Birthday Card - Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

Yea for Friday!  I've tried to find time all week to post this card and finally found it tonight.  I made this for a wonderful little boy who is turning two.  He loves trains!

On the inside: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo - Look who is turning two!

The presents are actually cut from Winter Frolic.  I love that I can use my seasonal cartridges year round :) Unfortunately, I don't know who made this designer paper (I threw away the packaging).  I used googly eyes on the train instead of just having the ones that were cut out.  The top of the train was colored with a silver sharpie to make it shine.  Of course it needed some sparkle! I added glitter (it is tulip fabric paint) to the presents and balloons. I used my swiss dots cuttlebug folder and attached actual string for the balloons as well.  "Happy Birthday" is from the greetings stamp set by TPC studio.

The cuts:

* Train - Create-a-Critter

* Balloons - Potpourri Basket (originally Celebrations)

* 2 - Lyrical Letters

* Presents - Winter Frolic

 I'll have another project up in a couple of days so be sure to check back! And don't forget about the Teacher Appreciation blog hop on May 7th. *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

Mother's Day Blog Hop Winner!

I want to thank all of my fabulous followers (those that are old and new!) for choosing to follow me :) I received sooo many wonderful comments during this blog hop.  I'm super happy that random.org does the choosing for me! Here's the moment you've all been waiting for.  The winner is...

Kim from My Crafting Creations said, "Love the hummingbird. I also love the color purple. found your blog from Momo's site. I am a follower now. I am very new at blogging and only have one project posted on my blog but feel free to check it out. There will be more posted."

Kim - You've got mail!  Please contact me back with your info within the next week and I will get your goodies in the mail :)  If I don't hear from you I'll sadly have to choose someone else.  Also, if you haven't been to visit Kim be sure to stop by and leave her some love! Thanks again to all of those who participated in the hop.  I have another one coming up in a few weeks (teacher appreciation!), but I will also post other projects between now and then.  Be sure to check back!  *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

Mother's Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the Mother's Day blog hop. We are making some amazing projects that will hopefully inspire you to make some beautiful crafts for whomever you cherish on Mother's Day. If you came here from Kim at Ricketts Cricuts then you are in the right place. If just happened to be visiting me today be sure to start back at Jamie's blog - Crafty Girl 21, so you don't miss any of the wonderful projects!   I made this card for my own fabulous mom.

I decided to try a fold I had never done before.  It think it turned out really spectacular (although I'm not sure you can tell from the picture)! If you want to try one of your own, I found the directions at Stamp with Stacy.

I used designer paper from The Paper Studio (the gems are from them too!) and the flowers are from Oriental Trading.  The sparkle on the hummingbird and the "mom" is Tulip fabric paint. I cut the scallop on the flap with my Fiskars Scallop border punch.The sentiment on the inside is a stamp from Close to My Heart.

The Cricut Cuts:

* Hummingbird - Lyrical Letters

* Mom - Beyond Birthdays

 

Here is the whole line up in case you get lost along the way:

* Jamie - Crafty Girl 21

* Rhonda - Scrap Happens

* Kristen - Fantabulously Pink
* Court - Court's Crafts
* Sonya - Sonya's Paper Trail
* Mari - Made by Momo

* Kim - Ricketts Cricuts
* Tiffany - Sparkled Memories (This is Me!)
* Lisa - Lisa's Creative Niche
* Meighen - Scrappin 3rdees Chick

* Helen -  Crafting Cricut Mom

* Liz - My Which Craft

* Jennifer - Crafty Card Gallery

* Tere - With All My Heart

* Rebecca - Eclectic Endeavours

* Shawnee - Blessed on the Bright Side

* Dee Dee - Scrappin' With Dee Dee

Next up is Lisa at Lisa's Creative Niche (she's got something spectacular for you), but before you go what's a blog hop with out some blog candy?  I have some wonderful mom inspired items to giveaway. My mom loves purple, buttons, and flowers, so you'll find a bit of those things included and I couldn't forget to include some sparkle!

All you need to do it leave a comment on this post.  You don't have to become a follower, but of course I would love it if you did :)  I'll choose a winner on Monday April 25th using random.org. *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

Another Wedding Card, Blog Award and Hop News

I have another wedding card today!  This one was for the same wedding as the last.  The colors of the wedding were black and white.  I felt this one needed an extra pop of color so I added a bit of red too!

