Kimono Gate-Fold Card

So today I did some cleaning of my craft area. I was organizing my buttons when I came across this frog clasp style button. That button inspired the card. I decided to use it as the closure for a gate-fold card. The card is 6 1/2"x6" when folded. The kimono is from Pagoda and cut at 6." I used my Gypsy to cut the layer and the hide countour feature on it to not cut out the heart on the kimono. All the patterned paper is from the Far East Stack by DCWV and the solid papers are from my stash. The stamp on the inside is also from my stash.

Warms My Heart

There's nothing like a good cup of coffee, especially on a cold, wet, rainy day. A day like today. I sit here sipping mine while I work on this post. It is really nice! :) I used the picture inspiration from Papercraft Star for the look and the color. I used Tuesday Morning Sketches for the layout. I also used some bling and a ribbon, for the challenge at Card Creations & More by C.

The card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4." I matted it with the brown that is cut 1/8" smaller and embossed with D'vine Swirls folder. I wrapped the ribbon, which I had in my stash, around the card. I used a piece of light blue cardstock and cut it at 3"x3 3/4," then cut a piece of light brown paper at 1/4" smaller and embossed it with D'vine Swirls as well. I stamped my sentiment on the brown paper. The cup is from A Child's Year and cut at 1 3/4" in the same dark blue as the base of the card. I layered some dark brown paper behind it to fill in the cut-outs. I added some swirl paper clips and bling in the corners. The inside is layered in the same light blue and brown paper. I stamped it with some coffee beans and a "thank you" sentiment.

Think BIG

The challenge today at 365 Cards is "All Creatures Great and Small." The challenge is to use one small creature and one large creature on your card. I also just found a challenge that the Cricut Couple is hosting, which is to make a project with a cat theme. I figured I could combine the two and this is what I came up with, a little cat looking in the mirror and seeing a tiger.

The card is 5"x7." I used some paw print paper that I found in my stash for the matting. It is cut 1/4" smaller than the card base. The ovals were cut from George, the brown one at 5" with a 4 1/2" smaller one inside, to create a frame and the white one was cut at 5" as well. The tiger is from Animal Kingdom and cut at 4." The cat is also from Animal Kingdom and cut at 2 1/2." I used a marker to add some shading and added Stickles for the eyes and glossy accents on the nose. The word "dream" was cut from Jasmine at 1" and the word "BIG" was cut from Cricut Keystone at 1 1/4." I used my Gypsy to strech the letters to make them wider. The ribbon is from my stash.

October 31

BBTB2 is featuring Mini Monograms this week. The design team was asked to use the numbers, with any creative feature for their projects. They came up with some great projects, so be sure to check them out. I just got Mini Monograms about a month ago and haven't used it yet. I got a lot of inspiration from the design team to come up with the card that I made. I used the bonus sketch from 2S4Y this week.

The card is 6 1/4"x4 1/2." I use paper from both DCWV, their Midnight Spell stack, and K&Company. I cut out the 3 and 1 at 2," using the dots feature in the orange/black dotted paper. I used the shadow feature to cut out the solid black to put behind the numbers. I then pop-dotted them on the green piece of paper. I used the letter only feature and my Gypsy to create the word October so that it was going vertical. The ribbon is a self-adhesive ribbon I got a Joanns. I stamped "trick or treat" on the inside and used the 3 and 1 that were cut out in the corner.

Santa Slackers Challenge Card

Over on the Cricut messageboard, in the cards forum, there are a couple of ladies who have challenged people to make Christmas cards and get the jump on Christmas. That way you aren't making cards at the last minute. This week is the second week of their challenge. I didn't make anything for last week, but I thought it sounded like a fun challenge so I decided to participate this week. The rules of the challenge was to follow the sketch, make it a 5"x7" card, use a Christmas cut, and add some bling.

The card is 5"x7." I use paper from Me & My Big Ideas. I cut the ornaments from the Christmas Solutions cartridge. The oblong ornament is cut at 3 1/2," and the round ornament is cut at 2." I placed a ribbon around the smaller rectangle of paper. I added silver Stickles around the edge as well and put some bling in the corners. The ornaments are pop-dotted at different heights and I put some bling on the oblong ornament. The inside is matted and then stamped with some stamps in my stash.

I've been making some Christmas cards since July, but I'm always up for a new type of challenge. If I can get enough stocked up I won't have to make any for next year either. ;) I hope they keep these challenges coming for a while, it was really fun to make this one!! Enjoy!

