ShopPumpkinSpice

"Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles."  I am ecstatic to share with you that I have been invited on the design team for ShopPumpkinSpice!  The customer service is amazing and the prices are excellent.  I am so happy to represent a store that enables paper crafters to get *new* product at reasonable prices and ships quickly.  I made the card above from Echo Park Victoria Gardens collection kit that I purchased from ShopPumpkinSpice on Tuesday!

Supplies:
Paper:  Echo Park Victoria Gardens "Botanical Ballad" and "Garden Gate"
Sentiment:  Echo Park Victoria Gardens Element Stickers
Embossing folders:  Cuttlebug "Seeing Spots" and "Textile" by Provo Craft
Cricut cartridge:  Elegant Edges cut @ 4" and 6" (card base)
ribbon:  from my stash

Check out these deals:

SALE ALERT!

Extra 10% off Closeout items: Code: 10CL11

July 25th - August 31st
More being added this weekend!

 

 Echo Park Springtime Paper Pad 6"X6" - $3.02 with 10% off coupon!

  

 Echo Park - For The Record 6"x6" Paper Pad - $3.77 with 10% off coupon!

PRE-ORDER ALERT!

Will be in stock possibly around mid-August

Here are just some of the collections, but more being added this weekend!

  

 My Minds Eye - "Paris & Co." 6 x 6 Paper Pad - $4.19

 

 My Minds Eye - "A Beautiful Life" 6 x 6 Paper Pad - - $4.19

More good deals:

 

 Echo Park - "Victoria Garden" 6x6 Pad - $4.19

 

 Echo Park - "Country Drive" Collection Kit - $9.79

 

 Watermelon Gazpacho Paper Pad 6"X6" 24 Sheets - $4.19

  

 Graphic 45™ Paper Pad 8"x 8" Once Upon Springtime - $6.99

 

Enjoy your weekend!

Blue Christmas at Jingle Belles

    I am feeling anything but blue!  Lauren and Stef at Jingle Belles have asked me to be their guest designer this week.  They invited me to set the challenge, and I chose "Blue Christmas."  I am an Elvis Presley fan, and I often play his Christmas album all year long.  Won't you join the Belles?  Create a Christmas card with blue as the predominant color and link your card to the Jingle Belles challenge blog.

  Jingle Belles is one of my favorite challenge blogs.  I try to play along every week when I am able.  I am usually excited to make theme cards when a holiday approaches (Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc.), but after creating a few, I am ready to move on to the next holiday.  That is why I think Lauren and Stef are brilliant; by creating one card each week I am still excited about creating and I already have 27 Christmas cards for Christmas 2011!  I have found the other participants (aka "Belles") to be some of the nicest bloggers on the planet.  I hope you will join in as often as you can...I promise that it will ease your holiday stress in December and you will have FUN!

Supplies:

Cricut cartridge:  Winter Frolic (branches border p.63)

image:  1989 Leisure Arts post card

paper:  Denami Design colored card stock (gold); BasicGrey Granola (navy) and Blitzen "Polar Blue" and "Garland";  Stampin' Up! chocolate chip card stock; XPEDX "ponderosa pine" linen card stock

stamp:  Hero Arts (text)

buttons:  Making Memories

punches & ink:  Stampin' Up!  Boho Blossoms punch & chocolate chip ink pad

die:  Tim Holtz Tattered Florals flower die

crochet trim:  by Stampin' Up! Chantilly 1/2"

Big Giveaway!

Robyn (aka My Pink Stamper) is giving away two Cricut cartridges:

Freshly Picked

and

Stand & Salute

and two sets of My Pink Stamper stamp sets:

 Scrap-alicious

and

Sport-tatstic

Just leave a comment on Robyn's post and for more chances leave a comment on all of the upcoming Hello Thursday Projects today at My Pink Stamper!

I'm just here to enable...

