Be Inspired #94- CHA CHA CHA!

It's that time of year again...the summer CHA (Craft & Hobby Association convention and trade show) is winding down today. I would love to attend a CHA convention! This is where all the new products are introduced and crafters everywhere are drooling :) In honor of this phenomenal convention, Cuttlebug Challenges "Be Inspired" challenge this week is to create a card with music or dancing...cha cha cha!

I am the self-proclaimed Queen of Scraps. I had this little square of decorative music paper. I punched out the bird from the middle, then covered the hole with the red and black nested squares. I embossed the nested squares and the base card with Provo Craft Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls embossing folder.

My sentiment is computer-generated. Now I have "Wild Thing" playing over and over in my head...

Other supplies: SU 2 step bird punch, EKSuccess border punch, and Spellbinders Nestibilities squares.

Happy Wednesday!

Merry Christmas! It's July 25th...belly band stationery set tutorial

It is time to celebrate Christmas Around the Clock today with us at Cuttlebug Challenge blog. All week we have had Christmas projects posted, and every hour today we will post more tutorials and techniques for you to try. Get out your paper crafting supplies and try our hourly challenges. How many will you complete? The crafter who completes the most challenges by August 1st will win Cuttlebug prizes! I will be playing my Elvis cd of Christmas music to get in the holiday spirit; my dh usually asks me to wait until November 1st before Elvis makes his annual debut :) Just think...you will be preparing your gifts early instead of at the eleventh hour in the nick of time (or should I say, "St. Nick" of time...I crack myself up).

It's 11am and it is my turn to share a Christmas gift/project. I created a stationery set. This is a quick and easy gift to make. Slide off the belly band:
I used BasicGrey Fruitcake papers. because they are ds (double-sided). I chose the stripe pattern for the pockets and belly band and the pine berries print for the outside. The top pocket holds envelope seals, but you could put Christmas stamps there too. The bottom two pockets hold 2 matching cards and envelopes each. I used Provo Craft Cuttlebug Winter Borders and Winter Jelly embossing folders with Core'dinations color core card stock.

Click for my detailed Belly Band Stationery tutorial.

Are you ready to create? This could easily be adapted to any theme...how about a stationery set with stamps for someone going off to college? A housewarming gift? Or just for someone who is truly card-worthy and appreciates hand-made gifts :)

Be Inspired # 93 - Sketch

Cuttlebug Challenge blog is celebrating Christmas in July all week, ending with hourly projects on Sunday, July 25th from 6am- 9pm. Be sure to check back every day for wonderful gift ideas by my DT sisters. Our weekly Wednesday challenge is a sketch challenge created by our own Diane Campbell Payne. She even provided dimensions to create an A2 card, if you wish. There are no requirements for this challenge other than to include Cuttlebug embossing and use the sketch for inspiration.
I used three different Provo Craft Cuttlebug embossing folders:
Swiss Dots as "snow" on the white circle,
D'Vine Swirls on the evergreen tree, and
Just My Type border on the middle strip of green Bazzill card stock.

Other supplies:
Spellbinders Nestibilities small circle & Labels Three
BasicGrey 6x6 Eskimo Kisses papers
stamps by The Cat's Pajamas
copic markers B41, RV11, Y15 & Y17
SU! punch (sentiment tag) and dimensionals

Triangular Treat Box tutorial

Merry Christmas in July! Cuttlebug Challenges is celebrating Christmas all week long, culminating in a fabulous hourly celebration on Christmas Day, Sunday, July 25, 2010. I created this little treat box using my Provo Craft Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder and Core'dinations card stock. I also used Relaxed Snowman, which my sweet blog friend, Corie, sent to me.

This is a quick & easy project! I colored the snowman with copic markers and mounted to a scrap of BasicGrey Blitzen and made the treat box in less than 30 minutes. Click to see my tutorial here.

Be Inspired #92- Creepy Crawly Critters

For this week's challenge think of bugs with legs...aren't they DeLovely? My card was made with donated papers from Cosmo Cricket. I used Delightful for my background/"sky" and DeLovely Borders (centipede, turtle, flower, and "sun".) I used Cuttlebug flowers dies and white card stock for my "sun". I also used a Martha Stewart grass punch on a scrap of Making Memories ds paper.

Make an adorable critter card and link it to Cuttlebug Challenge blog Be Inspired #92. I hope to see you there :)

Be Inspired #91 - Lace & Doilies

Creating with lace or doilies is hot right now. At Cuttlebug Challenge blog we watch the trends and plan our challenges accordingly. This week we want you to create a card, scrapbook page, or project (home decor, gift, etc.) using lace...don't forget to use a Provo Craft item (Cuttlebug die, embossing folder, or cricut) somewhere on your creation. Link your project to Be Inspired #91 at Cuttlebug Challenge blog.

I used two Cuttlebug items for my card:
Flowers dies (red patterned paper and green Bazzill card stock)
Frills embossing border

I wanted to use eyelet lace for my card because it reminds me of being a little girl. I had eyelet lace on a dress my mother made for me to wear on the first day of elementary school, the trim she put on smocked pillows she made for my bed, and the trim she put on a checkered blanket to coordinate with the pillows.

I chose Daisy D's papers to go with my eyelet lace. I toyed with my sketch, and decided I wanted to hand stitch a border with white DMC floss to tie in with my lace. The large white flower is by Bazzill, the button is by Button Ups, and rub-on is by American Crafts.

Happy Wednesday!

Who Loves You?

I am a paper addict. There are so many paper companies and so many pretty patterns, but BasicGrey remains my favorite. I used to buy only 12x12 papers because they are less expensive per square inch. My little craft room is bursting with papers, so more recently I have been purchasing 6x6 pads. They have fewer different patterns than the 12x12, but smaller print patterns so the patterns don't get lost on a small card. That is a real plus. And there is a surprising amount of cards you can make from one 6x6 pad.

Seriously. From this one BasicGrey Lemonade pad I made today's card, a thank you card, this butterfly birthday card, 5 quilt cards,...probably more and there are still papers that have not been cut into.

Today's card was inspired by my sweet DT sister, Shantaie. Her card is here. I was also inspired by this card/sketch also using BG papers.

Happy Independence Day to my American friends. Happy July 4th to the rest of the world :)