The Sky is the Limit

Greetings from Salisbury, England! This is a pre-scheduled post as my daughter and I continue on our holiday through France and England. 

Here's what I've created for you.....

The NEW The Sky is the Limit stamp set has images and sentiments. I decided to create a set of cards to hand out to the captains and first officers of our flights to and from Europe in order to thank them for getting us safely to our destinations. (I HATE flying, so am always especially thankful when we land!!) I used Banner Dies for the card mats, and embossed each one with a cloud folder. The little plane is from New Arrival. It's a Cricut image which I imported into my Silhouette software. Once in Silhouette, I added a little "Air Transat" symbol on the planes' tails.

Here's a close up of the fun sentiment. I thought it would be perfect for pilots! Bot the stitched cloud and the sentiment are from the NEW "The Sky is the Limit" set. The coordinating metal dies work with all the stamps in this set too. 

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Congratulations on Your New Addition

It's "Sweet Baby" week at My Craft Spot.  The timing for this challenge is perfect!  Last Sunday, a former colleague and friend gave birth to an absolutely precious baby girl.  I made this card to offer my congratulations.

The card base is 5.25 x 5.25.  I made it a tiny bit larger than usual to accommodate the cuts for my banner.  I then cut a mat just shy of the base size and inked and distressed the edges.  I also used a pink thread to stitch a border around the mat.  I used My Craft Spot's Lacy Banners metal dies for the banner and then distressed the edges before adding some loose stitches to border the edges.  The letters for GIRL are cut from Makin' the Grade and I used a pink distress ink to colour them.  In fact, I used this distress ink all over the card!

The frame in the center of my card is from Twinkle Toes.  I used my Heart Blocks Cuttlebug folder on the mat in the middle.  The sweet little giraffe is from New Arrival and popped on the card for added dimension.  The sentiment tag is from Twinkle Toes, stamped with a congratulatory sentiment from My Craft Spot's Bundle of Joy stamp set.

I finished everything off with two little punched hearts above the sentiment and some tiny Calico Cottage heart buttons along the banner and below the sentiment.

Please head over to My Craft Spot to take part in our "Sweet Baby" challenge.

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It's a Girl Card

This week's challenge at My Craft Spot is Oh Baby!  What a great opportunity to create something special (i.e., a card or gift) to welcome a new little one into this world.  There are a number of stamps at My Craft Spot that are just perfect for baby projects - and even two entire sets (Bundle of Joy and New Arrival) that are dedicated to babies.

For my project, I decided to make a card.  This card was not made for anybody in particular so I'll tuck it away to have on hand if I hear of the birth of a little girl.

For the white mat on my card, I used my score board to create some lines.  On this, I layered a frame cut from Ashlyn's Alphabet.  I embossed both layers with different heart folders.  The sweet little bassinet is from New Arrival and I also embossed part of this with my Cuttlebug.

I cut my tag using the Tiny Tags metal die set from My Craft Spot.  I think I'm addicted to these little tags!!  The sentiment is from the new My Craft Spot Bundle of Joy stamp set.  I also added some Cotton Candy Divine baker's twine - also from My Craft Spot - and some sweet little buttons to finish things off.

The inside of my card was stamped with a sentiment from Sweet Sentiments - Set #2. 

There are some precious projects created by other members of the design team so do head over to My Craft Spot to check them out!  Then create your own Oh Baby! project and link up for your chance to win this week's fabulous prize!

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Rubber Duckie, You're The One!

View my Fantabulous Cricut post HERE

This week at My Craft Spot, we want you to make us laugh!

For ages now, I've wanted to make a card for my husband using Ernie's "Rubber Duckie" song (from Sesame Street) as inspiration - so that's just what I did.  Our anniversary isn't until July so I'm well ahead of the game.  I suppose that the bath time part of the song is a bit, um, suggestive (albeit true!) - but as I really am awfully fond of my husband, the sentiment fits that he's the one for me.  He is my very best friend, my joy of joys and I'm beyond blessed and so very lucky that he's mine.

I created my window card using Plantin SchoolBook for the base and Elegant Edges for the window and scalloped frame.  The tub is from New Arrival and the sweet little rubber duck (which is popped on my card) is from Kate's ABCs.  I punched out little hearts for the corners and did some inking and doodling. I finished off the outside with some Caribbean baker's twine from My Craft Spot.

For the inside of the card, I used stamps from My Craft Spot's Always & Forever set (Happy Anniversary and the little heart).  I also got creative with mixing and matching stamps from My Craft Spot's Friends & Neighbours and Inside & Out Set #2 in order to make the "You're the one" sentiment. I cut a second rubber duck and created a little border using a punch from Stampin' Up to add some more interest to the inside as well. 

I am very much looking forward to seeing what you create for the My Craft Spot challenge this week.  I've got a full week ahead of me and will need some humour to keep me going.  I'll leave you with the Rubber Duckie song to listen to as you get creating!

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Canada Day Card

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is "July 4th" - use red, white, and blue on your project.  As Canada Day is on July 1st - and because I am a proud Canadian - I made a fun card to celebrate our nation's birthday.  

I was so excited to use my new Campin' Critters cartridge on this card!  (My husband bought it for me.  How I love that man!)  Campin' Critters was used to cut the beaver and tree.  I wasn't keen on the teeth so I cut the piece in two.  I'm also really not keen on the mismatched eyes, so I punched a set myself.  I manipulated a Plantin SchoolBook number sign for the tail and also added a maple leaf from Create a Critter on the cap.  The little tuft of grass is also from Create a Critter.  The dirt path is actually the sweet pea from New Arrival!  The red sign is cut from George and Basic Shapes, as is the heart, and the letters are from Pooh Font Set.  I added some doodling, lots of ink and also some Glossy Accents to the nose and eyes.  The log was run through the Cuttlebug using Distressed Stripes.   (The beaver and maple leaf are national symbols of Canada.)

Now it's your turn!  Head over to Fantabulous Cricut to check out the rest of the design team inspiration.  There are wonderful creations full of national pride!  Then link up your own red, white and blue project - and feel free to celebrate your country, wherever you are!

*I am linking this card at Sentimental Sundays where this week's challenge is to be patriotic and use the colours of your nation's flag and at My Sheri Cards for the Canada Day/Independence Day challenge. I am also going to enter this in the Cricut Circle's Patriotic Pride challenge.

Also, EVERYBODY is invited to celebrate Canada Day with me this Friday.  I've been asked to join a very talented group of Canadian bloggers and we've got an amazing Canada Day blog hop lined up, starting bright and early on the east coast.  There is a fantastic list of prizes being offered too - just for joining the fun!  I'll be offering my own prize here at Small Bits of Paper as well!

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Discover Layout

This week, the challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is "Remember This".  We are challenging you to make something to remember a special person, time or anniversary.

I decided to make a layout to remember my youngest during a family holiday to England when he was two years old.   In the photo, he's on a play structure at a park, having climbed to the top to get a new perspective on things!  

Recipe:

My Mind's Eye - papers

New Arrival - giraffe

Hello Kitty Greetings and Love Language Tiny Hearts Cuttlebug folder - cloud (used as sand puddle)

Gypsy Wanderings - Discover

George and Basic Shapes - flag

My Craft Spot (Sweet Sentiments #2) - Treasure sentiment

EK Success, Stampin' Up, Martha Stewart, Michaels - various punches

Stampin' Up inks and white Gelly Roll pen

Please head over to Fantabulous Cricut to check out the great creations by the design team - and to enter this week's "Remember this" challenge!

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Happy First Birthday Card

I haven't entered a challenge in ages and decided to do just that today.  I took the day off and did lots of crafting - some ATCs and some cards.  My nephew is turning one soon (I can't believe it!) and I wanted to make him a card.  Emma from My Creative Time also has a challenge out to use an older cartridge for a card (or layout).  I was playing around in Design Studio, looking at various modes of transportation and as soon as I saw the train on New Arrival, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to use!

I cut the train at 2 1/2 inches - cutting various layers in different colours.  I used Plantin Schoolbook for the number one, but manipulated it a bit in Design Studio to get the size I wanted.  I also used George and Basic Shapes to recreate the wheels - and created wheels for the shadow of the number one as well.

Yesterday, I learned of a great tip for making glitter paste from Linda at The Paper Boutique.  You can watch her video tutorial here.  In fact, she's got a number of great tutorials on her YouTube channel.  I followed her directions for glitter paste and used it for the number one.  I also added regular glitter glue to some other aspects of the train. 

I used an EK Success border punch for the grass (which I then ran through my Cuttlebug) and another EK Success punch for the photo corners.  Yet another EK Success punch was used for the little cupcakes which I placed on the train's cars.  I also used a Sizzix embossing folder on the two cars.  I felt that the engine needed something more, so I used a bit of matching cardstock, cut it to size, glittered it, and then glued it on.  Lots of the card's parts are popped too.

(By the way, if you have not yet participated in the Fantabulous Cricut Button Up for School Blog Crawl, there is still time!  I'm giving away a Stampin' Up Stamp Set on my post, so be sure to enter if you haven't already.  You have until Saturday night at midnight.)

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Little One Card

I made this card using a transparency technique I learned from my Stampin' Up demonstrator.  Basically, a portion of the front of the card base is cut away and replaced with a piece of transparency.  This way, the inside of the card can been seen from the front.  I used double-sided tape to adhere the transparency to the card base. 

I used New Arrival for the lettering inside the card as well as for the little feet on the outside.  I also used the shadow feature for the feet.

For the front of the card, I simply cut some patterned paper to size and attached.  I then added some ribbon and was finished.  It's a very simple card, but I love the effect with the transparency.

I will submit this card at CAS-tastic Challenges where this week there is a focus on sentiments, at Fantabulous Cricut for Challenge #12 Shower the Baby, and at Practical Scrappers for their acrylic, transparencies, and vellum challenge.

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Shape Cards with Cricut

I learned some tips on making shape cards from Donna, this month's guest designer at Everyday Cricut.  She made a simple shape card using Hello Kitty.  You can find her card (with instructions) here.  I was so inspired to create a shape card myself and am pleased with how quick and easy it is.  I used Design Studio to weld image shadows together to create the card base.

My first card is the cute little elephant from Zooballoo.  I didn't plan for the flower to be right above her trunk, but think it turned out just perfectly there!  I added some glitter to the ears and trunk, and popped the trunk just a bit.  I added some eyes and a ribbon and cut a shape for the inside (on which to write), and voilà!

For my next card, I chose to use the little plane from New Arrival.  I cut the wings, tail, and propeller with different paper, and did some faux stitching with a white Gelly Roll pen.  I've never tried any faux stitching before, and think that this ink is perhaps not the best choice.  I'll have to do some research!  I popped the tail and bottom wing a bit, and added buttons where the windows should be.  (I had hidden those contours prior to cutting.)  I also cut an additional shape for the inside of the card.

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