Hunting Dog Birthday Card

My husband's birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to make a card that was a little different from the average birthday card. I really like the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge and use it a lot for my card projects.  Since my husband  likes to watch Duck Dynasty, I thought the hunting dog would make a cute card. I wanted the card to have a rustic feel so I used burlap ribbon for the dog's background. Paper Pups can be purchased for a limited time through Cricut.com.

Directions for Hunting Dog Birthday Card:

Cricut Paper Pups cartridge
White, tan, brown, cream and aqua cardstock
My Minds Eye Indie Chic Nutmeg Paper Stack-aqua glitter dotted card stock
Burlap ribbon or a piece of tan burlap approximately 4 inches wide by 4 inches high
Copper colored small brads
DCWV Mariposa Paper Stack
Small golden self adhesive pearls (3)
Fine point black Sharpie pen
Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Tea Dye
Small craft sponge
Zots- large, medium and 3D
Aqua and white dotted ribbon
Gogglie eyes (small)
Martha Stewart Maple Leaf paper punch

1.  Using a greeting card program print the birthday verse on the inside of the card. Use the half fold option and white card stock. Fold the card in half.

2.  Load the Paper Pups cartridge in the Cricut machine and cut the hunting dog at 3 inches out of brown card stock. Press the Solid and Hunting Dog keys and cut the dog out of cream card stock. Assemble the dog. Glue a small eye on the dogs face. Color the nose, trigger gun barrel and back of the gun with the black Sharpie. Attach the small pearls to the dog's collar. Cut Happy Birthday out of aqua card stock at 1 1/2 inches (press the Solid, Shift and Birthday Dog keys).

3.  Cut a piece of 4 inch wide burlap ribbon approximately 4 inches long. Attach the 3D Zots to the back of the dog. Center the dog on the ribbon and press in place. Attach a small copper brad in each corner of the ribbon.

4.  Cut the aqua glitter dotted card stock approximately 4 3/4 inches high by 4 1/2 inches wide. Place the card stock on an angle so that the upper point is approximately 1 1/4 inches from the top of the card. Attach the large Zots to the back of the card stock and press in place. Trim off the corners that extend past the edges of the card. Glue Happy Birthday at the top of the card over the aqua dotted card stock backed image.

5.  Center the burlap ribbon over the aqua dotted card stock. Attach 3D Zots to the back of the ribbon and press in place.

6.  Using the Martha Stewart Maple Leaf paper punch and the tan and orange glittered card stock punch 5 tan leaves and 6 orange glittered leaves. Attach the medium Zots to the back of the leaves. Alternate orange and tan leaves along the bottom of the burlap ribbon, under the dog's feet. Alternate tan and orange leaves along the left side of the ribbon. Place a tan leaf at the top of the aqua dotted card stock, just under Happy Birthday. Glue a tan and orange leaf to the right of Happy Birthday and an orange leaf to the left.

7.  Cut a piece of aqua and white dotted ribbon the length of the card plus 1/4 inch. Attach small Zots to the back of the ribbon. Position the ribbon 1/2 inch from the bottom of the card and press in place. Tie a small bow from the ribbon and attach to the ribbon border.

8.  Using a small craft sponge and the distress ink, lightly pounce the ink over the white card background.

Merci Beaucoup!

Lately I have resolved to be more organized and not wait until the last minute to make cards, decorations and gifts. So far I'm off to a good start- the Halloween decorations are almost finished and cards are being made before I actually need them.  I bought an accordion type file at Staples to store the finished cards. The cards are then filed by category: thank you, birthday, etc.

 I really like the Paper Pups cartridge and wanted to use it for a thank you card.  This card also allowed me to use the Spellbinders die and Prima flowers that I had been wanting to use for some time.

