Just Buggin Blog Hop!

Hi everyone!

I am so excited for today! Welcome to our FIRST EVER Just Buggin Blog Hop! I'm the first stop on the hop today, so grab your coffee (or...other beverage of choice!) and settle in for a fun hop!

Hidden on several of the blogs are prizes, so make sure you leave everyone a little love to increase your chances of winning! The winners will be posted on Monday, March 1st, so you have from now until midnight Sunday the 28th (PST) to post your comments!

The other special surprise is a spot as a "Guest Designer" on Just Buggin for the month of March! You and your project will be featured on the Just Buggin Blog, and you'll get to play along with our team! How exciting, right?! After you finish the hop, go back to Just Buggin and link your project in Mr. Linky using our challenge theme. One lucky winner will be selected out of all linked entries!

For our special Blog Hop weekend challenge : Spring into Spring - Use a Spring color combo, flowers, or anything "Spring" like on your project.

Here's my scrapbook layout:

I loved this Spring picture of Gwynie from school last year. I cannot believe she was only 9 at the time, she just looks so mature!

The journaling reads:

My Gwynie girl - I can't believe you are only 9 years old in this picture! You are so mature and act so much older than you really are. I {heart} this picture! April 2009

(Sorry the colors just would not come out right on the full thing! The close ups below best represent the colors!)

For all the various flowers I used a combination of the Doodlecharms cartridge (cream button centers), my Big Shot and Flower Layers die from SU, and a small flower punch also from SU. I loved combining all these different papers and shapes. The book print (going with the school theme, lol) was from an actual book that I punched out several scallop circles and mushed together for a fluffy flower.

For my journaling square I stamped the lines with the Journaling Lines set from SU, and did a spiral edge border punch to fit in even more with the school theme.

The word "Spring" was cut with the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge, and inked up with a speckled stamp from Tough Guy by Skipping Stones Design. A small flower and button on top of the "i" set it apart, but kept with the rest of the layout.

I hope you're feeling inspired for this challenge, and that you'll get loads more on the hop today! Your next stop on the hop is Karen!

Supplies
CS: Old Olive
DSP: My Minds Eye Collections (Oh La La and Bloom and Grow lines)
Ink: Old Olive
Stamps: Tough Guy by Skipping Stones Design, Journaling Spot by SU
Misc: Flower Layers die, Doodlecharms cartridge, Gypsy Wanderings cartridge, American Crafts buttons (Blue Skies line from DCRU), hemp, flower punch, spiral edge punch, book print

BELOW IS A LIST OF ALL BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS. If there is a broken link along the hop, you can come back here or head to Just Buggin to find the master list as well.

Participants:

Begin at - Just Buggin http://www.justbugginchallenges.blogspot.com/

Kandi http://www.kraftykandikrafts.blogspot.com/

Karen http://www.saxostamper1.blogspot.com/
Lynne http://www.scrapthiscraftthat.blogspot.com/
Hope http://hope2mygirls.blogspot.com/
Mindy http://scrappyandpiggy.blogspot.com/
Stephanie http://seastephscreations.blogspot.com/
Robin W http://rwade1969.blogspot.com/

Samantha http://thescrapmaster.blogspot.com/

Marti http://pezadoodle.wordpress.com/

Birthdays are...

A card for 3 challenges because I've been a slacker lately! And it has to be quick since I'm super busy tonight! ;)



DCRU - Leftover Valentines (MME Be Loved scraps - yes I actually had some of that!)

EBTKS - sketch

Moxie Fab - Stamp Olympics- Birthday

The adorable cupcake and the sentiment are from Buns N Crunches by Skipping Stones Design. At totally simple and quick card but I'm loving those kind lately! I did take a little extra step to paper piece the cupcake and it looks yum to me! ;)

Supplies
CS: Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom
DSP: MME Be Loved Collection
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow
Stamp: Buns N Crunches by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: square punch, corner rounder

School Pages!

These aren't quite finished, but I wanted to share since I don't have anything new to show, haha! I've been having some migraine issues so I haven't been crafting too much, which has been a major bummer, but I'm hoping that things get better real soon...considering the last two months have been awful. Anyway, I still need to add the journaling, but I need to have Brady write his favorite things (on the first page) like I've had Gwynie do the last few years. Its a fun way to remember what they liked from year to year, and to see their handwriting change each year! I should have had him do it right after school ended, but with them in year round school its so weird trying to remember things like that, lol! Maybe this will push me to get it added to the page so I can call it complete. ;)

Everything on these pages (except cardstock) are from a kit from Scenic Route.

And some close ups of the chipboard embellies and stickers. I always love to take a nail file to the edges of chipboard shapes to reveal the white core and give it a distressed look. Oh, also, the brads are from SU.


In this little spot I'll add some journaling about the things he learned, places they went, etc.

Supplies

CS: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red

DSP: Scenic Route Kit

Misc: Scenic Route chipboard letters and stickers; SU brads stars and bold brights

Happy Birthday SSD Sketch!

Wow, a week sure has flown by hasn't it?! This weekend can't seem to get here fast enough now however! Jake and I have a lot planned since he is finally done with the Wrestling season and doesn't have tournaments and duels on the weekends. More on that later though! ;) Today is another fabulous day as we have a Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday! If you recently purchased some SSD sets be sure to join us for these fun sketches! I know I would love to come take a look, so if you make a card with this sketch and your SSD sets, leave me a comment with your link so I can leave you some love! :)

Also, feel free to grab this badge over at SSD!

Here is the sketch this week provided by Brenda of Bleu Bella Paperie. She has given us some wonderful sketches and I know we have appreciated her month with us!

Here is my simple springy card using Dandelion Dreams. I wanted to make a spring card with soft colors and a little flower...I am totally ready for Spring!! We had a few snow flurries this weekend, but fortunately it has stayed in the mountains. I can't wait for it to be warm and sunny and for my lawn to be green again!

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!
Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell
February Guest Sketch Artist Belinda Chang

Supplies
CS: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Pale Plum, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Ink: Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Pale Plum, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Stamp: Dandelion Dreams
Misc: George cartridge (for ovals), Sherbet Designer button, dmc floss

A forgotten card...

So, I've been trying to dig through my stash of cards that I hoard, ahem I mean, that I *save* for the perfect person to give it to. ;) I'm feeling the "urge to purge" my craft room and thought that was an easy place to start. Yikes, totally wrong! I'm worried about even going through my stacks of paper now...that will be a long job! I was also going through some old pictures I took last year of cards, and found one I never posted to the blog-o. Mainly because this particular one was going to be a surprise for my Mom...oops!

I decided to post it today and let her know "its in the mail..." ;) how many times have you heard that one MOM?! (I get my bad mailing habits from her!) But seriously, I know its still here in my card box, I just have to dig and find it so I can have the kids write her a little message and send it off. Another goal I "loosely" set for myself is to mail my family in Florida a card once a month, or at least my Mom. ;) I sent one last month, and time is running out for February so I gotta hurry!

My isn't really a sewing type person, but I took the chipboard heart, covered it to look like a patchwork quilt, and then just went with that theme. I made this last June I think, in preparation for Grandparents day...hmmm....better late than never right? ;)

Supplies

CS: Kraft, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Scenic Route

Misc: twill tape, Olive grosgrain, Opposites Attract Cartridge, Cosmo Cricket chipboard heart, hemp, buttons

A Quickie Card...

If you're a cardmaker that actually mails your cards to people (haha not me usually, but I'm getting better about it!) then you know about wanting to make a "flat" but fun card. Embellishments like buttons and ribbons add some bulk to the card, and although make it pretty, may add a little more on your postage!

So I challenged myself to make a card with only two layers...a card base with a stamped piece and no embellishments. I kept wanting to add, add, add, but I'm glad I relied on colors and stamps to accomplish my goal!

I used the same leafy images that I used in my purple card yesterday, and the silhouette flower from Dandelion Dreams. Those gorgeous butterflies are also included in the set! I variated between Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, and White for my ink colors, and then added a hand drawn chocolate border. The sentiment comes from Healing Wings.

Remember my goal to use each image in a stamp set (that I get new this year) on a card or project? Well, I'm doing pretty well with it actually! Even though I got the set You Know You're Gettin Old in December 09, I am so happy to say I've used each image in that set! New sets this year that I've used all the stamps are Garden Kiss and Blocks & Borders - Swirls (even though you haven't seen one card using the last image yet, its for a DT project so you'll see it soon!) both from Skipping Stones Design. I have a few sets that only have a sentiment or two that need to be used, etc. so I'm definitely going to focus on those (hopefully this weekend!) so I can check them off my list! It feels good to have a goal, even it was kind of a "loose" goal! ;) I also decided to give myself one other challenge this year....to make 210 projects in 2010. Possible, maybe? Definitely another "loose" goal though. Last year trying to do 365 scrapbook layouts was way too much for me, but if I combine all my cards and layouts together, well I think 210 is within reach. Maybe. We'll see. Check back with me later this year. ;)

Supplies
CS: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, White
Stamps: Dandelion Dreams and Healing Wings by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Brown Zig Marker

Hop(e) for Haiti Live Auction!

All the cards from the blog hop(e) and the 4 pre-released stamp sets are up!

Check them out here!

Gratitude...

Here's a simple and fun card using NO patterned papers for the DCRU challenge this week! :) I made my own paper with this cool set from Skipping Stones Design using the recently released Dandelion Dreams.

I stamped two of the smaller leafy stamps using both Pale Plum and Perfect Plum ink onto Pale Plum cardstock. Doesn't it remind you of lilacs? I thought this large silhouette stamp would look really cool with a shadow behind it, so I stamped the Pale Plum first, and then roughly lined up the image and stamped over it in Perfect Plum. Can you tell I'm in Spring Mode? Or at least wishing for Spring?! ;) The sentiment "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life" comes from the set Healing Wings.

Supplies
CS: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Stamps: Dandelion Dreams and Healing Wings by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: SU border punch, Ticket corner punch, Certainly Celery Twill ribbon

JB #25 - Black and White!

The challenge this week at Just Buggin is Challenge 25 -Black and White - Make a black and white project -you can use ONE other color if needed.

I seriously don't think I've EVER made just a B/W card....EVER! I've always combined at least one other color with the two and old habits die hard I guess. ;) When I thought of the black and white challenge I thought about black heels for some reason and it stuck with me. I have a favorite pair of black heels that I wear to work, out to the bar, and even with my jeans at a wrestling match. ;) Oh ya, good times! (Especially sprinting down a high school hall way in heels racing my son, heeee!) So of course I wanted to make a simple card with a black heel and add some bling to it! I'm thinking this card will go to my friend Mel. She loves black heels as much as I do so I know she'll appreciate it! ;)

Adding some super cute shoes and sentiment from the Well Behaved set by Skipping Stones Design made this card so easy to put together! Both the scallop and shoe were cut out with my Gypsy and the Gypsy Wanderings cart. So loving my Gypsy, I use it all the time when designing my Cricut projects. Love it Mom and Dad, thanks so much! :)

I folded over some ribbon to create a base for my scallop and added some gemstones on either side. I love how it really makes you focus in on the center!

Make sure to check out the Just Buggin blog to see the other DT projects and come play with us! Also some exciting news! Just Buggin is doing a Blog Hop February 26th-28th! There will be blog candy on hidden blogs (wink wink), and you can also win a chance to be a Guest Designer with us during March! Check out Just Buggin for all the info today!

Supplies
CS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Passion
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Passion
Stamps: Well Behaved by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: gemstones, black satin ribbon, Gypsy Wanderings cart, 1/16 in hole punch

SSD Sketch Tuesday and Hop(e) for Haiti!

Its time for another Skipping Stones Design Sketch Tuesday, AAANNNDDDD its our Blog Hop(e) for Haiti! Make sure you start back at the SSD site for the beginning of the hop in case you arrived here otherwise. You should have arrived here from Jen del Muro's blog.

Heather, the super-duper-amazingly-talented (and of course awesome and super sweet!) owner of SSD, is donating $2 to the American Red Cross for every stamp set that is sold over the next week. How cool is that?! Wanna know some more cool news?! Since you are on this hop, you can bid on the cards you see today! That's right! ALL proceeds from the auction will go directly to the ARC!!! Please visit the Skipping Stones Design Blog for further details on the auction!

As a company, we wanted to do something to give back to the people who have been so devastated by the Haitian Earthquake. So we thought what better way than to invite some of our favorite stampers to join us in this cause. Each card you see on the blog hop today will be auctioned on E-bay with all proceeds going to the Red Cross in support of the Haitian Relief Effort (please check the Skipping Stones Design Website for the link to the auction). 100% of the proceeds of the Ebay auction and $2.00 from every stamp set purchased from February 16 - 22 will be donated to the Red Cross. We know that we can make a difference.

