More Easter cards

Still working on Easter cards with a long way to go.
This card is a different size than what I normally do. It measures 8.25" wide by 4" tall. Fits perfectly in a legal size envelope.

The die cut was a freebie from Designs on Cloud 9.

Getting Cricky's challenge this week is Easter Blessings so I will be linking this card up over there.

Have a hoppy day!!

Here's how I did it...
Base card 8.25" x 4"
Paper from my stash
Die cut from Designs on Cloud 9 sized to 3.5" tall
White mat embossed with Darcie floral embossing folder
Twine from Twinery

Leaving the Sabi Sabi today.

I am so sad that I have to leave the Sabi Sabi Game Lodge today- just not enough days. The goal is to see the "Big Five", Elephant, Rino, Leopard, Buffalo, and lion... we saw all but the leopard. Not bad for 2 days.

I will share more photos after my long 32 hour of travel home today.

Me taking a photo of an elephant

this was outside my lodge room door!

Spring has Sprung!

Well did you guess where I am traveling this week...if you said South Africa,  you are right! I have the best job in the world. 
I will be sure to post pictures soon of this amazing country. 


Here is a swingin' card that is sure to put a smile on your face. 

I just love how this turned out. The die cut is from Treasure Box Designs. This is a BIG card...5" x 7". I was afraid if I made it much smaller the die cut would be challenging to put together with all the little pieces. 


Here's how I did it...
Base card is 5"x7" from Kraft paper
Beige pattern paper from My Minds Eye, all others from my scrap box
Swinging girl/layers from Treasure Box Designs sized to fit the card using SCAL
Sentiment from Pink by Design Spring has Sprung stamp set
Pop dots for bird and some of the leaves 
Gem in the bow from my stash

A start of the Easter Cards

I need to get going on more Easter cards... here is one I did quickly. I got this new stamp and had to try it right away. This is a Riley Stamp and Riley is the cute moose. I love how simple it is. I just colored with my copic markers.

Here's How I did it...
Base is A2 size
Pattern paper is from Doodlebug Designs all others from my scrap box
Stamp is Easter Chick by Riley and Company
Sentiment from MPK

Where's Barb? It's an Adventurous Week!

This week is very exciting and a big adventure. I have the pleasure of being in a great place for work this week.I have the best job ever.

Can you guess where I am?

Lots of cuts from lots of carts and other places to put this little scene together but I am really happy with the results.
Feel free to guess where I am working this week. I will share the location in a future post.

Here's How I did it...

A2 size base side step card

Paper is kraft paper and lots of scraps from my box

Africa Pattern paper from Bo Bunny 6x6 paper stack

Elephant/layers cut at 2.75" from New Arrival

Lion/layers cut at 1.75" from Create a Critter

Giraffe cut at 4" from CM Stork's Delivery

Jeep/Tree and Ranger from My Scrap Chick Jungle Zoo Safari Collection

Grass cut from Create a Critter

Face on Ranger from Peachy Keen Face Boy Mates stamp set

Tag from My Creative Time Teeny Tags die cut and stamp set

Sentiment hand written by me. 

Rain Drops Keep Falling...

Are you humming yet? Yes, now I have that song going through my head all day today.
Well, Cooking with Cricut's challenge this week is a inspiration from a spring song.

Here's a little card in honor of that old song, Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head.

Here's how I did it...
A2 Card base
Paper form my stash
Bid/layers  cut at 3.75" from3 Birds on Parade
Mats sized and cute from Lacy Labels cart
Ribbon from Stampin Up
Corner punch from Stampin Up
Sentiment from Pink by Design Spring has Sprung stamp set

Bunny Love

I recently purchased a Peachy Keen stamp set called Bunny Dolls. It has bunny's that have interchangeable parts like an easter egg, basket, carrot, etc so you can customize the type of bunny you want for your project.

I don't do a lot of this kind of stamping where you stamp, color and then cut the image out. But I am trying. 

Peachy Keen is having a challenge this week to use faux stitching. I pulled out a die from Emma over at My Creative time and the stitching stamp that goes with it. I think it turned out cute. I poped up the bunny for more dimension.

The base card is A2 size, paper is all from my scrap box, ribbon from Stampin Up',yellow mat and stitching from My Creative Time and of course the cute bunny from Peachy Keen Bunny Dolls stamp set.

