Birthday Cards

I'm so pleased to be showing you a couple of birthday cards that I recently made.  I'm highlighting them at My Craft Spot today as well.  It seems as though negative space is all the rage right now and I've been so inspired by the many cards I've seen that I decided to use the same technique on my cards.  It's quite an easy technique but one that really makes a statement.  Everybody seemed especially impressed with these two cards... and they really were quite simple to put together!  

I made the first card as an extra for my daughter's 18th birthday.  I used my paper cutter to cut the card base and patterned paper mat and then used my Gypsy to cut the top layer with George and Basic Shapes, with "18" cut out of the cardstock using Plantin SchoolBook.  Corners are all rounded with the Creative Memories corner rounder.  Once cut, I embossed the top layer using my Cuttlebug using the "Bloom Dots" folder.  I attached the top layer using pop dots to leave some space between the patterned paper and cardstock.

To finish things off, I cut a tiny tag and shadow from the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags metal die set and stamped it with a little sentiment from the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags 2 set.  I finished everything off with some Blueberry Blue baker's twine from My Craft Spot.

The second card was made for my daughter's boyfriend.  I used the same technique as I had used for Erin's card, but this time, cut the word "birthday" using Opposites attract.  The little balloons are from Celebrations and tied with Blueberry Blue baker's twine from My Craft Spot.

I finished the front of the card by using a stamp from My Craft Spot's Sweet Sentiments - Set #1, using some cellophane tape to cover the "birthday" portion of the stamp.  If you try this, just remember to remove the cellophane prior to stamping!  

Don't forget that the My Craft Spot Fall Stamp Release Party starts on Monday - and you are ALL invited!!  Check HERE for more details.

Also, I am giving away a $15US gift certificate to My Craft Spot.  Click HERE to enter if you haven't already!  

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Sympathy Card for a Pet

Click HERE for the Fantabulous Cricut

Back to School Cricut Crawl!!

First of all, I would like to thank you ALL so very much for your words of encouragement last week.  I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have finished all the degree requirements for my Master of Education and Digital Technologies and have submitted my final paper for approval.  At this point, I'm FINISHED!!  I still have to wait for a final grade before I can apply to graduate, but I have done all that I can do... and I really have no doubts that my advisor would let me get this far and then not pass me!!  I worked long and hard on my thesis and am really pleased with it.  In fact, I cried (tears of absolute joy) when I finished everything.  Thank you for all your support.  It truly means a great deal to me and you've been such motivation for me during the busy, busy times.

Now, on to business!  This week's challenge at My Craft Spot is "Hope is Rising" - create a project of sympathy or encouragement.  Unfortunately, my poor mum had to put down her cat last weekend.  Trinity was over 17 years old and had lived a good, long life but was no longer well.  I made this card for mum to express my sympathy.

I used George and Basic Shapes to cut the heart and the heart silhouette.  After inking the edges of the mat and heart, I stitched along each.  I embossed the heart with smaller hearts and then added two black paw prints which I cut from Meow.

The sentiment is on a tag cut with a Spellbinders die.  The sentiment itself is from My Craft Spot's With Sympathy set.  I must say that I have looked long and hard for a sympathy set and never found "just the right one"... until Kimberly came out with this set.  It is just perfect for cards of sympathy and encouragement.  Below the sentiment, I added some Liquid Pearls.

I finished off the card using some gorgeous Raspberry Truffle crinkle ribbon from My Craft Spot.  I also found a tiny little charm and used Cricut vinyl to cut a teensy "T" (for Trinity).  I used black thread to tie the charm to the ribbon. 

I stamped the inside of the card with a sentiment from the My Craft Spot With Sympathy set - and added a paw silhouette cut from Meow as well.

Please head over to My Craft Spot to see the rest of the gorgeous projects made by other members of the design team.  We would love to have you join us for this week's Hope is Rising challenge too!

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Fantabulous Cricut "Back to School" Cricut Crawl

Welcome to the 8TH Fantabulous Cricut Crawl... Fantabulous Cricut's version of a Blog Hop! 

Summer is coming to an end and we are all getting ready for BACK TO SCHOOL... Each design team member on this crawl will be featuring an original BACK TO SCHOOL project that includes a SCHOOL RELATED item, such as crayons, rulers, pencils, book, school bus, etc. along with at least ONE Cricut cut. 

If you've come from visiting Karen at Simply Frenzied, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, start HERE. Make sure to check out each DT member's blog for some awesome inspiration! There will be PRIZES along the way at our DT members' blogs AND there will be a grand prize up for grabs at FCCB for one participant that submits a "Back to School" project! 

Subway wall art

For my project, I initially created some subway art for my daughter's dorm.  Erin leaves for university this weekend and had I thought it would be fun to create something personal for her dorm room.  I purchased a 12x16 canvas, painted it purple (Erin's favourite colour) and then cut the name of her school, program, residence and classes using Cricut vinyl.  I used a variety of fonts (Ashlyn's Alphabet, Car Decals, Cuttin' Up, Jubilee, Kate's ABCs, Mickey Font and Opposites Attract) to create this art and thought it would be perfect for the crawl... but then realized that the project does not quite fit the challenge requirements as I did not include a school-related item!!!  Argh!!!  The good news is that Erin LOVES the subway art!!  That's the main thing.

