Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Bling It On!

Happy Wednesday!  First things first . . . thank you all for hopping with me this weekend during Cooking With Cricut's Two Day Home Decor Blog Hop.  I am so appreciative of all the wonderful comments that were left about my two projects.  (Stay tuned for blog candy winners later in this post.)

Today is challenge day at Cooking With Cricut and our theme for this week is "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend!"  If it sparkles you'll find it in today's post!  It was a chilly and rainy weekend here in North Central Florida -- perfect crafting weather!  I made a bunch of cards and three of them are in today's post. 

The first card I made was for one of my 8 year old daughter's best friends, Emma.  She is celebrating her 6th birthday and she loves Hello Kitty.  So this shaped card was perfect for Miss Emma.

Here's the recipe:

• Cricut Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge - Shaped card cut at 7" tall by 4 3/4" wide.
• Yellow and Red Stickles
• Self-adhesive rhinestones
• White card stock; all other papers from my scraps stash.
• Inside greeting was rubber stamped - Stamp Craft "Happy Birthday." 

The next card is for a beautiful 6 year old named Emily who is battling leukemia.  Emily is this month's "I Feel the Love" recipient.  My fellow Design Team member, Madison at Funky Cards, created this awesome outreach program to bring a little bit of joy to people of all ages who are going through a rough time.  Each month she chooses a different person and crafters from all over the world make cards and send them to Madison.  Madison collects them all and either delivers them personally or assembles the package of "love" to be mailed.  This is the 5" x 7" card I made for Miss Emily . . .

And here is the recipe:

• Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge - "Hello" cut from white card stock at 4 1/2" wide
• Cricut Cake Basics cartridge - Frame 2 (pg. 33) cut at 4 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" tall.  I cut this twice - once from Bazzill's Classic Purple card stock and then again from a lime green in the DCWV Cherry Limeade stack.
• Cricut Create-A-Critter cartridge - Hippo cut at 4 3/4" high (all papers from my scraps stash).
• The card base is also from the DCWV Cherry Limeade stack.
• The inside says:  "Hip, Hippo, Hooray!  I hope you're feeling better today!"
• My bling is the Hippo's glittery purple and the self-adhesive rhinestones.

My last card is for 13 year old Patty who is battling neurobastoma cancer.  Patty's mother is the friend of my CWC Design Team member, Kemma Allen.  I found this wonderful poem by Emily Dickinson and knew that I wanted to use the first stanza in Patty's card along with this beautiful cutting file by Melin at PaperCraftingWorld.com.   The first stanza of the poem reads:  ""Hope" is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops -- at all . . ."

Here's the recipe:

• PaperCraftingWorld.com cutting file -- Birdcage Swirls and Flowers.  The small swirl was cut at 4 3/4" wide and the large was cut at 6" wide, both from Bazzill's Iced Coffee card stock.  The flowers range in size from 1" to 2 3/8" and were cut from scraps.  The cage was cut from white card stock at 4" high -- I cut two of them and pop-dotted one on top of the other with the bird sandwiched inside.  The bird was also cut from scraps at 2 1/4" high.
• Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge - "Peace" cut at 2 3/4" wide from paper scraps.
• Cricut Cake Basics cartridge - leaves cut at 3/4" wide from paper scraps.
• I inked the edges of the flowers and the bird with rubber stamp inks and the leaves were edged with chalk.
• The card base is white card stock and the mat a piece of paper from a K & Co. kit.  The card measures 8 1/2" by 5 1/2".
• The flower centers are rhinestone brads and the other bling is self-adhesive rhinestones -- both purchased at Michael's.

Now it's your turn!  Link up your "blinged-up" project at Cooking With Cricut and you could be our next Top Chef!

And now it's time for blog candy!  In the midst of moving and all that goes with it, I totally forgot to choose my winner from our last blog hop -- so the winner of the February 11th "Love Song" Blog Hop is lucky number . . .

Who said . . .

Congratulations, Patty!  I'll be e-mailing you for your snail mail address!

And the winner from this weekend's Home Decor Blog Hop is lucky number . . .

Who said . . .

Congrats!  I will also be e-mailing you for your snail mail address!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and checking out my blinged up cards.  Pop on over to Cooking With Cricut and check out all the sparkly goodness the Design Team whipped up!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Home Decor Blog Hop: Day 2

Welcome to Day TWO of Paper Crafting World and Cooking With Cricut’s Home Decor Blog Hop! Our Design Teams are so excited to bring you a two-day hop that focuses on projects for your home – that’s right no cards or scrapbook layouts in this hop! 

You should have arrived here from visiting the very talented Kimmi at Impressively Yours Gifts. I'm the caboose on this Blog Hop train . . . so if you just dropped in and would like to start at the beginning, head on over to Melinda’s Paper Crafting World; then click thru and check out the beautiful things our two Design Teams have created.

My project for today is not something you would find in your indoor living room . . . but out in your garden -- or as my Mom calls it "her fresh air living room."  My Mom is an avid gardener; she is her happiest with her gardening grubbies on and dirt underneath her fingernails.  Both of her thumbs are green.  Not something I inherited (it must have skipped my generation) or that I am really even interested in (much to my Mother's chagrin).   So imagine my surprise when Mom calls and tells me she needs me to help her with a gardening project for her garden club group!  After assuring me that I wouldn't be planting or weeding and that it involved my beloved Cricut I said "yes."

Mom is a member of the Jasmine Circle of the Gainesville Garden Club.  Every year they have a fundraiser to raise money for several local organizations they sponsor.  This year the ladies decided to raffle off a wheelbarrow loaded with gardening supplies.  My task was to decorate the wheelbarrow!

Welcome to extreme Cricuting! LOL!  I cut all of the stencils for the flowers and leaves out using Cricut's Walk in My Garden cartridge and contact paper.  Yep, good old contact paper!

Here's the recipe:

Leaves - cut at 3 3/4" wide and 4" wide.

Sunflowers - cut at 7 1/4" wide.

Daisies - cut at 4" wide.

Other flowers - cut at  3" wide, 4" wide and 5" wide.

Dragonflies, butterflies and lady bugs were free-handed; as were the vines and all other embellishing.

Mom and two other circle members used acrylic craft paint to stencil in all of the basic shapes.  After they were dry, I went back and did all of the free handing and finishing details and then we sealed it all with a glossy sealer.

It turned out really cute!  But the best thing was that Mom's Garden Circle raised over $1,900 for their outreach programs!

We hope you’ll link up your Home Decor project for a chance at winning one of our giveaways. One winner will be chosen by random draw and three others will be selected by the Design Team. Head on over to Cooking With Cricut for the guidelines and the link up. 

Now it wouldn't be a hop without some blog candy, now would it!  To be eligible for my blog candy you must (1) be a follower of my blog and (2) leave a comment with your e-mail address.  One lucky person will be chosen from the comments left on both days and will be announced in my post on Wednesday, April 25th.  You have until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday to leave your comment(s).  Up for grabs are three sets of clear mini stamps -- a graduation set by studio gand two fun sets by inkadinkadoo.

Thanks for stopping by and hopping with us!  Make sure to join us tomorrow for our Monday Cartridge Showcase featuring Chef Jamie L. and the Cricut Lite 9 Months cartridge; check out what the Paper Crafting World Design Team is up to on Tuesday; our weekly Cooking With Cricut Challenge is Wednesday; and on Thursday, Chef Jill will be featuring the Cricut Sweet Tooth Boxes cartridge in the Thursday Cartridge Showcase.  Tons of fun all week long!  I hope you'll join us!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Home Decor Blog Hop: Day 1

Welcome to Day One of Paper Crafting World and Cooking With Cricut’s Home Decor Blog Hop! Our Design Teams are so excited to bring you a two-day hop that focuses on projects for your home – that’s right no cards or scrapbook layouts in this hop! 

You should have arrived here from visiting the very talented Becky at Scrap Circus. I'm the caboose on this Blog Hop train . . . so if you just dropped in and would like to start at the beginning, head on over to Melinda’s Paper Crafting World; then click thru and check out the beautiful things our two Design Teams have created.  

I chose to create some artwork for my home decor project ~ this was a gift for my nephew's wife, Jessica.  She and Jeffrey were married last year and are creating their own home, like all newlyweds do.  I thought she might appreciate a gift featuring her favorites -- butterflies, purples, and pale yellows.

The frame is a shadow box that I picked up on clearance from my local Michael's.  It was raw wood and had a few nicks and scrapes that sanded right out.  I painted it with a glossy white spray paint and while it dried I went to work on the insides.

I used the Cricut Cake Basics cartridge for the butterflies.  All of the butterflies were cut at 1 1/2" wide by 1" tall.  (The papers are from my scrap stash.)  The background paper is a white embossed card stock I've had in my paper cabinet for quite a while.  

The hardest part of this project was figuring out how many butterflies I could line up across and down and then sticking them on straight!  I adhered them with therm-o-web Zots (small clear adhesive dots) and then lifted the wings up to give them some dimension.  Once everything was where I wanted it, I went to work embellishing.  I added rhinestones and pearls to a number of the butterflies.

The mat was plain white so I decided to cover it with a deep purple mulberry paper.  It still needed something . . . so I added a little rhinestone detailing to the corners.  All in all, I'm happy with the way it turned out -- and Jessica LOVED it!

We hope you’ll link up your Home Decor project for a chance at winning one of our giveaways. One winner will be chosen by random draw and three others will be selected by the Design Team. Head on over to Cooking With Cricut for the guidelines and the link up. 

Now it wouldn't be a hop without some blog candy, now would it!  To be eligible for my blog candy you must (1) be a follower of my blog and (2) leave a comment with your e-mail address.  One lucky person will be chosen from the comments left on both days (so double your chances and stop by tomorrow and leave a comment, too!) and will be announced in my post on Wednesday, April 25th.  You have until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday to leave your comment(s).  Up for grabs are three sets of clear mini stamps -- a graduation set by studio g and two fun sets by inkadinkadoo.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure to join us tomorrow for another wonderful day filled with tons of new projects.  We kick off at 8:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) at Melinda's Paper Crafting World . . . so grab your favorite morning beverage and come hop with us!

~ Jen