Sympathy Card

Sympathy cards - I've needed too many of these in the past year...  They are never easy to make.  I have finally found a "formula" that I like, and it's very simplistic.

I don't like to use a lot of color on sympathy cards, and I tend to stay away from black - too depressing.  I will change out the color of the mat and stamp, but tend to stay with a white or cream and one color.

This is one of those projects that I can't find my notes on.  I know that the stamps on the front are all from Close To My Heart.  I don't recall whether the inside sentiment is also from Close To My Heart or whether it's a stamp I picked up somewhere (probably from Hobby Lobby).  If I find the sentiment, I will update you.

64 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today is the anniversary of my wonderful grandparents.  They have been together for 64 years.  I threw this card together for them late last night.  There are things I would have done differently if I weren't working on a deadline to complete the card.

The inspiration for this card came from a card that Jeri from Bug 'N Me Creations made.  You can see her original card HERE.  I did not make my card a shaped card, but I did like how the "happy" was the main focal point of the card.

Here is my version:

Here is the inside:

I have to apologize for the photos.  In my haste, I didn't have time to wait on the "good light" of the day to take my pictures.

The card is an A2 size.  The paper came from Close to My Heart - the paper is now retired, but I have a few pieces leftover from an earlier project.

Here are the items for this card:

• Cricut
• Gypsy
• Xyron
• Adhesive
• Sweet Pea paper (retired) from Close to My Heart
• From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge
• Just Because Cards Cricut cartridge
• Stand and Salute Cricut cartridge
• Varsity Letter Cricut cartridge
• Black Exclusive Inks from Close to My Heart
• Say It in Style stamp set from Close to My Heart
• Amore stamp set (retired) from Close to My Heart
• My Acrylix Blocks from Close to My Heart
• Ribbon from my stash
• Black fine tip pen

I am linking this up to the "Get Your Brag On" linky party and the TGIF Linky Party.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to be back soon with a birthday card for a sweet little girl soon to be one.  Have a great night!

Hip Hippo Hooray

My niece is turning 4 this week.  Her birthday party was last weekend, so she has already received the card I made - loved the hippo.

This card is 5-1/2"x4-1/4".  There were a lot of layers to put together on this card.  I don't usually make cards with so many "little pieces", but I was really happy with how it turned out.  The Xyron makes putting all those little pieces together so much easier than glue!

The items I used for this card were:

• Cricut Expression
• Gypsy
• Xyron
• The Christmas Card Stack by DCWV
• The Fun in the Sun Summer Stack by DCWV
• Create a Critter Cricut cartridge
• Cuttin' Up Cricut cartridge
• From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge
• Just Because Cards Cricut cartridge
• Turquoise Stickles by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you've had some crafting time this week.

I'm linking up to:

Cupcake Birthday Card

I'm back today with another birthday card for a dear friend of mine, Tracy.  Hopefully you get the card in the mail before you see it here. :-)

This was another card that was inspired by Pinterest.  See the original HERE from Kassidy at the Inking it Up Crazy blog.

This is an A2 (5-1/2"x4-1/4") card.  It was made with scraps from my stash.  The inside is simply stamped with Happy Birthday.  Here are the rest of the details:

• Cricut Expression
• Gypsy
• Cuttlebug
• Xyron
• Create a Critter Cricut cartridge
• From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge
• Just Because Cards Cricut cartridge
• Stamps from the Close to My Heart Cricut Art Philosophy collection
• Spots and Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder
• Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder
• Craf-T Chalks Kit #2
• Magenta Stickles
• Ribbon (from my stash)
• Foam tape
• Black Exclusive Inks stamp pad by Close to My Heart
• Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope to see you back again this week for some more new projects.

Feminine Birthday Card

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  I forgot to schedule posts before I left with my son for his college visit this week.  I meant to post this birthday card that I made for my mom yesterday. Happy belated birthday Mom!

I will be back tomorrow with the "recipe" for this card; I just wanted to make sure I got it posted before it was really belated (although I did make sure she got the actual card on her birthday).

Sports Theme Birthday Card

Yea!!  It's Friday and the start of spring break here.  No major plans for us ~ a couple of college visits this week as we try to narrow down the decision, and my daughter still has her activities to keep her (and us) busy.  I know I promised some more scrapbook layouts today, but it's a special day!

Today is my nephew Jack's birthday.  Happy birthday!!  We wish we were closer to celebrate with you, but we'll see you soon.  Jack, like many 11-year old boys, loves to play sports.  That love of sports was the inspiration for his birthday card.

This card is 4-1/4"x5-1/2".  I used the Gypsy when creating this card.  It really helped me visualize what sizes I needed to make the bat and balls. 

The supplies I used for this card were:

• Paper from my scrap stash
• Tombow adhesive
• Xyron Creative Station
• Cricut Expression
• Sports Mania Cricut cartridge
• Designer's Calendar Cricut cartridge
• Gypsy
• Black Exclusive Inks stamp pad from Close to my Heart
• Dutch Blue Exclusive Inks stamp pad from Close to my Heart
• ColorBox French Blue Chalk Ink
• 3x3 My Acrylix Block from Close to my Heart
• Stamps from the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection from Close to my Heart
• Say It In Style My Acrylix stamp set from Close to my Heart

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hopefully you are looking forward to a weekend full of crafting.  See you soon a new project.

18th Birthday Card

I wanted to share something different today.  Today I'm going to share the birthday card I made for my son's 18th birthday.  I can't take credit for the design ~ it's something I found on Pinterest.  If you want to see the original idea, you can see it HERE; it came from JulieH on the Cricut message board.

