Cards by CG

Have a Dino-mite day!

2012-03-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Sketch Week!

Here is the sketch for this week:

Here is my little card for the challenge. I created an A2 card with white cardstock. I then added a black mat and some paper from DCWV's Stack 7 (the green patterned paper on top) and some Bazzill scraps (the blue sky layer) and some kraft cardstock too.

The little dinosaur is cut at 2 3/4" from Create a Critter. I cut all his layers from scraps and inked them using brown Momento ink. His eyes are black self adhesive flat back pearls. The ground layers are simply ripped and then inked using brown in and layered to create the landscape.

The sentiment is a mix of a couple of My Pink Stamper Stamps (Punnylicious). The black border was punched using Threading Water punch by Fiskars.

I finished off the inside to match. I think this would make a wonderful birthday card, but it could really go for just about any day too! :)

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the

Die Cuttin' Divas blog.

Remember, it's a sketch week!

Simple Felt Flower Cards

2012-02-28T06:00:00.001-08:00

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Recipe challenge :

Fabric, Feathers, and/or Flowers

I made a couple of these cute felt flower cards. They are super simple and will be wonderful to have on hand when I need a everyday card.

I started out using the Flower Folds Die from SU! (I grabbed it at a garage sale last summer). I cut colored sheets of felt (which you can buy in 8X10 sheets in the craft area at Walmart for cheap) .

The background clouds are from some scraps I had on hand (Heidi Grace paper, I think), then I just ripped some scrap green paper for the ground, used some green grosgrain for the "stem" and attached a knot of the green ribbon on for "leaves."

The stamped sentiments are also a garage sale find, sorry, I don't know who made them.

Then I finished them off with a button for the center.

See?? Super Simple! :)

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the

Die Cuttin' Divas blog.

The recipe is :

Fabric, Feathers, and/or Flowers

Finding gold at the end of the rainbow

2012-02-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Thankful Thursday St. Patty's Blog Hop!

We are so happy to have you hopping along with us today!

You should have come from Lola @purplepeepstechniques. If you didn't, please start at the beginning of the hop at Jenny's blog at CrazyAboutCricut.

Today I am sharing some St. Patty's Day "finding gold at the end of the rainbow" crafts.

My two boys wanted slightly different styles of crafts. These are the two pots of gold we created. For both we picked up the supplies at Dollar Tree. The pots (3 / $1) were painted black, colored pipe cleaners, and the little shamrock necklaces (2 / $1). The candy was extra! :)

Owen made this pot of gold. He attached his rainbow (with my help with the hot glue) as a handle on his pot.

We cut the necklaces to fit and hot glued them around the rim of the pot, then we glued the rainbow ends to the inside of the pot.

The only thing left to do was fill our pot with gold!! Owen chose Hershey Nuggets (he'll have to share with his class). That's the yummiest gold we've ever seen!

Here you can see the pipe cleaners we created out rainbows with. We just put the colors all in a line, and added hot glue to each end and a little stripe in the center to hold them together at the top of the arch.

This is Bryce's version of the pot of gold. He is positive that the gold is at the end of the rainbow... not under it... so he attached just one end of his rainbow to the inside of his pot. We created the cloud by crumpling up some paper and gluing cotton ball "clouds" to the other end of the rainbow.

Can't you see by his face how much he loves his creation? :)

Again we added the shamrock necklace to the rim of the pot with some hot glue. Bryce has caramel Hershey Kisses for his gold, but any candy with a gold wrapper will make perfect "gold".

Now what's a blog hop without blog candy?? Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info) to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

The winner will be notified via email on Wednesday February 27th, 2012.

That's it, your next stop is

Sandra @ Sweetpeas Cards

Shaped St. Patty's Day Card

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it.

The challenge for this week is:

Green and Gold

(doesn't need to be for St. Patty's Day)

Today I have a wonderful little card to share with you. At the end of this post, I'll share the Cricut Cartridges and stamps I used!

As you can see, this is a pot of gold shaped card. I'm in LOVE with shaped cards lately!!

Here is the little leprechaun holding a shamrock.

Here you can see all the stitching I added with my gel pen.

I used my glue gun to attach three little green buttons.

I think buttons add so much character to cards!

The inside details include a circle of green pattern paper and a couple of gold pieces.

Like the front, the inside got plenty of gel pen stitches.

Supplies:

generic black stock base

green card stock

green pattern paper is from Big Lots

Gold metallic paper is DCWV

Green buttons are from Michaels dollar bins

tan card stock

white crafting string / twine

Gelly Roller white gel pen

Scotch Quick Dry Glue

ATG glue runner

pop dots

inside sentiment CTMH: Seasonal Celebrations

face stamp is Sizzix Dress up faces

Cricut Cartridges used:

Pot of Gold / Cauldren from Paper Doll Dress Up (cut @ 4 1/4")

same cut for card base (welded and flipped with my Gypsy)

Simply Charmed for the leprechaun (cut @ 3")

A Child's Year for the shamrock (cut @ 1")

Plantin Schoolbook for the circle (cut 3")

Simply Charmed for the gold pieces (cut @ 4 1/4")

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Ashley at The Glamorous Side of Scrapping

Have a purrrrrfect birthday!

2012-02-21T06:00:00.001-08:00

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Theme challenge : Pets

I love shaped cards and lately I've been into the tag shaped ones. This card base is created using the scalloped top tag shape from Preserves (sized to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2") but you can use any tag shaped from any other cart too. I used my Gypsy to weld the shapes together. The additional layers are sized to 4" x 5 1/4" and 3 3/4" x 5" using the real dial size feature on my Gypsy. I love the layered look! :)

The adorable background paper is from DCWV's glitter stack.

I created the sentiment tag in Photoshop. I love to vary the fonts in a single sentiment and I couldn't resist using a pink outline and a drop shadow too. I punched it out using a McGill Multitags, Scallop punch. I attached the tag using pop dots.

