Weeks 1-4 of the Twilight Swap

Week 1 - ATC

I made two ATCs because I couldn't decide on one. :) The first is called "Bound". I chose the title because Edward and Bella would forever be together. I absolutely LOVE the pic I used. I didn't do much embellishing because I wanted the emphasis to be on the picture and the quote.

I printed the picture and the quote on glossy photo paper. The photo was cropped at shorter width than a typical trading card so that I could use the patterned paper behind it. The picture is adhered to the paper with 4 small brads. The quote was printed in a script-y font and reads:

"The bond forged between us was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. And no matter how much more special or beautiful or brilliant or perfect than me he might be, he was as irreversibly altered as I was. As I would always belong to him, so would he always be mine."
Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 24, p.527

I pop-dotted that up above the photo to give the card some depth, then added 3 skittles in Currant (can be purchased from Jamie) along the top.

The second ATC, entitled "Two Thoughts", didn't turn out quite like I imagined. I liked the idea behind it so Erica received it anyway. :)

The pic is printed at full ATC size (2.5 x 3.5 inches) and the quotes are printed at...I can't remember! The pic is of the Cullens in the cafeteria. As you can see, Edward is staring (or glaring according to Bella), at Bella. The quote on the left is from Twilight and says:

"He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind."
Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 1, p.24

The quote on the right if from Midnight Sun and says:

"I could hear nothing but silence from the place she was sitting. Nothing at all. I felt a moment of unease."
Edward Cullen, Midnight Sun, Chapter 1, p.6
Download file from www.stepheniemeyers.com

The quotes are pop-dotted up and a red, sheer ribbon between the quotes. Two sets of three red-colored skittles finish it off. (I think the skittles are a color called Chili Pepper and are also from Jamie.)

I really like the contrast of Edward and Bella's thoughts at this particular moment in time. He is frowning because he can't "hear" her while she thinks he is glaring at her.

I sure wish Stephenie would finish Midnight Sun!

Week 2 - Altered Item

My altered item for Erica was a wooden box that I purchased from Hobby Lobby.

I took all the hardware off of the box and painted it with a couple of coats of dark red acrylic hobby paint - inside and out. The hardware received a coat of flat black spray paint. After the box dried, I wrapped it in a length of lace material (also from HL), tied it in a knot at the bottom, then spray painted through the lace with the flat black spray paint. Some areas I applied the paint heavier, others lighter. You can see the detail in the above pic. I then coated it with a couple of coats of a clear spray paint, the reattached all the hardware.

The inside bottom and top of the lid is lined in a cranberry felt that I purchased from Hobby Lobby. I added a chipboard swirl and Erica's initials to the lid, then lined the perimeter of the lid in a a length of this jeweled-like stuff I bought from Hobby Lobby. It doesn't have a name on the spool. The bottom of the box is lined with ribbon as well.



Erica's initials were cut out of a manila file folder using the Winter Woodlands cartridge. I painted the letters with a black acrylic paint with a little pearl paint additive mixed in. After that dried, I used the same pearl additive as ink to stamp the swirly pattern on top. The E & M are adhered directly to the lid, but the K is pop-dotted so that it sits above the E & M. I used extra glue on the pop dots.

I finished the box off by adding the black lace around the lip and adding the swirled rhinestones to the top.

Week 3 - 2 ITTs

2 inchies, 2 twinchies and 2 trinchies - I used Photoshop to create all of these. Each has a quote from the books or saying associated with Twilight. All of the hearts and the apple are pop-dotted.

Week 4 - Paper Bag Album

This was one of my favorite items!! This is a waterfall paper bag album. I really didn't know what I was doing, and I can't remember exactly what I did! I couldn't really find directions on the web for one, so I winged it. Hopefully, I'll be able to recreate it.

I'll let the pictures do the talking:












Weeks 5-8 will be posted sometime soon.

Twilight Swap!!!

