Butterfly ATC

WOW! Things have been so hectic around here lately! I've been spending a LOT of time planning Madison's first birthday party. So much to do! I have a 3-ring binder with all my ideas, lists, and notes. I'd be totally lost without!

Aside from birthday planning, we've had a few activities to attend. Saturday, we went to a birthday party to celebrate THREE birthdays: a set of twins and their brother. This evening, we went to a funeral service for a friend. It was a beautiful service, and we will always remember him with fondness in our hearts. Monday evening, we have yet another birthday party to attend and another party next Saturday for another set of twins! WHEW!!!

With all that's going on, it was nice to take a little break and work on some ATC's for a swap. I haven't worked on ATC's in almost two years! The small canvas was nice to work with because it was less work. LOL! The theme for this particular swap was butterflies, and we only needed to make three. I loved that I only had to make a few.

I started with chipboard ATC's that I purchased off Etsy. I really like the firm foundation that it provides. I adhered paper from the Basic Grey Out of Print line. I didn't think I'd like it, but when I saw it in person, I loved it! I think the papers in this line are so pretty! I added shimmer to the paper with Maya Mist in Iridescent Pearl. I really like the results!!! It's a little difficult to see in the pictures, but trust me, it does have such a pretty shimmer in person. I am definitely going to have to play with more of this stuff. I can't wait to add more mists to my collection. I also inked the edges of the atc's with Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Tim Holtz. I think the inking was a nice touch.

I added some Prima Bling and a dimensional butterfly sticker from the Martha Stewart line. The last thing I added was the phrase "alis volat propriis" which translates to "she flies with her own wings". I really like how this ATC turned out and, although I once swore off making any more ATC's, I'm actually looking forward to making more! Thanks for looking and have a great Monday!

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!

Another Birthday Card with the Cricut Hello Kitty Cart

I've been making a bunch of cards lately! Here is another birthday card I made recently. I used the Hello Kitty Greetings Cricut cartridge. The gal I made this for is a Hello Kitty fan and also loves cheetah print. So, of course, I incorporated both into this card! I knew I wanted to add some bling, so I started adding some to the pink ribbon. Before I knew it, I added a long string of bling resulting in what looks like a blinged-out collar perhaps??? With Hello Kitty, I like to add Glossy Accents to her bow, so I made sure to do that on this card. I also like to use Stickles. For the inside of the card, I first printed the sentiment and then cut out the top note style shape with MTC. I then layered the top note shape and added some bling.

This week, I'm working on some stuff for a baby shower I'm going to this. I'm kind of excited because I'll get to work on a theme that I rarely work with these days -- only because the majority of my friends are done having kids (or so I thought, LOL). I just hope my projects turn out the way I want them to. Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a great Tuesday!

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! :)

Superhero Father's Day Card

Hi, Bloggers! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Father's Day Sunday was pretty low-key because it was a work day for my boyfriend. We did have pancakes from the Koa Pancake House at his request, though. He is off Tuesday, so we are going to have a nice family dinner in town. Looking forward to it! For his gift, I surprised him with a tabletop gas grill that he wanted. I also made a Superhero Father's Day card for him.

My boyfriend likes Batman, but I didn't have a Batman SVG or the Batman cartridge. I decided to do things a little "old school" and downloaded a superhero image that I thought was perfect for the card. It's an image of the Batman and Superman logos merged together. I typed and printed the wording on the front which says "Daddy, you may not be Superman or Batman".

The inside of the card continues with "But you're still MY HERO". I included a picture of my boyfriend with our daughter printed on cardstock. I wish I had printed it on photo paper, but I didn't have time to go hunting through my boxes for some. =(

I used a white gel pen on the "MY HERO" diecut and also added some sheer ribbon to the front of the card with some red ribbon with stars on it that I had been dying to use. I'm always my own worst critic, so I always feel that there's room for improvement. But overall, I was satisifed with how the card came out. If you're interested in the "MY HERO" SVG file, here is where I got it from: http://bgladpapercrafts.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-hero.html (sorry, links aren't working properly here right now). I used MTC and my Cricut to cut the image. Thanks for visiting. Have a happy Monday!

Zebra Stiletto Shoe and Matching Purse

One of my favorite go-to sites for svg files is SVGCUTS.com. They have a lot of really great sets to choose from and AWESOME customer service! I've had this particular set for a while but only just now got around to using it. I'm a stiletto gal, so I immediately fell in love with the high heel shoe svg file.

I immediately knew which paper I wanted to use with it. It's some zebra-print paper that I had in my stash for a while. I used two sheets: one for the shoe and one for the matching purse. There are some flower files that come with the set, but I really wanted to make some satin roses to adorn the shoe and purse. I am pretty sure I saw something very similar in real life! =)

The shoe file actually opens in the other direction, so I "flipped" it in MTC before cutting it. I also added glossy accents to the sole of the shoe to give it that patent leather look. The original cut file does not include a rubber tip for the heel, so I added one myself just because all of my shoes have a rubber tip on them. I also added some bling. I originally wanted to add some feathers behind the flowers and something large and blingy to the center, but in the end, I decided to just get it done and leave it as is. I may still add some bling or sequins to the center one day! I really love this set. It's definitely one of my favorites! =)

Superman Birthday Card

Hi, all! It's been a little while since my last post. Everyone in the house has been sick including me. I'm feeling better but still have a nagging cough. Last night was the first night I was able to sit down and do some paper crafting. It felt good! =)

I made a card for a first birthday party we are going to this weekend. The party will have a superhero theme and the birthday boy will be dressed as Superman. I figured that a Superman card would be perfect.

I found the Superman logo from the My Time to Craft blog. I will have to update this post later with the direct link as it doesn't seem to be linking properly right now. I used some cute star patterned paper from Bella Blvd's Mr. Boy line. I really love this paper because it's so versatile. I added ribbon and a Happy Birthday sentiment. I have two more birthday cards to work on this week, so I'll see you later!