It's the Grillin' & Chillin" Bug Hop!

To celebrate the beginning of summer, Barb over at BugBites, is hosting two consecutive weekends of

 "Bug Hops".  How fun is that?

This weekend we're all about Grillin'.  Each designer along the bug trail is featuring a project based on the

Grillin' and Chillin' theme.

If you've come from Kerie's blog, you're buggin right along.  If you just dropped in to visit my blog and think you'd like to hop along, you can click HERE to start from the beginning.

OK, here's the exciting news - you, too, can participate by creating a project and linking it up to BugBites for a chance to win a Big Prize.  But, there's a twist.  Your project must include at least one Cricut cut and at least one of the critters that have been hidden within some of the bug stop blogs.  Be sure to visit all the bug stops to find your critter choices.  And, be sure to check out the blog candy being offered along the way.

For my Grillin' project I made my very first side step card!! 

I just love this little bird with all its layers from Three Birds on Parade.  I used Accent Essentials to create the frame for the sentiment.  The sun is from A Child's Year and the grass from Plantin.  The picnic goodies are from an embellishment pack. 

Now for the blog candy.  If you're kind enough to leave a comment, your name will go into a drawing to win 2 chipboard 6 x 6 album kits. Just a little thank you for stopping by.  If you'd care to become a follower, that would be wonderful.  Do you see how close to 200 followers I am?

 Be sure to let me know how to contact you.

 The winner's name will be posted on Tuesday, May 31.

Your next stop is Saundra at  http://luvscrappingtogether.blogspot.com.  Hop on over to see what she has for you today.

If you get lost along the way, you can return to Bug Bites for a list and the links to all the bug stops.

Remember, once you have hopped to all the bug stops, it's your turn to show us your Grillin' and Chillin' project.  Make sure to include a Cricut cut and one of the hidden critters.  Link up your project at

BugBites by Midnight CST May 30 to be eligible for the big prize.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

A Blast from the Past

While I'm busy prioritizing my next set of projects, I thought I'd share a few cards that I made right after I got my Cricut Expression in September, 2009.  Things have sure changed since I started scrapping with my Baby Bug on the dining room table two years ago. Last year I moved to the desk in one of the spare bedrooms and emptied a closet that was all shelving. I sure filled that up quickly.  Now, the entire room is filled, and I do mean filled, with all things scrappy. 
I'm glad I took pictures of my cards.  I can see my progress as a cardmaker and I have something to share with you :).

This was a sketch for Raq's card challenge.  I think that Accent Essentials snowflake is my all time favorite. I used the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug emboosing folder then inked with silver.  The stems are handcut.

Our Cricut Card Fairy Commander moved into a new home.  This was her welcome home card.  I love the Stretch Your Imagination bird house.  The bee and its trail is a Pez-a-doodle stamp and skittle.  The flowers are Walk in My Garden.

The monkey is stamped betweet two SYI trees.  The "coconuts" are skittles that I colored (they are light green) by shaking the clear ones in a baggy with a few drops of alcohol ink and then letting them dry.

Thanks for traveling down memory lane with me.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

White on White - designed on the Gypsy

Today's card is for the Santa's Slackers challenge.  When I saw the sketch I envisioned a white on white winter scene.  I did add a touch of silver with the ribbon, stars on the trees, and the card mat. For dimension I Cuttlebugged (verb?) each tree with a different embossing folder, popped the center one and also popped the snowflake (Accent Essentials) which was cut from the same glitter paper as the background.  I used George for the trees.  On the Gypsy, I selected the triangle, copied it two more times, and then stretched each one to get the three sizes I wanted. I then copied each tree again.  After I lined three of them up to fit the card width, I grouped and welded so that I'd have one solid base and three trees to cut separately. I also sized the two snowflakes on the Gypsy.

Here's the layout on the Gypsy screen.  The gray lines on the grouped trees will not cut.

The finished card.

A close-up to show the embossing and dimension.

I love that I'm getting at least one holiday card completed each week.  I've chosen several of the sketches to make multiples for Cards for Soldiers so maybe I won't be scrambling to get them completed on time this year.

As always, I'd love your feedback.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Loving those Layers

Even the simplest card looks more finished when you use layers.  So many Cricut cartridges have the shadow feature so it's really easy to add depth and dimension to your projects.  I also love to layer the patterned papers with different colored mats.  Today's cards all feature ways to use layers.

This card uses my go-to layout and the shadow feature with the notes and a mat with the patterned paper.  I also added some inking for additional depth.

The butterfly uses the shadow feature and I used ribbon to mat the patterned paper.

Notice all the layers on this card.  Each element has at least three layers including mats and shadow features.

The use of layering just makes all the elements on this card pop.

The only thing not layered is the sentiment.  The purple seemed to stand out better without the shadow.

Layering is a great way to make a simple card look detailed.

Thanks for visiting.  I'd love to hear from you.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn