Cartridge Challenge- Week 9

This is week 9 in my Cartridge Challenge. This weeks chosen cartridges are:

Accent Essentials:

This is one of the main cartridges that comes with the Expression machine, although some limited edition Expressions come with other cartridges. This is my go to cartridge for flower making for projects.

and

Tie the Knot:

I have only used one of the gift box cuts on this cartridge so far. I actually bought this cartridge because I thought the swirled Monograms were beautiful. Perhaps I will use that feature in this week's project.

Have a Great Day!

Howdy Card

I am a little late in posting this project for my week 7 Cartridge Challenge. I wanted to wait until the recipients received it, I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

This card was made for my roommates for the upcoming Dallas Stampede weekend March 18th-20th. The Stampede is sponsored by Provo Craft and Creative Critterz Events. If you would like more information about the Stampede visit here.

My roomies and I have been so excited with the planning and making of things for our weekend getaway. The western theme is so easy to work with! I will post more of our Stampede projects as we get closer to the event.

Now on to today's card:



I cut 4 different silhouettes from Forever Young. I just love these cuts. I only cut the base layer for each lady. I then cut cowboy hats from Country Life, pg. 37 in the handbook. I used my gypsy to hide the cuts from that image that weren't needed. I also used my gypsy to size the hats down to the correct size. I cut 4 hats and its corresponding layer, two cut as is, and two flipped for the ladies facing the other direction.

I cut a Bookplate and its blackout layer from Fabulous Finds. I printed Howdy as well as the sentiment inside the card. I sandwiched Howdy between the bookplate layers to give it more strength. I inked the edges of the bookplate with charcoal chalk. I added two small star brads to the bookplate.

The patterned papers are from K and Co. Smitten collection from last year. The cream colored cardstock is DCWV. The gingham ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.
Here is the inside of the card:



I hope to see you all in Dallas in March!
Have a Great Day!

Stylish Blogger Award

Wow, I am so excited. Liza over at Hoo's Crafty has given me a Stylish Blogger Award. Liza is a very talented crafter, I just love all her projects. Go check out her blog here.

Here are the requirements for accepting this award:
1. I need to link back to the person who awarded it to me.
2. Share 8 things about myself.
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that I love visiting.
4. Contact those bloggers and let them know I have given them the Stylish Blogger award also.


Eight things about me...
1. I love to go camping, although we do not "rough it" anymore, we have a trailer.
2. I am terrified of swimming in lakes or the ocean. I may wade a little, but going out where I can't see the bottom and the fish are bigger than me....NO WAY!
3. I have been collecting mermaids since 1989 when Disney's The Little Mermaid came out.
4. I love Harry Potter. I re-read all the books ever few months.
5. I hate cooking, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner everyday- Sheesh.. what a chore. Hiring someone else to cook would be at the top of the list of what to do with my Lottery Winnings.
6. I love having my own Scrap room, and I am grateful to my family for allowing me this space.
7. I both love and hate being a stay at home Mom. Some days I'm glad I didn't have to leave the house, other days I feel like I haven't had the chance to escape in weeks.
8. I am a closet Anime fan. Thanks to my oldest DD.


Ok Now that that torture is over XD ...

Here are the bloggers I am passing this award on to:

Janice A
http://janiceaeschliman.blogspot.com/
Carrie aka GreenBean
http://thegreenbeanscrafterole.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth aka Makeupgirl217
http://www.217creations.com/
Kris S
http://creationsbykris-kris.blogspot.com/
Jenny K
http://kozfam5.blogspot.com/
Jennifer
http://myscrapcloset.blogspot.com/
Laurel
http://www.blog.littlepeaceofmyheart.com/
Amber
http://stayingcrafty.blogspot.com/

All of these ladies are so talented, and have given me quite a bit of inspiration. There are some fantastic projects on these blogs! I encourage you all to go and visit each one.

Thanks again Liza for giving me this award.

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Swan Sympathy Card

This weeks Cartridge Challenge is to use the Wedding solutions cartridge. There are a number of cuts on here that are not wedding specific, like swirls and flowers. I needed to make a sympathy card so I chose to use the Swan cut. All the cuts on this cartridge are fairly simple, only two layers. Plus there is a shadow and blackout key available.


