My First Explosion Box..............

So sorry I have not been around for the last couple of weeks, but with family visiting, re-arranging my craft room and going out of town craft just did not fit in.

I made this explosion box for my Great Granddaughter's 1st birthday.  I think it came out very cute.  I had seen one that someone did around Christmas time and have wanted to try it since, so I thought it would be perfect for this special event.  Even a little prize of a light up happy birthday in the center.  Lots of sparkle on this one.  Here is an overview of the whole card, so hard to take a picture of this.

The inner pink layer is Core'dinations card stock that I Cuttlebugged with several different folders and sanded it off, then punched the corners with a MS punch.  I used Cricut Craft Room to weld the letters together for the "Emma" using Lyrical Letters cartridge.  The "1" is also from that same cartridge.  They are cut out of purple glitter paper and mounted on white glitter paper ovals I cut using my Spellbinders.  Here is a closer look at the Emma.

I used the Create a Critter cartridge to cut out the monkey again all from glitter paper.  I added googly eyes, a party hat and one of those party blower thingies.

The center "Happy Birthday" is a K & Company stick that has a button that you press and lights flash on it.  Tried to get a picture but hard to capture the flashing lights.

When you fold up all the sides you place a lid on it to hold it together, so here is a picture with the lid next to the card.

I will tie if closed with a white sparkly ribbon/bow.  On the MS Birthday cake cartridge there was a cut for baby's first birthday so I cut it out and glued it to the top of the lid with a couple cupcake stickers.  I got to thinking since it doesn't lay flat it might be kind of hard to keep as a memento.  Oops.

Thanks for stopping in to take a peek, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my explosion box card.

Challenges for this box
The Cuttlebug Spot   Box    ends - 2/6
Crimbo Crackers   For a child   ends  - 2/1

Congratulations are in order!

I was so busy during the holidays that I did not get a chance to post this card.  My son-in-law came home on December 22nd for good after spending 24 years in the Air Force.  What an accomplishment!
I wanted to give him something very special to remember his service and I found this place on-line, The Good Wood Store that makes plaques.  I was quite taken aback when I saw it as my Dad has a plaque very very similar from when he was in the Air Force during World War II, so this was that special something I knew I had to order for my SIL.  I removed his last name from the picture for his privacy.

So now I had to move to making him that special retirement card.  I was looking through the book for Stand and Salute an I found a similar image to what is in the center of the plaque.  I used CCR to weld the image into an open circle.

I printed some "wood" paper using my Imagine and the Snapshot Nature cartridge and cut it out from that.  I added some Crackle Accents to the eagle.

The striped background paper I printed using the Buccaneer cartridge and added a strip of blue that I Cuttlebugged with the star folder and sanded off.  The stamped sentiment at the top is a Gina K Design stamp and says "Congratulations are in order".  I can't recall what cartridge I used for the USAF letters, maybe Plantin Schoolbook?
I did the inside a little differently, while I was looking for a sentiment I found this one that was perfect............................

But the occasion was so immense that I thought I should include a serious one also.  So I out my thinking cap on (sometimes it works LOL) and I made the side almost like a joy fold card and used the star in the corner to keep it closed.
Here is the other verse, I hope you can read it.

He was very very happy with his plaque and did notice that the card matched.  Sometimes guys don't notice stuff like this, ha ha, but he did.
I also wanted to share with you what the Air Force gave him for his retirement.

Thanks for stopping in and hope you enjoyed my blog while you were here.

Mirror - Mirror on the wall

Here is a card I made for my brother-in-law whose birthday was January 6th.  He is a very funny person and we joke around a lot.  Later in the post I will explain the "joke".   I wanted to make the front of the card very serious looking so we would be thrown off track.

The frame was cut from Elegant edges and I backed it with silver mirror paper.   The saying was computer generated.  So hard to take a picture of that mirror with my camera showing up in it.  LOL
Then when you open it this is what you see................................

Well now to tell a bit of the story.  One time while we were in Las Vegas, my BIL did a bit too much partying one night and when he got up in the middle of the night to go the bathroom he said he looked in the mirror and there was "an ugly man" in there.   Even though he just turned 71 he still has a lot of hair, (some grays ones so I colored them in) so it was quite a mess when he looked in the mirror.  The image I colored using my Copics, it is an image from Digis with Attitude and thought it fit the theme of this card perfectly, with him proudly holding up his brew.

I even added a piece of rope for his belt.
The grill I cut from glossy black paper and silver for the grate using the From my Kitchen cartridge.  The steak was also cut using From my Kitchen and covered with Glossy Accents.
I printed the grass paper using my Imagine and the Snapshot Nature cartridge, then cut it out using the grass cut from Plantin Schoolbook.

I added cloud paper to the background.  The happy birthday is cut from glitter black paper using MS Birthday Cake Art cartridge.

I want to say thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear what you have to say about this card.  It was so much fun to make and we all got a big laugh out of it.

Challenges for this card
Make it Monday   Always anything goes   ends  1/16

Home of the Free......

......because of the brave.  I made this card to follow a sketch and color challenge on the Cricut message board.  All parts came together great, a while ago I bought a K&Company red, white & blue color stack and that was the challenge colors.  Then last week I got my new stamps from Pink by Design and I had ordered the "Our Troops" set so this all came to mind, with the paper and the stamps.

I am so pleased with how it turned out.  The background (stripes & stars) is all one piece of paper and fit perfectly into my theme and sketch.
The banner across the top if from the Stand & Salute cartridge welded together in Cricut Craft Room.  The stars were also cut from Stand & Salute.  I cut them from white cardstock then colored them with Tim Holtz Distressed inks and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder a few times each, it is almost like covering them with Glossy Accents.  The colors Faded Jeans and Fired Red Brick matched the paper perfectly.
Here is a close up of the stars, I stacked 3 on top of each other.

I also finished the inside very simply.

The reason that I ordered this set up stamps in because I have a Grandson in the Navy and another Grandson going in next month.  Not that I did not support the military before it just brings it a lot close to my heart.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I would love to hear what you have to say about my card.

Challenges for this card
CES Challenges   Anything goes   ends - 1/13
Crazy 4 Challenges  Something New  ends - 1/13
Fund with Shapes  No Black Line   ends - 1/12
My Mums Crafts Something New  ends - 1/14
Make it Monday  Always anything goes  ends - 1/15

Outdoorsy Birthday

Hello everyone, well my younger brother's birthday is coming up so I made him this card.  I had bought this Outdoor Paper stack a while back to use to start making more male cards to build up my stash.  It has some really great papers in it and all kinds of other goodies, tags, embellishments, words, letters etc.

The background papers and the "log" are from the Outdoor paper stack, oh also the center tag where the happy birthday is stamped and heat embossed.
The diamond shapes I made from the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge using Cricut Craft Room to extend it out.  The original shape was a square but using one of the little design handles I was able to pull out the shape and turn it to make it into a diamond shape.  First time I used this design handle and I really liked it and think it will come in handy designing.  The diamonds were cut from plain white cardstock, then sprayed with Walnut Inks, they are really cool and add a kind of antique texture to the paper.  I only have a 4 color pack and really need to get more colors.  :).

The pine cone I cut from the camp Out cartridge and covered it with Crackle Accents.

The inside I added another of the diamond shapes and then stamped the sentiment.  One of my New Years resolutions is to finish the inside of cards, now this one I had to finish because I will be sending it out to my brother, but hope my resolutions holds up otherwise LOL
Thanks for stopping by, love to read your comments.

Heat it Up!.............

.....................that is the challenge this week at Crafty Creations.  Heat embossing, use heat embossing on your project and enter it in the challenge this week, our sponsor is Pattie's Creations.  You could win some of her digital images.
PATTIES CREATIONS:

This is a great challenge at least for me as I heat emboss 99% of the time I stamp.  But to make it a bit more challenging I wanted to use one of the digital images from Pattie's Creations so I printed it using my home printer on heavy vellum and immediately sprinkled it with black sparkle embossing powder as soon as it came out of the printer, then heat embossed it.  This works with paper that does not absorb the ink right away, but you have to be fast with the embossing powder, best to have it ready with the lid off and sprinkle it on.
Here is my card.

I place the printed butterfly vellum over a pretty piece of flowered paper from the K&Company "Best of Brenda Walton" stack, punched the corners and accented it with a piece of lilac ribbon.  The "with sympathy" was stamped and heat embossed.
Here is a close up of the butterfly, maybe you can see the heat embossing here.

It is always nice to have sympathy cards on hand when the need arises and I thought the butterfly image was perfect for a sympathy card.

The inside was done very simply to write a hand written note or stamp a sentiment later.
So glad you stopped by, be sure and leave me a comment so that I know you were here.  And would love to see you join in the fun at Crafty Creations Challenge this week.

Vegas Baby!

Our 26th wedding anniversary was on December 27th.  Most years we go to Las Vegas for our anniversary, but this year there was just too much going on that we will have to wait till sometime in January, we love to go to Vegas.  So since we were not going on our anniversary I made my hubby this card.  It came out so cute, I love it and hope you think the same.

Wow, looking at it I used a lot of cartridges to create this card, well 5 that is a lot for me on one card.  The background starry night paper is from an outdoor stack I bought for making guy cards, but it fit perfectly here.  The "Vegas" is from the Tie the Knot cartridge and using Cricut Craft Room I welded the word "baby: from A Child's Year cartridge and sparkly glitter paper.  The Las Vegas sign is from the cartridge Destinations, I cut it in several layers using a shinny holographic like paper for the skyline, and pop dotted the sign.  The rode I cut using the My Community cartridge, it was a freebie I got way back when I got my first Expression, but there are so many useful images on it.

Then I chose the 57 Chevy from the Nifty Fifties cartridge because my hubby had one this exact color when he was younger....................oh so many many years ago ha-ha!  I even added a small heart sticker to the back fender.  This whole card fell together so well for me, you know sometimes you picture something in your head and it just does not work on paper, well this one did.  Yeah!

Here is how I finished the inside.  Although the outside of the card is a bit fun and I go with a mussy inside as my hubby does ever so much for me and probably 90% of the housework because I can't due to a spinal cord issue.  He is so wonderful and never complains, not even when I buy more stuff I "have" to have, LOL.
Well thanks so much for stopping by, would love to hear what you think of my card.
And a very very Happy New Year to all!

Challenges for this card
Tip Top Tuesday  Anything goes   ends - 1/3
Make it Monday  Always Anything goes   ends - 1/1
Party Time Tuesdays  Anything Goes   ends - 1/2

Baby Sweetpea

I am still playing along at the CDAC Progressive Challenge , it is so much fun and you can still join in, just click HERE.  This round I chose this adorable image from Just Some Lines , (tag "cdacpc9, JSL " .)   Every two weeks new images are posted for you to use, if you want to jump in it will only cost you $1.  
So I colored my image using my Copics, I am getting better however I am pretty excited about a couple of classes offered my Melissa & Kristy at Created from Color I can't wait as they are both awesome at using their Copics.  

I love this color combination, the background paper is from the DCWV Nana's Kids girl stack.   The flower I cut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge and spritz it with some Glimmer Mist and added glitter green brad to the center.  I made this card following the sketch this week at Mojo Monday , I love following sketches and each Monday, Mojo Monday comes out with a new 
sketch to follow.  

You can barely see it but I added some "stitching" with my white gel pen to the patch on her jammies.  You can also see the flower a little better here.  I distressed the edges of the image and the pink paper it is mounted on.
I also completed the inside, with a cut from the Fancy Frames cartridge, and left a plain piece for writing a message, not sure how I will use this card yet.  Anyone have any ideas???

