Pumpkins

Here is a video to make a 3-dimensional pumpkin card. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gPPQdrSo2A

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my Aunt Lil! To celebrate, I made this card using Flirty Anya from The Greeting Farm. (They have the cutest stamps!) I colored her with markers and then cut her out. I put her on the polka dot paper and used a stamp from Stampin' Up that I punched out. The strips of ribbon at the top and the bottom just added a little something to the card. Enjoy this beautiful fall weekend!

Ahoy!

Last weekend, two little pirates turned five years old! Jack and Jake had a pirate themed birthday party so I had to do some pirate cards!! What to do for these swash bucklers?? I got out my Indie Art cartridge that I have rarely used because I remembered it had this skull and crossbones on it. First, I traced each shape with the Cricut markers. Then, I cut them out with the cutting blade. This is really simple to do.

Replace your blade with a marker and choose your design. Hit Cut and it traces the design. Then, without touching any buttons, change the marker back to the blade. Then hit Load Paper. (I know, it is already loaded but this puts the page in the exact place to start cutting.) Then hit Repeat and Cut. To add to the pirates, I cut out some fabric for their bandanas. Ahoy Mateys!

A Little of Both

Long before scrapbooking, I used to cross stitch. I would cross stitch everything - bookmarks, bags, wall hangings, gifts, etc. I loved it but some of my projects would take forever. I was excited to find a project that combined my love of cross stitching with my obsession of scrapbooking. There is a book by Leisure Arts called Smirk by Kyla May. I made the "You're Always There For Me" Clipboard for my friend Katie. First, I cross stitched the two girls and the cute saying on 14 count white aida cloth. Then I cut a piece of transparency and attached it to the top of my design using brads in the upper corners. To make the rest of the clipboard, I covered it in cute paper and then wrapped ribbon and threads around it. I attached these to the back using double sided tape and masking tape. Then I printed out sayings about friends and attached it to the ribbons using little clothespins and paper clips. Katie can add her own pictures to the other paper clips. The book is full of projects just like this. Have a great week!

Why Thank You!

Writing thank you notes has become something of a lost art. We get gifts from friends and family and we always mean to tell them, "Thanks," but then life gets in the way and we forget. I always try to send thank you notes, whether it is to the children in my classroom for their homemade gifts or to my friends and family for all that they do for me. Here is a thank you note that I made for everyone who sent me goodies for my birthday. I started with a basic white 4 in. by 5.5 in. card that I covered with some pink paper. Then I used some black ink and this Kiki La Rue stamp called Cupcake Kiki. (I have been baking lots of cupcakes lately so I thought this would all go well together.) I colored her with some colored pencils and cut her out. Then I inked the edges with some pink ink and put some glitter on the cupcake. I attached her to the card. Then, since I made many of these, I printed out "Thank you!" on my computer with a fun font called "Oh Photoshoot." Then I attached the sentiment with some pop dots. The next time you get a gift, take the time to send a thank you. Your friends and family will feel like they got a gift too!

Summer?

Where did this summer go? I had such big plans to make so many projects and keep this blog busy. Now school has started again and my days are filled with 3rd graders. Not much time for scrapbooking! My goal this school year is to find more balance with work and play so here goes.

A good friend of the families' daughter is getting married soon and we were invited to her wedding shower. I went to Michael's and found this wooden frame that measures 12 by 12. First, I painted the edges green and then I used some embellished daisy paper by K & Company. The paper is an off white and the daisies are raised on it to give it some texture. I have had this paper forever so I was glad to finally use it. When I went to cut out the rectangle for the picture, I did not measure correctly. The glass does not come out of the frame so I had to measure and cut and estimate where it would fit. It did not turn out perfectly so I ended up painting green around the picture area and then glued the paper on. I like how it will frame their picture. Then I took some yellow chalk and highlighted the middle of each daisy. I had an extra sheet of this paper so I cut out some more daisies and used some pop dots to glue them to the corners. Finally, I found a quote about love that I printed and matted with some yellow cardstock. I hope the bride likes it and finds a perfect picture to put inside. Here is to taking the time to stop and smell the flowers! Have a great week!

My 100th Post!

It is hard to believe but this is my 100th post! I had no idea I had created so many things. Thanks to all of you who keep checking in and for posting those great comments.

Here are three cards I have made recently. The peace card is for a one year old's first birthday party. The theme was, "Peace, Love, and Brayden." I could not find a peace symbol on any cartridge, so I made this using George. I cut out a circle and several rectangles and pieced it all together. I covered it with blue seed beads using 3 in 1 glue, although tacky tape also works. The stamp is from Fiskars.

For Father's Day, I used Everyday Paper Dolls for this Top Chef. On the face, I used a stamp from Peachy Keen Stamps. The Top Chef is printed from my computer.

Finally, it was my little sister's birthday. She is very fashionable, so I used the new Summer in Paris cartridge to cut out this shoe. First, I cut out the solid shoe in blue then I cut out the fancy shoe in a shimmery paper from My Mind's Eye. The words at the bottom are also printed from my computer.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Happy 4th of July next weekend!