Fishing you a Happy Birthday!

Yesterday morning, I came downstairs to find my almost 9 year old, Cubby, watching TV. I am slightly embarrassed to say that he is usually indulging in a Spongebob episode that he has already seen 1000 times. Yesterday, however, he was watching Sports Center! I don't know why, but the idea of my baby watching sports on TV made me exceptionally emotional. I know it seems silly, but they REALLY do grow up quickly.

If you follow my blog (or stop by from time to time) you probably remember my friend who inspired me to begin my "Year of Holiday Cards" project. Well, her birthday is tomorrow and I felt it only appropriate to make he something special to celebrate. I decided that she would be the recipient of my very first easel card. With the help of an online tutorial by Splitcoaststampers, I was able to complete my task!! Thanks to them for the easy to follow instructions! I don't have a stamp that works with a fishy birthday card, so I came up with "Fishing" You a Happy Birthday! I printed it out from my computer and cut it out with my Recollections scallop punch. I thought it looked lonely as one layer, so I added two more scallops behind it in a staggered arrangement, and that also served to let the easel card rest against it.

Panda Hugs!
J-

Recipe

Easel Card Base

Piece of plain purple Recollections card stock 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" - score at 4 1/4" and 6 3/8"

Fold in half and then fold the small section in the opposite direction

With the small section up, add adhesive and attach a 4 1/4" x 4/14" card from the top of the section

 

The video from Splitcoaststampers helped me to understand exactly what to do, so definitely check it out! 

Top card

I cut the frame for this card from the SEI Crafts Couture stack at 4 1/4" and used the same cut I did for my Shadow Box Card.  The fishbowl and fish are both from the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge. <Fishbowl> is the shift cut and I set it to 2" and used layers 1, 2 and 3 on the shift as well. <Fish> is cut at 1" and it is the regular cut. I used layers 1-3 for this as well. I added Stickles to the middle of the fish to make it stand out. The sand layer for the bowl was cut with the the glitter paper in the Mariposa mat stack. After I assembled the bowl, I added the fish with a pop up glue dot and then the bowl was added to the card with pop up glue dots as well. I added 2 sizes of light green Recollections crystals to look like bubbles coming out of the fish's mouth. Finally, I added three Recollections pearls to the card for an extra touch.

Bottom card

I added a white square cut at 4" x 4" and a lavender on top cut to 3 3/4". After I added the white, I taped a piece of Offray 7/8" Sunburst Rainbow ribbon to the lavender piece and taped it with Scotch tape under the piece. Then I used adhesive to place it on top. I added the 3 scallop sentiment on top of it using dimensionals.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Getting Cricky with K Andrews - Argh Matey! Use a Pirate or Fish
Birthday Sundaes Challenge #46 - Birthday Card with Sentiment
For Your Inspiration Challenge #25 - inspired by the water and the round domes on the buildings

You're Boot-iful

Since I already posted today, this one is super quick. I am obsessed with my new SEI Couture stack paper!! This is my latest card.

Panda Hugs!
J-

Recipe

Card Base

1. Cut a piece of lavender Recollections card stock to 10" x 5" and scored at 5"

2. Cut a piece of dark purple Recollections card stock to 4" x 4" and ran it through the cuttlebug

3. Cut a strip of bright green paper to 1" x 5" and used blue Offray 1/8" ribbon (taped it behind the strip)

4. I added the green strip to the lavender base and then adhered the dark purple on top of it

Boots

I used the SEI Crafts Couture stack and the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge p. 31 <Duck> cut at 18" on the accessories function.  I tied a piece of white Offray 1/8" ribbon to each to look like laces.  Finally, I added bigger clear jewels across the top and Recollections green jewels down the toes

Sentiment

Used my computer and typed out "You're Boot-iful" - printed it on bright green card stock and then punched it out with my Recollections scallop punch. I cut two more scallop punches in lavender and yellow and added them together (staggered) with dimensionals. Finally, I cut off the bottom of the sentiment scallop so it lines up with the edge of the right boot.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Bitten by the Bug 2 - Nate's ABCs/Boots

Spread the Love

Happy Valentine's Day!!  Here are a few more Valentine's I made this year. I had LOTS of fun with them, but now I am ready to move on the the next holiday!

Rock Princess Cartridge

For my son (Cubby) - It says You Rock!

Create a Critter and Pagoda cartridges

For my friend/co-teacher - It says Friends make life bearable!

Create a Critter and Pagoda cartridges

For my friend

The Night Before Valentine's

'Twas the night before Valentine's and all through the house,

Not a creature is stirring, well me, but no mouse,

The cards were set out on the mantle with care,

With the hope that the Stickles would dry via air.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of Valentine's danced in their heads,

And Momma with her Cricut while Daddy was asleep,

Changed the speed and set the blade depth, careful not to cut too deep.

When out of the Cricut arose such a clatter,

As she used the Create a Critter cartridge with paper on the mat(ter),

Two Valentine's for teachers and many more for friends,

Embellished with lace and ribbon and white Galaxy gel pens.

Since it's late and I am tired and this poem's end is in sight, 

Happy crafting to all and to all a good night!

Here are the the cards I made for Bunny and Cubby's teachers. I went with these adorable apples from Create a Critter because they are just too darn cute!!

A Joyful Gift of Love(bug)

Happy Saturday! I am having a wonderful day. This morning, my son's rec basketball team had a game. The other team was VERY aggressive. After being hit in the head with the basketball, my son was very frustrated. We had a talk about the fact that his team plays fairly and I told him that the best way to pay the other team back for bad behavior would be to win. 30 minutes later, his team won 22-16!

After we got home, my husband took the children to the Home Depot workshop to make heart boxes for Valentine's Day and I was able to get my lesson plans done.  My son and I worked on some fun crafty Valentine's for a while and then, my sister and brother-in-law and new baby niece came over and we got to spend some time together.  All in all, it was a great day!

One of the crafts we worked on was this adorable lovebug gift card holder. I used the recipe for a Joy Fold card and, instead of keeping the bottom flap open, I used adhesive on the right and left side to create a pouch for a gift card!

Gift card pouch on the inside

Recipe

Joy Fold Gift Card Holder

Base – 4 ¼ X 6 ¼

Score – 4 ¼

Smaller card – 3 X 6

Score - 3

The pink and white base card is from the My Mind's Eye Love Nest Stack by Carina Gardner and the red card on front is from the Mariposa Matstack by DCWV. I used a piece of pink Recollections cardstock for the layer on the inside and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder.

Flying Heart, Ladybug & Lovebug sentiment

Both are cut at 2" from the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge on p. 66

<Ladybug1> standard cut and <heart> shift cut - I cut the regular cut, layer 1 and layer 2 for both

I used Recollections cardstock for the ladybug and the winged heart shadow. The wings match the My Mind's Eye Love Nest paper.


I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Cooking with Cricut - Challenge #71: Child's Valentine - Must use Pink, Red and White
card makin' mamas - Challenge #38: Valentine 
My Sheri Crafts Challenge #78: Love is in the Air 
Die Cuttin' Divas - Challenge #50: Anything Goes 

I am also linking to:
Sundays are Lovely #6 at Jaihart

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day! Every time I blink, another holiday pops up, just like this little groundhog who is checking things out.  To be honest, with the 63 degree weather, this little guy probably came out early and was sunbathing on the beach in NJ yesterday!!

Last night, I was talking to my friend who inspired me to start my Year of Holiday Cards extravaganza, and we were having a hard time coming up with ways to celebrate Groundhog Day. I suggested that either she should repeat everything she says twice, or make shadow drawings. If you have any suggestions, leave me a comment and I will suggest them to her. I had a lot of fun with this card and with my new Cricut Designer's Calendar cartridge! I thought it would be perfect for my holiday-based endeavor and, immediately, it has come in handy.

Recipe

Card Base

Card is the <Milk> card from Just Because Cards cut at 5 1/2" from the

Martha Stewart Woodland Critters Stack

All of the layers are cut from Recollections cardstock

Yellow layer is cut to 4 1/2 X 4 1/2 and embossed with flowers on my Cuttlebug

Orange layer is cut to 4 X 4

Wood Grain strip on top is cut at 4 X 2 and is the flip side of the paper used for the base card

Groundhog with shadow

Brown groundhog is cut from Designer Calendar cartridge cut at 3 1/2"

White shadow is the same cut at 3 1/4"

The black hole is the <Skunk> cut from Create a Critter at 2"

I used a white gel pen to go over the contour marks on the groundhog to make them stand out more and used Stickles on the white shadow and the black hole for a glittery effect

I used two layers of dimensionals to attach him so he would stand out more than the sentiment

Sentiment

<March> Cut in brown and white, both at 1" from the Designer's Calendar cartridge

I layered the two colors on top of each other for a shadowed effect

Then, I added Stickles to the white layer to up the sparkle effect

I used one layer of dimensionals to make the sentiment pop!

I am entering this card into the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp - Animal Antics

G'Day Mate - Happy Australia Day

G'day Mate! Happy Australia day. If you just stumbled upon us here at Glitter Panda, you are so lucky! Today we have the second card in our new Year of Holiday Cards EXTRAVAGANZA!! Since I had never heard of Australia Day, you might be interested to know that it is the official national day of Australia.

To celebrate Australia Day, my friend bought Vegemite. In case you aren't a Vegemite expert, I did some research for you. According to the Kraft website, "VEGEMITE spread is a nutritious and versatile food. Proudly made in Australia, it’s one of the world’s richest known sources of Vitamin B." It is a concentrated yeast extract that Australians use on toast because "It’s far more tooth and gum friendly than jams or choc nut spreads, without compromising on taste." Who knew?!

Today, while my friend was eating Vegemite with her family, I was assembling this super cute Koala card in honor of the holiday. I actually cut ALL of the components out yesterday. They were so much easier to cut because I designed everything on my BRAND NEW GYPSY!!! I added the side view of the card because it is hard to see the dimension from the front. I used dimensionals to attach the black circle and then more to add the Koala. Her flower in her hair is also dimensional!! My daughter LOVED this card so I think she will give it to her teacher for Valentine's Day (although she did say she wanted to keep it for herself!).

Recipe

Koala

Koala - Cricut Create a Critter cartridge p.49 - cut at 2 1/2" ("Koala,"layer 1, layer 2)

Flower - "Koala" Accessory & Accessory shift - I added a little jewel in the middle for some bling

You can't see it from the picture, but the Koala's top layer is a shimmery white Recollections paper from their Precious Metals collection

Beary Sweet Sentiment

Beary - Gypsy font - I used my NEW Gypsy to weld the letters together

Sweet - Create a Critter cartridge p.61  - "Skunk" on Phrase feature

I added another jewel after the sentiment for an extra pop

Card Base

Cricut Just Because Cards cartridge - "Truck" cut at 5 1/2" using DCWV Bella Armoire
Red square and black circle were scraps I had from previous projects!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

My Creative Time - Throwback Thursday - Valentine's Day Challenge
My Sheri Crafts - Challenge #77 - New Things (used my NEW Gypsy to weld letters and to design the card)

These Little Piggies...

We were so busy all weekend that we didn't have a minute to stop.  My son had a basketball tournament and I must say he played EXCEPTIONALLY well.  I was such a proud mom!!  Now that the weekend is over, it's back to school and midterms start at the end of this week.  With all of the grading on the horizon, I am sure I will not get a lot of good quality crafting time, so I took a little while this evening to get into the upcoming holiday spirit. Love is in the air. Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I wanted to create a card to celebrate! I LOVE "punny" cards and this sentiment was perfect for a mother/child Valentine. I hope you like it as much as I do :) I went into my stash this week and found the fabulous Sweet Stack from DCWV. I have had it for quite some time and realized it was perfect for Valentine's colors and designs!! I also pulled out my Stickles for the first time in a while.  I have been working with loose glitter and thought it would be nice to go back to the Stickles for a change.

