A Wonderful Time of the Year

This weekend, as Christians, we are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I'm blessed that 45 years ago, a sweet woman named Elaine, introduced me to Him. My life has been dramatically changed for the better. I have since been able to celebrate the true meaning of  His resurrection power, his love, his grace, his forgiveness, and his mercy working in me and through me.  For that, I'm eternally grateful.  If you don't know Him, I pray that you seek Him.  May you enjoy your Easter Sunday!

Tomorrow is my 70th. Birthday. I can't believe that is true, but that's what my birth certificate states! I found this quote on Pinterest that sums up how I feel.

"I'm not 70. I'm 18 with 52 years of experience!"

I celebrated with cake little early this week with the Home Group that we facilitate in our home. The cake is a Princess Cake. I had the pleasure of tasting this for the first time when I was in Malmo, Sweden 8 years ago. Oh, so, so good. My husband was able to find bakery close by that made them. I was doing the happy dance.

A princess cake is a traditional Swedish layer cake consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, pastry cream, and a thick-domed layer of whipped cream. This is topped by marzipan, giving the cake a smooth rounded top. Wikipedia 

My cake also had a layer of raspberry cream. YUM...

This photo is from this site: http://semiswede.com/2011/09/21/princess-cake-demystified-prinsesstarta/

The above site has information about the origin of this wonderful cake with pictures if you are interested in knowing more.

My children sent me a combined gift which I tried, I REALLY did, not open until tomorrow. But, the excitement and curiosity got the best of me. Sooo...I opened it last night. :0)

I love it. I have been talking about buying one for more then 2 years, but just never had, and the cobalt blue matches the accessories in my kitchen and living room perfectly. The only problem I foresee is drinking more then 2 cups of coffee a day... 

Have a blessed and wonderful Easter weekend. We have plans to go to my favorite Italian Restaurant tonight, Balboa Park tomorrow, and an Easter Brunch at San Diego Safari Park Sunday.  Your only 70 once, so why not celebrate ALL week.

Go do something CRAFTY !
Hugs,
BernieBee

 

Playing with the Explore Air

Just a quick post today showcasing some cards that I cut on my new Cricut Expression machine.  I have been playing with settings, images, free projects, pens, etc. for the past 4 or 5 days. It is certainly an amazing machine and I haven't nearly explored all of it's possibilities.

Right now, I'm on the low end of the learning scale, and it's been a little bit fun and a tad frustrating. Thankfully, there are many tips, tricks and tutorials on Youtube and on the Cricut site. I'm slowly going through them to learn as much as I can.

Although I love this new machine,it will probably never take over my love of stamps and the smell of ink. I still love my card making supplies and creating with them, but it certainly takes my crafting to another level.

The teeth on the saw are are amazing.

The telephone cards below were done using one of my free projects. The phone cord and the hello are sketched first, then the machine blade cuts the phone. It's great having the dual carriage. No changing out the blade for the pen to complete the project.

Felt Blue metallic marker

 Midnight fine line marker

Felt Silver Metallic Marker.  I think this card is my favorite.

Felt Violet Metallic Marker

Felt Copper Metallic  marker

That's about it for today. I hope you have a wonderful day and are able to do something CRAFTY!

Hugs,
BernieBee

Happy Easter / Cricut Explore Air / MOJO#390

MOJO #390

 

Today's card design is one that I will be using for Easter Cards for my younger grandchildren. Minus the bows for the 3 little guys. :0)

I have been laboring over this card for almost a week. I knew what images I was going to use, paper, and sketch, but just couldn't get my "mojo" in gear to put it together. I'm just as glad I didn't. 

As an early birthday gift, my husband bought me a Cricut Explore Air. I'm excited to say the least. This is the 3rd. Cricut I have owned, and I must say, WOW. The machine has come a long way since I received the Original Cricut for a Mother's Day gift years ago (maybe 8?).

There seems to be a lot of chatter on the net. Both Pro's and Con's regarding this machine. I've read through some, but have not worked with the machine enough at this point, to give my opinion. I worked with it some last night and for several hours today, just trying different weight papers and images. 

I'm still learning the in's and out's of the Cricut Design Space. I do have to say, at this point, I feel Cricut Craft Room was a little easier for me, but I'll give the new program some time.  Thankfully, there is a plethora of info and videos on the web to lessen the learning curve.

Mine was bought at Micheal's @ $30 off plus, a Lia Griffith Bundle, and a free month subscription to the Cricut Image Library. I have looked at the library, and I must say, it's huge! I can't imagine being able to use half of the content.

