Creative Happenings

Home Made Christmas Gifts

2011-12-23T19:12:00.000-06:00

We did some home made Christmas gifts this year. Not many, but a couple for the people we knew would appreciate it.

This way it was economical and includes lots of love! For the grandparents and an aunt and uncle, I made apple butter. It turned out delicious, so I decided to make more for gifts. The recipe I used is here (as are the printable circles).

I added a bit of fabric I had and some ribbon (which is actually harder to tie than it looks) and wola! A cute and yummy gift! The only thing I ended up buying for these gifts were cloves, and I had been meaning to get some anyhow :}

Christmas Cards

2011-12-22T19:19:00.004-06:00

I decided to make my Christmas cards this year without purchasing paper. Tammy, if you are reading this, you are not getting a sneak peak at your card~I made one special for you. It was a challenge, but I did it! I did get the stamp I used on the inside, but it was at a used stamp sale and was super cheap. So I used the paper I had on hand and went to work on a design. I came up with the cards below (well, this is a sampling, as I didn't include them all). The poinsetta is from Penny Duncan of Penny Duncan's Creations (yes, it's free). I did use less petals than she has in the file, because I liked the simplistic look (and I was making lots of them). There is a close up below. All of the flowers were cut in white and I inked and glimmer misted them myself (something newish for me, so I was kinda surprised at how much I liked them). It took forever for the bows to look half way decent, I hope they don't untie in the mail!

Simple and sweet, but I like them!

Different Kind of Creative

2011-11-16T15:14:00.002-06:00

My creativity of late has been more trying to work, sleep, clean the house and have dinners on the table every other night or so. It takes a little bit of creativity to get that all going :)

A large part of the hassel has been relieved by a wonderful site: www.moneysavingmom.com While I am not a mother, this site posts deals from various stores, freebie alerta, great coupon links, recipes and frugal ways to do just about anything! I made apple butter a couple of weeks ago following the crockpot recipe on the site and my was it good (and frugal!) Just last night I saved $51 on my groceries by using techniques learned on her blog. Couponing isn't rocket science, you just have to understand how it works!

Crystal has a book she wrote called The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget, right now it is just for preorder, I think it comes out mid January. It is only $11, so it won't break the bank. If saving money is something you are striving for, I definately reccomend getting this book! And by letting others know about it, you can get a free ebook about freezer cooking. What a great deal, right?!

Quick Thanks

2011-09-08T21:06:00.002-05:00

A quick thank you to all who entered the Satin Hands Giveaway. Tanya was the winner, congrats!

New Blog

2011-08-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

I've found a new blog to follow, Kaysi is awesome at all things crafty! Her blog is awesome and she has agreed to do a Mary Kay giveaway with me on her blog, so be sure to hop over for a chance to win a free Satin Hands Set by Mary Kay. It's awesome-trust me!

Recipes 2

2011-08-13T19:50:00.004-05:00

If you are thinking, mmm, this looks familiar, then you saw my Recipes 1 post back in spring. My husband and I have our last wedding of the year (this will be #5, 3 that he has been in) coming up next week. This is a part of their gift (I'm still contemplating the other part). The colors are much more 'true' on the second picture.

The light pink and green in the patterned paper are very close to her wedding colors--I guess their wedding colors, but I'm pretty sure he didn't choose them :)

Since I've done this project before, please see my previous post for all the details on how it was made and who's free SVG files I used~because they were all free :) Really the only thing I did differently was used a VersaMark Pen to wet emboss (rather than a VersaMark Ink Pad), it just made it less 'messy' and I put rhinestones on the letters. For those of you without a cutting machine, you can replicate this easily. Follow the above link, click on the tutorial. I only used my cricut to decorate, so it can easily be done without!

One of the neat things about this is I share one or two of our favorite recipes for each section, so the newlyweds get tried and true (and easy!) recipes.

Its been awhile since I've done any challenges but here goes:
All Sorts- anything but a card
Do You Stack Up- Emboss it- I wet and dry embossed!

A different type

2011-08-10T17:50:00.003-05:00

A different type of creativity. This summer I've been being creative in coming up with things for the family I nannied for. This is one of the activities we did that was super fun. Edible Playdough! Yes, I know, not typically what you see here. But it was loads of fun and when the kids ate it, I didn't have to worry about it (and it is quite yummy, actually)!

Using everyday cooking items to enhance the fun!
Looking for a recipe? It is super easy! 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 cup of peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey. Mix together. More powdered sugar can be added if it isn't "doughy" enough (I think I added a bit more).

The only downfall to this recipe is that it becomes sticky if played with too long. I recommend chilling in the fridge for a half hour before letting the kids play, they could play much longer this way :)

New Challenge

2011-08-08T15:23:00.001-05:00

There is a New Challenge over at Paper This and That-perfect theme for August-Back to School. Check it out HERE!

Giveaway Like non Other

2011-07-31T08:33:00.002-05:00

This giveaway is BIG I want to win, but I want it to be fair, so I'm letting others know about it too. A peek of the prize, then hop on over for details and a pleasant surprise :)
What's in the bag? Hop over to Creative Diva to see!

Link Pink

2011-07-19T08:44:00.002-05:00

Linkup for Pink! Check out Yolie's site where she has digital freebies and a chance at some "tactile" scraping stuff as well!

PT&T July Challenge

2011-07-12T21:43:00.003-05:00

Paper This and That's July Challenge has been posted. This month has room for quite a bit of interpretation: slice of summer. What does that bring to mind? Watermelon, pie, swimming pools, sand castles, bonfires? Hop over to the blog to see the design team's interpretation and to enter. Oh and what will you win? The prize is pretty awesome: a mini album for all of your summer pictures!

New Challenge

2011-06-03T10:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all who participated in Paper This and That's May challenge! We got some awesome patriotic creations!!

June's challenge is Father's Day theme! Click here to go to the page and see some amazing examples! Due to my being on vacation, I did not submit one this month. I know you want to know what the prize is :)

Here is a picture:
Yep, its a mini album chipboard kit. Oh the things you could make with it!!!

So stop on by and enter your card or project!

A couple of Things...

2011-05-28T13:06:00.004-05:00

Alright, they both aren't crafty, but one of them is! I want to remind you of the Paper This and That Challenge- Memorial Day. It closes soon, there is a great prize and only 7 entries (so your chances of winning are great!)

Now for the other thing. Some of you know I became a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant in April. I am loving each and every time I get to pamper ladies and share with them the amazing products! Currently I have a website promotion going on. I am doing a drawing for a FREE mineral eye shadow (color is your choice) for every 10 entries. Shipping on all products is free. I will draw the evening of June 10th, so be sure to get your entries in before then! How do you enter? <--great question :)
1. Go to www.marykay.com/bcriminger
2. Browse amazing products
3. Purchase something
4. For a second entry go to the Virtual Makeover and find your favorite look. Email the link to me at bcriminger@marykay.com

NOTE: You are not eligible to win if you already have a Mary Kay consultant. Go to her website and buy from her instead :)

May Challenge

2011-05-15T10:30:00.003-05:00

Paper This and That has posted May's Challenge..... SUPPORT OUR TROOPS! Memorial Day is at the end of the month, so make a card or layout for that, send a few cards to Operation Write Home (make sure they are military themed), or send something to your favorite soldier. Before I show you my project, I want to show you the prize, and it is a fabulous one at that!Yes, it is digital paper. To be used with digital scrapbooking or can be printed for "real" scrapbook pages/cards etc. They are loads of fun because they are dotted (I love dots!). They are 8x11in in size.

Ok, here is my project:
It is a popcorn bag holder. The file is Denise's and can be found in her scrapbook room, the tag was one I had. The heart and star stamps are Stampin' Up and the Thank You (see picture below) is See Dees. Inks are all Stampin' Up.

Now head on over to Paper This and That to upload your project!

Anticipate This!

2011-05-02T14:02:00.002-05:00

Did the title get you to read this post? I hope so! I'm just letting all my readers know that I will be posting my DT project for Paper this and That within the next week. Now there weren't very many challenge entries last month, so your chances of winning are excellent! It would be a wonderful challenge for scrappers who haven't entered many challenges or for those who are more seasoned. Be on the lookout here, and I will be sure to link you there, or you could hop over there now and see what's happening!

More embellishments

2011-04-28T23:30:00.000-05:00

Still posting embellishments for the swap. I tried to do a variety of different things and styles, so the diva on the receiving end gets an assortment (we did 12 in the swap).

The first is a tag made from a scrap outline of a cougar SVG from Nicolas Gomez, I added some embossing, ribbon and a stamp (friends, stampin up).
The next two go together. The stamp set is from Inkadinkado (how fun is that to say?). I colored it, inked the edges, added lace and a brad (hard to tell, but it is inked dark red).
I used the same stamp as above. The charm I got ages ago at Walmart (a quarter for 4) in the clearance isle. At the time I couldn't pass it up, but honestly, I just used the first one a month ago! Anyways, I stamped and colored, used stickles to glitter glue it to the back of the charm (the glitter is hard to see in the picture).

Pretty in Pink!

2011-04-22T21:10:00.003-05:00

Those of you who do not know me personally are out of the loop. On what? My new Mary Kay business! I have been a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant for 9 days now! I have held 2 parties and I love spending time teaching women the essentials of skin care and sharing with them wonderful Mary Kay products. I, personally, have been using Mary Kay products for a little over 3 years and wholeheartedly believe in the products. The only thing on my face on my wedding day was Mary Kay. Only the best for such a special day, and every other day, for that matter. Now, on to my project! While talking with my sales director (a wonderful, beautiful, Godly woman, by the way) she mentioned that I will want a 3 subject notebook to track 3 aspects on the business end of Mary Kay. 3 subject notebooks are so blah, so I prettied mine up!

This is the front. The black and white paper was from Joann's, not sure what brand. The pink was from I RAK, I only had a 5x5 sheet of it, yet I think it went pretty far. The punches were both Mavy.
The lace was a RAK, the rhinestones from Michaels, the buttons, off old clothing. Here is the back. The ribbon from my stash, buckles off a pair of old jeans.
A close-up of quite a few things.
The corner and the dividing tabs (to make 3 sections). Our unit is the Royal Rockstars, so I had to include a star somewhere!
Should you wish to shop, there is a link here and on the sidebar.

Challenge:
Digi Doodle Shop's Best- Glimmer and Glitz

Alcohol Inks

2011-04-21T23:28:00.000-05:00

I got some alcohol inks on sale for a great price and have been playing with them. These are some of the tags I did for a swap at Creative Scrapbook Divas.
What you see as white is heat embossed, then I inked and reheated it to bring the white forward again. I'm learning all kinds of new tricks :)

Inchies/Twinchies

2011-04-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

The April Swap at Creative Scrapbook Divas (see badge on right side of blog) was make your own embellishments. So I tried my hand at inchies and twinchies (I think I like ATCs better, cause they are bigger). I had a hard time keeping within the measurements. The tree is a "true inchie" and the one with a brad a "true twinchie", the other is me not liking limitations :)I used scraps for all of these! That was an additional challenge I gave myself. Yes, the Thinking of You is from a box of Mary Kay thinking of you lotion, my new favorite scent!

Just wanted to keep you up to date on what I've been up to lately. Will post more later.

Boy Fun

2011-04-11T23:00:00.005-05:00

I have been creating the past couple of weeks, and I've even taken pictures of most of it. I just haven't gotten around to putting them up here to share. Sorry about that. Here is a layout I did for the baby scrapbook. I have 1 more made to post and one more double layout to make before I give it away. As is typical with me, the first layout goes on the left.
The mud puddles (free-handed) are a bit darker in person, the perfect 'murky' color! Both of the sentiments I printed for the background are from Ginger's House. One reads: Trucks and dirt and shades of blue, but little boys are angels too. And the other: Blue jeans and trucks, scrapes on his knees and running in the dirt and being a tease. I couldn't choose, so I used them both! The title is a font on SCAL2, the pockets are Penny Duncan's and the sock monkey Lea's. All of the files were free!Challenges-
Sentimental Sundays- Treasured Memories

Paper This and That April Challenge

2011-04-08T11:26:00.002-05:00

I know I already posted my DT card for Paper This and That's April Challenge: April Showers bring May Flowers. I had it auto set so I wouldn't forget. The challenge was just posted a couple of days ago (guess I should have waited, will do better next month). You can see my card here. And be sure to head over and join in the fun-there is a fabulous sponsor this month (and I will only say that when I really know the sponsor is fab, I promise, Glitterbabe is AWESOME!). The prize is 2 of her images!

Recipes 1

2011-04-02T16:10:00.004-05:00

The title is recipes because I am planning on making more of these. This is for a friend who is getting married (part of her wedding gift). Lilac and Clover (the green pictured was as close as I could get-clover is actually slightly darker) are her and her fiance's wedding colors. It will be presented in this basket (both the basket and the ribbon are from Dollar Tree-they have greatly increased their craft selection).
I had lots of help (whether the ladies know it or not) with various pieces of this project. The recipe box measures 4.5x6 (could be used for a large variety of things). The wonderful tutorial by Maria Bell is here (the original has a handle for a purse-like look). The recipes SVG is by Cheryl Ann at Cafe Expressions (its free). The Lilac and clover papers are Recollections and the Swirl paper is KO Addison. I ended up using 3 sheets of the lilac paper, 1 1/2 of the clover and a little less than one of the swirl (I didn't think 5 1/2 sheets was bad at all).
Both circles are SVG files from Veronica over at Crafty Blonde. The swirl inside the circle was first dry embossed with the swirl folder from cuttlebug, then wet embossed in white, a 'double embossing' technique I learned last week from Amanda at Amanda's Crafts and More. See how much help I had?! Much thanks to all of these talented artists!

**If you are going to recreate this, I recommend using very strong glue. I used a tape runner first and it did not stick very long, so I had to reglue it with stronger adhesive. Here is a picture of the inside. I will add a few of Blake and my favorite recipes from each category to get them started!

You can see I used a magnet to hold it together. Note, the lilac color is more like the first two colors, this picture has funny light on it.

*I am linking this post up to Maryanne's blog Scrappy Gifts for her Scrappy Saturdays link up. You can link up any project and she chooses one to feature on the following Friday-note, since she is about to have a baby, the link up is longer this time.

Challenges:
Anything Goes- make your own embellishment-the one on the front is made by me
Digi's With Attitude!-Anything Goes
Polly Craft Monday-Friendship-for a friend
Stampin' Royalty- Heat embossing

Thanks for reading this super long post!

Paper This and That DT Card

2011-04-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Paper This and That is having a challenge-April Showers bring May Flowers (how appropriate for this time of year)! It isn't up on their blog yet, but when it is it will be here. This is the card I made for it:
Ok, details- the image is Glitterbabe's, you can find all her awesome digis here. The scalloped edge and place to run ribbon through is a punch by Marvy. The flower cut file is Lea's and can be found here (it's free). Ribbon (I inked it), paper and rhinestones from my stash, the matte for the digi stamp and the edge are both vellum (they are the same piece, just look different when against paper and not).

Thanks for stopping by!

Great Blog+Giveaway

2011-03-29T15:27:00.001-05:00

First of all, if you don't follow Christel at Scrappin Sista, you should, she always inspires me. Second of all if you are a follower, she has a giveaway going on right now, so hop on over!

For a Friend

2011-03-25T21:47:00.004-05:00

I made these for a friend. I was surprised at how easily they came together and how awesome they turned out, I thought I would have had to make 2-3 before I began this project, but the first one turned out great!

The Lily file is Penny Duncan's. She has a wonderful tutorial here that I pretty much followed. I did substitute for a couple things I didn't have. Instead of watercolor pencil, I used watercolors; instead of craft floss I used dental floss (the stamens were a bit 'floppy', I'm sure the craft floss would have taken care of that); I added glimmer mist (cause I'm in love); and instead of floral wire I used twisty ties (I only needed a little, since my project was different).

It's difficult to tell in the above picture, but the flowers are pens. I love pretty useful stuff. I did have a hard time giving this away, might have to make some for me! The glass is a recycled spaghetti jar (washed out multiple times). Ribbon from Hobby Lobby, tag, twine and papers I had. Close up of the flowers, you can kinda see the glimmer mist.

Close up of tag. The stamp is embossed. It was from one of the first stamp sets I bought and the name isn't on the box. I think it was see-through something or another, as it was when acrylic stamps first became popular. The flower is made out of Basic Grey scraps and the patterned paper on the tag is from a baby boy paper stack sold at Hobby Lobby, not sure the brand (can't find it in the mess right now)-it isn't Paper Studio. Hope my friend likes it, and maybe you will be inspired to make a spring bouquet!

Challenges:
Creative Scrapbooking Diva-Weekend Challenge-flowers with a quote
Anything Goes-make your own embellishment-flower and tag
Do You Stack Up-Shine on-glimmer mist on flowers
DigiDoodle Shop-ribbons/bows
For Fun-Flower+sentiment
One Stop Craft Challenge-diamonds are a girls best friend-glimmer mist
Stamp Something- anything goes

Feeling Lucky?

2011-03-15T17:34:00.003-05:00

Creative Scrapbooking Divas is turning 1! Want to celebrate with us for chances to win prizes? Join our online crop here and play with us March 18th and 19th. RSVP here and let them know I sent you!

Diaper Days

2011-03-14T14:21:00.004-05:00

As I am looking through the challenges this week, there seems to be a reacurring theme-green. My thoughts on this? 'Green? Ick! They couldn't have picked something different?' I know St Patrick's Day is almost upon us, and is undoubtedly the inspiration behind all this green. It's just my least favorite color to work with, but I tried, and a soft green coupled with a pastel yellow isn't so bad. So I got busy.

This is another addition to my baby scrapbook w/o pictures. I was having a hard time getting the color to show up right, I think the first one is the closest match. Left page:
I've seen a lot of banners and pennants used recently on layouts and cards, so if you've recently posted one on your blog and I follow you, you were a part in inspiring that. The banner is just a tag from SCAL and a font (not sure which one), put together in SCAL. Right page:It is simple, but I didn't want to overdue it. I thought about adding some safety pins along the edge, but it didn't really go with the flow and I didn't have the right color to paint them, so I kept it simple.

The diaper is from the lovely Lea at Tu J's and a Taco (it is free, hop on over there). Now I can't even begin to take credit for the cute lil' tosies. I was trying to decide whether to do this diaper or the outline of the diaper (both of which are cute, and included in the one file), so I asked my husband. Although he claims to have no artistic inclination, God gave him quite a bit, and he willingly helps me make choices like this :) He said, "I like that one, its cute. But you know what would be even cuter?" I said what? "If you could add some baby feet sticking out of the diaper" GENIUS! So off I went on my search. I found several feet I could have cut of people, but they were all in zipped files (which my computer has difficulty dealing with, so I have to download on my hubby's computer, extract files then transfer to mine, which takes a long time for something that should be simple). I know, I should just download SCAL on his computer, but I haven't yet. Anyways... what I ended up doing was finding this coloring page of a baby in a high chair, tracing it in SCAL, then breaking apart the image, so that I only had the legs and feet. Still took awhile to do, but aren't the toes so cute?! Actually, this picture is a better one for the colors in the background. Oh, and I added glimmer mist to the diaper. Challenges:
GREEN- All Sorts Challenge Blog, Sentimental Sundays, Stampin' Royalty
Stamp Something-cream and green
Die Cuts-anything goes-title, diaper and feet
Do You Stack Up- layers, the diaper has 4
One Stop Craft Challenge- clean and simple
Papertake Weekly- yellow
whew! that's it!

