Friday, December 2, 2011

Day 2 of the 25 Days of Christmas 2011

Today is my Dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Dad. This week's prize is this stamp set called Cute by the Inch from SU. To win just leave a comment on this post and I will post the winner next Friday.


Today's card uses all CTMH products. The stamp sets and ornaments were stamped with SU inks and I used a gem in the middle of each star. The card base was cut using the Cricut CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. The dp is also CTMH, a simple card but I like how it all came together.






Today, I am sharing crafty gifts. The first is a Cricut Expression. It runs about 200.00 but it is so versatile and with just a couple of smart cartridge purchases there is endless possibilities. The new E2 model has a few extra features including a WI FI port and a light and an internal memory so you don't need to use overlays, about 250.00



















#2 is a Cuttlebug or a Bigshot but I much prefer the Cuttlebug - it's super easy to use and folds up very nicely for a small footprint, plus it's light, my Bigshot is really heavy. The new model has a wider entry so it can fit the larger Sizzix dies as well. I use mine for the metal dies that are now showing up at places like Papertreyink and MFT but I also use it for the embossing folders.










#3 is an Ott-Lite. I have had mine for years. I bought it with a coupon at Joanns and gives wonderful light for your craft table, especially if you are night time crafter like me. They are not cheap but I have had mine for a very long time and have not had to change the light bulb yet. This is the multi task light and it's list price is $79.99.










#4 For budget minded people and those without a lot of time (also a great idea for a teen), consider the smash book and it's related products. It's fun and easy and with this product anyone can scrapbook. It comes with a pen on one side and a glue stick on the other so you can smash and go! Think of all the uses, a journal, an inspiration book, a snapshot of your everyday life. It's from EK Success, $1.99-12.99.









#5 Everyone needs a Scoreboard! There are lots of options and I have a couple here.









First is Stampin' UP's Simply Scored board, what's unique about this one is that is comes with little markers so if you are scoring a lot of items it's easy to find your place., $29.99.









Next, is what I consider the OG Scoreboard the Scor-Pal. Nothing fancy but it changed the way I craft, crisp lines and so easy to score cardstock for cards, $29.99

Also, Martha Stewart has a Scoreboard and you can use your Michael's coupon for it. $29.95










#6 is a binding system. The first is a Yourstory which is a laminator and a binding system that uses heat to bind the books. I have seen bundles that come with covers, laminating pouches and papercutters for around $30-$50 so be sure to shop around.
















There is also the Binditall - I have the original blue one but I do love mine - I really should use it more. It's easy to use - you use spiral wire for this system but you can bind many different projects with this system. This runs about $59.99.









I also wanted to mention the Cinch - I have seen quite a few people using this sytem but it looks complicated to me and frankly I am very happy with my Binditall. However, many people swear by The cinch, so it just depends on what you are comfortable with.


#7 is a subscription to a magazine. Papercrafts is a good one and runs about $19.00, Northridge Publishing have some beautiful magazines which are more like books than a magazine but they are very costly and run about $40.00 for a year. Some of their publications including Cards, Cricut, Bead, Sewing and they also have special editions too. Another standby is Martha Stewart Living which I love!










#8 is a Clipit Up. You can use this thing for just about anything. I use mine for my acrylic stamps that come on sheets like from MFT but I have seen people use it for Thickers and stickers, embellishments, ribbon, cards, tons of uses, it has a small footprint and can hold a ton of stuff so it is really a practical organizational tool! It runs about $65.00.












#8 are cool tools. I love punches so they are always nice but something really fun that I came across are these YoYo Makers from Clover. They also sell Kanzashi Flower maker templates too. I have seen Yo Yo's all over the blogs, many people are making them and selling them but with this simple template you can make your own. At only $5.50 these are a wonderful and inexpensive crafting gift. I wouldn't mind having one myself :)













9. Copic Airbrush System, $60.00. I want one! I have seen so many awesome projects using this fun tool - it creates airbrush effects that look uber professional!










#10 is a copout but it's paper! Paperpacks, 6x6 paper pads are wonderful for scrapbookers and cardmakers. It's wonderful to give paper, because we can all use it, even if we have a ton anyway. I like to give paperpads that are not found in stores - when I order online - I always order extras to use as giveaways - because they might be difficult to find for some people if they are not the common variety found in retail stores.


Thanks for hanging out today.










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Thursday, December 1, 2011

Day 1 of the 25 Days of Christmas 2011

Today's card is cut with my Cricut and the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. Most of my cards use one pack of last year's holiday SU paper. I think it was from the mini, it's retired and I can't find the name of it anywhere. The sentiment is from PTI and I used stickles to make my ornament sparkly. Below, find some Christmas ideas.


I'm starting off my 25 Days of Christmas with some Christmas lists as well as some crafty goodness. The first list is the 10 Best Non-Crafty Gifts. Above you see #1 and #2 on my list. #1 is a Kindle Fire. It does movies, apps, games, music, reading and more. This tablet is awesome and at $199.00, half the price of and IPAD.

