Echo Park "Fly" Card

Have you ever had one element that you made just to try out a technique and end up loving it sooooo much that you then create an entire project around it? When I experiment I usually make something I like and put it in the "Someday" pile... and for most of that stuff Someday hasn't come yet. But when I was playing with my embossing folders and Glimmer Mist I created a super cute paper that I LOVED and had to create a project with it! Add my Cricut (of course), the GORGEOUS Echo Park For The Record papers and a few odds and ends and I came up with....


... this beautiful card! So here's what I did to create this. It all began with a one of the Tim Holtz Texture Fade Embossing Folders. The one I used is called Patchwork Card which isn't currently in the store but a great substitute would be the Postal Folder. First I embossed a sheet of plain white cardstock which I had cut to fit the folder (4 x 5.5 if I remember right). Then I grabbed my Yellow Daisy, Walnut Gold and Coffee Shop Glimmer Mists and started spraying. I dried everything with my Heat Tool and then used the Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink with my sponge dauber to bring out the embossing even more. Then I tore the edges off my paper down both sides and inked those too.


Then I grabbed my Echo Park For The Record 6 x 6 Paper Pad and started flipping through it. I will admit, I LOVE the smaller paper pads for card making not only because of the scaled down size but also I don't feel like I'm *wasting* a whole sheet of 12 x 12 paper that I may want to use in my scrapbook one day (yes, I'm a TOTAL paper hoarder)! Anyway, I selected a few sheets and decided that I wanted a big butterfly for the front of my card. I used the Once Upon A Princess Cricut cartridge to cut out my butterfly and inked all the edges of my cuts with the Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I actually used a makeup sponge to get into the small spaces on my cut. Then I added the patterned paper to the background of my card and decided to adhere my Glimmer Misted Patchwork Card at an angle. I trimmed it to fit and inked all the way around the card. To adhere my butterfly I used some Pop Up foam only on the body of the butterfly so the wings can flap. I inked my Baker's Twine a bit and wrapped it around my card 3 times and tied it off. Then I decided to add antenna to the butterfly with a scrap of the twine. I wish I had thought of it before I had adhered the butterfly but I just tied a knot in it and stuck it on with a Glue Dot. Then I stamped "Fly" on a scrap and matted it with another scrap after inking them both. Finally I added my green Chick'N Feed buttons with more Glue Dots. I love the way my "experiment" ended up and I can't wait to play more!

Cricut Circle February Challenge: Banners!

Banners are hot, hot, HOT in the papercrafting world so this month's Cricut Circle Challenge was to create a banner! I've been wanting to make one for a while now and this gave me the perfect excuse. Is it my little girl's 5th birthday on Sunday so I wanted to make her a gift that we could not only display at her party but also hang in her room.


I used the Country Life Cricut Cartridge to cut all of my banner shapes at 10". Then I used Nursery Rhymes to cut the letters in her name at 4" (I think). Then I used Once Upon a Princess to make Princess Penny and a sort of Ariel (hey, she needed to be pink). I used my brand new Peachy Keen Stamps "Wide Eyed Kids" for the faces, aren't they ADORABLE? I just want to make a TON of dolls now! Finally the birthday girl and I went through my mounds of stickers and embellishments to pick out stuff to represent her favorite things: Ballet, Princesses, Hello Kitty, Littlest Pet Shop and Dress Up. I'm really happy with the results and she is too! Here's close-ups of all of the letters to see what we did: