Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Apples & Honey

Happy Wednesday and welcome to challenge day at Cooking With Cricut!  This week Melin challenged the Design Team to use honey and/or apples in our projects in celebration of Rosh Hashanah.  Today, September 28th,  is the beginning of the Jewish New Year.  And while maintained to be a strictly Jewish holiday, it is part of the "missed or lost understanding" of our Christian (Hebraic) roots. Among some of the items eaten during this festival, the apple and honey are consumed to symbolize a sweet new year. 

So here are a couple of "sweet" 12 x 12 layouts I created for my youngest daughter's album.

I used the "Just Because" Cards and Doodlecharms cartridges for my apple layout.  The 12" x 12" base is a very light sage green Bazzill card stock.  The two photo mats measure 4" x 6" and the paper is from a basics paper pack by The Paper Studio.  All of the other papers used are from my scrap stash. A little doodling with a white gel pen completes this layout.

Here's the recipe:

• "apple of my eye" cut at 5 1/2" wide ("Just Because" Cards).
• large apple cut at 4 1/4" tall.
• apple basket cut at 2 1/4" tall (I cut off the handles).
• three small apples cut at 1 3/4" tall.

"Just Because" Cards and Walk in My Garden cartridges were used for this layout.  The base is a pale buttery yellow Bazzill card stock.  The photo mats are 4" x 6" and are also from a basics paper pack by The Paper Studio.  All of the other papers came from my scrap stash.   I used chalk for shading on the beehive; added some doodling with a white gel pen and brown Zig pen on the title; and finished it up with my black Zig pen by adding some flight trails behind the bees.

Here's the recipe:

• title is cut at 6" wide.
• beehive measures 3 1/2" tall.
• two matching bees are cut at 2" tall.
• single bee is cut at 1 1/2" tall.

 

Now, "bee" a dear and link up your sweet apple and/or honey projects over at Cooking With Cricut!  We also have openings on our Design Team if you're interested -- click here for all the details.  The deadline to apply is Wednesday, October 5th.

 

Mark your calendars!  Cooking With Cricut is having a blog hop on Saturday, October 22nd.   October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month . . . so we will be showcasing our wonderful pets.  And even though it is about increasing awareness for "pound puppies," we are going to be celebrating all of our precious fur babies and other domesticated four-legged critter friends!  I hope you'll join us!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: The Colors of Autumn

Welcome to Autumn -- well not officially!  The "official" start of Autumn is September 23, but we're kicking it off a little early this week at Cooking With Cricut.  Melin challenged the Design Team to use the colors of autumn in our projects this week -- reds, oranges, yellows, greens and browns.  So, in the hopes of encouraging some cooler weather here in sunny Florida, I decided to make a Fall wreath. 

Here's what you need:

• The inner ring from an 18" wooden embroidery hoop.
• A couple dozen leaves in a variety of colors and sizes -- I cut mine from the Create-A-Critter cartridge.  They range in size from 4 1/4" to 5 1/2" wide.
• Hot glue gun.
• Rubber stamping inks to "antique" the edges of your leaves -- I used "Cosmic Copper" Brilliance pigment ink pad by Tsukineko and an Archival Ink "Russet" ink pad by Ranger Industries.
• Spray Glitter by FloraCraft.
• 1 1/2" wide wired ribbon -- mine was a variegated ribbon that has a lovely metallic shimmer; purchased at Michael's a year or so ago.
• "Sparkle Gold" and "Super Russet" PearlEx powders by Jacquard Products.

I had an awful time getting a good photograph -- it looks MUCH better in person -- and this wreath still needs something.  I'm just not sure what yet . . . it looked much better in my mind's eye!  LOL!

I cut the leaves out and brushed the edges with rubber stamp ink.  Some of the leaves were sprayed with the Spray Glitter and then while they were still wet I flicked some PearlEx powders on them randomly.  After everything was dry, I hot glued the leaves to the wooden hoop, tied a ribbon and viola!  A quick and easy wreath to hang in my foyer.

There were quite a few leftover leaves -- I think I'll hit them with some UTEE (ultra-thick embossing enamel) and make some some cards or hmmmm . . . . maybe some napkin rings!

I hope you'll link up your Autumn Colors project at Cooking With Cricut this week.  We'd love to see what you create!  Melin has also put out a Design Team call -- check it out, we'd love to have you join our team.

Happy Fall, y'all!

~ Jen

Cooking With Cricut Challenge: Grandparents

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Cooking With Cricut Challenge Day!  This week Melin challenged the Design Team to create a project in honor of Grandparent's Day (which was this past Sunday). 

My last living grandparent -- my maternal grandmother, left us in 2002 at the ripe old age of 96.  I decided to create a heritage layout focusing on her parents, my great-grandparents, Minnie and Walter Zurn.  And even though I was only six when Pops died and 11 when Great-Grandma died, I remember them fondly.  They were a major influence in my young life.  I believe I was about three years old the first time Great-Grandma tied an apron around my waist and let me help her make sugar cookies.  Pops always told the greatest stories.  By the time I came around he was legally blind, so all of the stories were of his childhood and that of my grandmother and mother.  It wasn't until much later in my life that I realized that his childhood chum, Harry, whom many of the stories centered around, was in fact President Harry S. Truman!  I uncovered several letters between the two before, during and after his Presidency.

They lived in a two story Victorian house that had the most fabulous wooden banister that my Great-Grandma kept polished.  I'm certain I must have given my mother heart failure when I came whizzing down it from the second floor!  My grandmother sold their home to a local optometrist after my Great-Grandma's death.  Dr. Marshall has completely restored the home and converted it into his offices.  (I love to go get my eyes checked and visit their old home!)  Don't forget . . . you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

The oval pictures were their high school graduation photos.  The large center picture was taken on their wedding day.  Here is the recipe:

• Fiskars ShapeBoss with the PL Heritage embossing stencil to decorate the white mat.  (Yes, this is old school -- I don't have a Cuttlebug, yet!) 
• K & Co. Black & Ivory Fusion 12 x 12 paper pack (purple patterned paper)
• Black card stock
• White card stock
• Plantin SchoolBook cartridge -- text cut at 5/8" tall.
• Accent Essentials cartridge -- flourishes cut at  2 3/8" tall.
• Self-adhesive pastel purple pearls from Michael's.

The photo on the top left was taken to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.  The text box on the top right gives a little genealogical history.  The two drawings on the bottom left were drawn by my Pops as a gift to his young bride.  He also wrote the two poems.  I scanned them into my computer and printed them out -- the originals are quite brittle and are not in great shape -- of course they are 106 years old!  The picture on the bottom right is one of my favorites!  My Pops always had a cigar or pipe -- every time I smell pipe tobacco and peppermints I think of him.  And he could always make my Great-Grandma smile.  They both had a great sense of humor and love of life and each other.

Thank you for joining me on my stroll down memory lane!  I hope you'll link up a project at Cooking With Cricut in honor or in memory of your grandparents or great-grandparents.   You could be this week's Top Chef!

Thank you all for your sweet words and your prayers for my family following the recent death of my father-in-law.  You will never know how much they touched my heart!

~ Jen