PWC264 - Invitations

It's Paper Pretties challenge time again.  PWC264 is "Invitations".  If you visited my Paper Pretties post last week you know I did an invitation then too.  Well, I am a complete airhead and had my weeks mixed up but fortunately I saw the Paper Pretties blog post that was for summer fun.  I quickly went into edit mode and changed all the references to the challenge.  Fortunately a party is fun, so the card I made wasn't so off the wall and I could make it work for last week's challenge and I got to make another invitation for this week's challenge.  

This invitation is supposed to be reminiscent of the cutesy little Valentine's day cards little girls like to give out.   I'm sure a little girl would love to give these out to her friends. 
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Making this invitation is easy.  First I stamped, colored and cut out the valentine's cupcake from the Holiday Sweets I set.  There's also a Holiday Sweets II set.  Between the two stamp sets there are eight different cupcakes from which you can choose.  Next I cut two of the largest cupcake from the Spellbinder's cupcake dies.  The patterned papers are from October Afternoon's "Cakewalk".  I traced the cut out die onto the back of the patterned paper and cut it out about a quarter of an inch from the line and then affixed it to the card stock.  The "Cakewalk" package has two of each paper.  One of the papers has four tiny invitations included on it.  I used one of those blocks for the inside.  Of course if you don't have that paper  you can make up an inside page on your computer.   Lastly I used a heart brad to hold the two pieces together.  

If you're having an adult party you could use the Holidays Cheers I or Holiday Cheers II to make your invitation.  

Here's the deets:
stamp - Paper Pretties "Holiday Sweets I"
ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"
paper - Bazzill "Petunia" card stock; October Afternoon "Cakewalk" patterned paper
miscellaneous - copics; brad; Viva Glitter liner "Holo Iridescent"

Here's the challenges:
Paper Pretties PWC264 - Invitations
Partytime Tuesdays PTT#126 - Anything Goes
Stamp with Fun #217 - Celebrate
Pause, Dream, Enjoy #13 - Anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time #169 - Something That's Not Square

Thanks for stopping by, come back again.

CIC204 with Robyn's Fetish

Happy Easter!  and for those of you who don't celebrate Easter - Happy Spring!  In keeping with the holiday Cupcake Inspirations has a lovely inspiration for you.  Those cupcakes are just adorable with the candy handles and robin's egg sitting atop the icing.  I'd sure like to get my hands on one of them.  If you aren't inspired by the cupcakes you can use the colors for your inspiration.  They are perfect for spring.

This week we have Robyn's Fetish is back sponsoring us.  You can find an image for any kind of card there and you can see some more samples on our challenge blog.  The sweeties always make beautiful samples.



For me it seems that while Spring has actually been here a week or so when Easter gets here it feels official.   That probably goes back to my childhood when Easter Sunday was the day that everyone finally broke out their spring finery.  We actually wore hats and gloves in those days.  But I digress...

For my card I used  Kid Bunny and made him lavender just like the bunny on the cupcake.  His bow and the card base are green.  The faux stitching and sentiment is done with a purple fine point marker.  One of the cool things about digital images is that you can make any size your printer will allow.  You can make this image fit on a tag to tie around an Easter basket and it would be especially cute if you colored the face and hair like the recipient's face and hair. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Robyn's Fetish "Kid Bunny" digi
ink - hp printer
paper - Recollections "Pink Plaid" and "Pink and White Daisies" patterned papers; My Favorite Things "Sour Apple" card stock; Bazzill "Intense Amythyst" card stock; Stampin' Up
"Pale Plum" card stock
miscellaneous - copics; My Favorite Things "Oval Stax" die-namics; ribbon; bling

Here's the challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations CIC204 - photo
One Stop Craft #222 - Easter
Just Add Ink JAI#159 - Just Add Bunnies
Fussy and Fancy #85 - Spring Days
Daring Cardmakers - Springing Into Spring
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards #35 - Bring on Spring
Delightful - Hippity, Hoppity
Crafty Sentiments - Easter
4 Crafty Chicks 4CCC#135 - Easter
Crafty Creations #215 - Easter

Thanks for stopping by, come back again..

