Happy 5th Birthday

I made this birthday card for my grandson's friend's 5th birthday.

This is a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 card. The base is Recollections cardstock. The patterned cardstock is 5 1/4 x 4, and is from the Simple Stories SN@P! Color Vibe paper pad. I used the Create A Critter 2 Cricut cartridge to cut the lion (on page 78 of the handbook) at 3 1/4", which is on page 78. All the solid cardstock is Recollections, and the hat was also cut from the Simple Stories SN@P! Color Vibe paper pad. I stamped the Happy Birthday banner using the Stampin' Up! Bitty Banners stamp set and cut it out using the coordinating die with my Cuttlebug. The number 5 was stamped using Close To My Heart's Hopscotch Alphabet stamp set (item # E1028). The inside white layer measures 4 1/2 x 3 1/4" and is Recollections cardstock. I stamped the sentiment using the Close To My Heart retired stamp set called Card Chatter - Birthday. I used Close To My Heart's Archival Black Ink stamp pad for my stamping.

I used my Gypsy to cut the layers of the lion, and here is a picture of my screen:

If you are interested in purchasing the Close To My Heart Hopscotch Alphabet stamp set or any other Close To My Heart products, please visit my website at http://brendahalstead.ctmh.com/.

Thanks for stopping by!

Two Halloween Cards and a Wedding Card

I made two Halloween cards at a crop last week, and here they are:

These are A2 size cards (4 1/4 x 5 1/2") I used Create A Critter 2 to make both of these cards. The Owl Witch and the Ghost Pirate were both cut at 3 1/2". All solid cardstock is Bazzill and the patterned paper is from the DCWV Halloween and Fall stack. The outside sentiment on the Owl card is from The Stamps of Life, and the sentiments are from past CTMH Stamp of the Month sets. The gems on the Owl card are from Queen & Co. The background mat on the Ghost card is from Elegant Edges and was cut at 4".

Here are screen shots of my Gypsy for cutting the Owl and Ghost.

Here is the wedding card I made and gave to the bride and groom last night.

This is also an A2 card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2"). I cut the mat for the outside at 4 x 5 1/4" and embossed it with the D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder and used a sponge to apply the yellow ink. On the inside, the bottom mat is 4 x 5 1/4" and the top mat is 3 3/4 x 5". I used the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge to cut the car at 2 1/2" and the Just Married sign at 1 3/4". I also used the "negative" of one of the cuts on the inside of the card and used a Studio G stamp to stamp I Do. I used a wooden block stamp I bought at Hobby Lobby for the Congratulations sentiment. I added a Recollections heart gem to the front of the card. All cardstock is Bazzill.

Here is my Gypsy screen for this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

50th Anniversary Party Invitations

I made this invitation for a surprise 50th Anniversary party for my parents. I bought gold foil paper for the layers and letters and the "You're Invited" stamp from Hobby Lobby.  I embossed the white layer on the front of the card using the D'vine Swirl Cuttlebug embossing folder. I used Cricut American Alphabet (one of the pre-loaded cartridges that came with my Cricut Expression 2 Anniversary Edition) for the numbers and letters.  I found gold ink at Michaels and used that to stamp the inside of the invitation.  I also found the gold ribbon at Michaels and thought it was the perfect touch to make the invitation more elegant.

My parents should be really surprised since I'm having the party about a month and a half before their actual anniversary.

Valentine's Card

I made this Valentine's card without using my Cricut, which is rare for me!  All the cardstock, including the base of the card, is Recollections.  The base is cream and is an A2 size card (5 1/2 x 4 1/4).  The red layer is 5 1/4 x 4, the cream layer is 5 x 3 3/4 and the black layer is 4 3/4 x 3 1/2.  The black layer was embossed with the Cuttlebug A2 Heart Blocks embossing folder.  The Love stamp is cut using the stamp die and embossing folder, which I believe came with the Cuttlebug.  The hearts are from a Cuttlebug die, but I don't know the name of it.  The inside red layer is 5 x 3 3/4 and the cream layer is 4 3/4 x 3 1/2.  The heart on the inside is also cut from the Cuttlebug die.

I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day!

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.

Lansing Swarm - February 12, 2011

I went to the Lansing Swarm yesterday and had a great time! I met so many nice people from the Cricut Circle message board. Mike from Provo Craft was there, and here is a picture of me with him.





I also made calling cards to swap with my fellow Circlets. I used the 50 States and Create A Critter cartridge, as well as a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Here it is:

Busy, Busy Weekend

This past weekend was a very busy one! I went to Sauders for a weekend crop on Friday and Saturday. I met Wendy and Sheila at Chili's at Spring Meadows at 9 a.m. on Friday and then we headed to Wauseon to hit Walmart and get breakfast. After breakfast, we headed to Sauders to start scrapping! They served a burrito/taco buffet for dinner, with a wonderful Chocolate Fluff dessert. Michelle from Wisconsin joined us about 4 p.m. We scrapped until almost 2 a.m.

Saturday morning we got up about 8 a.m., had breakfast and headed back to scrap some more. We went to The Barn for lunch, and I was stuffed! I used my Gypsy for every single thing I did. It sure is so much easier to cut things on the Cricut using my Gypsy! I left to head home about 4:30 p.m. so I could get home to start getting stuff done for Ethan's birthday party on Sunday.

Ethan's birthday party was at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. It was a cool day, so we had to be in the house. It was a little crowded, but Ethan had fun. We grilled hot dogs on the grill, had potato salad, macaroni & cheese and chips & dip. I decorated a SpongeBob Square Pants cake and Beth made cupcakes. We served vanilla ice cream squares with the cake / cupcakes.

Here is a picture of the card I made for Ethan at my weekend crop. I used my Gypsy to cut out the bug (from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge), balloon (from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge) and the 2 (from the Don Juan cartridge). I used the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder on the orange cardstock. All cardstock is Bazzill.