Variations on a Theme - or Two!

Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

I John 4 : 11

I thought I’d share some cards I’ve made using files from two of my favorite Online Friends!  I am currently on the Design Team for Cooking with Cricut / PaperCrafting World and I love the Cutting and Digital Files that Melin makes.  I also have really appreciated the Digital Files that Emily makes available at Sweetly Scrapped. I decided to use some of each of their files this week and make several variations of them, showing their versatility.

For this first group, I used the ‘Decorative Plate Label 1’ cutting file from CWC/PCW – the actual file and also the ‘negative’ left when the file was cut.  Remember? - I've said I love to re-purpose and re-use - Just hate to throw away 'good pieces' of paper!   ;-]    I added a digital file of small decorative ‘Plain Labels’ from SS to which I added the sentiments in Photoshop Elements 10 and then cut them out.  I added gems and tiny flowers from Recollections.  I have made many others similar to these in various color families and patterns and in sets of four.

For this next group, I used a digital file, ‘Eau de Toilette,’ from SS with a bit of French flair for some ‘general’ cards for friends and family.  The first is the original color she offered  - 6 to a page.  I used cream parchment cardstock on which I stamped an all-over leafy design in Copper ink.  This card folds in from the bottom and top and then the sides, making it the perfect ‘pocket’ in which to place a letter, a photo, a candy bar or any other small gift! 

I ‘tweaked’ the other two to make the color of the digital file coordinate with the colors of the cards.  The first of these two cards was a peach/green/yellow stripe.  I punched around two edges so that the peach inside color showed and mounted the digi file onto peach cardstock – then mounted it onto the card.

The last of this group was made on light green parchment cardstock, so I tinted the digital file light green.  I stamped a flourish pattern on the front of the card in black and mounted the digital picture on black.  I added some Recollections gems.  The style of this card allows it to stand and be an ‘easel card.’  There’s plenty of room for a sentiment inside – and/or a generous poem, verse or note.

I encourage you to visit the websites of my two Online Friends whose files I used for these cards!  Both of these lovely women have amazing gifts that they share with all of us –

Melin is at www.cookingwithcricut.com and www.papercraftingworld.com    - 

Emily is at  http://www.sweetlyscrappedart.blogspot.com/ 

Thank You for stopping by here today!  Let me know if you have any questions or if I can make or do anything for you -  ;-}

Altered Journal/Notebook -

I am writing to you, little children, because for his name’s sake your sins are forgiven.

I John 2 : 12

 

Hello and Welcome to the Tuesday Challenge connected with CookingWithCricut.com / PaperCraftingWorld.com !!  This week we were to make an Altered Journal or Notebook.  I decided to make one for each of my two grandchildren.  With school beginning , I thought they might be able to use them.  Avi loves to read and write – and I know she’ll enjoy using hers.  Cyrus hates to do both, but might be more inclined if he has a personalized journal to use.

I used inexpensive Composition Books and decorated them to depict each of their personalities.  Once I had each designed and the pieces assembled, I adhered everything – and then coated all of it with – my ‘homemade Mod Podge’ which I learned about on Pinterest -  ;-} – to protect the covers as they are used.

Avi is in Middle School and for her journal, I used a vintage ‘handwritten’ paper to cover the front.  I used a CWC/PCW cutting file for the side border (Flourish92011).  I cut her name from a font on my laptop with my Cricut/SCAL2.  I used another font to make and cut the guitar and treble clef.  The scraps of music are from a vintage piece that I scanned and printed.  The flowers and gems are from Recollections.

Cyrus is my Little Fireball, is in grade-school and he and his father have great interest in ‘all things Karate.’  I used a red/cream/blue printed paper for the cover.  I used the CWC/PCW cutting file (Flourish Bar) for the side border, adding buttons to where holes were.  I used a Bracket Frame that I’ve had for quite a while for the two ‘background’ frames.  I used Scrabble Tiles from a free online printable to spell out his name.  From a font on my laptop (Karate Chop), I made the three figures in SCAL2 and cut them on my Cricut. 

I hope you’ve had a chance to check out the other blogs participating in this challenge!  Be sure to link up your project for this week over at CWC/PCW.  You can make ANY KIND of an Altered Journal/Notebook and we’d Love to see your creative endeavors!  See you later - ;-]

FLY HIGH! - National Aviation Day

And I say, Oh that I had wings like a dove! 

 I would fly away and be at rest…

Psalm 55: 6

Welcome to this week’s Cooking With Cricut / Paper CraftingWorld’s Weekly Challenge!  The theme for today is National Aviation Day – which is observed in the US on August 19 – to celebrate the history and development of aviation.  It coincides with the birthday of Orville Wright who, with his brother, Wilbur, made significant contributions to powered flight.  Our assignment for this week was to make a project indicative of that achievement.

Since early childhood, I have been quite fascinated with flying, often dreaming that I ‘could’!!  I had my first flight while in high school in the small Piper Comanche owned by a family friend.  Amazing!!

Later in the ‘70s, I would become a Flight Attendant for United Airlines for 5 years while my husband attended Seminary in the Chicago area.  On one of my flights, I had the Blue Angels Crew – never suspecting that many years later I would have another ‘connection’ to them!

