Another for the Cat Lovers Hop

It's the last day to link up for the Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden and I still have so many ideas!  Again I will say "So many cats, so little time!)  Well, we'll see how it goes, eh?

This adorable image is from THE EAST WIND called Super Chunky.  Isn't she the cutest kitty EVEH!?!?  I'd colored it previously with Copics and pencils (for fur detail) but it never made it onto a project.  I'd used the png version and placed it on some digital knit paper cropped in a heart in my printing program and then fussy cut.  I need a baby card and thought now was the time to pull it out.  The DP is from the old MAMBI Baby Girl stack.  The pinks don't match exactly, which was my trouble the other day, but I finally inked around the heart with a number of Distress pinks and Hickory Smoke and finally decided it would have to do.  Those metal words from Colorbok are coming in handy these days, eh?

I'm also adding this to the SUYP October Furrything Goes, 2 Crafty Critter Crazies October AG/w critter and Simon Says Wednesday AG.

Crafting by Designs Guest Designer

I'm thrilled to be joining the talented team of Crafting by Designs as a GDT for their brand new challenge of Just One Layer.  This type of card is always a challenge for me, but I decided to go the easiest route and do the entire card digitally in my Printmaster Platinum Program.

I've designed a Baby Announcement using vintage images from some of the new Gecko Galz releases for May.  The lovely frame is one of the icons from the Free Birds Digital Craft Kit and the adorable new arrival is from the Sweet Babies Digital Collage set.  The pink borders and sentiment were added in my computer program and the card is an A2 size, meaning you could print two of them per sheet of card stock, making a quick and economical batch of announcements in no time flat.  Perhaps William and Kate would like a few (thousand) to send out announcing the birth of HRH Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.  Ya think?  Yeah, me neither.  Where's the tiara?  In any case, I still think it's pretty cute and I want to thank the folks at Crafting by Designs for letting me join them this week.  Be sure to visit the blog and see the wonderful creations by the team and come and play along.

New Challenge at The East Wind

WooHoo!  Today our new challenge starts at The East Wind Challenge Blog. Our new theme is "For the Kiddies" so I couldn't resist the adorable Baby Aurora "Angel", inspired by Kyra's own daughter, Aurora. Tell me she isn't the most precious little thing EVER!  This sweet card was done with Dp's from Graphic 45 and die cuts from Spellbinders.

I've colored Baby Aurora with Copics in the colors of the papers and added some lovely flowers from Recollections and Prima.  I've tried to go a little bolder with my shading and added some pencil work after watching Kyra's fabulous speed coloring videos on YouTube.  What a fascinating opportunity to see an artist at work!  Be sure to visit the Challenge Blog and see the fun inspiration from my teamies and don't forget to scroll down to see the winners of our Beach challenge.  And there's still a few days left in our Just for a Laugh Facebook Contest.  Hope to see you there.

I'm entering this in the August Crafty Little Fairies Cute and Cuddly Challenge (entry 2), Hobbybook All About Kids, Fan-tastic Tuesday ATG, the Outlawz Monday Greeting Cards Use Circles, Crafting by Designs Polka Dots, Papertake Weekly Spots and Dots, the Fitztown Challenge Just for Kids, Love to Create inspired by a Book, Song or Movie (Song Brahms Lullaby), and Dragonfly Dreams inspired by a Book you Read as a Child or to a Child (Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Say Goodnight).

BBTB2 Baby Buggy Challenge and Blog Hop

Welcome to the first BBTB2 Blog Hop of the 2012. If you've come from Julia's fabulous Blog, you're on the right track, but if you've happened here by accident, you might wish to go back to BBTB2 and start at the beginning so you don't miss a thing. I still can't believe January is almost gone already. My esteemed co-leader and all around great gal, Carole chose the baby carriage from New Arrival this week and although I do have the cart, I decided to play with another one I've only used once so far, which is Car Decals. I came across the "Oh Baby" sentiment while browsing MyCutSearch.com, an invaluable tool when trying to find cut options for your Cricut. The shadows of both cuts were welded in DS and then to a long rectangle from George to make my usual shaped front card (that I failed to get a picture of because I was in such a hurry yesterday to hit the shopping trail...oops!) I sort of squished the "Oh Baby" part and hid the contours of the center of the letters with DS in order to hide the sentiment inside.

