Monday, December 31, 2012

FCCB Organize It Cricut Crawl

Happy Monday to all of you! Today is a special Monday challenge at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog - It's a Cricut Crawl! Yippee!!! :-) The FCCB Design Team has put together a fabulous assortment of "organizing" projects using our Cricut Machines. Please make sure you start at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog to find out what the rules and prizes are!

My project is an interchangeable acrylic Post-It note holder. My goal was to use paper and cardstock that I already have, as well as my long time neglected Peachy Keen stamps.





First I cut my background papers to fit the 5x7 acrylic frame. I then sifted through my card stock scraps to find coordinating colors. I used my Simply Charmed, Create A Critter, PPDU, Cheerful Seasons, Summer Celebrations, and Independence Day carts to achieve a character for every month. After piecing them together I embellished with Stickles, PK stamps, and white gel pen. And whola! A Post-It note holder with added year-round interest:-)


The line up for our challenge this week is listed below. Please make sure you stop at everyone's blog. I know there are quite a few giveaways that you don't want to miss. Which brings me to mention my Valentine Embellie giveaway! Simply be a follower of my blog and post a comment that you are. How easy is that? An extra entry for those who bring a friend - just have them mention your name in their post:-) Your next stop is the fabulous Connie!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of my wonderful and creative followers, a very Merry Christmas
and an inspired New Year!


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Holly Jolly Day

As I am sitting here writing up this blog post, the down pouring rain has changed to huge gigantic snowflakes! I am so glad I got two of my kids home at noon and my DH should be back from Madison and picking up my son from school. Ooo, there goes the power flickering. Not good. Fingers crossed.x


I used the Cupcake Inspirations challenge photo for this shaped card. I used the shadow feature on the Winter Frolic cart to weld two ornament shapes together in Cricut Craft Room. Next I printed and cut the layers using the Imagine Mr Frosty cart. The ornament layer was embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflake folder. The silver top was cut separately using some Stampin' Up silver metallic card stock. I punched two small holes in the middle of the folded part and threaded some hand dyed ribbon and some Stampin' Up metallic twine. The sentiment is from Pink By Design's Christmas Wishes set.

Challenges

Cupcake Inspirations - photo

Gingerloft - Christmas or Winter

Exploring Cricut - Christmas

My Craft Spot - Christmas Shaped Card

Celebrate The Occasion - Anything Goes

Die Cuttin' Divas - Christmas Spirit

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, December 17, 2012

Fantabulous Challenge - Shaped Cards

This week's challenge is super fun! Make a card that's a shape other than a square or rectangle. For my card I used the Winter Frolic cart and my Gypsy to weld the shadow feature to make the base of the card. I then cut a single shadow to place on top of the card after I folded it in half. I then assembled the rest of the card as usual.




The cardstock is from Authentique's Festive bundle (I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this stack) and a little blue from DCWV Winter Wonder stack. For the little girl's face, I used the Hide Contours feature  on my Gypsy to eliminate the facial features. I stamped her face with PK-450 Wide Eyed Kids (I use this set a lot!) I then adhered the little girl to the base with an Action Wobble. I thought this worked fabulously with this card:-) The wonderful sentiment is from Pink By Design's Christmas Wishes set.

If you have never made a shaped card and would like to try, you can check out this Youtube video I found.

Make sure you check out FCCB's Monday Challenge to get full challenge instructions and see the rest of the DT's inspirations:-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Friday, December 7, 2012

White Christmas

Tonight was my daughter's high school Christmas program. What beautiful music. I am always amazed at how much talent there is in the high schools. Since I was home earlier than I thought, I decided post the card I made today. We are expecting our first snow tonight so I thought this was appropriate:-)


I used one of my new favorite carts, Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons. This snowflake has four layers. Each layer having more intricate detailing. I only used white and pearled white cardstocks to fit in with a few challenges this week. The top three layers are adhered to the fourth layer with foam adhesive then the entire snowflake is "popped" up with foam adhesive on the embossed layer. The embossed layer was done with Cuttlebug's Snowflakes folder. In order to see the contrasting layers, I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I liked the softer look of the pearlized CS so I used White Opal liquid pearls instead of Stickles.

Challenges


Cupcake Craft - all white

Celebrate The Occasion - Christmas (no red or green)

Creative Craft Challenges2 - white on white

Twisted Tuesday - white with snowflakes

Moxie Fab World - photo inspiration

Tuesday Throwdown - white Christmas

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Merry Christmas Snowflake

I seem to be getting a lot of Christmas cards make this week:-) I just love the variety of papers, stamps, and die cuts that can be used. Here is one I made for some challenges this week.


