Happy Banner Card

Happy Monday!  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.  Mine was really productive, yet restful, so it was just about perfect!

I spent way too much time on Pinterest on Friday and got tons of inspiration.  This card was inspired by several banner-ish cards I saw.  I just love those baby pennants.  I really like anything that's miniature sized.  I am not sure why...

I used a plain white card for the base, then added the strips of patterned paper.

The pennants were cut from the Birthday Bash cartridge, then attached to some twine to string them on the card.  I stamped the letters with clear Versamark ink, then embossed them with white embossing powder.  (In this close up picture, you can sure see all my stray powder that I didn't get wiped off before taking the heat gun to it...)

I cut the white banner by hand, then stamped it using a stamp by The Paper Studio.

I was so excited to use this new paper.  It's from American Crafts and I got it on sale at Michael's.  I think it's quite festive!

Card Recipe:

Base - 5" x 6.5"
Pennants - Birthday Bash, cut at 1.25"
Paper - American Crafts
Letters - Stamps by Stampendous


See ya'll next time....
Cheryl

Masculine Birthday Card

I've mentioned many times before that I really struggle with masculine cards.  I am quite pleased with this one and it was super simple to make.

The base of the card is from Birthday Bash, cut at 4.5", using the Card/Tag feature.

I used Recollections paper for the entire card.

I hand cut the sentiment and stamped it using brown ink and a stamp by Stampendous from Hobby Lobby.

I added a wooden button and some twine on a foam dot for dimension.  That's it!  This card was so easy but I really like it.  I'm thinking I need to make a few more using different papers when I have time...

Have a great Monday!

Cheryl

Top 5 Cartridges

As I've mentioned many times, I am not a fan of bugs.  A few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, my hubby and I sat down on the couch to eat our oatmeal before he went to bed (he works nights).  My desk is in my living room and I have this rolling cart beside it that has a bunch of drawers with stainless steel accents.  I looked across the room and saw this hanging under the bar on top of the cart.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

A praying mantis was perched upside down on the rails.  I start shrieking, like any normal, bug-fearing woman would do.  My husband is like "Zip it and get the camera!".  He thought it was super cool, so he took a ton of pictures before putting him in a cup and letting him go.  Of course, then I got a lesson on how important they are because they eat other bugs and are "so neat and cool".  I still don't like them and their creepy antennae, long legs and beady eyes!  His lesson did not change my mind.  I am still an irrational, bug-fearing gal.

On to more pleasant topics....

Today, I wanted to talk about cartridges.  For a while there, I was buying a new cartridge every month.  I would wait impatiently for Hello Thursday and make my list of what I wanted.  I must admit, I don't feel that way much anymore.  A lot of the new cartridges have been digital or lite and not really things I would use frequently.  I have several older carts that I seem to use on almost every card.  I thought I'd share my favorites with all of you, in case you're in the market for some new carts!  Here goes...

Elegant Edges - Thanks to you all, I bought this cartridge.  I put it off for a long time because I was being cheap, but after all the comments telling me it was good, I went for it.  And I can say, it's probably my favorite cartridge.  If you don't own this one, I would highly recommend it.






Birthday Bash - When I bought this cartridge, I was on the Flaunt it Fridays design team and I needed it for some projects.  I wasn't sure I even wanted it before then, but I figured I could use it eventually.  It's great!  Besides the great cuts for kid's cards, it has good shaped cards and I love the Ice Cream Sundae cut on it!  The font is really nice as well.  It's very versatile and has much more than you'd think at first glance.

Flower Shoppe - Do I even have to explain this one?  My love for flowers is quite obvious if you've been to my blog at all!  I love, love, love the 3D flowers on this cartridge.  This one is tied with Elegant Edges for my most used cart.  Buy it today!!!  You can get a really good deal on it right now at Amazon.  Go HERE to check it out.






Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2 - I {heart} boxes and bags!  The original TBBM was a good cartridge and I used it like crazy.  This one is much more versatile and has some very creative cuts.  I really like the cards and envelopes...although I haven't figured them all out yet!  The scoring blade option is awesome as well, especially when you have to cut 25 bags at a time.




Forever Young - This is just a fun cartridge!  It's girlie, flirty and super cute. The silhouettes  are really nice, but my favorite cuts are the flowers.  They have lots of layers which gives you a great amount of versatility in using them.




These are some of my favorites.  What are yours?  I have a few new ones I want to buy, and Wild Card 2 is on the top of that list.  Have any of you bought/tried that cart?  I'd love to know your feedback.

Have a blessed day!
Cheryl

Wobbly Birthday Card

I'm back again with another cupcake card.  I think I love cupcakes almost as much as flowers....eating them and using them on cards!  It seems like every time I make a birthday card, I want to put a cupcake on it.  I do try to refrain, but sometimes it just happens.

Elephant!

I just love elephants.  Don't you?  Ever since I saw Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel riding an elephant in India, I decided I want my own to ride around on! And I would name him Alfred.  (I think Alfred is a dandy name for an elephant)  I'm really not crazy, I promise.  I just love animals...except for Llamas.  I don't love any animal that even resembles a Llama.  While at a petting zoo as a child, a llama, with hatred in his eyes, viciously spit on me and ruined any love I would ever have for those animals.  I think they are horribly mean creatures.  Wait....How did I get on that subject?

Wobbly Sundae Card

Hello to you all!  I hope your weekend has gone well so far...

My Craft Spot Challenge

I made a card for another challenge - Two in one week!  I can't believe it.  Over at My Craft Spot, the challenge this week is to use a bird in your project, so here's what I came up with:

Birthday Banner

I mentioned in Monday's post that I made a birthday banner over the weekend. My dad is our Pastor at church.  Sunday was his birthday, so they planned a potluck dinner party for him.  I was asked to make a banner to hang up at the party.  Here's what I did...

Birthday Book

Happy, Happy Monday!  Today I want to share a book I made to keep track of birthdays.  I sent out cards to friends and family and to the kids in my class at church on their birthdays.  Last year, I had this tattered list that I kept in my desk and I decided I was sick of looking at that junky piece of paper, so I wanted to make a book.

I bought a bind-it-all last year after months of debating whether I wanted to spend the money or not.  I used it a lot last summer and then went through a spell where I didn’t touch it.  I figured I’d try to make my first book.  Here’s what I came up with...

Back to Normal...

Happy Wednesday!  I feel like it's been forever since I've been around here.  What a busy, busy past few days!  As I mentioned in my previous post, we had been preparing for a big dinner at church on Monday night.  We worked all day Saturday decorating, then worked all day Monday cooking.  I thought it turned out to be a fabulous evening and the dinner got great reviews!  I also have to mention that I have the best pals in the world at church - everyone pitched in and worked until exhaustion to make sure things were just right.  I took Tuesday off to recuperate and now I'm back to normal life, I think.  =) 

I have a bunch of cards to share with you so let's get to the first one...

Yummy Birthday Card

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you’re all having a great day.  I’ve had a leisurely day off work today.  Not by my choice really, but it has been relaxing.  I noticed my eyes were burning Sunday night before I went to bed.  By Monday morning, I looked like I’d been punched in both eyes.  It was awful!  I thought it was allergies but it just got worse over the course of the day.  I finally broke down and went to the clinic and I apparently have conjunctivitis (a.k.a. pink eye) in both eyes.  ICK!  I have no idea how I got it.
They said I could have picked it from a door handle or a pen or any surface, really. Which makes me not want to touch anything…ewww. Anyway, since it’s extremely contagious, my boss told me I should probably go ahead and stay home today so I don’t touch the copy machine, phone or door handle and pass it to a co-worker. Sadly, I do have to go back to work tomorrow. On to the important stuff…
On Tuesdays, I normally highlight the cartridge of the month. However, I will be taking a break from that for October. I have a big list of projects that need to be done, so I’ll be sharing those with you instead. Here’s a birthday card I made this weekend.

