♥scraps by ownhomedog♥

clearance deals @ Walmart

2011-12-14T05:48:00.000-05:00

Hi All ~ I went to a Walmart about an hour from where i live today and found some super deals ~ each of these studio G craft supplies were a whopping .20 cents! I picked up 3 mini punches, the bat, spider and witches hat. I also got two of the 4 pack glitters and 3 rolls of ribbon, there is 4 feet on each roll.

They also had the rest of the studio G line of the stickers and paper packs for .20 cents each. Be sure to check your local (or further!) Walmart craft sections.

Gotta love a deal!

Happy Bee-Day Seanny B!!!

2011-10-15T18:55:00.000-04:00

Here is a cute card I made for my Brother in Law, Sean. His nick name is Sean-ny B, and I thought these stamped images worked "bee-autifully!" Thanks for stopping by!

Cricut Vinyl project

2011-10-06T00:48:00.000-04:00

Wow. Its been some time since I have been able to craft or post. I lost my electricity, water and internet during Hurricane Irene for nearly 6 days...and to boot when the power went out, my PC's power supply got fried!
I had been quite busy with work for the entire summer and didn't get to make but one card....Well, its finally Fall and I seem to have more time on my hands. I made a super quick vinyl project and it turned out super cute! Pictured below, is the 3 drawer desktop storage, from Walmart, clearance $4.00 each from the back to school section. My sister asked if I could find some storage for the kids crayon and markers, I found them, but I had to pretty them up! This was so simple. I used my Gypsy to choose a couple of semi-solid images and a font. I cut them them out in the pink (Cricut brand) and blue (from the art store) vinyl. Which was a deal - single sheet vinyl - $1.12- cheap!!! :o)
The font for both, is from the Birthday Cakes cartridge. The crown was from Sweet Treats (i hid the lines) and the heart, George and Basic Shapes. The little airplane and the sailboat (hid lines) are both from the B is for Boy cart. In the top drawer, I also tucked in a small stamp set for each kid. My sister and her kids loved them! If you are looking for a quick and inexpensive project for a kid, try this!

Birthday Humor

2011-06-30T18:12:00.001-04:00

Hi All! Hope you are all doing well out there! I have been quite busy with work lately, leaving only a little amount of time to craft and post but I did manage to make time for a special card for my "favorite" Brother in Law. Lol! I love all my BIL's equally, but we have a running joke between my sisters and their hubbys about whose husband is the best. Anyhow, I made this funny card using the Cricut Camp Out cartridge, I hid a few cuts on the out house because i wanted my top layer to be a little more solid so i could have the door open to a little tiny cupcake. I used a couple of punches too, the MS Pine tree and a Fiskars corner punch for the tiny moon. I inked the edges and put the top layer of the outhouse through the Tim Holtz wood grain embossing folder. I created the "rocks" using circle punches that i tore down to size, crumpled and inked them. I put pop dots under one of them for some dimension. The little grass patches between the "rocks" I made from some scrap green paper and used my regular scissors to snip it up. Scotch quick-dry glue worked very well to stick them between the "rocks". For the foreground, I tore up some paper (looks like dirt or a dried pond bed) from a old stack and crumpled it a bit and stuck it down. I added a brad on the outhouse door. I hand wrote the "Hope your birthday..." (i do not care for my own hand writing but I didnt have a punch to fit it and i didnt have enough time to find and cut a cricut label) the torn edges add a great rustic feel to the card anyways- just added two brads to either end to finish it. The inside of the cards reads, (if you hadn't already guessed),

To my FBIL - "is the sh*t" lol. He appreciated it!

I really do enjoy making cards that are scenic, rather than just a few Cricut cuts stuck down, personalizing it makes it all that much more fun to give!

Until next time!

Father's Day Card

2011-06-17T08:26:00.000-04:00

Here is the card I sent to my Dad this year for Father's Day. The truck image is from Just Because cartridge. The hearts that are in the back of the truck are the Martha Stewart multi heart punch. The red sentiment is made from my Dymo label maker (LOVE it!). I used the lowercase font wheel with some hearts. I ended up adding a tiny deer and pine tree punch (both Martha Stewart punches) to the card also, but of course I forgot to take a second picture of the finished product!! Enjoy & hope this card inspires you.

Wishing Dads all over the world a very Happy Father's Day 2011

Just the 2 of them! Anniversary cards & dessert

2011-05-19T20:10:00.000-04:00

Here are three anniversary cards I made for my 3 sisters. I also made them strawberry shortcake to celebrate. Sorry that the last Pear card is so blurry - I had forgot to photograph it before i sent it and my BIL used his i-phone.

Nature's Beauty

2011-05-19T20:03:00.002-04:00

Today at my house there were 6 beautiful Yellow Swallowtail Butterflies. I could only capture on camera five of the six - i guess one was being camera shy! My dog was quite intrigued by them too.

**Edited to note : I have done a little research and these beauties are called Yellow Swallowtail Butterflies.

Mother's Day cards

2011-05-06T19:52:00.000-04:00

I have been madly busy for weeks- not alot of crafting time has been had. Also been ill (yes still) on top of things and havent had energy for much of anything until yesterday So here are couple Mother's Day cards i created using. sugar and spice for the scallop circle, a paper punch for the circle and Recollections metal butterflies - inked with Staz on and then added UTEE - they came out really nice. The other cards were similar in shape but one i just used the MS 3 butterfly punch and stickles. The last card I used some Paula Deen powdered sugar stencils (Michaels .60 cents for 5 designs) and just used chalk ink and sponges. At the moment i dont recall what cart i used for the round card shape - sorry. Thanks for taking a look.

Awards

2011-05-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Joann for the Stylish blogger award. For this one you have to first thank the person who gave it to you. Next you have to tell 7 things about yourself. Then you pass it along to 15 other bloggers.
Here goes some interesting (or not) facts.
1. I love thrifting - I have found some really neat stuff and even a Cricut cart for $2.00
2. I love candles.
3. I LOVE listening to Relic Radio(.com)
4. I am a paw print fanatic
5. I have a paw print tattoo on my rght ankle
6. I LOVE KONA COFFEE!!! (Hawiian Gold!)
7. I could card craft 24/7 if you let me!
Ok ~ so passing this on to 15 lucky folks....

scrapbookgoddess67

QC Kelsey

katie ota

Terri Deavers

Cheryl Gaffney

maribeth27

Simply Sweet by Sharon

char52

Beebeebabs

Best Hobby Eva

kmkluvs2scrap

scrappinC

blue_room_walker123

Smiley21

summer_sunset54

4 cards and a Note...

2011-04-05T11:39:00.000-04:00

Morning all! I just wanted to share a few Easter cards I have done today and a birthday card. I also realize I have a couple og Blog awards to attend to ~ I have not forgot about them! Im just going through all of the blogs I follow and its taking much longer than I expected (I have to gather 45 more blog addresses & names!!! to finish accepting). So please bear with me! Thanks! On to the cards . I did these quickly this morning. Two cards were made with the new Martha Stewart punches I picked up a couple weeks ago (listed under TJ Maxx Deals) The Bunny ear one came out as my favorite. I just found a bunch of Springy- Easter type patterns and punched and glued them on to a light grey diamond print paper and layered that on a lavender cardstock - I used Microsoft Publisher to create the sentiment and then punched sideways with the EK ticket punch (boy, that punch has sure got its moneys worth!! I use it soo much!). The second punch card , also used Easter 2010 cart, MS Egg & Basket punch and Storybook for the scallop ovals. I cut the litte blades of grass by hand & added some bling for the Bunny's collar, plus a little ribbon at bottom. The third Easter card, I am not sure i love it too much, but I used Holiday Cakes for the bunny and EK Real Estate punch for the stamped (studio G -2009 series) sentiment, plus the i-rock for the gold bling. The last card, a birthday card is an older Studio G cupcake stamp. I had it in my "extra cut" box and saw it today & was inspired to make something out of it. I layered it and used some Copics on it and the purple layer used an MS PAtP to make the pretty border.

Thanks for taking a look & I am hoping to finalize my blog awards this evening!

40th B-day invites

2011-04-03T14:38:00.000-04:00

Here are the invites i made for my sisters upcoming 40th birthday party. The polka dot paper i ended up using is a making memories glitter polka dot called Ella Glittered Dot. This is an older paper design. I got a 25 pack of 12 x 12 at Big Lots this past Fall for $1.99. At the time I thought "what would i ever do with 25 sheets of the same paper??" But when i remembered I had it and tried it out - it worked out quite well. My only regret with this invite is, I feel like i wasnt creative enough with party information and that I should have written something whitty. But I guess i cant worry about that now, considering they are already in the mail! I will share a pic of the butterfly jars I am making as soon as they are finished. thanks for looking. :o)

Stylish Blogger Award!

2011-04-03T04:07:00.002-04:00

(updated post - I forgot to attach my list of recipients!!)
I have recently been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award from Tiffany @ http://sparkledmemories.blogspot.com/

Sometimes I find it difficult to describe myself, but I think i have figured out a few interesting facts that make me - me!
Thank you Tiffany!! for this award. The requirements for this award are that I tell 8 things about myself, and pass on to 8 bloggers!

The 8 things about myself are:

1. I am fascinated with ghosts & ghost stories and shows.

2. I love dogs (well ok almost all animals~ except ROOSTERS!!, and thats another story!)

3. I love sleeping in when i can

4. I hate mushrooms...blech!!!
5. I love Sirius music station "Hair Nation"
6. I am total night owl - I tend to be the most "crafty" after midnight -hmmm...what does this say about me???
7. I am completely addicted to listening to Relic Radio (relicradio.com) especially when i craft - full of horror stories and mystery theatre.

8. I should have been born in the 1930's - 1940's - I love that era!

Ok, and here are the 8 bloggers I would like to pass this award on to:

1. Alexandra @ http://bananasaboutmysoldier.blogspot.com/
2. Gopi @ http://createmepink.blogspot.com/
3. Diana @ http://daisylovecreations.blogspot.com/
4. Melissa @ http://disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/
5. Sarah @ http://liveloveandscrap.blogspot.com/
6. Kristen @ http://fantabulouslypink.blogspot.com/
7. Carri @ http://doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com/
8. Jen @ http://www.purplescrapbooker.com/

Mini haul plus a crazy birthday invitation idea...

2011-03-30T04:35:00.000-04:00

Found a couple of good deals tonight @ Joann's & Michael's. First, I found the most beautiful 12 x 12 scrapbook at J's - This Martha Stewart album was only $5.97 !!! It has wooden butterfllies attached to some of the ones you see on the front cover. (I saw this EXACT album across the street at M's for $19.99!) They also had a pack of the identical MS stickers and I have a Yourstory (white album) but I thought - why not get it already made and its really gorgeous. It will be absolutely perfect for my Sister's upcoming 40th surprise birthday! We are having a butterfly theme. I am making the invites- hoping to get them done this week. I am also making the centerpieces, they are going to be awesome! They will be tall mason jars with a moss bottom, and i am going to add stems of ferns and maybe some flowers (not sure if dried or not) and using a real, small branch im going to hot glued a silk or fabric butterfly on it and put holes in the lid of jar. When i think of this idea it reminds me of childhood- catching butterflies and bugs. Hope it makes sense to you all - lol. I actually had terrible headache on Sunday and had slept for like 14 hours and while off in la-la land is where this idea came about. My initial thought was to have delivered the invites via the jar, using the same idea but with a small scroll inside with the info on it. My younger Sister Amy thought I was crazy! LOL, Depending if I can get enough jars in time, I still may go with that idea and make the centerpieces too.

Or maybe I will just make them for my immediate family and then mail out the pretty paper invites to the others....

Oh, the decisions a crafter has to make!!! The other deal was $3.97 for the Optic Dot Edger by MS and the Birthday Candle punch (also MS) The large MS Butterfly punch I used a 40% coupon on and got it for $10.19 ~ Ok I need to stop buying and get to making these invites!!! Any suggestions on what else i can put in the jar?

Birthday Cards

2011-03-29T04:48:00.000-04:00

Here are two birthday cards i have made to sell at my Sister's bakery. The first I used the Martha Stewart cupcake punch and pop dotted them on to 1.5 inch scallop circle punch. I inked the edges with a pretty Studio G chalk ink square. The "happy birthday" phrase is from 3 pack of Inkadinkado stamps. I used the Mother's Day 2010 Cricut cart for the little label (third on left from the shift key) i used my Gypsy to hide the hole in the tag also. The second card i cut 3 strips of pink, yellow and lavender paper (4 inch tall by 1 3/4 wide) and stamped them in cordinating colors with some Hero Arts Cling Stamps (Happy Birthday Cupcakes). I used a one inch piece of green paper and stamped the sentiment and used some clear embossing powder over the green ink. The narrow orange paper is done with a mini dotted scallop edge punch from EK Success. The little cupcake epoxy sticker is actually a brad that i pulled apart - as i had already stuck down the green banner with pop dots. I'm lucky to have a sister who owns a bakery! She lets me put my cards out for free and people actually buy them! Thanks for checking them out!

Simply Charmed Chickie

2011-03-26T19:51:00.002-04:00

Hi Guys! I'm here with a card i made for my cousin Heather's 18th Birthday. I used the Simply Charmed cart for the chickie, the hat and the balloon. i used the Fiskars cupcake border punch at the bottom and tried my hand at ruffling ribbon...I so need more practice at this! I put a brad in the middle of the ribbon, i had used the Tim Holtz Tiny Attatcher and it was too short through the middle and you could really see the staples. I also used the Polka Dots Cuttlebug folder for the background. I drew the string on the paper before I had cut the final balloon & would have liked that part better if I would have waited! :o( oh well.

I printed out the sentiment and used a 1.5 in. scallop circle punch for the white and a 2 inch scallop punch for the yellow. I used a white with blue dot ribbon at the bottom too just too get a little more blue in it. I'm not 100% happy with this card ~ but I think the chickie herself is rather cute! Thanks for taking the time to stop by & check it out!

Happy 18th Birthday Heather!! I still cant get over how time just flies by! :o)

Made by Momo ~ "Got Followers?"

2011-03-23T18:58:00.000-04:00

Momo @ (http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/) is having a blog link for bloggers with less than 200 followers. It is a great way to make new friends and get new inspiration. I have found sooo many new blogs & all I can say is there are some super, super talented people out there! Thanks for taking the time to check out my page, I will hopefully be posting some new stuff soon!

TJ Maxx deals

2011-03-14T01:05:00.001-04:00

I stopped by TJ Maxx today to see what scrapbook items they had. I found two MS paper punches i didnt have. They are the eggs and basket (3.99) and the bunny ears (2.99). I find the store carries some neat paper punches and craft items from time to time.

Cool Cars Cake

2011-03-14T00:41:00.001-04:00

We had my nephew/Godson's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Its always so nice to get the family together! I just wanted to share a couple pictures of the cake my sister made (Georgetown Cake Shoppe) and I made the street signs for it (all from the Cars cartridge). I used my Gypsy to weld the letters from the Keystone cartridge for the sign- it ended looking like a little billboard! Here are a couple of views. Enjoy!

Lightning Speed Mqueen - The Star of the show!

2011-02-19T20:20:00.000-05:00

My Nephew/Godson Casey will be 3 years old in just a few more days! Another time for me to say - where does the time go??? My Sister Amy asked me to make his invitations - I gladly agreed. We initially wanted to make the top character with the Cars Cricut cart. But after attempting to make one - I was like ummmm...ya.....lol. I called her up and asked if she would mind if i could design an invite rather than trying to put so many tiny parts together -she didnt mind at all. So I came up with a very simple white layer using images that i got on the net and found the cutest Cars satin ribbon @ good old Wal-mart, clearanced for $1.50 per roll! I had wanted to use a checkerboard pattern paper as a mat but they didnt sell any at my Michaels and I didnt feel like waiting for it be shipped. So when I found the ribbon i knew it would be super cute! Hope you all like them!

Sweet 16 for Amanda!

2011-02-19T04:57:00.000-05:00

My oldest niece, Amanda has just turned Sweet 16!!!! I cannot believe it - where does the time go? Seems like just yesterday she was a rosy cheeked little toddler running around with her dolly, and now she is a gorgeous teenager in high school & studying to get her drivers license! Boy, do I feel old! Oh well! :o(

Here is her card that I used my Gypsy to design it using the Birthday Cakes cart for the cake, the 16 and the word sweet. The patterned paper is from my stash so I'm not sure who makes it. The card base is PaperTrey Ink kraft. For the word "sweet" i used DCWV Glitter cardstock - Border Punch Strips, which i found at Tj Maxx for $2.99. I ran the purple "cake" through the Cuttlebug using a Sizzix embossing folder, Flower Vine. I used a ton of pink Glam Rocks on the numbers and Stickles on the candle tips. The pink Mini Round Gems I found at Michael's are from Recollections line Boutique Fleur. Although they are not self adhesive, I really like them. They were very simple to add on my card, I just used a tiny dab of Scotch Quick Dry, dropped them on and they came out completely clear and give great dimension.

Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful Saturday!

So bummed and disapointed in the USPS....

2011-02-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge from one of my favorite and trustworthy Ebay seller, Proudparents2005. I have ordered (or won) from many times and never had a problem. Until now. And of course my dilema always happens on a holiday weekend...Anyhow, I have been checking my mailbox daily for this cute little cartridge to arrive and nothing. It should have been here last week sometime, I thought. I just so happened to think to look on my Ebay page and see if there was any shipping info. I clicked on the little link called "tracking number" and to my surprise my, USPS claims my package was delivered on Feb. 7th...hmmm...Nope- i have not received it...I have checked everyday, 'cause I really, really want it! So bummed! I called my post office and they we no help at all! So rude. And told me that the carrier that works that route is off until Tues also. Im so not happy. The Postal guy basically told me i was SOL....because they have it as delivered and the Co. I bought from says they mailed it....Im so aggrivated about the whole thing. Stupid Post Office, this is not the first time I am missing mail. I am so untrusting of them and now my neighbors. I put a notice in my neighbors mailboxes that if they had mistakenly received my package to please put it back. I dont know what else to do.

Cupcake Wrappers - Cricut Lite

2011-02-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

Does anyone own this cart? Do you like it? I am considering getting it for my Nephew/Godson's upcoming birthday, but I really wanted some opinions before I spend the $39+ for it @ Wal-mart...

a Little Birdie told me...

2011-02-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

I designed this cute card in my Gypsy for my sister's upcoming 40th birthday! I used the Sugar and Spice cartridge for the nest and the shape (that stamp is on) and used dollar stamp from Michaels for the sentiment. For the egg, I had to decide between white sparkle paper or Papertrey Ink Rustic white?!?! As you can see, I went with the sparkle! The card is Paper Trey Ink Kraft cardstock and I added a pretty layer of this bright sort of auqa blue polka dot paper all the way to the horizontal edges, and made 1/4 inch brown paper strips to go over it. I added little pearls (light blue and white) to the top and bottom edges and finished the dark brown layer of the nest with some Cinnamon and Diamond Stickles. I have yet to finish the inside of the card sentiment.... I was thinking since this is her 40th b-day I would write something like "you will now be 29 forever???? or something to that effect.
Ladies, I would love some suggestions for the inside wording! thanks!
My sister had told me she recently she wanted some hanging earrings - so i have bought her 3 pairs and also 3 pairs of shorter ones. I will probably end up making her a couple more pairs too!

Adding an automatic signature?

2011-02-02T14:19:00.002-05:00

Can anyone help me with adding an automatic signature to my posts?

A card and charm bracelet for Avery

2011-01-28T06:31:00.001-05:00

Here is a super cute charm bracelet and a card I made for my niece's 4th birthday. I had some Shrinky-dink images from a while ago that I colored them with my Copics. I punched holes at the top before using the heat on them. I strung them on some cord and used the cutest beads in between each little image. I also made her a balerina card using Twinkle Toes. I used an Action Wobble to make her "dance" - she is holding the tiniest cupcake in her hand, this was made with a mini paper punch that I colored and Stickled. The pink card base was run through my Cuttlebug using Scrollwork folder and I sanded the paper to reveal the white core. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from the Family & Friends from My Pink Stamper! I recylcled a tin from some small cookie cutters to hold the charm bracelet. I cut a cup cake image from Doodlecharms and stuck it to the front over some polka dot cardstock. It all came out so cute and she loved it!

Blog Award!

2011-01-27T02:22:00.000-05:00

A big thank you to Alexandra @ bananasaboutmysoldier@blogspot.com for giving me a Blog Award.

in order to accept this award I have to state 3 things that make me different from everyone else, and nominate 5 other blogger's to receive the "My Blog has Attitude Award"

1. I love washing and folding laundry and despise doing dishes!!!!

2. When I was 9 years old I won a first place ribbon for a floral arrangment that i made in the Brownies.

3. I am the middle of 5 children and my boyfriend is older than my oldest sisters husband, by 7 years! but I still LOVE him!!! lol

So, now I would like to pass on the award to five more recipients, and they are:

1. Karel @ http://karelj.blogspot.com/ - One By One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity

2. Ashely - http://ashgonebuggy.blogspot.com/ - Ash Caught the Bugg

3. Lauren @ http://laurenscraps.blogspot.com/ - 40:31 Creations

4. Michelle @ http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/ - Purple Monkey Moments

5. Cristi @ http://scrappin5littlecupcakes.blogspot.com/

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

2011-01-26T07:31:00.000-05:00

Apologies to my fellow bloggers - i am having some serious technical difficulties with my blog and im not sure how long it will take to clear it up! If anyone has any help to offer - im all ears! thanks in advance!!! diane

A slice of cake - From my Kitchen!

2011-01-23T05:30:00.000-05:00

For my Grandmothers upcoming birthday I made her card using the From my Kitchen cart. This was one of the $9.99 carts from Michaels that I had been waiting for sooo long to get it. I swear my first life was lived in the 50's because I just love the retro images on it! Using my Gypsy and the Accent Essentials cart I created the square, scallop edged card, with a window front. I welded two images and just hid the inside square on one side. I put the polka dot paper on the inside of the card and made a larger rectangle to fit over it on the inside also. I used some blue and green glam rocks around the outside and Cinnamon colored Stickles on the top edge of the cake slice. I cant recall who makes the sentiment but I curved it and it fit quite well with the design. A sheer green bow finished off this card.

I have mailed it to her, but I am planning to surprise her with a long overdue visit next weekend! I can't wait to see her! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Gram!

Elsa's Birthday GiveAway!

2011-01-14T02:45:00.000-05:00

Wishing Elsa some Birthday Love for her upcoming birthday on January 27!!!! She is offering some birthday blog candy here:

http://cricutlvr.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-birthday-giveaway.htm

Happy Birthday Elsa!!!

Canine Thank You cards

2011-01-13T04:03:00.001-05:00

Here are the Thank You cards I made to mail out to my friends and family for gifts I got for my recent birthday. I used a booklet of stencils that I bought years ago and had never used. The booklet is called "Fun With Dogs stencils" by Paul E. Kennedy, Dover Publications. There are 6 stencils of Scottish Terrier, Pointer, Bull Terrier, Daschund and a German Shepard. I love the Tsukineko Walnut inks. The colors I used were the Java, Willow, Cherry Blossom and Lilac - I love these little spray inks - wish i had more colors! Masking the cards (Papertrey Ink - white), I then spritzed them let them dry for a few minutes and decorated them with super narrow satin ribbon for the collars with a little i-rock bling and cut some DCWV glitter cardstock on the edges - (I LOVE THIS PAPER!!!). I used my ever favorite EK ticket punch for the "thank you" - a two piece clear stamp from Stampendous. These cards came out so nice! I'm impressed with how the inks dried - nice and crisp!
Thanks for looking!

HOLY SNOW!!!!

2011-01-12T22:53:00.000-05:00

In less than 24 hours (starting late evening on 1/11 Ridgefield, CT) we have got over 24 plus inches of SNOW! Its going to be fun digging out the next couple of days. We are expecting more snow on Saturday. Yay. Not.

my car (a Neon) just buried - and this is not from drifts of snow - its wicked high!

my handsome boy - head tilted when i asked if he wanted to go out.

Icicles hanging outside my kitchen window.

Give Love - Get Love! Subs & Blog Candy!

2011-01-12T20:49:00.000-05:00

Come join GiGi in reaching her 200 subscribers @ http://thecricutbug.blogspot.com/. Go and check out her cute cards and creations!

Re-post Valentines Cards past

2011-01-12T03:46:00.000-05:00

Here are some past Valentine cards & a mail box project that have I made.

I will add the 2011 Valentine cards next week. Thanks for looking!

2011-01-12T02:44:00.000-05:00

Join Melissa has over @ http://disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/

for your chance at this Limited Edition 2010 Love Struck solutions cartridge! SWEET!

Throwback Thursday "Viewers Choice" challenge ~ Ep. 151

2011-01-09T02:29:00.001-05:00

Here is my entry for this week's Throwback Thursday challenge. I used my Gypsy to create this card.

The cuts are from the Sweethearts cartridge (the lock, key and the shape that is behind them).

The red and gold Foil papers are by American Crafts. Under those the layers I ran this neat, fuzzy, sort of red "ribbon" from Michaels. I used my all time favorite i-rock tool to add two litte pink blings to the corners. For the lettering, I used a package of Martha Stewart rub-on letters in gold and finished the sentiment inside which reads "to my heart". I also added the middle cut from the key - the heart - to the top left. The last two details, I ran the shaped piece (not sure of the name of it) through my Cuttlebug using the Polka Dots folder and inked the edges of the pink papers with a pretty pink Studio G ink square. The dimensionals I used are some new ones that i am trying out from http://www.confessionsofaribbonaddict.blogspot.com/ - reasonably priced and you get tons!

WAY LONG OVERDUE THANK YOU's!!!! Blog Awards

2011-01-09T01:42:00.000-05:00

In the last couple of months I have received two blog awards. I am wickedly overdue to say thank you to Celeste and Karen. So here it is! THANK YOU! and im so sorry for not being able to post about them until now. Long story short, I have been ill and have been neglecting my blog page and scrapping. I am hoping that 2011 is a year of better health for me and I have the ability to paper craft to my hearts content.
So without further ado, I would like to thank Celeste (http://www.ccscards.blogspot.com/) and Karen (http://www.karens-kakes-krafts.blogspot.com/)

Both of these ladies are amazingly talented and you will certainly enjoy their creations! Check them out, join their blog pages and be inspired. Thanks for sending me these lovley blog awards ladies, they are truly appreciated!

MPS 12 Days of Christmas Challenge ~ Day 8

2010-12-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

Here is my entry for MPS 12 DOCC8 - this is a double duty card as i need a Birthday card for my sister too! In the challenge we were asked to use the following colors: teal or blue, plus green and brown. Got them all here in this cute glittery cupcake b-day card! Enjoy

Christmas Card 1 - MPS 12 Days Challenge

2010-12-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

Here is a card i made for the My Pink Stampers - 12 days of Christmas challenge day 6. I will add the details of card later.