For the Swan, I cut the top layer twice in white, and then the base layer once in black. I used my embossing stylus and a mouse pad, to give the swan a little more dimension. I then cut out the wing from second white layer and attached over the wing on the first layer. I used a couple of Copic Markers; E50 Egg shell, and E51 Milky white, to add a small amount of color to the cuts on the Swan.


I cut a few swirls from the Calligraphy cartridge for the water.

The scalloped Circle is from Mini Monograms, as is its circle layered piece.

The background patterned paper was a scrap leftover from my coupon book post. It came from my stash. I think it might have been from a K and Co boxed set of paper.
The cardstock card base is Bazzil Wildberry Pie. The blue patterned paper used for the circle is Recollections Light Blue.

The sentiment stamp and punches used for the sentiment are all from Stampin' Up.

The ribbon was a remnant piece from my scraps.

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Retractable Gypsy Stylus holder

Hello all! I just wanted to share my idea for keeping track of my Gypsy stylus. I am constantly setting it down and then it gets buried on my craft table, or I just plain forget where I put it. I have tried to use bracelets and wrist straps with my stylus, but I find that having a stylus dangling from my wrist while I am trying to craft is just a tad annoying.


Here it is:



My husband had one of these retractable ID reels for his work ID, and I thought it would be great to use for my stylus.
I picked up this package of reels from Staples office supply.


I used some pliers to open up the V-ring that was attached to the ID badge holder.


I added a jump ring to my stylus, hooked it through the V-ring, and then reattached it to the badge reel.


Here it is all attached


I decorated it using a 1" circle of Bazzil Bling paper, and a 1" Font 1 Shift J on page 47 from my new Cricut Everyday cartridge. I used some Shimmer Mist to give my Monogram some sparkle, and then finished off my reel with some mini gems and ribbon.


Here is a close up of the back. It has a clip on it. I just hook it to my collar or pocket.

Here is a picture of it pulled out some. The reel has a 33-inch cord, plenty of line to comfortably reach my Gypsy. I just have to remember not to let it fly back into place, or I may be hitting myself in the face with my stylus! LOL

Have a Great and Crafty Day!

Cartridge Challenge - Week 8

It is the beginning of week 8 of My Cartridge Challenge and this weeks cartridges are:

Wedding -Solution


I haven't used this cartridge much even though it has been in my cartridge library for quite some time now. It really does have some cute cuts on it, but I will be honest...This is the cut I bought this for.... Yup...the Ol' Ball and Chain made me giggle. Isn't funny the reasons we choose the cartridges we do. I made this one and gave it to my DH. LOL. He has it stuck onto his computer tower.


and:

Chore Chart -Lite


This is one of my new ones, and I am looking forward to using this one. My youngest daughter is on the Autistic and she really relys on charts and list to assist her, so I am going to make her a number of charts for around the house. I think it is going to be a really useful cartridge.

Quickie Mini Valentine's Day Cards

Happy Valentine's Day to all! I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Valentine's Day is pretty low key at our house, as we have two birthdays and our anniversary in February also.

Here are some quickie Mini cards I made to attach to the girls goodies for today.
The cardtock and ribbon pieces were from my stash of scraps. The felt hearts and bling alphas were both purchased last year during the after the holiday sales. The sentiment stamp is from Stampin' Up.

The love paper was from the Target $1.00 bin. I love checking the Target Bins for cute scrapping finds.

I love how the felt heart adds dimension to the front of the card.

Have a Great Day.

