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 :)