Peel Better Soon

 This is an extra special challenge card for Whimsical Wednesday.

 

This week both card teams have come together for our challenge, to make get well cards for a very special little boy. Angelo, who is the grandson of Margie from Bella Bug Creations, is going through a very difficult time right now. He underwent brain surgery last week and will begin chemotherapy next week. You can read more about Angelo at this post over at Margie's blog.  We hope that you will all join us and make a card for Angelo too.

I decided to use the Create a Critter cartridge for this one.  The paper is from DCWV and so is the strip along the bottom.  It's a sticker that came with the paper pack.

To dress my monkey up a bit I used some brown flocking powder on the body, glossy accents on the nose, and googly eyes.  

 

I gave him an extra large banana that is also from the same cartridge, but I did have to use my Gypsy to hide the face the banana originally had.  I stamped "peel better soon!" from the Pink By Design set called Country Living.  The stamp was originally one long phrase and I cut it so it would be easy to stamp in this arrangement instead.  I could have also used masking, but I found this easier and as long as you only cut the spaces between the parts that actually stamp it doesn't hurt anything.

I rounded a couple of the corners with a 1/2 setting on my Corner Chomper.  

Hopefully it makes him smile :)

Whimsical Wednesday is always a fun and inspirational stop.  This week it would be extra special if you would like to participate.  Head on over there now to see the rest of the Design Team's creations and to link up your own. 

My Daughter's Star Mobile

Tracy over at Craft Junkie Too is issuing a new challenge today.  It is Hooray for Red, White, & Blue!  

I decided to create something with my 3 year old to decorate the house for the 4th.  I cut several stars with my Cricut.  I did use regular cardstock because cheap kids paper would ick up my Cricut mats.  After I cut the stars I punched holes in the top of them.

My daughter colored all the stars by herself.  Then I helped her go around the edges with some glitter glue.  Although you can only see 5 stars, she actually colored 10 and we glued them together back to back.

Last I helped her thread some yarn through the holes and I hung the stars from this baby sized hanger.

It was so much fun to use my Cricut to help create a fun memory for my daughter and me.

Be sure and check out what the rest of Tracy's DT creates today :)

Seek Sweetness Ice Cream Card

This is a 5 and 1/2 inch square card.

The patterned papers are from the Echo Park Summer Days 6 inch pad.

I used my Nestabilities to cut the oval, scalloped circle, and the shape for my sentiment.  

 

For the sentiment I cut a labels 1 die, and then cut it in half.  The stamp is from My Pink Stamper's set called Sweetest Cupcakes. I finished off with marker drawn stitching lines.

The ice cream image is a stamp from Unity's Mix Up of Cuteness set.  I colored it with Copics and Stampin' Up markers.

The swirly metal pieces are from Close to My Heart.  I used Score Tape to adhere them.  

There are 3 layers of paper along the bottom.  The yellow layer in the back is 2 and 1/2 inches tall.  The green layer is about 1 and 3/4 inches tall & is punched with the EK Success Open Scallop punch.  The layer of ice cream cones is 1 inch tall.  I cut that so that just one row of ice cream cones would show.

The final touch is that the top 2 corners are rounded on a 1/2 inch setting with my Corner Chomper.

Thanks for visiting :)

Patriotic Card

It's time for another challenge over at Scrapbookaholic By Abby and this time around it's to use red, white, and blue.  

I kept my card very simple.

The front of the card is a shimmery red cardstock.

There's a blue layer that is 4 inches by 5 and 1/4 inches embossed with the Cuttlebug Stars folder.

There is a 1 inch strip of white cardstock punched with the Stampin' Up scallop border punch & accented with blue faux stitching lines.

I pleated some red grosgrain ribbon.

The embellishments are all from K & Company.

Be sure and head on over to Abby's blog to see the creativity of the entire design team and also to enter your own project for the chance to win a fabulous prize :)

Here's the basic rules:

Link your ORIGINAL post with your project up to Mr. Linky (on her blog)

Mention that your project is for her challenge

Project must be entered by the deadline before Mr. Linky closes.

