Happy New Year with Exploring Cricut

Wow! Is it 2014 already?  The challenge this week is to help bring in the New Year with a card, layout, or paper project that welcomes the New Year.

I wanted to make a card that looked like a celebration so I used this old scrap that reminded me of tiny fireworks.  I used the following cuts:
Happy New Year - Phrases
Champagne Bottle - Simply Charned
Balloons - Create a Critter
Then, I wrote 2014 on the balloons with silver glitter glue and added some sequins.  It has just the feel I wanted it to have.

Please join our challenge with your creation that welcomes in 2014.  Post it at Exploring Cricut and visit each day to see what the design team comes up with.

Have a wonderful New Year filled with joys and blessings.
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Another Birthday Card for Exploring Cricut

Hi!  Here's a change of pace from this holiday week.  A neighbor asked me to make a birthday card for a man in her family who was turning 60.  I have this quote I love from a book of cards sentiments I bought a few years ago.

With a saying like this inside the card a telephone image is perfect.  So I used the one in Suburbia and a balloon from Create a Critter.

I saw the 'happy birthday' on a card in Pinterest and made one up that was similar. (Sorry I didn't write down the name.)  With a touch of glitter on the number and a coiled paper connecting the phone to the sign, the card is done.

Please continue to visit Exploring Cricut and join us next Monday for another challenge.

I hope you all have a happy, holy, joyful holiday and a year of blessings and peace.
Rae Ann

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas at Exploring Cricut

Beginning ?  It's been looking like Christmas since Halloween.  But, now the REAL thing is approaching.  This is a challenge Monday and the challenge is any card, layout, or paper project with a Christmas theme.

For this card I wanted to emphasize the real reason for the season.

The card is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 (A2).  I did a simple mountain-valley fold along the paper base.  The smallest figure is the shepherd boy at 1 1/2 inches and each figure was made 1/2 inch bigger from there.

Please share one of your creations with us at Exploring Cricut in this week's challenge and continue to visit each day for ideas and inspiration.

I hope your holiday preparations are easy and fun and that your holidays will be full of joy and blessings.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Meow-y Christmas Card at Exploring Cricut

Hello!  Today I have the card I made for the family that gave me my cat.  He was originally called 'Butterscotch' which matches his colors but I renamed him 'DeeJay' because he is quite a talker and it made me think of some of the quick-talking DJ's of the 60's and 70's

 

 

I used the Meow cartridge for the little cat, milk and bowl and fishbone.  I used the Just Because cartridge to cut out the shape that the photo sits in.  I actually cut a 2 1/2 inch hole in the tree paper, and a 2 inch hole in the white; then, I mounted the picture behind them.  The little Christmas lights came from the Create a Critter cartridge; they decorate the reindeer's head.  The touch of glitter on one side of them really brightened up the card.

 

I think this is the best picture I've ever been able to take of DeeJay.  He usually turns away when he sees the camers.  My friends always ask about him so I know they'll like this card.

 

Please continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day for inspiration from our design team and join us next Monday for another challenge.

 

I hope all of you are safe and well as this weather changes into winter mode.

Have fun creating.

Rae Ann



Christmas Cards with Exploring Cricut

Well, with Thanksgiving over is everyone in the Christmas mood.  Here at Exploring Cricut we are.  The challenge this week is to make a Christmas card using any cartridge, any colors.
My card is made from A Quilted Christmas and Phrases (I  think it's called a pedestal card).  It's the standard A2, 4 1/4 x  5 1/2 inches.  I used some leftover Christmas paper from last year and touched-up Santa with gold glitter on his coat and a product called Snow Write on the clothing edges (it goes on solid white but dries to a pretty glitter).
The "stopper" to help the card stand is a row of poinsetta's from the Phrases cartridge which I glued onto a strip of cardstock to make it rise up a little..

 

I hope our challenge is putting you in the spirit to make some cards.  Please show us your creations at Exploring Cricut.  Visit the blog today and everyday for ideas from our design team.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy creating.

Rae Ann

My Monday at Exploring Cricut

Where I live is a wonderful mix of people from various countries, of various faiths.  The Phrases cartridge has a beautiful design to use for those who will be celebrating Hanukkah this week.

This is a standard 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inch card.  The Phrases cartridge has beautiful sentiment arrangements so the sentiment can be the focus of the card.  Use a pretty background paper and a little bling and you have a beautiful card.  There are 4 colors in this: yellow, gray and 2 shades of blue.

Please, continue to visit Exploring Cricut for daily ideas of what you can do with the cricut and join us for our bi-weekly challenges.

Whatever you celebrate this week, ENJOY!
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Count Your Blessings Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Welcome to another challenge.  The holiday stretch is approaching (as any store will demonstrate) and we are reminded by Thanksgiving of how much we have to be thankful for.  Our challenge is to create a card, layout, or any other paper craft with a Thanksgiving theme.
I love the Pilgrim Bird in the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge so I decided to showcase him.

I bought the background paper at A.C. Moore; I wanted something that expressed 'bounty' and this field of pumpkins was the closest to what I had in mind.  The pilgrim was cut at 4 inches.  I used the Phrases cartridge to cut the background for the stamped sentiment and cut it at 1 1/4 inches.  The corners (which are always great fillers) came from Picturesque and were cut at 1 Inch.  I even trimmed some off of the lower corner. I hope you like it.

Please join our challenge this week with your project with a Thanksgiving theme.  Enter them at Exploring Cricut and continue to visit us each day for ideas from the design team.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Fruit is the focus for Exploring Cricut

Hello, again.  Not long ago, in A.C. Moore, I found a display of  'not selling well' cartridges for a nice low price.  I brought home the Preserves cartridge.  Here's what I came up with; I hope to sell some at a sale our apartment house is having.

I made this phote collage with Picasa to show you the varieties I've done so far.
Another great find was this pack of polka-dot papers at Michael's. (Yes, I am lucky enough to have both stores nearby.  Plus, a Hobby Lobby opened recently just a slightly longer distance away.  My budget is always in danger.)
These are 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch cards (A2).  The frames are from the Just Because cartridge, cut at 4 1/2 and 5 inch settings (They are not real size but are in proportion to the size of a card cut at those sizes.)  Most of the fruit was cut at 3 inches.  The orange was cut at 2 1/2 inches (from the grapefruit page because I wanted a slice look.)  The watermelon was cut at 1 1 /2 inches.
I made a variety of phrases:  thinking of you, thanks, just a note, get well soon, you're in my thoughts.  Thanks and notes are blank inside; the others have appropriate sayings that I printed on the computer.
These make up quickly.  I'd cut out 2 or 3 at a time and assembled them while watching TV.
I'm happy with them; I hope you like them, too.
Please, visit Exploring Cricut each day for more ideas and join us next week for another challenge.
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

Cricut Choice Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Welcome to this week's challenge.  It's called "Cricut Choice".  Make a card, layout, or any papercraft project using at least one patterned paper, 2 cricut cuts, and 3 colors.  It can be any theme.

My choice was another Christmas card using the new Winter Wonderland cartridge.  I decided to use red, green, and gold as my colors. The decorative spray at the top was cut at 2 inches; the bell was cut at 2 1/2 inches.  I used a small piece of decorative cord to connect them.  I didn't use one of the paper layers that came with the design because I don't have the kind of gold paper I imagined for this project; I used glitter glue in the decorating instead.

The banner I used is from the Phrases cartridge.  I cut it at 1 1/4 inches.

We at Exploring Cricut look forward to seeing you interpretation of this challenge.  Please join us with your entry.
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

My Monday for Exploring Cricut - Some Thank You Cards

My birthday is tomorrow.  I won't tell you my age but this joke applies:  seniors should enjoy junk foods - they need all the preservatives they can get. LOL
I noticed my supply of 'thank you' cards was low so I designed a few while watching Halloween movies this week.
This first one came from the Art Deco cartridge; the letters were cut from the Suburbia alphabet.  I had to make this card a 5 x 7 to have room for the 1 inch letters.  This took longer to make because of all the small pieces and layers - but they look so good it's worth the effort.

 

This next one is all from the Cindy Loo cartridge.  The design was cut at 3 inches, the 'Thanks' at 1 1/4 inches.  It's a standard 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 card.

 

 

I really like this one.  The rose is from the Quarter Note cartridge, cut at 2 inches (the width of the flower).  I'm not crazy about the red and black color scheme the patterns use so I cut out an extra base in green, cut off the flower from the dard red cut and glued it on.  Then I just added the lighter red layer.  The word is from the Cindy Loo cartridge.



It was easy to made a couple at a time so I have a good supply now.  I hope these give you some ideas; the last two were definitely quick and easy and look good.
Please continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day to see the great ideas our team comes up with.  And, please join our challenges every other week.  We love to see your work, too.
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Halloween Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Our challenge this week is to make a card, layout, or any paper project with a Halloween theme, using 2 cuts.

My neighbor was wondering what kind of card she could send her nephew.  He's a pre-teen, very science-minded and loves birds.  I told her about the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge and here's what I came up with.

My 2nd cut on the front was the corner design from picturesque.  Inside I made a 1 inch bird and used 2 kinds of paper tape I got at Michael's, the sentiment and the fancy side edge.  I used 3 colors of Tim Holtz distress inks rubbed over a stencil to create the background color on the front.

My neighbor laughed hysterically when she saw it.  I giggled while making it.  I hope you like it, too.

Please join our challenge by sharing your creation with us at Exploring Cricut and keep visiting each day to see what our design team is doing.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Another Christmas card for Exploring Cricut

After playing with the A Quilted Christmas cartridge I splurged on the new Winter Wonderland cartridge with designs by Anna Griffin.  I ended up making several of this card.  I love it !!

Each design is planned to work with 4 colors.  This has 2 shades of red, the green and the yellow.  I added leaf veins with a distress marker and accented with gold stickles.  I'll be making more of these.

Thanks for stopping by.  Don't forget to visit Exploring Cricut each day to see what the design team is doing with the fun and versatile cricut. I really love playing with all the possibilities.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Happy Birthday Exploring Cricut Blog Hop

We're celebrating!  Exploring Cricut is 3 years old.  Celebrate with us by visiting all of our design team and then entering your design for this challenge.  Create a card, layout, or some papercraft that celebrates a birthday event.  Include at least one button, brad, or jewel.

I chose to use the  great cake in the Everyday Pop-Up Cards cartridge.  I made the cake at 4 inches, added stickles to the drapes and mini jewels between the drapes.  The word 'Celebrate' came from the Phrases cartridge; that was the hardest part of the card.

I love when you leave comments and it would be great to have you as a follower.  Thanks for stopping by.   To start at the beginning of our blog hop go to Sharon, otherwise, your next stop is Emily

Here is our blog hop line-up.  After visiting everyone, be sure to enter your project at Exploring Cricut.

Sharon http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com
Donna http://wwwkindredkreations.blogspot.com
Lori http://scrappinsaints.blogspot.com
Rae Ann http://joyinart.blogspot.com  <--- You are here
Emily http://emilyqueenofallthingscrafty.blogspot.com
Annette http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com
Michelle N http://justanutterpapercrafter.blogspot.com
Michelle S http://cricutcrazyscrapper.blogspot.com
Liz http://unikbyyes.blogspot.com
Diane http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

Red Carpet Studio Pretty in Pink Challenge

It's been a long time since I've entered a challenge but I knew right away the image I wanted to use for this one.

Isn't she adorable.  She's a Sherri Baldy image and she seems just right for this challenge.  To me, this image shouts out 'taking care of yourself' which I think is very appropriate for a challenge honoring Breast Cancer awareness.
See all the entries at Red Carpet Sudio
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Headstart on Christmas for Exploring Cricut

Hello, again.  Last week I was sharing cartridges with a friend and my cartridge "A Quilted Christmas" came to my attention.  I decided to try some of the cards.  I don't usually like to use a card option because I'm bored if every detail is already planned for me, but I enjoyed these.  I have a Personal Cricut so the maximum cut size is 5 1/2 inches.  That worked out well for standard A2 cards.  Four pictures follow.

I did these the way the cartridge cuts them.  The gold paper I used under the cuts is very sparkly so I didn't think it needed anything else on the outside.

With each of these I did a little touch-up to make it more 'mine'.  On the reindeer I added diamond stickles to the design on the banner;  It changed the color of the underlayer and added some contrast.  I also added a stick-on star, also coated with diamond stickles.

 

The little shepherd is also pictured below.  I added a touch of  stickles to the rim of his hat and added the computer printed sentiment.

 

The star looked really plain to me until I outlined each triangle with stickles.  It's not really visible in the photo but in person it is quite majestic looking.

 

The 'merry Chrismas' card beow is made with the poinsetta edge from 'A Quilted Christmas'.  The sentiment was cut from the Phrases cartridge.

 

After all the cut-out cards I wanted to do a  'real' Santa; he's from the same cartridge.  The letters are from Suburbia (I love that font!)

Each card has a computer printed sentiment inside.  I found a book online, "Say It With Style 2" edited by Tnaya Fox.  It is FILLED with sentiments for using in cards, all occasions, and I found some lovely ones to use for Christmas.

 

I hope this inspires you to get a head start for the season.  I hope to sell some at an upcoming sale in our apartment complex.  Have fun.  Keep creating.  And, keep looking in at Exploring Cricut.

 

Have a great week.

Rae Ann



What's Cooking Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Today's Challenge at Exploring Cricut is "What's Cooking"  Create a card, layout or paper craft with something from the kitchen.  It can be a recipe book, cards, or anything kitchen related.

For today's challenge I used Everyday Paper Dolls and the alphabet from Suburbia to create an A2 card (5 1/2 x 4 1/4) that will hold a recipe.

I put small slits in the corners so a recipe card could be slipped in.  I printed out a 3x5 recipe for 'Slow Cooker Pot Pie Stew'.  I got it from Allrecipes.com which is a great place to search.  Check it out.

Join us with your entry at Exploring Cricut.  We love to see what you do with the challenge.  You might be our prize winner.
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

My Exploring Cricut Monday is a Disney Day

Whenever there has been a challenge calling for something Disney I was limited to my one Disney cartridge--Tinker Bell and Friends.  Well, thanks to some recent sales I have a lot more to work with.  Now I have Disney Classics and Mickey & Friends.  Of course, I had to try them out right away.

These Alice in Wonderland characters are on the Disney Classics cartridge.  I plan on putting them on a tissue box cover, one on each side.  When I get that done I'll post it., but here are the cuts.

I found the Mickey & Friends cartridge very easy to work with.  Here are the ones I made into cards but I also made Goofy, Pluto, and Mickey hugging Pluto.  I sit and make figures while watching TV so I have them ready to be made into cards.  The sentiments on these cards were found free on the internet.  The Happy Birthday was found at Nettys Cards.  I'm sorry to say I don't know the source of the circular sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please check Exploring Cricut each day to see what the design team is doing.
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

Back to School Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Where did the summer go?  A whole new season goes into swing with back-to-school time.  For this challenge, participants are asked to make a card, layout, or paper project with a 'Back to School' theme and including the colors red, green, white, black, orange, and yellow and a ribbon.

I decided to make a 5x7 step-card for mine.  The teen has 2 tiny books in her bag; the concept of school is shown in the little red schoolhouse and the apple tree beside it.  (You can't miss that it's not a modern school. LOL)

The teen is from Paper Doll Teen Scene; the tiny books are made from 3 Birds on Parade.  The school is from My Community.  The apple tree is from Freshly Picked.  The greenery is from Everyday Paper Dolls.

