Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge

Today I have a card for a boy I'm sharing for my Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles challenge Design Team assignment. I finally got around to using my Oxide Distress Inks and I love how easy they were to use for this background. I simply used a sponge blender to add Distress Oxide Faded Jeans, Broken China and Wilted Violet. My space images came from the Lawn Fawn set Out of This World. I used the Cardz TV Stamp Set More Encouraging Thoughts for the sentiment on the front and stamped it with Versamark ink and heat embossed Wow Opaque Bright White embossing powder. I hope you'll play along with this challenge over on the Cardz TV Blog for a chance to win a set of Cardz TV Stamps. Thanks for stopping by.

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge

It's time for another fun Mailbox Smiles Challenge over at Cardz TV. This time for my Design Team card I just had to make something using my new Lawn Fawn Magic Slider Dies. I thought a fairy theme would be perfect to go with this fun sentiment from Mary's Cardz TV Stamp Set called It's All Good. The sentiment reads "May your day be brightened with sunshine and spinkled with stardust!' The elements that make this a magic slider card form pieces into a little envelope with a pull up flap that reveals the images colored. Here's what it looks like when you pull up the little card to reveal the colored images underneath.
Such a fun interactive card and I know my granddaughter is going to love it. So glad you stopped by today and I hope you'll play along with the Anything Goes challenge by linking up your creation at the Cardz TV Blog HERE!

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge

Hello Friends! Today for my Design Team card I used one of my favorite Cardz TV Stamps sets "More Foodie Punnies". I just wanted to send a card to one of my grandson's to remind him how much we love him. I was recently looking through some of my Cricut cartridges and came across this image on the Locker Talk cartridge. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for this sentiment. I added the first part of the sentiment onto a banner on the front of the card and then stamped "Burgers & Fries" on the inside.

I hope you'll play along with the challenge over at Cardz TV for a chance to win a set of Mary's stamps. You can link your card on the Cardz TV blog HERE. Thanks for stopping by.

Cardz TV Mailbox Challenge

Hello Crafty Friends! It's time for a new Mailbox Smiles Challenge over at Cardz TV. For my Design Team card I used the Cardz TV stamp set "Just Chillin". I needed another birthday card for a grandson. I decided to make this one a little interactive for him and went with a shaker card. The "Just Chillin" stamp set has this adorable penguin along with an ice cream cone image. I stamped the ice cream cone in a pretty turquoise color and turned it upside down for a birthday hat by adding a little twine and an enamel dot to the top. I think it turned out so cute. I also added an enamel triangle in orange for the penguin's nose. For the shaker element I used a frame from Pretty Pink Posh and filled it with sequins and tiny birthday related images from Lawn Fawn. I stamped a sentiment from the "Just Chillin" stamp set onto a banner for the top of the card. I hope you'll play along with the challenge and link your card over at the Cardz TV blog for your chance to win some Cardz TV Stamps. As always the theme is anything goes.

The Cutting Cafe-Fun with Bingo Cards

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog the Design Team is featuring projects created with any of Regina's Bingo Card files. I used the SUMMER BINGO CARDS printable stamps. I chose the bingo card titled FLIP FLOPS because I thought it would be adorable with some die cut flip flops on it and I knew I had some flip flop paper in my stash I could use for the background. I simply print and cut the file then attached it to the background paper. Next I added a die cut circle, the sweet little flip flops and a cute sentiment banner. A quick and easy card to send to my granddaughter who just finished her last day of elementary school. I can't believe she'll be off to middle school come September. The years pass so quickly.

Make sure to head to The Cutting Cafe Blog on June 21st to see the other amazing projects the Design Team created. My favorite of the bingo card files is the Christmas one. I've used it many times to make a fun bingo game for the grandkids to play for the holiday. Check this link to see one of them. I've also done a Halloween version here. Now would be a great time to whip up one of these and have it ready for the holidays. Thanks for visiting today.