Birds - A sure sign of spring!

This week over at FCCB the challenge is to use three flowers on your project. 

Well, a sure sign of spring is flowers and the robin's coming back to build their new homes. 
Here is a card with a cute robin cute from Nate's ABCs cartridge. This cart has the most adorable cuts on it. 
Some flowers are from the cart and others I punched with a CM punch I have. 
I love the rustic paper from My Minds Eye. 
Be sure to check out the DT inspiration projects for this challenges and link up one of your own. 


Here's how I did it...
Base card is A2 size
Paper from My Minds Eye 
Additional paper from my scrap box
Sentiment from My Scrappy Moms Spring Fling stamp set

Flower power!

Wow- this week is flying by. I have been trying to get a lot of things done the last few days so I have lots of posts ready next week while I am traveling for work. 


So here is a very quick little card. I am actually thinking of doing a few more of these to make a set as a gift. 

I used the Freshly Picked cartridge. There are about 3 or 4 potted plants on this cartridge that would go well together as a card set. This is the type of geranium I can grow well. Normally geraniums of this sort  don't do well in my yard. 


I am going to link this card up to a couple challenges listed below. 
Cupcake Inspiration Challenge
Made Especially for You- 3 buttons
My Craft Spot- Scallop Challenge


Here's how I did it...
Red checked paper from Lasting Impressions
All other paper from my scrap stash
Base card is 4"x4"
Scallop cut from Lacey Labels at 3.5"
Flowers/layers cut at 3.25" from Freshly Picked
Sentiment/tag from My Creative Time Teeny Tag Greetings stamp set
Buttons and twine from my stash

You Crack me up!

Thank goodness for challenges. If not for them, some of my coolest supplies in my craft room would be stored forever. I sometimes overlook cool tools or supplies I have on my shelf. Seems I get going on one thing for a while and forget everything else. So today it was time to dig out the bag of wobbles. 

This little card is done with a Cottage Cutz die and stamp set from Peachy Keen. It has so many options for such a small little package. 

I am linking this card up over at Scrappy Moms Stamps as well as The Scrapbooking Queen. Each is having a challenge with wobbles. 

Here's How I did it....

Base of the card is from Accent Essentials and my gypsy to weld two shapes. Cut at 4.25"

Mat from Accent Essentials cut at 4"

Chick/layers and face all from Peachy Keen Stamps

Sentiment from SMS Spring Fling stamp set

Chick attached with wobble

My Creative Time Link up Par-Tea!!

Emma over at My Creative Time just released another set of fun stamps and dies. She is having a Link Up Par-Tea for projects made with her new stamps. 

When I placed my pre-order, I also ordered a few other things that I've had my eye on for a while. 

I used a lot of my new toys with this project. 

Here's How I did it...
Kraft paper and scraps form my stash
My Creative Time products used are:
   Embossed Gift Card Holder
   Stitched Circle Die
   Coffee Break stamp and Die set
   You Are Perk-fet stamp set
CM circle punch
Ribbon from Stampin' Up

What a Beautiful Day!

I hope the weather was as wonderful where you are as it was here in Minnesota today-- Temps in the low 70's! That's crazy for this time of year. Normally we're trying to get out of town and to leave the bitter cold temperatures and snow. I guess Spring Break is in MN this year!

When the weather starts to get like this I start to think about all my perennials. Will they all come back this year, if not, which ones will I need to replace. The plants change so quickly this time of year, you can practically see them grow in front of your eyes.

Here is a card inspired by the spring weather and thoughts of my gardens...

I had some leftover die cuts from when I cut the wrong size or change my mind about the color while making other cards. Instead of throwing these away, I stick them in a file folder and pull them out now and again to see what I might throw together.

The tulips are from Walk in my Garden and are popped up with pop dots.
The tag is from Once Upon a Princess with a sentiment from Pink by Design Spring has Sprung stamp set
The butterfly is from the Imagine cartridge Nursery Tails and popped up with pop dots
The mat is from Lacey Labels

Enjoy the weather and have a fabulous weekend!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Ok, this is the last of my St. Pat's cards, they must go in the mail today!
I had been to a scrapbook store I don't get to often in the MSP area and they had this pretty paper with gold on it from the Moxxie St. Patrick's day collection. 
So I had to get a sheet and make a few more cards with it. 