Award

2011-03-11T20:12:00.003-06:00

If you are looking for the Spring Forward Blog Hop, it is one post down, here.

I am blessed to have such awesome blogging friends, and more being added all the time. Just from one blog hop I have gained 8 followers, and I didn't even twist their arms with goodies! Because of one of these great friends, Angela, I have received a blog award. The

From what I understand, this award is for new blogs (or newly discovered blogs). I does come with some rules, which are below:

1-Creating a post where you blog about the Liebster award and reveal your 3-5 blog picks
2-Let them know you chose them by leaving a comment on their blog
3-Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
4-Have faith that your followers will rally and show their crafty love back out to those you awarded
5-Have fun

My picks? Probably not so much new blogs as one's I have recently discovered, but here they are:
Tammy at OBX Stamping and Crafting
Karel at One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity -I found here the beginning of Feb
Denise at Denise's Scrapbooking Room
Lenea at SugarGem- she is a new blogger
and Lea at Tu J's and a Taco

When I went through the blogs I've began following lately, I had 12, it was hard to narrow it to 5. Enjoy, ladies, and repost :)

Seeds to Flowers and a Blog Hop!

2011-03-10T23:01:00.004-06:00

Welcome to the Spring Forward Blog Hop hosted by Celeste at Touched by a Butterfly and and Lora at Notes from the Scrapbooklady! If you are just stopping by my blog to stop, thank you! But the start of the blog is here, so be sure to go back to the beginning to get all of your spring bunny (or frog) hopping in! There is blog candy for up for grabs. What do you need to do? Hop all the way through and leave a comment for each person. The winner will be posted at both Notes from the Scrapbooklady and Touched by a Butterfly and will have one week to contact Lora or Celeste with a mailing address for their prize packages. Some individual blogs may be offering candy as well (with its own stipulations), I'm not this time, sorry.

Now that all of the details are taken care of, let's take a look at my project. I have to tell you, I was having a hard time creating for this, not sure why, it shouldn't have been hard. Everything I created I didn't like enough to include it in a blog hop. Until I came across Veronica's file (it is the scalloped circle and the sentiment, but I don't think it is free anymore), I saved it and when I came back to it a day later, I was able to create!
And a close up of the image (and you can also see the glittery details).

Ok, now for the details of how I created it. It is a 5x5 easel card. In order to create the easel, I cut (white cardstock) 10in x 5 in. I scored the paper and folded it at 5 1/2 inches and 2 1/2 inches (the smallest space will be the front of the card). I cut the brown paper (Color bok) and the pink, brown, yellow patterned paper (printed from the Imagine while my mother-in-law was babysitting it for a friend, not sure the cartridge) both 5inx5in. Rounded all corners w/ a punch. The scallop and sentiment on the front are Veronica's. The blue piece I cut from SCAL2, along with the flower (both in the library). The digital stamp is from Silly Shells, she hasn't posted in a year, but all her past digis are free. I added stickles (the generic kind from Michael's). For the bottom, the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby (again, added stickles). I raised it by putting hot glue on and letting it dry before adhering. The raised edge holds the top in place, and is essential to easel cards. Whew! That was long, sorry!

For those who are directionally challenged (even in blog~o~sphere) here is the hop order:

1. Lora at http://scrpbooklady.blogspot.com/
2. Celeste L. at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
3.Brandi at http://joyfullycreative.blogspot.com/ <----ME! 4.Carrie at http://doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com/ <---NEXT STOP!
5.Celeste B. at http://ccscards.blogspot.com/
6.Karel at http://karelj.blogspot.com/
7. Kacee at www.youhadmeatscrap.blogspot.com
8. Melanie at www.arkmom-scrappilyeverafter.blogspot.com
9. Michelle at http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com
10. Patti at http://lilbitcreations.blogspot.com
11. Sue at http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/
12. Tina http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com/
14. Yolie At http://www.justyolie.com/

Have fun hopping!

Challenges:
Papertake Weekly-lemon singy (yellow)
For Fun-Spring
Digi's With Attitude!- anything goes
Anything Goes Challenge Blog-die cuts (circle and scalloped circle and flower)
Creative Inspirations- use a template (I had to look at my template for an easel card)
Crafty Creations- baby blue (half circle and inked edges on the image)

Sleepy Scrapbook Page

2011-03-06T20:55:00.004-06:00

Yep, another baby scrapbook layout !! There will be many more before I am finished :)
I also used SCAL2 library for the tag and the moon, for the journaling. If you read my frustrated blog account last week, you know how many times I failed to do the tag correctly. It still isn't perfect, but I'm satisfied for now (I might redo it later). The star border is one I put together (I am getting better at it). I like the versatility of it, great for Operation Write Home cards, military layouts, and fourth of July cards/layouts. I would be happy to email you the file if you want it, let me know (brandicriminger@yahoo.com). The crib is from the lovely Lea over at Tu J's and a Taco, if you haven't checked out her awesome SVG files, you should! As soon as I saw it I knew it would be a journaling pocket!The clouds were the speech bubbles on SCAL2, I took out the extra smaller clouds and imputed text. It was fun to play around using markers in the cricut, has been awhile since I've done that. I glimmer misted the clouds, stars and the journal tag. I am in love with glimmer mist right now! See the sparkle?!

And here's the tag!Just a couple challenges this week-both anything goes:
Papertake Weekly
Digi's With Attitude! Challenges

YEA!!!!!

2011-03-01T14:24:00.002-06:00

I have some awesome news to share! I have been chosen to be on the design team for Paper This and That! Have you heard of them? Perhaps not, if not check out their site by clicking on their button (on the right sidebar) or the above link. Be sure to check out who the other design members are on the most recent post.

Folded Boxes

2011-02-27T22:48:00.003-06:00

So my mishaps of this afternoon seem not to have affected my nightly crafting (although I did take a break to worship Jesus and learn more about how to respect my husband :)
When I posted earlier, I realized it had been 4 days since I had touched my craft stuff-yikes! Lea got me back in the game when I got really excited about all of her free svg files over at TuJ's and a Taco (her blog)-follow the link to check it out! Her file is the one I used for the boxes below. I was mostly testing out the size and the making, so I didn't put a great deal of work into decorating them, just used a bit of ink and some paper/vellum scraps. They were put together kind of quickly, but I LOVE the file, so I wanted to share it with you all! The first box is the mini one. It was the biggest I could make it on my personal cricut (6x12 mat) without piecing together. It measures 2 inches x 3 inches.
The next is the big box (the biggest I can do while piecing it back together, as the whole file doesn't fit on my little mat-should you have the expression, this isn't an issue). This one is 4 1/2 inches X 3 1/2 inches and is perfect for index cards (I'm thinking recipes)I had a picture of it open, but photoscape was acting up when I tried to watermark it and only saved 1/2 of it. It opens the same as the little one.

Challenges:
Do You Stack Up-anything goes
Digi Doodle Shop's Best- dots

Really?

2011-02-27T15:42:00.004-06:00

I just want to share with you my frustrations in crafting today. I'm sure you've all had those days where you just want something that (should be) simple, but turns out to be a disaster and an hour later, it still doesn't look the way you want it to be. That is me today. I took pictures so tomorrow I can laugh at my misfortunes; and so you can realize you are not alone in this. I got this cool svg file of a crib and was so excited to use it as a pocket for journaling. I decided to make the pocket to go with it before cutting it (it still isn't cut). I had this piece all glimmer misted and was going to use it. Even though on my SCAL screen the lines went all the way across, my markers didn't draw it that way. Off to find more yellow paper.
I found some, but forgot to take the marker out and put the blade back in. Darn it! Tried to cut overtop of the marker, but it didn't work as well as I thought it would.
So I turned off the cricut, put the blade back in and hit 'cut' on SCAL. This is what it did:
Not sure where that came from! Finally, I got it to cut where it was suppose to and draw where it was suppose to, adjusted the lines so it should draw all the way across (I even over-extended them) and they still didn't go the whole way!!
I gave up and free-handed them the rest of the way, but they aren't straight :(
So I decide to cut a star border to go with it. But guess who forgot to reset the pressure on the cricut (after doing the marker)-me. So it didn't cut all the way through the first time. But I was able to cut it over the first cut mark and it worked fine (thank goodness!)

Sorry for the ugly carpet in the pictures. Didn't think they were worth setting up the right way.

Do You Sew?

2011-02-25T16:28:00.001-06:00

Do you sew? No? Is it because you don't have a machine? If the last answer was yes, hop over here to get put in a drawing for a sewing machine and some other goodies!

Drats

2011-02-22T21:48:00.006-06:00

Drats, I forgot my camera!! Today I drove 2 hours to help my sister set up her new dog grooming business and I forgot my camera. I guess I wasn't thinking at 7 this morning when I left... We did lots of cleaning, swept and mopped, went to look at a dog table (which she is going to get), set up her files for bookwork and we made her a proper sign for her front door. I cut vinyl with my cricut (for the first time all by myself) today. I think it turned out lovely. I took a picture with my phone, but wouldn't you know, my phone didn't come with a cord to plug into a computer (which I didn't realize until I got home). Anyways, her front door looks something like this.

Puppy *

L*ve

* Salon

Well, the formatting on here is giving me troubles. . . the S in Salon should be under love lined up with the P in puppy. In Ravvy font. With the astrics being paw prints. The 'Puppy L*ve Salon' is all in Black and the other two paw prints are in white. The paw prints are slanted so it looks like an animal is walking up to the right hand corner. . . . wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't :(

Should you find yourself near Kewanee, Illinois and needing a wonderful pet groomer, email me at brandicriminger@yahoo.com, and I will give you her phone number.

