Silent Night

I barely have managed to finish my card for the MPS Winter Card Challenge. I have been so in the Halloween mood that this challenge was really a challenge for me. After a bit of time spent looking at papers and my cartridges, here is what I created.

The card base is navy blue with white specs in it (which I love and need to stock up on). It's perfect for a snowy night. I cut the 'snow' from two different glittered papers. One is from the DCWV Glitter stack and is very smooth, and the other is from Target and is more like coarse glitter. The snowy trees I cut from the Very Merry Tags at 4 1/2", 3 3/4", and 2" I cut the bottom layers in white and the top in green, to give the appearance of snow and then added some stickles. I glued the biggest & smallest trees down (the smallest being in the center). The third one I pop dotted to add depth.

I had originally wanted to do a moose because I love moose BUT, then I decided on the deer2 from the Give A Hoot cartridge. I cut the first one at 2" and then the second at 1 1/4". I cut the butterflies off their noses & added eyes for each with a sharpie. On the little deer, I used a white gel pen and added spots to create a fawn. From there, I decided that the bird1 would be cute as cardinals. I cut five of them and added them onto the trees and the deer.

Pagoda Lamp Celebration

Today's card is a birthday card for a friend that turned into two different variations. I started with the first card, an orange 5x7 base and then the striped mat cut from the DCWV Citrus stack. I then cut all three lamps from the Pagoda cartridge in various sizes or 3 1/4" to 4 1/2", in different colors and patterns (also from the Citrus stack). And that's how this card became tow, I cut more lanterns than what I needed! I twisted some aqua colored raffia tightly and glued it on and then trimmed the lantern posts at the top to make them hang at different lengths from the raffia. I also used the EK dots border punch on the bottom. On the inside, I mounted a solid yellow mat and used the same border punch but, I also added the dots that were cut from the front mat and glued them in the spaces of the dots on the interior mat to bring both together. The sentiments on both cards are from a Fiskars Make a Wish collection of birthday quotes set.

Enter if You Dare

SO, I am sooo ready for the fall. Cool weather, football, and Halloween!!! I am a big fan of Halloween so, naturally, I've purchased the Pumpkin Carving, October 31, AND the Happy Hauntings cartridge. Love all of them! Naturally though, they are inspiring me to make some Halloween themed cards. Today I have the 'enter if you dare' card. This is a 5x7 gate fold that was inspired by the second gate on the October 31 cartridge. This gate cuts in two different pieces so, I thought how perfect to cut the gate for a gate fold card. The card base is solid black card stock and then I mounted a printed sheet from the DCWV 'The Haunting Collection' stack. I cut the gate at 4 1/2" out of solid black cardstock. When you get ready to glue these gates though, you need to be quick about it. I just dab dots of glue all over using the small Zig glue pen. If you don't do it quickly, the first ones will dry by the time you get the last ones. :)

I found the "Enter if you Dare" phrase on the Happy Hauntings cartridge and decided to cut it at 1 3/4" with a dark purple base and a black top layer and then I glued only half of it and attached it to the card so that it isn't permanently stuck to the card, preventing the card from being opened. Then I decided on bats...hmmm. Lots of bats in these cartridges, in some different layers. I love the bat on the Happy Hauntings cart but, when I cut it, it was bigger than what I wanted for the card and the purple top layer was VERY thin so, I didn't think I could cut it smaller without it ripping. Instead, I chose the bat from frame3, layer 1 shift and the one from the cat key, layer function, both at 7 1/2". Since these bats were actually layers on other cuts, I needed to cut them in a larger size to be sure they were big enough to put on the card. I cut two of each, a top layer in black and a bottom layer in purple.

On the inside, I mounted a grey piece of Archiver's card stock, cut a bit smaller than 5x7 . I cut the graveyard from the Happy Hauntings cartridge as well. It was the graveyard shift cut and then the graveyard layer 1, both at 3 1/2". I used my Design Studio to see test the different sizes before cutting. I don't save it as a cut file but, I do like to check it out on DS before cutting so that I don't waste paper when I do the actual cut. Once I cut the top 'grass' layer, the tips of the grass were white from the core of the card stock so I inked them with a matching green color to hide the white core. Then I decided to ink the edges of the tombstones to give them more of an aged look so, I did that using the Cat's Eye alabaster ink pad. I had to trim a little from the sides of the graveyard cut so that it would fit in the card and then ink a little more. This led to me ink the edges of the gray mat in black, I think it adds to the spooky Halloween feel of the card. I added some more bats at the top to complete the inside.

Back to School

Today's card is a back to school theme that I did using A Child's First Year cartridge. The card base was left over from my Robotz card and is from the Paper Studio's A Boy's Universe. The mat paper is from DCWV's Grade School stack. I decided to use the crayon shape, located on the Apple key, using the Icon shift feature, to make a border so, I cut alternating colors of red, green, blue & yellow each at 3/4". Some I had to overlap but, I like the border that it created. I cut the scissor at 1 1/2" using the crafts key, icon feature and silver mirror paper. The ABC & 123 were cut using the font function of the cartridge, each at 1". The 2+2=4 was cut from a different sheet of paper from the same stack, they mounted it and used some pop dots on it. On the inside, I mounted an orange sheet and added a scrap piece of the mat paper from the front and another blue crayon as well as a 'Reach for the Stars' sentiment that came from a Hampton Art graduation set. I also added a scribble from a blue crayon at the bottom to match.