I used one side of the paper with the gold stripes for one card and the back side that was a pretty green with shamrocks all over it. 


I will be linking up this card to the following challenges today...
Cooking with Cricut - St. Pat's and Rainbows challenge
Cardtv- Wearing of the Green challenge
Die Cut Divas color challenge
Wacky Wednesday - St. Patty's Day challenge


Here's How I did it...
Pattern Paper form Moxxie
Gold and white pattern paper for mats from My Minds Eye
Base card measures 4.75"
Scallop Mat/layers cut at 114.3" from Slumber party *
Hat/layers cut at 63.8" from A Child's year*
Shamrock cut at 25.4" from a Child's year*
Sentiment from My Creative Time
Cuttlebug mesh embossing folder
Black ribbon on the hat
* yes, these sizes are correct. I had to increase them a lot on my Gypsy being they are very small images on the cartridge.

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

I think I mentioned last week that I discovered this challenge blog called Cupcake Inspirations. It is so fun.
Each week there is a picture of some yummy cupcakes to draw inspiration from. You should see the cute cupcakes this week..click here to see it. It's of course themed for St. Patrick's day.

Here is what I came up with...

My card also fits the following challenges that I am going to link up to as well....
My Pink Stamper Blog Hop challenge
Hand Stamped Sentiments Rainbow challenge
Papercraft Star- Green Challenge



The image is a cut file from Cut and Create for only $2 right now!
I sized it to fit the front of my card and then added a sentiment from My Creative Times I Believe in Leprechauns stamp set.I had to really dig to find any shamrock paper scraps I had left. The selection of St. Pat's paper is pretty limited.

Oh my, it's green Beer!

This week is leading up to the big St. Patrick's day celebration on Saturday so I have been working on my last few cards to mail out this week.

Getting Kricky has a color challenge this week to use green, white and one other color.

It was hard for me to stick to the three colors, but I did it.

Here's How I did it...
Size A2 card base
Paper all from my stash ( my St. Pat's day paper is almost gone!)
Cuttlebug folders argyle and swiss dots
Beer mug/layers from Lettering Delights
Sentiment from Pink by Design Luck O' the Irish stamp set

Chicken in with a step card.

Yes, you read correct, it is not a typo-- although I am known to be a horrible speller.

Ashley over at Welch Creations has a challenge going on to make a project with a scenic background.
Ashley was one of my very first followers and thus I follow her blog too. She has some great projects and has started hosting challenges.

I had a few different ideas going around in my head before settling on this one. I decided on a step card so I could build a three dimensional scene.
I saw this sentiment for a stamp from Great Impressions, but the store was out of stock, so I had to type it myself. Hope they get more in so I can buy the stamp!


Here's  how I did it...
Paper is all from my stash
Basic step card - so when folded is an A2 size card. Side panel is 2"
Chicken/layers cut at 3.5" from Animal Kingdom
Sun/layers cut at 3.25" from Pooh and Friends
Cow/layers cut at 1.75" from Animal Kingdom
Barn/layers cut at 2" from Country Life
Fence cut at 1" from Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art
Cow border (by the barn) cut at .5" from Animal Kingdom
Maratha Stewart grass border punch
Retro Circles Cuttlebug folder

April Showers??

Well, it is not April yet but the rain showers have started. That's always a great sign of spring. love the rain this time of year because it naturally cleans things up outside and helps the ground to warm up so the plants start to sprout.

I was playing with the Imagine again this weekend. I am trying to use this machine at least once a week.

Here's a card I did for the My Creative Time Imagine That Challenge.

The rain drop paper is from Imaginisce with others from my scrap stash. The girl is cut from the Enjoy the Seasons cart.

Not sure what the inside of my card will say yet-- could be a thinking of you, spring greetings or get well card. Guess I will wait to see what I need it for.

Have a great Monday.

Tweet Tweet -- it's Day 2 of the Easter Hoppin' Blog Hop!!

Welcome to BugBites and day 2 of the Tangwen's Easter Hoppin' Blog Hop! 

 If you arrived here from Missy's blog you are in the right spot. If you would like to start from the beginning so you don't miss a thing, start here.

This hop is sponsored by Ginger Snap Scraps, an online store run by stay at home mom Cori Wagner.

The store will be opening in April.  

Cori is giving away a $20 gift card to the store to one lucky winner.  

You must be a follower of Ginger Snap Scraps, the blog and Tangled Webs of Tangwen in order to win the $20 gift card.
Ginger Snap Scraps will carry Cricut products, Echo Park, Lawn Fawn, The Twinery and many more popular brands that you love!

For my Easter project today I went with yet another treat box option for Easter goodies. This is more like an Easter basket. Great for co-workers, the babysitter, kids away at collage or whomever needs a little treat. 

 
The cut file is from MyScrapChick and was super easy to put together. 


The eggs inside are also handmade by me. You can find my post from last year on how to make them here.


Now onto the rest of the blog line up. Your next stop is Cori.

For this weekend's blog hop, Tangled Webs of Tangwen is giving away this great Easter themed paper pack! Be sure to check out how to win by clicking here.

If you get turned around while you are doing all the hoppin' around here is the list to get you going down the right path again!

1. Missy - http://www.tangledwebsoftangwen.blogspot.com/
2. Barb - http://www.bugbites411.blogspot.com/---You are here
3. Cori - http://www.createdbycori.blogspot.com/-- Your next stop
4. Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
5. Angie - http://www.scrapmaniac.blogspot.com/
6. Bonnie - http://www.scrap-n-away.blogspot.com/
7. Michelle - http://michelescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Easter Blog Hop!!

Welcome to BugBites and the Tangwen's Easter Hoppin' Blog Hop! 
If you arrived her from Missy's blog you are in the right spot. If you would like to start from the beginning so you don't miss a thing, start here.

This hop is sponsored by Ginger Snap Scraps, an online store run by stay at home mom Cori Wagner.

The store will be opening in April.  

Cori is giving away a $20 gift card to the store to one lucky winner.  

You must be a follower of Ginger Snap Scraps, the blog and Tangled Webs of Tangwen in order to win the $20 gift card.
Ginger Snap Scraps will carry Cricut products, Echo Park, Lawn Fawn, The Twinery and many more popular brands that you love!

Now that we have all that info out of the way we can get right to my hop project I want to share with you. 
For this Easter Hop I decided to try a milk carton treat box with a twist. Why not a hexagon shape or 6 sided box. I used the instructions here as my guide.

I started with the milk carton image from the Imagine All Wrapped Up cartridge and filled it with paper from the Berries and Cream cartridge. I sized the image to 9" and cut it twice. I then printed another coordinating sheet of paper to trim out the side panels.


The adorable Owl is a svg freebie this week over at Treasure Box Designs. The title was not going to cut  well for the size I needed so I just typed and printed it on my computer. 

The tulips, which are on all the other panels of the box are cut at 3.5" from Walk in My Garden cartridge. 

The finished dimensions of this box is approx 7" tall, by 6" wide and about 5" diameter. It is very roomy inside for a little Easter grass and Easter treats.

Now onto the rest ofthe blog line up. Your next stop is Cori.

For this weekend's blog hop, Tangled Webs of Tangwen is giving away this great Easter themed paper pack! Be sure to check out how to win by clicking here.

If you get turned around while you are doing all the hoppin' around here is the list to get you going down the right path again!
1. Missy - http://www.tangledwebsoftangwen.blogspot.com/ 
2. Barb - http://www.bugbites411.blogspot.com/  ---your here!
3. Cori - http://www.createdbycori.blogspot.com/ ---your next stop!
4. Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
5. Angie - http://www.scrapmaniac.blogspot.com/
6. Michelle - http://michelescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Be sure to hop back tomorrow for my Day 2 project!

Have a Sham-rockin' Day!!

Yeah- it's Friday. This week has been really busy. A good week but busy. Here are a few St. Patrick's Day cards I have been working on. These are 4.25" square cards because I had all these little pieces of themed paper left that I wanted to use, so this is what I could squeeze out of the scraps.

