FCCB 193 - Winter Fun

 Happy Monday and welcome to another Monday challenge!

Challenge #193

Winter Fun
 Create a winter inspired project

This Weeks Sponsor

Winner will receive a stamp set of their choice.

I decided to create a layout for this challenge. I'm a bit behind with my layouts and am hoping to get caught up sooner rather than later.  :-)  This layout is of a trip my sweetie and I took last winter when we went snowboarding at Winter Park with my brother and his family.

I used pattern papers from a Paper Studio pad I've had for quite a while.  The letters for my title were cut from the Lyrical Letters cartridge.  I cut some snowflakes from the Christmas cartridge and covered them in some coarse glitter.

I love getting as many pictures as I can on my layouts, and there's 12 on these two pages!  There's even a little room on the solid blue square on the right page for my journaling.

Please visit the FCCB blog to see the other DT member projects and join in the challenge!  Remember, to qualify for the prize, you must use at least 1 Cricut cut on your project (be sure to tell us which one you used!)

Recipe:

Solid cardstock from Bazzill

Pattern paper from The Paper Studio

Snowflakes from Christmas cut at 1.5 and 2 inches

Title cut from Lyrical Letters

Martha Stewart coarse glitter

FCCB 191 - Anything but a Card, Holiday edition

Happy Monday!  It's time for another fun challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut!!

Challenge #191 Anything but a card, Holiday ed.

Show us your holiday (non-card) projects. This could be holiday decor, tags, packaging and gift ideas...

I saw these blocks on Pinterest a while back, and I really liked this idea.  I decided to give it a try and create my own!

My sweetie helped me cut some spare 2x4 wood we had.  I cut two 6-inch blocks, two 7-inch blocks and three 8-inch blocks.  I used Mod Podge to adhere my pattern papers to the wood.  I also coated the paper with Mod Podge, to give it a little extra protection.

I cut my letters out of vinyl, then simply used transfer tape to place the letters on the blocks.  I sized my letters using Cricut Craft Room, playing around with the height and width a bit, so they would fit on my blocks.

Since I just got these blocks made, I didn't get to use the Give Thanks side this year.  They'll be stashed away and brought out next fall though!!

~This Weeks Sponsor~

Winner will receive the Trim the Tree Cricut Cartridge!

Be sure to visit FCCB and join in the challenge. Remember, you must use at least 1 Cricut cut on your project to qualify for this week's prize!!

Recipe:
Pattern papers from The Paper Studio
Letters from Lyrical Letters and Opposites Attract
Black and Brown vinyl
Mod Podge

FCCB 185 - Anything Goes Cricut Crawl

Welcome to Scrapping Runner Creations and the Fantabulous Cricut Blog Crawl - FCCB's version of a blog hop!

This week's challenge is Anything Goes, so let your imagination run wild!  Create any project, using your Cricut, and link up over at Fantabulous Cricut by Sunday evening to join in the fun.  This week's sponsor is Blitsy.  They are giving away a bag of crafty goodness to one lucky challenge participant.

I created a banner for my brother's 40th birthday, which is just around the corner.

My brother lives in Colorado, and my sweetie and I are surprising him!  We plan to get to Colorado the day before his birthday, and in the middle of the night, we'll head over with his stepson to decorate his yard and front door with signs that he will find when he wakes up on his birthday.  Later that day, we'll show up on his doorstep!  I'll probably keep the banner to hang up inside, but if the weather is nice enough I may leave it on his front porch.

I had some great DCWV pattern paper in my stash that was black, grey and silver, which I thought was perfect for the occasion.

I used Birthday Bash for the flag shape.  The shape already had holes in it for the ribbon, which made it really easy!

And of course I had to incorporate "Over the Hill" somehow!  I found this tombstone image on the Life's a Party cartridge.  I hid the RIP and swirl that is on the top layer using my Gypsy, then I used one of the fonts on Lyrical Letters to spell out Over the Hill, welding the letters together so they would be easier for me to place on the tombstone.

