BBTB - Birthday Challenge

Hi all!

We are gearing up for another exciting trip - Canada/Niagara Falls with 2 of my oldest and dearest blogland/Cricut friends Ann and Catherine (Silly Skittles if anyone is still here from back in the day.)  The shenanigans are pretty extreme when Cat and I get together - Can. Not. Wait!

This week's challenge at Bitten By the Bug is birthdays.  Hollyn had a birthday party to go to so I made a little tag for the gift:

The Phrases cartridge has some great double layer tags - I use them quite a bit.  To get the little border across the bottom I made a duplicate of the top layer of the tag and positioned it on the border I chose and then used the Slice feature to get just what I wanted - so easy!  The cute little balloons are "Balloon Bouquet" from Miss Kate Cuttables.  It originally had 4 balloons but I used Make The Cut and cut it down to 2, took away the string and bow and then re-made a shadow that fit just the balloons.  A little embossing folder on the tag base and she had a cute little tag for her friend's gift!

Head over to the BBTB blog and see the other great projects and then make one to add to the blog!

BBTB - Thank you/graduation

Hi all!

We got to enjoy our first run at the local swimming pool yesterday.  Other than that we have been cleaning cleaning around here.  The clutter and toys get completely out of hand!  Once she is back at school tomorrow the house will be clear so I can get some cleaning done!

We are also winding down the school year here and our challenge at Bitten By The Bug this week is graduation or thank you so I have taken the opportunity to get my thank you gift card holders made.  I always give Starbucks cards out and Hollyn has quite a team due to both 3rd grade changing classes with all 3 teachers plus her gifted program.  So far I have 2 done:

I use this file ALL the time for gift cards.  I just change up the front - I might use a card sketch for my design and then I change up the focal cut depending on the occasion.  For these Hollyn picked a set of files from Little Scraps of Heaven called Bookworm in Training - there are 4 different bookworm pics.  There were so many tiny pieces I went against my steadfast rule of inking all my edges but I think it's still ok!

I use a cut from Fabulous Finds called card holder and the coordinating insert.  The striped layer is Stamped Border from Ribbons and Rosettes.  Then I use glue dots to attach the gift card to the insert, have Hollyn write on the back and then slide it into the holder.  Easy peasy!

Here's a screen shot of the file I use over and over again with a past design - this way it's always sized correctly and I just have to work on the focal part.  I also keep some various gift cards on hand for birthday parties in case I forget to get my butt out and get a gift for a party.  Now to get the other 3 done!

Swing by Bitten By the Bug and check out what the other team members have made for the challenge and then join in on it yourself!

BBTB - Towel Challenge

Hi all!

It's fitting that we just spent the weekend at a water park since that is what I scrapped for today's challenge!  But today's pics happened way back in 2012!  I am a little behind in y scrapping, though I tend to skip around.  This weekend we went to an indoor water park at Massanutten Resort - I highly recommend it to anyone living in VA!

Our challenge this time around at Bitten By the Bug is to use a towel cut out on our project - perfect time to pull out some swimmy pics to scrap!

I used cuts from all sorts of places on this one!  Let's start with the towels - I cut out a little girl from Paper Dolls for Every Day - I had to use to different poses - the bathing suit girl had something else in her hand so I replaced it with a towel from a girl who was ready for her bath.  I also decided to "hang" towels on corners of 2 of the frames.

Every now and then I come against something I can't figure out with my Explore - this time I couldn't figure out how to cut her out without the facial features )I like to use my Peachy Keen face stamps instead.)  Now if I was thinking clearly I would have just added a blank circle to my design in Design Space so it would be the right size but noooooooooooo.  I thought SURELY I could just cut out a circle using a nestibility.  However, NOPE so the face is awful but I waited until the last minute so too bad so sad.  Anyway, I used a scallop square from Elegant Edges as the mats.  The splash and the sun are SVGs.  The green double border is from Holiday Cakes - GREAT borders!

The water slide is another SVG - there are some great sites to buy SVGs!

Another thing I LOVE about the Explore - I can make my own SVGs!  I made this title using Make the Cut and then uploaded it.  Make the Cut is so easy to use and I don't need the internet.

I hope y'all will head over to BBTB and check out projects by the other design team members and join our challenge!

