Cricut Cardz Challenge #103 You Take the Cake

This day (Feb. 29th) won't roll around for another four years.  We get that extra day this year since it's leap year.  One extra challenge for Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TVand Mary asked the Design Team to use any Cricut cartridge to create a birthday card with a birthday cake or cupcake image.  I made a shaped card using the Something to Celebrate cartridge.  It seems I always need another birthday card in my stash.  Having made so many new friends in our winter campground it's always somebody's birthday.  I needed a card for a guy so I didn't want to use any papers that might make it look girlie.  I went with a blue shadow, cream colored cake and a yellow glitter paper for the cake trim.  My sentiment is from Hero Arts.

The Cutting Cafe Number Card

We're making cards with shaped number sets this week at The Cutting Cafe.  I used the Number 1 Shaped Card set to make a birthday card for my grandson's first birthday coming up in a couple months.  I used the SVG file to cut my card from this red checked Pebbles print paper.  My cute little elephant was cut from the Cricut Lite B is for Boy cartridge.  He's cut at 2.5" and attached to the front of the card.  The circle sentiment comes with the card set.  I added it to a scalloped circle and cut the number 1 from Cricut's Mini Monogram cartridge and added it to the center of the sentiment.  I finished off the card by adding some doodling with a white gel pen to the scalloped circle and the elephant's ball, then added some stitching to the elephant with a black marker and a black gingham bow to the number 1. 

BBTB2 Monogram

Our hostess this week at BBTB2 is our fearless co-leader Donna.  She asked us to create a project with a Monogram.  I used Cindy Loo for my monogram.  I just love the font on that cartridge.  I rarely make a project for myself but I decided to treat myself with a pretty little altered composition book.  I carry one of these notebooks with me all the time to jot down design ideas or sketches for layouts.  I used my Basic Grey Utopia paper pad for coordinating papers and punch outs.  I started by covering the notebook with purple cardstock.  I added a punched border piece of white cardstock around the binding of the notebook.  The flowered border is a punch out from the paper pad as well as the printed oval that I placed my monogram on.  The word dream is cut from the Designer's Calendar cartridge.  I'll also be entering this project in the Fantabulous Cricut challenge this week to use the colors of the blog-blue, green and turquoise. 

I hope you can join the BBTB2 challenge this week.  You can use any cartridge you'd like for your monogram, but please make sure it's a new creation for this challenge.  Also, please remember that if you'd like the Design Team to leave a comment on your blog regarding your challenge entry we ask that you turn off word verification from your blog.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #6

This week for Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #6 Mary asked the design team to create any project using any of her Cardz TV Stamps.  I used my favorite stamp set Encouraging Thoughts.  You can find all of Mary's Cardz TV Stamps here.  I created this note card set for a friend.  I must apologize for this picture.  We're having a lot of clouds, fog and dampness here and I had a difficult time getting a decent photo.  I went with a black and white color scheme with a splash of yellow.  I used Authentique papers.  These were real simple cards to put together.  I usually use a very basic design when I'm making a set of cards.  I started with white cardstock for my base cards, topped with a black mat and my printed paper.  Sometimes I like to combine different stamp sets on my cards and that was the case with these.  My frame for my sentiments is a stamp from Darcie's.  When I saw it at my local scrapbook store I knew it would be perfect to go with my Cardz TV Stamps.  It's very lacy and feminine.  I stamped the frame using Momento Tuxedo Black then added my Cardz TV Stamps sentiments and fussy cut the frame out.

For my first card I added a lacy butterfly that I cut from the Cricut Home Accents cartridge.  I embellished the butterfly with some black pearls and used dimensional foam to pop the butterfly off the paper.

Two of the cards are embellished with yellow roses and I used yellow ribbone on each card popping the sentiments with the dimensional foam.  The last card has a pretty bird I added that's cut from the Cricut Home Accents cartridge.

Mary will be giving away a set of Cardz TV Stamps to one lucky challenge participant.  The challenge will run through the weekend.  Have fun and good luck.

The Cutting Cafe Party Hat Shaped Card

This week at The Cutting Cafe the Design team is celebrating birthdays.  You'll find projects with party hats and birthday tags.  I used the Shaped Party Hat cutting template and the Birthday Tags printable stamps.  I've got a granddaughter with a birthday coming up so I decided to go girlie with my party hat.  I used green polka dot paper for my party hat and trimmed it up with assorted pink buttons.  Then I simply added the circle sentiment.  Quick, easy and cute. 

