This card makes me laugh - the U Suck! card (cricut mag submission)

Most of us can remember that time when you found out one of your friend's was moving.  If it happened to be yoru BFF in grade school or high school...then it seemed like the end of the world.  With them help of the cute High School Stack from DCWV (I love the wide-ruled paper I used as my background), I was able to recreate the doodling that would occur when emotions were at play and I could do nothing to change the fact that my BFF was leaving me 4eva!

I chuckle every time I look at this card!  It feels so familiar!

I promised myself that this was the year that I would experiment with doodling.  This "wide-ruled" paper from the DCWV High School Stack was the perfect opportunity and reason to whip out the sharpie!

I've also forced myself to play with textures and layers.  When I first started scrapbooking, I would keep things flat for the purpose of being able to archive without damaging my photos.  While still important when appropriate, I've given myself a lot more freedom to add depth (physical) to my work.

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
DCWV - The High School Stack
Paper Studio - Blue cardstock
The Paper Company - Chocolate Linen Textured Cardstock
Permanent marker - black
Foam dots

Cricut cartridges and cuts
Plantin SchoolbookU - 3.5 inches
U, shadow - 3.5 inches

Ashlyn's Alphabetsuck!, block - 1.25 inches
4, block - 3/4 inches

The Elisa inspiration - Thank You

This card submission for Cricut was really inspired by a friend of mine - Elisa.  She had made a card that used a scallop punch (of the same size) layered on top of each other to make a 3-D flower.  Her color palette is often monochromatic, so I when I decided to use her inspiration in my own way, I felt it was only right to please her visual palette (perhaps she might see it in her mailbox one day).

it's very vintage-like

I'm really trying to stand out as I make my cricut card submissions - so I'm pulling out the spanish stamps wherever I can!

Look at the layers on the paper flower on top of the lace.

This is me trying to be artsy in my photography.  LOL.  I really need to take some classes on how to best take pics for this blog.

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
DCWV - The Lace & Linen Stack
Stampabilities stamp - Gracias
Lace trim - about 8 inches
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tattered Rose & Vintage Photo
Recollections brads - copper mini cricles
small cream button - about 3/8 inches

Cricut cartridges and cuts
Storybookclover, shadow

1.75 inch
1.5 inch
1.25 inch
1 inch
0.75 inch

Marquee4, Shorty/Holes

4.25 inch
4 inch

Feliz Aniversario - Cricut Card Idea Book submission #5

Sorry for all the crazy posts today :)  My goal is to submit at least 10 designs to the cricut call out, and they are due tomorrow.  I've been writing down designs for the past week and have been busy trying to create them.

This is submission #5....I'm trying to give myself a fighting chance of getting published and I have no idea how often they ask for submissions, so this may be it for the year (who knows!).

Anniversary cards are really hard to find, so I wanted to make something simple that could be replicated in various colors and papers.  Because I've really gotten into Kraft paper, I also tried to add paper that complimented the natural texture and color of the kraft paper.

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
The Paper company - Natural Fashion Colors
DCWV - The Luxury Stack
DCWV - The Guy Stack
2 cream buttons (1/2 inch)
5/8 inch ribbon (orange)
Recollections brads - copper mini cricles
Distress ink - Vintage Photo

Stampin' Up! Frases basicas- feliz, aniversario

Embroidery floss - DMC 3825

Cricut cartridges and cuts
StorybookOnceUpon, Accent Blackout - 4.75 inches (cut in half)
Florish3 - 5.25 inch (cut off two scallops of edge)

3/4 inch strip of cream paper...mounted ribbon on top of this

Not sure why the photo is on it's side, but I took this picture so you could see the dimension that the tag and buttons add to the card.

Baby Card - submitted to Cricut Magazine for 2011 Idea Book

I am at the age where many of my friends and cousins are having babies, so I'm constantly having to make cards for baby showers, welcome home baby, etc.  This is one of the more recent designs that people seem to love.  Some folks have already received this card or soon will :)

sweet baby

I love these inkadinkado stamps - so versatile

My goal is to use up some of my inventory this year, and this ribbon has been sitting around for quite some time!

