Name banners for Special Kids

This weekend, I combined my work and my hobby (again), by making welcoming banners for two baby boys admitted last week at Pediatric Specialty Care.  The banners I've made for each child as they come in are quite a hit with the staff and families, as they both brighten and personalize a child's room.

To cut the pennants, I used Cricut's Art Philosophy cartridge. For the names, I chose fonts from Lettering Delights, which I printed out, fussy cut, lined with a colored cardstock and popped up on the pennants. 

Here's one for Cecil, a toddler:

This banner also used background papers from Lettering Delights,
which I printed on my home computer/printer.

Here's one I made for Rasul, a baby with young, urban, "happening" parents:

This summer, about 40 friends -- wonderful crafters, all! -- will be making and donating Halloween-themed banners for the children at PSC. If you'd like to join in the fun, please send me an e-mail at cardmonkey@comcast.net. We're still looking for more banner makers, as well as those who'd like to make a banner and post about it a Labor Day weekend blog hop.  These kids truly appreciate your talents!



DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Summer Fund Jar - Day #2 of the School's Out for the Summer Blog Hop

Welcome to DAY #2 of the "School's Out for the Summer" blog hop, hosted by Tina!

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post with the 3-D paper school bus. It's the last time that bus was running this semester ... now the kids are out and summer's begun!

Here's my project for Day #2:

Have you saved your coins for a Summer Fun Fund?  Here's a little project you can start in the beginning of the school year, saving your pocket change in a separate fund just for summer vacation. At the end of the school year, count it up and that's what you'll spend on a special outing for your family. Encourage family participation in the saving, too!

Now if you're lucky, you would have started your summer fun fund in September for the next year -- not like me, who just got this idea in May. So my fund's not that large, but I think it's good enough for a trip with Granddaughter Charlotte to the local beach (at the Jersey shore).

(Pictured here, Charlotte enjoyed beach breezes on the shores of Lake Erie, with her Daddy, Josh, last Tuesday. But like her Dad, she doesn't much like the feeling of sand between her toes!)

So in contemplation of saving enough for a beach day (and to make a project for this Hop), I made a cute savings jar by adding beach-ready cuts to a clean, 16 oz. jar.

I used regular cardstock for this, cutting the images from Cricut's "A Child's Year" cartridge. It didn't take as much work as I thought to get the images to curl and adhere around the jar -- I just used Aleene's Turbo Tack glue for a quick, clear adhesion. But you could use vinyl on your jar instead, if you prefer.

For those who know that "A Child's Year" images are silhouettes, to make these colorful, I simply cut them out four times -- black (for the base), then in red, yellow and blue (primary colors) and pieced as I wished. I Copic-colored a strip of paper in the three primary colors for the band around the lid.



My beach babies: Daughter Emily and her
daughter (my granddaughter), Charlotte

I hope you enjoy these summer-ready projects! Thank you, Tina, for hosting this hop!

Now it's time to move on to the other Hop Stops.  Your next stop is JAMIE.  And in case you get lost along the way, here are links to all of the stops:



Katina ~http://twochicsandacricut.blogspot.com/
Lissa Marie ~ www.somanycrafts.com
Ellen ~ (You're here!) ~ www.cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com
Jamie ~ www.jamielindstromdesigns.com/
Liz ~ http://www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com/
Robin ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
Jearise ~  http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/
Cicily ~ www.pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com/
Jessi ~ http://mylifeinartscrafts.blogspot.com/
Anna ~ http://myglittercoatedpaperie.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by ~ Enjoy your Summer!

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

School's Out for the Summer Blog Hop, June 2 and 3

Welcome to the "School's Out for Summer" blog hop, hosted by Tina!

Since I don't have any kids left in school, I didn't think I'd be able to think of any projects suitable for this theme. Well, I thunk wrong!  I couldn't stop thinking of projects....

So for today, let me show you this adorable paper school bus 3-D project. With a solid box bottom and a tied rear door opening, this box could be used to hold a gift card or candies.  The finished bus stands 3.25" high, by 5.25" long, and 1.75" wide.  

I purchased ($3.95) the template and tutorial for this project from Lorri at "Confessions of a Stamping Addict."  It was very easy to follow, and to add your own touches.

My changes: Lorri used a "thank you" stamp at the side of her school bus for the greeting ... I simply typed my sentiment on my computer and printed it on the yellow cardstock.  I also added the front "destination" flag with the sentiment "See you in September!"  I didn't have the embossing folder Lorri recommends for the front grill, so I simply wove some silver papers together to make the grill.

Summertime for my Grandbaby, Charlotte

I hope you enjoy this project ... and the "School's Out for Summer" Blog Hop.  Please stop back tomorrow to see another fun and unusual project from CardMonkey.

Now it's time to move on to the other Hop Stops.  Your next stop is JAMIE.  And in case you get lost along the way, here are links to all of the stops:

Katina ~ http://twochicsandacricut.blogspot.com/
Lissa Marie ~ www.somanycrafts.com
Ellen ~ (You're here!) ~ www.cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com
Jamie ~ www.jamielindstromdesigns.com/
Liz ~ http://www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com/
Robin ~ http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
Jearise ~  http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/
Cicily ~ www.pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com/
Jessi ~ http://mylifeinartscrafts.blogspot.com/
Anna ~ http://myglittercoatedpaperie.blogspot.com/

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Petits Six -- Boxed mini-greetings

Happy Memorial Day weekend, bloggy friends!

The sun is finally out today ... it was very hot and overcast today, following a night full of thunderstorms. It's supposed to be a nice, warm week too ... and I'm blessed to have the whole week off on vacation!! 

I plan to catch up on many projects I want to do, others I want to try (or as Yoda said, "There is no try, only do.")

I also neeeeeed to clean and re-organize my Paper Jungle.

One sweet project I'd like to share with you is a darling "petits set" of cards I've made, (above).

Each finished card is just 3" square, and come with envelopes from My Favorite Things.

I used a variety of digi-stamped images for these cards, including two Pure Innocence girls, and a cupcake tree.  I colored each of these using Prisma pencils and Gamsol (alcohol) technique.

Later this week, I'll be making a box for this set and hopefully, adding it to my Etsy site. Yes, I am eventually going to populate my Etsy site, so if there's any card or project you'd like to buy, let me know!

Enjoy the start of the Summer 2012 season!

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

On Surviving Childhood

Weekend family activities, along with the beautiful weather, kept me from crafting this weekend -- much as I really wanted to go to a Sunday crop. But there's a long weekend coming up, and woot-woot! my boss just approved my taking next week off for a do-nothing, be-lazy staycation.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share a picture of Charlotte and her new ride:

This is the "tricycle" hubby John and I bought for our dear granddaughter Charlotte on Saturday. Talk about bells and whistles ... this one even comes with its own attached cell phone (battery-operated toy, of course) and a cup holder.

Check out the safety features: metal roll bar, three-point harness, padded seats, foot rest bars, sunshade, rear-locking brake, and a handle for Mom (Dad, or grandma) to push/steer and guide. 

There's a wagon bucket in the back to carry some toys, and on the removable steering handle, there's a safety pouch for Mom to carry necessities, like the car keys she's used to drive Charlotte and the trike to the park to ride.

\ Now compare that to my first tricycle. This one pictured at right is similar:

Easy tip, stander rail for my brother to ride on the back, hard metal seat, streamers, and wheelspokes to clip on baseball cards with wooden clothes pins (taken from the laundry line in the backyard). 

It was a little bit rusty from being caught out in the rain or left tipped at the curb overnight, unlocked and nobody stole it. I rode this in more than a few Memorial Day parades, with the trike wrapped up in crepe-paper streamers.  My trike had a bell on the right hand grip that I'd use to call out to my friends, no cell phone and certainly no "wireless connections". 

My, how did we EVER survive? 

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Disney blog candy winners randomly picked! Congrats to everyone and thank you for visiting!!

"Hot Dog, hot dog,
hot diggity dog ... "

We've got winners of the
CardMonkey Blog Candy
from this weekend's
Disney Pixar Blog Hop

"Going Home Makes Me Grumpy" T-shirt winner (from my Disney Pixar Blog Hop, Day #1 posting) goes to:

Karenduch who said...

"I love your book! I also made books (MUCH SIMPLER ones!!) for my family and friends when we went down to Disney in 2007. (They were basically for autographs, but I then turned the pages into scrapbooks.). My favorite character(s) would be Ariel - love the songs in Little Mermaid, or Sleeping Beauty... I always dreamed of being her since I was little...
I had no idea that there was a 'linky follower'! that is great!"

Winner of the Making Magical Memories journal (prize made available on Disney Pixar Blog Hop, Day #2 posting) goes to:

Brenda who said...

"This Disney fan is loving this hop! All the projects are amazing!"

I have contacted both Karen and Brenda through either their blogs or e-mail.  Ladies, you now have 10 days to contact me via e-mail to cardmonkey@comcast.net, with your mailing addresses please.  Hoping to hear from you!




THANK YOU ALL for visiting my blog this weekend, and for joining along on the fantasMick ORIGINAL Disney Pixar Blog Hop. I hope you'll stick around for more fun to come with the CardMonkey!






DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

Disney Pixar Hop - Day #2: Capturing the Magic of Tinker Bell!

If you are here for WHITNEY'S SWEET 16th BIRTHDAY HOP, please click HERE

Welcome back to Day #2 of the Original, fantasmic Disney Pixar Blog Hop.  There are many imitators of these Disney hops, but none is finer than this series, originated by Shawn and Melissa.  Melissa finds herself super-busy at this time of year, so I volunteered to step in to assist Shawn this time. She's my "Scrapping Sistah" -- such a sweetie, and the genius behind the "My Cut Search" team.

I always have super-fun trying to come up with something a little "different" to feature on these hops.

This about explains my brain.


"Different" -- that'd be among my least favorite words, don't you know?  "You know that new girl in homeroom?  Well, she's different."  "Yes, we got the gift you made, Ellen. Sure is different."  Said that way, the word takes on negative connotation. 

Conversely, isn't it better to be diFfeReNt, as opposed to "same old, same old ... run-of-the-mill ... nothing unique to that one."  Yes, I'd rather be diFfeReNt ... and I do spend considerable time "Catching the Muse," or "Capturing the Magic."  Thinking about that is how I came up with this project:

That's Tinker Bell in there,

caught like a firefly on a warm summer's night.

To make this project, I cut Tink at some ungodly tiny size (3.5" I think) ... terribly difficult because there are itty-bitty pieces to place.  I used the Cricut Tinker Bell & Friends cartridge to cut Core-dinations cardstock. Tink's dress and wings have been sprinkled with pixie dust Stickled for extra magic.  To cut the wee thin-stemmed leaves, I turned to my Silhouette Cameo which I demo'ed at last month's crop I hosted in suburban Philadelphia.  (That's where I made this project.) 

Tink is stabilized by a leaning post (a thin dowel) which has been poked into a half-round ball of moss-covered styrofoam that's glued into the lid of a 6" high clean jar that I inverted to make it look like a terrarium. I tried other things with this -- glitter in the jar, a Magic Kingdom sticker in the back -- but none of it looked as nice, clean and crisp as the unadorned jar.

Did you know that Tinker Bell is one of the four main spokes-icons for Disney, opening up Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid, with a dash of pixie dust?  (The other three characters who are "franchise reps" for Disney are Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.)  In 2010, Tink earned her own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. 

Left: Tink in "Peter Pan's Ride"; Right: Tinker Bell in "It's a Small World"

And she's a featured character in one attraction/ride in every Disney Theme park but one (Hong Kong)... do you know which ride?  Yup, you guessed -- "Peter Pan's Ride" in Fantasyland.  Can you guess in which other attraction she appears?  * . * .  * My hubby's favorite:  "It's a Small World."

Oh, blog readers, that's an inside joke. My hubby John HATES that Disney attraction! We got stuck in it once when the cable system on the boat snapped. Sat there, floating for well more than an hour. Yes, with that insipid song running over and over and over and over ......    Life has never been the same since then, LOL.  John was about to swim ashore on the 128th go-round of that song. No kidding. For him -- in honor of his 58th birthday celebrated this week, I've put the song on Playlist here, so he'll hear it during this blog hop. 

Hi, honey.  I love you.

So now it's time to move you onto your next stop on this great blog hop:  KIM at UScrap2!

Be sure to visit Shawn's starting post, where you'll see the grand prize being offered for this hop -- a Scrap'N Easel-Ette, perfect for us cardmakers! 

Also, if you leave a comment on this post and are a CardMonkey follower, you can win the Making Magical Memories journal I showed yesterday.  (If you comment/follow on yesterday's post, you might win that "diFfeReNt" Disney t-shirt I made with Grumpy's image -- by the way, that's GRUMPY, not my hubby John, on the t-shirt, LOL!! Hi, honey. I still love you!) 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed your stay as much as I enjoyed making my projects for this hop.

OH, and in case you need the full list of blog stops, I'll post it below.  This is your DISNEY PIXAR BLOG HOP Day #2 "Easy Pass" -- click on the names, and you'll go right to their Disney Pixar post for today! 

Shawn

Ellen 

Kim

Bobbi Jo

Jenny

Jessica

Jenny 

Tami

Kathy

Kristal

Thank you again for visiting ... Now go forth and create!

Make every day a "diFfeReNt" kinda day

... and remember:

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

P.S.  If you just can't get enough Disney, here are pictures of projects I made for previous "Disney Pixar Blog Hops":

September, 2011 - Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood 3-D box

November 2011 - Wall art for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Close-up views of each vignette

Ariel birthday card - front here, and inside below

Cards by Mickey - Christmas

And here are links to Disney Pixar Blog Hop's Day #1 posts. DON'T confuse these with the links (above) to Day #2's posts. Be sure to "capture" them all to stimulate YOUR Muse!

Shawn

Ellen

Tami

Madison

Cathie

Lori

Amy

Kathy

Amy

Sarah