Mother's Day 2012

I waited until the Saturday morning of Mother's Day weekend to start making cards - we were going over to see my mother-in-law that evening and I knew if I didn't have a homemade card she would be upset with me.  

I started with this piece of 12x12 Cloud 9 Design Sparkle Cinnamon Burst Cinnamon Stick paper and got comfy on the couch and hand cut-out all of the flowers.  I had to get them off the red background to see what my possibilities were.

Once I cut out all of the flowers I started dividing them by color scheme and matching them with scraps for the backgrounds.  I printed "Happy Mother's Day" out on ivory card stock from my ink jet printer, cut them out and rounded the corners.  I then found solid, matching, colors for the layer between the background and the sentiment.  The card base is Ivory Recollections card stock from Michael's.  I used various adhesives (Xyron X, pop-dots and ATG).

We have three important "Mom's" in our lives:  My Grandmother, My Mom and My Husband's Mom.

They all loved their homemade card.  My mom thought I used my Cricut and she was wondering how the flowers were so flat with that many layers of paper then I showed her a picture of the piece of 12 x 12 paper that I started with and she started looking closer at the edges of the flowers and said "oh now I see how jagged the edges are and by the way my tag is crooked."  I knew she would be my toughest critic!

Thanks for looking!  Leslie 

 

 

Animal Tags

I made these tags for my co-workers to use on the treat bags I made them for Valentine's Day.  I was the only one in the small office of 4 that didn't do anything for the co-workers for Christmas so I was trying to make up.  (I was told we didn't do anything for the holidays - it was my first Christmas with this group.)

One of my coworkers loves Owls,

One loves Pandas,

 And for my male supervisor I asked my hubby what I should use for him from the Create-A-Critter Cricut cartridge and he said the Monkey, guys like monkeys.

 Here are the completed bags.  The contain a variety of Valentine's sugar cookies.  My supervisor is allergic to chocolate...I couldn't even imagine having that for an allergy.

I glued a gray piece of cardstock to the back of each animal and sandwiched some twine between the papers to make them tags.  I wrote a note to each on the back of their animal.  The girls still have them hanging in their cubicles and the supervisor has retired :)

Thanks for looking.  Leslie 

Win a Complete set of Flexmarkers!!!

Head over to Enfys blog,Going Buggy, by clicking here for your chance to win the entire collection of Flexmarker Alcohol based markers by Letraset.  Contest ends Monday March 12, 7pm UK time.

Happy New Year!

Like normal I haven't posted anything in a while.  Below are a few cards I have made this week:

The above cards were made with the following supplies:

• Recollections Ivory cardstock for the bases and Big Sister words (cut with my Gypsy using Gypsy Font welded)
• The background paper and pink background of the "welcome Baby" were a single two sided Heidi Grace paper from JoAnns
• The 'welcome, Baby' is an Inkadinkado's I picked up at Big Lots, stamped with Staz-on Timber Brown and then stamped again with glue and used Ranger Rainbow Sparkle Embossing Powder to make it shine.  The tag was cut from Lacy Labels Lite cartridge used on my Gypsy and cut with my Cricut Expression machine.
•  The girl pushing the carriage is from A Child's Year cartridge.  I used my Gypsy to modify the shadow layer so it would show more of the solid brown cardstock.
• I used my Pink ATG and Xyron X for adhesives.

 This Birthday Card was made from one single page from DCWV Sweet Stack.  I cut out one of the cupcakes and used matching paper to cut diamonds on my Cricut using my Gypsy and Plantin School Book cartridge.  I used EK Success 3D Dots to pop it off the paper.  The ribbon is American Crafts that I picked up at Big Lots.  'Hi Cupcake!' is also an Inkadinkado set stamped in white ink and embossed with white Martha Stewart embossing powder.  The card base is Ivory Recollections card stock from Michaels.  I also used my Xyron X to adhere the diamonds together.

Baby Girl card

My sister is expecting her second daughter in mid-January 2012; her shower was on November 13, 2011 and below is the card I made for her...

My supplies were:  Peachy Keen Stamps PK-250 Sleeping Teddy, Staz-on Jet Black Ink, Misc DCWV papers (got to raid the scrap file for most), tiny pink brads, Xyron sticker-maker and my pink ATG gun.  I paper pieced together the image by stamping the stamp on multiple pieces of paper and intricately cutting out each piece I wanted in each color.  I then assembled the pieces to make the complete image.  Oh yeah - the scallop oval was cut on my Cricut using my Gypsy and the Forever Young cartridge.  I did a blue version a few months back for one of Shelley's friends who was having a boy (see a few posts down for a picture.)

Going Buggy give-a-way

 Head over to the following blog and sign up to be a follower.  Enfys does beautiful work with ProMarkers by Letraset and all kinds of stamps.  She makes the most beautiful cards and has one heck of a sense of humor.  I love reading about her travels and funny moments.  She is giving away two sets of ProMarkers donated by Letraset and a Cricut cartridge.  Even if you don't win a prize you will win by discovering this awesome blog...click her link below.

 http://going-buggy.blogspot.com

PKS Challenge: Sketch Challenge 55

 It has been a long time since I have done a PKS Challenge.  This one I used for a layout but didn't look at the challenge until the day it was due so the photograph is not yet on the layout - it is being printed at the lab now but I won't pick it up until after work tomorrow.  Here is the sketch:

Here is my layout:

I will be adding this picture of my niece, Brooke, tomorrow.  She received the "Most Improved" award for the Pre-Kindergarten class.  I will do another post of the complete layout.  Have a great week!

PKS Challenge 43

First challenge for me this year!  Heck, first challenge for me in a long time.  I loved this sketch!! I will be making more cards for my stash this evening based on this sketch now that the important one is done (my sisters birthday card for tomorrow 1/13).

I used Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge for the Ice Cream Cone and PK490 Everyday Character Face Assortment for the face.  This is the first time I have ever put a face on a non-doll and I think it turned out really cute.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  Be sure to check this challenge out for youself at the following wonderful website:  http://peachykeenstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/01/peachy-keen-stamps-sketch-challenge-43.html.  Have a Peachy day!!

I couldn't help it.  Leslie :)

Wow--almost 6 months with no posts.

I really need to refocus myself--I have not been doing enough of my crafting lately.  Sure I make a card every now and then when I need one (see below) but I really need to get some scrapbooking done.  I got caught up in all the excitement online about new Cricut Cartridges and machines etc (which I can afford none of) entered every contest I could that required a simple comment for a chance to enter, occasionally entered the ones that had challenges and just wrapped my world around visiting each blog daily.  I did win a MS Scoreboard from Capadia (Thanks again Diane--sorry I never sent a card; best of intentions.) 

One day I read a post by someone that said you really have to love what you do to post all of these projects and give away all of this stuff and they didn't recommend anyone trying to join their ranks unless they were ready for a lot of hard work and criticism...that was it I stopped reading all of the blogs.  I realized I was looking at them for the wrong reasons and didn't truly appreciate all of the hard work behind every post they published.  I peeked in occasionally if I realized it was Hello Thursday but I wouldn't comment--just look and leave. 

Now I am back, planning to really work on my own things and use blog land as the true inspiration it was probably intended for.   I needed to make a card for my sisters birthday yesterday and wasn't feeling very inspired so I pulled up my favorite challenge blog Peachy Keen Stamps and sure enough their sketch was perfect and I got my card done (I will post that in the next post).  I will be going home tonight to make more cards using the same sketch.  I might even enter one in another challenge I found today.  I have decided that I am only going to enter challenge blogs right now instead of the mass just comment to win ones until I get more of my work completed.  I will still look in but will not post.

As for this very wordy post I decided to just showcase some of the things I have done recently but haven't posted.  Enjoy!!  If you made it to the pictures you must be bored ;)

Wow I see a lot of purple--I think that is my favorite color.  Again, thanks for looking.

I made the CHIRP!!

I have only posted three projects so far on the Cricut.com message boards but my second one...my altered Tool Box from the new Handy Man lite cartridge...was featured in the June 22nd newsletter.  I am so excited!!!!  I am in there with Melanie from Courtney Lane Designs and Joy from Obsessed with Scrapbooking who I have been following on their blogs and Everyday Cricut for just over a year now.

Here is a link to the newsletter:  http://www.cricut.com/newsletters/volume.aspx?ID=262 

Celebrate with Flourish-Father's Day Card

Here is the quick card I made for my dad for Fathers Day today.  I used the same DCWV paper that I used yesterday for my brother-in-laws birthday card.  I used tan for my shadow from DCWV Rustic Stack and the metallic blue green is from DCWV Metallic Stack.  The brown pearls are Recollections that I just happened to pick up at M's last week--almost like I knew I would use them soon.

I love using vellum for the envelope when I get the chance to...you spend so much time making the card look nice just to stick it in an envelope...why not show it off even before it is opened.  This card is 4.25 x 4.25; the envelope is from Plantin School Book cut "fit to page" on 8.5 x 11 vellum.  I believe it is Roly Poly feature then shift of the card for the envelope.

Celebrate With Flourish-Golf Bag Birthday Card

I made this for my brother-in-law today since it is his birthday.  I shouldn't have waited until the day of to make it but it was really simple.

