Baby Boy Orange & Blue Card

Hi All - Thank goodness it is the weekend. A long week traveling but glad to be home. Last weekend I had the chance to make cards for upcoming parties and birthdays. I made this Baby Boy card for a baby shower I have today.

- I made this card using the Itsy Bitsy Baby Boy 8x8 paper pack from K&Company. I love this pack and use it also for my 8x8 baby albums I make for family and friends.

- The word "baby" is from a set of clear acrylics I think from Deja Views.

- I also just cut very small vertical rectangles to make the slit for the orange and white striped ribbon.

- I cut the scalloped edges on the light blue paper (underneath the work "baby") using a scallop scissors. Sometimes it is hard for me the keep the scallop line going straight but getting better at it.

- The Special Delivery truck and stars are from a set of die cuts from the Itsy Bitsy Boy collection from K&Company. I am digging these die cuts. You get 2 of each design with one side being glittered and the other not. Add a pop dot underneath and you got a 3-D embellishment. I will also being using these on the baby albums. The set of die cuts is also super inexpensive -- only $3.99 at Archiver's. Use a 30% coupon on them and they become even more affordable. I have checked out other craft stores and Archiver's is the only one I have found to carry them.

**Note the Itsy Bitsy line also comes in Baby Girl. This card could easily be converted to a girl theme with a different design paper and die cuts.

Sticky Notes Holders

Usually when I decide to do a project last minute my husband groans. When I decide to do it last minute on Christmas Eve, he starts immediately be expecting to rush lately to church for Christmas Eve mass. I must say though when I decided to do these sticky note holders last minute I was super impressed with myself. Not only did I get all the supplies in less than 30 minutes, I was also able to get home and complete not just 1 but 5 of them in under an hour. For a first try that is not bad. I got this idea from Kerry's Paper Crafts (thanks Kerry - this was a great idea!)

I purchased 4x6 acrylic frames from Walmart for less than a dollar each. I also got there the sticky notes (mainly had to stick to bright colors -- think about this when choosing papers and embellishments) and the pens

I then visited good 'ole Hobby Lobby and got the ribbon, paper, and flower embellishments (had to pay full price for the flowers - boo!)

Instructions:
1. Cut paper to fit inside of frame and insert
2. Tape the sticky note to the front
3. Tie patterned ribbon at top into bow (I hate tying bows - this took the longest out of everything)
4. Add flower embellishment - I glued on for better adhesion
5. Tie large ribbon on bottom
6. Slide pen between ribbon and sticky notes

I gave these as small gifts to friends and family over the holidays. A token of appreciation - and cute to boot!

Canvas Art Work

Wanted to Share a Great Decorating tip with you on how to make artwork from simple Scrapbook paper and canvas. This becomes a great unique piece for a very cheap price! Recently I made a set of 4 for my son's Lucas room. He has a vinyl "Jungle-themed" graphic above his bed that needed a little more to it. One day my brother, Eric (who I adore), and I were at Hobby Lobby looking for a project to do. Then it popped into my head: "canvas art". My sister had done the same thing in her room. So I got 4 8X10 canvases and a great paper pack from Sassafras called "Bungle Jungle" (of course I came when the packs were 1/2 off!), green paint, and some orange paint

Here are the steps to create 1 of a kind artwork

1. Place a layer of Mod Podge glue on canvas (any size will work)
2. Cut paper to fit and place on top
3. Try to smooth at any air pockets (it's ok if some are still there - mine had a ton; I promise you if you leave them sit overnight many of them will disappear
4. Allow to dry for 5-10 minutes (ok... maybe I didn't wait that long)
4. Place another layer of Mod Podge on top (you can skip if you like but I like the sheen it leaves)
5. Allow to dry
6. Paint coordinating colors on top, bottom, and sides of canvas (the end parts where no paper is)
7. Allow to dry overnight

I then had my husband hang them up with two nails apiece. The trickiest part of the whole project was getting the canvases level with each other! Enjoy!

My New Cricut

My wonderful husband suprised me with my very own Cricut this Christmas. I am so very excited. I was just like a kid -- reading all the manuals, checking out the buttons, telling anyone who wanted to listen all the great things the Cricut could do. I also got my first cartridge -- Cindy Loo. I love it. It has cute layered animals like an owl, cat, and bird. It also a great font, borders, and frames. You can also make gift card holders, these neat baskets they call flower pots, and cupcake wrap thingy's. The Owl was the most difficult - lots of little parts to glue on and my tacky glue left a sheen on the end product.

I also received the Sizzix embossing purse from my mom with a neat bird embossing card. I have already used it (made my sweet mom a card)

Last but not least my mom got me Sure Cuts A Lot 2!!!! Still have yet to install but it is coming soon. Plus it came with a $10 gift card to the svgcuts.com. Can't wait to start doing more projects. Plus the cricut cartridges are expensive. My mom is so smart. She has been using the SCAL for well over a year now to cut pop-up cards, vinyl, you name it. I can't wait to get going.

