Kiss Me Frog

Today's card was inspired by the Kiss Me sentiment that came in a card making kit that I picked up 2 years back after Valentine's Day at Target and a couple challenges that are out right now.  The sentinment is glittered and pop dotted and then my crafty little sis, Ashley, the Cricut Crazed Lady, suggested a frog.   I picked the frog from the Sweethearts cartridge, cut at 3 1/4".   I only cut the shadow, in a light yellow, and the main cut, in a green/yellow dot paper from Making Memories.  I inked them is the moss colored Cats Eye pigment and then used Studio G cranberry and inked the crown that it cut,   You can still see the dots but, it's red and not green which is good.   I added some small black gems to the crown, google eyes to the frog and a black string for his mouth. 

I used a red A2 card base and then matted a strip of the green dot paper onto the striped sheet from the DCWV Citrus stack.   I ran a ribbon over the seem that is pink, green and red, it's from Michael's.  ONce I had it assemebled, I thought it needed something else so, I added the shiny heart confetti .  

Oh, and on the inside, I mounted pink paper with a strip of the green dot that I punched some hearts out of.   I inked them with the same green as the rest.   I think it turned out adorably!!!

Dad BD

Today's creation is for the MPS BD challenge and was an effort by me to use a really neat cut from Lacy Labels.   I had cut the bliss round cut on Lacy Labels for my Love Flourishes card a couple days ago and the top layer was really cool looking on the pewter shimmer paper I used so, I wanted to use that square, that the bliss cut was cut out of.  

The card base is an aqua blue color and then navy blue mounted on top.   The white paper with the gray print is from the DCWV Alphabet stack (one of my favorites).   I mounted the Lacy Labels bliss cut onto that as well as some 1" strips of the aqua color paper in a cross pattern around the Lacy Labels cut.   I stamped a sentiment from Scrappy Cat and then added some aqua colored square brads to the corners.

On the inside, I mounted a smaller sheet of the navy blue and then the white/gray sheet on the top and an aqua strip onto that and a different birthday sentiment from Scrappy Cat.

Hey Cupcake

Today's card was inspired by two things, my friend who is a baker and mainly of cupcake creations and The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge.  
So, I got a Crop A Dile from my husband for Christmas but, I had yet to use it so, I decided this was the time.  I cut this card 3 1/2 x 6".  I decided to have the 1/2" across the top be a place for my eyelet's that I was going to mount with my Crop A Dile so, I scored the card at 5 1/2", 6", and 6 1/2" and then sealed the 1/2" top with ATG tape.   The polka dot paper is from the new DCWV Dots, Stripes and Plaids.  I added a strip to the 1/2" section across the top and then a piece of red dot ribbon from Michael's in a way that you can 'hang' the card if you want. 

I cut the cupcake from the Once Upon a Princess cartridge at 3 1/4" but, I decided to cut the main cut twice and just trim the icing part off the top of the pink one.  The base cut was brown and then I traced the bottom a little larger than it was, cut it out of red paper and ran it through my Fiskars crimper so that it would look like a real cupcake holder.   I also inked the edges of the frosting and a little around the crease cuts (it looks much better in person).  I cut across the top with pinking shears and added some little red heart confetti as sprinkles and then pop dotted it onto the card.  

Across the top, I added a strip of red paper that was crimped and then a line of heart stickers.   The sentiment is from G Studio and then mounted on a brown piece of paper that I punched with an EK success heart banner style border punch.

On the inside, I mounted another sheet of the pink paper and put a strip of the dot paper across the top and border punched the bottom with the Fiskar's punch.  Many more projects lie ahead with the Crop A Dile!!!

Cricutolgy Giveaway

So, Janice, over at Cricutology is having a giveaway for reaching 100 followers.   She's giving away a Sizzex embosser!   What a great giveaway.   I'd love to win one because my little sis is new to paper crafting...well, I should say, just got her Cricut and doesn't have an embosser.   She uses mine but, she's been drooling over getting one.   She's a newly graduated college student so, she can't really afford it right now but, I'd love if one of us won!!!   Check out Janice's giveaway and her work!!! 

