Santa Sleigh Card w/ a Video

 Christmas in July is in full swing, and what a great reminder to start EARLY on all those fantastic holiday projects.  Last year I started in April with my handmade gifts - this year I probably won't do many because it's been such a hectic year!  *LOL*

Here's a card I had an absolute blast making.  The Cricut cut is from the Christmas Solutions cartridge.

Ohhh - Shiny! *LOL*

Good morning everyone.  This is one of those cards that just doesn't look the same when photographed!  I made 4 of these for Thank you cards.  The background paper is by K I Memories - I bought it as an individual sheet at my local store.  It has a sort of pearl sheen to it.  It's subtle enough to remain very elegant and not to "blingy."  I used a similar finished cardstock by DCWV for the sentiment.  I cut "Thanks" from Gypsy Wanderings with my Cricut - but I didn't cut all the way through the paper - so you just see the impression of the word.  It's pretty in person - and a lot more obvious than in the photo.  I finished off with some brown satin ribbon.  

I cranked out 4 of these in pretty short order.  I wanted them to be nice - but when I'm in a hurry to make multiple cards it's great to be able to do them assembly line style and just rock and roll on them!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm working on catching up with this blog - and visiting yours too! 

My Son's First Birthday Party!

 

I shared a couple Cricut images I customized the other day, and here's the project I made with them!  Below is a very short video - about a minute and a half - showing the way I decorated for the party, and also the teddy bear cake I made.

I've gotten a bit behind on blogging & video making, but now that the party is done I should be able to get back into things full swing!

Jackpot Cherries Card

 

 

I made this card using a fabulous kit from Scrapmaster's Paradise!  It included several coordinating patterned papers & pieces of cardstock.  The cardstock was already cut to make the cards, so all I had to do was fold it in half.  She offers many fabulous paper kits.  

 

All products are by Stampin' Up.  I used the Eyelet Lace border punch along the bottom of the cherry patterned paper.  For the main image on the card I used a stamp from Game Night and stamped it in Real Red. I wanted to create a window around it instead of layering it on top, so I had to do a little extra work with my paper trimmer to make a border that is 1/2 inch wide all the way around.  The inner window is 1 inch by 2 and 1/2 inches.  The total frame is 2 by 3 and 1/2.  I think it was worth that extra bit of effort to have it be a frame instead of layering the stamped image on top.  It does make a bit of a difference.  Underneath the frame and stamped sentiment is a layer that measures 2 and 1/2 by 4.  I used a couple strips of paper near the bottom - the black strip is about 1/4 inch wide - ribbon would look nice here also.  The strip along the very bottom under the border is just long enough that it's all that shows through the holes in the border.

Customizing Images

Sometimes an image is close to what you want, but not exact.  I am starting to find more and more that I can manipulate images into whatever I want them to be.

My son turns one today and his party is on Saturday.  I bought teddy bear themed party supplies and the little teddy bear on the party supplies looks like this....

So, I took the bear from Create a Critter and I made him a shirt.  I used Plantin Schoolbook in my Gypsy.  I didn't get it perfect with my basic shapes in the Gypsy so I did cut a little by hand while I temporarily adhered it to my bear.  I also cut out a star and a one sized to fit on the shirt. 

I simply got a balloon from Celebrations that already had stars on it.  I grabbed the hat from Everyday Paper Dolls & cut it out twice to create the layers myself.

I also customized this rocket from Just Because Cards.  I added the wing in the middle & used hide contour to hide the second window that is part of the cut.  I cut a separate one in blue to make the wings blue.  I wanted the red base toward the bottom, so I cut the yellow checkered cut about in half to reveal it.  I cut a strip of paper for the purple in the center and then glued it on and trimmed off the edges.  It really does give the rocket a whole new look with one window instead of 2, 2 colors to the body and a different wing color than the tip, & an extra wing.  I'm very pleased with the result! To see what the rocket ship looks like normally - there is a GREAT card on this post in the Cricut forum featuring it, so you'll be able to see the difference.  To see it check out this post - its the 3rd card. 

I'll show you the sign these were used on soon.  Wish me luck with the party on Saturday - it's been so crazy around here I haven't had a chance to shoot any videos.

