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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Playing With Paper Blog Hop!

Hey Folks!

Welcome to the "My Favorite {CTMH} Things" Blog Hop!  Today our theme is Fall or Halloween projects!

Our Playing With Paper team is sharing artwork featuring some of our favorite products from CTMH.  If you have come here from Brittany's blog, then you are on the right path.  If not, start from the beginning with Jayma's blog and work your way through.  :)

Today I have created a candy dish for Halloween.  I used the Moonlight Workshop on the Go (G1051) and the Perfect Fit - Halloween (B1413) stamp set as well as the Cricut Artiste (Z1790) cartridge to cut the dish.


I started by picking the paper I wanted to use out of the Moonlight Workshop on the Go.  Once I cut it out, I scored the lines where appropriate and glued the dish together.  I then used the stamp set that comes with the Moonlight Workshop on the Go to stamp a spider on each lip of the dish.  I added Skittles to showcase what the candy dish would look like.



From there, I used Perfect Fit - Halloween to stamp the sentiment that would stick out of the dish and adhered it to a toothpick.  I think this added to the project a lot.



Although a simple project, I think your guests will really enjoy a couple of these dishes around your house filled with different candies to munch on throughout the party.

Now, hop on over to Jennifer's blog for your next spot.  I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop!  :)  Here's a list of individuals participating in case you get lost along the way.

Jayma Malme - www.jaymamalme.com
Amy Edwards - http://paisleysplayhouse.blogspot.com
Carol DuRee - www.scrappindesertgirl.com
Norhalma Verzosa - http://fromsnapstoscraps.blogspot.com
Brittany Fitch - http://craftypapercreations.blogspot.com
Ian Dreger - http://anewbiecrafter.blogspot.com <=== You are here!  :)
Rachel Rusticus - www.creativelyredeemingher.blogspot.com <=== Go here next!  :)

Thanks for stopping by today!  :)

Craft on,
Ian

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Happy Birthday!


Hi folks!

I'm being featured on Cricut Is Close To My Heart today and wanted to share my project.  Today I have a cute little Happy Birthday card I will be sending to my Aunt.  When I saw the new cupcake on the Artiste cartridge, along with the banner, I knew I had to use them together.


I cut the cupcake and banner at the appropriate size as mentioned on the stamp set sheet on white cardstock.  I then inked the stamps and was able to position them just right.

I used a base of white cardstock cut at 4.25"x11", scored and folded at 5.5".  I took some extra Dotty For You paper I had laying around and used a Martha Stewart punch to punch the bottom.  After that, I took ribbon and did the cheater method of taping it on the back, just to add a splash of color.  I adhered the cupcake to the paper and then added Stickles to the sprinkles on top to give it some dimension.


For the banner, I used some pop dots to give it some more dimension.  Once I adhered that, I had a finished card!



A couple things that went wrong with this card, as I think it's important to point out what didn't go right.  Check your Stickles.  I had not used the True Blue Stickles yet.  I store them upside down as you should so that the air bubbles are limited.  When I turned the bottle over, clear liquid leaked out?  This caused the ink to bleed on the cupcake.  I tried to cover it with Stickles, but I know it's there...I just hope my Aunt doesn't notice it.


From there, I was in struggle city, something hit the Stickles dots I had already placed so they smeared a bit.  UGH!  Breathe, Ian, breathe!

When I went to apply the ATG to the back it wasn't on a solid surface, so the cardstock bent.  At one point I almsot started over.

But...I was actually pleased with how the final product turned out.  I'll get that out in the mail tomorrow.  Good stuff!

Thanks for taking a look!

Craft on,
Ian

Monday, September 24, 2012

Small Halloween Banner


Hi there!

For those of you who don't know, I was recently asked to join the She's A Sassy Lady design team.  I could not be more excited to join this design team.  There are so many talented individuals on the team that hopefully my work will measure up to theirs.  Anyway, I'm rambling, so I'll get onto my project for the day!

