Cricut Art Nouveau Hummingbird Birthday Card

September 23, 2012 by 10 Comments

 

I wanted to make a card to enter in a couple of challenges and this is what I came up with.  The first challenge is Things that Fly in Nature over at Bitten by the Bug 2. The second challenge is Texture at Cooking with Cricut.

I made a 5″ x 5″ card and the patterned paper was all printed on the Imagine using the Country Carnival cartridge.  I love the paper selection on this cartridge and have been wanting to use the design that is on the background of my card for some time.  The reason I bought this cartridge is because of the paper — and the very cool font that it has.

 I cut the hummingbird (at 3″) from watercolor paper using the Art Nouveau cartridge and colored him with Copics.  This is only my second time trying to color with Copics, and I have lots to learn.  I discovered I don’t have enough green markers — I didn’t have enough in the same color group to do any blending.

After I colored the hummingbird, I used a crystal glaze (something I got years ago) to go over sections of his body to try and simulate the iridescence you see in their feathers.

Oh, dear — after looking at the close-up I’m not too sure I should be posting it.  My coloring definitely leaves a lot to be desired!  The circle behind the hummingbird was embossed using the Forest Branches folder.

I recently got the Art Philosophy cartridge, mainly because of the flowers I have seen so many crafters make with it. The roses on this card represent my first time using this cartridge.  I cut them at 2″ and 2.5″ using some Recollections paper from Michaels.  I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink.  I used a quilling tool from one of my Cuttlebug quilling kits to roll up the flowers.  I was surprised at how quickly they went together.  The greenery behind the roses is also from Art Philosophy.

I wanted the sentiment to be subtle, so I stamped it in the upper right hand corner (using distress ink) trying to make it look like it is part of the print on the paper.  I added a couple of pieces of lace across two corners and used my sewing machine to stitch around the card.

For the inside of the card, the white area is a shape cut using Art Philosophy.  The corners are a 2″ square of vellum, cut diagonally, embossed with the Swiss Dots folder, and trimmed with lace sewn across the top edges.  I then secured them to the card by stitching around the entire piece.

I originally planned on using the vellum corners on the front of the card, but when I laid everything out, I thought they hid too much of the paper on the front.  So they got moved inside, which worked out fine because I had no plans yet for the inside of the card.

  • Cricut cartridges:  Art Nouveau, Art Philosophy, Imagine Country Carnival
  • Cuttlebug embossing folders:  Forest Branches, Swiss Dots
  • Copics
  • Vellum, scraps of lace
Filed Under: Art Nouveau, Art Philosophy, Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Challenges, Cooking With Cricut, Copics, Country Carnival, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Supplies Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wee Wee Wee!! Pig With Pinwheels Shaped Card

September 9, 2012 by 12 Comments

I wanted to make a birthday card for my sister-in-law and I wanted to create one that was very whimsical — and I hope I succeeded.  I enjoy making shaped cards and when I found the All Shaped Up Challenge on Bitten by the Bug 2, the idea for my card was hatched.

I love the pig with the pinwheels in the Geico commercials.  You can’t help but smile when one comes on TV, and I have been wanting to do something along those lines for while now.   I decided to make my pig a girly girl and give her a fancy party dress, complete with a birthday party hat.

I started laying out my design in Cricut Craft Room.  Unfortunately, the program still has issues and I ran into some of them while creating this card — and ended up wasting time.  I find CCR so frustrating at times that bad words will just start popping out of my mouth.

When I got ready to cut my card, Cricut Craft Room was down and I could not log in.  I kept getting a message that the program couldn’t connect to the internet.   I kept trying and after an hour or so, I was able to log in and cut my layers.

All the solid color cardstock is from Bazzill, except for the glitter cardstock on the hat — that is from Core’dinations. The patterned paper I printed on the Imagine using the Blast Off cartridge.

