BBTB2 Halloween Witch Challenge

Oh my!  Halloween is almost here.  Are you ready?  We gals at BBTB2 sure are.  My dear and talented friend, fellow MSU Spartan and DT Sister Susan, has chosen any witch from any cartridge as our challenge this week at BBTB2 and there are lots of them from "witch" to choose.  LOL  Since Goliath has been terrorizing the backyard, the critters are up in arms and have called upon the powers of this cutie from Happy Hauntings.  They've asked her (him?) to conjure up a spell to make them all invisible to cats.  Best of luck!  I'm sorta sick of scooping up body parts from the back porch.

It's a shaped front card, welded in DS.  The "EEK!" is also from Happy Hauntings and the big ol' moon, just a circle from George.  Not sure why, but I also seem to always favor a rounded rectangle for the back.  Softer look maybe, or just a creature of habit. And I can't tell you how thrilled I was to find BLACK Alpha Beads.  BE STILL MY HEART!  There a a few little details, like wire whiskers, a bit of doodling and a fuzzy nose.  The teeny bats are from K&Co.

Yup, she's layered up, alright.  If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right, which brings me to an apology for not participating last week.  I'm really not a "work ahead" kinda gal.  (wish I were but...)  Of all of my DT's, BBTB2 is the most difficult and time consuming for me (but also one of the most rewarding).  I've been on the team for a long time and have been asked to do some of the same challenges over and over.  Since I really put my heart into them, sometimes I just can't come up with a new idea.  I just can't get past a favorite project from before, or like last week, I wrack my brain and come up with something, and it just doesn't pass muster.  I've been having a bit of a crafting crisis lately and rather than post something I'm ashamed of, I just can't post at all.  Sorry, it's a matter of personal pride in my work, especially if it's for a DT.  I really appreciate the fact that probably the majority of my followers come here for Cricut inspiration, so that's a bit of an added pressure.  Sometimes though, I want to try new things, explore different mediums.  I hope I don't let you down.

I'm also entering this in the Moving Along With the Times Too Cute to Spook Challenge, the Scrapilicious USA Halloweenie Challenge, and Crafty Creations Halloween Spooks.

BBTB2 Breast Cancer Awareness Challenge

Happy Monday, everyone.  Time for another challenge at BBTB2.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and that is our theme in honor of those we've loved and lost, those who have fought and won and those who we hope will never be touched by this horrible disease.

I've chosen the signature pink for my color scheme. It's a shape front card I designed in DS using a shape from Lacy labels welded to the shadow of the ribbon from Stand and Salute and "Hope" from Home Decor.

The butterfly is a Spellbinders die.  Here's the dimension shot.  I've added embossing and adhesive pearls to accent the cuts.  Please visit BBTB2 to view our inspiring projects.

I'm also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Dies or Punches Challenge.

BBTB2 Happy Fall/Pumpkin Challenge

This week at BBTB2 our lovely and talented Glenda has asked us to celebrate Fall by using a pumpkin in our project.  The catch?  NO HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS.  I'm always avoiding the Disney carts because of the tiny detailed cuts, but the fablous pumpkin and vines on Happily Ever After called to me so I decided to give it a go.  I welded the shadow to the shadow of "Give Thanks" from Phrases and went from there.  Because my Cricut blades are terribly dull and I haven't been able to find replacements for awhile, I cut this pretty large.  (I'm thinkin' 4" for each, but I almost never pay attention to that.)  Oops!  Too large for a card, in fact so this project hasn't found it's final resting place.  I was going to attach a ribbon for a door hanger, but I'm leaning towards matting and framing it.  As usual, I was late in finishing it so for now, it is what it is.

Here's the dimension shot.  I intended one more layer so I could pop the "T", "a", and "s" in "Thanks" (which were trimmed from the entire phrase by hand) but my crap blade and non sticky mat screwed up the last pumpkin shadow I would have needed to do that, so I glued the plaid letters flat.  I shadowed the pumpkin and leaves a bit with Copics and did a little doodling and called it done enough to submit.  LOL  I'm telling you, I really am struggling with the crafting these days.  Hope I can snap out of it.  My teamies are on the ball with fabulous projects, so be sure and stop by BBTB2 and have a look see.  Can't wait to see what you have in mind, too, but remember to follow the rules and make your Cricut cut pumpkin NON HALLOWEEN or it will vanish without a trace from the Linky.

Little Boy Blue at BBTB2 using CTMH Artiste

Happy Monday!  This week at BBTB2, our wonderfully talented Suzanne has chosen the theme with her soon to be born, first grandson in mind.  After 2 wonderful daughters and 3 lovely granddaughters, she is excited to start scrapping in blue so our theme this week is "Little Boy Blue".  Although the projects do not need to be for a baby, they are to be for a boy using the color blue.  I opted for a baby theme anyway because there was another cut on my fabulous CTMH Artiste cartridge I was dying to try.  My little favor is actually the diaper envelope (shift on the card feature) on page 64  of the cart.  For some reason, I thought is was 3D but actually, with a teeny bit of modification it easily adapted to what I had in mind.

I stretched the length of the envelope slightly in Design Studio and instead of scoring at the score lines, I scored 1/4" out from of it and after the first scallop at the back leg opening.  This made a little flat base on which to stand.  At the sides I didn't score at all, just tucked the flaps throught the slits and secured with glue dots inside.  To gain stability, I cut the scalloped card portion of this cut (twice) large enough to make a base and taped the diaper to it.

The little diaper pin AND "It's a Boy" are also all on page 64 of the Artiste booklet.  The diaper pin and pin head are separate cuts, but I cut the sentiment twice and trimmed for the two layers there. Don'tcha just love it when you can do a project with only one cartridge?  I ran out of time, but thought that matching invitations using the card and envie as intended would sure be the beginnings of great shower decor. If you haven't purchased CTMH Artiste yet, I strongly urge you to visit my dear friend and DT sister Susan's site and check out the fabulous deal.

Now please take a look at the fabulous projects from the rest of the BBTB2 team and we invite you to play along.  Just make sure you follow the rules posted at the top of the blog and have fun!

I'm also entering this in the Come and Get It Anything Other Than a Card Challenge, the Squirrel and the Fox Celebrate the Occasion (new baby) Challenge, and the Cute And Girly September Boys/Men challenge (can't help it, this makes me giggle).

BBTB2 Things that Fly in Nature

Happy Monday!  It's time for another challenge at BBTB2.   This week my dear friend and fabulous artist, Sandi Kelly has chosen the theme "things that fly in nature".  In our garden, my favorite winged things are the gorgeous red dragonflies that flit here and there so I found a beautiful one on the Home Decor cartridge.

It's a shaped card welded in DS using the shadows of the dragonfly with clusters of flowers and the single bloom behind.  The flowers and dragonfy body were cut in white and then colored with Copics.  The dragonfly wings are red vellum.

In some cases I needed to do a bit of hand trimming to get the layers I wanted for dimension.  Then I added punched flower centers and some embossing or doodling for interest.  The dragonfly flies above on a spring from an old ballpoint pen that had dried up.  (WooHoo!  Recycling!)

The inside flower is cut from DP by K&Co.  The sentiment was Cut with my Cuttlebug Cardmaking Combo.  It's a fairly small card  (the cuts are at 3 3/4") but hopefully it conveys a big message.  I want to say thank you to my dear DT sisters who are moving on this week.  Your friendship and creativity has meant the world to me over the years.  Best of luck in everything you do and big hugs!  xx

Now please take a look at the fabulous inspiration at BBTB2 and come play along.

BBTB2 In Honor Challenge

If you're looking for Haunted Design House, please scroll down.  In fact, please scroll down anyway because I had a horrendous week, and that project (which isn't at all creepy) took me FOREVER to do and I think it's cool, so please leave me some love!  I need it...BADLY!

This week at BBTB2, Our dear DT sister Brenda has chosen the theme, In Honor, remembering the 11th anniversary of Sept 11 event that has so impacted our lives.  Our projects reflect our appreciation for the emergency and military personnel who risk their lives on a daily basis to keep us safe.  My wall hanging if from Stand and Salute, with a gorgeous banner from Artiste.  I've trimmed the word "Home" from the latter part of the sentiment and added "Because" to the banner with my computer.

Here's the dimension shot which also gives you a better view of the embossed layer of the map.  Please visit BBTB2 to view our tribute and join us this week in honor of the brave men and women who serve our country and are so deserving of our heartfelt thanks.

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Hero Challenge.

BBTB2 All Shaped Up

Happy Labor Day!  Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. Perhaps you'll have a little extra crafting time and can join in our new challenge All Shaped Up at BBTB2, chosen by our sweet and talented Stephanie.  Stephanie is asking for shaped cards.  Well, right up my alley, eh?  I live to do shaped cards with Design Studio, but I want you all to remember that many of the Cricut cartridges have shaped card options that do not require any welding at all so check your manuals.  You may be surprised.  Usually when doing shaped cards I use a number of different cartridges to pull it all together but there are so many cuts on my new CTMH Artiste cart that I was dying to try, that this one came together completely from that cartridge.  It started with the wings.  Beautiful, eh?  Although there actually is a heart shaped card option on page 72 of the manual, I welded 2 regular hearts together (with the wings on the back side only)because I wanted mine to open that at the top instead of the side.  Here's another of the fab bow options, embossed with the Cuttlebug brocade folder and this is the first time I've actually made a Cricut cut rolled flower.  WooHoo!  There's a bunch of them on this cart (page 54).  Can't wait to try more.

Although I'm really pleased with the front of this card, it's the inside I'm really excited about.  On page 51 there are a couple of these pop up words easily cut with Artiste and ready to add that extra surprise inside.  Although I've actually done some from scratch, they're a royal PITA to do manually in DS and here on Artiste was the perfect word.  After cutting and prefolding, I inserted the cut in my welded card, traced around the edges to get the right shape and trimmed it to fit manually.  It's embossed with Swiss Dots and the sentiment is complete with the "u" from the full font, also available on Artiste.  I highly recommend this cartridge for the huge variety of motifs, sentiments, cards, and 3D items included for every occasion along with fab extras like chipboard and coordinating acrylic stamps.  My dear friend and DT sister Susan is a CTMH consultant and has tons of inspiration on her Blog using this cart so be sure to check out her CTMH website for the specials running this month.  Now hurry to BBTB2 to see the fab projects by my teamies and come play with us this week.  We love to see your creations, just play by the rules, ok?

I'm also entering this in The Crafty Cardmaker's Winged Things challenge, The Catered Crop In the Pink Recipe Swap, Allsorts Anything but Square, the In the Pink Winged Things Challenge and the C.R.A.F.T. Shaped Card Challenge.

BBTB2 Back to School Challenge

Well, it's starting to feel like Fall around here and the kiddles are going back to school so that's the  BBTB2  theme chosen by our talented DT sister Brenda this week.  This theme isn't the easiest for me as I have no kids and it's been a bazillion years since I've been in school so I went the CAS route using Animal Kingdom and Car Decals to make a little bookmark.  I welded the shadow of the  reader to the bookmark base in DS and cut it 3 times for sturdiness.  Thought I'd add a little humor with the sentiment ( also from Car Decals) since the kids I do know stay up to all hours all summer long and sleep past noon.  First day of school is a pretty rude awakening.  LOL

Ok, so maybe it's the subject matter that makes him want to snooze.  The color scheme is one of my faves.

The style of the bookmark fits over the page like this, so I glued the sentiment on first and used a craft knife to carefully cut each letter along the slit.  I set it up in DS for the Cricut to do that for me, but I kept losing the little pieces so I decided to cut my losses and do it by hand.  The polka dot mat was done in DS by taking the original bookmark and hiding the outside contour, then pasting a resized one on top and hiding the inner contours so they would match up.  Got that?  I always wonder if I'm giving TMI.  In any case, there you have it.  My DT sisters came up with a wide variety of BTS projects so go have a look and leave them some love.  We'd also be thrilled to see your Cricut cut Back to School projects so please join us but remember to follow the rules and note that our challenges are only open for one week from now on.

I'm also adding this to the Back to School Challenge at Simon Says Stamp, Lollipop Crafts, Lexi's Creations, My Graphico and My Sheri Crafts.

BBTB2 Vacation Challenge

This week at BBTB2 my dear friend, fabulous crafter, and Co-Team Leader Carole chose a Summer Vacation theme.  To be honest, we're not big travelers.  We're more the Staycation or Day Tripper type.  I had a couple of ideas along the "Unhappy Camper" line but clearly, they did not get made.  This one almost didn't either.  It was one of those weeks I bit off more than I could chew and yesterday just wasn't a good day.  So pretty clean and simple it is.  All from Going Places.  I welded the blackout shadow of the phrase to the car shadow in DS.

I did a little trimming of cuts to add a bit more detail (boy, cuts sure were simple on those early carts), a little embossing, a bit of dimension, some adhesive beads and stickers for headlights.

Inside is a computer generated sentiment and that's all she wrote.  Best I could do.  Be sure to visit BBTB2 and see the infinitely more creative cards by my DT sisters this week.  We also sure would love if you play along, but from now on our weekly challenges will be just that; WEEKLY, so hurry and get your craft on because you only have ntil 11:59 PM next Sunday to enter.  See you soon!

I'm also entering this in the Tando Creative August Monthly Travel Challenge.

BBTB2 Elephantly Speaking

Morning!  It's gonna be another hot one so I'm typing fast so I can hit the trail or there will be no hike for me this morning.  This week's BBTB2 theme was chosen by my fabulous DT sister and good friend Shelly, who asked for an elephant from any cart on our projects.  Last time we had an elephant challenge I remember having a hard time because there weren't many to choose from, but it looks like a pachyderm explosion over at BBTB2 this morning.  Who knew?

I thought maybe I'd mix it up a bit this week.  My original plan was to attempt an inside pop-up from Everyday Pop-Up Cards, but the project just grew.  First of all, there are no instructions on how to actually assemble the pop-ups on this cart and no real pictures on how the card is supposed to look.  Huh?  I cut a prototype in white and although I had a general idea of what to do, there was still a portion that seemed extraneous.  Fortunately I Googled instructions and found that dear Joy from Obsessed with Scrapbooking had a download for the diagrams HERE.  Thanks, Sweetie!

As usual, I was disappointed with the detail options on this cart.  (None for the pop-ups, as if Provocraft though just the mere thought of something 3-D was enough...ah, NO!)  I did think the ellie was pretty cute though, so I decided to free him from the terrible fate of being squashed inside the card and made a little party favor instead.  He's cut 3 times(at 6 ", I think), twice in gray, and once in dot so I could make him 2 sided and jazz up the little dealie he's standing on.  Hid contours in DS to cut the inside ears and tusks only in other colors.  Oh, I forgot, there were no inside ears.  Had to make those in DS.  Had to do a bit of trimming to get it all together, too, but I think he turned out pretty cute.  Tricked out a hat for him from Celebrations and he was good to go.  Funny thing though, even with the diagram, I still never figured out what to do with that extra piece.

