Exploring Cricut and More - "It's A Spring Thing"

Happy Monday! It's challenge time at Exploring Cricut and More. Make a card, layout or craft celebrating Spring and include at least 1 flower. 

I decided to create a card. I used my Cricut to cut the images I chose. The birds had legs on them but I cut them off because I wanted the birds to be resting on the branch and flowers. 

I chose to stickle the flowers so they would show up better on the white embossed scallop circle. The scalloped circle was given some texture by running it through the Cuttlebug machine. I used a brown marker to make the eyes for the birds.

Recipe:
A2 cardbase
Scalloped Circle - Elegant Edges 3.71"
Branch with Flowers - Gypsy Wanderings 1", 0.86"
Birds - 3 Birds- Straight From the Nest 1"
Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls
Orange, Yellow, Blue Stickles, brown marker

Thanks for stopping by and hope you join in the challenge this week!

Annette

Exploring Cricut - Science Game

Hello! Today is my turn to share at Exploring Cricut and I have a fun school project you might enjoy. My youngest daughter asked to use the Cricut to create a board game for her science project.  This was a great project for the budget because we  had everything but extra dice, which we found at the $1 store. Gotta love that:)

My daughter chose to base her game loosely on the "Sorry" game. We started with a poster board and cut it down to a 20"x 20" square with the smaller squares measuring at 2 1/2". To make it more interesting, while learning, she added things like "draw again, lose a turn, etc.

One of the requirements for the project was to create 25 questions based on the subject matter, which was atoms and elements. She set to work choosing colors and shapes that would fit her theme. She used the gypsy to search for items. This can easily been done in CCR too. While I love my gypsy I do think searching for shapes is nice in CCR because it is a larger screen. You can hold the top button on the gypsy to enlarge the shape before selecting too.

The entire board was Mod Podged for a protectant. The "finish" piece was created by welding a circle and rectangle together in the Gypsy. 

The game pieces were created with a button as the base, a wooden ball and Stickles. The ball was attached to the button with E6000 glue.

Recipe:

Foam core board cut down to 20 x 20

Title - All Mixed Up 1.47"

Circle, Rectangle - George and Basic Shapes 3.47", 4.53"

"Start" and "Finish" - Plantin SchoolBook 1"

Beakers - LockerTalk 2.06"

Atom - Indie Art 2.06"

Radioactive - Indie Art 2.06"

Arrows - Gypsy Wanderings 1"

Dice - Indie Art 1"

Buttons, Wooden Balls, Stickles, Mod Podge, E6000 glue, dice

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget you have until Saturday, November 23rd to enter our challenge!

Annette

Happy Birthday Exploring Cricut Blog Hop

Hello! It is Exploring Cricut's 3rd birthday and we are celebrating. If you hopped from Emily then you are in the right spot. If not, hop back to Exploring Cricut so you don't miss a thing:) You can join in the fun by creating a card, layout or paper craft celebrating a birthday event. You can use any colors, but you must use your Cricut and include at least 1 button, brad or jewel. Our Design Team has some awesome projects for inspiration  You have until Saturday to enter our challenge:)

I decided to create a 2 page spread for my daughter's upcoming 14th birthday. She is not a huge pink fan so I kept it to a minimum. I used Diamond Stickles on the "girl' part of the title.

The butterflies were glued with Glossy Accents just down the middle. Prior to adhering I folded the butterfly in half so the wings would pop up. I then added Fruit Punch Stickles to the antennas and middle.

I chose to use these red buttons for my cupcakes. The cupcakes were cut from the pattern paper. To have the button lay flat I took some nail clippers and snipped the plastic loop off the back and adhered with Gossy Accents. 

There is blog candy to win too! To win: Let me know you are a follower and how to get a hold of you in the comments below. I will draw a winner Saturday. Good luck!!

Here's the line up for the hop:

Sharon http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com

Donna  http://wwwkindredkreations.blogspot.com

Lori  http://scrappinsaints.blogspot.com
Rae Ann   http://joyinart.blogspot.com
Emily  http://emilyqueenofallthingscrafty.blogspot.com
Annette  http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com You are here
Michelle N  http://justanutterpapercrafter.blogspot.com 
Michelle S  http://cricutcrazyscrapper.blogspot.com
Liz  http://unikbyyes.blogspot.com
Diane  http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com

Recipe:
2 page 12 x 12 layout
Pattern and yellow papers - Doublesided Crate Paper
Blue Polka Dot Paper - Bo Bunny
Pink Vellum Paper
"Birthday Girl- Storybook 3.19"
Butterflies - Create A Critter 1.46"
"Make A Wish - Birthday Bash2.40"
Swirl - Gypsy Wanderings 4.38"
Glossy Accents, buttons, Diamond, Fruit Punch, Yellow Stickles

Now hop on over to Michelle for some more birthday fun!!