Bitten By The Bug 2 Garden Boots challenge

I am not a last minute kind of person, but I have to admit that I left my BBTB2 project to the last minute this week.  Our most fabulous co-leader, Carole, asked the DT to design something using the garden boots from Nate's ABCs this week.  I don't have that cartridge so I used the garden boots from the Freshly Picked cartridge.  I just had absolutely no idea what to make with garden boots and couldn't come up with any mojo until I was looking through the Sunday sale papers and happened upon the Target circular.  Low and behold there was a picture of some gardening accessories that are on sale this week and suddenly I had my inspiration.  I knew I wanted to use my Kaiser Craft Utopia paper pad because it had some fabulous blue and purple papers with some cute punch out tags.  I cut my boots at 2.25" from a striped paper.  My watering can came from the Chore Chart cartridge and it's cut at 2.5".  The garden tools are from the Walk In My Garden cartridge and cut at 1.5".  I decided to add all my cuts to a box I cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More to hold a packet of garden seeds.  I used the crayon box and just cut off the top flap so I could insert my package of seeds.  The box is cut at 6" from kraft cardstock then topped with a coordinating paper.  Then I placed all my accessories onto the box, added a jute bow to the garden tools and pop dotted the top boot and the tag with my "bloom" sentiment from an Inkadinkado stamp set.  I hope you'll join our BBTB2 challenge this week with some garden boots of your own.  Remember you don't have to use the Nate's ABCs for your boots, but you must make a new creation just for this challenge. 

Before I leave I must take a moment to mention something that is really on my mind.  I always try to be upbeat on my blog and never complain, but I must say something about Blogger's new Word Verification policy.  I don't often talk about it but I am visually impaired, legally blind.  Because of my disibility, it is very difficult for me to see my computer and I must enlarge my screen by changing the zoom level to 150%.  I so enjoy visiting everyone's blog and leaving a comment when they enter a challenge for one of the Design Team's I'm part of.  But, last week when I went to some of the entrants blogs I encountered the new double word verification that Blogger has added.  One word was difficult enough for me to see, but the new squiggly word verification that is done in both black and white is literally impossible for me to decipher.  As a result, I will no longer be able to leave comments on blogs that have Word Verification turned on.  Please, please, please turn word verification off on your blog.  It is not a necessary component to prevent spam.  Blogger has spam protection built in.  If you are worried about innappropriate comments then turn on comment moderation so you can look at the comments before they post.  Thanks for visiting my blog where you will find it easy to leave a comment because I do not use word verification.  I appreciate each and every comment that is left for me and want to make it as easy as possible.  I hope you'll do the same.

Cricut Cardz Challenge #102 A Stitch In Time

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!  We made it to the middle of the week and it's time for a new challenge at Cricut Cardz on Cardz TV.  This week Mary asked the DT to create a card using any cartridge and colors but we had to add some real or faux stitching.  I would have loved to add some stitching with my sewing  machine, but alas, it's one of the things I left in storage when we left Michigan in our RV.  I'm going to remedy that come Spring when we head back to Michigan for the summer.  I'm so happy with how my card turned out.  I just love it.  I wanted to go with a whole sewing theme to go with my faux stitching so I designed this cute little card of buttons to take center stage.  The idea came to me when I was looking through my 6 x 6" card stacks and found this adorable button paper in My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky stack.  It was the perfect background paper.  After starting my card with a white cardstock base I added a green mat and then the button paper.  I used coordinating papers from the same stack and cute two rectangles with pinked edges from the Elegant Edges cartridge.  I added some faux stitching to each piece then added them to the card.  For my card of buttons I started with a rectangle cut from the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge.  I put it through my printer to add the sentiment.  Then I cut my buttons from the Paisley cartridge and added some pink and white twine from Doodlebug to the buttonholes.  I cut my word "Buttons" from the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge and added them to the top of the button card and embellished it with a coordinating strip of green paper and some more pink and white twine.  I added some faux stitching to it for the finishing touch.  Please join our Stitch In Time challenge this week at Cricut Cardz on Cardz TV.  Stitch away!

The Cutting Cafe Colored Calendar Cards

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog the Design Team is highlighting Regina's Mini Colored Calendar Cards.  This is a set of 12 printable cards, one for each month in assorted colors.  This week is my husband's birthday so I decided to use the February card.  I circled the 18th because that's his birth date.  I topped the mini card with a party hat image from one of Regina's newest printable stamp sets called Fun with Party Hats.  It's a fabulous set featuring over fifty images in black and white and color.  Then I used a circle sentiment from another of Regina's newest sets called Birthday Tags.  I love when a card comes together so easily and it's such a breeze using printable stamps from The Cutting Cafe.  Good thing it came together quick because it left me time to shop for the perfect birthday gift.  I can't say what it is just in case he sees my post.

