#172 Artiste - 40th Anniversary Cake

Hi everyone! Yesterday was my parent's 40th Anniversary celebration and I wanted to share with you the cake I made for them.
The rolled flowers were cut from the Artiste cartridge, as well as the heart in the cake topper and some of the snowflakes.
The other cartridge I used for the snowflakes is Cake Basics. I cut the snowflakes from fondant using my Cricut Cake machine.
For the 40 on the cake topper, I used the font from the Lovely Floral cartridge.
All of the paper flowers were cut from Recollections white card stock, them sprayed with various colours of Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.
I am really happy with how it turned out!

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 - November

Hi everyone!  This weekend I finally got to do a little creating in my craft room! I worked on some of the past tags from Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2012, as well as the new November tag.. You can see what he created this month by clicking HERE.  This is what I came up with for November:

I don't own the stamps that Tim used for his tag, so I had to improvise a bit.  It was a lot of fun to make and I encourage you to try some of his tags out as well!

#171 Princess Party - Birthday Girl Card

Hi everyone!  I have completed another challenge for the Cricut Circle Canadian online swarm from the Cricut Circle messageboards.  This challenge had a theme of "Something Old, Something New".  We were asked to create a project featuring this.  Here is what I came up with:

For my "something old" I chose to use the Rock Princess cartridge and my "something new" was the Art Glitter glass glitter and pink Candi embellishments that just arrived in the mail the other day from my most recent order from Blitsy.com.

The cartridges / cuts I used are:
Rock Princess - Bear and Bones cut at  3.5".
Princess Party - "Birthday Girl" cut at 1.75".
Lacy Labels - fancy square cut at 4" and 4.25"

Hope you like it!

Treat Bag Swap!

Hi everyone!  On the Canadian section of the Cricut Circle Messageboard, we conducted a Halloween treat bag swap, where whoever wanted to take part was put on a list and we had to send a box / bag of goodies to the person under us on the list.  I sent a package to MissMel9 and received one from Hrvatica. I got my goodies from my swap person last week but sadly, I had to wait until everyone on the list got theirs :-(  Well today was the day!  Here is what I received in my amazing package from Hrvatica.

LUCKY ME!!!! THANKS HRVATICA!

#170 This and That - Little Reader Layout

Hi everyone!  I am still working on some of the challenges we have going on on the Canadian side of the Cricut Circle Messageboard for the Canadian online swarm.
Challenge #4 was to create a layout of an "everyday moment" and use a new-to-you technique.  Here is what I came up with:

The cartridges / cuts I used are:
Disney Classics - Jiminy Cricket cut at 4", Pinocchio cut at 3"
This & That (Creative Memories) - "Little Reader" letters cut at 1.25", tag cut at 2".

For my new technique, I chose to use the Sew Easy stitching tool and created a border under the photos with two different colours of floss.

Hope you like it!

A Gathering with Cricut Circle Friends

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to share with you some photos From Friday evening, when I got together with some Cricut Circle friends for scrapbooking fun!  Well, not much progress made on my end, but it was a blast!  It was Sherri's birthday so that made it even more special!  Melanie's brithday was a few weeks ago, so we were celebrating her day too.

Sherri (SherriHend), Me (JenniferHawkins2), Melanie (MissMel9)

No birthday is complete without cake!  I made this for Sherri and Mel with what else?  My Cricut Cake machine!

Alice (Dugspookie) and Teresa (LadybugT)

Can't wait for the next one!

Apple Harvest Mixed Media Canvas

Hi everyone!  Yesterday I was busy creating this canvas for a challenge at Chic Scrapbook Designs by Limor Webber.  For the September monthly challenge, she asked us to create a project for someone who would appreciate the gesture and deserves something nice for themselves.  My neighbor genreously donated a box of apples to me this fall that made incredible apple crisp and pies, so I wanted to make something for her in return and decided on a canvas with an apple theme.  She is also the neighborhood Avon lady and is always walking along visiting with people and she always gives me a little "extra something" in my orders.

This is what the challenge entailed:

THEME: "GIVING BACK"

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Create a project of your choice -Canvas, Art Journal, Tag, Card, Altered item etc.
2. Project must include at least 1 Recyled household item ( Example: Toilet paper roll, soda can, bottle cap, cereal box etc)
3. Include at least 1 stamp in your project ( Of course we would love to see you use Unity Stamps but not required)
4. Theme: this project must be for someone in your life that could use their spirits lifted or someone you just knew this would make a difference with if they received somthing from you.  It could also be someone you know that has been active in your community and making a difference, you decide.
5. Have a blast!!!!!

For my recycled item, I used clear packaging and cut apples with my Cricut, then added alcohol ink and a stamp with staz-on ink.
I used some Christy Tomlinson background stamps by Unity as well as a Basic Grey sun stamp for the apples.
Products used:
8X10 canvas - Dollarama
Orange tissue paper
Golden Soft Gel (Matte)
Christy Tomlinson backgound stamps (Unity)
Archival Ink - Ranger, Colorbox
Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny (Apple Cider)
Stencils - Dylusions
Course Pumice Gel
Acrylic Paints -
        Golden - Hansa Yellow Medium, Interference Gold
        Americana -Raw Umber
        Folk Art - Sap Green (mixed this with previous color)
Big Brush Markers by Faber Castell
Copper Stickles
Just Because Cards Cricut cartridge for apples (cut at 1.25")
Clear packaging
Staz-On Ink - Jet Black
Alcohol Ink - Terra Cotta, Cranberry, Sunshine Yellow, Copper
Glossy Accents

Hope you like it!  And I REALLY hope C likes it!

Canadian Circle Swarm Challenge #2

Hi everyone! The second challenge for our Canadian Cricut Circle swarm was to create a card using a black cat, two Cricut cuts, the colours purple, black and white, and use stitching.
Here is what I came up with:

For my card I used the Chic & Scary Cricut cartridge.  The cat was cut at 2.5" and the frame/hat combination was cut at 4"
Products used:
Cardstock - Reflections, Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Doodlebug
Stamp (bats) - Inkadinkadoo
Ink - CTMH
Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts (Black Licorice), Art Institute (Grape)
Corner Punch - We R Memory Keepers
Xyron
Foam Squares
Adhesive Pearls
Sewing Machine

Hope you like it!

#169 Trick or Treat - Canadian Cricut Circle Swarm Challenge #1

Hi everyone!  The first challenge for the Canadian Cricut Circle Swarm is to create a Halloween themed home decor item.  I just got the Trick or Treat cartridge and was pretty excited to use it! I decided to create a banner using the different kids in their Halloween costumes.

I used the Cricut Craft Room to weld each character to a letter.  The kids were all sized at 3.5" and the letters, from Fontopia, were sized at 2.5".
I welded the base layer of the child to the shadow of the letter, then built the other layers from there.
Each letter was cut from purple cardstock, then glittered with sugar plum glitter by Martha Stewart Crafts.
Here are some of the children close up:

Hope you like it!

Cricut Circle Canadian Swarm 2012 - Challenge #3

Hi everyone! This weekend on the Canadian chat portion of the Cricut Circle message board, we are hosting an online swarm, complete with challenges, prizes, and even a treat bag swap! So much fun! And we are also welcoming anyone to participate, not just Canadians! So if you are Cricut circle member be sure to stop by and hang out with us!
Since I am donating one of the prizes,I have come up with a fun challenge! Today is my husband's birthday so since I was assigned today, what other theme could I use ;-)
My challenge is to create a birthday card following this sketch:

Of course you must use at least one Cricut cut on your project.

My husband is an avid hunter so I decided to go with a wildlife theme.  Here is what I came up with:

The cartridges/cuts I used are:

Wildlife - Deer cut at 2.25"

Art Philosophy - label cut at 0.66"

The patterned paper if from Autumn Splendor by DCWV.

The sentiment stamp is by My Creative Time.

Cardstock is DCWV and Core-dinations

Hope you like it!



#168 Dino Play - Baby Pterodactyl Layout

Hi everyone! Hope you have all had a great summer! School starts here after the Labour Day weekend so I am hoping I'll be able to get back to crafting then. I sure haven't got much done in the last couple months!
Here is a layout I created using my brand new Dino Play Cricut cartridge that just arrived this morning! Usually it takes me a bit before I actually use the new cartridges I get, but as soon as I saw the images on this cartridge, I had a layout in mind and couldn't wait to get started!

The pterodactyl was cut at 3" and "RAWR" was cut at 1.75". The letters for "Baby" were cut at 1.75" and welded with my Gypsy from the Makin' the Grade cartridge. This patterned paper is from the Little Yellow Bicycle line called "Babysaurus" - isn't it the cutest?
Other supplies used: Corner Punch - W R Memory Keepers
Letter rubons (for "Pterodactyl") - Making Memories
Buttons - Fancy Pants
Ribbon - Making Memories
Markers - Stampin' Up!
Googly eyes
Twine
Foam Squares
Brads

 Hope you like it!

#167 Spongebob Squarepants - Colouring Books

Hi everyone!  I just finished up my entry for the monthly challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog, which was to create something fun for your family to enjoy.  Sadly, this is the last challenge because the blog is being discontinued due to changes in the Cricut Circle.  I am very disappointed and will really miss the fun challenges and beautiful projects the the design team posts every day :-(
For the challenge, I thought it would be fun to create colouring books for my three children to keep them busy.  I chose a theme that each would enjoy - Hannah Montana, Spongebob Squarepants and Mickey Mouse.  I printed colouring pages from the internet to put into the books, so each book is 8.5"X11".
Here they are:

The cartridges/cuts I used are:
Hannah Montana - Hannah (cut at 8"), "Jenae" (cut at 2")
Spongebob Squarepants - Spongebob (cut at 6")
Mickey and Friends - Mickey and Pluto (cut at 6")
Mickey Font - "Jacob" (cut at 2")
Nate's ABC's - "Drew" (cut at 2")

I stapled all of the pages together at the left edge, then scored a 1.5"X11" strip of paper lengthwise to cover the edge.

Hope you like it!

#166 Out of Character - So Happy to Be a Mom Layout

Hi everyone!  Hope you are all enjoying your summer! Things have been really busy around here, of course, with the kids home from school.  My crafting time has really been lacking lately.  I have a layout to show you that has been in the works for a few days.  I created it for the Cricut Circle July Magazine Challenge.  The challenge was to create a project using our Out of Character Circle cartridge.
Here is what I came up with:

The cartridges/cuts I used are:
Out of Character - "Happy" (cut at 3"), "Mom" (cut at 2"), "So, Being, A" (random fonts cut mostly at 1" real dial, some larger)
Letter Envy - frame around photo (cut at 5.5"), flower in corner (not sure of size - my Gypsy cut it by accident - it works for the page though!)

The patterned paper used is my My Little Shoebox.
The number washi tape along the bottom is by October Afternoon.

Hope you like it!

#165 Baby Steps - Fun Food Layout

Hi everyone!  Happy Canada Day to all of my Canadian friends!  Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!
Today I have a layout to show you that I created for the weekly challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog.  The challenge was to create a project featuring stars and stripes.  Since I am not American, I chose to not create an Independence Day themed project and instead created this layout about my son.

The cartridges/cuts I used are:
Baby Steps - Baby (cut at 3.25"), Fun Food (cut at 2.75")
Cricut Craft Room Basics - Edge on blue squares (cut at 3.67"), Stars (base and shadow cut at 1.25" and 0.75")

The patterned paper is by Bo Bunny from the Blast Off line.

Hope you like it!

Baby Girl Mixed Media Canvas

Hi everyone!  I am so excited to show you my project for today!  Lately I discovered mixed media canvas tutorials on YouTube and was particularly drawn to Christy Tomlinson's work.  I have been eager to try one and of course I had to incorporate my Cricut in there somewhere!  So using her numerous videos as inspiration, I created this canvas for the monthly challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog, which was to create a gift for a baby.

The cartridges/cuts I used are:

Kate's ABC's - Girl with carriage (cut at 5"), "Precious" (cut at 2")
Elegant Edges - Butterflies (cut at 1.5" and 1")

Materials used:
8X10 canvas (purchased mine at Michael's)
Ranger Glue n' Seal
Patterned Paper - DCWV Pretty Princess Stack
Paint - Claudine Helmuth Studio
Rub-ons
Stickles
Stamps
Ink Sprays
Markers - Faber Castell PITT Big Brush (pink madder), Copic Multiliner ( Sepia)

This was such a fun project!  I can't wait to start another one!

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 - June

Hi everyone!  I just got finished my June tag for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2012 and I couldn't wait to show it to you!  Some of you know, that I was one of the lucky winner's last month and I gotta say, I was pretty over the moon excited.  I received my prize last week,a really nice TH stamp set that I can't wait to use!
Anyway, to check out Tim's tag for this month, go to his blog, by clicking HERE.
Here is my version:

I printed a photo of my cutie patootie husband in black and white ( we have a total of 3 pictures from his entire childhood - sad, huh?) and coloured the jacket with Distress Inks.  I loved this technique and can't wait to try it again!
Hope you like my version of the tag!

#164 Bump in the Night - Birthday Boy

Hi everyone!  Hope everyone is having a great week so far!  Here is a card I created for the Throwback Thursday challenge over at My Creative Time.  For this challenge, Emma asked us to create a project using blue, green, brown and white.  We are also supposed to use an older Cricut cartridge.  The cartridge I chose was Bump in the Night, one of the Lite cartridges.
Here is what I came up with:

The monster was cut at 2.75" from the Bump in the Night cartridge.
The scalloped border was cut at 1" from the Martha Stewart Birthday Cakes cartridge.

The photo corners were punched with an EK Success punch.
I added detail to the edge of the card and to the photo corners with Tempting Turquoise Stampin Up marker.
I inked the edges of the monster with Pear ink by CTMH.
I used my 3/4" and 1" circle punches by Creative Memories for the background.
The sentiment "Birthday Boy" is two stamps from the My Creative Time set "Celebrate Good Times".

Hope you like it!