Blog Hop Winners

Wow, I can hardly believe this is my last post of the year.  I find myself looking back at one of the most amazing years of my life.  At times I feel like I must be dreaming because this has been such a wonderful year.  We put our house on the market to sell at the end of March.  By the middle of April it had sold.  Then everything became a whirlwind.  I do remember clearly the call we received on May 16th from my son saying that our ninth grandchild, a boy, had come into the world.  Then it became a time of house inspections, appraisals and packing.  On July 7th we left the home where we raised our five children to begin our grand adventure.  We have been living in our RV and traveling since then.  I can honestly say we've never been happier.  Neither hubby or I miss having a house and we're having the time of our lives and truly enjoying our retirement.  I hope and pray that we will remain healthy so we can continue this fantastic journey for as long as possible.  We are so very grateful and blessed to be able to do this.

I will finish the year off with a bit of business.  I have the winner of this week's Cutting Cafe Blog Hop to announce---drumroll please.

The winner of the Peppermint Candy Treat Box Cutting File and Template is:

#24 Isabelle said...

What a lovely gift for some lucky person! I just discovered "The Cutting Cafe" last night and realize I have some catching up to do! Such a cute idea!

Isabelle, if you will email me at thomasjeri55at yahoo dot com I will see that you get this file so you can start creating with it.

I also have a winner of the blog hop at Cardz TV stamps last week.  The winner of the dry erase board is:

#11 Annette said...

I really love this little message board. I didn't know that a tile could be used...thank you for the idea. Smiles to you,

Annette if you will email me at thomasjeri55 at yahoo dot com with your address I will get the dry erase board mailed off to you.

I want to thank each and every one of my followers for all the sweet and wonderful comments you leave me.  They mean so much and I love reading them all. 

I wish you all a safe, healthy and blessed

2012. Happy New Year.

The Cutting Cafe Peppermint Candy Treat Boxes and Blog Hop

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday.  Mine was different for several reasons.  We weren't with family, we're in Florida's sunshine and warmth and there were no presents this year.  Hubby and I decided not to buy presents for each other this year.  There was really nothing we needed and with the limited space in the RV we decided to forego the gifts this year.  We usually go out and buy what we need when we want it.  Besides, it would have been impossible to find a hiding place for the presents.  LOL  It didn't seem quite like Christmas with warmth and sunshine.  We're used to cold and snow in Michigan.  But, we had a fun day.  We spent it with our campground family having a potluck supper.  I made these little treat boxes to give to all our friends.  Everyone thought they were fantastic.

I used The Cutting Cafe Peppermint Candy Treat Box Cutting File and Template for my treat containers.  I used my Cricut to cut the SVG file which includes the box and top pieces.  The sentiment is included with the set and after printing it I punched it out and placed it on the front of the container.  It wouldn't be one of my creations without adding some faux stitching and doodling with a white gel pen. 

Now for some fun, The Cafe is hopping this week.  Each designer has used one of their favorite files to make a fabulous creation to inspire you.  Each designer is giving away a Cutting Cafe file.  You must leave a comment on each designer's blog to be eligible to win.  Here's the link to the Cafe Blog where you can find the list of participating designers.  I will be giving out the Peppermint Candy Treat Box.  This box can be used at any time of the year, not just for Christmas.  So make sure you leave me a comment and I thank you for them.  I love reading each and every one.  Have fun!

Twelve Days of Christmas #12

Can you even believe that it is Christmas Eve?  I sure can't.  December just flew right by.  For my final project I have some little treat bags I made for my cake pops.  My first ever cake pops.  I was quite proud of myself for whipping up a batch here in my small camper.  We don't have a lot of counter space or a very large refrigerator so it was quite challenging.  I made these little treats up for our friends here at the campground.  I hope they enjoy them.  My bag topper was made with red cardstock cut at 4.25x4.25" with a scrap matted on top.  My Santa was cut at 2" from the Doodlcharms cartridge and my sentiment in from Cardz TV Stamps Home for Christmas stamp set.

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.  I hope you are able to spend your day with loved ones.  I'd also like to ask you to take a moment to offer a prayer for all our service men and woman who are sacrificing their holidays with their loved ones to protect our nation and our freedoms.  Happy Holidays!!!

Twelve Days of Christmas #11

This is one of my favorite gifts to give to friends.  On a recent trip to Target I was fortunate to find the coveted clear pails and knew that I'd make up some Snowman Soup.  This is probably a better gift if you're in a cold and snowy climate instead of Florida, like me.  Oddly enough, we have had a couple cool days since our arrival and my thoughts turned to a nice cup of hot cocoa.  Even though we're experiencing record high temps here right now, I know it's bound to get cool at some point, so my friends will be prepared.  Inside this pail is a package of Ghiradelli hot cocoa that I picked up at the actual Ghiradelli store at Downtown Disney a couple weeks ago.  I also added a packet of mini marshmallows and a peppermint stick for stirring.  My cute little poem is a Cutting Cafe file called Fun With Frosty.  You can find it here

Here is what it looks like from the top of the can.  Lots of ribbon and a sparkling snowflake.

