Creative Knockouts Anything Goes Challenge

It is Thursday and that means it is time for another challenge at the Creative Knockouts Challenge Blog.  This week's challenge sponsor is Scrap N Dipity  and you can enter the challenge for a chance to win 3 images.  This week's challenge is a popular one - Anything Goes.  So put on your crafty hat and make something pretty.

Here is what I created for this week's challenge:

My New Glasses Card Recipe

I pulled the digital image - Fenna - My New Glasses into my Cricut Design Space software.  I tried something I have been thinking about trying for a while.  I printed the image on my laser printer.  The first one didn't turn out so well.  The second one was much better.  I then used my Anna Griffin Minc to adhere a pink foil to the image.  The sentiment is a die from Elizabeth Crafts and was cut out of Lawn Fawn Watercolor Cardstock.  The mat was also Lawn Fawn Watercolor Cardstock.  I kept the background simple so the image would have center stage.  

Consider entering the Anything Goes challenge on the Creative Knockouts Challenge blog for a chance to win 3 digi images from Scrap n Dipity.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 3:  7  John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 

WOYWW 449 - The To Do List

I am one of those that has a to do list so that I stay on track.  This week has been especially productive so far and I've checked off several tasks.  You will notice my tree is still up and I think it will be staying up.  My goal is to decorate it for each season.  We'll see how that goes.  

This week is light on evening activities so I am hoping it will be a sushi and desk hoping night.  I do have a design team project due so I will have to finish that up, too.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 3:  3  He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

In a World Where You Can Be Anything - Be Kind

So I have a goal to make at least one inspirational t-shirt a week for the month of January and this week I met my goal.  There has been an effort to make people more aware of bullying and choosing kindness over being mean.  I am a big proponent of the kind campaign.  I have never been bullied and cannot even imagine what it would be like.  I hope that promoting this awareness will bring an end to such a preventable issue.

Be Kind T-shirt Recipe

I was walking through Michaels trying to find something to use my 40% coupon on and I found this awesome looking heat transfer vinyl in my favorite color.  It looks a little like foil, but it's not foil.  I found the saying on Pinterest on a wood plank and brought it into Silhouette Studio and traced it.  I offset 'where' and 'anything' so that I could make the red vinyl stand out.  I actually cut this out using my Silhouette Cameo.  I seriously need to get a Silhouette Cameo 3.  :-)  Why?  I don't know.  It just seems like something I need.  LOL  Using my heat press, adhered the vinyl to a gray shirt.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 3:  1 - 2   In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

Hi and Hugs

Why did we buy these expensive electronic cutting machines?  I bought mine so I wouldn't have to buy those expensive dies.  Now I don't mean it totally replaced metal dies.  I still like those dies with embossing or stitches or piercing.  So today I used my cutting machine to cut out sentiments for my cards.

Hi and Hugs Card Recipe

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink sponged on watercolor paper and then spritzed with water has become my go to for card making recently.  Today, I used Abandoned Coral and Peacock Feathers and instead of spritzing with water, I spritzed with spray starch.  I'm not sure there was much of a difference.  I always decorate a whole sheet of watercolor cardstock and then cut it down so I can make multiple cards.  This time I sponged 2 pieces of watercolor cardstock with these colors, but only sprayed one with spray starch.  Using my Cricut Explore Air 2, I cut out the sentiments out of the second piece of sponged cardstock.  Coordinating cardstock was used to create the card base and mat.  Sequins were added for interest.  I stacked the sentiments on top of each other for dimension and even offset them sometimes.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  51 - 52  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Smiles are Always in Fashion

Last month my t-shirt fashion mission was to create a Christmas/holiday t-shirt for every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It was a stretch goal to say the least, but let's just say I have quite a selection of Christmas/holiday t-shirts for next year.  My t-shirt fashion goal for January is not quite as aggressive.  I've labeled the month of January my inspirational t-shirt month.  I want to create at least one inspirational t-shirt a week for the month of January.  If I find more inspirational sayings I will definitely not hesitate to make more.

Here is the first in my inspirational series.

