Happy Together Anniversary Card

     It's time for Theme Day Thursday for Erica's Design Team over at My Cricut Craft Room. As a member of the team, we were asked to create a project using the cart A Childs' Year. I needed to make an anniversary card for one of my daughters and her husband so I figured I would look at some of the silhouettes on this cart. I was so surprised to find the perfect shaped card on this cartridge and no, I did not use a silhouette but went in a completely different direction! Here's what I did instead:

     I love how this came out. Clean and simple but to the point. I usually spend hours looking for the right image, choosing the perfect papers, agonizing over just the right sentiment and then trying to find the right embellishments. Be honest, I know I am not the only one who does this! Let's get to the details:
     This card base and heart can be found on page 30 of your hand book. I used the card feature and cut the base out of a shiny white card stock (Recollections pearl collection). I cut it @ 8.25" x 5.5". Next I chose some glittered cardstock and used the shift key on the card feature to cut the heart @ 8.25" 5.278". Oh my, it looks good already, lol.

     I pulled out some twine I received from Erica (love her extra goodies!) and added a lace bow from Jolee's Boutique. I had considered making some flowers for this but decided that sometimes, less is more. (That's what my husband tells me anyway.)

     The sentiment is from the stamp set All In The Family by Pink By Design. I just love this set. Remember our last blog hop? Well, I used random number generator and the winner is #18 from all the comments so congrats to: Miranda Enclade. Please email me your address so I can get this out to you. Can I just say this was totally random so I guess it is a Pay It Forward, lol. Be sure to check out Erica's Store where you can find these stamps if you don't have them already!
     I hope you will try my quick and simple card yourself. Now head back over to Erica's Blog and see what inspiration my Design Team Sisters have created for you.

Red Hat Babe!

     Here we go guys! This is my first post as a Certified Standard and Intermediate Designer in Copic Markers. Yeah me. The class I took was in June with Marianne Walker and Carol Lawrence and I have so much knowledge from those 2 days that I think my head is going to explode! I love working with this medium and find it so relaxing. I am going to attempt to periodically post some of my creation and I hope to give you some tips along the way. Are you ready to see one of my own projects?

     This is a digi image from Pixie Dust Studios called Let's Play Dress Up. I bought this a while ago and it was one of the images that made me want to learn more about Copics. When I first saw this image all I could think of was The Red Hat, Purple Dress ladies. I also had some red hat stamps from My Sentiments Exactly so it all made sense that this is where I should start.
     First let me start by tell you that the type of paper you use is crucual to good results. The paper that seems to work best is X-Press-It. It is very smooth and a wonderful weight. There are many on line stores that sell this. If you use a softer paper it absorbs too much ink and may bleed through you image lines. Plus it is difficult to move layers of ink around.
     If you use mounted stamps you must use Memento Ink. I can not stress this enough. Stazon is an absolute no no. I learned this from experience before I took the certification classes. Not only can or will it smudge, but I ruined several tips because it was stained so badly. This image was printed on my HP photosmart copier. Once I printed the image out I dried the image with a heat blower. You can also use a hair dryer.
So this will give you a few important tips to start with. Now back to the colors I used.

     Here are the markers I used:

     skin tones: E000, E00, E01, and E13

     Brown hair: E31, E35, E37

     Hat and Boa: R22, R24, R27 and R29

     Dress: V12, V15, V17

     Shoes: C1, C3, C5, C7

     

     I used some stickles for the lace edging on her dress, also for the star on her hat. I added some liquid pearls in silver for her "pearl"necklace.

     The image was cut out using Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval Large. I also embossed this oval and shaded the edge with Pebbles Pastel Chalks. I thought this stamp by My Sentiments Exactly! was a perfect match for this card.

     If you are looking for some adorable stamps, please visit Pixie Dust Studio and check out all her great images.

     I hope you like my first project with the Copics. Be sure to leave a comment if you need any help or just want to say Hi!

     

Stroll With Me

     Happy Hump Day in July. I love the middle of the week in the summer because the week end can't be far behind.Wednesday is WYEGW over at My Cricut Craft Room. What is that you ask? Well it means the Design Team uses the feature keys from any cricut cart we choose. This is a great way to explore all the possibilities the carts have to offer without using the main images.Today I am going to show a baby card I made using Baby Steps.