True Love Flourishes

My inspiration for this card started with the red flourish TAPE down the left side of this card.   It was a dollar bin find at Michael's a couple of months back.   It's clear with the red design so, it looks great on white!   I started with a black card and then a red layer and then the shimmer white top layer.   I embossed the top white layer ucing the Textile Cuttlebug folder.   The sentiment itself is from a Martha Stewart V-Day adhesive pack and then I mounted it on the 'bliss' cut from the Lacy Labels cartridge, cut at 3" to ensure room enough for the sentiment sticker.  I pop dotted the entire sentiment and then glued on the two red heart gems.

On the inside, a sentiment stamp from TPC Studio, Hugs and Kisses stamp set and two strips of the white shimmer paper down each side of the red.   Loving Valentine's Day!

An Iron Gate

Today's card is for the Cricut Cardz Challenge for this week.   The challenge is to make a card or layout using the colors White, Black and Red only.    The first cartridge I thought about was Ornamental Iron cartridge.    I started by using the shadow for gate10 at 6" and welding them together using Design Studio.   I then cut the shadow function again but, at 5 3/4".   I cut the window function of gate10 then using this high gloss black paper.  It's simialr to using Glossy Accents on the entire sheet.  It cut very nicely and looks like real rod iron. 

The bird on the front is the third bird cut from the Serenade cartridge, at 1 3/4".   I inked the white wing slightly so that it looked red but, not as dark at the top layer and I added red stickles to the flourish in the body of the bird and a black gem for the eye.  The sentiment is a Studio G stamp that I got this weekend at Joann's $1 bin, stamped onto white and then mounted on the high gloss black and then the red. 

On the inside, I cut another shadow layer and then used a few of the interior cuts from the front and embellished the inside.   My husband LOVES this card.

Couple Things

The Sweet Magnolia Rose blog is having a great giveaway, check it out

Also, be sure to check out my Little Sisters new Blog, Cricut Crazed Lady, she is new a brand new Cricut owner (we got her an Expression for Christmas) and she is IN LOVE.   Hoping you guys can show her some love as well!  Good Night!

Pulling for Love

Pulling for love turned out to be a labor of love.  ;)   I cut the bird in the flip mode, at 1 1/2" from the Cindy Loo cartridge.  I honestly can't remember where the paper is from because I cut it three times before I was happy.   The papers were both polka dotted and the dots were glittered and then I used a white shimmer paper for her face.  I inked her in a darker pink then.  The initial inspiration was the mat printed stock from American Crafts Dear Lizzy collection with the banners.  So, I wanted to have two birds holding the love banner up but, then I decided two birds were too much.   I cut the letters from Nursery Rhimes at 3/4".   The banner paper was scraps that I had and once I cut them and added the letters, I decided they needed a shadow.   Sooo, I hand cut the brown shadow layers with some fancy scissors and I loved the way it turned out!   I used brads to attach them to the ribbon (from Michaels) and glued the ribbon under the birds beak to make it look like she was pulling the sign.   Once I got it all done, I thought it needed a little something else so, I added the hand cut clouds.   I inked the edges in blue and then, my little sis, The Cricut Crazed Lady, was crafting with me on that day and she suggested I ink silver over top of the blue to give the edges a shine.   Once I did so, I decided some texture was a must.   I ran some tape over the clouds using my ATG gun and added cotton from a cotton ball to make them look like really fluff white clouds!!!

On the inside, I mounted a larger piece of the pink polka dot paper and then two more clouds.   The larger cloud, I stamped with a sentiment from TPC Studio, Hugs and Kisses set and the smaller cloud I added cotton to.  I think it's super sweet!

Recycled Rings

Today's card is a wedding card. The gem rings were actually recycled from a table number sample that my cousin was thinking about for her wedding. This card is pretty simple because there are no Cricut cuts. The mat paper is from the DCWV Alphabet stack which I love because it's black and white glittered paper with lots of patterns, you can use it for soooo much! It's hard to tell but, the gray pattern on the white paper is glittered. I scalloped the bottom of each sheet with the EK Success scallop border punch. The rings I mounted onto shimmery silver paper and then onto black that I corner punched with a Fiskars corner punch.