Other than the shadow, there are not a lot of layering options on Car Decals so I cut it several times and hand cut portions of the striped body of the buggy out so I could pop it and added little button both on top and behind the wheels. Trimmed her little bow as well and added a pearl and some emerald eyes. (Love her little curl.)

As I said, there wasn't a whole lot of layering options, but I did my best. And I found a cute little "binky" button in my drawer and tied it to the heart. Cute, eh?

Now on to dear Carole's Blog to view her frothy confection (It is really yummy!) but before you go, please leave a comment for a chance to win this Cuttlebug Love Language Card Making Combo, just in time for Valentine's Day. I'll draw the winner on Friday February 3rd so you all come back now, ya hear?

Fabulous Inky Friday

It's Fabulous Inky Friday at the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog when we announce our winner, highlight cards by our fans and post some more inspiration from the Tiddly Inkers. I chose to use the brand new image Danny's Duck. Is he about the sweetest thing on earth? He just begged to be paper pieced so that's what I did, and I used Deconstructed Sketch #23 for the layout. The DP's are Nana's Nursery. I used Nesties Scalloped squared instead of border punche because for the life of me I just couldn't punch right today. LOL Don't forget our current challenge, Boys will be Boys, and be sure to stop by the SHOP and check out what's new. I'm also entering this in the Divas by Design Button Up challenge and Ruby's Rainbow Cute and Cuddly challenge.

A Special Baby Card

Well, I'm away on our anniversary trip enjoying the lovely accomodations and idyllic setting at Nick's Cove, but I do have something new to show you. I can now reveal a commissioned baby card. I've actually never done a commission before, but out of the blue, I got a phone call from the Mom of one of my followers who wanted to surprise her daughter with a card from ME! I was flattered and shocked that this sweet Mom would track me down and make her request and the date seemed soo far away (at the time) that I just couldn't refuse.

What I didn't realize is how I would feel about the huge resonsibility it is to try to capture someone else's vision and it made me pretty nervous. The nursery is done in navy (yeah, that's navy on the card, not black) and lime green with an alligator motif. I threw out about a bazillion designs before I came up with something I liked. I had pix of the bedding and stuff and I found the PERFECT alligator on Zooballoo. The baby blocks are from New Arrival and the pond and grass is from Create a Critter. It's all welded in DS to a rounded rectangle from George into a shaped front card (big surprise!) The design still bothered me until I added a banner from a Stampin'Up Treat Cone Die (the shadow for that was hand cut) with an Alpha Bead sentiment.

Inside I added another pond, directly under the one on the front, so it didn't show through when the card was closed, for writing a personal note and another teeny alligator. Isn't he cute? He's embossed with the Mesh Texture Cuttlebug folder, rather than the Tiny Mosaic that his big brother is embossed with, which seemed more to scale. The pond paper is Bo Bunny which is already textured and the blocks were embossed with Swiss Dots.

As you can see, it is FAT and required a custom envie. I often use the Crayon Box from TBBM for these which I decorated to match but I was in such a hurry to get this mailed to Louisianna that I forgot to take pix. BUMMER! I sure hope Jennifer liked it and was happy and surprised.

It's a BOY! and Card Candi Winner

I told you I had a little surprise!

How about this sweet baby announcement?

It's a shaped card done in DS using Simply Charmed and Create a Critter.

The sentiment is done with the Cuttlebug Welcome Baby Card Making Combo.

And here's a pic of the new arrival and his proud parents, Clippy and Chloe Koala. Yup, that's what they've been up to. (Ahem) Welcome Clippy Jr! Isn't he cute!?

Too bad Daddy is now on his way to Arizona with Jacob to visit Jennifer at The Country Life. Mommy and Baby are doing fine, but already miss Daddy to bits. Couldn't stand in the way in adventure, though.

Before they left, however, Jacob used Random Org to choose the Card Candi WINNER!

And the winner is #8 JUST YOLIE! who said

Congratulations Yolie! Please choose three colors of Card Candi from the selection HERE at Scrappy Go Lucky USA, and email me at dlmundinger(at)yahoo(dot)com with your selections, along with your snail mail address and I'll arrange for your prize.

