Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Birthday Bliss


This week Jitterbuggin' came up with another fun sketch.  In addition to the sketch, we were suppose to use a punch and a specific color scheme.  The color scheme was black and white with one accent color. 

August is a crazy birthday month for our family, so I decided when I saw this number paper that I would make a birthday card for my sister-in-law.  The number paper came in a pack I won a couple years ago at a World Cardmaking Day event.  I used my black, white, and green card stock that I had on hand. It's difficult to see, but the number paper is actually mounted on black card stock.  I used three Cricut Cartridges on this card: Zooballoo, George and Basic Shapes, and Doodle Charms. I cut the hat out on Doodle Charms and used George and Basic Shapes to make the black and green rings on my 31 circle.  I used a punch to cut out the white inner circle. I ran the white inner circle and inner white rectangle through the Big Shot to emboss it with a Cuddlebug folder. I added my last circle and added some bling with some fun Me and My Big Ideas gems I had purchased on clearance a year ago.  I chose green because it is my sister-in-laws favorite color.  I think she will really like card and I had fun making it!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Christmas in July



I have to be honest, I have not started to think about Christmas quite yet.  However, the fabulous folks at Fantabulous Cricut have! This week was a Christmas in July Challenge.  I spent a few days thinking about what I wanted to do. Instead of doing my normal cards, I decided it was time for a creation.  I always get stuck at the holidays when someone I never would have expected gives me a random gift.  I try to keep a few extra items wrapped and ready to return the joy.  Since handmade gifts are always fun to give and very heartwarming, I made a little package for some gingersnap cookies.  Again, I used all scraps from my scrap drawer.  I embossed the green card stock with the swiss dots Cuddlebug folder, used a piece of DCWV glitter card stock, and found some coordinating ribbon.  I cut the reindeer our using the Doodle Charms cartridge.  I distressed the edges of the nose with red, the brown with dark brown, and the antlers with an almond color.  I added some red Stickles to the nose, googly eyes, and a coordinating bow.  I also used some snowflakes cut out from the same cartridge and brushed on white Stickles to match the glitter card stock. I finished the whole thing off with some bling!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Robins Egg Blue



Taylored Expressions provided a sketch for a wonderful challenge.  I decided that lately I hadn't used very many of my stamps. I have been so impressed with all the stamping I have seen on blogs in the past couple weeks.  There are a few stamp sets that I am saving up for, including some from Taylored Expressions.  Anyway, until I have some new stamps I decided to use some old favorites.  In fact, I purchased this stamp a year ago and hadn't quite decided how to use it.  I think it would be very fitting for Easter or spring.  I purposely bought it to use with my Watercolor Wonder crayons from Stampin Up.  I felt like this would be a great layout to break it in with! Below is the Taylored Expression Layout:

I started by cutting my circles out and practicing my watercolor skills.  After I had my stamp just the way I wanted it, I distressed the edges of the circle with French Blue ink by Color Box.  I mounted my stamp to a scalloped circle, cut with my Sizzix Big Shot, which had also been distressed with blue ink.  At this point I knew I could figure out the remaining colors for the card.  I really debated at this step, I knew I could pull more colors out from the stamped image or go with the white and blue.  I am trying very hard to keep up my resolution of not buying any more paper.  I went through what I already had and there wasn't anything quite soft enough.  I decided that I could go with white and run it through the Big Shot with a Cuddlebug folder.  I moved forward and distressed the circle with the same blue ink.  Now I only spent a moment thinking about my paper when I remembered the paper I used just the other day.  In fact I just realized, it was the same paper I used for the last Taylored Expression Challenge! It is just such a versatile print. I cut it down to size and again softened the edges with my blue ink.  Before adding the printed paper to my card, I added a strip of doilie and sheer ribbon.  I added three white flowers that I just purchased at Archiver's from Prima Flowers. I added my printed paper to the card, mounted my white partial circle, and used pop up foam adhesive for my scallop circle.  I finished the whole card off with some blue beads from the Robin's Nest Spring Bloom collection.

