Joy Banner

After making a birthday banner for my niece, I had to do one for my own house! I made this using Birthday Bash for the pennants, cut at 5.25". The medallions are made from scalloped circles from Mini Monograms, cut at real size 3" (see this post for directions on how to make those). "JOY" is cut from Winter Woodland and the stocking is from Christmas Cheer, all at 3". The ice-skate was made with a die from Papertrey Ink. Here are some close-up views:

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate and New Leaf Cardstock

sei Christmas Mint Patterned Paper

Bazzill Basics White Textured Cardstock

DCWV Holiday Collection: The Christmas Stack Patterned Paper (thin paper works best for the medallions)

Papertrey Ink New Leaf Top Notch Twill Ribbon

sei Christmas Mint Brad

Papertrey Ink Vintage Buttons

Papertrey Ink On Ice Stamp Set and Die

Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate and New Leaf Ink

Baby Shower Invites

One of my coworkers is expecting soon, so some friends and I are hosting a little lunchtime baby shower for her. I have about 40 invitations to make, so I kept them pretty simple. The onesie is a stock image on the Imagine, and I flood-filled it with a pattern from Best Friends and cut it at 2". By clicking on the "auto-fill" button, I was able to cut 25 on a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock.

Recipe:

5 1/2" x 4 1/4" Brown Cardstock

5 1/4" x 4" Pink Cardstock

5" x 3 3/4" White Cardstock (printed 4 at a time from an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet)

White Bazzill Cardstock for Onesie

Michael's Ribbon

Papertrey Ink Chai Ink

Cricut Cake Mini!

I got my Cake Mini this morning! I went to Joann's about 45 minutes before they opened and was fifth in line. Yeah! My big bargain was the Cricut Cake Tool Kit that I got at Michael's last night. I brought it up to the register to see if they would take a coupon for it, even though it is a Cricut item. The saleswoman didn't think it would, but she scanned it anyway. I couldn't use the coupon, but it turned out to be on clearance for $5.99 (usually $30)!

Anyway, I couldn't wait to give the Cake a try, so I made some cookies today. I was wiped out after making a midnight order at walmart.com and then the Joann's run, so I kept it simple. For the cookies, I used a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. It cut really well! I have 3 mats, and I used all of them. For the mats, after putting down the shortening and rolling out the dough, I popped them in the freezer for 10 minutes before running them through the Cake.

The fondant is Duff's from Michael's. It's buttercream and I'd heard it was supposed to taste good, but I really don't like it too much. Maybe it will harden overnight and taste better? Anyway, it was pretty easy to work with and cut well too. All of the cuts are from Cake Basics. The cookies are 3 1/2", and I cut the fondant at 1 1/4" to 2".

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop

It's time for the November Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! The challenge this month was to create a holiday tag using some Papertrey Ink goodies. I used my Cricut Sweet Treats cartridge for the base of this tag, cut at 5", for a nice, big present. The snowflakes are heat embossed with white embossing powder, and then I used my iRock to add a gem in the center of each.

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

Kraft and Blueberry Sky Cardstock

"2010 Holiday Tags" and "Inside & Out: Holiday" Stamp Sets

Enchanted Evening & Chai Ink

Vesamark Ink

White Filigree Embossing Powder

Cuttlebug Snowflakes Folder

Just the Ticket Border Die

Topnotch Twill Blueberry Sky Ribbon

Rustic Jute Button Twine

Craft Essentials & We R Memory Keepers Eyelets

Imaginisce Gems

Christmas Wrapping with the Imagine

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful day with family and friends!

There are so many cute little images on the Imagine Snow Angel cartridge, that I thought it would be fun to try making wrapping paper that I could coordinate with a gift tag. It turned out to be really easy. I love the look of kraft paper, so I was excited to find this Scotch Dust Cover paper at Michael's for under $3.00. It comes in a roll of 75 square feet, which means 75 pieces of wrapping paper with the Imagine! Keep in mind that this technique only works with those extra special, small packages.

