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.

Hello! Welcome to this stop of the Picnic Blog Hop. You should have started at Erica's Blog . If you didn't please click on the link and start there. If you came here from Tracy  you are in the right spot. If you are just visiting my blog, I hope you will make your way through this weekend's projects. I know that Erica has some fabulous blog candy at the end of the hop and you never know who else might have candy along the way...you might even find some at the end of this post.

When I sat down and started thinking about what I wanted to make for this hop I was overwhelmed with memories of my childhood and couldn't think of many picnics. There were a few from when I was very young, but I kept coming back to Aunt Lily. Let me start off by saying all of my Aunts have influenced me in different ways and given me legacies to carry with me, but the legacy Aunt Lily left me and my sister was to make everyday occurrences remarkable. When I would go to Aunt Lily's as a young child she would make me wonderful snacks of tea and cookies. She had a fancy little teapot (we didn't have anything like that at my house). She would make me tea in that teapot and serve tea and cookies on a tray. It was all in the presentation and I was made to feel like a princess.

My sister still does this for the little kids. One time when we went to visit, she decorated and had a luau for my kids at breakfast just so they could have fresh pineapple. We celebrated a year's worth of holidays in one week once. We had a bbq, Christmas party, Easter party, Valentine party, Halloween Party, and New Year's Eve Party all within a week. It was a blast. Anyway... I didn't take my kids on a lot of picnics either. Most of them were in our backyard and one of the things that made them special was wrapping the silverware. I know it is silly, but if we are eating outside my kids love for the silverware to be wrapped. I decided to make a quick little napkin wrapper for a picnic. 

I simply took a scrap of white paper and cut it 2 1/2 inches by about 6 inches. I cut a strip of patterned paper and cut a strip 1 x 6 and glued it on top of the white cardstock. For the little personalized monogram, I used A Child's Year Monogram key and cut the C at 1 1/2 inches. I then cut the monogram that is blank out of black at 1 3/4. I glued them together and then glued it to the center of the strip. I wrapped it around the silverware and glued where it overlaps with my ATG.

Look at the cute little ant on this paper. I don't remember where I got this paper. I have had it around for years. I think it may be out of one of the DCWV Summer Stacks.

The other side says Picnic Time. I love it. This took all of three minutes to make, but it sure to bring a smile to my kids' faces when we use them this weekend. They are so quick and easy I can do it at the last minute even if they invite a friend over.

I thought more about the picnic and thought what better place to have a picnic than at the beach or at least at a park with a big sand box. I grabbed a pail and threw some vinyl on it. I cut the Oh Happy Day from Don Juan. Quick easy and lots of fun. When cutting vinyl, you want to use a medium setting on pressure, speed, and blade depth. It will "Kiss" cut where it cuts through the vinyl, but not the paper backing. You then peel away the excess vinyl before transferring it to the item.

I had planned to do more elaborate projects, but my boss surprised us this week by announcing her retirement. That threw lots into my week that wasn't planned. Then everyone in the house had ten different things going on, so it has been a busy week. I didn't get near what I wanted to get done finished. Of course, you know me and I could add another project or two before morning. In the meantime, how bout a little blog candy to make up for the simple projects?

What do you need to do to win this blog candy?... Leave me a comment telling me what cartridges or themes you would like to see featured on my blog. Are you really looking for school layouts? Do you need birthday ideas? Home decor projects? What do you want to see? You never know, I might even be able to talk Erica into getting the whole design team working on the theme or featuring the cartridge. You don't have to follow to win, but if you would like to follow I would be honored to have you as a follower.

Okay it is morning and I have a layout for you. The colors aren't showing up well, because it was barely light outside as I was taking these. I used Echo Park's "A Walk in the Park" Collection. It is not one of their newer collections. It is an old collection, but all of the Echo Park Collections are wonderful. They just go together so well and are easy to work with. Check out the other Echo Park Collections Erica offers here.  The 12x12 collections are my favorites. They come with papers, three sets of alphabet stickers, shaped cardstock stickers, and border strips.

This was a fun layout to make. I pulled out one of my favorite go to cartridges Designer's Calendar. It is an often overlooked cart. I bought it to make calendars for my classroom. I have made one calendar with it for my husbands classroom, but I use it all the time. It has words and images for every holiday and most events. From playdates to sleepovers to Chinese New Year to Mardi Gras to a dentist visit.... it is all on this cart. Plus go to shapes like butterflies, flowers, Christmas trees, and pumpkins. I am telling you I use this cartridge all the time. Erica has this caret for only $23 right now. It is a steal. This is a direct link to this cart on her store.

 The title is cut from Designer's Calendar. I cut both the letter and the shadows at 2". It is a very versatile font. It is skinny, so you can still make the letters relatively large without taking up all the space.

You can see I added some of the cardstock stickers to enhance the layout.

I you enjoyed and that you will check out Echo Park's line and Designer's Calendar.

Now head on over to Haidee's Blog to see what she has created for the hop. I know it will wow you, as her projects always blow me away. Don't forget to leave some comment love along the way to be eligible for the blog candy Erica is giving away.

Here is the entire line up just  in case you get lost along the way.

Start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/
Suzy's Crafts http://suzyssimplecrafts.blogspot.com/
Tracy http://Lovesbuggin.blogspot.com/
Kathy Jo http://skrappindiva.blogspot.com/
Haidee http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/
Cicily http://pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com/
Erica's Project http://ericasprojects.blogspot.com/
Lori http://www.scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/.
April http://curlsandgrins.blogspot.com/
Blog Candy http://ericasblogcandy.blogspot.com/

I am 99% sure that as soon as I have natural light in the morning, there will be a fun picnic layout for you to see with Echo Park Papers.
Happy Crafting!
KathyJo

April Showers, Full of Flowers Day 2

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 the same inks and cartridge I used yesterday, but with a very different end feel.

 I wanted the card to feel springy and to show the spunk of this little girl who knows what she wants. I started with a plain white piece of cardstock. I used Tim Holtz Wild Honey distress ink with a foam pad, because I wanted a heavy color. I have a lighter touch with the felt, so I used a felt pad to add just a touch of the Stormy sky distress ink. The kids were cut from A Child's Year using Cricut Craft room. I simply dropped them on the mat and then enlarged them until I felt like they would fit well on my standard sized card. They ended up with a height of 4.014 and a width of 4.208. 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 took the same Stormy sky I inked with and used a Tim Holtz stamps to stamp the flowery vine there in the corner.

 The plain black card stock looked too flat, so I smeared Glossy Accent on them to give them a nice sheen that would pop off the background. SPECIAL TIP...When spreading glossy accents, stickles, or liquid pearls with your finger you don't want to leave fingerprints in the surface. Avoid the prints by coating your fingertip with a thin layer of the product you are using. It will fill in the ridges on your finger tip and keep you from leaving prints in it. I actually glued them down with glossy accents too. It makes a great adhesive too. You can also get your Glossy Accents from Erica's Store

 I stamped the sentiment with a Tim Holtz stamp and Ranger Archival ink in coffee.

 I accented the flowery vines with two types of stickles. I used Star Duston the vines and made the flowers 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.The flowers were created by pressing white roses into the Wild Honey distress ink pad. I then squirted it with a mini minster to make the color spread. Once it was dry I sprayed them with Frost glimmer mist. It still needed a little something, so I squirted a little ice stickles on my finger and rubbed it across the edges of the flowers.

I really like the way the card turned out and hope you enjoy it too. 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

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

Scrapbook Challenge

Every two weeks there is a new scrapbook challenge over at Erica's Craft Room. I have to say I procrastinated and am down to the wire. Only three hours left and I am just now getting mine posted. Here is the sketch that had to be used and the colors were pastel yellow, pastel green, and another color of your choice. I chose pink.

I was actually looking for some other photos this morning and came across these from Easter 2005. Nick was so cute, I had to use this sketch and get them scrapped. Here is my take on the sketch. The lighting is awful as it is raining here, but I wanted to get this posted in time for the challenge.

I can't give you all the details, as I used CCR to lay it out. The bunny and grass are from everyday paper dolls, the letters are Don Juan, and the eggs are A Child's Year.

I journaled on an egg and decorated the other eggs with stickles. You can see I added a little peeled paint distress ink to the grass.

I also added a bit of distress ink to the letters and edges of the paper. Over all I like it. It was a quick easy layout. There are still a few hours to get in on this challenge, so head on over to Erica's Blog and enter. The winner of the challenge will win a Cricut Cartridge. Feel free to leave me comments.