened the image and printed it onto white cardstock.

2. Next I trimmed my patterned paper pieces and used my Quickutz Epic
to cut out the butterfly and label shapes from the patterned paper. I
gathered up a few more supplies like green cardstock, butterfly
ribbon, Maya Road stick pins, and some buttons.

3. I embellished my butterfly by adding 3 tiny buttons to the front,
foam tape to the back, and stick pins pushed into the foam tape for
antennae.

4. I cut my green cardstock to 5×10 inches, folded in half at the top,
and layered on my elements. Brown patterned paper trimmed to a 4.25″
square, then yellow patterned paper that was cut into a label diecut,
and butterfly in the corner. Another embellishment technique I used
was to add a butterfly flight trail with my punch tool and dot the “i”
of precious using a rhinestone.

Now I have the perfect unisex card for my next baby shower! The Basics
papers are so versatile you can create something for most any occasion!

Hybrid Card Tutorial Read More »

Happy Fabric Flowers-Just Add Velcro

3 Comments / Fabric, Sewing / carina

I was invited to a craft night with a whole lot of mid-western gals. Who knew there were so many Minnesotan’s in Utah (escaping the cold no doubt)? The theme was t-shirts so I brought T’s for the girls and myself with tons of fat quarters, lace, and buttons. Inspired by Whippy Cake’s headbands (introduced to me by Kari Holt at CHA), I decided to add velcro to all the shirts and make lots and lots of flowers so my little girly-girls and I would switch out depending on our mood. It was an instant hit with my kids, and Siri is sitting next to me learning to sew rosettes as I type. Thanks for inviting me Kelly!

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ABC Inspiration Class at Jessica Sprague

2 Comments / Jessica Sprague / carina

If you haven’t heard yet, I’m teaching an ABC Inspiration Class to get you (and me included!) documenting our daily lives! With two little girls growing up fast, I want to be sure and grab a snapshot of our lives right now. Siri starts 1st grade (full day-yikes!) and Felicity starts preschool.

I love September because it is the start of fall, new changes, and new beginnings. I couldn’t think of a better way to document it than by using the alphabet as inspiration.

Starting September 13th, we are going to work our way through the alphabet to capture important memories in our daily lives. If you have been itching for a little challenge, this one is it! It is 26 days of easy (and fast!) scrapping (I’ll show you how)! All the templates are included along with some extra papers, ABC Quotes, Definitions, and inspirational lists. I love ABC Books (it doesn’t always have to be A is for apple…you’ll see…).

Here’s a peek at what we will be doing.

This four-week class goes on sale next week on August 16th for $35 (well worth the price when you consider there over 200 products to download along with the course, do a little happy dance!). Check out Jessica’s site next Monday when it goes on sale. I hope you’ll join me for this 26 day journey of scrap-a-licious fun!

Photography by Susan Haglund and Carina Gardner

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Craft and Hobby Association Tradeshow (CHA) Chicago 2010, Supershow, and Spraguefest Wrapup!

4 Comments / Jessica Sprague, My Minds Eye, Scrapbooking / carina

I had every intention of blogging while at CHA, but somehow I never got around to it. So here’s a quick review of the week in Chicago. I have oodles and oodles of photos, so this does not begin to cover the “happenings,” but as always, things are crazy around these parts so here’s my Friday-midnight report.

This photo was taken by Meg at Spraguefest by the Bean. Why I was wearing a sweater (even a short sleeved one) in that heat is a mystery to us all. Thankfully, I had a chance to jump around at Millennium Park.

1-Deena Rutter and I promoting our Halloween lines at CHA.

2-Haunted™ comes with acrylic stamps, epoxy brads, and flocked vinyl. Yum!

3. The fab My Mind’s Eye Booth. Seriously, it is so cute!

4-Crystal, Deena, and I headed to the city for a little Bandera, shopping, and sightseeing.

5-A sightseeing tour with the Spraguefest group had me happily sliding down the Picasso and racing Kelly and Crystal.

6-It looks like ice cream doesn’t it? It’s actually a caprese salad. Everyone thought I had ordered dessert first. I didn’t want to let them down, so for the next dinner I did (ummm, cannoli!).

7-Just to prove I was, in fact, in Chicago.

8-I’m caught doing a little sewing at the CHA Supershow. I tried out my flocked Haunted line on this sewing machine.

9-Crystal and I made matching bubble skirts! And this was Crystal’s very first time sewing. I make a motion for her to buy a sewing machine. Second?

10-Transformers 3 was being filmed. Unfortunately, you will have to ask Meg and Gary for their photos of Patrick Dempsey. I managed to miss that one.