I hope to see you tomorrow for my last day of projects leading up to Christmas.  I can't believe it's just a couple more days until Christmas.  I'm sure you all feel the same.  I hope your shopping is done, your gifts are wrapped, and your stockings are hung. 

Twelve Days of Christmas #10

I had several problems getting this post up today, but welcome to Day #10 of my Twelve Days Celebration.  We are having computer internet connectivity problems and they're driving me crazy.  We can't keep a connection for more than a few seconds at a time.  Then I must apologize for the terrble pictures.  It has been really cloudy here.  Today I just have three giftcards to show you.  I made the base of the giftcards using The Cutting Cafe Gift Card Holder Template and Cutting File.  This set comes with two styles, one with a straight edge and the other with a scalloped edge.  I used the scalloped edge for my cards.  I used scraps of printed papers for the tops of the cards then made die cut images to decorate the front of each card.  I used the Winter Frolic cartridge for the snowman, Doodlecharms for the Santa and the Winter Frolic for the Penguin.

Qucik and easy but a nice way to present the gift card.  Quite frankly, I don't think the grandkids care about the presentation as much as how much the gift card is for.  LOL  I know this is a quick post but I'm tyring to get it done before I loose my connection again.  I cut the cards on my Cricut so it made the cards quick to assemble.
Thanks for stopping by.  Only two more days of projects for inspiration for you.  I hope you can use some of my ideas.

Twelve Days of Christmas #9

I have another home decor project to show you today.  I found this soap/lotion dispenser at my LSS.  The top portion unscrews so you can add inserts.  I made this one up with a winter decor in mind.  My cute little polar bear came from a piece of Creative Imaginations paper.  I cut a piece of red polka dot paper to fit the inside circumference of the bottle then just added the cute polar bear on top of it.  I tied a piece of red gingham ribbon around the neck of the bottle and added a punched tag from The Cutting Cafe and placed it on a scalloped circle and tied it to the ribbon with red and white twine.  Another quick and easy home decor project.  I think I'll make an insert for spring, summer and fall and give it as a set to a friend for Christmas.  It would also make a great gift for a teacher filled with antibacterial hand cleaner and inserts for each month of the school year.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll come by tomorrow to see some gift card holders I made for my grandkids.

The Cutting Cafe Rain Rain Go Away

It's time for a new highlighted set over at The Cutting Cafe.  This week Regina asked the team to use her Rain Rain Go Away set.  Now I know it's winter, but depending on where you live in the country you might be experiencing rain.  For those of you in the colder climates, cheer up.  Spring is on it's way...eventually.  I also used The Cutting Cafe Cloud Shaped Card cutting file/ template for this card.  I started with the card base cut from white cardstock then topped it with a grey cardstock top piece.  I used the set's SVG file to cut these on my Cricut.  Next I printed my cute duck and umbrella on scraps of printed paper so I could paper piece.  I love paper piecing.  I think it's a way to make your cuts look a little special and individualized.  I fussy cut all the pieces and assembled the duck and the umbrella.  I finished the front of the card with the weather sentiment and some doodling with a white gel pen and a black marker. 

For the inside of the card I made up the sentiment and printed it with my computer.  I'm happy to say that for the first time in our lives we are away from the cold, snowy, harsh winter of Michigan.  We'll be in Florida until April and we're very excited about it.  There is a slight chance (only 20%) that it may rain here on Christmas.  No, I won't miss a white Christmas.  I'll be getting up in the morning and dressing in my shorts and enjoying every moment.  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Regina for letting me stay on for a second term at The Cutting Cafe and to welcome all the new and returning designers to the team.  Regina is such a special lady and I'm blessed to call her friend!  You can find the team announcement here.  It's an awesome and talented team to work with.  Thanks for stopping by and come by to visit anytime.

Twelve Days of Christmas #8

Here's a cute little treat container to make.  It's cute and yummy.  I started off with an empty test tube that I bought at my local scrapbook store for $1.  At first I was going to use some of those small round cinnamon  candies you can find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.  But then one day when I was in the Christmas candy aisle at Target I found cherry cordial M&Ms.  I think I really bought them because I knew I would be able to eat the leftovers, and boy, are they yummy.  I filled the test tube up and quickly capped it so I wouldn't eat any of them.  Next I cut a 4" piece of white cardstock and using a Fiskars scalloped border punched each edge.  I used a red polka dot paper from Recollections on top of it and centered it around the tube using Tacky Tape to make sure it held onto the plastic tube securely.  To embellish the tube, of course, I had to add a cute little reindeer.  I cut this cutie from the Create A Critter cartridge at 2".  For the sentiment I cut a 2" scalloped circle from the Elegant Edges cartridge.  I used my computer and a stencil font to print the reindeer noses sentiment in red ink onto a circle that I attached to the scalloped circle.  Then I used a dimensional foam dot to attach the reindeer above the sentiment.  I tied a red ribbon around the tube and punched a hole in the reindeer tag so I could attach the tag with red twine to the ribbon.

