Scrapbook Saturday with Erica's Cricut Craft Room!

Welcome to another Scrapbook Saturday with Erica's Cricut Craft Room Design Team!  Once you are done checking out my layout, hop back over to My Cricut Craft Room for more scrappy inspiration!  And if you want to be temped... click on Erica's shop link for some awesome Cricut deals!!

This week's page is about my son, Alex.  My goodness is he silly.  And the kid won;t sit still for a picture, if he does, he's making a face.  And I'm ALWAYS catching him in the act of doing goofy stuff like what is captured in these pictures.  Letters are cut using Opposites attract (silly) , Ashlyn's Alphabet (quirky), and Alphalicious (happy, fun).

Thermoweb pop dots behind fun for dimension.

Thermo web pop dots behind "happy" for dimension.

Chalked over white paper.

As always - thanks for looking!  Have a great day!

Scrapbook Saturday with Erica's Cricut Craft Room!

Hi!  Welcome to Scrapbook Saturday hosted by Erica's Cricut Craft Room!  If you came here because you are one of my followers, please stop back at Erica's page and check out the other fabulous pages from my Design Team Sisters!   Erica also offers AWESOME deals on Cricut Cartridges... check out her shop by clicking here : )

Here is my page I wanted to share with all of you today.  This was made for my honeymoon album chronicling our time on the amazing island of Oahu, Hawaii.  I really wanted to show you these two pages to show off those hula girls.  Aren't they CUTE!!!?!?!!  LOVE them!  Also, I wanted to share an idea about what I did with the tropical flowers for this book.  I made a large number of cuts from several different sheets of patterned paper (all from the same book for consistency), and then just put them all together at random - different flower tops with bottoms, different papers, one with another - just whatever I thought looked good.  I made tons of them and then used them as embellishments at will throughout the book, helping me to create a consistent theme.  You'll see on one of the pictures at the end, that I used several flowers layered together to make a page border.

Like my Raven's nails?  He he he.  As always - THANK YOU for stopping by!

Would You Ever Guess Wednesday! October 12

Welcome to Would You Ever Guess Wednesday!  The day of the week where we, the member's of Erica's My Cricut Craft Room Design Team, create projects using nothing but the creative features on our cartridges, helping you find the full value of the catridges we all love to spend out hard earned cash on : )  Once you are done here, hop over there to see more projects!

Today I'm excited to share with you an invitation I made for my daugther's 13th birthday party.  We have a local tea house that serves a proper "English High Noon Tea", complete with scones and tea sandwhiches.  Its a lovely place - and we wanted to create just the right invitation.  I found just the thing on "A Child's Year" - not the first place you'd go to look for a 13-year old's party invitation.

A Child's Year features a card making button!  Choose the proper size (I chose a 5 x 7 card, and cut at 5") and embelish at will.  I also thought it would be neat to cut the image again using patterned paper and hand cutting the tea pot away from the card for a layered look, but thats not what my daughter wanted. 

The letter is from Sophisticated and the bows are handmade with a bow easy.  I really liked that when you open the card, there is a little tea pot icon inside as well.  We printed the party info on velum and placed that inside using vellum tape (can't see it).

OCTOBER CRICUT 100 CARTRIDGE BLOG HOP DAY TWO

Welcome to DAY TWO of our monthly hop around the block and visit a wide range of wonderful Cricut crafters. SO MUCH TALENT on this Design Team that I am honored to be on, and on your travels you will see over 100 different Cricut cartridges in use!

You should have come from the super amazing Laura's blog.  If you did not please start at the beginning of the hop at http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/  
Too many great projects we don't want you to miss!   NOT TO MENTION THERE ARE PRIZES INVOLVED!!!  WOOO!  Should you get lost the entire lineup can be found at the bottom of this post.

Onto my cartridges for this month.  I was recently asked to make a banner and card set for a John Deere themed birthday party.  I thought...  sure... I could do a green tractor, but how cool if I could get the logo on there somewhere.  So here's how I did it:

Using Cricut Craft Room (trust me, its worth the wait.  The kinks are annoying and the program seems to work better every time I use it) I selected the tractor from "Everyday Paper Dolls" and then found the perfect deer shape on "Going Places", tilted it, and dropped it ontop of the tractor engine area.  I cut that from green.  I cut one of the same without the deer in yellow.  Once cut, I trimmed the green seat, wheel and bumper away to further show the yellow.  Then I custom created ovals to match the wheel sizes to cover over the tractor wheels.  Once it was put together it looked a little too "clean" to me so I dirtied it up with some walnut ink brushed on with a piece of felt by hand.

Not sure what to do with my new little creation, I decided to give it a sceen on a card.  Not sure if I will put a child's age in the clouds?  Either way, its blank for now.  I used Plantin Schoolbook for the grass and Going Places for the clouds.  The sky and grass hill are hand cut.  Chalking completes the detail. 

My next project was made for a friend of mine named Amy.  She has a business called Forever In A Flash Photography and she is incredibly talented.  Her pictures literally make me gasp sometimes.  If you are in the Baltimore area, you should check out her work.  MY photography, on the other hand, leaves a little to be desired.  Sorry for the poor quality here....

Once I saw this posted photo on Amy's page, I wanted to show what a custom mat could do to enhance the photograph.  I wanted to compliment the soft browns and reds of the photos and add some femininity with a soft purple.  I used CCR to create a mat, and a plum border for the mat opening.  I chose a little sentiment from "Sugar and Spice" and cut it at 3.25" in a dark gray color and used the plum cardstock for the heart.  For a variation, I made a second mat "accessory" cutting "S" from Ashlyn's Alphabet  in black and used a prima flower on the bottom right side.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by and honoring me with your visit today!  I hope that along this weekend's hop that you have found some great project inspiration from the fantastic gals on this team!

Your next stop on the hop is on Lezlye at  http://lezlyes.blogspot.com

In case you get lost, here is the lineup:

18. Erica – http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

19. Connie - http://conniescraftycloset.blogspot.com

20. Lucinda Gibson - http://thegrowinggibson.blogspot.com

21. Tanya Adams - http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com

22. Karey Jeans - http://www.creativecraftcorner.com

23. Jenny R http://myimagitivity.blogspot.com

24. Gayle Schrader- http://gscraptime.blogspot.com

25. Laura - http://laurascraftsandmore.blogspot.com

26. Heather S - http://operationcricutdesign.blogspot.com   YOU ARE HERE

27. Lezlye http://lezlyes.blogspot.com

28. Rosa http://kleymanr.blogspot.com/

29. Autumn Willis - http://autumnsbuggycreations.blogspot.com

30. Lisa Newton-Orensky - www.allmadebylisa.blogspot.com

31. Sharon http://simplysweetbysharon.blogspot.com

32. Kat http://katscrapfever.blogspot.com/    

33. Laurie http://lauriecandoit.blogspot.com/

34. Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com/

Would You Guess Wednesdays with Cricut Craft Room!

Hi!  Back again sharing another post as a Design Team member for Cricut Craft Room!  Please head back to her page and check out the other fab posts from today for interesting outside-of-the-box ideas for how to use your cartridges!

I decided to share, what I think it a pretty odd use of the Wrap It Up cartridge.  I've been using this cart a LOT lately because the cuts and phrases on it are great for so much more than just for gift boxes and little bags (though they are super cute too!).

Aaaaaaand... you guessed it.  ANOTHER mini (sorry!!) but it's my blog and I'll do what I want *wink*.

