Saturday 25 February 2012

4 Chicks Challenge

 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #78 is a inspiration challenge. I have no idea how they got a picture of my living room, but I was inspired. I used this challenge to try out a new technique I have seen used before. I inked my embossing folder to color the non-embossed sections. I used a piece of silk ribbon to match the shine of the coffee table in the picture. I love, love this chair cut from Cricut cartridge Sentimentals. I cut this chair out when I bought this cartridge back in August and am just using it now. I also used Flower Shoppe for the roses. I love how this turned out so much that I have already made another.

My card:























My inspiration:







I think this would look really nice with out the chair, but I really just needed an excuse to use it.

Have a good rest of the weekend,

Colin
I have entered this in the following: 



Friday 24 February 2012

Another Pagoda Card

Once you start it's hard to stop. I saw this cut when I was making the last card, so I came back to it today. I made the Panda card the other day, but I got lazy and didn't take a picture of it to post. I was in a crafty mood so I sat down and used Cricut cartridge Pagoda again. I also included a flower from Flower Shoppe (I made a lot the night I got it). I made this with a challenge from 'Cricut Creative Cutter Room' in mind.




















I made this for:


I have more so stay tuned,

Colin

Panda Love

I wanted to keep with my personal challenge and use a cartridge that I haven't used yet. I bought Pagoda on ebay for a really good price I think back in the summer. I liked the images, but haven't had an opportunity to use them. I found a sketch on my friend Georgiana's blog 'Carson's Creations' and decided to also enter this weeks 'Unscripted Sketches' challenge. All cuts are from Cricut cartridge Pagoda. The punch is EK and the embossing folder is Tim Holtz. I dedicate this to The Toronto Zoo, who recently announced that they will be getting two Pandas next year. I do have a pass to the zoo and can't wait for this new addition.  


I have entered and used the sketch from:



Tuesday 21 February 2012

Liebster Award!



I have been honored by my dearest blog friend Susan, The Liebster Award. Susan has been a follower of mine from the start, and is always commenting on my posts and putting a smile on my face. Thank you Susan for thinking of me and giving this honor. Please check out Susan's blog 'Cricut and Grasshopper'.



"Liebster" is German for "Dearest". The award is a "Share the love arrangement", given to inspirational bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Here's the to do list for any of the Liebster Blog Award recipients.

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who presented you the award .
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
5. Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now I have been creeping blogs that I follow and here are the five I have chosen to share this award with:

Carol's Creations
Carol caught my eye with a fabulous 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' card of Frank N Furter. She makes some really sweet things and then some really dark things, and that is why I love Carol's blog.

Cindy's Green Cricut
Cindy has been a follower of mine from the beginning and I can't express how much I appreciate her  early dedication to my blog. Cindy's taste and color choices are dead on and I always check out her creations for inspiration.

Jiminy Japes
I have been creeping Heather's blog for a while now. I was first inspired by her use of Cricut's Art Nouveau cartridge. I wanted this cartridge so bad, so I kept searching for what others had done and I found Jiminy Japes and had to be a follower.

Krafty Kell
Kell was also one of my first followers and though she may not post often, but what she does post is quality crafting!  I can't wait to see what you do next!

That's Mister Cardmaker to You!
I am a new follower of Richards, but check out HIS cards! It is so hard to find GUY crafters, so when I find one I follow. Us guys have to stick together!

It is so hard to pick people and blogs that inspire me. I didn't know what I was getting into when I started my blog, but the craft blog community has been so positive and nice, that I am inspired by you all. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to followed, commented or stop by my blog. I truly appreciate you all!

Thank you,

Colin







Monday 20 February 2012

Challenge Yourself #2

Here is a second card I made for my personal challenge, to use cartridges that I haven't used yet. For this card I used Cricut cartridge Paisley, A deal I found at Micheal's in the fall. I also used Flower Shoppe to replace the image on the boot. The paper stack  is DCWV - Green Tea.














I made this card for the following challenges:




The Paper Variety - Image (I used the green from her dress and the blue from his shirt)

More Than Favors - Circles (polka dot Paper)

Challenge Yourself!

I wanted to make up for last week's lack of posting and so I decided to challenge myself. I wanted to use the cartridges I haven't yet used. I combined my own challenge with a few others. Looks like we were all on the same page. For this card I used Cricut cartridge Meow; a cartridge I picked up at Wal-Mart during the summer but haven't used till now.









I made this for the following challenges:

Paper Playtime: Challenge #68 - Pets (This made my personal challenge easy)


Saturday 18 February 2012

I've been Framed!

