I'm Thinking of You ...

Here's a quick card using a Hero Arts stamp set. 
It's 5.5" x 5.5", scored to create a square pattern.  The images were colored with Copic markers and the sentiment from a Close To My Heart Cricut bundle stamp set.

Copic colors:

RV000, RV02, RV04; YR00, YR02, YR07; BG10, BG13, BG15; BV00, BV02, BV04; YG11, YG13, YG17; Y02, Y08; B000, B00.

It didn't photograph well, but I brushed a little Wink of Stella on the images ... it added a really nice shimmer.

I finished by making a matching envelope.

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #12 ... Native American Inspiration

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another Cricut 360° Challenge? This week, I'm keeping it simple. My image is a digital from Daisy's Digi Doodles. I printed it on kraft paper, colored it with Copics, then used a small paint brush and white craft ink to highlight the feathers. I added a drop of Glossy Accents to each of the beads to give them a little shine and texture. I layered this with papers from Stampin' Up and some twine, and then finished with a sentiment cut from the Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge.

Hope you like my little card ... now it's your turn. Visit the Cricut 360° Challenge Blog to see the design team's wonderful projects. Then link up your project ... I'd love to see what you create!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #7 ... Old West

It's Friday, and you know what that means ... another Cricut 360° Blog challenge. This week we're headed out west to find our inner cowgirl!

For my card, I chose a digital image from Bombshell Stamps. They have great vintage images and I just love this cowgirl! I used PhotoShop Elements to change the line art color from black to brown, and then used Copics to color the image.  The patterned paper is from K & Company and the cardstock is from Papertrey Ink. The frames are from the Elegant Edges cartridge ... I used my Gypsy to size the frames to fit my card base. To make the tarnished gold frame, I cut the image from a cream colored cardstock, inked it first with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, then with a bronze color Ink Spot and finished with a spritz of Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist. I then ran it through my crimper to give it a some dimension. My image is pop-dotted and to finish, I added a little crochet thread and a metal star I found in a old jewelry box.

I added a computer generated sentiment to the inside of the card. It's a quote from Dale Evans ... it really brings back memories of watching Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on Saturday afternoon (I'm dating myself here!) and I thought it was perfect for my vintage style card.

Now it's your turn ... mosey on over to the Cricut 360° Blog and see the great projects my design team sisters have created. I hope you're inspired to join us this week.

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #6 ... Refreshing

It's Friday and time for another Cricut 360° Blog challenge. It's been crazy hot so we're going to try to cool things down with some refreshing projects!

For my project, I tried to recreate one of my favorite things: an Olive Garden Italian Margarita. My, oh my ... they are yummy!

There are martini glasses on a couple of Cricut cartridges, but no margarita glasses, so I used my Gypsy to make my own. I welded an oval from Plantin Schoolbook to the top of the martini glass from Smiley Cards to create the margarita shape. I cut it two times, one from white cardstock and one from frosted Shrinky Dink material. I used a Copic marker to ink the frosted side. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but I inked the stem of the glass with a light blue Copic marker. I used Glossy Accents to adhere some clear Martha Stewart micro beads to the rim. Then I used more Glossy Accents (just on the side edges) to adhere the Shrinky Dink layer to the card stock layer.

I like my margaritas 'on the rocks', so I used more the of Shrinky Dink material to make ice cubes. The rounded squares are from George and Basic Shapes. I used my Gypsy to weld three together to form a base. Then I cut three separately. I inked the frosted sides with a light blue Copic marker, and then embossed them with the Tiny Mosaic Cuttlebug folder. I used clear dimensional dots to attach them to the base and slipped them in between the Shrinky Dink material and the cardstock. I like how they look like they're floating. Of course, every margarita needs a straw ... I used a pipe cleaner (slipped behind the white cardstock) to make mine!

The orange slice is from Preserves. It looked a little flat, so I glossed it up with a thin coat of Glossy Accents. For my sentiment, I used Thickers from American Crafts. They're actually yellow, so I inked them with the same Copic marker I used on the margarita.

Oh, and I guess I should tell you my card is a 6" x 6" square and the designer paper is from Stampin' Up. I hope you join us for this week's challenge ... I'd love to see your refreshing ideas!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360 Blog Challenge #4 ... The Great Outdoors

Wow, it's hard to believe we're already up to Challenge #4 ... time is just flying by. I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's entries ... they are a great source of inspiration for me ... thanks to you all.

 Are you ready for  more? I hope you'll join us this week because we're are going "Outdoors" at the Cricut 360° Challenge Blog.

One of my favorite outdoor activities is gardening, so I made my card with that in mind. I started with this sweet little image from Mo Manning that I colored with Copics. I wanted this image to be the focal point of my card, so I kept the mats and embellishments simple. The tools were cut from the Walk in My Garden Cricut cartridge. I cut the first layers from gray cardstock, inked the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink (Black Soot) and then embossed them with UTEE ... leaving the handle portion un-embossed. I cut the second layers from brown cardstock, spritzed them with Glimmer Mist (Tattered Leather), and then embossed them with the Herringbone Cuttlebug folder. Then I finished with some twine and a sentiment stamp from Pink By Design.

