Cardz TV Stamps Encouraging Thoughts, Ribbon, Rhinestones, and Rick Rack

Well that's a long title for a post, isn't it?  Mary asked the Cardz TV Stamps DT to design using one of her stamp sets. I used the set called Encouraging Thoughts.  You can find it here. Then she asked us to use the "three Rs"---you guessed it, ribbon, rhinestones and rick rack.  With Valentine's Day coming up I decided to get started on my cards and here's what I came up with.

I started with a base of brown textured cardstock.  I added a mat of blue damask printed paper from My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Hattie collection.  Then I used my Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge to cut a white scallop border.  I separated these two papers with a brown polka dot ribbon. My scalloped heart is cut from the Sweetheart cartridge.  The mat is brown and the top is a scrap of leftover Christmas paper.  To finish the card off I added the required rick rack at the top and three brown rhinestones.  The sentiment is, of course, from the Encouraging Thoughts stamp set and I used brown chalk ink to stamp it.

You'll want to take part in the challenge to win a stamp set.  You'll be required to use the "3 Rs" on your card.  Please make sure it is a creation that you've made just for this challenge.  This challenge will run from Friday to Sunday and the winner will be announced on Monday.  Good luck and have fun!

The Cutting Cafe Long Sentiment Tag

This week at The Cutting Cafe the DT is highlighting the Long Sentiment Tags printable stamp set.  Boy, am I proud of myself for getting this card done.  I'm a notorious procrastinator when it comes to birthday cards for my four teenage grandsons.  I just hate making boy cards.  They absolutely drive me crazy.  Thank heavens Regina makes my life so much easier by making such fantastic printable stamp sets.  I knew when she assigned this set as soon as I saw this birthday tag I could use it for a guy card.  I bought the DUDE Cricut Cartridge hoping to find some images I could use for my grandson's cards.  The first birthday of the year is not until February and look, I already have the card finished.  Pat me on the back!  Since Tyler is a snowboarder this cut was perfect.  My base card is black cardstock with a white mat and a grey diagonal stripe mat from a paper stack by      .  I used the mini birthday tag.  This printable stamp set comes with two sizes of tags.  The larger tags are perfect for long, tall cards that fit in business size envelopes. The mini tags work well on more standard size cards.  There are a total of 8 different tags in the two sizes.  My photo corners are a Quik Kutz die.  I cut a gold star with my Cricut (don't remember which cartridge) to place on the tag in the "all of the above" square.  You'll want to be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's designs on The Cutting Cafe Blog on Wednesday's Design Team Inspiration.

Bitten By The Bug2 Walk In My Garden Caterpillar

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  It's time for a new challenge at BBTB2.  This week Carole chose the challenge and she asked us to use an oldie but goodie cartridge, Walk In My Garden.  I love this cartridge because it's one with a card feature.  I love using the card features.  It's kind of an instant gratification thing.  Carole asked us to use the caterpillar cut.  I decided to use the window card with the caterpillar cut into it.  My flower patterned paper is from Studio G, the blue polka dot paper is from Colorbok and the yellow check is from  my scrap pile.   I used my Gypsy to design this card so I was able to hide the contours of the caterpillar's face.  That allowed me to use my Peachy Keen stamp for the happy face.  This card is going to my granddaughter so I'm sending her Big Bug Hugs.  I made the sentiment on my computer and printed it on a label and frame I made with the Elegant Edges cartridge.  I fussy cut a few flowers from the patterned paper to place around the sentiment and used some foam dots to pop them up.  I hope you can play along this week.  If you don't have the Walk In My Garden cartridge you can use a caterpillar from any other cartridge, but please make a new creation for the challenge.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

My Creative Time Sport Challenge

It's not often I get the chance to participate in a challenge but I had some time today.  My Creative Time is having a challenge for the chance to win Emma's upcoming stamp release.  She's asking for a sport themed card.  I made a shaped card using the football from 3 Birds Life's a Party cartridge and the 3 Bird's on Parade cartrige for the sentiment,  football player and cheerleader.  I also saw that Our Creative Corner is having a challenge for a shaped card.  I love making shaped cards and they're so easy to do using my Gypsy.  I made the base card by attaching two football shapes at the top and welding them together.  I cut the base from white cardstock.  Then I cut the top layer from brown textured cardstock.  The sentiment, football player bird and cheerleader bird are all cut at 1.25".   I wish I had known which two teams will be playing in the Super Bowl because I am going to make a few invitations for a little gathering of friends to watch the game.  I'll make them using two football player birds and make the uniforms in the team appropriate colors.  Won't they be adorable?

