Fabulous at 500 Celebration & Give Away

I just reached 500 followers on my blog! So, in honor of this milestone, I am going to give away five prizes! Below is a list of the prizes and details on how to win.

1) Cricut Imagine More Cartridge (never been used, unlinked with no reward points). I got this when my original Cricut Imagine was replaced.
2) Cricut Imagine Best Friends cartridge (never been used, with no reward points, and unlinked). Ooops, I bought something I already have!

3) A $10.00 gift certificate to one of my Etsy stores. These stores offer dust covers for Cricuts and other brands of machines, as well as scrap bags and a few embellishments. I will honor this gift certificates for a custom order!
4) A $15.00 gift certificate to one of my Etsy stores. I will honor this gift certificates for a custom order!
5) A $20.00 gift certificate to one of my Etsy stores. I will honor this gift certificates for a custom order!
So, now how to win? You do NOT need to follow my blog to win. Just leave a comment and tell me the following: 1) Do you want to be in the Imagine cartridge or Etsy giveaway pools? And either step 2 or 3. 2) Please visit my Etsy stores; using the links to the right, and let me know what your favorite item is in your comment along with your contact info, or 3) Visit this blog post using Heartfelt Creations dies and make a comment about this page with your contact info in a safe manner. For example, ssmitch at hotmail dot com will help prevent spam.
So, you will need to leave one comment here is you visit one the Etsy stores, or one comment on the Heartfelt Creations blog post if your not interested in visiting my shop. Be sure where ever you comment to let me know which drawing you want to be in: Cricut Imagine or Etsy Gift Certificate. Thanks to all of you who care enough to follow, it is a wonderful thing to see you like my blog posts! I will draw a winner on April 5, 2012.

Work the Stash Wednesday with Moxie's Practical Solutions

I am once again working my stash this Wednesday. And I checked to see what challenges Moxie had cooking...yes they have one perfect for the stash of scraps: Practical Solutions for the Paper Crafter: Paper Scraps. And unfortunately, I am in need of another sympathy card. So I pulled out some scraps from The Robin's Nest, Pink Paisley, and Basic Grey ribbon and made a card with little banners.
To this I added a text box made in Microsoft Word and trimmed with some pinking shears. I wanted to add a bit of shabby chic goodness and something with a little love for recipient. This is a scrap of the re-embroidered lace from my wedding dress. What am I saving it for? Shouldn't it go to those I love? I don't have enough for an entire dress and no daughters, so I am moving on and working more than just the paper stash. And be sure to check out the other entries at Moxie Fab World! As you usual, the paper crafters who have entered the challenge have me oohing and aaahing!

Using Square Punches in Circular Paper

Once again The Robin's Nest has teamed up with Purple Cows to share fabulous products and projects. Today, I am sharing how to use a "square" punch with paper circles. The Purple Cows punch is actually not limited to squares, but the guide lines on the punch might lead you to think so. So, I'm sharing my tips on getting the best looks when working with these punches and circles.
1) Always practice on scrap paper! I keep a purge pile handy for such practice punches filled with paper that I will never use on pages. These usually come from paper stacks or kits that I purchase.
2) Use regular intervals. On the page at the top, I centered the Purple Cows Craft Geek Winter Punch It in the middle of the cogs on my cut from the Cricut Elegant Edges. For the circle quilt medallion, I drew lines on the back of a circle in the middle and then in between. I lined the punch up with the lines and punched around the circle, I flipped the circle and lined up my original punches with the mirror image guidelines on the punch. I love how the image created looks like a quilt block!
3) Be Consistent in your placement from the edge of the motif.