I used Create a Critter for the pig and pinwheels and B is for Boy, a Lite cartridge, for the “wee” words.  I welded them all together to form the base of the card.  I used the Swiss Dots folder and my Cuttlebug to emboss the words.  I found some eyelash-type yarn at Joann’s that I used for her dress, layering it so it looks like a fringe dress — reminds me of a flapper dress.  I added some pearls at the neckline and a bow on both the dress and hat.  I used Stickles on the center of the pinwheels.

The inside of the card features a computer-generated sentiment.

I hope this little piggy card brings a smile to my sister-in-law’s face.  I need to make an envelope so I can get it in the mail.  Since it is a over-sized card, I will probably send it in a padded envelope.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

Cricut Chirp Challenge #6 – Create a Critter Craft:  use any animal Cricut cut on your project

Scrappy Moms Stamps – Terrific Tuesday Challenge – Shape Up:  create a shape project

  • Cricut cartridges:   B is for Boy Lite, Blast Off (Imagine), Create a Critter
  • Cuttlebug:  Swiss Dots embossing folder
  • Bazzill cardstock
  • Stickles
  • Yarn, pearls, ribbon

Filed Under: B is for Boy, Bitten by the Bug 2, Blast Off, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Create a Critter, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Stickles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Enjoy the Season Winter Window Card Luminaria

July 20, 2012 by 13 Comments

I’m not sure what to call my latest project.  I like to think of it as a hybrid — a cross between a window and diorama card and a luminaria.

It all began with the Window to My World Challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2.  I knew immediately what window I wanted to use for this challenge — the cute little dog and cat looking out the window at the snow on the Enjoy the Seasons Cricut Imagine cartridge.    Then my brain started spinning with what I could do to make the card unique.  For a couple of days that’s all that happened — my brain spun and not one good idea.  Then it hit me — I wondered what it would look like if I printed the window part on vellum and lit it from the back.

That is where the diorama card comes into play, as it has sections.  I used the tutorial for a diorama card posted on splitcoaststampers.com as my guide.

I altered the measurements so that a battery operated tealight candle would fit in the back section.  My two print papers I used on the diorama were printed from the Elise Imagine cartridge.  I wanted a print that was not necessarily holiday looking and thought the prints on Elise went well with the cat and dog image.   My finished card/luminaria measures about 6″ x 6″x 2.5″.

I cut my print paper so that the two blue pieces (the outside) were 11″ x 6″, cutting an oval from George & Basic Shapes out of one section for the front.   I scored 2.5″ from each end and folded on those marks.   Because the oval takes a huge chunk out of the front of the card, I found I had to stabilize it.  I cut a  piece of plain white cardstock with the oval, this time a little under 6″ wide,  and glued it to the inside center to give it some strength.

The middle section was cut from the mocha print at 9″ x 6″ with a 2.5″ x 1.5″ window cut from the center.  I scored each end of this piece at 1.5″ and folded.  This is what my pieces looked like.

I printed the cat and dog on the Imagine at 4″, printing it on vellum and then in layers on regular white cardstock.  I took my craft knife and cut out the sky between the window panes from the cardstock piece, so that the vellum sky would show through.  This pictures shows both the vellum print and the piece with the sky cut out of it.

I added some Stickles to the snow on the vellum and let it dry.  I trimmed the vellum and glued it on the mocha piece, lining the sky up with the cut-out rectangle.  Then I attached the cardstock piece with the cut out sky over that.  I did two layers of the love seat and attached it, then layered the cat and dog twice and attached them with pop-dots.  I printed a little sign from Enjoy the Seasons to hang above the window and added a blue pearl on each side.

I started assembling my pieces, putting the mocha and back section together first.  Before attaching the front, I cut a snowflake frame from Lacy Labels that I adjusted in Design Studio to fit the oval on the front.  I cut two layers, the top layer from a glittery cardstock and attached the frame around the oval.  I cut extra stars and snowflakes and popped them up on the frame.  Then I attached the frame to the other sections.   I used a tealight with a white LED flame, which I ordered online.  All I could find at my local stores were tealights with amber flames and I didn’t want an amber cast to my snow.  This picture shows the card from above, showing the different sections.  The tealight sits right below the vellum window.  Because there is no bottom to the card, you just have to set it over top of the tealight.

This picture shows the card from the side, so you can see how the front and back overlap each other.

It was hard trying to take a picture showing the lit window, but I think this one gives you a good idea of what it looks like.  The card will fold up, but it doesn’t  go completely flat.  I think I stuffed it too much.  I would not send it in an envelope — it would have to hand delivered or sent in a box.  But this one I plan on keeping for myself!

I had a lot of fun creating this card — it’s a little different from what I usually do.  I am already thinking of other projects using this concept.

  • Cricut cartridges – George & Basic Shapes, Imagine Elise, Imagine Enjoy the Seasons, Lacy Labels
  • Glitter cardstock
  • Stickles
  • Battery operated tealight candle
Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Cricut, Elise, Enjoy the Seasons, Lacy Labels (Lite), Stickles Tagged With: , , , ,

So Happy For You! Card

July 13, 2012 by 12 Comments

OutForPublication

I think this is my first time making a card using the card feature on a Cricut cartridge.  I searched through the suns I had and found this cute shaped card on Something to Celebrate.  This is also one of the few times that I have used only one cartridge to make a card.

I cut the card base out of white cardstock and then started adding layers.  My colored cardstock is all from Stampin’ Up.  I added a layer of turquoise, three layers of the yellow/gold and two layers for the white cloud.  Inking was all done with Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the sun, using a new folder called Charles.  It has a neat chevron pattern of small dots. I used Divine Swirls on the cloud and Swiss Dots on the pink “Happy”.  I traced the lines of the swirls on the clouds with Glossy Accents and sprinkled with Martha Stewart crystal glitter.  Then I used Glossy Accents around the edges of the cloud and sprinkled with MS coarse glitter.

  • Cricut cartridge – Something to Celebrate
  • Cuttlebug folders – Charles, Divine Swirl, Swiss Dots
  • Stampin’ Up cardstock
  • Martha Stewart glitter
Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Challenges, Cricut, Something to Celebrate Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Surf’s Up Card Using Cricut Paper Pups Cartridge

June 17, 2012 by 9 Comments

 

This is a card I made to enter in Bitten by the Bug 2‘s Water Theme Challenge.  The Design Team made some fantastic projects that provided lots of inspiration.  Donna, a member of the Design Team, makes wonderful shaped front cards and I have always wanted to try making one myself.  When I saw her card for this challenge, I decided it was time to give it a try.

The patterned paper is from a me & my Big ideas paper pad that I picked up at their warehouse sale a few years ago.  What a fun day that was — Erin & I brought home a car load of goodies! The solid cardstock is from Bazzill.

Besides not knowing what I was doing, all the welding proved challenging.  I laid out lots of shapes in Design Studio and welded them together.  For the card front, I welded a rectangle from George and Basic Shapes cartridge with waves from Life is a Beach, a sun from Mickey & Friends, letters to spell “Surf’s Up” from Mickey Font, and finally the little dog with the duck floaty from Paper Pups.  All these shapes I then welded to a larger rectangle to form the back of the card.

I cut out lots of layers, did some inking, and then applied them using lots of pop dots.  My card doesn’t have the depth that Donna’s cards have, but I am happy with my first try.

I added a piece of pattern paper to the inside, but I have to figure out where I will write a message.  The paper I used is flocked, so it is bumpy and will not be good for writing.  I liked the paper, though, because it reminds me of air bubbles.

  • Cricut Cartridges:  George & Basic Shapes, Life is a Beach, Mickey & Friends, Mickey Font, Paper Pups
  • Cardstock:  Bazzill, me and my Big ideas
Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Mickey & Friends, Mickey Font, Paper Pups Tagged With: , , , ,

Strawberry Teapot Card — My First Easel Card

June 3, 2012 by 14 Comments

 

I made this card for the Kitchen Challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2. Your project must be based on something you would find in a kitchen and have a Cricut cut on it.  I started out with all sorts of ideas but narrowed it down to a teapot.  I was laying out my design in Cricut Design Studio and thought it was looking pretty good.  I decided to try making an easel card, going for a floral, frilly teapot.