His little cart is the matchbox from the original TTBM. The outside piece was cut at 3 1/4" but I found the inside part was so tight that I cut it at 3 1/8" so it would slide more easily.  I also thought that would give some room so I could attach the wheels with brads so they could actually roll, but was afraid it would catch and tear up the inside so I just glued them on.  So although I hit some snags here and there, I really enjoyed thinking outside the box (or should I say on top of the box?) this week.  Hope you likey.  Now it's time to pop over to BBTB2 and check out the fab projects by my teamies and hope you come play with up this week.  I guarantee you'll have a ton of fun.  (OOOh, cheesy!)  Just remember the rules, okay?

I'm also entering this in the Corrosive They Say It's Your Birthday Challenge.

BBTB2 Fly Away! Hot Air Balloon Challenge

This week at BBTB2 our fabulous DT sister Jeri chose a Fly Away challenge, inspired by a hot air balloon festival she saw on her travels.  Those of you who do not own a cartridge with a hot air balloon may use an airplane and I almost opted for that because I'd done a project with not one, but 3 hot air balloons previously (click HERE if you're interested.  Too funny, Jeri chose that challenge too, it was my interpretation that was kooky, LOL) so I didn't think I could come up with anything new.  However, my never used Everyday Pop-Up cart had this fab phrase with the hot air balloon already attached so problem solved.

Yes, of course, it's a shaped front card, but I didn't have to do any welding, except for the rectangle on the back. WooHoo!  The layers to the letters were already done too, so picking out the paper was the toughest job I had...well, almost.

The hot air balloon was not detailed on this cut and that was, after all, the chosen cut for the challenge.  So when popping the layers, I resized the full balloon cut and almost all of the layers to fit the phrase and layered it up to be in the forefront.  I was pleased that my Cricut was able to cut the details cleanly at this size.  It was all done in yellow and I colored the basket and flags with my Copics. A little embossing, and there ya go.  There are gorgeous inspirational pieces by my DT sisters this week, so please stop by BBTB2 and check them out.  As always, we hope you choose to play along, but please take a minute to read the challenge rules.  I hate being the "Cricut police" and it breaks my heart when I have to delete a lovely project because it doesn't follow the challenge rules.  Quit making me the bad guy, ya hear? xx

I'm also entering this in the Stampalot Take Flight Challenge (I didn't see anything in the rules that said it must be stamped so I'm keeping fingers crossed).

BBTB2 On the Farm Challenge (Don't look, Becky!)

Happy Monday, everyone.  This week at BBTB2 our sweet and talented Krista has chosen On the Farm for our challenge.  I knew immediately what to do.  I'm horribly late with a Graduation card for my BFF's son who just so happens to be going to our Alma Mater, MSU.  I think everybody is pretty much over the graduation thing and excited about starting a new chapter, so I decided to make him an MSU wallet and add some cash.  What's with the cow?  Michigan State was established in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first in the United States, and served as a prototype for future Land Grant institutions. Obviously MSU has expanded beyond it's agricultural roots, but it's still often referred to affectionately as "Moo U".  The cow is cut from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I rarely use that cart because of the lack of shadows and layers for these accessory cuts but after cutting him 4 times in white, trimming off body parts to add dimension, coloring with Copics, and doodling a bit, I finally came up with a decent looking cow.  The cowboy hat (I'll explain that later) is also from PDDU and "Moola" is from Varsity Letter.

The wallet is made from card stock, embossed with the snakeskin folder from the Cuttlebug Animal Prints set.  It's inked with distressed and I added fancy metal corners from Tim Holtz.

The top opens like a wallet for cash, and the pocket has room for cards with a personal message.  Just in case you confuse MSU with that "other" university in Michigan, I thought (singing dancing) Sparty should get in on the act.  I actually bought him while visiting Becky in Michigan when Andy was probably 7 years old and bought him one just like it.  Squeeze his hand and he plays the MSU Fight Song and Andy drove his Dad nuts with it (he's a fan of that "other" school.  LOL).  The hat is vintage,  mine, and I still wear it when watching MSU play on TV so my cow needed one too.  I kinda like to think it's got lucky charms since I had it on when Magic lead the team to the NCAA basketball championships in 1979.  Good times.  I'm wishing Andy all the best.  Now hop on over to BBTB2 and see what the rest of my teamies came up with for this challenge.  Sure would love it if you would play along too.  Just be sure to use your Cricut and follow our simple rules.

BBTB2 Christmas in July

Happy Monday!  Our challenge at BBTB2 this week comes from across the pond from our lovely and talented DT sister Jayne.  It's a Christmas in July theme challenge, so it's pretty much "anything goes" as long as it's Christmas and cut with your Cricut.  My card is from the Cricut Circle 4th quarter cartridge Out of Character with some added stars from Simply Charmed.  I took my somewhat non traditional colors from the patterned DP I chose for the "O".

It is a fully shaped card for a change, the shadows welded in Design Studio.  Pretty easy as the it's sort of a "word jumble" cartridge so the word "Joy" and (almost all) of it's layers were done for me.  I intended this to be pretty straight forward and simple, but decided as I went that is needed a bit of sparkle and bling.  First I glittered the stars and embossed them with the Stars Cuttlebug folder.  My 5" Xyron crapped out halfway through so I removed the adhesive with one of those erasers made for that purpose and was happy I didn't have to cut them over again.  This time I used a glue marker which wasn't all that easy to tell if you've covered evenly, but it was ok.  Added some really superfine glitter and then (when I was sure it was pretty dry) ran it through my Cuttlebug. (Note to self, buy extra Xyron cartridges).  The "J" was embossed with Swiss Dots and begged for some star gems at the top and bottom.  To balance those, I added gems throught each of the holes cut in the "y".  Quite the PITA since it's popped, but I love how it looks.  After that, the "o" and stars looked a little underdressed, so they got blinged too.  (TMI?  Sorry, I'm feeling kinda chatty today.)

Even I was suprised at how FAT this thing turned out.  It looks a little bit ridiculous as a card, so I may just tear off the entire top and attach it to a plaque and make it a door hanger or something.  There are actually 2 shadow cuts for each word on this cart, the first one being slightly offset.  You can't really see it that well with my poor color choices here.  There are 2 shades of teal, one slightly darker.  It looked like more of a contrast before it was all assembled so there's an extra layer right there.  I feel strongly about each element having an entire shadow around it and each is popped.  In the design, the "o" in "Joy" had no shadow but I felt compelled to create one.  LOL  Also, when I've added several background elements in a design, I prefer them to be on different planes.  See how the top star is several layers lower than the bottom one?  I like the depth that creates, but it requires multiple cuts of the same element and really adds to the thickness. 

It looks cool (I think, anyway) but isn't so great for mailing and if you're making a card, it requires some major reinforcement to the back or it won't stand up.  This is the inside with the trimmed second shadow adding some reinforcement.  The base card was cut in the darker teal as was the top mat on the front which hides the welds.  However, I actually cut two of the top mats and glued and folded one over the back before adding the front mat to give it an extra layer.  I will also probably cut a dark shadow for the bottom star and a star itself, before adding a sentiment.  (Providing I keep it as a card, LOL)  So there you have it.  I've had a lot of requests about tutorials or videos about this so I'll call this a "baby step".  Hope y'all weren't too bored with it. Now pop on over to BBTB2 and see the fabulous eye candy from the rest of the team.  Then follow our simple rules and come join our challenge, ok? Oh, and don't forget you still have a week for our Fashion Challenge as well.  See ya there.

BBTB2 Fashion Challenge

Happy Monday!  It's time for a new challenge at BBTB2, this week chosen by the fabulously talented Rebekah.  The challenge is "Fashion" (near and dear to my heart, I must say) and can be interpreted in soooo many fun and exciting ways.  I had so many ideas for this one that I had a hard time making a decision, but finally decided on the words and stylin' silhouette from Forever Young.

