Thirty Days of Thankfulness Tree

A bunch of my friends are doing the "Thirty Days of Thankfulness" challenge, and I wanted to participate, too!  This little project lets my whole family take part and my hope is that it will really help us concentrate on being thankful this month.

This project is super-simple and SUPER-cheap!  I found a vase in my cabinet and filled with little pumpkin vase filler (Target $1 spot).  I collected dead branches from the back yard and put them in the vase.  And the rest was done with my Cricut and about 12 pieces of carstock!  The banner was cut from the Wild Card cartridge at 15".  I ran it through my printer to get the text and then inked the edges.  The leaves were all cut from the Doodlecharms cartridge at 3 1/2' and 4".  Each family member has a different color, and one leaf for each day of the month.  I punched holes in the stems and used twine to make loops to hang them.

The tree is a little bare right now (we'll do day 3's leaves tonight at dinner), but just wait until the end of the month!  I'll post a follow-up pic to show how beautiful our Fall Thankful Tree will be!

I'm thinking you could adapt this to work with different seasons or holidays activity...

1. Fall tree with colored leaves for Thanksgiving

2. Christmas tree with ornaments at Christmas

3. Eggs on tree for Easter

4.  Hearts on tree for Valentines

5. Flowers on tree for Spring

Might have to get crackin' on the Christmas one!!!

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!

Teacher Appreciation: Thank You For Helping Us Bloom!

It's National Teacher Appreciation Week, and although the Mess Maker's preschool doesn't really "celebrate" the occasion (which I think is a travesty!), I wanted to do something for the teachers to let them know how appreciated they are!

The idea for this plant stake came from an original design by "Dimple Prints" HERE.  I designed a similar sentiment in Word, and then punched it out with a circle punch.  I added a green and white circle mat (Cricut: George cartridge), and then a yellow scalloped circle (Cricut: Storybook cartridge) for the flower. 

I attached the flower to a wooden skewer.  But I wanted to make sure the teachers knew it was from the entire class, so I decided to add each child's name to a leaf (Cricut: Doodlecharms cartridge).  The leaves were cut at 3/4", and then I ran them through my printer to print the names on them.  I have a tutorial HERE on how to do this if you're interested!

I hot glued the leaves to the skewer and added a narrow green ribbon.  Mrs. S gets a green Hydrangea plant because green is her favorite color, and Mrs. T gets a Gardenia plant because that's her favorite flower.  :)

To all of the wonderful teachers out there who educate, nuture, entertain, shape and encourage our children...

THANK YOU!!!

Vegetable Garden Stakes For My New Garden!

We've been out of town for a couple of weeks so I haven't had a chance to post photos of my new vegetable garden!  Compliments to my dad who basically did the whole thing thanks to my lack of muscle strength and inability to effectively shovel dirt.  :)

More on the vegetable stakes I made in a minute...

Now keep in mind that I was just thinking about a basic wood box with dirt thrown in...but, if you know my dad, you know that nothing (I mean NOTHING) can be a simple project.  I suppose it's the engineer in him.  Due to concerns that untreated wood might be a lure for termites and that treated wood might have chemicals that could seep into the vegetables, we went with stone pavers to contain the garden.  I must admit it looks nice, but OMG it was a LOT more work.  :)

The CFO was 100% against having a garden, which he describes as "work".  I, on the other hand, consider a garden to be FUN.  I obviously won the fight.  :) 

As you can see, the Mess Maker was in favor of a garden, too, because she wanted to "grow the vegetables" (aka water them).

We decided to go with tomatoes (two varieties), carrots, onions, bell peppers, radishes and cucumbers along with some herbs: basil, oregano, sage, thyme, parsley and rosemary.  The cucumbers are in a whiskey barrel next to the fence...I didn't want them to completely take over my little 4x8 foot garden. 

Now for the stakes:

Not that I can't identify the vegetables just by how they look, but I thought it'd be fun to "jazz" it up a bit by adding the garden stakes.  I used my Cricut, of course, some inking to make the signs look weathered, and LOTS of piecing together to make the individual vegetables.  For durability, I laminated each sign and then hotglued them to a stake to insert in the ground. 

Here is a rundown of what I used:

Sign:  Walk In My Garden (WIMG)

Lettering: All Mixed Up

  Tomato: pumpkin and palm tree top from Doodlecharms (DC)

Radish: bee from WIMG

Pepper: popsicle from DC

Carrot: pine branch from Joys Of The Season (JOTS)

Onion: bulb from JOTS

Basil: leaf from Blackletter

Sage: leaf from Blackletter

Rosemary: branch from Storybook (SB)

Parsley: branch from SB

Thyme: vine from SB

Oregano: branch from SB

And here is the finished result:

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  (And if you have any tips on keeping my currently green vegetable plants alive, please, do share...I'm not exactly known as a green thumb!)  :)

FANTABULOUS CRICUT Challenge #2!

Back with another challenge for you this week at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog (FCCB)!!!  The criteria for this challenge is to use pastel colors on an Easter project...it can be a card, layout, 3D item, etc.  Use your creativity and head over to FCCB and enter your project today!  And be sure to check out the other Design Team members' creations...you will truly be inspired!

I made a card using Doodlecharms for the egg and George for the circles, ovals and triangle that comprise the rest of the card.  For the egg, I cut out two idential eggs from white cardstock using the shadow feautre, layered them on top of each other and then used my craft knife to cut the "crack line".  I discarded one of the tops.  I cut one egg from patterned paper, followed the crack line on the white egg, and cut it in half.  I inked each piece and adhered the patterned paper onto the white cardstock pieces.

To assemble the card base, I placed adhesive around the bottom and sides of the bottom half of the egg and adhered the two bottom halves together...this made a pocket for the chick.  I attached the top and bottom of the egg with a brad, accented with a pink acrylic tag and a flower.  This allows the top of the egg to be lifted/rotated to reveal the chick!

Next, I cut out two ovals (George) for the body and face of the chick.  I cut a small orange triangle for the beak, and inked each piece.  I accented the face with google eyes and some pink chalk for the cheeks.  To finish, I hand cut a bow from green patterned paper and accented it with a button and ribbon.  I printed "chick" onto white cardstock, trimmed it into a tag shape and attached it to the bow.  I placed a small piece of adhesive on the bottom of the chick body and inserted it in between the two white egg halves on the bottom.

For the sentiment, I printed "Happy Easter" onto an oval that was pre-cut (George) and then layered it with a green patterned oval (using the shadow feature).  To accent this oval, I added two flower brads with two paper flowers.  The I used pop dots to adhere it on the front of the egg.

When the recipient gets the card, it reads, "Happy Easter....chick!".  :)

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!!!

Easter Egg Accordian Album

The orginal idea for this album came from the April 2007 Issue of Scrapbook Trends Magazine and was created by Lisa Pace.

I decided to recreate this little album for the upcoming holiday, so I would have a place to showcase the Mess Maker and the Noise Maker's Easter photos.

I used CTMH's Boom-Di-Ada papers and the My Creations Memory Showcase Accordion Album (6x6).  I used my Cricut to cut the eggs (Doodlecharms) and the grass (Zooballoo).  I inked everything, including the base of the accordion album.

I inked two flowers and added pearl centers.  Then I cut mini flowers from George and added them to the grass.  I stamped two sentiments onto tags and added them to the flowers.  Now I just need to add some photos and journaling!

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  :)

Just Buggin Challenge #22: "Berry Sweet" Card

This week's challenge (#22) over at Just Buggin is called "All About Food": make a food-themed project.  Here is my Design Team card:

I used 3 Bugs In A Rug patterned paper (green polka dot) for the mat on this one and added random dots of green glitter glue for sparkle.  Using Winter Wonderland, I cut the scallop circle out of hot pink and the shadow out of white cardstock.  I added pink glitter glue for sparkle.  I ran a striped ribbon (American Crafts) around the card base, attached the scallop circle and then adhered the mat to the green card base.

