Spooktacular Banners For Special Needs Kids Blog Hop: Hello Kitty Candy Banner

Welcome to the annual Halloween Spooktacular Banner Hop for Special Needs Children! I am joining in on Day Two.

I am delighted to join with more than 3 dozen other women who have each made at least one Halloween-themed banner that will be donated to hang in the room of a medically-fragile child at Pediatric Specialty Care in Pennsylvania.

Our Hop Hostess (Ellen CardMonkey Jarvis) works at PSC’s Bucks County site as Admissions Coordinator. The Banner Hop starts there (CLICK), so please be sure to circle back to the beginning to see all of the terrific banners that have been made for these very special children.

Ellen shared this information with us about Pediatric Specialty Care: “PSC is a very special place where children stay either long- or short-term, typically after hospitalization.  Most are dependent on ventilators and other technology to survive. Some have been born too early or with genetic diseases or birth injuries.  Other children suffer injuries later in life that require constant care later, including brain injuries from trauma or loss of oxygen (from choking, suffocation or drowning) and spinal cord injuries.

These children and their families -- and PSC’s staff -- will be thrilled to receive the Halloween banners, to help brighten the season when their friends and siblings will be out trick-or-treating.”

Here is the banner I am sending to a child at PSC:

(click on picture for close up view)

Since this banner is going to a child, I wanted to be sure to stay away from anything scary.  Candy immediately came to mind!  I don't know about you, but when I think of Halloween, I get excited about all the candy!  YUM! :)

I created my banner using a base of cardstock and patterned paper from an older Doodlebug collection.  The orange trim is patterned paper cut with a scallop edge punch.  I cut the banner letters out of the same paper using the Storybook Cricut cartridge.  The green circles backing the letters were cut with a Nestie.  Hello Kitty was cut from the Hello Kitty Greeting Cricut cartridge.  

(click on picture for close up view)

I added Googly eyes to Miss Kitty, a sticker to her tummy, and a 3-D Jolee's lollipop sticker. I lucked out with the lollipop sticker.  It fit perfectly in her hand!

All of the letters have a little embellishment.  For example, the letter C has dimensional candy apple stickers.

Here is a close up of the second Hello Kitty included on the banner:

This hop is two days (Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2), and on each day you will see different banners. So, be sure to check out both days' hops to see the truly inspirational work of these generous bloggers, and leave some love (comments) on as many sites as you can – because if you do, you can up your chances to win some Spooktacular blog candy, including from these sponsors:

Madge's Scrappin' Lounge is donating a $25 gift certificate to her store at http://madgesscrappinlounge.storenvy.com/!

Lisa Peters - $15 shopping spree to her adorable paper piecing store at Scrapping With Lisa Designs at www.scrappingwithlisadesigns.com

Lucy Kelleher - Independent Consultant for Close to My Heart is donating a $10 Gift Certificate which you can use towards any Close to My Heart products! ( http://lucyk.ctmh.com/). To enter to win, you will need to leave a comment on her blog (http://love2createitall.com/) and become a follower of her blog. For an additional entry, "Like" her Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/LucyK.CTMH.

Debi Weidleman - Independent Consultant for Stampin' Up is also donating a $10 Gift Certificate which you can use towards any Stampin' Up products - http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/debiweid/.

Erica's Craft Room is donating two Cricut cartridges (!!!) -- Pretty Pennants and Mini Books.  Please visit and say thank you to Erica at http://www.shop.ericascraftroom.com/. 

To qualify, all you have to do is leave at least one comment on our Hostess’s site CLICK HERE to visit cardmonkey's paper jungle to name which banner spoke to you – ghostly or not!  What made it appealing to you?  Leave additional comments on as many banner makers’ sites as you’d like for extra chances to win!  Prize winners will be announced on Monday, September 3 on the CardMonkey site, where there will be a round-up of all of the Spooktacular banners for 2012.

Please move on your way to the next stop, which is: Yvette's Blog. Thank you again for visiting!

Below is the complete lineup for today:

1. Ellen ♥ CardMonkey - http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
2. Sandie Dunne - http://sandieshores.blogspot.ie/search/label/banner%20hop
3. Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com/
4. Lucy ~ http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/
5. Dena ~ http://missdjones.blogspot.com/
6. Yvette ~ http://gammascreativecorner.blogspot.com/
7. Jamie ~ http://craftygirl21.blogspot.com/
8. Nancie ~ http://alittlepieceofmebynancie.blogspot.com/
9. Beth ~ http://motherandaughterdesigns.blogspot.com/
10. Erica ~ http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/
11. Jearise ~ http://lorbyworld.blogspot.com
12. Jenny - http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
13. Lisa T.- http://bitbythecricutbug.blogspot.com
14. Robin ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
15. Jessica S ~ http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com
16. Lori A ~ http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/
17. Jenny D. ~ http://www.yogimemories.blogspot.com/
18. Linda Simpson - http://lindasimpsoncraftypieceofheaven.blogspot.com
19. Beckie ~ http://justbcreativecrazy.blogspot.com
20. Scrappin Madge: http://www.thescrappinlounge.com
21. Jennifer R ~ http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
22. Debbie T ~ http://debbiescrafttime.blogspot.co.uk/
23. Tami McD ~ http://tamboscreations.blgspot.com
24.  Susan ~ http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/

DAY TWO of the Create a Critter Blog Hop (PANDA)

Hello, everyone!  Today is Day TWO of the Create A Critter Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from CallyAnn's blog.  If you're just joining the hop and want to start at the beginning, please hop on over to Ashley's blog.  This is a two-day hop featuring projects using the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge.  If you missed Day One's posts, be sure to check them out. There are prizes to be won, and you can get all of that info on Ashley's blog.

For today's project, I turned to the panda image on the CAC cart.  Doesn't this panda look so huggable?  I used patterned papers from Bo Bunny's Serenity 6 x 6 paper pad.  The sentiment was computer-generated using an Asian font called Seven Monkey Fury.  What a fun name for a font, huh?  LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't forget to check out Ashley's blog for all the blog candy info.  Now, please hop on over to Sheila's blog to check out her fun CAC creation.  Thanks for hopping with us this weekend!

Below is the complete lineup :

Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com

Nicolette- http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com

Tanner - http://www.mrcricutcrazy.com/

Jamie - http://scrapqueen141.blogspot.com/

Rachelle - http://creationsbyRachelle.blogspot.com

nikki- http://creationsbymommy.com/

Haidee: http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/

Kathy: http://kathyand3kids.blogspot.com

Monica www.monicascreativemadness.com

Jamie - http://jamielindstromdesigns.com

Jamie- http://jamiek711designs.blogspot.com/

CallyAnn-http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com

Dena: http://missdjones.blogspot.com/ <<<;--- YOU ARE HERE

Sheila http://2pawprints.blogspot.com <<<--- NEXT STOP

Angela-http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com

Create A Critter Blog Hop (Day One): Frog

Hello, everyone!  Today is Day One of the Create A Critter Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from CallyAnn's blog.  If you're just joining the hop and want to start at the beginning, please hop on over to Ashley's blog.  This is a two-day hop featuring projects using the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge.  There are prizes to be won, so be sure to check out Ashley's blog for all the info!

My 20-month-old daughter loves frogs.  I think it's because of an episode of "Sesame Street".  Whenever she sees a frog, whether it's on TV or on a shirt, or sticker, etc .... she says, "Bah-BET!" which is her version of "RIBBIT".  LOL!!!  So, of course, I just had to use the frog image for my first project.

I made a shaped card using Cricut Design Studio.  I used the shadow feature and lined up two of them on the mat.  Then, I flipped one of them 180 degrees and welded the two images together.  If you want a visual of this, you can do a search on YouTube.  It's actually pretty easy!

I then cut the frog layers as I normally would.  I used some fun, green polka-dotted paper.  I also made this a girl frog by adding a pink bow to her head.  My little one loved her frog card!  Of course, she promptly colored her frog card as soon as I gave it to her.  LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to check out Ashley's blog for all the blog candy info.  Now, please hop on over to Sheila's blog to check out her fun CAC creation; and, don't forget to return tomorrow for Day Two of our blog hop!

Below is the complete lineup :

Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com

Nicolette- http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com

Tanner - http://www.mrcricutcrazy.com/

Jamie - http://scrapqueen141.blogspot.com/

Rachelle - http://creationsbyRachelle.blogspot.com

nikki- http://creationsbymommy.com/

Haidee: http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/

Kathy: http://kathyand3kids.blogspot.com

Monica www.monicascreativemadness.com

Jamie - http://jamielindstromdesigns.com

Jamie- http://jamiek711designs.blogspot.com/

CallyAnn-http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com

Dena: http://missdjones.blogspot.com/ <<<--- YOU ARE HERE

Sheila http://2pawprints.blogspot.com <<<---- NEXT STOP

Angela-http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com

Super Mario Mushrooms!!!

Hi, everyone!  As I mentioned previously, my baby turned one this past Saturday, and we threw a birthday party for her.  We went with a superhero theme.  I'll be posting tons of pics later, but for now, I wanted to share some felt mushrooms I made for my nephew to put on his cape for the party.  

My nephew is almost three years old and loves Super Mario!  While Super Mario isn't exactly a superhero, I knew that my nephew would love to decorate his cape with something from the videogame.  While searching the internet for a digital cut file, I came across this Super Mario Mushroom SVG file.  I used the MTC software and a cut file I downloaded here.  

I first cut a mushroom with my Cricut and then traced the images on felt to be handcut after.  If you look closely, each mushroom consists of only two pieces.  The base was pretty easy to cut.  The top piece wasn't so bad.  If I remember correctly, these mushrooms are about 3 inches high.  For the eyes, instead of cutting and gluing those small pieces, I used the negative as a stencil and colored in the eyes with a black Sharpie pen.  Easy peasy!  My nephew lined up all five mushrooms -- or "toads" as he called them -- at the bottom of his cape.  It was so cute, and I wish I had taken a picture! Darn!  He did LOVE his cape, though!!!