Back to the shaped front card.  Guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  LOL  Shadows of the cuts were welded in DS to a tweaked rounded rectangle from George.  The color scheme was quite a challenge.  I'd already cut the base in black but hadn't chosen anything else.  HHHmmm....  The black was too harsh for most of the papers I was considering, (except of course red or pink and white but I wanted to change it up a bit, it is summer, after all). I finally found my DCWV Lemon Flower Stack and a tiny print for her dress in my stash, but I didn't want it too reminiscent of a bumble bee so I added some lime.  "Citrus colors", isn't that some sort of trend?  Anyway, worked for me.

Here's the dimension shot.  "Flair" and "Style"  were embossed with Swiss Dots and have an extra layer to stand out more, with an extra couple of layers still to bring the fashionista to the forefront.  The Prima flower was added to the inside mats to balance the design.  This was such a fun challenge and just wait 'til you see the fab variety of projects by my DT sisters at BBTB2.  We sure hope you enjoy is as much as we did.  Please join in, we can't wait to see what you create but make sure to follow our simple rules to be fair to all.

BBTB2 Window to my World Challenge

Happy Monday everyone.  It's time for another BBTB2 challenge, this time hosted by our fabulous Brenda.  Brenda has chosen the theme "Window to my World".  Isn't that fun?  You may use any Cricut cart to create your window, so let's peek inside.  Following my new theme of using neglected carts, I chose the beautiful window from French Manor that I tweaked in DS to get the proportions I wanted.  There were not as many layering feature to the cut as I'd hoped either, so I ended up cutting it several times and then cutting it apart to emboss different parts and add additional features.  When you change the shape of a cut like that, you also have to manipulate the layers to fit, which can sometimes be challenging.  There was no trim for the semi circular to window so I used the border feature and played around with it until one of the shapes fit and then cut it apart as well.

Obviously love is in the air.  The cute couple is from the Sweethearts cart.  I love how they can't take there eyes off each other.  Do you have someone you feel that way about?  I surely do and he's my whole world.  To further jazz up the window, I added some trim from several MS punches and lightly inked my embossing.  So how come this card isn't standing up?  Well...

I really wanted to do something a bit different this week.  Actually, I had some technical difficulties with my first design which involved a pull up shade and sort of had to switch gears mid stream (wow, how's that for some mixed metaphors?  Bear with me, it's early yet) so I turned it into a "matchbook" card.  The front sort of tucks into the fence portion to keep it closed.  I say "sort of" because with the thickness of the front and the short fence it only sort of works. The roses help, a little.  And it doesn't stand up which bugs me MORE than sort of.  But it was late in the game so it is what it is, but I'll probably rip it apart and make a proper shaped card instead.  So are you excited to see more window projects?  Stop by BBTB2 and have a look at the fabulous creations from the rest of the team.  And come join us with a Cricut cut window project of your own, but please follow the rules to be fair to all. 

BBTB2 Here Comes the Sun

WOW, it's another new month of fabulous challenges at BBTB2 and this week is the first challenge pick from our wonderfully talented Suzanne.  She has chosen the theme "Here Comes the Sun", so besides following our simple rules, the sun on your project should be a Cricut cut.  I was bound and determined to find a sun on a cart I rarely use and lo and behold, there was on on Tinkerbell and Friends and it's a purty one too.  WOOHOO!  Obviously it's a fully shaped card welded in DS from the shadow of the cut along with the sentiment "Shine" from Calligraphy Collection, another sadly neglected cart in my stash.  When I first cut all of the sun layers I thought there wasn't enough contrast.  When I checked the book, I realized the blackout cut was usually cut in black which left a border around all of the other cuts.  Ok, tried that too, but it was too harsh with the sky blue I'd chosen for the base and I wasn't gonna do that over.

