CC Challenge #2

Crop Chocolate posted Challenge #2 on February 8, 2012 (click here for information on the current challenge). The details read "The challenge is to make a Valentine’s Day card, layout, whatever you like. The challenge is to make it with “Non-Traditional” colors."

Challenge #2 - Valentines Card

The rules read "Post a picture of your Valentines Day Card. 50% of the product used must be from CropChocolate.com. Please include items used in the description of your entry. Contest ends on February 14, 2012 at 11:59:59pm Mountain. Please submit your entry before then. $10 CropCredit in a random drawing."

Products from CC: 6x6 Be Mine Paper Pad by Echo Park, Slice Design Card - Je t'Adore, Hands Free Kit by Slice, Paper Reverie Noir Tape by Making Memories, Viper Permanent Adhesive by Snake Tape. Other products used: black cardstock, Glossy Accents, QuicKutz Love Shapes Cookie Cutter dies.

The lips were cut using QuicKutz Love Shapes Cookie Cutter dies and then I put Glossy Accents on top.

This is how my Valentines Card turned out:

I hope you like my card.

New Year's Resolutions and CC Challenges

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to create something crafty at least once per week and blog about it. Hmm, if you look at my previous posts I did not do too well with that resolution.

Around Valentine's Day Crop Chocolate started having weekly challenges (click here for information on the current challenge) that we could participate in for the chance to win $10 Crop Credit. That incentive has pushed me to be a bit better at creating something weekly, but hasn't really pushed me to blog.

Now one of my CC friends, mommyx2, and I are hosting the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop and I feel like I need to catch up a bit so my blog looks a little used. So, without further babble, here's what I created for

Challenge #1 - Valentines Tag.

The details read "Simple: Make a 3x5 Tag with a Valentines Day theme".

The rules read "Post a picture of your Valentines Day Tag. 50% of the product used must be from CropChocolate.com. Please include items used in the description of your entry. Contest ends on February 7, 2012 at 11:59:59pm Mountain. Please submit your entry before then. $10 CropCredit in a random drawing."

I have to admit, I had never make a tag before. Honestly I tend to make "practical" items. While I love some of the items I see shared on other blogs, manufacturer websites and in magazines or books, I just do not see myself creating some of them. I can see using a tag to hide journaling, but not making a tag just to make a tag. Well for the chance to win $10 CropCredit I made an exception.

Valentines Tag made with the following products from Crop Chocolate: Life Stories Green by MME, Water Color Paper by MM, Slice Design Cutter, Slice Hands Free Kit, Slice Design Card Je t'adore, Pink With Love Flower Brads by Making Memories, Paper Reverie Noir Butterflies - Making Memories and Red Nosed Reindeer Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. Other products used: Slice Design Card Applique Basics, ribbon, square eyelet by MM, black cardstock, bling, twine.

I hope you like the tag I made and it inspires you to create something outside your comfort zone.

update - 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop

We have almost 20 blogs along the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop. I say "almost" because we have a couple of new bloggers that are a little nervous about getting their post ready. I have reassured them that blogging is relatively easy and have sent them a few hints for scheduling a post (in case their time zone makes it difficult to post just before the start of the hop), posting pictures and creating links (along with a few links to documentation). We also have a couple of people who are going to try to get projects ready to be guest bloggers. As we all know life can throw us some curve balls so we will do our best to quickly adjust if necessary. If people cannot create something "in time" we will all understand. Sometimes I wonder how I'm going to get everything done I need to.

Mark your calendars for the blog hop start. The hop will start at mommyx2's blog at 8am MDT on Friday, March 23. Everyone will have until 8am MDT on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 to comment. We have two confirmed giveaways. One is a 12×12 Hello Spring Mini Theme Kit by Echo Park and another is a 12×12 Fourth Of July Mini Theme Kit by Echo Park (generously donated by Echo Park Paper Co.). We will post updates if we are able to secure additional giveaways. To be eligible to win on the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop, you need to comment on each blog along the hop and be able to receive packages (no post office boxes). It is open worldwide. The winners will be selected via random.org.

Some of the bloggers along the hop have mentioned that they plan to offer blog candy. Be sure to look for those announcements and follow the steps they would like you to do to be eligible for those prizes.

I am going to try to post sneak peaks everyday until the blog hop starts. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone creates.

update - 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop

As of this morning we have nine stops on the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop (includes mommyx2 and centralnyscrapper). I hope that more of you will be able to join us on the hop. Please see my previous post for details and don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop - Bountiful Borders

The theme is “Bountiful Borders”. This idea came about due to all of the discussion related to the World Launch of the Lucky 8 punches from WRMK. The discussion of the WRMK punch started discussion of the Elegant Edges cartridge from Cricut and many other border creating options on the market. MommyX2 and I thought we should put all of our excitement toward a blog hop. Any punch you would want to use in repeat would work. Even using the Instant Setter Tool by Making Memories (https://www.cropchocolate.com/past_scrapbook_deals?pid=82) tool would work if you would want to punch that many times (though I have seen some wonderful projects just using a screw punch).

