December CC Magazine Contest

Hello once again.  Here is my entry for the Cricut Circle Magazine.  The details for the challenge are as follows:

Contest Rules:
You must create your gift bag or box using a base from one of the many Cricut cartridges available. Embellish it to fit your style! Please use at least 4 Cricut cuts in your design and incorporate something from one of this month’s magazine sponsors. (You can see their ads in the back of the magazine.) Please… only one entry per person. Entry deadline is Friday, December 3rd at 11:59 pm. We will pick a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner this month!! 1st place winner will choose from the Wrap It Up, Paper Lace or Quarter Note Cartridges. Then the 2nd place winner will get the next choice and the 3rd place winner will recieve the final cartridge. We hope that is incentive enough to get your creative juices flowing!!

For this challenge I've decided to create a small gift box to put a necklance in.  You can just see the gold chain peeking from the plastic "window" above.  Below is a picture of all the cuts I used to assemble this box.

Cricut cuts used:

* box base (Wrap It Up) welded with 2 scalloped ovals (Straight From the Nest) to make 2 "windows"

* 2 ovals (George and Basic Shapes) cut from old Cricut cart blister pack, then embossed with the Snowflakes CB folder to match the snowflake design on the box

* 2 Picturesqe cart tags welded together to make tag base

*Picturesque tag cut for the front of the tag

*snowflake from Picturesque cart

*tag title from Winter Woodland

*tag title blackout from Winter Woodland

I had to incorporate something from one of this month's Cricut Circle magazine sponsors and I chose to use my Imaginisce irock tool to attach the blue Imaginisce gems onto the snowflake on the tag.  I had fun making this box!  Thanks for stopping by!

Home Sweet Home

My entry for the November Cricut Circle Challenge is a curtain tieback.  This month's theme is "Home Sweet Home" and the details for the challenge are as follows:

NOVEMBER MONTHLY CHALLENGE: HOME SWEET HOME
The theme for this month’s challenge is all about cozying up your home with Handmade Home Decor! Please create a home decor project. Project must be newly created for this challenge and should include the following elements to qualify:

• Use atleast one Cricut Cartridge Cut
• Use the Cuttlebug in some way (embossing folder, Cuttlebug die, Quilling kit, etc.)
• Use Felt in some way
• Use the color GREEN somewhere on your project

This challenge is open to Cricut Circle Members only.

I made 4 of these tiebacks eventhough I'm only showing one here.  For the base of each of the curtain tiebacks I used a burgundy felt purchased from Michaels cut in 3 in x 12 (really a third of the felt piece).  I then cut the swirly images from the Cindy Loo cart in the green moss felt (already had adhesive backing) at 2" each with the deep cut blade, multicut at 4, speed medium and max pressure on the Expression - BTW I'm NOT looking forward to cutting felt again any time soon :) . As you can see in the picture, I even put masking tape all around the felt before I cut.  

 I then ironed the images onto my base felt.  Then I attahed velcro on the ends.  Velcro had adhesives on them already so all I had to do was cut to size.

Showing the back of the tieback here.

Then I attached a flower I made using one of the quilling sets I bought from cricut.com a couple of weeks ago.  I attached the flower using 3M mounting tape.  And there you go!  Thanks for looking!  

Thanks, Angel!

Wow!  A blogger award, really?  Angel over at Owlbeescrappin.blogspot.com sent me a very nice surprise this morning!  My first one, yay!  Thanks, Angel!  It means a lot to me that you thought about me.  She is a fellow Circlet and I am so glad I came across her blog.  She is very talented, so hop on over to her blog and make sure you're sitting down because you'll be staring at your screen in awe for a while!

Now, this award does come with some rules so please follow along:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this

2. Share 8 things about yourself

3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

Ok, so 8 things about myself:

1.  I was born and raised in the Philippines and came to California with my family when I was 14 years old.

2.  I have been happily married now for 13 years to my best friend whom I met in junior high but we didn't actually started dating until after highschool (I ASKED him to the prom! - it paid to be forward LOL).

3.  We have two wonderful kids, a boy who's 7 1/2 years old and a girl who's 5 1/2 years old going on 24!

4.  I really need to learn how to speak Hindi or I need to teach my hubby how to speak Tagalog (besides the bad words, LOL!) so that we can talk about our kids without them knowing we're talking about them!

5.  I could probably lose another 5 pounds (ok, that maybe TMI but I'm running out of things to share about me, hehehe!)

6.  I miss my dog dearly, our first born whom we had to put to sleep back in August because of old age - the house really ain't the same without him :(

7.  I'm afraid to use my Imagine because I don't want to run out of ink!

8.  My hubby gets jealous of my Gypsy :)

Ok, now to give the same award to 8 wonderful bloggers I recently discovered - it was very hard to choose because there are many other wonderful blogs I follow that I wish I could list them all here.  And I guess I'm not supposed to send it back to Angel? :(  Oh, well, here goes and I hope you visit these wonderful blogs too!

http://jrugg.blogspot.com/

http://paperboutique.blogspot.com/

http://sugarpeas-creationstation.blogspot.com/

http://nadialax13.blogspot.com/

http://laneyslegacys.blogspot.com/

http://www.thebugbytes.com/

 http://craftingonhat.blogspot.com/

http://thegreenbeanscrafterole.blogspot.com/

Double Trouble

Here is my entry for the Cricut Circle Blog Challenge #8.  Here are the details for the challenge:

Weekly Challenge #8: Vintage Elements & a Sketch!
What’s old is new again . . . Vintage Elements are so HOT right now in everything from fashion to home decor, and even right down to our crafting supplies! For this week’s challenge we would like you to use the sketch provided below and create a project with a vintage feeling. We will be watching for soft, muted colors, silhouette images, aged metals, lace trim, doilies, ephemera, fabric, vintage buttons, etc. Please include a minimum of three Vintage Elements on your project.
Project must be newly created for this challenge and must include atleast 2 different cuts from any Cricut cartridge to qualify. This challenge is open to Cricut Circle Members only.




I've decided to kill two birthday LOs in one challenge since I've got tons of pictures to scrap.  It is not a requirement for this challenge to do 2 LOs, however.  I followed Jana Eubank's sketch for the left LO then just did a mirror image of it for the right LO.  When I think of vintage I think of "distressed" and old.  I thought a bunch of black and white pictures would have worked better for me but since I didn't have any, I just "aged" my pictures a little by sanding the edges of my photos.  I also "aged" my tags which served as the mat for the photos by crumpling them first before I chalked and inked.  I also thought tearing the edges of a couple of printed cardstock kinda qualifies for vintage look.

"Aged" photos, edges sanded.

Before picture.

After chalking and inking.  Really wish I had Tim Holtz

distressing inks but I though this was not bad at all!

Torn edges.

Cricut cuts used :
*welded candle borders (Birthday Bash)
*prince (Birthday Cakes)
*princess (Birthday Cakes)
*"lace" (Cindy Loo) cut out of vellum paper
*tags (Gypsy Wanderings)
*title (A Child's Year)

Vintage elements used:
*distressed tags
*lace ribbons
*distressed photos
*distressed/torn-edged paper
*buttons (I didn't have any vintage ones but I sanded them a bit to look "old" LOL!)
*prince silhoutte
*princess silhoutte
*candle border silhoutte
*faux stitching
*half pearls

Once again, thanks for looking and I appreciate you stopping by!

Obsessed With Scrapbooking Giveaways!

So I've heard that Walmart gets more Lites this season.  Joy over at Obsessed with Scrapbooking is giving away some awesome prizes to celebrate Cricut's Hello Thursday releases - come and play!

Layered Flowers

Just a quick post.  I couldn't wait until I get my hands on the Cuttlebug Quilling kits I ordered from Cricut.com last week, so I decided to make do with a cricut cart cut for some 3D-look flowers.  Here are my first 2 Christmas cards made entirely from my scrap stash.  The card on the left is 5 x 5 and the one on the right is size A2.  The flower cut was from the Gypsy Wanderings cart cut at varying sizes.  I crumpled the pieces a little before I attached each piece with foam mounts then glued a gem in the middle.  I used the spots and dots and big snowflakes embossing folders for the one on the left card and the swiss dots for the flower on the right side.  The sentiment on both cards are from JustRite stamper, cut out with Nesties.  I also used my irock for attaching the smaller gems on the cards.  I also used MS punches for both cards.  Thanks for looking! 

Happy Birthday Card, No Cricut!

My 12 year old niece, bless her heart, thinks I make pretty nice looking cards - so sweet of her, I know since she has no one else to compare my work with LOL!  She had asked me to make her a birthday card for a friend.  So I have leftover paper from the one I cut out to make my card for this week's CC Challenge I've posted yesterday.  I'm been trying to be good at really using up my scraps - they pile up so quickly!  The card is 6 x 6.  No Cricut cut was used for this project.  The flowers are Prima stacked together, button from Michaels and snaps from Making Memories.  Once again I attempted to sew on my card and messed it up, especially the corners, so hence the use of snaps!  I'm either going to give up this sewing feat or continue to use the snaps to hide my boo boos.  I highlighted the two butterflies printed in the paper with stickles.  The sentiment is a JustRite stamper.  Coordinating scalloped papers were cut using Nesties.

