Dunnottar Castle

I finally got around to doing some scrapbooking today, been a bit busy this week! I scrapped our photos of Dunnottar Castle in Scotland. A beautiful ruins of a castle, one of our favourites on the trip and we went on my birthday which was even more special. I used neutral coloured cardstock and some plaid papers. My lovely husband found the green tartan one the other day when he had to go out, so sweet of him, it's perfect for this page. I was so happy as I got to use my Cricut Design Studio for the title from my "Storybook" catridge. I "welded" meaning I joined all the letters together (which would normally cut each letter separate on the Cricut but we design studio you can join them). I also joined 3 lovely flourishes for the bottom which reminded me a lot of castles and the medieval theme. I did my journalling on the computer and center pointed it on my Cricut to get the shape. I had some green photo corners in my stash and a nice little saying tag "Loving life is living life"..so true for us as we are enjoying our time together to the max and this holiday was one of the best!

Easel Christmas card

I have been busy today, it's really hot outside and we've taken this week off the gym to give ourselves a rest so my free time has been spent doing some really nice cards. Next week I'll be back into the Scotland scrapbooking. This is my favourite and it's a new style of card I learned..an easel card. I found it on Jennifer's blog..thanks Jennifer for the idea! Her blog is:
http://creativecricutdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/christmas-easel-card.html

I was a bit scared at first but I'm really proud that I got it right yay! It starts off with a piece of card that you score in 2 separate places and fold. Then you get a scrap piece of card, it has to be thick card so I glued 2 pieces together to make it thick. Then here is the really good part, you go into your kitchen and get the aluminium foil, tear a sheet off to fit and glue that to the card. Once that is done I put it in my Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the snowflake design, who would have though foil could look so cute and Christmassy! : ). I then decorated that using my Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge to cut out the little tree. I put the snow at the bottom of my tree through my Xyron and put glitter on it (a technique I saw on the HSN shopping channel this morning, they had a scrapbook and cards event, I didn't buy anything, I'm good I just learned some new things!). I then decorated the tree with gemstones and put it on 3d blocks onto the card. I tied some red and white dotty ribbon around the card and glued it onto one part of the card so when it stands up it's an easel! I then stamped "Merry Christmas" onto some green and red which were scraps cut into a rectangle and glued on so when it stands up you can see the sentiment under the tree. I decorated that with a little prima flower and brad. I am so happy with this, I've so enjoyed making it.

Thank you

Another card I made today. A thank you card for our Solicitor in Australia who helped us with the purchase of our block of land, I always think it's nice to thank someone when they help you, especially when you are in another country and they are doing everything on your behalf. So I cut the card on "Just because cards" and the matching envelope. I then cut out the circle on shiny latte coloured card and also the black scalloped circle and spotty circle all on the "Storybook" cartridge. I originally cut out the flower and leaves from my Cricut lite cartridge "Live Simply" but I didn't like the flower so I just kept the leaves and cut out another flower from "Sweet Treats". I used a white button for the flower centre and typed out a sentiment on the computer.

Christmas cards in July!

I decided to take a short break from my Scotland scrapbooking to do a Christmas card or two just for something different and I think it's a good idea to start them now so I'm not in a hurry to do them as Christmas will come up really quickly I'm sure! I started this one yesrterday, it'sa red card I made from "Just because cards" with the matching envelope. I had some nice paper from a Christmas stack and I hand stitched this onto the card whilst I was eating breakfast this morning! I used my "Storybook" cartridge to cut out the labels with a paper doiley underneath. I used my "Winter woodland" cartridge to cut out the Poinsetta flowers and layered those with yellow buttons for the centres. I finished with some gold ribbon tied around the label.

Lace heart anniversary card

This was the other item I made today, an anniversary card for my friend Conny whose 10 anniversary is coming up. It's a beige card with a top fold then chocolate brown card on top. I cut out the scalloped oval on a scrap of nice leaves gold paper with my "Straight from the nest" catridge. I used my "Accent essentials" cartridge to cut out the heart out of a scrap of red/green dotty paper. Then I got my cuttlebug and heart die and cut out the brown card and then a lace heart which I layered on top. I recently learned you can cut lace in the Cuttlebug so I gave it a try and love the look of it. I cut out a font phrase from "Wild cards" and finished off with some black and white gingham ribbon.

Cupcakes at the Cathedral

I made this page this afternoon it's of our trip to St Andrews in Scotland, this one is the ruins of the St Andrews Cathedral. I used some check paper on top of white card and then blue under my photos. I used my "Cricut Accent Essentials" to cut out my circles and scalloped circles and did the journalling on the computer. I had a Cloud 9 die cut with the sentiment on that I thought was perfect for this page. I used my "Straight from the nest" cartridge to cut out the cupcake in layers and I used rub-ons to write cupcakes. I then cut out the rest of my font using the "Calligraphy" cartridge. I finished it with a chipboard button tied with twine and some stickles to decorate my cupcake!

I Wheelie Love you!

