Favourite Cutting Machine Challenge

 Happy Saturday everyone, I hope your weekend is going well!

Our challenge for you this week at Hiding in My Craft Room is to make a project using your favourite cutting machine!  This includes dies as you still have to use a cutting machine to press the die through :-)

Our sponsors this week are:

Hiding in My Craft Room

Prize ~ Space Party Cricut Cartridge

AND

Di's Digi Stamps

The prize ~ $12 Gift Certificate to Di's Digi Stamps

So for this challenge, I thought I would show you how I decorated my favourite cutting machines.  Yup, that's right I have two favourites, my Cricut Explore and my Silhouette.  Actually, I have 3 favourites, as I also love my Cuttlebug. It cuts all my dies perfectly :-) But back to my electronic cutters.  I used vinyl to make the decorations and as you can see I kept them pretty simple.  In case you're wondering, the reason I haven't decorated my Cricut Expression is because I'm thinking of selling it.  I haven't used it since I got the Explore almost a year ago.

So, now, it's your turn to make a project using your favourite cutting machine and join us in the fun.  This challenge, #221,  runs till 2:00 am on Saturday, 24 October 2015.  Take a few minutes and visit the Hiding in My Craft Room blog to see all the lovely creations my DT sisters made for your inspiration. Thank you for stopping by today and taking a peek at what I'm creating!

Till next time,

Happy Fall

CardzTV Customer Appreciation Sale

 

Hi everyone.  I have some great news to share with you today.  Mary from CardzTV is having a customer appreciation sale.  All in-stock CardzTV Fall, Halloween, and Christmas Stamp Sets are selling for just $9.99!  So, if you've got a wish list, now is the time to fulfill it :-) And don't forget that these sets make great gifts too, just in time for Christmas :-)

 

So for 2 days only, you can shop for CardzTV stamps by visiting the on-line store. This is Mary's way of showing how much she appreciates her customers and followers :-)

 

Till next time,

Go Shopping!

 



HIMCR Challenge # 163 ~ Freestyle!

Good morning all.  I had a few issues with internet connections, so this post is a little late, but I hope that you will still enjoy it and join us in this week's fun. 

 

 

Our challenge this week at HIMCR is Freestyle.  Woohoo, you can make whatever you want as long as it is related to paper crafting and link it up to our challenge # 163.  By doing so, not only will you join in the fun with other very talented crafters but also to stand in line to win this week's prize which is 3 digital images of winner's choice and is being sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

 

 

 

Sweet 'n Sassy stamps also sponsored our DT  this week.  I chose to use their Blue Bird image.  I just fell in love with it the minute I saw it and this is what I came up with ...

 

 

 

I used copic markers and pencils to colour in my image.  The mat for the image was cut from a die by Spellbinders called Floral Doily Motifs.  The sentiment was made using dies from My Craft Spot. The background paper was a gift from Cardmaking & Papercrafting magazine. I added little gold pearls with a pearl pen.

 

 

I used the same papers and mat for the inside.  I left it blank because I wanted space to write a personal message.

 

I can't wait to see what beautiful creations you will come up with.  Remember that you have till Saturday, 6 September at 2:00 am PST to link up your creations to our challenge # 163 at Hiding in My Craft Room.

 

Till next time,

Happy Crafting and God Bless.

 

Bloghop Winner!

Happy Monday everyone!  I would like to begin this post by thanking everyone who participated in the Hiding in My Craft Room Blog Hop and to those wonderful ladies that have now become my newest followers!  Thank You!!! :-)

 

And now for the winner of my Christmas blog hop candy .....

 

Blue6366

 

Congratulations!  Please contact me by email (lenfon@msn.com) with your address so that I can put the goodies in the mail for you :-)  I hope you enjoy them!

 

My random.org was my son :-).  It was a lot faster and more fun :-)  I asked him to pick a number between 1 and 28 and he chose 17, so once again Congratulations Blue 6366.

 

Tomorrow, we will be having an EXTRA Christmas in July post at HIMCR.  I hope you will come visit and see what my team mates and I have put together for a little Christmas inspiration.

 

Till tomorrow,

God Bless

 

 

 

I'm Back!!!

Hi everyone.  I hope you are having a good summer.  We are back from a wonderful vacation in the Cayman Islands :-)  It's a beautiful place and if hubby could get a job there, I would be packed and ready to go before he could say "We're moving" :-)

 

Here are a few pics that I would like to share with you ...

 

 

The day we arrived - straight from the airport and onto the beach :-)

 

 

A visit to Georgetown.

 

 

 

My new background/wallpaper :-) This was taken whilst cruising through the island.

 

 

At the Turtle Farm.

 

 

Beautiful island trees called Flamboyants

 

 

At Stingray City.  This was an amazing experience.  The locals told us that if you kiss a stingray, it brings you 7 years good luck.  I'm counting on it ;-)

 

So now you know the reason I've been MIA and why I have not been commenting on your beautiful creations.  I will try to do my best to go visit your blogs as soon as I can.  When I look at my piles of laundry though, I think that I may never get there, but I will try my best.

 

I will be back early tomorrow morning with an exciting post from HIMCR.  There will be a surprise ...