Oh HOLE-y Night! shaker card & Cricut SU! Treat Cup Tip

I was doubly inspired to make this card:
Crazy 4 Challenges:  Shaker Card
Jingle Belles:  Oh HOLE-y Night

Last year I received a Christmas present wrapped in paper covered with some really cute snowmen, reindeer, trees, Santa, and penguins.  I have saved it because I knew I would upcycle some of the critters on that paper for some Christmas cards.

I wanted to create my shaker card with a treat cup by Stampin' Up!  The two penguins from the wrapping paper fit inside the treat cup.  Perfect!  I knew the wrapping paper image would coordinate well with my "winter wonderland" paper by Doodlebug Design, Inc.  I really enjoy the pinks, aquas, and greens in this Doodlebug Design paper.  AND it coordinates perfectly with My Mind's Eye Abbey Road.

Now to punch the aperture for the treat cup...doh!  I have a few SU circle punches, but I have not purchased the one that fits the treat cup.  What to do...I recently purchased the Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge.  I grabbed a sheet of card stock and started cutting frames at various measurements.  My 5th attempt was the winner!  *TIP:  Cut a frame from the Cricut "Elegant Edges" cartridge (p.23) @ 2 1/2" to create the ring for the SU treat cup. *  I'd rather be lucky than smart any day ;)

Supplies:
Cricut Cartridge:  "Elegant Edges" p.23 cut at 2.5"

Papers:  My Mind's Eye Abbey Road Whirlybird "Friends Forever; doodlebug design inc. "winter wonderland" and "cute cuts" (sentiment); Stampin' Up! pink card stock; Michael's Value pack (card base)

Treat Cup:  Stampin' Up!

Snow:  Flower Soft polar white

Happy Wednesday!

Die Cuttin', Delighted, and Tickled *Pink*

Yesterday I knew I wanted to make an "It's your bird-day" owl card, so I went in search of a challenge blog for further inspiration.  I found an "anything goes" challenge at Paper Cutz and a CardPatterns sketch 125 for inspiration:

 I made this card yesterday afternoon with 3 things on my mind:
(#1)  I die cut an owl and made this card with papers and embellishments from the (#2) July Artful Delight kit and used a (#3) My Pink Stamper sentiment stamp.  This is how my weekend started:
(#1)  On Friday my bee hive card (click here) was showcased with the fabulous Amy & Maribel at Die Cuttin' Divas:

AND (#2)  I have been invited to be a guest designer for the month of August at Artful Delight.  I belonged to a scrapbook/card kit club about 6 years ago.  I enjoyed receiving those monthly kits!  After a few years of great success, that kit club closed its doors.  I have been searching for a kit club that is a good fit for my personal taste, and I found it at Artful Delight.  I *love* my July kit, and the August kit is gorgeous!

AND (#3)  late Saturday evening, Robyn announced her new design team for the 2nd term of 2011.  I was one of the seven newbies she added to her team!  I can hardly contain my excitement.  Robyn's stamps are excellent in quality and they coordinate well with images for my beloved Cricut cartridges.  Wowee, I am a My Pink Designer :)



  What a weekend!  I am elated and I am so thankful for these opportunities.

Supplies:

Cricut cartridges:  Create A Critter (cut @ 2")

Sentiment Stamp:  My Pink Stamper Punny-licious 

Papers:  
From July Artful Delight kit:  My Mind's Eye Lime Twist  Fly a Kite "Genuine" Sky Paper, Out of the Blue "Playful" Number paper & "Boy" Spots paper, and Bazzill card stock
Other:  brown textured card stock by The Paper Company and Stampin' Up! whisper white card stock

twine:  The Twinery Caribbean

glitter button:  American Crafts Margarita collection

punch:  slot punch by Stampin' Up!

ink:  purchased from Stampin' Up!  chocolate chip ink pad and white gel pen by uni-ball Signo

Make it a great week!

CAS-ual Summer is the best time

   Artful Delight is giving away the August kit to one lucky random winner if you create a card, LO, or project using the sketch above.  This is my take:

I am still playing with my July Artful Delight kit.  I am enamored with these Jillibean Soup and MME papers!  There is still time to play along with the sketch challenge.  I wanted to double layer the blue and green glitter buttons, but they looked nearly colorless against the chipboard sun.  I punched circles from the blue grid patterned paper and the green polka dot paper and glued behind each button.  Here is a closer look:

   I am entering this also at CAS-ual Fridays challenge sponsored by EAD:
CFC12-Here's the Rub- create a Clean And Simple project 
using a rub-on or sticker.

