Here's the Scoop

Wow, I haven't posted in a while! I have been quite busy lately. Not only do I have my usual routine: work, gym and all that; but I'm getting ready for a garage sale and I have to work on some invitations for my cousin's daughter's first birthday. So much on my plate, but I wanted to make something quick for a few challenges. This is a 4 1/2"x6" card. I used light brown cardstock for the card base, then cut some polka dotted cardstock for the bottom half. I then wrapped it with some printed ribbon. The ice cream cone is from Sweet Treats, cut at 5 1/2." I embossed the cone with the Tiny Mosaic folder and the white ice cream layer is covered in micro beads. I stamped my sentiments, both of which are from Fiskars, in rich cocoa ink by Tsukineko. I then rounded their corners and matted them with some pink cardstock, which is 1/8" larger than the white layer. I used pop-dots to adhere the "here's the scoop" sentiment. For the inside of the card, I cut some pink and white cardstock 1/4" smaller than the previous layer and stamped the "thanks for all you do" sentiment in the same ink as the front.
I made this card for the following challenges:

• 365 Cards: "Day 147" - 1/2 polka dot, 1/2 solid background


• Paper Cutz: anything goes


• BBTB2: Sweet Treats cartridge - ice cream


• Cupcake Inspirations: cupcake photo (see below)
  
  
  

Ice Museum

This is a 12"x12" layout that I created for the scrapbook I am making for my mother. She came to visit us when we were living in Alaska, so I wanted to make her a scrapbook to remember her visit. It will be slow going, as I have all kinds of projects in the works, but I will get it done eventually. I promise, Mom!

I used a silver cardstock for the base of the layout. I then cut six 1/2" strips of white cardstock. I then ran them through my Xyron and sprinkled each one with glitter. I adhered them to the page, three going vertical and three going horizontal. My largest picture, which is the one in the middle, is 4"x6," and double matted with orange and purple cardstock. My other three are 3 1/2"x5" and single matted with purple cardstock. All the mats are 1/8" larger than the picture (and the previous layer in the case of the largest picture). The title is cut from Cricut Keystone at 1 1/2." I covered it all with glossy accents and use pop-dots to adhere part of it down. The igloo is from Create a Critter, cut at 3." The penguin is from Winter Frolic, cut at 2 3/4." I used Cuttin' Up to cut the martini glasses. The one the penguin is holding is cut at 1/2" and the larger one is 2 1/2." I covered the igloo with glossy accents as well. I used pop-dots to adhere the penguin and the martini glass. I also gave the penguin google eyes.

I made this for the following challenges:

• BBTB2: Jolly Holidays penguing (I don't own it, so I used Winter Frolic)



• Color Throwdown: rainbow color pallete



• Fantabulous Cricut: cool treat (what could be a cooler treat, literally and figuratively, than an apple martini served in a glass made entirely of ice)



• The Paper Variety: every color of the rainbow

Sleepy Puppy

This is a double layout (12"x12") that I created in memory of my German Shepherd, Gin. We just recently had to put him down and I thought this would be a nice way of remembering him. I have enough pictures of him to give him his own scrapbook, so I probably will eventually. The papers/cardstock I used are a mixture of DCWV's Pets Stack, TPC Studio's Paws and Claws Dog stack and ones I had in my stash. I matted all five of my pictures. The two on the left hand page are both 4"x6," as is the vertical picture on the right hand page. The other two on the right hand page are 3 1/2"x5." I matted all of the pictures with a brown paw print cardstock (which is hard to tell), cut 1/4" larger than the pictures. For all but the vertical one, I matted them with the blue cardstock, cut 1/8" larger than the brown mat. On the vertical picture the blue mat is 1/4" larger than the brown. I also gave that one a third mat out of orange, also 1/4" larger. I wrapped the right hand page with two ribbons, the orange bones and brown paws, then added three buttons that I found in my stash and thought were perfect. I cut the large circle from the dotted cardstock at 10" using the pre-loaded E2 cartridge, Cricut Essentials. I used Paper Pups to cut my title. The "puppy" cut was actually "puppy love" on the cartridge, I just didn't cut out the "love" part and paired it with the "sleepy" cut. I used both the shadow and the regular feature to create my title, which is cut at 2." I cut the little dog from Four Legged Friends, at 3 1/2." I used a light ivory color for the body, then chalked over it with some brown chalk to give it a little texture and make it a little darker. I also added some glossy accents to the nose. The tag was created from a mixture of cartridges. The actual tag and its shadow (brown and orange pieces) are from All Mixed Up, cut at 4." The blue paw print circle is from Paper Pups and the ivory circle inside is from George and Basic Shapes. I used my Gypsy to lay it out so that I could make sure the sizes were right and would fit together how I wanted them to. I put a brad through the hole in the tag so that the tag is interactive, it swings to reveal my journaling spot.

