One, ONE, OnE oNe!

 This has been quite a week. I have been super busy doing various things.

My Etsy shop is doing great! Many orders came in this week for Valentine’s Day cookies.

Thank you everyone!

So baking was a big part of the week and also canning.

This week I canned salsa, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, carrots and blackberry jam.

So it seems to me that I have been in my kitchen all day long for 5 days!

It has been really nice to get so much done.

So somewhere in between cutting and dicing and water bathing jars I managed to take the time to sit done and relax and make some invitations for my daughter’s birthday party.

Now this is a little alarming because.. well …my baby girl is going to be 1!

I cannot believe it! (I will cry about that later)

For now I wanted to show you the cute invitation I made for my guests.

The theme for Hope’s party is “precious and pink.”

I want everything to be pink! So I decided to use all the different fonts I have and make a very pink and very ONE year old card.

I was pressed for time so I needed something that was simple yet adorable.

So let me show you how I did it.

So first thing I did was pull out every pink ink pad I have and I stamped a few times with them to see which ones I liked the best.

Then I got all of my font stamps out and chose my favorite of these also.

Then I messed around until I was happy with the design and then I made a master invitation.

Now when doing something that is in all different shades of pink and it is hard to tell the difference between the colors I would suggest writing up a color order list.

So you know what color you used where on the master invitation.

I promise it will be handy.

Please don’t mind the terrible lighting in all these pictures. (it’s a little dim in my corner)

This is the new alphabet called keepsake that I just got from the

new idea book and I love it!

Here it is all inked up and ready to go.

For this invitation I wanted soft pinks that all went well together. My inks were a bit too bright and strong when first stamped so to fix that I inked the stamp up then I stamped it onto a piece of scrap paper then I stamped a second time onto the invitation. (without washing it off)

 It left much less ink and created a softer and prettier pink.

Here is an expamle of what it looks like on the first stamp (scrap paper) and the second (on the card.)

Again my lighting is terrible and these colors are not as orange as they appear they are actually a salmon..ish pink.

So I went on this way down the card just using the same word in different fonts.

I tried using the numeral 1 also but I did not like it as much.

 After all the stamping was done I decided to soften the edges of the paper by inking up a sponge and distressing the edge of the paper.

This is an easy technique that helps everything tie together.

Just ink up your sponge and pull it in towards the middle of the paper.

It will create a soft look to the outside edge.

This is easily overdone so be careful and go slow. Practice a few times until you get the right pressure for the look you prefer.

 After distressing the outside edge with the sponge  you will need to cut a piece of paper to fit the inside flap. You can leave this white but I think the invitation will look much nicer with a background color.

I sponged the edges of the background paper too.

I of course chose pink for mine but you can choose what you like.

Then I just typed out the wording in a font I liked on the computer and glued that down onto the background paper. (After I sponged the edges)

FYI-  I use a tombow for glue.

They are amazing! You must have one for scrapbooking or any type of paper crafting.

Just saying.

So here the card is again all finished. Cute right?

I still wanted to add a little something extra to the invitation.

I decided to put a wax seal on the envelope!

Super fun and easy and it kinda makes you feel fancy inside.

I got my wax sealing kit at Hobby Lobby. You can find these at most craft stores.

I don’t use mine often but I always love how it looks when I do.

Light the wax stick and let it drip into a little pile on the envelope seal.

Then press the wax stamp into the middle of the wax pile and hold it firmly for 3 to 5 seconds.

It hardens very quickly.

Voila!

So pretty and elegant.

A fun and easy idea to make your sweet one year olds birthday special.

(Even though she wont remember it at all.)