BBTB2 Wrap It Up Candle

Happy Monday!  Can you believe it's less than a week now until Christmas.  To change things up a bit and get away from the Christmas cards and projects we have a candle challenge at BBTB2 this week.  Our sweet Design Team sister Karen asked us to use the birthday candle from the Wrap It Up cartridge in honor of her father's birthday today.  My father-in-law has a birthday coming up right after the holidays so it was a great chance to get his card done and have it ready to go.  I decided to put my candle on a piece of birthday cake that I cut using the From My Kitchen cartridge.  All my patterned papers are Stella Rose.  My sentiment is a stamp from Kaiser Craft.  I hope you can join us for this week's challenge.  If you don't have the Wrap It Up cartridge you can use the a candle from any other cartridge.  Just make sure that you make a new project for the challenge.

Twelve Days of Christmas #7

Today's project is perfect for your furry friends.  A few weeks ago the digital stamp site Whimsie Doodles offered these cute circular doggy stamps as a freebie.  You can find them here.  Of course, this is a  super easy treat bag to put together.  I used a Wilton treat bag that I picked up at Walmart.  They measure 4x9".  I added some dog bones that came from PetSmart.  They're one of my dog's favorite treats.  What am I saying, my dog would eat anything, including a Netflix movie the other day.  Oops, had to pay for that one and didn't even get to watch it.  LOL  I simply cut a piece of kraft cardstock at 4x4" and scored it in the middle.  I cut a bone from the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge and attached it to the bag topper after tying a twine ribbon around it then took one of the printed circular sentiments I punched out with a 1 1/2" punch, placed it on a 2" scalloped circle and added it to the bag. I presented this treat bag to my friend for her 4 month old puppy Freddy.  She was delighted and said she was going to put it under the Christmas tree for him.  Don't worry, like most of us that live in our RVs fulltime, it's a tabletop tree so he won't be able to get the bag and chew it.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see my treat that I made for Freddy's mom and dad.  I didn't want them to feel bad because Freddy got a treat and they didn't.  LOL

Twelve Days of Christmas #6

For the Cardz TV first ever Design Team Christmas Blog Hop click here.

I'm very excited about my home decor project today.  This is a dry erase board I made.  I went to my local home improvement store (Lowe's) and bought a smooth ceramic tile which cost only 89 cents.  Then I bought a plate/frame holder (at Hobby Lobby) in black metal to hold the tile upright and it cost $2.99.  I used black Cricut vinyl to cut my tile "embellishments".  The word "notes" was cut from the Simply Charmed cartridge and the circle border at the bottom was cut from Elegant Edges.  I found a package of 4 dry erase markers at the dollar store to go along with the board.  Who knew that a dry erase marker would wipe right off a tile?   A fabulous, quick, easy and cheap handmade gift, don't you think?  I've made up several of these to give to neighbors.  Let me tell you what we do with our dry erase board.  My husband and I live fulltime in our RV.  The campground community is a very friendly atmosphere and very social.  The group we hang around with meets daily at 4:00pm for "happy hour".  We rotate around to a different spot each day.  To keep track of where "happy hour" will be we put the board in front of the camper that's hosting.  Because it's ceramic with vinyl it's weatherproof and fine to leave outside.  Of course, I suppose if it rained and had writing on it the rain might wash the marker off.  I can't say that's been an issue here in Florida.  We've had almost no rainy days since we've been here.  This is our first year leaving the cold winter of Michigan.  Now I understand why there are so many "snowbirds".  This is the most fantastic thing we've ever done.  I wish we'd done it sooner. 

I've decided to offer this dry erase board to one lucky commentor.  In order to be elegible you must comment on this post and my post below.  Here is the link of that post for the Cardz TV Christmas Blog Hop. The hop shows all Christmas projects that the Design Team made with Cardz TV stamps.  You'll find some great inspiration there.  Thanks so very much for stopping by and for all the sweet comments you leave.  I enjoy reading them so very much.

Twelve Days of Christmas #5 and Cardz TV Stamps Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cardz TV Stamps Blog Hop and my 5th day of Twelve Days.  You should have arrived here from Julie's (Cricket Chick) blog.  If not, you'll want to start at the beginning by going to the Cardz TV site.  Mary will be giving away the Cricut Seasonal Cartridge Gingerbread and her Holly Jolly Stamp Set.  Along with those two prizes you have the chance to win a fabulous prize pack of the North Pole Collection paperkit by Crate Paper by our blog hop sponsor Lynn at http://bootsandblingtime.blogspot.com/. In order to be eligible for those prizes you must comment on every Design Team member's blog.  Today's project is a gift bag that I made.  I took a plain red gift bag and added a piece of boa fur at the top.  I cut a strip of black paper at 1.25" for Santa's belt, then cut a buckle (2") from gold metallic paper using the Cricut Fabulous Finds cartridge.  For the gift tag I cut a Santa hat from the Winter Frolic cartridge at 4".  I used Mary's Cardz TV stamp set Home for Christmas for the Ho! Ho! Ho! on the bottom of the tag.  To: and From: are from a Hero Arts stamp set.  I punched a hole in the hat and attached it to the handle of the bag with twine.  What will I be putting in this gift bag?  You'll want to return to my blog tomorrow for Twelve Days #6 to see the fantastic, quick, easy and cheap home decor project I made.  It's really cool and fun, I promise!  In fact, it's so cool I've decided to give it away to one lucky commentor that leaves a comment on today's post AND tomorrow's post.  So don't forget to come back and leave a comment tomorrow.  Now you'll want to head over to Nicole's blog to continue with the hop.  Thanks for joining our Cardz TV Stamps Blog Hop and for your sweet comments.  They mean so much.

