Priceless Halloween

I do not send Halloween cards, but I really like all the cute Halloween stamps. When my kids were younger, I started getting ready for Halloween in July - making costumes, planning for new decorations, etc. Then they got older and wanted store bought costumes. Imagine! Anyway, now that they are older and beyond trick-or-treating, I guess I've found a new creative Halloween project.

I got this stamp a few weeks ago and was hoping to find a cute or pretty witch stamp to go with it, but then I remembered my Cricut Paper Dolls cartridge had a cute witch.

The "priceless" stamp is from DRS designs and the round stamp is JustRite's Witch Way to Go set.

I used Martha Stewart's Drippy Goo border punch for the bottom and went over it with Stickles to make it sparkle. I think she would be cuter with a real face. Next purchase will be the stamps for the paper doll faces.

Other materials: Krylon Webbing spray, Doodlebug glitter & brad, SU punches.

Cricut Cheerleader "recipe"

I noticed that a few people have landed on my blog while searching for Cricut Cheerleader. There are soooo many cute options on the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge that I'm surprised they didn't include a cheerleader. This is not my original "recipe". My friend Angela found it for me when I was searching. I did make a few changes, though. I'd be happy to give the original author credit & a link if anyone recognizes the work.

For the Body, I went with 4" and left it on for the clothes and accessories.

Shirt - blackout prom boy. I tried this but didn't like the long sleeve look, so I cut the sleeves off. Probably a waste of paper just to have the neckline showing. I'm sure there is a better way.

Socks - Rag Doll trimmed down

Shoes - Rag Doll

Skirt - original recipe called for blackout Dancer, cut two. Use different colors and cut small triangles in the top layer to allow bottom layer to show. HOWEVER, I used the jumper on Dancer accessories 1. I used the full cutout (white) on the underneath layer and then cut the second black one into a V on the top, trimmed the bottom to look like pleats and then layered it over the white.

Pompoms - The original recipe mentioned that you could use Superboy Accessories 2 or blackout on Outfit 2 (lion's mane) from the Paper Doll Cartridge. I used Accent 32s from the Accent Essentials Cartridge. Not sure what sizes I used, I just played with it until I got it right.

Hair - I used the Headwear from the Indian Girl but you can use whatever headwear you like. The ponytail is Dancer Headwear.

Frogs & Underpants

As I was shopping the other day in the local stamp shop, I saw these stamps. They caught my eye and made me laugh at the time, but I didn't buy them. As I've mentioned before, I am not a card maker. BUT I couldn't get them out of my mind, so I went back the next day and snagged them up. You know how you see something unique and when you realize you need it, there is now way you'll ever find it again? Not happening to me this time!

As I was browsing through my list of blogs this morning, I found Jozza's blog with a "feeling green" dare. That's as good a reason as any to play with a frog stamp, right?

Stamps: Repeat Impressions

Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny Wasabi Dot

Tools: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Cricut Cheerleader

I got a Cricut Expression for Christmas. Yeah! Except.....when I took it out of the box I was more than a little intimidated by it. So I played with it once with no specific purpose or project and there it sat for three weeks collecting dust.

BUT - then I had an idea. My daughter is a cheerleader and we are coming up on cheering competition season. Could I make a cheerleader with the Paper Doll cartridge? I didn't have the cartridge at that point, but I had seen some projects made with it. Angela, who does a lot of amazing projects with Kellie over at Polished to Perfection , is the Cricut queen. So I asked her if the cartridge had a cheerleader. It didn't, so she did some research for me and found a picture on this blog, Cas Rogers, and sent me some specifics on parts and pieces.





I ordered the cartridge and my daughter and I came up with this little sweetie a few nights ago. We didn't have a lot of time so I didn't glitter her up like I would normally do, but I cut quite a few pieces to experiment with.
The girls make locker posters for each other and Alex used it on the one she made.

The cheerleaders are off to the state competition next weekend so I have to come up with some kind of favor to use the dolls on. (The moms decorate the bus and make goodie bags for the girls to take with them.) That ought to keep me busy for awhile. I also have to say I am no longer afraid of my Cricut!

