Christmas In July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop! The theme for this week is Cricut Christmas - Anything Goes. If you arrived here from Laura's Blog, then you're in the right spot. If not, you'll want to start at the beginning at Paulette's Blog. We've got some talented Cricut crafters lined up and they can't wait to show you the Christmas project they created! So make sure you visit each blog in the hop and leave a comment. Not only because we all love comments, but because each blog you comment on will give you an entry in the prize drawings! Our wonderful blog hostess,Paulette is giving away a prize! This week's prize is a Christmas Village cartridge. After the drawing for this week's cartridge, all the entries will be added to the entries from the first 3 weeks and a winner will be drawn for a Christmas (Noel) Solutions cartridge! So be sure to follow, comment and hop!

My project for this week is a Christmas card that is really out of the box for me. I have a hard time combining patterned papers, but I did it on this card.

This is an A2 size card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). The base is ivory cardstock. The red layer (on the front and inside) is 4" x 5 1/4", the green snowflake cardstock (front and inside) is 3 3/4" x 5". The ivory layer on the inside of the card is 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". All solid cardstock is Recollections and the patterned cardstock is The Paper Studio from the Ornamental Christmas paper pack.

I used the Close To My Heart Art Philosopy cartridge to cut the tag an stocking. The tag was cut at 4" and I used the hide/contour feature on my Gypsy to hide the stocking cutout. The stocking was cut at 3". Both the tag and stocking can be found on page 67 of the handbook. I then added a button to the tag.

Here is a picture of my Gypsy screen, as well as a picture of my mat with the paper on it.

Thank you for stopping by my blog to see my project. Your next stop in the hop is Lisa.

Here is the complete line up for the hop in case you get lost.

Paulette - http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
Sis - http://papercraftscissors.com/
Maria - http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://www.coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/
Brenda - http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/  YOU ARE HERE
Lisa - http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/
Donna - http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/
Cindy - http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/
Angela - http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/
Theresa - http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/
Beth - http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/
Betsy - http://betsymcreates.blogspot.com/
Loraine - http://www.lorainespaperplayhouse.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Card

I made this birthday card for my friend Chris' birthday.

The base is Recollections cardstock and is cut at 4 1/2" using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  The orange layer is Recollections cardstock and is cut at 4" using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, and is embossed using the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The patterned paper layer is from the DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack and is cut at 3 1/2" using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The cardstock used for the flower is Recollections and is cut at 2 1/4" using the Sophie Cricut cartridge.  The bling used for the center of the flower is Queen and Co. Twinkle Goosebumps.  For the banner, I stamped on a 3/4" piece of white Recollections cardstock, then notched the ends to make a banner.  The stamps used on the front and inside are CTMH Card Chatter - Birthday.  I used the CTMH Archival Black Exclusive Ink Pad.

Birthday Cards

Today was my Mom's and son's birthday, and I waited to the last minute to make their cards.  I have to remind myself to not wait in the future.

Here is the card I made my Mom:

Outside of card

Inside of card

I used my Gypsy and EA2 to make the cuts.  Here is the Gypsy screen shot:

The cartridge used for this card is Close To My Heart's (CTMH) Art Philosophy.  The dragonfly (page 24 in the handbook) was cut at a height of 2 1/2 inches and the banner (page 26 in the handbook) was cut at a height of 2 inches.  I used a card base that I bought at Hobby Lobby.  The background paper and banner trim is from CTMH's Lucy paper pack (item X7149B), the background of the dragonfly is from CTMH's Dotty For You paper pack (which was the May special), the layer of the dragonfly is CTMH's Sweet Leaf cardstock (item X5639) and the background cardstock for the banner is Bazzill.  I used CTMH's Card Chatter - Birthday stamp set (item D1475) to stamp the sentiment, using CTMH's Olive stamp pad (item Z2137), on the outside and inside.

I added Queen & Co.'s Irridescent Rhinestones on the dragonfly's body, bent up the wings on the layer to add dimension and attached with pop dots.  I then added a bow made from American Crafts Grass glitter ribbon.

Here is the card I made my son:

Outside of card

Inside of card

I also used my Gypsy and EA2 to make the cuts.  Here is the Gypsy screen shot:

I used two cartridges for this card.  The Celebrations cartridge was used to cut the dog (page 112 in the handbook) at a height of 3 1/2 inches, and CTMH's Art Philosophy was used to cut the banner (page 56 in the handbook) at a height of 1 1/4 inches.  I used a card base that I bought at Hobby Lobby.  The background paper and banner trim is from CTMH's Pemberley paper pack (item X7148B), the white cardstock used for the dog and banner is CTMH's White Daisy (item 1385), and all other cardstock is Bazzill.  I used CTMH's Card Chatter - Birthday stamp set (item D1475) to stamp the sentiment, using CTMH's Outdoor Denim stamp pad (item Z2140), on the outside and inside.

