Baby Shower Card

I made this card for a baby shower for a lady at work who is having a little girl. I can't wait to see what she looks like!

I Used:
- Kate's ABC - coat and layers, page 43 - I think it looks more like a little dress :)
- Forever Young - hanger and layers, page 58; I used the Gypsy to hide the flower
- Cuttlebug Folder - Swiss Dots
- Ranger Stickles
- Ranger - Perfect Pearls
- Crafty Secrets - Congratulations sentiment
- Martha Stewart Vintage Doily Punch Around the Page Set
- Marvy - Liquid Applique
- CTMH - Liquid Glass

Here's How:
I ran the dress through the Cuttlebug using Swiss Dots and put the little dress together. The little flowers pieces were a BIG challenge! Maybe I'll try tweezers next time. I added stickles on the cuffs for buttons and in the centers of the flowers.

A butterfly goes with the dress but I used it on tag with the sentiment and on the bottom of the border. Confession time: the Vintage Doily punch did not quite line up and made more holes on the left end of the border then there was supposed to be (does that make any sense???). So I used the butterfly to cover up that boo-boo.

I brushed the pink card stock with Perfect Pearls and then glued the dress to the cardstock on an angle.

Now for the hanger: I cut it too big so I had to trim it down by hand which was okay since that part was going to be hidden. I applied the Liquid Applique not knowing what would happen but hoping for the best. I was hoping it would like those fancy hangers that are padded with satin and look a little scrunched up. I think it came out quite well :)  I ended up gluing down the hook part of the hanger - that it went up like that was just driving me crazy!

Last, I just inked the edges of the tag, stamped my sentiment and added another butterfly from the dress.

Christmas Angel Ornament

I decided to make another Christmas angel. Here's the first, which I made back in November: Rejoice Christmas Card. This time I chose a different cut from the cartridge and made her into an ornament so I can enter her for the Cricut Circle Blog weekly challenge.

I Used:
- Art Nouveau Cartridge: Woman4 and layers, p50; swan and layers (I hid the swan and used only the wings), p64
- CTMH - Vanilla Cream Stamp Pad for the skin color
- Jolee - Rhinestones
- SEI Couture for the dress (that cardstack is gorgeous!!)
- Glitter from my stash
- Seam Binding - I dyed it with Scarlett Tattered Angels Mist and Red Peppers Ranger Alcohol Ink
- Micron .005 pen for the facial features

Here's How:
Well, this time it was pretty straight forward. I used a dauber to color in her flesh. I put the pieces of the woman together. I used my Micron pen to draw in her lips and nose. I also used Prisma pencils to add shading on the face and body.

I colored the bottom wing a lilac kind of color for shading. I then added lots of glitter! On the wings and on the dress.

Last, I just tied my seam binding into a bow and attached it to the back with double sided tape.

I am really pleased with how she came out :)  Here she is on the tree - Sorry for the bad pic, I took it with my camera phone.

Gingerbread Man Holiday Box

I got my mom a beautiful, sparkling (she likes sparkles) locket for Christmas. Inside the locket will be the picture of her grandson, Anders. I am going to package the locket in this box I made for her. :)

I Used:
- Art Philosophy Circut Cartidge: Chinese Take Out Container - font layer+shift page 24
- Jolly Holidays Cricut Cartridge: Gingerbread Man - gngrbrd and gngrbrd+shift - I used the Gypsy to hide the cuts for the face so I could use the Peachy Keen stamp
- Joy of the Seasons Cartridge: Candycane -candy, page 47 - I used the Gypsy to hide the peppermint candy
- Red Buttons from my stash
- Viva Decor Glitter Liner: Holo Iridescent
- Basic Grey Paper: Nordic Holiday
- Peachy Keen Stamps for the face
- Raffia from my stash

Here's How:I filled the 12 x 12 page with the box image and just followed the perforated cuts. That was pretty to follow. I cut the gingerbread man at 2.5" and the candy cane at 2". I stamped the gingerbread man with the Peachy Keen stamp in white. I used Colorbox Frost white. I added glitter to his buttons and frosting. I did not use the buttons on the cut in Jolly Holidays. I punched white cardstock with the Crop-a-Dile instead. I arranged my gingerbread man and the candy cane. I thought the candy cane needed more so I added a ribbon and a button with raffia. I liked the red buttons with raffia idea so much I added them on the bottom to balance out the design which looked a little top heavy. I also added the red buttons on the top.

Have a wonderful day :)

V I N Y L ! ! Finally!