BBTB: Tree challenge

Hi all!

We finally went on our first camper outing this year last weekend.  We were a little late getting started but finally made it out for a quick trip up to Twin Grove Resort in PA - our first time there and we will definitely be going back!  Our goal for this trip was to do a little coal mine touring/learning.  Hubby's dad's family worked in coal mines in that area until they were closed in the 30s.  They lived in a small town called Centralia which is the site of an underground coal fire that has been burning for more than 50 years!  The town is completely gone now - razed by the government after they forced everyone out due to the fire.  Hollyn's favorite part of the trip was playing in the stream that ran through the campground with a couple friends she made:

Which is funny since my project for Bitten By The Bug is a layout of another camping trip in which her favorite part was a hike along a stream:

The challenge this week is to use trees on a project so I thought it would be a perfect time to pull out some camping/hiking pictures.

This is my tree cut from the Zoobaloo cartridge.  I decided to give several of the trees a little embossing to jazz them up (I don't use my embossing folders nearly enough!)

I thought this hiking boot from the Campin' Critters cartridge would make a perfect little embellishment.

The best thing about the Cricut Explore versus the previous machines is the ability to use SVG cuts and I added cuts from Miss Kate Cuttables and built up several little scenes.  (Right now her entire store is 20% off - you have until the 14th!)

I added some embossing to my rocks too!  I just love the versatility I get with my Cricut Explore - one machine that can do it all now.

Please join us at the Bitten By the Bug Challenge these week and show us some trees!

Scrapping Christmas past

Hi all!

And so begins the snow days....I scrolled through the posts on FB of moms rejoicing to children sleeping in - Pezza was up at 5:10 today!  She told me yesterday she wants to make craft videos again like she did when she was small - I doubt anyone reading this will remember the days of Pezza Way videos and her guest spot on Tim Holtz's blog at the age of 3...The problem is that she is 8 now so they probably won't be as funny/popular.  Not to mention I have no following left to watch them!  Though I recently signed in to my YouTube account for the first  time in years and was surprised to see people still watch all my videos!  Maybe I will make some too.  I have a hard time thinking of ideas - seems everything has been done to death but then I watched a scrapper's video for the first time who is insanely popular.  It was literally a video of her glueing her stuff to her page and people were falling all over themselves with adoration and appreciation so maybe I am selling myself short?

ANYWAY, I scrapped yesterday!  I have been determined to get back in my studio.  I am currently working on kicking the last of the meds I was prescribed for post partum depression - that shit is NO JOKE!  The withdrawals are scary.  The last one took a total of 1 1/2 years to get through.  This one has more severe withdrawals and should take about a year.  So I am trying to be aware and take care of myself and one of the ways I do that is through being creative in my studio.  AND HEY, catching up on my scrapbooking really would be a great thing!

I have been selected to host one of the scrapbooking challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers so I have been getting myself plugged back in over there, especially with the scrappers.  It is a much smaller community than the card makers so if you are a scrapper PLEASE come join us!  We need more folks!

As I sit here looking at the photo I am realizing the date should actually be 2008 UGH!  Luckily an easy fix....  Pretty sure anyway.  BUT the good news is this is the last 2008 layout I have, then I have 3 for 2009 and I will be on to 2010.  Not terribly bad....  I have quite a number of layouts done for more recent years too so I am not too badly behind.  On Splitcoast there is a goals for 2015 thread where people are talking about how many pages they want to get done this year and most of them number into the hundreds.  I have all my pics sorted so I counted them up and I have 64 mostly 2 page spreads I would like to get done.  (We will not discuss my wedding pics still not in an album....)

The challenge I used for this layout on SCS (Splitcoast Stampers) was the stashbusters challenge.  We had 3 things we had to use - a frame, a die cut and eyelets.  EYELETS!??!?!  ACK!  How old school is that?  I nearly skipped it but then I said NOPE I am doing it.  And I even remembered how to use my crop a dile!  And guess what?  I like the eyelets - can you see them above the holly?  cute right?  The holly came from an SVG cut file from My Scrap Chick and I did the numbers in MTC too.  I use a Black Cat Cutter for my SVGs - love it.

I usually cut all of my stuff out of solid paper and then I see people use patterned paper for their cuts and I think Oh I love that!  Well this time I remembered too!  Actually I couldn't find the solid paper that went with these CTMH patterned ones and THEN I remembered how much I like cuts using patterned paper.

Additional challenges for this layout:

• Clear it Out - Anything Goes
• Crafting When We Can - Anything but a Card

I also have a couple Scrap Wrap albums for sale.  I have been using these for years and they are amazing.  However Pezza does not like the patterns on these two :P

This one has lots of glitter on the fairies which did not show up well in the photo - super cute right!??!  They have 25 pages in them and you can easily order refills too.  The other one I did not take a picture of yet is sports themed - all sorts of small sports balls across it - I can take a photo if anyone is interested.

They pages are held in by super strong velcro and these things are indestructable.  Pez has dragged them around for years!

These are mine so you can see the spine of them - see how totally expandable they are?  Yea the one on the right is a bit full....

They retail for $45 but I am selling them for $30 plus shipping.  Let me know if you want one!

I Believe...Cut It Up Challenge

Hi all!

Well, my dreams of blissful, empty, stress free days with Pezza off at school full day are NOT materializing.  I envisioned a clean neat house where everything is scrubbed and gleaming, nothing out of place and hours of crafting in the afternoon - NOT happenin'!  What's up with that????  I am runnin' all over creation like a chicken with my head cut off, my house looks like a bomb went off, and I haven't had a moment to breathe - not that I could anyway with the allergies I am STILL fighting (and losing against.)  On Sunday when I looked at my calendar for this week I thought I was going to cry.  Tomorrow I will wake up and bake cupcakes for a school event, get Pezza on the bus, head to my 2 hour allergy appt. to get poked a thousand times, run by the vet to pick up Momma kitty Licorice and her 6 Baby "Bits", head to lunch with some great girls I don't see often enough, drop off aforementioned cupcakes and grab Pezza and a friend off their respective buses to come home and clear my house a bit before hubby comes back in to town.  EGADS!

What I really want to do is CREATE!  Ah well.  I DID sneak into the studio for a bit to create my layout for the wonderful Cut It Up Challenge Blog - the new challenge is up and it's PINK in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I decided to scrap Pezza's first lost tooth. (Yea I am not even pretending to scrap in order anymore!)

I used a sketch from the Sept. 2013 PageMaps Sketches as a starting point (or I'd be here all day re-arranging things!)  I got a stack of new papers in June since I had not bought any new paper in YEARS and I pulled these cute ones out of the stack.  Then I found this adorable Tooth Fairy cut file set at Treasure Box Design - perfect!  While I was working on this layout Pezza lost tooth number 2!

Loaded them into Make the Cut and cut them out using my Black Cat in nothing flat - love it!  Pulled out my trusty (and beloved) Tsukineko Dew Drop Inks and inked all the edges up - makes ALL the difference in how good your paper piecings look trust me!

The pink toothpaste has some sparkle to it courtesy of a little Luminarte Primary Elements as does the fairy wings below.

Used a Peachy Keen face stamp for her face - cute and much easier to work with than the tiny eye and nose pieces of paper!

Even had a helper in the studio with me!  This is my Tiger - she is an old Maine Coon we have had since birth.  She is 14 now and has terrible arthritis and feline breast cancer.  She rarely climbs the stairs as it is too difficult for her but today she decided she wanted to see what I was up to.  At the moment she is lounging on the front porch refusing to some in for the night - brat!  She is the only one allowed outside because she walks about 4 steps out the door and lays down.  The others do too much wandering or, in Bubba's case, too much ditzy headed dancing in the road.

I hope y'all when join us over on the Cut It Up blog and play in the challenge with us.  You can make anything as long as it has pink AND a die cut of some sort.  You can win two great prizes:  $20 coupon code to  As Cute as a Button and a $10.00 Gift Certificate for My Scrap Chick

Now I am setting this to post in the morning and I am off to get some sleep!  Have a great weekend everyone!

happy easter!

hi all!

well no races last night - BOO!  maybe next time. we don't have much planned for easter - lunch with the in-laws.  other than that i hope to work in the yard - my veggie garden is almost completely in!

i wanted to post this little fun wall plaque i made for easter:

i had so much fun with this one - i always like my own stuff but i have to be honest - this may be one of my most fave things i have made yet!  and best of all...

