Cricut Art Nouveau Hummingbird Birthday Card

 

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

Cricut Create a Critter 2 Owl Witch Card

 

I was able to use my new Create a Critter 2 cartridge last night to make a card to participate in the latest challenge at Cooking With Cricut,  their Card Outreach Challenge.  The challenge is to make fun Halloween cards (no scary ones) for the I Feel the Love Project.

The “I Feel the Love” Project for September is to make Halloween Cards to be given to the kids who live at Casa Pacifica.   Casa Pacifica serves abused and neglected children and adolescents, and those with severe emotional, social, behavioral, and mental health challenges on California’s Central Coast.  Each year the facility has an amazing Halloween party for the kids. It is IFTL’s goal to send a card to each of the 70 children who reside there. (For more information about Casa Pacifica please visit their website.)
I laid out my card in Cricut Craft Room, cutting the owl at 3″.  The owl’s body was printed and cut on my Imagine, using the Bubblegum Stripes cartridge for the small purple stripes.  I did not use CCR for this step, as it still is not compatible with the Imagine.  I embossed the small tummy piece with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.
For the owl’s eye, I hid the cut that forms the pupil in CCR.  On the mat in CCR, the circles look perfectly round.  But when I cut the eyes with my Expression, they did not come out round.   I had what looked like a cross-eyed owl.  So I took black paint  and a stylus (you can also use the round end of a paintbrush), dipped the stylus into the paint and then formed black circles on the white part of the eye.  Once the paint dried, I put a white highlight on the black dot.
I added a moon behind the owl, which is a circle that I also cut at 3″.  I embossed the moon with a new Cuttlebug folder I recently got, the bat folder from the Midnight Hauntings set.  The phrase was cut at 1″.  Because of the small size of the phrase, I cut it out of vinyl.  The Cricut easily cuts vinyl.  Vinyl is great for small pieces because it already has adhesive, so you don’t have to fuss trying to put glue on them.
I added Stickles to the band and buckle on the hat.
For the inside of the card, I lined it with a couple of pieces of patterned paper.  I cut the pumpkin treat bag and candy piece, also from Create a Critter 2, at 1.5″.  I cut the shadow layer from cardstock and the black and orange layers from vinyl.
The background paper and print paper inside my card are from a K & Company Halloween collection that came out a year or so ago.  I picked it up on sale and don’t remember exactly when I bought it.
  • Cricut cartridges:  Create a Critter 2, Imagine Bubblegum Stripes
  • Cuttlebug:  Midnight Hauntings embossing folder set
  • K & Company Halloween paper pad
  • Stickles

Wee Wee Wee!! Pig With Pinwheels Shaped Card

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

Wild About You Onesie Gift Set Using Cricut Create a Critter 2

 

One of the more popular Cricut cartridges surely must be Create a Critter.  Provo Craft is giving users of Cricut Craft Room a sneak peak of one of their newest cartridges by making five cuts from Create a Critter 2 available for free. There is also a contest, which ends on September 5,  where you can enter your projects using these latest designs through the Cricut Project Center.

My project is a onesie gift set that includes a black onesie decorated with the lion and phrase designs from Create a Critter 2.  All were cut from heat transfer vinyl.  I constructed a box from Sweet Tooth Boxes and made a small gift card using the bird that is on the Icon tab of the lion feature on Create a Critter 2.

When using heat transfer vinyl, it is important to remember that you must mirror (flip) your images in Craft Room because you are cutting the back of the vinyl.  Then when you iron it on your garment everything is facing the correct way and you can read your phrases.

“Wild about U”  is cut from a holographic vinyl that I picked up years ago at a trade show — long before I knew what a Cricut was.   I fell in love with the sparkly rainbow colors and brought a roll home with me.  Unfortunately the vinyl did not come with application instructions, so I did some test runs before applying it on the onesie.  My first attempt at ironing it on produced negative results as I was getting it too hot.  I didn’t realize it and started increasing the time I was pressing, getting even worse results.  I finally dialed back on the heat and the time to get proper application.

The lion is cut from a vinyl that can be peeled hot or cold.  Because he has four layers, I applied him first.  I put down the first layer and pressed for only 4 seconds, immediately peeling off the backing.  I let that layer cool and then added the next.  Again, I pressed for 4 seconds and peeled.  I did this until all four layers were down.

When doing layers, you have to remember to cover up the vinyl that has already been applied and is no longer protected by the clear film.  I use a teflon sheet to cover my design before pressing each layer.

After the lion and the “about” from the phrase were in place, I then added the holographic phrase and applied it.

The gift box is from Sweet Tooth Boxes.  I cut the box that begins on page 10 of the handbook, using just the bottom and lid.  I hid the cut-out area in the lid and then added the shadow feature of the lion — so my box has a lion window to tie in with the theme of the onesie.

I printed the zebra paper for the box lid using my Imagine.  I used a bright purplish cardstock and printed the stripes using the Teresa Collin’s Black & White cartridge.  This put a lot of black ink on the paper, so I used a blow dryer on it and then I let it dry for over an hour.  When I rubbed my fingers on it, the black was still smudging, so I gave it a coat of clear matte spray.

Because Cricut Craft Room does not work with the Imagine, I used my Imagine only to print the paper.  I then transferred the paper to my Expression and cut the lid.  I scored all the lines on the box and lid and assembled them, adding a layer of clear acrylic to form the window of the box.

A gift card was created using the shadow feature and welding two shapes together at the top of the head.  I used two Cuttlebug folders on the bird, Charles (a chevron design) and Swiss Dots.   I did the layers on both the front and back of the card, as I wasn’t sure which way I wanted him facing.

I added a white layer to the inside of the card so there would be a place to write a message.

To finish off the box, I dyed some seam binding using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Adirondak Color Wash.  I scrunched it up while it was wet and let it dry.  Then I tied a bow and made a couple of ribbon roses to add in the middle.

  • Cricut Craft Room:  Create a Critter 2, Sweet Tooth Boxes
  • Cricut Imagine:  Teresa Collin’s Black & White cartridge
  • Cricut Expression
  • Cuttlebug:  Charles and Swiss Dots
  • Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist
  • Adirondak Color Wash

This is My Little Black Dress Onesie and Matching Card

 

Several months ago I bought some black onesies so I could decorate them using heat transfer vinyl.  I went on to other things and the onesies just sat — until Bitten by the Bug 2 posted their Fashion Challenge.  That was the push I needed to get the onesies done.  And when I finished with the onesies (I made a 6 mos size and a 12 mos size), I made a matching card.  Now I have a couple of gift sets ready when I need them.

 

I saw this phrase on a onesie on the Internet a long time ago and always thought it would be fun to do.  I cut all the vinyl with my Cricut, using Design Studio to lay out everything.  For the necklace, I brought a cut from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge into Design Studio to use as a guide.  I enlarged the design until it fit the neck of the onesie.  I then took circles from George and laid them along the contour of the necklace, making sure they touched so I could weld them. Once I had circles completely covering the necklace shape, I deleted the necklace so that all was left was a string of pearls.  I cut this from white flock vinyl, so it has a fuzzy feel to it.

I used a variety of cartridges for the letters — sort of felt like I was putting together a ransom note.  I used Don Juan for the “this is my” and “dress” cuts.  I used Forever Young for “black” and Graphically Speaking for “little”.  I cut these out of white and pink glitter vinyl.

When cutting heat transfer vinyl, you have to remember to mirror the images.  I had no problem mirroring the words  “little” and “black” —  just had to check the “flip shapes” button in Design Studio.  But because I was putting the other words together myself using individual letters, I was having issues getting the words to mirror.  I finally figured out if I typed the words in backwards and then checked the “flip shapes” button that it worked.

I used Life’s a Party for the onesie card.  I welded two of the shadow bases together at the shoulders.  I embossed the black layer using my Cuttlebug and a 5″ x 7″ folder from the Once Upon a Princess Companion Set that has little roses all over.

The label on the front of the onesie is from the Phrases cartridge.  Because the lettering is so thin, I cut it from pink vinyl and used transfer tape to put it on the scalloped ovals.  I added a couple of glittery flowers that I picked up at a Tuesday Morning store a while ago.  I used 3 white dot embellishments that I got in one of Joann’s $1 bins for the snaps on the onesie.

For the inside of the card, I cut a white layer and inked the edges and then I stamped an image from a stamp I have in my stash.

  • Cricut cartridges – Don Juan, Forever Young, George & Basic Shapes, Graphically Speaking, Life’s a Party, Phrases
  • Cuttlebug – Once Upon a Princess Companion Set
  • Heat transfer vinyl
  • Assorted embellishments

Butterfly Kisses Baby Girl Card

 

 

The weekly challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog is a card sketch challenge and you must use at least two Cricut cuts.  I thought I’d make a card on my Imagine, since I haven’t made a complete project using the Imagine.

I decided to make a baby card,  even though I don’t know anyone who is having a baby right now.  But it will be good to have on hand.  Again, for no particular reason, I made the card for a baby girl.

I used the Cricut Imagine cartridge Nursery Tails for this card.  All the paper is from this cartridge, as are the pink socks and the Butterfly Kisses title.  I embossed the brown floral background and the pink contrast strip with my Cuttlebug.  I cut the images in layers and inked around all the edges.   I added some ribbon, attached the socks with foam pop-dots and added three pearls by the tag.

For the inside of the card, I used a Cuttlebug die for the “Welcome Baby” and the bib is from Nursery Tails.

This is a fairly simple card, but I like the way it turned out.

  • Cricut Imagine Cartridge Nursery Tails
  • Cuttlebug
  • Ribbon, pearls

So Happy For You! Card

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

Graduation Card — You Rock!!

A friend’s daughter graduated from middle school a few days ago.  I wanted to make her a card that was not the average grad card — I wanted something a little funky and feminine.  I know she enjoys music, and just to prove how old I am, I have never heard of the groups she likes!

I decided to go with the phrase, “You Rock.”  I found the phrase on the Cricut Phrases cartridge and liked the bold design.  However, this particular phrase came with a lightning bolt at the end of it.  So to make it more feminine, I welded a rose from the Indie Art cartridge over top of the lightning bolt.  I also decided to make this a shaped card.

The fun part of this card was printing and cutting the layers on my Imagine.  I used the Floral Emporium cartridge for the prints and solid colors (excluding the black cardstock).  I love the bright colors and fun prints on this cartridge.  I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the bright pink print paper on the phrase and rose.  The grad hat was cut from Everyday Pop-Up cartridge.

I used pop dots on the grad hat, rose and the “you” on the phrase to add depth.

For the inside of the card, I printed and cut a greeting from the Imagine cartridge, Greeting Cards Inside & Out.

When I was laying out the card in Design Studio, I was trying to keep the dimensions so the card would fit into a #10 envelope.  However, this is a big card and ended up being about an 1″ too large either way, so I made a custom envelope for it.  Luckily the card was hand delivered so I didn’t have to worry about postage.

As I was working on this card, Bitten by the Bug 2 announced their latest challenge — the Rose Challenge.  I was so happy because I would be able to enter this card in the challenge.

  • Cricut Cartridges:  Everyday Pop-Up, Imagine Floral Emporium, Imagine Greeting Cards Inside & Out, Indie Art, Phrases
  • Cuttlebug

Ice Cream Shop Card for Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge

 

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

Vintage Birthday Card for Cricut Circle Blog’s Monthly Challenge

 

Here I am, getting another project submitted with just a few hours to spare.  I guess I work better with deadlines closing in on me, although I do not care for the stress.  But who can I blame for procrastinating?  Yep, no one but me!

I decided to make a birthday card for my niece and this is my first time trying to make something that looks vintage.  I love the look of vintage but didn’t know how well I would do trying to create it.  I am happy with how it turned out, especially for a first try.

The paper I chose is the reason I went for the vintage look.  I picked up a pad of paper by Bo Bunny when I was shopping last week.  It is the Gabrielle Collection and there are some beautiful designs in it. 

The monthly challenge for May at the Cricut Circle is the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  The object is to pick three prompts in a row from a tic tac toe grid and to include at least two Cricut cuts.

I chose a diagnoal row, going from the bottom left to the right top — which consisted of:  use a cut of a flower shape, use a ruffle, and use some buttons.

Because the paper is so pretty, I decided to use a frame around one of the designs.  I cut the frame from the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge.  I made my ruffle from a piece of seam binding and laid down a piece of lace on the paper before adding the ruffle.  The pearls on the ruffle are actually white buttons that I colored with my Copics.  I cut the shanks off the button before gluing them on the ruffle.

The flowers were the most time-consuming part of my card.  I cut them out of plain off-white cardstock using my Accent Essentials cartridge.  I inked all the edges and then formed the cuts into roses.  I sprayed them with Glimmer Mist — sure wish the sparkle showed up in the pictures. 

I cut the leaves from the same off-white cardstock using the Picturesque cartridge, inked them green and then ran them through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder.  The butterfly is from the Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art cartridge.  I found a button in my stash that matched the butterfly beautifully.  I added some Memory Thread to the button and glued it on the body of the butterfly.  On the lacy layer of the butterfly, I added some sparkle using Glossy Accents and Diamond Dust.  I also used Distress Stickles on its body.

I cut some tickets using Wall Decor & More and inked them a light coral color.  I cut the tickets at 2″ and they fit the stamp set perfectly.  I then stamped them with a stamp set from Autumn Leaves called Ticketed. 

The inside of the card features a different piece of the Bo Bunny paper and another ticket.

I used lots of foam dots on this card.  Here is a photo showing a side view so you can get an idea of the dimension that this card has.

Since I can’t put this card into a normal envelope, I made a box to hold it.  But I need to take a picture of the box.  I will post the picture once I take it. 

I’m back with some pics of the box.  I ended up adding my niece’s name to the top of the box, which I cut from Storybook.

 

  • Bo Bunny – Gabrielle Collection
  • Cricut cartridges used:  Accent Essentials, Elegant Edges, Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art, Picturesque, Wall Decor & More
  • Cuttlebug folder – Swiss Dots
  • Glimmer Mist
  • Seam binding
  • Stickles
  • Autumn Leaves stamps – Ticketed
  • DMC Memory Thread
  • Glossy Accents
  • Diamond Dust
  • Buttons from stash