Bella Blvd. = Baby Bliss!

It's a fun week week for us designers at Core'dinations Cardstock because we've had the chance to team up with the fabulous designers at Bella Blvd., to share some over the top creations and inspiration on both the Core and Bella blogs!  I'll just say, it's insane how wonderfully these two companies compliment one another, and I'm sure you'll all agree! 

That's right, be sure to check out all the posts at both blogs this week (and go back to check out Monday and today's as well).  There are opportunities to win some great Core and Bella Blvd. products so don't miss out!

For today I designed this baby card featuring Core Essentials and Whitewash paired with the adorable Baby Boy collection from Bella Blvd.  

This baby collection also has fun chipboard and sticker elements to match (take note of that sweet baby giraffe!).  And did you know Bella Blvd. now has their own Washi tape?  They do!! Swoon!! For this card I used some of the cool yellow chevron designer paper tape and I created some super cool alphas by applying some of the tape to a scrap of Core cardstock and then cutting them out using my Cricut. 

I used the Lyrical Letters Cricut cart - Jack Sprat font and cut my letters out at 3/4"... on the Core blog post I had said they were 1/2" letters, but they are 3/4"... sorry! 

Anyway, I only used one row of tape, but you could also line several strips together on top of one another and cut out larger alphas as well!

For this card I also folded some of the paper tape into tabs and used them on the neck of the giraffe diecut which was cut from some yellow WhiteWash Core. I embossed my giraffe die cut (Cricut New Arrival cart - cut at 6") with a Sissix animal print folder, sanded the spots and then went in and added some extra brown tones with a Ranger ink pad and the Ranger blending tool.   This really adds visual interest and texture to the die cut! 

Other product used here:

Core Essentials in green from the Nostalgia pack.

Bella Blvd. Simply Simona Orange Sophisticates Ciao Chipboard alphas.

Bella Blvd. Baby Boy Chipboard and stickers.

Bella Blvd. Baby Boy, Wild About You paper.

Martha Stewart Fringe scissors.

Bakers Twine from The Twinery.

Black pearls by Kaiser.

 

That's all I've got for now, but please remember to come back and visit the Core and Bella Blvd. blogs each day this week... you won't want to miss a thing!  Enjoy! 

Core Blog Hop with Peachy Keen!

Are you  ready for some mid-week fun and inspiration from your favorite cardstock brand?  Look no further... you have come to the perfect spot.  A few designers here with Core'dinations have teamed up with some Peachy Keen Stamps designers to bring you a blog hop full inspiration, so put in a load of laundry, grab your favorite drink and spend some hopping time with us! You know you want to, lol!  And this is a 2 day hop so please do visit us again on Thursday. 

Sooo, let's get started!  You will want to make sure you hit every blog along the way, and may I add, there are giveaways up for grabs!  So here's a complete list of our first day's installment...

Day 1
Core blog: http://www.coredinations.com/index.php/cat...scrapbook-blog/
Nikki Foraker http://scrappinnavywife.blogspot.com
Andrea Amu http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/     *YOU ARE HERE*
Michelle Criswell http://www.scrappinwithmybug.com
April Derrick http://memoryvilla.com/blog/
Leanne Garner http://www.createdbyLeanne.blogspot.com
Debbie Standard http://debbiestandard.blogspot.com/
Raven Baca http://love4stamps.blogspot.com

Today for the hop I'd love to share with you a card set that I created using some way cute stamps that I got to play with in our swap with Peachy Keen stamps.  I had the chance to use an adorable collection called, Bee Happy (PK-244).  I designed two different cards using these super adorable bees...

Aren't they just so stinkin' sweet? 

Tons of other cool product went into making these cards.  Of course I cut out those beehives with my Cricut Expression using the Walk In My Garden cartridge.  Just too perfect for those bees.

Absolutely no patterned paper was used for these designs... strictly Core'dinations cardstock and tons of embossing!  The yellow beehive and the yellow background on the second card is Core Impressions Basic Grey Whimsy cardstock in the "Simon" embossed pattern.  The kraft background and kraft colored beehive is the Heritage Kraft (GX-3100-09) from the Graphic 45 Signature Series Core collection.  The cool hexagon embossing on the kraft was created by using the " So Trendy " Spellbinder's M-Bossabilities folder. 

