Hello Kitty Birthday Card

Today was a nice, relaxing day. I had a birthday party to go to this afternoon. It was my cousin's baby's first birthday party. I used the Cricut Hello Kitty cartridge. I can't say it enough: I LOVE that cartridge! To be honest, even though I can't live without the Make the Cut software program, I will always have a Cricut just for the sake of being able to cut the cute Hello Kitty images! =)

I kept this card somewhat simple as I did not have a whole lot of time to work on it. I used pp from the Doodlebug Nifty Notions line. I love, love, love this paper! Sometimes, I come across paper that I just can't resist, and this was one of them. The pink pp used for the heart is also by Doodlebug. I'm a HUGE Doodlebug fan if you haven't figured that out by now. LOL!

I raised Hello Kitty with pop-dots, used Glossy Accents on her bow, and also stickled the Happy Birthday sentiment. I was glad when my cousin texted me and told me that she just loved the card!

Speaking of cards that were well-received, this evening, my stepdaughter's boyfriend came over for dinner; and, I was able to finally give him his graduation card. It was the one in my last post. He seemed surprised that I made it, stating that the card was "sick". LOL He thanked me and gave me a hug. I was really surprised by his reaction simply because he's a guy -- and most guys don't really care much about crafty things.

You know, I guess I was reminded twice today that something I create can bring a little bit of happiness to someone. It was a really nice reminder! =)

Another Graduation Card

Happy Monday, Bloggers! Hope you all had a good weekend. I was able to do a little shopping for some craft goodies, but I didn't have a chance to tackle my craft room and organize everything. I REALLY need to finally get rid of some of the old stuff I have -- stuff that I know I will never use like some of the really old Making Memories embellishments and some of the older lines of paper from miscellaneous manufacturers. I PROMISED myself I'd make a huge dent this week. No more putting it off. Wish me luck! :)

Today, I want to share another graduation card I made. Not sure why the picture looks blurry when it is clear on my computer when I view it before uploading? Oh, well ... This card was really diffcult for me to put together because it's for a guy. I really struggle when it comes to designing things for men because I can't really do cutesie or blingy -- two of my most favorite things!

I decided to work with red and white which are the school colors. The star pp is a Prom-themed pp from Reminisce. I didn't have any Prom pictures to scrap, but I liked the stars and knew I could use them on something eventually since stars are so versatile. I used MTC to design and cut '2011'. The graduation cap was an svg file I got as a free download. I will have to look that up and post that later tonight or tomorrow. The twine is from Etsy. The saying at the top of the card is the school motto which I printed out and finished off with some red brads. Thanks for looking!

Mini Hand Sanitizer Holder Party Favors (inspired by "Despicable Me")

Do you ever feel like you have a million things to do? It seems that I always feel that way! I always seem to have several half-done projects laying around. Well, one project I needed to finish this week was a set of party favors for a birthday party my older daughter is going to on Saturday. It's for one of her good friends at school who happens to love the movie "Despicable Me". I was inspired by the Minions when choosing the colors for the favors. I used yellow, gray, and blue. I added a girlish touch by including some pink also.

Hawaii FINALLY has a Bath & Body Works store (YAYYYY!!!!), so I thought this would be a great party favor. So did my daughter's friend. I first saw this idea on Dawn's Stamping Thoughts I tend to be a bit anal as far as how I want things, so I did alter the measurements a little. In the video, she uses an oval punch for the opening, but I didn't have one. Because of that and because I also wanted an easier way to cut the holder, I created a simple digital cut file using MTC.

Here is an up-close view of the two different color combos. I used a rhinestone on each for a little touch of bling and also to resemble the snap on a purse flap.

Here is a view of the holder when opened. The front flap is held closed with velcro.

Here is a side view showing how the hand gel sits inside. You can also see that I used pop dots for the blue heart to add dimension.

