"Thankful" Layout: FCCB Challenge #37

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is called "Thankful For": create a project about something you are thankful for.  That's easy for me...my kids!  :)

I used the CTMH Twitterpated papers on this one, which I have to admit are my favorite CTMH papers of all time!  The photo was taken almost a year ago, right before Thanksgiving, and I love that both of them are smiling (it's rare to capture both smiling at the same time in photos these days!). 

I used the Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge for the tree, deer and leaves for this layout.  The kids were cut from A Child's Year.  The title is made with letter stickers, also from the CTMH Twitterpated line.  I also added several brads and some journaling printed on the computer.

Hope you like it!  Head over to FCCB and enter your own "Thankful" project to be eligible to win this week's FANTABULOUS prize!

Happy Crafting!  :)

Popsicle Cards!!!

These were so fun to make!  I found LOTS of examples of these on the web, all made with Stampin' Up stamps.  Since I'm a CTMH girl, I used CTMH's "You're Sweet" stamp set to make my own.  This was another project for my Hobby Lobby classes.

Each stamped image has glitter glue on top to give it some sparkle.  The bite mark is my favorite part!!!  I used my Cricut for the scallop circles, cut from Storybook ("I" in shift/blackout mode) at 1 3/4". 

Makes you want a cool treat doesn't it?

Have a creative day!!!  :)

Get Staz-On Ink Off Your Acrylic Stamp Blocks!

If you haven't received the newest edition of Creating Keepsakes Magazine, you're in for a treat!  I got mine in the mail yesterday...woo hoo!  I must admit that I am a papercrafting magazine addict (really).  But CK is by far my fave.

Anyway, as I was browsing through the pages I noticed an article on acrylic stamping blocks.  It said that you could use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get Staz-On ink off of the blocks!  If you don't know what Staz-On ink is, it's a super-permanent ink that will stamp and stay onto almost anything...including the acrylic block your stamp is on.  Why I never thought to try this before is beyond me.  DUH!

So, I gave it a try, since I had a couple of blocks that looked pretty rough after a Staz-On project a while back.

Here's the before:

Here is the Magic Eraser at work:

And here is the result:

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How cool is that?  They look brand new.  Great, something else I have to find a place to keep in my scrapbook room.  Hee, hee, hee....

Idea Journal (CTMH My Creations Journal)

I'll admit that when CTMH came out with the My Creations Journal, I didn't think I'd use it.  I'm not much of a "journaler".  But then the other day a friend and I were talking about how we both wake up in the middle of the night with ideas or visions of craft projects and can't go back to sleep.  Both of us either get up and go craft, or we lay there awake with the crafty wheels spinning in our heads! 

She came up with the idea to keep a journal and book light next to her bed so that she can jot down the ideas/visions when she wakes up, without having to get out of bed and lose sleep.  What a GREAT idea!  That's where the CTMH My Creations Journal comes in!!!

This journal has 75 pages...plenty to jot down ideas and sketches...and a protective 5x7 front pocket that you can insert your cover into, and then change out if you grow tired of it!  I used the Felicity collection of papers to make this cover.  I used the coordinating Felicity stamp set for the bird and flourish.  I printed the journaling strips with my computer, inked everything, and then adhered it all on to the papers.  To finish, I tied coordinating ribbon on the spine.

Thanks for looking and have a creative day (and night!)!!!  :)

"Family" Mini Album In A Tin

This little tin contains a mini album!  I bought a bunch of these small, round tins at Michael's for a dollar each with the intent of putting some kind of goody in them and decorating the outside, then giving them as gifts.  But they've been sitting on my shelf for a while and so I decided to come up with something else to do with them.  And this is what I came up with!

I decorated the outside with a strip of patterned paper (CTMH Sweet Home) and then put a border sticker around the rim of the lid.  I attached layers of silk and paper flowers (paper flower cut with Cricut WIMG) and an adhesive pearl.  I cut a tag (Cricut George) and printed "Family" on it.

To attach the album string into the tin, I put the end of the ribbon through a hole in the center of a 1 3/4" circle (Cricut George) and used glue dots to stick it down.  Then I added circles on top and bottom of the ribbon for the "pages", leaving a loop of ribbon on the opposite end.

The white cardstock circles are cut at 2" and the patterned paper circles layered on top are cut at 1 3/4" (Cricut-George).  I embellished each page with a variety of elements:  1x1 mini photos of my family, scallop frame (Cricut-Accent Essentials), stamped hearts and sentiments (CTMH), silk flowers, paper flower (Cricut-George), half circles with Martha Stewart's Lace Border punch, brads, adhesive pearls and fibers tied to the ribbon between each page:

Here's a view with the pages all spread out:

This little cutie is going to sit on my living room table and hopefully resist being grabbed by little curious hands!!!  :)  Thanks for looking and have a creative day!

P.S.  I entered this project at:

and:

"Family" Layout

I went to my first crop in probably 5-6 years last night...man, I've missed those!  I can definitely tell you I'll be going back...super fun girl-time, chocolate and a free Make-n-Take!  Beats cropping alone at home!  :)

While cropping, I came up with this layout.  It's to put in the Mess Maker's baby scrapbook (I know, it's like three years overdue).  I only have 10 pages to go until it's done, though...WOO HOO!!!!!

This layout is mix of products, most of which I've had for a LONG time and don't know who the manufacturers are.  I used the Cricut Storybook cartridge for the marquee frames for the title and journaling.  I used CTMH stamps for the small sentiments and lines on the journaling block.  The brown flourish is a rub-on, the ribbon is from Michael's (I think) and the punch on the border of the cream patterned paper is by EK Success.

