Handmade Gifts are the Best

This year my daughter chose to hand make several of those no-sew fleece blankets for her cousins.  She had quite a few to make so I thought I would come up with a cute tag for her to put on the gift bags.

They are popped up for a little  added cuteness.

Supplies: Stampin Up: cardstock & popdots, Stamps: My Pink Stamper & The Stamps of Life, Cricut, Gypsy, Plantin School Book, Create a Critter

Chocolate!!!

Today I am going to share just a quick treat I made to give a couple of squares of Ghirardelli Chocolate. Yummmm.  These make great stocking stuffers or teacher treats.

Supplies:  Chrardelli Chocolate, cardstock and clear bag: Stampin Up, Ink: CTMH, Stamps: My Pink Stamper.

Christmas is getting near.  I really need to wrap up some presents and finish some things up around here.  Today I am going to show the cappuccino packets I made for some teachers.

I used a silver pigment ink that is hard to see in the first picture.  Here is a close up.

Supplies: Cardstock & Ink: CTMH, Bag: Stampin Up, Stmaps: My Pink Stamper & Studio 112, Nestle Cappuccino, Chocolate and mint sticks.

1st Snow...

Well we had our first accumulating snow today.  I {heart} snow.  As long as I don't have to drive in it.  :)


So with the snow outside I decided to finish up some holiday projects.  This first is the cocoa packets for school.  I made 30 of them so I did these assembly style.

The die cut cocoa mug was especially easy to do using my Gypsy.  I used the mug from gypsy wondering and using the hide/contour feature enabled me to cut all three pieces in different colors.

I used a Sizzix embossing folder from Stampin Up and a stamp set from My Pink Stamper.

Bundle up and stay warm.  This is the perfect time of year to curl up with a good book and a warm up of cocoa.

Supplies: Cricut, Gypsy, Gypsy Wanderings, Sizzix Embossing folder from Stampin Up, Cardstock: Stampin Up & DCWV, Clear Bag from Stampin Up, Stamp from My Pink Stamper, Ink: CTMH, Nestle Cocoa & Mini Candy Canes.

Count down to Christmas...

Wow. Dec. 1st already?  The countdown is on.  I have almost all my shopping done.  I just have to come up with something for a few more people and then I will be done.  I hope to wrap up all my shopping this weekend.  I hate waiting until the last minute.  I am also hoping the tree will be up this weekend.  I already went with my daughter to Hallmark to let her get her ornament.  She has been collecting the angel series for 4 or 5 years now. Seeing the new one in the series is one of her favorite things to do each year.

The card I am sharing today features a cupcake from Gypsy Wanderings and a sentiment from My Pink Stamper stamps.  I still think cupcake cards are just too cute!

Supplies: Cricut: Gypsy Wanderings; Boarder Punch: Stampin Up; Stamp: My Pink Stamper; Ink: CTMH; Cardstock: DCWV, American Crafts, CTMH.

The Cricut Expression....

Yes!  There will be a new Cricut Expression under the tree waiting for me Christmas morning.  :)  As much as I want to start using it now it would not be fair since I am also wrapping some stuff for my daughter that of course she already knows about and making her wait.  I have been wanting this one for a long time and I could not pass up Wal-Mart's black friday deal.

Out of the four colors Wal-Mart has this year I chose the aqua blue one.  I was really wanting one last year but it was not in the budget.  This one is way cute though so it was worth the wait!  Did anyone else get any really good deals on something you have been wanting for a long time? 

In honor of my 'stinkin' cute' new Cricut I am sharing this card I made.  The phrase stamp is from the Punny-licious set by My Pink Stamper.  It works great with the Create a Critter cartridge.  I hope you have a crafty day!

Supplies: Cardstock: Stampin Up & DCWV; Cricut: Create a Critter; Stamp: My Pink Stamper; Ink: CTMH

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends & family.  I am hoping you spend this holiday with good friends, lots of family and good food.  What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?  Mine?  Mine is the Greenbean Casserole.  Yummm.  I use this recipe from French's.

Ingredients

2 cans Campbell's Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans cut green beans
2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions


Directions
Stir soup, milk, pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in 3-qt. casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 min. or until hot. Stir.
Top with remaining onions. Bake for 5 min. more.

What's your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? 

Now a little crafting goodness.  This card is so cute.  I used the Sizzix embossing folder on the tree branch for a little added texture. 

Supplies: CS: Stampin Up & American Crafts, Pattern Paper: DCWV, Stamp: My Pink Stamper; Punny-Licious, Boarder Punch: Stampin Up, Ink: CTMH, Cricut cartridge: Create a Critter & Smiley Cards, Embossing Folder: Sizzix.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!  I love you and miss you so much.

