Christmas Cards - Holiday Cakes

I love the holiday season. In our house it is as festive as it gets. Between Hanukkah, Christmas and my daughter's birthday (on Christmas Eve), it is one big, month long celebration! Every year, I spend some time making photo holiday cards in Photoshop for my family (and a few of my fabulous friends). So, I have not often had the occasion to give an actual Christmas card!! This year, however, I decided to make my very first Christmas card and I am VERY happy with the end result!! I'm even going to enter it into the http://www.mypinkstamper.com 12 Days if Christmas challenge!

Recipe:
Ornaments are from the Holiday cakes cartridge cut at 3"
Paper is Recollections stock
Glitter was bought from the $1 bin at the craft store!!
Used zig on the ornament and shook the glitter over it
Added curling ribbon and the two big stones to the top

Birthday wishes

It has been QUITE a while since I last posted.  I was very sick, but am happy to report that I am FINALLY on the mend. In the middle of being sick and trying to make sure my children and my students were taken care of, I had to plan bunny's 6th birthday party. I am looking forward to sharing some of the little touches that made it super special! In the mean time, here is a post I started a month ago and never got out. It is short and sweet, but will hold me over until I can post some of my exciting new ideas!

Last month, I met my best friend from college for dinner in honor of her birthday.  What I love about my friend is just how easy it is to spend time together, no matter how long it has been since we last saw each other.

I decided to play with my Cricut Wild Card cartridge to find a fun card for her. I came up with this idea using the Doily card and I pulled the word wish from one of the other cards on the cartridge. The envelope was made using the fit to page feature and it cut at 5", so I cut the card at 4 3/4" to ensure it would fit in the envelope.

My first attempt at the wish sentiment was too small, but I realized it would be the perfect touch for the envelope, so I added it and then re-cut the word "wish" just a little bit bigger. The card itself was cut using Recollections, Precious Metals, Silver card stock and coordinated very nicely with the envelope paper. My friend LOVED the card, and the smile on her face just reinforced my belief that handmade is always best!

Cricut Wild Card Cartridge Review

Hello all! Sorry to have been away for so long, but with grades due at the end of the school marking period and Thanksgiving with the family, things around the house have been hectic.

Since it's been a while, today seems like an EXCELLENT day to start my new "Review Day" feature! From time to time, I will review something new and exciting that I have added to my crafting repertoire. You may have noticed that I LOVE the Cricut Wild Card cartridge. This is my current go to cartridge for all things card related.  I love that you do not have have to measure and cut to gt perfect cards every time.

My favorite cards on the cartridge are the "doily" and "pinwheel" cards. These are buttons 21 and 20 if you number your booklets starting at the first image.

Mixing and matching with the sentiments is very easy, but you have to play with the sizes. For example, the "doily" card is cut at 5 1/4" on fit to page using an 8 1/2 x ll" piece of card stock, but the "wish" sentiment had to be cut at 13" to fit properly!  Keeping an info card in the cartridge box can be helpful so you do not have to repeatedly remeasure these components.

Below, you will find just a few of the many cards I have created with this cartridge. Most of these have been featured on by blog!! Hope you come back again soon!!

Love you a Latte Card - Just Because

I made sure to vote on my way home from school today. It was very late, but I think every vote counts! When I got home, I had a wonderful treat waiting for me! The Just Because Cards cartridge was sitting on the counter, all wrapped up in the shipping packaging, just begging to be opened!!

There were two challenges I have been thinking about since the weekend and, after I put bunny to bed, I had a few moments of free time to craft! I told someone today that crafting is my therapy. I am able to focus on my creativity, not because someone NEEDS me to, but because I WANT to! So, I treated myself to a therapy session courtesy of Just Because cards and this is what I came up with. The two challenges are the Getting Cricky Simply Sunday Tea Time Challenge and the PDCC106 based on the colors pink, yellow and gray. The result was a gray, pink and yellow card featuring, my hot beverage of choice, a latte!

I combined the "Love you a Latte" sentiment (#11) with the Milk card (#9) base in yellow. I cut the envelope first on the fit to page button (4 1/4").  The houndstooth print envelope is cut from a BEAUTIFUL 12x12 pad I have from DCWV called Bella Armoire. I cut the card at 4" to make sure it would fit nicely into the envelope. The shift for the card is the strip of houndstooth paper that matches the envelope.

