Our Christmas Tree...

After the trip to the Caribbean...it was time to frantically get ready for Christmas!

I love sitting by the decorated tree, with it's twinkling lights, on the night before Christmas. It's the quiet before the chaos!

I've been goofing off!

Yep...I haven't been crafting...I've been goofing off! In the Caribbean!!!!!

I got to take my son on an incredible vacation with 11 other family members and friends! It was such a fun trip! I can't wait to start working on those page layouts!!

Here's some photos...

Fort San Cristobal, Old San Juan

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

St. Thomas

Day 2 of the Thanksgiving Blog Hop!

This post has been removed because my project is going to be published in the Nov. issue of Cricut Magazine!!!!

2-Day Thanksgiving Blog Hop!!

This is my first time participating in a Blog Hop! You should have arrived at my blog from Time2Create and your next stop on the blog hop is Scrappidy Ashy. Have fun looking at all the incredible cricut creations! Remember to stop by tomorrow for another day of fantastic cricut creations!

Here is my first item for the 2 day blog hop! (Click on the picture to see it larger.)


It's a turkey placemat for the kids table...along with a tag for the kids to write (or draw!) what they are thankful for! The tag serves two purposes...it's a way to keep the kids busy as the thanksgiving dinner is getting ready to be served...and...it can be added to a scrapbook layout later!

The turkey is made using the Create A Critter cartridge, cut at 9 inches. I used a circle punch to cut the white and black for the cartoonish eyes! I also gathered some leaves from our trees (it's just becoming Fall here) and used them as additional colored feathers along with attaching one to the tag with button.

Thanks for stopping by on the blog hop! Your next stop is HERE.

Christmas Sock Cupcakes!

I had saved a bunch of the Spa Socks from Michael's over the summer to make up some Christmas Sock Cupcakes. My plan was to make a bunch for a craft fair we're having at work. But as the craft fair got closer...I realized I didn't have the time to participate (too much going on) so I thought I was going to be stuck with a whole bunch of socks! I made up these 3 sock cupcakes and brought them to work and within minutes had orders for every pair of socks I had...plus more if I can find them!

To make these, I used the cupcake wrapper on the Easter cricut cartridge (3 of them fit on a 12x12 mat). I also used my gypsy to use the Hide Contour feature to remove the little holes in the scallop top of the cupcake wrapper...it allows the wrappers to cut faster and there's less chance of ripping as it tries to cut those little tiny holes. (Tip: do the hide contour on one wrapper and then copy that one for the other two. That way you only have to hide all those holes one time!)

Halloween Luminaries...So Easy!!

These were super easy to make! I used the Happy Hauntings and October 31st cricut cartridges for them. The shapes were cut at 5 1/2 inches out of a dark colored cardstock. Adhere the shapes to the insides of some inexpensive lunch bags. You'll want to use a dry adhesive (double sided tape works great) so that it doesn't bleed through the lunch bags.

I placed a rock in the bottom of the lunch bags and then placed 2 battery tea lights on top of the rocks. Super easy!!

Monthly Contest Entry - Create!

On the Cricut Circle blog they're having a monthly contest along with weekly contests. The monthly contest for October was to make something inspired by the word CREATE. I made a layout to remind myself to Think Creatively!

For the layout I used the Stamping cartridge for the butterflies (the butterfly shadow only), Street Sign is used for the font for Think, and Songbird is used for Creatively. I used my gypsy to weld the letters and shadow letters together for Creatively. I used my iRock for the pearls on the letters and black butterflies. (Click on the pictures to see them larger.)



Thanks for looking at my latest creation!

Think Pink Contest Entry!

The weekly contest on the cricut circle for this week is to make a Think Pink entry. In addition to having at least 2 cuts...you also needed 3 of the following: Some Pink, Scallops, Ruffles, Flourishes, Glitter and Jewels!

For my entry...I made my own Lace Cardstock incorporating the title into the design...and then used the Cricut Markers to highlight the title before I cut it out! I used the following cricut cartridges: George and Basic Shapes (for the hearts and some of the letters), Printing Press (more letters) and Storybook (scallop rectangle).



To make the lace cardstock I used my gypsy to lay out the design, welding all the letters together. (It uses up a lot of memory to do this so it takes a little while to compile before cutting.) I saved the completed page as one design. Then, I opened the design again and deleted all the letters that weren't part of the title.