First thing I did was line all the cuts with Copics (instead of inking).  It adds some depth, goes fast, easy to do, doesn't rip your cuts and there are lots of colors to choose from.  Better, but not good enough.  Pulled out the trusty Cuttlebug and added some embossing with the old stand bys, Swiss Dots and D'Vine Swirls.  Better yet, but still not there.  Looked in my adhesive pearl drawer but I didn't have enough yellow in the right size and then remembered I'd bought some liquid pearls.  WOOHOO!  That was the ticket and although I haven't quite gotten the hang of them, partly because I wear multifocal contacts or glasses (it's the shits getting old) I think it turned out alright.  In hindsite, I'd wished I'd cut one extra later of the center pieces of the sun to pop it further, but it is what it is.  Now wail 'til you see all of the sunny projects by my teamies at BBTB2.  Gorgeous inspiration there, so you've no excuse not to join in.  We so love seeing your fabulously creative work.  I'm hoping this challenge might coax a little sunshine out of our cloudy sky this week.  It's JULY, after all.  Sheesh!

BBTB2 Patriotic Project

Happy Monday!  It's time for another challenge at BBTB2, this time chosen by my dear friend and fellow MSU Spartan, Susan and wait 'til you see the FABULOUS challenge and project she has in store for you.  Susan chose a Patriotic theme which gives everyone the opportunity to create for the Fourth a full week in advance.  WooHoo!  We're so hoping to see tons of red, white and blue from you all!  I couldn't help but go to A Child's Year for a start since the adorable silhouettes really bring sweet memories of the celebrations of my childhood.  I love a parade!  But then I saw that little guy on the rocket and just had to use him.  (I love fireworks even MORE!)

Shaped front using the shadows of the boy, fireworks from Stand and Salute, and sentiment from Celebrations.  I took my colors from the fab striped DP with a little extra pop for the fireworks with gold and silver mirror CS.  I wasn't quite sure what color to cut the boy in.  All red didn't do it for me, so I cut him again in the light blue and trimmed a bit on both cuts and embossed and popped the layers to add a bit more interest.

I really lucked out on the tiny stars.  They're glitter foam I had in my stash and they fit perfectly on the cut.  The dimensional stars in the center of the fireworks were also in my stash.  I managed quite a bit of dimension and finished off the sentiment with a bit of doodling.  My DT sisters have truly knocked this one out of the park, so be sure and visit BBTB2 and start waving your flag.  Can't wait to see what you create.

I'm also entering this in My Sheri Crafts "Oh I Love America" Challenge.

BBTB2 "Water" Challenge

This has been one hectic weekend and I must say I've crafted my little fingers to the bone.  Lots of posts today so if you're looking for the Smeared and Smudged Skull Appreciation Day Blog Hop click HERE (long hop, but loads of prizes, just sayin'), Haunted Design House click HERE, or you missed The Altered Alice on Sunday, click HERE.  Our hostess this week for BBTB2 is my dear friend and talented artist, Sandi Kelly and she's chosen a Water theme for this week's challenge.  I was excited to use my poor neglected Life's a Beach cart for almost everything.

Yup, it's a shaped front card using the Title Words to which I've added a bottom border (2 of the waves, welded and stretched to fit) and the happy shark frolicking above.  All this was welded to my fave rounded rectangle from George.

I was not, however, paying attention when I designed this and failed to notice just how weak the connection was between the already prewelded words in the Title.  (I was almost crafted out when I began this one on Sunday afternoon and this almost fatal design flaw nearly did me in.)  The front of the card was too flimsy to stand up, even with the full mat with the shark glued on and I was almost ready to throw in the towel but...WooHoo!  Instead of gluing the front and first mat together directly, I slipped a piece of acetate in between the layers and with a little trimming, problem SOLVED!

After all this I was this close to blowing off the layering, but who am I to disappoint?  Did a little bit of embossing with D'Vine Swirls and Swiss dots, and even managed to remember my little fishy brads and crabby eyelets before putting it all together.  There's load of fabulous water inspiration from the DT at BBTB2 so go have a look, leave some love, and play along.  We love it when you do.