Friday, December 30, 2011

Joys of Winter


Christmas snuck up so fast this year (we didn't get out of school until the 22nd) that I didn't have a chance to finish all of my Christmas cards.  I didn't quite make it for New Year's either, so I decided to make some winter cards instead.  Last night we rented The Help (great movie, and even better book!), and I set myself up with my Cuttlebug in front of the fire.  I had a little snowman factory going on with my fun Papertrey Ink stamps and dies!

To make my background, I again used the Stitches & Swirls stamp set.  The sweet sentiment is from the On Ice stamp set.


These fun snowmen were made with the Made of Snow Mini stamps and dies.  This is a really fun set to play with.  Lots of cute accessories!

I think this will be my last post of 2011!  I wish you and your families a happy, healthy 2012!!!

Recipe:
(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

Rustic White, True Black, & Kraft Cardstock
Patterned Paper Scraps from my Stash
"Stitches & Swirls," "Made of Snow Mini," "On Ice," and "Love Lives Here:  Holiday" Stamp Sets
Fresh Snow, Aqua Mist, & Pure Poppy Ink
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Copic Marker

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Tulip Thank You


I was on my way to bed when I passed by my craft room, where my new Papertrey Ink goodies caught my eye.  I couldn't resist playing with them for a bit.  I used my new Stitches & Swirls stamp set with white ink on kraft cardstock to create my background.  The sentiment is from a surprise set that was included with my December PTI order.  Apparently it was sent to some of the first customers that ordered at the December release.  A very nice surprise!

The grass was created with the Martha Stewart Icicle Punch.  I learned a lesson tonight.  Fresh Snow ink turns light blue on Pinefeather cardstock.  It doesn't look quite as bad in person, but still a little strange.  Oh, well.


I created my tulips using the Flower Fusion #11 die and stamp set.  To get the subtle pattern on the flowers, I stamped with Versamark ink.

Recipe:
(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

Rustic White, Royal Velvet, Pinefeather, & Kraft Cardstock
"Stiches & Swirls," "a big thank you," & "Flower Fusion #11" Stamp Sets
"Flower Fusion #11" Die
Fresh Snow & New Leaf Ink
Versamark Ink
Martha Stewart Icicle Punch

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Bicycle Thank You


It's time to start working on those thank you notes!  I made this one for my seven-year-old niece, who got me a cute little present for Christmas.  Her big gift from Santa was a pretty new bike, so I just had to incorporate that into the card.  The bicycle is cut at 7" from the Cricut Just Because Cards cartridge.


To make the balloons, I used the Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags die and stamped one of them with a sentiment from PTI's Tiny Tags II stamp set, before tying them to the bike seat.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Core'dinations Textured Cardstack
DCWV "The Metallic Stack"
My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Two:  Rosy" Patterned Paper (ledger)
BoBunny Patterned Paper (green polka dot)
- patterned scraps from my stash -
Papertrey Ink "Tiny Tags" Die & "Tiny Tags II" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink True Black Ink
Papertrey Ink Rustic Just Button Twine
Colorbox Cat's Eye Chalk Ink

Monday, December 26, 2011

Monday Hop with EAD Designs


Welcome to the Monday Hop with EAD Designs! I've had so much fun being a guest designer this month, and I can't believe it's already over!  You should have arrived here from the talented Stephanie!  If you just popped on over to see me, then you should head over to EAD's blog to begin.  You don't want to miss a thing today!  Be sure to leave a comment at each stop to be eligible to win a prize!


I can't tell you how excited I am about today's project.  This took me all of five minutes, and I LOVE how it turned out!  As you can see in this picture, my crafting area was not too exciting, with just a plain white wall (I can't even paint pretty colors in my craft room, since I'm in a rental).


I've always loved the look of vinyl wall art, and I fell in love with this saying (it's kind of my motto) from EAD Designs.  "Do Something Creative Every Day" comes in a variety of colors of vinyl, in three different sizes.  I chose black, to match the shelves in my craft room, in the 6" x 18" size.  Putting it up was simple!  I just had to peel the backing off of the transfer tape and position it where I wanted it on my wall.  It just took me a few minutes to rub the areas where the letters are with the included craft stick.  I peeled off the transfer tape, and there it was!


