Monday, February 14, 2011

Blog Candy Winner!!

Thank you to everyone who visited Riley's Custom Creations during the Sistas Scrap Too! Valentine's blog hop.  I loved reading all of your comments, and I want to say "Hello!" to my new followers.

As promised, I have selected a winner of the blog candy.  I had 30 comments that were eligible for the drawing, and Random.org has selected.....


Comment number 10 is: 
Renee said...

soo pretty. I Love it.. good job

Congratulations Renee!  I left you a comment on your blog about your win.  Hope to hear from you soon!  Thank you so much for visiting my blog!



I hope everyone has had a terrific Valentine's Day.  I want to share a couple of pictures of the bouquet that my husband had delivered to my office.  Isn't it beautiful?!  The pictures really don't do it justice, and the scent is divine!



Thank you for visiting and please stop by again!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

2011 SST! Valentine's Day Blog Hop



Welcome to the Sistas Scrap Too! second blog hop! We had so much fun with our first hop that we decided to do a hop once a quarter. This is the hop for the first quarter of 2011 and we are glad you decided to join us! We have 14 designers working on our theme for this hop, which is none other than Valentine's Day. We've put a twist on it, asking the designers to use the colors red, black, and white in their designs. We can't wait to show you what we've come up with! Some of the Sistas went the traditional route and used traditional colors for their projects. What would craftin' be without creativity and diversity?! We know you'll enjoy what lies ahead on the hop route!!

Remember, start at the beginning of the hop (here) and work your way through each blog. Please leave blog love (comments) along the way and become a follower of the blogs so that you can see the beautiful creations year round and not just when we have a hop! There are Sistas who are offering blog candy and you never know where you'll find some so be sure to visit each participating blog. Thank you for joining us for our 2011 SST! Valentine's Day Blog Hop! We hope you enjoy the creativity...

My first project is a card I made for the monthly swap with my local scrapping group.  I used Cricut Design Studio to get the card front just the way I wanted it.  The French Manor cartridge has a card cut that has the front cut shown, but it is not centered on the card.  I wanted it centered, so with a little contour hiding and adding a plain rectangle, I got the card front that I wanted.  It measures 5 1/4" by 4".  The base of the card is a standard A2 size.  The strawberry is from Celebrate with a Flourish and cut at 3 3/8".  The red layer cuts with the strawberry cap on it, so I just cut that off.  I used Aleene's Paper Glaze to give the chocolate its sheen.  The strawberry is tucked under the card front.  I added 3 heart buttons in the upper left to balance the space usage.  Inside it reads "Happy Valentine's Day" with a stamp I got from Hobby Lobby.



Up next, a layout.  As with most layouts with my son's pictures, it is pretty simple.  With the black cardstock, I cut the heart from the Home Decor cartridge at 11 1/4".  I used the negative of the cut and placed it on the roses paper, which is The Paper Studio brand from Hobby Lobby.  The "Love" came from the Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art cartridge and the other letters are from the Plantin Schoolbook cart.  The letters were cut at 1 1/2", but I did stretch the "Love" a bit to fill the area.


I had to play with this one a little to figure out the best way to place the cardstock on the patterned paper. I first used my ATG, but that adhered before I had my paper straight. I ended up using Modge Podge on the cardstock and placing the patterned paper on it. This caused the layout to curl and wrinkle some, so I may redo it. I know I won't be happy with the buckled paper.


Now, if you've made it through the hop thus far, and made it all the way to this point in my posting, then you deserve a chance at some Blog Candy!  I am giving away the Organic Flourish Cuttlebug embossing borders set.  If you've read my previous blog post, you know that I wanted this set so much, that I ended up buying 3 of them!  So I am sharing one set with one of you.  I am also giving away a 6x6 stack of  Making Memories Embellishment Paper.  This pack of the Cosmopolitan Collection has the nicest prints in combinations of blue, brown, and yellow.  And something tells me that the winner of this blog candy will find some surprises along with these two items.


In order to be eligible, please leave a comment here, and a way for me to contact you (through your blog is fine) by midnight Eastern time, Sunday, February 13th.  While I would love for you to become one of my followers, I'm not making it a requirement for the blog candy.  I will choose and post the winner using Random.org on Valentine's Day.


Hop Line Up

I hope you enjoyed my projects! Here is the list of participating blogs. I've made them clickable to make it easier for you to follow along the hop route. Don't forget to stop by and visit everyone. Leave some blog love and enjoy!  Thanks for visiting, and hope to see you next quarter!  Now, head on over to see what Kim has created for us.

Sumaiyah:     http://www.stampindymonz.com/ 
Cassie:          http://cjscropcorner.blogspot.com/
Michele:         http://nowstampthis.blogspot.com/
Yvatte:           http://gr8ful1-sweetlilscrapper.blogspot.com/
Lei:                http://divinescrapper.blogspot.com/
Renee:          http://reneehagler.typepad.com/
Tonya:           http://rileyscustomcreations.blogspot.com/     <-- You are here!
Kim:              http://kim-kimscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Cammi:         http://cuttin-up.blogspot.com/
Normea:        http://mmdezigns.blogspot.com/
Ella:               http://sharingmystuff.blogspot.com/
Lanita:           http://stepintonitasworld.blogspot.com/
Vernetta:       http://scrapinnovations.blogspot.com/
Netta:            http://craftcreationsbynetta.blogspot.com/

Friday, February 11, 2011

Blog Hop Tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder for you to join us tomorrow for the quarterly Sistas Scrap Too! Blog Hop.  We will be showcasing Valentine's Day projects.  So come back tomorrow starting at 6:00 am Eastern and get the inspiration you need for those last minute projects!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Another Blog Hop, Coming Soon!

On Saturday, February 12th, starting at 6:00 am Eastern, the ladies of the Sistas Scrap Too! thread on the Cricut message board will have a Valentine's themed blog hop.  These ladies are truly talented, and I know there will be some great projects shown for you to enjoy and scraplift!  If you joined us for our Christmas hop, then you know that you are in for some wonderful creations!

And you know what a blog hop means....Blog Candy! Here at Riley's Custom Creations, I will be giving away a 6x6 paper pack and a Cuttlebug embossing set that I liked so much I bought it not once, not twice, but three times!  Who knows, something else may fall into the blog candy box by the time Saturday arrives...

So be sure to visit on Saturday, February 12th, for the Sistas Scrap Too! Valentine's blog hop!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Explosion Box with a Twist Part II



So finally, here are the details of the explosion box with a twist, as found here.

Recipe:
Green Cardstock: DCWV Prints for the Year Ultimate Stack
Light Blue Cardstock: DCWV The Christmas and Winter Combo Cardstock Stack
Dark Blue Cardstock: Best Occasions
Green Patterned Paper: DCWV Prints for the Year Ultimate Stack
Blue Patterned Paper: DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack
Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridge
Cricut Elegant Cakes cartridge
Roses embellishment: part of my stash, not sure of manufacturer
Ribbon: from Joann's
Best Blossoms and Flower Lines Stampin' UP! stamp sets
Stampin' UP! Brilliant Blue ink
Glue Dots
Zig 2-way glue pen
ATG

For the box base, I scored one 12x12 sheet of paper at 4" and 8".  Then I turned it 90 degrees and scored again.  You will have a 3x3 grid of 4" squares.  I then scored the corner squares diagonally, to help with the folding.

I then cut (4) 3" squares of the green patterned paper and cut them in half to make the triangles. I taped them to the corners of the base paper, eyeballing the distance between the two triangles and between the triangle and the edge of the base paper.

The tags and tag holders were designed with the Cricut Design Studio software.  I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More cartridge.  For the tags, I cut the blue cardstock using the scallop tag cut and the blackout feature, since I didn't want a hole in the tag.  I started with the tag set at 3 1/2" This resulted in a skinny tag.  I then stretched it so that its width was 3".

For the tag holders, I used the tag pocket 1 cut, again using the blackout feature. I started with the pocket set at 6 3/4" inches.  I needed to stretch it to accomodate the wide tag.  I also wanted to elongate it in order to have an overlap with the bottom of the box.  There is 3/8" of the tag holder that is attached to the bottom of the box, and then covered by the blue square.  This way, the tag holders are secured to the bottom, allowing for the sides of the box to be used for pictures or journaling, but the attachment is covered to give it a clean look.


The tag holders ended up measuring 4 1/4" by 7 1/2".  Since I did not use 2-sided paper I ended up with the inside of the holders being white.  So I cut tags that were the same dimension as the tag holders and then used scissors to cut just the top scalloped part off.  I then taped the scallop on the inside of the tag holder.  While the pattern did not line up exactly, it came very close, and is really not noticeable once the blue tags were inserted.  I then scored the bottom at 3/8" and attached them to the bottom. 

I cut a 4"x4" blue square and attached it to the bottom of the box.  My mistake was that I didn't stamp it before I attached it.  I knew I wanted to stamp something on it, but hadn't decided what.  My crafting got ahead of my brain and I went ahead and assembled the box without the stamp.  Luckily, the box folds out pretty flat, so doing the stamping wasn't too much of a problem, but I would definitely stamp before assembling it next time!  I used 3 different stamps to create the rose.  The leaves were from the Best Blossoms set.  I didn't ink the very top leaf of this stamp.  I then used the stem stamp from the same set to extend the stem a bit.  And finally the rose came from the Flower Lines set.

For the decoration on the outside of the box, I used the Cricut Elegant Cake cartridge.  I cut (4) of the accent5 images at 3".  I used the light blue cardstock for the base cuts and the dark blue for the shift key layers.  I assembled them with my Zig 2-way glue pen and attached them to the box sides.

The box base is now complete.  Just tuck in the corners and you're set!

To create the top of the box, I started with an 8"x8" sheet of cardstock.  I scored it on all sides at 3/4" and at 1 3/4".  I trimmed the corners off (a small 3/4" x 3/4" square) so they wouldn't become too bulky.  I folded at the 3/4" score lines and then folded again at the 1 3/4" score lines.  This double folding gives the box top a finished edge.  I taped down the edges of the box top.  I didn't tape down the first fold at the 3/4" score lines, but doing so will give the top a little more of a secure hold.  I folded the corners in (the same as for the box) and taped them down.  I used paper clips to secure them until my adhesive set. 

I used my ATG to put adhesive on the back of the ribbon and attached it to the top.  Attaching the roses to the top was a little bit harder, as they didn't have a solid backing to them, just a bunch of floral wires wrapped together.  I thought a hot glue gun might be needed here, but I made do with some glue dots I had.  I just put them anywhere I could attach them and kind of stuffed them into the nooks and crannies of the wires.  They were then placed on the box top.  Again, this was something I should have done before I folded the box top, but I wasn't originally planning to use the roses or the ribbon.  I had intended to put a bow on the top, but I couldn't get my ribbon to cooperate with making a bow, so I substituted the roses and used a different ribbon to coordinate.  I like the way they look, but they don't exactly match the blue of the side decorations.

Place the top on the box base and there you have it, my version of the explosion box, with a twist!




Thanks for visiting!