Be sure to visit each of the Design Team members' blogs to see their projects.  If you get lost along the way, you can go back to FCCB blog or see the list below of all the participating blogs. When you are done with the crawl, go back to the FCCB blog and link up your project!  Remember, to qualify for the weekly prize from our fabulous sponsors, you need to have at least 1 Cricut cut on your project.

We are also opening up a DT call.  Please see the FCCB blog for more information!

Blog Crawl List:
Cindy - Creating with the Heart
Jackie - Luv 2 Scrap
Kim - Kim's Kreations
Amy HS - The Stamping Tree
Emily - Mollie's Motif
Heather - Scrapping Runner Creations
Lynn - My Cards n Stuff
Missy - Quick Chick Designs
Nikki - Crafty Calamities
Rebecca - Crafting Misfit
Michelle - Just a Nutter Paper Crafter
Catarina - Docerela Creations
Joneita - Create with Joneita
LB - Cool Beans by LB
Amy T - Crafting with Amy

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from DCWV
Banner flags from Birthday Bash cut at 7 inches
Circles from Plantin Schoolbook cut at 4.2 inches
BIG 40 font from Pooh Font cut at 3 inches
Tombstones from Life's a Party cut at 7 inches
Over the Hill font from Lyrical Letters cut at 1.5 inches
Black ribbon

FCCB 159 - Mother's Day

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and were able to get some scrappin' done on National Scrapbook Day!

Monday means another fun challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut!  This week's challenge is Mother's Day and we want to see your fabulous Mother's Day cards!

I created this card for my grandma, who loves hummingbirds.  She has a hummingbird feeder on her back patio and she enjoys watching them come to eat.

I found this simple hummingbird image on the Lyrical Letters cartridge - not a cartridge I would have thought to look on for a bird image!  It's always fun when you find hidden images like that, I think!!

I popped the hummingbird up using pop dots to give it a little dimension and added pearls to the centers of the flowers for a little something extra.

Thanks for coming by to take a look at my project.  I'm looking forward to seeing your Mother's Day cards.  Be sure to link them up over at Fantabulous Cricut by Sunday evening!!

Recipe:

Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections

Hummingbird from Lyrical Letters cut at 2.5 inches

Branch and flowers from Tie the Knot cut at 3 inches

Sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Happiest Moments set

Pearl gems

White Sakura gel pen

Thanksgiving Wreath

Happy Saturday!  Are you all enjoying the weekend so far??  We are having wonderful weather here, though it is a bit windy!  I had a nice run this morning with one of my good friends and then my sweetie and I played in a golf tournament with another good friend of ours.  Got a few chores done and then I got to finish the project I'm sharing with you today.  So far my weekend is going great!  :-)

I saw a terrific Halloween wreath on Pinterest a while back and decided to make a Thanksgiving version to hang on our front door.  Check out the Halloween wreath I found HERE - very neat!

This is how my wreath started:

I took a 12 inch foam wreath form and painted it with light brown acrylic paint.  This step may not really be necessary, but I didn't want any of the green foam form peeking through the burlap, so I did this just in case.

Then I cut burlap in 1 in x 16 in strips and tied the strips around the wreath in a simple double knot.  I used about 45 strips to go all the way around the wreath.  (FYI - The tutorial I linked to said 1.25 yds of burlap in the instructions.  I bought 1.5 yards off a bolt and it was way too much!!)

Finally I cut a few Thanksgiving images from Cricut cartridges and adhered them to the wreath with hot glue.  Now it's ready to hang on the front door!!

I'm going to submit this project in the challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut.  The challenge this week is Fall Harvest - make a project using fall leaves.

Thanks for coming by to take a look!  Have a great weekend!!

Recipe:
12 inch wreath form
Brown acrylic paint
Burlap
Happy Thanksgiving from Lyrical Letters cut at 3 inches
Frame from Elegant Edges cut at 5 x 8 inches
Leaves from Celebrate with Flourish cut at 3.5 inches
Turkey from Create a Critter 2 cut at 3.75 inches

Glass Luminaries

Good evening!  I hope you are all having a great weekend!  We're having great weather here, and I've been taking advantage of it - getting outside to run, watch my sweetie's cousins play softball games, and working in the yard.  I also got a project done today that I've been thinking about doing for a while now.

