Winter Card - Warm Wishes Snowman Gift Card Holder

Wow...how stinking cute is this one? I love the snowman paired with these pink and blue colors and then white and black. I decided to try a second gift card holder card, and I really love how this one turned out. This time I didn't cut the top layer of the snowman which cuts the pipe because I don't really care for the pipe. I just put my own face together and drew the mouth in place. Simple and cute. I used some black pearls for the eyes. I blinged out the scarf and used some stickles on the scarf and ear muff band. This Warm Wishes stamp is a dollar stamp from Michael's and it stamps so well. I just love this card. So cute. I hope you enjoy it too!

Celebrate Card - Lion

This was the last of the cards I made using the critters I was playing around with last weekend. The lion is so cute. I really like the brown and green together for the background too. Those tiny bubbles embossed really stand out. See I am not a huge fan of printed papers as I have said before, but I love how just embossing a solid color can really make it stand out so nicely. Hope you enjoy this very simple card.

Quilled Art Work - 12x12 Pink Tree and Grass

Ever since I made the Pink Tree of Pearls card last week I have been dying to make a 12x12 quilled artwork like it. This time rather than using brown and cream colors I used black for the tree and the mat. It really stands out that way and will look nicer in the black shadow box frame. I just adore this abstract look of having the tree in pink...I really really hope someone loves it and wants it! I love to think of my artwork hanging in someone's house getting enjoyed by so many. I am really in love with this one. Next I want to make one with an olive green tree bark/branches and then dark purple and light purple leaves against a white background. I think that will be pretty. Hope you enjoy!

Christmas Card - Ho Ho Ho Ho Giflt Card Holder

So this was my first time making a Yoli Bean Gift Card Holder Card. Now I haven't a clue who Yoli Bean is, but I made this based on Momo's tutorial on her website...so go click on Made by Momo on my side bar and visit her video page to see how to make this awesome card. I sort of love how you can slide a gift card into the pocket right on the front of the card, yet the front of the card is still fully decorated. Then you have the inside like normal. I decided to make one for Christmas. I love the tree from Winter Frolic. I cut the layers which give you the red and yellow dots twice though to have more ornaments. I used glitter glue over top of the start and the ornaments. Hope you enjoy.

Love Card - Purple and Green with Butterflies

No Circut for this card. I was using up more of the papers from my adorable birdhouse card which published earlier this week. I just used my Martha Stewart Butterfly Punches for this. I think it turned out simple and pretty. I just love purples and greens. I only have less than a month till my craft show now and so much to do that I have to keep some cards more simple.

Oh yeah and speaking of simple, I am trying to use my scraps. I had three huge bins full of them...and I don't tend to use them. It is seriously bad!!! So I set up two more tables in my craft area and dumped out all my scraps all over them, and I am trying my best on cards made now to use my scraps and only full sheets of paper for card bases. I must have enough scraps to easily make 2 or 3 hundred cards, so I have got to start being better once I get this pile under control!

Birthday Card - Blue Hippo

So this was my first time making the Hippo on Create a Critter! I cut the little pond out too. The hippo was bigger than I realized so it was hard to do much else with this card. I decided to use the Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug Folder for the background at the top and I think it looks really pretty. Just simple. I used stickles for her flower and spots. Glossy Accents on her cheeks an mouth. And Martha Stewart Glitter Glue for her eyes. Hope you enjoy.

More Mini Composition Books

So as you know I have been busy making these tiny notebooks for my craft fair. I am going to do a video of it this week...I promise!!! I still have many more to go. I also discovered that the mats from my Butterflies and Blossom Mat Stack work perfectly too. One mat is enough to do one notebook and the prints in that stack are just totally perfect for the notebooks. 4 of these were done using those and the other two were other papers. I made either 3 or 4 of each of these prints. Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for my video soon!

