Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #4: BOO! Challenge

In honor of Halloween this week's Cricut Circle Challenge is to create a Halloween project that incorporates some kind of transparent element (vellum, acrylic, plastic packaging, overlay, etc.) and at least 2 Cricut cuts.


Well, I've been dying to cut these frames and silhouettes from the Happy Hauntings cartridge, have I mentioned how much I LOVE this cartridge? I decided to make the witch for the challenge but I think I'm going to cut a few more to put in the other windows. My transparent element is the white and silver vellum that is the background. I bought this pretty vellum at least a year ago when Michael's was clearancing all of their vellums and changing their whole paper set up. I bought a TON of vellum and I don't think I've used a bit of it since! I tend to not want to "waste" special papers but I've decided that if I'm creating a project it's not a waste!


I originally cut the witch out of plain orange card stock and it looked ok but I felt it needed something... so I grabbed my Xyron 510 sticker maker and my Martha Stewart copper glitter (that I bought on clearance after Christmas last year). I just ran the cut through my Xyron upside down so the FRONT would be covered with adhesive. Then I coated it with the glitter. LOVE this trick! Then I popped her up with some Helmar black Zap Dots for a little dimention. I also popped the bats on the side of the frame up also.


I think this turned out really cool and I love the way it looks in the window too. I was thinking I would just used a removable Glue Dot to hang it on the window and then be able to easily take it down to store until next Halloween!

Coffin Box Teachers Gift

For today’s project I created this fun treat box for my daughter’s teacher using the Happy Hauntings Cricut Cartridge!


I will have to say this is one of my favorite cartridges! For this box I cut the Coffin Box at 10 ¾” for both the lid and bottom from black cardstock. Then I cut the stand also at 10 ¾” from grey cardstock. Once I realized it was a stand for the coffin to sit on I actually cut it again to make it a little sturdier. Then I cut the red zig-zag layer (which I think is technically for the other coffin box but I wanted more pop) and adhered that to the base. Next I grabbed a scrap of the red and embossed it with the Forest Branches Cuttlebug Folder to make the drape over the coffin.


I adhered everything together using my favorite Scor-Tape! Last I cut the RIP at 2” with the phrase feature on Happy Hauntings and then added a little bling! When you subtract the messing around time I’m thinking I could now duplicate this for the other two teachers in about a ½ hour!


Shopping List:

Happy Hauntings Cricut Cartridge
Forest Branches Cuttlebug Folder
Scor-Tape!

Hello Thursday!!!!

What? Three posts in a single day? Crazy, I know! Today is Hello Thursday which means all of the NEWEST Cricut Cartridges are being shown! Actually, as a Circle member I got to see them a little early but I couldn't share them yet. Joy over at Obsessed With Scrapbooking is one of the Hello Thursday design team members and she has all of the new releases posted as well as a few projects she has created! Go check them all out on her blog.... Here are a few that are on my wish list!


Paper Lace


Sesame Street Seasons


Car Decals

Alright now go see the rest at Obsessed With Scrapbooking!!!

Weekly Challenge #3: AUTUMN SPLENDOR! Color Challenge

Normally I don't do back to back blog post but I have two great challenges I'm entering! If you haven't checked out my Imaginisce project scroll down one post and check it out!

This weeks Cricut Circle Challenge is the Autumn Spendor Color challenge. The only requirements were to use the above color palate (gray, orange, tan and burgundy) and at least two cuts. So here's what I created:


I used my Create a Critter Cartridge to cut this adorable squirrel. I embossed the layers with my Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl and Dotted Swiss folders to add some texture to my cuts. The squirrel is cut at 4" and the little acorn he is holding is cut at 3/4". I had this strip of patterned paper in my scrap bin and I thought it was perfect for this project!


Here is a look at the inside of the card. The phrase "Nuts About U" on the Create a Critter Cartridge too! There are lots of fun phrases on this one! The acorns were cut at 1-1/2" and 1" and I used a circle punch to create the leaves. I added the other half of my paper strip to the inside just to finish it off!


The finished size of my card is 5-1/2" x 5-1/2". I also want to mention that I used some Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist on the front of the card for that little extra sparkle. I think I need to send this one to a certain squirrel loving aunt. Sssssh, don't tell her!

