Some Queen Kat Goodness!

Hey all- I have been a creating fool lately! :) Not only am I trying to get some ideas for what exactly I want to do as I head up the Cricut Cafe at the Colorful Creations site/group starting April 1st (my birthday!), but I have been playing around with some Queen Kat stamps. Have you heard of them??? They have some of the most fun and just plain KICK BUTT artists designing for them. I have not seen rubber stamps like the ones they have EVER! :) I am so in love with a few of their artists, but I have seriously found at least one stamp from every artist they have. Also, they're having a Royal Court Call (design team call)! The details are on Facebook (just click on the word: Facebook)

I actually started with just one set that my awesome friend, Jeanie, designed. I really wanted to support her and I know designing her own stamp line is a dream of hers. She has always supported me in my ventures, so it was time to return the favor! ;) Boy, am I glad I did! :)

I am almost at two a week for buying stamps there. I also follow them on Facebook and the owner, Vicki. She actually gets me and my quirkiness. I can be me when commenting on her posts and not worry about it. :)

I am gonna be showcasing 4 cards today....two from one of my faves Charlie Bristow! I will tell you that he makes the most beautifully feminine and sexy stamps ever. I feel sexy creating with them and most of the time I am creating in sweats folks! :) So without anymore lolly-gagging here are my two cards using Charlie's stamps.(By the way-just click on his name and it will take you to the store where you can see all of his work.)

Tiger Lily Stamp 

This is a thinking of you card using Charlie's Tiger Lily stamp. She was so fun to color and this card was so easy. :) I was able to do all of the card I am showing you tonight in about 20-30 minutes each. And that is with me trying to decide what colors and what not to use...if you know all of that it will probably be shorter for you. :)

What I used on Tiger Lily: Tiger Lily Rubber Stamp (Charles Bristow for Queen Cat stamps), CTMH cardstock and organdy ribbon, KI Memories frosted lace paper, Making Memories Rub-ons (thinking of you), bling from Michaels, colored pencils by Prismacolor, chalk for background from Pebbles, and stickles.

Frog Prince Rubber Stamp

This next one is one of my most favorite stamps. :) I know I will use her for ages to come. :) She has such an innocent look on her face as she is looking at Mr. Frog, but we all know that she is thinking, well maybe hoping that IF she kisses him he WILL be a prince....or that is a HUGE PARTY FOUL! LOL! Anyways- I chose to make this one a LOVE card because it does hit me in the heart when I look at it. :)

What I used: Frog Prince Rubber Stamp (Charles Bristow for Queen Cat Stamps), American Crafts Cardstock (black), Bazzill Bling (seafoam green), Spellbinders Dies (labels 10 nesting dies), LOVE metal word from Michael's, Recollections Bling, colored with Prismacolor pencils, stickles, chalked background with Pebbles chalks.

Greeting Tree Rubber Stamp Set

This next card is a Thank You card using Jeanie Dickinson's Stamp Set. This set is a good value...not only do you get a beautiful tree stamp (hand drawn by her!!), you get 10 Sentiments with it. :) This stamp means so much to me, because I had seen it at a retreat that Jeanie threw back here in Great Falls, Montana and when she asked me what she should make as her first stamp, without hesitation, I said, "Your TREE!". It just seemed so natural for her to have it as one of her first releases. :) Since then she has so many more stamps to choose from. :) Very talented woman and one of my best friends. :)

What I used: Greeting Tree Stamp Set (tree and thank you)(Jeanie Dickinson for Queen Kat Stamps), Georgia Pacific (white cardstock), Recollections (Kraft c/s), Jillibean Soup (brown twine), Tim Holtz Idea-o-logy mini brads, Silver Sugar Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Nik Bantok brown stamp pad, Webster's Pages (patterned paper).

Red Dragon Rubber Stamp

 This last card was made with a stamp that was designed by Christina Lynn. She has some of the most fun and fanciful stamps. :) I loved this little dragon be cause he is perfect for a sweet and quick card. :) I can also give a card with him on it to an adult or a child. :) He is perfect and has almost eyes like the little Precious Moments characters...they have such feeling in them. :)

What I used: Red Dragon Stamp (Christina Lynn for Queen Kat Stamps), Stampin' Up cardstock, Crate Paper (patterned paper), Memento dew drops ink pad (to stamp dragon), Prismacolor pencils, Pebbles chalks, Michael's bling, Making Memories Rub-ons.

I hope you all enjoyed my cards and stop by Queen Kat's Store and have a look around! :)

My Challenge at The Colorful Creations Blog...JOIN US!!

