I NEED My Craftroom!

Well, the craftroom is still a work in progress. I moved a few more things around and added a LOT more STUFF. Yikes! Where did it all come from? I still have boxes that haven't been opened yet. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get through it all.

I started to feel a little desperate and needed to do something crafty, so I cleared off a small space on my desk and searched some boxes for a Close to my Heart kit that I could play with. I wanted a kit because it's the only way I'll have everything I need to get a project done.

The kits come with all the paper and embellishments you need, including a stamp set. Now where are my scissors? Luckily I already had my ink pads and ATG gun unpacked.

So far my ink pads and Copic markers are the only things that have stayed in their original spot.

The kit that I found in my box of "stuff" is for Thanksgiving cards. Hmmmm, it's only April and there are a lot of occasions for cards before Thanksgiving, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. And I gotta do some crafting before I go crazy!

I was able to get all 15 cards in the kit completed in just two evenings. Now I'm wondering if I can use some of these for housewarming party thank you notes. If we ever get around to having that party anyway.

So ladies and gentlemen, the next time you feel the need to craft, but you're short on time, supplies, energy, space or just imagination, grab a kit and enjoy how easy it can be.

A Quick Make it Now Birthday Card

I needed a quick birthday card and my creativity was no where to be found. I was also in a time crunch. I opened up Design Space and looked through the make it now projects. I thought this card would look interesting and I loved that it had writing on the design already.

With these projects all you really have to do is push the 'Make it Now' button and off you go. I loaded the light blue paper first and the machine even prompted me to place my pen in the holder. It cut beautifully. Then I added the darker blue paper and the Explore cut it to the exact size I needed to back up the front cut. It was super easy. After gluing the pieces together I added a tag to the front and a sentiment to the inside. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the final card.

Another Thank You Card

A friend is having a baby shower in a couple of weeks and I offered to help her with some of the decorations and the Thank You cards. She sent me a couple of pictures of what she wanted and I got busy with my New Cricut Explore and laptop.

Since this was my first real project with the Explore (starting from scratch) I thought it might be harder to figure things out. But guess what? It wasn't hard at all! I still need to make some adjustments to my work area to make more room for my laptop, but besides that, it was super easy to make this card.

I could have printed the text using the Explore, but I was in a hurry so I printed it on white cardstock from my printer. Even that was super simple since I now have my laptop, printer and Explore all in the same room.

The mustache on the front of the card was cut at 1" from the Artiste cartridge and 1/2" for the inside of the card. The bow tie on the front was cut from the Billionaire cartridge.

I can hardly wait to make more things with this new machine. Now if I could just hit the lottery so I don't have to work, then I would have the time.

Cricut Explore and Thank You Card

I received my new Cricut Explore machine last Friday. Unfortunately it arrived at my house after I had left for the weekend. It was torture waiting until I got home, but worth the wait. I am LOVING this machine. As soon as I got home I unboxed the Explore, plugged it into my laptop and went through the set up. At the end of the set up there was a "Make it Now" card project. I clicked the button to "Make it Now" and off I went. It was super easy.

The Explore came with a really nice bag, a silver pen and some materials to cut to get me started. Move over Cricut Expression and Cricut Mini!

 

I quickly lost the bag to the cat though. She seemed to think it was really nice too.

In addition to buying the Explore I also bought the pen set and tool kit which included the embossing tool. I haven't used any of these yet, but I'm really excited about the writing and embossing capabilities of this machine.

And here is my first project out of the box. The sizes were already set so all I had to do is load my mat with the black paper and push "GO". Voila! A cute card with silver writing and cuts that look 3D with just the push of a button. I love it.

Lavender Baby Card

Yay! We made it to Friday! Today I have a lavender card to share. (Just in case the grand-baby is going to be a girl)

 

It is super cute in person. I scraplifted this card from one I saw on YouTube by Dawn5377. It's called a double peek a boo card and when you open it the images in the circles change. It's a really cute and fun card. The video by Dawn is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6AghjVEhGA. I hope you enjoy it and maybe even give it a try. I used Stampin' Up punches for the circles and the scallop circles. The owl is from (I think) Stampin' Up. I'll have to double check that. And the sentiment is a Pink Stamper stamp.

Baby Card

It seems like I've been making more cards than layouts lately. I'm not gonna lie, it's fun! I love being able to get a finished project in so much less time. I also love using up my scraps. You can do so much more with so much less when making cards.

My son and daughter-in-law still have not announced the sex of their baby so I've been making crafts that are teal (if it's a boy) and lavender (if it's a girl). They will be hosting a gender reveal dinner on the 28th, so I don't have too much longer to wait, but boy it seems like forever!

The card today is a teal (boy) version. I'm helping a friend with putting on a baby shower at the end of August so I'm trying to come up with ideas for invitations, thank you notes, decorations and favors.