Isn't  this sentiment from My Creative Time's  I believe in Leprechauns stamp set just the cutest?

ok, now for the challenges I am playing along with this week and linking this card to are:

Cricut Creative Cutter Room- St Pat's Challenge
Bitten by the Bug- Shamrock Challenge
Krafty Girls- Feeling Lucky Challenge


Here's How I did it...
Paper from my stash
Base card cut at 4.25" from Elegant Edges by welding two frames together
Shamrocks/layers cut at 3" from Celebrate with Flourish
Sentiment from My Creative Time I believe in Leprechauns stamp set
Bling stickers from my stash

Are you feeling Luck?

I know I am very lucky to have so many great friends,family and blog followers!
 I am not Irish, but St. Patrick's Day is a day to remember how lucky we all are for what we do have.

He is one St Patrick's Day card I have been working on for many St. Patrick's Day or "green" challenges out there this week.

I love this little bingo card and Emma over at My Creative Time made it so easy to make with her Anyday Bingo & Crossword stamp set.

The inside of the card says ..a best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have. 


Boy, that's alot of green paper, isn't it!

Here is where I am linking it up and hope you stop over at these great blogs to link up a " green" project of your own.

Made Especially For You- St Pats challenge with twine
Scrappy Mom Stamps St Patrick's Day challenge
Fantabulous Cricut Green Challenge
Whimsical Designs- green challenge


Here's How I did it...
All paper is from my scrap stash
Base card is cut at 5" from Art Philosophy cart
Mats cut at 4.75" and 4.5" from Art Philosophy cart
Bingo card from My Creative Time Anyday Bingo and Crossword stamp set
Girl/layers cut at 3.5" from Twinkle Toes cart
Put the skirt through my crimper for ruffles
Martha Stewart border punch
Buttons and twine from my stash
Face from PKS Wide Eyed Kids face stamp set
Inside sentiment from Pink by Design Luck O' the Irish stamp set

Hello Bloggers!

Happy Tuesday morning to you all!

I have another quick post before I start my work day. Finished up this card last night for the Cardz TV challenge this week.

Have a super day.

Here's how I did it...
Base card is A2
Paper is from My Minds Eye Miss Caroline 6x6 paper pad
Shaped mat cut at 3.75" and 4" from Elegant Edges
Cupcake/layers cut at 3.25" from Rock Princess
Tag/sentiment  from My Creative Time Teeny Tag Greetings
Ribbon from my stash
Crimper for cupcake wrapper

A Hoot-errific card!

It's Monday and boy, did  the day fly by. Finally got some time in my craft room tonight.


It's a Cricut-less Throw Back Thursday over at My Creative Time. This mean making a project old school, no Cricut!!

I was thumbing through a card magazine this weekend and they had this cute little owl card made from punched circles. So cute and simple. Here lies the problem...they advise to use a 3" and 2" circle punch. I don't have punches that large because I have a Cricut for goodness sake!


So I went into my punch collection and dug out the only circle punch I have, my Creative Memories circle punch. It has a 1.5" and 1" circle - it will have to work.
I had to get creative with my other CM punches too to pull this off. I guess that's why they call it a challenge.


Here is what I came up with...
Circle Punch for the owl body and wings as well as the circles on the tree.
Small pocket snowman punch for feet- after cutting the snowman head off-oh my.
Pocket Leaf punch
Scallop punch to get the tiny circles behind the eyes.


It didn't stop there- oh no.. pull out the custom cutting system oval template to make the branches.


Other tools I used were..
Distressed branches cuttlebug folder
Stampin Up corner punch
My Creative Times build a banner stamp set to stamp the pattern on the leaves
Scissor to hand cut the beak and sentiment banner
Sentiment from MPS Tweetie Hoo Puns stamp set
Paper is from my scrap box


I am also linking this up to My Craft Spots Monday Challenge For the Birds. 


See ya back here tomorrow for more challenge fun!

Spring is in the Air

Spring has sprung in the blog world. All kinds of spring challenges have started to sprout.

Here is a start to my spring card making--this cute little baby bluebird. 

Here are the challenges I am linking up to today.

Love to Crops Spring Fling 

Queen of my Craftroom- get well card

I also came across this new challenge blog called Cupcake Inspirations. I looks really cool so thought I would participate this week as well. Their "cupcake" inspiration this week is cut chick cupcakes with yellow stars- they look  yummy.

