Simple Disney Layout and a Shameless Promotion

Today I have a really simple Disney layout - I am still working with those tricky photo papers. This one was a picture of one of my daughter's favorite rides - Winnie the Pooh - but I didn't have any pictures of her on it! 

I still made it work - with a picture of of the ride entrance and some Fast Passes we had saved.

The details:

I matted the photo on a scrap of paper from the DCWV Flower Shop stack. Then I used a library pocket (I believe cut at 6.5 inches) from Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More to hold the fast passes. I matted the journaling on the front and I was done! It was simple and easy to put together -and it isn't often that I have a layout like this but I think it will make a nice addition to my album.

And now for the shameless promotion! Actually I just am really excited about the project I have posted over on Paper Craft Weekend Challenge and I wanted to share it all with you too! I made 3D pumpkins that can be used as little goody containers and I love them! Here's a pic:

And I have two other variations (a Halloween pumpkin and an acorn) posted over at this weekend's anything goes challenge. So if you have the time pop on over there and check them out! I hope you might be feeling so ambitious you decide to participate - we would love to have you!

It's Disney Time Again!

I am finally getting back to some of my Disney layouts! I planned these eons ago but just got around to them at a crop last weekend. The series of layouts I will show you over the next week or so were really a challenge to me - and I thought they were going to be so easy! When we were at Disney I picked up just about every pack of Disney paper they were selling - and in the stacks were these photograph sheets from each of the parks. So I have been dying to use them but when I sat down to do them it was hard to find a balance between placing the pictures without covering up the background! And it took me all day - but I am pleased with how they came out!

The details: 

This is paper showcasing Mickey's house at Magic Kingdom - which I hear is no longer there  - aww poor Mickey! (The economy is so bad he's homeless! but I digress.) I was in a bit of a photo corner mood but instead of using them I used these great Mickey head brads from Queen & Co that I picked up at CKC Buffalo. For the title I used Mickey font, cut at 1 inch in red and shadowed in yellow. And so you can see it closer....

I used a Mickey glove brad for the comma! I so love these brads (Have we talked about my brad "problem"?? If I don't call it addiction they can't be taken away from me!). And I also added a Mickey button (also from Queen & Co) so that I could enter myself in Kate's Challenge over at Paper Craft Weekend Challenge! Who knew a layout so simple could take so long?! I have a few more of these to share so stay tuned!

Birthday Clutch

Hello everyone! It is my day here at The Bug Bytes with apologies for the late post. I spent the night in the ER with my little one, but now that she is alright I am determined to get this post done before I crash. I created this quick paper clutch in less than 15 minutes as an alternative container to wrapping for a little girl's birthday present.

The details: 

This was super easy and quick! Using the purse feature on Forever Young, I selected the "posh" purse and hid contours so that the word didn't cut out on the front. I sized it rather large at 7.30 on the 12 by 24 mat using the Designer Handmade 12x24 paper stack by K and Company. I made it this size because I needed to fit a lip gloss compact and some nail polishes in there. I scored the lines using the pre-cut scores marks and assembled using Terrifically Tacky Tape (ATG does not cut it on keeping the purses together). Then I simply punched a hole in the front and added a few flowers (Recollections and Prima) and a large jeweled brad (Oriental Trading Company). I was done in no time at all - which was good because the party was starting in 20 minutes! If I had to make this again (and I have already had a request from my daughter for one) I would probably add some velcro circles for closure and perhaps a ribbon handle. And now I am off to bed!

Vinyl Birthday Wrap

Yes that's right - I used vinyl on wrapping paper! I really like to alter plain bags for birthday presents (and now my daughter seems to expect it every time she attends a party) but this time the gift was too big. So what to do but decorate some plain wrapping paper for the occasion! And it didn't come out perfect but I can totally deal - it was ending up in the trash anyway.

The details: 

This party had a carnival theme so it was a good excuse for me to use my Carousel Lite Cartridge for the first time. Now for some reason it would not link to my Gypsy no matter what I did  so I had to do this the old fashioned way. And after a bit I actually remembered how to use my Expression without my Gypsy! I cut the clown at 11 inches and the letters for the name at 2 inches. His legs look a little wrinkly because once you put that vinyl down on paper - it is stuck there! I layered the letters before I put them on the package and then placed them on to look like the clown was juggling them.

