Valentines Day LOVE!

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Leave me a comment each time you share our blog post on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

4 entries per post per person*

Happy Valentines Day!! 

Some people aren't into the whole Valentines Day thing...and I have to say, having kids got me more into it. But I love this day where we get to show and tell people how much we love them! We don't do major gifts in our home. I cook a special dinner and we have a few treats. But we always make cards for each other. I love that! 

On Facebook I asked you to post your Valentines made with our stacks. We had TONS of people post their cards and it is so fun going through them. Here are a couple that caught my eye...

Popper & Mimi Paper Crafts

                 

SeriAyu Cards 

Linda Harris

Angie Mays

Sandee Setliff

There were lots more, you guys are awesome! I picked one random winner from the FB photos and the emails I received and Congratulations to:

Crystal Rood

Email me {erinmadsen@diecutsinc.com} and I will mail you a couple stacks!

I also wanted to show you what my little guys gave their friends in the neighborhood. They take valentines to school for friends in their class but in a neighborhood like ours, there are still lots of friends we want to tell "LOVE YOU" to :) I used the La Bella Rouge Stack which is at Michaels right now. Such a fun stack with awesome colors!

I made a popcorn candy mix and filled them in bags. Then just made a simple bag topper to make it cute. My toppers were 6 inches wide x 8 inches tall and they are folded in half. 

Love the pink leopard paper! Valentines Day is pretty much the only time I am allowed to attach my boys pictures to pink leopard paper ;)

I used up all kinds of ribbon scraps on these. I keep all of my May Arts scraps in a bag and try to use those first. They are too pretty to be thrown away!

For the popcorn recipe, I didn't measure anything so here it goes!

20 c. air popped popcorn

1/2 bag pretzel sticks

1 package of Vanilla Almond Bark

2 bags Valentine M&M's

Valentine sprinkles

{melt the almond bark in the microwave until it's very runny. Mix the popcorn with the pretzels. Pour almond bark over popcorn. Stir until evenly coated. Line counter with parchment paper. Spread popcorn mixture onto counter and spread out. Dump valentine sprinkles all over. Dump 2 bags of valentine sprinkles all over. I used one peanut & one plain. Let it cool completely. M&M's and sprinkles will stick to popcorn when cooled. Break apart & enjoy!

Chalkboard Stack Menu Tray

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Leave me a comment each time you share our blog post on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

4 entries per post per person*

Hello!! Did everyone have an awesome weekend?? Ours was busy...but always fun :) Lots of time with friends, a wedding & even some hugs with my niece and nephew. I for sure can't complain. 

Loved the Grammys last night. I am a major Adele fan so I especially loved her time in the spotlight, which she 100% deserves in my opinion!

I was getting a pedicure on Saturday flipping through my current Creating Keepsakes and I saw one of our advertisements featured. Our chalkboard papers have received a lot of praise from you. I have had a lot of fun with the papers too!

My mom recently had all of her best friends from Dallas in town. She misses them so much now that my parents live in Utah. These women have been in our life for as long as I can remember! They first began their friendship back when their kids were starting elementary school, they all met in PTA :) So cute! Their lives have had ups and downs and their friendships are strong enough to support each other through anything. I love them and I hope the friendships I have now will be as strong as theirs is in 25 years! I admire each one of them so much.

They were in town to write a cookbook together of all of their best recipes, and they are all amazing cookies! My mom wanted to make a menu board where they could display the dinner menu every night. She brought me an old antique tray that she found at an antique store and wanted me to paint the inside with some chalkboard paint that I had.

I was like "Whatever, Mom. I have something cooler than chalkboard paint!" I measured the tray and cut a circle out of the black chalkboard paper with my Cricut. Super easy. Then I used Scor-Tape and stuck the paper down. That was all!

We used the fun Bistro Chalk Markers to write the menu. I love how great they look on the paper. I love this idea because it could be used for so many things! Notes to the family, reminders or simply a holiday greeting that you change. The possibilities are endless! 

Ok, we have some winners to announce! First off, we have 2 winners from blog posts last week. Email me your addresses and I will get your stacks sent right out to you!! {erinmadsen@diecutsinc.com} 

Congrats to:

Scrappy VeeFeb 7, 2012 06:15 PM

Thanks for the template!!

It's been a while since I made an embellishment by hand. Will have to give my Cricut the night off :)

AND

Cynthia B.Feb 9, 2012 03:29 PM

Looks like some great accessories!

Also, we did something new and did a little giveaway on Pinetrest this week! It was so fun and we got at great response so I will continue to do this in the future :) Email me too!

Marie Almeida Sierra


Have a wonderful day!!

Glitzy Glitter Valentines Mailbox

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

It's Friday! This week has flown by! I think I have I worked more hours this week than any other week in a long time. But I am caught up with everything and ready for things to calm down a bit! 

Yesterday was the first day all week that I got to play in my craft room. I REALLY needed it...you know when your brain just hurts from the computer and life...you just need to get your hands dirty? That's how I felt yesterday :) A few weeks ago I picked up a cardboard mailbox at my local craft store and I knew I wanted to make a Love Note Mailbox for my little family. I was so excited to finally sit down and make it!

I used these two stack that are out at Michaels right now. Glitzy Glitter Brights had the pink and silver print. And Glitzy Glitter Neutrals had the solid silver paper. Both of these stacks are must haves! I wish I had a never ending budget so I could mail a piece of this paper to every one of you to have the chance to feel it! My neighbor stopped by while I was crafting and she couldn't believe how smooth this glitter paper is. It's very different than our normal glitter paper. If you are near a Michaels, stop by and check it out!

I {love} how this project turned out! Here's how I did it:

1. Covered the outside, bottom and back with the pink & silver print. It took 2 papers to do this.

2. Painted the front with some pink craft paint.

3. Covered the mailbox flag with the silver paper.

4. Hand cut a silver heart for the front. Gathered a heart doily and hot glued it to the back of the silver heart. Glued it to the front of the mailbox.

5. Embellish! Used May Arts ribbon, one of our new felt flowers from Fashion A La Carte and some alphabet sticks. Embellishing is my favorite part ;)

7. Last, I hot glued the mailbox to a Eiffel Tower vase that I also found at the craft store. You could use any ol' vase though. But this one just called my name ;)

I am encouraging my boys to put little notes to each other in the mailbox throughout the month of February. We do a pretty good job telling each other we love them but this is just another fun way to do it. Plus, I can keep the notes and scrapbook them ;) hee hee!

I hope you like it! Handmade Valentine crafts are the best in my opinion :) Can't believe it's Valentine's Day next week! 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I'll see you back here on Monday!

Fashion A La Carte Close-Ups

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

Hey everyone! Today's post will be quick...I am ALMOST caught up with work from being away at CHA and today is my day to throw away my "to-do list!" I shared a video with you yesterday and today, I wanted to show you some of my projects up close that I made with the new Fashion A La Carte line available at Michaels right now. And to tell you how you could win some of these gorgeous goodies :) 

Are you on Pinterest? Follow me on there {DCWVerin}, go to my DCWV Projects board and repin the "DIY Feather Peacock" photo. I will see who repins it and will pick a winner on Monday! 

Have a wonderful day! To-Do list, here I come!!

Introducing...Fashion A La Carte

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

I am SO excited about today's video!! I finally get to share with you Fashion A La Carte by Blue Moon Beads! When we acquired Blue Moon Beads last year, we knew we wanted to take the craft jewelry and accessory market to the next level. Fashion A La Carte totally does this! Watch a video HERE to see the entire line which is available now at Michaels. Prices range from $2.99-$4.99 and you will find them over in the bead section. This isn't the best photo but this is what it looks like at the store.

And make sure you leave me a comment so I can hear what you think! I would love it if you would share this blog post on Facebook and Pineterest! I can't wait to get the word out on our new line of products. I will show you some more photos of what I have created tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day!

Silky Smooth Banner & Invitation

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

Hey everyone! Hope everyone is having a good day! My little guy is sick, sick, sick! We have already been to the doctor and the pharmacy and now he is zonked out. So I am getting my work in in between hugs and crackers and sprite :) 

I wanted to show you the cutest thing ever! While we are at CHA, the crafters in the office were catching their breath from all of the tropical creations that they made! But they didn't rest too long before we needed more projects to show you :) When I saw this, I gasped! It was created with our new material stack, "Silky Smooth-Brights". I wish you could feel this stuff! It seriously is as smooth as butter...PLEASE go to Michaels and just touch this stuff lol!

Isn't this darling for a little boys birthday party? 

You can almost see the smooth texture of this paper...

These clouds and airplanes were cut out by hand....need a template??

Here it is! If I were smart enough to know how to make SVG files, I would do that cause these would make super cute ones :)

Ok, gonna go back to babying my baby :) Have a wonderful day! I will be back TOMORROW with a video I have been waiting a whole year to show you! It's worth the wait :)

February Stack-a-holic Template Challenge

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

 

Welcome to another Monday! The weekend went by way too fast for me...don't you hate it when that happens? ;) But I was able to catch up on my sleep from traveling and staying out too late. Having too much fun with co-workers is never a bad thing right?!

I knew I needed to get February's Stack-a-holic Template Challenge up as soon as I was home from the show. And I always love coming up with the sketch and layout for you. When I saw this template on Sketch Savvy, I knew it would be perfect for February! This is a month to scrapbook about something you LOVE :)

 

  

Isn't it perfect?! I knew I wanted to do a special page for my 7 year old. I love it when I add pages to their books of how I feel about them instead of an event. This was one of those pages, I encourage you to try it if you haven't already!

 

I used the new Teenage Dream Stack which is out at Michaels right now. The colors and prints are SO fun! My little guy things it's "totally rad" so I knew it would perfect for him.

 

 Here is what I created! This stack is so much fun! The little banner tags hanging are all on one page, I just quickly cut them out and inked them. Made it super easy :) 

 

I only left off some of the circles from the sketch because I felt like mine was getting a little busy. But that's what I love about sketches, you start with an idea and you make it your own!

 

This page just makes me happy, I for sure think it's the fun colors and that little guy's smile sure helps too :) I love being a Mama!

So are you ready to play!? You have until February 27th to get your page in! Either email it to me at erinmadsen@diecutsinc.com, post a photo of it on our Facebook page or blog about it and post or send me a link to your blog post. I can't wait to see what you create! You guys always blow me away!

So there you have it! Ready, set....SCRAP!!

 

Stack-a-holic Template Challenge: January's Winners!

*To be entered in our weekly stack giveaways, leave a comment on each blog post throughout the week. Winners will be chosen at random from comments from the entire week combined. 

One comment per post please!*

It's that time! January's Top 10 has been chosen from all of the Stack-a-holic Template Challenge entries. Thank you for being patient with me...CHA came right during the deadline and I am a few days late posting our winners. 

If you need a little reminder, this is the sketch that we played with this month.

We had TONS of people participate this month! Thank you to everyone. Here is your Top 10!

Great Vacation Stack by Leinard Coya

My Favorite Things Stack by Monique Leslie

Ghosts & Goblins Stack by Kathy Gillon

Berry Street Farmers Market by Amanda Knight-Bodine

Be Mine Stack by Tammi Kist

Baby Boy Stack by Cheri Johnson O'Neill

Heirloom Stack by Cindy S. Velasquez

Blossom Song Stack by Kasondra Lopez

Garden Party Stack by Barb Craft

All About Boy Stack by Jan Garber

And our random winner from this Top 10 is

Tammi Kist

Send me your address to erinmadsen@diecutsinc.com and I will mail you 3 of my favorite new stacks!

Thanks again to everyone who played along this month! Big thank you to Susan at Sketch Savvy for coming up with these fabulous sketches :) And I will be back on Monday with February's Challenge!