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: , , , , , , ,

Tiptoe Through the Tulips Layout — Tulip Field in the Netherlands

May 20, 2012 by 7 Comments

I was inspired to make this layout after my dear daughter, Erin, posted a picture of herself standing in a tulip field in the Netherlands.  Erin and her hubby, Brett, were in the Netherlands the first week of May looking for a place to live as they will be moving there at the end of June.  They are currently living in Taiwan — have been there about 2 1/2 years.

Erin has been to the Netherlands several times before, but she has never been in the country when the tulips are blooming.  She thought they would be too late to see any this trip, but on their way to the airport in Amsterdam to leave, they found this field still in bloom.  Brett snapped the picture and Erin posted it on Facebook.  Once I saw the picture I knew I wanted to do something special with it.

Bitten by the Bug 2 has a frame challenge that began on May 7, right around the time I first saw the picture, so I designed my layout around that challenge.  We were to use a Cricut frame on any project.  The challenge ends today, so once again I am getting my project in just under the wire.

I have to first say that on this layout I finally used my Cricut Imagine.  It has been sitting in the box for some time.  I read some of the problems people were having with their Imagines and it took me quite a while to get up the courage to fire it up.  I discovered that the cartridge that came with my Imagine (Imagine More) was defective.  Luckily I had another cartridge I could use to get the machine running.  I called Provo Craft customer service and they are sending me a new cartridge.

I did manage to get it printing and cutting.  I am having some issues with the machine not cutting each time though.  Sometimes it just spits the mat out after printing.  I will play around with it some more and hopefully it behaves.

For this layout I printed the background paper on the Imagine.  I used a pattern from the Yummy cartridge and filled an 11″ square with the design.  I love that I can now print my own paper!

The solid color cardstock is mostly from Core’dinations, with a little Stampin Up thrown in the mixture.  For my swirly frame, I used the Cricut cartridge Fancy Frames.  I made the tulip frame in Design Studio by welding four corner shapes together from the Art Nouveau cartridge.  I welded just the shadow layer (black layer) only.  I cut the other layers separately so the tendrils would overlap on the center sides.  I also cut some extra tulip petals so I could layer them on the flowers and inked all the flower petals with some Tim Holtz Distress ink.  Here is a close-up of the frame.

The title is cut from the Bloom Cricut Lite cartridge.  Erin posted on Facebook shortly after she arrived in the Netherlands that she was hoping to tiptoe through some tulips, so this was a perfect choice for the title.  I used pop-dots under the title.

And, finally, to balance out the left side of the layout I added three butterflies from the Indie Art cartridge.  I cut three different layers, and on the last layer I only glued down the inside portion of the wings so I could bend them up.  I added some Stickles to the wings.

I have been playing around some in Cricut Craft Room and have to say that I am impressed by what it can do.  As with the Imagine, I have read some problems people have encountered with CCR, so I haven’t tried cutting with it yet.  I just didn’t have time to try it with this project, but I want to share what my project looked like laid out in CCR.  It is a great design aid because you can color your layers and see exactly what your project will look like.  For my background paper, I tried several different patterns before I decided on this one.  With the click of a button I could see what a different pattern would look like with my layout.  I think the final project looks pretty much like what I laid out in CCR.  I made a few changes as I started working on the layout, but this was my blueprint for my project.

  • Cricut cartridges:  Art Nouveau, Bloom, Fancy Frames, Indie Art
  • Cardstock:  Core’dinations, Stampin Up
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink
  • Stickles
Filed Under: Art Nouveau, Bitten by the Bug 2, Bloom (Lite), Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Cricut, Fancy Frames, Indie Art, Layouts, Stickles Tagged With: , , , ,

Jitterbuggin’ Challenge – Let’s Give Thanks! – Thanks From the Bottom of My Heart

November 24, 2010 by 2 Comments

The current challenge at Jitterbuggin’ is to follow the sketch, add a Cricut cut and emboss something. 

I’m not sure where my colors for this card came from — I must have been in a “bright” mood.  I recently received an order from Stampin’ Up and it was sitting in a box and I started pulling out colors.  All the colored cardstock is from Stampin Up’.

I embossed the three center sections using my Cuttlebug and the following folders:  Spots & Dots, Textile Texture and Forest Branches.  I inked each folder with a different color of ink and then ran white cardstock through the Cuttlebug.  The white scalloped trim around the center section is a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page set called Scallop 3-Dot.  I used just the very top part of the punched piece — the top dot.  I had to piece it because my cardstock size was not the exact size to take advantage of the punch-around-the-page feature.

I used my Cricut to cut out the skunk from the Create a Critter cartridge.  I also cut the heart-shaped balloon from Create a Critter.  The “thanks” is cut from Don Juan.  I attached some ribbon to the ballon and then attached it to the skunk’s hand.  I added a bow to the ballon. 

For the inside of the card, I cut another heart from Create a Critter.  I printed the sentiment on the computer.  I added another bow to the inside heart.

  • Stampin’ Up cardstock
  • Cricut cartridges:  Create a Critter and Don Juan
  • Cuttlebug folders:  Spots & Dots, Textile Texture and Forest Branches
  • Martha Stewart Scallop 3-Dot Punch Around the Page set
  • Ribbon from my stash
Filed Under: Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Create a Critter, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Don Juan, Jitterbuggin, Martha Stewart Punches Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Speedy Turtle – Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog – Challenge #36 Achoo!

November 21, 2010 by 8 Comments

Here is my card for the current challenge at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog, which is to make a project that has something to do with being sick.  I don’t know why, but this challenge stumped me.  I couldn’t think of anything exciting that I wanted to make.  I started several different projects before the light bulb finally went off and I had a clear vision of what I wanted to make.

The card base is Bazzill cardstock, the patterned paper is Basic Grey, and the solid that the turtle is cut from is Stampin’ Up.  I cut the turtle using my Cricut and the Create a Critter cartridge.  Since I am wishing the recipient a speedy recovery, I figured I needed to give my turtle some running shoes so she could speed things up a bit.  I cut the shoes from My Community and laced them up with some white cording that I found in my stash.  I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder Swiss Dots to emboss the bottom edge of her shoes.  I also gave her a hat, which I cut from Paper Doll Dress Up.  The label that the sentiment is printed on is from a Lite cartridge, Lacy Labels.  I used Create a Critter for the flowers and the tufts of grass.  I added pearls to the centers of the  flowers. 

The flowers on the inside of the card are also from Create a Critter. 

  • Bazzill cardstock
  • Stampin’ Up cardstock
  • Basic Grey designer paper
  • Cricut cartridges:  Create a Critter, Lacy Labels (Lite), My Community, Paper Doll Dress Up
  • Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder
  • Pearls
  • Cording from my stash
Filed Under: Card Challenges, Create a Critter, Cuttlebug, FCCB, Lacy Labels (Lite), My Community, Paper Doll Dress Up Tagged With: , , , , , ,