The sentiment was too small at 4" so I recut it at 5" out of the pink paper and then cut the shift with silver paper (both from the Recollections packages). The teacup and teacup steam (teacup layer) were both from Once Upon a Princess and were cut at 1". I attached the teacup using dimensionals to give it a pop and then applied a TINY bit of Star Dust Stickles to give the coffee mug a shimmery finish.

When You Wish Upon a Cupcake Card

I just stumbled upon the "Just Us Girls" Blog and was intrigued by the shape challenge (109) posted this week. The challenge was to use this picture for inspiration:

Looking at the shape for the challenge, I couldn't help but picture a triangle of icing on the top of a cupcake. I picked up the Once Upon a Princess cartridge and cupcake two was the perfect shape!

The doily design under the triangle reminded me of the Cricut Wild Card cartridge doily card and that is what made the entire project come together for me.

I cut the Doily card at 5 1/4" as the base and then added the "triangle," Once Upon a Princess Cartridge - Cupcake 2 - Button and Shift - 3".  The circle and burst on top came from the Classic Font Cartridge - Circle - 1"and Burst 1 1/4" For the burst on top, I made 4 and attached them together by punching a hole through them all and using a Recollections glitter brad to connect them. Then I bent up the edges to give dimension. I hand cut the little flag banner and then cut the word "wish" from the Wild Card cartridge (button 5 - Trifold Card - Shift on Phrase feature) at 13 1/2".

The finishing touch was a dimensional to make the burst at the top stand out, and a touch of Star Dust Stickles to add some bling to the word "wish." I am very happy with the card and can't wait for an occasion to give it to someone! I hope you like it too.

Cookie Cottage Box - Cricut Wrap it Up Cartridge

This adorable little cookie box was inspired by the Cooking With Cricut Cookie Monster Challenge. I have been waiting for an excuse to use the Box feature on the Cricut Wrap It Up cartridge, and this was just the project to do it with.

The box was cut using a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. This is the Candy Cottage and was cut at 11 1/2".  The red detailing is the shift for the Box feature and that cut creates the detailing for both sides of the box. I had some scraps left over from a scalloped strip I used on a mason jar project and I used the white side to create snow for the bottom of the cottage. Then, I cut the word "cookies" using the Cindy Loo cartridge font feature at 1".

I added iridescent Stickles to give the snow a little sparkle. It's hard to see in the picture, but definitely adds just a little something extra! Finally, I punched a hole in each side of the box and used some left over ribbon from the same mason jar project to create a little handle for the box.

I am also going to enter this one into the Crafty Catz Anything Goes Challenge for a little extra fun!! Hope you enjoy it!

You Are So Tweet Thank You Card

Cricut Wild Card Cartridge and Cindy Loo Cartridge

Since I was having so much fun working with the Pinwheel Card from the Cricut Wild Card Cartridge, I decided to do one more card with it. There were two challenges that inspired by card. The Fantabulous Cricut Blog For the Birds Challenge called for a project using a bird in some way and this seemed like the perfect choice! Then, the Clean and Simple Cas-Fridays challenge called for an element that went "Over the Edge," so I decided to have the little bird's beak peek over the edge as though he is flying off the page. So much fun!

For the envelope, I had this adorable Martha Stewart paper left over from my sister-in-law's woodland creature themed baby shower, and the colors inspired the rest of the card. The pinwheel is set to the word "Tweet," but if you spin it, it says, "You are so Tweet."

The card was cut at 6 1/4"  and the envelope was cut at 6 1/2." The word "Thanks" and the bird were both cut using the Cricut Cindy Loo Cartridge. The bird was cut at 3." Finally, I used an orange glitter brad to secure the wheel and Stickles for the little wings to add a bit of Glitter Panda bling! I hope you like it!!

Posh Pancakes, Pajamas and Purses Party

Purse cut at 1 1/2" - Lipstick & Polish at 2 3/4" - Posh at 1"

It's been a long time between posts and although I was sad not to blog, I have been VERY busy with life in general. Lots of grading and family time activities. BUT...I was working on a fantastic project that I am excited to share. My bunny (daughter) is turning 6 and it is time to celebrate!  In true Glitter Panda fashion, I decided to use my Cricut to come up with fabulous invites for the super fun party theme we came up with. Bunny's party is going to be a Posh Pajamas, Pancakes and Purses Party. It will be a pretend sleepover featuring breakfast for dinner (one of Bunny's favorites), nail polish for all the girls, a movie with popcorn, and S'mores!

