Fantabulous Cricut challenge #64 - Wedding Wishes

The challenge at Fantabulous Cricut this week is to make something wedding that incorporates the colour white and a bell. I got married in 1999 so when someone says "wedding bell" I think of those tissue paper- honeycomb bells. That's what I tried to make for this card.



This shape card is made with my Gypsy and the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge. The bells are actually cut from the Jolly Holidays cartridge but I needed to trim the ribbon and bottom a bit. I cut each bell five times, folded them in half and glued them together. Once the glue was dry, I glued the bells to the car. I used some thin ribbon (on sale at Michaels this week) to "tie" up the bells.

Thanks for looking!

If you would like to submit an entry go visit Fantabulous Cricut. I am also entering this card atDie Cuttin' Divas. Their challenge this week is Wedded Bliss. They ask not to include hearts in your project. I love that challenge idea!

Sweet Shop Blog Hop Day 1

Welcome to Purple Monkey Moments and the CookingWithCricut.com Sweetshop Blog Hop! There will be some great blog candy to win along the way! More on that in a moment!

If you've come from visiting Melissa at Melissa's Scrappen Place you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our fun hop, you can go to CookingWithCricut.com and start at the beginning. Click HERE.

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away we are sharing some wonderful ideas and inspiration for your viewing and crafting pleasure! Each Design Team member will be featuring a project each day (Saturday & Sunday) made especially for this hop. Make sure to check out each DT member's blog and collect the special letter there. There will be prizes along the way at our DT members' blogs, AND there will be some nice PRIZES with a few different ways to win at CookingWithCricut.com! I decided to make a toilet paper roll album. I love these! They are fun and easy to make, and make fabulous gifts. I followed THIS tutorial from Mary at Cardz TV. Here is what I made today:



The patterned paper I used through out this album is from K and Co's Valentine's paper pack. The "love" is cut from Sweethearts.



The "hugs" and heart are both cut from Smiley Cards. Aren't they cute??



Because this album is for my husband, I decided to put sweet little love quotes on the opposite sides. The pictures are hidden, you will see where in a minute...



The sentiment on this page is from Create a Critter, and the sparkles up lips are from Indie Art.



The ends of each toilet paper roll are help together by little eyelets. The eyelets help create a little pocket inside the toilet paper roll.



The X and O are also from Smiley Cards. I love that cartridge! Thank you provocraft for giving Gypsy owners such a great downloaded cartridge :)



Inside each of the 4 little pockets, there is a tag.



The tags are where I decided to hide the pictures - super cute, isn't it?



I have 2 giveaways of you today. The wonderfuland talented Melin has donated cut files/ digi stamps for each of us to giveaway, and I have some stamps as blog candy too! The winner of this prize can decide if they want Melins design as a digi stamp, or a cut file. Here it is:



And here are the cute stamps another winner will get from me:



So how can you win these great prizes? Easy peasey!
1) Become a follower of my blog - if you aren't already.
2) Leave me a comment below.
3) For an extra chance to win, grab my blog button and display it on your blog, leaving me a second comment letting me know.
4) If you come back tomorrow and comment on tomorrow's post, you get another chance to win.
5) Be sure to check back on Tuesday to see if you have won one of the prizes.

Here is the “secret” letter you need to collect from me to be eligible for a prize package at CookingWithCricut.com. - T

Now it's your turn! Let’s see your sweet Valentine projects. Be sure to include a Cricut or other die cut machine cut on your project and link it up at CookingWithCricut.com. The Design Team will pick their three favorites and one lucky sweetheart will be chosen randomly to win one of the six prize packages being offered in this hop.


Next stop... Nicole at Croppin Momma Designs. Go see what she has in store for you today.


And don’t forget, when you're done, make sure to head back to CookingWithCricut.com and get entered to win one of SIX prize packages! Here’s how:


1. Link your sweet Valentine project and be one of the top three chosen by our Chefs.
2. Link your project and be the randomly drawn winner.
3. Collect all the letters and unscramble our “secret” phrase correctly and leave it in the special comment section on CookingWithCricut.com.
4. Or just leave a comment at CookingWithCricut.com and let us know how you liked our Sweetshop Blog Hop.