The paper flowers on these are all from the Petaloo Core Color-Matching Series.  I used the larger Camelia flowers in Tulip Yellow and the Mini florals in Mantis Green and Tangerine.  I added some fine pastel yellow glitter to the centers of all the florals.  All the ribbons here are from May Arts Ribbon.  I used some Grosgrain ric rac in orange and Chevron twill ribbon in both yellow and lime green. 

Here are some more closeup photos...

To make the bees I stamped the images onto the backside of some Snowflake (GX-FB010) Core Essentials with a Jet Black Staz-On ink pad.  All the colors to the bees were added using Spectrum Noir markers from Crafter's Companion!  Love those markers... similar performance and impact as Copics, but very reasonably priced.  On the wings I also added a touch of Sugar Shimmer Fairy Dust glitter from Donna Salazar.  After stamping the images, I cut out around each bee, but I cut off the antennae and if you look close, you can see I added my own with some May Arts black Burlap Twine.  I poked a small hole in each bee head and inserted two pieces each of the twine into the holes.  I secured the twine from the back with some double stick adhesive and then I tied knots at the end of each piece of twine.  It was so much fun to create with and embellish these stamped images.  To complete these cards all I had left to do was adhere the bees to the cards with some foam sqaures for added dimension. 

Well, I do hope that my cards were Buzz-Worthy enough, bwaha-haa!  Get it?  Buzzz... bees?!  Okay, I'm finished, lol!  But you are not... still more stops along the way!  Next you will want to be sure to go to visit,  Michelle Criswell http://www.scrappinwithmybug.com .

Enjoy and remember to come by again tomorrow, June 7th for more creativity with Core cardstock and Peachy Keen stamps.

A Permanent Remembrance

Gee wiz... it seems lately the only posts I make here are for my Stuck On U Sketches challenge weeks.  Things should soon start slowing down for me here in the weeks ahead, so hopefully I will then have some time freed up to get more crafty and bloggy, lol!  At least that's what I'm a hopin' for!

So yes, it is SOUS sketch reveal Friday here and that makes me sooo happy!  Also kinda makes me sad though too, because it's my last sketch as a SOUS designer.  I hate to give up my spot on the team, but I know there are so many other talented ladies waiting for their chance to shine their creative lights there too!  So with that, I do hope you like my interpretation of Leah Shaeffer's sketch this week...

I really love the split imagery design of this sketch and it was easy for me to roll with it!  I had the perfect photo to scrap about and I knew I wanted to use the cool tattoo heart imagery to compliment the photo, using the Indie Art Cricut cartridge. 

"A Permanent Remembrance", is about my brother's tattoo that he's gotten in memory of his son (my nephew), Isaac.  Later after we had lost our Ava and Amelia, my brother went and had hearts added to his tattoo for both of them with their initials as well.  Probably one of the most touching gestures of love that a brother can do... I still am beyond touched and I think it looks just lovely! 

All the papers and stickers here are from the most recent "Carefree" collection by Authentique!  I thought the collection was perfect for adding just the right amount of masculinity to this page, especially with that muted gray woodgrain pattern!  I also used some Core'dinations Core Essentials cardstock.  The wing diecut is also cut from the Indie Art cartridge.  I tied on the sticker tag embellies with some Papertrey Ink natural twine.

Hope you've enjoyed this sketch and my page.  Please don't forget to go to the SOUS blog and see what all the other ladies have created this week as well.  Before I go I'd like to express to the girls how much I've enjoyed sharing my work over on the blog and how fun it's been getting to know each and everyone them.  They are a special group of ladies and I've been totally inspired by them all!  Thanks for having welcomed me there at Stuck On U Sketches! 

Playing Catch-Up!

Wow... so sorry for my lack of blogging these days!  I have not made a post in over 2 weeks and I haven't really been reading or commenting on others blogs either these days, which makes for a pretty sad Andrea!  I just don't know how the time has been getting away from me.  Granted I have been working 40 hour weeks for the first time in nearly 5 years, so this in itself maybe reason enough!  I dearly miss my extra leisure time for crafting that's for sure! 

