Unconditional

My Stepson and his nephew are as tight as two peas in a pod.  I am very happy for both of them for I know this a relationship that will last through life for both of them.  Rhylen thinks Justin hung the stars and Justin just loves Rhylen so much.  They will always be there for one another. .

I used the Cricut Craft Room Basics design set int he Cricut Craft Room. to make the title and all of the embellishments. I stretched the top note shape to fit the title.  The edges were inked with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Weathered Wood, Honey and China Blue, mixed with Weathered Wood.  The leafy border was fussy cut from a My Minds Eye paper. The brads were a mixture from stash, including basic grey, American Crafts and a bag I bought from the local scrapbooking shoip.

2012 Resolutions

I lifted this from the Cricut Circle Blog. I put my own spin on it, with a few more embellies, but I immediately loved the overall design.

 I used Art Nouveau to makethe embellishments and Cricut Craft Room Basics for the title.  The overall design was done in the Cricut Craft Room.

4 Generations

This is a photo I have loved since it was made. It is a picture of my Grandmother, Mother, Daughter and I.  A rare shot to be sure.

I used Cricut's Craft room to make this using Sentimentals and Cricut Craft Room Basics. I used the Paper Trimmins cartridge for the  border.

Walmart Holiday

Now I don't know if any of you have ever been to Walmart on Thanksgiving for thier Black Friday sale, but it definitely creates a memory.  You get a ticket around 7:00 and then start standing in line from 9:00 until 12:00 when you can get the item you are waiting for. You cannot get out of line except for two bathroom breaks.  I wanted to get my hubby a computer for Christmas, and with the 50% discount they were advertising, I could do it. So I stood in that line for three hours, called all of my family around the US to catch up and got the present I was thrilled with.  Had to scrap the occasion

I used Cricut's Ribbons and Rosettes to make the designs, and the Cricut Craft Room Basic Shapes for the heart centers.  The lettering for the titel was from there as well.  The snowflakes came from Art Philosophy and the flowers were from Prima.  I went to Jessica Spragues site to get the Cosmo Cricut Papers that I could print myself in Mitten Weather. (Love that paper collection for Winter scraps.

Do It Yourself Fun!: The Girls

My friend sent me this link to make these dress forms. They are easy, fast and fun! These can be used as pin cushions, decor or you can even hang necklaces from it. Watch out though...they are addictive.
http://www.thediydish.com/promo/theDIYdish_Season4_Episode1_dressformpincushion.pdf

Circle Monthly Challenge: The Hood

The monthly challenge was gift packaging on the Cricut Circle.  I had to figure out how to make wrapping Jelly exciting so I decided to create a neighborhood of giifts.  I used Sweet Tooth Boxes and Santa's Village to make these houses. I also thought they would look cute under the tree.  I made the wreathes on the doors using Ribbons and Rosettes.I can't remember for the life of me which cart I used for the lights over the doors.

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More Gift Packaging

I made these little gift boxes and matching cards for my friends.  I will probably add ribon to the sides of the cards before I call them done, but I am still debating,.

I used Santa's Village for the patterns, Sweater Weather for the embellies and their mats, Art Philosophy for the card base and the Cricut Craft Room Exclusives 3D Bows.  (Loving the bows) .  The box was made using the bonus design on Christmas Wish in white, and then I wrapped the box in patterned strips from paper printed from Santa's Village.  The tops were cut to cover the top panel. 

Christmas Things

Here are a few Christmas Cards and Packaging items I have creaeted using various christmas carts by Cricut.. Ho ho ho!

I actually made 8 of these for the gifts I am to give at work.  I made home made jams and bought little serving spoons to go with the jars.  Now how was I going to wrap that without  buying 8 bags  or jars moving around in box?  I opted for the Sweet Treats Boxes using the insert and then glue dotting the spoon upside down on top of  the jar to keep the top even.  I tied a ribbon around the spoon so it looked like a packaged set.  The background tags on the rosettes were cut from the Cricut Craftroom. As you can see the scale was WAY off. but I liked the color block look and decided to use them.  I used Christmas Wish for the boxes and inserts. The decor on the boxes were cut from Sweater Weather.    I just love how all of this year's cart  go together and a few designs even go with last year's carts..

