Cricut Imagine Birthday Gift Card Holder

Cricut Imagine Birthday Gift Card Holder

  I know I've been AWOL, but I had an unexpected opportunity to take my two youngest to Disney last week and who wouldn't take advantage of that!  As you can see by this post's title, I am now the proud owner of a Cricut Imagine!! This is the first project I made with it right out of the box.

As I can't bear to throw any kind of reusable packaging away, I have quite a few of those plastic pillow boxes - the ones flowers or embossing folders come in, and I thought it would be fun to re-purpose one as a gift card holder. Because electronics and I mix like oil and water, I wanted to try something simple for my first Imagine print and cut job.

The doll die cut is from the Christmas Noel cartridge and the print of the doll's dress is from the Imagine Country Carnival cartridge.

One thing I REALLY like about my Imagine so far is the ability it gives you to create custom colors. This means you can fiddle with your pallette until it is perfect. I was delighted with the skin tone I was able to create for the doll as most cardstock is too pink or too white.
 
I provided pictures of the back of the container as well so you could see how it was assembled. The white cardtsock inside was simply traced and run through the Tim Holtz notebook embossing folder. I have always thought this folder liked like the slats of house siding and was glad to give it a try in creating this effect.

I cut the dress of the doll out twice and layered tulle into between the dresses to give the impression of the petticoat. I also added an Epiphany Crafts Round 14 button to the doll's bow.

This is going in my box of gifts that are ready to be given, now one of my girl's just needs to get invited to a Birthday Party!

Recipe

Cricut Cartridges: Christmas Noel
Imagine Cartridges: Country Carnival
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz: Notebook
Tools: Epiphany Crafts: Button Studio Tool Round 14
Button: Epiphany Crafts: Button Studio Accessories Buttons Round 14
Stamp: Stamping Bella
Punches: Stampin' UP!, Marvy Uchida
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages
Cardstock: Couture Cardstock
Flowers: Prima, Webster's Pages
Ink: Stampin' UP!, Tsukineko
Baker's Twine: The Twinery
Adhesive: Beacon Adhesive: Zip Dry
Misc.: Beads, Clothespin, Lace, Tulle

Cuts
"Doll" from the Christmas Noel Cartidge cut at 5.5" inches from Patterned Paper

"Doll" from the Christmas Noel Cartidge cut at 5.5" inches with the shift function selected from flesh tone, brown, turquoise, and patterned paper.

Patterns/Colors
Country Carnival: Green Floral
Country Carnival: Custom Flesh Tone

Thanks for stopping by,

CarrieAnne

Gumball Machine Treat Box

Gumball Machine Treat Box

Have you ever visualized a project and then had it work out exactly like you pictured? It is rare that this happens for me, but with this little Gumball Machine Treat Box it did. 

I love how cute it came out. I plan on putting this idea up on my shelf till Valentine's Day and making a bunch of them for my daughters' classes. They actually come together pretty easily. The final project height is 5.25 inches and it holds about 1/2 cup of gobstoppers.


Recipe
Cartridges: Cricut (Wrap It UP, Plantin Schoolbook, Cindy Loo)
Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers (Be My Valentine)
Ink: ColorBox
Adhesive: Beacon Adhesives (Zip Dry), Glue Dots, Stampin' UP! (Sticky Strip)
Buttons: Favorite Findings
Scissors: Fiskars
Twine: The Twinery (Pink and White)
Brad: Queen & Co.
Transparency: Staples
Tools: Paper Piercer, Needle
Candy: Wonka (Everlasting Gobstopper)

Cuts
The Clear Globe of the Gumball Machine
"Bag" cut on page 80 of Plantin SchoolBook cut at 6.25 inches with the "Tall Ball" function selected.
** Because you are cutting transparency you need to have your pressure set to max and your blade depth set to 6**

The Red Patterned Lid of the Gumball Machine
"Bag" cut on page 80 of Plantin SchoolBook cut at 6.25 inches with the "Tall Ball" function selected.
**Be sure to return your cut settings to normal to avoid tearing the paper**

The Base of the Gumball Machine
"FlwrPtBx" cut on page 75 of Cindy Loo cut 3.5 inches.

Face of Gumball Machine (Quarter Slot, Spinner, and Candy Ejection Point)
"Gumball" cut on page 44 of Wrap It Up cat at 5 inches with the "Tag" function selected.

Cricut Bird Banner Anniversary Card



"Give a Hoot" Anniversary Card

Today is my 11th Anniversary! It is hard to believe so much time has just flown by.  I made this card using the Cricut "Give a Hoot" cartridge for my hubby and then realized when I was done that it is just a bit too pink and girly. So I'll have to use it for a Valentine's Day card or some other occasion. This means I do have to get crackin' on a new card though and at least try to get it done before he gets home from work.

