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

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