Woof and a Winner

2011-02-17T14:12:00.005-06:00

My sister is opening her own dog grooming business! I am so excited for her! It's not until March, but I was really excited so, I made a card set for her. Now, I've never done a set before, so it was interesting to do that many of the same card (I kind of got an assembly-line deal going). The crazy thing was, I didn't even use my cricut (I know-gasp!) I had a difficult time making them all exactly alike, so I did end up dry embossing using 2 different folders (you can see them both in the picture below.
And the inside:
The Woof is a stamp from DMD and the inside is an alphabet from Studio G.

Challenge-
Do you Stack Up-Dots (see one behind one shown-embossing is dots-)
2 Sisters Challenge Blog-embossing (both wet and dry!)

Now for the winner of the blog hop dozen roses:
CONGRATULATIONS SANDY!

Daddy&Me

2011-02-16T14:27:00.002-06:00

I'm making a just add pictures album for my brother's baby (due in June). I am finding it increasingly difficult to scrapbook without pictures to draw from for colors and style! It's crazy, I have found myself looking at online sketches and to see what others have done, since I don't have the inspiration I typically do-the pictures! I think the hardest part is that I want to make sure it can become an album that not only holds pictures, but also memories for mom and dad. Whereas I tend to do less journaling in my scrapbooking, I'm trying to leave room for journaling to be added as well. This is a Daddy and Me double layout (intended for right after birth). The first picture will be on the left side of the album.
The frames are embossed (although it may be difficult to see in the picture). The bird is from the Stamping Cartridge as is the branch (which is really a flourish)-done in vellum. The font is Broadway, cut using SCAL. I will NOT cut this font again! It has lots of places on letters that are really, really thin and a pain in the hind end to take off the mat and glue without ripping. The s's especially were a nightmare-hence the drawn in ones (I thought it added my own flair).

Challenges-
Maryanne's Valentine Hop-LOVE layout (large shape, one patterned paper, vellum, embellishments)
Do You Stack Up-ribbon

Reminder Blog Hop

2011-02-14T22:44:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to remind you that the Creative Scrapbooking Blog Hop entries are due by Thursday the 17th! For my challenge, use 2 colors of glitter or the glitter technique shared in my blog hop posting. I am offering one dozen roses as a prize for completing my challenge or being a follower. Creative Scrapbooking Divas is also offering 2 additional prizes (which you can get in on by competing my challenge, or any of the other 11 divas challenges). More details are here.

2011-02-10T23:44:00.004-06:00

If you are looking for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Valentine Blog Hop, see this post.

I'm going to be an aunt in 3 months, so I took advantage of paper and album sales at our favorite hobby store and got an 8x8 album and double sided papers for just $10! And I made the first page tonight.I used a sketch from pagemaps, for a challenge at Creative Scrapbooking Divas.

Challenge:
Scrappy Saturdays with the Bug-I cut the brackets, title & buttons all made in SCAL.

2011-02-10T21:47:00.004-06:00

If you are looking for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Valentine Blog Hop, see this post.

I came across Sandy's blog It's a Colourful World and fell in love with her cute chicks rule digis. They are free, get them here. She is the president of Operation Write Home, which I have been participating in since this summer. You make cards to send to our soldiers, so they can have beautiful creations to send to their loved ones. More Info Here. Anyways, I emailed her to see if she would mind if I converted her digi to a cut file so that I can layer and do more fun stuff with it. She graciously agreed and so I made this card with the file. I left it up to her to whether or not this file is shared~it's not mine to share, folks! She asked for a sample card, this is what I came up with!

Please ignore the inky smudges, didn't realize my fingers were still wet! The grass is a marker outline with chalk to 'fill it in'. Just wanted

Wild 4 You

2011-02-09T18:43:00.005-06:00

If you are looking for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Be Mine Valentine Blog Hop, it is here!!

I just got these embossing folders for my birthday today and I just had, had, had to use them. I embossed strips of paper to see what they all looked like then decided I could use them all on a Valentine card. I'm pretty happy with the results-and love these embossing folders!The font is Wild Monkeys and the shape just one from SCAL. The flower (free) is by Beth and the SVG file can be found here. Then I just added a rhinestone!

Challenges:
Do You stack Up-red hot-it is a valentine
Digi Doodle Shop-valentine
All Sorts Challenge Blog-It must be love
Crafty Creations-use 3 words (does a number count?)
One Stop Craft Challenge-numbers

Flower Tag

2011-02-09T16:13:00.002-06:00

If you are looking for the Creative Scrapbooking Diva's Valentine blog Hop, that post is here

Another one of the tags I've been working on.
Just using up some scraps I've had forever, and the roses are heat embossed.

Challenges-
Feb Diva of the Month Challenge-Creative Scrapbooking Divas
For Fun Challenges-Spring or Winter-I choose Spring

Be My Valentine Blog Hop

2011-02-07T07:00:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Be Mine Valentine Blog Hop! You should have hopped here from Denine's blog. Wasn't her creation wonderful?! I love all the Divas over at Creative Scrapbooking Diva!! If you follow my blog, and you happened upon me, be sure to go back to the beginning, so you may be inspired by all and enter in a few RAKs along the way!

What is Creative Scrapbooking Divas?
"It is a place for Divas to inspire, create and enjoy the process! We encourage members to create, try different things, challenge themselves and enjoy the process. At CSDivas we don't sell anything, we have monthly challenges with RAKs offered, great camaraderie and we like to Spotlight our members and their fabulous creations. Most of all we want our Diva members to have fun!!!"

There are 12 blogs in this blog hop, several of them have prizes and Creative Scrapbooking Divas has a prize as well!

I'm going to begin by telling you I have the best Valentine ever!!! He is a loving and caring husband and is everything a woman could want! This is my Valentine for him this year (he won't check my blog, so I needn't worry about posting it this early). I know that it's a little elegant for a man, but I couldn't resist when I spotted the cut file awhile back. It is from Prob21, here is his site.

Details: I embossed the couple in the middle and added rhinestones. All the little hearts and dots and such were part of the cut file (see above link). Then I did the glitter. I learned a trick awhile back for glitter from my mother-in-law. I used this concept, so I'd like to share it with you. Use clear tape and put it behind your cut (so the tape is on the bottom and the sticky side is on the top) sprinkle the glitter over the top and tap off the excess. Super easy way to stick it and way less mess than glue! If you look really closely, you can see that I used mostly black glitter with a bit of silver (my original intention was silver, but I only had a little left!)

You might be wondering, "is Brandi offering a RAK?" Why, yes, I am! Since this is a Valentines Day Blog Hop, the winner will be My Valentine and receive a dozen roses (paper, of course!). What do you need to do? You have 2 different ways to be entered! 1. Make a card, layout, tag, or whatever else your heart desires using either 2 different colors of glitter or the glitter technique described above (you did read my entire post, didn't you?) and post it to this discussion page AND Creative Scrapbooking Divas gallery with the tag, VDhopBrandi~for one entry and/or become a follower of my blog for another entry.

To be entered into Creative Scrapbooking Diva's prize drawing (it is separate from the roses), put your completed challenge in the blog hop event, if you complete 3 challenges, you get three entries, just mine=one, get it?! Please only post new creations. If you have any questions about this prize drawing, post them here.

Please leave a comment for each entry for the roses. You have until February 17th to submit your projects (both here and at Creative Scrapbooking Divas)! Here is a link to the next stop on the hop, Pam's blog!

Oh, here is a picture of some of the prize roses! Penny Duncan's cut file.

Challenge-
Crafty Creations-Scottish Luv Poem
Do You stack Up-red hot-it is a valentine and my husband is red hot!
Digi Doodle Shop-valentine
All Sorts Challenge Blog-It must me love

Butterfly Tag 2

2011-02-05T16:20:00.002-06:00

Another tag-no surprises there! Details, details! The charms I've had forever, along with the ribbon. The butterflies were cut out of a piece of patterned paper. Used a swirly scrap, the tag was a SCAL cut out of white cardstock which I stamped with a dollar clear stamp from Joanns (staz on ink) before soaking in tea, to color it. Inked the edges, and that is pretty much it!

Challenges:
Flutterby Wednesday-butterfly/fairy
Anything Goes-butterfly
For Fun Challenges- Spring or winter- I chose spring!

Butterfly tag

2011-02-05T16:07:00.002-06:00

I will be showcasing a lot of tags in the next week or so, as I just completed 15 tags for a swap. I'm not huge on tags, I don't use them too much myself, but I enjoyed making them, non-the-less.
Background paper is a wallpaper sample, beads, ribbon, and charms from the stash. The butterfly was cut out of a patterned paper, not sure who by.

Challenge:
Flutterby Wednesday-butterfly/fairy
Anything Goes-butterfly
For Fun Challenges- Spring or winter- I chose spring!

Flapper Tag

2011-02-01T20:25:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I'm trying to do vintage for a swap I'm a part of. I have 15 tags to do and this is the first. I'm not sure it really counts as vintage... but she is a flapper. . .
Unfortunetly I don't remember and didn't document where I got this darling image from :(
The 1920s was cut on my cricut and the brown is two bread ties that came stuck together, I inked them up and strung a ribbon from my stash.

Challenges:
All Sorts-recycle something-bread ties
Digi's With Attitude! Challenge (it's been awhile since I've played with you)- digi people
Do You Stack Up-patterned paper
Papertake Weekly-anything goes+ flower (flower on patterned paper)
2 Sisters Challenge Blog-girls just wanna have fun
Feb Diva of the Month Challenge-recycle-Creative Scrapbooking Divas

Giveaway winners and a blizzard.

2011-02-01T16:05:00.003-06:00

The weather outside is frightful, but my dear, you're so delightful, since they canceled class, we can snuggle and relax! If you are in the vicinity of this blizzardish weather, you understand where I am coming from. I live in town and can't see the apartment across the street. I'm glad we still have power (my parents and in-laws don't).

So, it is February first, which means... 8 days until my birthday! And, of course, time for the giveaway drawing!

The winner of the papers:

is Angela R-Congrats!