The card base measures 5” x 6.5”.  A few weeks ago, Michael’s had packs of 50 cards with envelopes for $3.00 each, so I bought one white and one off-white pack.  I don’t usually use the pre-cut cards, but it’s nice to have them on hand with an envelope ready to go.  The scalloped mat is from Elegant Edges.  I inked the edges of everything with charcoal ink.

The sundae is from Birthday Bash.  I added glossy accents to the cherry and sprinkles to make them shiny.

I stamped the sentiment in clear Versamark ink an embossed it with white embossing powder.

This is the inside of the card.  I used the paper from the outside and punched the plaid piece using a Martha Stewart punch.
Thanks for looking today!  Have a great evening!
Blessings,
Cheryl

Banner Thank You Card

I have yet another thank you card to share with you.  I've been very thankful lately!!  =)  I made this for another friend who helped me with my booth a few weeks ago.
 

 I used all papers from my stash of scraps, so I'm not sure where they all came from.  The cartridge used was Birthday Bash.  It has some great banner cuts on there that I had never noticed before!

I cut the shadow of each pennant in white, then cut the different colored, patterned papers out to layer.  The font is from Birthday Bash as well.  I toyed around with cutting the shadow for each letter, but it seemed too busy. 

I added the banner pieces on foam tape so they would stand out and positioned them across the card evenly.  (If you look closely at the first pic, that didn't work out so well for me!  They're not spaced as perfectly as I'd hoped.)

 I added twine to look like it was holding the banner together.  I tied bows through buttons on each end to "string it up".  For the little {fake} mini brads, I used a black sharpie, made a dot in each corner and then covered with glossy accents so it looked like brads or tacks of some sort. 

 The bottom sentiment was hand cut and handwritten.  Once I was finished, I really thought this card needed something else, but couldn't figure out what??  Suggestions??  I love the colors and brightness of it, it just seems....incomplete.  I am not sure what I could have added, but I'm open to your thoughts on it!

Thanks for looking today!

Blessings,
Cheryl

Poll!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeee...it's Friday!  Has it been a really long week for anyone else?  I am so ready to leave work that it's pathetic.  I think I've been a pretty worthless employee for the last few minutes (moving at a snail's pace), so I thought I'd take a break! 

I've received several emails over the last few weeks from new Cricut users.  One of the questions I've been asked is "I'm just starting out, what are some cartridges you would suggest?"  Wow - there are so many great ones, that's tough!  But, here are my top 5 (in no particular order) along with a creation from each:

1. Paisley - I can remember the week I bought my Cricut, this cart had just come out.  I saw the box and LOVED it instantly.  It's very versatile and has great cuts.  Only one word of caution - it can have lots of layers!

 

2.  Simply Charmed - When this cart first came out, I wasn't sold on it.  I don't like everything to have smiley faces!  But...I found it on sale really cheap and I am so glad I bought it.  I use it like crazy since I've gotten my Gypsy and can hide the faces, if needed.

3. Just Because Cards - I know alot of folks did scrapbooking and then got into cards.  I have always just been a cardmaking kind of gal!  I love the images and word art on this cartridge.

4. Birthday Bash - This is a newer one for me and I'm really loving the cuts!  There are a lot of really cute card bases to choose from that don't have to be used for birthdays.

5. Live Simply (Lite Cartridge) - This has super cute cuts on it!  I have a bunch more projects I've made with it, but I'm working the tutorials now, so hopefully you'll see them soon!

What's really funny is as soon as I finished uploading all these pics, I started changing my mind about my top 5!!  It's so hard to choose.  And I haven't bought new carts in a while, so there are TONS of new ones I want.  Gotta start a list...

So....now that I've shared, I've love to hear from you?  What are your favorite carts?  What would you recommend to a new Cricut crafter?  Leave me a comment and let me know.  I will choose a couple randomly to receive some cards from me!

Have a great afternoon!

Blessings,
Cheryl