Cricut Circle Monthly Challenge #3 - Holiday Gifts

DECEMBER MONTHLY CHALLENGE: HOLIDAY GIFTS

The theme for this month’s challenge is geared towards helping you cross off one of the names on your holiday gift list! Please create a Holiday Gift Item. Project must be newly created for this challenge and should include the following elements to qualify: use a tag made with a cartridge (there are so many great tags on so many cartridges), use the color red somewhere, use ribbon, and use the Phrase Feature from one of the cartridges

•Use atleast 2 Cricut Cuts
•Use a tag made with a cartridge (there are so many great tags on so many cartridges!)
•Use the color red somewhere.
•Use ribbon.
•Use a phrase from one of the cartridges

I created a Christmas Journal Purse for this challenge. The main body of the purse is a composition book with the edges cut at a local office supply store. I then covered the front and back of each cover with SU designer paper and cardstock. The cuts used were from the carts Christmas Cheer, Blackletter and Winter Woodland. The tag can be pulled out of the pocket and journaled on the back. Embellishments used include SU ribbon, brads, buttons and smooch ink. I also outlined the poinsetta and tree with a gold pen. There are 6 tabs included in the inside of the composition book for entries such as cards received, cards sent, gift ideas, gifts bought, Christmas recipes and misc. I am making these for some of my closer family members to help organize them this next holiday year! Thanks mom for the purse template!

Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #13 - Inspiration

Weekly Challenge #13: Inspiration Challenge!
Design inspiration is all around us...all we need to do is open our eyes and look at things in a new way. This week we challenge you to create something based on our inspiration piece below, a lovely piece of artwork by Laura Amiss. What strikes you about it? The colors? The subject? The lines and movement? Whatever it is, we want you to incorporate that element into your project. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

I was "inspired" to use the subject and create a winter scene. The cart used was Winter Woodland. All paper and cardstock is SU. Embellishments include SU border punch, ribbon, snowflakes punches and rhinestones. I used pop dots to raise the squirrel, one of the trees, and some of the snowflakes. I outlined everything in white with a silver metallic marker. I can't wait to add the pictures from last year's snow storm!

Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #12 - Nine Ladies Dancing

Weekly Challenge #12: Nine Ladies Dancing Challenge!
We have a really fun challenge for you today! For the Nine Ladies Dancing Challenge we want you to strut your stuff with your Cricut Circle Exclusive “Shall We Dance?” cartridge. You can create any kind of project you would like . . . but here is the twist . . . there needs to be NINE of SOMETHING on your project. Nine of anything! Nine buttons, nine flowers, exactly nine letters in a title, etc. Just as long as their is nine of something. Have fun!

For this contest I used carts Shall We Dance and Graphically Speaking. My submission is of "9 pairs of shoes". Embellishments include rhinestones for the shoes and some of the lettering, a paper flower with a SU rhinestone and use of a SU border punch. The SU color combo is elegant eggplant, river rock and melon mambo.

Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #11 - Card or Tag Sketch

Weekly Challenge #10: Card or Tag Sketch Challenge!
We know you’re busy, but we also know you could use a quick break from that holiday To Do List! Come and play with us! This week we want you to create a quick tag or card using the sketch provided below. You can make it holiday themed if you would like, but it doesn’t need to be. Have fun with it!
I killed 2 birds with one stone and created my prototype for the Christmas cards I will be sending this year. Whew, glad that is done...now to make 30 more!

Cricut Circle Stocking Swap

Oh my! How happy am I?! I have just received the best stocking ever from Cricutfarmer!

Things included:

1. The BEST & MOST creative Cricut Circle Stocking

2. The BEST & MOST creative Cricut Circle Ornament

3. Nifties Fifties cart (can't wait to use)

4. LOTS of cool green stuff to use when the third Cricut Circle Exclusive cart is released in January (Chipboard alpha, chipboard journaling, glitter multi-pack, bling)
5. Goodies for me and the baby to chow down on =)

Cricutfarmer - you are so creative! How come I never see more of your designs on the MB?!

Thank you so much! I LOVE it ALL!!!

Cricut Circle Blog Challenge #10 - Holiday Recipe

Weekly Challenge #10: Holiday Recipe Challenge!
In our family it is Gingerbread Cookies for Santa. In my husband’s family it was English Toffee. What am I referring to . . . Favorite Holiday Recipes, of course! Every family seems to have them. So this week we want you to create a project that is about, includes, or holds a holiday recipe. This could be a scrapbook page, a mini album, a recipe box or book, a Gift for a Neighbor . . . the sky’s the limit. But we want to see you pay tribute to a holiday recipe in some way.

This is what I submitted because I was running out of time and HAD to get something in. I missed submitting last week by 2 minutes and was NOT going to let that happen again! This week, I literally submitted in the last 3 seconds! WOW! My goal for next week will be one minute prior! ;)

After I submitted, I went back and completed the layout how I originally envisioned it. The recipe is for Biscochitos - a favorite New Mexican holiday cookie. I LOVE THEM!

Here is what the final layout looked like:

The diamond shapes are replicas of what the final cookie looks like.

Here is the recipe if you would like to try and make them:

BISCOCHITOS:

Ingredients:

6 cups of flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons anise seed

2 eggs

1/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream shortening with sugar and anise. Beat in eggs. Mix in flour and brandy.

3. Roll out the dough to 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick. Cout into fleur-de-lys.

4. Bake 10-12 minutes or to a golden brown.

5. While still warm, roll the cookie in the 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

ENJOY!

Look what I bought today!

I know I already have a Cricut Expression, but at this deal, I figured my mom or sister could have one too! =)

The listing on Craigslist was for $185 and included a twice used Cricut Expression, 6 opened but new cartridges (to include Tags, Bags, Boxes and More), 2 new blades, 3 new 12x12 mats, 2 new 6x12 mats, all manuals, cords and discs. I thought that was a pretty good deal! Upon picking the items up I found the bundle to include a new Cricut Design Studio Kit, a new Cricut Cuttables Stamp Kit, a Cricut Card Making booklet, a Top 20 Tips, Tools and Techniques DVD, 2 new PACKS of blades (which equals 4 and not the two), a spatula and to top it off, the packet of 2 new 12x12 mats was actually a blister pack of three, so I got a total of 7 NEW 12x12 mats! I am doing the Happy Dance!

Christmas Card ~ Target 2010

I made 25 of these babies for my hubby for work! Putting the presents together was a lot like wrapping actual Christmas presents. =) The carts I used included My Community and Joys of the Season. The cuttlebug folder was Spots and Dots and the Ribbon SU.

December Cricut Circle Magazine Challenge - Gift Bag/Box

DECEMBER MAGAZINE GIFT BAG/BOX CONTEST!
We can’t wait to see what you come up with for this months challenge!! Please upload your picture to the Magazine Challenge link here on the blog.
Contest Rules:
You must create your gift bag or box using a base from one of the many Cricut cartridges available. Embellish it to fit your style! Please use at least 4 Cricut cuts in your design and incorporate something from one of this month’s magazine sponsors.

I decided to make a 12 day advent calendar entitled "The Twelve Days Before Christmas". I used Tags, Bags, Boxes and More to make the tribox and Joys of the Season to make all the cuts. There are a total of twelve boxes -- one for each of the twelve days BEFORE Christmas. Each box has a cut featuring one of the twelve days of Christmas, an ornament with the day, and a flourish. For embellishment I inked all the edges, used ribbon, gold cord, gold stickles and pearl I-rock beads.

Traditionally, the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas, but I thought it would be a fun idea to start it before as we anticipate the holiday. Each tribox will be filled with a goodie for the family to open daily.

For those of you that don't remember the lyrics to the song, here they are:

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas.
The first verse runs:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
A Partridge in a Pear Tree.
The second verse:
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
2 Turtle Doves
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
The third verse begins to show some metrical variance, as explained below:
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
...and so forth, until the last verse:
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords-a-Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids-a-Milking
7 Swans-a-Swimming
6 Geese-a-Laying
5 Gold Rings
4 Calling Birds
3 French Hens[8]
2 Turtle Doves
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Free Imagine CD came in the mail!

Here are some pics of the free Imagine DVD I received in the mail:

It does state that we can use the Gypsy with the Imagine, but I have not tried it and am not sure that the update has already been made available.

The DVD is filled with Imagine projects and a free card front to hand cut out (to be enticed to buy the Imagine to print and cut for you). COOL!

Cricut Circle Challenge #9 - Black Friday

Weekly Challenge #9: Black Friday Challenge!
Alright . . . so who’s out shopping this morning?! Me? I have never been brave enough to face the Black Friday crowds. However, we thought it would be fun to give our Weekly Challenge a “Black Friday” twist! Here’s what we want you to do this week . . . Include the color black in your project AND recycle or repurpose something.

This was our weekly Cricut Circle Challenge. I repurposed a Christmas tag I received during a tag swap created by Meilelei. Hope she doesn't mind I used it...but only because I love it! I often make scrapbook pages out of homemade cards I receive. I know the time, love, and work they take and I like to preserve what I consider, works of art.

Moving out of the guest/craft room

Well, after many years of being " in the closet" with my crafting supplies (literally), I was able to move out during our last move and share my craft room with a second guest room. Well, that short year of living in the lap of craft bliss is now gone and I need to make room for our new baby girl coming in Spring. Now, who could be sad about that?! =)

Cricut Cirlce Blog Weekly Challenge #2 - Think Pink

THINK PINK! This week we were challenged to think/use pink, glitter, gems, scallops, ruffles...basically anything girly. I created a scrapbook layout of me and my honey:

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #1 - French Manor

Here is my entry to the first Circle Blog Challenge. We were challenged to use atleast two cuts from the exclusive French Manor cart and use pearls or gems. I used very tiny pearls as the bird's eye and in the A of the Amore phrase.

Cricut Daily Challenge - Shapes: Swirlies

I created this card trying to follow color combo #59 from Monday AND today's challenge...swirlies. It came out a little plain trying to use just 3 colors when I didn't have coordinating embellishments. But, I tried something new. My head aches thinking about how hard it would be to create monochromatically!!! Cart used was Home Accents, cardstock, pen, dazzling diamonds, and long punch are all Stampin Up. Corner punch is EZ scuccess?