Exploring Cricut

If you are looking for the Our Daily Bread Designs Love of Easter Sets blog hop click HERE.

Welcome to another daily project for Exploring Cricut. Don't you just love when something unexpected happens? Well, maybe not when unannounced visitors show up and you are stuffing things under the couch... In this case I stopped at a Hobby Lobby recently and found this fun feather accessory in the ribbon aisle. The original intention for this product was a hair bow. But I knew I wanted to make a peacock and not just any peacock... a CRICUT peacock! A dear friend of mine has a birthday in a few weeks and I knew she would love the humor of this sentiment...

Here he is...



Cuts

Create A Critter - Body, Chest, Beak - pg. 70 - 5.5 inches (royal & white)
Heritage - Frame - pg. 25 - 1 inch (white)

Paper - Colorbok, Bazzill, Colorbok Pattern Pack - Rosewood
Stamp - Unknown
Embossing Powder - Stampendous
Watermark Ink - Versamark
Peacock Trim - The Ribbon Boutique

Thanks so much for stopping in! Have a wonderful week!

Exploring Cricut Challenge #9 - Cricut 1, 2, 3 Recipe

Welcome to another bi-weekly challenge at Exploring Cricut! This time we want you to create a project using a recipe.

1 Ribbon, 2 Cricut Cuts & 3 Buttons, Brads or Jewels

For complete deets please visit Exploring Cricut!

And now for my creation...



Recipe

1 Ribbon - Banner for Sand Castle
2 Cuts - Create a Critter - Crab and Sand Castle
3 Brads - 2 for Crabs Cheeks and 1 Starfish brad near the sentiment

Cuts

Crab - Create a Critter -

1 - - black card stock 2.5 inches
1 - Layer 1 - red card stock 2.5 inches

Sand Castle - Create a Critter -

1 - - dark sand card stock 3 inches
1 - Layer 1 - light sand card stock 3 inches

Directions

1. Cut card stock base (red) 4.25 by 10.5 inches. Score at 5.25 inch mark and fold.
2. Cut cream colored card stock base slightly smaller. (I used 4 x 5 inches.)
3. Cut designer paper layer. (3.75 x 4.75) Distress edges with distressing tool.
4. Adhere DP to extra red card stock and trim closely. (You want a slight edge of red
between this layer and the cream.
5. Adhere layers. Red CS base, cream CS, Red CS trimmed DP layer.
6. Make Cricut cuts as listed above.
7. Edge Sand Castle layers with a light brown distess ink. (I used Ranger Antique Linen)
8. Adhere sand castle layers with dimensional foam.
9. Punch brad holes on top layer of crab and place pink brads. Adhere with dimensional foam
to base.
10. Using Scor Tape adhere ribbon around toothpick. Trim to resemble a pennant.
11. Stamp sentiment on cream CS. Trim to desired size. Add star fish brad and ink edges.
12. Place elements where desired. Sand castle first, pennant, crab and finally your sentiment
panel.

Thanks for stopping in! I hope you enjoyed today's project! I will be back Friday with Exploring Cricut's Daily post so come on back! Ya hear??? Blessings...

Lori

Supplies

Paper - Bazzill, Gina K, K & Company Valentine Sweetheart
Stamps - Our Daily Bread Designs - Little Things
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink Antique Linen, Versafine Onyx Black
Cricut Cartridges - Create a Critter
Brads & Ribbon - Recollections

Exploring Cricut - Let's Talk Turkey!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away? Yikes! This year has flown by (no pun intended...) There are so many things I am thankful for this year. I am thankful for my family, wonderful career and I am thankful for you! I have met some wonderful folks while blogging the last few years. Your wonderful comments, support and prayers mean so much! Thank you for being you! I pray this Thanksgiving will find you surrounded by loved ones sharing and creating family memories!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Exploring Cricut has issued a challenge for us to talk turkey! The design team was asked to create a project using our favorite Cricut turkey. I started out creating "Tom" for a floral arrangement but decided he would serve my purposes better on a scrapbook page. After all, I plan on taking some Thanksgiving photos this year! Enjoy and don't forget to hop over to Exploring Cricut to link your creations! You just might win! Blessings...