Then, a couple of nights ago I was checking out one of my favorite embroidery websites, EmbLibrary.com, and happened upon a strawberry teapot.  I kept looking at it and wondered if I could make something similar using my Cricut.  So I started playing around in Design Studio and ended up with this card.

I used Core’dinations solid cardstock for the base of the card.  All the dotted printed paper I did on my Imagine, using The Good Old Days cartridge.  I am really having fun using my Imagine.

The teapot I used is from Kate’s ABCs cartridge and I welded a strawberry from Preserves over top of the teapot, so just the spout and handle were sticking out beyond the strawberry.  I then welded an oval from George & Basic Shapes onto the bottom of the teapot, to form the base of my easel card.  Here is a side view of the card, so you can see how it stands up.

I cut a scalloped oval and doily shape from Lacy Labels to go on my base.  Through the holes of the doily shape, I threaded seam binding that I dyed using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  Where my seam binding met, I tied a bow.  Here is a close-up of the base so you can see how I threaded the binding, and also how the three small flowers allow the card to stand up.  I used Liquid Pearls to add some dots on the doily.

I also used seam binding to tie a bow around the handle of the teapot.  I used Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart coarse glitter to add some sparkle to the flowers.

I made the tag using my Imagine and the Imagine More cartridge.  I am very happy with how it came out — it is my first cut and print piece that I have used on a project.  I changed the color on one of the layers and left off the sentiment that was on this particular tag.  I then took a Studio G stamp and stamped Happy B-Day on the front and tied it up with some twine.

And here is a picture to show you what the card looks like when it is flat.

When I finished my card, I thought it would be nice if I embroidered some tea towels using the strawberry embroidery design that inspired my creation.  I found a couple of blank striped towels that I thought the design would look OK on and proceeded to stitch them out.  So now I have a nice gift set to give to someone.

And, finally, I want to thank the wonderfully talented Design Team at Bitten by the Bug 2 for the prize that I won in the frame challenge.  My number was picked to receive the Smash Book prize — and I am so excited!  Thank you everyone at Bitten by the Bug 2.

  • Cricut cartridges:  George & Basic Shapes, Kate’s ABCs, Lacy Labels (Lite), Preserves
  • Imagine cartridges:  Imagine More, The Good Old Days
  • Core’dinations cardstock
  • Martha Stewart coarse glitter
  • Glossy Accents
  • Rayon seam binding
  • Liquid Pearls
Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Challenges, Imagine More, Kate's ABCs, Preserves, The Good Old Days Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Elms Bakery Truck Birthday Card

May 27, 2012 by 7 Comments

 

I made this card for the Bakery Challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2.  This is a theme challenge and you have to create a project using something you would find in a bakery.

My inspiration will definitely give away my age, but the bakery theme brought back childhood memories of when the Helms Bakery trucks used to come to neighborhoods in So. California in the 1950’s.  I remember my mom putting the blue Helms placard in the corner of the picture window in our living room.  That told the driver to stop at our house.  The Helms motto was “Daily at Your Door.”

The truck was just like having a bakery parked in front of your house.  The driver would pull out drawers filled with baked goodies — so yummy.  The Helms truck delivered the bread that my brothers and I grew up on.

For my bakery truck, since it delivers to whimsical woodland creatures, I changed the name to Elms Bakery.  I created a shaped card using the milk truck from the Cricut cartridge, Pop-Up Neighborhood.  I tried to keep the colors true to the original Helms trucks.  My cardstock is a mix of both Bazzill and Core’dinations.

For the base of the card, I welded the squirrel from the Birthday Bash cartridge to the truck in Design Studio.  I made the card so it will just squeeze into a #10 envelope.  The lettering on the side of the truck is done in vinyl and the font is from Noah’s ABC Animals cartridge.  I cut the lettering twice, in two colors, so it looks like it has a shadow layer.