      Boy was it ever hard to photograph this card! I love to make my own backgrounds so for this card I used glossy card stock and some ranger alcohol inks. I used purple twilight, wild plum and silver and lots of alcohol blending solution. I started by adding my colors and then kept going over it with solution until I got a softer color back ground. This REALLY shines, lol.
     I used the image on page 42 and cut it at 2.75" with the phrase+, (glitter paper) + phrase layer. The edges were inked with Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender. Thistle stickles really make the phrase stand out.

     I decided to use the Inkadinkado flourishes stamp with memento Sweet Plum ink. I added a touch of Opal liquid pearls and some crystals from Say It In Crystals. Just a word about these crystals: they are awesome! All of the embellishments (including the buttons by Doodlebug Designs Inc. for the wheels!) were a gift from Erica. She is the most supportive person I know and love designing for her team. You can find these embellishments in her store Here.

     I also used a corner punch by Fiskar and finished the front with some vintage crochet lace and bakers twine on the wheels. After adding a small satin bow, I called it complete!!!

     The inside sentiment is by Cloud 9 Design "Simple Thoughts-Girl. I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Lattice Rectangles. That's it for today. I hope you will go back over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what the rest of the team has to inspire you.

     

Erica's July Blog Hop: Birthday Reminder Book

July's 100 Cricut cartridge blog hop Day ONE

     

     Welcome to Erica's 100 cart Blog Hop! Here, each month, the DT showcases 100 different Cricut cartridges. We hope to inspire you and to take another look at the cartridges you already have or to peak your interest on one you may not yet own.  If you have come from Sarah's then you are in the right place If not then you want to start at the beginning so you don't miss a thing! Here's the line up in case you get lost along the way:

Start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/

Jenn Lorist http://www.jennspapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Shelley http://shelley-scrapbookingforfun.blogspot.com/

Kathy S http://3spoileddogs.blogspot.com/

Teresa http://www.createenjoyshare.blogspot.com/

Kathy Jo http://skrappindiva.blogspot.com/

Doris P http://mybugandmecreate.blogspot.com/

Janet http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/

Jenny R http://myimagitivity.blogspot.com/

Bunnyfreak http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

Erica's Project http://ericasprojects.blogspot.com/

Lisa Ch. http://lisacustomscrapbooking.blogspot.com/

Ashley http://especiallymade.blogspot.com/

Ava http://scrapbookdesign4u.blogspot.com/

Sarah http://craftingwithsarah.blogspot.com/

Mary http://mary-fortheloveofart.blogspot.com/

pattie http://www.sweetpsscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

marji http://www.fstampaholic.blogspot.com/

samantha http://www.samanthascricutcreations.blogspot.com/

Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com/

     For my project I used Designers' Calendar and the Imagine cartridges Snapshot Everyday and Yummy. I have a really useful and practical project to share with you, a Birthday Reminder Book. Since we have 5 adult children and their spouses (or girl friend) and 8 grand kids plus 4 wedding anniversaries, it can be hard to keep everything straight. That's not to mention the fact that that our oldest son and his family are in Florida and one of our daughters and her husband are relocating to California after 3 years in Hawaii. So let's get right to the details.

     Isn't this just the perfect size? It only measures 2.5" x 4.5" so it is perfect to slip in your pocketbook. First I started with some pieces of chip board. the cover is the balloon paper from Snapshot Everyday on page 3. I used the Imagine shape 3x5 that is built into the Imagine machine and print and cut a totally of 4 pieces. I used 2 for the outside covers and 2 for the inside. After I adhered them to the chipboard, used the Round it All by Zutter to round the outer corners and punched the binding with my Bind It all machine. You can find these great tools at Erica's Store. She has great prices and I have given you the direct link to the Zutter page but please take a few moments to do some shopping while you are there for some of the wonderful crafting supplies Erica carries. Oops, I digress, lol.

     After the cover was all dry I decided to ink the edges and much to my chagrin, I had some ink splotch where I really did not want it to go. No problem. You see the spotted balloon? I gave it a touch of Avocado liquid Pearls to cover the mistake. I decided to do it on the back cover as well so it looks like it was intentional! 

     I didn't want to use a cupcake since this is really for all sorts of celebrations so I used the present from the Imagine cart Yummy.This image is found on page 19 and I cut it at 2". I kept all the layers combined for this project.I inked the edges with Distress ink Worn Lipstick and added some smooch to the flourish on the present and more Liquid Pearls on the bow. Will you just look at all those envelopes, lol. I found these pkg. of mini envelopes at Michaels and they are just perfect for this project. Hmm, I wonder what is inside?

     I started by cutting the flaps off the envelopes and used a circle punch to cut out a little tab.The months were made by using Designers Calendar. I started with black card stock and the boxed feature. All were sized @ 1.25". This is a fabulous way to use all those small scraps of left over paper. I just glued the boxed month on scraps of colors and then cut them down by hand. It is best to punch your holes first so you can center the words correctly.

     I love using the CCR and my imagine together it makes a project go so much quicker. first i used a tag from Art Philosophy @ 3.25". Still in CCR, I added another mat and added the names of the months sized @ .75". This way when you go to print and cut, I use the separate layers option and print the months first, then cut the tags. I did want a lined area to write the dates in so I used George and Basic Shapes to cut a rectangle @ 2.75". The rectangle I used is on page 112 rectangle of the handbook. Boy did I use a lot of scraps on this project just look at the different tags, lol!

     After adding an eyelet to each tag I went through my stash of ribbons and brads to finish them all off. Here is a sample of a few of them:

     I hope you have enjoyed my little project. I plan on making more of these for Christmas presents to go along with the card boxes I am making. Be sure to leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop this week end for a chance to win some goodies. Did I say goodies? How about I give away some blog candy? I will be giving one lucky follower a set of Pink By Design Stamps "All In The Family". This is a "Pay It Forward" I received from Erica. I was sent this extra set by mistake but asked  Erica if she would mind if I gave it away. Of course she said yes, lol.

     Next stop along the hop is Pattie http://www.sweetpsscrapbooks.blogspot.com/ be sure to hop over and see what she has created just for you.

    

Whoos Celebrating?

     Welcome to all my new followers, I'm so glad you are here! In case you are unfamiliar with what Imagination Mondays are let me explain. On Mondays Erica asks her Design Team to use their Imagine to create a project. She also has a swap for cards,die cuts and sometimes themes. I am in the card swap where you must include some form of embossing and also use stickles, liquid pearls and a form of glimmer mist. We make 8 each that are exactly the same that we send to our swap leader Doris. She in turns mails us back 8, one from each of the members who are participating. It is a fabulous way to build up a stash of cards as well as to see how each one uses the technique or theme. Whew, now that I have gotten all the details out of the way, you probably have guessed that my project for today is what I have done for this swap. They are already in the mail!

     I wanted to make a card that could be used for several occasions, congratulations, graduation, birthday and perhaps an anniversary. I also wanted to ensure it was sort of gender neutral so I went with the owl from the Imagine cart Better Together. The owl is on page 13 and I cut it @ 3". I cut one with the layers combined and then cut with the head and hat using separated layers.
     I used Provo Craft embossing folder "Leaves" for the background on a shimmery card stock.This was a great time to use my Distress marker "Peeled Paint" to add color to the stems and veins on the leaves and then brushed on some lime green stickles to the leaves. I love how this looks. It is so sparkly in person!

 Just look at that sparkle. Yay!!!

Isn't this just the cutest owl, lol. I pulled out my glaze black pen to add some texture to the feathers and wings. Before I put some pop dots on the owl head piece, I used some "Gold Pearl" liquid pearls on the beak (now that's one classy owl!).

     I didn't want my owl to just be hanging around so I decided to cut some grass to complete the scene. For the border I used All Occasions Cake Art cart. The grass is on page 85 and I used the cake feature 1"x6" and also >shift key. I used tattered Angels Chalkboard Fern to sparkle the grass up. I adhered everything to some card bases I had from My Mind's Eye card pack "Out and About".

     If you are looking for some great prices on the supplies I have used on my project today be sure to check out Erica's Store: She has a huge supply of great products.

     I hope you all have a safe and healthy July 4th and that you have wonderful memories to scrapbook later. God Bless America!!! Now be sure to check out what my DT sisters have created to share with you back at My Cricut Craft Room. http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/