Pot of Gold

I made these little treat bags for my son's preschool class.  They aren't really celebrating St. Patrick's Day at school, but I thought it would be fun if each of the kids got a little "Pot of Gold" to take home.  The coins are chocolate that I found at a candy store in Baton Rouge (really cool place called Chocolage).  I used the rainbow from the Create A Critter cartridge and an SVG file for the Pot of Gold.  The stamp is from My Pink Stamper's Happiest Moments set.

Christmas Gift Tags

I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas that I haven't even had time to post the few projects that I have gotten done.  I decided to make gift tags this year for all the gifts under the tree (usually I just write everyone's name in sharpie right on the paper).  The tags are cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More Cartridge at 4 3/4".  The green tags are inked with Deep Green Cat's Eye Chalk Ink and the red tags are inked with Maroon Cat's Eye Chalk Ink.  The Gingerbread House was cut from Gingerbread Cartridge at 1 3/4".  The Stockings, Christmas Tree & Candy Cane were cut from Christmas Cheer Cartridge at 1 3/4".  The Snowflake was cut from Winter Lace Cartridge.  The Cardstock is all Bazzill in Herbal Garden Dark and Crabapple Dark.  I then used stickles to embellish.

4H Cookie Cake

My daughter had to make a large decorated cookie for her 4H project.  The theme she chose was 4H so she decided to make the 4H emblem.

We baked a 12" Chocolate Chip cookie using a 12" cake pan.  We used my Cricut with a Deep Cut Blade to cut a Clover at 9 3/4" inches out of cardboard (Designer's Calendar Cartridge).  We then laid the template over the cookie and cut out the cookie in the clover shape.  Then using my Cricut Cake and Fonderific Fondant we cut the clover out of Light Green at 9 3/4" on Shadow and then Dark Green at 9 3/4" regular.  Then using the Light Green again we used Plantin Schoolbook to cut 4 - 1 1/2" Hs.  We covered the cookie in a light layer of icing and assembled.  It looked great and won a first prize ribbon in the 4H category.

A Handy Dandy Notebook

My son has become very much into Blues Clues lately.  He loves to run around the house pretending to play the game at home.  I noticed that he was trying to use post-its as his notebook and it wasn't really working out too well, not to mention all the little paper squares all over the house.  So I went to my computer and thanks to an internet coloring page of the Thinking Chair and my Inkscape & Make the Cut software, I was able to design a Handy Dandy Notebook.  I also finally broke down and bought a Zutter Bind It All (gotta love 40% off at Hobby Lobby).

Handy Dandy Notebook

Handy Dandy Notebook - Side View

Handy Dandy Notebook - Inside View

I will try to remember the recipe for you.

Cover:  1 Sheet of Bazzill Cardstock - Black (cut into 4 - 6" x 6" squares)
              1 Sheet of Bazzill Bling Cardstock - Petty Cash (1 - 5 3/4" sqaure)
              1 Thinking Chair cut at 5" out of Bazzill Dotted Swiss Red and Bazzill Black

Inside:  10 Sheets of Yellow Paper cut into 6" x 6" squares

Binding:  Zutter Bind It All with 3/4" Binding

I just adhered two of the black squares together to make the covers and then assembled as shown above.  Let me know if you have any questions and I will send the cut files via private message if you are interested.

Scrap Your Stash Class

On October 20th I took a Scrap Your Stash Class at Memory Mania.  The layout we made was a LSU Tiger Tales Layout.  At first I thought there was no way I was ever gonna find a use for this page and then last weekend we actually went to an LSU tailgate party at Tiger Stadium.  In this layout we used Creative Imaginations - Radiant Rain Spray, Tiger Paw Die Cut Paper, Large White Brads, and Tiger Print Ribbon.

Baby Book

So the reason I got back into scrapbooking in the first place was to finish (okay, okay, START) my children's baby books.  My daughter Kayla will be 10 in December and I have been feeling tremendously guilty that I never did her baby book (correction: I have started it many times but I always end up taking it apart and starting over).  So I have really put an effort into finishing it, FINALLY.  Here is a picture of the page I made for our first family photo.  The paper is from Tim Holtz.  The letters were cut on the Cricut with the Storybook Cartridge as were the flower mats behind them and then covered with Glossy Accents.  The flowers were punched with EK Success Retro Flower - Medium.  The pearls are Recollections from Michael's.  Everything was inked with my Chestnut Roan Cat's Eye Chalk Ink.

Our First Family Photo Layout - Kayla's Baby Book

I have more pages done but I haven't photographed them yet.  I will post them when I get a chance.

Thank you all for visiting my blog, I noticed a few more followers this morning.  I'm thinking there might need to be some Blog Candy in the future if this keeps up.

Give Thanks

I also made a Thanksgiving card today.

Give Thanks Card

The turkey is from the Create A Critter cartridge.  I used Copper Stickles and of course Bazzill cardstock.  Once again the ribbon is from my Hobby Lobby stash. 