 

The only definite thing I know is that there will be a gray chevron pattern that will be used regardless of the baby being a boy or a girl, so you'll be seeing a lot of that in the near future. The font stamp for the banners is from Close to my Heart and is called Glamour, Lower Case Alphabet.

 

Here is the inside:

 

I used the pennants punch from Stampin' Up and everything went together very quickly. I also used the itty bitty punch pack from Stampin' Up and brads to hold the banner together on the front of the card.

 

Graduation Card

Congratulations to all those graduates out there! My husbands God-daughter just graduated from San Jose State. Unfortunately the ceremony was during the week and we couldn't take off work to attend. This is a picture that was sent to us by her father. We are so proud of her. She has her whole life in front of her and she's ready to take on the world.

 

I made her a card and husband gave her a very nice briefcase with her initials on it for her career. She graduated with a degree in business and has already gotten a  job. Here is the front of the card.

 

 

And the inside of the card.

More Mothers Day Cards

After making the easel card/Mother's Day card for the Scrapbook Day challenge I realized I needed a couple more. I decided to try some other colors and I love the way they came out.
Here they are:

 

This picture is  a little better, but you can see my messy desk in the background. (-:

 

I thought for sure pink was the best color for a Mother's Day card, but now that I have them done in purple and yellow as well I'm not sure which one is my favorite.

And a close-up of the purple and yellow. The butterflies and leaves are from the Sophie cartridge. Butterflies from page 27 and cut at 1.5". The leaves are from page 41 and cut at 2.5" and 2.7".

The original card I made using Spellbinders dies to cut the centers out. For the new cards I used my gypsy and picked a shape from the Cricut Just Because Cards cartridge to cut out the center. Then I used that same piece to make the inside of the card. Yep, double duty with one cut. Lots of layering and a little stamping, oh and don't forget the bling. (-:

The shape I used from Just Because Cards for the center is from page 27. It's the image you get when you push the shift button on the watermelon card. On the colored piece of cardstock that is cut at 4.75" x 4.75" I centered the image and cut it at 2.88". Then I cut the white top layer of cardstock at 4.5" x 4.5" and cut the same image out of the center at 3.15". The card is 5" x 5" when closed.

You're a Hoot - card, NSD Project #5

For this challenge I needed to use an owl in my project.

I will send this card to my grand-daughter. I think she will like the googly eyes. The owl and the branch are both from Straight From the Nest.

Mother's Day card - NSD Project #2

I'm back with my second project today. This card was for the easel card challenge on the Circle Message Board by Gonescrappin.

For this project I had to make an easel card and use at least one Cricut cut. I used the base butterfly from page 27 on the Sophie cartridge, cut at 1.5". The leaves are from page 41 of Sophie, cut at 2.5" and 2.75". The scallop rectangles were cut using spellbinders dies.

The layers are all popped up using dimensionals from Stampin' Up. I also used a cuttlebug embossing folder for the white layer of the card and on the butterflies.

Butterfly Triple Step Card

Today I have a card that I made with a new stamp I got from Stampin' Up. It's a swallowtail butterfly and it is just gorgeous.

The first card I made was black and white. I love the contrast. It's so striking. I even added a little butterfly to the inside of the card to finish it off.

After making the black one I wanted to try another color. I used Brilliant Blue from Stampin' Up for the cardstock and the ink.

The sentiment on the right lower side of the butterfly was stamped first and then covered up with a post it note so that the butterfly didn't stamp on that area. I then pulled off the post it note and voila! You could use any sentiment you want or no sentiment at all.

The way I created the layers was to cut the white cardstock at 5 1/4"x4", 4 1/4"x3" and 3 1/4"x2".  The blue or black cardstock should be cut at 8 1/2"x5 1/2" (this piece will be folded in half to create the card base), 4 1/2"x3 1/4" and 3 1/2"x2 1/4".

Stack the white pieces on top of each other with a temporary adhesive.

After stacking the white pieces you will stamp your image.

After stamping you will then take the pieces apart and layer them on top of the colored cardstock.

 

 

I also used pop dots in between the layers to give them a little more dimension. That's it.

Thinking of You card

I'm still working on packing for the Cricut Circle Mania. I fly out to Georgia in the morning. I just know I'm forgetting something. I have a few different cards that I've created and cut pieces for so that I can assemble them at Mania. This is one of them.

I love the bright colors and the embossing. The flowers and stamping are from Stampin Up. The oval scallop is also from Stampin' Up. I'm not sure what the papers are because I found them in my scraps, but I think they are Stampin' Up.

The inside:

Hello Hello Hello card

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a little something crafty to do this weekend. I will be making more cards and preparing for my scrappy weekend Mania next week.

Today's card uses the Elegant Butterfly punch again from Stampin' Up and also uses the Bitty Butterfly punch. They work so well together.

Once again I used scraps for all the papers except the base card. I used a cuttlebug embossing folder, a few pearl accents, a sentiment stamp and voila, you have a card. Super super easy, just the way I like it. Before I embossed the white cardstock I punched the larger butterflies out of it. I then ran it through the cuttlebug and then adhered it to the blue piece of cardstock so that it would show through the punched areas. Then I simply added the smaller butterflies on top with stampin' dimensionals to give it a little pop.

The inside:

Hello Sunshine card

Quick and simple card for you today. I ordered some Stampin' Up goodies a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with this butterfly punch. There is also a smaller butterfly punch that I'll show in another post.

The papers are all from my scrap pile except the base card itself. The scallop oval, the label punch and the border punch are all from Stampin' Up. The pearls are from my stash and the sentiment is a Peachy  Keen stamp (I think) from a few years ago.

The inside:

The Toilet Cut!

Hello friends. I have a surprise for you today. It's a toilet! Who woulda thunk it? I never thought I would be making a card with a toilet on it, but you know, I actually like it. I'm pretty sure I'll use this cut again.

This one will go out to my sister that has been having a hard time lately. Hopefully it will bring a smile to her face.

So what do you think? Did I do the toilet proud? Heeheehee.

Cartridge used:
Cricut Circle Exclusive Something to Remember
Toilet and embellishments cut at 4"

House Warming Invitations

I'm back with another House Warming item. My son and daughter in law should be closing on their house on August 8th. I am so happy and excited for them. (I think I've said that a dozen times!)

I was watching YouTube videos a few nights ago (this is my nightly ritual lately) and I came across a stair step card that someone was making for her realtor. I fell in love with it and thought it would be perfect for an invitation for a house warming party. Here is a link to the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE8IEKc-eig if you'd like to take a look. I also saw a similar card on Pinterest that was made for a housewarming party. That one was made by Sharon White at http://www.sharonsscrappyspace.com/2012/05/house-warming-card-tutorial-now-available.html .

I used papers to match the color of my son and daughter in laws house and I left off the fence because they don't have a fence in their new front yard.

For the trees I used two different cartridges. The middle tree is from Just Because Cards (I bought this cartridge just for that cut because I LOVE it). The other two trees were cut from ? (I'll have to double check that) The house was cut from Create a Critter. I didn't like the windows the way they were so I hid them with my Gypsy and used hearts from the George cartridge instead. I also made the house a little skinnier and taller with my Gypsy. The sold sign is from Freshly Picked. I added a piece of white card stock on top of the sign and stamped 'Sold' with letter stamps from Close to my Heart. It's a Party is also a stamp from Close to my Heart. The grass was made by using the Martha Stewart Icicle punch. The little flowers are from an old punch that I got from Creative Memories.

The party information is hidden in one of the valleys of the card.

So far I have 6 done and about 20 more to do. It's a good thing they are super simple to make.  If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment.

Thank you for looking. Cindy

Happy Independence Day!

Can you believe I'm making two posts today?! After doing a little blog hopping and seeing all the wonderful 4th of July cards everyone was making I realized  I didn't show you all the cards I made.

I used one of my new stamp sets by Stamping Scrapping for the sentiment. I also used a couple of my new Spellbinders Nestabilities dies. I'm really loving them, but discovered I need More. Uh oh. The white background paper was embossed with stars using a Cricut Cuttlebug embossing folder.

The inside of the card was stamped using the American Celebration stamp set by Close to my Heart.

Have a safe and fun celebration today.

Valentine's Day card

Valentine's Day. A day of love. A day of chocolate and flowers! My sweet husband had mini roses sent to my work. We tried to transplant a couple of our large roses in the yard last year and they didn't make it, so he wanted to give me something to replace them.

For him I made dinner and a card. The dinner was D E L I C I O U S if I do say so myself. You see, I don't usually cook, but lately I've been trying some recipes I found on Pinterest and so far so good. I've made three things that I've never tried before and all three were winners. Last nights dinner was Taco Cupcakes. They tasted like nachos to me and I love nachos. I guess it was the Queso that's added in the layers. Here is a link to the website with the recipe:  http://www.emilybites.com/2011/08/taco-cupcakes.html and here is a picture. Yummmm

For the card I made I used the new Cricut Circle exclusive Sophie cartridge. It was the first time I've used it, but it won't be my last. There are a lot of pretty frames on the cartridge. Here is the card:

Every cut on the card was from the Sophie cartridge. I embossed the lock with my cuttlebug and then pop dotted it to give it dimension and make it stand out a little more. I also inked the edges of the scallop oval behind the lock.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and that it continues through the year.
Cindy