Well hope you like my Sweetpea card, thanks for stopping by.

Baby"s First Christmas

Well I hope everyone had a very Merry Merry Christmas, boy was it ever busy around here!  There was so many special elements to this years Christmas that it just seemed like there was something going on every day & night for the last week.  I know I may have mentioned it in a previous post but here are a few things that makes this Christmas so special but yet very emotional & memorable.  First of all we have a great-granddaughter who will be celebrating her first Christmas, but to make it especially grand her Daddy who is in the Navy got to come home on leave to share in this moment.  My son-in-law came home on December 22nd and is retired from the Air Force after 24 years, my sons's 41 birthday was 12/22 and he is working in the oil fields in North Dakota but he got to come home.  So it was a huge homecoming for all, especially because in the up coming year, my son and daughter and their families will be moving to the Denver area,  my Navy grandson is going into submarines and another grandson is going in the Navy so not sure when we will have another Christmas like this one.
Sorry for the story, anyway here is the card you came to see.....................LOL

The image is from Pink Gem Designs, they have some adorable images be sure and check them out.  This one came both colored and uncolored, I tried to color using my Copics but I was having some trouble and running out of time so I went with the pre-colored one.  The colors were great anyways.  I printed it on white pearl paper and immediately sprinkled it with sparkle embossing powder when it came out of the printer than heated it.  I cut it out using the Make the Cut software, it is an amazing software that works with die cutting machines.  You can pretty much cut out anything, unfortunately I do not utilize it to it's full ability.  The tag that the image is mounted on using foam tape was cut using my Cricut out of white glitter paper, sorry I can't remember which cartridge.   The Merry Christmas was also cut from glitter paper using the MS Elegant cakes cartridge.  The white strip in the middle I punched using an Fiskars punch and ran red ribbon through it.

This card has a lot of sparkle to it, I used Christmas paper from a DCWV Christmas stack I got a few years ago.
I also finished the inside using several different poems and sayings and adding some of my own touches to personalize it.

I wan to wish each of you a very very Happy New year.  Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and take a peak on my card.  I would love to hear what you think of it.  Make sure you stop back in the next week as I have several cards to post that I had not had a chance to.

Challenges for this card
Make it Monday   Always anything goes   ends  - 1/2
Charisma Cardz  Anything Goes   ends - 1/4
Cinspirations   Anything goes  ends - 1/3
Mum's Craft Shop  Anything goes  ends - 1/3

Crafty Creations Blog Hop

Hi everyone, ready for a blog hop to get some inspiration for those thank you cards you have to make after the holidays?  Well this week that is what is going on at Crafty Creations.
So for my thank you card I made this snowman card using one of the images provided by A Creative Need.  I know that it is a very busy time right now so this challenge/hop will last for two weeks.

I colored the image using my Copic markers.  The sentiment is computer generated with a cute "snow capped" font that I found on line for free!  The top border I cut using the Winter Frolic cartridge and Cricut Craft Room.  Here is a close up of those letters that I added a bit of sparkle to the tops.

And the inside I did very simply so you could add a hand written message.

There are a lot of prizes being offered on the Crafty Creations blog so be sure and go on over and check them out.  There is even a few prizes along the way from the Design Team.  So go ahead join in and hop along with us.

Now remember to join us and post comments to the Design Team for the Blog Hop! You will be amazed at the talent we have on our DT.  If you get lost along the way you can always come back here for the next link.  

1. Claire

2. Deena 

3. Bernie 

4. Dawn 

5. Juelmarie

6. Kaos 

7. Rudlis 

8. Jenni 

9. Donna 

10. Peggy 

11. Jaime 

12. Lindsey 

13. Donelda 

14. Kathleen

Have fun and hope to see your creations for this two week challenge.  Remember you have till Jan 3 2012 to enter the challenge at Crafty Creations.
Thanks to all for a wonderful year and for all of my followers and blog friends, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all.