Joy Peace Love: Stuck on U Sketches PL Challenge

I hope you all faired well through the holiday season.  A happy new year to you all.  Today's post is from the Stuck on U Sketches Project Life Challenge.  We are to use three journaling strips.

There are so many pictures and stories to tell over the holiday's. I wanted to sum up three major events that happened on my Project Life this week and decided to make them there own page.  First, and sadly, my older brother's Mother in Law passed away.  I knew her since I was a child.  Second, I got to finally go and see the Nutcracker ballet this year.  This is something I wanted to do for years at Christmas.  My niece Amanda took me as my gift. Great gift, huh?  I was thrilled.  Third, my daughter surprised me. She called to tell me she was coming down during the holiday.   We had not made plans to get together this year so it was a dream come true thing for me. 

Digital Project Life. com had free Christmas PL cards on their site,. I decided to use those for this project, for they were pretty plain with traditional colors.  I think all three events spoke to tradition in varying degrees.  The tabs on the bottom introduced the humor of my daughter doing crafts with me.  We made her friends gifts for to take home to them.  I loved showing the messy table, her totally exhausted from what was new activity to her, and the show my Mother would have had us watching had she been here with us, The Golden Girls.  The jewels are from Amy Tangerine's first digital line

 

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: My Pick!

This week at the Cutting Cafe', Regina let us pick our project from her files.  I have two birthdays to celebrate next week, so I opted for a Birthday Card. I have used the Assorted Colors Birthday Background file for years. It is extremely versatile where it fits with Pop, Vintage, Classic and all sorts of other genre.  I opted for Girly this time.

I printed the file and cut a rectangle from it to be centered on a 4 x 6  card.  I wanted to frame the cupcake, so I made one using the outer rim of the rectangle and placing the note shape inside of it in my Silhouette.  I used it printed with the American Crafts Lucky Charm Digital file found at AC Digitals.com.  I cut two of the cupcakes from Echo Park's new I Love Candy digital file, found at Jessica Sprague (It's on sale through 12/31, by the way). I wanted a very plain cupcake to embellish. I hand cut and pop dotted the wrapper on top of the whole file to give it more dimension.  I also glued and glittered the icing to give the card more sparkle.  I tied a bow in a strip of ribbon and glued it on the top of a strip of paper that I had glued on the wrapper to give it more sizzle. 

I can't wait to see what the other designers had for their inspiration this week. Head over to the Cutting Café Blog to see what they came up with.  This is my last post for the Cutting Café.  One can only serve two consecutive quarters.  I have really enjoyed using Regina's files and I recommend them to EVERYONE.  She has plenty of files that do not require anything but scissors, glue and an imagination.  There really is something there for anything you can think of.  My thanks go to Regina for allowing me to take part in the fun. It was an honor to be part of her team.

Happy New Year everyone. May 2014 leave you with laughs and happy memories.

Stuck on U Sketches Die Cut Challenge Reveal: Snowflake

There is nothing quite like the beauty of the snowflake.  Everyone is different yet when put together they color the world in a common background that is just beautiful!  I made this as Christmas Tags, but with other colors they can easily apply to birthday gifts, winter layouts and great cards for warm winter wishes.  For 3 months of the year, this shape is a very versatile design.



Stuck on U Sketches raised the challenge of using a snowflake in any type of project.  The Very Merry Tags cartridge by Cricut made these very easy to make for you just cut two shapes and glue on the other which is great for mass design.  I made these while visiting with my daughter in about an hour.   Easy peasy and very cute on the red and white snowflake wrapping paper I used this year.

Head over to the SOU blog to see what the other designers came up with.  Even if you don't  love snow, you will love these designs.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Wine Bottle

This week at the Cutting Café, our inspiration was wine.  Regina has some great glass and bottle files that will help you ring in the new year well.  I opted for the Wine Bottle Shaped Card for my project.

I have wanted to use the ombre color patterns in the Silhouette Design Studio software for I think it is great for a glassy look. So the bottle was colored using the ivy green type color.  I also used it for the gold band around the neck of the bottle.  I used a Glitz Design pattern for the label and typed the new year sentiment on the page using the text feature with "no cut". I made the sentiment in the card using the same technique.   The only thing I had to add to it was a ribbon and it made a really cute New Years card.

