Monday Morning Card

     Happy Monday!  I hope this is the start to a great week for you.  Let's get it rolling with a card.

     I used my Cuttlebug for this card.  I love the Celebrations Set that came with it, and that is what I used to cut the stamp shapes.  Then I used one of the embossing folders to add the baby buggies to the stamps.  The white mat behind the stamps is embossed with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder.  The stamps are raised up on sticky foam to add a little depth to the card.

     This simple card would work for pretty much any baby occasion, such as a baby shower, an announcement, a welcome baby, or more.  If you would like to emphasize the baby buggies more, you can brush an ink pad over the raised images on the stamps.  You could also change the bottom mat and brads to another color, either pink, yellow, or green. 

     This is the type of card that can be made up several at a time so that you always have one on hand when you need it.  Why not make up a few with different colors this week!

Have a great week,
Anne

Friday! Whoo-hoo!

     Happy Friday to everyone!  I hope you have something great planned for the weekend.  That's what weekends are for, right?  Well, let's start this weekend with a card for Friday.

     Yes, you're seeing things right.  I did not use my Cricut for this one.  It just happens that way sometimes.  I did use my 1" square punch to make my background, and I stamped the cute coffee cup and the saying under it.  All of these papers came from the same collection by S.E.I.  This collection has beautiful papers, some flocked, some foiled, some textured.  I used sticky foam to raise some of the squares and add a little interest.

     I love this stamp set, and it fits my mood much too often.  Hmmm, I think I'll go get some coffee.  And now, I'm off to start my weekend!  Enjoy yours!

Bye for now,
Anne    

Let's try a Layout!

     Hello!  I'm so glad you stopped by.  I've been sharing a lot of cards lately, and maybe it's time for something new.  I wouldn't want you to get tired of me!  So today, let's look at a layout that I did a while back.  I made this one after part of our Trail Riding group rode the horses to a cemetery near our camp.  It was a nice peaceful spot to take a break and stretch our legs.  Of course we had the kids looking for ghosts!

     I added the fish from the Campout Solutions Cricut cartridge because the place is called Trout Cemetery.  The ghosts and tombstones are from the Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge, and I think the grass is too, but I'm not positive.  The letters are from Plantin Schoolbook, I think.  If you really want to know what cartridge a certain cut came from, leave me a question in your comment and I'll look it up.  Here are a couple of closer shots.

     I wanted to keep the quiet, peaceful mood of the place when I made the layout, so I choose my colors accordingly.  Calm, cool blues and greens and grays on a black background.  Very relaxing, and a little somber.  The cute little ghosts bring in some spooky fun too.  This layout always makes me smile.  I hope you like it.  Make sure and leave me a comment, I love to read them!

Bye, for now,

Anne

Wednesday! We're half way there!

Good morning !
     I hope everyone is ready for a beautiful day!  Last time I checked the forecast that is what was predicted, so I didn't look again.  I was afraid they would change it!  So now, I am expecting a bright, sunny, warm (for February) day and I have brightened my attitude accordingly.  (Insert big smile here.)

     Before I head out to enjoy the weather, I want to share a quick little project with you.  These simple little party favors are just York Peppermint Patties that I have dressed up a bit.  I gave them out at the Cricut Class on Saturday, but they can really be used for almost any occasion.  Because our class was right between Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, I used a heart on one side and a shamrock on the other.  You could change the shapes to anything you wish, to fit any party or get together.

     I used my Gypsy for these, but you wouldn't need to.  With real dial size on, I cut out a sheet of black scalloped circles at 2.25", and a sheet of white scalloped circles at 2".  The hearts and shamrocks were also cut at 2", real dial size on.  The scalloped circles are from Sentimentals, the heart is from Doodlecharms, and the shamrock is from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I also added a little doodling with my black and white Gelly Roll pens, of course.  Can't skip the doodling!

     Well, I'm off to enjoy the great outdoors.  I hope that you get the chance to do the same while the sun is out.  Don't forget to come back tomorrow!

Bye for now,
Anne

Try Something New For Tuesday!

Hello, hello!

     Do you ever want to try something new, but you're not sure if you'll like it?  I do, often!  That's one of the best things about cards.  A card gives you a chance to try a new style or technique without a big commitment.  It's not a whole scrapbook, or even a mini-album.  It's just a card.  So jump off the tried-and-true track and go a little wild.  Why not?  It's just a card.

     This is a card that I made a while back for my husband, Mick.  It is a lot more frilly than my usual style.  Not only is it covered in glitter and glitz, but the group of three hearts in the center actually light up.  Talk about bling!  The light up hearts and the forever and love stickers are all part of a set from K and Co.  The swirls are all hand drawn, by me believe it or not, and then inked on the edges, and accented with Stickles.  Here is a close up.

     You can see in this picture where I put a paper doily over the red card stock and dabbed ink over it.  When I removed the doily the inked lace pattern was left behind.  I sanded, painted with acrylic paint, inked, Stickled, and layered.  Sheww!  It took a lot of time, but I like the way it turned out.

     This card was a lot of fun and I'm glad I tried it.  Maybe if I try cards like this a little more often they won't take as long to make.  Hmmmm.....    So what have you tried lately?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

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 

Altered Mailboxes With cards

Good morning!        I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  I sure did!  My lovable husband, Mick, brought me a pot of adorable little dwarf daffodils.  He knows that I would much rather have flowers for my garden instead of cut flowers.  What a sweetie!  This way I will be able to enjoy them year after year.  Of course I made his gift - well, altered it anyway.  Instead of the usual card, this year I made him 5 simple 3x3 mini cards, and altered a metal mailbox from the Target $1 bins.  I also altered one for our Grandson, Dalton, but he hasn't received his yet.  Shhhhh, don't tell him!

                                            This is Dalton's mailbox.

     And this is Mick's mailbox.  For some reason the picture of the mini-cards isn't showing up.  Hmm....  Oh well.  As you can see, I didn't go with traditional Valentine's Day colors because I wanted to be able to use these little mailboxes to send love notes all year through, not just in February.  That is the idea anyway.  The hearts are just paper doilies that I colored with spray inks and stains.  The postage stamp design on the flag and the door I made using my Cuttlebug.  It is from the Celebrations set that includes one cutting die and four embossing folders.  I love that set, and use it quite a bit.

     The mailboxes were simple and fun to alter, but I wish I would have found ones that had hinged lids.  These lids come completely off.  Oh well.  There's always next year!

     I'm going to say good-bye now, because I have too many new projects calling my name, crafting and otherwise.  I'll be back tomorrow to show you some!  Have a great Tuesday,

Anne

A Very Mini Album

     Happy Valentines Day!  And happy Monday.  It doesn't seem like those two belong together - Valentines Day and Monday, but I guess it happens.  In honor of the occasion, let's look at a little book full of love.

     I made this album after little Tyler (and his Daddy) flew in from AZ to visit the family back here in IN.  The entire album is made from one sheet of 12 x 12 printed paper by K & Company.  The pull out tags are made from another sheet.  I used my Zutter Bind-It-All for the spiral binding, but if you don't have one of those (you really should put it on your wish list!), then you can just use ribbon or binder rings. 

     For a little 3 x 3 album, it sure holds a lot of memories!   You can see the signs of wear and tear from being carried everywhere for a while, but the book has really held up well.  Here are a few of the pages.

     You can see that I used several stamped sayings throughout the book, and had plenty of room for  hand- written journaling too.

     By using a paper with lines for the pattern I had a natural place for the journaling.  Most of the tags have a picture on one side and journaling on the other.

        Just look at that face!

     I saved my favorite photo for the last page.  Isn't he a cutie!   

     These little books can be so much fun to make.  I'll try to get back here as soon as possible with the instructions on how to make one for yourself, but right now I have to go finish up a couple of Valentines Day projects.  Have a wonderful Valentines Day!

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

Super Saver Saturday Project

     Flowers are everywhere now - well, in scrapbooking.  Outside.... not so much.  But how do you stay  with the trends, but keep your pages unique?  You make your own embellishments!  With the  great cutting dies out now it is so easy to make flowers out of a variety of different materials to create your own look.  A few days ago I showed you the quilled flowers that I made with the cutting dies made by Provocraft for the Cuttlebug.  Today I have a completely different type of flower to share with you.  I got the dies for the quilled flowers and for the flower today from Kelly at Nufer Designs .  She carries so much fabulous stuff!

     VIOLA!  This bargain priced flower embellishment is made out of recycled newspaper.  The color doesn't show too well in the picture, but it is actually a shimmery red color.  I used a green metal brad for the center of this one, but I will probably change that out when I am ready to use this flower on a project.  How did I do it, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.

     I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers cutting die from Sizzex, and rolled it through my Cuttlebug.  This was so easy!  The die will cut through several layers of newspaper at a time with no problem.  There are four different flowers on the die, and I used several layers to create this flower.  But first I laid a few of the large  flowers, and a few of the smaller ones out and sprayed them with Glimmer Mist in Cherry Red.  I let them set for a while, and when they were almost dry I crumpled them up a bit so they wouldn't just lay flat.  When they were completely dry I stacked them up and arranged them as naturally as possible and then pierced a small hole in the center for a brad.  Super easy!  I've been playing with several different types of papers and sprays to see what kind of looks I can come up with.  The possibilities are endless!  What would you make a flower out of?  Hmmmm..... 

     Well, you think about that, and feel free to post any ideas for flowers in your comments.  Who knows what I'll try next!

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

    

Another Day, Another Card!

     Frosty, frosty, good morning!  How can it keep getting colder?  Brrrr!  I am so glad that I am hibernating with my crafts through this weather.  This is no time to be working outside!  But inside, it's a whole different story.

     I found a piece of paper in my scrap basket, and I knew I wanted to make a card with it.  But every idea I came up with would cover up the best part of the paper.  Sooo.... I decided to just use the paper as the card design.  It doesn't get any easier than this one!

     I used my 1" square punch to break down the flower part of the design on the paper.  I used a pen to draw fake stitches around each square, and then raised them up on sticky foam.  It took two of my EK Success border punches to get the look that I wanted for the bottom of the brown card stock, but they worked together well.  Then I tied a creamy yellow ribbon below the flower squares, and layered the whole combination on a blue card base. 

     This card was very fast and simple once I decided what I was doing.  Why don't you try something similar with one of your favorite scraps from your stash!  I'd love to see what you come up with.

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

From My Front Porch

     Every once in a while I take a break from crafting to see what the weather is doing.  A few steps out the door is all I need to know that I would rather be back crafting indoors.  I thought that I would share a few pictures with you of the view from my frozen Indiana front porch.

     Yep, ice, ice, and more ice.  Oh, and some snow too.  Remember, Spring is just around the corner!
Good night everyone,
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

And the award goes to.....

     Good morning everyone!  If you read my earlier post, then you know that I received a blog award from Debbie at Debbie's Dash of This and That, and I listed 8 things about myself.   I also received the following instructions from Debbie.

Save the image to your desktop (to put on your blog and to use when you award your picks)
and then pass this award to 8 other people. On your blog you are to also tell 8 things about yourself. 

 Now I  will pass the award on to a few other blogs that I enjoy.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1.  4 goofballs
2.  ChidsCrafts
3.  Hand to Paper
4.  Amo mi Cricut
5.  Craft Macaroni and Paper
6.  Chickie's Crafty Nest
7.  Gracenotes for Today
8.  Made By Momo

     Check these blogs out if you get the chance.  There are some really creative people out there! 
    
I'll be back later with a project for today,
Anne

My first award!

     Thank you so much Debbie! Scraps and Stitches all MadeByAnne is honored to receive the Stylish blogger award from Debbie's Dash of This and That .  As part of this award I am supposed to tell 8 things about myself, and also to pass the award on.  So, let's get started!

1. I am married.
2. My "real job" is in landscape maintenance.
3. I am a craft addict - almost any craft.
4. I live in the city now, but I am still a country girl at heart
5.We have 2 dogs, and 3 horses.
6. My favorite papercrafting style is vintage/grunge/shabby, but I love to try different looks too.
7. Many of my scrapbooks and mini-albums are about camping and trail riding.
8. I would love to improve my photography skills, if I could only find the time.

     Thanks again to Debbie's Dash of This and That.  Tomorrow I will pass the award on!

A little bit of Spring!

     Hello!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I sure did!  The scrapbooking crop that I attended on Saturday was sooooo much fun, and we had another couple over to watch the Superbowl with us on Sunday.  Well, the guys watched a lot more than I did.  I was too to busy crafting with my friend, and the new toys I got at the crop!  Would you like to take a peek at some of the sweet little flowers that we made?

     Aren't they adorable!  I didn't think that they turned out too bad for my first try with a new tool.  What do you think?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

     I made these flowers with one of the quilled flower kits for the Cuttlebug.  It is so easy!  You just cut a strip of petals with the Cuttlebug, and then use the little quilling tool to roll them up.  Then spread the petals open a bit, and that's it.  This flower is from the Daisy kit.  It comes with 4 separate cutting dies, one for the very center of the flower, one for the little small part around the center, one for the petals, and one for the leaves.  I don't have any leaves in this picture - I was too busy just making flowers!