Card

I then decided that I would create a card for Erin too.  I’ll leave this 5.5x6 card for her when we drop her off at uni on Sunday.  I searched the internet for an inspirational quote and found many I liked – but when I saw this one from Bon Jovi, I knew that I had found THE one.  I love that it even uses the word pencil too!  I used Opposites Attract to cut the letters from Cricut vinyl and adhered them to some We R Memory Keepers paper.  The little pencil is actually from a piece of Forever in Time patterned paper and I cut it out by hand.  I cut a black mat for the card and then adhered it to an orange cardstock base.  Now I’ve got a great card for Erin – AND I meet the FCCB challenge requirements!!  

To thank you for stopping by, I am giving away a $15US gift certificate for My Craft Spot.  I'll announce the winner next Monday - which is perfect timing for the My Craft Spot Fall Stamp Release Party that happens next week!  Click HERE for all the stamp release party details!!  To be eligible for my giveaway, you need to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post.  

Now it's your turn! Let's see your BACK TO SCHOOL projects! Make sure to include a Cricut cut somewhere on your project!

Your next stop is Kathie’s blog, Let's Get Scrappy Together.  Go and see what Kathie has in store for you today.  When you're done, make sure to link up your project to FCCB's Fantabulous Cricut Crawl post to be entered into the contest!

Happy Crawling!

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Coming Soon.... My Craft Spot Fall Stamp Release Party

You are all invited to join the party at My Craft Spot in September!  Starting September 3, there will be a week filled with sneak peeks of Kimberly's FIVE new stamp sets... and a new set of metal dies too.  You will have a chance to win some blog candy each day of the party as well. 

 

On the last day of the party (Saturday, September 8), there will be a blog hop with fun prizes and great project ideas at each stop along the hop.

 

Robin (my design team sister) designed this cute button for My Craft Spot.  It's so cute! If you put this button on your blog AND leave a comment for Kimberly HERE, you will have a chance to win Candy Corn Kisses - a fabulous stamp set from last year's My Craft Spot Fall Stamp Release Party.

<center> <a href=" http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="My Craft Spot" src=" http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac297/sentimentalscrapper/ReleasePartySep2012_09.png"/></a></center>

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Tooth Fairy Box... for a boy!

Happy National Tooth Fairy Day!  I actually did not know that there was such a day... but somebody is on the ball at Fantabulous Cricut and let us all know.  In fact, to honour the day, we are challenging you to include a tooth, tooth fairy or a smile on your project.

This week, a few of the design team members at Fantabulous Cricut were treated to some stamps from Jaded Blossom.  I was one of the lucky ones!  Jaded Blossom is run by Candace and Michelle.  I first met Candace when I started blogging.  In fact, she was on the Fantabulous Cricut design team and really encouraged me as I started crafting.  Candace always had a great knack for creating little trinkets, boxes and favours - and still does!  In fact, Candace and Michelle began Jaded Blossom to create stamps and sentiments geared toward the creation of party items and favours. 

For this week's challenge, I decided to create a tooth fairy box - but one for a boy!  Usually, when I think of fairies, I think of little girls.  However, boys lose their teeth as well and I wanted to create something that a boy could use to keep his tooth safe while waiting for a visit from the tooth fairy.

I used Easter 2010 for the little pillow box and blue spiked circle.  Mini Monograms was used for the white circle, and I used a Jaded Blossom stamp to frame the toothy beaver - which was cut from Create a Critter and stamped with a face from Peachy Keen's Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed set.  I thought the beaver - with his big teeth - was perfect for a tooth box!  Finally, a little banner was cut from Twinkle Toes and stamped with a Jaded Blossom sentiment.  I did some inking, and then added a button and some fabulous Blueberry baker's twine from My Craft Spot to finish things off.   

Please head over to Fantabulous Cricut to see what the rest of the design team has made for this week's challenge - and link up your own project for your chance to win the Jaded Blossom "Tooth Fairy" and "Tooth Notes" stamp sets. 

I am also going to enter my project at Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog - where this week's challenge is "Box it Up".  

PS  I start my new job today - plus on Wednesday I will receive my thesis paper with comments for modifications to be made... all to be completed and handed back in by next Monday!!  Also, two of my children have birthdays this week.  I'm not sure how I will be able to do it all, and I am reminding myself that these sorts of times in our lives always seem to work themselves out.  I'm just hoping for a few hours of sleep here and there!!

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Camp Cards

It was such a delight to have a bit of a rest last week - but somehow a week of staying home turned into one adventure after the next!  I had forgotten that life gets in the way of plans when three children are involved!

Yesterday, we dropped off my youngest for a week at an overnight summer camp - his first time!  I'm so nervous for him!!  As our son has autism, we hired a support worker to attend with him, so I'm sure that all will be fine - at least for him... perhaps not me!!  Anyway, I made these little 3x3 cards in order for my little guy to have some mail from home each day.  The timing is perfect as this week's challenge at My Craft Spot is Under the Stars (camping theme).