I tied the little white satin bow using my Bow Easy.

I used the largest face stamp in Peachy Keen's Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed Face Assortment (1 3/8").

I added a pink tongue with a pink Glaze pen, and shine to the eyes and nose with some Glossy Accents. A also used Star Dust Stickles on the bed trim and the bow tie.

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the

Die Cuttin' Divas blog.

The theme is a Pets!

The prize this week is from Paper Piecing by Nikki

Christopher Robin Coat Hanger

2012-02-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Decorate Your Home Blog Hop!

If you came from Nicollette's blog at Beyond Scrappin', you are in the right place.

Today I am sharing this fun upcycled coat hanger for you. My youngest son has already called "dibs" on it!:)

I created this terrific coat hanger. I repainted it, changed out the hardware, and added a super-fun Christopher Robin quote using my Cricut, the Simply Sweet cartridge, and vinyl.

This is what the coat hanger started as. I bought it from a garage sale for $1! It needed and insert for the middle and new hardware but for a $1 I couldn't leave without it!

First I cut a piece of wood for the insert. I used some 1/4" backer board. I just used a table saw and sanded the edges to fit. I then put a couple of thin layers of sky blue paint ($1 at Lowes).

I pulled off the hardware and painted the frame with a few layers of $1 black spray paint. I used a semigloss finish. After the front was dry I flipped it over and painted the back too.

When the insert was dry, I used a sponge and white acrylic paint to add clouds. I just think it really would fit with my Christopher Robin quote. :)

I put the insert in the frame and placed the new hardware on to get a good look at where the hooks would overhang the insert. This will help me when I am ready to place the words on the insert.

Using clear shelf paper, I created a transfer tape for my quote. I cut the quote on my Cricut, using the Simply Sweet cartridge. First I removed the negative space (all the extra vinyl around the letters and inside the letters). Then I placed the correct side of the vinyl letters face down onto the clear shelf paper. Using the grid paper from the shelf paper, I made sure the quote was straight.

Then I flipped the clear shelf paper over and applied it to the finished insert. I was very careful to line it up as straight as possible and burnished the letters down. Then I slowly pulled back the clear shelf paper. It really is pretty easy to apply the lettering this way and the clear shelf paper is so much cheaper that the vinyl transfer tape that Provo Craft sells for a project like this.

Here is one last look at my finished home decor project.

Project breakdown:

coat hanger (from garage sale) : $1

wooden insert / scrap wood : on hand

Sky blue spray paint : about .50 cents

Black semigloss spray paint : about .50 cents

new hardware : $1.50 each or $4.50

vinyl : .50 cents

clear shelf paper : .10 cents

Total cost: $5.40

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info)

to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Drawing will take place on Monday, February 27th, 2012.

Your next stop in the blog hop is:

Love you just the way you are

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

First of all,

Happy Valentine's Day

to you all!!

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Color challenge : red, pink, black or white + buttons

My heart shaped card is for my hubby!! The card base is from Life's a Party (sized to 5 1/2" wide). The base includes two layers, the scalloped card front and the heart insert. It makes for a very easy card to put together.

I used white cardstock for the base, red for the scalloped layer and a Studio G .97cent patterned paper for the card front.

I attached three red buttons along the side of the card and topped them off with these wonderful rhinestones. They sure add some wonderful sparkle.

This adorable sentiment stamp is from Stampin' Up's "Sprinkled Expressions. I got the set free with a recent order from my Stampin' Up rep, Kadie. I stamped the sentiment on a 3/4" heart and matted it with a slightly larger red heart.

I used my Bow Easy to tie this cute little bow using white satin ribbon and attached it to a little strip of red cardstock punched with a Fiskars Scalloped Border punch. I think it goes very well with the white gel pen stitching.

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the Die Cuttin' Divas blog.

The theme is a color challenge:

red, pink, black or white + buttons

Family Name Plaque

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it.

The challenge for this week is:

I "heart" you

- include a heart on your project -

Today, I made a plaque for my home that includes our names in vinyl. I love these frames from Craft Warehouse. I grabbed a few on clearance and have enjoyed decorating them with vinyl and my Cricut.

I used my Gypsy to fit the letters to size using Nate's ABCs (for the red letters) and Birthday Bash (for the black letters). The little hearts are from Simply Sweet.

I use clear shelf paper instead of more pricey vinyl transfer tape sold for the Cricut. It works perfectly and costs so much less (I grabbed a huge roll at Big Lots a while back). This vinyl also came from Craft Warehouse. I stopped in there last summer and found sheets or 12" x 14" for $1 a sheet!!! I picked up several different colors including white, black, red, and gray.

I love how you can see through the glass in my frame. The wall paint color is visible, it truly makes this home decor project work in any room in my house.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Paper Playtime : Anything Goes

Whoooo loves you?

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Sketch Time

Here is the sketch for this week.

And here is my take on the sketch. As I have said before, sketches are by far the most challenging for me. I have such a hard time embellishing them! I hope you like my little owl card. All the paper is from DCWV's "The Green Stack" and kraft cardstock for the base and accents.

The scalloped circle and circle are from Winter Woodland (cut at 3 3/4") and the adorable owl is from Create a Critter (cut at 2 1/2"). I added the little hearts (1/2") from Create a Critter to make the owl's love garland. I couldn't resist placing the little wings over the garland (these are leaves from Plantin Schoolbook). Inking the owl and adding goodly eyes sure gives this little owl some wonderful personality!

I love My Pink Stamper's Punny-licious set. This is the perfect sentiment for this card! :)

I added this little bow using my Bow-Easy and some satin white ribbon. Lastly, I added some white gel pen stitches and I called this card done.

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the Die Cuttin' Divas blog.