Twelve Days of Christmas #4

Today I have two cards to show you.  I wanted to show how I got a second card using my negative cut.  The first card was made using The Cutting Cafe set Christmas Card Fun.  This set of templates/cutting files features 12 different Christmas cards.  The set also comes with envelopes and 17 sentiments.  If you've been putting off your cards and haven't got them done I suggest this set as an easy way to get them done.  These cards are 4.5"x4.5".  The first card is made with kraft cardstock.  I cut it using my Cricut machine.  It cuts the card and the deer out.  I put the deer aside to use on my second card.  I placed a piece of patterned paper behind the deer and simply added a heart button with some jute at the deer's neck.  My sentiment is from the Cardz TV Stamps Home for Christmas set.  I stamped with white ink and placed the sentiment on a mat of white glitter cardstock.  It's finished off with a little faux stitching using a white gel pen.

 For my second card I used a piece of red cardstock and made the same size 4.5"x4.5" card rounding the corners.  I used my Cuttlebug embossing folder Christmas Swirls to emboss around the edge.  Then I took the deer cutout, added a button and twine around his neck, a black pearl for his eye, a red pearl for his nose and a little doodling with the gel pen.  The sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe Christmas Mini Words set.

 It took less than 15 minutes to put these two cards together.  If you took the whole set and used the same technique putting that cutout on a second card you can get 24 cards in just a couple hours.  I'm so glad my cards are all done and in the mail.  I showed my cards to several neighbors and they have put in orders with me for their cards for next year.  It will turn out to be a little money maker for me.

Twelve Days of Christmas #3

 Does this sign inspire you or give you a feeling of dread?  I took this photo yesterday when hubby and I went to the Magic Kingdom at DisneyWorld.  You can see Santa in the background visiting with children to hear their wishlists.  We've been enjoying our annual pass to DisneyWorld going every two weeks to visit one of the parks for a few hours and do our favorite things.  Anyway, if you're feeling a little overwhelmed with holiday preparations or lack thereof, I hope I can give you a little inspiration today.  If you need a quick gift or a stocking stuffer I have the perfect thing.  I'm so excited about today's project.  I had such a fun time creating these.  Aren't they cute?

 I must apologize for my bad photos.  I just can't seem to get a good pic inside our RV.  Anyway, these cuties started out with a personal packet of Puffs tissues.  Sorry for the glare.

 I've made a quick picture tutorial.  I started out with a piece of white cardstock cut 4.5" x 8.5".  I scored it at .25", 2.5", 3.25", 5.75", and 6.25".  I cut my face pieces from the Cricut Snow Friends cartridge.

 I wrapped the paper around the tissue pack and attached it with Tacky Tape to be sure that it held tight.

The snowman's hat is an inexpensive pair of gloves.  I placed one glove on each snowman.  Then I tied a ribbon around the glove and added a snowflake button on one and a simple tag on the other.

That's my project for today and I hope it gives you some inspiration to get crafty.  Thanks for stopping by  and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. 

The Cutting Cafe Happy New Year

Wowzer, can you even believe for a second that we are just a few short days away from the end of the year 2011. Where oh where did the time go? It has been quite a memorable year for me and my husband. We sold our home and began living full time in our RV. I can't even begin to tell you how happy we are. We're having the time of our lives. Right now we're enjoying our first winter away from the cold and snow in Michigan and enjoying the warmth and sunshine of Florida. We have been so blessed to raise five amazing children who are all good, productive citizens on their own. We are so proud of them and the grandchildren they've blessed us with. We look forward to all the wonderful things the new year will hold in store.

This week at The Cutting Cafe Regina asked the Design Team to make a project for the New Year.  I made my shaped card using her new set 2012 Shaped Card Cutting File and Template.  This card was super simple to make.  I cut it from kraft cardstock and topped it with a patterned paper from Scenic Route Paper Co.  Before I attached the top layer I tied two jute bows around the numbers two.  I scattered a few pearls into some of the circles and added the sentiment that comes with the set.  A little faux stitching with my white gel pen and the card was complete.  This card will fit in a business size envelope for mailing.  I'll be sending it off to a friend in Virginia.  You'll want to head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog to check out the rest of the Design Teams new year projects.