Imaginisce October Sketch Challenge Entry

Those of you who know me or are regular followers probably know that I normally create two page layouts. Well, Imaginisce has monthy challenges and this is the sketch that I am working with:


I actually thought about stretching it to make it a two pager but when I searched my hoard, uh, stash for just the right papers for this challenge I came across this gorgeous paper that I've be hoarding for at least two years! Well, I didn't have enough paper to stretch the sketch so I actually made a one page layout. I bought this paper before I learned to buy two of everything!


Isn't this paper GORGEOUS? It's all from the "For Peeps Sake" line. It's so springy and glittery, I just love it! It was actually really hard to cut this paper up. And to top it off... I had an experiment go horribly wrong and change the entire plan I had in my head. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled with the results and I learned a few lessons along the way.


This is my first attempt at one of those fun pleated flowers everyone has been creating. I love the way it turned out and if you'll notice the brad in the center was created with my i-top and then blinged out with my i-rock! I love using both of these tools because they are so easy and add that "something extra" to my projects. The border punch I used was from Martha Stewart called Cherish. It is actually one of the new Punch Around the Page punches and I think it's so cute!


The banner title was created using my Country Life Cricut Cartridge. This is one of those cartridge that I thought I didn't *need* but when I saw the banner font I HAD to have it! Next on the agenda is creating a banner for each of my daughters. But I digress, I cut both layers of the banner and then adhered them to a piece of floss from my stash with Scor-Tape. I actually left it free floating on the page. After I got it just the way I wanted I thought it was still a tad bit plain. Enter my i-rock once again! I wish I would have thought of adding the bling BEFORE I stuck the banner on the page but again, lesson learned! I'm so thrilled with how this layout turned out with all the layers and texture. Oh, I almost forget! I finally used my Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots on this page! Instead of pulling out the foam squares I used the Scrap Dots to attach my photo and the raised paper panel. It was cool that I didn't have to guess at how many foam squares high I wanted things, I just blobbed out the glue and then let my paper dry on a flat surface. I did the same on the photo and I loved how quick and easy it was to do! Thanks for reading!

Blog Hop with Helmar

If you love a great Blog Hop (and really, who DOESN'T) you should check out the Helmar Blog Hop! In case you're not familiar with Helmar they make some pretty AWESOME adhesives! I personally LOVE their Quick Fix Adhesive Runners for my scrapbook pages. I have made a vow to myself that I'm going to break out my tube of Liquid Scrap Dots AKA Heaven in a Tube (you'll find out who calls it that on the Helmar Blog Hop) and create a fun project TODAY! Thanks for reading and hopefully I will be back later with a project to share!

Drum Roll Please.......

And the lucky winner of my blog candy giveaway is.....







Comment #9










Who is Karel J!!!!







Karel you have 48 hours to contact me at Mandas1610 at sbcglobal dot net to claim your prize!!!!

Thanks to everyone who played along! When I reach 250 followers I hope to have another great giveaway so keep watching my blog. Who know when I might just send something sweet to a random commenter.....

Cricut Circle October Monthly Challenge: Celebrating Creativity

The theme for this month’s Cricut Circle challenge is all about celebrating the reasons why welove to create! We were asked to create a scrapbook page or home decor project CELEBRATING CREATIVITY. Project requirements:

* Include at least 2 Cricut Cuts to Qualify
* Use the Shadow Feature
* Use Patterned Paper (purchased, printed, or created with stamps, etc.)
* Use Embellishments to Enhance One of the Cuts (pearls, buttons, gems, glitter, etc.)

Yesterday when I opened my birthday gift from my husband.... (4 new Cricut Cartridges!!!) I knew I wanted to play with them! Flipping through the books is a good way to get inspiration and with this challenge in mind I started flipping! Sentimentals happened to be the first one I picked up (he also got me Country Life, Time the Knot and Simply Sweet, thank you, Honey) and as soon as I saw the GORGEOUS butterfly I knew what I wanted to create! I grabbed some October Afternoon papers from the Go Fly a Kite line and started cutting. Happily I got 4 sheets of each pattern so I knew I would have plenty left for layouts!

This is the beautiful butterfly! I also added some jewels with my fabulous i-rock one of my favorite fun tools! I also used my Glimmer Mist on the shadow layer of the butterfly for some extra sparkle.


Next I cut the word "create" from the Home Decor cartridge. I love the fun word art on this cartridge!!! Soon I hope my Gypsy will arrive and I can try to create my own welded cuts... but for now my cartridges will do!


Finally I knew that I needed to add some thing a little inspirational to me to remind me WHY I do what I do... I thought with the butterfly "Let Your Imagination Soar" was appropriate. I used some Close to My Heart Stamps to spell out my phrase in Chocolate Brown Ink. Then I added a Bo Bunny flower and a couple flowers cut from a scrap of the patterned paper and a few more jewels to complete it!


Then I added a few eyelets and some fun fibers to finish it off. As soon as it was done I HAD to hang it on my wall! Yes, it is hanging on the wall by my desk so I can see it all the time!

Simply Betty Stamps Punky Teens Christmas Release Bog Hop!

Welcome to the Simply Betty Stamps Punky Teens Christmas Release Bog Hop! You probably came here from Allison's Blog. If you want to start at the beginning of the hop, or if you get lost along the way, there is a list of all of the blogs participating in the hop at the end of my post!

These fun, super quirky, and daring characters are part of the Punky teens, Christmas style from Simply Betty! Just hop along and see all the fun, cute, and quirky projects everyone has prepared for you!

First, let me apologize for the poor lighting in my picture. It was dark out when I snapped this picture so I had to use the room with the best lighting... the laundry room!


Here is the card I created with my Trixie image! I think she is so cute and I HAD to give her purple hair to fit her "punky" image. I used my Bic Mark-Its and my new Tombow markers and the few Copics I own to color this image. I wasn't super happy with the performance of the Tombow markers but it was also the first time I've used them so it may be operator error. I added a little sparkle to the circles and dots on the gift with my Sakura Stardust Pen. I also used my Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl folder to emboss the green strip. To accent it more I used one of the same green markers on the raised portion so it would pop more. Then I added my ribbon but it still didn't feel quite finished... so I grabbed some flowers and a button! They were a mix of Making Memories flowers and Chick 'n Feed from Scrapbook Chicks. Now I'm really happy with it. Inside I will stamp out "Hope your day is filled with surprises" or something to that effect before I send it out!

Please follow my blog if you liked my card and take a minute to look around... there may be a post with some blog candy on it that ends today... I *may* just forget to pick a winner until Saturday morning though.... (wink)!

Now don't forget there is a special prize to be won on this hop... Guest Designer for the Month of November! All you have to do is create a project using one of the Punky Teen Christmas images, upload it to inlinkz on the Simply Betty Challenges Blog you are in for the race to become A Simply Betty Challenges Guest DT!
You will have until 10/26 to complete and upload your project! The winner will be announced November 1st! Good luck and I hope to see many of you join in on the fun!

Here's a list of EVERYONE in the hop!

Start here @ Simply Betty Challenges
Betty Boo Owner
Allison
Mandie You are HERE!
Barb
Carisa
Catherine
Cheri
Christy
Debbie
Debbie W.
Donna
Erica
Gina
Gloria
Iva
Jennifer
Jessica
Juelmarie
Katt
Lady B
Linda
Michelle
Nicole
Patricia
Samantha
Shelley
Suzi
Tracey
Tracy

Wowie! Now is that a blog hop or what!! Please leave all the girls a comment, thank you all again for hopping along!

Ferris Wheel Layout

I FINALLY used my Carousel Cricut Lite cartridge!!! I bought this cartridge because of the Merry Go Round image (my daughter is OBSESSED) and when I was trying to put together this page I decided the Ferris Wheel cut was perfect!


Here is the one piece of advice I will give about this cartridge, if you are going to use "Fit to Page" make sure you cut your base layer FIRST! My original intent was to only use the top layer on my page but then decided it was disappearing and wanted the base to help it pop more. Well, I could only cut the base at 11" and this was after I had already cut the top at 11.5". Not too big of a deal though because I layered them anyway and am happy with the result. I did trim a little at the bottom of the base layer.

The patterned papers I used here were from Bella Blvd in the HUGE pack of papers that I won. I just LOVE these papers soooo much! The flowers are Bo Bunny and the ribbon I bought by the yard at Archiver's. I seriously LOVE the texture on the ribbon and wish I had bought all they had. It's from May Arts who makes the BEST ribbons!!!

Don't forget, if you haven't entered my blog candy giveaway you need to do so by TOMORROW! I will be choosing my winner at some point during the day....

Wow! I just found this new ribbon company called Cream City Ribbon:

Cricut Circle: Weekly Challenge #2: THINK PINK!

So this weeks challenge on the Cricut Circle Blog is to THINK PINK! Well, with 2 beautiful daughters it's not hard for me to think pink at all... The challenge requires us to use Pink, Ruffles, Scallops, Flourishes, Glitter or Jewels (at least 3 of these) and at least 2 Cricut cuts. In my head I had pictured making a beautiful baby page... but neglected to bring baby pictures to the crop I went to! LOL! But I had these fun pictures of my oldest daughter dancing around the living room in her "ballet suit" and inspiration struck!


I've been hoarding this paper for over a year. I had visions of scrapping a dance recital with these but I pulled them out of the box I KNEW they were perfect for the THINK PINK challenge! I used a sketch for one of the new Sketches for Scrapbooking books that I won from the Scrapbooking Ali Blog! These books are really GREAT! I won Volumes 1 and 2 and can't wait to buy the other 4. They are seriously GREAT books!!!


One of my favorite things about using my Cricut is that I can customize the cuts! If you notice in my photos, my daughter is wearing blue ballet slippers with dark blue flowers on them. So when I put the little dancer cut from Once Upon A Princess together I cut the slippers from light blue paper. Then I used a dark blue marker to add the "flowers" to the slippers.


I'm sure you've been ogling the gorgeous pink flower next to my title... it's from a FANTASTIC Etsy shop called Precocious Paper! I am a proud new member of the Precocious Paper Design Team and couldn't be more excited! I love what these gorgeous flowers add to any crafty project. You can add them to cards, layouts, home decor or even hair accessories. In fact, you could add a simple pin back and it's a gorgeous broach! The "Tiny Dancer" cut is also from the Once Upon a Princess cartridge. I just love this title and I'm sure I will be using it again. If you notice on both of my cuts I added rhinestones to the bows. I used my awesome i-rock tool from Imaginisce. It is perfect for adding a little "bling" to just about anything! So my i-rock helped me meet my jewels requirement. I also added scalloped lace across the bottom of the layout which meets the scallop and ruffle requirement. And since the whole layout is pink, I hope I filled that requirement too, LOL! I look forward to next weeks challenge!

Design Team Audition

So I tried out for the Upsy Daisy Designs design team and sadly I didn't make it, but I really enjoyed creating with a couple of new paper lines that I otherwise wouldn't have known about. I actually found out about the company at CHA this summer and the very sweet lady running the booth gave me a couple of samples of 6" x 6" sheets to play with.

The first layout I created was actually from a sketch on their blog. I normally scrap two page layouts but I really loved the sketch and since I had a pretty limited paper supply I decided to try it! This is a picture of my house. I aged it in Photo Shop and I was so thrilled with how it turned out!


To get the nice long strips of paper I actually pieced the papers together. I loved the colors in this line which is coincidentally called "Home Sweet Home"... ok, it wasn't actually a coincidence that I chose to scrap my home, I was inspired by these yummy papers! Any how, I cut the word "Home" with my Cricut and then stamped my sentiment on one of the patterned papers and "framed" it with paper strips. I used some Helmar Zap Dots to pop it up and tied it onto the O with some twine. Then I added some gold buttons from my stash, used some Glimmer Mist on a Color Me Crazy flower and used a flower cut out from the patterned papers also. The copper tag I've had in my stash for ages and I really liked the word "imagine" on it... I can imagine all of the wonderful memories to come in our home.


This card was created with the leftovers of the Home Sweet Home papers. I made the flower by punching 4 scalloped circles, spraying them with Glimmer Mist, scrunching them up and then using my heat gun to dry them. When they were dry I made a brad with more patterned paper using my i-top tool by Imaginisce! Then I hand cut the leaf and stamped out my sentiment with a Close to My Heart stamp and embossed with with some American Crafts Zing! embossing powder.


For this last layout I was a little unsure of exactly WHAT I was going to do with these gorgeous Avalanche papers. I had seen a patch work type layout in a magazine and wanted to try it. I only had three photos but I decided I could make it work. This is a little more simple than my normal style but I still think it turned out pretty cute! I adore the photos of my husband and daughter making snow angels together. I used my Cricut to cut my title and hand cut the little angel on my layout. The snowflakes are from Making Memories.

I really enjoyed auditioning for this design team and the ladies who did make it are super talented and I am looking forward to seeing their projects in the future.

Scrapbox Giveaway?!?!