I've decorated the inside of the card with coordinating paper punched on one end with a MS punch.  Thanks for looking!

Cricut Circle Challenge #7

Here is my entry to the Cricut Circle Challenge #7.   The details for the challenge are below:

Weekly Challenge #7: Thank You Color Challenge
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is a great way to enrich our daily lives. This week we would like you to create a THANK YOU card using a minimum of 2 different Cricut Cuts and the color inspiration provided below. Magenta, Apricot, Deep Olive, and Golden Yellow.



I've decided I'd better play with my Cricut Imagine for this challenge since I haven't touched it for a while.  The card is 6 x 6.  The printed background paper is one from a K&Co stack "Best of Brenda Walton".  The flowers are Prima, buttons from Michaels, and snaps (LOL to hide my boo boo in attempting to stitch my card) are Making Memories.  The sentiment is from the JustRite Cardmaking kit set I bought from Glenda (go visit her blog for awesome prices on the JustRite stampers!) cut with petite scalloped Nesties in varying sizes.  The yellow cardstock was embossed with the D'vine Swirls folder on the CB.  The Cricut cuts I used on the card were from the Nursery Tails cart (the racoon and squirrel with the ball, the butterfly, the two dragonflies and the fern and cattails) and the envelope was cut using a paper from the same K&Co stack but this time I used the Sweethearts cart.

Here's the inside of the card with the sentiment from Joyful Hearts Set, another JustRite stamper and decorated with coordinating paper.

Thanks for looking!  

Cricut Circle Magazine Challenge

Well, I wasn't going to play along because I didn't know what to make.....but see I have all these plastic casings from all the carts I have been amassing since purchasing the Gypsy a year ago.....

See what I mean?  I'm a pack rat too and don't like to throw anything away.  I have a box under my workstation with empty ribbon and empty ATG spools but I'm not going to bore you guys by showing it here :)  So here are the details for the Cricut Magazine challenge over at the Cricut Circle Blog:

MAGAZINE ORNAMENT CHALLENGE!
We want to see the beautiful creations you can make with the Cricut, YuDu or Cuttlebug for your Christmas Tree.
Create something that is unique and wonderful, then share it for all to enjoy!
Contest Rules:
Project must be newly created and able to hang from your tree. You must use at least 4 Cricut cuts in your design and incorporate something from one other Provo Craft Product… like the YuDu, Cuttlebug or Knifty Knitter.

The ornament I've decided to make was super easy and cut from the Holiday Cakes cart.  I set my images at 5 inches tall.  I know this may seem like huge, but I have a 12 ft tall artificial Christmas tree that it's going to hang to once the hubby gets around to bringing all the boxes down from the attic.  The 2 green scalloped circles were unaltered and the red scalloped circle was cut with the inside designs hidden using the hide contour on the Gypsy.  The plain circle (plastic casing) was cut slightly bigger than the openning on the other 3 scalloped circles because I wanted it to show through the middle without falling off - it was also cut using the  multicut function on the expression.  Here is the pic after I have cut the images and the plastic circle already embossed with the Cuttlebug Large Snowflakes folder (one of the ones from the HSN bundle).

I attached the red image behind one of the green images then attached the embossed plastic circle behind them.  I attached a piece of red thin ribbon to hold the ornament before I sealed the back with the remaining green image.  I had to bling (not a requirement here, but just a ME thing) with my irock and gems and a red tulle for the bow.  LOL my kids actually thought that the embossed plastic was a piece of glass!  Not that you guys had a choice ;), but thanks for letting me ramble on and thanks for stopping by!

Cricut Circle Challenge #6

Well here's a scrapbook LO for this week's CC challenge.  I've decided to do a LO page because.....well honestly I've got 2 years of catching up with the tons of photos I've got!  I'm the family paparrazzi.  Which is fine and dandy to be one - somebody's gotta make sure that everything that happens in my family is documented.  The hardest part is actually sorting through thousands of digital shots and putting them in albums.

For this week's challenge, below were the instructions:

The birds are flying south for the winter and we’re heading inside to “feather” our own nests in preparation for the cooler months ahead. This challenge is in honor of the birds! Create a project of your choice using a minimum of 2 different Cricut Cuts. Your project must also include a bird of some kind and stitching (machine stitching, hand stitching, or both).