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!!!  :)

Photo Cube & Photo Stand Combo (Boom-Di-Ada)

When I saw the My Creations Cube by CTMH I wanted to come up with something to do to it to "alter" it a bit...to make it more than just a photo cube.  So I decided it'd be super-fun and super-cute to make a photo stand out of it!  This cube ships flat and then you just tie up the corners to make it into the 3D cube. 

To make this photo stand, I inked the edges of each side and then used CTMH's Boom-Di-Ada paper collection to decorate the sides and top.  I added photos and embellishments (CTMH, craft supply) to each side and the top.  Then I used my Soft Set Eyelet Tool (CTMH) to set two small eyelets (accented with inked flowers) into the top panel of the cube (see photo below). 

Before tying the top corners together (with string from Hobby Lobby), I hot glued a piece of styrofoam into the bottom of the cube.  Then I took some 14 gauge wire (Home Depot) and manipulated two pieces of it into swirls (to hold additional photos) and stuck the ends through the eyelets and down into the foam.  Ta-da!  Photo cube/photo holder combo accomplished!!!

Then I just added some flowers and coordinating My Stickease stickers to the stems of the photo holders and that's it!  Here is a view of the other two sides of the cube:

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!!!  :)

"Hoppy" Birthday Card (Sweet Treat Cup)

This card was made using SU! Sweet Treat Cups.  I saw a couple versions of a Sweet Treat frog card HERE and HERE, but both used SU! punches (which I don't own).  So, I went ahead and purchased a 1 3/4" punch from Hobby Lobby (it's really the best way to accurately place the circle cut-out for these treat cups in my opinion) and then cut the rest of the card with my Cricut.

I used George for the body parts on the frog, WIMG for the dragonfly and Storybook for the tab (Marquee diecut).  The dimensions for the body parts are as follows:

Tummy:  circle 2 1/2"

Legs:  skinny oval 2 1/2"

Face:  oval 2 1/2"

Feet:  flower 1" (cut in half)
Eyes:  circle 1"

Eyes (white):  circle 1/2"

Eyes (black):  circle 1/4"

The dragonfly was cut at 1/2" and the tab (marquee) was cute at 1 1/2".

Then, I followed Crystal's (from "Crystal&Akiko) directions for making the slip-out tab for the sweet treat cup:

She has a great video tutorial on how to do this!  To summarize, I cut a hole in a piece of white cardstock in the same location on the piece as I placed it on the card front.  I used Terrifically Tacky Tape to make a sideways "U" around the treat cup, leaving one side open, and then adhered the white cardstock.  Then I slipped the green piece of caerdstock (cut smaller than the width between the pieces of tacky tape) between the card front and the white piece of cardstock to cover the hole.  Now when the recipient pulls on the tab (stamped with a "sweet" sentiment from CTMH), he can gain easy access to the candy (and not have to rip up the card!!!).

P.S. The blue dragonflies on the card front are made by stamping two hearts (CTMH) sideways, layering the points in the middle!  And the yellow dragonfly cut with my Cricut is popped with a foam dot for dimension.

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  :)

Easter Egg Accordian Album

The orginal idea for this album came from the April 2007 Issue of Scrapbook Trends Magazine and was created by Lisa Pace.

I decided to recreate this little album for the upcoming holiday, so I would have a place to showcase the Mess Maker and the Noise Maker's Easter photos.

I used CTMH's Boom-Di-Ada papers and the My Creations Memory Showcase Accordion Album (6x6).  I used my Cricut to cut the eggs (Doodlecharms) and the grass (Zooballoo).  I inked everything, including the base of the accordion album.

I inked two flowers and added pearl centers.  Then I cut mini flowers from George and added them to the grass.  I stamped two sentiments onto tags and added them to the flowers.  Now I just need to add some photos and journaling!

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  :)

Flag & Tag Mini Album

This album was made by following a great tutorial by Patti at Creations by Patti.  Her flag card inspired this mini album!

 

Top view:

I used the cutting dimensions Patti gave in her tutorial, using solid colored cardstock as my base rather than patterned paper.  Then I adhered patterned paper (CTMH-Perfect Day) on the front and back covers and for the inside pockets.  When you pull the covers of this book apart, the "flags" pop in opposite directions, making this a super-unique little album!

I stamped on each of the smaller flags, and also on my tags (CTMH) and inserted the tags into the front and back pockets.  These would be great for extra photos or journaling.

Once closed, I added a cardstock strip around the album and adhered a decorative frame (Home Accents cartridge) to the top with foam dots.  Then I inked a flower and added a button to finish.

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!!!  :)

CTMH "Love" Card Trio (Topstitch Workshop On The Go)

These cards are from the Close To My Heart "Topstitch" Workshop On The Go.  The basic kit includes a Level 2 Topstitch Paper Pack, an exclusive Stamp Set (Love Is In The Air), Mini Medley Assortment and the Workshop Guide, with the option to add on additional embellishments!

This WOTG kits are not available in the CTMH catalog.  If you're interested in attending a Workshop On The Go, please contact me today!  :)

Mojo Monday Sketch #124: Sympathy Card

This card is based on MojoMonday's sketch for challenge #124:

I wanted to do some embossing, so I used my Cuttlebug to emboss some heavy duty foil using the Textile folder.  Next, I embossed a piece of white cardstock using the same folder and matted it with black.  I cut a piece of patterned paper (Target) and matted it in black also.  I arranged my pieces on the front of a black card base.

I used a silver satin ribbon (Hobby Lobby) to tie a bow, and then layered two white flowers (Hobby Lobby) and a pre-made flower embellishment (Sandylion) on the top of the bow.

To finish, I stamped the dove from the "Beloved" CTMH stamp set in Grey Wool, cut it out and inked the edges in Grey Flannel.

Have a creative day!  :)