I wanted a strawberry die cut and didn't have one on the cartridges I own, so I made my own!  I used Street Sign to cut the "body" of the strawberry from red cs using the "interstate sign" cut.  Then I used Doodlecharms to cut the "palm tree top" from green cs and placed it on top...looks like a strawberry to me!  :)  I added glitter glue to make the "seeds" and for the lines on the leafy top.

To finish, I printed the sentiment onto white cs, matted it with red cs and adhered with foam dots.

Thanks for looking!  :)

Decorated Grapevine Pumpkins

I saw this idea in the Simply Handmade Oct/Nov. issue...and I've been looking for these pumpkins ever since!  Then the other day I was browsing the Target dollar bins and guess what???  THERE THEY WERE!  So I obviously stocked up, thinking to myself that I would probably never be able to find them ever again!

To dress them up, I cut various sized leaves from Doodlecharms (Cricut) from patterned paper.  Then I cut several 1/2 inch strips of double-sided CTMH paper and wrapped each one around a pencil to make spirals.  I used my hot glue gun to attach the leaves and spirals to the top of the pumpkin.  Then I added some CTMH paper blooms with a chocolate brad in the center to hide the glue glob. 

That's it....quick, easy and CHEAP!!!  :)

"FALL" Layout

 This is a layout I made at my weekend scrapbooking retreat...it's based on a design I found in one of my scrapbook magazine subscriptions from a while back and I honestly can't remember which one.  I used my Cricut to cut the letters and used the negative space from each letter to trace the letter onto my photos.  I cut them out, then matted them with cardstock and trimmed around the edges.  I also cut some pumpkins (Doodlecharms) for accents.  Thanks for looking!  :)

I love these little pumpkins!

I made the original paper pumpkin (pictured in a previous post) for my CTMH Launch Party...but I just had to make more...I just loves these little guys!  I decided to make several to display in a bowl on my table for the fall season.  I made two from orange cardstock, one from brown cs, and one more patterned pumpkin to match the original (with a different colored leaf and different sentiment)...here's how to make them:

1.  Cut 12 strips of 1" x 6" paper (cardstock isn't as easy to use for this project, but I made it work)
2.  Stack the strips of paper and punch a hole using a Crop-A-Dile at both ends of the stack.
3.  Place a brad through the holes and fasten.
4.  Carefully fan out and arch the paper strips until a round, pumpkin shape is achieved.
5.  Layer 2 pieces of ribbon and fold in half.  Tie a piece of hemp around the ribbons to form "stem".
6.  Using glue dots, attach all four ends of the stem to the top of the pumpkin, covering the brad.
7.  Cut a leaf (Doodlecharms on the Cricut), punch a hole in it, and set an eyelet.
8.  Using the hemp, tie the leaf around the stem of the pumpkin.

That's it...super easy and super fun...can't wait to make more of these!!!  :)

P.S. This project meets the requirement for this week's Just Buggin' (Challenge #7) & the Creative Belli Blog Challenge, too!

"Autumn" Banner For The Mantle

I have to admit that I have had Cricut Design Studio for about two years and have NEVER used it!!!  So the other night, after watching an infomercial for the new Cricut Gypsy, I decided to play around with it...OMG!  It's AWESOME!!!  So much easier than I anticipated and sooooo many features that help customize your creations.  LOVE IT!!!  So now I don't feel like I need to run out and purchase the Gypsy on the release day!  :)

This banner is a creation that meets the criteria for several current challenges:

1.  SPCC:  Hoppin' Combo (orange, green, light brown, dark brown color combo)

2.  Creative Belli Blog:  Create a fall/halloween themed item

3.  Use It Challenges:  Challenge #27

4.  Practical Scrappers:  Blog Hop Challenge

To make the triangles for this banner, I used the birthday hat image from Doodlecharms.  I resized and stretched the image in DS and then cut them out on dark brown cardstock.  Then I cut the same triangles out of this beautiful Basic Grey paper and adhered them together.  Because the short edge of the triangles were somewhat rounded (that's how the image is cut), I had to use my trimmer to cut the edge into a straight, even line to form a perfect triangle.

