Jingle Bells -.Cut File Avaliable

Happy peak of the week! Here's a little Christmas card I did for Custom Crops using the Jingle Bells from Joys of the Season, and the bow from the package on Pooh and Friends. It involves a teeny bit of trimming, but in general it's pretty quick and easy. Full instructions and the FREE .cut file are available HERE. Because of the way I make my shape cards, with a separate full mat that fits on top of the folded card base, one crafter told me she downloaded the .cut file to use on a layout and just skipped the card part of it. I thought that was a pretty cool idea too.

Here's a dimensional shot because you know how I love my pop dots! And of course some adhesive gems. LOL More pix on Custom Crops.

Also, for those of you who loved my "Priceless" shopping card, (would that be you, SandyE?) I cleaned up that mess of a file and it is also available for download HERE. I even designed a separate sentiment in Plantin Schoolbook for those of you who don't have DonJuan. If that's been helpful, I'd appreciate a comment, especially on the Custom Crops site. Thanks so much!That's it for now! Did anybody else feel the earthquake last night?

A Monochromatic Fall, TCS, Paper Blooms and Caardvarks

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we have a monochromatic color challenge. It's really beginning to feel like Fall here so I got out the orange box of paper and started to play. Honestly, they ARE all oranges, but didn't exactly photograph as such). I decided to try the weaving technique for the background and chose 3 shades and cut paper in a variety of widths to make it a bit more interesting. Then I taped the edges and ran it through the Cuttlebug using D'Vine Swirls which this season makes me think of swirling leaves. I really love the effect. The mat is done with one of the new 5 x 7 Cuttlebug folders exclusive to Oh My Crafts. The opening and frame is with my Labels One Nesties.

I love the Cuttlebug pumpkin cut and emboss set and added a number of leaves, some punched, some Nesties, cuttled with Swiss Dots, Herringbone, and the small dotted folder from the butterfly set. The corners are Sizzix. The metallic leaf brads and pearls are from M's.

I still managed to get a bit of dimension, and isn't that ribbon YUMMY!? It came on one of those teeny spools so I've GOT to go look for some more of it, although I'm not sure if it was from J's, or M's. I'll certainly be on the hunt. For this reason I decided to enter it in the Caardvark's Take a Bow challenge which is to use ribbon in a wonderful way. Their sponsor is May Arts which has THE MOST GORGEOUS RIBBON IMAGINABLE!!!!! I CRAVE their stuff BIG TIME!!!! One of my other favorite challenge sites, Paper Blooms, is also having a monochromatic color challenge this week. I really hoped to do another monochromatic card for them featuring Leah's GORGEOUS hand crocheted flowers, but just in case I don't have a chance to I'll be entering this there as well.

This may have been my favorite Cuttlebug Spot Challenge yet and it sure looks like my Design Team Sisters agree. Their projects are FABULOUS! So hop on over to The Cuttlebug Spot, take a look, and play along. I'll see you there.

Celebrate ITT's Halloween!

This week at BBTB Regina chose the monster cut from Paper Doll Dress Up. All I could see when looking at this guy (besides a haystack and believe me I thought about it, LOL) is Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. Oh how I LOVED that show when I was a kid! I tried to be as authentic as possible so I googled "Cousin It" and found out his name is spelled with 2 "T's, his hat was a bowler (which I remembered but had to fashion on my own in DS) but there were no pictures of him from the front. I had a bit of a debate with my friends Margie and Lillie as to glasses type and Lillie remembered shades which made sense because I don't remember seeing his eyes and I had this perfectly sized button so there you go. For hair texture I wanted to use my Forest Branches folder but the branches ran the wrong way so I scored a bunch of lines at different angles and inked them a tiny bit.

Even with the shades and hat band he looked a little bland so I added a sentiment from Celebrations and a sign cut with my Nesties and computer generated. His bat friend is a Cuttlebug cut and emboss die combo.

I'm always extremely frustrated when an Cricut cut doesn't have a shadow but this one resized fairly well so I was able to get a little of the dimension I so dearly love. Now wait until you see all of the spooks assembled on BBTB. My DT sisters obvious had a ball with this challenge so check it out, and join us for some Halloween fun!

Look Margie, I did it!

Wondering about the title? Well If you remember I've been complaining about those MS border and corner punches since I got them. I've wasted tons of paper screwing them up so my dear friend Margie made me a personal video (making fun of me all the way) on how to successfully punch a rectangle. WOOHOO! I finally did it! (It still took several tries, I swear the spider web punch is the trickiest, LOL but THANKS MARGIE!) Another first, I finally got the Printmaster program for our new computer and was able to CHANGE the COLOR of my Halloween Long Border stamp from the Cutting Cafe. (It's PURPLE, in case the pic isn't too clear on that) Resized it too, but I already knew how to do that. Instructions for this are on The Cutting Cafe site so now the possibilities truly ARE endless for ALL of Regina's fabulous designs. New stuff is being added daily so be sure and stop by The Cutting Cafe. Believe it or not I made this card BEFORE breakfast! The stamped image is from a Stampin'Up big wheel, I used distress inks to shade and rain dots to embellish. WooHoo! I feel good! (da da da da da da da!)

The Cutting Cafe Tiny Box and Sentiments Winner!

What a fun night we had last night! All that girly shopping, laughing and eating. Hayley loved her card and I so loved the little jacket Hayley picked out for her birthday that I even got one for myself. Hayley had her mom take a pic with her phone of the two of us in our matching jackets but unfortunately I don't have a copy to share. But OOPS! The day is slipping right past me and I almost forgot to announce the winner of the Tiny Box with Sentiments Set from The Cutting Cafe. DH picked the lucky number 14 which is JOY! WooHoo Joy! Please send me your mail addy and I'll get it right out to you. Thank you everyone for participating. Be sure to stop by The Cutting Cafe to see all of the new things. Regina has been adding things DAILY so check often so you don't miss anything.

Teen Queen

Tonight I'm meeting my BFF and her daughter Hayley for our annual birthday shopping trip. For the past 5 years "Aunt" Donna has allowed Hayley to choose her own outfit and we have some fun while she tries on all sorts of things and models for us. Then it's girls night out for dinner. WooHoo! This year Hayley turns 13 (going on 30), so she's FINALLY a real teenager. I just finished her card. She's always been a "pink girl" and loves her plaids (a la Juicy Couture). This shaped front card is a combo of DonJuan, George and Happily Ever After.

Lots of layers and dimension. I've started to make my own pop layers that I can cut in strips or any size I want by running 1/16th" foam through my Xyron. Thank you Lillie. I still often buy the white and black in 1/8th" but now I can have the thin ones in any color I want (almost). The crown was also run through the Xyron right side down and glittered with Doodlebug Sugar Coating. I used lots of adhesive beads and pearls too.

Here's the inside printed from my computer on hearts that match the front so they won't show from the outside.

Here's another of my Handmade personalized printed stamps from The Cutting Cafe. I'm so happy to finally have something pretty for the back of my cards. I added the tiny hearts from a $1.00 punch from M's. Well I better get going and finish the envie. xxD

Trick or Treat

I'm having one of those weeks. My designs don't seem to be cooperating and I keep looking out the window at the gorgeous weather and just feel like being outside. I do, however, have a TON of Halloween stuff going totally unused so I really did want to see if I could come up with something quick and easy. Why I chose to stamp is beyond me. LOL I'm the first to admit I STINK at stamping but I've got drawers full and still keep buying more. I saw think Inkadinkadoo stamp last year in rubber but didn't buy it (and was always sorry) so when I saw it in a set in acrylic I jumped on it. I don't want to even tell you how many times I had to stamp to get a decent image (and to even get the ink to stay on it for that matter). My dear friend Lillie solved that one for me by asking if I'd washed it first. HUH? Wash a new stamp? To me that's sorta like having to wash new clothes before wearing (okay, I do wash new underwear, but regular stuff, come on!) Well thank you Lillie, it did work MUCH better after washing.

I decided to frame my stamp with one of the Halloween Card Borders from The Cutting Cafe. WooHoo, no problem with stamping there, AND I could resize it to fit my stamped image. There are 6 different borders and each style comes with or without border lines so 12 different frames in all. Had a hard time choosing, but I'm sure I'll be using some of the others SOON! Finally I colored with my Copics and ran the stamped image through my Cuttlebug to give it a bit of background texture. The green frame was cut with my Nesties Mega curved rectangles and I used that exasperating MS Spiderweb punch because I didn't want it to get the best of me. Notice no corners though. LOL So here's my quick and easy card that managed to still take several hours to do. TIME FOR LUNCH!

Pretty in Pink at The Cuttlebug Spot

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month our color challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot is "Pretty in Pink" (with white or cream). Originally I wasn't planning on doing a breast cancer card but then I saw an adorable one on the Cricut message board by Suevan911 with the sentiment "Save the Hooters" and it just cracked me up. It also gave me a reason to finally use my adorable Cuttlebug Owl with Swirls folder. I inked it lightly and carefully cut around a portion of the owl with a craft knife so I could slip a scalloped heart behind her which was cut with my Nesties and embossed with the tiny hearts folder from the Cuttlebug Baby Cardmaking combo. The swirly bling is from Basic Grey. Then all that was needed was a pink ribbon. Please stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to be amazed and inspired by all of my Design Team sisters and remember to "Save your Hooters" with regular self examination and mammograms. And remind a friend too! This week our prize is a $20.oo gift certificate from Custom Crops so we hope to see you there.

BBTB Home Decor Chandelier

Imagine my dismay after doing my Spooky Chandelier card for Custom Crops that I would have to come up with ANOTHER project using that cut for BBTB! (Actually dear Regina offered to let me submit that for the BBTB challenge too, but I didn't quite think that was fair so I put my thinking cap on.) Since I'd already had Halloween covered I decided to do Christmas in the form of an ornament. No Design Studio needed here, (although I did use it to figure out size). I just cut the chandelier out 4 times at 4 1/2 inches and scored each down the middle. I used my Cricut cutter with the scoring blade for this, the scorepal would have been too wide a score. Then I folded each one and then ran them through my Xyron. I thought this would be easier than trying to glue each section. Once I had it all together I sprayed it with adhesive spray and sprinkled on the glitter. I used MS super fine because I didn't want to lose detail, but I'd wish I'd used something more sparkly because you can barely see it in the pic.

I was going for the Dr. Zhivago look (you know what scene I'm talking about) and wanted to pile on a little snow. I used Stardust Stickles and MS mica flakes on the appropriate areas and then added some embellies including some gorgeous mirror brads (I cut off the prongs) and crystal snowflakes from my LSS along with my fave adhesive gems. The bad news is they don't stay stuck very well on the glitter so I have to go back and glue them on so they'll stay. Sorry about the pix. Had a really hard time getting decent ones. Now I know you want to play along with this challenge, this cut is sooo gorgeous and to get some inspiration click HERE to see what my fabulous Design Team sisters have done.

I'm Nutty for You Tiny Box and a Cutting Cafe Giveway.

Well I'm off to a music festival today at the B.R.Cohn winery outside of Sonoma featuring Journey. WooHoo! It should be a beautiful fall day and I'm really excited. Music, food, WINE, what could be better than that? Before I go I have another little giveaway. Regina has been soooo busy at The Cutting Cafe and I wanted to share one of her latest creations. I've always loved tiny things. From the time I was a little girl I was fascinated with all things miniature (maybe because I was always the smallest in my class and my parents used to say "good things come in small packages"). When I saw Regina's tiny boxes and sentiments I had to make one immediately. There were so many adorable sentiments that I had a hard time choosing but I wanted to use this cute little squirrel Cottage Cutz die from The Scrapping Cottage, and there was a perfect one to match. I printed the sentiment out on kraft paper and cut it with my Nesties. I used my Cuttlebug to cut the 4 x 4 die and inked him and flocked his tail. The cute leaves are also included on the die.

You can see how adorable this tiny box is. It's available as a template you can cut by hand (so EASY), or also as a WPC file that can be cut with a Pazzles machine or with your Cricut if you have SCAL. By attaching any die cut to the side with foam dimensionals it's still possible to open the lid. Wouldn't it be a fun surprise to tuck in a lunch box or leave on someone's desk? Now you can win this Tiny Box with Sentiments by leaving a comment to this post. The winner will be announced Friday. Lots of my DT sisters are also giving away new sets for free. Regina will have the whole list on The Cutting Cafe site tomorrow so you can check them all out. Tons of new stuff for EVERY occasion.

A Toast 2U-.Cut File Available, BBTB Blog Hop Winner, and a Crop Stop Hop.

Happy World Card Making Day! Guess what I'll be doing? You too? Let's all celebrate together. WooHoo! (As if I'm not making cards EVERY day. LOL) Here's yet ANOTHER card for Custom Crops from the new From My Kitchen. I told you I LOVE that cart! I'm also lovin' the Nana's Kitchen stack from DCWV. So perfectly retro for these cuts. The only other cart I used was a bit of Plantin Schoolbook. I love the font From My Kitchen uses for their welded words. The free .cut file and full instructions are available HERE.

I'm running out of things to say about these cards but I can't stop making them. Hope you get a kick out of the play on words. Could be cute for an anniversary, congrats, or even a birthday. BTW, if you're up for some world Card Making Day Festivities, my dear friend Margie is on the DT at CropStop and they're having a blog hop. Lots of fun so if you'd like to hop click HERE. And speaking of Blog Hops, the winner of my BBTB Blog Hop Candy is Brandy, comment #65 chosen randomly by my DH. Well how about that, she's a buddy from the Cricut mb. Congrats Brandy!

Sweethearts "Love" Card -.cut file available

Here's another simple one I did for Custom Crops using the new Sweethearts cartridge. I thought it would be nice to do something quick and really versatile when you're in a pinch but still want something special. Because it was so quick, I was even able to trick it out 3 ways. Full instructions and the free .cut file are available HERE. This first bold version I could see as a Valentine or Anniversary card for your special guy. No sissy stuff for the He Man. LOL But there is some embossing (even on the black) which I'm not sure you can see in the pic.

Next I decorated it for a baby using sweet gingham, some Alpha Beads and a little pacifier tied to the "L". Totally different look.

And finally an elegant wedding or anniversary card using metallic and irridescent card stock and "wedding confetti" and LOADS of gold adhesive beads. I suppose if you were really in a hurry you might want to doodle those. I hope you find this helpful next time you're in a pinch. P.S. If you haven't already commented on the BBTB Blog Hop post theres still time. I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning. Click HERE.