The fruits of a very fun weekend...

This past weekend was such a blast. About every 6 months we have a Cricut SWARM -- a crop with a bunch of my online Cricut friends from here in the area. On Friday we cropped and shopped (well, mostly shopped) together at the Scrapbook USA Expo, then on Saturday we had a crop at a local scrapbook store. So fun! And amazingly enough, I actually got a ton done this time! My goal was to get a lot of scrapping done, since I've mostly been making cards lately.

I've been planning this lo since Eliza was a month old -- these are pictures from her month-day every month, ending up with this adorable pic on her 6-month birthday. I got the pics printed in B&W because the colors were all so different. There are three tags with more 6-month photos and journaling behind the big photo. The PP is from Basic Grey, and the flowers are from MM and Heidi Swapp. I cut the 6 with Base Camp at 3 1/2", and the letter stickers are from October Afternoon.


Aw, my cute little Josh. He is so afraid of my mom's big dog, Beau. Beau just a big puppy and thinks the boys are puppies, too, so he gets a little exuberant. Joshy usually runs straight in from the car to Nana's house, but one day he mustered his courage and told Beau to "SIT!" and he actually did it! I happened to have my camera out -- lucky day! The chipboard letters are from Scenic Route and rub-ons are from American Crafts. The paw prints are from the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge and the pp is from Basic Grey. I used embroidery thread to sew on all the buttons -- thanks again to my friend Amy for reminding me to stick the buttons down with glue dots before trying to sew them on -- sure saves a lot of hassle!


This one is not my favorite, but I was glad to get a lo with so many photos done! Last November we took a little ferry trip with my in-laws and it was so fun.






These last two are for my album about Dan and me. I usually just have one photo at a time, so I do this book in 8x8. This first one is our first couple picture, taken right when we started dating so Dan could show me off to him mum. We're so young! The pp is from Chatterbox, and the little branch dies are from Sizzix. I cut "Beginnings" at 1" with the Cricut Base Camp cartridge. I used a Heidi Swapp edge distresser for the edges of the paper -- it's my favorite cheap tool!



This pic is from only a couple weeks later, from the few days in between when Dan asked me to marry him and when I said yes. In my defense, we'd only been dating a couple weeks and he really took me off guard! :) There's a big long story that goes with it, which I think you'll be able to read better if you click on the pic and get the bigger version. The pp and chipboard letters here are from Scenic Route, and the ribbon is from SU (yay, Sale-a-bration!). Letter rub-ons are from American Crafts.


Of course, I couldn't leave cards out completely!

This one is an ATC (artist trading card) for our crop. I completely spaced the swap until I got there, so that was my first project of the day. I embossed the background with the Cuttlebug, then used my SU "Pocket Silhouettes" set and scallop and ticket corner punches to put together the rest. Phew!



This one was for our "Rummage Challenge," which I was in charge of. Each participant, before leaving home, was supposed to go to THAT PLACE in their scrapbooking area where supplies just pile up and get forgotten -- you all know what place I'm talking about! -- close their eyes, and rummage around. The thing they brought out was their main supply for the challenge, then I also rummaged in several of my areas and brought more supplies they could incorporate. It was cool to see how creative people could be! One of my rummaged supplies was a Mary Engelbreit desk calendar from 2002 -- I've kept it all these years because the illustrations were so wonderul and I knew I wanted to make cards from them someday. I picked this sweet quote and used scraps from my "Beginnings" layout to create this card. The label and scallop border punches are from SU.


I was half packed to go home when I decided I really wanted to finish just one more project, so I made up a few of these cute, quick cards. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug, then I cut the scalloped oval with the Cricut Storybook cartridge. "Happy" is cut from Base Camp at 1". To make 5 quick cards, I loaded 5 scraps of bright adhesive paper on my mat and cut the word "happy" on each one. Then I just took one letter from each for each card. I outlined each oval and wrote "birthday" with a black marker. Easy peasy, and so festive!


Phew, you made it to the end! I had a blast this weekend, and it was wonderful to have so much to show for it. My kids thought the scrapbook pages were great -- they just love seeing themselves on layouts. Can't wait til our next SWARM!

Amazing Magnolia Blog Candy!

One of my most-visited blogs is Pretty Pressings, which has the most beautiful cards using the Magnolia stamps. If you haven't drooled over these lovely stamps before, you're sure to after browsing through Rosa's cards. She's giving away 6 beautiful sets right now, so make sure you check it out!

Mommy and Sammy making cards together!

2 Sketches 4 You has a very fun adult and child contest this week for Youth Art Month, and Sammy just couldn't wait to get in on the action! He loves making cards, and says the best part is the designs. :) This was his first time using a sketch or anything, and it was a revelation to him that you don't have to just glue everything you can find onto a piece of paper. I love that he loves to craft with me, and I hope he keeps it up! Here is his card:



My card I finally had a chance to do at the Scrapbook Expo last night. The pp is from Kaiser Craft, and the chandelier stamp and cool chandelier gem are both from Heidi Swapp (got them for a steal at the Expo -- yippee!).

2S4Y - Kazan #21

I've been mulling over this card all week, and now I've FINALLY had a chance to sit down and do it! I love how it turned out. A friend needed a swallow and banner for her brother's wedding invitations, and I liked them so much I decided to turn them into cut files for my Cricut (using SCAL). So fun! I added a lot of detail to the banner with a marker, and I think I need to experiment with that a little more to get it just right. The PP is from Crate Paper, and I used SU punches for the ticket corners and the scalloped circle. The shape of the card is another design I created for SCAL. TFL!

Creativity is God's Gift to Us

I recently came across this video, and it really touched me. I do believe that creativity is God's gift to us and that we ALL have the capacity to create, even if our talents don't fall into the realm of what is usually considered creative. For those of us who love to make beautiful things and make other's happy -- I'm talking to you, all my scrapping and card-making friends out there -- it makes me feel even better about using my time and talents this way.

Congratulations Lovebirds!

This one is for my little brother Dan and his new wife Carrie, who just tied the knot yesterday! I would be concerned about them seeing this before they get a chance to open it, but I'm guessing they have better things to do at present than check my blog...

Teal and brown were their wedding colors, so I thought this Basic Grey paper was the perfect choice -- of course with a little red thrown in for the color of love... :) I used the Mojo Monday sketch for this week. The birdies came from the Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge (2 Turtledoves!), cut at 3", and the big background heart came from the George cartridge, cut at 4". I cut the scallop edge on that center strip with my new Stampin Up border punch, and the sentiment comes from the "Congrats" set in the current Sale-a-bration catalog -- still working my way through all my new goodies! :) TFL!

Ready for Swuimsuit Season?

I had SO much fun making this card! I meant it as a tongue-in-cheek card for a friend, but I think I'm going to keep it and post in on my fridge to discourage late night snack raids... I dug out a bunch of fun vintage-y scraps from my bins and went to town. The swimsuit and dress form are more of my own designs using my Cricut and Sure Cuts a Lot (available in my etsy shop), and the pp is from Scenic Route. I'm not sure where the twill tape is from -- I got a couple yards of it at my favorite LSS a few years ago and this is the first time I've actually used it! The ruffly scallop border is a neat trick I learned from my friend Brooke Stockman -- it's a bunch of scalloped circles layered and then bent outwards for texture and depth. So cute!



Check in over the next few days -- my blog just made it to 40,000 hits, and I'm going to celebrate with some fun blog candy!

For the Bride - 2 Sketches 4 You & a new cut file too!

For this week's 2 Sketches 4 You challenge, I decided to use the new vintage dress form cut file I just created. I love the look of these dress forms and had so much fun designing different outfits to put on them. So far I've done this fancy dress, a vintage swimsuit, and a cute apron -- you can see them all in my etsy shop. For this card I used Wild Asparagus paper, and I stitched around the edges, and the lace is from a JoAnn bargain bolt. I cut the photo corners with my Cricut and the Jasmine cartridge at 2" on real dial size. I used a white uniball signo pen to write "for the bride." TFL!

I have to give a shout-out to my fabulously talented friend Sonia at Scraps4Fun -- she has a great blog with amazing projects. She recently had a blogging disaster and lost a lot of her data, but she's having a HUGE re-launch party with awesome blog candy. Can you say $50 of scrapping goodies?! Go check it out -- you'll definitely want to become an official follower.

I love the smell of new goodies in the morning...

There is something so inspiring about having new crafting goodies! For my birthday this year I had a little Stampin Up shopping spree and got a TON of the cutest stuff -- yippee! I've been so inspired by having all this great new stuff, so here are a few of the projects I've been dying to show you. Thankfully, my mom found my camera tucked into the pocket of an apron in her pantry -- oops. As Sammy said upon hearing the news: "She gets the dollar!"



This first one was a Valentine's Day project. We went to a church dinner dance, and I was in charge of decorating one of the tables. I had these cool dishes from IKEA, and I thought these little boxes went so nicely with them. Thanks, Brooke, for showing us how to make these at the party! The boxes are SO easy to make -- if anyone is interested I can post a video tutorial. I used the Manhattan stamp set for the flowers, the Curly Label stamp and punch for the label, and cut the "love" with the Cricut Opposites Attract cartridge at 1". I also used CDS and the George cartridge to cut out these hearts from red vinyl to apply to the glasses.







This one is from the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch from two week's ago. The pp is from Sassafrass Lass, and I used my own design and cut file for the notebook journaling spot (which I'll be putting up in my etsy shop when I'm finished here). I used my new "Little Leaves" and "Buttons #5" dies for the branch and buttons. The dotted lines are a jumbo stampin' wheel, named (appropriately) Dotted Lines, and the sentiment is from the "Sweet Little Sentiments" set.




Here's last week's 2S4Y sketch, which I rotated 180 degrees. The pp and stamps are from the "It's a Loop Thing" Sale-a-bration set (one of the best things about my party was that I got one of every single thing in the Sale-a-bration catalog FREE!). Oh, the sentiment is also from "Sweet Little Sentiments" set. I pieced the cupcake by hand. For the top part I just cut a circle in half, then used the SU scallop edge punch on the straight edge. I ran the bottom part through my paper corrugater to give it that cupcake-like texture. I made the cherry using the heart stamp from the set, and added CTMH liquid glass for a little shine.



This last card uses the "Thoughts and Prayers" set, which I think is SO pretty, which I colored with the Stamp and Write markers. I couldn't decide which background to use, so I just did one of each. The first one is embossed with the Cuttlebug text folder, and the second I did a little versamark stamping with the same floral branch stamp. Just a simple card, but I thought it turned out pretty.

Phew! Now that I have my camera back, I should be able to post projects more regularly. I still have 6 new SU sets I haven't even opened, so stay tuned! TIA!