BBTB Paper Pups Ribbon Challenge and Blog Hop

WooHoo! It's that time of the month again for the BBTB Blog Hop. Hope you're all having a fun time. With any luck you have landed here from Carole's blog. If you happened here by chance you can follow along or start at the beginning HERE. This week our challenge was to use the ribbon from Paper Pups.

I chose to do one of my usual shaped front cards welding a number of elements in Cricut Design Studio to a rectangular base from George and Basic Shapes. The star cluster is from Wildcard and the sentiment is from Lyrical Letters. By strategically welding the elements I was able to eliminate the bird that is part of that sentiment and only had to trim it off on the top layer. #1 is the Roly poly feature in Plantin Schoolbook and the 2 right hand single stars are also from George.

I used several layers and popped them using foam dimensionals. It's hard to see in the pic, but I added texture to the stars using the new Stars Cuttlebug folder as well as the all time favorite Swiss Dots. I also used Swiss dots to add interest to the blue ribbon.

Well you know it wouldn't be mine unless I used a few adhesive beads for embellishment. No, I don't own stock in the company but I wish I did. LOL I also wish I had better glasses for this closeup work. Time for another eye exam!

Now just for leaving a comment on this post you can win this fun mix and match book kit from K &Co and these extra adorable dimensional animal stickers (hard to give up but I LOVE you guys). The winner will be chosen by Random DH (Sorry, I'm technologically challenged but he has no idea what's going on so there's no possibility of cheating) on Sat. Sept 5. Next up is by fabulously talented DT sister DeeDee. Hop right on over HERE and enjoy her sure to be wonderful take on this challenge. Have fun and win big! And don't forget to play along. Thanks so much for joining the BBTB Blog Hop! Hugs! D

Hoppy Birthday Cut File Available

Here's a birthday card I designed for my dear frog loving friend Carole. (Check out her amazing blog HERE) I just can't get enough of that frog from Paper Dolls so this time he's jumping all over the place. The front is a spinner card and the sentiment (which I'm afraid is awfully hard to read because of the mix of patterns I chose) says "Hoppy".

Inside is a pop-up "Birthday" with a couple more frogs that hop out a you when you open the card. I couldn't resist the DCWV Spring Glitter Stack but now that I look at the pix I guess it made for an awfully busy card, especially because I blinged up a storm using adhesive gems. I still think it's a fun one and Carole got a kick out of it. Because it's pretty thick I used the Crayon box from Tags, Bags, Boxes and more for an envie and it fit perfectly. Custom Crops picked up my design so if you wish to make your own you can view the the full article and instructions and download the .cut file HERE. If you think it's cute I'd sure appreciate a comment on the Custom Crops site (and here of course). And if you'd also like to view the other articles and .cut files I've done click HERE for the list.

A Cottage Cutz Card and a Chance to Win $250

Okay, I apologize for the bad pun but I just couldn't resist! These adorable geckos are a Cottage Cutz 3x3 die sold exclusively at The Scrapping Cottage. It's called the gecko variety and there are additional ways to deck out your gecko included on the die. I made sort of a modified tent topper using my heart Nesties. The sentiment is computer generated using my Card Factory Deluxe program. All it needed then were some flower embellies. There are so many adorable dies available at The Scrapping Cottage you'll definitely want to check it out. The new Halloween ones are TO DIE FOR and will be available soon. Click HERE to see all of the cards I've made with these adorable dies.

Now wouldn't you want to win $250 to shop at The Scrapping Cottage? Besides a HUGE variety of dies these have TONS of other stuff too. Well their Cottage Blog is aiming for 500 followers. They have loads of fun ideas as well as contests and such. Click HERE to find out how to win.

Too HOT at The Cuttlebug Spot and The Cutting Cafe

When Nilda asked us to use the word HOT this week for our Cuttlebug Spot Challenge I immediately thought of this downloadable stamp from the Summer Word Circles set from The Cutting Cafe. Around here August and September can be the hottest months of the year so there's still plenty of summer left. I also was able to use flip flop photo frame from the Life's a Beach Cricut Cartridge This is ANOTHER cart I HAD to have immediately when it came out and this is the first cut I've done on it. I used a piece of printed acetate in the frame opening and added a piece to the bottom that I cut with my EKSuccess sand castle border punch (also a first time use) embossed with the D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. The sand paper is from last year's DCWV Summer Glitter Stack. A sand pail and shovel brads were added and the strip was popped on the bottom along witha pretty felt flower.