Twelve Days of Christmas Day #2

Today's project is a quick and easy tag for my grandson's Christmas present.  The candy cane is a cut from the Simply Charmed cartridge at 5".  I cut a tag from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More at 2" and stamped the sentiment from Cardz TV Stamps Home for Christmas stamp set.  The holly is cut from the Jubilee cartridge at .;75".  That's it---didn't I say quick and easy.  This tag reminds me that there is a tag challenge going on at BBTB2.  If you want to check it out click here.  I hope you can come back tomorrow and see my project.  I have the cutest project to show you.  I'll give you a hint...it uses a small pack of Kleenex and a pair of gloves.  I'm telling you, it is just adorable and you'll love it.

Cricut Cardz Challenge # 98-Tag, You're It

 Happy Wednesday, Everyone!  It's time for a new Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TV.  This week's theme from Mary is Tag You're It.  We hope you play along and show us your Christmas tags.  I always love to deviate from the traditional green and red you normally see at Christmas time.  I decided to go with brown and blue for my tags.  My patterned blue paper is from a 6x6 paper pad made by Echo Park called Season's Greeetings.  I have to admit I cased my first tag from the Cricut Holidays magazine by Northridge Publishing.  The original was designed by Kimberly Tracy.  Of course, I put my own spin on it.  My tag was cut at 4" from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More.  Then I used Mini Monograms to cut a 3" scalloped circle with a 2.75" circle on top.  I used the Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing folder for texture.  My ice skate is cut from Winter Woodland at 1.75".  I added a snowflake cut from Accent Essentials with a button and twine for embellishment. 

 For my second tag I used the Elegant Edges cartridge to cut an oval shaped tag and frame at 4" to surround my snowman cut at 2" from the Winter Woodland cartridge. I tore a small piece of white cardstock for snow at the bottom. A few stamped snowflakes (Studio G) and To and From words (Royal Langnickel) to finish it off.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cards #1

I needed a little incentive to get my mojo going so I issued myself a challenge to post Christmas cards and projects for the next twelve days.  My own little Twelve Days of Christmas.  My mojo has been on vacation I guess.  My husband and I are enjoying our retirement and new lifestyle of fulltime RVing so much that I'm finding it difficult to get into creating mode sometimes.  We are so busy enjoying all the fun, sun and activities that Florida has to offer.  I swear, I wish we had done this sooner.  Leaving the dreary winter's of Michigan has done wonders for my mental health.  Now I know why so many people head for warmer winter climates.  It's the best.  We left Michigan in September when it was still warm and slowly made our way south and have never left the warmth.  I feel like I'm on summer vacation and it's December.  Now here is the disadvantage...it most definitely does not feel like Christmas.  I'm seeing the Christmas trees and the lights but it just doesn't seem quite right.  LOL  I think that's the reason that I haven't really felt like starting on the Christmas cards.  It suddenly hit me a few days ago that I needed to get busy on the Christmas cards.  My family and friends have come to expect those handmade Christmas cards I send and I wouldn't want to disappoint.  So onto card #1...

I love making shaped cards using my Gypsy.  I used the window cut from the Christmas Noel cartridge.  By welding two shadows together I got the base for my card and cut it from black cardstock at 5.25".  Then I topped it with the window cut from white cardstock at 5.25".  I added a wreath to the window that came from the same cartridge.  I added a few red rhinestones for some sparkle.  My sentiment is from the Cardz TV Home for Christmas stamp set.  What better Christmas wish could there be than that of Peace, Joy and Love.  I hope you'll return tomorrow for another great card idea.  Thanks for stopping by.

BBTB2 Winter Frolic Tag

It's time for a new challenge at BBTB2 after our Thanksgiving break.  This week's challenge was picked by sweet Design Team Sister Lori.  She asked us to make a tag from the Winter Frolic cartridge.  I know this looks like a tag but it's actually a card.  I used my Gypsy to weld two tag shadows together into a card.  I used the tag on the same key as this cute little reindeer image (first row, key 9).  This card has a height of 5".  I found this adorable sentiment stamp in the dollar bin at Michael's and just knew it would be perfect to pair with a reindeer image from any Cricut cartridge.  After making the shaped card from kraft cardstock I cut the tag from white cardstock and used the hide contours feature on the Gypsy to take out the tag hole at the top.  I cut my reindeer at 2.5" and assembled all his layers then placed him at the top of the tag.  I added a strip of a scrap of Christmas paper from my Best Creations Merry Christmas 6x6 paper pack and then stamped the sentiment below it.  I was sure pleased with how this turned out.  I can check one more card off my list now.  I'm way behind.  We've been enjoying our time in Florida so much and have been very busy.  When we arrived down here the first thing we did was take our rental agreement over to DisneyWorld and got ourselves an annual pass.  We have our RV in a campground that is only about 30 minutes away from DisneyWorld.  We've made several trips there now.  I swear, I'm worse than a kid and I could just live at the Magic Kingdom.  So I've been having a hard time getting into Christmas mode because I just feel like I'm on vacation in a warm, sunny place.  Wearing shorts and basking in the sunshine makes it hard to think Christmas.  I thought I'd share this photo we took the other day while visiting the Disney Studios.  I thought it was funny to see the big Christmas tree with the palm trees swaying in the background. 

