Blog Hop Winners!

Thank you so much to each and every one of you that left a comment during the two recent blog hops I participated in. So many sweet comments! Please know that each and every comment is read and appreciated so very much! And thanks to you all I hit the "200" follower mark! So without further ado . . . here are the winners.

The winner of the Card Carnival Blog Hop candy is:

kathlee said... That is too stinkin cute!! LOVE it! Fun hopping with you today! TFS!

The winners of the Cooking With Cricut Blog-Aversary Blog Hop candies are:

Lisa R. said... Sweet LO. Ya'll have inspired me to try and make more LO's!!!! TFS!

Sherrie K. said... Your layout is awesome. Love Winnie the Pooh:) TFS!

Congratulations, ladies!  I will be sending you an e-mail shortly to get your snail mail addresses.

~ Jen

P.S.  Blogger is NOT being my friend right now.  Not only is it messing with my posts, but I can't leave comments for anyone.  :-(

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Memorial Day & Stitching

Happy Wednesday!  Our challenge with week at Cooking With Cricut was to create a project in honor of Memorial Day and that must include stitching -- real or faux.

First a little history lesson:  Did you know that Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service?   Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.   There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights. And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."   The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

My project is a simple "thank you" card.  My card base is white card stock and measures 5 1/2" square. 

The stitched star mat is a digital paper I downloaded from FreeDigital Scrapbooking.com.  The flag is clip art that I printed out.  All of the other paper is from my scrap stash.  I used the following cartridges:

Paper Doll Dress Up:  Sailor boy cut at 3" tall and the wagon is 2" wide. 

Everyday Paper Doll:  Puppy cut at 1 1/4" tall.

Cindy Loo:  Thank You cut at 4 1/2" wide.

Cupcake Wrappers:  Stars cut at 3/4" wide.

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my project.  Please hop on over to Cooking With Cricut and check out what the rest of the Design Team has whipped up for you.  And don't forget to link up your special Memorial Day project -- you could be this week's "Top Chef." 

A special "thank you" to each and every soldier and their loved ones -- past, present and future.  I know that we've never met, but I want you to know that I'm praying for you.  I honor you.  I'm waiting for your return.  On this Memorial Day and every day, please know that you are being thought of.  May God bless you and keep you.

~ Jen

Princess Birthday Card & Cooking With Cricut's "Every Day in May" Day 22

Welcome to Day 22 of Cooking With Cricut's "Every Day in May" Blog-Aversary Cele"bear"ation!  For my project today I created a birthday card for one of my seven year-old daughter's friends. I asked the all important question . . . "So, which Disney Princess does she like best?" The answer this time was "Jasmine."

Now, I know what you're thinking -- all those little-bitty pieces and parts! And you're right!!  But, in spite of the struggle to get them to cut properly and then place them correctly, I think this card turned out pretty cute! And so did twelve little girls at the party on Saturday. It always fills my heart with joy to hear my daughter proudly say, "My Mom made that for you!"

My card measures 5 1/2" square and was cut from a 12" x 12" piece of Bazzill card stock (not sure which one).  The mat is from a Heidi Grace paper pack I purchased at JoAnn's.  

Jasmine and the genie's lamp are from the Disney Dreams Come True cartridge.  Jasmine is cut at 4 1/2" tall.  The genie lamp is cut from a metallic gold card stock (manufacturer unknown) at 4" wide.  "It's Your Day" is from George & Basic Shapes.  I cut it at approximately 3" tall.  The inside sentiment was created in my publishing program and then printed and cut.

You can't make a Princess card without some bling ~ I added the lavender flowers and some tiny purple rhinestones in addition to the large sapphire rhinestone on Jasmine's headband.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you come back Wednesday for our Cooking With Cricut Challenge:  Memorial Day.

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut's Blog-Aversary Blog Hop

Welcome to Musings of a Crafty Mom and Cooking With Cricut’s Cele”bear”ation Blog Hop! We’ve been partying all month long in honor of Melin and CWC’s first blog-aversary. If you arrived here from Gaby’s blog, Gaby Creates, you’re in the right place! If you’re crashing the party in mid-hop, headed on over to Cooking With Cricut — grab some punch and cake and start at the beginning.

