Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #11 ... For A Hero

Welcome to another Cricut 360° Blog challenge. This week we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and making projects to recognize those who serve.

I love dogs, and I'm especially fond of working dogs, so I decided to make a card honoring the search and rescue dogs who worked at ground zero. I used Paper Pups, Stand and Salute, and Plantin Schoolbook (for the little white cross). The sentiment is computer generated and is the motto of Search and Rescue teams worldwide.

I hope you join us this week at the Cricut 360° Blog ... we have a special sponsor! 

Robyn from My Pink Stamper had donated one of her stamp sets, so link up your project for your chance to win "Freedom Rocks". Good luck and ...

Thanks for stopping by ...

Cricut 360° Blog Challenge #6 ... Refreshing

It's Friday and time for another Cricut 360° Blog challenge. It's been crazy hot so we're going to try to cool things down with some refreshing projects!

For my project, I tried to recreate one of my favorite things: an Olive Garden Italian Margarita. My, oh my ... they are yummy!

There are martini glasses on a couple of Cricut cartridges, but no margarita glasses, so I used my Gypsy to make my own. I welded an oval from Plantin Schoolbook to the top of the martini glass from Smiley Cards to create the margarita shape. I cut it two times, one from white cardstock and one from frosted Shrinky Dink material. I used a Copic marker to ink the frosted side. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but I inked the stem of the glass with a light blue Copic marker. I used Glossy Accents to adhere some clear Martha Stewart micro beads to the rim. Then I used more Glossy Accents (just on the side edges) to adhere the Shrinky Dink layer to the card stock layer.

I like my margaritas 'on the rocks', so I used more the of Shrinky Dink material to make ice cubes. The rounded squares are from George and Basic Shapes. I used my Gypsy to weld three together to form a base. Then I cut three separately. I inked the frosted sides with a light blue Copic marker, and then embossed them with the Tiny Mosaic Cuttlebug folder. I used clear dimensional dots to attach them to the base and slipped them in between the Shrinky Dink material and the cardstock. I like how they look like they're floating. Of course, every margarita needs a straw ... I used a pipe cleaner (slipped behind the white cardstock) to make mine!

The orange slice is from Preserves. It looked a little flat, so I glossed it up with a thin coat of Glossy Accents. For my sentiment, I used Thickers from American Crafts. They're actually yellow, so I inked them with the same Copic marker I used on the margarita.

Oh, and I guess I should tell you my card is a 6" x 6" square and the designer paper is from Stampin' Up. I hope you join us for this week's challenge ... I'd love to see your refreshing ideas!!

Thanks for stopping by ...

A Happy 5th Birthday to Cricut

Provo Craft is having a layout challenge to go along with the launch of their new Expression 2. The launch is scheduled for  April 26th on HSN. They're giving away 5 of the new machines and also showcasing some of the entires. The challenge was to create a 12"x12" layout with a birthday theme, and you could enter up to three layouts. I decided to give it a try ... here are my two entries:

For this one, I used my Imagine and the Elise cartridge to print the patterned paper and the cream colored paper for the squares. I embossed cream colored squares with the Number Collage Cuttlebug folder. The lettering is from the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge ... sized and welded with my Gypsy. The cupcake is from the Simply Charmed Cricut cartridge. I crimped the wrapper and pop dotted the layers.

And for this one, I used Gypsy Wanderings for the 'Happy Birthday' and Plantin Schoolbook for the '5'. The 'th' are stickers from American Crafts and all the patterned papers are from Stampin' Up. It's hard to see in the pictures, but there's lots of stitching and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the mats. I finished with some ribbon and lots of buttons.

I've only done a few layouts and wasn't really sure what I was doing, but for the most part, I'm happy with the way these turned out. I have little expectation of winning, but I really did enjoy making these ... and who knows, maybe I'll get to catch a glimpse of one of them on HSN.

Thanks for stopping by ...

Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Ray!

Rachel and my daughter were roommates in college ... Rachel went on to Vet School and she received her degree last Friday. Very exciting! My daughter asked me to make this for her. All the animals were cut at 1.5" using 'Create a Critter'. I was a little worried about cutting them that small, but it all worked out ... I wouldn't, however, go much smaller. I used my Gypsy to lay this all out and was able to get everything except the sentiment on one mat so, once I got all the paper in place, the cutting was a breeze.

Here are the details:

Size - 5.25" x 5.25"

Papers - Martha Stewart 'Playful Blue' stack for the mats, the animals were all cut using scraps (yeah!)

Cricut - Create a Critter, Storybook (mats) and Plantin Schoolbook (font)

Extras - Stickles, a little ribbon and lots of pop dots

Pink Stamper Design Team Submission

Good morning to all my followers ... those who are new and those who have been with me since the beginning. I thought I would show you the project I submitted for the My Pink Stamper design team.

Back in February, I followed the series of projects Enfys did for 'Holidays with the Cricut'. I especially liked an altered heart-shaped box she made. It's absolutely beautiful ... take a look at her blog here.

About this time, I was crocheting a baby afghan to take to a baby shower and I decided to try my hand and make an altered box to present it in. The box (and afghan) was a hit ... the new mom was very pleased and intends to use the box to store all those 'new baby' pictures.

I then heard that Robyn at My Pink Stamper was asking for submissions for a new design team and, on a whim I sent her a picture of my altered box. I had little expectation of being selected and still find it hard to believe.

Anyway, here are the details on my project: It's a 12x12 paper mache box that I painted with acrylics (I painted the inside white). The patterned papers are from a DCWV stack called Nana's Kitchen. I used a Martha Stewart punch to edge the blue layer. The 'baby blocks' and the 'Sweet Pea' are from New Arrival ... the blocks were cut at 2.25" and the pea pod at 7.25". I cut the baby's face using the blackout feature and stamped the face with a stamp from Peachy Keen and I added a little pink chalk to the cheeks. The "welcome" is from Plantin SchoolBook. I used my Gypsy to smush (technical Gypsy term) the letters together and welded them into one cut. All the Cricut cuts were pop-dotted to add a little dimension.

2010 Valentines

It's been a long time since I've posted to my blog ... life has gotten in the way recently ... but I did get the chance to make some Valentines. For the first Valentine, I used patterned paper from Stampin' Up and trimmed the bottom edge with a Martha Stewart punch. The scalloped squares are from Storybook and the hearts are from Plantin SchoolBook (using the Roly Poly feature key). The face stamps are from Peachy Keen, and the sentiment is a $1 stamp from Michael's.

This one is very simple: The cut is from the Love Struck cartridge (cut at 3.25) and I added a couple of dimensional stickers from a set I got in a bargain bin.

Finally, I am a member of Rotary International and our local chapter sends Valentines to the residents of nursing homes in our area. These little cards are 4.25 x 2.75. On the front are hearts that were cut using Doodlecharms and stamped with an image from Stampin' Up. On the back is a computer generated sentiment ... designed by my wonderful daughter Stacey. Her help was really appreciated, as I made 304 of these!!