I printed my Cutting Cafe stamp on bright yellow for the center of the sun and cut multiple pinking circles using my Nesties. Then I cut strips for the rays and embossed them with two different border folders. Be sure to visit The Cutting Cafe to see all of the great downloadable stamps Regina has to offer. She's been hard at work with dozens of new offerings so click HERE for your browsing pleasure. You're also in for a treat at The Cuttlebug Spot. My DT sisters came up with all sorts of different ways to add HOT to their projects, and if you play along you just may be the winner of a $20 gift certificate to Custom Crops.

BBTB Wildcard Owl Challenge and Cutting Cafe For the Love of Lemons Winner

This week at Bitten by the Bug Regina chose the Owl Card cut from Wildcard. I'll admit I haven't used many of the card cuts from this cart because I prefer making my own in DS, especially because the don't have the shadow feature so of course I made my own. Then I thought she needed some gussying up since I really wanted her to be a girl. I used two cuts I've been dying to try; one being the paisley cut from Stretch your Imagination which I used for wings and the second the sweet owl face from Happily Ever After which is why I bought that cart in the first place (and had yet to use). Wow with her facelift she's barely recognizable. (Wonder if that would work for me? LOL)

Then I cuttled, glittered and blinged up a storm and here is how she turned out. Her ruffled bodice is a Fiskars punch and I love her Queen & Co. flower brad eyes and blue rhinestone eyeliner. Come click HERE to see the amazing creations from my DT sisters and be sure to play along with this challenge. It was soooo much fun!

And I almost forgot! The winner of the Cutting Cafe For the Love of Lemons downloadable stamp set is #3 Kris L! (Thanks to my Random Org DH) WooHoo! You're gonna love this set Kris!

Paper Blooms Home Decor Challenge.

Yea! I finally managed to sneak in a Paper Blooms Challenge! I soooooo love Leah's handcrocheted flowers and embellies (although you don't have to use them to join in the challenge). This one is creating a home decor project so I did this door hanger. I'm a great cook (if I do say so myself LOL) but I've been sort of slacking in that deprtment for quite awhile (Crafting is hard work and I'd sooo much rather be doing that.) Anyway, I felt guilty last night so I grilled some salmon and asparagus and made the lemon pepper pasta with capers that DH so dearly loves. Of course he was soooo grateful, but I don't want him to think this is going to be an everyday occurrance. To make sure he doesn't get his hopes up I made this hanger to put up in the kitchen.

I've had this idea in my mind for awhile. I freehanded the apron and cut it out of this Cosmo Cricket retro paper I absolutely love. Used Zip dry glue to trim it out and added two gorgeous Paper Blooms for embellies. I had the "no" symbol laying on my craft table from a previous challenge from ages ago and thought it would be hilarious over the beater.

I cracked up at the "What's for dinner?" tag. I cut that and another little label out and printed "Reservations of course" on my computer. Of course they were made with 100% pure love, doesn't everybody LOVE to go out for dinner? LOL

Die Cuts R Us and Cupcake Crafts Challenge

This week at Die Cuts R Us it's a color challenge of chocolate brown, teal, and white or cream. We also were to stamp and color it using our favorite coloring medium. I missed last week so I was anxious to play along. I'm not much of a stamper but I had a Tim Holtz stamp that I had purchased last year right after Christmas and I thought it would look great with the colored paper I found. There wasn't alot to color however so I played around with some Distress Inks for a background (hope that counts) I also added some Perfect Pearls to add an iridescence that matched the patterned paper.

The snowflake frame is new from Spellbinders which I inked and added tiny snowflakes from the background paper. I embellished with cool fibers, beautiful ribbon, a clear glitter die cut snowflake and a vintage bell.

Cupcake Craft Challenges is celebrating their 1st birthday with a fabulous blog hop and a challenge to use something sweet on your card with an optional cupcake. How fortunate I received my giveaway prize from Die Cuts R Us of a Just Right stamp set with a cupcake center and alphabet so I could customize the sentiment just in time for this challenge. I colored the image with Copics, added stickles, and cut the frames with my Nesties.

I popped the layers and added punched corners and gems and some organdy ribbon and trim. I was so excited to participate in this challenge since I've been watching them since my dear frend Caryn became a DT member. Finally I finished my own DT obligations in time. Happy Birthday Cupcake Crafts Challenges!

For the Love of Lemons from The Cutting Cafe

I have to say I LOVE lemons and when I saw this new set from The Cutting Cafe I was so excited! LOTS of lemons, 20 phrases and images of lemons and you can win this set For The Love of Lemons just by commenting on this post.

For my first card I resized the lemon in my photoshop program, printed it on gingham paper and cut it out. the sentiment is is cut with my Nesties circle and backed with the circle scallop. Leaves are cut with my Cricut and that beautiful butterfly is hand crocheted by Leah from Paper Blooms.

You know I'm a cat lover so this second sentiment was a must. I colored it with my Copics and cut and backed it with Nesties. The kitty is a Sizzix die I cut out with my Cuttlebug. the lemon and lime slices are brads and I added a bow and some skittles.

The card mats have a threading water border and were embossed with Swiss Dots. Just a little popping of the layers and they were done. That's what I love so much about The Cutting Cafe downloadable printable stamps. So fast, so easy, and SOOOOOO many possibilites. To view the rest of the fun designs that come with this set click HERE. One lucky random winner will received this set absolutely free one Monday so be sure to comment to be included in the drawing. Today is Regina's birthday, isn't she sweet to give away a present when it's HER day?!? Be sure to check out all of the fabulous new designs Regina has just added. Lots for Back to School and Halloween too. WooHoo!

A Surprise from Lyrical Letters-Cut files available

I have been terribly guilty lately of buying up a storm and then not taking the time to fully investigate the possibilites of each purchase. (Now don't you tell me that doesn't sound familiar. LOL) So I decided to go back and look at some of my fairly recently purchased Cricut cartridges and was I surprised to find these simple ADORABLE shapes on Lyrical Letters. Sometimes it's best to keep it simple (I never thought I'd EVER hear myself say that) but I made a couple of shaped cards using the penguin and frog. These guys go together in a jiffy and were really fun to make. Besides, I'd been asked to do some less involved cards using fewer carts by the readers on Custom Crops so I thought these filled the bill.

Now I have to admit I couldn't resisit adding a little cap to the penguin which is from Pooh and Friends, but I also included a version without so these little cards can be made from just one cart. Not my usual style, but I hope you like. Click HERE to view the article and download the .cut file if you wish.

Also, for those of you who loved We Are The World, I'm pleased to say the article and .cut file for this card are available HERE.

Finally the Mystery Box Project Revealed!

WooHoo! For those of you who have been waiting for my Mystery Box project here it is! I must say I had a hard time until I was shopping at my LSS and saw a paper mache treasure box and immediately thought that the belt could be the closure on the box. I ticked off the required elements in my mind and decided it would work. Perhaps not the most creative use of them, but I'm pleased with the results. Please click HERE to see the article to find out how each of the elements are used as well as lots more pix.

Here's a picture of the inside. Although there are alot of personal treasures here as well, I managed to use the canvas which I dyed with the Mountain Dew as a lining for the box. Unfortunately I put so much other stuff in there it really doesn't show. The can itself was used in several different ways on the top but you're just gonna have to go read the article because I'm one tired cookie tonight and tomorrow I have an early hair appt. which I DESPERATELY need. LOL Hope it was worth the wait. All my DT sisters did a fabulous job. This was quite the challenge and next time we do this one lucky viewer will be chosen to play along. As always, comments at Custom Crops (as well as here) are greatly appreciated.

The Cuttlebug Spot You're Invited Challenge and a Blog Award

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we focused on invitations of any kind. I went back and forth on what I wanted to do and finally settled on a shower because I wanted to use the little umbrella folder from the Sizzix Baby set. I embossed it in both pink and blue and cut them out by hand. I popped them on a strip of card stock cut with my MS border punch and embossed with a Cuttlebug border folder from the Frills set. I used raindots to embellish and tied sheer little bows. The background paper is cuttled with Swiss Dots (surprise surprise).

The sentiment is from the Cuttlebug Welcome Baby card making combo cut twice and the flower is from the With Gratitude set. The adorable raindrops are also raindots (say that 3 times fast LOL) all atop a Labels 4 Nestie. You've got to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to see the fun variety of invitations made by my DT sisters and please play along. Custom Crops has offered a $20 gift card for one lucky random participant.

I also received this lovely blog award form my dear friend and Cutting Cafe Design Team sister from across the pond Tracy. Be sure to stop by Tracy's blog to see all of the wonderful things she creates. Thank you so much Tracy it is truly an honor.

BBTB Walk in my Garden Square Card and Envie

This week at Bitten by the Bug Regina chose the square card and envie on the Walk in My Garden cart and stipulated that the envie must be yellow. This cartridge also offers card toppers with cut outs so I chose the "thanks a bunch" cut. You really can't have too many thank you cards, can you? The flowers were inspired by a trip to my local nursery. I love the late summer flowers available and am particularly fond of the black eyed Susans. I seldom do an entire card these days from only one cart, but WIMG has so many gorgeous cuts that it was easy. It was one of the first cartridges I bought and still remains a favorite of mine. I used papers from K &Co. Wild Saffron for all but the card topper which was from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy stack. I inked with Distress Inks in Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, and Worn Corduroy. The card topper is embossed with Swiss Dots. The flower centers are flocked.

I did a fair amount of dimension but was pleased that the card still fit in the envie since I cut it at the largest size it would fit on the mat (4 7/8"). The cute ladybugs were actually dimensional stickers from K&Co. Be sure to stop by BBTB to see the fabulous creations from my DT sisters, and we'd love to have you play along. This was a really fun challenge with loads of possibilities.

Box Contents Revealed and MORE Blog Awards!

Have you been on pins and needles? Truly I didn't intend to keep you all in suspense, in fact I thought I'd be posting not only what was IN the box, but what I DID with it by now. Guess you're gonna have to wait for the end result until at least next Monday but here's a peek at what I received: an Indie Art Cricut cartridge, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and Circle Fragments, Prima Clear Paintables, a piece of natural canvas fabric, a black patent belt, and a can of Mountain Dew Code Red Cherry Soda. (Guess they thought we needed a little jolt to get through this challenge. LOL) Custom Crops certainly has a sense of humor. Click HERE to view our instructions.

Now MORE blog awards! Thank you to Sandy who received all three of these awards and was kind enough to pass them along to me. Sandy and I have been friends for awhile and I'm looking forward to actually meeting her in person in Sept. She's such a sweetheart but seems to suffer from a bit of lack of confidence. Please visit her blog and let her know just how wonderful her creations truly are. As Sandy did on her blog (she said because she's older she can break the rules. LOL Well that works for me too!) I'm going to pass these all along in one big award package to some of my sweet friends.

Lillie, a super friend, TCS and TCC DT sister and inspiration who keeps me going with at least one daily phone call.

Margie, another dear friend, TCS and CC DT sister, and fabulous crafter who never fails to make me laugh and brings out my true character (don't tell! LOL)

Sandi, BBTB DT sister and true artist with a lovely gentle soul who's always there to help and inspire. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity.

Nilda, TCS Team Leader and a super sweet and generous person. I'm so honored to be a part of her team.

Regina, a name EVERYONE knows and loves. BBTB Team leader and creative genius behind The Cutting Cafe. Her inspiration and support means so much! It's such an honor to be a part of BOTH of her teams.

Thanks you all for being such great friends and inspiration. xxD

Missing You and some FABULOUS Blog Candy!

I've really been missing my BFF from college lately even though she visited in June (WAY too short Becky!) and I talked to her on Monday morning. Wish we were up at her cottage at the lake drinking tea (or wine), gabbing and maybe doing something crafty as well. Those are some of my best memories. This card was inspired by those times. You see she has an old bicycle parked outside the guest house and in the basket she plants flowers. It's just the sweetest garden ornament EVER and when I saw this adorable Cottage Cutz die available ONLY at The Scrapping Cottage that's immediately what I thought of. The papers here are from DCWV Green Stack and I fussy cut the birdies and branches. I used my Nesties to cut the sun and cuttled the center with D'Vine Swirls and the background with the ever popular Swiss dots.



The little flower pot and flower is another Cottage Cutz die that also includes an adorable curtained window. The sentiment is from the Cuttlebug Friends Forever cardmaking combo.
Some of these pieces were a little hard to pop but I did my best. For once though I think it'll actually fit in a regular envie with no additional postage required. WooHoo!



Now I've got to tell you about the FABULOUS Blog Candy my incredibly talented Cuttlebug Spot Design Team sister Steph is giving away. In honor of 100 + followers and 25,00 hits on her blog one lucky friend will win a $150 GIFT CARD to the store of their choice! OMG!!!!! Wow Steph, how unbelievably generous of you! You have until Aug 28th to enter so go spread the word. I have to chuckle a bit because Steph's blog is called "Where'd All My Money Go?" You're giving it away girlfriend, and we LOVE you for it!

The Cuttlebug Spot Sketch Challenge

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we were lucky enough to use another amazing sketch by our oh so talented Design Team sister Aymee. I know I talk about my sketchaphobia, but I'm trying to practice more and more and Aymee's sketches are so amazing (click HERE to visit her sketch blog) that this time I'm pretty pleased. First I had to get over the anxiety of not following the sketch EXACTLY but I think I still came pretty close. I was having a hard time until I got these mini bingo cards from Iralamija (Bety's blog is so amazing and so is her store) then came across the little card charm and it all fell into place. The background is cuttled with the hearts folder and I used the new harlequin folder on the new Nesties labels 5 cut and Swiss dots on the bingo card. The border punch is EKSuccess (as are the corners) over a Nesties Mega Curved Rectangle.

I welded the sentiment in Cricut design Studio using the Don Juan cartridge and cut it three times and doodled. Then I popped the "U" for dimension, added some ribbon and bows and little metal hearts I got at J's. It vaguely resembles the sketch don't you think? Be sure to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to see the awesome creations by my DT Sisters AND we have a great prize from The Craft Barn this week which you can't win unless you play along.

BBTB and Go Kreate

This week at BBTB the DT was asked to use the scalloped square tag from Celebrations and some of us combined it with this adorable Binky Boo from Go Kreate. I love these dies and have several so it you'd like to see more of what Go Kreate has to offer, check out my sidebar and click on Go Kreate (way down there under labels) to see more of what I've done with them.

I made a baby door hanger using 2 of the tags and cut "Baby" from my new Don Juan Cartridge. I'm really loving this new font and thought this feature sort of looked like baby blocks.

I cuttled the tags with Swiss Dots and did alot of popping but I'm really not all that happy with the final product. Although this should have been an easy challenge I guess I was just mojoed out. My DT sisters however had no problem at all so be sure and check out their fabulous creations HERE. Also stay tuned because later in the week Regina will be announcing a new contest where you can win one of these fabulous GoKreate dies.

I'm a Winner and a Fab Giveaway!

WooHoo! It's gonna be a great day! I woke up to find out I'm the winner of the very first challenge at Die Cuts R Us with my monogram card. Not only that, but there's still time to enter in their fabulous giveaway of a Just Right stamp set. (which I totally crave!) Click HERE for details, but hurry! Today's the LAST DAY.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know and 2 Blog Awards!

So what's been going on in my life? Well, awhile ago I received this box in the mail. WooHoo, who is it from? What could it be? Let me tell you it was a challenge like no other. Jezebel was beside herself with curiousity but fortunately she's still alive (as am I , although yesterday I wasn't sure I'd make it. LOL). Stay tuned to find out the contents and what this all means.

I also receive a brand spankin' new award from 2 of my blogging friends. Thank you so much Kaye and Jenn. Both of these lovely ladies have fairly new but totally awsome blogs so be sure to click on their names and give them some love. I'm honored, how sweet of you to think of me! I know I'm supposed to pass this along to 12 others, but I'm running on empty today (after dealing with the box contents) but I will pass it on to a few. These gals are very talented and dear friends from the Cricut message board and also are fairly new to the blogging world. Here you go. Don't forget to visit them too!

Leah

Vicki

Joy

Love you guys!

2 Sketches 4 You and Die Cuts R Us

Okay, this week I was DETERMINED to do the 2S4U challenge and perhaps even post it ON TIME. (Even though I've got a BIG secret project that's due TOMORROW. YIKES!) Well I loved Kazan's Sketch 32 and was toying with ideas when I came across a post on Carole's BLOG about her DT project and very first challenge at Die Cuts R Us. OOOOh, monograms! I've certainly been into them lately so here you go. I thought I'd be using some of that great cream and black paper from K&Co that I've become so fond of, but because I couldn't WAIT to try out my new Nestie fleur de lis pendant and also wanted to incorporate my new CB folder, it just was too busy so I just stuck with the color sheme and forgot about the patterned paper. WooHoo! 2 challenges in one and one is a SKETCH! (I'm overcoming my fear. LOL) Even stuck it all together with my Glue glider (and a few pop dots :D).