Cricut Cuts

Turkey - Create A Critter page 70 (5.25 inches)
Pumpkin - Create A Critter page 70 (3 inches)
Sign - Create A Critter page 28 (4 inches)

Tom's closeup... I tied a ribbon around his hat for some dash and ran it through one of those slides I had laying around from scrapbooking years back... And aren't the white dots in his eyes super cute? I added those with a white gel pen! A complete product list is available at the end of my post.



Paper - Bazzill, K & Co. Tim Coffey Halloween & Fall Paper Pad; Cricut Cartridge - Create a Critter; Embossing Folders - PC - Houndstooth (pumpkin), Swiss Dots (Turkey feathers); Grosgrain ribbon (hat band), leaf ribbon - pumpkin; Slide (hat band) - Making Memories; Black Marker - Memento (wording); White gel pen - Signo

Create A Critter Valentine Menagerie

Do you remember getting those funny Valentines as a kid? You know... the one's with funny sayings? I loved those as a child. So when the time came to create some for my Sunday School class and grand kids, I decided to pull out all the stops! The Cricut Create A Critter Cartridge and stamps from My Pink Stamper did the trick! Look at the series below....







They are just too doggone cute! Sorry! I couldn't resist being punny! OK.... Stop me already!!!! Blessings and have a wonderful day!

Lori

Supplies

Card Stock - Bazzill
Designer Paper - We R Memory Keepers - Be My Valentine Sweethearts; Little Yellow Bicycle - Love in Bloom; Making Memories - Love Struck
Stamps - My Pink Stamper - Punnylicious, More Punnylicious
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Cricut Cartridge - Create A Critter - most cuts at 3 inches

And one more for good measure...

The Sky is the Limit!

Valentine's Day will be here before we know it. Many of the cards I see are kinda frilly... you know all cupids, lace and the like. But sometimes that just doesn't do the trick. And I like to send notes of encouragement that tie in to the holiday/season. So today, I decided to create a card that could be sent to my best friend or my hubby. Because, truth is, everyone needs a little encouragement now and then. Here's hoping you have a wonderful day!

Lori

Card Recipe

5 x 7

Card Stock - Georgia Pacific, Bazzill
Stamps - Image & Sentiment - Papertrey Ink - Up, Up & Away
Ink - Memento - Tuxedo Black
Ribbon - Stampin Up
Die Cuts - Cricut - Pooh & Friends - Clouds, Create A Critter - Hearts
Pop Dots

Hooray! A layout!

I have a confession to make! I am a procrastinating scrapbooker! Yes, it's true. I have TWO years worth of photos to work on. And let's be honest here... I have all the toys to do it... but I have just slacked off! I really got into making cards a few years ago and let my scrapbooking suffer. So here is my New Year's resolution... (not sure if I am REALLY late or REALLY early on this...) I will do more scrapbooking! Yes, you heard it here first! LOL...

Hope you enjoy browsing. I have decided to share everything I am creating. For those of you who follow my card making I hope you can find some of these layouts applicable. Thanks as always for following along and have a wonderful day!

Lori

Card Stock - Bazzill
Designer Paper - Karen Foster
Die Cuts - Provocraft Cricut
Title - Country Life
Grass - Plantin Schoolbook (modified slightly on my Gypsy)
Barn and Cow - Create a Critter



Notice how I cut the barn doors? I backed them with black cardstock. I hope to slip a photo in there! I also cut a second blackout layer in black so I could give my barn a black roof!



Bessie looks pretty cool, huh? My family milked holsteins growing up so my cow had to be black and white! I did not do the shadow feature on this (leaving off the horns). Who would "milk" a bull anyway? LOL (insert big goofy grin here...)

Western Theme Treat Bag

I managed to make it into bed this morning at 6AM after our all night crop. I stumbled out at 9AM and made it to the couch downstairs where I crashed and burned until 12:30PM. If you eat an Oreo after noon does that count as breakfast? :-P

We had a great time. I only colored one image but boy was it fun! One cool idea I picked up from some of the ladies. They bought wallpaper sample books for a buck from a store when they closed. Then they used Acid Free on the samples to use in their albums... cool huh? Never thought of it... but a great idea! That's a wonderful way to recycle!

For today's post I created a western style treat bag for a mission's event we will be going to at our church soon. I thought it would be cool for the kids to get their own special "memento" of the night. I planned on stuffing them with trail mix and other good things that fall into the theme but don't hype the littles up too much! I'm sure their parents will be grateful! Well I hope you are having a super Saturday. I intend to power nap and do some creating! Blessings to you and yours!

Lori



Project Ingredients

Brown lunch bag
Card stock - Bazzill
Embossing Folder - Provocraft - Cuttlebug - Moroccan Screen
Punch - Marth Stewart - Modern Garland
Die Cuts - Provocraft - Cricut - Horse - Animal Kingdom (6 1/4 in), Badge - Create A Critter (3 in)
Ink - Sentiment - Memento - Tuxedo Black
Stamp - Sentiment - Howdy - Close to My Heart
Jute

Friends Fur-ever!

As I am writing this post today, I am thinking about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And before this morning I hadn't thought about that beautiful place in Tennessee for a long time. Apparently this card has inspired me to go visit! Now, if I can just get dear hubby to go along with the idea... LOL...

This card is a little different for me. I actually broke out the Cricut Expression and Gypsy again. I don't know why I don't do this more often. I guess I have become a creature of habit and since taking up Copics I just want to color everything. Good thing the St. Bernards won't stand still! :-P

I found the fun flock technique over at My Craft Spot on August 12th and had to try it. Check it out! If I can do it anyone can! Have a blessed and relaxing Sunday everyone and thanks again as always.

Lori



Card Recipe

Completed card 5 X 7 inches

Cardstock - White - Georgia Pacific, Blue, Brown, Gray - Bazzill
Pattern Paper - Trees, grass - unknown
Ink - Memento - Black Tuxedo
Flocking - Stampendous - Plain Ol' Black
Adhesives - Xyron 500 - flocking, Zig Two Way Glue - assembling flocked parts to die cut (ex. Mr. Raccoon's mask)
Sentiment - My Pink Stamper - Punny-licious
Pop Dots
Provocraft Cricut Cartridge - Create A Critter

Cricut Measurements

Raccoon - 3.29 inches X 3.12
Trees - two trees welded and stretched, final measurements 5.17 inches X 3.23
Grass - 4 images welded, final measurements 5.98 inches X 1.01

The mountains and sky are simply torn paper applied to the white backing. I cut the trees and grass out twice and doubled them up with pop dots for dimension. For the flocking I ran the blackout image of the raccoon through my xyron UPSIDE down and adherred layers. THEN I filled in with flocking as I wanted the feet and arms to be fuzzy... The layers (tail and mask) were flocked separately and then adherred to image. Check out Kimberly's blog I mentioned above for a easy video!

Balloons and Cows...

That was an interesting teaser! What in the world would a hot air balloon and cows have in common? Check my final photo out!



Well for one brief evening two summers ago in my part of the world a great deal. You see we have a hot air balloon race here in our area the first weekend in August. On this particular evening my hubby, mother and I gathered on our front porch to watch the launch. Keep in mind that the balloons took off over ten miles away! But as luck would have it and the shifting winds, the balloons got closer and closer! So close in fact several began landing on the property next door much to the chagrin of the neighbors beef cattle! It was an exciting evening for all. People pulled in our country lane to watch the parade of landing balloons and for a little while the world seemed a little smaller. Here's to another wonderful summer chocked with family, friends, lemonade and those wonderful lofty balloons! The above card is an interpretation of that wonderful season called summer...



Card Recipe

Cardstock - Bazzill
Pattern Paper - Kaisercraft - Offshore Collection (background and balloon paper piercing)
Ink - Memento - Tuxedo Black - Image
Ink - Memento - Tangelo - Sentiment
Sentiment - Gina K - Eclectic Summer Sayings
Image - Gina K - Eclectic Summer
Spellbinders - Fancy Tags
Die Cuts - Clouds - Create a Critter - Cricut
Ribbon - unknowns
Embossing - Provocraft Cuttlebug Folder - D'Vine Swirls
Embellishments - Scrappers Must Haves - Pebbles - Harvest
Pop Dots