Hey all! :) I was asked by Brenda (aka. Paper Diva) at Colorful Creations to do their Blog Challenge #7 in January. I thought it would be fun and I had never done it before, so I figured,  "WHY THE HECK NOT?!" LOL! Well, Brenda said I could go to the blog and check out the past blog challenges and I did. The last one happened to be a sketch so I figured, "Hey, I have never done a sketch (either worked with one or designed one) and that may be kinda fun." I also thought that since I have been stepping out of my comfort zone lately that maybe I should  try it. So I did! :) You can got to The Colorful Creations Blog HERE and see my sketches. BUT....here are my projects. :) I did a card and a layout sketch.

Layout

Card



What I used on my Beauty Layout: Bazzil CS (12x12 teal, black used for matting) , American Crafts (Thickers Alpha Stickers), Bo Bunny (Patterned Paper), Queen and Co (Felt border), Petaloo (flowers), My Mind's Eye (Chipboard Journaling Tag, Today's The Day,  Believe in Yourself), Jenni Bowlin Studios (butterflies), Making Memories (metal "perfect" tag).

What I used on my card: Recollections CS (Kraft), Graphic 45 (Patterned paper), My Mind's Eye (how many? how much? chipboard embellie), Tim Holtz Idea-o-logy (clock face and spinners), Michael's (ribbon).

Thanks for stopping and drop by the Colorful Creations Blog and join us in this challenge! :) 

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree Blog Hop (I have BLOG CANDY! See how you can win!!!)

Welcome to The Beautiful Life and the Rockin' around the Christmas tree Blog Hop! If you've come from visiting Jenny at Crazy about Cricut, you're in the right place!

If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our fun hop, you can go to Totally-Stamps and start at the beginning. Go http://www.totally-stamps.blogspot.com/.

The theme of this blog hop is ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE. Each blog has created a project. Be sure to visit each blog for inspiration and fun BLOG CANDY.

Michelle- http://totally-stamps.blogspot.com/
Susan - http://itsmesusanp.blogspot.com/
Carol - http://cardstockscissorsandglue.blogspot.com/
Jenny - http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
Kathy - http://kathy-thebeautifullife.blogspot.com/ (THIS IS ME..WHERE YOU ARE NOW!)
Debbie - http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
Misty - http://abusyplace.blogspot.com/
Iva - http://ivarai.com/
Bonnie - http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/
Nana - http://youniquereflections.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://lauraleesdream.blogspot.com/
Marianne- http://paperorfabric.blogspot.com/
Christel- http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/
Rebecca - http://rebeccasaylor.com/
Carol N - http://stampincarol.blogspot.com/
Kee Kee - http://life-is-scrap.blogspot.com/

Amy - http://amychomas.blogspot.com/

JD - http://jdscricuteering.blogspot.com/

For you all I did a fun little project using my cricut and a canvas.

My fun little project! ;)

I made a video that I am sure will be an exclusive because I am afraid it is a little long for my youtube channel. But I couldnt get itto load. Sorry guys :(

But I used a 6x8 canvas, Making Memories Specialty Glaze in Sky, Cricut Cart Trim the Tree, Bazzil Cardstock (dark and light browns), Mod Podge,  resin sand (liquitex), White Acrylic Paint, Crop-a-dile BIG BITE, Wired ribbon, something to stir the resin sand with and spread it on, foam brushes, snowflake charms.

Now, would you like some CANDY??? Of the crafty kind? I am giving away a Basic Grey tabbed/ milk chocolate chipboard album, a pack of 4 acrylic frames from Making Memories, some Tattered Angel Chipboard shapes that are wintry, Ice Crystal Cuttlebug folder and die, a card of ribbon, a pack of 2 6x8 canvas boards, large brads from the 7gypsies Zanzibar collection, and a fun little candle that smells like cinnamon buns.

My Blog Candy Giveaway!!!!

 All you have to do is : 1: Leave a Comment (make sure to leave an email addy so I can contact you if you won.) and 2: If you want to UP your chances...become a follower of mine. You will see a spot of that on the left hand side of my blog. I will announce the winner here at my blog on Monday Evening. Thanks so much! :)

Now you need to go to the next person in our fab blog hop: Debbie at: http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/ .  HAVE FUN! :) Thanks for stopping by. :)

Happy Birthday Gift Card Box and Card

Hey all! :) I have all of my Cricut Carts in a Creative Options tool box tote thing. I know it has 3 tiers and storage in the top. I got it as a gift so I can't tell you much more than that. :) I will tell you that I have 40+ Cricut Carts and I still have room for more! :)

Anyways- I don't have a need for the box that the carts come in and it seems like such a waste to throw them out. So, I sat down and decided to play a bit. I came up with a Gift Card Box. It is nice to put a gift card in a card, but sometimes I like to throw some candies or other small stuff in there and this lets me do just that! :)

What I did was take some DCWV paper and wrapped it around the box and Modge Podged it. I did this because it makes it more durable than just the paper alone. I, then, cut some shapes out with my Cricut and the Celebrations cart...which is an oldie, but a good one. I glued those on and then but a strip of brown on the box to make it look finished. My crop-a-dile came in handy for the holes for the bow that I put on there. I used a Martha Stewart Crafts white tag and just stippled some Staz-on on it, which I also used on the sides of the box. To finish the box up, I just border punched a piece of white scrap with my Fiskars border punch! :)

The card was simple also...I took the scalloped, square tag and did a blackout in teal under that and then put a "happy birthday" rub-on (Making Memories) on it. I used some of my scrap DCWV paper on the side and a piece of ribbon from Michael's Dollar Bin to finish it off. :)

This was a super easy project, so I hope you won't throw your Cricut Cart Boxes away and recycle them into a sweet little gift box! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Creative Therapy Catalyst #95

Hey everyone! I am so happy that I got to take part in Creative Therapy's Challenge! :) I have wanted to take part in these for so long now. I found them through one of their artist scrapbookers, Dedra Long, who is one of the most gifted scrapbookers on the planet! Her work has been published and is beyond gorgeous....I would LOVE to see her work in person someday. A girl can only dream! ;)

Anyway-the catalyst for this week was: "What is something you struggle with?" At first, I was thinking, THIS IS A HARD THING TO DEAL WITH FOR THE FIRST CATALYST I AM DOING!!!!!! Then I thought and focused and came up with a layout idea that I thought I may like and then I went with it.

This is what I came up with:

The title is: There's always gonna be an uphill battle.

I then remembered there was a song that had those words...I just couldn't remember what it was called....Then it hit me...."The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. So then I looked for lyrics on the web. I started reading and realized I was right, that line was in the song. I then decided to read the song and started to cry...the words explained everything! I loved it!

Here are those words:

The Climb (written by J. Alexander and J. Mabe)

I can almost see it

That dream I'm Dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held up high

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Alway gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember the most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, got to be strong

Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna want to make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith whoa.

Now for the completely personal part. I had to write these struggles on my layout. I was wondering.....Am I ready to do this? I think sometimes we think that if we don't say or write our insecurities, worries....our not so "shiny" aspects of life that they don't exist. That is so not the truth. I thought that way and I couldn't have been more wrong.

So here is my journaling: Insecurities- my weight- ( I joke about it, but it kills me when I look in the mirror) my skin- (I have always had BAD SKIN, but was hoping once I was in my 30's- it would be nice and clear). how I kiss (told you this was deeply personal)- (This isn't my hubby's fault, but I worry constantly about this.) I'm very critical about my cooking- (Even though everyone tells me how good it is, I always feel it could be better.)

Worries - financial- ( This has been a struggle for me for a while. I am one of those "I need it now!" types. Health- (I have fibromyalgia, but I refuse to let it control me.) my kids- (I worry about how I am as a mom.) my hubby- (I worry if I make him happy-ALL THE TIME!)

Addiction- -Sometimes I feel like a cigarette--I have been able to say, "NO!" for a few years now. Shopping- this is actually an addiction.

Depression - After being diagnosed with it 2 years ago-it is still a struggle.

-I am always wanting to be successful at my art.

- I want people to enjoy me and my work.

What I used: I bought pretty much everything , except the Jolee's paper roses from Mountains of Memories and More...not only is Jeanie my friend, but she is an awesome person and her store is great! :)

Both the blue patterned paper and the cream part I wrote on are from My Mind's Eye, Bella Bella Collection. For the title, I used a chalk template from (Ben Franklin) by TheCraftersworkshop.com. I used chalks from Pebbles Inc. to chalk the templates (also the edges of the lyrics). The butterfly is Glimmer Glass from Tattered Angels. The larger flowers are from Jenni Bowlin (I got them from my friend, Jayne's webstore and the smaller ones are from Making Memories Vintage Findings Collection (Michael's), Bazzil cardstock for matting.