Did I have fun completing this partner swap hosted by TheSilentScrapper from the Cricut message board!!

I'll post details of the individual items later. For now, here is a list of what we had to make:

* An ATC (Artist Trading Card)
* Alter an item
* 2 each of ITTs (Inchies, Twinchies, Trinchies)
* Paper bag album
* Charm bracelet
* 5 cut outs or embellishments
* T-shirt
* 5 greeting cards
* A game
* A journal
* 2 bookmarks
* A surprise item

Mo Manning "Bat Cat" Card

I joined a Mo Manning card swap on the Cricut messageboard a couple of months ago. I had to make 10 identical A2 cards using one of Mo Mannings digital stamps. When I saw Bat Cat, I knew I had to have it! I love cats and I love Halloween!

So, I purchased Bat Cat along with about 3 other stamps of hers. Her work is incredible. The purchase and download went super easy.

I used Photoshop Elements to resize the image to around 3x3 inches, then placed four on one 8.5x11 blank template. I printed on cardstock and then used my circle cutter to cut the cats out at 4".





I used watercolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color and blend the image. I wanted to give the image a spooky, nighttime feel. I didn't quite accomplish what I had envisioned, but it came close. After it was completely colored, I inked the edge of the circle.




While in Photoshop, I also cropped the mask only from one of the resized bat cats. I placed 12 of these on a blank 8.5x11 template and printed. I colored each of the masks black using the OMS and watercolor pencils. I cut them out, leaving a small tab with which to hold onto the mask. I applied a layer of my favorite glue and covered them in black glitter. After dry, I cut the tab off, then adhered the masks to the top of the colored image using pop dots.




To make the card, I cut an 8.5x11" sheet of black card stock in half, then folded both ends in to the middle. I cut the patterned paper to fit the front folds of the card, inked the edges and glued it down. I glued the image to the right side, the "Happy Halloween" sentiment on the left, then tied the ribbon around the right flap.

The sentiment was printed on 4x6 glossy photo paper using a Halloween font called Eency Weency Spider. The font is white on a dark purple background.




I'm not quite sure if this type of card has a name, but it is my spin on a joy fold card. The inside sentiment is a poem I found online but I can't find the site again to link to it.

I had so much fun making these cards!

Sweet "Rwinchies"

A lady on the Cricut message board hosted a "rwinchie" swap. She had different groups and the only one I was able to sign up for was the sweet group. Rwinchies are just round twinchies! :) (I had to ask what a rwinchie was.)

I had originally signed up with the intentions of doing something with cupcakes. However, I came across this SVG file and knew that I HAD to use it for the sweet group. Isn't it just sweet?! The kids are cut at around 1.25".

The scalloped circle is also an SVG file.

I used a pink Sharpie and faux stitched around the circle. I then adhered the kids with the teeniest, tiniest little pop dots I have ever seen and will never work with again!

After putting the kids on, it still looked plain. Soooo...they sat for awhile...

And a little longer...

And a little longer...

Then, one day I was digging around and the pink ribbon fell on top of the rwinchies that were sitting on my desk. And voila! A bow tied from pink ribbon and attached with a tiny, red heart brad as the finishing touch.

So sweet...


(I laid my faithful laptop's hard drive to rest a few weeks ago, and with it went ALL of my SVG and SCUT files. So, I have no idea where the boy & girl and scalloped circle cuts came from.)

Another Birthday Paint Can

I love making these! This is the fourth one that I have done, and I look forward to making many, many more.

This can is for Ethan. He just turned 3. He is so stinkin' cute! His mom was going to make a volcano cake, but ended up making a present cake instead. I went ahead and made the can as I had originally planned.






All cuts are from Paper Doll Dress Up except for him name, which is from Plantin Schoolbook.

'Thanks' Card

My mom wanted to give a couple of ladies in her office 'thank you' cards. Of course, being the crafty, do-it-all person that I am, I volunteered to make them for her. Oh, I had a number of days to make them, but what did I do? Yep, I waited until the last minute.

Here's what I came up with:



The cloud background was a high-res image that I found through a google search. I printed it on 4x6 glossy photo paper which I cut down to fit on, yep - you guessed it, a Paper Studios kraft card.

The branch is from Winter Woodland and the flowers are from Walk In My Garden. I cut the flowers in two different sizes, curled the petals inward and glued one on top of the other. These were glued on top of the branch.





The 'thanks' is from Walk In My Garden as well and is cut from the same red and yellow that the flowers are cut from.

Simple. Fast. Quick. Procrastination.

Another Birthday Card

I made this birthday card for a very, very dear friend of mine. As we would say in high school, she's my BFF. lol

Let me tell you about Tamara. Tamara is a 'best friend' in every sense of the term. She has always been there for me and all the ups and downs of my life. She was there for me during my break up with my ex, when I moved out of my mom's house right before my 18th birthday, she was a shoulder to cry on with recent issues with my ex, through the happiness of meeting my husband, the births of my children, a sounding board for all my issues, fears, accomplishments, downfalls...I hope that I have been there for her as she has been for me. I have been blessed with the bestest best friend ever!

Tamara's husband calls her "Walela", which I believe means "hummingbird" in Cherokee. (Tamara and I are both Ponca Indian and Sky is Cherokee.) So, I made her a hummingbird card.

The image is Inkadinkadoo's Hummingbird with Flowers rubber stamp, stamped with Stazon. After cutting the image with Martha Stewart's Circle Cutter, I colored and shaded it with watercolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I Stickled the inner part of the flowers as well as portions of the hummingbird.





I took a length of green ribbon and pulled a strand of it along the edge to ruffle it. After it was long enough to circle the image, I cut another circle the same size. I stapled (yes, stapled!) the ribbon around the blank circle. I then adhered the hummingbird stamp onto the ribboned, plain circle. This assembled piece was then adhered to the top of paper from my stash. A length of flower ribbon was glued to the back side of this paper before the whole piece was glued to purple card stock.





The inside of the card said "Happy Birthday", printed on white card stock in purple ink. This was layered on top of green card stock.




Happy Birthday Tamara!

Here's Jamie's card made with the same stamp.

Birthday Card

The same weekend we celebrated my in-laws' 50th, we also celebrated my sis-in-law's 49th birthday. Is that not awesome?

So, being the crafty, procrastinating type, I made her card. And here it is:





The cupcake is a twinchie made by wilsonarts from the Cricut messageboard. I love it! It was from a 'rwinchie' (a round twinchie) swap that I participated in a while back. I'll have to post a pic of the twinchie I made. We were in the 'sweet' group.

Anyway, back on topic.

I used a Paper Studios kraft card again (yes, I have a ton of them). For the background, I layered pink card stock and some cool, dotted paper from Hobby Lobby. (Before adhering the dotted paper to the card stock, I tied a knot in pink ribbon and taped the ends on the back side of the dotted paper.)

I decided the card needed some more oomph. That's where the white dotted thing came in...I can't find the roll to tell you exactly what it is, but I found it in the sewing department of Hobby Lobby. I cut it to length, then slipped it through the knot. I did have to tack it down to the ribbon with glue.

The inside of the card was a simple "Happy Birthday" printed on white card stock in pink ink.

Anniversary Card

My parents-in-law are extremely blessed to have celebrated their 50th anniversary this past February. They are such an inspiration to me! I pray that my husband and I will be able to celebrate our 50th, still in love (hopefully more!) as the day we met.

Being the procrastinator that I am, I made this card the night before after finishing a few pink inchies.




I used a kraft card from Paper Studios. The pink background is card stock that was stamped in white with Stampibilities Swirls and Curls stamp. I then traced EACH AND EVERY SWIRL with a clear/crystal Stickles color. That took awhile but turned out oh so pretty!

