Mid-March Challenge Projects!

Happy Monday!  I have been crafting this weekend and wanted to share some projects!  AllisonF and Caroline over on the Circle have been hostessing a wonderful weekend of challenges!  Saturday was a tutorial challenge.  We were provided with directions for a great notecard and holder set.  This is my entry.  The little girl in the corner is from Car Decals (page 33), cut at 1-1/4".

Caroline's tutorial put me in the mood to learn new techniques!  I learned to make this peony over the weekend by watching a fantastic video tutorial by Julie Walters.  Check it out here! 

In the tutorial, she uses a Sizzix die for her 8-petal flower form.  I could not find a similar 8-petal flower on my Cricut cartridges, and since she mentioned that it would work with a 6-petal one as well, I found one on Accent Essentials (page 57, shift key).  I made a few changes from hers, using more layers and omitting the use of a stylus, for the practical reason that could not find mine anywhere!  That turned out to be a happy accent and using my fingers to curve the petals worked just fine!


Julie uses a heat gun to help dry the over-sprayed layers.  I loved that idea!  I use paper towels in my spray box to help soak up excess paint.

Using the 6-petal flower instead of an 8-petal one meant that the bud was a little different from her tutorial.  I glued and positioned the petals to close the top, instead of folding at the end as she does.

I added a few more layers and no stylus.  I simply used my fingers to curl more tightly the layers that would be around the bud.

Before adding glitter...

After glitter...

 For the 'wet' challenge (use sprays, inks, etc. on your project)  I used the peony to create a little gift holder.


This is from Wrap It Up (page 45), cut at 11" with only one layer.  I stamped the grass on (to go along with the challenge theme) and used a white pen for faux bois details on the fence.

This card was created for the sketch challenge on Thursday.   I wanted to do a card for my late grandmother's sister, who just turned 100!  She was always an advid quilter, so I was excited to find the print with scissors and thread!  I used Birthday Bash for the cake (cut at 2") and sentiment (cut at 3-3/4").  I hand-cut the pennants for the banner.  The scallop-edge circle is from Mini Monograms, cut at 2-1/2".  I inked the edged a bit.

The hardest challenge for me is always a color challenge.  I guess I have a problem being limited when I love color so much!  This card was an easy out because I used a picture of my daughter and tried to just have a little fun!  The text is from Groovy Times, cut at 1-1/4".  I used my trimmer, circle punch, and corner chomper for all other elements.

Thank you for checking out my blog and looking at my projects!  I hope you found a little creative time too!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

My daughter's class is having a Saint Patrick's Day party so I made some treats.  I  have been wanting to try lollipop flowers from AllisonF's Goody Bag Diva blog  since the time she posted her daughter's party favors during Princess Week.  You just have to see 'em!  Allison's flowers are gorgeous with lots of layers, but I thought a little shamrock instead of the flower layers would be fun for this project.  I bought a couple of bags of Charms Blow Pops (mostly for the word 'charms').  I used the shamrock on Designer's Calendar (at 3" autofill will cut twelve on 12x12 paper or six on 8-1/2x11 paper).  The small hole punch on the CropADile Big Bite was the perfect size to allow the sticks to be pulled through the shamrock.

I wanted a cute way for Piper to take them to school for the party.  I created a little grassy box using my new, fabulous Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors (how does that woman know what I want when I don't even know?), a  3"x12" styrofoam block, and the Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge.

For the grass, I cut three 4"x12" strips and fringed on one side.  The picket fence was cut at 3".  I used sewing pins to hold everything on the block temporarily.  Mini metal brads and glue became the permanent solution!

The shamrock pops where crowded in together.

I also was given sugar cookie duty for the party.  I have a favorite recipe that I use for all kid holidays.  This is a basic iced sugar cookie that is pressed into colored sugars that have been placed in a pattern.

SUGAR COOKIES for ST. PATRICK'S DAY (click here for printable version)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick Butter Flavor Crisco

2 tablespoons water

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cans Whipped Butter Cream icing (yes, this is cheating but just be sure to get one that is both whipped and buttercream for best flavor!)

Wilton leaf green gel food coloring (in little pots)

assorted sprinkles and colored sugars

Combine flour, soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, Crisco, and water until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs.  Add vanilla.  Gradually add flour mixture, forming a soft dough.  Add about 1/2 teaspoon food coloring, adjusting to get the green you desire.  Mix until the coloring is evenly distributed throughout.

Shape dough, wrap with plastic, and chill for two hours.

Preheat oven to 375°.  Spray baking sheets with Pam for Baking.

Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8"  (I like mine more like 1/4" but the cookies will spread and their form may distort which will only matter for cookies other than circles, but they will be softer).  Cut out shapes (I used my grandma's 2-1/2" biscuit cutter for a round cookie) and place on baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Let stand a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Cool completely.