The theme is Sketch Time

Kitty Scalloped Circle card

2012-02-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday is my son's teacher's birthday. This is the card my son and I designed together. She loves cats so Bryce wanted to be sure it had a cat on it. :)

The adorable card shape is from Winter Woodland. While a lot of cartridges have scalloped circles on them, I really love this one! :) We created the card base on my Gypsy and sized it to 5". The circle layers are from Plantin Schoolbook measuring 4" and 3 3/4".

This adorable little kitty is an oldie but a goodie... from Doodlecharms. We sized it to 2 1/2". We placed a 1/2" heart (also from Doodlecharms) for the nose and added a little scrap under the nose. We also added the little triangles for the ears. Bryce placed the kitty on an Action Wobble. So cute! :)

The adorable red and white polka dot paper is from Echo Park's Dots and Stripes pad. I placed the small polka dots above the scalloped border trim and large polka dots beneath it.

I added the sentiment stamp from Hero Arts' Big Hugs set. I curved the sentiment on my blog to mimic the curve on the card front. I couldn't help but add some doodled stitch lines using my Gelly Roll pen.

A second stamp from the Hero Arts : Big Hugs set finished off the inside. My son loves this card and says he is sure his teacher will too. :)

Challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown : hearts

Craftspot: Anything Goes

Muscle Car Card

2012-02-01T22:33:00.001-08:00

My Brother-in-Law's birthday was today so I wanted to share the card I sent to him. It's no surprise that I made a shaped card... I LOVE them!

This is a LARGE card measuring 4" tall and just under 8 1/2" wide, btw it fits perfectly into a #10 business envelope. The car comes from Groovy Times, cut at 4".

I used some metallic cardstock for the chrome car parts. I embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder and a stamp from Hero Arts' Big Hugs set. I set two rhinestones for the headlights.

Using a clear Glaze pen by Gelly Roll, I added lots of little details that this cut didn't include. I used a finger dauber and some royal blue ink to add depth to the car body. It's subtle, but really adds a lot to such a duo-tone card. My BIL is a muscle car lover at heart and I thought he would appreciate the little details.

Here you can see how the card can stand on it's own. I love that it can be displayed. Apparently my BIL loved it enough to give my hubby a call and tell him how much he loved his card.... and it wasn't all about the money inside! :)

Pizza Party Invites

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. This week it's:

Anything goes!

This is the fifth week of the month so we thought we've give you an easy challenge.

For this challenge, I decided to share my son's birthday invitations. He wanted a pizza party so what else would we make the invites to look like??

We used Simply Charmed for the pizza cut and the toppings. It's cut at 4 1/4" and fits perfectly into an A2 envelope (yea for no extra postage).

We made a total of 17 invitations. All included black olives, green peppers, pepperoni and cheese. After Owie picked his toppings we cut enough for all the pizza slices. We inked the pepperoni with brown ink to give it some dimension. The crust was sponged with some darker brown ink too.

Here you can see the little triangles I designed to fit the back of our pizza slices. I just created the triangle in Photoshop and added the text, formatted to fit inside. I hand cut the triangles and attached them to the backs. The little "Let's party!" stamp is an old stamp from my stash (KI Memories, I think).

Lastly, we added these little jute hangers to our pizza. I thought it would be a fun way to hang the invitation on the calendar etc to remind everyone about the party. Everyone LOVED the invites... but Owie was worried that his friends or cousins may not like peppers on their pizza. I assured him that no one would eat the paper pizzas! :)

Now please take some time this week to create and link up on the Die Cuttin' Divas blog. The theme is Anything goes

The prize this week is Stamping Scrapping. They will be offering a $20 gift certificate or any one spellbinders matching stamp set ($30 value).

Candy Airplane Valentines

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Thankful Thursday Valentine Blog Hop! We are so happy to have you hopping along with us today!

You should have come from Lola @purplepeepstechniques. If you didn't, please start at the beginning of the hop at Jenny's blog at CrazyAboutCricut.

Today I am sharing some Valentine goodies my son, Bryce, is taking to his class.

Here is a video for those who prefer to watch the tutorial

Or keep scrolling for a picture tutorial.

I've made these little candy airplanes in the past, but this is the first time we've made them into Valentine themed treats. They take a little assembly, but are so fun that they are completely worth it!

For this craft you'll need:

an excited helper

individually wrapped Life Savers (2 per plane)

Smarties candies (1 per plane)

Sticks of gum (2 per plane)

rubberbands (1 per plane)

sentiment tags (see the bottom of the post for a free download)

red cardstock (to print the sentiment tags onto)

bamboo skewer

Using the bamboo skewer poke a hole into the center of the lifesavers. You can use regular life savers but the individually wrapped kind are better.

On the flat end of the bamboo skewer, lace the rubber band on as seen in the pic. Now take the Life Savers off the pointy end of the skewer and lace them onto the rubber band. This is the quickest and easiest way to get the pieces put together.

Place the two pieces of gun through the rubber band. Your plane will now look like this.

Now, slide the Smarties under the gum and between the two Life Savers. I find it easiest to place the gum on the table while slipping the Smarties in. That way you can avoid bending the gum.

Here is the start of our little fleet of airplanes. We made a total of 24 planes in about 30 minutes. My nine year old had no problems with this craft.

Next, print your sentiment tags (we used red cardstock).

Below is a free download for all my wonderful visitors.

The sentiment reads

"You're just plane cool! Happy Valentine's Day!"

Please click on the picture to enlarge it. Right click on it and choose "Save file as" to save it to your computer. This file is free for personal use and is not to be distributed or sold.

We used ATG glue runner to attach the sentiment tags to the wings. The final step was to glue some glittered foam hearts to the airplanes for the tails. We used hot glue so it may be a parent-only step depending on the age of your children.

Now what's a blog hop without blog candy?? Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info) to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

The winner will be notified via email on Wednesday February 1st, 2012.

That's it, your next stop is

Sandra @ Sweetpeas Cards

Valentine Candy Pouches

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it.

The challenge for this week is:

Valentine Treats

Make a project that can be easily mass produced for classroom goodies.

My seven year old, Owen, loves to have his picture on the goodies he brings to school. So this is the adorable project we came up with for this years Valentine treats.

This treat pouch is from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cut at 7 1/2" using red generic cardstock. I scored the lines and together we folded and sealed the pouch with Scor-Tape.

Some white gel pen stitches are easy enough for my seven year old (although his are not consistent in size like mine are) to help with.

Although this little treat pouch could hold much more candy, Owen wanted Tootsie Roll Pops. To keep them from sliding out, I added a little hot glue to the end of the sucker stick and behind the head of the candy.

We picked out a picture and sized it to fit our pouch (our finished pic measures 2 1/2" x 2") and we printed them out. Four pictures fit onto one 4" x 6" sheet of photo paper. The adorable font is called "Cheri"... I love that is has hearts for the accents. You can download it for free at DaFont.com.

We made little "to:" and "from:" tags for the back too. We used the same font as the sentiment on the front. I left the "to:" section blank so Owen can hand-write the rest.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Scrappy Mom's : Rock Princess

Girls Rock!

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge starts today. For the first time ever,

the DCD ladies are offering up a recipe challenge:

Buttons, Bling and/or Bows

For this 6" x 6" card I used Bazzil Cardstock, DCWV scraps and some generic black cardstock. The cute skull (cut at 2 1/2") and sentiment (cut at 3/4" and welded with my Gypsy) from Rock Princess.

I added these little pink hearts to the skulls eyes (and the words too) from Rock Princess. They are cut at 1/4". I put one layer of glossy accents on the hearts, added some fine glitter and let it dry. Then, I put another layer of Glossy accents down to seal the glitter in. It really makes for an adorable and custom rhinestone looking heart.

Here you can see some more of the little heart accents. There is a "Girl's Rock" sentiment on the Rock Princess cartridge, but it didn't fit my card right, so I just created this one using the font button. I couldn't resist adding the cute little gel pen stitches too. It really finishes off the black layer.

I added some scraps to finish off the inside to. I think this would make a wonderful birthday card, but could really be for most any occasion for a girl!

I love the ribbons too. I used my Bow Easy for the two pink satin and black and white ribbons. I did hand make the envelope for this card using a Martha Stewart Score Board. Using the same pink cardstock I used for the card makes for a wonderful custom card look.

Please jump over to Die Cuttin' Divas and enter our recipe challenge. The prize this week is a wonderful stamp set from Kimberly at My Craft Spot

Challenge:

Nuts About You Squirrel Card

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge starts today. In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day, the challenge is to make a project that includes a squirrel! :)

My card is a shaped scene card! How fun is that?? :)

The card base fits into a standard A2 (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") envelope so there is no extra postage to worry about. I used my Gypsy to form the card base. I welded the tree from Simply Charmed to a rectangle, the tree is 4.83", welded to a 4" x 4.47" rectangle. Group the tree and rectangle together, duplicate them, then flip and weld all the pieces together to form your shaped base.

My adorable sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's Punnylicious stamp set.

I added lots of grass layers (from Paper Doll Dress up) measuring from 3/4" tall to 1 1/4" tall. I inked all the grass layers (and the tree top) with green ink and a finger dauber.

The Create a Critter squirrel measures 2" and I've finished it off with a Peachy Keen face stamp from their Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed 1 1/8" set. I think the stamp is just a little big for my little squirrel, but it sure turned out cute.

The little acorns are also from Create a Critter (the shift feature on the squirrel cut) and are sized to 3/4". I added 12 acorns and 1/2 are popped up on pop dots.

I added the last little details with a clear Glaze Gelly Roll pen. This is a clear ink that dries with this wonderful shine on the paper... I love the subtle details it adds to this card. I drew details on the tree, leaves, wood grain on the tree trunk and little tops on the acorns too. so cute!

We'd love it you'd hop over to the Die Cuttin' Divas page and join our

Squirrel Challenge!

You have one week to link up your project for your chance to win.

Dog Lover Birthday

2012-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining us for

DD's Crafts Fabulous 50 Birthday Blog Hop!!

If you just came from Julie the Cricut Chick's blog (cricutchick.com) you are in the right place... if not, please head over to Debbie's blog at craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com to start at the beginning.

Today my card is a birthday card for a dog lover! :)

This is a typical A2 card. I pulled lots of blue and browns from my scrap bin... the blue is Bazzill cardstock, and the polka-dot background paper is an old print by DCWV. The blue layer measures 4" x 5 1/4" and the patterned paper is 3 3/4" x 5". I also added a strip of blue paper (punched with a Fiskars scalloped border punch), a white satin ribbon and a brown strip across the card base.

I created this sentiment layer using "Shelley Print" and placed it in a 2 1/2" circle. After printing it onto photo paper, I placed it on a 2 3/4" brown circle and a 3" blue scallop (both cut from Winter Woodland).

My little puppy is from Create a Critter (where else??) and is cut a 2 1/2". His adorable face is using Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed Peachy Keen face stamps. I added the white details with my Gelly Roll white gel pen. A little adhesive backed rhinestone finishes off his little collar.

The inside of the card features a sentiment stamp from Hero Art's Big Hugs set.

For a bonus freebie, I've included my doggy themed sentiment for you to download if you'd like. Simply click onto the image to open it and right click on it and choose "Save image" to save it to your computer.

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info) to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Drawing will take place on Monday, Jan 16th, 2012.

Please remember to win the grand prizes over at Debbie's blog (DD's Crafts) you must leave a comment on each blog each day of the blog hop.

Your next stop is

Lisa over at Crafty Lam

Mushroom Birthday Card

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining us for

DD's Crafts Fabulous 50 Birthday Blog Hop!!

Today I have another shaped card to share! :)

This adorable mushroom is from Cindy Lou. I sized the shadow layer to 5 1/2" and welded two shapes together to form the card base. It will fit into a standard A2 envelope, so no extra postage required.