Since the party will be a smaller gathering, I decided I could make all of the invites myself using my Cricut. I chose the Wild Card cartridge and bravely attempted the Pinwheel card!!  The nail polish, lipstick, purse and the word posh on the card all came from the Forever Young cartridge.

I used my favorite Recollections card stock (Butterfly Wings package) for the cards, the round turning circle and the base of the lipstick. The envelopes were all made using a 12X12 pad from Me and My Big Ideas. The style is called Bliss. The brads I used to connect the wheel to the card are Recollections as well, and I found them in the clearance bin at my local craft store. Some are flat, and some are super glittery!! Finally, I added Cotton Candy Stickles to the word "posh" and to the lipstick for a little bling!!

By trial and error, I have learned that cutting the card 1/4" smaller than the envelope ensures a better fit for the card. So, the card was cut at 6 1/4" and the envelopes were cut at 6 1/2" (both on the blackout feature).  The cupcake with the actual invite info was created by running the card stock through my laser printer. Then, I used the center point function on the Cricut to cut around the words in the shape of the cupcake. Pop Up Glue Dots gave the dimension to the cupcake on the inside (and the purse, lipstick and polish on the outside). See below for sizes and more pics!

Unique Envelopes cut at 6 1/2" on Blackout feature - 12X12 Me and My Big Ideas "Bliss" Pad

Cupcake created with Celebrations cartridge - cut at 5 3/4" using Center Point

Housewarming Card with Cricut Wild Card Cartridge

The card

After reading many posts about the Cricut Wild Card cartridge, I decided I HAD to have it! Since then, I have not had a good occasion to use it!! I tried one card to play with and never quite "got it."  Today, we finally needed a card for something. We went to a housewarming party for our cousins who had a terrible fire in their home this past Christmas. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out of the house safely! Unfortunately, their house could not be salvaged. After a long wait, they were finally able to move into their new home last month and we were happy to be able to celebrate with them! This celebration called for a card and I knew just the card to create. I used the Wild Card cartridge to create the little house card. That is the fourth button from the left on the bottom row.

The best tip I can now share is one that many other bloggers have mentioned (with a twist). When cutting these adorable cards, make sure to cut out the envelope first on "fit to page."  PAY ATTENTION to the size you are given when it actually cuts (if you forget to do this, insert another piece of the same size paper and pretend you are cutting it again, but click "OK" instead and it will tell you the size that was cut. Then, you are supposed to turn off "fit to page" and turn your dial to the size indicated for the envelope. My twist, however, is that the envelope is VERY snug if you do this. So, I turned the dial to the envelope size and then clicked down once more to remove 1/4" from the card. This made the card fit into the envelope MUCH better!!

In addition to the image and the shift image, I used the layers on this and the phrase and icon for the envelope. Also, I added Stardust Stickles to the window pane and the door, because what kind of Glitter Panda would I be without using GLITTER!! Finally, I added 2 stamps to the card in various places ("Hi There" and "Yeah for you!". This was a brand new set of stamps I JUST bought on sale, so it adds another item that is new for the card to make it perfect for the October Something New Paper Craft Weekend Challenge!
Please let me know what you think!

Here are more images:

The envelope

Inside the card

Got these Studio G Clear Stamps for $1.00 in clearance bin at A.C. Moore!

Fashion City Skyline

I have already shared the beginning of my son's room makeover project, but what kind of mom would I be if I didn't share my daughter's as well? This project would not have been possible without the help of my fab sister-in-law and brother who spent most of their vacation here working on it with me...and by with me, I mean doing most of the work and giving me the direction I needed to get it done!

The amazing part about this room makeover is the amount of work that was handmade versus store bought. Aside from the bedding, the lamp a large picture and a couple of frames, every other component had a handmade element!  In the photo above, the cityscape was ENTIRELY hand painted, the curtains were made by my sister-in-law, and the chinese lanterns were bought (but started out white and we sprayed them silver).

Below is a before and after from a different angle. Unfortunately, I didn't think about the before shot until after we moved the original furniture out of the room, but you can get the idea here.

Before

After!

It is important to note that this room started with a little inspiration. Click here to see the inspiration room we used to create this fun project!

There are a number of other noteworthy elements in the room, but I will save those for a later post!

Link Up Love Party with K Andrew

Today's post is not a new project. I have decided to try something new to explore more of the members of the Cricut crafting community! The Link Up Love Party with K Andrew seems to be a fantastic way to do just that! I sent my son to school today with his snack for lunch in this adorable bag and he came home so excited that everyone started singing the "Purple People Eater" song when they saw it. I even had a good friend tell me her son and another boy were talking about how cool my son's bag was at lunch today!! I thought this Halloween inspired project would be great for the Link Up, so I am sharing him again. The hand sticking out of his mouth just cracks me up!! If you'd like to know how I made him, just click back to my previous post and all of the info is waiting for you.