Birthday Card - Quilled Flowers Purple and Green

This is a simple card I made with two quilled flowers, to help use up the papers left from my birdhouse card. I love this pattern paper. I am not the biggest fan of patterned papers on the market these days, I just am not, but when I find some prints I really like I love it. That is why you might notice that many of my cards have no pattern paper at all. I personally don't care of the distressed and worn looks, that many papers have. I enjoy looking at others projects with them but I just don't like it for myself I guess. I love this purple ribbon I found on sale at Michael's. It's so pretty! Hope you enjoy this simple card. The quilled flowers were actually just taken from my bin of quilled circles I already had ready.

Quilled Art Work - 12x12 Framed Tree with Grass

Here is another quilled artwork I made to frame in a shadow box frame. This time I went for the Olive Green color and this cute tree from Serenade. The grass is from my Martha Stewart Punch. I love how this one turned out. To make the leaves I had to use 22 inches of paper and roll them out for the largest size circle on my template board, but I just love how they turned out. What I love is even looking at this from across the room, it really stands out and looks classy. I can't wait to see if anyone likes these at my craft show. I hope so because I am going to spend a bundle of money on the frames for everything and I don't want to be stuck with them LOL. Hope you enjoy.

Just Because Card - Thinking of You Birdhouse with Flowers.

Okay, I am totally loving this card. I adore purple and I love it matched up with green. I also enjoy making shape cards sometimes. The green patterned paper is from the DCWV Nursery stack, but it goes so nicely with this darker green and the two purples. I am going to soon make a video showing how I weld these cards together since I don't have a gypsy or design studio. I had a request for a video showing how to make the gift bag card, so once you see how I do it you can apply it to other shapes too. Anyway back to this card. I really wanted to accent the birdhouse to I used dark green for the roof cut, then I added thinner strips of the light purple to it. Then I added those two toned flowers with the gemstones. I love how that turned out. I used my Versamark for the sentiment and then used white embossing powder. I even used a dryer sheet on my paper but for some reason little bits of the powder still stuck to the paper. Oh well. I love the stitch lines I added, gives it a nice touch. The two birdies are so cute. I decided to cut their legs off and make them look like they were just laying there. I used glossy accents on their wings, flowers and beaks. I love this card so much. Hope you enjoy.

Birthday Card - Giraffe

This was another card that I made using the critters that I made last weekend. This was my first time cutting the Giraffe. He is so darn cute. I used glossy accents on his spots too to make them stand out more. The buttons were simple, I added braiding cord to them so they would look stitched and just adhered them for a simple embellishment. The yellow pattern paper is an old Creative Memories one that I had left. I used to be a consultant and I wound up with so many of the pattern papers, many of which I didn't even like, just to get their solid colors. I ended up donating a huge laundry basket full of pattern paper to the Boys and Girls Club here a year ago...that was how much pattern paper I had which I didn't care for. This card is simple and cute. Hope you Enjoy!

Challenge Extension....

So...there has not been very much participation this time around for my current challenge. To read the details click at the link provided at the top of my site.

I would like to have a little better turn out so I am going to extend the deadline to the same time but next monday. I hope more of you can join in!

Mom Card - Purple Flowers

Just a really simple card that I made this weekend. I cut these flowers and layered them from the Plantin Schoolbook. I used brads for the centers which turned out cute. I love purple and yellow together. I also wanted to try something different with the ribbon loop Martha Stewart Punch. I like how this one came together. The sentiment is just an alphabet acrylic stamp set I have which I used to spell Mom. Hope you enjoy.

Pet Card - Doggie and Bones

So last weekend I didn't have a ton of time for crafting on Saturday, but in between other things I was just making critters from Create a Critter. I didn't have time for making entire cards, so I just played around with some cuts on Create a Critter that I hadn't done before. Then throughout the week I just sat down and whipped them into some simple cards. This was what I came up with for the dog. I didn't have any dog sentiments and didn't really know what I wanted it to say so I skipped that part and figured I would leave it without. I do think the dog is adorable. Hope you enjoy.

Quilled Artwork - 12x12 Framed Tree Scene Bright Green

I enjoy making Quilled Artwork to be framed and hung on walls. I just think quilling is so pretty and looks amazing in Shadow Box Frames. If you click on my Artwork Label on the side bar you can see some of the more quilted style quilled artwork I have made in the past, but now that I have had my Cricut, I can do so much more artwork with quilling added. This week I focused on tree scenes. This is one of three trees artwork I have made this week. Stay tuned for the rest.

