Pinspired!

My Creative Time is hosting a Pinterest inspired challenge this week.  I love the My Creative Time blog.  I have a couple of her stamp sets on my September "to buy" list.  It's hard to pick only a couple though!

I thought it was the perfect time to make a card based on a couple of pins that I had pinned to my "Card Inspiration" board.  My pinning philosophy is that once I've tried something or made something based on the inspiration, I delete the pin.  That keeps my boards under control and keeps me seeing the things that I haven't tried yet- so if you want to see the pins, you'll have to follow the links here.  They've been cleared out of my board to make room for more inspiration!

Anyway, the two cards that were the inspiration for this card are found here at counterfeit kit challenge and here at just cards.  They were both cards that used a white background and colorful tags to spell out a word.

For my card, I also used the white base.  I borrowed the idea of embossing with Swiss Dots (I should clarify:  I used Swiss Dots, I'm not sure what folder she used.)  I adhered that directly onto the card, and covered the join spot with black polka dotted washi tape from Queen and Co.  I stamped "birthday" underneath that from Everyday Sentiments from Joy's Life Stamps.  The button is an extra one that I had.

The tags were all cut at 2 inches.  They were all cut from Plantin Schoolbook except for the blue one with the P on it, which was from Doodletype.  The white letters were all also from Doodletype at 1 inch.  I used some of my homemade twine to put through the tags.  After everything was glued together, I cut the extra off of the twine.  I kind of wish I hadn't, because I think it looked better when they were longer, but since everything was glued down I had to leave it.  Live and learn.

Second Birthday

There aren't too many family birthdays coming up, so I'm just now starting to think about building up for next winter/spring's family birthday slam, since I don't know when we'll be moving.  In January, my nephew will be turning 2, so I thought I would use Life's a Party to make him a card.

I cut the monkey at 3 inches and the number two at 2 inches.  They aren't from the same page of the handbook- the number is part of the font.  Then I added two little green star brads at the bottom.  I had considered buttons, but the two little brads were just too cute. 

I'm entering this into the following challenge:
Celebrate the Occasion- Child's birthday

Surprise!

This card is out of this world!  For this A2 card, I cut the card on black cardstock.  The moon on the bottom was hand cut by me and then I ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Lifestyle Crafts Polka Dots folder.  This is the debossed side.  I cut both the alien and the spaceman at 3 inches.  The spaceman is from Life's a Party and the alien is from B is for Boy.  

The sentiment is stamped in white Brilliance ink using the Hobby Lobby "Everyday Expressions" stamp set.  

Just a note: the entire time I was making this card, I was singing "I don't want to live on the moon," and old Sesame Street song that Ernie used to sing.  Sweet memories.

I'm entering this card in the following challenge:
Pause, Dream, Enjoy: UFOs and Monsters in the closet

Thanks!

Today I've got a Thank You card to add to my rapidly growing card stash.  I started out with the yellow card and the purple cutout from Elegant Edges (which I just got from my birthday and love!) and then got stuck.  I felt like I went through every color and nothing looked right.  Luckily, I recently discovered the handy color wheel at Scrapbook.com and used it to help me pick out teal as my third color.  I used two different colors of teal to cut out the Thanks and the ribbon from Lyrical Letters.  

The teal striped washi tape is Target brand, and the purple flowers washi tape is WRMK.  The inside of the card, which I did not bother to take a picture of, has the left over swirl that was cut out of the purple across the bottom right side.

I'm entering this card into the 100th challenge at Cooking with Cricut- the Thank You challenge.  Special thanks to everyone over at CWC- theirs was the first little blinky that I got to add over on the left side of my blog and so they'll always have a special place in my heart.  I always love participating in their challenges and the DT has such great inspiration.  So, Thanks CWC and congratulations on 100 challenges!

Back to school backpack

It's back to school time!  For this project, I thought I'd make the backpack treat bag from Life's a Party.  I cut it on my Expression at Fit to Page, which ended up being 8.5 inches.  I don't do a lot of the Cricut 3D images, so I was proud of myself for figuring out how to put it together.  I added a few shoulder straps to the back with glossy accents and leftover cardstock.  

For the sentiment, I cut at 1.5 inches from my Celebrate with Flourish cartridge.  I didn't want to go with the usual red/blue/yellow back to school colors, so I picked oranges and purple and did the shadow in grey.  I finished it up by tying it closed with some homemade orange bakers twine.