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge

It's time for the new Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge. For my DT card I decided to make a birthday card for my grandson. I've said this before, but boy cards are such a challenge for me. I decided, what boy doesn't like to eat? So I looked through Mary's food themed stamps set and chose this Hot Dog sentiment from the Cardz TV Stamps Set "Foodie Punnies". I cut the hot dog image from the Cricut cartridge Simply Charmed and added some googly eyes for a little extra fun. On the inside of the card I used the sentiment "It's Your Day & Happy Birthday" from Cardz TV Mini Messages.

I hope you'll have a chance to play along in the challenge. Link your creations, Anything Goes theme, over at the Cardz TV Blog. You'll have a chance to win some of Mary's Cardz TV stamps. Thanks for stopping by.

The Cutting Cafe Road Trip

I can hardly believe that the summer season is upon us. We are usually on our annual trek north to visit family and friends at this time of year. Sadly, we have no plans to travel this summer because we feel the trip would be too difficult on our aging dog. Last year's trip was really rough and for the first time he didn't do well in the car. We know our time with him is getting shorter because he is 14 years old, so for now we'll stay close to home. But, speaking of road trips this week's Cutting Cafe assignment for the Design Team was to use The Cutting Cafe Road Trip Time Again Printable stamp set. This set is so darn cute. It comes with 74 images and two shaped cards. Lots of bang for the buck with this set. I used two of the background images (road and large polka dots) for my card, then added the adorable car with the trailer on the back. I printed and hand cut all my images for the card. After I added the car and trailer I cut out the cute stack of luggage, tied a piece of hemp twine around it and added a little tag to the top of the stack. My sentiment is cut from another colored background piece that has all kinds of travel phrases on it. To finish the card off I decided to add some silver sequins to the centers of each tire. You'll want to see all the other fantastic projects from the Design Team. You can catch them at The Cutting Cafe Blog on June 7th. Thanks for visiting today.

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge #3 A Father's Day Card

Hello Friends! It's time for another Mailbox Smiles Challenge at Cardz TV. As all of Mary's challenges for Mailbox Smiles it's an Anything Goes theme, so the Design Team will have a variety of styles and occasions to show you. I decided to go with a Father's Day card this time around. I used Cardz TV Stamps You're The Man stamp set and I also used Mary's newest sketch (#22) for my card. If you aren't familiar with Mary's Sketches you can find them at the Cardz TV blog by clicking on the "Mary's Kit & Kaboodle Card Sketches" tab at the top of the blog. Sometimes it's fun to have a starting point for a card when you can't think of how to begin and I find these sketches to be a valuable tool in my arsenal. They are free to download by clicking on the sketch and saving them to your computer. I've printed all of mine and keep them in a small inexpensive photo album I found at Michael's for $1.00.

I knew I wanted to use the "King of the Grill" sentiment so I went on the hunt for an appropriate image to use. I found the perfect grill guy on my old cartridge Block Party. I took a little design freedom with the sketch by making my background strips a little longer and instead of using a circle, like in the sketch, I used an oval. The sentiment I used comes in the stamp set stacked. I cut the words apart to place them in a long sentiment banner. I hope you'll play along with this challenge. You can enter your creation over on the Cardz TV blog by linking your card for a chance to win some of Mary's Cardz TV Stamps. Thanks for stopping by today.

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge #2

Hello Crafty Friends! It's time for a new Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge! It's an Anything Goes theme and I needed a graduation card for my grandson. His school colors are blue and white so I wanted to go with that. I made my numbers using the Cricut Varsity Letter cartridge and cut them at 2". Then I used the Something To Celebrate cartridge for the graduation cap. For my sentiment I chose Mary's Cardz TV Stamp set "Bigger Everyday Sentiments" and heat embossed it using WOW Sierra Sunrise Embossing Glitter. I love the elegant look of this card. For the inside sentiment I used Cardz TV More "Encouraging Thoughts" and stamped Follow Your Dreams. I hope you can play along with this challenge and link your card at the Cardz TV Blog for your chance to win some of Mary's fabulous stamps. Thanks for stopping by!