Recipe:
Cartridge: Cricut: Give a Hoot
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug: Textile Textures
Dies: Spellbinder; Nestabilities
Patterned Paper: Echo Park
Cardstock: Echo Park
Pearls: Recollections
Trim/Ribbon: May Arts
Dimensional Adhesive: Stampin' UP!
Adhesive: Beacon Adhesive ZipDry
Punch: Marvy Uchida
Rubon's: 7Gypsies

Cuts:
"Bird Banner" on page 43 of the "Give A Hoot Cartridge"
1. Cut at 1.5 inches from black damask patterned paper using "BrdBnner" cut.
2. Cut at 1.5 inches from black damask patterned paper using "BdBnnr-s" cut.
3. Cut at 1.5 inches from hot pink cardstock using "BrdBnner" cut.

Thanks for stopping by,

CarrieAnne

I'm Published in Cricut Magazine!!!

For many of you who have been published gobs of times this won't be very impressive, but for me one of the highlights of CHA was to get to see some of my projects in print for the first time. I have been published before in online magazines (and those are great pubs) but there is something really neat about seeing your work on the printed page. Northridge Publishing does an amazing job with their backdrops and photography. They really make your artwork look fantastic.

I have a number of projects coming out between now and January, and was able to see my work in two separate magazines at the show. My mom, who is a sweetie and a bit too proud of my meager accomplishments, marched right into the first book store we came across to track down August's issue of Cricut Magazine.

She made me take these pictures, and in retrospect I'm sure glad she did. It is not every day you get to accomplish one of your life's goals.  My hair is an absolute fright in this picture because we had been hiking all over Chicago checking out the sights.

Because I believe public mortification should be shared my mom and sister are in the shot below!

Thanks for putting up with this self indulgence,

CarrieAnne

Chicago CHA Update #12 - Webster's Pages and Bella Blvd.

No time for text today, but I thought I would share a few images of the Webster's Pages and Bella Blvd.'s booths.

Webster's Pages

Bella Blvd.

Thanks for stopping by,

CarrieAnne

Chicago CHA Update #11 - Three Bugs in a Rug and Unity Stamps

 Welcome to Day 11 of My CHA Summer Update. Today we are going to check out the Three Bugs in a Rug and Unity Stamps booths.

Three Bugs in a Rug
If I am being honest, which I try always to be about my thoughts on product, I am not normally a fan of the graphic choices of Three Bugs in a Rug, but this show I saw several lines that were very cute without going outside my aesthetic. My favorite was their "Ashtyn" line which had the most adorable carousel and pinwheel printed papers. . Other new releases included "Under the Sea" with some super cute submarines on it, "Bake Me a Cake," which continues the current fad of bakery themed cupcake and goodie products, and "Deck the Halls" their Christmas collection. I am definitely keeping an eye out for these products when they hit my LSS. The owners of Three Bugs were gracious enough to pose for a photo and are pictured below.
 

Three Bugs in a Rug "Under the Sea"

 To check out all of Three Bugs in a Rug products visit their website here: http://3bugsinarug.com/

Unity Stamps
I don't think there were many booths which did not boast licensed Unity Stamp lines this show. I told a friend they were like the crafting version of the Beatles - they have simply INVADED the papercrafting industry. I think its been a friendly takeover however and I really like many of their new releases.

To see the whole kit n' caboodle of Unity's offerings visit their website here: http://theunitystampco.blogspot.com/

For your daily dose of stamping happiness visit their blog here: http://www.unityopportunity-blog.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by,

CarrieAnne

Chicago CHA Update #10 - My Mind's Eye and Ranger

Welcome to day 10 of my CHA Update. Today we will be looking at two mainstays of the industry My Mind's Eye and Ranger.

My Mind's Eye
Coming off their successful Winter release "Lost and Found" My Mind's Eye debuted two new "Lost and Found" collections at the show, "Lost and Found Christmas" and "Lost and Found Two". They also showcased a fun Halloween line they call "Mischievous."

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Christmas"

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Two "Rosy"

My Mind's Eye Layout featuring Lost and Found Two "Sunshine"

My Mind's Eye Layout featuring Lost and Found Two "Sunshine"

My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Christmas"

To see more product images visit the My Mind's Eye website here: http://www.mymindseye.com/

For fresh thoughts and projects visit the My Mind's Eye blog at: http://mymindseye.typepad.com/blog/

Ranger
I know this seems sacrilegious, but I don't remember spending time at the Ranger booth in previous shows. When we were walking past, Tim Holtz was demoing so I stopped and took his picture and then moseyed around the booth. I really don't think you get a sense of Tim Holtz's popularity until you see grown women and buisness owners mob him for his autograph while he is trying to work. He was very polite, and I was quite impressed with the manner in which he engaged his fans and customers.

Ranger Adirondack Pigment Ink Samples

To learn more about the entire gamut of Ranger products visit their website here: http://www.rangerink.com/

To check out the daily ponderings of Tim Holtz, visit his blog here: http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/

Thanks for stopping by,

CarrieAnne