Supplies:
paper:  My Mind's Eye (MME)  Fly a Kite:  "Soar" Fly paper; Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Soup "Orange Juice" and "Ice Cubes"; card base is Stampin' Up! whisper white card stock
twine:  My Mind's Eye Lime Twist
glitter buttons:  American Crafts Margarita collection

chipboard:  Maya Road mini chipboard shapes "How's the weather?"

punches:  EKSuccess circle punches

paint:  white acrylic

rub-on:  Making Memories "Time"

ink:  Memories black

Happy Friday!

I am Delighted with Lime Twist!

  I had a chance to play with some MME Lime Twist papers and Jillibean Soup papers this afternoon.  I found everything I needed to create this card in my July Artful Delight kit (only the white floss, bling and white card base are from my old stash.)  I absolutely love this Lime Twist twine, American Crafts glitter button and Thickers alphas.  The first time I saw this collection of MME papers, I moved it to the top of my wish list.  My sweet friend, Amy Sheffer, made this card.  I knew I would CASE her card as soon as I owned some Lime Twist of my very own.

Artful Delight only has one July kit left; I think it wants you to buy it ;)

Supplies:
paper:  My Mind's Eye (MME)  Fly a Kite:  "Soar" Fly paper; Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Soup "Orange Juice"; card base from Michael's
alphas:  American Crafts Thickers "Iguana in Melon"
twine:  My Mind's Eye Lime Twist
glitter button:  American Crafts Margarita collection

gem & tool:  i-rock tool and hot rocks (gems) by Imaginisce

punches:  Creative Memories corner rounder & EKSuccess scallop border punch

dimensionals & distressing tool:  Stampin' Up!

Happy Thursday!

Bee-u-tiful

I recently purchased the Cricut Sentimentals cartridge...and mainly for this bee-u-tiful bee hive!  I have wanted to use this cut, and I found the perfect opportunity when I saw these challenges:

Die Cuttin Divas:  Shaped Die-Cut Cards
Paper Cutz Challenge:  The Skies the Limit (feature anything you might find in the sky...bees fly, right?)
Wee Memories:  CAS

This was a quick card to make!  I cut the bee hive from the various card stock colors, embossed the patterned paper, assembled, and added the 3D bee sticker.  I completed this card in less than 30 minutes.  I added glossy accents to the black outline cut, which took about 3 hours to dry.  Done!  My sentiment is on the inside:

Supplies:
Cricut cartridge:  Sentimentals cut image, layer, and shadow @ 5" (p.44)
Cuttlebug embossing folder:  Morroccan Screen by Provo Craft
paper:  BasicGrey Urban Prairie "Hayloft" and "Wild Flowers"; Bazzill card stock (yellow); ACMoore black card stock;  Stampin' Up! whisper white
sentiment:  Punny-licious by My Pink Stamper
ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
3D sticker:  Recollections
punches:  Fancy Label and Word Window by Stampin' Up!

Happy Wednesday!

Reindeer Games & A *Berry* Sweet blog award

  This week's Jingle Belles challenge is "Reindeer Games."  My favorite Cricut reindeer is this little cutie from the Create A Critter cartridge.  I used the "flip" function button on my Cricut Expression so that he faces left instead of to the right.

  This card was made completely from my paper scraps!  I chose the background paper and sewed it onto the card using a small zig-zag stitch.  Then I cut various scallop border sizes and tree borders using my Cricut in both white and green card stock.  I layered the scallops (snow drifts) with foam tape squares.  I colored the tree trunks with a chocolate chip marker, then glued the green trees to the white card stock.  I painted the tops of the trees with white acrylic paint, then added glitter glue.