I think I have almost convinced myself to invest in the My Pink Stamper Stamps.  I've been putting it off because I have already spent soooo much money on this hobby, but I really enjoy making these cards and the stamps would really make them better.

Happy Halloween Card

Last night when I got home from scrapbooking class I saw that I have followers.  I am SOOOOO excited because now I feel like I am actually talking to someone (or typing I suppose).  Anyway, welcome to my blog and I will try to keep you entertained.  I'm a new blogger so please keep in mind that I have no idea what I am doing, lol.

For today's Pink Stamper challenge we had to make a Halloween or Thanksgiving something so I made a halloween card.

Happy Halloween Card

I used the Designer's Calendar cartridge for the pumpkin and my Peachy Keen stamp for the face.  The cardstock is Bazzill and the ribbon is just some cheap ribbon I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  And of course I stickled the stem with my lime green stickles.

Once again welcome to my blog and thanks for looking =).

Thank You Notes

Today I was busy trying to come up with a design for Kayla's birthday party invitations.  In the process of doing so I came up with a cute Thank You note instead.  I used the Create A Critter cartridge for the Cricut to cut the poodle image and I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the bottom for added texture.  I stamped the "Thank You" with white ink and Stickled the poodle hair for a little "bling."  For the bottom border I used the Fleur de Lis border punch from EK Success.  I am so happy how it came out.

Scrap Your Stash Class

Yesterday was my Scrap Your Stash Class at MMU.  This was my first daytime class and it was tons of fun.  I really enjoyed the laid back style of the day class and a few of us even went out to lunch afterwards.  Below is the layout I made at class.

I used the Winnie the Pooh font cartridge on my Cricut to make the title.  I inked the edges with my chalk ink and used my white gel pen to highlight the letters.  I also cut the letters out of Grunge Paper and glued them together for some extra dimension.  I then coated each letter with Glossy Accents for an enamel effect.  I used the Fleur de Lis border punch by EK Success to create the center border and I used the Martha Stewart Photo Corner punch for the photo corners.  I learned a neat technique for the ribbon where we used the Tim Holtz stapler to make criss-crosses across the ribbon for a new effect.  Thanks to Christy for the great layout design.

Cricut Circle

Okay so now I have completely gone and lost my mind.  Yesterday I decided to join the Cricut Circle.  I admit I did it for the French Manor cartridge that is exclusive to the circle.  Is it worth the money?  That remains to be seen, but I am going to try it for a year and see if anything good comes out of it.  I will post when I get my welcome kit and let you know what is in it.  I've also been going completely crazy on ebay lately and now I have a ton of new cartridges which I've gotten for less than $20 each.  Hopefully I will have a bunch of new projects to start sharing really soon.

Advanced Cricut Class

Last night I had my first scrapbooking class at MMU.  It was a class on Advanced Cricut skills.  I'm not sure I learned any new Cricut skills (we'll see when I do the homework) but I learned a cool new way to make a fence background.  The class moved really fast so I will post the photos of my layouts when I finish them.  We made two layouts in two hours which is much faster than I've ever had to complete even one layout.  I hope that I will get the hang of the fast pace classes by the next one.  Perhaps more importantly than the layouts, I had fun.  It was so nice to get out of the house and do something for myself, which I haven't really done since we moved here.

Here are my two layouts from Advanced Cricut Class:

Today is going to be my stay home and scrapbook day.  Of course before I can do that I have to organize my scrapping space.  I must be the messiest scrapbooker EVER.  It doesn't matter how small the project is, I seem to have both tables covered in trash and scraps.  So I am going to first clean up and then try to complete some of my homework and then clean up again.

My Favorite Products

This is a list of my favorite products in the world of Scrapbooking.

• Cricut - this machine does it all.  You can cut paper, fabric, vinyl, stencils, stamps, cork, chipboard, etc.  The possibilities seem endless.  With the numerous cartridges and now software like Make the Cut and Sure Cuts A Lot, you can cut anything you can imagine.  My favorite thing about the Cricut is that you can print your own letters for scrapbooking or even school projects and you never run out of the letter "e".  There is nothing more frustrating than having to by multiple packages of letters at $4.99 a pkg just because you need more e's than the 3 that come in one package.
• Scotch ATG Gun - this is the best adhesive product I own.  The original models were way to expensive for adhesive, but the introduction of the Pink ATG Gun with a price of $29.99 most places made it a must have, and it comes with two rolls of tape (a great item for the 40% coupon at Michaels).  Once you get the hand of it you can attach almost anything very easily and the roll of tape seems to go a long way.  Also the permanent adhesive holds very well.  Plus it is Pink which is always a plus in my book.
• Cuttlebug - not only does it do an awesome job embossing cardstock but it cuts as well.  This machine has allowed me to give new life to all my old Sizzix and Sizzlits dies and well as try out some of the other die cutters out there.  It is so much easier to use these old dies on the Cuttlebug that to lug out the old machines.  Plus it takes up less space on my work table.  I was never a huge fan of embossing until I got this tool.  Now I will be embossing anything that I can roll through the machine.
• Stickles - okay I admit that I bought my first Stickles because they were on sale "buy 3 get 1 free" and I figured that was a good time to stock up.  OMG, I am totally addicted now.  This simple little bottle of glitter glue can really add some Wow to an ordinary layout.
• Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper - probably my favorite paper stack out there right now.  Of course I am working on baby albums and the colors are pinks and blues.  But I just love the look of this paper and my layout looks amazing.  This is another great item for that 40% coupon at Michaels.

This list is a work in progress.  As I try out new products I will add my favs on here.

Scrapbook Supplies on the Web

Moving to Louisiana has made me realize how much I miss the scrapbook mega stores back in Houston.  We have two scrapbook stores here in Baton Rouge along with Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart, but it is just not the same.  So I have been actively web-shopping and thought I would compile a list of my favorites for easy access.

1. Amazon.com - I shop here for almost everything.  Their prices are usually low, but you have to be careful because sometimes they are higher than Michael's.
2. Scrapbook.com - This is the closest thing I have found to the scrapbook megastores.  They tend to have good sales and they are the cheapest place I have found to buy Stickles.
3. Custom Crops - They have pretty good prices on Cricut Cartridges.  I also have ordered the Mini Marker Holder and Mini Gel Pen Holder for my Cricut from them.  Another thing they carry are the My Pink Stamper products.
4. Scrapbooking Warehouse - this site seems to have the lowest prices on most things.  My latest interest is the I-Rock by Imaginisce and their price is almost half of what Michael's is asking (especially if you consider the 9% sales tax in Baton Rouge).  So far everything seems cheaper here (except Cricut or Stickles) like Cuttlebug Dies, Sizzix, Paper Punches, etc.

I will add more to the list as I think of them.

Paper Roses

Today I made 3D roses using paper, my Cricut and MTC (Make the Cut Software).  I found this technique on Penny Duncan's website, she has a video tutorial for making these awesome roses.  I am going to give you a quick view of how I did it.

Supplies Needed:

1. Paper (card stock or patterned paper)
2. Hot Glue Gun
3. Cricut
4. PDC Rose SVG file
5. Craft Tweezers
6. Paper Piercing Mat
7. Embossing Stylus
8. Stickles (optional)

Step 1 - Cut out the rose pattern on your Cricut using MTC and SVG file.



Step 2 - Emboss the back sides of each petal set just like we did in in the Paper Punch Flowers in my last post.  Be sure to flip each set over to the right side and emboss the centers to make the petals pop up.

Step 3 - Take one of the petal sets that has the slit cut in it place it underside up and hold it by the the first petal with your tweezers.  Tightly twist this petal around itself.



Step 4 - Place this twisted petal in the center of the second petal and wrap the second petal around the first.  Repeat with all remaining petals.



Step 5 - Use your hot glue gun to lightly glue the bottom of what is going to be the rose's center.



Step 6 - Take the other petal set with the slit cut into it.  Place it underside up.  Place a small drop of glue on the bottom center of the first petal.  Place the rose center we just created on this petal, making sure that the bottom extends about halfway into the hole in the center of the cutout.



Step 7 - Wrap the first petal around the rose center.  Place in the center of the second petal and wrap this petal around the rose center.  Repeat with all petals.



Step 8 - Hot glue the bottom of the completed center with hot glue.



Step 9 - Take the cutout with the large center, place it top side up, and place hot glue around the center hole.  Insert the rose center into the hole and shape petals around.



Step 10 - Take the cutout with the smaller center, place it top side up, and place hot glue around the center hole.  Insert your rose into the hole and shape petals around again maing sure to stagger the petals from the previous row so it looks more realistic.



Step 11 - Take the final cutout, place it top side up, and place a drop of hot glue in the center and insert your rose again making sure you stagger the petals.  Shape petals until the desired look is achieved.



Step 12 - Optional.  I used my Diamond Stickles around the edge of each rose petal to add a little sparkle to the flower.

Here are the flowers I've made.

Paper Punch Flowers

My new technique that I am working on is Paper Punch Flowers.

Supplies needed:

1. Paper (pattern or solid - I am using Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby)
2. Retro Flower Punch - Medium by EK Success
3. Embossing Stylus - Fiskers
4. Paper Piercing Pad - (I use In Stitch'z Jr. by Bazzill)
5. Stickles (I am using Pink and Silver)

Step 1 - Punch your flowers out of the paper (Ink or chalk edges now if desired)
Step 2 - Place flower upside-down on your Piercing Pad

Step 3 - Using the Embossing Stylus carefully shap each petal by rubbing around the edges of the petal and in the center of the petal until desired petal is acheived (careful not to tear the paper). Repeat for each petal.



Step 4 - Flip flower over to the right side and use the stylus to indent the center which will cause your petals to pop up.



Step 5 - Using your Stickles add a center to each flower.

That's it. It is pretty easy and a lot cheaper than buying paper flowers. Below is a flower I made with my Cricut and a file I found online for Make the Cut. I cut multiple size flowers and inked the edges and joined them with a brad and covered the brad with pink Stickles .