All the paper is from my scrap bin but most is Bazzill cardstock. I inked all the layers with royal blue ink and a finger dauber. I love how much dimension inking adds to a card.

I added five silver brads to the mushroom stem and a Scrappy Mom's Stamp for the birthday sentiment. I drew the faux stitches on using my white Gelly Roll gel pen.

I didn't have this sentiment, so I had to create it myself. Using Honey Script, I added the inside sentiment that reads "Happy Birthday to a real Fungi!" I love it! :)

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info)

to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Drawing will take place on Monday, Jan 16th, 2012.

Please remember to win the grand prizes over at Debbie's blog (DD's Crafts) you must leave a comment on each blog each day of the blog hop.

Your next stop is

Lisa over at Crafty Lam

Cow and Barn Birthday

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining us for

DD's Crafts Fabulous 50 Birthday Blog Hop!!

I made the card into a shaped card with my Gypsy.

I've always been in love with shaped cards and this one is no exception! I sized the barn from Create a Critter to 5 1/2" wide and welded two of the shapes together to form the card base.

The cow is cut at 2" (all layers) and the bird is cut at 3/4".

The grass is from Paper Doll Dress Up and I inked the layers with dark green.

I thought the barn needed something extra so I added the white strips of paper to the barn doors.

The sentiment "Wish BIG!" is from Scrappy Mom's Stamps "Simple Sentiments."

"Happy, Happy Birthday!" is from Scrappy Mom's Simple Sentiments too.

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info)

to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Drawing will take place on Monday, Jan 16th, 2012.

Please remember to win the grand prizes over at Debbie's blog (DD's Crafts) you must leave a comment on each blog each day of the blog hop.

Your next stop is

Lisa over at Crafty Lam

Mittens Birthday Card

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it. The challenge for this week is cold Weather inspiration. We are using cool colors (blues, greens, whites, silvers) or items that represent cold weather.

Here is my card. I made it for my Dad's wife whose birthday is at the end of January.

This is a standard A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base) using a white cardstock base. I rounded the corners with my 1/2" corner chomper. I added layers of brown cardstock under all the patterned paper... all papers are from my scraps.

The brown and pink glittery paper is from DCWV and measures 5" x 3 3/4" and the inset piece is from Echo Park's Holly Jolly collection and it measures 3" x 3"

These adorable mittens are from Winter Woodland, cut at 4".

I cut the layers from some scrap Heidi Grace paper and the accents are DCWV white glitter paper. The little hearts are a punch I've had in my stash. I inked all the pink layers with some dark pink ink and a finger dauber.

I created this sentiment using some Studio G stamps from my stash. I used scotch tape to mask off the parts of the stamp so I could created this sentiment using two different stamps. I little brad and some scraps of pink satin ribbon are adorable touches to finish this tag punch.

I love the color combo on this card. Although it's a wintery card, the pinks and browns really liven up the card. White gel pen stitches finish off all the brown cardstock layers.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Nikki at Creations by Mommy.

Challenge:
Tuesday Throwdown : Baby it's cold outside

Seasoned to Perfection

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks the start of another Die Cuttin' Divas challenge. The theme this week is:

Blue, White and Silver

This fun card is from From My Kitchen. I love the shape of the card... it's a recipe card! The card measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and will fit in a standard A2 envelope.

The salt and pepper shakers are cut at 3". I inked around all the blue layers with royal blue ink.

I attached the pepper shaker with 1/8" pop dots and the salt shaker with 1/4" pop dots. I just LOVE the dimension!! I drew the holes on the top of the shakers with my white gel pen. I added these silver flat back self adhesive pearls in sets of three (I buy mine at Craft Warehouse).

I printed this sentiment using Hobby font at 23 points. My EK Success Photo Label punch was perfect for this card. I hand cut the blue layer to mat. This blue textured card stock is from my scraps, but I know it's Bazzill. I added some white gel pen stitches on these blue layers only.

Here you can see how the gel pen stitches match the white stitching on the blue ribbon. I found this ribbon on clearance for 50 cents at Walmart. The polka dot back ground paper is from Heidi Grace.

Instead of having a card base that opens to the side (which would be easier with this card shape) I made this card open from the top so it can be displayed. My card base measures 5 1/2" x 7 1/2" and folds in the center.

I cut the recipe card shaped front separately from the card base to I could attach it to the back of the card front (you can see how the card base starts below the shoulder of the recipe card).

Please take some time to craft with the Die Cuttin' Divas and link up your

Blue, White and Silver project....

and don't forget to include your die-cut!

Have a Bee-u-tiful day!

2012-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for hopping along the Die Cuttin' Diva's trail with us today!

You should have come from Pat's blog at Pat Scraps.

Here is my take on the sketch. It looks like I am the ONLY DCD Designer that didn't use a cupcake on my card. When you take the time to create and enter the sketch challenge, be sure to make it a birthday theme and follow the sketch, but have some fun with the main element of your card like I did! :)

Here is my Bee card. If I had a "Hap-Bee Birthday!" stamp I would have used it too. All the paper is from my scrap bin (but all is DCWV patterns). I used my Fiskars "threading waters" scallop border punch and some white satin ribbon across the bee piece. My yellow polka-dot paper measures 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and the Bee is 3 1/2" cut from Create a Critter.

I couldn't resist using a My Pink Stamper sentiment from her Punny-licous set. The adorable face is a Peachy Keen stamp from their 1 1/8" Wide Eyed Kids set. The little bee trail is an old one from Studio G. Of course my bee is mounted up on an Action Wobble. :)

I couldn't resist decking out the inside of the card to match.

The "Happy Birthday" is from a Hero Arts set called Big Hugs.

I just love how this little card turned out! :) To match the sketch, I added three adorable buttons to the bottom of my card. I did lace them with some craft twine before hot gluing them in place.

Here is the Die Cuttin' Diva's sketch for this week's challenge.

