Vinyl Designer Giveaway--Not JUST a Housewife

Wow!  Not JUST a Housewife just introduced me to an awesome company that has TONS of designs that you could cut out in vinyl (if you use Make-the-Cut or some other similar software).  You should definitely go check it out!

SpongeBob Valentine

Wow!  I've had the SpongeBob cartridge for sooooo long, and I haven't even used it yet!  When I saw that the Cricut Cardz Challenge #59 was to create a Valentine for a child, I immediately thought of the SpongeBob cart.  My youngest daughter LOVES watching SpongeBob.  And, since I've had this cart for over 6 months and haven't used it yet, I'm also entering it in Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog's Challenge #44. So, here's what I created:

This card is 5.75" square, so I guess that makes SpongeBob around 4 inches.  Let me tell you, I think that may be a little small for this cut.  I had to cut out the yellow layer 3 times, and it still wasn't quite right.  Oh, well.  I still think it turned out nicely.  I designed this on my Gypsy, so I added the flowers that are always in the background on the show, along with some hearts from Create a Critter.  The sentiment is computer generated...I just searched the internet for a free SpongeBob font.  I really love how this card turned out, and I can't wait to give it to my little girl!  I hope you like it, too!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

My Heart Leaps for You

There's something you really need to understand about me...I ADORE froggies!!!  As a teacher, my classroom was filled with them, and now that I'm taking a break, they are all over my kids' playroom.  So, when I saw these new Frogs and Kisses SVGs from Lettering Delights, I was sooooo excited!!! 

They are just so cute, and I couldn't wait until I could create something with them.  Well, I finally got a chance today.  Here's my little card:

This is an A2 size card, and all the papers are just scraps from my stash.  I used Make-the-Cut and my Cricut to cut the frog and sentiment.

Isn't the froggy just soooooo cute???  I love him so!  I think I'm going to put this in my husband's car while he's at work so he'll have a nice surprise when quitting time comes around.  I can't wait!!!

I also thought this would be the perfect card to enter in More Than Favor's Wacky Wednesday Challenge #23.  We were supposed to use the colors brown, pink, and green.  What perfect colors for a froggy card! Anyway, I hope you like my little card.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Cricutology 200 Follower Giveaway

Janice over at Cricutology is having a 200 follower giveaway!  You should definitely go check out her blog.  :o)

Tacky Tuesday Whale Card

Here's the card I made for Tacky Tuesday's Challenge #2.  For this challenge, we had to use the whale from Create a Critter and the word "whale" somewhere on the front of the card.  Here it is:

I used my Gypsy to layout the card.  I cut the little water spout off of the little whale and replaced it with a party hat from Birthday Bash.  The gifts are from Once Upon a Princess.  The card base is also from Birthday Bash, and the ovals are from Gypsy Wanderings .  Again, all of the patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View's Citrus Stack (I'm really lovin' that one!).  The sentiment is computer generated.  I added some brads for the whale's eys and a little ribbon, and my WHALEY cute birthday card was all done.  I hope you like it!  Thanks for visiting! 

BTW...I really LOVE to read your comments.  :o)

Celebrate Cupcake Card

Mary over at Cardz TV is having a cupcake challenge this week.  Here's what I came up with:

The card base and sentiment are from Birthday Bash, and the cupcake is from Simply Charmed.  I believe the patterned paper is from K & Co.  I added some stitching lines and Stickles, and the this easy card was all done!  I hope you like it!  Thanks for visiting, and remember...I LOVE your comments!  ;o)

Lettering Delights Freebies!!!

Wow!  Lettering Delights is having a SUPER deal right now!  They are offering all of this for FREE!!!



I recently used one of the graphics with Make-the-Cut to make a Valentine's Day card, but now Lettering Delights is offering these same graphics as SVGs!  Having them would have saved me some time.  Anyway, I'm so excited to get these SVGs for FREE!!!  You should definitely go check these out!

Citrus Butterfly Card

Bitten by the Bug 2 is having a Butterfly Challenge this week, and I am so excited to join it.  We are supposed to use the butterfly from Once Upon a Princess on a project.  Here's what I created:

The butterfly, of course, is from Once Upon a Princess, and so is the patterned paper cut.  The red, yellow, and floral papers are all from the Die Cuts With a View Citrus Stack.  I just got this stack yesterday, and I love it!  The colors are so sunny and warm...something I could really use right now!  I haven't added a sentiment yet, because I'm not sure what I'll use this card for.  I did add some Stickles and a few gems, and I was all done!  I hope you like my little card.  Thanks for visiting!  :o)

Birthday Cards

There are just TONS of birthdays this week!  My daughter's birthday is Thursday, we have 2 birthday parties to go to, and my neice's birthday is next week!  Also, Monday was Robyn's (A.K.A. My Pink Stamper's) birthday, and she is having a birthday challenge this week.  So, I spent some time today designing a couple of cards on my Gypsy and putting them together. 