Close Up Of The Sparkle!

The cardstock colors are more true to the close up picture.  I'm still working on getting good pictures of my cards.  I was super excited to use a cartridge I had never used before, Joys of the Season.  The glitter is a combination or fabric paint (doves), Stickles (love) and Studio G (heart). The designer paper is from a dollar pack I purchased at Target.

The Cuts:

* Doves with Heart - Joys of the Season

* Scallops Circles - Forever Young (actually one of the flowers cut at 2 different sizes)

* Love - Beyond Birthdays

Next up ... Another award.  I can't believe it!  I am soooo honored to receive the BFB Award Jenn from Craftyful Gardens. If you haven't been to visit Jenn you must because her projects are amazing!  

The rules of this award are:

1. Post about it on your blog, link it back to the sender and thank them.

2. Pass the award onto those who visit and comment regularly

First I'd like to thank all who follower and comment on my blog!  It was super hard for me to choose blogs for this award because I have so many fabulously dedicated followers.  I tried to find regular followers, but also narrowed it down by picking people who I don't think have this award already.   Thanks so much to these wonderful ladies (be sure to visit them all!):

 * Tami B. - Tami's Craft Connection

* Terri - MyNeed2Craft

* Ruby - Handcrafted Simply by Us

* Tina - Tina's Crafty Creations

Last bit of news (sorry my posts seem to be so long lately!)... I am participating in the Mother's Day Blog Hop hosted by Jamie at Crafty Girl 21. The hop will start at 8:00 a.m. P.S.T on Saturday April 23rd with her blog.  Be sure to hop along with us. There will be some wonderful projects plus, I will have some great blog candy and I am sure others will too. *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

 

My First Easel Card

I finally made my first easel card!  I've wanted to make one of these for so long.  This card was for a wedding I went to today. It was for the same couple that I made the bridal shower card for a couple of weeks ago.   I found the directions at Robin's Craftroom. It was super easy to make!

 I decided to use vellum again (on the veil).  I cut shadow of the veil in white cardstock and then I cut the layer out in vellum. I only put a small dot of glue on the very tip of the veil so it would stick out a little from the cardstock.  This cut was hard because the cartridge only has four total cuts for it.  It has the bride/groom and the veil.  Each has a cut and the shadow to go with it, there are no layering options.  Therefore, I had to cut the bride/groom twice (once in black and once in white) and then cut the dress out separately and glue it to the black.  I think it turned out really well in the end. The designer paper is from The Paper Studio. The flowers are from the wedding department at Hobby Lobby.  They came in a bunch of about 10 and originally had metal stems.  The silver ribbon is from Wal-Mart. I also used some gems to add some sparkle to the bride and the sentiment that it making it stay up.  

The Cuts:

* Bride & Groom - Potpourri Basket (originally Wedding Solutions) 

* Love - Beyond Birthdays

As always, I love your comments.  I'll have another card up in a few days so be sure to check back! *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

I'm linking this up to:

TPV Challenge - Guest Designer!

I'm so honored to be a guest designer for The Paper Variety challenge reveal today!  My idea (flowers) was randomly chosen for their next challenge.  This not only won me a wonderful gift certificate, but it also gave me the opportunity to create a project, to be displayed along with their other designers, for their new challenge.  If you have not been to The Paper Variety you must check them out.  They are amazing! Also, be sure to check out all of their design team members.  They all make spectacular projects!  Here is my project for the challenge reveal:

Of course I added some sparkle to it! I used icicle Stickles on the flowers and the border around the "Happy Easter" sentiment (which is from a set of stamps that came in a big plastic barrel, but I don't remember who they are made by).   It is hard to tell, but the card background is brown.  I also embossed the flowers with my Cuttlebug, to give them some dimension. The pattern paper is from the dollar spot at Target (woo hoo!).  The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby, and the flowers are cut from Forever Young.

Be sure to hop over and submit your flower project at The Paper Variety!

 

The Paper Variety design team member Patti is their fabulous sponsor and the prize below is being offered to the challenge winner!

 

I chose flowers because I am soooo ready for spring.  Even though it has technically been spring for several weeks, it definitely doesn't feel or look like it where I live. I hope that everyone has fun with this challenge.  I can't wait to see what everyone makes!  As always, I love to read your comments.  I will have another project up in a couple of days so be sure to check back! *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

Congrats Card, Award, and Big News!

