There is a third CAS Sticker Valentine card, but I will post it tomorrow.  Today I wanted something with a little  ‘extra’…

I know it’s sappy, but I just HAD to try it. The dog is from the “Paper Pups” Cricut cartridge … and was actually just a quick sample I did at Christmas to show my family how the Cricut worked. But even as a sample, made with scrap paper, he was too cute to toss. I coloured over the paper with a red Sharpie marker to see if it would hide the pattern, and it worked!

This card is for a long-time pen pal (a senior), who was excited about my Cricut and wanted me to send her a card I made using it. I also used my Cuttlebug, as she has one of those and enjoys seeing how others use theirs.

I added Stickles for some bling, then decided the puppy needed some bling too:

The words were cut with a Cuttlebug Die/Embossing Folder set, called … Forever Friends (or Friends Forever, I can never keep it straight). Not one I will use a lot, but I didn’t buy the set for that particular phrase. She will appreciate the sentiment for sure.

All in all, it was a fun and satisfying project … and when it gets to Wisconson I know Mary Jean will be pleased. She doesn’t have a computer, so there is no risk of her seeing her Valentine before it gets to her mailbox.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Today’s share is fairly similar to yesterdays … the pretty irridescent sticker on a Nestability die, 3-d onto the card. I just rotated the card so it’s a top fold, and added different background paper and some shiny ribbon. Hey - I USED some long-hoarded stickers AND gorgeous pearlized cardstock for yesterday’s card. I couldn’t possibly use another sheet of that cardstock without having hoarding fits. :-)  Ahhhh, I have a long way to go, don’t I?

We have furniture in our basement!!  Yeah!! It was a bit of a nightmare getting it into the house, but in the end it all worked out. Thankfully dh was home. He is so used to dealing with people who give all the reasons why they can’t do something, when he knows full well it CAN be done. And it got done.

My back is better again today — last night when we walked the dogs, I was able to make it all the way up to the top of the hill at the end of the street. My speed is picking up too, so — it’s all GOOD!

Thanks for stopping by today.

I have a real CAS (Clean And Simple) Valentine to share today. The pale pink card base has a gorgeous pearlized finish, so I didn’t want to clutter it up with a bunch of other stuff.

I used my Spellbinders Wizard and a Nestability die to cut out the white frame, then added an irridescent sticker. These are stickers I have had for years. I mean like over 15 years!! I was so proud of myself to actually USE a couple of them.  (I know — sheesh). After mounting the focal piece to the card with foam tape, I thought it just needed ’something’.  The little “You Are Loved” sentiment stamp seemed like a good fit … it came in an art case from Michaels a few years ago.

Here is a peek at the inside … I created it digitally and printed it off on white paper.

Yesterday is the best my back has been in three weeks. It’s a bit sore and tight today, as we met friends for dinner and I guess I was leaning into the table (to hear over the restaurant noise) instead of sitting back or upright in my chair. But I know it’s getting better - yay!!

Also, the new basement furniture comes this afternoon — I’m SO excited!

Thanks for stopping by today - enjoy your Saturday.

I had FUN making this Valentine to send to Shae (who is almost two). She loves animals in books, so I know getting an envelope addressed to her with a cat and dog inside - well, she’ll be HAPPY!!

I know I won’t always be able to send her her own Valentine, but this year it all worked out. Dog and Cat are from a single image on the Paper Pups cartridge. (Can you tell I love this cart??) I cut it two full times, then cut off and discarded the 2nd dog image. That allowed the cat to be a different colour, and also raised up with foam tape. The scallop is from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. Inside there is a heart that has the word LOVE inside, and a big stamped “U”.

 Yeah - we got most of the basement cleaned and ready for furniture. I’m SO looking forward to that room being ‘done’, and looking like a ROOM and not either a construction zone or a storage area.

Happy Friday - thanks for stopping by today!

I made this as a Valentine, but may end up saving it to use as an Anniversary card. I wanted to try cutting multiples, so the birds were Cricut cut 3x out of card stock then glued together. It gave them some real substance and it’s a technique I will use again for sure.

What is reading as grey in the photo, is actually metallic silver (rub-on paste) so the birds have a pretty shimmer to them.  Here is a detail shot of the Cricut cut hearts.

It’s been 3 weeks today since I hurt my back, but I can finally say it is getting better. I can walk a little quicker now and stairs aren’t bothering me. Whew! Now the trick will be NOT to overdo it while it completes the healing process. I’m anxious to do some exercises, since I had finally gotten into a morning routine that included some.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Today is a crazy-busy day, so I have to keep this short …

A CAS (Clean And Simple) Valentine card … the white card base was stamped with a large background image in a coordinating ink to the panel. The (hand embossed!) heart was then rubbed with the same ink and a make-up sponge before cutting it out.

I attached the silk flower with a brad to the heart, mounted that to the burgundy panel, then the whole thing to the front of the card. This is a card I made last year to have on hand for 2010 … if I’d been doing it THIS year, I’d have mounted that front panel with foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I love this card — makes me smile every time I look at it. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to send it out this year, ha ha.

First, I cracked the seal on my Papertrey Ink kraft card stock. This stuff is heavyweight and makes such a nice card base. I’d order some in every colour if their shipping to Canada wasn’t astronomical. The pink embossed panel is made with the Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folder and pink glossy card stock. I’ve had it for years and years but when I found that it gets fingerprints on it easily I stopped using it. Works like a dream in with the embossing folders!

The Paper Pups cricut cut puppy was cut again with the shadow feature (again using the PPI kraft card stock) and layered with tiny bits of foam tape. I lightly chalked his ears and tummy and added a black self-adhesive pearl for his nose. He was then attached to a Nestability cut rectangle with inked edges. Then - just as I went to attach it to the pink panel, I DROPPED IT. Right onto the lid of an open ink-pad. Olive green, no less. He had green stripes across his ears and I was TICKED.

So I scraped and scraped his ears with a kraft knife and managed to scrape away the green. He looks a little raggedy, but I just couldn’t bear to toss him out. So … wrapped a pink grograin ribbon around the pink panel and attached everything to the card. The sweet puffy heart stickers are from (who else?) K & Co.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Yay - it’s February and I can start to post my Valentine cards!! Today’s share is a card made almost entirely with my Cricut. Sorry it looks so peachy in the photo - it’s actually PINK and gold. The glitter in the center of the heart was a scrap of Christmas paper. I just lightly hand traced the outside of the center swirly heart, cut out the glittery paper and attached it to the back of the heart swirl.

I used SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) and .svg files from SVGCuts.com.  The scalloped panel is from their “A 2 Sized Envelope and Card SVG set”, and the heart swirl is from their “Swirlies SVG set“.

After cutting the scalloped panels from scrapbook paper, I sponged gold pigment ink around the edges. The heart swirl was cut out of pink cardstock, stamped with Versamark ink & a Magenta texture stamp - then gold heat embossed.

The clear beads are Dew Drops, and the gold strip was is metallic cardstock from my scrap drawer. I save everything, ha ha.

Thanks for stopping by — and — Happy February!

This stamp set from Verve is quickly becoming one of my ‘go to’ sets … it works for so many different types of cards!  This one says “the happiest of days” inside…

The cream strip is actually a pretty satin ribbon, and … recognize the scalloped panel?  Sheesh — but I love it! You can find the free svg file HERE. Papers and chipboard butterfly are by K&Co.  My mom ordered some birthday cards, so this is one of them.

We spent the better part of yesterday putting the kitchen back together. It’s almost done! With two of us, it didn’t take nearly as long as I was dreading it would. Still some cleaning, but it’s nice to have a functioning kitchen again. My dishes are all back in the cupboards and everything!  We still have to do the tile backsplash, but it could be a week or two before we start on it — so until then the plywood backsplash is just fine.

Thanks for stopping by today.

This ATC trio is one I sent to Sue for our January first mailing. I used lots of different things (tools) for these … Cuttlebug embossing folders, Cuttlebug and Boss Kut dies, my cricut, 3-d butterflies, chipboard butterflies …

The three are joined together with a brown ribbon that has a loop at each end.

I used the Cricut to cut out the little envelope/holder, and the flourish embellishment. The envelope had a notch out of the top which didn’t appeal to me, so instead I used a circle punch — punching out a semi-circle where the notch was.

It was a fun project to work on!

My counters are in, the sinks are in, and the faucets too. Water in the kitchen again - woo hoo! The bathroom faucet gave the poor plumber no end of grief. What should have taken maybe an hour and it took him almost 3-1/2. Even so, it’s barely on. It works, but if there are any problems with it they won’t be able to be fixed and specialty taps wll have to be ordered. All this because of an undermount sink - who knew? Anyhow — at this point everything is working wonderfully and we are really happy with it. Hey - my back is even better today so things are looking up.

Thanks for stopping by today.