Thanksgiving Banner

I wanted to share one of the projects I did this week while I'm spending time with my family.  We are celebrating Thanksgiving away from home (in Colorado).  This made it a little tougher for me to do any crafting and to prepare a post.  Please excuse the quality of the photography, which isn't very good at the best of times.  I took a page from the Sassy Lady's book.  If you don't read her blog, I recommend it.  Sheila (Sassy Lady) puts projects together in a ziploc bag and then takes them with her to make when she has a minute or two.  It is a great idea, one I don't do nearly as much as I would like.  However, this week I was forced to do just that (and I loved it).

The night before I left home, I had my poor E going like crazy cutting everything I would need for three separate projects.  I also cut most of the pieces for another advent calendar but in the end that was just too much to get done before leaving for the airport.

I recently purchased a couple of files from SVG.Cuts.  Most of the cuts in the Family Banner came directly from this Thanksgiving Dinner Kit.  I added/changed a couple of things and used one cut from a cricut cart. 

I love the pennant style banner.  I sized all of the pieces to be as big as possible and then nestled them together.  Isn't the pumpkin fun?  I used the DCWV Autumn stack and I used my cuttlebug to give it a little more texture.

Here is a close-up of the embossing and papers used on the pumpkin.  I wouldn't have normally thought of the glitter paper for a pumpkin but I think it works here.

I love this acorn.  The embossing really gives it a little something extra.

One of my favorite things about SVG.Cuts is their leaves.  I must have a dozen by now.  The leaves with this paper really worked out nice.  I had fun with this pennant.

This is the only one that didn't use the SVG.Cuts.  I used the corn from the Thanksgiving Cart.  It is three layers and lots of cuts but I liked the way it worked out.

And now for a picture of where we are.

 This is the view out the door in my brother's living room.  It doesn't get much better than this.  The Wonderkid has been sledding every day since we arrived.  He is in little boy heaven.  I've been thinking about a great mini-album for him based on this trip.  Hopefully I'll be able to share that soon.

Embossing Layout

The next challenge:

1. Make any layout with TWO different kinds of dry embossing.

2. One of them must include a punch of some kind {ie punch something out of cardstock or patterned paper and then embossing it}

3. Have fun!!!

 

This is the last project I'm doing for the Cuttlebug 24 hours of Christmas Challenge.  I did a simple layout with Jamie in his Christmas pajamas.  The jammies say "Let It Snow" on them.  This is always a fairly safe request in Hotlanta, it just won't happen.  The hat only lasted through this picture.  

The paper came from my stash.  The words "Let It Snow" and the hat are from Winter Woodland.  The present (and journaling box) are from Celebrations.  I embossed the hat with Divine Swirls and used Martha Stewart flocking for the pompom and cuff of the hat.

I used the Sledding folder for the present.  The snowflakes were embossed with Swiss Dots.  Finally, I learned an important lesson.  Nothing should be embossed using Chain Mail except animals and knights.  I used the Chain Mail folder on the title.

Proof that you shouldn't use this folder on anything but animals.

 Here is the inspiration for this layout.

Belly Band Stationary Set

Here is the challenge:
YOUR CHALLENGE:
Create a stationery set, including pockets and Cuttlebug embossing!

I must say, as the projects progress I am getting better at remembering the embossing.  I need to think about it whenever I'm working on a project but it does become easier.  I embossed this project like crazy.  It felt like this one leant itself to numerous embossings.

This is the outside of the stationary holder.  I used a piece of Bo Bunny paper.  Isn't it adorable.

Everyone needs to turn their computer on its side for the rest of the pictures.  I'm having technical difficulties here.

These are two of the four pieces of stationary.  There are two with the holly florish and two with the holly leaves and berries.  I used Stickles on the berries and graduated pearls from Creative Charms on the florish.  The leaves and florish are embossed with Devine Swirls.

This is the inside of the stationary folder.  There are stamps at the top, envelopes in the middle and cards in the bottom.  The cards are smaller than anything I would ever use so I might need to reconfigure this so I could make it a bit more usable.  I embossed the top strip (Core'dinations paper) with the Sledding folder (this is the only true winter folder I own).  The middle strip is embossed with Spots & Dots.  The bottom is done with stripes (I'm not certain the name of the folder right now).  I sanded the pockets to bring out more of the blue.  I think you can see it best on the spots and dots.

Snowflake Card

I'm fairly certain I didn't understand the process on this card.  I believe it was supposed to be wet embossed and then some type of inking process.  I need to do more research to understand what I was supposed to do.  I did some inking on this one and I followed the layout as best I could.

I think the card is usable not quite what was requested.

The challenge is to create a RESIST CHRISTMAS CARD using Bonnie's tutorial.

Don't look at the driveway and yard in the background.  I couldn't take a decent picture of this card inside.  It was 95 degrees and I'm taking pictures of Christmas cards.  Welcome to Atlanta.

Here is a close-up of the scallop, snowflake and my inking.

Create a Lot Cards

I like the idea of these cards.  I'm all for making a number of different cards with the same theme.  I'm not certain I did this exactly the way Betty Bee did it but I think its close enough.

Here challenge was to make at least THREE Create A Lot cards using Betty's  tutorial, or one of your own. It must have a repeatable pattern, and feature the Cuttlebug.

I made 4 cards, all are A2 and open at the bottom.  The base is white with a card topper and then a decoration.  Two of them have a gold scallop and three have been embossed with Devine Swirls.  I used a couple of different embellishments.

This one has a flower I bought at JoAnn's four for $.97.  I think I had a discount after that also.  I love these flowers, they look so festive and Christmas-y.

I love Creative Charm's embellishments.  I bought a ton of their stuff in June (the deal of the month was to die for).  This is one of the embellishments I bought in that haul.  I need to think about where I want to use some of these velvet flowers.  I'm afraid they will end up staying in my embellishment case because I like them so much I can't part with them.  If recommend checking out the Creative Charms website.

Snowpeople

I made some cute little snow people and placed them in fake snow on my cake platter.  At Christmas time this doesn't get used much because I make so many cookies and candies.  This seems like a great way to decorate and use a beautiful piece of glassware.

I used Core'dinations red and green paper, the white and black is the Micheal's Recollections brand of paper.  I used the Snow Friends cart for all of the cuts and Peachy Keen stamps for the face.  I can't get enough of those Peachy Keen stamps.  I saw a video of CHA with their booth.  It looks like SVG Cuts and Peachy Keen are going to do some interesting work.  I can't wait to see what they put together.  Watch for it around Halloween.

Here are a couple additional pictures of just the snowpeople.  Please note that I have decorated the back of them so they don't need to be put against a wall.

The last one is a little fuzzy but it gives a sense of the face.

Simple Holiday Book

I'm thinking about keeping this one myself.

I used some old resume paper (all of mine go via email, anymore), my Bind-It-All and Paper Studio Paper from Hobby Lobby. I'm loving the Paper Studio Paper.  This stack is called A Country Christmas it has a weathered, old paint look to it. 

And the challenge is:

Cover an album or book using Kristi's tutorial.  You can read her tutorial here.

And here is my version.

I think I will use this to keep notes on ideas for this Christmas.

Noel Card

This one is not a keeper.  Okie Ladybug's came out much nicer than mine.  I was looking for something a little different.  I like the look of the letters from the Blackletter cart.  I would definitely use it again. The stars didn't work, though.  If I have time, I'll redo this one.

The challenge: create your own NOEL Christmas Card! You can use Okie's .Cut file, the Christmas Cheer cartridge, or the word NOEL on the card.

OK, folks, no one laugh but here it is:

Christmas Tags

I ended up enjoying the Christmas Tags project more than I expected.  It was very easy and I think they look pretty cool.  I love the unstructured, organic feel to them.  I ended up ripping everything except the base.  I often times cut an "extra" of an item, just in case the first one doesn't look "right".  Given this habit, I have lots of cuts waiting for a home.  Tags would be a great place for some of them.

The challenge is create a tag, from scraps in your scrap studio, using Terrie's tutorial. (I'll be checking out Terri's projects in the future.  I love the way she designs.)