Here is our Hop line-up:
1. CWC-Melin http://www.cookingwithcricut.blogspot.com/
2. Abby http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/
3. Anita http://www.scrappingwithglitter.blogspot.com
4. Becky http://www.bouncyflouncyfunfunfun.blogspot.com/
5. Cathie http://www.creativecutter.org/
6. Christel http://www.onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/
7. Dalis http://www.stampergirl.com/
8. Deb http://www.bugjuiced.blogspot.com/
9. Erika http://www.cricutlove1.blogspot.com
10. Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/
11. Jean http://www.jeanscraftycorner.blogspot.com
12. Jenna http://www.jennasfavoritethings.blogspot.com/
13. Jennifer http://www.gator-4-life.blogspot.com/
14. Jenny http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
15. Karla http://www.kalittlescrapcorner.blogspot.com/
16. Madison http://www.funkycards.blogspot.com/
17. Maria Elena http://www.mariaelenaworld.blogspot.com/
18. Melissa http://www.melissascrappenplace.blogspot.com/
19. Michelle http://www.mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE
20. Nicole http://www.croppinmommadesigns.blogspot.com NEXT
21. Raven http://www.love4stamps.blogspot.com
22. Roberta http://www.txscrappermom.blogspot.com/
23. Ronnie http://www.inkyantics.blogspot.com/

Be sure to come back tomorrow, and check out what else I created for this blog hop. Thanks for stopping by!

A la prochaine...

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Classroom valentines designed by my kids

My daughter loves her Paisley cartridge and knew exactly what she wanted to give to her friends this Valentines Day.



My son opted for this one eyeball look. The puppy is from the Sweethearts cartridge.



My son wanted "cool" cards for the boys in his class. The skull is from the Life is a Beach cartridge.



Whew! They are done. Next year, I'm buying the cards...

Hearts and Cupids and a new Blog Design

Happy Monday everyone :) It is a sunny, cold day here in Nova Scotia, with a break in the snowstorms, although we are expecting another 6-12 inches in the next 48 hours - the joys of winter... So, are you loving my new blog design? I won a mini-makeover during a blog hop a couple of weeks ago from Michele over at Now Stamp This, and Madeline over at Shabby Vanity did a fabulous job! I hope, over time, to be able to get some more upgrades from Madeline, but for now, this is perfect!

Today is challenge day over at Paper Playtime. The challenge today is to make a project using hearts or cupids. I decided to use both :) Here is what I came up with:



I cut the box from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More. The cupid is from Sweethearts, and the top of the box has a phrase from Create a Critter that says "I love you" - well it says I "heart" you...



The cute heart paper is from a valentines stack from K and Co. It has the cutest paper! I just adore it.



I welded the heart to the box on two sides using my Gypsy girl. The heart is from George and Basic Shapes. I put a sheet of acetate inside the box, covering each of the hearts. I am going to make 3 more boxes, and fill each one up with Hershey's kisses, one for each of us, for Valentines day :) The cardstock is from Stampin Up and I doodled with my Sakura white gel pen.

I hope you all pop over to Paper Playtime, see what the design team came up with and play along :)

Some Challenges:
Crafty Hos - love theme
Pear Tree Designs - free for all
The Crafty Pad - love is in the air
Tueday Throwdown - add stitching
ECP Challenges - love
Polka Doodles - hearts
Raise The Bar - hearts

A la prochaine...

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Flaunt it Fridays and a Blog Hop...

Happy Friday! I wanted to let you all know that tomorrow I will be in a blog hop that Kassidy put together. We have been Bitten by the Love Bug! I can't wait - I will have some blog candy too, so be sure to pop on by!

Over at Flaunt it Fridays the challenge is to use Paper Pups Border Feature Dog & Cat page 104 from your handbook. Paper Pups is not a cartridge I own, so I changed it up a little and used Sweethearts. I think this may be the Valentines Day card I use for my son. He loves cats.



The heart is from George and Basic Shapes, the animals are from Sweethearts. the "I woof you" stamp is from my Simply Sweet Stamps. I ran the heart through my Swiss Dots embossing folder and used black ribbon from Michaels. This is a fast and easy card to make.

