FCCB #205 - Spring Cleaning

Happy Monday and welcome to another Monday challenge at FCCB!

Challenge #205 Spring Cleaning

This Weeks Sponsor

Silly Shells Stamp Set

~This Weeks Challenge~

Spring Cleaning

Create a project using a cartridge or cut you have never used before.

I got the Outdoor Man cartridge a while back, thinking it would come in handy for projects for some of the guys in my life.  My dad, brother and sweetie all love to go hiking and camping.  They go on a week-long trip together every year, and this year my father-in-law will be joining them.  I made this card for him - his birthday is this week and we are giving him some new gear for the trip.

These images from the Outdoor Man cartridge make me think of the trip the boys will be going on.  They sleep in sleeping bags in small tents for an entire week!

I hope you join in the fun this week and pull out those cartridges you haven't used yet.  Link your project up over at FCCB by Sunday evening.  Remember, to qualify for the prize, be sure to use at least 1 Cricut cut on your project and if it's not obvious, let us know what cartridge you used.  Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:

Solid cardstock from Bazzil and Recollections

Pattern paper from American Craft's Color Crush pad

Tent from Outdoor Man cut at 3.75 inches

Sleeping Bag from Outdoor Man cut at 1.5 inches

Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set

White Sakura gel pen

Chalk ink

FCCB 192 - Use a Sentiment

Happy Monday! It's time for another Fantabulous Cricut challenge!  We are very excited to announce our new design team members.  To celebrate, we are having a blog crawl, which is FCCB's version of a blog hop.

Challenge #192 Use a Sentiment

This week's challenge is to use a sentiment.  It could be a phrase from one of your Cricut cartridges, or a stamp - just be sure to incorporate a sentiment and at least 1 Cricut cut somewhere in your project!

This Weeks Sponsor

Scrappy Mom's Stamps

  Winner will select a stamp set of their choice.

I decided to create thank you cards for this challenge, using one of my Scrappy Moms stamp sets.  I found this cute beaver on the Winter Frolic cartridge.

I stamped my sentiment with white ink, then used holographic embossing powder to give it a little extra shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my creation!  Here is the lineup for the Cricut crawl.  Once you've visited all the stops, make a project using a sentiment and link up back over at FCCB!

my HS The Stamping Tree

Emily Mollie's Blog 

Faith Scrapbooker PhD 

Heather Scrapping Runner Creations

Jackie Luv 2 Scrapp

Lynn My Cards N Stuff

Michelle Just a Nutter Papercrafter

Missy Quick Chick Designs 

Nikki Crafty Calamities 

Rebecca Crafting Misfit 

Elizabeth Unik by Yes

Cindy Creating with the Heart 

Pam Stamper at Heart 

Karla Creative Love Affair 

LB Cool Beans by LB

Jilliene Jilliene Designs

Joneita Create with Joneita

Kim Kim's Kreations

Pam O Reflections of my Art and Soul

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from DCWV and Recollections
Beaver from Winter Frolic cut at 3 inches
Martha Stewart border punch
Twine from The Twinery
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greeting set
Ranger holographic embossing powder

Sympathy Card

Hello!  I hope you have all had a nice weekend!  It was a cold one here for us, but it gave me a chance to do some things around the house - like finally get my Christmas decorations up!  I also had a few craft projects I wanted to work on.

One of the projects on my to-do list was a sympathy card for my project manager at work.  She recently lost her mother, who she was very close with.  I made this card so everyone on our team could write a note to her.  Our team is very close, and we are all hurting for her during this difficult time.

I got the idea for this card by doing a Google search and looking at images for sympathy cards.  I found a card that used this same bird image and I really liked it.  I embossed the background paper, framed the sentiment and popped it up, and added crinkle ribbon that I tied into a double bow.

I thought birthday cards for men were hard, but I have to say, sympathy cards are harder!!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill, DCWV and Recollections
Bird from Beyond Birthdays cut at 3.4 inches
Flower embossing folder
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set
Crinkle ribbon

Anniversary Card

Happy Saturday!  Is your weekend off to a good start?  I had a nice run with a girlfriend this morning - a cool, crisp fall morning.  It was beautiful!  Then my sweetie and I went to play golf - gotta get it in while we can before winter comes!!  I came home from golf and was able to finish up a card.