Real Customer Service

2010-11-19T04:35:00.001-05:00

I have been using Martha Stewart products since way back in the day. For the most part I really enjoy them. This past summer I jumped on the score board wagon and got myself the Martha Steward score board. Love it! I really do. Its now a staple in my craft "room". Very handy and simple to use. I did however have one minor problem with it. The scoring tool that comes with board (and yes I love the handy little compartment so you dont misplace it!) is somewhat flexible? I guess you would call it - so it can fit into the grooves on the board. Well the tip of mine chipped off - I could still use it but it had to be careful not to shred my paper. So a few weeks ago I had written the customer service for the products to ask where i could purchase another tool. To my surprise, I got an email back the very next day. They let me know that they want their customers to be completely satisfied. Do you know that they were so gracious to have sent me TWO FREE REPLACEMENT scoring tools? Yep. Made me happy. But what was even better than just free stuff- was a commitment to standing behind their product. If you have purchased items (anything - not just craft related) and you have problems or defective products, be sure to contact the manufactuers to see if they can help you. Most companies really want their customers to love or try their products and they will send you samples, coupons or replacements if you just ask. So for today, Im happy to say, Martha Stewart/ Wilton Products, "it's a good thing!"

First Holiday card of the Season - Wreath

2010-11-19T04:14:00.000-05:00

The holiday season of 2010 is underway - and Christmas will be here before you know it! {{{36 days! insert screams here!}}} Here is my first holiday card of the year. There were lots of Martha Stewart products used to create this card (thanks Martha!), starting with my score board and then the punch around the page for the beige layer. I wish i could recall the name of this pretty punch, but as usual - i don't - sorry! I got the MS Branch punch last year on clearance @ Walmart. I have loved it and never used it until now. I sprayed some Tsukineko Walnut ink in Willow on half of the branch pieces to give it a little dimension. I am loving my i-rock setter and the new white "pearls" I put the beige layer on pop dots and tied some red & white bakers twine around the bottom layer. I think my bow came out very nicely too. I hope after doing this card, it gets my crafting mojo to flow again, I have just been under a lot of stress recently and my wanting to scrap around has been on hiatus...anyhow - I hope you enjoy this latest creation.

25 Turkeys comin' up!

2010-11-17T19:45:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest class room project for Mrs. A. - 25 of these fine feathered friends for the whole class! I used Home Decor for the 3 1/4 inch "feathers" - its actually the "shift" leaf but it works very well for a feather too. I used a 1.5 inch scallop punch for the body and a 1" circle for the head. I glued the head & body pieces together and then Cuttlebugged them with the Houndstooth folder. The Tear Drop cartridge was used for the parenthesis "gobblers". I added some googly eyes and hand cut the "beaks" in the orange paper. The last little detail was using a tiny snow flake punch to make the feet. These turkeys were to stand up on the "yards" of the Pilgrims homes so I attached a small circle of paper on the back of each one with a glue dot.

Veterans Day Project

2010-11-09T01:34:00.001-05:00

Here is a project I did for Mrs. A's school - for Veterans Day. And let me just say, for whatever reason it was somewhat difficult to get the small white bags for this project! I think we went to 5 different Michaels stores to find them, and each store was out of the bakers dozen packages. We ended up getting 12 single bags. I used Microsoft Pub3 to make the index sized cards on the front, layered them with some red cardstock and lined them with red & blue tissue paper. Each bag contains a mini American flag, a mug, a packet of hot cocoa, some candies and cookies, plus a patriotic pencil and little teddy bear. They were easy to put together. I hope the Veterans enjoy this small token of my appreciation, as they deserve it.

Thank you to all Veterans of the United States Military for providing us with FREEDOM!

God Bless!

Christmas presents & New Stuff...

2010-11-07T23:55:00.000-05:00

After weeks of hinting I am so excited - I'm finally ~~got~~ getting a Gypsy?!?!?.
As many of you know, when you purchased or registered a new G by Oct. 31 you could get 5 free cartridge downloads. Well my awesome boyfriend got me one for Christmas and he wanted it to be a surprise. Long story short, I have it now! Ok well - temporarily. If you ask him - dealing with Michaels was a nightmare and he is not too fond of PC at the moment either. It all started when the first G he bought was somehow already open, so he asked to exchange it (and if you may or may not know - Michaels is not supposed to exchange or return any open merchandise - defective or not.) Well they did let him exchange it, but when he went to register it (the G) for me it only powered on (blue light) but would not load to opening screen. Fast forward to the next day and he now HAS to tell me about my Christmas gift so I can get my "free carts". So I call our local Michaels to see what I can do and got the nicest and very knowledgeable Assistant Manager who kindly lets us exchange the Gypsy for one from their store. (And of course the following day - its now only $129.99 -- and PC also extends the free cart offer to Dec. 31......likely story...) I got to register my little toy and have even got to try her out, but I have a couple of minor issues I would like to find out some opinions.
1) when I power on my G there is a small, quick, white flash of a line that goes across the bottom of the screen just before it gets to the "loading" screen. Is this normal? 2) when I charge it - should there be any lights on it at all to determine "charging" mode? I would like to put up a quick video just to show the white line i am seeing when i power it on - wonder where is the best place to post such a video?
Now onto a little more fun news. Today, while traveling with the Beau, we had to stop at three Michaels stores looking for little white handled bags for his Mom's project, the last store we went to had a very nice surprise.
I found the Cricut Cake cartridges for only 19.99 a piece - clearance already? I got Birthday Cakes and Holiday Cakes. They also had the original Crciut Cake machine for $149.99 and all accessories were 3.99 - 6.49. I am surprised at these prices for being new to the market. While I am happy for my "deals" these two new carts along with my Gypsy will be turned over to my boyfriend, until Christmas Day.....(sad face inserted here....)

Happy Birthday to my Love!

2010-10-30T08:27:00.003-04:00

I had such a tough time trying to decide on the theme for my boyfriends birthday card ~ and then it hit me! He really likes scratch tickets and cash (who doesn't LOL) - this years card will be perfect! My first thought was to use something from the new Billionaire cart but since I don't have it yet - I used the Santa sack from PDDU (used DS to take off a couple of lines w. hide contour), layered the bag on a parchment colored paper, then ran it through the Cuttlebug with Forrest Branches, and put a ribbon up the side. I had first attempted to make a shaped card and that was a no-go - so i used one of the cuts as a mask and spritzed it just a little with the Walnut Ink in Willow. It worked well & also inked a little bit of the edges with a brown chalk ink from Joanns. Using my favorite i-rock tool, the biggest detail was the $ dollar sign in the green bling. It took a few minutes to get the design perfected but came out just as I had imagined! I put 4 more "pearl" i-rock blings down the side. Inside says Happy Birthday and its stuffed with instant scratch tickets! I have to say I used my Papertrey Ink paper for the first time - and its AWESOME!!! Cuts sooo nice - Like butta! Lol. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Lovey - hope its a great one!

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-30T07:17:00.000-04:00

Halloween is nearly here!!! Luckily I am a little ahead of things and have made up the goody bags for my nieces and nephews!! To decorate the bag toppers, I cut some top note shapes using Story Book and then used my EK ticket punch for the sentiment (done via printer). The last detail is some very tiny Creative Memories Halloween stickers that were in my stash.

I used some classic favorites to fill the Wilton brand, pretzel bags - Razzles, Laffy Taffy & Wonka Fun Dips. I'm sure the kids will eat them up as fast as I hand them out on Sunday!

Wishing everyone a fun & safe -

Happy Halloween!

Sports Theme TTC #111

2010-10-27T06:34:00.001-04:00

This weeks Throwback Thursday Challenge is a sports themed project, using Sports Mania or if you do not own this cart, feel free to use any older cartridge you have just as long as it's "SPORTS" related.

I don't have the Sports Mania cart and coming up with a sports idea for this week took me a couple of days. I finally figured out what I wanted to do just last night! My cousin Heather plays Volleyball for her girls high school team. She will graduate this June and I wanted to make a commemorative 8x10 layout for a frame that will be a gift for her. It came out pretty nice I think. I used Plantin for the fonts & number and used EDPD for the volleyball. For her name I used Design Studio. The pics are of her - the action shot is one of my favorites and the other pic is one of her team ball with the players initials and school letters on it. Enjoy!

Fun Play Along with Janis ~ Halloween Socks!

2010-10-27T06:10:00.000-04:00

What a fun thing to do! Janis over at Pause, Dream Enjoy (http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/) has a cute and fun play along this week. Post a picture of yourself wearing your Halloween socks! Easy! Here is my pic for it - and yes, I was having fun "dressing up" my picture with all the creepy bugs! Enjoy!

Two Sympathy Cards

2010-10-22T00:54:00.000-04:00

Its been a bummer of a week around here. On the 19th, my boyfriend's good friend Andrew- his Mom, died from breast cancer. And today, my brother in law's sister passed away unexpectedly. Just very sad. So I have put together a couple of cards, same style just different colors. I used Plantin Schoolbook for the ovals and Storybook for the scalloped ovals. I also used Swiss dots on the smaller ovals and my new Sizzix embossing folder, Flower Vine. I ended up using my Creative Memories oval cutter for the mid oval. For the little flowers I punched out white paper, crumpled and spritzed them with Walnut Inking Solutions from Tsukineko in Cherry Blossom (pink) and Willow (green). I added a little clear bling to the middle of each of the flowers. The sentiment is printed (I used the center point feature to do this).