11-My favorite night out!!!!! A few of us hopped over to Navy Pier for a little throw-up-inducing rides and ice cream (which was closed so I had to beg the manager to let all 8 of us in. Please, please, please?). BTW, don’t sit with Crystal on the swings. While you are clutching to the chain links for dear life, Crystal will be pretending to fly and wobble you all over the place. You will never get on the swings again.

12-The new Sprague booth at the CHA Supershow. It was PACKED the entire time. There’s lovely Jessica herself.

13-Kari from iKari. Also known to lose her voice from talking ALOT and clapping at everyone to show her support. This picture is proof.

14-A wonderful night of laughs with Crystal, Joan, Meg, and Gary. The waiter made it all the more fun. You can’t tell by this picture but the dessert was the size of my head. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But not by much.

And that is my very-short review (aren’t you glad I didn’t give you the long version?).

Craft and Hobby Association Tradeshow (CHA) Chicago 2010, Supershow, and Spraguefest Wrapup! Read More »

And Sometimes I Am Even Fun…

8 Comments / Jessica Sprague / carina

I promised photos from CHA and Spraguefest but I have so many that I will have to sort and post later. For now, you will have to be satisfied with this:

And Sometimes I Am Even Fun… Read More »

Two Little Birdies

2 Comments / Fabric, Sewing / carina

Northcott™ sent me these fun pictures of Love Nest™. I was thrilled to see the first bolt of the line, which goes on sale in a week and will ship out January 2011. Please send the link of the brochure (on the side bar) to your local quilt store to carry this line!!!

Simply copy this link in an email: https://carinagardner.com/studio/freedownloads/lovenest_webbrochure.pdf (Be sure and click on the brochure so you can see the line yourself too:)

That lemony yellow is yummy!

Two Little Birdies Read More »

Soooooo Soft and Haunted

5 Comments / My Minds Eye, Scrapbooking / carina

I have yet to see my new Haunted line, but I’m excited to see it next week when I’m in Chicago for CHA. It will be so soft with all it’s lovely flock-ed-ness (is that a word?).

I happily discovered that Amber Packer on the MME blog had gotten her hands on some and made this darling layout. Yummy vinyl flocking…how I long to see you in person!

See it bigger by clicking on the image below:).

Soooooo Soft and Haunted Read More »

How to Brighten a Skimpy Wreath

Stuff I Love, Tutorials / carina

I love a white wreath on a black door and I found a really skimpy wreath marked down at my local craft store. Luckily there was also a few white flowers marked down. If you want a cheap wreath (and don’t want to create one from scratch), this is the best way to go!

Start with a wreath with the colors in it you want. I liked this wreath but I wanted something fuller.

I bought these big white flowers (2 bunched) on clearance and simply hot glued them to fill it in.

Easy, instant wreath! It’s different than anyone else’s and so much fuller!

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Sneak Peek-New Fabric Lines

Fabric / carina

Just taking a quick blog break from getting together not one, but two fabric lines that I’m shipping off tomorrow. One of them you’ll recognize, one of them you won’t. Snicker, snicker…can’t help being a tease!

Sadly enough, I gotta run. No chit chat for me. Promise I have a couple of cool projects around the corner that I’m going to post soon!

Sneak Peek-New Fabric Lines Read More »

Haunted Paper Line for My Mind’s Eye

6 Comments / My Minds Eye, Scrapbooking / carina

I’ve been working on finishing up a couple of fabric lines tonight, and I opened my email to find out that my new halloween line is up! This halloween line is like nothing you’ve seen before. It is FLOCKED!!!!! And there are epoxy stickers, flocked vinyl stickers, stickers, and a flocked accessory sheet.

I can’t wait to show it off in Chicago in a couple of weeks!

Haunted Paper Line for My Mind’s Eye Read More »

Fourth of July Weekend

4 Comments / Family / carina

We love a small town Fourth of July. In Minnesota, we always went to Stillwater for a beautiful old-time Fourth of July with friends on the St. Croix River. A little tip off from friend Deena sent us this year to Huntsville, Utah.

On the actual “4th,” we visited the Golden Spike Monument for a little re-enactment of where the two railroads met to connect the country and a bumpy trip on a gravel road to the Spiral Jetty. To tell you the truth, I love historical and art sites, but I could leave the road trips. Road trips are just not my specialty. Josh is the one who inspires trips like these.

Somehow is seemed very patriotic to see this re-enactment of the railroads connecting the country.

The Spiral Jetty is really neat. However, the minivan had a rough time. Might I suggest four-wheel drive?

Fourth of July Weekend Read More »

Summer Favorite Friday

2 Comments / Favorite 5 Friday, Stuff I Love / carina

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Favorite Friday, but I need to get back to it because I’ve seen so many things that I love, love, love recently. Never read a Favorite Friday before? You can check them out here.

