Cooking With Cricut: Anything BUT a Card, must use Yellow & Polka Dots Challenge

Happy Wednesday!  It is challenge day over at CookingWithCricut.com  and you will want to check out the AMAZING things the Design Team cooked up . . . the ladies really rocked the challenge this week. 

The stomach flu hit our house hard and we've been down and out now for almost two weeks with someone sick.  (Unfortunately, the adults have been hit the hardest.)  YUCK!  So I've not been crafting at all.  Soon though . . . very soon!

~ Jen

Princess Party!

Welcome to the most girly, pink, over-the-top, princess-y post you will ever see me do!  Today I am sharing all of the wonderful creations we made for our niece Kylie's first birthday party this past weekend.  I am also thrilled to be the Cartridge Showcase Chef today at CookingWithCricut.com -- sharing all the ins and outs of the Cricut Events Princess Party cartridge.  BIG thanks to my friend, Melin at CWC for loaning me this cartridge -- this princess party would have looked much different without you!  Thank you!!!

Disclaimer:  If you have an aversion to the color pink, today's post is NOT for you.

Hold on to your party hats . . . I'm going to cover a lot of ground, share tons of photos, and give you all the details for TWELVE different projects.  So heeeerrreee we go!

The Invitation: 

This cute invitation was a pain in the rear, but so worth it (fortunately I only had to make 20)!  There are multiple layers and then to top it off, we decided it needed glitter!  This gate-fold invitation is on the Princess Party cartridge -- I cut it at 7" wide by 5 1/2" high (unfolded).  Folded it fits into a standard invitation envelope.  The pink and lavender papers are Bazzill card stock, the white is plain office store card stock.

The Banner:

This cartridge has a wonderful pennant banner that screams medieval times to me.  I cut the pennants at 5 1/2" high for the base layer and 5" high for the top layer using Bazzill card stocks (Pinkini and Chablis).    The crowns are also from Princess Party and measure 2 1/2" high and are finished off with some pen doodling and rhinestone gems.  The letters were cut using the George & Basic Shapes cartridge from a thick glittered card stock made by Recollections.  They measure approximately 2 1/4" high.

I added eyelets at the top corners and then tied pale pink ribbon to connect the banner pieces.

Birthday Time-Line:

I used the same heavy glittered card stock and the Princess Party cartridge's crown to make these cute clothespins for our photo time-line of the birthday girl's first year.  The crowns are cut at 3 3/8" and are decorated with rhinestone gems.

They are attached to wooden clothespins with hot glue.

Disney Princess decorations:

It wouldn't be a party if a little girl's favorite princesses didn't show up!  I created thess "head shots" of the ladies to jazz up the party space -- later on they will be framed to decorate Kylie's bedroom.

They are all cut at approximately 11 1/2" high.  I used a variety of Recollections and Bazzill card stocks (and lots of adhesive).  Ariel, Belle and Jasmine are cut using the Disney Princess Dreams Come True cartridge.  Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White are from the Disney Princess Happily Ever After cartridge.

Each of the princesses has glittered elements.  (Click on the photo to make it larger.)  And they really turned out well -- I think Kylie's mommy loved them more than she did!

Glass Slippers decorations:

The "glass" slipper is also from the Princess Party cartridge.  I used a solid silver glitter card stock made by DCWV and a scrap of that purple glittered card stock I used on the banner to make these cute little pumps.  I made two of them -- they were cut at 11 1/2" wide by 10 7/8" high.  Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of them.  But they were cute!

Birthday Hat:

A Princess must have a crown and so must a Birthday Girl have a party hat!  This little hat is also on the Princess Party cartridge.  I cut it at 11 1/2" wide by 7" high from Bazzill's Pinkini card stock.  The crown is cut from the glittered card stock used previously at 2 1/2" high and is decorated with rhinestone gems and a silver letter "K" cut from the Cake Basics cartridge.  I made a pom-pom from some left-over tulle, added two eyelets and some ribbon.