But anyway... I've also let my little giveaway from the SOUS blog hop get away from me.  I'm really sorry that I haven't posted a winner on here before now, but I won't make any excuses.  Shame on me! 

Okay, without any further wait... the winner is...

Please email me your addy at amuoct21 at aol dot com, Mickey's Craft World, and I would love to send you a package which will include this...

As for other stuff, today I had the pleasure of having a project featured on the Crafts Unleashed blog for Consumer Crafts.  Ya'll remember that Mother's Day is coming up shortly next month?  Well, I created an easy but elegant card for mom that is short on time and supplies.  I used my Cricut Sophisticated cart, some scraps of Core Essentials and DCWV Linen Collection patterned paper, the Martha Stewart Garden Gate edge punch and a Fleur De Lis emboss folder from Darice!

You can check out the blog post on Crafts Unleashed for more step-out shots and instructions of how I created the card!

Now, how would you like to win $700.00 worth of wonderful Core'dinations Cardstock and other fabulous scrappy stuff?  I mean who wouldn't want that kind of prize, right? 

You can enter to win right HERE!!  Good luck!  :)

More Cards For Week 2 of Card Sharks!

Good day!  Just finished up my last of the challenges for the week at the Nook, so I have two more cards to show you all for now! 

Here we go... Challenge #1 for week 2... BRIDGE!  This one will takes focus on the word "bridge" and the challenge is to create a card using an element that is wood theme or nails (items used to build a bridge).   

(Please click on item to view larger)

I knew right a way what I wanted to do for this, lol!  "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel has long been a favorite song of mine and I have been wanting to use the song lyrics somehow on a card or scrap page, so with BRIDGE being a focus here I thought it to be perfect timing! Of course I also added a piece of woodgrain patterned paper from MME (Stella Rose) into the mix for the boat diecut!  Some older "The Merry Days of Christmas" in Pajama Plaid, was used for the card base here and I cut out cloud shapes from some MME Lime Twist pp.  All these sweet Cricut cuts on the card came from the Give A Hoot cart! I also used a mix of Core Essentials, Vintage Core and some Jillian Spotted Core cardstock.

Next up is my card for the BINGO challenge! 

Easy peasy... just had to use some form of a grid on the card design! So I designed a grid by scoring the backside of a piece of Tim Holtz Kraft Core cardstock and sanding the front to reveal the embossing.  I also used some kraft colored Core from the Graphic 45 Signature Series and some Core Essentials in a light red.  I cut the "I" the heart and the "U" with the Designer's Calendar cart and the heart border from a scrap of "vintage" Tres Jolie MME pp using the TC Sophisticated cart.  Added some wood buttons from M's dollar spot with some Papertrey Ink twine to complete the look!

And one more item before I wrap this post up for the night...

not sure if ya'll have come across this huge giveaway or not on Birgit Koopsen's blog, but you may like to have a chance, and celebrate with Birgit for her upcoming Birthday in the process! ;)

Good Night and enjoy the rest of the holiday week festivities!  Happy Thanksgiving blessings to all!

My Mind's Eye Blog Card and Layout Challenges #26!

I had to finally get in on one of the awesome challenges happening over on the My Mind's Eye blog! It's been awhile for me, and I really loved the sketch for the card this month because it uses tags, which I think is a super way of embellishing a card front! So here it is...

  Style, Beauty... You've Got It, Friend!

By the way, here's the sketch from Anam Stubbington...

Card Challenge #26-

And, some more details of the card...

I used a few different paper lines from MME, including Stella Rose, "vintage" Wild Asparagus and Life Stories.  The flocked brown alpha chipboard letters and decorative brads are from the MME Lush collection. Those awesome butterfly and flourish design tags were cut using the Cricut Picturesque cartridge,  and the dressform accent was from the Summer in Paris cartridge.  Aside from the sketch, I was also inspired to create this card from a challenge at the Nook to incorporate things that are typically considered "masculine" onto a feminine card, or vice-versa.  I chose to use masculine elements for a girly card, so I incorporated some conventional masculine patterns and colors such as plaid, woodgrain and brown tones.  I also punched a notebook paper edge and distressed it because to me, distressing feels more rugged and masculine. 

