Basket of Hearts - You're So Sweet

This is Card #3 in my Valentine's Day card series. This is a blast from the past. While cleaning out my craft area earlier this month, I came across this 4x6 Fresh Prints DSP stack from 2014. It uses Real Red, Crumb Cake and Coastal Cabana colors. Coastal Cabana was one of my favorite colors and I was very sad to see it leave the Stampin' Up color lineup, so I am bringing it back for my Valentine Card! I love the color red with it!

This card is similar to the basket of apples card I posted last year. (See it here.) This time, instead of cutting the basket freehand, I found that if I cut a cupcake bottom using my Cricut Create a Critter 2 cartridge (p. 33, cut at 7-3/4 inches), I could use it for a basket. I inked the edges to give it a little dimension and popped it up on the card using dimensional dots. I added some strips of paper to the bottom of the basket to resemble the band of a basket, and then just started punching and embossing hearts to put in the basket. (If you don't have heart punches, there are also heart shapes on the Create a Critter and Create a Critter 2 cartridges.) With the basket popped up from the card, I was able to add my hearts behind the basket edge and build from there. The pretty heart shaped doily is from a pack I got at the Dollar Spot at Target (LOVE that place!)

Here is a more closeup view of the hearts in the basket:

I masked off the parts of the You're So Sweet stamp that I didn't want inked (from the You're So Sweet  stamp set), then stamped in on white cardstock, and cut it out with a 1-3/4 inch punch. I layered it on a pink circle cut with the 2 inch circle punch, and then layered that onto a red 2-3/8 inch scalloped circle. I added a cute little red ribbon and 2 more punched out hearts.

Card base is A2 size (4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches) in crumb cake, layered with red and then a piece of DSP from the Fresh Prints DSP stack I mentioned previously.

Note: There is also a cupcake on p. 36 of the #1 Create a Critter cartridge but it doesn't have the scalloped top.

Valentine Wagon and Card

First I made the little red wagon Valentine card. It's an A2 sized card in red, layered with white and black cardstock. The polka dot paper is from the neutrals DSP stack from Stampin' Up. The wagon is from the Create a Critter cartridge. The rest of the card is decorated with punched out hearts and a banner greeting. Greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, also Stampin' Up.

Then I decided to make a 3D version of the wagon. Here is the result!

Box Base for Wagon (See Helpful Hints Below)

Page 73, Cricut Create a Critter Cartridge. Cut at 1-1/2 inches

The wagon is found on page 73 of the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge. I have gotten more mileage out of this cartridge than any other I have. I just LOVE it! I cut the wagon pieces out twice for both sides of the wagon and made a box base to attach them to. (See photo above with cutting and scoring directions for box of wagon.) The Cricut wagon (all pieces) are cut at 1-1/2 inches. That is the height of the wagon sides. I did cut a third wagon shadow in black at 1-3/4 inches because I wanted a little larger handle to attach to the wagon.

After cutting the wagon shadow out of black, trim off the handles. The rest of the assembly of the wagon is just layering the pieces. First, the black shadow layer, then the red wagon layer, then the black wheels. I used punched out hearts for the wheel centers and then added black brads or "candy dots" in the center of each wheel. After the side pieces are assembled, assemble the box and attach the wagon pieces to the box base, making sure the sides of the wagon are level with the top of the box so the wheels will be below the box base. This makes the wagon free standing.

Helpful Hint: If you don't want the tabs on the box to show inside your wagon, just attach the tabs on the outside of the box base rather than on the inside like you would normally do for box assembly. 

I attached the black handle (cut from the black shadow layer) to the front of the wagon on the inside with a small red brad and hid the prongs on the inside of the wagon with a punched out black heart. To make the handle look more life like, I used a small punch to cut out the inside of the handle (a retired punch from Stampin' Up). I then slightly bent the handle forward over the top of the wagon edge.  I  attached three black hearts to the back of the wagon. I think it would also be cute to write a child's name on the side of the wagon or use cut out letters, stickers, etc. Finished wagon size is 2 x 3-3/4 inches and stands 1-1/2 inches high.

I shredded and scrunched up some valentine tissue paper to add to the inside of the wagon and added some valentine candy. It will hold 6 Nestle Crunch hearts very nicely. It would also be cute with the little colored conversation hearts!

Have fun with this little red wagon!

Love You a Bunch Card

This is Card #1 in my series of Valentine's Day cards. This one is a simple A2 sized card (4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches when folded). I cut a layer 4 x 5-1/.4 inches and dry embossed it with a dotted embossing folder. I inked the edges lightly with red ink. The image is from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set from Stampin' Up. It is stamped on white, cut with a 1-3/4 inch circle punch, then layered on a piece of real red cardstock punched with a 2 inch circle punch, and then that is layered on a piece of pink cardstock cut with a 2-3/8 inch scalloped circle punch. The hearts are punched with a small heart punch in pink and red and then layered together and glued above the stamped image. I used a piece of the red cardstock that I cut the hearts out of and layered it behind the stamped and layered image. I stamped "love you" with the Crazy About You stamp set from Stampin' Up and the "a bunch" from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set. Both sentiments are then cut in a banner shape before attaching to the card with glue dots. The layered image is attached to the card with dimensional dots.

I hope you like this simple card and will come back in the following weeks for more Valentine card ideas! There is one I am particularly excited about and can't wait to share it with you! Thanks for stopping by today and happy cardmaking!

Chalkboard Clipboard/Card Holder

Do you like to display your most recent cards or holiday cards? Here is a very inexpensive way to do it! I found a 6 x 8 chalkboard at Dollar Tree and attached it to a 5 x 7 plastic frame, also from Dollar Tree. I bought a set of 3 large clips (Dollar Tree) and used the black one as the clipboard clip. Total cost for the entire project - $3.00! Now that's a bargain! I attached a ribbon to the clip to dress it up a bit. Since I was too impatient to wait for my hot glue gun to warm up, I simply attached the board to the picture frame with red strip sticky strip and it is holding up well.

Of course you can use it as a chalkboard too, but I also found another use - I can take the sheets from my perpetual birthday calendar and attach them to the board! I love that it is a stand alone board. Check your Dollar Tree and see if they have these chalkboards. The frames are always available, but I just stumbled upon the chalkboards. (Note: The Perpetual Calendar sheets are in an earlier post from July 31, 2015.) 

Here are photos of the back of the board and one with the perpetual calendar sheet attached.

Thanks for stopping by today! Let me know if you try this project!

Sale-A-Bration 2016

Click here to view or download PDF

Starting today, January 5th, until March 31, 2016, for every $50.00 of product purchased from either the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog or the 2016 Occasions Catalog, you can choose one item in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for FREE! If you would like a PDF of the Sale-A-Bration brochure click the link above. I would love to be your demonstrator. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or contact me via Facebook using the link in the column on the right.  Now is a great time to get those things on your wish list! Thanks for stopping by today! 

Birthday Tower

Happy New Year!!

Yesterday was my grandson's 15th birthday. He was a New Year's baby in 2001. I made this birthday tower for him as a gift. I have seen similar can cakes and candy cakes on Pinterest, but I combined the two into one "cake." It actually turned out more like a tower than a cake.

I started with a 10-12 inch round platter I purchased from Dollar Tree. It needs to be sturdy and not flimsy. I attached six short cans of root bear to the platter with duct tape underneath the cans. I inserted a can of Pringles in the center to have a base to attach the other elements to. Around the Pringles can, I added four boxes of theater style candy boxes, one on each side. I used an extra large rubber band to hold the boxes to the Pringles can. From there I started inserting candy bars and small packages of cookies until the rubber band was tight. On top of the Pringles can I attached a tub of miniature cookies. Again, I used rolled up duct tape. I added curled ribbon (purchased from Dollar Tree) to the sides and attached a birthday hat also purchased at Dollar Tree to the top of the cookie tub using glue dots. I cut numbers with my Cricut and attached those to the hat. I then started inserting folded up dollar bills around the tower. Since my grandson is 15 I used 15 one dollar bills. I also inserted a gift card and attached a baby picture of him with a small clothespin. I tied a wide ribbon around the center to hide the rubber band and added a few miniature Reese's peanut butter cups around the bottom of the platter to fill in between the cans.

This really went together a lot faster than I anticipated. I had it finished in about 30 minutes. I think the longest process was collecting all the items for the tower. You can certainly customize yours with whatever candy, soda and cookies you would like. He liked it, so if he is any indication, I think it would be a great gift for a teenager.

Here are some other close-up photos:

My supply list:

10-12 inch sturdy platter
6-pack soda cans
1 can Pringles
1 tub miniature cookies
4 boxes theater style candy
8 or more full size candy bars
4-6 packages cookies
handful miniature Reese's cups or similar small candies
curling ribbon
party hat
money and/or gift card
duct tape
glue dots