Smiles are Always in Fashion T-shirt Recipe

I saw this online somewhere and thought it was a good inspirational saying.  This red Gildan t-shirt is one of my favorites.  It is a blue red and has a black heather running through it.  One layer of vinyl would have been sufficient, but I've found a layer of flat vinyl behind a layer of glitter vinyl is even better.  This is black and silver glitter.  The silver glitter isn't just plain silver glitter, it's black silver.  As has become my modus operandi, the saying was pulled from the internet into Silhouette Studio, traced, offset created and saved as an SVG.  The SVG was pulled into Cricut Design Space and the images were cut out using my Maker.  Although that black silver HTV is beautiful, it is not fun to weed.  There are some colors of glitter HTV that for some reason are just not easy to weed.  Black Silver and Hot Pink are the 2 I've found so far.  I had to reach back into the garbage can a couple times to find the word 'in' and dots for the i's.  My Cricut Easy Press was used to adhere the HTV to the t-shirt.  There was a cat sitting on my heat press.  LOL

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt decorating project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  49 - 50  “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[  But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

  

Valentines 4 Kids

It is the first Saturday of the month and that means it is time for a new challenge at the Send a Smile 4 Kids Challenge blog.  The theme for this challenge is Anything Goes or Valentines 4 Kids.  This challenge no longer has sponsors so you will be participating for pride not prize.    

Send a Smile 4 Kids charity is dedicated to collecting and distributing handmade cards to children who are inpatient at Children's Hospitals.  Please send us your handmade kids' cards for holidays, birthdays, and everyday cheer.  Help us put a smile on our kids' faces.

Here is the card I made for the Design Team for this challenge:

Sending You a Hug Card Recipe

I used one of my favorite techniques to create this shaker card.  The background was created by sponging Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink in Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet on to watercolor card stock.  Then it was spritzed lightly with water.  Once it was dry, the heart was cut out with a heart die from Elizabeth Crafts along with another piece of card stock lined up behind the water color card stock.  The sentiment from Penny Black was stamped in Versamark Ink and heat set with Nuvo White Embossing powder.  Small hearts were cut out from left over decorated water color card stock using a Taylored Expression die cut.  Tulle was glued on the back piece of cart stock.  Hearts and sequins were placed in the center of the tulle and then another piece of tulle and the card front were placed on top.  I ended up putting a mat of purple behind the shaker so the 2 pieces of tulle wasn't really necessary.

Thanks for stopping by.  Consider entering the challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids.  More importantly, consider sending some cards for our kids who are in the hospital.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  47 - 48  Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

Leftovers to Create a Card

I don't know about you, but I like using everything I create to make cards.  And when you're cutting things out you often times have left over pieces.  That is what happened while I was making Valentine's cards for my January classes.  I used those left over pieces to create this cute little card.

I used Starch along with Color Burst Metallics to create this background.  I cut out a heart for another card and was left with this piece.  So I used this leftover to create my background.  The Elizabeth Crafts heart die and Penny Black Love die were cut out of leftover pieces  of watercolor card stock that I made for another Valentine's card.  YOU came from My Favorite Things and was stamped in Versamark ink and was heat set with Nuvo White Embossing powder.  The coordinating sequins were in my stash.  The purple mat is Bazzill Bling cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  45 - 46  When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Mini Kitty T

I made my niece a curly kitty t-shirt for Christmas and she loved it.  The image is from the Silhouette Design Store.  I purchased the image and the SVG image so that I could pull it into my Cricut Design Space software and cut it out on my Maker.

My daughter decided that my Granddaughter Kylie should have one.  So I re-sized the image for a smaller shirt in Cricut Design Space and cut it out in pink glitter for the pink shirt I had purchased for Kylie.  I actually purchased a 3 pack of Hanes pink shirts so I still have 2 shirts to decorate.

I decided that this smaller shirt was a perfect canvas for my Cricut Easy Press.  