Anyway, if you have a son or daughter that is in to Super Mario, he or she will probably love these.  I'm thinking of even using them on cards.  They are just too cute!  Thanks for looking and have a great Friday!

Oreo Cookie Recipe Card Swap

Hi, Bloggers!!!  I hope you all enjoyed the Labor Day weekend!  It's been a while since I've posted.  I was crazy busy planning and working on things for my youngest daughter's first birthday party which was on Saturday.  I LOVE planning events, but I always worry that I will forget something important!  I was so glad when it was over.  Everyone had a great time and loved all the little details.  I will be posting tons of pictures once I can sort through them and type out everything.

Today, I am sharing a recipe card I made for an Oreo Cookie Recipe Swap.  I was really happy with how this turned out. I found the Oreo font online and used it to create the OREO logo at the bottom and also to type out the Oreo slogan:  Milk's Favorite Cookie.  I used the Create-a-Critter cartridge to cut the milk bottle and pop-dotted it to add dimension.  Isn't that milk bottle just too cute?  LOL  I also added some black and white polka dot ribbon that was leftover from my daughter's party..heh..heh.  Oh, for the record, I haven't actually tried this recipe, but it sure does look YUMMY!  Enjoy!

Baby Shower Card and Diaper Cake

Hello, Friends! Hope you are all enjoying the weekend. I had a nice Saturday with friends. We threw a surprise baby shower for a girlfriend expecting her second baby. I was excited because most of my friends are done having kids, and I didn't think I'd have an opportunity to help plan one for a long time.

The first thing I want to share is the card that I made for my girlfriend. I used the Kate's Silhouettes set from svgcuts.com. I love how girly the images in this set are! The color scheme we went with for the shower was brown and pink, so I chose to use some pink patterned paper for the woman's dress. I really wanted to coordinate the diaper cake and the card. The background paper on the card is by Imaginesce. When I first saw it, I knew immediately that it was the paper I wanted to use for the card and diaper cake.



This is a close-up of the cake topper. I used a cut file from Lettering Delights to cut the flower. I used the Elliot the Elephant freebie cut file from svgcuts.com. I thought Elliot was the perfect choice since the patterned paper I used included images of an elephant. I really did want to add more to this diaper cake such as flowers on the sides of the cake, and maybe some baby blocks behind the elephant on top of the cake. Unfortunately, I just didn't have enough time. :(



Here is another picture of the top layer of the diaper cake. I really like the spiral type of diaper cake vs. the type where you roll each diaper and secure with a rubber band. This version is way quicker!



Full view of the diaper cake



This is a cake bunting that I made for the baby shower cake. All images were cut with my Cricut using MTC and cut files from Lettering Delights. The hearts on the onesies were from the MTC software. I have to say that I really dislike how the Cricut fails miserably at cutting intricate items. The hearts were crooked! :(
Other than that, the bunting was pretty easy to put together. The trickiest part was securing the twine to the skewers.

At the start of the party, I actually put the cake bunting on the top layer of the diaper cake. Later, I put it on the actual baby shower cake. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that.

I enjoyed creating these items for the baby shower. I highly recommend using the same patterned papers for everything in as much as possible. It's just nice to see everything all tied in together. I'm happy to say that I got a lot of nice compliments on everything.

Well, I hope you all have a fun and safe Fourth of July weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Card For Niece

Happy Saturday, Bloggers! I have a busy weekend ahead, but I guess that is typical for any Mom, right? LOL I have tons of projects to work on, a doctor's appointment for Maddie, a graduation party tonight, housecleaning, etc ... A Mom's job is never done! =)

Well, today I'd like to share a birthday card I made for our niece. She's 12, and I was a little worried about making a card that might seem too kiddish for her. I think cupcakes fit the bill for people of all ages, so I cut a cupcake from the Sweet Treats Cricut cartridge. I really love the bright color combos on this one. I added some ribbon and bling to finish it off. Thanks for looking! :)

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! =)

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!

I'm Officially a Cricuteer !!!!!!

I did it! I broke down and treated myself to a Cricut E!!! YAHOOOO!!!! I had been thinking about getting either a Silhouette or a Cricut but was pretty torn. Without boring you with details, I decided that I would just get three diecut machines: the Big Shot (already got it), the Cricut E, and the Silhouette. Actually, I'm not positive about the Silhouette since I plan to get SCAL one day. I'll just have to see how SCAL works for me.

I had been stalking Craigslist for some time when I got lucky! There was a listing for a Cricut E and some cartridges. No prices were listed. I emailed my name and number. When the lady called me back, she told me she was selling her Cricut E for only $100 !!! Her E was about a year and a half old, and due to a separation, she needed to sell her craft supplies. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, glad I could help in some way.

So, I am now officially a Cricuteer! I still have so much to learn when it comes to my new toy, but since I will be on maternity leave for several months soon, I am hoping I will have some time to create lots of wonderful things!