Using scraps from the patterned paper, I cut 1/2" strips the same length as the tringle edges, cut them with scallop-edge scissors and glued them on all three sides of the triangles.  Then I inked all edges.  I punched holes in each upper corner and connected the triangles with light brown ribbon.  To make the charms, I cut small leaves from Doodlecharms, inked the edges, and then muted the tops with chalk ink.  Using a needle and thread, I attached them to each bow, allowing them to dangle between the triangles.

To spell "AUTUMN", I used the Storybook cartridge and cut the letter bases out of dark brown cs.  I cut the accent/layer out of medium brown and matted them on the back instead of the front.  Using a flourish stamp covered in liquid glue, I then stamped randomly over each letter.  I sprinkled brown flocking over the glue and shook off the excess.  I heated the flocked images with my embossing gun to set the powder.

For the first and last triangles, I cut leaves from Storybook out of dark brown cs and flocked them as well.  I also cut an acorn out of orange cs (using Doodlecharms) and inked/distressed it.  I added two layered flowers with a brad center and layered the embellishments on the triangle.

To finish, I took the flourish stamp I used to do the flocking, and used dark brown ink to stamp randomly over the triangles around the letters.  It was a somewhat time-consuming project, but I LOVE the results!!!

Thanks so much for looking!!!  :)

Eeeeeek! Spider Card (Practical Scrappers Challenge)

The challenge this week over at Practical Scrappers is to use your letter stickers...but not in the traditional way!  So I decided to use leftover letter stickers from different collections to spell "Eeeeek" for this Halloween spider card. 

I used a lime green for the card base and added some fun shimmery paisley spider web paper for the mat.  Then I used a scrap of some printed tone-on-tone black patterned paper for the background of the spider web.  I snipped around the edges of the black piece with some microtip scissors and wrapped silver embroidery floss around the card (resting in the snip marks) to make a "web" (and taped the ends on the back).

I used my Cricut (Doodlecharms cartridge) to cut the spider out of glittery black cardstock and made a lime green shadow.  I adhered them together and crinkled the legs.  The spider is attached with a foam adhesive dot for dimension.  Finally, I added letter stickers from several different half-used collections to spell "Eeeeeek"...

Thanks for looking!  :)

Update:  Oooooooh!  I got a mention over on the Practical Scrappers blog for my entry!  Woo hoo!  :)

Craft: School Bus Card (BITTEN by the BUG Contest: School Theme)

This week's contest on BITTEN by the BUG is to create a project with a school theme. The first day of school is such an exciting time for little ones! I decided a make a school bus card for my daughter (The Mess Maker) who is starting preschool this year...my baby is growing up!!! I thought it'd be a nice little send-off for her first day.

I used the Doodlecharms cartridge to cut the card base and bus layers. I also cut the apple and children's faces with it. The "school" letters were cut with Street Sign. I added a bow with a stick figure brad (I don't know...just seemed school-ish to me!) to attach it. TFL! :)

Craft: My 2008 Christmas Card

I sat down a couple of months before Christmas last year to try and come up with some ideas for cards...I started playing and ended up with this.

I used my Cricut (of course!), though at the time I hadn't upgraded to the Expression yet. I added some ribbon to the antlers and stickles to the nose and antlers for some "sparkle". :)

Cartridges: Doodlecharms for reindeer, George for tag, Stretch Your Imagination for holly, Opposites Attract for "JOY"