Two Pink Peas Blog Candy

Hey, guys and gals!! Check out Two Pink Peas here in Blogland.....she has some great stuff, and now she is doing a FABULOUS giveaway in honor of her dad's birthday and Father's Day!!!  You won't believe your eyes when you see what she's giving away!  Head over there now and check it out!

Who, ME?!?!?!?!?!?!

I'm just beside myself, I'm so excited: Jen Roseman over at http://www.memorieswithjen.blogspot.com gave my blog an award!!!  It's my first award ever, and I just can't believe it!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, Jen!!!!!  So, without any further ado...here is my award:

The rules for the award are the following:
1. Send a thank you to the person who nominated you and include their link.
2. To accept this award, tell 7 random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award on to at least 8 other awesome blog buddies.

7 Random Facts About Me:
1. Single Mom to an OUTSTANDING 8-year-old little boy
2. Am a papercrafting supply hoarder (though I am using the stash up now)
3. Love the colors purple and turquoise/brown
4. Would move to the beach (Hawaii preferably) if at all possible
5. I have two favorite seasons: Fall and Winter; mostly because they contain my two favorite holidays: Halloween and Christmas
6. Nothing in my life is a secret; if you want to know, just ask and I will tell you
7. I have found a true home with all my new crafty friends; they are the BEST thing since sliced bread!!!

I am passing this blog award on to 9 of my CRAFTABULOUS blog friends, in no specific order:

1. Erica http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com
2. Amanda http://craftsbyamanda.blogspot.com
3. Nina http://nina-hotpinkscrapper.blogspot.com
4. Justina http://justmycrafts.blogspot.com
5. Terry http://cricutcraftinterry.blogspot.com
6. Sue-Ann http://suzyssimplecrafts.blogspot.com
7. Charlotte http://charlottes-creations.blogspot.com
8. Courtney http://craftingwithcourtney.blogspot.com
9. Kat http://katscrapfever.blogspot.com


This was the toughest decision EVER, but go check out these blogs (and all the blogs listed on the right-hand side of my page) for some AWESOME inspiration and a great group of friends!

Thank you and Congratulations,
Autumn

Sunshine and Smiles for St. Jude's Blog Hop

Welcome to our blog hop celebrating Sunshine and Smiles for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital!  You should have come from Erica's Sunshine and Smiles page; if not, click here and you can return to the beginning of the hop so that you don't miss out on all the fun! (Erica has also provided a list of all the blogs in the hop so you can go back and forth as necessary!)

I've created several cards for this project so far, and the first two listed here are ones I haven't shown to anyone yet.  The third and fourth that are listed HAVE been put on my Facebook page (and/or Erica's) but they were created solely with Erica's challenge in mind and for her purpose, so I'm going to include them here as well.

Ok, first up is my favorite card so far:  Bug Hugs 4 YOU!!

This is a tri-shutter, or tri-fold, card (instructions here) that I made with plain textured black cardstock from my stack and layered the sections with red textured cardstock, black cardstock embossed with my Cuttlebug embossing folder (Circles?) and some black and white damask paper from a paper stack from Hobby Lobby.  The ribbon on the bottom is from Hobby Lobby and the ladybug stickers (and the big ladybug's eyes) are some I found on clearance at Barnes and Noble years ago, of all places!  The black glitter dots on the corners are just little dome stickers found at Hobby Lobby.  The ladybug on the front was cut from Doodlecharms at approximately 3", the black layer first and the red layer next; I pop-dotted the red layer over the top of the black and then pop-dotted the whole thing on the card so it doesn't get bent in the folding.  The words "Bug Hugs" were cut from Gypsy Font - I had to shrink it to make it all fit into this space, so I want to say it's about a 3/4" cut - and welded together.  The 4 was cut at 2" from Gypsy Font on red cardstock and glittered to make it really stand out and the word "YOU" was also Gypsy Font cut at approximately 1".

Next up is a simple card I made using Mickey and Friends and Mickey Font: Get Well Soon!

This card is very straightforward:  I began with a stock blank white 5"x6.5" card and added a Mickey Mouse from the Mickey and Friends cartridge (layers cut at 3-4" - whatever fits your card best) and the words from Mickey Font.  For the words "Get Well" I cut Shadow letters at 1" from black cardstock and "Well" again from red cardstock in regular font; then, I mounted the red on top of the black and added white gel pen stitching around the edges.  For the word "Soon," I cut it from red cardstock and it is using the Shadow feature of Mickey Font cut at 1.5".

For these last two, I am not going to include "recipes" - one is a tri-shutter card (instructions here) and the other is a waterfall card (instructions here) - I just wanted to share them as well. 

This card is all about the smiles!

And this little monkey card made MY little boy smile, so I know it will make some little boy at St. Jude's smile, too!

Thank you for looking, and, if you have decided you want to participate in our St. Jude's Sunshine and Smiles challenge, please visit Erica's blog to learn more!

Hope you enjoy hopping along with us; feel free to leave a comment and follow!!! I love feedback almost as much as I love my followers!!!

Next Up:  Courtney's Blog



Where In The World Is YOUR Cricut Buddie????

OK; so Erica is doing a contest for who has the cutest "Where In The World Is YOUR Cricut Buddie?" picture over on her Facebook page.  I've decided that Buddy, my Cricut buddie/plushie, will be going on adventures long after her contest is over. So, randomly on here, there will be pictures of Buddy on his many exploits. :)  Here are his first two:

Getting to know Puff and Hungry Caterpillar

Reading Eclipse with me

Let's see where he may turn up next!!! :)

Whew!!!

Blogger is NOT my friend today!!! Thank you to Heather Hammen Sipes for helping me figure this background mess out!! Now I have a "cool" blog! Aloha, everyone! (No, I'm not from Hawaii, but I DID visit once and wish I could move there!)

Operation Write Home

OK; the OWH cards have been sent to Erica and shown via one of our UStream chats, so now it's safe to post the pix of the ones I made here. Hope you like what you see! TFL

Tri-Fold Card

My friend Kat, who I met via  My Cricut Craft Room, gave me instructions on making these amazing little cards called Tri-Fold Cards (instructions here).  Here's how my first one turned out....

I'm going to use it for My Cricut Craft Room's June Project, Sunshines and Smiles.  If you want to help Erica gather 5000 cards for the kids of St. Jude's, click here for instructions and a mailing address.

If you want to see some of the amazing work of my friend, Kat, click here for her blog! 

Thanks for looking!!

My Cricut Craft Room's 100+ Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop!!!!

Well, here goes nothing!!! It's that time: time for Erica over at My Cricut Craft Room to host her monthly 100+ Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop!!  This is my first time participating as a designer, so any constructive criticism is welcome!!

First off, you should have come from Amanda Haynes's Blog.  If not, please HOP on over to Erica's Blog to start at the beginning (or recover where you got lost!) and enjoy the entire ride!

Next, if you're in the right spot, please have a look at the layouts I created and leave comments below (I LOVE feedback!).  Also, you're more than welcome to become a follower if you like what you see!  Then, HOP on over to the next blog in our lineup and keep the fun rolling!

For my designs, I decided to use Going Places, Designers Calendar, Ocean of Words, Gypsy Font and 50 States.  I made two layouts, each one using elements from some of these cartridges, and they are pictured below along with their "recipe" if you wish to scraplift. :) (Feel free! Imitation truly IS the sincerest form of flattery!)

My first layout is called "Road Trip" (betcha can't guess why LOL).  This is perfect for any motorcycle enthusiasts in your family (like my parents) who love nothing better than to take to the open road on their bikes!

Here is the "recipe" for this layout:

• Background Paper is from Destinations Paper Pack by Colorbok
• Other stuff cut from basic cardstock from my stash
• Words “Road Trip” from Going Places cart cut at  W: 4.82 H: 4.65
• Motorcycles from Going Places cart cut at W: 5.44 H: 2.65
• Interstate Sign (white part) from Going Places cart cut at W: 3.63 H: 3.47 (then I used my Gypsy to “hide” other lines and just cut the top part in red and then the bottom part in blue for layering)
• Georgia state outline from 50 States cut at W: 2.16 H: 5.00
• Number “41” from Designers Calendar cut at W: 1.12 H: 1.59

Next is my "Catchin' Waves" layout - perfect for a beach trip!

The "recipe" for this layout is as follows:

• Background Paper is from Zoo Page Kit by The Paper Studio
• Word “waves” and waves on photo mats are cut from some scrap water-looking paper found in my stash
• Photo mat waves from Ocean of Words cut at W: 6.31 H: 1.47 (cut on Gypsy x2 but flipped one to face the other direction) and trimmed to fit mat; then "popped" with 3D adhesive dots
• Word balloon at top from Ocean of Words “Catchin’ Words” feature cut at W: 8.44 H: 4.65 (then used the Gypsy to “hide” the word “words”)
• Word “waves” from Gypsy Font cut at H: 1.83 and welded with the Gypsy so that total width was 3.64



As I said before, any and all comments are welcome! Please let me know what you think! :)  Become a follower if you look my blog over and like what you see!

Next, you should be headed on over to see Erin and Erica at Bee Scrappy!  Have fun on your hop, and remember to visit them all, as Erica has BLOG CANDY for some who can answer trivia about these projects!

Operation Write Home - Update

WOOHOO!!!! It happened!! It REALLY happened!!! Erica just raised her goal for OWH cards to 2000 and, already, she has commitments for 2150!!!  This is truly one AMAZING group of ladies to keep company with! 

Our next challenge (June/July) is to gather 5000 cards for the kids of St. Jude's.  Let's hope we don't let her (or the kids!) down!!

For now, though, keep an eye on Erica's blog for our 100+ Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop that will begin at 8 pm EST on Friday, June 3rd!  This will be the first blog hop that I am designing for, so I'm both excited and nervous! (Please remember, I am a beginner....and please be nice!)

Head on over to Erica's blog to keep up with our fun!!!