Project must be on the challenge topic - this time around it's to use the colors red, white, & blue.

Have fun!

Have A Ball Spinner Card

Hello everyone and welcome to my crafty little corner of the web :)  My fun card project today is for the Beach Party Blog Hop hosted by Abby!  If you'd like to start the hop from the beginning please head on over to Abby's Blog.  If you are already hopping along you should be coming from Angelica's  blog.

So, today I've made a spinner card.

If you've never heard of one before the basic idea is that when you tilt the card back and forth you have an object that spins from one side to the other.  It's actually pretty easy to create the spinner using 2 pennies with a pop dot in the center of them. I don't want to make this post too terribly long winded since I'm toward the tail end of a long hop - so I will provide a link to a helpful Youtube video on a spinner card.  I did not create this video, I just found it while searching online - check it out here!

In the video the gal uses a punch to create the card slit.  I used my Gypsy and the George and Basic Shapes cartridge to create mine.  I stretched a rectangle long and skinny, and added 2 circles onto the ends, welding everything together.

The boy and girl are from A Child's Year.  The boy is cut at 2.5 inches and the girl is cut at 1.75 inches.

The ball was made using a circle Nestability and my own hand cutting, but there is one on the Life's a Beach cartridge that looks just like it. 

The patterned papers are from Echo Park's Summer Days collection, except the red polka dots on the ball are from Stampin' Up.

The sentiment is from Pink By Design's Simply Everything set.  It says "Have a Ball"  pretty fitting, huh?

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Remember to leave everyone some comments for your chance to win prizes from fabulous sponsors like Market Street Stamps, Sakura, Kich N Bleus, and KaDoddle Bug Designs.


To continue along on the hop it's time to head on over to Ashley's Blog!

You Make Me Smile Card

This is the sort of card I made just because.  Something bright and cheerful to make someone's day :)

Both of the patterned papers I used are from Echo Park's 6 by 6 pad from their Summer Days Collection.  

For the polka dot layer in the center I cut it at 2.5 inches square.  I was really careful about where I cut the polka dots though, because I knew I wanted to place the sun over the orange polka dot.

The sun is a felt embellishment from the KI Memories line of Puffies, this is from the Happy Day set.  I really need to just sit down and make my own.  I hand sew felt things all the time!  *LOL*

I went around and created a border using some light blue ric rac and some purple buttons.

The yellow layer is 3 and 1/4 by 4 and 1/2.

I stamped the sentiment "You make me Smile" from Pink By Design's Simply Everything set using Versamark and white embossing powder.

The strip along the bottom was punched with the Fiskars Threading Water punch.

All corners on the card base and yellow layer were rounded at a 1/4 inch setting using my Crop-a-Dile.

Also, just a side note... I ordered my Echo Park paper from this place Pumpkin Spice along with some stamps and I was really happy with how fast they arrived, the prices, and how much they charged me for shipping.   I didn't order anything 12 by 12, so I'm sure shipping would be more, but I just had a good shopping experience and thought I'd mention it.  I know I always try and shop from places I've seen people recommend.  I've heard good things about them before from other crafty peeps as well.

Thanks for visiting me :)  I hope maybe this card brought a little sunshine to your day, especially if the weather isn't nice where you are.

Berry Sweet Layout

Click on the photo to see it enlarged for detail.

 The only way to catch up on my scrapbooking is one layout at a time, so here's a step in the right direction :)

 The paper I used is from the Imaginisce line called Berrylicious. 

I stamped a journaling area using some SP & Company stamps and then cut it out.

This was the part of the layout that took the most time, but it was still easy.  I made this cute little title embellishment with a stamp set called Fruity Fun from a company called Clear Dollar Stamps.  I just love this because you get lots of different fruit and also fun sayings to go with it.  