The winner of the Stickers is:Stef H-Congrats!

Ladies, please email me brandicriminger@yahoo.com with your mailing address and I will get your prizes sent off as soon as the weather clears (hopefully by the end of the week).

Dog Congrats

2011-01-30T23:02:00.003-06:00

This card is for my sister. She just finished school and obtained her dog and cat grooming certificate.

I searched for a half hour before I found a dog SVG that was realistic and not goofy looking. Thanks to Alice at Cute-Cutz, I was able to have a couple to choose from! The scissors I made by tracing a coloring page, found here, deleting the extra details, shrinking it and assembling in a border . I love the possibilities SCAL gives me! Originally they were just colored gray, but the chalk was hard to see, then I thought to heat emboss them, which turned out wonderfully! I used one of the tags that comes with SCAL and I used BoyzRGross font (which I love) inside of it. I dry embossed the tag and added some ribbon from my stash!

Challenges:
AllSorts-use a recycled item (I snagged the ribbon from my grandmother's trash can)
Crafty Creations-Heat it up (I heat embossed the scissors)
Wild Orchid- Sentiment

Beloved

2011-01-28T23:04:00.002-06:00

Challenges:
Do You Stack Up-patterned papers
Digi Doodle Shop- Swirls (swirls on the bride and groom ovals, and in the green, pink, white & blue patterned paper)
MamiDoodles-the magic of love
Wild Orchid-Sentiment (bride, groom, my beloved is mine and I am his)
Crafty Creations- heat it up (sentiment is heat embossed)

Family Tree

2011-01-28T22:27:00.004-06:00

So many family photos were taken at our wedding; limiting this double layout to 8 pictures was difficult! Keep in mind that these will be side-by-side in a scrapbook with the tree layout on the right.

Ok, now for some details, the heart border is my first ever border that I created in SCAL! I looked for one and couldn't find one to my liking, so I played around with it and made my own. I am pleased with how it turned out. The Heart Tree is is a free file from Beth, over at My Cricut Scrapbooking (she has lots of good stuff!). Ok, now for the twist. I saw this somewhere and was excited about the possibilities it held of adding more space to a layout~the tree folds out!I just love the picture of my parents kissing me, but it didn't really fit the rest of the pics, so I gave it its own spot (it may go by itself on a layout later on down the road).

Challenges:
Do You Stack Up-patterned papers (background and tree)
Digi Doodle Shop- Swirls (swirly tree)
MamiDoodles-the magic of love
Wild Orchid-Sentiment (family)
Creative Scrapbooking Divas- create a layout based on the ad (follow the link to see it)

Announcing

2011-01-28T22:07:00.004-06:00

So, I've been really busy yesterday and today working on scrapbooking my wedding photos and artifacts and such. This first double layout (they are all double layouts) is our engagement announcement and our wedding invitation. I can't take credit for the invitation, that is all my mother-in-law's genius. You can see her other creations here. I wanted to keep it simple, so I just added a quick title using Sure Cuts Alot2.

The invitation was so wonderful, I wanted you to see the inside (particularly the velum with RSVP info). I think the bride might have come from SVG Cuts, but don't quote me on that.

The next is a book that was compiled of people that attended my bridal shower, the gifts they gave, games played, etc. The hearts are from the Stamping Cartridge.
A peek at the inside:
Challenges:
Do You Stack Up-patterned papers (background)
Digi Doodle Shop- Swirls (both the invitation and the hearts have swirls)
MamiDoodles-the magic of love

Birthday Card and a Blog Hop

2011-01-27T19:30:00.005-06:00

I made this as a birthday card for a friend of mine. She is only 5 days older than me! She has a very different style from what I typically make and I was trying to capture that. I think I did, because when I showed it to my husband asking, "is this her, or do I need to try again?" he said, "this is not your typical card, but it is elegant and she will love it". I'm so fortunate to have a husband that fully supports my crafting and can give me an honest opinion. No doubt due to his talented mother, thanks, Tammy! The wording is a bit hard to read on the first, but I hope the second shows it better.
The sentiment is a digtal stamp from Ginger, you can find it here. The roses are Penny Duncan's cut file. The corner swirl, a punch and the bottom swirls are embossed. The blue paper is The Paper Studio, and the brown is a patterned wall paper sample.

Challenges:
Crafty Creations-heat it up (heat embossing on top left layer and sentiment-blue on top and clear on rest)
Do You Stack Up-patterned papers
Digi Doodle Shop's Best-Swirls
Wild Orchard-Sentiment

On another note, I am participating in my first ever blog hop in a couple of weeks! I am part of an amazing group of Scrapbooking and papercrafting DIVAS and we are hosting a Be My Valentine Blog Hop on February 7-14th!

I hope you can find time that week to hop along with us!

Online Crop

2011-01-27T12:23:00.001-06:00

I've never taken part in an online crop before, but this weekend I am! Want to join me?! Click here to go to the site. Oh, and if you end up participating, leave a comment saying I sent you. Thanks!

Reminder

2011-01-24T19:49:00.005-06:00

Just a reminder that you have one week left to get in on my giveaway. See details here!

I also found another bunch of stickers as I was finishing up organizing, so there are more than I mentioned in my initial post.

Joyfold Butterfly Pop out

2011-01-20T20:21:00.004-06:00

This is a new type of card for me:joy~fold. I wasn't sure I would like it, but it turned out kinda cool, not what I was expecting, but sometimes my art surprises me like that!
I'm ready for spring, can you tell? No snow here :) See pop-up below.Both the front file cut and the pop-up are Penny Duncan's. The Brown paper is Color Bok and the pink/green/blue is Basic Grey. Ribbon from my stash-although if I remember correctly, it was a Target dollar bin.
Challenges:
Glitterbabe-anything goes with sparkle
Creative Scrapbooking Divas- joy-fold card
Creative Scrapbooking Divas- what's inside
Digi Doodle Shop-anything goes
Do You Stack Up-Pink
For Fun- Glitter
PollyCraft Monday-pastel colors
Stamp something-anything goes (I used a sponge to apply ink-does that count?)
Stampin Royalty-anything with wings
Flutterby-open just include butterfly or fairy

Giveaway!

2011-01-18T20:08:00.005-06:00

***Giveaway now closed, see winners here.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to better organize my craft stuff. I'm working on it little by little. One of the first steps was to go through my stuff and decide if there was anything I never use/never will use and get rid of it. So I began the process and was surprised by how many things I have that I will probably never use. But I decided just because I won't use it doesn't mean someone else won't~so I am putting pictures up and if you are interested leave a comment.

*Note: I will only ship to the United States of America* I am going to do one giveaway for each picture. When you comment, please indicate which picture you want or both. I will draw the winners on February 1st (that gives you 2 weeks to decide if you want in on this). Either post your email with the comment (so I can contact you) or check back on the 1st to see if you won!

Since this is because I am organizing, part of the deal with this giveaway is if you receive something you won't use, you have to pass it on to someone who will or donate it~don't hold onto it if you never foresee yourself using it!

Picture #1-these came in a scrap the whole year set. These papers are 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 and represent different holidays/special occasions. Included are: celebrate your pregnancy (all three trimesters), Cinco De Mayo, Hanukkah, horoscopes, Halloween, day on the farm, happy birthday, golf outing, Happy New Years, baby, Mardi Gras, St Patrick's Day, Nursery Rhymes, Day at the Spa, cat/dog pages, big city, sports, 4th of July, green/blue/brown snowy sheets, abstract animals & Merry Christmas. There are also a couple of 12x12 transparency overlays and some green 12x12 that match the green in the blue/green/brown snow sheet (on top). There are a couple of matching sheets for each occasion.

Picture#2-Stickers. I realize I very seldom use them and when I do they are very particular types of stickers (I did keep those). You deserve fair warning that a couple of sheets are missing a couple of stickers. I thought there were still enough there worth saving, though :) Stickers include (1 sheet unless noted): dictionary entries for several words, Valentine sweet hears w/ sayings, going to prom accessories-3D, 4 random words pastel, circle pastel alphabet, 6 3D Thanksgiving, various size hearts, 2 bright colored alphabet, beach rub ons, 2 winter alphabets, 4 winter themed, bohemian chick rub ons, flower tags, 1 garden themed, 5 friends/family sentiments-bright colors, 2 bright letters, a couple sheets of 8x11 vellum. To be honest many of these were bought on clearance by my grandmother who really loves sales, bless her heart.

Cow Notebook

2011-01-15T13:23:00.003-06:00

I made this notebook for my sister's birthday. She raises and shows cows. The cow file is a coloring book page from Super Coloring that I traced to make cutable on my cricut. The words I made in SCAL 2 and cut out.

Challenges:
Do You Stack Up?-distress, I also used a file from this week.
Mami Doodles-mostly blue

Got a Blog? Get free Glitter!!!

2011-01-14T23:28:00.000-06:00

The link and stuff to do is here.

Flower Power

2011-01-14T22:48:00.004-06:00

So I've been busy making flowers, of all sorts and kinds. They are fun and I have even experimented with some colors I would probably never use. But, I'm being creative, as these flowers aren't for me (and the people they are for could be more adventurous than I). Who are they for, do you ask (you didn't have to, I was going to tell you anyways), the winner of the January Diva of the month Challenge over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas. The challenge can be found here (feel free to join in, the more, the merrier). I will undoubtedly make more, as I seem to be yes... addicted~I'll join a support group next week :)

The Roses and Cala Lilies are Penny Duncan's files, and are surprisingly easy to assemble (she has tutorials on her site). The others are borders wound into flowers with cricut cut-outs on top. There is glitter on several, but it is difficult to see in this picture, so much prettier up close. Interested in these particular ones? Check out the challenge. It is open until January 30th.

I'm not sure if this counts, but 2 Sister's Challenge blog's theme is flowers, so I'm entering my hand made flowers.