A Cuddly Christmas

 

Sometimes you just gotta use non traditional colors for Christmas cards.  I think these look pretty good on this adorable image.  They don't get much cuter than this.  It's  Pachela Studios Toby Tumble Christmas Tea.  from Cuddly Buddly. 
This week the Cuddly Buddly challenge #19 is a recipe.  So pick your image, find a sketch and then use the recipe - 3 Flowers, 2 buttons and 1 ribbon.  I cheated a little, my buttons are actually brads and I used two ribbons and twine.  It's hard to see in this photo that under the crochet   ribbon there's a yellow ribbon. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Cuddly Buddly "Pachela Studios Toby Tumble Christmas Tea"
ink - hp printer
paper - Bazzill "String of Pearls" cs; scrap of blue cs; My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found - Sunshine" dp
miscellaneous - copics; Prima flowers; nesties Lacey Square die; brads; SU crochet ribbon and so saffrron ribbon; Polar White Flower Soft; burlap twine; bunny charm

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly #19 - recipe 3 flowers, 2 buttons, 1 ribbon
Do You Stack Up #44 - Teal
Digi Doodles - #81 - a Wintry Theme
Paper Shelter #38 - Christmas Fun
Crafts and Me #59 - Let the Music Move You
Crafting for all Seasons #13 - Texture
ABC Christmas - V is for Vintage
Pixie Cottage #95 - sketch and get started making a Christmas Card
CCEE1144 - Use 4 different embellies
Charisma #44 - Cutesy
Southern Girls #31 - Can You Hear the Music
One Stitch as a Time #86 - Christmas
Ladybug Crafts Ink #44 - Non-traditional or distressed Christmas
Cutie Pie #4 - Use a Charm
Digital Tuesday #135 - Cute and Cuddly
the Squirrel and the Fox #4 - Hats or Flowers

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. 

A Cuddly Buddly Buddy Christmas

Oh Boy!  This was just too much fun to make.  I don't know about you but I'm pretty much a big old kid when I sit down to craft.  It's like back in those school days when you knew you had art class and couldn't settle down till you got there and then the smell of the glue and crayons was just intoxicating.  Yeah, I'm an art nerd. 

I used to save my allowance till I had enough money to buy a big box of crayons.  OMG, 64 colors put my head in a tailspin.  Well, little has changed since those days and I still have a big box of crayons and I'm not afraid to use them.
This card brought those feelings back because I got to play with a bunch of new toys that I'd been anxious to break out.
First of this is Cuddly Buddly  time for me. This week the Cuddly Buddly challenge #17 is "Best Friends".  For this card I chose "Dancing on Ice", that way I had friends that I could use for a Christmas card.   And of course they are an adorable couple that just happened to be a lot of fun to use.  After I had the image colored I broke out the "Lost Found" Christmas paper that's been begging to be used, and then there's the Spellbinder's die that I have been dying (not sure if the pun is intended) to use.  As if that wasn't enough fun stuff to launch me into craft nirvana I used a ribbon that's been sitting around forever AND flower soft. 
Now I have to try to calm down a little.

Here's the deets:
stamp - Cuddly Buddly "Dancing on Ice" digi
ink - hp printer
paper - Bazzill "Ruby Slipper"  and green cs; My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Christmas" dp
miscellaneous - copics; glaze pens; Polar white flower soft; bling; Her Arts snowflake bling; snowflake charm; baker's twine; ribbon; Nesties "2011 Heirloom Ornament"  and "Inverted Scalloped Circle" dies

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly #17 - Best Friends (a card for your best friend)
Ruby's Rainbow #14 - Cute and Cuddly
Terrifically Thrilling Thursday - Show Us What You Got
ABC Christmas - "U" is for unused stash (the flower soft, the ribbon, twine, charm and bling have been sitting around awhile)
Creative Belli #128 - Flower soft, felt or chunky glitter (I thought of the Belli as soon as I picked up the  over a year old jar of flower soft - lucky for me it's this week's challenge)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Some Stripes
My Time To Craft #162 - Punches and Dies

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back again and that you'll find some time to play in the Cuddly Buddly challenge to make a card for your best friend, won't that make them happy.

Check It Out

Check it Out!  That's what the Cuddly Buddly challenge #15 wants you to do.  Use checks, plaid or tartan patterns.  That challenge got me thinking of some Graphic 45 Christmas paper in my stash.  Yeah!  another Christmas card done.

Did you know that there are free digi images available at Cuddly Buddly.  I can't think of a better deal than that.  Click here to find out the details.  I checked it out and was amazed.  Go to the shop and click on the "Instant Downloads" menu.   Click to list the images by price and you can view all the free ones.  I clicked on the last page and made my way backwards from there.  There's several pages filled with a variety of images.  If you haven't made your Christmas cards take a look to see what's available.  I picked up a couple Easter images too.  Go on a spree, you can't go wrong at these prices. 