  I added a red gem to my reindeer nose to create "Rudolf".  I imagine the reindeer are playing hide and seek in the trees and Rudolf is trying to find his friends ;)

  I also wish to thank Kellie for this blog award:

 

I am asked to list 7 random facts about myself, then pass on the award:

1.  I love numbers and patterns.

2.  I enjoy doing the crossword in the newspaper after my children get on the school bus.

3.  I love crafting with friends; the ideas just flow!

4.  Most of the time I like to use a blog challenge as a starting point to create.  Other times papers just "speak" to me and I know exactly what I want to make.

5.  I think I am addicted to Cricut cartridges.  Is there a support group for this affliction?

6.  I am an over-gluer.

7.  I am so happy my grandma let me have her sewing machine so I could try sewing on my cards.  I love the dimension it adds and it saves on adhesive.  (See #6)  Thanks, Gram!

I would like to pass this award on to:

1.  Amber of  My 3 E Scrapbooking

2.  Arlene of Water Dots

3.  Courtney Lee of Court's Crafts

4.  Julie of life with the Tucker and Wolek clan

5.  Lisa of  A Mermaid's Crafts

6.  R. Marina Sabina (Lollyrot) of Lollyrot Scrapbooking

7.  Stephanie Lanzalotto of my~ink~well

Supplies:

Cricut cartridges:  Create A Critter (deer cut @ 2") and Winter Frolic (tree border and snow drifts p.44 cut @ 1 1/2" and 2 3/4")

paper:  BasicGrey Eskimo Kisses 6x6; Bazzill card stock (reindeer); Stampin' Up! whisper white; XPEDX ponderosa pine linen card stock

sentiment:  Making Memories "christmas 2" rub-ons

marker:  Stampin' Up!  chocolate chip and white gel pen by uni-ball Signo

gem & tool:  i-rock tool and hot rock (red gem) by Imaginisce

twine:  maraschino from The Twinery

other:  glitter glue, white acrylic paint

Happy Tuesday!

My Pink Stamper DT call & Delightful Monthly kits

Robyn Cardon of My Pink Stamper is having a DT call!  I created this owl card specifically for her challenge.  Here are the details:

Make a card, scrapbook page, or other Cricut project with your favorite Cricut cartridge using the following colors......
OrangeTurquoise GreenBrown
My favorite Cricut cartridges are Create A Critter and Sentimentals.  I have used both cartridges to create this card.
All of my papers and embellishments (except for the ivory card stock) came from the July Artful Delight kit.   My Mind's Eye "Lime Twist" papers have been at the top of my wish list for a few months and many of the "Lime Twist" papers are included in the Artful Delight July kit.  Not to mention cool glitter buttons, chipboard shapes, die cuts, twine, Thickers letters, and so much more!  I am usually a slow crafter, but a kit like this takes a lot of the agony thinking out of designing a card.  I believe there is only one July kit left for sale...I recommend you snatch it up if you can...treat yourself to a "Christmas in July" present ;)


Supplies:

Cricut cartridges:  Sentimentals (owl cut @ 5") and Create A Critter (grass cut @ 2")

Sentiment Stamp:  My Pink Stamper Punny-licious

Papers:  My Mind's Eye Lime Twist  Fly a Kite "Genuine" Sky Paper, Out of the Blue "Remember" Argyle Paper, Fly a Kite "Everyday" Alpha Paper, and Out of the Blue "Boy" Spots Paper and Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Soup Orange Juice, Bazzill cards stock (owl eyes), and ivory card stock from ACMoore

Cuttlebug embossing folders by Provo Craft:  Distressed Stripes, Herringbone, Morroccan Screen, Seeing Spots

twine:  My Mind's Eye Lime Twist

glitter button:  American Crafts Margarita collection


ink:  purchased from Stampin' Up!  chocolate chip ink pad and white gel pen by uni-ball Signo




  We arrived home last night from our family reunion week in NC.  We had a great time as usual, but we are happy to be home.  I got up early today just to sneak in my craft room to make this card.  I have missed playing with paper.  Make it a great week!