I used the large snowflake stamp from Iron Gate Stamps Snowflake set. The DCS is Authentique's Festive (yes, I have a lot of this card stock - gotta use it up:-). I "antiqued" the red, white, and green baker's twine with some Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink. The sentiment is from Scrappy Mom's Winter Wishes set. Did you spot it? Yes, Candy Cane Stickles!

Challenges
The Stamping Boutique - holiday cards

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Snowflakes

So glad you stopped by today! I want to share another card I made using my friend's new Snowflake and stamp set and the Knitting background stamp. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday to create this seasonal card. I embossed half of the cream background with the Cuttlebug Snowflake folder before I adhered some Authentique DCS and a strip of the stamped Knitting stamp. The diecut snowflakes are from Stampin' Up and  EK Success. The stamped snowflakes are from Iron Gate Stamps Snowflake set. Oh yes, a little bit of Xmas Red Stickles;-)


Challenges



Simon Says Stamp - anything


Cute Card Thursday - snowflakes

Inspire Me Fridays - anything

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Warmest Wishes

This week's challenge at FCCB is all about that cold, fluffy stuff - SNOW! I printed and cut this cute snowman from the Imagine cartridge, Enjoy The Seasons. The layers were cut out separately so I could pop them up with foam adhesive for a more dimensional image. The embossed snowflakes are from Iron Gate Stamps. After stamping the snowflakes with white craft ink, I heat embossed them with Stampin' Up's Iridescent Ice. I added a few punched snowflakes with additional Stickles and some of my hand-dyed ribbon.


Please make sure you stop over to the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog to see the other Design Team's inspirations. Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Scandinavian Santa

What a beautiful day we had here! It was 62 degrees here in Northern IL! What a treat:-) Tomorrow they are predicting 66 degrees:-) Definitely not complaining, but it does make it hard to get in the Christmas mode. I was able to get most of the lights up outside. Found I was short a few because some seemed to not want to light up:-( I did manage to get this cute little santa card done this evening.


I used the Scandinavian Christmas Cards cartridge along with one of my favorite stamp sets from Iron Gate Stamps. The patterned cardstock is from Authentique's Festive pack. I did need to use a little Black Diamond Stickles for his eyes (needs a twinkle) and buttons.

Challenges






Thanks for Stopping By! Have A Creative Day:-)

Friday, November 30, 2012

Merry Christmas Wreath

My challenge card for today is 5.5" square and was made using the Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons cartridge. I cut the wreath at 4" using patterned cardstock from Authentique's Festive line. The wreath is adhered with foam adhesive for a little dimension. The sentiment is from Pink By Design's Christmas Wishes set.


Challenges

365 Cards

ABC Challenges

Crimbo Crackers

The Paper Girls

My Paper Crafting


Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Winter Thank You

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. In fact, "Thank Yous" are what most of the challenges are today. I incorporated Sweet Sketch Wed sketch to make this 5.5 square Thank You card. I layered coordinating patterned cardstock from a Christmas scrapbook package I purchased last year. The center green card is a punched tag that I stamped and heat embossed a beautiful snowflake from Iron Gate Stamps. The ribbon is hand dyed and can be purchased through my Etsy store.


Challenges





Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thanksgiving Vacation

A definite lesson learned. Always bring a grandparent (or two) when toting a toddler to Disney World. Lots of meltdowns from missed naps. Lots of missed activities from meltdowns (same applies for the two year old;-)

Now that the laundry is caught up and the kids are back in their school routine, I'm heading back to my craft room to relax:-) Here are some pics I thought I'd share:-)



He's making little horns with his fingers and saying "moo"

Was tempted to buy these purple "ears"

{{Teddy Bear Hug}}

 Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, November 19, 2012

Thanks A Latte

Happy Monday everyone! Today's Fantabulous challenge is all about being thankful. For my DT inspiration I used the Winter Frolic cart.


The patterned card stock from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found - Madison Avenue and Portobello Road . I distressed the solids with Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo Distress Ink to make the card more cohesive. I couldn't refrain from adding a little sparkle, though. Yes, there is a bit of Stickles:-)

Now head to your happy place and start creating! Thanks for stopping by. Have a creative day:-)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Follow Your Dreams...

This week's Die Cuttin' Divas challenge was to use a sketch. I used the George and Basic Shapes cart to cut an oval slightly bigger than the largest Spellbinder oval die that I used. The stamped images are from Iron Gate Stamps' Weathervane set. I used water color crayons to color in the sail boat. The patterned paper is from Fancy Pants Designs Beach Bum stack.



Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, November 5, 2012

Lots of Leaves

Today begins a new Fantabulous Cricut Blog Challenge! Fall is in the air and the leaves are on the ground (at least here they are). This week's challenge at FCCB is to make a project using leaves:-) For my DT inspiration project I made an 8 x 8 two-page layout using the Cheerful Seasons cartridge from Creative Memories. I tied the leaves up with some of my Fall Foliage hand dyed ribbon, hemp, and a button. The patterned paper is from Stampin' Up. I did add a little Stickles to the leaves in the wheelbarrow for fun.



Make sure to enter your "Leaf" project before next Monday for a chance to win a wonderful prize! Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Friday, November 2, 2012

Surprises sweeten life

My card for today is for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge. The stamps I used come from Iron Gate Stamps' Fortune Cookie set. What I really like about this set is that besides offering a few pre-made "fortunes", it comes with the fortune outline so I can insert one of my own "fortunes" if I so desire. I used one of the stamped fortunes that comes with the set for this card.


I used some of the beautiful cardstock from Bo Bunny's Serenity set, as well as some from DCWV Tradewinds stack. The Chinese script came from an internet search which I printed onto some card stock and adhered with foam dots. I used gold metallic paper and cut the scalloped layer with my Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

New Use For A Journaling Tag

Happy Monday my crafting friends! My card today is inspired by Moxie Fab's Journaling Tag challenge. They want their readers to create a project using a journaling tag in a different way. I thought that was such a great idea! I have so many preprinted die cut sheets with journaling tags - A new use!!


I used three different tags from a die-cut sheet from Jillibean Soup. The patterned card stock is also from Jillibean Soup wrapped with hand dyed ribbon. I inked the edges and stacked them using foam adhesive. The stamped images come from Iron Gate Stamps Birdhouse set.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

On A Roll!!

Well, I saw this week's Cardabilities Sketch challenge and figured I'm on a roll so I'd make another card with what I had out:-) Another chance to show off my friend's new stamp line. This time I used the adorable birdhouses with her branch and leaves.


I used more of my Authentique's Lively card stock as well as the extra die cut leaves I made yesterday from Stampin' Up's leaf die. The sentiment actually came from a different Iron Gate Stamps set, Weathervanes. I "tied" the houses to the branch using a black fine tip pen. Now I'm off to my MIL party. Hope she likes it:-)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Saturday, October 27, 2012

New Stamp Company

I am so excited to be using my friend's new stamp line! Her launch date is November 1st but she gave me the thumbs up to go ahead and start using them:-) I have been playing with her three new sets and backgrounds for awhile and am so ready to start showing them off! I used one of her birds for this weeks Authentique's sketch challenge.


Her Birdhouse set works perfectly with Authentique's Lively card stock stack. I stamped the image with Ranger Sepia Archival Ink and water colored the bird with water color crayons. The leaf die cut is from Stampin' Up as well as the button die. If you are interested in viewing or even purchasing these brand new photopolymer stamp sets, please visit Mary at Iron Gate Stamps or her blog at Mary-Just Cut The Paper.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, October 22, 2012

What's Brewin'?

Welcome my spooooky friends:-) This weeks challenge at FCCB is all about using Black and Orange in your project. Easy peasy, eh? Of course, I decided to add a little purple, too:-)


I found this cauldron on the Happy Hauntings Cricut cart that I thought worked brilliantly with Scrappy Moms' sentiment from A Haunting We Will Go set. After adding a little Stickles and doodle (not sure if I should use that word anymore - has a different meaning in my household;-) I popped it up with some foam tape. The patterned cardstock is from MME Haunted stack (can you see the little skulls? spooky) I hand dyed the ribbon to coordinate with the cardstock and tied a vintage button with some black and orange bakers twine. The border punch is by Martha Stewart Crafts.

Make sure you stop over to The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog to find out all of the rules for this week's challenge.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, October 8, 2012

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #132

Today we are celebrating Columbus Day at FCCB. We want you to incorporate a ship in your project this week. Since I am down on my birthday card stash, I decided to make a fun card for boy. I used the Imagine cartridge, Buccaneer.


I used my 5 1/4" square card template that I've saved in CCR. It is simply two rounded squares from the Boys Will Be Boys cart welded together. I then printed one of the papers from the Buccaneer cart at 5" and adhered it to the green card base. The ship image I printed/cut once along with the birthday sentiment. On a separate layer in CCR, I separated the images and printed/cut the flags, masts, and the word Birthday only. This allowed me to "pop" them up on the ship for added dimension. I had an idea to use some of my misc. buttons to embellish the card but couldn't find any that resembled coins. I ended up finding some trim at Hobby Lobby with "coins" on them. I took two and distressed them with  Pinata alcohol inks after I "roughed" them up a little. And even though it is for a boy, I had to add a little Stickles, Gold for the dot on the "I" and Black Diamond for the port holes.

Make sure you click over to the Fantabulous Cricut Blog to see all of the other fabulous DT inspirations as well as the complete instructions for this weeks challenge.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Friday, October 5, 2012

Eeek!

Happy Friday crafty friends! I felt a little more perky yesterday so I spent some time in my craft room making some birthday cards and challenge cards. Here is one of the cards I made for a couple of challenges this week. I used one of the cat cuts from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge. I couldn't decide which one to use at first but decided on the forward facing kitty. I was going to use my Everyday Character Face Parts by Peachy Keen stamps until I realized the set I have is too big for that little guy:-( Guess I'll be making a purchase this weekend:-)


The green patterned paper is from Karen Foster and the web PP had no name. The scary sentiment came from Scrappy Moms' A Haunting We Will Go set which I stamped on a die cut from My Craft Spot. I dotted the kitty's nose with a little Black Diamond Stickles as well as a few dots of Paprika for added embellishment.

Challenges


Tuesday Throwdown - Cute & Cuddly

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

There's a Scare in the Air!

Since I was feeling a little better today, I decided to work on a card for a couple of challenges this week. I started making a scarecrow from the Simply Scarecrow Cricut cart, but they didn't look "scary" enough. Darned things are so cute:-) I saw this creepy jack o lantern on the cart and thought he looked scarier:-) I embossed the orange layer with the Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug folder and popped it up on the black layer. I used different sized buttons for the eyes and added some Black Diamond Stickles to the stem. The patterned paper is from MME Haunted stack. The sentiment is from one of my favorite sets from Scrappy Moms, A Haunting We Will Go set.


Challenges


My Craftspot - Halloween

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Happy Fall

It's officially fall and I am so excited! I just love when the humidity goes away and the air becomes crisp. Fall is my favorite time of the year. The colors, the weather, the aromas. My card today celebrates this time of year. I used the Cricut Imagine cartridge, The Good Old Days. I love the retro styled images on this cart. I began by separating the images in CCR and cutting some of them separately so I could pop them up for dimension. I added a little Paprika, Eucalyptus, and Stardust Stickles for some sparkle. The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink. I embossed the orange cardstock with the Geometric Rings Cuttlebug folder.


Challenges

My Craft Spot - Falling Leaves

Tuesday Throwdown - Fall Colors

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Precious Little Baby

Hello fellow crafters and happy Tuesday to you! I needed a little crafting therapy today so I made this sweet little card for Bitten By The Bug 2's Little Boy Blue challenge. I used the Hey Diddle Diddle Imagine cartridge along with some hand dyed ribbon and twine. I am just loving Kimberly's My Craft Spot's tiny tags stamp and die sets. Sometimes you don't have enough space on a card for a larger stamped sentiment so this set helps solve that problem. They are the perfect sayings in the perfect size.


Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, September 24, 2012

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Birthday Candles

What a crazy couple of weeks! I can't believe (okay, yes I can) I haven't done any posts in two weeks! First, my two year old slipped on a chair and split his chin open on the granite counter - 3 hours in the ER and 6 stitches. Then it was "Mom, I need a dress and stuff for Homecoming next week". Fourteen stores in one day is exhausting. Especially, when we come back empty handed. Needless to say, we did eventually get a dress (overnighted from Bergners online), shoes, purse, etc.,  as well as all of the other items she needed for dress-up days. Now, I have one week to get organized before I have my gall bladder out. I am actually looking forward to a little "rest" and no driving:-)

This week's challenge is all about birthday celebrations using candles. Makeas made using the Birthday Bash and Blast Off cartridges. I created my own card base by welding the candle cut and cutting off the wick/flame part. The orange flame and melted "wax" was embossed with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirl folder while the yellow part of the flame was embossed with their Swiss Dots folder. I replaced the paper wick with a piece of white chenille stems (I thought they were called pipe cleaners - is that a Midwest thing?). I "squiggled" it and adhered it between the cuts on the back portion of the card. The inside is stamped with a sentiment from Stampin' Up's Afterthoughts set.



