Only 26 Days..........

left until Christmas!!

 Its been a busy day.. mostly spent in my craft room working on cards and Christmas projects. I'm making headway.. slowly but surely!

This is one of my favorite cards ( I think I say that about each one after I finish it) so far.  Simple, crisp, and traditional Christmas colors. The pear is cut from the Gypsy Font cart - 3 1/4", Euro image, Monogram Feature from lightweight chipboard and sponged with Martha Stewart Gold Create ink then misted with Gold Memory Mist (similar to Tattered Angels).  The holly is cut from a 2x2 Quickutz die. The patterned paper is from the BasicGrey Dasher collection, the cardstock is SU.  The tag is Spellbinders, the ribbon Papertrey, and the buttons are from my red button jar.  The sentiment is stamped from the Papertrey Signature Christmas set.
I think I'm finished crafting for the evening and will relax with a cup of hot tea and a gingerbread cookie.

Happy Birthday and Sweet Treats, Little Buddy..

Ok, you can't look at your card until your birthday, but in case it doesn't arrive in the mail by your birthday you can look on your birthday! I opted to leave the candles off!  HAHA! Of course, it looks better in hand than on monitor, but you will get the idea. 
It is made using the Card Feature and the Layers Feature of the Sweet Treats cartridge, and cut at 4 3/4".  This is the perfect size for an A2 envelope. The paper is Papertrey and the heart is cover Zyroned on both sides and covered with Martha Stewart glitter.  The Papertrey sentiment is stamped on a Spellbinders tag.  The polka dotted ribbon is also from Papertrey.

The card is for my sweet sister's birthday.

Another Monday Simple Card.. A Day Late

I'm a little slow getting at actually getting this card posted. Routine medical procedures and work seem to have gotten in the way.  This is one more card in the Joys of the Season  card feature series that I've been enjoying producing.  The snowflake image is cut using Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding series 12 x 12 sheets. Two cards can be cut from a single sheet.. then just add a little glitter an embellishment or two a sentiment and you have a quick and inexpensive card for the holidays!

Cricut Cardz Challenge #1.. Christmas Wreath Card

 I've found the "card feature" on the Joys of the Season cart and have been having fun exploring all its possibilities.  This cutout Christmas wreath is one I particularly like.  The background was achieved with an embossing folder and the buttons are from my Papertrey Ink button stash.  This is a quick and simple design if you are wanting to make a quantity of holiday cards.  I've decided to enter this card on the Cricut Cardz Blog FIRST Challenge. 

The Gypsy Spot Welding Challenge

I've been looking forward to this Challenge since it Gypsy Spot Blog announced that Welding would be the subject of their weekly challenge.  The only welding I'd attempted was welding a series of four letters together which I used on my earlier card, Many Thanks.  I wanted to attempt something a little more difficult for the challenge.  I welded text a partridge in a pear tree, to the scalloped medallion.  The partridge is a three layer cut which matches the three layers on the weld. The images are from Joys of the Season and Storybook carts. I'd like to thank Donna Mundinger for the inspiration.

BBTB Storybook Bird Challenge

One of the first blogs I ran across after I seriously decided to purchase my Cricut and become a Cricuteer was Bitten By the Bug and I immediately knew it would be a blog I would return to often.  Its always chock full of quality work presented by not only the design team but also the individuals who participate in the Challenges each week. For me personally, challenges offer the best source of motivation and I am finding that this sort of motivation is so helpful to this beginner. They provide just the right amount of structure for me to actually get started on my project.  They also function as a teaching tool.  This is the second card I've entered in the BBTB Challenge.  Both the bird and the rosette are from the Storybook cart and both images were cut twice, the character and then the shadow.  All were cut at 2.75 and the concept was designed on my Gypsy. The white background is a flocked paper. The remaining paper is Papertrey.  I stamped the sentiment on vellum which I embossed with the circle pattern repeats in the bird and the background paper.  Thanks for looking and come back often.

My Monday Simple Card..

 

I noticed Christmas With the Cricut posts a "Simple Card" design on Mondays and since its Monday, it inspired me to create my own "Simple Card"

The framed bird was cut using the Monogram Shadow Feature on Gypsy Font. Peace and the holly leaves were cut using, most likely, Gypsy Font or Gypsy Wanderings, but I am not certain.  One thing I am learning; its imperative to take notes as I am designing on my Gypsy, especially if I plan on posting my work here on my blog.   The cartridges offer so many options that it is impossible, at least at this point in my experience level, to remember where everything comes from.

This card will be one of the designs I will be using for my church to sell in an upcoming fundraiser. The cards will be packaged in clear acrylic boxes and sold in sets or either four or six.