The Cutting Cafe Pop Up Card

This week the Cutting Cafe Design Team has some pop-up card inspiration. I used the Assorted Pop Up Cards SVG cutting file and my Cricut Explore Air to cut all the pieces. This file comes with four assorted and a cupcake image, cake image, flowers and butterfly for the inside. Since I needed a birthday card I decided to use the cake image included with the cutting file for the inside. I also added some die cut balloons and a banner to decorate around the cake. My patterned papers came from DCWV Celebration stack. For more ideas on making pop up cards be sure to check The Cutting Cafe Blog on May 21st for the rest of the Design Team's creations. Thanks for visiting today.

Cardz TV Mailbox Smiles Challenge #1

Hello Friends! It's time for a Cardz TV challenge. Mary has revamped her challenges a little and they're so easy to join with an Anything Goes theme, however you must incorporate any of Mary's Cardz TV Stamps into your project. The hardest kind of cards to make, for me, are those with a manly theme. I have a son, four son-in-laws and seven grandsons so it's always a challenge to produce cards for them. This time around I used Cardz TV You're The Man and Cardz TV Farmyard Funnies for my sentiments. My funny cow image came from the Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge. I'm sure it's just me, but I thought this was hilarious when it all came together. I started with a kraft cardstock base and added two rectangular mats in a dark brown and diamond pattern. Then I cut the mats to sit the cow on from metal dies. I embossed the top mat with an embossing folder from Darice with a similar diamond pattern as the paper. The day I was making this I could not get my Cricut Air to work so I got out my old, original Cricut Expression and did it the old fashioned way by plugging in the cartridge. I, personally, think that the old way is best. I do not like having to connect to my computer and do everything through Cricut Design space. So glad I hung onto my old machine, just for a day like this. After my cow was assembled I diecut a square to stamp my sentiment and placed it in his hooves as though he was holding a sign. Then I stamped the "That's No Bull" sentiment onto an oval diecut and placed it below the cow. I hope this card gives my son a little chuckle for his birthday. I better get busy making cards as we have a lot of family birthdays this month. I need a card for my daughter-in-law, a son-in-law and a grandson.

I hope you'll play along with this Cardz TV challenge and link your card over on the Cardz TV blog for a chance to win some Cardz TV Stamps. You have two weeks to get a card made as the challenge ends on May 19th. Have fun!

The Cutting Cafe Pinwheel Card

Hello Friends! This week at The Cutting Cafe the Design Team is featuring projects using Regina's Pinwheel Files-Pinwheel Treat Cup Template & Cutting Files or the Pinwheel Sentiment Template & Cutting File. I used the second option for my card. I used the PDF file this time around because I was having technical issues with my cutting machine. I simply printed the pinwheel pattern and hand cut the small pinwheel. After assembling it I added a hand cut stick and tied my sentiment on with some twine before attaching it to my card base. I loved the "Play Everyday" sentiment. Who can't use more play time every day!!! Make sure to head over to the Cutting Cafe Blog on May 7th to see the other projects from the Design Team. Thanks for stopping by!

The Cutting Cafe DT's Craft Space Tour

Hello Friends and welcome to my little corner of the crafting world. This is going to be a rather long post so I thank you in advance for sticking to the end. This post has been long in coming and I probably would not be doing it now if it wasn't for Regina asking the Cutting Cafe Design Team to do a post on their craft spaces. It's taken me a long time to get my act together and it's a long story getting there. Some of you may be new to my blog and may not know that hubby and I live in what is commonly referred to as a "tiny house". We are coming up to three years of our minimal lifestyle and we love it. When we retired, over five years ago, we sold our big five bedroom home where we raised our five kids. We spent a couple years traveling around the country in an RV (fifth wheel). I loved full time RVing, but I hated the part where we had to hook up the trailer and tow it. I was not a good passenger. After a couple close calls of cars pulling in front of us then slamming on their brakes I decided, if we continued to tow an RV, I was going to have to medicate myself. So we made the decision to buy a small park model RV and place it permanently in a campground in Florida. Hence, my little craft corner in our little space.

