The Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #18 and Some Exciting News

This week's challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot is to use "bling". I've had this Friends Forever set for awhile, but have never used the embossing folder. I thought the flowers begged to be jeweled with adhesive rhinestones and for added bling I embossed using mirror cardstock in a sort of dusky color ( with purple undertones). For more bling I matted it in lavender glitter paper and cut "missing you" in silver, also from the CB set. I dotted the i's with additional rhinestones and added a sweet jewel dragonfly from J's. I always forget how difficult this cardstock is to photograph, and also how the glitter paper sheds so I apologize for the pics.

I'm soooo excited to announce that as of March 1 I will be an official member of The Cuttlebug Spot Design Team along with 8 other new members. I so enjoyed being a guest member and thank you Nilda for allowing me to join your fabulous team. Click HERE to see what the talented Design Team members have done with this challenge.

Queen "B" BBTB Challenge

Monday is definitely my favorite blogging day because I get to post my Bitten by the Bug DT challenge card and see what all of my teammates have come up with. Such Anticipation!

Click HERE immediately if you can't stand it! LOL Regina chose a monogram card using the letter B (or b) from the Alphalicious cartridge. (Thanks Leah for letting me borrow it!) and of course because Leah's Cricut mb name is BeeCherryLady I thought it would be fitting to incorporate bees.

I made a shaped card in Design Studio using the shadow of the shorty "B" and the bee and daisy from Walk in my Garden. The crown is also from Alphalicious but added later or you'd have a hard time opening the card since the fold is at the top. I ran it through the Xron and glittered it with MS glitter and bejeweled it with adhesive gems from M's. I cut the flower again on shadow, then regular, then the center. The petals were run through the Cuttlebug using Swiss dots and the center was run through the Xron and flocked with Doodlebug flock. The leaves from Accent Essentials also were added as an afterthought because I thought they balanced the design a bit more and I wanted some green. Queen bee was also cut again on shadow and regular in several layers, the wings cuttled with D'vine Swirls, the stripes jeweled. Her tiny crown is a brad (from?). Of course layers everywhere were popped to their fullest. The little drones buzzing around (and the little caterpiller) are Queen & Co. garden brads. The bees are attached in pairs over a wire for their flight paths. Paper is K & Co Wild Saffron and the card stock is Bazzill.

Envelobox for Dh's Valentine and a New Technique (for me at least)

Don't ya just hate it when you make a great card full of dimension and the darn thing doesn't fit in the envie? Well, my dear friend Lillie who makes unbelievably GORGEOUS cards got a super Christmas gift from her daughter that allows her to make matching dimensional envies. It's called the Enveloper by Crafter's Companion and when she was shopping on ebay she came across it and gave me the heads up. She knows I have no patience for the bidding thing (I'm an immediate satisfaction kinda gal) so of course it was a "buy it now" and I did. I got it in 2 days and although it says it makes 9 sizes of envies I had no problem adapting a size to fit DH's Valentine. THANK YOU LILLIE! DH said it made the card like a little gift (good thing since I didn't buy him one, oops! guess I was too busy making cards, LOL) BTW, if you haven't been to Lillie's blog you should definitely pop over and take a look. Click HERE, I know you won't be disappointed. P.S. I just wanted to make sure all you viewers realize this envie is for the Valentine in the yesterday's post and not for the double embossed one in today's. But I'm sure you knew that. LOL

The other pics are of a simple card using the double embossing technique and my Cuttlebug. Nilda from The Cuttlebug Spot did a great tutorial using your CB folders with your Nestabilities and I was dying to give it a try. Click HERE to view the video. I used the tiny hearts folder that came with the baby set (tiny blessings I think it's called) and a scalloped square Nestie. I stamped the blank square with a sweet Stampin'Up stamp and colored with with Prismas. The tiny raised hearts were colored with chalk ink. then I just added a ribbon, some pearls, and a tiny butterfly from a MS punch. Simple, quick, but pretty cute I think. Thanks Nilda, can't wait to try more!

Bombshell Stamps V-Day Contest. Cardvaark's Heart Challenge (Are you Shocked? HeeHee)

Quite different for me, don't you think? LOL First of all I must say I'm not much of a stamper but when I saw these stamps I was bound and determined. This sassy image is from Bombshell Stamps. They have the cheekiest collection of stamps I've ever seen. I LOVE THEM! Not only the images, but for some reason I had much better luck with them than with many I've tried. (Maybe I was just motivated, but I really think the quality is great.) Also, when I showed the images to DH he told me to buy some (OMG! Are you kidding? How often does that happen when shopping for craft supplies?) Anyway, they're having a Valentine contest so I thought I'd give it a go. Also since I first became aware of Bombshell Stamps when Debbie won the Jan 1 Cardvaarks' Sketch Challenge using an adorable cowgirl image (scroll down to the bottom of this Cardvaarks' post to see it. It's on my wish list) I thought I'd use hearts and enter it there as well.

