Snowman "Cool Dude" Birthday Card

It's sooooo hot and humid in Houston right now.  It's not even 9am, and the temperature is already 71º F.  Seriously!  The only reasons I even know it's January are (1) the calendar and (2) winter and snow Cricut challenges.

To cool down today, I whipped out my Winter Frolic cartridge and made a card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights (A2)
• Papers - patterns by Colorbok; cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - snowman from Winter Frolic, page 31; "Cool Dude" phrase from Boys Will Be Boys, page 76
• Embossing - white background with Cuttlebug's Snowflakes; blue background with Cuttlebug's Happy Birthday; hat with Cuttlebug's Herringbone; scarf and hat bill with The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture
• Other - sentiment on pop dots

I'm entering this card into the following challenge:

Birthday Sundaes:  Challenge #39 - Snowman 
Getting Cricky with K Andrew: Simply Sunday Challenge #43 - Let It Snow/Use Embossing

Car Fourth Birthday Card

One of my son's best buddies is having his fourth birthday party today, so I'm sharing the card and gift tag I made.  The party theme is Disney/Pixar Cars, and I sure wish for that cartridge at times like these -- but since I don't have that one yet, I used the simple car image from Boys Will Be Boys:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Recollections (A2)
• Papers - cardstock by Recollections; striped paper by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - all cuts and font from Boys Will Be Boys; car, page 61; arrow, page 68
• Embossing - circle with Cuttlebug's Spots & Dots; tireds with The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture
• Other - car on pop dot; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen

And here's the tag I made for the gift:

Tag Details:

• Papers - cardstock by Recollections; striped paper by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - tag from Playtime; font from Opposites Attract

I really like the fun colors -- it makes this card and gift so cheerful.  Now I just need to keep my on little guy from opening it.  He's had a lot of practice with his recent birthday and Christmas.

I'm entering this card/tag into the following challenges:

Birthday Sundaes: Challenge #38 - Something New (My "something new" is the awesome metallic silver paper I used for the car bumper -- hard to see it shine in the photo, though.  I got a whole pack of it for $1 after Christmas! )
Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #45 - Child's Birthday

Fantabulous Cricut: Challenge Me Monday #93 - Man Time

Happy 2012!  I hope you've had a wonderful holiday.  My family's Christmas and New Year were very relaxing -- but now that I've had a crafting break, I'm ready to jump in for a whole new year of Cricut creations!

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is Man Time.  Our challenge sponsor, Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits, provided the design team some awesome papers and chipboard accents.  I used the goodies to make a football-themed bookmark for my hubby in his favorite team's colors:

 

Project Details:

• Papers - football field by Boys Rule; cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - football from Boys Will Be Boys, page 31; "Go Team" sentiment from 3 Birds on Parade, page 46
• Embossing - football with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots
• Other - chipboard arrow by Boys Rule

Now it's your turn -- go showcase a male-inspired project at Fantabulous Cricut for your chance to win some awesome supplies from Boys Rule!

Game Day Football Layout

My husband loves football and the Houston Texans -- and "loves" may not even be a strong enough word!  His love for football is so great, he leaves church in an absolute rush on Sundays to get to the car and turn the radio to the Texans game.  He then jumps out of the car before we pull into the garage to get to the TV as quickly as possible.  Yes, my husband has issues for the sixteen weeks of football season.

For the past three years, hubby has also been working to instill his love of football in the next generation.  Our little guy is finally old enough to understand more about the game this year.  He knows a few key words/phrases like football, touchdown, and Go, Texans -- which is about as much as his mommy knows too!

I made this game day layout this week to show what a typical Sunday afternoon looks like at our house.  The photos are from last season when the little man first began paying attention to Daddy's obsession:

Here's a closer look at the embossed football and handmade "field" I made with numbers from the Cricut Classic Font cartridge:

Project Details:

• Papers - patterns from DCWV - All About Boys; cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - football from Boys Will Be Boys, page 31; banner and "GAMEDAY" font from Birthday Bash; yard line numbers from Cricut Classic Font
• Embossing - football with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots
• Other - ribbon by American Crafts; inking with brown Stampabilities ink pad; football on pop dots

I'm submitting this project to the following challenge:

BBTB2:  My Pink Stamper Challenge - Boy Crazy
My Sheri Crafts:  Challenge #72 - All About Sports

Fantabulous Cricut: Challenge Me Monday #74 - Birthday Bash

Happy Monday!  It's time for another great challenge at Fantabulous Cricut.  This week's theme is Birthday Bash -- so join along with your birthday cards, scrapbook pages, and party items!

I'm always needing birthday cards -- especially for my friends' children -- so I made a robot card for a little guy who turns 4 next month:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Recollections (A6)
• Papers - robot paper from Pressed Petals - Boys Will Be Boys; red cardstock by Bazzil Basics; all other cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - robot from Boys Will Be Boys, page 64; balloon from Birthday Bash, page 23 (Layer 2); font for "4" from Birthday Bash
• Cuttlebug Embossing - "4" with Swiss Dots; balloon with Traffic Jam; circle background with Spots & Dots
• Other - google eyes from Target $1 spot; string from stash; robot and balloon on pop-dots

I love making projects with bold colors, and this card definitely is bright and cheerful!  It's even kid-approved; my son saw the card the next morning and thought the google eyes were silly and fun.

Now it's your turn to link up your Birthday Bash projects at Fantabulous Cricut -- can't wait to see what you create!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #25 - Back to School

The record-setting temperatures may say it's summer, but the calendar shows school is just around the corner!

To welcome the new academic year, Celebrate the Occasion is featuring back-to-school projects this week.  So open that new box of crayons and join our design team for some great school projects!

My project is a double-page scrapbook layout of my son's Beautiful Butterflies class from last year.  It was his first year at preschool, and he absolutely LOVED it.  His teachers were the best, and he made lots of little friends that he's eager to see again when his school begins after Labor Day.

Project Details:

• Papers - patterns by American Crafts: Everyday; cardstocks by C'ordinations and The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - butterflies from Create a Critter, page 64; crayons from Simply Charmed, page 52; scissors and glue from Simply Charmed, page 54; bear from Doodlecharms, page 105; backpack from Doodlecharms, page 119; car from Boys Will Be Boys, page 61; "beautiful" from Paisley, page 53; font for "BUTTERFLIES" is Opposite from Opposites Attract
• Other - lots of inking with Colorbox petal point ink pads and Le Plume II markers

I can't believe I used seven cartridges on this project!  Maybe I was having a little too much fun making die cuts of preschool objects...

You can link up your own back-to-school project at Celebrate the Occasion now through Sunday, August 14, for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from PaperTrey Ink.  I can't wait to see your school-themed projects!

I'm also submitting this project to My Sheri Crafts:  Challenge #66 - Back to School.

Trike Twisted Easel Card

I made my first twisted easel card last night -- and it was so easy!  If you haven't tried this fold, I encourage you to give it a shot.

The video below was my guide, but there's tons of tutorials out there.  (Honestly, I chose this tutorial by Christina of Card Making Magic because of her super soothing voice -- it was 9pm and time to "wind down" for the day!  But now I've visited her website and really like the folding templates available there.)

Here's my resulting twisted easel card -- featuring a trike modeled after my son's new "ride" from his grandparents!

Card Details:

• Card Base - twisted easel (5x5")
• Papers - patterns from American Crafts - Play paperpack; cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - all cuts from Boys Will Be Boys; trike, page 36; "zoom" sentiment, page 63 (Phrase/Phrase Layer)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - blue background with Spots & Dots
• Other - doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; inking with Colorbox orange and blue ink pads

I'm entering this card in Die Cuttin' Divas' Challenge #21: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles.  Yes, a trike isn't technically an automobile, but my toddler sure thinks it is!

Woodworking Fathers Day Card

My dad received his Fathers Day card yesterday, so now I can share it with you -- yippee!  But first, I'll tell you a little about my dad and the inspiration for his card.

My dad is a master wood craftsman and can make anything.  He's actually made most of the furniture in our house!  For college graduation and my move to Houston, he made me a bed, dresser, and matching nightstands -- these are my most prized possessions.

Here's a photo of my dad staining the nightstands and the finished bed in his workshop from 2003:

In addition to bedroom furniture, my dad handcrafted our son's crib and changing table, our entertainment center, coffee table, entry table, and much more!  He also makes furniture, cabinets, and keepsake items for my mom, their church, and friends and family.

So, of course, I opted for a woodworking theme for my dad's Fathers Day card:

 

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights Collection (A2)
• Papers - wood-grain paper from Me & My Big Ideas - Autumn; graph and red starburst pattern from DCWV Mod-Retro stack; textured cardstock from The Paper Studio; all others from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - hammer and screwdriver from Boys Will Be Boys, page 50
• Cuttlebug Embossing - orange circle with Dots & Spots; mustard circle with Distressed Stripes
• Other - inking with brown Stampabilities ink pad; sentiment printed on my computer; pop dots elevate hammer and screwdriver and background circles

I was excited to find this wood-grain paper, but elated to find a graph-paper pattern!  My dad always has a pad of graph paper by his chair for sketching and planning projects in the evenings.  I included the white string to complete the card's look; it reminded me of a plumb line.

The card design was based on Sassy Lil' Card Sketches' June 7th Reveal, and I'm including this card in their challenge.

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy!

Fishing Fathers Day Card

Fathers Day is approaching, so I've started getting busy with cards for the dads in my life.  This card is for my father-in-law and is based on CPS Sketch #221:

The inside sentiment reads, "...to a reel good dad."

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5"x5")
• Paper - patterned paper from My Mind's Eye: Bohemia; cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - fishing cuts from Boys Will Be Boys, page 71
• Cuttlebug Embossing - circle background embossed with Swiss Dots
• Other - doodling with white Gelly Roll pen and sky blue and emerald Le Plume II markers; light inking with brown Stampabilities stamp pad on background patterned papers; sentiment printed from my computer

I'm entering this project into the following challenges:

Amber's Crafts & Such - Challenge #13: Special Man
Card Positioning Systems - Sketch #221
Fantabulous Cricut - Challenge #63: #1 Dad

Precious Puppy Farewell Card

My last project tonight is a farewell card to my co-teacher.  I'm not returning to school next year, so I wanted a nice way to show her appreciation for working with me.

We are the Precious Puppies class, so using a puppy on the card was almost required -- and a great way to enter The Pink Stamper's pet challenge.

Cartridges Used:
Boys Will Be Boys
Create a Critter

I haven't written a message inside yet, but I plan a play on words about life being "ruff" without the Puppies class.

My favorite thing about this card is the monochromatic background layers.  All those red patterns are from various scraps, and they just happened to mix well.  I love it when that happens.

I was also inspired by Card Patterns Sketch 114, so I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Card Patterns:  Sketch 114
The Pink Stamper:  NSD Challenge #10 - Pet Card or Layout

Make Tracks Farewell Card

So, you might be addicted to your Cricut if you're back chirping 24 hours after visiting the ER.  (Yep, that would be me.)

The docs told me I had a small asthma attack (a first for me) and bronchitis, probably aggravated by all the pollen and pollution in the air currently.  I got x-rays, a shot, two breathing treatments, and I'm hopped up on steriods and feeling great.  So great it didn't stop me from missing Easter church services or whipping out a quick project tonight!

This card is for my husband's friend who leaves for Afghanistan next month.  He's an Army veteran, but going overseas with a military contractor to support our troops with his information technology skills.

Cartridges Used:
Boys Will Be Boys

I finally used the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge -- it's super cute and can work for a manly card, too.  My hubby helped me with the sentiment, which continues inside to say "...just make sure the tracks lead home soon."  The tank and arrow are on pop dots, and the embossing was done with the Spots and Dots folder by Cuttlebug.  It's hard to see, but there is a polka dot pattern on the green background paper (found at Target's Dollar Spot).  I'd wanted to make some "tank tracks" with black paint and one of my son's trucks, but I ran out of room on the card.  Maybe I can try that idea next time a transportation theme comes along...

I hope you enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it.