Here are the 6 tags I made.  If you look closely, the one in the middle, top comes from the letters in my Noel card.  The one in the middle bottom uses extra branches from Okie Ladybug's Christmas Tree.  I used a cut from SVGCuts for the trees but I easily could have made triangles with slits in them.  The cardboard came from the edge of a postal box.  The one thing I need to learn is how to separate the cardboard a little better.  The top layer was partially sticking to the bottom layer so you wouldn't see the ridges.

Two Cards from one cut

When I first saw this image, this is the set of cards that came to mind.  I used DCWV mettalic cardstock (it cuts beautifully in the cricut on multi-cut 2) and some of the green I bought this week at Hobby Lobby.  I love this green and the matching red.  It has a deep rich color.

Here is the Cuttlebug Challenge:
 YOUR CHALLENGE:  Create a pair of cards using Diane's file or a similar file that you create which makes use of what would otherwise be "waste paper."  If you do not use Design Studio or the Gypsy, you can use the remnants from a cut from one card for a second card. 

I want to go back and make Diane's card, also.  It looks like a wonderful card.

3 Dimensional Christmas Tree

The next challenge is a three dimensional Christmas Tree. Okie Ladybug was kind enough to create a cut file which I used.  Okie Ladybug was very disciplined and put all of her branches in lines with different kinds in each row.  At times I like to be disciplined in the same way but I felt like a tree is more organic and needed to have the branches all over the place.  I ended up using a lot more branches than Okie Ladybug (in fact you can't even see the embossing I did on this one).

Just a little side note -- Okie Ladybug is a fantastic blogger.  She always makes me laugh when I read her posts.  She is very descriptive.  Of all of the cricut bloggers, I think she would be one of the most fun to have dinner with.

Here is the challenge:

YOUR CHALLENGE:
Create a three dimensional Christmas Tree like Okie's! You can use this tutorial, or June's Triangular Treat Box tutorial on Thursday, 7/22 ~ or whatever three dimensional tree you desire!

And here is my tree:

I embossed the box and I added stickles (gold and green) to the branches.  I put a ribbon through the middle so I could hang it on the tree and use it as a gift box.

Red and White Card

Simple cards are my favorite.  I like a couple of colors, not a ton of embellishments.

This challenge is something I enjoy and I can imagine using.  Here is the challenge:

1. Make a Holiday card, any size, using mostly white and just one other color.
2. Add something glittery! (Glitter, Glimmer Mist, Rhinestones, etc.)
3. Have fun!!!

And here is what I made:

I used one of Capadia Design's hints about using paper wisely.  I cut the scallop and the stars from the red square under the white square.  I meant to emboss the white square but forgot it my focus on the bow.  In addition, the strip of red on the inside has three stars cut out.  They were then used on the front of the card.

Luminaires

My favorite craft blogger is Diane at Capadia Designs.  I love her designs, she is great at helping when you have a problem or issue with design studio or a project.  She makes you feel like she is paying attention to you specifically.  I was reminded of the Cuttlebug Challenges by Diane and decided to take her up on the project.

I loved this project.  I haven't opened her cut file but I will soon.  I'm curious to see if she also put a bottom on her luminaires.  I decided they would be a little more stable if I put a flap on the bottom and then a base or floor.  It also helps me keep them square.

So, here are my two luminaires.

I feel like I've seen this one before.  It is similar to a number of candle holders and other decorations from Colorado. 

I'm happy to share my .cut file for either of these.

Wearable Art

This challenge was a lot of fun.

YOUR CHALLENGE:

Create a piece of jewelry using your Cuttlebug

I didn't expect to like what I made.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I embossed a piece of blue paper and put it between the glass.  Then I cut some vinyl snowflakes (because it was vinyl I was able to use When Its Cold Outside).

Side One

Side Two

Yummy for the Tummy

YOUR CHALLENGE:

Cover your favorite chocolate bar, then post the project.


