Pastor Appreciation

Tomorrow we will be showing our appreciation to our pastor and his wife. They have been a blessing to our church and community. Here is the card I made for them.

I was inspired by Kristine B at Bee Creative... Ink Something. (I have linked it to the card she created in 2008 but be sure to click on the top header and check out her blog. She is quite talented.)

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a blessed day!

Pumpkin Patch

I got this idea from the SplitcoastStamper site. I used Make the Cut to join two circles to create a donut, cut them out with the Cricut, and joined 5 of them together to make the pumpkin. I used the Jolly Rancher Lollipops for the center.

The leaf is from a die using my cuttlebug as is the tag. The orange circles are from the center of the donuts used for the pumpkin. The green ribbon is from my stash.

 I used an embossing tool to put a vein in the leaf.

I plan on giving these to my colleagues at work. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my pumpkin patch.
Have a blessed day!

Fearful Fiends Treat Bags

My boys are away this weekend celebrating my DH birthday at the beach. I couldn't go so I am taking my own retreat by crafting all weekend.

I started last night making the Halloween treat bags for my son's Kindergarten class. I found little boxes of tattoos, tiny activity pads, plastic bracelets, Hershey kisses, gummies, and mini Oreo packs. My plan was to make little treat boxes but there were so many items I found the sandwich baggies were easier.

I created the top header using Fearful Fiends from Lettering Delights with Make the Cut and my Cricut. To make the print and cut work I create a shadow image slightly larger than the image itself and only cut the shadow layer out. I used the Chiller font for the phrase. I also used my new punch that I have been wanting for some time. It's the drippy goo from Martha Stewart.

These are so cute and my son will be excited to hand these out on Halloween. Thanks for dropping by.

Have a blessed day!

My First Easel Card

My DH has a birthday on Friday and he is taking Fisher to the beach fishing. We are celebrating at the house on Wednesday. I wanted to try an easel card and had some time to play with it today. I used images from Lettering Delights Happy Camper and Happy Trails. I tried a PnC but found it was easier just to print and use my trusty scissors.

Can you tell that the canoe and the fishing hat are layered with pop dots?

I couldn't find the right image I wanted for the sun so I took a roll of tape and traced the inside with a black pen. I moved the roll around to make it look more like a scribble. I used a face from Peachy Keen to created the smile and colored with colored pencils.

Thanks for taking the time to look. Now I hope his present is delivered in time for him to open tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

Altered Composition Book for Teacher

Fisher started Kindergarten last month and I made this notebook for his teacher Mrs. Thornton. I usual do not create altered items but had seen some of these composition books done. I thought I would try my hand at it. I used Lettering Delights Cool School for the crayon frame and school days. The letters for the name is from the Scribble Kids alphabet. The notebook paper was first drawn with the Cricut using an ink gel pen and then cut from Locker Talk cart. I found some stickers than looked like ribbon in my stash, a few buttons, and a cute embellishment of stacked books. Finally I made a closure using some ribbon with the alphabet printed on it.



Thanks for taking the time to visit and have a blessed day.

A Quick Card to Share

Trying to keep up and share something at least once a week. Hmmmm.... should I put that in writing? They say that putting your goals in writing helps you stay on target so I think I'll leave it there. We'll see how things go.

Today I am sharing a card I made in July for my pastor's son who was getting married. The heart is cut from Plantin Schoolbook and embossed with Divine Swirls folder. The paper is from My Mind's Eye. I kept playing with the placement of the heart and felt it needed more. At the time I wasn't so please with it but now that I look at it with fresh eyes I really like the simplicity of the card.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Hope you have a blessed day!

A Hummingbird of a Gift

My mom (aka Nana) loves hummingbirds as does my mother in law (aka Mamaw). Fisher was at Mamaws and saw a beautiful fluted glass with an etching of a hummingbird and flowers. He instantly thought of Nana and said we needed to give it to her. It took a little convincing that we couldn't take Mamaw's glass and give it to Nana, but we could make our own. So off to the craft store we went. When Fisher saw the glass candle holder he was determined that it was the right one. This time I had to be convinced and I do believe he made the right choice.

I used Make the Cut to create the image. I cut it out of vinyl, adhered it to the glass, and used an etching creme. 

I wanted to make a card to go with the gift so I went in search of another hummingbird that I could create into layers. Here is the final image in MTC and the card. I wasn't too pleased with how my Cricut cut the tiny pieces. It was definately time for a new blade and mat.

 Here is the final project. Nana was thrilled with the gift. She proudly displays it in her livingroom.

Thanks for dropping by. I'll have another project to share with you soon. Have a blessed day.



Back from Hiatus

The thought was that I would lots of time this summer to craft and share. NOT! No complaints because we had a fabulous summer and I spent some great time with my boys. We enjoyed swim lessons, camping, the beach, an awesome museum with a dinosaur park, and movies. I also trained for my first 5K which was August 13th. It was a very busy few months.

Now school is back in session. Fisher has started Kindergarten. Every one kept asking if I was going to cry. I was too excited for him to cry about it. Friday was his first day so tomorrow will start his first full week. As for me, I am back at work teaching high school math. I love the start of the school year and there are so many things I am looking forward to this year.

Anyway, I have rambled on enough. I guess you have come to visit to see some crafts. In May, a colleague of mine got married and I wanted to make her something special. I etched a glass container, perfect for flowers or a candle, with their names. I also made her a set of monogram cards with the initial of her new last name.

