December 14th

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 project I made 2 ornaments.   The first ornaments I made using Winter Lace and Vinyl.

Vinyl is really easy to cut on the cricut, not so easy to put on a round ornament.   I found that the more delicate snowflakes were much easier to place on the ornament than the more full shaped ones.  

First I took my ornaments and filled them with Delta Creamcoat Varnish.  It is pretty thick but it works, it probably just takes a lot longer to let the varnish drip out than if you used the floor stuff.   I wasn't very patient and probably should have let the excess drip out longer.   I then poured in Martha Stewart Blue Sapphire Glitter and let it dry.

To cut out the vinyl snowflakes I used the kiss cut.   The kiss cut means you do not cut through the backing paper and that makes it much easier to work with.  I used Stampin Up Vinyl and their transfer paper.

I cut Accent 4 at 2.11 x 2.417 and Snowflake 6 at 2.22 x 2.417.   I also tried to cut Accent 6 and Star and those were a major pain to put on the ornament.   I set my expression at  Blade 3, Speed 1 and Pressure 2.   Once it is cut, you get to pick out all the tiny pieces so that the only thing left on the backing is the snowflake. I cut a piece of transfer paper to fit the snowflake and placed it sticky side down on my snowflake and went over it with my scissors handle to make sure the transfer paper was stuck to the snowflake.    Now remove the backing paper and you are ready to carefully place the snowflake on the ornament.  It works best to start from the center and work your way out.    

I then added a beaded hanger that I made a few years ago and pulled some thick silver tulle through the top of the ornament and tied a knot.

My 2nd Ornament is a Baby's First Christmas Ornament.   

I used a block from a set that I picked up at Salvation Army.   I sanded the paint to rough it up and then used  a thin coat of Modge Podge to adhere paper from Recollections Holiday Traditions 4.5 x 6.5 paper pack.   I  use pieces that are cut a bit bigger and I then cut the paper off using a finger nail file.  I like the sanded edges but I had to be more careful this time because of the photo printed on photo paper would not appreciate being sanded.   After all the pieces were attached I went over all the edges with Walnut Distress Ink.  

I then cut out a tiny 1st using A Child's Year cut at .569 x .833 welded and Stamped Christmas on the block.   The tree is from Winter Frolic (Tree 3-s) cut at 1.125 x 1.736.  I then cut 2- 2010 from George and Basic Shapes at 1.569 x .944 out of gold paper to use as a charm for the ornament.

To finish the ornament I screwed a tiny screw eye into the center of the block then attached the charm using a couple of jump rings and tied a bow and a hanger using some gold ribbon.

I'm not sure how this will hold up over time.  I would like to put a protective finish on it, but I am not sure what I should use.   If you have an idea, I would love to hear about it in a comment.

Laurie

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 

Learning the Gypsy!

After borrowing my sister's Expression to make Baby Shower Decorations, I really wanted to get one of my own.   Instead I got a Baby Bug and Gypsy Bundle at Best Buy!   At the time I didn't know what the Gypsy was all about and didn't think I needed it.   Like everything else I dove right in and slowly learned what this tiny little piece of technology was all about and today, I feel pretty confident that I still have a lot to learn!  Despite the limitations of the Baby Bug, I am still able to do quite a bit with a few cartridges and my wonderful Gypsy!

So what can I make with my Gypsy?  

It was easy too!   I used A Child's Year and the tree and grass are from Gypsy Wanderings.

 The next one was even easier because I only used one layer.

Ok so how did I do this and what did I learn.    Notice in the green cut how the outer edges doesn't fit the card.   I selected the silhouette rectangle on George and Basic Shapes and set the size at 4 x 5.25 inches and it cut at 4 x 4 7/8ths instead.   What I learned is it is always good to use cheap paper and to pay attention to the outer frame on the selected die cut.   I set the rectangle at 5.75 x 4.44 inches on the brown cut and it is close enough.    Next I selected the tree from Christmas Cards, hid the horse and buggy and then manipulated the size of the tree to get the size I thought I wanted.   Next, I added, the fishing boy from A Child's Year and resized it.   Ok so one of the best features of the Gypsy is the Weld Feature.   I simply highlighted the 3 objects and hit the weld button.  Then cut it.  Now I just need to turn it into a card.   I'm thinking a Father's Day Card. 

You can do this too!   Just find the shapes you would like to use and have fun!