I like how these turned out, but I am glad I can cross another project off my list. This weekend, I have a few cards to work on. Just hope I can finish them! Thanks for looking!

Cricut Hello Kitty Graduation Card

Happy Tuesday everyone! Last night, I was determined to finish this card and refused to go to bed until it was done. Sometimes, I get so focused on a project that I can't stop and lose all track of time. I'm so glad this one is finished though, as I have a lot of other projects to work on this week.

I'm happy to say that I finally found a good spot to take my pictures. At least, I think the lighting is better than before. I really need to get a new battery for my DRebel, though! Oh, how I miss taking pictures with that camera! For now, I'm relying on my Samsung p & s camera. It will have to do for now.

On to today's share. This is a graduation card I made for a relative. She's graduating from Moanalua High School, so I designed the card with the school colors in mind. This was one of those projects that turned out completely different from what I originally envisioned. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, as a lot of my projects seem to take that route! It took me a while to play around with the different color combinations and placement. I tend to keep fiddling with the different design elements until I finally feel it's good enough. I'm sure a lot of you can relate!

Hello Kitty was cut from the Cricut Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge. I really LOVE that cartridge. I mean, who doesn't love Hello Kitty, right??? I used red Doodlebug pp for her bow and then went over with Glossy Accents. The 'congrats' sentiment is from a Hero Arts set. I used MTC to design and cut '2011'. I used a varsity letter type font which I downloaded off the internet. It just seemed so appropriate given the theme of the card. The silver pp behind it was embossed with the D Vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder. Ribbon by Offray, twine from Etsy, and heart charm from The Charming Place.

I'm working on a sympathy card next and then some party favors. I also have two birthday cards to work on. Hopefully, I'll be back tonight with another project to share. Thanks for looking!

Strawberry Tag for Fruit-Themed Swap

This is another tag I created for a tag swap. This was for the Easy/Fruit category. It only required two embellishments, but it was hard for me to keep it simple! The strawberry is from the Cricut Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge. I stickled it to add some sparkle and then pop-dotted for dimension. Just wish you could see the sparkle from the stickles in the pictures! The word 'sweet' was cut with MTC. I did faux stitching and also added a dewdrop in front and at the end of the word. The little seed packet tag was a stamp from the same line. The words '100% sweet' were from a Studio G stamp set. The paper is from the Berrylicious line by Imaginesce. LOVE that line!!! I'll be back with more projects in the next day or two! Thanks for looking. :)

Kitchen-Themed Tags for a Tag Swap

It's been a REALLY long time since I've blogged. Ever since the day we were blessed with little Maddie, it seems that days and weeks just fly by! I really don't know where the time goes sometimes! In fact, I can't believe it's already mid-May. UGH !!! So many things to accomplish this year that I haven't even started on!

Well, one of my goals for this year was to do way more crafting than I've ever done. It seems that I tend to be more of a scrapbook supply collector than anything else! I actually have several projects to work on this week, so now's a good time to return to blogland! =)

My first post for the week is a kitchen-themed tag that I created for a tag swap. Yikes! I wish the pictures were better, though. I'm still trying to find the perfect spot at home to take pictures of my project. :(

Well, I enjoy baking and cooking, so the kitchen theme for this tag was perfect for me. Some groups in this swap were Easy and some were Advanced. This fell in the Easy category.

The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up set and has been Stickled and pop-dotted. The checkered paper is by Doodlebug. I don't remember which line the brown paper came from. Cardstock base is Bazzill. Heart charm from The Charming Place. Twine from Etsy. Both ribbons from my stash (sorry, don't know manufacturer). White Scrapper's Floss is from Karen Foster. White skittles were purchased from a friend. The wooden spoon was cut with my Cricut using MTC. I don't remember where I got the SVG from, though.

I hope my swap partners enjoy their tags. I'm thinking these would go great in a recipe book or as a gift tag for a food item. I do have another tag to post and will post that tomorrow. Thanks for looking!