Hop on over to FIF to see what everyone created, and I hope you play along with us, this months winner gets a Birthday bash cartridge!

Some challenges:
Scrappy Moms - sweetheart cartridge
A Spoonful of Sugar - valentines
Creatalicious - love and ribbon
SEI Challenge with Abby - all about love
Lexi Creations - valentines

A la prochaine...

Free Forum Sigs

Fall Mini Album

This week at Cricut Mini Albums the theme was fall. I decided to make a book on my Gypsy. I have to say that this book was a real struggle to make. For some reason, my expression has been REALLY unhappy cutting cereal box weight cardboard. I even bought a Thick Cut blade, hoping that would help. It did not. I have no idea what the problem is, but it was extremely frustrating. Here is what I came up with:

















The cartridges I used for this book are George and Basic Shapes, Mickey Font - for the "FALL", Sweethearts for the tree and leaves, Streach Your Imagination for the 1st leaf and Mickey and Friends for the second leaf. The cardstock was all Stampin Up and the patterned paper is from My Big Ideas.

You may recognize the front page of this little book. I made an almost identical card a few weeks ago. I liked it so much that I decided to use it for my album. Despite the challenges making this album I think it turned out pretty cute. I hope you all head over to Cricut Mini Albums, and try your hand at a fall album.

Other challeneges:
Baby Bud Design - fall
Marks Finest Paper/ Speedy's Friends - stitching
Inktegrity - fall
Craftalicious - anything goes
Little Red Wagon - something old (George and Basic Shapes Cartridge and SU paper) something new (My Big Ideas paper and Sweethearts cartridge)
Crazy 4 Challenges - fall
Pear Tree - free for all
Totally Paper Crafts - autumn
The Stamp Man Challenge - fall

A la prochaine...

Cooking with Cricut Challenge

Melin over at Cooking with Cricut is starting some weekly challenges on her blog, and I was chosen to be part of her first design team. Isn't that exciting? She included designers who use cut files with their electronic die cutting machines, digital stamp users, and traditional cricut users. I would fall under the final category.

Her first challenge is Love-Sweetest Day. Here is what I came up with.





For this challenge, I cracked open my Sweethearts Cartridge. I bought it about a month ago, and have only used it once... don't tell my husband :) Isn't that little nest and birds adorable?? The shape that the birds are on, is also from Sweethearts, I manipulated the dimensions on my Gypsy so that it would fit on the top of my easel card. The "I love you" is from my Pink Stamper stamps. I have been a bit obsessed with easel cards lately, they are so fun, and easy to make, but I think they look lovely. I promise to make something else soon. The border punch i used is from EK Success and the flower rhinestones were tucked in my stash. The paper and ribbon are from my scraps box.

I hope you all take time to head over to Cooking with Cricut, I would love to see what you all come up with for Sweetest Day, this coming Saturday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

A la prochaine...

Falling for fall

Fall is my favorite season of the year. Here is Nova Scotia it tends to be beautiful. Sunny, cool, clear and crisp, and the leaves can just be extraordinary! We spend lots of time as a family before the snow flies - going for walks, bike riding and going away for Thanksgiving. I love the smells, and the sights. With this in mind, I made this card:



The tree and leaves are from Sweethearts, which I just bought last week, after eyeing it for a while. There is a heart on the tree trunk, but I didn't want it, so I used the hide contour feature on my Gypsy to hide it. The stamp is from Stampendous - I ADORE that quote. I had to mask a few leaves and acorns that were above and below the quote, I didn't want them there. The paper is from my scrap boxes, and the ribbon is from Michael's. I am really happy with how this turned out - almost the same way as it looked in my head :)

The challenges I am submitting this card for:

Paper Playtime - autumn
Crafting with Christina Companion Challenge - red, yellow and orange and have leaves
Creative Craft World - autumn colors
Sarah Hurley Challenges - autumn
Everybody Art - autumn
A Crafty Little Place - include brown, green and orange
Creative Card Crew - fall
Craft Your Days Away - autumn doodles
Stamp It Crazy - free for all
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - season change

I am going to try something different this week. I am actually going to try to do automatic postings for Monday and Tuesday. I have to work 12 hour evenings those days, and won't have time to post otherwise, so we'll see how it goes. After all, I am not overly technical :)

A la prochaine...

Mr. & Mrs. card

My DH and went to a beautiful wedding last weekend. Here is the card I made for the couple.



This was a very quick card to make but I think the beautiful paper makes it lovely. All the paper is by DCWV.

Bridal Shower projects

I have been busy! I am helping out my MIL to decorate a family bridal shower. Thankfully, the Fantabulous Cricut blog issued a "For the Bride" challenge. I tried to keep these projects simple to do with few steps because this is a large shower. I needed to make 50 invitations, 50 favor bags and 8 centerpieces.

The words Bridal Shower are cut from Sweethearts and the butterfly is from the Pink Journey cartridge. I ended up using this butterfly and the colors navy blue and white as my theme.



The centerpieces were fun to make. The twigs are from my MIL's yard and the pots are from the dollar store. The butterflies are embellished with gems from the dollar store.





The banner was a last minute idea after seeing so many nice grad banners. The triangle and scallop edges are cut from Straight from the Nest.




The only cartridge I have with bags on it is Plantin Schoolbook so that's what I used for the favor bags. The Thank You stamp is from the Michael's dollar bin and the tag shape is cut from Just Because Cards. (There are many pretty shapes on this cartridge.)


I need to give credit where credit is due. My MIL helped a lot!

With a Cricut machine you can decorate a function with a stack of paper and some adhesive. In this case, the stack of paper was one of the ones Costco used to carry.

Thanks for looking.

Teacher Appreciation Challenge

On my to-do list were thank you cards for my daughter's school division choir director/music teacher, pianist, music director and choir coordinator.



These cards are for the My Pink Stamper Teacher Appreciation challenge. This is her challenge #5 for National Scrapbooking Day.

These cards needed to be large enough for 37 children to sign. I loved making these cards because I used my Gypsy for the very first time for the music notes! I used my friend's Cuttlebug to emboss the music and then I sanded the Core'dinations paper.

I got these done in the nick of time as we need them for Tuesday. Thank you Pink Stamper for issuing this challenge and forcing me to get down to business (card-making business)...

Quilt show thank you cards

My MIL was very involved in a local quilting show last weekend. She worked hard putting together the silent auction and wanted some thank you cards to give out for companies that had donated prizes. For some reason, I just couldn't make plain cards. I wanted to make quilt-like cards. I came across this blog. They had a quilted card challenge last week. Too bad I didn't see it sooner. This is my version of a "faux-quilted" card. I used all black and white because those are my MIL's favorite quilting colors this season.




The cartouche and thank you are both from Sweethearts. I pop-dotted the cartouche for some dimension. I now have some new appreciation for quilting because it took me a while to figure out all the measurements involved because I rarely measure anything. All the paper is from a Me and My Big Ideas Black and White paper pack. I hope she likes them.

Thinking of Ewe

I made this card for my super-crafty grandmother. I think she is going to love it. The sheep and the grass from this card are cut from the Paperdolls cartridge. The sentiment is printed from the computer on a cartouche from the Sweethearts cartridge.. The sheep is popdotted and put through the Cuttlebug using the Divine Swirls folder. The ribbon is from the dollar store.

Valentine's Day Cooking

Our family has a tradition of making heart-shaped pizzas to celebrate Valentine's Day. I had so much fun making this layout using From My Kitchen and Sweethearts cartridges. From My Kitchen has so many cute kitchen images. The paper is from the DCWV Be Mine paper stack (50% off after Valentine's Day, found by Charlotte).

One sheet of paper - two quick cards

I promised myself that if I cut up my new DCWV stack I wouldn't cover it up too much on cards. The paper is just so pretty. Here are two cards I made with the All Dressed Up stack and the Sweethearts cartridge. The words With Sympathy are printed on the computer. I love the cartouche shape from the Sweethearts cartridge!

Valentine Gift Tags

I just wanted to make super quick tags for the kids. The paper is American crafts and the cartridge I used is Sweethearts.