Harry Potter Card

Hey, everyone!  I have a card to share with you today that I meant to post last week...but time got away from me. I made this for my oldest daughter, who just LOVES Harry Potter.  This was her Valentine's Day card.  Here it is:

I got this super cute Harry Potter look-alike and his Nimbus 2000 from the Lettering Delights Best Witches Cut It Set.  Isn't he great?  I added some stripes to his tie and a little Gryffindor crest to his pocket to make him look more Harry-like.   Then, I added some ribbon and some more doodles, and my little card was all done!  And, most importantly, my daughter loves it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  :)



Mason Benefit Winner

The winner of the Mason Benefit Blog Hop 6x6 inch paper pad is:

Congratulations, Jessica!  I've contacted you via your blog...be sure to e-mail me your snail mail address. :)



Anniversary Amore WINNER

I am SO bad at remembering to post winners!!!  I was supposed to post this Saturday, but a busy holiday weekend caused me to forget.  Well, I'm ready to post now.  The winner of the Pink By Design Damask Background Stamp is:

I e-mailed you Esther.  Please send me your mailing address! :)



Shiver Me Timbers

Happy Monday, everyone!!!  It's my Design Team day over at Pink By Design, and I have a layout to share with you today.  I'm SO far behind in my scrapbooking.  We traveled to Walt Disney World back in 2008, and I'm still working on the scrapbook for that vacation.  It doesn't seem like I'll EVER catch up!  Anyway, outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, we saw an actor that looked SO MUCH like the real Captain Jack Sparrow that I just had to make a couple of pages about him.  Here's my double-page layout:

Doesn't he look JUST like Johnny Depp???  It's amazing!

I created the title of this layout using a font I have on my computer.  In order to get the shadow layer around it, I used the offset function in my Silhouette Studio.  The three pirate shapes at the bottom of this page came from this 4 Pirate Cupcake Toppers set that I found in the Silhouette Online Store.

I got this fun sentiment from Pink by Design's Pirate's Life Stamp Set.  Adding sentiments like this to layouts just adds a little something extra...I like it!

The Pirate Ship on this page also came from the Silhouette Online Store.  

I added a circle behind the ship that I stamped (very subtly) with Pink by Design's Script Background Stamp.  Then, I added another fun sentiment from the Pirate's Life set.

This is actually my first time using stamps on a layout!  I'll definitely be doing it more often. :)  Thanks for stopping by today!  



Mason Benefit Blog Hop

Welcome to Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons and the Mason Benefit Blog Hop.  We're having this hop to share the story of a special little guy and to help out his family with some of their medical bills.  We're also making some sweet get well cards for Mason, and we are hoping to inspire others to do the same.

First of all, I hope you'll take a minute or two to read Mason's story and about the challenges his family is facing right now.  His mother is a blogger, so you can read all about his story HERE.  

Today's hop is actually a hop/challenge/benefit, all in one.  You can hop along to see what all of the designers made for Mason.  Then, you can make am encouraging card for Mason yourself and enter it in the challenge over at Monica's Blog.  The only requirement is that it is an encouragement card for Mason that uses some sort of die cut (from any machine), you link it up at Monica's Blog, and that you will send it off to Mason when you are done. It would be great if you would include a note of encouragement to his parents inside. There's some AWESOME prizes up for grabs for participating (a sample pack from the Twinery or a gift card from SVG cuts).  Also, you can help even more by donating whatever you can to Mason's family to help them with their growing medical bills.  So, let's get on with the hop!

If you are coming here from Sandra's Blog, then you are in the right place.  If you stumbled upon this post and would like to hop along from the beginning, head on over to Monica's Blog.  I wanted to make a fun card for Mason that is all BOY!  Here's what I came up with:

This is a standard, A2-sized card (4.25" x 5.5").  I got the cute race car from the Lettering Delights Sew Boy Stitchy Cut It Set, and I cut it out using my Silhouette Cameo.  I created the background by cutting 1.5" x 3.75" rectangles from coordinating papers and rounding the corners on each.  The yellow mat is 1.75" wide and has been embossed with my Spots and Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.  The fun sentiment is from Pink By Design's Oh Boy Stamp Set.  I added some brads for the hub caps, lots of ink, some doodles, and a little ribbon, and my card was all done.

Since the card base is dark navy, I also added a yellow mat to the inside with a scrap of the patterned paper from the front.  That way, I'll have plenty of room to write my message to Mason and his family.

If you'd like to donate to Mason's family, you can click HERE.  You can also add this button to your own blog by grabbing the code.

