Owl Pillow Box

I saw these cutie-patootie pillow box owls at Card A La Carte and just HAD to make some of my own!  I used my Cricut, though, and will share what cartridges/shapes I used...

Wedding Solutions Cartridge:

*Pillow box was cut in "blackout" mode at 6"

George & Basic Shapes:

*Circles (for body and eyes) at 1 1/4"

*Hearts (for feet/beak) at 1 1/4"

*Circles (for black part of eyes) at 3/4"

A little bling was added to the eyes for sparkle, and a tag with the sentiment, "From Owl Of Us" was attached with ribbon and a glue dot. 

These little cuties hold giftcards for the Mess Maker's preschool teachers for end-of-the-year gifts.  They're part of a gift basket I'll be posting in bit...

Thanks for looking!  :)

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!!!

Happy Birthday Banner Card

The inspiration for this card came from one in Paper Crafts Magazine (Jan/Feb 2011) HERE.

I used my Cricut and the George and Basic Shapes cartridge to make the banner, and the Accent Essentials cartridge to make the frame for the sentiment.  The sentiment is a stamp set from CTMH (Card Chatter-Birthday).

Thanks for looking!

Valentine Lollipop Flower Pots

I made little lollipop flower pots for the Mess Maker's preschool teachers last year for Valentine's Day, and decided to do them again this year for her new teachers.  I couldn't find Tootsie Pops (?????) so I had to use Blow Pops, which have the wrappers twisted at the top.  So I just used glue dots to hold the wrappers down over the lollipop.  Problem solved!  My original directions and lollipop flowers can be found here.  I used flowers cut with my George cartridge and dot embossed cardstock in light and dark pink.  Sooooo easy and fun!

Things may be crazy at our house right now, but I can't completely stop crafting!  Yes, I have to keep my craft room looking "pretty" for showings.  No, I can't leave my Cricut, cartridges and paper all over because it wouldn't be attractive to prospective home buyers.  But I CAN do a quick little craft to show the Mess Maker's preschool teachers they are appreciated for Valentine's Day!  And yes, I cleaned up every last tiny piece of paper in my scraproom when I was done...

Wedding Cake Card: Fantabulous Cricut "Sweet Shop" Challenge

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is called "Sweet Shop": create a project incorporating some type of sweet...cake, ice cream, candy, etc.  YUM!!!

My Design Team project is a black & white wedding cake card.  I love black and white for wedding projects.  I used a white card base, with a black swirl lace cardstock for the mat.  I cut three sizes of black/white patterned papers into rectangles and matted them with white cardstock.

I adhered them to the card with foam dots for dimenstion.  I tied a narrow white ribbon around each cake layer and then added a three-layered flower over each knot.  The flowers were cut with George & Basic Shapes at 3/4", 1" and 1 1/4".  The centers are red pearl brads (Eyelet Outlet).  To finish, I stamped the word "love" onto white cardstock using CTMH ink/stamp, inked the edges in red and adhered with foam dots.

Now I just need to find someone that's getting marries to send this to!!!  :)  Hope you'll play along with this week's "Sweet Shop" challenge at FCCB.  You can make any-themed project for any season or holiday, just make sure to incorporate something sweet & yummy on it!

Happy Crafting!

Sock Cupcake: FCCB Challenge #39 "Gifts Galore"!

I first made sock cupcakes almost a year ago...and I posted some of my first sock cupcakes in an earlier post back in February.  Well, I've been at it again!  This time I made them for Fantabulous Cricut's Challenge this week: "Gifts Galore": Create a handmade gift or gift package!  This has to be one of my most favorite gifts to give...and I made this one in Chrismas colors, just in time for the holiday!!!

For the cupcake wrapper, I have a Design Studio file graciously shared by Rach1Fun from the Cricut Messageboard.  You can find her blog HERE.  It uses the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and cuts this lovely scallop-edge wrapper!  The socks are from the Michael's Dollar Spot and the cherries (which look almost black in the photo, but are really a dark red) are from Target.

