Thursday, September 30, 2010

Fall Thank You card


I was looking for a candy corn cut on my Cricut cartridges and could not find one, so I made my own with George & Basic Shapes. I am happy with it, but I need to redesign it with my gypsy so that I can resize it easier with the group feature. Maybe I will see about that today.
Anyway, this is a simple little card with an embossed "thanks" square. The ribbon is from the $1 bins at Target, and the printed paper is from DCWV fall stack--2009, I think.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Fall Birthday


Here is a fall birthday card made with both Cricut and Cuttlebug. "Happy Birthday" is cut with Opposites Attract. I need to use this font more often. The pumpkins are from Pooh & Friends, and I think the leaves are too.
The orange square with embossed pumpkins is done with a cuttlebug folder and highlighted with orange ink.
I just love plaid for fall cards. I wish I could have a mat stack full of fall plaids. They are the first to get used up from my paper stash.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Pumpkin Card


I love these pumpkins. They are Sizzix sizzlit dies, and I think they are my favorite pumpkins. I did some shading on them with Prisma watercolor pencils to highlight the sections. The sign is a Sizzix originals die and I added some texture to it with an embossing folder. The "thank you" was cut with decorative edge scissors. This card was made a few years ago when I only had my cuttlebug. I think it is fun to have a look at how my cards have progressed as I have learned new techniques and acquired more tools.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Autumn Card


This card is mostly cuttlebug. I love embossing folders, and have used Autumn Type and the Maple Leaf die/emboss set (both by cuttlebug). The maple leaf has been pop dotted. The Autumn bookplate is made with a piece of ribbon and Fabulous Finds, and attached with copper colored brads. All of the embossing has been highlighted with ink, and some of the dots on the Autumn Type folder have copper color dimensional paints on them.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Turkey shaped card



Yesterday's Gypsy Made Simple tutorial was to play along and make a shaped turkey card. This is my interpretation of the lil turkey. He is cut from Create a Critter, and the font is from Botanicals. A bit of stickles (Fruit Punch) was added to the rust color to bling him up a bit for the holiday.
He was a lot of fun to make with the hardest part being deciding on the paper. I think he is adorable, and may make more of them. They would also be cute done as free standing table decorations, don't ya think?
As an added bonus, I also learned to use the multi-cut feature on my gypsy since the pumpkin color (tail feathers) was very thick cardstock.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Gypsy Challenge due Oct. 1, 2010


This is my entry for the new gypsy challenge. We were to make a holiday card, and since my sister's birthday is on Halloween, I was also able to get her card made while participating in the challenge! Yay!
Challenge requirements: Two pieces of art, min. of 1 word, min. of 1 weld, 1 squeeze, 1 stretch, & min. of 3 cartridges.
Cartridges used:
Jasmine -- "thday" (welded)
Just Because Cards -- "happy"
PDDU -- Ghost & tombstone (squeezed/stretched)
Pooh & Friends -- grass
Storybook -- orange printed background paper
Walk in My Garden -- sign
Wild Card -- "Boo"
I used Tim Holtz distress stamp pad to do some shading on the tombstone, as well as the background shape. I used a Sharpie to highlight the ghost and tombstone, too. The sign is from WIMG, and I just snipped off the post part of it. It is hard to see, but the 3 dew drops on the bottom right corner are amber and purple.
I have to say that I love designing on my gypsy!

Christmas with Penny Black Hedgies


This card was done at the same time as the snowman border card. This stamp (Jingle all the Way) is by Penny Black, and it is a long border stamp. I used it last year to stamp Christmas gift boxes that were cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More. Coloring is minimal with just a bit of red and green, and a bit of color for the hedgies to bring them to life. It was stamped with SU basic grey. The Martha Stewart snowflake border punch was used, and a shiny jingle bell was cut from Joys of the Season and a small green bow was added at the top of the bell. I think it is a nice, simple, happy little card. East to mass produce for your Christmas card list!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Winter Card


This is a very simple card. The background paper is from last year's DCWV Christmas stack. I cut strips of white cardstock, stamped the SU snowman border, and used the Martha Stewart snowflake border punch. The coloring was done with Prisma watercolor pencils.
The snowflake die cuts are pop dotted. The larger snowflake is a Sizzix sizzlit die and the smaller one is a Cuttlebug die.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Fall Pumpkin card



Life has gotten in the way of my crafting lately. This is a shaped card. It was intended for the gypsy challenge due today, but I forgot one of the requirements.

The pumpkin is from Create a Critter (cut at 4"). I used the shadow feature pumpkin for the card base, and the regular feature for the top and inside. This was a mistake since the shadow feature is a bit larger than the regular one, but that is what happens when you are designing at midnight! LOL






The inside was cut a bit short on purpose to show a border around the shape, and the acorn/leaf stamp is from Inkadinkado (clear fall stamp set).

There are several welds: card base, both sets of wording, and the 2 separate leaf/swirlies. I don't know if swirlies is a word, but I like it! Lettering is from Nursery Rhymes. Happy is cut at a height of 1.22, and Fall has been stretched to 1.32. The leaf is from Tie the Knot and had a second cut with it, which has been hidden. The swirlie is also from Tie the Knot, and has been welded to the leaf. The piece was then smooshed horizontally to keep the right height, but make it fit on the card the way I wanted it. One of the leaf/acorn pieces was flipped horizontally, too. After glueing to the card, the lettering was stickled--fruit punch on "happy", and stardust on "fall." A little raffia bow seemed to be the last thing the card needed.

It was fun 'almost' participating in the challenge. I forgot the window. If only.....oh well, no more midnight designing without checking the rules!

**Edit** Good news! The sweet SassyLady that started this challenge allowed me to post my card to the challenge even tho I forgot my window! What a peach! Maybe I will get extra credit for the flip and hide contour! LOL

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Gypsy Box


SassyLady from the Cricut MB had a tutorial today on how to make a box with your gypsy. This is my first attempt at a 3" box with lid. I used the apple cutout (from A Child's Year) to make a small gift card.
Thanks, Sheila, for the great tutorial!

Christmas Card


This will be my main Christmas card this year. I mass produced them. The card is navy/white, and the navy has flecks of white in it. I printed the sentiment using Annabelle Script--4 to a sheet-- on the computer before cutting it out. The white part was embossed with the Cuttlebug Winter House folder, and the deer silhouette is cut from the Cricut Lite Wildlife cartridge. I may further embellish before sending. I am thinking about adding a couple die cut snowflakes to it, too. Still pondering that one!

Friday, September 17, 2010

House Mouse Chocolate Dip


I just love this little House Mouse stamp! It is stamped in SU Close to Cocoa, and the jar label is colored with markers. The brown was enhanced with Prisma watercolor pencils. I added a few chocolate chips that were cut from Winter Frolic--the layer feature of the Santa hat. I think it is a cheery little card, but then, I love chocolate!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Birthday Card


This card is the "sister" to the other terrier birthday card. I was able to completely use scraps to make this card. The terrier is from Create a Critter, and I also used a scalloped border punch and photo corner punch. They eyes and nose have SU Crystal Effects used to make them shiny.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Gate Fold Card

This is my wedding card for stamp club next week. I actually have made it in pink solid/floral too. I have to take a pic of that one yet. Shocking, but there is no Cricut on this card. The purple is a richer color than appears in the photos.
The lacy front triangle was made by cutting a 5" square, using the Martha Steward Vintage Lace PATP punches, then cutting it in half diagonally. The inside layers were corner punched with the same punch.
The front "closure" was made with 2 layers of a daisy punch. A punched butterfly was pop dotted on top, and stickled to within an inch of it's life! (Stardust Stickles was used on the butterfly.)
All in all, a very simple card to make. I really think it looks quite nice. I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Merry Christmas!


This is a prototype of one of my Christmas cards this year. If you are on my Christmas card list, pretend you didn't see this!
This is called a tent topper card (I think), and it was fun to make. You basically make a 4.25" square card, embellish the front however you wish, and when you add the "topper"--you make sure that it does not extend beyond 5.5" so that your card will fit into an A2 size envelope.
The circles/scalloped circle were cut with Nestabilities on my cuttlebug. The navy front was Cuttlebug embossed with a Sizzix snowflake folder. The bunny stamp & sentiment are a "slapstick" set from Penny Black. The SU ticket punch was used on the corners of the navy cardstock, as well as on the sentiment piece.
Overall, this is a very easy card to make, and could be planned out to make a large quantity of them at a time. I am sure I will be making more of these type of cards. Hope you enjoyed looking at it!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Happy Hoppers Missing You


This is a card front made with a Happy Hopper stamped image. I love this little bunny, and the background paper is a little greener than shows up in the photo. The black frame was cut from Lacy Labels, and the sentiment was cut from the Stamping solutions cartridge. The red mat was custom cut to fit the image.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Horse Pocket Card


Here is another horse card with a pocket, which made a very handy place to put cash or a gift card. The horse and pocket were cut with Old West. The pocket has a front and back and is folded along one side--glued on the other side and at the bottom. Faux stitching lines were accented with a marker. I attached the pocket to the card with adhesive and added copper colored brads for accents. The spotted paper is from my stash.
"Happy Birthday" is cut from Zooballoo, and there is a blue layer under the white one for shadowing. The victorian photo corners were made with an EK Success punch.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Vintage Birthday


My MIL recently had a birthday and I made this card for her. She loves cameos, so I used the Heritage cartridge for that cut. It actually has 2 cameos, one popped over top of the first layer to give it some dimension. However, I forgot to take a photo showing that before I gave the card away.
I made the folded frame with paper from the K & Company 'Roam' mat size pad. I used coordinating solid blues for the background, and the lighter one was embossed with the Script Cuttlebug folder.
The ivory "lace" was made with a Martha Stewart PATP set -- Scallop Three Dot. Also, I added a small vintage heart with some scroll work by hanging it from a little ivory brad.
I hope you like it! It was a bit of a fussy card, but it was so worth the extra time!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Horse Series #3


Another horse from Old West. The mane, tail, & hooves are colored with a Prisma watercolor pencil. I cut a star with my Cricut--I have no idea which cartridge it is from--probably GBS or PS.
I used the Stars Cuttlebug embossing folder on just over half the navy card front, and then used the EK Success star corner punch on the other end to allow the white from underneath to show through. Not my most favorite of the group, but at least it is sort of patriotic!

Horse Series #2


This is another in the series of horse cards. I used DCVW Rustic stack for the background, and stamped the trees with Stampin Up's Lovely as a Tree set. I decided the horse needed to be ivory to contrast with the card elements, and I shaded its mane and tail just a bit with a Prisma watercolor pencil. The horse and fence were both cut from Old West, and I also ran the fence through my Cuttlebug. The folder is called Distress Stripes, and I inked the fence to show the embossing. The fence also has been "popped" to make it stand out from the card & horse a bit. The colors are better in person, and it has a really nice autumnal feel to the coloring. Thanks for looking! Please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Horse Series


Awhile back I just HAD to have the Cricut Old West cartridge. I have to admit that at the time, I really only wanted it for the bale of straw cut--needed for an upcoming bulletin board in Sunday School.
I was asked to make some cards for a 4H fundraiser with horses. This is one of those cards.
I laid the entire card out in Design Studio to be sure of all the sizes before cutting. I made the egg shape with George & Basic Shapes. The night sky has a circle that was masked off while I did the gradient sky with varying shades of blues & purples.
The horseshoe is cut from A Child's Year, and the horse is from Old West. The background paper is printed blue denim, with a frame of black to match the horseshoe.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Birthday Boy


We had a birthday party to go to for our little 5 year old great-nephew. I made this card for him. The dog is from Create a Critter. I also used an old "happy birthday" stamp, and the pawprints EK Success border punch. I really love the way this card turned out. I also did a girly one with a black and white terrier for my card stash. I will have to get pics of that one and post. The card was mostly done with scraps, except for the background. The plaid is from DCWV Pet Stack. I thought the colors were nice for a little boy with an early fall birthday.

Wedding Card


I have been just a little too busy lately to play. But I made up for it so far this week. I have been working on some ideas for wedding/bridal cards. I am quite happy with this one. The background paper is from K & Co., and has been embossed with my Cuttlebug--it is very hard to see in the photo. The lacy square is cut at 3.25" and then punched with a Martha Stewart punch around the page set. The silhouette cut is from A Child's Year Cricut cartridge cut at 2.5" shadow is done in a matching blue solid cardstock. I also added a few butterflies from an old punch. There are 3 butterflies: 1 blue and 2 pink. They were "stickled" with Star Dust. The butterflies and silhouette were all pop dotted, and there are also 2 small pink pearl beads added to each side point of the lacy square. The color is much better IRL.