I used Campin' Critters for the badges on each card using the: turtle, frog, flashlight, sleeping bag, fish and bird.  For the mats, I used kraft cardstock, stamping each one with a woodgrain stamp from Market Street Stamps before running through the Cuttlebug with a distressed stripes embossing folder.  The mats look just like tree bark now - perfect for an outdoor camp theme!

On each card, I attached a tiny tag and shadow cut using the Tiny Tags Metal Die Set from My Craft Spot.  The sentiments are from Tiny Tags stamp set and Tiny Tags 2 stamp set - both available from My Craft Spot HERE.  

I finished things off with different coloured baker's twine.  Have you seen the variety sold by Kimberly at My Craft Spot?  She's got a fabulous assortment!  For my cards, I used: Holly Green, Twisted Lime Green, Lemon Drop, Blue Berry Blue, and Orange Divine.

If you have not already checked out this week's creations at My Craft Spot, I urge you to head over there to see what others on the design team have created.  I am blown away by their amazing projects!  Don't forget to link up your own Under the Stars camping-themed project for your chance to win this week's prize at My Craft Spot.

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Basketball Card

It's my turn to post at My Craft Spot and I'm delighted to share my project with you all.  Today is my middle guy's 15th birthday and I made this card especially for him.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out!  I'm also going to enter this at Little Scrap Pieces where this week's challenge is BIRTHDAY.  As ALL my children have August birthdays (as does my daughter's boyfriend), this challenge is perfect for me!!

I used Basketball Solutions to create the court mat.  As the cartridge has just a half court, I used my Gypsy to duplicate the image, turn it around and weld it to the first to make a full court.  I did the same with the orange shadow as well.

The basketball player on my card is from Paper Dolls Teen Scene.  I used my Gypsy to hide the number 5 that was on the shirt and substituted 15 (my son's age) using Opposites Attract.  The little basketball is an accessory from Paper Dolls Teen Scene too.

The little sign was simply cut with a paper cutter and I then used sentiments from My Craft Spot's Inside and Out Set #2 (Birthday) and Sweet Sentiments Set #2 (Boy).  I added some eyelets and strung some Halloween baker's twine - from My Craft Spot - to "hang" the sign.  Finally, I added a little star brad to finish things off.

Inside, I stamped a sentiment from My Craft Spot's Birthday Wishes set.  I also used a basketball stamp that I've had in my stash for ages.  It was perfect to tie in the front of the card with the back!

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Penguin at the Beach

Hello from Niagara Falls!  I feel like I've hardly been home at all this summer - but I'm not complaining one bit!  I am so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful holidays and am enjoying every minute.  I'll be home again next week though... to stay - and will have almost two weeks off before I head back to work.  I have accepted a new position at a local college which means no more commute!!  I'm so excited!  I do have lots to pack into those two weeks but am really hoping to pay more visits to my blogging friends.

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is "Jump In and Cool Off" which is perfect for the hot and humid weather we've been having!  We are challenging you to create a project with a water theme (i.e., pool, beach, waterpark, etc.).  I decided to make an island beach card for my youngest who LOVES penguins. 

Please head over to Fantabulous Cricut and see what the rest of the design team has made for this week's challenge!  There are some great projects posted!

Recipe:

Penguin - Christmas Cheer

Duck ring and beach ball - Everyday Paper Dolls

Waves - Plantin SchoolBook and Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls embossing folder

Palm tree - Create a Critter and Cuttlebug Herringbone embossing folder

Sun - Celebrate with Flourish

Island - Just Because Cards

Sentiment - My Craft Spot Tiny Tags 2

Cloud background - Peachy Keen Stamps

Glossy Accents

Heart Gem

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Birthday Girl Set

Welcome to August!  I can hardly believe how quickly the summer is flying by.  We just arrived home yesterday from a short camping trip to a provincial campground.  We had an amazing time - and managed to pack up just before a huge thunderstorm rolled in. 

Today, I am sharing a birthday set that I created with some stamps from My Craft Spot.  (This project is also on display there today as well.)  I made this set for my daughter's friend (who just happens to be the daughter of one of my very best friends!) who recently celebrated a birthday.  In fact, we were all camping together this past weekend!

The sweet girl on each of my items is from Wild Card 2.  For the card, I popped the image on a little frame cut using Elegant Edges.  I then added a sentiment from My Craft Spot's Birthday Wishes set on a little tag cut with my paper cutter.

The tag on the bag of treats was cut from Wrap It Up and I used My Craft Spot's Tiny Tags metal die set to cut the little tag and its shadow.  I then stamped the tag with a little sentiment from Tiny Tags.  I filled the bag with sour jubes.  I don't think that sweet and sour should go together for candy, but the kids seem to love them!

I used the same Tiny Tags metal dies to create the little tag for my gift card holder, which I cut using a die from My Creative Time.  I stamped the tag with a sentiment from the My Craft Spot Tiny Tags 2 set.  I added a twine bow to match the twine on the candy bag tag.

Just a reminder that this week's challenge at My Craft Spot is Oh Baby!  There is still time to create and link a project for your chance to win a Bundle of Joy stamp set - perfect for all your baby projects (and then some)!

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