Peace

This is a 4 1/2"x6 1/4" card. I mostly used scraps from my stash for this one. It is nice to use up some of that stuff and make even a little bit of space for more. :) The blue striped piece is cut at 4 1/4"x6." The purple piece is 6"x2 1/2" and embossed with the Plum Blossoms folder. The pink piece is 1"x6" and I glittered it with some Martha Stewart glitter. I used Cindy Loo for the the doily and the sentiment. The doily is cut at 3," the navy blue was cut using the shadow feature and the light blue was cut normally. The sentiment, "peace," was cut at 1."

This one is for the color challenge at 365 Cards and I used the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. Hope you enjoy this one, I thoroughly enjoyed making it!

Peach Flowers

I really liked the color challenge at Picture Perfect Creations this week. I thought I would make it into a sympathy card, but when I was finished with it I just didn't think it felt like one. To me it felt more like a get well card, so that is what I made it into. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday to do the layout of the card.

The card is a 5"x7" card. The blue piece is 4 7/8"x3," and the yellow pieces are all 4" long, and 1," 1 1/4" and 2" wide. I embossed the blue piece with the Floral Fantasy folder and the yellow pieces with the With Love border folders. I used George to cut my circles, the peach one at 3 3/4" and the white one at 3 1/2." The flower and leaves are all cut with the peach paper using a Sizzix die called: Flower, Build a Lilac. I just made it look more like a hydrangea than a lilac. I inked the leaf and most of the flowers. I added a little bling to the centers of some of the flowers, I didn't want to do every flower though, I thought it would overpower the image. I used Tags, Bags, Boxes & More for the tag. I cut the peach using the shadow feature and the white I just cut normally. The tag is cut at 2." I used a white ribbon across the card and through the tag. I added a piece of bling and stamped the sentiment on the tag. I also added a flower to the inside of the card, with its own piece of bling to carry the image onto the inside of the card.

Birthday Card for My Husband

I made this birthday card for my husband last night. He usually doesn't look at my blog because he gets to see everything I make in person. So, here's hoping this isn't the one time he decides to check it out! I used the sketch from Clean & Simple. When I saw it I knew I could make it into a nice masculine card for him, even though his birthday is still a few weeks away. The card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4," and opens on the short side. I used the Diamond Plate embossing folder for the background. I put eyelets in the strip of dark silver paper, which is 4 1/2"x2." I stamped the "happy birthday" in silver ink, the stamp is from Fiskars. I used the Handy Man Lite cartridge for the tool box and the pipe wrench. Both were cut at 1 1/2." My husband is quite the handy man. The other night I found an article online about the 20 tools everyone should own. Turns out he owns most of them, just not a pipe wrench, so I put that on the card. Who knows, maybe I will get him one for his birthday! ;)

My First Shutter Card

I decided to attempt a shutter card. It is actually pretty easy. I just have to account for the folding when I place my pieces. My long words get cut off when looking at it folded, but I still like how it turned out in the long run. And my next one will be better, I promise!

This one is for a bunch of challenges, so before I get into the details here they are:
Cupcake Inspirations: colors and the cupcakes

Doodle Dragon Studios Challenge: use a DDS image and use fancy folds

Pile It On: layers

CPS: sketch

Paper Sundaes: mixed mediums

Sentimental Sundays: 1 solid paper, 2 patterned papers, 3 embellishments & a sentiment

The card is 5 1/2"x2," when all folded up. I used a Doodle Dragon Studio image and colored it. I colored the shadows and shading with markers and colored the rest of it with my Prismacolor pencils. The two patterned papers are from DCWV Sweet Stack. The cupcakes are from Doodlecharms. I used my Gypsy to stack the cupcakes and then I welded them. I cut out individual cupcakes and then I cut out their layers, cutting off the candles when I was done. I used Stickles for the sprinkles. I glued the first cupcke directly on the welded image, then pop-dotted the other two at differnt heights. All the sentiments are stamps from my stash. I added some fun swirly stickers to the card as my embellishment, plus the colors were perfect for the color inspiration. The fart right part I left blank for writing a message.

Fun in the Sun

Yet another summer card! One of these days I will start getting down to making fall and halloween cards, but not yet. I made this simple, sunny card using today's sketch from 365 Cards. I used the inspiration from My Sheri Crafts, which is Labor Day. Since Labor Day is unofficially the last day of summer I wanted to make a summer card. Maybe Labor Day will mark my last day of making summer cards for a while. ;) I'm not going to count on it though.

