Fan Flash Friday

Hey, did you know that there's something pretty new going on over at the Pink By Design facebook page?  It's called Fan Flash Friday.  Every Friday, Sarah will post a pic of a project she made using PBD stamps.  Once you see her post, you can post any project, old or new (preferably one that uses PBD stamps, but it doesn't have to), to the PBD facebook page.  Then, Sarah will randomly choose one of the people who posts to win an AWESOME prize.  This week, the prize is the Everyday Cricut Cartridge.  Isn't that so easy-peasy?!?!?!? 

This week, I decided to post something new for Fan Flash Friday.  My husband's brother had a birthday on Thursday, so I decided to try making a masculine birthday card for him.  He loves to fish, so this is what I came up with:

This easel card measures about 6" by 5.5" when it is closed.  I used the Camping Critters Cricut Cartridge for the background and the little fishing deer.  The sentiment in the water is from the Pink By Design Woodland Critters stamp set, and the birthday sentiment is from Pink By Design's Birthday, Birthday stamp set.

Here's a view of the card from the side.  I used a couple of brads to help the card stand up like an easel.  You can also use cardstock that's been popped up with pop-dots, but I decided to go with brads this time.

I even made a little pocket that we could tuck some money or a gift card in.  My brother-in-law is still pretty fresh out of college and getting married in September, so money's always a good gift for him. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I hope you like my little masculine card. 

So, what are you waiting for???  Sarah has already posted her project, so head on over to Fan Flash Friday and post a project of your own!



Holy Blog Awards, Batman!

Okay, so I have to confess....I've been a very bad blogger!  Over the past few months I've had several bloggy friends give me some wonderful blog awards, and I just haven't had the chance to post about them.  Well, hold on to your hat, because I'm taking the time today!!!  So...here we go!

First of all, we'll start with the Versatile Blogger Award and the BFF Blogger Award.  Amber from My 3 E Scrapbooking passed these awards on to me.  Thank you sooooo much, Amber!  I've already passed these awards on, so I'm not going to do it again today. :)  I hope you'll go check out Amber's blog, though!  I'm always drooling over her adorable creations!

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Alright...now for the Irresistably Sweet Blog Award. 

Amber from My 3 E Scrapbooking and Sylvia from Bella Scrapbook Designs passed this award on to me.  Thank you sooo much, ladies!  I hope you'll go check these talented ladies' blogs out!  You won't be sorry!  Here are the requirements for this award:

The rules for the award are the following:

1.) Send a thank you to the person who nominated you and include their link.

2.) To accept this award, answer 7 random facts about yourself.

3.) Pass the award to at least 8 other blog buddies.

 

(I'll take care of these requirements in just a minute.)  :)

 

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I also received the A Thing of Beauty Award:

 

Amber from My 3 E Scrapbooking and Dawn from Simply Dawn 53 passed this award on to me.  Thank you soooo much, my bloggy friends.  Again, I hope all of you will go check out their WONDERFUL blogs!  Such great projects there!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. I must share 5 things about myself ( 1 of the listed items must be something about crafting)

2. Pass the award to 5 other blogs.

 

(I'll do these things in just a minute)  :)

 

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Now, for the Butterfly Blog Award:

 

Thank you soooo much, Diana from DL ART and Sherrie from Sherrie Scraps with Passion for passing this award on to me.  Again, these ladies' creations are FANTABULOUS, and I hope you'll go check out their blogs.

Here are the rules for this award:



1.  Answer several questions.

2.  Award this 'Butterfly Award' to 10 other bloggers.

3. Contact the 10 bloggers to let them know they have been given this award.

4. Show a link to the person who gave me the 'Butterfly Award'.

 

I'll go ahead and answer my 12 questions here, and I'll pass the award on in a little bit. :)

 

Q1) Name your favorite color?
Red

 

Q2) Name your favorite song?

Right now...Marry Me from the Glee Soundtrack (corny, I know, but I can't help it!)

Q3) Name your favorite dessert?

Anything with Double Chocolate Chip Fudgie Brownie in the name  :)

Q4) What wizzes you off at the moment?

