Happy Anniversary!

**Go here for my 100 follower challenge/giveaway!!**

I made this card for my sister's anniversary next month using Cosmo Cricket stack 'Material Girl' and Gypsy Wanderings Cricut cart - I told you I was hooked on that cart!!  :)  I used the tag feature and welded two together to make the base and placed the heart inside using SU Dimensionals so it would show through the window and stand out when the card was opened!  I used embossing powder and my heat gun to give the sentiment stamp (My Pink Stamper 'Happiest Moments') some dimension.

Thanks for looking!

Thanks a Melon card

**Go here for my 100 follower challenge/giveaway!!**

Today I have a fun thank you card, it screams summer with the checkered background and watermelon!

The watermelon is from Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons Cricut cart and the tags are from Gypsy Wanderings.  The A2 card base is from DCWV, the checkered paper and cardstock are from my stash.  The twine is from The Twinery and the sentiment stamp is from My Pink Stamper 'Fruit & Veggie Puns' set.

I'm entering this card into the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday #70 - this week's challenge is to create a project with a melon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope card

**Go here for my 100 follower challenge/giveaway!!**

My aunt was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is going through treatment now.  :(   I made this card for her, to give her a little encouragement and to let her know that I will be walking in the Race for the Cure walk in her honor - she will be out of town at her son's wedding and since I can't go, I am doing the next best thing and representing our family at the walk to raise money to find a cure for this devastating disease!

I used my new Cosmo Cricket stacks, the colors are so pretty - this stack was 'Delovely' and had the perfect shades of pink that I was looking for!  All of the cuts on this card are from Gypsy Wanderings Cricut cart, including the base which I welded together using my Gypsy.  I only attached the body of the butterfly to give it some dimension and make it look like its flying!  The twine is from The Twinery.

I'm entering it in the Made It Myself Mondays weekly linking party at You Had Me At Craft!

Thanks for stopping by!

Help Me Get To 100 followers challenge & giveaway!!

I'm SO thankful to have so many followers now, I had no idea I'd make so many friends in the scrappy world when I started my blog - I just wanted somewhere to document my crafts and now look at it - I'm so close to 100 followers!!

So to thank YOU, I want to have a little fun and issue a challenge and then have a giveaway when I make it to 100 followers!  :)

Here's the challenge...Make a project using a Cricut cart that you've barely used - I know we all have them, so pull them out and discover what they have to offer!  I recently started using my Gypsy again and discovered Gypsy Wanderings - its a great cart and had I not stepped outside the box of carts that I normally use, I never would have known!!  So, I challenge you to do the same!!  :)

Link your project by Thursday, August 18 at 11:59pm - that's 3 weeks from today!!  One NEW (made for this challenge please!) project per person and for everyone who participates in the challenge and posts it on your blog with a link back to mine, you'll be entered to win this cart! 

I will use a random number generator to draw the winner on Friday, August 19!  *Due to shipping costs, only those with US addresses may enter!*

**You can get a bonus entry by posting about this challenge and giveaway on your blog and leaving a comment on this post to let me know you did so!  So help me spread the word so I can make it to 100 followers in the next 3 weeks!!  And if I surpass 100 followers, I will do a bonus giveaway (prize will be announced later, I'll have to do some shopping!) out of those who entered the challenge!!  :)

And of course, since this is an effort for me to get more followers - you must be a follower to be eligible to win the giveaway(s)!  ;)

Thanks for supporting me and have fun!!  I can't wait to see all the amazing projects!!

Thank You!!

I had originally made this card for the Cricut 360º challenge a couple of weeks ago but due to our AC issues and not being home much for a week, I never got it posted.  :( 

But I wanted to show it anyway because I love the way it turned out!  I have to credit my friend Tracy for helping me figure out how to do the polka dot background, as I was having the hardest time finding the perfect polka dot paper - so thanks to Tracy and the $1 spot at Michaels, I made my own using a stamp!!  :)

The base is from Wild Card Cricut cart, cut with red cardstock then stamped with a polka dot stamp using black ink.  The ladybug is from Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons Cricut cart, though I left out the middle layer.  The sentiment stamp is from My Pink Stamper 'Everyday Life' set.

I'm entering it in the Made It Myself Mondays weekly linking party at You Had Me At Craft!

Have a wonderful day!

Snappy Birthday!

I made this card for my brother's birthday next month, I struggle with making cards for any man but him especially and I agonized over what to make.  Finally I threw my hands up and decided to go with cute/funny!  I really liked the way it came out, its exactly like I pictured it in my head, so hopefully he likes it!  :)

I used a DCWV card base, as well as the DCWV 'Baby Boy' stack and 'Neutrals' cardstock stack.  I embossed the brown with my Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots, though its hard to see in the picture - I wanted it to look like sand!  ;)  I used my Cuttlebug again and D'vine Swirl for the frosting on the cupcake.  I used Create A Critter for the crab and cupcake and Gypsy Wanderings for the sentiment tag that I stamped with My Pink Stamper 'More Punny-licious'.

I'm entering this in the Birthday Sundaes blog challenge to create a project using this photo as inspiration.

I'm also entering it in the Made It Myself Mondays weekly linking party at You Had Me At Craft!
Have a great day!

Picnic LO

My dad's union has a picnic every summer and he loves for us to go with him so he can show off his grandkids to all his friends!  Its a lot of fun and they always have a bunch of stuff for the kids to do and yummy food to boot!  This was my oldest son's first time attending, so of course he was the highlight of the day!  (I have the pictures, just haven't added them yet!)  I also plan to add a journaling square in the green cardstock between the picnic basket and the picture on the bottom.

I used several different DCWV paper stacks to make this LO - 'All About Boys', 'Neutrals' cardstock stack, and 'Amber Autumn' cardstock stack, then a few pieces of cardstock from my stash.  The grill, sun (I used my gelly roll 'starburst' pen to add sparkle to the sun) and picnic basket (I traced the weave with my SU marker to give it some dimension) were all from Everyday Paper Dolls, the pennants from Create A Critter (they were originally signs but I cut the pole off!) and the font from Lyrical Letters.  I used Twine from The Twinery and Recollections star brads to hold the banners.

I am entering this LO into the Stack-a-holic Template challenge on DCWV Diary - it was to make a 2 page LO based on this sketch.

I'm also entering it into the Cricut Circle Blog monthly challenge - it was to make something with a BBQ, Picnic, or Patio theme, AND a gingham or check pattern.  I needed to scrap these pictures anyway, so it worked out perfectly for this challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks Big Time!!

I made this card for my dad - he helped my husband build our wooden playset in the backyard last month, so we wanted to thank him for giving up 3 weekends to help us out and make 2 little boys super excited!!  :)  It turned out awesome and we are so fortunate to have it for the boys to enjoy for years to come!

I used several Cricut carts on this one, made easy using my Gypsy!  Have I said lately how much I'm loving it these days?  :)  The sun was from Sesame Street Friends, the slide from Locker Talk and the grass from Plantin Schoolbook.  The sentiment stamp is from Stampin' Up 'A Word For You' set, the card base from DCWV, the blue layer also from DCWV 'Baby Boy' stack, and the cardstock was from my stash.  I used my Gelly Roll 'Starburst' pens to add sparkle to the sun and detail the slide.

The inside phrase was cut with Boys Will Be Boys cart using cardstock from my stash.

I'm entering this in the Cricut 360º challenge #4 this week - Create a card or a layout representing "The Great Outdoors". 

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas In July blog hop - Day 3!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for the final day of our Christmas in July Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Chris' blog @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene . If you just happened to stumble upon this hop, please be sure to go back to Elaine's blog @ Expressions By Elaine so you don't miss any of the wonderful projects we have to share!

Be sure to visit & follow all the blogs to be entered for the Grand Prize, after you have stopped at all the blogs be sure to go back to the beginning blog Expressions By Elaine and leave your name in the inlinkz.

For my final project, I made a card using the traditional red and green!  :)  The paper was from the DCWV stack 'Holiday Collection: The Christmas Stack' once again, the card stock is from my stash.  The sentiment stamp is from Pink By Design 'Scripted Year' set.  The wreath is from the Christmas Solutions Cricut cartridge and the card base was embossed using the Sizzix 'Snow Flowers' embossing folder and my Cuttlebug.

I used my Gelly Roll 'Stardust' pen to outline the bow - I love these pens, they write so smooth and add subtle sparkle without being overwhelming!

Here's the lineup!
Elaine @ Expressions By Elaine
Jessica @ Jessica's Craft Shaque
Sylvia @ Bella Scrapbook Designs
Lisa @ A Mermaid's Crafts
Amber @ Pixichick Creations
Rochelle @ Two Tears In My Bucket
Jen @ Jen's Craft Corner
Cely @ Hawaii Paper Party
Chris @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene
Kimberli @ Kimberli's Creations <-----------YOU ARE HERE!
Pat @ Pat's Scraps <--------------Go here next!
Shirley @ Look At My Cute Stuff
Tiffany @ Sparkled Memories
Georgiana @ Carson's Creations
Candace @ Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses

Thanks for participating in our Christmas in July blog hop - it was fun getting a head start on my Christmas cards, I hope we inspired you to do the same!

Christmas In July blog hop - Day 2!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for Day 2 of our Christmas in July Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Chris' blog @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene. If you just happened to stumble upon this hop, please be sure to go back to Elaine's blog @ Expressions By Elaine so you don't miss any of the wonderful projects we have to share!

Be sure to visit & follow all the blogs to be entered for the Grand Prize, after you have stopped at all the blogs be sure to go back to the beginning blog Expressions By Elaine and leave your name in the inlinkz.

I used my Gypsy and Gypsy Wanderings Cricut cartridge again for this card and these colors are even more unconventional and I think its too much for me - I'm not digging the pink but I had that pink/blue snowflake paper in my DCWV stack 'Holiday Collection: The Christmas Stack' that I wanted to use, so I figured I'd try it.  I've never done the crinkled ribbon border before and its not working out very well because it keeps coming off, so I need to see if there's a better way to do it so I can redo that part but it works for now!  :)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!  Here's the lineup again...
Elaine @ Expressions By Elaine
Jessica @ Jessica's Craft Shaque
Sylvia @ Bella Scrapbook Designs
Lisa @ A Mermaid's Crafts
Amber @ Pixichick Creations
Rochelle @ Two Tears In My Bucket
Jen @ Jen's Craft Corner
Cely @ Hawaii Paper Party
Chris @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene
Kimberli @ Kimberli's Creations <--------------YOU ARE HERE!
Pat @ Pat's Scraps <------------------Go here next!
Shirley @ Look At My Cute Stuff
Tiffany @ Sparkled Memories
Georgiana @ Carson's Creations
Candace @ Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses

I hope to see you back here again tomorrow for the final day of the hop and some more Christmas inspiration!  :)

Christmas In July blog hop!!

Welcome and thank you for joining us for our Christmas in July Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Chris' blog @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene . If you just happened to stumble upon this hop, please be sure to go back to Elaine's blog @ Expressions By Elaine so you don't miss any of the wonderful projects we have to share!       

Be sure to visit & follow all the blogs to be entered for the Grand Prize, after you have stopped at all the blogs be sure to go back to the beginning blog Expressions By Elaine and leave your name in the inlinkz.

For my project today, I made a Christmas card using blues, browns and greens, so definitely not typical Christmas colors but I really like the way it turned out!  I've recently started using my Gypsy again and I'm in love all over again - I'm not sure why I stopped using it but now I can't make a project without it!!  And in rediscovering my Gypsy, I've also paid more attention to Gypsy Wanderings and I'M IN LOVE with this cart - so many great cuts!!

I used the DCWV stack 'Holiday Collection: The Christmas Stack' for this card, as well as a Kraft cardstock base.  The card base shape is a tag from Gypsy Wanderings that I welded together and both the word art and the reindeer also came from that cart.  I used my i-rock and gems as well as American Crafts Ribbon.

Here's the lineup in case you get lost along the way - have fun hopping!  :)
Elaine @ Expressions By Elaine
Jessica @ Jessica's Craft Shaque
Sylvia @ Bella Scrapbook Designs
Lisa @ A Mermaid's Crafts
Amber @ Pixichick Creations
Rochelle @ Two Tears In My Bucket
Jen @ Jen's Craft Corner
Cely @ Hawaii Paper Party
Chris @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene
Kimberli @ Kimberli's Creations <-----------YOU ARE HERE!
Pat @ Pat's Scraps  <--------------Go here next!
Shirley @ Look At My Cute Stuff
Tiffany @ Sparkled Memories
Georgiana @ Carson's Creations
Candace @ Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses

This hop lasts all weekend, so be sure to check back each day for a new project!!

Finally cool again!!

Forgive my absence lately- last week ended up being a nightmare!!  I realized Monday afternoon when I was working in my scraproom that the AC was making a funny noise, like it was trying to kick on but couldn't.  So I went back upstairs and realized that in the last 2 hrs that I had been downstairs, it had gotten a lot hotter in the house, 82 degrees at that point.

Long story short, our compressor failed and the whole system had to be replaced. :( But because it was the hottest week of the year so far, ours wasn't the only one having issues and it wasn't until Friday that they got it installed and Saturday morning before the house was finally bearable again.

Because it was over 100 degrees outside, it was 94 degrees inside the house during the day, so the boys and I spent as much time away as possible while my husband was at work, because it was absolutely miserable here!  Never again will I take my cool house for granted!

So the project that I had completed for the Cricut 360 blog challenge last week never got posted for that challenge :( and now I'm behind on all the other projects I had planned to get done, but I will get it up later this weekend because I love the way it turned out and hopefully I will get caught up in the next couple of days!

Don't forget the Christmas in July blog hop that starts tomorrow - everyone has some great projects to share and inspire you to get a jumpstart on your holiday projects because it will be here before we know it!!  :)

Nikki Sivils new collections are GORGEOUS!!!

And I think I need to have ALL of them - they will all be on my NEED list!!  She's showing her 5 new lines that will be released at CHA and they are all stunning - go to her blog to take a peek!!  Which ones will be on your must have list?  :)

1st Birthday party invitation

Our youngest son turns 1 in September, so I've started working on his birthday invitations.  I'm going to do a farm animal theme and decided to try a flat invitation vs one that opens. 

I used Animal Kingdom Cricut cart for the cow, Country Life Cricut cart for the pig/chicken and Just a Note Cricut cart for 'party'.  All the paper/cardstock is from my stash.

Of course my printer choose tonight to die on me - GRR!!  But my husband reminded me that I've been wanting a wireless printer, which I have, but now isn't the time I wanted to spend the money on buying one!  :(  So I couldn't print out the cute little poem I'm putting on it, as well as the party info but that will go in the blank spaces.

Please excuse the poor lighting in my picture, while I was trying to get my printer to work, the sun went down and I lost all the natural light for my picture! :( This definitely hasn't been my night but I really wanted to get this done so I could submit it for a challenge!

I'm entering this in the first challenge at Cricut 360º - design an invitation!  Cricut 360º is a fun new challenge blog that started this month and I'm excited to participate!!

Another blog candy giveaway!!

Sherrie over at Sherrie Scraps with Passion is giving away a Birthday Bash Cricut cart to celebrate Independence Day!  Go here for details and check out her blog, she has some great projects to share!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday!  I'll be back next week with some projects to share!