Thanks for stopping by:)

Annette

Exploring Cricut - 18th Bday

Happy Thursday! It is my turn to share at Exploring Cricut!  I decided to share a 2 page layout that I created for an 18th birthday using my Cricut.

There are so many images that are in the Cricut books that I see and think, "oh, I need to remember to use that" and completely forget to do so.  The image from Wild Card "oh happy day" is one of those images. I'm glad I remembered this time. There are fun sayings on this cartridge that are perfect for layouts as well as cards, or any project for that matter.

Recipe:

2 page 12 x 12 layout

Papers - Echo Park, AC and DCWV

"Oh Happy Day" - Wild Card 5.40"

"18" - Birthday Bash 1.87"

"Happy Birthday" - Wild Card 5.92"

Tag - Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2.95"

Scallop Mat - Gypsy Wanderings 10.98", 9.75"

Ribbon, black ink

Thanks for stopping by and remember the challenge ends on Saturday! 

Annette

Exploring Cricut - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Hello! It's Monday and you know what that means; Exploring Cricut has a new challenge today. You are to create a card, layout or project including a flower with your Cricut. We had a beautiful weekend here and my husband just informed me that it might rain and snow tonight and tomorrow. Really? I for one am ready for warmer weather. I hope the weatherman is wrong. 

When I created this card I was thinking of warm sunny days and picnics. I guess I will have to keep thinking about them for awhile:)

Recipe:

A2 card base Kraft paper

Red Gingham Mat Plantin SchoolBook 4.55"

Blue Scallop Mat - Elegant Edges 3"

"Thank You" - Gypsy Wanderings 2.81" (width)

Flowers - Walk In My Garden .97"

Ribbon, Black ink, Yellow Stickles, Clear gems

Hope you decide to join in! Check out my DT sisters for great inspiration:) Winners will be drawn this Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Annette

Exploring Cricut - 16th Birthday

Hello! How is everyone!! It is my turn to share at Exploring Cricut today and I have a birthday card that I made for my nephew. He turned 16 on Tuesday and likes the color blue.  Sometimes I think teenage male cards are harder to do than adult male cards. So, I decided to use shapes and make the "16" the focal point of the card.

I started with the number 16 and worked my way out making my design. The plaid mat is a 1/4" smaller than the base of the card. The blue strips are were cut at 1". The arrows were from Gypsy Wanderings and were wider than what I wanted. It came from this page below. 

 

 I cut them as is on the cricut and then trimmed them with scissors.

 As you can see there is no bling or embellishments (how sad), but it is for a 16-year-old boy:) Hopefully, he will enjoy the card as much as I did making it!

Recipe:

A2 cardbase

Papers - DCWV

Happy - Cricut Craft Room Basics 0.76"

Green Rectangle - George and Basic Shapes 3.38"

"16" - Birthday Bash 1.71"

Arrow - Gypsy Wanderings 1.36"

Birthday Sentiment - My Creative Time

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Annette

Exploring Cricut Challenge Breast Cancer Awareness

Hi Everyone! Are you ready for another challenge at Exploring Cricut. Today our challenge is for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can create a card, layout or paper craft symbolizing hope against the fight against this terrible disease. 

If you choose to create a card we are donating all of the cards we receive to the University of Kansas Cancer Center - Kansas City Cancer Center.  The staff sends out many cards throughout the year and would love the donation. Contact me if you would like to donate.

I decided to create a card to donate and chose the colors pink and brown. I cut out the 3 butterflies from the paper and popped them up on the front.

Recipe:
A2 card base
Papers - DCWV, Bazzill
Hope - Gypsy Wanderings 2.07"
Pop dots

Thank you for stopping by:) I'm looking forward to seeing your projects and I hope you decide to donate!

Annette

Exploring Cricut - An Honorable Award Layout

Good Morning! Hope your day is off to a great start and thank you for coming to visit. It is my day to share a project at Exploring Cricut. I have been really trying to get caught up on my scrapbooking and I have to say it is coming along nicely.

This particular layout was last fall when my father-in-law was given an award for his years of service on a board in his home town. He was so excited that we were there at the nursing home with him to share his moment.

Recipe:
12x12 page
Papers - DCWV
Maple leaf - Gypsy Wanderings 2.54"
Blue leaf - Gypsy Font 2.18"
Red leaf - Gypsy Wanderings 2.54"
Small leaves - Doodlecharms 1"
Postage mat - Create A Critter 1.50"
Rectangle - George and Basic Shapes 1.50"

Thanks for stopping by and remember the challenge at Exploring Cricut ends Saturday. Hope you decide to join in the fun:)

Annette

Exploring Cricut Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Exploring Cricut Blog Hop and Challenge! Today we are featuring Christmas in July. If you hopped from Sharon then you are in the right spot. If not, hop back so you don't miss a thing:)  You will see many wonderful projects by our Design Team and at the end you will be able to enter the challenge to show us a Christmas project. It can be a Christmas card, layout or a craft. Don't forget to use your Cricut for the challenge. Many of us are offering blog candy along the way so be sure to follow the rules to win some goodies!

So, I decided to create a Christmas layout that I did using a few cartridges. This is a 12 x 12 2 page layout mainly featuring Joys of the Season with a few other cartridges here and there.

I added Stickles throughout the layout to give some sparkle and shine. 

The wall hanging above the mantle was created using a Cri-Kit black glitter pen. I laid out what I wanted it to say on my Gypsy. I then used my Cricut with the Gypsy to create the writing and the cut. 

Recipe:

Family  Moments 2.75"  Gypsy Wanderings

Santa -Joys of the Season 4.74"

Tree - Joys of the Season 8.28"

Present - Joys of the Season 1.92"

Rocking Horse - Joys of the Season 2.24"

Drum - Joys of the Season 1.77"

Soldier - Joys of the Season 3.26"

Fireplace - Joys of the Season 4.23"

Stockings - Joys of the Season 2.03"

Wall Hanging - Create A Critter 1.48"

Lettering on Hanging - Lyrical Letters .31"

Bear - Joys of the Season 2.96"

Gems, Xmas Red Stickles, Green Stickles, Diamond Stickles, floss, brown and black ink

Here is my blog candy for you to win!!

Want a chance to win?

1. Make sure you're a follower.

2. Leave a comment on this blog post.

3. Leave a comment on all the blogs in this hop.

The deadline for my blog candy is Saturday, July 21st at midnight CST!

Your next stop is JESSICA

Sharon http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com/
Annette http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com/ HERE  

Jessica http://craftinandstampin.blogspot.com/ NEXT

Emily http://emilyqueenofallthingscrafty.blogspot.com/

Michelle http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/

Lori http://scrappinsaints.blogspot.com/

Kim http://littleredshood.blogspot.com/

Ian http://anewbiecrafter.blogspot.com/

Diana http://craftypeepdb.blogspot.com/

Georgiana http://carsonscricutcreations.blogspot.com/

Diane http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you join in the fun!!

Annette

Exploring Cricut Daily Project - Balloons

Hi! It is my turn at Exploring Cricut and I have a layout for you today. I kept the elements simple so that the pictures would remain the focal point. I typed my journaling on the computer and then cut it at varying lengths placing around the pages.

The balloon I chose was cut free hand. If you didn't want to do that I know Everyday Pop Up Cards has one too. It has more of a rounded shape to it. I did pop the center piece of the balloon up to give some more dimension and then took my black pen and drew a zig zag along the edges. I shaded the outer edge of the balloon with black ink. The clouds were shaded with black ink too. The heart was cut from the paper and then popped up onto the balloon. The title was welded together with my gypsy using Lyrical Letters.

Recipe:

Two 12 x 12 pages

Bazzill and DCWV

Clouds - Create A Critter 2.63:

Tree - Gypsy Wanderings 4.69"

Title - Lyrical Letters 1.33"

Black ink, black pen, pop dots

Don't forget there is still time to enter our contest at Exploring Cricut using a Cricut flower. Hope you join in:)

Thanks for stopping by!

Annette

Monogram Challenge

If you are looking for the Wilderness Blog Hop Day 2, please click here.

Good Morning Everyone! I'm so glad you came today because I am sharing a project for a challenge at Bitten By the Bug 2. Any cartridge could be used to create a monogram card.  I needed to make gifts for my daughter's Ballet Mistress and Artistic Director at the studio and this is what I came up with. Hope you like it:)

I used my gypsy to weld the letters in the middle with Plantin and Gypsy Wanderings.

4 cards fit nicely in the box with envelopes. I have gotten up to 8 before with envelopes too.