First up my project... I am so excited to finally have the chance to post this project!  It has been a super busy week.  This card was created for my sister, who just got married.  She loves butterflies, so that is where I got my inspiration!  The paper colors are actually teal tones and the ribbon is pink, but I think it some what hard to tell in the pictures.  I definitely need to find a way to make my pictures look better.  They just never seem to do my cards justice!

Of course, I added a bit of sparkle to the butterflies and the heart.  For those of you who don't know, I often use glittered fabric paint in my cards.  It is usually cheaper than craft glitter and the glitter specks themselves are a bit smaller and it gives a different effect.  The spots on the butterflies are done with Tulip fabric paint and the heart is done with Stickles.

What I Used:

* Teal Cardstock Cut 5.5" x 4.25"

* Lighter Teal Carstock Cut 5.25" x 4"

* White Cardstock Cut 5" x 3.75"

* Cuttlebug & Floral Fantasy Folder

* Pink Ribbon

* Tulip Glitter Fabric Paint

* Stickles Cotton Candy

* Sentiment from TPC Stamps (from Joann Fabrics)

Cuts:

* Butterflies Cut From Potpourri Basket (originally from Home Accents)

* Scalloped Ovals from Create-a-Critter

Next... My new award!  I am so honored to receive the "A Thing of Beauty" blog award.  Thanks so much to Sherrie K at Sherrie Scraps for giving me this award!  If you have been to visit Sherrie you certainly should.  She makes amazing projects!  For this award I have to share 5 things about myself, including why I love scrapping, (I sure am sharing a lot about myself lately, I'm starting to run out of things to say) and pass it 5 other beautiful bloggers.  

 5 things about me:

1.  I love crafting because it is relaxing and I can express my inner creativity.

2.  I have 13 Cricut Cartridges and still have yet to use some of them (I'm working my way to them though).

3.  I have the most wonderful and supportive husband.  I don't know what I'd do without him.

4.  I'm a bit addicted to plastic containers to store things.  Every storage closet plus the shelves in the basement are filled with them!

5.  I love being able to spend my days with little minds that are constantly growing

I'm sharing this award with these beautiful blogs (it was so hard to choose just 5!):

* Katie at Crafting with Katie

* Maquel at Paper Maine-iac

* Kristin at Pinkldy Crafter

* Jenny at Papercut Creations

* Ashley at Marine Wife's Scrappin' Life

I'm going to hop over and let these wonderful ladies know they have an award.  You should definitely check them out too.  They all have spectacular  ideas!  Before you go I'd like to tell you that The Paper Variety has chosen my idea for their next challenge.  This means that next week (4/13/11 to be exact) I will be displayed as a guest designer for them!  They have a wonderful sponsor and an amazing prize. Be sure to come back and check it out! As always *~*Thanks for Stopping By*~*

Another Award!!!

I am super excited to announce that I have received another Versatile Award from Cindy Lou at Scrappin C!  Thank you so much Cindy Lou!

The requirements to accept this award are :
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell 7 things about yourself (I tried to make them different than last time)
3. Pass it on to 15 other bloggers

7 Things about me:
1.  I love Italian food and strawberry ice cream
2.  I don't like chocolate ( I know it's strange)
3.  My biggest weakness is my need for perfection (cards sometimes take me days/weeks for this reason - but I am getting better)
4.  I love my Christmas tree and would keep it up for decoration year round if my husband would let me :)

5.  Even though my sister and I are 2.5 years apart, we look almost identical and are easily mistaken for each other
6.  I'm an animal lover and treat my pets like they are my kids

7. Spiders freak me out ( I don't think anything should have that many legs!). Although I never kill them, I always catch them and let them outside (see above about animal lover)

 
I'm passing this award to these wonderful ladies:
* Tiffany at Breakfast @ Tiffany's
* Heather at Heather's This and That
* Anna at Mamaw Ann's World
* Debi at Debican
* Lisa at Lisa's Stuff-n-Such
* Tanya at ScrappyLand
* BunnyFreak at Everything Digital Scrapbooking Layouts
* L.B. at Cool Beans by L.B.
* Karen at Empty Nest Boutique
* Lillian at It Came From My Mother's Meatloaf
* Shelia at 2 Paw Prints
* Kathlee at Kathlee's Snippits & Cricuts
* Lisa at Lisa's Creative Niche
* Elaine at Expressions by Elaine
* Brenda at Primary Inspired

Now, I am hopping over to all of these wonderful blogs to let them know they have received an award from me.  Please be sure to check them all out too! Also, visit Cindy Lou.  She is amazing.  I will definitely have a project up in the next couple of days!  Be sure to check back.  *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

April Fool's Day Winner!!!

