The Creativity of a Rat Enthusiast

Holiday Cards

2009-07-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

I made these cards today at an all day crop the scrap store had. I bought the new cricut cartridge, A Child's Year, before they sold out the other day. I used it for these.

I used the negative cut to the above image for this card (so two cards from one cut)

Onesie Card

2009-05-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

I used the cricut DesignStudio to make this. I welded two onesies together with just enough space in the middle for the hanger. The blue part of the elephant is on a pop dot.

closed:

open:

Recipe Book

2009-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe book I made with the bind-it-all. The pages were from 12x12 sheets of paper that had recipe cards on them made for the BIA. I cut them with my new dreamkuts so they'd be exactly the same size and not a tiny bit off. The apple on the cover was cut with my cricut.

CS spoiler... digital layout

2009-04-03T14:35:00.003-07:00

my kitty... used photoshop to combine two different "paper sheets" and elements

(click for larger image)

Easter Cards

2009-03-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple Easter cards I've done using punches and the cricut. Click for a larger version.

New VHS Album

2009-01-29T13:33:00.001-08:00

This is my first layout for the new album for the humane society. Like the last one, it's for adopted animal photos they gave me. This layout is digital like most of the last.

Valentine Cards

2009-01-12T19:02:00.001-08:00

This first card was cut using the cricut cartridge Wild Card. I then embossed a heart stamp in gold and added fiber.

I used a stamp set for this one. The circle was cut with my cricut and embossed with the cuttlebug. The pink owl is on a pop dot.

digital pages

2009-01-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here are the digital pages in my album for the humane society. I've posted most of these before, but I wanted them all in one place. These are not my animals, but they are animals people adopted from the humane society and sent updates.

Valentine Vase

2009-01-06T19:08:00.001-08:00

Here's a gift I made my mom with my cricut. I used the cricut to cut chipboard and paper to make the flowers with fiber and fabric brads.

Polar Bear Card

2008-11-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

I love the polar bear from the Joys of the Season cricut cartridge. I used it here with the snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder.

Cards

2008-11-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

I've been lazy and not posting my cards. So, first I'll post my cards I've made using the cricut cartridge, Wild Card. It has cool card shapes each with a matching envelope. Luckily, I have a cricut expression since if you have the baby cricut the envelopes will be too big to cut. Anyway, the Thanksgiving one is very similar to the one the teacher at a cricut class did.

(look closely- the envelope has candles as a flap)

Halloween card from awhile ago:

more...

Cards

2008-10-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

This first one is made with a Club Scrap kit. I made it while home visiting so I only had my basic supplies. It's a thank you card for my grandmother.

This next one is a clear card made with CS paper and cuttlebug embossing folders.

A try at clear cards

2008-10-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to buy craft plastic and try making a clear card. It was actually rather fun after I got the darn thing folded in half. The owl and saying is from a hero arts owl Halloween set. I also used ribbon and a strip from a Halloween sheet I bought.

Halloween Card

2008-10-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

This is a very simple card using a stamp and a cuttlebug embossing folder.

Christmas Card

2008-10-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

This didn't scan too well... probably because the gold paper is metallic. Anyway, the gold paper is from Club Scrap's Reflections kit. The POP (pound of paper) from that kit is perfect for embossing with cuttlebug folders. I got the snowman stamp at Archivers.

Cool Cat

2008-08-13T18:00:00.001-07:00

I used Club Scrap paper for this along with my cricut for the title (cartridge Alphalicious- one of my favorites). This my cat Harley when he was a baby. He was posing wearing my dog's harley hat.

Birthday Card

2008-07-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is a birthday card I made for my aunt. You can't really see it in the scan, but the flowers are covered in glitter. The flower stamps are from stampin up along with the scallop punch. The paper is Club Scrap, and I embossed it with a cuttlebug embossing folder with my sizzix.

Challenge Layout

2008-07-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

This is a 2-page layout I did for the Club Scrap challenge. The challenge was to use the formula CS gives you to create a page. I altered it slightly, but it's mainly still their design. Click the image for the larger version.

A little fresh air

2008-07-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

I used the Club Scrap kit Great Outdoors along with a small piece from one of their retreat kits.

