Heart card

Everybody brace yourselves...for today's card I used my Cricut instead of my Cameo!  I know, right?  With the year halfway over, I've been trying to evaluate my crafty goals and how they will be able to fit in with my new hectic back to work lifestyle.  One thing I want to do is get back to using my Cricut more.  So, here I go.

I needed to make an anniversary card for my brother and sister in law, and I decided instead of the typical reds or black and whites of anniversary cards, I would go with their wedding colors- blue and green.  I cut this heart from the Sweethearts cartridge and inked it up with some Distress Inks.  I used mostly Peacock Feathers and Peeled Paint, with a touch of Broken China to add a little blue in.  I cut the shadow in white as a contrast.

Because of the swirls on the heart, I thought the D'vine Swirls embossing folder would be a good match. I embossed it on vellum, which is one of my favorite things to emboss on. I adhered the heart down really well to the vellum, and put adhesive on the vellum behind the heart to adhere it down to the card.  I have some vellum adhesive, so I'm going to give it a few days and if it really seems too flimsy without the edges adhered, I can use a little of that in the corners.

I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Emboss it challenge.

VooDoo You Love?

Good afternoon!  I have a really fun card to share today that's been brewing in my head for awhile.  I used the "VooDoo You Love" files from SVG Cutting files to cut this voodoo doll in bright colors.  The file cut stitching marks on her face and body, but I accented them by tracing them with a black gel pen.  I also added some glitter glue (dollar store brand!) to her hair bow.

For the background, I used the Hugs and Kisses cuttlebug folder.  I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to see the texture on black cardstock, but it showed up really crisply.  I love the way it looks!  I also used a border strip embossing folder (Cuttlebug's Just my Type folder set) to mimic the stitching.

Inside, I used the title cut from the same SVG Cutting Files set.  It cut so beautifully!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:
SVG Cutting Files- Just a Card
Simon Says Stamp Challenges- Wednesday Challenge, Emboss It

Caramel apple of my eye

Fall is in the air here in the Midwest and I couldn't be happier about it!  Fall is my favorite season by far.  I just love everything about it- the clothes are more comfy, the smells are more 'spicey', it's just my time of year.  For today's card, I was definitely thinking fall!

The background paper I used here is from a DCWV 6x6 pad.  I was in Joann's recently and had to pick up their Autumn and Halloween 6x6 pads, because they were just too cute.  Over that is a piece of cardstock that I embossed with a Cuttlebug Argyle folder.  Argyle reminds me of fall, because that's when I start to pull out the sweaters.

My caramel apple is from the Smiley Cards Cricut cartridge.  I think it was supposed to be a candy apple, but caramel apples are more autumny to me so I cut it from these colors instead.  I put glossy accents all over the caramel part to make it shine.  Random tangent- when I was spreading the glossy accents, I had a total flashback to an old episode of Reading Rainbow when they were making a claymation movie about some pigs swimming in mud and showed how they use vegetable oil to make the mud shiny.  I had to use some black enamel accents to fix his eyes, because the Cricut cut them kind of weird shapes.  This way they match better.

For a final touch, I added a little cardboard button that I got on clearance a few weeks ago at Archivers.  I think the pack was from Making Memories.  There were a lot that were Halloween themed, but also a lot that were just pretty colors.  I used a little Trendy Twine in the button.

 

This card is being entered into the following challenges: 
Simon Says Stamp- Emboss it
Bitten by the Bug 2- Anything Fall 
Craftin' Desert Divas- Autumn/Fall
Paper Playtime- Apples

Father's Day Cards

Today I'm sharing this year's Father's Day Cards.  I used a dark blue card base layered with a piece of grey cardstock that I embossed with the Diamond Plate Cuttlebug folder.  I used three cut files from Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons' "Tool Time" file- I love that you can either use the silly faces or not, if you want them to be more serious.  The tools I cut with my Cameo.

The ovals are cut with the Cricut from George and Basic Shapes.  I stamped both the orange oval and the inside paper with stamps from AmyR Stamps.

