Winter thank-yous!

I think I have mentioned before that I tend to forget about the actual season when I make birthday cards, but I think it is so great when you can tie together the time of year with the event.  So this season, I have been trying to weave the two ideas together into designs.

Well, last week, I had a few thank-you cards to make and I thought – “Hey, why not try to make those seasonal as well”.  In all honesty, it was a great break from making Christmas cards – even though I was using the same kinds of paper.  Here’s the result:

I cannot tell you how easy these cards were – in fact, I think I had all three done in under an hour.  Mixing together the Arctic Wishes and Winter and Holiday Rhinestone stacks from DCWV, I was able to simply cut out the adorable tags from paper, matt some of the pretty patterned paper with cardstock, and glue!  To create a bit of definition, I did use foam adhesive and ribbon on the tags, but that was about it!  So easy.

So what do you think – do they look like quick cards or are they worthy of a sincere thank-you?

My Pink Stamper – Design Team Call

Have you heard the news? There are spots open for a 6 month term on Robyn’s My Pink Stamper Design Team.  I first came across Robyn on the Cricut message board back when I first started playing with my E!  Her tutorials and explanations were always clear and concise, and she always made really stunning projects out of fun colours that totally showcased the cartridge designs.   So, when I decided to try out for her team, that was exactly what I wanted to try to do too!

The challenge was this: create a card, layout or Cricut project with your favourite cartridge, using the following colours:

• Orange
• Turquoise
• Green
• Brown
• other optional color of your choice – I chose PINK of course!

So, with that in mind, I grabbed my new favourite cartridge – “Walk in My Garden“, and some bright and beautiful Bazzill Basics Paper.  Here’s the result…

"Flower Punch" card - What do you think???

All you will need is the following:

• Bazzill Basics “Two Scoops” Paper in Prickly Pear, Pumpkin Pie, Very Berry, Sprinkles and Rocky Road (YUMMY!!!)
• Walk in My Garden Cricut Cartridge
• Celebrate It Basic Narrows ribbon in brown
• Some adhesive and Glossy Accents for a little extra punch on the Punch!
• OPTIONAL – Ink to distress edges of cuts

Step 1

Step 1 - First cuts

Using your Prickly Pear paper, cut key 3-7 <grass> at 4″.  Switch to the Rocky Road paper, and cut key 3-7 <shift><grass>.  Glue the brown on top of the green paper.

So here’s the optional step – if you would like, apply a bit of ink to the edges (I love the Tim Holtz Distress ink in Walnut Stain”)

Step 2

Step 2 - Cut your flowers

Using Prickly Pear again, cut keys 2-4 <hycnth>, 2-5 <iris>, and 2-8 <tulip> at 3 1/2″.  These will create the stem, leaves and base for your flowers.  Switch paper to Very Berry and cut key <shift>2-4<hycnth>.  Grab the Sprinkles coloured paper and cut key <shift>2-5<iris>.  Finally, using the Pumpkin Pie paper, cut key <shift>2-8<tulip>.

Glue the blooms onto the green base.  And if you would like, ink up those edges for a little more dimension.

Step 3 & 4

Step 3 & 4 - Start assembly

Start assembling your card by gluing on your green/brown frames onto your background paper – in this case, Rocky Road.  Tie your brown ribbon around the paper and then glue onto your card base! For this base, I cut some of the Prickly Pear paper to match my white card base (5 X 6 1/2″).

Step 5

Step 5 - Glue on your flowers and embellish with GA

You’re almost done!  Simply glue on your beautiful flowers, embellish with a bit of Glossy accents on the blooms, and you are all set.  I actually went back and added a bit of faux stitching to the frames just to add a bit of finishing to the edges (just with a simple brown pen)!

I have to admit that I love to use patterned paper!  But the texture of the Bazzill paper together with the bright colours gives this simple card a really bright and fun punch! However, the true test came when my DH walked into the room when I was working on the card.  He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the card, and said with true excitement in his voice, “Wow – that looks great!”  Now I have to say that he is always my number one fan, but I I don’t usually get that kind of reaction!