Jan

ABC Book 2 - Pic Heavy

Here is post two of my ABC book: It is again Pic heavy, and I will label the pictures with each cartridge used, except the Fonts which were Mickey and Pooh Font
Cartridge used: Create a Critter

Cartridges used:Create a Critter, ZooBalloo, Paisley

Cartridges used:Create a Critter, From My Kitchen

Cartridges used:Create a Critter, Simply Charmed

Cartridges used: Country Life, ZooBalloo

Cartridges used:Create a Critter

Cartridges used:Simply Charmed

Cartridges used:Simply Charmed, Create a Critter, Sugar and Spice, Mickey and Friends

Cartridges used: Paisley, Create a Critter

Cartridges used:Pooh and Friends, Create a Critter

Cartridges used:50 States, Create a Critter

Cartridges used:B is for Boy, Sugar and Spice

Cartridges used: B is for Boy, Country Life, ZooBalloo

Cartridges used: Create a Critter, ZooDay, Sugar and Spice

Abc Book 1 - Pic HEAVY

Here is an ABC book I made for my niece. It is such a picture heavy project that I split the posting up into two parts. I used many, many cartridges for this project. And it is a very simple pages, the cuts are arranged so I could label everything. I will list each cartridge used on the page under each picture, except for the letters used on each page were from the Mickey and Pooh Font Cartridges. I couldn't label every cartridge used! LOL

After I completed making all the pages, I then laminated them and used the Your Story to bind them into a book. I took pictures of the pages before they were laminated. The lamination wasn't the best on the pages, as there were so many layers and levels to the surface of the page, but since this was a book for a one year old, I wanted it to hold up to a kids love. For the cover, I adhered my cut with ModPodge and then went over the cuts again, sealing them on to the cover. That has held up quite well.

Cartridge used: Create a Critter

Cartridges used: Locker Talk, Create a Critter, Simply Charmed

Cartridges used: Create a Critter, Simply Charmed

Cartridges used: Twinkle Toes, Create a Critter

Cartridges used: Sesame Street Friends, Create a Critter, From My Kitchen

Cartridges used: Simply Charmed, Create a Critter

Cartridges used: From My Kitchen, Create a Critter, Old West

Cartridges used: Create a Critter, Simply Charmed

Cartridges used: Create a Critter, Simply Charmed, Rock Princess, ZooBalloo, 50 States

Cartridges used: Doodlecharms, Create a Critter

Cartridges used: Love Struck, Create a Critter, Happily Ever After

Cartridges used: Create a Critter, Paisley

Cartridge Challenge - Week 7

Hello All! It's time to announce the cartridges for the weekly challenge.

This weeks picks are:
Create a Critter
I used this cartridge quite a bit in an ABC book I made for my Niece for Christmas this past year. There are so many cute animals on this cartridge, as well as other cute images and accessories for the animals. When this cartridge first cam out, everyone was raving about it, and honestly I couldn't really see what the big deal was. Now that I have it,m I can say that I am a big fan of the way the layers are done on this cartridge. Instead of having tons of little pieces to put on the images, some of the layer are made by using negative cuts, and that make assebly SO MUCH easier. It also gives the final pieces a bit of heft to them because of so many layers. Here is the posts for that ABC book: Part 1 and Part 2

Forever Young
I love the silhouettes on this cartridge. Also, this cartridge has quite a few 3D purses on it. I love making the 3D cuts, and who doesn't love PURSES?

Anniversary Coupon Book

Well I finally finished my Cartridge challenge to use Mother's Day Seasonal 2010. I am running a bit behind schedule, as it is already into the next week. Hopefully I can get all caught up this week, and keep up with my own challenges.

This is a gift for my DH for our upcoming anniversary. It has just a few coupons for things like sleeping in, lunch dates, and backrubs.
I used my Gypsy to hide the word "book" on the cover. I then added an s from Blackletter to the word coupon. I cut the back layer twice, once in blue and once in yellow to layer behind the front cover. I also cut "you" in yellow using the Blackletter font. The 4 was also from Blackletter. I decorated the outside using some prima flowers and mini flowers and butterflies from a Creative Memories mini punch. I added some bling and doodles using Sakura gelly roll Metallic in Black, and Clear Sparkle. I love these pens for adding some sparkle to a project without the mess of glitter.


The inside coupons were layered with a piece of patterned paper from my stash. I printed the coupons on my computer and had cut them to fit on the backside of the tags. I stamped the word coupon, using some small alpha stamps in Stampin' Up Concord Crush Ink. I then used the same ink to ink up the edges of the coupons. I added an extra punched butterfly to each coupon.

It is just a little something for my DH to let him know I appreciate him.

Have a Great Day!

Jan