Happy 2014!

Hello Fellow Crafters!

Hoping this post finds you recovering from the Christmas rush, and that you were blessed with friends and family abound!  This week's challenge over at Exploring Cricut is to create something celebrating the New year.  Next on my holiday agenda is New Year's Eve - we'll be spending it with my Sister-In-Law and her family,  To show my appreciation for her hospitality, I'll be taking along a bottle of wine and this card:

I just got the "Small Talk Frames & Tags" Cricut cartridge for Christmas, so I just had to play with it here.  I used it to make the 'Polaroid' frame, and I used "Cricut Classic Font" for the 2014.

Please join our challenge at Exploring Cricut, and share your New Year's creations with us!

Hoping everyone has a Happy & Safe New Year - I'll be back with a post on New Year's Day, so please make a point to stop back then!

About this card:
Patterned Cardstock Base - DCWV Dots, Stripes & Plaids
Cricut Cartridges - Small Talk Frames & Tags and Cricut Classic Font
Fireworks - Darice Embossing Folder, daubed in Memento Brilliance inks
Stickles, Blue/Green Mat from Stash

Creative Cards to the Rescue!

Hey All!

Need a break from Christmas crafting?  I do... And I have a good reason... Here's the story...

My Mom's birthday is December 28th.  Since we were little, my Mom has always made a big deal about how she doesn't like how close her Birthday is to Christmas - she would love to be able to fully celebrate each occasion separately without lumping everything together.  We won't talk about the year I got lazy and wrapped her birthday gift in Christmas paper... My Mom is NOT ungrateful, I was just being a stinky teenager.  ANYWAY... onto today's project! That all said, I need to have cards on hand that are somewhat universal and show no signs of Christmas.  Last weekend I went on a scrap retreat with some girls and caught up on making cards just for such occasions - Here are a few:

Thank goodness for Cricut's Creative Cards cartridge!  All 3 of these are from that cartridge - it has done all of the design and layout work for you, and you get to have TONS of fun choosing fun papers, color schemes and sentiments to go along with them.  Here are some close ups of each card:

 

I will always turn to this cartridge for quick cards to impress - they come together very easily and you can do so much with them to customize them.  Hopefully I've given you a reason today to dig out this cartridge and play with it.  Your mom will love them!!!

Check back daily over at Exploring Cricut for inspiration while you play with paper :)

About these Cards:

Cricut Cartridge "Creative Cards"

Card Bases - Papertrey Ink & Bazzill

Patterned Paper - Echo Park & DCWV Blue Citrus

Sentiments - Pink by Design & PTI
Embossing Folder - Stampin' Up
Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Memento Ink, Gems, 3D Foam Dots

Christmas Decor

Hello and Merry Christmas!

This week's challenge over at Exploring Cricut is "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas" - That's right - it's time to get the house decorated if you haven't already done so!  In that spirit, I'm sharing a decorative piece with you, as opposed to the usual cards I always share:

 

I am really happy with how this turned out!  I took a 5" x 7" espresso colored frame and mounted some burlap fabric on the back piece (and popped it out with an extra 4.5"x  6.5" piece if cardboard.  Both of these cuts are from Anna Griffin's Winter Wonderland cartridge.  The bell is cut at 5" height and the swag is cut at 6" width.  Here is another picture with different lighting:

 

In this picture, you can see that I mounted the bell with 3D foam dots for some dimension.  I also used stickles and pearls to accentuate the cuts.

I wish I had bought more of these frames, because there are so many wonderful cuts on this cartridge, that I could see myself making a trio of these, in all coordinating colors just different cuts, to hang close to each other.  Maybe I'll venture out on this snowy day to do just that!

Please share your Christmas projects with us!  Go to Exploring Cricut and enter your creations - we all want to see what you've been up to this season!

About this Project:

5x7 Espresso Frame from AC Moore

Burlap Fabric

2 Cuts from Anna Griffin's Winter Wonderland Cartridge

Bazzill Bling Card Stock

Stickles, Pearls, Cream Pearl Pen, Ribbon, 3D Foam Dots

Wednesday Whimsy

Oh the time has come...

No, not Christmas... The time has come where my daughter is old enough to be invited to EVERY KID'S BIRTHDAY PARTY IMAGINABLE!

Not a problem!  It's an Ariel themed party?  I've got you covered!

This was my first time using the Disney "Dreams Come True" cartridge - I am impressed with how intricate the layers are, and how real the images look once assembled.  I'm sure since my daughter is around 'that age' I'll be called upon to cut more from this cartridge... maybe even for the next party... which might I add is only 2 weeks away :)

I posted this card as part of our daily inspiration over at Exploring Cricut - Come on over and join our Christmas Card challenge if you haven't already done so!

Have a great day everyone!

About this Card:

Studio G White Circle Card Base

Lt. Blue Mat - Embossed with D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug Folder

Ariel - Cut from "Dreams Come True" Disney Cricut Cartridge

     Ariel's tail is embossed with Stampin' Up's Fancy Fan Embossing Folder

Seashell - Cut from "Dreams Come True" also

Sentiment - from Tim Holtz clear Birthday collection

3D Foam dots, Stickles

Christmas Card Challenge

Happy Monday!  Today starts a new challenge over at Exploring Cricut - Christmas Cards!  If you haven't started yours yet, head on over to our Design Team's page and check out what we have to inspire you!

The card I made for this challenge goes against the "red and green/trees and santas" style that I typically send out.  I had a baby boy this year in March, and I really feel a strong personal connection to what Christmas is really about this year because of that.  So here is what I came up with:

 

I cut the manger/baby out of Bazzill Bling cardstock using the "A Quilted Christmas" Cricut cartridge.  The patterned paper sky is a sheet of Echo Park's "Wintertime" by Bella Road, and the hills are kraft paper torn and distressed along the edges.  I used 3D Foam Dots to pop out the manger, and created the star using my iRock for the first time ever!

Wishing you many blessings this Holiday season, and much inspiration for getting your cards done.  Don't forget to link up your Christmas Cards over at Exploring Cricut!

About this Card:

Kraft Base

Pattern Paper - Echo Park "Wintertime" by Bella Road

Die Cut - "A Quilted Christmas" in Bazzill Bling

Sentiment - My Pink Stamper "Christmas Wishes" in Memento "Rich Cocoa" Ink

"Scattered Straw" Distress Stickles, 3D Foam Dots, Hot-Fix Gems/iRock, Tea Dye Distress Ink