This card is being entered into the following challenges:

Pumpkin Spice Blog- Father      
 CardzTV- Father’s Day      

Cut it Up Challanges- Father’s Day

 Krafty Girls- Anything Goes              

 Simon Says Stamp Challenge- Masculine/Fathers Day

Mother's Day

Hi friends!  I hope you've all had some happy crafting.  I finally pulled my Cricut out- for the first time since our move- and did some creating.  I made an A2 card on off-white cardstock.  Then I layered on some MME chevron paper, then some Bo Bunny Double Dot paper on top of that.  I used an embossing folder to emboss some vellum- did you know you could do that?- and layered it on top.  Then I used more of the MME chevron paper to create some banners.

I cut the rose from Celebrate with Flourish.  I didn't use the top layer, instead I just drew on the swirls with my versapen.  The sentiment is on the branding strip from the MME paper, which I love because it's still got the chevron pattern but it has the off-white coloring, and I stamped it with a sentiment from AmyR stamps.  I added some gems in the four corners and it was finished!

This card is being entered into the following challenges: 
Fantabulous Cricut- Mother’s Day                                                                                                                  

Bitten by the Bug 2- Mom is the best                                                                                                              

Exploring Cricut- Mother’s Day                                                                                                                        

Paper Playtime- Emboss                                                                                                                                  

Die Cuttin Divas- Sketch                                                                                                                                   

Celebrate the Occasion- Happy Mother’s Day

Smiling Bees

You probably think I've been a busy bee this week- so many days of posting in a row!  Get it, busy bee?  Hahaha!  Anyway, the Trend Watch challenge this week at Paper Smooches Sparks was "Smiles."  I thought of the smiling bee free digi that they have, and that's where the idea for this card came from.

First I used grey cardstock (actually, that was my last step, but I like to start out with the nitty gritty details) and a piece of green cardstock embossed with the Honeycomb cuttlebug folder.  Then I cut the beehive from Create a Critter, and cut the heart off of the top because I didn't want it for this card.

I printed the freebies at two different sizes- the bigger bee was printed at wallet size, and the smaller ones were printed at contact sheet size.  I colored them all in with sharpies, and cut off the antennas that they already had.  Next, I colored some white twine with black sharpies, cut it to the right size, and then taped it to the backs of their heads.  I adhered them with foam squares to the green paper using the thinnest foam squares I had for the small bees and the thickest ones I had for the big bee.  To finish them off, I used some recollections black rhinestones as the bumps at the end of their antennas.  You can't really tell from the picture, but the rhinestones are only sticking to the twine- not to the card- so the antennas kind of move around.  That's why their antennas look kind of like they're going in all sorts of crazy directions in the picture. :)

Loads of fun

Happy Monday!  It's time for another challenge at Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges!  This week, our challenge is:

For the Boys

This was a fun one! My projects tend toward the girly side of things, so this made me look through my cartridges for cuts that I might not necessarily gravitate toward initially, which can lead to so much inspiration.  I decided that this was a perfect challenge for the B is for Boy cartridge, and then picked out this dump truck.  I had gotten this "Diamond Plate" embossing folder for Christmas, which was a perfect fit.  I used gray cardstock to make it look like the silver plates I usually see this pattern on when I go to the hardware store with my husband.  To finish it off, I put some ribbon along the bottom that reminded me of a street.  :)

Since I don't really have any sentiment stamps that would go with this card, I made my own using Lawn Fawn's "Harold's ABCs."

Are you feeling inspired?  Head over to Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges and see the masculine inspiration that the rest of the Design Team has for you, and then make a project of your own for the boys.  :)

White on White

If yesterday's card was meant to highlight the embossing as a contrast to the dark colors, today's is meant to highlight the embossing in a whole other way!  When I saw that the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog was having a White-on-White challenge, I definitely wanted to give it a go.  I love the simplicity of White-on-White.