I then did a 'save as' and made this a separate file. This is the file I used first with the cricut markers ONLY...don't cut this version. When the markers finish, don't unload the mat, just replace the blade housing exactly where it is (Tip: I place a small piece of paper, like a post it note, under the marker tip when I'm taking out the marker just in case I drop it on my paper! I don't want the marker to mark up my good paper.)...once the blade housing is in place, on the gypsy select 'return to design'. From here you can open the second file, the one with the full lace cardstock and select cut. As long as you haven't unloaded the mat, it'll cut the full design exactly, including the section you've highlighted with marker.



A closer look at some details...



The tickets are from Tim Holtz's collection!!

Thanks for looking at my latest creation!

Christmas Tags for Tag Swap!

Here are the tags I made for the Tag Swap on the Cricut Circle message board. You needed to make 5 tags for each swap group that you sign up for. I signed up for 2 groups so I'll be getting 10 different tags back! (Click on the pictures to see them larger!)



For the penguin tag I used: Very Merry Tags for the Ho Ho Ho, Joys of the Season for the penquin and the santa hat, and Create a Critter for the scarf (it's from the reindeer tag, just flipped). I used my gypsy to weld all the pieces together first to make the white shadow background and then layered the images on the background. For the Ho Ho Ho I used the cricut markers to outline the letters first before cutting them.

For the reindeer tag I used: Create A Critter for the reindeer and Winter Frolic for the trees. Just like with the penguin tag, I welded the shadow pieces together to create the background layer...which I wanted to be white since it's a tag, there's lots of space to write on the back! I used my iRock to add the metal balls and star gems to the trees.

Thanks for looking at my latest creations!

French Manor Contest Entry

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything! I should look for other contests to enter...as that seems to be what motivates me to get stuff done!

Here's my entry for the French Manor Contest! It's a wall hanging I've made of my daughter. The main square uses a 12x12 page and then the flourishes were cut from a second 12x12 page. I used the new glitter Core'dinations paper for the black background and for the flourishes. A vanilla colored glitter Core'dinations was used for the crown and the bodice. I also used an iRock and pearls to embellish the crown and bodice. The skirt is made from Tim Holtz's paper pack called Lost and Found. (Click on the picture to see it larger.)

Thanks for looking at my latest creation!

Another Contest...another Entry

I'm a sucker for these cricut contests! But...in a good way! I probably wouldn't create anything if it weren't for them.

The latest contest is for your project to appear in their next Infomercial! The deadline is today! Yep, that's me...waiting until the absolute last minute. But, it's finished and is in.

Here's my entry: Teen Nite Lite! (It uses a battery tea light.) You may remember I made a ton of those Christmas houses last year...well, this is that same design. I've been using it to make all kinds of seasonal decor (spring, fall, etc.)! They're so fun!

The cartridges needed to make the house are: Winter Woodland, Christmas (Solution), George and Storybook (and a Gypsy or Design Studio). The dancing girl is from Rock Princess. The pictures don't show it very well but she looks really cool in the house. (Click on pictures to see them larger!)



The windows have cellophane over them to look like glass!


I used glitter cardstock for the window and doors. An irock glam rock for the door handle.

I used American Crafts double sided paper for the house, so the inside of the house is hot pink!!

The girl is cut from the new glitter cardstock by core'dinations! I really love it! It cuts so much easier and cleaner than the DCWV I've been using. I only have to cut once!

This is the picture I submitted!

My zebra card...update!

The Creative Escape contest, which is what I made my zebra card for, was to have 2 winners. Both winners would get to go to the Creative Escape scrapbook event in Arizona...sponsored by Bazzill. I knew I wouldn't be one of the top two...as there is some INCREDIBLE talent in the Cricut Circle. But...what I didn't know was that they'd decide to award an additional 15 people with Honorable Mentions...each receiving a new cricut cartridge!

I'm so happy to share that my card was selected as an Honorable Mention!!! Yippee!!!

Be Original...Card!

I made this card for the Cricut Creative Escape Contest for the Cricut Circle. You could only use Provo Craft and Bazzill products. All the cards are being donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. There really wasn't a theme (ie., birthday, get well, etc.) so I went with an idea that just made me happy!

The card is 4.25 x 5 inches. I used the Create a Critter cartridge for the zebras cut at 2". The sun is from Doodlecharms cut at 1.5". I used some chalk on the sun to give it some dimension. I also cut a couple small circles out of pink to make the cheeks for the sun. For the colorful zebra, I cut one from each color that I needed and then placed them all on top of each other and cut through all 4 at once. I then took a piece from each color and pieced them together like a jigsaw puzzle!