I really hope you all enjoyed this! : )I did! :) Thanks! :)

Zutter's Man Made-Hand Made Challenge! :)

A couple of years ago I was SO AFRAID of my BIA that I left it in its box and just stared at it! :) AND THEN....I ended up at the Zutter Zisters' Blog and go everyday to see if there is a new post of news, design team projects, or a challenge. :) A few days ago they had a post of a challenge to make a Masculine Project in honor of Father's Day. I thought, "WONDERFUL!" I needed a gift for my dad and this was a good way to get 2 birds with 1 stone! :)

I knew what I wanted to do for my dad. :) I feel he would need a message board for his garage, since he is almost always in there. :)

I started with a Zutter Clipboard Wood Cover and some silver o-wires, a piece of cork, and an idea of what I wanted to do. I knew not only did he need a message board, but he also needed to be able to have a bottle opener for his beverage bottles and also a pen to write down notes on the Post-it notes that I provided on the board.
This is more of a focus on the board itself. I tried to include everything he would need on the board. I had the family phone numbers put on there. Some hinge clips for what he may need to clip on there. I also put some tacks on there for pics or messages.

A little bit of focus on what holds the keys. :)

The finished project! :)

What I used: Bind-it-All, Zutter BIA Silver o-wire, hemp, Tim Holtz Idea-o-logy "Love" key, hinge clips, Alpha Grundgeboard, Post-It Notes, CTMH Marker/Pens for writing the phone numbers and distressing the paper where the phone numbers were written, parchment paper, Quartet 6x6 cork board, Ranger Paint Dabber (espresso), Crop-a-dile, Making Memories typed eyelets(I flattened the backs with my Crop-a-dile), DYMO label maker and black tape, Zig paint pen in black and silver to color the tops of the tacks.

I hope you can use this idea and make it your own! :) Enjoy and Happy Father's day to you and the Special Men in your LIFE! :)

Saturday Sketch Challenge at Write.Click.Scrapbook.

Saturday on the Write.Click.Scrapbook. Blog was a sketch that seemed simple enough to follow. :) I did follow it for the most part, other than I flipped it. I just can't leave well enough alone. :)

Here is the sketch:

Here is my page:

What I used: Bazzill Dotted Swiss Cardstock, Rhonna Farrer die cut patterned paper, CTMH paper flowers, Doodlebug Designs mini brads, Making Memories heart shaped brads, Bling from Michaels, Flower Bling from Wal-Mart, Heidi Swapp Invisibles, inked Invisibles with Memento Rose Bud Ink, Journaled with Memento Tuxedo Black pen/marker, "Life's Little Moments" was die cut with the Cricut Cartridge Graphically Speaking.
Hope you like it! :)

My Time to Inspire Challenge! :)

Hey all! It's me again! :) Actually a lot sooner than I thought I would be blogging! :) For me, that is such a plus! :) I was doing a challenge for My Time for Inspiration (Lauren Meader's site) which is being done by a DT member of her's Kristen. Basically, they show you a picture of something and on the side of it they will show you the colors used. :)

Here is the challenge this week:

And here is my Layout! :) I hope you like it! :)

What I used: Cosmo Cricket 12x12 patterened paper, cardstock for mats is Bazzill (orange) and Stampin'Up (red and yellow)-although some were scraps too. :) Heidi Swapp Invisables chipboard stickers colored with Marvy Ink (red) and CTMH Ink (sunny yellow), Bling is from Michael's, used Bazzill Bling Brads and CTMH Brads, Flowers are Prima, Petaloo, and Making Memories, Journaling Tag is ColorBok, Bling Butterflies are from Walmart, Journaling done with Memento Rose Bud marker/pen. I used Adtech adhesive along with Glue dots. :)

SWEET 24/7 !!!

This was perhaps the quickest, most fun I have had with a layout in a very long time! :) I saw a challenge (on Bitten By the Bug) using Cricut's Graphically Speaking Cartridge and I thought, "Hey, I have that cartridge! I should try this!" So, after I finished getting ready for class tonight, I came home, thought, and created! :) I had bought some Bazzill Dotted Swiss from 2 Daughter's Scrapbooking (http://www.2daughtersscrapbooking.com/servlet/StoreFront) that I wanted to try! :) BTW, Jayne at 2 Daughter's is running a wonderful sale right now. For 10 more days she is having a sale a day on each of our/your favorite companies. She is also having contests and more! Oh, I don't work for her...she has AWESOME customer service and is the sweetest person.
Anyways- I found some pics of Sasha that matched the dotted swiss very well and printed those out!
I only had to use the "24/7" part of the cart, but I saw so many cute things on the cart...I decided to use "sweet" and "simply" also! :) I hope you like it....I loved doing the challenge and will try again soon!

What I used: Bazzill Dotted Swiss "Pirouette" (I think) 12x12 cardstock

Bazzill Bling "Diamond" 12x12 cardstock

Making Memories Glittered Chipboard Shapes

Memento Markers Rose Bud

Bazzill 12x12 cardstock (the gray CS, I am not sure on the color)

Bazzill Bling Brads "Glass Slipper