Well, the day finally came. I tried vinyl and it came out GREAT! I bought the Disney's Pooh Font Cartridge specially to do my son's name in vinyl. I bought a whole load of vinyl because I loved what everyone else was doing with vinyl. I figured, "It can't be too hard, right?"

But I did feel it might be too hard and I had this vinyl and this cartridge just sitting around for months. (I'm embarrassed to admit how many months :/)

I put on big girl panties, took a deep breath and checked the settings: pressure: low, speed: low. Then, I cut away on my little Create. When it finished, I looked at the mat apprehensively. It didn't look like anything happened. I felt dejected but I still had hope. Maybe I could save it?

I peeled the side away slowly and I saw the"A".... then the "n".... then the "d"... - It WORKED! Yay! I know it is a very simple design but I am just so excited. Now my son has his name over his play area. That's pretty cool :)

Sophie Holiday Bookmark

I needed to make something for my sister and the Cricut Circle Magazine Challenge gave me the push to do it. A long time ago, when I was in third grade and my sister was in second grade, I fancied myself an entrepreneur. I made a little catalog of books I would illustrated and I began to sell the idea to my sisters. Only Nelly had a dollar to buy a book - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I really meant to illustrate a handmade book, but it was a daunting task in third grade... I think Nelly forgot about it but I haven't. So I bought her a beautiful version of 'Twas the Night before Christmas this year as one of her gifts - more than twenty years later. With the book will be this bookmark - at least, that will be handmade :)

I Used:
- Sophie Cartridge: leaf3 bookmark at 1.75 x 6, 4 pieces of leaf3 at 1.5,  4 pieces of , leaf3+shift at 1.5, and card 2+shift plain rectangle modified shape with the Gypsy for the sentiment
- Paper Trimmings Cartridge: accent2 for the pointsettia, not an actual pointsettia but I thought it looked pretty and would be a lovely substitute.  It looks a little like a snowflake, too.  :)  There is a pointsettia cut in Paper Trimmings but I need a lighter look for my flower.
- Basic Grey: Pointsettia background (Nordic Christmas) and light green rectangle (Skate Shoppe) with sentiment
- Tim Holtz : Brushed Corduroy Distressed Ink Pad
- Faerie Glass: Holly Berry
- CTMH: "Hope Love Joy" sentiment from Art Philosophy Collection
- CTMH: Baby Pink Ink Pad
- Tattered Angels: Marshmallow Mist

Here's How:I inked the edges of the bookmark with Brushed Corduroy. I carefully arranged the 8 leaf pieces on the bookmark. I put the dark green ones in the back and the lighter green leaves in the front.

The accent piece from Paper Trimmings that I intended to use as a poinsettia was too flat as just white so I inked it with CTMH's baby pink using a dauber. It also mimicked the pink in the pointsettia of the Baisc Grey Paper.  To give my flower a little dimension, I spritz it with water and worked it into the palm of my hands so that it became a kind of bowl shape. I spritz it with Marshmallow Mist for some glitz. I used a glue dot to give it dimension and placed it on the leaves. I put a drop of Glossy Accents for the Faerie Glass in Holly Berry. That finished up the pointsettia and leaves part of the bookmark. I hope you can see the glimmer in this picture:

I took the rectangle and inked the edges with Brushed Corduroy. The words are actually separate pieces but I put them together on the acrylic block. I felt they were nice sentiments for the season. I stamped it on the rectangle in black with Staz-On Black.

So there it is! A bookmark for a long awaited book... I think she will like it!

Happy Holidays Reindeer

I was inspired by Tim Holtz's reindeer Christmas tag. His is just gorgeous and there is no way I can replicate his tag. But I wanted to try something close to what Tim Holtz with the hope that it would be half as good :) I had no idea how much work he put into his creations until I saw the tutorial on his blog. Just: WOW! 

I Used:
- Provocraft Cricut - Christmas cartridge - reindeer and wreath
- Ranger Perfect Pearls
- Meliss Frances - Glass Glitter
- Tim Holtz Distress Pads - Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy
- Tattered Angels - Brown Suede and Vintage Pink
- Seam Binding
- DCWV background - Old World
- Papertrey Ink - Linen Impression Plate
- Tsukineko - Versamark
- CTMH Holiday Wishes stamp set - "Holiday Wishes" sentiment

Here's How:
I cut the reindeer out at about 3 inches and the the wreath at an inch and half. I decided to use non-traditional christams colors just to explore and play around with colors. I ink the edges of each with Antique Linen. I added Glass Glitter, which is like old fashioned glitter. Chunky, sparkly and fun! I covered the reindeer in Versamark. I brushed on Perfect Pearls and heat set it with a heating tool.