Not having an air conditioner ... that's Germany for you, though!

Q5) Your favorite pet?

My Chihuahua, Abby

Q6) Black or White?
Black

 

Q7) Your biggest fear?
Hmmmm...roller coasters and flying

 

Q8) Best Feature?

I'm a loyal friend :)

Q9) Everyday attitude?

Pretty happy with a tinge of  frustration usually (unfortunately)

Q10) What is perfection?

A quiet night at home

Q11) Guilty Pleasure?

The Vampire Diaries TV show (especially Damon!)  ;)

Q12) When you're upset you?

Need to be alone or I'll cry (so annoying)

 

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Okay, now on to my final award, and I'm saving the cutest one for last....the Stinkin' Cute Blog Award.

 

Thank you sooo much, Diana from DL ART, for passing this along to me.  This award is so stinkin' cute, and so are all of Diana's projects.  Pop on over to her blog to check them out. 

There  are no requirements for this award. :)

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Okay, so let's see about fulfilling some of the requirements:

Here are 12 random facts about myself, at least one of which is crafty:

1.  I'm a Texan, even if I don't live there anymore.

2.  I currently live in Germany.

3.  My hubby's in the Air Force.

4.  I have 2 daughters...a 10 year old and a 7 year old.

5.  I have a sweet Chihuahua named Abby.

6.  I was a teacher for 9 years when we lived in the states. I taught 3rd and 4th graders.

7.  I love using my Cricut machine, and I have a cartridge-buying addiction.

8.  I also love using Make-the-Cut, and I'm super excited to buy the Silhouette Cameo cutting machine when it comes out in October so I can follow all the "rules" when use all my wonderful SVGs.

9.  I'm really enjoying selling my cards and party decorations on Etsy...it keeps me busy!

10.  I'd love to have an actual job someday in the crafting industry.  Don't know how in the world that would happen, but I can dream, I guess.

11.  I actually get the "itch" to move about every 3-4 years.  Funny, since I always thought I'd stay in the little town I grew up in forever.  That's what happens when you marry a military man.

12.  I watch WAY too much TV for my own good. :)

Okay, so that's more than you ever hoped to know about me.  Now, it's time to pass on these awards to other talented crafters.  This is always the hardest part for me.  There are SOOOO many wonderful bloggers out there, and I know I always leave so many of them out when I choose people for these awards. 

So, here are the blogs I've chosen (in no particular order). If your blog is named below, please take your pick of one or all of the awards listed above.  Oh, and don't feel like you need to do all of the requirements, either.  Just take the award and proudly display it on your blog.  Each and every one of you deserve it!

Elizabeth from 217 Creations

Candace from Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses

Cheryl from Pink and Paper

Bryan from ScrapGuy's Papercrafting Adventure

CarrieAnne from The Serendipitous Scrapper

Mari from Made By Momo

Tina from Tina Time

Emily from Create Serendipity

Jenny from Crazy About Cricut

Candace from Paper Crafts By Candace

Roberta from Tx Scrapper Mom

Michelle from Scrappin' with My Bug

Vicky from Victoria Scraps

Tanya from Nonna's Craft Corner

Meriah from Tattered Time

Kate from Small Bits of Paper

Dawn from Simply Dawn 53

Sarah from Pink Cricut

Sylvia from Bella Scrapbooking

Paula from More than Favors

Amber from My 3 E Scrapbooking

Sherrie from Sherrie Scraps with Passion

Diana from DL Art

Well, this just scratches the surface of all the talented bloggers I love!  I hope you'll stop by and see all the wonderful things they create!  I have a project to share with you soon!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Well, maybe not yet. But, if it were up to my husband, we'd be decking the halls and playing Christmas music already! So, I guess he tends to put me in the Christmas mood a little early. Plus, I have an awesome Pink By Design stamp set to give you a SNEAK PEEK of today, so I just couldn't resist making a couple of holly jolly projects. Here they are:

The first part of my project I want to tell you about is the card. I decided to make a shaped card out of the beautiful Lettering Delights Father Christmas SVG set. The shape of Father Christmas was a little strange for a shape card, so I had to manipulate the image a bit in my design software. The process would be similar with any design software. If you'd like to see a little tutorial of how I did it, click HERE:

Here's the finished 6" x 9" card with the sneak peek at the AWESOME sentiment from an upcoming September Pink By Design release.

I also made a pyramid-shaped gift box from the Lettering Delights Valetine Cone Boxes SVG set, decorated with poinsettias from the LD A Christmas Carol SVG set, and a tag from the LD Basic Tags SVG set. And, of course, I used more wonderful stamps from the upcoming PBD release...the favorite things sentiment and the beautiful nutcracker image.

Well, I hope you like my projects for today! Thanks so much for stopping by! Oh, and don't forget to stop by the Pink By Design Community...I've seen some AMAZING projects there lately, plus, you could try your hand at a challenge or two. :)



Best of Friends...Citrus Style!

If you're looking for my Crazy about Cricut's  Mickey and Friends Monday post, click HERE.

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I have another card for you today that I made to enter into a couple of challenges.  The Paper Variety is having a {{Citrus}} Color Challenge in which we are allowed to use only 3 main colors: green, yellow, and orange.  I knew I wanted to do some cute little fruit cuts I have.  So, I thought I could make a citrus-themed friendship card to also enter into the Wacky Wednesday Challenge #47 over at More Than Favors.  Here's the little card I made:

I got the cute little fruit cuts on this A2 sized card from the Lettering Delights Oishii SVG Set.  Aren't they just soooo adorable???  I love all of the food in this cute little set.  I inked up all of my cuts and papers with my Color Box Fluid Chalk Petal Point inks, added a cute sentiment from Pink By Design's Animated Greetings Stamp Set, a ribbon, and some brads, and my little card was all done!  I really hope you like it!

I also entered this in Die-Cuttin' Diva's Garden Challenge.  Thanks, Patty, for telling me about it. :o)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I really enjoy reading all of your AWESOME and sweet comments!



Make a Wish

Yay!  I'm so excited that I got to do something crafty today JUST for fun!  Don't get me wrong...if I'm crafting, I'm having fun, but I have a lot of crafty responsibilities, so I'm happy when I can make something just for the fun of it. 

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm no longer a part of the Fantabulous Cricut and Celebrate the Occasion Design Teams. I decided to step down at the end of the DT terms. It was a really tough decision for me because I had such a BLAST on the teams and it was such an honor to be a part of each of them, but I was actually getting pretty stressed out about my crafting.  Between design teams, my Etsy shop (which is doing great), my kids being home for the summer, my hubby living away from home for a (2 hour away) "deployment", and a move to a new house, I was REALLY stressed and spread thin.  But, now I've cut down my responsibilites a little, the kids are going back to school in a couple of weeks, we're all settled into the house, and my hubby has started visiting regularly...so things are much calmer around here.  So, to make a long story a bit shorter...I finally feel I have time to join in on some challenges just for fun.  Hey, I may even try my hand at submitting some projects for publication.  We'll see how that goes. 

Anyway, enough about that...I decided to join in on the challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut this week.  It's all about bugs, and there are just soooo many cute bug cuts out there!  I just couldn't resist!  I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try cutting out Jiminy Cricket from the Disney Classics cartridge.  I also get to be a guest over at Crazy about Cricut for Mickey and Friends Monday on the 15th.  Here's my little card:

Here's a couple of tips for working with intricate cuts like this (which Disney seems to have a lot of). First, leave all of the little pieces on your Cricut mat while you're assembling the cut.  That will make sure you don't lose anything.  Also, if you want to ink up the little pieces for a little more depth of color, use crafting tweezers, such as Tweezer Bees to hold the little guys.  That way you won't drop them and your fingers won't turn into rainbow messes.  Oh, and another thing...if you're laying out all of the pieces on the base layer, just to see how they fit, make sure your window is closed!  One good gust of wind, and I was crawling around on the floor looking for Jiminy's tongue!  (Don't worry...I found it!) :o)

I got the base for this 5.5" card from Wild Card.  The sentiment on the front came from Pink By Design's Take the Cake stamp set, and the sentiment inside came from the Pink By Design Birthday, Birthday stamp set.   I added some Purple Plum Divine Twine, lots of ink, and some buttons to finish off my little card.  I hope you like it!

