"You don't know the power of the dark side"

One of my very best friends, Tour, is having a birthday very soon and I wanted to make him a special card. He and my Big Cupe (hubby) grew up together and I was lucky enough to befriend him, as well!  Tour is a big kid at heart and enjoys all things sci-fi related, including Star Wars.  I came across this wonderful post at Got Scraps a while back and kept it bookmarked until now!

I found the image of the Death Star on the internet. I think it turned out really well.  I downloaded a Star Wars font and used Adobe Photoshop to distort the words so it would look like the introduction to Star Wars. The Death Star image and words are printed on the same cardstock, I used Adobe Photoshop to create the whole image and then printed it.

Here is a close-up of Darth Vader:

Using the recipe from Got Scraps I made Darth Vader. I used The Paper Company black paper for all of him except his suit.  I used textured cardstock for his suit so it wouldn't be so black. It actually looks dark, like the first picture, I just wanted you to be able to see the detail better so I changed the brightness of the photo.  I used red and gray paper for the light saber and then I used diamond stickles on the red part and glossy accents on the gray part. 

I think he came out well, I know my friend is going to love the card a lot!

Pink Stamper Father's Day Challenge

The Pink Stamper is having a challenge and giveaway. The challenge is to make a Father's Day Project and post it, then you will be entered in the giveaway! She is giving away a CRICUT EXPRESSION!!

For my project I chose to make a card for my dad. I had to think hard for this one because I didn't want to make my dad a generic themed card, ya know?! I wanted it to be special and unique to him. I finally thought of a great idea! My dad has nicknames for me and my siblings, we've had them forever! My nickname is "mouse" because I am quiet (well I was when I got the nickname!!). My sister is "turtle" because she was slow (like a turtle) and my brother's is "bug" because he was small, or because he is buggy, not quite sure on that one (just teasing!)!

I used the Create-a-Critter cartridge for my animals (aren't they cute?!). I wanted a simple card, because that's my dad, straight to the point! So I didn't embellish too much! I used a EK Success border punch for the bottom edge, but that's it. I printed the words using my laser printer with cardstock. I like how the laser printer prints letters so crisp.  Here is the inside:

Again, I used the EK Success border punch so give it a bit of embellishment but not too much!  I can't wait to give him the card, I think he is going to enjoy it a lot!

Challenge Me Monday Project

Today, I created a card for Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut. The Challenge was to create a card with at least 3 flowers on it.
I have had this cute print paper for a long time, I think it is from DCWV, but I could be wrong! I love the colors in this paper so I wanted to use those for the whole card. The card is cut at A6 (6 1/4 X 4 5/8).

The bird is from the Create-a-Critter cartridge, it's cut at 2 inches. I used the same flower cut that is from the bird, it's the Layer 2 cut. I cut the flowers with "Real Dial Size" so that they would be big. The pink flower is cut at 1 1/2 inches and the yellow and brown flowers are cut at 1 1/4 inches.

Since the card was brown I added yellow paper to the inside and put a flower inside, too.

Hope you like it!!

Thinking of Grandma

I made this card for my Grandma. She loves getting cards from her grandchildren so I thought I'd make her one to let her know I was thinking of her. We live in Texas and she lives in Michigan so we don't see her that often. My Grandma loves bright colors and flowers so I thought I'd do something using bright colors!
For this card I used some of the cardstock that has been collecting in my scrap basket! The printed flower cardstock is the Citrus Stack from DCWV. I embossed the yellow paper using the "With Gratitude" Cuttlebug embossing folder. The flowers were from a scrapbooking travel tote that I received as a gift and the button was just something I had laying around. I am sorry I didn't take more pictures but my camera battery died after the first one!!

BBTB2 Contest

I love Peggy Loves Vintage so when I saw that Bitten By the Bug 2 was having a contest I thought I'd give it a try! I have wanted to use one of her images for a project but I haven't so this was the perfect opportunity. I chose the hula girl image because it was cute and I wanted to make a Hawaiian themed Thank-you card for my Aunt!



I wanted the card to have a vintage feel so I actually looked into color palettes from the 1950's and chose these colors because I thought they went well with the hula girl. The pink/coral paper I had for a long time, I'm not sure what brand it is. The yellow paper that I used to make the flowers is actually the reverse side of the pink paper. The turquoise paper is from The Paper Studio. The printed paper is actually a vintage fabric image that I printed on cream cardstock.