I used a plain old paper trimmer to cut the tag at 3 1/4 X 5. The Old World collection is just perfect for an aged, but beautiful look.  I used We R Memory Keepers Corner Chompers to round the corners. I lightly inked the edges in Antique Linen.

My trusty paper trimmer also cut out a rectangle at 3 x 3/4. I hand cut the "V" in the banner. I ran the banner through Brushed Corduroy for a deeper color and then brushed the Antique Linen to age it a bit. I stamped "Happy Holidays" with Versamark and added pink mica. I have been experimenting with Versamark by adding mica and perfect pearls to stamped images. I really like the soft and even faded look you can get.

Now for the seam binding. So easy to do! I bought a whole load of white seam binding so I could make my own wrinkled, colored seam binding. I saw it in a video my sister sent me and I have been obsessed with making it. I finally did it! Spritz a little Vintage Pink and Brown Suede and a little water and VOILA! That's a pretty cool trick.

Before I attached the ribbon, I ran the tag through the Cuttlebug with PTI Linen Impression Plate. I thought it would give it an extra aged look. It adds these dot-like impressions.  I love it! Here's the close-up:

Dreams

I created this card with my mother-in-law in mind. She loves the vintage, shabby chic kind of look.  I don't think it is shabby chic but it has a certain vinatge feel to it.  The twenties beauty is from Hampton Stamps.  I don't remember the collection name but it had two more twenties portaits and a lady that looked like Jospehine Baker.

I Used:

- Hampton Stamps - Twenties Beauty

- K and Company - Que Sera, Sera Paper

- Tim Holtz - Crackle Finish in Clear Rock Candy and Antique Linen Distress Pad

- Prima - flowers

- Viva Pearl Pen - Cream

- Provocraft Cricut Cartridge - Lacy Labels

- Melissa Fances - "Dream" rub on

- Making Memories - dusky blue ribbon

- Tattered Angels - Brown Suede Mist

Here's How:

I used my Imagine to cut out the oval and the frame from the Que Sera, Sera paper with the Lacy Labels cartridge.  I chose a paper from the collection that was light but that still had some of the collage elements. 

I stamped the twenties beauty on the paper and it gave it a worn look.  I added some crackle finish to give it an even more worn, vintage look. 

The crackle finish needs some time to dry so as it was drying, I added the ribbon to the card. 

I spritz the pink prima flowers with Brown Suede by Tattered Angels and pasted to together.  I added a dot of cream colored Viva Pearl.  I tore a piece of paper and distressed it further with Antique Linen.  Irubbed on "Dreams" and placed it on the ribbon.

Once the crackle dried, I pasted the frame onto the portrait.  I thought I was finished but the ribbon looked so plain so I added Viva Pearl dots to the ribbon.  Now it looked finished! :)

Chandelier Birthday Card

I made a birthday card and tried to do something out of the box for me. I went with a black and white theme. It is definitely more edgy than usual for me.

I Used
- Sophicated Cartridge: chandelier
- PK Glitz: glitter
- Jolee: Rhinestone
- Seam Binding
- Grey Pencil for shading
- Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress for shading on edges
- Papertrey Ink (PTI) Canvas Impression Plate
- Tattered Angels Coco Creme
- Close to My Heart (CTMH) sentiment "Best wishes to you"

Here's How
I cut the chandelier at about 4 1/4. I used a black and white glitter paper for the chandelier and white paper for the candles and middle section of the chandelier. When I arranged the candels on the chandelier before I pasted it, I realized that they looked very flat. I pulled out the distress pad and blended some antique linen on the edges to give it some depth. I also used the grey pencil to add some shading especially on that white middle part. You can see the detail a little better in the close-up. I add some glitter for flames and my candles were done!

Next, I took some black cardstock and used the PTI Canvas Impression Plate. I love this impression plate because it is so subtle. Then I spritz it with Coco Creme by Tattered Angels to give it a glow as if came from the candels.

I started off with a 5 x 7 card but it just looked wrong so I made it into a square card (5 x 5). It still needed something and I added some seam binding. I wasn't sure if stamping on seam binding would work but it did! YES! I tried it first on a scrap piece of binding. I was so excited when it worked out. Can't you tell? The sentiment is from the Art Philosophy kit by CTMH. Last, I added some bling from Jolee and my step out of the box was done... Now I'm going back into my box... :D

Dance As If No One is Watching

I made this card for the Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge but I have been dying to use these stamps by Close to My Heart (CTMH). They are so beautiful and full of movement. Dancers caught in action...