I made this for the following challenges:

My Sheri Crafts: faithful companions

Picture Perfect Creations: two ribbons, three buttons

Whimsical Wednesday: scrapbook page with interactive element

Birthday Set

This is a cute little birthday card set I made today. I thought it would be perfect for someone who needs a quick summery birthday card for someone. The cards are all 3 1/2"x5" and I made four. I used white cardstock for the base of the card, then cut some tree patterned paper 1/8" smaller. I wrapped the card base with some orange and white plaid ribbon. I cut the clouds from Paper Pups at 1 3/4." There are actually two clouds, but I used my Gypsy to hide the other since I only wanted one on each card. I then flocked the clouds and embossed them with the D'vine Swirls folder and my Cuttlebug. The suns are from Smiley Cards, and I used my Gypsy to hide the face on them. I then used some orange sorbet glitter by Martha Stewart on the outer ring of the sun. I adhered them to the card with pop-dots. I added some orange bling around the sun on each card. My sentiment is stamped in verdigris ink by ColorBox on white cardstock. I then matted it with some orange cardstock, which is cut 1/8" larger than the white. For the inside I just matted some white cardstock with dark green and orange cardstock. Each layer 1/8" larger than the previous one.

I made this card for the following challenges:

• Birthday Sundaes: orange, green, white color combo


• Die Cuttin' Divas: summer fun


• Fantabulous Cricut: outdoor themed project


• Paper Cutz: "the sky's the limit" -feature something found in the sky


• Paper Playtime: summer


• Papercraft Star: sketch

More Christmas in July

Here is another Christmas in July card, this time a shaped card. I used Preserves for the card base, it is the label for the loquat cut. I used two of the labels, at 5 1/2" wide and welded them together on my Gypsy to create the card base. I then cut a smaller version in white as my next layer. I embossed the white layer with my Cuttlebug and the Sizzix snowflake embossing folder. I wrapped the top and bottom with some red mini rick-rack. I then ran some red and white twine around it to "hang" my mittens on. The mittens are cut from Joys of the Season at 2 1/2." The red cuff on the mitten is flocked with some red flocking powder. I added two white buttons to the top and bottom, over the rick-rack. I added some white pearls to the curves of the card and finished it off with some doodling on the mittens.
For the inside of the card I cut a red label at 5 1/2" wide, the same as the card base. I then cut a white label slightly smaller. I left it on the mat and used my Cricut markers to add the sentiment. I used my Gypy again to line it all up. The sentiment is from Jasmine, and is 2 1/2." A nice wintery card in the middle of July! Enjoy!! I made this card for the following challenges:
365 Cards: "Day 134" - buttons, rick-rack, pearls
BBTB2: Joys of the Season - mittens
Celebrate the Occasion: shaped Christmas card
Cooking with Cricut: Cricut markers or pens
Scrappy Moms Stamps: Preserves cartridge

Sweden Scrapbook Pages

No challenges today, but I wanted to post something. I decided to post a couple of scrapbook pages I made for my Sweden album. The first one I made today, the second I made about a month ago, but never posted.

All the patterned cardstock is from K&Company. It is 12"x12" and I cut a strip of the distressed dotted cardstock at 12"x5 1/2." The car picture is 4 3/4"x4" and matted with some shimmery orange cardstock, which is cut 1/4" wider. The house picture is 5"x4." The journalling tag is 5"x2 1/2" and matted with the shimmery orange cardstock, cut 1/4" wider. I wrapped it with a ribbon and slider, both from Making Memories. My title "home" is cut at 1" from Home Accents. I handwrote the subtitle, "away from home."
This page is also 12"x12" and all the patterned paper is from K&Company. I matted my main photo twice. It is a 4"x6" photo and the mats are 1/4" wider than the previous layer. The upper left photo is 3 1/2"x3" and the lower left photo is 4"x3." I used Opposites Attract to create the title. I covered the "family" part in Stickles. I finished off this page with some bling.

