Thursday, November 29, 2012

Birthday Cupcakes

I know the end of the year is the start of the holiday season for us all, but it also seems to be the start of our family birthday season as well!
 From Millan.Net

Earlier this year we had a very special lady join our family, my step-mom Diane!  We all love her so much and she has been a real blessing in my Dad's life.  Her birthday was just before Thanksgiving and I wanted to make something special to help her celebrate it.

I've had the idea floating around in my head ever since I saw this fantastic card Tresa Black made and showed us at Convention.  And who wouldn't love a cute cupcake card?  Especially one that is low calorie!

I paired it up with a mini birthday cake made from a battery operated tea light candle I had.  (Don't worry, I know how some of you are and yes, I'll tell you how I made it!) From Millan.Net

Stamps: Artiste Cricut Bundle Birthday Collection
Inks: Chocolate
Papers: Perfect Day Reflections Kit (retired), Bella Reflections Kit (retired), Colonial White cardstock, Chocolate cardstock
Accessories: Colonial White Rosette Ribbon, Red Button Assortment, Opaques Mocha Gems, Chocolate Embroidery Floss, Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Artiste Cricut Cartridge, 2" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Micro-Tip Scissors
Other: Transparent Velcro Dots, Battery Operated Tea light Candle, Scor-Tape



Making the Card:
The card itself was cut using the button on page 70 in the Artiste handbook, set at Fit To Page, which turned out to be 6.5".  It's a bit too big for a 6"x6" envelope, so next time I think I'll just cut it at 6".  I used the card base to trace and cut the front and back of the wrapper, as well as the cakey part of the cupcake.  I lightly scored the front wrapper and inked everything with Chocolate ink.  The banner is the button on page 58, cut at 1".

For the icing, I placed strips of Scor-Tape on the top portion of the cupcake.  Then attached strips of the rosette ribbon, trimming as needed.  I placed medium sized Mocha Opaques around like sprinkes and added the button to the top for a cherry.

Inside the card I made a gift card holder.  I asked my Dad to pick one up from her favorite restaurant in their town...totally surprised her!  (I had another piece of cardstock we all signed that I attached to the inside wrapper of the card.)

And now From Millan.Net


Making the Cake:
This was totally fun to make, and really easy!  (You can use all paper for this, but with CTMH Dark Chocolate Ribbon looking so much like a layered cake, how could I not use it?!?)
I first put a strip of Scor-Tape around the candle. Then wrapped a piece of ribbon around it and secured the end with more Scor-Tape.  This ribbon is a bit too wide for the candle, so I simply trimmed it flush with the top of the candle.
The frosting is made with the scallop punch and Chocolate cardstock.  Use whatever "flavor" cardstock you like!   You need to have a hole centerd on your scallop big enough to fit over the flame.  I tried to eyeball it with a hole punch, but ended up just folding it into quarters and snipping off the tip to make the hole. Try what works for you!
I colored the edge with my Chocolate marker and spritzed it a bit with water to make it a little more pliable.  I ran a thin strip of Scor-Tape around the top edge of the candle and placed a few bits of it on top as well.  Then I placed the cardstock over the flame and pressed it onto the tape strip to keep it in place.
The roses were done with the 1 1/4" circle punch and scissors.  Punch out five circles and cut quick spirals with the scissors.  Yes, I know the Cricut has flowers on it, but these are so small I was afraid they would just tear on the mat.  And really, it didn't take long at all to do by hand.  I used mini glue dots to secure the flowers and keep them on the cake...after I had inked the edges with more Chocolate ink.
The cake plate is just 4 layers of Colonial White cardstock and 1 layer of B&T paper.  I used my Juniper marker to run around the edges as well.
I dug through my velcro stash.  I placed a velcro dot on the battery cover so when it needs to be changed, it's easily accessable without tearing apart the whole thing, but will sit still on the plate!

So I hope this gives you a quick and cute idea to make for birthday gifts...have your cake and eat it, too!
From Millan.Net

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Black Friday Bonus from The Craft Closet

From Millan.Net

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...or as Bio-Comp calls it, "The Feast of the Year".  I'm rushing around trying to get ready for tomorrow but before I do, I want to share a Black Friday Bonus you can find on my website.

After all, you need a little shopping fun for yourself, don't you?

Every $25* or more order will recieve a Free Gift** from me
and be placed in my monthly drawing for $25 in free product!

To participate, simply place an order
between now and Friday, Nov. 30.
The time of your call, email or online order will determine your Free Gift number.

Check out what you can win!
  1. Exclusive Mini Stamp Set: Nature's Delight
  2. My Acrylix Block: 2"x2"
  3. Clear Sparkles
  4. Marker Set
  5. Silver Shimmer Trim
  6. My Stickease Assortment
  7. My Acrylix A-Size Stamp
  8. Glitz Glitter Gel
  9. My Acrylix Block: 3"x3"
  10. Reflections Kit Compliments
  11. Metallic Marker Set
  12. My Acrylix B-Size Stamp
  13. Ink Pad
  14. My Reflections Kit
  15. My Acrylix C-Size Stamp
  16. Make It From Your Heart Vol. 1
  17. My Acrylix D-Size Stamp
  18. Workshop On The Go Scrapbooking Kit
When we get to the bottom of the list, we'll start over again!
 