A good basic idea for Gift Card holders using Wild Card. i decorated them using Santa's Village and Snow Angel.    I will cut the ribbons once the cards are securely in so I won't have tie them with minimal ribbon.

Again the scaling was way off in the Craft room, but I decided to use it anyway,  In hidsight, I should have done it over. I used Art Philospophy and Santa's Village Carts here.

Art Philospophy and Holly Jolly....love this little guy!

I went outside of the box and pulled out my Wild Card Cartridge. This is what I came up with for a Christmas Design.  The Nutcracker is from Christmas Solutions.

These look much better in person.  Among my favorites for this year. I used the Martha Stewart punch to make the greenery. It just added something.  The ornament was from Scandanavian Christmas and the border was using the Fiskars Snowflake punch. The ribbon, good old American Crafts.

More Cricut and Cuttlebug action going on here.  i used Snow Angel for the cottage and Art Philosophy for the backgrounds for the house. I also made the ribbon by taking blank twill seam binding and spraing it with Glimmer mist...Oh the sheer joy!

All created with the Cricut Imagine and Cricut Craft Room. You can see that some days are better in the craft room than others.

Rock Out

This is pic of my DD before a concert.  I had not idea what that symbol meant she is doing with her hands.  She said it meant Rock Out or it's all good...etc.  Thought I would make a layout as a reminder.

I used Sillhouette to make the frame and Art Philosophy for the journal tag, circle embellie and flowers.  The flowers on the upper left corner of the title spot was from one of the carts, but I can't remember which. I think it was Sophie.  The flourish came in the bucket from Michaels. K& Co I think. That bucket has lasted me forever. I still have tons left.  The borders were cut using Martha Stewart and Fiskars Border punches. The buttons are from Basic Grey.  The ttile was sizzix cut from Tim Holtz Vintage Market.  the buttons on the corners of the photo were from Martha Stewart's Button emobossing punch. Love that one!

Scandanavian Christmas Cards

I was so excited to see a Scandanavian Christmas cartrige come out. Half of heritage is Danish and until recently it was hard to find decor that I could use to center around that theme.   I may even pull out my Grandmother's antique wooden shoes this Christmas and stuff with greenery, candy canes and oranges.

Dress Up

This picture of my daughter playing dress up with her Easter hat and the toy earrings that were in her basket was her favorite.

I used Art Philosophy for the journal, title and title frame. I also made the flowers and leaves from the same cart.  The chipboard flourish came in a bucket that I got at Michaels.  I painted them green with Jenni Bowlin's paint daubers.  The die cuts of the key, keyhole and hinge are from Tim Holtz' Vintage Hardware Sizzix die.  They were painted gold with Folk Art paint. I glittered up the key with stickles that I got in the dollar bin at Walmart to give it a little sparkle. The stiching was done using templates from Fiskars' In Stitches,,Granny Stitches.The gold ribbon came off of a gift I got for my birthday. The tag was cut from Art Philosophy and grunged up a bit with Antinque Linen and Frayed Burlap distress inks and then embossed and stamped with a purse stamp I got years ago from Hero Arts.

Embrace

This is a picture of my daughter and her BFF and another friend.   I went a whole new direction than what I had planned for this layout, but I loved how it turned out. 

I used the Sophie and American Alphabet cartridges to make the embellies.  I picked up a set of the crochet flowers at the CKC convention I went to in August.  Wish I had gotten more of those.  I still need to add the journaling on the tag under the picutre that was cut from Art Philosophy, It was actually an inside of a frame I had made in an earlier layout.  Loving the Sophie cartridge. It is right up my alley. the pebbleholding the embellie on the lower left corner is from Prima, and the bling on the flourish were from a package I picked up at Michaels.  Tiny little things. I had to use my tool taxi to put them on. The strip of paper used on the bird cage background was a scrap I used from Mariposa. Love that paper.  The papers were Basic Grey

Only 2 Girls

There are only 2 girls among the children of my brother and I. Sarah and Amanda got together at Pam's one Summer and this rare photo was taken. My niece lives in Ohio. 

I cut the bacground out from the Art Philospophy cartridge by Cricut.  The corner flourish was from the same cartirdge,  I am not sure where I got the chipboard accent, for I have had them for a while. I have just started using that jug-o-chipboard I hoarded over the years. I am thinking it was from K and Co. at Michaels.  The semi circle under the picture was from the interior of the cut out.  The title was using the Anniversary Expressions American Alphabet cartridge. I just love the girly look of Font 2.  The branch and flowers were from Sizzix dies.  I found glitter and glitter glue at Walmart for a $1 each. Love that glitter. it doesn't come through in the picture, but it adds a lot.  

Monster Love

I just love this little monster on the Mini Monsters Cartridge.   I made these using that cartridge and Art Philosophy.

Tagged Treasures: Altered Book

Marion Smith did a class on Prima Live showing how to alter a book.  That was a FUN project.  I couldn't believe I did it.  My husband and I went to a  huge Flea Market in Hillsboro, VA the following weekend and there were some remarkable displays I wanted to rememver.  I also found toys I had when I was a child and took pictures of those.  They even had the old Boy Scout Canteen my brothers had that I was so jealous of when I was young.  I made a journal note card to add that information. I remember I finally got to use it when I went on my Brownie caming trip. The water tasted horrrible from it...LOL.  There were some really pretty views on the way up so I took pictures of those too. I still need to add my journaling and ribbons to my tags, but I am pretty pleased how it turned out.  It was a rare day where my husband and I woke at 5:00 AM, and spent the entire day together. 









To alter the book, I painted the entire cover with Gesson  Then painted and Glimmer misted the dickens out of it.  I made my own flowers with the Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge.  Added some Prima Bling and a sizzix die cut heart locket and a Tim Holts key hole.  What you do is glue a bunch of pages together, then tear out enough where embellishments will fit so the book still closes the same way. It takes a little planning but it is doable. I glimmer misted each page in the colors I saw in the many quilts they had there. I took  so many photos I ended up making tags and pockets to fit all of the ones I wanted to remember.  I used Art Philosophy for most of the cuts and pockets and tags,.  Paper Lace was used a little bit too, If you ever get a hold of an old book, this is a great way to transform it, This one was full of childhood classics,. I kept the map and title of Treasure Island but covered the Island, 

Happy Fall Ya'll

I have never sent a Fall card before, but really liked the design of this leaf.  I thought it would make a great Thank you card, or something.  It definitely puts me in the mood for sweaters and homemade soups.  I am looking forward to cooler weather.

I used Art Philosophy to make the card base and the leaf.  The prints were cut on my Imagine using the Elise Pattern cartridge by Cricut.  Can you guys tell I love the AP cartrige,....and my Imagine?  Money well spent I say.  They were definitely worth saving for.

Snow Angel

This is one of the whimsical looks you can get from the Snow Angel cartridge for the imagine.  They have a boy version too. However, for some reason, this girl reminded me of my cousin and this will be her card fro Christmas this year.  She is pure fun!

Yes, this is another Art Philosophy card base and matting. The girl came from Snow Angel and the stickles were in Diamond.  

It's time to get started on those Christmas Cards

This picture does not do this card justice. In person, it turned out quite pretty.  I got Cricut's Snow Angel late in the season last year and am looking forward to makeing a lot of my cards using this cartridge this year. It has both vintage and whimsy looking options.  So me!

I used Art Philosophy for the card base and mini roses, Snow Angel for the paper and die cut girl.  Stickles was applied to the girl in Diamond.  You can't tell too well in this  photo, but the front is die cut so the girl remains on the inside when you open it. I made an identical frame to go around her for the inside, to give that umph too.

Bird Card Cage

Building up my stock of blank cards. 

I used Lori's Garden for the paper and the cuts. Lori's Garden always calls for stickles. It really makes the muted colors pop and look even more special.  The card itself was cut from Close to My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I have to tell you, that is the best cartrige I have bought in a long time.  I am using it constantly.  The card shape options are amazing.

Beaver

Not sure what I liked best, the story behind this Beaver kill. My Stepson was fishing and along it came. It was 44 inches long and scared him to death.  I also like that my hubby's zipper was down and the holey jeans my Stepson is wearing, so I am still pondering on the journalling.

The cuts are from Create a Critter for the Beaver and Winter Woodland for the trees and title.  Frayed Burlap was used for all of the inking.  .

SMACK

Another cute pic of my Stepson and his Girlfriend.

I cut the borders from Cricut cartridge, Elegant Endges.  The papers were printed from Lori's Garden.  The fence is actually a Halloween punch by Martha Stewart and the flowers are Prima. I glimmer misted with Patina by Tattered Angels. The title was Sizzix cut wtih Tim Holtz Alpha die.  the ticket was cut from the Silhouette and inked with Frayed Burlap in Tim Holtz Distress Ink.

Cricut Circle ABC / 123 Challenge

The Cricut Circle has a challenge where we are to use 1, 2 and 3 of different items adding a pop of bright color.  . I chose one photo, two brads and three patterned papers to embellish the page.  My color pop was the frame.  The contrast with teh other softer elements really brings your attention to the cute photo.

I chose a new favorite of mine, Basic Grey's Out of Print. That paper is so versatile, I will probably be buying the whole pack. I can see myself using these papers in all sorts of ways.  I used Opposites Attract for the Title, "Hugs" and Bloom for the title mat.  The brads are by Basic Grey and the cut flowers behind the brads were from a Martha Stewart punch.  The rest was just fussy cut paper.  If you don't fussy cut you will find it a cheap way to really pop a page.  The medallion was made using a new Sizzix jewelry die. I painted it with Viva's Inka Gold. It is like Perfect Pearls or Shimmerz but when it dries your paper becomes waterproof and feels a bit like thin plastic.  I topped the flower off with microbeads.  A very fast and easy to make elegant addition to any page.  I was making jewelry with these dies and paint, and was using thick chipboard so I did not use my cricut to die cut it, but once I saw how the paint dried I could have used plain old cardstock in my cricky and saved myself $12 for the die.  I decided I could just make another and used it on the page. It was just too perfect for the design. 

1st Day of School Layout

I saw a picture of my daughter on her first day of school the other day.  I made this layout to go with it, and now I can't find the picture.  I will post an update when it is located. 

I used Graphic 45's new ABC Primer paper .  I loved the rich colors.  The die cuts are from Autum  Celebrations. I am really looking forward to using more of this cartridge.  The details are wonderful on the cuts.

Anniverary Card

My husband's favorite color is blue. I decide to make a romantic card for our anniversary this year in blue and cream.

I used the Spring Holiday Cards catridge to make the base and matt.  I made the flowers using the Flower Shoppe Cartridge. The heart was punched from a Martha Stewart punch and the cameo is from recollections. I picked a set of those up at Micheals last week at 40% off.

You * Me * We

Another pic of my Stepson and his Girlfriend.  Great pic found on facebook.

The picture tells the story on this layout, The paper I chose was busy so, I tried to keep the embellies simple. The decor on the side of the picture was cut from Cricut's Accent Essential Cartridge from the border selection. I cut the banner and ticket from the Sillhouette and the scroll was in a pack of chipboard flourishes I picked up at Archivers. They are in a tin now so I don't know who made them. I think it was K& Co.  I painted it with Jenni Bowlin's Malted Milk paint dabber.  The flowers are by Prima and I am not sure where the decorated brad came from. It was in my jar of decorative brads.  If you don't have one, it is a good thing to collect.  Those little brads can do a lot for a page.  The heart was punched from a Martha Stewart punch  that came out around Valentines Day. I just love that design she put into it.   The papers are from Cosmo Cricut's Circa 1934 collection.  The font was from a Tim Holtz Sizzix  Carnivale alphabet die.  I learned from this that paper can do wonders on a page and if using busy paper, better to use it in chunks, instead of the whole page.

Play

I really like this picture of my stepson and his girlfriend. It just calls for a romantic layout. 

I used Cricut's Lacy Lables to make the frame around the page, and Cricut's Vintage Papers to make the inner page to the frame.  I picked the primer book print because it sort of represented play to me.  The flowers and leaves were all made with Cricuts new project cartridge, Flower Shoppe. The door knocker was by EK Success, and old embellie I decided to finally use and the ribbon is by Martha Stewart.  The title and flourishes were cuts from Sizzix Dies.  The inks used were Old Papers and Tattered Rose by Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

In Love Fancy Frames

These are two frames I made for my Stepson's girlfriend. I just love these photos and scraps will be posting on these soon. 

