September Sketch Challenge

It's time for another Made Especially For You sketch challenge sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps! I just love using Bugaboo images, they are so fun to color and all of them are so adorable! I'm always jealous of the winner who wins 7 images from their choice from Bugaboo, which is the prize for this week's challenge!

This week's challenge is to create a card inspired by the following sketch:

You are more than welcome to flip or rotate the sketch any way you'd like, as long as the sketch is still visible on your card

I chose the Fall Turtle image from Bugaboo to use with this month's sketch, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out! I colored him with my Prismacolor pencils and then paired him with some fall paper by DCWV. I was at Joann's last week and they had a 180 sheet DCWV Fall & Halloween paper pack for only $9.99... I couldn't pass it up! I've already used it on so many fall projects and can't wait to get started on Halloween. :) Enough with my babbling, here's the card: 

The leaves in the corners of the card are Cuttlebug die cuts that I cut with patterned paper that already had leaves on it. The 'happy fall' sentiment is from the Fall For You stamp set by {ippity} and I distressed the edges of the card, the background for the sentiment, and the background of the digi with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink. I love the way it turned out!

Stop by the Weekly Challenge page to see some more sketchy inspiration from the design team!

Pinterest Inspired Blog Hop

Welcome to the Pinterest Inspired Blog Hop! We're so happy you could join us. :)

Are you addicted to Pinterest? Do you have several boards with pins that you've said "I've got to try that!"? Well here is your inspiration to create those projects you've wanted to try but have not yet done so. All of our hop participants have created one or more projects they found on Pinterest for today's hop.

If you've arrived from Tonya's blog, you're in the right place! If not please start at the beginning with our fabulous host Ashley. 

There are literally HUNDREDS of ideas I've found on Pinterest I'd like to try. Since it's been a very busy past couple of weeks, I decided to try out a couple of the simpler ones. My first project is a tag I made to tie around a jar of peanuts. My dad loves having something to crunch on (whether it be chips, nuts, etc.) so along with a birthday gift I usually always get him something to snack on, and this year it was peanuts. I saw this adorable picture on Pinterest and knew I had to make something like it for my dad's birthday last month!

And here's my take on it!

I found a template for the tag online and typed the sentiment before printing it. I attached the tag around the jar using blue ribbon and distressed the edges with yellow and orange ink. The little peanut is from the Create a Critter cartridge and cut around 1.5" in or so. The letters on the top were cut out of golden rod cardstock using the Artiste Cricut cartridge and then inked with orange around the edges. It was super quick and easy to make! Definitely a nice touch for a gift.

The second project I made for the hop is a pencil/pen holder and a craft tool holder for the desk in my craft room. I have been trying to come up with an idea for these FOREVER and finally found the idea on Pinterest - gems on a can! Who would've thought?!

You can see my cute, polka-dot iPhone case in one of the gems! :)

I love the makeup holder idea but just couldn't pass the pencil holder idea up. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bundle of clear gems (only $2.99) and after painting each can with acrylic paint, I hot glued the gems onto the can. How easy is that?! Unless you're going for a metallic look, it's important to paint the cans underneath because some of the color does show through. Although these match the colors of my craft room perfectly - maroon and gold. :) 

**BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY**

I will be giving away the following 6x6 paper pad by My Mind's Eye to one lucky hopper! All you have to do is become a follower (if you aren't already) and leave a comment on this post with your contact information. I will randomly choose and announce a winner on Wednesday September 12th. Good luck!

Your next stop is Madge's blog! Here's the complete lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Ashley - http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com

Maria - http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com

Jamie - http://scrapqueen141.blogspot.com

Esther - http://forthejoyofcreating.blogspot.com

Tonya - http://ittybittyladybugs.blogspot.com

Ashley - http://especiallymade.blogspot.com

Madge - http://www.thescrappinlounge.com

Claire  - http://scrapmyway.blogspot.com

Robin - http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com

Cicily - http://pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com

Jamie - http://www.jamielindstromdesigns.com

Teresa - http://freshandrenewed.blogspot.com

Jennifer - http://www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com

Liz - http://scrapiliciouslife.blogspot.com

Jessica - http://thecreativestamper.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

P.S. If you've never used Pinterest before (I definitely recommend setting up an account) you can check out my Pinterest tutorial here to learn how to get started. :) You can also follow me on Pinterest by clicking on the 'Follow Me on Pinterest' button on the right hand side of my blog, under my followers. :)

You Make Me Smile

Hi everyone! I'm back with another post for this week's WYEGW segment over at My Cricut Craft Room. This week's theme was all about using a layered image on a cartridge, or in other words, not the main image that you see on the back of the box.

I create this card using the Artiste and Create a Critter cartridges (I also found Create a Critter at my local Joann's the other day - before it was even supposed to be put on the shelf! I can't wait to share the projects I've already made with it). The dragonfly was cut at 3" from the CAC cart and Artiste was used to make the card itself. The stamp is a CTMH stamp that came with the Artiste cartridge, and the paper is from a Recollections paper pad. 