Circle Snowman

Today's card I saw in the Cardmaker magazine (I think that's the one) and I thought it was super cute. I cut the circles using George & Basic Shapes at 5 1/4", 5", and 4 1/2". I used some large black sparkley brads for his eyes and some small gemstones for his mouth. The nose and arms I cut by hand and I inked the edges of each circle.

On the inside, I mounted this sentiment that I printed on my computer 'Jesus loves you Snow Much'.

Final Christmas Explosion Box & TIPS for making them!

Today is the 10th box, my daughter's. I also went with a pastel theme but, candy & cookies instead of animals on this one.

I did use one Cricut cut and it was the candy tag from Very Merry Tags, cut and 1" and then trimmed off the hook at the top. I cut it using light and dark pink glitter paper from DCWV. Then I wrapped it with a piece of celophane to give it the appearance of real candy! The little pieces were cut using a mini punch from a Halloween set.


The other mat I loved was the Gingerbread mat. The 'mom' & 'dad' gingerbread are brads that came in a set from the Flower Factory and the two middle gingerbread buttons were from a pack I picked up at Michael's. I sewed one on with pink and one with blue to signify our family ;).



Before I go, here are some tips I have for you on making the boxes. The first is to keep in mind the scale of the boxes. I mentioned in one of the earlier posts that I bought several mini stamp sets to use on these. I also used some items that I had left over from making some mini trees a couple of years ago. The Christmas tree light garland on my son's box and the candy garland (below) were for mini trees. I also used some of the mini candy cane's on my niece's box. My last tip is concerning the lid to the boxes. In the instructions I have, it says to cut the box lid and 8"x8" and then score each side in 2". I did the first one like that but, the box lid is very tight and over time, it will probably show a lot of wear on the box. So, the rest of the lids I cut at 8 1/16" x 8 1/16" and then I scored them in 2" on each side. This makes the base of the lid just a little wider to have the lid go on and off smoothly. It did take me about 4 hours to create each box but, I tried very hard to make each one different and not repeat the same theme and embellishments. Good Luck in making some of your own!!!

An Exploding Five Year Old

We are almost through all of the boxes now. #9 was for my son who loves all things boy, including trains and the GRINCH. I found the Grinch layered stickers and foamies at Michael's, right before Christmas at 70% off so, they were like $1 each. Perfect for him! I didn't use any Cricut cuts because I was running out of time. I did use the Martha Stewart train border punch and bakers twine on one mat. Here are some of my favorites!

Gabby Girl Explosion Box

Box #8 is my other niece. I went with a pastel Christmas theme that included an animal theme. She's a huge fan of Webkins so what better?

I cut the seal from the Create A Critter cartridge. I cut it at 1" in light pink and dark pink. I ran the top, dark pink layer through the Xyron machine and then added pink glitter. I also added small black gems for the eyes. For the background, I cut this shiney, light blue sparkle card stock in the shape of a big ice cube and used the Martha Stewart drippy border punch on the bottom. Then I cut some smaller 'ice cubes' and used a corner rounder on them and inked them. I was very pleased with how the seal turned out!

A few of my other favorites were this deer cut out that came in the K & Co. Swell Noel grand adhesions collection. My little sis found a great deal on several different K & Co. adhesion collections at a local closeout store for $.99 each. They are super cute and I used many of them on this box. Not to mention they are about $3.49 in stores right now so, what a great deal!

I also used the EK Success tree border punch on this box. As you can see, I punched it on a light colored paper and then used green glitter glue from Studio G across the trees. I also used my snowman punch and then glittered it using Cotton Candy stickles.

My Explosive Niece

Explosion Box #7 today. My niece just turned 18 so, I wanted something fun but, more grown up as well. With these boxes, you have to use smaller embellishments and cuts. The largest 'mat' is only 4x4. As a note, I bought lots of the smaller packaged cling stamps (mostly Studio G) for this project. Most of my regular sized stamps are too big to use with the pictures. I will also add that my little sis and I went out shopping this week and got many more of these small stamp sets for $.40 each at Joann's in the Christmas stuff!

The only Cricut cut on this box is the polar bear from Joys of the Season, cut at 1". I put a little piece of tape over his nose and then ran him through the Xyron machine and then used some white fun flock to make him furry. I removed the tape and used a black marker on his nose and eye and then added some Glossy Accents to his nose so that it looks wet. I really like the fun flock and the way that the edges of the polar bear look furry as well. Make sure that you do rub the fun flock into the adhesive with your finger though.

