Hello Card

Our wonderful Imke is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge and she's continuing her way through the alphabet for inspiration. This week, she's at P and is saying that "P is for Pink". She'd like to see pink on our projects. 

I used some leftover pink patterned paper along with some generic dies for the circle and flowers to create my card. The lattice border was cut with a Fiskars punch and the corners were also cut with a punch. The "hello" was cut with a Reverse Confetti die. 

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the rest of the Girlfriends have used pink on their projects. Then create something pink to join the challenge!

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I Will Always Love You

I'm hosting at Little Red Wagon again this week, continuing this year's inspiration from Billy Joel. This week, it's Piano Man and I'm asking crafters to create something inspired by music. 

I was inspired by Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. I used a number of older supplies for my card - several punches (Fiskars, Stampin' Up and Martha Stewart), paper and vellum that haven't seen the light of day for ages, and a NBUS stamp from My Favorite Things. The sentiment is heat embossed. 

I'd love for you to join this week's challenge as well! Head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the Girlfriends have created and then pull out your record player (or iTunes playlist) and make a music-inspired project to link up! 

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What on Earth?

Our lovely Imke is hosting this week's Little Red Wagon challenge. For the second year in a row, she's working her way through the alphabet. We're at M now! M is for masculine.

I put this card together using some of my older supplies, including stamps that came in a Hero Arts stamp set that I won years ago. I also pulled out my Fiskars paper crimper which hasn't seen the light of day in I don't know how long! 

Please head to  Little Red Wagon to see the rest of the masculine projects. We'd love you to join the fun as well! 

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Happy Birthday to You

Janice is hosting at Little Red Wagon this week and she's selected "Off the edge" for this week's challenge. Jan is hoping to see elements extend off the card base or project page, etc. 

While I typically like everything contained within my card space, I have had a few instances where I've gone "off the edge". I made this card for my aunty who will be having a birthday next month. Fortunately, I have some slightly larger than A2-sized envelopes so no elements will be harmed in the posting of my card.

Please head over to Little Red Wagon to see how the other Girlfriends have gone "off the edge" - and then link up a project of your own! 

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Love You Mum

I made a card for my dearly loved mum. First, I stamped around the base of the card with a flower stamp from Craftin Desert Divas's Just Bugcause stamp set. I then used the largest die from the Banner Dies set and trimmed the bottom of the banner before embossing it with a clouds folder and inking the edge. The sweet birds and flower are from Too Cute by Jessica's Skinny Spring Birds file. I embossed the petals of the flower too. The grass was made with Martha Stewart fringe scissors and a layer cut with the same banner die and then punched with a Fiskars grass border punch. (It's hard to see, but the mat and grass have "stitching" thanks to the Banner Dies. 

For the bottom of the card, I cut some letters to spell "Mum". The little heart is from Too Cute by Jessica's Skinny Spring Birds too. Finally, I stamped "Love You" using Craftin Desert Divas’ Short and Sweet Tags stamp set. 

Thanks so much for visiting me today. Have a fabulous week!

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You're Turtley Awesome

I used one of the sweet little turtle images from Totally Turtle and coloured it in for this birthday card that I created for my niece. The faces on the turtles are interchangeable. (There are three of them!)  I also stamped the hat image a few times to create my banner, and used some baker's twine to string it along the top of my card.

I used a Fiskars punch for the star border and used some of the negative pieces in the stars on my patterned paper (which is actually from a Christmas pack!). The fun sentiment is from the new Totally Turtle set too! I've always been a sucker for plays on words.  

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Mini Easter Cards

For my project, I created a small set of Easter cards using part of the lazy bunny file from Little Scraps of Heaven.

The blue background was cut and embossed with a cloud folder and I added some grass made with a Fiskars punch. The fun frame around my bunny was stamped on pink paper using Craftin Desert Divas’ Picture That stamp set. I love the fun chevrons on this stamp!!

Thanks so much for visiting me today. Have a fabulous week!

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Little Cards for Camp

I'm so pleased to be sharing today's project over at My Craft Spot today.  Last week, my youngest was off at camp and I had such fun creating these little cards for him so he could have a little bit of love from home each day!

Each of these cards was made using Create a Critter - for the card base and the critters themselves.  I used a Darice embossing folder for the clouds and a Fiskars punch for the grass.  The snow border and flakes on the penguin card were made with a Martha Stewart punch.  All sentiments are from My Craft Spot. 

I used Alphalicious to create envelopes for each of the 3x3 cards.  Each one has a stamp punched with the My Craft Spot Postage Stamps metal dies and stamped with a variety of stamps from the My Craft Spot Postage Stamps stamp set.  The border, images, flourishes, sentiments and cancellation stamps are all from this set. I had so much fun adding a little something extra to each of the envelopes!

For the horse card, I used a sentiment from the NEW Down on the Farm set.  (The sentiment is actually "HAY there neighbor" but I just used a portion of it for my card.)

For my sheep card, the "Love EWE" sentiment is from Cute Critters. I also added a bit of embossing to my little sheep.

The "Have a Beary happy day!" sentiment is from the NEW Tiny Tags 3 set.  These sentiments coordinate perfectly with the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags metal dies.

I realize that the penguin card is a bit different from the others in this set I've created, but my little guy LOVES penguins - so I couldn't resist!  I created the "You're cool!" sentiment by combining two stamps from Build a Valentine.

The fun sentiment on this squirrel card is from the NEW Tasty Treats set.  I also used some Cuttlebug embossing folders on the acorn and stamped the face with a Peachy Keen stamp.  I originally had another squirrel on this card but the face looked terrifying!!  A quick return to the Cricut to cut another squirrel and a Peachy Keen makeover seemed to do the trick!

Finally, the sentiment on this fun cow card is from the Cute Critters set. (My husband liked this one the best when I showed him the set.)

Thanks for popping by!  Have a wonderful day!

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My Craft Spot Release Party - Day Four

Welcome to Day Four of the My Craft Spot stamp release party!!  Today, we're showcasing the NEWEST arrival to the My Craft Spot "Stampin' Around" series: Stampin' Around Summer.  This set has some fabulous summertime sentiments plus a number of wonderful little images - all of which coordinate perfectly with My Craft Spot's Tiny Doilies metal dies.

Well, my project isn't necessarily about summer - but it IS about relaxing, which is the best part of summer!  One of my colleagues is expecting and we all chipped in to purchase a gift certificate to the spa for her.  When I saw this new sentiment, I knew it would be perfect for the card to go with our gift!

I used an image from 9 Months for my card and popped it to create some dimension.  I love the big belly popping out of the tub!!  The young woman looks so relaxed.  The tub was cut from cardstock with a vellum layer over top for the bubbles.  It's difficult to tell in the photo, but the bottom white panel has been scored to create a panel look for the bathroom wall and I used a Fiskars' punch for the "chair rail".  The wonderful bubble paper is from my stash.

 Using the My Craft Spot Tiny Doilies metal dies, I created a 3-layer tag with white cardstock and blue  vellum.  I stamped the top layer with one of the NEW Stampin' Around Summer sentiments.  I finished everything off with a couple of layered gems.

Please head over to My Craft Spot to see the wonderfully summery projects created by the rest of the design team.  While you're there, remember to leave a comment for Kimberly for your chance to win today's prize:  the Stampin' Around Spring stamp set!

(*All items from this week's release will be available for purchase on Saturday.)

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Feel Better Soon

Hello friends!  I'm so delighted to be sharing a card at My Craft Spot today - and am sharing it with you here as well.

Unfortunately, a friend of mine was recently quite ill so I made this card to brighten her day.  I used g.c.d. studios papers and inked everything with some Tim Holtz Tattered Rose distress ink, adding some faux stitching with a white Gelly Roll pen.  The Bandaid was cut from Indie Art and the border was cut with a Fiskars punch.

The little sentiment is from the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags stamp set and I used the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags metal dies for the tag layers.  I finished things off with some Cherry Divine baker's twine from My Craft Spot and a couple of sweet little buttons from Calico Cottage Crafts.

I used an Action Wobble to attach the Bandaid to the card!

Thanks so much for visiting!  Don't forget that next week is the My Craft Spot Christmas/Winter stamp (and metal dies!) release party.  There will be lots of wonderful projects posted, prizes up for grabs each day - and a fun blog hop to finish things off!  I'll be back on Monday with my sneak peaks.

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Fantabulous Cricut - Try This Angle

(If you are looking for this week's My Craft Spot Monday Challenge post, please click HERE.)

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, we are challenging you to "Try this angle"!  Use a rectangle and a triangle in your project - and be sure to have at least one Cricut cut as well.