Here's a pretty picture I took the night we were at the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Magical Christmas.  The castle was all lit up with thousands of lights and looked like and ice sculpture.  It was so beautiful.

I hope you'll have time to join our tag challenge this week.  Remember if you don't have the Winter Frolic cartridge you can use a tag from any other cartridge, but you must make a new project specifically for this challenge. Hopefully, you've got your shopping all done and are getting those presents wrapped and you'll need some tags to put on the packages.  Happy Crafting!!!

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #2

Thank goodness I have the fantastic Cardz TV stamp set called Home For Christmas.  It's helped me to make some fantastic Christmas cards this year.  Today I'm featuring one of my favorite's.  It's challenge time over at Cardz TV and the DT is showing Christmas cards using Mary's Cardz TV stamps.  You'll certainly want to take part in this challenge because Mary is giving away two Cardz TV stamp sets to the winner.  She'll be giving out Encouraging Thoughts and Make A Wish.  I used my Cricut Jolly Holidays cartridge to help me create this card.  I used the elf with the wagon and then added the presents cut from the same cartridge.  All my papers are from Echo Park's Merry Christmas paper pack.  Everyone knows that Santa is always watching to see who's naughty or nice, but he needs help from his little elves.  Obviously, this little elf has decided that the recipient of the gifts in his wagon has been nice.  You can tell by that cute little wink on his face.  I'm so excited that I finally made my first card using a Peachy Keen face.  I picked up a set in my travels over the summer.  I actually remembered to use it for my cute little elf face.  I was so happy with how this card turned out and hope you like it, too.  Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments.

Cricut Cardz Challenge #97-A Caroling We'll Go

It's time for a new Cricut Cardz Challenge.  This week Mary set the theme of "A Caroling We'll Go".  We needed to make a card based on a favorite Christmas carol.  I love using non-traditional colors in holiday cards.  For this card I've used a yellow, pink, blue and green.  My printed background paper is from Cosmo Cricket Golly By Jolly 6x6 paper pack.  This is a standard A2 card of white cardstock that opens from the bottom.  All my solid color cardstocks are from DCWV Mango stack.  I used a bright pink mat and topped it with my printed bell paper.  I cut the carolers from the Winter Frolic cartridge at 3.5".  I added a one inch strip of pink paper for my sentiment to sit on.  The sentiment is a Cardz TV stamp from the Home for Christmas collection.  I just love Mary's new stamp line.  The stamps are made from high quality polymer and stamp so nicely.  If you'd like to check her stamps out click on this link. I didn't want to detract from the image or the bell paper so I only used two small yellow buttons to embellish the card.

The Cutting Cafe Fun With Pockets

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted on my blog.  Caught in the preparations for the holidays like everyone else.  This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog Regina asked us to highlight one of her pocket sets.  She has two sets called Christmas Pockets Templates Cutting File and Fun With Pockets which is the set I used for my candy cane holder.  This took about ten minutes to put together, including the time to get out my cutting machine and get it plugged in.  I never get to leave my craft supplies out anymore since we are living full time in our RV.  I only have the dining table to work on so we need a place to eat, too.  Forces me to be neat about my crafting, that's for sure.  I simply cut the pocket from some Recollections Christmas paper and assembled the sides using Tacky Tape.  Then I punched a scallop border and put a band around the pocket, tied a green ribbon, printed my tag from The Cutting Cafe 1" Christmas set, punched a scalloped circle and attached the tag with twine.  Easy peasy!  I'm making these as table favors for a Christmas dinner with friends.  After I finished I was thinking this long pocket would also be perfect for putting eating utensils in on the buffet table. If you're having a fancy sit down dinner you could also attach a name tag as a placecard.

I have a second project to show using the Christmas pocket set.  I made the pocket to hold my Mitten Shaped Card which is another Cutting Cafe template/cutting file.  My paper is from Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly 6x6 paper pack.  I used yellow textured cardstock for the pocket and placed a scrap of the mitten paper in the cutout.

 I cut the mitten from white cardstock and the top layer from the patterned paper.  I added a little ball fringe and pink gingham ribbon to embellish.  The inside greeting says Warm Winter Wishes.

So glad you had the chance to stop by today.  Thanks for visiting and for the sweet comments you leave. They mean so much.  You'll want to head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog and check out the rest of the DT projects on Wednesday. 

The Cutting Cafe Christmas Box

This week at The Cutting Cafe Regina asked the Design Team to highlight some of her box files.  There are just tons of files to choose from, but I used one of my favorites that I've used in dozens of different projects because it's so versatile.  The box I used for my project is the 8x5.5" Box with Dividers.  I used the box to hold the makings for a set of eight Christmas cards, tied a big bow around it and added a circular sentiment from The Cutting Cafe's Create Set.  I made this little kit with my aunt in mind.  She and I have spent many an hour crafting together.  I miss her so much since my husband and I left Michigan for a warmer winter climate.  She has not been very healthy this year and is battling Essential Tremor Disease.  It has many of the characteristics of Parkinson's Disease and causes her hands to shake something terrible making crafting difficult for her.  I decided to give her a bit of a head start on her Christmas cards by putting this kit together using another of Regina's Cutting Cafe files called Christmas Card Fun.  This is a cutting file that comes in WPC or SVG form.  This set features twelve different Christmas cards with cutouts in them.  For my project I cut out four different cards from the set--the reindeer, the ornaments, the snowflake and the trees.  Then I made four plain cards that could be decorated with the cutout images.  Each card is 4.5x4.5".  This set also comes with 17 sentiments. 