Directions for Merci Beaucoup Card:

Aqua and white dotted ribbon
Prima Flowers Ballerina Blooms Margot
Cricut Paper Pups Cartridge
White and grey card stock
DCWV All Dressed Up mat stack- aqua and green dotted card stock
DCWV Collage Stack-green marbled card stock
Spellbinders Nestabilities Fleur de lis rectangles-large rectangle
Sizzix Big Kick or other die cutting machine
Zots


1.  Use a greeting card program to print a thank you card on white card stock. Score the card and fold in half.

2.  Cut Birthday Dog at 1 1/2 inches out of grey card stock; using the Paper Pups cartridge. Press the Solid key and cut the dog out of white card stock. Assemble the dog, layering the grey outline over the solid white dog. Use a fine point black Sharpie or other felt tip pen to draw in the dog's eyes.

3.  Use the Spellbinders die and the Sizzix to cut the large rectangle out of the green marbled card stock from the Collage stack. Cut a mat approximately 1/4 inch larger (on all sides) than the large rectangle.

4.  Attach Zots to the back of the dog. Center the dog on the rectangle and press into place. Attach Zots to the back of the rectangle (in the center and each corner) and center the rectangle on the mat, leaving a 1/4 inch border all the way around.

5.  Glue a gold Ballerina Bloom to the upper left edge of the rectangle.

6.  Cut two pieces of ribbon the width of the card plus 1/4 inch. Place the ribbon approximately 1/4 inch from the top of the card and the left end of the ribbon close to the fold of the card and glue in place. Fold the right end of the ribbon over the edge of the card and glue to secure. Repeat with the other piece of ribbon, placing it 1/4 inch from the bottom of the card.

7.  Tie a small bow with the aqua print ribbon and glue the bow to the center of the top ribbon.

Afternoon in Paris Clipboard

I'm finally back in my studio again. I was on vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC. Myrtle Beach was great, the weather was beautiful and the beach was relaxing. It was the perfect vacation and then three days before the end of the vacation I came down with Strep Throat and a 102 degree F. fever. C'est domage! That's what it's like to be me!

Now that I'm back in my studio the first thing that I did was to finish a project that I started in March. The Afternoon in Paris clipboard is based on a project in Julie Nuttig's book Collage Couture. I came across this book while browsing in the bookstore. The Collage Couture is beautifully done- the pictures are inspiring and there is a step by step guide to completing projects shown in the book. I was inspired by the Japanese Garden clipboard. I could use a clipboard in my studio to corral stray notes. Just because clipboards are functional items why do they have to be plain and boring? For my project I chose a French theme (of course). I covered the clipboard in printed paper using the instructions on page 106 of the book. I drew a fashion figure using the instructions on page 10 of the book and added clothing. Next I used the Cricut to cut out the Eiffel Tower and the poodle. I added an inspirational quote and a butterfly to complete the clipboard.

 

Directions for Afternoon In Paris Clipboard:

Collage Couture by Julie Nuttig (available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble)

Lucite clipboard (available at Walmart)

K&Company Sera Sera Paper Pad- I used gold  and orange print paper and a scrap of blue print

K&Company Abrainna Paper Pad- blue and purple print paper- for figure's dress

Newspaper

Mod Podge

Foam brush

Butterfly- I used the Recollections gossamer butterfly from Michaels

Cricut cartridges- Summer in Paris and Paper Pups

White, gray, parchment, brown (for the figure's hair) and pale pink card stock

Tim Holtz Tea Dye and Tattered Rose distress ink

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist- Pearl, Cherry Blossom, Raven

Black Sharpie

Narrow blue ribbon

Recollections self stick gold beads

Piece of pink tulle

Decorative edge scissors

1.   Tear gold and orange print paper in pieces and apply to the clipboard following the directions on pages 106 and 107 of the book.

2.   Draw a fashion figure on tracing paper according to the instructions on page 6 in the book. Draw the clothing and the hair as directed in the book. I cut my figure out of news print. I tied a piece of pink tulle around the figure's waist as a belt.