This one is made using the onsie cut from this cartridge.  I felt that it was just slightly too narrow, so I used CCR to widen it a little bit and maximize the space when cutting - I cut 4 to a 12 x 12 sheet.  My first attempt involved using ModPodge to adhere and it looked AWFUL.  so, round two, I used a good old elmers glue stick.  Worked AWESOMELY.  I really like how there is a differentiation from the front and the back of these super cute onsies.  This is a great and really simple gift to throw together for a shower and give away as a gift!  Please let me know if you have any questions!  Thanks for looking!

A few variations:

Teddy bear cut is from A Child's Year

Have a happy scrappy day!  Thanks again for stopping by and make sure you check out the new Shop at Cricut Craft Room!

School Days - Scrapbook Saturday with My Cricut Craftroom!

Welcome!  I am excited to share a project I made for My Cricut Craft Room's Scrapbook Saturday.  If you stopped by today because you are a follower (thanks!!) please check out the other posts on Erica's page.  There is some fantastic talent being shared with this group!  Also, Erica recently opened a store, and I'll tell you that her prices for scrapbooking supplies can't be beat.  Check her out again later this week as she will be filling up the rest of her inventory!

Ok!  Onto this week's project!

I decided I wanted to try my hand at making a paper bag album - I had made them a LOOOONG time ago and used to give them as shower gifts.  Now I have all kinds of cool tools to make them with : )  Take a look at the pictures and I'll walk you through the process.

First, you start with three paper bags and lay them opposite of each other, one up, one down one up.  Fold them in half.  I used the crop a dial to punch two holes and put in two large eyelets for the binding.  I cut 12 sheets of 5 x 5 coordinating papers and ran them through my xyron to make them more sturdy and easy to adhere, and then applied them to the book.  Everything else were simply cricut cuts and embelishments!  I ran colored ribbon through the eyelets to complete the binding and made little slider cards to pop out of the open spaces in the bags.  Enjoy, and thanks for looking!

School Days cut from Nate's ABC's, Apple is from Wrap It Up

Pencil is Nate's ABCs

Glue is Nate's ABCs

Books are Wrap it Up

Bus is Nate's ABCs

Thanks again for looking, please let me know if you have any  questions.  If you would rather buy than make this album, I have it for sale in my Etsy Shop!  Have a great day!

Festive Friday!

Welcome! Thank you for stopping by today!  I am excited to share a project with you for Festive Friday hoseted by My Cricut Craft Room! Festive Friday is when the Designn Team Members show you our holiday related crafts using out cricut.  If you are one of my followers, be sure to jump over to My Cricut Craft Room to see more fabulously festive projects : ) 

Lately, I've been a little mini-album obsessed.  And today's post is no different!  I recently purchased the Elegant Edges cartridge and fell in love with all of the fun cuts!  That plus a huge sale on chipboard sheets at Joanns = mini album heaven!!!  Enjoy!

I usually make 4 books at a time, in a 6 x 6" size.  If you take 5 sheets of chipboard and get 4 cuts from each, you will yield four ten-paged books.  For this album I chose a cut I liked from Elegant Edges and cut 4 to a sheet x 5 sheets.

Then, I chose 10 pages of patterned paper (DCWV) 2 each of 5 designs and cut them at 5" for my photo mats.  I mixed up the mat designs but find the simpler ones to work better with this project.

The poinsettias were made with Wrap It Up, inked and bent.

To finish, I adhered the paper to the chiboard FIRST before punching a hole in the top with my Cropadial.  Then add a binder ring (I use 1").  Embelish with cricut cuts or stash you have on hand (what scrapper doesn't have a TON of extra christmas stickers and embelishments?!!?)  Adorn with ribbons and tags, ink the edges and VOILA!  Mini Album!  Super easy, super fast...  4 books took about 2 hours.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by today!  I hope you have enjoyed today's project!

My Cricut Craft Room's 100 Cartridge Blog Hop!!!!

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's 100 Cartridge Blog Hop!!!!

You should have come from the fabulous and talented Heather F.'s blog, http://www.papercrafteranonymous.com/.  If you did not please start at the beginning of the hop at
http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/. Thanks for hopping along this weekend, and good luck on winning some of the fab prizes up for grabs!!!

