Happy New Year!

The challenge this week at Exploring Cricut is to create a layout, card, or other paper craft celebrating the New Year!  You must use a Cricut and a Cricut cartridge, but those are the only rules.
For my project this week I created a card for the new year!  I used the cartridges Celebrate with Flourish and Stone Script.

I started with a 5 x 7 base which I put a zebra print from the Roxie paper line on top.  I then used a piece of silver foil cardstock from American Crafts to cut the main image of the clock and hat.  This was cut at 5.47". I then cut the hat out of black cardstock at the same size.  Using the Stone Script cartridge I cut "Happy New Year" at 1.07" and then welded each word together.  I traced around the hat with white opal Liquid Pearls and then used stickles on the lettering and the curly on the clock.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful 2013 full of plenty of crafting time!

December 27 Project

Welcome to my little corner of blog world, I hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas.  I love Christmas, and I always hate to see this season end.  I just wish that it didn't have all the hecticness that goes along with it.  I've decided that to help alleviate some of this I'm going to try to make a few Christmas cards each month so that come November I won't have to fret about getting enough cards made to send out to all my friends and family.
My project for today is a start on this ongoing project for next year.

To create this card I started with a pink pattern paper.  I used the Christmas cartridge to cut the image at 3.12".  This image was cut out of silver foil cardstock.  Accents used are red velvet ribbon, tiny red pearls.  I then stamped the phrase Merry Christmas.
This is also an easy card to mass produce.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Welcome to my little spot in blog world.  This weeks challenge with Exploring Cricut is to create a card, layout, or other paper craft that celebrates Christmas.  The only "rules" are to use a Cricut machine and a cricut cartridge.  With that being said, here's my project for this weeks challenge.

I absolutely love Christmas, and at church I've told the Advent story in the Children Worship & Wonder center now for 3 years (which is how long we've had the center).  I love this activity and the figures because of their simpleness.  They are created that way so that the children can use their imagination.  As an adult we've seen the tv programs and the movies so we have preconceived notions of what the people of the nativity story look like.  My project for this week is a wall hanging that celebrates the Nativity story.  I've used the cartridge A Quilted Christmas.  I love the silhouette feature on this cartridge.  It's fancy enough for this important occasion yet it reminds me of the simplicity of the figures of the worship center.

The pattern paper is from the Wonderland line from Close to My Heart.  Each figure was cut out of Chocolate cardstock at 3.47 inches.  I added mini sparkles to fancy it up a bit.  I decided to cut the baby Jesus out of colored cardstock so that he would stand out and be the focal point.

 With everything going on in the world now.  It's hard at times to remain cheerful and hopeful for the future, but my wish for you is that you find some joy in creating a project that celebrates this most wonderful season.  Jesus is the reason for the season, and maybe he needs to be invited into all aspects of our lives.
Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas

Welcome to my little corner of blog world!  I get to share a project with you today.  My project for today is a very simple Christmas card.

I started with a 5.5 x 4.25 base and layered green and red cardstock.  I then cut a stocking using Very Merry Tags at 3.94 using patterned paper and white cardstock.  Once they were layered together on the card I added stickles and a ribbon.

To change things up a bit on some of the cards I added fun flock instead of the stickles.

Now that Christmas is just 12 days away, May you enjoy all the Christmas cards you receive from family and friends!

Christmas Card Challenge

Welcome to my blog.  If you've come to my blog from Kim's blog you're in the right place.  The challenge for this week is to create a Christmas card.

I love Christmas, and I love making Christmas cards.  I have so many ideas picked out that I would like to create that it seems impossible that I would ever be able to create them all.  That doesn't stop me from trying, or finding other cards that I want to recreate.  

The card that I chose to recreate for this challenge is one that was in the Close to my Heart catalog last year and I feel in love with it.  

The cardstock used was New England Ivy, Cranberry, and Colonial White.  I used Cranberry embossing powder for the saying, red sparkles, ribbon from the red pack.  The Holly leaves were cut using the Art Philosophy at 2.25 and 1.75 then stamped using the stamp set A Holiday.

I hope you enjoy making your Christmas cards as much I have.  Your next stop on the blog hop is Annette at http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com  

Uplifting Card

Welcome to my blog for today's project.  For today's challenge I created a card for a fellow church member and his wife.  He has been having health issues and he has been in the hospital for several weeks already.  My goal was to create a card that would work not only as a get well card, but also as a card to lift the spirits of his wife.  I know this has been a rough time on him since he's the one that's been poked and proded, but having been a family member on the other side I know how hard these weeks have been for her as well.

