Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My 1st Award Ever!!

OMG! OMG! I'm so excited because my cat & dog card from my 2/23/12 post is "showcased" HERE at the Die Cuttin Diva's blog. This was challenge #53 - favorite pet. This was literally one of my very first challenges so I'm beyond happy about being recognized! There were so many amazing projects! I just want to say thank you so much to the ladies at Die Cuttin Diva for choosing my card to showcase! So.... thank you! thank you! thank you!
                     
                          

If you haven't checked out the Die Cuttin Diva blog you should check it out! There is a new challenge posted if you want to participate....It's so much fun!!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Purple-licious

Hi there! I hope you all had a fab weekend! We had a good one - except for yesterday morning 3 of our dogs got ahold of one of our feral (wild) cats & tore him up pretty badly. His jaw is fractured & he has several large puncture wounds. He's home from the vet's now so we have a temporary cat ICU in my husband's office bathroom, lol. Hopefully he'll recover - poor little guy!

Anyway, I really wanted to enter a couple of challenges but with all the cat/dog drama I couldn't get my project finished in time to link up. However, I decided to carry out the challenges anyway, just for the experience & fun. The first challenge was over at DL Art & it was to use only the color purple & one other color. The other challenge was over at    K Andrew's blog & the theme was to do a wedding or engagement project. I was able to combine the 2 challenges into one card, which I had a blast making!....

I am entering this card into the following current challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog -  "Challenge Me Monday", theme is "Fancy Trims", use fabric or lace

Creative Cutter Room -  "Design Time Thursday", shape card (no squares or rectangles)

        
       
 

I used my Cricut Expression & Gypsy for this project. The card base is from the "Sentimentals" cartridge, cut at 5.25". All of the paper/cardstock I used is from my stash of loose papers, although I think most of it is Bazzill. The main image is from the "Damask Decor" cartridge, cut at 4". I used pop-dots for the main image on top of the twine & also for the birds by themselves.

The twine is "lilac" from The Twinery. The button, fabric flower, brad, eyelet, pearls & rhinestones are from my stash. The tiny lavender dots are from a Viva Decor Paper-Pen in "lilac". I used Stickles in "Star Dust" to outline the birds & on the tips of the fabric flower & "Lavender" on the eyelet & the heart brad.

All of the stamps on the outside & inside are by K Andrew Designs. I love love love her stamps! They are super high quality and the mix & match options are virtually endless! They are definitely a fabulous deal for the price & worth every penny. I used combinations from 2 sets: "Owly Hoo Sentiments" & "Winter Wishes". The little swirly flourishes on the inside are on the "Winter Wishes" set as well.

Well folks... I think that's all for today. Thank you so much for stopping by & taking the time to view my blog. I really appreciate all the super sweet comments too! See you real soon....

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Love is a Four-Legged Word

Hello there! For those of you who don't know, I change my blog's theme according to the nearest holiday, hence my new St. Patty's Day motif  :)  Anyhoo, I'm really excited because I'm entering today's card in several challenges. I have only participated in 3 challenges before so I'm kinda nervous! Isn't that silly?! I couldn't help myself because my favorite theme is pets, dogs specifically & there are so many challenges with a pet theme right now! This is really a reach for me because I'm really shy & unsure of myself in this whole crafting/blogging world. There are sooo many talented crafters out there - it's very intimidating to me for some reason. I know I shouldn't feel that way - everyone I've chatted with so far has been super nice & encouraging, so I guess it's just in my head, lol. Well, I figure the best way to overcome any fear is to jump in & give it my best! Sooo (deep breath) here I go!...

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Paper Playtime - "Say it with Sentiments", theme is pets & a sentiment

Scrappy Moms - "Terrific Tuesday Challenge", theme is "Tag - you're it!"

Die Cuttin Divas -  Favorite pet

Crafty Ribbons -  "Paws for Thought", ribbon(s) required

Cardz TV -  "A Stitch in Time", use real or faux stitching


And here is my card....