The 2 almost identical photos were actually taken January 2008.  My kids and their cousins almost always end up in our house.  I double matted the photos then stitched them with the use of the zigzag feature in my very old sewing machine.  Not bad considering this is the first time I've ever stitched paper and photos - but don't look closely cuz I think I messed up in the corners :)  The title was cut using Doodletype font cart and the Gypsy font cart.  The white circle with the stamped "smile" and flower images was cut using George cart.  The small green scalloped circle was cut from the Easter 2010 cart.  The big scalloped circle was cut from the Easter 2010 cart as well and threaded with red tulle. The bird was cut from Stretch Your Imagination cart.  Almost everything was foam mounted which means I need to go to Michael's soon (I think there's a 20% off everything coupon for this weekend - sweeeeeeet!) .  Thanks for looking!

"Manly" Smiley?

Well I don't know about you but I have the hardest time making masculine or boy-themed cards.  I normally can't do it!  My brain refuses most of the time!  I have to embellish - stickles/glitter, buttons, flowers, cutesy paper, cuttlebugging (is that even a word LOL!), not to mention inking.  But I think I did a decent job here with this recent card.  The cut was of course from the Smiley Card cart.  I used the Diamond Plate CB folder for the background paper and Forrest Branch CB folder for the bandana for a "rugged" look for the boy emoticon.  I wanted the cheeks to be subtle so I just used chalk instead of cutting the cheeks out of cardstock.  And I tried my hands on faux stitching!  I've always loved the look of faux stitching (or even real stitching) on cards by other crafters.  I had a hard time keeping my hand steady but with practice I think I can get better.  The sentiment is a stamp from Inkadinkadoo.  Ribbon and buttons from Michaels.  Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with Smiley

I actually did this card last weekend but forgot to post, which made it my first card using the Smiley Cart.  Had to do a quick card that day for a kid's birthday party that my kids were invited to but we never did get to go because of a previous engagement.  This is now my favorite cake cut - so cute!  I think the cut was too small for the card base though - oh, well you live and learn!  I must say though that the images in the newest Cricut carts are much easier to assemble. Not much embellishment here, just inking as I had to make it in a hurry.  Thanks for looking! 

Cricut Circle Challenge #4

Here is my entry for the Circle Challenge #4.  We were asked to do a LO, card or an altered project with a birthday theme and to include buttons.  Below is the sketch provided, designed by Jana Eubank, one of the awesome CC designers.

http://cricutcircleblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/SketchCC1_JanaEubank_Color.jpg

I decided right off to make a card - instant gratification, right?  Nope!  This was tough for me because there were a lot of layers involved here.  But I did have fun!  I tweeked Jana's design a bit by turning it on its side.
The card I created is 5 x 5.  I was excited to finally use these flower buttons I bought at Michaels a while back. The white zigzag ribbon was bought from Michaels a while back too.  The sentiment was cut from the Lyrical Letters cart and was a PITA to glue down.  The emoticons (love them!) were of course from the new Smiley Card cart and pop dotted for dimension, as well as the two matted rectangles behind them.  The rectangles were embossed by using D'vine Swirls folder on my CB.  The scalloped circle?  Well that was a test cut from the Imagine More cart I had lying around.  A little inking here and there and there you go!  Thanks for looking!

Promarkers!

Okay, I want these!  Enfys over at Going Buggy is giving away a set, so hop on over to her blog!  Follow her instructions for a chance to win!

What are you waiting for?  Go!  Good luck, everyone!

And yes, I'm yelling cause I'm so excited!!!!

Wedding Card

Hello and happy Monday!  One of my dear sisters had asked me to make her a card for a bridal shower she had to attend last weekend, so this is what I came up with.  The bride-to-be was supposedly a big 49ers fan, so I thought, well RED!  I have had this roll of red tulle forever and was so glad to finally find a use for it.  The card was 5 x 5.  The umbrella was cut from I think the Wedding cart.  The flowers are Prima attached together by a burgundy snap.  The sentiment was computer generated and cut out by a pair of Fiskars edger scissors (I swear, I may be the only one in crafting world who still use them!).  I attached some blings using some half pearls I have had forever and also some irock gems.

This is the inside of the card.  Now my sister opted to give the bride-to-be a gift card so she could buy whatever she likes or don't already have, so I've made room for a pouch to hold the GC (I just used some old Starbucks cards here to give you some idea).  I used a cream covered cardstock from my scrap stash and punched one side with a Martha Stewart punch.  I then threaded a small strip of the same red tulle to finish it off before attaching it to the card on the left side.  The sentiment was hand written.  The shoe and purse stamps were Studio G stamps from Michaels.  The right side was matted with coordinating cardstock.  I covered the sentiment to protect her privacy here.  I decorated the bottom with another strip of cardstock punched with a different Martha Stewart puncher and again threaded a small strip of the same red tulle before attaching it to the card.  Thanks for looking!