Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Talk Like A Pirate Day


Argh Matey's! Yer must have heard de news by now that it's talk like a Pirate Day! To celebrate today I am swabbing the deck and getting the plank ready for all yer scurvy's to have take a walk. OK, I'm not doing anything like that at all. I have created a cute birthday set featuring one of my favorite Imagine carts, Buccaneer. It's full of treasures that's fit for any pirate, argh!

I  cut the treasure chest box to fit to page and filled it with gold and cash! Argh a pirate's favorite booty! I cut the Pirate, Parrot and Treasure Chest in layers and used pop dots to give them some dimension.




All the paper is also from the Imagine with the exception of the base. That was from my stash. I added some twine and skittles for embellishments.

This is a cute set for any Pirate loving scallywag!

Argh! Thanks fer dropping anchor on me blog today!

Happy Crafting!
Colleen

Machine used: Cricut Imagine
Carts: Imagine Art Buccaneer
Extras: Twine, Skittle and Pop Dots
Paper from my stash and printed from the Imagine.

Monday, September 17, 2012

My 1st Cricut FANatics Post!

Hi Friends and Fellow Crafters! Yesterday was my 1st post an alternate designer on the Cricut FANatics blog! I am really excited and a little bit nervous because I have never ventured away from posting on my blog! If you didn't have a chance to stop by to see it, I am posting it here today.

Hi Everyone! It's Colleen from Col's Creative Corner and I have a back to school project to share with you today. I cleaned out a bunch of papers and stickers from my craft corner to donate to my son's Art Teacher (well, since he graduated last June, I should say ex-Art teacher) and decided to make her a little something to go with the packages. Back To School Night is this week, so we made her a banner to hang in the classroom for Thursday night. We'll be delivering it tomorrow to her.


I used my Gypsy to design the banner. The school house, chalkboard and pencils were cut from the CCR Exclusive Classroom: August and September. The School is cut at  6.2 x 4.9, the pencil at 2 x 3 and the Chalkboard is cut at 7.6 x 3.6 inches. I used Hello Kitty Greetings to cut the Books and Apples. They are sized at 3.46 x 4.16 inches. The Apples with the silhouettes are from A Child's Year. They are 3 x 3.97 inches. I cut the silhouettes 3 times. Once in the red, once in brown and once in green. I trimmed around the stem and leaves on the green and brown silhouettes, then layered them on the apples.




I originally wanted to make a banner with just the cuts, but after arranging and re-arranging them about 20 times, I decided that the cuts needed to be anchored. I chose an edgy circle cut from CTMH - Art Philosophy and cut 7 pieces at 5.16 x 4.92 inches. I started out with patterned paper, but I quickly changed my mind and printed out the loose leaf paper from Imagine More Cards on my Imagine and re-cut the circles. I liked it much better.
I inked just about everything on the banner with Distress Ink and used a Sakura white gel pen for lots of accents. I also used a Gold and Silver paint pen on the school's bell, the silver on the pencils and also on the book's binding. I ran some Jute Twine through the ends of the banner and adhered it to the back to hang the banner.


I am so happy that I was invited to contribute to this fantastic new blog. I want to thank Debbie and everyone else involved for all their hard work. It is the first time I have ever posted a project outside of my own blog and have really enjoyed being a part of this. Thank you for stopping by the Cricut FANatics blog today! Happy Crafting!


Cricut Info & Supplies Used:
Designed By: Colleen
Cricut Machine Used: My Gypsy, Expression 2 and Imagine.
Cricut Cartridges Used: Imagine More Cards, CCR Classroom: August and September, Hello Kitty Greetings, A Child's Year, CTMH: Art Philosophy.
Papers Used: DCWV Chalkboard Papers, Core'dinations, American Crafts White Cardstock, Bazzill Dotted Swiss (for the yellow on the pencils) K&Co patterned papers from my stash and CTMH Kraft paper.
Other Supplies Used: Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Gathered Twigs, Jute Twine, Sakura White Gel Pen, Gold and Silver Paint Pen, Scor Tape, Scotch Quick Dry and my ATG.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

A Very Special Graduation Banner


Hi Friends and Fellow Crafters! Today I have another banner to share with you. This one was truly a labor of love, I used everything but the kitchen sink to create it!


I was not blessed with biological sisters, but I am doubly blessed because I have 5 of the most beautiful friends that are just like sisters to me. This banner is for my niece, one of my BFF's daughter, who graduated from the University of Colorado. Lucky for me, she stayed there after graduating so that gave me more time to finish the banner before she came back home. She is an amazing young woman and I wanted to make her a banner that was like her, unique. I decided to do something entirely different from the usual graduation banner and this is the final product. I will try not to get too much into the details since this post is so picture heavy, but I will list everything I used at the end.
 
