One of a kind

Last year I started my Christmas cards in the summer.  This year, I'm starting in November.  I used the sketch from Skipping Stones Design.  The sentiment is also from one of their stamps.  The tag that it is on is from Gypsy Wanderings.  In keeping with the sentiment, I wanted 3 different snowflakes.  The ones I chose were from Accent Essentials, Graphically Speaking, and the Christmas Solutions cart.  I put an iRock gem in the center of each snowflake.  The dark blue background was run through the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder.

This sentiment makes the card rather versatile.  I could use it for a Christmas card or a thank you card for a gift or someone who's done a kind deed, such as a neighbor who snowblows your driveway for you.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:

Skipping Stones Design--sketch #100

The Cuttlebug Spot--anything goes

More Than Favors--Wacky Wednesday #58, buttons, bling, or brads

Really Reasonable Ribbon--#35, Christmas

Whimsical Designs--anything goes

Scrapbookaholic by Abby--glitter or bling

Cupcake Cumpleaños

Wow!  I haven't posted in a long time!  My husband and I wanted to save on energy costs this summer and not turn on our AC, but that was keeping me out of my scrap room.  I finally broke down and turned it on a bit so I could get a birthday card done for my mother-in-law.

I made this gatefold card a little differently shaped by welding a scalloped rectangle to either side of a regular rectangle on my Gypsy.  That scalloped rectangle (from Accent Essentials) is the same shape I used in the center, as the base behind the cupcake.  The cupcake is from Smiley Cards, I just got rid of the face because I was afraid it was too small to cut out well.  I made some score lines on the wrapper and ran the cupcake top through the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls folder.  I also decided to put a little bling on the icing so I could try out my new i-rock :)

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Skipping Stones Design--sketch #86
Kimberli's Creations--100 follower giveaway challenge: use a cart you've barely used (Smiley Cards)  She is giving away a Preserves cart to one lucky follower!
Totally Papercrafts--challenge #77, bling it up
Whimsical Wednesdays--fun with folds
Birthday Sundaes--cake or cupcake

"Fishing" you a Happy Father's Day!

I wasn't sure what to put on a Father's Day card for my dad.  Then the challenge at Cardztv gave me an idea.  The challenge there is to make a Father's Day card with a beach theme.  Now, my dad isn't exactly a beach goer.  However, he is a fisherman--in fact, he told me to bring a cooler when I visit for Father's Day because he's going to send me home with some fish he caught!  So, here is my fishy Father's Day card:

The fish is from Create a Critter.  The tag he is on and the tag inside the card are from Accent Essentials. The turquoise card base was run through the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder.  The white tag the fish is on was run through the Swiss Dots folder.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Cardztv--Father's Day with a beach theme
Cricut Cardz Challenge #79--Father's Day theme
Paper Playtime #48--Z-fold card
More than Favors Wacky Wednesday #41--Let's emboss
More than Favors Cricut Cartridge Chaos Challenge #21--Accent Essentials
Really Reasonable Ribbon #26--Handwritten sentiment and use ribbon
Craft Spot by Kimberly #12--We love you dad!
Scrapalicious USA #7--Smile (smiling fish)
Paper Cutz #96--Father's Day using a tag
Whimsical Wednesday #10--Father's Day
Crazy About Cricut's Thankful Thursday--Father's Day

Sympathy cards

Unfortunately, I needed to make 2 sympathy cards (and decided to make a third right away to have one in my stash).  One for a fellow cardmaker and one for a former coworker, both of whom have lost loved ones to cancer.  I wanted to make them simple, and the sketch at Die Cuttin' Divas fit the bill for that.  I had some scrap paper from a Colorbok pad of paper that had colors I liked.  The stack also included some punch-outs, and I stamped my sentiment on those for the front of the card.  I wanted to add some ribbon, but am not yet an expert bow tier.  I got one of them to look alright, but with the other two cards I decided to try a technique I saw on Youtube.  It is so much simpler, and I think it looks pretty nice.  I added a few brads at the bottom.  Inside the card, I used a cut from Accent Essentials.  I cut it once in purple and another time, smaller, in cream.  I ran the cream colored ones through my printer (see this great tip here).  The idea for the sentiment inside the card came from Simple Sympathy.

I had recently picked up a little roll of ribbon for one of the recipients.  She is a proud dog owner and the ribbon has little paw prints on it.  I decided to give her that along with the card to brighten her day.  I had received Tags, Bags, Boxes and More from the free Gypsy download, but hadn't used it yet.  Using that cart, I made a little "purse" to hold the spool of ribbon.  I also decorated the sides of the spool of ribbon a bit.