Beach Birthday

This fun beachy card is 5 1/2"x4 1/4." I used a red cardstock for the card base, then cut some blue cardstock 1/8" smaller. I embossed the blue cardstock in my Cuttlebug, using the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I ran some white ink over the swirls to make them pop a little and give you the feeling of white caps on the water. I hand cut my sand from some brown cardstock, then covered it with some glitter. The waves are cut at 1" from Life is a Beach and the sandcastle is cut from the same cartridge at 2 1/4." I cut the little flags off the sandcastle. I used my Gypsy to cut out the starfish from Life is a Beach. I hid all the interior cuts and cut them at various sizes, which I don't recall. I stamped my sentiment in the two peach colored stars, using dark brown ink by ColorBox. I finished off the card with some doodling dots on the waves and stars and some bling on the red star. I used pop-dots to adhere the waves and the castle to the card.

I made this card for the following challenges:

• Picture Perfect Creations: soft suede, peach parfait, cherry cobbler, pacific point


• Fantabulous Cricut: water theme


• Cooking with Cricut: anything goes with Cricut


• BBTB2: Life is a Beach - starfish


• Birthday Sundaes: anything goes birthday


• 365 Cards: ad inspired (see ad below)

Christmas in July

I made this scalloped circle card using the Wild Card cartridge. I cut it at 5." I used a dark green shimmery cardstock for the regular cut, then also cut some ivory cardstock to cut the black out version of the card to use on the interior. I used George and Basic Shapes to cut the gold circle at 3 3/4" and the ivory circle at 3 1/2." I stamped my image onto the ivory circle using embossing ink, then heat embossed it with some gold embossing powder. I finished it off with three sets of three gold pearls. I added my sentiment to the inside of the card. I stamped the sentiment using pearlescent ivy ink by Tsukineko.

I made this for the following:

• 365 Cards: "Day 127" - use three of an emellishment and make it the same in color, size, etc.


• Celebrate the Occasion: Christmas in July, no red


• Die Cuttin' Divas: sketch


• The Paper Variety: Christmas in July

Udderly Amazing

This cute little card is 4 1/4"x5 1/2." I used white cardstock for the base, then cut some dark grey cardstock at 4"x5 1/4." I cut some pink cardstock 1/8" smaller than the grey and embossed it with the Seeing Spots embossing folder. The sentiment is stamped onto some white cardstock, then I used a Fiskars punch to punch it out. I used a larger size punch for the dark grey cardstock and adhered them together and to the card base. My cow is cut from Create a Critter at 2 1/2." I used white flocking powder on the cow to make it fuzzy. I used pop-dots to adhere it to the card and added a swirl of pink and white bling.I made this card for the following challenges:

365 Cards: "Day 122" - use fuzzy texture

Cooking with Cricut: cow

Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch

Papercraft Star: photo inspiration (see below)

Card Creations & More Challenge #13

There is a new format for the challenges at Card Creations & More by C. Now there will be three challenges a month. All three challenges will be posted on the first of the month. You will have the rest of the month, or three weeks, to participate in one, two or all three challenges.
This is challenge #13: to use the Doodlecharms cartridge. I love the cute little images on this cartridge. I chose to use the little bug. I created a thank you note gift set. The cards are all 4"x4." I used four different colors of cardstock for the card base, then cut some white cardstock 1/4" smaller and embossed it with the Spots & Dots folder. The bug is cut at 3 1/2." I added some google eyes and Stickles to them for some character. The leaf is cut from Accent Essentials at 2." I used the shadow feature and the four colors of cardstock again, and the regular feature with white cardstock. I stamped my "thank you" sentiment in a matching ink, all by Tsukineko. The sentiment is from Fiskars. I also created matching envelopes. I gave them liners with the colored cardstock and matching leaves on the front. The leaves are cut at 1 1/2" and embossed with the Spots & Dots folder again.Well, that is my project for challenge #13, I can't wait to see what you come up with for Doodlecharms. Head on over to Card Creations & More by C to participate!

Card Creations & More Challenge #14

Challenge #14 at Card Creations & More by C is to create a home decor item. I made a wall plaque for my friend's son. They are big Twins and Vikings fans. I got a wood plaque and painted it a navy blue. I then use Sans Serif and Sports Mania for the font. I welded baseballs to the letters with my Gypsy. I cut them out of a red cardstock, white for the baseballs, and used a marker to added the red stitching. These are the Twins colors. I then created my own Vikings helmet. The helmet came from Sports Mania, I cut it out of the white and purple cardstock. For the horn I manipulated the yin-yang symbol on my Gypsy until it looked like the Vikings horn. I cut it out of yellow and white cardstock, layering them on the helmet so they looked right. I also cut out the soccer ball, baseball, basketball and football from Sports Mania. Once I had everything on the plaque I put some glossy Mod Podge over the top to seal it and give it a shine. My father-in-law cut a keyhole in the back so they could hang it up. It was a BIG hit!

Now it is your turn to come up with a home decor item. Head on over to Card Creations & More to link up your project. I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

Card Creations & More Challenge #15

This was created for challenge #15. The challenge was to be inspired by a blogging friend. Well, Chery at Pink and Paper made this really cool Fluffy Flower Card that I just loved (make sure you check it out). I decided to do something similar. I actually used the same flower, which is from Forever Young. The card base is 5"x5" and made from black cardstock. I cut some glittery white cardstock at 4 3/4"x4 3/4" and some black and white damask cardstock 1/8" smaller to finish off the card base. I cut the flower at 4 1/2" for the outer layer, which I cut twice. The first large one is adhered to the card base, then the other one of the same size is curled and adhered to the first one. The next layer is cut at 3 3/4," then 3" and finally the smallest layer is cut at 2 1/4." I curled the rest of the layers, then used pop-dots to adhere them to give them even more dimension. I added a black and white button to the middle of the flower to finish it off. I stamped the sentiment in black ink on ivory cardstock and adhered right below the flower.

Now check out your blogging friends and be inspired. Head on over to Card Creations & More by C to link up your project. I can't wait to see how you are inspired!

Stars & Stripes Birthday

This is a 3 3/4"x9" card made from dark gray cardstock. I cut a piece of striped cardstock 1/4" smaller and adhered it to the card base. I then cut a strip of dark gray cardstock at 8 3/4"x2" and a piece of white cardstock at 8 3/4"x1 3/4" and adhered them together and then to the card base. My sentiment is stamped in london fog ink by Tsukineko using stamps by Fiskars. They are actually two different stamps that I decided to use together for a fun effect. The star is cut from Cricut Essentials, which is one of the pre-loaded cartridges on the new Cricut Expression 2. I used pop-dots to adhere the star to the card. Nice and simple, and I think it works as a masculine birthday card (which is always a good thing to have on hand). I made this card for the following challenges:

• 365 Cards: "Day 118" - Super Sketchy Sunday sketch


• Birthday Sundaes: stars & stripes birthday card


• Picture Perfect Creations: poppy parade, whisper white, basic gray

God Bless America

Well, I made it back from my adventures in Belize in one piece. It feels like forever since I have crafted anything! Here is my first project since getting back.

This is a 4 1/2"x6 1/4" slider card, made from white cardstock. I cut some blue cardstock at 4 1/4"x6" and the red star paper at 4"x5 3/4" and they are adhered together. The planes are from Stand and Salute and cut at 3." I also cut the "God Bless America" sentiment from Stand and Salute. It was cut at 2," using the shadow feature for the white cut and the regular feature for the blue cut. I adhered the sentiment to the red star paper and added a couple of white pearls to the stars. I cut the lines for my two side planes and mimicked the look with a white strip of paper for the middle plane. I adhered the whole matted piece to the white card base using foam tape so that my planes could slide and spin. I like the effect and think it turned out great for my first project in over two weeks!

I made this card for the following challenges:

• Cupcake Inspirations: cupcake photo (right)



• 365 Cards: "Day 121" - spinner card



• Celebrate the Occasion: 4th of July



• Die Cuttin' Divas: planes, trains & automobiles



• Fantabulous Cricut: use red, white & blue



• My Sheri Crafts: Independance Day



• Scrappy Moms Stamps: Stand and Salute cartridge