Then one afternoon in the late ‘80s while on a drive in the country near Holland, MI, we happened upon someone giving Ultralight flights and I was allowed the Most Memorable Gift of going on a 45-minute flight along the Lake Michigan shore!!

Years later, while living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I had several opportunities to see the Blue Angels perform over the Bay during Fleet Week each October.  When my son graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2005, I witnessed their performance there over the Severn River where they flew low and close enough that one could almost ‘reach out and touch’ them!  What a thrill!

I made a ‘tent-type’ card as a tribute to the Wright Brothers and the Blue Angels – as a Thank You for their contribution to some of my most memorable life experiences.  I began with an 8.5” x 11” gray cardstock, folded in thirds, to fit a business-size envelope.

I used a photo of the Blue Angels from online, lightened it in PSE 10, printed it and mounted it on Navy Jewel Cardstock.  I used the Biplane file from the CWC/PCW ‘Aviator’ cutting file set and cut it from the same cardstock, adding touches of yellow.  (Navy and Yellow are the Blue Angels’ colors, in case you didn’t know…)  I used Scrabble letters that I printed (a Freebie from online), cut by hand and then adhered with small Pop-Dots.

The poem I included inside is one that I read several years ago and it’s one of my (many) favorites.  If you’d care for background information on it and the author, here is a link: http://www.skygod.com/quotes/highflight.html 

As another bit of trivia for you all -  I came across these innovatively clever hangers – shaped like airplanes – this week and thought I’d share the link with you – just FYI…    http://www.curbly.com/users/diy-maven/posts/9957-roundup-beautifully-unusual-hangers

Thanks for visiting me here today and allowing me to share some of the HIGH-lights of my life!  Now it’s your turn to make a project of some kind showcasing ‘Flight’ – and then link to CookingWithCricut.com -  Melin usually has a Freebie that you can snitch while you’re visiting her – for further inspiration -  Have a good week – Happy Flying!

NOTE:

This past weekend was the Taste of Summer Blog Hop over at CWC/PCW and I participated on Sunday with my ‘Miss You – CHERRY Much!’ easel card.  (See Sunday’s post here on my blog – or pop over to CWC/PCW and start at the beginning for each day -)  I had offered the Gift of 4 of my hand made cards to one random Commenter, using Random.org  -  So, it chose:   Emily C. -  !!  Congratulations!!  I will eMail you to discuss what colors you’d like and where I should mail them -

Taste of Summer Blog Hop - CWC/PCW

Miss you – CHERRY much!

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see – how good God is.

Blessed are you who run to him.

Psalm 34: 8

Hello and Welcome to our August ‘Taste of Summer Blog Hop’ in connection with www.CookingWithCricut.com  and www.PaperCraftingWorld.com  !  I’m glad you are visiting me today – and hopefully, you’ve arrived from Becky’s blog, Scrap Circus, if you’re going in order.  You can start from the beginning at Melin’s blog, CookingWith Cricut and then follow on through ALL of the creative ideas that our Design Team has come up with for you this weekend!

This hop is all about our favorite "flavors" of summer. Our projects were to include any type of food or drink that is a summertime favorite for us, our family or the recipient of our project.  Mine is for all three aspects -

What could say Summer better than a picnic basket filled with a favorite family treat?  In thinking about what to do, I decided that my most favorite summer treat was the Michigan Cherry Pies that I’d made for years for family back when we grew up and lived in MI.  I learned to make pies from Daddy who learned to make them on the C & O Railroad many years ago.  Since I live far away from my Grandchildren at this time and I can’t bake one for them, I thought that I’d make a ‘virtual’ pie, of sorts, in Easel-card form and I’ll mail it to them!  * smile *

I used a CWC file for the basis of the card – the Basket from the ‘Basket and Flowers’ file.  I am such a ‘repurposer’ that it may be funny to some of you…  Two weeks ago, I used bits of a ‘vegetable mesh bag’ on my project.  This week, I used the kraft-colored lining paper, which is left on the ‘used spindle’ of my AGT gun!!  When I replaced it a few weeks ago, I kept it with the thought that there just might be something I could do with it – and here it is!!  I cut strips of it and weaved them together to make the basket look at bit more ‘realistic.’  I then used Mod Podge to adhere the pieces to the cardstock piece and give it a nice 'finish.' 

I cut a second piece of cardstock, omitting the center hole, and putting inked ‘clouds’ in that space, and then adhered it to the backside of the basket.  Before I adhered that, I added a bit of red and white checked paper, pleated, to look like a bit of tablecloth peeking out from the basket.

I used another CWC file to make a Cherry Tree – the tree from the ‘Partridge and a Pear Tree’ file.  I ink-colored the leaves and then added red gems.  I put a coat of Mod Podge on it also, to strengthen it and preserve and keep the gems from falling off, before I adhered it to the basket.  I printed the sentiment in WORD, cut it to be a banner, inked the edges and adhered it with Pop-Dots for added dimension.