 I used CTMH Kraft Paper to cut the base of the banners. The papers I chose for the mats are from Prima's Rock On Love & Rock Out Bro collections. The banners are from Pretty Pennants cut at 6x7 inches. The graduation cap is from Wrap It Up and the 2012 is from the Cricut Alphabet. The hearts were in my stash, but I changed their look by covering them with Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, then adding some distress inks and Martha Stewart coarse glitter. I am not 100% sure where the hearts came from, but they may be from the Cricut Essentials. The tassel is from Pink Paislee.
 

. I used lots of DCWV Glitzy Glitter papers too. I had some pretty Prima rosettes laying around, so I finally put some of them to good use! I also dug into my Washi Tape stash and used some strips across the top of this pennant. The oval mats for the letters on every pennant are cut from Home Decor at 4.5 by 3.3 and embossed using my cuttlebug with a sizzix big dot folder 

 The letters are all from Out Of Character, cut at about 2 inch width. I found the pretty stars on Creative Memories - Be Young. They are various sizes from around a half inch to an inch and a half.
 I love those hearts. They are from Don Juan. A button and some twine dress up the biggest heart. They are also various sizes.  The letter is glammed up with some Imaginisce Bling. The butterfly is a cut from my stash that I dressed up with Tim Holtz Paper Tape, Viva Decor, Wire and Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter.

 I found the compass on My World. I cut it back when we had the free week to use it on CCR. The arrows are wooden stickers from Pink Paislee. I colored them with Distress Ink and spritzed them with Tattered Angels Gold Glimmer Mist.

A close up of the arrow.

 For the last day of school, I sent in some summer treats. The lizard is left over from them. It is embossed and has Viva Decor eyes. The key is from my stash and the Ribbon is another Pink Paislee sticker.
 Here is where the Imagine Word Of Mouth quotes start coming in. I printed the quote and popped it up on the pennant. The flower is from my stash. The stick pin is from a swap I was in. It was one of the 1st pins I made, but was cast aside for a different version.
 Some More Pink Paislee chipboard stickers and another Word Of Mouth Cut.
Since I knew the pennant after the letter S was going to be well adorned, I kept this one very plain using only a rosette on the bottom.


This is the 1st pennant I created for the banner. It has so many different cuts on it. Many of them were already in my stash. My niece loves sunflowers, so I included a couple of them. The idea for this sunflower is from Elizabeth at 217 Creations from a layout she did at Everyday Cricut. Here is the link to the YouTube Tutorial They are really fun to create. My sunflowers are from Cheerful Seasons and the centers are from Flower Shoppe.

 
How I love Washi Tape! That butterfly has been in my craft stash forever. I am pretty sure it's from CTMH Art Philosophy. I changed the whole look of it using some Washi Tape, distress ink, coarse glitter, Viva Decor pearl pen and some wire from my stash.


The birdcage was also in my stash, but I think it's from Bloom. A butterfly or two might also be from Bloom. LOL! The gorgeous Pin is from the swap I was in. I am pretty sure it came from Cricut Circle member Seisa. The Soar ticket is from Tim Holtz.

Why I love Washi Tape!

I printed and colored this wonderful Digi Stamp from Krista at Saturated Canary  that I had picked up for Jessie. I colored her with Copics. I am still getting the hang of creating black, but she turned out OK.  Another coarse glittered, washi taped butterfly,  Prima roses and some bling from my table helped to add some interest to the pennant.

Here is a close up of the image. I need a little more practice with fussy cutting, but it's not too bad.


A pretty crocheted flower that I dyed with Tattered Angels Pink Glimmer Mist and a Pink Paislee brad are the focus of this pennant. I used a couple of swirls from CTMH Art Philosophy instead of leaves under the flowers.
I used another cut from Word Of mouth, can you tell how much I love this Imagine Cartridge! I found the graduation cap cut among my stash, so I layered the phrase on it. I had some left over stars and hearts that I added, then wrapped some twine around the banner for fun. I had the star charm in a dish on my craft table forever, so I added that on too!
 


I wanted to use another digi image on the pennant, so I chose this cute steampunk girl from Krista Smith. I colored her with copics, attempting to pull colors from the paper to match on the image.

Here is a close up.

 
 
Isn't that flower sweet? The sprocket is from Oriental Trading. I used a Viva Decor Pearl Pen in gold to add a little design.


I love this cut from Word Of Mouth. I dressed it up with a couple of tiny brads from Pink Paislee, another  tissue taped butterfly from my stash and a couple of left over Flutterby pieces.


How cute are these little birds? They are from CTMH Artiste. I added a cute twine bow to them.                                                                            


I kept this pennant very simple. I used a cute cut from Creative Memories Be Young and some Flutterby pennants on it.

I knew this last pennant would be my niece's favorite! LOL! I used the same cuts as I did on the 1st pennant, but I added a crisp $100.00 bill as a diploma for her.
 
If you made it all the way to the end, I want to send you a big virtual hug! I know this was a super long post and I think you for stopping by my blog today and looking at my niece's banner.

Designed the letters and compass in CCR and everything else on my Gypsy
Machines: Imagine, Anniversary Expression 2 and Cuttlebug
Cartridges: Word Of Mouth, Wrap It Up, CTMH Art Philosophy and Artiste, Creative Memories - Be Young, Out Of Character, Home Decor, Cheerful Seasons, Flower Shoppe, Bloom, Cricut Essentials, Pretty Pennants, My World, Life Is A Beach and Don Juan.
Papers: Prima, DCWV Glitzy Glitter Paper, Core'dinations and CTMH Kraft Paper.
Other Materials: Washi Tape, Ranger Glossy Accents, MS Coarse Glitter, Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Tissue Tape, Viva Decor Pearl Pens, Wire, Copics, Digi Stamps, Ribbon, Pink Paislee: Vintage Stickers, Brads, Chipboard, Wooden Stickers, Rosette and Tassels. Flutterby's Paper Pennants, Glimmer Mist, Twine, Crocheted Flowers, Metal Embellishments, Prima Flowers, Crystal Flourishes and Rosettes. Stick Pins from my stash, Imaginisce Jewels and tons of love!


Happy Crafting!
Colleen
 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Never Forget

 


 
 
 

 So many lives lost. Take a moment today to count your blessings and tell those you love how much they mean to you. There are thousands of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks and their families that will never have a chance like this again.




 
 






Thursday, September 6, 2012

Create A Critter 2 Halloween Wreath


Hi Friends and Fellow Crafters!
Provo Craft was having a preview contest in the Cricut Craft Room this past weekend. PC gave a free preview of 5 cuts from today's Hello Thursday Release, Create A Critter 2 and asked that we design a project and post it to the Project Center by last night. I decided that the little Halloween Pirate Ghost would make a cute wreath yesterday afternoon, LOL! After I got back from grocery shopping, I went to work to create my entry. All the materials are from my stash. The wreath was quick and easy to create.
Materials:
Cricut Expression 2
Carts used:
Create A Critter 2, Pretty Pennants
Extras:
Cardstock, I used Halloween Paper from my stash!
The Moon, Boo and Boo Mat are from Recollections
The Solid Purple and Grey are from Core'dinations
Black Glitter Paper is DCWV Glitzy Glitter
White is from American Crafts
Yellow Paper is From Bazzill Dotty
Gear Charms
Tinsel Ribbon
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Gathered Twigs
Floral Wreath
 Duct Tape
Adhesives - Glossy Accents
 
I cut 6 Ghosts at 2.9 x 3.9. I flipped 3 of them. The ghosts were a piece of cake to put together. I cut the Boo and Boo layer at 3.4 x 1.6
 
I cut the haunted house at 6.9 x 8.9, large enough to go into the center of the wreath. When I started to put the house together, it was originally black with a yellow shadow, but I wanted to dress it up, so I cut another shadow with the Recollections Bat paper. I cut the moon away so that the Bat paper would show.
 


 
I wanted to do a little more on the house, so I cut a second house from black paper. I then cut the points of the roof off and added them to the house. I also cut a Banner Top5 from Pretty Pennants at 2.5 x .52 to use as an awning for the peaks and windows. Still not happy, I cut three strips of grey paper and cut notches into them to make shingles. I used some distress ink on them to age them. I bent them upward when I adhered them to the house.
 
 
 
I cut some ribbon that had tinsel edging and added it to the top of the shingles and the door. I also added some black beads to the peak of the roof next to the shingles. They are really hard to see in the picture. I used Glossy Accents to put Gears on the peaks of the house for some extra interest.
 
 
 
Now I was ready to adhere everything to the wreath. Typically, I would wrap some thick ribbon around my wreath, but of course I didn't have any Halloween ribbons that thick, so I improvised. I grabbed some duct tape and
went around the wreath with that. I tore it into small pieces for fun and stuck them on the wreath all willy nilly. I added some distress ink to the Duct Tape to age it. Then I took the ribbon with tinsel edging and wrapped some of that around the wreath.
 

 
When I went to adhere the house, I found that it needed some extra support. It was bending slightly in the middle. I cut 3 pieces of cardstock, duct taped them together and added them to the back of the house for the support I wanted. I didn't like the unfinished back showing, so I cut one more Haunted House and added a back layer to it. Sorry, I didn't snap a picture, but it does look more polished.
 
 
 Once the house was in place, I added my ghosts and the Boo phrases. To finish the Wreath, I used the rest of the black tinsel ribbon to make a bow and declared my project finished!


I am a big fan of the original Create A Critter Cartridge, so this new cart will most likely find it's way into my collection.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Happy Crafting!
Colleen