Thanks for stopping by for Week 4 of our ........

Christmas In July Blog Hop ~ Anything Goes!

Welcome to the 4th and final Christmas In July Blog Hop! The theme for this week is Cricut Christmas~Anything Goes! We've got a lot of talented Cricut crafters who have created Christmas projects, using their Cricut, to inspire you! And don't forget the prizes! We have a Christmas Village cart to give away to one lucky blog hopper! Be sure to make it all the way around to get as many chances for the great prizes!!!

 

Since I started out as a scrapbooker, that was the inspiration for my project for this week's blog hop.

 

Earlier this week, one the blogs that I follow had a layout that I thought was just adorable and although it wasn't created with a Cricut I adapted some of the cuts and I think that it came out pretty cute!!

 

 

 

 

 I started out with quite a wide variety of paper from various sources including Creative Memories.

 

 

 Next I used my large scalloped circle from Creative Memories to make the wreath.  And because I tend to be a frugal scrapbooker, I cut the wreath from the sheet that will eventually become the base of this layout.

 

 

 You may also notice one of my latest craft purchases is the Scrap' N' Easel.  This was great for keeping me organized as I went along with my project.

Here are some additional pictures as I was working through the layout.

 

This layout will eventually have our family picture on the photo mat and then additional pictures will go on the second page of this layout.  I had originally planned to make it a two page spread, but time got away from me this week and you'll have to come back and see what the other page looks like. :-)

 

Here is the final picture with all the bling.  The deer was cut using Paper Doll Dress Up and I manipulated it just a bit in Cricut Craft Room, before I cut it.  The Merry Christmas sentiment was cut using the Close to my Heart Artiste cartridge, and then I used gold stickles to add a little bling.  I thought that the candy cane turned out so darn cute and was cut with two layers off the Christmas Cheer cartridge.  The holly leaves are again two cuts glued together to give some dimension using the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge. Finally the little bow on the candy cane was found on the CM Tiny Treasures cartridge.  The corners were cut from 2.5 inch squares that I cut in half and then I embossed them with my Cuttlebug.  The snowflakes in the middle of each triangle are from a CM punch.

 

 

 

 

This month long blog hop has been awesome and I have really enjoyed participating with projects  two of the four weeks.  I hope that you've had a chance to see all of the really creative projects.  If not be sure to go back and take a look and be inspired to make a Christmas in July project of your own.  You'll see if you check out the link to the blog where I originally got this idea, that while the design is similar, I was able to make it uniquely different with some variations in the cuts and  papers used.   I always consider it a compliment when someone is able to expand on one of my ideas to make a project of their own.                                                                                                                                       

 

Thanks so much for stopping by,  continue on to Cindy's blog for more great Christmas projects.  Please remember to leave me a comment about what you think of my project and in addition to the other blog candy that you may find along the way I will have a drawing for a paper pack on Tuesday using Random.org so be sure to follow my blog so that I will have a way to let you know if you won!!

 

In case you didn't start at Scrapalette's Blog here's the blog hop line up:

Paulette at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/  <<<START

Sis at http://papercraftscissors.com/ 

Maria at http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

Laura at http://www.coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/

Brenda at http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/

Donna at http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/<<You are Here

Cindy at http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/<<Go Here Next

Angela at http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/

Theresa at http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/

Beth at http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/

Betsy at http://betsymcreates.blogspot.com/

Loraine at http://www.lorainespaperplayhouse.blogspot.com/

The second Week of the Christmas in July blog hop is HERE! This weekend is Christmas Cards!

Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop! I'm so glad you've joined us today. We have a great line-up of talented Cricut crafters who all have a Christmas Card project for you to enjoy. And, we have some prizes too! Be sure to start at the beginning so that you don't miss any of the projects and have the opportunity to win the Cricut Christmas Cards Cartridge.  Details are on Scrapalette's blog so if you missed it circle back so that you don't miss anything.

I am so glad to share my Christmas Card with you.  As I was thinking of what kind of a card to make, one style card kept springing up.  It is the side step card.  This is a very versatile design that I learned from the Splitcoaststampers tutorial.  Since our theme is Christmas, I naturally thought of Nativity scenes and that was the start of my project.  I saw several others that had used the side step card design and really liked them.

 

 

 

 

The only change, besides design that I did was my card is 6.5 inches wide.

I used my Creative Memories straight cutter to make the cut and then used my Martha Stewart scoring board to make the folds.

After you have cut, scored and folded the layers or steps, it looks something like this. 