What’s Fav Friday all about? It’s stuff I’ve found, oggled over, loved, or bought. Things that have been designed well or things that make life a little more beautiful. Here’s my five for the week:

1-Custom Decorative Tile by ioanab on etsy. I’ve been searching etsy alot recently…even bought a few goodies for my studio. This one is so sweet!

2-Hi. I’m in love with you. ok. by adamcohn249 on etsy. I’m always a sucker for these bold graphic prints. This one is so…honest. Okay, I’m in love with you too!

3-Colefax Chair in Green Geo from Ballard Designs. I’ve been trying to decide on living room chairs for, well, since we moved in. These have been at the top of my list forever. I might have to take the plunge soon because the more me seeie, the more me likie.

4-Battery Paper Lanterns from Pier 1 Imports. I just bought these for a summer night party in our backyard (for which I still have not planned). I saw them displayed in the store on the edges of the umbrella over a dining table. It was too cute.

5-Lonny Magazine is a digital magazine that I’ve mentioned before. It’s my replacement for Domino Mag which tanked when the recession hit. It has a youthfulness and style that my other magazines haven’t been able to give me. A new issue is up (thank goodness!).

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July this weekend! We are going out of town for a little r&r.

Summer Favorite Friday Read More »

Gigantic Marshmallows and Moose

2 Comments / Family / carina

We’ve been camping the last couple of days roasting ridiculously large marshmallows (My husband says they throw the universe out of balance. My mother-in-law suggests jumbo-sized chocolates and graham crackers should be sold to match these. I think a brand-new box of baby wipes should accompany them.).

On the campgrounds, look what we spotted this beauty:

It was just on the edge of the campgrounds as we walked over the bridge. I didn’t think we were going to see any critters (except for Potty and Snotty (so named by my daughters)—our potbellied squirrels that scavenged our campsite). It was such a treat to see this big guy!

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A Lazy Saturday

1 Comment / Design House Digital, Family / carina

We went to Lagoon (a Utah theme park) and are now recovering. I love theme parks, but a day of rest is necessary afterwards.

So today, we are still in pajamas and creating all sorts of disasters. The girls got out the scrapbook stuff and created their own “books” this morning. I’m also planning on getting to the mountain, er, laundry accumulating downstairs.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the chat this morning. It was a bit of a problem because the site was overloaded, so I left up the thread and anyone can comment on it until 5pm MST to win the $10 gift certificate. I’ll announce the winner at the end of the thread. Want to check it out? Go here.

You also have a chance to grab one of my kits for free this weekend during the sale and a couple of $1 Kits. You’ll also notice the Meredith Fenwick has her entire shop for sale so you can check it out the sale here.

A Lazy Saturday Read More »

Designer Weekend Sale—Daisy Jane and Informed

2 Comments / Design House Digital, Digital Scrapbooking, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables / carina

Today is release day. I have a couple of new releases today (30% off today only), but my favorite is my Americana, which I made in honor of Independence Day.

If you’ve been looking for a digital scrapbooking sale from me, here it is! My designer sale going on this weekend at DHD. There will be a free kit (You’ll want to jump on and download it!), and two $1 kits. All of Daisy Jane and Informed with be 25% off on Saturday and Sunday ONLY.

I also have a special code for my blog readers! This coupon code is for 25% off the FRESH PICKED MEGA COLLECTION on Saturday and Sunday only! Your code at check out is: BLOGLOVECG

And finally, come join me for a chat in the DHD Scrap Room at 9am MST on Saturday, June 26th. If you’ve ever wanted to see the pure mayhem of chatting through a forum for 1 hour, you should come join in for it!

Designer Weekend Sale—Daisy Jane and Informed Read More »

Happy Birthday—Free Download

2 Comments / Family, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables / carina

It’s just a silly, little thing, but worth it for the birthday girl! Print out silly faces of the birthday girl (or boy) and place a birthday hat on their head. Add a toothpick and you have a very fun (and thoughtful) birthday cake (even when your birthday cake is having a landslide problem. Next time don’t attempt a third layer, Carina)!

Just click on the image (and “Save As” to download) if you want to use this little template for your own birthday hat silliness!

Happy Birthday—Free Download Read More »

Old School Fun-Paint and Play in a Cardboard Box

1 Comment / Design Lessons, Family, Jessica Sprague, Stuff I Love / carina

I bought a dresser last week and, of course, the best part is that it came in a box. After playing with it for a week inside, we dragged it outside to paint it and let the neighborhood play in it.

They get to use their creativity and it’s free…man, I love a good box!

Also a shout out to everyone taking Jessica Sprague and my course: The Art of Digital Design today! It’s week 5 and you are stuck with me (whaaahaaaaa)! Excited for all the fun we’re going to have this week!