For the squirrel, I decided to put a beanie cap on his little head.  I used Baby Steps cartridge to cut the cap portion. To make the propeller on top, I used a number “8” and deleted the inside cuts in Design Studio.  Then I took the sizing handles and squished the “8” close together.  The little post that the propeller attaches to is a small rectangle from George & Basic Shapes.

I cut the cupcake from Birthday Bash and placed it in the squirrels arms.  I used red Stickles on the cherry.

I decided to make this a birthday card, so I cut a sentiment from Birthday Bash to put inside.  I also stamped another sentiment on the opposite side.

  • Cricut Cartridges:  Baby Steps, Birthday Bash, George & Basic Shapes, Noah’s ABC Animals, Pop-Up Neighborhood
  • Cardstock:  Bazzill, Core’dinations
  • Vinyl
  • Stickles
Filed Under: Baby Steps, Birthday Bash, Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Cricut, Noah's ABC Animals, Pop-Up Neighborhood, Stickles Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cricut Circle National Scrapbook Day Crop Color Challenge: Beach Pail Gift Card Holder

May 11, 2012 by 1 Comment

 

To celebrate National Scrapbooking Day ( May 5), the Cricut Circle blog hosted a two-day online event.  There were challenges, tutorials, games, question-and-answers sessions — all kinds of fun.   Unfortunately I was not able to “attend” much of the live portion, but I did manage to make a project for one of the challenges.

When the Circle blog event was posted, I had just finished making eight beach pail gift card holders for a Kelly doll convention (Kelly is Barbie’s younger sister).  So I decided to make another one for the Color Challenge.  The challenge was to create a project using the color inspiration that they provided, which is shown below.  You had to use at least two Cricut image cuts on your project.

This is the picture the Circle blog provided for the color inspiration:

I made this card so that the sand section pulls out of the pail, similar to the flower pot cards where the flowers pull out.  I laid out the entire design in Design Studio.  I used Life is a Beach cartridge for the pail and shovel.  I glued around the outside edges only, leaving the oval section at the top open so the pocket holding the gift card would slide in.  I welded a rectangle from George & Basic Shapes to the sand to form the holder.

All the solid cardstock is from Bazzill and the printed pattern paper is from Graphic 45’s Tropical Travelogue collection — such beautiful paper!  I made the trim on the rim of the bucket using the patterned paper and cut the handle from a darker shade of cardstock.  The sand is cut from some glittered cardstock I bought at my local Joann’s.

Here is a picture showing the sand pulled out of the pail — holding the gift card.

And another picture, showing  a close up of the gift card holder.

I decided to add a small tag to the card, so there would be a place for some writing.  I welded two shell shapes from Picturesque together to form the tag.  The top detail piece on the shell is cut from a piece of off-white glitter cardstock.  The shell flips open and there is a space on the top and bottom for some writing.

  • Cricut Cartridges:  Life is a Beach, Picturesque, George & Basic Shapes
  • Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue paper
  • Bazzill solid color cardstock
  • Glitter cardstock

 

Filed Under: Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Circle Challenge, Life is a Beach Tagged With: , , , ,

Father’s Day Card From The Smoochy Poochy

June 20, 2011 by 4 Comments

 

I decided to make my dear hubby a Father’s Day card from our dog.  Her name is Fifi and she is a rescue dog — part Pomeranian and part Chihuahua.  She is such a daddy’s girl that I figured he would enjoy it.

I call her our Smoochy Poochy because she loves to give kisses.  She also loves toys — her favorites are the fake fur bones with squeakers inside.  She has an assortment of them in all different types of prints — from giraffe to leopard prints. 

I made this card to enter into two challenges.  The weekly challenge at the Cricut Circle Blog is a sketch challenge, so I followed that for the layout of my card. 

The latest challenge at Cooking With Cricut is a Father’s Day related project that includes a Cricut cut.  I used several Cricut cuts on this card.

I couldn’t find a dog that looked like Fifi, so I opted for this cutie on the Paper Pups cartridge.  I chose this one because the dog is on its back and Fifi has a tendency to go “belly up” while she is sleeping.  The dog is lying on an envelope that she has so thoughtfully placed one of her squeaky bones inside for Dad.  The ribbon and bones are from Paper Pups also.

I used Doodlecharms for the envelope, Beyond Birthdays for “Dad” and Sans Serif for “#1”. 

The solid cardstock is Bazzill and the printed paper is all from Basic Grey — their Lauderdale collection.

For the inside of the card, I used Paisley for the “xoxo” and Simply Charmed for the “Happy Father’s Day” sentiment.  I added another bone inside.

  • Cricut cartridges used:  Beyond Birthdays, Doodlecharms, Paisley, Paper Pups, Sans Serif, Simply Charmed
  • Bazzill cardstock
  • Basic Grey — Lauderdale collection
Filed Under: Beyond Birthdays, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Circle Challenge, Cooking With Cricut, Cricut, Doodlecharms, Paisley, Paper Pups, Sans Serif, Simply Charmed Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ice Cream Shop Card for Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge

June 7, 2011 by 4 Comments

 

Weekly Challenge #33 over at the Cricut Circle Blog is called the Sweet Summertime Challenge.  You have to incorporate the shape of your favorite summertime treat and use a stamp somewhere on your project.

My summertime treat is easy — it’s the same treat I love all year long — ice cream!!  That being said, I knew right away what my card was going to have on it.  But I decided that I would not only include an ice cream cone but also the ice cream shop.

The lastest exclusive cartridge for Cricut Circle members is Pop-Up Neighborhood.  I was looking through the handbook and really liked some of the buildings.  While I didn’t use the pop-up feature on this card, I did take the bakery and turned it into an ice cream shop.

In Design Studio, I laid out two of the bakery shadow shapes and welded them together at the top.   I remembered the cute little hippo from Birthday Bash, who is blissfully running with her ice cream cone, and knew I wanted her on my card too.  So I laid out the hippo shape onto my base and welded that also.

I cut the shapes from the Sweet Stack by Die Cuts With A View.  The solid color cardstock is from Bazzill.  I used just the two cartridges — Birthday Bash and Pop-Up Neighborhood.   Oops, I just remembered a third cartridge that I used — the Lite cartridge Twinkle Toes.  I cut the banner for the shop name from it.

For the windows on my ice cream shop, I used graphics from Provo Craft — from their pccrafter.com site.  I thought they were perfect with my design.  I used a stamp to do the name of the shop.  I found a clear stamp in a set that I bought from K & Company that said “The Scoop” and when I saw it I knew that would be the name.

I used the Cuttlebug on the front door, the Distressed Stripes folder, and also on the ice cream cone, the Mesh Texture folder.  I needed something with a small pattern because the ice cream cone on the front of the card is quite small and this folder was great.  It gives the look of a waffle cone.  I used coarse glitter on the ice cream itself and red Stickles for the cherry on top.

Front3

This is a happy and fun creation and when I look at my card I can’t help but think of a book Erin had as a child.  It was called Yummers! and featured Miss Emily (a pig) and Eugene (a turtle).  When I look at the pink hippo, she just looks like she is running along thinking, yummers!!

The patterned paper on the inside of the card is from daisyd’s.  I made another ice cream cone, this time a little larger, to adhere to a corner.

  • Cricut Design Studio
  • Cricut cartridges:  Birthday Bash, Pop-Up Neighborhood, Twinkle Toes
  • Cuttlebug folders:  Distressed Stripes and Mesh Texture
  • DCWV — Sweet Stack
  • Bazzill solid cardstock
  • Coarse glitter
  • Red Stickles
Filed Under: Birthday Bash, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Circle Challenge, Cricut, Pop-Up Neighborhood, Rubber Stamps, Stickles, Twinkle Toes (Lite) Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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