3.  Cut a 6 1/2 inch Eiffel Tower out of pale pink card stock using the Cricut Summer in Paris cartridge.

Apply Tattered Rose distress ink randomly over the tower. Next apply Tea Dye distress ink around the bottom, top and sides of the tower. Lightly spray the tower with Cherry Blossom Glimmer Mist and let it dry. Lightly spray the tower with Raven Glimmer Mist and let it dry.

4.   Using the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge cut a poodle at 1 3/4 inches out of gray card stock. Next press the black out key and cut the poodle out of white card stock. Assemble the poodle and lightly spray with Pearl Glimmer Mist and set aside to dry. Use the Sharpie to color the poodle's nose and eye.

5.   Type the quote: Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. -Eugene Delacroix and print it on parchment card stock using the font and size of your choice. Cut the quote out using decorative scissors. Glue the quote on to a small piece of blue patterned card stock.

6.   Position the Eiffel Tower to the left hand side of the clipboard and glue in place using Modge Podge. Position the fashion figure in the center of the clipboard and glue in place using Modge Podge. Glue the quote to the right of the fashion figure's head. Glue the poodle to the right of the fashion figure's foot. Cut a piece of narrow blue ribbon and loop in around the figure's wrist and attach the other end behind the poodle. Place a small gold bead self stick bead around the wrist loop and at the top of the leash.

7.   Glue the butterfly to the clip. Cover the entire clipboard with a coat of Modge Podge to seal it.

Poodle Valentine Card

The Cricut Paper Pups cartridge is so cute and versatile. I really like this cartridge and wanted to use it to make another Valentine's Day card for my husband (who has been banned from reading my blog until Valentine's Day is over). Thursday we had a wintery mix (snow and ice) so it was a good day to work on some cards. Like the last two cards I decided to use a French verse for the greeting. Mon amour pour toi est eternal (My love for you is eternal) just seemed to work well with this card.




Directions for Poodle Valentine Card:

Black, dark pink, pale pink, green and light grey card stock
K & Company Black and White patterned card stock
Cricut Paper Pups cartridge
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Nine; Sizzix or other die cut machine
Pink ribbon with white hearts
Clear stick on rhinestones
Martha Stewart Holidays Paper Rose Embellishments
Martha Stewart Lace Heart border punch, Rose Leaf paper punch and Lace Heart edge punch
Bone folder
Large and small foam dots
Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist
1. Fold a piece of light grey card stock in half lengthwise and crease with a bone folder.

2. Use the Martha Stewart Lace heart edge punch to punch a heart out of dark pink card stock. Next punch a heart border out of the same card stock using the Lace Heart border punch. Save four hearts from the border punch left overs.

3. Place a piece of black and white patterned card stock on top of the Spellbinders large label and cut it with the Sizzix or other die cut machine. Cut a piece of pink and white heart patterned ribbon to fit the lower edge of the label and glue in place. Tie a small bow and glue in the center of the ribbon.

4. Cut a piece of black card stock 4 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches high. Glue the pink lace heart border under the bottom edge of the black card stock. Place foam dots on the back of the label. Center the black and white label on the black card stock and press in place. Glue the four small left over hearts in each corner of the black card stock. Glue the black card stock framed poodle approximately 2 1/2 inches from the top of the card.

5. Using the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge press the solid key and cut a 2 3/4 inch poodle out of pink card stock. Turn off the solid key and cut a poodle out of light grey card stock. Assemble the poodle and spray lightly with Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist. When the poodle is dry color the nose black and fill in the eye area (add eyelashes if desired) with a fine point black marker. Place three small rhinestones around the poodle's neck to make a collar. Put several small foam dots on the underside of the poodle. Attach the poodle to the label just above the ribbon.

6. Center the dark pink lace heart under the pink lace heart border and glue in place.

7. Print Mon amour pour toi est eternal or the Valentine's greeting of your choice on white paper, using Microsoft word and Monotype Corsiva font at 18. Trim the paper to approximately 3 inches wide by 3/4 inches high and glue on to a piece of dark pink card stock. Leave a small border around the white paper. Cut a piece of black card stock slightly larger than the piece of dark pink and glue the previous layers on top of the black. Position the framed greeting at a slight angle across the top left portion of the card.

8. Place two light pink and one dark pink rose in the upper right hand portion of the card, overlapping them slightly. Press in place. Using the green card stock and the Martha Stewart Rose Leaf paper punch, punch out three leaves and glue them under the edges of the roses.

Paper Pups Valentine Card

As I was putting away my Christmas decorations I realized that Valentine's Day is only a month away. I need to start my projects now in order to have them finished by the holiday.

Brittany gave me the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge for Christmas. I absolutely love this cartridge and wanted to use it to make a Valentine's card for my husband. Since I'm learning to speak French I decided to use a French phrase rather than a traditional Valentine's Day phrase. I typed Mon coeur t'appartient (My heart belongs to you) in Microsoft Word and printed it out on white paper.



Directions For Paper Pups Valentine Card:

Cricut Paper Pups cartridge
Prima Flowers-Spring Assortment
Cuttlbug Swiss Dots embossing folder and embossing machine
White, dark grey, light grey, pale pink and medium pink and scraps of green and pink patterned card stock
Sheer white ribbon
Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace Deep Edge Punch and Rose Leaf punch
White Lace trim
Green Ink
Coffee

1. Fold a piece of 8 1/2 by 11 inch card stock in half lengthwise.

2. Using the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge press the birthday dog and black out keys. Cut the dog at 2 inches out of white card stock. Press the birthday dog key and cut the outline of the dog out of light grey card stock. Press the shift key and the love dog key and cut the hearts out of medium pink card stock. Assemble the dog.

3. Punch a strip of eyelet lace out of white card stock (the length of the card stock) using the Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace punch.

4. Dip the eyelet lace card stock in coffee to age it. I saved the coffee grounds from my morning coffee and poured boiling water over them to make the coffee for this project. I poured the coffee in a shallow baking pan and soaked the card stock for 10 minutes. I carefully removed the wet card stock and laid it on a paper towel to dry. I repeated the process (3 times) until the card stock had an aged look. Let the card stock dry thoroughly.

5. Place a piece of pale pink card stock in the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and emboss it. Cut the card stock to 3 1/2 inches wide by 4 1/2 inches high. Lightly sand the surface to highlight the dots. Attach the dog to the card stock using foam dots. Glue the hearts above the dog's head.

6. Cut a piece of dark grey card stock 3 1/2 inches wide by 4 1/4 inches high. Cut a piece of medium pink card stock 4 inches wide by 5 inches high. Rotate the grey card stock to the left and glue on top of the medium pink card stock. Attach the pale pink card stock to the grey card stock with foam dots.

7. After the eyelet lace card stock dries glue it to the center of the white card stock card. Center the framed dog image on the card and glue it over the eyelet lace.

8. Using Microsoft Word and the Casalon 540 font at 18, type Mon coeur t'apparient and print it out on white paper. Trim the greeting to 2 1/4 inches wide by 3/4 inch high. Cut a piece of pink patterned card stock 2 1/2 inches wide by 1 1/4 inches high. Center the greeting on the pink patterned card stock and glue it in place. Place the greeting in the upper left hand side of the card and angle it so the right edge of the patterned card stock rests on the eyelet lace. Glue in place.

9. Tie a small bow with the sheer white ribbon. Glue the bow to the top left corner of the pink patterned card stock.

10. Punch two rose leaves out of green card stock, using the Martha Stewart Rose Leaf paper punch. Ink the edges of each leaf to give it some dimension. Glue a pink Prima Flowers Rose to the eyelet lace near the bottom of the card. Glue the rose leaves just under the rose.

11. Cut a piece of lace the length of the card. Tuck the lace under the front of the card so that only the edge of the lace shows. Glue in place.