Animal Layouts

2008-07-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the first one- Lilith watching her kitty DVD

And here's the second... yes, I think that horse wanted to chew on my shirt.. the layout uses the CS kit Sparkle along with the cricut cartridges accent essentials and disney's happily ever after.

Card

2008-07-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Nature Layouts

2008-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

This first one is my past rat Buddy enjoying some fresh air. It uses the Earth & Herbs and Be Still Club Scrap scrap kits, and it uses the george cricut cartridge.

This second one uses the following cricut cartridges: alphalicious for the scalloped circle, george for the circle, and joys of the season for the plant with bird. It uses the Club Scrap kit Earth & Herbs. The flower circles are stampin up. In real life the hummingbirds are very vivid, but I resized the file so small that it's hard to tell.

Christmas Cards

2008-07-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last year I waited until December to make cards. Well, I only got a few made. I've seen other people starting Christmas cards so I decided I would too. After all, I still had that Club Scrap "Groovy Christmas" card making kit.

This one features a cup from the cricut cartridge "christmas cheer" and a coffee circle stamp from the CS mocha java kit.

The next one has a polar bear from the cricut cartridge "joys of the season". Yes, the main reason I wanted the cartridge was for this bear and a penguin (not shown)

And the last one features mostly stuff from the groovy christmas kit but also two Stampin Up stamps.

Body&Soul cards

2008-07-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here are two cards I made with the Body&Soul Club Scrap kit using the "greetings to go".

Owl Cards

2008-07-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a pretty owl card along with the masculine version.

Layouts

2008-07-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

This first one uses both the Bugs and Be Still Club Scrap kits.

This second one uses three cricut cartridges- paper dolls for the gingerbread man, accent essentials for the scalloped border, and doodlecharms for the cat. The paper is from Club Scrap's Groovy Christmas special edition kit. The top picture is Harley being good, and the bottom ones are him forgetting about the photo shoot and attacking his tail.

Memorial LO

2008-07-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is a memorial to Jonathan's rat, Jerry. He had to be put to sleep last year after multiple surgeries and vet visits couldn't save him.

The journaling on this is the rainbow bridge poem. If you're wondering why I keep posting layouts with circles, it's because that's the theme of the paper I used.

Holly

2008-07-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

the background paper is Club Scrap, but the circle in the middle is from a paper pack I got at archivers. I used my cricut for the bottom boarder and that design at the left corner.

(RIP Holly girl)

Club Scrap stuff

2008-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another humane society one. I created the background paper by using ink and a stencil to create the background.

And this is just another canoe layout. The fire circle and arrows are from the cricut cartridge "going places".

More digi layouts

2008-07-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are more digital layouts for the humane society. Photoshop actually started working at an okay pace. I hope the humane society likes these. I have so many files and papers to go through of the adopted animals "happy endings".

Another digi layout

2008-07-05T19:32:00.001-07:00

Here's another digital one. Again I used the scanned image of a cricut die cut. It's from Club Scrap's Be Still digi kit. This is another one for the humane society album.

More for the humane society

2008-07-05T19:28:00.001-07:00

Here's another one for the humane society's "happy endings" album. This one is a digital layout that I'll print later.

Humane Society album

2008-07-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

These two were made with Club Scrap's poetic and be still kits. The second one has a dog die cut from the cricut and embossing with the sizzix using a cuttlebug folder.

The fiber on this one is really gorgeous but the scan makes it look like brown paper.

Camp layout

2008-07-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

This was another one made for the Club Scrap challenge. So, the background paper and title are from the Academy kit, the 8.5x11 sheet is from Haberdashery, and the paper clip is an embellishment that came with the Be Still kit last year.

Halloween Ratty

2008-06-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

I used the cricut a lot for this... doodlecharms for the top of the pumpkin, george for the pumpkin and circle, and alphalicious for the title. I also used different Club Scrap papers.

A couple layouts and festive rats

2008-06-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

This first layout is another camping layout. I mixed a few Club Scrap kits together, and this is the result. I'm not sure, but it sorta looks like I put it at a slight angle when I scanned it.

And then this layout is for Pumpkin and Winky. Pumpkin is from a rat rescue in MI, and Winky is from a humane society in southern IN. I have festive ratties.

New Layout

2008-06-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is yet another camping layout. I mixed different Club Scrap kits so there is part of Chapter One, Friendship, Academy, and Great Outdoors.

Digital Layout

2008-06-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I took the plunge and downloaded a Club Scrap digital kit. I opened photoshop and started working. Those kits have so many image files that it overwhelmed me somewhat!

These are not my cats. They're cats that were adopted from the humane society. This is part of the album I'm working on for them.

Thank you card

2008-06-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I never knew how handy those club scrap "greetings to go" kits are. I used those materials from the June kit to make this card.

The colors scanned wrong. They look richer in real life.

Cows

2008-06-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

This layout highlights my part of my first canoe experience. I had been asking people who canoe for advice. Well, none of them warned me that there could be cows standing in the middle of the river so I made this layout- "beware the cows." It's hard to see due to resizing, but the orange circle at the top is framing two cows (one in front of the other). I used Club Scrap's avant garde kit and the cricut design studio for "the cows" in alphalicious font cartridge.

layouts

2008-06-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

These first two are ones I made for the humane society. They gave me pictures of adopted animals to do something with. I decided a 6x6 album would be a good choice because I could do it quicker. I might start doing digital layouts because then I could make a lot without any supplies. I used an old Club Scrap kit, Tie Dye, and the cricut for these.

Then, this next layout was for another team CS challenge. The challenge is to make a layout that involves yourself. This one was made for my little ratty, Swimmer, who was found by a lady outside as a stray.

Word Book

2008-06-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

Click images for the larger image.

This is my first attempt at a word book. I used my cricut expression and the cricut design studio to create the pages/letters, and then I used my Bind It All to bind it. The paper is from the Club Scrap Academy kit. It was for my dad's birthday.

Club Scrap Challenge

2008-06-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Right now, Club Scrap is having another team contest. Basically, we're all put into teams, and the teams compete to have the most layouts made in a week. Then, if you participated, you get rewards and discounts if you win. This week's challenge was to add at least two different household items to your page. I made this layout. It has two pins (deer and fish), metal clasps for overalls, wire for the fish, and some art hanging I found at my mom's antique store along with the pins. The art hanging made me scared so I sprayed it down with Archival Mist. I'm lucky I got that stuff when Michaels had a 50% off coupon. That stuff isn't cheap.

Project

2008-06-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

For this project, I first cut out the name "Anna" from the cricut machine. Then, I printed photos of my baby cousin and put them behind the letters. I cut out Pooh die cuts with my cricut and added them. To finish, I put rub-on flowers around the name and added pink jewel brads in two of the flowers. Unfortunately, the scanner didn't pick up the pink colors so it's hard to see. I also resized it small, but you'll get the idea. It actually measures 12"x7.5". I've blurred her face so just ignore that.

Pooh Father's Day Card

2008-06-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

I used Club Scrap for the paper, quote, and ribbon. I used the Pooh cricut cartridge and Paper Dolls for the tie. I figured I needed to make Pooh more masculine so I gave him a tie.

First Aid Card

2008-06-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

Here's a card I made for my fiance for passing his paramedic test. I used the cricut design studio to make it. I used the george cartridge and the paper dolls cart.

scraproom!

2008-05-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is how my scraproom looks after much cleaning. It still needs work since much of my stuff is still sitting in the dining room like my cricut machines, the crop a dile II, sizzix dies, several stacks of 8.5x11" plain sheets, etc. Plus, all my Club Scrap UM stamps are on the floor. A few walls are missing in these pics, but oh well.. you get the idea. And, I'm moving to an apartment shortly so I hope the 2nd bedroom will be good enough for everything.

LO Method

2008-05-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a layout I attempted today. I'm a little rusty since I haven't scrapped for a month, but I think it turned out fine. I just want to get an album finished so I've been working on my camping one.

Card

2008-05-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here's the mother's day card I made. I used a Club Scrap stamp and SU ink. I then added a white fabric flower and ribbon. It's simple yet I'm satisfied with it.

Camping Layout

2008-04-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

This layout uses Club Scrap paper and embellishments again. The pictures on it are priceless- especially the one of me holding my veggie hot dog with a funny look on my face.
Journaling reads, "In life, it is important to try new things. I did this when Jonathan and I went camping. We cooked hot dogs (veggie for me) and even canoed!"

Birthday Cards

2008-04-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here are two cards I made for my cousins who are turning one year old. They use Club Scrap paper along with cuttlebug embossing folders and the cricut machine for the letters (alphalicious cartridge). The second one uses a house mouse stamp.