     

First of all, I was almost done with this card when I noticed the major contradiction. Can you tell what it is? Yes, I used a 2-legged half-dog to go with the "Love is a Four-legged word" sentiment. I had to laugh at myself when I realized it! I really didn't want to change it & I figured it would just give the card more character & get a few giggles. Sometimes the most obvious things just seem to slip by me!...so I'm very used to laughing at myself!

Now on to the details....The card base is Kraft cardstock cut at 5" square from the Cricut "Art Philosophy" cartridge on my Cricut Expression. The rest of this card was made using my Cricut Imagine machine. All of the papers on this card are from the "Best Friends" Imagine cartridge, as well as the dog & cat images (which are mounted using pop-dots). I am currently obsessed with making my own double-sided paper & I just love incorporating the corner folds to show it off.

The paw print punch is from EK Success & the paw/bone embossing folder I actually have no idea who made it, lol. I bought it on eBay & it didn't say who made it in the description & it came without any packaging or sleeve or anything. It's my mystery folder! The bone brad & the 3D paw print are from my stash. The paw print ribbon is by Offray. I'm usually thoroughly annoyed by those little score marks the Cricuts put on a card feature, but this time I used them to thread my ribbon through. They're still annoying but slightly less now, lol. I used Stickles in "Diamond" & "Xmas red" to add a little bling to their collars. The little tag I cut by hand. The faux stitching around the perimeter is done with a Micron05 pen in brown.

The sentiment stamp is from the Scrappy Moms Stamps set called "Raining Cats & Dogs" I love love love her stamps & this is my absolute favorite set! I stamped it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in "Walnut Stain".
                             

Phew! I think that's it! Thank you so much for stopping by & have a fabulous day!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

My Super Hero

Hi again! I don't want to jinx myself but I think I fixed the problem of some of you not being able to see my pics. If you still can't see them, please let me know (so I can set my computer on fire, lol).

Anyway I hope you all had a nice V-day! The hubs & I just chilled at home with the dogs & had dinner, then he was asleep by 9:00 (sigh), lol. He gets me with the same joke on every holiday/bithday, which is "can you make me a real nice card to give to you?" Ha ha ha. So, I've just decided that what he really means is I should go buy myself some more supplies. That sounds logical right? lol.

Anyway, here is the V-day card I made for him.....
                
          

First off, the SV stands for Super Vinny (that's his name but no - he's not Italian at all, lol). I used my Gypsy & Imagine for this project, which I finally successfully downloaded the Imagine app! OMG! this is so cool I can't even stand it!!

This is a 5 x 7" card & the base is Kraft cardstock. The bird image & the wording are from the "3 Birds on Parade" Cricut cartridge. The "you're" above the sentiment is from a K Andrew Designs stamp set called "Owly Hoo", which I heat embossed. The background cloud paper is from a Debbie Mumm stack that doesn't have a name on it. The grassy hill is from the "Pop-Up Neighborhood" cart & the sun is from "Simply Charmed". I used Stickles in lime green, Black Diamond, Xmas red & Diamond, also some Glossy Accents on the sun & his beak. The little accent dots are from a Micron05 pen.

And that's all folks! I will be posting several new projects this week, including some challenge entries, if you want to stop back over & check them out. Thank you so much for visiting today! Have a great rest of your weekend!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Grrrr....

Hi guys! I've been having problems with some people not being able to see my photos in my recent posts. I've been trying to find out why & I'm currently waiting for a response from the blogger tech dept. I have some really cool projects to post as soon as it's fixed....hopefully soon!!

In the meantime.... it seems to work fine if you go thru this link HERE

(this was posted for a challenge at My Pink Stamper & seems to work ok as a round-about way to access my blog).....please let me know if you CAN'T see it this way either.

Also, it seems to work more frequently anyway if you use MOZILLA FIREFOX as your browser

Thanks!!

Monday, February 13, 2012

My Pink Stamper February Blog Hop & Challenge

Hi there! I hope you are having a fabulous Monday! Today's post is for the My Pink Stamper February Blog Hop & Challenge. If you want to participate in the hop you can go HERE & start hopping thru all the wonderful design team projects. If you want to purchase My Pink Stamper stamps you can go HERE & choose from her retailers.

The rules for this challenge are:
*Use the color RED, a circle, a pink ribbon & more than one My Pink Stamper stamp.

Here is my project....

            

                            

                             

                              

The card base is Kraft cardstock, folded size 4 x 8". The white base layer is white cardstock from my stash, embossed with the Darice "Layered Hearts" embossing folder (it might be hard to see but this is where I fulfilled the "use a circle" requirement). The 3 hearts are cut from the Cricut "Art Philosophy" cartridge, size 3.5" for the middle heart & 3" for the other two. The "Art Philosophy" cartridge is only available thru a Close to My Heart consultant - you can click HERE to check out their website & find a consultant. The red paper is a linen paper from The Paper Company & the pink shimmer paper is from my stash. The pink ribbon in the background is from Offray.

The stamps are from My Pink Stamper, of course! You can check them out by clicking on the link above at the beginning of this post. All 3 sentiments are from the "Itty Bitty-licious" stamp set, which is currently my favorite MPS set.

Well, I guess that's it for today! I have some baby shower projects I'll be posting in the next couple days & I hope you'll come back & check them out. Thanks for stopping by today!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Moo-chas Gracias

Whoo hoo! I discovered what my problem was & I won't bore you with the details but it had something to do with me having 2 gmail accounts. Anyway, I finished all the baby shower invitations & now I'm on to decorations & party favors. The shower is on Feb 12th so I have plenty of time but there are so many projects I want to do for it! I know, I know, I'm gonna have to choose which ones!

My mom offered to help me make a diaper cake (gulp!) but I still haven't decided if I'm brave enough to actually do it. I guess if I screw it up or can't do it I can just give her a giant bag or box of diapers! I know she'll appreciate them either way! I will be sharing all my projects as I go along over the next 12 days so please stop back by & check it out!

Before the baby madness sets in I had to do a thank you card for our former neighbor who had us over for dinner last week. She's 85 & still going strong! So here's the card I made, with the details below it.....

            
The card base is Kraft cardstock from my local JoAnn store. I cut it with my Cricut Expression & Gypsy using the "Art Philosophy" cartridge, at 5" using the card feature on pg. 34. If you want to purchase the Art Philosophy cartridge it is only available thru a Clost to my Heart consultant, which you can find by going to the CTMH website. This is totally a must-have cartridge! It comes in a bundle with a bunch of other awesome stuff so it's absolutely worth the $99!

Ok, moving on now.... The blue & green backgrounds were also from AP using the Base & Tag features on the same page as the card. Both papers were from my stash & the green was already pre-embossed. The cow image is from the "Pop-Up Neighborhood" cartridge, using the Accessory feature on pg. 54 & she's cut at 2.5". This was a Cricut circle exclusive cartridge & I really didn't care for the base images, but upon further investigation I discovered that it has the BEST Accessory feature ever!

Ok, moving on again (in case you didn't already notice I have a hard time focusing for more than 2 minutes at a time!)..... the tag is also from the AP cartridge, using the Base & Layer images on pg. 65. I used some Aleene's Paper Glaze on the red border. The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's "Even More Punny-licious stamp set. I used "Black Diamond" Stickles on the nostrils & hooves, and of course some googley eyes. The twine is "Maraschino" from The Twinery.

Well, I think that's it! Now it's off to more baby shower projects!.... Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Blogger problems!!....

Hi everyone! I'm only able to write a short post because my Blogger won't save anything longer than about 10 lines. If I can't save it - I can't post it! So after re-doing the same new post 3 times I decided to take a break & try again tomorrow (actually I needed to take a break or I was gonna throw my computer out the window!). So I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here - I'm just having some issues right now. One way or another I'll be back soon with some really cute cards & projects!...