JUGS Challenge #17

ETA: This project was not a winner but did get a mention which is still exciting!


This week is the template challenge on the JUGS blog. I was really looking forward to this challenge because I knew it would give me a reason to finally put to use the new All A Flutter template I bought from Lauren Meaders New Store My Time Made Easy . It was also the first time I cut one of her templates with my Cricut. I was a little lost about how to do it at first but my daughter Emilia is a computer wiz so she was able to show me how it is done. I have to say it was so much easier to cut the templates this way and I am really glad that I bought the Cricut now. This is what I came up with.

I started by resizing the template to half the size that it comes in using SCAL. After that I cut out the pieces using PTI Dark Chocolate, Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet and Vintage Cream Cardtock. Next I stamped the Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet pieces with images from the PTI Background Diamonds and Retro Backgrounds set using Dark Chocolate ink. Next I ran the base of the butterfly through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots Embossing Folder then attached the stamped pieces. When I was done with that I attached the body that I also embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder, then I cut a spiral clip in half and attached it to the back of the head with mini glue dots. To finish the butterfly off I added some clear rhinestones. I filled the box with a bag of Hershey Kisses and tied it with some Melon Berry Ribbon to match. That's it. I hope you like it. I would love to win the prize this week which is a gift certificate to Laurens new store. She has a new release coming up on Monday and I know I could put it to good use. That's it for now. I hope you have a great night and I will be back soon with more things to share.

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop

It is the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop
This month the challenge was to create a card that has the "total package". This project also qualifies for the Moxie Fab World Start To Finish Challenge and I think the Caardvarks Red Heart Challenge too. This is what I came up with.

I started with the Click Simple Be My Valentine In Shape Template By Kim Hughes. I have been putting off buying this template because I really wanted it in SVG to use with my new Cricut but gave in and bought it in the PDF for this project. I started by cutting the heart with the arrow template out of some Hibiscus Burst Cardstock. Next I punched various 3/4"squares from the Simple Valentine Patterned cardstock and Sweet Blush Cardstock. After that I arranged them in a random pattern and glued them on to the base heart, then I trimmed around the excess. When I was done with that I machine stitched the whole thing creating a quilt pattern. Next I stamped the sentiment from the Heart Prints Sentiment Set on some Stampers Select White cardstock using Momento Black Ink. I then matted it on a piece of Pure Poppy Cardstock that I cut out from a scalloped long rectangle Nestabilities die then I attached a pure poppy button in the corner. Finally I added some Making Memories pink glitter to the arrows with a glue pen.
When you open the card you will find this.

I started by lining the inside with more Simple Valentine Patterned Cardstock. After that I punched a 1 3/4" Sweet Blush circle then I cut around it making a curlycue. When I was done with that I attached both end pieces to each side of the opened card. Next I cut the letters and the heart out of Pure Poppy Cardstock using the Plaintain School Book cartridge in my Cricut. After that I added dots with a white gel pen and liquid glass to the letters and heart. When they were dry I attached them to the spiral with glue dots so when you open the card they will spell out I (love) U.

On the back I stamped the tiny heart cluster from the Simple Valentine Set with the New Raspberry Fizz Pigment ink and added more pink glitter to the back of the arrows.

To finish the whole package off I created a matching envelope by stamping the long heart image from the Simple Valentine Stamp Set on the side of the envelope
using the new Hibiscus Burst Pigment Ink. I am still not sure how much I like the new ink formula because I had a hard time getting even coverage on the larger stamp with it but I do like the colors. If anyone has any tips on how to get things to stamp better with the new ink let me know.
That's it for now. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great night!

Technique Tuesday Outside The Box

First off I wanted to say thank you for all the supportive comments that were left in the last post about what happened with the custom order for The Little Barn Of Love Box. It really meant a lot to me that so many of you took the time to comment and help me feel better about it.

Now it is time for another Technique Tuesday Video. This month I am going to show you how I do the Outside Of The Box technique.

I also used Taylor Expressions Sketch #98 for the layout. This is the first time I have participated in one of her sketch challenges. I hope to do more in the future.