Now, it is your turn to join in the fun! Join the Link Up and meet some new crafters along the way. Maybe you will get an idea or two also! Here's how you participate:

• Link Up Party runs from Tuesday 10/18 to Tuesday 10/25. Winners announced 10/31 *Grab my blinkie and post on your blog's sidebar
• You must be a follower of the Getting Cricky blog
• Create a new blog post that is titled Link Up Love Party with K Andrew. In your post, you must mention that the link up love party is a way to get to know each other and find new blog inspiration, mention Getting Cricky with a link back to it
• Post your favorite project that you've done in your blog post THAT HAS TO DO WITH HALLOWEEN!!  That could be a card, layout, treat holder or decoration, anything halloween related.
• Copy and paste the link up code from Getting Cricky into your blog post so the Inlinkz will show up on your blog
• Place the Getting Cricky blinkie on your page
• Spread the word so everyone can join in!
• You must visit, follow, and comment on the 5 people before you AND the 5 people after you in the Inlinkz. It would be fantastic if you would visit as many as you can--maybe everyone? If you are one of the first 5 then you will need to blog the ones before you and a few more after--as long as it's a minimum of 10 near you in the link up tool/gadget
• If you do not do the above your link will be deleted, because it's just not fair to those who work so hard linking up and showing love to the ones on the list.

Crazy Fantabulous Purple People Eater

Hello everybody! Today's post will be a quick one because I am hard at work grading papers, however, I wanted to participate in the Fantabulous Cricut Monday Design Challenge #82 and the Crazy About Cricut Monster Mash Challenge, SO...I went literal this one (based on the Fantabulous description), but blinged him up a bit...here is my recipe for this cute little guy:

• Monster - cut at 6" from the Best of 2010 Cartridge, but originally on Mini Monsters (4th monster on the top row)
• For the medium and dark Purple paper I used Canvas Home Basics 3 lb scrap pack
• I flipped the monster over to the side without all of the scoring and cut off one horn
• Instead of using both eyes, I used one to match the song!
• I cut the eyes and fangs using the scraps I had left over from the apple goodie bag I made the other day. 
• For the hand in his mouth - Forever Young Cricut Cartridge - Gloves cut at 2" on Shadow feature
• I used the notch for the glove design to fold the hand under the monster's mouth layer - this made it look like he has the hand sticking out of his mouth! Love that part :)
• I thought it would be funny to write delicious on here - I used Graphically Speaking and cut it from the yellow paper in the scrap pack at 1"- Image28 using the Type feature
• Finally, I glittered him up using Stickles in Stardust for the word delicious and in lavender for his cute little wings

I hope you like my one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater! He will make an excellent lunch bag for my son tomorrow!!!

Other contests I have entered with this project include:
The One Stop Craft Challenge
Cupcake Inspirations

Harvest Preppy Cupcake Display

My best friend from college just had a fantastic birthday party for her 4 year old daughter D! Knowing that I had to contribute something fabulous, I decided to make toppers for a cupcake display. The party was held at a local farm and all of the children got to go on a hay ride to pick pumpkins. Knowing that pumpkins were involved (and are a fab design element for fall), I decided to incorporate them into the display. My friend is all about the preppy pink and green (think Lily Pulitzer) and wanted the pink incorporated into the color scheme for the party. So, with all of this in mind, I created coordinating cake toppers to be used for the display. The green paper on the pumpkin toppers coordinates with the green on the "D" toppers, tying the whole look together!

First I created the pumpkin toppers. The flower shaped, orange with white polka dot layer on the bottom was created using the Cindy Loo cartridge (one of my FAVORITES!). The button is in the middle of the third row (the fifth from the left OR right).  Then, I used the Classic Font cartridge for the simple circle. Finally, the stacked pumpkins were created using the layer function with the letter B button on the Speaking of Fall cartridge. Next, I created the "D" toppers using simple Recollections pink and green cardstock from the Essentials package. I cut the bottom layer using the same flower shape from the Cindy Loo cartridge and the "D" was cut from the Classic Font cartridge.

