Patio Door Alert

Recently we had guests staying at our cottage. Being concerned that someone might walk into the patio door between the cottage and the sun room, I cut a bird and branch out of white vinyl using my Cricut Home Decor cartridge. I love the way it came out and it really fits in with the cottage decor.

Pastel Christmas (4 Challenges)

When you hear the word "pastel", you usually think of white, soft pink, baby blue or light yellow. But it doesn't have to be. On a recent trip to my local craft store, I came across a paper pad on sale from K & Company called "Best of Brenda Walton". It had lots of different papers some of which are fun summer prints and others were lovely tone on tone papers that can be used for various summer and winter projects. One of the papers had colored birds so I cut the red one out to become the focal point of the card. The tree branch was cut using my Cricut Home Decor cartridge. I think the black branch adds a little dramatic element to the card. The background paper was mounted on mint green cardstock and then onto black cardstock which actually frames everything nicely. Embossed snowflakes and simple sentiment finishes off this Christmas card.

This card was entered into the following challenges:
1. Cupcake Craft Challenge #101 - Pastel Christmas.
2. Tuesday Taggers - Christmas
3. Tuesday Throwdown #10 - Christmas in July
4. Little Red Wagon Craft Challenge#39 - Christmas in July

Enjoy!

Cupcake Anyone? Cricut Cardz Challenge #34

Who doesn't like a cupcake! I made this birthday card for my niece who is working at her first job after graduating from University and she lives away from home. I love the simplicity of this cupcake which I cut using my Cricut From Your Kitchen cartridge. I think that this is a card that anyone would love to receive.

I entered this card in the Cricut Cardz Challenge #34

Challenges - Wheels

Some time ago, I downloaded a free digital image of a car. Up until now, I haven't had a chance to use it.

The Paper Cutz Challenge asked for a card, layout or other project using something with wheels. The car I used is so cute that I thought it deserved to be front and centre on a small 4" x 4" card. I colored the car with my Copic markers and added bright red buttons as hub caps. I couldn't decide on a sentiment so I used a simple "hello" stamp that I already had in my collection. I must say that I don't have too many sentiment stamps which is something that I need to work on. Papertrey Ink has several collections that I like. Anyway, that's it for today. Wish me luck in the challenge!

My recipe:

Digital Image
Copic Markers
Basic Grey Buttons
Momento Ink - Tuxedo Black
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Offray Ribbon - Centre Stitch Red
Michaels - Antique Brass Brad

I entered this card in the following contests:
1. Paper Cutz Challenge #51 - Wheels
2. Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #94 - Wheels

Cupcake Craft Challenge

Cupcake Craft Challenges are among my favorites because they are so popular. I love peeking at the other entrant's submissions. The talent and ideas of some of these crafters are amazing.

The theme in this week's challenge is Cats and Dogs. I have stamps for dogs, frogs, hedgehogs, butterflies...but no cats. When I come across free digi images on the internet, I save them for future use and I just happened to have saved a cute kitty image which I colored with my Copic markers. I used a 4-sided background stamp (Stampendous) that I got on sale that I inked up with light green ink (Momento "Oh Baby" Dew Drop) and stamped some white cardstock. I cut out a circle big enough to accommodate the kitty image which I glued with pot dots to the inside of the card. To finish it off, I founded the bottom corners, applied a brown satin ribbon, light green gross grain ribbon and the sentiment, Thinking of You.

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #148

This sketch challenge was just that...challenging. I had trouble with this card and had to go through two attempts to make it. The first one just didn't look right. The cards from the other entrants were so much better than mine so I started it again. The second time around, it looked so much better. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the circle/flower in the central square of the sketch which I color and then added an Amythist colored stone for the centre. The vine flourishes were cut on my Cricut using the Stretch Your Imagination and New Arrival cartridges. One thing I learned from this challenge is it's OK to admit when a card is not working and start again!

Christmas in July

I couldn't resist the challenges I found calling for Christmas cards. It's another hot day so I closeted myself in my craft room and made this card. Having the trees appear on the plain white background gives the illusion of snow - I think. I like the simplicity and the sparkles. I just love Christmas! Enjoy.

