Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Candles, Wreaths & Pinecones

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Cooking With Cricut' challenge day!  Melin challenged the Design Team to use candles, wreaths and/or pine cones in our projects this week in honor of the First Sunday of Advent -- which was Sunday, November 27.  Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas.  Advent wreaths are often used to mark the passage of the season.  Traditionally they hold five candles -- one to be lit on each Sunday during the Advent season with the fifth candle being lit on Christmas Eve to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.

I managed to use all three images in my double scrapbook layout commemorating my youngest daughter's first Christmas.

Here's the recipe:

Joys of the Season cartridge --

• Fireplace - cut at 6" high.
• Pine bough with pine cone - cut at 1 1/2" wide.  (I trimmed the cones off of the boughs to make my mantle garland and journaling block decoration.)
• Wreath - cut at 4 3/8" high.
• Candles - cut at 1 3/8" high and 1" high.
• Stockings - cut at 2 3/4" high.
• Christmas Tree - cut at 11 1/4" high.
• Star - cut at 2 1/2" (trimmed by hand to eliminate the long tail)
• Beaded Tree Garland - cut at 2 3/4" wide (welded several together to form a string, then trimmed to fit the tree).
• "Christmas" -- cut at 5 1/2" wide (this is "Merry Christmas" cut without the "Merry").

Animal Kingdom cartridge --

• Cat - cut at 2" high.

Cake Basics cartridge --

• "2004" -- cut at 1" high.
• Picture frames -- cut at 2 1/8" high.

I used two 12" x 12" pieces of a creamy yellow Bazzill card stock for my base.  All of the other papers are from my scrap stash; except for the tree and I don't know the manufacturer on it.  The packages are Jolee's Stickers and the Christmas ornaments are stickers by Creative Memories.  I used 3-D Crystal Lacquer on the tree garland for shine.  Some chalk, pen details, and Stickles complete this layout.

I LOVE the way this turned out!  It is one of those rare times that what I imagined could be, turned out even better!

Now it's your turn!  Link up your candle, wreath and/or pine cone project up at Cooking With Cricut and you just might be this week's Top Chef!  And don't forget to join us for our 2nd Annual 25 Days of Christmas Crafting which begins tomorrow, December 1st.  There will be tons of projects and even some freebies every day!

~ Jen

P.S.  I'm entering my LO in the Creative Cutter Room's "Animal" Challenge.

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Bible Verse or Quote

Did you know that the week of Thanksgiving is always National Bible Week?  I didn't!  Makes sense, though, if you think about -- thanksgiving, thanks giving, giving thanks.  Our challenge this week at Cooking With Cricut was to use a Bible verse or quote on our project.

One of my favorite passages comes from the book of Psalms, chapter 119, verse 105.  This is a wonderful scripture in any Bible translation, I however prefer it in the King James version.  My paternal grandmother taught me this verse when I was very young.  She explained it to me this way:  "If you allow God in your heart and follow his teachings, he will always light the path for you to follow.  Then when you have dark times in your life, you won't get lost or ever be alone -- God will always be there to show you the way." 

Here's the recipe:

• Card base is a forest/hunter green card stock cut to 7" by 10" and folded in half.
• The red mat is cut using "Just Because" Cards and measures 6 1/4" by 4 1/4"
• The white mat is also cut using "Just Because" Cards and measures 6 1/2" by 4 1/2".
• The lantern is from the Disney Princesses' "Happily Every After" cartridge and measures 3" tall.
• The holly branch is from the Joys of the Season cartridge and is cut at 1 1/4" tall.
• The text was computer generated.
• The metallic gold ribbon is some I purchased at Michael's several years ago.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you head over to Cooking With Cricut and see what the rest of the Design Team cooked up for you.  I hope you link up your Bible verse or quote project this week -- you could be our next Top Chef!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut "Giving Thanks" Blog Hop

Welcome to Musings of a Crafty Mom and the CookingWithCricut.com “Giving Thanks” Blog Hop! 

If you've come from visiting Michelle at Michelle's Crafty Creations, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to hop along with us, you can go to CookingWithCricut.com and start at the beginning. 

Today’s hop is all about Thanksgiving decorations – for your home and table.   

Do you ever have one of those weeks . . . you know the kind I'm talking about.  You have an important task to complete and you have everything ready to get busy and get finished early (for a change).  And then one thing happens, and then another, and then yet another and all of a sudden it's Friday --  the end of the week . . . So you know you have to buckle down and get finished -- no interruptions allowed!  Yeah, right!  The phone rings and a family member needs you NOW.   I had one of those weeks, compounded by a fibromyalgia flare up. 

And, darn it, I had some really cute projects to share, too . . .

Table decorations for the kid's table.

A mini banner to hang on the big mirror above our buffet.

  

So please check back in next week and see my completed projects -- I'm going to try my best to get them finished for Thanksgiving!

Now it's your turn!  Link up your Thanksgiving project at CookingWithCricut.com.  Here are a few guidelines:

• Must follow the challenge topic and use one of the free files provided at CWC.
• Must be a NEW project for this challenge.  No back dated posts please.
• Must have a link back to this post on your blog.
• Must link your project post through Inlinkz and not just your blog.
• Must use your Cricut in some capacity.
• Must HAVE FUN!
• You may gladly combine challenges . . . we love to pile it on TOO!

The Design Team will pick their three favorites and one lucky person will be chosen randomly to win one of the prizes being offered in this hop. There is also a prize for just leaving us a comment on the CWC blog. One catch, those leaving comments MUST be a CWC follower.  Each prize winner will receive a $10 gift voucher-download from PaperCraftingWorld.com. 

Now head on over to see what Dalis at Stamper Girl has cooked up for you!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut: Let's Talk Turkey!

Happy Wednesday!  Today is challenge day at Cooking With Cricut and our task this week was to incorporate a turkey into our project.  Gobble, gobble!

Quick question.  Have you discovered Pinterest yet?  If you have, please resist the urge to click over and browse the pretty, shiny things until after you've finished reading my post!  LOL!

If you haven't, here's the scoop:  Basically it is a virtual bulletin board (remember the old school bulletin boards -- you know cork and pushpins, hangs on the wall . . . ).  It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. Some people use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.  Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. It is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests -- and is totally addictive!

Anyway, I was cruising Pinterest one day and found an adorable Thanksgiving baby onesie.  I thought to myself -- "I could make that using my Cricut!"  And it was then I knew that one of the little girls in my life was going to get one of these!  Our 10 month old niece, Kylie, won the draw and this little cutie is headed her way via snail mail.

Here's the recipe:

• Onesie or t-shirt.  Pre-wash and press.
• Grosgrain ribbon -- I used four different ribbons.  The width on these is 5/8".  If you're doing a shirt for an older child you might want to use a wider ribbon.
• Pre-washed Fabric -- I used scraps.  A brown corduroy for the turkey, a patterned yellow fat quarter for the beak, and red cotton for the wattle.
• Two itty bitty buttons -- or you could use fabric, embroidery floss or even googly eyes (although they really don't wash well).
• Heavy duty Wonder Under or Heat 'N Bond.

The turkey, beak and wattle were cut using the Animal Kingdom cartridge.  The bird is 5 3/4" tall.  I ironed on the Heat 'n Bond and cut it on my mat with the fabric down - paper side up.  I found that this works best for me and eliminates tons of frustration (and cursing).  This was the first time I have tried to cut corduroy and it worked fairly well.  I did have to clean up a few edges.  But it can be done!

I then ironed on the beak and the wattle.  The ribbons are cut at about 4" long -- again, if you're doing a larger size you'll need to adjust the ribbon loops.  I pinned them onto my turkey and then ironed the whole thing to the onesie.  I had hoped that the Heat 'n Bond would be enough to adhere it to the shirt.  But, because I used a heavier fabric it needed to be sewn down.  The turkey was sewn down with a straight stitch on the sewing machine -- because they were so small I hand stitched the beak and wattle.  Added a couple of tiny black buttons for the eyes and the bird is complete!

And now it's your turn . . . link up your project at Cooking With Cricut -- you could be our next Top Chef!  Here are a few guidelines: 

• Must follow the challenge topic.
• Must be a NEW project for this challenge. No back dated posts, please.
• Must have a link back to this post on your blog.
• Must link your project post through Inlinkz and not just your blog.
• Must use your Cricut in some capacity.
• Must HAVE FUN!
• You may gladly combine challenges . . . we love to pile it on TOO!

 Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cute little turkey. Head on over to Cooking With Cricut and check out the wonderful projects my teammates created!  Make sure you check back on Thursday for our Cartridge Showcase -- Chef Linda is sharing some projects she's made with the Thanksgiving cartridge.  And don't forget to mark your calendars for our "Giving Thanks" Blog Hop this Saturday, November 19.  We'll kick off the hop at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) with tons of Thanksgiving decorations -- that's right . . . no cards in this hop!  There will be lots of freebies and chances to win some great prizes.

~ Jen

P.S.  I'm linking up for the following challenges:  Fantabulous Cricut - Challenge Me Monday; Whimsical Designs - Whimsical Wednesdays; My Sherri Crafts - Challenge #73 "Be Thankful"; Die Cuttin' Divas - Challenge #41; Crafty Sprouts - Anything Goes

A "Berry" Sweet Card

Our niece, Layla, celebrated her fourth birthday last week and she is in love with Strawberry Shortcake.  And since Cricut hasn't come out with a cartridge with Strawberry Shortcake and all her pals, I did the next best thing . . . a strawberry card with lots of bling!

I used the Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge for this "berry" sweet card.  Here's the recipe:

Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge - using the card feature, I cut the strawberry so that when it is folded it measures 4 1/4" wide by 5" high.  I cut the base out of a scrap of Bazzill's Pinkini card stock.  The next layer of the card is black card stock.  The strawberry and leaves are also cut from scraps. I used hot pink and pale pink adhesive-backed rhinestones.

Create-A-Critter cartridge - Happy Birthday cut at 3 1/4" wide, also from scrap card stock.  Little bit of pen doodling and a hand written greeting complete this card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you check back on Wednesday, November 16th to check out my challenge project at Cooking With Cricut.  And mark your calendar for Saturday, November 19th at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and join us for our "Giving Thanks" Blog Hop.  We'll be featuring tons of Thanksgiving decor ideas!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Cookies, Cookie Monster and/or Clocks

Today's blog post is brought to you by

the letter C and the number 13!

"C" is for cookies, Cookie Monster, Clocks and Cooking With Cricut!  Thirteen (13) is the number of Design Team members who whipped up some fantastic projects to share with you today!   

We are celebrating our favorite furry blue monster's birthday, his favorite food (chocolate chip cookies), and the impending time change this weekend.  I managed to get all three things into one project using only one cartridge (if you can believe it)!

I call this "Cookie Time" . . .

And yes, it is a working clock . . . made of paper!!!  Here's the recipe:

Using the Sesame Street Friends cartridge I made the following cuts:

• Cookie -- cut three times.  Once out of chipboard (the base), second time out of a 12" x 12" sheet of Bazzill Basics Cinnamon Stick card stock and the third time out of Bazzill Basics Brown card stock (for the chocolate chips).  The cookie measures 11 1/2" high.
• Cookie Monster is cut at 6 3/4" high from black (base) and a bright blue by Recollections.
• The numbers are cut at 3/4" high from red (scrap).

I inked the edges of my cookie with a brown ink pad to give it that "baked" look.  The doodling on my numbers was done with a white gelly roll pen.  Using a matte finish Modge Podge, I glued the cookie to the chipboard.  Then I added all of the other cuts and an additional two coats of Modge Podge over the whole thing to seal it.  The clock movement is by Walnut Hollow and is designed for use on 1/4" thick clock faces.

And now, it's your turn . . . so come and play, where every thing's a-okay!  Link up your cookie, Cookie Monster and/or clock project at Cooking With Cricut -- you could be our next Top Chef!  Head on over and see what this amazing Design Team has created and check out our link-up guidelines.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Jen