I hope you enjoyed my cards.

I usually to advertise in my blog post, but I'm making an exception at this time.  Close To My Heart (CTMH) is having a great special for the month of June.  For every two stamp sets you buy, you get a third set of equal or less value free - no limit.  The only thing is, CTMH will automatically give the lowest price stamp set for free.  I wanted you to be aware of this.  If you like the CTMH products you see and would like to order them, please visit my website at brendahalstead.ctmh.com

Welcome to SweetSassyDiva's Birthday Blog Hop - Day 2

We are celebrating Bobbi Jo's (SweetSassyDiva) birthday this weekend March 10th and 11th. Each day will be a new project and be sure to check out the yummy blog candy giveaways!

I am so happy that you could join us for this super fun Blog Hop showcasing Birthday Themed fun!

You will find an array of ideas along the hop and be sure to become a follower and leave some love aka comments along the way.

This is a TWO-Day hop so, be sure to catch both days for maximum celebration and ideas.

As we spring forward with the time change as well as with Spring coming so soon...let's get this party started! Hop on over to all the blogs along the way!

If you've hopped over from Anita at http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place. If you've just popped in to visit my blog or are reading this via email and would like to join our SweetSassyDiva Birthday Blog hop and FUN then, please start at the beginning with Bobbi Jo's blog at http://sweetsassydiva.com/  because...starting at the start is always SMART! :)

We have a WONDERFUL Grand Prize for one lucky hopper that is donated by Bobbi Jo!  It is a cricut cartridge called Sophie.

To be eligible, please visit each blog hop stop leaving a comment also, become a follower at http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and be sure to leave a comment!

One random winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 14th, giving you plenty of time to finish the hop.

My projects for the second day of this blog hop wall decorations for my grandson's birthday party.  The first project is a banner for which I used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the banner and banner layer at 5 inches, and I also used Art Philosophy to cut the letter at 2 inches.  I used B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at 4 inches.  I used the My Minds Eye Party Time stack for the patterned paper of the banner, Bazzill cardstock for everything else and Martha Stewart ribbon.  For the sock monkey wall decoration, I used B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at 9 inches, I used Art Philosophy to cut the happy birthday sign at 6 inches wide and I used Birthday Bash to cut "happy birthday" at 4.25 inches wide. Here are my projects:

What would a blog hop be without blog candy?  I'm giving away a Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder.  All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on yesterday's and today's posts (I'd also love it if you become a follower), along with a way to contact you.  I will draw a winner, using random.org, on Wednesday, March 14th.

Thank you for checking out my project. I hope that you will become a follower of http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and my blog and leave us a comment.

The fun doesn't end here though so be sure to hop on over to Dana at http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/.


Here is the complete list in case you get of track:

Bobbi Jo http://sweetsassydiva.com/

Lucy http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/

Michele  http://www.michelegreen.com/

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/

Mindy http://grammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Lori  http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/

Missie http://createdbymissie.blogspot.com/

Jennifer  http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Anita http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/   YOU ARE HERE!

Dana http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/

Maria http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

Cori http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatedbycori.blogspot.com%2F&h=MAQGyLzao

Michele http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Sandy http://thecraftycreationspot.blogspot.com/

Jenny  http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Suzanne http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

Sylvia www.bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com/



Welcome to the SweetSassyDiva's Birthday Blog Hop! - Day 1

We are celebrating Bobbi Jo's (SweetSassyDiva) birthday this weekend March 10th and 11th. Each day will be a new project and be sure to check out the yummy blog candy giveaways!

I am so happy that you could join us for this super fun Blog Hop showcasing Birthday Themed fun!

You will find an array of ideas along the hop and be sure to become a follower and leave some love aka comments along the way.

This is a TWO-Day hop so, be sure to catch both days for maximum celebration and ideas.

As we spring forward with the time change as well as with Spring coming so soon...let's get this party started! Hop on over to all the blogs along the way!

If you've hopped over from Anita at http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place. If you've just popped in to visit my blog or are reading this via email and would like to join our SweetSassyDiva Birthday Blog hop and FUN then, please start at the beginning with Bobbi Jo's blog at http://sweetsassydiva.com/  because...starting at the start is always SMART! :)

We have a WONDERFUL Grand Prize for one lucky hopper that is donated by Bobbi Jo!  It is a cricut cartridge called Sophie.

To be eligible, please visit each blog hop stop leaving a comment also, become a follower at http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and be sure to leave a comment!

One random winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 14th, giving you plenty of time to finish the hop.

My project for the first day of this blog hop is a treat bag that we will be giving guests at my grandson's birthday party.  I used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the bag (I can't remember the size because I played with different sizes) and B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at a height of 4 inches.  I used the My Minds Eye Party Time stack for the bag and Bazzill cardstock for the sock monkey.  We'll fill these treat bags with all kinds of little toys and candy.  Here is my treat bag:

What would a blog hop be without blog candy?  I'm giving away a Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder.  All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on today's and tomorrow's posts (I'd also love it if you become a follower), along with a way to contact you.  I will draw a winner, using random.org, on Wednesday, March 14th.

Thank you for checking out my project. I hope that you will become a follower of http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and my blog and leave us a comment.

The fun doesn't end here though so be sure to hop on over to Dana at http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/.

Be sure to also check back tomorrow for some more celebration and more chances to win!

Here is the complete list in case you get of track:

Bobbi Jo http://sweetsassydiva.com/

Lucy http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/

Michele  http://www.michelegreen.com/

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/

Mindy http://grammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Lori  http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/

Missie http://createdbymissie.blogspot.com/

Jennifer  http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Anita http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/   YOU ARE HERE!

Dana http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/

Maria http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

Cori http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatedbycori.blogspot.com%2F&h=MAQGyLzao

Michele http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Sandy http://thecraftycreationspot.blogspot.com/

Jenny  http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Suzanne http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

Sylvia www.bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com/



Love Is In The Air Blog Hop

Welcome to the Love is in the Air blog hop hosted by Paulette from Around the Block with Scrapalette! You should have arrived here from Tammy's blog. If you didn't, you can go to Around the Block with Scrapalette, start at the beginning of the hop and enter to win blog candy. Our projects are all about love and Valentine's Day.

Here are my projects, which are a heart shaped gift box and a Valentine's Day card.

I used the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the gift box and card.  I used Fit to Page to cut each one of these.  I used K&Co Smitten specialty paper to cut the gift box, and used Art Philosophy to cut the background for the sentiment (2 inches) from Bazzill cardstock and used the Close To My Heart Celebration stamp set (part of the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy bundle) to stamp the sentiment.  I used cardstock from my stash to cut the base of the card, used Art Philosophy to cut out the heart (2 inches) from Bazzill cardstock and again used the Close To My Heart Celebration stamp set to stamp on the heart.  I also used American Craft glitter ribbon to tie around the card.

Thanks for hopping by and now hop to Amy's blog.
Here's the Blog List in case you get lost along your way.

Paulette from http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Dana from http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Beth from http://thunderbirdlindybydesign.blogspot.com/

Sis from http://papercraftscissors.wordpress.com/

Doreen from http://polkadotpaperprincess.blogspot.com/

Cindy from http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

Deb from http://www.queenmommy.com/

Michele from http://www.michelegreen.com/

Carolyn from http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/

Colleen from http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth from http://www.217creations.com/

Sukie from http://www.scrappindhilly.blogspot.com/

Sharon from http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/

Renee from http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/

Tammy from http://www.scrapcavecreations.com/

Brenda from http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/

Amy from http://scrap-pix.blogspot.com/

Jami from http://thepaperfarm.blogspot.com/

Terri from http://scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/

Meg from http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/

Birthday Card using CTMH Products

My first project of 2012 is a birthday card using my Close To My Heart (CTMH) products.  Here is the card:

I used cardstock and patterned paper from the Sonoma Level 2 Paper Pack (item # X7143B); ribbon, ribbon slide, frame and brads are from the Olive Mini-Melody set (item #Z1489); stamp used on the outside of the card is from the Wonderful You stamp set and the stamps used on the inside of the card are from the Celebration stamp set, which is part of the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection (item #Z1686).

One of my goals this year is to really promote my CTMH business, so I'm planning to make a lot of projects using CTMH products to show customers some ideas.

Had a Good Scrapping Weekend!

Last weekend I went to a scrapping retreat.  It sure was good to get with my friends to scrap and have a good time!  Here are just a few layouts I completed:

I used the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge on this layout.  I used the instructions for the CTMH Elementals Workshop On The Go and adapted it to fit my needs.  Everything on this layout is CTMH.

For this layout, all carstock is Bazzill.  I used my Gypsy and created the title with the Don Juan Cricut cartridge and welded the letters together.  I can't remember what size I cut them.  The deer was cut from the Give A Hoot Cricut cartridge at a height of 5".

Believe it or not, I didn't use my Cricut at all on this layout!  The paper is from a paper pack I bought from HSN, the buttons are from the 3 Birds Cute As A Button kit, the butterflies are Dazzles stickers and the tag for the title is CTMH.

All cardstock on this layout is Bazzill.  I believe the title was cut from the Don Juan Cricut cartridge, but don't hold me to that since it was 1 in the morning when I did this.  The buttons are from the 3 Birds Cute As A Button kit.