After you've picked up some great new images why not use one to make a card or project for the "Check It Out" challenge.  Who knows, maybe you'll win and then you can get even more images. You don't have to use Cuddly Buddly images to play along with us but we'd sure love to see what you do with them.

Here's the deets:
stamp - Cuddly Buddly "Xmas Lights"
ink - hp printer; Ranger "Scattered Straw
paper -  Georgia Pacific white cs; Recollections red card base; Graphics 45 "Christmas Past" Collection; Bazzill "Beeswax" cs; DCWV green cs
miscellaneous - copics; Nesties circle and inverted scalloped circle dies; Hero Arts Snowflake bling; Crystazzi gold bling; red silk ribbon; burlap twine; ornament charm; sewing machine; glaze pen


Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly #15 - Check It Out
Simon Says - Sparkle and Bling
Cutie Pie #2 - Bingo (charm, something with wings, ribbon or lace)
Crafts and Me #55 - Use a Digi
Cardmad Fairy #17 - Too Early for Christmas
Thanks for visiting, please come back again.  I hope you'll find time to play along with us in the "Check It Out Challenge" at Cuddly Buddly.

Leftovers

It's time for another Cuddly Buddly challenge.  Have you been on pins and needles waiting for it.   Well, I have. The challenge is to add a big number or letter to your creation.  I've had this idea to make a gift bag racing through my brain for a couple weeks.  The planning, the gathering, the putting it together.  I don't think I put as much thought into planning my wedding.

The planning of this bag brings me to this next little story.  When you go out to restaurants are you at best an odd duck or worse an embarassment to your family and friends.  Crafters are always thinking about making things.  For me it's like a never ending ticker tape passing thru my head.  I'm always finding inspiration in weird places, always on the look out for materials.  So last weekend hubby and I are out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and we have leftovers.  Our waitress came to the table with the fun box and a brown paper bag.  Well, the bells are going off in my head, I needed one for this project so I asked the waitress if I could have another bag.  The way she looked at me I knew she was wondering if she was translating what I said correctly or what else I could have meant and my hubby is making the "what the heck do you want a second bag for" face.  I explained that I wanted to make something and I got another bag.  After we got home I found hubby had placed both the bags on my desk and I couldn't tell which one was the unused one.  Oh well, go figure, if I hadn't asked for a second one you know that toting bag would have had lots of grease spots on it.  But I digress...

For my project I used the "Eline's Digi Set - Baby Girl's Bath & Bedtime".  Talk about getting a lot of bang for your buck, well this is it.  There are 25 cute as pie images and five patterned papers.  If you're a pink kind of girl this set is worth it just for the papers.  You download them once and you can use them forever.  I can always use the gingham check and the polka dots.  If you've visited here often you know how much I use and love pink.  Oh, but you need to make a bag for a baby boy, no problem she's got little boy collections too and yes, there's a collection for when you don't know if it'll be a boy or girl.

The big letter on the bag is from a set of rub-ons.  After putting it on white card stock I cut it out and then mounted it ontolight pink cardstock cut it out and then repeated on dark pink cardstock.  It doesn't show that well in the photo but in real life all those layers look great. 

How about a couple tips?  If you decorate a bag when you set it out pay attention to which side the seam is on.  Don't ask me how I know and don't go taking any close looks at my photo.  It's not enough to ruin your work if you use the wrong side but a seamless side looks better.  In addition to the seam, there's usually a manufacturers mark on the bag which may or may not show when you fold the top down, so be prepared to cover it.  Also if the bag's edge isn't very nice you will want to use a die cut on it.  Border punches don't work so well, been there done that and had to die cut it afterwards.  The ribbon isn't just a decoration, it's attached by several glue dot to the back of the bag.  You could punch holes or slots to wind yiour ribbon through.  Whatever works for you.  The bag that inspired me used ribbon through slots.  You can see it in the July/August 2011 Papercrafts magazine on page 28.  But with that bag you have to put your gift inside and staple it closed, with the ribbon affixed to back you can open and close the bag over and over again which means the recipient can open it without ruining it and afterwards put it out on display and have it be functional. 

