My Pink Stamper Challenge

This is the first challenge I have ever done, so I'm not sure this is going to be good, but here goes!  The challenge was to make a Father's Day project, and this was big for me.  My dad was buried the day before Father's Day 2005, after being killed in a car accident earlier that week.  It's crazy how much I still miss him after 5 years, so this was actually rather cathartic for me.  The story behind this card is this: when I bought my house, he was the one who fixed everything that needed fixing.  It didn't matter that he lived 30 minutes away - if I called him at 10:00 at night and something happened in the house, he got in his car and headed up to my house, tools in tow!  So in that way, and so many others, he was my hero!  He also did all of the work on all of our cars in the family, so this was my idea of the perfect card for me to honor him.

The man and outfit are from Paper Dolls cut at 4" tall, Peachy Keen stamps supplied the face, and the "My Hero" is from Stand and Salute.  The tools are from an MTC file in the gallery, the cardstock is SU!, and the mat is from DCWV Rustic Stack.  Thanks for visiting, and I hope I'm submitting this in time, Robyn!  PS - Missy - doesn't this really look like him, hairline and forehead wrinkles and all???  LOL!!!

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone enjoys the day (hopefully you are having beautiful weather like we are here in Philly), and takes the time to honor those who have fought for our freedoms!!  Have a wonderful holiday!

Last graduation card

This one is made almost entirely with MTC, with a file from Wanda's Cards and Crafts, and she has some amazing free SVG files on her blog!  Anyway, I used the school colors to make this card, hit the grad caps with my Divine Swirls folder, the tassel with some blue ink, and then used Amy Chomas' mini sharpie holder for the "Class of 2010" title.  The background mat was the only non-MTC element, and it's from Just Because Cards.  The inside diploma was also part of an MTC file in the gallery, and I printed the inside wording on my printer.  I think that covers it all so, thanks for visiting!

Totally off topic, but......

LET'S GO FLYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My Philadelphia Flyers are in the Stanley Cup finals starting tonight, and I wanted to show my team spirit.  Yes, we are huge underdogs, and yes, we will probably lose the series, BUT, I love my team, and would be super excited to see them pull off the miracle and finish the Cinderella story with a championship.  For anyone who knows the story of the Flyers this year, you know what I mean!  So, thanks for letting me digress, and I will be posting the third graduation card a little later.  LOL!!    GO FLYERS!!!!!!!

Graduation card #2

This one is straight off the Wild Card cartridge.  I cut the card at 8.5" x 6.3", so the final card size is about 4.3"x6.3".  I wanted to add a little interest to this one, so I used my CB divine swirls folder over the whole thing, and then added another chipboard sticker from the same pack as the first card.  So super simple and quick!  Thanks for visiting today!

Graduation time

This is for my niece, and I'm sorry to say that I got a little lazy with these.  Unfortunately, these cards are for one of those family members (we all have them!!) whom does not appreciate the love and effort and care put into a homemade card.  So, I had to make three of them for her for my mom, my brother, and myself to all give to her, and I got a bit lazy and kept it simple.  The first is a card base from Just Because cut at 10"x7".  I then welded the 2010 from Storybook into the cutout, using my Gypsy.  The background paper is from Michael's, and had to be mounted on cardstock to give it some sturdiness, and I then cut vellum for the inside of the card.  The chipboard stickers on the front are from a K&Co pack at AC Moore.  The other two cards will follow in the next couple of days, so thanks for visiting today!

Happy Bird-day

This one was also for my sister-in-law, whose birthday was last week.  The birdie is from Create a Critter, the cake is a sticker from a DCWV stack, the ribbon is from Michael's, and the sentiment was printed on the computer, then punched out with the SU! 1 3/4" round punch (the one I use for the sweet treat cups).  The background paper is from a 3 Birds set from HSN, and I just stamped the inside with a couple of SU! birthday stamps, but it's very plain, so I won't bother posting it.  : )  Anyway, this one replaced that kitty card that was too "kiddish"!

After 6 straight hours of yard and outside work today, I'm pretty beat and out of words, so thanks for visiting!  LOL.

Anniversary card

This one is for my brother and sister-in-law, and I finally can put it up, since they got it yesterday!  LOL.  My SIL frequents my blog,a nd she told me yesterday when I gave them their cards that she purposely has not checked in ehre for the last few days, in case I posted their cards.  Too cute.