For today's project, I made a very quick and easy small banner for my front door.  In my apartment, I'm lucky to have a window in my front door.  For the longest time I have wanted to put something in the window to welcome both myself home, and friends to my apartment.  Recently I fell in love with Imaginisce's Monster Mash line.  If you haven't seen it yet, it is so cute!  I went a little overboard and ordered all of the items that come with the Monster Mash line.  Below is my completed project.


I took one of the 12x12 pages and cut it into 5"x5" squares.  I took the die-cuts that were already printed in color and cut out, and pasted them in the middle of the 5"x5" piece of cardstock.  For the "happy Halloween" sentiment, I cut the same patterned paper at 5"x8" so that I could center the sentiment.  (That's fun to say:  center the sentiment).






Once I had all die cuts glued down, I took purple sparkly ribbon from my stash (I believe I got it from Michael's over a year ago), and placed it in the center.  To adhere it to the back of the cardstock I used packaging tape which will give it a firm grip.


I'm really excited with how the small banner turned out.  It wasn't anything back breaking but it sets the tone for Halloween which is coming up soon!  Hope you are preparing for it as much as I am.

Craft on,
Ian

Monsters! In a Truck!

Hi folks!

I hope you all are doing well!  Today I am part of the Exploring Cricut challenge.  The challenge was to make a card, layout, or paper craft project using a mode of transportation.  After speaking with my friend Rebecka, she challenged me to use a truck transporting some monsters.  I set to work with both challenges and came up with the card you see below.


I used two Cricut cartridges for this card.  I used Everyday Paper Dolls for the truck.  I cut it in red and black so I could cut out the wheels and place them on the truck.  For the monsters, I used the Happy Hauntings cartridge to cut out Frankie, Frankie's Bride and Skully, as I call them.  :)

I cut each monster at 2" and placed all of their layers together.  With the way Frankie was positioned, I wanted to have him driving so it looked like one arm was hanging out of the window.  I am so pleased with how this card turned out.  I think it is my favorite card, hands down.  :)  Check out some close-up pictures below.




I finished it up by adding Stickles to the car.  I used black for the bumpers and yellow for the headlights.  I also used a grey 8.5"x11" cardstock simply folded in half.  This will allow for me to give this to a younger child so they can have a big card to open.


Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I did making it! Thanks for stopping by!

Craft on,
Ian

Friday, September 21, 2012

Halloween Is On The Noggin!

Hi folks!

Today I am being featured over on Exploring Cricut.  Since Halloween is almost upon us, I am bringing you another Halloween themed card that was super easy to make, and put together.  I decided to use a cartridge I have never used before.  Yes, it's been open for the past several years now, but I've never used it!  I asked myself why last night because it has some really great images on it!

For this project I used the Happy Hauntings Cricut Cartridge and cut the witch's shoe at 4".  The base of my card is 4 1/4" by 5 1/2" and the 2nd layer was cut at 4 1/8 by 5 3/8".  I used the new Imaginisce Monster Mash line for the 2nd layer of the card, and the shoe was put together with scraps I had laying around.



The more and more I get into crafting, I am finding that I'm glad I save my scraps.  Instead of having to grab a full 8.5 x 11" piece of paper, I'm able to find a piece of scrap that fits perfectly.  Moral of the story...keep your scraps!  :)

So here is the card I designed today.  I inked the edges of the 2nd layer with Topiary.  I used some black ribbon on the left hand side and stamped the Oct. 31 image from Close To My Heart's Perfect Fit - Halloween (B1413).  I used the Goldrush Close To My Heart ink pad.  After that, I used an Action Wobble and placed it on the back of the shoe.  The images below show the shoe moving (hence it being blurry) and the side view of the Action Wobble attached.



I hope you are all gearing up for Halloween like I am!  It will be here before we know it!  :)  I love this time of year!

Craft on,
Ian

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Online Shopping Haul

Hi folks!

Let's be honest.  The month of August was a busy one, especially for those in Higher Education.  At the beginning of the month, we had Pro-Staff training, and a week later we were starting Resident Assistant training.  This is always a very hard time because I go from having all the time in the world to being back on track with deadlines, early evenings, and about 2 hours a day to do whatever I want before bed.

During this time, I didn't get to craft nearly as much as I wanted to.  I did, however, get the chance to shop online.  A blessing and a curse, no?  WIth that said, here is a video of my latest shopping haul (with a couple more boxes on the way...eek!)  In the video I show you hauls from Bath and Body Works, Custom Crops, Scrapbook.com, the Cricut Message Board, and eBay.  Phew.  What seemed like a great idea at the time, is turning into not so much of a great time when I take a peak at my credit card bill.  Why do I always do this?

Regardless, what's done is done, and the past is in the past.  I've opened all of the packages that have arrived over the last month and a half, and am ready to start creating!  Check out the video below to take a peak at the first part of my shopping haul.

There's more to come, though!  I am still waiting on a package from Apple, OhMyCrafts! and Scraponizer.  That video should come next week sometime.  Oh, and I'll be back to making more videos soon.  Stay tuned!


Craft on,
Ian

Monday, September 10, 2012

Happy Housewarming!


Hi folks!

If you are looking for my Exploring Cricut post, look below this one.

Today, I'm designing for Cricut Is Close To My Heart, I made a super easy Housewarming card for my friends that moved into a new house...in March.  :(  Yes, I am a little behind!  Whoops!

For this card, I used an A2 sized card from white cardstock.  I cut oval from Art Philosophy cartridge at  2.5" and the house at 2".  I used the Stella paper pack for this card as well.  The 2nd layer of the card was 4"x5.25".  Add a splash of ribbon, and you've got yourself a card within 5 minutes!  I know you may be thinking, if this card only took you 5 minutes to make, why didn't you make it earlier?  Well, that's a great question.  I wish I had an answer.  Haha.


On the inside of the card, I stamped the Oh Happy Day! sentiment from the coordinating Artiste Cartridge stamp sets in Topiary.


Although this card is extremely delayed, I know my friends will understand.  Thank goodness for forgiving friends.  :)

Craft on,
Ian

Exploring Cricut Challenge

Hi Everyone!

Today, over at Exploring Cricut we were challenged to create a card, layout, or papercrafting project with at least one person (man, woman, boy, girl) on it.  For this challenge, I decided to make 3 separate cards for this challenge since Halloween is coming up.


I am planning on sending the following cards to my niece, and two nephews.  My other niece is still too young so she won't really understand what is in front of her when her mom gives her the card.


I used the new A Frightful Affair Cricut cartridge and cut out the witch dropping the rat into the cauldron.  I cut her at 6" and the card base is 5"x7".  The paper I used on the witch was all from Michael's Recollection.  The card base was from The Bewitched Stack.  I purchased this paper pack from Joann's back in August.  Since the stack is 12x12, I cut the paper at 10"x7" and scored it at 5".  The 2nd layer was from the smaller mat stack of The Bewitched Stack.





To finish it up, and give it a little extra dimension, I used Stickles to show the bubbles rising from the cauldron and some spilling over it.  I think this looked neat at the kids will go wild over it.  :)  A win-win situation.


On the inside I used the Happy Halloween sentiment from Close To My Heart's Perfect Fit - Halloween (B1413).  I plan on sending them the card in the middle of October with some candy or a small activity to do to entertain themselves.  It will be up to their parents if they get to eat the candy or if the parents will.  :)

Anyway, that was my take on the Exploring Cricut challenge.  I am also being featured today on Cricut is Close To My Heart, so look below for that project!  :)

Craft on,
Ian

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Big News for Close To My Heart!

Hi Everyone,

If you are a crafter, at some point you have probably stumbled across My Craft Channel.  My Craft Channel is a company dedicated to many different crafts including techniques, products to purchase, and reviews.  They are a go-to in the crafting world.

Last week, (I know, I know I'm late in posting this) Close To My Heart announced they were partnering with My Craft Channel to bring a new web series to the viewers.  Below are the first and second videos.  I am looking forward to following Close To My Heart and My Craft Channel as they bring you the latest and greatest techniques in the stamping world.  This should only prove to you that when it comes to stamping, seeing is believing and Close To My Heart is "clearly the best".

Check out the videos!




Craft on,
Ian