Recipe:
Martha Stewart Hairloom Paper
White Cardstock
Christmas Cheer Cricut Cartridge
Silver Snowflakes by Michaels
Silver Stickles
Dimensional Foam

This card was submitted to the following challenges:
1. PaperCutz Challenge #49 - Christmas theme without using red or green;
2. Cardz TV - Christmas In July, Challenge #3;
3. Ooh La La Challenge #58 - Christmas in July;
4. Paper Sundaes Challenge #26 - Layers;
5. My Creative Time, Throwback Thursday Challenge #7 - My Favourite Holiday

MOJO147, Sketch Challenge

I visited the Mojo Monday website to see what was going on and they had an interesting sketch challenge.

The card I made responds to that challenge. I printed the sentiment using the Lucinda font which is one of my favorites.

It's Barbeque Time!

I was looking at designer paper at my local craft store and came across one that I liked from K&Company called K-Ology Blue Lace Column Flat Paper. It reminded me of blue denim jeans. Wouldn't it be cute to make an invitation made out of the shape a back pocket from a pair of jeans? It did just that. I added the outline stitching and added red rick-rack. I found a lovely red paper and made a pocket liner. I used some co-ordinating paper and set out the details for the open house barbeque. The barbeque utensils, barbeque and the word barbeque on the outside of the pocket were cut using the From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge. I added a small ribbon "pull" to the top of the invitation and used a brad in antique brass to attach it. I love the way this project turned out. I submitted this project for publication in a craft magazine so we'll see if it's accepted. I sure hope so!

Recipe:
Paper: K&Company - K-Ology Blue Lace Column Flat Paper
Dies: From My Kitchen Cricut Cartridge
Ink: Momento - Tuxedo Black used to edge
Embellishments: Wm. Wright Company Rick Rack - Red; Gelly Roll Gel Pen - White

I also entered this card in the following challenge:
1. The Pink Elephant Challenge TPE75 - Pocket Card

Christmas in July???

We are in the midst of a scorching heat wave but when I saw the challenge posted on the Cardz TV blog, I couldn't resist. Mary's challenge is for us to make a Christmas card in July! Why not - perhaps sitting in my air conditioned craft room (thankfully!) will be better for me than being outside. One catch though, the challenge was to use ONLY the following colors: pink, green, red, white and black. Because the base card is black, I will be using a white gel pen for the inside sentiment.

I just received a new die from QuicKutz and I was very anxious to use it and I thought that this challenge would be an excellent inaugural event.

Paper: Me & My Big Ideas
Die: QuicKutz - Tree
Cutting Machine: Cuttlebug
Adhesive: ZIG 2-Way Glue Pen; Pop Dots
Embellishment: Diamond Stickles
Gel Pen: Gelly Roll - White

I was very disappointed with my photo though. The red is a very cranberry red, the green is more olive, some of the pink polka dots didn't show up clearly and you can't see the glistening effect of the Stickles. What is a crafter to do! I guess I just need some better lighting. Sorry about this but I was under the gun to get this card in on time.

Canada Day/July 4th Celebrations

I can't believe that it's that time of year for us to celebrate with fireworks and trips to the cottage. This week, my nephew and his wife from Richmond, Virginia are staying at the cottage, along with two other couples. The cottage is about 2 hours north east of Toronto, Canada in the lakes district. We celebrated both Canada Day and the 4th of July with barbequed pork tenderloin that had been marinated in hoisin sauce and ginger, grilled vegetables, oven roasted rosemary potatoes and corn on the cob. What a feast! To top it all off, we made lemon cupcakes which served in cupcake wrappers that I cut on my Cricut embellished with July 4th that I "glamified" with silver Stickles. I imported an .svg file into my Make the Cut software and then cut the Fourth of July from the Cricut Designer's Calendar cartridge. To top it all off and to make our guests feel welcome, we added miniature U.S. flags specifically for our company. Little touches can really make a big impact. Everyone had a great time.

This projects was entered into the following challenges:
1. Paper Cutz Challenge #48 - Fourth of Jul;
2. Cricut Cardz Challenge #31 - Fourth of July;
3. For Fun Challenges - Fourth of July