Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cricut Chirp

OMG! Can you say thrilled!!! What a week I've had. First I was chosen as guest designer for Wacky Wednesday, my first time being a guest designer!! It was so much fun and if that wasn't enough excitement I opened up my Cricut Chirp newsletter and found I had made the Message Board Highlights for the Key To My Heart Layout I did of my granddaughter. I can't tell you how exciting both of these were to me! Thank you all for taking the time to stop by my blog and leave such wonderful comments, you continually make my day and I really do appreciate each and every one! Love you all!
Esther

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wacky Wednesday Guest Designer

I was more than excited when Paula over at More Than Favors asked me to be the guest designer for this weeks Wacky Wednesday Challenge. The theme this week is Funny Card. I was so thrilled to be chosen as a guest designer that I made two cards so that Paula could pick her favorite.

Sometimes when you are going through a hard time a little humor can help. We all need to laugh and realize that this to shall pass. Therefore I thought this was a fun card to give someone to lift up their spirits and, hopefully, give them a chuckle.
Card is 5 X 5

I printed the heading out on my cardstock first. The bridge was cut out of the My World Cricut cartridge at 3". I fussy cut the clouds out of patterned paper and cut the bottom strip off of a Sassafras paper.

Supplies used: cardstock - kraft; patterned paper - clouds from skyline park in the City Park collection by American Crafts; rainbow scalloped trim - cut off of "Happy Place" Serendipity paper by Sassafras; new bridge cut at 3" from My World Cricut cartridge; red grosgrain ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon; Pop Dots


The second card is a humorous card for a new parent. I used a vintage image which I matted with yellow cardstock. I attached the blue pattern paper to the alphabet patterned paper and then zigzag stitched around the blue patterned paper. I attached the matted vintage image to that, added the ribbon and attched the sentiment tag with a safety pin.
Card is 5 X 6.5

Supplies used: cardstock - white and yellow; patterned paper - Lullaby from Ducks in a Row by October Afternoon; ribbon JoAnn's; safety pin - Making Memories; rub on - Ginger sidekicks miniMarks by American Crafts; vintage image; sewing machine.

Thanks Paula for this wonderful opportunity!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Sewing Theme Cards

Happy Monday All,

Today I am back to the Card Style magazine!

On Saturday I took a trip over to Savers, which is one of our local thrift stores. While I didn't find to much of note, I did pick up a couple of vintage sewing patterns to use on some cards.
I love the illustrations on some of these patterns!

The first card I made for today Is Sew Glad We're Friends. Don't you love the play on words? I tried to pick a pattern paper that matched the jumpers in the picture.

Card is 5 x 6 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - green and cream; patterned paper - Ashton from Black Tie, waffle and ice cream parlor from Two Scoops both lines from Basic Grey; seam binding - JoAnn's; button, thread, sewing needle - my stash; vintage sewing pattern - Savers Thrift Store; corner rounder - Fiskars; 1 1/4' circle punch, scalloped circle punch - Stampin'Up; ink - antique pewter - ColoBox; font - Zigzag.


The second card was inspired by Kind Birthday Wishes. I just adore the little girls on this pattern I found.

Card is 5 X 6 1/2

Supplies used; cardstock - cream; patterned paper - "Sweet Little One" from Wild Asparagus and "Lovely" Bouquet paper from Stella & Rose both lines from My Minds Eye; vintage sewing pattern - Savers Thrift Store; trim, ribbon, thread and pins - my stash; rub on - Kate sidekicks miniMarks by America Crafts.


Last for today I was inspired by Sew Many Birthday Wishes. I changed it just slightly.

card is 4 1/4 X 6

Supplies Used: cardstock - red and cream; patterned paper - Farmers Market from Early Bird and Inspiration, Calico & Borders from Material Girl both lines by Cosmo Cricket; wooden dress form - Wooden Flourishes by Kaiser Craft; Label eight Nestabilities by Spellbinders; ribbon - my stash; border punch - EK Success, corner rounder - Fiskars.


I hope you enjoyed my sewing themed cards!

Have a great Monday!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

My Second Blog Award

I want to thank Lisa over at A Mermaids Crafts for awarding me The Versatile Blogger Award!
I appreciate the recognition from one of my peers. It is always nice to receive a little love.


