September 100 Cartridge Blog Hop - Day 1

 Welcome to 

the

My Cricut Craft Room

100 Cartridge

Blog Hop

September 1 & 2

If you are arriving from Robin 's Blog, then you are on the right track.
If you need to start from the beginning, please head over to
My Cricut Craft Room.

I am sharing a project today that has step by step
instructions and pictures.
I need to warn you though, it is picture heavy.
I felt is would be helpful to share the steps and pictures along the way.

Please bare with me, since I think you will gain some
valuable insight if you should
want to recreate a similar project.
I had a few mishaps and blunders
that I share with you along the way.
Let my mistakes be a lesson to you on what
you could avoid when making your projects.
! ! ! L O L ! ! !

Step 1:  Unpack Kit and disassemble conjoined pieces.
The kit is from Kaisercraft and includes a total
of 7 pieces (2 roof peeks, 1 large house frame, 1 circle, 1 name plate,
and 2 rectangles to create your flower box)

Step 2:  Sand any rough edges or "hills"  with sandpaper or a sanding file

until the edges are smooth.  I used an exacto knife and rough grid sandpaper.
That seemed to work quite well.

Step 3: Gather your supplies to have on hand and 

to be sure you will have matching patterns

and embellishments to you liking.

The cartridges I am using for my project today
are Jasmine, Jubilee, and Playtime.

My papers are from Simple Stories - Fabulous Collection

and embellishments  are from Fancy Pants Collection - Off to School.

The strips are adhesive backed strips that my MIL 

brought me as a crafty gift one day. 
I also anticipated using the Core'dinations strips you see in the picture
but they didn't quite work in the Cricut (LOL).

Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, and Barn Door
My Mind's Eye Indie Chic Washi Tape
(variety of colors and patterns)
Adhesives
Scotch ATG, Xyron Mega Runner, and Glu Glider Pro
Zip Dry Glue

Step 4: Trace an outline of the largest piece of the birdhouse, but

be sure to give yourself about 1/8" of space to sand the edges of the paper
to meet the edges of the birdhouse cleanly once it is applied.
I used a ruler for tracing (as shown in the picture).

You will also notice that I angled Part A into one corner of the card stock

rather than right in the middle.  The reason for this is explained in Step 6.

Step 5: There were 3 small holes to be able to place the hooks on the
finished birdhouse.  I simply placed some corsage pins to mark the holes
before applying my adhesive to the layer of paper on the front.

Step 6: Erica is always coming up with spectacular tips and tricks.
This next one was HER IDEA!
I cut slits (like pieces of pie) and folded them over
to the back side of the birdhouse.  I then applied some
adhesive to keep them adhered.

Step 7: Trace the scalloped roof frame using a matching design paper.
I used the back side of the same card stock I used for the birdhouse.

This will help eliminate scraps and help to keep your design cohesive.
I did keep close to the scalloped edge

but cut a little wider then my pencil markings again
for the purpose of sanding it down once it was
adhered together.

Step 8:  Ink edges with your preferred ink/stain/paint and

allow to dry (this can be done before or after applying your paper
depending on the result you are looking for).
I used Antique Linen at first, but later switched to Vintage Photo for
a more dramatic effect.

Step 9: For the top layer of the roof (to go above the scalloped piece), I chose to
apply some Green/Blue Chevron Washi Tape - Indie Chic by My Mind's Eye
rather than paper.
Here are the finished roof pieces together.

Step 10:  I applied the three finished pieces together and began to work
on the circle entrance way piece.
I used the same Indie Chic c Washi tape for the top circle.

 I applied Washi on the inside and outside then I made slits
to fold it over.  I tried to keep
it from having any seems.
TRIED being the key word in the last sentence LOL!

 
Step 11: For the inside of the

entrance way, I applied a pink Washi Tape (Indie Chic also).

I cut slits again to be folded over to the backside
AMAZING TIP ERICA!
THANKS!

 Step 12: I now took time to make my cuts from the Cricut Cartridges I mentioned above.
I did end up changing out a few of the cuts towards the end of my project.
I just wasn't happy with the ovals on the flags.
I will explain in a moment, what changes I made.
The swirl shape was cut using the Playtime Cartridge at 2" on all 4 layers.
The flags were cut from the Jubilee Cartridge at 2".
The ovals were cut from the Jasmine Cartridge at 1".

I think the ovals and flags were "too busy" to
give me the ultimate look I wanted.
On top of that, The ABC on the flags aren't very visible.

Step 13: For the flower box, I decided to
use my adhesive back strips in a chocolate brown color.
I just flipped them over and traced the two
pieces that would be the flower box.
Then, easy peesy, peeled off the backing and applied.
I added some Vintage Photo Ink to all the showing edges.

