Baby Album Swap

(apparently I created this post and forgot to schedule it correctly)

I recently participated in a Baby Album Page Swap. We each created a 12x12 2 page layout to swap with each other. The hardest part was they were all identical but we had to create them in colors suited to what each participant needed, ie, pink, blue, neutral.
I did two different page sets: "Welcome Baby" and "First"


This is the "Welcome Baby" page set in pink. I did pink, blue, and yellow. For some reason I forgot to get a picture of the blue pages.

Below are closeups of each page:

The words "Welcome Baby were cut using my Gypsy and (new Pink) Expression using the Songbird Cartridge.

The glitter spotted pink paper was some I had bought in a bulk pack so I don't know the brand; however,I needed more glitter spotted paper for my yellow and blue pages, and fortunately Archiver's had some! (I won't go into my "adventure" at that store...)


I also bought sheets of solid glitter paper and, because it was so pricey I couldn't buy more than one sheet of each color, cut it into strips to use as an accent for each page.
I also used the Tim Holtz die in my Cuttlebug (and borrowed another size from Carolyn: MamaC, she even cut some for me) and made the rosettes for accent on the pages


This is the "First" page set. The purpose was to allow the parents to decide which "first" would get scrapbooked. I had originally planned to do "First" tooth, steps, and foods; then decided sometimes you miss a first photo, so this way each the parent can choose which first photo they have to scrap.

The ribbon is from Walmart, believe it or not! They had a multitude of colors. I had a difficult time selecting just these three.
Each page background is a mottled looking color or a pattern that is very small. The mats are a complimenting paper with more design pattern.
Again, I used Songbird Cartridge - I really love this cartridge for cursive and welding.

I hope you enjoyed!

Calling Card Swap

Here are pictures of the Calling Cards I received at a recent event:




I didn't get one from everyone, but I did get a lot!

Tag Swap

At the event to which I recently went, these were the tags I received as part of a swap. It was a Winter theme and these are tags for Christmas gifts.

Amazing talent!



Thanks for looking!

I'll try to get pictures of the calling cards done soon.

Christmas Card - Santa's Visit

I recently attended a Cricut Circle Event and they hosted a Christmas Card contest.
"Christmas/Holiday/Winter Card Contest. Bring an originally designed card using at least 2 Provo Craft products. Three (3) Cricut cuts must be used on each card."

For the PC products, I used: the Gypsy, E2 (thanks Angie), paper, and Cricut Cartridges. All of the cuts were from PC Cricut Cartridges: Joys of the Seasons, Christmas Village, and Paper Doll Dress Up

The stocking were hung from the mantle with care;
The holly was fresh and put "just there."
Time for bed for Santa is sure to be here soon;
Oops! Looks like someone forgot to put the fire out in the fireplace!
Poor Santa!
The really cool part about this card is that it is interactive. See the little button down there that is tied on to a string? You pull on it (gently) and Santa's legs jump about.


Here is a close up of the top of the card. I used Liquid Pearls for the dimension on the stockings and as the holly berries. Studio G glitter glue (similar to Stickles) was used on the holly leaves.


A closeup of the lower part of the card. Again Liquid Pearls for the berries and the cuffs of Santa's pants. Chalking for the soot on his pants, as well as for shading on different areas of the card. Studio G glitter glue on the leaves, Walmart irridescent glitter glue for the fire sparkle and embers (I couldn't find my red Stickles!). The fire was colored using a blending pen and inks from Close To my Heart (CTMH). I also used a CTMH marker for some shading along the fireplace.

I really love how it turned out. And I may try to put together a tutorial on how to make interactive pull toy-type projects, if you are interested.

Oh - and I won third place!

I just love to look at this card - but I don't think I will make all of my cards like this - probably? But what should I do with this card?

Your Story Paper Trimmer Refills for the Blade Cartridge

Does this look Familiar!!!!!?????



Yep - I did it. I found refills that will fit the Your Story Paper Trimmer that was included in the bundle.

You know : This trimmer?

The one ProvoCraft had bundled with the YourStory originally on HSN, then sold through a few spots for about $20 as it is being discontinued. An awesome trimmer, though it doesn't have an arm for cutting the 12 inch paper.


Well, after much searching, I finally located the RIGHT refills. I received them in the mail today with much hope, that turned to elation when I RAN into my scrap room to try them in my trimmer. "Pop" and they fit!!! Cuts beautifully.


And the best part!!??

Is that they have not just the straight, scoring, and scallop blades; but also the pinking, score, and decorative blades as well!

This is the company and website: American Crafts CutUp

They have a list of retailers who carry the product. I ordered mine through 2 Peas in a Bucket, but they charged $6 shipping for that little pack in the picture and sent it in a 12x12 box! What a waste!
(FYI - The trimmer that these go with, retails for $50!!)


Hope you enjoy!!

This is Beautiful!

Truly this is possibly one of the most beautiful and delicate things I have seen in a while.

A Tea Lite cozy. Now understand, it requires the battery operated tea lites!

This is my version. It is my test version as I wasn't even certain if I could make it work. But I did and it is gorgeous.





This was created last Saturday at a crop with friends, we each made one. It is created using cuts from the new Close To My Heart (CTMH) Art Philosophy cartridge. I just got this cartridge yesterday! (One of the friends at the crop had it already) I do recommend this cartridge as it is a very well-rounded cartridge. However, this could be recreated using cuts from different cartridges that are available everywhere.

