Cricut Cardz Challenge #111 Summer Theme

I hope everyone is enjoying all that summer has to offer by now.  This week at Cricut Cardz, Mary asked the Design Team to create around a summer theme.  One of my favorite things about summer is enjoying a big slice of juicy watermelon, so that's what I designed my card around.  My watermelon slice came from the Preserves cartridge.  I made my shaped base card by welding together two shadow cut shapes from Elegant Edges.  All the papers I used are scraps so I can't tell you the company names.  I love to use gingham and polka dots together for an Americana feel and it seemed perfect for my watermelon layers, plain black cardstock for the seeds.  I added a little red twine and a black button for embellishment before adding my perfect sentiment.  It came from the Cardz TV Stamps Fun in the Sun stamp set.

BBTB2 Patriotic challenge

I can't believe it's almost time to celebrate the 4th of July as you can tell with my BBTB2 challenge post for today.  It seems like Easter was just a few weeks ago.  My life has been so complicated since then.  We bought a permanent place in Florida, traveled back to Michigan with the camper and have had nothing but problems since arriving at the beginning of May.  We've never had any problems with our camper, but they've hit full force since arriving.  When we first arrived our hot water tank broke.  So that repair was about $300.  Then we started having electrical problems--two batteries, two converters and hundreds of dollars later hopefully they are all fixed.  I've had a ton of health issues since we got here, too.  If it's not one thing it's another. 

So here I am again this week saying this was not the project I intended for today, but with all the problems I've encountered lately I'm lucky to have a project at all.  I was planning on making a banner to hang outside on my camper for the holiday.  Instead I have a card with a banner on it.  Having the electrical problems seriously cut into my available time to use my Cricut, along with trips to visit our kids.  Maybe I should invent a battery operated cutter.  I had to put this card together so quickly I don't even remember what cartridge I used for the banner pieces.  I think it was Something to Celebrate, but don't hold me to that.  The lettering came from the Varstiy Letters cartridge.  My papers are We R Memory Keepers. 

We just returned from a two day trip down to see my granddaughter in her first ballet concert.  Since her costume was red, white and blue I thought this would be the perfect post to add a couple photos of her (even though they're not the best quality).  She was so cute up on that stage and surprisingly graceful.  She tends to be like a bull in a china shop.  How she managed to keep from getting a hole in her tights I'll never know.  We enjoyed our time spent with her and her little sister.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you'll have the opportunity to join us this week at BBTB2 for our patriotic challenge.  You may use any Cricut cartridge on the patriotic project but it must be a new creation and have at least one Cricut cut on it.

Cardz TV Anything Goes

Have I told you lately how much I love Cardz TV Stamps?  It's so exciting to be on the Design Team for Mary and be able to use her high quality photo polymer stamps.  They just stamp like a dream.  This week at Cardz TV Stamps we are saying goodbye to some of our Design Team.  Such a talented group of ladies to work with.  Since this is the last week of this term Mary said "Anything Goes".  I used one of the newer stamps sets called FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).  Fabulous set with all questions for sentiments.  I knew the GUESS WHO? sentiment was perfect to go with an owl.  I used the Cricut Hoot n' Holler cartridge to cut my owl.  My Design Papers are from Authentique (love the browns, blues and oranges).  I started with a kraft cardstock base card in a standard A2 size, topped it with a mat of dark orange and then my patterned paper.  On top of that I added a top note shape that I cut from the Elegant Edges cartridge.  My owl is cut at 2.5" and I added my sentiment in brown ink in the bottom corner.  I was happy with how this card turned out even though I had to go with a quick and easy card this week as we've been having electrical problems in our camper.  It's hard to use my Cricut without any electricity and I really wanted to use this owl cut.  I think we've finally got the electrical kinks worked out after spending hundreds of dollars and going through two batteries and two converters.  I sure hope so because it's finally warmed up in northern Michigan and I need to use my air conditioning.  I get really crabby when I'm hot.  LOL  Thanks for stopping by today!

BBTB2 Birthday and Pearls

Happy Monday!  It's time for a new challenge at BBTB2 and this week Stephanie asked us to make a birthday card and incorporate pearls.  I bet you were expecting to see some kind of feminine card with pearls.  I totally wanted to do the unexpected this week and went with a boy card.  How in the world could I incorporate pearls into a little boys card--with a treasure chest of course!  My fabulous printed border is from The Cutting Cafe's Ahoy Matey printable stamp set.  My treasure chest came from the 3 Birds-Life's A Party cartridge.  I cut it at 3.25" from brown cardstock adding some metallic gold for the coin and lock layers.  I added some rhinestones, and of course, pearls.  Really quick and easy card.  It seems that's all I have time for since we came back to Michigan.  We have been so busy visiting kids and grandkids and cleaning out our storage unit which is three hours south of where we're camped.  We no sooner get to the camper and we have to head back south for some family commitment of some sort or other.  Every week since we got here we've had to do that.  The first week it was our granddaughter's graduation, the next week our youngest grandchild's birthday.  Next it was a week of preparing for a garage sale by cleaning out our storage unit and setting up the garage.  We survived that and headed back north for a couple days of rest.  This week it was back down for a granddaughter's ballet recital (pictures to come next week).  I will be so glad when this summer is over and we can finally head back to Florida and our quiet, peaceful life in our retirement community.  This weekend it's back down for our granddaughter's graduation party.  Can you say exhausted?  Who said retirement is a time for relaxation?  We weren't this busy when we were working full time!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to play along with our birthday and pearls challenge at BBTB2.

BBTB2 Rose challenge

What a wonderful discovery I made this week when I went to design my card for the BBTB2 Rose challenge chosen by one of our newest DT members, Glenda.  You all probably know this and I'm the last one to figure it out, but did you know there's a wonderful 3-D flower on the Lacy Labels cartridge.  Yes, that's where my pretty rose came from.  I discovered it when I used my Gypsy to do a search for a rose.  Sometimes it's not easy to see the cuts on that little screen and I wasn't sure I was seeing right when I noticed the spiral cut from the Lacy Labels.  Of course, I had to check it out and sure enough, it was a spiral cut flower.  I've had that cartridge since it first came out and never noticed it before.  On the keypad it's in the last row, key number 7.  I used My Mind's Eye Stella/Rose papers for my card.  I love the blue and yellow palette.  My beautiful sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps Think Spring stamp set and I placed it on a label I cut from Lacy Labels.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #10 My Guy Father's Day project

We're making Father's Day projects this week at Cardz TV Stamps.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a big fan of creating cards for guys.  So Mary picked a great challenge for me this week with her My Guy theme.  I used the Cricut Something To Celebrate cartridge to make this shaped card.  I almost feel like I cheated because I totally used the manual to put this card together.  This cartridge has shaped cards on it and I followed the colors exactly as they were displayed in the manual.  That made this one quick and easy to put assemble.  I used the Cardz TV stamp set called Ticket Talk 2 for the sentiment in the center of the ribbon and on the tag which I cut from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge, I used the Cardz TV Stamps set called It's A Guy Thing.  I'll be giving this card to hubby for Father's Day.

BBTB2 Water theme

Happy Monday!  It's time for a new challenge at BBTB2.  This week's water theme challenge was chosen by our fabulous returning DT member Sandi.  She asked us to use a water theme.  I have to admit that I struggled with this one a little until I decided on a fish theme.  I really had something else in mind for the fish but ran short of time because we've been preparing for a big garage sale to empty out our storage unit.  It is crammed full after selling our house last July.  I've also been sick with a sinus infection and ear infection.  That's what happens when you return to a cold climate after spending the winter in warmth and sunshine in Florida.  Not only that, while visiting my children last week my dog and I were attacked by two boxer dogs while outside for a potty break.  My dog was on a leash the other two weren't.  It was a very traumatic experience, I must say.  We're both recovering from dog bites and that's as much as I want to say.  I wanted to make a card for my 5 year old granddaughter who will be performing in her first ballet program.  I was shocked to find I had to pay $16 each for tickets to go, however.  Does that seem like a lot to anyone besides me?  Anyway, I used one of my all time favorite cartridges for this card--Create A Critter.  I cut the fishbowl and it's layers at 3.25" and my fish and it's layers at 1".  I embossed the water layer with my Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder and the sand with the Cuttlebug  Japanese Scales folder.  I thought it would be fun to put the fish on a Wobbler to give it a little movement and of course, I had to make the fish pink because that's one of Payton's favorite colors.  My sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe's Under the Sea set.