Published Me..

Ready Set Create has been released for the August/September issue and I am happy to say I have 11 cards and 2 Artist Trading Cards published. I love this little eZine, it has some great designers and it is full of inspiration.

BBTB2/Stretch Your Imagination/Ice Cream Cone

A Winner: I have processed the draw for the Cat Tote blog candy and I am pleased to announce that JenBlue is the winner. I have notified her and as soon as she emails me, I will mail the tote. Congrats to the winner, and I thank each of you for playing along with the blog hop. I appreciated every comment and every visit.

This is month end and that means blog hop for the design team. I love participating each month. Krista is the hostess and for our design assignment, she selected Stretch Your Imagination for the Cricut cartridge and we were to design using the ice cream cone. This ice cream cone is one of my faves of all the cartridge choices and there are plenty of cone designs available.

If you started out with the BBTB2 blog, you will have been directed to me from that oh so fantastically creative blog of Donna. Her designs are always just perfect, with layers of design, bling, and a perfect result.

Here is my card. I made this for a little gal, just leaving the single digit years to those double digits of 10 years old. When you turn 10, you think you've surely "arrived". It's a milestone birthday.

Recipe: Cricut: Stretch Your Imagination/ice cream cone

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder/Happy Birthday and Swiss Dots

Martha Stewart Edge Punch

Red Jewel for the Cherry On Top

Sentiment: Computer

In the tradition of my blog hops, I am offering up a cute little tote I made. It's sewn with a bright green fabric and decorated with a darling applique/embroidery grinning-cat. If you wish to be in the draw to win this tote, please leave a comment on my blog. On August 2 I will do the draw. Please check back after 2:00PM to see the announcement of the winner's name. If you see your name, please email me quickly. If I do not hear from the winner by August 5, I will do a second draw.
Thanks for visiting me, I love your visits and comments. Now, blog hop over to Heather's blog to see what she has done with this cute ice cream cone assignment.

Birthday Birthday Me..!

My birthday is coming up on the 28th of July and here comes a wonderful Sandi Made Gift Box...these are always a delight to receive because so much love goes into whatever Sandi creates.... You can see her blog here.

This is a grand view of the box contents. First, one of Sandi's wonderful greeting cards, filled with images, airbrushing, and lovely little blings like the patterned ribbon and the hat pin loaded with lovely beads. A gift in itself is the handmade box that contained a most wonderful beaded Meditation necklace with charms. The box was airbrushed with butterflies and then to add to the wonderment a big embellished butterfly sits atop the card, and then there are my initials, stacked and stacked to make a wonderful depth.

This is one of Sandi's handmade journals.... airbrushed, beset with dimentional butterflies, and of course containing Sandi's signature corners. Inside this lovely little journal are pages describing the meaning of the beads on the Meditation Necklace.
This is the Meditation Necklace. Is this not the most unique and loveliest of gifts?
Thank you, Sandi. You never fail to brighten my day just with your wonderful friendship.

Cutting Cafe/Word Book LOVE

You might have seen Cutting Cafe Word Book for "Summer" that I did a few weeks back. I love word books and Regina has come to my rescue. This Love book is new in a series of Cousins, Family and Love. I knew that I was going to use the Love book and make that for a new baby boy. Here is a photo of the full book. I used New Arrival Cricut cartridge for my die cuts along with some punch hearts and rubber stamped sentiments. The binding is done with my Zutter BIA and I've tied blue, green and white ribbons on the wire.

This shows the O page... a little Onsie sits on the edge of the O so that it hangs in the opening. I've added a cute little diaper pin as well.
This photograph shows the V page. The paper is K&Co for Boys, and I couldn't help but cut this page using the quilted pattern with cute little critters like this elephant. I added a Onsie and some punched MS hearts.
This is the E page...and I've added a blue checkered strip across the top to present the cute bootie with a ribbon. Punched hearts and buttons sit on the E.
TFL, and if you want to see this darling set, please visit Cutting Cafe here.

Cutting Cafe/Birthday Sentiments

Here I am again....I wanted to post a little birthday card I made for my son who will turn 41 on July 31st.... I used one of Regina's Celebration Word circle birthday sentiments (I love these) and I added a Base Camp cut number, and some Sizzix candles. Of course the backgrounds are embossed with my darling Cuttlebug. TFL....and if you want to see a wonderful array of birthday sentiments visit Cutting Cafe here.