There you have it another challenge done and another wonderful card created.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Going Green





This week Jitterbuggin' focuses on pastels for their challenge.  I don't use pastels very often, so it really was fun to go through my paper and think about what colors I wanted to use.  In addition the recipe for the challenge called for the use of their sketch, a button and a Cricut cut sentiment. 

I decided to go with a light green and create a thank you card.  I cut the flower out in six different sizes using my Design Studio software and Walk In My Garden cartridge.   After they were cut out I embossed them with various Cuddlebug folders.  I distressed the edges with light green ink and add a button to the center.  I have to say, I LOVE buttons.  I have mine all sorted out my color and I have so much fun "shopping" for just the right one!  I used a Fiskars border punch to cut out some coordinating green paper that was distressed with just a hint of pastel blue ink.  I added a shear ribbon and some gems to create my "lines" in the sketch. I stamped the white card with some great swirls and distressed the edges of the card with light green ink. Finally, I added my sentiment to the bottom, cut out from the George and Basic Shapes cartridge. There you have it, a pastel green card with a button in the middle and "thanks" written below.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

It was a teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini...





I was blog surfing this afternoon and came across a new to me blog.  Jitterbuggin' provided a sketch (see below) and required the colors red and yellow, a beach themed item, and something cut from a Cricut.  I thought, I bet I could whip that out and use my Life's a Beach cartridge! I haven't gotten to use this cartridge very much, so was excited to see what I could do.  I also knew it would not be a shape card and thought it would be a could card to create sans Design Studio.
 
My resolution this year has been to use more of my scrap paper. I have a whole drawer full that needs to be sorted and is just sitting waiting for use on a card or scrapbook page.  So, rather than cut into new paper, I made my entire card out of scraps I had on hand.  I started by choosing some papers that fit the look I was going for and met the challenge criteria.  When I came across the yellow and white polka dot paper, I could not quit thinking about the biking song! I took that as a hint I should put a bikini on my card.  I cut the yellow polka dot paper and distressed it with red ink.  I then sewed around the edge of the paper to create a nice border and create a bit of a focal point.  I cut out four rectangles and distressed with red ink.  I set those down to create my quadrants. I used my George and Basic Shapes cartridge to cut out the orange card stock circle and yellow and white polka dot border.  I ran the orange circle through my Sizzix and used a Cuddlebug folder to add the funky circles.  I used more red ink to highlight the entire circle and distress the edges of the yellow border circle.  I used foam squares to lift the circle up from the card.  I moved to the Life's a Beach cartridge and cut out my teeny bikini in yellow card stock with the accent pieces on some yellow polka dot paper. I distressed the edge of the bikini with yellow ink.  I added a blue gem to the center for some bling.  Using foam squares, I mounted the bikini to the card to make it pop! Finally I cut out the "teeny bikini" wording using the Life's a Beach cartridge.  There was a little bikini attached that I chopped off.  It seemed silly to have a tiny version of the big bikini right beside it.  I mounted the yellow words on red card stock and cut around to create a background.  I added three tiny green gems to dot the letter "i".
 
Voila, a teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini card is ready to go!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Cheers to a Challenge!