The picture below was another reason I didn't get this card done until today. One of my first cuts using the Explore was Create a Critter lamb. I had seen on the internet that the Explore cut cleaner then my Expression,but of course,I had to do my own test.

Even though the images look different sizes, they were not. I'm not sure why that occurred. Weird...

Can you notice the difference? I was somewhat amazed. Not a lot of difference, but the Explore image is definitely more precise. Larger, rounder eyes, more oval nose, crisper mouth, and more definition in in the leg region. So,I was back to re-cutting images for my 6 cards!

That's about it for this evening.I do hope you have a wonderful one and are able to do something CRAFTY!

Hugs,
BernieBee 

*The paper,stamp,EF,button and twine are all SU products.

I Just Wanted to Say / FMS#178/ctd334

Just another quick post for today. One busy day with doctors and labs. Glad those are over!

I saw the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and the color combo from Color Throwdown and had a card immediately in mind. That doesn't happen to often, but I'm glad it did. 

 

 

 

 

This card will be sent to my 7 yr. old granddaughter, Esther. I have some little surprises to send along to her and thought a card was in order to send along with it.

 

 

The inside

Some things inquiring minds might want to know:

SU Whisper White, Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango,Melon Mambo

SU Ink: Night of Navy

SU Paper Pumpkin Stamp, Really Good Greetings (only partially colored with Stampin'Write Marker)

Su Owl Punch

Large Polka Dot EF

Banners Framelit Dies

Signo Pen - White for center of owls eyes

Have a wonderful weekend and why not stop by the challenge sites and, either participate or look around.  There are some amazing card makers out there.

Stay CRAFTY my friends!

Hugs,

BernieBee

Happy Birthday / MOJO#389

Hi there!Just finished this card and thought I would post it today.I have another one swirling around in my head for another challenge, so I wanted to make sure I had this one linked to the MOJO#389 sketch challenge.

  
I'm continuing to use the Sale-a-Bration freebies.The DSP and the stamp. I really like this DSP. The colors are bright, but soft if that makes sense!

Things inquiring minds want to know:
 
SU Paper Best Year Ever DSP, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral

SU Ink Soft Suede, Coastal Cabana

SU Stamp Set Butterfly Basics,Big Day Stamp, Gorgeous Grunge 

SU EF Stylish Stripes
Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons,Neutrals Candy Dots
AND LOTS of Foam Tape!

That's about it for now. I'm off to the Studio. Let's see if I actually can get another card created and posted for tomorrow.;0)

Have a wonderful evening and I hope you can do something CRAFTY!

Hugs,
BernieBee

So Happy for You /Sweet Sunday #260

I've been wanting to use 2 of my FREE Sale-a-bration products, You Brighten My Day and Best Year Ever DSP for several weeks, but just couldn't seem to find my mojo. Well, that changed on Sunday! When I saw Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge everything just came together.

I recently ordered the What's Up punch that coordinates with the You Brighten My Day little house. So cute! I hadn't created any new home cards recently and thought this stamp / punch would be perfect fit. 

Some things you might want to know

SU cardstock, Coastal Cabana,Crushed Curry,Calypso Coral, Whisper White, SAB DSP
SU  Stamps, You Brighten My Day, Simply Wonderful 
SU ink Calypso Coral
Zig Zag SU embossing folder 
Project Life Cards and Labels Die 

That's it for today. Make it a wonderful Tuesday and go do something CRAFTY!

Hugs,
BernieBee

I'm Here for You / Paper Players #236 /Case this Sketch#114

Happy Monday! I pray you all had a wonderful weekend and were able to do something crafty. 

I  had a chance to work in my studio and put together a card using a technique that I haven't used in several years, Masking Faux Layers.  I learned this from Linda over at Stamping School when I first became a demonstrator. It is so simple and adds such a nice element to your projects.

The stamp set I used, Blooming with Kindness, is still one of my favorites.  I love the big flower and the sentiments.  I really should use it more often.

I decided to link it to The Paper Players and CASe this Sketch today. I believe it fulfills both challenges.

Some things you may want to know:

SU Blooming with Kindness
SU Lost Lagoon, Crumcake, Very Vanilla card stock
Lost Lagoon,Crumbcake, Memento Black
Basic Pearls
SU Stampin' Dimensionals

Make it a great Monday and,as always, do something CRAFTY!

Hugs,
BernieBee