I made this card for my sweetie's dad and his wife, who are celebrating their second anniversary in a couple of days.

I found this dove on the Tie the Knot cartridge and framed it with one of my new Spellbinders dies - Lacey Squares.  I also added Glossy Accents to the heart.

The colors are from the colors of their wedding - black, cream and dark purple.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my card!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Dove from Tie the Knot cut at 2.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings
Twine from The Twinery
Glossy Accents

FCCB 174 - Summer Camp

Good morning!!  It's time for another fun challenge at Fantabulous Cricut!  This week's challenge is Summer Camp - create a camping theme project.

This card was inspired by my dad, my brother and my sweetie.  Every year they go on a week-long camping trip - a whole week of hiking, fishing and camping.  No electricity, no running water, just them in the great outdoors.  The come back with lots of pictures and stories, and as I was flipping through my Campin' Critters handbook I saw this scene and immediately thought of them.

They head to mountainous areas and always camp near lakes or streams so they have a source of water.  They carry dehydrated food in with them, but they always fish to try to supplement their meals.  The mountain scene with the stream seemed like a perfect background for the little deer fishing!

It's hard to see in the pictures, but I added some glitter to the snow on the mountains.  A bit of embossing on the trees and the water and some fun google eyes on the deer finish it off.  I'm hoping to sneak this in my sweetie's backpack before he leaves on this year's camping trip next week!

The challenge at Fantabulous Cricut stays open until Sunday evening, so link up your camping themed projects before then.  We can't wait to see your fun creations!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Mountain scene from Campin' Critters cut at 4 inches
Deer fishing from Campin'Critters cut at 3 inches
Swiss Dots and D'vine Swirls embossing folders
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Amusing Animals set
Glitter
Google eyes

FCCB 172 - Make a Splash

It's Monday again, and that means it's time for another fun challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut!!  This week's challenge is Make a Splash - create any project with a water theme.  This week, The Paper Nest  was super-generous and gave some of the DT members some digis to play with.  A huge "Thank You" to The Paper Nest!!  This is the first time I've ever used a digi, and I was really excited to give it a try!

When I saw the image of this little boy fishing I knew immediately it was the digi I wanted to use.  My sweetie loves to fish, and I thought of him when I saw this image.  I think I'm going to stash this card away and stick it in his work bag one of these days as a little surprise for him.

I've never colored a digi before - in fact, it's been a long time since I've colored anything!!  I didn't have any fancy markers or anything, but I did have some colored pens and pencils.  I outlined the image with my pens and colored it in with my pencils.  I don't think of myself as a great artist, but I was pretty pleased with how this turned out.  I may have to use some more of these digis!!

We'd love to have you join our Make a Splash challenge this week!  Link up your water-themed creations over at Fantabulous Cricut by Sunday evening.  And check out The Paper Nest for some really fun digis!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill
Pattern paper from DCWV Stack 7
Card base from Elegant Edges, book feature, cut at 5.5 inches
Frame from Elegant Edges cut at 5.25 inches
Owen Fishing digi from The Paper Nest
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Amusing Animals set

FCCB 171 - Shape Card

Happy Monday!  It's time for another challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut!!  This week's challenge is Shape Card.  I made this card for my brother and sister-in-law's 14th wedding anniversary.

I used Elegant Edges for my card base.  Instead of using my Gypsy or CCR to weld two images together for the base I used the old "cut 2, score and adhere" method.  Sometimes I think it's easier to get the two images to line up easier that way as opposed to when I try to weld two images together and then fold them together just right.

I cut the tree from the Sweethearts cartridge.  It's not a typical anniversary image, but I think those hearts on the tree trunk make the tree so cute!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my card!  I hope you join our Shape Card challenge this week!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Recollections
Card base from Elegant Edges cut at 5.5 inches
Mat layer from Elegant Edges cut at 5.25 inches
Tree from Sweethearts cut at 4 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set
D'vine Swirls embossing folder
Glitter

You're the Bee's Knees

Good evening!  I think I'm definitely back in my crafting groove!  :-)  I came home from work today and decided that I needed some time in my craft room to relax and unwind from my day.