The rules to this award are:
1.) Thank the person who gave it to you
2.) Tell 7 things about yourself
3.) Send it to 15 other bloggers

Here are the seven things about me:

1. I'm a big kid at heart
2. One of my favorite spots to be is my craft room.
3. My grandson and I like to race (he rides is little bike and I run pushing his sister in the stroller) Guess who wins?
4. Chocolate is a basic food group
5. I like to go for walks
6. My hubby and I are homebodies
7. I like to water ski


Here are some blogs, in no particular order, I would like to pass this award to:
1. Cricutology
2. Dilsaver Designs
3. Canadian Craft Corner
4. Craft Macaroni and Paper
5. Crafty Jar
6. Erika's Crafty Creations
7. Get inspired With Chatterscene
8. Liz's Paper Loft
9. Typical Scrapbooker
10. The Scrapbooking Queen
11. The Purple Scrapbooker
12. The Best Is Yet To Be
13. Teachdanz
14. Under a Cherry Tree
15. Pink Bling Crafter

Hugs, Esther

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Wedding Gift Shadow Box

Happy Saturday everyone!

My daughters best friend is getting married next Saturday and I wanted to do something special for her as a gift. I saw this gorgeous shadow box in my Feb/Mar issue of Simply Handmade. I thought it would be perfect.

I used a 10 X 10 shadow box, which I removed the glass from. All the paper is plain white cardstock (not textured).

The large butterfly is cut at 1 3/4" with the Indie Art Cricut cartridge. I then cut out the wings at 1 1/2" and ran them through my embossing machine with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

The small cone flowers were cut at 1 3/4" with accent 6 in the Accent Essentials Cricut cartridge. I cut three petals out of the flower, cutting just to the middle of the flower. Then pinch the edges together and glue. That is what gives the flower the three dimensional cone shape. The small butterflies I punched out with a Martha Stewart punch and ran those through the embosser also.

For the large flower I used the Wild Card Cricut cartridge. I cut 4 flowers (pg. 56) each at 4". Keep one flower whole. For the next three flowers cut off one petal, two petals and cut one in half. Take each of those flowers and glue edges together. Take a pencil and wrap the petals around the pencil to curl them. Then layer them into each other with glue.













The background is four pieces of cardstock cut 4 X 5" and two pieces cut 2 X 5". I ran them all through the embosser with the Floral Fantasy embossing folder. I first glued a piece of plain white cardstock cut 10 X 10 to the back of the frame and then glued the embossed pieces on top.
I glued a doily a little off center. I then splattered some watered down black paint on the bottom half. I attached the photo on top of the doily, attached all the flowers and butterflies and added a few rhinestones for some sparkle.

I'm happy with the way it turned out.
I hope she likes it!!!

Supplies used: cardstock - white, Swiss Dots embossing folder - Sizzix; Floral Fantasy embossing folder - Cuttlebug; butterfly punch - Martha Stweart; doily - Wilton; Accent Essentials, Indie Art and Wild Card Cricut cartridges; rhinestones - Kaiser Craft; black paint; shadow box - Joann's

Friday, March 25, 2011

New "Whimsical Wednesday" challenge blog

I just wanted to let all my blogging friends know that there is a new challenge blog starting called Whimsical Wednesday. They are having a blog hop on April 1st with lots of prizes and their first challenge will be April 6th. Hop on over and check it out by clicking on their name above. Sign up to be one of their followers!

M.A.G. Challenge winner!

Woot, Woot I won the M.A.G. Challenge by the Page #18! How exciting!
Thanks ladies! I love this challenge.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Heartfelt Thanks

I guess I was on a creative roll today, I have another card to share. I made this card for a challenge at Celebrate The Occasion. It is for challenge #6 and the theme this week is "thank You" and you must have a tag somewhere on the project. I decided to use some cute stamps I have from Stampin' Up that have treat cups to use with the stamps. I think it makes a great thank you card!

Supplies used: cardstock - kraft, white and cream; patterned paper - Jack & Jill "Life Is Good" Serene Spots in the Quite Contrary collection by My Minds Eye; stamps - Sweetheart by Stampin' Up; ink - olive pastel by ColorBox, red by Fiskars, yellow by Ink Dot; heart punch - Stampin' Up; border punch - EK Success; bakers twine - Papertrey Inc.; treat cups - Stampin' Up; Pop Dots; M & M's.

I always love to hear your comments!

Man of the Year Card

I made this card today for two challenges. Over at More Than Favors there is a Wacky Wednesday challenge. This week challenge #31 is to make a Manly Card. I decided to use this weeks sketch from Mojo Monday and enter my card there also.
I used these fantastic papers from Graphic 45 called A Proper Gentlemen, I figured what paper could be better for a manly card. I also used a watch face because I felt it went with the era of the paper.