This is one of those times when I followed the directions exactly (or as close as I could without having a crimper) and it just didn't do anything for me.  It might be that I don't consider giving or getting Hershey bars to be that big of a deal.  I just couldn't imagine using this

It looks nice enough, it just doesn't work for me.

So, I went back and looked at one of my favorite boxes.  It was one of the first boxes I downloaded from someone's blog (GSuttle).  I like her box but I wanted to make it "mine".  So, I modified and tweaked and her is what I came up with

This is the correct size for 3 Ghiradelli chocolate squares.  My Costco sells them in a huge bag (great for the wallet but not the waistline).  The paper came from Hobby Lobby this week.  Normally it makes me crazy when they put the Christmas stuff up in July, this year I didn't mind because I needed some paper.  This is Paper Studio "Greetings of the Season" pack.  Hobby Lobby was having a half off sale so these were very reasonable this week.

This close-up shows the embossing with the gold I drew on the embossed image.

I'm proud of this one.  I inked the bow but not the wreath. Next time I think I might choose a green that isn't as close to the wreath for the leaves.The cut comes from Christmas Solutions cart.

Christmas Ornament

I think this ended up looking good.  In fact, the picture looks even better than the actual ornament.

I embossed a piece of Core'dinations for the bottom of the tin and around the edge.  I used crystal Stickles on the trees and church.  The church is on the inside of the lid with the trees on the tin.  Then I added fake snow inside the tin.  It has a bit of a snow globe effect (which got me thinking about making snow globes).

Christmas Bows

Here is my next project.  I think it turned out pretty but generally speaking I don't think it is worth the effort to make one of these.

Your Challenge is to grab some pretty paper and make your own gift bow.

Christmas Coasters

I've gone back and forth on this challenge.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it.  All of the time I think there must be a better way.  

The cork I bought for the coasters is about .25 inches smaller than the coaster.  The ink smudges way too easily.  I wasn't happy with most of the stamps I have. Then when I went to seal the ink it all ran from the Kyrlon sealer.  I had to wipe it all off and start again.  I don't really like the way these turned out.  I'm not certain I'll try this again.

YOUR CHALLENGE:
Head to your home improvement store for some ceramic tiles, and create coasters for yourself!

Snowflakes are Pretty

YOUR CHALLENGE:
Create a snowflake card or ornament based on Bonnie's tutorial! You can use a Cricut cut, or a stamp if you don't have the die to cut out the snowflake.... Will you make both????

I don't have the die that Bonnie used but I have some great snowflakes on my carts.  The logical place to start would be When Its Cold Outside but I know most of those cuts (this is one of the first carts I bought) and they are very intricate.  I knew I didn't want it to be too tough to lift all of the little pieces.  So, I kept looking and found this beautiful cut.

The card on the left follows Bonnie's tutorial.  I embossed the light blue piece, I stamped a sentiment on the inside.  I just didn't really like it.  It looks better in the picture than it does in person.

However, I fell in love with the card before I put the embossed piece on it.  It is clean and dramatic.  With a little bit of bling from Creative Charms (http://www.creativecharms.com/) and I love it.  The funny thing is this card would fulfill two other challenges (Capadia Design's two cards from one and Sandee's White Challenge).  I like doing monocramatic cards and I often times think in terms of two cards in one (Thank you Diane).  So, I'm going to use these two for my challenge here and do other cards for the other challenges -- now to figure out what to do for Diane and Sandee's challenges.

I removed the snowflake from the cutting mat and glued the negative straight to the dark blue card stock.  I've got the snowflake ready to add to another card.

Here is a picture of all three cards that I've made from this design.  I think folks will see more of these in the future.  I really like the way they came out.  (I'm auditioning cards for this year's Christmas list).

Star Shape Card

The next challenge came at 1:00 am.  I was actually awake and worked on this one right then.

I've never made a shape card before.  I'm not crazy about the way this one hinges.  Because it comes together at a point I couldn't figure out a way to weld it in Design Studio.

The silver paper is from DCWV's metallic stack.  The other papers came from my stash. The snowflake brad and small silver ones are from Spare Parts.

YOUR CHALLENGE:
Create a Star shaped card

  Here is a view so you can see the inside.