I used a regular A2 sized white card base, with rounded edges.  Then I ran a piece of white cardstock through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder, and cut it to just slightly smaller than the base (again with rounded edges).  I put a piece of white crinkle ribbon around it toward the top, and then centered on a piece of cardstock that had been embossed with one of the Winter Jellies folders.  (side note:  when using the Winter Jellies folders, I believe it is mandatory to dance around your craft room and sing "I don't think you're ready for this jelly...")

Then I cut a strip of paper for the bottom and stamped the sentiment using Alphadots from Paper Smooches and Memento grey ink.  

Happy Birthday card

There's a birthday card challenge this week at Pink by Design.  I decided to go with darker colors on this card, since I usually use bright colors or pastels.  I used a dark green card base and ink as well as dark purple crinkle ribbon.  

I embossed the white cardstock with the Friends Forever Cuttlebug folder.  As soon as I got this folder, I knew that whenever I used it the design of the embossing would be the focus of the card.  It's just so pretty!

The stamp is from Pink by Design's "Big Thoughts" stamp set.  

Mainly Red

Are you ready for another challenge over at Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges?  Good, because we've got a fun one for you this week!  Our challenge theme this time is:

Mainly Red

See? I told you it was fun!  With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I'd use this as a chance to get my husband's card ready (don't worry, he doesn't read my blog.  He assumes he'll see all of my cards in real life).  

The base of this card is a dark red.  I cut it at A2 proportions.  Then I cut a piece of white cardstock slightly smaller to mat, then another piece of the red cardstock slightly smaller again.  That one I embossed with a hearts embossing folder from Paper Studio.  I wrapped some red heart ribbon around that layer with just a hint of color.

The cupid is cut from Sweethearts.  I used the white cardstock to cut the shadow feature, and the same red cardstock for the silhouette.  I think Sweethearts is a great cartridge for silhouettes- in fact, I use it more for those than to make the image with its actual layers.  

Now you can head over to Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges and check out what the rest of the Design Team has in store for you, then surround yourself with red supplies and get to crafting!  Link up with us and play along!  We've got a great prize this week, so go check it out.  

Birthday Cupcake

It's challenge time again at Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges!   Our challenge this week is:

Desserts!

Birthday season rolls around in my extended family from mid-January through about mid-May, so it's time for me to start stocking up on cards!  What better way than with a nice cupcake card?  I made this card with one of my Christmas presents, the Once Upon a Princess Cricut Cartridge!  I cut the cupcake at 3 inches- doesn't she look delicious?- and the tag at 2 inches.  

I went around the edge of the tag with  my Versamark pen to give it some definition and stamped a sentiment from My Craft Spot's "Birthday Wishes" stamp set.  Side note: I had a little extra Christmas money and decided to buy myself Tuxedo Black Memento Ink while I was at Michaels- wow, what a difference between that and the off-brand I had been using!  I definitely recommend it.

For the card itself, I embossed it with a cupcakes embossing folder by Paper Studio (the Hobby Lobby store brand) and then put some extra ribbon that I had on it.  I popped the cupcake and tag up on foam dots and it's ready for someone's birthday!  

Guess what?  It's your turn!  Make a dessert related project- it doesn't have to be a card- and head over to Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges to link it up and play with us!

Pet Sympathy card

I made it into my craft room today, but definitely not for the reason I wanted to.  We got a call last night that my in-laws are going to have to put their family dog, Chloe, to sleep today.  If you've followed this blog for awhile, you probably can guess that I love my own dog Sophie like a child.  It breaks my heart to think of anyone having to face this decision, let alone people that I love.

I used a black card base with white cardstock.  I embossed the white cardstock with the clouds embossing folder by Darice.  Since the folder is vertical and I wanted the card to be horizontal, I had to emboss it twice- the die cuts are covering the areas where you can tell I did that.  For the die cuts I used Paper Pups, with the shadow feature and the main image both cut at 2 inches.  Chloe is a chocolate lab, so I cut the dog in chocolate brown.  I colored in the halo with a Sharpie and then put Stickles over it.