Hope you like this ... can't wait to see what you design!!

And remember, we always have a weekly winner ... up for grabs this week:

Thanks for stopping by ...

Better Late Than Never ...

I am so behind in all my crafting and blogging. For some reason, I thought spring cleaning was more important ... what was I thinking! Anyway, my daughter made these cute little Easter peeps cupcakes for the children in our neighborhood, and I just had to post them. Remember when peeps were only yellow? Now they come in six colors. The orange ones where a little hard for us to find ... at one point, there was a statewide orange peep search!!

These are yellow cupcakes, baked in wrappers that match the color of the peeps. Topped with vanilla frosting, some cupcake glitter, and, of course, the peeps.

Here they are, wrapped in cellophane ... ready for delivery. We added a tag made from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More Cricut cartridge. The image is a digital from Whimsie Doodles that I colored with Copics. To make them look more 'peep like', I covered them with a layer of Glossy Accents  and glitter. The sentiment is a Penny Black stamp. These were a hit and so much fun to make.

Thanks for stopping by ...

It's Your Birthday Sundae!

Here's a card I made for my friend, April. April always appreciates my cards ... I love that! Anyway, my cute sundae image is a digital from Pink Petticoat. If you're interested in digitals, you should check them out. They have lots fun images to choose from and have digital papers, too.

 I colored  this with Copics, added a little glitter, then used Glossy Accents on the cherry and dish. The scalloped ovals are from the Lacy Labels Cricut cartridge. I  pop dotted the pink and purple layers and used an Action Wobble to attached the layer with the image. Finish it with some Stampin' Up ribbon and a sentiment from Verve Stamps. Oh, I also used a Stampin' Up border punch to finish the bottom edge of the blue layer. Too cute!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Take a Little Time to Pamper Yourself!

I made this card for my friend Karen. Her 60th birthday is tomorrow and several friends and I put together a gift basket of fun stuff she can use to pamper herself. We also included gift certificates for a massage, pedicure, hair cut and style, and dinner at a nice restaurant. I know she'll love it!!

The image is from Stamping Bella, colored with Copics and all the papers and card stock are from Stampin' Up.

 The beads were actually a pair of earrings I got at a craft fair. I don't wear dangly earrings, but I love beads and knew I could put these to good use somewhere.

The sentiment is computer generated. I printed it first on plain paper. Then I taped my patterned paper over the original printing and then printed again.

Finally, here's a peek at the inside. Hope you like this one ... thanks for stopping by.

Happy Christmas to Cora, too

I think this is my favorite card of the season ... it's the 'girly' version of the card I made for Isaiah (December 15th post). This one's for my little friend Cora who is truly a pink kind of girl.

Happy Christmas Isaiah

A little card for my neighbor Isaiah ... he's almost 2 years old. The image is a Penny Black 'Slapstick' stamp, colored with Copics and cut with my circle Nestibilities. The scalloped circle was cut using Gypsy Wanderings and the snowflakes were cut using Winter Woodland. I'm really liking the non-traditional colors. Hope Isaiah likes it ...

With My Apologies

I borrowed a cookbook from my neighbor Linda and, instead of returning it promptly, I scooped it up and put it away with my cookbooks and then forgot about it. Well, six (ouch) months later, I find it ... oops! So, in an attempt to get myself out of trouble, I made a Gooey Butter cake and this card for her.

The image is a Mo Manning digital, colored with Copics. The sentiment is computer generated and I used a Martha Stewart punch for some detail.

Well, Linda loved card and the cake was good too, so all is good and I'm forgiven!!

Another October Birthday

I made this little card for my friend Lori ... it actually kind of looks like her. The image is a digital from InStyle Stamps, colored with Copics. I used my Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch to make the "icing" and then covered it with a thin layer of Crystal Affects to add a little shine. The card base, the striped layer and the oval frame were all cut on my Cricut using Gypsy Wanderings ... this is my first Gypsy card. I finished with a handwritten sentiment and a little ribbon. Hope you like it.

A Card for My Sister and Copic Creations Challenge #13

About the time I was learning to use my Copic markers, DeeDee sent me this sweet little Tilda image. I colored her and set her aside ... not sure how I wanted to use her. Then I came across this wonderful pumpkin stamp from Whiff of Joy and knew it would make a great little 'seat' for Tilda. I whipped up this little card for my sister's birthday, and, as luck would have it, the current challenge at Copic Creations is pumpkins. Perfect!!

Lanie's 1st Birthday-Three Clovers Challenge #32, Simon Says "It's a Stitch Up" and Pile It On Challenge #17

My great niece celebrated her 1st birthday on Saturday and I thought this Mo Manning image was just perfect for her card.

I colored the image with Copics, then cut the image and mat with Nestibilites. The #1 is a Cricut cut from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and the balloons were cut using the George Basic Shapes cartridge. The patterned papers are digital ... the floral is from a Funky Hand cd called "Funky Word Books" and the gingham is from the "Sweetest Thing" set from Designer Digitals. I added some stitching and a little doodling for detail. Lanie and her parents loved the card, which is really what it's all about.