Old School Fun-Paint and Play in a Cardboard Box Read More »

Sew Important

3 Comments / FABRIC & QUILTING, Sewing / carina

My mom was recently in town, and she gave Siri a sewing lesson. It reminded me of when I started sewing at the ripe old age of five years old by my mom’s side (I’m sure not unlike the way Siri was sitting by her in this picture I managed to capture).

The amazing part is I remember taking her old scraps at the age of eight and being completely unsupervised on the sewing machine (kudos to her for letting me go at it). I remember making Barbie dresses with big skirts (my introduction to learning how to gather). I remember cutting the fabric in all sorts of crazy ways and sewing them in even crazier ways. It was brilliant. The pure happiness of a little girl entranced in her sewing project.

Looking back, I appreciate more than ever my mom’s efforts to let me be creative…and let me try things independent of her. I must have made a mess…in fact, I can even remember some of the messes. I would dump out boxes of scraps of fabric and thread looking for the exact right piece—a mother’s nightmare to clean up.

This little trip down memory lane is just a nice reminder to myself that I need to create opportunities for my little ones to be creative (And maybe be okay with the messes. Ouch! That’s hard!). I hope that whatever crafting and creativity you have in your life is also a part of your children’s lives too—Because I think creativity is pretty important. Hope you do something fun this weekend with your loved ones and nurture that creativity!

Sew Important Read More »

Dirty and Clean Dishwasher Tag—Free Download

10 Comments / Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables / carina

I’ve been meaning to make this for myself for sometime now—A magnetic dishwasher button that tells everyone else in the house if the dishes are clean or dirty. Here it is for you too (should you also have the problem of everyone asking you if the dishes are clean or dirty). I’m going to laminate mine, glue to thick paper or board, and add a magnet to the back. A pretty simple project. If I had a button maker, I’d probably make it into a button instead. If you do cool things with this button, be sure add the link here or add it to our Flickr group.

When your dishes are clean, simply flip the “Completely Clean” side up and when they are dirty, flip the “Disgustingly Dirty” side up. I even included 4 colors here so you could decide which worked best in your kitchen:).

Download below!

Here’s a few other things to check out:

+ If you wanted Pretty Posy, you only have a few more hours to join the Facebook group. I extended giving out the freebie until tonight.

+ Coquette™ will be arriving in the next couple of weeks, and I’ve already started getting a quilt design together for you! I’ve also got all sorts of other crafty ideas for you with the line.

+ A few updates to the studio site was made including the addition of Love Nest™ to the fabric section. If you want to see this line at your local quilting shop, be sure and email the link to the web brochure to them! You can also check it out on the sidebar on this here blog.

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Just a Bit of Love From Me to You

3 Comments / Stuff I Love / carina

I love peonies. They make me SOOOO happy. One of my friends told me once that when she has flowers in her house, she feels like she is motivated to keep it clean. I totally agree. Who wants a mess around these beauties? So at least my kitchen is clean:). I probably ought to buy flowers for the rest of the house.

Hope you are having a happy day too.

Just a Bit of Love From Me to You Read More »

Funny June Weather

3 Comments / Family, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables / carina

After a few beautiful days, we got this yesterday:

Someone needs to explain this weather to me. Today I put in my herb garden. It was freezing and the wind was crazy. Silly me for trying to garden!

If you haven’t signed up for the facebook page yet, there’s still time to get the free kit! We are SO close to 500 people and once we hit it, I’ll be sending out a link to everyone with a download of this beautiful kit.

Happy Saturday!

Funny June Weather Read More »

A Few Baby Safari Digital Scrapbooking Layouts

4 Comments / Design House Digital, Digital Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking / carina

Here’s a few Baby Safari layouts to inspire you!

Layout by Candice Palmer.

Layout by Susan Haglund

Layout by Candice Palmer

Layout by Candice Palmer.

Layout by Mindy Hanson.

Layout by Joyce McCall.

A Few Baby Safari Digital Scrapbooking Layouts Read More »

Facebook Fan Freebie

4 Comments / Design House Digital, Digital Scrapbooking, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables, Scrapbooking / carina

I recently started a Facebook page so that you can keep up with blog posts, sales, and freebies. So here’s one of them! Once we hit 500 people, I’m going to give away my new Pretty Posy digital scrapbooking kit to everyone who joins! Once we hit 500, this kit will go on sale at Design House Digital. So take advantage of getting it free now!

Here’s a cute little layout I did of my friend’s daughter, Isn’t she adorable?

Facebook Fan Freebie Read More »

A Busy Morning

1 Comment / Family, Scrapbooking / carina

I always wonder were my days go. So this morning I had camera in hand while we did our “stuff.” Sure, not a typical day for us in some ways (Siri was home from school because she’s had a fever the last couple of days and we didn’t want to infect anyone). And super typical in other ways (there’s always some kind of craft-making mess in our house).

