CPS Card Sketch #156

Today I thought I would do a CPS Card Sketch (#156).  I am using my new Die Cuts with a View paper creating a card that is 8" x 3.5".  Here is the original sketch from Card Positioning Systems (http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/).

And here is my version of the sketch...

Supplies
DCWV - The Cafe Mediterranean 4.5 x.6.5 paper pack, Cafe Mediterranean Chipboard Pop Ups
Marth Stewart - border punch
CTMH - True Friends Stamp Set (Stamp of the Month Set), Clover Meadow Ink
SU - Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon (1/4"), Very Vanilla cardstock
Cricut - Songbird Cartridge (Frames cut at 2" with 2" shadow and 2.5")

Here is an extra set of cards I made using scraps from the paper pack. The supplies are all the same except I threw in a Fiskars border punch. All these cards are 4" square.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Happy crafting!

February 25, 2010 Cricut Cake!

I received the new Cricut Newsletter in my email this morning and it highlighted a special announcement. The new Cricut Cake will be making its television debut on March 1st at 10/9 central on TLC on a show called the Ultimate Cake Off. Here is the information I received...

Let the Cake Off Begin!

Can you believe it? Cricut Cake is already on TV. That’s right, renowned cake creators Norman Davis and Carrie Biggers will be on TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off March 1st. Check the listings in your area but we’ve heard the episode will air at 10/9 Central. Tune in and you may catch Cricut Cake in action as Norman and Carrie battle against other professional bakers in the Ultimate Cake Off!

Here's a photo from the Cricut website for anyone who has been in hiding or living under a rock and has not seen the new red machine.

I have put the show on my calendar. I am not really overly interested in purchasing Cricut Cake but I think it would be fun to see it in action. For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, check out this link for more information: http://www.cricut.com/cricutcake/.

Happy crafting everyone!

February 24, 2010 Holiday Hoops Layout

I have spent the evening watching Olympic Hockey (Canada v. Russia) and trying to catch up on journaling. I am horrible about my journaling. I don't like my handwriting on my layouts so I always do the fun part of creating the layout and then I add it to a container with a label on it that says "Needs Journaling". Well, tonight I thought I would tackle a few layouts so that I could officially place them in the appropriate scrapbook.

I decided to journal this past thanksgiving holiday and finished a bunch of pages. I probably journaled about 10 layouts. Ok, to some that may not be much but to me it is HUGE. In any event, I came across a layout I thought I would share with you that I really enjoyed. I used the CTMH Felicity paper and stamp set and followed one of their design layouts - I love following sketches to make scrapping fast and fun.  I am still working on my photography skills so please forgive the slight flash on the picture. I hope you enjoy this double page layout called Holiday Hoops!

One thing to note is that the Felicity kit is no longer available through CTMH. It was a special promotion item you would earn with a certain type of purchase. You can find it online on eBay or being offered by CTMH Consultants who happen to have extra packages that they may want to sell. The colors are perfect for fall and layouts focusing on boys and men. I know This kit not only included the beautiful papers (including die cut paper designs) sampled in this layout but it also included a stamp set with some fun images and an alphabet. Please note that the stamp set used in this design was by CTMH but is not the one included in the Felicity kit. If you can get your hands on this kit I would highly recommend grabbing it!

February 23, 2010 One of a Kind Mother Card

I have finally finished about 75 of my "One of a Kind" Mother cards to ship off to the soldiers. I have to admit that I was a bit ambitious on this one. I stamped 2 images and colored them in by hand plus layered each one with cardstock. In addition, I have 3 different types of paper or cardstock on the base of each card. I would not have been able to do these 75 cards in 2 and a half days without my Cricut (used to cut the circles and squares plus their mats) as well we my Dreamkutz machine. If you are a card maker you must look into purchasing one (http://www.binditall.com/Products.html.  This card has definitely been very time intensive but I think the end product is lovely. 

Here is the side view so you can see how I popped up the "One of a Kind" stamped design.

And here is what 75 of these cards look like...

Supplies
Cardstock - CTMH (Veranda Papers, Juniper, Garden Green and Creme Brulee) and Wassau (White)
Ink - CTMH (black) and Clear and Simple Hybrid Ink (Little Black Dress)*
Markers - Copic
Stamps - CTMH and Paper Trey Ink (Mother - Mega Mixed Messages)

*Special Note*
One thing I should highlight is that the word Mother was stamped with the CTMH black ink while the images I colored with Copic markers (the flowers and One of a Kind designs) used the Hybrid Ink by Clear and Simple Stamps (http://www.clearandsimplestamps.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=116). Using the hybrid ink allows me to color images with my Copics without the colors bleeding through the black ink. If you like to color with Copics I definitely recommend using a Hybrid Ink. I can definitely promote the one by Clear and Simple Stamps but I believe you can also get one from Memento and Paper Trey Ink (http://papertreyink.com/).

Have a wonderful day everyone and happy crafting!

Operationwritehome.org
(Card completed and shipped out in 2009 - 500!)