And, just by chance, this card works perfectly for the current challenge at Three Clovers Designs. Check out Kerry's great blog.

Happy Birthday Frog - Gotta Love Dustin Pike

I needed a birthday card for my friend Becky who's crazy for frogs and knew I couldn't go wrong with a Dustin Pike image. I used my Copics to color this sweet little guy (don't you just love that face!) and added the sentiment using a stamp from Papertrey Ink. I finished the edge of the designer papers with a Martha Stewart punch, added a chocolate gingham ribbon and topped it all off with a little butterfly button. I had no idea where I was headed with this when I started, but I really like how it turned out ... simple, but cute ... I think Becky will like it too!!

A Card for Jill

Wow, it seems like forever since I've made a card ... there just aren't enough hours in the day!! Anyway, I finally had a chance to spend some time in my craft room and make this birthday card. Isn't this just the cutest image? It's a digital from Mo Manning ... you can see all her images here. I chose this image because she looks amazing like a girl my daughter grew up with (I really shouldn't call her a girl anymore as she just celebrated her 25th birthday) and I thought she would enjoy a card that looked her. I colored the image with Copics and added a little glitter to the skirt. The papers and ribbon are from Stampin' Up and the little butterfly is a button from WalMart. I used the swiss dots Cuttlebug folder and the tag was cut with my Nestibilities. The sentiment is a stamp from Papertrey Ink's Mega Messages set. Lots of fun to make, and with any luck, it won't be another month before I make it to my craft room again!

Heard You Caught A Bug - Get Well Card

This is a card I've entered in our County Fair. One of the categories is Get Well cards and I wanted to make a fun one.

The image is a digital from Dustin Pike ... I printed the image on a plain piece of card stock, then using the Center Point button on my Cricut, cut the jar around the image using the Doodlecharms cartridge. I colored the 'bug' with Copic markers and then covered the jar with a thin coating of Glossy Accents to make it look glass-like. To make the lid, I cut another jar out of gray paper and snipped off the top, then inked it using a metallic ink. Finally, for the base, I cut another jar from pink card stock using the Shadow feature.

The flowers were cut using the Walk in My Garden cartridge ... I added buttons, twine, some doodling and leaves made using a Martha Stewart punch. All the card stock is from Papertrey Ink and the designer paper is from K and Company. The sentiments were computer generated.

Here's a peek at the inside. I've entered four cards total. I should know the results of the judging this evening. I'll let you know I did ...

Penny Black Week 57 ~ Swirls & Copic Creations Challenge 8 ~ Botanicals

I fell in love with this stamp after seeing a wonderful card my blogging friend Brenda made with it (visit her blog here). The stamp is called "Love Blush" and since it's a Penny Black stamp, I though I would use it for this week's challenge ... which is to add swirls to a project. I'm also using this card for Copic Creations Challenge ~ Botanicals. Links to both challenge sites are on the right side panel of my blog.

I wanted the swirls to subtle, but didn't have a swirly background stamp. Sigh, now what to do? Then I remembered I could make a stamp using my Cricut. With the stamp material, a really sticky mat and the deep cut blade, I cut a swirly design using the Storybook cartridge. This is the first time I've tried making a stamp and it worked perfectly ... if you haven't tried this yet, I highly recommend it!! Using my 'new' stamp on an acrylic block and VersaMark Dazzle ink in Champagne, I stamped swirls on navy cardstock.

Then I colored my stamped image with Copics (I'm secretly quite proud of how it turned out) ... layered the image on a digital paper from a Designer Digitals set called Sweetest Thing ... and added the frosted Martha Stewart gems, which, just by luck, match the striped paper perfectly.

This is a birthday card, and is 5.5" square, so I added the navy satin ribbon, hoping it would look somewhat like a birthday present. So, how'd I do? Let me know ...

Penny Black Week 56 - Colour Challenge

Thought I'd try a Penny Black challenge ... this week it's a color challenge using

Red, White and Blue. The red card stock is from Papertrey Ink and the DP is from Basic Grey. The base of my card was cut using Cricut's Wild Card cartridge, the flowers were cut using the George cartridge and the circles were cut using my Cuttlebug and Nestibilities. I colored my snail with Copic markers and a touch of glitter pen. I used lots of pop dots and curled the flower petals to add a little dimension. The sentiment is a stamp from Whipper Snappers. Overall I'm pleased with this one ... really lovin' the blue! Stop by the Penny Black Challenge to see what everyone else is up to.

Polka Doodles and Peachy Keen Challenges

The challenge at Polka Doodles this week is to create something using fruit and include a hidden element. I combined that challenge with this week's sketch at Peachy Keen. The papers are 'Plain Green' and 'Sugar Gingham' from my Sugar Birdies cd. The watermelon stamp is from Peachy Keen, colored with Copic markers and a little glitter pen. I attached the watermelons with brads so they can be moved to reveal the hidden sentiment, then I added a little ribbon, some rhinestones, and a touch of doodling. The sentiments are computer generated. This was a fun card to make ... be sure to visit Polka Doodles and Peachy Keen to play along!