Fun with Cricut...and Tennis

The kids and I have been having a blast with my Cricut Expression this week. Mostly because of the arrival of the adorable new Create a Critter cartridge. So many C-U-T-E images on this one!

Here's a card we made with Create a Critter for a classmate's pool party:


Close up:



Details:
Cricut cartridge - Create a CritterCardstock - Martha Stewart; Bazzill; Gina K. Designs
Ink - Palette Hybrid
Accessories - glitter glue - Stickles; embossing folder - Cuttlebug - Divine Swirls; white pen - Signo

Shannon's first-grade class has been studying Ancient Egypt all year. Here are some die cuts from the My World Cricut cartridge that are part of a surprise work in progress for her classmates:


So school is winding down for the year, and Shannon has a whole list of fun and (shhhh...) educational activities lined up for the summer. First on her list? Playing lots of tennis:



What kind of fun things do you have planned for the summer?

New Stamps from Crafty Secrets

Crafty Secrets has released some wonderful new stamp sets recently that I've been playing with the past couple of weeks.

Here is a card I made for my dad's birthday with the Greetings from Wonderland set. He always signs all of his notes to us, "Have fun!" so I thought this sentiment would be perfect.


Details:
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Greetings from Wonderland
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye - Organic Collection
Cardstock - Gina K. Designs (natural); Martha Stewart (brown); Bazzill (green)
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch; scalloped circle punch - Martha Stewart; seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; Pop Dots

We're coming down to the last few days of school for the year, with lots of end-of-the-year activities & festivities to enjoy. So for this week's Crafty Secrets forum challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers, I chose School Spirit for the theme. Our projects are school-themed, inspired by school colors or subjects, and/or embellished with school supplies.

I made my sample card using the new Car Classics set.


Details:
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Car Classics
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Black Soot
Patterned Paper - K&Company - Wild Saffron
Cardstock - Gina K Designs (white); Bazzill (black)
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch; staples - Swingline; edge distressing tool - Tonic; Pop Dots

Thanks for taking the time for a visit! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

one is silver and the other gold. This song from my days in Girl Scouts has been running through my head this week as I've been working on various projects for friends.

Appropriately, this week's Crafty Secrets challenge at Splitcoast Stampers, hosted by Darlene, centers around the theme of Friendship. I created the door hanger below using the Best Buds Postcard Kit from Crafty Secrets.



The little stamp set included in the kit is so adorable and worth the price of admission alone!



Details:
Main Image & Star Accent: Crafty Secrets - Best Buds Postcard Kit
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Accessories: bird sticker - Crafty Secrets - Family Matters sticker set; ribbon - The Little Pink Studio; glitter glue - Stickles; eyelets - Making Memories

Here is a card I made with some new Crafty Secrets products!

Main Image: Crafty Secrets - Sew Nice Creative Scraps
Stamps: Crafty Secrets - Material Girl
Patterned Paper: K&Company - Life's Journey
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Accessories: lace doily rub ons - Hambly Studio; seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; border punch - Martha Stewart; vintage buttons; embroidery floss - DMC

I made this card for our next-door neighbor's birthday. We share a fence line between our properties, and our families are always visiting over the backyard fence. So I thought it would be fun to make a card with my family peeking over a fence to wish her a happy birthday. :)



Details:
Stamps - Stampin' Up! - All in the Family; Fence - Oriental Trading
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Cardstock - Gina K. Designs (white); Martha Stewart (green)
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch & Sharpie; colored pencils - Prismacolors

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day, my friends!

Thanks a Bunch & Sonshine!

I was able to spend a little time in the craft room this weekend. This card is for a friend, just to thank her for her friendship:


Details:
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Bouquets of Joy set
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo; SU! - Cranberry Crisp
Cardstock - Gina K. Designs (natural); Bazzill (cranberry); Martha Stewart (blue)
Patterned Paper - DCWV - Crafty Stack
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch; seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; scalloped circle punch - Martha Stewart; glitter glue - Stickles


As you probably were well aware, Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day. Crafty Secrets celebrated all week with giveaways, freebies, and special blog posts from the design team. On the CS forum at Splitcoast Stampers, we had a challenge to use photos on our projects. The gallery is full of great projects. I made the layout above of my son, Ronan, for the challenge.

Details:
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Cardstock: K&Company
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo & Antique Linen
Title & Quote Tiles: Crafty Secrets - Boys Alphabet & More booklet
Accessories: ribbon - Offray; vintage buttons

Guess what just arrived at my door? A fresh loaf of homemade sunflower seed wheat bread from the neighbors. YUM! It's a thank you for passing down Shannon's old bike to their youngest daughter. Sounds like a great trade to me!

Wishing you all a lovely evening!