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!

Bunch of Flowers

A friend of mine and fellow crafter fell last week and broke her leg. This is on top of the cancer that she is fighting. I wanted to make her a card to brighten her day. I ask that anyone who reads this please say a prayer for Connie.

I used the stamp set Spring Garden from Stampin' Up. The cardstock is The Paper Company and the pattern paper is from My Big Ideas. The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's Everyday Occasions. The ribbon is from my stash. I added some stickles to the flowers and the butterfly that just made the card pop.

Thanks for looking and praying for my friend.

Christmas Ornaments

I have a problem with procrastination. I purchased these glass ornaments in September with full intentions of having them made way before Christmas. Well, it turns out I was making them the night before I was going to give them to the teachers I work with. Add to it that I haven't made this post until a week after Christmas. I guess better late than never.I used the Christmas cart for the angel, cross, and tree. I used the Its Cold Outside cart for the snowflakes and Very Merry Tags for the JOY. I cut each out using vinyl, adhered it to the glass, and applied etching cream. I am always worried as a clean the cream off that it hasn't worked because I can't see the image. It is not until I remove the vinyl that I can tell the difference. Hope you enjoy and have a Happy New Year!