My Pink Stamper Blog Hop

I am SO excited to be posting for the first time in my role as Pink Designer for My Pink Stamper's first ever BLOG HOP!  Let me start off by telling you a little about myself.  I am a thirty-something (for a little longer) SAHM with 3 children.  My home is now in Utah, but I am originally from the Toronto area in Ontario, Canada (yay Canada!).  I have always liked to work with my hands whether it be crafting, sewing, cooking, or veggie gardening, and had the very best of examples in my very talented and artistic mother.  My love of papercrafting began almost 20 years ago when I got my very first rubber stamps.  I was a demonstrator for a rubber stamp company for 7 years, but didn't get my Cricut until Christmas 2009.  Since then, my creative world has exploded!  It has brought my joy for the art of papercrafting, and my paper fetish, to a whole new level!

The theme for this month's Blog Hop is...

Ha!  You thought I was going to tell you, didn't you?  If you came here from Shauna's blog, then you will find what you need at the bottom of my post.  If you happened upon my blog on your own today, I invite you to go to My Pink Stamper and start from the beginning!  So mysterious...   ;-)

I found these pails at Joann after teaching my class on Tuesday.  They are so cute and very inexpensive and come in some really cute spring colors, plus white.  I filled it up with chocolate hearts, and voila!  I love, love, love, this paper from DCWV.  It's the perfect combination - pink, paisley, flowers, and glitter!  A definite must when you have daughters.

Cricut cartridge:  Forever Young, flower 6 - I curled the petals a little to make the flower stand out
Paper:  DCWV, Paper Pizazz, AC Cardstock
Punch:  Martha Stewart Scallop Dot
Ribbon:  Michaels
Various gems

Here's what you need to carry on with the hop:

Key Word:  SOMETHING
Your next stop:  Raechel at Raechel's Cards

Have fun, and thanks for hopping by!

UPDATE:  For those of you inquiring about the DCWV cardstock, it is called Sweet Berry Pink Glitter.  I found this on clearance somewhere last year, so good luck!  I hope you find some and when you do, let me know!  ;-)

FCCB Challenge #42 - Winter Warmies

This was a great project for me to work on today as I was in my sweats, fuzzy socks, and sweater - I have a bit of a cold.  I woke up to a fresh layer of snow, and a buck in my backyard...again.  I guess I can't complain when the deer are in my backyard this time of year.  At least there isn't a veggie garden for them to eat!

 This is great weather for catching up on all of your indoor projects like replenishing your supply of cards after giving so many away as Christmas gifts.  Maybe you've set a goal for the new year to catch up on your scrapbooking?  Or better yet, stop by the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog and join in on this week's challenge:  Winter Warmies - use some type of winter clothing/accessory on your project (i.e. mittens, sweater, hat, jacket, scarf, etc.)  I just really wanted to make something with mittens on it, so I got these from the mitten border on the Winter Frolic cartridge.

Cricut Cartridge:  Winter Frolic
Paper:  DCWV
Ribbon:  American Crafts
Stamp:  Stampin' Up!
Punch:  Fiskars

I MADE IT!!!

I am so excited, and honored, to announce that Robyn at My Pink Stamper has chosen me to be one of her Pink Designers!  I was so excited and nervous watching the live broadcast last night.  In the past, almost every time there was a broadcast my husband was out of town so it was really difficult to sit down and watch while I was supposed to be watching my children!  But this time not only was he home but he came in to watch with me.  Isn't that sweet?  When Robyn announced my name I let out a scream of joy, but my chat kept booting me off so I couldn't let her know that I was there, and watching, and SO HAPPY!!!  It was very aggravating...

Thank you so much Robyn, and thank you to my followers both old and new.  I have had so many people visiting my blog and leaving such kind comments and I want you to know how much I appreciate you!

My Creative Time Throwback Thursday Challenge

It's been a little while since I participated in one of Emma's challenges, so I thought I would head over there today.  She does such beautiful work and I find her very inspiring.  Today's challenge is to make a project using an older cricut cartridge, that has a heart on it.  So I took the opportunity to make a Valentine's card for my honey.  I just love it when an idea comes together!  I love tone on tone, and especially white on white.  The beauty of tone on tone is you can play around with different textures and materials to make the elements of your project stand out.

Cricut Cartridges:  Plantin Schoolbook (heart), Wild Card (decorative corners and "Be My Valentine")
Embossing:  Sizzix and Cuttlebug
Decorative Edge:  Coluzzle (blast from the past)
Paper:  AC Cardstock and Georgia Pacific
Ribbon:  generic white organdy (how's that for a description?  ;-) )
Accents:  Stickles, and Darice gems

A fun new tool

I wish I could say that I was having fun with my new Gypsy, but alas, it has been a bit of a headache.  Although I must admit, it is not poor Gypsy's (or Provo Craft's) fault.  Apparently I have software on my computer that interferes with downloading the Gypsy updates.  I finally resorted to asking a kind friend if I could use her laptop to install my updates, and voila!  We're up and running.  Hopefully I will be able to have some Gypsy posts soon.