Today, I'd like to share a project with you made using Nate's ABCs.  Being the mom of a 3 year old little boy, I HAD to get my hands on this cartridge!  It's filled with tons of fun detailed images, and I thought putting some together for a few mini albums I would sell at several upcoming trade shows.  If you like what you see, I invite you to become a follower and check back as I continue to post the projects I have feverishly been working on over the last couple of months!

Here are pictures of the Mini Album using Nate's ABCs.  The "recipe" is below.  Enjoy, and thanks in advance for looking!

I cut the paper yo yo string in favor of using tied twine.  The image on the tag is from A Child's Year.

Supplies:

• 12x12 black chipboard cut down to 6 x 6 blocks (Five 12 x 12 sheets cut down yields four five-paged books)
• DCWV paper
• I used DCWV adhesive paper for the cuts in this project simply because I had it on hand and wanted to use it up, it certainly made it easier!
• The "dots" at the corners of some mats are simply punched from coordinating paper from my largest hole punch.
• Cuts are made at 2" and are NOT secured with adhesive over the photo mat (this is important if the book is a gift or pre-made)
• I used the super-duper Cropadial to punch the holes in the top right corner AFTER completing the book, and secured the book together with a 1" book binding ring.
• Journaling tags are given binder divider labels for a fun look. 

Next you should go to HOLLY at  http://hollys-hobbie.blogspot.com/ . I can't wait to see what she has to show us today!  Happy Hopping!

If you get lost along the way here is the entire line-up

1.      My Cricut Craft Room http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com  

2.      Mayra http://gettingcraftywithma.blogspot.com/

3.      April http://curlsandgrins.blogspot.com/ 

4.      Melissa http://pinkpolkadotscrapping.blogspot.com

5.      My Project http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-project-for-100-cartridge-blog-hop.html

6.      Pattie http://sweetpsscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

7.      Patricia http://micraftygal.blogspot.com/  

8.      Ricki http://manicexpressionsdesigns.blogspot.com/  

9.      Rosa http://kleymanr.blogspot.com/  

10.  Samantha http://samanthascricutcreations.blogspot.com/  

11.  Sharon http://simplysweetbysharon.blogspot.com/

12.  Shelly http://kccroppers.blogspot.com/  

13.  Suzy's Crafts http://suzyssimplecrafts.blogspot.com/  

14.  Tammy S. http://thepurplemuse.blogspot.com  

15.  Tanya http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com/  

16.  Tracy http://www.scrappininthewoods.blogspot.com/

17.  Yvette http://gammascreativecorner.blogspot.com/    

18.  Amanda http://craftsbyamanda.blogspot.com/

19.   Giveaway http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/surprise-giveaway-saturday-september-3.html

20.  Autumn http://autumnsbuggycreations.blogspot.com/  

21.  Connie http://conniescraftycloset.blogspot.com/  

22.  Courtney http://craftingwithcourtney.blogspot.com/  

23.  Gayle http://gscraptime.blogspot.com/  

24.  Heather F http://www.papercrafteranonymous.com/

25.  Heather S http://operationcricutdesign.blogspot.com/   ----YOU ARE HERE------

26.  Holly http://hollys-hobbie.blogspot.com/

27.  Jen R. http://memorieswithjen.blogspot.com/

28.  Jenny R http://myimagitivity.blogspot.com/  

29.  Laura http://laurascraftsandmore.blogspot.com/  

30.  Lisa http://www.allmadebylisa.blogspot.com/  

31.  Karey http://www.creativecraftcorner.com/

32.  Kat http://katscrapfever.blogspot.com/  

33.  Lezlye http://lezlyes.blogspot.com/  

34.  Lucinda http://thegrowinggibson.blogspot.com/  

35.  Blog Candy http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/reserved-for-this-weekends-blog-candy.html