I also had a special photo and some MME  "the Spider's Web" papers set aside for quite awhile, so I finally took the opportunity and used the MME layout sketch #26 challenge to help me get this page scrapped.  Here's the layout sketch, again by Anam...

And this is what I did with the sketch...

 Our Wee Punkins

Again, I also used some fabulous Life Stories on here and then a bit of the So Sophie and Lush lines.  I loved the detail of the embroidered lace patterned paper from the Witch's Lace paper and fussy cut some of that design as well as some of the folksie pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch paper (all from the Spider's Web collection).  All this fussy cutting was perfect for challenge # 12 at the Nook's weekend virtual crop! 

Well, that's all folks, but thanks so much for stopping in... hope you've enjoyed my projects as much as I've enjoyed creating them!

My Scrapbook Nook's A Midsummer Night's Virtual Crop!

Are you looking to get some scrapping in this weekend?  Cuz that's what I'm doing!

And the Nook's virtual online crop, "A Midsummer Night's Crop" is happening right now!

All the Nook designers have been busy putting up some wonderful and creative challenges to help get the creative juices flowing.  Here's the deets...

Drop in this weekend and enjoy some great challenges, straight from the Bard of Stratford on Avon!

The winner will be crowned with roses, lilies, hydrangeas, daisies, pussy willows and all manner of delightful blooms from Petaloo - to the tune of a $100 gift box!

Join us here: http://myscrapbooknook.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?26-Virtual-Crop-This-Weekend!

I feel like I've been scrappin' up a storm all day, but in all actuality, I feel like a storm has come through and caused a path of destruction... seriously my scrap spaces are a sight for sore eyes.  I've been making more messes today then getting anything else done.  I opened a cupboard to get out my stand of embossing powders and in the process knocked over a container of glitter which was partly opened.  ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR!  Then I went to grab something off the counter and SLAM went the tilt bin of buttons (seperated by colors).  ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR! Urghh... you get the picture?! Anyway, I've got one page finished so far to show for the day.  I really had hoped to have much more done, but tomorrow is always another day :)

So before I scoot off here to get back to the croppin' here is my page, which I am thrilled to have finished because I've been wanting to do this layout about my gram for awhile now. 

This is for the Challenge #1 which is basically to create a page using the provided sketch and to use photo/s of someone who inspires!   I used lots of My Mind's Eye products here and Core'dinations!  The flower, leaves and flourish are cut using the Cricut Picturesque cart... love that so much!

Thanks for stopping by and if by chance you do venture over to the Nook this weekend, you could even mention that you were cordially invited by ME ... and I could get some extra sweet points!  All you need to do my friends is confirm in the following crop thread that I invited you, and complete and upload at least one challenge for the crop...

http://myscrapbooknook.org/forum/showthread.php?5347-Breathe-life-into-a-stone-bring-a-friend-VC-points-involved 

Hope to see alot of my friends in attendance!  :)  Have a great scrappy weekend!

An August Core Colour Challenge and More!

Are you all ready to play along with another colorful challenge with Core? 

Here is the inspiration piece for this month from Pinterest that Debbie Standard pinned for us from the shepaperie.blogspot.com.

Isn’t it beautiful?

SIX gorgeous colours to play with…..

For the Colour Lover’s Challenge you must use a noticeable amount of Core’dinations Cardstock

on your project. And since we are technique junkies here…we wanna see some technique, too! Sanding…embossing…sky is the limit!

Link your submission to THIS post or post on our Facebook account by August 30th for a chance to win some fabulous Core’dinations Cardstock!!!

And here is what I did with the combination of all these delightful colors...

For my card I used several colors of Core Essentials and some fabulous WhiteWash which I fringe cut for added texture.  The stamps used are from the BasicGrey Marjolaine collection and I also created that super plaid edging with my favorite plaid EK Success border punch! And thank you, Ellen... for letting me use your favorite American Crafts Charcoal Pigment ink-pad for my stamping!  It really is a wonderful gray ink ;)

Next up, Core is also pleased to be partnering with Paper Trunk this month!  This is the first time I had the pleasure of creating with their pretty paper designs, and I must say that they are beautifully textured! 

Core'dinations is so excited to bring you some fun Paper Trunk projects over the next few weeks.

Make sure you head over to their blog today for some awesome inspiration, too!

Keep commenting on both the Core and Paper Trunk blogs and you just may win some cool prizes for yourselves! Just sayin'!  ;)

And here is a card that I made with Paper Trunk patterned paper and alpha stickers and some BasicGrey Core Impressions and Core Essential cardstock...

The chandelier embossing is from a Sissix folder... definitely a cool one to add to the ever growing collection of folders! 

In other goings-on here at home, must say it's been a very productive week since the hubs has been home on vacation!  We decided to stay home and get some projects done around the house so now the garage doors, the porch banisters/railings, the window shutters and both the front and side doors have all been re-painted now.  It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do!  But we still have plenty of rooms to paint inside and I don't even want to think about starting them now, lol!  Think we will wait till the weather cools down a bit.  After two days of sprucing up around the home we took the day and went to one of our favorite local amusement parks, Knoebel's!  We had a beautiful day of bright blue skies and we took my mom along too.  She hadn't been to the park in at least 15 years, so I was glad to see her enjoying the day there as well! Now tomorrow we may escape to Lancaster for the day... the QVC outlet is calling my name, lol!  Have another wonderful weekend, everyone!

Friday To-Do list!

Yess, it is finally Friday!  And since I was supposed to work today but they called me and told me not to come in due to a low count kid day, well, that means I have more time to do other things here at home!  I just need to decide what all I should tackle first... there are many things I could easily put at the top of my to-do list! Painting for one!  Oh gosh, there are so many rooms in this house that we want to paint and the problem is, it's a big game of procrastination.  So I am thinking that removing the wall paper border down in our basement would be a perfect place for me to start this afternoon perhaps.  And I also believe it's a good day to start cleaning out some cupboards, closets and the hutch in our living room.  Then in between all that I guess I might as well do a few loads of laundry too!  I think that's a good start.  When the dh is home on vacation two weeks from now we plan to do some more painting, primarily the front door and the window shutters.  The door is white and the shutters are currently hunter green and we plan to re-paint them all a black/gray color.  Can't wait to see what it'll look like!

Before I move on to the to-do list though, I will share with you some of my latest cards that I made with Core'dinations cardstock.  They are all Summer related themes, so I hope you'll enjoy them!

This first card I used "A Child's Year" Cricut cartridge.  I love the nostalgic and silhouette imagery on this cart! 

For the sand and accenting on the starfish, I used Tim Holtz's Distressing powder in Frayed Burlap to give the perfect grainy effect with the Vintage and Core Essentials cardstock!

 

And this card was a fun and easy one to put together with coordinating products from SEI's "a FAIR day" collection.  I love the glittery accenting in this line paired up with Core Couture glitter cardstock.  I also used some Core Essentials spritzed with Glimmer Mist. 

And last... a card with some Core Essentials in the Pastels range.  Mmmm,some cotton candy would taste sooo good right now!  I cut the banners and cotton candy with the Cricut Carousel cartridge. 

And speaking of Core'dinations... I just had a great box delivered to me yesterday containing all the new releases of Core!  Girls, it all looks sooo wonderful... esp. that dreamy looking Tim Holtz Kraft Core line!  Ohh my, I can't wait to create with it all, so I guess I'd better write that down on my to-do list as well!    Think that's it for now.  But, I will be a busy girl for the rest of the day.  Time for me to crack the whip on myself!  Have a great weekend everyone :)

My Pink Stamper Design Team Submission {You Give Your Heart To Make a Difference!}

Good evening all my crafty bloggy friends!  Hope everyone is having a good week and that you all aren't melting away into puddles!  It's been very HOT here today and I believe I'm soon going to head on down to the basement and hide out in my craft room because it's sooo much cooler there!  But first, I needed to post about a card that I put together that I think is my new favorite.  Don't you love it when you create something that you yourself totally dig?  I love when that happens!  So, this card also happens to be my submission for the My Pink Stamper design team call which comes to a close tonight.  Yes, I am squeezing it in during the last lap, but I just had to give this one a go!  Afterall, if Cricut is involved I'm weak... I love my Cricut wayy too much, lol! 

To submit for this dt selection, we all had to follow the challenge to create a project using a favorite Cricut cartridge, and to incorporate the colors of brown, orange, green and turquoise, and other optional color of choice. The only other color in my card is white accenting of the sanded cardstock core and in the mini alpha sticker lettering.  Have to say, I like that combination of colors... earthy, yet cool. 

