Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #41 - Birthday Sketch

It's another challenge day at Celebrate the Occasion!  For Challenge #41, we have a birthday sketch -- which is perfect because today is my sister-in-law's birthday!  I made this clean-and-simple card for her:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5x5")
• Papers - Recollections
• Embossing - Happy Birthday by Cuttlebug
• Other - sentiment stamp by Hampton Ink stamped with Colorbox purple ink pad; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen

What a departure for me -- this card is completely Cricut-LESS!  My sister-in-law's style leans more toward modern than mine, so I kept my interpretation of the sketch simple.  I like how the embossing and turning the words in different directions turned out, too.

Head on over to Celebrate the Occasion to see how the other design team members interpreted the sketch -- and upload a photo of your creation, too!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #39 - Thanksgiving

If you're looking for my Fantabulous Cricut Harvest Blessings Cricut Crawl entry, please click HERE.

Happy Tuesday -- it's time for another Celebrate the Occasion challenge!  This week's theme is Thanksgiving with the requirement to use a punch.  I've made so many turkeys lately that I wanted to take a departure for this challenge.  So I used another animal we see quite often in November -- squirrels!

Card Details:

• Card Base - squirrel card from Winter Woodland, page 57, cut at 5 inches
• Papers - stripes from Me & My Big Ideas - Autumn; cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - squirrel and card base from Winter Woodland, page 57; leaves from B is for Boy
• Embossing - squirrel body with Cuttlebug's Herringbone; squirrel tail with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirls; acorn top with The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture
• Other - sentiment stamp by Hampton Ink; EKSuccess 1-inch scalloped punch; inking with brown Stampabilities ink pad; leaves and sentiment on pop dots

Head over to Celebrate the Occasion to see the other design team members' creations link up your Thanksgiving project with punches!

I'm also submitting this project to the following challenges:

Cooking with Cricut - Challenge #59 - Fruits, Cornucopia & Harvest Time
Cricut Cardz Challenge #95 - We're So Thankful (Use Card Feature)
Paper Playtime:  Challenge #60 - Thank You Projects
Stuck On U Sketches:  Die Cut Leaf Challenge

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #37 - Fall with Pumpkin

So hard to believe it's November, huh?  It's also time for another challenge at Celebrate the Occasion!  For Challenge #37, we were asked to create a fall project featuring a pumpkin.

My Halloween door hanging has gotten so many compliments -- both online and in person -- that I decided to update my Thanksgiving door decor, too. I use this wreath each year in November.  It came from either Ross or Marshalls about four years ago.  But it seemed to need the Cricut touch, so I added this:

Here's a photo that's zoomed on the cut:

Project Details:

• Papers - cardstock by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - cornucopia and "Giving Thanks" sentiment from Celebrate with Flourish
• Embossing - cornucopia with The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture, pumpkin with Cuttlebug's Distressed Stripes; brown grapes and leaves with Cuttlebug's Victoria
• Other - inking with orange and dark green Colorbox ink pads and brown Stampabilities ink pad

I'm really pleased with the inking on the leaf, pear, and carrot.  Before the ink, they were just flat yellow, but the extra details add so much!

Do you ever make Cricut add-ons to wreaths or other wall decor?  If so, leave me a link in the comment section -- I'd love to see them!

Also, head on over to Celebrate the Occasion to share your fall pumpkin creations.  I'm off now to take down Halloween decorations and put up fall and Thanksgiving!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #35 - Masculine Birthday with Metal

Happy Tuesday!  I'm excited to share with you the card I made for Celebrate the Occasion's Challenge #35.  This week's theme is all about celebrating a guy's birthday with metal!  I think my project is perfect for any guy -- big or little -- who's into science and space.

I've never used metal on a project, so I was a little concerned about what I'd do for this challenge.  I've been trying to not buy many new craft supplies, and I'd already blown my weekly "allowance" when it was time to work on this card.  That's when my mind wandered to the aluminum foil in the kitchen...

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights (A2)
• Papers - patterned paper from DCWV - Nana's Kitchen; textured cardstock by Bazzil Bling; non-textured cardstock by Recollections; Reynolds aluminum foil
• Cricut Cuts - rocket from Nifty Fifties, page 28
• Embossing - rocket with Cuttlebug's Spots & Dots; aluminum foil background with The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture
• Other - rocket on pop dots; inking with orange, green, and cyan Colorbox ink pads; sentiment stamp from Michaels $1 bin

Yes, there's an actual layer of the rocket cut from aluminum foil with my Cricut!  But I won't lie; it was hard!  I had the pressure and speed set as low as possible and my blade height was at 1 -- and I still had to cut that layer eight times to get a usable piece!  I think using a heavier-weight foil would help with those issues.  Or perhaps choosing a cut that doesn't have many intricate turns or narrow pieces.

My favorite thing about working with the foil was how great it looks when embossed.  I squealed with delight the first time I ran it through the Cuttlebug and saw the result!  Now I want to try foil in all my embossing folders!

I challenge you to head over to Celebrate the Occasion and participate in our male metal challenge.  And if you don't want to invest in specialty paper, consider giving aluminum foil a try -- I was very pleased with the result.

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #31 - Birthday with Balloons

I'm so excited to show you my project for Celebrate the Occasion this week!  Challenge #31 is Birthday with Balloons, and we were tasked with creating a birthday project featuring at least one balloon.

I made my first tent card for this challenge, and it was so much fun!  (You can see a tent card tutorial at Split Coast Stampers.)  I don't have any Spellbinders dies, so I used my Ciruct to cut the circle for my card.  Just think of the possibilities when you can cut any shape as the window to a tent card!

