Hubby's Shirt Fathers Day Card

Also stashed away in hubby's luggage is his Fathers Day card from me.  Since watching Mary's shirt origami tutorial at Cardz TV, I knew I wanted to make him a card with one of those super cute shirts!

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5x5")
• Papers - striped paper from My Mind's Eye: Magnolia; aqua paper from My Mind's Eye: Simply Delightful; orange and white cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - both layers of <tag1> from Lovely Floral; "HUBBY" sentiment font from Birthday Bash
• Other - stamp by Hampton Ink; brads from 7 Gypsies - Angelo; inside sentiment created/printed from my computer; edges inked with Colorbox orange and cyan ink pads; "HUBBY" sentiment and shirt on pop dots

My favorite thing about this card -- well, besides from successfully making an origami shirt! -- is the tag hanging from the "button" like you actually get when buying a collared shirt.  It flips and flutters in the breeze as you move the card.

I'm entering this card in the following challenge:

Paper Cutz Challenge #96 - Fathers Day (with a tag)

Father & Son Tiger Card

My son and I had so much fun creating this tiger-themed Fathers Day card for my hubby.  Hubby loves tigers, so we chose to modify a cat from Create a Critter with orange and black stripes -- and it looks very tiger-like!

Of course, mommy did most of the designing, but my two-year old son is getting quite proficient at loading the cutting mat for me!  He wants to pretend "JonJon's cricut" while I'm working, so I now have to be sure the power cord is unplugged when not in use.

Here's our resulting easel card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Easel Card (5x5")
• Papers - striped paper from My Mind's Eye: Magnolia; textured cardstock by The Paper Studio; all others from scrap
• Cricut Cuts - all cuts from Create a Critter; tigers are <cat1> on page 29; flag from page 28 without Layer 1; sentiment from page 49 (phrase); letters for "GRRREAT" from Opposites Attract using both Opposite and Opposite Shadow functions.
• Cuttlebug Embossing - Dots & Spots on green background layer
• Other - doodling and faux stitching with white Gelly Roll pen; inside sentiment printed with my computer; pop dots elevate tigers, flag, and "GRRREAT" sentiment.

My son created artwork with his crayons to insert into the envelope, too.  (Just like Mommy, he does his best work in PJs and with a snack.  See the rogue animal cracker?)

 

I also wanted to do a handprint with him, but it just wasn't happening this morning.  He's usually super eager to get into my ink pads, but I guess the Terrible Twos were rearing their ugly head.

Hubby will be away on his mission trip on Fathers Day, so I'm packing this card in his luggage for him to open Sunday.  I hope it makes him feel loved even when away from us on dads' day.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cooking with Cricut:  Challenge #38 - Fathers Day
Cricut Cardz Challenge #79 - Fathers Day
My Sheri Crafts:  Challenge #61 - Fathers Day

Bus Survival Kit

My hubby is leaving tonight for a week-long mission trip to Tennessee.  It's his first time going with our church youth group, and he'll be on a bus full of teens for 15+ hours.  Overnight.  Without electronic devices.  And did I mention they're teens...?  :)

So I made him a "bus survival kit" filled with some of his favorite goodies.  There's beef jerky, M&Ms, Jolly Ranchers, gum, and mints.  I included a book light so he can do some late-night reading as well as wipes, hand sanitizer, and aspirin.  I packed everything in a cellophane treat bag and made a cute topper for it:

Project Details:

• Papers - striped paper from My Mind's Eye: Magnolia; all cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - topper from Birthday Bash, page 28 (card/tag); bus from Stretch Your Imagination, page 51; letters from Block font on Boys Will Be Boys
• Other - doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; bus on pop dots

This treat bag was lots of fun to make.  Now I'm eager for another occasion to make these cute little bags!

Pink Purse Birthday Card

I did some early morning crafting while my toddler son was preoccupied with his newest DVD obsession, Leap Frog's Letter Factory.  It's educational -- teaches phonics to pre-readers -- and he loves it, so I don't feel too, too guilty letting him watch it during breakfast.

I made another card requested by my cousin; this one is for a girly-girl who likes zebra print and the color pink.  Wouldn't you know, I didn't have a single piece of zebra print in my paper collection...?!  I made a quick trip to Michaels last night to remedy that situation and also found some sentiment stamps on clearance.  I love bargains!

Here's the girly-girl card -- I'm really diggin' it!

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights Collection (A2)
• Papers - patterns by The Paper Studio; solids and cardstocks from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - purse and hearts from Create a Critter, page 36 (accessory and phrase); scalloped border from Elegant Edges, page 30 (border)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - D'vine Swirls on purse
• Other - sentiment stamp by Hampton Ink

The only purse cuts I could find in my collection were from Create a Critter.  Both were pretty basic, so I added the flap to the front of this purse to jazz it up.  It's simply the cutout portion between the purse body and handle.  Pretty cute, huh?

I must admit, the whole time I was making this card, I was salivating over the purses from Kate's ABCs.    I bought it for my mom a while back when it was on sale at Joanns for $19.99, and it's even sitting on my craft table!  But I had willpower and didn't open it -- even though she said I could if I absolutely had to.    I might be adding that cart to my wish list.

Note:  I'm submitting this project to Paper Cutz Challenge #95 - Anything Goes with Pink, Black, and White Only.

Pink & Orange Birthday Card

Pink and orange are my two favorite colors, so I loved working with these papers for a card requested by my cousin.  I also was itching to use the CPS #222 sketch this week -- here's the result:

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights Collection (A2)
• Papers - all patterned papers from My Mind's Eye: Simply Delightful; flat cardstock by The Paper Studio; textured cardstock by Bazzil Bling
• Cricut Cuts - presents from Birthday Bash, pages 59 and 61 (card/tag)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - D'vine Swirls on pink present; Kassie's Brocade on orange present
• Other - lots of inking with brown Stampabilities ink pad; "happy birthday" sentiment stamp from The Paper Studio; gems from Michaels dollar bin; ribbon from stash

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Birthday Sundaes:  Challenge #13 - Wet or Dry Embossing
Card Positioning Systems:  CPS #222 Sketch

Before I close, I *must* share an awesome tip from the Cricut messageboards.  Did you know you can clean your cutting mat with baby wipes...?!  I was about to trash my current mat because even the thinnest papers wouldn't stick anymore.  Then I tried cleaning it with a baby wipe, and the sticky works again!  You do need to rub quite hard to pick up all the residue, but it's a super easy solution to extend the life of your mat.

Adore Wedding/Anniversary Card

My blog may be quiet, but my Cricut hasn't been!  It's been frantically chirping with Fathers Day and birthday cards.  By this weekend -- hopefully -- I should be able to share a few "shh-shh" projects with you.

In the meantime, I can post a wedding/anniversary card I made this morning.  I've been dying to use this Heidi Grace patterned bird paper, and a card for two nature lovers was a good reason.  It's also two firsts for me -- my first Z-fold card and my first time to stamp a sentiment on the front!  Here's the entire card stretched:

And folded to view just the front:

Card Details:

• Card Base - black cardstock (A6)
• Papers - patterned and cream cardstock by Heidi Grace; blue textured cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - scalloped background from Elegant Edges, page 51 (<btfly2_s>/Shadow); bird from Create a Critter, page 45, legs snipped and one image flipped; bell from Stretch Your Imagination, page 72 (Blackout), handle and heart snipped.
• Cuttlebug Embossing - D'vine Swirls on bell
• Other - ribbon by American Crafts; "adore" sentiment by The Paper Studio; gem from Michaels dollar bin; inking around edges of bird with sky blue Le Plume II marker

I'm entering this project into the following challenges:

Cricut Cardz Challenge #78 - Wedding Card
Die Cuttin' Divas: Challenge #19 - Wedding Bliss (without hearts)
Fantabulous Cricut:  Challenge #64 - Wedding Wishes (use white and a bell)
Paper Playtime:  Challenge #48 - Z-Fold Card

Blue & Silver Wedding Card

My cousin has commissioned me to create a few cards for her -- which means I now have a paying customer!  (Or at least an excuse to buy more goodies with the proceeds.)

The first card is a wedding congratulations card for her friends, requested with the colors blue and silver.  Here's my resulting design:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5"x5")
• Papers - blue damask from Recollections: All Seasons; all cardstock from The Paper Studio except cardstock with luster, which is Bazzil Bling
• Cricut Cuts -  wedding bells from Wrap It Up, page 36; scalloped background from Elegant Edges, page 56 ("bird3_s")
• Cuttlebug Embossing - scalloped background with Kassie's Brocade
• Other - ribbon by American Crafts; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen

I really like how parts of the wedding bell and ribbon cut with Bazzil Bling cardstock shimmer when they catch the light.  It adds a lot of dimension in addition to the background and cuts being elevated with pop dots.

I'm entering this project into the following challenge:

Cricut Cardz Challenge #78 - Wedding Card