Two Quick Cards

So glad you stopped by today. 

I've been trying to sort my scrap paper drawers and realized that I have almost as many scraps as I have paper stacks.  I decided that I should put those scraps to use along with my growing collection of dimensional stickers.  I get so caught up in my digital images and Cricut cuts that I don't make good use of the treasures I have on hand.  So today I created two cards using scraps and stickers and things I have on hand.  The sentiment stamps on both cards are K Andrew Designs.

These stickers are BasicGrey and the sentiment is a combination of phrases from the Owly Hoo set.

And these stickers are a K & Co set.  The sentiment is from Fashionable Friends. I even found this little frame that I had embossed, spritzed, and inked - who knew?

I think both of these cards will be great to send for Card Fairy Missions.

Maybe this will be your week to dig through your stash and create something with what you have onhand.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn



The Best Christmas Gift

As I've shared, we are in Lubbock, Texas spending Christmas with our oldest daughter.  Our youngest, who lives in Champaign, IL hasn't been able to have Christmas with us for the last 3 years since she works in the hotel industry and has had to work.  She told us to expect a delivery between 12 and 1 today.  When the doorbell rang, it wasn't UPS, but OUR DAUGHTER!!!  She's had her airline ticket since Thanksgiving and kept the secret all this time.  Talk about a room full of tears!- our first white Christmas (yes, it's snowing in Lubbock), and our family together for the first time in 4 Christmases.

I hope your holiday is as special as ours will be. 

Oh, I did have a few final cards to share :).

Merry Christmas!

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Christmas Penguin

We're settled in our daughter's home in Lubbock, Texas where we'll spend Christmas and New Year's.  I even have a crafting space, which is a good thing since I needed to finish (oh, ok, I'll admit it - START ) my Christmas cards.  When you wait as long as I have to begin a project, simplicity takes over.

The paper is American Crafts, the ribbon loops from a Michael's spool, the penguin stamp is Hero Arts and the sentiment stamp is from the $1bin.  I just colored the penguin stamp with Copics and added a little bit of Stickles.

I hope you're enjoying your holiday preparations and celebrations.  We've never spent a Christmas away from home so this is a new (and, I hope, wonderful) experience.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Holiday Cards at Fantabulous Cricut

It's time for our Holiday Card Challenge #88 at Fantabulous Cricut.  I hope you'll follow the link to see what other design team members have created to share with you.

Since we're going to Texas for Christmas and I'm trying to get so much crafting finished before we leave, I've decided that everything from now on will be simple, simple, simple!  It has to be or it won't get finished.  Have you had those craft moments when there's just no time for fancy?  Thank goodness for the Cricut, a little ribbon, and a little bling!!! 

My tree is cut from Art Philosophy (page 31).  I used the inside of the layer cut and just added a few gems.  The base of the tree was stamped with VersaMark, sprinkled with Kaleidoscope embosing powder and then heat embossed.  A piece of ribbon, the Divine Swirls folder and that's it - easy peasy.

Be sure to add your holiday card to our challenge post.  We'd love to have you share your ideas with us.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Getting Cricky Simply Sunday Challenge

Today is my first day to share a project for Getting Cricky's Simply Sunday "Give Thanks" Challenge.

This card is for a wonderful woman who brought comfort to my sister in her final days. 

I used stamps from Kristal's Amazing You and Splashtastic Summer Sets. Woohoo, I received 8 more stamp sets in the mail right after I finished the card so I'll have lots more options for my card making sentiments now. You can find her amazing stamp sets HERE.

The flower and leaves are EK Success and Martha Stewart punches.  The bling on the ribbon is a strip of nailhead stickers.  I heat embossed the sentiment with clear powder to bring the ink color out.

Please stop by Getting Cricky and see what the other designers are sharing.   Then you can join our Simply Sunday Challenge by adding your project to the link.

Have a wonderful Sunday.  I hope you have many things for which to Give Thanks.  I know I do, and being able to share my papercrafting passion with you is one of them.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Holiday Wishes

Don't miss it!!!

