Creative Cuts and More Celebrating Women Blog Hop!!

Thank you for stopping by today! Weren't Kayla's projects great? If you arrived at my blog first, be sure to start at the Die Cut Divas blog so you don't miss anyone! There is also a sale going on this week at Creative Cuts and More. Use code woman0310 at checkout to save 15% off your order. This expires March 15, 2010.

I have two projects to share with your today. The first is a mini gift bag. This could be used for a friend or sister you haven't seen in a while. You can fill it with their favorites - candy, lotions, nail polish, gift certificate...anything! I used the Square Bag #01 Color - Tropical Breeze - Bazzill Smoothies, but you can select a variety of colors with this die cut. I also used the Killer Red Tacky Tape. I love this tape, you don't have to worry about your project falling apart!

*This will be featured in the Aug/Sept '10 issued of Simply Handmade*

On my second project I used the Match Box Large - Color Berry Sensation - Bazzill Smoothies (once again you can chose from a large number of colors) and Killer Red Tacky Tape. When I applied the rubons I did this before assembling the box so that I had a nice hard surface to work with. You can also include candies, trinkets etc as a little surprise when opened. Next on the hop is Chris Dickinson! I have also listed everyone on the hop below.

Die Cut Diva - http://die-cut-diva.blogspot.com/

Noelle Reese - http://noellescrapsalot.blogspot.com/

Kayla Dupont - http://dream-bielieve-imagine-mustangkayla.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Hansen http://www.jenniferhansenscrapgallery.blogspot.com/ (me!)

Chris Dickinson - http://www.chrissyd723.blogspot.com/
Stephany Zerbe http://stephzerbedesign.blogspot.com/
Carly-Ann Stubbs - http://www.sweetncrafty.blogspot.com/

Holly Brown - http://glitterstampsandink.blogspot.com/

A Bit of Everything...

Here are some more cards I've made recently. I hadn't felt like I've gotten much created lately, but then realized I had a bunch I need to get photographed, written up and posted, so apparently I have been more creative then I thought.

This has Bazzill ribbon, Creative Cafe buttons, Fancy Pants Frosted papers, Jillibean Soup journaling spot, EK Success border punch and SRM stickers - Hello Quick Card collection.

On this card I used Bazzill embossed cardstock and buttons, October Afternoon Very Merry paper, Doodlebug sticker and American Crafts rubons.

This card has Bazzill cardstock and ribbons, Creative Cafe buttons, some more Fancy Pants Frosted paper, EK Success border punch, Doodlebug frills and an SRM sentiment sticker - Thinking of You collection.

Here is some more October Afternoon Very Merry paper and a variety of Doodlebug stickers.
*This card will be featuring in Scrapbook Trends Stamping Idea book in the summer 2010*

I went a bit shabby on this one. I used my Heidi Swapp edge distresser and Clearsnap chestnut roan ink for the shabby, Bazzill embossed cardstock and ribbon, Fancy Pants flower rubon, Queen and Company pearls and a Jillibean Soup sentiment stamp.

I Love Pink!

I've never considered myself a girly girl, but when it comes to papercrafts I love bright pink! I used to dress my daughter in this color a lot, but now that she is 7 she is starting to rebel! The Bazzill cardstock already had the embossed shiny pink dots. I used almost every scrap, although my daughter nabbed a bit for her school Valentine's box. I was nice and shared :-)

I also used Kaisercraft Allsorts paper and pearls, an EK Success felt butterfly and a sentiment sticker from SRM - Thinking of You collection.

This cute little monkey is from K and Company, ribbon is The Paper Studio and the sentiment stickers are from SRM - Thinking of You collection. I love that they are clear and easily blend right into your project!

Additionals on this project are Fancy Pants paper (Frosted Collection) and rubon, Kaisercraft pearls, Making Memories mini alpha stickers and a Martha Stewart border punch.

The rubon sentiment is from American Crafts and the green border is Little Yellow Bicycle. The pearls are Basic Grey.

I am sorry if I blinded anyone, but couldn't help myself the other day when I was crafting. And PS. I love the singer Pink too!

A Smattering of Cards

These two were made with the Pink Paislee's Amber Road collection. The little photo corner punch is from EK Success. I have a feeling I will be using it alot!

These two were made with papers from Scrap Within Reach. The rubons are American Crafts.

I made this card with product from Autumn Leaves. I won this cute school kit at a crop recently and love it!

You'll have to pardon that some aren't in "season", but that's the way things are in the paper crafting world sometimes.

