Theme Thursday Snow Day

It is Theme Day Thursday at My Cricut Craft Room and the theme I am working with is Snow Day. We don't get much snow down here in Louisiana and or growing up in San Antonio, so I decided to go with a card. Most of you know I don't make cards like a normal person. I start out with an emotion or feeling and try to express it through my card front. I started looking through my Cricut cartridges and I really liked this building a snow woman silhouette. I started thinking about snow days and thinking about childhood and making mistakes. Especially when you aren't used to the snow.So here is what I came up with for your viewing pleasure.

I cut the silhouette at 3 1/4 inches from smooth black card stock. The card front is a a piece of pearlized white card stock. The background was created using my favorite products Tim Holtz Distress Inks. I started with the Stormy Sky distress ink pad. I wanted light coverage, so the pearl would still shine through, so I used a felt pad instead of a foam pad. Once I had the blue background it was a little too blue, so I added just a bit of Weathered Wood distress ink to give it that touch of steely grey in a winter sky. The swirls were stamped off the edge using the large swirl stamp in the Tim Holtz large stamps set Urban Chic. I know for me personally 29.99 sounds outrageous for a set of stamps, but that is the retail. I had to wait for a sale, but they are so worth it. I use this set all the time. If you can't afford them now, make a point to get them the next time Erica has a sale. There isn't a picture on Erica's site, but here is a pic of the stamps on this set.

I used the Stormy Sky ink to stamps the swirls and then outlined then in Waterfall Stickles. I was trying to create the feeling of the swirling snow. In between I added some stickles snowflakes in stardust stickles and they were also used to make the snow at the bottom of the page.

The skirt and scarf were colored in with liquid pearls. I was thinking of a child not used to snow bringing out their mother's silk or satin and ruining it. That is the type of thing I would have done. The skirt, mouth, and dots on the scarf are Liquid Pearls Flamingo. The scarf is Liquid Pearls Ocean Blue.

 Lots of fun great products here. Now if that wasn't enough, I have one more trick up my sleeve. I have a sneak peek for you. One of our new design team members was eager to get started and created a card for today. Since the big reveal of the new design team members isn't until Sunday, she can't post her card today. I thought you might enjoy a peek though of what lies in store.

Now head on over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what my design team sisters have in store for you.

Red-White-Blue Summer SteamPunk Celebration Blog Hop

Leslierahye is hostessing another one of her amazing blog hops. I tried to resist, but I couldn't; I had to get in on this Steampunky goodness. I decided to join the hop and designed a card I love. If that wasn't enough Erica over at Erica's Craft Room Store offered to sponsor my stop on the hop and I am giving away a $10 gift certificate to her store.

 When I was trying to decide what I wanted to create or achieve for this hop and started thinking about what Steampunk means to me. The images go along with a period in literature that explores the possibilities. Where peopled dreamed of what could be and how science and technology(somewhat primitive back then) could take us there. Then I needed to combine that with Red-White-Blue Summer which to me says Americana. I thought of the Statue of Liberty, because what says dreams and possibilities more than Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Also when I was younger I had this weird notion that she was a mechanical lady and had walked across the bottom of the ocean to get here. Where she stands was where she came out of the water and broke down. I know I was weird kid with a wild imagination. So even if the rest of the world doesn't think of the statue of liberty as steampunk, she is still steampunk to me.

An ever so slightly different angle to make sure you can see the texture and dimension of the torch. I started off with one of the white basic economy card bases from M's. I cut two pieces of white cardstock. One to fit the card front perfectly and one a quarter of an inch smaller, so i would have an eighth of an inch border. Most of the products I used can be found in Erica's Craft Room Store. If you click on the product the first time I list it, it will take you directly to that product. I inked the edges of the card base and my larger piece of white cardstock with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I took the smaller piece of cardstock and inked it with Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink and what should have been Tim Holtz Faded Blue Jeans Distress Ink, but I can't find it so I used a different ink and it did not want to react as well as the distress inks. Once I had the red and blue splotches, I went back over the whole thing with the vintage photo. The flowers all started out as white. I pressed the flowers into the distress ink pads and then spritzed them with a mini mister, so the color would spread through the petals. I am not sure which ones are which, because I dump them all together in a container, but there are several different shapes to choose from and then you can layer them too.

The dream tag was inked in the same way and is one of the Tim Holtz Adage tags.I love these, because they add that little something my projects need. There are so many in a pack and different words that I get to spread them out over a lot of different projects. You get almost 100 of them for around four bucks. I love getting a lot of bang for my buck.