When you live in a tiny space you have to make every nook and cranny count. With my hubby's help I converted this china cabinet to a craft supply cabinet. This is one of the few items we kept from our home when we sold it. Hubby's contribution came when he installed a couple of pull out shelves into the cabinet for my stamps and dies. I have to say, this has to be my favorite DIY project he's ever done for me and I'm grateful to be married to a handy guy. Those containers (Inter Design) of stamps and dies weigh a ton and they were really hard to get in and out before the slide out shelves. Because we live in a tiny home it was imperative to me to be able to keep my supplies behind closed doors to keep my little space neat. For the top of the cabinet I bought some decorative storage boxes from Michaels. I store seasonal supplies, seasonal decorations, packaging materials (boxes/bags) and felt/material in them.

Here is a picture of what it looks like behind the closed doors. The first thing I did was have hubby install some frosted cling film (from IKEA) to the top cupboard doors so no one would see the messiness inside. This cabinet sits in the main living area of our home. So when company comes over it's where they will be sitting. My paper storage containers came from IKEA. The left cabinet holds my 12 x 12 paper and the right side has a couple of small drawer units that house my cutting machine blades and miscellaneous tools, my 8.5 x 11 cardstock and specialty papers and my tiny Janome sewing machine. The storage drawers in the top middle cupboard came from the Container Store. I store some paper punches, heat gun, Fuse tool, and other assorted tools in them. In between the two drawer units I have three plastic containers that I store all my sequins in. Each plastic container holds 24 individual jars with a different color sequins in it. I still have room for one more container. I bought them at Walmart in the jewelry making supplies section. I bought one gallon glass storage jars (from Walmart) to store my ribbon, buttons and washi tape on the open shelf. My Cricut Machine sits out for ease of use. When I'm ready to use it I'm able to quickly hook the cords up to my computer because it is so close to my desk and when I'm not using it the cords are hidden away to keep things neat.

In the bottom part of the hutch I have some clear stacking storage drawers that came from The Container Store on the top shelf. The one on the top left holds glitter, embossing powder, adhesives, etc. Bottom shelf has my Copics, cutting mats, case for my happy planner, embellishment box, Martha Stewart Scoreboard and a 12 x 12 plastic container that stores paper scraps.

Here's a close up of my pull out shelves I love so much and the cornerstone of every card maker, the stamps and dies. Hubby special ordered these pull out shelves from Home Depot. You can have them made in any size you specify. They are a little pricey, but I consider them worth every cent, or dollar I should say. They were around $90 each. They honestly look as though they are original to the cabinet and they are very high quality and sturdy enough to hold up to 100 pounds. Originally, hubby was going to construct them himself, but by the time we priced out the supplies and figured how long it would take him we thought it was smarter to order them ready made. The oak on the front of each pull out stained beautifully to match the rest of the cabinet.

The bottom right side top shelf has more of the clear storage drawers from The Container Store. The top drawers hold all my Cricut cartridges, shaker card fillers, twine, and embellishments take up the bottom drawer. Bottom shelf has an Inter Design container with 4 x 6 paper pads and another with assorted sizes and colors of envelopes.

Last, but not least, the drawers of the hutch hold all kinds of goodies. The left drawer holds watercolor paper pads, stencils and Misti stamping tool. Middle drawer has my paper cutter, ATG gun, Gypsy (yes I still use it), mini ink cubes, stamp cleaner, baby wipes, magnetic bowl (for holding small dies while I'm working with them) and paint brushes. Right drawer holds full size ink pads, a mini scoreboard, and assorted stamping blocks. It was a very happy day for me when all the different companies started coming out with the small ink cubes. I would never have space for full sizes of all the different ink brands. I have all the Distress Ink minis, all of the Lawn Fawn minis, and quite a few Hero Arts minis.