Our theme for today’s party is bears and/or celebrations.  Our grandson, Dylan, just turned one at the beginning of May.  We had a wonderful party and I took lots of pictures; so I decided to create a two-page first birthday layout featuring his and his Mommy's favorite bear -- Winnie the Pooh!  Here are the details and the cartridges used (remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge them):

Pooh & Friends

Frame - cut at 5" wide by 7" tall.

Pooh frame topper - cut at 3" tall.

Doodlecharms

Party Hat - cut at 2 1/4" tall.

Gift Box - cut at 2 1/4" tall.

Cupcake - cut at 2 1/4" tall

George & Basic Shapes

"1" - cut at 5" tall.

Squares - cut at 3" and 2 1/2".

Calligraphy Collection

"Happy Birthday" - cut at 5" wide (using the shadow feature).

Just Because Cards

File Folder (journaling block) - cut at 3" wide by 3 1/2" tall.

The large frame will  hold a 3" x 4" photo -- I left the sides and bottom unstuck.  The six smaller squares will hold a 2 1/2" photo.  And the small file folder is for journaling.  The base 12" x 12" sheets are Bazzill Splash; the patterned paper on top is by Deja Views - Sharon Ann Collection, "Baby Boy Tiny type" and the bottom paper is "Vroom, Vroom" by Frances Meyer, Inc.  Everything else is from my scrap stash.  I used a mylar starburst embellishment and a sticky-backed rhinestone on the party hat, a little chalk here and there, yellow ribbon from Michael's and some pen doodling to finish it off.

It just wouldn't be a party without some presents!  For your chance to win my blog candy please (1) be a follower and (2) leave a comment.  ONE lucky winner will receive a set of Stampendous perfectly clear stamps ~ "Birthday Brackets" and a SECOND lucky winner will receive an 11-piece set of Fiskars "Noteworthy" clear stamps.

Now it's your turn! Link up your celebration-related project at CookingWithCricut.com.  Here are the guidelines for the challenge:

1. Project must include a Cricut cut.
2. Project must include a bear.
3. Project must be new for this blog hop challenge.
4. You must link to your post and not just your blog.
5. Your post must include a link back to CWC.

You will have one week to complete your project.  The Design Team will pick their three favorites and one lucky person will be chosen randomly to win one of the prize packages being offered in this hop.

Well,  I'm sad to say our party is over for today -- I'm the caboose on this party train.  I hope you've enjoyed the party as much as we have!  Now, go get busy and  link up your cele"bear"ation project.  I can't wait to see what you create!  Thanks so much for joining us and helping us celebrate Cooking With Cricut's first birthday!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Balloon

In honor of Cooking With Cricut's month long blog-aversary and keeping with our celebration theme, today's project needed to feature a balloon or balloons.  So I turned to my go-to cartridge -- Create-A-Critter -- and came up with this simple card.

I decided to change it up a bit this time and do a "tall" card.  My card measures 9 1/4" tall by 4" wide and will fit in a standard business envelope.  The card stock I used is a basic pastel blue.

All of the papers are from my scrap stash and here are the cuts:

"Let's Hang Out" -- cut at 1 1/2" tall.
Balloon -- cut at 4 1/4" tall.
Clouds -- cut at 1 5/8" wide and 2 5/8" wide.
Monkey -- cut at 2 1/2" tall.

A little chalk on the edges of the clouds and a little pen doodling complete this card.

This was a quick and easy card to cut and put together!  Which is a good thing since I've been up to my eyebrows painting scenery for my daughter's school play this week.  All of the scenery and props were delivered this morning.  Now I've got to finish up her costume accessories, because Thursday morning the show must go on -- whether I'm ready or not!

~ Jen

Masculine Birthday Card & Day 16 of Cooking With Cricut's Every Day in May Blog-Aversary!

Welcome to day 16 of Cooking With Cricut's "Every Day in May Blog-Aversary!"  Cooking With Cricut is having a month long Blog-Aversary Cele"bear"ation with postings and giveaways every day during the month of May - and each and every day there will be some kind of celebration posted! So make sure you hop on over and check out the fun!

I am honored to be the guest designer today and today I am celebrating my baby brother's birthday.   Anybody else out there have a tough time creating a masculine birthday card for an adult?  I know I do.  My little brother turned 29 this past Saturday.  He is forever giving me a hard time about being sooooo old -- I'm 17 years older than he -- so I decided it was time for a little sisterly "pay back."  Most of the cartridges I own are a bit "girly" or geared towards little kids, not big kids like my brother.  So coming up with something appropriate for a guy wasn't easy.  Here is what I came up with!

It probably comes as no surprise to my regular visitors that Create-A-Critter is the cartridge I used.  The card measures 4 1/4" wide by 5 1/2" tall and is plain red card stock by Recollections.  The gold image is a rubber stamp I purchased from Judi Kins in the mid-90's.  I stamped it using a VersaMark ink pad and then embossed with a detail gold embossing powder.

The Panda measures 3 1/2" tall and was cut using scraps from my stash.  The bamboo is 5 1/2" tall and is also from scrap paper.  I used a bit of brown chalk on the edges.  The saying on the front of the card was created in Microsoft Publisher and reads:  "Your birthday reminds me of the old Chinese scholar . . ."

The inside reads:  ". . .  Yung No Mo!" (young no more).  The "Happy Birthday" was cut using the Paper Pups cartridge and measures 3 1/2" wide.  Again, the paper came from my scrap stash.
 

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my project today! Make sure to leave me a comment with your blog address ~ I'd love to come visit and see what you're creating. And don't forget to pop over to Cooking With Cricut and see what amazing freebie Melin is giving away today!!

~ Jen

P.S.  Make sure you come back Wednesday for Cooking With Cricut's weekly challenge!

Card Carnival Blog Hop

Welcome to the Card Carnival Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from visiting Rexann at i be circled.  If you just happened to stumble upon this hop, please be sure to go back to Sherry's blog so you don't miss any of the wonderful projects we have to share.  This hop is all about shaped cards . . . 

I have a friend who's daughter will be one next month ~ and she is madly in love with ELMO!  So an Elmo birthday card is a must!  He was my daughter's favorite from 8 months until about 4 1/2 yrs. old, so I am well versed in all things Elmo.   

Elmo and Dorothy were cut using the Sesame Street Friends Cricut cartridge.  Elmo measures 7 1/4" tall and is cut from black, red, orange and white scraps of card stock.  This particular Elmo is holding a book -- but I wanted him to hold Dorothy's fish bowl.  So, using Cricut Design Studio (CDS) I hid all of the book cuts that I could.  After I cut all of the layers and assembled our furry red monster, I trimmed away the rest of the book.

Dorothy's gold fish bowl is approximately 3 1/2" tall.  Using CDS, I welded two fish bowls together to form my card.  And then cut the remaining layers and assembled.  I cut an additional white layer for the inside of my card as well as an extra set of fingers for Elmo's left hand.  All of the paper for Dorothy and the bowl came from my scrap stash.  I wanted the card to stand up after it was opened, so I constructed a little easel stand that I attached to the back.

And what would a blog hop be without a giveaway!  To quality for my giveaway, please do the following:  be a follower and leave me a comment and your e-mail address.  That's all!  One lucky winner, chosen by random. org, will receive the following three (3) clear stamps . . .

Thank you for stopping by my blog, your next stop is Mollie at Cricket's Cricut Creations.

~ Jen

P.S.  Here's the line up, just in case you get lost!

Sher -  www.patternsbysher.blogspot.com

Kathie -  www.kathleessnippitsncricuts.blogspot.com/

 Amy -  www.lovetocrop.com/

Anita - www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Jen -  www.memorieswithjen.blogspot.com/  

Vicki - www.vickiscreativecraftingcorner.blogspot.com/    

 Cindy -  www.creativepointe.blogspot.com

Melin -  www.PaperCraftingWorld.blogspot.com

Susan -   www.sueinct.blogspot.com/

Gill - www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

 Rexann -  www.ibecircled.blogspot.com

Jen -  www.gator-4-life.blogspot.com   <--- You are here!

