Mother's Day Cards & KWCIC #51

Here's 2 Mother's Day cards I did last night based on the Kristina Werner Color Inspiration Challenge. I love these challenges, especially when I'm on a time crunch like I am right now... It really helped me to get focused and get 'em done!



On this first card, I used SU stamps (Packet Silhouettes & Lexicon of Love), SU Ink in More Mustard and Staz-on Timber Brown. The scalloped square was punched from my 6x6 pad of BG Euphoria, the crocheted ribbon is from Fancy Pants and I used a random fuschia fiber in my supply.

PP on this one was from the DCWV '09 Spring Stack, Michael's ribbon, and the stems and leaves were stamped from the Botanical Blooms SU stamp set. Ink colors are all SU: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, and Pink Passion. I used plain white Prima mini-flowers and colored them using the same colors in my SU markers.

TP on your LOs & Cards!!!

Ever thought of using Toilet paper on your craft projects? :o)

http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/2009/05/3ts-with.html

Niiiiice......

David's gonna kill me....

... but I couldn't resist!!!

I'm just amazed he kept it on for so long!

Oh and a side story here... the rule on the pacifiers around here is "mee mees only" (Which means only when he's sleeping.) But he always seems to know where one is stashed (I think he has a secret compartment in his room somewhere) and he'll grab one first chance he gets and then he'll RUN. He always thinks it's funny though when I grab it from him and he'll even (sometimes) surrender it willingly. I think it's all just a game to him. But here's the real kicker. You know what he calls the binkie? "Puta". Yep. If you know spanish, then you already get the joke. If not.... well, it's a nasty slang word for a "woman of the night." :o) I, personally, call them his "Chupas" - because in spanish, a pacifier is called a "chupon." (pronounced "choo-pone.") So... "chupa"... "puta"... I guess I can understand how he got it. But it's still funny, and there's your Spanish lesson for the day.

ETA: According to wikipedia, in Roman mythology, Puta was the goddess of pruning vines and bushes. So next time someone calls you a "puta" - you can be flattered... imagine yourself in a Grecian garden swathed in a gorgeous tunic, pruning an olive tree.

Cruisin'

I used the December 2008 Pagemaps issue to get this LO design, and I must have really been ready to scrap, cuz it took me less than an hour to get this one done! It was sitting on the side for a long time, but I finally got moving on it when I saw the Lime Rickey paper from BG - it was a perfect match! The letters are Thickers from AC and I cut the stars from fun foam using my Big Shot and the "Concetric Stars" Cuttlebug die.

Surprise, Surprise!

William and David went for a ride in the Bronco to go visit Nana and Tata today... William LOVES the Bronco - he calls it the "Bao." Well, David called me a few minutes ago and said to be outside when he got home, that I just HAD to see what William was doing. So I ran outside with my camera ready.... not sure what to expect, but anxious to snap a another "super cute" pic of my monkey...

...and I wasn't dissappointed! I have been dying to get a pic of William sleeping in a "strange" situation, and I finally did! I could hear the Bronco coming from a mile away (yes, it's THAT loud) so this was definitely a great photo op! And BONUS! I got him wearing his shades (which he NEVER does) and holding his blue ring of power!

Copycat

Although I am an avid lifter when it comes to Scrapbooking, I rarely copy one exactly. But that was not the case with this next LO – I couldn’t resist! I had the paper, the pics, and I loved the technique!

The LO came from the March/April issue of the Simple Scrapbooks magazine (page 68). I used a craft knife to cut away pieces of the paper (M&MBI Fashion District collection) and put a piece of shimmery CS behind (Prima). I used PS to do my journaling and matched the background color to the CS I used.

My Latest SB in a Box

Here's my latest SB in a Box (yes, I LOVE making these things!). This one was for my mom's birthday.

For the first time, I opted for a larger size (4") and used (almost) exclusively SU products. The paper is their Parisian Breeze specialty textured paper (man, this stuff was THICK and sturdy!). I also went for four levels instead of my usual three.

I used the new oval stamp set ("Oval All") and the new oval scallop punch from the mini catalog to make the date labels. However, I left the phrases in the stamps out by just coloring what I needed with markers and then stamping.

The flower in the middle is from prima (the blue flower behind it is also prima):

Also new - I tried using a different edge punch for the top of each "page", and I love the way it came out!

Here are 2 tutorials I've found out on the net to make these boxes:

http://www.acherryontop.com/article?a=3828

http://imageevent.com/littlecs7/projectofthemonth/srcrapbookinabox?n=1&z=2&x=1&c=5&m=20&w=0&p=0

The main difference between the two are how the box tops are made. I prefer the deeper, sturdier version I made here, but I've also made the shallower version when I needed to show more design on the box sides.

Kwerner Design Challenge #50 - Card

Here's my second creation for the kwernerdesignblog Color Inspiration Challenge:

This is a take off of the Mother's Day card we made in SU Club this month.

