Aspiring to Creativity: September 2009

Chinny and Tiny

This page has to be redone since the puppy labeled Tiny in Red Deer is actually Nutella in Rexburg

This page was challenging, because I had this idea of placing the photos behind the white pattern of the paper. So I had to be sure exactly what the layout was going to be in order to do what was needed in the correct order. I placed the phots where I wanted them and with a pencil lightly marked where they would be placed on the page. Then with the exacto knife cut the areas that would be in front of the photo plus a tiny bit extra to allow the thickness of the photo to slide in and fit in well behind the white pattern. Next came the circle with its photo and the ribbon. I used the Cricut

Air Adventure

Circles are the theme for this project. Using an extra sheet of the same paper used for the background and the Circut, I cut around 23 circles in a variety of sizes to go with the band of little circles on the background paper. Ribbon with circles was also used. The Cricut font is . Stickers indicating the fun I had on the hot air balloon ride are placed in esthetically pleasing positions. The text for the page was printed from my computer and torn into strips. A gold metallic gel pen was used to go around the letters of the title, and the circles with pictures in them as well as the circles behind the letter "A". A stamp was use along the right edge of the page that has a wave line running though it. I highlighted some of those stamped waves with the same gold metallic pen.

Stef's Birth Announcement (2)

Stef used a pretty-patterned felt on this card. She used the Cricut to cut the letters (looks like the Storybook cartridge) and then attached paper flowers to the ribbon with a brad. The other flowers are, I believe, adhesive.

Stef's Birth Announcement (1)

This birth announcement that Stefanie made won my heart forever! She embossed the card with the Spots and Dots folder for Cuttlebug. The stamps were embossed and cut with Cuttlebug embossing folders and die. I love how the ribbon matches the background!

Birth Announcements! (10)

This is my last completed card to date and Stef's favorite. I punched the bottom of the card using EK Success's bubble punch. Then I stamped the background with pink ink and used a white gel pen to make the circles stand out and match the ribbon. The ribbon's centre is embellished using Cricut's Mini Monograms cartridge.

Birth Announcements! (9)

I love this card! I just happened to have some ribbon that matched some 3D stickers I got at a dollar store. I added the "It's a Girl" to the middle sticker using a clear Martha Stewart stamp. The carriage is a metal dollar store embellishment. I made the heart in the middle of it pink using a metallic gel pen. The "e" was cut out using Cricut's Tear Drop cartridge and embellished with a pink rhinestone. I'm so proud!

Birth Announcements! (8)

This card's background was embossed with the Cuttlebug's Baby embossing folder. The phrase comes from Cricut's New Arrival cartridge and is embellished with a pink pearl. The sequined ribbon along the bottom is something I got for free from Scrapbooker's paradise (I think) or from Michael's discount ribbon bin. The card's original brad was upgraded to a pink pearlized brad.

Birth Announcements! (7)

I created this card after it had been discovered that while the Cricut couldn't cut the glittery adhesive-backed foam Stef and I had purchased, the Cuttlebug dies could! So that's where the "Ella" came from. The background was embossed using the Cuttlebug folder Stylized Flowers, embellished with rhineshtones and a 3-D butterfly sticker from a dollar store. The border was cut using the Cricut and embellished with dollar store pearls. The brad that came with the card was upgraded to this green one.

Birth Announcements! (6)

I was actually quite pleased with this one. The style seems a little country-ish but whatever. This is the first card I used my Cuttlebug on. The flower and butterfly are embellishments from a dollar store. The purple tag is affixed with glittery purple brads.

Birth Announcements! (5)

Not one of my more brilliant cards. This one lacks 3-dimensionality which could be fixed but I don't want to bother. The New Arrival cartridge for Cricut was used, as well as some dollar store foil stickers.

Birth Announcements! (4)

Again, the "Ella" is Cricut-cut using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge with ribbon inserted through the punches made by Martha Stewart's small ribbon threader edge punch. The dragonfly is a 3-D sticker from a dollar store.

Birth Announcements! (3)

Until later on, this was my fav birth announcement that I created. Very simple but with unique usage of space, etc. I discovered a love for rub-ons here! The "Ella" was cut out by Cricut using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I threaded the ribbon after using Martha Stewart's small ribbon threader edge punch.

I had this card in mind for my dad and stepmom but when they visited, I gave them the whole batch I had finished to date to choose from. They picked this one regardless!

Birth Announcements! (2)

I had one card between my first and this one that I've already sent off and so cannot capture. It wasn't worth, in my opinion, a photograph anyway. Again, it was very Cricut heavy.

This card boasts embossed paper from a dollar store, a strip of ribbon and a phrase from Cricut cartridge New Arrival embellished with only a rhinestone.

Birth Announcements! (1)

I've made a ton of unique birth announcements to send out to friends and family. The interiors are all variations of Ella's birth stats and so I won't bother with inside pics.

This was my first and I now find it very plain. I relied almost exclusively on the Cricut for this, using Stretch the Imagination and New Arrival cartridges.

Triple Purpose Card

I made this card because I wanted to say three things to my grandmother: Happy Birthday, Thank You and Thinking of You. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of the middle portion of the bi-fold card that said the first thing. That's too bad because it turned out awesome! Anyway, this is a fairly straightforward card. (For some reason, the second pic won't upload correctly on Blogger so the orientation is wrong.)

The majority of this card is from the Wild Card cartridge. The only addition I contributed was the generic oval that I put through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

On the inside, I used corkboard sticker letters within one of this particular cards address label borders. The sentiment is heat embossed.

My First Wedding Card

I apologize for the quality of these pictures and promise to take better ones in the future!

I'll also start paying more attention to details like what cartridge I used in my Cricut Expression to cut out the general card and such... I probably used New Arrival.

To create the edge along the bottom of the front of the card I used EK Success Fleur de Lis punch. I made it pop out more by applying a black liner to the inside of the card (more later). The red dotted line above the edging was hand-drawn with a ruler and a red metallic gel pen.

The background was done using the Storybook cartridge: Shift+ 2 + Accent/Frame.

The silhouetted couple on the front was done using the Wild Card cartridge: + Icon. I used pop dots to create a three-dimensional effect.

The black liner on the interior of the card was "dry embossed" using the Textile Texture Cuttlebug folder.

The marquee was done using the Storybook cartridge: . The saying is just stamped on and the red border was hand-drawn with a red metallic gel pen. I used pop dots to create a three-dimensional effect, which I don't often do on the interior of a card.

The sentiments were stamped on and the word "Love" was drawn over with a red metallic gel pen.

After this picture was taken, I also dissected 3 small pictures of the happy couple from their wedding invitation and placed them at different angles around the sentiment.