To turn this cutie into a gift, I placed it in a cello bag, tied a red ribbon around it, and stamped a sentiment (CTMH) on a circle cut with George and attached to a circle tag to embellish.

Hope you'll hop over to FCCB and enter your own handmade gift/gift package for your chance to win this week's prize!

Happy Crafting!!!  :)

You Are My Sunshine Layout: FCCB Challenge #38--Ribbon!

I love ribbon...along with Cricut cartridges, it's an absolutely obsession!  I use it on almost every project I make.  So how fun is this week's Fantabulous Cricut challenge: Ribbon!?!?!?!  You can use any cartridge, any cut on any project...you just have to incorporate ribbon!  :)

For this layout, I used George to cut a 6" circle for the sun in the upper left corner.  I trimmed the sides to be flush with the page and punched holes along the bottom border to thread my ribbon into.  Both the ribbon and the strips of patterned paper mimic the sun's rays.

For the title, I used Storybook and used hot pink to make the shadow for each letter.  I also used Accent Essentials to cut the layers of the flowers.  I curled each petal, inked them, layered them together with a brad and then added a button (with ribbon!) for the center.

I used my CTMH Edge Distresser on almost every piece of this layout...so fun!  Gave it some fun texture, too.

  I also used my Autumn Terracotta ink (CTMH) to give everything an orange, "sunny glow"!

Hop on over to FCCB and link up your own Cricut ribbon project for your chance to win this week's prize!

Happy crafting!  :)

"Live Life" Card: FCCB Challenge #35: Color & Shape Challenge!

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is a color/shape challenge: use the color green and the shape of a circle somewhere on your project!

I combined the shape/color requirement in my little tree on the card above.  The papers were all scraps I had in my scrap bins.  The circle is cut from the Cricut George & Basic Shapes cartridge and the tree is cut from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge.  I added a little bluebird from Create a Critter as well.  The sentiment is a Close To My Heart stamp, stamped on white cs and matted in blue.  To finish, I tied a white bow and added a red pearl brad (Eyelet Outlet).

I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge for your chance to win a FANTABULOUS prize!

Happy crafting!!!  :)

Paw Print "Zoboomafoo" Birthday Invitations

A friend of mine has a daughter that is about to turn four and loves the show Zoboomafoo...so she requested Zoboomafoo invites.  If I'm being honest, I had never heard of the show before she mentioned it!  So I looked for it on On Demand, and it's really a super-cute, educational show!

Anyway, she wanted zebra print and hot pink as the color scheme...and she requested a paw print.  Now I have a pretty big collection of Cricut cartridges...I consider it a slight addiction.  But believe it or not, not one of them had a paw print image.  So out came the Design Studio and George and I was able to come up with a basic paw print and backing:

The base of the invitation is half of a 81/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock, cut lengthwise.  The two folds are made by scoring the base of the invite at 2 3/4" on both ends and folding toward the front.  I addes pieces of zebra print paper to both of the front flaps, and also inside of each flap.  The inside wording was printed on my computer with the Happy Sans font (LOVE IT!):

(I put an envelope in front of the party details to protect privacy)

Once I completed the base of the invitation, I added the paw print cut from black and pink glitter cardstock, with a tag (from George) that says "party!".  Looks like a WILD TIME to me!!!

P.S.  She hired someone to bring a live Lemur (just like the one on Zoboomafoo) along with some other critters to the party...how fun is that???  :)

Have a creative day!

"Royal Cupcakes": FCCB Challenge #30 Natl. Bake & Decorate Month!

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is called "National Bake & Decorate Month": create a project that has something to do with baking...and if we have the Cricut Cake, we can use that to create something tasty as well.  Well, I don't have the Cricut Cake.  :(  But that didn't stop me from whipping up something tasty!!!