Kwerner Design Challenge #50 - Box

I decided to do the Color Inspiration Challenge again at kwernerdesignblog! This time, there are goodies involved! We can only post one entry, and this is one of two that I created... I am still having a hardtime deciding which one to choose!

For this little gift box, I covered a box I had with DCWV "Citrus" paper and used my SU "Say it with Scallops" stamp set.

The flower on top was originally a white Prima flower, but I used my "coffee" glimmer mist to turn it brown, then added some pearl accents in the middle that I covered with yellow "sugarcoating" glitter from doodlebug design.

SU Projects

Just wanted to share the projects we made at SU club this month!

3 more LOs

Just a few more LOs to share!

PP on "Walking (with help)" is from K&Co "Hopscotch" line. I created the accents using my SU supplies, and the letters are AC Thickers.

Of course, this has got to be a favorite - it's my favorite messy doodly style. I hand drew most of the elements, and the pp is also from the K&Co Hopscotch line.

PP on this one is from Colorbok. I used some foil paper and my Big Shot to create the concentric circles using my CC Cuttlebug die.

"Bubbles in Bed"

This was a super fun LO to do! (Special thanks goes out to my bud, Michelle, for showing me how to do the bubble technique!)

PP is from Prima, Journaling was again printed on DS PP, I cut the title from SCAL using a font called "Inspiration." The bubbles were cut from transparency paper using my Cricut (Plantin Schoolbook cart). I cut the scroll frame using the Storybook cart. I got the poem off the internet, but ended up modifying it a bit for my needs.

Here's the bubble technique -in Michelle's words! :o)

"I inked the edges [of the bubbles] with white ink and used the eye shadow applicator to make the highlight. I let it dry for a few then used that powder [it is an irridescent pearl-ex type powder]. Then just be careful not to touch it. I used the liquid glue pen [ZIG ball point glue pen] and traced the edges and voila it shoud stick to your page."

(The only thing I did different was use a white paint pen to make my highlights stick out a bit more. For the white ink on the edges, I used the Staz-On Opaque stamp pad in Cotton White.)

"Our Day in the Sun"

Here's a 2-pager I started a while back and finally finished up this weekend!

PP is MME and the letters are Thickers from AC. I printed my journaling out on DS PP to get the white lettering.

WOW...

...Not much more I can say about this site - this chick is awesome!
http://www.spinnvild.com/
Talk about inspiration!!!!

Getting rid of Cricut "Tick Marks"

I decided to post this tutorial because I thought there may be other Cricut users like me who get annoyed with the little "tick marks" that the cricut machine cuts into things like boxes, envelopes and other items that require folding. (These are the little tiny cuts that are meant to show you where to score/fold your projects). I find that frequently, these cuts are a little too obvious and sometimes even tear open when I try to fold. So when I was making all my Easter baskets, I came up with a way to get rid of them, but still have the ability to know where to fold my paper!

Caveat: To do this, you need to have Cricut Design Studio (CDS)!

Step 1: Cut out your design (with the tick marks) on a scrap piece of cardstock paper. This will be your template - so it's best to cut onto something sturdy. Also - since you will be cutting the exact same one later with CDS, it is best to start there and cut your template in CDS in the desired finished size.

Step 2: Using a pointy object (like a paper piercer), carefully "open up" the tick marks on your template so you can fit the tip of a pencil through them:

Step 3: In CDS, go to your original file and right click on each of the tick marks and choose "Hide Selected Contour". As you do this, each of the tick marks should turn a different color, signifying that they will not be cut with the cricut.

Step 4: Cut your design out on the paper/cardstock that you wish to use for your finished product(s). You may want to do a "test cut" on a scrap piece of paper to make sure you hid all the tick marks.

Step 5: Lay your template (with the tick marks) over your "final" project (without the tick marks) lining it up as accurately as possible! (This is where I highly recommend the Basic Gray magnetic precision mat! You can use the heavy-duty magnets to hold your project down and keep it from slipping!).

Note: You should place your final project (on the bottom) wrong side up so that when you mark your tick marks, they wont be visible.

Step 6: Use a pencil to mark through each tick mark on the template:

Step 7: Remove your template, and your should see your tick marks!

Step 8: Use your tick marks to guide where you score/fold:

Step 9: When you are through folding, you may wish to erase your guides if they are too obvious:

Step 10: Assemble your project, and voila! No nasty little cuts in your project! :o)

Bronco Cruisin'

The other day, William took great pride in helping Daddy put the new back seat into the Bronco. Then we went for a little cruise around the neighborhood as a family for the first time. He was a little wary at first - not sure what to think about all the fresh air hitting his face, but then I think he decided he liked it!

Basic Gray Inspiration Pages

I am a major hoarder of all things basic gray, so when the "Embellish It" booth had these great layout samples, I had to take some pics so I could hopefully get to using my stash of BG paper! I have this horrible habit of NOT using the paper I love. So I thought I would share for those of you that may share my disease or just want some inspiration!

I uploaded these pics at a little larger resolution, so if you click on them, you should get better detail:

The new Lime Rickey:

The new Wisteria: