Happy New Years Eve everyone!!!

I am the guest designer on the DCRU design team blog today! Woot woot!! Lol.... So with that said this may look familiar to you.

Today I will be sharing a SUPER EASY tutorial (So easy even a caveman can do it! Ha!) on how to make this purse that measures 5 1/2 x 4 1/4. The purse will hold 4 cards measuring 5 1/2 x 4, 4 envelopes and small pen. (I've seen a lot of ideas out there for purse tutorials and I am sure this is very similar to a lot of them, so in no way am I taking credit. I just experimented with the measurements and this is what I came up with to suit my needs.)

The supplies you will need and that were used in my photos are:

1 Sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 Card stock (heavy weight is recommended)

Scor-Pal,

Paper Trimmer,

Patterned Paper,

Zots,

Glue Glider Pro,

Scor-Tape,

Embellishments of your choice,

Chalks,

Ruler,

Velcro,

Embossing Folders: Swiss Dots, D'Vine Swirl, Polka Dots, Script Texture

Steps:

1. Using your paper trimmer cut card stock to 11x6 and cut the leftover strip to 10 1/2 x 3.

2. Place the 11x6 sheet of card stock on your Scor-Pal and score at: 2 1/2, 3 1/2, 7 3/4, and 8 3/4 as shown in photo. (If you do not have the Scor-Pal mat that fits snug in your Scor-Pal you will need to mark the 7 3/4 and 8 3/4 with a ruler and then score.) Now place the 10 1/2 x 3 strip on your Scor-Pal and score at 1 1/4, 2 1/4, 8 1/4, and 9 1/4 as shown in photo below.

Notice in the photo above that you now have the two main sections of your purse. The top piece of CS is the "base" of the purse and the bottom piece of CS is the "box" that will fit inside of the base.

3. Pre-fold score lines. (Once the base is pre-folded notice that one side is slightly smaller than the other. The smaller side is the top of the purse.)

4. Next you will want to apply your Score-Tape or some other super sticky adhesive to the "box" part (10 1/2 x 3) as shown in below photos.

5. Carefully attach the "box" to the base as shown in photos below.

6. The last part of this tutorial is punching holes for your "strap". You can either punch holes and attach a pretty ribbon as your purse strap or you can get creative and make a paper strap, which I have done, using the Home Accents cartridge with my Cricut Expression. (In the below photo I just eyeballed where to punch the holes.)

Now all you have to do is pull out your favorite designer paper and embellishments and decorate until your little heart is content! :) Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Once you are finished decorating your purse you will want to add some type of closure such as: Velcro, magnetic rounds or buttons. (You can attach a button to the top and one to the bottom and loop twine around like you would find on an interoffice envelope.)

You will want to make some matching cards (5 1/2 x 4) to put inside of your purse.

Here is my finished purse with stationary.

Why not give this tutorial a try and maybe giving it to a special someone in your life. It's truly better to give than to receive. With that said I would love nothing more than to give one of YOU special readers this purse with stationary. Just leave a comment on the DCRU design team blog today to be entered and the winner will be announced January 9.

One last thing, if you have ANY questions don't hesitate to let me know in the comment section below with a way to get in contact with you.

Happy New Year to all! :)

Hello

Good evening everyone! :)

Today I have another sweet little card using my Cricut Expression. The cartridge is Serenade.

Do you have big plans for New Years? Have you set goals? I have set several goals for myself in the different roles that I play as a mom, wife, and scrapper/blogger. I've also set some physical and spiritual goals to achieve. I want to take 2010 by the horns and if I set my mind to achieve now I know that I will succeed! I believe 2010 can be our BEST year yet!

Happy New Years everyone!!! :)

Good evening everyone! Hope you all are staying nice and warm.

This evening I have a quick card to share with using my Cricut Expression. My sweet hubby finally enabled me to be "bitten by the bug". I really did not realize all the possibilities this machine offers. Just another habit for him to support. ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Hi everyone!

If anyone deserves the worst blogger award it would be me! Seriously, how long has it been since I've posted something that I've created?!? Too long! Truth be known I've been super busy trying to get things ready for the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year". :) Ha! Hasn't everyone?! Not to mention I have not seen the sun in forever until today!

