Chalkboard Father’s Day Card

 

This is a quick and fun card I created for Father’s Day using the new Cricut Chalkboard Fonts cartridge.  I was inspired by some chalkboard art that I saw on Pinterest.

The card is a standard A2 size (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″).  On the black cardstock, I inked the edges with white ink.  While doing so, I managed to smear the ink all over myself — and on the front of the cardstock, too.  So I took a sponge and lightly went over the front to make it look like a chalkboard that had recently been erased – which is the look I was going for anyway.

 

Front

The dad is from the Cricut Car Decals cartridge.  I like the way the Chalkboard Font looks with cuts from the decal cartridges.

The font I picked to use on “Father’s” has lots of very small pieces.  Because I knew I would never be able to glue all those small pieces of cardstock to the front of the card, I chose to cut everything from vinyl.  I still had to be very careful when weeding the vinyl to make sure those small pieces stayed in place.

Front3

  • Cricut cartridges — Car Decals, Chalkboard Fonts
  • Vinyl
  • Ink

Circleville 2013 NSD – Oh The Places You’ll Go! Challenge

 

 

I just completed my second project for Circleville’s NSD Challenges.  This one is hosted by Marty (Eyelet on the message board) and she gave us a sketch to follow.  I made a card.

I used my Imagine again, printing the papers from the Floral Emporium cartridge.  It was my first time using this cartridge — it has some really pretty patterns on it.  I printed both the patterned and solid paper.

Front5

Here is the sketch:

card sketch.jpg

The blue flap (don’t know what else to call it) is from Elegant Edges <Eyelt1-s>.  I stretched it some in each direction in CCR to get it to the size of the card.  I then copied that shape and stretched it a bit more to get a shadow.  The circle of flowers is from Paper Trimmings <Flower8><Circle>, cut at 3″.  The sentiment is from Sentimentals <Letter2><Layer>, cut at 2.5″. Because the letters are so thin and small, I cut them from white vinyl.

The band on the card is two strips of cardstock, one 1″ wide, the other 1.25″ wide.  I used an EK Success border punch on them, Deco Scallops.

Front3

  • Cricut cartridges — Elegant Edges, Floral Emporium (Imagine), Paper Trimmings, Sentimentals
  • EK Success Deco Scallops border punch
  • White vinyl

My First Mixed Media Canvas — Cricut Southwest Contest

I have been wanting to try my hand at creating a mixed media canvas for a while now.  Cricut’s latest contest for their new Southwest cartridge gave me the push to get started.  The inspiration for my project was a picture I pinned on Pinterest of a gorgeous white dream catcher.

I watched a lot of videos online trying to gather facts on what supplies I needed and how I wanted to proceed.  I made a run to Michaels for supplies before I started.  I needed a canvas and gesso, and I also picked up a few fun items to try.  I think my favorite was the modeling paste.

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I laid my design out in Cricut Craft Room.  The first step was to paint the 8″ x 10″ canvas with gesso.  After it was dry, I cut out the dream catcher  at 7″ and border strips at .85″ from scrap cardstock so I could gauge where I wanted them on the canvas.  I lightly traced around the cuts with a pencil.

StepCanvasLayout

Then I added some cheesecloth to the canvas using a gloss medium.  When that was dry, I gave everything another coat of gesso.  Then I used two shades of Martha Stewart metallic craft paint to cover it.

StepCanvasPaint

For my borders, I cut the design using repositionable vinyl and made stencils.  I used the negative images for my stencils.  The stencils are the polka dot material in the pictures.  It is some vinyl I picked up on clearance.  Using the first stencil, I laid down some gunmetal metallic paint.  I would skip this step next time because I ended up covering that part of the design with some leather lacing.  I didn’t like the dark paint — it was too much of a contrast.

StepBorderDk1

In this picture you will notice the canvas looks different than the finished project. I had stamped some images on it that I decided to delete by covering with gesso and adding some more cheesecloth. I then painted the area to blend in with the background.

I laid down the turquoise color with the second stencil.  I put a layer of gesso first and then added two layers of color.  The final layer was a coat of Martha Stewart glitter paint.

StepBorderBlue

The third stencil is where I got to try the modeling paste.  I mixed some copper color into the paste and used a craft stick to smooth it over the stencil.

StepModelPaste1

I was so happy with how it turned out — the design is raised and after it dried it reminded me of pottery.

StepModelPaste

 

Before doing the last layer of the borders, I cut a stencil of the shadow of the dream catcher and stuck it on the canvas.  I mixed some glass bead gel with some glitter paint and spread it over the canvas.  This layer was pretty wet and it had to dry overnight.

StepGlassBeads

 

You can see the glass beads behind the web part of the dream catcher.  They give a really neat effect.

