Lara Ladybug

Here is a card I designed for the Copic Marker Scrapbooking design team call.  We were challenged to use predominantly red.  It's a tricky color to use with Copics as it wants to bleed a bit so it's really important to use a very good quality paper.  I use GinaK  pure luxury card stock.  The image is one of the adorable characters found at Digital Delights by Louby Loo.

I used my favorite way to design - lots of paper layering with some great (I think!) patterned paper, a little ribbon, and a little sparkle.

Speaking of Digital Delights - our 12 Days of Christmas begins November 1(tomorrow or today, depending on when you're reading this).  Each day a new image will be released.  You can follow along be clicking HERE or clicking on the badge at the top of my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

News and More News

Happy Monday! 

Today is Challenge Me Monday at FCCB.  Although this is not my posting week, I do have some news to share.  Robin and Amy Jo are in the process of selecting new design team members.  The new members will be introduced  next Monday.  I can tell you today, however, that I have been asked to stay on the team.  Yay!!!!  I love the Fantabulous Cricut blog, its challenges and daily inspirations, so I'm thrilled.  Please stop by for this week's challenge: For the Birds.

More news!  Wendy, of Digital Delights by Louby Loo, is releasing The 12 Days of Christmas  beginning  Tuesday, November 1.  I will be sharing three of twelve images right here on my blog - Days 2, 7, and 11.  The images are fun and whimsical, typical Digital Delights style - I'm sure you'll love them and hope you'll stop by for the preview.  Then you'll be able to visit the Digital Delights online store to get your own set.  Just think of all the cute things you can design - banners, accordian books, cards, layouts, mini albums - the list goes on.

Have a Happy Halloween.  Enjoy the little ghost and goblins that stop at your door.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Bugs and Hisses

It's time for another challenge from Delightful Challenges.  This week we're using the colors purple, orange, green, and black.  Hmmmmm, feels like Halloween to me so I selected this adorable Wizard Toby image from Digital Delights by Louby Loo.  The patterned paper is also from Digital Delights.  It's the Spooktacular Digital Paper set and the sentiment is from the Halloween Sentiment Set. 

I colored the image with Copics and then added some sparkle with Stickles.  I thought it would be fun to make the broom more realistic so I separated some strands of jute and then wrapped the end with Baker's Twine.  I also added a little VersaMagic chalk ink around the sentiment before adding the small bow.

This week's Delightful Challenge is sponsored by

I hope you'll join in our challenge.  Just link your project to the Delightful Challenges post.

I'm going to enter this card in the Sentimental Sundays Halloween challenge.  Be sure to vist their blog as they're offering a wonderful FREE Halloween sentiment download!  It's a great one.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Harvest Blessings

Good Morning!  Happy Wednesday.

It's my design team day at Cooking with Cricut.  This week our recipe included following a sketch and including a scarecrow, crow, or hay in our design. And, of course, including a Cricut cut.    My Cricut cut is the pumpkin from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I did some accenting with Copic Markers and added some rafia bound to look somewhat like a haystack and some leaves from my die cut stash (that means I'm not sure of the cartridge they came from LOL).  The image is a digi from Digital Delights by Louby Loo.

I'm going to enter this card in the Heart Song Inspirations Harvest challenge and also Celebrate the Occasion's fall challenge.

I hope you'll visit Cooking with Cricut, take a look at the sketch, and then see what the other design team members have cooked up for this challenge. I'm sure you'll want to play along.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Spooky Time!

It's time to find your favorite ghost because it's Spooky Time at Fantabulous Cricut.

For Challenge Me Monday #83, the design team was asked to create something spooky and include a ghost.  For my card, I used the window frame from the October 31st cartridge.  I wanted the yellow background so I copied the image on my Gypsy and then used the hide contour so that I would have a blackout image.  The ghost if from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I heat embossed the stamp and added the sparkly fence border from a K&Co border set.

I hope you'll join us this week.  Just link your project, including a Cricut cut, to the Challenge Me Monday post at Fantabulous Cricut.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Strength and Hope

Good Afternoon, Blogging Friends.

It's been a busy morning in the craftroom trying to get design team projects ready for the week and visiting blogs.  Don't forget the Adopt a Shelter Dog blog hop going on at Cooking with Cricut.  You'll see lots of adorable projects featuring the participating design team member's pets.  And, you'll find blog candy along the way as well as a chance to win several great prizes by linking up your own Shelter Pet projects.

