Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2 !

I absolutely adore Pinterest. Saving ideas and pictures with a click of a mouse, brilliant! In today's post, I'm using Pinterest to show you an image of one of the a new Cricut cartridges just debuted on Hello Thursday this month. It's called Tags, Bags, Boxes and More (TBBM) 2 and looks super versatile. I got my first Cricut almost two years ago, sadly after the first TBBM cartridge was headed towards retirement. Fortunately, Cricut offered a great deal to encourage people to buy Gypsy machines--5 free cartridges included the retired TBBM. I won't say I use it super often as I'm kind of a new cartridge junkie (or at least I was before I imposed a bit of a ban on shopping a while ago), but it's a great resource for those necessary shapes. TBBM2 looks a little edgier and less basic, but that's what makes it even more exciting. Can't wait to get my hands on this one:

Source: cricutblog.org via thefishie on Pinterest

Christmas Card #8

I'll have to check my camera, but I think this may be the last of the Christmas cards I made this year. Since I had to get a good 3-4 dozen made by the week before Christmas, I made multiples of each one. I even had a few left over for next year. I did finish my thank you notes over the weekend, so I'll try post that design soon. This one was made using the Christmas tree from Create a Critter (without the goofy face) and a border from Winter Frolic. The distressing didn't go perfectly, but such is life.



Supplies
Papertray ink cardstock and ribbon
Recollections Glitter cardstock
Create a Critter, Winter Frolic cartridges
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
Scrappy Mom's Stamps - Winter Wishes
Stickles
Ek Success punch
misc holiday lights

Christmas Card #7

I think my favorite cartridge this holiday season was the Winter Frolic cartridge. When I bought it last year, I envisioned making layouts and did make a cute little mini album. (Opps, just looked back and never photographed it. Next time I dig out my holiday albums, I'll try to correct that.) Anyway, I haven't made any full-size layouts but I have made a number of cute, super-simple cards like this little mouse.





Supplies
Papertray ink cardstock
Winter Frolic cartridge
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
misc brads

Christmas Card #6

Well, I finally broke down and bought the Just Because cartridge. I think it was that little red wagon on the box that drew me in or perhaps it was this little gingerbread man.



Supplies:
Papertay ink cardstock
Recollections Glitter cardstock
Just Because Cards Cricut Cartridge
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
Scrappy Mom's - Winter Wishes stamp set
Peachy Keen stamps - Snow Cutie Faces
EK Success Large Journal Plate & Bracket Punch
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
misc ribbon

One final look--not the best lighting

Christmas Card #5

Here's another 2011 holiday card using the Winter Frolic cartridge. The glitter cardstock is ordinary Recollections of Paper Company (either Joann or Michaels house paper), but really dresses up the card I think. The tag/scallop mat is a shape found on many cartridges. I had cut it as a snow background for another card, then never used it. When putting this collection of cards together it worked nicely, particularly after running it through my Cuttlebug.



Inside



Supplies:
Papertray ink cardstock
Winter Frolic cartridge
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
"Crystal ice" Cuttlebug embossing folder
My Pink Stamper - Winter Punnies stamps set

Christmas Card #4

Okay, I know the first week of January's gone, but life is finally seeming to balance out. Or rather, I'm not running around chasing Disney characters, traveling, or otherwise just plain exhausted. I do have a backlog of work to do, but everything will come in time. Here's another Christmas card I made, this time using the old-faithful cartridge: Create a Critter. Please ignore the tape that's peeking out. Rest assured, I did my best to fix that before popping it in the mail.





Supplies:
Papertray ink cardstock and ribbon
Create a Critter cartridge
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
EK Success tag punch
Mr. Cricut Crazy - Christmas Christmas stamps

Happy New Year!

On our way to Epcot to ring in the New Year. May yours be fun and safe. Hopefully, I'll have lots of ideas to share with you next year. 2012, here we come!

Merry Christmas!!! Card #3

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! May your day be filled with family, friends, good spirit, and yummy food. We're spending the holiday with my husband's parents in Chicago with mine flying up from Hawaii. There's sadly no snow on the ground, but it's a nice crisp wintery day nonetheless, which along with family makes it feel Christmasy enough.

Today's card goes along with my (apparently unrequited) love of snow. This might be my favorite snowman from the Winter Frolic cartridge. I also used a stamp from Tanner's (aka Mr. Cricut Crazy) Christmas, Christmas stamp set.





Supplies
Cartridges: Winter Frolic, Sesame Street Seasons
Mr. Cricut Crazy "Christmas, Christmas" stamps
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009
Paper Company glossy cardstock
misc twine, brad

2011 Christmas Cards - #2

I didn't particularly care for this reindeer from the Winter Frolic cartridge at first, but I'm quite pleased with how this card turned out. I don't remember where I cut the tag from, but that shape is found on several cartridges as well as many punches. Hope you like my card:





Supplies
Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge
Bug Bites - All Year Round stamps
Cuttlebug embossing folder
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009
Celebrate It ribbon

2011 Christmas Cards - #1

Sorry for the long bloggy absence. Somehow life's been exceptionally busy since Thanksgiving--too much shopping I'm sure. Now we're traveling until the new year, so it's even more difficult to maintain a routine since there are a variety of social obligations. That being said, through a marathon bit of cardmaking, I managed to make all my cards before we left on Wednesday. I sent 18 to my office some time ago, then made about 30 more for family and friends. The trick to getting them all finished was to keep them relatively simple and make multiples.

Here's the first:



Inside


Another rendition


Supplies:
Papertray ink cardstock
Gingerbread cartridge
DCWV Holiday Collection Paper Stack - 2009 (bought online at Joann's this year)
Scrappy Mom's Stamps - A Holiday to Remember
Cuttlebug folder - Candy Cane Stripes
twine

Hope you're having a wonder holiday season!

Holiday Tissue Boxes

I should be sleeping, but I wanted to share what I whipped up this evening. No, I haven't started decorating for Christmas, but these guys will go out right away as my tissue boxes looked naked. I modified a pattern in the February 2010 Crochet World magazine to add a holiday stripe. Here they are:

Today I'm unpacking my scraproom!!!

Why the long silence? The last three months have been overcome with moving--a move should never take that long, but this one has mainly because due to factors mostly beyond our control...mostly. Here's the long and torrid tale (and a card):

I packed up my apartment in late August and shipped off my Cricuts (and husband) to the mainland while I stayed behind, working throught mid-September. I did keep my Cricut Create and a few scraps of paper and cardstock, but crafting was a challenge. I had forgotten to keep useful tools like adhesives and sentiment stamps so wound up buying substandard items from Walmart and Ben Franklin. I was able to make this cute little guy using the Create a Critter cartridge and my gypsy.



Here's the inside. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the name of the stamps set is, but I believe it is from Hero Arts.


Next in mid-September, I left Hawaii for DC, arriving a good two weeks before my husband was scheduled to arrive and a good three weeks before our household items were scheduled to arrive from Hawaii--plenty of time to get things settled, right? Finding an apartment took only a weekend as there wasn't a whole lot to choose from in the geographic area north of Quantico that we wanted--most folks live south of the base where I am told the schools are better, but the congestion is terrible and the quality of schools isn't a concern at the moment. Plus, I'm far closer to good shopping where we're living now, yet still in a nice residential community. Anyway, after finding a place to live, I zipped over to Chicago to arrange movers for all my things which were packed up last October when I sadly left my apartment in Chicago with the wonderful lake view.

Source: smg.photobucket.com via thefishie on Pinterest

Source: smg.photobucket.com via thefishie on Pinterest

As I predicted, I was able to arrange for movers from Chicago to have my things delivered in Virginia in two weeks or the first week of October...the only probably was that the apartment would not be ready till mid-October. Here came the first delay, although theoretically that was fine as the Hawaii stuff was scheduled to arrive around then. Little did I know that the "required delivery date" on the household moving paperwork was a joke subject to at least two more delays.

After rescheduling my Chicago movers to late October, nearly a month after my arrival in Virginia, our first delivery of furniture arrived. Unfortunately, my craft room was not in this shipment and to say that I had enough stuff to fill an apartment one and a half times the size of the one we rented is an understatement. Thus, it took some creativity and a storage locker just to get a handle on those boxes.

Another two weeks later, and nearly a full month after the first "required by" delivery date, our things from Hawaii finally arrived, Cricuts included. Though we're still climbing over boxes in spots, a good handful from the Chicago delivery, the apartment fairly functional. Thus, today's the day to unpack the craftroom with the goal of getting in some quality crafting time tomorrow!

Happy Cruisin' Card

My mother-in-law recently said good by to her trusty Lincoln town car, which she drove for over a decade. This was a traumatic experience for her as apparently town cars are no longer made. However, like the loyal Detroit auto girl she is, fortunately she found a new car--a Cadillac, at a Detroit dealership. Hopefully, she will find as much pleasure driving it as she did her old boat. Here's the card we sent this week wishing her happy cruising.


(Note: her new car looks nothing like this one)





Details
Wrap it Up cartridge
Papertrey Ink cardstock and ribbon/twine
Quick Quotes Paper - Good Times Collection (this is from my local scrapbook store)
Scrappy Moms Stamps - Sun-Kissed
My Pink Stamper - Happiest Moments
Seeing Spots Cuttlebug folder
Sizzix Sizzlits labels #2 (oval)
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo

10 year old Birthday Card

I made this shaped card using my Gypsy for a special ten year old. There are tons of cupcakes and butterflies, but I used Create a Critter for both. The font is from Pooh Font.







Details
Create a Critter (butterfly at ~2" and cupcake at 3.5"), Pooh Font (~2")
Martha Stewart Brights Mat Pad
Little Yellow Bicycle - Sweet Love Collection
Misc daisy punch
Scrappy Moms Stamps - Simple Sentiments

Jolly Holly Elves

One of the most identifiable image from the Jolly Holly cartridge is the elf. Actually, there are about 4 or 5 different ones. Something about the hat, I think. Anyway, this is the third of the three different Christmas cards I made in July. I also did a couple of winter layouts, but other than that am not as far along on my cards as I'd like. One of my close friends had their first baby early throwing my paper crafting schedule a little off :) I'm still using up holiday paper from last year. Actually, unless I do a ton of layouts and mini-albums, I won't have to buy new paper this year at all. Well, I won't have to buy any more paper. I bought a huge DCWV collection pack (180 sheets) from Joann's for $5 not too long ago, but I'm not really counting that. . . ;) Anyway, I hope everyone's having a great Sunday. Here's my card:











Details
Jolly Hollys Cricut Lite Cartridge (images cut at 3.5")
October Afternoon (not sure of the name, but it's a holiday stack from last year)
Papertrey Ink cardstock and twine
EK Success Large Slim Paper Punch - Journal Plate & Bracket
Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Scrappy Mom's Winter Wishes stamps
Peachy Keen Stamps - Wide-eyed kids
Stickles
Misc ribbon and embellishments

First Christmas Cards of the Year

In efforts to jump-start my holiday card-making and celebrate "Christmas in July", I participated in a swap hosted by the fabulous Dusti of Scrappin With Cricut. Here are two of the three cards I make using the Cricut Lite cartridge Jolly Hollys. When it was released just before Christmas, this cartridge was impossible to find. Fortunately, Cricut released it on their website just in time for "Christmas in July" projects. The paper is leftover from last year, but I if you like it, so retailers may still have some on clearance.













Details
Jolly Hollys Cricut Lite Cartridge (images cut at 3.5")
Bella Road - Everybody Loves Christmas collection pattern paper
Papertrey Ink cardstock and twine
EK Success Large Slim Paper Punch - Journal Plate & Bracket
Stampin 'Up Scalloped Border Punch
My Pink Stamper Happiest Moments stamp set
Misc buttons and ribbon

First Mickey Layout

As you may know, I bought both the Pooh and Friends cartridge, as well as the Mickey and Friends cartridge. Here's my first layout--a super simple Mickey. He's cut at 8" and the grass at 1.75". The fence appears on the My World cartridge, as well as the Potpourri cartridge (thank you Mycutsearch.com!) and is cut at 3.5".

Happy Fourth of July!

We're running out the door to my auntie's for a bbq, but I wanted to post the banner I made for her. I used the Stand and Salute and Cricut Essentials cartridges, K&Co Marines paper pack, Bazzil cardstock, My Pink Stamper and Scrappy Mom stamps (set names to be added later) and twine from Papertrey Ink.