I'll be entering this card into the following challenges:

Scrappy Moms Stamps- Back to School

Die Cuttin Divas- Color Challenge

Puppy smile

Today's card is a nice, cheery card that could fit so many occasions.  I first cut the dog face from Paper Pups.  I made the mistake of cutting it first at 4.5 inches, because I twisted it in my mind and thought it was going to cut the other way- it was HUGE!  I recut it at 3 inches and it was a lot better size for my A2 card.  Paper Pups is sometimes hard for me to get to look just right, so in case you were wondering, I cut three layers: the Blackout layer is white, the Solid layer is brown, and the main image is black.  I popped him up on some new foam squares that I just ordered- they are super dimensional!  You can't tell on the picture, but he's REALLY popped up.

The background paper is some that I've had a long time.  I liked how it had the stripes and some were blank but the biggest stripe had the polka dots.  I used the EK Success Pawprint edger punch along the bottom (my husband got it for me for my birthday!) and added three brown pearls to the top corner.  My pearls always look straight on the card and then I take the picture and they don't look straight anymore.  It reminds me of the difference between seeing your outfit in the mirror and thinking you look great and then seeing yourself in a picture someone tags on Facebook and thinking it's time to start dieting.  :)

The final touch was stamping "Smile" in brown using Pink by Design's Scripted Year stamp set.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:
Pile it on- Cuddly Critters
Fantabulous Cricut- National Tooth Fairy Day (teeth or smile related)
Made especially for you- 3 pearls
Paper Playtime- Polka dots and a sentiment

One elephant went out to play

The theme of my card today is: my new stuff!  Everything except the cardstock and the Lawn Fawn stamps are new things that I haven't used yet on a project.  :)

The elephant on this card is cut from Paisley at 3.5 inches.  Isn't she spunky?  I got Paisley on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $15!  I was so excited that day.  I stamped on her heinie with my new Versamark ink and Lawn Fawn's Jessie's ABCs.  I don't know how I didn't know about Versamark before.  I am loving it.  Even my husband thought it was pretty cool when I tested it out and showed him.

The yellow cardstock behind the elephant was embossed with a Quickcutz Flowers embossing folder, and the blue strip along the bottom is We R Memory Keepers washi tape.  She's popped up on some pop dots for a little extra depth.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Bitten by the Bug 2- Elephantly speaking

Krafty girls- So punny!

Cardz TV- Cricut Cardz Challenge, "Critter Cuties"

Flamingos

So there's a story behind this card.  Last weekend, I was talking to my husband and I was telling him about the challenges that were out and one of them was a flamingo challenge.  I was kind of blankly talking about different ideas to do and he said "you should make a card about lawn flamingos!"  It's kind of a joke in his family that they talk about the tacky lawn flamingos that people have, so I thought it was a great idea.  So...here it is!

This card is 5x5.  The patterned paper is from Recollections.  I used the Cuttlebug "Just my Type" borders on the blue strip of paper.  The house is cut from Create a Critter at 2 inches- it cuts relative to the size that would match the animal that is the main cut.  The flamingos are from Life is a Beach at 2.5 inches.  I added a couple of buttons to the top and it was ready!  I'm typing this before he gets home from work (but it's publishing just slightly after he gets home) so I hope he likes it!

I plan to enter this in the following challenge:
Pause Dream Enjoy- Flamingos or pink

School Days

I was browsing through my 3 Birds on Parade handbook the other day and noticed this sweet little bird, getting ready for school.  I thought he'd make a cute back to school card.  I cut him at 3 1/2 inches and the phrase at 1 inch.  The background paper is from All Seasons 2 by Paper Studio.  

After I had the bird and sentiment on the page, I thought something was still missing.  I just got some brads that were the same color as the paper I used for the sentiment and his wing, so I thought I would give it a try.  It's hard!   It's hard to get the brads on straight, and to keep the paper adhered around the bumpiness underneath.  I think I'm going to need some more practice on brads, but I'm excited to see what they can add to my cards. :)

I am entering this card into the following challenge:
Cooking with Cricut- Back to School
Simply Create Too- Back to School
My Sheri Crafts- Back to School

Christmas in August

I was very excited recently to find an affordable Jolly Holidays cartridge.  I'd been looking for it for ages, and am so happy to add it to my collection!  I decided to make a card with one of the cute elves that are found on this card.

I used a red A2 card, with patterned paper from All Seasons 2 from Paper Studio.  The green cardstock was embossed with ProvoCraft's Snowflake embossing folder.  I cut the elf at 3.5 inches.  He was pretty simple to put together, but as with all of the Lite cartridges I was glad that I sat and really looked at what layers were what, because I'm used to cutting the base layer in black on cartridges like Create a Critter but his base layer is actually the white.

I colored his Christmas lights with green and blue Sharpies, because I wanted them to be multicolored.  Then I went over them with Christmas Red and Firefly stickles.

I'm entering this card in the following challenge:

Celebrate the Occasion- Christmas in August

Fly Away

I've been liking Wall Decor and More more and more lately.  I decided to cut the airplane cut from Wall Decor and More at 3 inches, and I angled it up like it was taking off.  I used a piece of paper from the KI Memories Classic Prints stack.   

I stamped it with a brown stamp with a sentiment from Scripted Year by Pink by Design.  The yellow button at the bottom was a little finishing touch that I wanted to add.

I'm entering this in the following challenge:
Bitten by the bug 2- Fly Away
Die Cuttin Divas- Take Flight

Sports

I have to admit that I barely watched the Olympics at all.  The only part I watched was the last match of the women's singles tennis.  I played tennis in high school so I still like to watch it from time to time.

This card is made completely from cuts from Life's a Party.  The card is cut at 3.5 inches (from the page that the onsie is the main image).  I made the tennis ball at 3 inches.  You might be thinking "Self, I don't remember seeing a tennis ball on Life's a Party."  You'd be right!  I used the basketball cut (that is the shifted image on the Soccer ball page) and cut off the extra lines in the layer.  Voila!  Tennis ball.  I cut the capital F from the font on Life's a Party at 1.5 inches.  The font on that cartridge is really wide, and I didn't want it so wide, so I cut off part of the left side to make it a cleaner "F."  

All of my sister-in-laws play tennis, and one is joining her High School tennis team this year, so I figured I'll have plenty of chances to give this card. 

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Fantabulous Cricut- Olympics
Exploring Cricut - Cricut Choice, with 2 Cricut cuts and a monogram

Hot and Spicy

When I saw that Paper Playtime was having a challenge called "Hot and Spicy," I spent a lot of time going through my handbooks looking to see if I had a cut that was chili peppers or something. I do not.  :)  I decided to go with this happy bowl of noodles from Create a Critter.  I imagine that they're spicy noodles, which is a pretty good bet for me because I think everything I eat is too spicy.  I cut the noodles and bowl at 3 1/2 inches, with the white shadow to help them stand out from the background.  

I stamped the sentiment with Jessie's ABCs from Lawn Fawn.

I'm entering this in the following challenge:
Paper Playtime- Hot and Spicy
Cricut Chirp Challenge Blog- Anything goes

Some Pig

This card was inspired by a childhood favorite of mine.  Remember in Charlotte's Web, when Charlotte spun her web to say "Some Pig" to save Wilbur from being slaughtered by Farmer Zuckerman?  Now THAT'S friendship.

This card has cuts from three different Cricut cartridges.  I wish I had County Fair, because I totally would have put the pig from there on here as Wilbur.  The only pig I have is on Create a Critter, and it didn't fit with the card.  The spiderweb was cut from Wild Card at 4.5 inches.  I cut the words "Some Pig" from Lyrical Letters, using the Jack Sprat font.  They were cut at 1 inch.  I went over them with Frosted Lace Stickles.  I cut Charlotte from Doodlecharms at 2.5 inches.  I put some white cardstock behind her for her eyes and drew her a happy smile with a gel pen.  Then I made the string from the web to the spider by just cutting it out.

The patterned paper at the bottom is from All Seasons 2 by Paper Studio.  I added it at the end for a little bit of extra something.

I plan to enter this in the following challenges:
Creative Cutter Room- Friendship
DL. Art- Friends
Pause, Dream, Enjoy- On the Farm (cause Zuckerman's farm was the only concept I had of farms for a long time as a child)

Cool Off

One of the most fun ways, in my opinion, to cool off from the heat is to get to go outside and play in the rain. This card reflects that feeling of running through a nice rain shower.

This is an A2 sized card.  I cut the sun, cloud, and raindrops from Simply Charmed at 3 1/2 inches.  The sun I cut without the face, because I knew it was going to be partly covered up.  The cloud and raindrops are on pop dots.  The ribbon is from American Crafts, and the sentiment is from Studio G.

I'm entering this in the following challenge:
Fantabulous Cricut- Cool Off

Young at heart (Happy Birthday!)

For this card, I was jointly inspired by a sketch at Die Cuttin Divas and by the Happy Birthday challenge at DL.Art.  The challenge at DL.Art was to celebrate Diana's birthday, and I learned from following her blog hop that green is her favorite color, so that's the color I picked as the main color for this card.  I used my EK Success corner rounder for the corners of each layer of the cardstock and paper.

This little girl is cut from Sugar and Spice.  I had a horrible time with her face- the nose was too small, the mouth was a weird shape, and the cheeks were gigantic .  I ended up throwing out all of the parts of her face except for her eyes, and just drawing a nose and mouth on with gel pens.  I like it a lot better that way.

Her birthday hat is from Doodlecharms.  I added the polka dots and topper with Turquoise Stickles and three purple buttons. I stamped the sentiment with my Jessie's ABCs from Lawn Fawn.  No matter how many birthdays you have, what matters is how young you feel, right?  At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Inside, I used a rubber stamp to stamp "Happy Birthday," but I forgot to take a picture of the inside.  Oops!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

DL.Art- Happy Birthday

Die Cuttin Divas- Sketch

Thinking of You

I've been wanting to learn how to make rosettes, mostly because I love them but I'm too cheap to buy the name brand ones.  I looked at a few different tutorials and tried quite a few times, but I think I might have the hang of it now.  For the rosette on this A2 sized card, I used a strip of paper that was 3/4 inch by 12 inches.  I scored the paper every quarter inch going down the 12 inches and accordion folded it.  Then I adhered the two ends together, and popped it on it's side.  The back has a scrap of paper that I adhered on with Glossy Accents, and then I put the button on the same way.  I put the rosette in the middle of four spice jars that I use for buttons, and then put the Glossy Accents on top of the button.  I left it like that the rest of the time that I was making the card, and it's super sturdy now.

My card base is white, with the turquoise adhered on the top and a strip of red cardstock across the bottom of the turquoise.  I had a really clear picture of how I wanted this to look in my mind.  I was so disappointed to realize that I had no red and turquoise paper for the bottom half, so I made my own design with some Cricut cuts.  The swirls on the bottom half are from Sweethearts at various sizes.  I had to make a few adjustments and cut off some parts of the swirl when they ripped a little.

The tag is also from Sweethearts, with the shadow feature cut in red.  I used red Doodlebug ink to stamp the sentiment, which is from Pink by Design's Scripted Year.

I am entering this card in the following challenge:
My Sheri Crafts- Back and Forth

Back to School

Back to school time was always one of my  favorite times when I was a kid.  Weird, right?  I just liked spending the time with my mom and sister, driving all over for school shopping, getting new stuff to start off the year right.  This little card is for my mom, who still works at the elementary school that I'm a proud graduate of.

I cut the card base to A2 size.  The patterned paper is from the All Seasons 2 stack from Paper Studio.  I thought the crayons were perfect.   I cut the apple from Doodlecharms and the worm from Create a Critter.  See how I made a bite out of the apple?  Someone gave me a corner punch that is a kind of a backwards scallopy thing with a design inside.  BUT, if you make it so that the corner doesn't go in all the way, it just cuts a bite mark looking chomp out of it.  I made the twine with white yarn and a blue Sharpie.  I tied it in a bow on the front, which was much harder than it looks.  Then I stamped the sentiment from Holiday Occasions from Joy's Life.  

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Cardz TV- School is cool
Cricut Chirp- A buzzing bug bow

Sweet Pea

Here's a nice card to add to the stash for any upcoming babies.  I used an A2 sized piece of kraft cardstock for the base.  The background paper is from the Bright and Basics Recollections pad.  I cut the words Sweet Pea from New Arrival at 1 inch.  The shadow is purple and the sentiment is white.  I put a 1 x 4 strip of pink cardstock behind it to make it pop.  

Next I cut the pea pod from New Arrival at 3 1/2 inches.  Again, I cut the shadow in the same purple.  I also used the same pink as from behind "Sweet Pea" to keep it consistent.  I put some Cotton Candy Stickles on the heart and used a Fiskars gel pen to trace the face.  To just add a little bit more embellishment I put some homemade bakers twine in a double bow up in the top corner.  

I am entering this in the following challenges:
My Craft Spot- Oh, baby!
Pause, Dream, Enjoy- Cupcakes or Baby theme

I scream

I've got a delicious card for today.  This card was cut at 6 inches, to fit inside an envelope that I have.  It's a shape card cut from Birthday Bash.  I really liked the colors that were used in the handbook, so I made it the same colors, but added another blue to the back to make it a shaped card.  I had to cut the spoon handle off of the back because it opens from the top and the spoons were bumping into each other.  It's hard to tell from the picture (thanks a lot, camera phone) but there are glossy accents on the cherry.  

The sentiment is made from two different stamp sets from different companies.  The "you" and "me" are from the Everyday Occasions set from Joy's Life.  The "make" and "melt" are from Jessie's ABCs from Lawn Fawn.  I inked around the edges of the spoon and cup with blue ink for a little definition.  I am giving this card to my BFF, my husband.  I like to make him surprise cards to leave for him to find when he comes home from work. 

I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Celebrate the Occasion- I scream for ice cream
Tuesday Alchemy- Ice cream social
Krafty girls- Get in shape (shaped cards)
Cooking with Cricut- BFF Bingo (I picked, stamp, ink, and die cuts)