Valentine Tree 2

2011-01-13T14:09:00.003-06:00

I did two cards with these cut files, because I couldn't decide how I wanted the cards to look. Although I am not fond of green, two challenges this week called for olive green and purple, so I gave it a whirl! Both (you will see the other in today's other post) cards are for a Valentine Card Swap over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas-come join the fun (there are 2 days left for sign-up)!The Heart Tree cut file is by Beth over at My Cricut Scrapbooking. She has lots of free SVG files! The Love Tag is by Penny at Penny Duncan Creations-she has like a bazillion files-be sure to check her beautiful art out!

I used some purple and brown ink, mesh from my stash and stickles.

Challenges:
Creative Inspirations-use something new-new cut files
Going Buggy- Party Week, include a bug -lots of giveaways this week!
Glitterbabe- anything goes
Polycraft Monday- something new- SVG file
Stampin' Royalty-color challenge
2 Sisters Challenge- girly

Valentine Tree

2011-01-13T13:45:00.003-06:00

I did two cards with these cut files, because I couldn't decide how I wanted the cards to look. Although I am not fond of green, two challenges this week called for olive green and purple, so I gave it a whirl! Both (you will see the other in today's other post) cards are for a Valentine Card Swap over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas-come join the fun!
The Heart Tree cut file is by Beth over at My Cricut Scrapbooking. She has lots of free SVG files! The Love Tag is by Penny at Penny Duncan Creations-she has like a bazillion files-be sure to check her beautiful art out!

I used the swirly embossing folder on the tag, some purple ink and ribbon from my stash and stickles.

Challenges:
Creative Inspirations-use something new-new cut files
For Fun Challenge-black, olive green, purple
Glitterbabe- anything goes
Polycraft Monday- something new- SVG file
Stampin' Royalty-color challenge
2 Sisters Challenge- girly

Creative Scrapbooking Divas

2011-01-13T00:02:00.002-06:00

For all you Divas out there that love to scrap, have you seen the Creative Scrapbooking Divas site? We are a group of crafters that get together for lots of fun online! Click the right sidebar to go there.

Reminder for Divas (if your not one, join quickly!): Two more days to sign up for our Valentine Card Swap-make 2, get 2.
Coming Up: Blog hop Jan 16th and 17th (Sunday/Monday)-sorry the photo is a bit blurry. Click link above.

So Tweet

2011-01-10T22:23:00.004-06:00

I guess I'm in a pink and brown mood of late. This is a thank-you card for my grandmother. This year she gave money for Christmas and wanted to see what I spent it on. What did I spend it on? A Sizzix texture boutique and a couple of Cuttlebug embossing folders. (showcased on the bird and the white background).

The bird file was free. If you like it grab it here. The swirl came out of the bird's tummy :) The intricate circles are a digital stamp by Stef aka Glitterbabe that she allowed me to cut with my cricut~so sweet of her! The sentiment I created with SCAL2, not sure what font is was~sorry!
The brown/gold paper is a wallpaper sample and the brown and pink is left over from another card-not sure the brand. The embossing folder is Stylized Flower by Provocraft. The glitter is generic stickles I picked up at Michael's for a dollar! Ribbon and lace, from the stash. Button from the local store Scrapbook Friend'z (they let you pick a scoop of randoms for $.50!

Ok, now for the challenges-brace yourself, there are lots:
Glitterbabe's Challenge- Sketch and glitter (the button is also glittery!)
2 Sisters Challenge Blog- girly
Do You Stack Up?-BRAND NEW CHALLENGE BLOG-buttons (since I used Glitterbabe's image, do I get 2 entries?!)
Digi Doodle Shop's Best- buttons
Creative Inspirations Challenge-something new (stickles knock offs, embossing folder, SCAL2)
PolyCraft Monday-something new (stickles knock offs, embossing folder, SCAL2)
Sentimental Sundays- something with wings (bird)
Papertake Weekly- anything goes
Stamp Something-use a digi (Glitterbabe allowed me to cut her digi out w/ my cricut-does that count?)
Stamp Fairy Challenge- buttons and layers

A little somethin'

2011-01-10T20:14:00.003-06:00

This is just a little something I worked up for my husband. Today was his first day at a new University and (although he wouldn't say so, I know he was a little nervous).
Just one challenge-Digi's With Attitude!- New Year's Resolution (one of mine was to uplift my husband on a regular basis)

Thanks a' Latte

2011-01-07T23:30:00.003-06:00

This card style is something I would never have tried without first seeing examples. Judianne of Creative Scrapbooking Divas kept showing me beautiful examples and made me want to try one of my own. So if you hate it, keep in mind, this is my first and they typically get better :) I also probably never would have tried this without the aid of my Cricut and Penny Duncan's SVG cut file. I could have tried to replicate the template, but it would have been difficult for me and I likely would have given up. Both the ladies above are extremely talented artists, if you have not seen their work, you should follow the links I provided.

On to my card. The first picture is the outside (ignore my fingers, it didn't want to stay shut).

And the view when opened.

My materials:
Cricut and Penny's file it includes the card template (score marks, too!), and the squares/rectangles for each slot (I left out the ones where I put the sentiments).
Patterned paper-Amanda Blu
Ink-Staz On Timber Brown (I got it for Christmas!)
Flower stamp-Stampin' Up
Sentiment- I created it in SCAL using Brody font (my first time!)
Latte cup-Stamping Cricut Cart
Swirls-Stamping Cricut Cart
Buttons-random from Scrapbook Friend'z
Rhinestone-RAK
Flowers by buttons-RAK whew!

On to Challenges:
Creative Inspiration-something new (ink, SCAL, this type of card)
Do You Stack Up-buttons BRAND NEW CHALLENGE BLOG!
Digi Doodle Shop's best- Buttons
For Fun Challenge- 3 papers (flowers, white and patterned-the sentiment and cup were white that I chalked), 2 buttons/brads (buttons), 1 image (latte cup)
Papertake Weekly-anything goes
Two Sisters Challenge Blog-girly
All Sorts Challenge Blog- Fancy Folds

Alright, that's it. Have a wonderful day!

I've been waiting. . .

2011-01-04T22:35:00.004-06:00

I've been waiting to share with all my blogger friends something exciting for me. I've been chosen over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas to be the January Diva of the month! I wanted so much to tell you all, but decided it would be best to wait until is was posted-which it now is here!

Creative Scrapbooking Divas is a wonderful group that does much more than just scrapbook. We have groups for altered art, cards, art journals, challenges and more. If you would like to join us in our creative fun, we would love to have you! Just click on the above link or my sidebar link and request to join.

As part of my privileges as Diva of the Month, I got to host a challenge! My challenge is to create a card, layout, or other creative piece with at least one digi stamp and incorporate at least one flower somehow (could be embossed, a digi stamp of a flower, flowered paper, whatever). Want to join in the fun?! Join Creative Scrapbooking Divas and my challenge (it will be open until January 31st). There are prizes for two winners (chosen by me).

Here is my sample card:
The tiger stamp is from Digi's With Attitude! And I'm not sure where the love background digi is from. I used my new Texture Boutique to emboss the background! The flowers are cut files from Penny Duncan, her hibiscus, I believe.

Challenges:
Stamp Something-Glitter
Papertake Weekly-anything goes
Lots to Do-use something new
Creative Inspirations-use something new
and of course- Creative Scrap booking Divas- digital stamp+flower

And one more thing:
Creative Scrapbooking Divas is having a blog hop January 16th and 17th, with challenges and prizes!

Roses and a Butterfly

2011-01-02T00:01:00.004-06:00

This is one of the thank you cards I have been busy at work with lately. This one will be given to a friend.

The file is from MTC SCAL-he has such wonderful cut files (I have downloaded many of them this past week). I added the glitter and used my new corner rounder to make the edges match the cut!

Challenges:
Papertake Weekly-glitter
Stamp Fairy-Celebrate (friendship with a thank you)
Lots to Do-something new
Sentimental Sundays- friendship
Stamp Something-glitter
Flutterby Wednesday-thanks+butterfly
AllSorts Challenge-thanks

I've been Spotlighted!

2010-12-31T18:32:00.002-06:00

I am a member over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas. My squash book (which I posted here) was spotlighted as Craftie of the Month! Yea!! If you are looking for a group to do challenges with (and we just started a swap group) feel free to join us over there, we would love to have you! (either click on the above link or the sidebar link on the right)

Cuttlebug and a bit more up for grabs!

2010-12-30T14:36:00.002-06:00

There is a Cuttlebug, some embossing folders and a couple other things up for grabs over at Creating from the Heart. Be sure to check it out.

Happy Birthday

2010-12-29T18:44:00.003-06:00

This card was made for my sister, she is turning 17 in a few weeks. Crafty Creations is having their 100th challenge. For the challenge I followed both a sketch and used blue, beige, and plum. I rotated the sketch some, but all the basic features are there.

The inking around the edges is plum, although it is difficult to tell in this picture.

The lace and paper are from my stash, the rose image is from Making Our Mark and can be found here (psst... it's free).

The scalloped edge I modified from a SVG file that can be found here. The fun part was that I got to play around with the different features SCAL offers and modify to my liking. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed with how easy it is to maneuver and switch things up.

For the Happy Birthday I learned how to use the fonts and weld them together, which was fun!

Challenges:
Crafty Creations-sketch and color scheme
Papertake Weekly-anything goes
Stamp Fairy-Celebrate
Lots to Do-something new (oh! that rhymes)-SVG files are new for me :)

Candy Alert!

2010-12-28T21:58:00.001-06:00

Blog candy over here!

My family is so wonderful!!!

2010-12-25T10:30:00.003-06:00

My family is so wonderful! They are supportive of my craftiness and my Christmas gifts certainly play into that. Last year my grandmother got me a Personal Cricut and I recieved cartridges from my (then fiance) now husband and my now mother-in-law.

This year my mother-in-law got me a slew, and I am talking tons (I might post pics later) of patterned scrapbook paper. Some double sided and all gorgeous papers!

My hubby got me [this deserves a drum roll] Sure Cuts A Lot!!!!! So I just installed it and played a bit. It widens my Cricut possibilities like 5 fold (cause 3 fold doesn't seem like enough). Rereading this, I don't think it shows my enthusiasm to it's full. The excitement is high, folks!

What does this mean for you? I will be searching for lots of free SVG file sites and sharing them with you along with my creations that will be awesome! I know Penny Duncan's Creations has a lot of free svg files, some I have already downloaded. She is both a beautiful and talented woman of the Lord and I am VERY thankful for her skills :) Thanks, Penny!

I hope everyone else is enjoying a very Merry Christmas and has a wonderful new beginning to a fabulous new year!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T21:21:00.001-06:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! I am hoping everyone has some time to rest and relax with loved ones while celebrating Christ's birth.

Testing New Watermark and Signiture

2010-12-24T15:13:00.005-06:00

This is a test run of my new signature and watermark. Both were obtained from Whimsy Stamps, they have a rather large selection.The picture is of me and my husband hiking a year ago fall.
obviously the signature is still in the works of figuring out just how to make it stick...

Capturing Memories

2010-12-20T03:00:00.008-06:00

A couple of weeks back, my card won a sketch challenge over at Let's Capture our Memories. As a result I have the honor of being a guest designer for this week-yea! My first guest (or any type of designing) ever! I am so excited. This sketch by Sandi is the challenge this week. And this is what I did with it! Some of you have been awaiting the result of my squash book, which is now done, and I used this sketch to decorate the cover. You can find the challenge here:
Since it is a squash book, it opens, so I took even more pictures than normal (which should make for a long post-sorry). Here it is opened. I stamped the background with a polka dot background stamp I've had for ages, added triangles to fit and envelopes for the newlyweds to add their recipes to (did I mention this was a wedding gift for some friends?). On the envelopes are some of our favorite recipes.

Details on the front. The tag is a Stampin' Up Punch. The brown shape is a digi stamp I enlarged and cut out. The 'granny' is also a digi stamp. They were from the same place: The Digi Shack (and are both free there). The glitter is Stickles and the paper Amanda Blu. Taking a look inside:
And a couple close-ups. The recipe cards were from Stamps and Smiles. If it is still available (it was free) it can be found here. The inside papers are all The Paper Studio.
The 'sides, main dishes, snacks, drinks' were written by me and embossed in blue distress powder.
Challenges:
Stampin Royalty, bring on the bling
Digi Doodle Shop's Best-new beginnings (gift for newlyweds)
Ai Factory- anything goes
Stamp Something- pockets or tags-I have both!

Shoes errr... boots

2010-12-19T15:38:00.004-06:00

My sister is a farm girl at heart. She always teases me because I love shoes, all different colors and styles, while she says one pair of tennis shoes and two pairs of boots (one for the farm and one for the shows) does her well. She isn't very girly, so I was trying to keep it simple. This card is for her upcoming birthday:
Inside:
The sentiment is from Gingers House (all hers are free) and the cowgirl is from Digi Doodle Shop's Best. The blue paper Amanda Blu~~which works cause my sister's name is Amanda and the color is blue :) and the brown paper is a wall paper sample from The Carlisle Company (art of Eden sample book).

2010-12-19T13:49:00.002-06:00

Photos from my Bachelorette Party. My maids of honor went around town and left plastic eggs with clues hidden in various stores and public places. Each of the clues led to the next one, like a scavenger hunt. Two teams raced to finish first (of course without speeding). The mohs hid at various locations with water balloons and noisemakers to add to the fun.
All of the activities are journaled in the tree, better picture below.
I'm terrible at layering, but I tried my hand at it for the title:
Papers: background-Amanda Blu Rest-from my stash, mostly The Paper Studio
Flower-RAK
Background stamp on title- autumn leaves
Tree- hand drawn
Leaves-cut out from a Cricut Cartridge... something about words in the garden (borrowed from a friend)
tag- Creating Memories
Ribbon-leftover from my mom's wedding (23 years ago)

Challenges:
Stamp Something- pockets or tags-tag
Sentimental Sundays-inspired by a song-title-Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (also my hubby's least fav song)

Getting Ready

2010-12-19T13:31:00.003-06:00

Although I'm still working on scrapbooking some of the before bridal stuff (bridal shower etc), I needed a break, so I scrapped getting ready.

Not a ton to say about these... the paper is Amanda Blu, the rhinestones were given to me, there are some stickles, they are more evident in the last picture.
Showcasing the bling:Stamp Fairy- glitter it up~BRAND NEW CHALLENGE BLOG!!!
Stampin' Royalty- bring on the bling
Creative Scrapbook Divas- Dec Challenge

2010-12-15T17:02:00.002-06:00

I just got this new digital image and wanted to play with it. So here's what I did. The image is by April Lower. What a talented artist she is!
I colored it with markers and chalks. The wings are two colors of blue, but it is difficult to see in the picture.
Although you can see the flower fine in the other pictures, I didn't think the lace showed up very well, so I put in a close up of that! Both of the papers are from wall paper books, the flower and lace from my stash, the dashed lines and thanks drawn in by me.

Challenges:
Digi's With Attitude!- anything digi
lots To Do - glitz- flower
Mami Doodles-anything goes
Stamp Something-anything goes
Stamp Fairy World- glitter it up- flower BRAND NEW CHALLENGE BLOG!!!
Stampin' Royalty- bring on the bling-flower
Crafty Creations-photo inspiration-pink+lace

Squash Book

2010-12-08T22:51:00.002-06:00

I am working on my first squash book- a gift for one of my husband's friends who is getting married later this month. It took a couple tries to figure out the right way to fold it, but I think I got it now. I cut out the pieces, but am still working on the layout, how detailed I want to make it etc. Tomorrow I am working 12 hours and Friday another 8. I probably won't finish it until Saturday at the earliest, but I wanted to let you all know that I am still alive, even if I won't have the time to craft and post.

6 Months

2010-12-06T22:16:00.003-06:00

It doesn't seem like it has been six months since we said 'I Do' but in a little less than a week it will be. I don't know what I would do without my incredible husband~he is such an amazing man of God! Enough of my bragging on him, here is the card I made for our six month anniversary.
The sentiment is a demo from Creative Scrapbooking Kit of the Month website. The image, of course, is from Digi's With Attitude! One of the reasons I chose to do a sappy card is because of this image. I knew I wanted to use it and finally found the perfect occasion! I'm not sure where the mittens are from, couldn't find it in my list. A close up of the image:
I made the boy darker, which is super easy to do with chalk, just add another layer! The sketch is my modified version of Let's Capture Our Memories (I rotated and flipped some of the elements). You can see some of the glitz I added below. Clear glittery embossing powder on the cuff of the mittens and the glitter on the paper. The blue on the mittens is also embossing powder. The snowflakes were won on Amanda's blog, or was it her facebook page? I embossed the edges to give them a little extra snowy look :) All the paper is Amanda Blu.
Challenges:
Digi Doodle Shop's Best-let it snow
Sketch Let's Capture our Memories
Lots To Do- words
Sentimental Sunday - Happy Anniversary!
PollyCraft Monday-pink, brown and blue

Christmas Moose

2010-12-03T23:55:00.002-06:00

Moose can be found here.
challenges:
Stamp something-Christmas
Little Paper Shop-funky edges
Christmas and animal-digital tuesday

Snow Bear

2010-12-03T23:44:00.002-06:00

This snow bear is from Stamp Fairy World. I love their images, and you should hop over and take a look. I colored it with markers and chalk.
There is glitter and buttons and a bit of attitude in the sentiment-to meet Glitterbabe's Challenge.
The sketch is Papertake Weekly. It has an animal and Christmas for Digital Tuesday. There is words for Lots to Do. and since it is Christmas, it qualifies for Stamp Something.

Skating Her Way Into Your Heart

2010-12-03T23:35:00.002-06:00

Isn't she beautiful?! I picked her up thinking, 'not sure if I will ever use this'. But looking at her now, she has truly skated her way into my heart. I used my VersaMarker for the writing, stickles for the glitter and markers and chalk to color her.

Challenges:
Lots to Do- words
Little Paper Shop- Funky Edge-scarf
Stamp Something- Christmas
Wild Orchard-traditional Christmas- skating is very old fashioned

Gretchen+Christmas=Irony

2010-12-03T23:18:00.002-06:00

If you've read any of the posts where I used Digi's With Attitude! Stamps, you know I adore Grumpy Gretchen. So I was thrilled to see her elvish form as this month's freebie.
The tag, which is hard to read says ' the most wonderful time of the year'. Perfect irony for Gretch! Like Gretchen? Digi's With Attitude! is sponsoring Glitterbabe's Challenge this week, and you can win free digis! Just use buttons, glitter and attitude.

A close up of Gretchen and her bling. One of my husband's friends was over while I was making this card and he said he wanted Gretchen on his Christmas card 'cause she is hot'~such a guy!

Challenges-
Glitterbabe's Challenge- glitter, buttons, attitude
Lots to Do- words
Papertake Weekly- sketch- I did my own spin, but you can see the layout
Stamp Something-Christmas
Whoopsie Daisy- girly

Swirl Christmas

2010-12-03T23:08:00.002-06:00

This one was a lot of fun to do! I got to play with my new VersaMarker for most of this card. All of the swirls are made in this fashion. The front:
And the inside:
The image is from Scradictive. I snagged it and used it right away!

