Gingerbread Christmas Card

Guess what..?  I made my first Christmas card with the Cricut last night...!!!  Now I want to make handmade cards for everyone on our Christmas card list -- and then I realize I just might be certifiably Cricut crazy.

I used two of my newest cartridges -- Winter Frolic and From My Kitchen -- for this card:

Card Details:

• Card Base - DCWV Brights (A2)
• Papers - green polka dot paper from K&Company Yuletide paperpack; textured cardstock with shimmer is Bazzil Bling; all other cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - gingerbread men and sentiment from Winter Frolic, page 61; spatula from From My Kitchen, page 44; holly leaves from Stretch Your Imagination, page 53
• Cuttlebug Embossing - holly leaves with Victoria embossing folder
• Other - pink gems from Michaels $1 bin; ribbon by Celebrate It! Basic Narrows; doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; inking with brown Stampabilities ink pad

I began following Sassy Lil' Card Sketches - July 7th Reveal exactly until I saw those nine gingerbread all in their rows.  I immediately thought they looked fresh out of the oven, so I made a cookie sheet with two layers of gray/silver cardstock and rounded the edges.  A spatula gives adds to the baking theme, and the holly makes it more Christmas-y since I did not use red per Celebrate the Occasion's Christmas in July (No Red) challenge.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Celebrate the Occasion:  Challenge #21 - Christmas in July (No Red)
Sassy Lil' Card Sketches:  July 7th Reveal

Bus Survival Kit

My hubby is leaving tonight for a week-long mission trip to Tennessee.  It's his first time going with our church youth group, and he'll be on a bus full of teens for 15+ hours.  Overnight.  Without electronic devices.  And did I mention they're teens...?  :)

So I made him a "bus survival kit" filled with some of his favorite goodies.  There's beef jerky, M&Ms, Jolly Ranchers, gum, and mints.  I included a book light so he can do some late-night reading as well as wipes, hand sanitizer, and aspirin.  I packed everything in a cellophane treat bag and made a cute topper for it:

Project Details:

• Papers - striped paper from My Mind's Eye: Magnolia; all cardstock from scraps
• Cricut Cuts - topper from Birthday Bash, page 28 (card/tag); bus from Stretch Your Imagination, page 51; letters from Block font on Boys Will Be Boys
• Other - doodling with white Gelly Roll pen; bus on pop dots

This treat bag was lots of fun to make.  Now I'm eager for another occasion to make these cute little bags!

Adore Wedding/Anniversary Card

My blog may be quiet, but my Cricut hasn't been!  It's been frantically chirping with Fathers Day and birthday cards.  By this weekend -- hopefully -- I should be able to share a few "shh-shh" projects with you.

In the meantime, I can post a wedding/anniversary card I made this morning.  I've been dying to use this Heidi Grace patterned bird paper, and a card for two nature lovers was a good reason.  It's also two firsts for me -- my first Z-fold card and my first time to stamp a sentiment on the front!  Here's the entire card stretched:

And folded to view just the front:

Card Details:

• Card Base - black cardstock (A6)
• Papers - patterned and cream cardstock by Heidi Grace; blue textured cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - scalloped background from Elegant Edges, page 51 (<btfly2_s>/Shadow); bird from Create a Critter, page 45, legs snipped and one image flipped; bell from Stretch Your Imagination, page 72 (Blackout), handle and heart snipped.
• Cuttlebug Embossing - D'vine Swirls on bell
• Other - ribbon by American Crafts; "adore" sentiment by The Paper Studio; gem from Michaels dollar bin; inking around edges of bird with sky blue Le Plume II marker

I'm entering this project into the following challenges:

Cricut Cardz Challenge #78 - Wedding Card
Die Cuttin' Divas: Challenge #19 - Wedding Bliss (without hearts)
Fantabulous Cricut:  Challenge #64 - Wedding Wishes (use white and a bell)
Paper Playtime:  Challenge #48 - Z-Fold Card

Bookworm Birthday Card

I have another special card to show you today -- and this one had to be kept hidden, too!  It's my hubby's birthday card, and since he reads my blog, it had to be top secret until he received it yesterday.

This card is also my first try at a sidestep card.  Its two recessed rows were perfect for making a bookshelf.  Hubby is an avid reader, so I decided to make it a bookworm-themed card.  Here's the result:

Card Details:

• Card Base - Sidestep Card (A2)
• Papers - patterned brown paper from My Mind's Eye: Simply Delightful; patterned blue paper from Recollections: All Seasons; all cardstock by The Paper Studio
• Cricut Cuts - worm from Create a Critter, page 65; books (one set flipped) from Wrap It Up, page 57; presents from Stretch Your Imagination, page 59; banner from Birthday Bash, page 69 (font, both layers); "Happy Birthday" sentiment from Birthday Bash, page 68 (card/tag)
• Cuttlebug Embossing - Kassie's Brocade on presents; Dots & Spots on light green layer of bookworm
• Other - ribbon by American Crafts (double-sided -- how cool!); lots of inking with brown ink pad by Stampabilities 

Hubby loved his card!  He's so supportive of my papercrafting addiction, and I was glad to try a new card fold especially for him.

Gingerbread Joy Page

Have I mentioned lately how much I like Sassy Lil' Sketches?  Their layouts really inspire me to complete pages on my son's scrapbook -- and I need that push!

I'm progressing sequentially in his scrapbook (for now), so the page I worked on these past two nights is Christmas-themed.  It's hubby, son, and me at our church's annual gingerbread decorating party for Christmas 2009.  We started decorating gingerbread houses as a newlywed couple, and this year was Jonathan's first time decorating with us.

Here's the sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches - May 14th Reveal:

And here's my resulting page:

Cartridges Used:
Birthday Bash
Playtime
Stretch Your Imagination
Wrap It Up

I did LOTS of doodling with a white gel pen and some with red and green pens.  Inking with a brown pad on the gingerbread men give them that "baked" look.  Or -- if coming from my kitchen -- that "almost-burned-to-a-crisp" look! :)

Working on a Christmas page sure made the hot Texas temperatures seem a little less oppressive -- hope you enjoy this latest project!

Celebrate 1st Birthday Page

So I finally used my Cricut for its intended purpose -- completing pages for my son's scrapbook!

I used a sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches to make the first page in his Year Two album -- Jonathan eating cake on the evening of his first birthday.  Here's the sketch and my take on it:

Cartridges Used:
Birthday Bash
Stretch Your Imagination

I really liked the "Celebrate" phrase on the Birthday Bash cartridge, but its background included a huge anteater.  I removed the anteater by clipping manually with scissors, and -- presto! -- you can't tell it was even supposed to be there!

Another result I like on this project is the Cuddlebug embossing folders I used on the birds' wings and on the banner.  It adds some much-needed dimension, as I try to use pop dots sparingly in albums.  Don't get me wrong -- I love pop dots, but I end up using so many, it makes the pages too thick to fit in anything but the largest albums.

I'm really proud of my first Cricut-produced scrapbooking page.  Now I'm ready to dive into more!

I'm submitting this project into the following challenge(s):

Sassy Lil' Sketches - April 28th Reveal

Easter Bunny and Egg Treat Holder

I made my first 3D, non-card creation tonight!  It's a treat holder -- big enough for a cupcake -- but holding plastic eggs for the photo.  It turned out so cute, I just might give it to my co-teacher with chocolates in the eggs.

Cartridges Used:
Birthday Bash
Doodlecharms
Stretch Your Imagination
Wrap It Up

I really like the flourishes from Stretch Your Imagination used as running vines on the fence.  I repeated the look on all four sides, with eggs where the corners meet.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

BBTB2 - Easter Solutions 2010 or Any Egg
Cricut Cardz Challenge #70 - Easter Cupcake Holder or Wrapper
Fantabulous Cricut - Spring Fling Project (using pink, yellow, and green)
My Sheri Crafts Challenge #53 - Bunnies

Dragonfly Thanks

I'm so glad my son took an extra-long nap today, because I worked with my first sketch challenge!

My inspiration was this sketch by Cherie of Sassy Lil' Card Sketches, and I'm submitting it in their March 28th Reveal challenge.

And my result?  Probably my most favorite Cricut creation to date!

Cartridges Used:
Doodlecharms
Opposites Attract
Stretch Your Imagination

Hoppin' Grasshopper

An admission...  I love looking at Cricut challenge blogs, but I can't bring myself to submit anything.  But this week I decided to take a challenge from Cricut Cardz Challenge and try it for my eyes only.  And, well, now yours too.


Cricut Cardz Challenge #67 - Make a card for Spring, using the colors pink, green, and white ONLY, and any cartridges you'd like.

Here's my card:

Cartridges Used:
Opposites Attract
Playtime
Stretch Your Imagination


I've been playing around with inking, too, after watching this fantastic how-to-video.

So far, I've only worked with the first method shown.  I need to get some better markers to try the others.