Monday, January 31, 2011

Happy BIrthday Kayla (card)

Hi all! I hope where ever you are you are safe and warm. The weather forcasters are all a twitter due to the "Blizzard of the Century" that is to arrive sometime tomorrow night. Living in the midwest, you would think we would be accustomed to this kind of weather, but the way they talk on the news, sounds like it is the end of the world! tee hee



On to today's feature! My oldest granddaughter celebrated her 6th birthday in late January and I needed to make her a card. She is in her 4th year of dance class and thought the images on the Twinkle Toes cartridge were perfect for her.

I made one just like this one, except for the dancer, I made the hair color to match Kayla. I realized that night I hadn't taken a photo of it, so I made another for my birthday card stash.

I cut the dancer at 4 3/4" tall. The drapes for the background is another image on the Twinkle Toes cartridge, but I used my Gypsy to stretch and narrow to fit a 5 x 7 card. I used a bit of Stickles for the bows in her hair.

I can't wait to use more of the images on this cartridge for layouts and cards for my two granddaughters that are in dance!


Thanks for stopping by!

Koala-t hugs,

Cathy

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Using Wrap It Up Cartridge

Here are a few more birthday cards for my stash. I had gotten the Wrap it Up cartridge, mostly for the unique boxes on it, but there are lots of phrases on it, great for cards.

This first one has a cupcake welded into the phrase for a simple birthday card. I used card stock from the DCWV stack Sweet, Corner is a Sizzix die and I used Stickles on the cupcake and on the corner.

Make a Wish with the balloons is also a cut on the Wrap It Up cartridge. I cut the balloons in white and colored with Copic markers. I used Stickles on the balloon and on the phrase. The background paper is from the Paper Studio Birthday Extravaganza stack.

Today, I've been on the computer all day! I've been looking for all the information I can find coming out of CHA Winter in Los Angeles. Facebook has been a great place for information. The new items from Provo Craft are the Expression 2 and the Cricut Craft Room - on on line design software. From the movies coming out of CHA, it looks GREAT! And I was looking for a new Expression as a backup (I've had my current Expression for several years, and I know it won't be lasting too much longer) I had been looking at the Black Friday Expression at Walmart, but was waiting for the price to come down. Now, I think I'll wait for the Expression 2 to come out!

CHA is for two more days and I'm sure there are lots more things to see.

Have a great Saturday!

Koala-t hugs,

Cathy

Friday, January 28, 2011

Using my Imagine

Hi All! Happy Friday! Winter still has its icy grip on the suburbs of Chicago, so I plan on staying in and creating for the next several days. The fridge and pantry are well stocked and I have no birthday parties or family commitments so it will be nice just to "hibernate" and be creative.

The projects selected for today were created using my Imagine. I don't use it all the time, but when I want to create something unique, I will get out my white cardstock and get to printing and cutting on the Imagine.

This first card, I used the Yummy cartridge for the flourish corners and background papers. I love the flourishes on this cartridge. Happy birthday was cut using Create a Critter and I used Stickles for the letters. For the one layer of the background paper, I used a white on white paper from SEI and printed on it with the Imagine. Then I took a cotton swab and rubbed the ink off the 'glazed' areas for a very unique effect. I will do a separate post for this paper on another day.



I used Yummy on this card also to create the ice cream sundae and the border. For more dimension, I used stickles for the chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry. The border is from the Martha Stewart All Occasion cartridge, using the print from Yummy. The background paper is from the DCWV stack Sweet.


After making many, many birthday cards, I look for unique greetings on the front of the card. When I saw this in the Yummy cartridge folder, I thought it would be great for a card. I cut the front in layers...the background is one layer in brown, the layer of pink with the words You Take, and the words THE CAKE the top layer. I used Stickles to give dimension to the cupcake and the words Background paper and border are from DCWV stack Sweet, and border punch by EK Success.


I want to experiment more with my Imagine to create more unique projects. I can't wait to try more of the glazed and white on white papers in the Imagine and see what effects I can get!

An exciting weekend is coming up, with CHA Winter starting Saturday, January 29. Its always fun to see all the new products previewed for crafters of all kinds! I look forward to seeing what Provo Craft has in store! I also like to see what is new and innovative for scrapbookers and papercrafters! Although it would be so much fun to be there in person, I will enjoy watching the blog posts and videos that will be released.

Have a great day!

Koala-t hugs,

Cathy

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Happy Birthday Jack and Juli

Today's feature are cards I made for my twin grandchildren. They don't officially turn 1 until February 18th, but since they moved to Japan, we celebrated their birthday early.

The first card was for Jack. Used Pooh and Friends cartridge and cut Tigger out at 5 1/2". Hip Hip Hooray was cut from Create a Critter.



This card was made for Juli. Piglet was cut using Pooh and Friends, at 5", balloons cut using Celebrations and Happy Birthday from Gypsy Wanderings. I colored in the balloons and characters using Copic markers.

The background paper was from the Birthday Extravaganza paper Stack by Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby's line ).

Its going to take some effort to get into the habit of posting every day, but I'm working towards that goal! I hope you visit often!

have a great day!

Koala-t hugs,

Cathy

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Back in the Saddle Again...

Yes, I'm back. I took a little break from blogging. At first, it was because things were so crazy busy. First it was the craft fair in November, then the three weeks I spent sewing princess dresses for my granddaughters. I then made quite a few gifts for the grandkids for the Christmas. I made robes and jackets and nightgowns. By that time I knew I had done enough sewing to last me for a long time. Before I realized it, its nearly the end of January and I'm ready to return to blogging and showing my work.

Although I was away from the blog for quite a while, I have been creating. I've been making cards, mostly birthday cards. With all the birthdays in my immediate family, it will be nice to have the cards made in advance. Also, I have plenty to post here on the blog.

For today's post, I am showing some t-shirts I created for Christmas gifts. I used the iron on transfer sheets, and printed and cut in the Imagine.

The first one was made for my Granddaughter Juli. I used the Sugar and Spice cartridge for the Snuggle Bunny image.




I made one of these t-shirts for each of my twin grandchildren. I used the font from the Paper Lace cartridge for "Nonnie". Heart shape from George and "ME" from Opposites Attract.


In the coming days and weeks, I'll be posting lots more often. Its good to be creative again and I hope you'll come back to see what I've been creating!

Have a great day!

Koala-t hugs,

Cathy