Design Team Call - ShopPumpkinSpice

Love lives here!  I created this card specifically for the current design team call/challenge for ShopPumpkinSpice.  PumpkinSpice is the blog sponsor of my dear friend, Court.  PumpkinSpice is an online store that carries hot new product by the trendiest companies:  My Pink Stamper, Bo Bunny, Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, Graphic 45, and many more, AND my personal favorite paper companies:  My Mind's Eye and Echo Park.  Her prices are fantastic (30% off retail and free shipping over $50.)

Supplies:

Cricut cartridges:  "Create A Critter" accessory (house) p.29 cut @ 2.5" and 2.75"
and "Elegant Edges" border (grass) p.41 cut @ 4.75" and 5"

Papers:  My Mind's Eye Day Dream collection "Candy Stripe" and "Pretty Petals"
and Echo Park Life is Good collection "The Neighborhood", "Journal Cards", "Set the Table", and "Brown Floral."

Stickers:  Echo Park Life is Good collection (flowers) and a walk in the PARK collection (green heart), Recollections adhesive faux pearls

Embossing folders:  Cuttlebug "D'Vine Swirls" and "Swiss Dots" by Provo Craft

adhesive:  Scotch Quick-Dry, foam tape squares, and glue dots

button:  BasicGrey

twine and floss:  "Peapod" by The Twinery and white DMC (on button)

doodles:  uni-ball Signo broad UM-153 white gel pen

ticket corner punch:  EKSuccess for Stampin' Up!



ShopPumpkinSpice Challenge:

THE CHALLENGE:

• Make a card, scrapbook page, or other project using 2 or more of the paper lines below

• link your Blog Post below to the Mr. Linky.

• In your blog post mention your FAVORITE Paper Company (does not need to be one of those listed - insert smiles here)

• and HAVE FUN!!

  

Bo Bunny

Cosmo Cricket 

Crate Paper 

Echo Park 

Graphic 45 

My Mind’s Eye 

 

 

(other papers and materials of your choice optional – be sure to mention in your recipe)

 

Good luck and Happy Crafting!!!
Wish me luck :)

Holiday Leftovers (a scrappy Christmas card)

I have not made a really scrappy card in a long time.  It is rewarding to me to use those bits of papers...a sane person would toss in the bin...and put them together to create a card.  I used a scrap of white cardstock and glued bits of BasicGrey "Eskimo Kisses" 6x6 papers to create a present.  Then I trimmed the square a smidge, added Hero Arts adhesive woven lace ribbon, and popped up on foam squares.  For my sentiment, I used a K&Co. "Yuletide" rub-on and gem, then added leftover BasicGrey snowflake and swirl rub-ons in white.

I am entering this card at Jingle Belles' "Holiday Leftovers" challenge.  My inspiration came from these scrappy present cards I made in February of 2008.

Happy Friday!

Julee Tilman Jingles - Stars and Stripes Forever

 Julee Tilman is one of my favorite card makers.  She also is a terrific sketch designer, though I have not participated in a Mojo Monday challenge in a very long time.  I wanted to combine Julee's sketch with one of my other favorite challenge blogs, Jingle Belles:

To celebrate Independence Day here in the U.S., the challenge at Jingle Belles this week is to use stars OR stripes.  I cut a blue star and my "stripes" are the lines on my journaling block (does that count?) I used a small zig-zag stitch on the paper seam using my sewing machine (click picture to see better.)

My dh & I are back from our Alaska vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  This was a trip of a lifetime.  We had so much fun, and we are happy to be back home with our sweet girls.  Today I was thrilled to have a little time to play in my craft room to make this card.

Supplies:
Cricut Cartridge:  "Birthday Bash" p.24 cut at 1.5"

Papers:  My Mind's Eye "Colorful Christmas" and "Abbey Road"; doodlebug design inc. "all wrapped up" and "winter wonderland" and "cute cuts"; October Afternoon "Modern Homemaker"; Bazzill bling (white snowflake).

Sentiment:  Making Memories "christmas 4" rub-ons

Bling:  unknown

foam tape:  SU! dimensionals

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!