 

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5x5")
• Papers - polka dots and clouds by American Crafts: Play; textured cardstock by Bazzil Bling; all other cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - balloons from Birthday Bash, page 54; trapezoid tags from Opposites Attract, page 62
• Embossing - balloons with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots and Spots & Dots; The Paper Studio's Doodle Borders and Mesh Texture
• Other - trapezoids and balloons on pop dots; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen

Now it's your turn to make a birthday project with balloons!  Float on over to Celebrate the Occasion to link up your creation.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #29 - Grandparents Day

Are you ready to Celebrate the Occasion?  I am!  Challenge #29 is to create a project celebrating Grandparents Day.

We just returned from a great visit with my parents over the long Labor Day weekend.  My son had a fabulous time playing with his Papaw and GG.  If he had a way to get in a pedal car and make the seven-hour drive himself, he would!

Card Details:

• Card Base - Recollections (A6)
• Papers - stripes by My Mind's Eye: Magnolia; cardstocks by Bazzil Basics
• Cricut Cuts - boy/dog in car from Nate's ABCs, page 59
• Other - inking with Colorbox petal point ink pads; handwritten sentiment; cut on pop dots; twine from my mom's stash

Do you have a special grandparent in your life?  If so, join us in making a project this week at Celebrate the Occasion.  Happy crafting!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #27 - Circle-Shaped Card

Tuesday means it's time to Celebrate the Occasion!  We're celebrating any event this week with a circle-shaped card.

I'm always making cards for other people, but this week I actually made a card for me.  I love funky glasses and have worn fun frames since my first pair of glasses in college, so I made a cute "just because" card with my signature frames:

 

Card Details:

• Card Base - Studio G (5" diameter)
• Papers - patterned paper by American Crafts - Everyday; green cardstock by Bazzil Basics; all other from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - glasses and background from Nifty Fifties, page 53; font for "hi" sentiment from Doodletype
• Cuttlebug Embossing - background layer with Spots & Dots
• Other - inking with green Colorbox petal point ink pad; gems from Michaels $1 bin; top layer of glasses on pop-dots

Join us in making a circle-shaped card at Celebrate the Occasion this week.  I'm eager to see what you make, so leave me a comment pointing me to your awesome projects!

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #25 - Back to School

The record-setting temperatures may say it's summer, but the calendar shows school is just around the corner!

To welcome the new academic year, Celebrate the Occasion is featuring back-to-school projects this week.  So open that new box of crayons and join our design team for some great school projects!

My project is a double-page scrapbook layout of my son's Beautiful Butterflies class from last year.  It was his first year at preschool, and he absolutely LOVED it.  His teachers were the best, and he made lots of little friends that he's eager to see again when his school begins after Labor Day.

Project Details:

• Papers - patterns by American Crafts: Everyday; cardstocks by C'ordinations and The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - butterflies from Create a Critter, page 64; crayons from Simply Charmed, page 52; scissors and glue from Simply Charmed, page 54; bear from Doodlecharms, page 105; backpack from Doodlecharms, page 119; car from Boys Will Be Boys, page 61; "beautiful" from Paisley, page 53; font for "BUTTERFLIES" is Opposite from Opposites Attract
• Other - lots of inking with Colorbox petal point ink pads and Le Plume II markers

I can't believe I used seven cartridges on this project!  Maybe I was having a little too much fun making die cuts of preschool objects...

You can link up your own back-to-school project at Celebrate the Occasion now through Sunday, August 14, for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from PaperTrey Ink.  I can't wait to see your school-themed projects!

I'm also submitting this project to My Sheri Crafts:  Challenge #66 - Back to School.

Celebrate the Occasion: Challenge #23 - Blue and White

Celebrate the Occasion begins another great challenge today, and I'm eager for you to play along -- especially since it's my first week on the design team!  Challenge #23 is to make a project for any occasion -- just as long as you use only blue and white.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't use a lot of blue in my projects.  It's not that I don't like blue -- I just like warm colors like pink and orange and red more.  So I went out of my comfort zone for this card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights (A2)
• Papers - patterned and distressed papers by My Mind's Eye: Bohemia; cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - flower from Florals Embellished, page 23; tag is <dream> from Playtime
• Other - blue satin ribbon from Hobby Lobby, sentiment stamp by The Paper Studio; edges inked with sky blue Le Plume II marker

My parents celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on Sunday, so I mailed this card to them last week.  Nine more years until I get to plan a huge celebration for them!

Now it's your turn.  Visit Celebrate the Occasion and share your blue and white creations!  The challenge runs through Sunday, July 31.

Celebrate the Occasion: New Design Team Member!

I have another piece of exciting news -- I've joined the design team at Celebrate the Occasion!

CTO has inspiring challenges each week to help you celebrate every occasion in your own special way.  This week the new design team members are celebrating birthdays!  It was super timing because I needed a birthday card for a friend's daughter.  She held a princess-themed pool party this past weekend, so I made her card -- very appropriately -- a crown:

Card Details:

• Card Base - crown-shaped card from Birthday Bash, page 47 (card/tag), cut at 5.25 inches
• Papers - polka dot paper by Heidi Grace Designs; all other cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - all cuts from Birthday Bash; card base (see above); crown, page 56; "4" and "PRINCESS" sentiment with Font and Font Shadow functions; "birthday", page 54 (card/tag)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - "4" with Spots & Dots
• Other - doodling with purple Le Plume II marker; gemstones from Michaels $1 bin

I'm so excited to share this project with you at Celebrate the Occasion -- hop on over and check out the other great projects by the new design team members.  They are an awesome group of talented ladies -- and a gentleman!