2010 Status:
Easter - 50 cards (completed and shipped out)
Mother's Day - 75 finished (to be shipped)
Father's Day - TBD (goal of 100)
Missing You - TBD
Birthday - TBD
Love - TBD

February 22, 2010 - Coupons

Hi Everyone,

Here are some of the weekly coupons. AC Moore is back with its 50% off a regular item on Tuesday and Michaels has a special 20% off all Martha Stewart products and 30% off all ribbon. If anyone knows about Archiver's coupons please let me know so I can track some down and post them.

February 21, 2010 - Layout Challenge Part 2

Here is the layout I came up with using the TPC black and pink paper with the sticker page. The only items I added were bright pink, black and white card stock, black ribbon as well as some rhinestone bling...because any scrapbook page that can have bling is a much happier scrapbook page.  It is hard to tell by the photo but each sticker is double matted and then popped up to show even more dimension. Now all I need to do is find the perfect 5x7 photo and journal it.

This was a fun project. With the extra stickers I made the following 6 simple cards by adding more black, bright pink and white card stock plus some spare ribbon.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend of family, friends and crafting (of course).

February 19, 2010 - Layout Challenge!

I thought I would do something fun an issue of challenge to the readers of this blog (getting bigger by the day - thanks so much!). This weekend (if you can) work on a 1 page layout (any size) that uses black, bright pink and white. This can be a scrapbook page dedicated to your best girlfriend(s). If you are not a scrapper go ahead and use the same colors and make a beautiful card to send out to your BFF.

The inspiration for this challenge came from this paper I found while shopping at Archiver's this past weekend with my friend Sandy. Sandy and I both bought one sheet of each and decided we would each create a layout and see what the other made. Take a look at the fun paper by TPC Studio Paper.

The pink is very bright and caught our eyes immediately. I looked at this and thought I could throw together a fun page relatively simply. The first page has a built in title section on the bottom and the black eyelet border trim is glittery (see the detail picture here).

The second sheet with all the cool tags, borders and phrases are actually stickers. These stickers are thicker and blinged up with glitter too.

I will post my layout on Monday for everyone (including Sandy) to see. With the spare stickers I may go ahead and make a fun set of cards for a worthy cause I like to give cards to outside of Operation Write Home. If you email me a link to your blog I will figure out a way to do a sort of blog hop to other sites to show off other people's creations.

Have a wonderful weekend! Craft if you can and share a smile with everyone you meet.

February 18, 2010 New Cricut Carts Announced

Hello Everyone,

Cricut has announced 4 new cartridges on their website: (1) Straight Fromt the Nest, (2) Preserves, (3) Give a Hoot and (4) "Just Because" Cards. One of the cartridges is an HSN Exclusive this April (mark your calendars everyone).

Straight from the Nest

This cartridge is available exclusively from HSN this April!

Get ready to celebrate the beautiful things in life! The Straight from the Nest cartridge is filled with birds, butterflies, flowers, cupcakes, branches, swirls, and more. Use these darling images on invitations, home décor, scrapbooks, or whatever else catches your imagination.

This cartridge includes: Layer/Shadow, Corner, Slider, Border, Phrase, and Phrase Shadow creative features.

Preserves
Pick the perfect fruit for your scrapbooks, cards, and home décor! This gorgeous cartridge is filled with lovingly rendered images of a wide assortment of fruits like apples, pears, mangos, and kumquats. You’ll love the card, label, lid, and tag features that will enable you to make the most of this fruit-themed cartridge.

This cartridge includes: Layer, Word, Card, Label, Lid, and Tag creative features.

Give a Hoot
Get back to nature with this cheery cartridge! The Give a Hoot cartridge is filled with nature-related images and phrases, and the borders and charms are perfect for a variety of projects. Use the owls, acorns, flowers, and foxes for scrapbooks, cards, home décor, and more!

This cartridge includes: Layer, Accent, Phrase, Border, Charm, and Shadow creative features.

"Just Because" Cards (looks like another card cartridge!)

You’ll always have ideas for cards with this cartridge! The "Just Because" Cards cartridge is filled with whimsical images and phrases that are suitable for everyday use. From farm animals to food to flowers, this cartridge is filled with handy images that are perfect for cards. It contains 40 cards with layers and 10 envelopes, and includes cuts for phrases, stickers, and stencils!

This cartridge includes: Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3/Shadow, Word, Sticker, and Stencil creative features.

I have to say that these seem like cute cartridges, although I was hoping for a new font. I will keep you posted as I hear more news.

February 18, 2010 - Organization & Storage Ideas

Today I thought I would highlight some organization options that I have come across for inks and such on my craft desk. The first company is Stamp-n-Storage (http://www.stampnstorage.com/). I have purchased a number of items from this company and have been very pleased with the products, delivery and customer service.  Did I mention that they provide free shipping? Here are a few of the items I purchased...

