Pet Sympathy Card

Hello everyone.  Today I have a sympathy card for my son's girlfriend who lost her cat this morning to share with you.  I struggled with what was appropriate and then took to the internet to see what I could find for inspiration.  I saw a card with some really cute paw prints where the main pad was made with a heart. 

I decided that I must have stamps or Cricut carts to help me recreate this.  No Cricut cart with paw prints.  I did have several different heart stamps to create the large pad, but was still struggling with the toes.  An oval - is that too much to ask?  Hmmm...kinda like an Easter egg; that I did have.  Then the question became how to stamp it so that it didn't look like an Easter egg; somehow that didn't sound very sympathetic to me.  I used my black marker to ink only the outside edge of the egg; perfect!  Of course I had to practice a few times.

I decided the easiest way to make several of these so that I had paw prints walking down my card would be to make a stencil so they were all identical.  I used a scrap of vellum and traced my favorite paw, cut it out, and then I had a stencil to use.

In trying to save as much of my scrap as possible, I put the paw print as close to the edges of the vellum as possible.  Seemed like a good idea until I stamped the first paw on the card and inked off the edge of my stencil.  Whoops!  Then you need creative sentiments.  You wouldn't even know I had red ink on the top of my card from the finished project. :-)

The sentiments were typed and printed using my computer and word processing program.  I found the sentiment on an internet site for sentiments.

Items I used on this card were:
- Juniper Cardstock from Close To My Heart
- Veranda Paper Pack from Close To My Heart (retired)
- Juniper Inkpad from Close To My Heart
- Hollyhock Inkpad from Close To My Heart
- Sorbet Inkpad from Close To My Heart
- Creme Brulee Inkpad from Close To My Heart
- Black Exclusive Inks Marker from Close To My Heart
- Mini-Medley Accents Antiqued Copper Collection from Close To My Heart
- Sensational Season stamp set from Close To My Heart (retired)
- Follow Your Heart stamp set from Close To My Heart (retired)

I'm linking this card to the following challenges:

New Rhinestone Tee

Today was my daughter's first cross country meet.  I definitely needed some "school spirit wear" for the occasion and as I looked through my closet last night, the only spirit wear I found said wrestling.  When I was at the high school football game last week, there were some moms wearing rhinestone tee's that caught my eye.

OK, what's a mom to do the night before?  I had leftover rhinestone's from THIS PROJECT and a plain black t-shirt in my closet.  Put that together with a graphic from the internet and word processor, and here's what I came up with.

Perfect, if only it hadn't been 95-degrees!  Whew ~ it was hot out there today!  What was I thinking with a black shirt??? 

If you read my blog regularly, you know my daughter dances.  Cross country is the complete opposite spectrum from dancing, but she has seemed to enjoy it so far.  Even so, I knew today would be tough; they just found a coach for the team 2 weeks ago (and he's a bit "green" in the running department), so they were going into their very first 2-mile race with less than 2 weeks of practice.  And, did I mention, IT WAS HOT!!!

Hot AND dusty.

My daughter's goals for the day were to finish the race and not come in last.  She accomplished both.  Next up, finish without walking. LOL!  We're so proud of her, she accomplished what she set out to do today.  Now it's just about making little improvements each time. 

Hope you have a great holiday weekend & find some time to do some crafting of your own!

I'm linking this up to:

Look what I won!!!

Thanks so much Joanne!  I can't wait to get them & start playing.

Wedding Card

I finally have a crafting project to share with you today!  I completed this card for my cousin's wedding this weekend.  It is a 5-1/4" square card.  While the front is somewhat plain, I really love the intricate cut on the inside.  Her colors are black and lime green with just a hint of hot pink (which I left out of the card).

I was so excited to get to play with my new Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart.  Everything, including the card base, was cut from the cartridge with the exception of the scalloped circle which I used my scalloped circle punch for.  I used the card and images from page 67 of the handbook.  The stamped sentiment is from one of the stamp sets included with the Art Philosophy cartridge. 

The items I used for this card were:
- Fun In The Sun cardstock stack by DCWV
- Cricut Art Philosophy Collection by Close To My Heart
- Pear inkpad by Close To My Heart (retired color)
- Jet Black StazOn inkpad
- White Daisy inkpad by Close To My Heart
- Brads Basic Assortment by Close To My Heart
- 2" Scallop Circle Punch by Close To My Heart
- VersaMark stamp pad
- Clear Detail Embossing Powder by Close To My Heart

I'm linking this project to:

One for Now....One for Later

With school starting tomorrow, I've been trying to double any casseroles I make & freeze one for busy nights.  On the menu tonight...Mexican Chicken Alfredo from the most recent Simple & Delicious magazine from Reiman Publications.

Yummmm.......

I haven't been posting much crafting lately. With summer here, life has just gotten in the way. I have actually been doing some scrapbooking, but haven't yet taken any pictures.  I'm actually trying to do quite a bit of scrapbooking, as my son is getting ready to start his senior year, and I'm trying to play "catch up". :-)

The one thing I have been doing a lot of this summer is cooking.  It has been nice to be able to sit down as a family and enjoy meals together without the evening school activities.  I also joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) this summer, so every week I get a box full of fresh veggies.  It sure has made us eat more veggies.

My family is not a big "fish" family.  I know it's good for us, but convincing everyone to eat it is another thing.  In my most recent issue (August/September 2011) of Simple & Delicious, there was a recipe for Bacon & Tomato-Topped Haddock that sounded promising.  How could anything topped with bacon be that bad?

I actually remembered to take a picture before we ate; not the best lighting in my kitchen - especially using the camera on my phone.  I replaced the haddock with cod as that's what was available at my grocery store the other day.  The topping is made with bacon, panko bread crumbs, tomatoes, onions and garlic.  We also had corn on the cob and finished off the meal with homemade raspberry ice cream.  Yum!  Great summer meal!

Have a great week!

Art Philosophy Cartridge & Fabulous Flowers

I thought you might enjoy a new video just out from Close To My Heart about creating flowers with the new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Today is my daughter's birthday.  Happy Birthday sweetheart! 

I don't know about you, but I have a terrible time finding time to craft cards for my kids now that they are older and don't go to bed at 8 pm.  I just find it hard to get my craft mojo going at 10 pm once the kids are in bed.

I whipped this card up late last night.  I knew I wanted to make something lime green and hot pink.  What other colors are there for a pre-teen girl?  I decided to use a black base and accent with a little white.

The card is a 5x7 base.  Believe it or not, this is the first time I ever heat embossed (the initial).  I have had the supplies for ages, but hadn't tried it yet.  I love the look, and it was so much easier than I had anticipated.

The inside of the card was just a few stamps I had on hand to make it cute without being TOO cute.

Here are the supplies I used:

• Black and white cardstock from my stash
• Lime green and hot pink cardstock from DCWV's Fun in the Sun Summer Cardstock Stack
• 2" Scallop Circle Punch from Close To My Heart
• Bubblegum inkpad from Close To My Heart (retired color)
• Jet Black StazOn inkpad
• Friendship Alphabet Large stamp set from Close To My Heart
• VersaMark stamp pad
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon from Michaels
• Say It In Style stamp set from Close To My Heart
• Happy Forever stamp set from Close To My Heart (no longer available)

That's it for the night.  I'm off to join the family - finishing a movie and enjoying cupcakes (slightly smashed) to top off the birthday girl's day.  Have a wonderful evening!

This is what happens when you send two 17-yo boys after the cupcakes....but they still taste good.

Have you heard the news???

Woo hoo!!  How exciting is this? 

Close To My Heart and ProvoCraft have come together to create a new Cricut cartridge ~ Art Philosophy Collection.  This cartridge is sold through Close To My Heart consultants and has over 700 images including 3-D items.  It comes with three complementary stamp sets and three sheets of chipboard shapes.  The bundle has a retail value of $120, but is being listed for $99, but I am having my own personal sale to celebrate the release during the month of August - see details below.



The details:
During the month of August, place a minimum order of $10 with me, and get the new Cricut Art Philosophy Collection for $89.  And, for an even better deal, if you place your order between August 15 - 31, you can take advantage of the National Scrapbooking Month special and receive the Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set FREE!

What a deal!!! For $99 you get:

• The Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
• Your choice of product for $10
• Free Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set

Contact me today, kekreations at gmail dot com, to be included in this great special.

Please note: shipping and handling fees and taxes apply to the retail price of all free and discounted items.

Blog Candy from Joanne

Joanne from TropicLuv, Cards In Paradise is giving away some fabulous candy & it's for a good cause.  She is on the Design Team at The Lime Light which makes cards for charitable organizations.

Visit Joanne and The Lime Light to check out all the details.

Bulletin Board Renovation

The bulletin board at my daughter's dance studio was in serious need of a makeover.  It had had the same paper covering it for years and kids had come through and used the pushpins to poke holes in everything in sight. 

I thought that covering it in material would make it more durable, so I asked the office if I could "redo" the bulletin board while I waited on my daughter.  It's not perfect, but it is a definite improvement over what was there.

It cost less than $10 for supplies and the only tools I needed were scissors and a staple gun.  Easy-peasy!

Dance Team Gifts (Lots of Pictures!)

My daughter's dance team is preparing for Nationals in Orlando, FL.  I wanted to make something special for all the girls on her teams.  They have worked so hard this year and accomplished so much. 

After much debating, I decided to make memory books for each girl (18 of them!!) that they can then add their own journaling, photos, and momentos to.  I'm really pleased with how they turned out and the girls LOVED them!  The really didn't take long to make; the longest part of the process was inking the edges and around the perimeter of each page.

The front cover of each girl's book was personalized with her last initial with her first name cut out of it (welded with the Gypsy) - cut with the Mickey Font Cricut cartridge.  "Orlando" was cut using the same cartridge and the "ticket end caps".  The tag is also on the cartridge; I used the Gypsy to hide the inside cut and leave it whole and welded the year on the inside.

The Mickey head was cut using the Mickey Font Cricut cartridge and I welded DMA inside it (Dance Masters of America).  The stamp doesn't show well in the photo, but it is a custom stamp I had made with K-E Kreations and my e-mail address on it.

Here is the inside of the book unfolded:

And, here is the flip side...



There are a ton of supplies used on this one, so I will try to put them in by page order.  If you have any questions about what I used anything for, drop me a comment.

- 6x6 My Creations Memory Showcase from Close To My Heart

- Fanfare Level 2 Paper from Close To My Heart

- Cricut Mickey Font Cartridge

- Cranberry Ink Pad from Close To My Heart

- Pacifica Ink Pad from Close To My Heart

- Sky Ink Pad from Close To My Heart

- Black StazOn Ink Pad

- Just Blooms White Daisy Variety Pack from Close To My Heart (these were inked)

- Stickles in a variety of colors

- Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko

- Fanfare Level 2 Brad Assortment from Close To My Heart

- Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon from Close To My Heart

- Dancing Dreams stamp set from Close To My Heart

- Brads Red Assortment from Close To My Heart

- Brads Blue Assortment from Close To My Heart

- Star Power stamp set from Close To My Heart

As I said, the girls were thrilled with the books.  I worked on them the last few weeks for several hours a day as I waited on my daughter to finish dance classes, so they had seen me working but didn't know what I was up to.  I didn't want to make anything too elaborate so that they could be personalized by the girls easily or just simply have photos added (and they are mostly 12- and 13-year old girls with their own individual styles).  Each one was unique; they had slight variations in which color brads, how the cover was laid out and how some of the patterned paper looked when cut.

Enjoy!!

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

Flag Cake Recipe to Honor Troops

Photo by Taste of Home

Help support our troop by viewing the recipe for this flag cake.  For each unique view of the recipe through July 4, Taste of Home will donate 10 cents to the USO.  Every dime raised will allow a service member to call home for 2 minutes.  Show your support today, view the recipe to help out.

Blog Candy

Debbie at DD's Crafts is trying to reach 1000 followers.  When she does, she is giving away the Wild Card Cricut cartridge.

I just came across her blog while hopping today.  She has some great crafting ideas on there.  Stop by to check her out. 

The link to her giveaway is HERE.  Have fun!

Baby Blanket for Beautiful Cooper

My daughter's dance teacher recently had a beautiful baby boy.  My daughter adores her teacher (she has taken classes off and on from her for 8 years), so I decided to make this blanket for her as a gift.  Luckily she knew very early that she was expecting a boy, but I had purchased the same yarn in pinks just in case I found out otherwise.

The photo above is actually the blanket folded into fourths.  The darker border continues around all four edges of the blanket.  The photo below shows some of the pattern detail.

Thanks for checking out what I've been up to.  I'll be back soon with another project.

Graduation Card

I wanted to share with you today a card I made for a friend's daughter who recently graduated high school.  All of the papers were from my scrap stash.

The card is 5x7.  The graduations cap is cut from the Wild Card cricut cartridge at 4.5" wide.  I traced the cut edge of the cap with a silver pen to make the front edge more visible.  The "congratulations" is cut from Wild Card at 4.75" wide.  The frame is cut from Accent Essentials at 4.875" wide.  I used both the inside and outside of the frame.  The frame itself was glued to the card, and I inked the edges of the inside cut from the frame and attached it with foam tape to make it pop.

On the inside of the card, I simply put some of the paper that was used on the front so that I could handwrite a sentiment.  The sentiment I wrote before adding my own personal note was: "Don't live down to expectations.  Go out there and do something remarkable." 

Here are a few close-ups of some of the details:

I cut congratulations twice - once in white and once in black.  I lightly inked the white copy and offset it from the black.  I also added a little sparkle with some Sheer Shimmer Spritz.  The tassle was made with embroidery floss and attached with a shimmery brad.

The supplies used on this card:

• You Rock paper pack from Close To My Heart (discontinued)
• White and black cardstock
• Zebra Flocked Cardstock from The Paper Studio
• Outdoor Denim inkpad from Close To My Heart
• Goldrush inkpad from Close To My Heart
• Spare Parts clip from The Paper Studio
• Spare Parts black flower brad assortment from The Paper Studio
• Silver Pen
• Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Sparkle by Tsukineko
• Embroidery Floss

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you have a great, crafty day!

Ever Wanted to Try Digital Scrapbooking???

If you've ever wanted to try digital scrapbooking, now is the perfect time.  During the month of June, Close To My Heart is giving away one FREE Studio J jpg file - no purchase necessary.

All you need to do is visit the Studio J site, which you can find HERE, create an account if you don't have one already, and create away.  After you create your two-page layout, you will be prompted through the checkout process and will be able to order your JPG file.  You will then receive an e-mail letting you know your layout is ready to be downloaded.  It's that simple!

Your JPG file will include three files - a high-res file of the right page, a high-res file of the left page, and a thumbnail image of the entire layout.

This offer is good through June 30.  Only one free JPG per account.  Try it out today!