I wish I could say that I had a horribly busy and productive week, and that it why I haven't posted. The reality is neither, but I did manage to make something. This weekend is my Mom's birthday, and I wanted to have something to give her as my main gift won't be till later. I bought this frame a while ago, with the intent to embellish it. With my time running out to have something done for the weekend, I called around and finally found Cricut's Flower Shoppe cartridge. I can't tell you how long I have been trying to get this cartridge. A few calls, a bit of a drive and some practice and I ended up with this. Excuse the photo quality.














I entered this in the following challenges:




Colin

Friday 10 February 2012

On Second Thought...

I was going to name this post "Let's do it Again" but on second thought....I would rather not. I had a shitty night and day and it starts while I was making this card. Who knew that while I was happily creating a card similar to my 'Purple Valentine', that something sinister was happening behind my building. A dirty criminal smashed the window out of my car, stealing my beloved E-reader. I don't want sympathy, but I do want my loss to serve as a reminder. I normally don't leave my reader in my car but I left it yesterday knowing I was going out later and would need it. My parking spot is pretty secluded and I never though I would be a target of something like this. I have replaced my window, but I guess I will wait to replace my reader. Please let my misfortune serve as a lesson, dirty rotten, soulless swine, are everywhere, and don't care how good or nice of a person you are. 

I won't abandon my card because of this, so without further adieu here you are.


Again I am trying really hard to made a Valentine that isn't a Valentine, as I have far too many. I really liked how my Purple Valentine turned out, so I wanted to try to replicate that but with a different cut. I again used Cricut cartridge Damask Decor, popping and glittering the keys. I wanted to use different colors, so I used two shades of green. The 'I Love You' is from the dollar bin at Micheal's. I think this could work as a Valentine, Anniversary or with a change of sentiment a Birthday or Fathers day card. I know how I will use it, but how will you?

Okay, I want a positive for my blog, and get some candy flowing. I do not have any sponsors, so all rewards will come from me. I have an ad on the left side of my blog that generates very little. I ask that you take a second to click it. You do not have to buy anything, and I promise that what I earn from your clicks will go back to you. I like to set goals so let's try and have a giveaway for next month!

Thank you,

Colin


Challenges I joined:








Wednesday 8 February 2012

I Love Earth!

I made more Valentines than I really need, so I didn't really want to make another one. I noticed that this week's challenge blogs all want something to do with love or hearts. I came up with something that wasn't a Valentine but still allowed me to participate in a few challenges this week. I used Cricut cartridge Give A Hoot, to create a I love Earth card.



My layout inspiration came from Die Cuttin Divas:

I entered this in the following challenges:






Thanks for stopping by,

~C

Monday 6 February 2012

322 Days To Christmas!

I'm feeling a little bummed out. I don't know why, so I decided to create. I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this weeks Christmas Card Challenges Week #10 - Create Your Own Background and Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #58 - Use a Die Cut. The background is something I learned in high school art class. I used watercolors and salt to create a frosted effect. I painted a very wet wash on water color paper, then sprinkled it with table salt. As it dries the paint is sucked up by the salt creating this effect. This can also work with a dark wash, creating a starry sky. As for the second challenge, that was easy. I finished off my card with a cut from Cricut Cartridge - Winter Woodland. Feeling a bit better, I hope you like my card.
 


Background close up














Entered Challenges:




~C

Saturday 4 February 2012

I Give A Hoot!

I wanted to make something other than a Valentine so I went searching for a project. I found it in two challenges, Totally Paper Crafts and 4 Crafty Chicks. I will start with the card, followed by the challenges.






















I used Cricut Cartridges: Noah's ABC Animals and Ribbons and Rosettes
For the embossed strips I used a Tim Holtz folder

Challenges I have entered:

 
Thanks For stopping by,

Colin

Friday 3 February 2012

Oh My...A Valentine!

Ok so I lied, I thought I was done with valentines but...Surprise! Here's another. Made with Cricut cartridge - Sentimentals.

This I made for the following challenges:

















Share a little love,

Colin

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Valentines

I think this will be my last Valentine, of the year. I hope you enjoy. I made two similar cards, one 3" X 3" and one larger. I used Cricut Cartridge - Rock Princess, this cartridge has a lot of good cuts for Valentines day. I wish I had noticed this a bit sooner.

Better late than never,

Colin



I have entered this in the following challenges:



Create a 3x3 card for Valentines day


Christmas Card

I want to try my hardest to keep up with my Christmas cards when I can. With the help of Christmas Card Challenges to keep me motivated I think I may be able to do it. I found some other challenges, to also help me keep caught up. I was able to make a card to go along with all three challenges.




I used my Cricut for the frame around the stamp. My technique is die cutting. I am slowly building my stamp collection, so I will have more to work with in the future. 


Here is the sketch:


Instead of using four pieces of paper I used a ribbon to substitute the yellow in the sketch.