Paper crafting, anyone? (Of course, only after I actually managed to clean my studio)

More projects with the paper (Siri chose MeadowLark™ for her wings this morning).

Why do these darn kid sprinklers ALWAYS break?

The view from my backyard. We anticipate seeing this for the next few days. You can just barely see our next-door neighbor directing the bulldozer guy.

A Busy Morning Read More »

How to Change a Skirt into a Dress

4 Comments / Sewing, Stuff I Love / carina

I found these darling skirts at Gymboree clearanced out. So of course, the only sizes left were 9 and 10…a bit big for a 3 and 6 year old (and I wasn’t about to let these bad boys sit idly in a closet for a few years!). So I made these skirts into dresses.

With just a bit of ribbon and a giant flower (I got mine from The Lace Place), these skirts become dresses for my girls. Here’s what you’ll need to do a project like this:

+ 1/2 yard to 1 yard of ribbon that matches or contrasts your skirt (I went with the pink satin ribbon)

+ 1 yard of ribbon for a bow or silk flower

+ large safety pin

+ Fray check

+ small, squirmy child to try it all on

1. Fit the skirt to your child. Most likely you’ll need to bring it in a little. I’m not the kind to pick apart the whole thing and put it back together. I just turn it inside out and sew an inch (or whatever) into the seam. I don’t even sew the length of the dress! I just taper off after a couple of inches.

2. Cut the ribbon in 1/4 to 1/6 lengths and fit to your child ( you’ll need 2 lengths for each “sleeve”).

3. Sew the ribbon into the skirt wrong side out (You’ll do this four times…one at each point the skirt and ribbon connect). Sew at least two lines of stitches. Put fray check on the raw edges.

4. Put the safety pin through the large flower or bow you’ve made. Then attach it to the dress. I like the safety pin because then you can take it off when you wash the dress or use it as an accessory on other clothing.

I think this project took me an hour from start to finish. Modeling for me is my darling niece Lola (I think my own kids have had it with me and the blog modeling!). She was actually excited about wearing Felicity’s dress (that’s a welcome change!).

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Sometimes We Like Alternate Wheels

4 Comments / Family, Stuff I Love / carina

Our current wheels of choice. It’s too nice outside to be caught indoors with my computer. Apparently, Siri thinks so too.

Sometimes We Like Alternate Wheels Read More »

Find My Free “Stuff” Easier

2 Comments / Fabric, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables, Stuff I Love / carina

Recently, I included a link above called “free downloads.” If you have clicked on it recently, then you know that I’ve now made it a little easier for you to find the free patterns, free downloads, and free printables on this site!

This new little page can be accessed from the top navigation bar (free downloads) or the blog’s side bar (the lovely photo of the Coquette™ flower in that cute little red-head’s hair). It doesn’t include ALL the free stuff that you can find on this site…just my favorites! And with EQ7 in hand (it just showed up this week!), I’m going to have a few more patterns before long for you (I have certainly gotten into the spirit of quilting since going to Quilt Market)!

And if you didn’t see the Design House Digital sale, yet, I’d recommend heading over. Super big kits are on sale for just $1! Have fun!

Find My Free “Stuff” Easier Read More »

Chinese New Year Party

Family, Stuff I Love / carina

This is a flashback post:)! You know how I mentioned that I was going to try and dig up a few things I MEANT to post about but never did? So here’s one of them! These photo are from my Annual Chinese New Year Party. I used to throw a CNY when we lived in Minnesota (in fact, Aimee and Bryant (pictured in the center) were the first attendees of my Chinese New Year Party seven years ago in MN!). This was my first attempt to throw this party in our new, little house in Utah. We managed to squish 20 people into our tiny living room. We moved out most of the furniture and put tables on the floor. It was tight, but cozy.

My cute husband bought me a darling set of dishes that was perfect for this party. I ended up making invitations, menu cards, and and place cards to match (I should dig those out and turn it into a digi kit, huh?).

I spent the day cooking the way my mom taught me (She just recently came into town and fed us our favorite dishes). My sister came over to help cook and manned the camera during the party (thanks, sis!).

My favorite thing about a party like this? Getting to know new people and catching up with friends. We always invite a mix of new and old friends to a party because it adds variety to the group dynamic.

I’ve already started thinking about next year’s party. Chinese, anyone?

Chinese New Year Party Read More »

How to Make an Easy Summer Wreath

9 Comments / Holiday Projects, Stuff I Love, Tutorials / carina

I think wreaths are one of those things that are really easy to make especially when you can’t find exactly the kind of wreath you want (In my case, an all green summer wreath). Of course, I think the materials are pretty expensive (which is what keeps me from making all of my wreaths), but if you can find a fab sale, then making a wreath is easy (and did I mention fun?). I found such a sale and stocked up with some summer and fall stuff to make a couple of wreaths.