I am headed to a 15 hour crop tomorrow and should hopefully have all kinds of things to share soon!

Chatterbox Together collection

Here are a few things I've made recently with the Chatterbox Together line. I even did a layout with my picture on it...which doesn't happen very often! Although the cute felt embellies and die cuts are sold out, you can still find most of the papers over at That Scrappy Girl. (The Tweet card was made with a sketch from Just My Sketches). Extras include some American Crafts Vinyl Thickers, Pink Paislee ABC stickers and Adorn It mini alpha stickers.

I'm finally getting a chance to get some things photographed and posted, so more blog posts are on their way - beware :-)

Just My Sketches July 15 Reveal - Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday

Here is my card I made for this month's sketch at Just My Sketches. I used papers and ribbon from the Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday line, Autumn Leaves buttons and some American Crafts Foam Thickers. I have soooo much ribbon and I'm trying to do a better job of actually using it! If somewhere had a bow tying class...I would definitely sign up!

I May Have Gotten A Little Crazy With The Mini Alphas.....

*This will be featured in an upcoming issue of Scrapbooking and Beyond*

You think? LOL.

This was my first acrylic page I've ever made. Also my first pictureless layout. Now I need advice on how to photograph the darn thing! I took some pictures with and without paper in the background. The papers are from Scrap Within Reach's The Cottage line, acrylic page is from Clear Scraps XL Deco pack, chipboard flowers, butterflies and gems are K and Company, My Mind's Eye rubon sentiment that says "We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing," American Crafts Thickers and a WHOLE bunch of Making Memories mini alphas. Towards the end I had to get creative with a couple of the blue ones as I've used them a ton and am mostly down to the weird letters. It's amazing what a black pen can change a letter into! (You can click on the pictures to read everything better).

This got a BOB (Best of Blogosphere) mention over at Card of the Week - yeah!

American Crafts Thickers Birthday Card Challenge

Who doesn't have an addiction to Thickers? I will fully admit that I do! When I saw this challenge on the American Crafts Blog, I knew it wouldn't be a struggle to use a Thicker or too. I debated foam, vinyl, puffy, glitter, chipboard, foam, felt.... I ended up using Vinyl Poolside (grapefruit) for the letters and Puffy Umbrella Accents (grapefruit) for the photo corners. I see they have the Puffy ones in Cricket (lime green) and I'm thinking I will have to hunt those down the next time I go shopping! The papers are from the Spring and Summer line. I love bright colors and flowers, so I have used this quite a bit. I threw on a few Paper Studio gems for some sparkle.

Is it Water Slide Time?

(Click on for a larger picture)

Not quite here in Iowa, but it did get into the 70's today although overcast. But I guess it's supposed to rain buckets this weekend, yipee (insert sarcasm!) I created this layout for the weekly challenge over at the American Crafts blog - you had to use 6 pictures and of course American Crafts products! I am hooked on their stuff, so I had no shortage of supplies of which to chose from. I used their Moda Bella papers, Mini Marks Rubons Jack Jr Sidekicks (for all the little white summer icons), Vinyl Thickers (Sprinkles) and various Detail stickers. I had hoped to try to get a decent picture of this outside, but instead I scanned (and cussed!) It wasn't so much the scanning or stitching, but since it's been so long since I used Adobe, I couldn't remember how to merge the two pages together. After a few choice cuss words and some time, I am somewhat successful. I hate that scans always cut off some of the edges, so just imagine there is more of an orange border around the page and also between the two pages. But hope you at least get the idea!!

SEI Cards - Poppy Collection

Supplies: SEI papers, stickers, die cuts, Mark Richards pearls, American Crafts rubon sentiment, Bazzill flower and Paper Studio brad set. The white paper is super shimmery IRL.

More SEI papers and diecuts, Mark Richards pearls and American Crafts vinyl Thickers. Sorry for the washed out pic...not sure why this card didn't want to smile!

Even more SEI paper and stickers, some more American Crafts Thickers, and again with the Mark Richards pearls. I only bought one color of the pearls and I need to get more. I'm hooked! I inked everything with Clearsnap Chestnut Roan - my all time fave ink! The smaller blue butterfly is from a Martha Stewart punch. I also did some stamping. One of my goals for 2009 is to greatly improve my stamping and start using my endless supply of stamps! The big butterfly and the brown one are from Cornish Heritage Farms. On the big butterfly I stamped on the card and then cut another one out and bent the wings for added dimension. I also cut out the little brown one. They are designed by Kim Hughes and called Little Gal. There are all kinds of stamps in this set and I am hoping to make some more things with them soon. She has a million stamps out there to pick from so be sure to check out their site. If you are ever looking for great inspiration be sure to check out Kim's blog too!

CHA is fast approaching and that means giveaways galore as new product lines come out. There are also some bloggers with giveaways too. Here are a few I have come across:

Scrap Within Reach
Queen and Co

Jillibean Soup

Creative Journey

Bo Bunny

Dream Street

Maya Road

Pink Paislee

Creative Cafe

Scarlet Lime

Upsy Daisy

Moxie Fab

CPS - need to make a card

2 Sketches 4 You - need to make a card

I will come back and update...I know I'm missing some!

Scenic Route Surprise!

*CARD REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION IN JULY CARDS 2009 ISSUE*

At the crop last weekend I got to chance to play with a lot of my new scrap goodies. The first things I made were with the Scenic Route Surprise line. I even made a layout and I was actually very happy with it :-) I just love the bright colors of this line. The kit also came with die cuts, chipboard and stickers and so I used a little bit of everything. I still have plenty left over so I plan to make some more birthday cards or possibly a bday party mini album in the future. Only other extras include some American Crafts thickers on the layout and some Bazzill cardstock, Mark Richards pearls, Prima flowers, Darice gems and some Are You Kitting Me felt circles on the cards.

More Page Plan October Sketch Cards

Here are some more of the cards I made this month when I was a GDT for Page Plans. They have sketches for both layout and cards...so there is something for everyone! This card is 100 percent American Crafts. The paper and embellies are from their Spring and Summer line. I also used some vinyl Thickers. I can't get enough of Thickers! All of these goodies were a total and very pleasant suprise the other day in the mail. You can find the sketch here.

These two Halloween cards were made with the same sketch. The rubon sentiment and the candy sticker are from Joann's, the orange flocked frame is from Making Memories, Spooky and green paper are from Scenic Route Salem and the jewel is Darice. The creamish paper is actually the packaging from the Making Memories flocked stickers.

Paper is Reminisce, flocked Spooky sticker and ribbon are Making Memories, jewels are Darice and brad is Cloud 9.

I want to apologize for the poor lighting. Iowa weather/lighting right now stinks! It's either windy or gets dark so darn early. The back patio that I would sometimes use is now framed into a basement. So it stinks right now but in a few months I will be living large! It has been in the works to get an addition to our house. We are adding a basement and a 2nd floor above the basement. Our house is set up pretty weird...but I won't bore you with the details. We have changed our minds about a million times, what exactly to do with this new space. My dinky scraproom (maybe 80-90 sq feet) is becoming a hallway and closet, so one of the things to figure out was where will my scrap room go. Anything would be bigger than what I have now. My lack of space is really stifling my creative process lately. Too much stuff.. and no where to put it or find it! I suppose I should be nicer to the hubby as he wants me to take over our family room as our scrap room. This room is about 450 sq feet...pinch me I'm dreaming! It's also on the main level right off the kitchen so I will be able to go in there for a few minutes here or there. My daughter also loves to scrap so there will be space for her to have her own desk and I can also have friends over to crop. The computer will also be there so everything will be in one space. I guess the point of my story is that I will eventually set up a "lighting" area for pics and staging. The 2nd level of our addition will now be our new family room (around 400 sq feet) so if things get changed and I get that room instead it's still cool with me too. Of course I had to promise I would keep my new room somewhat cleaned up..... we'll see how that goes....

Check out my family blog if you are interested in seeing house progress.

Use Your Stash Rubon Challenge Cards

The challenge this month at Use Your Stash was to use at least 3 rubons on a project. Can you find them? I used Heidi Grace red rubons as the border, KI Memories sentiment and circles (these were older KI, so nice to dig into the stash a bit), and also some Fancy Pants made the red circle line on the tag. Paper and tag are from Basic Grey and brad is Imaginesce.

I used 4 on this one....white lines are from My Mind's Eye (older stuff), Basic Grey barcode rubon, American Crafts hi flowers and Doodlebug glitter rubon swirl brackets. Also used some Basic Grey paper and Darice gems.

Pink Paislee Layout - SNOW

These are some more of the goodies courtesy of Emma's Paperie. This is one of my fave pictures of Emma. I think she was 3 years old here. Papers/Topsider sticker are from the Pop Fashion line from Pink Paislee, letters are Amercian Crafts, cardstock is Bazzill and buttons are from Paper Studio/Buttons Galore. Size of the layout is 12x12. Picture I used was 5x7.