For the Aspiring Pastry Chef

My cousin in Texas has decided to pursue her dreams of becoming a pastry chef and has moved to a different city to go to school AND the day I finished this card, she got an offer for an externship at a FABULOUS restaurant!!! I am so happy for her. I had been wanting to send her a card but, hadn't had the time to do so. I happened across the tag cut on the A Child's Year cartridge's cooking key and decided now was the time! I cut the cooking tag with the rolling pin and the shadow mount at 2". I felt like the shadow mount was huge in comparison so, I trimmed it down a little. The card is a solid brown base with a mount on the front from the DCWV Latte stack. I cut the shadow base using a cream cardstock and the top tag with the rolling pin cut out, from a green cardstock. I then used a Fiskar's border punch to scallop the front bottom edge. I cut 1/2" strips of the same green and attached a brown ribbon from Michael's to them and then attached one to the top and one to the bottom of the Latte paper. I mounted the tag and used pop dots to attach it to the card.

On the inside, I mounted a dark purple cardstock and then the rolling pin cutout from the tag and stamped the Dee-lish sentiment from Studio G. I can't wait to try some of her Dee-lish creations!!!!

Stay Cool Robot

Today's card I made for another boy in my son's preschool that he wasn't all that close to but, I still wanted to say goodbye to. This card was also made using The Paper Studio, a Boy's Universe stack and the Robotz cartridge. I used Robot36 on page 63 and cut him at 4 1/2". I also used the dots (or circles) folder to emboss parts of his hands, feet and the gauge on his stomach and google eyes. I printed the sentiments on the outside and inside and used some PC border scissors to cut the mats.

Robotz Mini Scrapbook

Today I did a mini-scrapbook that I had viewed on the Creative Critters Cricut site (http://www.cricutcritters.com/). Tammy Skinner is AMAZING with projects. She posted this one back (http://www.cricutcritters.com/2010/04/plantin-schoolbook-christmas-cheer-file.htmlfile.html) in April and I knew I wanted to give it a try but, didn't have a specific reason until now. My son is leaving Preschool for kindergarten at the end of the month and his preschool BFF will not go to the same school. I wanted to give his BFF a little gift from us and I thought this would be so much better than a toy! Besides his mom is a scrapbooker so, I know she will love it!

I won the Robotz cartridge back in May from the MPS site but, I hadn't been able to use it so, I thought, this would be perfect. I had a bit of a hard time finding 12x12 file folders but, I was able to find black and white flower print ones that were lime on the inside. How perfect as it matches the color scheme of my robot papers. I decided to cut the tab from the folder after it was folded as well and I inked the edges so that the white paper cores weren't sticking out. The paper I used for this project is The Paper Studio A Boy's Universe stack that I picked up from Hobby Lobby...I love it and I haven't seen it anywhere else. I also embossed several of the sheets and tags using the Cuttlebug diamond plate folder and the circles folder. To make the Robots, I used almost all scrap paper because so may of the details are so small when they cut.

Now for the details. Starting from the 'inside' of the accordian fold on the left, I will attempt to give a little detail on each of the six decorative panels. The first is just a picture of the boys together and the years span that they were in daycare/preschool together, both mounted and then attached to the panel.

When I first started looking at the Robotz I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of small pieces in the layer functions. I decided to start with one that didn't look as complex but, still lots of little pieces to glue (which again is great for using up scraps). I started making the Robots for the second panel. The Robot on the second panel is Robot1 on page 28 at 4". You can't tell really well from the picture but, I used a silver mirror paper on the body of this guy. I also used larger sized google eyes.

On the third panel, I cut Robot39 from page 66 at 4 1/4". For this guy, I used two different sized google eyes as well as some silver stickles for the tip of the antenna. The lightbulb was cut using the font function of robot41 and the sentiments were stamped from a Mickey Mouse stamp set that I used withough inking the mickey portion of the stamp.

On the fourth panel, I cut two different robots, Robot20 on page 47 and Robot 19 on page 46, each at 3" I put google eyes on both and used the silver stickles on the antenna's again. The sentiment was another from the Disney set mentioned above and the mat is one that I embossed using the diamond plate folder.

Love the little robot on the fifth panel, robot41 on page 68. I cut him at 2 1/2", used the silver mirror paper for one of the layers, used the google eyes again & silver stickles at the top. This sentiment is also cut from the Disney set.

Last, but not least, robot3 on page 30 cut at 3". I used the silver mirror paper as the shadow on him and google eyes, no stickles this time though. The picture is of the boys holding hands on a train ride when they were 2.

