December 15th

Welcome to Erica's Craft Room

25 Days of Christmas,

with 25 Cricut projects a day.

Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see 24 more projects today....

and every day in December.

http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

For my projects I made a card and a gift box.

My gift box is the Christmas Tree from Tags Bags Boxes and More.

 

I used paper with a glitter design from DCWV's Doodlin Around stack and cut the tree at 13.37 x 7.73.   I made a pouch with plastic I had laying around, filled it with glitter and then taped it inside the box.  I made a sample cut and used it as a layer inside the box to cover the glitter pouch, for a neater finish inside the box.    If I had to do this tree again, I think I would try to move the opening to the other side of the tree so you don't see where the box folds together.    I wrapped some funky yarn around the trunk of the tree then added a tag.   I used Winter Lace to cut the snowflakes at  2.10 x 2.20 and then attached them to a round circle.   I then secured it to the box with more funky yarn that I also tied around the box.

For my card I used the Christmas Cartridge and Winter Frolic.

I saw this somewhere on the internet and really liked the idea so here is my version.    I made a shaped card using the base.  I placed 2 on my Gypsy mat, sized at 5.5 H by 3.62, flipped one and welded together.   I then cut out the top layer the same size.     The presents are from Winter Lace and cut from Stampin Up Paper.   The base size was 2.40 x 2.57.

To put this together I first covered the top tree layer with Opalite Pigment Sterling Frost ink, then added embossing powders and heat set.  I then added some Studio G Red and Green Bling to the tree.   I put the presents together and attached them to the side of the tree.

I really like the idea of this card but not the finished product.   If I were to make this again, I would probably place the tree base with the present base on my mat and weld those together and then making that the welded shape card.  It stands up nicely as it is but just seems flimsy because of the tiny bit that is welded on the tree..  It might also be better suited to a larger card, mine is 4.25 x 5.5.    

I hope you are enjoying all the wonderful projects in 25 Days of Christmas Projects.

Laurie

December 1st

Welcome to Erica's Craft Room

25 Days of Christmas,

with 25 Cricut projects a day.

Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see 24 more projects today....

and every day in December.

http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

I am so excited to be part of 25 days in December.

I totally experimented cutting fabric with the Cricut, no idea what I was going to make or how it would turn out and I ended up with a Poinsettia Pin.

Supply list.

1. Fabric that has been washed, dried and ironed.
2. A sticky Mat
3. A blade that is brand new or one that is dedicated for cutting fabric.
4. A deep set housing blade, if you have it.
5. An iron that you don't care if it gets gunked up.
6. Iron on interfacing.  For this I used Steam a Seam 2 because I had it and wanted to see if it would work.
7. Stickles
8. Brad
9. Pin finding, look in the jewelry area at the craft store

After preparing the fabric for cutting, I placed the fabric with the Steam a Seam down on the mat.    I used the deep set blade and my settings were Blade 6, Pressure 5, Speed 1 and Multi-cut 2.

My poinsettia is cut from the Christmas cartridge at 5.16 x 3.81.  It cut really well.   I didn't like that the back was sticky and ugly so I decided to iron my cut out pieces to the piece of fabric that was left over after cutting.   I had to hand cut the poinsettias out but it was relatively easy using the cut pieces as a guide.  So, now I had a bunch of double sided poinsettia leaves and didn't know what to do with it.   I figured it was another one of my many projects that failed and then I decided that I could probably add some dimension by folding and ironing just the tips.  Somehow I managed to not burn my fingers.  I then outlined the edge of each piece with stickles.  I sort of painted it on using and eye shadow thing.   I was going to sew this together and put on the front of a felted wool eye glass case but didn't really love that idea and decided to make a pin instead. 

To make the pin I pierced the center of each piece so I could put a brad through it and then attached the pin putting the brad through the center hole in the pin finding.  I also hand sewed the bottom piece to the pin to make sure it was secure.    I added stickles to the brad and added a few dots.

I decided that I was going to give this to my mom when I saw her at Thanksgiving and made this box to wrap up the pin.

To make the box I used the inside part of the matchbox, box from Tags Bags, Boxes and More.   I used my gypsy and put 2 on the mat, then I made one a bit smaller so it would fit together better.   The cut sizes were 6.26 x 4.65 and 6.22 x 4.62.   I used paper from a Recollections cardstock stack.

To make the bow I used the scallop border from Winter Frolic to make strips for the bow.   To do this, you have to weld 2 of the borders together flipping one so you have a scallop on both sides.  I grouped those together and copied several more that I welded together to make longer strips.  The size of the scallop border welded was 1.75 x .50, after welding more together my strips were 6.85 x .50.    To put the bow together I cut my strips as I went.   The center piece is first, you will need to punch a small hole on each end and make a loop putting a brad through both holes.   Cut the 2nd piece and make a loop and punch a hole through the center and add it to the first, then do the same with the 3rd strip.  Open the brad to secure.

I had extra of the strip so I used it along with a strip of green paper to make a paper ribbon for the box.   The red paper is from Stampin up.

I hope my project inspires you to experiment and try new things because you never know what you will end up with.   My mom loved the pin.

Laurie

Christmas in July

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's Christmas in July Blog Hop!

You should have come from Tina's Blog.   If not please go to http:/mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com to start from the beginning so you don't miss any of the awesome designs.

What better time to make snowmen than when it is 100 degrees outside!   I love winter, especially when it snows a lot so I always make snowmen gift tags for Christmas.

This tag is made using the Smiley Cards Cartridge.   The snowman is cut at 4.12 x 5.05.  I used Colorbok white textured cardstock and patterned paper along with unknown black card stock.  I added some floss on the buttons.

The next snowman is exactly the same except I colored the hat black, then added some stickles and finally used a silver sharpie to go over the hat.   I also used a pale blue card stock and added yarn scraps for the scarf.

This size snowman also works well for an A2 sized easel card.

My 3rd snowman is from Gypsy Wanderings.

The tag size is 3 x 5 and is from Gypsy Wanderings.   The snowman is cut at 3.75 x 3.82 I think.   I cut these out last winter and just put them together for this project now.    I used Cricut Blues paper for the tag and then used a Stampin Up Stamp to add embossed tiny snowflakes.   I then added a piece of Colorbok shimmer paper for the snowdrift and added some stickles.    The Snowman is layered with a pale blue and white cardstock.  I added a Stampin Up sentiment, matted on a silver scrap and then attached with some Martha Stewart twine.  The back of the tag has To and From cut from A Child's Year.

It wouldn't be Christmas without some red and green gift tags.  The tags are from Plantin Schoolbook and cut at 3.59 x 4.19

The Poinsettia is cut from the Christmas Card at 4.07 x 3.0.  It has a few pieces that I inked and sprayed with some homemade red shimmer mist.   I just wrinkled up the pieces and put them together with a brad that I covered with gold stickles.  I placed it on top of greens, also from the Christmas cart and cut at 2.49 x 1.49.  I flipped one upside down and then cut 2 of each to give them a bit more dimension.  The cream tag is from Popup Neighborhood and cut at 3.05 x 2.91.  I added some Memories Soft Gold ink to the tag and stamped the to and from with Stampin Up Always Artichoke.

I went a bit nuts with inking and stickles on this one.  The cream tag and tree are both from Popup Neighborhood and cut at 3.22 x 2.98 and 1.95 x 3.75.   I inked the red tag and tree trunk with Walnut Distress ink, the cream tag with Memories Soft Gold and then covered the tree with stickles with Distress Gold Stickles and smeared it around to cover it.  It wrinkled up the tree a bit too much but hey trees are not flat right?

My last project involves one of my many favorite Christmas day activities, food.   I started making place cards for our family dinner.

 I am making Santa and his reindeer for each of my family members.

The place card is from Plantin Schoolbook and cut at 5 x 4.

The tag is again from Popup Neighborhood and cut at 2.5 x 1.30.

The names are from Plantin Schoolbook and cut at approximately 1.79 x 1 and welded.

Santa and Reindeer are from the Christmas cart and cut at 2.19 x 3.13 and 1.72 x 2.41.

I used assorted Paper Co and Recollections value pack card stock and inked the cream tags with Memories Soft Gold ink.  Santa has a bunch of tiny pieces that I tried to use but ended up using stickles and gel pens for some parts.  

 I am giving away 6 snowman tags/embellishments.   All you have to do is leave a comment or if that doesn't work leave me a message on facebook.  I will be posting the winner on Sunday on my blog and facebook.

The next stop on the hop is Gayle's Blog.   

In case you get lost I have posted the lineup below!   Thanks for visiting my blog and happy hopping!

Laurie

start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

tina http://craftyandgreen.blogspot.com

laurie  http://www.lauriecandoit.blogspot.com/

gayle http://gscraptime.blogspot.com/
jen  www.mybusycraftylife.blogspot.com 

lucinda www.thegrowinggibson.blogspot.com

sheila  http://2pawprints.blogspot.com 

yvette http://gammascreativecorner.blogspot.com/

enjoli http://mississippihippycrafts.blogspot.com/

connie  http://conniescraftycloset.blogspot.com

raina http://www.scrapwithraina.blogspot.com/

heather www.papercrafteranonymous.com

Tammy  http://crazycardcreator.blogspot.com/

autumn http://autumnsbuggycreations.blogspot.com

melissa http://pinkpolkadotscrapping.blogspot.com   

Sunshine and Smiles Blog Hop

Welcome, you should have come from   Amanda's Blog.   If you didn't you will want to to go to the start so you don't miss any of the cool cards.  My Cricut Craftroom

When Erica first told us of her challenge to make 5000 cards for St Jude's, I didn't think I could make cards for this project.  Cards need sentiments and all I could think of was how horrible I would feel if I was a kid stuck in a hospital.   So, I started trying new things, things I have seen before, things I have unsuccessfully tried before and I ended up making a bunch of cards and will work on a few more before July1st to send to Erica.   You can help too.  All cards are appreciated and will help Erica reach her goal of 5000 cards.

My Rocking Horse card and It's a Girl Thing card are different folds that allow for more dimension and more fun.

It's a Girl Thing!

For this card I first cut out a 5.5 x 11 inch rectangle from a pastel green card stock.   I then scored it at 1.25, 2.5, 4.25, 6 and 8.25.   Fold and then you are ready to decorate.   All of my paper is Colorbok and The Paper Company value pack.
I added polka dot paper strips to the card base and then added a pink strip on the front of the card.   The larger stars are cut from George and Basic Shape.   The wand is an L from George and one of the stars welded together. The cut size is 1.69 x 3.41  I cut 2 to make it a bit sturdier then added a star in polka dot and another using the silhouette feature to frame the star.   The crown is from Gypsy Wanderings and cut at 3.69 x 2.38.
I wanted this card to be full of glitter or princess dust so I added a lot of shimmer.   I made some homemade glimmer mist the other night and was playing with a purple color.  It just happened to work with my papers so I used it for the top layer of the crown and a couple of the stars.   I added stickles and also used a dot embossing folder to add some shimmer and dimension.   Finally I wanted more shimmer so I added some butterflies, tiny stars and the "It's a Girl Thing, stickers and die cuts from a Kurio Embellishment Book.  This is probably the most glitter I have used on one card!.

My Rocking Horse Card.

I used a pastel blue card stock for the card base and covered it with the polka dot paper.   I cut the card at 4.25 x 11 and then scored at 5.5 and 2.75.

The Rocking horse is cut from the Christmas cart at 4.18 x 2.84.  I used the same blue card stock layered with craft paper.  The blocks are cut from Printing Press.  I created a shadow by first copying the 3 blocks, hiding the letters then re-sizing, so it is just a bit larger then welded it together. The welded blocks are cut at 3.53 x 2.18   I adhered all the pieces together and then placed on the card using pop dots for dimension and to hold up the easel.   I decided to add a couple of buttons and used blue embroidery thread.

So those are two of the cards I made for Sunshine and Smiles.   I love comments and followers.    Have fun hopping and have a crafty card making day.

Laurie

 Next on the hop is  Suzy's Crafts

If you get lost, this may help you... 
http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com
 http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/2011/06/project-sunshine-and-smiles-for-st.html
 http://autumnsbuggycreations.blogspot.com  
 http://craftingwithcourtney.blogspot.com    
  http://craftsbyamanda.blogspot.com
http://lauriecandoit.blogspot.com 
http://suzyssimplecrafts.blogspot.com 
http://mississippihippycrafts.blogspot.com/
http://charlottes-creations.blogspot.com