I Used- Ribbons and Rosettes Cartridge - Lacey Labels Cartridge- Muscial Flourish Embossing Folder (it's becoming a favorite)- CTMH "Aspire" stamps- I-Rock turquoise rhinestones-

Here's HowI cut the border at an 1 1/8 using the Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge. I cut the cream colored rectangle using a paper trimmer at 1 1/4. I added turquoise rhinestones on the tops and middle. I thought about putting them on the bottom of the border, but it was a little over the top. So I stopped myself!

I stamped the dancer on the scalloped oval and brushed on some Perfect Pearls for a light glow. It also helped to tone down the color of the ink which was darker than the paper. I stamped the sentiment on a cream colored rectangle and added three rhinestones.

Last, I embossed the turquoise paper with Muscial Flourish. The paper was too long for the folder so I embossed what fit first. Then I carefully placed the part that wasn't embossed in the folder and embossed the last 1/2 inch.

I think it came out great and the picture actually shows it. I guess I should have used my Canon with the other cards instead of my phone. It really does make a difference... duh..

Dust of Snow

This poem makes me smile because small things can make everything all better again. My son playing with calculators, my husband coming home, my dog snorting like a pig (yes, she really does!)... life is filled with all kinds of reminders to smile...

Dust of Snow
by Robert Frost

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree


Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued

Christmas Recipe Cards

 

 

I Used
- Scandinavian Christmas
- Pre-made tags from my stash
- Crafty Secrets Sweet Stuff for "Homemade with Love" and "Add Lovin' Spoonfuls"
- Hampton Arts for "Season's Greetings"
- Spots and Dots Embossing Folder
- Buttons and green ribbon from my stash
- Glue Dots
- Stickles

Here's How
I made twenty of these 6 x 6 cards for a recipe swap in the Cricut Message Board. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make but I knew I wanted to use Scandinavian Christmas because it was for Norwegian Krumkakes (My husband's heritage is Scandinavian).

I cut the tree at 2 1/2 inches. A star is one of the layers but I didn't need it so I did not cut it out. I wanted to use glitter instead so I just added red glitter to the last layer of the tree.

I stamped my pre-made tags with "Season's Greetings". I added buttons on top with Glue Dots (those things handy!).

I embossed white paper with the Spots and Dots embossing folder and cut them at 3 x 3. I assembled the tree and tag on the white background with the tag slightly tilted to the left.

I stamped "Homemade with Love" on the top and used my green color pencil to color in the scallops. I added a dot of Stickles on each of the four corners. Last, I stamped "Add Lovin' Spoonfuls" underneath my tree and tag.

The recipe is from Allrecipes.com. I was going to get the one my mother-in-law uses but my father-in-law got sick and she was pretty busy going to the hospital and stuff. But this one is a good one from Allrecipe.com:

Norwegian Krumkake
posted by SUCCESSB440

Ingredients
· 1/2 cup unsalted butter
· 1 cup white sugar
· 2 eggs
· 1 cup milk
· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring, optional

Directions
1. Heat krumkake iron on stove over medium heat. You can also use an electric krumkake or pizzelle iron.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well using a spoon. Pour in the milk, flour, vanilla, and butter flavoring; mix well.
3. Place a teaspoon of the batter on the preheated iron, and press together. Cook until browned, about 30 seconds per side, depending on the heat. Remove from the iron and quickly roll up around a stick or around a cone before they harden.

Here's the link:
Norwegian Krumkake Recipe

Give them a try - they are YUMMY!

Journey to Bethleham

 

I Used:
- New Testament (Mary, Joseph, palm trees)
- Art Philosophy (star - someone said it looked like the sun. Whoops! Maybe the color was too bright.)
- Stickles for the star
- Que Sera, Sera paper for background by K and Co.
- We r Memory Keepers Corner Chompers 1/2
- .20 Micron Pen

Here's How
I wanted to make a meaningful Christmas card for my mother. I waited impatiently for this cartridge to come out so I could use it right away :)

I cut the Mary and Joseph images out at about 3 inches. These images were supposed to be cut at 5.5 but rules are meant to be broken... at least, I really hoped at the time I was contemplating cutting them smaller. I had to be super careful taking the images off my mat after I cut because some of them were really fine like the walking stick Jospeh uses. I broke that by mistake when I took it off too fast.