BBTB2 Lovestruck Couples Heart

This week at BBTB2 our sweet DT sister, Susan, asked us to create using the couple's heart from the Lovestruck cartridge.  I don't have the cartridge so I pieced together my couple's heart using the Sweethearts cartridge.for the couple and the Cindy Loo cartridge for the heart.  I had intended to use my Gypsy to weld the two cuts together, but my Gypsy ran out of juice and I could not find my cord to recharge it.  It's simply ridiculous to lose anything under my current living arrangements.  I live in an RV and there are so few places for things to go missing.  So I had to cut the pieces individually and then hand piece them together.  Not exactly a smooth look, but it was the best I could do at the moment.  Anyway, my base card is kraft cardstock, with a red mat and a background mat of Jillybean paper.  I added a kraft cardstock scallop I cut from the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge and embellished with a little red and white twine and red pearls.  You might be interested in knowing that after I finished the card I found out where my cord for my Gypsy was.  My husband picked it up and put it with his charging cords.  When he found me frantically looking through cupboards and drawers he asked what I was looking for.  When I told him I couldn't find my cord to recharge my Gypsy he said, "oh, that must be that cord I picked up the other day and put in my drawer. I thought it was the cord for my Skycaddy."  (His little toy he uses out on the golf course).  Mystery solved.  I hope you'll join our BBTB2 challenge this week.  Remember you don't have to use the Lovestruck cartridge.  You can substitute another cartridge, but must make a new creation for this challenge.

Cardz TV Stamps Valentine Blog Hop

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and the Cardz TV Stamps Design Team is hopping this weekend.  We're highlighting Valentine projects using some of the different Cardz TV Stamp sets.  I've used Mary's Sweet Talk stamp set.  I love this set because it features individual words that can be combined into phrases.  This is a little project that I put together to give my husband for Valentine's Day on Tuesday.  Do you ever look at something you have and think that you could repurpose it.  My little project started with a container I picked up at the grocery store on New Year's Eve.  I wanted to make a romantic dinner for my husband and I that night so I picked up some steaks to grill.  While I was in the meat section I passed by a display of shrimp cocktails placed into these cute containers.  The shrimp were hanging around the center that was filled with cocktail sauce.  I could not bring myself to throw the container away after our dinner because I thought it was so darn cute and I knew I could find some other purpose for it.  So I washed it out and put it in a cupboard.  A couple week's later I was shopping in a Walgreen's pharmacy and at the checkout counter there was a display of individual cupcakes for purchase.  It hit me right away that I could take that cupcake and put it into that saved container and decorate it up for Valentine's Day.  I purchased a red velvet cupcake because I thought it was the perfect color for a Valentine's treat.  To decorate the plastic container I cut a heart border from my new Cricut Ribbons and Rosette's cartridge.  I wrapped it around the cup portion where I was going to place the cupcake.  I cut a tag from Tags, Bags, Boxes and more to stamp my sentiment on.  I took the individual words from the stamp set and stamped the phrase You're my Cupcake onto the tag in warm red chalk ink.  I added a ribbon and attached it to the container with a glue dot.  Then I needed a card to go along with the treat.  I used the Cricut Sweet Treats cartridge to make my card.  Of course, what would be better than a cupcake card. 

I made my base card from white cardstock, the cupcake bottom from red cardstock and the frosting from pink cardstock.  I used the same sentiment but stamped it all the way across the frosting layer.  I added some pink glitter to the frosting and some red glitter to the heart for a little sparkle.  Almost looks good enough to eat, huh?  I know you'd love the chance to win two sets (your choice) of Cardz TV Stamps so make sure you leave a comment on the Cardz TV blog.  Of course, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me some love here, too.  Have fun hopping and have a sweet Valentine's Day.

The Cutting Cafe Candy Sentiment Set

Looking for a fun presentation for some of your favorite candies.  This week at The Cutting Cafe the Design Team is featuring projects made with the Candy Sentiment Sets.  There are individual sets made to go with Jelly Beans,  Boston Baked Beans, Jolly Ranchers, Lollipops, Pop Rocks, Red Hots, Sugar Babies, Tootsie Rolls, Crushed Soda and Star Bursts.  There are background papers that print out approximately 8 x 10" to go along. The matching sentiment tags have catchy little phrases on them.  My husband and I are jelly bean freaks so that's the set I used for my treats.  I also used the Jelly Bean Goody Bag Holder Cutting File and Template.  This little treat bag couldn't be simpler to put together.  First I printed out the jelly bean background paper, then loaded it onto my cutting mat and cut the goody bag holder out.  I filled a cellophane bag with jelly beans, wrapped the holder around it and tied it together with a yellow gingham ribbon.  All I needed to do after that was print the sentiment tag, cut it out and attach it with some twine.  Easy peasy.  These would make great treat holders for Easter Baskets or classroom treats when jelly beans are a little more accesible.  The whole Design Team's projects will be posted on The Cutting Cafe Blog by Thursday so you'll want to head over and check them out for more fabulous candy inspiration.

BBTB2 Sweethearts Tag

Time for a new challenge at BBTB2.  This week's hostess is the ever sweet Shelly and she asked the DT to create a project using any of the tags on the Sweethearts cartridge.  Now I know that there are other people like me that often don't use their cartridges to their full potential or don't even realize some of the features on the cartridges.  That was the case for me with the tags on Sweethearts.  I didn't even realize there was this tag feature and had never used it.  What a quick and easy way to make a tag for a gift.  Just because the cartridge is called Sweethearts and you tend to think of love or weddings doesn't mean you can't adapt it to some other celebration.  Here I've used the tag with a gift on it to make a birthday tag.  I simply cut the shadow for the tag at 4" from kraft cardstock.  I cut the background layer of the tag from a patterned paper and then cut the top layer from white cardstock.  I embellished with a pearl at the center of the bow on the giftbox, added a strip of the print paper, then added a jute bow.  Finsihed it off with a stamped sentiment and I was done.  I hope you can play along with the challenge this week.  Please make sure your project is new.  If you don't have the Sweethearts cartridge you can use a tag from any other Cricut cartridge.

Cardz TV Stamps Tickled Pink

Today at Cardz TV Stamps Mary asked the Design Team to create a Tickled Pink card.  I immediately thought a baby girl card would be perfect.  I loved this little baby I cut from the Cricut Something to Celebrate cartridge.  It made me think of the pink blanket I wrapped all four of my girls in when they came home from the hospital.  That was a long time ago since the girls are 38, 34, 32 and 30 now.  Geez, how can that be?  Anyway, I started with a white cardstock A2 size card and topped it with a pink mat from the DCWV Sweet stack.  Then I went to one of my favorite cartridges Elegant Edges for my fancy mat.  I cut my little baby at 3.5" again using my DCWV mat stack.  A little rick rack and a pink bow embellish her pretty pink blanket.  Then I added a happy Peachy Keen face.  My Sweet Baby sentiment is from the Cardz TV stamp set called Sweet Talk and you can find it here.  Now, I know you'll want to make your own Tickled Pink card for the challenge to have a chance to win a Cardz TV Stamps set of your choice.  The challenge will run from today, Friday, February 3 to Sunday, February 5.  Have fun creating.  You can link your card at the Cardz TV blog.

Cricut Cardz Challenge #101 Be My Valentine

This week's theme at the Cricut Cardz Challenge is Be My Valentine.  Mary asked the Design Team to create a card with a Valentine theme using any Cricut cartridge and colors.  All my Valentine cards this year are made with Jillibean Soup patterned papers, kraft, red and white cardstock.  I was very excited to use my new Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge.  Of course, I had to use the rosette with the the heart edging.  I cut my scalloped heart from the Sweethearts cartridge at 2.25" and added a little doodling with a white gel pen then attached it to the rosette.  My sentiment is from Mary's Cardz TV Stamp set called Sweet Talk and you can find it here.  Just to be a little different when I put the stamp on my acrylic block I gave it a little curve.  I hope you'll join the challenge this week with your own Valentine project.

The Cutting Cafe All About Valentine's

This week at The Cutting Cafe the Design Team members are doing Valentine Projects.  There are lots of great Valentine sets to choose from at The Cutting Cafe.  I decided to work with a circle sentiment from the All About Valentines set.  I'm making all my Valentine's cards this year using a kraft, red, and white color scheme.  My patterned papers are all Jillibean Soup.  I started this card with a kraft cardstock base in a standard A2 size, topped it with a red mat and a checked mat then rounded the top corners.  My scalloped heart was cut from the Cricut Sweetheart cartridge at 3.5".  I added a 1" polka dot strip wrapped with twine.  Next I used a doily from Martha Stewart and printed my circle sentiment right onto the doily.  I added the doily to the card with pop dots to finish it off.