Song Bird Card

Hello everyone.  I hope that spring weather has moved into your area and that you are finally enjoying some sunshine.  I received my first minor sunburn of the season yesterday at my friend's Greek Easter Picnic.  It was lovely and 70 degrees and I managed to come home a tiny bit pink - as well as stuffed on wonderful food and relaxed and happy from great fellowship time.  

It is Monday so that means it is time for the weekly Bitten by the Bug 2 challenge.  Our darling design team sister, Caroline, is hosting this week's challenge.  In celebration of all of the spring birds returning home and singing beautifully, Caroline challenged the team to use a Cricut die cut bird in her "Birds of a Feather" challenge.   I chose to use this sweet bird from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  

I cut five of my card elements from Art Philosophy:  the base card, the label background, the label with the leaf cutout, the leaf cut, and the bird.  I used the Quarter Note cartridge to cut the music notes.  I embossed the top label layer using an Anna Griffin embossing folder.  I used two other Anna Griffin products, both dies, to the the cream flowers and the putty color flourish.  I cut the flourish in half and used it as corner embellishments behind the labels.

I finished the card with the music notes, a googly eye on the bird, and champagne color seam binding ribbon.  I love the seam binding ribbon and would love to have it every color.

Be sure to go by and check out the design team birds of a feather projects at Bitten by the Bug 2.  We would love for you to create your own Cricut cut bird project and link up with us at BBTB2.    

Thank you for stopping by today.  I have a week of serious card making ahead of me and I hope to have a few cards to show you this week!

CLOSE TO MY HEART NEWS

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Join Close To My Heart as an Independent Consultant April 1–30, 2014, and receive your favorite "art-full" Close To My Heart Cricut^® collection FREE! Our New Consultant Kit is just $99 and comes packed with nearly triple the retail value in products and supplies to help you succeed. Plus, when you qualify for the Straight To The Top program, you will be refunded the price of your New Consultant Kit. Select your FREE Cricut^® collection—retail priced at $99—when you order your New Consultant Kit and watch your new business soar!

Dates: Offer valid April 1–30, 2014.

Quick Bunny Card

Hello everyone.  I wanted to share a quick Easter card for Good Friday.  This simple card was made with the Cricut and two cartridges:  Teresa Collins Bunnies and Chicks and Easter 2010.  I cut the egg using TC Bunnies and Chicks cartridge and the bunny using Easter 2010.

After laying the egg layers and adding the bunny to the inside of the egg, I added Stickles to the cut out area and perfect pearls to the edge of the egg.

I embossed the top layer of the background and added shimmer dots from Elizabeth Craft over the embossed circles.

I wish each of you a blessed Easter and a wonderful Easter weekend!

Happy Birthday Card

Hello everyone!  Yesterday was the birthday of one of my favorite women EV-ER!  Upon hearing that her equally wonderful daughter would be paying her mom an overnight visit, I got myself together, with the assistance of my Cricut and Anna Griffin products, and crafted her a birthday card!

I used paper from two different sources: Anna Griffin and Close To My Heart. I used Anna Griffin's anniversary papers for the card background and matting layers, and CTMH for the flowers.  

The pink background was embossed with an Anna Griffin folder, then machine stitched to the floral matting.  I then used an Anna Griffin embossing die and cut the cream flowers.  Using micro tipped scissors I snipped the cream embossed flowers apart in order to add some to the top and some to the bottom front of the card.  

I used CTMH card stock and cut the rose2 from the Sophia cartridge.  I cut the background layer twice, once in pink and again in green.  Using scissors I snipped off the pink leaves and layered the three pieces with the green on the bottom so that only the leaves showed.  I added another pink flower inside the card as well.

I finished the card with a pretty pink striped bow and a Happy Birthday banner.  I hope that my friend had a fabulous birthday and that she enjoyed the mistake I made inside the card after I took these photos!!!  :)

Easter Basket with Carrot Treats

Hello Everyone!  Happy Easter Week!  At Bitten by the Bug 2 we are celebrating Easter with this week's Cricut challenge.  My sweet DT sister Brenda has challenged us to pull out our all the stops and go full-on Easter this week at BBTB2.  I decided to make a little Easter basket for a few goodies I have planned for my honey.

I used three cartridges to create this cute little Easter basket:  Easter 2010, Teresa Collins Bunnies and Chicks, and Art Philosophy.  The basket is on the Easter 2010 cartridge and is super easy to cut and assemble.  I did not cut the handle on the basket but instead I cut a 1/2 inch wide strip of pearl bazzil and used that as a handle (I wanted to match the pearls I added to the basket edge).  

The color of the basket is a nice spring green - which refused to photograph nicely.  I have no idea why this hue was so difficult, but it was.  I almost made the entire basket a second time when I saw the photos, but I decided to suck it up and admit that not all colors photograph well.

I cut the scalloped circle from Easter 2010, reshaping the circle into an oval in Cricut Craft Room.  I added plain oval (using Art Philosophy) to the center of the oval on which the bunny is matted.  The Bunny and bow are from the Easter 2010 cartridge.  I added a googly eye to the bunny for a bit of fun.

The carrots are perfect for filling with jelly beans or robins eggs (Doug's favorite)v- and are easily cut with Teresa Collins' Bunnies and Chicks cartridge.  I made my carrots about 4.25 inches tall and tied the tops with fun green and while polka-dot ribbon.  These carrots could be dressed up with faces or other stamped trim, but I chose to leave my carrots plain.

This is a perfect gift if you need a little Easter basket for someone.  I added four full size glittery eggs for the photos only, to give you some idea of how much you can fit in this little basket.  It will be a perfect size basket for Mr. Doug!

Remember when you are finished here to go to BBTB2 and check out all of the DT's fabulous projects. The ladies truly rocked their Easter  crafting this week!!

On a personal note - thank you all for your kind words, good thoughts, prayers, and other acts of kindness over the last two weeks.  We have truly felt so supported.  

My mother-in-law was a sweet lady who would be so proud of her children and grandchildren in the way they handled her passing and the way they have treated one another.  I have heard of families who have hurt feelings and fights after the parents are gone.  I can honestly say that my husband, his siblings, and their spouses were exactly the opposite of that type of behavior.  This family has been loving and caring, supporting one another and encouraging one another in their grief and in splitting up of property, etc.  My mother-in-law can rest easy knowing what wonderful adults her children became!

CLOSE TO MY HEART NEWS

Discover the Art of Business

Begin your business with fantastic savings!

Join Close To My Heart as an Independent Consultant April 1–30, 2014, and receive your favorite "art-full" Close To My Heart Cricut^® collection FREE! Our New Consultant Kit is just $99 and comes packed with nearly triple the retail value in products and supplies to help you succeed. Plus, when you qualify for the Straight To The Top program, you will be refunded the price of your New Consultant Kit. Select your FREE Cricut^® collection—retail priced at $99—when you order your New Consultant Kit and watch your new business soar!

Dates: Offer valid April 1–30, 2014.

Join My Team and Get a Free CTMH Cartridge

Join my Busy with the Cricky team

Begin your business with fantastic savings!

Have you ever considered starting your own home based business?  Or would you love to have discounts on all of your Close To My Heart papercrafting products?  If so, NOW is the time to sign up to be a CTMH Consultant!  This month only, when you sign up under me, you get not only the New Consultant Kit, pictured below, you also get to choose on of the FABULOUS CTMH Cricut Cartridges for FREE.  That is well over $400 in products for only $99 plus tax and shipping.  

Join Close To My Heart as an Independent Consultant April 1–30, 2014, and receive your favorite "art-full" Close To My Heart Cricut^® collection FREE! Our New Consultant Kit is just $99 and comes packed with nearly triple the retail value in products and supplies to help you succeed. Plus, when you qualify for the Straight To The Top program, you will be refunded the price of your New Consultant Kit. Select your FREE Cricut^® collection—retail priced at $99—when you order your New Consultant Kit and watch your new business soar!
Dates: Offer valid April 1–30, 2014

CONTENTS OF THE NEW CONSULTANT KIT INCLUDE:

• Read Me First Letter
• Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Books (qty. 10)
• Hostess Order Forms (qty. 25)
• Customer Order Forms (qty. 25)
• Close To My Heart Color Swatches (W471)
• Spring/Summer 2014 B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1127)
• Petite Perks™ Delicate Wings Incentive Stamp Set (qty. 5) (W2028)
• Reflections™ Scrapbook Program (9037)
• Originals Card Confidence Program™ (9036)
• Workshops on the Go™ Skylark Scrapbooking Kit (G1072)
• Skylark Complements Dimensional Elements (X7177C)
• Skylark B&T Duos™ Bulk Paper (BULK322)
• Skylark Bulk Resin Flowers (BULK340)
• Durables Triangle Studs (Z1928)
• Teal Shimmer Trim (Z1918)
• Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2195)
• Desert Sand Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2118)
• Slate Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2173)
• My Acrylix™ Hopscotch Alphabet Stamp Set (E1028)
• My Acrylix™ True to Life Stamp Set (C1575)
• My Acrylix™ Believe in Yourself Stamp Set (C1574)
• 3" × 3" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1006)
• 4" × 5" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1012)
• 2" × 6½" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1010)
• Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors (Z1836)
• My Acrylix™ Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)
• My Acrylix™ Spritz Cleaner (1778)
• Bonding Memories™ Glue (1512)
• Sponge (Z697)
• Liquid Glass (Z679)
• and Cello Bags (qty. 25) (W1152)

Join my Busy with the Cricky Team Today!!