 Head over to the Café' Blog on Wednesday and see what the other designers came up with. I am sure you will find some real inspiration there.  

I am not an avid wine drinker but have been known to have a glass of Merlot a time or two.  They say wine is good for your heart and  that a glass a day is actually good for you.  Now that is happy health keeping!  Happy New Year everyone!  Cheers!

Stuck on U Sketches Project Life Challenge: Use a Tabbed Card

This week's challenge at Stuck on U Sketches for project life, was to use a tabbed card. Now that was a challenge for a digital page, but low and behold I found one....sort of. It is actually a whole card, but it looks like a tabbed card on a background.  If to use paper, that would be the optimal solution for incorporating it into the standard card shape.

I fell in love with this picture of my niece when she was younger.  I am not sure if she meant to make that face or if it was her first ice cream headache.  I wanted to put the picture on the page, of course, but I also wanted to thank the person who took it, for it always makes me smile when I see it.

Since there was only one photo for this page, I decided to go with a 8.5 x 11 digital template that I got at AC Digitals.I I love to stack my pages in albums and carried this concept into my project life book.  The template can now be found at DigitalProjectLife.com.   I got the Digital Maggie Holmes paper set at AC Digital as well as the Amy Tangerine Yes Please set. 

 

Cutting Cafe Inspiration

Well I just can't stop making these Cutting Café Ornaments. I found another quickie one and I like this one even better than the last.  This was from the same cut file, which was the 3D Ornament Gift Set. I call it a gift set because the box to present them even comes with this file!



 

I used the Echo Park This and That Christmas set to make these. I cut two pages of the file so I could make a front and back, so the ornament would make a full circle.  I glued two circles back to back, then another two, and chose a different patterned paper that I glued on the ornament.,  You would not believe how sturdy this thing is with just those layers.  I was going to put  a flower on it but I didn't want to cover the plaid pattern. I loved how it contrasted with the flower pattern.  So, I opted for a non traditional ribbon color to give it more pop.  Regina is really turning me on to the use of Ribbon in my designs.  Lots to learn though. She is the master!

Head over to the Cutting Café  Blog and find what other ornament inspiration you can find.  You too, may find the perfect thing to fill that hole in your tree that is driving you crazy....lol.

Ornament

This week's Stuck on U Sketches Die Cut Challenge was to use an ornament.  I have always loved those paper strip ornaments, since I learned how to make them in grade school with construction paper.

 

I found the cut file at The Cutting Café.  The file even comes with the gift box to put it in.  How sweet is that.  I added flower and a ribbon bow and the project was done.  I can see how these can be made for a whole tree very quickly.  I printed the paper from the Echo Park Christmas Reflections set.



Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Oh Christmas Tree...

This week's inspiration at the Cutting Cafe' is Christmas Trees.  Regina has a plethora of designs to choose from in this category. Here is a little tidbit of knowledge not everyone knows. I learned the tradition of the Christmas tree was for each individual household to prepare their temple to honor Jesus.  Red representing the blood, and white, the purity.  I always  put red ribbons and white lights on my tree for that reason.  I used Regina's Christmas Card Fun for the inside sentiment and the Christmas Sentiments Shapes.  I just love the script on the tree.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the SVG files.  The background paper used the Christmas Reflections Digital line I picked up at Jessica Sprague.com. I have really been enjoying that set this holiday. It is very diverse. I edged the tree and back ground in Shabby Shutters Distress Ink by Tim Holtz/Ranger. I had some left over bling in yellow and ruby so I added those to the tree. I decided to add a little depth to the card by popping up the tree on pop dots and creating a zig-zag border using the Silhouette Designer Studio software.  The card itself is from Bazzill Paper.  I printed out the Sentiments from the Christmas Card Fun set on white paper so it would stand out.

If you are like me, and putting up your tree this week, then head over to the Cafe' blog and see what everyone came up with.  Inspiration is everywhere this time of year.  Happy Holidays everyone!

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Christmas Boxes

Happy Holidays everyone.  The season has begun.  I found my inspiration this week at the Cutting Café.  I used Regina's Stocking Treat Box to make this holder for candy sticks I plan on bringing to the office, to have on my desk,  over the holiday's.  I made the smaller set as the larger works with the Cameo, which I don't have. (sniff, sniff).