I decided to make a thank you card.  The main image is from Car Decals and I used Design Studio to hide contours on various layers to create the dog in his house.  I used Distressed Stripes to the house as well.  The dog's face was stamped with a Peachy Keen stamp.  The sentiment was cut with the second layer of Cuttin' Up on real size.  I embossed the brown mat with Seeing Spots and also used a Recollections border punch on the bottom.  (I FINALLY went back to Michaels after having given it up for lent.  The punch was on clearance.  Woo hoo!)  I used a Fiskars corner punch to create all the triangles.  I did lots of inking and a bit of doodling, added some Glossy Accents to the nose, and finished things off with some twine and button from my stash.

Now it's your turn!  Head on over to Fantabulous Cricut to check out the projects created by the rest of the design team and then "try this angle" yourself!

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Baby Boy Card and Winners

I am having SUCH a good day!  My course ended last night and I have the rest of the month off before classes begin again.  The weather is gorgeous and was just above freezing when I walked my son to school this morning.  I decided to take a very long route home and enjoyed the fresh air and exercise.  I think I wore out the dog as he's been sleeping since we got back!  I decided to take the day off work so also met my sister for lunch and had a wonderful Thai dish.  Plus, this afternoon, I had a bit of time to craft!

I made this card for the pastel challenge at Serenity Scrappers.  I just realized that it's supposed to be bright and springlike - so I don't think it actually qualifies!  Oops!  I did get the cheerful part right though!  Anyway, I used Car Decals for the little guy in the pram and Mini Monograms for BOY.  I also punched a little border with a Fiskars punch.  I did some Cuttlebugging, added some gems and a ribbon - and finished in time to post before getting my littlest one from school. 

And now for the winners of the Autism Awareness Blog Hop!!  Thank you again for all your support and kind words.  There were a lot of comments - and I read each and every one.  Thank you again to my sponsors, Kimberly of My Craft Spot and Cricut for Beginners. 

The lucky winner of 5 spools of baker's twine and a package of Crinkle Ribbon from My Craft Spot is Marcy H - My Angel.  Debbie of Hawk's Nest Hobbies and Betsy of Betsy's Bits have each won a Cricut for Beginners DVD.  Congratulations to you all!!  Please email me at smallbitsofpaper(@)hotmail(.)com with your address so I can arrange for you to get your prizes!! You have one week to claim your prize.

On Monday, I will have another giveaway with the Fantabulous Cricut Spring Crawl - and I am also delighted that my wonderful friend Rhonda at Scrap Happens has invited my to be part of her blog hop on April 15-16.  Please be sure to drop by again!

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Crinkle Ribbon from Kimberly Tracy at My Craft Spot

A few of the members of the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog Design Team were most generously given some gorgeous crinkle ribbon from My Craft Spot's Kimberly Tracy - and challenged to use the ribbon in our creations.  I received the Neapolitan set which contains Chocolate Truffle, Vanilla Bean, and Raspberry Truffle.  This ribbon is absolutely gorgeous and I am in love with it!  In fact, after my first crinkle ribbon creation, I headed over to My Craft Spot and put in an order for more, this time selecting the Springtime package.  Kimberly shipped it immediately so I am hoping it will arrive soon.  I've got some ideas!

For this Easter card, I used Easter 2010 to cut the layers of the egg.  I used a Fiskars corner punch and also used a Cuttlebug border folder to create the embossed frame for my sentiment (which is from My Creative Time's Color Me Happy set).  I used my Raspberry Truffle crinkle ribbon around the egg and then used a bit more to tie a bow.  I inked the edges of my card and added a couple of brown pearls to finish things off.  I love the contrast of the ribbon against the kraft paper and the ribbon really draws out the pink in the egg too.

I made this next card for my husband.  Each year, I like to give him a St. Patrick's Day themed card on March 15, the anniversary of the day we first met (22 years ago!).  I used Paper Doll Dress Up for the shamrock and the hearts on it.  (I cut the shamrock in a darker shade of green and hand cut the image to create three hearts to fit inside the shamrock.)  The border was created by welding the shamrock border from PDDU with a holed border from Holiday Cakes.  The tag was cut from Plantin' Schoolbook.  I embossed the background with a Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder.  The tag was stamped with a sentiment from My Creative Time's I Believe in Leprechauns set, using both Versamark and then Chocolate Chip ink.  I wove some Chocolate Truffle crinkle ribbon through the holed border and tied a bow as well.  I also added some of the crinkle ribbon to the tag.

I created this shaped card with Accent Essentials.  The little frame was cut with Ashlyn's Alphabet and stamped with a clear stamp (maker unknown).  I embossed the DCWV pink patterned paper with a Cuttlebug Textile Texture folder.  I also added a punched border created with an EK Success punch.  I used Vanilla Bean crinkle ribbon around the mat and to create a double bow.  I finished things off with a button and pink pearls. 

There are more My Craft Spot crinkle ribbon creations to be seen at Fantabulous Cricut.  Please be sure to check them out - and then head over to My Craft Spot to check out the wonderful ribbon colours!  Each package comes with 3 yards (2.74m) of each of 3 colours for just $9.99US - which includes free shipping, even to Canada!

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Fantabulous Cricut Challenge: Bird Bonanza

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, the theme is Bird Bonanza.  We've had a crazy couple of weeks at our house and I feel like I've been running like a chicken with her head cut off.  However, I was able to get away with some friends for the weekend and feel like I've got a bit of energy to make it through the week ahead!  I decided to make a Christmas card as I am already looking forward to the time off and time to spend with the family.

I cut the frame of my card using Ashlyn's Alphabet.  The bird in the decorated tree is from Winter Frolic.  The papers are either from DCWV's Holiday Stack, or they are just regular cardstock (with metallic cardstock used for the shadow of the tree).  I had meant to add some embossing, but by the time I realized I had forgotten, it was too late!  I did use a Fiskar's border punch and also punched the labels with Stampin' Up punches.  The sentiment is from a Carleton Cards set that I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year.  I inked everything and added some ruby coloured half-pearls.
(I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to visit as many blogs as usual.  My youngest was home for a week and a half with chicken pox - and returned to school last week only to develop an ear infection.  He's been feeling better since Thursday, but I'm far behind in my work and am now playing catch-up with my studies and reviews.)

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Fantabulous Cricut - Leaves Challenge

Happy Monday!
This week at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog, the theme is leaves. 

I made this card using paper from a Marcella pad.  It was the first paper pad I ever bought!  I embossed the mat with my Cuttlebug, and punched the corners with a Fiskars corner punch.
I welded the leaves and shadows in Design Studio, using Ashlyn's Alphabet.  The letters are from Nursery Rhymes.  This font has only a blackout shadow feature, which I didn't care for much here, so I made an extra hole in the shadow of the "e" in Design Studio.  The leaves and letters, as well as the edges of the mat, are all inked with a gold ink which is now all over my craft table - and me!!  The border behind the letters was cut using an EK Success punch (which is the most difficult border punch I've ever used.  This was take three, and I'm still not overly happy with it).  I popped the leaves and added a bow.  (Just in case you are not sure, the word spells "merci", which is French for "thank you".)

Please hop on over to Fantabulous Cricut to see the rest of the projects by the Design Team - and add one of your own!

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Fantabulous Cricut - Harvest Time

Happy Monday!  First of all, I'd like to welcome all my new followers.  I had such a delightful time with our Fantabulous Cricut Blog Crawl and enjoyed reading each of the comments that was left for me.  I DO have a winner for the blog hop, but I learned over the weekend that we are to announce winners on Wednesday.  My apologies regarding that (as I had noted in my post last week that I would announce them today.)

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, the theme is Harvest Time.  I'm not sure about your area, but it is certainly harvest time here in Ontario, Canada.  The days are getting shorter and much cooler, and the world is becoming a vibrant array of reds, oranges, yellows and browns.  It truly is spectacular.

In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October, so I decided to make a Thanksgiving card for the harvest theme.  At our family gatherings, we always sing the chorus of "All Good Gifts" as a blessing before eating.  (We sing the old-fashioned hymn version.  I did find an upbeat version, but it just doesn't sound "right"!)  I decided to use this chorus as the sentiment for my card.

I computer-generated the sentiment with WordArt.  I then used a Fiskars corner punch and inked the paper.  The frame and shadow were cut from Winter Frolic.  They are actually tags, but I removed the holes in Design Studio.  I ran the top layer through my Cuttlebug Diamond Plate folder. The cornucopia and much of its contents were cut from Speaking of Fall, but I used Doodlecharms to cut some more apples.  Everything is inked and layered.  I felt the card needed a bit more, so I added some leaves punched with a Martha Stewart punch and added some half-beads as well.

Thanks so much for popping by!  Please join us this week at Fantabulous Cricut with your own take on our Harvest Time theme!

(I'm also entering this card at Paper Sundaes, where the theme this week is to use Fall or Hallowe'en colours.)

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