***for those of you coming to my mixed media class in baltimore in may - this is one of the techniques we will learn!*** 

not the actual paper piecings - that part is easy.  the foundation is what we will work on.  then YOU will choose what you want to do on top - paper piecing, stamped and colored image, photo, just words....

i have discovered a new love - MDF - medium density fiberboard.  that's what i used here and what we will use in class for one of the projects.

of course, my background is Luminarte Primary Elements mixed with gum arabic and water - i never get tired of that GLOW!  The paper piecings used here are mostly from Treasure Box Designs except for the frame - it is from My Scrap Chick.  i cut it all out using my black cat cougar - an amazing little machine that makes cutting all of this out SO EASY!

SVG learnin' time...

hi all!
have ya missed me?  sometimes i miss me too :P  entirely too much going on in my life.  luckily it's mostly good!  today, not so much... i had the fun of discovering a mix up with my account at the state tax dept and the froze my accounts.  WOW is that fun.  no problem, i talk to them, gather the papers they need and fax it over to them....again...and again...and again...while i am trying to get that to go through i decide it is REALLY time to get down to business on my scrapbooking.  i don't know if i mentioned it or not but i am the proud new owner of a black cat cougar digital cutting machine.  not that i don't love my cricut and all my cartridges but i also really love all the adorable SVG files i see folks using, especially my good friend Christine - you should check out her blog (but don't forget to come back here when you are done!)  so i have been cruising the likes of Little Scraps of Heaven, My Scrap Chick, & The Digi Bistro snatching up the cutest stuff to cut.  but FIRST I have to figure out how to do it.  i never understood people who were intimidated by their cricut and left it in the box but i have to tell you - i am a wee bit intimidated by my cougar!  not enough to leave it in the box tho!!!!!!!!  so it is sitting on my breakfast table...glaring at me...because i have been to busy with the latest issue of the magazine to get to work with him.  (i think he needs a name don't you).  i am not used to working this way but i needed to size my cuts so i laid it out in photoshop - i used one of the Oct Page Maps as my base:

from here i could just digi scrap it huh :P  but thats no fun.  well it is but not my plan for this one.  i spent the better part of the rest of the afternoon re-familiarizing/learning Make The Cut - i downloaded the updates and WOW - it is amazing now!  i have had it since the day it was announced.  so i have everything pretty much laid out...sort of...  now i have to figure out the cougar!  maybe tomorrow.....i do have to say it felt like ALOT more work doing it this way as opposed to grabbing a cartridge and cutting.  BUT i know alot of people prefer this method whether it's MTC or Gypsy or Cricut Craft room so maybe i will find it is easier when i get to the other side and only have to cut once and have everything i need just the right size.....now we just have to manage to get to a pumpkin patch and pick out some pumpkins!!!  you know BEFORE halloween....


Now you remember that fax i was sending don't you?  STILL not going through.  even called and got a different fax number.  finally i pull the printer out and look at the back...and there is the end of the phone cord glaring at me...not. plugged. in.  remember back in the day when life was less complicated.  phone cord plugs into phone jack right?  well in our house now we don't just have a few simple items.  the uinderside of my desk is a mass of wires everywhere - we have the laser printer, the all in one, the photo printer, the home server, my laptop, the router, the cable modem and somewhere is the direct tv hook up.  the phone jack is taken, i am not sure what's in it.  i plug it into the router - no luck.  i decide i am going to have to go old school - it has to plug into the next closest jack...in the kitchen...not close to the office... i find a long phone cord in the bedroom on the floor (no i don't know why).  it only goes to the foyer.  i am going to have to delve into hubby's drawer o'abandon cords.  YES - phone cord!  here is how it went:

no way i could get them all untangled so i gave up and just used it like it was.  but it WORKED!

hubby is coming back from PA tonight YAY!  i can NOT sleep when he is out of town and i just like it much better when he is home with us.

Anyone else use MTC here?  Anyone else design digitally FIRST and THEN cut - whether it is with MTC or a Cricut product.  ANY TIPS????  will i learn to love it?  are there any othe SVG sites i need to know about???