I searched Online for a quote or poem to include and came up with ‘Cherry Time’ by Robert Graves.  I printed this on cardstock and made a little tri-fold booklet for inside the card.  I’ll include the poem at the end of this post.

I used the ‘Pies’ CWC file to ‘bake’ a Cherry Pie for the Prop inside the card.  I lightly inked the edges of the crusts for that fresh-baked look.  I filled the woven top crust with red gems of various sizes.  Although I always bake my pies in 10” glass pie dishes, I cut this pie pan from silver, to look like a tin pie pan.  It is raised up with large Pop-Dot-type adhesives.  MMMmmmm...  I can almost taste my 'famous' Cherry Pies!!  

Yes, it took longer to design and assemble this card than I’d originally thought, but I’m pleased with the result and I hope my Daughter and Grandchildren like it, too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  I know that Melin and several others have GOODIES offered on their blogs and I’d like to offer FOUR of my Cards to one lucky Commenter today!  I’ll choose someone at random from those who visit and leave a comment -  ;-}  -  So please be sure to leave a way for me to get in touch with you should you win.  I’ll offer your choice of color (we’ll discuss) for FOUR cards using this CWC file:  Decorative Plate Label Cutting File

Now – head on over to Court’s blog, Court’s Craft Corner, and then on to the others.  Have a great day and week ahead!  Let me know if you have questions about anything!  Blessings!

Here's the Poem I included in this card:

 

       CHERRY TIME                                                                        

      by Robert Graves from

         Fairies and Fusiliers

Cherries of the night are riper
Than the cherries pluckt at noon
Gather to your fairy piper
When he pipes his magic tune:
Merry, merry,
Take a cherry;
Mine are sounder,
Mine are rounder,
Mine are sweeter
For the eater
Under the moon.
And you’ll be fairies soon.

In the cherry pluckt at night,
With the dew of summer swelling,
There’s a juice of pure delight,
Cool, dark, sweet, divinely smelling.
Merry, merry,
Take a cherry;
Mine are sounder,
Mine are rounder,
Mine are sweeter
For the eater
In the moonlight.
And you’ll be fairies quite.

When I sound the fairy call,
Gather here in silent meeting,
Chin to knee on the orchard wall,
Cooled with dew and cherries eating.
Merry, merry,
Take a cherry;
Mine are sounder,
Mine are rounder,
Mine are sweeter.
For the eater
When the dews fall.
And you’ll be fairies all.

Hispanic Heritage Month Projects

Your statutes are my HERITAGE forever; they are the joy of my life.

Psalm 119:111

Welcome to this week’s CWC/PCW Challenge!  This week’s topic is Hispanic Heritage Month.  When I heard this, I knew I wanted to make a gift and card for a Dear Former Student of mine!  We’d lost contact after she had graduated and we each moved far from where we’d been.  She found me on FB this past year and it’s been Great to be in contact again – even though we still live far apart.

For some inspiration on this topic, I ‘Google Imaged’ the term and decided to use this image as the basis for my card design.  The brightly colored costumes became the bright flowers!

I used the PCW Floral Circle Lace .svg file to cut the olive green cardstock base for the flowers.  This is the first step in the creation of the card.  I then made a ‘shadow’ of the outline for the background and cut it out of black cardstock.

 

Using the cut design, I created flowers sized just to fill in the matching solid parts of the ‘lace.’   I used the 5-point and scalloped flowers from the PCW Birdcage and Flowers Set .svg files.   I also used a Marvy Uchida ‘daisy petal' punch for the daisy-type flowers.  I used various pearl and gem ‘embellies’ for the flower centers and to ‘create’ flowers for the remaining lacy cuts.  I ink-smudged the edges of the card with Olive Green Ink and then a tad of Black.  (Shhh!  I'll tell you a secret...  I didn't realize until after I'd taken the photos that I'd missed the spot for one gem.  ;-[  So... I found one in my Digital Files, attached it 'virtually' on the photos  - then attached a 'real' gem on the actual card!  ;-}  Ta - Dahhh!)   Can you find it?

I stamped the sentiment on cardstock, then ‘painted’ the flowers with a small brush and red inkpad ink.  I filled in the petals with Glossy Accents and added gems for the centers.

I also did some ‘makeover-magic’ to create a gift for my Friend by turning a lowly, plain (Dollar Store) mini-clipboard and flowers into a sunny ‘Note to Self’ Memo Pad holder!    I used the PCW Scalloped Frame .svg file, altering the top slightly so it wasn’t hidden by the mini-pad…  I attached the cut file, gems and then covered the whole clipboard with Mod Podge – to protect and preserve it while in use.

Before and After

The mini pads come in several colors,  I purchased several  clipboards and I look forward to making a rainbow of these for quick gifts.

Be sure to make something in honor of Hispanic Heritage and link it up over at CWC/PCW – We’d love to see YOUR creations!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE!!!

Remember that we have a Taste of Summer Blog Hop this weekend, August 18 and 19, so please plan to attend!!   Join us for fun, ‘tasty’ creative ideas and, of course, some Special Gifts!  ;-}

This hop is all about our favorite "flavors" of summer. Projects should include any type of food or drink that is a summertime favorite for you, your family or the recipient of your project.