Sweet Strawberry - Celebrate with Flourish & Lacey Labels

Happy Bitten by the Bug 2 Monday!  This week's challenge cut was selected by our sweet Design Team sister, Jeri.   Jeri chose the strawberry cut from the Simply Charmed cartridge.  I do not have Simply Charmed so I chose a different strawberry; I selected the strawberry from Celebrate with Flourish.  If you decide to play along and participate in the weekly challenge, you too can use any strawberry cut.  Just be sure to link your strawberry project to the BBTB2 blog!

And before we get into today's card, I have one more thing to share.  I liked Jeri's idea of a strawberry cut so much that I have decided to go with a berry theme for the week.  This card is the first of six berry themed projects that I plan to share this week.

I used all four layers of the Celebrate with Flourish strawberry and actually created a fifth layer for the leaves and stem.  I cut the icon image - the main strawberry - a second time in green cardstock.   I used micro-tipped scissors and trimmed the top of the strawberry adding the bottom layer of leaves.

I finished the strawberry with a ribbon, a flower charm, and assorted pink buttons.  I also added a few black doodles to the berry.

My main card pieces were cut using the Lacy Labels cartridge.  I welded the base card pieces together in Design Studio, then cut the same shape a second time a bit smaller.  I then cut two ovals on which to mat my berry and words.

Do you ever hate using quick dry glue?  I did when I used it on the word "Sweet", which was cut using Kate's ABC's. My word was not placed onto the matting correctly and then I could not move the word without ripping the paper.  Grrrr. 

As I stated above, this is the first of six berry themed projects I will be sharing this week.   Come back tomorrow for another berry flavored project!  In the meantime, you can head over to BBTB2 and check out the design teams strawberries!

Cricut Craft Room - First Project

If you read my blog last Saturday you may remember that I was having a difficult time with printing and cutting on my Imagine in the Cricut Craft Room.  Well... now having actually READ the information on the Craft Room, I discovered that it was a ID-10-T error (idiot) - the Imagine is not yet linked to the Craft Room.  Duhh.  So sheepishly I went back to the CR and selected Cricut Expression as my machine and VOILA! It worked wonderfully well!  I cannot wait to link up my Imagine also.

I used Lacy Labels exclusively to create this card.  The base card was created by welding two of the same shape together and was then cut in a double sided cardstock.  I then cut two toppers, in the same shape, in a dark brown cardstock and a reverse of the base card cardstock.  Finally I cut the branch with bird cut and the word Bliss.

After using my ATG gun to assemble all of the large pieces I got out some Copic markers and attacked the foliage branch and the word Bliss.  First I added two different greens to the leaves and then tan to the branches.  I finished the branch with a thin brown marker, adding dots and dashes to highlight random stem areas and leaves.  I used both green and blue markers on the work Bliss, and finished the word with white ink dots.  I chose to leave the bird solid cream so that the stark simplicity would pop off of the card. 

Before I affixed the branch to the base card I found a little bag of goodies that I received in the goody bag swap at the Cricut Circle Crop in Atlanta.  The package contained the great aqua colored trim and two coordinating buttons.  I attached the trim to the branch and then, adding two brown flowers, I sewed the buttons onto the branch sides.

I finished the card by adding an aqua-ish flower behind the bird to frame him.

I think you are all going to love the Cricut Craft Room when it goes public later in the month.  To me it takes the best parts of Gypsy and Design Studio and combines them into a great piece of software.  Oh, and for those like me that love DS but HATE the tiny images - the images are bigger too!!!  Woo-hoo!!!

Glam Wedding Dress Card

I have been struggling with locating my paper crafting mojo in recent weeks (hence the lack of posting).  Every so often I feel like my mojo takes a holiday and leaves me floundering.  I have found all sorts of activities and interests that I have let seduce me from the craft room while awaiting the return of my designing mojo.  Well tonight I put my foot down, designed a card, and made time for my Cricut.

I have always loved this pretty wedding dress cut from the Tie the Knot cartridge but I had not previously done much with the dress.  I needed a wedding card and I thought it was time to play with this dress.  I cut the shadow layer in a creamy white color.  The icon cut was completed in smooth white cardstock. And the overlay piece was cut (cutting twice) in a heavy white glitter cardstock.  

The base card was cut in ecru cardstock by welding two mirror image shapes from the Lacey Labels cartridge.  I trimmed the edges of the card front with a silver paint pen.  I also cut a top layer background in the same shape, but half an inch smaller than the base card, in a subtle yellow-cream floral tone on tone print.

I finished card with diamond gems using my I-Rock tool. I added silver paint to the dress sash and topped it with gems. I also added cream organza ribbon and flowers to soften and bling the card a bit.

I will be spending the weekend at the lake with my scrappy girlfriends and if anyone can help me find my missing mojo, this group can! So hopefully my blog will soon be back to normal.

Love Birds - Blog Hop - Blog Candy

Hello everyone! You may have arrived here from Julie's blog if you are following the BBTB2 blog hop. Either way, welcome!

I am finally back to blogging.  I was busy most of last week with one thing or another and the week finally reached its pinnacle on Saturday when Doug and I moved our younger son into his first non-university housing apartment.... On the third floor... With no elevator! (But mom, the rent is cheaper on the third floor!).  :-D  We manged to survive and Ian's apartment is adorable!!!  Far better than my first apartment!

So now that you know where I have been, let's move on to BBTB2!  It is time for the monthly blog hop and this week's challenge was selected by our wonderful Design Team sister, Maria, who asked us to use one or more of the lovely hearts from the Love Struck cartridge.  I chose the love birds.

I created a fold out card using Just Because Cartridge.  I cut an envelop, then used my trimmer to remove the side flaps.  I scored the two fold lines created a half circle fold down flap (see the photo above), a center 4 x 4 area, and an oblong oval flap (see the photo below). 

For the front of the card I cut the love birds heart from Love Struck in pale pink.  I cut the shadow in white. I used copic marks and highlighted random hearts and the birds.  I added satin hearts and a crystallized Prima rose to the front of the card.  I wrapped the lower flap with a dotted one inch ribbon and added an additional satin heart and heart stick pin. 

I added a white circle stamped with a simple sentiment to the inside of the flip down flap.

Inside the card I used Lacey Labels and cut a scalloped square, the trim for the square, and the old school Love Story style LOVE. 

I liked that this card was not my usual single fold card.  I enjoyed the more creative folds and style.  Now let's get on to the good stuff!  I have wonderful BLOG CANDY!  Thanks to Custom Crops I have a $25.00 gift voucher for one lucky winner.  Just leave a comment below before you hop on and you will be registered for the blog candy.

It is now time for you to continue along on the BBTB2 blog hop!  Your next stop is at the blog of our amazing Design Team sister, Penny.  I had the pleasure of meeting Penny in person last summer and I so enjoyed meeting Penny and her daughter, Krista.  Both are lovely and delightful!

I will be back tomorrow when I have a snowy layout to share.

At the bottom of the garden Hummingbird card

We're baaa-ack!  The Bitten by the Bug 2 design team is back from our lengthy holiday break!  Our Design Team sister Karen selected the team's first cut for 2011 - the Hummingbird from the Lyrical Letters cartridge.  The hummingbird is a single layer cut.  I used two cartridges to create this card, Lyrical Letters and Lacey Labels.

I am almost embarrassed to tell you that my scraproom is such a horrid mess that I had to hunt for the unopened Lacey Labels cartridge so that I could cut this design.  I should insert a photo of the scraproom, but modesty prevents me from embarrassing myself further.

I cut the hummingbird twice and heat embossed both the parent and baby birds with holographic embossing powder.  Finished the card with a wide Stampin' Up ribbon and pixie stamps.  Please do go by and check out the BBTB2 DT designs - they are wonderful!!

I will be back tomorrow with another Spellbinders card.