Step 14: I decided to cut my swirl into two pieces and
use them on the outer edges of the "name plate"

  
Step 15:  This is where you see it all together
(Silly me, forgot to take pictures while I created the
new flags and covered the name plate...LOL)

The flags were cut in 2 layers using the flip feature for 3 of the 6 cuts.
I was also able to use the first flags, shown earlier, as a center piece for extra
sturdiness and a more chunky design.
The yellow paper is Core'dinations Sunflower Yellow card stock.
I added some Websters Pages alpha stickers (a, b, and c) from the  
little storytellers collection 
to each of the three flags 

Step 16: I traced the outline of my "name plate" and applied some flower print
design paper from Simple Stories.
For the center of it, I applied a fun chalkboard sticker that
just so happened to be an exact shape match...BONUS!!!
I added a few chipboard alpha stickers to
tie the School Theme together more.

Step 17:  I also used the asterisk symbol from the Jasmine Cartridge
since they looked like a star.  The 6 of them were cut
on cream card stock at 1" to be placed on the scalloped portion
of the flower box.
Then I added some bling pearls in the centers.
You can also see that before applying the hooks to the finished
birdhouse, I added small flowers and a pencil sticker
from the Fancy Pants - Off to School Collection.

Now, be sure not to miss what Erica (Hop Stop #10 today)
has created with her
wonderful Bird House,
Adorable Papers,
and some fun NEW Cricut Cartridge Cuts.
A little Birdie told me, 
that this will be part of a kit she will be offering 
for purchase
at her store, Erica's Craft Room!

Now it is time to Hop over to Jen L's Blog as the next stop!

If you get lost along the way,
please follow this lineup for Day 1 of the Hop!

Also be sure to head over to  My Cricut Craft Room tomorrow for Day 2.

1. MCCR

 2. Kathy
3. Heather
4. Miranda
5. LB
6. Amy 
7. Claire
8. Shelley
9. Jenn Lorist
10. Erica's Projects
11. Angie
12. Cathy
13. Tammy
14 Samantha
15. Nadja
16. Lisa Carrier
17. Robin
18. Jessica S
19. Jen L
20. Blog Candy 

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

Theme Day Thursday

Welcome To

Today's Theme

at My Cricut Craft Room

is 

Chores or our Little helpers

I knew I wanted to create a simple Chore Chart

to help my little ones learn

about Rewards for their Help.

I used the Chore Chart Cricut Lite Cartridge

to complete my project.

 I started by picking out some coordinating papers

from the 

K& Company Hopscotch Stack

and Core'dinations Sunflower Yellow card stock stack

 The blue background layer was cut at Fit to Page

The final cut size was 6 1/2"

 I was able to use my Zig Pens and my Xyron Mega Runner

to adhere the layers and letters together.

I also used a plain piece of  White 12x12 cardstock

as my base to show off the fun primary colors.

The squares down the left side and the diamonds below the chart

were the negative cuts left after the chart

was pulled off of my cutting mat.

I also cut the Toys and Toothbrush from the same 

cartridge, but at a size of 2 1/2"

 The stickers were added from a set

I have had in my stash for several years now.

They are Miss Elizabeth's

Bryce & Madeline - Mother's Helper

The gold stars were placed on the side with

a paper clip to be used to record their progress with helping.

The kids are already enjoying earning their Gold Stars.

They can then go shopping once they have enough

Gold Stars to redeem for a "Reward".

Now,  be sure to head over to  

My Cricut Craft Room

to see the wonderful projects created

by my talented DT Sisters.

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

"Jen's Sunshine" Blog Hop

Paper Makeup Stamps 
& Party Time Tuesdays Challenge Blog 
proudly presents 

"Jen's Sunshine" Blog Hop

 
This hop will remain open till Tuesday Sept.4th
Winners announced Sept. 7th

Today we take time to honor our friend and 
fellow crafter Jen Scull.  
If you are here hopping with us, then I am sure you know 
Jen is battling breast cancer.  
She has been fighting this nasty disease since February.  
On behalf of Jen, we thank you for being here. 

For this hop, my wonderful Leader Julie K of 3 Girl JAM,
purchased the adorable
images called
Jen's Sunshine Digi Stamps
from Paper Makeup Stamps
so I could participate as a Hop Stop.

Jennifer Scull and I met
through blogging after the tragic shootings that took place
in Chardon, OH.   It was an instant connection, and
I love visiting her and adore when she visits me.
She is such a sweet soul and a true inspiration to me
to be more
Courageous,
Thankful,
Happy and Fun
AT ALL TIMES!