I also used many different embossing folders and punches. One of my favorites was the 'weave' border punch from Fiskars. I used it on each side of this picture and weaved the ribbon through.

An Explosion with a Melody

My 6th box is for my other niece. She's a teenager, very into music and the twilight series. I created this box with the music theme in mind as I had several good paper options and some embellishments that went well. There are no Cricut cuts on this box. The silver flourish embellishments are from Making Memories and the bird tape at the bottom of the one picture is from the dollar bin at Michael's. On this box, I also made the lid a different base color than the base of the box and I liked how that looked as well.

MPS Design Team Challenge

Robyn, My Pink Stamper, is having a challenge over on her blog to pick two Design Team members for her blog, for the next term. The challenge is to make something using pink, green, brown and another color if you choose, along with your favorite Cricut cartridge. Check the challenge out and all the submissions, there are lots of great entries! The link is http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/01/my-pink-stamper-design-team-2011.html. You must have a blog and a Cricut to join the challenge/be picked as a Design Team member. Good Luck to all!

For my submission, I decided it was time to bust out with some Valentine's creations. Christmas is over and after making 10 explosion boxes for my family, I was ready to move on. :) My favorite cartridge (although so hard to choose) is Create-A-Critter so, I decided on the owl (second key) at 3 1/4" along with the accessory key branch and then I decided on a 5x7 easel card.

The paper I used is from the latest Martha Stewart V-Day stack. I embossed the pink base of the owl with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and I added some craft paper behind the eyes to change the color, after I decided to use brads for eyes. I cut the beak by hand and then used Cotton Candy stickles on the beak and the inner ears and I used Star Dust stickles on the front, white feathers. The eye brads are from Eyelet Outlet. After I assembled it, I chalk inked the edges with Color Box pink pastel chalk. I also inked the brown branch with the Pink Pastel chalk and then embossed the leaves only with the Cuttlebug Floral Screen folder and then inked it with the Versa Ink 'tea leaves' chalk. I glued the branch down but pop dotted the owl.

The sentiment bubble was cut from the phrase function on the seal key at 1 1/2" and then I printed the sentiment on my computer. I border punched all three mat layers using the EK Success scallop border punch.

On the inside, I border punched the red mat and then mounted the sentiment on more craft paper and then the MS patterned stock and then the rest of the printed sentiment. The hearts are brads from a Recollections set. The sentiment was pop dotted so that it will stand up to create the easel.

I think the card turned out super cute and I know just who I will send it to when the time comes!! The challenge closes on Wednesday and Robyn will pick the two Design Team members on Friday. Good luck to everyone who enters the challenge!!

My sister's boyfriend Explosion Box

On to #5! My sister's Michigan loving boyfriend. There were no Cricut cuts on his becuase I was able to find a sheet of Michigan stickers that I used to embellish his. I tried to keep the Christmas theme but also incorporate things that each person loves. A couple things I liked best about his was the button snowman I made. I used a snowman punch to add the arms, scarf, and hat. I also love the blue glitter tree. It's actually just a piece of a decorative pick that I cut off. Love it!

Little Sis Explosion Box

Day 4 - My little sis's box. I did a silver, black and red theme. I did a few Cricut cuts on this one because she is new to paper crafting but, I always know that she will appreciate all the details! I cut the owl from Give a Hoot; the city skyline from Plantin Schoolbook; and the Eiffel Tower from Destinations.

On the mat with the owl, I cut the owl at 1" using cream and silver shimmer paper and then used gold stickles on the branch. I embossed velum using the snowflake Cuttlebug folder and then a piece of American Crafts ribbon.

On the city skyline mat, I cut the skyline using Core'dinations black glitter paper and then cut snowflakes out using the Martha Stewart snowflake border punch. I used silver and gunmetal stickles on them as well. The shimmery background paper is from the latest DCWV Luxury stack.

Last, the Eiffel tower. On the destinations cartridge, this cuts in a rectangle frame with 'Paris' at the bottom. I cut the city name off and used it on a gift tag for her. I also cut the remaining part of the frame off and added small scraps of black paper on the back to appear as a black out.