Supplies Used: cardstock - blue & cream; patterned paper - The Sophisticate and Borders in A Proper Gentleman Collection by Graphic 45; stamp - Inkadinkado; ink - brown pigment brush pad by ColorBox; clock face - my stash; brad - Making Memories; ribbon - Oasis by SEI; gear cut at 1 3/4" from Accent Essentials Cricut cartridge.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Happy Easter Card

Hi All
More snow in the forcast today :( and I am so ready for spring. Today I am posting a spring card I made for Cricut Cardz Challenge. It is for challenge #67 and you are supposed to make a spring card using only pink, green and white and any cartridge you like. I decided to create an Easter card with a bunny cut at 3" using the shadow feature, from the Animal Kingdom Cricut cartridge.
I had this great paper from We R Memory Keepers which had the perfect colors! I thought it would be cute to punch a tiny flower out and attach it with a glitter flower brad for the bunnies tail. I felt it kind of tied in with the little flowers on the green paper.

Note: You can click on any picture in my posts to make the picture larger.

The card was fun to make and lifted my spirits up. I just know spring will eventually get here!

Supplies used: cardstock - pink and white; patterned paper - Easter Bonnet from Peep collection by We R Memory Keepers; scallop border punch and tiny flower punch - EK Success; eyelets and flower brad- Making Memories; stamp - $1 bin at JoAnn's; ink - white 'a la mode by Hampton Art; Stickles Diamond glitter glue; pop dots.

Thanks for looking and I love to hear your comments!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Jeff's 1st Birthday LO

Hi everyone, I just finished this layout of my Grandson's 1st birthday. I made this layout for a M.A.G. Challenge By The Page. It is challenge #18 and you are supposed to use images cut from the Celebration Cricut cartridge page #130. I used both the triangle banner tag and the regular tag.
The triangle banner tags were cut at 2 1/2". I put the "happy" stickers on them and strung them across the top as part of my title.
I cut the regular tag at 5" and decorated it with a lollipop sticker. I added black beads for the eyes and clear bubble beads for the cheeks.

Supplies used: cardstock - blue, orange and kraft; patterned paper - getting bigger, shindig and costume from Life of the Party by Basic Grey; element stickers from Life of the Party by Basic Grey; alphabet stickers - June Bug by basic Grey; Chipboard letters - Blue Line by Cosmo Cricket; arrow - Bookworks directional arrows by EK Success; floss, twine, ribbon and buttons - my stash; Celebrations Cricut cartridge.

I thought it turned out kinda cute!

Let me know what you think!

Helping With Dishes? Layout

I caught my 1 1/2 year old grandson sitting in the door of the dishwasher! I was busy and hadn't realized he had crawled onto the door. I guess he thought he would help me with the dishes. I love the look he has in one of the pictures, he seems to be looking up saying "What?, I'm not doing anything!" Just had to scrapbook these pics.




Supplies used: cardstock - black; patterned paper - classic from Anthem and Dreamland from Serendipity "Happy Place" both by Sassafras; journal sticker and border sticker - Robotics cardstock stickers by Sassafras; sticker letters - All That Bling by Jolee's; chipboard letters - Blue Line by Cosmo Cricket; silverware chipboard - Early Bird by Cosmo Cricket.

As always, I love your comments.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Key To My Heart Baby Layout

I'm finally working on my granddaughters scrapbook album, which is a good thing since she is almost 8 months old. But I guess it could be worse, she could be 26 like my daughter who is still waiting for hers.

A long time ago I saw this darling layout in one of my scrapbook magazines. It was done in blues for a boy and the wings were pilot wings. I thought with a few changes it would be a darling little girl layout. So I changed colors, made the wings angel wings and came up with a precious layout of my granddaughter.
The M was cut out at 3 1/4" with the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge and then embossed with a cuttlebug Floral Fantasy embossing folder. The wings were cut out at 5" with the Once Upon A Princess Cricut cartridge.














The large heart lock was cut at 7"
with the Indie Art Cricut cartridge.

















The journaling circle was cut at 2 1/2" with George and Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge and the scallop circle was cut at 2 3/4" with the Accent Essentials Cricut cartridge.

Supplies used: cardstock - 2 pinks and grey; patterned paper - glass slipper from Ever After by Pebbles, pink stitched diamonds by K & Company, Baby paper from my stash; Opposites Attract, Once Upon A Princess, Indie Art, George and Basic Shapes and Accent Essentials Cricut cartridges, buttons - my stash; pink floss - DMC #776, embossing folder - Floral Fantasy by Cuttlebug; font - Scrap Twiggy.

Thanks Dad for the new Cricut blades!!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Monochromatic Lucky Layout

I had so much fun on St. Patrick's Day! I had made dinner for friends and family which included Irish stew, Irish mashed potatoes, Irish soda bread and green jello. I had made favors for everyone too (previous post). We all had a good time and of course I took some pictures. I really liked this picture of me and my grandkids, so had to scrapbook it!

I decided to make it a monochromatic layout. There was an ad for Bazzill cardstock in one of my scrapbook magazines which happened to be my inspiration for this layout. I am entering this layout in My Sheri Crafts Challenge #49 - Monochromatic at Crafty Jar

I cut the large shamrock at 10 1/2" with the Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge; the flowers were cut at 2 1/2" with the Walk In My Garden Cricut cartridge and the small shamrock was cut with three papers at 2 1/2", 2 1/4" & 2" with the Give A Hoot Cricut cartridge.



Supplies used: cardstock - 4 shades of green; green floss - DMC #472; rhinestones - Kaiser Craft; white pigment ink - Signo; flowers - Prima; label - Spellbinder Nestabilities; Paper Doll Dress Up, Walk In My Garden and Give A Hoot Cricut cartridges.

Have a great day!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Wedding, Birthday and Sympathy

I've been busy this week. I've spent some time in my craft room, but mostly working on my Easter chicks for my favors (previous post). I did get three cards made yesterday which I am pleased with.

The first card was inspired by Welcome Baby Dear.

Card is 4 1/2" square

Supplies used: cardstock - cream; patterned paper - Mabel "Love" Letters and Hazel "Mother" Meadow papers in Stella Rose by My Minds Eye; pearl trim - JoAnn's; ribbon - my stash; corsage pin - Michael's; beads - my stash; scallop oval punch - Stampin' Up; rub on sentiment - Woodhaven by ColorBok; chestnut memory marker by American Crafts.

My second card was inspired by Vinatge Wishes. I loved the paper they used with the vinatge sewing pattern image.

Card is 4 1/4 X 5 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - cream; patterned paper - Daydream in Le" Romantique collection by Graphic 45 and rose water in Curio by Basic Grey; flourishes - Elegance pillow stickers by K & Company; flower - Fleurs de Prima by Prima; rub on sentiment - Kate sidekicks miniMarks by American Crafts; metal trim embellishment - my stash.


The third card for today was inspired by Our Thoughts Are With You, which is a very pretty sympathy card.


Card is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - light grey - patterned paper - Carefree "Graceful" Pattern Petite and Carefree "Precious" Pretty Petals both by My Minds Eye; ribbon - thrift store; pearl trim - JoAnn's; rub on sentiment - Support/Sympathy by Timeless Transfers; small rose flowers - Walmart.


I hope you enjoyed todays cards.
Have a wonderful Saturday!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Just Born

Hi Everyone! Today I am posting a layout I made yesterday for Celebrate The Occasion challenege #5. This week's theme is "New Arrival". These are some pics of my granddaughter just moments after she was born.
The circles were cut with George and Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge. The large circle was cut at 8" and the smaller circles were cut at 1 1/2" and 2 1/2" The word "just" was cut at 3" with the Just Because Cards Cricut cartridge.
The stork was cut at 4 1/2" and the blanket at 2 1/2" with the New Arrival Cricut cartridge. I added sone glittered flocking to the wings and tail to make it look more like soft feathers.
The rattle was cut at 3 1/2", also with the New Arrival Cricut cartridge.
Journaling was done with CK Happiness font.

Supplies used: cardstock white, cream, orange, pink, and black; patterned paper - Baby's Breath, Pampered and Little Sprout Strips from Little Sprout by Fancy Pants Designs, Inc.; ribbon - JoAnn's; New Arrival, Just Because Cards and George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridges; alphabet stickers - Lax by American Crafts; border punch - EK Success; glitter flock - my stash.

Thanks for looking!

Have a great day!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Shabby Chic and Vintage

Today starts a new category in the Card Style magazine, it is also the last category, Shabby Chic and Vintage. It is soft, using lace & ribbon and also uses inking and distressing so that the final product looks weathered and worn. To make it vintage you take it a bit further by adding antique trims, images, trinkets and other found objects.

For the first card I chose Floral Feel Better. I loved the roses and the soft colors.

Card is 51/2 X 4 1/4

Supplies used: cardstock - pink and green; patterned paper - Fabrics and Dresses in Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper; rose chipboard element - Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper; journal card - Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper; alphabet stickers - diva shimmer by Making Memories; ribbon - Michael's; lace - JoAnn's; embossing folder - Sizzix; button - eclectic buttons in Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper; pearls - Kaiser Craft.