Onesie:

All of the birthday girls and boys in our family get a special onesie or shirt made by Aunt Jen.  Kylie was no different.  I used the freezer paper method to create her princess shirt.  The Princess Party cartridge came through again . . . the tiara was cut at 5" wide by 2 3/8" high and the "Princess" was cut at 6" wide and 1 7/8" high.  I used Tulip brand soft fabric paints and adhered some purple rhinestone gems using Alene's Fabric Fusion adhesive.

Tutu:

The girls also receive a hand-tied tutu to go with their birthday shirt!  Kylie's is a soft pink tulle with sheer pink and white polka-dot ribbons.  Doesn't she look adorable!

Smash Cake:

Dee is the Cake Guru at our house.  But now that we have a Cricut Cake machine, I get to help out occasionally.  Kylie's "smash" cake was made using one of Wilton's new pans -- Wilton Kids Mini Princess Pan.  There are so many sweet details on this little cake -- check out the pearl necklace!  I used the Cricut Cake and the Princess Party cartridge to cut the crown out of fondant.  It measures 1" high by 2" wide.  The little sign at the bottom is made from paper.  I used Cindy Loo, Calligraphy Collection and Cake Basics cartridges for the text.

Cupcake Wrappers & Picks:

The Princess Party cartridge has an adorable cupcake wrapper, too.  I cut it out at 8 3/4" wide from Bazzill's Pinkini card stock.

The crown picks are from the Princess Party cartridge and are cut at 1 1/2" high from Pinkini and a deep purple Bazzill card stock.  The flag picks are cut using the Cupcake Wrappers cartridge at 2" high by 6" wide and are folded in half.  We used two different rubber stamps and embossed them with white embossing powder.

THE Cake:

Dee made the most AMAZING cake!  It is two tiers -- a tier of funfetti with buttercream filling and a tier of chocolate with a chocolate mousse filling.  The turrets are not edible -- they are cardboard tubes covered with fondant.  The tops of the turrets are ice cream cones coated with nonpareil sprinkles.

All of the decorations are made from icing or fondant, with the exception of the princesses.  We used the Cricut Cake and Cake Basics and Tags, Bags, Boxes & More (TBBM) cartridges to cut the turret and castle cake tops, doors and windows.  The Cake Basics simple feature was used to cut the turret/castle toppers.  I welded three sections of the border cut, with the diamonds hidden -- each section measured 3 3/4" wide by 1 1/2"  high before welding.  The castle door and windows were cut from the TBBM cartridge using the rounded top tag.  The door is 2 3/4"wide by 3" high; the castle windows measure 1 1/2" high by 1" wide; and the turret windows are 1 1/2" high by 3/4" wide.  The flags on top are from paper and are cut using the Princess Party cartridge.  I flipped the pennant on its side and welded two together -- they are cut at 5/8" high by 4" wide.

Dee cut the flowers and the bottom border on the cake and turrets using various cake tools.  This cake was a ton of work -- but so worth it!  No one wanted to cut it -- and everyone wanted to take a picture of it.  And it made the 45 minute journey from our house to the party location intact -- in spite of a very bumpy dirt road at the end of the trip. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and enduring this very long, pink-filled post!  I hope you have enjoyed all of the party elements -- we sure had fun making them.

~ Jen

P.S.  I am going to link up my princess party stuff at Decorate to Celebrate for their Anything Goes challenge; at Whimsical Wednesdays who is also having an Anything Goes challenge; and at Little Scrap Pieces for their Anything Goes challenge.

Blog Hop Winners!

My winners from the Cooking With Cricut "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue" Blog Hop on Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th as chosen by Random.org are . . . . . . .

Day One:

Congratulations, Becca you are the winner of this set of clear stamps by Inkadinkado.  I will be contacting you shortly via e-mail to get your mailing address.

Day Two:

Congratulations, Reva!  You won the Cardinal and Holiday Assortment mini clear stamps by Inkadinkado.  I will also be contacting you via e-mail shortly to secure your mailing address.

Thank you so much for all of the sweet comments you all left on both days of our Blog Hop!  Mark your calendars . . . our next CookingWithCricut.com Blog Hop will take place on February 11 & 12 and our theme is "Love is in the Air."

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Blog Hop: Day Two!