 

Till then,

Happy Crafting!

 

HIMCR Challenge # 156 ~ Summer Colours

It's challenge time again at Hiding in My Craft Room.

 

 

Our challenge this week is # 156 and it's all about using Summer Colours.

 

 

 

Our wonderful sponsor this week is Sami Stamps.  They are sponsoring this week's prize which is a $12 gift certificate to their online store. 

 

 

 

 

My project today was made using this very cute image from Sami Stamps called Prince in My Tower.  I coloured it using copic markers, chalks and Memento Inks.  I added a few birds and a puppy that I cut out using Impression Obsession dies.  I used the Diagonal Stripes embossing folder from Darice to emboss the yellow BG paper. The sentiment is from a CardzTV stamp set called Happy Days.

 

I haven't stamped anything on the inside yet, because I'm not sure who the recipient of this card is going to be or what the happy occasion will be. I added a little bird and a floral stamp to opposite corners to add a little something extra.

 

I hope you will join in the fun this week at Hiding in My Craft Room.

 

I've entered my card in our sponsor's challenge at SamiStamps

 

Till next time,

Happy Crafting!

 

A Special Welcome and Thank You !

One of the great things about being part of a design team is the friends you make when you are a part of that team.  The other is the many other bloggie friends you make along the way when they come for a visit and decide to leave you bloggie love and then become one of your treasured followers.  I have made great online friends with a number of you lovely crafters and often communicate with you via email.  What I realized is that I have been remiss in welcoming you to my blog and circle of bloggie friends and for that I apologize.  Please know that I appreciate the time you take to come visit my blog and the extra time you take to leave a comment.  I truly appreciate it!

So I would like to give a great big and special Welcome to my newest followers and a great big and special Thank You to my existing followers.  I have learnt so much from all of you and I sincerely hope that I have been able to give you some inspiration in return.

 

I will be back later with another graduation card.

 

Till then,

God Bless

 

Easter Egg and Card

My hubby went to The Netherlands a couple of weeks before Easter and look what he brought for me ...

 

 Isn't it beautiful?  It's made of dark Dutch chocolate and it's decorated with these cute little chicks, flowers and more little chocolates.  I have the greatest dilemma ... I so want to dig into the chocolate but it's so pretty that I don't want to break it apart.  Of course, my crafting friends, being the chocaholic that I am, it won't be a dilemma for much longer :-)

 

Here is another Easter card I made.  It's very simple but I think it came out pretty cute.  The papers are Bazzil.  The image is a stamp from Northwoods Rubber Stamp Co.  I used copic markers to colour it in.  I also coloured the little gems to add to the corners.

 

The sentiment was computer generated and I stamped two tiny chicks just to add something a little special :-)

 

Well, that is it for today.  Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you come back real soon.

Bloggie love is always welcomed and appreciated :-)

 

Till next time,

Happy Crafting.

Chocolates filled Soda Bottle :)

As Trumpet Section Leader in our school's marching band, my son, a Senior, chose 3 incoming freshman as his "fish". These are freshman that show a lot of promise not only in playing their trumpets but also in having a good and positive attitude towards band.  Unfortunately, one of them had to have braces and decided to quit band while another fractured his hip while running and he too had to quit band. That left my son with only one boy left.  Last Friday, was our first high school football game of the season (we won 49-0 ~ Go Oilers!) and it is customary for the Seniors to give their "fish" a little gift of appreciation.  We decided to go with an oldie but still a goodie - a chocolate and gum filled 2 litre bottle of soda and since this boy enjoys Mountain Dew, we went with one of those ...

 

I cut out a trumpet using my cricut and used it for a tag, but in the end my son thought it looked a little too girly with the twirly ribbons so we took it off.

 

Here is a better view of all that was inside.  These are fun and pretty easy to make.

 

For quick set of instructions, read on ...

Take a 2 litre bottle of soda, drink up, rinse and dry.

Carefully remove the label in one piece.  Do not discard as you will need it to put over the bottle again.   Most of the time it is pretty simple to remove as it is just glued along one seam.

Cut a trap door in the middle of the bottle in the shape of a U, large enough to allow you to put your goodies inside but remember to stay within the limits of the label.

Fill the bottle with whatever goodies you want and use shredded paper to fill in the gaps.

Use packaging tape to glue the trap door shut.

Replace label, glue it down along the seam and voila!

You're all done, now let the fun begin :-)

 

This is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed the time you spent visiting.

 

Till next time,

Happy Crafting!

 

Hugs,

Lena

~*~

 

Happy Labor Day

Hi everyone. Just stopping by today  to wish all my American crafty friends a very Happy Labor Day.

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with another card project to share with you.

 

Hugs,

Lena

~*~

Catching up ...

Hi everyone, just a quick hello to say that there is a very good reason I've been MIA - we went to the Bahamas for two weeks and frankly I wish I was still there.  It was a wonderful holiday - the weather was perfect, the sea beautiful, the food delicious (although pricey), the people friendly and the service great.  We had nothing to do and all day to do it in :-)  We spent most of our time at the beach and then visited the island in the evenings. It was absolutely wonderful and very relaxing.  I have a few photos to share with you ,...

