Papertrey April Blog Hop Challenge

I used my new Daydreamer stamp set from Papertrey Ink to create this floral thank you card. The partial postage stamp came about as an accident. I was trying to stamp two flowers in a scalloped rectangle but I didn't like how it looked so used my paper trimmer to cut one out and thus ended up with what you see here. It was a happy accident I suppose. =)  I first inked the flowers with Pink, and then dabbed the stamp edges on the Razzberry pink to get the two-toned look.

Materials:
PTI cardstock in Spring Moss& Stampers Select White. Not sure where the blue is from.
Stamps: PTI Daydreamer and one of the Think Big Favorites that contains "Thank You".
Ink: Colorbox Pigment in Razzberry, Pink, and Black.  Memento Dye ink in Bamboo Leaves.
Dies: Spellbinders scalloped rectangles
Other: Clear embossing powder for flower and thank you.

Floral Thinking Of You Card

I made this card for one of my Aunts.  I got as far as the flower framed by the green scallops...then I couldn't find a colored card color it looked good with. Putting it on pink was just too much and white was too plain. I finally decided to stamp cursive text in a lighter green on a white card. I really like how it turned out!

Materials:
Ink: ColorBox Pigment ink in Razzberryand Fresh Green for flower. Memento Dye Ink in New Sprout for script text.
Embossing Powder: Ranger Holographic
Dies: Envelope Liner Die from PTI, Scalloped Rectangles Nestability from Spellbinders
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Stamps: Flower Fusion #10, Text Style
Paper: Papertrey Ink: Stampers Select White, New Leaf for card. Envelope Liner is some pink paper from JoAnns.

Guest Bath Curtains

We had guests coming to stay, and since we had put plastic over the windows, I decided we needed some curtains. The plastic keeps out the winter drafts (and my Husband did such a good job you can hardly tell it's there!), but it traps the mini-blind controls behind it. I left the blinds half open to let the sun in but I thought that a little more privacy would be a good idea.

If you notice on the right, the shower curtain is pretty busy so I wasn't sure at first what would compliment them. I obviously couldn't make the curtains out of all patterned fabric or it would be too wild.  I settled for  a patterned section at the top only, and solid fabric for the rest. I searched my stash and found this medallion fabric that looks like it was made to go with the shower curtain! How lucky was that?!  I threw in an orange accent stripe to transition from the pattern into the plain linen.  They turned out great, except they don't bunch well when pulled aside because that strip is a few layers thick, making a stiff line across the curtains. I guess you always learn something when you make a project without a pattern...

A close-up of the top of the curtains.
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Birthday Card using Cricut Pagoda

The slew of fall Birthdays continues. This card is for my Husband's Grandmother and he even helped make it! We settled on this multi-fold card that features a panda holding a gift with the Kanji word/symbol for "celebrate" on the front. This card is perfect for his Grandmother who loves Asian decor -- she even has bamboo stenciled on her walls!

Project Details:
Cartridge: Pagoda, Create A Critter (For bow on present only)
Card Size: 4.5" x 6" when folded in half. Started with a 12" x 4.5" rectangle.
Panda: Pagoda Cartridge, page 36, cut at 2.75". I used foam squares to pop him off the card. *Remember to just stick the squares on half his body since the other side hangs over the edge of the card.
Bamboo: Pagoda, page 48, cut at 4".
Building: Pagoda, page 60, cut at 2.75". We used blue vellum behind the windows and openings on the building to jazz is up a little.
Giftbox: This is the present the panda is holding and it's semi-custom. From Pagoda, I cut out the Kanji word "Celebrate" at .75". You can find this on page 27, using the [shift key] +[ Kanji word key]. I put a piece of shiny light purple paper behind the kanji cut out and used this same paper to cut out a bow for the gift box. The bow is from the Create A Critter cartridge, pg 27, accessory + shift, cut at 1".
Misc: Stamped "Happy Birthday" in chocolate brown.

Birthday Card For A Young Lady (using Create A Critter)

So many Birthdays over the next few months! I decided to get a head start on card making so I wouldn't have to run to the store and buy a less personal one at the last minute. This card I made for my niece. I remembered from one of her previous visits where I let her play with the Cricut that she really liked pink. So I started with that as my base color. Then I thought...what would a young girl like? And I came up with a cute little dog.  All of these shapes came from the Create A Critter Cartridge.

Project Details:
Cartridge: Create A Critter
Card Size: 4.5" x 6"
Dog: Page 34, Terrier. Cut at 2". I didn't cut the very first layer that colors his eyes and ears. Instead I used scraps of pinks and a blue to color those features. I also put foam squares under the dog to pop him off the card.
Presents: Page 27, Bear accessory. I cut these in different sizes ranging from .75" - 2". I didn't end up using all of the ones I cut. The striped gift is 2".
Sentiment: Page 27, phrase for bear. I believe I cut this out at 1.75". Don't forget the dot for the "I" when you pull this off your mat!
Misc: Embellished with a strip of satiny black ribbon. Another idea for the card would to be to put a little party  hat on the dog.

Knit Skirt - Kwik Sew 3513

This was my first knit skirt. It's in a color that I call "superman blue". =)   I like that it has a fold over yoga style waistband. Arg! I didn't straighten the waistband before my Husband took the photo. oh well, you at least get the idea.

I used Kwik Sew pattern 3513, View B with a few alterations...

1- Shortened the pattern since I'm around 5'2" or so.
2- I also had to take in the waistband. Not sure if it is because my fabric had more than the recommended stretch or what. But I took in the waist a total of about 5.5 inches.  I just stretched it more to connect it to the skirt body so no alterations to the skirt body at the waist.

Other notes.
Sewed this with a Serger but hemmed it with my regular machine. I used a double needle for knits for the hem. A double needle makes two nice lines on the front and a zig-zag on the back and stretches.  It does require two spools of thread on top of your machine though, so I had to consult my manual on how to properly thread. I also set my stitch length to 3 to have a little bit longer stitch.

Overall, I like the look and it is soft and breezy.

Birthday Bag

I'm a member of Sweetwater's Label Crew. That means I get a project pattern with cute coordinating iron on labels once a month. One of the months was this Birthday Bag. I ordered their fabric kit (very reasonably priced... $6?) from their Etsy site so I could put it all together. I wouldn't have needed the kit if I had enough of their Sunkissed Fabric but I just have a few yards of a few different prints and one charm pack that I can't part with. =)  The project labels coordinate with their current fabric lines as you can see from the Birthday label on the bag tag.  I still have three more birthday tags left and each are different.

I started the bag late last night and finished it up this afternoon. I did a few things different from the pattern... I added lightweight interfacing to the handles and I added a covered peltex bottom insert to help the bag stand up.

Kitty Cat Get Well Card (using Cricut Create a Critter & Paisly Cartridge)

My Aunt loves cats, so I made  her a special get well card. It's inspired by the cute cat tag I saw on Made By MoMo's blog where she used the glasses from the Paisley cartridge on the cat from the Create A Critter cartridge.

Froggy Valentine Card (using Cricut Create a Critter Cartridge)

I just got my first Cricut machine from my Husband. (I blame my Mother-in-law, Trish, for getting me addicted to paper crafts this Christmas!) Anyhow, she came for a visit and we had some fun making cards. I'm in a real pink & red mood so I thought Valentine cards would be fun. I usually don't get into that holiday or really celebrate it, but with the blah winter colors I needed the brightness of these lovely colors. After searching the web for inspiration,  I found this great froggy card on http://www.cricutholiday.com/ -- Here is a direct link to their Valentine Froggy card.

The inspiration card used the Paisley cartridge, but I instead made this card with the Create A Critter cartridge as it contains a frog I find cuter as well as a lily pad. 

Other notes:
Trish put the words together for the front using her Gypsy; I used her Martha Stewart heart edge/border punch on the front; I used a Valentine stamp on the inside of the card with brown ink.

Fishy Card (using Cricut Create a Critter Cartridge)

I just got my first Cricut this week and I have been playing around with it. I decided to make a fish card for my Grandfather with the Create a Critter cartridge.