I saw a project on the Cricut Circle blog a while back where luminaries were made out of recycled glass jars.  I decided to make something similar for my sweetie and I, based on our wedding.  I found some cheap glass vases at a home store near us and decided to use them.  I cut vinyl and adhered it to the glass jars.  On the first vase I put a bride and groom image on one side, and intertwined rings and our wedding date on the other.  On the second vase I put a sand dollar image on one side (we had a beach wedding and my sweetie found 6 sand dollars while we were there), and the site of our destination wedding (Turks and Caicos) on the other.

Then we sprayed both vases with frosted glass spray paint.

Next I carefully peeled off the vinyl, using an exacto knife to help get the edges started.

Finally, I added a tea light candle and turned out the lights!  

The pictures didn't turn out the greatest, but hopefully you get the idea.  We're so pleased with the final product, and love the way they look both with the candles lighting them up and without.  And the best part.....this was really a very easy project!  This was my first time using vinyl, so I was a little worried about how to cut it, how to get it on the glass, etc, but it was really simple.  :)

Thanks for coming by to take a look and enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

Recipe:
Glass vases
Vinyl
Frosted Glass spray paint
Bride and Groom from Wedding cut at 3 inches
Rings from Wedding cut at 2 inches
Date from Plantin Schoolbook cut at 1 inch
Sand dollar from Life's a Beach cut at 2.75 inches
Destination from Lyrical Letters cut at 1 inch

Half Marathon LO

Good evening!  I hope you are all having a fabulous week!  I've been busy at work, but have still managed to find some time to craft, so I can't complain!  Plus, the weather around here has been wonderful the past few days which is always a bonus!

The project I have to share tonight is a layout I created for a half marathon I ran last fall.  I keep all of my race bibs and try to print race results from the internet and think a scrapbook is a great way to keep track of races that I run.  Unfortunately I don't always have pictures of the race, so my layouts center around the race bib, results and finisher's medal.

I'm submitting this layout in the "Let's Get Moving!" challenge that Missy over at Quick Chick Designs is hosting in honor of National Scrapbook Day.  Thanks for coming by to take a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Recollections
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Title from Lyrical Letters cut at 1.5 inches
Date from Lyrical Letters cut at 1.25 inches
Tag and shadow for journaling from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cut at 4.3 inches

Roots n Blues LO

Hello everyone!  I'm still trying to get caught up on layouts from trips that my sweetie and I took last year.  My goal was to get them done before we left for our wedding back in January.  Kinda missed that deadline.  Oh well, better late than never I guess!

This layout is from a quick weekend trip we took to Columbia, MO for the Roots n Blues n BBQ festival last September.  The festival is full of good music and food.  They have 3 stages set up, all close to the MU campus and within walking distance of each other.  Once you're in the festival, you can walk around as you please to any of the stages.  One of our favorite bands, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, was playing there, which is one of the big reasons we went.  A couple of our friends joined us for the festival on Saturday.  We had a blast listening to some good music and enjoying some great food!  We also managed to find a sports bar nearby so that I could watch my Iowa State Cyclones defeat their in-state rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes, in triple overtime - one of my favorite moments of that weekend!  :)

I found some cute images on the Rock Princess and Paisley cartridges for my layout.  The 'border' along the bottom of the left page is the wrist bands that we were given each day at the festival.  The empty green square is for my journaling.  Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and DCWV
Title font from Lyrical Letters (Jumbo font) cut at 1.5 inches
Date font from Lyrical Letters (Jumbo font) cut at 1.25 inches
Guitar from Rock Princess cut at 3 inches
Musical notes from Paisley cut at 1.5 inches
Black Sakura gel pen for doodling
Glossy Accents on the guitar

New Year's Eve

Hello!  Can you believe 2011 is coming to an end?  This year went by so fast!!  One year ago today, my sweetie proposed to me, so New Year's Eve will always have a special meaning from here on.  We are getting married in just a couple of weeks and are both very excited.  The past week or so, I've been counting the days and reminding him how close we're getting.  He smiles and pretends to start hyperventilating and asks if anyone has a paper bag he can breathe into.  Well, I've decided to take that little joke of his and turn it into a card.  At the grocery store I got a long brown bag that they usually put bottles of wine into.  I folded it into thirds and it ended up just a little smaller than a standard A2 card.  I left space for me to write him a message - and the best part is he'll have the paper bag handy just in case he needs it!  LOL!!

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve!!

Recipe:
Brown wine bag
Solid cardstock from Recollections and DCWV
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Champagne bottles and glasses from Celebrate with Flourish cut at 3.5 inches
2012 from Lyrical Letters cut at 2.25 inches
Swirls Embossing folder
Ribbon from American Crafts
Glossy Accents

Lake Trip LO

Good evening everyone!  I'm trying very hard to get caught up on my layouts before the year is over.  I'm getting married in January, so with the wedding, reception and everything else that goes along with those I know I will be very busy for quite a while - and I have a lot of wedding-related crafting projects on the to-do list as well.  So, I'd like to be caught up on my scrapbook layouts for the year (if at all possible!) before the wedding.

Which brings me to tonight's project.....  My sweetie and I spent Fourth of July weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks with some of his aunts, uncles and cousins.  We spent time out on the lake and in the pool, and managed to get a round of golf in as well.  We had a great time - it's always fun to get away for a long weekend!  I borrowed some die cuts from my great friend Melissa to cut out the pictures and mats, so I'm sorry but I don't know the name of them.  The empty blue mat is for my journaling.  Thanks for stopping by to take a look!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from The Paper Studio
Title and date from Lyrical Letters cut at 1 1/2 inches
Golf ball and boat from Father's Day cut at 2 1/2 inches
Glossy accents on golf ball and red stripe on boat

7th Birthday

Hello!  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  Yesterday afternoon, we stopped by a good friend's house for their daughter's seventh birthday.  We weren't able to stay long because we had other family obligations, but we were able to give her a card and gift and visit for a while.  Their daughter likes elephants (like me!) and she loves to look at my elephant collection when she comes over to our house.  She was thrilled with the card and loved that the elephant was on an action wobble!!  Thanks for taking a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from EKSuccess
Elephant from Paisley cut at 3 inches
Balloon from Birthday Bash cut at 3 inches
7 from Lyrical Letters cut at 1 1/2 inches
Martha Stewarts Ribbon Loop border punch
Ribbon from American Crafts
Glossy Accents for the lenses of the sunglasses
Stickles, black Sakura gel pen and an action wobble

Lake of the Ozarks

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  It's a beautiful Saturday here!!  I ran a half marathon this morning with a good friend, and in a little bit I'm headed to one of my bff's for a night of scrappin.  I can't wait to work on more projects!!

This summer, my sweetie and I went to the Lake of the Ozarks a couple of times.  This 2-page layout is from our first trip there this summer, back in June.  It was just the two of us and we stayed in one of his aunt's condos.  We were there for a weekend, but got lots of time in the pool, on the lake, and even found time for a round of golf.  Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Title from Life's a Beach cut at 1 1/2 inches
Date from Lyrical Letters cut at 1 1/2 inches
Swim trunks from Life's a Beach cut at 2 1/2 inches
Bikini from Life's a Beach cut at 3 inches
Golf cart from Everyday Paper Dolls cut at 3 inches
Baker's twine from My Craft Spot
Black Sakura gel pen for faux stitching and Glossy Accents

Float Trip

I'm finally getting caught up on my scrapbook!  I started a scrapbook dedicated to the trips my sweetie and I take, and managed to get nearly a year behind.  Pretty bad considering we really don't take THAT many trips!!  My sweetie's family tries to go on a float trip every year, and these pages are from that trip.  There was a record number of family and friends that went on the trip, which made it even more fun.  His family is all about playing around and having fun, so the float on the river was full of water gun fights and throwing water-filled Nerf balls at each other.  So much fun!!

Recipe:
Patterned Paper - The Paper Studio
Solid Paper - Recollections
Ribbon - American Crafts
Title Font cut from Lyrical Letters at 1 1/2 inches