This pretty tree came from Serenade at 10 inches. I cut the bark/branch cut twice to make it pop up more. For the quilling I just figured out what size circle I needed and then relaxed and did those while watching tv. This is going to look really stunning framed and I hope that someone loves having it in their home. I am planning to have this one for sale at my craft fair. In reality this is pretty easy to make, but a little time consuming. I enjoy quilling though and find it relaxing to sit and curl paper, and then turn it into amazing art.

Hope you enjoy!

Card Drive for Madison - Info

I was contacted earlier this week by Trish from Techniques by Trish regarding a card drive for a special little 6 year old who is suffering from Leukemia after being in remission previously. How Sad. But how sweet that Trish is offering to collect cards from those interested in making her one, and an entire package of cards will be sent to this little girl and totally make her day!

So to read all the info and participate see Trish's post from earlier this week and get started on your card. I will be working on mine before the post mark deadline and will share it here when I am done!

Just Because Card - Miss You Dragonfly

I had papers left from my pink tree from the other day so I decided to make a dragonfly from Paisley. Just something really simple for this one. I used a solid and a pattern for the background, embossing the solid one with the swirls. I used a brown ribbon to separate the two. Then added the dragonfly and the sentiment and done. Very simple and yet pretty. Hope you enjoy.

Birthday Card - Four Legged Monster

I made this card using the scrap papers from the dino card from a couple days ago. The arms over hung the card so I just snipped them off. I figured it's a monster and it doesn't have to have arms, besides it has 4 legs to make up for it. I wanted a nice big monster, but going bigger meant the arms went longer too LOL. Just a simple card for a kids birthday. Hope you enjoy.

17 Bookmarks Order!!!

So over the summer my aunt from Texas was in NY for a visit and she fell in love with my cards and bookmarks and especially my quilling! She is part of a Ya Ya group and when she hosts their get togethers she likes to give each member a little gift and she thought my quilled bookmarks would be perfect. She also wanted three for her grandsons but left me leeway to use the cricut for those. I tried to make a nice variety of colors and types of flowers and quilled butterflies for the bookmarks. Some names I stamped and some I did on the computer. It took me quite a long time to get this order together, doing a little here and there, but she made it clear she wasn't in a rush.

I like a nice thick book mark base, so I start with a 5.5x7.5 piece of paper. I like them 7.5 long. I score then at 2.25 inches in on each side, leaving the width of the book mark to be 2 inches. I use the bone folder for a nice tight crease and I fully adhere each flap as I fold it behind. It gives a nice sturdy base. With the quilled ones I keep the quilling just at the top part because I figure that part can stick out of the book and the rest should be flat. On the little boys ones I did not raise the images so they are just flat.

I hope she loves these all as much as I do. I am sure they will. Hope you enjoy. If you want a tutorial video on these book marks let me know. Hope you enjoy.

Birthday Card - Purple Gift Bag with Butterfly

I loved the other shape card I made using this gift bag from Create a Critter so much that since it sold, I wanted to have another on hand. I chose purples this time. I actually made this for the Creative Scraps Challenge but wasn't able to post it on time even though I made it Thursday night, but that is okay because I love it anyways. I kept it quite simple using some printed ribbon I have at the top and the bottom. Many times I like to stamp my sentiment then mat it to make it stand out more. Also I get nervous stamping directly to my paper of the card sometimes. The butterfly I've used a hundred times in the past, it is one of my favorite punches. Well worth it. It is one of the few things I have paid full price for, but with a coupon anyone should get it. I added some stickles to the butterfly and the hearts. Very pretty. I built a gift card pocket into the inside. Hope you all enjoy.

CJ Too Design Team - Home Decor Scarecrow Wall Hanging

This was my first entry for Design Team 2 for Tracy at www.craftjunkietoo.com!!! I am so excited to be part of her design team and I am a little happy I was up second, so I had more time to work one something totally different than anything I have made before. I decided to try my hand at a home decor item. In the past all I have done is quilled artwork for framing, but I wanted something totally different.