For this card I used Heavenly Blue and Crystal Blue cardstock, the dotted patterned paper is from the Wonderland paper line.  The flowers were cut from Gray flannel cardstock and the saying is on white cardstock.  The ribbon and buttons were from my stash.  The flowers were inked with Crystal Blue.  The saying is from Verve stamps.  The flowers were cut from the Artiste cartridge at 8.18.

Thanks for visiting today!

Happy Thanksgiving

For this week's challenge project we are to create a card, layout, or other papercraft to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I decided to veer away from my usual type  projects this week and try decorating a charger plate.  Although this is a going to be a rough Thanksgiving for my family, I'm trying to focus on the many blessings we still have.  I choose to use a cornucopia for my design to signify our many blessings.

I used the cartridges Paper Doll Dress Up and Jasmine.
Happy Thanksgiving was cut using the cartridge Jasmine.  The letters were cut at 2.05 and welded together using the Gypsy.
The cornucopia and fruit was cut using the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  All cuts were made using the Pilgrim Accessory 3 cut at 8".

Going to the House of Mouse

For my project today I'm sharing a t-shirt I made for a friend when she and her husband took her son the wonderful House of Mouse!  She was guaranteed to have a one of a kind original.

I began with freezer paper.  I used the cartridge Mickey Font to cut out the Mickey face and my friend's name.

I used the Mickey cut using the charm and end caps at 8.76" as measured on the gypsy.

I was really pleased with how this turned out.  My friend and I set up a booth at the Antique and Craft Expo in our small town every year and I'm thinking this might be on the list of items to sell for next year.  Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Veteran's Day Challenge

Hi and welcome to my blog!  I'm so happy to share with you my project for this challenge.  One of the many things most people agreed on when they talk about my dad is how much he loved his country.  Growing up I loved hearing the stories of his time in the army, and although he was fortunate enough to serve during peace time he was very proud of the service he gave to his country.  When we were asked to create a card, layout,  or other paper craft celebrating Veteran's day I knew that whatever I decided to do for my project would be dedicated to my dad who passed away this past July 5.  My project for this week is a patriotic picture.

For my project I started with a sheet of pattern paper from Carolee's Creation "Outer Space" that I cut to 8x10.
I then cut the flag using the cartridge Stand and Salute, cut at 8.06.  Each layer was glued together to resemble an American Flag.  For the finishing touches on the flag I used White Opal, Liquid Pearls to create the stars.

Next I used the cartridge Stand and Salute to cut the ribbon at 6.06 inches for the rememberence ribbon.

And finally because Freedom is never free "Never Forget" was cut at 2.14" using Gypsy Font.
Thank you for visiting my blog today.  I hope today's challenge inspires you to spend time being creative today.

Exploring Cricut Daily Project

Welcome to my blog.  I'm happy to share my project with you today as today's daily project for Exploring Cricut.

My project for today is another t-shirt creation.  This one uses the cartridge Cindy Loo for the mushroom.  The butterfly was also cut using the Cricut but I forgot to write down the cartridge.

I cut the mushroom using the Cindy Loo cartridge at 7.35" using freezer paper.  The freezer paper was then ironed onto the t-shirt and painted.  I repeated the process with the butterfly.  Fabric paints were used to paint the design onto the t-shirt.

Happy Halloween from Exploring Cricut

The challenge project for this week at Exploring Cricut is to create a card, layout, or papercraft to celebrate Halloween. For my project I found these cute little boxes at Wal-mart and I thought they would make cute little treat boxes for friends.

For the orange box I used Create a Critter 2 to cut the Witch Owl (at 3.00) and the Vampire Bee (at 3.00). Bitty Pearls were used for the eyes on both critters.

On the black and purple boxes I included a pumpkin that was cut from the cartridge Hello Kitty Greetings (at 2.29) and a ghost that was cut from Happy Hauntings (at 2.88)

For the green box I used a black spider cut from the doodlecharms cartridge (at 2.29), the pumpkin and "HH" that was welded together using the gypsy.  The "H" came from Happy Hauntings and was cut at 1.82.  The welded "Hs" were put on 2 sides of each box and images were put on two sides.

Happy Hauntings

Today my project for Exploring Cricut is a simple Halloween card that I created using Pumpkin Carving and October 31st.

I started with an orange pattern paper from K&Co. and cut the phrase "Happy Haunting" out using the cartridge Pumpkin Carving. The image was cut at 4.65. Once this was adhered to the card I used October 31st to cut out the cauldron. This image was cut at 2.53. I cut a small piece of silver foil paper from American Craft for the inside of the cauldron and a piece of white for the detail. I then added stickles to the title to get a little pop.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you find inspiration to be creative today!

Monster Mash Blog Hop

Welcome to the Monster Mash Blog Hop, brought to you by the design teams of Made Especially For You and Exploring Cricut!

Today the design teams of Made Especially For You and Exploring Cricut have teamed up to share with you all sorts of spooktacular monster-themed projects to help get your crafty gears turning for all those upcoming Halloween projects!

If you've come from Cyndy's blog (http://arcyscraps.blogspot.com), you're in the right place! If you just came across the hop and would like to start at the beginning, please visit Ashley at Made Especially For You.

For my project, I created... (a wall hanging for my door. I started with a canvas and painted it blue. I used Mini Monster cartridge to cut the fence at 2.19 inches. I then used a circle from Ashlyn's Alphabet cut at 13.37 inches.

The bat was cut at 3.74 inches from Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge. Mini Monsters was then used to cut out the three monsters at 3.30. The three monsters are Boo, Icky, and Creepy.

Finally I used the cartridge Blackletter to cut my title at 1.74 inches.

I then added stickles by Ranger (Diamond and Crystal)to complete the design. My finished product!

)

We also have some wonderful sponsors giving away prizes to those who comment on every stop of the hop!

Paper Piecings by Nikki
$15 Gift Certificate

Saturated Canary

$15 Gift Certificate

Memory Works

$10 Gift Certificate

The winners of the blog candy will be announced on Made Especially For You on Tuesday October 16th. Please make sure to leave your contact information when commenting to be eligible to win!

Your next stop is Kristy's blog. (http://scraptasticalkreations.blogspot.com). Here's the complete lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Ashley - http://.especiallymade.blogspot.com

Diane - http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com

Jessica - http://craftinandstampin.blogspot.com
Ian - http://anewbiecrafter.blogspot.com

Laura - http://scrappinaroundtheclock.blogspot.ca

Sharon - http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com

Pam - http://scrappinfabpam.blogspot.com

Lori - http://scrappinsaints.blogspot.com

Robin - http://www.thecricutscrapper.blogspot.com
Georgiana - http://carsonscricutcreations.blogspot.com

Cyndy - http://arcyscraps.blogspot.com

Emily - http://emilyqueenofallthingscrafty.blogspot.com

Kristy - http://scraptasticalkreations.blogspot.com

Diana - http://craftypeepdb.blogspot.com

Eileen - http://scrappingactuary.blogspot.com
Kim - http://littleredshood.blogspot.com
Annette - http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com
Michelle - http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com

Happy Hopping!

Challenge of Hope

This week's challenge over at Exploring Cricut is to create a card, layout, or other paper craft  that offers hope and inspiration for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Please use at least one Cricut cut and an inspirational message.
For my project I decided to create a card.  I used a white base that is 5.5 x4.25 then used pattern paper from the Sweetheart paper line from Close to my Heart.  I used a brown and pink ribbon across the bottom.      
My first Cricut cut came from the Cindy Loo cartridge.   I used the Filigre3 cut using the frame feature at 2.65.  This provided the frame for the inspiration.  My next Cricut cut came from the Stand and Salute cartridge.  I used the ribbon cut at 2.10.

I then stamped my inspirational saying on colonial white using chocolate ink.  The saying came from Verve stamps, Psalm 3:3.

I then added Prisma flowers in the top left corner.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I hope you've found something to inspire you to be creative this week!

TNT: Superbowl Party

Today for my project I'm sharing a layout that I did for our TNT church group.  This was our first event and we decided to have a Superbowl tailgating party for our little ones.

Recipe:
Cardstock and pattern paper from my stash
Cartridge cuts:  Sports Mania: football at 3", helmet at 1.5, layer helmet at 1.5
                        Plantin Schoolbook Title at 2.06

Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles

This week's challenge at Exploring Cricut is to create a card, layout, or other paper craft that incorporates some form of transportation.
For my project I created a card for our preacher's wife and her baby which is scheduled to be delivered in a couple of days.