I like to keep it pretty simple. My summer wreath is made of four types of stems but they are all varying shades of green (so I can’t screw up). Then, I just layer them.

I just put a little hot glue on the bottom of the stem as I push it into the wreath. Sometimes I put a little hot glue on top, but not always because I want some of the branches to fall out to give it volume.

The layers for this summer wreath are 1)boxwood leaves, 2) lime green olive branches, 3) green berries, and 4) mini green apples. Group the green apples together (2 or 3 together).

This wreath took me less than an hour (how do I know? Because I dropped Siri off at dance and finished it before I picked her up again).

And there you go! An fun and custom wreath for your door!

BTW, if you haven’t taken a look at the sidebar, you’ll notice I now have a new “grab it” button! Please really take it and share it!

Speaking of sharing, if you have any great wreath ideas, please leave your comments here with links to wreaths you’ve made!!! I love hearing what you have to say and seeing what you are making too!

How to Make an Easy Summer Wreath Read More »

A Digital Scrapbooking Sale at Design House Digital

1 Comment / Design House Digital, Digital Scrapbooking / carina

I’ve been putting out Fresh Picked for a couple of weeks now and after seeing the spring and summer collection, you had to know that autumn and winter were going to follow, right? So tomorrow, you can check out those collection at Design House Digital along with the mega kit that includes all 16 kits.

What’s the big deal about the Mega Fresh Picked Kit (try saying that 3 times fast!)? Well, all these kits alone would cost you $63.84, but the mega kit is only $39.99. Add the 30% off for release day (Thursday only) and that whole jumbo kit is only $27.99. It’s pretty much a steal.

What do I like about Fresh Picked? Well, other than the solids (I like having a huge stack…I mean, I tried 3 green backgrounds on this layout before I settled on the correct one!), I like that it’s a collection I can use for any season.

Also wanted to mention my new little Facebook page. Yes, I’d love you to join; Yes, I feel silly about having one; and Yes, I will have a Facebook freebie on there soon (I just couldn’t think of any “no’s.” If you don’t want to join now, just look over on the sidebar for the link. I’m hoping that this page will make it easier for you to hear about sales, blog posts, and design news coming from my little corner of the world.

Products used in the above layouts all created by Carina Gardner | Green Layout: Fresh Picked Summer Borders, Spring Solids, Spring Stamps, Summer Solids, Summer Florals, and Autumn Stamps

Blue Layout: Fresh Picked Winter Papers, Winter Stamps, Winter Titles, Autumn Tickets, and Design 365 Color Kit 1

A Digital Scrapbooking Sale at Design House Digital Read More »

Felicity Fabric Flower Pattern-Free Download

33 Comments / Fabric, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables, Sewing, Stuff I Love / carina

I’ve been making these fabric flowers for a couple of weeks now and named the little pattern after my sweet little red-head. I first made this pattern for Siri’s ruffle dress that I’ve been working on (pinwheel and pearls in the center), but I also like it with the big button on this shirt featuring Love Nest™ and this cute headband featuring Coquette™. It’s pretty easy to make and super versatile!

The headband uses both the little and large petal patterns and the flower on the shirt just uses the large pattern. I can see a whole string of teeny-tiny flowers hanging like flags in my office. I’ll have to get to work on that!

Think shirts, headbands, clips, and belts. This little flower would be cute on all of those! Okay, enough gabbing! Here’s the easy-peasy instructions for you. Download by clicking on the image below!

Happy sewing!

___________________________________________________

Felicity Fabric Flower Pattern-Free Download Read More »

Quilt Market Day 2 | Celebrity Sighting

3 Comments / Fabric, Quilt Market, Stuff I Love / carina

Here’s a recap of today’s celebrity sightings (in between the many meetings I had today!):

Jen Allyson, Heather Baily, me, and Deena Rutter.

With Lizzy House

I went Anna Marie’s book signing at Treadle Yard Goods in St. Paul. She’s really as nice in person as she is on her blog.

Couldn’t help myself! I had to take a photo in the Summit neighborhood while I was on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

I had a little stop at Cafe Latte while on Grand Avenue. I got a little treat take home via airplane for my sweetie.

If you can’t tell I’m a total foodie. The people to the side of me could only stare at me taking pictures of my food! Sorry folks! I document my food if it looks this good.

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Quilt Market Day 1

4 Comments / Quilt Market, Stuff I Love / carina

As promised, I’m writing reporting back on Quilt Market! It was my first day, and as a wide-eyed newbie, I was completely enthralled with everything! One thing that made me happy, happy, happy, was to be in Minnesota again! Here are the highlights:

The view from my hotel. Totally gorgeous!

Coquette™ in full force!