As the Stickles dried, I stamped another shade of pink card stock using Timber Brown Stazon ink and an Inkadinkado clear stamp set (either the Flourishes or Butterflies & Birds set). I then stamped, in white, each of the trees with a different stamp from the set(s) - 1 with a heart, 1 says 'bliss' and 1 says 'dream'. I then used my 1" paper punch to punch them out and adhered 2 pink rhinestones at the top.

I tied a knot in the brown ribbon, then taped the ends on the back side of the pink card stock. I matted that with brown card stock and glued the inchies over the brown ribbon. I had to hold each inchie down until the glue dried enough that they didn't keep popping up.


The inside of the card simply said "Congratulations." I printed the sentiment on white card stock, in brown ink and used a script font.

Simple, but elegant. I think. :)

Pink/Brown Inchies

I am hosting a couple of inchie swaps on the Cricut messageboard where you have to use either blue/black, blue/brown, pink/black or pink/brown as the primary color combinations. You are also allowed to use white where needed. Usually, inchie swaps are in groups of 5o or so, but I made mine with only 20 spots. I did this for a couple of reasons. One, it is my first time hosting a swap and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. Two, I really wanted to make mine detailed and with only 20 to make, I was able to spend more on each.

Here is my first set that I made for Group One of the Pink/Brown Swap:




I had sooo much fun making these! And it was super quick to make them considering how much gluing I had to do.

The base is a brown 1" square cut with a Paper Shapers punch. The swirly pattern is a clear stamp from Inkadinkado's Flourishes set stamped with Tsukineko pigment ink in Moonlight White. The pink flowers are mother of pearl beads that I found in Wal-Mart and the center is a clear rhinestone. The three rhinestones along the bottom are pink rhinestones.

These were so much fun to make and I can't wait to make my other sets!

My Twist on an "Angel" for Dolly's Angel Swap

Over the past few months, I have participated in the swaps over on the Cricut Messageboards. They are so much fun, a ton of work and extremely addicting!

One of the more recent swaps that I have participated in was an Angel Swap. There were twelve spots, and I signed up for one spot in the first group.

My original angel was going to be a cat angel. I had planned on cutting out a doll base from either EDPD or PDDU, then adding the cat head from DC (using mulberry paper and making him tear-bearish) as well as a cute outfit and angel wings. Next thing I know, I had decided to make a "rockstar" heart - you know...the heart with wings. It was going to say something like "Rockstar Angel". Well, I couldn't find a heart I liked, so I started searching and came across a cool guitar. I don't know what happened to that idea as I ended up using an SVG file of an old key with a heart for the hole. The wings were also an SVG file. I will have to find the location of the files so I can share them as they are beautiful.

I sent 11 of my 12 in to Dolly as I just HAD to make my husband's Valentine's Day card with mine. Here is the result:



I call this "Key to My Heart Angel". The key is cut out of yellow card stock (see the little heart at the top of the key?). The wings are cut from white card stock and glittered. I then tied a thin piece of sheer, red ribbon around the key above the wings and finished it off by gluing a jewel to the top of the key.

I started the card by stamping the background image using Blazing Red StazOn Ink with Stampbabilities Swirls and Curls stamp on white card stock. I then tied a knot in a scrap piece of ribbon I had lying around and taped the ends on the back of the stamped background. I then pop-dotted the key and added it to the background next to the ribbon. I matted this embellished background piece with red mulberry paper and then glued the whole thing down on a Paper Studios Kraft Card. The Kraft Cards have matching envelopes.

Inside, I stamped the word "LOVE" with the Red Stazon Ink and a stamp I received from a participant in my inchie swaps (Thanks Kelly!!!). I added my own sentiments with a red glitter gel pen from American Crafts which matched the Stazon Ink perfectly.



It turned out beautiful and my husband loved it!

Happy Valentine's Day!