I used Samantha Walkers digital paper line from Jessica Sprague and my Silhouette SD to cut out the pattern.  It goes together really easy. I love how Regina made a background shape to go behind the stocking for it gives the box a lot of sturdiness. 

I made the box so the pattern would be on the inside then made more strips to go on the outside of the box so it would be colored inside and out. 

I took the pdf sentiment from the Stocking Box set, selected this sentiment and created a png file  to make the tag. I dragged the knife across the bottom of the tag to give it the zig zag shape.  The lace was from stash. I glued it under and over the stocking topper to give it more dimension.  This whole project only took me half an hour.  Regina has a ton of these treat boxes for all holidays. If you are looking for a quick put together,  These are it.

Head over to the Café Blog to see what the other designers came up with as their inspiration.  I am sure you won't be disappointed.  This team is awesome!

Stuck On U Sketches Die Cut Challenge: Numbers

Ever since I heard the song "December the 25th" from the 1970's movie Scrooge, I have always loved to see the number 25 on Christmas projects.  It inspired the same excitement as my birth day which is 7.   I think it was because I thought Jesus's birthday really was on that day.  I later learned that no one really knows when it was for sure, but I pretend it is definitely on the 25th. 

This week's inspiration at Stuck On U Sketches is to use numbers.  I remembered that Cricut had a cartridge that had a number in it, and I need to be making my Christmas cards...lol,

I used the Teresa Collin's December 25th  and Basic Cartridges.  I have been wanting to try a background textured card and thought this would be a good chance to give it a shot. The trefoil background is from the Basics Cartridge.  The other cuts are from the Dec. 25th cart.  I discovered that incredible flourish which totally escaped me last year. I clipped an arm off of the snowflakes so they would not overlap the frame. I compensated for that by using snowflake brads I picked up at my local scrapbook store last year, but never used.  I found them the other day, and was thrilled. I used Core Coordination cardstock and a little bling. 

You know, the Cricut was a good investment for me.  I spend very little money to make my creations and though they may not look like showroom gaga projects but, I think they are ok for my purposes.  I have found that limited budgeting has inspired more creativity in me.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Holiday Planner

Ho, ho, ho, everyone!  It is time for Holly to organize herself, now that we are down to 4 weeks left until Christmas.  I still have quite a bit of shopping to do and plenty of cards yet to make.  I found this Holiday Planner at The Cutting Cafe' and just love it. I used it for years prior to my computer crash of 2012 and I really missed it.  I used the cheery Cosmo Cricket "Jolly by Golly" digital line to make this.

I kept the entire album flat, including the cover, as it will be carried in my purse and embellishments would have been likely to fall off.  I use Julie Fan-Fei Balzer's idea of the wrap closure where the ribbon is glued to the book, then wrapped around the brad. In hindsight, a thinner ribbon would have worked best around the snowflake brad, or a round brad with this one would have been better too.  But the snowflake was too cute, and I just love pink and gold and bought the gold polka dot ribbon just for this album.  I used ring binding to keep the planner flexible enough, where I can add pages if needed.

 

I am famous for forgetting when I am going where during this season, so I made a calendar section where I could see the month and keep a list of each party and their dates

Regina thinks of everything. She even included the list pages for you to print and add to the planner. I like to keep track of which card went to who each year, so I don't duplicate the ones I send to individuals.  I make different cards for each person each year and it  is impossible to keep track as to who already got what designs already.

 

My gift list allows me to track where each gift was bought, so when I am piling through the receipts for returns, I know what store I am looking for. It also helps me know what I am shopping for.

 

 

I found it very useful to have a notes page, for I can't go to a party without leaving with someone's new cell phone, address or recipe.  I also note things I would like as I am shopping and ideas for holiday things to do as I hear about them.

 

Now, no planner is complete without a place to tuck receipts. I made a pocket going the length of the cover to place programs, pictures and tickets in the front for scrapping and, receipts  will go in the back. I made a special  envelope for my hubbie's gift receipts to hide them later in the event that he goes rifling through it to look for one for someone else.