In the photo above you can see the cards layed out with the box lid and box bottom next to them.  For the cards with the cutouts I cut printed papers at 4.25x4.25" for a backing layer.  I did not attach any of them so my aunt would be able to choose whichever pattern she liked best for each card.  I hand cut the plain solid color cards and rounded the edges to match the cutout cards.  She will be able to take the cutout images and add them to whichever card she'd like.  For photo purposes I placed the images on the cards.  I also embossed some of the cards for texture. 

In the small sections of the box I added embellishments, the cutout images and a few sentiments and mini words.  I used a couple of other Cutting Cafe sets for this purpose--the Christmas Mini Words set and the 12 Circle Christmas Printable Stamp Set.  I know my aunt is going to be so excited to get this little treat to help her put together some homemade Christmas cards for her friends.

Here's another set I put together last year using the same box and The Cutting Cafe Christmas Bingo set.  This was a big hit with the grandkids.  It's such a cool and fun set.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my projects and you'll want to put together a few fun little boxes of your own.  If you have some non-crafty friends that love your cards this card kit might be a fun little gift, with little expense, that you could put together for them.  And I know that a favorite child in your life would love a Bingo set of their own.  The Cutting Cafe files make personal gifts like this easy and fun to put together.  Happy Crafting!!!

Cricut Cardz Challenge #96 Say It With "S"

This week's theme at Cricut Cardz is Christmas-Say it with "S".  Mary asked the Design Team to create a Christmas card using an image that starts with the letter "S" using any cartridge and colors.  I used the Christmas "S"tocking from the Winter Frolic cartridge.  My card base is standard A2 size made from a dark red cardstock.  I topped it with a mat of cream colored cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug folder Snowflake Flourish which was offered in a set a couple years on HSN.  Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in this photo, but my shadow base for the stocking is metallic gold cardstock.  I know it looks like kraft cardstock.  My patterend papers all have glittery accents on them which do not show up either.  So this card looks way better in person.  I found the glittery paper pack made by Best Creations at a scrapbook store in Virginia Beach, VA while we were traveling south.  It's a 6x6 paper pack, which I absolutely adore because they take up less space in our RV.  My Christmas stocking is cut at 4".  As you can see I used Swiss Dots to emboss the trim pieces for the stocking.  I think a nice touch would have been to add flocking to these pieces but I didn't have any cream colored flocking.  I added a cream colored bow made with crinkled ribbon.  My circle sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe Circle Christmas Printable stamp set.

The Cutting Cafe Christmas Daily

It's time for this year's first installment of my Christmas Daily album that I make for my granddaughters.  This will be the third year that I've put a book together using Regina's fabulous sets from The Cutting Cafe. We've been super busy the past few months traveling around the country in our RV, so I decided this year's album needed to be smaller than last year's.  I have very limited space for my crafting supplies in our RV so most of my papers are 6x6" paper packs.  I found a fantastic small scrapbook in a 6x6 size made by SEI at a scrapbook store in Lakeland, Florida.  It came in red which was perfect for a Christmas album and you can add pages to it.  (Which you will need to do to have a page for each day from December 1st-25th.)
This week The Cutting Cafe Design Team is featuring projects highlighting the three December Daily sets.  These are three sets- December-Christmas Daily Printable stamp set, December Daily 2 Printable Stamp Set, and the December Daily Numbers Printable Stamp Set.  So, if you don't know what a December/Christmas Daily Journal/Scrapbook is let me explain.  This is a way to document, journal and photograph your family Christmas traditions into a quick and easy book by doing a single page each day.  Regina's sets make the process quick and simple because the titles and page ideas are all done for you.  You just add the paper, photo and/or journaling.  Today you are seeing the title page of my book for this year.  My papers are from Best Creation's Merry Christmas glitter paper pack.  I used this year's December Daily Number set for my circular sentiment.  Then I used my Cricut Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge to cut 2011 to place in the center.  My present is cut from my Sweet Treats cartridge and I added a mini tag with the word Jolly which came from The Cutting Cafe's Christmas Mini Words printable stamp set.  Next to the package I will add a small journaling tag from The Cutting Cafe's Jot It Down printable stamp set with a personal message for my granddaughters.  To see my entire book from last year click here.  This will give you an idea of what an entire album looks like.  I will post other pages of this year's book through the next few weeks.