For the card I cut a scalloped circle I found in the gallery using the Make the Cut software. I embossed a piece of white card stock and layered some paper from My Minds Eye on the side. The stamp on the scalloped circle is from a set I found at the Dollar Store. I wasn't too pleased with the bright yellow I chose for the letter C. I brushed it with brown ink using a stimple brush. This toned it down a little. I would have recut the letters but I was running out of time.
I really like etching glass. It makes it easy to create personalized gifts. I can't remember the font I used in MTC for the names. I placed some paper inside the glass but I'm not sure it helps you see the image any better. At least you can get an idea.

My friend liked the gift and ended up using it at her reception. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Sending Oceans of Wishes

A friend of ours has been struggling with kidney stones. Today he had surgery so Fisher and I made him a couple of cards. The whale is from the Create a Critter cart. The lettering is from Plantin Schoolbook and Zoo Life. When I put the googley eyes on they gave the whale a great personality.
For Fisher's card, he wanted to use a crab. (We were watching Deadliest Catch while we were discussing what to do which is what started the ocean themed cards.) He did the entire design. He even used the gypsy to get it ready to cut. He is quite determined to do it all. He only asks help in writing what he wants to say.

Thanks for taking the time to visit. Have a blessed day.

Easter Treat Boxes

Last week Kristy at Craftin' On My Door posted this cute idea and I just loved it. Go take a look at her creation here. The challenge for me on this was using Tags Bags Boxes and More. I got the cart on my Gypsy last fall when there was a promotion. I don't have the handbook and I wasn't sure which cut would create the box I needed. I ended up using the matchbox cover and box. However, I assembled it like a book where the cover opens up instead of the drawer sliding out. I used small plastic bags and filled them with the candy so I didn't have to bother with an acetate window. I printed the label from the computer and used a Martha Stewart 1" scallop punch for the background paper. The ribbon is American Crafts. One of my colleagues is following the Weight Watchers diet so in support of her I made this box. I found a small snack bag of carrots and made the box a little bigger. The bunny is from Gypsy Wanderings embossed with Divine Swirls. The grass is from Create a Critter.

I still have a few more projects to go. Saturday is the Easter Egg Hunt at church. I am making cupcakes for a snack and was going to make decor to go on top. Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!

Easter Basket

Saturday my SIL called me to see if she could visit and if I could help her in decorating my 1 year old nephew's Easter Basket. She had picked up this bright little box at Target and thought it would be just the right size for the little man. When she went to AC Moores to look at embellishments she went into a little sticker shock. She then remembered "Karen has a cricut." I was more than willing to assist. (Really, it just takes a small suggestion to get me to craft, especially when it is for others.) The name is a print-n-cut from LD Hodgepodge alphabet. The frog is from Frogs and Kisses SVG set. The eggs are cut from patterned paper using the Peep SVG. The other little critters are from a sticker set she did buy. It all goes well together. On these two sides, there are more eggs. The chick and bunny are from LD Easter Beasties SVG set. The grass is from the Plantin Schoolbook cart.

I used the cricut, MTC, Lettering Delights, a cartridge, and stickers to create the images. My SIL put it all together. I think she did a marvelous job. Here are close ups of each side.

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!

Quick Post

Going back to work tomorrow. Spring Break went by too fast. Just 9 more weeks before the summer. Just wanted to post a quick link to Ashley's blog Welch Creations. She is doing a 150 Followers giveaway of a new Cuttlebug. If you get a chance, go check out her work. Hope to post some pics of an Easter basket project I did with my SIL. Maybe tomorrow after work. I will probably need to retreat for a few minutes. (Haha!)

Easter Egg Card

During my latest visit to the MTC discussion forum I found the egg card cut file from Shelly aka paperflowers and the cross image from Suzan. I put them together and made this card for my grandmother. The cardstock is Recollections. The pattern paper is DCWV. I added some stickles for a little glimmer.

I embossed the cross and used a stipple brush to give it texture and depth. The flowers and ribbon are from my stash.

Thanks for visiting. Have a blessed day!

Easter "Tweets"

Even though I planned to craft during the day it turned out I was crafting late into the night last night. Today we register our son for kindergarten. He will be going to the same school he has been at for Pre-K so my plan was to hand deliver the teachers' Easter treats today. I made baskets for his three teachers and the "tweet" bags for the ladies in the office.

I first want to give credit for the "tweet" bags to Lettering Delights. As part of their celebration for 1000 followers they offered 11 freebies. This cute little design was one of them.

The file was ready to use. I just separated the layers in MTC and picked out the color combination. I just love these and will probably make more for my "peeps" at school.

Here's a closer look at the topper. I put a pop dot under the wing of the chick.

I am excited about these baskets because it is the first 3D cut I have designed in MTC. I cut each basket out of heavy cardstock, assembled, and decorated them.

I thought the ribbon on the handle made this basket fun and festive.

I love the color combination of pink and brown. Along with some candy goodies I included a small Koosh ball for some fun.

I picked up the lace I used on this basket just the other day at AC Moores - 3 yards for a buck. The flowers are just simple silk flowers I picked up at the Dollar Store.

Well, we need to be getting ready to go. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day.

Playing with Dinosaurs

My son really liked the Land Before Time videos. I remember when he created his own Dinosaur Village. He turned over the storage boxes that we keep the dinosaurs in, took a green blanket and draped it over the boxes to form mountains. I gave him the blue towel that he used for the lake. He played with this for over an hour. For this layout I used the Paper Dolls Dress Up cartridge for all of the cuts. There were several dinosaurs to choose from. Since they were accessories, they didn't have layers to them. I cut the images out in different colors and used my handy dandy scissors to trim and create the layers.To give the images some dimension I used my chalks to add shading and additional colors. I modeled the colors from the actual dinosaurs he is playing with. You may be able to tell on the palm tree the chalking. The others are not showing up as well in the pics.

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day! (My Spring Break is almost over. Just a few days left.)