#2 is a Kindle (or Kindle Fire). Many people predict that book readers will become dinosaurs with the advent of the Tablet and while that may be true, a dedicated reader might be the perfect thing for someone who cannot afford a tablet and the inevitable subscriptions and apps or for someone older who really just wants to read. It's easy to use, stores a ton of books and you can adjust the text size which is perfect for an older adult!






#3 is an Isi Twist and Sparkle Beverage Carbonating System (about $50.00), BevMo, William Sonoma and Amazon all carry this and I am sure many other retailers. I did a lot of research about soda makers and after I got it, I found that it was just perfect for my needs. It literally is a little wand that you put the CO2 cartridge in and this bottle, you put the wand in and twist and voila instant carbonated beverages. My mom uses it for water and we all love putting juice in it, you also can put wine and other alcoholic beverages too!






4. Breville Pie Maker from Williams Sonoma about $100.00. This is on my wishlist and if you watch the video, you will want one too! Super easy to use fast, makes 4 pies in about 12 minutes. I can see savory and sweet pies and would really fun to use with the kids!






#5 is the Flip Ultra HD Video Camera about $105.00. I know we can all use our cells phones to make videos now, but it's nice to have something easy to use dedicated to the task, plus what if you're recording and you get a phone call?






#6 is a DSLR camera and I have chosen the Canon Eos Rebel about $500.00. A splurge, but I love mine - super easy to use, great pics, a nice buy for a beginner's SLR camera which an run you well ove $1000.00 for a super fancy one.

#7 is skincare products - the good stuff. As we get older, we can use all the help we can get. My grandmother has the absolutely hands down , most beautiful skin for 83 years old. She uses Ponds and Oil of Olay but for some of us that stuff is a little greasy. My skin is very sensitive and prone to breakouts when using any kind of product that clogs pores even a tiny bit.





The Skincare Day Moisture protection by Shiseido is about $40.00 but if you have the kind of skin that breaks out easily, this is the best moisturizer ever. It's light non-greasy and is SPF 15. It's like water folks!






A friend of mine swears by Hope in a Jar by Philosophy but it has no SPF and I haven't tried it but it runs about $38.00.






I got a coupon code to try this skincare line called Muvazi. It's a splurge for the whole line at $120.00 but so far I love how soft it makes my skin feel, its made in house with organic ingredients and its suppose to help with age spots and lines, not that I have a ton of those, but I wouldn't mind having my skin look a little younger if you know what I mean.






#8 is also on my list from The Sharper Image, it's a Compact Elliptical Trainer for all of us lazy people. I have no idea if it works great but I love the idea ofbeing able to work out while watching TV and it has a small footprint too!. It's about $130.00.






#9 is a slide and negative converter about $130 from The Sharper Image. If you are as old as me, you have pics from before the digital revolution. This handy gadget captures the image and coverts them to digital format - there is also one that will take scans of your old pictures and convert them into digital format too - that one runs about $150.00.

















#10 is a Mommy necklace which I bought one for my mom last year with all of her grandchildren's names on it. You can find them all over on etsy. They run roughly $35.00 and up. A very nice personalized gift.


I hope that you all find today's post useful. It's so hard to buy presents so hopefully this will give you some ideas. Tomorrow's post will be crafty gifts to give or receive!





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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Very Happy Holiday

Today's card uses the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and the matching stamp set. I also used CTMH paper as well. I have to tell you that I absolutely love this cartridge and I also have the new Creative Memories 'Tis the Season and will be using that quite a bit as well and I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in SU in not getting into the Cricut cartridge scene!

December 1, begins my 25 days of Christmas where I will be posting everyday! Hope to see you all there!




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Monday, November 28, 2011

Pennant Trees



Today's card uses all SU products. The cardstock is kiwi kiss and cobbler red. I used the pennant stamp set for the trees. Today marks the beginning of all holiday and Christmas inspired posts so I hope that you are all ready.


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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thinking of You

Today's card came out of having to make a sympathy card. The dp is SU and I used cobbler for he butterfly and blusing bride. The butterfly was but from an SU die and the mat for my sentiment was a die from PTI. I used my Viva Decor pen for the pearls that you see.
Good luck to everyone attempting to shop this weekend.
The winner of last weeks candy is Arrin. Please email me with your address. I have been so busy this weekend and my shopping is nearly done. Talk to you all soon.




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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Birthday Girl



Today's card is very bright and cheerful. I am using the Birthday Girl stamp set from MFT. The dp is from SU and has these fun oranges and greens and yellows. I mostly paper pieced my image with a bit of light coloring with copics. The ribbon is from sale-a-bration from like 3 years ago. It's really a simple card but I love all of the fun colors! Thanks for looking today.


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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Rock On

Today's card is another one using some stamps and dies that I had gotten from Paper Trey Ink. I kind of just stamped the background images randomly in white and black on the Pacific Point cardstock. The guitars were stamped twice in black and once in red and I used the dies to cut them out. It's such a simple card but I really like how it came out.

Is everyone ready for Thanksgiving? My family is cheating this year and going out to eat at a restaurant. We are all just so tired and with Christmas fast approaching, everyone just wanted a year off. So no shopping, no cooking and no cleaning up, Yay! The main thing is my family will all be eating together and that's really what it's all about!