I decided on a wall hanging for fall...and what cuter to use than the scarecrow from Simply Charmed. To get started I made my thick base. I used 6 layers of kraft card stock and then sandwiched that between two cereal box cardboard pieces. I had all that adhered together and then covered it with this creamy shimmery paper. That took quite a bit of ATG and a little time to get it where I was happy with it.

Then I added the brown layers and wrapped them behind. I had this adorable ribbon which I picked up last winter, and decided that would look really pretty going across the top and bottom. Next came the braiding cord and I used a technique I have seen Momo do...I tied it off through the orange button...Love it. I am so glad I added this cord because I think it really makes it look more fall and festive.

Next I made my adorable scarecrow. I used real buttons for his overalls because I thought it was cuter than the black dots. I did some doodling on him to make him look better too. Then I added braiding cord and tied it through the yellow button for his hat and I LOVE how that turned out. So stinking cute. He just puts a smile on my face, not scary at all.

And the last part is the binder clip I used for hanging this. It's just a tiny one, I covered it in brown paper. Because the wall hanging is so thick it fits nicely onto it, and won't slip off. I added the sunflower over the front metal part so you won't see it, and chose that because the ribbon has scarecrow heads and sunflowers so I thought it was perfect. The back metal part is actually what will be hung onto your nail or hook! It really is perfect for the hanging part of this.

I am not sure what I am doing with this little guy yet but I sure do love how this turned out. I was so honored to be part of Tracy's design team that I wanted to challenge myself into doing something new. All in all this took me about 2 hours. There is a very good chance I am gifting this one!

Mini Composition Books, Oh My!

So I was at the dollar store where I live and I spotted these mini composition books in 3 packs, for a DOLLAR. Whoo Hoo! I grabbed 10 packs of them and went home and got busy. I must admit I like dealing with these better than the big ones. One sheet of 12 by 12 card stock pattern paper is enough to do 4 notebooks front and back and then the solid paper is less than half a sheet for the 4 spines. I was able to make all 30 of them using just 1 full roll of ATG. I calculated my cost in these and it works out to be 58 cents a piece when you factor everything in, and I am thinking of selling these for a buck at my craft show next month. It took me 3 hours to make all 30 of them in one sitting. I made 4 of each design and then I have two more to make of the polka dot ones when I get some more. I think I am going to grab another 30 this week too just so I can make some more. I think these will be big sellers because they can fit in your car or your purse and I also think kids are going to love them too. I hope they move for a buck. I think they are so adorable and I love the patterns and colors. I think these are easier and cheaper cost in the long run than the big ones. Hope you enjoy...I had a request for a video of me making composition books, so perhaps this weekend when I get the others I will show just how easy these are to make...I might even be able to get it into just one You Tube video, LOL. Hope you enjoy.

Birthday Card - Dinosaur

This little cutie will be perfect for a little boys card. I kept this card very simple and just used some pattern paper and a strip of the light green to create the background. I put glossy accents on the spots of the dino and other than that did not do too much else to it. I was showing someone something on the cricut and made this cut for fun and then decided to turn it into a little kids birthday card! Hope you enjoy.

Birthday Card - Pink Curvy Tree of Pearls

So I'm back with my favorite tree! I was thinking to myself how pretty it might be to do something a little more abstract and make a pink tree. LOL. So I took these two shades of pink which I love and I made the tree and grass pink. First I cut the tree out with one of the pinks and just snipped off certain leaves. Then I cut it in the other color and layed the snipped one over it, to get the two different leave colors. Then the brown trunk and branches. This would be pretty done with two greens too. Since this is my girly pink tree I decided to put a peal at the start of each leave and it is so pretty. I just think this card is so darn pretty, and I love it. There is something about it which really pops right out at me. Very different yet pretty and peaceful and I think someone is going to love it as much as I do. Hope you all enjoy!

