Monday, April 16, 2012

Cheery Projects

It has seemed like spring through most of the winter here in Kentucky with crazy high temps and mild weather--- with a few tornadoes thrown in!  But now we are deep into spring.  The lilacs and tulips have just gone and the irises are starting to bloom.  Dogwood trees have been gorgeous this year!  And... we have been mowing the grass for a month and a half now!  My battle with the dandelions has been a tough one, but I am clearly the victor in the front yard (thank goodness for the privacy fence in the backyard because that's a different story!)

The flowers have cheered me out of my gloominess this year and I started crafting again.  Yay!  Today, I wanted to share a couple of cheery projects I made, hoping to bring smiles to someone else.

I tried out the Giant Flowers cartridge for package decorations.  Wow!  Love this cartridge.  My humble request to Provocraft:  Please come out with Giant Flowers II:  Holiday Blooms!  I would have loved Easter lilies as I decorated the Parish Hall for the Easter Vigil and I know giant poinsettas will be a must-have this winter!



I used hot glue to create mine.  Both of these were cut at 4" on the Expression using colored paper.  I hot-glued them directly to the boxes to attach them to the presents and used strips of card stock instead of ribbon for color match.

I had fun with a bit of brown inking and Sun Sister Glimmer Mist too.




Next is a card I made for a crafter in the Cricut Circle who has managed to break her ankle in three places.  Wow!  That is thorough!  


I wanted something fun and colorful for this card.  I used the flowers to bring in extra color and interest.  I worried that the design was too juvenile but I learned that she will be recovering from this injury for quite some time and hoped that the silliness of the card would make her smile.



The crocodile and palm trees are from Crocs Rule, cut on the Expression at 5-1/2".  I double-cut the palm leaves so that I could pop some up after inking them.  The tree trunks were spritzed with Glimmer Mist.   I added a little yellow dress, a shoulder, a leg cast, and pointy teeth that I hand-cut.  I popped the bottom of the hammock with 1/4" pop dots, but adhered the top flat in order to make it looked filled with something.  The bird with bouquet is from 3 Birds on Parade, cut at 1-1/2" and is popped up 3/8" (the wing is popped up and additional 1/8").  The flowers are from Mother's Day Bouquet, various shapes cut at 1/2" and combined.  The stars in the sky were cut with a Martha Stewart edge punch from metallic paper (this was the negative space from the cut).  The grass was cut from a Fiskars edge punch.  I used Liquid Applique for the crocodile's eyes and bouquet centers.

I like to decorate my envelopes because I use manufactured ones and I want to make them relate to my cards.  (Plus, I just think it is more fun for the recipient!)  I used the single palm tree image from Crocs Rule, cut at 4-1/4", cutting extra palm leaves in a lighter color for interest.  The "Get Well Soon" sign was inked and hand cut and the flowers were ones left over from the card.  Text in the card and on the envelope was printed using Microsoft's Liorah BT font.


To see all of my previous projects, including my other flower projects, click here to visit My Project Gallery.  My next post will be April 23 where I will share my just-completed "Welcome to Provo Craft Card" contest card featuring the new Paper Dolls Teen Scene.    Thank you for checking out my post today!  I hope you are finding ways to enjoy spring wherever you live!




13 comments:

Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com said...

These are gorgeous Nadia. I made the poppy this weekend but can't show it till the end of the week. They are fun and easy to make. Love the little gator on the card too.

Sis Patterson said...

Love your giant flowers - and fully second the Holiday bloom. And love the croc in the hammock - how much fun is that! And sure to bring a smile to the recipient! Nice to see your cheerful paper mojo is back!!!

Gina piazza said...

Oh Nadia...
The flowers are beautiful and leave it to you to let us all know the next thing we "need'. Holiday Blooms is such an awesome idea!
And the recipient of this card will flip (OK not really, since she can't leave the couch or wheelchair)
But she is a huge fan of all things tropical, so the palm trees are perfect!!!
I am so happy that you are back in our crafting world!

MelodyR aka Ry&MysMom said...

Wow, I've been holding out on getting the giant flowers cart - you make me want it! Fabulous job on making the flowers and I love that card too.

Linda Kaiser said...

The flowers are beautiful and the card is too cute.
I might have to have this cartridge too!

Linda

Sandy from Ukiah said...

Oh how fun.. i need this cartridge... So beautiful.
AND i am sure she is going to love this card.. ANOTHER cartridge i don't have... :-(

Melissa said...

I will buy giant flowers II... sounds fun! These are very pretty-

Maria said...

So happy to see your post today. Your flowers are gorgeous!
I think the card will definitely cheer up the recipient with it's bright, cheerful colors. The dimension on the palm trees is wonderful!

Lisa said...

Those flowers are gorgeous!! What awesome package decorations!! That cart is on my wish list!! And the card is so beautiful and thoughtful :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Hrvatica said...

Oh, those flowers are just lovely and the card is stinking cute!

Diane Hodrick said...

Love the giant flowers on your gift. I was not "needing" this cart, but thinking of gifts and gift bags and gift baskets, maybe I need to re-think that. Love the idea of holiday blooms too...I'd buy it just for the Easter lillies.

Your card is fun and bright. Not juvenile, but playful. I think it's adorable. The matching envelope really adds the perfect finishing touch.

The dandelions in my yard laughed at the lawn mower today. They find a way to shrink into the ground and pop up when I'm done. I wish I were so resilient.

Glad you are back to paper crafting. Have missed your amazing projects.

kimberlyann207 said...

Oh! Wow! Your flowers are just gorgeous! I've been wanting to try that cart but the directions seem confusing ... I'm definitely going to check out that link you posted! Thank you! I love your card too ... It's adorable! I noticed your Harajuka doll folder and wouldn't that be an awesome cart from PC? Maybe you could request that as soon as they get busy making us the holiday flowers cart! I love the idea of lilies and poinsettias!

Hugs,
Kimberly :)

Ohhh Snap said...

Such awesome projects!!! I just got Crocs Rule and haven't used it yet, but I just love all the cuts!

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