Here's the deets:
stamp and paper- Cuddly Buddly "Eline's digi set - Baby Girl's Bed & Bathtime"; scraps of pinks and white cs
ink - hp printer
miscellaneous - gingham brads; rub on letter; Doodlebug buttons; pink Candy Dots; pink glaze pen; MFT die-namincs "large scallop" and "large scallopey scallop" border dies, mini brads, ribbon

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly - Add a big letter or number to your project
Top Tip #51 - 1 for the kids
Simon Says - Dies to die for
Ruby's Rainbow C#12- For the girls
Creative Card Crew - Babies
Picture Perfect Creations Specialty Challenge  #10 - Use 3 designer papers

Thanks for stopping by, I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at the Cuddly Buddly challenge to add a big letter or number to your project.  You don't have to use Cuddly Buddly products to play along, but if you've got them we'd love to see what you create with them.  By the way, did you know there's some free digi images available, well, now you do.

Call Me

don't you just love that phone charm,
click on the photo to enlarge it

Cuddly Buddly.  I love that name.  I find it popping into my head at odd times and it just makes me smile.   Doesn't it make you picture all kinds of cuteness?  It makes me think of this fluffy stuffed bunny I used to have, and that gives me the warm fuzzies.  That's it!  The Warm Fuzzies, that what Cuddly Buddly is.  Pop over to Cuddly Buddly and check it out.  Let me know what you think. 

Are you ready for another challenge?  This week at Cuddly Buddly challenge #11 is  "Add a Tag".  Tags are the perfect spot for placing a sentiment but you can do whatever you like with the tag.  This image is from the Lilyboo Design line "Long Time No Talk".  The old fashioned phone caught my attention and made me think of the Cosmo Cricket "Circa 1934" paper pad.  Add a couple flourishes and a charm and Voila!

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - Cuddly Buddly (Lilyboo Designs) - Long Time No Talk
ink - hp printer
paper - MFT the Paper Cut "Red Hot" cs; Cosmo Cricket "Circa 1934) dp
miscellaneous - copics; red burlap twine; phone charm; Martha Stewart tag punch; Sizzex flourishes die; nesties oval and scalloped oval dies

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly #11 - Add a Tag
My Time To Craft #156 - Just Between Friends
Stamps R Us - Friendship
One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi
Charisma #36 - Inspired by a Song (Call Me, Debbie Harry)
L'il Red Wagon #97 - Die Cuts
Your Next Stamp #50 - Song Inspiration (Call me, Debbie Harry)
Crop Stop #36 - Spellbinders

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  I can't wait to see all your tags.  Don't forget to link you creations up at Cuddly Buddly.

Say Something Nice

How cute is this image?  Like waaaaay cute.  It's from Cuddly Buddly!   That name alone was enough to make me want to check it out and I was thrilled to accept a spot on the design team.
There are two design teams and we alternate weeks, but these images are so dang cute I just may have to post something in between.
Today's my first post.  This week the challenge is "Say Something Nice" have a space for journaling or a note.  Hmmm, seems I left that off the front of the card but I did put it on the inside. 
Didn't Dorothy Parker say "if you don't have anything nice to say, sit next to me".  She was something else, certainly ahead of her time.  I would have loved to meet her but I digress...

As I was saying Cuddly Buddly has lots of cuteness for you to oooh and aaaah over.  There are several artists' providing the images so you'll surely find something you like.  You'll probably find so much that you'll be doing "eeny, meeny, miney, mo" to decide what you'll buy.  At least that's how I finally decided which image to pick.  So pop over and give it a look see. There's a weekly challenge posted on Friday and you don't have to use Cuddly Buddly stamps to play along, so everybody can play along.     Yes, there are some rules, but they aren't weird or unusual.  So if you like challenges, play along with us.  We'd love to see what you create.

Here's the deets:
Stamp - Cuddly Buddly digi "Singing In the Rain"
ink - hp printer
paper - Stampin' Up cs (might be Concord Grape) for card base; Basic Grey "Skate Shoppe" dp pack
miscellaneous - copics, brads, buttons, navy ribbon, burlap twine; umbrella charm; sewing machine; nesties circle dies

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly  #9- "Say Something Nice" include a journaling spot or space for a note
4 Crafty Chicks - photo inspiration (I was inspired by all the blues in the photo)
DYSU #34 -card for a  boy or man
Top Tip #48 - masculine card
Paper Sundaes #83 - Sundae Bar use at least two from green, buttons, banners, or twine (I used green, buttons and twine)
Crazy for Challenges C4C101 - bingo (I used  square card, circle die cuts, and 2 dp)
Basic Grey #51- Anything Goes  (BG "Skate Shoppe" dp)

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  Now go get busy playing in the Cuddly Buddly challenge.