Two Tickets to Paradise – NSD 2014 Challenge

I was finally able to finish my first project for NSD.  I started working on this layout on Saturday.  By the evening I was not feeling well — I had caught a cold/flu.  My head was so screwed up that I couldn’t focus on anything until Wednesday, when I was at last starting to feel human again.

I made this for the Two Tickets to Paradise challenge, where you are to make a project that represents what paradise is to you.  I had these pictures that Erin took during her trip to Palau last year and I figured this has to be as close to paradise as anywhere.  Erin not only documents her own travels, but she always has some Disney Duffy bears with her and documents their travels as well.

I had not even heard of Palau until Erin mentioned that it was on her bucket list of places to visit.  It is in Micronesia and is famous for its diving.  As you can see from the pics, the bears obviously enjoyed their trip.

LOd

I think this is my first two-page layout — and it took me a while to figure out where I wanted everything to go.  The die cuts are all from Treasure Box Designs — the file is called Two Tickets to Paradise.

The background paper is from the Tahiti stack byDCWV.  Most of the solid cardstock is from Bazzill.

1b

I added some Mickey heads to the luggage and put Duffy’s and Shellie May’s names on the tags.  I also made sure the bears had round-trip tickets 🙂

2c

 

  • Treasure Box Designs svg cut file
  • DCWV Tahiti Stack
  • Bazzill cardstock

CHA Winter 2014 Conference & Trade Show, Day One

 

Erin and I attended the opening day of the CHA Conference & Trade Show held in Anaheim, CA.  We arrived about an hour after it opened — we were a little late because Erin had to drive up from San Diego.  We stayed until about an hour before it closed and managed to walk a little over 1/3 of the show.  We will be back tomorrow when it opens.

Erin took a lot of pictures and I am sharing quite a few.  I would post more but I am just too tired and I need to get to bed so we can get up and do it all over again tomorrow.  We plan on going all four days.  So, here are some of the highlights from today.

Some of the displays in the lobby.

Some of the displays in the lobby.

 

Lanterns hanging in the lobby.

Lanterns hanging in the lobby.

 

Brother's new Scan & Cut machine, laser die cuts, Pop-It-Up dies, and Spellbinders Tool In One (used to clean up those hard-to-get-out pieces from intricate dies).

In the New Showcase area: Brother’s new Scan & Cut machine, laser die cuts, Pop It Up dies, and Spellbinders Tool in One (to clean up those hard-to-get-out pieces from intricate dies).

 

New Tim Holtz products - a Spritzer to use with Distress Markers and some mini Distress Inks and Ink Blending Tool.

New Tim Holtz products – a Spritzer to use with Distress Markers and some Mini Distress Inks and Ink Blending Tool.

 

Crystals

Lots of bling at the show. Even Swarovski is there — we haven’t made it to the Swarovski Elements booth yet.

 

Die Cuts With a View always has fantastic displays.  This year their booth has walls and they have gorgeous framed paper art hanging on the sides.

Die Cuts With a View always has fantastic displays. This year their booth has walls and they have gorgeous framed paper art hanging on the outside.

 

More DCWV

More DCWV

 

Bo Bunny's booth features two beautiful projects -- a Winter Fairy House and a the Happy Tails Pet Shoppe, both created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

Bo Bunny’s booth features two beautiful projects — a Winter Fairy House and the Happy Tails Pet Shoppe, both created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

 

The kits Erin & I received at the Bo Bunny booth for giving them a business card.

The kits Erin & I received at the Bo Bunny booth for giving them a business card.

 

The Graphic 45 booth -- always a popular location.

The Graphic 45 booth — always a popular location.

 

More Graphic 45.  The Tea Shoppe is gorgeous.  It was also created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

More Graphic 45. The Tea Shoppe is gorgeous. It was also created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

Cute paper and stickers from Scrapbook Customs.

Cute paper and stickers from Scrapbook Customs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter CHA 2013 – First Day of Exhibition

 

Today, CHA’s winter exhibition opened in Anaheim, California.  I do not believe the show is as large as previous years, but there is still so much to see and do.  I took a lot of pictures so I can share some of the excitement.