 
Online orders MUST be placed using the Black Friday Bonus link on my website to qualify for your Free Gifts.
 
*$25 is before tax & s/h
**All Free Gifts will be sent after Dec. 1, 2012
All online orders will receive a "Free Gift" confirmation email from me.
 
 Happy Shopping!
From Millan.Net
 
 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Family Ties

Last night was our monthly Relief Society meeting at church and the lesson was on Family History and getting those sacred records written for our posterity.
Smiley from millan.net

I was asked to set up a table to display scrapbooking as part of doing your family history.  Because it really is family history!

When you think of doing geneology work, you may think of those family pages and pedigree charts, scrolling through old microfiche, dusty rooms filled with bound books on the shelves.  But it can be much more than that. 

When I saw the new Avonlea papers way back in July at Convention, I had an idea of what I wanted to do with them.  They are perfect for doing a family tree, especially with the sheet of paper with the pedigree chart on it already!

So this is what I made for my family.  It's modified from a regular chart to fit all three of my boys' names on it.   (And yes, I did blur out everyone's name on purpose...except my own...because you already know who I am! Smiley from millan.net )

Inks: Slate
Papers: Avonlea Reflections Kit
Accessories: Avonlea Complements Canvas Shapes, Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment, Brocade Assortment, Colonial White Embroidery Floss
Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge
 
 
It sits on our piano for everyone to see.  It's easy to remember who you are when you can see where you came from! 
 
So family history doesn't have to be something that is stuck in a book, on a shelf somewhere, rarely seen.  Make something that you can put out on display!  My sons love this, they can look down the line and see people they know, names they recognize, and ask questions about those they don't!
 
 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Capture The Date: CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Smiley from millan.net

It's another round of Blog Hopping, featuring our CTMH Stamp of the Month!  This month our group of consultants are bringing you artwork created with the super versitile set, Capture the Date. 

If you are on your round trip, you've just come from Judy's Blog.  If not, just sit back and start your hop here with me!

November's SOTM is full of numbers, dates, months...everything you'll need to personalize those special cards or for journaling your precious memories.  Take a look at everything you'll get!





This set is really loaded up with numbers, wouldn't you say? Smiley from millan.net  Well, at least numbers that I can understand!

And that's just what I did with my card, load it up with numbers!

Stamps: Capture the Date November 2012 SOTM, Card Chatter-Birthday
Inks: Indian Corn Blue, Cashmere, Champagne, Black
Papers: Indian Corn Blue cardstock, Colonial White cardstock, Champagne cardstock, Black cardstock
Accessories: Black Tulle Ribbon
Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge, Stipple Tool brush


I used a large block and created my own background stamp using very nearly every number in the stamp set!   Smiley from millan.net  The gears (found on page 38 and 39 in the handbook) were cut out at various sizes using the Artiste cartridge.  I used the Black Tulle to give some added texture.  This stamp set didn't have any sentiments, so I used one from the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set. 

An quick and easy card to put together, the part that took the longest was getting all those numbers on one block!

Well, it's time to move on.  Head on over to Kim's Blog and see what great things are waiting for you down the Hop!


For everyone that is having to deal with Hurricane Sandy, know that the prayers of the country are with you!
Smiley from millan.net


Glitter Vases

Smiley from millan.net    Happy Halloween everyone!   Do you have enough candy for tonight? We might have...if we hadn't eaten most if it over the weekend! Smiley from millan.net

The boys love Halloween so much, I wanted to have something really nice to give their teachers for today.  I saw this pin on Pinterest and the boys all loved the idea!  Originally we were going to cut out vinyl jack o'lantern faces and put a candle (battery operated) in it. Smiley from millan.net  But I thought if left them plain, their teachers would be able to use them more often throughout the year.


So we opted to just tie some Black Tulle ribbon around them and fill them with candy.  They are so pretty and sparkly in the sun!  And very cheap and easy to do, Dollar Store vases, glitter (with coupon) from JoAnn, and a big bottle of Elmer's Glue.  That's it!

Saved enough money to buy more candy last night...just in time.Smiley from millan.net

Have a great night!


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Heart 2 Heart Challenges: Keeping It Neutral

Well, I'm giving myself a great big high five! Smiley from millan.net

It is only Tuesday, and I've already completed a card for this week's H2H Challenge!  And by my count, that also means I've completed every one this month!  Whew.  I don't think I've done that since I was on the DT myself!

This week's challenge was to use only neutral shades in our creations.  With the new color palette from CTMH, it was easy to choose.  Well, okay not that easy.  I chose to use the new Whisper and Slate shades of grey.
Not to be confused with that other Shades of Grey nonsense! Smiley from millan.net
*Ahem*  Moving on...here is my card:

Stamps: La Belle Vie Scrapbooking WOTG, Avonlea Cardmaking WOTG
Inks: Whisper, Slate, Black
Papers: Whisper cardstock, Slate cardstock, Black cardstock
Accessories: Black Tulle Ribbon, Opaques Licorice Gems
Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge

 
 I really had fun with this challenge!  So much so, that I may even get another card made...just because!
 
Thanks for stopping by.
 
Heart 2 Heart



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