Happy Saturday

I can't believe it is the weekend again already! These weeks just seem to fly by.  I had some free time this morning so I decided to make a quick card.  The word of the day today on 365 Cards is Happy.  I looked through my stamps and found a "Happily Ever After" I have never used, so that was my inspiration for this card.  I made it in about 30 minutes - which is fast for me! 

 I hope you all have a HAPPY day!

Birthday Bonanza!

This weekend we are celebrating two birthdays in the family, which gave me an excuse to make some cards today. The first card is for my "Aunt". (No blood relation but love her just the same!)  She loves vibrant colors and designs so I thought this card would be right up her alley.  The flowers (PSX) are stamped in VersaMark and embossed with clear powder.  The sentiment (SU) is stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink .  The tag is from a K&Company tag pad.  I made this card by following CPS's sketch this week.  I think she will love it!

This card is for my dad who is a cowboy at heart. He grew up in Utah and his shoes of choice are always a pair of cowboy boots!  Using the Cricut I made the cowboy boots, present and party monster using SVGs from SVG Cuts.  The party hat is from http://mycricutscrapbooking.com/. 

My First Card Sketch Entries!

Something fun I've found when looking at people's crafting blogs are Card Sketch challenges.  

So here is my first one ever!!  I made this card to meet the criteria of a few different challenges.  

The sketch design is from  Card Patterns sketch #98.  

 

I incorporated some cute polka dot ribbon into this card as well which meets the criteria for the Wee Memories Challenge #39 - use any ribbon of your choice in a project.

Finally, the theme is "Love" which is the word of the day on 365 Cards challenge Day 327 Love. 

These are so much fun! I am looking forward to may more sketch challenges!

Christmas Tree Cones

I promise that this is my last Christmas post until next Christmas season!  I made these cone Christmas trees as gifts for some family members.  I wanted to make them something that they could use in their home as decorations.  I went to Marc's and bought random bases for the trees including a ceramic candle pillar, toothbrush holder and various glasses.

I wanted the trees to fit into the decor of the homes they were going to.  These pictures do not really show all of the detail that is on the trees... but they are pretty awesome.  You can also make them into candle holders by using the battery operated tea lights under the paper cone.  Adding the candle gives them a really neat effect!  All of these trees were made using paper from the DCWV Christmas stack.  

Gift Card Holders from SVGcuts.com

I love, love, love the website SVGCuts!  SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics) are the types of images the software Sure Cuts a Lot uses to cut on the Cricut.  SVGCuts has great freebies and files you can purchase.  I purchased their Gift a Gift Card SVG Kit, which has 20 different gift card holders for $5.99.  These are the gift card holders I made using this kit.

Not only did these hold gift cards, they also served as the tag for my nephews' Christmas gifts! Aren't they awesome?!

My husband and I sent the following card to my brother and sister-in-law for them to purchase a Nintendo Wii.  I found a free "Wii font" online, which I used for the wording on the card.  

If you are interested in Sure Cuts a Lot check out http://www.scrappingtable.com/home.html.  I purchased my copy of SCAL from Michelle (Scrapping Table) and I am so glad I did.  Michelle has free svg files which she updates regularly that you can download for free if you purchase your copy of SCAL from her.  If you already have SCAL, check out her website anyways and you can get access to her svg files for a small fee.  She also has great tutorials and youtube videos that will help you learn  how to use SCAL.

Christmas Cards with Papertrey Ink Stamps

I stumbled across a wonderful crafting website: http://www.papertreyink.com/.  Not only do they sell exceptionally nice stuff but they have created a wonderful community for people who use their products.  Check out their blog at http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/.   

Here are some of the Christmas cards I created using products purchased from PTI.  The stamp sets I used for these cards are: On Ice, Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers, and Big & Bold Holiday Wishes.  For these cards I used various VersaMagic Dew Drop ink pads and Copic markers.

The following cards I created using the Cricut and some stamps from Michael's Recollections stamp sets, as well as PTI's Big & Bold Holiday Wishes stamps.  In addition to VersaMagic inks, on these cards I used VersaMark Ink, Momento Dew Drops and some Perfect Pearls to add shimmer. 

Christmas Tree Place Cards

The women in my husband's family have a wonderful tradition at Christmas time... a girl's only Tea Party!  It is an event they have been doing for many years.  This year all of us "young women" (aka the daughters and daughters-in-law) were in charge of the Tea Party.  We all took the responsibility for different aspects of the party, and one of my tasks was to make the place cards.  I wanted to make something fun that everyone could take home with them. I got the idea for these Christmas Tree Place Cards from http://accucut.typepad.com/craft/2010/10/oh-my-you-need-this-die.html.

 I was not able to find any SVG files for the pyramid so I found an image of a pyramid template online and used the trace tool in SCAL to create my own SVG.  Here is the image cut out by the Cricut. 

I scored my fold lines. 

And then I folded it and glued it together.

Then I cut stars from the basic shapes in SCAL and sprayed them with some water mixed with Perfect Pearls.  I glued stars to toothpicks and stuck them into the top of the trees.  The name tags I simply printed out on my regular printer and then cut out with the Cricut.  I stamped the name cards with snowflake stamps in Versamark Ink with Perfect Pearls on top to add some shimmer. 

The Tea Party 2010

Christmas gifts made with the Cricut

I wanted to make something special for my two young nephews and baby niece, as well as my cousin's baby, for Christmas.  After much thought I decided to make them framed name signs for their bedrooms.  I went to my local Marc's store and found these "pug" frames which I thought were the perfect size.

Since my niece's name is Violet I wanted her sign be purple and green with Violets on it.  I searched but could not find Violet stamps or stickers anywhere. So I ended up finding a picture online and using my Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) software to draw the flowers onto my paper through the Cricut.  I purchased gel pens made specifically for the Cricut called Cri-Kits gel pens. (http://www.cri-kits.com/cricut/cricut_pen_kits.html)  You simply remove the blade housing in the Cricut and insert the Cri-kits adapter and desired gel pen.  It is easy and gives an awesome effect! After the flowers and petals were drawn I replaced the cutting tool and had the Cricut cut out the images.

Then I colored the images with Copic markers. The colors I used for the violets were BV00, BV04, BV08, V15, V17, Y02, Y06 and YR04.  For the leaves I used YG11, YG63, and YG67.

I am a newbie when it comes to coloring with Copics.  I have watched tons of Youtube videos to learn different techniques, but I am far from experienced. I was not sure the best way to color the leaves so I experimented. 

And this is the finished project for Violet! I used some sparkly purple cardstock, as well as beautiful deep purple and fern green paper.  I used a Cri-kits glitter silver gel pen to draw the details on the letters. 

Here are the projects I did for my nephews. Again I used the Cricut to cut out their names.  Caleb's was made using various papers the DCWV Generation Tech Stack from Joann Fabrics.  

For Cayden's I created the nuts and bolts in Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) using the basic shapes.  The robot on the top was a stamp that I colored with copics.  The robot on the bottom I created in SCAL and I gave him googly eyes.  

Here is the final project I made.  This one was for my cousin's new baby, Madeline Marie.  Whenever I hear the name Madeline I automatically think of the children's books and cartoon Madeline, about a young French girl.  I loved watching Madeline when I was a kid!  So when I was planning Maddie's gift I could not help but give it a French theme.  

Blog Title Inspiration

I named the blog Fur & Green Feathers because of our two "babies" Stormy and Luigi.  Stormy is our Russian Blue cat and Luigi is our Eclectus parrot. It is hard to believe but they get along great and play together all the time.  I am sure I will be posting many pictures of these rascals!

New Year, New Blog

 I have wanted to have my own blog for a while now.  I look at craft blogs almost every day, which give me encouragement and inspiration.  I hope this blog will be able to do the same for others!

This Christmas I was a crafting machine!  That is due in a very large part to my new Cricut machine!! I saw a video on Youtube in November about the software Sure Cuts A Lot, which allows you to cut practically anything on the Cricut without having to purchase Cricut cartridges.  I told my husband about it, and he said if I would use it I should get it.... so of course I got one that night.  :P

So for the next few days I will be posting items I created this Christmas using my Cricut, and other wonderful crafting supplies.