To finish the medallion on the scrap book page, I added The Robin's Nest Dew Drops to the Purple Cows punched motif and sewed a circle in the center (hard to see sewing after adding pictures). I added the title from the Martha Stewart Season Cricut Cake Cartridge, cut with more of The Robin's Nest Paper.
For the background paper, I used plain white card stock and The Purple Cows Roll it Dots ball, in three ink colors to pull together the three colors of The Robin's Nest paper I used. It also helped my white card stock to not look so stark against the other colored papers. I love this tool and the space filler in me will definitely be using it again!
The eggs were cut with the Cricut Easter 2010 Cartridge, and then punched with the Purple Cows Punch it Winter tool. I played with the white egg to make it look like the fabulous Ostrich eggs we once saw in Switzerland. On top of the eggs, I added some more of The Robin's Nest Dew Drops.
Supply List
The Robin's Nest Distressed Honeycomb Paper
The Robin's Nest Shocking Pink Sorbet Glitter Paper
The Robin's Nest Glitter Blue Raspberry Sorbet paper
The Robin's Nest Pink Coral Mini Dew Drops
The Robin's Nest Under the Sea Dew Drops
The Robin's Nest Cotton Candy Dew Drops
The Robin's Nest Hydrangea Dew Drops
Purple Cows Craft Geek Punch It Winter
Purple Cows Craft Geek Punch It Spring (Quilt block)
Purple Cows Roll It
Ink
Fine point pen
Cricut Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Cartridge
Cricut Easter 2010 Cartridge
Inkadinkadoo Mindscapes Stamp (Butterfly)
Journaling block (I got this from a swap so no source known)

Work the Stash Wednesday with Moxie Fab Feathers

I had to make one more item for my fashion inspired Fascination Feathers Challenge Entries at Moxie Fab World. I do not mean to be a challenge hog, but sometimes I am so inspired that I feel compelled to try all of the ideas that Moxie inspires!
This one is using the Hampton Art's Graphic 45 Stamp Steam Punk Cling Set. I wanted to use feathers with the angel wings on the dress form. I was in need of some sympathy cards and thought it reminded me of angels. Now, I am stressing over the dress form in the image. Do you think it is appropriate for a sympathy card?
And yes, I worked my stash! The back ground teal paper is some Club Scrap paper I have had forever!
The label is made with The Robin's Nest Ocean Fleur paper, printed with the Cricut Imagine using the Elegant Edges (label shape in brown), and the Heirloom Imagine Cartridge. The With Sympathy is also a Cricut cartridge: Wild Card printed with the pattern from Heirloom cartridge again. This is my newest obsession, printing on my patterned paper with the Cricut Imagine to get a custom label look. The frond is a Martha Stewart Cake Cartridge, but cut so long ago that it was in my die cut stash and I will have to get back to you on that! The ribbon is Making Memories.

Fashion Feathers Collection

A good fashion designer offers a collection of items that coordinate and so I am gonna jump into another entry for the Moxie Fab World Fascination Feathers Challenge, I really think that an artist often has several ideas and works through a series and Moxie Fab World has once again given me many ideas to create!
For this entry I used a stamp by The Angel Company called Natural Dream. They are actually no longer in business, but I love this silhouette stamp and thought it would be a perfect foil for the feather challenge! I just slipped a feather into the hair and added some silver lace trim by Anna Griffin. The black label and Silver Fleur de lis paper is by The Robin's Nest. The Love rub on is Making Memories.

Fabulous Feathers at Moxie Fab!

Sometimes I think that Cath has a bat phone and she calls my brain with scrap booking and card projects! This week, Moxie Fab has a Fascination Feathers challenge! Can't you just see the fashion designer in me saying, "I am trying this challenge!"
So, I pulled out my Cricut Forever Young Cartridge and cut a silhouette in black card stock. I added some feathers, recycled from my son's Angry Bird Halloween Costume. Oh, yeah, I'm a recylcler! I added the sentiment from K Andrews Art Stamps Fashionable Friends, and some ribbon from American Crafts at the waist and my beautiful card is finished. Thanks Moxie Fab World!

Work the Stash Wednesday with BG & SRM

I have been a Basic Grey and SRM Stickers fan for awhile, and there are lots of scraps in the stash as a result. So, this Wednesday I set about using some of those scraps for cards. I wanted to use some of the large letters from Vagabond, by Basic Grey and they are too large to use make an entire word on an A2 card. So, I used the first letter of the word instead.
Here are the results. The large letters and papers are all Basic Grey and the baby cards are made with SRM stickers. Did you know that Basic Grey offers their older lines in digital formats? So, if you have an old favorite, or are new to BG and love their older lines, just visit their online store!