Over at the Shop Pumpkin Spice Blog this past weekend, they had a lot of challenges in honor of National Scrapbooking Day.  Cheryl is hosting a Things With Wings challenge, so I decided to make a card that would work for her challenge.    I pulled out my stamp sets with puns on them and saw a "You're the Bee's Knees" sentiment and decided to create a card with that.

I found this cute bee on the Create a Critter cartridge and used my Gypsy so I could hide the face cuts and use a Peachy Keen face stamp instead.

I don't have a recipient in mind for this card yet, so I'll add it to my stash.  I figure it will come in handy when someone needs a little pick me up.  :-)

Thanks for coming by to take a look at my creation!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from Teresa Collins Sweet Afternoon
Bee from Create a Critter cut at 3.5 inches
Face from Peachy Keen Stamps Wide Eyed Kids Assortment
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Amusing Animals set
Crinkle ribbon
i-rock gems
Swiss dots embossing folder
White Sakura gel pen

CAS Belated Birthday

Happy Sunday!  I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  We had a rainy start to our weekend here, but today looks to be a beautiful day.  I spent a good bit of my afternoon and evening crafting with a good friend yesterday - great way to spend a grey/rainy day!  Today I plan to enjoy the sunshine and get out and play some golf.

The past few weeks have been pretty busy for us and unfortunately I got a little behind and missed a couple birthdays.  I decided to combine this misfortune with the challenge over at Celebrate the Occasion.  A fun challenge is always a good way to help get the creative juices flowing and get back to crafting, I think!  The challenge at CTO this week is Clean and Simple (CAS).  This is what I came up with for one of my belated birthday cards......

I embossed my background paper, then popped up my sentiment which I stamped and framed on shapes cut from Spellbinders dies.  Quick, clean and simple!

Thanks for coming by to take a look!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill
Floral Flourishes embossing folder
Labels Eight dies from Spellbinders
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set
Ribbon from The Paper Studio

Have a Hoot!

Happy Friday Eve!!  Are you all ready for Easter weekend??  The weather here was beautiful today and I think it's going to stay pretty nice this weekend.  A little spring-like weather for Easter weekend would be wonderful!!

Yesterday was one of my very good friend's birthday.  She was able to spend the day with her husband and celebrate in style - so happy for her!  She loves owls so I knew I wanted to put an owl on her card.  Also, the challenge this week over at Die Cuttin Diva's is "Embossing with Ribbon" so I decided to make a card that would work for their challenge.

 I just got the Happy Birthday embossing folder the other day and was excited to put it to use.  It's one that I've been eyeing for a while, just hadn't pulled the trigger and bought it.  I finally decided to and I'm glad I did  - I really like the look of it!

I got a text message yesterday from my friend telling me how much she liked her card.  Warmed my heart!!  :-)

Thanks for coming by to take a look!  I hope you're all having a great week!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Owl from Paisley cut at 3.25 inches
Happy Birthday embossing folder
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Amusing Animals set
Crinkle ribbon
i-rock gems

A Very Happy Birthday

Good morning!  I hope you have all been having a good week!  I've been working from home this week and I must say, I thought that being at home I'd be able to get more things done around the house while I'm here during breaks (including crafting!).  But that has not been the case!!  I'm not sure where the hour of time that I usually spend commuting has gone either!

Today is my sweetie's grandpa's 93rd birthday.  The family is getting together this weekend to celebrate, and I did manage to get downstairs and make a card for him.

I kept this card very simple - and it's one of my rare Cricut-free creations!  All this one required was an embossing folder, some ribbon and a button!!