Make sure to stop over at FCCB to find out all of the guidelines for this week's challenge. Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Special Delivery

Today's challenge at The Fantabulous Cricut blog is all about planes, trains, and automobiles. I chose this happy little flying Santa from The Good Old Days Imagine cart. I separated the layers on my Imagine so I could emboss the blue layer with the Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls folder. The stamped sentiment is from Pink By Design's Ticket To Ride set.


Now stop on by The Fantabulous Cricut blog to see how you can participate in this weeks challenge. Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Friday, September 7, 2012

What's Cookin'?

The first rule of creating challenge cards should be similar to cutting rules. Read instructions twice, make one card. Well, I created this card for two challenges, only to realize I didn't pay attention to what kind of book image I could use. Oh, well, at least I can still use it for one challenge:-)

 Still Shot

Action Shot

I used my all-time favorite cart, Kate's Kitchen (although my eyes are on the new Suburbia cart). I adhered the cookbook character with an Action Wobble. I added a little Papertrey Inc ribbon for some  embellishment along with a sentiment from A Pinch And A Dash set by Scrappy Moms stamped on a die cut from My Creative Time.

Cooking With Cricut - brown, kraft, craft, green, and red

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful and creative weekend:-)


Thursday, September 6, 2012

You're So Sweet!

Wow! How a week sure does fly by when there's a sick little person at home. Even though each day seemed endless, here it is Thursday already. I ended up dusting off my poor neglected Gypsy to create today's card. I've been using CCR so much lately because I can use it on my iMac which makes everything easier to see. But, my Gypsy comes in handy sitting next to my little guy while Blue's Clues is on:-)


I used the Walk in My Garden cart along with the dies and sentiment stamp from My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags set. I added a few Prima flowers with tiny brads and a little Distress Stickles.

Paper Playtime - Gingham
Bitten By The Bug 2 - Shaped card

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Born To Fly

If you are from the US I hope all of you are having/had a wonderful holiday weekend. We were fortunate to be able to be outside to cook-out and use the pool. I'm hoping we get a few more good weekends before we have to close it for the summer. It does remind me that fall is around the corner, though. And Ooooh how I love those cider doughnuts:-P Our local orchard makes some of the best!  I'm thinking I may need go for a little visit next week to get a little fall inspiration;-)

My card for this past week's challenges was made using the Country Carnival Imagine cart along with the perfect sentiment from Pink By Design's Ticket To Ride set.


My Craft Spot - Hope is Rising

Die Cuttin Divas - Twine, Pop Dots, Buttons

Ink It Pink - For The Birds

Pause Dream Enjoy - You're So Tweet

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

"Pink-ing" of you

I must say I am glad to know why I have been in so much pain the past week but not so happy that it's my gall bladder:-P And, unfortunately I'll have to live with this pain until I get an appt set up to get it taken care of:-( It is nice to work on challenge cards because it takes my mind off of the pain for a short while. I was able to get one card done this week for Pause Dream Enjoy blog challenge.


I used one of my favorite carts, Nifty Fifties, along with the coordinating Cuttlebug embossing folder. The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's Pink-a-licious set stamped with Stampin' Up's Melon Mambo. Yes, I had to add a little Stickles:-) Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Tooth Fairy Day

This week's challenge at FCCB celebrates National Tooth Fairy Day! Our sponsor this week is Jaded Blossom :-) I used one of their adorable stamps to create this little keepsake tin.


I stamped the image with black Staz-On and used water color pencils on the wings, tiara, and wand. I added Glossy Accents to the "tooth" part to give it a little dimension and texture and used a small background stamp from Stampin' Up in the outer white area. I layered it on top of a round "scalloped" cut from the Elegant Edges cart using card stock from DCWV Nana's Kids. Yes, that bling is Stickles:-)


I used shrink plastic and cut out a tooth shape from A Child's Year cart. I punched two holes in the center prior to heating the plastic so I could make my own button. I then added White Opal Liquid Pearls to give it a more shine and texture. I attached it to my hand dyed ribbon with basic white embroidery floss. I covered the sides with the same cardstock used for the die cut. The inside is lined simply with purple craft felt.


Jaded Blossoms is giving away TWO stamp sets to one lucky participant. So head to your craft space and start working on your tooth fairy project! Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day:-)

Friday, August 10, 2012

You Are My Sunshine!

Happy Friday! My last challenge card of the week is for Paper Playtime. I used the Better Together Imagine cartridge along with the Elegant Edges cart. Yes, there is a little Cotton Candy Stickles on the cheeks:-) Now I'm off to enjoy this gorgeous weekend. It's been awhile since I've been able to enjoy being outside!


Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative weekend:-)
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