 

This was the view from our balcony. It was wonderful to wake up to this view every morning ... beautiful blue skies and an ocean breeze.

 

Look at the colour of this water - true turquoise. My son enjoyed a few hours of kayaking - saw a few manta rays and sea turtles as well as a bunch of different fish.

 

While there, we met a couple from Indianapolis and decided to go to the Pool Deck for dinner.  OMG, barring the restaurant in Spain, this had to be the best paella I've ever eaten.  I definately had more than an elegant sufficiency :) (as in I totally pigged out lol)

 

We took a day off and went to visit the Atlantis resort.  It was absolutely beautiful but very busy so I was glad we didn't actually stay there.  There are on average about 4 to 5 cruise ships there every day and most of the passengers go to the Atlantis resort. We visited their beautiful aquariums while there.

 

My son and hubby walking through the tunnel in the shark tank.  It's quite a feeling to see sharks everywhere including above your head!

 

As typical tourists we bought the T-shirts to prove we were there :)  This one sums it all up -

 Life in the Bahamas!

 

Well, now it's back to reality and I'm looking forward to making more cards and maybe some scrapbooking layouts and sharing those projects with you in the near future.

 

Thanks for stopping by and remember ...

 

Smile mon!!!

 

Hugs,

Lena

~~*~~

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Coupon Book for Dad

My son asked me to make him a coupon book so that he can give to Dad on his birthday.  There are various coupons, such as help with cleaning out the garage, mulching the yard, car wash, etc. but I won't bore you with those since they all look almost the same and I got most of the images from Google Images.  I made the cover for the coupon book using the # 1 Dad from Celebrate with the Flourish cartridge.  I used the same colours as the birthday card I made (posted a few posts below). I think it turned out cute and the colours really pop.

 

 

The coupons and the front and back covers were all cut using the coupon cut from the Mother's Day cartridge.  I like the fact that it already has the perforation which makes it easy to tear and gave me no extra work at all.  It's a win-win situation - love those :-)

 

Thank you for coming over today.  I hope that you are enjoying your summer, or winter holidays, where ever you may be.

 

God Bless

Lena

~~*~~

 

Pro-Markers Give Away

Hi everyone,
I wanted to let you all know that Enfys from Going Buggy has a wonderful give away of Pro-Markers.  You can win all the colours!  Yup, that's right ... a full set!  There is also a place in her post that you can get to in order to download the colour chart.  You have to see the beautiful colours ... they really are stunning.  It would make such an awesome early Christmas gift!
Well, to get a chance to win you need to go here and join in the fun!  Good luck!
Hugs,
Lena

Homecoming Mum

I always enjoy a new challenge and this mum was definately one of them.  I had never made one before, so after watching various YouTube videos I ventured forth, and voila, a homecoming mum.  My son didn't want a very big mum because his girlfriend is rather petit, so he didn't want the mum to be overwhelming.  I think this worked out perfectly and she absolutely loved it which in the end was the most important thing :) 

There are some mums out there that requires the girl to wear a harness around her neck in order to keep it up ... is that really necessary?  Is the size of a mum relevant to anything?  Is it a measure of affection?  I've asked some of my American friends to explain it to me, and you guys, I had to laugh because the opinions go from one extreme to the other! :)

Rosemary Bunches

We have two huge bushes of rosemary in our yard. One of them has practically taken over our dedicated area for herbs, so we decided to give it a good prunning.  We had so much rosemary left that I made these little bunches so that my hubby could take to work and give it to his co-workers.  I made little recipe cards and attached to each bunch with a ribbon.  I think they came out pretty cute and his co-workers loved them!

Pudin de Arroz (Rice Pudding)

Not quite the post I had in mind for today, but since I'm still busy with my Easter card, I will tell you about this project instead. My mom is visiting us for the next couple of months and one of her special treats that my son loves is her rice pudding or as we say in Portuguese, Pudin de Arroz.  She made some tonight especially for him and asked me to make a stencil with his name.  I used the negative form after cutting out his name using the font from the MS All Occasions Cake Art cartridge.  She used cinnamon to create his name on the pudding. Needless to say, my son enjoyed his dessert tonight :-)

Ready or not, 2012 is here!

Just stopping by to wish you all a wonderful 2012! May it be filled with love, joy and good health ... and let's not forget a little wealth to keep our crafting addiction going :-)

The Nutcracker

My son was invited to perform as a guest trumpet player at the Greater Houston Youth Orchestra on Sunday evening. Their music was all from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. It was absolutely amazing! Needless to say, we are very proud of him. After the concert we took him out to dinner and we presented him with this card and a little gift that I had put together. The gift was made up of a souvenir T-shirt from the concert, a Nutcracker ornament for his Christmas tree and a few "ornament" swiss chocolates. He was surprised with the gift and loved the card, which of course made me even happier. The Nutcracker on the card was cut at 5" using the Christmas Noel cartridge. I used the maraschino baker's twine for the side of the card and added the trumpet charm. I have since discovered a faux pas on this card - the nutcracker actually has a black mustache and a snowy white beard. Well, what's up with that? :-)