Recipe:
Cartridge cuts:  New Arrival  plane at 2.06; plane-s at 2.06
Pattern Paper:  CTMH Stardust
Cardstock from stash
CTMH:  Baker's Twine
Pop Dots

Congratulations Squared

Today I have the daily project for Exploring Cricut. Since this is the month for babies I decided to make a card for a couple from my church that just had twin boys.
I truly believe all babies are gifts from God, but these two sweet boys are true blessings. Both boys were healthy, but a month early. One of the twins was extremely small so he had to stay in the hospital a little longer. I can't imagine a mother having to leave one child behind while taking one child home.
Here's my project for today.
Recipe:
CTMH: cardstock and pattern papern (Dotty)
Stampin' Up: By Ones and By Twos
Stickles by Ranger: Baby Blue and Eucalyptis
rhinestones
New Arrival: 2 at 2.53

Person Challenge

The challenge over at Exploring Cricut for this week is to create a card, layout, or other paper craft and include a person somewhere on your design.

For my project I create a card for a baby shower for a co-worker who is due to have a baby girl next week. Although I don't have children of my own I love babies. This is a totally awesome month around here. At church we have one couple who just had twin boys, a co-worker who is having a baby girl, and toward the end of the month our preacher and his wife will be having a baby boy.

Here's my project for this week!

Recipe:
Cricut Cuts: all at 3" Baby Steps , , Layer 1 , Layer 1 , Layer 2 , Layer 2
cardstock Bazzill from stash
CTMH pattern paper: Stardust, Sweet Baby stamp set, Cotton Candy ink
Reflections: rhinestones (pink/red)

Daily Project September 6: Door Decoration

My project for today's daily project is a decoration for my classroom door. We recently had a visit from the Commissioner of Education for the state of Kentucky. All teachers were asked to decorate their door along the theme of "Spinning a Web of Success" or Spiderman. This is a schoolwide theme for the year. I'm not a big spiderman, or spiders for that matter, fan. Thankfully my Director of Special Education decided that we as a department would do the "same" door.

I used the cartridge Learning Curve for my title "Our Web of Services" and the letteres were welded together using the Gypsy.

I decided to weave my own web with an ecru yarn, for my spider to rest on. I then posted different services that the special education department offers for our students and their parents. I thought weaving the web would be a lot easier than it was. Like so many of my other projects the web looked much better in my head.

The spider came from Paper Doll Dress Up (Accessory 3 button).

Recipe:
Spider 23.65"; Paper Doll Dress Up; Wiggly Eyes
Title 3.0"; Learning Curve
Yarn
index cards

Exploring Cricut: Back to School Challenge

The challenge this week over at Exploring Cricut is to create a card, layout, or paper craft with a school theme using primary colors. I decided to create a two page layout for a favorite little man of mine who started Kindergarted this year.


Recipe:
Patterned Paper: American Traditional Designs, School Works
Cardstock: black, yellow, red, green, white, brown (from stash)
Jolee's Boutique dimensional stickers (Little Crayon repeats)
Cricut cuts:
Cuttin' Up: Kindergarten at 2.18 "
Give A Hoot: Apple at 3.94"
Art Philosophy: Star at 2.65"
Simply Charmed: crayon at 6.76"
Create A Critter: milk bottle at 4.41"
Peachy Keen Stamps (face for apple)
A Typeface stamp set (CTMH)

page 2 printed sideways

Daily Project: Let the Good Times Roll

Today for my daily project for Exploring Cricut I decided to create this 2 page layout. As chairman of the Christian Ed committee at my church I helped to create a group called TNT which stands for toddlers to teens. Its our take on a youth group. We couldn't get our middle schoolers and high schoolers to commit to youth group so we decided to start working with a group of younger children where we could build those relationships at a young age so it would be a natural progression to youth group as they get older. We plan an activity once a month and a different parent is in charge of the activity. This layout was March's activity and we took the kids bowling. Most of the kids that participate are younger, but we do have one that will come occassionally and bring a friend or two.

For my Cricut cuts I used Nifty Fifties and Alphalicious.
Nifty Fifties:
Bowling pins cut at 1.15 and 3.30
Title cut using Alphalicious at 2"
Other supplies used are stickles by Ranger and pearls