Cards For Emily Blog Hop - Day 1!!

Welcome to the Cards for Emily Blog Hop Day 1!!

This is a 2 day hop so be sure to come back tomorrow for some more inspiration! :)

If you came from Robin at Robin's Creative Cottage then you are in the right place! If you just happened across my blog and are interested in the entire hop and Emily's story, start back at Michelle's blog at Scrappin' For Kenzie!

Emily is a sweet little 6 year old girl that has battled Leukemia since before Chrstmas 2011. She has had to endure more pain in a few short months than most adults in their entire life. She has gone from Leukemia to Rotavirus, to pancreatitis, to kidney stones, then to shingles, not to mention over 300 pokes in her tiny little body! From chemo to blood draws to feeding tube. Her bone marrow is finally at 0.00% so she is now in remission and back at home! She is still going through 7 different chemotherapy treatments but is finally doing better! To read her full story and updates please visit the original Cards for Emily info post HERE.

For this hop all we ask is that you hop through the list, then when you are done, link up your card for Emily at Scrappin' for Kenzie. The link up tool is in the left hand side bar under "Cards for Emily". You will see her picture right above it.

REMEMBER: There is no requirement to leave comments or even hop through all of the blogs if you don't have time. There will be no personal candy at any of the stops along the way. That way you can get maximum inspiration to make your own card and have enough time to link it up and send it away!

There WILL be however a giveaway to one lucky winner that links up their card by February 29th 2012. You can link up as many cards/projects that you would like. The more you link up and send the more greater your chance is of winning a.....

$20 gift certificate to

Their etsy store has over 100 stamps to choose from!

Now on to my card for Emily! I created a Valentine's Day card for her today!!

The paper is from The Paper Studio Uptown Flair paper stack. I cut the adorable little girl and cat from Kate's ABC's at 3". The pink scalloped square is a Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacy Squares die and I embossed it with Swiss Dots and stitched it to the heart background paper. I attached the girl with foam tape for dimension and added pearls to the flowers.

"Happy Valentine's" is from K Andrews Designs It's Valentine's stamp set, as is "Hugs and Kisses" on the inside. Click HERE to purchase this stamp set, or to see the entire fabulous line of K Andrew Designs stamps.

Thank you sooooo much for joining us in this great cause for Cards For Emily!! We REALLY REALLY hope you will participate and link up your card to put a smile on this very beautiful, very deserving little girl that Michelle is honored to call her niece. :)

Happy Scrapping! Hope to see you again tomorrow!

Here is the line-up for Day 1 in case you get lost along the way. Be sure to come back tomorrow as we have all new projects and some new designers!

Michelle - http://scrappinforkenzie.blogspot.com
Faith Abigail - http://www.faithabigaildesigns.com/
Amy - http://www.lovetocrop.com/
Elizabeth - http://visionsofpaper.blogspot.com/
Marie - http://ethansimprints.blogspot.com/
Michele - http://fishmememoriesandmore.blogspot.com/
Suzanne - http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com/
Tina - http://www.teenabugg.blogspot.com/
Jennasa - http://findtimetocreate.blogspot.com/
Teresa - http://scrappintplace.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://www.jenscraftcorner.com/
Beckie - http://justbcreativecrazy.blogspot.com/
Karen - http://www.creationsbykw.blogspot.com/
Brenda - http://friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/
Charlotte - http://alittlebitofdetail.blogspot.com/
Robin - http://robinscreativecottage.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://indymermaid.blogspot.com < YOU ARE HERE

Happy Valentine's...I'm seeing spots :)

Happy Thursday, everyone!! I hope you are having a great week!! I have a whole bunch of projects I need to make for the next couple of weeks and for some reason, I'm procrastinating. I did manage a little bit of time in my craft room and I have a card to enter into a few challenges :)

The papers for this card are a mixture of My Mind's Eye and DCWV. The rectangles are the two largest sizes of  the Spellbinders Nestabilities Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles. I used Spellbinders Fire Isle Borderabilities on each side of the rectangle and anchored them in place with button brads and added crystals. I lightly inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink.

The rosette with heart details is from Ribbons and Rosettes. I used the second smallest Spellbinders Beaded Circles die for the top of the rosette and added a heart from George and Basic Shapes. I had added Tim Holtz crackle paint in rock candy to the heart, but when it dried, it didn't look good at all. The edges cracked okay, but the inside turned white and when I tried to bend it to crack the paint, it tore in two. I didn't have time to try another, but when I give this card, the heart will have a layer of glossy accents. All of the layers are attached with foam tape.

On the paper ribbon, I attached two small hearts, also from George and Basic Shapes, with foam and lined the dots up for a subtle embossed look.

The tag is from Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio. "Happy Valentine's" is from K Andrew Designs It's Valentines stamp set:

There are so many great words and sentiments on here...and not just for Valentine's Day!! Click HERE to purchase this set or to see the entire fabulous line of K Andrew Designs stamps!!

I am entering the card in the following challenges:

• Cooking With Cricut Challenge #72 - Grown up Valentine, use black and brads
• My Craft Spot Challenge #43 - Valentines
• Whimsical Wednesday - Colors of Love: Use red, white and one other color (black)
• Creative Cutter Room - Valentine's Day

I almost forgot...I stitched the rectangles together with my new mini-sewing machine!!