The card is a 6x6 square with the fold at the top.  The yellow mat is cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge exclusively from Close to my Heart at 5.87" wide.  The "happy birthday" mat is cut using the same cartridge but at 5.75" wide.

The "18" is cut from the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge and cut again using the shadow feature at 5.5" tall.  "Jonathan" was cut from the font on the Wild Card Cricut cartridge and welded using my Gypsy.  I played with the size until I was happy with the way it lay over the 18; I would make it a different size if using a different length name.  As JulieH explained in her original directions, I cut Jonathan three times, ran them through my Xyron, and attached them together to make it thicker.

On the inside, I cut a mat from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge at 5.75" wide.  The sentiment is cut at 5.5" wide from the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge.

Here are the supplies I used:
Cricut Expression
Xyron Creative Station
Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close to my Heart
Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge
Wild Card Cricut cartridge
Create a Critter Cricut cartridge
Black cardstock (from my stash)
Yellow cardstock from Hobby Lobby
Multi Colored Bday Words from The Paper Studio
Solid Glitter - Silver from The Paper Studio
Solid Glitter - Turquoise from The Paper Studio
Clouds from Colorbok

Hope to see you back at my blog soon!  Stop back tomorrow as I'll have some more of my scrapbooking layouts. 

All You Need Is Love

I'm back with another card today.  I'm not yet sure what occasion this card will be for, but I'm thinking maybe an upcoming anniversary.  I didn't put a "true" sentiment on the inside yet just in case I change my mind about who's receiving this card.

This card is cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close to My Heart.  While the butterflies look like they are on the card in the picture, they are actually cut-outs and the green is coming through from the inside of the card.

I just cut a rectangular mat and then rounded the corners.  The tag the sentiment is on was cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge as well.  In this photo, you can tell that the butterflies are cut-outs.  The sentiment is from the Pair-a-Phrase stamp set from Close to My Heart.

Finally, on the inside, I just added a mat with rounded corners and recycled the cut-outs from the front of the card.  I "blinged them up" a bit with some stickles.  I will eventually add a stamped sentiment on the inside as well.

Okay, the details for this card:
- Cocoa cardstock from Close to My Heart
- Veranda Level 2 paper from Close to My Heart (retired)
- Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge from Close to My Heart p. 55
          Card cut at 5-1/2"
          Rctngl7 cut at 2"
          Layer cut at 2"
          Shift Decorative Layer cut at 2"
- Pair-a-Phrase stamp set from Close to My Heart (details below)
- Garden Green inkpad from Close to My Heart
- Cocoa inkpad from Close to My Heart
- Versamark inkpad
- Clear Detail Embossing Powder from Close to My Heart
- Corner Rounder
- Organza Ribbon - The Ribbon Boutique from Hobby Lobby
- Star Dust Stickles (on inside of card)
- Scattered Straw Distress Stickles (on front of card)

Thanks for checking out my card today!  I hope you stop back soon to see what else I've been up to.  I am linking this card up to:




The September promotions from Close to My Heart are:

With a $75 dollar purchase, you can receive the Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set for FREE.

You can receive the September stamp of the month for $5 with a $50 purchase.

If you haven't yet purchased your copy of the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, you can take advantage of both of these great offers.  For $99, you receive the Art Philosophy cartridge, three stamp sets, and three Dimensional Element chipboard sets.  Total retail value of the collection is $128.69; what a great deal!

You can check out these great deals HERE:

A Little Late....Father's Day

I first and foremost have to apologize for the lateness of this post.  The cord on my laptop has a broken connection and my laptop battery died.  I could play with it enough to get a few minutes out of my computer, but it has finally given up completely.  I had to break down and finally order a new one.

So, here we are, a bit late, but still crafting.



Supplies used:

- Cardstock from DCWV's The Guy Stack

- Wonderful Friend stamp set from Close To My Heart

- Cocoa Ink Pad from Close To My Heart

- Natural Hemp from Close To My Heart

TinkerBell Card and Scrapbook Pages

Today is my niece's third birthday (Happy Birthday Sweetie!).  The party is tomorrow, so I've been busy creating not only a card for her gift, but a two-page scrapbook layout for her mom to capture tomorrow's party.  I'm going to apologize in advance for the poor photography.  Winter seems to be hanging around here and with it the poor light.

She is having a TinkerBell cake for her party tomorrow, so I stuck with the theme for both her card and the layout.  I was VERY tempted to go out and purchase the TinkerBell cricut cartridge, but commonsense took over.  It really isn't a cartridge I would use enough to justify the cost; my daughter's too old, and I only have one niece.  I happened to come across a TinkerBell scrapbooking page kit at Hobby Lobby and decided it had enough stickers and paper to create both a card and matching layouts (and I decorated a plain green gift bag) and it didn't cost me nearly as much (and it was on sale).

Card front (sticker says Perfectly Precious)

Card Inside

Envelope

Two-page layout (white place markers for my sister-in-law to add photos)

Close-up left page

Close-up right page

Supplies used:

• Paper and stickers from Disney Fairies Theme Pack by Sandylion
• TinkerBell Stickers by Sandylion
• Gypsy inkpad from Close To My Heart (Z2190)
• Lime Green Stickles by Ranger
• "3" cut from Cuttin' Up cricut cartridge cut at 4"
• All other words cut from Mickey Font cricut cartridge (who is cut at 1", look cut at .66" and negative image used)
• Layout was based on the Supporting Cast layout from the Imagine book by Jeanette Lynton