Cutting Cafe/TeaPotCard

I love anything Cutting Cafe because Regina just knows the best designs to offer, the best sentiments to print and add to a card or even a scrapbook page. I do admit that I don't do justice to her delightful shaped cards because I have such a time of it cutting the image out.

My hands often work against me. But look what I just did with her delightful teapot shaped card. I am thinking of getting Sure Cuts A Lot so I can have the computer do the work but until then...... here is my creation, all hand cut and fussed over. I added jewels along the rim of the lid, I added a burgundy ribbon, one of CC sentiments and a punch MS flower with another jewel. I embossed the teapot with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. Inside I used another sentiment that says "Having tea with my girlfriend is tea-rific".

TFL...and you can see this Cutting Cafe set right here.

Um Buggin's First Challenge

That dear Lillie of Um Buggin blog (Dzyner's Showcase) has started her first challenge blog .... I just had to get in the fray. She wanted us to design with Paisley cartridge and to use Mushroom #1. I haven't done too much with Paisley but what I have done I've found there are a lot of layer options. I had fun putting this almost psychedelic mushroom together. In the dictionary it describes that as "denoting intense, vivid color or a swirling abstract pattern. Yup! Why don't YOU visit Lillie's challenge blot and join in the fun? You can see that right here.

BBTB2/Storybook/Owl

Monday Monday you arrive so quickly in the grand scheme of things!....but one bright spot on Monday mornings is the posting on the Bitten By The Bug2 design team blog. This week's challenge was held by Karen, one of our new designers. Karen selected the Storybook cartridge and asked us to design with the owl cut. I love owls and although I did not collect them, I had many friends who did. I also used to paint and sell brick bookends that had a cute little owl that I designed. I hope you will visit BBTB2 here and enjoy the designer's cards.

Recipe: Cricut Cartridge: Storybook

Martha Stewart Edge Punches

Nestabilities Rectangle Scalloped Die

Gold Jewels for Owl eyes

Cutting Cafe/LadyBugs

I love ladybugs. I think everyone loves them. This is a circle sentiment from Regina's Cutting Cafe set called Cute Critters Printable set. You can view the set here. I cut a cute cross eyed ladybug from Doodlecharms and placed her on the circle. the background print is a bright pink checkered print, and the ribbon is a pink polka dotted delight with a sweet little curling tag added that I received from Heather (the BBTB2 boss gal) when we all gathered in Tucson for fun card making. Hope you like my card. I do... TFL.

BBTB2/GoingPlaces/Dog

Happy Monday. Our challenge this week is a Reader's Choice to use the dog or cat cut from Going Places as the subject of our projects. I don't have Going Places cartridge but since we can select a dog or cat die from any other cartridge, I picked the cute little scottie dog from Just Because cartridge. Here is my card. The card just sort of fell together because the tree, the house and the sentiment were laying in a scrapbin lid.. Thanks for your visit, I always appreciate when you drop by. Be sure to visit BBTB2 here to enjoy the designer's cards and projects.

Happy July 4th

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Cutting Cafe/Summertime

I am not so fond of summers in Arizona but I am fond of anything that brings a wee bit of coolness in any form. This coolness happens to be a printable from Regina's Cutting Cafe. It's a summertime background printable here which offers a wonderful landing for decorations. This is a beach bum scene.... and the die cuts come from the Life Is A Beach cartridge. Regina has printables that offer all of the cute die cuts for a beach scene but my hands are working against me right now that will allow me to do any decent cutting out so I relied on my Cricut cartridges to finish the scene.
TFL...and take a peek a Cutting Cafe ... you'll find some delights.

Tucson Card Frenzy

Last year when I went to Tucson for the 2-1/2 day "Card Over", I made 84 cards. Actually I cheat because before I even leave, I have a tray of folded cardstock, pattern papers cut to size and some die cuts and a sentiment slipped inside. It's only a matter of slamming them together and once I get started, it is so easy to whip out a multitude of cards. This year I made 48 cards. Talk about a flip flopped number! The last day I sat and cut dies from carts that I don't own and that was enormous fun. At any rate, here are some of my cards from my wonderful Tucson visit.

I love making Easel cards....





TFL...at my slammed together buncha cards....