Toddler Creativity

I decided to help my sweet little two year old daughter make a card for her Daddy.  It was so cute watching her little brow furrow as she focused hard on the task at hand.  The kid knows how to use my tools, it's crazy.  She has even picked up my ATG gun by herself before and tried using it.  If she could only hold down the trigger she'd be all set.

It was such a great experience watching her enjoy the creative process, and she loved helping me trim the paper and fold the card.  I look forward to when she can draw pictures that are supposed to look like real things.  Who doesn't love the cute stuff kids come up with?

Here's a couple pics of the card.  I helped her with the outside but not the inside, and I included a pic of the mess she left,  she is CONSTANTLY messing up all my organization!  *LOL*

A Simple Masculine Card

This is a simple masculine card that could work for many occasions.  Perfect for a teen boy, or a man like my husband who doesn't enjoy sports but for some reason really loves skulls!  *LOL*  It was one of the easiest cards I ever made because I used a fabulous kit from Scrapmaster's Paradise!  It included several coordinating patterned papers & pieces of cardstock.  The cardstock was already cut to make the cards, so all I had to do was fold it in half.  I had a ton of fun with this kit & I will be sharing more cards made with it thorughout the month.  She offers many fabulous paper kits. 

All the product is from Stampin' Up.  I cut 4 2 inch squares out of black cardstock.  Then I cut 4 squares out of the designer paper that are 1 and 1/2 inches.  The little black strip on the bottom is 1/4 inch wide and I used a stamp from Vintage Labels using Whisper White craft ink.  The patterned paper at the bottom was punched using the scallop edge border punch I cut it down to an inch wide, but a little bit of it is hidden under the black strip.  

I am happy to have a masculine card at the ready.  Especially one that was easy to put together.  After all, men don't tend to appreciate all those "frilly details" anyways, right?  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous, and very crafty day!

Simple Note card for a Color Challenge

For the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo # 54 the colors are Chocolate Chip, River Rock, & Pumpkin Pie.  I didn't have anything close to River Rock, so I used something that looks more like Crumb Cake, for the paper, but it's all I had.

The tree is stamped from Trendy Trees by Stampin' Up.  The sentiment is from Whimsical Words, also from Stampin' Up.

Instead of making a whole card this is just a note card.  I put the tree where the stamp would go and the sentiment where the return address would go to give it a feel a bit like a postcard.  The ribbon goes across the back, and I will likely write a note on the back for whoever I give it to.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous, crafty day!

Friends Fur Ever Bag

This was the project I submitted for the My Pink Stamper Design Team call.  Now that she has announced her team I am able to share it.  The rules were not to post the project anywhere else until she picked her team.  I ended up putting monogrammed note cards inside and giving it to my best friend.

I think this turned out really well & is pretty original.  I used several cartridges.  Tags, Bags, Boxes & more for the bag, Serenade for the cloud, Create a Critter for the foxes, Easter 2010 for the bows on the foxes, & Plantin Schoolbook for the grass.  I covered the foxes in flocking powder to make them nice and fuzzy.  I used my Ultimate Crafter's Companion to help me tie the perfect bow with some brown satin ribbon.

Instead of listing all the sizes and directions I have a cut file available for download, free as always :)  This will save you some time, flipping, hide contouring, etc.  Just delete any of the cuts you don't have the cartridge for and substitute something else.  Click here to download my free cut file!

Have a fabulous, crafty day, thanks for stopping by!  Comments would be especially appreciated on this project, I always feel sad every time I get turned down for a design team, even though it's to be expected it's still a bummer.

A Funny Genie Card

Here is a funny little card I made last night.  The sentiment reads "I would tell you to make a wish, but I already came true!"  I decided to make this card for a challenge over at Bitten By the Bug 2 they are having a challenge to use the genie lamp from Paper Doll Dress Up.

It's a 6 inch square card w/ a 4 inch doll.  The sentiment is on a die cut from a Nestabilities Labels One set.  I used Die Cuts With a View glitter paper for her outfit, accessories, & the lamp.  I hand drew the face, which I think is pretty obvious!  *LOL*  Whoopsie on the lopsided eyes.  I hand cut the smoke & sponged it to give it more depth since smoke is wispy.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful, crafty day!