To make my printed paper, I used a 12" x 12" piece from the roll. On the Imagine, I chose the little stocking from Snow Angel twice, both times at 1". For the second stocking, I flipped it vertically. I then went to my mat and chose "Auto Fill". The last step was to go to my settings and change it to "Print Only", and then I went ahead and printed.

For the tag, I printed and cut the same stocking at 2", this time in layers. I also used the "Cut Only" setting to cut the tag and layers at 3.5" from Sweet Treats. The sentiment is heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I finished it up with a gold eyelet.

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink unless otherwise specfied)

Scotch Dust Cover Paper

Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon

Bazzill White Paper for Imagine Cuts

New Leaf and Vintage Cream Cardstock

Sentiment from "2010 Holiday Tags", stamped with Versamark Ink, and heat embossed with Gold Filigree Fine Art Powder

Recollections Eyelet

Rustic Jute Button Twine

Chai Ink

Be sure to stop by the Creative Critterz Imaginations blog to see more creative ways to use your Imagine for wrapping your holiday packages!

Lori's Garden "Bird-day" Card

Here's another card with Lori's Garden. Isn't this bird the cutest? I cut it at 2.7". I also used Don Juan to cut a rectangle flood filled with a pattern from Lori's Garden for the background.

Recipe:

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Papertrey Ink Kraft Cardstock, scored at 4 1/4"

5 1/4" x 4" Papertrey Ink Melon Berry Cardstock

White Bazzill Cardstock for Imagine Cuts

Martha Stewart Ribbon Loop Punch

My Pink Stamper "Tweetie-Hoo Puns" Stamp Set

Papertrey Ink True Black and Chamomile Ink

Imaginisce Gem

Quick Birthday Card

Here is a quick birthday card that I made with my Imagine and the Yummy cartridge. The striped background shape is a stock image on the Imagine. I cut it at 3.2" and adhered it on its side. The girl was cut at 5". I cut the layers, but I only used her hair and the cupcake. I find I pick and choose which layers to use, and I don't necessarily use all of them.

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

11" x 4 1/4" Spring Moss Cardstock, scored at 5 1/2"

5 1/4" x 4" Spring Rain Cardstock, run through the Bloom Dot Cuttlebug Folder

White Bazzill Cardstock for Imagine Cuts

"Birthday Bash Sentiments" Stamp

Dark Chocolate & Chamomile Ink

Rustic Jute Button Twine

Corner Chomper

Christmas Tag #1

My sister hosts a Christmas tea for all of the ladies in my family every year. We usually exchange little gifts, such as ornaments. This year I thought I would make each of them a set of gift tags. Here is the first one. I cut the tag at 3 1/2" from Kraft Cardstock, using the Sweet Treats Cricut Cartridge

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink)

Kraft and Rustic Cream Cardstock

"Background Basics: Christmas" & "2010 Holiday Tags" Stamp Sets

Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy, & Chamomile Ink

Pure Poppy Wool Felt

"Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" Circle Collection" Die

1 3/4" Circle Punch

Imaginisce Gems

Pure Poppy Baker's Twine

Boys Will be Boys Layout

Here is another layout from '99. I've decided that I need to keep them simple if I am ever going to catch up! The "Play Hard" and the bucket and shovel are from Boys Will be Boys, both cut at 4". The tag is from Sweet Treats, also cut at 4".

Recipe:

Patterned Paper from the DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack

Blue Strips from the DCWV Neutrals Stack, trimmed with Martha Stewart Ribbon Loop Punch

Papertrey Ink Terracotta Tile, Summer Sunrise, Blueberry Sky, and True Black Cardstock

Cuttlebug Polka-Dots, Stripes, and Mesh Texture Embossing Folders

Papertrey Ink "Mini Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger" Stamp Set

Papertrey Ink Terracotta Tile Ink

Lighthouse Scrapbook Page

It's been way too long since I've done a scrapbook layout, especially since I'm only up to 1999! I had fun making this one with my Imagine. These are pictures from when some good friends visited us, and we took them to the Point Reyes Lighthouse in California.

