BBTB2 Challenge - Sweet Summer Treats

Hi all!

What a week I've had!  Not only did I have my mom in town for a visit but I also had my oldest son, his wife and my almost 2 year old grandson!  OMGOSH is he adorable!  It was one very active extremely fun exhausting week!

I am back with a layout for this week's Bitten By the Bug 2 Challenge.  This week we were asked to use a cut of a summer treat - think ice cream, popsicles, strawberries....I chose to scrap some of the many pictures from our trip to see friends in Canada last summer.

I had some fun with this one - I tried something different and free-handed the wavy pieces at the top and bottom of the pages.  With all the commotion I had this week I went for a fairly simple page on this one!

This ice cream cone is from Sugar & Spice - too cute!  One of the things I love about using Design Space is the search feature - I had never even heard of that cartridge - there are too many to keep up with anymore!

This one is from Birthday Bash - one of my long-time faves.  The font is called Candice - it is only a 1 layer font which is annoying - I prefer fonts with shadow layers BUT I liked the look of it so I went with it.  Now if only I could find time to scrap the rest of the pics from our trip - there's a TON!

I had not been on Design Space 3 until this project so it was all new to me.  I hate change!  But there were a few things I really liked - I especially like that all of my saved projects now have a thumbnail - they used to just be a list of names.  I only do basic papercrafting on my Cricut so I won't miss the canvas feature.  Maybe when I have more time to play I can explore the new DS a bit more.

Have a great week and be sure to check out the other great projects on the BBTB2 blog and then make one of your own and link it to our challenge!

BBTB2 Challenge - Birds of a Feather

Hi all!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Father's Day yesterday!

Our new challenge is up on Bitten By the Bug 2 - Birds of a Feather - you must use a bird cut on your project.  I had these silly pictures of Pezza attempting to fly when she young and thought they would be perfect for this challenge:

I love this new patterned paper I got recently from Scrapbook Generation and thought the bright colors went really well with Pezza's bright outfit in the pics.  I have loved all of my Cricut machines but I have to say I love my Explore the most because I can use cartridges OR outside images - I designed my title using a regular font and put a shadow layer with it in Make the Cut then imported it into Design Space - love love love that I can do that.

My little bird is from the Cindy Loo cartridge - I just love the images on that one!  My good old glittered skittles finish off my flower centers perfectly.

The sketch I used had this little tag embellishment up top and I found this perfect little bird tag from Picturesque.

Head over to the BBTB2 blog to see the wonderful projects created by the other design team members.  Then make a project of your own and post it to the blog for us to see!

BBTB2 Challenge - Summer

Hi all!

We spent a fun weekend at the camping and watching races - it was historic sports car racing (or something like that...)  Anyway, hubby really wanted to come see it so we headed for the very most southern part of VA for a few days.  Pezza LOVED it - I mean loved it.  Luckily it wasn't too hot so she was able to enjoy the cars.  She spent alot of time watching the racing but she also spent a lot of time walking around getting to know the drivers and sitting in all their cars! LOL.

This week we have another great challenge for you on Bitten By the Bug 2 - Summer!  With 1 more week of school left for us we are definitely gearing up for summer fun at my house!

In my overwhelming effort to catch up on my scrapping I pulled out some pictures of Pezza and hubby swimming with dolphins we went on a cruise several years ago.  The left page uses a sketch I found on Pinterest which I can't

I used quite a few different cartridges for this one - Disney Pixar - Best of Pixar, Seashells, Kate's ABCs, Splish Splash, Sweet Treats, Life Is A Beach, Fabulous Finds.

This is a based loosely on a Paper Play card sketch I found on Pinterest and I had these perfect little shell stamps from a CTMH stamp set I got 100 years ago and never used.  I really need to get my stamps out more often!

This cut is actually a card but I just cut off the back half and then put a piece of aqua paper behind it.

This was another Paper Play card sketch I found on Pinterest to incorporate - I find grid style scrapping so satisfying because I can break it down into separate fun little projects.

STILL love using my glittered Pez-a-bling from my online stamp store days as little accents!

I hope you can join us in our challenge this week!  Be sure to check out the other DT projects on the BBTB2 blog and then link up a project of your own!

I was inspired by the following challenges:

• Crazy 4 Challenges - Repeat something 3 times
• Crafter's Cafe - Anything Goes w/Optional Travel
• Simply Create Too - Summer Fun
• Creates & Makes - Anything Goes w/Optional yellow

BBTB2 Challenge - Friends

Hi all!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the long weekend.  Last week at work was quite crazy so I needed the break.  I have spent most of this weekend with 2 of my grandbabies who stayed the night so mom and dad could attend a wedding.

A new challenge kicks off today over on the Bitten By the Bug 2 blog - friends.  As soon as I saw it I knew just the pictures I wanted to scrap.

These are random pics I took of Hollyn and some of her closest (and longest) friends that I had taken over the past year - no special event just everyday life but these kids!  The group on the trampoline have all known each other since birth.  The others have been friends since kindergarten.  How special is that?  And how lucky are we to have been able to stay in our one house in our small town for so long so she can develop these long-time connections?  It just so happens that I love these parents tremendously and am so grateful for the "Village" they create.

I used quite a few cartridges creating the layout I envisioned in my mind.  The title was a bit tricky.  My only real complaint about Cricut and Design Space is the lack of a shadow feature like Make the Cut software has.  But I managed to pull it off anyway for this one.  The font is Cricut Alphabet - Regular, the hearts are from Birthday Cakes and the flowers are from Mother's Day Bouquet.  The font and hearts all had a shadow layer so I moved everything close together so the top layer of the letters was touching, welded that, then moved the hearts in and selected all of the shadows for the letters and hearts and welded those - ta da!

I REALLY wanted to create this cluster - I love the look of these but have little experience pulling them off.  I am QUITE pleased with the way this one turned out!  I used quite a few cartridges searching for just the right items - Mother's Day Bouquet, Birthday Cakes, Anna's Elegant Embellishments, Bits and Pieces, & Garden Soup.  Once it was put together I sprinkled it with a bunch of self-adhesive pearls & rhinestones I have had laying around FOREVER (used them around the title piece too).  I really had a lot of fun playing with the different flower bits on the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge - I had forgotten about them.  A little quirk in Design Space - when I type flowers (with an S) in the search box they don't come up.  When I type it without the S they do.

Repeated the hearts, flowers and embellishments along the bottom for fun.

Now what can YOU create with your Cricut using Friends as your theme?  Hop on over to the BBTB2 blog, check out the other projects from the Design Team and then link up a project of your own!

I was inspired by the following other challenges:

• Fussy & Fancy - flowers
• Double D Challenges - Flowers Galore

BBTB2 - Birthday Challenge

Hi all!

Birthdays birthdays birthdays!  I am hosting the challenge this week over on the Bitten By the Bug 2 Challenge and I chose birthdays as the theme.  I am always in need of birthday cards/tags/gift card holders plus bday party pictures that I need to scrap.  I ALSO threw Pezza's birthday party this past weekend - yes 6 months late.  We couldn't make it happen in November so we promised a "half-birthday" party.  She wanted a spa theme so that's what we did.  I will put some pics at the end of this post.

For this challenge I chose to make a couple gift card holders to add to my stash.  I usually try to make 2 at a time when I do this - 1 boy and 1 girl:

Making gift card holders is SO EASY with your Cricut!  The cartridge Bags, Tags, Boxes and More has quite a selection of cuts that fold to form little pockets.

You can size them to fit a gift card and then decorate the fronts like a tag or card.  A birthday Cricut cut, embossing, a few glittered skittles, and some pretty ribbons tied off with embroidery floss makes for a sweet little gift card holder.

 Turn it over and you can see the gift card peeking out of the pocket.  This cut is called Card Holder Tag - #M33F69 if you want to look for it and I cut it at 3.5" wide.  I put them together with Scor-Tape so I know they will hold up to handling and not come apart.

This is a cut I have used many many times for gift card holder.  This is a cut from the Fabulous Finds cartridge called Uniqueness - #M37D21 and I cut it at 5.75" wide.  The pull out piece is on the same cartridge and is called Note Card - #M3708A and is cut at 3.08" wide.  The little green tab pulls out and you can attach a gift card to it and slide it back in.

Sizing whatever pocket cut you choose is easy in Design Space - gift cards measure 3.5" x 2.25" so determine what portion of the design has to be slightly larger than the gift card and drag until your cut is large enough.

I hope y'all join our challenge over at BBTB2 - head on over there and check out the other DT designs for some inspiration and then link up your project!

I was inspired by the following other challenges:

• Color Throwdown - blue, green, yellow & white
• Freshly Made Sketches

Now a few pics from Pezza's Spa Party:

BBTB2 - Graduation

Hi all!

As I mentioned in a previous post - we have 6 brand new baby kittens!  We foster kittens so we have kittens running through here from early spring until late fall - this is just the first batch for this year.  Anyway, I have pics!

This is Momma, Wendy.  She is a bit timid but once she is comfortable there are not enough pets in the world!  She is an easy going, relaxed Momma.  The vet was pretty sure she had done this before.....

And here's a pile of squirmy babies!  Not the greatest pics but it's hard to get good shots at this point.  Everyone is doing well and gaining weight.  had a bit of an eye infection issue but I have seen it before and knew what to do - I'll spare you the gory details.  It's all taken care of and babies are doing quite well.  We have been socializing them and doing important training in loves and pets and kisses and belly rubs.

I don't know about you but we are ready for the school year to wind down and come to an end over here.  In light of that our challenge this week at Bitten By the Bug 2 is graduation.  I have been skipping around doing my albums but I really need to go back and actually finish each year and move ahead.  In light of that, it was the perfect time to make a page for her measly pre-school graduation pics.  I have vague memories of this age where she was wearing me out like nothing her brothers ever did so it's probably lucky I have pics at all - even bad ones!

A simple layout with soft colors.  Allergies are still kicking my butt so I went with simplicity this week.  I hope you can join our challenge and even if you can't, please head over and see the projects created by the other DT members! Click here - BBTB2

BBTB2 Challenge - Bugs!

Hi all!

Anyone else dying of spring allergies?  OMGosh all 3 of us are officially miserable!  However, I am excited this morning because I also woke up to spring babies!  If you have read my blog for awhile you know we foster rescue cats - specializing in pregnant ones and sick kittens.  I got this momma 6 weeks ago and she has been getting huge so I knew it was going to be a big litter and this morning she came strolling up for her breakfast looking considerably trimmer.  It took a bit of searching but I discovered SIX new teeny babies!  SO HAPPY!

In honor of the arrival of spring the challenge on Bitten By the Bug 2 this week is bugs/insects of all kinds.  I found these cute pics of Pez making faces from about 3 1/2 years ago and thought they would be perfect for a cute as a bug layout.

I used a ton of cartridges on this one and had lots of fun designing each little component - Serenade, Sweet Treats, 3D Floral Home Decor, Garden Soup, Elegant Edges, Sentimentals, Just Because Cards, Paper Lace 2, Create A Critter, 

Here are a few up close shots.  Even been remembering to add some cuttlebug embossing!

Once I had all the pieces glued I sort of scattered a few pearls and rhinestones around a bit.  These flowers from Sweet Treats are my all time favorite - I just love them!

And now I am off to inspect each new little baby closely to make sure they are healthy!  I hope you join us at BBTB2 for our challenge this week!  We would love to see your projects!

I was inspired by the following challenges:

• Glitter and Sparkle - Flowers
• Crafty Calendar - Spring
• Die Cuttin' Divas - Chevron or Polka Dots
• Tuesday Throwdown - Embossing

BBTB Challenge - Spring Flowers

Hi all!

Is everyone enjoying some Spring weather?  We sure are - hoping it lasts for a bit.  I got my front flower beds cleared and mulched but not the back :(

The challenge this week over on the Bitten By the Bug 2 blog is spring flowers.  I wasn't sure at first what I was going to make and then But then it seems the word got out in my daughter's school library that I have a Cricut and might be useful in helping them decorate the bulletin board in the lobby.  (My best friend volunteers in there once a week so you can guess how I got tapped to help!)

Anyway, they told me the theme was April Showers bring May Flowers and sent me this pic from Pinterest - PERFECT!

Our board is horizontal not vertical so we had to make a few adjustments....

And here it is!  The librarian made the actual rainbow and rain drops but me and my Cricut did the rest.  I was a bit limited size wise of course but I thought I had gone big enough.  However, once it was put up I do wish I had done it a bit larger by splitting up the words.  (I'm sure there will be a next time - I have already been asked for wording for the lunchroom board!)

Here is my garden - almost entirely Cricut cartridge cuts - just the little bugs are SVGs - they were too cute to pass up.

I did my wording in Make the Cut so I could add the umbrella SVG and then make a shadow for the whole thing.

The second portion of wording plus my sun and cloud SVGs - again done in Make the Cut first so I could do the shadow.  I am glad I can do them in MTC and then import them into Design Space but I really do wish Design Space would get a shadow feature on it.

I am also including this in the following challenges:

• Kitty Bee Designs - In the Garden
• Fab N Funky - In the Garden

I hope you bring some of this spring weather into your projects this week and join our BBTB2 challenge!

BBTB2 - Sweet Challenge

Hi all!

We have a new challenge up for Bitten By the Bug 2 - Sweet.  This can be interpreted in several ways - sweet treats for birthdays, sweet designs for a baby, etc.

I chose to make a birthday tag with this fantastic ice cream cut.

Both the tag and the ice cream came from the Sweet Treats cartridge.  I love the tags on that cartridge!  I used the current card sketch on the Tuesday Morning sketches for my tag front.  I dug out my old SU corner rounding punch for the corners of the polka dot paper I put on top of the tag base.  Three little brown glittered skittles and a big brown bow balanced it perfectly I think!  Pink and brown has always been one of my favorite color combinations.

I gave the whipped cream on top an extra special touch by covering it with white liquid pearls and some pink microbeads.

When I was making the first tag I came across this little party hat on Sweet Treats and decided I should make a second tag as well with the same layout.  I envision this one being for a boy's gift so I wasn't sure I wanted to put the brown bow on it - haven't decided what I will put instead.....perhaps some curling ribbon when I add it to the package.

I hope you'll join in the BBTB2 challenge and show us YOUR projects!

I was also inspired by the following challenges:

• Tuesday Morning sketches
• Ooh La La Creations - Birthdays
• Tag You're It 
• Aud Sentiments - Birthday
• Southern Girls - Favorite Color Combo
• Through the Purple Haze - Use a tag
• Shopping Our Stash - Punches or dies