First up, I will show you Die Cut With a View’s booth.  They always have an outstanding booth — I can’t believe their display this year.  To sum it up, you certainly can’t ignore the elephant in this room:

Elephant

Elephant2

 I found out they made the elephant by using a topiary frame.  They covered that with newspapers and then added their own paper on top.  The blanket is gorgeous — it’s made of what looks like a turquoise quilted lame fabric and the embellishments are all done with beads.

Blanket

Beading

Beading2

I had to take a pic of the tail too:

ElephantTail

They also have a cobra in their booth — made of jewelry findings and chain.  He is just amazing.

Cobra

Here are some of the stacks that are featured:

Stacks2

And finally, some framed art on the outside of their booth:

Butterflies

Our next stop will be Jinger Adams’ booth.  She is in the new exhibitor’s section and it was good to see both her and Kristy today.

JingerBooth

JingerKristy

Display

And here is Jinger’s over-the-door Craft Armoire that is getting a lot of attention.  The first picture shows it closed and the second one shows it open.

Armoire

ArmoireOpen

As usual, Graphic 45 has a stunning booth:

G45Booth

One of their new collections, French Country:

FCCabinet

FCTop

FCMiddle

FCBottom

FCPapers

Another new collection, Secret Garden:

SGCabinet

SGTop

SGMiddle

SGBottom

SGPapers

I made it a point to stop at We R Memory Keepers’ booth to check out their new Envelope Punch Board.  I watched a demo of it and was even able to make one myself, along with a card.  This is a really neat tool and after using it, I will definitely be purchasing one.

Booth

This is what the Envelope Punch Board looks like:

EnvelopePunchBoard

Measurements for envelopes are listed right on the board and it tells you what size paper to cut and where to place your paper on the board.  There is a punch at the top that cuts out the little areas where the score lines meet.  It is so much easier than trying to snip that little piece out with a pair of scissors.  Once you score and snip it all the way around, you then fold and assemble your envelope.

FoldingEnvelope

ApplyAdhesive

It also has a corner rounder punch on the back of the board so you can round the corner on your flap.

CornerRounder

CompletedEnvelope

For the card, I got to use one of their Lucky 8 punches.   I used it in conjunction with a doily border punch and ended up with a fancy oval to attach to my card.  Sorry about the blurred hand in the background.

Lucky8Punch

DoilyBorderPunch

Doily

I folded the doily in half and added it, along with some embellishments, to my card.  I think it turned out cute.

Card

In the new exhibitor section I found another neat tool — it’s called a Laser Square.  It has a mat that is magnetic and you place your paper on it.  The paper is held in place by magnets.  They are strong magnets and can hold several layers of paper, so if you do a lot of matting your page will stay in place.  The laser is powered by a 9 v. battery and it enables you to line up all your work on your page.  They said it helps line up your paper for stamping too.  I think it will also work great with cards.

The company is called Kellycraft and the man said his wife came up with the idea at 2 in the morning — I guess she woke him up to share her idea.  They also make Laser Skins so you can customize your Laser Square.

LaserSquare

LaserSkins

The Copic booth and some of the cards on display:

CopicBooth

Card1

Card2

Card3

Card4

The Prima booth:

Booth

One of their new lines, Hello Pastel.

HelloPastel

HPDisplay

Another new collection, Sunrise Sunset:

SunriseSunset

Some layouts on display:

Display

Layout

Layout2

And look at this gorgeous work of art:

MixedMedia

Prima and Leeza Gibbons have teamed up and she has a collection called Wishes & Dreams.

LeezePoster

Wishes&Dreams

WDDisplay

WDDisplay2

WDDisplay3

WDLayout

Leeza was in Prima’s booth today.

Leeza

Another new exhibitor is Farm House Paper Co.  They have a great display and a nice product line.

FHBooth

Layout1

Layout2

Layout3

Layout4

BoBunny’s booth was very busy when we walked by.