The inspiration came from here:
Girl Plus Paper Pumpkin
Girl Plus Paper Instructions

This artist is amazing! She has many more works of art created from the Art Philosophy cartridge on her blog that I plan to recreate soon.

Use Your Stash Wednesday ~ Thank You window card

Hi everyone! Today is my Design Team post for Enjoying the Bug.

Since it is Wednesday, the theme is "Use Your Stash" and while I was initially going to create a birthday card for a 16 year old male, I had a few issues and decided to finish my Thank You card early.

Recipe Ingredients:
Gypsy machine
Cricut machine
George Cricut cartridge
White cardstock - always have this on hand
Dark Pink cardstock - from an old Cricut 6x6 pad
Light Pink cardstock - from an old Cricut 6x6 pad
Martha Stewart black glitter - left over from Halloween
Black pigment ink - I have no idea where I got this!
VersaMark - always have this on hand
CTMH Hollyhock ink
Inkadoo stamp from Big Lots
Embossing folder - I received this as a RAK, I think it is Tim Holtz's Burlap?
Plastic clamshell from a Cricut Cartridge - I save most of mine

I had created a window card using my Gypsy machine and George cartridge solely for the purpose of using the plastic from my Cricut cartridges. This was the perfect opportunity to use the file.

First, I selected my papers and laid them out on my Cricut mat. I have an Expression, but this file is easily modified for the Create or the Personal machines.

Then, I cut a piece of the plastic and wiped it clean on both sides. I adhered it to the darker pink using my ATG gun - this is super sticky, so get it right the first time.

Then I lightly inked the edges with black ink.

I then adhered the darker pink with the plastic to the white card base. You can see the lighter pink layer here. I had set aside the window cutouts from the white and dark pink for another project, but I will be using the lighter pink cutout.

I stamped the Thank You sentiment from the Inkadoo set with black pigment ink. I did attempt putting the Martha Stewart glitter on then, but it would not hold much of it. So I dried it off and stamped over it with the Versamark and then sprinkled the MS glitter on top. Next time I won't use the pigment ink - so I recommend that you use regular ink unless you plan to emboss the image.

I lightly inked the edges of the light pink cutout and then adhered it so the sentiment was centered in the window. (The above picture is truer to color than below. These pictures are way off in color as my little camera is misbehaving and I am using a borrowed laptop that doesn't have more than a basic paint program for editing. My apologies.)

Next, using the CTMH hollyhock ink again, I inked the sides of the light pink layer and ran it through my Cuttlebug machine using the burlap (?) embossing folder. Then I lightly "kissed" the textured image with the ink pad to make the texture pop a little more. The final touch was to ink the edges of the white card base with the CTMH Holloyhock ink to tie it all together.

I hope you enjoyed.

Now, your challenge is not only to use your stash, but to incorporate either a window or plastic into your creation!

Design Team Member!

I am now a member of a new Design Team on a new Blog!
Check it out:

http://enjoyingthebug.blogspot.com/

My first design post will be tomorrow, check in and see what you think as I create for "Use Your Stash Wednesday"

Ohio Road Trip - Post 3

Closer images of the banners:

Ohio Road Trip - Post 2

Here are pictures of all the pennants:

Ohio Roadtrip - Post 1

Okay, so at "some" point today I will be heading out to Ohio. So I decided that I would post the pennant I created for the Circle pennant contest. The guidelines stated we had to use the Birthday Bash cartridge for out pennant shape and the theme of the pennant should be based on where we live - I'm being general because there were more to the rules. Well, I'm from the south, born and raised (I trace back to the Native Cherokees), Georgia to be exact, so I considered peaches, peanuts, Atlanta, and other similar things. But I like to be different, so I started racking my brain for "different" and came up with Gone With the Wind. So, with that as my theme, here is my pennant:


Here is a closeup of the Magnolia tree I created. This is from a Martha Stewart border punch that I punched and the cut apart. I then hand glued all the pieces, last count was around 78 pieces. The blooms are made from tiny Prima flowers, from the milk bottle jars. I cut each petal off and then reglued to a small square of paper and cupped it as it dried. The centers look like Flower Soft don't they? They aren't. I went to a convention hoping to buy some, but no one was selling it this year. So desperation calls for creativity. I took a piece of brown scrap paper and using one of the dental tools I have, I scraped an area until enough of the paper feathered and shreddded then stuck it to glue in the center of the bloom. It gave it the perfect look.


This is Tara. I used the Circle Exclusive cartridge Pop-up Neighborhood for this image. I also used it for the trees. Cutting out a layer for a pop up tree and separating the pieces. I had used my version of Flower Soft, but I didn't like the look it had. The bushes are also the same pop up tree just in a larger size.
I added clouds and a fence. The fence is from the Old West cartridge and I can't remember just now where the clouds are from.

This is a closeup of Scarlet. The stickles on her jacket didn't show up well in this image, but you can see them better in others. I had drew her embroidery on the jacket and the feathered hat in made from scrap pieces. The girl image comes from the Circle Exclusive Shall We Dance. The dress is custom made. That is gold vellum for the underskirts. I did take a bit of liberty with her dress as this is not an exact replication of the drapery dress, but most people know exactly what it is when they see it.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today. This was a lot of fun to create. I can't wait to see all the pennants hanging around the room and I look forward to hunting for mine. I plan to post pictures of all the pennants hanging in a few days, so come back then.