Mix about 1/4 teaspoon of food coloring into each can of icing.  Adjust to get the color you like.  Mix completely!  Ice cooled cookies.  Sprinkle colored sugars and sprinkles onto a plate.  I like to make a striped pattern. 

Press iced side of cookie into sugars.  Repeat with all cookies.  My daughter loves these!  This recipe (minus the food coloring) works great at Easter too, using an oval cookie cutter and pastel sugars.

One last thing:  I wanted to share this sweet little cartoon about Saint Patrick that my husband found.  It is an Oscar-nominated short and it is adorable!  Click here to go watch it!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time...



St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.  ~Adrienne Cook

This little card for my daughter was created using the guidelines from the Weekly Circle Challenge, to create a project with a monochromatic color scheme...and a touch of gold.  Aside from the pink of my little March girl's skin, the rest of the project is every shade of green I had in my scrap drawer.  Even the bottom layer for her hair and eyes is cut from a dark midnight green instead of the black I would usually choose. 

Using my Cricut, I started with a character from Rock Princess, cut at 5".  I gathered a bit of lime green tulle and attached it under her skirt.

I hand-stitched the layers together to keep her skirt flat and added a bit of ribbon to begin adding layers for her clothing.

Cutting her arms apart and replacing them allows for a change in her gesture. 

A few extra ribbon details, brads, and hand-details complete the figure.  The shamrock in her hands is from A Child's Year, cut at 3/4". 

I found a sweet sentiment and printed it directly onto my cardstock.  Trimming and using the wonderful Martha Stewart tatting edge punch gave me a base for the figure.  Using green ribbons from my stash and more shamrocks cut at 1" (for the bow detail) and 1/2" for all others (covering a couple in gold glitter glue), I embellished this layer after the popped-up figure was placed. 

The gold glitter glue works well with the mint green background.

This layer was applied to bright green cardstock base with ATG tape.

I think my little Irish girl, Piper, will like it.

This weekend started the St. Patty's Day celebrations.  In our town, we have a HUGE parade referred to as Hooley in the Highlands.  Given my husband's love of all things "St. Patrick," we were there!  

Do you think Piper likes beads and candy or what!?!

Obviously, you don't have to be fit to be in a head-to-toe lycra suit on this float!

We have a great Irish restaurant right in the heart of it all, but most locals (well, the ones who haven't started drinking before the parade is over) head away ---past the closed-off streets and hightail-it to a nearby neighborhood with its own great Irish Restaurant, The Irish Rover.  Here it is Lent, a time of self-denial and I found myself with a huge serving of Smoked Salmon and Potato Gratin after the parade.  Well... it was fabulous, as always.  Our local newspaper has published the recipe and you can find it here! 

What a fun weekend!  I am hoping that you are enjoying this time as much as my family is!

Child's necklace and gift box

It is starting to feel like spring here and we are still deep in the throws of birthday season within my daughter's circle of friends.  Her BFF asked for a little necklace.  This will be a girly addition to the rest of her birthday gift. 

I set off to eBay to find my favorite clay bead maker, BY (Mei of B&Y Crafts). 

I mention her not only because she makes adorable beads, but she also will add eye pins to the tops of her beads instead of making holes through the beads (which tend to be a problem if not placed properly with respect to the weight of the bead). 

I created a little necklace using beads from my stash and a new clay bead as the focal point.  You can click here to check the tutorial I did on a previous post for the how-tos of making this type of necklace!

For the packaging, I used my Cricut!  The base is a plain purse cut from Forever Young at 5" (the fit-to-page size for12x12 paper).  The front is a tag from Wrap It Up, cut at 3-3/4".  The letters are from Cherry Limeade, cut at 1" with shadow.

I used a 5" Xyron to apply adhesive to the top layer of the tag and used those great glitters from Martha Stewart to create a striped effect with the colors. 

After adhering the tag layers together, I attached to the purse and applied velcro for a closure.  The necklace is wrapped in tulle and tucked in!  I added a few adhesive pearls to the tag to complete the project.

Thank you for looking at my project and for visiting my blog today! 

Fat Tuesday!! Have your cake and eat it too!

It's the last fling before Lent starts tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.  I cannot help but start thinking about changes and meditations for Lent... of course, I am having a little cake while mulling it over.

So... for now it is the last fling!  King cake, baking for the dessert contest tonight at church... not dieting... so obvious!  Well, there will be time for that!

My mild little life where cake is sin just begs for color and a little vicarious living today!

It is the color that draws me to the idea of Mardi Gras the most -- over-indulgence is not that glamorous-- well, okay, sometimes it is.  I do get that Mardi Gras symbolically is the last human bit of 'holding on to what is not working' before we enter into deeper prayer and reflection during Lent so we will be ready for the glory of Easter.  Tomorrow, I will be starting a study by Henri J. M. Nouwen. I thought I would share this prayer with you.  I just love it!

"Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!
Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?
Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?
Please help me to gradually open my hands
and to discover that I am not what I own,
but what you want to give me.
And what you want to give me is love,
unconditional, everlasting love.
Amen."
— Henri J.M. Nouwen

This time of year, and especially as we near Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, I get overwhelmed with the life of Jesus.  I have to apologize for this to my non-religious friends and those friends of differing religions.  I just cannot help but take this path at this time.  As we are told not to judge and to have compassion for everyone's path to God, I head out in full belief that we are all the children of God.

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!  Eat extra cake for me today!

Saint Patrick's Day Garland to Appease the Giant Leprechaun

My husband absolutely loves St. Patrick's Day!  Last year, he went over the edge and dressed up like a leprechaun, meeting my daughter at the door after school.  He had stories of a real leprechaun visiting him earlier in the day.  He had a scavenger hunt for gifts, complete with clues for my daughter.  He set the table with shamrock-covered plates, provided each of us a light up green ring, and had pizza for us.  The pizza, while not very Irish, was shocking because this is not the kind of guy to fix or arrange for dinner for the fam. 

This year, he bought a shamrock light set, a plaque, stickers, cards to send, and asked me to decorate with that stuff.  Not an easy order considering what it was!  Anyway, to make him happy, and to participate in the Sunday Challenge: Bling with Buttons, I created a little garland.

I used Simply Charmed to cut two 6" leprechauns (one is flipped).  I embossed their jackets and rubbed lightly with a stamp pad to show off the design.

I inked the hair, beard, and eyebrows.

I ran their hats through the Xyron and then placed the hat buckle and band before sprinkling with Martha Stewart glitter over the adhesive-covered hat.   

I also cut the rainbow with a pot of gold from the same cart, also at 6".  I accented it with gold glitter glue and buttons.  I cut shamrocks from Paper Doll Dress Up at 1-1/2", 2", and 2-3/4".  I used a CropADile to hole punch all the shapes and laced the pieces together with 1/16" satin ribbon.

I added a few extra shamrocks to dangle on each end.  The garland was secured with mounting putty.

My daughter really is having fun with this crazy stuff, which makes it all worth the effort.  Now... shamrock lights... that is going to take a little thought!

Paper Tea Set

My daughter, Piper, loves to have tea parties!  She uses her real cups and plates and requests special sandwiches and cookies.  I thought she would love a set for her dolls -- one for a pretend tea party.  This is the project I have been planning for the Cricut Circle March Monthly Challenge:  Children At Play. 

Using the popcorn box on Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More (page 131), I used the blackout feature and cut two boxes at 3" for the teacups and one at 4" for the teapot.   I found a square set via PDF from Crafts'nThings.  I used the lid and spout, which was sized perfectly once I reduced it by 50% on my printer.

I created a lid using the triangle pattern on the PDF and created a 4-sided lid.  I used a loop of chenille yarn that matched my paper to form a handle for the lid.  To create side handles, I found Lyrical Letters.  I cut out the < and > symbols.  They were perfect handles!  I cut them at 1-3/4" for the cups and 2-3/4" for the pot.

To decorate the set, I cut flowers from Once Upon A Princess.  They were cut at 1" for teapot and saucers, 3/4" for teacups, and 2" for the serving tray.

I outlined them with a hot pink Sharpie and added glitter glue for a little girly sparkle.

Before putting the boxes together, I glued on the spout and handles.  Then I added my flowers before gluing the boxes together.

Next, I used Mini Monograms to create saucers and a serving tray.  I cut two scallops at 2" and one at 6".  Then, using the Real Size button, I cut two circles at 2" and one at 5-3/4".  I cut a 1/2" x 12" strip on my paper trimmer to use under my serving platter to serve as a foot.  I cut 1/4" x 6" strip for each of the saucers.  The strips were glued to form a circle and then glued under the plates.

This lifts the plates up off the ground and keep the set from looking like it is resting on pieces of paper.

Next, I created a tea bag.

I cut a piece of iron-on woven interfacing, folding to enclose "confetti" created with a whole punch.  I ironed the fabric to trap the paper punches, trimmed, and then lightly inked to look tea-stained.  I cut two little tags from Wrap It Up using the blackout tag feature, at 3/4".  I used a little pearl cotton thread and sewed to the 'tea bag'.  The tags where glued together to sandwich the other end of the thread to form the finished tea bag. 

My little tea set is complete!  My little girl is asleep as I post this and I cannot wait until tomorrow morning when she sees this!

Thank you for looking at my little project and visiting my blog!