BoothFront

This is the back of their booth, with close-ups of their displays:

BoothBack

Display

Display2

Display3

I spent a little time watching the demo in Purple Cow’s booth.  The lady was showing how to use their craft iron and encaustic wax paints.  She cut a piece from an old silk necktie and was coating it in wax on a piece of paper.

PCDemo

PCBegin

PCEncausticWax

PCTie3

PCDisplay

PCDisplay2

Here are a couple of finished pieces that were on display:

PCCover

PCCover2

This picture shows a napkin with a picture of Queen Elizabeth on it and how the lady incorporated it into her cover:

PCQECover

I plan on going back to Purple Cow’s booth so I can learn more about this technique.

I haven’t knitted in years, but this display using Bernat yarn caught my eye.  The afghan was so soft.

BunnyBear

Bernat

I have a lot more pictures to post, but for some reason it is taking forever to upload them onto my blog.  I have been working for several hours now just to get these up.  Since I want to be back at the show when they open in the morning, it’s time to call it a night.

My final picture will be of my one purchase today.  I hadn’t planned on buying this, just knew that I was going to at some point.  I had my dear hubby at the show with me today, and when we stopped in the booth to look at Klic-n-Kut’s Zing die cutting machine, he must have noticed me drooling because he said to go ahead and buy it.  The lady said they brought a machine with them and it is at their hotel.  She is bringing the machine to the show tomorrow and I can bring it home with me.  I am very excited!  It will be a week or two before I can play with it though — I have several embroidery orders I have to get out first.

Zing

Spooky Halloween Pumpkin Card

 

This is a Halloween card I made for a couple of challenges.  The first one is Cooking With Cricut, and their challenge is to make a project using a pumpkin and circles or dots.  The second one is Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog, and their challenge is to make a Halloween project using the colors black and orange.

My card fits in a #10 business envelope — it’s approximately 9″ x 4″. The pattern paper is from a DCWV stack from a year or so ago.  I laid the design out in Cricut Craft Room and used my Expression to cut everything.

I used the Happy Hauntings cartridge for the sentiment and cut it at 1.75″.   The pumpkin is from Autumn Celebrations, cut at 2″.  The bats are from Holiday Cakes and were cut on shadow feature at 1″.  I bent their wings up and glued down just the bodies.

And here is the inside of the card.

The little bear posing with my card is my newest Disney Duffy Bear, the Halloween 2012 bear.  He is so cute with his little treat bag that is shaped like a Duffy bear.

  • Cricut Craft Room
  • Cricut cartridges:  Autumn Celebrations, Happy Hauntings, Holiday Cakes
  • DCWV holiday stack

Prom Princess Scrapbook Layout

Wow, it has been so long since I posted something on our blog.  A couple of weeks ago, Bitten by the Bug 2, posted their Princess (the Word) Challenge and I decided I wanted to participate.  Of course, I waited until the last minute to finish my project.  Time is running so short, in fact, that I am going to post pictures right now so I can link my project to their blog and then come back and post the details.   I am hoping I can come back and add comments without creating a disaster — we’ll see how that works out 🙂

OK, now I will see if I can add some details.   The picture in this layout is of our dog and it was taken in 2006, shortly after we adopted her from a rescue group.  Fifi was in foster care for about a year before we got her, so we decided to keep the name she came with — even though it was not high on my hubby’s list of dog names.

Fifi also came with a few issues, the most worrisome was that she nipped.  We talked with our veterinarian about the problem and she recommended a dog trainer–Fifi likes to refer to her as her personal trainer.  Anyway, the trainer seemed to do the trick as Fifi has not nipped since getting individual and group training.

At the end of the year, the trainer had a party for the dogs.  She does this each year and always chooses a different theme.  For 2006 the theme was Prom.  The dogs all came dressed up, but once they walked for judging they got to get undressed and get down to some serious partying — which included running in the dog park and lots of doggy treats.

This was the first  (and so far only) time that Fifi has dressed up — and I wanted to make her something special to wear.  I altered a dog pattern to make her frilly dress.  I also made a matching cover for her leash.  I was surprised that Fifi did not mind wearing the dress.  After walking for the judges, Fifi was chosen as a Prom Princess and her award was a new chew toy.

 I used a paper stack from Die Cuts With a View called The Chateau Lavender.  I laid out my design in Cricut Design Studio and I used the Once Upon a Princess cartridge for the title “Princess” cut and Don Juan for “Prom”.  The frame was cut from Elegant Edges, the throne from Formal Occasion and the dog and crown from Paper Pups.

 I did some heat embossing on the frame using some Stampendous products that I recently bought.  The embossing powder I used all over the frame is called Fran-tage Shabby White Opaque.  It is chunky and has lots of gold glitter in it.  I also added some Stampendous Shaved Ice on top of the powder before I heated it — the Shaved Ice adds chunks of bling.  My only problem was trying to keep it from blowing all over.  I heated the frame from underneath, as Stampendous recommends.

 I cut a throw rug to go underneath the throne using George and Basic Shapes.  For the white on the crown, I heat embossed it using the same Stampendous products that I used on the frame.  I did some chalking on the pup.

I used Stampendous Fran-Tage Lavender Crushed Glass Glitter on the princess hat in the title and used Stickles on the star that dots the “i”.  The last step was the small flowers, which are Recollections brand from Michaels that I recently got on clearance.  I used Stickles in the center of the flowers.

  • DCWV The Chateau Lavender
  • Cricut Cartridges:  Don Juan, Elegant Edges, Formal Occasion, Once Upon a Princess, Paper Pups
  • Stampendous Fran-tage Shabby White Opaque Embossing Powder, Lavender Crushed Glass Glitter, Shaved Ice
  • Recollections flowers
  • Stickles

 

1st Banner for Cricut Expression 2 Design Challenge

 

On Monday, September 26 at 12:01 a.m. EST, Provo Craft is going to launch their newest machine — the Cricut Expression 2 on HSN.  They posted a challenge to design and make a banner and they are going to give away five new Expression 2’s to some very lucky winners.  You were able to make two banners to enter, so this is the first banner I made.

I knew the competition was going to be tough because there are so many talented Cricut users, so I tried to think a little “outside the box.”  For some reason, hanging a mini banner on a glass block was my first idea.   I originally planned on using etching cream to frost the glass, but because I was using a small string of LED lights I ended up putting glass marbles inside to help hold the lights in place.

The banner is made using Bazzill and Core’dinations cardstock.  I used the Birthday Bash cartridge for my banner base.  The green frame was cut from Lacy Labels, the scalloped circles from Mini Monograms, the regular circles from George and Basic Shapes, and the black valances were cut from Straight from the Nest.  The Cricut lettering is from Cricut Everyday and I cut it out of a glitter cardstock from DCWV.  I used two Swarovski crystals on the antennae.  I added some small flowers punched from a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page combo called Flower Shower and used lime green Stickles for the centers.

The pieces on the glass were cut from vinyl — the white fancy scroll frame is from Ornamental Iron 2 and the Bug head is from Cricut Everyday.  I was impressed with how well the Cricut cut the vinyl.  Here is a picture of the block all lit up.

FrontLit4

I decided to decorate the back of the block too and I used the same frame that I put on the front, cut from Ornamental Iron 2.  I recently bought this cartridge and I am lovin’ it!  It has some beautiful designs on it and I think they look great cut out of vinyl.

The phrase and Bug head on the back are both cut from Cricut Everyday.  And here is a picture of the back of the block with the lights on.

To hang the banner on the glass block, I glued some black & white dotted ribbon around the edges using Terrifically Tacky Tape.  I strung the banner together using DMC’s Memory Thread.  I sewed and glued the ends of the Memory Thread on the banner.  To cover up my stitches, I punched some more flowers and glued them on top.  I also scattered a few flowers on the front and back of the block.  I tied some wide Cricut green organza ribbon around the entire block and made a big bow using my Bowdabra.

The last picture is of the side of the block.

  • Cricut cartridges used:  Birthday Bash, Cricut Everyday, George and Basic Shapes, Lacy Labels, Mini Monograms, Ornamental Iron 2 and Straight from the Nest
  • Cardstock:  Bazzill, Core’dinations, DCWV
  • Cricut vinyl
  • DMC Memory Thread
  • Terrifically Tacky Tape
  • Martha Stewart Flower Shower punch
  • Lime green Stickles
  • Swarovski crystals

Ice Cream Shop Card for Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge

 

Weekly Challenge #33 over at the Cricut Circle Blog is called the Sweet Summertime Challenge.  You have to incorporate the shape of your favorite summertime treat and use a stamp somewhere on your project.

My summertime treat is easy — it’s the same treat I love all year long — ice cream!!  That being said, I knew right away what my card was going to have on it.  But I decided that I would not only include an ice cream cone but also the ice cream shop.

The lastest exclusive cartridge for Cricut Circle members is Pop-Up Neighborhood.  I was looking through the handbook and really liked some of the buildings.  While I didn’t use the pop-up feature on this card, I did take the bakery and turned it into an ice cream shop.

In Design Studio, I laid out two of the bakery shadow shapes and welded them together at the top.   I remembered the cute little hippo from Birthday Bash, who is blissfully running with her ice cream cone, and knew I wanted her on my card too.  So I laid out the hippo shape onto my base and welded that also.

I cut the shapes from the Sweet Stack by Die Cuts With A View.  The solid color cardstock is from Bazzill.  I used just the two cartridges — Birthday Bash and Pop-Up Neighborhood.   Oops, I just remembered a third cartridge that I used — the Lite cartridge Twinkle Toes.  I cut the banner for the shop name from it.

For the windows on my ice cream shop, I used graphics from Provo Craft — from their pccrafter.com site.  I thought they were perfect with my design.  I used a stamp to do the name of the shop.  I found a clear stamp in a set that I bought from K & Company that said “The Scoop” and when I saw it I knew that would be the name.

I used the Cuttlebug on the front door, the Distressed Stripes folder, and also on the ice cream cone, the Mesh Texture folder.  I needed something with a small pattern because the ice cream cone on the front of the card is quite small and this folder was great.  It gives the look of a waffle cone.  I used coarse glitter on the ice cream itself and red Stickles for the cherry on top.

Front3

This is a happy and fun creation and when I look at my card I can’t help but think of a book Erin had as a child.  It was called Yummers! and featured Miss Emily (a pig) and Eugene (a turtle).  When I look at the pink hippo, she just looks like she is running along thinking, yummers!!

The patterned paper on the inside of the card is from daisyd’s.  I made another ice cream cone, this time a little larger, to adhere to a corner.

  • Cricut Design Studio
  • Cricut cartridges:  Birthday Bash, Pop-Up Neighborhood, Twinkle Toes
  • Cuttlebug folders:  Distressed Stripes and Mesh Texture
  • DCWV — Sweet Stack
  • Bazzill solid cardstock
  • Coarse glitter
  • Red Stickles

Sunny Snail is Thinking of You!!

 

Erin is back in Taiwan after a lengthy visit here in the US.  I had lots of fun while she was staying with us.  We attended CHA every day and even managed to get in a scrapbook expo in Anaheim right before she left.  Once she got home to Taipei and settled in, she wanted to do a challenge together.  So we have been busily working,and thanks to Skype, we were able to scrap together.

A member of the Cricut Circle recently had surgery and I wanted to send her a card to wish her a speedy recovery and let her know I am thinking of her.  I thought doing a challenge would be a perfect way to accomplish this.  And here is a little Duffy “spokesbear” model to present my card:

The base of the card is green Bazzill bling cardstock.  The glittery print cardstock is from two different DCWV paper stacks, Blossoms & Butterflies and The Glitter Stack.  I used a yellow bling cardstock from Bazzill for the contrast, sun and snail body. 

I laid out my card in Design Studio and I cut the sun, snail and flowers with my Cricut.  I used Create a Critter for the sun, Birthday Bash for the snail and the Bloom Lite cartridge for the flowers.  I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the sun and the snail.  I embossed the snail with four different embossing folders, Swiss Dots, D’Vine Swirl, Plum Blossom and Mesh Texture.  I inked the edges of all the pieces to give them some depth.  I used Stickles on the center of the flowers and an atyou Spica glitter pen for the cheeks on both the sun and snail.  The sentiment on the envelope the snail has in his mouth is from a $1 clear stamp I purchased at Michaels.  I used lots of pop-dots on the sun and snail, popping up layers and also the completed pieces. 

I am loving all the baker’s twine that is so popular right now, but  I have not purchased any yet.  When I was in Michaels a couple of weeks ago, I found some Lily Sugar ‘n Cream Twists string/thread in the yarn department that reminded me of the twine.  It was on sale so I bought a few different colors to see how it would work.  I wrapped some of the blue around the bottom of this card and I think it looks pretty good.  I attached a charm to the twine with a little hanger that is from Making Memories.  I think they are called garment pins. 

For the inside of the card I added a couple of flowers that I cut out twice so I could layer them together for some dimension.  I used Stickles for the bling on the center of the flowers.

This was a fun card to create and I am happy to say that my card qualifies for the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog – Challenge #51 “Hip to be Square” -green & gold

Cooking With Cricut – It’s A GREEN  SCENE!

The Cuttlebug Spot –  All Tied Up: twine challenge

The Cuttlebug Spot –  Oh so Charming

  • Bazzill bling cardstock
  • Die Cuts With a View paper stacks
  • Cricut cartridges:  Birthday Bash, Bloom (Lite), Create a Critter
  • Cricut Design Studio
  • Cuttlebug Embossing Folders:  D’Vine Swirl, Plum Blossom, Swiss Dots
  • Twine:  Lily Sugar ‘n Cream Twists
  • Making Memories garment pins
  • Charm from my stash
  • Stickles
  • atyou Spica glitter pen

CHA 2011: Die Cuts With A View 12″ x 24″ Paper Stacks

Many Cricut crafters have been asking for more cardstock that is 12″ x 24″ so they can use it in their Cricut Expressions with the larger mats.  I spotted these three new packs of paper in the DCWV booth during CHA. 

All three stacks are adhesive backed.  The glitter pack has 6 sheets of paper, while the pattern and textured stack both have 12 sheets.

Here is a close-up of the textured stack.

 

CHA 2011: Die Cuts With A View Paper Dresses

I think my favorite booth at the show this year is Die Cuts With A View.  Their display is absolutely stunning.   In the center of the booth is a runway featuring life-size dresses made from their paper stacks.  There are also other paper dresses scattered throughout the booth, as well as two themed rooms.

I visited the booth each of the four days of the show just to look at those dresses.  They are absolutley amazing.  While talking to various reps over that period, I found out that their designers started creating the dresses last October.  When they received the challenge to do the dresses, the designers got a dress form and worked on them at home.  Some worked individually, while others collaborated on a design.

The staff at DCWV did not see the dresses until about a week before the show, when the designers started bringing them in.  One rep told me they were blown away when they saw them.

I asked how the dresses were transported to CHA and was told that they were wrapped, loaded in a truck standing up, and driven to the show.  Let me share some now.

This is a shot of the runway, which featured three dresses.

The first dress is made from the Natural Paper Stack.  I was able to peek inside and see that it has a base made from muslin, and the paper is affixed to that.

This dress is made from the Mariposa stack. 

Notice the detail on the back of this dress, especially the buttons and all those gorgeous flowers.

The third dress is made from the Gone Wild stack, which I believe is exclusive to Michaels.  The front of this dress is made with strips of paper that are woven together.

The back features a train made of paper leaves and flowers.

This dress is made from the Immortal Love Paper Stack.

This is from the Shimmer Paper Stack.

I’m not sure which paper this dress is from, but I think it is the Luxury stack.

From the Ciao Bella collection. 

And here is the last dress, made from the Black Currant stack.