Mahalo is printed in turquoise on the printed paper with my laser printer. It looks crooked in the picture, but it really isn't. I need to learn how to use my camera to take pictures of my projects! I used Glossy accents on the water to make is shine, and I used diamond stickles on the hula skirt, and on the hairpiece and her lei.



I used the Walk in My Garden cartridge to cut the flowers. I cut them at 1 1/2. I doubled the flowers and used pop dots so they would have a layered look.

I really like the way this card turned out, I think that it looks current but has a vintage feel to it. I really love the colors together!

New Toys

I have gotten some amazing new toys for crafting lately! First, for Mother's Day, my big cupe (my hubby) and my little cupe (my daughter) got me a CARL dc220.

This was a very exciting present for me!! I had seen this cutter on one of Robyn's videos at The Pink Stamper. I had been using a Fiskars cutter but CARL is way better at getting straight cuts, at least in my opinion. The bar has a magnet so it holds the paper down really well and you can cut a lot of paper at one time!

I also broke down and and bought the ATG-714 tape gun.

I first saw this listed at Joy's Life under her cricut must-haves and tips. I had just started crafting and just received my cricut so I didn't think I would need something like that. I had originally bought a different tape gun but I used the tape a lot faster than I thought I would and I really didn't want to spend $8-10 each time I needed more tape (which would have been about every couple of weeks if how fast I used the first one is taken into consideration!). I can't wait to get my tape gun, I'm so excited!

I was checking out the cricut.com website and I saw this little icon at the top of the page so I clicked on it and it took me to a new page that says, "Cricut Circle Surround Yourself"!

What is it?? When I moused over the image it says, "Cricut Personal Paper Cutter". A new toy perhaps??

Little cupe's 3rd Birthday

A few months ago my precious little cupe turned 3. She loves Winnie the Pooh so I bought the Pooh and Friends cart and went to work! I made centerpieces that were also party favors. I don't know who loved them more, the adults at the party or the kids! My birthday girl loved them the most, she wanted to keep them all...but finally I coaxed her into giving them up by bribing her with an extra piece of cake!

Sorry if the pictures aren't the best, I sometimes have trouble with my camera (but I'm learning). I cut out the characters and the bees with my cricut and assembled them. I outlined the bee's wings with stickles and then filled them in with Glossy Accents. I then attached the pieces to Winnie-the-Pooh pencils that I bought at Party City.

Winnie the Pooh and Piglet:



Eeyore and Lumpy:



Tigger and Roo:



Here's a picture of all three centerpieces:



I found these cute buckets in the dollar bins at Target, aren't they cute? I added the yellow cellophane so it would look "hunny-ish" and then put floral styrofoam on the buttom of the buckets so the pencils would stay put. I filled the buckets with all kinds of fun stuff for the kids: stickers, punch balloons, whistles (what was I thinking?!), crayons, figurines, and candy. For the "Hunny" on the buckets, I used the Hunny Jar from the Pooh and Friends cart and just used the "Hunny" letters. I actually had intended to use the whole jar but found that just the letters were much more cute!

Great Blogs

I love scrapbooking blogs! I thought I'd share a few of my favorites today.
My absolute favorite blog is The Pink Stamper. Robyn has a lot of great cards and other crafts on her blog and she has the funniest videos. She also has a terrific line of clear stamps that are adorable!
Another favorite blog is A Scraphappy Southernbelle. Aymee always has lovely layouts and other craft ideas.
Joy's Life is another terrific blog. Joy has a great website and she is always trying new things. I love the videos for her "Cricut Fake". You really need to check her site out, she is humorous and very informative!
Obsessed with Scrapbooking is full of great information and Joy (another Joy!) has links for coupons and giveaways many times. She is really creative!
You should definitely check these blogs out! They really are inspirational!!

Great giveaway at Obessed with Scrapbooking!

Joy, at Obsessed with Scrapbooking has a great giveaway. Check it out!!

Pink Stamper Challenge #10

This challenge was to make something "springy" with flowers or something for spring. I made this card, it's pretty simple but I think it is cute!

Pink Stamper Challenge # 12

The challenge is to make something with an animal or critter. Does a bird qualify as a critter? Hmm..I hope so cuz that's what I used! I wanted to use this pretty blue paper with a little design on it and it just seemed like a bird would be a good idea! Do you like it??

Pink Stamper Challenge #6

The challenge is to make something with or for kids! I made this birthday card for my nephew who is going to be 3 in a few days!

Pink Stamper Challenge #1

Pink Stamper Challenge #1! Here is my entry. Yes, I got a late start since this challenge was for National Scrapbooking Day which was Saturday but since I couldn't make it then I finally got a chance this morning!