Circle Mania III - Christmas Tags

Here is the third class in the lineup: 

Circle Mania III ~ Retro Mini

Here is a mini I made for my second class at Circle Mania.  I will post pics to the inside next week.

Circle Mania III ~ Shabby Beau Chateau Class

It's that time again...CIRCLE MANIA!  Here is the first class that I will be teaching:

What we will making.

What you will get in your kit.

Anna Griffin Meets SHARK WEEK!

I have been using a lot of my Anna Griffin product lately (she has come out with SO many awesome product with more to come) and decided it would be fun to combine her classic feminine style with an image to celebrate Shark Week. 

The cardstock used is from Anna Griffin's Willow Collection.  I also used her new Washi tape and ribbon to add a bit of interest.  The cuts used are from this week's CCR Freebies: Shark and Cricut Lite cartridge Pirates and Mermaids.  The banner is cut from the CCR Exclusive Banners and the stamp is My Pink Stamper from her Even More Punny-licious set.

The freebies are still available to use.  Pirates and Mermaids has a lot of aquatic cuts to help scrap your summer photos.  Happy crafting!

Anna Griffin Cutting & Embossing Dies II

I have two more cards to share with you using Anna Griffin's new cutting and embossing folders.

I created this card using the Poppy die from the Flowers set.  I also used a card base and bow from the All Occasion card making kit,  cardstock from her Willow collection and her new washi tape in gold.

On this card I used the medallion die from the Flourishes set.  I also used cardstock from her All Occasion card making kit, a silver border from Anna's metallic cardstock set, a ribbon from my AG stash and a Stampin' Up! sentiment stamp.

Anna Griffin Cutting & Embossing Dies

I recently purchased the new Anna Griffin Cuttlebug die sets launched last week on HSN.  The two sets are titled Flourishes and Flowers.  Each set comes with three dies that you can cut and emboss set.  I must say, they are amazing.  Here are a couple of projects I started with, with many more to come.  

Materials include Anna Griffin's All Occasion card making kit, the Anna Griffin Brocade embossing folder, and a die from the new Flowers Cuttlebug die set.

I added some coordinating deep olive cardstock to line the embossed cardstock with and sewed the frame.  I then added the cut end embossed flower piece and finished the card off with some ribbon and a sentiment.

On this card, I used the Anna Griffin Flourish Cuttlebug die set.  I started the card with a Stampin' Up! base in Melon Mambo.  I then added a coordinating layer from Anna Griffin's Carmen collection.  I embossed a third layer from her All Occasion card making kit with her Pirouette folder and then added the new cut and embossed die.

The bunny and ribbon are also from Anna's All Occasion kit.

The dies really are beautiful.  They are currently sold out and won't be available again until November.  However, Anna is releasing a Christmas set in September along with her first Cricut cartridge!!!  Start saving now...I can't wait!

Swim Party 12x12 LO

Tis' the season for swim parties!  Here is a fun layout to compile some favorite summer dipping memories:

Materials Used:

• Imagine The Good Old Days cartridge
• Misc ribbon from my stash
• Snap! life bingo card
• Smash pinwheel
• Gold metal star brad
• White thread

The Good Old Days Imagine cartridge has many fun retro images for every season.  I used the cart for the children and title images and to flood fill the chevron background from the cartridge When I Was a Kid.

My Goodies Arrived!

My goodies arrived from the Chalkboard Fonts Contest that I entered.  YAY!!!

A package of each of the new Cricut mats, the Chalkboard Fonts cartridge, a Cricut vinyl sampler with tons of colors and a vinyl color roll of my choice.

The prize package also came with a $50 Cricut store credit that I purchased these with:

Buy the The First Few Years digital cartridge and get the Fun in the Sun digital cartridge FREE!  I can't believe there was a deal for two carts I don't have! LOL  I love the image of the lady in the inner tube from Fun in the Sun and the layout carts simply ROCK!  This a good deal if you don't mind digital.  I think it will be ending soon, so hurry if you want to buy.

Get all four color assortments of Cricut® Cardstock. The sampler includes one pack each of the Southwest, Candy Shop, Antiquity, and Wildflowers color assortments. Each pack has 24 sheets of 12" x 12" 80 lb. textured Cricut® Cardstock (4 each of 6 colors). Each pack also includes a $5 coupon to use on any purchase over $9.99 in the Cricut® digital image library, for a total of $20 in digital credit.   This is another great deal.  You are basically paying $6.99 for all this cardstock if you will use the digital credit.  Again, I think this deal ends today, so hurry if you want to buy.

So, with my Cricut Circle discount and free shipping, I paid only paid $13.51 AND I will be  getting the $20 in free digital credit to use in the future.  Double YAY!  Don't shy away from the great contests that Cricut has.  You can't win if you don't try and you never know, YOU could be the winner!

It's a Stamped Image Tag Swap

Sis O'Snap recently hosted a stamped tag swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board.  The details included making one stamped image on a manila tag 10 times, two different images for a total of 20 tags.  We were also to include an embellishment to use on the tag.  They would in turn be swapped out with 20 different tags to create with.  There was a twist which included decorating one of the tags or another stamped image of your choice) and fully decorate it for a partnered swap.  Here are my tags:

I couldn't choose JUST one tag and embellishment, so I created a themed tag swap! =)

At the last minute, I added a tiny red pom-pom that could be used for the clown's nose.