A lot of Catching Up 2 Do

So it has been awhile since I have posted. I got in the "funk" where the nights fly by with nothing being accomplished but 2011 is a new year and I am starting it off right! I finally got all those pictures organized. I now have them saved on the computer, on an external hard drive, and on cd. Plus they are all put into folders. I like folders rather than having a ton to search through but I also wonder if it is harder to remember where certain pictures are located. Now I have the big task of getting a Snapfish order in before the 1 cent a pic deal is over. It is always so hard to choose which pictures to print and even more time consuming to download them all.

By the way, for the most part, I did stick to my 3 month hiatus from Scrapbooking stores. I did go the semi-annual paper sale at the paper warehouse. I also bought 2 10 cent ribbons at a church rummage sale. I think I might have also had a slight splurge at Hobby Lobby near the end but otherwise I held strong.

Becky Higgins Project Life Relaunch - Finally

Was bumming around the web this morning and decided to channel Aunt Ann and visit Becky Higgin's site. She has relaunched "Project Life" and has the kit for sale again in both kit-style and digital-style. Whooohooooo! I am sticking to my no purchases for 90 days but am super tempted. The designs look very similar to last years but still has a ton of style.

The kit is $49.99 and can be purchased on Amazon with free shipping.


Check out beckyhiggins.com for more information.

90 Days and No Hobby Lobby - What will I do?

I don't spend a ton of money on scrapbooking. It is more like 5 dollars at Jo-Ann's, 10 dollars at Hobby Lobby, and another 5 dollars at Michael's. The bigger problem is that I have so many stickers, letters, papers, ribbons, you name it at home. Please kill me if I buy one more baby-themed sticker sheet. I have decided to go on a diet... not a lose 10 pounds diet but a craft store diet. And for how long, 90 days. Yes, 90 days. I figure by than I can slowly break my habit of buying things that are "sooooo cute" rather than things I will actually use. Will it be hard.. yes, yes, yes. I am actually rethinking this decision as thoughts of multi-colored jewels dance in my head. But I am sticking to it. My last purchase... the "Say it in Style" stamp set from Close to my Heart. I have been using my sister's for way too long and she needs it back at some point. So from today until November 22 I will be kissing the craft stores goodbye. I promise to not even go there to finish gifts I am making. I will utilize my fully stocked supply of scrapbooking impulse purchases to the fullest of their capabilities. Wish me luck! (Good thing November 22 is just in time for Black Friday!)

Happy Birthday Pop-Up Card

I am absolutely in love with the new "Premium Pop-Up Cards" SVG kit on svgcuts.com! I visited my mom on Sunday and we worked on the Cricut Expression. The best about her Cricut is that she also uses Sure Cuts Alot. What an awesome tool to turn svg files into works of art!

This Happy Birthday card was made using the pop-up card kit. No guess work involved... the kit includes the cupcake, the scalloped layered piece, the inside pop-up "happy birthday" and even the card and envelope! No measuring or guessing sizes. I then added glitter to the edges of my cupcake's frosting and punched holes in the scalloped layering piece. Once again, I resorted to the good ole' "Say it in Style" Close to My Heart stamp set to stamp "Happy Birthday." The front seemed a little boring so I also distressed the edges of the happy birthday layer and the front of the card itself. Another key addition to this card was the Doublemate paper - light purple on one side, dark purple on the other.... a perfect pair!

It was quite tricky to have the "happy birthday" pop-up fold right when inside the card. In a "TA-DA" moment, Mom and I got it at the same time. Once you get the hang of it though, it is as easy as, well, cupcake? The card does seem thick so I am mailing with 2 stamps just in case.

Making this card motivated me to save up for a Cricut and Sure Cuts Alot.

Wrapping It Simple

I made this hang tag to include on a gift bag for a bridal shower. The letter "R" is from an Anne Geddes branded chipboard letters I got on clearance from Archivers. I used the outside part of the letter rather than the "R" itself. I then layered on green paper and purple paper. I punched a hole using a standard hole punch. The purple ribbon was already on the bag. Keeping it simple and beautiful!

Unscripted Sketch #68 - Precious Baby

Finally got to try out the "Sketch It Saturdays." I have been putting off making a baby girl card for a friend so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. The patterned paper is from K&Company Berry Sweet line. The green felt letters for "baby" is from Making Memories. I used my flower punch I got from Michael's for the orange circles. The "Precious" rub-on is from Me & My Big Ideas. The heart and butterfly rub-ons are from Colorbox. I got these in the $1 spot and felt guilty getting them because I thought I would never use them. I proved myself wrong. I added glitter (which I try to avoid at all cost - still have glitter on my craft table) to the both the butterfly and heart. I will definetly be back next Saturday!

Original sketch:
http://unscriptedsketches.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/SK-sketch-41-US-sketch-682.jpg