I'm hoping to find some time to get out and check out your blogs and see the crafty creations you've come up with lately!  Thanks for stopping by today!!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Polka Dots embossing folder
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set
American Crafts ribbon
Button from my stash

Thinking of You

Happy Friday Eve!  This has been a busy week at work for me, which is making me look forward to the weekend even more.  I managed to sneak in some crafting this evening which was a nice stress reliever from my busy week.  :-)

The card I made tonight was inspired by a card my friend Missy made recently.  I thought the layout was neat, so I scrap-lifted!  Actually, I got the pattern papers I used for this card from her too, so a huge "Thank you!!" to Missy, otherwise this card never would have been created!!

I made this card for my sweetie's grandfather who recently moved in to a nursing home.  It's been quite an adjustment for him and the family.  I think he knows it's the best thing for him but it's quite a transition going from living independently with your spouse to living in a nursing home.  Thankfully the nursing home is not too far from all of his kids and most of his grandkids so he has visitors every day.  My sweetie and I are headed up there this weekend to visit so I thought I'd take this card along so he will be reminded that we are always thinking of him.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!  I hope you have a great Friday!!

Recipe:

Solid cardstock from Bazzill

Pattern papers from SEI

Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Stamps Everyday Greetings set

Twine from My Craft Spot

Button from my stash

Thank You Card

Hello!  Have you been enjoying your weekend?  Now that we're past Valentine's Day are you already thinking about St. Patrick's Day?  It's only a month away!!  This is probably terrible to say, but just the other day I was driving with my sweetie and we passed a McDonald's.  I looked at him and said, "Hey, now that Valentine's Day has passed, it's time for Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's!"  LOL!!  I don't know what it is about those things, but I have loved them since I was a kid.  I rarely go to McDonald's, but I go a handful of times when they have Shamrock Shakes - I just can't resist!  :-)

Okay, on to some crafting....  This week over at Die Cuttin Divas, they're having a color challenge.  The challenge is to use white along with red, pink, and/or purple.  I don't feel like I use a lot of purple, so I decided to go with that color.  I opened up my Paper Studio The Basics and flipped to the purple section looking for some papers that caught my eye.  I came up with a fairly simple thank you card.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill
Pattern papers from The Paper Studio
Rose from Rock Princess cut at 2.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set

Birthday Balloons

Happy Wednesday!  I feel like I have been absent from blogging forever!!  I got busy last week (such is life, right?), then of course the Super Bowl on Sunday.  I started this week off working on a sewing project (I'm a newbie sewer so it takes me some time to think through those projects!!). 

Anyway, I am back.  :-)  I'm hoping to spend some time crafting this week to get starting on a few scrapbook pages and cards.  I also have an afternoon set aside with one of my good friends to get some scrapping done this weekend.  Very excited for that!!

I needed a birthday card for my sister-in-law.  I kept this one pretty simple and I'm please with how it turned out.

I cut the balloons from the Wrap it Up cartridge.  Instead of cutting all the layers, I only cut out the layers with the basic balloon shapes (I had to hide a few cuts on my Gypsy).  Then I took twine and glued it on the balloons for a fun pattern and texture.  I cut off the balloon strings from the Cricut images and instead used twine to make the strings and tied a simple bow which I tacked on to my card using a glue dot.

I added a birthday sentiment on the inside to finish off the card.  Like I said, it's pretty simple!  Thanks for stopping by to take a look and I hope you're all having a great week!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Balloons from Wrap it Up cut at 4.8 inches
Twine from My Craft Spot
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Stamps Everyday Greetings set

Birthday Sundae

Happy Friday!  Are you all surviving being back to work after the holidays?  Or are some of you enjoying a few more days off?? 

There are a few January birthdays in my family, so I needed to get started on some birthday cards.  There is a sketch challenge this week over at Die Cuttin Divas, and I was inspired by that for one of my cards.  Here is the sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

I was going through my pattern papers and nothing was appealing to me, so instead I decided to use some embossing folders to create some patterns.  Oh, and the pink I used on the ice cream sundae is a different pink than I used on the card.  I couldn't get it to look good in my pictures, but it shows up better in person!!