Guess maybe that's why I went with an Earth motif and woodgrain for my card's theme.  Give a Hoot is one of my very favorite Cricut cartridges and that's where I found the image for the heart shaped world diecut used on here.  I used a variety of Core'dinations cardstock, including the Glitter Core Couture in a turquoise shade for representing the Earth's water.  I tied some vintage crinkled seam binding in orange around the heart shape and attached the piece to my card base with dimensional foam squares.  Sticker alphas completed the card's sentiment.  Ohhh, that woodgrain piece... that is actually packaging (backing) from a set of alpha stickers that I bought from Target awhile back!  Yes, I even recycled on my earthy card! 

Card Supplies and Recipe:

•  Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge - Heart Earth - cut @ 4" from green Core Essentials cs), Heart Earth layer - cut @ 4" from turquoise glitter Core Couture cs).
•  Other cardstock, all by Core'dinations (Green Core Impressions BasicGrey Whimsy dot-line cs, orange Vintage Core cs, brown Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket criss-cross cs).
•  Woodgrain sticker packaging from Target.
•  My Little ShoeBox Mini Alphabet stickers in Sunrise orange.
•  Pink Paislee cardstock alphabets Whimsies in Pumpkin.
•  Trimtex vintage seam binding in orange.
•  Stampin' Up small scallop border punch.
•  Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Spiced Marmalade.
•  Recollections foam dimensional squares. 

Okay, that's my card!  Now I'll cross my fingers and hope for good news!  Thanks for stopping by! :)

Peachy Keen!!

Howdy!  If you haven’t seen the July Challenge at Core'dinations  make sure you check it out here. You have until July 27th to enter for the chance to win some fabulous Core goodies! Make sure you link us up on that post or link us on Facebook.

All you need to do is use this color palette as your inspiration. Again, there are more deets on the original post….

Anyway, here is the awesome inspiration photo for this fantastic color challenge which came from Pinterest!

Isn't it the perfect, delectable Summery feast for the eyes? 

And take a look at the colour combo that dt member Lydia Jackson devised through Colour Lovers to match up to the inpiration...

Such a terrific palette!  Anyway, I was inspired to create a card for this challenge, and I was happy to use these turquoise, peacock blue, and peachy colors together.  And the peaches in the photo looked soo yummy and fresh that I even decided to use a peach as my card's theme,

"You Are Sweet As A Peach"!

I used a variety of Core'dinations Core Essentials and Vintage cardstock and my peach image came from the Cricut "Just Because Cards" cartridge.  To make the peach more realistic, I inked the edges of the cuts with some Ranger inks and also did some light sanding to the outside edge.  The leaves were embossed with the Cuttlebug Herringbone folder and I used patterned paper and stickers from the "a FAIR day" sei line!

So now I hope that you too will be inspired to take on this fun colour challenge!  Remember, you have until July 27th, so hurry up and play along with us to win some delicious Core!

In other news, I was very saddened to learn of some heartbreaking news this morning that a fellow scrapbooking friend in our communities has passed away rather suddenly after her battle with breast cancer.  Her name was Chris Hertel and she was such a dear sweet soul who gave so much of herself.  She lived right here in PA, and although I've never met her in person (and we used to live rather close to one another, her in Greensburg, and I in Altoona)... we did communicate via message boards, emails and our blogs.  Chris also created some of her own digital designs and was kind enough to share them.  Her houndstooth print has been one of my favorites for quite sometime and I have downloaded and printed it so often for many of my projects.  In fact, earlier last week, I was pleasantly surprised to have one of my card designs using her houndstooth print, picked up for publication in the upcoming December issue of CARDS magazine!  I was so thrilled that it was a card using her design and I was eager to email her to tell her to be on the watch for it later, but I never got the chance.   Here's a link to another blog post of mine with another page that I created not too long ago.  I tell ya, I've used it a lot!  I will certainly miss her spunky spirit and friendship in our scrappy community!  She fought a good fight and all I can say is that the world was only a happier place with her in it!  I pray that her beautiful family will lean on one another and find much comfort, strength and peace!