I love this thing!! I have to preface this by saying I know nothing about sewing. My mom can sew anything so you would think I would have gotten some sewing genes from her, but alas, I did not. I can hand stitch if absolutely necessary but sewing machines have always intimidated me. But I love the look of stitching on projects. I purchased the Sew Crafty machine from Provo Craft back in like 2003 but I have only used it like five times total. It was pretty cheap and worthless. So when I saw this mini, I had to try it!! It even has eight different stitches...and is it so easy to use!! If anyone wants info on the sewing machine, just let me know!!

Also,  I like taking pictures of my projects in natural light, but it isn't always feasible, especially if it is overcast or night. I planned on making my own lightbox but never got around to it. Then I saw a post from my friend Chriss at Scrappin' With Chriss and Lou about a lightbox her husband purchased for her. I was intrigued!! I looked online for it and found it on Ebay for only $29, shipping included (the seller has a bunch of these at this price, so if you are interested, let me know and I'll get you the info)!! I can set this up in my craft room quickly and snap the picture, any time day or night!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a great day :)

Decorate To Celebrate Challenge #18 - Diva Party!!

Hi everyone and happy Wednesday!! I hope you are having a great week!! It's time for another fun challenge at Decorate to Celebrate!! Before I get to my project, I want to give a big welcome to the newest member of our design team, Amy of Amy's Crafting Space! I'm so excited to have Amy join us!! Not only is she a dear friend, but she is so amazingly creative and super-talented!! If you get the chance, stop by her blog and congratulate her :)

For Challenge #18, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration for a Pink Diva Party!! Let's celebrate everything wonderful about the girlie-girl in you or your favorite princess with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more!!

For my party, I created a 3D chandelier, sign and scepter/magic wand fit for a diva!!

The chandelier is from Summer in Paris, cut at 6", and I blinged it out with pink crystals.

The letters are from Base Camp. I attached the layers with foam tape and added the same pink crystals.

The scepter/magic wand already had the pink feathers and streamers. I just covered the star with the same paper and used a Spellbinders Nestabilities circle for the center. "Drama" is from K Andrews Designs Coffee & Tea Treats stamp set:

"Queen" is from Crafty Friends (I taped over "crafty"):
 

Click HERE to purchase these sets or to see the entire fabulous line of K Andrew Designs stamps!!

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Decorate To Celebrate and link up your Diva Party decorations (don't forget to use pink!!) I can't wait to see what you create!! :)

FCCB Challenge #97 - Love is in the Air!

Hi everyone!! I hope you had a great weekend!! It's Monday so that means it's time for another super-fun Fantabulous Cricut Challenge!! The theme this week is "Love is in the Air", and use a heart (and at least one Cricut cut!) on your project!!

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous K Andrew Designs!! Kristal has generously donated some of her amazing stamps for the design team to work with as well!! Each of Kristal's stamp sets benefit charity. At least $1 per stamp set goes to benefit the charity noted on the stamp set package. Kristal is donating to the following charities: Cancer Angels, Storefront Shelter for Homeless Children, Intrepid & Fallen Heroes, E. Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Doorways Shelter for Women & Children (Domestic Violence), Wayside House for Women, Camp Good Days & Special Times, Adopt a Classroom, and Autism Research Institute. Kristal will donate $1 for every stamp set sold, retail or wholesale to the charity noted; and over time believes this will add up to some wonderful miracles for these special people. So you can feel good that each time you purchase a K Andrew Designs art stamp set, someone around the country is receiving some good help! Great stamps, great cause!!

For my first card, I used paper from the DCWV Be Mine stack. Isn't it pretty? It's really sparkly in person. The heart medallion is from Home Accents, and I attached the layers with foam tape for dimension and added pearls. The lace is from Hobby Lobby.

For the 3D heart, I cut nine hearts from George and Basic Shapes, and inked the edges with Tim Holtz Worn Lipstick Distress Ink. I folded all the hearts and stitched them together, and then fanned them out.

"You hold the key to my heart" is from K Andrew Designs Key to my Heart mini-stamp set! Click HERE to purchase your own set!!

I am linking this project  up at:

1. Paper Playtime Challenge #67 - Hearts or Love Theme
2. My Sheri Crafts Challenge #78 - Love is in the Air
3. More Than Favors Wacky Wednesday #64 - Love
4. Cardz TV Cricut Cardz Challenge #101 - Be My Valentine

For my second project, I used my Gypsy to weld a heart from Formal Occasion. I inked the edges with Tattered Rose Distress Ink and used the Polka Dots embossing folder. I cut the silhouette of the couple from Sweethearts.  I punched holes in the top with my crop-a-dile and added ribbon.

"Love is the key that opens the heart" is from the same  K Andrew Designs Key to my Heart mini-stamp set. The key and heart are from the set as well. I stamped them on Shrinky Dink plastic, colored them and then heated it. Aren't they cute?!

Thanks again to Kristal of K Andrew Designs for sponsoring us this week!! Make sure to stop by FCCB and see all the fabulous creations by the amazing Design Team!! And don't forget to link up your "Love is in the Air"  project as well!! I can't wait to see what you create :)