I made this card for Greg today for our anniversary coming up in October. I saw the idea of a "stepped" card in my scrapbooks etc magazine I get each month and decided it was perfect for my Greg! I cut the card out at 5.5 inches x 12 inches and then scored lines going down the card to make it into an accordian fold. I then used different papers to decorate each fold. I used my Cricut "Sweethearts" cartridge to cut out the girl on the bike (me!) and also the label. I printed "I Wheelie love you" on the computer and cut it into the label shape to layer onto the black label. I then had a "with all my heart" in my stash that was cut from a 12 x 12 sheet of paper which I layered onto a scalloped circle using my Cricut "Accent Essentials". I then went back to "Sweethearts" and cut out the flower and also the tag which is hidden in the card, it gets pulled out by the ribbon. I am so happy with how this turned out and Greg is going to be so surprised, I wish I could give it to him sooner but I'll give the card to him when we're on holiday in Mexico on our anniversary.

Wishes

I made an envelope today on my Cricut, it was originally to fit the card I made for Greg but It turned out too small so rather than waste the envelope I made a cute little card to fit it. It's so cute I love the way it came out. I used a plain white card cut out on the Cricut. I then matted with the lime green paper and cut out some scalloped squares from my "Cricut Accent Essentials" cartridge in both white and a lovely blue floral print. I then cut out a circle in orange. I used my "Songbird" cartridge to cut out the sweet little fence and bird and layered a bluebird on top of that. I tied around some ribbon and put in a pin I made with some beads and finished with a little epoxy sentiment I had in my stash. I'm glad I decided to make this one and re-use the envelope!

Life is sweeter with you

I made this card this morning after seeing a nice sentiment on a card on a blog I follow so I decided to make a card for Greg as a surprise and change the design to make my own design. I used my Cricut "Just because cards" to cut out the card and then used a scrap of nice lime green pattered paper for the background which was a scrap and also a scrap of dotty paper cut into a circle. I used the same cartridge to cut out the cute little ice cream sundae and I decorated it with some gemstones for sprinkles and a button threaded with some cotton for the cherry on top. I then used my "fabulous finds" cartridge to cut out the little round tag and I printed the sentiment on the computer and cut it into a circle to fit the tag. I finished with some brown and white twine to tie the tag onto the card. I then added a little heart to finish.

Wish birthday card

I started this card over a week ago and finished it today. I have seen all the lovely beaded hat pins in projects lately and I did buy some special ones and then I realised that I can make them myself. I tried to use normal earring pins but they bent too easily so I got some corsage pins and they are perfect. I have lots and lots of beads that I use for my jewellery making so I have made this pin and quite a few with some pretty beads. The card is in lilac and matted with navy blue. I got some hot pink and put it through my dotty embossing folder on the Cuttlebug. I then used my "Sweet treats" catridge to cut out the lovely little cake and my "Stamping" cartridge to cut out wish in a shadow. I had some co-ordinating ribbon to match to tie around the card and then put my pin through that. I decorated the card with gemstones and some flower stickers. This is going to be for my friend Claudy for her birthday in September, I know she'll love this as she does all of my cards. I'm really pleased with how this turned out! : )

We ♥ Castles

My second page in the series of castles and palaces we visited in Scotland. This one is of Blackness Castle & Craigmillar Castle just outside of Edinburgh. We had a lovely time at these castles. Again I have included info on the castles so we remember what each castle was about. I used my corner rounder to round the corners of my pages and then used my "Cricut Storybook" catridge to cut out my font and also the scalloped squares for the journalling. I enclosed a little lace doiley underneath the photos and put a hat pin through it that I made with beads and a corsage pin. Love this page!

Linlithgow Palace

This morning I had some time after doing my daily things like laundry etc and before going to the gym and walking my lovely poochies so I finished a page I started on the first palace that we visited on our trip to Scotland in April. We visited lots of palaces and castles so I'm going to put some info on each one on each page I do so we can look back in years time and read about where we visited and the history behind each place. I used my "Cricut Storybook" cartridge for this as it's perfect as it reminds me a lot of princesses, castles etc. I cut out my fancy label piece in green using that cartridge and also the label at the bottom for my info on the castle. I am really enjoying using the Center point feature on the Cricut to be able to cut out my journalling in the same fancy shape. I then cut out the pretty floral border and layered the flowers down the side. I decided not to do a title on this page but let the journalling speak for itself and also the photos. A wonderful reminder of such a great holiday with my lovely husband ♥

My birthday

I decided to do my birthday photos from Scotland next. I haven't done any birthday ones for ages and I was looking forward to doing these as I had such a fabulous birthday given by my lovely husband in Scotland. I love the bright colours I could use on these pages too. I had a really nice birthday pad of papers and die cuts etc so I thought they were perfect. I used my "Cricut Storybook" cartridge to cut the patterned paper into the flower shape and basically used lots of the embellishments from the pack on the 2 pages. I did cut the banner though out of my "Cricut Straight from the nest" cartridge which I have been dying to do for ages and a birthday was the perfect chance to do it. I found a really cute journalling block in the pack but as I'm not keen on handwriting on my layouts I decided to type the journalling on the computer and stick it over the top and it turned out really well.

