Ella's ABC Book!

I can't believe little Ella is already 2 months old...she is already getting so big. Here is a picture of her and I when she was only a week old...so sweet!!!

Here is the ABC book I made for her...After scrapbooking girlie style for Bella the last seven years making this book for Ella was so fun and easy...I'm not having as much luck with Wyatt's book....I will share pictures if I ever finish it.

Happy Crafting!

With Love,
Megan

"Bandanna Paper" Thank You Cards!

I finally found some energy to craft tonight! I went up to my craft room spent the first hour clearing off the table...and then didn't know where to start.

Looking through my printed paper I found some cute bandanna paper from Martha Stewart's Scrapbooking line at Micheal's. I decided to make a few monochromatic cards with a little Shabby Chic design.

To embellish the cards I used vintage lace & buttons, ribbon, flowers, and pearls. Find these adorable cards at my etsy shop With Love and Affection.

With Love,
Megan

Bree's Baby Shower!

Getting ready for baby Ella!

My friend Bree is expecting her first child on April 21st! I am so excited our little ones will be just four months apart. Today we celebrated with a Shabby Chic themed shower for Bree.

So glad I finally found a use for this beautiful birdcage. We used it for my wedding to hold the cards. It worked out perfect with a small flower and candles as the center piece.

I just love using these Gerber glass baby bottles as vases, they are the perfect touch for baby shower.

The Candy Buffet!
I love this idea! While searching for some creative party favors for the shower, I came across the idea of a Candy Buffet. The idea is to fill glass jars, apothecary jars, bowls, or pretty much anything else you have full of candy. Give the guest something to fill and let them create their own party favor to take home. For Bree's shower I used pastel candy that's in the stores for Valentine's Day and Easter. Her sister even ordered custom M&Ms....TOO CUTE!
For the guests to take home I decorated mini Chinese food boxes...stamped with Ella Grace!

One of my favorite decorations, I love this old box! My mom and I found it at Home Goods for seven bucks. I used a few old Mason jars from Joe's moms tomato canning and filled them with flowers. Perfect!

Bree, her mom Dawn, her sister Nicole, and Nicole's three daughters Hayliee, Regan, and Bristol.

Bree and I!
Bree is eight months pregnant and I am 18 weeks pregnant.
Can't wait for both our little ones to be here!

With Love,
Megan

Crepe Paper Tutorial

It's been a while since I posted a tutorial, so this weekend I went in search of a new technique to share with my crafty friends.

I've always loved the look of these crepe paper circles, they look so neat on vintage inspired paper crafts. This weekend I finally made a few, and they were soooo easy. I think I ended up making ten of them. I even used a few on some really cute Halloween Treat Bags, click here to see them.

Ok, so let's get going,

Here is what you will need:

- Crepe Paper (party streamers, I found mine at Dollar Tree) cut off about 1.5 feet

- Thread and Needle

- Scissors

- Two Sided Tape

That's It!

To begin, thread needle and begin first stitch. I don't mess with knotting the thread, instead I just tape the end of the thread to the crepe paper. Start stitching about 1/4 of an inch from the edge. I usually stitch with about a half inch between each stitch.
Begin to bunch the crepe paper together as you stitch.

Once you have scrunched the crepe paper to your desired look hold the thread in place and put a small piece of two sided tape over the hole and end of the thread.


Cut the thread and crepe paper and apply one piece of two sided tape to one of the edges.

Attach the two sides together.

That's It!!! Once your crepe paper circles are made the creativity is endless.

With this pink crepe paper circle I used decorative scissors and cut about an eighth of an inch off the edge, creating a decorative edge.

For these Halloween treat bags I put some liquid glue on the very edge of the crepe paper and dipped them in glitter. Then I layered cardstock tags and stickers.

I hope you learned something new, and will try it soon. If you do, I would love to see what you create. You can either post it on your blog and put the link in the Mister Linky below, all I ask is that you mention my blog and provide a link to it on your blog post. If you don't have a blog post the picture in my flickr group by clicking here and I will add it to the post. Join our flickr group and you may be featured on my Friday Favorites Post.

Please visit my etsy shop With Love and Affection for some more crafty goodness.

Baby Gaven Brag Book!

I made this 8x8 brag book for a friend of my mom's who is about to have a baby boy. The nursery is going to be safari theme, so I used the adorable safari animal clear stamps I got from Target. I knew they would serve a good purpose when I threw them in the cart a few months ago. I made the first page using the light teal and craft brown and loved it so much I decided to use it throughout the whole album.

Birthday Cards!

I crafted all weekend, and can't believe how much I got done. I made about 15 birthday cards, a set of thank you tags for my Stampin' Up orders, and two gift bags. I also designed the new treat bags for my Stampin' Up class this September. Want to sign up for the treat class click here. Here are a few of my birthday cards I made. All the birthday cards are now available at With Love and Affection!

One of Stampin' Up's newest hostess sets is these adorable ticket stamps. I love them and have used them for birthday cards, baby cards, and so much more. To find out more about hosting a Stampin' Up workshop with your friends and earning free stamps of your own visit my website: www.withloveandaffection.com

These two cards were made with KI Memories cordinating paper and rub-ons. This rhinestone Party was a perfect match!

I love balloon animals and when I saw this paper and embellishments I had to have it, and doesn't it make the cutest cards?!?

Visit my website: www.withloveandaffection.com

for etsy shop info, blog info, Stampin' Up info., or to sign up for my classes.

If you have any questions, special requests, or want to host a Stampin' Up workshop send me an e-mail: mduarte1027@gmail.com

Free Kisses (Halloween Treats)

I know it's a little early to start thinking about Halloween, but I just got this adorable stamp set from Stampin' Up and when the idea for these adorable treat bags came to me, I just had to make them now!

Plus, who doesn't love adorable frogs giving away free kisses?!

These little treat bags are going to be perfect for my students this Hallloween. I think I might even include them in my Holiday Treats Class click the link to sign up!

If you also love these little treat bags and want to make them for your trick-or-treaters visit my Etsy or Stampin' Up sites.

At With Love and Affection on etsy you can buy the clear bags and premade toppers by clicking here. They come in sets of three for $4.00, but if you buy ten or more I will give them to you for just $1.00 each. If you want to make them yourself click here to go to my Stampin' Up site where you can purchase all the materials needed and they will be shipped right to your house.

A list of materials and items numbers can be found on my website(www.withloveandaffection.com)

While we're talking about halloween check out this adorable Spooky Garland. I hung mine over a mirror last halloween, it was sooo cute. If you want one head on over to my etsy shop and get it quick. If you want a different word such as boo, trick-or-treat, or halloween just e-mail me

mduarte1027@gmail.com