Peggy Loves Vintage for The Shabby Tea Room and the BBTB2 Blog Hop Winner

I've been wanting to play along with The Shabby Tea Room since the blog started, the challenges are imaginative and fun and the Design Team cards are always gorgeous and inspiring. Although you are not required to do a "shabby" or vintage card I've always felt that I should at least try to approximate that style in order to feel good about participating and this week I think I did okay. A big help was the adorable vintage baby's bathtime image from Peggy Loves Vintage. Peggy lovingly collects real vintage cards and cleans them up and presents them on CD's and and Cut-Out sheets for every occasion. If you love vintage style, be sure to take a look at her vast collection in HERE and pop over to her BLOG and become a follower. There are fabulous freebies to be had.

This week's Shabby Tea Room Challenge combines a photo inspiration with a "2-4-6" recipe: 2 patterned papers, 4 buttons, and 6 layers. One needn't neccesarily use the colors in the photo but I used my MS French Scroll Punch Around the Page to give a doily feel to the mat and slightly softer versions of the peach and green for my color palette. The 2 beautiful DP's and "B" block are by the Graphic 45 Baby to Bride Collection. The 4 vintage buttons are from a RAK from my dear friend Joy and the vintage crinkle seam binding is from the Prairie Bird Boutique(thanks, Steph!). You have 'til Sunday to join in on this fab challenge so why not give it a go?

And now, on to the winner of the BBTB2 Blog Hop Candy. the winner of the $40.00 gift certificate to CUSTOM CROPS is..... number 5!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

CAROLE BEATH who wrote:

CONGRATULATIONS CAROLE!!! Please email me at dlmundinger (at) yahoo (dot) com to arrange for your prize.

Tiddly Inks Mother's Day with a Vintage Vibe

Less than one week 'til Mother's Day and the Tiddly Inkers challenge is to create a Mother's Day card with a vintage vibe. I decided to make a Mother's Day card for a brand new mom using Lullaby. (Of course it could also work as a Baby card) It's cut with a Nesties Circle and fit into my Spellbinders Decorative Oval Window from Heartfelt Creations. The pretty vintage paper is from the 8x8 Once Upon a Springtime pad from Grahic 45 and the gorgeous vintage shabby crinkle ribbon is from the Alice Bundle from Prairie Bird Boutique sent to me by my dear friend Stephanie (perfect timing there girlie, thanks so much!) I'm pretty sure the sweet charm came from J's.

I love the way the circle image fit into the frame and I popped the whole thing up for dimension. Details on the frame were inked with Spun Sugar Distress Inks and the sentiment was computer generated. As usual, my teamies have done a fabulous job with the challenge so be sure to visit the Challenge Blog, take a look, be inspired and hopefully play along. Also, the 25% off sale is still going on through TODAY at the SHOP so now's a great time to check out all the gorgeous new images and snag a few of your old faves too. and there's also still time to complete the Treasure Hunt Blog Hop so if you haven't checked it out yest click HERE. And we're still celebrating Tiddly Inks birthday so stay tuned for details of our next party, coming May 10th.

The image is colored with Copics on some of the most fabulous card stock I've ever used. Have to detour a bit to give it a plug. I normally just use crap paper (or I guess I should say inexpensive 110 lb. white card stock by Georgia Pacific from WalMart) because I mess it up frequently so it's way more cost effective for me. I know people swear by all sorts of fancy brands but I'm too lazy to sort them out so I don't bother. However, when I bought cheap cream colored card stock it was WAY to porous for my Copics. Sometimes you just need to stamp or print on cream so when I was over at MFT I saw these Cream Perfect Paper Panels. Worth a try. I printed an image out first on regular copy paper and then taped a panel to the paper and ran it through my printer again. Then I colored and messed up. Mom looked like she'd been baking under a sun lamp and the baby had jaundice. Oh dear! I tried to fix it by coloring more. Hmmm... Then tried using my using my colorless blender. Hmmmm... Anyway, I used alot of ink and eventually gave up. Gonna have to print again and start over. CRAP! And on my fab new card stock too BUT, when I turned the panel over there was NO bleedthrough. None, Zero, ZIP! I actually turned my piece over and reprinted it on the other side. I chose my colors more carefully this time and did an acceptable job. I kept thinking when I colored on this side the color would come creeping up from behind, but it didn't. ARE you KIDDING me? I LOVE this stuff! (This was totally unsolicited. I was just blown away and had to share. xx)

Tiddly Inks is Sponsoring Paper Sundaes!

Hey guys! Besides this week's fabulous regular Kraft With Me Challenge at the Tiddly Inks Challenge blog, Christy is also sponsoring Paper Sundaes and the challenge there this week is STRIPES! That gives you 2 different opportunities to win some of the adorable TI images. This sweet baby card features Good Luck (could it be any cuter?). The layout is pretty simple with DP from my stash, the Fiskars Threading Water punch and some adorable ladybug peelies from Stampendous I got at my local LSS. The rub-on sentiment is Melissa Frances.

I had a ball making the panda 3D by printing her out 5 times, fussy cutting and popping the layers for a decoupage effect. Her nose and ladybug friend have a bit of shine from Glossy Accents. The base image is cut with Nesties and backed with stretchy trim from WalMart. I tied the triple bow with my Bow Easy and of course added pearls. Be sure to check out all of the inspiration from the Tiddly Inkers and the Paper Sundaes gals, and stop back by the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog tomorrow for Fabulous Inky Friday. And guess what! Saturday Christy will be releasing the new "Gothic Pinups" at the Tiddly Inks Store and on her BLOG. WooHoo!

The Cuttlebug Spot Pop Up Cards

Oh I sure have enjoyed this fabulous month of card folds with The Cuttlebug Spot. Our last inspiration is Pop Up cards and again, there are so many different kinds to choose from. I decided to go with the Surprise Pop-up found HERE on Splitcoast Stampers. I basically followed the tutorial, but wanted to make it a bit more special by using a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page mat which caused be to modify the pop up dimensions slightly. The white mat is embossed with the tiny hearts from the With Love Card Making Combo and the pop-up sentiment is from the Sizzix Baby set.

I wanted it it to be as pretty closed at open so I started with a 5x6 3/4" rectangle and punched around with the Swirling Lace set. I added a 4x 5 3/4" yellow mat on top of that and then cut the width of the pop up top at 3 3/4" instead of 4 1/4" and cut the side slits for the slider at only 1/2" rather than 3/4" from each side. The pull tag is 3 1/4" wide. Because of this, I could only use 1/8" tape to adhere the top to the back to leave room for the slide tag.

In order for the pop up to slide easily it is best to stamp, or print your sentiment. I used rub ons mostly from Melissa Francis. The little hand and feet are brads from M's. Too cute, eh? The Cuttlebug Spot DT has come up with fabulous stuff this week (as always) so pop on over and be inspired!

The Cuttlebug Spot Oh BABY!

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot it's all about babies. I LOVE babies and making baby cards. You can use all that frilly stuff and yummy colors! I wish they made scratch and sniff "baby smell" to put in them too. Is anything sweeter? I just want to eat them up! Okay, back on track. I usually try to keep these challenges all Cuttlebug if I can, but I had these adorable little clothespins that were just CALLING to me and also wanted to break out my new Cuttlebug Embossing Plus Monogram Seals for the sentiment. The baby clothes are from the New Arrival cartridge using papers from both Nana's Nursery mat stacks. I enhanced the embossed letters just a bit with my Copics (you do have to be a bit careful here so they don't bleed). The clouds are from Dreams Come True, cuttled with D'Vine Swirls and what would a baby card (or any card for that matter) be without Swiss Dots? LOL

This card fits a legal size envie (I hope!) There's a bit of popping of the clothes and with the natural clothespins and line, I added a kraft mat to tie it all in. The border punch is an old MS double scallop. As usual, there is loads of inspiration from my DT sisters so pop by The Cuttlebug Spot to check it out. And I've already seen some fabulous entries for the challenge to win a $20 gift certificate to Custom Crops. Where's yours?