I have another project all planned out to enter into another challenge or two, so I hope you'll check back in the next couple of days to see what I make. Thanks sooooo much for stopping by today! 



A Roarin' Good Birthday

Happy, happy Monday!!!!  I have a little birthday card to share with you today that would be perfect for a kid's birthday.  Here it is:

As soon as I saw this fun sentiment from the Pink By Design Take the Cake set, I knew I needed to find a cute lion cutout ASAP. I wanted to use a cut I'd never used before, though, so I opted to use this lion from Lettering Delights' Zodiac SVG set. Isn't he adorable??? I just think he's perfect for this fun birthday greeting.

I used lots of layers of pop dots (the 1/16 inch thickness) to add dimension to my card. I also embossed the blue circle around the lion's head for some added texture. Here's a little tip...ink your embossed pieces with watermark ink or ink in a slightly darker color than your paper to give the embossing a little added UMPH! Finally, I added a little doodling and some ribbon, and my little 5.5" square card was all done. I hope you like it!

I'm entering this in this challenge:

Little Red Wagon's Challenge #92: Put a Critter on It

By the way...have you checked out the PBD Community lately? There are TONS of fun things to do there...share your projects, enter some challenges, or just chat a little with some fellow crafters. I hope you'll check it out! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!



Three Lucky WINNERS!!!

Hey, everyone!  I hope you're all having a FANTASTIC weekend!  I sure am!  I finally got my crafting space in the new house all organized.  I share the space with my kid's library and movie-watching TV and my husband's office stuff, but the space I actually get to work in is still actually bigger than where I worked in my last house.  I also get to keep my Cricut set up in one spot without having to move it in and out of my space on my craft table.  So, I'm LOVIN' the new "craft room/office/library/movie room"!

Anyway...enough about that.  I have some WINNERS to announce!  YAY!  First, I want to announce the winner of the Pink By Design Cupcake Background Stamp.  And, the winner is....

Congrats, Sharon!  I'll be e-mailing you soon to get your snail-mail address. :o)

Now, the winners from my Pink By Design Marathon (Poppin' By) post.  First, I have a $10 Gift Certificate to give away.  Here's the winner:

Congratulations, Scrappy Cocoa!  Mr. Pink or Sarah from Pink By Design should be contacting you soon to send you your gift certificate.

I also have a Pink By Design Cloudy Day Background Stamp to give away.  And, the winner is...

Yay, Cathy!  I'll be e-mailing you to get your mailing address.  :o)
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll come back tomorrow...I have a card to share with you that I think turned out SUPER cute!  I can't wait for you to see it!  HEE HEE!



A "Berry" Special Tacky Tuesday!

Hey, everyone!  I'm super excited that I get to be a guest designer at Tacky Tuesday's!  If you don't know what that is...it's a great monthly challenge on Facebook.  All you have to do is post a project following the month's theme on the Tacky Tuesday's Facebook Page.  If you're not a member of the group yet, all you need to do is to request to be added.  Then, a winner is picked later in the month. 

This month's theme is to make a project with a berry/fruit and use the word "berry" on the front of your project somewhere.  Here's what I came  up with:

This little easel card is about 5.5" square when closed.  I got the yummy ice cream from the Lettering Delights Summer Treats SVG Set, and I got the strawberries from the Lettering Delights Oishii SVG Set.  Aren't they just soooo cute??? I know I've been on a bit of a Lettering Delights kick lately, but I just can't help it.  Their cuts are just so cute.  My sentiment is computer generated.  I added some pretty gems, some ribbon, lots of ink, and some doodling, and my little easel card was all done!  I hope you like it!  Here are some other angles:

So, what are you waiting for???  First, go to September Ninth to see what the other guest designers and the design team came up with this month. Then, head on over to the Tacky Tuesday's Facebook Page to join in on the challenge yourself.  I can't wait to see what you come up with. :o)