DCCloseup2

 

The final border stencil was a little tricky.  My first issue was weeding the correct vinyl — I kept pulling off the wrong areas.  The I had trouble getting it to stick on top of the modeling pasted.  It wanted to lift up, so I opted to add just a coat of copper glitter paint for the final coat, rather than changing colors completely.  I was afraid the paint would bleed and be noticeable if I went for a contrast.

StepBorderTopLayer

 

I was very pleased with the finished border.  The last layer added a subtle glitter design on the modeling paste.

BorderCloseup2

At this point I decided I did not like the stamped images I placed on the canvas earlier.  I painted over them with gesso and then added some more cheesecloth.  I went over the entire area with the metallic paint and blended the areas into the background.   I also glued some leather lacing along the edges of the border, covering the dark painted layer I had first stenciled on.  I was much happier with this look.

StepCheesecloth2

I used several layers to make the dream catcher.  I trimmed one layer so all I had was a circle and used that to tie on the trim and beads.  The top layer is also just the circle and I heat embossed it using a Fran-tage powder from Stampendous.  The web part is also heat embossed using a holographic powder.  I glued some small seed beads to it.  I added several layers of feathers and sketched in some lines using a marker.

StepDCLayers

 

This is what it looks like all put together.

 

DCCloseup

The flowers were cut at two sizes, 1.5″ and 1.25″.  I inked the edges and curled the petals under.  The flower centers are glass glitter from Stampendous.  I glued some feathers behind the flowers.  The owl was cut at 2″ and heat embossed with copper embossing powder.

Owl

The saying was printed using various fonts and cut apart into rectangles.  I inked the edges and glued them on the canvas.  It is actually a song lyric from Dream a Little Dream of Me, sung by Cass Elliott of the Mamas & Papas.

Here is a side view of the canvas, to give you an idea of all the texture and dimension it has.

SideView

While this project was very time consuming, I do want to try doing a canvas again.  With all the supplies I now own, I don’t have an excuse not to.

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  •  Cricut Southwest cartridge
  • 8″ x 10″ canvas
  • Liquitex Gesso
  • Liquitex Modeling Paste
  • Liquitex Glass Beads
  • Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (used to blend background paints)
  • Martha Stewart acrylic craft paints:  Light Gold Metallic, Pale Bronze Metallic, Aquarium Pearl, Turquoise Glitter, Brownstone Glitter, Sunstone Glitter
  • Cheesecloth
  • Stampendous Fran-tage embossing powder
  • Stampendous Glass Glitter
  • Yarn
  • Beads
  • Feathers
  • Leather lacing (from Michaels)

Happy Thanksgiving Pumpkin Card

 

I made this card for the latest challenge at Cooking With Cricut.  The challenge was to make a Thanksgiving card for the I Feel the Love Project (IFTL).  Each month they select a different person, organization or group to receive handmade projects.  This month the cards are going to Surrey Place Care Center, a 60-bed skilled nursing facility.

I am getting my card in just under the wire.  In fact, I had better go link my card before time runs out.  Well, I got my card linked to Cooking With Cricut’s page, but for some reason the photo is not showing up.

I made my card in Cricut Craft Room.  I used the pumpkin card feature on Autumn Celebrations, cutting it at 5.75″. The solid color cardstock is from Core’dinations.  The patterned papers are from a paper pad I picked up at Joann’s called Cocoa Mint by Cloud 9 Design.

The leaves are cut at 3″ using two shades of green.  The sentiment is from the Thanksgiving cartridge and is cut at 1.35″.  I used orange vinyl for the sentiment .  I like using vinyl for smaller, more intricate cuts because it cuts so well and you don’t have to put adhesive on it.

The flower was made using my Cuttlebug and the Daisy quilling kit.  It is my first flower made using this kit and I am happy with the result.  I inked the edges of the petals before rolling them up.  I used some Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart crystal glitter on the flower petals.  I attached the leaves to the card using pop dots.

 The inside of the card is simple, mainly because I ran out of time.

Here is another picture where I was able to lighten it up and kill some of the glare so you can see the sentiment better.  I didn’t realize the first pic was so dark.

  • Cricut Craft Room
  • Cricut cartridges:  Autumn Celebrations, Thanksgiving
  • Cuttlebug Daisy quilling kit
  • Core’dinations cardstock
  • Orange vinyl
  • Glitter – crystal

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

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

Barbie Suitcase Gift Card Holder for National Convention

 

I had a lot of fun with this project.  I was asked to make ten gift card holders that were to be handed out at the 2012 National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention this week in Garden Grove, CA.  They were originally going to hold gift cards, but then it was decided that they would contain raffle tickets.  I guess there are some fabulous prizes in the Raffle Room.  The theme of this year’s convention is The Grand Tour.

My first thought was to make the card shaped like a suitcase, as a rectangular shape would work well with a gift card.  I searched through suitcase cuts on mycutsearch.com and decided to use the one on the Summer Celebrations cartridge, since it looked sort of vintage.

I welded two shapes together at the bottom in Cricut Design Studio.  I cut the base of the card from chocolate Bazzill cardstock.  All the solid cardstock is Bazzill and the prints are from Basic Grey.  I chose a pink print for the front of the suitcase, using a neutral color for the hardware.  Since Paris and Rome are on the itinerary of the Convention, I cut those words from pink vinyl using the Word Collage cartridge.  Here is a picture of the vinyl lettering.

I chose a vintage stripe print for the lining of the suitcase.  I used a rectangle from George & Basic Shapes to create the pocket on the inside, using a punch to round the bottom corners.  Velcro at the top holds the suitcase together when closed.

The shoes, sunglasses and bra and panties are all cut from Forever Young.  I used a black glitter cardstock from Core’dinations for the shoes.  I applied Glossy Accents to the lenses on the sunglasses.

For the small flower embellishments on the shoes and bra and panties, I used the negative cuts from a Martha Stewart punch called Flower Shower.  It makes the tiniest of flowers.  I added Stickles to the centers of the flowers.

Now comes the most fun part — making the charms.  This was my first time using Ink Jet Shrinky Dinks to make charms.  I followed a great tutorial from the talented Nadia to make my charms.  Here are her step-by-step instructions.

I did not use my Imagine to make the charms as I used a jpg of the Convention logo.  I printed the design on the Shrinky Dink material using my ink jet printer.  So instead of having a Cricut to do my cutting, I hand cut around the charms.  I am not the greatest when it comes to cutting around objects — I got a little wobbly in places.  But the great thing about the Shrinky Dinks is that you don’t really see my wonky cuts.  Here is a photo showing the size of the print I started out with and what it looked like after shrinking.  I also lightened the jpg in Photoshop before printing, as the colors get intense with baking.

Following Nadia’s instructions, after the Shrinky Dinks baked and were flat, I applied some Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) to them.  I then popped them back in the oven and waited for the UTEE to melt.

I was so happy with the way they turned out — even my hubby thought they were neat.  The circle part of the charm is not quite an inch across — and look how well you can read the tiny lettering.

I attached jump rings in the holes and hung the charms from key chains that I shortened to fit on the suitcases.

Here are all ten suitcases.

  • Cricut Cartridges – Forever Young, George & Basic Shapes, Summer Celebrations, Word Collage
  • Bazzil cardstock
  • Basic Grey designer paper
  • Vinyl
  • Martha Stewart Flower Shower punch
  • Stickles
  • Glossy Accents by Ranger
  • Ink Jet Shrinky Dinks

Elms Bakery Truck Birthday Card

 

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

2nd Banner Entry for Cricut Expression 2 Design Challenge

 

The second banner that I made for the HSN design challenge does not use any paper or cardstock — I decided to create a banner using heat transfer vinyl and applique.    I “hung” my banner on a gray Bella sweatshirt.  This was my first time cutting heat transfer vinyl and fabric with the Cricut and I was so impressed with the results.

This was a last-minute entry.  I had been working on the layout and design for a couple of days, but it got down the the weekend before the challenge ended before I was able to start cutting.  I stayed up all night to finish the sweatshirt so I could get it to the post office in time to meet the deadline.   I wish I had better pictures of it.

Back6

The banner is cut from black twill using the B is for Boy cartridge.  And, yes, I cut it on my Cricut!  I then cut the banner pieces from heat transfer vinyl (love the lime zebra print) and applied the pieces on my black banner base.  The Cricut lettering is from the Cricut Everyday cartridge.  From there I embroidered two hearts and some strings on my sweatshirt and then appliqued the banner pieces onto the heartstrings using a heavy satin stitch.

I also cut a large sunburst design from Ornamental Iron 2 to apply above the banner.  I used two semi-circles and welded them together in Design Studio.  I cut this design from a metallic heat transfer vinyl.  Here are two close-up pictures of the back.

 

To decorate the front of the sweatshirt I again used Ornamental Iron 2.  I cut a scroll design for the right front and added the word “Create” using Paper Lace II.  They are cut from two different shades of metallic heat transfer vinyl but both look silver in the picture — probably from the flash.  I cut a winged heart design for the left front using the Rock Princess cartridge and the lime zebra print and silver metallic vinyls.

  • Cricut cartridges:  B is for Boy, Cricut Everyday, Ornamental Iron 2, Paper Lace II, Rock Princess
  • Heat transfer vinyl
  • Black twill