Welcome to Day Two of PaperCraftingWorld.com and CookingWithCricut.com’s first Blog Hop of 2012! Our theme is: “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!” 

If you have arrived here from visiting Angie at Scrappin Memories, you’re in the right place! If you've just popped in . . . head on over to see Melin at CookingWithCricut.com and start at the beginning so you don’t miss any of the wonderful projects the Designers have created -- 'cause I'm the caboose on this train!

Our Designers had to use something old from their craft stash, something new (a recent purchase or new technique), something borrowed (an element from a Cricut cut or from a PaperCraftingWorld.com cutting file or digi stamp) and of course, something blue.

I recently completed a number of items for a little boy's first birthday. His Mommy and Daddy selected a gator theme using pastel blue, a light lime green and white. See yesterday's post for the banner, picture clips and shirt I made for the birthday boy's celebration. 

Today I am sharing the yummy cake and cupcakes Dee and I made!  Usually Dee is a solo act when it comes to the cakes.  However, now that we have our new Cricut Cake machine that we scored on eBay I have a feeling I will be participating more.  This is the first time we used the Cricut Cake and  I am still amazed at how easy it was to use!  The key is rolling your fondant to the correct thickness and then letting it sit out to stiffen up a bit.

The bottom tier is white cake and the top tier is chocolate.
Both are covered in buttercream frosting before the fondant is applied.
All of the accents are fondant and the border is M & Ms.
The embellishments on the gators and the monogram plaque was
achieved with edible food writers.

All of the fondant decorations were cut using the Cricut Cake!

  

Here are the decorations drying a bit before being applied to the cake. 

To apply the decorations to the cake you simply
brush them lightly with water.  The water
activates the sugars and allows the fondant
to stick to itself.

The birthday boy is ready for cake!

And here is how I fulfilled the hop requirements:

• Something old ~ Create-A-Critter cartridge
• Something new ~ Cricut Cake and Cake Basics cartridge
• Something borrowed ~ one layer from the multi-layered gator
• Something blue ~ the number one, stripes, and the monogram medallion.

Dee also made some delicious cupcakes that I decorated with cupcake picks.  I used Accent Essentials, Create-A-Critter and Cindy Loo cartridges. 

Tyler had a wonderful first birthday -- and his Mommy and Daddy were so thrilled with all the items Dee and I created for his party.

It wouldn't be a Blog Hop without some Blog Candy, now would it! I have four sets of clear stamps by Inkadinkado that I'm giving away -- two sets yesterday and two sets today. To be eligible you must leave a comment on each day's post (Saturday's post to be eligible for that day's stamps and today's post for today's stamps) with your e-mail address. I'd love it if you'd like to become a follower of my blog, but it is not a requirement.

Here is today's giveaway:

The stamp on the left is hard to see -- it has a Cardinal sitting on a branch.

Thanks for stopping by and hopping with us!  Make sure you check in tomorrow at CookingWithCricut.com and see what Chef Nita has whipped up for our Monday Cartridge Showcase!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Blog Hop: Day One!

Welcome to Day One of PaperCraftingWorld.com and CookingWithCricut.com’s first Blog Hop of 2012!  Our theme is:  “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!” 

If you have arrived here from visiting Larelyn at Handmade from My Heart, you’re in the right place!  If you've just popped in . . .  head on over to see Melin at CookingWithCricut.com and start at the beginning so you don’t miss any of the wonderful projects the Designers have created -- 'cause I'm the caboose on this train! 

Our Designers had to use something old from their craft stash, something new (a recent purchase or new technique), something borrowed (an element from a Cricut cut or from a PaperCraftingWorld.com cutting file or digi stamp) and of course, something blue.

I recently completed a number of items for a little boy's first birthday.  His Mommy and Daddy selected a gator theme using pastel blue, a light lime green and white.  Here is what I came up with . . .

Every birthday boy needs a special shirt!  I used my Cricut and the Create-A-Critter and Cindy Loo cartridges. 

The gator is cut at 6 1/2" wide by 1 1/2" tall is from the Create-A-Critter
cartridge the number one is cut from Cindy Loo at 2 1/4" tall.