It worked perfectly.  I purchased some 'mouse pads' for my heat press to use when I have seams, etc.  I use the largest pad to place on the surface of my table.  I used another one of the pressing pads inside the small shirt which I probably didn't even need.  You can see the larger pad under the shirt in the picture.  Weeding was made somewhat easier with my Cricut Bright Pad that I got for Christmas.  I found that I had to bend the glitter HTV in order to see where some of the cuts were.  I need to perfect my weeding with my Bright Pad.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  43 - 44  After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

WOYWW 448 - New Year - Same Desk

It is Wednesday and that means I have to go back to work.  Ugh.  Oh wait - that's not why we're here.  It's Wednesday and that means it is time to take a picture of my desk and share it with the world on Julia's Stamping Ground Blog.  It is a new year and I haven't done much since last year.  We took a trip to Biloxi MS and that is my excuse for not being very productive.

Here is my desk for the first WOYWW post of 2018.

I don't know if there is anything that is different.  Oh well, I have a lot of stuff on my desk - maybe you missed something last week.  One thing that is different is the kitty.  Oliver is a new member of our herd.  My brother's ex fiance was going to take him to the pound so I stood up and took one for the team.  This guy is mischievous.  He's already stolen a stick pin that a friend gave me for Christmas.  My husband put up some weather stripping last night and when he went back downstairs, Oliver had pulled it out and was playing with it.  LOL  I thought it was funny.  Todd did not.

It is Wednesday and that also means it is sushi night.  No dog grooming tonight so I plan on eating sushi, visiting desks and whining about having had to work all day.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  41 - 42  Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 

Valentines with Yupo and TE Mandala

Yep - it's January and it's a new year.  First, I would like to wish my husband Happy 29th Anniversary.  Yep - 29 years.  Some days it feels like 50.  Some days it feels like only 28.  ;-)

If you like to be ahead of the game, I am sure you will be working on Valentine's cards in January to be prepared for February.  I myself work best under pressure.  But I needed cards for my January classes, so here we are.  This card will be recreated during my class at Craft Inn in January.  If you're in the Louisville area - sign up if you're interested in making this card.

Here is my Love Valentine card.

Mandala Love Card Recipe

I saw a blog post where the creator of the card used spray starch, Brushos and Yupo Paper.  You can check out the post here at Stamping with Loll.  I thought I have spray starch.  And then I thought, I don't have Brushos, but I have Colorburst.  Then the thought came to me - I can do this cause I have plastic wrap and Yupo paper, too.  And that's what I used to create this background.  The mandala die is from Taylored Expressions and was cut out using a pretty glitter paper.  Penny Black came out with this beautiful Love die that I cut out in white and black and stacked.  Mat is black card stock.  I do want to stamp something on the inside, but haven't done it yet.

April

Luke 2:   39 - 40   When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.  And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Happy New Year 2018 - Spoiler Alert

Happy New Year!  If you would normally get a Christmas card from me - don't look at the pictures in this post because you will be receiving this card in the mail.  Although I think the card looks better in person than in the pictures.

2018 New Year Card Recipe

This card is based on a New Year Card I found on Pinterest here.  I took some liberties in this CASE, but you can definitely see the 2014 New Year Card in my version.

I cut out the numbers using my Cricut Explore Air 2 (lilac).  I find that when using my Explore Air 2, it is best to always stick with a Deep Cut Blade for paper.  Vinyl - a regular blade will do.  I haven't exactly figured out the best way to cut paper with my Maker as I have been obsessed with HTV lately.  But I digress.  The glitter banner was cut using a MFT banner die.  So the first thing I did was cut out white card stock.  Using Candied Apple Distress Oxide Ink I made the red splatter.  Washi tape was pulled out of its storage container to be used across the bottom of the card.  The MISTI was used to stamp the Happy New Year that is from an old Stampin Up set.  The year, banner and black sequins were glued using Nuvo glue.  A black mat was added and the card front placed on a white card base.  I decided not to include the star because I am going to be making quite a few of these since I didn't get my Christmas cards mailed this year.

I hope everyone has their best year yet in 2018.  Please be safe.  Thank you for stopping by the blog today.  Tune in next time for another paper crafting or t-shirt project.  Have a great day and enjoy the journey and some chocolate.

April

Luke 2:  36 - 38   There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.