I assembled the pieces and found that the faces (again, I know!) could not really be seen well. So out came my Micron pen and added details to the faces - eyes and mouths. I also did a little shading with my pencils. The palm trees came out just fine and needed no modifications.

I cut the star at an inch and half. I used the gypsy to manipulate the image a little by making the sides thinner so it was more like an oval than a circle. I used Stickles to make it glitter.

I tore some paper in three shades of brown for the small hills. Last, I added some cream colored twine on the side. It came together pretty quickly :) I think my mom will like it a lot.

Have a great day!

maggie and milly and molly and may

I love this poem for it's whimsical imagery. When I make my cards and little projects, I feel like maggie. I just forget any troubles. Not that I have many. I am very blessed. But we are all human and little things sometimes get to be big things and crafting is my therapy. I have fun even if it doesn't come quite the way I want. :)

maggie and milly and molly and may
by e.e. cummings

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

 

My son examining a stone awash on the beach...

Rejoice! Christmas Card

 

I Used:
- Art Nouveau
- Inspired Heart
- CTMH Vanilla Cream ink pad
- Musical Flourish embossing folder (BEAUTIFUL!)
- Stickles
- Papertrey Ink Angeled Die and vintage cream paper (Wow! That stuff is thick!)
- Seam Binding
- .20 Micron Pen

Here's How:
I just received my Art Nouveau cartridge and thought the women in it were so beautiful they could be angels. Flipping thorugh the book, I started thinking about the wings. I didn't want butterfly wings - then she'd look like a fairy. They'd have to be wings from a bird. I didn't want them cartoonish, though. (As you can tell, I was thinking really hard.)Then I saw the swan in the Art Nouveau book. It was perfect.

I used my Gypsy and I cut the woman at a little more than 4 inches. The recommended size is 8 inches but that was too big for what I had in mind. I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would work.

I used the swan wings. Since they were only for the profile of the swan I had to flip the image on my Gypsy to get matching wings.

I used CTMH Vanilla Cream ink pad to color her face and arms. I just took the pieces and dabbed them on the pad. I don't make a lot of people for my cards so I don't need tons of flesh color paper. I thought I'd tried this out and it worked fine.

Putting my angel together was a bit of a challenge because there were so many pieces and they were tiny. Another challenge was that the layer for the hair still included the face part. I think that must be a glitch in the cartridge. (Trust me - I looked and looked for the piece and even in the book the hair layer still includes the face.) I looked at the picture in the book for reference and cut the fact part out. My estimation was pretty good so it fit. Whew! The eyes and the lips were too small to cut correctly so I used a .20 Micron Pen. (I love these pens for details! I bought a bunch more.) I used a finely sharpened red pencil for the lips and Voila! A face!

I added stickles to jazz up my angel on the wings and flowers. I also added a little on the top of her bodice. I used Musical Flourish to emboss the background. Pearl soft green mica was brushed on top for a soft glow. You can't really see it because it so subtle.

I used a Papertrey Ink (PTI) Angled Die for the tag and added the word "Rejoice" from Inspired Heart. I stickled that up, too. Last, I tied up seam binding and added it to the back of the tag.

Have a great day :)

Hello!

This is a really bad picture and I don't know why. I tried to slant the lamp this way and that. The paper is actually a crisp white and looks much better in person. I made this for mother-in-law and father-in-law. It is just a card to say hello :) They live pretty far away and it is just nice let them know we are thinking about them.

I used:
French Manor - birdcage
Lifestyles Letterpress - butterfly and "hello"
Prima Flowers
Marshmallow Tattered Angels - You can't see it, but it's there - I promise!
Viva Pearl Pen in pink and cream

EDITED 11/21/11

 

Well mystery solved! The first pic is taken with my Blackberry. The second picture is taken with my Canon. Gosh, I shudder to think how many pics I took with my Balckberry that could have been soooo much better...

Love is Patient

I made this card for my father-in-law who is have a tough time heath wise. I am putting the rest of the verse inside. I just want to remind him that we are are always there for him even in tough times. It is a verse that I really love and brings me a lot of comfort. I hope that it brings the same comfort to him.

I used:

Art Philosophy - flower and letter "L"
Storybook - the green and blue pattern paper
Cindy Loo - the rest of the verse and the deer.
We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper 1/2

Hope - Gotta Catch It!

I used
-DCWV Garden Party Paper - Red and Pink
-Tiddly Inks Digi Stamp - Catching Hearts
-Stand & Salute, Paisley and MS Seasonal Cake Cartidges and my trusty Gypsy
-Color Pencils - Reeves