Her work is remarkable
and I couldn't think of a better
way to spend my day,
than to Join in this Wonderful Hop
to honor her sacrifices!
I Love You Jen!!!

Here is the Layout I created in honor
of Jennifer!!

The fabulous card stock is by Susan Weckesser 
and she is AMAZING Mixed Media Artist. 
You can find her wonderful work
and her products by going to
http://www.susiebeestudios.com/welcome
The background card stock is from Susiebee Studios - Live In Color Collection
called Beautiful Daydreams
and the Photo Mat is called Live, Love Create .

The clouds, flower, kite, and sun (behind the digi image sun) 
were the design paper alone! 
I can't take the credit so I thought I would share that! :O)

I just received the papers this past weekend. 
When I started coloring the fabulous fairy and sun images, 
I just KNEW they went together so well.  
Both the card stock and the images themselves,
were the entire inspiration
for my finished layout.

I started by cutting a photo mat from another paper
in the Susan W. Collection.
I wanted my Mistletoe 3 Girl JAM Crinkle Ribbon
to mimic the grass and flower stems in the bottom of the
background, so I used a wooden
skewer to keep the loops even as I applied
them to the back of the photo mat.

I colored the darling fairy using my Whisper Strokes Watercolor Markers.
I wanted to give her a magical color combination
that matched the background.  I loved
the periwinkle hair when I finished.
I added some Stardust Stickles to her wings for sparkle.
I gave her some dimension off the page
by adhering her with 3D foam squares.

I used the same markers for the sun and added
a bit of orange glitter glue to his cheeks.
Again, I used 3D foam squares
to raise him above the existing sun on the paper.

The sentiment is part of the Jen's Sunshine Digi Stamp set
available HERE from Paper Makeup Stamps
and I simple cut each word and inked the edges with an aqua ink pad.

For the layered sentiment, I used pink ink around the edges
after I cut both the sentiment tag and background tag
from my Spellbinders Labels dies.

I hope you enjoyed my project.

We ask as you hop along with us, please consider donating
at least $1 using the paypal donation button below or
at any stop along the way.
Your donation will go directly to Jen. 
Thank you.

It wouldn't be a hop without prizes.  
To see a full list of the prizes up for grabs, please visit 

Paper Makeup Stamps

and

Party Time Tuesdays Challenge Blog

To be eligible to win a prize from our sponsors, collect the hidden letters
located throughout the hop.
Once you spell out the secret phrase,
please email Jenn Cochran at partytimetuesdays@hotmail.com.
This will get you entered to win one of several fabulous prizes.

Hop along and be inspired along the way!

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

3 Girl JAM - Challenge #1 ~Dilly Beans Stamps~

Welcome to the 1st
3 Girl JAM Challenge

This will be the first of MANY fun challenges

coming your way with 3  Girl JAM

We encourage you to join in the
fun and enter to win fabulous prizes
from Wonderful Sponsors.

The challenges will be hosted biweekly
on the
3 Girl JAM Challenge Blog
They will begin on Friday and will run for 2 weeks
(ending on Thursday night before the next Challenge goes live)
Hopefully this will give you plenty of time to play along!!

To play along, grab some of your fabulous 3 Girl JAM ribbon, if
you have some, and link up by the deadline: September 6th!

Today's challenge  theme

is

Butteflies and Bows

Dilly Beans Digi Stamps
is our wonderful Sponsor
for Challenge #1!!

The winner of the challenge
will win
3 Digi Stamps of their choice

You also will be playing for 

a bundle of your choice of Crinkle Ribbon from

 3 Girl JAM

AND

the opportunity

to Guest Design for a Future Challenge.

We were all given a fun Dilly Beans image
to play with for this challenge.

I chose to use
Skull Girl  Bow Framed

My original intentions was
to create an altered Memo Board
for my niece Erykah.
However, some obstacles prevented
that from getting completed.
I WAS fortunate to have another niece, Jasmyn,
staying with us this past week and
she LOVES to craft.
So I showed her the cute image, she asked to help.
!OF COURSE!

She created many different
variations with her images and I love them all.
Here are the finished colored images
before she made her projects.

I am in awe over her level of creativity!
 She is 17 years old and a blessing to craft with.
She doesn't let you peek at it
until it is completed.
A true crafter, right????
I will try to take time throughout the
week to share her other
finished projects with all of you!

Here is the card she created to Kick Off the 1st Challenge

Supplies
Core'dinations Glitter Couture - Black
Core'dinations - Produce Green
K&Company Embossed Specialty Paper (yellow and red)
Whisper Strokes Dual Tip Watercolor Markers
Star Bling from Want2Scrap
Alphabet Stickers from stash
3 Girl JAM Crinkle Ribbon 
Witch's Brew-Purple from the Spooky Bundle
Ice Blue - from the Hot & Cold Bundle
K&Company Journal Tag (inside)
Butterflies from stash

Here is the inside of the card.  Simple, but quite fitting
for the theme of her coloring!

I hope you enjoy her card and don't forget
to link you projects up
to win
3 Digi Images from Dilly Beans Stamps!

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Moee . . . . . Rainbow Blog Hop WINNER

Happy Thursday Morning

to all of my 

Lovely Blends!

I hope you are all well

and have found

LOTS of time to Craft

this week.

Sorry for the delay

in announcing

a winner

for

my Blog Candy

from the 

"It's a Rainbow Party"

Blog Hop!

hosted by the ever so sweet 

 Candace of Scrappin' 2 Little Princesses

Thank you to each and every one of you

for hopping along with us

to celebrate the 

Little Princesses

Birthdays!

It was a wonderful event full of fabulous projects

and the turnout was

TREMENDOUS!

OK, I have kept you in suspense long enough

There were a total of 54 comments

left at my Blog during the Hop.

I consulted Mr. Random

and he decided

that #40

was the Blog Candy Winner

That is you Annette Witherspoon!

Annette Witherspoon ♥August 15, 2012 10:33 PM

What a fun rainbow of buttons!!

Congratulations Annette!

Please contact me via email at strgazrblueyes22477@yahoo.com

with your mailing information.

I will need to hear from you by September 27th by Noon.

If I do not hear from you, Mr. Random will be consulted one more time!

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

Sweet and Simple with 3 Girl JAM

***Go HERE for my GDT Post with Die Cuttin' Divas ***


Hello Crafty Blends

Jessica here today

to share my

project

at

3 Girl JAM

I have been wanting to work

on my CAS style a bit

and still feel like I struggled

to "stop before I got ahead" 

on my card today.

I started with white card stock

and stamped the Bakery Image (Unity Exclusice Stampin' Store Kit 12/2009)

onto a separate scrap piece of white cs and colored to match.

(to use as a bottom layer)

I then stamped the
Brick Wall (Marah Johnson - Up Against a Wall by Unity)
background

onto my mint green dp first.

I wanted to give the Bakery a brick wall look,

so I stamped the Bakery image directly on top of it.

I colored a few places in with my Watercolor markers 

to coordinate with the cupcake border

I had already cut using my ekSuccess punch

and other colors I was using on my card.

I fussy cut the awning from the bottom layer Bakery image

because I wanted it to "pop" off the card.

I cut a slit right above the window on the green image, then slid

the fussy-cut awning through and taped it on the back. 

I used a small piece of 3D foam to keep it raised.

The sentiment is also from a Unity stamp set called
Rockin' It Unity Style March 2010 - Kit of the Month .

After stamping it onto purple card stock,

I used my Spellbinder Labels die

to cut the scalloped edged rectangle.

I put two eyelets at each of the top corners

so I could thread

my Iris 3 Girl JAM Crinkle Ribbon

through and mimic the OPEN 

sign you see in the window of the Bakery.

I used a fun cupcake brad for the "hanger" on my sign.

On the inside of the card

I used a matching purple cs mat that I rounded the corners with using 

my new corner rounder.

I made a fun bow from the same Iris Crinkle Ribbon

using my

3 Girl JAM Bow Maker

(man, how I love that thing!!!!!!!)

I added a few more punched cupcakes

and stopped!!!

I am so happy you stopped 

by
and feel free to pop over to

3 Girl JAM
today to browse all of the wonderful DT work that
has been created recently!

Also be on the lookout for the 1st Challenge
with the
*NEW* 3 Girl JAM Challenge Blog*
coming this Friday, August 24th

Keep Crafting

:O)

Jessica

Jessica's Craft Shaque

Die Cuttin Divas - Guest Diva for Challenge #79

***Looking for my Post with 3 Girl JAM?  Go HERE ***


I am honored to be posting

as a Guest Diva

with the fabulous

Die Cuttin Divas

today!!!

I first want to thank Georgiana (host of DCD) and the Die Cuttin Divas
for extending the invitation to me to join them as a Guest Diva.
I truly appreciate the opportunity

to play with the exceptional level of talent showcased
at their Challenge Blog

week after week!

Today is the beginning of a fabulous

Challenge #79

Color Challenge - Purple, Yellow, Orange, and Grey

I expected this to be quite the challenge as I pictured a project

using these colors.