In my son Eric's words, "That's sick!  It looks like it's painted!"  High praise from a 16-year-old!  EAD Designs has lots of different precut vinyl wall art, and they also sell sheets of vinyl, in a variety of colors and fun patterns, if you're interested in cutting your own with your Cricut!

Thanks again for having me as a guest designer, EAD Designs!  Your products are awesome!  The next stop on the hop is the fabulous Jenn!

Recipe:

EAD Designs "Do Something Creative Every Day" Vinyl Wall Art

Saturday, December 24, 2011

This & That


Are those of you who celebrate Christmas all ready?  I just finished my last little projects, and I thought I would share them with you.  One of the presents I got for my son Eric is tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters.  It was fun creating a little package to put in his stocking.  I printed an image I found online on cardstock and also made some tickets using Papertrey Ink's Just the Ticket stamp set and die to put in the container.


To decorate my little container I used My Creative Time's Scallop & Stitched Circle Dies and Slam Dunk stamp set.  I thought it turned out pretty cute!


Eric's main present from my parents and me is the new iPhone.  However, his contract doesn't expire until January 2, so we can't get it until then.  This is the little IOU card I made for him.  Hopefully he'll get the "I" on the phone!


I put my Cricut to good use, decorating more gift bags.


I love making big tags using various images.


That's about it!  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your time with family and friends!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Santa Frog Snow Globe


Every year, we have a tradition to check out the crazy holiday lights in my neighborhood with my brother, sister-in-law, and two little nephews.  This year we all loved some cute frogs wearing Santa hats in one family's yard, so I had to incorporate this idea into my Christmas card for my brother's family.

I began by welding together two of the blackout version of the snow globe on the Cricut Christmas Cheer cartridge, at 5 1/2".


I adhered the circle layer, cut in patterned paper, and added a little bit of snow that I hand cut from glittered cardstock.  The frog is from the Noah's ABC Animals cartridge, cut at 2 1/2".  I added a Santa hat cut at 3 1/2" from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  Once the frog was adhered, I added another circle of clear cardstock, using 1/8" Scor-Tape around the edges of the circle.  To cover up the Scor-Tape, I went around the edge of the clear cardstock circle with Zig 2 Way Glue, and sprinkled glitter on top.


My sentiment is from My Creative Time's All Around Christmas stamp set, and I heat embossed it with gold filigree embossing powder.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate, Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Ocean's Tide, Ripe Avocado, Simply Chartreuse, & Clear Cardstock
DCWV "The Christmas Stack" Patterned Paper
DCWV "The Glitter Stack"
Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter
My Creative Time's "All Around Christmas" Stamp Set
Versamark Ink
Gold Filigree Embossing Powder

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Holiday Gift Bags


My roofing tin wall hangings for my coworkers are all finished and packaged up to give away tomorrow. I wrapped them in tissue and put them in small kraft gift bags that I had ordered from Oriental Trading Company.


To decorate the plain bags, I used hot glue to attach bows to the jingle bell ornaments.  


For the rosettes,  I used the Cricut Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge.  I used my Gypsy to weld three of the main images and then hid the scoring marks (I prefer not to have them showing).  It took two of these welded sections to make each rosette.  I hot glued the rosettes to scalloped circles cut with My Creative Time's Scallop & Stitched Circle Dies.  This held the rosettes together, and allowed me a spot to add a cute sentiment from MCT's All Around Christmas stamp set.  


On the back of the rosette, I used MCT's Classmate Valentines stamp set for the "To" and "From".


For my coworkers that don't celebrate Christmas, I went with more of a winter theme.


Recipe:

Oriental Trading Company Small Kraft Gift Bags
Trim A Home Jingle Bell Ornaments
Stampin' Up Grosgrain Striped Ribbon
The Ribbon Boutique White Organza Ribbon
Recollections "Sugar Plums" Patterned Paper
K&Company "Secret Santa" Patterned Paper
Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Rustic White, & Vintage Cream Cardstock
My Creative Time "Scallop & Stitched Circle Dies"
My Creative Time "All Around Christmas" & "Classmate Valentines" Stamp Sets
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy & Aqua Mist Ink
Copic Markers
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy Baker's Twine
Trendy Twine

Monday, December 19, 2011

Monday Hop with EAD Designs



Welcome to the Monday Hop with EAD Designs!  I'm having so much fun being a guest designer this month!  You should have arrived here from the talented Stephanie!  If you just popped on over to see me, then you should head over to EAD's blog to begin.  You don't want to miss a thing today!  Be sure to leave a comment at each stop to be eligible to win a prize!

For my project today, I made some quick and easy 3 1/4" cards.  These are great to have on hand, and the EAD Designs Holiday Cubes Vinyl made them a snap to make!  The set comes with 6 rub-on images that are actually designed to fit on 2 1/2" wooden cubes.  However, I discovered that they work great for mini cards too!  I used the Winter style, but they have them for many occasions!


These two cards are made with 3 1/4" x 6 1/2" blue cardstock, scored at 3 1/4".  My patterned paper base is cut at a 3" square and stamped with the border and sentiments from My Creative Time's Small Talk stamp set.  The snowman and snowflake are the EAD Designs rub-ons, in brown.


This card is the same size as the others, but I used a 3" brown square under a 2 3/4" patterned square.  The "Let it Snow" sentiment is another rub-on, from the same set.  I made coordinating envelopes with my Walk in My Garden Cricut cartridge, sizing them at 3 1/4".

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening, Aqua Mist, & Dark Chocolate Cardstock
Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses" Patterned Paper ("Let it Snow" card)
Echo Park "Season's Greetings" Patterned Paper (snowman/snowflake cards)
Cloud 9 Designs Seasonal Paper Pad (envelope)
EAD Designs "Holiday Cubes Vinyl"
My Creative Time "Small Talk" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening Ink
ColorBox Cat's Eye Chalk Ink

Thanks for hopping!  Be sure to check out all of the fun products at EAD Designs!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Nutcracker Cupcake Ensemble




My seven-year-old niece Mary is performing in the Nutcracker, and I'm going to see her performance today.  I had a lot of fun making a little gift for her.  I love how once you've built up a collection of Cricut cartridges, you can pretty much find anything you need for any occasion!  I'm submitting this in the Cricut Circle December Monthly Challenge, in which we were asked to make some personalized holiday gift wrapping!


My parents saw the performance the other night, and my mom sent me a picture of Mary in her little cupcake costume.  Using my Gypsy, it was easy to recreate the costume with a girl from Everyday Paper Dolls.  I didn't bother saving the size and cartridge details for my card, as I'm sure there aren't many of you that need to create this particular card!  



The cupcake box is cut at 9" from the Cricut Sweet Tooth Boxes cartridge.  I just followed the instructions in the handbook and added a little ribbon around it.


Inside the cupcake box is an ornament I made for Mary as a keepsake of her Nutcracker experience.  I got this idea from my friend Liz, of Liz's Paper Loft, who has an awesome video tutorial on making this type of ornament.  It's really not hard to do, and now I want to make more!  I used a clear glass ornament from Michael's.  Inside is a 2 1/2" circle cut from clear cardstock that has a 2 1/4" cupcake on it cut from the Cricut American Alphabet cartridge.  I added some fake snow and some ribbon.  To make the tag, I printed "Nutcracker 2011" on my computer, and then die cut it with the Papertrey Ink Double Ended Banner die.  After stamping the polka dots from Papertrey Ink's Ribbon Tails stamp set, I tied it to the ornament.


The ornament is so pretty in person, but I just don't have enough daylight right now to get a good picture.  Time to head off to the performance!


Recipe (for cupcake & ornament):

Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate, Sweet Blush, Pure Poppy & Clear Cardstock
Bazzill White Cardstock
Patterned Paper from Stash
Celebrate It! Solid Glass Ornament
Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon
Buffalo Snow Flakes (from Michael's)
Papertrey Ink "Double Ended Banner Die"
Papertrey Ink "Ribbon Tails" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist Ink

Thursday, December 15, 2011

A Little Bird-Day Card


I hadn't used my Cricut 3 Birds on Parade cartridge for a while, so I just had to pull it out for this birthday card.  The cute little bird is cut at 3", and I ran his hat through the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.