The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog threw down a "cool yummy treat with optional shape card" challenge this week!  I love all things cool and yummy, I think.  So I debated which treat would be made into a card.  I literally called on the skills I learned back in maybe 2nd grade, the skill of brainstorming.  I sat and wrote down every cool yummy treat I could think of.  On a couple of them I had mini brainstorms underneath. Ultimately, the margarita seemed like the perfect adult cool and yummy treat to drink, er I mean create!  Now came the challenge of finding a margarita glass on my Cricut cartridges.  On the Cuttin' Up cartridge there is a martini glass and font set.  I cleverly used my Design Studio software to mold the martini glass into a funky deco style margarita glass shaped card! The olive that gets cut out along with the "martini" glass had the toothpick cut off and became a lime.  I obviously cut the card on white card stock.  I used a scrapbooking plastic to trace out the "glass".  In between the glass and card is some DCWV green glitter card stock or margarita mix.  The ice cubes I picked up at Archiver's.  They are actually Crystal Stickers Mosaic 10mm in white.  Although, I think they have such a pretty shimmer to them, just like rock candy!  I salted the rim of the glass with Stickles in Star Dust. Since the lime was originally white, I tinted it green with some color box pigment.  I added my lines and used Stickles in Green to make the peel. Since the lime needed a seed, I used a tiny green gem in the center. Just a cut and it slipped right on to the rim of the glass. Now every good host has some way to mark who gets what glass.  I experimented with metal rings and such, but those were too bulky and just sort of threw the delicate card off.  The shimmery sheer ribbon seemed like a perfect fit.  When I entertain I really do wrap stuff up with ribbon.  For example, I think napkins with the necessary utensils rolled up inside look so cute in a basket with matching ribbon on the handle and ribbon around the utensil roll!  So, at my house it is not one bit odd that I might have bits of ribbon tied around the bottom of a margarita or wine glass to mark who gets which glass! Finally, what cool yummy treat with alcohol doesn't have an umbrella?! I just had to slip it in between the layer of card stock and my margarita mix.  There you have it, a calorie free, alcohol free, cool, yummy, summer treat. Cheers!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Simple Stationary Set





A few weeks ago I was working in a single set of colors, see back a few posts, anyway one of those creations was this simple stationary set.  There are four of each card.  I used my Design Studio Software and Cindy Loo Cricut Cartridge to design the entire project.  The paper is from the DCWV Spring Pack from 2009.    I added a little bling where there was a circle on the letter "n".  I also distressed the edges of the "n" to make it stand out.  The blue "n" has a light blue distressing around the edges and is very soft.  The red "n" in contrast has charcoal black and really stands out.  I will wrap these with a sheer ribbon and give to my sister for her birthday I think. 
 
In other exciting card making news, I got some new markers this evening and made a trip to Archiver's! I am excited to play with my new toys!  I am thrilled to have new markers for inspiration!  I just realized I bought red and blue as two of my colors, I must be on a red and blue kick! Watch for new goodies inspired projects soon!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

So Inspired

I was checking out blogs this morning when I came across a new one! I found this blog, Taylored Expressions, and fell in love. They have adorable stamps and colors that pop. I was so inspired! I used their layout #120 to create my card. I loved the bright colors so much that I chose green and orange. Those are two colors that I generally don't work with a whole lot. That's sort of ironic since the last two cards I have posted have had orange. What can I say, I'm finally using up all my orange card stock! Additionally, I was at Ross a few months ago and found a Me and My Big Ideas paper pack on clearance. It was a great price, so I bought it. It has sat there in my craft room for months. Until today that is! I used the paper pack almost exclusively, except for my piece of orange card stock. I also used some green and blue ink to distress the edges and a sheer ribbon I picked up at JoAnn Fabric and Craft.  Anyway, enjoy the card.



Friday, July 9, 2010

Buzzing Around the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge




Fantabulous Cricut has a challenge every Monday. This week's challenge was to make a project using any type of bug and the color orange somewhere in your project. Of course it needs to have something from your Cricut in the project. I decided to make a card. I used the Walk in My Garden cartridge and my Design Studio software to create a bumble bee card. I cut the card out in orange cardstock and the accents in black cardstock. I used black, orange, and clear Stickles to highlight the edges and wings. I used a soft pink gel pen to draw on a little smile, after all, the card says, "Be Happy". I used a couple of googly eyes to really bring the bee to life. Finally, I added some texture with a girly bow made out of a sheer ribbon. This card is buzzing with charm!

Murder Mystery Invitations


We hosted a murder mystery dinner! I wanted a quick and really simple card to drop in the mail.  Since I was low on time, I needed to keep it pretty simple. I used Doodle Charms to cut out some polka dot witch hats, cut a ribbon for the brim and added a button.  I distressed the edges with black ink and used Swiss Dots from Cuddlebug to add some texture. The orange and black polka dot paper was in my scrap pile and I had just enough to do all of the invites.  Easy, quick, fun, and festive!