Recipe

Card base

Just Because Cards cartridge "Flower2" p.52 cut at 6"

Card stock is DCWV- The Sweet Stack

Little Piggies

Create a critter cartridge "Pig" p.28 - Mommy cut at 2 1/2" and child at 2"

All of the card stock is by Recollections - the base was cut from black, lighter pink for layer 1, darker pink for layer 2 and lighter pink for layer 3 (snout)

I used Stickles on the little snouts and the skirts for a little touch of bling

The piggies are attached using dimensionals to give the card more interest

Hogs and Kisses Sentiment

Just Because Cards cartridge "Pig" p.70 cut on the Word feature

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Use it Tuesday - Challenge #24 All About Love (used my Stickles and The Sweet Stack)
Sentimental Sundays - Challenge #86 Die Cuts
Sassy Lady Valentine Challenge 

Just Chillin' - Create a Critter Just Because

Just before bed this evening, my daughter reminded me that she needed an outfit for 80s day tomorrow.  Being the last minute diva that I am, I feel I rose to the challenge. I found a neon shirt that is just too small on her and quickly googled "make an 80s shirt."  Luckily, 2 videos popped up and I was able to follow the directions to create a very Flashdance looking creation. I grabbed an old pair of baseball socks from my son's drawer (he doesn't play anymore - basketball is his game now!).  I cut the toes off the socks and had the perfect pair of legwarmers. Add to that a pair of bright turquoise leggings and a white tank underneath and "she's a maniac, maniac on the floor!"

sorry for the blur, no pics of the kids online :)

The reason I didn't start on her outfit sooner was because I was at school somewhat late this afternoon. I am the yearbook adviser and we have deadlines to meet, so that means some late days at this time of year. Luckily, I love being a teacher.  Every day, there is a new challenge and every day is different. You never know what will happen.  One day, the kids are on the edge of their seats, ready to learn something new, and the next, they are pushing just a little harder to see what they can get away with.  A student said something in school today that I found so funny I actually laughed until I was crying!  A good attitude and a lot of heart makes every day an adventure.

Since midterms are coming up, it is very busy at school. It is hard for me to do my crafting any time other than the weekend. SO, when I get an hour to myself, I like to try to fit in a cute little card that I can enter into a challenge or two.  This card was inspired by the Cooking With Cricut Wednesday challenge this week. The little penguin is using his adorable scarf to keep himself warm. In my rush to get the card done, I went CRAZY with the glitter. In hindsight, I would have backed off the glitter on the igloo and the penguin and just used it to give the snow a glittery effect. I loved the phrase and after cutting it, I realized the blue color was VERY close to the color of the sky, so I glittered that up too, thinking it would stand out more. When I saw it was still too close, I cut my own little cloud and placed it behind the words. This served to give the card a little more dimension AND to make the words POP! I hope you enjoy this little guy!

Recipe

Penguin and Igloo (shift)- Create a Critter Cartridge p. 39

All components cut at 2"

The Penguin, Igloo, Layer 1, Layer 2, Igloo Shadow and Phrase (on regular and shift) were cut using Recollections card stock. I added black Studio G glitter (keep buying this from the $1 bin at my local craft store!) to the black part of the penguin and silvery blue glitter to the igloo. I used Zig to make zig zag glue strokes on the igloo and then added the glitter. Then I scraped it off to give the igloo a more icy look.

Card - Just Because Cards - Bird p.39

The Card base was cut on Real Dial Size at 6" using Martha Stewart's Woodland Critters pad. For the snow layer, I cut at 6" using the shift function with Real Dial Size turned off. Finally, I added iridescent Studio G glitter to make the snow shine and then attached it to the card using monoadhesive.  After the card was assembled, I added the Penguin using pop dots to give him more dimension. I also used pop dots for the Just Chillin' sentiment. Finally, I cut a cloud from white paper, added monoadhesive and slid it under the Just Chillin' sentiment.

I am entering this card into the following challenges/link parties:

Cooking with Cricut - Winter Warmies Challenge
Anything Goes Challenger Blog - Challenge 58 Anything goes at Anything Goes 
Use it Tuesday - Challenge #23 All About Winter
Jaihart - Sundays are Lovely Link Party