Recipe:

A2 size card using Plantin and Gypsy Wandering 

Box - Tags, Bags, Boxes & More 9"

Flower - Forever Young 4.64"

Belly Band - 1 1/2"

Paisley Embossing Folder 

Letters - Gypsy Font 2.75, 3.37"

Thank you for stopping by!

Annette

Exploring Cricut Challenge #10-"No Business Like Show Business"

If you are looking for the Wilderness Blog Hop Day 2, please click here.

Hi Everyone! Today is another challenge at Exploring Cricut. Today's challenge is "No Business Like Show Business". This can be movie night, movie themed, plays, concerts, recitals, any type of entertainment. This can be a card, layout or paper craft.

My pages are showcasing my younger daughter's singing choir. I'm sorry for the glare on the pictures. I hope you all can still see them.These birds are so cute and perfect for the page. I really like using the geometric shapes on the page for little pops of color. The musical notes are from the other cuts on the page. I love when I am able to use all of the pieces for a project:)

Recipe:

2 page 12 x 12 layout

Papers - Basic Grey, Bazzill, Doodlebug

Circles - George and Basic Shapes 6.91", 4.29", 3.06"

Birds - 3 Birds On Parade 3.71", 4.34"

Title - 3 Birds On Parade 3.70"

Borders - Elegant Edges 2", 1"

Tag - Gypsy Wanderings 4", 5.86"

Gold Stickles, ribbons, button, Prima flower

I can't wait to see what you guys create. We really appreciate you joining us every week and hope you will do so again this time. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Annette

Snow?

Good Morning! Well, we finally got some snow, but it really wasn't much to amount to anything. My youngest was bummed because she wanted to make a snowman and, of course, have a snow day. Last year we had so many that it was too much. Geez, sounds like we aren't happy:) Seriously, this is strange weather though. This weekend it will be back in the 40s and 50s.

Anyway, on to my card. I made this one with Gypsy Wanderings and my Cuttlebug. I love the ease of the Cuttlebug and embossing can really add that little extra. I also took Diamond Stickles and just added it here and there to the snowflakes to give them some shimmer too.

Recipe:
A2 card
Snowman - Gypsy Wanderings (sorry I forgot to save measurements)
Cuttlebug - Snowflakes and Divine Swirls
Paper - DCWV
Ribbon - Stash
Google eyes, black ink
Stickles - Diamond, Orange

Entering:
Tuesday Throwdown - Challenge #80 "Baby It's Cold Outside"
Pumpkin Spice Show your style (CAS)

Thank you for stopping by!

Annette

Sympathy Card

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was definitely busy with Nutcracker. It was beautiful! Today I wanted to share a card made for a friend whose mother passed away suddenly. This was a lift from the boards and I can't recall to whom the credit goes...sorry. I really like the simplicity of this one and hope they will too. Have a great day!

Recipe:

A2 size card

Papers - Stampin' Up

Sentiment- Wild Card 5.47"

Bird -Everyday Pop-Up Cards .96"

Branch - Gypsy Wandering 1.27"

Prima flowers, Stickles

Thanks for stopping!

Annette

Birthday Sundaes Challenge #36

Good Morning! One more day to yummy food and a day of thanksgiving. I'm so excited and no school today for my kids, which of course means sleeping in for them. Luckily, they really like school but it is so nice to take a break from time to time.

Today I have another birthday card to share. Over at Birthday Sundaes the challenge was to use our neglected stash. I chose glitter. I love glitter but not the mess. Try as I might to keep it neat and tidy those little sparkles just land everywhere. Stickles, in my opinion, was a blessing. However, sometimes you can't beat the old fashioned way. It definitely gives your project a different look. Thank goodness there are so many different choices so we have plenty to play with:)

Recipe:
A2 base
DCWV and My Mind's Eye Papers
Cupcake Gypsy Wandering 2.29"
Sentiment Gypsy Wandering 1.82"
Topnote Gypsy Wandering 2.88"
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Seeing Spots

Thanks for stopping by!

Annette

Leaves

Hi! Today I am working on a Thanksgiving card. I kept it really simple and am also entering in a few challenges. The white, in person, really makes it very crisp. I wonder if anyone has taken the real leaves and put Diamond Glaze over them for a project to preserve them. I might have to try that too. If anyone has I would  love to know if it worked or not:) That would be really pretty for a card.

