The Cutting Cafe Chinese Take Out Box

For this week's Cutting Café assignment Regina asked the DT to make a project using the Chinese Take Out Box template.  I needed to make a couple Halloween treats to give my granddaughters before we left Michigan to head to Florida.  I used a kraft and black patterned paper from Colorbok that I picked up at Walmart.  I used the SVG Chinese Take Out Box with a window so my candy treats would show through and cut it with my Silhouette.  My cute little embellishment button was also a Walmart find.  The little card was made with the Cutting Café Halloween This and That printable stamp set.  I simply printed the cat and sentiment onto some kraft cardstock then cut a black base to fit it on.  I apologize that my post is short and sweet today, but we are on the road traveling back to Florida.  Just a couple more days before we arrive and can get settled in and back into a routine.

The Cutting Cafe Acorn Shaped Card

Fall is definitely in the air here in northern Michigan. It's time to head to Florida to our winter home,  In fact, as you're reading this we are on the road traveling.  It was really nice to see some fall color before leaving Michigan.  We missed it last year, but the weather this year was much cooler so the trees started to change color early. 

Today I'm sharing an Acorn Shaped Card for my weekly Cutting Café project.  I found an old autumn paper stack from Recollections when I was packing up my supplies to head to Florida.  When I saw this cute fall print I thought it was perfect for my card.  I cut my shaped card base using the SVG file and my Silhouette.  I added a top layer of the blue print and made the top of the acorn from Bo Bunny Double Dot.  I added some machine stitching to this layer.  Next I fussy cut a tree/leaf and a squirrel from the patterned paper to embellish the acorn top.  My sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe's Welcome Fall printable stamp set.  A small rust colored button with a little spiral of blue wire running through it completed this card.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you're enjoying the blessings of Autumn wherever you are.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #36 Fall Colors

I love the colors of fall and it's always been my favorite season in Michigan.  It's nice to see the leaves changing and to go to the cider mill for fresh apple cider before we head down to Florida for the winter.  In fact, I love the season so much that hubby and I got married in the fall.  We are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this weekend.  It's our last weekend in Michigan, so a little bittersweet as we see our family for the last time this year.  This week's challenge at Cardz TV is to make a project using the fall colors of red, orange, gold and brown.  I made a base card from brown cardstock and topped it with a plaid from the Bo Bunny Apple Cider paper stack (last year's).  Next I added a dark red polka (Simple Stories Harvest Lane) dot circle that I stitched onto the plaid background with a zigzag stitch and my cute little traveling Janome sewing machine.  My leaf is cut from a Silhouette file (#4002) and embossed with Cuttlebug's Moracan Screen.  I cut a couple Cutting Café Scalloped Borders (SVG) and layered them together then added an orange ribbon.  I stamped my sentiment from the Cardz Tv Stamps Thankful For You stamp set and then cut it into three shorter strips, which I popped with dimensional foam and stacked. 

My Creative Time Birthday Challenge

Today I have a FUN birthday card to share.  My bright, cheery papers are all from the DCWV 6x6 paper pad called The Birthday Wishes stack.  These papers have a little bit of a glossy sheen to them and need Staz-On ink so the stamping won't smear.  I decided to make a long card to accommodate my banner across the top.  I used the following My Creative Time sets to make this:

• Stitched Party Dies-for the balloons and banner
• Stitched Mini Frame-for the frame
• Chocolate Greetings Die and Stamp Set-for the long banners
• It's All About You stamp set

My base card measures 3x6", yellow layer 2.75x5.75', and blue layer is 2.5x5.5".  After assembling the base of the card I cut two of the banners from the Stitched Party Die.  I wanted room between the two banners to add my mini frame and sentiment.  My sentiment was heat embossed with WOW Pink Bubble Gum embossing powder.  Next I cut two long banners from the Chocolate Greetings set and stamped the sentiments on them with Staz-On ink and added them to the banner across the top.  I pop dotted the sentiment in the mini frame.  To add to the birthday theme even more I cut some balloons from the Stitched Party Dies and arranged them on the left side of the mini frame sentiment using some pop dots for a bit of layering.  I added one more of the little ribbons from the Stitched Party Dies at the base of the balloons to finish off the project.  This card fits perfectly in a business size envelope. 

I'll be putting this card into my stash of birthday cards for friends.  We are just days away from heading back to Florida for the winter months.  We have lots of friends down there that have birthdays through the winter and it seems I'm always in need of cards down there.  So proud of myself for getting a head start.  Perfect timing, too, to add my card to the Designer's Challenge over at My Creative Time for their birthday theme.  Now it's time for me to pack up my supplies for transport back to Florida.  I'm so going to be having crafting withdrawals.  My supplies are always the last thing I pack so I can use them right up to the day before we leave.  I'm not looking forward to the long drive from Michigan, but I can't wait to get back to our little place and some warmer weather.  Fall has definitely arrived in Northern Michigan.

The Cutting Cafe Overalls Shaped Card

Snips and snails

and puppy dog tails

That's what little

boys are made of.

 

Were celebrating little boys (or maybe bigger boys) this week at The Cutting Café Blog.  Regina asked the DT to create a project for boys using the Overalls Shaped Card (my choice), the All About Boys printable stamp set (my sentiment), or the Funny Car Treat Box.  I just love the cute little Overall Shaped card and have used it before for both boy and girl cards.  I cut the base card from white cardstock and topped it with a denim looking paper from the Graphic 45 French Country paper stack.  All of my trim pieces were cut from another paper from that stack, the red gingham.  I remember when my son was young he would often follow his daddy around working on projects around the house with his little plastic tools in his pockets.  That's where I got the inspiration for my card.  I added a hammer and a screwdriver to the pockets that I cut from a Silhouette file.  After I assembled the card I printed out the sentiment onto a circle and attached it, with a little dimensional foam, to the front of the card.  The star on the front of the bib pocket is also part of the file's accessories.



The Cutting Cafe Apple Treat Box

We're celebrating Back to School at the Cutting Café this week.  Regina asked us to create a project using the Apple Treat Box, School Borders or Bus Shaped Card.  I'm always up for creating a 3-D project, especially treat boxes.  I love treat boxes for every occasion and often use them to send treats to my grandkids for a surprise.  This Apple Treat Box would be perfect for a little Back to School treat.  I cut the box from kraft cardstock and the top layer from a scrap of MME  I decided to print the round sentiment onto a die cut circle that I placed onto a scalloped back then I added it to the front of a die cut tag.  A little ribbon, twine and a button completed this project.

My Creative Time Designer Challenge The Colors of Fall

It feels like Fall here in northern Michigan.  I can't believe the whole summer is just gone.  Our time here is quickly coming to an end and we'll be heading back down to Florida soon.  Fall was always my favorite season when we lived in Michigan.  I loved seeing the trees changing color and I always hope that we'll see a little of that color before we leave our camper in late September.  Yesterday we were driving down a country road and saw a field of pumpkins which inspired my card today that I made for the My Creative Time Designer Challenge.  The current challenge has an inspiration picture to take colors from. 

I used the MCT Stitched Hexy Dies to make my little pumpkins.  I cut little stems for them by hand and added them to the top of the pumpkins along with a little twine bow.  My little crescent moon is made from the MCT Stitched Circle Die and the clouds are the MCT Stitched Cartoon Cloud Dies.  To make the crescent moon I cut the stitched circle and then placed the circle die on top of the first cut with just the crescent shape showing and ran it through my Cuttlebug again.  I added a few little twinkling blue star sequins to finish the card off.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #35 Celebrate the Harvest

Summer is winding down and it's time to finish harvesting the crops.  It's been a great year for crops here in Michigan.  Well deserving farmers are celebrating after almost total crop losses last year.  Last year at our annual campground end of year celebration we had a never before tasted treat that some friends brought to the gathering.  It is a tradition in their family to make a batch of cherry liquor each year.  The cherries are picked and placed into jars with sugar and whiskey, sealed up and not opened until Christmas time.  So our friends, Jay and Linda, brought a jar of their cherry liquor and cherries that they had made the year before.  I just had a sip of the liquor, not being a drinker myself, but the best part of this creation is the soaked cherries.  I admit I had more than a few of them and they were yummy. 

My husband said, after that experience, that he was going to make some of his own this year.  Lucky for us our friends remembered him saying that and on a recent weekend at the campground they were nice enough to bring us a couple pounds of cherries that Jay and his mother had picked just the day before.  Off hubby went to the store to buy canning jars.  Now you have to know that my husband does absolutely no cooking.  He can make one thing and one thing only, French toast.  My adult kids still beg for that treat.  By the end of the day we had our own six quarts of cherries all set to soak for the next six months, enough to give one to each of the kids before we leave to head back to Florida and take some for ourselves to be shared with friends on Christmas Day.

I made this cute little cherry card as a thank you to our friends for bringing us those cherries.  I used the Cardz TV Stamps Love in a Jar stamp set to make this card along with the perfect background paper from DCWV Sweet paper stack.  It was so easy to make by stamping the jar onto white cardstock and the lid onto silver paper, then the cherries with some red and green ink.  After stamping I fussy cut the pieces and put them together then popped them up on the card with a little foam tape.

The Cutting Cafe Favorite Things project

 

It's time for my Cutting Café project for the week.  We have a new term starting and some new designer's joining the team.  Regina gave us the option of highlighting any of her files this week.  I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share something really FUN that I recently got to participate in, thanks to Regina.  Have you heard of this new fad-My Favorite Things parties?  You can find lots of ideas for these gift exchange parties on Pinterest.  The basis of the party is to gather friends together and exchange gifts of your favorite things.  Regina decided to do a mail gift exchange for craft items and organized a group of her friends into teams of six (including me).  Each person on the team was asked to purchase a gift or gifts for the amount of $5 and then mail them off to the other members of the team.  So I had to purchase five of the same item(s) for my team members.  If you are a crafter you might think it impossible to find something for that small amount of money.  I decided to put embellishments and ink pads into my bags.  The little chevron bags are from Doodlebug Designs.  Inside my bags I put my very favorite ink for inking edges-Color Box Cat Eye chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, some Doodlebug pink and white twine, buttons, Tim Holtz mini paper clips, rhinestones, and wooden conversation bubbles.  All of my favorite things to embellishment my papercrafting projects.

 

 

Everything went into the bags and then I added a tag printed from The Cutting Café A Few of my Favorite Things printable stamp set.  I embellished the tag with a piece of pink burlap ribbon, pink and white twine and a tiny pair of scissors I cut from a My Creative Time die.

 

It was so much fun looking forward to the mail arrival until all of the packages arrived from my team mates with their Favorite Things inside.  When I get back down to Florida I think I may just have to host my own Favorite Things party with a group of my friends and this time do it in person.  FUN, FUN, FUN!!!