Well, let's hope the weekend gets better. TFL. :-\

Witchy Wishes for my Grandma

2010-10-21T03:49:00.003-04:00

I designed this card using Cricut Design Studio. I used George and basic shapes to weld an oval and triangle to make the witches hat- cut out in Colorbok black glitter paper from Target. I used Create a Critter to make a postage stamp shape (sized to 4 1/8 x 5.25) cut out in orange and distressed with a black ink dot. I layered a cute Halloween polka dot paper (The Paper Studio - Spooky Dots) I think I got this at Hobby Lobby? The ribbon is from stash and the square bling is from a die cut that came from an old scrap pack.

Since I have soooo many buttons, I decided to use a a bunch on this card and I love how it turned out. Computer generated - the inside says "Witching" you a very Happy Halloween!" It is times like this when I wish I had the funds to order My Pink Stamper or Scrappy Mom stamps!!! The only thing I would change if i made this card again- would be to use my Swiss Dots folder on the orange layer. I am sending this card out to my Grandma tomorrow, I cant wait for her to get it!

Thank you for all of your comments! I'm so glad you all come by everyday and check out my creations! It really means so much to me! Stay tuned for a crafty announcement! TTFN! :o)

TTC #108 - Animal theme - EDPD

2010-10-18T06:19:00.000-04:00

This weeks card for the Throwback Thursday challenge over at www.creativetimeforme.com/ is a welcome, baby giraffe. While he is cute- he is not my favorite card i've ever made. This weeks challenge cart is Everyday Paper Dolls - or if you dont have that one, any older cartridge could be used. I shaded him with some Copic markers, gave him a little bow and added some buttons on the side. The card is a cloud paper on the bottom and then a great pre-embossed white cardstock paper. I added a sheer ribbon to the top and put a bow on that also. Thanks for taking a look at my card. :o)

Fin-tastic Birthday - TT Episode 104

2010-10-09T01:23:00.000-04:00

Hi All! Here is my creation for this week's Throwback Thursday with Emma http://www.creativetimeforme.com/. This weeks challenge we were asked to use the Create a Critter cartridge, making a shaped card and to use the color orange. I got my CAC cart a few weeks ago and this has been my first chance to use it. My Aunts birthday is Sat. 10/9 so I decided to make her card to go along with the challenge. Here it is! I cut the fish bowl @ 5 inches in clear vellum and cut the shadow bowl in grey. I used light blue for the water and a great sandy colored paper for the sand, and a patterned green paper for the grass in the bowl. The little fish was cut @ 1.5 inches layered in two shades of orange and yellow shadow. The fish is inked orange on the edges and the bowl and "water" is inked with blue. I also added a blue hot rock for his little eye. Instead of using Design Studio to make the shape - I just cut two shadow pieces of the grey bowl and used three tiny brads to connect them. I had put the layers together with the brads but only scored the grey pieces and not the vellum. I used my Crop-a-dile to punch the holes and center over the holes (I had tried it scoring the vellum but it didnt look as good).

The inside sentiment I used my new EK Journal Plate & bracket punch - I used the computer to print up ~ "Hope you have a Fin-tastic Birthday!" TFL!

2 more Halloween cards

2010-10-05T21:17:00.001-04:00

Ok, ok I know - i have just been having way too much fun creating Halloween cards this - should be the last of them - but hmmmm....LoL. I actually made a 2 others that i didnt photograph yet. Anyhoo- these two were so much fun. The Trick or Treat was cut from Pumpkin Carving added some hot bling and a few candy corn stickers accented with some Stickles! The next card was made using a cool vampire fang stamp - im not quite sure who makes it (i put them in cd cases and tossed packages :-( Black card base, dark red mat and white paper stamped with Rhubarb Stalk (Memento) dark red hot bling on top and bottom, popped up the fangs - which i also wet embossed with clear powder - torn edges. I used some Tsukineko Cherry Blossom Walnut staining ink - made a simple mask on the white fang stamp paper and spritz it a couple times - came out perfect! The inside of the card appropriatly says "Wishing you a Fang-tastic Halloween!" TFL!!!

Halloween Pencil holders

2010-10-04T23:26:00.000-04:00

I have decided to make some special goodies for Mrs. A's class - Halloween pencil holders. I first saw this project on Momo's Youtube channel, episode 79 - Treats for School http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9YvtepuhXE - only my pencil holders are a little different. I used a 3/4 inch punch to make the hole for the pencils and didnt put the patterned paper on the back. Instead of adding candy, I glued a small Jack-o-lantern eraser on a small scallop circle. Originally, I had wanted to use a glue dot but they wouldnt stay put. They can be easily peeled off the little paper circle.

They turned out really cute and I know she and her class is going to love them!

Another Halloween card

2010-10-03T13:57:00.000-04:00

This card was created using the new seasonal Cricut cart - Pumpkin Carving. I wasnt quite sure what i thought of this cart, but happened to see it at Michaels on Saturday for $19.99 and thought - what the heck, who could'nt use another cart for a decent price. It's got alot of great cuts on it, and most have pretty solid cuts. I used the Happy Haunting phrase with some polka dot paper which is layered over orange card stock. I added some ghost stickers of which the larger ones I added paper to pop them up. The ribbon I got from a local craft/stamp store (The Great American Stamp Store, Westport, CT) and finished the card with some randomly placed i-rock blings. Thanks for checking out my card!

Swedish Fish Anyone?

2010-09-30T04:23:00.001-04:00

I made a sweet little gift for my younger sister, Amy. She is a full time mom (3 kids!!!) with a full time day job, plus she holds a part time job too! Whew!!! We are meeting on her lunch hour tomorrow and I thought that I would bring her a sweet little treat to make her smile. Instead of just handing her a box of Swedish Fish candies, I decided to jazz up the the box with a cute sleeve with cuts made from the Hannah Montana cart. I used my new EK ticket punch- which if you could'nt tell - im obsessed with! lol!-stamped with My Pink Stamper - Family & Friends stamps and the new 5x7 Polka Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Finished with a little edge inking with Memento in Rose Bud. Thanks for taking a peek today!

Blog candy arrival!!

2010-09-29T01:11:00.000-04:00

A big thank you to Kel and Laurie from http://serenityscrappers.blogspot.com/ - A couple weeks back I was the 35th follower of their blog. I got my scrapbook album and package of little metal tags in the mail! Thanks Girls!

Throwback Thursday - Challenge 98

2010-09-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

This weeks Throwback Thursday is a no Cricut challenge! Not too hard for me. This is how my card making began about 10 years ago. Stamps, paper, stickers and some paper punches, there was no Cricut!

First card is kraft cardstock base with 3 scallop circles (hand punch) the EK tag punch holds the computer generated sentiment, green background put through the Cuttlebug with Traffic Jam folder (love this one!) some orange chalk ink and yellow stickles. The second picture is 3 cards (r) is a 3 x 3 using MS ice cream cone and drippy goo punch. there is also thin strips of glitter paper and pink. On the white background paper i used a pink, yellow and orange dotted stamp from Stampin Up. The middle card - kraft base with some stamping - i dont recall the brand of stamps used here, edge inking and then some pink and green bling was also added. The card to the left is super simple ~ white card, cream color base, with single (studio G) stamp adhered some ribbon across top and bottom and finished with a little blue chalk on the edges and here and there on the sentiment. Enjoy!

Vignettes!!!

2010-09-22T01:31:00.000-04:00

While rummaging through the thrift store today I spotted something neat. On the top shelf I found three booklets - Full Color Vignettes. They are Old Time Fruits and Flowers, Floral and Old Time Animal Vignettes. An initial favorite drawing is a dog with cigarette in paw, wearing a hat & glasses reading the paper. The smile on that dog just makes me giggle! Both the animal and fruits & flowers have over 300 images and the larger floral book has 429 images. The best part of all I got each book for only $1 ~ I really hope I will be able to cut these beautiful books apart!

Here are a couple of pics of some of the amazing artwork that is in the 3 books.

(sorry for the glare - they are glossy pages)

The Pumpkin Patch - TTC ~ Ep. 93

2010-09-18T03:40:00.002-04:00

Pumpkins cut is from Pooh and Friends - this is the icon image with Owl located on pg. 44. I didnt realize there were so many cute cuts on P&F - glad i have it! This cut was tricky - only because i didnt want to cut multiples of the pumpkins, so i kept on switching papers and stopping machine - but i worked out fine. (Next time I would probably use white paper and my Copic markers!) I used a Glaze pen in dark green ( #830) and a black gelly roll for doodling, D'Vine swirls folder for background paper, orange with black saddle stitch ribbon (stash) and my i-rock (LOVE IT!!) with the tube of orange, blue and pink blings - these are the mirror type - not the sparkling blings. The image is pop dotted over the swirls and then placed on a kraft base. Thanks for checking out my card!

Halloween Pumpkin

2010-09-06T06:03:00.002-04:00

Cute Jack-o-lantern cut and bats (black glitter paper) cut from Paper Doll Dress Up.

Background Halloween words paper - think that is a Target dollar item. I inked up the pumpkin (and card edges) with a black chalk ink from Joann's and used some Eucalypyus green Stickles on his vines & stems. Under the orange and black stitch ribbon, I used MS Drippy Goo punch. The three images are popped up and there are 4 Recollections pearl stickers in black and orange in the top corner. To outline his mouth, eyes, and lines I used these great little applicators I got from Sarasota Stamp Co. last year while I was at the Big E fair. I will definitly get more than one package this year, think they were $2.00 for 10 of them. Enjoy!

Poly Shrink Dog Tag

2010-09-06T05:44:00.001-04:00

I have lost my dogs ID tag. I have had a couple packages of Poly Shrink sitting around for quite some time and attempted to try to make a quick tag from it. I used my Mickey & Friends Cricut cart to get the dog bone shape. Used my Cropadile to make the 3/16 hole at the top. Knowing that the material will get about 45% smaller, I cut my image out at 1 3/4 inches. I used some StazOn ink in Azure blue for the paw prints and a black fine point Sharpie to write his info - then i stuck it in a box and put the heat gun on it. Took only a minute or two to get down to size. Came out pretty good for a quick dog ID tag. It will serve the purpose until I want to spend the money to order one. In trial I cut a couple of sizes of the dog bone - i ended up stamping and writing on them, I will use them in my scrapbook for his pages.

October 31st - Haunted Window....

2010-09-02T05:53:00.000-04:00

It's a dark and moonless night and you have lost your way. You run until you see an old house. You peer in to the window looking for someone to help you, but instead you are confronted by dozens of eyes staring back at you!!! Ok - ya my lame attempt at a spooky story to get you to come and see my card! LOL!
Im in love with the new October 31st cartridge. This is my "Haunted Window". I cut the window from grey cardstock @ 4.5 " and inked it with some black and brown chalk ink. a I glued a piece of acetate to the back of the window cut - looks so cool! I added a couple of different sized spiders and bats in black glitter paper(cut from Wild Card). Layered with a piece of bright green is the "eyes" paper from old stash of NRN paper, last detail is the purple ribbon with some Halloween wording on it. This card has really got me into the Fall and Halloween mood! Thank you all for stopping by to check out my cards and creations!
Here are a couple of views, with and without the flash.

Two Halloween cards

2010-09-02T02:55:00.000-04:00

here are two Halloween cards - one is my attempt at a suspension card that i saw on youtube from The Stamp Goddess, and the candy apple is cut from the new October 31st cart. I have a dual purpose for posting - while i do like to add to my blog page - i for some reason have the most difficult time getting a picture to load onto the Cricut message board - it used to work when i used photobucket but for the last year or so - they just wont work - so the easy way to do it now is just copy & paste my pics from here! oh well ~ hope you enjoy the cards.

Classroom project

2010-08-30T03:38:00.000-04:00

My boyfriends mother is a school teacher for third graders. I occasionally help her out with projects for her classroom. Today I worked on apples for her students desks and lockers. She will hand them out tomorrow, the first day of school, and the children will write their names on them and place them accordingly. I made 25 of the 5" apples and 25 of 3" apples. I really enjoy using my Cricut to help Mrs. A. decorate her classroom. Last year I made her leprechans and their matching attire and the kids put them all together. She told me the kids loved making them! I was very happy to have cut them all out - even if there was 50 little pairs of shoes to cut! There are upcoming school projects in the works. As soon as I get the go ahead my Cricut will be getting a work out again!

Throwback Thursday Challenge - Episode 81 ~ Princess theme

2010-08-28T19:33:00.000-04:00

Here is my entry for this week's TT from My Creative Time w. Emma. This card was definitly a challenge for me. I dont own the Tinerkbell cart so I had to think of another idea using the princess theme. I started this card on Friday evening and finally finished it today. I ended up using the Hannah Montana cart for the crown and used my Stamping cart for the butterflies. Not sure if you can tell from the pic but i had used a really pretty shimmer paper from TCP Studio called Pink Paradise Shimmer. The shadow is cut from a shade of pale pink non-shimmer paper. The butterflies - cut at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 inch are from a Fiskars papers that i have had. The background paper is DCWV Nana's Nursery - baby girl 8 x 8 stack. This is layered with a light green paper and narrow greenish ribbon. I used a ton of white pearls and little tiny pink stones and one heart shaped bling in the center butterfly. I think I will keep this for my nieces upcoming birthday - since after all ~ she is our little princess! Hope you like it!

To Japan with love...

2010-08-18T19:25:00.001-04:00

My younger brother Ed, lives in Osaka Japan. He works as a teacher and a percussionist in a band. He has been there for 5 years now. I have only seen him two times in the last 3 years and our family misses him alot. My mom sends him care packages occasionally and for his upcoming birthday ~ 29 years!!!! i made him this cool card using Pagoda. I found this great (background) paper in my stash that is made by DCWV - it works so well with the Koi cut. The Kanji cut means : Fun.
I am really proud of this card and I know my brother will love it too. He will be coming home again this Christmas and I cant wait to see him again! Im also adding a pic from Christmas 2009 of my siblings & myslef. Enjoy & thanks for visiting my blog!

Me (Diane), Brenda, Ed, Amy & Liz

throwback thursday challenge #9 ~ "Back to School" Paisley

2010-08-14T23:50:00.003-04:00

Here is a cute little back to school card for Emma's throwback thursday challenge - using Paisley. The pink on pink elephant is cut at 2.5" i used some polka dot ribbon (Target dollar)on the bottom edge above the Fiskars Scallop edge punch - green foil paper is from an un labeled stash- sorry (geez, seems i am pretty bad at not getting product names!? lol) anyhow- i used some cool prism blue paper for the lens on the sunglasses - think that paper was a from a dollar pack at Target long ago- and used some red making memories "chunky red wagon" alpha stickers. The little apple was cut @ 1.75" - a little larger than i wanted but still i went ahead and used it. Put that through the Swiss Dots folder and the edges were inked - Colorbox Warm Red. The little bees are from the new summer line of EK stickers ( Sweet Treats), i found mine at good ol' Walmart - TFL.

Shout-out!!!!!

2010-08-12T19:01:00.000-04:00

this is a special shout out to ebay seller - jlovesuso125 - you are fabulous! I orded 2 Cricut carts from her on TUESDAY Aug. 10 and i got them TODAY! I got Pagoda and Paisley (to use for Emma's challenge) Susan is a super seller with super prices too! I got both carts for under $46 total!!! including the shipping. Check out her other auctions for some great deals. Also a big thank you to the USPS for helping to get my package here so quickly! Thanks again!

Yay!!! and Ney!

2010-08-12T02:00:00.000-04:00

Yay for:
http://www.papertreyink.com/

I placed my very first order with Papertrey Ink late Friday night and got my package today at noon! I am not only impressed with how quickly my order was shipped - but such fair prices and super quality paper - now I know why they say - once you try their papers - you will be back! Wow, great stuff! The 3 packages of cardstock are : Stampers Select White, Paper Basics Kraft and the Paper Basics Rustic (off white color with specks) I also got the Bakers Twine in Pure Poppy and New Leaf and also four lovely yards of Leaf Ribbon. I am looking forward to crafting with my new papers, ribbons and twine. I will definitly be ordering from them again!

On another note.....a big NEY to Custom Crops. I placed an order with them for the Pink Scotch ATG on June 16. Yes, this was pre-order - but it should have originally shipped first week of July. I just got it on August 10th. That is a total of 56 days from order placement to delivery. I sorta feel like i never should have ordered it. Too much money and took forever to get here. Also it was mailed in a bubble envelope in which the corner was smashed in. I also got a few email "updates" claiming warehouse issues and adhesive issues? I wonder about that. This is not my first order with them - i think maybe my fourth? but the last before this also took very long to get. The web page states "orders ship in 3-5 business days". That being said along with the fact it was a pre-order - i figured I would have to wait a little extra for it to ship out, but 56 days? I am not sure how i feel about ordering from them again anytime soon. How do you girls feel about delayed shipping???

Dad's B-day owl

2010-08-12T01:03:00.002-04:00

Here is a birthday card i made for my Dad. I used the Cricut Stamping cartridge. (I love this cart ~ so many cute occasions and sayings!) I cut the owl at 2.5'' and the Happy Birthday was cut at 1.75. I used a plain grassy green color for the background and used my "new" MS paper punch (and of course i threw out the package in my excitement of a new toy and forgot to write down the name) on the bottom edge. Ribbon is called Grateful Squared by KI memories - its from a while back - maybe Joanns?? As you can see, I went a little overboard with the gel pen...i had meant to only dot in the corners and messed that up and just went for broke with the dots! oh well ~ still looks cute. For the last little touches - i used some little star blings (Michaels) and some clear blue "rain drop??" dots on his eyes. Edges are done with Colorbox Chestnut Roan. Anyhow, hope you like it and heres to wishing my Dad a very happy birthday!!!

wow ~ another great deal today!

2010-08-01T00:17:00.000-04:00

For any of you who have Keurig coffee makers - today @ Staples i found 18 pk boxes of coffee for only $2.50 each!!! After all the medical expenses I have had to pay out this week, i have been so lucky to have found both of these deals this weekend coffee for only $ 2.50 a box and a Cricut cart for only $2.00 (previous post). I have made one card this weekend for my brother in law who had surgery. ( I will add the pic ASAP.)

No Way!!! Way!!!

2010-07-30T03:15:00.000-04:00

So my week had been begun as a crummy, expensive and stressful one. My crafting mojo was in hiding and i was just feeling fried. Fast forward to today, which did began a bit crazy, but unbeknowst to me, ended up being a pretty good night... Ok, so not the most awesome thing a girl could ask for but - a card crafting Cricut crazy girl ~ yes...
I found a Cricut cartridge -while shopping a local thrift store (drumroll please) for get this ~ TWO DOLLARS!!!!! I found Sweethearts -case, overlay, book and cart- mint condition!!! $2..I was so very happy about this find. After my crummy week i decided today that an iced coffee and some retail therapy was just what i needed. I hit the local thrift store first and after that my plan was to head to Walmart for a new Cricut lite cart. You can imagine my thrill of finding the Sweethearts cart for only $2 - saved me from spending $39+ at Wallyworld. I peruse the tag sale type stores a few times a week in search of a great find - most times ending up with some decent bargains - but this one, so far tops them all. i have also found CM 12x12 albums, brand new in the packaging for 3-4 dollars and then resell them for a good profit, but todays treasure will be happily be added to my evergrowing collection of Cricut carts.
Ladies ~ dont forget to check your local thrift stores for craft and scrapbook items - my fave place (Goodwill) gets alot of items from Target- and you know they have a nice scrap isle. Cant wait to make something from my "new" Sweethearts cart! oh wait....I feel it....mojo returning! lol.

recent news...

2010-07-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

hello fellow scrappers and card makers - i have been feeling a little under the weather for the last few days and my crafting mojo is on temporary hiatus.
anyhow i was a happy to find out yesterday that two of my cards sold at my sisters bakery. im so happy that she loves my cards and is willing to sell them for me. its the perfect match - cake shoppe and cards! please check out her facebook page, Georgetown Cake Shoppe - her work is awesome.
here is a pic of one of the cards that sold. (sorry for the awful pic!)

Throwback Thursday Challenge #7- Wild Card

2010-07-16T09:07:00.000-04:00

Here is my card for this weeks challenge. It is the heart shape card from page 67 in the Wild Card cartridge. I cut it @ 5 inches and used the heart frame as well as the "hugs & kisses" phrase. I jazzed it up with some Diamond Stickles, dotted around it with my white gel pen and also the gold glitter Gelly Roll pen (xpgb#700), a little edge inking with Color Box in Warm Red, and the final touch was adding a few little heart puffy stickers from EK. Cute!

Casey

2010-07-13T01:25:00.000-04:00

I have to say - I have the coolest and cutest Godson in the whole world! Casey Sean! (2yrs)

Throwback Thursday - episode 60

2010-07-11T23:16:00.000-04:00

Ok so here is my submission for this weeks Throwback Thursday (http://www.creativetimeforme.com/) with Emma. Better late than never on this one. I dont have the Zooballoo cart so i went with the next best thing - Paper Pups. This is a 12x 12 LO of Mason getting a bath. I think i may change out the pics with some better ones this week, but we'll see. Ok - hope you like it.

4x4 Birthday

2010-07-07T06:17:00.000-04:00

The other day in my travels, i found a pack of Cuttlebug Kids dies. The pack was missing one of the dies, but i still bought it - was only $1.99. I have been thinking of a way to use these rugged looking die cuts. When the idea came to mind - i also thought of using a couple of MS paper punches too- the tree & the deer. I used kraft cardstock to make the "dirt" path. I tore it in 3 layers and stacked them. The scallop "sun" is also a Matha Stewart punch. The tree background is a paper from an older stack of paper. Instead of a stamp or die cut, i decided to use up the thousands of letter stickers i own, to write the sentiment. On the deer i lightly touched up his antlers with a Prang gold brush pen. For a little more dimension, I tossed the trees though the CB with the Forest Branches folder. I used a mildly sparkling glitter Gelly Roll pen (#549) and a white Gelly Roll pen to outline. I'm not sure who the recipient of this card will be yet - possibly my nephew. thanks for looking.

Robyn's Color Challenge

2010-07-04T03:31:00.002-04:00

Using the new Live Simply Cricut Lite cartridge I have made a card for Robyn - My Pink Stamper's (http://www.mypinkstamper.com) June 30th color challenge using pink, green, brown and orange.

This little worm is just super cute! TFL!

"Let Freedom Ring"

2010-07-03T01:15:00.000-04:00

A quick card I made using the Independence Day cart. I used the Allegro CB folder for the card base background. The Eagle was cut at 4 inches. The edges were lightly inked with Memento Danube Blue. I aslo distressed the embossed red paper in Versa Magic - Cloud white just to bring out the image. The eagle body was also embossed using the D'vine Swirls folder and finished it with some Silver Ice - Ice Stickles. The last detail was a tiny blue bling for the eye of the Eagle. The sentiment is a Studio G - 4th of July set- stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. I also spritzed the red paper with Tsukineko Shimmers in Frost.

Happy 4th!

Throwback Thursday Challenge - New Arrival

2010-07-02T06:43:00.000-04:00

Here is my submission for a blog challenge (my 2nd) hosted by Emma (http://www.creativetimeforme.com/)
Last week we voted between New Arrival and Zooballoo- and with New Arrival was the winner, I made this darling card. I soooo wish i had some Peachykeen faces to make up my little girly elephant! oh well, hopefully soon! Enjoy!

celebrate!!!

2010-06-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Celebrate!

This sparkly rocket was made using the new Independence Day cart from Cricut/PC. The image was cut @ 5 inches using some pretty, holographic blue paper and a red shimmery one. I know the white glitter paper was DCWV- but have no clue what brand the others are (sorry!).

I added some Stickles (Crystal) a few pieces of bling, and a few dots of Sakura white and red gelly rollers here and there. The "celebrate" stamp is a Studio G from '09 - worked very well with the bottle rocket image. I used Storybook for the little marque cut - blue was 2" and white was cut @ 1.75.

I did something I normally wouldnt do with my cuttlebug and put the whole front of the card through the Swiss dots folder, but it worked out ok. I lightly distressed the dots with Memento Bahama Blue - just so it wasnt so flat. I will be making more cards with this cart - stay tuned!

Hope you ALL have a fantastic 4th of July!

Throwback Thursday Challenge - Doodlecharms

2010-06-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

Im a so happy to have entered my first ever blog challenge - sponsored by Emma at http://www.creativetimeforme.com/

I love Emma's creations and her video's too! This particular challenge is a "Throwback Thursday" using your Doodlecharms (or any other older Cricut cart). I have used the puppy face and dog houses to make a page for my dog Mason. I used Color Box chalk ink (Chesnut Roan) around the dog house edges as well as Dew Drop in Graphite Black. I ran the houses through my CB using the Forest Branches folder and the Argyle folder for the dog bone photo corners.

Happy Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T09:07:00.001-04:00

Here is this years Father's Day card - as always I got a late start on my artwork, but I am very pleased with the final outcome. The three car stamps I used are from Clear Dollar stamps (.com) that I got in 2009. I went to Cricut message board for a little inspiration and one of the ladies had used a soda can along with the diamond plate Cuttlebug folder (which i LOVE!!) and my car card idea came right to me. I used paper instead of aluminum (still love mine too). The sentiment stamp is a Studio G clear from M's. I found the metallic adhesive dots at J's - bought them without anything particular in mind - but when i thought of this card - they had their place on the side, grouped in 3's.

I am really please how this card came out. I used my Copic's and a little smidge of color from a couple of Tombo markers. I used Glossy Accents on the windows and lights of each car. It came out better that I thought it would - im very happy with it. I know my Dad will appreciate this card too.

Thanks for stopping by and looking!

Little Prince ~ Cricut Lite

2010-06-18T06:44:00.001-04:00

Ok, so on Thursday I just so happened to ~~get sucked into~~ stop in to Walmart to get paper towels - but ended up right in the craft area!.....LOL. Well my store(s) have all 24 of the new Cricut Lite carts! I was mesmerized by their ~~price tag~~ beauty. So I had to go through them all and decide which one i needed! I have my eye on a couple, but the Live Simply cart looked to be the most versitile one for me right now.

I saw the frog on there and knew - that was the image i was looking for. One of my very good friends (14 years now!!!) just had her second baby - a boy! I had considered the "B is for Boy" cart - but just couldnt get away from the frog idea for a little Prince because i had found two other great deals while at Wm. - the crown paper punch by MS and the branch punch - each for only $3.50!!!! as you can understand, I could not resist! So here is my card creation using the Live Simply Cricut Lite cart and the MS crown paper punch. Card size is A6 . I also used the following carts and punches: EK mini bugs, EK 2 in. scallop, Accent Essentials (leaves to make lilly pad), ribbon and Bazzil cardstock (leaves and card base). I used my cb with the tiny bubble folder for frog base.

I cant wait to give this card to Dawn today. Enjoy!

Get Well for a dog ~ client

2010-06-08T07:08:00.000-04:00

Here is a cheery get well card for a dog that I walk named Stella. The poor girl had to have ACL surgery - I also got her a box of her favorite dog bones to go with it. I used the Paper Pups cart and cut the collar out at 2.5 inches, but ended up trimming a little bit off one side (to fit the card base) I cut the shadow features and used pop dots for the length of the collar - between the shadow and the primary cut. I cut out the dog tag on the following page and used both features as well and also used a paper punch to make the one inch circle with the sentiment on it and raised that with one pop dot also. I used Fiskars scallop border punch on the top and bottom and cut it at a half inch. I also used a colored split ring to attach the charm to the collar - it moves freely while the long collar piece is glued to the pink flowery background paper. Monday was the first day that I had seen Stella since her surgery on Wed. June 2nd. I hope she continues to heal up well - i do feel so badly for her! While i realize she wont care about the card - I know she will love her dog bones that i got - beef basted!! Mmmm, mmm!

