Christmas Ornament handcrafted from double sided paper
This gorgeous design was lifted from Becca Feeken who made an amazing tutorial using a Spellbinder diecut. Her post is here. She is an amazingly talented woman! I am so happy that I discovered her blog a couple of months ago.
The top view of the ornament
As soon as I saw Becca's video tutorial, I knew that I wanted to make something similar using one of the ornament shapes on the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. This shape is 3". By turning the mat around, 9 shapes will fit on one page.
12 x 12 Cricut mat with ornaments cut from retired B & T paper
Becca made a glue dot template and therefore I knew I needed to copy that step with my shape as well. I used a scrap from the Cricut cut and guessed about where to place the dots. It worked!
Gluedot placement for Ornament1 using Art Philosophy cartridge
The design is listed on page 33 in the Cricut guide book that comes with the cartridge. Two 12 x 12 sheets of paper were used to cut 18 identical shapes.
Two buttons were sewn onto ribbon from the CTMH Bling Assortment
The ribbon matches the retired Evensong B & T paper. Any color of two-sided thin paper would work beautifully. I am trying to use up my stash of papers and ribbons, so that is why I chose this patterned paper. The new CTMH paper is too thick for this type of ornament. I'm making some other ornaments out of cardstock that I'll post soon.
Bottom view of Honeycomb Ornament
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Have a great day!
Beverly
I love the versatility of this stamp set. The twig wreath was stamped on sticky backed canvas using CTMH Chocolate ink. The Happy (tag,) the banner and the berries were stamped using CTMH Cranberry ink.
There is a piece of rough twine tied into a bow and adhered on top of the wreath.
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky Back Canvas Layered on Card Front
This was a fast and easy card, but I still like how it turned out. It is rustic, Autumnal and filled with Thanks!
The papers are all from CTMH or my stash. The card base is CTMH's Barn Red.
It is time for another round of the Frosted Designs Tuesday Card Sketch Challenge. This time the sponsor is DigiDoodleshop.com. They have a few clever sentiments that can be used with the cute turkey in a bunny costume image. It was hard to choose which one to use!
I printed the turkey design on Cryogen White cardstock so that it could be colored with Copic markers. After coloring, I cut it out and adhered it to the front of the kraft cardstock base. The sentiment was printed directly onto the kraft base.
Frosted Designs Card Sketch by Karin Astacio
I decided to do a very clean and simple card to keep with the shape of the sketch and to highlight the cuteness of the digital stamp.
The bunny costume was covered with Liquid Applique after coloring the image. I love how that stuff puffs up when it is heated up with the heat gun. Such fun stuff!
Liquid Applique "Fur"
Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great day!
Pretty die cut snowflake card atop box of chocolates
This cute, little box of yumminess was made using the Cricut/Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cartridge and a piece of (retired) CTMH Jingle B & T paper. The box is on the first page of the Cricut book's cut shapes, page 21. I believe it is called a petal box. To make it, use the Font Layer and Shift Key with the first button on the left-hand side of the top row. The little card uses the last button on the top row.
Petal box flaps overlap to self-seal
In order to fit 6 pieces of Hershey's Nuggets With Almonds in the box, I cut it at 6 1/2". I used scraps from the Jingle paper pack to wrap the candies for inside the box. Each piece of paper is approximately 1" x 3 1/4". A glue dot holds each strip in place on the underside of the paper in back.
A coordinating paper from the same CTMH Jingle B & T pack
Double sided paper is great to use for this kind of project because it makes the inside of the package just as cute as the outside! This paper is the "old" CTMH B & T weight, so it isn't as thick as the new stuff. For this size box, it works fine. But to cut a larger size for something heavy like chocolate, I would recommend using the heavier weight designer paper or cardstock.
Hershey's Nuggets Decorated for Giving
This is a nice little present that could be tucked in a stocking or shared with anyone that you'd like to give an inexpensive gift. Enjoy!
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Thinking of You cards are my most-used cards. They cover so many different scenarios and it seems I never have enough on hand. When I saw the CR84FN Color Challenge, I immediately knew that I'd make a Thinking of You card with a leftover flowered mulberry paper scrap from Prima. The Bordering Blue from SU! is a good steel blue. It all looks very serene and elegant with the grey and white.
Color Inspiration
On this card I used the Labels Twenty Spellbinders and some fun cuts using the Silhouette Cameo. Die cuts are a major part of almost all of my crafting now! I sprayed the large flower with a homemade Create-a-Shade spritz with CTMH Crystal Blue re-inker.
Grey, Blue and Yellow color combination
I've entered this card into Challenge 41 at CR84FN.
Cute little kraft bags decorated and hung up with tiny clothespins
When I first saw these adorable bags I knew they'd make a very cute Countdown To Christmas Advent Calendar Activity. In the meantime I made this Advent Calendar, so I decided to make these little cuties into a Learning Game for my 7 year old.
A different activity is in each bag
Some of the things that I will be putting in these bags are based on where my dd is developmentally and educationally. For example, each bag may have a word that starts with the letter "B". Each day, for five days, she'll choose 5 bags and put the words in alphabetical order. Then she can combine the words as the week goes on to make a longer list. The next week, maybe we'll focus on spelling by putting the letters for each word in a bag. She'll work on unscrambling a few words a day. Bags can be randomly selected, they don't need to be chosen in numerical order.
I envision using these for math facts and also as "good deed" holders. There is really no limit to how they can be used. If she wants to use them as a Countdown to Christmas, we can do that, too! There is a list of Holiday activities that could be used for this project on the post here.
2" Scallop punched shapes embossed with Argyle Cuttlebug folder
Each bag was stamped on the bottom with black ink using one of the images from CTMH's Countdown set. 1" Colonial White circles were stamped with numbers from that same stamp set in Cranberry ink. The edges of the circles and the bags were ink distressed, also using Cranberry ink. Cranberry cardstock was used for the scallop shapes. The bags were hung on bakers twine strung across a foam core board.
The Frosted Designs Tuesday Card Sketch Challenge this week is sponsored by Paper Pretties. I used this cute little digital bird stamp named Frank. He looked apologetic or embarrassed to me, so I stamped a "Sorry" sentiment from CTMH next to Frank. The card is to go along with the candy jar for my dh. On the inside, I wrote... "For not always remembering to thank you for all that you do for us."
Sketch by Debbie Burns for Frosted Designs
After printing the image, I colored it with Copic markers then die cut it using a Spellbinders Scalloped Octagon. Then it was layered on another die cut and matted on the pretty Prima paper.
Same card - different lighting
He is so cute, I couldn't resist putting him on here again. :-) It surprises me to see the difference in images when the backdrop or lighting are changed. The mulberry paper also has more texture to it in the first picture.
Hershey's Cookies and Cream Kisses
My dear hubby loves Cookies and Cream ice cream. Yesterday at Target I saw these candy Kisses and knew they'd be a perfect little "thinking of you" gift for him.
Tear strip from the paper has heartfelt sentiments printed on it
The big flower-like shape is made from the Fleur de Lis Pendants Spellbinders die, cut twice. I folded it and spliced it together which gave it great dimension. On top of that I layered a smaller square from the Fleur de Lis set and one of the Fancy Tags die cuts. Placed on the very top is the Colonial White cardstock oval which is stamped with "Just For You" from the CTMH December 25th set.
This show all the layers of the front label Fleur de Lis "flower" from Spellbinders
Cricut CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge Advent Calendar
This cute Countdown to Christmas board was made using 4 pieces of 12 x 12 cardstock for the french fry boxes. A couple of extra pieces were used for the enclosure cards, the letters and the circles. It is a fairly inexpensive project but is really cute when finished. Here is a video to show how to make it:
All the other information is listed below. I used a paper bag from a shopping trip to cover the board pictured below.
Kraft brown paper was used to cover a cake board
If a smaller project is desired, smaller boxes can be cut. That is one of the awesome things about the Cricut! You can modify things to your own needs. Here are the cut sizes that I used for this project:
Cut sizes using Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge:
French Fry Boxes: 4 ½” Six fit on a page using the Autofill feature.
While mat was still loaded I cut out 6 2” scallops from the red cardstock and 6 2” scallops from one of the B & T papers. These were cut in half, which gave me all the pieces necessary for adding the scalloped edge to each box/pocket.
If small enclosure cards are desired, then while the second piece of red cardstock is still loaded 3 - 2” cards can be cut from it after the boxes are done.
The 2” cards that fit into these pockets are the rectangular ones. For example, the gift, the trees1, the ornament, etc. 15 cards can be cut from one piece of 12 x 12 cardstock. I used Autofill for this as well.
The stocking was cut at 3 ½”
The letters (Christmas) were cut at 1 ¾”
Stamped the letters with an image from CTMH's Christmas Cheer while still on the mat
Stamping onto the components before assembling is easiest and will give the best results. Using Holiday Red ink on Holiday Red cardstock is a nice effect. The black scallop border image stamped on the cut scallop looks great layered on the french fry box.
It is easiest to stamp the circular images and then use a 1 1/4" punch to line them up perfectly. However, the Cricut will cut circles to fit the image used on the Countdown numbers, if preferred.
Advent Calendar with Candy
This Advent calendar is easy enough to make that each child in the family could have their own to enjoy. The following list of activities can be modified for individual needs. There are more than 24 items, so feel free to pick the ones that will make the holiday special in your home.
Advent Calendar with Enclosure Cards and Activities
Countdown to Christmas Activities:
Check out the weather at the North Pole
Play Christmas Tic Tac Toe or Checkers
Track Santa’s flight with NORAD (on Christmas Eve)
Prepare milk, cookies and carrots for Santa and the Reindeer tonight!
Listen to Christmas music while making a Christmas treat
Go to Zoo Lights and see Christmas lights
Take an evening stroll to look at holiday lights
Write a letter to Santa Claus
Visit Santa Claus at Daddy’s work
Go to Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Botanical Garden
Make an ornament
Help decorate the Christmas tree
Buy a new ornament for the Christmas tree
Cuddle by the fireplace or Christmas tree and listen to Christmas music or read holiday stories
Decorate the house
Put up Christmas lights
Make Christmas M & M Pretzels
Set up the Nativity creche
String popcorn and cranberries
Make gift tags
Make a handcrafted gift
Watch a holiday movie, and eat popcorn
Sing along with holiday music or the karaoke
Read a holiday book
Research holiday customs in a country where you have an interest
Buy and deliver Toys For Tots
Bake and decorate sugar cookies
Decorate a gingerbread house
Read the Christmas story
Share Christmas memories over hot cocoa with marshmallows
Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
Take cookies to the neighbors
Go caroling
Take a drive to find snow
Play in the snow
Make and address Christmas cards
Make a Christmas craft
Get a plain stocking and decorate it
Make a paper Christmas chain
Cut out paper snowflakes
Make edible ornaments for birds
Wear your new Christmas pajamas
Take a family photo
Visit someone who needs cheering up
Volunteer where there is a need in your community
Wrap presents
Go Christmas shopping for a shut-in
Shop for stocking stuffers
Donate food to a local food bank
Play a board game
Make a special meal
York Peppermint Patties fit perfectly in the pockets
If you have other suggestions for activities, please let me know so that I can edit the list for other people to enjoy.
Thank you for stopping by today.
Beverly
Supplies:
Paper: CTMH Believe B & T, Holiday Red, Topiary Green, Daisy White
I added a few more pictures because the nighttime ones were a little hard to see. The tree was moved to the window for better viewing.)
Tags are used as "leaves" to fill the tree
Thanksgiving Tree in the window
Thanksgiving Tree with Pocket of Tags Hanging Nearby
Our "tree" is a bunch of branches in a tall vase with river rock. It sits in the entryway for anyone to add a tag to when they come to visit.
It seems to me that any type of "tree" would be fine. Years ago I made a paper tree for my first grade classroom that took up a large part of one wall. Each month the students hung new shapes on it. For example, September = an apple with a cute book worm listing the student's favorite book. November = each child had a leaf that stated for what he or she was thankful. So this Thanksgiving Tree sort of came from that idea. And that is why I'm not very picky about tree authenticity. I've been making fake trees for years. :-)
Dd2's First Tag for the Thanksgiving Tree
Dd2 turned seven years old about a week ago. She takes an active roll in everything that happens in the house. One might think that she runs the household. So, it was no surprise that when she found out why we needed to go to Hobby Lobby to buy fake branches, she put herself in charge of selecting them.
I'm going to explain here why we needed to buy branches. We live in the desert. There aren't a lot of tree branches available just lying around. And we had a scorpion in the house about a month ago. EEK! So, any ideas that I had about retrieving real plant materials perished as soon as I realized that real bugs come along with real branches. Ok, so back to the fake tree....
Dd2 declared that she wanted to write on the first tag for the tree. It was a heartfelt message. She is very thankful for her food. :-) However, she also knows that not everyone has enough to eat - so her note was prompted by her appreciation that we can give to the food bank and she never goes hungry.
Tags and the box to hold them cut with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge
These are the tags and sizes that we cut:
Tag 2 - 4"
Tag 3 - 4 1/2"
We also cut mats for the tops of the tags:
Square 4 - 3"
Rectangle 2 - 2 1/4"
All the pieces were sponged around the edges with Chocolate ink. Lines and a few words were stamped using the CTMH Authentic, 10 Things, and Recipe Box sets.
Door hanger box cut at 11 1/2" in Colonial White and covered with Mischief B & T
Because the door hanger box had a bigger hole than I wanted, I decided to cover the box with decorative paper. I punched a small hole in the back of the box/hanger to hang it on a nail. The slit for the door hanger part was also covered. This probably gives it a little more stability, but it may not have been necessary. The front of the box was embellished with images from the So Grateful set.
Thanksgiving Tree at Night
This project didn't take very long because the Cricut did most of the work. I wouldn't have had to stamp lines on the cards, but it helps dd2 contain her writing a bit. The tags are tied on to the tree with raffia ribbon and brown jute. (I couldn't decide which to use, so some are one... some are the other.) The tags will eventually be scrapbooked or made into a small book.
Dd2 wants to leave the tree up until December. Then she wants to make a "Delights Tree". "Things that 'delight' us." I'll let you know if we make one. She came home from Hobby Lobby and started cutting out tags, so I'm guessing it is a go. Remember? She runs the house. :-)