I used Fancy Frames. (loving this cartridge a lot) and Baby Boutique for the colors.  I had great success all weekend on the Cricut Craft Room. These designs were created there.  Saving lots of paper now.  I found cutting two of the backing stands out and glueing them together gives you the same sturdyness as chipboard and is a lot easier on your blade.

The Good Things in Life

Have something good to share?  Visit eShareastory, where people can post things in life they have accompished, created or triumphed over. I love the concept behind this site. The good things in life. I just posted about my overcoming the fear of pressure cookers and learning how to can foods. Have you done something great lately? This is a place to shout it out at www.eshareastory.com

Shadowbox Frame

I tried to make my own shadow box.  I had a small space to fill on my desk above my computer that was just screaming for something to go there. I decided to try this. 

I used Tags,Bags, Boxes and More and Fancy  Frames. I made a box bottom then put hot glue on the upper edge to glue down the frame.  Amazingly it held up well. The little frame with my hubby's pic is from Fancy Frames too. The flowers are Prima as is the bling.  The papers were printed on the Imagine using Vintage Papers.

It's Your Day

it is hard to believe that our youngest grandson turned one already.  I wanted this layout to be about our perspetive of his birthday, without the hats and balloons.

I first painted the page with Gesso. Which, by the way, makes the paper very strong I learned.  I then cut 1 flower background patterns using the Home Accents cartridge by Cricut. I used the larger first spraying it with Key Lime Green Glimmer Mist.  Then Carribean Blue after removing the stencil.  I dried it and did the process again for the colors spread where you could not see the pattern. As a last ditch effort I took the stencil and dabbed Jenni Bowlin's green paint over the stencil and that gave me the definition I was looking for. Since I had used so much glimmer mist on the stencil, I decided to use it as an accent to back the doily and Prima flowers.  The title and tags were cut using the George cartridge by Cricut.  The was made using Teresa Collin's Baby Boutique cartridge by Cricut, then sprayed with the Key Lime Glimmer Mist to make it pop.  I painted the title in Turquoise Glimmer Chalk.  The page is shimmery in person, which does not show us so well on the camera. It really turned out nice.

Ballet

My cousin's fraternal twins had their first ballet lesson this week.  Ah the simple joys of being a girl.

I used the Shall We Dance catridge.  I tried to pull of a plain background but could not do it. I went back and printed from the Baby Boutique Cartridge and sprayed the back with glimmer mist for the bottom right corner.  I rolled back the edges on the corner and then cut a corner embellie from the Sweethearts cartridge.  I painted it gold. 

I am ME because of YOU

My stepson, husband and Father in Law are three peas in a pod. They fuss about one antoher all of the time, but they are alike in demeanor and personality. It is so funny. This scrap symoblizes the love they have for one another and their ability to stand strong alone because of it.

I used Cricut's Elegant Edges, Accent Essentials and Opposites Attract to make these. I airbrushed the embellies with my airgun and Copic markers.

Bearable Gift Set

I found out I have to leave for HQ today for a meeting out of town.  I popped this on my daughter who I am to stay with. She just got in from a camping trip in TN.  I made her and her dog (my grandbaby) these gifts and card to thank them for the imposition.

I made her tiny refridgerator magnets in the papers to match using the scraps.  The box is made from All Wrapped Up Doll Box, but I cashed the blue gingham patterned paper and used it so  it all would match.  Every thing else is from Better Together which is another Imagine cartridge, Times like these where I have no time, I really appreciate my Imagine. It all only took one hour.

Hot Diggity Dog! It's Summer

My niece posted this pic of one of her dogs on facebook. I just loved the photo.  It reminded me of how glad all of us are that Summer has finally come.

I used the Hopscotch Imagine cartridge to make the papers, grabbed the fonts for the titles off of the internet and the flowers were made from my Silhouette.  The sun and flourish behind the pic are Imagine cartridges as well, Better Together and Country Carnival.  The Medallion flower is from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Die called Flower Medallions.   The button on the medallion was made from the I-Top Tool using the button maker.  I distressed the photo matt using the Zutter Distress It All