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!