"Frosty" Gift Tag!

It is a rainy day in east Tennessee, so that means it's the perfect time to craft! Today I have made a super easy gift tag that I'm entering in Hiding In My Craft Room super scraps challenge! This project was made from scrap papers I had in my paper stash...I always keep the scraps, no matter how small! You never know when you may need them! Here's a photo of the finished project (sorry, the pics turned out a little dark!):

This is what I used to make my tag:
*Cricut Expression with the Winter Frolic cartridge
*Mini Snowflake punch
*Recollections To/From Stamp
*Studio G Navy ink pad
*Scraps of cardstock and patterned paper
*Elmer's Craft Bond Glue
*Fairy Dust irridescent glitter
*Studio G blue self adhesive jewels
*White Embroidery Floss

I cut out the tag and tag layer from page 36 of the Winter Frolic image manual at 2.75 inches and the "Frosty" phrase, phrase layer, and phrase shadow from page 28 at 1.5 inches.

I glued the white snowflake (phrase layer) to the light blue "frosty" (phrase).  After that was dry, I put glue over the top of the entire piece and covered it in Fairy Dust glitter and shook off the excess glitter. Love how that gives the frosty effect to the phrase! Then I glued the frosty phrase to the dark blue phrase shadow. I punched out a few mini snowflakes to add on my tag and glittered them too! When the pieces were dry, I placed a blue self adhesive jewel in the center of the snowflakes. I stamped the back of the tag with a To/From stamp from Recollections.

When the ink dried, I glued the phrase and snowflakes on the front of the tag and tied the embroidery floss through the hole of the tag. And that's it! So easy, and really cute!

Have a great weekend and happy crafting!
~Melissa~

Hiding In My Craft Room Blue Challenge Entry!

I am so excited to enter the Hiding In My Craft Room #23 Blue Color Challenge! This is my first entry in a blogger's contest and I'm anxious to see if my first entry will win anything! :-) The guidelines for the entry were to use shades of blue (neutrals could be added too), so I made a decorative Krafty Block. Here's a photo of my finished project:

Here's what I used to make it:
*Cricut Expression with Winter Lace Cartridge
*Mini snowflake craft punch
*Extra Large Krafty Block
*Extra Large Crafty Block Stand
*Blue wire edge ribbon
*Silver holiday picks
*Blue berry twigs
*2 shades of blue 12x12 cardstock
*Foam adhesive squares
*Glue
*White tulle with glitter
*Small 20 light strand

First I wrapped the light strand in some tulle and inserted it in the Krafty Block. I added additional layers of tulle so the lights wouldn't be so noticable - I wanted the glow effect without seeing the actual strand of lights. Kinda makes it look like snow! Then I wrapped the blue ribbon around the sides and secured with hot glue, and made a medium size decorative bow for the top and hot glued it onto the top of the block, so it looks like a gift package. I cut apart the silver picks, because I just wanted the silver leaves and silver Christmas tree branch looking pieces. I glued the silver leaves under the bow, then glued in the silver branches. I cut some of the blue berry twigs and glued them in around the bow.

Next, I cut out the snowflakes. I used the Cricut Winter Lace cartridge to cut 3 snowflakes. One was 3.5 inches, one was 3 inches and the other is 2.5 inches. I also used an extra small snowflake punch to add a few smaller flakes to fill in around the larger snowflakes.

I attached the snowflakes I cut with my Cricut with foam adhesive squares for some dimension, and I glued the small snowflakes around them.

And that's it! It was an easy project to make and it is really beautiful (if I do say so myself)!

Just a disclaimer...I have had no problems using the block lit up with the tulle inside. The light strand I chose was small wattage, so it does not get hot enough to burn the tulle. If you make this project, use your own judgement concerning the safety of leaving the block lit for long periods of time.

Have a great Friday!
~Melissa~

Lauren's Banner!

I've made several name banners...the first one's were for the Cricut Design Challenge back in September, then I made a couple for a friend at church. Ever since my 3 year old saw them, she's been asking for one for her room. I finally got around to making one for her today and I think it turned out great! Here's a pic of the finished project:

Here's what I used to make it:
*Cricut Expression
*Birthday Bash Cricut Cartridge
*12x12 Cardstock in 2 complementary colors (For the scallopped circle and the letters/letter shadows, I used purple and green from The Paper Studio)
*12x12 Patterned Paper (I used Penny Lane by My Mind's Eye)
* Grossgrain Ribbon (Offray purple and green, but you can use all one color if you like)
*Adhesive Squares (Elmer's)
*Foam Adhesive Squares (The Paper Studio)

Insert the Birthday Bash Cartridge into the Cricut. Apply your base color of cardstock (for the scallopped circle) onto your Cricut mat and load into the machine. The banner I chose to used is on page 64 of the cartridge booklet. To get the image of the scallopped circle on your Cricut display, press Font, shift, and then ladybug image on the overlay. Using the size dial, scroll until you get to 4.5 inches. Then press quanity and select the number of scallopped circles you need to cut. I needed 6, so I was only able to get 4 on my 12x12 paper. You may need to use an extra sheet of cardstock as I did to get the total number of circles you need. Once you have made these selections, press cut!

Next is the circle layer. Place your patterned paper on the mat and load the mat into the Cricut. Again on page 64, press the Font button, then the ladybug image on the overlay. It will show a circle on your display, then press cut.

Now it's time for the letters! Place your cardstock on your mat and load the mat. Change the dial size to 2.75 inches. Press the Font Shadow key and select the letters you wish to cut, then press cut.

Last cut...the font layer. Load the other color of cardstock onto your mat and load it. Press Font, select the letters you wish to cut, then press cut. Here's what all of my cut pieces looked like:

Now here's the fun part...assembling all the pieces! First you will want to layer your patterned paper circle onto your scallopped circle, making sure that the holes line up. That is very important! If they do not line up, you will have a hard time attaching the ribbon later. Once you have those finished, layer your letters. Place some foam adhesive squares on the back of each layered letter, then place on the layered cirlces. I love to use foam squares...they just add great dimension to your projects!

After you have completed this with all your letters, now all that's left is tying them together! Cut about 2.5 inches of grossgrain ribbon for each letter you are tying together, if you cut too much don't worry, you can adjust the length later when they are tied. Tie each circle together. Cut two pieces of ribbon about 12-15 inches long and attach to each end of your banner (these will be the pieces used to hang the finished banner). A tip for using grossgrain ribbon...after you have trimmed the pieces down to the desired length, pass a flame over the ends of the ribbon to seal it and prevent fraying.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun and easy project! You can certainly change this up and embellish it further, but I kind of like the simple look and let the patterned paper be the "star" of the banner. There are lots of different banners to choose from on this cartridge, it is easily one of my favorites! Consider making them for birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, Christmas, or any other occaision! The options are endless. And by the way, Lauren *LOVES* her name banner! :-)

A Fun And Easy Project Coming Tomorrow!

After a crazy busy weekend, I'm finally getting my things ready to craft! I have a few projects planned for this week and one of them is for a design challenge. Tomorrow's project is super cute and easy to make. Check back for pics and instructions!

Welcome to my blog!

I finally decided to make the Cricut blog! Hopefully this blog will give you some design inspiration along with some helpful tips for using your Cricut. I will likely post the first project in the next day or so. Until then, Happy Crafting!