Arrrgggghhh!! and a little LOVE... :)

Hey there, friends and followers!!  I hope today finds you enjoying some special moments...  The sun was shining bright today in Western Pennsylvania!!  Despite the chilly wind and the few snowflakes, it was a pretty nice day!!  The-Toby-Dog managed to find the only patch of snow remaining after yesterday's rain...  He just loves to bury his nose in the snow, give a loud snort before shaking the snow from his snout, and then doing it all over again!!  With the crazy weather we've been having, there must be a few ground moles getting curious as The-Toby-Dog sure pulled me around the yard while eagerly sniffing this way and that!!

Just like The-Toby-Dog, I'm anxious for Spring to come...  I'm looking forward to hearing the birds sing, feeling the gentle breezes, and, of course, jumping in the puddles!! :)

I'm also anxious to share a couple of cards with you today!!  The first one features an awesome new digi stamp from Dustin Pike...  I was fortunate enough to get in on his "70 digis" special last weekend, and this PiRAT was one of them!!  Isn't he super cute???

This is a standard A2 card.  I cut the black base at 5.5"x4.25" and added a 5.25"x 4" red layer embossed with the Cuttlebug "Brick" embossing folder.  A 1/2" strip of black (it's actually scored every 1/4" across for texture, but that didn't show up too well in the photos) creates a "floor" for my PiRAT to stand on...

I colored this guy with my Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencils and a blender pen then fussy-cut him out so I could add him to one of my homemade Wiggle Wires...  I also decided to (carefully) remove his digi-tail so I could give him a twisty-wire one instead (cutting around a line for a tail isn't all that easy, ya know!!)...

All week long my Getting Cricky Design Team Sisters and I have been creating projects with K Andrew Designs Stamp Sets AND our "neglected" Cricut Cartridge...  If you have a cartridge you haven't ever used or haven't used in at least 3 months, we'd love to see you use it with a K Andrew Stamp -- Just link it up by  at the bottom of this post!!   Anywhooooo...  My "neglected" cartridge of choice is the Creative Memories Traveler Cricut Cartridge -- Trust me, I have plenty of others too, but this is the one I chose to use for a week's worth of projects!! :)  I cut the yellow "yield" sign (it made me think "CAUTION!") as well as the yellow box for my sentiment...

My sentiment "Be nice or ye walk the plank" can be found on the "Pirate Tales & Fish Scales" Stamp Set from K Andrew Designs....  Isn't that PERFECT for my sword-yielding PiRAT???  :)

I'd like to enter this card in the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday #98...  The project is to contain a funny phrase or pun -- Even without the wiggle to make me giggle, the sentiment sure makes me laugh!! :)

My second card also features a digi stamp from Dustin Pike...  This image is from the "Valentine Hippos" set that was also a part of the "70 digis"...  I love, love, LOVE all the funny Hippos in this set!!  I'll surely be finding many more ways to use these hippos than just Valentine's Day!! :)

HA!!  Doesn't that just make you smile???  Who ever thought of putting a hippo in a cuppa love???  Okay, okay, it could be a cup of tea or a cup of coffee, but I prefer to think he's warming up in a cuppa love...  I used a 5.5"x4.25" piece of lavender polka-dot paper for the background, then layered a 5.25"x4" piece of hot pink cardstock embossed with the Sizzix "Hearts and Vines" embossing folder...  I used my Traveler Cartridge to cut the 3.75" circle from light pink cardstock and added a few strips of scraps...  I inked the edges of all pieces with "pink passion" ink from Stampin' Up!

I decided to add a little whimsy by adding Wiggle Wires to each of the punched hearts (topped with iridescent Stickles)...  After coloring my hippo with my SU! Watercolor Pencils (and a blender pen), I used a Gelly Roll white "Glaze" pen to brighten up the eyes and teeth -- I love the texture this pen adds (almost like embossing but without any heat or powder!).

Since a "cuppa love" has to have a little texture too, I used white Liquid Applique to make it look like bubbles and foam surrounding the hippo (a little trick I learned from my friend, Karen!!)...

And, finally, I added my sentiment found on the "Owly-Hoo" mix-n-match Sentiment Stamp Set from K Andrew Designs...  LOVE this!! :)

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Dustin Pike -- Color Challenge (use any or all: Red, Purple, Black, Brown, and Pink -- I'm assuming white is okay too!!)
Celebrate the Occasion -- Challenge #50 (Valentine's Day -- must use a HEART!)

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today!!  I'll leave you with some FUN links to visit (to see what everyone made using their "neglected" Cricut Cartridges!!)...  I hope you'll join us!!

Until next time,