My small desk sits in front of a large window which gives me plenty of bright light to work by and I have one more little tool in my arsenal-an IKEA RASKOG cart that sits in a closet, when I'm not working, out of the way. In it I keep my planners, planner stamps, travel journals, journaling bible, faith journal, faith-related stamps, my Cuttlebug and cutting plates and some of the supplies I use for bible journaling. The supplies in here are easily contained to pick up and move around. Sometimes I take my journaling bible or faith journal out to a table on the patio to work and enjoy the fresh air.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into how I store my craft supplies in my tiny space. Thanks for stopping by. I know you'll want to visit the rest of the Design Team to see their crafting spaces. You can find them all over on The Cutting Cafe Blog on April 21.

Cardz TV Sketch Challenge

Wow, I can hardly believe we're into the first challenge in April. This week the Cardz TV Sketch Designers are making cards with a Mother's Day theme. I wanted to use this cute embroidery hoop die cut from Neat & Tangled and when I saw Mary's Kit & Kaboodle Sketch #6, I knew it was perfect. I also used one of the newest Cardz TV Stamps sets called Mini Messages. As I often do, I cut this sentiment to stack it for the circle. I hope you'll play along with the challenge. You can find the details at the Cardz TV blog as well as all the sketches. Thanks for stopping by today.

The Cutting Cafe Snail Mail

It's time for this month's first Design Team post at The Cutting Cafe. This is a free week and we could use whatever files/images we wanted. So I went back to my favorite actual stamp set from The Cutting Cafe called Animal and Bug Love and a card I designed when I first received it. I, specifically, needed a card that had a snail and a snail mail sentiment, so I set out to adapt it for a new card. This set was originally designed by Regina as a Valentine set so the mailbox that is in the set says Happy Valentine's Day on it so I couldn't use that mailbox. I tried every which way to try and get it done, but in the end just decided to use another mailbox stamp I had.

I started out by inking my background with Distress Inks to create a landscape for my images. Next I added a couple die cut clouds. Then I stamped my images onto cardstock with Memento Black Ink and colored the snails and mailbox with Copics. I fussy cut the snails and added them to the card with dimensional foam then added the mailbox behind the smaller snail. To finish the card off I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set to follow the slight curve of the hill. This card is going to get mailed to a sweet, young couple that makes You Tube videos of their RV adventures. I wish that I had a stamp of an RV that would have made this card even more perfect. That thought reminds me that I could design one for Regina to make into a stamp for me. I'll have to add that to my very long to do list. Don't forget to head to The Cutting Cafe Blog to see the rest of the Design Team's creations on April 7th.

Cardz TV Sketch Challenge

Hello Crafty Friends! It's time for a new sketch challenge at Cardz TV. For my card today I decided to go with an Easter theme so I used the Cardz TV Easter Punnies Stamp Set. I decided to use Mary's Kit & Kaboodle Card Sketch #14. I've been working on organizing my craft supplies again. I found this cute piece of Easter scrapbook paper in my stash. I've been paper crafting for a good number of years and started out by making 12x12 scrapbook pages. I have a lot of 12x12 paper that I seldom use and some of it is still packed from our move last year. I don't have anywhere to store paper this big so I've been going through the loose sheets and cutting them to fit into smaller containers. Anyway, I digress. So I found this cute Easter paper and then a bunny stamp from Inky Antics that I've never used. The rabbit stamp looked similar to the bunny on the paper which worked out great. Here is a closer look at the card.

I hope you'll have the chance to play along with this Sketch Challenge. You can use any of the sketches that Mary has made. You can find them over at the Cardz TV blog by clicking on the "Mary's Kit & Kaboodle Card Sketches tab at the top. You can make your card and link it up on the Cardz TV blog for a chance to win some Cardz TV Stamps.