The card was premade and 3 1/2"x5." I rounded off the corners and added some white cardstock, cut 1/4" smaller than the card. I wrapped the ribbon around the white cardstock. The striped paper was from my stash and cut so there was a small border of white showing. The sun is from Going Places and cut at 1 1/2." The stamp is from my stash and I matted it with the same yellow-orange as the inner layer of the sun. I finished it off with a couple of stickers from my stash. I think it just screams summer...my last hurrah to summer!

Glitter Cards

So last night I couldn't sleep and I decided to play with my glitter and use it to color stamped images. I started off with this really simple card. The card was 3 1/2"x5" premade card. It already had the pattern and the black stripe on it. I had got this stamp in the dollar bin at Michael's the other day and wanted to use it. I thought it would look cool to use glitter as the drink in the glass. I stamped it on white cardstock in black and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then used my Zig glue pen to apply the glue to the "liquid" portion in the glass and put silver glitter on it. I used a green marker to color in the bubbles and the stem of the glass. I matted it on black card stock and pop-dotted it to the card. It was that easy, but I like the simplicity of it.

The other card is basically the exact opposite in sentiment, I made it a "Thinking of You" card. I did use the sketch from this week's Just Us Girls challenge for it as well. This was another one where I colored a stamped image with glitter. I stamped the image and embossed it as well. I also used my Zig glue pen to put on the glue. I added the glitter a layer at a time. The Zig pen works pretty well, but I think glue that you can put a needle-nose tip on, or one that already has a needle-nose tip, would work better...you can get in all the tighter spots. I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the Leafy Branch folder. I then cut a strip of metallic orange cardstock at 2" and embossed it as well. I layered it on so that it matched up with the white cardstock. I matted the image with brown. I stamped the "thinking of you" in a metallic orange and then matted it with brown cardstock as well. I tied a bow in a dark brown ribbon and added it on. My final touch was some orange gems for a little extra bling. The inside also has a 2" piece of metallic orange cardstock that I embossed to match the front. The card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4."

Watermelon Card

I must be attempting to cling to the last days of summer. I seem to be making only summer cards today! Ah, well, it is inevitable that fall is around the corner. The temperatures are cooler and the leaves are turning yellow. Here is my attempt to think of bright and cheerful summer days.

This is following sketch #80 at Card Patterns and the recipe from Paper Cutz, which is: 1 ribbon, 2 buttons and 3 colors.

The card is 5"x7" and I used a piece of cardstock with some watermelons on it that I have had for some time. I don't remember who made it, but I got it at Joanns on clearance. I used some pink cardstock and punched it with an EK Success punch, then layered it with a ribbon I got at Michaels. I used some green cardstock, cut at 5"x3 1/2," and embossed it with the Argyle folder. I used the same pink cardstock for the square, which is 3"x3." I used my Cri-Kit pens to draw out the watermelon first, then I cut it, using the shadow feature. The watermelon is cut at 2" and is from Doodlecharms. I used two butterfly buttons and the flower in the middle is another EK Success punch. I punched it twice and layered it, then added some Stickles for shimmer. I did some doodling on the pink cardstock and added glossy accents to the watermelon seeds. The stamp is from my stash, but I thought it was appropriate since the card made me smile. I also added doodling to the inside of the card and cut the watermelon seeds for a 6" watermelon, then added some glossy accents to them as well. Hope you enjoy this one!

Divide and Conquer

Today's 365 Cards challenge is to "divide and conquer," basically you divide your card into six parts and make sure those parts don't overlap. I also combined this one with the Alphabet Challenge Blog which is "S is for Scallops."

The card is 5"x4." I used a Nestabilities die to cut the scalloped circles and my trimmer to cut the squares. The paper is all from DCWV Flower Shower stack. The little bugs are stickers from K&Company. The stamp is from Hero Arts.

There you go...nice and simple!

Favorite Things

This week's Jitterbuggin' challenge goes hand in hand with today's 365 Cards challenge. They are both about your favorite things. The rules for this week's Jitterbuggin are: follow the sketch, use your favorite thing as the subject (favorite food, drink, animal, character...you get the point), use your two favorite colors, use the Cricut, and as a bonus make a folded paper frame. The challege at 365 Cards is to make a card inspired by your favorite food or drink.

A few years ago I used to work at a coffee shop with my best friend. It was great and we both loved trying new coffee drinks. I love chocolate, so that was pretty much always a staple in my drinks. Whether they were hot chocolates, mochas, frappaccinos, or flavored coffees. Mmm...makes me want something now! So, I went with coffee as my favorite drink for the image. I stamped the inside with the perfect sentiment, "coffee and friends are the perfect blend." What can be better than a good cup of java with your best friend? My favorite colors are brown and green, so I used that for the colors of my card, and I did go for the bonus and made the folded paper frame. It was super easy and looks great!
The card is 5"x5." I seem to make a lot of square cards when I do the Jitterbuggin' sketches, not sure why, but I do like them so it doesn't bother me. The circle was cut at 4 1/2" from George and Basic Shapes. The folded frame started off as a 5"x5" square and worked perfectly for this size card. The coffee cup was cut at 1 1/4" from the Stamping Solutions cartridge. I used some Martha Stewart glitter on the corners of the folded frame and I put a piece of the striped paper in the back for some contrast. The swirls in the corners are paper clips that I thought were perfect, since I don't have any steam coming out of the cup, they are the symbolic steam. I really like how it turned out and I think I will have to send it to my friend, she would love it too. Enjoy!

Fall Tree

This card was made using Kazan's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You this week. I also used the colors from this weeks Color Throwdown. Their colors this week were: kraft, so saffron and chocolate chip. I thought those colors would make a nice fall card so I made this very simple one. The sketch called for a simple card, so I obliged. The card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4," and I rounded the corners. The tree is from Mini Monsters and cut at 3." I tied some twine around the card and then added the leaves, which were a punch.

Recipe Book

This is my entry for this week's Bitten By the Bug 2. The challenge was to use the apron on the From My Kitchen cartridge. I was at a loss for a while with what to make using it, but then I came across this artist's sketch book that I have had for a while and inspiration struck! I made a recipe book out of it. The background cardstock is cut at 8 1/2"x11." The apron is cut at 6," the hot pad is cut at 3," and the oven mitt is cut at 3 1/2." The recipe word was cut at 1 3/4" and the oval word was cut after I sized it on my Gypsy to fit with the already cut word. All the patterned paper is from the Nana's Kitchen paper stack from DCWV. All the solid colored paper is from my stash of paper.

Golden Friendship

Today's challenge at 365 Cards is an ad inspired challenge. The ad is of a golden, embossed clock on a stack of books with a jar of yellow flowers next to it.

I made the card a 5 1/2"x4 1/4." I used the Victoria embossing folder for the gold cardstock. The circles are from George and Basic shapes, cut at 3" (for the brown one) and 2 3/4" (for the white one). The sentiment is a Fiskars stamp. I used a Nestabilities die for the flowers and the center of the flowers is a copper colored brad.

Love

This is an octagonal card I made using my Gypsy and George and Basic Shapes. I welded two 5" octagons together for the base of the card. I then cut a 4" white octagon and embossed it with the Perfectly Paisley embossing folder. I tied a ribbon around it with the jeweled heart charm. I used my scalloped circle Nestabilities dies to cut two scalloped circles out of pink and white. I used the Perfectly Paisley embossing folder again on the white circle. I layered those on the octagon base. I used Create a Critter to cut out the "love" sentiment and Paisley for the paisley. I finished it all off with some Stickles around the edge of the white octagon and as a heart in the paisley.

I made this for the following challenges:

Cuttlebug Challenge: use pink as the main color and add a sentiment

ABC Challenge: C is for Charms

365 Cards: Shape Up-use a polygon with a minimum of 5 sides as dominant shape

Crafty Creations Challenge: Use white and one other color

Cricut Cardz: Use scalloped circles, ovals, squares and rectangles

Engagement Card

In an earlier post I mentioned that I just found out my cousin was getting married in October. I made a wedding card for her and her future husband. Well, her bridal shower is going to be in a few weeks, so I wanted to make a card for her since I will not be able to attend the shower. I wanted to do something similar to the wedding card, but not match it exactly. I used the same colors: black, white and a little of the dark red. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday, I went with the round sketch. Momo's challenge at Made by Momo was perfect for this as well. Her challenge is to use black, white and one other color. It was like it was meant to be! ;)

I used Wild Card for the scalloped circle card, I just used the blackout feature so the cuts weren't made in the scallops. I used George and Basic Shapes for all the circle cuts, except the small black scalloped circle, that was a Spellbinders Nestabilities die. I cut the sqares with my trimmer, as well as the red strip. I cut the strip straight and then trimmed the edges around the circle. The ring is from Sweethearts. I put Stickles on it for some glitter and I added gems to the scallops on the large circle for extra bling. I used the Textile embossing folder for the white circle and square. I stamped the inside sentiment, "all you need is love," with a stamp from Hampton Art.