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!

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!

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!

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.)

A Quick Layout

This morning I want to share with you a quick layout I did of my DS and his loyal dog Patch. (I wonder just how many dalmations are named Patch?) Anyway, I have stopped trying to scrapbook in chronological order. If I try that then I am always behind. Instead I just grab some pictures I like and start creating.

For this page I used the font from the Robotz cart. The paw print was a challenge. I don't have a cart with a paw print so I used the bear from the Doodlecharms cart. (I used him on a card in my last post which is why I thought to go to it.) The bear has a layer for his tummy & nose that was just the right size for the paw. I copied it multiple times using my Gypsy and then hid the portions I didn't need. Viola - I paw print. After putting the letters on the page it seemed a little dull so I traced the edges with an opaque white pen to make it pop. Lastly, what page would be complete without the dog from Create a Critter. (One of my favorite carts.) I added the red collar to match Patch's. The bone made a nice header for my journaling.

Thanks for the visit. I just love company. Have a blessed day!

A Swinging Baby Card

I would like to share this baby shower card I made for a friend. I was inspired by Cheryl at Nana's Creative Space in which she had made several swing cards. She directed me to Angela at Simple Creations Paper Crafts who had a video on how to make a swing card. The process is fairly simple and I think the fold is super cute. The parents do not know whether the baby is a boy or a girl so I incorporated all colors into the card. I cut the chick from the Create a Critter cart at 2 1/4". The "Welcome little one" is a vellum piece I found in my sticker binder. I used the Crop-a-dile to puch the holes for the flowers brads and I embossed the yellow pieces with the Swiss Dots folder and my Cuttlebug. As the card begins to open you can see the center section begin to swing. I wanted to put a bow on the chick's head with a little bling but restrained myself to stay gender neutral.

Now the inside is exposed revealing a sweet sentiment also in vellum. As you can see I chose to put the bow on this side. I countered the bow with a cute little frog in the bottom right corner. It is from a micropunch from Creative Memories.

I can see a few more of these cards in my future. It was fun to make and so many different places to be creative. Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day.

Monogram Card

First I must welcome all the new followers. Thanks to Momo and her idea to share links to our blogs. I have visited so many creative people and seen some really great work. Thanks for sharing with me your kind comments and time.

I made this set of monogram cards for a friend who is getting married. I found the decorative paper at Michaels and knew she would love the vintage look. I can't remember which cart I used to make the monogram. I think it was the Gypsy font but I also played with Jasmine so I'm not sure. I used my cuttlebug to emboss the flowers behind the monogram.
The black card stock started at 5 1/2" by 8 1/2". The longer side was scored and folded at 3" and 1 1/4" creating a little different fold and look to the standard A2 card. The designer paper was then cut at 5 1/2" by 3" and also 5 1/2" by 1 1/4" to place on the front.

I bundled the six cards with envelopes together using the matching ribbon and topped it with a matching monogram.

Thanks for taking a look and may your day be blessed. Please leave a comment. I love to hear from others.

"Springy" Birthday Card

I have noticed that several of the blogs I follow and on messageboards shaped cards are popular. Usually I just make the typical A2 card. For this birthday card I decided to make a shaped card. I used the dragonfly from the Paisley cart. I merged a square from Plantin Schoolbook and the shadow of the dragonfly using my Gypsy. I created a mirror image and merged the two images.

The border on the design paper is an EK Success border punch. The tiny butterflies are a Creative Memories punch with some stickles in the center. The stamp is from My Pink Stamper Everyday Occasions.

I embossed the wings of the dragonfly and added more stickles (gotta love the shimmer). I added the bow at the very last and love the way this turned out.

Thanks for looking and have a blessed day :)

Belated Valentine's Post

Let me start with the card Fisher gave to Rylie at church. What you must understand about this relationship is that my son is 5 years old and Rylie is a freshman in college. He picked out the image from the Lettering Delights "Love Pets." This was my first Print-and-Cut card. It was so easy with the Make the Cut software. I added the google eyes, some glossy accent to the hearts, and the ribbon. The background paper is from DCWV.

This next project was a few weeks in the making. I was inspired by an idea I saw in a magazine (can't remember right off which one) to use a miniature chocolate for the body of a robot. I decided to use the Robots cartridge to make these Valentines for my son to give away at preschool. I wrapped the miniature chocolates in spare design paper and used my Cuttlebug to emboss the background paper. They were just too cute especially with the different size eyes. I was proud of Fisher. He wrote each of his classmates name and signed each card. He was very excited to hand these out.

Here is a closer look at the girl and boy cards. By the way, the heart is a Creative Memories punch and the "Hello Friend" stamp is Studio G clear stamp.

For my colleagues at work I chose to use the Lettering Delights "Love Pets" again with the PNC method. Did I tell how easy I thought this was :) Each tag has a magnet on the back and is attached to a goody bag filled with chocolate and candy.

I chose to use the Lettering Delights "Monster Love" for my DH's card. The border at the bottom is an EK Success punch which has quickly become one of my favorites.

I really wanted to do somethiing very special for my mom's card. I have made a tri-shutter fold card. This allowed me little canvases to be creative.

