FCCB Challenge Me Monday's - #99 Fancy Trims

Hello to all my wonderful friends,

I am so happy to announce that I am back!  Ok, so I haven't really gone anywhere, but I have been too sick to create and post for quite a while, as most of you have noticed.  Thank you all for your awesome words and prayers.  They really pick me up when I'm having a painful day.

It's another Challenge Me Monday over at FCCB!  The challenge this week is to use trims/ribbons/lace and the like on your project, along with at least one Cricut cut.  My project was made using gorgeous ribbon from my favorite ribbon place, Really Reasonable Ribbon (RRR).  They sponsored some ribbon to some of our design team members.  I was one of the lucky ones to get picked to receive some  -- how awesome is that?  Of course I was thrilled to participate because, as you know, I have mentioned RRR in the past on some of my posts because their products and pricing are the best!  They have a great selection and offer different cutting lengths so you don't have to buy a whole roll!  I love that option because you get to buy a greater variety without spending a lot of money.  Thank you RRR for sponsoring!!!  Did I mention that if you enter the challenge you have a chance to win a prize from them?  Guess you better head over to FCCB to take the challenge!

Alright, enough of my blubbering, let's get on to my project!  For this challenge I made a Thank You card for my hubby's grandma.  I used Simply Charmed and 3 Birds on Parade for this project.  I hope you all like it!  I was in a Spring mood & was so excited to use pretty Spring colors. :0)  My pictures turned out a bit more blue than they actually are.  The main color of the card is purple, not blue.  Notice I used three different types of ribbon (all RRR) on this card.  I wanted to use as much as possible to show my appreciation for the sponsor.  Please click on the pictures to get a better view of all the details.

 The little flag was created by using a pizza slice cut from Simply Charmed!  I then adhered it to the purple ribbon (RRR) using clear Tombow liquid adhesive.  I found the best tape to use for ribbon, in my opinion, is red tape.  I love that stuff!  Don't know the actual name, but it's red and comes in various widths.  You won't have to worry about your ribbon coming off with that!  That's what I used for all of my ribbon on this project.  It's hard to tell in this pic (enlarge please), but I distressed the edges of the cute background paper and some creamy brown ink from ColorBox.  The word "Thanks" is stamped using D.O.T.S. Alphabet (Ribbons and Bows, uppercase).  These little letters have so much detail on them.  I was so excited to use this set for the first time!  I also added little dots of 

(thistle) Stickles.  It's hard to tell from here, but the white flags & wings are a lovely white on white paper (not just plain white) from Stampin' Up.

 Embossed the wing using a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on my Big Shot.  The flowers all have little jewels from EK Success - Sticko.  I used a few pop dots here as well.

I so wish the picture would have turned out the right color!  The green ribbon is so vibrant and it's a beautiful olive green.  The borders around the card are made with a lovely striped ribbon and a satiny double-sided (!) purple/lavender ribbon.  I used the darker purple side to make it really pop.  

There's my project for today!  Thank you all for stopping by.  Please do leave a comment.  I just love reading them!

XO ~ Amy Jo

13 Days of Halloween Blog Hop - Day 10

*Please scroll down for Days 1 -9 of the hop*

Welcome to the 13 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.  This is DAY 10 of the hop. This hop is scheduled from Oct. 19 at 8:00 am through Oct.31 at 11:00 pm (central time).  It's that time of year when the nights are all spooky and creatures are known to wander the forests.  So sit for a spell with a nice cup of hot apple cider and check out all the great projects.

If you just happened upon my blog, you will want to start with Lisa Peters @  http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/.  She is the awesome lady who pulled this hop together (thank you Lisa!) and is your first stop.  If you came here from the awesome Tami, then you are in the right spot!

We're so excited to be doing this hop and we have a fabulous lineup with some very talented ladies. There will be lots of fun projects, along with some great blog candy, and a great grand prize for this hop.

The hop is a 13 day hop with only 13 blogs to visit so you will have plenty of time to make it through the whole hop lineup 13 times.  Check out each blog and see what blog candy you can win at the individual stops.  Please come back all 13 days to see great projects.  

Here is the complete lineup:

Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/

Pam - http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Janet - http://createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Doris - http://mybugandmecreate.blogspot.com

Kristen - http://huneebcreations.blogspot.com/

Nicolette - www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com

Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

Tami - http://www.tamboscreations.blogspot.com/

Amy - http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com/

Brynn - http://www.flairandfrillscreativity.blogspot.com

Scraps to Treasures - http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com

CallyAnn - http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com

Gill - http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com

I'm going with a non-traditional theme here (again) and was totally inspired by this page from the official Cricut Blog.  Be sure to check it out!  They provided some awesome inspiration.  Here is card two from the set of 3 or 4 that I'm doing... I am hoping to feel better later today to create my last few projects for the hop and for Halloween. Hope this has been a fun hop for you all!  It has definitely been for me. :0)  I am soooo sad that Halloween is almost over. :(

I used the Oct. 31st Cricut Cartridge for that wickedly cool witch.  2 stamp sets from A Jillian Vance Design were used (one for the cat, which is pop-dotted, and one for the awesome sentiment), seasonal paper pack for the witch and background, yellow cardstock inked with chalk ink for the moon and actual card, the white vine on the bottom (look closely) is actually ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon, inked the edges of the card with black ink as well.  Other adhesives used were Tombow liquid glue and my ATG.

I hope you enjoyed my post today.  Please come back tomorrow to be eligible for the grand prize (see below) and to see my next project.  Only 3 more days of awesome Halloween projects to go!

To be eligible for the grand prize, you must visit each blog and leave a comment. You also MUST visit Lisa's blog and leave a comment on her blog for the day and also become a follower at "Scrapping With Lisa" and her facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrapping-with-Lisa/130882060268842. Please let her know if you don't do facebook and she won't count that against you for the blog candy.  Now for the blog candy, I bet you are wondering what it could be.   It will be a big treat bag full of goodies.  She will also be posting an individual prize for each day of the hop also that everyone who hops that day will have a chance to win.

As far as blog candy from me.  Well, I'm gonna scrounge something up. LOL  I'll get a picture posted as soon as I can.  It will be some fun goodies for sure.  Please leave a comment and become a follower or note that if you already are one, if you would like to be entered to win.  Please include a way to contact you.   I only give treats to my followers. ;)

Your next stop is the lovely Brynn.  She's a great friend, fellow fibro sufferer, (as is our sweet hostess, Lisa) and an uber talented gal!  


Don't forget to enter my 500 followers give-away!   Btw, Cricut owners - one of the prizes in the box will be some Cricut markers.  If a non- Cricut owner wins, I will add something else equally as fun.  (This is only a little of what's gonna be in the box)... There will also be some stickers and hmmm... Maybe I'll reveal a little more in tomorrow's post, so I guess you'll just have to come back!  Trick or Treat!!! Ha ha ha! 

XO ~ Amy Jo


P.S.  I'd  love it if you would check out (and I'd be oh-so-happy if you follow) my new blog, Best Things I've Found in [Maga]zines

Greetings from Colorado Card - Challenge Post for RRR

FOR FCCB'S CHALLENGE ME MONDAY POST, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN

Hello Lovelies,

First off I wanted to thank you all for the wonderful comments and support I have been receiving from you all lately.  I read each and every comment and if I don't get back to you right away, please forgive me as I literally receive around 800 emails a day.  Some days I don't get on the Internet, if I'm not feeling well from my Fibro, so that really puts me behind in my correspondence.  I will work through the comments and emails as I can and try to get back to each and every one of you and check out your blogs too!  I do a little bit each day that I feel well.  It means so much to me to hear from you all.  Just brightens my day so thank you again! :0)

For today, in addition to my FCCB post, I have a card that I created for a card swap and decided to enter it in a few challenges. I really wanted to use my new Campin' Critters cartridge and the theme of this card was perfect for that.  I found the perfect image to represent Colorado and am very happy with the way it turned out.  At least on the outside, I'm not thrilled at all with the inside.  I stamped some images and the little square edges appeared slightly so I tried to cover them with chalk, but that just made it a muddy little mess.  There was nothing I could really do about it at that point though because the card was already finished! :(  I hope it's still ok and I hope my friend who receives it can overlook that and still enjoy the card.  Does anyone have any tips on how to handle that situation?  Meaning, when you stamp an image and you get ink on the edge of the rubber and it imprints on your card?  I never know what to do when that happens and I don't know if there's a trick to avoid that.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Also, does anyone know a good trick to cover up marker if your marker bleeds a little outside the line?  That's another one I struggle with.  I'm sure I can't be the only one who has these problems, right? ;)

On to the card du jour...

Front of card with jute twine

Top of card - closeup

Bottom of card - closeup

Inside of card - stamped

Side view of card with jute

Side view to show dimension - tons of popped dots were used on almost every layer!



This card is a 5x7" and I decided to round the corners to soften it a bit.  I used some fun colors on this one.  The background is a bright (almost fluorescent) green and on top of that I used this great striped pattern paper with chrome (mirror-like) silver stripes.  I was thinking of using the Imagine for the mountain scene, but I really wanted to separate all the layers so I could pop dot them (used different thicknesses) and make them three-dimensional like it would be in real life if you were looking at the mountains from a distance. There are four layers of color for the mountains... white cardstock for the snow caps, light purple cardstock for the mountains, periwinkle blue for the river, and the trees and greenery are actually a slightly printed patterned paper.  I pop dotted most of the layers. Next, I had to outline the trees with Stickles to show where the trees ended and the grass began because I didn't feel like cutting another layer for the trees.  I just kind of winged it and drew where I thought they should end.  I used Glossy Accents on the river/lake to add some depth and I like the effect it gives without totally filling it in.  At the top of the mountains, I added a cool chipboard Colorbok piece that I thought looked like a sunburst.  I also added a piece of ribbon that I got from the dollar section at Target, I think, to kind of break the scene apart from the greeting   Below that is the stamped sentiment from part of a Stampin Up stamp (it said Season's Greetings so I masked the top part)and a cute chipboard accent from Colorbok.  I then added three fabric colored brads because the gal who gets this card loves brads (or so I've heard ;)).  Then I added some stamped images to the inside of the card, a strip of the same paper I used on the front, outlined with a brown Zig, finished my greeting and inked all the edges and added a few wraps of jute to the fold.  That's it for this one.  Adhesives used were my ATG gun, Zig 2 Way Glue Pen, Red Tape, and some pop dots.  Hope you all enjoy!