I hung out at the Northcott™ booth this morning before walking the show floor.

Shari Berry’s new line Child’s Play for Northcott™. So sweet! The ABC fabric is my favorite!

These felt cakes are SOOOOOO adorable! I loved walking the show for this kind of stuff!

Lunch with some new friends! Bloggers John, Kaye, and Jennifer (Jennifer’s friend Doe took the photo).

I picked up Jen Allyson and Deena at the airport after a day at the Convention Center. We went to one of my favorite restaurants Muffuletta in Anthony Park.

Here we are! Happy and full!

Okay, so that’s the wrap for the first day. Sorry there aren’t more descriptions but I need to get myself to bed for another fun-filled day tomorrow!

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Print on Fabric with Your InkJet Printer

5 Comments / Fabric, Stuff I Love / carina

Would you believe that that the fabric in that little shirt Siri is wearing was printed on my INK JET printer? Nuts, huh? I needed to make a mock-up of my fabric Love Nest™ which won’t come out until January 2011 so I decided to try this little trick. The shirt turned out beautifully and you would never know that I simply printed on my inkjet. All you have to do is buy fabric (I used white 100% cotton) and iron it onto Freezer Paper (which can be bought at your local grocery store).

The freezer paper makes the fabric stiff enough to go through the printer. You iron the freezer paper’s waxy-shiny side to the fabric. My printer is able to print 13″ x 19″ sheet, which really helped with the construction. I printed off 4 sheets in the pink paisley from Love Nest™ and 1 sheet in the red calico flower from Love Nest™. (BTW, pattern for that flower will be coming soon to this blog!).

I can’t imagine that the fabric is will hold up to several washings (I’ve heard that you can wash it a few times before it starts having trouble), but I love the idea of instant fabric and will have to dream up some more uses for this little trick!

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Working Draft of a New Pattern

4 Comments / Fabric, Quilt Market, Sewing, Stuff I Love / carina

We’ve been a busy crew here at the Gardner house the last few weeks! Among other things we had family pictures taken (by the amazing Susan Haglund).Good timing too so that I could get these amazing photos of Siri wearing the first draft of a pattern I’ve been working on. Don’t you worry, I’ll be whipping this ruffly-thing up in Coquette™ too.

I ran into friend Melissa Esplin tonight (I was trying to sneak into JoAnn’s looking pretty awful and got caught!), who inspired me to try and get all those great projects I’ve been hoarding up on my blog. I have a few months of back log (I know, I know, did I mention I’ve been busy?), and I’m going to do my best to get them rolling out so you can be inspired too. Oh ya, and you certainly will be seeing a post from me this weekend: I’ll be reporting from Quilt Market in Minneapolis. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends there and attending this amazing show for the first time. I’ll be sure to snap a lot of photos of my favs!

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MeadowLark Featured at Two Peas in a Bucket

2 Comments / My Minds Eye, Scrapbooking, Two Peas in a Bucket / carina

Kristina’s Picks at Two Peas in a Bucket this week is a full review of MeadowLark™. I was thrilled to see the papers, cards, and die cuts shown in detail! If you’ve been hankering to see the line up close, check out the video by clicking on the image below!

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MeadowLark Giveaway Winner Announced and A Bit of Favorite Friday

3 Comments / Favorite 5 Friday, Giveaways, My Minds Eye / carina

I haven’t had a Favorite Friday post in an age, but I thought I would give you a little Favorite Friday today by sharing my never-fail, absolutely-easy, dessert-of-choice for parties I throw. What is it? It seems ridiculous that I by-pass the best pastry shops and go straight to Costco for their chocolate cake. It’s affordable, rich, and feeds a crowd! After serving and preparing a big dinner, I always try to opt out of cooking dessert, and this is the way to do it! I served it at my Annual Chinese New Year Party this year (which I STILL haven’t gotten around to posting photos of!) and it fed 20 people (with left-overs to spare). I like to serve it with fresh strawberries. It’s such a treat and perhaps even better because I didn’t slave over a hot stove to make it !

OKay, enough Favorite Friday! I’m sure you are itching to know who the winner of MeadowLark™ is! First, thank you to everyone who made comments about MeadowLark! It was fun to read what you might use the collection for! I get a kick out of reading your comments and the more comments this blog gets, the more fun it is to post giveaways and freebies! Let people know so I can continue to do so! And the winner for this giveaway by random.org was:

Patti Hutchinson says: I just love the idea of a neutral black and white line for all of my spring and summer flower pictures. I also think it would make a great mini album for just about anything!

Thanks Patti for your comment and I’m excited to see those photos! I just need you to email me at info@carinagardner.com and I’ll get this lovely collection shipped out to you right away! Not a bad way to end the week, huh?