St Lucia Album

I just wanted to show you this lovely album I got at Michaels Friday night, I had a 50% off coupon so I got it at a great price. Greg originally found it and I absolutely love it and think it's perfect for all of my St Lucia scrapbook pages I've made. It's very beachy and lovey! I found the perfect family photo of my darling Greg, myself and our little bear Chockie for the front. Now they are all lovely preserved in there and once I put them in there the other night we sat looking at them for a while, thinking of the wonderful day and time we had in St Lucia ♥

Congratulations

I've been so busy this morning and afternoon but I did find time to make a card for my friend Claudy who will be moving into her new house soon and Greg and I will get to visit her and her boyfriend and see her new home in December when we go to Germany. I already had the card made so I used my Cricut Storybook to cut the label at the back out of some spotty paper. I then used the same cartridge to cut the fancy scalloped shape in green. I then used my "Cindy Loo" cartridge to cut out the cute little birdhouse. I then stamped Congruatulations and added a little button with some twine threaded through and to finish. The little birdhouse reminds me a lot of German gingerbread houses so I think it will be perfect for them! : )

Friends always

I made this card for my friend Claudy this afternoon who is really stressed and exhausted at the moment with lots of different things so I decided to make her a card. I think a palm tree is a nice relaxing image (I look forward to looking at lots of those in Cooya Beach in the near future!). So I cut my card from my "Wild Cards" cartridge which had the ready made circle at the front. I then used the blackout feature to cut the brown and cream liners for inside the card. I used my "Life's a beach" cartridge to cut out the palm tree. I then went back to "Wild Cards" to cut out the phrases. Finally I used my "Cricut Accent Essentials" to cut out the scalloped circle for around the circle. I really like how you get a small glimpse of the palm tree through the front until you open it and see the whole thing! I"m looking forward to sending this to her : )

Big Boys Don't Cry

I started this page last week and as we were out and about over the weekend and the first couple of days this week I only got to finish it this morning but I'm really loving this page. It's of my lovely husband Greg when he was just a little boy. For some reason I just love this photo, perhaps it's his cute little face, awww I just want to cuddle him (he is the little boy on the bottom left). This photo shows him at a birthday party. I did ask Greg's mum why he looks like he's going to cry and perhaps it was because he didn't want his mummy to leave him awww!!! Anyway so as the photo was originally in black and white it made it very easy for me to use any colours, so I chose bright party colours. Green cardstock and some patterned paper cut into circles using Cricut Accent Essentials. I used my "Cuttin Up" cartridge to cut the font and "Lets Party" and then "Sweet Treats" to cut the little cupcake and party hat. I used "Cricut Sampler" to cut the bookplate and printed the journalling on my comptuter finished with some star brads. I finished it with a border from my stash. Greg loved this page too, this will be one I continue to look at, I love it!

Thinking of you card

Since Friday afternoon was a bit stormy I decided to make a card for my Aunty Susan who is going through treatment for cancer right now so I thought a card might cheer her up. I made a thinking of you card. I got a lovely pad of card sized papers the other week at Joann's and I did like this one which had branches and leaves it. So I layered that onto white card and then a maroon coloured card. I used my Cricut "Serenade" cartridge to cut out the little branch, leaves and cute little birdcage with bird and finished that with a little rhinestone. Then I stamped my greeting and cut that out and tied it around with some bakers twine. I'll post it tomorrow, hope she likes it!

Cutie Pie

I am so excited about this page. I have been looking forward to scrapping some of Greg's little boy and baby photos. So I thought after I finish St Lucia and Mexico I would start these. These 2 photos are 2 of my absolute favourites of Greg, he is soooooooo cute and I'm so glad now that I have started these that I can look at them often! So because the photos were black and white it was easy to pick the colours to compliment the photos. I found the check paper first so I matched the brown underneath to go with that. I used my Cricut "Storybook" cartridge for the font and I also used a lovely shape off the same cartridge to cut the check paper. I used my "Cricut Essentials" to cut out the scalloped circles and typed the sentiment on my computer. I then used my "3 birds on Parade" cartridge which is the first time I used it to cut out the cute little bird. I had a lovely border in my stash which was very childlike with "giggle, laugh" etc on and as we don't have children this was the perfect opportunity to use this and the 2 little round star stickers. I finished off with a chipboard button tied with some twine. Loving this page, just like I love Greg ♥

Surf's Up

Today I finished a page on our Mexico trip from last year. I found some beachy paper in my stash to layer onto the blue cardstock. I then lined one of the photo edge's with a blue border. I used my Cricut "Life's a beach" cartridge to cut out the big palm tree, the Surf's up phrase, the waves and also the lifesaver. I printed out where the photos were taken on the computer. Brings back nice memories of Mexico and look forward to going back in October for our anniversary!