If anyone wants details of brands, please let me know and I'll do my best to get them posted.  I just wanted to speed up this post a bit.

XO ~ Amy Jo

Challenges Entered:

Really Reasonable Ribbon (RRR) - Anything Goes #24

Graduation Card for Challenges and a Good Friend

Hi there Friends!  It's been a little while since I've posted a project for my blog and I have a bunch lined up to post!  I've been a busy little beaver, when I'm awake that is.  I still have this overwhelming fatigue consuming most of my days, but for some reason, I'm up all night, every night. 

The card I'm posting today is for my best friend who just graduated with a Master's Degree.  I have spent more time on this card than I've ever spent on one.  I kept putting it together piece by piece until I finally completed it.  It seems every couple of days I would think of something else to add!  I also wanted to enter some challenges so I had to keep adding to be eligible for those.  Her graduation colors were navy and gold so that's what I based this card on.

I used the Gypsy and my Expression for the die cuts on the card.

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

Scrapalicious - Challenge #3, Graduation
My Craft Spot - Congratulations
HappiLeigh Scrappin Challenge - Faux Stitching
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Anything Goes

There are several pictures because some of the challenges required elements that are in the inside of this card.  Thanks for your patience!

This is the front of the card.  RRR's challenge requires the use of ribbon.  I have used two different kinds here from my stash, plus the gold springy ribbon on the side of the card.  It is tied into a bow, but I didn't take a great picture of that! :p

The background is navy blue cardstock from my stash and I used my Sizzix Texture Boutique with a Cuttlebug folder to create the embossed swirls.  I used deckle scissors for the edge and added a strip of gold paper from my stash to the edge.  I used the same gold paper on the scroll which was cut from the Cricut cartridge, Wild Cards, as was the sentiment.  I used gold Stickles to add some definition to the scroll and the sentiment.  I also used a brown Zig pen to further define the scroll.  This is the first time I have ever tried to cut thin paper on my Cricut.  It did a fantastic job. 

Next is the graduation hat.  I cut one layer of the navy cardstock and then made a slightly bigger same cut for the gold, on my Gypsy.  I then added the tassel.  All of these cuts are from Wild Card as well.  The cartridge didn't contain just a plain graduation cap so I had to tweak it a bit and do some cutting by hand, but I think it turned out pretty well.  Once again, I added Stickles for more definition.  I also added little dots of Stickles all over the background of the card, where the swirls would end.

This is how the inside of the card looks when you open it.  As I said, I just kept adding, and adding... LOL

I really wanted to enter the challenge at My Craft Spot, but they were requiring a "Congratulations" card.  Since mine said "For the Graduate" on the front, I needed to add "Congratulations" somewhere on there.  First I cut a strip of textured paper from my stash and I was just going to glue it to the card, tie it with a bow and write a note on the inside. It could have folded out directly from the card, but then I realized that for another challenge, the HappiLeigh one, I needed faux stitching somewhere on the card so I decided to make a little pocket to put the note in and faux stitch around it with my blue ink Zig pen (shown better in next picture).  I just cut it by hand and used the same Cuttlebug folder for texture.  I inked all the edges with Colorbox ink (dark brown) and on the personal note I used a Stampin' Up stamp (congratulations) and a random stamp with Stampin' Up ink.  I used a Stampin' Up stars background stamp dipped in gold ink for the background of the personal note.

Here's a close up of the pocket with the faux stitching.

The personal note I tucked inside.

Closeup of the front of the personal note.  You can pull it out and read it by pulling on a cute tiny clothespin that I added after the pics were taken.

Lastly, I found this vellum quote that I liked and backed it with that same gold paper.  I added 4 gold brads and gold Stickles (even made my own little flourish)!  I used vellum adhesive, but it still shows through.  That stuff is so hard to work with, but if anyone has any tips on that, I'd really appreciate it!

Once again, the finished project.  The cap and the lettering are popped up with large and small pop dots.

Whew!  That post took almost as long as it took to make the card! LOL  Thanks for hanging in there with me (if you made it all the way through).  I appreciate you all taking the time to check out yet another card by Amy.

Have a great night and get some sleep (like I should be doing)!

XO ~ Amy Jo