Recipe:

12" Background Paper and 12" x 1/2" Gray Strip from DCWV Neutrals Stack

Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow and Stamper's Select White Cardstock for Photo Mats and Lighthouse (cut from Life Is a Beach at 9")

White Bazzill Cardstock for Imagine Cuts, flood-filled with Imagine More Patterns:

Scalloped Circle (Imagine Stock Image) cut at 10"

Journaling Tag (Imagine Stock Image) cut at 2" and 1.8"

"Point Reyes" cut from Boys Will be Boys at 1.5"

Stitching done with Zig Writer

PTI Banner Builder Card

With my new obsession with banners, I could not resist the Banner Builder stamp set and dies from Papertrey Ink. Aren't they the cutest? They arrived just in time for me to enter Emma's Throwback Thursday Cricut-less Challenge!

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Harvest Gold Cardstock, scored at 4 1/4"

4" x 5 1/4" Distressed Dots Patterned Paper

3 3/4" x 5" Rustic White Cardstock

Terracotta Tile, Harvest Gold, and Orange Zest Cardstock for Pennants

Terracotta Tile, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Chai, and True Black Ink

"Banner Builder" Stamp Set & Dies

Thank You with Lori's Garden

My Lori's Garden Imagine cartridge finally arrived yesterday! When I originally saw images from this one online, I wasn't too excited, but I wasn't going to turn down a free cartridge. However, I absolutely love it! There are lots of pretty images and gorgeous patterns. Surprisingly, there are a lot of patterns that would be great for masculine cards, in shades of brown, blue, and green.

I also received my Papertrey Ink order today with some felt and dies, so I wanted to incorporate those into my design. I've been seeing hummingbirds a lot lately, so I had to use one with the felt flowers. I'm entering this card into My Pink Stamper's Imagine-Nation Challenge.

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Simply Chartreuse Cardstock, scored at 4 1/4"

5 1/4" x 4" Raspberry Fizz Cardstock

White Bazzill Cardstock for Imagine Cuts (Hummingbird at 3.5", Scalloped Rectangle at 4.5" with bottom trimmed off, and Border cut at 1.3")

Simply Chartreuse & Raspberry Fizz Felt

Blooms II #1 Die Collection

Button from Vintage Holiday Mix

Rustic Jute Button Twine

"Asian Fusion" Stamp Set

Dark Chocolate & Chai Ink

Birthday Banner

It seems as if banners are all the rage right now, and I couldn't wait to try making one of my own for my Creative Critterz Imagination I-Team post this week. My niece is turning 6 in a couple of weeks, and I thought it would be really fun to make a birthday banner for her using my two favorite new cartridges: Birthday Bash and the Yummy Imagine Cartridge. They go together perfectly!

The hardest thing about this project was getting a good picture of it at the end! Be sure to click on the above picture to get a closer look.

I began by cutting out the banner pieces from Birthday Bash. They are cut at 5" relative size. The bases were cut in Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet and Hawaiian Shores Cardstock and run through the Polka-Dots Cuttlebug folder. The printed layer is flood filled with patterns from Yummy and cut on Bazzill White Cardstock.

Next I cut out my letters from Birthday Bash at 2.8" relative size. Again, I used Yummy patterns to flood fill, and used the same PTI cardstock for the shadows.

For my end pieces, I cut this cute present and cupcake at 2.8" relative size. I used the layer feature and assembled the pieces.

I found a very cool way to make medallions on Nichole Heady's Papertrey Ink Blog. To do so, I needed to cut twelve of these scalloped circles from Mini Mongrams at 3" true size. They are also flood-filled with a Yummy pattern. It takes two scalloped circles to make each medallion.

I scored each scalloped circle 8 times, as shown above.

Next, I folded each in half to punch a 1/8" hole in the center.

After that, I cut along one score mark, just to the center hole.

Then it was time to fold! I had to be sure that my first fold was a mountain fold for it all of line up correctly. Once I had two folded, I was able to put adhesive under the first and last mountain fold of one of them, and attach them together as shown above.

Here is a finished medallion.

I used my glue gun to attach the medallion to my banner and my cupcake to my medallion. I topped off my cupcake and present with PTI buttons and Rustic Jute Twine. The adorable ribbon stringing my banner together was from Joann Fabrics (Wrights brand).

To top off some of my letters, I added Prima flowers and Recollections Brads.

Having my Imagine to make this made it all so easy! I love knowing that all of my patterns will coordinate, and it is really fun to use the original Cricut cartridges with the Imagine patterns. I think my niece will love this! Thanks for visiting, and be sure to stop by the Creative Critterz Imagination I-Team blog to see what my talented teammates have posted this week. These ladies really know how to think out of the box!

Holiday Place Cards Two Ways

This is my design team project for Craft Junkie Too for this week. We had a thankful theme this month, so I decided to make Thanksgiving place cards. I am lucky to be part of a wonderful large family. I am one of 5 kids, so with my parents, siblings, spouses, and children, there are 19 of us who come together for celebrations. That is a lot of place cards to make, so I came up with a design that could be easily adjusted for the various holidays.

The basic place card is cut from kraft cardstock at 5 1/2" x 2 3/4", scored at 2 3/4". On top of that is a green layer cut at 2 1/2" x 2 1/2". The white layer is cut at 2 1/4" x 2 1/4", embossed with my Scor-Pal and the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. Attached with velcro is a pumpkin cut from Gypsy Wanderings at 1 1/2".

To easily change the place card to a Christmas design, I used Velcro to swap out the pumpkin for my Christmas tag. This tag was made by using a 1 3/4" circle punch, along with a 2" scalloped circle, cut from Mini Monograms.

Here is a video with more detailed instructions, and you can also see the variety of designs that I ended up making.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Kraft, Pinefeather, Rustic White, Dark Chocolate, and Pure Poppy Cardstock

Core'dinations Orange Cardstock

Papertrey Ink Simple Alphabet, Daily Designs, and Tiny Treats: Christmas Stamp Sets

Joann Craft Essentials Markers

Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen

Papertrey Ink Chai, Pure Poppy, and Dark Chocolate Ink

Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder

Sticky Back Velcro

Be sure to stop by Craft Junkie Too to see the projects designed by my awesome teammates!

MIA?

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. It's been a super busy week with working on progress reports for my students and trying to finish up two design team projects. I'll have a fun project posted for Craft Junkie Too on Wednesday and then one for Creative Critterz Imaginations on Thursday. For now, I thought I'd post a card that I made before I had my blog. These cute little birthday birds are from Straight From The Nest.

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Cardstock

DCWV Patterned Paper

Papertrey Ink "Signature Greetings" Stamp Set

Papertrey Ink True Black Ink

Diamond Stickles

White Gelly Roll Pen

Sweet Holiday Wishes

This the card that I made for My Creative Time's Throwback Thursday challenge. The challenge has to do with food, and Emma used this jelly jar from the From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge on her card. I didn't even realize we had this cut, and I knew it was perfect for a card that has been in my head since I got my Imagine Yummy cartridge.

I cut the jelly jar at 4 1/2", once in vellum and once in cardstock. Then I cut 9 of the candies from Yummy at 1", and adhered them to the cardstock. I used my Janome Sew Mini to sew the vellum to the cardstock. Being pretty new to sewing, my corners didn't turn out great, but it could be worse!

Recipe:

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush Cardstock, scored at 4 1/4"

5 1/4" x 4" Bazzill White Cardstock, run through the Cuttlebug Snowflakes Embossing Folder

Papertrey Ink Melon Berry, Sweet Blush, & Spring Rain Cardstock for cuts

Bazzill White Cardstock for Imagine Cuts

ekSuccess Ticket Punch

Papertrey Ink "Holiday Button Bits" Stamp Set

Papertrey Ink True Black & Fresh Snow Ink

sei Christmas Mint Brad

Snow Angel Project with Video

Hello, everybody! Here's this week's design project for the Creative Critterz Imaginations blog. I started off by making this card using Snow Angel. While I was making it, I thought it would be fun to use my Imagine to make a coordinating envelope using a pattern from Snow Angel. The envelope is from the Walk in My Garden Cricut cartridge.

I realized my envelope would be a little hard to write on with its dark color, so I decided to try to make a matching label on the Imagine. It worked great! I love how it all coordinates. Every time I use my Imagine, I find something new to try!

Here's a video showing how it all came together:

Recipe:

Bazill White Cardstock

Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist and Dark Chocolate Cardstock

Avery Label (#3261 - Large)

Corner Chomper

Colorbox Cat's Eye Ink

Imaginisce Gems

Papertrey Ink "On Ice" Stamp Set, Ticket Die,

Dark Chocolate Ink, & Aqua Mist Topnotch Twill Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to head over to Creative Critterz Imgination to see my teammate Edna's project!

Quick Card using Yummy Imagine Cartridge

My Yummy Imagine Cartridge finally arrived yesterday! I'm so excited! I pre-ordered it a month ago, which I will never do again. They had this cartridge on sale at Michael's for the same price a couple of weeks ago! Anyway, all of the cuts and patterns are so cute on this cartridge. I made this quick card last night to enter into the Imagine Nation Monday Challenge with Emma. This week we were asked to use buttons. The cupcake was cut at 3", and the brown circle was cut at 4" (I just flood-filled a circle that is built into the Imagine for that). The card base is from Wild Card, cut at 5".

Recipe:

Core'dinations Cardstock

White Bazzill Cardstock (for Imagine cuts)

Papertrey Ink "Birthday Bash Sentiments" Stamp

Versamark Ink

White Filigree Embossing Powder

Papertrey Ink Vintage Button

Papertrey Ink Rustic Jute Button Twine

White Gelly Roll Pen

Birthday Bash Card

I just love the new Birthday Bash Cricut Cartridge! There are so many cute cuts on here. This shaped card (cut at 7.12") is actually one of the cuts, and it turns out really cute when you cut it on double-sided paper. The front and back of mine have this polka-dotted print, and the inside is the green print. Here is a picture from the side, so you can see what I mean:

I made the card for the Circle Weekly Challenge, the Feathered Friends Challenge. We had to make a card using at least 2 different Cricut cuts and include a bird. This bird on the banner is cut at 3.59". We also had to include stitching, so I layered two more strips of the same patterned paper, and used my Janome Sew Mini to stitch the polka-dot strip to the green strip.

Recipe:

Bo Bunny Patterned Paper

Papertrey Ink True Black, New Leaf, Hawaiian Shores, Hibiscus Burst,

Sweet Blush, and Orange Zest Cardstock

Prima Flowers

Cuttlebug "Spots and Dots" and "Polka Dots" Embossing Folders

Recollections Brads

Papertrey Ink "Birthday Bash Sentiments" Stamp

Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate Ink

Michael's Google Eyes

Creative Critterz Imaginations DT Intro

Here’s a little card that I made using the Best Friends and Imagine More cartridges, along with Locker Talk. For detailed instructions on how to make this little cutie, see the video:

Recipe:

Papertrey Ink Kraft and Melon Berry Cardstock

Bazzill White Cardstock

Cuttlebug Polka-Dots Embossing Folder

Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate

Papertrey Ink Rustic Jute Button Twine

ColorBox Cat's Eye Chalk Ink

Smiley Cards Thank You

Here is another card created with the Smiley Cards Gypsy download. I needed to make a bunch of cards to thank families that have been buying books for my classroom during our book fair this week. I thought the kids would enjoy this, especially since I used Giants' colors (there is still a lot of excitement around here over our World Series win)!

Recipe:

(all materials Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise specified)

This card is made to fit into a small thank-you note size envelope. The base is cut at 4 7/8" x 7" in Stamper's Select White Cardstock, scored at 3 1/2". The mat is cut at 4 5/8" x 3 1/4" in Blueberry Sky and run through the Bricks Cuttlebug folder.

I cut the emoticon at 2.5" in True Black. The layer is cut in Halloween Prints Patterned Paper, and then I trimmed off the arms. The cheeks and tongue are in Melon Berry Cardstock, and the eyes are in Provocraft White Cardstock.

To turn this emoticon into a baseball player, I added a baseball cap from Everyday Paper Dolls, cut at 4.18", and used a white gelly roll pen for details. The book is from Locker Talk, cut at 1.75" in Terracotta Tile Cardstock.

The final detail was some stitching around the edges with my black Zig Writer.

A Silly Card

Last week one of my fellow teachers was walking on the curb in the parking lot of my school, when a crazy mom drove up on to the curb to drop off her daughter, knocking into my friend in the process! Her arm is really bruised and she has some nerve damage in her hand. Luckily, she has kept her sick sense of humor, so I made this card for her, recreating the accident. I think it will give her a laugh.

Recipe:

Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut Cartridge

Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White, Smokey Shadow, and Vintage Cream Cardstock

Provocraft Black and White Cardstock

Core'dinations Purple and Cream Cardstock

DCWV Metallic Stack

Papertrey Ink Library Ledger Patterned Paper

ekSuccess Ticket Punch and Rick-Rack Punch

My Pink Stamper More Puny-licious Stamp

Peachy Keen Assorted Faces Stamp

Papertrey Ink True Black Ink and Vintage Button

White Gelly Roll Pen

Craft Junkie Too Design Team Project: Fall is in the Air

Here is my latest design team project for Craft Junkie Too. We were asked to make a "Fall is in the Air" project, and it had to be something that could be hung. This really forced me to think out of the box, as I had never made any home decor before.

I decided to make a hanging plaque to celebrate the Thanksgiving season. I began with a wooden plaque from Michael's and used Mod Podge (another first for me) to adhere brown patterned paper from the DCWV Autumn Splendor Stack. The Mod Podge is really easy to work with, if you haven't tried it before.

Next I cut "grateful" and its shadow in Core'dinations Cardstock, using the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge. The cream shadow looked too plain to me, so I covered it with text from Papertrey Ink's "Background Basics: Text Style II" in PTI Spring Moss Ink. The leaves are cut from PTI Distressed Dots Patterned Paper, using Gypsy Wanderings and Designer's Calendar, and they are inked around the edges with PTI Chai Ink. I cut the pumpkins from Create a Critter in Core'dinations Cardstock, and then I ran the orange layer through the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes Embossing Folder. The final touch was some PTI Vintage Buttons and Rustic Jute Button Twine. The plaque is hung with some "Celebrate It" Ribbon, which is hot glued to the back.

Be sure to head over to Tracy's blog at Craft Junkie Too, so that you can see the amazing projects my teammates came up with this week!

Sweet Baby Card

Here is a sweet baby card I made using my Papertrey Ink goodies.

Recipe:

5 1/2" x 11" Kraft Cardstock, scored at 5 1/2"

5 1/4" x 5 1/4" Dark Chocolate Cardstock

5" x 5" Vintage Cream Cardstock

2" Squares in Dark Chocolate

1 3/4" Squares in Patterned Paper from Library Ledger Collection

1 3/4" Circles in Vintage Cream

"Night, Night Moon" Stamp Set

Aqua Mist and Dark Chocolate Ink

Rustic Jute Button Twine

ekSuccess Ticket Punch

The inside...

Creative Critterz Imaginations Design Team

How exciting! I woke up this morning to learn that I made the design team for Creative Critterz Imaginations! I'm so excited to work with Tammy and the rest of the design team. This is the card that I originally submitted for the design team. If you click here, you can see the video showing how I made it. I wish I could stay home and play with my Imagine, but my students might notice I'm missing. :-) I'm off to a fun post-Halloween day in the classroom! Have a great day!