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