It's May!

Erica's Craft Room 100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop Day ONE

Welcome to Erica's Craft Room

100 Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

You should have started at http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/  if not please start at the beginning

     Wow, it's May already. Can you believe it? May means flowers, Mothers' day and, of course, since it is the first week of May that means it's time for Erica's Craft Room Blog Hop! Just wait 'til I show you what I made for this Hop! If you came from  Sarah's  then you are in the right place. If not you will want to start @ the beginning with the lovely Erica. 

     This Hop was so much fun to create for. I used the following cartridges for my projects: Luau, Art Nouveau and Damask Decor. First I'll show you what I used the Luau cart for.

     A few weeks ago I showed you my "Hang Ten" layout using this same cart. I made several of these Hibiscus flowers to play around with. These leftovers were the right size for a card. I cut these at 2.0" and 1.75". I sprayed these with Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist. I wanted the centers to really sparkle so I pulled out my Xyron sticker maker and ran the shadow layer through it with the right side facing down on my machine. This made a perfect base for my glitter.

     I put the 2 layers together (flower and Blackout) and I then sprinkled some Martha Stewart glitter on the sticky side and pressed it down with my finger to make sure all the glitter was adhered. This is a super easy way to apply your glitter. I added some Liquid Pearls in Gold Pearl to the stamen of the flower and a few dots around the center. I cut the leaves @ .75" and inked with Rangers Peeled Paint. All that was left was to add some pop dots to the flowers for some dimension. BTW the card base was from a pack of ready made cards by DCWV. If you are looking for any of the products I used here you can find them in Erica's Store. This is a great time to stock up since she is having a great sale for the whole month of May. You can get 33% off everything except for Provocraft items. Happy Mothers' Day to all of us!!

     I wanted to make this card interactive so I added a hidden tag. I cut the tag at 2.5". I can't remember which cart I used but you could use any cart with a tag feature. The Greeting is a rub on and, with a little ribbon and a brad, you are done. I even added a rhinestone to one of the flowers on the background paper.

     This next card is one of my favorites. Erica has Swaps over on her blog and this die cut was one of the Swaps I participated in. We had to make a die that was 4" and use the colors: blue, purple and green. I cut the tulips from the Art Nouveau cartridge on page 30. + shift @ 4". I also used Layer 1 for the Tulip heads.

     The center petal was cut out of glitter paper however I used some Stickles on the outer petals. The leaves were misted with white Glimmer Mist and, once dry, I embossed them with my Cuttlebug and a folder from the Oriental Bundle. I was so fortunate to find this wonderful background paper in DCWV Tres Chic. It was perfect for the braid I used on the outer edge of this card. If you would like to take part in one of Erica's challenges,  you can find them here Swaps.  She also has challenges with sketches that are provided on a regular basis. I can't wait to see what die cuts I get in return from this swap but I thought you might like to see what I created with mine.

     My last project is this beautiful tag from Damask Decor. I used the image on page 51 and cut it @ 4". The top layer is from the Luxury Stack by DCWV. This has a wonderful pearlized print and went so beautiful with  this particular cut. I used a pearl ivory cardstock for the blackout piece and added a little silver ink to the edge. I had this silver leaf and baubles hanging around on my craft table so, with a little tulle, this became a great way to finish off this tag. I have already stamped the "to" and "from" on the back so I just have to find the perfect gift to attach this too, lol.
     Well I hope you have enjoyed my projects and that you feel inspired to try some of them. Now it's time to head over to the amazing  Heather E and she what surprises she has in store for you.
     In order to have a chance to win some prizes, you must comment on on the blogs. Should you get lost along the way, here is the line up:

Line up

Saturday

Host- http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/

Liz - http://tryin2craft.blogspot.com/

Jenny R - http://myimagitivity.blogspot.com/

Kathy- http://3spoileddogs.blogspot.com/

Dana- http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Doris - http://mybugandmecreate.blogspot.com/

Janet - http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/

Patti- http://sweetpsscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Erica- http://ericasprojects.blogspot.com/

Miranda - http://www.nanasscrapspot.com/

Tonya - http://ittybittyladybugs.blogspot.com/ -

Sarah W. - http://www.craftingwithsarah.blogspot.com/<---- You came from here

Mary - http://mary-fortheloveofart.blogspot.com/ < You are here

Heather E. - http://pinkpunkcosmo.blogspot.com/   <----Next stop

Tracy - http://scrappininthewoods.blogspot.com/

Marji - http://fstampaholic.blogspot.com/

Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com/

Fathers' Day Cards

       Happy Tuesday and welcome to Erica's Card Creating Tuesday! Today the Design Team is happy to show you some Fathers day cards so you have no excuse not to get a jump start on making some of these for dear old dad. I am going to show you 2 different cards that I have created, so here we go......

     My first card actually was designed around this card stock with the rich brown grasses from the DCWV "Safari Chic" stack. I just love the papers in this pad and this one just begged to be used for a Fathers' Day card. I cut this great frame from Wild Card on page 66 @ 6.5". Don't you just love these cattails?
     I cut the frame from core'dinations Distress collection and inked the edges with walnut stain and tea dye inks from Ranger.I love to add texture to my dies so this time I used brown fun flock on the cattails. This is a great product and adds dimension especially a realistic look to this cut. I decided to add some Tarnished Brass crackle paint to the frame edges to add a little definition from the background paper.
     By the way, if you would like to purchase some of the products like the ones I have used here, you should check out Ericas' Store. She has all the latest products AND, this month she is giving a 33% discount in her store for everything but Provocraft. All you have to do is add the code 33 at checkout. How sweet of her is this!!! Just another reason why you should shop early and get those cards made, lol.

     I added some gold Atou spica markers to the stem of the cattails. (You didn't think I could make a card without a little bling did you?). The greeting is a rub on.

     I also added a rub on sentiment to the inside of the card. I couldn't bear to throw out this scrap of card stock with the touch of grass peeking out so I added that to the inside as well.

     I had bought a pack of Kraft pre made cards and envelopes so these came in so handy for both Fathers' Day cards. I found this tie and collar cut from of all places, Designer Calendar! You can find this on page 44 Events>shift and cut it @ 2.5". This cut is great but now I needed a shirt! I really loved this one that I found on Paper Doll Dress Up on page 32. You will find it on the top row 3rd from the left>shift. In order to get the right size, I made a test cut using computer paper first. I had to cut the shirt @ 8" in order for it to fit the shirt.

     I wanted the tie to stand out a little from the collar so I inked it with Antique Linen ink. The shirt was from another card stock in the Safari Chic pack. I had gotten a surprise from Erica in one of my orders (she loves to do that to all of us, lol). She had sent me some adhesive foam strips by Darice and they came in very useful to pop my tie and collar up.
     I used some Imaginisce silver brad tops for the buttons and a brad for the top "button". The square tags on the sentiment was cut from the Imagine More cart in 1.75" and also 2". I just popped them in my Xyron 2.5 create a sticker and now the tags were done. Once again I used a rub-on for the sentiment and the faux stitching. The cream card stock mat was embossed with a herringbone pattern and my cuttlebug. Does that brown strip look familiar? It should, it is the last piece from the cattail background paper from the other card.
     I hope you all have a wonderful week. Now that your Mothers' day cards are done start those Fathers' Day cards NOW. Be sure to pop back over to Ericas Room and see what the rest of the designers have to share with you today.They are so talented  and their projects are always fabulous!