I used my new DCWV Linen Closet stack for the stripe background and the blue of the bag.  The brown and gold were scraps from the scrap drawers.  The ivory card is The Paper Company from Michaels.  The sentiment is from Inkadinkado "just saying" inked with brown ink from M's (don't remember brand).

I cut all four layers of the golf bag at 3 3/4 from the new Celebrate with Flourish Cricut Lite cartridge that I purchased last week.  I cut the shadow and third piece both in brown.  I glued the blue and smaller brown piece together and then cut off the clubs.  I wanted the clubs to look like they were coming out of the bag and also wanted them to be metallic instead of matching the color of the bag.  My card is 9 x 6 1/4 (folded is 4 1/2 x 6 1/4), the striped layer is 4 1/4 x 6.  I used a corner rounder on the card and the background piece because I thought the card looked funny with just the striped paper rounded.  I inked the edges of the golf bag and striped paper with brown ink.  I started to add ribbon and or twine but realized it was for a man so he wouldn't care if that was missing.

Handy Man Father's Day Card

I have the new Cricut Lite Handy Man cartridge. I have dreaming of this cartridge for a long time and they finally did it. I am very excited!!!!! As soon as I saw it I started seeing images that I would alter to make shaped cards. Here is the first one.

The tool box...........it just screamed "open me." LOL

I used Design Studio to weld two tool boxes together at the handle. I used hide contour to remove the cuts for the "lid". I also hid the holes in the hinges becaues I only wanted two instead of the four it is designed to cut. I cut the shadow in gray, glued one box to the shadow, used my bone folder to create the crease for the card at the handle, used scissors to cut the part that opens, then glued the front of the box to the other that I had already glued down (wow that is confusing). Luckily I have a Xyron X sticker maker...I would never have been able to make those strips stick down if I didn't have the X.

I work for a maintenance department that employs approximately 130 trades men and women so I plan to get a good bit of use out of this cartridge making get well and retirement cards for work. I will also be doing scrapbooking projects of our house hold changes since we are planning some big projects around here soon.

We will be using this card for my Father-in-Law for fathers day. I will be using the new Lite "Celebrate with Flourishes" for my dad's card but can't work on that right now. We have a new kitten (Gracie) and I need to go check on her.

Forever Young Shoe Card

This is my first ever shaped card and I loved how it turned out so much I almost didn't want to give it away but I did since I made it specifically for my Sister-in-laws birthday card.

I used my Cricut Expression, the Forever Young cartridge, misc. adhesives, rhinestones and paper.

I had to use Design Studio to weld the shoe together using the shadow feature. Then I cut out a single shadow for the front in dark metallic gray so you wouldn't see the fold. I then cut the shoe in black metallic and the upper part in pink metallic. I added rhinestones for more bling. The inside I used the shoe cut and did hide contour to keep the cuts out that are used to layer (ie pink on black...there are cuts on the black part to show where to put the pink). I stamped Happy Birthday on the white with light pink ink--hard to see but it was the only pink ink I had. I didn't try to make it fit in the standard invitation size envelope but it did so I call that a happy accident.





Thanks for looking!!

Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge #28

http://peachykeenstampschallenge.blogspot.com/2010/05/peachy-keen-stamps-challenge-28-and.html

Here's the Challenge!! You have until Sunday, May 23rd to link up your entry to Mr. Linky. We will draw one RANDOM winner and one JUDGED winner. That means you have TWO chances to win! Entries will be judged based on: originality and creativity! The bottom of this post lists the prizes. Good luck!































Inside:

















I saw someone post on the Peachy Keen page a few challenges back where they stamped their image on patterned paper and then cut it out and glued it on top of the whole stamped image to make the stamp coordinate with the paper. I loved it and wanted to try it myself...that is how the hat matches the blue, the blanket matches the yellow and the diaper matches the smaller stamps ink color. On the diaper I dabbed the blue ink on white cardstock, let it dry, they repeated the earlier steps of stamping the image over top and cutting it out.
























Here is my long list of supplies:
PK-250 "Sleeping Teddy"
Staz-on Ink Black
Hero Arts "Welcome Baby" (Onesie, feet and pins)
Inkadinkado "Just Saying" set (congrats)
Versa Magic Dew Drops Sea Breeze
Around the Block "Baby Brads"
Pressed Petals "Baby Boy" assorted open stock paper pack w/glitter. (Big Lots bargain)
Georgia Pacific White for the card base
EK Success Corner Rounder punch...my new favorite!!
Xyron X for the little pieces
Mono Adhesive for the bigger pieces
Yellow Stickles
Crayola Colored Pencils for my coloring
and Misc. Ribbon