On the first day of Christmas . . .

My true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree . . . AND the kick-off of Paper Crafting World & Cooking With Cricut's 2nd Annual 25 Days of Christmas & Crafting Fun Showcase!

We are super excited to bring you this wonderful event! The Design Teams have been hard at work coming up with some deliciously creative ideas to share with you! This is how the event will work --

EACH DAY:

•  Different Designers will be showcasing their projects for your creative inspiration.  
• We will have a different theme and the themes will not ALL be Christmas or holiday related. So be sure to visit everyday for creative inspiration you can use through out the whole year!
• We will be giving away FREE digital stamps, FREE electronic die cutting files and other printable graphics. There will be something for everyone. Please note: The freebies will expire at the end of their 24 hours and new ones will be available. You won’t want to miss them!  
• We will showcase projects using your Cricut and Cricut tools. 
• We will showcase projects using your OTHER electronic cutters too! Tools such as our Pazzles, Silhouettes, Gazelles and other electronic cutters. Along with all types of crafting tools and essentials.
• You will want to leave a comment for your chance to win one of our weekly prizes as well as one of our GRAND PRIZES!!!  
• You HAVE to be a follower of the PaperCraftingWorld.com or CookingWith Cricut.com blog in order to win a prize, sorry no exceptions.

So without further adieu . . . Here are my projects for DAY 1!  And it only seemed fitting that the theme ON the first day of Christmas is . . .  that's right . . . PEARS!

These cute little ornaments measure 3 1/2" tall and are cut using the Joys of the Season Cricut cartridge.  All of the paper is from my scrap stash.  I cut two sides for each pear and "sandwiched" a loop of metallic gold thread between the layers for a hanger.  I used several different rubber stamps and gold embossing powder to embellish my pears.

The stamp in the top photos are:  (Left) c.  2004, Stampin' Up! and (Right) c. 2002, Stampin' Up!  The stamp in the bottom photo is:  c. 2003, Rubber Stampede.

I also made a card using the negative image created when I cut a larger pear for a different project. 

The card base is 7" x 5" and is made from a piece of Bazzill Basic card stock called "Guacamole".  The deep red mat is cut from a piece of Recollections card stock.  The pear is 6" tall and is cut from scrap.  This technique is called "Iris Folding."  However, I didn't fold my paper -- I just used 3/4" strips to create my pattern.  This is a great way to use up those little bits of scrap paper! 

All of the patterned paper used in this card is from a paper pack by K & Co.  I used a Fiskar's corner punch called "Heritage" to jazz up the corners.  The "Peace - Hope - Love" stamp is by Stampin' Up!, c. 2002. and is embossed in gold.  The metallic gold ribbon finishes off this card (and hides a corner that didn't punch correctly!).

This Week (Dec. 1st through December 8th) enter at CookingWithCricut.com for a chance to win the following great prizes:

• Spring Holiday Cards Cricut Cartridge
• $15 Gift Certificate to Quick Quotes
• Quickutz Embossing Folder & Dies
• Snowflake Embossing Folder, Snowflake Die and Candy Cane Die  (These will work in “other” machines too.)
• $20 Download from PaperCraftingWorld.com
• *Pazzles Craft Room 1 Year Subscription
• *The Twinery Ultimate Sampler Pack
• *Cutter’s Creek $25 Gift Certificate
• *Stamp, Stamp Pad & Block Set

(* Indicates a prize that will be awarded at the conclusion of the 25 days event.)

 Simply enter by doing the following:

• Be a follower of CookingWithCricut.com . . . . sorry, no exceptions.
• Leave a comment on at least one post during December 1- 8 (for this week’s prizes). Winners will be randomly selected from comments, checked for blog-following compliance and announced on Saturday, December 10.
• Please only one comment per day, per visitor. All prizes will be awarded through random selection and will need to be claimed according to sponsor specs. Sorry, prizes that need to be mailed are limited to participants within the United States. Prizes that are “Online or downloadable are good world-wide.” Please also see each sponsor’s site for additional international shipping details.

BE SURE TO VISIT OUR SPONSORS AND SUPPORT THEM! Check out the wonderful prizes AND extra discounts available exclusively through us during this event.  Discount coupon codes available at CookingWithCricut.com!

Now head on over to CookingWithCricut.com and check out the other "pear" projects and download some great freebies!  Melin has created a pear cutting file and a pear digi stamp for you and there is a wonderful vintage graphic available, too!  Check back each and every day for more great projects and freebies!

~ Jen