I made today's card for the Tuesday Morning Sketch challenge #116.  They're still using the Think Pink theme along with this sketch.  I used materials that came in a goodie package I received from Yolie (Just Yolie, Just Create) when she was kicking off her Link Up for Pink Challenge. 

I hope you're having a great weekend.

If you have time, why don't you stop by my friend Caprice's brand new blog.  She's offering a wonderful cartridge give away and all you have to do is leave a commnent and become a follower.  She does amazing things with the Imagine and her Cricut.  And, she has a craftroom to die for - you've got to see the pictures!

You'll find Caprice's blog at http://craftscratchfever.blogspot.com/.  Be sure to tell her Larelyn sent you LOL.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Halloween at Delightful Challenges

I had a wonderful time in Texas with my daughter.  

But now it's time to get back to creating and blogging.

This week we're having a Halloween challenge at Delightful Challenges.  I used the Scalloped Gift Bag cut file and added this cute Ghost in a Cauldron image along with the Ghostly sentiment from the Halloween Sentiment Set.  All are available at Digital Delights by Louby Loo.

The sparkly paper is by Best Creations.  I colored the image with Copics and tied a bow through  eyelets on the scalloped top of the gift bag - easy peasy and ready for some Halloween goodies.

Be sure to visit the blog to see the rest of the Design Team's creations and then join in the fun by linking your own to Delightful Challenges.

This week's sponsor is our own Louby Loo.  The winner will receive a  gift certificate to the Digital Delights by Louby Loo online store.

I hope to get by your blogs and see what you've been up to.  In the meantime,

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

The Colors of Fall

Hello and Happy Thursday! As you're reading this, I'm on an airplane heading for a birthday weekend with my oldest daughter who lives in Lubbock, Texas. She has a lot planned for our girl-time: softball games, Texas Tech Homecoming, movies, and who knows what else. I'm so excited, I can't wait to get there. But enough about my fun plans.

Today is challenge day at Delightful Challenges. Wendy asked us to design something representing fall colors. I started with the Sunflower Background and added two images from the Fall Accessories Set. All of the digital images I used can be found at Digital Delights by Louby Lou.

The patterned papers are from Reminisce. The leaf brads and ribbon are from my stash. I made this card a 5 x 7 so I had plenty of room for the images which are colored with Copics. I decided to leave the picket fence white although I did add just a hint of W00 even if you can't tell from the picture. The cut-out images are placed using 1/4" and 1/8" foam dimensionals so they'd stand out a bit.

I hope you'll join in the challenge by linking your project to the Delightful Challenges blog post.Our prize this week is a $20 in-store gift certificate from

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

New Challenge, New Design Team!

Did you find my hint on the sidebar?

I am so excited to share that I have been selected as a design team member for the

Cooking With Cricut blog.  Today is the design debut of the newest team members.  You will find a  challenge every Wednesday so I hope you'll take a look and then join in the fun.  The challenge for this week is to design something that has either a cake (in celebration of National Cake Decorating Day), a cupcake (celebrating Chocolate Cupcake Day), or a teddy bear (Bring Teddy to Work Day).  The only requirements are to follow the theme and include something from Cricut.

I chose to design a birthday card with a cupcake. 

This is an A2 sized card.  The white mat was embossed using the Happy Birthday Cuttlebug folder.  The cupcake and layers are from Cricut American Alphabet cut at 2" on the E2.  The sentiment frame is the scalloped clover from Savvy Stamps matted with glitter paper.  The banner is hand-cut supported with Baker's Twine.  I did add Glossy Accents and Stickles to the cupcake.

I'm just so happy to be a part of this great team.  It's another destination in my papercrafting journey.

We also have a sister site, Papercrafting World.  Here you'll find Melin's online store which includes digital stamps, cut files, kits, and some essential crafting supplies. 

I hope you'll visit both sites for some great inspiration.

Don't forget, a new challenge every Wednesday. 

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Getting Cricky!

 Getting Cricky with K. Andrews is having a surprise cartridge give-away.  Visit Kristal's blog by clicking HERE and see how easy it is to play along (no project necessary).  She also has a call out for six new design team members.  And, if you haven't used K. Andrews Designs stamps, you should give them a try.  Besides terrific sentiments for all types of occasions, Kristal donates $1 from every stamp set sold to a deserving charity - I think that is just totally awesome.