Cutting Cafe Easter Wreath

This week the Cutting Cafe Design Team is showcasing Easter projects. I chose this adorable printable image, Egg Wreath. At first, I was planning on paper piecing the eggs, but decided to color them in instead using Copics. I did, however, paper piece the bow to match my background paper. If you're looking to make some quick Easter cards, this is a great printable to use. The coloring took just minutes to complete because the images are small. I used some stitched rectangle dies to cut the matted layers so that was quick and easy, too. Does this ever happen to you, you want a certain stamped sentiment but then you can't find it? I knew I had a stamp that says "Some bunny loves you". Do you think I could find it? I wanted that sentiment because I was planning on sending this card to one of my granddaughters. Instead, I found this cute friend sentiment so my card will go to a friend in Michigan. Of course, right after adding the sentiment I went to put my stamping tool back in my Ikea Raskog cart and found my stamp sitting there right on the top of the cart for another project I have to do. Oh well, since this is such an easy image to work with I'll whip up a couple more for the grandkids. Thanks for stopping by and make sure to head over to the Cutting Cafe Blog for more design team inspiration.

Cardz TV Spring Sketch Challenge

Hello, my crafty friends! Spring is my favorite time of year. I love to see all the flowering trees blooming. The first spring we spent in Florida after moving from Michigan, I didn't really see much difference in the weather. Now that we've been here for a few years I can definitely see Spring all around me. The days are warm, but the nights are still cool so we can sleep with the windows open. I know when I go out I'll see the flowering trees in all their glory. Though I have only seen robins here one time, I know that in the northern regions you're all watching for that harbinger of Spring. The day we saw robins here, I'm sure they were just on a layover from their trip north. There was a huge flock of them in a field eating on the ground. Anyway, I digress! This week's sketch challenge at Cardz TV is calling for a spring theme. We don't really get April showers to bring May flowers here. We have rainy season during the summer. This image I used, from Hero Arts, made me think of my daughters when they were young and splashing around in puddles. I used Mary's Card Sketch #3 and the Cardz TV Stamps Think Spring stamp set. I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge and link your card over on the Cardz TV blog for your chance to win some of Mary's fabulous stamp sets.

The Cutting Cafe Mason Jar Shaker

It's the first project of the month for The Cutting Cafe Design Team and this time around we're working with jar card files. I used the Mason Jar Shaped Card Template and made a shaker card. I love shaker cards. This cutting file come with one Mason jar shaped card, ten sentiments, and assorted accessories to decorate with (balloons, hearts and flowers). All my patterned papers are from Amy Tangerine. I cut all my pieces with the SVG file on my Cricut Explore Air. Since my background paper had grey and black in it I decided to go with a black frame and flower stems. I really like the touches of black to set off the patterned papers. I hope this card brings a mid-winter smile to a good friend back in Michigan. It's spring time here in Florida, but they still have a ways to go up in the north. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all the Design Team projects over on The Cutting Cafe Blog on March 7th.

Cardz TV Sketch Challenge Thank You Card

It's time for a new Sketch Challenge at Cardz TV. This week the Design Team is making cards with a Thank You theme using any of Mary's Card Sketches. I decided to use Sketch #4. Most of the time when I choose the sketch I have a design in mind already and choose a sketch that will fit with my idea. But sometimes, I have no clue where I want to go and that's when these sketches really come in handy. If you haven't downloaded all of Mary's *FREE* sketches I highly recommend them. For this card I knew I wanted to use the thanks die so I wanted a background that it would fit on, hence the sketch with the oval. I used a patterned paper scrap I found in my scrap bin for the background mat. Next I cut a pretty floral die cut to fit in the oval. I really wanted my thanks to pop from the card so I decided to use black cardstock. To finish the card off I used a sentiment from Cardz TV Stamps "Heartfelt Wishes" stamp set. Yes, I've been cutting my stamps apart again. This sentiment comes stacked in two lines, but I wanted it to stretch across my banner. I simply cut it apart and put it end to end. I heat embossed it with white embossing powder to make it really stand out on the black paper. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll play along in the Sketch Challenge at Cardz TV.

The Cutting Cafe Paper Beads Bookmark

Hello Friends! It's time for a new Cutting Cafe project. This week, our fearless leader Regina, asked the Design Team to make projects using her Paper Beads Set. Who knew you could make beads with paper? I never wear jewelry, so I wanted to make a different type of project using the paper beads. I do read a lot, so decided to make a bookmark. The top portion of the bookmark is one I recycled. I used some wire and a loop to hang my charm on at the bottom. I cut my paper beads by using the PDF file and then hand cut the pieces. Since I only used three beads on this project it was no big deal to cut them by hand. If I needed more beads, I think it would be wiser to use the SVG file and a cutting machine. Basically, the file cuts out strips of paper in different shapes that you roll up and glue at the ends to secure. You can make the beads fatter or skinnier depending on how tight you roll them up. I definitely suggest using a thinner paper cardstock for these beads. (More the thickness of copy paper). Regular cardstock is too thick and doesn't roll well. I used a wooden skewer to start the bead roll at the ends, then removed the skewer and continued rolling to the end of the strip. I used a seven inch piece of wire and made a loop at the end with some needle nose pliers to attach the loop to hold my charm at the bottom. The loop I used kind of opened like a safety pin. I put on two small pink pony beads, then the charm and two more pink beads then closed it up. At the top of the loop I added two small pink pony beads, a paper bead, another small bead, a paper bead in a different shape, small bead, a second paper bead like the first one, then lastly two more small beads. I then attached the beads to the bookmark with the wire. Easy peasy! This was so easy to put together, didn't take long and would make a great gift. Make sure you head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog on February 21st to see the other great projects from the Design Team. Thanks for stopping by.

Cardz TV Valentine's Sketch Challenge

Hello Sketch Challenge Friends! This week at Cardz TV the Design Team is featuring cards with a Valentine theme using any of Mary's Card Sketches. I chose to work with Sketch #17 (Mary's newest sketch). I love to make interactive cards for my grandkids so when I saw this sketch I knew it would be perfect for using one of my little window flap dies. I cut three flap windows that open to reveal a sweet little piggy, perfect to go with the Hogs & Kisses sentiment from Cardz TV Stamps Critter Punnies and Farmyard Funnies.

I often cut apart my stamps to make custom sentiments for my cards. In this case, I took the "Sending You" from Critter Captions and the "Hogs & Kisses" from Farmyard Funnies and put them together to make a whole new sentiment.

This year, in an effort to be more organized with my cards, I've been making envelopes to go along with my cards and storing them together in a container. It makes it a whole lot easier when I need a card in a hurry to have them together and ready to pull out and mail or give to someone on the spur of the moment. I got an awesome envelope liner die from Simon Says Stamp to help me with this process. So glad you came by today and I hope you'll play along with this week's Sketch Challenge at Cardz TV Stamps.

Cutting Cafe Happy Word Window Card

I'm so excited to be back from my little hiatus for a new Cutting Cafe file. Today I'm using the Everyday Word Window card in the circle shape with the word happy. I had a great time making this into a shaker card. Everyone loves a good shaker card! I used my Cricut Explore and the SVG file to cut the card out. I filled it up with some sparkling sequins and added a few die cut hearts that just happened to be sitting on my desk from another project. Since I needed to add to my Valentine card stash I added a tiny tag with the Valentine's Day sentiment that I took from The Cutting Cafe stamp set Animal & Bug Love. This might have been the quickest shaker card I've ever put together. That's what I love about Regina's cutting files. So quick and easy to use.

Thanks for stopping by today and make sure you head to The Cutting Cafe blog on February 7th to see the rest of the Design Team inspiration. You won't be disappointed.

Cardz TV Sketch Challenge

WOW!!! It has been a super long time since I posted. I'm happy to be back from the Cardz TV holiday hiatus. Today I'm sharing a birthday card using Mary's Sketch #3. I used the Cardz TV Stamp set Make A Wish for the Happy BIRD-day sentiment. I've been wanting to use my new Lawn Fawn Mailbox die that I received during the holidays. I just knew it would look so cute with a little party bird sitting on top wishing the recipient birthday greetings. If you would like to participate in the Cardz TV Sketch Challenge head over to the Cardz TV blog HERE. You can find all of Mary's Sketches by clicking on the link that says, what else, Mary's Card Sketches. You can also check out the rest of the Design Team's creations while you're there. Thanks for coming by.