Here is another company I just came upon today, Organize More (http://www.organizemore.com/). I have not purchased from them but I have my eye on the ribbon organizer. Here are a few items that stood out to me...

If anyone orders from Organize More! I would love to hear feedback on the transaction. When I come across other great organization and storage ideas I will be happy to share. I am a closet organizer freak so there will definitely be other posts on this topic.

Next post...a scrapbook layout challenge!

February 17, 2010 - Easter Card

Today is the long-awaited Easter card I had designed in my head ever since I purchased the Easter Solutions cartridge. I was finally able to find the time to put the design to paper. This is a very simple card design as I need to create at least 50 cards to send to Operation Write Home for the soldiers. The picture is a bit fuzzy but its simplicity makes it easy to see the basic design. I have to say that I  think it is a really cute card. Notice that the bunny is looking back at his ear that is missing a bite. This should be a fun card for the soldiers to send their kids.

Supplies:
Card base - White (Wassau)
Bunny - Chocolate and Hollyhock (CTMH)
Grass - Sweet Leaf (CTMH)
Stamps - Say It in Style (CTMH)
Ink - Black (CTMH)
Die Cutting - Easter Solutions Cartridge (Provo Craft)



Design Notes:
You may not be able to see it but the grass is popped up to show some dimension. All my cards are done in the A2 invitation size of 4-1/4" by 5-1/2", especially if the cards are designed for Operation Write Home. The bunny and bow are cut at 2" while the grass is cut at 1-1/4".




Next post...organizational ideas.

February 14, 2010 - Birthday Card

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Today is not only Valentine's Day but also my best friend Sandy's birthday. I made her a special birthday card that I wanted to share with everyone. I posted the largest version of the card I could to show you the detail of the stamp and colors. You will notice that the bottom portion of the card is striped. I created this effect  by scoring lines every 1/4" across vertically.  Then I sanded the ridged side with a small sanding block from Home Depot to show the white core beneath the card stock. I love the look of the sanding.

Supplies:

CTMH (Paper)- Veranda designer paper, Creme Brulee and Juniper card stock

Clear & Simple (Ink) - Perfect Little Black Dress Hybrid Ink (http://www.clearandsimplestamps.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=116&idproduct=300)

CTMH (Accessories) - Foundry Metal Accessories

CTMH (Stamps) - Piece of Cake (February Stamp of the Month)

CTMH (Ribbon) - Creme Brulee

Copic - markers

Marth Stewart (Tools) - scoring board

Home Depot (Tools) - sanding block

Coming soon...Easter Cards for Operation Write Home.

Happy Crafting!

February 9, 2010 Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue & Hot Deal Alert!

This will be a short post. I want to introduce some of you to a liquid glue I have recently discovered. It may be old news to many of you but I am a new fan. I used this glue on the diaper cake from an earlier post. I used the glue to bind the ribbon on the cake and the characters. The small end has a wonderful tip that gives you just the right amount and the wide end was great to use on larger areas and to spread the glue on the wide ribbon on the cake. Here's a photo...

Hot Deal Alert: Michaels

I stopped at Michaels today and I found an older version of Martha Stewarts star edge border punch for $4 in their Clearance section! Also, there is a 60% off coupon this week that does not exclude Martha Stewart products so I used it to buy the Double Edge Doily Lace Punch which retails for $17.99. I got it for $7.20 after my 60% discount. I am going to have to go back and add more to my collection at that price. Here is the picture of my Doily Lace Punch.

Have a great Tuesday. Happy Crafting!

February 8, 2010 - Diaper Cake

Hello Everyone,
I am so excited to share this diaper cake with all of you. I have never done one of these before and, thanks to the various demonstrations available on YouTube, I was able to accomplish it in an afternoon. The building of the cake was time-consuming as I individually rolled about 80-90 diapers and used a gazoodle of rubber bands but I think  it was worth it. The decorations just make the cake. I used the New Arrivals cart from Provo Craft and a bunch of paper and buttons I had on hand to bring the decorations to life...although I have to say that the googlie eyes really finished off the animals. Please tell me what you think. There are lots of pictures...

My favorite character is the cute little giraffe! I also made some cute decorations (super simple) using some extra baby bottles. I need to fill them up with some candy to help stabilize them but I think they add a nice touch and will flank each side of the cake nicely.

Here is the supply list...

Cake:

Lots and lots of pampers and rubber bands

Decorative ribbon (Ofray) from craft store

Interior support is a generic baby bottle (just like one of the decorated versions above)

Mono Adhesive to secure the ribbon around each cake tier

Toothpicks to help secure the cut-outs to the cake

Cut-outs

Provo Craft - New Arrivals cartridge

CTMH - Baby Pink and Sweet Leaf card stock

SU - So Saffron and Bashful Blue card stock and buttons

Wassau - White card stock

Bazzill - Pumpkin-colored card stock (name unknown)

Flowers - "Pretties" kit from Stampin' Up

Googlie Eyes from local scrapbook store

Have a wonderful Monday. Happy Crafting!