I just loved the bird in Peachy Hello, so I had to make my own version of this card.

Card is 4 1/2" square

Supplies used: cardstock - cream; patterned paper - pinking shears in Curio by Basic Grey; sticker - element stickers in Curio by Basic Grey; lace and pearl trim - JoAnn's; ribbon - Oasis by SEI; button - my stash; flower brad - Making Memories; glazed brad - Basic Grey; flower - Prima; bird was cut from Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge at 2" and circle was cut from George and Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge at 4".


For card number three I chose Birthday Cheer because I liked the way they used a vintage image, but I put my own spin on it and made it an Easter card.

Card is 4 X 5 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - yellow; pattterned paper - Depot Park and Main Street in Hometown by October Afternoon; vintage image - Seasonal Booklet by Crafty Steals; lace - JoAnn's; ribbon - Michael's; border punch - Martha Stewart; flowers - Recollections and Prima; button - my stash.


Last, but not least, I thought that the Birthday Girl Cupcake was such a yummy card I just had to make it also.

Card is 4 X 5

Supplies Used: cardstock - kraft and cream; patterned paper - Corsage, Sprinkles and My Party in Wishful Thinking by Fancy Pants Designs, Inc. and Sheet Music in Timeless Collection by Kaiser Craft; ribbon - Jenny Bowlin; lace - JoAnn's; flower - prima; button - my stash; ink - cocoa by ColorBox; rub on - sentiments by Crate Paper; glitter - Crystal Coarse by Martha Stewart; Glossy Accents by Inkssentials; cupcake cut from Celebrations Cricut cartridge at 3".


Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

St. Patrick's Day, Wedding and Baby

I want to apologize for not posting anything new this week. I only have a small amount of time a day free to craft and this week I had to spend that time in my office getting ready for my tax appointment :( which is not the way I would of liked to spend the week, but unavoidable. I did finally get back to my room yesterday and I have five cards to show you today!

I'm still in the Classy and Elegant category of my Card Style Magazine challenge to myself. The first card for today is based on Miss You. Since St. Patty's Day is coming I decided to use its clean design to make a St. Patrick's card.

Card is 4 X 5 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - green; patterned paper - St. Patrick's by Best Creation Inc.; ribbon - limeade boutique trims by Doodlebug; shamrock stickers - Dept. 44; rub on - Calendar Ned jr. Sidekicks minMarks by American Crafts.


On the next page, Pink & Black Get Well was my inspiration for another St. Patrick's Day card. The paper I chose was already so pretty and had the perfect sentiment, so all I did was add a few rhinestones and used a border punch.

Card is 4 X 6

Supplies used: cardstock - green; patterned paper - Lucky in Lucky Me by Little Yellow Bicycle; rhinestones - Kaiser Craft; border punch - Martha Stewart.


I fell in love with Sweet Baby on the next page and I had just come across this beautiful paper that I thought would be perfect for this card. If you get a chance check out this line of paper (listed in my supplies) it has wonderful chipboard elements, alphabets and the paper itself is adorable!

Card is 5 1/2 x 4

Supplies used: cardstock - mustard yellow; patterned paper - Dresses and Fabrics in Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper; ribbon - Michael's; scallop circle punch - Stampin' Up; circle punch - EK Success; flourish stamp - Windsor collection by SEI; rub on - Kate sidekicks miniMarks by American Crafts; floral embellishments - Petaloo; pearls - Kaiser Craft.


On the next page I picked My Friend and envisioned it as a romantic wedding card.

Card is 4 X 5 1/2

Supplies used: cardstock - cream; patterned paper - Noir Polka Dot Rose from Paper Reverie by Making Memories; stamps - Spring mini clear assortment by Inkadinkadoo; rhinestones - Kaiser Craft; ribbon - Michael's; rose embellishment - Paper Reverie Noir Baubles by Making Memories.


My last card for today, and also the last in the Classy and Elegant category, is Stylish Mother's Day, which I also thought would make a beautiful wedding card by changing the color and paper choices.

Card is 4 1/4 X 5 3/4

Supplies used: cardstock - white; patterned paper in Mimosa collection by SEI; chipboard element in Mimosa by SEI; ribbon - Michael's; border punch - EK Success; rhinestones - Kaiser Craft.

Next I'll be on to Shabby Chic & Vintage which is the last category in the Card Style magazine!

Have a sensational Saturday!