This image is perfect for DH since he gave me the nastiest (in a good way, LOL) pair of red spikes for Christmas. I wasn't pleased with the color of the shoe when I used the MCPT technique (and unfortunately I don't have Copics) so I decided to stamp again on red foil cardstock (using StazOn) and cut it out. Then I ended up cutting out the Bombshell as well as her leg, arm, and selected other parts again and popped them for dimension (of course, see, it IS still me here). Used Nesties for the hearts (also popped), foam glitter hearts, adhesive rubies and a diamond (on her finger). "What a girl really wants" is part of the stamp set, and the "is U" are stickers. Inside is X-Rated. LOL OOps! Just went to enter my card and realized it didn't have a ribbon so I added one to the heel.

Wow, More Blog Awards and Some Candy!

I'm so pleased to have received some lovely awards. The first award is from Michelle and Margie. Michelle is a super talented fellow BBTB Design Team member and is celebrating her 1 year blogaversary this week. Yea Michelle! To celebrate she is offering some yummy blog candy so be sure to click HERE to stop by her blog and see her lovely work. Leave a comment you may even get lucky. Margie is a dear friend from the Cricut message board who is doing amazing work participating in numerous challenges and contests. She has a great sense of humor and always manages to got me out of a funk. Click HERE to be amazed by her creativity. The second award is from Rosy, another Cricut Message board friend from across the pond. Rosy's cards are so exquisite and professional looking and her sentiments are some of the most beautiful I've ever read. Be sure to click HERE to view her wonderful work. Thank you so much dear friends. I'm truly honored.

Now I know I need to list 7 things I love, but I'm taking the easy way out. Click HERE if you're interested. LOL Also, if I'm counting right, I need to pass awards along to at least 21 people so I'm going to give a blanket award to all of you who follow this blog, or visit occasionally and leave the sweet comments that make my day. Feel free to display these awards on your blog and let people know I think you're fabulous.

The Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #17

This week's challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot is to use the word "love " on your card. I tried to use my CB as much as possible with the only outside forces being the corner punch by EKSuccess that is holding my cuttled background piece. That tiny heart embossing folder and the "love" cuts are from the CB Love Language set. I also used a border folder on each side of the gold band and hand cut around the scallops. The cool lock and key is a set from Spellbinders. I've been buying up a storm from them once I saw how well they work in the CB. They were each cut twice (as was the "love") and glued together slightly offset to form a shadow and also to reinforce the cut. "Love" is floating on a piece of shimmery tulle and adhesive beads and pearls were added here and there. Be sure to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to see what the Design Team came up with and come and play along. Nilda has a fun prize this week.

Thank you Enfys!

I'm so excited that my I Love Chocolate card is featured on Inspirational, a blog dedicated to finding inspirational work from around the globe. My dear friend and fellow BBTB DT member is also a DT member there and asked if I would like to be featured. ARE YOU KIDDING!?! Thank you so much Enfys for this honor. See I've already added my blinkie and you can view my card on the blog HERE. And speaking of inspirational, Enfys has been one of my greatest inspirations since DAY 1 on the Cricut message board. Pop over to Enfys' BLOG and prepare to be amazed!

BBTB Love Challenge

Don't you just love it when an idea for a challenge card comes to you IMMEDIATELY?! Well I was thrilled with this week's challenge at BBTB because Regina chose the "Love" cut from Home Accents and specified that the "LVE" had to be done in brown. To any self respecting chocoholic that of course means CHOCOLATE! The entire front of the card is open and shaped using the Love cut (of course), the large cupcake from Celebrations, and the small cupcake bottoms (also from Celebrations) with circles from Plantin Schoolbook for the truffles. The remaining words were the PS roly poly feature (my fave for this kind of thing) and that entire conglomeration was welded to a rounded square (also from PS) using Cricut Design Studio. All of the chocolate was cut in yummy Bazzill shimmery card stock and cuttled and chalked. The bases were run through the crimper. Tons of layers and dimensionals were used to get the depth I wanted and the words were accented with pink rhinestones. I even managed to do an inside sentiment which came to me at the last minute. I used the same heart from the "Love" cut in slightly larger sizes (but small enough so it wouldn't show through from the front) and again used PS for the letters. Be sure to stop by Bitten by the Bug and see how the Design Team rocked this challenge! You'll be amazed! Why is there such a big space here at the end? I'll never get the hang of this blogging stuff! Oh yea! fixed it.