This card is super simple and I normally embellish much more, but it's been a crazy week and I think the polka dots speak for themselves. I just started a whole new set of classes (I'm studying to be a teacher) and have also been balancing work and my blogs. My mind is in a million different places!

Stop by the blog to see some more fabulous projects made by the design team!

Anything Goes Disney Challenge!

Made Especially For You is venturing into the magical world of Walt Disney this week with an anything goes Disney card challenge!

Using the Pooh Font Set cartridge, I made an Eeyore card. Along with few different fonts, the cartridge also has a few images of Pooh and his friends. Since these characters are more elaborate than regular Cricut die cuts they take a little longer to put together since they're more complex. If you look closely at Eeyore (especially around his tummy) you can see the black lines that are part of his illustration, but that normal Cricut die cuts don't have.

Our sponsor this week, Verve Stamps, graciously provided the design team with a stamp set to use on our cards. This 'just for you' stamp is part of an 8-stamp set called Purely Sentimental. I love how versatile this set is!

We'd love for you to join us in this week's challenge!

My Cricut Craft Room 100 Cartridge Blog Hop

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's September 100 Cartridge Blog Hop!

You should have started at My Cricut Craft Room, if not please start at the beginning. :)

I've made a couple of projects to share with you during this weekend's hop. :) The first mini project I made using the Elegant Edges cartridge are labels for drawers that I keep right next to my crafting table.

I believe the paper is Bo Bunny and the reason I chose it is because it matches the colors of the room - maroon and gold. The labels were made using a label marker, I didn't want to have to cut super tiny letters with my Cricut since those tend to frustrate me, LOL. :)

The next project I made is a card using the Create a Critter and April Showers cartridges. I've had this idea in my head for a while now to create for one of our 100 cartridge hops, but I just got around to it now. It's the first scene card I've made in a while.

The house is cut from the April Showers cartridge at 2" and the sun and tree are cut from the Create a Critter cartridge. The flowers are from my stash and I used pearls to give the house a path to the sidewalk. The house is also embossed with a polka dot Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Your next stop is Lisa's blog!

Here's the entire lineup in case you get lost along the way:

1. MCCR http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/
2. Ava http://scrapbookdesign4u.blogspot.com/
3. Jamie L http://babyjaydensmommy.blogspot.com/
4. Marji www.fstampaholic.blogspot.com
5. Jamie M http://craftygirl21.blogspot.com/
6. Janet http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/
7. Ashley http://especiallymade.blogspot.com/
8. Lisa Ch http://lisacustomscrapbooking.blogspot.com/
9. Erica's Projects http://ericasprojects.blogspot.com/
10. Nanne http://nannes-creations.blogspot.com/
11. Jessica W http://www.craftinandstampin.blogspot.com/
12. Susie http://susiesscrappers.blogspot.com/
13. Mary http://Mary-fortheloveofart.blogspot.com/
14. Jodie http://jodiesscraplab.blogspot.com/
15. Tess www.sassycricutcrafting.com
16. Sarah http://www.craftingwithsarah.blogspot.com/
17. Sharon http://simplysweetbysharon.blogspot.com/

18. Christina http://cema1cema.blogspot.com/19. Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com/

Happy hopping! :)

GoFish! Back to School Challenge

Whew! As much as I love back to school, it sure can be stressful! My classes for this semester started this week and boy, it's definitely overwhelming! I know after about a week or two I'll get a routine down pat and everything will be okay, but for now it's just a lot of information to take in. Lucky for me, I was able to take a break from worrying about everything and make this cute and simple back to school card for the back to school challenge at GoFish Challenge Blog.

The challenge is to make a card or layout inspired by this sketch:

I used the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge to cut the school bus, and the sentiment is computer-generated. The black and white star flags are actually adhesive ribbon I have in my stash, and I thought it helped tie the card together nicely.

This challenge runs from September 1st - September 14th, come join us!

V's Shabby Chic Challenge

This month V's Sweet Ideas is having a shabby chic challenge! The challenge is inspired by this gorgeous photo:

I've never really made a shabby chic card before (not my style) so it was fun to at least attempt! Although I did mostly end up using elements from the photo as inspiration on my card.

I obviously used the colors in the photo - pink, turquoise, and brown - as well as the rosette, blinds, and the birthday theme. I tried to tie in as many elements of the photo into my card as I possibly could. I used the following items on my card:

- Kraft cardstock & pink polka dot paper by The Paper Studio
- Happy Birthday stamp with black ink
- White, translucent ribbon from my stash
- Turquoise cardstock by Recollections
- Rosette cut at 2" from the Artiste Cricut cartridge
- Turquoise twine
- Flowers

We'd love for you to play along with this month's challenge!