Easter!

2008-03-23T18:16:00.001-07:00

Here are some Easter cards I made with Club Scrap's new Easter unmounted stamp set. I also discovered I need more CS spring colored POPs (pounds of paper- which are mini sheets cut from kit papers).

Card 1- Stampin Up dots stamp wheel as a background with two flower stamps stamped repeatedly over it... then I colored with an aqua brush and SU watercolor crayons. Then, I used my cut and emboss set for the cuttlebug with the sizzix to make the butterfly and embossed the background a little too.

Card 2- I stamped the cross on vellum with SU ink then embossed it with white powder. I put eyelets in and I also added a word stamp.

Card 3- I stamped the three flower stamps with gold brilliance ink then colored with SU watercolor pencils. Later, I added the word stamp.

Card 4- I stamped the cross with SU ink and stamped the word stamp over it.

Card

2008-03-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a circle card I made with Club Scrap POPs (pounds of paper) and my cricut along with the sizzix. The purple has the best texture that you can see.

Canoe Layout

2008-03-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is yet another one of my camping layouts. I have no clue what cricut cartridge that tree came from, but the paper is Club Scrap's Refresh kit. I used their new Pad O' Blocks which is a block of journaling sheets. I used a sheet from the 4x6 neutral collection. It's vellum on a sheet of green of the kit with a little left for tearing.

(on some older monitors or if your brightness isn't up, the dark blue might appear black I fear)

Ratty Layout

2008-03-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

This layout was for a Club Scrap challenge, and it highlights when my fiance took me five hours up north to adopt a couple rats. He ended up in the ER when we got back at midnight with strep throat.

Glue Free Book

2008-03-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

I purchased a glue free book making kit from Club Scrap, and this is the result.

Etsy

2008-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I'm trying my hardest to raise money for something so I signed up for an online store. Please visit it- http://rats4scrappin.etsy.com . Look around. There's mostly photographs, but there are a couple cards too.

A couple layouts

2008-03-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

Both of these use the Club Scrap Bridges kit. These look A LOT better in person (darn scanner).

This one scanned poorly and caused shadows, maybe due to the inked edges and distressed paper. There isn't *that* much ink there. The top fiber is actually a gorgeous multicolor purple/gold. It still looks decent, though. Journaling reads (about riding back on amtrak), "On 1/5/07, Jonathan and I were headed back from Portland, OR to IL. I was sleeping in our room, and only after he took the picture did he realize it looked like I had passed out from drinking! I didn't drank anything! It was Jonathan's drink."

Then this one deals with my fiance and I "connecting" on our first canoe trip. It didn't scan great either but good enough (I'm starting to hate my scanner). The fiber is the same purple/gold, but it didn't scan well. The scanner didn't like the black and metal hooks. Journaling reads, "On 8/16/07, Jonathan and I went on a canoe trip. Between the spider in the canoe and the cows in our path in the river, we really had fun and connected. Nothing can bring you closer than when you have to calm your partner down so the canoe doesn't tip when she sees a spider. But overall, it was nice and fun."

Camping

2008-02-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple layouts I made to start my camping album. I went camping twice this year, and these are of my second canoe trip that my friend went on with my fiance and me. The first one focuses on her dog that rode with me in my canoe. He was good company on the ride.

Club Scrap's Great Outdoors kit was used, and I promise the colors look much better in person. My scanner didn't want to scan it correctly.

Layout "Fire"

2008-02-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

I used the Club Scrap kit A Study in Red, and I used my cricut. I used the accent essentials, opposites attract, and george cartridges. I also used distress inks and a texture hammer for the brads.

Valentine's Gift

2008-02-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here's my valentine's gift for my fiance. Most of the materials used were from Club Scrap's A Study in Red kit. I decorated a mailbox I bought at Target and
added note cards for the inside. I distressed stuff, and the red isn't as bright as it looks in the pictures.

The little heart box for a piece of candy was cut with the cricut machine.

(the black wrapped around is wire)

This card is made from an envelope. One of the sides inside it opens up for a gift card. I stole the concept on the idea from the local scrap store.

And here are the note cards. The black tabs are actually metal tabs. I love them! Some of the others were made with the cricut. The first one says, "I hope you know how much I love you! I miss you." The second one has the quote, "Wind is to fire like distance is to love, it extinguishes the small and enflames the great." The third has the quote, "You're all heart," and the fourth lists ten reasons I love him:
1. Caring
2. You love me for me
3. Your love of rats (hey, it’s Erin talking)
4. You teach me new loves (hello?
Camping?)
5. You care about others
6. Loving
7. Sense of humor
8. You’ll sit through almost any movie I
pick
9. A Very hard worker
10. Who doesn’t love a man in uniform?
The fifth has the quote, "I love you... not because you are perfect, but because you are so perfect for me."

A Card

2008-02-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

I used fiber and paper from Club Scrap's A Study in Red kit along with eyelets and SU stamps.

A Few More Projects

2008-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

I'm almost done catching up in posts with my past stuff!

This is a slide mailer I did. I love altering them. I'm not great at it, but I'll work on it in the future. I've only done a few. I used Club Scrap's Architecture kit for this one along with cut outs.

This is an altered CD I did.. click to enlarge.

I was testing something out, and I made a cat shaped notebook with the Cricut Expression and Bind It All. It was just a test so I think I could do much better.

More of Last Year's Layouts

2008-01-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

Another layout for the train trip album and another CS Chapter One layout...

Yes, I have several cats- 8 last year and 7 this year (Precious died due to heart failure)

I love the CS Color in Black and White kit. It was good for this picture of my fiance putting an oxygen mask on a cat that was rescued out of a fire.

Earth and Herbs was my first kit and remains a favorite too! Like my Oliver ratty? Unfortunately he died shortly after his favorite spayed female died.

This scan didn't turn out well. "Ride" does have a layer behind it.

Another CS Refresh kit layout...

I don't really like this layout, but I made the journaling cute. I was annoyed when I made it so I didn't put much effort into it. The tan/brown is the background with the patterned in strips.

Layouts

2008-01-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

These are all layouts from last year.

My ratties are so pretty!

Who ever knew this picture would be perfect for the CS Chapter One paper?

This is a sad yet simple layout of my past fosters using CS paper as well.

I love the CS Fizz paper!

But my favorite CS paper is To You, With Love (the middle/main paper on this layout is unknown but TYWL is the letters).

Moooooo!

I got to use the cricut and sizzix along with dies from both sizzix and the cuttlebug.

Is it bad that I took these pictures just for the scrapping opportunity? hehe

more layouts coming...

A Few Projects

2008-01-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Here are a few projects I've done. My scrapping used to be better back when I started, but I'm not going to post those pictures. I might post a few, though.

This is a journal I made. Unfortunately, I lost it which I'm still upset.

This is an advent cup. It's like an advent calendar except a cup. I was doing a calendar, but I ran out of time so came up with the cup idea at the last minute. You simply search for the right number each day, and then there's a surprise in the envelope.

I made an ornament book with my Cricut and Bind It All. I highly recommend these machines. I have both cricuts and I adore them. The Bind It All is great for binding anything.

Second Set of Cards

2008-01-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm new to stamping, and I have barely scrapped any in the last few years so I'm just getting used to it again. Hopefully my stuff will get better. I do have many ideas.

I used the sizzix for embossing with a cuttlebug folder and for the light bulbs. The black is wire to enhance this Christmas card I made this past season.

The ornament on this one swings, hence why it's off balance in the picture.

Here's a different beat of a card. It's simple and definitely NOT CS style. Don't ask me why I made it. I guess because I wanted to try the cricut inks and criss cross card style?

And another CS Bistro card...

Gotta love the cricut!

I'll post projects and layouts next...

First Set of Cards

2008-01-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the first set of cards.

These are two of the more unique yet simple cards I've done. I love strange stamps.

Here's another older card made with Club Scrap paper like most of my stuff.

This card was made with Club Scrap's Bistro paper and stamps.

And another card with precious CS paper- this time part of Impression Art for the dragonfly.

I love CS stamps! The main stamp on this is on a pop adhesive.

I was getting used to the cricut...

Gotta love alcohol inks...

This is my attempt at cricut's design studio. I ran out of time and didn't get to embellish it. I had to make ten, and you know how that goes.

more to come...

New Journal

2007-11-17T19:59:00.001-08:00

Well, here's my try at blogger. We'll see how this goes.