Mixed Media Inspired Thanksgiving Tag

It's Canadian Thanksgiving Day this Monday and so here's a Thanksgiving tag I made that was inspired by a variety of mixed media canvases I've seen:

I used my Cricut Explore to cut the tag (Platin Schoolbook cartridge) and flowers (CTHM Art Philosophy cartridge). The leaves/branches are a die (Winter Branch) from Die-Namites Cutting Dies. I also used various papers, lace, glitter, some washi tape and rhinstones/half pearls. For texture, I ran the tag through my Cuttlebug with the Poppy embossing folder by Anna Griffin. The brick pattern on the right hand side was created with a stencil I cut with my Explore (CMTH Artbooking cartridge) from a transparency sheet and drywall compound. Colour was added to the cuts, the lace and over the "bricks" with Copics, Silks Acrylic Glaze and Momento inkpads.

 Hope you like my tag.

Christmas Cards -Cricut Explore Print Then Cut

I've been trying out the Print Then Cut feature of the Cricut Explore using the Santa's Village cartridge that was originally made for the Cricut Imagine. Here are two Christmas cards with the Santas printed with my HP laser printer then cut on the Cricut Explore.

Thanks for checking out my cards.

Courage Card

 

I'm sorry that it has been so long since I've posted, but my real job and a short family vacation have cut into my crafting time.

 

Over at the Die-Namites Blog, they are hosting a challenge for July with a sketch and an optional dare to use the color blue.

 

 

Here's my card for the Challenge (I opted not to do the dare):

I love this quote from Mignon McLaughlin.
 

I used the Die-Namites Fall Breeze and Leafy Flourish dies.

 

Supplies Used: 

Cricut  Explore & Design Studio Application

Cricut Close To My Hear Artbooking Cartridge (Banner)

Recollections card base

Cuttlebug Machine

Die-Namites Die - Fall Breeze

Die-Namites Die - Leafy Flourish

MS Word (Sentiment)

HP Color LaserJet 2605dn

Scrap Paper from my stash

Recollections Cardstock

DCWV The Music Stack Carstock

Studio G Dye Ink (for inking edges)

Fiskars Ink (for inking edges)

Studio G Rhinstones

Sequins
Silks Acrylic Glaze (Gold)
Inka Gold Metallic Rub (Gold)

Recollections Butterfly (clip removed from back)

Self-adhesive foam mounts

Glue

 

Spring Flowers and Grapevine Times Two - Wreath and Wreath Card

Are you ready for spring?  In my part of the world, spring hasn't fully arrived and, so, I'm missing the spring flowers that have yet to bloom.  What's a paper crafter to do when feeling melancholy over the lack of flowers - why, create her own of course.  First the wreath:

For this wreath, I used several layers (well about 18) of the  six-petal (heart-shaped) flower cut from Cricut's Flower Shoppe cartridge.  For the center flower, the largest (bottom) layer was cut at 5 inches and the smallest (top) at 1 inch and the layers in between getting progressively smaller from bottom to top.  I dipped each layer in water (try not to get them too wet), crumpled the wet paper into a wad, uncrumpled them while still damp and then stacked them using a brad to hold the layers together. 

After shaping the centers to hide the brad, I let the flowers dry overnight and then used a dry brush and Inka Gold Metallic Rub to gild the edges of the petals .  

Next the card:

For the flowers on the card, I used a rolled flower from the Close to My Heart Artiste Cricut cartridge cut at 0.9 inches.  Using a quilling tool with  the outer end of the paper inserted into the eye hole, I tightly rolled up the cut until I  reached the center of the flower. Next, I pulled out the quilling tool to release the paper, added quick dry glue to the end piece of the cut that is the bottom of the flower and hold it until the glue dries.

Both these project were created as "sample" inspirations for a challenge I'm leading for the Circleville National Scrapbooking Weekend on the Cricut Circle Message Board. 

Supplies Used - Wreath

Cricut Expression  2 & Cricut CraftRoom Application

Cricut  Flower Shoppe Cartridge (Flowers )

Cricut ZooBalloo Cartridge (Welcome) 

Grapevine Wreath

Dollar Store Pick (taken apart for the plastic leaves)  

Posterboard

Inka Gold Metallic Rub

Brads

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Supplies Used - Card

Cricut Expression  2 & Cricut CraftRoom Application

Cricut  Close to My Heart - Artiste  Cartridge (Flower)

Cricut  Close to My Heart - Art Philosophy Cartridge (Leaves)

Cuttlebug Machine
Cuttlebug Anna Giffrin Poppy Embossing Folder
Cuttlebug Coolio Companion Embossing Folder

Memory Box Grapevine Wreath Die

Spellbinders Page Maps  Die - Tags & Flags

Stampin' Up Teen Tiny Wishes Stamp (sentiment)