As for me, I’ve got some serious designing to do this weekend because I’m gearing up for Quilt Market next week in my home-of-six years, Minneapolis! My first line Coquette™ will be premiering there. I’ll be sure to give you all a report and LOTS of pictures!

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Sewing with A Ruffler

7 Comments / Fabric, Sewing, Stuff I Love / carina

I have to take a little minute to chit chat about my new Ruffler. This amazing little device can save you minutes, nay hours of hand-gathering! I got this little baby when I started working on a children’s pattern with an absurd amount of ruffles (I just can’t help it! I adore ruffles!). The ruffles are perfect (you can choose a ruffle at every 1, 6, or 12 stitches thereby also creating the most perfect pleat).

If you are an avid sewer + ruffle-person (please tell me I’m not the only one out there), you would love this device (BTW, Bernina did not put me up to this…it is simply my own little obsession. Josh is tired of me pushing guests into my studio to show them how amazing it is!).

Just as a side note, the MeadowLark™ giveaway ends tomorrow! Be sure and enter by adding a comment in the post below!

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MeadowLark Paper Giveaway!

31 Comments / My Minds Eye, Scrapbooking / carina

I just picked up more of my MeadowLark™ Collection on Friday. I’ve been inspired by the black and white papers in this line to work on all sorts of projects (check out my ABC Book) because they are so neutral! I’ve decided I need to share the love so I’m giving away both the Dusk and Dawn Paper Packs (18 papers back and front with 2 accessory sheets!) plus the two rub-ons (I’m obsessed) that match! What do you need to do to get entered to win this set? Just leave me a little comment on this thread of what you might use this super versatile line for or why you love it! I’ll choose one winner on Friday evening (this giveaway will end 5pm MST) by random selection. Good luck!

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Designer Get-Together for Design House Digital

5 Comments / Design House Digital, Digital Scrapbooking, Stuff I Love / carina

I just got back from a lovely weekend retreat with Design House Digital designers in Midway, Utah. We laughed, listened to Glee, worked, and chit chat. Who was there? Jen Allyson, Deena Rutter, Melissa Esplin, Mary Shaw, Gennifer Bursett, and Spencer Nugent (who showed up at Hi Mountain Drug in Camas at the end of the retreat). It was wonderful hanging out and getting to know these awesome girls a little better!

Here’s a run down of what we were up to:

Thanks ladies for all the fun!!!! I’m excited to get to know you all better and steal your headbands (um, thanks Melissa!), decorate with the new birdie plate (I love you Jen!) and force you to help me pick out shoes (everyone had to at least LISTEN to that).

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On the Subject of Family

3 Comments / Design House Digital / carina

Sunday night we got together as a family at Liz and Tim’s house. It was fun, the food was good, and the company was excellent. Liz also had me up late to help refresh an old chair. I couldn’t help but show it off here because the final result was amazing. I should have taken a before photo. Just know that old white washed wood was dingy and the old faded cream textured fabric was ragged and dirty. I was glad we gave it new life with this geometric fabric and white finish! The contrast of the antique chair with the bold geometric made me pretty happy.

I also promised an update on my sister who has adopted a darling little boy! SuiKim and Steve has had new baby Grant for a couple of weeks now. It seems as if he has always been here! Siri coos over the baby and asks when we are getting a baby brother. Um, not any time soon, darling. Sorry to disappoint. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who bought Baby Mine! It was a wonderful success!

SuiKim was over at my house yesterday and I had a darling package from one of our Decorators from Design House Digital, Heather. She had used the Baby Mine kit to make two adorable sleepers (which she sewed!!!). SuiKim and I were touched! Thank you Heather for the generosity! Grant is going to look stunning in sleepers! I was also impressed with this darling baby card Heather made (I need that script font!). The tininess added to the intimacy and sweetness. You are best Heather!

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interNational Scrapbooking Day-Freebie

18 Comments / Design House Digital, Free Digital Downloads-Freebies-Free Digital Printables, Scrapbooking, Stuff I Love / carina

All the hail and sleet the last couple of days gave me some extra “inside time” to get this freebie together for you in honor of interNational Scrapbooking Day! Otherwise, I’d still be in my yummy lime green gardening boots planting ranunculus in my front yard!

So here’s some of the fun going on at DHD: There is a HUGE site-wide sale happening, chats all day on Saturday, May 1st, and freebies to be had. I’m jumping the gun a little by posting a day early with this freebie, but I say let the fun begin! Be sure to drop by HERE at 9am MST for my chat at DHD (hint, I’ll have a little exclusive freebie:).

So why is this kit called Paisley v2? Because you can download Paisley v1 by signing up to be a fan of Design House Digital on Facebook! When the fan page hits 2000 fans, this freebie will be given out.

Okay! Here’s Paisley v.2. Just click on the kit to download it!

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