Minnesota Twins Card


I received an order for some special cards dedicated to the Minnesota Twins!  I started with the Twins sticker.  It is actually mounted on the inside of the card.  I took the stickers with me to the craft stores to match the colors.  If you are wondering where in the world to get the stickers, I am not sure they are available anymore.  My father-in-law is into sports and has his own business selling sports crafts.  Years ago he purchased these stickers from a Hallmark store.  He had them on hand and when I was searching for just the right thing, he happened to have them in his inventory. Anyway, I used a scallop punch to cut a piece out of the red cardstock.  The blue strip on the side was perfect for pulling out the blues in the logo.  I wanted to dress the card up just a little, but not take away from the focal point being the Twins.  I added the white ribbon and bow to make them a little more feminine and add a touch of class.

Sweet Baby Girl Card on a Budget


This card was created on a budget! Everything on it can be purchased from the Dollar Tree! Obviously, I used the Cricut and New Arrival cartridge.  I don't think anything from Provocraft can be purchased from the dollar store, but the materials to put through your Cricut can!

Sweet Baby Boy


One of my best friends was having her baby shower.  I had this blue paper tucked away for a special occasion.  I only bought one piece when I was visiting the Treasure Box in Fort Collins, CO.  The paper is like fabric and is very thin. I of course used my Cricut and Design Studio software to create this card.  I used New Arrivals and Opposites Attract. I think the distressing just softens the whole card!

Wedding


I used Stretch Your Imagination and my Cricut to make the basic layout for this card.  I add gold Stickles to give an almost 3D look to the champagne.  I used the DCWV wedding pack to put some cute wedding themed words in the backward.  The congratulations wording is a rub on in brown. The blue accent paper is actually textured like fabric. Simple and sweet, this card is pretty neat.

Cindy Loo Card Creativity



A few weeks ago I had some time to sit down and make cards. I also had a baby shower invitation order to fill. I made cards all day! To make life easier, I worked in one color scheme the whole day. I used DCWV papers. There was a Spring Pack on clearance last year and I purchased the print paper and matching cardstock. The colors are like light pastels and some bold colors like redish/pink or grass green. My point was to make some thank you notes, but then I made some general cards, and monogram cards (not pictured). I used my new Cricut Cartridge Cindi Loo. This cartridge has a font, doilies, frames, and woodland type animals. It's whimsical and woodsy all at once. Anyway, above and below are my creations. Enjoy.

Sweet Pea Card


I made a "sweet pea" card. I think it turned out pretty well. In the future I need to purchase plain green Stickles (that's the glitter glue I use). The Stickles I had was Holly and it had specs of red in it. It still turned out okay, but a solid green would really be perfect. I also think I would start with a skin tone baby head instead of white. I would still chalk both, but white is just so pale. Overall, I love this card!

Baby Shower Card


I created a card for the baby shower I went to this weekend. I had a card on hand, but had already shown it to my sister-in-law, so wanted to do something new. Perhaps when the baby comes I will give her the other card. I used the Cricut New Arrival cartridge along with my Design Studio software and cut out the card on white card stock. Next, I laced a nice pink ribbon through. Using the same cartridge I cut out a two layer outfit. I used white card stock for the under piece and distressed the edges with pink ink. Next I used a fun polka dot paper to cut out the top pieces of the outfit. I wish I would've had a smaller print for the top, but the big polka dots worked okay. I have a lot of paper on hand, so am trying to use what I have and not buy new paper. On a side note, I have been thinking of organizing a paper swap. Each person would put like 5-10 sheets of paper together. Then we'd get together and swap by the package. Sort of like a grab bag in that you wouldn't know what you were going to get. I think it'd be fun! Anyway, after I cut out the top piece, I distressed that with pink ink too. I think it just softens the edges a little. I wanted to add a little something to the outfit, so I used a brad to add on a flower. I love ribbon, especially rikrak. I added just a little to both the top and the bottoms. Now I needed to figure out how to tie this in to the card. I cut out a small hanger and used my silver metallic ink to add just the right sheen to the card stock. After gluing the clothes on the hanger, I added a small silver brad to hang the hanger off of. While the hanger hung really nicely from the brad, I wanted it to be slightly sturdier. I added some foam adhesive to the back of my outfit and voila a baby card is complete!