I made some chocolate chip cupcakes and decided to dress them up a bit in honor of this week's challenge.  I have to brag a little on the super-cute graphics...because I didn't make them!!!  My friend Tommie, from OhMyGluestick! designs graphics that you can use for party decorations, including these little "party circles" which I used as cupcake toppers.  This set of four designs is from the "Alice In Wonderland" set (which was one of the featured free sets a while back!) and features the ace, spade, heart and club.  How fun would these be for a card game get-together or royal-themed party???  OMG! has an Etsy shop with TONS of graphics for party decor, and she does custom designs as well.  Go check her out!

Okay, to complete my cupcake toppers, I punched each image using a 1 1/2" circle punch.  Then I used my Cricut to cut a 1 3/4" circle (George & Basic Shapes) to mat the image and a 2" scallop circle (Storybook) to mat the circle.  I added stickles to the dot borders on each image to give them some sparkle and added a rhinestone in the center of each.  To finish, I attached them to lollipop sticks and tied coordinating ribbon around the sticks.  Super-easy and super-quick, and I think they're pretty stinkin' cute!

Hope you'll visit both OMG! (for fabulous party decor ideas) and Fantabulous Cricut to enter your own "Bake & Decorate" project. 

Have a creative (and yummy) day!!!  :)

FCCB Scrappin' Saturday: Job Layout Challenge!

I'm excited that we are having our first Scrappin' Saturday Layout Challenge today at Fantabulous Cricut (FCCB)!  I made the layout above for this challenge.

We are offering a prize...a Cricut Alphalicious cartridge goes to the winner!!!  The requirements are to make a layout about your job, featuring YOU, and to use at least one Cricut cut somewhere on your project.  Fun, right?  Participants have one week to complete their layout and submit to FCCB.

For my layout, I used the FABULOUS American Crafts Dear Lizzy collection papers.  These are leftovers from the class I took from Elizabeth Kartchner herself!  I love these papers...they just make me happy!

I used my Cricut George cartridge to cut the hearts and circles (to make the spiral flowers).  I lifted the edges of the hearts for dimension.

The spiral flowers, which I learned from Elizabeth Kartchner, are really simple.  You just spiral cut a circle (any size), leaving a small round portion uncut in the center of the flower.  Starting with the outermost end, begin rolling inward until you've reached the center.  Then just put a brad through the center of the flower (grabbing the innermost piece of the rolled flower) to secure it.  Using your hand, you can gently but firmly press down on the entire to flatten it out somewhat.

I also used the Street Sign cartridge for my title ("proof") and for the small arrows on the photos.  This layout is based on a sketch by PageMaps:

PageMaps is having a layout contest using this sketch.  The prize?  American Crafts Dear Lizzy collection products!!!  Hee, hee...

Happy Crafting!

Margarita anyone??? TAG SWAP!

I am so excited I get to participate in my first swap!  Kathy over at Paper Phenomenon is hosting this one and we are swapping summer-themed tags.  How fun!

I decided to make a margarita tag...problem is, I don't have a margarita cut in my cartridge library.  :(  So, .cut file-searching I went until I came across Jade's blog, Handmade By Jade and her super-cute (and FREE!) margarita glass .cut file!  Go check out her blog...it's awesome!

I wanted the margaritas to look realistic and I think I accomplished that because every time I see them, I CRAVE a frozen margarita!  Hee, hee...  All pieces were cut using Jade's file and Cricut Design Studio.  The base is made from a thin chipboard, lined with white cardstock (with a green piece on the back).  Then I cut each margarita glass again in Bazzil Bling green cardstock.  I trimmed the green pieces to give me the inside drink and the top of the drink.  I also cut the glasses out of a transparency...then inked them with white Staz-On ink to make them look "frosted".  I adhered all of those layers together and had the base of my tag.

To embellish, I added layered flowers with green brads to the bottom of the glass.  Then I added Glossy Accents around the rim of the glass and sprinkled my new FAVORITE thing:  Diamond Dust.  This stuff is AWESOME!  It comes from Michaels and is made from ground up glass.  Just sprinkle it on and ta-da...instant salt rim!!!  (I also added some Diamond Dust to the brads in the flowers).