But, I was excited to try it out!

I decided to go with a Halloween Theme since
I DO SO LOVE this time of year!

Here is my card!

In hindsight, I think I would have layed
off of using the Perfect Pearls mist on the pumpkins.
The orange was dark and I think would have
stood out better without it.
I was however excited to use my new Sizzix Die and cut through some chipboard!

Supplies used:
Base cs - Core'dinations (Pearl-Gray)
Purple pumpking pattern paper from stash
Yellow Sunflower - Core'dinations cs
Chipboard - Medium grade
Sizzix - Pumpkin #2
Sizzix Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz - Swirlz)
Orange, Green, and Black
Perfect Pearls mist
Smooch Spritz (Olive Green)
Bling from stash
Sentiment by Unity and My Little Shoebox (a little trick or treat)
Watercolor markers
adhesive and 3D foam

Please hop over to 

Die Cuttin Divas

to join in the fun

and

link up your project

for your change to win a fabulous prize from 

The Cutting Cafe

I also want to mention that I used the sketch from
Chick Challenges #42
where I will be entering this card into the challenge!

The challenge will end on Sunday, August 27, 2012

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica

Letter of the Day - "H"

Welcome to 

Monday's
Letter of the Day

 Today I get to share with you how

I created a Halloween  Theme treat bag,  using

the Holiday Cakes Cricut cartridge 

and some suggestions from Heather to make a 

Haunted House and use some  

Hexagons and Harvest Orange Crinkle Ribbon.

Shwoo...I think I covered the H's pretty well, don't you???  LOL

Thanks for the ideas Heather Lynn!!!

This was super fun to play around with and create!

I started with a simple brown paper lunch bag.  I then grabbed my Unity Hexagon 

background stamp from  the June 2012 Kit of the Month {sweet summer love}

and inked it all over the bag using TH Distress Ink - Black Soot.

I grabbed some American Craft - Damask Specialty card stock to begin

making some fun Halloween Cuts from the Holiday Cakes cartridge.

I have to be Honest and tell you that I was not pleased with How

a few cuts (set at 2") turned out using this paper.  

The intricate details (swirls and small negative spaces) were 

jamming up my blade after starting.    

After struggling several times, I changed the original size of my 

Haunted House up to 4"

and switched a few of my paper choices around for the 2" cuts.

All was not lost!!!

The solid black and solid orange card stock for the pumpkins

on the top are from the AC-Damask papers. 

All of the white card stock you see in this project

is by Recollections and used as a Base Shadow and Plain Shadow 

to emphasize the images made with the darker papers.

The pumpkins were cut at 2" then I applied a coat (using a small paint brush) 

of orange Studio G-glitter glue over top.

The papers for the Haunted House

are from the Cloud 9 Designs Harvest Holiday stack.

The Haunted House was cut at 4".  

After laying down a strip of Martha Stewart Decorative Tape, 

I used 3D foam squares to raise the House away from the bag.

The yellow card stock for the moon is Core'dinations - Sunflower Yellow.

I also stamped and cut a few of the Hexagons out of the matching papers

to be raised with 3D foam and 

applied randomly around the bag 

for extra dimension.

I used the Lacy Labels Cricut Cartridge to create a fold over flap at 

the top of my treat bag. 

I cut the layers at 6" and then used 

my ScorPal to score down the middle of each layer.

(Card stocks used were orange AC Damask and Yellow Core'dinations)

I adhered them together using my GluGlider Pro.

 Before adhering the pumpkins and sentiment,

I added a strip of coordinating Cloud 9 Papers

to the flap of the bag (after it was rolled several times) 

to hide the portion of brown paper bag

that peeked out a bit 

behind the flap when it was closed shut.

I added some 3M Adhesive Velcro to the bag and flap for a closure.

To apply a handle for my bag, I decided

to use two small eyelets by making memories at each end.  

This allowed me to feed some fabulous

Harvest Orange 3 Girl JAM crinkle ribbon

through and tie a nice bow on one side.

 I also strung some Twinery Twine - Charcoal through as well.

I twirled the twine around the Orange ribbon 

so neither would be Hidden 

and both would compliment each other well.

 Here is the close up of the finished flap.

 I also decided to "tassle" more of the Charcoal Twinery Twine

so it could lay above the chimney of the Haunted House

and appear almost like smoke coming out.

I sure hope I thought to share all of the details about my project, 

and would welcome any questions if I have left anything out!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Make sure you stop back over to

see the other wonderful

projects the DT created!!

Keep Crafting 

:O) 

Jessica