BBTB2 Mouse

Wow, it's Thanksgiving week and I can't believe it.  For me it means I better get busy with those Christmas cards.  All the traveling we've done since July in our RV has really put me behind.  So I took the opportunity to use this week's BBTB2 assignment to make another Christmas card to add to my pile.  This week's cut was chosen by our sweet DT sister, Melissa.  She asked us to use the mouse on the Cricut Lite Meow cartridge.  As with all BBTB2 challenges you may substitue any other cartridge cut as long as it's a mouse.  I chose to use the mouse from  the Birthday Bash cartridge.  I thought this cut was perfect for adapting into a Christmas card.  I used My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas stack papers.  I cut my mouse/present image at 3.5".  I used black pearls for the mouse eyes and nose.  My cute "No Peeking" package tag was cut from the Christmas Cheer cartridge and the sentiment is a printable stamp from The Cutting Cafe's Christmas Mini Words set.

Cardz TV Design Team Premier

Hooray!  Today is the premier of the Cardz TV Design Team.  No words can describe how grateful I am that Mary chose me to be part of her first Design Team.  For our first creation Mary asked the Design Team to create something in "our style".  I'm not really sure what my style is, but I know what it's not.  I rarely do shabby chic, fancy folds, or overly embellished.  If I had to name my style I guess it would be clean and simple.   I started papercrafting about 17 years ago before all the fancy supplies they have now.  Back then it was just solid color papers and stickers.

I'm a neat freak in both design and personal life.  I like my creative arena to be neat.  I had a neat and organized craft room.  Notice, I said had.  The reason---in July my husband and I sold our home of over twenty years.  The home where we raised our five children to adulthood.  Now we are living our dream.  We've retired and taken off in our RV.  Which means I find myself creating with limited supplies, in a very small space on a tiny dining table.  I am in no way complaining, because I say again...I'm living my dream. When I started packing the supplies to bring with me, first on my list was my Cricut machine.  My papercrafting visions really came to life when I got my first Cricut machine.  Hence, the name of my blog---Bug 'n Me Creations.  

For my card today I started with a white cardstock base and made a standard A2 card (4.25" x 5.5").  All my patterned papers are from Authentique's Blissful 6x6" paper stack.  When we left home in our RV I left all my 12 x 12" papers in storage.  I've been collecting 6x6" paper stacks along our travel route.  I bought this one at an Archiver's store in Raleigh, NC.  I added a front mat cut 4.25" x 5.5" then added two 1" strips of coordinating papers.  My white scallop was cut with my Cricut's Elegant Edge cartridge.  I used Mary's Encouraging Thoughts stamp set for the Thinking of You sentiment.  I embellished simply with brown jute and a single button.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  You'll want to check out the rest of the Design Teams creations from the Cardz TV blog here.  You can just click on each designer's name under the photo of their card.  To look at all of Mary's fabulous Cardz TV Stamp Sets click here.

Scrapbook page for challenges

I'm writing this post from DisneyWorld.  We met a couple of our kids and grandkids down here.  I decided to make a small 6x6 scrapbook for my granddaughters to document the trip.  There's a challenge over at My Creative Time to make a project with a child friendly cartridge.  There's also a challenge over at My Pink Stamper for a scrapbook page or mini album.  I used the Mickey and Friends cartridge to cut my mouse ears then added a circle on top of it for my Smile stamp which came from Cardz TV Stamps Thinking of You set.  My journaling spot is a Studio G stamp.  I cut my photo mats with the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge.  Now I'm off for more fun at the Magic Kingdom.  Wish you were here!

The Cutting Cafe Thanksgiving Day

This week for The Cutting Cafe Blog Regina asked the Design Team to use her Thanksgiving Day printable stamp set.  This set features 26 images including two background word stamps, a couple images you can use for party invitations, several turkey images and plenty of sentiments.  For my card I used the strip of small turkeys in a row and the gobble background cut at 1 1/16".  My patterned papers are all scraps cut at
1 1/16".  I attached all the strips to a standard size A2 card made of kraft cardstock.  I added some faux stitching and some brown twine and a button for embellishment.  Make sure you stop over at the blog to check out the rest of the Design Teams creations.

Bitten By the Bug 2 Joy Winter Woodland

Happy Monday.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  It's time for another BBTB2 challenge this week chosen by one of our newest DT sisters, Mona.  She asked the DT to use the Joy cut from the Winter Woodland cartridge.  I started with a base card of black cardstock and topped it with a mat of holly print paper from my 6x6 Best Creations Merry Christmas paper pack.  I fell in love with all the beautiful glitter papers in it.  I used a cut from Elegant Edges for the background to place my Joy cut on.  The shadow is black cardstock and the top mat is ivory cardstock that I embossed with a Sizzex folder.  I'm sorry I don't know what it's called though.  There was no shadow cut on Winter Woodlands for the word Joy, so I cut a second Joy word from black cardstock and offset it a little.  I cut one of the little pieces of ivy from the patterned paper to add to the bottom of the letter "O".  I thought it made it look a little bit like a wreath.  I decided not to add any other embellishments so the word would stand on it's own.  I hope you'll have a chance to play along with this week's BBTB2 challenge.  Remember, if you don't have the Winter Woodland cartridge you can use any other cartridge to create with the word "Joy", but it must be a new creation.