See the little inchie down in the bottom left corner--- love it!

The butterflies are a Creative Memories punch. They were the last thing I added and it really made the card pop. I hope my mom realized that the heart at the top right was a magnet.

Thanks for taking a look. Although Valentines Day has come and gone I hope this inspires you to send a note to the one(s) you love.

Shaped Notecards

Although I may be tired of snow and it looks as though there may be some coming in this next week I couldn't help by try some of these shaped notecards. I was inspired by Jin Yong at Under a Cherry Tree . She has wonderful ideas and great video tutorials. I encourage you to check out her blog... WONDERFUL! Inspired by her work I went and checked out Lettering Delights. Wow! I love the low prices and the images... so much cheaper than cartridges and more versatile too.

Now to the cards. I used the Eskimo Kisses from Lettering Delights and the Make the Cut program for the snowbear and the penguin. Using the shadow feature I welded two shadows together to form the base card then cut the layers. Be cautious when creating the welded card for the snowbear. I made the mistake of mirroring the image wrong and when cut and folded the arms didn't match. Oh well, live and learn. Later I used the Create a Critter cartridge with my Gypsy and made the elephant. I thought he would be cute for quick Valentine notes.
These were fun and easy to make. I look forward to making more to have on hand for a variety of occasions. Have a great day and stay warm :)

Hang in There

The end of the fall semester has been a mess. With all of the snow exams had been pushed back a couple of weeks. The schedule was crazy... never knowing if we were going to school or not. Suffice it to say that preparing my students for the math exam was a challenge.

I made this card for one of the students that has his own challenges besides taking the exam. His testing took all day and into the next. It took him 6 hours to answer the 80 question exam. He worked very hard and was exhausted by the end of the first day. I knew he was going to face more the next day and wanted to encourage him. I couldn't wait to get home that evening because I knew this stamp and this monkey were just made for this card.

I used the Create a Critter cart to cut the monkey. The stamp is from Stampin' Up. The paper is from DCWV and the border punch is EK Success. The student loved the card and I do hope it brightened his day. If only all my students had the motivation and determination this young man has. This is why I love making cards. They just have a way of expressing the emotion.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

A Fancy Fold

I decided that I would join in a couple of challenges this week. Over at Allsorts the challenge was to create a {Fancy Fold} and I immediately thought of Susan Cobb's book Journal of Paper Engineering by Hot of the Press. I browsed through the 72 pages and chose a card with flaps on page 19. The Pink Elephant is back this year with a color challenge: pink, orange and aqua. So I opted to combine these two challenges and make the following card.


I started by finding some gorgeous paper with all three colors in the Bloom and Grow pack from My Mind's Eye. Next I chose four sheets of cardstock and cut them down to 5" x 6". Using my cricut, I was able to cut the four square windows (2.75", 2", 1.5", and 1") easily.

For the front window I used the Paisley cartridge to cut out this embellishment; drawing the colors from the paper in the back all the way to the front. I also used stickles to add some dimension. The ribbon at the top is accented with a small button.

The second window has been embossed using the cuttlebug and the Paisley card. I continued to use the stickles.

The third window has been brushed with a rose colored ink. The flowers are cut from the paper used on the back page of the card. Small gems have been placed at the corners of the window.










Finally, as the card opens up a full view of the paper is seen accented with a small piece of aqua paper in order to write a sweet sentiment before giving the card away.

This has been a fun challenge. These are colors I would not have put together but I think it turned out well. Thanks for taking a look and please leave a message.

An Artful Album

What do you do with all the pieces of art that your child produces? I realistically know that I cannot keep everything yet I find it hard to part with Fisher's masterpieces. I have a couple of solutions. I keep pictures of almost everything and display them on a digital frame. I also keep a box of some of my favorites. For these, I have finally decided to create an album for his artwork. I started with a simple 12x12 album. (Excuse the messy desk. It was a last minute thought to snap a photo of the album before I worked with it.)

I started by gluing a ribbon over the gold stripe. I used green ribbon with yellow dots that I found in the $1 bin at Target and Zip Dry glue to adhere it to the album. The side border is cut using Plantin Schoolbook and welding (with the help of my Gypsy) two of the scalloped borders together. Next I used glue dots to place the ribbons and the colored circles on each scallop. I topped the circles with a dab of clear Stickles for a little 'bling'.

The letters are from a new cartridge I got for Chrsitmas. It is the Cricut Lite Zoo Day. I really like the font on this. I cut the letters at 2". Using my Gypsy, I was able to align the letters of similar colors together and lay the paper out exactly where it needed to be, thus making cutting them out easy. I edged each letter with a matching colored pencil to give the letters a little more depth.

The art supplies were cut from Locker Talk. I used the Crop-a-Dile to place the eyelet on the scissors. I also used Glossy Accents from Inkessentials to make the handles of the scissors shiny.

Finally, what art album would be complete without crayons. I really like the way these turned out. Again, I added some stickles and outlines with colored pencil.

Fisher is really excited about his album. Today I was able to complete the cover and make three layouts. (The snowfall that has covered the South has allowed me a few days home in order to work on this.)

Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment. I love to hear from others!