Challenges:
Wild Orchard-Old Fashioned Christmas
Stamp Something-Christmas
Lots To do- Words

Angel in Gold

2010-12-03T22:56:00.003-06:00

When I saw this image I though of my grandmother, she loves angels (and she gave me the ribbon too). So this card is for her.
Velum is behind her. And it is hard to see, but the bottom edge is wavy.
Challenges:
Lots to Do- words
Stamp Something-Christmas
Wild Orchard-Traditional Christmas
2 Sisters-Non Traditional Christmas Colors

Image is Making Your Mark

Doodling Snow

2010-12-03T22:45:00.002-06:00

I used my new VersaMarker as the primary tool for this card. The snow is all doodled by yours truly. For more info on where to get a VersaMarker for super cheap, follow this link.

The image is from Imagine. Make. Share. and can be found here. Challenges:
Stamp Something- Christmas, Wild Orchard-Traditional Christmas, 2 Sisters-non traditional Christmas Colors

New Technique

2010-12-03T22:11:00.003-06:00

I like to try new things every now and then, this card was the result of that. I think it turned out alright. Pretty good, for the first try, I guess. I'm not sure what this method is called~I got the idea from my mother in law while looking through her stash of past cards she had made (in bulk, I believe). The front:
The red and blue (dotted and solid red) paper was a double sided piece I had. In the future I would use a thicker piece. I added the black, it is by Amanda Blu. I'm not sure the brand of the double sided paper. The 'Merry Christmas' is written with my new Versa Marker (a wonderful, wonderful tool) and blue Distress Embossing powder. I got the VersaMarker from 1-2-3 Stitch for just over $5 (that included shipping and handling). I received it two days after it was ordered. I will definitely order from them in the future. I encourage you to check out their site, as their prices seem to be much lower than anywhere else (at least the items I was looking at). Image while opening:
Opened card. Fun, isn't it?! The image is from the wonderful Linnie of Whoopsi Daisy. She is simply darling!
The snowflakes on the bottom are a punch, it didn't have a brand on it~sorry!

Challenges:
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge-girly
One Stop Craft Challenge- Christmas Cuties
Stamp Something-Christmas
2 Sisters Challenge Blog-Non Traditional Christmas Colors

Candy

2010-12-02T12:16:00.001-06:00

Horse digis candy here.

Giveaway!

2010-12-01T20:30:00.001-06:00

Obsessed with Scrapbooking is giving away ATG guns, click here for more information.

Beary Nice Gift

2010-11-24T21:25:00.004-06:00

I saw about a month ago something similar to what I made. However, when I tried to find it again to look at more of the details, and low and behold, I was unable to find it again. So I made my own template, experimented a bit and came up with this. The way I figure it, I would have had to modify the other anyway, since I wanted to put two gifts inside. The one I made I made to look like a purse, perfect for the little girl I made it for. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and I think she will like it as well. Christmas can't come soon enough!
The images are both from Stamp Fairy World, isn't he the cutest?! The blue paper you see here is The Paper Studio and the more blue-green paper is Amanda Blu. The ribbon on the 'handle' came on a gift, not sure of the brand. Below is the surprise on the inside:

The ribbon is from my stash-not sure of the brand. It is difficult to see in the picture (although this one kind of show it), the ribbon inside matches the ribbon on the sides. The snowflakes are a punch by Marvy, I punched them in light blue and inked them silver. Below is the picture of the back. The tag is a punch, inked in silver, the paper is the same as around the images on the front. The G is chipboard I inked to match (the one getting this Christmas gift's name begins with G).

Here is a close up of the StampFairyWorld images~I wanted to showcase my coloring (markers and chalk) as well as the darling images.
Don't forget that Stamp Fairy is currently having a design team call. Like these images? Get more information here.

Challenges:
Anything Goes-animals
Crafty Creations-beauty on the inside
Creative Inspirations-Christmas or winter
Digital Tuesday-let it snow
Lots to Do-favorite technique-coloring with markers and chalk
One Stop Craft Challenge-snow people-do bears count?
Papertake Weekly-cut it out-punches
Wild Orchard-Blue Christmas

Design Team Openings

2010-11-23T12:36:00.002-06:00

There are a couple of design team openings at a couple of the websites I frequent. Digi's With Attitude! is looking for new design team members (click on their badge on my sidebar to go to the DT call). As well as a newer site: Stamp Fairy World. I've never been on a design team before, but I might apply for fun... we shall see.

Gift bag

2010-11-22T11:48:00.003-06:00

Alright, I know one of the blogs I follow made a really cute gift bag for Bath and Body travel size containers. But now that I want to make one, do you think I can find it~nope! Has anyone seen this and know where I can find a tutorial for it? I am hoping whoevers blog I found it on follows me and can direct me to that post.

Thanks in advance,
Brandi

Fairy Good Day

2010-11-19T10:21:00.003-06:00

Attempt #2 at painting backgrounds (and I left it at that, as I was so pleased with how this one turned out). Again the image is from Karen's site, which I am very grateful for! It is hard to see, but there is a fairy on the flower.
I tried to stick with fall colors and keep it simple (as I wanted to showcase the background).

Challenges:
Digital Tuesday-winged creature+digital image
Digi Doodle Shop-fall
Flutterby WEd-open+fairy
MyGrafico-fall colors

Painting Backgrounds

2010-11-19T10:09:00.003-06:00

I was nannying and the little one wanted to paint. He showed me where the materials were and there were no watercolors, no kid-friendly materials, just acrylic paint, brushes and sponges and a paint smock. So we painted. And I decided that although I'm not a painter (at all) I'd give it a whirl. This card isn't done yet, I need to add flowers to the right-hand side. But I wanted to post a picture before it got done, so you can see what a terrible painter I am ;) But I'm ok with it.
I will say that I tried really hard on this one, and I'm not really pleased with the outcome. I had an image in my mind, that didn't work out (it never does) and I think my idea clamped handcuffs on my creativity. The image is from a public domain site by Karen. She ha a bit of everything and they are all free.

'Tude

2010-11-12T13:38:00.003-06:00

Attitude is not often seen as a good thing; but over at Digi's With Attitude! Attitude is in~and once you look at their digis, you will see why-they are absolutely adorable! That is one reason why I am honored to have received the 'My Blog Has Attitude' Award. And the best part about the award? It comes with a 5 dollar gift certificate~yea! As part of receiving the award, I am to tell you three things that make me unique and pass the award on to 5 others (so you can have a chance to get your 'tude on).

Three things:
1. My passion is teaching children. Right now it's preschoolers, although I would love to get a job teaching elementary or middle school students.
2. I am easily excited (for instance, I jumped up and down when I won this award)
3. I think technology is great, but it sometimes takes away from the beauty God gave us. Nothing makes me happier than a walk in a gorgeous park with someone I love.

Now for Five Folks Who know How to Bring Attitude :)
Tammy of Tammy's Creative Tidbits (a crafter to whom I can never compare)
Stef of Glitterbabe's Greetings and Glitterbabe's Challenge
Sid of Harpie's Crafty Corner (a man who is an expert crafter~a rarity)
Jen of Jen The Crazy Scrapbooker (although she does lots more than scrapbooking)
Melanie of Courtney Lane's Designs

Click HERE to see what you need to do to get your gift certificate.

For My Man

2010-11-10T20:39:00.004-06:00

My husband asked me if I had a bookmark the other day and I didn't. So I made him one tonight and tucked it inside this 'manly' card. I have always had a hard time doing guy cards, because I tend to be 'girly' with my colors and style. So I kept this one simple, followed Papertake Weekly's sketch and added a fun embellishment. Here is the card (you can see a little of the bookmark on the side):
The image was so fab I didn't want to 'girl it up' by adding color. Now a close-up of my home made embellishment:It is a piece of plastic I found lying around (not super thick, but not paper thin either). I inked it (with a background stamp, didn't expect it to show), added embossing powder and heat it up. My husband will tell me I wasn't being safe (I burn myself all the time on my clue gun, he says I get hurt more crafting than doing anything else). You have to heat it a few seconds, hold something on the plastic to achieve the desired folding, then repeat until it looks like you want it to. You wouldn't have to use powder, I just wanted to add color.

Also goes with digital Tuesday Challenge-something new+digi (I hadn't used the vellum yet)
and Polly Craft Monday-doodles

Flowers of Thanks

2010-11-10T17:01:00.004-06:00

I had soooo much fun making these flowers!! I had forgotten how great layered flowers look! Some of these are from Ileena (not sure which cartridge she used) and the smallest one (8 petals) is from a punch-Marvy Uchida. The brads are old ones, the glitter is stickles, the ribbon is Robert Stanley. The image is Meljens-(I did separate the Thank You, which was above the image) she has lots of great ones!
I used markers for most of the image, with the exception of the fur-which was pastel chalk.
Challenges:
I used Sentimental Sunday's sketch
I added doodling (in stickles) for PollyCraft Monday
Glittery/Girly/Glam-Creative Inspirations
Glitterbabe's Challenge-glitter+thanksgiving

Happy Mail Day!

2010-11-10T13:11:00.003-06:00

I went to go down my stairs to check the mail today and found a box in front of the door (I guess they don't knock to let you know you have a package unless they need a sigy). I recieved my altered can (part of a swap) from Yolie! She also included a few goodies inside~what a wonderful surprise! I always sign up and send mine out and forget that I'm getting one in return :D

Then I walked down to my mailbox to find a creative card from Grandma Carol (my husband's grandmother) and a package from a blogging friend in Spain (I am in the US, so that is really exciting!!!). She included lots of fun stuff. As I type I'm thinking I might have to do a post to show off her card and all the fun stuff I received today. (and the best part-no bills!)

Thanks, gals! You made my day and make me really, really want to get crafting! I have to finish cleaning, but soon I will get to play!

OK, pictures, as I hinted at:
Some digi stamps that Ileena printed for me to play with and some flowers (cut from the Cricut, although I'm not sure what cartridge).
Here is a bookmark and the card she sent with the package. You should click on the photo to see it up close, so many awesome details!And the altered can Yolie made me:
She knows I love purple!
And butterflies!
And the surprise she left on the inside!
:D