Hello to all my blog readers.  Is everyone getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday?  This was always my mom's favorite holiday.  Just a time for family with the bonus of a really good meal.  :)

This card is in honor of my mom's birthday today.  Enjoy!

Supplies: CS: Stampin Up & American Crafts, Pattern Paper: DCWV, Stamp: My Pink Stamper, Ink: CTMH, Cricut Create a Critter Cartridge, Boarder Punch: Stampin Up.

Super Tweet!

That is the sentiment on this cute bird card.  It is from My Pink Stamper's line of stamps.  This is from the Punny-licious set.  You can find all her products HERE. 

Supplies: CS-Stampin Up & American Crafts, Cuttlebug with a Sizzix embossing folder, Stamps-My Pink Stamper, Ink-CTMH, Pattern Paper-DCWV, Punch-Stampin Up, Cricut with Create a Critter cartridge, Misc. google eye. 

Halloween Treats

Hi blog readers....

The following is some treats I made for Halloween that my daughter handed out at school.

The box is made with the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge that is now retired but is being offered as a free download to Gypsy owner's who have registered their Gypsy before the end of the month.

Supplies: Cricut, Gypsy, Doodle Charms, Gypsy Wanderings, Tags Bags Boxes and More, Celebrate with Flourish, Black Letter, CTMH CS, Martha Stewart Boarder Punch: Drippy Goo.

1st Christmas Card...

I just purchased the Winter Woodland cartridge and was inspired to make something warn and cozy.  I have a lot more to make but this is 'one down'. 

This is a standard size card and I used the a Stamps of Life set for the sentiment.

Supplies: Pattern Paper (DCWV), Cardstock & Ink (CTMH), Stickles (Ranger), Cricut, Winter Woodland, Storybook (Provo Craft).

It's Friday! ~ Sweet!

So today's card was actually a make & take that I got with my purchase of the latest DVD from My Pink Stamper, Cricut Fun Volume 3.  I purchased mine from Custom Crops.  I was happy to get this little surprise.  I am sure this a limited time 'while supplies last' type of bonus.  She used my favorite cartridge that is on my wish list, Sweet Treats.  I used a stamp set from The Stamps of Life, Love2Hug.  I thought adding the little 'sweet' stamp made it look like a valentine conversation heart.  I highly recommend this DVD series.  I have all three and just love them.

I just love this cute little cupcake.  I will be getting this cartridge as soon as I find a great deal on it.

Supplies:  Make & Take from My Pink Stamper: Textured Cardstock, Pattern Paper, cut from Sweet Treats, Stamp: The Stamps of Life, Ink: CTMH, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, EK Success Mini Scallop & Dots boarder punch, ATG & Foam Squares.

I love my Gypsy!

Hello, Hello, Hello,

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  It is finally getting a little chilly outside and I love it.  Autumn is my favorite time of year.  I got my Gypsy a week or so ago and I just love it.  I have all my carts linked up and I have several cuts planned and saved but not a whole lot of time to craft.  Today however I got up early and got this scrapbook page done.  I intend to get a pic of my daughter reading to put on here.  She just loves a good book and with my new Create a Critter Cartridge and my Gypsy I made this cute page.

First I want to show you a close up of my Gypsy screen and how I laid out my mat.  This is going to make using my scrap super easy!

Also, I was able to use my Create a Critter and my Hello Kitty Greeting cartridges at the same time without the hassle of switching cartridges.  {Like I said I LOVE IT!!!}

I did not cut into one whole piece of cardstock.  I dug through my scrap pile for all of these.  {As you can see I also invested in a cute pink skin and I added ribbon to the stylus so I can keep track of it on my work space.}

 

So Cute!  I just love how it turned out.  Oh and the grass is the negative from the grass I cut a time before that was laying with my scraps.  The Green piece for the tree was also a scrap that I almost threw out because it was bent but then I wrinkled the whole piece after I cut it to give my tree a little more texture.  I used my Gypsy to weld the title.  So much easier than putting down each letter and trying to get them straight!

Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts, Paper: MME, Cricut v1, Gypsy, Create a Critter, Hello Kitty Greetings, Plantin School Book, Gypsy Wanderings, Adhesive: ATG & Foam Squares

Happy Birthday Day Dad

Ok - so this post is a little after your birthday but I didn't want to display your card early.   ;)

This little birthday card is made using cardstock from American Crafts and I used my new favorite cartridge, Celebrate with Flourish.  I also used my long time favorite Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder.  The envelope is one from a pack I bought at office max and I embossed the envelope flap.

Supplies: CS: American Crafts, Envelope: Ascend from Office Max, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Cricut and Celebrate with Flourish Cartridge.