Finally, I affixed the topper to long thin lollipop sticks. I bought a package of 100 a while back, so I had a bunch left over!! I used simple scotch tape on the back for this step, but if you are worried about the look of the back, you can tape it and then use another flower or shape on the back and attach with a 2 way glue pen or another adhesive of choice.  The cupcakes were displayed on the fabulous cupcake stand I picked up with a friend at the local Sam's Club (Check the bakery department for this). It was not very expensive and we bought it together and switch it back and forth whenever we have a party!

The timing of this project could not be more perfect...I am going to enter this project into the current  Cooking With Cricut Challenge #55 - Cake, Cupcake or Teddy!!

My Son's Fantastic New Urban Inspired Room - A Work in Progress

The completed wall!!

My sister-in-law and I completed an amazing makeover on my daughter's room this summer (will feature her room in another post soon) and my son wanted in on the action. Since my sister-in-law lives all the way in Tennessee, I had to do this one on my own. My son loves hip-hop and even takes lessons, so he wanted a room inspired by a hip-hop theme. My sister-in-law suggested a faux brick wall to create an urban feel and I loved the idea! So, with the help of another teacher from my husband's school (who I can not thank enough for all of the help she gave me), I spent 2 days straight painting bricks. The bricks were created via a combo of stencil and free hand techniques. The stencil was created using paper that she cut the brick shape out of and then laminated.  There were 3 bricks on the stencil, 2 on bottom and one on top to help create the staggered effect (pic of the stencil is at the bottom of this post on the left).  Here is a photo of the wall before the process began:

Before

The wall was painted light gray first, and then the dark gray was used to create the bricks. We used sponge brushes that were the width of the brick height which was a very helpful tool. The beginning of the process went VERY slowly, but gradually, we built the wall up and were able to fill it entirely. I had considered distressing the bricks out at at the edges, but when I tried, I wasn't happy with it, so I finished filling in the entire wall instead! I included a couple of pics of the process below...I will be adding vinyl graffiti to the wall and will be adding a number of other touches that I will post as soon as I finish the project!

After about 6 hours of work

 

After a day and a half of work

My Pink Stamper Blog Hop Project!

My goodie bag!

I decided to use My Pink Stamper's Blog Hop as an excuse to give myself just the push I needed to get my own blog up and running! I am super new at this, so I hope you enjoy it! I got my Cricut just a month ago, so I am still in the basic stage of using it. After watching MANY videos, especially those posted by My Pink Stamper, I have begun to build a repository of tips and tricks that are starting to pay off. For my Blog Hop project, I combined the challenge of creating a goodie bag with an idea that I had brewing in the back of my mind. One of my favorite "treats" to give at a party is an iTunes gift card. I buy them in packages of 3 $10 gift cards and they make great prizes for baby or bridal showers!! At my sister-in-law's baby shower this month, I used the Cricut to create little wood purse goodie bags for the winners of the Baby BINGO game. Those were simple, as you can see below left:

For this challenge, however, I thought I would pay a small tribute to Steve Jobs with my goodie bag creation. I just got the Wrap it up cartridge and as soon as I saw the little apple on the cartridge, I knew I had to use it! I used the same bag as above, the Flower9 purse on the Forever Young cartridge. I took a 12x12 sheet of Recollections Precious Metals card stock in silver and cut the purse using the Fit to Page button. That cut the purse at 6 1/2". Before assembling the goodie bag, I used a white American Crafts galaxy marker to create the faux stitching. I used the Wrap it up cartridge to create the 3 layers of the apple and cut them all at 2 1/2". I added the stitching to the apple and then I assembled the apple using Pop Up Glue Dots to add some dimension. I attached the apple using one more Pop Up Glue Dot and then realized I hadn't added a stamp. I REALLY want to get some My Pink Stamper stamps, but I don't have any yet and wanted to participate, so I grabbed this little "sweet" stamp at A.C. Moore this morning when I tried to take my daughter there for a cupcake class (I didn't realize I had to sign up in advance so the class was canceled because nobody else signed up!). I used a silver pigment ink pad and stamped "sweet" in the middle of the apple. It was hard because it was already attached to the bag, but next time I will stamp it BEFORE I attach it! So the finished product is below and I hope you like it. You could add little apple flavored candies to this, but since I am allergic to apples, my gift card is the perfect option. I added one picture of the finished product and one with the little gift card sticking up so you can see the bitten apple logo on it. The card fits PERFECTLY in this little bag. Definitely a keeper! Thank you Robyn, My Pink Stamper, for being my "teacher" and (without you even knowing) giving me the push I needed to start blogging for real! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

The little gift card is sticking out when the bag is open