The sweet bird was a freebie from Treasure Box Designs. I sized it to fit the front of the card and added some chalk to his checks .

The sentiment is from BugBites All Year Round stamp set 

Here's How I did it....

A2 card base

Yellow and green dot paper from BO Bunny, all others from  my scrap box

Sentiment from BugBites All Year Round stamp set ( found on the side bar of this blog)

Bird/layers cut at 4" from SVG file

Brads from my stash

Putting some "green" into my projects.

Trying to work on a bunch of cards today. Went to my local scrap store and loaded up on some 6x6 paper stacks that were all on sale for 30% off! Can't wait to try some of them. I also picked up the new DCW Fabric stack. Really hope this will cut in my cricut because it is so cool. 


My projects today seem to be a bit "green". I recently downloaded the new Luck of the Irish set over at Lettering Delights and wanted to give that a whirl. I was intending to make multiples of one card, but in the end, I did two different ones with the same die cut. 


This first one is an easel card inspired by the My Sheri Crafts- Happy St. Pat's Day challenge.

I made the easel card so that when it is flat, it's an A2 card size.  

I am also linking this card up to the Go Fish Challenge: Rainbows and the Luck of the Irish


Now, I still had that second Leprechaun die cut so I used that on this card. I used most of the same papers but a totally different look. 

This layout was inspired by the Peachy Keen Sketch this week. 


Here's How I did it...
Cards are A2 size...easel card cut to fit this size. 
Pattern papers from Reminisce Shenenigans line- all others from my scrap box
Leprechaun/layers at 4" for both.
Pot of gold/layers on the easel cards was sized to 1.25" 
Rainbow/layers to 4".
I inked all edges and added doodles with my gel and glitter pens. 
The sentiments are from My Creative Times I Believe in Leprechauns stamp set. 
The face is from Peachy Keens Wide eyed Kids Face stamp set. 

Food Fare Friday

Happy Friday...I am trying to stay on top of getting all my favorite recipes scrapped. Well, try is the magic word-- that may take longer than I like. 


More than Favors is having a "vacation" challenge and what better place to vacation than in Europe or specifically Paris!


So my recipe layout today is one I remember our neighbor giving to my Mom years and years ago. It is so sweet and moist. 

Paris has some of the best pastry shops, so a coffee and a slice of cake sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris is a perfect vacation in my book.


Here's How I did it...
8x8 base layout - can't remember who the base paper is from
All other paper from my scrap box
Tower/layers cut at 6" from Everyday Pop-Up cards cartridge
Couple/layers cut 3" from Sweatheart cartridge

An I Spy Challenge!

Hello Blogger friends.
Do you surf the net looking for great inspiration projects like I do. I follow lots of blogs, many of yours in fact that have so many terrific ideas. However, I also do a nightly surf across the net to see what everyone else is doing that I haven't seen before. Boy, there are some really talented folks out there- but you guys know that, right.

Well, a few weeks ago I was surfing step cards and looking to see what different dresser step cards and step card folds/designs there were out there. Somewhere along the way I came across a great design but at the time, did not bookmark it. :(

Since then I  have been searching trying to find it again and have had no success. It is driving me crazy so I am hoping perhaps maybe one of you may have seen it or perhaps you are the designer and can point me in the right directions in hopes to view it once again.

Here is what I remember from the card....

• It was a side step card- I think even a dresser side step card and included a link to another blog with directions of how to make a step card.
• It used cricut cuts-
• The design was a girl in a white dress and veil to look like a bride ( I think perhaps a Cinderella cut from Happily Ever After, but not sure) looking in a mirror
• Several dresses on hangers behind the mirror - all appear to be from Cricut carts, but not sure
• I think there were also shoe die cuts as well
• I remember the blogger mentioning in this post that her sister has a version posted on her blog as well and included a link to it.
• The sister's step card was very similar except the girl on her step card was wearing a green dress
• The post referenced the idea of reflecting back- meaning the girl looking in the mirror and seeing her image - I cannot remember if she flipped the image in the mirror or not.
• Had a link within the post to either a tutorial or blog post with directions to make a step card.

This card was so pretty and I would really like to see it again.
Please post a comment here if you have seen this or know who is the wonderful designer/blog that did this amazing card.

Thanks for the help!