Thinking of You Card

This card was made for someone who was going through an extremely difficult time, so I felt I should keep it simple.  I used the Darice embossing folder Circle Interlock for the background, stamped a sentiment to match the border colors, then added a strip of washi tape as a final touch.

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First Birthday Card for a Girl

My youngest granddaughter celebrated her first birthday recently.  (And by "recently", I mean six months ago.)  I posted photos from her party here.  Today I'm sharing the card I made her.

I used the Cricut cartridge Baby Steps for all the die cuts.  I added some dimensional white paint to the cupcake in the sentiment to give it the look of frosting, then topped the candle flame with glitter glue.

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First Birthday Banner and Cake Topper

No, I haven't been a crafting dynamo lately.  But in an effort to bring a little life to my blog, I've dusted off some never-before-posted projects and I'm now trotting them out to make you think I've actually been doing something.

I haven't.

My daughter asked me to make a cake topper for her daughter's first birthday.  Or maybe I volunteered. I'm pretty sure I insisted she let me make a Happy Birthday banner whether she wanted one or not. I know she would have loved to make all her own decorations (she's much craftier than me!), but she has a full-time job and two toddlers, whereas I'm a stay-at-home grand/mother who needs a purpose in life beyond cleaning up after able-bodied teenagers, so I enjoy an opportunity to make something fun that will actually be used and appreciated.  

I wish I had been able to get a better picture of the window, but my photo skills are seriously lacking. But you get the idea.  The giant pompoms and purple streamers in the window were made by my daughter (probably while two little cuties were pulling at the crepe paper and trying to undo all her hard work).

The banner was made using the Cricut cartridges Creative Memories-Tiny Treasures (butterfly, ladybug, bird, elephant and "1st") and Birthday Cakes (letters).  The letters were placed on simple rectangles I cut with my paper trimmer.  (Another horrible picture.  When my ship comes in I hope there's a professional photographer on board.)

I stitched a simple banner for the cake topper, then made some matching pompoms using a variety of fabrics.  I wasn't sure I liked the color combination, so I tried again with softer shades of purple.  I let my daughter choose her favorite (which turned out to be the first ones!)

And this was my reward--spending time with my two precious grandchildren, who live much too far away:

My adorable granddaughter wasn't a big fan of the cake, which seemed to perplex her equally-adorable brother.

Oh, and they don't live in a tropical climate, far removed from the cold weather and snow currently sweeping across the country.  This party actually took place in August.  I'm that slow.

Birthday Card for a Young Boy

I made this birthday card from two of my most-used Cricut cartridges.  The monkey is from the Cricut cartridge Create a Critter 2 and the bear balloon is from the original Create a Critter cartridge.  I used button-shaped brads on the monkey's shirt and baker's twine for the balloon string. Since the card was for a boy, I didn't want to add too much bling, but I though cutting the balloon from glitter paper would add a little extra sparkle for a very special young man who brightens up my life.

Do you have a Cricut cartridge you find yourself using over and over again?  I would love to hear what your favorites are!

Toy Story Birthday Card

It seems like only yesterday I was writing to announce that my daughter was expecting her miracle baby.  That precious boy just turned three.  

Yes, time flies.  I think when we are raising our own children we're so busy that we don't realize just how quickly the years are passing, until one day we look up and our babies are grown.  But with grandchildren, especially those who live too far away, we are reminded with every photograph or visit that the years are indeed slipping by.  That's exactly how I felt when I realized my first grandson was turning three.

Three.  That's a big number.  Especially when you realize he's speaking in real sentences.  Wears big-boy pants.  And doesn't just walk, but runs all over the place.  He's still adorable.  But by no means is he a baby any more.

I love when a child has favorite toys and characters, especially when I have a Cricut cartridge to match.  My grandson just recently developed a love for the "Toy Story" movies, so his birthday card was easy to plan.  I used the Cricut cartridge "Toy Story" for the Woody character, and with my Cricut Explore I utilized the print-then-cut feature (which is so much easier than cutting all those teeny-tiny pieces, then trying to layer them).  I also printed and cut a balloon image, then layered the number "3" on top.  I cut some twine for the balloon strings and let Woody hold them.  

The first thing my grandson said upon opening the card was, "Where's Buzz Lightyear?"  Kids don't miss anything.

Of course this granny was right on top of that.  Just wait until he sees his valentine.

Anniversary or Valentine card

With Valentine's Day less than a week away, I thought it was the right time to share this card.  It was actually the anniversary card I made my husband last year, but I never got around to posting it.  And since this year's valentine will most likely be finished just before dinner on Saturday, this was the only romantic valentine I had any hope of sharing before the holiday is over.

Creativity isn't really my thing and I'm ready to own that.  (I'm not sure how I ended up with a 10 ft. x 9 ft. room filled with enough paper products and embellishments to start my own scrapbook store, but here I am.)  At some point during my many, many trips around the www, the idea of using negative space to add dimension and texture to a project had been planted in my brain.  It seemed like something my husband would appreciate, so the seed took root and a card was born.

I cut strategically-placed hearts out of patterned paper using my Cricut Expression, then backed the openings with red corrugated paper that I had attempted to soften with gold paint.  The color didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but with time running out I decided to adhere it to the solid card base before I could change my mind.  As a final touch, I cut a strip of patterned paper that contained the word "love" and stamped "31 years of" to complete the sentiment.  

(All those years of wedded "bliss" weren't easy to achieve, and I was going to acknowledge every last one.)

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Heart-shaped Valentine Card

Here's another valentine card from 2014.  I made one of these for each of my two oldest granddaughters.

I used the heart-shaped card from the Cricut cartridge "Wild Card".  I didn't even pretend to get fancy; I made them exactly as they were designed.  But I did go the extra 1/4 mile by making envelopes using some floral scrapbook paper and my Martha Stewart scoring board.

If I don't fast-forward back to 2015 and get busy soon, this year's cards might just be construction paper with "Happy Valentine's Day" scribbled in crayon.

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Girl's Valentine Card

As I shared yesterday, I am not really ahead of schedule with completed valentines this early in February. This is actually the card I made my youngest granddaughter last year.

I found this adorable Koala on the Cricut cartridge "Create a Critter 2".  I stamped and heat embossed the word "love" onto the heart, then cut the phrase "Happy Valentine's Day" from the same cartridge (to which I added "1st" since it was indeed her first Valentine's Day) and glued the sentiment inside.

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Boy's Valentine Card

No, I haven't actually made valentines for my grandchildren this year.  This is the one I made for my grandson last year.  But I'm actually posting it nearly two weeks before Valentine's Day...doesn't that count for something?

The bear is from the Cricut cartridge "Create a Critter 2".  I stamped and heat-embossed the word "love" onto the heart, hoping it would resemble a candy conversation heart (it doesn't).  I finished by cutting the sentiment "Happy Valentine's Day" from the same cartridge and gluing it inside.

Not especially fancy or creative, but thank goodness small children aren't yet judgmental.

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Hello Kitty Birthday Card

I have been a real slacker with my blog over the past year.  I'd like to say I promise to do better in 2015, but since it's February 1st already and this is my first post of the year, I think that ship has already sailed.  

If you think my blog has been neglected, my crafting supplies have hardly been touched.  So I'm digging into my photo archives to find something...anything...that I've created and haven't yet shared. 

This is a birthday card I made for my young niece last summer using the Cricut cartridge "Hello Kitty Font".   To make the card a little more fancy (at least in comparison to the basic rectangle I usually make), I decided to attempt a shaped card using Cricut Craft Room.  I used the shadow feature from the Hello Kitty image I had chosen and welded it onto a rectangle long enough to make the size card I wanted.  The best I could come up with was this semi-shaped card, to which I then glued the layered Hello Kitty image.  I added some glitter glue to the heart (what little girl doesn't like a little sparkle?) and stamped a sentiment in the corner. Simple, just the way I like it.

Thanks for looking!