The silhouette die cuts were made with several Cricut cartridges including the Teresa Collins December 25, New Testament, and Noah's ABC Animals.  In making the Wiseman that is on the camel I used the welding feature to attach the wiseman to the camel in Cricut Craft Room.

I am really pleased with the end result and hope that you've enjoyed it as well.  If you follow my blog and leave a comment I will also have a drawing for a Nativity Card Kit for you to put together yourself.   I will pick the winner on Friday, July 19th.

Be sure to check out the other crafters in the line up.  If you came here from Linda's blog, you'll now be ready to visit Cindy's blog!!   Thanks again for visiting!!!  

 

Here's this weeks line up:

Paulette at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Sis at http://papercraftscissors.com/

Diane at http://dianesdribble.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/

Linda at http://ladybuglair.blogspot.com/

Donna at http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/  You are here!!!!

Cindy at http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

Fran at http://lovebugtimme.blogspot.com/

Colleen at http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/

Theresa at http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/

Beth at http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day.....  a day I often dread.....   I love my children and know that we will have a great time celebrating today.  But, my heart is also sad as I miss my own Mom so much.  I think about how the time has flown by and how much I would have loved to make my Mom a very special Mother's Day card!  Since she is spending her day in Heaven this will have to do!

                                                  Happy Mother's Day!
                                                     Mom,  I love you!


Yesterday I put the finishing touches on a Mother's Day card for my Mother-in-law and hope that she will like it.  On Splitcoast Stampers I found a tutorial for a lever card a few weeks ago and thought that it would make a beautiful card for so many occasions. 

I used Creative Memories card stock and embellished some of the sections with my Cuttlebug  I absolutely love how it adds dimension to projects.   The flower on the front was hand made a couple of months ago and I wish that I could remember where I got the directions so that I could share that with you. 

Anyways I hope that you enjoy this card and hope that you have a wonderful Mother's Day either as a Mom or as a child loving your Mom!

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Donna

Welcome to my National Scrapbooking Day Post!!

Wow, this has been fun preparing for this post.  I have often seen these exploding scrapbook boxes and wanted to do one.  Signing up to be a presenter for NSD made me get off the sidelines and do it!

I wish that I was talented enough to have come up with this idea all on my own, but alas I am great at scraplifting :-)  This was a very unique pattern that I found on the internet that was done by a crafter from Brazil.  Just goes to show that crafters bridge the gap world wide as we all speak the same language at heart.  I have actually translated her directions into English and will include a link to her blog and YouTube video.

Here are a few more pictures of my project going through the steps.  I used all Creative Memories card stock for this project and used there tape ribbon and flowers as well.

The idea of leaving the corner blocks was part of what really attracted me to this project.  I used the CM heart shape from the cutting system as my base.  I then added a slightly smaller heart on top and added dimension to that with the new Anna Griffin cuttlebug folders that just arrived in my mailbox this week.  See the pictures below.

The next pictures will show the exploding levels of this project.  I selected two double sided patterns.  This version of the exploding box also incorporated little slide out tags.  Since I am using this project as a present for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday.  I am going to have my husband and children each write a note to her on one of the tags.  The ones that are left I will add some pretty stamped messages.

Using the multiple colored paper was stepping a bit outside my normal comfort zone, but I am pleased with how it came out.

This view gives you an idea of what it looks like almost finished.  In the middle of this I am planning to add a popup.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get that done (couldn't get on CCR last night or this morning :-( )  I will post that on the message board when I get it done.

The last step was to make the lid and again I really liked how she interlocked the pieces and after a bit I was able to get it to work just right.  I actually used a little bit of adhesive to make sure it stayed in place.

To finish off the lid I decorated the inside of the lid with a flower and the top I used a lace ribbon to give it a finished look.

As promised, here is the link to this wonderful crafter's blog and I'm going to try to add the video here for you.
YouTube Video

Here is the link to her blog.  Paloma's Blog  She has other great ideas.  I little hard to read unless you speak Portuguese, but beautiful none the less.

If you would like me to email a pdf with the directions translated into English please either email me at cme2crop@bellsouth.net or send a pm on the board with your email address and I will send them to you.

Now for the prize drawing (May 12, 2013)  .......  I will have a drawing for a $25 Creative Memories Gift Certificate that you can pick out any Creative Memories product and I will send it to you(you must use it with me in order to receive the credit) 


Please do the following. 
1. Post a comment on my blog
2. Use one of the techniques that I used on this project and post a project on the mb.

For an extra chance make an exploding scrapbook box of your own and post on the message board.

Thanks for coming along with me today for this tutorial of the "SURPRISE" exploding scrapbook box.  I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Have a great day and I hope that you will be celebrating National Scrapbooking Day with us!!

Happy Scrapping!

 

There are several of us who are participating in the Circleville NSD Weekend who are also posting our tutorials and/or challenges and/or prizes on our personal blogs. Even if you are not part of the Circle Message Board, they have invited you to visit them and join in the fun! Here is a list of participants and the times you will find their posts on their blogs (all times are Eastern Daylight Time):

http://www.withglitteringeyes.blogspot.com/ - 8AM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "It's All About Perspective" Tutorial and Blog Prize - $20 Hobby Lobby Gift Card! 

 

http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/ - 10AM EDT Saturday, May 4, 20013 "It's A Surprise" tutorial and blog prize - $25 Creative Memories Gift certificate (must be redeemed with me)(you are here!)

http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/ - 11AM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "Tic Tac Toe Challenge and Blog Prize!

http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/- 1PM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "Ease on Down the Road" Blog Prize- $15 Michael's Crafts Gift Card!

http://papercraftscissors.com/- 3PM Saturday, May 4, 2013 "On Pins" theme and Blog Prize - $25 Simon Say Stamp Gift Card!

http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/ - 4PM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013. "Tin Is In" theme and Blog Prize!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fallscrappedout.com%2F&h=1AQGQJOFj&s=1 - 6PM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "What's It Owl About" theme and Blog Prize!

http://thenon-craftycrafter.blogspot.com.au/ - 8PM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "Let's Split- CCR Tutorial" (Learn to create a split letter monogram) and Blog Prize!

http://www.scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/ - 10PM EDT Saturday, May 4, 2013 "The Crazy Bs Challenge" and Blog Prize!

http://sarawandrews.com/ - 9AM EDT Sunday, May 5, 2013 "Go Big or Go Home Challenge" and Blog Prize - $20 Hobby Lobby Gift Card!

http://www.scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/ - 11AM EDT Sunday, May 5, 2013 "Tropical Sunset Color Challenge" and Blog Prize!

http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/ - 6:30PM EDT Sunday, May 5, 2013 "Did-I-MENSION???" Challenge and Blog Prize!

If you have some time this weekend, you should ease on down the road to everyone's blogs! They are quite the talented group. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Encourging those effected by Hurricane Sandy!!

Good afternoon!   It is a beautiful fall day here in the Carolina's, but I can't help but think that it isn't as pretty for those still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy last week.  I made this card for a member of the Circle Message board and we are hoping that she will be encouraged as she receives cards in the mail this week.

The card itself is a pale yellow cardstock (6 x 5) that I added a frame of blue that was embossed with the Cricut Cuttlebug and a Tim Holtz folder. I really like the added interest that the embossing gives. The design was made by cutting circles from 4 coordinating papers that were 1 1/2 inches in diameter with my Creative Memories circle maker. I then cut a 1 inch square of chip board to help make the shape uniform.

 

x

 

As you can see from the pictures above the chipboard square really does a great job of keeping your shapes uniform so that they fit together on the card very cleanly.

 

The inside of the card I used a coordinating base, that was one of the circles on the front and used a stamp that is a little difficult to read in the picture that says, "Life is a Daring Adventure or Nothing" by Helen Keller and one of my favorite verses in Psalms 121:1-2....I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD.

 

Praying that all those that have been effected by this storm will find the help that they are seeking.

 

Have a blessed Sunday!

 

All my best,

Donna

Good Morning!   A friend from my Bible study group had her knee replaced yesterday and we wanted to send her a card to cheer her up and let her know that we were praying for her.  This is what I came up with hope that you'll like it, as I thought it came out pretty well.

 

This is just a simple card with a little embossing with my Cuttlebug.  The stamping is a combination of Verve stamps and Close to My Heart stamps.  The ribbon is the Enchanted ribbon from Creative Memories; it is kind of cool because you can use it as a solid piece or punch out the embossed sections as I did to give it an interesting look.  I just added a gingham background for the ribbon and then added the flower is again from the Enchanted pack with a little added bling!

The inside was again a fairly simple design with just a Verve Sentiment stamp and I used the Creative Memories border maker and wove an embossed piece of the background paper from the front to tie the project together.

 

Certainly hope that Debbie, enjoys this as much as I enjoyed making it for her.  As today is my baby boy's 28th birthday, I should have a birthday card to show you tomorrow.

 

Thanks again for stopping by my blog to take a look at today's project.

 

Have an awesome Wednesday!

 

All my best,

 Donna