Special Birthday for a Special Lady

My mother-in-law celebrated her 80th birthday last week. My husband, being her eldest child, and his father got together and planned a lovely dinner for immediate family and close friends. It turned out to be a lovely evening and we had cocktails, snacks and shared great conversation with relatives and friends. A house had been converted to an intimate little restaurant with front patio and large principal rooms on both floors. We had the entire upstairs to ourselves. Entreees ranged from osso bucco and sea bass to risotto and a lovely home made pasta. Everyone had a great time. It was a lovely event for a fabulous person. I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law.

The card I made was inspired by the chocolate and pink polka dot gross grain ribbon. The "80" sparkle stickers were added to organza ribbon. I cut the black and white label from nestabilities dies. The Happy Birthday stamp is from PaperTrey Ink. Everyone loved the card and I had great fun making it.

Masculine Birthday Card

Making cards for guys whether they are men or just small boys can be challenging. One way to get your ideas moving in the right direction is to give yourself a challenge...just like the one that Cricut Cardz Challenge is posting this week as their Challenge #75.

We were asked to make a card using something with wheels. I looked through all my cartridges and to my surprise there were several that would work. However, I chose my Just Because cartridge. The main image is a pick up truck but one of the options is the ability to cut a sticker which can be made up of a circle with some of the pick up truck displayed. You can cut a circle backing for the sticker but I chose instead to display the blue truck on an embossed background. The sentiment of Happy Wishes was added to replace the tire.

I think this card successfully answered the Cricut Cardz Challenge. Why not drive over to their website and see what other crafters have come up with. It might give you some ideas for future cards. Happy crafting!

To the Beach We Go

I know what you're thinking...that's it's a little early for beach talk but the themed challenge this week at Cricut Cardz Challenge is to make a card relating the beach.

I knew immediately that I wanted to make a card that showed water. I chose a light blue cardstock that I embossed using a swirl folder which I passed it through my Cuttlebug. I took a blue Momento petal ink cartridge and rubbed it over the swirls to add dimension. I also applied some Martha Stewart ice blue glitter to some of the "waves". The whale was cut using my Create a Critter cartridge out of a darker blue card stock. White gel pen was added to create a bit of dimension. Of course I added a bit of glitter to his water spout. The word "splash" was also cut from the Create a Critter cartridge. Blue organza ribbon completes the card.

I think the card really turned out to be a cute one. We can go to the beach and see our own water creatures but I would recommend that we wait until the weather is a bit warmer. Keep on crafting 'til then!

Mother's Day Card Challenge

It's been a while I know since my last blog. That's because I've been leading a very busy life. That's what Mother's do, don't they. They put their own things aside until everyone else is looked after...then do something for themselves. I'm not saying that this is the right way to carry on, but it happens. Right now I'm helping my grandson with his college courses and trying to get him into the program that he wants. I also work part time 3 days a week at a local quilt shop (love it), volunteering at a large hospital Emergency Department once a week (absolutely love it). trying to finish a quilt, as well as caring for my husband, cat and tropical fish. That doesn't include cleaning, getting ready for Easter, readying myself for a trip to San Fransisco next month...the list goes on.

I did take time out of my week to make a card in celebration of Mother's Day. I had some lovely patterned paper that I cut out as the background. I used my Martha Stewart scoring mat on some lovely raspberry tinted paper and made the large accordion flower. I took the same designer paper and using my Create A Critter cartridge, cut out several flowers . The lovely blush organza bow adds softness to the card. A simple script Happy Mother's Day stamp from Papertrey Ink finishes the card.

Please join us at Cricut Cardz Challenge for their Challenge #71 and make a Mother's Day card using any cartridge you'd like. We'd love to see your project posted on their blog. You even have a chance to win a prize. Thanks and enjoy your week!

Is it Spring Yet?

Well for those at Cricut Cardz Challenge it is. With Spring being right around the corner, I think, the challenge this week is to make a card for Spring using only pink, green and white ONLY but you can use any cartridge you'd like.

I checked out my Create a Critter cartridge and found a sweet little chick and egg which I thought was cute. I have a lovely piece of light green paper with pink and green flowers and leaves on it. Wasn't that lucky! I cut the cracked egg in pink and the little chick out of white. Green beak and tummy complete the image. Then I thought about the caption. The words "ta da" add a cute factor. I hope you like it.

Why not go over to Cricut Cardz Challenge and see what other members of my team came up with.

St. Patrick's Day

When you think of St. Patrick's Day, the image that comes to mind is a shamrock. Well the challenge this week at Cricut Cardz Challenge is to make a card using any Cricut cartridge but NO SHAMROCKS!

I put my creative cap on and came up with this card. I started with the hand cut from the Designers' Calendar Cricut cartridge and added a lime green bow to serve as a reminder to everyone to wear green. I then used my Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge to cut a banner out of black cardstock with the words "wear GREEN on 17" which I then mounted on lime green background paper. Green bling was added to give a feminine touch to the wrist.

I noticed that most of my other team mates at CCC used the Irish leprechan in their projucts but I tried to do something a little different. I hope you get some inspiration from my efforts not follow the typical rainbow to the pot of gold.

Valentine's Day

Have you ever thought about Valentine's Day and not assumed everything to be red? Well at Cricut Cardz Challenge this week, the call is to made a card for this special day but using only blue, green and while ONLY. It kind of turns your thinking upside down doesn't it.

I started with the bird cage cut from a metallic blue/grey card stock using the Cricut Serenade cartridge. The song bird was also cut using the same cartridge. I had used some blue marble designer paper that I used as the backdrop for the card. The birdcage is sitting on a "ledge" made of white cardstock punched with a Fiskar's edge punch and stamped a line of hearts in blue ink. I also stamped the sentiment "i love YOU" inthe same blue ink. Small white hearts floating out from the birdcage were cut using the Cricut Wild Card cartridge. The finishing touch was to add a simple lime green satin ribbon to the top of the birdcage. Voila! A Valentine's Day card without using red can be done successfully.