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I hope everybody had a great weekend! Here is one of the cards I taught in my August "Strictly Business" card class. I recently learned how to sew, and now I'm outta control!! I'm sewing on everything I can get my hands on. So...you may notice that every project from now on will probably have some amount of sewing on it. While it did make kitting my class a bit of a chore, I think it was worth it. I think the gals in my class appreciated that it was all done for them. Anyway, the finished size of this card is 8.5" x 4". Isn't it tweet?
Supplies: patterned paper is American Crafts, cardstocks are Bazzill and American Crafts, stamp is CraftSmart (Michael's $1 bin), ink is Versafine Onyx, Prismacolor markers, circle punch is Marvy, ribbon is Creative Imaginations, Nestabilities Labels 6 and Petite Scalloped Circles, words are computer generated, stick pin is Dritz, "embossed" grid done with Scor-Pal, and machine stitching with Singer thread

Here is a close-up of the "embossed" grid. I used my Scor-Pal to score horizontal and vertical lines every 1/2". The "tweet tweet" was computer generated, and I cut the tag shape freehand. Thanks for looking!

February Cuttlebug card class

Yes, you read that right. These are the cards from my February card class "I heart Cuttlebug cards." I'm just a little behind on my blogging...again {sheepish grin}. Anyway, I think these cards came out pretty darn cute, and I think all the ladies in the class enjoyed learning new ways to use the Cuttlebug.

On this first card, I wanted to show the gals to think outside the "you can only emboss paper" box. We embossed acetate (report covers from Office Max), and placed it over a white card base. On this card, we used the Perfectly Paisley embossing folder, as well as a Cuttlebug die. The die is from the Halloween sign cut/emboss combo set. The green polka dot paper is from 3 Bugs in a Rug, and we added a stamp from Hero Arts. We topped it off with some pink grosgrain ribbon, and voila!
Here's a close-up of the Halloween sign die and the stamp (stamped with Staz-On ink):

This card (which I think is too cute!) was inspired by SusieB from the Cricut website (check out her awesome Cuttlebug gallery by clicking her link on my sidebar). On this card, I wanted to show my students how to paper-piece using the Cuttlebug. The "medallion" that the little sheep is stamped on was from a Splitcoaststampers.com tutorial. You can make one yourself with any border/edge punch (this one is Martha Stewart). I took a 3-inch square piece of white cardstock and used the border punch one time on each side of the square. Then I just backed this piece with a 3-inch square piece of green gingham paper by American Crafts. I stamped the little sheep (which is a Studio G stamp) with Staz-On ink in the center of the "medallion", and colored him (or her?) in with Prismacolor markers. Then I stamped him again on a scrap piece of white cardstock, and ran it through the Cuttlebug (using the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder). Out of the embossed piece, I cut out all his "woolly parts" (hee hee) and pieced them on top of the colored-in image on the "medallion". The yellow border is also punched with the same Martha punch, and embossed with one of the Cuttlebug border embossing folders.

Here's a close-up of his fluffy embossed body and tuft of wool on his head. Isn't he the cutest???

On this next card, I wanted to show the ladies how, if you emboss on a white-core paper and use a sanding block, the white core will show through. The patterned paper is American Crafts, and the pink is the back side of the dotted paper. I cut out a pink circle using the Fiskars circle cutter, then embossed the pink side with the ice cream cone folder from the "Birthday Jelly" set. I used the argyle embossing folder on Bazzill cardstock for the background, because it reminded me of a waffle cone. I pleated some white ribbon on either side of the ice cream cone, and stapled over the pleats to give the ribbon a little more visual interest.

Here is a close-up of the argyle embossing and the patterned paper, which I also sanded around the edges to reveal the white core. I used a brown pen to make small dots around the edge of the pink layered piece:

And here's a close-up of the sanded ice cream cone and the pleated/stapled ribbon:

Last, but certainly not least, I wanted to show the ladies that you can emboss chipboard, and also show them how to emboss on paper that is larger than the embossing folder. The frame and it's center are both chipboard, with the outer piece of the frame being covered with patterned paper by 3 Bugs in a Rug. The center of the frame was embossed, and then I went over the raised part with some white ink by Making Memories.

To emboss a piece of paper that is larger than the embossing folder, I used my Scor-Pal to score 2 parallel lines across the middle of my card. Then I aligned the side of the Swiss Dots embossing folder with the top score line, and ran the paper and folder through the Cuttlebug. Then I did the same thing on the bottom half of the card. I finished it off with some ribbon by American Crafts. Here it is:

Here's a close-up of the chipboard frame and embossing:

A few Cuttlebug cards

So, my mother-in-law got a Cuttlebug a few months ago, and I've been wanting to get together and play Cuttlebugs! Well, we finally got to do just that! The boys went out shooting, and we made some adorable cards. Then we went to Carrabba's for dinner...mmm...Carrabba's...my favorite...(drooling)...
...um, back to the cards. On this one, I used the Swiss Dots A2 embossing folder, and the cute little elephant is from one of my MIL's sets. I used my Scor-Pal to score the lines between which I stamped my sentiment and put ribbon. Purely by coincidence, I had pre-cut a bunch of 2" x 2" squares to use with the smaller embossing folders, and after we had embossed the elephant, I saw this scalloped chipboard frame and wondered if they'd fit together. They fit perfectly! And as luck would have it, I had 2 of them, so we could each use one on our cards. The frame is Making Memories (last year's Valentine line), and the stamp is Studio G. Ribbon was from her stash.
Here's a close-up of the little elephant and the frame. I don't know if you can see it or not, but I took a Prismacolor marker (cool grey 10%) and went over the lines of the elephant. I used a little Frosted Lace Stickles on the flower.

Here is another card I made. I used the Swiss Dots on the upper half of the card, and Perfectly Paisley on the bottom half. The stamp is Studio G, and the embellishments are Making Memories (again, last year's Valentine line). I also used my Scor-Pal and embroidery floss.

Here's a close-up of the embossing and a chipboard corner embellishment.

This next card turned out cuter than I thought it was going to. I really wasn't pleased with it as I was making it, but it's growing on me. The frog is from one of the smaller sets that my MIL has, and the background is the Tiny Bubbles A2 folder. The bookplate is Making Memories (you guessed it, last year's Valentine line), and the LOVE stamp is Studio G. The "u" stamp is Hero Arts, and they were colored with Prismacolor markers. The pearly brads were from my stash, and the ribbon was from my MIL's.

Last, but not least, I made this "you're so sweet" card. I scored a line with my Scor-Pal, and embossed the upper portion with the Swiss Dots folder. Below the score line, I used a Martha Stewart border punch, and filled in the larger holes with Fruit Punch Stickles. The black and white chipboard frame and the plastic embellishment inside it are by Making Memories (you know which line). The plastic embellishment was actually a flower with a pink center. I stamped the "you're so sweet" using a Studio G stamp and Staz-On ink, and then place the flower behind the chipboard frame. I trimmed the flower petals that stuck out past the frame.

Here's a close-up of the chipboard frame, the plastic flower embellishment, and the stamp.

Thanks for looking!

SWEET envelope album...this may be my favorite project EVER!!!!

I am so in love with this project! This is a minibook I created using envelopes adhered to one another in an accordian fashion. I created this envelope album for my Cricut Expression 201 class at Pages In Progress. Everything you see (minus the ribbon, of course) was cut with the Expression. All cuts are from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, except the word SWEET on the front cover, which is from Storybook (thanks, Lorena!) The double-sided patterned paper is the "Color Me Pink" line from 3 Bugs In A Rug. The colored cardstock is Bazzill (colors are Red Hot and Parakeet), and the white is just the Georgia-Pacific cardstock that you can buy by the ream at Wal-Mart. The white pen is Marvy's Gel Excel. I used my Scor-Pal for scoring all the envelopes. Leave me a comment with your email if you'd like a cut list with sizes. Here is a picture of the front cover:
Close-up of front cover:
Here is the front of the envelope album all stretched out:
Here is the back of the album, showing how the top flap (the smaller of the two flaps) is attached to the envelope above it:
Here is the first page under the front cover. Each page has a rectangle on the front of the envelope for a picture or journaling. The corners of this rectangle must be rounded with a punch (or by using a cartridge with a rounded rectangle on it). For my class, I try to keep all the cuts on one cartridge, since I know that people who have the Expression will have Plantin Schoolbook. Inside each envelope is a larger rectangle for a picture:
Second inside page:

Third inside page:
Fourth inside page:
Fifth inside page:
Sixth, and last, page:

Berry happy birthday

Here is a card I made for a berry special lady on her birthday. I got to use one of my new Cuttlebug border embossing folders, and I love it! I also got to use my first Stampin Up! stamp ever (Tart & Tangy). The embossed scalloped circle around the stamp is also Cuttlebug. The sentiment is computer-generated (font: Boopie). I also used my Scor-Pal, ribbon from my stash, a Rain Dot, and Le-Plume markers.
Here is a close-up of the stamp and embossing.