Also, I got to ask two of my blogging friends to participate in the hop, and I was super excited when they accepted! Make sure to leave some love for my awesome friends, Courtney of Practicing Creativity and Sharon of Ladybug Designs!!

(Such a cool sketch right? Belinda rocks!) The Stamp Tramps are using this sketch today in conjunction with the blog hop. On this particular card I first decided I wanted to tackle that circle part. I didn't have a stamp set or color scheme in mind AT ALL. So I thought, start small and work around that. I looked through my stamps and figured out what I thought what would be a good "focal image" for that circle. I ended up picking one of the hats in the Well Behaved (Special Edition) set. After I picked that hat it was like everything just exploded in my mind!

I immediately thought of doing an elegant type card and I pulled out this really cool Hambly paper and some matching cardstocks. My thought was to use the swirly squares as the two different sides, but when I put them side by side it look waaaay overboard. So I reached into my scrap pink pile and pulled out an already embossed little square. Yep, already embossed with the Swirls CB folder! How perfect right?!

Here is my finished card, but let me tell you a little more about it!

After I stamped the hat and laid my pieces together I thought something was missing. (Just a note the CB swirls didn't have ink at this point it was just a plain pink embossed piece) The hat looked a little lonely. So I took a strip from the Frills set and curved it around the circle and clear block. Voila, instant frilly border around the hat! Then I added the pearls and I sighed a happy sigh. Do you ever have happy sighs in your crafty room? I love em! ;)

So here I am laying everything on my card and the pink embossed piece is just blah, so I put it directly on my ink pad and slowly and *gently* rubbed it in the pad. This made it so only the embossed portions picked up the ink and not the whole piece. Yay my swirls now stood out! The last piece was the sentiment. I initially did it on pink, but it just stared looking too pink. So drawing from the cream in the pearls I used some vanilla cardstock and inked the edges in chocolate to make it stand out.

Ok a totally long winded dissertation on the making of my card, but I thought it was fun to share. ;) I'm always intrigued by how different sketches, color combos, or even stamp sets are used. I love the versatility and talent/skill I see all over and its just fun to me! If you decide to make a card with this sketch I'd love to see it!

Sooooo if you want to bid on this card along with a few other designers cards, take a look at the SSD Blog for all the info!

Your next stop on the blog hop is Sankari Wegman's blog!

Now, how about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! There will be a few pre-release sets up for grabs hidden along the blog hop. The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!!

Supplies
CS: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP: Hambly Screen Prints
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Stamps: Well Behaved and Frills by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: mini pearls, Cricut George (circles), Swirls CB embossing folder

CIG February Layout!

Its time for the DT Reveal at Create It Green! As usual each month the Layout and Card teams have a sketch, and the Altered Art Team has a fun challenge with different elements. Make sure to take a look at the CIG Blog for everyone's projects!

This is the sketch the Layout Team was challenged with using this month. As usual, I didn't stick entirely to the sketch, but that's ok. Sketches are really a jumping off point, right? ;)

For the "GREEN" part of my project today, I used something right out of my garage! Have you ever done a small home repair project and ended up with lots of extra materials? If you've ever patched up a hole in a wall, you've probably used mesh tape before doing the mud work and paint. Well, then you know what a HUGE roll you get! This has sat in my garage for the last three years doing nothing! I've always wanted to play around with it in my crafty room, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity!

First, I layed strips down onto some kraft cardstock and brayered over it in chocolate chip ink.

Here's the final result, pretty interesting looking right?!

Here's what a I did with my handmade "patterned paper"! I added some foam thickers to create my title for a layout.

I rubbed the finished piece in my ink pad to give the letters a "muddy" look.

Here's the sneak peek you got last Monday! I roughed up the edges of my cardstock and rubbed it into my ink pad. Love the grungy look!

Here's another close up shot! I cut a strip and a small square of my mesh paper to continue to look throughout the layout.

And one more close up before the full thing. My sisters husband, my husband, and son went "Muddin" when we visited them in Oregon a few years ago. I love their little pose! My son sure loves his Uncle Josh! ;)



And here's the full layout! I'm so glad I finally got these scrapbooked! (Granted I still have a few more pictures that I'll need to do for a 2 page layout, but at least the idea is in place!) I knew I wanted something fun and muddy looking, so I'm estatic that I accomplished the look I was going for. ;) Don't you love when that happens?! Usually its the other way around for me, haha! ;)

So are you inspired to try this sketch and use some "Green" items? Be sure to link your project up at the CIG Blog!