First, I created a card for my neice, who is turning 17, and I made a duplicate for my oldest daughter's friend, who is turning 10.  I wanted to make something that was fun and not too kiddish, so I used Rock Princess to make this one.  Here it is:

The card base, the star, and the ROCK ON! are from Birthday Bash.  The guitar girl is from Rock Princess.

I created the sentiment in Microsoft word and printed it on an extra star I cut.

I love this Rock On! card...I think it's perfect for teen or tween girls!  Because I love this one so much, I'm entering it in Robyn's challenge.  :o)

The other card I made today is for a friend's daughter who is turning 6.  I wanted to make something sweet for her, and this is what I came up with:

The unicorn and the sentiment are from Once Upon a Princess, and the card base and scallops are from Just Because Cards.

Well, I hope you like the birthday cards I created today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  :o) I'd love it if you'd leave a comment for me...they make my day!  

Busy Bug Giveaway!!!

The Busy Bug is giving away a Martha Stewart Birthday Cakes cartridge.  This cartridge is super cute and works on any Cricut machine.  You should definitely go check it out!

Just Saying Hello

Wow!  There are so many great challenges going on this week!  I just made a card to qualify for two of them.  The Jitterbuggin' Challenge Blog is having a challenge where we can use brown and only one other color, and 2 Scraptastic Gals is having a Create a Critter challenge.  So, I decided to make a card with the cute little beaver from Create a Critter using just the colors brown and blue.  Here it is:

I designed the card on my Gypsy (of course...it seems like I always do now that I have it).  The card base is actually from the window function on the Robotz cartridge.   I didn't make the card have a window though, I just cut out the card without the window and then cut out the window separately to make the blue layer.  I inked the beaver and the brown card with Walnut distress ink, and I inked the blue part with Weathered Wood distress ink.   The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  I added some ribbon, and he was all done.  I hope you like him!  :o)

Two More Challenges

Whew!  I've just been really productive today (well, in a crafty way).  First, I decided to join the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge over at Always Crafting.  This week's challenge is to create something with an elephant on it.  Here's what I came up with:

The little elephant came from the Paisley cartridge, and the card base and circles came from Wild Card.  I tied the bow at the top using the technique that Marianne posted on her blog, Paper or Fabric Crafter (thank goodness I found that post, because I've always been a terrible bow tier).  My bow isn't quite as pretty as hers, but I'm proud of it!  ;o)  The sentiment came from My Pink Stamper's Punnylicious stamp set (Get it?  Elephants...peaNUTS??? hehe). 

Oh, I almost forgot to post my other card!  I also decided to join the For the Birds Challenge over at Getting Cricky.  So, here's the little card I created:

I decided to use this little toucan since I am sooooo tired of WINTER!!!  This little guy makes me think of tropical warmth...and I'd really love to escape to somewhere tropical right now!  I got everything from the Life is a Beach cartridge.  This isn't my favorite card, so I think I may see what else I can come up with for this challenge later this week (we're allowed to enter as many projects as we'd like).  Anyway...I hope you like my little cards!  :o)

Space Ranger Spin Layout

So, I decided to finish up a scrapbooking layout today.  I'm working on my Magic Kingdom portion of our Disney World album (which I've been working on for 2 years--off and on).  Here is a layout about Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin:

 Full layout

 Left page

Right page

I cut the title from the Robotz cartridge (I welded the shadow layer together using my Gypsy, first).  I don't have the Toy Story cartridge yet, so the Buzz Lightyear, Zurg, and Astro Blaster were SVGs that all came from Mardenz (just search for Toy Story).  I cut them out with Make-the-Cut.  The background paper came from a Disney paper pack I bought ages ago.  I'm really happy with how this layout came out, and I can't wait to make another one!  :O)  I hope you like it, too!

Mini Monsters Challenge

Well, I got my Mini Monsters cartridge in the mail just in time to enter the Cricut Cartridge Chaos Challenge over at More Than Favors this week.  I've had an idea for a Valentine's Day card for a while, and I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my MM cart.  Soooo happy I got it so I could make this little guy:

I used the card feature to cut a shape card of this little man.  I sized all of the pieces on my Gypsy so it would fit in a 6 x 6 envelope.  I also cut the base of the monster again in blue, but I used the Hide Contour button to hide all of the little placement marks on it.  Then, I typed the sentiment on my computer and printed it on the little shape I cut out.  This card is now a contender for my husband's V-day card (I think I'll have a nice little pile to choose from by the time the day actually rolls around).  If you want to see the other monster card I made for him, click here.  :o)  Have a great Sunday, everyone!!!

Birthday Party Day

Well, my daughter's birthday party came together without a hitch.  Her party was at an indoor pool, so I was worried some of the paper decorations would curl, but they all held up very nicely.  We were only allowed table decorations...no hanging anything on the walls, so I was limited in what I could do.  I think everything turned out really nicely, though.  Here are some pictures of the decorations in place at the party:

The cupcake table

 I found out yesterday that my little cupcake wrappers don't fit very well on the cupcake pyramid I bought, so I had to alter it a bit.  Not such a pretty pyramid anymore, but I still think they are cute.  :o)

 The Hello Kitty centerpiece in place on the table.

 This little Hello Kitty is guarding the presents!  :o)

And here is my little birthday girl.  She had such a great time and was so thankful for all of her decorations.  :o)

I thought I'd enter these decorations in Paper Playtime's Anything Party Challenge.  If you missed my posts about making these decorations click here, here, and here.  

Awesome Giveaway!!!

The Roberts Arts and Crafts Blog is having an awesome giveaway right now.  You should definitely head over there to check it out!

 

Hello Kitty Party Favors

Well, I finally finished making the last of the Hello Kitty stuff for my daughter's birthday party...the favor bags.  Here they are:

The bag toppers are just 4" squares of card stock folded in half, stapled to cellophane bags.  I printed the thanks on another layer of card stock, glued it on to hide the staples, added the Hello Kitty face, and I was all done.  Now, the only thing I have to worry about is baking and decorating cupcakes on Friday.  I've had lots of fun making all of these decorations, but I'm glad the party's almost here.  After Saturday, maybe I'll be able to focus on some scrapbook pages.  :o)

If you'd like to see my other Hello Kitty party stuff, click here and here.

Wowza! Big ol' Giveaway!

Hey, everyone!  I just came across this awesome blog, Kleirr's Kreations.  She is really talented and has lots to share, plus she has a ginormous giveaway coming up.  Here's what you could win:

OR

So, make your way over to Kleirr's blog.  She'll be giving this away when she gets 100 followers, and she's almost there!  So hurry!  :o)

Beautiful Bow Tying Tip

Hey, everyone!  I just stumbled across this post thanks to Cricut Chick's facebook page.  Marianne over at Paper or Fabric Crafter has adapted the Bow Easy technique to be used with just your own fingers!  you should definitely check her post out...here is a picture of her bow:

I tried the technique, and it really does work!  I can't wait to make a new project so I can add a bow (I'm a terrible bow tier, by the way!).  Just wanted to spread the word!

How Exciting!

How exciting!  Kristen over at Craftin' with Kristen gave me a blog award!  That's just so sweet, and I'm so excited about it!  I wish I could give the award right back to her, because I love visiting her blog and seeing what she creates.  You should go check her blog out.

The requirements for receiving the award are as follows:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 8 things about yourself.
3. Give the award to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

Okay, here I go! First, here are the 8 things about myself:

1.  I have 2 daughters, ages 9 and 6.
2.  I've been married to an Air Force man for 11 years...so we move a lot.
3.  I currently live in Germany.
4.  I've been a teacher for 9 years, but I'm currently taking a break to enjoy our time in Germany.  :o)
5.  I was born and raised in Texas, the greatest state ever!!! ;o)
6.  I have a little Chihuahua named Abby (and she's my BABY!).
7.  I started scrapbooking when I got married, and it took me seven years to finish my wedding album (that shows how little time I had for crafts while I was teaching).
8.  I'm SUPER LOVING my time off work because I get to spend more time with my family, more time traveling, and more time CRAFTING!! :o)

Here are 8 bloggers that I really enjoy visiting.  It was really hard to choose, because it seems that I follow MILLIONS of blogs...and I love visiting each and every one of them.  Here are 8 that I SUPER enjoy!  ;o)

Under a Cherry Tree
Mrs. B's Craft Room
Lauren's Creative
Cricut Chick
Aimitup
Pink and Paper
Andrea's Scrapblog
BugBites

Oh, there are so many more blogs I'd love to recognize!  It's too bad I can only choose 8.  I hope you go check these blogs out, though!  Thanks again, Kristen!  :o)

Birthday Party Table Decorations

Christina over at Card Creations and More is having a challenge to make "anything but a card".  Well, today I finally got a chance to finish up the table decorations for my daughter's Hello Kitty birthday party that's coming up this Saturday, so I thought I'd enter them into her challenge. Here they are:

This one, I think, will be on the cupcake table.

I think this one will be with her presents.

This one is a centerpiece, so it is actually double sided.

I designed these all on my Gypsy with the Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge, so I can't really tell you how big they are.  I just sized them as large as I could to fit on a 12 x 12 piece of paper.  I attached the cutouts to barbeque skewers and stuck them in some leftover Styrofoam packaging, then I put that inside these cute plastic cups and added some pink grass I had leftover from last Easter.  I added curly ribbon and some flowers to cover the glue dots, and viola!  All done!  My daughter hasn't seen these yet, and I can't wait until she does.  She's going to be so excited!  The best part about these is that we can put them in her bedroom as decorations when the party is over. 

I'm so glad these are done!  Now, I just need to make some treat bag toppers this week, shop for treat bag goodies, fill them up, bake and decorate cupcakes, and wrap presents!  Whew!  I really need to get going, I think!  Anyway, I hope you like these!  :o)

By the way, if you'd like to see the cupcake decorations I made for the party, click here.

New Baby Card

Well, I'm just sooooo excited, because I just got the most FANTASTIC news today.  A friend who I used to work with just found out she is PREGNANT!!!  This is so special, because she had been told that having a baby would be very difficult, if not impossible.  I am so happy and excited for her and her husband!  So, I decided I needed to send her a card to celebrate her news.  Here it is:

I used SVGs from Lettering Delights and Make-the-Cut to make this card.  The baby is from the Peek-a-Boo SVG set, and the card is from the Card A SVG set.  I drew the shape for the patterned paper on the front of the card in Make-the-Cut.  I inked everything with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Fired Brick, added some ribbon, and it was done.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and I hope my friend likes it!  :o)

Bananas 4 You!

My Pink Stamper is having her first blog hop.  I had a great time checking out all of the awesome projects her design team came up with.  The great thing about her blog hop is that we get to play along!  So, here's my submission:

Front of Card

 Inside

I designed this card with my Gypsy.  I got the stamp shaped background from Gypsy Wanderings and welded them together to create a card.  The backgrounds were also cut from Gypsy Wanderings, and the ric-rac border was cut from Give a Hoot.  The little monkey, heart balloon, and inside sentiment are all from Create a Critter.  And, of course, the bananas 4 you came from My Pink Stamper's Punnylicious stamp set.  I added some ribbon and stitching lines, and my card was all done.  I hope you like it!  :o)

You Make Me Smile

Scrapbookaholic by Abby is having an s.e.i challenge this week.  We are supposed to make something that has to do with laughter or smiling.  Well, I've been thinking and thinking about what I could make for this, but I just had too many ideas and was having trouble choosing.  Then, I was checking out Always Crafting and saw that Stephanie is having her own challenge about Alice in Wonderland.  Well, smiling....Alice in Wonderland....what do you think of????  The Cheshire Cat, of course!  So, I KNEW I had to make a card with the Cheshire Cat to enter into both of these challenges.  Here's the card I came up with:

I got the Cheshire Cat SVG from Mardenz and cut it using Make-the-Cut.  If you use SVGs, this blog has TONS of cute free files.  It took quite a bit of time to put all of the pieces together for the cat, so patience was definitely needed!  :o)  But, I'm really happy with how he turned out.  The pink patterned paper is from K&Co's Amy Butler Belle stack.  I made the sentiment inside with Photoshop Elements and printed it out.  Then, I added some punched hearts and stitching lines, and my smiley card was all done!  I hope you like it!

No WAY...Hee, hee!!! & Winter and Winter Warmies Challenges

No way!  No way, no way, no WAY!!!!  My little froggy card made the top five at Fantabulous Cricut!  Hee, hee!!!  I can't believe it and I'm SOOOOOO excited!  Thank you guys at FCCB for the recognition...his really makes me smile!  Just thought I'd share.  :o)

Okay, so now that I have that out of my system, I've been working today on another one of Fantabulous Cricut's challenges...Winter Warmies.  For this challenge we are supposed to create using some sort of winter clothing/accessory on our project.  Well, when I saw this, I immediately thought of my froggy and decided to put some winter clothes on another animal (this was before I found out I made the top 5).  So, after lots of thinking and browsing through my little cartridge handbooks, I decided to dress up the Create a Critter giraffe.  I am also entering this in My Sheri Crafts' Winter challenge.  Here's what I came up with:

With the flash...

...without the flash (I can never decide which is better).

So, for this card, I used my Gypsy to add some winter clothing to my little giraffe.  I got the hat and scarves (she needed 3, of course!) from the Winter Frolic cartridge and the boots from the Paisley cartridge.  I did some trimming on the boots so they looked more like snow boots and not rain boots.  Then, I added some chalk, some ribbon, and a sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Winter Punnies stamp set, and she was all done!  I just love this card...the giraffe is so cute in her blowing scarves!  I hope you like it, too!  :o)