I used my Janome Sew Mini to do the stitching. I love that little machine!


Here's the inside of the card:

I used a rub on for the lettering.

Sunny Days layout...uses 6 different carts!

The cricut cartridges I used on the layout are: Create A Critter, Zooballoo, Cindy Lou, Once Upon A Princess, Going Places and French Manor.

Here's what the entire layout looks like (click on pictures to see them larger).

Here's closer up of the 1st page. I did a lot of chalking and stitching on this layout. And, I used a lot of dimensional adhesives to made the items pop!

and...closer of the tree and deer...both are from Cindy Lou.


Here's a closer view of the second page.

and the cow...

and the frog...I love his little pond. There wasn't a shadow feature for the pond so I just winged it...it's a little odd shaped...but, I like the way it turned out.

I've posted the layout on ebay...we'll see what happens!

Art Show Sign for Denise!

My sister, Denise, is having her first art show at the El Dorado Hills Town Center tonight and she needed a sign for her display. She's the one I've been making the mermaid tags for. Here's what I came up with for her...


The fonts are Songbird and Cuttin' Up...welded using the Gypsy. The shapes are: Palm Trees, Waves and Flowers - Life is a Beach, Sun - Gypsy Wanderings, Mermaid - Once Upon a Princess and the Whale is from Create a Critter!

My Cricut Circle Sale!

Ended...

Thank you for the great response on my Cricut Circle Sale! All of the packages have been sent off...I hope you enjoy your new goodies!

See you in the Circle!

Mermaid tags...Once Upon a Princess

These mermaid tags are cut at 4" using the Once Upon a Princess cricut cartridge...for all pieces expect the bikini top...it's from the Life's a Beach cartridge. I used my gypsy to hide contour the bikini bottom and parts of the straps, along with the facial features, as I didn't want them cut out. (Click on the pictures to view them larger.)



I've just started using chalk to add shading and dimension to my die cuts. Here's a picture of a mermaid with chalk...and one without the chalk.

I use the Non-Smear Pastels from The Stencil Collection for my chalk.

Create A Critter - Vinyl Pandas

My crazy, panda obsessed sister...Sandy...wanted some vinyl pandas to put on the back windshield of her car to represent her 4 grandchildren...no normal stick figure kids would do! So...I got some outdoor vinyl and cut pandas from the Create A Critter cartridge. Because it was going on a tinted window, I wanted to cut a shadow layer in white so that it would stand out. Unfortunately, the panda shadow on CAC included the Chinese hat! I used sciccors to trim away the excess hat pieces.

Here's the panda kids, two girls and two boys, on the back of Sandy's PT Cruiser!

New Cricut Cartridge...3 Birds on Parade!

Cricut announced a new cartridge today that I just love! It's called 3 Birds on Parade! Here's what it looks like...

When I saw the little blue bird it reminded of a digital scrapbooking kit I had made called It's Spring! In honor of the new 3 Birds cartridge (which I wish I could get my hands on...but, not for awhile)...I've reloaded my digital kit to 4shared and am giving it away for free! I'd love it if you would leave me a comment if you download it!

Here's what my It's Spring digital kit looks like:


Here's a layout I made using it:


And...here are the links to download it:
http://www.4shared.com/file/34mpiMtD/sl_spring_1.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/pZbBnNMU/sl_spring_2.html

The Graduate!

It's hard to believe that Matt graduated from High School! And...he did what he set out to do and graduated as a Junior! We're so proud of him! Here are the Thank You cards I made for him to send out. I used the Everyday Paper Doll cartridge for the grad and the Doodletype cartridge for the Thanks.

I altered the grad cut a little bit, by cutting off the bottom of the gown and putting pants underneath. I also put a piece of a white shirt under the top portion of the gown. I used chalk on the edges of the paperdoll to give it a little definition.







Here's a digital layout I made of our graduate...Matt! (The digital kit I used for the layout is from Michelle Coleman.)

Tropical Layout - Gypsy Challenge

This is a layout I made for a gypsy challenge over at the cricut message board. I want to start using my gypsy and cricut more so I thought I'd participate in some of the challenges. This layout uses Lifes a Beach, Graphically Speaking and the Going Places cricut cartridges. Using the gypsy, I welded the word 'Travel' and the word 'Discover' (both from GS) to the sun (from GP) and then cut it as one piece. I also outlined it using the cricut markers...this is so much easier to do using the gypsy!