Funky Chicken Thursday!

     Well, the weekend is getting closer.  It should be easy sailing from here to the weekend, so relax and start the fun now!  I have another cute chicken card to share with you, and hopefully it brings a smile to your face.

     This chicken image and the phrase, like yesterday's, are from the Country Life Cricut Cartridge.  I used the same papers for both cards, but this one I added a bit of ribbon.  Again, I cut the brown shadow twice so that I could put one shadow flat on the card and raise the other one on sticky foam.  I just love all the great images on this cartridge!

     That's all for today.  I have a full schedule today, so I have to run.  You have a fabulous day today! 
Bye for now,
Anne

Well, we've made it to Wednesday again!

      We've reached the middle of the week again.  It should get easier from here, so relax and enjoy!  In the meantime, check out this card that I made with the Country Life Cricut Cartridge.

     This is one of the cartridges that I don't have yet, but a friend of mine very sweetly let me borrow it.  I have been wanting this cartridge for a while, but after I saw all the cute images and phrases on it, now I know that I have to have it!  This card is one of a set of two chicken cards.  Isn't it cute?  So easy to put together!  I did add a little ink on the edges (of course), and some faux stitching in a couple of spots.  I also cut two of the brown chicken shadows so that I could place one flat on the card, and raise the other one on sticky foam for a little dimension.

     Well, that's all for today.  Don't forget to leave me a comment, and stop by again tomorrow.  

Bye for now,
Anne

Monday Already?

     Where, oh where did the weekend go?  I can hardly believe that it is Monday already.  How was your weekend?  Did you get to spend any time crafting?  I hope so!  I had a great time Saturday at our Cricut Class.  We had a total of 16 adults, and one small assistant.  The afternoon went so fast that I didn't even have time to take pictures of everyone working with their bugs!  Maybe next time.

     Now to start a new week!  I have a new card to show you today.  You know that I like to save time, and paper.  This card is made from my scrap basket, again.  Love using those scraps!  It's like making a card for free.  You may recognise this butterfly cut.  I used this butterfly on the blue and green card that I shared with you a while back.  When I cut the blue and green butterfly, I also cut this pink and purple one.  When I find a cut that I like, I cut more than one at a time so they are ready when I need them.  Saves time, and I can put together a quick card when I need one.  A recipe box makes a great place to store the extra cuts until I need them.

     All three layers of the butterfly were cut at 2.75".  I used a Fiskars Border punch along the bottom of the polka-dotted paper, and drew some faux stitching on the butterfly with a white gelly roll pen.  I added a few white dots here and there for fun.  The word dream is from a Fiskars stamp set, and is heat embossed.  Add a bit of ribbon and this card is finished!

     Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this one.  I always love reading comments!  I'll be back tomorrow with something new.  Come back by and see!

Bye for now,
Anne

Finally Friday!

     Good morning!

     Are you all ready for the weekend?  I hope so.  I can't wait for our Cricut Class Saturday afternoon!  I'm so excited!!  Ok, enough of that for now.  We have a card to look at!

     This fun card comes from the Once Upon a Princess Cricut cartridge.  This is the perfect cut for girls of all ages, on any day.  Who wouldn't want to be Queen for a Day?  Great for birthdays, anniversaries, or even just because.  There are so many great cuts on that cartridge.  If you haven't checked out the handbook, you really should.  You don't know what you're missing!

     Well, hate to rush, but I have to get back to work on that Cricut Class.  I have a busy weekend ahead, so I'll be back here Monday.  Stop by and say hello!

Bye for now,
Anne

A Thank You for Thursday!

Good morning Thursday!

     I'm so thankful for the beautiful, warm, sunny weather!  What a change from last week.  The snow is melting, the ice is disappearing, and I'm in the mood for a thank you card!

     It is a very simple card, but sometimes a simple thank you is all that you need.  The blue tag with thank you is a cut from the Tie the Knot Cricut Cartridge, cut at 2.5".  I used my Gypsy to remove the words from the tag and cut it in white to back the blue tag.  The tag is raised on sticky foam with the ribbon running underneath, and mounted on beautiful printed paper from K and Company.  A little faux stitching with a white gel pen finished it off.

     Well, that's it!  Let me know what you think of it.  I always love to read comments about my creations, so be sure to leave some!  ;)

Bye for now,
Anne

How about a cup a Joe?

Good morning!
     Have you had your coffee yet?  I have, and it sure was good.  I hope you're relaxing with a cup while you read this, although it doesn't have to be coffee.  Tea or hot cocoa would do just as well.  Why am
I rambling on about coffee?  I'm glad you asked!  I have a fun coffee mug project to show you today.  This mug was part of my Valentine's Day gift to my husband Mick.  Do you like it?

          He loved it, and I guess that's what matters.  I was pretty happy with the way it turned out too.  Here are a few pics with the outside cover removed so the glare is gone.

     All of the shapes and letters are cut with my Cricut from the Old West Cartridge.  As you turn the mug it says Mick's Cowboy Coffee.  I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes in the Happy Trails oval so that I could tie it to the mug with some hemp twine.  I'll show you a picture of the pieces before they were glued to the mug.

     I wanted the coffee pot and mug to look like they were granite ware, so I choose a denim patterned paper scrap that I had.  That gave them the speckled look.  I added the jug cut because he likes to add a little Baileys to his coffee on the weekends.  Of course I inked edges, and added dots and doodles here and there.  I didn't want it to look too new! 

     The mug was one that I picked up at Joann's from the 2 for $5 bins.  Originally it was decorated with cherries, but I found that if you twist the top of the mug just right the clear cover will come off.  Then you can remove the cherry paper to use as a pattern and replace it with any paper you choose.  It's a great price for a one-of-a-kind insulated mug!

     I hope you liked today's project.  Something a little different!  Come back tomorrow and see what's new.  Until then, have a great day!

Bye for now,
Anne 

Blog Hop Entry

     Have you been following along on The Pink Stampers blog hop?  So many great projects!  The challenge was to create something using black with your favorite color.  My favorite colors are black, green, and blue, and I added a little cream to lighten it up. 

     This butterfly is cut from the Sentimentals Cricut Cartridge at 2.75 ".  I punched a few more holes with my Crop-a-dile to let more of the black show through the green.  The blue layer is raised on sticky foam to give it some depth.  I hope you like it!

     Now don't forget to check out all the fabulous projects in the blog hop!  Just go to The Pink Stamper to start the Blog Hop and see all the project entries.  Have fun!

 Bye for now,

Anne

A Lovey-dovey card!

 Happy Friday! 
      Pshew, I thought it would never get here!  I hope you've had a good week, and have great plans for the weekend.  Can you believe that Valentine's Day is just a few days away?  How did that happen?!?!  Anyway, in honor of this celebration of love, I thought that it was time for another love themed card.  This card could be used for a Valentine's card, a wedding card, or just any ol' "I Love You" type of occasion.

     That's right!  A love card without a spot of red or pink on it.  Crazy, I know.  But I kind of like the way this card turned out.  I wanted it to look like a pair of birds (doves?) sitting on a branch with the moon behind them.  Close enough.  So here are the details.

     The moon was cut from the George and Basic Shapes Cricut Cartridge at 3.5".  I used a printed card stock from the DCWV Luxury Stack, in kind of a shimmery champagne print.  Both the birds and branch silhouette and the True Love were cut from the Tie the Knot Cricut Cartridge at 1.75".  I used my Cricut Expression and my Gypsy so that I could put all the papers on the same mat and cut them at the same time, but you could easily cut them with any sized Cricut.

     After all the pieces were cut, it was easy to glue everything together.  I thought about popping the bird silhouette up on sticky foam, but I was afraid the branch ends would catch on the envelope and get torn up.  I played it safe and stuck the birds right on top of the moon.  A strip of ribbon to finish it off, and this card was done!  I hope you like it.

     Well, that's it for today.  I'll be back soon with another fun project.
Bye for now,
Anne

    

Wednesday is Card day!

     Hello again!

     It has been a couple of days since I shared a card with all of you.  Flowers, mini-albums, favor boxes.....psheww... all kinds of stuff!  So today we'll take it easy and just look at a simple card that I made this weekend.

     Aren't the colors nice and soothing?  I love the fabulous printed cardstock in the Linen Closet Stack from DCWV.  All of the papers on this card are from that same stack, and that makes it so easy to choose colors and patterns that work well together.  DCWV has already done all the matching work for us!