Recipe:

A2 base

Papers - Stash

Leaves - Gypsy Wandering 2.76", Stretch Your Imagination 1.47", Lyrical Letters 3"

Topnote - Storybook 3.28"

Sentiment - My Pink Stamper

Gems - Basic Grey

Black, Walnut Stain and Champagne Inks, Zig Brown Pen

Ribbon - Stash

Entering:
You Had Me At Craft - Anything Goes



Pile It On -Thanksgiving or Give Thanks
Stuck On U Sketches -Leaf Die Cut
A Muse Studio - Thanks

Thanks for stopping by:)

Annette

Fall

This is a card that I made for a few challenges.  I inked the edges lightly with brown. For the circles and frame for sentiment, I grouped each pair and then resized one of them to make a shadow. I also used a pop dot for the pumpkin to give it more dimension. I am liking this new stack from DCWV. I like that it has dimension on the papers and some glitter too;).

Recipe:

A2 size kraft cardstock
Pumpkin - Gypsy Wanderings1.80"
Circles - Create A Critter Smaller Circle 3.32", Large Circle 3.86"
Stamp Frame - Create A Critter 2.44"
Sentiment Frame - Create A Critter Smaller 1.09", Larger 1.19"
Scallop - Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art 0.62"
Leaf Paper - Size 2 3/4" x 5"
Woven Mat - 4" x 5 1/4"
Sentiment - My Creative Time

Papers DCWV Harvest Gathering

Diamond Stickles

Entering

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 182 Anything Goes

My Craft Spot Challenge 26 Fall Leaves

Crafty Sprouts Get Sketchy With It

The Scrap Master Color Combo

Thanks for looking:)

Annette

Musical Cats

Well, I finally did a layout with Fantabulous Cricut as my inspiration! The challenge this week was to do something musical. Boy, do I have a lot of that to do for my older daughter's book. Before I know it, there will be another performance and more to do:) These pictures were taken this summer so I'm not too far behind. We made her cat costume. I have to say the tail, for me, was the most fun. I used 5 different colors of tulle and the base was a nylon hose stuffed with polyester fiberfil.  They were cut in strips, 2 pieces sewn together and when pulled on the ends created a puff ball that was then sewn to the base. Her tail inspired a lot of the other girls too so they also created tails to match their costumes. It was too hot this day, but other peformances she wore one of her legwarmers on one leg. I sewed yarn to just to give some dimension to it.

This particular layout was for the "Cats" Musical song Jellicle Cats

The wheel paper was inspired because the cats live in a junkyard. I drew with the cri-kit pens in
black before cutting out.

This cat is also singing and the black cri-kit glitter pen was used on this one too.

This particular number was the opening act for "Music Man" so the backdrop had some
fun colors that we decided to pull onto the layout.

Thanks for stopping by:)

Recipe:

Cityscape - Plantin SchoolBook 12.70" width on gypsy

Font - Hello Kitty Font 2.38" height on gypsy

Gold Cat - Paper Doll Dress Up 6.56" height on gypsy

Grey Cat - Paper Doll Dress Up 6.69" height on gypsy

Barrell - Paper Doll Dress Up 7.77" height on gypsy

Musical Notes - Gypsy Wandering & Twinkle Toes 2.38" and 1.00" height on gypsy

Cri-Kit Glitter Pen - Black

Copic Markers - musical notes pink and blue RV21 and BG15

Entering:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday #77 - musical notes or instrument

Annette

Window Card

I always thought the window cards were really difficult to make and was to scared to attempt. Well, Sheila at shesasassylady.blogspot.com changed my mind. She has tutorials with the gypsy that go step by step. She is fabulous. Thank you Sheila:) Anyway, I created these 2 cards this week. My Dad broke his hip in July and he is working very hard at rehab. Not an easy road, but he definitely shows improvement. Cards are always a nice way to let someone know that you care. The other card was for my daughter. She received a scholarship this past summer for dance. She thought it would be nice after the meet and greet to tell them thank you again. What a good girl:)

Before I get to the cards, I just want to say that many prayers are coming your way if you are in the way of Hurricane Irene. I hope that everyone is safe and sound and she loses her energy.

The card is an A2 size. I used DCWV Dots, Stripes and Plaids for this card. This is a great stack if you are looking for some good male papers. I always have a harder time with those because I want to put some bling or something:) I used Gypsy Wanderings for the base and Lyrical Letters for the sentiment.

This is also an A2 with the papers from DCWV Citrus. The butterfly is MS Elegant Cake Art. I stickled the top layer of the butterfly and only adhered the middle of the body so that the wings pop up. It's a little hard to tell from the picture but in person you can really see the different colors underneath the top layer. The sentiment is from Gypsy Wanderings.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a safe Sunday. Thanks, again, to Sheila for her wonderful tutorials.

Annette