     If you would like to try making some of these cute little floral wonders for yourself, just contact Kelly Nufer.  She is a wonderful scrapbooker and vendor that attends many of the crops in our area.  Her company is called Nufer Designs, and you can reach her through her blog.  Here is the link for Kelly Nufer's Blog  .  I'm sure she would be happy to get you whatever you need - just tell her Anne sent you!

     Well, I'd better get going.  I have another new type of flower cutting die to try out, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to make for dinner tonight.  (Hmmmm..... if I heat up some Superbowl leftovers, then I don't waste any crafting time on cooking...... can I get by with that?....)

     Bye for now,
     Anne

Super Sunday

     I hope everyone is having a wonderful day today.  Do you watch the Superbowl, or do you take advantage of that time to craft?  Hmmm...  tough choice isn't it!  I'll have a new project for you to see tomorrow, so make sure a stop back by.  For today though, enjoy the Superbowl one way or another!

Bye for now,
Anne

Super Saturday!

     Hello again!  Sorry I'm so late checking in today.  I was busy all day at a scrapbooking crop.  Fun friends, great food, and scrapbooking.  What more could you ask for on a cold February day?  Ok, Ok, we could have done without the 4 " of snow that fell this afternoon, but we had a blast indoors!

     Oh well, on to more relevant topics.  Let talk about a project!  Hmmm..... would you like to see another mini-album?  Great!  This is an album that I made a while back.  We were out with a group of friends for New Years Eve, and of course I had my camera.  I picked up a few of the interesting beer mats that the bar was using, and turned them into a mini-album.  If you can't guess from the shape of the beer mat, we're in Indiana.

I needed a few more pages, so I traced a beer mat and cut the shape out of cardstock.  I used a cardstock page for every other one.

     I also added a few Cricut cuts like the hat above the picture on the right page.  These are just a few of the pages, but you get the idea of how the book turned out.

     After I finished all the pages I used my Bind-it-all to make the holes and put in the wire binding.  The finished book is only a few inches tall, but it made a great little book to carry around and show to our friends.  

     I hope you enjoyed my little project.  If you haven't ever made a mini book, you should give it a try.  They are a lot of fun to make, and to look back on later.  What have you got to lose!

     Well, that's it for today.  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 

Let's check out a book!

     The sun is out and shining brightly!  Of course it is still cold here.  I hope that you are having beautiful (if not warm) weather where you are.  Either way, it is another great day for crafting.  How would you like to see something different today?

     Instead of a card, I have a mini-book to show you.  I love mini-books for a number of reasons.  Most importantly for me, they are quick and easy to put together, and they are the perfect size to carry around to show your friends and family.  This book is one that I made a couple of years ago after our annual trip with our riding group to The 4 -J Big Piney Horse Camp in Missouri.  We always have a good time, and I like to finish my book up as soon as possible after we get home.

     I made this book out of a few 5 x 8 tabbed index cards that I stained with strong coffee to make them look old.  I love the vintage look, and it goes well with our riding photos.  To make the stain  I dissolve 1/4 cup of instant coffee crystals in 1 cup of hot water, and add about 1 tsp of vanilla for the scent.  It doesn't take long to just dip the index cards and shipping tags into the stain and lay them out to dry.  I usually do up a bunch at a time so that they are ready to use when an idea pops into my head.  The papers were all from the Hopscotch line from K & Co.

  This is the front cover of the book.  I made a smaller photo copy of a bumper sticker from the camp.

     On some of the pages I made pockets to hold stained shipping tags, or other ephemera from the trip.

     I added a few things to open, pull, or lift for more pictures or information.  I think that it keeps the book more interesting and gets the viewer involved more than just flipping pages.

It's hard to believe how many pictures and how much information you can fit into one of these mini-books!

     Well, that wasn't every page, but you get the idea.  This book has held up very well through all the handling and travel.  The best part about vintage style is that the more beat up the book gets, the better it looks.  I have made several books out of index cards like this one.  The only thing that I have really changed is that I usually sew the edges now.  That way the tags and such inside the pockets don't stick to the adhesive.

That's all for today!  See you tomorrow,
Anne