As I said, it didn't come out perfect but I am learning to accept the tiny imperfections. I even had time to make something else for the birthday girl - but that will be my next post!

College Survival Kit

Happy Tuesday! Today is actually a sad day for me - as it is back to school for me *sniff*.  But it is also Technique Tuesday over on Paper Craft Weekend Challenge, and Caroline has a great tutorial on embossing. There is also blog candy - so you should definitely check it out! I spent part of my last day of summer vacation *sniff* creating this container to send to my cousin (and former student) who just went off to college. She is at the Ranger School so there is no cell phones, limited internet access, basically stranded in the wilderness! So of course I think a big priority box full of chocolate is just the thing to make her feel better!

The details: 

I found these nice plastic containers at the dollar store a while ago, and I thought they would be great for snacks and stuff - we have my daughter's markers in another one - so they are versatile. I used some dark green vinyl and laid out the design completely on my Gypsy before cutting, that way I could transfer it in one piece. The trees are actually from the Christmas solution cartridge and they are cut at 3.5 inches real dial size. (Without real dial size they are teeny!) The font is from Nursery Rhymes and all the letters are cut at 1 inch. Once the vinyl was cut and weeded, I laid down my painter's tape overlapping a few pieces and placed it on the container! Easy peasy and very quick! Here is what it looks like full of goodies:

And I will admit it - I went a little overboard on candy so there is another gallon freezer bag of goodies to accompany this - but hey - candy has no calories when you are in college right?? Well, still time to cry into my pillow the school year is here - but I will get over it I suppose SIGH. Maybe some chocolate would help...

Finally! Recycled Popcorn Boxes

So I decided to get off my lazy behind and finally post how I recycled the popcorn boxes from my parents anniversary - remember them? Here's a picture if you don't:

I made way too many - I think at least 30 so I had a bunch left over - and I sure as heck didn't want to throw them out after I spent so much time on them! And my daughter's baseball picnic was coming up - and I thought what better to use for them to hold all the candy from the pinata I had bought? (The adventure to find a baseball shaped pinata is a whole other story!) With a little ingenuity, some markers, pens,  and some prying off of the scallops I turned them into a baseball themed container!

The details: 


I used the layer feature on my Gypsy to make a bunch of these baseballs with the name of her team on them. On Layer 1 I placed the baseball from Sports Mania and drew it with the Cricut brand markers.Then I hit return to design and NOT unload mat. On layer 2 I put the name of her team using the Stamped font cartridge and drew it with with the Cri-kut brand gel pens. Again, I used return to design and swapped out the holder for my blade housing. On the last layer I had positioned the blackout cut of the baseball and this is when I finally cut out the shape. Then it was time to unload the mat! I was really happy with the way it came out and that I was able to use them twice.

I also used my Sports Mania Cartridge and Printing Press to make some lollipop center pieces. I just cut out an extra bottom layer to sandwich a skewer stick in. For once I didn't even stress that I didn't have buckets in coordinating colors  which was a good thing - because they only cared about the candy!

I have often thought that Sports Mania is sometimes overlooked  - I love the cuts on it! The glove and baseball are my favorites. A closeup:

Hope you enjoyed this post-season baseball moment!

Exciting Announcement

First apologies for the neglect - that darn life keeps sneaking up on me and I was sidelined by an illness - but what can you do?? But we interrupt this apology for an exciting announcement!

Caroline (from Caroline's Craftography) and I are thrilled to announce our new challenge blog – Paper Craft Weekend Challenge! You can expect a challenge with a project to inspire you every Friday and Sunday. The only rule we expect you to stick to is having fun! We are not going to limit ourselves to one type of machine or project – so get your materials and get ready to use your stuff (instead of just collecting it – not that we aren’t guilty of that too).  There will be some tutorials along the way – and it wouldn’t be any fun if we didn’t have friends occasionally stopping by – so please come join us and get ready to get your craft on!

We are launching the blog today and we kick off the challenges tomorrow - where I will have TWO projects to share  - so I hope to see you there!