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

Floral Celebrate / Birthday Card

I followed a fun sketch at Die Cuttin' Divas this morning to make a birthday card for my mother-in-law.  Here's my resulting card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5x5")
• Papers - patterns from My Mind's Eye: Simply Delightful; cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - flower from Forever Young, page 73
• Embossing - black background and aqua flower center with Cuttlebug's Bloom Dots; pink flower petals with Cuttlebug's Musical Flourish; ribbons with The Paper Studio's Doodle Borders
• Other - inking with orange Colorbox ink pad; flower, background, and sentiment on pop dots

I'm totally in love with these papers from My Mind's Eye and have been looking for the perfect card to feature them.  I think it turned out quite nice!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Birthday Sundaes: Challenge #37 - Anything Goes
Die Cuttin' Divas: Challenge #43 - Weekly Sketch

Simple 40th Birthday Card

I'm easing my way back into crafting with a simple birthday card for my brother-in-law.  He turns the big 4-0 next week, so what colors are more appropriate than somber black and silver?

 

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5x5")
• Papers - silver cardstock by Bazzil Bling; all others are The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - font from Doodletype
• Cuttlebug Embossing - Happy Birthday
• Other - red brads from 7 Gypsies - Angelo; "40" on pop-dots

Masculine cards are difficult for me, and I wish this card had turned out better.  But my bro-in-law likes minimalist things, so hopefully he'll like it.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Birthday Sundaes:  Challenge #22 - It's All About the Brads
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC #16 - Embossing

Happy Birthday Sherbert Sundae Card

I'm so happy to be back!  I had a great visit with my friend and her son, but I was eager to unpack and reassemble my craft area this morning.  I think I was suffering from papercrafting withdrawal!  My guys slept in, so I had time to make this clean and simple birthday card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights (A2)
• Papers - green stripe from American Crafts Play paperpack; textured papers from Bazzil Bling; all others from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - sundae from Birthday bash, page 57
• Cuttlebug Embossing - whipped cream with D'vine Swirls; orange fruit with Spots & Dots
• Other - ribbon by CelebrateIt Basic Narrows; sentiment stamp by Hampton Ink; inking with Colorbox orange and green petal point ink pads; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen

I love these colors -- I can almost taste the orange sherbert and smell the mint leaf!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Amber's Crafts and Stuff:  Challenge #18 - Embossing
Birthday Sundaes:  Challenge #17 -  Orange, Green & White
CAS-ual Fridays:  Challenge #11 - Sweets & Treats
Cricut Cardz Challenge #83 - Birthday Card for Grandparent

Birthday Fishes Wishes Card

I hope you all had a great Independence Day!  Our family had a relaxing day at home, and I had a little time tonight for crafting.

This card is for my father-in-law's birthday later this week.  He enjoys tending his aquarium, so I decided to make him a fishbowl card.

Card Details:

• Card Base - fishbowl from Create a Critter, page 43, cut at 4 inches; secured with brad
• Papers - textured cardstock by Bazzil Bling; all other cardstock from scraps; distressed brown paper from My Mind's Eye - Simply Delightful
• Cricut Cuts - from Create a Critter: fishbowl and fish, page 43; starfish, page 41 (accessory)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - water with D'vine Swirls; fish (Layer 1) with Swiss Dots
• Other - brad by 7 Gypsies - Angelo; sentiment printed from my computer; fish and starfish on pop dots; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; inking with Colorbox yellow and cyan ink pads

Without a Gypsy, I can't make shaped cards too easily -- but my solution is making a card held together by brads.  It's different, but I like it. :)

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

BBTB2 Challenge:  Life Is a Beach / Starfish Challenge
Birthday Sundaes:  Challenge #16 - Anything Goes
Fantabulous Cricut:  Challenge #67 - Pool Time

Two Cards Recognized

I feel on top of the world this morning -- two of my cards were recognized on challenge blogs this week!

The Fathers Day card my son and I made for hubby was in the Top 3 at Cooking with Cricut for their Fathers Day challenge.

And the pink and orange birthday presents card was chosen as a Super Sundae at Birthday Sundaes for their embossing challenge.

This recognition means so much to me as a new papercrafter!  It makes my day knowing that talented, experienced ladies thought my card was pretty cool!

Sweet Kitten Birthday Card

My mom is here and the Cricut has been a-chirpin'!  She opened her Kate's ABC cartridge, and it didn't take long for me to borrow it for this sweet kitten card.  (When I say "not long", I mean...like, 2 minutes.)

Card Details:

• Card Base - shaped card by Studio G (5" diameter)
• Papers - patterned paper by Colorbok; aqua paper by My Mind's Eye: Simply Delightful; purple and green cardstock from scraps; textured cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - kitten/flower/butterfly from Kate's ABCs, page 53; scalloped background from Elegant Edges, pages 23 and 50
• Cuttlebug Embossing - cat with D'vine Swirls
• Other - doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; inking edges with ultramarine and lavender Le Plume II markers and purple Colorbox ink pad; sentiment stamp by Hampton Ink; ribbon by Basic Narrows.

The cat's tail was connected to the grass cut originally on Kate's ABCs, but I clipped them apart so I could have the tail come around the front of the sentiment stamp.  Also, I was having such a hard time with the bow that my mom tied it for me.  She's so great at bows!

I'm submitting this card to Birthday Sundaes Challenge #14 - Shaped Card.

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.