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment (and don't forget your contact info) to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Thanks for hopping along today. Your next stop on the blog hop trail is

Borax Crystal Ornaments

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another wonderful Thankful Thursday Design Team Day over at Crazy About Cricut. The whole reason for Thankful Thursday is to encourage crafters to get their kids (or the kids in their lives) and craft away!! I absolutely LOVE crafting with my boys... we always have a terrific time!!

The theme this week is:
A Christmas Project

We made these terrific Borax Crystal Ornaments. They are very easy to make so

enjoy experimenting with different shapes and colors. Each one costs pennies, so they make wonderful class projects, gift toppers or a quick winter afternoon project.

Another thing I like is that they are surprisingly sturdy so little ones can easily hold them without being afraid that they will break. For the scientific explanation of what is happening here visit this link. *Adult supervision is needed when using borax.

Supplies:
borax (in the laundry section of the grocery store)
cup and 1/2 cup measures
tall and thinnish glass jar
chenille stems / pipe cleaners (colored or white)
pencil or stick or similar
string for hanging

Directions:
Make shapes with chenille stems, hook one end for attaching the string. Make sure the shapes will fit within the mouth of the jar. My boys liked making snowflakes, candy canes, wreaths and curly ques too.

Make a super-saturated solution of borax: 1/2 cup of borax to 4 cups of hot water and
stir until borax is dissolved (the water may still be cloudy, but it will work).

Attach a string to the chenille stem ornament and hang in the jar of borax solution from a pencil laying across the top of the jar. Make sure the shape is not touching the sides or bottom of your jar.

Place the jar in a cool location over night, the crystals will grow as the water cools. You can almost watch them grow... so cool!

Remove crystal ornaments from the jar and let dry on
some rags or paper towels.

Aren't they beautiful?!

The picture is a little dark, but you get the idea. All these ornaments are using colored pipe cleaners.

This one is using a white pipe cleaner with just a few drops of green food coloring in the water.

And here is a candy cane. This one is my son, Owen's favorite.

We even made one for Valentine's Day! :)

Note: Overnight soaking will give you very thickly crystallized ornaments. If you want some of the color of the pipe cleaner to show through, leave in the solution for less time. If you want, you can spray your finished ornament with acrylic sealer or clear spray paint to keep the crystals from falling off over the years.

Please jump over to Crazy About Cricut and take a look at what Jenny and the other Thankful Thursday Designers have come up with for the "Christmas " theme.

If you have the time, we'd love for you to play along... don't forget to link up your Christmas project over at Crazy About Cricut or the post on the Thankful Thursday Challenge FB page.

Snowman Kit

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it. The challenge for this week is to make project that can be used for a last minute Christmas gift.

Here is my Snowman Kit (just add snow).

As you can see, this is not a real snowman... I made a fake one for my pictures, but you get the idea. The kit is to provide all the must-haves for a super fun snowman.

Here are all the things in our kit.

a hat, a scarf, two button for the eyes, six buttons for the mouth and one artificial carrot nose.

The hat was a $1 Tree find. I cut the scarf and trim for the hat (and pom-pom) from some scrap holiday felt. I added some plastic reinforcement to help the hat hold it's shape.

I bought some stiff felt and hand cut and sewed this adorable carrot nose. We stuffed it with cotton balls. I added the little details with a dark brown Bic marker. Adding the dowel to the end of the nose will keep it in the snowman perfectly! :)

My boys picked out "the perfect snowman eyes" button from Joann's but you can easily use what you might already have in your stash. I hot glued half a tooth pick to the back of each button. Again, this will make them super easy for little hands to place on the snowman.

Six buttons for the mouth are attached to 1/2 tooth picks too. These are smaller than the eye buttons.

My sons picked out this snowman tin from Dollar Tree too. It is perfect to store all the snowman pieces until the snow falls.

And the tin fits into the hat just perfectly too.

Here are the tags I will be attaching to the Snowman Kit. I made them just for this project, so feel free to grab them if you are making a Snowman Kit too.

Simply right click on the tags to save them. I've sized them to a 4" x 6" photo size, but feel free to print them to fit your project.

And one last look at my snowman kit.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

BBTB2 : tag using Winter Frolic

Santa Ornament

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks a new challenge over at Die Cuttin' Divas. The challenge is:

Create any holiday celebration idea...wall hangings, centerpieces, ornaments, layouts, gift boxes/bags, etc. Don't forget to include a die cut.

Challenge will last for two weeks.

I am sharing a tutorial for these adorable rosette ornaments. LOVE them! :)

I started out with two strips of double sided paper. Cut them to 1 1/2" x 12" and score every 1/4" and accordian (or fan) fold the strips.

This is the strip joined together at the two ends. I used score tape to hold it together.

Next I used hot glue to attach these 1" circles (two to each rosette) to sandwich it in place.

Attach a length of ribbon between the two rosettes.

These are Santas from Doodlecharms. He's cut at 1 1/2". I added two black flat back pearls for the eyes, and a red rhinestone for the nose. I couldn't resist adding Stickles to the hat brim and pom-pom.

If you'd like your ornament to double as a gift tag, throw on a little scalloped circle (2") and a circle (1 1/2") to add your "to:" and "from:".

Here is another one I made (using different papers). Don't they look so cute on gifts too?? This gift is for my little nieces and nephews. I put together gingerbread house kits together. I hope they are enjoyed.

Thanks for visiting, please take a look at the challenge over at Die Cuttin' Divas. We'd love to see what you come up with! :)

Baby Jesus Tag / Ornament

2011-12-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, I've been so busy!! Today I just had a little time to craft so I made this cute tag/ornament.

This is a rosette ornament. I cut two strips of double sided paper down to 12" x 1 1/2". I scored them at each 1/4" using my MS score board and fan folded the strips. Attach one end to the other (I used score tape) and flatten them to form a rosette. I punched little 1" circles and hot glued the pieces in this order:

1" circle, then first rosette, another 1" circle, small doily, ribbon for hanging, 1" circle, second rosette, and then the last 1" circle.