Stampin' Up Word Window Punch

Martha Stewart Edge Punch  (Double Loops)

Recollections Card Base 

Recollections Glimmer Cardstock

Recollections Cardstock
Momento Dye Ink (Angel Pink) for Edges

Craft Smart Embossing Pad
Zing Embossing Powder (Neon Pink)
Dollar Store Pearl Stickers

Self-adhesive foam mounts

Glue

Thanks for checking out my post today.  If you like to check out some of the other bloggers who are hosting challenges on the Cricut Circle Message Board, here are some links:

A Day in the Life of Horsebunny - http://www.horsebunny.blogspot.com/

All Scrapped Out - http://allscrappedout.com/

MultiCrafter Amy - http://multicrafter-amy.blogspot.com/

Paper, Craft, & Scissors - http://papercraftscissors.com/

Sara Andrews- http://sarawandrews.com/

Scrappingfor More Fun - http://scrappingformorefun.blogspot.com/

WithGlittering Eyes - http://www.withglitteringeyes.blogspot.com/

 Di & Co - http://creatingislikebreathing.blogspot.ca/

Col's Creative Corner - www.scrappycol.blogspot.com/

 The Singing Shell - www.singingshell.blogspot.com/

Birthday Card in a Box

Cards in a Box are all the rage right now and I've been wanting to make one for a while but hadn't.  Then last week, Narelle from The Non-Crafty Crafter offered up a free Design Space cut file for her followers and that spurred me on to actually making this card for my godson's 21st birthday:

Supplies Used: 
Cricut Explore & Design Space Online Software
The Non-Crafty Crafter Cut File (card in a box)
Cricut Doodletype Cartridge (squares with rounded corners)
Cricut Life’s a Party Cartridge (birthday cake) 
Cricut Stretch Your Imagination Cartridge (balloons)
Cricut Celebrations Cartridge (presents and streamers)
Cricut Alphabet Cartridge (“21”)
Cricut Paper Lace Cartridge (Happy Birthday)
Recollections Card Stock (solid)
Martha Stewart Card Stock (patterned)
Twine (strings for balloons)
Various pens/markers for inking and highlights
Plastic Packaging (to adhere cuts to box)
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

You can get Narelle's cut file for FREE by going over to her blog and follow her directions to get the file sent to you! CLICK HERE to go to Narelle's blog.

Thanks for visiting.

Narelle's Pinterest Party!

The incredibly talented and beyond helpful Narelle (aka The Non-Crafty Crafter) is having a Pinterest Party on her blog! The "party rules" are simple:  (1) become a follower of Narelle's blog (trust me you won't regret it if you do),  (2) go to Pinterest and pick any craft project, and (3) make it.

Here's my project:

 

It's based on this card to the right from the Karten Kunst Blog (I hope that I've gotten the name right - my German is virtually non-existent).  I had pinned this a little over a month ago because I loved the  elegance of the Karten Kunst card.  I fear that my use of more and bright colors doesn't make my version measure up to the original.

Supplies Used: 

Cricut Explore & Design Space Online Software
Cricut Ribbons & Rosettes Cartridge (flower border/circle boarder)
Cricut Disney - Tinker Bell & Friends Cartridge (butterfly)
Cricut Calligraphy Collection Cartridge (Happy Birthday)
Recollections Card Stock
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

Thanks for checking out my card and please be sure to visit Narelle's Blog.

Birthday Card with a little Mixed Media

Here's my first attempt at incorporating some mixed media into a card:

For the mixed media component, I cut a stencil from some plastic packaging I had saved and used it to stencil some drywall compound mixed with Silks Acrylic Glaze directly onto the card base.  I wasn't happy with the color, so I rubbed Inka Gold Metallic Rub over the stenciled area after it had dried.

I am entering  this card in the Die-Namites Blog April "Egg-Cellent" sketch challenge as my tak on the the sketch:

I turned the  Die-Namites Elegant Flake Die into a lace boarder by cutting each "arm" of the snowflake off, colored it with Inka Gold Metallic rub and arranged them into a straight line across the card.  I also used the leaves from the Winter Branch Die-Namites Die for the  leaves behind the paper roses.

Supplies Used: 
Cricut Explore & Design Space Online Software
Cricut CTMH Artiste Cartridge (roses)
Cricut  Winter Wonderland Cartridge (gift)
Cricut Paper Lace Cartridge (damask boarder - for stencil)
Plastic Packing (for stencil)
Synko Drywall Coumpound
Silkes Acrylic Glaze (
Inka Gold Metallic Rub (Gold)
VersaMagic Chalk Ink (Spanish Olive)
Recollections card base 
Martha Stewart Edge Punch  (Double Loops)
Cuttlebug Machine
Die-Namites Die - Winter Branch
Die-Namites Die - Elegant Flake
Spellbinders Page Maps  Die - Tags & Flags
Recollections Glimmer Cardstock
Dollar Store Metallic Cardstock 
Anna Giffin Georgette Christmas Collection (patterned cardstock)
Craft Smart Embossing Pad
Gold Embossing Powder
Stampin' Up Teen Tiny Wishes Stamp (sentiment)
Stampin'Up Word Window Punch
Dollar Store Tulle Ribbon
Pleather Gold Strip (scrap from my stash)
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

Thanks for checking out my card.