Anyway, this is from Just Because Cards, but my own take on it.  I love how this SU! paper coordinated with it, so I used this color scheme for the card.  The pear was cut at 3.8" x 2.8", the brown tag from JBC was cut at 4.2"x3.0", the A Perfect Pear title was a combo between JBC and Storybook, and the Happy Anniversary title on the inside is from Beyond Birthdays, cut at 3.8"x1.2".  The card base is also from SU!, and the patterned mat is from a discontinued pack called "Good Morning Sunshine".  At least, I think that's the one.  Barb??  Lol.  Anyway, I used the layers on JBC to get the brown seeds, and then I went over it with my Gold galaxy marker, just to give it the faux stitching and finishing touch. The ribbon is plain grosgrain from Michael's, and for the last thing, I inked the inside mat for some dimension.  I think I've covered it all, so thanks for visiting!

Bee-day spinner card

This is for my sister-in-law's birthday, and I think I may be addicted to spinner cards now.  I'm including two pictures with the bee in different places, to give you an idea of him moving across the card!!

The bee and flowers are from Create a Critter, the grass from Plantin Schoolbook, the cloud paper is loose from Michael's, and the tropical background paper is from the Tahiti stack from DCWV.  I used the template uploaded by a fellow MTC user, buttons in the corners from SU!, and Amy Chomas' gel pen holder for the sentiment.  For those that do not have MTC, there is a tutorial on spinner cards on Split Coast Stampers also.  I used the CB Swiss Dots folder on all of the flowers and then inked and pop dotted the two layers of grass for some dimension.  I love how the little bee "flies" over the flowers, and I hope my sister-in-law does also!  Thanks for visiting!

OK, I'm on the bandwagon...

The latest trend seems to be the flower pot cards, so I decided to try one finally.  I'm not entirely pleased about how it turned out, but I guess practice makes perfect.  This card is a file from My Scrap Chick, and all the cuts but the leaves were done with that.  I decided to cut some leaves from Lyrical Letters and use the CB divine swirls folder on it.  Two of the flowers also has a CB folder used on them, and it was fresh flowers.  At the top of the "pot" are two felt flowers, also.  I felt like it needed a couple of extra flowers, so these went in well.  The flower pot is made from a patterned paper from K&Co, and then scalloped part is from DCWV Rustic Stack.  Thanks for visiting today!

Purrrrfect birthday.

Well, this card was originally going to be for my sister-in-law, but after I completed it, I noticed it was waaayyyyyyy too little kid like.  So, it is now sitting waiting for the next 8-9-10 year old girl birthday that arises, LOL!!!  I used Create a Critter for all cuts, except the cupcake on the outside, and the ones on the inside - they are all stickers from a DCWV birthday stack.  The background mat and pillow/bow papers are loose sheets from M's, and the inside mat was cut with Just Because Cards.  I cut the kitty at 3", and all coordinating cuts to scale.  I used my Gypsy, and was it ever nice to just add to the mat and have everything scaled!  But I digress...

The little silver pearls are from a Recollections pack, ribbon is Basic Basic, and the nose is pink Stickles.  The "Purrfect Birthday" doesn't show up very well here, but it does on the card.  So Missy, this would have been your card, BUt Tina, Susan, and even Mom said it was too little kiddish.  Oh well, enjoy it here!! 

I think that about covers it, so thanks for visiting today!

Another birthday card for my brother....

And this one is for my Mom to give him, obviously, LOL!  Not much Cricut here, with the exception of the grass cut from Create A Critter and the inside mats from Just Because.  The "For My Son" on the front was cut with MTC and one of the standard fonts.  I used a CB folder on the front, then inked it, and the mat is from DCWV Farmer's Market stack (same one on the inside).  Really simple and easy card for today!  Thanks for visiting!

Just some examples.

So, I was playing around the other day, and had a bunch of scraps, so I decided to try out my Critter Faces from Peachy Keen Stamps, and OH MY!!!!!  How cute are these???  I am not in any way affiliated with PKS, I am just one very happy customer.  Again, these are just scraps, and I am thinking that in order to do layers properly and use the stamps, you would need to use DS to hide the face contours when cutting layers.  I just thought these were too cute, and you can get them here:  http://www.peachykeenstamps.com/.

Funny story with this one....

So, you are probably wondering why this card has a squirrel in military attire.  Here is the backstory on this one.  My brother is an avid hunter, and one day he came out with this story about how the squirrels were conducting a skillfully strategized attack upon him when he was in the woods, and he decided that it was an elite squirrel special forces squad called "The Gray Berets".  Yes, we laughed until we almost peed.  To this day, the gray berets are still a joke in my family, and guess what???  His birthday is Sunday.  After the picture, I wrote on the inside of the card, "The Gray Berets never take a day off.  Happy birthday, and watch out!!"  HAHAHA. 

Ok, details.  The squirrel and binoculars are from Camp out, the helmet from Stand and Salute, and then I used some green and brown inks for the camo look on it.  The camo paper itself is from an Imaginisce stack called Just Chillin', and the tag is cut from Storybook with random buttons from a scrapbooking kit from HSN.  Thanks for looking, and MISSY - DON'T LET DOUG SEE THIS YET!!!!!!  Missy is the wife of this particular brother, and she frequents my blog, so SHH!!  Thanks for visiting, and I hope this gives some of you a laugh.

New baby card

Here is one I did for a shower where the gender is unknown, so I tried to stick to mostly greens and yellows.  The card base is from My Scrap Chick's 30 boxes and more collection (the card bases were the "and more"), and all cuts are from New Arrival.  I just used MTC to join the title to the bottom of the card, cut out another title, and used the positive cuts from that second cut for the word inside the "blocks".  I used CB swiss dots folder on the feet, cut at 2.5" x 1.75", and the onesies are cut at 1.7"x 1.5".  All paper is from DCWV Boy Nursery and/or Nana's kids stacks, and the ribbons and gems are from Michael's.  For anyone who may want the MTC file, I am more than happy to e-mail it to you, as I have already had one request.  Thanks for visiting!

Spinner card

This card looked better in my head than it does in reality, but oh well.  However, I LOVE this spinner card idea, and the fact that this racket spins and slides across the card.

Ok, I made this for a friend of mine who has been teaching me how to play tennis, with the ultimate goal of being able to whoop my boyfriend on the court.  HAHA, anyway....she has been great, so I wanted to do something a little extra, and decided to try my first spinner card.  The file was uploaded to the MTC gallery by a generous user, and I followed the instructions in the file.  There are also instructions on Split Coast Stampers for this type of card.  You would not believe how easy it was to make this!  All you need are some pop dots, a couple of pennies, and some cardstock.  The racket and balls are embellishments from Jolie's Boutique, and the background paper is DCWV.  I'm posting two separate pictures with the racket in different positions, so you can somewhat get the idea of what this card does!  I was tempted to make a video a few seconds long of me just spinning and sliding the racket, but not really.  That would be silly...so, thanks for visiting!

Another oldie

I think this was the third or fourth card I ever made, and it was for my mom's friend, whose grandson turned 1 last fall.  I used Mickey and Friends and Celebrations for all of the cuts.  The border was loose paper from Michael's, and the glitter paper is DCWV.  It's amazing how simplistic my cards were, especially before I bought my Cuttlebug.

I have been playing with my Gypsy a lot, and also spending some quality time watching my Flyers make history, so I will have lots of new cards next week, with several family birthdays and occasions coming soon.  Thanks for visiting, and have a great weekend!

Bridal shower card

Yet another card where I'm not sure I like how it turned out.  Maybe I'm in a creative funk??  Anyway, a friend of mine requested a shower card for a "very Irish" couple, so this is what I did.  I cut the cake from Wild Card at 4"Hx3"W, the inside flourish is from Heritage, and the "For the Bride" is also from Wild card.  I embossed the cake with CB Divine Swirls, and used Recollections silver pearls from Michael's on each swirl tip, as well as the areas between cake layers.  The silver glitter mat is a piece from one of Anna Griffin's holiday packs, and the flowers are all from a K&Co pack I found at Joann's

It doesn't show up here, but the white card base is actually embossed with "wedding" and wedding related phrases, and it was from a pack by DCWV.  If you happen to find this on clearance, like I did, GET IT!!  The Irish wedding blessing on the inside I actually found online by just doing a Google search, and then I inked a little bit around the edge.  I'm not sure what it is I don't like, but she needs it by tomorrow, so this is it.  I think I would have felt more confident if I knew the bride's wedding color scheme and could have tailored it around that, as well as feeling like the flowers are too big.  Oh well, thanks for visiting!

An oldddddd card...lol

So right now I am in a bit of a lull with new cards and am taking a brief hiatus to organize the room in which all of my papercrafting stuff is kept. I realized after 5 hours of work last night that I should have taken a "before" picture, but alas, I did not.

I will post pics when I am done, but in the meantime, here is one of the first cards I did months ago, when I was in my cardmaking infancy stages! The card was for a friend's mother-in-law, and she LOVES Alice in Wonderland (the literary piece, not the cartoon! LOL).  Apparently, there is a mirror in her house with this saying on it, so I went with it.  The mirror was cut from the Dreams Come True cart, and the frames from Storybook - sorry, I don't remember any sizes.  The mirror look is silver foil cardstock from Oh My Crafts, and the turqoise is American Crafts.
My organizing hiatus will be brief, as I have 3 birthdays and an anniversary in my family in the next two weeks! Thanks for visiting!

SHOCK!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I mentioned to my boyfriend yesterday that I was going to my local Joann's to see a woman whom I met on the MB (NicoleLeo on the board) demo'ing the Cricut cake. I went there, got some paper and stickers, introduced myself to Nicole, and went back to his place. An hour later, he left to go do "stuff", which I knew was for my birthday!!
Well, I just opened my present, which I thought would be a digital camera, and OMG!!!!!!!!! It was a GYPSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was, and probably still am, SHOCKED!!!! He said to me, "You can thank your cake lady demo person!" So, THANK YOU NICOLE!!! What an awesome present, and I am so happy that he took the time to do something so special!!!  He also got me a gift certificate for a massage package, so this is shaping up to be a great birthday!!!!

Side note - my card had a picture of a gray kitten, and on the inside it says, "See, you can still be cute even with gray hair!" Ummm, what??? All was forgiven when I opened my Gypsy, though!

Happy Happy!

I want to wish a wonderful, happy Mother's Day today to all of my friends who are moms!!!  You are all so wonderful, and I can only hope you are treated accordingly by the little (and big!) ones in your lives!!!!! 

Also, I want to wish everyone out there whom may share my birthday today a happy one!  My boyfriend gets stuck with the bill when we take my mom to dinner today, LOL!!!  Seriously, how can you make a mom pay on Mother's Day, or your girlfriend pay on her birthday?!?!?  Yeah, he gets the short end of the stick today!  Have a great one, everyone!!!!

Another shadow box

A couple of weeks ago, I made a shodow box for friend's birthday, and when my mom saw it, she loved it.  She said, "OOhh, that would be nice to have if it, like, said something about 'love my grandkids' and had, like, places to put their pictures......"   As she trailed off, I thought, "Yes, Mom, I get the hint!"  So, here is her Mother's Day gift for the weekend, besides me of course, LOL.  (My birthday is Sunday, also, haha).  I used Lyrical Letters for the "Sweethearts" and Beyond Birthdays for the "Mom", which I just welded together with another, since they call her Mommom.  The hearts are just a basic shape from MTC, but I like the way they point off to one side.  The shadow box is a 16x20, and the words are cut at a total dimension of 7x14 - I wanted to leave enough room for the pictures!

Once she sees it, she can decide which pictures to put in it.  Then I will make background frames to coordinate with the size and picture she chooses, so that they are not just on a plain white posterboard background.  Also, I set up the hearts so that the point at the bottom will be just above the grandkid's picture, as if pointing right at him/her.  For the names on the hearts, I used MTC, Amy Chomas' mini sharpie holder, and the AKA Dora TTF.  I think I've covered it all here, so thanks for visiting!!

Not sure about this

I don't think I'm very good at tri-shutter cards!  I have a hard time deciding what to put on the front in the main large area.  Anyway, I made two of the same card for my mom and my boyfriend's mom, so here it is.  I used SFTN for all of the accents, and the Mother's Day seasonal for the sentiment.  The flowers on the front are from an embellishment pack I got at HSN a couple of years ago, but the colors worked!  Trust me, that green color is in the pattern.  The patterned paper is from Michael's, the base cardstock is from SU (blushing blossom), and the stamp is SU's sweet swirls.  Thanks for visiting!

Happy Cinco De Mayo Birthday!!!

I made this card for a friend of mine whom is having a birthday tomorrow, so I figured this was perfect!  I used MTC to make the file from scratch, based on a black and white file of a margarita that I found on Google!  The tag was from a TTF called 09 Kut Ups, and the font was the Curlz font in MTC, and I used Amy Chomas' mini sharpie holder for the "Cheers".  The glass is made of acetate, and to make it stand out a bit, I made a base layer in clear vellum, also.  The paper is from K&Co Citronella stack, which I LOVE, the ribbon is just from Michael's, and I just used some crystal glitter for the salt on the rim.  For the inside, I cut a strawberry out of scraps from the card base, and used a Stampin Up! birthday set stamp.

A new card - pick you up!!

Well, a friend of mine is having a bit of a stressful period, so I made this for her!  All paper, ribbon, and buttons are from Stampin Up!, all cuts are from Just Because Cards, and the truck was embossed with CB swiss dots.  The details are:
                                     Truck cut at 4.22" x 2.31"
                                     Tag and title cut at 2.71" x 3.21"
                                     Background piece cut at 4.81" x 6.87"

The inside was inked and stamped with supplies from Michael's, and I used a Galaxy pen for the faux stitching on the title tag.  Thanks for visiting!

HUUUGE Giveaway!!

The wonderful ladies at Everyday Cricut are giving away an Expression - yes, an EXPRESSION - in celebration of National Scrapbook Day.  All details are in the link below, and please note that the drawing is next Sunday, May 9th (which is my birthday), so you have plenty of time to enter!!  Wouldn't it be nice to win something like that on my bday??  HAHA, who am I kidding, I never win ANYTHING!!!  Oh well.  Best of luck to all of you!

http://www.cricutholiday.com/2010/05/our-gigantic-national-scrapbook-day.html