Just Chillin' - Create a Critter Just Because

Just before bed this evening, my daughter reminded me that she needed an outfit for 80s day tomorrow.  Being the last minute diva that I am, I feel I rose to the challenge. I found a neon shirt that is just too small on her and quickly googled "make an 80s shirt."  Luckily, 2 videos popped up and I was able to follow the directions to create a very Flashdance looking creation. I grabbed an old pair of baseball socks from my son's drawer (he doesn't play anymore - basketball is his game now!).  I cut the toes off the socks and had the perfect pair of legwarmers. Add to that a pair of bright turquoise leggings and a white tank underneath and "she's a maniac, maniac on the floor!"

sorry for the blur, no pics of the kids online :)

The reason I didn't start on her outfit sooner was because I was at school somewhat late this afternoon. I am the yearbook adviser and we have deadlines to meet, so that means some late days at this time of year. Luckily, I love being a teacher.  Every day, there is a new challenge and every day is different. You never know what will happen.  One day, the kids are on the edge of their seats, ready to learn something new, and the next, they are pushing just a little harder to see what they can get away with.  A student said something in school today that I found so funny I actually laughed until I was crying!  A good attitude and a lot of heart makes every day an adventure.

Since midterms are coming up, it is very busy at school. It is hard for me to do my crafting any time other than the weekend. SO, when I get an hour to myself, I like to try to fit in a cute little card that I can enter into a challenge or two.  This card was inspired by the Cooking With Cricut Wednesday challenge this week. The little penguin is using his adorable scarf to keep himself warm. In my rush to get the card done, I went CRAZY with the glitter. In hindsight, I would have backed off the glitter on the igloo and the penguin and just used it to give the snow a glittery effect. I loved the phrase and after cutting it, I realized the blue color was VERY close to the color of the sky, so I glittered that up too, thinking it would stand out more. When I saw it was still too close, I cut my own little cloud and placed it behind the words. This served to give the card a little more dimension AND to make the words POP! I hope you enjoy this little guy!

Recipe

Penguin and Igloo (shift)- Create a Critter Cartridge p. 39

All components cut at 2"

The Penguin, Igloo, Layer 1, Layer 2, Igloo Shadow and Phrase (on regular and shift) were cut using Recollections card stock. I added black Studio G glitter (keep buying this from the $1 bin at my local craft store!) to the black part of the penguin and silvery blue glitter to the igloo. I used Zig to make zig zag glue strokes on the igloo and then added the glitter. Then I scraped it off to give the igloo a more icy look.

Card - Just Because Cards - Bird p.39

The Card base was cut on Real Dial Size at 6" using Martha Stewart's Woodland Critters pad. For the snow layer, I cut at 6" using the shift function with Real Dial Size turned off. Finally, I added iridescent Studio G glitter to make the snow shine and then attached it to the card using monoadhesive.  After the card was assembled, I added the Penguin using pop dots to give him more dimension. I also used pop dots for the Just Chillin' sentiment. Finally, I cut a cloud from white paper, added monoadhesive and slid it under the Just Chillin' sentiment.

I am entering this card into the following challenges/link parties:

Cooking with Cricut - Winter Warmies Challenge
Anything Goes Challenger Blog - Challenge 58 Anything goes at Anything Goes 
Use it Tuesday - Challenge #23 All About Winter
Jaihart - Sundays are Lovely Link Party

Family Snow Globe Shaker

 
Today was such a fantastic day. I am on a three day weekend from school, so I have more time to craft! The kids both have school projects that are due soon and we spent the day working on them. After checking out the Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue blog hop over at Cooking with Cricut, I decided to use the idea as inspiration for my daughter's family snow globe project! It turned out to be a complete success!! I wish the picture was as cute as the final project in person, but I think you can get the idea. Please excuse the little black squares, I REALLY wanted to share the project, but I don't like to post pics of my kids on the internet.

I also removed our family name (I had my daughter write it in crayon to feature her fantastic Kindergarten writing skills!) It is in the middle of the frame on the bottom on the finished globe. I know the recipe is a little complicated, but the final project is so much fun that I hope you'll think it's worth it!

(Complicated) Recipe

Snowglobe:

Base - Cricut Doodlecharms cartridge - 10" - on blackout - blue paper

Top of globe - shift cut on blackout - 10" - white paper

Clear snow globe effect - shift cut on blackout - 10" - acetate patterned paper from K & Company Cara Marie pad

Gold border (used to hide the dimensionals creating the barrier for snow/glitter - same as top of snowglobe - shift cut on blackout - 10" - then cut again at 8 1/2" using center point feature OR use the Gypsy to place one inside the other and cut

Snow on bottom - cotton balls

Sky background - My daughter's artwork!

Snow/shimmer - Studio G iridescent glitter

Used Elmer's craft bond (needed liquid glue) to attach acetate to gold border

Used Square dimensionals to create a border around the entire white globe top to make sure the glitter wouldn't escape - do NOT remove paper from dimensionals until AFTER glitter is poured in

People:

Bodies - Cricut Everyday Paper Dolls Cartridge basic doll image - 2 1/2 for kids & 2 3/4 for adults

Clothing - Girls  - WintrG & WintrB on pg. 36 & 37

Frame for our family name on the front:

Cricut Sentimentals cartridge - Frame2 - white paper - 4 1/2"

Gold overlay - Frame2 - shift cut - gold shimmer paper (Recollections)

I am entering this project into the following challenges:
Little Scrap Pieces - Anything Goes Challenge 
The Cuttlebug Spot - Winter Time Challenge - texture = cotton balls used for snow

Let it Snow!

Happy New Year! I am so excited for 2012. The new year always brings with it an opportunity to start anew. I love the idea of a clean slate and am hoping for a fantastic year!

My card for today is a celebration of winter. It has been a snow-free winter for us so far, but that didn't stop me from creating this card for some good snow karma. Everybody needs a snow day once in a while and this card says...bring it on! I chose this dot embossed card because it reminds me of snow, and I added a little extra bling with the jewels to make it "Glitter Panda" worthy too!!

Recipe

Cricut Holiday Cakes Cartridge - Plain phrase feature - Winter5 - Shift (p. 77) - Let it snow - cut at 2" - Dark blue color from The Paper Co. - Snow Day pack

Cricut Holiday Cakes Cartridge - Mittens - Winter2-S & Winter2 (pg. 47) - cut at 3" - Dark blue color from The Paper Co. - Snow Day pack

Jewels - Assortment pack

Ribbon - leftover scraps- added under each mitten, just before gluing, for 3D effect

Card and envelope - Die Cuts With a View Embossed Cards Boxed Set - Dots design

Die cuts added using Zip 2 way pen

I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Getting Cricky "It's A Celebration" - celebrating snow!
Shopping our stash Challenge 34 - All that Glitters, Sparkles or Shines Challenge
Little Scrap Pieces - Copy Cat Challenge - Winter 
Simon Says Stamp - Spots &/or Stripes Challenge

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!