3/16/09 - Update. I see that alot of people have been searching "Cricut Cheerleader" and landing here. If anybody is interested in the "recipe" of the parts and pieces, leave me a comment and I'll post instructions.
UPDATE: I have posted the directions. Please see March 18 blog.

My little Chuck Norris

A little background....

Back in January a friend of mine asked me to watch her two kitties while she was on vacation trip to warmer places. Being a new kitty mom, she was a little nervous about how they would do for all that time alone. I checked in every day and of course they were fine. On one of the days I brought my camera and the girlies and I did a photo shoot. They were not camera shy at all. I made a 20 page 6x6 "Kitty Brag Book" (with Zutter Bind-it-All pages and wires) and left it on her kitchen table for her return. It was a hit! Maybe she'll let me borrow it back and I'll post some pages.

Anyway, I'd never done a mini album before and I fell in love! As I mentioned in a prior post, too many choices are a real creative barrier for me. The 6x6 size and the fact that I only had a few days to create the album really limited my choices. Perfect. (Oh and I love my Bind-it-All!)

Thus, I decided to start doing mini albums. I created this 6X6 page of my dog shortly after. He's so darn cute, I couldn't resist. Of course this is where I stopped, but now I have an excuse to get back to it.

Or- maybe I should just focus on the cards for the holidays...See? Too many choices!

The die cut letters and and the mini album within the page are all done with Quickutz dies. Patterened paper is My Mind's Eye and the Paper Loft. Card Stock is Bazzill and faux stitching was done with the SU! white gel pen. Brads & Ribbon came from????

Card # 2

This is my second attempt at card making. I skipped supper and now I'm trying to type and watch Grey's Anatomy at the same time. I don't miss that show for anything so I must be hooked!
Even though I don't like this card as much as the first, it might be easier to mass produce for my own holiday greetings.
I really like the effect of the JustRite Pre-inked stamps on twill so I wanted to try it with the red ink this time. This was also my first attempt at using Perfect Pearls. I love the detail, but it does spread, so my off white handmade paper now has a chalked effect. But it is sparkly, and sparkly is GOOD! I though about trying a chalk eraser to clean it up, but I just decided to go with it.
Again, I must have taken 40 pictures of this card and it may take 400 more to figure out how to pick up the right color and detail. Maybe if I take some time to unpack, I'll find my camera manual. Ya right. Or - I should just get a cheaper camera so there aren't so many options. I'm technologically challenged.
I'm not sure what my inspiration will be after the JustRite contest is over, but I'm sigining off to catch the last half hour of Grey's and get this glitter off my face (and hands & clothes& desk...).

My first card!

I am NOT a card maker, but I follow about 50 Blogs and I'm hooked. There is so much talent out there and the projects are beautiful! I've convinced myself that it's just about picking up the techniques to put into my scrapbooks. But here's my dilemma - I can scrapbook other people's pictures with no problem, but when it comes to the thousands of pictures of my family that need to be scrapped, I'm absolutely paralyzed. Too many choices! Thus, the name of my Blog, Somebody Scrap ME!

This year I thought it might be fun to do my own Christmas cards. Right. We moved this summer into a bigger house and the hallways are still lined with boxes. What are my priorites, anyway? Even though I've had no place to work, I've still been collecting all the supplies for all the holiday cards I've been creating in my head. This past weekend my husband - who has been working so hard on this new house - finally took pity on me and put up my shelves in my office/scrap room. Woohoo! I had such a great time unpacking all my stuff and re-organizing. I haven't seen any of it since July. It was like Christmas morning! Of course, once unpacked, I had no idea where to start. Then I got an e-mail from a friend suggesting that I create something for the JustRite contest. That's exactly what I needed to get the ball rolling. And I'm hoping having a Blog will pressure me to keep creating.

So here is my first Blog post and my very first card. I had such a hard time photographing the card. I'm definitely going to have to pick up some tips on that. I've got a good camera, but no idea how to use all the settings. Now I just need to figure out how to upload to SCS to actually get into the contest.

Wish me luck!

Update - For those of you who have asked, the stamp is Chin Up from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I've put a link on to her sites. Thanks.