     Now on to the details.  The bird cut is from the Wall Decor and More Cricut Cartridge, cut at 3".  I ran the top layer of the bird through my Cuttlebug in an embossing folder.  (I believe it is called Houndstooth.)  After that I sanded it lightly so the white core of the DCWV card stock could show through.  I added a little green ink around the edges of the bird before gluing the two layers together.

     The mat behind the bird was cut with a Spellbinders die that I rolled through my Cuttlebug.  The tan strip was cut with a Martha Stewart border punch.  Those deep border punches are so versatile!  All the pieces except the bird were inked on the edges with a brownish tan ink from studio g.  I raised the bird on sticky foam to give the card a little more dimension.  Oh, I almost forgot!  I added another border punched strip inside the card, from the striped print.

     Well, hopefully this card gets you thinking about SPRING!  For now, try to stay warm.

Bye for now,

Anne

Just a little favor

     Hi again! 

     Did you get a chance to visit some of the other blogs I suggested?  Aren't they great?!  There are so many talented people sharing their work on blogs now.  It is exciting just to join in and learn from some of them.  But right now, I'm here, and you're here, so let's get going on a new project!

     Today I have a pillow box to show you.  I like pillow boxes because they can be used as a favor box, or as a cute way to present a gift card or small gift item like jewelry.  This pillow box is from the Cricut Solutions Wedding Cartridge.

     I wanted a more formal look, so I cut the pillow box out of black paper.  With my Gypsy, I used the hide contour button to remove the window decoration from the design, and set the height at 5.75".   That way you can cut 2 of them out of one 12x12 sheet of cardstock.  The black outline of the heart can be cut out of the strip of paper  to the side of the pillow boxes.

     The hearts are cut from the same cartridge, at 2".  To get the 3 color effect, I had to cut the base of the two hearts out of both black and white, and then use my scissors to snip the front heart off the black shape.  Then I glued the black outline of the back heart onto the white piece.   The decorative part of the front heart was cut from a champagne colored cardstock at 2" also.  Make sure you have the Real Dial Size button off when you cut, or this heart will not fit together at all!  Now glue that last piece on the front of the heart.

     Once all the pieces are cut, and your heart pieces are assembled, it is time to put the box together.  I like to use a score board, either my Score Pal or Martha Stewart scoreboard, to score the lines before I fold the box up.  That way I get nice, sharp fold lines.  After everything is neatly creased, I run a line of adhesive down the side tab with my Scotch ATG 714 (tape gun) and then fold the box into shape.  The Scotch ATG tape really holds well.

     Finally I decorated the pillow box with a strip of patterned paper, and a length or cream colored ribbon.  I secured the heart decoration to the front with a  single Glue Dot so that the edges could lift and move without the entire piece coming off.  Do not glue the hearts to the ribbon or the box cannot be opened without tearing it all apart.  This way they can just untie the ribbon to open it.  You can glue the ribbon to the back of the box so that it doesn't fall off when the box is untied, if you like.

     Well, I hope you like this little favor box.  It can be used for all kinds of occasions just by changing the paper and cardstock colors.  Why don't you try one yourself!  I would love to see what you come up with, so be sure and post a picture.

Bye for now,
Anne

Another Fun Card Friday!

     Well, this snowy cold week is almost over!  I thought that another fun card would be a great way to end the week.  Isn't this little guy cute!  The hedgehog is from the Four-legged Friends Lite Cricut Cartridge.  He was cut at 3", first out of black cardstock.  Then the pink and aqua layers were cut from DCWV cardstock so that the white core would show through when it was sanded lightly.  The white mat under the hedgie is from a Spellbinders die that I rolled through my Cuttlebug.  The white mat with the hedgie are lifted up with sticky foam, and the doodling  is from a white gelly roll gel pen.  Add a few buttons, and that's it! 

     I hope you like my fun card for Friday!  I love to read comments about my creations, so please let me know what you think of them.  If you like what you see here, I hope you'll click the follow button at the top right of the post.

   Bye for now,
     Anne 

Gypsy Gatefold Card Challenge

     Hello everyone!  I hope you are all staying warm and toasty today.  I have decided to try another new thing!  I am going to try linking todays card to the blog challenge that inspired it.  We'll see how it goes...

     Anyway, todays card is a gate fold card that I designed on my Gypsy.  That is what the challenge is all about, so if you would like to join the challenge, or to see all of the other gatefold cards, just click on over to She's a Sassy Lady  blog.  There are some really cute cards there!

     My gatefold card is made with the Once Upon a Princess Cricut Cartridge.  I used my Gypsy to weld a doll body and  Buffalo Gal outfit onto the edge of a rectangle from George and Basic shapes.  That was my card base, and then I cut the pieces separately also for my layers.  I hope you like it! 

     The "Howdy!" is a stamp from a set by Clear Dollar Stamps.  I just love their Charlie Horse stamp sets! 

     Try out your own gatefold card if you get the chance.  They can be kind of fun, and the possibilities are endless!  Stop back by tomorrow and see what's new.

Bye for now,
Anne

Snow Day means Craft Day!

OOOHHHHH !  The weather outside is frightful,... but the crafts are so delightful.... so if you've no place to go....  
     Come on, sing along.  It's too awful to be outside, so we might as well stay in and craft the day away.  I hope that you all get some time for cardmaking today. To help get you in the spirit of things, I have a cute little owl card to share with you.

        Isn't it funny how so many cards have a love theme at this time of the year?  Hmmm....  Anyway, this little card could be used at any time of the year to let someone know how you feel.  The owl is from the Cricut Lite Hoot and Holler cartridge, cut at 3".  The layers are all very easy to assemble, and there are no tiny little pieces to lose.  The smallest cuts, actually, are the white part of the eyes.

    With the owl assembled, the rest of the card is a piece of cake.  Just punch or cut 9 one inch squares and arrange them in a 3 x 3 grid.  Glue them down and doodle around the edges.  While you're at it, might as well make a few doodles on the owl too.  Then use sticky foam strips to attach the owl on top of the grid, and stamp your sentiment on a scrap of paper and glue it below your owl.  Add a few buttons, more doodling around the stamped scrap, and the card front is done.  Inside I used the answering stamp "I do, that's who!" and then glued the card front onto a simple card base.

     This card is another great one to make from your scraps, because it uses a lot of bits and pieces.  Other than the 4.25" x 5.5" piece that I used for the background, the entire design is made from scraps smaller than 3.25" square.  I'll get that  scrap basket used up yet!

     Well, enjoy the weather where ever you are, and keep crafting if you can.  I'll have a bright and cheery project for you tomorrow, so make sure you stop back by.  You might want to make sure you click on the follow button up at the top right of the page.  That way I can make sure to keep you up to date!

     Thanks for stopping by,
     Anne

Monday Again!

     Happy Monday everyone!  I'm glad you decided to stop by and see what was going on around here.  Hopefully the weather isn't too bad where you are.  They are forecasting some nasty storms later today in our area, but let's forget all that!  Time seems to be flying by, and before we know it spring will have sprung.  So, with spring in mind, I have a St Patty's Day card for you!

     Somehow plaid just seemed right for this card!  I started this card a while back, and finally got it all together (well, the card anyway).  I didn't write down the details, but I believe the shamrock cut is from the Paper Dolls Dress Up Cartridge  for the Cricut, cut at 3.5", real dial size.  Whenever you are using the shapes from the paper doll cart by themselves, make sure to turn on the Real Dial Size button.  Otherwise the shape will be cut smaller so that it is proportional to a paper doll cut at the size you dialed up. I think this is my favorite all-time cartridge because of all the different shapes!  This really is a simple card, with just a little inking and pen-drawn stitching.  The border punch is by Martha Stewart Crafts.  The Irish blessing inside the card is printed from my computer.

    Leave me some comments and let me know what you think of this one.  I always love to read comments! 
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Anne

So-Glad-It's Saturday!

     Good morning everyone!  I hope you have something fun (and crafty) planned for today.  I have another little card made from my scrap basket to show you.  I love using those scraps up!

     How about a Snowflake card for a snowy January Saturday!  I used my 1" square punch to make an inchie snow scene background.  Then I used the Winter Lace Seasonal Cartridge with my Expression to cut a 3.25" snowflake and it's shadow.  This is the very first snowflake on the cartridge, but you could really use any one the you like.  The shadow for the snowflake is the button directly under the snowflake button on this cartridge.
     The  border along the bottom is from a Martha Stewart punch, and the green brads are from my stash.  I used a pen to draw stitching around the inch squares and the top of the border strip.  You can't really tell in the picture, but I used glitter glue on the top of the snowflake for a little sparkle, and the raised it up with foam tape.  All that was left to do was to attach it to a card base.  That's all there is to it!
     Have a great weekend!  I'll be back in a day or two.
Bye for now,
Anne

Fun Card Friday!

     Let's start this blog out right!  Since Friday is my favorite weekday (isn't it yours too?), I thought I would try to post a fun card every Friday.  Some cards are sweet, some are serious, some are beautiful, And some are FUN!  See what you think of this one.



     Doesn't this card get you ready to start the weekend right?  I used the Rock Princess Cricut cartridge to cut the guitar at 3" and the Girls Rock at 1.5".  The black mat under the guitar was cut with a Spellbinders die.  I used a white gelly roll pen here and there, and a fine black pen to make the guitar strings.  Add a few brads from my stash, a little bit of foam tape to raise the cuts off the card, and "ta-da!" a girly fun card.  And the best part is that all of the printed paper and cardstock came from my scrap basket. 

     Let me know what you think of Fun Card Friday, and my GIRLS ROCK card.  I'd love to read some comments.  And click the Follow button if you like my work.

     Bye for today,

     Anne

The not-so-identical- twin....

     Well, it's Wednesday, and I have another card to show you.  If you want the info to make this card, check yesterday's post.  Same design, different cards.

     I like to save time by making more than one card at a time, but I still like for each one of my cards to be different and unique.  This is the way to do it!  Just use the same design, and the same Cricut cuts, but different colors and papers.  Other than that these two are basically the same card.  And the second card goes together really fast!  Here are the two cards together, so you can compare.

     The one with the black silhouette is definately more dramatic, but they both look look good IRL.  Well, I think so anyway.  ;)  Let me know what you think - I love to get some comments!

     I'll be back in a day or two with more crafty fun!  Stop by and see me, or click the follow button on the top right side.  Bye for now,
Anne

Happy Tuesday!

Good morning!
     Let's try something new.  Yesterday I said that I would show you a card that I made with my Cricut, so let's give it a try.  (I hope that I can figure this all out.  Keep your fingers crossed!)

Yeah!  It worked!  (And it was surprisingly easy....)  Anyway...

     This is a card that I made yesterday using the two cartridges A Childs Year (or ACY) and Doodlcharms (DC).  The images on ACY are very realistic and detailed, so make sure you have a good blade and mat for your Cricut.  I used my Cricut Expression and my Gypsy to make these cuts, but they are small enough that you could also make them with a smaller Cricut and the cartridges.  Now for the details.

 I cut the image of the boy and girl from ACY at 3" in black.  The scalloped heart and smooth edged heart are both cut from DC at 4.5".  I choose very similar colors for both heart pieces, but you can use contrasting colors if you wish for more definition.
      Using my paper trimmer I cut my background paper at 5" x7".  Next I used a Martha Stewart deep border punch to put a pretty edge on one strip of printed paper for the front of the card, and one to decorate the inside.  I used the same punch for both strips, and trimmed them to the proper width afterwards.  The strip on the front of the card is 2" x 7" and the one inside is 1.5" x 7".
     The next step is inking the edges.

You can see in this picture how the inked left side of the heart looks so much more finished than the plain right side.  It's the little details that really make the difference!  The inside heart piece and the background paper are inked with rose, the strip across the front is done with Chamomile ink from Paper Trey Ink, and I used the side of my black Copic marker brush tip to put a thin black edge around the scalloped heart.
  Now for assembly:
1. Attach a narrow strip of lace across the front border punched piece.  I used my ATG 740 and just ran a strip of adhesive across the entire piece of lace.  Make sure you cut the lace long enough to tuck the ends behind the paper.

2. Adhere the strip with the lace to the background paper, not quite halfway up.

3. Place the smooth edged heart onto the scalloped heart, and attach this over the lace, just slightly to the right of center.

4. Affix the children image to the left side of the heart.  For this I used my ATG in the larger areas, and a Zig Glue Pen in the smaller spots.  Be sure to glue this piece down well so that it doesn't catch when the card is placed in the envelope.

5. Complete the card front by attaching three buttons to the right side of the heart with Glue Dots, and adhering the entire piece to a 5" x 7" card base.

6. Finish the card by applying the remaining punched strip to the top edge of the card inside.

That's it, you're done!  Thanks for stopping by.  Check back tomorrow to how to change up your cards just by changing your papers.  Happy Crafting!