Sretan Uskrs [Happy Easter] Card

So, I recently purchased a Cricut Explore and have been playing a little with cutting SVG files created from photos and graphics.  Crafting images with Croatian symbols are not easy to find. Also not easy to find are sentiment stamps in the Croatian language.  This card combines both:

A red and white checkerboard pattern is a common symbol associated with Croatia.    Another lesser known symbol is the pleter (sometime referred to as a Croatian wattle) which is a geometrical braid design used in the 9th-12th century by Croats to decorate churches and monasteries.  The churches often include crosses with this geometric pattern such as the one found on the Baptismal Fount of Duke Višeslav .   Using Google, I found a black and white graphic image of a pleter cross posted by a graphic artist on a message board.  I contacted the graphic artist through the message board and asked his permission to use the image on a card that I would be posting on my blog.  The artist kindly granted his permission and I am very grateful.

I used Inkscape to turn the JPEG of his image into a SVG file.  I then cut the file with the Explore and I was quite impressed with how well the Explore cut the thin lines of the pleter cross.  I also welded and cut two rectangles using Design Space to create a background for the cross.

The sentiment stamp on the front is a custom rubber stamp I designed and then ordered from http://readystamps.com/ .  They were wonderful to deal with and I highly recommend them if you are interested in designing some of your own custom rubber stamps.

Supplies Used: 
Cricut Explore & Design Space Online Softwaer
Cricut CTMH Artiste Cartridge (roses)
Cricut Craft Room Exclusive: Chess Image Set (checkerboard)
Cricut Cake Basics Cartridge (retangles)
Pleter Kris SVG file
Recollections card base 
Stampin'Up Word Window Punch
Cuttlebug Machine
Die-Namites Die - Winter Branch
Spellbinders Page Maps  Die - Tags & Flags
Recollections Cardstock
Fiskars Red Ink Pad
Croatian "Happy Easter" Custom Rubber Stamp
Dollar Store Ribbon
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

Thank you so much for checking out my card.

Thank You Card

Over at the Die-Namites Blog, they are hosting a challenge for March with the following sketch (which I love - thank you Tonya Gibbs for this absolutely amazing sketch) and a dare to use the color purple:

Here's my card for the Challenge:

I used the Die-Namites Fall Breeze Die.

Supplies Used: 

Cricut Expression 2 & Cricut CraftRoom Application

Cricut  Mother’s Day 2010 Cartridge (Doily3)

Recollections card base 

Cuttlebug Machine

Die-Namites Die - Fall Breeze

Cuttlebug Embossed Tags Folder

Cuttlebug With Gratitude Die

Shiny Purple Paper from my stash

Fiskar Corrogate Paper Crimper

Recollections Cardstock (solid and glitter)

VersaMagic Chalk Ink – Purple Hydrangea

VersaMagic Chalk Ink – Eggplant

Smooch Spritz – Grape Burst

Viva Decor Magic Transparent Pearl Pen

Purple/White Baker’s Twine
Lace

Button

Self-adhesive foam mounts

Glue

I loved the sketch so much, I decided to do a second take on the card using a pink with green accent pallette.

Thanks for checking out my cards - I'd love to hear which version (purple or pink) you prefer.

Sympathy Card

There is a wonderful person who I know through the Cricut Circle who recently and tragically lost her mother and I am hoping this card I made for her will bring her some small measure of comfort:

 

Supplies Used:
Cuttlebug Machine
Die-Namites Die - Fall Breeze
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Page Maps Tags & Flags Die
Cuttlebug Anna Griffin Poppy Embossing Folder
Recollections Glimmer Cardstock (solid)
Anna Griffin Cardstock ( patterned)
Silver Cardstock Scrap from my stash
Recollections Card Base
Craft Smart Embossing Pad
Silver Embossing Powder
Unity Stamp Company Donna Poppies Stamp
Stampin' Up Teen Tiny Wishes Stamp (sentiment)
Stampin' Up Word window Punch
Ribbon from my stash
Washi Tape from my stash
Memento Ink London Fog (inking edges)
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

My Favourite Colour Birthday Card

This winter has been so cold and long that I decided I need some flowers in my life even if they were only made out of paper.  Here's a card that incorporates one of my favourite colours (purple) and some paper flowers:
 

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression 2& Cricut CraftRoom Application
Cricut  Edge to Edge Cartridge (scalloped square, lattice and doily)
Cricut  Close to My Heart - Art Philosophy Cartridge (leaves and background lace cut)
Cricut  Paper Lace Cartridge (lacey square)
Notecard card base (5¼" x 5¼")
Recollections White Gold Shimmer Cardstock
Recollections Cardstock (yellow & while)
Brads (for flowers)
Happy Birthday Table Confetti (sentiment)
Flat Back Pearls from the Dollar Store
Cuttlebug Machine
Spellbinders Nestabilties  - Big Scalloped Oval
Memory Box Grapevine Wreath Die
VersaMagic Chalk Ink - purple
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

I'm also submitting this tag for the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog's Challenge #199 All About You Use Your Favorite Colors.

Thanks for checking out my card.

All You Need Is Love Card

Welcome to our 2014 Valentine's Day Blog Hop!  You should have reached here from Gonescrappin's blog.  If you are just joining us, please start at RockinRenee's blog.  You are going to want to check out all the great projects featured on this hop!  Today, we are highlighting Valentine's Day inspired projects and I made a card with a fair bit of texture to it:

Embossing under the background lace.

The flowers.

Supplies Used:

Cricut Expression 2 & Cricut CraftRoom Application

Cricut  Close to My Heart- Artiste  Cartridge (flowers)
Cricut  Close to My Heart - Art Philosophy Cartridge (leaves and background lace cut)
Cricut  Paper Lace Cartridge (lacey square)
Notecard card base (5" x 5")
Recollections White Gold Shimmer Cardstock
Smooch Spritz - Splash
Rhinestones from the Dollar Store
Cuttlebug Machine
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder from the Love's in the Air Set
Spellbinders Nestabilties  - Big Scalloped Oval
Craftsmart Embossing Pad
Stampendous Embossing Powder (Blue)
Inkadinkadoo Clear Stamp
Self-adhesive foam mounts

Thank you for checking out my card.  I would love for you to leave me a comment (and become a follower if you aren't one already) before you head to your next stop on the hop which is Scootingranny's Blog .  

And here is the entire blog list:

1. RockinRenee - I came, I saw, I created.
2. HappyScrapper64 - Random Thoughts of a Scrapbooker  

3. gonescrappin - Col'sCreative Corner 

4. Hrvatica  - Croatian Crafter YOU ARE HERE
5. Scootingranny - Scootingranny's World GO HERE NEXT
6. MamaC - Carolyn'sCreative Corner

7. Greenie8705 - Gina Beana's Crafts
8. MariaJ - Stamp,Cut, Create!
9. Di&Co - Creating Is Like Breathing
10. Dragonfly50 - Designs by Dragonfly
11. TiffysMom - Angie's Paper Passion
12. *Violette* - Whimsical Treasures
13. cricutaddicted - ScrappingForMoreFun
14. LoriSjogren - TheSinging Shell
15. Scrapalette - Aroundthe Block with Scrapalette

 

 

Valentine Tag

Over at the Die-Namites Blog, they are hosting a challenge for February with the following sketch with a "dare" to use a heart on the project:

I created a tag for the challenge using the Floral Corner Die-Namites die cut twice:

Supplies Used:

Cricut Expression 2 & Cricut CraftRoom Application
Cricut  CraftRoom Basic Cartridge (Scallopped Square)
Cricut  Close to My Heart - Artiste (tag)

Cuttlebug Machine

Cuttlebug Love Language Cut  & Emboss (heart die)
Die-Namites Die - Floral Corner
Bakers Twine
Celebrate It Ribbon
Recollections White Gold Shimmer Cardstock
Recollections Red Cardstock
Pink Cardstock from my stash
Patterned Paper - Martha Stewart
Rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas)
Memento Ink - Angel Pink, inking edges)
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

I'm also submitting this tag for the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog's Challenge #196 Seeing Red .

Thanks for checking out my tag.

Die-Namites Die Monthly Challenge - Birthday Card

Over at the Die-Namites Blog, they are hosting a challenge with the following sketch for January:



Here's my card for the Challenge:

I used the Die-Namites Fall Breeze Die:

Supplies Used:
Cuttlebug Machine
Die-Namites Die - Fall Breeze
Spellbinders Nestabilties  - Big Scalloped Ovals
Recollections Cardstock (solid)
DCWV  Black Current Stack (striped paper)
Recollections  Flower
Rhinestones (dollar store)
Memento Ink - Tuxedo Black(for inking edges)
Craft Smart Embossing Pad
Stampendouse Embossing Powder - Detail White
Hampton Art Stamp (sentiment)
Ribbon from my stash
Self-adhesive foam mounts
Glue

Thanks for checking out my card.