I pop dotted all of the sentiments and the robots and the backside has mounted pictures of the boys together. All of the tags have photos on the front and back that I cropped down to fit on the tags. Oh, and the ribbon I used from was KI Memories 'suprise' set, the Target dollar bin, & Un ique ribbons. Oh, and on the front, I cut the words 'preschool pals' and their names using the font creative feature of the cartridge at 1/2" each. They cut very nicely for that size, which surprised me because I wasn't sure they would being that small. I can't think of any other details but, I am sooo happy with the way that this turned out. I hope you enjoyed it!!!

Happy Hedgehog

I'm not absolutely sure if this is a Hedgehog or a Porcupine but, either way, cute. I needed to make a card for my niece's BD and then I got a little motivation from MPS! I Cut the Hedgehog from the Give a Hoot cartridge at 2 3/4". I used a solid base and then cut the layers using paper fromm the DCWV 'The Sweet Stack'.

Recently on a trip to Archiver's, I decided to use my coupon to buy the new Fiskar's NEW Everywhere Punch. I got the starter set with the square punch and it is really cool. I decided to test it on this card and then stamped the Happy Happy Happy, using the Fiskars Child's BD stamp set. Not sure where the paper mat comes from but, I did use a pair of olllllddddd Provo Craft shaped scissors to cut the border around the mat. The ribbon is from Michael's and the flower gems were another Target dollar bin find that I glued on.

On the inside, I cut the flower using the shadow creative function from the Bags, Tags, Boxes & More cartridge, at 3 1/2" and then stamped the 'birthday' from the same Fiskars set.

Make Memories

Happy new home little sis! My little sister just upgraded from her college studio apartment, of 3 years, to a much nicer place so, I made this card for her. She's been very into the olive green color lately and I didn't want this to be the standard 'new home' card. I picked the temple cut from the Pagoda cartridge. I decided to make this a gate fold 5x7 card using solid olive green paper. The printed paper on the front is from the K&Co. Amy Butler Belle stack. The temple was cut at 4 1/2" in black with a Cor'dinations shadow base in a pale blue whitewash that went really well with the look of the card. I actually had to cut the black twice because I ripped the first one. So, I used the squares that were cut out for the windows on both cuts and put them across the top and bottom of the card.

The inside, I used the same Cor'dinations whitewashed blue paper and some ribbon from We R Memory Keepers Urban Window Dots collection. The branch is branch2 also on the Pagoda cartirdge, cut at 2" and then I added the stamped the sentiment. I am really happy with it, as was she. :)

Wedding Invites

My post today is one that I have been working on for weeks. I made the 180 invitations for my cousin's September wedding! What a job it was. The cutting wasn't bad but, as you will see, there were soooo many layers to glue and that was just a boring job. :) I've never done something on this big of a scale but, I am glad I did it, it was a learning experience!

The actual invitation is the four fold with the crown on the Sentimentals cartridge. I used Design Studio to hide the contour of the crown shape so that the four fold would be plain. The dimensions of the four fold were 9.509 x 10.175". This size makes the invite a 4x4 when the four flaps are folded in. I then used my guillotine cutter and cut the red square at 4x4 to fit in the center. The pearl paper with the wording was cut at 3 3/4 x 3 3/4". After scoring and folding all of the four sides, I added a monogram.

The monogram is mounted on a fancy frame that I used DS again to alter. The fancy frame is the first frame on the Storybook cartridge. It's more of a rectangle so, I altered it to 2x2" and recreated it as many times as would fit a sheet. The 'S' monogram is cut using the Tie the Knot cartridge, monogram creative feature. The 'S" was tehn glued onto the fancy frame and then embossed using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. After embossing, the pearl gem was added in the center of the scroll on the 'S' monogram and then the entire monogram was attached to the invitation. On the bottom, I used a permenant glue dot and on the top, I used a repositionable glue dot so that the invite could be opened and closed easily.

The invite also included the reception information card, the RSVP card and an accomodations information card. All three were cut using the guillotine cutter and then mounted together, black, red and then the pearly white paper with the information printed.

Mr & Mrs

A wedding card for a black, white, and red themed wedding. The scalloped oval was cut from the Wild Card cartridge. I used Design Studio to modify the cut. The cut is using the frame creative feature of the cartridge. I did a 'hide contour' on the interior oval line so that it didn't cut as a frame. Then I did a hide coutour of the outside line of the same cut so that it was an exact oval that fit inside my scalloped oval. The polka dot paper is from the Colorbok stack again. I then cut the 'Mr & Mrs' cut using Tie the Knot. The ribbon is from the Flower Factory.

You're going to be a beautiful bride!

Today's card was made for my cousin's wedding shower. I've seen her in her dress but, just as a quick try on. Can't wait to see how pretty she will be on her wedding day so, I chose the dress from the Tie the Knot cartridge. The black and white print paper is from a Colorbok stack I got at WM. I cut the dress at 5". I cut the shadow in solid black and then the top dress layer in white pearl paper. The sentiment is a stamp that I mounted and hand cut. I cut the scallop border using a fiskars border stamp and the inside had white paper so that you could see the border better.