Everything you need to know about the card is in the video. If you have any questions let me know. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great night!
ETA:Here is the link to the watercolor video

Little Barn Of Love

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and it is warm where you are. It is sunny and in the 50's here today which is a welcome change from the deep freeze we were in last week.
A few weeks ago I was asked to do a custom order for someone on Etsy. The person wanted me to make a little house of love like I shared a few weeks ago but she wanted this one to have a country theme and be more masculine since it was gift for a man. This is what I came up with.

Once again I used The PTI On The House Template but this time I used Spring Rain cardstock for the base. I also used Wood Veneer for the paneling. The Windows are from the Homemade stamp set and I drew the front barn door. The hearts on the top were stamped using the PTI Heart background set. The heart on the back was punched out using the EK Sucess sm heart punch and the word Love was added from the Corners and Boarders Heart set. 2 black brads were used to hold it shut.
I was in a rush to send the client photos of it for her approval because she needed it to be shipped the next day. When I uploaded the original photos to my computer to send them to her I noticed there was something on the banner in the photo that I did not see before which you can see in the photo below. When you look at the photos above you can see it came right off though.
Unfortuantely instead of retaking the photos at the time I sent the orginal photo to her anyways because it I thought it was barely noticeable and I was trying not to be such a perfectionist, well she obviously saw it too because that was the first thing she was not happy with.I tried to assure her that there was nothing wrong with it but then she went on to say that she was worried that it was not masculine enough and had dents in it too. At that point I told her that I was not going to sell it to her if she was not happy with it and the sale never happened. I was really upset after that mainly because I had spent 2 days working on it but after thinking about it and having my husband tell me he loved it when he usually never says more than it is nice when I show him things I make I decided to go ahead and list it in my Etsy shop anyways in the hopes that someone else might want to buy it. In the meantime I have learned my lesson to make sure there is nothing wrong in the photo before I list something. At least I attempted not to be such a perfectionist though. That's it for now I am off to work on this months technique video. I hope to be back Tuesday to share it with you. Until then I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and thanks for stopping by.

Love You Forever

Today I am sharing a card I made for Embellish Magazines Color Challenge With Hearts.
This is the first time I have participated in one of their challenges. I hope to be able to do more of them in the future.
I also used TechnostampersMonday Sketch 120 from a few weeks ago for the layout too.


I started by Stamping an image from the PTI Damask Designs Set on Pure Poppy Cardstock with Snow White Ink. Next I cut out the largest Label 1 Nestabilitie Shape from Stampers Select White Cardstock. After that I cut some hearts from the Platin Schoolbook Cartridge using my new Cricut Expression. Then I stamped the sentiment from the Heart Prints set in the Middle of the Sweet Blush heart with Versamark Ink and embossed it with Black Embossing powder. After that I added some faux stitching around the heart and the label 1 piece The black background was embossed with the Cuttlebug script embossing folder and matted on a piece of Sweet Blush Cardstock. A piece of Pure Poppy Saddle Stitched Ribbon and 3 light pink brads finishes the card off. That's it for now I will be back soon with more things to share. Until then thanks for stopping by.

You Take The Cake

Happy Sunday Everyone. I hope you all are having a good weekend and it is warm where you are. We have been in the deep freeze here the last week but it is finally starting to warm up thank goodness. Hopefully the skating rink in front of our house will finally melt.
Yesterday I had a chance to work on a couple of challenges. Today I am sharing a card with you that I made for this weeks Mojo Monday sketch 120
It also qualifies for this weeks Just Us Girls challenge as well which is to add stitching to your project and the Moxie Fab World Start to Finish Challenge which is to finish the inside of your card too.


This is what I came up with.

I started by stamping the main image from the PTI Tiny Treats set on Stampers Select white cardstock with Raspberry Fizz ink. When I was done with that I added the cupcake and colored it with my Copics then I stamped the sentiment that goes with it.
The Sweet Blush and Raspberry Fizz cardstock were embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder to give them some texture. The Background piece is from the Simple Valentine Patterned Paper Pack. The stitching was done using my Elna Sewing machine. A piece of Dark Chocolate Satin ribbon and 5 clear rhinestones finishes it off.
I have also been seeing quite a few people finishing off the insides of their cards these days so I decided to give it a try too. This is what it looks like on the inside.

That's it for now. I am off to finish cleaning the rest of the house. I will be back soon with more things to share though. As always thanks for stopping by.

Just Us Girls Challenge #14

I hope the week has been a good one for all of you so far. Today I am sharing a card I made for this weeks JUGS Challenge. This is the first time I have been able to participate in one of their challenges. I am squeeking in just under the deadline but I made it though. This weeks challenge was this sketch

This is my interpertation.

I have wanted to make a fabric flower for awhile now and when I saw this weeks JUGS sketch I thought it was the perfect chance to do it. The flower is not just an embellishment though after the receipent receives the card she can take the flower off the ribbon and wear it on her clothes because I made it into a pin.

The base of the card was made with CTMH Kiwi cardstock that I ran through my Cuttlebug using The Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. The Blue Piece is CTMH Ocean Cardstock that was embossed with the Cuttlebug Leaves folder. PTI Lemon Tart Saddle Stitch Ribbon and The Happy Birthday Sentiment from The PTI Birthday Basics set finishes it off.
That's it for now. I hope you have a great night and I will be back soon with more things to share.

Happy New Year and Pink Saturday

I hope you all had a great start to the New Year! Rich, Emilia and I ended up watching UP on Pay Per View and loved it! If you have not see it yet I would highly recommend it. Yesterday we all went Ice Skating at out Local Rink. Emilia and I skated together will Rich played drop in hockey. It was a lot of fun and Emilia even told me it was her best day ever! I would have to agree it was a great way to start 2010 off.
Today I am back participating in Pink Saturday. I did not get a chance to join in last month mainly because I did not have anything pink or holiday related to share but that should not be a problem this month with Valentines day coming up. Beverly also asked us to share any goals we have for this year today too so I am going to start with that.
I am the kind of person that likes making goals for myself. Even if I don't always meet them at least it helps motivate me to give them a try. Here is my list of Crafty Goals for 2010.
1. To try and get at least 50 more sales in my Etsy Shop or through wholesale/commission orders by the end of the year. (Last April I started working very hard trying to get things to sell in my Etsy shop and was finally able to get 25sales by the end of last year that is why I am doubling my sales goal this year.
2. Try not to be enabled by all the new products that come out this year. Spend Less use what I have more.
3. Spend less time on the computer and more time creating. Make at least 2-3 new items each week to blog about and list in my Etsy shop.
4. Try not to get discouraged when I don't win contests or see others be more sucessful.
5. Continue with my technique videos on my blog and YouTube each month. (Last year this was my number 1 goal and I am proud to say I accomplished it!)
6. Feature other crafters work on my blog. (If you are interested in being featured let me know)
7. Try not to be such a perfectionist with my work. Don't make things so complicated. Learn how to simplify!

Now on to my share for today. I originally made this item to enter in a box challenge on Ted's blog but I didn't finish it in time. I thought it would still be a great thing to share for today's Pink Saturday Post though.
Continuing with my love of houses I introduce to you The Little House Of Love Box


This base of this box was made with 2 of The My Timeless Template It's On The House using Sweet Blush Cardstock. After I put the boxes together I taped them back to back to create the house. Next I used some cardstock from the new Simple Valentine and Red Bitty Dots Patterned Cardstock to decorate the sides. After that I stamped the windows from the HomeMade set on Stampers Select White Cardstock using Vintage Tea Dye and Sweet Blush Ink for the curtains then I cut them out and attached them to the sides of the house. On the back of the house I added a Red heart that was glittered. The door on the front of the house is actually a window from the HomeMade set as well. The Love above the door was stamped on another piece of white cardstock then I added some clear glitter. To finish the house off I added some more clear glitter on them top than I tied a pink ribbon to keep it closed. When the ribbon is untied you can see there is plenty of room to add some tiny treats.

That's it. I hope this project has inspired you to start making some Valentine things now too. Also don't forget to stop by Beverly's blog to see the list of the others that are participating today as well. In the meantime have a great Pink Saturday and as always thanks for stopping by. I hope to be back soon with more things to share.