The fun new tool that I discovered is the Imaginisce Petal Roller.  Who knew such a simple little object could create such beauty!  I first discovered this while perusing the Roberts Crafts blog where they had the most gorgeous paper flower wreath project that was made using the Petal Roller.  Basically, it is a quilling tool on one end with a stylus on the other.  You can see a video tutorial on how to use the tool here.

Today, in between conversations with Provo Craft's tech support, I decided I needed to try and let go of the frustration and regain some of my crafting mojo so I picked up my petal roller and started, well, rolling.  After I had my three rosettes I knew I had to decorate a cute little box with them.  Can I just say, I love my Expression!  It's so nice being able to use that "fit to page" function and create a decent sized box!  With the right tools creating is, well, a piece of cake!

Cricut Cartridge:  Tags, Bags, Boxes & More, Walk in My Garden (leaves)
Paper:  DCWV, Imaginisce, AC Cardstock
Tool:  Imaginisce Paper Roller
Ribbon:  Offray
Bling:  Stickles

FCCB Challenge #41 - Snowy Delights

I can't think of a more fitting theme for this week's challenge.  We had a green Christmas here, but then a few days later we got hit by the storm of the season followed by plummeting temperatures.  It is seriously cold and snowy now!  I love snowflakes (unless I'm driving in them) in my crafting projects.  What could be more beautiful?

This week's challenge at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog is Snowy Delights - make a project incorporating snow or snowflakes.  I have had this snowflake paper by Sonburn for a couple of years now, I guess just waiting for the right project.  These are certainly colors that I never would have thought of using together, but somehow it works!

Cricut Cartridge:  Winter Frolic, When It's Cold Outside
Paper:  Sonburn (Snowflake Circles), AC Cardstock, DCWV
Embossing:  Cuttlebug

Ribbon:  Offray
Punch:  Martha Stewart Scallop Dot
Bling:  Stickles and assorted gems


And last but not least, I'm so excited I could explode:  I had a very Cricut Christmas!  If you have been following me for a while you would know that I scored a Cricut Expression during the after Thanksgiving sales.  Of coarse I wasn't allowed to use it until after it had been wrapped, sat under the tree, and then opened on Christmas day.  Do you know how hard that was?!  But then the piece de resistance, my sweet mother-in-law got me a Gypsy - thankfully at a huge discount!  Let the learning curve begin!  Oh, and I got a pink ATG gun.  Ah, I love the fact that my projects are staying stuck together if you know what I mean!

MPS Design Team Challenge

It's that time again - Robyn at My Pink Stamper has put a call out for her next design team.  The challenge:  to make a project using her three favorite colors - pink, green, and brown.  Making this Easter topiary is something that I have wanted to do for months, well, since I first saw the idea.  I have to give credit where credit is due:  I first saw the topiary idea here.  So adorable!  But of coarse I had to tweak it a little to make it my own.

The biggest change I made was I wanted to give the flowers dimension, so after cutting them out I used the tip of my glue pen to form the flower around - kind of easing them into making the petals stick out.  Here is what I used:

• Small clay pot:  painted with acrylic paint and sealed
• Foam ball and a foam egg:  these you can get in the floral department at your local craft store.  I got mine at Joann.  The foam ball is hot glued into the base of the pot and you need it there to keep the dowel in place.
• Wooden dowel
• Easter grass or paper shred
• Coordinating paper and ribbon:  The paper I used is called Cherry Cobbler by Doodlebug Design, and the cardstock is from AC Cardstock.  The ribbon is from Michaels.
• Your choice of critter cut:  The bunny and basket came from Create a Critter
• Silver brads
• Hot glue gun
• Lots and lots of flowers:  These flowers came from the Forever Young cartridge, flower5 set on Shadow.  After cutting the flowers I first punched a 1/16th hole, eased them into a "sticking up" position, placed the brad through the hole, glued the underside of the flower around the brad, then stuck it into the foam.  You could also use corsage pins for this - they would be really pretty!

And now to give a little further credit...

It has been one year since I got my first "baby bug" Cricut for Christmas, which also marks one year as a fan of My Pink Stamper.  I discovered Robyn looking for help with learning how to use my Cricut, and I owe the fact that I learned so quickly and had so much fun along the way to her amazing videos and inspiration.  Thank you!