Happy Birthday card to Friends - My Entry at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge

The Fantabulous Cricut blog is having a challenge- "Anything Goes" with the challenge to do any project and use at least one Cricut Cut.  This is my entry into that challenge.  While we were in Cozumel, two of the friends with us had birthdays.  They happen to be a married couple and have the exact same birthdate.  So I made this card for them using the digital image set called "Mixed Drinks".  The inside sentiment is from the Cricut cartridge Ole but the "x" was from Don Juan.  I embossed the rim of the margarita glass with embossing powder and lime Kool-aid to make it scratch and sniff ( using this technique http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-whipping-up-scent-sational-cards.html ) and it really worked!!

Updates for my world

Well, I have been so busy lately.  First an 8 day trip to Cozumel with our motorcycle group where we swam and ate and snorkeled and ate and toured the island in jeeps and ate and parasailed and ate.  So, you get the idea.

Then I was home for a week and then off for 10 days to Israel with my beloved sister and a wonderful, trip of a lifetime with other members of  Bible Study Fellowship, an inter-denominational group.  I cannot begin to tell you of all the inspiring and thought-provoking, emotional places we went, how much I learned about current events and situations of life in Israel and how many sweet people we met.  We had an absolutely fantastic guide, Olga ( http://www.holyland-christian-tours.com/ ) who was very versed in the New and Old Testament and knew the country inside out.  And we had a bus driver, Amir, who could turn that bus on a dime and maneuvered us wonderfully through city and countryside in some very tight quarters.  Here's a picture that a friend took of me and my sister (won't make you guys sit through a slide presentation of the entire 2,452 pictures I took).   I have always wanted to know more about the land, the history and the country as well as the Bible as I personally feel that despite the differences, our religions and culture are all connected and related.  I can tell you for sure, I left a part of my heart in Israel.  This entire trip was very meaningful to me....

Brief History from the Internet:  This is the holiest shrine of the Jewish world. The Western Wall is part of the retaining wall supporting the temple mount built by Herod in 20 B.C. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., Jews were not allowed to come to Jerusalem until the Byzantine period, when they could visit once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple and weep over the ruins of the Holy Temple. Because of this, the wall became known as the “Wailing Wall.”  Jews were again not allowed to visit the wall from 1948-1967 when it was in the Jordanian section of the city. After the Six Day War, the Western Wall became a place for national rejoicing and prayer, as the last accessible relic of the last Temple

Graphic 45 contest

Graphic 45 is having a contest for a $30 pack of their paper.  If you don't know anything about Graphic 45, all I can say is...everything of theirs is Fabulous!  Here's the link to the contest if you want to enter, too   http://g45papers.typepad.com/graphic45/2013/09/colorful-statements-with-typography.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+g45papers+%28Graphic+45%C2%AE%29

Their blogsite always has the best ideas and really good videos  Hop on over there and take a look around.

As for  my favorite LSS?  It's got to be Personal Scrapbooks in Allen, Texas.  Tara, Candy and Patricia are the very nice and talented owners who give classes and once a month they have a Cricut Swarm.  I love gathering here with my friends for fun, talking, giggling, lunch, ideas and of course, a little crafting thrown in!   You can see their scheduled events at their website:  http://www.personal-scrapbook.com/   Stop in sometime if you're in the area.  Would love to personally meet my online crafting friends!  They carry the current lines of Graphic 45 and if there's something you want that they don't have, they are always willing to order it for you..customer service at its best!!

PaperTrey Ink Goodbye

Well, it was challenging, it was fun, it was a blast.  I met some great ladies, all of whom are talented and each had their own cute and fun personalities.  I loved seeing everyone's creations and gaining knowledge not only from the challenges from each one of these creative ladies.  I can't wait for next year's event!!

Attendees:  Josie (could not find her blog),  Me ( http://scootingrannysworld.blogspot.com/ ), my sister Joy ( http://piecesofjoyhadden.blogspot.com/ ) who is holding a visitor--her newest granddaughter-Alexandra Grey, Chris ( http://colorfulom.blogspot.com/ ) and  Christianne aka Sizzle( http://keepthejuicesflowing.blogspot.com/ ). 

PaperTrey Ink Stamp Affair Challenges 6-10

Challenge Six was to use the Gallon-Quart-Pint theory of color on a card and this is my result.  Although white and black normally don't count as one of the  main colors, I used black as the Gallon color because it was so dominate in this scheme.  Red as the quart color and yellow was the pint color.  The banner is a PTI banner that is straight.. I just tucked the ends ender a little, taped those down and had some foam tape under the middle where the sentiment is.  This added some more depth.   http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-gallonquartpint.html

Challenge Seven was to use shrink film in a project.  We had two packs of great shrink film in our kits but I wanted to download the PTI Stamp Affair emblem and used a sheet my sister had that you could use with your inkjet printer.  If you want to do this, be sure your film is capable of it as some are not meant to be printed on.  You can color with inks, markers or stains on all types of shrink material and can be done either before or after you shrink them.  My sister used her laptop to download the emblem, sent it to her printer and it printed up great.  I used an embossing gun instead of  the oven to shrink it.  I am making this card as a thank you to Nicole Heady, PTI, the designers involved, my sister and to the three other wonderful ladies who attended this meet up.  http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-custom-accents-from-the-oven.html

Challenge Eight was probably my favorite as we learned how to create scratch-n-sniff elements for cards, tags or projects.  I used the stamp set that came with the kit, the paper was some scraps my sister had.  I love giving gingerbread house parties so this one was right up my alley.  I am thinking about using this design for my gingerbread invitations this year.  And yes, I went overboard on the scratch and sniff pointers but I just love this idea!!   http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-whipping-up-scent-sational-cards.html

Challenge Nine was to use limited supplies with limited colors.  This is a great challenge because it can make one think about using scraps and what you have to create without having to rush out and buy something new.  I need to try this challenge more often because it really gets those old brain waves moving.    http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-limited-ingredients-challenge.html

Challenge Ten was to use glitter to jazz up a project.  I ended up repurposing a card I made a few years ago for Christmas.  I used a sunflower set from PTI and repurposed it to make poinsettia.  LOVE how the stamp can be so versatile.  I really liked the card but always thought it needed a "punch" of some sort.  Well, that needed punch was glitter.  I used the glitter in our kits to jazz up the evergreen leaves (the Martha Stewart pine branch punch) and it totally changed the look of the card.    http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-sweet-sugar-coated-embellishments.html

Well, that concludes my projects for the event.  I had so much fun with some really great ladies and can't wait for next year's event!!

Paper Trey Ink Stamp Affaire Challenges 1 - 5

This is the third year my sister and I have attended a PaperTrey Ink Stamp Affair event.  The first year was a limited ticket event that we attended in Cincinnati.  That was such a huge hit that it was determined the following events would be online where people could do the projects either in groups hosted by someone or just at home in their own crafting environment.  This year my sister hosted an event and it was attended by me and three other ladies from the Dallas Fort Worth area.  The drive for all of us was a little less than two hours one way but we all agreed it was WELL worth the effort.  Kudos to Joy for hosting such a fun time.  There were 10 challenges and I will be posting this in two parts so that it won't be 10 individual posts or one loooonnnnnggg post.  Hope you all enjoy !!

The first challenge was a breakfast make and take where we were given sketches and color schemes and we chose from among those 9.  Here's my take on the challenge.  I stamped and hand cut the "Smile" sentiment and placed at the bottom of the flower stems cos I goofed up on stamping in that area.  Great coverup!  http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-opening-ceremony-and-breakfast-bake-take.html

The second challenge was to create a tea stained project.  My sister and I decided to do the flower that one of the designers completed and this is my project.  I will be hot gluing a pin on the back and either gift it to someone or wear it myself on a brown sweater that I have.    http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-tea-staining-techniques.html

The third challenge was to use paper clay.  It's like modeling clay only it dries to have the consistency of coaster board or thin chipboard.  I had a bit of a difficult time with this because I didn't roll the clay thin enough and it wasn't totally dry.  I did salvage enough to make the three buttons on this card.  I stamped them with a PTI stamp and ink and loved the way they turned out.  I will be trying the technique again and now that I have done it once, I'm hoping the second time will be easier.   http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-rolled-dough-designs.html

The fourth challenge was to use misting inks to make a colored paper.  This is my entry... now I know the embossing was a little goofed up in the middle and I may have sprayed it a little too much but I really like the technique and will definitely be trying it again.   http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-mixing-mists-to-match.html

The fifth challenge was to use one of two types of salt techniques.  I had never used either but this is yet another technique I will try again.  I used a lot of water on mine but it ended up looking like a plaid and I really liked it.  I use a stamp set that came with our kits to do the sentiment and leaves.    http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2013/08/stamp-a-faire-2013-sprinkle-of-salt.html

 

 

Stay tuned for Part Two!!

Baby card for sweet niece

I made this card for my sweet niece who just had her first baby... a sweet, healthy little girl.  The paper is from Kaiserkraft and is called Bundle of Joy-Baby Girl, using the 6 1/2 x 6 1/2  paper pad.  The shoes were cut from the Cricut cartridge Kate's ABCs.  The sentiment on the inside is computer generated and the rattle is from the Cricut cartridge New Arrival.  I lined the envelope with one of the sheets from the paper pack, too and the little feet stickers are from the 12 x 12 paper pad.

Thank you Angiespaperpassion !!

I would like to thank TiffysMom/Angela for the blog candy she sent me from a recent blog hop where winners were chosen from comments posted during the hop http://angiespaperpassio...crawlred-white-blue.html

My prize was an Anna Griffin embossing folder, which I was very excited to win because I don't have any of the AG embossing folders. But, much to my amazement, Angela also sent a bunch of other wonderful surprises. Thank you Angela/TiffysMom!!

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #171

The bus card won a top five !!!  Wahoo!!!!  http://fantabulouscricut.blogspot.com/2013/08/wednesday-winners-challenge-171-shaped.html.  Thank you!!

Bus Card

I have been following a blog http://www.technomadia.com/ and have really enjoyed the posts from this couple.  Not only are they young, hip and smart (very), they are FUN.  They are doing what so many people wish they could do...live on the road in a bus (or rv).  But recently they ran into a huge challenge with a very $erious engine problem and have been awaiting repairs in Billings, Montana. Sure glad this is summer and not winter!!  So... I've done a card in anticipation of their impending departure and joyous rejoining the road!  I will email them the link to this post once they hit the road again, hopefully by early next week.

The bus was done using Art Deco...I did numerous layers and tried very hard to capture the colors of their bus, Zephyr.  I used Design Studio to place two shadows of the bus shape, flip one and weld them to make the card base. This was very hard to photograph as the silver shiny paper kept reflecting my image and the colors I am wearing!  I also could not get a small enough "GM" to cut out, so I ended up having to use a silver pen.  The sentiment inside the card was computer generated and the "Wahoo!" is from the cartridge Old West.  I'm showing a picture of the card and then a picture of their bus.  I am also entering this into the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #171-Shaped Cards at http://fantabulouscricut.blogspot.com/2013/07/challenge-171-shape-card.html