I Got a Little Carried Away ...

Trash to Treasure

My daughter and I altered this old window for her to use in the main bathroom in her home. We use vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and my Cricut Explore. The fonts used are 'Bubblegum Sans' and 'Dancing Script', and the swirl is from the Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge. It was a quick and simple project, but with impressive results ... makes me look more talented than I really am!

Here it is hanging in her bathroom. Yeah, that bright orange wall will really wake you up in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #8 ... Back To School

Happy Friday! Here's my project for this week's Cricut 360° Blog challenge ... where we're headed "Back To School".

For my project, I decided to alter a notebook. I started with an inexpensive composition book and covered it with paper I printed using my Imagine and the Imagine More cartridge. Then I used my Gypsy with George & Basic Shapes to make the chalkboard frame and backed it with black cardstock. The font is from Lyrical Letters ... sized and welded with my Gypsy.

I added some frosted gems (from Martha Stewart), lots of ribbon and a cute little owl charm.

Of course, I needed an apple, so I went with the apple and books from Hello Kitty ... sometimes I forget what a versatile cartridge this is!

So, there you have it! Now it's you're turn ... head on over to the Cricut 360° Blog and show us your "Back To School" stuff!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #3 ... For Parents

Once again, I am absolutely amazed at the reponse we had for Challenge #2 ... are you ready for Challenge #3 from the Cricut 360° Blog? Well, July 24th is Parents' Day and we're making projects in honor of moms and dads everywhere.

For my project, I started with a small, inexpensive frame ... the inside dimensions are about 4" x 11". I removed the glass and covered the backing with some patterned paper from Michael's. Then, using quick dry glue, I added  a crocheted trim to the inside edge.

I then selected word art from several cartridges and used my Imagine to print and cut. All of the papers were printed from the Imagine More cartridge. For each word, I selected a pattern and solid paper. Both printed and then cut at the same size. All the edges were inked using a coordinating Stampin' Up marker. I off-set the solid paper to create a shadow effect. Each word is pop-dotted ... they kind of look like they're floating! I finished by adding self-adhesive pearls to the background and the edge of the frame.

At that point, I thought it needed a little something else, so I decided to add a flower. I used the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge and Imagine More patterns for the flower petals and leaves. Those were inked, as well, and I added a pearl, some crinkle ribbon, crochet trim and a little copper wire to finish. I'm really happy with this little flower. If you haven't tried making flowers with the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge ... you're missing out!!

Here are the cartridges I used for the word art:

Family - Gypsy Wanderings cut @ 2.3

Together - Graphically Speaking cut @ 1.8

Forever - Home Decor cut @ 2.4

Love - Beyond Birthdays cut @ 1.4

Oh, I almost forgot ... everything was spritzed with Pearl Glimmer Mist ... for just a little sparkle!

Now it's your turn ... for our random drawing this week we have an Echo Park 'Dots and Stripes' paper pad. Good Luck!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Flamingo Jelly Bean Jar

I have a co-worker who is crazy for flamingos ... her birthday was last week and I made this for her. I cut the vinyl with my E2 and it cut like a dream!

The images are from the Life's A Beach Cricut cartridge. I used my Gypsy to eliminate some of the smaller details and placement marks ... everything layered nicely and I'm happy with how this turned out.

All in all, this is a quick, easy and inexpensive gift ... unless you count the $10 worth of Jelly Bellies!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

Etched Wine Glass Set

One thing I've learned ... I'm not very good at photographing shiny things! I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures. Anyway, this is a wedding gift my daughter and I made. On my Gypsy, we created a monogram using the Songbird (for the D) and Jasmine (for the Ms) Cricut cartridges. We cut it out of vinyl and then used it to etch a wine bottle, four wine glasses and a platter.

Here's everything arranged in a basket ... we added lots of ribbon and silk fall leaves and berries.

A couple of close-ups:

For the tag on the bottle, I printed the sentiment on vellum and then cut it using the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge. I cut a second tag from a cream colored cardstock, layered it under the vellum tag and tied on the bottle with twine.

To finish, we attached a gift card made using paper from the DCWV 'Amber Autumn' stack. I added a little ribbon and a charm. The sentiment, stamped using brown ink,  is  from My Pink Stampers 'Friends and Family' set.

Our Shower Gift For Sarah

I made this for a wedding shower gift. I started with three cake plates (small, medium and large) that I got from Pier One. I stacked them and used a little hot glue on their bases to keep them from sliding around. I found some brightly colored kitchen towels that I  rolled into 'cinnamon roll' shapes and placed them on the stand. I added some curly ribbon, then wrapped it all in cellophane and tied it up with lots more curly ribbon. 

The gift card is 3" x 3". I used the butterfly from the Create a Critter cartridge. I cut the base twice and attached just the bodies together to give it a 3D look. The sentiment is a Whiff of Joy stamp.

Fresh Fruit Basket

This is a peck size fruit box … the kind you get at a Farmer’s Market or a U-Pick-It orchard … that held some very tasty peaches. I knew I could put it to good use instead of just throwing it away. I entered this in the Cricut Circle Infomercial Contest. It wasn't selected, but I still love it!

Here are the details:

1.      1. I used the Rectangle3 image from George and Basic Shapes (sized using my Gypsy) to cut strips of cardstock to cover the box, both inside and outside.

2.     2. Then, I used the Argyle Icon (shifted) image from Wild Card to create the “lattice”. Using my Gypsy, I sized and welding three images together to create lattice strips and wrapped them around the box.

3.     3. For the chalkboard, I used the Rectangle4 image from George and Basic Shapes to make the frame (sized and welding using my Gypsy).  I used a textured cardstock and rubbed it with distressing ink to make it look more like wood, and then attached it to a piece of black cardstock. 

4.     4. I used the Loop Dee Loo font from Lyrical Letters to create the “Fresh Fruit” … sized and welded with my Gypsy.

5.     5. All of the fruit images are from Preserves (cut from the cartridge, no Gypsy):

a.     Watermelon1 – 6.75”

b.     Blueberry1 – 2.75”

c.     Lemon – 3”

d.     Orange – 3.25”

e.     Strawberry1 – 2.75”

f.      Pineapple2 – 5.75”

g.     Grapes – 5.75”

6.     6. I attached the images to the box with pop dots (various sizes) to add dimension.

7.     7. For finishing embellishments, I added a crepe paper ruffle around the top edge of the basket and wrapped ribbon around the handle.