So now I am ready to go for Friday's shopping mayhem.  Wish me luck!  For now, I am going to head over to the Cafe' blog to see what the other designers have created. I just love seeing what inspires them.  Seriously, can you get enough ideas at this time of year?.... LOL.

I wish all of you and your families a wonderful Holiday week. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

Stuck on U Sketches Project Life Challenge: Glitter

Stuck on U Sketches has a fun project life challenge this week that stretches the project life scrapper's capabilities.  In fact, this is the first project life sample I have ever seen with glitter. I am sure they are out there, but I haven't seen them yet.  I like thinking outside the box and this idea has taken  my PL project beyond just interesting cards and papers.  Why not add texture?  I never thought of that.

 

My niece recently moved here to NC from OH,  She met a wonderful guy and they have been dating since they met.  Her mother was not too thrilled about it.  I found the dynamic interesting and wanted to scrap the dilemma.  She has not met him yet, but when she does, I know she will love him like everyone else does. He treats her like gold and she is actually showing genuine interest in him too.  

This is a digital project as all of my project life projects are.  I find if I keep this easier medium, I will keep up with it better.  I have missed a few weeks, but have actually kept up fairly well.   This project used the 5th and Frolic collection from Dear Lizzy/American Crafts Digital set I got a AC Digitals. Carina Gardner had the digital frames in Glitter.  They come in other colors, but if you follow me, you know I LOVE pink.    If you think  digital scrapping makes you miss out on all of the fun textures and dimension of paper scrapping, you need to relook at today's products out there for digital.  There is a plethora of items that you can use to add depth to your projects.  You just need Photoshop Elements a few templates and a BUNCH of digital files. You will find it to cost a lot lessm even with having your pages printed.  I get mine done through the Jessica Sprague print house.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Turkey Shaped Card File

I guess it is time to say...Happy Holidays all!  This week I used the Cutting Cafe's Turkey Shaped Card file to make my  Thankful layout for the year.  I will take pictures of my family and place the best in the 4 frames on the page, so they are left them blank for now.

 I made this using Bazzill cardstock and a few scraps I had in the all consuming box of scraps I have accumulated.  I loved  the Glitz design paper and thought it was just the ticket for a colorful spread of feathers.  The cards are from the Cinnamon collection. I printed them and my printer ran them in two tone. I went with this because it sort of matched the other papers better than the normal brown would have.  The flower border was from Silhouette.  The frames are from the Small Talk Cricut cartridge.  I will journal on the white parts around my picture

Head over to the Cutting Cafe blog to see what the other designers have done.  I am simply amazed at their projects every week.  I am grateful to Regina for letting me be on that team.

Stuck On U Die Cut Challenge: Food

Well this week's topic at the Stuck On U Sketches die cut challenge was right up my ally.  Food!
My niece asked me to teach her how to make an apple pie.  So we made a day of it.

These were papers that I bought from the Recollection collection at Michaels. They had a 4/$1.00 sale last week so I couldn't resist.  I also bought a gold cardstock piece that I used for accents like the underline under the word pie.  I printed out the banner from one of Jessica's papers and hand cut the banners individually.  The title was made using Cricut's new Library Fonts cartridge. I haven't bought a font cart in over 7 years, but could not resist this one.  I made the journal library pocket using a Silhouette die cut and the apple,  pie and canisters were cut using the Farmhouse collection that I picked up at AC Digitals. 

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: The Step Card

I often forget that cards don't always have to fold in half.  Regina at The Cutting Café has several Step Cards that are a lot of fun to make.  In fact this whole card, except for the trees, came from the Café.  Talk about dimension.  The steps require little embellishing but provide a lot of pop.

I used Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly digital papers and my silhouette to cut the card and it's design elements.  I used the Christmas Pocket Bags cut file with the snowflake cut out to hold the tag that has the sentiment.  If you have the Cameo, you can make this card big enough for a gift card.  How cute would that be?  I used a sentiment from the  Christmas Card Fun sentiments page to put on the tag.  The snowmen are from the Snowman Family Shape Card printable topper.  (The card is very cute too) I imported them into the Silhouette to cut them out.  The trees were a Silhouette file. 

Head over to the Café blog to see what the other designers have put on their cards and maybe find your inspiration to step you right into the holiday spirit.