Ok, let me 1st clarify that I am not the lucky one hosting this awesome giveaway but it would be selfish to keep such an awesome opportunity to myself!



Yes, THIS is the PRIZE they are giving away! Amazing right???? The Paper Tower is the newest add on to the Original Scrapbox. But in my opinion you could easily use this as a stand alone product...

So HOW can you enter to win The Paper Tower for yourself? Glad you asked! Head on over to Pink Cricut Blog for all of the details! Good luck!!!

If you are looking for my BLOG CANDY click HERE! Thanks for stopping by!

****EDIT****
There are several blogs that you can qualify to win on so here's the list!
Pink Cricut
Rachelle Workman
Elizabeth Mueller
MyEyeQ
Marvelously Messy
Nap Time Crafts
Priscillastyles
Brown Paper Packages
Rachelle's Writing
Mod Podge Rocks

Cricut Circle Weekly Challenge #1: OOH, LA LA! FRENCH MANOR!

On the brand new Cricut Circle Blog they are starting Weekly and Monthly challenges! This weeks challenge was to make something, anything, with the French Manor Cartridge. We had to use at least 2 cuts and add either rhinestones or pearls. This is what I came up with!



I ended up using 3 cuts from French Manor to create this little wall hanging. The Eiffel Tower is cut at 5.5". I backed the open part with mirror paper and used my i-rock to add the rhinestones. Then I cut the word "Paris" at 1.5" and cut the postage stamp at 7.5"(I think). Then I added the eyelets and yarn and I'm so pleased with how this came out! I'm going to hang it in my daughter's bedroom. She loves Fancy Nancy and this feels like a very Fancy Nancy project to me!



Here's another view of it on the wall. It was really hard to capture this one in a photo with out natural light, that's why the top pic was taken on the porch, LOL! Hope you enjoy my project! And if you are looking for my BLOG CANDY click HERE! Thanks for stopping by!

BLOG CANDY GIVAWAY!!!

NOTE - This contest is now closed. Thank you ALL for playing... If my winner doesn't contact me I will be drawing another name....

Well, I guess I missed getting my post up on the 1st, LOL! But, better late than never... I still haven't managed to get a pic of the candy that I am offering up, mainly because I keep adding to the pile! Right now there is a Glue Glider Pro, a super cute T-Shirt, some Cuttlebug folders and dies.... and more! I will try to get a pic of the pile up in a bit but for now I wanted to post my latest project and give you the details for my givaway!

I saw an idea on the Peachy Keen blog a few weeks ago made by Mandy Ferg. She created a big "BOO" sign with paper mache letters and Echo Park Paper's Happy Halloween line. You can find it ON SALE right now in the Scrapbook Chicks online store! Well, I LOVED the idea so I went to JoAnn's to look for some letters. Well, the wood letters happened to be on sale and I LOVED the font so I bought them! Then I painted them black. When they were dry I unsealed that pack of Echo Park Paper and got to work! *note: I still need to add the hanger to the back


This took me a L O N G time to assemble but I think it was worth it! I used my Paper Doll Dress Up and Happy Hauntings Cricut Cartridges for the cuts. The Haunted House is part of the Echo Park Papers challenge this month and I think it works so well on this project!


I hand cut the black cloud and used a circle punch for the moon. The bats, witch and pumpkin are all cuts from Happy Hauntings.


The spider web is cut from Paper Doll Dress Up and Frankenstein, his bride, the spider and the bat are all from Happy Hauntings. I used clear embossing powder on the bat and spider and added the googly eyes.


I think this one might be my favorite letter... When I was trying to decide what character to add to this one I took my inspiration from the paper, bats = Dracula! Once I had him cut I decided that he should be in a spooky graveyard. Once I assembled that I added some "stars" in the sky with my i-rock tool. It didn't seem quite finished yet so I added the two bats whose eyes are also i-rock stones. I curled the wings a bit so they would really take flight! All cuts on this one are also from Happy Hauntings

My original intent was that these would sit out on a table but once I had it assembled I saw that I liked the way it looked hanging better so I added some ribbon to hang it and I LOVE it!

Now, on to the giveaway! To qualify for the blog candy you need to make sure you are following my blog and leave a comment on this post. If you share it on your own blog or on your Facebook page you can leave a 2nd comment telling me you did with a link to the post. On Friday October 15th I will select one winner from all of the entries! I will verify the winning entry.