Berry Cute

So I wanted to make a cute thank you card for some co-workers, so I decided to make a strawberry shaped card.  Plus it fits the Fantabulous Cricut's Challenge #70...so I thought perfect.  I simply used Design Studio to weld two strawberries from the Preserves cartridge.  I did the base in white then cut all the additional layers.  I ran the red through my embossing machine using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.  I added a little doodling with my white gel pen, and TA-DA one "berry" cute card!

Think Pink

So today's project is a project that can be used without a cricut or electronic cutter.  I did use an svg file that I created for the "LOVE" on the inside of the card.

Recently my grandmother had her 6 year breast cancer check up, so I wanted to show a little support for her with a little card.  I found this fitting card and template while surfing the internet and I couldn't resist myself.  Luckily my grandmother found the humor in it!  I used the template to cut all the pieces and embossed the pink with Swirls Cuttlebug folder.  I trimmed everything off with some black ribbon trim and a lovely pearl necklace! 

Positive note...My grandmother has been a breast cancer for 6 years now!!! :)

THANK YOU

I just saw that I have several new followers and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!  I have had a super busy week, and haven't gotten much crafting done!  We are back in a horrible heat wave, so I will be spending my evenings in my craft room, since it is in the basement!  On a side note, we finally got wireless internet setup in the house, so I can blog from my craft room!

So Simple, BIG STATEMENT!

So look...two posts in one day!  I am on a roll.  I am going to keep this post short and sweet.  I just wanted to share the 2nd card I made today! Oh, I also tried my hand at cutting vinyl--LOVE IT!  Ok...here is the 2nd card, and as the previous one it uses the patch work, but slightly different.

*Recipe*

Card base is 5in x 5in

Black mat is 4.75in x 4.75in

2nd mat is 4.5in x 4.5in

Square Mat is 2 1/8 in x 2 1/8 in

Squares are 2 in x 2 in

Scalloped Circle and mat cut out from Sugar and Spic at 3in

Butterfly cut from Wall Decor and More at 1.5 in

Add some stitching with a glitter black gel pen

*All patterned paper was from DCWV All Dressed Up Stack



I'm MELTING....

So I live in small town outside of Washington, DC and yesterday we set a big record.  We were the HOTTEST spot in the entire United States!  Yes...that is hot...at one point it felt like 134 outside, and Timbuktu, Mali (in the middle of Sahara Desert) is cooler!!  So with all this heat I had to make something cool, and of course I went with ice cream! It also works perfectly for Fantabulous Cricut's Challenge # 69(please forgive the lighting...)

I have been eyeing these patchwork cards for some time now...I took the dive yesterday and gave it a try!  I love it!!

**Recipe**

A2 size card base

4 different pattern rectangles cut at 2 in x 2.5 in

1 white rectangle cut at 3.5in x 4 in

Ice cream cone cut from Sweet Treats at 3 inches

Rub on from K & Company Sweet Raspberry rub-on's

Add white gel pen stitching

I wanted to use ribbon a little different on this card, so I decided to finish the ends and glue them around the edges.

Manic Monday's--Berry-Sweet

So I am going to start a series titled Manic Monday's.  Since my life can be so crazy busy or sometimes just simply manic I don't always get to update my blog as much as I want.  (But between being a teacher, fireman's wife, baton twirling coach, and mother...you understand right?)  So this is my attempt to keep on top of things (I figured with a set day to blog I would be better).  However, my goal during Manic Monday's is to spotlight a project that maybe didn't get shared because of the chaos that is considered my life.  Those of you who know me in person totally understand this.  Those who don't....it has been said that I could take my life story and turn it into a soap opera!

So here is my first Manic Monday project.  I made this card by welding two strawberry's together.  Simple, but cute!  I used Cricut Design Studio to weld the images together.  I textured the red using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and did some simple doodling with my white gel pen.

Flowers whisper what words can not say...

So I have been a little MIA the past few days, because I have been busy working on what has turned into my ALL-TIME FAVORITE project!  I have only had my Cricut since Christmas of '10, and boy have I made a lot, but NOTHING compares to what I am about to show you!

So the wonderful ladies over at Paper Dolls are hosting weekly challenges, and week 7 has been the first one I have been able to participate in because of being on vacation.  With this challenge the talented Jani from Paper Compulsions offered a free file for some 3d flowers.  The challenge was to create anything using the file.  To be very honest I was stumped for a few days...I thought "Oh I will just create a boring 3d ball for my daughter's play room"....but that didn't excite me and made me feel BLAH.  Then just by chance the wreath I have hanging on my door fell off the door and onto the floor in front of me, and BAM the idea hit me!  I was going to create a wreath with the flowers. 

So I headed off to Micheal's with my "Sticky-Fingers-McGee" 19 month old to get my supplies.  I grabbed a basic styrofoam wreath and some pretty ribbon, thinking I would hide that nasty styrofoam with the ribbon.  Well I got home and struggled wrapping the semi-flat wreath with the ribbon to the point I gave up!  I was seriously about to say forget it, when I saw some party streamers I had left from a previous project.  I thought this may lay flat, unlike the ribbbon.  So I wrapped the wreath in that, and since I loved this green ribbon I had gotten I then wrapped that around the pink streamer to create the look of a vine.  (Ha, who am I kidding I just did it on a whim and just got lucky that it looks like that!)

Oh...You want to see the whole thing do you???  Well keep reading....

Now onto creating the flowers...Since I am more of a Hibiscus/Plumeria/Gerbera Daisy kind of girl I opted not to go with the roses.  I mixed the flowers and kind of made them into my own little creation.  I simply used my finger nail and the end of my Cricut spatula to curl the petals, then I layered them together and secured them with a trusty glue dot.  Oh, by the way I inked the edges of each petal to make them stand out and I chalked the inside of each flower with a mix of pink and yellow.  Don't you love that white and pink combo??

Ok Ok Ok...I promise I will show you the whole thing in just a minute!

I then hot glued them all over the wreath mixing the larger flowers with the smaller ones.  I thought after I had glued 100000000000000 (just kidding about 50) flowers over this wreath that it was done.  But I stood back looked and it, turned up my nose and said...LEAVES!! You need some leaves, so I added those in too!  And...TA DA...HERE IT IS.....

Got Ink?

So I have been inspired by my friend Tina, over at My Hoppy Place, to start entering more challenges.  So here I go...I have entered two so far and here is my third.  This project is for My Craft Spot's challenge for "Ink".  I usually always use ink somewhere in all my projects so this was a simple one for me.  Here is my project:

Recipe:

Flower and Kanji cut from Pagoda

Kanji  cut at 1 1/4" and flowers cut at 3"

After cutting the flowers out ink around the edges (it is hard to see my inking here, but I always ink to cover the white edges of the paper)

Card base regular A-2 size and frames cut at a quarter inch smaller on each side create a layered effect.

*PS...I just realized typing this post that my title serves double duty...Not only did I use ink on my project but this kanji happens to be the one that both my sister and I have "inked" on us!  LOL guess I know who will be getting this card!



My First Ch-Ch-Challenge

So I finally entered my first challenge!  It was Mod Paperie's Facebook Lantern Challenge.  I wanted to create something unique using the lantern file that we had to use, so I thought this would be a perfect time to use some SVG files from Lettering Delights.  I love the details in their cuts, but they are very hard to do with the Cricut!  I think they would be wonderful for the print and cut option that comes with the Silhouette (Yes, I am looking and saving..!!!).  I created these lanterns for my Grandmother, who just happens to love hot air balloons!

**Warning--I don't think paper and fire mix very well, so if you are going to use these as actual lanterns I would invest in the new electric tea lights that you can find in the candle section of Target and Walmart!**

This is the only lantern where I put balloons on all 4 sides!  The other ones I tried to break it up some with landscape images/cuts.

Again...the SVG files over at Lettering Delights are amazing but when cutting them at the 1-2 inch scale I think a machine other than the Cricut would come in handy.  Don't get me wrong...I still love my Cricut, but a girl has to have options!  It's like owning just one pair of shoes or just one purse....NOT POSSIBLE!

Oh all paper was DCWV and actually came from a baby nursery set.  The muted colors just worked perfectly for this project!

Burning the late night oil

Ok, so I really thought come summer I would be better about blogging...especially since I'm not working (ah the joys of summer).  However, I have discovered I have had very little time to even craft, since I have hit the road running since I checked-out at school.  We went to the beach the first week and I just picked up my grandmother from the train station, after her train being delayed 13 hours and the baby and I waiting almost 4 hours in town!  Since I really want to start keeping up with my blog so that I can participate in more challenges, blog hops, etc. I am up burning the late night oil!

The only crafting I have gotten done this week are a few thank you cards and then I have been making a flower "kissing ball" for my daughters new play room.  So I am going to share the one project I have completed this week--YEA SOMETHING NEW!!  These are thank you cards that I made for the boys across the street who brought in our mail and fed my daughter's fish while we were gone.

Recipe

Items Needed: Cricut Design Studio, Doodlecharms, and DCWV cardstock

Two watermelons (set to 3.5 in.) welded together to create card

Fold to create card--but be careful because if its not facing the correct way the "bite" won't line up

Cut all other layers out of cardstock

Ink edges of green and white with green ink

Ink red with red and pink with pink

Assemble and print sentiment from computer

Ta-Da!  Not too hard, but def. cute!



Flower Pot Card

So I found this awesome template on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/  I cut the flowers from I believe Forever Young at various sizes.  Added some ribbon and some white gel pen and TA-DA!

One Rockin' Dad

So I originally got this idea from a card that Momo had made using the guitars from Everyday Paper Dolls, and thought it would make the perfect Father's Day card for my "rough around the edges" husband.  I thought the guitars from Everyday Paper Dolls weren't "rough" enough so I did a quick search using http://www.mycutsearch.com/ and realized that Life's A Party had these awesome looking ones! 

Recipe:

Circle Base cut from Wild Card at 5.5 inches

Guitar's cut from Life's A Party at 3.5 inches (I believe)

Sentiment I printed from my computer.

**I also used some metallic paper that I found at Target.**

So hip, so posh

So this card was made using a template from splitcoaststampers.com.  The printed paper is Hobby Lobby.  Since I am currently blogging from the beach I am not sure about deminsions of the cuts, but I believe the cake is from Sweet Treats and the "Happy Birthday" is from Wild Card. 

Call the Blog Protective Services...

Ok I have been a horrible blogger and have neglected my blog a great deal.  Now that school is out for summer I hope to be better...wait I don't I hope...I WILL BE BETTER!.  Instead of uploading EVERYTHING that I have created in the past few months, I am just going to upload some of my favorites in the posts to follow this with their recipes or links to the blogs where I found the idea.

Non Card Updates

So I have been trying to make a few things here and there that aren't cards, but most of those projects have been Valentine's Day related.  Here are a few of the things I've made...

 I found on a Paper Crafts by Candace how to make post it note covers.  So I played around with it one day, and this was just one of the quick ones that I created.  I think the next one I will do will have ribbon or some way of keeping it closed.

This is another V-Day treat box that I made.  The box came from the Wild Card cartridge and the heart is from Simply Charmed.  Inside are Hershey Nuggets wrapped in a printed paper.  Simply but cute.  I think these would make a great favor for a party, shower, or wedding. 

Card Updates

So I have been horrible about two things....taking high quality pictures and updating this blog.  I will admit that I am not only a Cricut junky, but I smartphone junkie.  I am quality of taking quick snapshots with my smartphone and uploading them to facebook.  Therefore, I am horrible about uploading things here.  So, I am going to try my hardest at improving on this weakness, and hopefully when I can get my Iphone in 16 days at least my pictures will be better quality.

So here are a few of the cards I have been working on lately.  I don't think I am going to get into directions just yet, but I will post a short list of items used.

 This is an "s-fold" card.  Ok maybe I will give the directions for this one because it was simple.  Here is the recipe:
1. Cut base cardstock at 8.5 in. x 5.5 in.
2. Fold in half.
3. Fold top flap in half again.  (I adhered these two flaps together becasue I thought it looked more finished this way.)
4. Cut on pattern paper at 2 in. x 5.25in and the other pattern paper at 4 in x 5.5in
5.  For the square on the front cut a 3 x 3in square and a 2.75 x 2.75in square.
6. For the inside square cut one at 2.5 x 2.5in. and the other at 2.25 x 2.25in.
7. Make a cut-out for front (I used a heart from the Tie the Knot cartridge), and stamp a sentiment on the inside.

This is just a simple card I made using, again, the Tie the Knot Cartridge. I also used the Sizzix embossing machine that I recently purchased.

 This is a trifold shutter card.  I had seen these on several different blogs, and was dying to try it.  However, it looked so complicated that I thought a beginner like me wouldn't be able to handle it.  It was so simple I feel stupid that I didn't try it earlier.  Since its so simple I will share the directions.  Here we go:
1. Take a 12 in x 6 in piece of cardstock.  Score at 2 in, 4 in, 8 in, and 10 in.
2. Cut 1.5 inches at the top and bottom from the 2 in. score line to the 10 in. score line.
3. Fold to get your peaks and valleys.  Then decorate!
**I found that simple was better with this card!! You will see why below!!  Oh, I also used a stamp from Michael's dollar section and the fawn and cute little butterfly are from the Create a Critter cartridge.

Here is why simple is always better with the shutter card.  THIS HAS TO BE THE UGLIEST THING I HAVE MADE THUS FAR!  The picture actually helps it, but it seriously hurts my eyes to even look at it!!

One Awesome, but Addicting Christmas Gift

So on December 25, 2010 I was bitten by the the bug...the Cricut bug!  My amazing husband got me something I had been dying to have for years....a Cricut Expression.  Since then I have been busy crafting and creating.  I will be honest that most of my ideas aren't original, but rather "scrap-lifted' from others then turned into something that is my own.  Here are pictures of the projects I have worked on over the past month!

This is a simple project that I created after finding these wonderful frames in the $1 section of Targe.  They will have ribbon added and they will hang in my daughters playroom--which is right across the hall from my soon to be craft room!

This card was a simple quick creation using the Wild Card cartridge.

 This card I created after finding the "My Pink Stamper" blog, which I now check as frequently as my facbook.  I plan on purchasing some of "punny" stamps so that I can create more cards like this one!

These are two cards I created using the Wild Card cartridge again.  The birdy card came after watching a video from Creations by Christina.

 This mailbox I created after again seeing the post on Creations by Christina's blog.  All the paper materials and mailbox came from the $1 spot of Target!

This a card I created after seeing one slightly similar on Dream Cards by Patty.  I ended up doing some research and creating the cut file and design all on my own!  This is my favorite card thus far!

 This is one of the Valentine's Day gifts that I made for varios people.  The wrapping of the nuggets idea came from Robyn over at mypinkstamper.com and the top I designed myself!

This is again a card I created using inspiration from mypinkstamper.com.  I used a picture of my Wild Card and Celebrate with Flourish cartridges.

 This is a simple but cool card I created using the Wild Card cartridge. It reminds of someone very close to me, and I must say the color combo makes this card!

I created this card after seeing a similar design on Dream Cards by Patty, and I put my own spin on it!

This card idea came from Creations with Christina and used the Wild Card cartridge again. It was super simple but so elegant!

These are Valentine's treat boxes that I used after seeing another video over at mypinkstamper.com.  I discovered that they Hershey Kisses were too heavy for the boxes and I ended up putting Reese's in them.  I am still waiting to order "punny" stamps from mypinkstamper.com so that I can finish these!

 This is the first card that I created using my Wild Card cartridge.  I must say its a must for any Crictu Crafter's collection!

I found this idea from a member of a facebook group for Cricut Crafters and I created this simple wall hanging within 20 minutes.  It is now proudly on display in my daughters room!

This is another card that I got the idea from Creations by Christina and then I put my own spin on it!  I made it for a co-worders birthday but didn't use it because I was scared after having 5 different people sign it the whole overall look of the card would be ruined.  Yes I realize that cards get through in the trash eventually, but it would have driven me insane!






This is just a few of the things I have created over the past month, and expect more projects posted soon.  After I get the hang of this whole blog thing I will post recipes for my creations and may even start sharing some cut files.  My dream is to be able to make some of these projects for a profit so that I can support my very addicting habit!

First Entry

So I have decided that my cricut addiction is starting to clutter my facebook....so I am going to start posting my projects here!  This way I can upload pictures, give links, and credit when it is necessary!  So once this isn't so much a work in progress I will begin uploading pictures and posting some links to blogs I am following, files I have made, and some of my inspiration pages.  Until then stay tuned...