<center><a href="http://www.theSearsfam.com"><img height="125" width="125" src="http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz73/danasears/masonsbuton.jpg" border="0" alt="Helping Mason" /></a></center>
Now, how about some BLOG CANDY???  One lucky follower will win a Basic Grey Wander 6 x 6 inch Paper Pad.  

Here's what you need to do for a chance to win:

1.  Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you are.  Be sure to include your e-mail address. 

That's it!  That's all you need to do to have a chance to win.  If you'd like additional chances, though, you can do one or all of the following:

2.  "Like" Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons on Facebook and leave a separate comment here on my blog telling me you did.  Be sure to include your e-mail address.

3.  Post my blinky on your blog.  You can find it on the right side of this page.  Please leave me a comment with your blog address and your e-mail address.  I'd love to visit and become a follower of you, too!

Please, only US or Canadian addresses.  I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, Feb. 22.  Good luck!

Now, I hope you'll hop on over to Sylvia's Blog to see what she made for Mason.  Then, make your own card for Mason and link it up to Monica's blog.  Once you link it, Monica will send you his mailing address. You have until Midnight PST on Feb. 23 to enter the challenge.  I can't wait to see what you come up with for Mason!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Here's the blog lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Monica www.monciascreativemadness.com/

Carley http://www.craftycarley.com/

Cecilia www.craftinginthenight.com/

Esther http://forthejoyofcreating.blogspot.com/

Kerri http://kerripowell.blogspot.com/

Jann http://snap-schotts.blogspot.com/

Ana Maria http://www.shortycreations.com/

Sandra http://365daysofcricut.blogspot.com/

Lisa http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/ **That's me!**

Sylvia http://www.bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com/ **Next stop!**



Love My Cameo Blog Hop Winner!!!

TGIF, everyone!  Well, better late than never...but I have a winner from the Love My Cameo Blog Hop.  The winner of the Basic Grey 6x6" paper pad is:

Congratulations, Wings and A Prayer Crafts!  I'll be e-mailing you to get your mailing address...be sure to check your spam/junk filter just in case. :)

By the way, you have one more day to enter another giveaway I have going on from the Anniversary Amore Blog Hop.  To see that post and enter for a chance to win, click HERE.

I hope you'll stop back by Sunday for the Mason Benefit Blog Hop.  This hop is full of talented crafters and will benefit Mason Sears and his family.  If you'd like to read about Mason's story, click here.



Fly Away With Me

YAY!  It's THURSDAY!!! Just one more day until FRIDAY!  Woot, woot!  This is my Pink by Design Design Team day,  and I want to share the Valentine I made for my husband with you.  Here it is:

Now, I realize this isn't  a traditional Valentine, but I have a very good reason behind it.  You see, my hubby is just a GIANT KID!  He's been wanting this big remote control helicopter FOREVER.  He got a small one for Christmas, and you should just see his face light up when he flies the thing around the house.  He especially loves hovering it over me when I'm on my laptop (making me FREEZE and very annoyed) and getting my Chihuahua to bark and chase it around.  Well, I ordered the big version of the helicopter for him for V-day, but, just as I expected, it didn't make it here on time (of course).  So, I decided to make a card for him that would let him know what he has to look forward to.

This card is 5.75" square.  I got the cute helicopter from my Boys Will Be Boys Cricut Cartridge, the hills came from my Country Life Cricut Cartridge, and the clouds came from my Create a Critter Cartridge.  I just love using clouds for my sentiments, especially on scene cards like this one.  Speaking of sentiments, this cute one came from Pink by Design's Ticket to Ride stamp set.  Oh, and I made the cute polka dots in the sky with the my Pink by Design Tiny Dots Background Stamp.  I added lots of ink with my ColorBox Fluid Chalk Inks, some flower brads, and some doodles, and my Valentine for my hubby was all done! 

In case you missed it, PBD just released some fun and adorable stamp sets last week.  You can check them out in the PBD store HERE.  Thanks for stopping by today!  



Anniversary Amore Blog Hop

Hey, everyone!  Welcome to Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons and the Anniversary Amore Blog Hop.  Candace over at Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses is celebrating her one year blogaversary, and we are helping her celebrate with this fun hop.  

If you came here from Bryan the Scrap Guy's blog, you're in the right place.  If you just stumbled upon my post and would like to start from the beginning, head on over to Candace's blog.  She's offering some AWESOME blog candy from EAD Designs, Pink By Design, and Pretty Little Studio for this hop.  You'll want to check out each and every post along the way and leave a comment on each blog to be eligible to win one of these wonderful prizes.  Plus, everyone's project just ROCKS anyway, so you won't want to miss a thing.

I have a sweet little card to share with you today (plus some fabulous blog candy of my own).  Here it is:

I made this 5.75" square card for my youngest daughter for Valentine's Day.  She's always singing, so I thought this would be perfect for her.  I got the cute little Song Bird from My Scrap Chick, and I cut it with my Silhouette Cameo. The sweet sentiment came from Pink By Design's You Are stamp set.  Doesn't it go perfectly with the singing birdie?  So cute!  I added some musical paper, lots of ink, and some cute ribbon, and my little valentine was all done!  I hope you like it.  :)

Okay, now...how about some BLOG CANDY???  YAY!!!!

One lucky follower will win this Damask Background Stamp from Pink By Design.  Here's what you need to do for a chance to win:

1.  Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you are.  Be sure to include your e-mail address. 

That's it!  That's all you need to do to have a chance to win.  If you'd like additional chances, though, you can do one or all of the following:

2.  "Like" Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons on Facebook and leave a separate comment here on my blog telling me you did.  Be sure to include your e-mail address.

3.  Post my blinky on your blog.  You can find it on the right side of this page.  Please leave me a comment with your blog address and your e-mail address.  I'd love to visit and become a follower of you, too!

Please, only US or Canadian addresses.  I'll choose a winner on Saturday, February 18.  Good luck!

Now, be sure to hop on over to Nicole's blog to find out what she created.  Here's the full lineup of AWESOMENESS, just in case you get lost along the way.

1. Candace - www.scrappin2littleprincesses.blogspot.com/

2. Emily- http://www.createserendipity.net/

3. Kristi - http://www.littlepapersprinkles.blogspot.com/

4. Rachel - http://www.loveandsushi.blogspot.com/

5. Bryan  http://www.scrapguy.blogspot.com/

6. Lisa - http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/*THAT'S ME*

7. Nicole- http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/*NEXT STOP*

8. Tanya - http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com/

9. Kathy - http://kathyand3kids.blogspot.com/

10. Kim- http://rickettscricuts.blogspot.com/

11. Candace www.papercraftsbycandace.blogspot.com/

12. Jenny - http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

13. Michelle- http://www.scrappinwithmybug.com/

  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a great one! :)



Quick Valentines

Click HERE for the Love My Cameo Blog Hop.

Okay, I have to admit...Valentine's Day has not been high on my priority list lately.  There's been a lot going on in our little house, and I had not really planned on making any little treats for my daughters' classes.  The only plan I had consisted of buying some of those cute pre-made Valentines and stapling them to 1" x 8" cellophane bags I've had for a while (filled with some sort of candy, of course).  So, that was my plan for spending only a short amount of time on goodies for my girls' classes.  Well, living in Germany seems to mess up my plans a lot.

Here's what you have to understand about Germany.  Number one...people here speak German.  Duh.  ;)  So, even if they do celebrate Valentine's Day, and even if they do have little packages of V-day cards (which, by the way, I don't know if they do)...they would be in GERMAN, not English.  Number two, Germany does not really do scrapbooking, it seems.  There are very few craft stores around here, and they are not geared toward paper crafts.  So, here's my problem: anything I buy that has to do with the "American" way of celebrating a holiday or that has to do with crafts has to be bought on base...at the Base Exchange or the very small Arts and Crafts hobby store we have.  Now, usually, this isn't a problem.  The Base Exchange (BX) is usually very good about getting at least SOMETHING I can use in on time.  In fact, there have been boxes of chocolates and little V-day stuffed animals out since early January.  However, no matter how many times a week I searched, they had not gotten in any of those cute little boxes of Valentines.  The nice lady I talked to said the shipment hadn't come in yet...as of Friday...just a few days before the big day.  Uggghhhh!!! So, my plans were messed up, yet again, by our wonderful BX.  You'd think I'd have learned over the past 2 years to plan ahead and order these things through the Internet.  Nope...not me.