For the base of the card, I cut the scalloped circle card cut from Art Philosophy at 4 1/4".  On top of that I adhered a patterned scalloped circle, cut at the same size.  The pink border is another layer, and I added some white stitching to that.


My sentiment on the inside of the card is from the My Creative Time Many Greetings stamp set.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet & Melon Berry Cardstock
My Mind's Eye "Lime Twist:  Life of the Party" Patterned Paper
Core'dinations Textured Cardstock
Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder
My Creative Time "Many Greetings" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink True Black Ink
Colorbox Cat's Eye Chalk Ink
Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Cricut Magazine Baby Card


Before I start today, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful comments you left on my blog during the My Creative Time 12 Days of Christmas!  I enjoyed reading each and every one of them.  I have the best followers!!!

Today I am excited to share the baby card that I had published in the November issue of Cricut Magazine.  This was my first publication, so it was a big thrill!  And to make it even more fun, my friend Liz was published in it too!  You'll have to visit her blog, Liz's Paper Loft, to get a peek at her gorgeous project.


I used the crib from the Cricut Baby Steps cartridge, cut at 3 3/4".



The adorable overalls, also from Baby Steps, were cut at 2 3/4".


This little teddy bear is cut at 2 1/4" from the Christmas Solutions cartridge.


I stamped this cute curvy sentiment from My Creative Time's All Star Baby stamp set on cardstock and then trimmed around it to make a banner.  The star that it's tucked under is cut at 6 1/2" from Baby Steps and embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Summer Sunrise, Rustic White, Enchanted Evening & Dark Chocolate Cardstock
Core'dinations Textured Cardstock
DCWV Patterned Paper
My Creative Time "All Star Baby" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate Ink
Colorbox Cat's Eye Chalk Ink
Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder
Zig Memory System Writer

Monday, December 12, 2011

Monday Hop with EAD Designs!

This is my 2nd post today.  Please scroll down to see my post for the last day of the My Creative Time 12 Days of Christmas!

Welcome to the Monday Hop with EAD Designs! If you just popped on over to see me, then you should head over to EAD's blog to begin.  You don't want to miss a thing today!  Be sure to leave a comment at each stop to be eligible to win a prize!

After the many Christmas projects I've made lately, I really enjoyed creating a different type of card with some bright colors!  My card today was created with a 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of turquoise cardstock, scored at 4 1/4".  This size will fit into an A2 size envelope.  The black layer is a 4" square, and the striped layer is a 3 3/4" square.  The pretty topnote shape with the cutout is from the Cricut Elegant Edges cartridge, cut at 3.35".  The turqoise shadow is cut at 3.55".



My sentiment is from the My Creative Time This & That stamp set.  I thought it went great with the cute couch from the EAD Designs Good Company vinyl stickerz set.  Here's a peak at the rest of the stickerz on this set.


Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores & True Black Cardstock
Echo Park "Splash" Patterned Paper
EAD Designs "Good Company" Stickerz
My Creative Time's "This & That" Stamp Set
Papertrey Ink True Black Ink
Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon

Don't forget to keep hopping!  Your next stop is the talented Jenn!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas - Day 12


It's our last day of the My Creative Time "12 Days of Christmas"!  It's been a lot of fun, and I hope you've been as inspired as I have with all of the projects that have been shared by Emma and the rest of the design team!  If you arrived here from Jeanne,  then you are headed in the right direction.  If not, please start at Emma's blog here.  Emma's got lots of fun news today, along with an AWESOME giveaway!!!


For my project today, I made sour cream containers filled with some treats for my students.  These are very easy to make and just perfect for when you need to mass produce.  If you've never made these or seen them made, you can watch my video below.


To make 20 of these, I only needed 5 sheets of 12 x 12 cardstock.  Not bad!


To decorate each one, I used Emma's Scallop & Stitched Circle Dies, along with her Build a Banner Kit for the "To/From" tag.  The sentiments and images on the stitched circles are all from All Around Christmas, and the "To" and "From" are from Classmate Valentines.  I love that Emma has included To/From on several of her stamp sets, each in a different size and style.  There is one for every project!


