Sunday, October 31, 2010

Hello Cupcake!

I am still so very much loving the Smiley Cards Cartridge, so here is one last one I threw together early this morning. Added some ribbon, buttons, and bling!



One more from Smiley Cards!

One more card I made last night from the Smiley Cards Cartridge! The steam came from Joys of the Season though...



A cut above the rest

Just another Create a Critter card using a Peachy Keen face stamp. Pink by Design stamp for the sentiment, and the grass was from Zoobaloo cartridge.

Friday, October 29, 2010

New Smiley Cards Cartridge!!!

I was so excited to finally get a chance at using this cartridge! I got to download this early today, along with some other Cricut Circle members, and this was the first cut I tried, just to test it out. This is one of the quickest, and simplest cards I have ever made! Used a Pink by Design stamp for the sentiment - thought it fit perfect!!!


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Glossy Accents!!!

Good morning! I just discovered something new - Glossy Accents! It is a "clear dimensional embellishment" by Ranger ink - and I LOVE it!!! I have already gone through 1/4 of the bottle, and have had it less than a week. It is so much fun! I used it on both of these cards, although the pics don't really show it that well.

The first card it is used on the lettering and the seeds on the strawberry. The strawberry and the sentiment cuts both came from the Country Life cartridge. Just a bit of ribbon, and a little doodling - simple!


This second card actually didn't use the Cricut at all! I wanted to, I just couldn't find a cut with piano keys, so I decided to make them myself. Just cut strips of paper in black and white, and added LOTS of Glossy Accents. Took all day to dry!  Used one of my new stamps from Pink by Design, a couple of eyelets, and some ribbon to attach it.


Thanks for looking - hope you have a "Berry Sweet" day!!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

My new Pink By Design stamps!!!

I received my first set of stamps from Pink By Design on Monday (I am in love with them!!!), so yesterday was my first chance to put them to good use. I made 5 cards yesterday (it was a good day!), but I haven't taken pictures of the last 3 yet, so I will have to get to that a little later. But here are the first two:

The first one has the cute dog from Paisley cartridge on it. The background is also from Paisley, one of the buttons - I stretched and resized it on my Gypsy, then added an oval behind to fit it. A little bling, and some doodling around the edges, then pop dotted the dog and the sentiment. I LOVE the colors on this one - so bright and fun!


The second one uses the antique sewing machine cut from Country Life. Cuttlebug on the circle and the background for the sentiment, and a little doodling around the edges again.


Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Picturesque

Ever wanted something really bad, just because you couldn't have it? Then when you finally got it, you found that you really didn't need it as bad as you thought you did? Well...this Cricut cartridge was one of those purchases. It was an exclusive, that you could only buy in a bundle with a new Cricut. I wanted it SOOO bad for so long, that when it was finally available, I couldn't wait to get it. However, I don't think I have used it more than once or twice. So the other day, I determined that I would find SOMETHING to use it for! Here is what I came up with...


The flower, of course, is from Picturesque, the scallop circle is from Accent Essentials, and a stamp for the sentiment. Cuttlebug for texture, a little ink, and some doodling with a white pen. Thanks for looking!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Love my Peachy Keen Stamps!!!

Just gotta say...I sure love those stamps! Can't believe how much cuter it makes some of my Cricut cuts! Here are a couple of cards I made last night - both cuts are from Create a Critter cartridge. The background scallop oval on the first card is from A Child's Year. Used cuttlebug folders, ribbon, and a little bit of bling with my Jolee's heat setter. "Just chick'n in" is a Clear Dollar Stamp, and "Nutttin' Better than a true friend" is from Papertrey Ink.


Saturday, October 23, 2010

Birthday card for Olivia!

Hi there! Thought I would just quickly post the card I made for my daughters to give to a little friend who just turned 8 last week. Used Once Upon a Princess cartridge, and LOTS of glitter paper! Also added a little gem with my Jolee's heat set tool, some ribbon, and a flower. Used a stamp on some white paper, cut it out, and used that for the center of the flower. Oh yes - I almost forgot! Also used a Peachy Keen stamp for the face!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Summer and Winter

Made one card last night, and one card this evening. The weather here has been so funny, during the day it feels like summertime, but the nights are frosty and cold! So...there is my inspiration for these!

I love this first one!!! The cartridges used were Sentimentals for the stamp background, and Pooh and Friends for the clouds and kite. LOTS of printed paper - got brave on that one! 


The second one was so much fun! The penguins are from Zoobaloo, with a Peachy Keen stamp for the faces. Cuttlebug for the snowflake background, as well as a Martha Steward edge punch along the bottom. Added some ribbon, and round stamp with a little bling, and pop dotted everything!


Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Survival Kits

I made this first Chocolate Survival Kit several months ago for a friends baby shower: she was having a boy - which would give her a house full of four boys!!! I figured she could use a little chocolate!!! The last 2 were ones I made for my Mom and Mother-in-law for Mother's Day this past year.





Used SCAL for the lettering on all of them, and the silhoettes on the first one. The sheep came from Create a Critter cartridge. The teapot and chair were from the Heritage cartridge. Lots of Cuttlebug, Prima Flowers, buttons, ribbon, the Martha Stewart branch punch (absolutely LOVE that punch!), and inking and doodling.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

A long neck, and 8 arms!!!

Good morning! Just a couple of quick cards today.

The first one was a special request by a friend. She wanted a thank you card for her chiropractor who had been super great when her neck went out a couple weeks ago. So...what has a longer neck than a giraffe? I also cut out a little bandaid from the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge, to put on the neck of the giraffe, but when I took the picture of the card, I still had wet stickles on the neck, so I couldn't put it on.


The second card was a birthday card for a little girl, who when asked what she wanted for her birthday, said only one thing: an octopus! This octopus is from Zoobaloo, with a Peachy Keen face stamp.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

New Blog, and some of my favorite past cards!

   So...I finally did it! I created a blog. I thought it would never happen, but I also used to say I couldn't make cards. My mom still makes fun of me for that one, but I blame her for it! She introduced me to the Cricut Expression - a machine that has allowed my creative genes from her to finally come out of hiding.

   I began my papercrafting with scrapbooking - my wedding album to be specific. As I had children, it of course expanded to that as well. I have chosen to organize my scrapbooks by year, and have completed halfway through 2009 at this time. When I started to scrapbook (about 10 years ago), it was pretty much the norm to scrapbook in 8 1/2 X 11. Because I tend to have SOOO many pages, I have stuck with this format. I am starting to fall in love with the look of 12 X 12, but haven't been able to bring myself to make the switch though. Only time will tell.

   After I got my Cricut, my scrapbooks got more detailed (and also more time-consuming unfortunately!), and I started looking for other ways to use it. As I spent time on the cricut.com message board, I began to be inspired by all the great talent over there. (I also spent a lot of money on things I never knew I needed!!!) Eventually I began to try my hand at making cards, and fell in love with it. I tell my husband all that time that it is my relaxing time - and cheaper than paying for therapy! I tried to sell my cards at one craft fair, but found that I spent too much time making the cards to be able to sell them for a price that people would be willing to pay.

   I began to pray about it, to decide what to do. During that time, I feel the Lord showed me what to do. My church supports a ministry called Sister Connection (http://www.sisterconnection.org/) that works with widows and orphans in Burundi. Both of my dear daughters, now age 6 and 7 were deeply touched by hearing about this, and started looking for all the ways they could to help out. They started saving all their spare change, and working to earn extra money by cleaning up the house and their toys. This led to a jar being set up at church for people to put their coins in, and eventually a pie auction to reach the funds necessary to build a house for a widow (amazingly, only $600). So...I decided that since I already have all the supplies (I am a paper collector, among other things!), and I love doing it, maybe I could put my cards out at church, and people could make donations toward building a house for a widow. It has been a great journey, and over the last 6 months since I began, we have received approximately $200 - that is 1/3 of the way to a house for a widow!

So, here are just a few of my favorite cards that I have made since I began. Thanks for looking, and God bless!