Birthday Card - Curvy Tree Scene

I love how this card turned out. This is only my second card made at 6x6. It is such a fun dimension to work with because you can really create some pretty scenes. I am in love with this tree from Serenade. I think it's my favorite tree now. I think you might be seeing a lot of it in the coming months. I just think it is so pretty. This time I didn't quill over the leaves. I love this olive green for the leaves and grass, something different than the normal greens I use. The clouds were all cut from Create a Critter at various sizes. This card really is very simple. I think it could be used for man or woman. By the way have I mentioned that everyone should have the Martha Stewart Grass Punch? It is so handy to have for cutting grass fast and layering it. I made an envelope by hand for this one using the 6x6 measurements on the Martha Stewart Score Board. Hope you all enjoy.

Just Because Card - White Embossed Pattern

So this card turned out super pretty. I really wanted to play around with embossing a pattern onto paper with white. I love this cute border type of stamp I have. I used Versamark Dazzle Frost and then some white opaque embossing powder and look how pretty this print turned out on the pink paper!!! I love it. This is all thanks to Momo and her Ustream I watched about embossing. Go check out her blog if you haven't...she is listed on my side bar. On the side I used a black strip and then embossed that with the Polka Dot Cuttlebug Folder. I love these colors together as it is, but that white pattern just really stands out so nicely. I can't get over it. I cut the circles using George and Basic Shapes which came with my Cricut when I bought it. The flower was made using a punch I have, layering 3 of them after crimping them first. I just love how this one turned out and no sentiment is needed. Hope you enjoy.

Fall Card - Two Pumpkins

I think this pumpkin is super cute. I decided to make two to sit side by side. The border punch pretty much perfectly matches the little curly cute on the pumpkin so I thought it was a nice touch to use it at the bottom. The right pumpkin is on pop dots to make it seem in front of the other one. This card is quite simple but over the weekend I didn't have much time for crafting. Hope you enjoy.

Get Well Card - Purple and Yellow Paisley

I made this cute card to feature one of the paisley shapes and it turned out so pretty. I love the purples together with this bright yellow. I embossed the top part of the yellow paper with the paisley shapes too. I added lots of stickles to the Paisley to make it sparkle and shine. I think this will make a really pretty card for someone sick. Hope you enjoy.

Just Because Card - Cheers To You Owl

Now this owl is stinking cute. I love it. I chose to use less colors in the layers than you could do. Just a really simple card actually. I added glitter to the flower and the scallop pieces. I love the eyes on this owl. So cute. Bright and fun colors. Hope you enjoy.

Winter Card - Snowman Seasons Greetings

This cute card turned out how I wanted it. I wanted a snowman standing before a snowy hill against a black sky. I love how cute my snowman turned out. The ribbon I used with the white pattern on it matched perfectly. This was my first time using white embossing powder to do a white sentiment on black paper. It turned out pretty nice. I think it will be better when I can get some Versamark. I haven't found that yet. I used three buttons to match in the top corner and strung them with some white string. I love how this card turned out. Hope you enjoy.

Fall Card - Scarecrow

I just had to cut the adorable scarecrow. I love how he turned out. The patterned paper is an old Creative Memories one. I love it. The grass was made using my border punch. I chose to do the shadow on the scarecrow so he would stand out against the same colors on the background. I think it worked out great and he is super cute. Hope you enjoy.

Love Card - Lady Bug

I fell in love with this adorable lady bug from Paisley. I don't really care for red and pink together so I decided on yellow. I used glossy accents on the spots and all the round parts of her legs and such. I used my Threading Water punch and some simple black and white polka dot ribbon. The stamp is from Michael's and actually stamps all three love yous at once. I think this card turned out simple and cute. Hope you enjoy.

Just Because Card - You Are Fabulous Bee

This little card turned out so cute. I picked up the Paisley at Michael's for 29 bucks. Can't beat that. I had to cut the cute bee first. I decided to combine this blue with the yellow and black and I love how it turned out. The bee is so darn cute. I love the border at the top that I did with my punch. This was also my first time using buttons. I prefer to see them with string of some sort, so I strung them first and then used glue dots to adhere them. All of the black on the bee was made glossy with glossy accents. The black paper I used is very shimmery as it is so with the gloss over top or really makes it stand out nice. And then I used some Martha Stewart Glitter on the cheeks. Hope you enjoy!