Happy Friday-

Hello - I am so glad it's Friday.  There is just so much to do this weekend.  Tonight I am having dinner with some girlfriends and then I have some catching up to do in my craft room.  I am really excited & let me tell you what is on it's way to my home.  I own the original personal cricut (bought it when it debuted on QVC back in the day) and have been wanting an expression since they came out.  However, I have maintained that I could make do with my little bug for most purposes.  However the flexibility of the larger matching always had me envious.  Well last year when the gypsy came out I said there was no need for that.  After all I bought design studio and never used it because it was a hassle to hook up my computer to my machine (and then you still needed the cartridge installed).  Well after all the time I have spent wishing for an expression and doubting the powers of a gypsy it came down to me having the option of one or another.  CreativeXpress had really great deals on the Expression and the Gypsy.  I had both in my shopping cart for a while trying to decide.  Ultimately, I got the Gypsy.  It is going to greatly expand the capabilities on my little machine and basically give me the power of an expression but my size will still be limited to 6"x12".  I may still break down and get the expression later.  Hopefully with the release of the cricut imagine the price point will drop again on the expression or I can happen upon another great sale later.  Basically what won me over is I can now maximize my mat by turning images and the new hide contour feature.  ADDED BONUS, I got the combo deal with the Create a Critter cartridge that was already in my shopping cart.  I can't wait until I have this in my hands.  I will let you all know what I think once I get the hang of it and if I truly still believe that the gypsy was the right choice for me.

Anyhow my excitement has me rambling.  I wanted to share with you a little notebook I made for my daughter.  She wanted something to keep in her purse.  When I went into the bank last Friday it was customer appreciation day and they gave me this little notebook with a plastic cover that had their logo on the front.  Nice but not very girly.  So of course I had to add some cute paper.  I used the Storybook cartridge for both the top note shape and the monogram.

Supplies: Notebook, Paper: MME, Ink: CTMH, Cricut & Storybook Cartridge.

Fall Thanks

Everyone is back to school and that means autumn is around the corner.  Fall is my all time favorite season.  I love the cool temps and the changing leaves.  That is why when I got The Stamps of Life's Trees2Build set I had to make an autumn tree.  While this set come with some cute leaves I just had to bring out my Thank2Fall set and use those leaves.  The grass is from the Eggs4Easter set.  Stephanie Barnard is really great about making coordinating sets.  I used my cuttlebug to emboss the brown cardstock with the Forest Branches embossing folder.  Also just a side note, when I put my tree on my block I made the branches a little wavy to give them a more realistic look.  I hope you like it.  :)

Supplies: Cardstock & Ink: CTMH, Stamps: The Stamps of Life, Embossing Folder: Provo Craft.

Hello

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are getting ready for a fabulous holiday weekend.  I know we are.  I also hope to get in some crafting time since it is not as abundant since I have gone back to work (NOT that I am complaining).  I love my new job but some extra time with my family will be appreciated. 

For this card I decided to use up some of the MME paper stack I bought ages ago.  I still love that paper line.  I also wanted to play with some stamps from The Stamps of Life.  The Trees2Build set was for the month of August but also used the wave stamp (turned upside down) from the Summer4Fun set as the grassy hills. It is a pretty basic card and that I just stamped 'Hello' on so I can use it for just about anything.

Supplies: Cardstock & Ink: CTMH, Pattern Paper: MME, Stamps: The Stamps of Life

Have a Happy & Safe Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Okay - so my goal of posting once a week just kind of flew right out of the window this month. It seems like we have been on the go since the beginning of the month and I am just now getting a break. What have we been up to? Well first we enjoyed a week away from home. Just us in a cabin out in the woods - no internet or cable tv. (Good news-it allowed me some time to make a few cards.) Next, after 5 months of looking for work I am happy to say I am back in the world of employment. I have been at my new job for two weeks and I love it. Also, my daughter started 11th grade and just had her birthday. So needless to say it has been a BUSY month for us around here.

This is the card I gave to my daughter for her birthday.  She loved the pink glitter frosting on the cupcake.

Supplies:
Stamps-The Stamps of Life
Ink, Cardstock & Adhesive Foam Squares-Close to My Heart
Blue Stripe paper & pink glitter paper-DCWV
Multi Stripe paper-MME

I promise not to wait so long for the next post.

Comments are welcomed.  :)

August Alreay?

I got the newspaper today and it was flooded with back to school sales. Ahh back to school, a time for parents to rejoice! My daughter is older and I kind of miss stocking up on crayons, colored pencils and glue. Now we just get to buy boring paper and pens. August is also important around here since my daughter's birthday is at the end of the month. Thus the birthday count down is on. She will be 17. How in the heck did that happen. I swear I only blinked once. I still remember her 1st day of kindergarten like it was yesterday and now she will be starting her junior year. She is still deciding what type of party she wanted this year. Last year for her sweet 16 she wanted a day at the mall with her friends and then dinner and a movie. I went through my photos and found pics of her invites so thought I would share them with all of you.


Supplies: My Minds Eye-Paper, CTMH-Stamps, Ink, Ribbon & Fibers, Cricut-Mini Monograms (scallop circle), Oriental Trading-Purse cards & Pop Rock Candy.

Is it hot enough for you?

Boy oh boy, it is so hot here in the mid west right now. Heat index was 110 today and with the humidity it is pretty miserable to spend any amount of time outside. That being said my teenager took over my craft supplies and made a couple of things. I think they turned out really cute.

First is a card she made. It is a standard size card and she went to town on the stickles. She loves glitter! :)

Supplies: Paper-DCWV Sweet Treats, Cardstock-American Crafts, Stickles-Ranger, Cricut, Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge, Doodlecharms cartridge.

Her next project is a mini composition book she covered to write assignments in at school.

Supplies: Paper-DCWV Sweet Treats, Cardstock-American Crafts, Stickles-Ranger, Cricut, Hello Kitty Font cartridge, Doodlecharms cartridge.

Eat Cake & Celebrate!

Hi everyone,

I had a really relaxing Sunday afternoon at the park. My little cousin turned 2. Thanks to some thunderstorms this morning it was pretty cool & breezy at the park making it a perfect afternoon outdoors. While I forgot to take a pick of his actual card I did have a pic of one I made a couple of weeks ago. I could make birthday cards all day long if my schedule permitted. I also happen to think cupcakes are just the cutest thing to add to them. Don't forget to add a little stamped image to your envelopes. I think it adds a nice touch.


Supplies: All CTMH except stamps from Oriental Trading, Stickles and Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I'd love to hear from any readers so be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think. ;)

Let's talk Mini Albums...

Hello Friends,
Today I want to share with you a mini album. I just love how fast and easy mini albums are and they make great gifts. The one I am sharing today was made for one of my daughter's friends. I made this as her wedding shower gift using the colors she planned to feature in her wedding. The cricut made this project fast and easy. I wanted the base pages to be scalloped and the Mini Monogram cartridge had just the shape I needed. I used a lot of rubons on this book (even put a few on buttons). I hope this inspires you to create something today.





Recipe: Cricut, Mini Monograms & Home Accents Solutions Cartridges; Making Memories: Leather Frame; CTMH: ink, rhinestones, clear shapes, rubons, card stock; MME: pattern paper; We R Memory Keepers: Cropodile & eyelets; Misc fibers and ribbon.

Sunny Day

Wow, I can't believe it's July 1st already. Summer is flying by! Today I am sharing with you a 12"x12" layout featuring a new Cricut Lite cartridge called Celebrate with Flourish. The Cricut Lite Cartridges are exclusively sold at Wal-Mart. This one was my first purchase. I just loved the layering and all the different holidays & seasons. I will be adding a photo to the lower right side later. I think this may be the first time I have done a layout ahead of time.

Recipe: Cricut, Cricut Lite Cartridge; Celebrate with Flourish, American Crafts Textured Cardstock, ATG 714, Scotch 2-way Glue.

5"x7" Card

Happy Monday!

One more card featuring banners then I will move on. :) I don't do too many 5"X7" cards but I might do more since it was such an easy size to work with. The top note image is from the Cricut Story Book cartridge. Love that image!

Have a fabulous day.

Recipe: Cricut, Story Book & Celebration Cartridges, CS; AC, Stickles & Liquid Pearl; Ranger, Crochet Thread; Coats.

6"x6" Celebrate Card

Hi Everybody,

It is so hot here lately that I am been inside enjoying the a/c and crafting. This card is another using the banner feature from the Cricut Celebrations cartridge. I love how the banners tied together turned out.

Recipe: Cricut, Celebrations Cartridge, AC Cardstock, Stamps; CTMH, Embossing Powder; CTMH & Ranger, Coats; Crochet Thread.

4th of July Party Invite

I am feeling pretty patriotic and whipped up this little invite for a 4th of July Party. I am just really into banners right now and was pleasantly surprised to "re-find" the banner function on my Celebrations Cricut Cartridge.

This card measures 4.25" x 4.25" and will fit in a standard A2 size envelope.

Recipe: Cricut, Cricut Celebration Cartridge, American Crafts Cardstock, CTMH Stamp & Silver Embossing Powder.

1st Post!

I am venturing into the world of blogging in hopes of taking my creativity to the next level and maybe, just maybe, inspiring others as well. My main goal is to share at least one new product per week. This card is one of my favorites. Recipe:

• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Swiss Dots
• Quickutz Nesting Die - Labels
• CTMH - Cardstock, Stamps, Ribbon & Ink

As you can see I lean towards simple clean lines. Even though I have been stamping and scrapping for a while I still feel like a newbie since I don't have as much time to devote to this hobby as I would like. Thanks for looking and comments are welcome!