Mollie -  www.cricketscricut.blogspot.com/   <----- Next stop!

Gaby -  www.gabycreates.com

Gina -  www.californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/

Misty -  www.deliteful-gifts.blogspot.com

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Two Shades of Pink & a Cupcake or Cake Slice

Today is challenge day at Cooking With Cricut!  Melin is having a month-long blogaversary celebration and today our challenge features one of the most important components of any celebration . . .  CAKE!  The goal of today's project was to use two shades of pink and a cupcake or cake slice. There are tons of cupcakes, cakes and cake slices on variety of different cartridges.  I looked through a bunch of  different options using the search engine at MyCutSearch.com -- a fantastic tool for any Cricut lover -- and finally decided on the cupcake from Create-A-Critter (no surprise there, right!).

My daughter, Demi, is friends with the granddaughter of one of my Mom's friends.  (They are about a month apart in age.)  Caroline's birthday is this weekend and we are sending a present for her along with the cupcake card with her Grandma.  Caroline is every bit as much a girly-girl as Demi is; so I made her some hair clips and a Gator korker bow with a headband.

This cute little cupcake is a shaped card I created using Cricut Design Studio and CAC. I welded the cupcakes together at the top and then cut another solid cupcake. The closed card measures 5" tall.

All of the papers came from my scrap stash.  The card base is made with  Bazzill's Pinkini card stock.  I used some stickles on the cupcake and the cherry for some dimension and sparkle!

The sentiment on the inside of the card was stamped using a Hero Arts rubber stamp.

The gift bag flower and butterfly were "fussy cut" from some K & Co. scraps I had left over from my daughter's star book project.  The "happy birthday" is cut at 4" wide and is also from Create-A-Critter (CAC).

I hope you'll join our sweet challenge and link up your own pink confection at Cooking With Cricut! 

Remember . . . your project must follow the theme; it must be a new one created for this challenge -- please, no back dated posts; you must use your Cricut in some capacity; and you must HAVE FUN!

Don't forget to check in at Cooking With Cricut for Melin's "Every Day in May Blog-Aversary Celebration" -- each and every day a new project is showcased and a wonderful freebie!

Now head on over to CWC and check out the yummy pink treats my fellow Chefs have whipped up!!

By Request ~ "How Do I Love You" Poem

I was asked by several people if I would share the poem that I put in my daughter's star book I posted yesterday.  The author is unknown and I changed it up a bit  -- "we" instead of "I" and changed "unhurried" to "whirlwind" (Demi does nothing slowly, unless you want her to be quick!).

~ Jen


How Do I Love You?

How do I love you?
Let me count the ways;
I love you on your very best
And very worst of days.

I love to see you laughing
And dancing in the rain;
And even if you make a mess,
I love you just the same.

I love to hear you sing,
I love to see you smile.
I love the way you take each day
In your own unhurried style.

I'm happy when you're happy.
I'm sorry when you're sad.
And even though it may not show,
I love you even when you're bad.

I love to watch you sleeping,
Tucked away in dreams.
I love to hear you whisper
All your future hopes and dreams.

I love to watch you play
And all your silly ways.
I'm sure you'll never know
How much I love you more each day.

How do I love you?
It's impossible to say;
For if I had a million days
And time enough for all the praise
I couldn't tell you all the ways
I love you.

~ Author Unknown

Celebrating Adoption ~ Day 9 of Cooking With Cricut's Every Day in May Blog-Aversary

Today is a very special day!  Not only is it Day #9 at Cooking With Cricut's Every Day in May Blog-Aversary, but it is a special day at our house.  Cooking With Cricut is having a month long Blogoversary Cele"bear"ation with postings and giveaways every day during the month of May - and each and every day there will be some kind of celebration posted!  So make sure you hop on over and check out the fun!

I am honored to be  the guest designer today and today I am celebrating adoption! I am the adoptive mother of four amazing children -- three are grown and on their own and my baby just turned seven. Each and every year we celebrate the day their adoptions were finalized. We call it their Adoption Anniversary -- I have a friend who is also an adoptive mother who calls it their "Gotcha Day." It's a big deal -- there is almost always a gift involved and a special dinner -- kind of like a second birthday. 

Today is my youngest's anniversary and this is the gift I made for her. It is called a "Star Book" and it is basically a 3D card. 

It was pretty easy to make and features pictures of my little one from the time she joined our family at three months to present as well as a poem called "How Do We Love You." 

I found the instructions for the star book over at the Splitcoast Stamper's website -- here is the link. 

 The materials for this book include:  two pieces of 4" x 4" chipboard or mat board; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 8" x 4"; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 6 1/2" x 3 1/2"; 7 pieces of card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 3"; and then whatever you want to decorate your pages.

When the book is opened it looks like a star.  If you click on the middle picture and enlarge it, you can see that the decorative part of the page is adhered only on the sides. 

Here are the details:

George & Basic Shapes -- cut all of the pages using the rectangle and sizing it to the dimensions above.  Papers used -- white card stock, card stock from DCWV Nana's Nursery - Baby Girl paper pad, and Bazzill's Lily Pond.

Accent Essentials - I used a frame and hid the inner cut using Cricut Design Studio to create my photo corners.  They measure 1 1/2" square and are cut from paper in my scrap stash.

Just Because Cards - the mats for my poem measures 2 1/4" w by 2 1/2" h.  It is cut from plain white card stock and I brushed the edges with a Mossy Green stamp pad.  I then ran them thru my printer.

Mother's Day 2010 - The tag on the cover of my little book measures 4" w by 2" tall and is cut from white card stock and Bazzill's Pinkini.  And it anchors my grosgrain ribbon that ties the star book closed.  The pink jewel sticker heart is by White Blossom and was purchased at Michael's

The paper on the cover of the book is by K & Co. and is called "Young Girl Flowers" and was designed by Tim Coffey.

Adoption is an amazing way to build a family. On any given day in my home state of Florida, there are approximately 850 children waiting for forever families. They are waiting for someone to love them, waiting for a place to call home. They come from varied backgrounds, circumstances, races and ethnicities. While some have specific medical, physical or emotional issues requiring special care, many do not. Some are part of sibling groups that want very much to stay together as part of a new family. Adoption isn't for everybody, but if you think it might be for you and your family, I encourage you to take a closer look.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my extra special project today!  Make sure to leave me a comment with your blog address ~ I'd love to come visit and see what you're creating.  And don't forget to pop over to Cooking With Cricut and see what amazing freebie Melin is giving away today!!

~ Jen

Mother's Day cards

Happy Mother's Day!  I have this post scheduled to upload AFTER we leave to meet my Mom for brunch this morning -- can't have her peeking at her card early now, can we. 

The inspiration for her card came from an incredible artist from the UK named Kath.  Kath and her beautiful dog Buddy blog and craft from "The Cubbyhole."  The card was featured in this blog post and when I saw it I fell in love with the simplicity and just drop-dead gorgeous-ness of this card.  So I saved it to my inspiration file and thought of it when making my Mom's card.

Here is my take:

My card measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is made from white card stock.  The mat on the outside and inside of the card is from a Recollections paper pack.  The patterned paper is by Chatter Box and is from a line called "Scrapbook Walls".  It was part of a kit I purchased three or four  years ago. 

The hearts are from the Pink Journey cartridge and are cut at 3 1/2" w (flower heart), 2" w and 1 1/4" wide.  The mat/frame on the inside of the card was cut using Create-A-Critter and measures 4 1/2" square. 

 

A bit of pen stitching, some ribbon and a couple of buttons finished up the outside.  I also stamped "MOM" using an alphabet rubber stamp set and a sepia stamp pad. 

Some rub-ons jazzed up my greeting panel -- they are by Making Memories and are called "Doodles."

The next card was designed by our seven year old daughter for her Nana.  I asked Demi several pertinent questions when we sat down to create this card.  "What are Nana's favorite colors?"  Orange and blue.  "What are her favorite things to do?"  Bake cakes and cheer for the Gators!

Create-A-Critter, Everyday Paper Dolls, Mother's Day 2010  and the Wedding Solutions cartridge were called into action for this card!  All of the papers came from my paper stash except for the card base.  It is a Recollections card stock.  We managed to delete my file somehow shortly after cutting everything out, so I don't have measurements for you. :(

The text on the inside of the card was created using rub-on letters by Making Memories called Simply Stated Alphabet:  Heidi.  A little bit of bling, some rub-on doodles by Making Memories, a little bit of chalk, and some pen stitching finish off this super cute card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.

~ Jen

Happy Mother's Day to my Cricut-tastic Friends!

Jean at Jean's Crafty Corner and Kim at Kim's Kreations have bestowed upon me the "Cricut-tastic Blog Award."  Thank you so much, Jean and Kim!  Jean lives in Huntsville, AL and is finally back home again after the horrific tornado rampage that swept thru Alabama.  We have family that live in that area and they too made it thru unscathed.  My prayers are with those who lost so much.

Here is what Jean and Kim said, "Your blog has been deemed Cricut-tastic! Wear this badge proudly on your blog and share it with friends! Since Cricut is 5 years old and they have an E2 out, share this award with 10 people that you think have Cricut-tastic Blogs! You also have to tell 5 Cricut-related things about yourself."

So, here are 5 Cricut-tastic things about me: 

1. I bought my baby bug in 2007 and about wore that poor thing out!
2. My Mom and step-Dad gave me a Pink Expression for Christmas in 2009  -- boy, was I shocked!! 
3. I love Cricut Design Studio and if my Cricut is on so is CDS.
4. I very rarely cut into a whole sheet of paper.  I love to use my scrap stash -- Design Studio makes using small pieces a breeze.
5. Compared to some, I have very few cartridges -- only 34.  So I am always looking at my die cuts from every angle to see how I can make it into something else. 

There are so many wonderful Cricut-tastic blogs and bloggers out there . . . picking only ten is hard!  And I just couldn't do it -- I couldn't narrow it down to ten, so for everyone who visits my blog . . . grab that award 'cause you're all Cricut-tastic in my book!

Happy Mother's Day!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Three Flowers and a Shade of Purple

I'm late . . . I'm late . . . . for a very important date -- with you!  My real challenge this week was not the one Melin at Cooking With Cricut laid out for us -- it was being able to actually find the time to sit down and make my project!  So I apologize to you and my fellow Chefs for the delay in getting my Wednesday challenge project posted.

This week Melin challenged us to use three flowers and a shade of purple in our project.  Easy-peasy!  My seven year old daughter and I have been working on Mother's Day projects and I asked her to design a card for her Gigi (my Mom) -- I told her it had to have at least three flowers and purple.  So Demi got out her sketch pad and her crayons and started drawing.  We then found images she liked on the Cindy Loo and Mother's Day 2010 cartridges.  She picked out her papers and then said, "Momma, it's time for you and the bug to make your magic!"  LOL!

The cat is cut from the Cindy Loo cartridge at 4 1/2" tall.  I used a VersaMark watermark stamp pad and a small rose stamp by DeNami Design (copyright 1998) to make the pattern on her tail and toes.  The rhinestones are some I purchased at Michael's as are the purple flowers.  The kitty is pop-dotted over some really fun fibers that I've had for forever -- they're made by EK Success.

The mat is cut from a white polka-dot embossed paper at 5 1/2" square using the Mother's Day 2010 cartridge.  I did a little faux stitching around the outside of the mat.

The inside of the card has the "Happy Mother's Day" greeting from Mother's Day 2010 cartridge; it is cut at about 3" wide.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you'll link your flowery purple project up at Cooking With Cricut -- you could be this week's Top Chef! 

Don't forget to pop on over to Cooking With Cricut and check out what my fellow chefs have whipped up for you!

~ Jen

Mickey Mouse 1st Birthday Celebration & Cooking With Cricut's Blog-Aversary!

Yesterday was our grandson's first birthday and this month marks the first blog-aversary for CookingWith Cricut!  Melin is having a month-long celebration called "Every Day in May" and I am today's guest designer.  The theme for the month is celebrations ~ which fit perfectly with our Mickey Mouse & Friends 1st Birthday party.  So here are my projects:

First up ~ a birthday card!  Ninety-nine percent of the papers I used were from my scrap stash. The black paper is a Disney paper by Sandylion from their "Mickey Pack." The red is from a Recollections paper pack and is cut at 6" x 12" and folded to create a 6" x 6" card. 

Cartridges used:  Mickey & Friends -- Goofy (cut at 5" tall); Swirl (cut at 4 1/2" tall) and Mickey Font -- Gawrsh (cut at 3 1/2" wide x 1" tall)

I used 3-D Crystal Lacquer on his nose and eyes to make them stand out a bit from the rest of the black card stock. I used my white gel pen to do some outlining on the letters.

Next up is a birthday banner.  I used the Mother's Day 2010 cartridge for the banner triangles.  They are cut at 5" wide by 5 7/8" tall from a red card stock by Recollections.  The Mickey heads are cut from black card stock at 4" wide using the Mickey & Friends cartridge.  The letters are cut at 2" high from the Pooh Font cartridge. 

The paper is from a Mickey Paper pack by Sandylion.  I outlined the letters using a black Zig Writer and did some doodling on Mickey with a white gel pen.  The banner is tied together with narrow black ribbon.

Here's the birthday boy sporting the freezer paper t-shirt I made for him.  (I just love that smile!)  Dylan's t-shirt is a size 12 mos. from the baby section at Wal-Mart.  All of the little boy's shirts had pockets, so I had to scrap my original idea and do something different.  I think I like this one better than my original idea!

My stencils were cut from freezer paper that I then ironed on the shirt and painted using Tulip Soft Fabric Paints.

The front pocket has a Mickey head with a number "1" cut at 2 1/4" tall cut from the Mickey Font cartridge.  The back of the shirt features a silhouette of Mickey cut at 6" tall and "{heart}that mouse" cut at 3" wide -- both are from the Mickey & Friends cartridge.

For my last project I purchased four 5" x 7" inexpensive wooden frames at Wal-Mart and made some wall art for Dylan's bedroom.  Mickey and the gang are cut at 4 3/4" tall and the text is cut at 4 1/4" wide -- all are from the Mickey & Friends cartridge.  The solid card stocks are all from my scrap stash and the patterned papers came from Disney paper packs by Sandylion and EK Success.  (So sorry for the rotten photos of these -- I had a terrible time with glare!)

And of course there was cake! 

Dee created another beautiful birthday cake that was so yummy!  The Mickey ears were cut out of black card stock using the Mickey & Friends cartridge.  The head was half of a ball cake (chocolate of course) covered in black fondant.  The bottom tier was one layer of french vanilla cake and one layer of chocolate cake covered in white fondant.  The smash cake was french vanilla covered in vanilla buttercream.  All of the letters, Mickey heads, dots and stars were cut from fondant.  The border is tinted buttercream.  



The Disney characters are about 2" tall and we found them at Dollar Tree. The large cake board has what I call a "cake ring" that says "Happy 1st Birthday Dylan." I created it using Cricut Design Studio and welding letters and Mickey Heads from the Mickey Font cartridge together in a half-circle. 

As you can see, Dylan thoroughly enjoyed his cake; as did the rest of us!


Thanks so much for stopping by to see my Mickey inspired projects.  I hope you stop in at Cooking With Cricut each and every day this month to check out the incredible projects created by Melin and the rest of the Design Team.  There will also be DAILY freebies, compliments of PaperCraftingWorld.com!  Each day Melin will have either a cutting file or a digital stamp up for grabs. But you will have to visit each day as the files will only be available for 24 hours! That’s it . . . only 24 hours!  So get ready to make Cooking With Cricut a daily part of your life in May as you don’t want to miss out on these amazing files created by our fabulous Executive Chef, Melin.  There will also be weekly give-a-ways from other wonderful Sponsors too! So keep your eyes peeled! 

~ Jen