 

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Pizza Box

Greetings all.  Christmas greetings that is.  This week's inspiration at The Cutting Café is Regina's Pizza Box cut file.  Boy will I be using this a lot. This file comes with inserts where it can be divided into two  or four sections.  It is great for what not gifts.  I also see myself using it after the holidays for button, brad and eyelet storage.  This is a very handy cut file. 

I made this using Echo Parks Reflections Christmas papers.  I love the retro feel.  I die cut the box and made strips to act as ribbon.  I used Cricut's  Art Philosophy to make the banner ribbon for the center. The santa medallion is from the Echo Park collection.  I made the sheet music flowers from a Silhouette print and cut file.  The holly leaves were from a Silhouette Echo Park cut file they had last year.   I used brown bakers twine to give it that vintage look for the bow.   Here are a few more details...

So, head over to the blog and see what the other designers have come up with.  You will see how useful and diverse this file can be.  You may be inspired to pic this one up yourself. :)

 

Stuck On U Sketches Die Cut Challenge: Banner

This week at Stuck On U Sketches there is a great die cut challenge.  Make a banner.  Now I know you may be saying...what can I do with that?  My answer is you would be surprised.  I am going to use this one for  my cubicle at work.

 

 

 

I used the new Echo Park  Reflections Christmas collection. I got the digital set at Jessica Sprague.com.  That woman should love me by now.  I printed the papers and made the die cuts using Art Philosophy by Cricut. The flowers are from the Echo Park collection too.  I brought them into my Silhouette Studio software and made them into die cuts.  I made the circles around the holes using the Silhouette too.  I added a few pop dots, a little bling and called it done. 

If you are looking for a great Christmas decoration that is very easy to make, this project may be the  one you need.  It goes together very quickly.

Pride and Joy

I had fun this weekend. I bought some new toys.  I splurged and got the Small Talk Frames and Tags cartridge that you can only get at Michaels and the Cosmo Cricket Sweet Disposition digital set at Jessica Sprague. You can only get that and 2 other lines this weekend.  I think they are Campy Trails and Nutmeg.

I had great fun making this because the cartrige has backgrounds, frames, tags, journal spots and even decorative icons you can put on a page. I got he back drop for the photo from Cricut's When I Was a Kid cartrdidge. Another cart for scrapbook page goodness.  I added a little ribbon, bling and glitter and called it done.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Grateful

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that everyone  wants to decorate and if you are like me, I get lost in how to go about it so it will have a more mod appeal.  Cornucopia's and pumpkins are old school and standby's but I like to focus on the meaning of the holiday and celebrate the gathering of Family.    Regina had a Grateful Shape Card file that I thought would be perfect for  the buffet I set up on the counter.  I am going to add a few framed photos around it to show my sentimentality.

I used the Maggie Holmes paper collection that I got at AC Digitals.  The black turned into purple after a day or so, but I thought that was ok,. My dishes are white so the color will probably add something to the overall look.  I punched the small flowers using my Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, added a little bling in the center and called it done.  Head on over to the Café Blog and see how the other designers showed their gratefulness.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Photo Props for the Halloween Party

Oh gosh ya'll.  This is the coolest set ever.  I used The Cutting Cafe's Halloween Photo Booth Props set to make these toys for the Halloween Party we are hosting this year.  Warning!  Once you get started you just can't stop!  I had fun dressing them up and made some plain ones for the guys so they would take part too. The hardest part about these is photographing them to show your friends.

 

So head on over to The Cutting Café and grab the Halloween Photo Booth Props set for your Halloween festivities. I am sure everyone will have a ball with them and you will really make some great adult scrappy photos!

Pumpkin Festival Fun

Stuck on U Sketches has a great challenge this week.  We are to use Autumn elements in clusters on our projects.  I went to the Pumpkin Festival held in a town near me with my niece and Stepson's girlfriend, and we had a blast. 

 

I used Lori Whitlock's new Happy Harvest papers that I printed from the digital set I got at Jessica Sprague.com when it was introduced.  I had fall papers, but just fell in love with the polka dots and gingham and found it perfect for the tone of the day and the girly girl outing.  I used my Silhouette to die cut the elements and title and Photoshop to size the papers down to 8.5 x 11, though I could have done it on the Silhouette as well.  I knew I had to use that Pumpkin Banner, so I strung it on embroidery floss and stapled ribbon in between them to give it more pizazz.  This project was a lot of fun. I just love Fall.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Halloween Pillow Box

Hi all!

This week's inspiration at The Cutting Café was to make a Halloween pillow box.  Regina has a lot of designs to choose from so it was really tough to select just one.  We have had a lot of fuzzy black spiders (Husband swears they are not black widows) in our house this year and I have been chasing cobwebs for weeks now.  So the Spider Pillow Box really seemed like a good fit for this Halloween.



I used the Echo Park Apothecary paper set for the box and frame around the spider.  Yes, the files even come with the frames around the image!  I know ribbon loving Regina may be cringing a little, but I made a paper bow for the top out of a Silhouette die cut.  I figured this will go into my grandson's Halloween Bag with a lot of candy and once seen, details will be forgotten on such a big night. Why waste precious ribbon.  The star is actually a charm die cut also cut on my silhouette dazzled with a little glitter and a white shadowing to give it more emphasis. 

If you like decorating your Halloween treats or making Halloween cards, you really should visit the café.  The selection is plentiful and adorable. The hardest part about them is selecting which one..giggle.  Happy Halloween everyone.

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Crazy Candy Corn Set

Boo everyone!  Regina has a new Halloween set, Crazy Candy Corn Set, that is just adorable.  I couldn't stop once I started making these cute little candy goblins. 

 

 

I cut out the three candies, not sure which would look best on the card.  I then made tags with the other two, well because, I just had to. They were too cute!  I used Echo Park's Apothecary pattern set I got at Jessica Sprague.  That woman is saving me a ton of money on paper.  I actually made the card background with Photoshop where all I had to do was pop up the argyle square and then the mummy corn,  Regina has a lot of Halloween goodies that are just plain cute, not scary.  Little ones will love them on cards, tags, boxes and even in their lunch box for messages or bookmarks.  Go and grab a set at The Cutting Café for yourself and make something spooky cute!

Stuck on U Sketches Die Cut Challenge: Magic

This week's challenge at Stuck on U Sketches was to create something with the theme of Magic. I made  a Halloween card.for my DH. For our love to last this long, like it has, is magic to me.  I still get excited when his car comes up the driveway.

I printed the papers from Apocothary by Echo Park. I picked the set up last year at Jessica Sprague.com.  I shrunk them down, from their 12 x 12 size, in Photoshop so they would be card sized.  I used a Silhouette cut file to make the jars of ghoul things and glossed them with Glossy Accents.  It didn't help the photo,  but they look great on the card.  I dusted the title area with glitter which also doesn't show well in picture. The frog is a Silhouette design. I just used more Halloween colors than the pink and green their design showed.  The swirl flourish was in my scrap bin. It was part of Cricut frame that had gone bad on another project.  I knew I could use it  I also printed and cut the shelf using the Silhouette wood pattern and glossed that up as well to ground those shiny jars.  No sense for a witch to have a dusty house. She can do magic! ;)

 

 

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Chinese Take Out Box

Hi everyone.  Ever have those little something somethings that you just aren't sure how to wrap?  Things like lip glosses, stickers, eye shadows are hard to wrap, especially at Christmas where things just get lost under the tree.   The Cutting Café has a Chinese take out box cut file that is just perfect for these types of gifts.  Here is one I made as I prepare for the holidays.

I used the Graceful This and That by Echo Park papers that I printed from a file that I got at Jessica Sprague.com.  I made the rose and leaves on my Silhouette and the Chinese Take /Out Box cut file from The Cutting Café.  I hand cut the tag and glued the left over handle to it to give it more umph.  This really turned out cuter than I thought it would.  There are all sorts of ways to decorate these boxes using not only  flowers but, bunches of stacked ribbons, stickers on pop-dots, accordion rosettes, buttons,  etc.  Grab this file for yourself and see what you can dream up.  Have some fun!

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Fall

I LOVE Fall.  The smells, the trees, the festivals, the foods all bring me back to life after our hot Southern Summers.  This week, I chose my love of the season to create a card for my refrigerator to remind me that cooler weather is near.   The Cutting Café has an Acorn Shaped Card cut file that I used to create the card.

 

I printed the papers from the Cinnamon Project Life  Collection that I got at AC Digitals.  I used the Martha Stewart Leaf Punch to make the leaves that went into the inner circle and used a pop dot to adhere them so they would stand out.  I also pop dotted the ribbon beneath them. I wanted to make it a little more homey, so I tucked lace under the cap.   I used part of one of the sentiments that came with the design for the word Fall and just hand cut the banner.  It has been so long since I hand cut anything I had to laugh.  If I had to take a kindergarten test of using scissors I probably would not pass I am so out of practice...lol.

Regina has a lot of files to celebrate the upcoming season and holidays.  Head over to the Café and see what can inspire you.

Stuck on U Sketches Die Cut Challenge: Stars

Boo!  I am getting really excited about the upcoming Holiday Season.  This week's challenge at Stuck on U Sketches is to make something with stars.  I opted to make this luminary for Halloween. After that holiday I can take off the witch and add pumpkins, then take those off and, make something  for Christmas in the center.  The red on the Rosette is really more of a rusty red. Camera's mixed with Photoshop do funny things to colors.The Graphic 45 paper really will spread across all holidays.  Who knew?  It was in my stash.

I used the Independence Day Luminary cut file from Cricut. I haven't used my Expression 2 in a while, but this design really has some versatility. Besides the luminary, you can use the sides as Scrapbook page backgrounds, the rosette alone was worth the $1.99 I paid for the file.  It cut well and quick.  The witch is from A Child's Year.  Boy, that cartridge really comes in handy when you just need a certain something,

Cutting Cafe Inspiration: All about Boys

This layout is using inspiration for The Cutting Cafe's, All About Boys Printable Stamp set and the Funny Car  card tops for embellishment  The theme for this week is All About Boys. My Grandsons are the very best of  friends and I love capturing that in photos.

 

the base for this paper was made using various Glimmer Mists on White paper to give it texture, while still looking like a white background.  I used Silhouette colors and Photoshop to recolor the Stamps from black to teal and yellow. I matted the pictures in black and grounded it with two ribbon stripes made out of TA Glimmer Mist and seam ribbon I have on a a large spool.  The picture printed funny as my cartridge in the printer is about to die out on me,. But I really liked the effect and how it blended with the art.  The car, Banner and Banner Title are from the Cutting Café Set.  I joined the two rows of ribbon by sewing embroidery floss in parallel lines.

There are a lot of items at the café that are perfect for scrapping pages quickly.  If  I hadn't waited for the ribbon to dry over night, the whole project only took 45 minutes!  Love the Cutting Café! 

Cutting Cafe File: Party Bus

Hello to all.  Hope you have all had a good week.  This weeks inspiration at the Cutting Café, for me, was a party bus.  My Daughter went to a music festival this weekend, which makes me think of hippies and peace signs.  Regina has a Bus Shaped Card file that  fit perfectly for this card that I made to welcome her home.. 



I used patterns that were in my Silhouette. I think the paper is from The Sweetest Thing by Lori Whitlock.  The flower was a Silhouette design.  I imported Regina's Party Bus sentiment into my Silhouette and created the sentiment banner using the Rectangle shape tool and the knife tool for the wavy end. I love the Silhouette Designer Studio version I purchased. It has so many more options than the standard version. I have been a big fan of The Cutting Café for years. Regina's files go together quickly and are just adorable.  Check out the site if you haven't been.  You will be amazed at her variety. Even if you just have a printer you can make her designs.

SOU Die Cut Challenge: Gate

Hello!  This week's die cut Challenge at Stuck on U Sketches is to use a gate.  My niece has wanted to visit our local wineries and I had a friend's son who was playing in a band at one of them. We saw the perfect opportunity to check it out.  She asked a friend to come who brought another friend. We had a great time.

I used Jenny Bowlin's Magpie Papers printed from the set I bought at Jessica Sprague. I just love Jenny's style. It is simple and understated.  I printed two of the patterns and cut one in half, tucking it in at the top and bottom. Voila! I then had a 10" square to go on my dark green background. I also printed a Jenny Bowlin tag I used scrap paper and cut rolled roses out using pinking shears.  I used my roll and crush method, I love how they end up looking like crushed flowers.  The gate and fence were cut using a Silhouette pattern. It had the flowers in the design.  I also used wood icons for the camera and good times sentiment.  The tag was cut from a Maggie Holmes set I got at AC Digitals.  The title is a combination of Cosmo Cricket alphas and the Prima alpha stamp sets I have come to love.  The scrolling was cut using my Sizzix. I am haven't used them in years.  They actually have dust on them in the drawer where I keep them.  We often forget what we have.  The buttons were also from Jenny Bowlin. I punched out the holes and tied some embroidery floss on them.  To add a little more dimension to the page, I edged it in shabby Shutters Distress Ink by Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in gold.  I also used a prima mask in the upper right corner and sprayed over it with gold, but it really didn't show up that well over the pattern on the paper.

 

Cutting Cafe: Calendar

Hi all!  The Cutting Café has great files for gifting.   Besides bags, boxes, tags and even ribbons, Regina even has the gifts themselves, such as stationary, a birthday organizer, holiday planning books and this little gem, a desktop calendar printed from Regina's files and the base unit that Regina also offers.  I made this as a Christmas gift for a co-worker. 

I am getting a lot of use out of the Maggie Holmes, printable papers that I bought at AC Digital.com.  I used a dark pink solid background and printed 2 copies. I made two files of the SVG file Regina provides, mirroring each other so I could glue them back to back to make the stand more sturdy. I also made two of the bottom pieces and glued them to either side of chipboard I had cut as well, again to make it more sturdy.  I die cut the framed flower twice and used one as the whole unit, then another where I used the tools in Silhouette Design Studio to cut only the frame. I used pop dots to lift off of the original, which gave the unit more dimension.  To also add dimension, I added the pearls down the side. I punch flowers from another Maggie Holmes paper using Martha Stewart's Hydrangea punch (the small one) and her leaf punch as well.  I tied two lengths of lace to each ring.  I am pretty pleased with the results.  I sure hope my co-worker likes it too.





Cutting Cafe Inspiration: Boo!!

This week's inspiration project at the Cutting Café was one of our choice.  I am getting into the Fall mood, so I decided to make Halloween Card #1.   Ever since I was a little girl I always doodled pumpkins on fences with ghosts and bats.  This project came easy for me.  When I saw this  file I actually giggled and said this is what will be my project.



I printed off some paper using my Silhouette Patterns and went to town. I used the Cutting Cafe's Halloween Basic Shapes as SVG files and cut them out on my Silhouette.  I gave the ghost some glimmer with glitter to get that opal look and gave him a cute little orange bowtie using the 50 cent ribbon at Micheal's.  I popped up the ghosts and the bat to give the card a little dimension.

Regina has some really cute Halloween products on her site. If you are having a party, giving treats at the office or just want to make some things for your own little monsters, you will love her selection.  Head over to the Café and see what creepy, scary, crawly thing you can create.

SOU Die Cut Challenge

Hello all!  This week, Stuck on U Sketches has set the task of using borders on a project. I opted to do a layout and added a challenge for myself of using colors I would not normally put together but had seen in an add.  I opted for Pink and Aqua with burgundy.  Ruby was our dog.  He lived outside on our Farm and when my niece moved here, she thought Ruby needed to be rescued from outdoor living.  She is spoiling the dog rotten and admit, she is having a much better life now.  Amanda is great with dogs.  Every picture taken of Ruby shows her smiling now.  When her parents came down they took to her right away too. This is Amanda and her Mom with the now "little darling".

I have had these papers for years. and the labels were cut off, so I am not sure who made them. The stamps set is an old one two. I am finding flourishes behind flowers is a great look.  I am not sure you can see the border on the left too well, since it is dark, but I folded it,  as if to make a rosette and let it hang down the side, gluing only the top and a button at the top.  The title was cut using a Cricut Font and the Tim Holtz Market font die cut by Sizzix.  The borders were made using Martha Stewarts heart border punch and her Fence punch.  The paper under the tear on the background matt is by Maggie Holmes.  I edged everything in Mahogany using the Tim Holtz Distress ink pad.