I stamped the "to:" and "from:" using a Studio G stamp onto a 1 1/2" circle and attached it to the back of my tag.

See how cute it looks on a gift??

And after the gift is opened, it makes an adorable ornament too. :)

This cute little baby Jesus is from Winter Frolic. All his layers are cut at 2". I used a Peachy Keen face from the Everyday Character Faces.

I added some inking around the manger and finished off the eyes with a white gel pen. I love that this entire project came from my scrap bin.

Challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut : Use ribbon on your project

Scrappy Mom's Stamps : Christmas

2 Sister's Challenge Blog : Christmas

Grinch Pills

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

My boys love our "Grinch Pills". These could be perfect for that person on your Christmas list that just doesn't have the Holiday Spirit. They also make wonderful stocking stuffers.

I shared them last year, but really think they deserve another go... plus I had to make some more today, so they were fresh in my mind. :)

I have included jpg files for you to make your own double or single sided "Grinch Pills" and the Gypsy file for you to cut the tic tac wrapper with your Cricut. - Just follow the links (or click on the photos) to go to 4Shared to download the files. If you have a problem, I can email them to you too.

Double sided and single sided "Grinch Pills."

Both sides of the double sided version of the project.

Here you can see how I added the ornament hanger (a length of ribbon would look lovely too).
I used the Big Pack of tic tacs for this project.

Click here to get the Gypsy Cut file for the Tic Tac Wrappers

http://www.4shared.com/photofile/grinch_DOUBLE_SIDED_4x6.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/UlFBDM8G/Grinch_Pills_8x10.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/AByyX07f/grinch_SINGLE_SIDED_4x6.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/r8JRQRa0/Grinch_Pills_single_sided_8x10.html

The Gypsy files use "Just Because Cards" for the rounded rectangle and "spine" of the tic tac wrapper (but you could substitute any rounded rectangle if you need to).

A Christmas Layout... sort of

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another wonderful Thankful Thursday Design Team Day over at Crazy About Cricut. The whole reason for Thankful Thursday is to encourage crafters to get their kids (or the kids in their lives) and craft away!! I absolutely LOVE crafting with my boys... we always have a terrific time!!

The theme this week is:

A Christmas Layout

I made this 12" x 12" scrapbook page using the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking software. I love it because I am not much of a scrapbooker, but I love designing on my computer so this software combines both.

This page is all about my son Bryce. The day after Thanksgiving we always have a poker party and all our family comes over. The kids love playing together. I almost always have a crafting table for the kids and they LOVE that. Well, this year, all the kids decided to dance!

As you can read from the journaling, he broke his foot while dancing! While at the cast clinic (on November 27th) he chose to have a green cast with red stripes... his Christmas cast.

In the My Memories Suite program, I picked the background paper, placed the pictures, and even added red polka-dot ribbon and white stitching.

I love the thin little borders you can add to the pictures too.

One last look at my layout (the second one I've ever made).

Please jump over to Crazy About Cricut and take a look at what Jenny and the other Thankful Thursday Designers have come up with for the "Christmas Layout" theme.

If you have the time, we'd love for you to play along... don't forget to link up your Christmas Layout over at Crazy About Cricut or the post on the Thankful Thursday Challenge FB page.

My 2011 Christmas Cards

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is a Crafty Designers Day over at Craft Junkie too!! I love this project too... today is the day the designers share Christmas Cards!

These are my Christmas cards for this year. I used lots of DCWV's glitter paper!! Love that stuff!

This is a standard A2 card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") using Kraft cardstock. The white card layer measures 5" x 3 3/4", the red patterned paper by Heidi Grace is 4 3/4" x 3 1/2".

I cut the stockings using Joys of the Season (cut at 2 1/2"). The stocking bodies are generic red cardstock, but the cuff, toe and heel are white glitter paper. I love the touch of twine too. I grabbed this red and white twine on Etsy for a great price... I have TONS of leftovers too. The little sentiment stamp is by Stampendous.

I made a total of 65 of these terrific cards... if you are trying to figure out how many stockings that is... it's 260 stockings I cut and assembled! :)

I bought some Kraft cardstock envelopes from Clear Bags R Us on Ebay. The watermarked stamps were created using Dazzle Versamark ink. No heat embossing required, just stamp and let it dry. I love the look on the Kraft colored card stock too. Both of these stamps are by Studio G.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Check out this page on my blog for three easy ways to color a digi.

Gift Card Tags

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today the new challenge over at Die Cuttin' Divas is to make some tags!

I'll be showing you how I make these Gift Card Tags. They are wonderful if you give gift cards out at Christmas time (or anytime really) but I love that they use recycled supplies too.

First step is RECYCLE!! I always love a project where you can recycle and craft! Save a toilet paper roll or two (or paper towel roll if you prefer).

I find that the best way to flatten out a TP roll is to run it through your Cuttlebug. It works great! Next, staple it shut on only one end and the sides of the open end (see the pictures).

Don't worry about the staples, the paper will cover them up, they sure make

assembly fast... no waiting for glue to dry.

Next cut paper to fit the flat roll. My paper was cut to 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" and is from the DCWV's Christmas stack from last year... if you use mini stack there is no trimming required.... that would be even easier.

Then cut a tag that will slip into the tube. You can hand cut a tag that measures 2" x 4 3/4" or use the Schoolbook Cricut Cartridge and cut a tag using 2". You'll need two tags for each tube. I sandwich the two tags together for strength.

Punch a hole in the tag, set and eyelet and thread on some ribbon. I used my 3/16" hole and eyelets setter on my Crop-a-Dile. I used two lengths of ribbon, each measuring about 9". I couldn't resist adding some jingle bells to my tag's ribbon too. :)

I added a tag shape cut from Winter Woodland, I used my Gypsy to size it to 3 1/4" x 2" and a matching shape for the shadow sized to 3 1/2" x 2 1/4". I mounted the colored digi image from Whimise Doodles.com.