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
The Paper Company - white paper
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - pumice stone
K&Company - Suze Ultman Designer Paper, Lion Sleeps
1/2 inch solid colored ribbon
embroidery floss
foam dots
inkadinkado - 98625 Scrapbook Sentimentals, clear stamps

Cricut cartridges and cuts
New Arrivalonesie - 5 inches
bottle, bottle-s: 1 inch
baby-s, shadow - 1 inch

Accent EssentialsAccnt1s - 5 inch
Accent27s - 1 inch, 1.25 inch

I then used the Stampin' Up! mat stack to create a zig zag stitching guide to add the embroidery floss.

I love when I can add a little stitching because it makes me feel like I'm cross-stitching on my papers :)

I won the Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #22!!!!

I've only been a member for about three weeks and despite the fact that I know the weekly challenges are weekly winners, I honestly didn't think I would anything any time soon.

** Check out the blinkie that they sent me (to the right)!  I hope to one day have a whole wall of them! **

So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the blog to see that my fairy place seating was chosen as this weeks' winner!

 

What does that mean exactly?  Well, the winner gets to be a side bar on the blog all week (if you're the weekly winner), where people will see your winning project, name, and where you're from.  It's going to be soooo weird and cool to see my stuff up there (they update their page on Fridays).

I've been giggling all morning!

Because Big Sisters are the best (I should know...proud card carrying member)

I recently reconnected with my first best friend (from grade school).  When I last saw her, I had no idea she and her husband were planning to expand their family, so it was a pleasure to make a welcome to the BIG SISTER club card for her daughter.  She was now a part of my club so I had to celebrate with her cute little self :)

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
DCWV - The Green Stack
The Paper Company - Chocolate Linen Textured Cardstock
DCWV - The Guy Stack
AC Cardstock - Heavy Weight White
Martha Stewart Crafts - Craftstock Value Pack
Ink - a Colorbox Queue Cat's Eye (now discontinued but very similar to the palette in the current Rich Rustic)
Recollections - Boutique Fleur Lace Embellishments

Cricut cartridges and cuts
Serenade
 Branch3 - 2 inches

Stamping
Bird, 1 inch
BrdBrnch - 1.25 inch

Accent Essentials
Accnt1s - 1.25 inch, 1 inch

Heritage
Truck2, word - 1/2 inch (I cut off the s so it was a singular word)

New Arrival
 iambig - 1 inch (I only used the word big)

Once Upon a Princess
 Fairy, tag - 1.75 inch

The pinata card

Being of Mexican decent, I often struggle with not being able to find embellishments, stamps or papers that represent my heritage.  It's fun when tools like the Cricut Expression can help me achieve something so personal.  Here, I've chosen to make a traditional pinata.  The five point star pinata is seen at Christmas time, birthday parties, etc.  It's the standard shape.  This design has been in my head forever, so it was fun to make it happen.

Machine used:  Cricut Expression

Supplies
Various colored cardstock - solid colored
DMC embroidery floss - number 762
Stampin' Up! Frases Basicas - Feliz, Cumpleanos

Cricut cartridges and cuts
Plantin Schoolbook - roly poly, star, 5.5 inches (cut three times)

Directions1. Cut three stars (sizes and cartridge above)
2. Cut 1/2 inch x 3/4 inch strips of various colored paper
3. Attach tiny rectangular strips onto one star in whatever pattern you like
4. Cut 1 inch long strands (all 6 strands of the floss) of embroidery floss
5. Bunch 5 strands per point of star and use a 1-strand thin floss to tie them at the very edge....make it look like the floss is coming out of the point.

Because I taped the floss to the back of the star, I matted the back with a duplicate star (like a cover).

On the third cut out star, I scored the top and attached to the others to make the card.

I sort of over did it with the liquid glue, so if chosen for the Cricut magazine, I promise to make a cleaner version - no glue smears for the photographs!