Big Lots - deals

2010-05-28T03:34:00.001-04:00

I went to a Big Lots store today and here is what i found. Wishing the store would have more of the CB folders - im so jealous (lol) of Regina's (allthingspretty) finds! but I am glad i found the Nemo cut & emboss folder - i am planning to make a card with it and the blue "rain" dots.

Get Well ~ Indie Art

2010-05-28T02:22:00.001-04:00

I made this card for a woman who is friends with my boyfriend's mom. Im hoping the colors will lift her spirits - poor lady was enjoying herself at a local baseball game and a ball from first base way found her - right in the back of her skull!!! Ouch!!! I cant even imagine - how scary but thankfully, she will be ok. I used the Indie Art cart for the Band Aid and the DCWV Pets stack (Insprired but Tracy aka- CraftJunkietoo).

Its an A2 card - i cut the band aid at 3.5" and inked the edges with Color Box Chalk ink in Warm Red - I love this ink pad!!! I layered the band aid with pop dots and adhered it to the polka dot sheet - using Terrificly Tacky Tape. The sentiment is (i think?) from Inkadinkadoo. Enjoy!

Sympathy card

2010-05-25T21:36:00.002-04:00

Here is pretty simple sympathy card i made for a friend of Art's mother. It was for a man - so i thought i would stay with the black/grey theme and no flowers. I used Accent Essentials to make the "top note" shape - used 3 inch in the grey and then 2.75 in the white. Sentiment is computer generated and the i used my Cricut to cut it out using the Center Point feature - which worked out well (was my first time using CP). I punched the black paper with Treading Water Fiskars punch and the printed paper above that is American Crafts - elegant - first kiss, collection. Inked the edges lightly and placed in white card base - finishing with a sheer white ribbon tied in a knot and made a tiny black bow on top.

Peachy!

2010-05-20T04:03:00.003-04:00

This is one of the new Studio G, Soloz stamps. I saw it recently at Michaels and had to have it! My card came out just how i imagined it would. I used a black base, then added an ivory paper and scalloped the edge, inked with orange, dark yellow and a peachy chalk ink. I used black ink and then embossed with clear powder, followed by Copics and a little ivory colored flocking to give it a realistic look and feel. Last step was to layer the papers and tie on a piece of narrow yellow satin ribbon. I decided to doll up the inside with a tiny handrawn peach in the bottom corner. Too cute! Hope you guys like it too! TFL

recipe:
Memento Inks: orange and cantaloupe
DCWV - Black
MS - Melon chalk cats eye
Copic Sketch: G02 and YR02
Fiskars: Scallop edge trimmer
Studio G: You're a Peach Soloz, clear stamp
Ivory flocking fomr Studio G
general items: white, black and ivory cardstock
yellow ribbon, Corner Chomper

ps - warning: Copics may be addictive....!

Deal of the day

2010-05-20T03:41:00.001-04:00

Monday had begun as kind of a boring, blah day. This middle - eh, not much different. But Monday evening, however, was much more amusing. My boyfriend and I started our evening by bringing back the cotton candy machine that we had rented for my nephews 11th birthday (hello!! FUN!) and then we went on to run a few more errands, which landed us at the auto parts store...yay, Ya! As Art was looking for the parts he wanted, I got bored and wandered, right over to the clearance section. Rummaging through the sale stuff, I found a car phone charger (the one for my cell phone) for only $4.95 - I was pretty happy about that, a savings of about $10. Sweet. This night i didnt have my wallet on my so i had asked Art to front me the cash to get it. And as you guess - he "cracked eggs" at me and was like - "do you really need it?" - Chirp. Chirp.
So i plead my case to him and he finally agreed to buy it for me. I was happy, I was getting a charger - for less than five bucks! I havent had a car charger in months since mine had broke. At the register, the cashier chatted it up with Art and rang up our stuff and told us the total. Art was a little confused until he read the screen. .05 cents. The cashier was happy and wide eyed and was like "dang - you are getting a deal!" My charger was only a nickel!!!! It makes you feel so good when you find a deal on something you really need or want! :-)

Eyelet Thank you card

2010-05-15T02:51:00.000-04:00

I am quite happy with the outcome of this card. On the brown cardstock, I used two different border punches - MS Tradional Eyelet and the Scalloped edge by Fiskars. I then ran the red paper through the CB with swiss dots. i used a piece of brown ribbon with little edge on it (its from an old stash - dont know name or type) and used a piece of Memory Box cardstock (sorry i dont know the collection name!) but its from either late 09 or early 2010. I broke out the old CM plastic cutting dies for the oval and used ColorBox chalk ink in Warm Red (was only $3.00 at ACM) and i used the Warm Red on the "thank you" clear stamp, edges too, then layered all of those pieces on a kraft card base (A2) and used pop dots on the white paper. My original thought was to have the card be vertical - but after i had started to move the pieces around - i saw that horizontal was the way to go with this one. I finished both cards off using the 1/4 side of my Corner Chomper. Enjoy!

Lady Bug Thank you

2010-05-15T02:27:00.005-04:00

On my Thursday evening shopping trip to Michael's i found a few great deals! I have been wanting the MS Lady bug border punch and corner punch - well i found them for $6.99 & $5.99 - nice! then i went on to find the MS Traditional Eyelet border and corner punches -same prices. I really like the Eyelet punch - its very simple but pretty. I also found a couple of new clear stamps in the dollar bin, the Thank you very much in braquets and very cute ~ "you're a peach" i cant wait to use that with the little pots of flocking i found too. Anyhow ~this card is made using the "Thank You very much" and the MS lady bug punches. Its a square card (5.25 x 5.5") and i heat embossed the stamp with Tsukineko Graphite Black, and clear embossing powder. also inked the edges in the black. I used the lady bug punches on two sides of the red cardstock and put a black with white stitching rinbbon from top to bottom. I thought it was missing something and i had just the thing - a little stamp of 3 lady bugs from Stampin Up!. I spritzed the black card base with Tsukineko shimmer and used pop dots under the white area.

(there is bit of a shadow behind this card ~ sorry!)

Cool news!

2010-05-11T03:35:00.000-04:00

I have won blog candy from Jill's Card Creations - how exciting!!! My prize is the Owl Flourish Cuttlebug folder (pictured below). I have never won anything from a blog before! I already have some idea's for Fall creations, floating around my head! If you have'nt already - be sure to check out Jill's blog (jillscardcreations.blogspot.com) to see her latest projects. Super cute! Thank you Jill!!!!

newest Cricut accolade

2010-05-08T02:49:00.000-04:00

I have noticed a new star and a the "bug o'holic" reference under my name on the CMB. Cool! i love sharing my work on the board! i also get much inspiration there too! thank you!

Baby Shower card

2010-04-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

i made this cute card for Jhana's baby shower ~ i really hope she loves it! tfl.

edited to add: my sisters and friend totally loved the card. I used the new arrival cart for the image and the sentiment. i used my CB to emboss the pink area, used a little bit of green chalk ink around the lighter color paper on the pod and a little bit of fruit punch Stickles on the heart (at top). I threw on a few pieces of bling to the top and bottom of the pea pod. i made the tiniest bow for her head and used a sheer and pink ribbon across the bottom of the card. the card base i purchased in a set of 12 - not quite sure of the brand - but its white with light dots of pink, blue, yellow and green - and then i added a dab of Stickles over it.
(sorry if the pic is not the best - i forgot to get the pic in the house before i brought it out to my sis)

Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz

2010-04-21T02:09:00.001-04:00

There's a new item in my craft room and im not afraid to use it!!!

Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz - got this two pack @ Joann's (about $8) and i ♥ them! The colors Sparkle and Frost, are quick dry mists that you can use on paper, ribbons and other craft mediums - they give a beautiful shimmery coverage. Try them - you will love them!

Got me a BUG HEAD!!!

2010-04-21T01:57:00.001-04:00

I recently noticed that i have recieved my first Bug Head on the Cricut message board -

i am now in the Cricuteer catagory ~ sweet!

Scallop circle birthday card

2010-04-21T01:33:00.000-04:00

I made this scallop cirlce birthday card for Kathy's upcoming birthday. I started by welding two 5 inch scallops from the Accent Essentials cart. I made a four inch circle in yellow and a smaller white circle. On the white cirlce i used a cute dollar store stamp - stamped with red chalk ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I used pop dots on the white circle. I filled in the scallop edges and cupcake with Copic Markers - love these - so smooth, compared to my Marvy and Tombo markers.

I made a small pink bow and used the cheater method with the same pink ribbon across the yellow circle. I used a tiny bit of yellow Stickles on the "frosting" and Ranger Glossy Accents on the cherry! The piece de resistance is a new product I have found - Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Sparkle. Love this stuff! Wonder how it compares to the Glimmer Mist's??? Hope you enoy it!

updated Peeps card

2010-04-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

i decided to add "eyes" and a bow to my "Peeps" card. i used small dabbers to add Dew Drop Brilliance in dark brown and then used a tiny drop of Glossy Accents on top of it. came out cute.

Card for my Gram

2010-04-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

I made this card for my Gram - I know she will appriciate the humor.