Foxy Lady Hallmark Scrapbook Challenge

Yea! I finally finished this card for the Hallmark Scrapbook challenge. My friend Margie picked the fox cut from Zooballoo which is adorable, but for some reason I had the hardest time with colors. I'm still not really satisfied, but after the 3rd try I thought I better just finish it. LOL I made a shaped card using Design Studio with a welded base from Plantin Schoolbook for the sentiment. "Hi there" came from Beyond Birthdays, and the "foxy lady" was welded again in DS using Mickey Font and the heart from Doodlecharms. I dolled her up a bit with some flowers and a bow and all in all she turned out okay. Was bummed to be out of pop dots so everything is just glued. I used more than a package on my BBTB challenge for Monday so I MUST get to Michael's IMMEDIATELY! Hop on over to Hallmark Scrapbook to see what others have made and come and play along. It's a very fun small group that participates and it's very laid back. LOL Deadlines come and go but noboday cares, we're all just having fun!

Fabulous Blog Candy, a Darling Award, and a Beautiful Lunch

I was soooo excited to have won the amazing blog candy Laura gave away for her blogaversary! Her BLOG is such a treat anyway and to actually be rewarded for visiting was such a surprise. Can't wait to play with all of the goodies I got! And she's featured in all of the publications she included. Congratulations Laura and THANK YOU SO MUCH!

And speaking of Blog Candy, my friend Sharon has been having such fun and doing such an amazing job with her new Magnolia stamps that she is giving away a darling set of stamps so you can play with her too. She's such a sweetheart to share her newfound love. Click HERE to enter and be sure to check out all of the lovely cards she's made with her Magnolias .

The blog award is from my dear friend Lillie. Not only is she an amazing crafter, but we speak on the phone nearly every day. (Sometimes twice! LOL) She inspires me immeasurably. Thank you so much, girlfriend! Couldn't keep those juices flowing without you! I'd like to pass this award on to my friends Margie, Susan, Ruth, DeeDee, and Shelly. Click on their names to view their blogs and I'm sure your creative juices will be flowing in no time!

Sorry I've taken a few days off from crafting, but Tues was such a gorgeous day that DH and I decided to drive up to Napa Valley and have lunch at one of our favorite places, Auberge du Soleil. Lunch was amazing and just take a look at this view from our table on the balcony. Priceless!

The Cuttlebug Spot Challenge 16 and Hallmark Scrapbook Challenge

I'm having such a great time as Guest Designer at The Cuttlebug Spot as well as participating in the weekly challenges at Hallmark Scrapbook that I decided to combine the two. The Hallmark ladies chose the ladybug from Doodlecharms and Nilda's challenge was to make a Valentine for a child. Works for me. I love doing shaped cards so I welded the ladybug using Design Studio and the shadow feature, then cut the body on blackout using black glossy cardstock. For the wings I cut 3 blackout layers (2 in red, 1 in black) and then 1 in red with the holes which I cuttled with the Spots and Dots folder and glued to the black layer and stickled the dots. Each wing layer is attached only near the head with pop dots so it would look like she's about to fly. For her antennae I wound black wire around a skewer and attached glitter foam hearts to the ends. The only problem was, she didn't stand up. To remedy that I cut 4 layers of the grass from Zoobaloo and attached them at the bottom using sticky strips to form a stand. The top layer of grass is inked, doodled, and cuttled with the Forest Branches folder. I added another larger black shadow to the back of the card to help her stand straighter (and because quite frankly, it looked better.) LOL Then I cut two hearts from my new CB die/emboss combo and added a stamped circle and scallop from my new Nesties. (Yeah, I've been shopping up a storm and more's on the way! My friends are not helping me maintain. LOL) Be sure and stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to view the designer's wonderful creations and to Hallmark Scrapbook to play along.

Yea! It's Official!

I'm so excited to announce that this is my first official challenge as a Bitten by the Bug DESIGN TEAM MEMBER! Honestly, I'm beside myself with joy and gratitude! It is something I've aspired to since getting my Cricut, joining the message board, and viewing the fabulous creations these ladies came up with each week. In fact, the main reason I started this blog was to be able to more easily participate in the challenges. Thank you so much Regina for inviting me to join such a talented and awesome group of women. I'm so honored! This week we were to use the heart cut from Doodlecharms. My design started out in pink but it just wasn't doing it for me so I started looking through the papers from Chloe's Closet by Making Memories. I just love the springy colors. First I welded the shadow feature of the scalloped hearts in Design Studio. This wasn't absolutley neccessary but it gave a better base for all of the layering. Each of the scalloped blackout cuts were run through the cuttlebug and graduated sizes of holes were punched in each scallop. Regular and shadow cuts of the plain heart were layered and popped for dimension. I used many of the coordinating embellies from Chloe's Closet as well as my usual adhesive pearls, assorted ribbons and a butterfly using the Martha Stewart punch. Be sure to stop by Bitten by the Bug and see what my fabulous team members have come up with. WooHoo! Pinch me, am I dreaming?