Tonight is the 3rd-Friday Blog Hop at Getting Cricky with K. Andrew.  It begins at 9:00 p.m. EST and goes through Saturday until midnight.  I hope you'll visit the DT members who are sharing their Holiday Wishes creations, each featuring stamps from K Andrew Designs.  Begin your hop at Getting Cricky and follow the links to get some holiday inspiration and blog candy along the way.

I designed this holiday card just to help get you in the spirit!!

The elf is a cut from the Jolly Holidays Cartridge and I welded the letters cut from Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art.  The stamps are from two of the K Andrew Designs sets, Amazing You and Splashtastic Summer. I added some doodling, Baker's Twine and punched snowflakes to complete the design.

Tomorrow is the Cooking with Cricut Thanksgiving blog hop. Join us as we share home decor and table decorations for your holiday.  I'll be sharing a few quick and easy last minute table decorations.  Even if you haven't thought about your place settings, you'll have time to do these super-easy accents.  You can start at CWC or, if you stop by here, you'll find links to help you on your way.  I'll be offering blog candy for anyone taking the time to leave a comment. 

Have a wonderful day.  I hope to see you tomorrow.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Let's Talk Turkey at CWC and a winner!

Good Morning!

It's design team day at Cooking with Cricut.  The challenge for today is "Let's Talk Turkey."  I'm sure many of you are busy planning your Thanksgiving holiday.  I thought this card would make a cute invitation for Thanksgiving Day.

I used Doodlecharms for the turkey, and welded letters from Songbird and Kate's ABC's for the sentiments.  I just decided to have a little fun with the theme and this idea came to me.  I hope you'll join in the fun at Cooking with Cricut.  Just link up your project to today's post.  Winners will be announced Nov. 25.

And speaking of winners - I received 40 comments during the Fantabulous Cricut Harvest Blessings Crawl and Random.org. selected number 40!  Sometimes being last IS a good thing. 

The winner is Michelle from Michelle's Crafty Creations.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to visit and leave a comment.  Don't forget there are two more blog hops coming up this week.  Just check my sidebar.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn



Happy Anniversary

If you still want to comment on the Fantabulous Cricut Harvest Blessings Crawl, click HERE.  You'll have until 9:00 pm PST tonight to be a part of my blog candy drawing which will be announced on tomorrow's post.

Today I'm sharing an anniversary card that I designed using the wonderful stamps from K.Andrew Designs.  I have ordered 6 new sets and am waiting anxiously for them to arrive.  I have quite a few Cricut Card Fairy requests just waiting for the perfect card sentiments. 

 For this card, I mixed and matched stamps from the Splashtastic Summer set (sentiment)  and the Amazing You set (heart).

 

The papers are DCWV Formal Affair Stack. The mats are from Elegant Edges and the Happy Anniversary is from Beyond Birthdays.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

All That Glitters

I haven't been much of a glitter person (Stickles are the exception) until I found this fun technique using

 Peel-off stickers by Elizabeth Craft Designs, micro fine glitter, Be Creative Tape, and Copic markers.  I saw some examples at my LSS so I came home, experimented a little then went online to Elizabeth Craft Designs.

This double sided tape is an amazing way to apply micro fine glitter. 

After I put the tape on a piece of cardstock, I applied the Peel-off sticker then sprinkled the glitter and pressed it with my finger (to burnish it).  I used Copic markers to color the flower and leaves - so much easier than trying to apply glitter in all the tiny sections and a much greater color choice.

I dug in my scrap drawer to make a quick card.

I love the sparkle!  This was a really fun technique.  I just ordered 6 more sets of Elizabeth's Peel-off stickers. Oh, they come in gold, silver and black-$1.99 a sheet. I found the directions (after playing on my own) on the website under the Gallery tab.  That takes you to her Facebook page and if you go into the picture albums, you'll find the directions.

I'm sure I'll be doing more experimenting, especially with the tape.  I did remember why I love Stickles and have stayed away from glitter - there was glitter floating everywhere around my craft room and I'm sure my make-up will sparkle for days!!!