The Cuttlebug Spot Tag Challenge

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot it's all about embossed tags. I chose to use the Baby Frame from Spellbinders to make my tag which means it's really BIG! I envision using it on a large gift bag for a baby shower. It was cut and embossed in my Cuttlebug along with the cute teddy from the same set and colored with my Copic Air Brush System.

The blue background is embossed with a baby set by Sizzix and the bib is a smaller folder that comes with that set and then cut out by hand. To make it a little more special I backed the entire tag with a lacy mat done with another of my (seems like thousands) MS punch around the page sets.

The frame is popped for dimension along with the bib and bear with a few adhesive pearls (colored with my Copics to match) and a yellow gingham ribbon to top it off. Stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to see the terrific tags made by my DT sisters and play along for a chance to win a $20.00 gift certificate to Custom Crops.

Tiddly Inks Baby of Mine Challenge

Happy Friday everyone! I'm having a really rough time with my DT challenges for next week so I decided to take a break and do this week's Tiddly Inks Challenge instead. I LOVE doing baby cards and this sweet little image is called Sleep Tight. I love it because it can be colored for either a boy or a girl, but I've done mostly baby boy things lately so I was itching to do something PINK! I printed the image twice and colored with Copics. Then I fussy cut the stars and glittered and popped them for dimension. The baby blanket is paper pieced and popped as well. The background doily is a Hero Arts stamp and it's all sitting on a mat done with an MS punch around the page set (I'm finally getting the hang of thoses things) that has been run through the Cuttlebug with Swiss Dots. The DP is Me&My BIG Ideas.

Here's the dimensional view. I added Alpha Beads for the sentiment, tiny pink buttons and a pink gingham bow. I'm really loving the Tiddly Inks images and having a ball with thier challenges. You ought to go over and take a look. Edit: WooHoo! I made the top 3!

Oh Alice! Chapter 14-Getting Sketchy on a Golden Afternoon

This week the Oh Alice! challenge is a sketch by the talented DT member Jen Shults. Fortunately I've managed to overcome my fear of sketches and no longer run away screaming. I'm also getting the hang of tweaking it just a tad and not feeling totally guilty. The adorable image is by Elaine Cox for Sweet Pea Stamps colored with my Copics. I popped a mat cut with my Large Scallop Oval Nesties. The DP's are Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6x6 pad and Me&My Big Ideas 8x8 pad. the lacy punches are MS and the flowers are Prima. I really love the colors and almost think this could be used as a baby card (providing the recipient doesn't think I'm calling her new bundle a piglet. LOL) What do you think?

BBTB2 New Arrival Challenge

Happy Monday! Hope everyone's Easter was fantastic! In Napa the downpour was torrential and the drive home kinda scary but the food, as always, was fabulous although we both about exploded (4 courses almost did us in, are we getting old?) Anyway, I had managed to finish this week's BBTB2 challenge in advance (for once) and had a great time with it. Dear Carla chose the baby in the sling from the New Arrival cartridge and I immediately thought of "Rock a Bye Baby".

I had just gotten the Straight from the Nest cartridge and was dying to use it (sooo many cute trees) so I designed a shaped front card using George for the rounded square on the back and rounded rectangle to anchor the tree trunk. The "baby blocks" at the bottom are also from New Arrival. This tree had fabulous layers and allowed me to use eyelets and a brad so that the baby could actually rock.

The fabulous papers are (again) from Nana's Nursery and Heidi Grace. See the baby rocking?

I spelled out "Rock a Bye" using Alpha Beads. They really come in handy. Then it was just blue pearl eyes and the 3 on the sling and I was done. Be sure to stop by BBTB2 to see the fabulous creations by the rest of my DT sisters and we'd love it if you'd play along. Remember also, if you'd like to be a part of the team, you have until the end of the week to upload your best work HERE to be considered. Good luck to you all!