New Challenge and Giveaway!!!

Edit>>>Winner is # 8.

Hello Everyone. Welcome to my latest challenge.

I have put together a fantastic group of guest designers for you all to gain inspiration from for my latest challenge.

First up is Doras from 4 Crafty Angels. I just love her projects. She is so clever with her journals and address books. Check out her blog, she makes these herself. :) Thank you so much Dorcas for participating and helping to provide inspiration to others.


Next up is Cristi from Scrappin 5 Little Cupcakes. Cristi made her first spinner card, and how cute is this? The colors are fabulous and the sentiment too! Thank you so much for helping with this challenge :).


And last but not least is Lauren from Lauren's Creative. Lauren's card is wonderful. She tried an S Fold card for the first time, as well as her Paisley Embossing Folder and Sentiment. How pretty this is. I love the colors and everything about it.

All three of these ladies have amazing blogs with video tutorials and wonderful projects to share with all of you so give them a visit if you haven't before. You'll be so happy you did.

Now onto the challenge and how you can participate.


The rules for this challenge:

- Your project must include the color purple as a main color. Purple is my favorite.

- You must try something new that you have never done before, for this challenge.

- This time I am only allowing projects that are being made for MY challenge only. I don't want to see projects that are being submitted to other sites challenges as well.

- You must post your project on your own blog first, and link it to my site. You should also include a bit about what you did that was something you had never done before.

- After you have posted to your own site, use the Mr. Linky here on this post and link your post. Please use format "Name-Site Name"

- Then leave an actual comment on this post letting me know that you have entered the challenge and how to reach you if you win.

- This challenge is open from NOW till Sunday October 24th ending at 10 pm EST.

- The prize has yet to be decided but when I figure it out you'll all be the first to find out!

- And finally...have fun and explore something new!

I Was Chosen for Craft Junkie Too's Design Team!!!

I am over the top happy about being selected to be on the Brand New Design Team for CJ at Craft Junkie Too. I applied and submitted my work but never dreamed I would be chosen so I am super excited!

Be sure to stay tuned for my contributions for her Design Team as well as visit her site and check out all her amazing work as well as the other Designers.

Composition Book - Emily Cow

My sister and I made this cute notebook for her. She loves cows and she thinks Create a Critter is just too cute. Now the funniest thing...the layer 1 and layer 2 on my Create a Critter Cow Button are reversed. I have never come across such a thing before. But they do the opposite. At first I thought I was losing my mind. Has anyone else ever encountered this on a cartridge?

The notebook turned out super cute. I love how cute this cow is. I'll have to make a card with it soon. She loves green and this color green is very shimmery and pretty. The picture doesn't due it justice. I completely love how this turned out! Hope you enjoy!

Just Because Card - Pink and Black Flowers

This is just a very simple card, featuring embossing and a really nice sentiment. Very simple. Not a lot to say about it but I hope you enjoy!

Halloween Card - Miss You

My hairdresser requested a Halloween card for her son who is away from home, and she wanted it to say "Miss You" on the front. So I decided to take this chance to make a little scene card with a mini monster and a tree and such! I love how this turned out. As I was piecing the fence together I thought that it would look nice and creepy to have spider webs on the fence and then I added the little spider. I love how it turned out. The tree is perfect and I chose a shade of brown that would really show against the black sky. I made the grass using my Martha Stewart Grass Border punch. My hairdresser loved this card. Hope you enjoy too!

Get Well Card - Mouse and Cheese

Look how cute this is! My aunt loves Mice and she has been going through a rough time with her back and needs surgery this week. I wanted to make her a get well card! I decided to use Create a Critter and I just love this mouse. The wedge of cheese I decided made a perfect shape card. Since I don't have a gypsy or design studio I had to weld it together myself. I went the biggest size the baby bug allows. This mouse is so darn cute too! I put glossy accents on its nose and whiskers. I just love how this card came together and I can't wait to see what my aunt thinks of it. Hope you all enjoy!