Operation Write Home

Erica over at Erica's Craft Room wants to send cards to our troops overseas so that they can write home to their families. Her original goal was 1000 cards, but she received so many commitments that she has now raised her goal to 2000!! Wow!!! Please go visit her blog for instructions and help her reach her goal for this wonderful cause!!

Teacher Cards

My son's last day of school was May 20. Here are a couple of pictures of the cute little cards I made for his teacher and parapro. They are apple blackout features from the Doodlecharms Cricut cartridge; I put 2 on my Gypsy, flipped one, and then welded them together to form the card base. Then, I used the layers feature to get the red and brown parts and the original apple for the green and then layered them on top of each other. The words are from the Cuttin' Up Cricut cartridge ("Thanks A Million!" is a button on the cart and for the #1 Teacher, I used letters from Cuttin' Up and then welded "Teacher" with my Gypsy).  For the sentiments on the inside, I copied and pasted poems found on the web onto a MS Word document and played with locations on the page until it fit inside my apple card cutouts.  Then, I placed my printed-on paper into my Cricut and cut out the apple shapes again to form the card liners.  Thanks for looking!!

Blog Hop!!

I'm so excited (and scared)!!!! I will be participating for the first time as a designer in a Blog Hop!!! Woohoo!!  Look for us around June 3.  It is part of Erica's Craft Room's 100 Cartridge Blog Hop that will be happening monthly!! Stay tuned!!

Wow!

I know I'm behind on posting this, as it was announced a while ago on our Facebook forum, but here goes:  I am so EXCITED to say that I will be a part of a Design Team for Erica on Cricut Craft Room (Erica's Craft Room).  Her blog blinkie will be the one on the top to the left when she gets it up and running again.  Keep checking here, as we will be having monthly 100 Cartridge Blog Hops, weekly design entries AND we are now involved via Erica to make cards for Operation Write Home.  It's all so exciting and I am a little frightened, since I am so new to all of this, but we are doing great things and I hope you can come follow along!

Tonight's Challenge

So, tonight's Challenge was to use either a Cake cart or the features buttons of regular carts again.  This time, we could create up to 3 entries - anything we wanted - and using as many carts as we wanted.  Here are my two entries; neither of them won, but I liked them nonetheless and still thought I would share:

Gift tag using the window/mirror feature of TBBM cart. I put some hole punches inside a corner of a small jewelry ziploc baggy for the front window.  Something new I thought I'd try... :)

The phrase on this card was done from Happy Hauntings and the ghost and mummy came from - I believe - Paper Dolls Dress Up. I will double-check that tomorrow and post a comment. :)

Goodnight to all who are following; stay crafty!!

Oops! :)

Whoopsie!!! I just realized that the little invite I did for Erica's challenge last week contained not one, but TWO cartridges....Designers Calendar AND Paper Dolls Dress Up.  The challenge was to use just one cart, but I guess I messed that up! :/  Hope you liked the invite nonetheless....

New(er) Stuff

So, Erica has been challenging us to use Cricut Cake cartridges or only the features keys of regular cartridges for our creations.  I'm loving this, as it is challenging me to think a little outside the box, though it IS sometimes difficult to do.  This little invitation was for the features challenge last week when we could only use ONE cart on the project. Hope you like it!

Also, I made a card yesterday for my little cousin who turned 9.  He plays baseball for the local recreation department, so I made a little ballplayer with his uniform on.  He LOVED it! I was so excited; I just love it when folks like what I make! :)  Hope you guys enjoy it, too:

We have a new challenge to create up to 3 items using only the features buttons or cake carts.  They were to be due tonight, but an illness has prevented the judging and we get an extra day.  Check back in a day or two to see what I made (and if any of them won!)!

Erica's Challenge 5/8/11

So, our Features-Keys-Only Challenge over at Erica's Room was due by 9 pm EST tonight (it was originally last night, but got moved).  We were to create a layout or card using ONLY the features keys on at least 2 cartridges.  Of course, I stuck to my Disney theme, using Mickey and Friends, Mickey Font and Pooh & Friends.  Hope you like it! TFL

(The "Mickey" banner is tied to grommets that I put in using my Crop-a-dile for the first time.)

More Mother's Day Fun!

All righty then, now that the gifts have been given, I can post pictures of the Mother's Day cards I made for my mom (one from my brother, SIL and me and another from my son and niece). 

The top one is from us kids; the bottom one from the grandkids (yes, my son started calling her Ta Ta and it has stuck!)  As you can tell, she loves hot pink, lime green, Mickey Mouse and pink flamingoes....My son loved my first-ever quilled flower enough to want to add it to the card, too. :)  Also, I have to brag just a little bit....I even made the ENVELOPES myself! :D  Loving that Erica has helped me to be a little more crafty!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there! Truly the best job in the world, isn't it?? (even if I stink at it a lot of days...)  :D  I hope you all have a great day filled with blessings and love; and, now, I'm off to do the crafting I should have done yesterday! ;)

Win Copic Markers!!!

Go and check out http://www.scrapbookpal.com/ on their Facebook page...they have a contest going to win 7 Copic sketch markers OF YOUR CHOICE....this is a great giveaway!!!  Click here to go directly to their FB page.  Scroll till you see the giveaway!