So, I started panicking a little on Sunday.  What were we going to do?  I still didn't know how I was going to fit in paper piecing 48 little Valentines, and I've never tried the print and cut function on my Cameo, and I didn't think this was a good time to try it out.  I tend to get more frustrated when I'm panicking.  Well, I have to say that Lettering Delights (one of my favoritest stores ever) saved me.  I saw that they were offering free printable V-day cards in different patterns.  They had pirate ones, alligator ones, buggy ones, and monkey ones.  So, the girls and I took a look, and they settled on the cute Bugaboo ones.  All I had to do was print them on white card stock and cut them with my awesome Carl paper trimmer (which can cut up to 4 sheets of heavy card stock at a time).  It still took quite a bit of time to stuff the little bags (which I bought at Clear Bags a while back) with Skittles, but I think the result turned out to be pretty fun and cute.  (By the way, I had envisioned filling them with V-day colored candies, like pink and red M & Ms...but, guess what?  The BX didn't carry those this year.  Go figure!)  Ha!!!

So, here's an example of the 50 or so Valentines my daughters and I put together yesterday:

Pretty simple...but it was all I had time for this year.  I still think they are super cute! :)

We used pink wrapping paper, some pre-cut letters I had laying around from my pre-Cricut days, and the little bugs from some extra cards I printed to decorate their Valentine's Day boxes.  Using my Xyron sticker machine made this go even faster for us. :)  Here are their finished boxes:

Well, I hope you like our quick and easy Valentines.  I'll have some other Valentine's Day cards that I made for my family to share with you throughout the week.  Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!



Love My Cameo Blog Hop

Hi!  Welcome to Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons and the Love My Cameo Blog Hop.  We're excited to share with you some fun projects we made with our Silhouette Cameos.  If you've come here from Lisa B.'s blog, you're in the right place.  If you just happened to stumble upon my post, I hope you'll go start back at the beginning of the hop at Amy's blog.  You won't want to miss any of these Cameo projects...plus, I bet there will be plenty of fun BLOG CANDY along the way. 

You know, I got my Cameo back in October, and I really do love it.  I love the flexibility it offers.  I have access to all of the SVG files I've been collecting over the past year, as well as all of the amazing files offered in the Silhouette Online Store.  I can also design my own projects from scratch or combine files by using my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition.  I really can make just about anything I can think of with my Cameo!  I'm so excited about all of the possibilities for using it with fabric, vinyl, and home decor.  I can't wait to try some of the fun techniques I keep reading about on the Internet.

For my project today, I decided to make a sweet little Valentine's Day card.  Here it is:

This is an A2 sized card, so it's 4.25" x 5.5".  I got the cute little push pin from Lettering Delight's Pop School  Cut It Set.  The little banner at the bottom came from this 7 Labels Set I found in the Silhouette Online Store.  I got the sweet sentiment from Pink By Design's Be Mine Stamp Set, and I used Pink By Design's Notebook Paper Background Stamp on the little banner.  The pin's cute little face came from Peachy Keen's Everyday Character Faces Assortment.  I added lots of ink, some doodles, a star brad, and some Divine Twine (which you can get HERE in the Pink By Design Store), and my little card was all done!

Now, this cute little Lettering Delights push pin had it's own little face. It looked sort-of mad, though, so I used my Silhouette Studio to remove the facial features from the cut.  I didn't want a mad push pin on my happy V-day card.  Here's how I did it:

First, I opened my SVG file in my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition.  I selected the push pin on my virtual mat, clicked the Ungroup Selected Shapes button on the lower left-hand corner of my screen, and separated the little pin into her different layers.

Okay, before you say anything...I know that I could have just used the black layer and I could have been done with it.  But, I wanted to show you a way to modify cuts in Silhouette Studio that are being a little stubborn. I've come across a few files I've wanted to change that didn't have that extra layer I could use.  So, for now, lets just pretend that black layer wasn't there.  ;)

Now, my first instinct to modify a cut like this would be to simply ungroup the shape again and delete the eyes and mouth.  Well...guess what???  That wouldn't work for this particular file.  The software didn't recognize anything else that could be ungrouped.  But, never fear...there's another way!

There is a pretty easy way to get rid of "holes" like these in your cuts.  You can use the drawing tools over on the left side of your screen.  I simply drew a rectangle that was big enough to cover the holes in my shape.  

Then, I selected both the push pin shape and the rectangle.  You can do that by either clicking and dragging over both shapes, or you can select the rectangle, hold down the shift key, and then select the push pin shape.  Once both are selected (you can tell they both are because they both have gray rectangles around them), I clicked the Weld button on the bottom left corner of my screen, and...

VIOLA!!!  I have a nice solid shape!  YAY!

Alright...what's a blog hop without some FUN BLOG CANDY!!!  One lucky follower will win a Basic Grey 6" x 6" Hopscotch Paper Pad.  The fun patterned paper I used on my card came from one of these adorable pads!  

Here's what you need to do for a chance to win:

1.  Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you are.  Be sure to include your e-mail address. 

That's it!  That's all you need to do to have a chance to win.  If you'd like additional chances, though, you can do one or all of the following:

2.  "Like" Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons on Facebook and leave a separate comment here on my blog telling me you did.  Be sure to include your e-mail address.

3.  Post my blinky on your blog.  You can find it on the right side of this page.  Please leave me a comment with your blog address and your e-mail address.  I'd love to visit and become a follower of you, too!

Please, only US or Canadian addresses.  I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, February 15.  Good luck!

*****GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*****

Now, be sure to hop on over to Kelly's blog to see what sort of FABULOUS-NESS she has created with her Cameo. :)

Here's the lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Amy  http://amychomas.blogspot.com/

Sarah  http://www.pinkcricut.com/blog/

Lisa B. http://lisabarrie.blogspot.com/

Lisa N. http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/**THAT'S ME!**

Kelly  http://findingtimetocreate.blogspot.com/**NEXT STOP!!**

Rebekah http://craftyteachermom.blogspot.com/

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/

Tonya http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com/

Cecilia http://www.craftinginthenight.com/

Candace http://www.scrappin2lilprincesses.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful weekend!



Wishing it Was Fry Day

Hey, everyone!!!  Well, it's Monday again, and I have to admit that I'm already wishing it was Friday.  That seems to happen a lot.  It's also my Pink By Design Design Team day, so I thought I'd make a little card that would be perfect for a day you wish was Friday.  Here it is:

I got the fun sentiment for this card from Pink By Design's Plum Perfect Stamp Set.  I stamped the sentiment right on my die cut.  I usually try to leave space on the card base or cut a special shape just for the sentiment, like a tag, but sometimes it's fun to stamp right on your main shape, especially if it is a pretty basic cut.  The cut came from this French Fries file I found in the Silhouette Online Store.  It's a pretty simple cut, so I wanted to make my card pretty simple, too.  I simply cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 4.25" x 5.5", added a striped mat (3.75" x 5"), some burlap/jute ribbon, and lots of ink, and the card was quickly finished.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a great week, and your Friday comes quickly!!! :)



Cameo Creations Challenge #2: Bananas Over You

Yay!  Are you ready for another Cameo Creations Challenge?  

Challenge #2 is to use your Silhouette machine (any model) create a Valentine's Day tag.  It must have a button and a scalloped shape.  Here's what I came up with:

I got this adorable little monkey from The Digi Bistro's Funny Valentine Set.  Isn't she so sweet?  The banana came from this set and the scalloped rectangle came from this 6 Label Shapes set in the Silhouette Online Store.  I also cut an oval shape that I drew in Silhouette Studio and folded it over to make the rectangle feel more like a tag.

The sentiment came from Pink By Design's Sweet Grams Stamp Set.  The banana's little face came from Peachy Keen's Everyday Character Face Assortment.  This was my very first time using Peachy Keen face stamps...and I think I've found a new love. :)

I hope you'll head on over to Monica's Creative Madness to enter Cameo Creations Challenge #2.  Remember, you have 2 whole weeks to enter, and anyone with a Silhouette machine can join in on the fun. Plus, you could win something super cute from this challenge's sponsor: The Digi Bistro.  We can't wait to see what you create! :)



Peas, Love, and Happiness

Hey, everyone!  I hope you're having a terrific Thursday!  Today is my Design Team day over at Pink By Design, and I have card to share with you today that I created around a sentiment from one of PBD's newest stamp sets.  Here it is:

The sweet sentiment that inspired this card is from PBD's new Plum Perfect Stamp Set.  There are so many fun sentiments on that set...I have so many card designs swimming around in my head!  

I got the sweet peas from My Scrap Chick's Kawaii Food Vol. 1 Paper Piecing Set, which I cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  I added some faces from the Peachy Keen Everyday Character Face Assortment and a bow from my Create a Critter Cricut Cartridge that I had left over from another project.  The hearts and border are from punches.  Oh, and I found that fun patterned paper in the Basic Grey Offbeat 6" x 6" paper pad.  Isn't it just perfect for this card?  To finish off my project, I added lots of ink, some doodles, a jewel, and some Cotton Candy and Cherry Divine Twine, which can be purchased in the Pink By Design Store. 

I hope you like my little card.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I'd love it if you'd leave a comment letting me know what you think. Have a great day!