Here is a picture of each of my three different tags

The stamps are all Studio G $1 bin stamps.

I inked all the tags and sleeves with ink and a finger dauber.

And I simply couldn't resist a "Jingle all the way" stamp on the tag.

I added a "to:" and "from:" stamp to each set too.

See how great the gift card fits the tube! And you can feel great about recycling

(and you gotta love free supplies)! As easy as these are to make, kids could easily help out. Let them color the digital stamps, even covering the tp tubes is an easy job. How about this as a holiday break activity?

I hope you'll hop over to Die Cuttin' Diva's and enter the Tag challenge. This time the challenge will be running for two weeks, so you have time to fit this challenge in. :)

Stocking Card

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday and that means another Die Cuttin' Divas Challenge. This week it's a sketch... like I've said before, sketches are my weakness, so please be honest. :)

My card is a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" base so it'll fit in a standard A2 envelope. All my patterned paper is from the Holly Jolly Christmas paper pad by Echo Park (I LOVE this paper).

The red glitter ribbon trim is actually Glitter Garland by Darice. I bought a 25 foot spool of it on Clearance last January. I cut it down and clipped the corners for my card.

The inside of the card has matching paper and glitter trim too.

My stocking is mounted on the green square with pop dots. The red layer measures 2 1/8" x 2 1/8" and the green layer measures 2" x 2". I added some stitches using my white Gelly Roll gel pen.

This adorable stamp came from a $1 pack by Scrappy Cat. I found it at Joanns in the dollar bin. It also came with the rhinestones I put on the cuff of my stocking.

This cute little stocking is from Christmas Cheer. I cut it at 2". The cuff and toe/heals are cut from white glitter paper by DCWV. I love that paper and it's easy to add a little sparkle using just scraps.

Here is our sketch this week. Please jump over to Die Cuttin Divas to enter the challenge.

Happy Thanksgiving with Fingerprint Turkeys

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know about your kiddos, but will all the cousins gathered around waiting for the turkey and mashed potatoes to be ready, they all get antsy!! My hubby's side of the family has 13 kids, and some are less patient than others. I thought this would be a wonderful kid's table craft for the waiting time.

I found the inspiration for these fingerprint turkey cards in Family Fun magazine, where they were imagined as place cards. Whether you make them as place cards, greeting cards or just make them for the fun of it, they are a cute way to get ready for turkey day.

You’ll need:
Blank Greeting Cards or Cardstock
Non-Toxic Ink Pads in your choice of colors
Markers/Paint Markers for Decorating
Craft paper or cheep-o table clothes to cover your tables

We made two styles of turkey, one facing front, one facing to the side. The kids will get to make one and if there is still time, we can create the second style too.

First we'll tackle for front facing turkey:

Start by making a row of feathers with your index finger.

Add more rows of feathers in colors of your choice. Don't worry if your turkey's feathers are ruffled, each kid will be proud no matter what it looks like. :)

Make the body with a thumbprint (or two).

Add eyes, beak and feet. We used paint markers for the eyes and beak – our markers were hard to see over the ink (googly eyes would be great too). Don't forget the feet.

Now, how about those side facing turkeys:

Make the body with a sideways thumbprint and use your index finger for the head.

Add rows of index print feathers.

Add eye, beak, wattle and feet. See? So cute.

Don't forget baby wipes or something to clean up those little inky fingers. I also grabbed a "handcrafted with love" stamp for the back. A cute little signature by each artist finished off this busy hands craft.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope each and every one of you is having a safe and happy Thanksgiving day.

Elf on the Shelf Printables

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it. The challenge for this week is to make a project to help kick off the holiday season.

To read the complete story of "The Elf on the Shelf" hop by the website, but the general idea is that when your "assigned" elf arrives, you must name him or her and set her on a shelf in your home. Your new elf acts like Santa's little spy, watching to see if your child/ren have been behaving and will earn Santa's gifts. Each night your Elf will return to Santa and report any naughty or nice news. Every night when the elf returns, he or she may choose a new spot to sit. You may not touch the elf after that first day, you don't want to rub off any of the Christmas Magic, do you?? But don't forget, your little elf must be under the tree or by the stockings on Christmas Eve night so s/he can hitch a ride home with Santa.

As much as I love the story of "The Elf on the Shelf" I just knew I could re-create the wonderful story at a fraction of the price. My version includes a printable letter from Santa. He tells a little about the elf, that you must name your elf etc. I've also included the elf passport, this is where you assign your elf it's name.

Here are the parts of my printable kit. For this sample, I used the 1st letter download. This letter includes margins in case you'd like to print of holiday paper you may already have in your stash.

I love that Santa "signed" the letter too! The second letter file is a full page and doesn't leave any margins. You could print it on any paper or full page patterned paper too.

Here is the elf's passport. It's complete with date of issue (please note; we put our Elf on the Shelf out December 1st), date of birth etc. The back includes all the passport stamps your Elf has collected from all over the world.

Here is the little Elf we are using this year. It's a cute little shelf sitter I picked up at a Craft Bazaar.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/Xf18fHdd/Elf_on_the_Shelf_letter_1.html

This letter is the one that has 1" margins all around.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/nbbaeu0Y/Elf_on_the_Shelf_letter_2.html

This is the letter with no margins (for use on full patterned paper or blank paper).

http://www.4shared.com/photo/FZ-txtPN/Elf_on_the_Shelf_passport_-_si.html

This is a single passport. It will print to a full size of 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", fold it in half and seal to complete your passport. I will be laminating ours to keep it from year to year.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/pbzG7zSq/Elf_on_the_Shelf_passport_-_do.html

And in case you have multiple families or grandkids etc you'd like to gift this story to, this is a double passport. It has two per page and each has a different passport number too.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

her other Crafty Designers have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members