I created/sewed a manila envelope to house the vintage sewing theme for this tag swap that can be decorated and colored as well.

And here is the BEAUTIFUL tag and card I received from my secret partner Colleen known on the Cricut Circle message board as gonescrappin'.

Isn't she just lovely!

And this card is beautiful enough to frame!  Hmmm.....
You can see more of Colleen's work at scrappycol.blogspot.com.

Thanks for joining me today.  Happy crafting!

Continuing the Celebration ~ Happy 4th!

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July.   Unfortunately, I know some of you had to work and are just now starting your celebration.  Here is some cheer to get you started:

Created using the phrase from the CCR Exclusive Independence Day- Freedom, the shield colored from the Imagine cart Buccaneer and cut from Cricut cart Independence day, and the cuttlebug folder Stars.

I also added some Stampin' Up! ribbon, a tab, and red stickles as embellishments.

The flag and banner were cut from the Imagine cartridge Enjoy the Seasons.

I added my hand made firecrackers to this card as well. 

Linked up at:

• Cute Card Thursday
• Paper Playtime
• The Sisterhood of Crafters
• 2 Sisters Challenge
• Cut It Up

Happy 4th of July ~ 2013!!!

Happy 4th of July!  I hope you are having a fun and relaxing day celebrating our independence with friends and family.  Today and tomorrow I will be sharing with you some 4th of July paper projects. 

I created this card using the Imagine cartridge Buccaneer.  I remembered it having lots of fun red and blue striped patterns that are perfect for USA and sailing themed projects.  The sentiment is stamped from My Pink Stamper's Yankee Doodles stamp set.

I thought it would be cute to have a pirate looking at fireworks through his telescope!

This was a super fast and easy tag to make.  Again, I used Buccaneer for the patterns and colored in a  dog tag from the Cricut cartridge Stand and Salute.

I hand created the fire crackers by cutting  vintage paper straw into 4 pieces.  I then got glued some twine to a  scrap red border and rolled it just big enough to slip into the straw piece.  I did the same to the alternate end and voila...paper fire crackers!


Linked up at:

• Really Reasonable Ribbon
• The Sisterhood of Crafters

What? No more Google Reader?

I guess I have been crafting under a rock.  I just learned that Bloggers, their Followers, and even Blog Readers are on a final countdown to the end of Google Reader.  Starting July 1, 2013 Google Reader will cease to exist.  I currently use the Google Friend Connect widget and an email subscription link to enable anyone interested in my crafts to see what I have been up to.   I am hoping you will take the quick and easy step to sign up for Bloglovin and continue to follow my crafting endeavors.   I just signed up and it only took about 2 minutes to import my favorite blogs.   I am also looking at adding a Facebook page for my crafts to make following me even easier.  Thank you for following me these past couple of years.  I enjoy creating and hope to continue sharing with you.

Please click here to give me some lovin': 

 

 

Ok.  I hope I did this right.  I also created a Facebook page:

 

I came, I saw, I created.

 

 Now, a fellow circlet did share this information with me:

http://www.sillysilberman.com/2013/03/google-friend-connect-is-not-leaving-us.html#sthash.U4AnkxW4.dpuf

This link shares that the Google Friend Connect WON"T be going away.  Just the reader.  I guess it's better to be prepared just in case.  =)  And I needed to get up the social media anyway and create a Facebook page. 



Chalkboard Graduation Celebration

OK, I have been busy creating a bunch of decor to celebrate my daughter's graduation tomorrow using the new Cricut Chalkboard Fonts cartridge.  Here is what I came up with:

Yes, the table runner is chalkboard fabric!  =)

Word bubbles made to take pictures with for her graduation scrapbook.  The guests can choose either word bubble or they can choose to right their own sentiment on the blank back side of each bubble.

Here is a closer view of the table runner.

You can right all over the runner if you wish.

I created the coasters using inexpensive bathroom tile.

I ended up spray painting them instead of using the traditional paint.  I thought the finish would end up[ being smoother and I could get the tops and sides of the tiles all at once.

I then sized corkboard to match and hot glued them all.  It's best to start in the middle and then do one side at a time because the glue dries super fast.

This is what they look like covered.

The completed look.

I used the Cricut Craft Room Exclusive Word Bubbles to create the templates for my word bubbles and cut them using a 12x24" mat.

I then traced the bubbles out of black craft board and hand cut them out using a craft (exacto) knife.

This was my first time using this board material, so my edges were rough.  I smoothed them out using a soft grit sandpaper before painting them with chalkboard paint.

To create the runner I simply cut my fabric in the desired length and added my design using white matte vinyl and transfer tape.  Whew, all done with the decorations...time to party!!!

Chalkboard Notebooks

Yay!  It's summer!  What does summer mean?  VACATION, of course!  Here are some easy chalkboard notebooks you can create to note the things you need to do and journal the memories you make.

I started off with these inexpensive notebooks.

Using a foam roller, I coated the notebooks with chalkboard paint.  I added a second coat after two hours of drying time. 

Once I created the chalkboard base, I used the Cricut cartridge Chalkboard Fonts to create the lettering and design.  Once I had the design cut, I moved the images to the notebooks using transfer paper.

CCR File:   https://www.box.com/s/bjs5xiqzs2k71yj0dfeh