There is even a perfect sentiment for my students who don't celebrate Christmas.


Recipe:

Recollections "Sugar Plums" Patterned Paper
AC "Jolly" Patterned Paper
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, & Rustic White Cardstock
My Creative Time "Scallop & Stitched Circles Dies" & "Build a Banner Kit"
My Creative Time "All Around Christmas" & "Classmate Valnetines" Stamp Sets
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, & New Leaf Ink
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Copic Markers
Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist Topnotch Twill Ribbon
Casa Collection Organdy Ribbon



*** 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Alert ***

To qualify for ALL of the AMAZING giveaways for the 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop!  You will have until Tuesday, December 13th @ midnight, to post all of your comments.  Very important:  please leave a way for us to contact you if you are one of the winners!  There are some amazing giveaways for this 12 day event and some surprises to help celebrate My Creative Time's One Year Anniversary!  Yes, Emma released her first set of stamps one year ago!  So make sure you are tuned in, because this is ONE hop that you do NOT want to miss!!!

Your next stop is the ever so talented Leanne.  Here's the full line-up, in case you get lost:

Katie <-- YOU ARE HERE

Sunday, December 11, 2011

MCT 12 Days of Christmas - Day 11


Welcome to the second to last day of the My Creative Time "12 Days of Christmas"!  I can't believe it's almost over, but all of the projects I've made are making me feel pretty ready for Christmas at this point!  If you arrived here from Jeanne,  then you are headed in the right direction.  If not, please start at Emma's blog here.


The other day I watched a One Charming Party video on My Craft Channel, in which they were making Sugar Cookie Truffles.  They looked really yummy, and I couldn't wait to give them a try!  These are a spin on cake pops, but you mix crumbled sugar cookies with a little bit of cream cheese for the center.  I used the recipe that I found here.  I actually found these easier to make than cake pops. For mine, I used homemade sugar cookies, but you can use store-bought ones (that have no sprinkles or frosting on them) or the refrigerated dough as well.


Since I wanted to share some of these with some special crafty friends,  I made a couple of gift boxes using the Cricut Sweet Tooth Boxes cartridge.  I cut the box and lid at 6 3/4" and adhered a 3 3/4" square of clear cardstock to the inside of the lid.


To make my tag, I used Emma's Curly Label Die and stamped the coordinating frame from Inspiring Words {Accents} stamp set.  The sentiments are from Emma's All Around Christmas stamp set.  I punched a small hole in the tag and tied it, along with a jingle bell, to the twine wrapped around the box.


This was a really quick gift card holder, since I was running out of time when I made it.  But I love how anything you make with Emma's Embossed Gift Card Holder comes out looking so professional!  The paper I used was single sided, so I distressed the white side with brown ink to give it a different look.  "Merry Christmas" is from Emma's Gift Card Sentiments stamp set.  Since the gift card inside was for Hobby Lobby, I just had to add this sentiment from Paper Princess, stamped onto an oval made with Emma's Stitched Oval Die.


Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock
Recollections "Sugar Plums" Patterned Paper (red)
Bazzill Basics "Glazed Christmas" Patterned Paper (white)
My Creative Time "Embossed Gift Card Holder," "Curly Label," & "Stitched Oval" Dies
My Creative Time "Build a Banner Kit"
My Creative Time "Gift Card Sentiments," "All Around Christmas," "Paper Princess," & "Inspiring Words {Accents}" Stamp Sets
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores, & True Black Ink
Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Copic Markers
Trendy Twine
Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream Button Twine & Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon
Darice Jingle Bells


*** 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Alert ***

To qualify for ALL of the AMAZING giveaways for the 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop!  You will have until Tuesday, December 13th @ midnight, to post all of your comments.  Very important:  please leave a way for us to contact you if you are one of the winners!  There are some amazing giveaways for this 12 day event and some surprises to help celebrate My Creative Time's One Year Anniversary!  Yes, Emma released her first set of stamps one year ago!  So make sure you are tuned in, because this is ONE hop that you do NOT want to miss!!!

Your next stop is the ever so talented Leanne.  Here's the full line-up, in case you get lost:

Katie <-- YOU ARE HERE