OK, enough of excuses. Now on with the show (sorry, not much of a show). Here is a sweet little card that I created today in about 15 minutes! Yay, for quick cards and yay for quick post. :)

The end.

heehee... Hope you ALL have a fabulous weekend!!! Maybe just maybe I will share something a little later, but don't hold your breath too long. :D

Wanna Win???

Die Cuts R Us is giving away this BRAND new QuicKutz Epic Six and as if this was not enough how about some die cuts to go along with it??? Sounds enticing eh?? So now you may be asking, "how can I win"? Well, let me tell you. The DCRU design team blog needs to hit 500 followers by New Years Day!! Lets help DCRU spread the word of this AMAZING giveaway!! You can post about this on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or by any other means. Don't YOU forget to become a follower as well; you do want your name in the pot don't ya? ;-) Oh, and one last thing leave a comment on this post over at DCRU. :)

Good luck!!! :)

Awards

Good evening ladies!! Well, I SHOULD be chopping onions and celery to start preparing for our Thanksgiving dinner, but I much rather pass on some super sweet blog awards that I've received. Some of them I've received months ago and others here recently.

This one I received from THE Sweet Southern girl herself Sammye Jo.

For this award I am supposed to list ten honest things about myself and pass on to 5 people.

1. I love God!

2. I love my family

3. I love my friends

4. I love to cook/bake

5. I hate liars

6. I have OCD when it comes to a clean home and everything being in its place.

7. I wish I had LOTS of babies tugging at my skirt tails. (my babies are 17 & 13)

8. I don't want any regrets in life

9. I want to live to be 100

10. I want to go to Portugal (Thanks Cheryl ;))

My five picks: Margie, Cheryl, Jen, Donna, and Sara Beth.

The next two awards are from the EVER SO SWEEEET Donna of Donna's Diary. This is one SUPER talented lady that I would encourage you to visit often!

My picks for these two awards go to: Claudia, Sammye Jo, Gwen, Amber, and Mary (This lady is INCREDIBLE!!!).

Last, but certainly NOT least, I received this from my SUPER SWEET friend Claudia! Rules give ONE word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? Bar

2. Hair? Long

3. Mother? Caring

4. Father? Daddy

5. Favorite food? Pizza

6. Dream last night? Yes

7. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
8. Your dream/goal? Heaven

9. What room are you in? Bedroom
10. Hobby? Crafting
11. Fear? Loneliness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something you aren't? Unhappy
15. Muffins? Banana Nut
16. Wish list item? Cricut

17. Where did you grow up? Texas
18. Last thing you did? Shopped
19. What are you wearing? Pj's

20. Your TV? Living room

21. Your pets? None
22. Friends? Blessings

23. Your life? Good

24. Your mood? Happy
25. Missing someone? Girls
26. Vehicle? Black
27. Something you're not wearing? Socks
28. Favorite store? Target
29. Favorite color? Pink
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Today
32. Best friend? Husband

33. One place you go over and over? Store

34. Facebook? Yes
35. Favorite place to eat? Rancho Grande

My 5 are: America, Jacquie, Lori, Cara, Virginia.

Enjoy ladies!! Each of you have such amazing talent that I admire SO much! Thanks for being you!

There's an Angel Among Us...

... Ivy Angel that is! :) This is one of Jen's super adorable digis from her, Tis the Season line. There is a whole slew of cuteness in this set. I would encourage you to go check them out! :)

When I set out to make this easel card I wanted Ivy to appear to be floating and angelic looking. I did this by popping her up with strips of cs and making her gown light and airy looking. If you click on the picture you will see that I used two different color families. I used C1 for the over-all gown and outlined it in Vooo. I used Shimmerz butter cream on her wings. The flame on her candle my Spica pens were used; trying to give it a "glow-y" look. For her halo all I had was regular gold art glitter that I glued on speck by speck. Lastly for the snowflakes I printed out some snowflake outlines chalked them and then colored them with my Sakura Souffle pens and punched them with my 1" punch. Last night I was wishing that I had those snowflake die cuts, but I didn't so I had to improvise.

Here is a side view for you to see.

And lastly here is the "flat" view.


If you have any questions don't hesitate to let me know.

My Guy Autumn

Hello everyone!

Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving?? I know I cant! I have not even prepared in the least bit let alone Christmas. Can I tell ya a secret??? I'm SO ready to put up my Christmas tree! Ha! Yes!! I have not took the plunge yet, but I see it happening really soon! When do you put your tree up? You may be thinking, "girl Thanksgiving hasn't even arrived", but let me tell you that I know of a few people who put their tree up on Halloween! WASSUP with that?!?!?! Did I just really say, "Wassup"?

Let me tell ya, I fought myself and fought myself to use this sentiment on my card today. I'm so not the "wassup", "yo", or "wudup" type of girl, but for whatever reason I felt this sentiment was fitting for My Guy Autumn. What do you think?



Isn't he a doll? I really liked the way he came out.

Well, I will not keep you here any longer. I really do appreciate each of your visits here and being so patient with me on my journey! Much love to you all!

Recipe:
Stamp: My Guy Autumn, sentiment-computer generated.
CS: My Minds Eye, Copics.
If you ever have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

Welcome Autumn Anya

Here is a sweet little digi that I purchased from the Greeting Farm.

Last night I decided to work with a sketch instead of "winging" it. Ha! I'm a slow learner. Better late than never is what they say.

Here she is sporting her cute Winter wardrobe! After making this card I "picked" it to death! You know all the, "I should of done this and I should of done that". Welp, there will be a next time! You will see her again real soon I'm sure. :)

Hope you all stay nice and warm in your neck of the woods! Happy crafting!!!

Recipe: Papertrey CS, Copics, Sakura Souffle ink, Pebbles Metalic chalk.

Inkin Isabella

Good afternoon ladies! Hope each of you are having a fabulous week!

Here is a super sweet digi image that I received from Die Cuts R Us. Her name is Inkin Isabella. She was a ton of fun to color. I love this girls shoes, which I used my Spica's on; so they are "blingy"! :)

Christmas is just around the corner and what better gift to give the crafter in your life then a cute little gift bag or box with this fun image popped up on it? You can fill the box/bag with some cute little embellies or a gift certificate that you can also find at the DCRU store!

Why not head on over to Claudia's, the amazing owner, shop and take a peek at all the great deals going on! You really dont need to wait for a sale to visit her shop, because her prices beat any other store that I've personally found online.

Recipe:

Stamp: DCRU

Copic markers, Spica pens

PTI: CS(Raspberry Fizz) Ribbon (Raspberry Fizz)

With Sincere Thanks!

Thank You

Here's another card using one of Dawn's digis from Lost in Paper Scraps. I tell ya she has a lot of fun images to color and create with... go take a peek at her blog and see for yourself. :)

I'm feeling pretty under the weather today, but hopefully I can get back up to full speed by tomorrow. Hope each of you have a fun filled weekend with family and/or friends! See ya soon!

DCWV-Sweet Stack, Copic Markers, PTI- CS, Flowers ?

Digi- Lost in Paper Scraps

Sweet Stack

Happy Thursday morning to you! :)

First up today I wanted to share a card that I made using the DCWV Sweet Stack that I purchased at DCRU for a "sweet" price (sorry, I could not resist). Now how CUTE is this image!?! This is Rainy Cynthia from In Style Stamps. She was a lot of fun to color, but then again when I use my Copics I always have fun! :) Virginia from ISS has a LOT of really cute digis in her shop. Go check it out! Oh, plus she has a TON on sale! What girl does not love a sale!?!

Next up I have used the DCWV Sweet Stack again. I figured since it was out that I might as well take advantage of it. lol.. This adorable digi came from the super talented Dawn of Lost in Paper Scraps. She too has TONS of cute images.



.... and guess what! Both of these cards took me under 3 hours to complete! Ha! Can ya believe it!?! I know I sure cant! :) Plus on top of that I was able to color in another cute image that I will share later on!

All right ladies I'm outta here! Hope each of you have a blessed day! So glad you stopped by! :)

Love

Good evening friends! Hope everyone is having a marvelous week thus far! :)

Today I have a little card to share that I put together last evening using K & Co dp. (I love K&Co)

I will make this very short as our niece is in the hospital having her very 1st baby tonight! I {heart} babies!!! Ahhhh, better get up there and take care of this baby fever I've been having! :D

Have a great night and a better day tomorrow! :)

Happy Day

Today IS a happy day! The weather outside is gorgeous and the temperature is just right. :)

Today is also a miracle day in the blog life of HandMade Etc. I don't believe I have EVER posted 2 cards in one day! Yay me! :) j/k

This CUTE little, prissy turtle is a free, yes free, digi you can find on the ever so sweet Dawn Moore of Lost in Paper Scraps. She has created some of the MOST CUTEST images!! Go check out her blog and all of her gorgeous creations! You will not be disappointed! If you choose to use one of her images just remember to let her know in her comment section that you are using one so she can come by your blog to see what you've created with her digi's. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! ;)

Have blessed day! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Follow Your Heart

Happy Saturday everyone!
Here is a card that I made up yesterday using Unity's August kit of the month. I love this little travel trailer! I made the road using black scrap CS. I wont keep you long. Hope you all have a beautiful beautiful weekend with family and/or friends! It's gorgeous here today! :)

Far from Perfect...

What I love about vintage/shabby cards is that nothing has to be perfect! It sure makes my crafting easier since I am still so new. (One day I wont be able to use that excuse, but until then...) I'm starting to really enjoy making this style of card.

Here is something I put together. It's far from perfect, but perfect for me.

A Vintage Christmas

Here's a little card that I made last night using Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly line. This line is adorable. I hand stitched and did some major distressing to the card, added a little bit of Shimmerz to the snowman, also handmade, to try and give it a little sparkle. In a way I think it looks a little muddy. Oh well, I will know next time. :) Guess you could say that he was made out of dirty snow. ;)

Hope everyone has a fantastic evening! Thanks for stopping by.

paperYumness

Virginia of paperYumness has started a new blog and is having one heck of a give-a-way! She also is the owner of InStyle Stamps. Go check out her blog and her store and welcome her to the bloggy world! :)

Not a Card :)

Good evening!

Here I have a couple of projects that I made last night. You can say they were "rush" projects. Super simple to make... even for me! :D

First up is a little treat bag that I made out of 1 sheet of card stock. The bag measures 2 3/4" by 1 1/2" and 3" deep. The dp is from The Sweet Stack from Die Cuts R Us. Ribbon is from Paper Mart. Card stock is from Papertrey Ink.

Here is a little treat holder that can hold a single cup Reese's or any other goody that is approximately the same size. Off I go to make a few more! :) Have a great evening everyone!

Copic Super Sale

You don't want to miss the Copic Super Sale starting Saturday, October 3rd-October 10th at Die Cuts R Us! Copic Ciao's on sale for $2.99 each!!! At this price they will not last long! This is a great time to get those colors you may not have or if you are new to Copic markers buy some to get yourself started! Claudia, the owner of Die Cuts R Us will also be offering special Copic bundles for achieving special techniques; for example, blue jeans, skin tones, black hair and more! There will be more sales going on during this time so be sure to pick yourself up some other goodies as well! :)

Do you have this Copic chart? It's very helpful to see the colors that you have and the colors that you need. ;) For best results print this chart on white cardstock that you use most often to get accurate results.

Autumn Splendor

You must check out Jens new Wild Flower Kids, Autumn Splendor line!!! Bramble, the scarecrow shown in the picture below is just one of the many cute images of this new line! Jen is also offering blog candy to one lucky person, why not you?!?! Go here to enter to win!!!

Sweet Fang... I mean Thang! Jk

Pardon me for having a goof ball moment there! :)

Here is the last image in Jen's stamp set, Ghoul Friends. Isn't he adorable! He was a lot of fun to color too! I have so many projects in my head that I want to create with Jen's stamps (besides a card). Maybe I can create one this weekend and post! Oh, BTW, Jen has some adorable new digis coming out this week. You can hop on over to her blog and take a peek at a portion of her latest. You will not be disappointed! Promise!!!

Let me tell you, all of you ladies sure make card making look simple! I've had the hardest time trying to decide on what to do with this cutey patutey! He has been laying on my desk (colored)for the past 3 days begging me to do something with him. It just was not flowing!

Short and simple post for a short and simple card! ;) Everyone have a great evening! :)

Lil Franky

Must be a miracle taking place because this is my second post in three days!!! I cannot believe it! I'm a horrible blogger as my track record proves, but maybe as time goes by I will get better! :)

Here is another cute image and sentiment that comes with Jen's Wild Flower Kids, Ghoul Friends.

I used my Copics to color him and Spicas to outline the "scars" on Franky and the bats. Used a little dot of Stickles for the button on the jacket and the dots around the sentiment. LOVE the sentiment! Those bats are so cute too, which I popped up on 1/4 inch foam dots.

Will be back later with another card using the other image of this set! :) Have a great Monday everyone!

Lil Miss Violet

BEWARE: This is my 1st time to ever color a stamped image with a face using my Copic markers! :/
Yesterday, I received my blog candy that I won from Jen who created this adorable stamp and sentiment. This is just part of her new released Wild Flower Kids, Ghoul Friends set that Stamp Happens carries exclusively.
The day this set was released I immediately fell in LOVE to say the least. Violet is just soooo cute and so much fun to color! Jen did an amazing job with all the details as you can see. I mean c'mon look at those cute leg warmers and the striped leotards. CUTE CUTE!
There are more stamps to this set that are just as adorable and full of detail, which by the way I cannot wait to tackle like the "Frankenstein" image (again)! Actually I did color the Frankenstein image last night, but decided it would be best not to post him, because, well he kinda looks like the Incredible Hulk! (Sorry Jen) From his neck down he looks great, but his poor little face looks "hulkish".
I can hardly wait to see what Jen comes up with next!
Well off I go to play with this incredible stamp set! Hope everyone is having a great weekend with family and/or friends.

*Quick Card*

Here is a card that I actually made pretty fast this morning. Ha! Me fast?!? Normally it takes me $#% hours to make just one! lol... Sorry I'm to embarrassed to tell you how many hours it normally takes! :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

Yvette

*It's a Giveaway*

You must go check out Jen's blog, aka Deconstructing Jen. Today she is celebrating the new release of the Wild Flower Kids rubber stamps. They are soooooo cute! There will be 2 winners... it could be YOU! Now get going and check out all the deets here!

*Stamped Image Swap*

All righty ladies there is a stamped image swap going on at 62 Cards.  This is a fabulous way to get some super fab images to try out before you buy! Head on over there and check it out! It will be fun fun!!! Have a great evening everyone! :)

*Get Well*

Here is a quick card I created last night. Not sure what it's lacking, but maybe if I stared at it long enough I will figure it out! I'm still so new at this I dont feel real confident in some of my creations. To me this card looks better in person than on here... hmmmmm

Have a great day!

Blog Candy Celebration Giveaway!!!

Talk about a celebration! Sara over at Scrap Happie is celebrating her 10,000 plus hits, blogaversary and 100+ followers with gift certificates and a really nice goody package to 3 different individuals! Each gift card valued at $20.00! Now how's that for a giveaway!!! There are multiple chances to win, so get on over there and check out her totally awesome blog and leave her some love! :) Thanks Sara for being soooo NICE!!!

Yvette

Blog Award

I must start out saying that I LOVE the group of friends that I've made in the paper art community! Truly this group is so giving, inspiring and selfless! I love each of them!!!

Tonight I recieved a Circle of Friends blog award from one of my top favorite people, Sammye Jo! I love this girl! Sammye is true GRITS (Girl Raised in The South)!!! She oozes with southern hospitality! She inspires me! She is SUPER sweet and my list could go on and on and on about her, but I will leave out the mushy stuff! Ha!

Ta daaa.... Heres the award

So the 5 people I've become most close to are:

1. Claudia (DCRU)

2. Karen (Karens Kreations)

3. Penny (Penni Annies)

4. Angie ( Handmade by Lilacanglia)

Ok.... I KNOW I should have 5 different people on here, but I just don't have it in me to not give this award back to the person who sent it... I'm wrong I'm sure, but I MUST give one to Sammye! I'm sorry for not playing fair. *sniff sniff*

5. Sammye Jo ( 62 Cards)

Alrighty ladies here are the rules: To pick up the Circle of Friends Blog Award:Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog.Nominate at least 5 other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends. Link to your nominees within your blog post. Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your blog post, to show your appreciation. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.