Next, I set a large eyelet in the upper left corner of the drink, and tied ribbons through.  For the lime, I used white shrink plastic and cut circles with my Cricut.  Then I drew the lime with a light green Sharpie marker, punched a hole in the corner and shrunk it with my heat gun.  I attached it to a ribbon with a silver ring.

So that's it!  I really hope my swap partners enjoy them.  Thinking about making one for myself now!  :)

Happy crafting!!!

"Shabby Chic(kie)" & "Howdy Partner" Cards (FCCB)

Happy Monday!  It's time for another "Challenge Me Monday" over at Fantabulous Cricut...

I made two projects for this week's challenge:  Zoo/Animal themed project:

I'm calling this first card my "Shabby Chic(kie)" card...get it?!?!?  :)  Hee, hee...

And this little guy is my "Howdy Partner" horsie card.  LOVE this guy!

This week the returning DT members at FCCB got to play with the super-fun "Lots of Pun" stamp set, donated by JoysLife.com.  I chose the "Howdy Partner" and "Hey Chickie" sentiments.  I am a CTMH girl and typically don't use other brands of acrylic/polymer stamps.  But, WOW, was I impressed with these!  These are really great quality stamps and I really enjoyed working with them!  They gave nice, even impressions and the sentiments are just perfect for using with the Create a Critter cartridge!

For the chickie card, I used my Cricut Create a Critter cartridge (say that 10 times in a row!) for the nest, chickie, leaves and flowers.  I used George for the eyes (ovals).  These cards were my first attempt at using Melin's Face Tutorial over at Cooking With Cricut and I must say I am super-pleased with them!  Both of mine kind of look like they're looking up or rolling they're eyes at something, but hey...it's my first (and second) attempt so go easy on me!!!

For the "grunge" flowers, I cut three sizes of the flowers, sprayed them with Distress Ink (Antique Linen) and crumpled them.  Once un-crumpled, I dried them with my heat gun and added a pearl in the middle.  This idea came from Creations With Christina.  Go check out her tutorials...they're awesome!!!  I also decided to "grunge up" my leaves a bit, too...I sprayed them with my homemade CTMH faux "Glimmer Mist" and crumpled them.  I think they go better with the flowers like this.

The horsie card is also from Create a Critter and the eyes are ovals cut from George.  He's inked all over for detail and has another cute face based on Melin's tute.  Thanks again for the inspiration, Melin!!!  :)

Hope you'll head over to Fantabulous Cricut to see the other "Critter" and animal projects made by our super-talented Design Team this week!  Be sure to enter your own project for your chance to win this week's FAB prize!

P.S.  I have a VERY special "Scrappin' Saturday" coming up this Saturday, so tune into FCCB this coming Saturday and check it out!!!

Happy Crafting!

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #14: Celebrate Dear Dad

This week's challenge at FCCB is "Celebrate Dear Dad"...make a masculine themed project.  This is perfect timing for Father's Day coming up so I thought I'd make my dad a Father's Day card from my two sisters and I (along with a little gift)!

I recently discovered Ruth Howard's blog, RUELYSI CREATIVE CARDS.  If you haven't seen her work, you just have to check it out!  While I was there, I realized she has a TON of Design Studio .cut files for FREE!!!  I just love generous people.  :)  So after scrolling through several pages of her blog, I found the .cut file HERE for this amazing card!  I couldn't resist...my dad is the craftiest and handiest person you'll ever meet.

All of the cuts for this file are from George and Basic Shapes.  I cut the tools from "gunmetal gray" cardstock, the handles from a deep red, the tool belt from a light brown and the pockets/strap from a beige-brown.  Of couse I inked/distressed everything after cutting it out.  I also was super-excited to get to use the "screw-head" brads I've had forever!

I did add something to this card...the "level" tool.  I saw another example of this project made up here and just loved the addition of the level, so I made one up myself using Design Studio.  For the "liquid" in each of the spaces of the level, I trimmed a transparency into three narrow strips, and drew the lines and liquid in with Sharpies.  Then I just adhered them between the two layers of the level.

Hope you enjoyed my card and don't forget to head over to Fantabulous Cricut to see the other FABULOUS design team projects and to check out this week's AWESOME prize!  :)

Happy Scrappin'!

Baby Washcloth "Candies"!!!

I'm obviously in a "food mood" lately!!!  First a popsicle album, now some washcloth candies...YUM!

These were soooooo simple to make.  I bought some inexpensive solid-colored baby washcloths from Wal-Mart in the baby section.  I folded them until I had a narrow "roll", then just rolled them up and secured the end with a piece of tape.

The swirl on top was made by cutting a 2" circle out of vellum (from the George & Basic Shapes cartridge) and adhering a 4" swirl cut from light and dark pink cardstock (from the Cricut Paisley cartridge).

Then I just placed the rolled up washcloth and swirl topper into a cello bag and tied pink ribbons on both ends.  I inserted five "candies" into a large cello bag and added a bag topper.  (The silver charm says "It's a Girl"...it doesn't show up in this photo).

How fun would this be for a shower gift???  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this project and definitely plan to make more.  Let me know what you think!

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  :)

Fatnabulous Cricut Challenge #12: For Baby

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is to make a project for baby...a shower gift, card, album, etc.  I love to make baby projects...one of my most favorite gifts to make using my Cricut. 

I do have a confession to make:  I'm not home right now and since I forgot to upload a photo of my "baby" project before I left town, I have to show you one of my projects from a while back.  SORRY!!!  :)

This is a photo of half of the shower invitation I made for my sister's baby shower...the side that's cut off just has the shower information printed from my computer.  Hard to believe my niece had her first birthday this weekend...oh, how time flies!

I used New Arrival to make the stork and baby/blanket, and George to cut the small flowers.  The papers are from Michael's.  To add extra detail to the blanket, I covered it in white tulle and cinched it at the top with ribbon.  I also added rhinestones to the flower centers and used pop dots for dimension.  For the baby's face, I layered green cardstock behind the eyes and pink behind the mouth, with some "rosy cheeks" added by applying pink chalk.

I hope you'll head over to FCCB and check out all the design team projects...there is a ton of great inspiration!

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!  :)

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!!!

FCCB: Scrappin' Saturday Feature: Custom Shaped Mini-Albums

I am just so proud to be part of the awesome, super-talented group of designers over at Fantabulous Cricut (FCCB)!!!  And I am so excited to announce that Robin has put me in charge of the "Scrappin' Saturday" Daily Inspiration, which will be featured every Saturday at FCCB!

The topic for my first Scrappin' Saturday at FCCB is "Custom Shaped Mini-Albums"...did you know you can make these yourself???  With a little help from your Cricut, of course!  :)   I used the front and back of two ceral boxes in place of costly chipboard and used the George, Plantin, Accent Essentials and Walk In My Garden cartridges to cut the four different flower shapes (and patterned papers to cover each) at 6".  Here are some photos of my project:

Be sure to head over to FCCB to see my original post and information on how to make your own custom shaped mini-album.  And become a follower to make sure you don't miss any of the other great daily inspirations, including:

1.  Challenge Me Monday:  Weekly Challenge Revealed...play along with us!

2.  Quick Tip Tuesday: A great tip on using your Cricut is revealed

3.  Wednesday's Winners:  The winners from the previous week's challenge will be announced

4.  Thursday's Tutorials:  A fantastic weekly tutorial on a Cricut project

5.  Fantabulous Friday:  A wonderful themed Cricut project spotlight

6. Scrappin' Saturday:  Everything related to using your Cricut for scrapbooking

Don't those sound fun?!?!?  Now head on over to FCCB and check out this week's Daily Inspirations!