The strawberry I used is 2 separate stamps, so it's super easy to get the separate red and green.  To spell out "Berry Sweet" I actually cut apart a stamp that said "Berry Much" to just use "Berry" and then used the stamp "Sweet."  I used orange and blue to match the colors of the shirt my son is wearing, and also the colors in the paper.

I cut this out with an oval shaped Nestability, then added some brown stitching lines.  I cut a larger scalloped oval Nestability in yellow, and pop dotted my white piece onto it.

I'm really happy with this colorful and fun layout, and it was easy too.  I hardly ever fuss too much over my layouts.  As much as I'd like to, I just feel like getting them done faster is better.

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Simple Thinking of You Card

Here's a fun little card I whipped up that could come in handy for many occasions.  I could easily see it being used to cheer someone up during a difficult time, or encourage them during an exciting new chapter in their lives.  It's pretty generic.

I created a shaped card by folding a white piece of cardstock in half and then using my Nestabilities scalloped Circle - what you do is position it so that it isn't cutting where the fold is.  You will end up with the part where the card folds not having the scallops, but I just covered this up with my patterned paper, which is by Stampin' Up.  I just cut the exact same sized scalloped circle die and layered it over the card front.

I stamped Thinking of You from Stampin' Up's Sincere Salutations in some Versamark ink and then embossed it with some white embossing powder.

I stuck on this fabulous felt kite embellishment by KI memories, they call these felt embellishments Puffies and this is from the Happy Day set of them.

To finish off the card I took out my Sakura white get pen and went around all the scallops.  Then I used a circle shaped Nestability as a sort of stencil to help me draw a circle of stitching lines as well, creating a sort of framed look.

This was very simple and quick.  I really wanted my special felt embellishment to stand out without a lot of distractions around it and I think this card worked well for that. 

I'd Rather Be Stamping Card for a Sketch Challenge

I decided to really push myself and do a sketch challenge.  I really stink at sketches.  I don't know why, but they just baffle me.  I decided to go ahead and try this sketch challenge over at There She Goes.

Here's what the sketch looks like:

I'm pretty happy with my card.  I started off with a standard A2 sized card base in Kraft colored cardstock.

For the strip on the left I used some Die Cuts With a View paper from their Sweet Stack and punched it with the Stampin' Up Scallop Border Punch.

For the triangle on the right I used some Stampin' Up patterned paper.

For the center I used a Hot Pink layer that is 2 and 1/2 by 3 and 1/2 inches.  It's up on pop dots.

The vanilla layer on top of that is 2 and 1/2 by 1 and 1/4.  It's up on another layer of pop dots for even more dimension.

The stamp set I used is called Loads of Fun and it's from There She Goes.  I stamped the laundry basket in some Memento ink and colored it in using my Stampin' Up markers and an Aqua Painter.  I didn't want the colors to be too dark or harsh, so watercoloring was a great way to accomplish softer colors while still being able to have more variety than just using pastel shades.

I used a couple really cool and sparkly Sakura gel pens on this card.  I used the Pink Star color around the vanilla layer and the Copper Star all around the edges of the card, the border, and the traingle shape.  It's subtle against the Kraft color, but very pretty - it does show up far better in person than on camera.  I really must consider some other lighting to get better photos of my cards.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamped Polymer Clay Charm in a Card

I made a polymer clay charm using some white polymer clay and a stamp.  I used a stamp set from Unity Stamps called Mix Up of Cuteness.  After I stamped the image into my clay I simply cut it out with an Exacto knife and then added the hole for the findings to go through.  I baked it according to the directions on the package and then painted it with some acrylic paint.  I finished off with some Stickles.

I wanted to showcase the charm in a card and I decided the best way to do that was a window.  I considered lots of ideas and this is what I settled on.  Before mailing the card I put in in plastic cover to help protect it.

I started with a standard sized Kraft card base.  I used my Nestabilities to cut a circle in the front of the card.

I cut a vanilla layer at 4 inches by 5 and 1/4 inches and placed a circle in the same spot on it.  To determine that I traced the circle with a pencil while having the vanilla piece temporarily adhered to the inside of the card.  After it had the matching window I embossed it with the Dvine Swirls Cuttlebug folder and adhered it.

The card without the charm in it.  Still very cute when it's removed.

To create the hot pink frame I used another Nestabilities die with a lacy edge, and then put that piece through the machine again with the same circle die positioned in the center.  You can always tape down your Nestability for any of these parts that need to be placed very carefully.

Along the bottom I have a pink strip that measures 1 and 1/2 by 4 inches and it's embossed with the Seeing Spots Cuttlebug folder.

For my border I used the Fiskars EK Success punch called Open Scallop.  This piece is stamped with a sentiment from SP & Company's Ultimate Sentiments 1.

I added a stamped cupcake with similar colors to the inside of the card so it will look exactly the same when the charm is removed, minus the dimension that the charm has.  I just taped the charm over this piece.

Here's a look at the inside of the card, I think it's pretty cute with that cupcake floating around in there so I decided not to embellish it further.

I am entering this, and also one of my other projects from the link into the TGIF linky party over at Craft Junkie Too.  It's a lot of fun, you just link up your recent projects and get to see what everyone else has been up to as well.  Be sure and check it out!

Be Happy Card - Inspired by a Scrap Room Photo

Hello everyone!

I whipped up this little card for the newest challenge over at Whimsical Wednesday.  Our fearless DT leader Stephanie sent us this gorgeous picture of a scraproom and told us it was our color inspiration for this week.  We all had to use to colors red and yellow, and we could chose another color/colors from the photo for our project.  I chose purple, which I saw in a photo box on the desk.

My card is 3.25 inches square.  Just a little bitty thing.

I cut the flower from the Cake Basics cartridge.  I believe I cut the shadow at 2.75 inches and the flower at 2 and 1/2.  I wanted a wider shadow than the image normally has.  I cut a small circle separately and filled it in with yellow Stickles.  I curled up the edges of the flower and added some little dots of Xmas Red Stickles for a little more interest.

I used a stamp set from SP & Company called Mini Card Creations 1.  I stamped the little frame in a purple ink, but it wasn't exactly the color I wanted since stamping on yellow changed up the look a bit.  Going over the frame with Lavendar Stickles really made it truly purple like I wanted.

I stamped Be Happy from the same stamp set in some red ink and called it done.

This was a nice simple little card to whip up :)

Now, let this photo be your inspiration as well!  Head on over to Whimsical Wednesday to see what the other gals game up with and to link up  your own creation for a chance to win an awesome prize.

A Housewife With a Little Attitude

Click on the photo to see it enlarged for detail.

I am drawn to vintage looking images of cute housewives.  So, when I saw this stamp set called Domestic Goddess from There She Goes Clear Stamps I just HAD to get my hands on it.

Years ago I did a just for fun photoshoot with some quirky photos and I wore this red polka dotted dress.  I really need to buy one similar to it, as I didn't own the one in the photo.  So, in honor of that dress I made this one red with white polka dots, here's one of the photos from that day with me "vacuuming some rocks."  Told ya it was quirky ;)  *LOL*

There are some pretty funny sentiments that came with this set, and I decided to use the one that says "Please leave a message after the tone.  Beeeep...."  Little miss smarty pants there thinks she's being real funny, maybe it's a bill collector, or a nagging relative.  *LOL*

Here's my card recipe:

Yellow card base in standard 4 and 1/4 by 5 and 1/2 A2 size

Dashes and dots drawn with a blue Stampin' Up marker

Blue cardstock 3 and 3/4 by 5

Vanilla colored layer is 3 and 1/2 by 4 and 3/4, I embossed it with the Cuttlebug folder called Seeing Spots

A scalloped oval cut with Nestabilities using some paper from the Cricut Celebrations stack - it's got small circles on it.

Oval shape cut out of white cardstock with stamped image on it.  I had to cut out the area around her hair before cutting with the oval Nestability.  Then I just popped that part of her through the top of the die so that it wouldn't cut.  

The image and sentiment are 2 separate stamps from the Domestic Goddess set.  I colored her with some Copics for her hair and skin, and some Stampin' Up markers for everything else.  One thing I really love about the Stampin' Up markers is that on of the sides has a super fine tip you can use for writing or getting into tiny little spaces.  The Copics are great for blending and making things more realistic.  I am a total beginner to coloring techniques, so I love being able to use both kinds of markers together to get a nice look.  

Thanks for checking out my fun card today! 

Father's Day Toolbelt Card

Masculine cards are always something I have to think pretty hard about.  I try to refrain from bows & sparkle as much as possible.

For the main portion of my card I used a piece of Kraft cardstock.  I stamped it with a woodgrain background stamp by Hero Arts using Stampin' Up's Close to Cocoa ink.

I used the Cricut Lite cartridge called Handy Man.  I cut the tool belt at 2.25 inches.  I added various little details like a bunch of stitching lines and some silver brads.  I accented the dots that should be the holes in the belt with some Sakura white gel pen so they are more visible.  The little belt buckle is a mirrored piece of cardstock.

For the blue piece along the bottom it is cut at 1 and 1/2 inches tall by 5.25 inches wide.  I stamped Happy Father's Day using a couple of the SP & Company Mix n Match sets.  "Happy" is from the Basics set and "Father's Day" is from the Holidays set.  I used Whisper White Craft Ink from Stampin' Up.  I went around the outside with my Sakura gel pen in white, and then finished off with some mirrored Irock gems in the corners.  

I created this card for the new challenge over at Scrapbookaholic By Abby.  Although, there is a sketch and I didn't do a very good job following it.  I had a bit of creative block this time around.  So, please be sure and check out the inspiration on Abby's blog.  Although I made a cute card I really struggled with the sketch.  

The sponsor is Sakura and they have a great pack of 6 gel pens up for grabs.  I LOVE their gel pens.  I used one on my card today, and really adore some sparkly colored ones I have as well.  

Here's the basics of the rules, but be sure and review them again on when you get to Abby's blog.  

Link your ORIGINAL post with your project up to Mr. Linky (on her blog)

Mention that your project is for her challenge

Project must be entered by the deadline before Mr. Linky closes.

Project must be on the challenge topic - this time around it's graduation.

Have fun!

Craft Room Tour

I'm excited to share my craft space with all of you :)

We've lived in this house for about 8 months now.  During that time I have completely re-arranged this space 3 times.  I am finally super happy with the way everything is organized and find it really pleasant to work in and easy to keep clean.

I do have to keep some things in the basement for lack of space, such as my crafting books & magazines, yarn, fabric, and things that are for other types of crafts, such as my cross stitching kits.  Once we finish our basement I will get a bigger room down there and it can all be in one place.

Enjoy the video - I hope it gives you a few ideas, or just that you enjoy the peek into my space.

Refreshing Summer Drink Card

Honestly, this card was so quick and easy I actually feel guilty.  *LOL*

The cut is from the Life's A Beach Cricut Cartridge.  I went pretty closely with the colors shown in the handbook.  I accented the pineapple cup with some Yellow Stickles.  The orange slice is sponged.  I added some detail to the straw using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Pink Star.  The Umbrella is accented with some Waterfall colored Stickles.

The card base is Kraft colored.  I added a layer that is 4 inches by 5 and 1/4 inches that I ran through the Cuttlebug folder called Seeing Spots.  I really love the larger polka dots - super fun :)

Since this was so easy to do I think it would be perfect for invitations to a bbq.  You could easily incorporate a sentiment or just leave the front as is.

Today all the designers over at Craft Junkie Too have all sorts of fun, summery projects to share with you.  Be sure and head over there to check them all out.  

With the lovely weather we've been having here lately I am certainly in the mood to make some more bright and fun projects.  Maybe I can hang them on my walls when the dreary winter days hit.