Recipe:
Shimmer cardstock from DCWV
Solid cardstock from Bazzill
Ice cream sundae from Sweet Treats cut at 2.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Everyday Greetings set
White embossing powder
Candy Cane Stripes and Polka Dots embossing folders
i-rock gems

Another Birthday Card

Happy Friday!  Can you believe it's already the last day of November?!?  I have started my Christmas shopping, but I still have a lot of Christmas crafting I want to get done.  How about you??

I have another masculine birthday card to share with you today - and one I made with no Cricut cuts!  I cut strips of paper 1.5 inches wide, then hand cut the ends to make the banners.  I added a ribbon and sentiment to finish the card.  Very simple!  I kept looking at the card wanting to add something, but was afraid anything I added would end up being too much - or too girly!!

Thanks for coming by to take a look!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from DCWV
Ribbon from my stash
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Everyday Greetings set

Birthday Card

Good evening!  I don't know where this past week has gone!!  I managed to get all our Christmas decorations up over the weekend and there are a few other projects my sweetie and I have been working on around the house, so the time is just flying by!!

There are a couple birthdays in my family this week, and they are both guys.  As you may remember from previous posts, I struggle with masculine birthday cards.  I think I did okay with these ones though - what do you think??

Here is the first one I made:

I kept it pretty simple and the only bling I added was the Stickles on the candle flames.  :-)  I'll be back to share the second card with you soon - hopefully tomorrow!!  Thanks for coming by to take a look!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Candles from Birthday Bash cut at 2.75 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Everyday Greetings set
Twine from My Craft Spot
Stickles

Thanks to Ewe

Happy Friday!  It feels like forever since I've posted here, and I'm trying to catch up on what's been going on in blogland this past week or so (and get caught up with work, emails, etc too!).  I was out in southern Utah for a marathon and some sightseeing.  We went to Snow Canyon State Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Zion National Park and Valley of Fire State Park - 4 parks in 4 days!  We were busy and couldn't see everything in all the parks, but we sure saw and experienced a lot!!  If you haven't been out to southern Utah to go to these parks I highly recommend it; it was absolutely beautiful!!

On to my project for today......I needed another thank you card and recently picked up the Amusing Animals stamp set from Scrappy Moms Stamps.  As I was looking at the stamps, this sentiment popped out at me so I decided to pair it with the little sheep image from the Create a Critter cartridge, which I think is so cute.

I hope all has been going well for you and that you have a fabulous weekend in store!!  Thanks for coming by to take a look at my creation!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from DCWV
Sheep from Create a Critter cut at 3.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Moms Stamps Amusing Animals set
Ribbon from American Crafts
Fiskars Threading Water border punch
Tiny Bubbles embossing folder
i-rock gems
White Sakura gel pen

Marathon Congratulations!

Good morning!  I hope your weekend is off to a good start.  I just got home from a nice run with a couple of good friends.  One of them ran her first marathon last weekend.  She did great and kept us entertained during our run today telling us all about her experience.

I am so happy for her for running her first marathon!  She has battled injuries over the past year or so but stuck with it and will now always be known as a MARATHONER!  I made this card for her to celebrate the occasion and to let her know how happy I am for her.

I'm going to submit this card into the challenge over at Celebrate the Occasion.  The challenge this week is Sports Anyone, and in honor of Little League Month they want to see our sports themed projects.  Thanks for coming by and taking a look.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Runner from Pink Journey cut at 3.8 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Stamps Everyday Greetings set
Black embossing powder
i-rock gems

Tons of Thanks!

Good evening!  I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

The card I have to share tonight is one I made for the challenge over at Die Cuttin Divas.  Did you know that September 22 was not only the first day of fall but it was also Elephant Appreciation Day?  I had no idea, but elephants are my favorite animal, so I will likely remember this day from now on!  In honor of Elephant Appreciation Day, the challenge over at DCD is to create a project using an elephant.  Well I am in need of a few thank you cards and when I saw the "Tons of Thanks" sentiment I knew exactly what I was going to make.  Thanks for coming by to take a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern paper from DCWV
Elephant from Create a Critter cut at 2.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Amusing Animals set
Crinkle ribbon
Cloud Corner Chomper
While Sakura gel pen