I want to thank all of my recent followers (and also all the other dedicated ones who have been following for a little while now) for choosing to follow my blog! I received so many wonderful comments during this blog hop! I am extremely glad I let random.org do the choosing because there is no way I would have been able to choose :)  So, now for the moment you have all been waiting for.  The winner is...

 

Terri from Scrappin with the Bug said, " So adorable. Love the box 

great idea. Thanks for sharing."

Terri - You have mail!  Please contact me back within a week to claim your prize.  Otherwise, I will sadly have to choose someone else :(  Thanks again to everyone who participated in the hop!  It was so much fun and I hope to do it again really soon.  I will have a project up in the next couple of days, so be sure to check back!  *~*Thanks for stopping by*~*

April Fool's Day Blog Hop!

Welcome to the It's A Joy 2 Scrap's - April Fool's Day Blog Hop!  I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday!  If you came here from  Patty at The Crafty Kitten, you are in the right place. However, if you just happened to be visiting me today, make sure you head over to the beginning at It's A Joy 2 Scrap's by April, so you don't miss any of the fun!

This is my first hop and I am so excited to be a part of it!  For this hop, we were asked to create a project that “tricks the eye.” I made a birthday card.  Here's what I did:

I started out by just making the gift box on the Forever Young Cartridge.  This has become one of my favorite cartridges lately.  I added some holographic paper because I feel like it always tricks your eye when it moves.  Here's how it looks:

 Then I decided it wasn't eye tricking enough, so I made it do this:

To make the gift box open: First, I cut the shadow (it's purple, I'm not sure you can tell in the picture) of the box out twice (at 3.5") and glued them together just around the edges.  I added layers to make it pretty.  Then, I cut the assembled box apart where the lid and the box met.  Since I only glued the boxes around the edges, it was open on the inside.  So, I attached some paper to the lid so that it could slide in and out of the box.  Since it is a birthday card, I decided to stamp a happy birthday sentiment on the inside of the box as a surprise for the person who receives the card!

What I Used:

* Green Card Stock cut at  8.5" x 5.5", scored in half

* Pink Polka Dot Paper - From the Dollar Spot at Target Cut 5.25" x 4"

* Self Adhesive Holographic Paper from Hobby Lobby

* Striped Paper - DCWV Christmas Combo Stack

* Scrap Purple, Bright Blue and Light Blue Paper

* Happy Birthday Stamp (I can't remember who they are made by, but I got the set for $1.00 on clearance at Wal-Mart)

* Gemstones

Carlene from Me N' Miss Pink Cricut is up next. She always makes amazing projects. So, hop over and see what wonderful idea she has for you today! If you get lost along the way, here is the line up:

* ELAINE

* VICKI

* DARLENE

* LINDSEY

* TAMMY

* KARA

* AMY

* ASHLEY

* JANICE

* TONIA

* KIM

* JANICE

* JILLIAN

* WENDY

* KAYLA

* JENNY

* PATTY  (This is where you came from)

* TIFFANY  (This is me!)

* CARLENE  (This is where to hop to next)

* KRYSTAL

* JENNY

* MICHELLE

* LINETTE

* KATIE

* DEBI

Before you go... What's a hop without some wonderful candy?!?!  Today for blog candy I have a few of my favorite "eye catching" things (you'll notice I felt like spring colors were necessary):

D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, 3 pack of Stickles glitter glue, 2 spools of The Paper Studio's Ribbon Trends and some amazing Paper Studio gems

To be eligible to win my candy just leave a comment on this post with a way that I can contact you.  You don't have to become a follower, but of course I would love it if you did. I will choose a winner using random.org and announce it on Monday. Don't forget! If you leave a comment on all the blogs in this hop by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. CST. You have a chance to win some fabulous prizes from April! *~* Thanks for stopping by*~*