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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Here Comes Trouble

Todays card uses scraps from retired SU papers and some stamps and dies from PTI. I had these for awhile but haven't used them yet so it was kind of an experiment, you know when you get some new crafty supplies and you just see what they can do. Today, I am leaving for a girl's weekend to Vegas...I can't wait! Gambling, eating and shopping, no kids and no husbands!




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Friday, November 18, 2011

Christmas Blog Candy

Happy Friday! I thought this day would never come! Today, I am showing a card uses retired SU paper and the woody cut is I think from the Dude cricut lite. The background is cut from Wild Card. The sentiment is from the Signatures stamp set from PTI.




To win this week's MFT stamp set, leave a comment on this post. Be sure to check back next Friday to see if you've won.




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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Celebrate Your Day

Today's card uses some scraps that I had laying around from a project that I had completely forgotten about. The colors are SU daffodil and tangerine tango. The stamps are from Paper Trey Ink. The butterfly stamp was last year's anniversary stamp set and the sentiment Signatures from Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite collection. The ribbon is Marina Mist. A very simple and cheery card.
Thanks for looking today.

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Wicked Cute





I think my little Wicked card is just too cute! This is the card that I gave my sister for her birthday. The witch is from the Wrap it Up cartridge and is cut at 3.0 in black, orange and green and brown. I doodled a bit with my white gel pen. The dp is from last year's Martha Stewart paper pack and the sentiment is from Pink By Design and the ribbon is SU. There are so many fun cuts on carts that you wouldn't expect. Thanks for looking today!


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Saturday, November 12, 2011

Stay Young

I made this card for a friend's birthday. I used scraps for the bacground and cut Snow White from the Princess cartridge at 3.5. I used my stickles to brighten up her ddress and the sentiment is from My Creative Time Stamps. Thanks for looking!


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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Hello Pumpkin



Today's card uses a stamp set from Verve that I forgot that I had, it's a little mini stamp set with this cute pumpkin and a couple of sentiments. I used scraps from a DCWV stack that I used to make some gratitude mini albums for gifts. I used my cricut to cut out the mat. Very easy card, getting ready for my 25 Days of Christmas along with all of my other holiday preparation! The winner is NIKKI. Please email me with your address. I am taking a week off from blog candy but will be back next week with more candy so don't forget to visit me!


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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Peace

Today's card is one that I forgot to post in the summer. I used my Groovy Times cartrdige to cut all the pieces you see here, along with the shadows for each. I used my white gel pen quite liberally and found these cool papers in my stash that had the colors I was looking for. Have a groovy day everyone.


Don't forget that I have blog candy here.



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Monday, November 7, 2011

Announcements

Hi everyone,


Just a couple of announcements. First, I am having a Stampin' Up Customer appreciation. Spend $100.00 or more and recieve 20% off your order. Spend $150.00 and you receive the hostess benefits. SU is running a hostess special that you can get an extra $35 in hostess benefits if you spend over $350.00.


Also, I will be having an awesome giveaway very soon sponsored by StopandScrap.com so be sure to check the blog for when that will be!



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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Hello Kitty Mini

Today, I am showing a mini that I made as a Christmas gift and the timing couldn't be perfect because I am able to use it for the Cricut Circle challenge too. I used lightweight cardstock and the Hello Kitty Greeting cartridge for the shape of album as well as the images.


The dp is retired SU from my stash. It's a few years old and I was so happy to use it! The stickers were found in the dollar spot at Target.





Some of the hello kitty images have been glittered and then can be removed from the plane so the recepient can journal or put a picture.



I made a charm using the HK cart. I cut the image about 3 times and attached them together to make them sturdy. The pink charm is a keychain that I also found in the Dollar spot. I used my Cropadile to punch holes in the side and used binder rings to hold everything together and then put some ribbon from my stash through the binder rings.

Don't forget that I have blog candy here.


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Friday, November 4, 2011

Thanks U

Last week's winner is: Kimberly. Please email me with your address so that I can mail your prize to you. This week's prize is this TEa for Two stamp set from MFT. To win, just leave a comment on this post and I will post the winner next Friday.









Hi everyone, thanks for coming by. Today, I am sharing a card that I do like using similar elements from my card from the other day. I used the pennant punch one again but this time used SU dp and some stamps from the pennant stamp set. I also used some buttong and some white satin ribbon. I think it looks a little better in terms of layout and it's a lot neater! Sometimes its just good to just stamp and put things together and see what works and what doesn't!







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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Welcome!




Today, I am sharing a card that I made in the summer when I received my new stuff from SU. The pennant punch was used for the banner and I used PTI stamps for the lettering. The paper is Take the CAKE from SU and the ribbon is also from them. The sentiment is from the teeny tiny sentiment set from SU and I used SU punches there too. I didn't love this card which is why I waited until now to share it. I was just trying to see how some things worked, like the pennant punch. Anyway, thanks for sharing my "misses" as well as the good ones!



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