Here is a card I designed using one of the sentiments from her Sympathetic Sayings set.

This set includes sayings that are absolutely perfect for the inside as well.

I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketch challenge #114.  The card was cut from the Wild Card Cartridge at 4.25".

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with a new design and some news.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Decor and More

That's the theme for Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut.  For challenge #80, we were asked to design something that could hang on a wall.  Wow!  I haven't done very many home decor projects.  So, I picked up this wood plaque at Walmart and painted it with acrylic paint.  I've been wanting to use my new Art Nouveau cartridge so this was the perfect opportunity.  I cut the butterfly ( key D2) and all of its layers at 3.64 on the Gypsy.  I decided the the plaque needed a little something extra so I chose the brackets from Plantin Schoolbook cut at 3 inches.  All the papers were from my scrapdrawers.  I added some Stickles here and there, added a satin ribbon and called it done. 

I hope you'll join our challenge by linking your home decor project to the Challenge Me Monday post at Fantabulous Cricut.

Please come back Wednesday for some exciting news (at least for me).  There's a hint on my sidebar.  Can you find it?  And don't forget to Link Up for Pink at Just Yolie, Just Create.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

You Are Not Alone

I hope you've taken the time to visit Just Yolie, Just Create and Linked up for Pink.  It's a great challenge for a worthy cause.  You can visit by clicking the link right next to this post.

Here's my card for the challenge.  I used the Mojo Monday #209 sketch and will also enter it in Celebrate the Occasion's Breast Cancer Awareness challenge. 

I made the card to send for one of our Cricut Card Fairy missions. 

The sentiment is from the KAndrews Designs "Amazing You" set.  I think it's perfect.

Keeping my sister-in-law in my heart -

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



Holiday Placecards

I had lunch with a friend today who noticed the Welcome Halloween decorations on my front porch.  She reminded me that once Halloween decor is up that means Christmas is on its way.  Oh my, she's right! 

And to prove her correct, Digital Delights by Louby Lou is releasing the new Holiday digital stamp sets.

This week, we were challenged to make a dimensional project.  You can see more projects made from the  new images on our Delightful Challenges blog.

I was lucky enough to get to preview these adorable Christmas Toppers Set 3.  There are so many ways in which they can be used, but I decided to make holiday place cards.

For fun, I added Liquid Applique to three of the images and then heat set it.  As soon as it puffed, I sprinkled on Prisma glitter for a little sparkle.  I also used some Stickles on the antlers and the Elf's hat and collar, and Glossy Accents on the reindeer's nose and hooves.  Each image was colored with Copic markers and sits on a 3 x 4 inch placecard which has been folded.  Finally, I cut some border strips from a DCWV Christmas stack page.

Remember that these images can be found in the Digital Delights by Louby Loo online store. Why don't you  play along with our make it dimensional challenge by linking your project to the

Delightful Challenges Blog?  We'd love to see your creation.

This week's sponsor is

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Too Cute to Spook

This adorable image and sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe - I think it's just so fun. 

I created the card to enter in The Cutting Cafe's CASE it Tuesdays. This is a fun, new challenge. You should take a look and join in. Just click the CASE it Tuesdays button on my sidebar to link to the challenge. Regina or one of her design team members provides a sample and you're free to Copy and Share Exactly or Copy and Selectively Edit - isn't that a great idea for a challenge? 

 I'm also entering in My Craft Spot Challenge #28-Too Cute to Spook - I love this theme!

Don't forget that today is Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut.  This week's challenge in Pumpkin Time.  Be sure to take a look at the design team's wonderful ideas and then link your creation to the post.

Have a wonderful week.  I'll see you soon.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn

Apples and Honey

Good Morning! 

Today I'm sharing a card that I designed for the Cooking with Cricut Apples and Honey challenge and Bitten by the Bug 2's WIMG wheelbarrow challenge. 

                                                Here's what I used to make this A2 card:

Cartridges:  Walk in My Garden, Pop-Up Neighborhood (apple basket), and Just Because Cards (honey)

Stamps:  My Craft Spot (sentiment), Pez-a-Doodles (bee, bee trail)

Ink:  VersaMagic Chalk Ink-Jumbo Java (edges and highlights), Dew Drop Brilliance-Sky Blue (cloud)

Copics Markers to shade the apples

3-D gel pen on bee and bee trail

Raffia ribbon

QuikKutz ZigZag Edges  used in the Cuttlebug

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,

Larelyn