This is the birthday boy sporting his new shirt-- isn't he a cutie pie!

And here is how I fulfilled the hop requirements:

• Something old ~ Create-A-Critter cartridge
• Something new ~ White polo shirt
• Something borrowed ~ one layer from the multi-layered gator
• Something blue ~ the number one

I also created a banner and some clothespins to hang pictures from his first year.

Here's the recipe for the banner:

• Pastel blue circles cut from Accent Essentials at 5 1/2".
• White "gear" cut from Accent Essentials at 5".
• Gators cut from Create-A-Critter at 4 1/2" wide.
• Text cut from Mickey Font at 3" tall.

Some pen doodling, eyelets and narrow white ribbon complete this super cute banner.

Aren't these clothespins cute -- almost as cute as those baby pictures!  These gators are also from Create-A-Critter and are cut at 1" high by 2 3/4" wide.  The larger gator measures 11" wide by 3 7/8" high.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing several more items from this party  -- here's a hint . . . there's cake involved!  So don't miss out!

And it certainly wouldn't be a Blog Hop without some Blog Candy, now would it!  I have four sets of clear stamps by Inkadinkado that I'm giving away -- two sets today and two sets tomorrow.  To be eligible you must leave a comment on each day's post with your e-mail address.  I'd love it if you'd like to become a follower of my blog, but it is not a requirement.

Here is today's giveaway:

The stamp on the left is 2 1/4" square and the four small stamps are each 1" square.

Make sure you check in tomorrow at CookingWithCricut.com and see what the Day Two Designers have cooked up!  Thanks for stopping by and hopping with us!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Photo Inspiration

Happy Wednesday and welcome to challenge day at CookingWithCricut.com!  I didn't get anything made for this week's challenge, but I hope you will go over and check out all of the beautiful things the Design Team made using this gorgeous photo for inspiration . . .

This picture was taken by photographer Chris Summerville.  It is entitled "Relax" and was taken in Charlotte, North Carolina's Freedom Park.  One would think this was a gorgeous winter scene, but in actuality this photo was taken with an infrared lens -- those trees were really green!

Don't forget -- this weekend is CookingWithCricut.com and PaperCraftingWorld.com's first Blog Hop of 2012!  Join us beginning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday and Sunday, January 14 & 15.  Two days of fun with two sets of designers!

Now, head on over to CookingWithCricut.com and check out the great projects!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Something New!

Happy New Year!  Today is challenge day over at Cooking With Cricut and Melin decided to change things up a bit to kick off 2012.  The Designers have paired up and selected the challenge themes!  The first set of "hostesses" are Jenny R. and Madison and they challenged the team to use something new -- a new cartridge, paper, ribbon, bling . . . or even a new technique.

I decided to try my hand at one of Melin's wonderful digi stamps!  I hadn't ventured into the digi stamp world yet -- having always been a traditional rubber stamper -- and wasn't sure I was up to all the coloring.  Having had two not-so-successful carpal tunnel surgeries on my right hand, my stamina for coloring just isn't there.  But I gave it a shot and paced myself over several hours.

Not too shabby for my first attempt.  I used Tombow markers to color this sweet little bear; a white Gelly Roll pen for details and doodling; and 3-D Crystal Lacquer to give his eyes, nose, whipped cream and the snowflake on his cup some shine.  (You can purchase this cute "Bear Holding Hot Chocolate" as a digi stamp or cutting file at PaperCraftingWorld.com.)

The card is a top fold I created using my Cricut Design Studio and the Joys of the Season cartridge.  The cup measures 6 1/2" wide by 4 3/4" tall.  The snowflakes are from the same cartridge and they are 1 1/2" tall.

Here is a side view:

I used the Cake Basics cartridge to cut  "Thank You" to go inside.

Now . . . its your turn!  Link up your project using something new or even a new technique at Cooking With Cricut.  You just might be this week's "Top Chef!"

Head on over to CookingWithCricut.com and check out what the other Design Team members created and don't forget to mark your calendars -- our next blog hop is Saturday and Sunday, January 14 and 15th.  Two days of fun with two sets of designers!

~ Jen