Inside the card, I stamped a sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps "Raining Cats and Dogs" set.  

Bright Christmas trees

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?  I'm working really hard this year to try to keep it magical.  Here's a card I made using free digital stamps from Alley Way Stamps.

I printed the trees at 4 inches and colored them with a hot pink and light green Sharpie, then cut them out.  I used the snowflakes Cuttlebug folder on the card base for texture, then put some sheer green ribbon over it for an accent.  You can't tell too well from the picture, but the three trees are adhered to the card using foam adhesive.

This card is being entered in the following challenges:

The Alley Way Stamps- Be Inspired
Little Scrap Pieces- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Winter Wishes

Now that Christmas is coming closer, I am having a great time with the Jolly Holidays cartridge!  This was the first cut that I made from it back when I bought the cartridge, and then I had put it away in my extras drawer, and decided to pull it out to play with it!  I used white cardstock as my background paper, embossed with the Polka Dots Cuttlebug folder.  I punched it on the edge with the Martha Stewart loops punch.  It's actually a punch around the page punch, but I only wanted the edger for this one.  I used an old scrap of Paper Studios paper for the blue snowflakes on the other side- I have a ton of these because they were leftovers from last year's Christmas cards.  Then I put Mystic Green Stickles on the handle (they're so dark you can't really tell) and used Candy Cane Stickles on the red part of the umbrella to outline it.  

I know that I cut the circle tag from the Cricut, but I can't remember what cartridge it was from.  Any circle would do.  Then I punched it with a regular hole punch and strung some white ribbon through it.  I stamped it in blue with the Stampendous Everything Happy stamp set.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut- Holiday Wishes

Merci!

It's Friday yet again!  Time for another challenge at Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges and another chance for you to play along with us!  

This week's challenge is:

Question: Do you hoard crafting stuff?

Theme: USE YOUR FORGOTTEN STASH ON YOUR PROJECT

I am not TOO bad at hoarding supplies.  That's mostly because I've only really been serious about crafting for just over a year, and I have a set budget that I keep myself to every month so that I don't go crazy with buying stuff.  Although, I think the people at my local Hobby Lobby are starting to recognize me, so maybe I'm fooling myself.  :)

The forgotton stash on this card is the "Merci" tag.  Back before I had my Cricut, in the days when my entire craft supply stash fit in one two shelf cupboard, I bought a couple of card making kits from the Target Dollar Spot.  The tag, and the patterned part of the tag behind it, are from one of those kits.  I had stuck them away in a die cuts drawer when I started making my own sentiments and doing more stamping, and completely forgotten about them.  

I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder on the card back and added a strip of pink cardstock behind the tag to make it stand out.  Then I cut the Eiffel Tower from Wall Decor and More in pink and gray.  

What about you?  Do you have some forgotten stash that you could dust off to join us this week?  You can check out the blog at Pause, Dream, Enjoy Challenges to see what forgotten goodies the rest of the DT was able to find.

Circus

When I saw the inspiration picture for this week's challenge at Alley Way Stamps, the first thing that came to mind was a boat.  But I don't have a boat by them, because I'm limited to the free digis (for now) because I spent all of my scrapbook budget for this month already on two albums and some page refills.  You gotta love when you need the basics.

Anyway, when I was perusing their free digis, I saw the circus tent and was immediately reminded of the inspiration picture.  The banners had really stood out to me, and the circus tent had a banner too.

I colored the tent with my colored pencils.  The word "party" is also one of their digital stamps, that I put into the flag before I printed it.  I used some blue cardstock, then layered it with patterned paper, then more of the blue cardstock that had been embossed using my Cuttlebug and a Lifestyle Crafts (aka Quickutz) folder.

My finishing touch was the three rhinestones on the lower banner.

This card was made for Alley Way Stamps Be Inspired #14 challenge.

Spoooky

Time for another Friday challenge at Pause, Dream, Enjoy!  This week's challenge is:

Question: Do you love a good Ghost Story or Campfire Scary Story?

Theme: MAKE A PROJECT "NIGHT" PROJECT (Owl in tree; ghost in mansion)

I don't like ghost stories! I don't like being scared at all.  Maybe that's why my Halloween projects are usually some sort of cutesy thing.  

This challenge was a real, well, challenge for me.  I wanted to get away from my cute Halloween images.  I don't have any of the Halloween specific cartridges, so I went to Celebrate with Flourish.  This is about as spooky as I get.  I cut the image at 4 inches and included the shadow feature.  I love that this cartridge has shadows.  None of my other Lite cartridges do.  Here's a tip: if you're overdue for a new blade in your Cricut but putting off changing it because you're cheap, don't try to cut anything from Celebrate with Flourish at a small size.  It didn't cut too smoothly.  I realize it's my own fault, but thought I would pass along my little tidbit of wisdom so you all can save yourself the headache.  :)

I embossed the actual card front with my Spots and Dots Cuttlebug folder.  I added some bats paper from All Seasons 2 (by Paper Studio) as an accent.   

Come play along with us at Pause, Dream, Enjoy!  Head over and see what the rest of the Design Team has for you and then add your own creation!

I'm also entering this into the My Crafting Channel- The gh'oul times challenge.

Boo

I am on such an embossing folders kick lately! I just got this one in the mail today- it's the Spiderweb folder by Darice.  I had to use my flash on my camera to get a picture where you could see it.  It's a perfect addition to my newest addiction.  :)

Because I wanted to showcase my new embossing folder, I cut the card in black at 4.25 x 5.5 inches.  Then I cut a piece of bright orange paper at 4 x 5.25 inches.  The black paper that I embossed is cut at 3.75 x 5 inches.  I ran a piece of green ribbon across the bottom as an accent

The word "boo" and the dog are cut from Paper Pups at 2.5 inches.  I used the shadow feature to cut the purple so that the white outline would stand out against the word.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Paper Playtime- Welcome to BooVille
My Craft Spot- Emboss it!
More than Favors- Halloween
My Crafting Channel- The gh'oul times

Card Making Day continues!

I'm continuing my weekend of new techniques with digi stamps to celebrate World Card Making Day.  This time, I tried my hand at paper piecing.  It was fun, but I think I need some practice with my scissors skills...or else maybe I need a better pair of scissors.  :)

I used a sketch provided by Paper Smooches for this card.  Both of the pieces of patterned paper are from the All Seasons 2 stack by Paper Studio.  Then I used a Paper Studio embossing folder with holly on it for the next layer.  I rounded the corners and inked around the edges in green ink.  

See the heart made of candy canes?  That was my paper piecing project!  I printed the picture on white and red paper.  I cut out the heart on the white paper, then cut out every other piece of the red one and adhered it to the white.  It came out pretty good, I think.

This is going to be it for me today, because I have real-life plans that are going to last the afternoon.  Come back tomorrow to see my third foray into the world of digi stamps!

World Card Making Day

Did you know that today is World Card Making Day?  As such, Paper Smooches stamps are having a day of challenges, along with prizes that I would be ecstatic to win.  

This card actually meets the requirements for two of their challenges: it has pink on it in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it's a one layer card (ok, it's one layer plus a little washi tape, but washi tape is really thin so I think that counts).  

I've been experimenting with different ways to use digi stamps.  For this card, I went with printing it directly onto where I want it on the card.  The word "love" is a digi stamp from Paper Smooches.  I printed it onto the white cardstock so it would end up in this corner.  I just used Microsoft Word- so easy!

I used my Cuttlebug and a Hobby Lobby embossing folder for the hearts that are at the top.  They also go over a little ways onto the back, which I think is kind of cool.  Then I used some pink washi tape from We R Memory Keepers on the spot where the embossing stopped, and a quick and simple card is done!