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

And Two More

Today I'm heading home.  I know I'll be busy in my craft room once I get home and get unpacked.

In the meantime, here are two more cards from the card classes.

I like how the Baker's Twine is used for something a little different.  Also, the background stamp isn't a holiday stamp, but it makes an interesting background on this holiday card.  I didn't purchase this penguin stamp.  There are some really cute penguin images on Cricut cartridges that will definitely work.

Here's that banner stamp again (I did purchase this one).  I like the unique color choice on this card.  Our instructor believes you can't have too many "branch" stamps because they are so versitile.  I'm thinking these branches need some Stickles.  Oh, we used masking on both of these cards and I learned about a wonderful product called Eclipse Art Masking Tape - love it!

One more thing.  Today is Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut.  Be sure to hop over and see what the design team has for you this week.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Larelyn

More Card Class Examples

Good Morning. 

While I'm away having a fun weekend with my daughter, I thought I'd share a few more examples from the card classes I took from the owner/designer of Savvy Stamps. 

Here's a new idea I learned.  Instead of adhering the stamped frame, we punched the frame and the card base and then tied it on with Baker's Twine.  I think this is a fun, interesting twist.

Both cards are stamped with a striped background stamp.  As you can see, I haven't masters the inking or the positioning of this large stamp.  Hmmmmm, must be why I love patterned paper so much!  I learned another technique with the banner on this second card.  It's called "kissing."  We inked up the banner stamp (yes, it is a stamp, not just cut paper) and then pressed the tree stamp onto the inked banner stamp thus removing some of the ink and leaving the tree image.  Then the banner stamp, with the kissed image, was stamped on the cardstock.  I love the way this looks.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.  You can bet I'm enjoying my time with my daughter.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Card Class Favorites

Good Morning!  I spent 8 hours yesterday taking 3 different classes from the owner and designer of Savvy Stamps.  The Paper Garden not only carries unique stamp lines, but the owner, Stephanie, brings in the stamp designers to teach classes.  I don't consider myself a stamper per se, but there are so many techiques that I can incorporate in my designs and it's always fun expanding my crafting horizons.

Here are a few of my favorites from the class. 

Isn't this a fun tag or package embellishment?

I learned about masking and using a stamp positioner as well as using rubber cement for large areas to be glittered.  .It was a fun day and I came home with 13 new stamps!  I'll share more cards and projects we made later in the week.

I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn



Did You Notice?

I opened my blog this morning and realized that my blog design was gone! Hmmmmmm?  Then I remembered that I was exploring some different gadgets on Blogger, loaded one, didn't like it so I deleted it.  Guess I hit the button twice and it deleted my background too - great!   I didn't have time to search the different blog design links so I just selected from Blogger.  Actually, I love purple and I think the background is kind of cute.  I also like how easy it is to read with white background so I'm going to run with it for awhile. 

What do you think?

My local scrapbook store had a parking lot sale today and I swore I wasn't going to buy any more stamps - yeah, right.  Well, at least I stuck with ones that I could use to try some of the techniques we learned last week during our -my BFF and I- card classes.

Here are two I made this afternoon.  I used heat embossing on the stamped images and then filled in with Smooch.  I added Stickles to the second card as well.  I think they both have a simple yet elegant look.

I hope I have some time tomorrow to try a few more ideas.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Asian Influence

Good Sunday Morning!

My BFF and I went to the 5th Birthday Celebration for an adorable stamp boutique called Paper Garden in Carmichael, CA.  The owner and designer of Memory Box stamps and papers was holding classes with the proceeds going to the Tsunami Relief in Japan.  So, of course we had to particpate.  These cards are  my take on one of the cards we made in class.  I love the Asian design cards because they are so clean and simple but always with a touch of elegance.

We're heading back to take more classes today - woohoo!  If you'd like to see some examples of the cards designed by the owner of the boutique you can visit her blog:

http://papergardenboutique.typepad.com/. 

Stephanie has some wonderful ideas including treat wrappers, mini calendars, and boxes along with her fabulous cards.

Don't forget that tomorrow is Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut.  Design Team B will be presenting some wonderful Back to School Ideas.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

So Thoughtful

I've been working on the floral and memorial acknowledgements for my sister-in-law.  So many people showed us such kindness during her illness and after her passing.  I felt the printed cards from the funeral home didn't truly express how we felt so I designed this card to send to those special people.  My SIL loved the ocean and these were the colors she chose for her service.  I think she would approve of the simplicity.

Both stamps are from Hero Arts Clear Acryllic sets.  I stamped a different shell on the envelopes.

Today is Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut.  Be sure to drop by and see what the design team is sharing for our Birthday Bash challenge.

And come back tomorrow for a Quick Tip that I'll be sharing both here and at FCCB.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Quick, Quick, Quick

That's what these cards are - quick, quick, quick.  I'm trying to get back into supporting the Cards for Soldiers project on the Cricut message board and I need some simple cards without much embellishment.  So, I challenged myself to create cards that take less than 10 minutes to make.  Here are today's examples:

I'm going to try to add at least two more quick designs each day for the rest of the week.  Be sure to check back and see how I do with my personal challenge.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Many Thanks

I was at JoAnn's yesterday and had selected the Damask Decor cartridge.  Of course, when I took the card to the register, the cartridge could not be found.  I hate when that happens during their sales.  But, as the clerk was looking through the locked area, I did see the new cartridge, Phrases, so I bought it instead.  And guess what?  I LOVE it!!!  I really like the new feature in the handbook that suggests a minimum size in order to get a good clean cut.  I think that's going to be very helpful when cutting the more intricate images.

So, on to my card.  We have friends in WA who grow Walla Walla Sweet onions.  For the last two years

they have shipped us a case.  My DH is in heaven eating his sweet onion, garden fresh tomato, and bacon sandwich. I wanted to send them a thank you card.  I found the onion image on the Block Party cartridge and the sentiment is from my new Phrases cartridge.

Tomorrow is the debut of Louby Loo's newest release.  Be sure to stop by to see my 2-page layout featuring her new Fall Kids digital stamps. 

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Just a Note

It's so nice to be back.  The family had a very difficult week.  My wonderful sister-in-law passed away on Monday, July 25.  Her services were yesterday and now we're all trying to put our lives back on track while learning to live without her.  It will be very difficult.  She battled so hard and with such dignity.  Her absolute faith ensures that she is watching over all of us now.

Today's card is very simple.  I had to pack away much of my craft room for the past few weeks and am slowly bringing things back.  I'm trying to purge, but I still have that "I want it all" mentality, so I'm thinking it will all be in here - oh well.

I was working on a technique for the next FCCB Quick Tip Tuesday.  Can you guess what tip I'm sharing?  You'll know if you're correct when you visit Fantabulous Cricut on Tuesday.

The patterned papers are from my scrap drawer.  The flower was fussy-cut from a piece of patterned paper.  Then sentiment and flourish are acrylic stamps.

I hope you'll drop back by on Monday for FCCB's Challenge Me Monday.  I used the Groovy Times cartridge for the first time.  It's a fun cartridge with easy layers.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

I Scream for Ice Cream

It's Challenge Me Monday #69 at Fantabulous Cricut.

For this week's challenge we were asked to create something that included a cool treat.  I chose the ice cream sundae from Kate's ABC's.  The Sweet sentiment is from Create A Critter.

I added Stickles to the strawberry topping and Glossy Accents to the sundae dish to give it a glass-like appearance.  I used Glossy Accents on the cherry as well. The dish was first embossed with the Victorian folder and the ice cream scoop with Devine Swirls.  The patterned paper (K&Company) came with the sparkles.

You can participate in this challenge by linking your design to the FCCB Challenge Me Monday post.  Don't forget to include a Cricut cut.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Look Who's 40

I was asked to make a 40th birthday card with Minnie Mouse.

This pedestal card is 4.25 x 6.  Minnie is cut from Mickey and Friends while the sentiment and license plate is cut from Mickey Font.  There is also a money pocket using the mouse ears ticket on the inside at the top.

I'm looking forward to lunch with my BFF today. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn