Gift Tags

     Hello Hump Day! Boy is this year just whizzing by! Today Erica gave us the choice to use rosettes or make 3 tags using the feature key. I made 3 tags using 4 different cartridges: Winter Frolic, Sweethearts and Enjoy The Seasons and Snapshot Everyday Imagine cartridges. If you follow me regularly then you know I like to go over the top sometimes however, there are times when I like to tone it down a bit. I also love to use up my scraps and tags are a perfect way to do this. So let's get started.

     A while back I made a cute card with this same monkey image. I loved it so much (and had some of the printed paper left, that I decided to make some tags.You can find this image on the Sweetheart carton page 43 using the tag feature.I believe I cut it @ 2.5". What I really wanted to show you was what you can do if you don't feel like cutting layers whether for a card or a tag and how just a few minor embellishments can make a world of difference.

     First I cut the top layer and taped some twine to the back for the vine the monkey is swinging from. I also added some Liquid pearls for the mouth and black enamel for the eyes. I wanted a warm brown for the bottom layer so this is what I did:

     I laid the shadow tag right beside my top layer with the monkey and made a small pencil mark for where the monkey is. Then I traced the small heart onto the bottom layer. I just smudged some distress ink in the area of the monkey and filled the heart with stickles and outlined it with a gel pen. Now all I had to do was adhere them together. I also used a white gel pen to add faux stitching around the edges. I REALLY love this gel pen that Erica sent me!

    You should really check out Erica's Store. She carries all of the supplies I used here and so much more with great prices too!

     My next tag is from Winter Frolic and Snapshot:Everyday an Imagine cartridge. I recently signed on to sell  a wonderful chocolate fondue at home parties (I'll share more about this in an upcoming post). I wanted to do something special for those who order from me so I thought I'd create a special Thank You tag to package their orders with.

     This tag is on page 46 and I used the tag and tabs. The red base is from my scraps but, since I am in the business of chocolate I thought I'd fill my tag with chocolates!!!!I cut these @ 2.2" which gives you a 3.2" x 2" tag. The companies' logo is in brown and red so these look great to attach to the bags. I needed to add some dimension so I used satin ribbon to make a bow. Incidentally, I love making bows with a fork. You heard that right, a fork!!! Just Google how to make a bow with a fork. There are several U tube videos out there.

     My last tag is made using Winter Frolic and Enjoy The Season. The tree tag is on pg. 48 of the Frolic cart and the background paper is is on the Imagine cart on pg. 41. I didn't do anything special to this tag because I don't want to take away from the gift it is on top of. You don't have to always "dress" it up. Here's why:

     It is for a Christmas ornament! I am doing these for a local store for them to market so I didn't want to take away from the gift but wanted to give it a professional look.

     That's it for today guys. Hope you enjoyed my projects now, get going and use up those scraps! I'd love it if you would tell me what you think. Be sure to head back over to http:.mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

Cranky Old Man

     Welcome to Theme Day Thursday! Today Erica's Team is focusing on Fall Foliage.I just love the fall. I love the warmth of the sun and the cool crisp air. Fall and Spring are my most favorite times of year. So naturally I had to sign up to do this theme. I really didn't want to do the usual wreath , so when I saw this poem posted on FB by a fellow DT member (Thanks Ray for posting this)I knew I had to do something with this. This was from an elderly man in Australia who jotted down his feelings concerning his life and I found it so powerful I just had to frame it.

     The title is "Cranky Old Man" and I thought using wise old oak leaves would be so appropriate for this. The cartridge I used was Celebrate With Flourish. It has some really nice die cuts on it. All of the cuts are from Fall2 and @ 1.5". 

     First I printed the poem on parchment paper in brown ink then trimmed it to 8"x10". I wanted to fill the white space around the saying so I decided to do some stamping. I used Inkadinkado V.2 and Autumn Leaves flourishes. The green flourishes were stamped with Perfect Medium and then Perfect Pearls patina was applied. I really wanted a subtle background. After that dried I used the Autumn leaves flourishes and Archival Brilliance ink in Coffee Bean for a more dramatic effect.

     I used all sorts of scraps in burgundy, orange, brown and green to cut my dies. Before removing them from the mat, I inked all the pieces. I even stamped some gold and silver inks on the leaves to add a touch of brilliance.The caps on the acorns are from a scrap piece of distress paper that I sanded for a more natural look.

     After all the cuts were glued in place, I used some (OK a lot) of Liquid Pearls to add some dimension to the leaves and background. The colors I used were: hot cocoa, avocado,platinum pearl, copper pearl and onyx pearl. You can find all these products in Ericas Store.

     I placed this is a wooden frame and photographed without the glass to cut down on the glare. I will look at this often as a reminder to be thankful for all the roads I have already crossed and the wonderful journey each day brings.

     Please head back over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what my Design Team Sisters have to share with you. Hope you have a wonderful week end planned.

Elmo And Friends

     Whoot whoot!!! It's the last Friday of the Summer and time for some fun @ My Cricut Craft Room (we always have fun,lol). I was so excited when Erica asked the Design Team to create a lay out using a character. While on our huge family vacation we visited Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA where they have a Sesame Street section. Our youngest grand child just loves Elmo so he was super excited to meet him in person. Here is the lay out I made to capture the memory using Elmo's Party.

     Where to begin? I usually add more than one picture on my LO but today I decided to use just the one that we bought at the park. Charlie was not happy to have to look at the camera rather than his friend Elmo, lol. Most of the cousins were there (we are missing two). I thought the title says it all "Elmo And Friends". I cut all the letters at 1" for the font and the font shadow.

     After cutting the letters I used some Stickles on the letters for some pizzazz. It seems I am using the CCR for a lot of my projects and this one is no exception.I wanted to use a banner and include the kids names. This is so easy to do when you have the Imagine. I used the banners CCR exclusive digital cut and the same Elmo Font for their names. You use 2 separate mat layers. On the first mat I place my banners @ 1". On the second mat I made my names and then placed them over the banners. Now when you go to use the Imagine, I printed the mat layer with the names and then went back and cut only the banners.Voila, done. I didn't ink the banners because I wanted the pic and all the other embellishments to be more prominent.

     I had cut a lot of flower shapes a long time ago so whenever I needed some they would be ready to ink and use on any project that needed them. I just used some Cherry glimmer mist and added a brad for the centers. I wanted my flowers to be "grounded" so I drew in some stems and leaves. I really wanted a playful look. Speaking of playful, how about Elmo? This image is on page 31 and I cut it @ 3". I used some enamel accents in black to bring out his eyes more.

     Would you believe the background paper is My Mind's eye Sweet Dream Holiday Avenue. Yup, it's a Christmas stack! Although I have the Imagine and many pattern carts, I still want to use up some of the paper packs I have and this was perfect. The red roping and pennant banner were from my stash of K&Company banner packs.

     If you are looking for some crafting bargains then you should check out Erica's Store. She is having a fabulous moving sale that you won't want to miss. You can find it HERE.

     Hope you have something wonderful planned for this week end but be safe. Now please head back over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what my Design Team Sisters have to show you.

Cricut VS Silhouette

     This is an exciting giveaway Erica has for you this week. Why not head over to her blog and take a look at all the wonderful prizes she is giving away. Can we just say Thank you Erica. She is always having great prizes over there. You can find out all about the prizes Here
      Today I am going to do something I don't usually do but here goes anyways. It has come to my attention that a group on facebook has posted a survey of sorts to ask you your opinion on the Cricut vs Silhouette die cut machines. The problem is that the question was posed to Silhouette uses and not Cricut uses. In fact, many of those commenting don't even own a Cricut machine!
     I will tell you up front that I have been hunting around for a sale on the Cameo Silhouette and really haven't found any. Then I was researching this machine and found it is a completely different type of machine in the mechanics of how the machine works.
     The one thing I did like about it is that you can print an image from your computer by way of your printer and in their software place registration marks and then cut with your Cameo.Sounds good right?
     Well when I really rationalized it, I realized several things:
1.I need a computer plus access to my printer
2.I need to research my images on line if I don't find what I want in their software
3. I need to have my computer plugged into the Cameo
4. I have to make sure I have enough supplies (extra blades, mats etc) because there are no stores near me that carry these supplies let alone the machine.
5. My craft room is in one end of the house while the computer is in another.
6. I don't always have use of the computer in the evening when my husband is doing his business on our shared computer.
     Why did I spend so much time looking for that pot of gold when I have it right here already, lol. I have the following Cricuts: the baby bug, Expression, the E2,Cricut Cake,gypsy and the Imagine. I don't even want to tell you how many carts I have! The ones I use constantly are my Gypsy and I just love my Imagine. If I think I am losing my Mojo all I have to do is go to a booklet and the creativity begins to flow. I can design where ever I am and then just go home, plug in my gypsy and Voila my project is done. If I need extra PC supplies, they are easily available to me @ Michaels, Jo Ann's and ACMoore. I also can find great prices on line @ stores like Erica's from My Cricut Craft Room or Cricut.com 
     My feeling is that competition is always good however it is better to promote the qualities of your product without bashing another brand particularly if they are completely different machines. For me, I am not the most technically expert person so the simplicity and ease of use makes me a devoted Cricut fan .Plus I have my craft room to work in without disrupting the house to use the computer when I want to craft.
     Thanks for listening to my feelings on the subject. Please feel free to add your own 2 cents on the matter. I'd love to hear what your feelings are.

Mani-Pedi Mini Album

     Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's Fun Friday! Yup today the Design Team was asked to use a Cricut Lite cart for their scrapbook LO and I used Slumber Party to make this cute album of 2 of my grand daughters having a spa day while on vacation. This post is picture heavy and loaded with details but I promise you are going to love it, lol!!!! So let's start with the cover:

     I started with a chipboard kit I got in the clearance bin @ Michael's for a buck! I love the colors brown and pink together so I started with some scraps of paper from K&Company: Best of Brenda Walton and covered front back and inside pages.The title Manicure and Pedicure was cut from the Slumber Party cart @ 4''. I used all the layers and just added some faux stitching around the edge. I also had some word beads that I added to the cover and, of course, some bling.

     I do like to mat my pics. I think it helps them pop!

     I cut all my dies for these girlie pages @ 2". Again I used some faux stitching to make my die cut stand out. I also decided to add a small flower to balance it off.

        This is my favorite LO. I used the make up brush and mirror dies for this page. The small heart on the mirror is from the heart opening on the brush. It makes it like a  vanity matched set. I decided that rather than make a journal tag I would just go for it and use a gel pen that Erica sent me. I love using it and find I use it a LOT!

     What is a Lay out without some embossing? I think it ties the two pages together quite nicely. I used the nail polish die for this page and added some blue stickles since the polish they chose was blue sparkles! I have been going through my stash of supplies and found this blue and pink border and thought it would finish these pages off.

     You guessed it, more doodling. This is Mia and her big cousin Alexis. They were so excited to have a spa day together!

     Check out the water Mia was soaking her feet in. They both use chocolate AND strawberry fizz balls. Oh BTW, this spa is Scoops and is @ the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. It smelled so good in there. The only problem was that they had their spa day the first day we were there. It was not a good idea. Since there is a water park inside the Lodge, the chlorine destroyed all their polish the same day they had it done. Thankfully they went home with their own bottles of polish!

     That's it for my project for today. Before you go please check out Erica's moving sale at her store. Boy does she have some great prices. You can shop Here. Now it's time to see what the rest of the team has to share with you @My Cricut Craft Room. Have a wonderful week end as the summer begins to wind down and as always, I love to read your comments.