Supplies

CS: Kraft

DSP: Karen Foster Design (Off Road Collage)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Misc: mesh tape, brayer, Thickers, Creative Memories circle cutter, twine

Craft Critique Carnival!

Craft Critique is doing a Valentine's Day Carnival filled with lots of links to blogs with Valentine's projects! There are some super cool ones, and I can't wait to check them all out! My Bottlecap Love page is also linked in the Carnival. Be sure to check out all these fun ideas!

PS - I have some fun news to share, but I'm waiting on the ok to go before announcing it. (No I'm not pregnant - as if!) ;) Hopefully I can share soon!

Hop(e) for Haiti!

Hi everyone!



I'm so excited to announce a Blog Hop SSD will be putting on next week!

On Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 we will launch a very special blog hop...

During Hop(e) for Haiti we can all work together to help raise money. The money will be donated to the Red Cross to help those still struggling to get basic needs met after surviving the devastating January earthquake in Haiti.

On February 16th we will start our blog hop at Skipping Stones Design and visit the blogs of our Stamp Tramps Design Team and MANY specially invited guest bloggers. You are in for a treat with our special guests!

During the week following Feb 16th you will have a chance at winning fabulous prizes including pre-released stamp sets, as well as bidding on some of your favorite artists' work on our special Ebay auctions. (Links will be provided)

100% of the proceeds of the Ebay auction will go to the Red Cross. Please check back at Skipping Stones Design for updates.

I hope to see you hopping along with us next week!

PS - Today is Jake's birthday! He is at State Wrestling so he'll have to wait for his bday card!

It started with some ribbon...

I had this scrap of orange ribbon...and it leads to my card today, but in my true fashion I have a story behind it! ;)

While visiting my grandparents in Idaho over Christmas, my Grandma gave me a few spools of ribbon and some scraps she had. She sews dance costumes (she made Drill Team costumes for both my Aunt and I, 2o years apart but same high school, etc. haha! - Go Lakettes!) and always has a huge assortment of ribbons. She was happy to "de-junk" her ribbon drawer and I was happy to get some fun new ribbons! I have to digress again for a minute...do you remember the Friends episode where Monica had her "Ribbon Closet"?! I actually want a ribbon closet, haha!

Ok, so I had this scrap of orange ribbon from my Grandma that I wanted to see what I could come up with. (See that would have been tons easier to say but not as entertaining right?! Please humor me!) Now, I'm actually sad I don't have anymore of this ribbon. :( I will be searching for you, you cute orange satin ribbon!

I used kraft, chocolate, and vanilla cardstock to tone done the orange, and bring out the richness of each color. Doesn't this just make you smile and think of summer?! I stamed the script onto the kraft in chocolate ink from the Garden Kiss stamp set, and then the butterfly from the Healing Wings set. Its just what I needed during February...a promise of whats to come with Spring and Summer around the corner! ;)

Supplies
CS: Very Vanilla, Kraft, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Garden Kiss and Healing Wings by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, orange satin ribbon

SSD Sketch Tuesday!

Hey everyone! Its Tuesday so that means I have an SSD Sketch card to share with you today! Seriously, Tuesday has become such a fun day just because of this, haha! I love looking at the post made on the Skipping Stones Design Blog so I can see all the designers projects. Its total eye candy I tell ya! ;) Then I loving going to their individual blogs so I can get the details on how they made such adorable projects. See, Tuesday is GOOD! :D

Anyway, here is our next sketch created by the ever so talented Belinda, our February Guest Sketch Artist. So excited with the sketches she's given us this month, just you wait!

If you've visited my blog before you probably know that Cupcake Cutie is one of my very favorite SSD sets. Not gonna lie, I give these cupcakes lots of lovin! ;)

I decided that I wanted to stamp my cupcakes directly onto patterned paper just to see what it would look like. Well....I'm super happy with the result! I also stamped the "Sweet" a few times to fill in the blank spaces. Instead of adding another layer to my card like in the sketch, I simply stamped the sentiment and added brads on each side. I love that small little detail that makes it pop out! And of course I had to break out the border punch that is becoming my favorite, and my lovely celery ribbon. Which sadly is almost out, boo.

Here's a little close up of the sentiment below the cupcake. I LOVE this font, isnt' it so fun?!

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!
Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell
February Guest Sketch Artist Belinda Chang

Supplies
CS: Certainly Celery, Rose Red - SU DSP
Ink: Rose Red, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Stamp: Cupcake Cutie by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: Celery ribbon, Soft Subtles brads, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch

Blog Hop Winner and CIG Sneak Peek

Hi everyone!

Was that a super fun Blog Hop with Create It Green?! Wow, so many great ideas I know I'll be sure to save some of those for future projects! Today I thought I'd share a sneak peek at my Layout for this months challenge at CIG as well as my winner from the blog hop. Be sure to check out the CIG blog on the 15th for the Full Design Team reveal!

Ok, here is a sneak peek....


I bet you are all wondering what in the world I recycled, etc. so be sure to pop back on the 15th and I'll give you some details! :)

Thanks so much to everyone for your sweet comments about my recycled bottlecaps and scrapbook page! I spent pretty much all day Saturday at Sectionals for Wrestling so it was nice to get emails on my phone with your kind words. Made my day to feel a little "crafty" among all those high school boys and lots of testosterone! ;) Just kidding, I love those kids from the bottom of my heart! Or I must anyway for the amount of time we sacrafice, and the time I spend apart from my husband... haha. ;)

Anyway....the winner selected by Random.org is.....

And number 11 turned out to be.....

Congrats Mindy! Thanks for becoming a follower and for your lovely comment! Please email me at kandipants21 [at] gmail [dot] com your address so I can get your prize pack mailed out to you!

Re-Purpose With Love Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! I'm so glad you are "hopping" in the Create It Green blog hop! Today we are all coming together for a fun Valentines themed hop incorporating "green" items onto our projects! You should have arrived from Jan's blog.

I decided to do a scrapbook page since I'm a Layout Design Team member for CIG. My project has a green item, and went with the Valentine theme with some reds and pinks!

For my green recycled item, I used bottle caps! I had saved these from the last party we hosted, so it was super fun to put these to use finally. I got this idea from my blogging friend Samantha. You can see her description of how to do it here. The only thing I did differently was to fill my entire bottle cap with Crystal Effects instead of just the white circle. I did this because I used larger hearts.

I used my Cricut to cut out the "Love" as well as the hearts on the bottle caps. I wanted to make sure the journaling showed up on my chipboard base, so I streaked some white acrylic paint onto the area I'd be journaling on. After I added my journaling, some ribbons, and the title, I layered my photo onto a cardstock mat that was punched with my Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.

The journaling reads:

Celebrating our 8th anniversary at the Green Day concert! I couldn't think of a better way to spend such a fabulous day. It seems impossible to think that I love Jake more now than I did 8 years ago on our wedding day, but...I do. August 16, 2009






One other thing I wanted to point out. I save ALL of my scraps! After I finished cutting out my title, I popped it back into the Cricut to cut out my hearts. If you are creative enough you can get your scraps to go for miles! ;) This piece still has PLENTY of use in it, and I plan on using every last little bit up!

I hope you're having fun on the blog hop and are getting totally inspired to make your own "green" projects! Your next stop on the hop is Cyndi's blog!

Also, I do have a little prize to offer you today! Simply become a follower, leave me a comment, and I'll draw a winner and post on Monday the 8th! Here's the prize pack I'm offering up today!

BTW - You will need a word for our word search game!

EDIT: Opps my word is actually Make (not doesn't like I originally posted). Sorry about that! ;)

Happy Hopping!

2 clear stamp sets - Valentine themed (1 Inkadinkado and 1 Studio G) and 3 bottles of glitter glue by Studio G! They'll totally get you in a Valentine mood to make cards, layouts or other projects!

Supplies

CS: Chipboard, Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Whisper White

Misc: bottle caps, pink ribbon, Chocolate Chip ribbon, 1 in. Circle punch, George cartridge for hearts, Opposites Attract cartridge for Love title, white acrylic paint, brown Zig marker, stapler, Crystal Effects. Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, glue dots

Blog Hop Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Create It Green is having a Blog Hop! The theme is to Re-Purpose with Love so you'll see some fun projects featuring recycled items! Make sure you stop by tomorrow as I will have a prize up for grabs! The Blog Hop starts at Noon (EST), so be sure you start at the CIG Blog!

Just Buggin #23 - Love Ya!

Are you getting in the Valentine's spirit?! Jake and I don't usually do too much on V-Day, maybe dinner or a small gift. (Plus, its three days after his birthday, and its also during State Wrestling!) We don't feel we need "one day" to tell each other how much we mean to one another, but I am a sucker for the hearts and lovey dovey-ness of this time of year. ;)

So, its super fun that this week at Just Buggin we are doing a fun challenge geared towards this special time to say Love Ya! ;)

The challenge this week at Just Buggin is #23 - Love Ya! - Make something for Valentine's Day using your Cricut.

Do you have a special someone you want to make a little card or fun treat for? Husband, boyfriend, Mom, Dad, Kids, Grandmas and Grandpas...everyone deserves to get a little extra lovin! :) So use this challenge to get a card or two whipped out with your Cricut, and join us this week for a fun challenge!

Here's my card! I actually did 8 of these and used them as my swap card for the ladies I do a stamp group with! They'll be getting them this Friday, hope they like them! I cut the hearts out with the George cartridge, and then stamped them with the swirls from Priceless. A little bling on the hearts for fun, and a few extra details. Such a quick and simple card, but I love it!

Supplies
CS: Lavendar Lace, Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Lavendar Lace, Real Red
Stamp: Priceless, Warm Words
Misc: gemstones, Swiss Dots Embossing folder, George cartridge for hearts, grosgrain ribbon, Fiskars apron lace border punch

It's Party Time!

I think I'm still in shock that its February! I seriously cannot believe it, haha! Today is the first Tuesday of the month so that means the Stamp Tramps (aka the SSD Design Team) are back with a new Guest Sketch Artist, Belinda Chang! She'll be joining us this month and has given us some fabulous sketches! Here is this weeks sketch!

Now, I haven't been the best rule follower when it comes to sketches, so this week I focused really hard on staying true to the sketch! I even incorporated the star instead of changing out the shape! How proud of me are you? ;) Well at least I'm a teensy bit pleased with myself anyway, ha! :)


I used Blocks and Borders Swirls for my celery layer, and then Chic Martini for the martini glass and sentiment. I think this would be a great layout to use for party invites. It has interesting layers, yet you can keep it fairly flat for mailing! I could have used a cardstock layer and kept it flat, but I added a bow on this one since I don't plan on mailing it. Jake's birthday party is coming up soon, so I think this might be the one I use to hand out to our friends. ;)

You can even dress up the inside! All the stamps in the inside here are from Chic Martini. How fun is this set?! I lined up all the Date/Time/Place/RSVP stamps on a block and stamped them all at once. This makes quick work of getting everything ready! Then I decorated the edges with the olive, star, and a sentiment from the set.

I don't know about you, but I would love to get a cute invite like this in the mail for a fabby party! I sometimes get so caught up in just emailing or texting friends for a party that I forget how fun these are to make and receive!

Be sure to check out the other "Stamp Tramps" and our guest sketch artist to see what they've come up with!

Amanda Sewell
Angela Thomas
Chels VanWyk
Erin Grotegut
Mary Giemza
Michelle Giraud
Peggy Russell


February Guest Sketch Artist Belinda Chang

Supplies
CS: Real Red, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue
Ink: Certainly Celery, Real Red, Brocade Blue, Basic Black
Stamp: Blocks and Borders Swirls, Chic Martini by Skipping Stones Design
Misc: red gemstones, Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon, Copic YG03, George cartridge for star, SU clips assortment clip

January CARDS - Published Cards

It's February now (can you believe it?!) so I get to share the cards that were published in the January CARDS Magazine! Plus it gives me something to post today! ;)

We were at Regionals ALL DAY Saturday and were recouperating from the events on Sunday, haha, so needless to say I didn't get a thing done! ;) Talk about an emotional roller coaster though!! My hubs is a Network Admin for his "real" job, but is also a Wrestling Coach for a brand new (just built this year) high school. We had two guys place 1st out of our Region (and one of them was the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, yay!), four 2nd place guys, and a handful of other guys that medaled. Can I just tell you how sore my throat was after screaming and yelling and cheering these guys on?!! This coming weekend is Sectionals and then State the weekend after...whew! I'm already tired just thinking about it. ;) Then the other Coaches wife and I will be planning the end of year banquet. I'm so insanely proud of Jake and all that the Stallions have accomplished this year. I'm totally looking forward to next year, and seeing how we finish out this year!

This mini card set was in the background, and the card below was the one in focus on the shot. I loved how they staged everything!