Graduation Invites


Well, I have finally finished my sister's graduation invitations, except for the wording inside. Her school colors are black and red. So I decided to use a black card stock as a base. I cut one side a little shorter and added fleur de lis sort of print paper. Next I needed some texture, so I took my white card stock and ran it through the Sizzix Big Shot. The swiss dots embossing folder by provo craft worked wonderfully to add just a little oomph to my white card stock. Next I added a strip of red ribbon all the way across my card. Finally, I needed to make it personal. I jumped on my Cricut and used my Design Studio software to spell out my sisters name. I did a black shadow and a red lettering inside on her name to really make it the focal point. Finally, I cut out the year of her graduation. To give the card just a little sparkle we added a rhinestone to dot the letter "i" in my sister's name. I am happy with the final product and think it will be something we can tie in to her reception in May. Hope you enjoy!

Fishin' for a Valentine's - February


This is just an example of how you can mix up the Valentine's I made previously.  There are the ones I mailed out to my family.  I like the retro look of the paper I found at Hobby Lobby.  I think the gingham print ribbon is the perfect accent!

Sympathy Card - January


I always find sympathy cards to be the most challenging.  I also rarely make cards with black cardstock.  The paper used to stamp on is a paper I created.  I started by using a flexible plastic mat and colored all over it with water color pens.  Next I spritzed the mat with water.  I pressed some watercolor paper down.  The almost tie dye look transferred to the paper.  Once it had dried I used black Staz On to stamp my images.

Swinging through time - January


A few months ago I attended a scrapbooking show.  One of the vendors had some cute retro acrylic stamp sets.  I had been debating how to use them and was delighted when I finished a card with them.  I used Black Staz On to stamp the image and Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons to add some light color.  I topped off the roses on the swing with some red Stickles.  I think it turned out pretty well!

Pan of Valentine's Day Cookie Cards - February



This year my husband and I are both continuing our journey of health. With that being said, we are not exchanging sugar, chocolate, and flour filled treats. Instead, I *baked* a pan of Valentine's inspired by conversation hearts and sugar cookies. They are tastefully simple, easy to whip up, and look good enough to eat. I grew up in a home where Valentine's day was not just about romantic love, but loving your friends, family, and the people around you. Rather than taking treats in to an office full of people watching the scale, I decided to give out old fashioned Valentine's with sweet sentiments.

Ingredients:

Ala Mode White Embossing Powder by Hampton Art
JoAnn Craft Essentials Pigment Ink pad (clear)
Paper Studio Clear Stamps in Sophie Caps
Craft Essentials Ribbon in C4 Spring
Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad in Dark Brown
Duck Permanent Adhesive
Paper Studio Natural Ivory Card stock
Paper Studio Pink 3 Card stock
JoAnn ScrapEssentials Red/Pink mini heart brads
Provo Craft Cricut Expression Machine with the Doodle Charms cartridge loaded

Yield: 1 dozen with spare parts left over
Prep Time: 30 minutes in your favorite craft store
Bake Time: 1 hour
Cost: Not including my wonderful tools, the supplies ran around $10.

Directions: I pre-set my Cricut to cut 3 1/4 inch sized hearts. I selected the scalloped heart with the shadow feature on and filled a 12 x 12 page with hearts. Each 12 x 12 sheet cut 6 hearts or enough to make three cards. For my next cut I took shadow off and did a heart without scallops. Each page made 9 hearts.
I distressed the edges of 12 of my 24 scalloped hearts with my dark brown ink. Next I used my arcrylic stamps to create sentiments. I embossed those onto my pink hearts and used the duck adhesive to mount the pink hearts on the cream scalloped hearts.
I cut my ribbon pieces to be about 2 inches. I used my piercer tool to make a hole in the ribbon after I folded it just right. I stuck my brad through the ribbon. I then used the piercer to make a hole through two lined up scalloped hearts (one with distressing facing outward). I stuck the brad with ribbon through the scalloped heart and flattened the bottom of the brad. Repeat 11 more times and you have one dozen valentines baked to perfection.
Valentine cookes slide open to reveal your sentiment.