There are (2) requirements:

1) Create any project, e.g., layout, card, home decor, etc. Use a tool, electronic or manual, to create a decorative edge on at least one side of the project.

2) Since we've met each other through Crop Chocolate 50% of the product used on your project should have been purchased from CC. In your blog post please list the products from CC.

For those that participated the last time, this blog hop will be very similar to the 1st Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop coordinated by Scrappy Canuck in July 2011. In fact, you might recognize some of this information as she graciously gave me permission to use what she wrote then.

Some of you have blogs that are not entirely scrapbook related, and that’s totally fine too! This is an unofficial hop so we have flexibility in what we post. It can also be chance for you to get some viewers to your site, and for the CC community to get to know each other a bit better! Have good clean fun with your post, and don’t forget to mention CC!

For those of you who have not participated in a blog hop before, there are a couple of things that you will need to include. The first is a title or message at the beginning of your post that indicates you are part of the blog hop, and a welcome message of some sort. This doesn’t need to be fancy – it just lets a hopper know that they are at the right spot. It also informs someone who might happen to pass by your blog that there is a hop going on that they might want to join! The second thing we would like you to include is a link to the first blog so anyone finding the hop “in the middle” knows where the start is. The third thing you need to include is a link to the next blog on the hop. Once we have all the information from each of you, we will send you a message with the links that you need to include.

For those of you who have never posted a link on your blog, send us a PM or post the question in Box of Chocolates and we can give you some generic information on how to post links when we send out that information. Other than that, the content of your blog post is totally up to you. It does need to be posted by the date and time you are assigned (a message will be mailed to all participants at least one week in advance with the details).

If you end up not being able to post, please let us know ASAP so we can get others to change their links…remember that because this is a chain, if you don’t post your link, the hop stops there!

If you would like to participate in the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop, please send an email to centralnyscrapper (at) ymail (dot) com with Blog Hop in the subject line by 6pm MST on Wednesday, March 14. Please send us the link to your blog and we will go ahead and get the lists ready. Your spot on the hop will be randomly assigned (your name will be pulled from a hat). If you could also please let us know how you would like to refer to yourself that would be great (first name, blog name, CC username, etc.).

If you do not have your own blog yet, but would still like to participate, send us a note and we will match you up with someone who will post your project on their blog.

We are working on getting prizes (awarded randomly) for those that participate in the hop. Prize details are still being finalized and will be posted at a later date.

There is the possibility that the hop could run two or more days depending on interest. Since several people are unable to participate from their work locations due to job duties or firewall issues, the hop will start on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 8am MST. To be eligible to win prizes, you must comment on each blog post. Everyone will have until 8am MST on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 to comment. Winners will be selected by random.org.

We hope you'll want to be a stop on the blog hop.

Cuttlebug giveaway...

Head over to a A Gilded Life to learn how you can win a Cuttlebug. While you are there, check out the Crown Garland they made with an Expression 2 and Teresa Collins' Sophisticated cartridge. Good luck!

Lifestyle Crafts "I Made This Week 11" giveaway

Go to Lifestyle Crafts' blog for more info on how you can win a $500 shopping spree to Lifestyle Crafts and a bundle of Echo Park Paper. If you enter, Good Luck! If not, why not (you could always share your winnings with me)?

Pebbles Inc winnings...

During the month of December many manufacturers and bloggers had amazing giveaways. I was lucky enough to win the Pebbles Prize Pack giveaway on Facebook (if you would like to "Like" Pebbles on Facebook in anticipation of a future giveaway, head over to https://www.facebook.com/pebblesinc).

The collection I was lucky enough to win (with all of these wonderful embellishments) is called Pebbles Inc With Love. Perfect for upcoming Valentine's Day cards or layouts. I had a hard time getting everything in one photo but managed after overlapping several items.

Everything that was in the box

Here are close-ups of the embossed paper.

front of the embossed paper

back of the embossed paper

I particularly love this paper called Sweetheart. Depending on the angle that you look at it the hearts printed in white look different.

Here are some of the embellishments that were included:

stickers

stickers

 

clothes pins

button candy dots

dimensional flowers

clear stamps

Kraft tags & envelopes

dimensional hearts

paper clips

5 ribbons

If you would like to see better images of the With Love collection, head over to Pebbles' website. There are several posts on the Pebbles' blog in case you need some inspiration using the With Love collection. Reach the "home" page of the Pebbles' blog at http://pebblesinc.blogspot.com/.

Good luck to you when you enter some of the many giveaways found online. Thanks for stopping by! And many thanks to Pebbles Inc for sponsoring this amazing giveaway!

The Silhouette Cameo

If you want one of the recently released Silhouette Cameos, head over to Tatertots & Jello blog for your chance to win one. If you don't want to wait to see if your won a Cameo, there is a great discount code there as well. If you enter, good luck!

Hurry, the discount code ends January 5th, but there are a limited number of Cameos available. The contest winner will be announced on January 3rd, 2012.

Who would not want to win an Ipad 2?

Lifestyle Crafts, as part of their I Made This Challenge, is giving away an Ipad 2 this week. Just head over to their blog for all of the details. Good luck everyone!