This picture is here to show what you can't see. I am the world's messiest gluer and you can not see it. Unfortunately, this glue and the embossing enamels are not something you can get from Erica, but if you decide to get some, use the code TS25 and Globecraft Memories will give you 25% off your entire order. This glue is Glastique matte. I didn't really believe it would be string enough to hold heavy metal embellishments, so I used a lot and it squished out, but it dried absolutely clear. You can not see it at all and it held the heavy metal. I also want you to see the metal piece. It is out of a multi pack of gears and sprockets from M's, but I changed the color by covering it with embossing powder adhesive and then coating it with Globecraft Memories Vintage Copper embossing enamel.  I love how it has that patina effect and the green is showing through. It is even more amazing in person.

This little metal embellishment is a Tim Holtz sprocket, but I covered it with the vintage copper also. It was copper to begin with, but not the patina copper I wanted.

The torch is a cricut cut. It is cut at 3 1/2 inches from the Stand and Salute cartridge. If you have a cricut and don't have this cartridge you will want to look at it. There is so much I use this cart for and not just military or patriotic pages. I have cut out pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness, planes for little boy pages, stars for all kinds of things, anchors for a cruise page. It really is a versatile cartridge and Ericas has it for only $34.99.

The torch is cut out of basic smooth cheap black cardstock, but covered with the vintage copper. Now when working with the embossing enamels, you can use the flash set or full heat set meaning you heat it linger with your heat tool. I completely heat set it and then after it cools, I come back and hit those areas again to really get the green patina to bubble up and show through. That is another one of the Tim Holtz gears up in the corner. Below is another closeup of the patina and aged metal effect.

Once again I would like to thank Erica's Craft Room for sponsoring my stop on this blog hop. In order to be eligible to win the gift certificate, leave me a little comment love and maybe tell me how you would spend your gift certificate. It is not required for you to follow me, but I would love it if you decided to follow.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

Card Tuesday

Well it is Card Tuesday at My Cricut Craft Room. Today we had the choice of following the sketch or making a card featuring a certain flower. I chose the flower thinking finding a carnation would be easy. Well, the only carnation I found was on 50 States and someone else from school has the cart right now. So, since I didn't have access to that cartridge and the red carnation cut, I decided to make my own. I went online and looked at several pictures of carnations. I pulled out Mother's Day Bouquet and chose a bloom with jaggedy edges. I used the next to the last key on the first row.

I cut them at 1", 1 1/2" and 2". I knew I was using copper on the card and didn't have any small copper brads. I held a small gold brad with tweezers, got the head good an hot with the heat tool, dipped it in vintage copper embossing enamel, and then heat set until smooth. I then poked the brad through the center of the layered cuts. Once they were secure, I spritzed them with a mini mister filled with water. Once the water soaked in and the fibers of the paper were loosened, I scrunched them up by hand and shaped into a flower. Needless to say it didn't come out looking like the carnation I was aiming for, but I liked the result anyway.

I used a premade card base and inked the edges with Spiced Marmalade Distress ink. I honestly believe the most versatile products I own are my Tim Holtz distress inks. If you are looking for a good value for your money, invest in some of these inks. A little goes a long way and you will find so may uses for them.

The papers I used for the flower and the torn piece are from the Bo Bunny 6x6 Country Garden Pad . They are beautiful. If you have never played with Bo Bunny before, they are an excellent quality paper. They cut well on the cricut, they tear beautifully by hand, and they ink exquisitely. Erica has the whole line. The trinkets are really nice and add a gorgeous accent. I didn't add one to this card because I was going for a more simple look and the trinkets are very elegant looking.

The thanks was cut from Don Juan at 3/4''. It was cut out of basic brown cardstock. I then covered it in embossing enamel adhesive and quickly covered the wet adhesive with Vintage Copper embossing enamel. Talk about a different effect. It looks like aged patina mixed with the copper. The green and white mottled look you get on old copper is there. I tried to get a good shot of this. It really is raised and metallic like metal, but I have never seen paper with this old metal look.

I hope you enjoyed my card. Now head over to My Cricut Craft Room to see what my design team sisters have created.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

April Showers, Full of Flowers Blog Hop

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's April SHowers, Full of Flowers blog hop

  

If you arrived here from Ashley's blog, then you are in the right spot. If you just happened upon my post, you will want to start at My Cricut Craft Room as she is giving away a Cricut Mini.

On the first day we will show you a project with the theme, April Showers, then on Sunday we will either transform our project into a "Full of Flowers" project, or we made a matching item with the theme of Flowers....

Erica's Craft Room is sponsoring this blog hop with ONE of the prizes being a Cricut Mini machine. Be sure to comment on ALL of the blogs both days to be entered to win the Cricut Mini Machine! 

Yes, you read that right Erica's Craft Room is giving away an actual Cricut Mini Machine. This isn't small candy you guys. This is super generous of her, so spread the word and invite your friends to the hop.

Here is my project for today. I made a card featuring rain.

 I wanted the card to have that rainy day blues feeling. That is how I feel when I miss my sister, so I think this is going to her. I started with a plain white piece of cardstock. I used Tim Holtz Stormy Sky distress ink with a felt pad. I used felt instead of a foam pad, because I didn't want the color too dark. I have a lighter touch with the felt. Once I had the blue down, I came back in with wild Honey distress ink on a foam blending pad. The little girl with the umbrella was cut from A Child's Year using Cricut Craft room. I simply dropped her on the mat and then enlarged her until I felt like she would fit well on my standard sized card. She ended up with a height of 3.944 and a width of 2.292. On a side note, if you are cutting silhouetted figures like these you want to make sure you have smooth edges, so keep some extra blades on hand. I hate when I need a new blade and don't have one of hand. Add an extra pack of blades to your cart while you are shopping with Erica this weekend

 I wanted a rainy finish on the umbrella, so I used my glossy accents to make rain drops above the umbrella and splatters on the umbrella. I actually glued the little girls down with glossy accents too. It makes a great adhesive too. You can also get your Glossy Accents from Erica's Store

 To carry the rainy feel through the card, I wanted a splattered feel to the background too. Tim Holtz's distress inks are formulated to react with water. Once I had the inks on the paper, I dipped my fingers in water and flicked the water at the card front. You can see where the ink reacted and the splatter marks it left.

 Although I wanted rainy day blues, I didn't want depressing, so I added a playful splash of the puddles. I know I tend to stomp my feet or kick at puddles when I am not getting my way, so I created the splashy puddles using Ice Stickles. The ice stickles are a little different from the regular stickles. I used the Artic Ice Stickles which you can order from Erica's store HERE.

I used the Artic Ice stickles again to create a rain cloud feel at the top of the card. I really like the way the card turned out and hope you enjoy it too.  Come back tomorrow to see the companion project. Remember to visit all the blogs in the hop and comment on each one to be eligible for the Cricut Mini.

Next you should head over to see Haidee. You will love her blog  created2bunique.

Just in case you get lost along the way, here is the complete line up. 

Erica's Room Erica- http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/
Claire- http://www.scrapmyway.blogspot.com/
Tanya-http://litle/-scrapper.blogspot.com
Janet- http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/
Lisa Peters http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Jessica Bashaw - http://thecrafterscottage.blogspot.com/
Doris Parker - http://mybugandmecreate.blogspot.com/
Ashley http://especiallymade.blogspot.com/
Kathy Jo Page Ritchie http://skrappindiva.blogspot.com/
Haidee Shableau http://created2bunique.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow.
KathyJo
My Cricut Craft Room Design Team Member

A Little Card Set

Hi everyone! I could hardly wait to share this project with you. I got the cutest papers from the Erica's Craft Room Store. They are from the BoBunny Sweet Tooth Collection. I made a couple of birthday cards and a couple of notecards.

On the first card I did a fussy cut around the cake and added a Jillibean Soup Label that I also got from Erica (did I tell you she carries some great products and has super customer service?). How is this for a quick easy card?

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For the next one, I used a stamp amd my Zing embossing powders. I am still not great with embossing, but I am getting better.

This one uses the embossing again and a few fussy cut flowers from the back side of the polka dotted paper.

The last one has a cricut cut flower from Forever Young, I added some stickles and called it done. These were super easy and super quick. All four only took about 15 minutes. It literally took longer for the stickles to dry than it did to make the cards. I hope you like them.

KathyJo

A Card, Yes you read that right... a card!

Okay, I don't consider myself a card maker. I have decided it would be beneficial to become a card maker and keep some cards on hand. I was doing some blog surfing this weekend and came across one of the best blogs I have visited in a while. It is My Cricut Craft Room: Erica's Craft Room . There is so much going on at this blog. Daily postings, Challenges, Swaps, and more... I decided to create the card for their current card challenge. I used two cartridges to make this card: Forever Young, Twinkle Toes, and Cricut Craft Room Basics. The two actual carts had never been used. They were still wrapped in the plastic shell. They probably still would not have been used it it were not for the free Cricut Craft Room. I went into CCR and started designing the card. It is really an easy program to use. Anyway... I laid out the card and then did the cutting. When I was looking for a rectangle with rounded corners, I found one on Twinkle Toes. I was looking for a person or animal to put on the card and found one in Forever Young. I was excited, because I was going to use not one but two carts I hadn't used before. It is one of my goals to use my cricut more.

Those of you that know me know I LOVE Echo Park papers. I wanted to use the Be Mine collection again they are great papers even though it is not Valentine's Day. I cut out the individual layers. I made the base out of Recollections black paper, as well as the lady and the word. Once I had it all layered, I added some black diamond and diamond dust stickles. What do you think? Head on over the Erica's blog and join the challenge yourself.

Have a super week and check back soon. I will be posting things more often.