My Decorated Bathtub Area

Click to see a larger version of the photo.

I thought I'd share my new place to relax.  Finishing up this project has been keeping me out of my craft room.  Awhile back I posted a photo of this area around my bathtub which I had just finished painting.  I was trying to figure out how to decorate this mirror - I finally finished everything.

The mirror was one we took out of another bathroom and I thought it would be a great piece for behind the bathtub, but not plain.  Some people were kind enough to make some wonderful suggestions.  One of the things mentioned was swirls, and another thing mentioned was a frame.  I was originally going to try to add some words as well - but then I found this wonderful textured glass looking privacy film for a window.  I cut it down to size and put it on my mirror.  I just love it!

I was tickled to find the wreath on sale at Michael's for $5.  The candles are the fake LED kind and are from Target.

I put together this vase for a finishing touch.  I purchased the flowers on sale, but I'm on a tight budget and couldn't get a new vase too.  I had this plain vase on hand - it is fat and I had envisioned a tall skinny vase instead, but I decided to jazz this one up a bit and make the most of it.  I happened to have some raffia laying around and so I used it.  Then I just used some Scor Tape to attach some ribbon in kind of a fun design.  I think it turned out a lot more fun than the plain vase.

I am just on such a kick lately with my house.  Cleaning, decorating, organizing, etc.  I have accomplished a lot and it feels so good to feel like many rooms are completely done now.  I don't have a ton of money to spend, so I can't replace larger things, but I can do little projects and make the most of what I've got.  

 

A craft room tour video will be coming very soon :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Fly Layout

I haven't done a scrapbook page that I really love in a long time.  This one finally worked out the way I wanted.  As usual, I had a HORRID time photographing it.  *LOL*  Much cuter in person.

Here's some of the basic info.

The word "Fly" was cut from the Straight From the Nest Cricut Cartridge.  I added Stickles in Magenta and also Glitz Stickles in Mermaid.  The butterfly is an embellishment, I believe from K & Company.

I drew some fun stitching lines in loopy designs to make it look like my daughter was in motion.  Those lines were drawn with the Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Green Star.  I did some stitching around the whole purple portion of the layout in the Sakura Gelly Roll Pink Star pen, but it is more faint and didn't show up as well in the photo.  In person it has a nice pink tint and a pretty subtle shimmer.

My journaling area was created by using a couple Nestabilities dies.  I stamped some lines onto it so I could write.

The paper along the bottom is from 3 Birds - a line from HSN.  I added ribbon to the top of that paper with a clear charm in the middle that says "Dream" and I attached it with 2 lavender colored brads. 

Dentist Card

I started off with these great embellishments from K & Company.  They are from a line called Life's Little Occasions that I found at my local Joanns.  Lots of different sets of cute stuff.  I picked up several in different themes.

I knew I wanted it to say something nice along with the word dentist.  So, I pulled out my trusty SP & Company Mix & Match sets.  "You Are A" is from the Friend set and Wonderful is from the Family set.  They were stamped using some Whisper White Craft ink from Stampin' Up.  I thought I was pretty clever to use the sticker as part of a sentiment so now it reads "You are a Wonderful Dentist."

For the dental tool embellishment I had lots of fun making my own paper designs.  The green layer was just plain cardstock that I stamped with my Stampin' Up Dot Dot Dot stamp using Versamark, then I embossed with my Stamp N Stuff embossing powder in Kaliedascope - which is basically clear with a little sparkle.  I rounded the edges with 1/4 inch setting on my corner chomper.

For the layer of blue behind it I sponged a piece of vellum with some Soft Sky Stampin' Up ink.  I added a plain layer of vellum behind it, because if I stuck it straight onto the Kraft color it would darken too much.  I also rounded those corners on a 1/4 inch setting.

I rounded all 4 corners of the main part of the card on a 1/2 inch setting using my Corner Chomper.  I love that I can punch through multiple layers with ease using it.  I finished off with some stitching lines done with my Sakura gel pen.

Thanks so much for visiting!