Cricut Cardz Challenge #99 Happy New Year

I'm celebrating the new year with some fun bright colors. It's the first Cricut Cardz Challenge of the year and Miss Mary asked the Design Team to make a New Year's card using any cartridge and colors. I made my card and then decided that I wanted to try out the party hat on my Life's A Party cartridge. Isn't it cute?   My card is a standard A2 made from white cardstock.  I added a mat of black then a strip of green polka dot from Recollections.  I used my Elegant Edges cartridge to make a scalloped circle, then I cut a yellow circle and a green circle to place my sentiment on.  My sentiment is a digital stamp from The Cutting Cafe's It's New Year Time set. 

Are you rested up from Christmas yet?  I am definitely ready to move on to the new year and be done with the Christmas projects.  This is my last Christmas project I'm posting.  This week at The Cutting Cafe the design team is featuring projects with Regina's fantastic Loopy Loopy Bow Flower Cutting File and Template.  I used the file to make a bow for a Christmas Gift Bag.  You can make this with paper but I found this really cool textured felt at JoAnn's and fell in love with it.  I had never seen anything like it but thought it would be fun to use for the bow.  I couldn't get the felt to cut on my Cricut so I printed the bow template onto paper then pinned the pattern onto my felt and hand cut it.  This bow has three layers using the small, medium and large pattern together.  You could make it a single layer or just use two layers if you wanted.  I had a plain white gift bag that I bought at the $1 store two in a pack.  I used a piece of red polka dot paper to cover the front of the bag.  Then I used my Elegant Edges cartridge to cut a mat to place my silhouette cut from A Child's Year. 

I assembled the bow and added a big red polka dot button to the center to match the paper.  I placed it in the top corner of the gift bag along with a little greenery.  You can kind of see the texture of the felt in the close up of the bow.  It looks better in person though. So glad you had the chance to stop by.  Head on over to The Cutting Cafe Blog on Wednesday to see the  fantastic Loopy Loopy Bow Flower creations from the rest of the Design Team.  I know you're going to want to get your own file to create one of these.  You can find it HERE.

BBTB2 Ice Skate Winter Woodland

Happy New Year, Everyone!  WooHoo 2012!  I know this is silly but I like even numbered years better than odd number.  It seems easier for me to remember what year to write on my checks when it's an even number.  I know that's ridiculous.  LOL

Today is a very exciting day at BBTB2.  Our former leader, Heather, has stepped down and the torch has been passed to the wonderful duo of Carole and Donna.  They will be co-leading the Design Team and I couldn't be happier.  They are both so amazingly talented and I know great things are ahead for BBTB2.  Best of luck to you Heather.  For our first challenge of the year our design team sister, Krista, picked the ice skate from the Winter Woodland cartridge for us to design with.  This is actually my second card I made for this challenge.  My dog ate the first one.  Yeah, I know, I'm not in school anymore making excuses for my homework, but honestly, the dog ate it.  I was extremely ticked off about it, too.  I love my dear dog, but, he has one fault.  He gets a little miffed when we leave him alone sometimes and will chew anything left around that's paper.  Unfortunately, my just finished card must have fallen off the table and I didn't realize it.  Hubby and I left to go to "happy hour" with some friends, we came back and there was my card all chewed up.  Yes, I admit, I wanted to kill him.  I swore I wasn't going to make another one for the challenge, but then I felt guilty.  So I whipped this up.  My background paper is Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Home for Christmas stamp set.  I hope you can join our challenge this week.  If you don't have the Winter Woodland cartridge you can choose an ice skate from any other Cricut Cartridge.  But please make sure it is a brand new creation and not a backlink to a previously made project.  Thanks for coming by and have a great week.