The Cuttlebug Spot Vintage Challenge

I was so excited that our challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot was vintage this week because I'd been browsing the adorable images on my Peggy Loves Vintage New Baby Volume 1 CD and came across this precious bundle. I have no idea why, but I've had baby fever (no chance, I'm WWWAAAYYY too old for that, LOL). The CD is chock full of fabulous vintage images and this sweet little guy all wrapped up in his blanket just called out to me and I HAD to use him. I resized him to fit a 2 1/2 inch square and cut him out with my Nesties along with a scalloped mat. Then, to echo the blanket, I cut a 5 inch square and used my MS punches (these are obviously my current faves since I used them 2 weeks in a row, LOL), scored each side twice diagonally and ran it through my Cuttlebug using Swiss Dots. Then I folded each corner in, then out on the score marks to make the sweet dimensional frame.

I decided that some weaving might be in order (thought it looked like an old fashioned baby blanket) and once I'd woven the strip I embossed it with Swiss Dots as well. I cut a channel in the top mat and embossed it with one of the 5X7 folders from the Romance bundle. I ran my ribbon over the mat but under the weaving and added a bow.

The image is popped and I added pearls and little Alpha Beads to finish it off. Be sure to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to check out the lovely efforts by my DT sisters and if you leave a comment you not only may win a gift certficate to the Craft Barn, but our sweet DT sister Lillie has donated a fabulous set of her handmade "hip huggin' jammies" for your Cuttlebug and Cricut. Of course if you can't wait, click to shop Lillie's store. Also, we'd love it if you'd play along, and if you're in search of vintage images for ALL occasions be sure to visit Peggy Loves Vintage. Not only does she have CD's, but also downloadable cut out sheets with 8 images in a variety of designs available for immediate gratification. Also, check out the Peggy Loves Vintage BLOG for freebies, contests and MORE!

BBTB2 Cupcake Challenge and Blog Hop!

WooHoo! Time for another BBTB2 challenge and this week's the Blog Hop! If you've come from the fabulous Jeri's Blog you're on the right track, but if not, you may wish to start at BBTB2 so you don't miss a thing. The sweet and wonderfully talented Carole chose the cupcake from Celebrations, although if you wish to play along this week, any cupcake will do. I've been in sort of a mood lately and wanted to do something a little different so I dragged out my (creepy as my DH calls it, but I think it's cute) baby face stamp. The inspiration for the card came from my new Once Upon a Princess cartridge with the words "Baby Cakes" on it. I made a shaped card in DS using the border feature from the Celebrations cupcake. The pretty paper is Baby Boy from Heidi Grace. I crimped the cupcake bottoms and cuttled the frosting with D'Vine Swirls then inked just a bit.


Of course I popped the layers, then had a ball finding the fun embellies. I'm especially fond of the Alpha Beads spelling "YUM", 'cause aren't babies (and cupcakes) just too yummy for words? Anyway, be sure to stop by BBTB2 to see all of the delicious cards by my DT sisters and if you haven't been following the hop, be sure to start at the beginning, because there are prizes to be had. There's even a special one from Everyday Cricut (formerly Holidays with the Cricut, thanks, girls) if you sign up to follow BBTB2 and leave a comment there as well. My Blog Hop candy is a $30.00 gift certificate to Custom Crops and all you have to do is leave me a (preferably sweet LOL) comment. I'll be drawing the winner on Saturday, March 6. Now you're off to visit the uber talented Krista's blog. You can always count on her to bring a smile to your face. Enjoy!

Thank Ewe or Baby Announcement- .Cut File Available

I love all of the new Cricut Seasonal carts and decided to do something quick and simple with the Easter one to show it's versatility. I took the sweet little lamb head and welded it a frame from Storybook to make a quicky shaped card. I used Tear Drop for the sentiment because I think it's a sweet one, but I always have trouble with the regular cut when I'm cutting it small so I just used the shadow and cut it twice and offset. Certainly you can use the font of your choice. To give a little texture to the lamb I embossed it in my Cuttlebug with D'vine Swirls. It would also be cute in a flocked version, don't you think? The free .cut file and instructions are available HERE at Custom Crops. After assembling the card, the papers I chose made me think "baby" so I did another version that could be used as a baby announcement with a different sentiment. Click HERE and scroll down to take a peek. I'm trying hard to get back in the swing of things after being gone a whole 6 DAYS at CHA! Gotta get movin' on my Design Team projects because tomorrow is the monthly BBTB2 Blog Hop so be sure and check back. There will be CANDY!!!