So here’s what I need from you – leave some love in the comments below to help me convince Robyn that I’d be just the gal she is looking for on her team!!  If nothing else, let me know what you think about this little card!  You know I always love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by!

My new addiction!

Okay, many of you already know that I love brads!  Yes, it’s true – I am a “braddict.”  Those shiny little jewels always seem to add that little bit of something on a page.  So up until now, brads were pretty much a staple on any page or layout that came out of my scrappy little corner in the kitchen.

My newest addiction!

But move over brads – there’s a new addiction in Scrappy town.  Glossy Accents!!!!  This stuff, made by Ranger Ink, is a glossy, acid free medium that dries to a nice, hard finish.  It will turn anything into a dimensional masterpiece – okay, maybe not anything, but I haven’t found a paper embellishment that doesn’t look just a little bit flashier with a little shine – kind of like a great lip gloss!  It dries quickly too, so it’s a great product for last minute card makers like me who just don’t have time to wait overnight for a card to dry!

So where I have I used it?  For the most part, I have been using it to turn some of the great paper that I have picked up recently into dimensional embellishments.  I am a thrify scrapper through and through, so I very rarely pick up complete lines of products and often miss out on the cute stickers and embellies that the companies include. For example, in this card that I whipped up for my Hubby for Father’s Day,

Sprucin' up the stars with Glossy Accents

I used some cute paper from the Fancy Pants “Like Father Like Son” line, cut out some of the great patterns, and then simply layered them on the card.  I wanted the stars to POP, so I slapped on a bit of shine and voila!

Wouldn't you be as happy as this hippo if you were all decked out?

One of my other favourite applications is on letters that I have cut out on my Expression.  In this little card that I also created for my hubby (his birthday was the day before Father’s Day…it’s a good thing he is cute), I actually used GA to create a pattern on the paper.  By applying the GA in a swirl pattern, this happy little hippo and party instructions really stand out, and turn the Fancy Pants paper into a textural delight!  Oh, and stay tuned this week for a new video all about making your letters pop with this cool product!

So, if you’re feeling a little bit bad for my cute little brad friends, don’t lose too much sleep!  You might notice that they are still finding happy little places on my cards – once an addict…

How much is too much?

I have big news this week – it’s my little girl’s first birthday!  So to help commemorate her special day, I figured I better get out the Cricut and start creating.  I decided to try to tackle a really simple pop up card and found a really easy design that allows you to simply have one piece on the inside raise up when you open the card. Given my little one’s nickname, I decided to use the cute pandas from the Pagoda cartridge, some really bright colors and my favourite comical font from the Robotz cartridge. I figured it would be a good theme to carry over into her picnic this Sunday too – perhaps some more napkin rings are in order!

So, after about an hour and a half of careful cutting (on the part of my E), and many glue covered fingers, I decided to share my finished creation with my hubby. I was a bit surprised when he looked at it and said, “Wow, she’s not even going to open it.”  After I got over the initial shock of hearing this from my usually  supportive and encouraging partner, andexplaining to him that the comment had stung, I got to thinking – was the almost two hours of work on this card really worth it?  My little gal is only one, and not only does she not have a sense of what a card is for, she doesn’t even know what a birthday is all about (after all, she doesn’t have a lot of experience with these celebrations – yet! ).  So was my hubby on to something with his comment?

When I think back to the projects I have worked on in the last couple of months (and probably beyond that too – but who can remember that far back!!!:), I think in many ways, I have completed them asmuch for me as I have for the other person.  I really enjoy the crafting process – it’s a great creative outlet for me, and I get a sense of satisfaction from a completed project that is “just right” for the person I have in mind when I am creating it.  The truth is – I love seeing the other person’s face when they open up the surprise and realize it was made just for them.

So, even though my little gal may not “get” the whole birthday card, the fun I had making this card, and the time I got to spend thinking about her and making choices I thought she would enjoy makes this project well worth it!  And who knows, maybe one day when my little girl is old enough to understand the card, she’ll look back at it and smile.  How great would that be?!