The yellow in mine is more of a mustard yellow.  The orange is the bow in her hair.  That was a lot of colors to account for

Let us see your interpretation of this challenge at Exploring Cricut and visit each day to see what design team members are doing.  Thanks for stopping by.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

A Cook-out Invitation for Exploring Cricut

I hope everyone is enjoying this last holiday of summer.  What better card than a invitation to a cook-out.  I used the Block Party cartridge for most of it.  The bush peeking over the wall and the cloud came from Everyday Paper Dolls.

The card is a 5 x 7, a little bigger than I usually make.  This way I was able to cut the chef at 4 inches and the tiny details were easier to work with.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please, check in at Exploring Cricut each day to see what the design team has made to inspire you.

Enjoy the holiday.
Rae Ann

Exploring Cricut Two-Cut Challenge

Hello, again.  Today I have a card for back-to-school that used the Cricut Best of 2007 cartridge and the My Community Cartridge.

The original blackboard had 3 layers, the first one with letters cut out to say "first day of school".  I left that layer out, made the shadow layer white and put the black on top, then wrote with a white pen.  The pencil came from the My Community cartridge.  To get different colors it would have to be cut out multiple times.  Instead, I cut some parts in white and colored them with marker.  The alphabet paper worked great as a background.

Join our challenge this week by using at least two cricut cuts on a card, layout, or paper project and enter it at Exploring Cricut.  Hope to see you there.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

My Exploring Cricut Day

Monday comes around quickly.  Today I'd like to share a card I made for my sister.  She has an inside joke with her neighbor about gnomes and there are some cute ones on the Freshly Picked cartridge.

I cut the gnome at 4 inches and the potted plant was cut at 3 1/2 inches.  The capital letters inside came from the Suburbia cartidge.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please, continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day to see what our design team members come up with.

Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

A Disney Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Welcome to this week's challenge at Exploring Cricut: use a Disney character in a card, layout, or project.  The only cartridge I have with Disney characters is Tinker Bell and Friends; I love the old-Disney cartoon style they have.

The Disney cuts can be difficult because of the very tiny pieces in them.  I cut Tink at 3 inches which was much to small for some of the cutouts so I used Distress Markers for eyes, mouth, and hair ribbon.  To get her skin tone the way I wanted I cut her in white and used Copic markers E00 and E11 to color and shade in shadows.  Pixie wings have to be special so I always cut out the filigree cut, trim it to fit on the wings and then use glitter glue to sparkle them up.  The 1 inch butterfly came from Create a Critter but everything else is from Tinker Bell & Friends.  I think she is so cute!

Please, join our challenge at Exploring Cricut with a Disney character of your own.  And, please, continue to check out Exploring Cricut each day for inspiration from out design team.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Another Monday at Exploring Cricut

Hello, again.  My Yahoo swap group included a card with an ocean theme as one of its projects.  I used the Best of 2010 cartridge to create this ocean liner and used a 'Bon Voyage' stamp inside.  You can't see it very well, if at all, but I used glitter glue on the smoke and waves and Glossy Accents on the portholes to give them a glassy look.

A simple design but a fun look.  Thanks for stopping by; please, continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day for more ideas from our design team.
Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Down on the Farm Challenge at Exploring Cricut

Hello!  This week we challenge you to create a card, layout, or papercraft project that includes at least one farm animal.  One of my favorites is the cow from the Create a Critter cartridge.

The cute little barn is one of the related cuts; I just added the white strips to the door and a little bling heart inside the heart shape on the barn.  The flowers came from elsewhere in the same cartridge, one cut at 1 inch and the other at 1 1/2.  The grass is actually from the last page of Everyday Paper Dolls.  It's the grass with cattails.  I cut it at one inch, then trimmed off the cattails which leaves a nice grassy looking strip.
Please join us with your own design for this challenge at Exploring Cricut.  Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

My Day at Exploring Cricut

Hello!  It's been a slow week for me; the heat is taking all the 'oomph' out of me but I do have some cards to share.  A neighbor asked me to make some birthday cards for her grandsons, ages 3 and 5.  Here's what I did.
The first one is from Teddy Bear Parade. The letters for 'Hi' came from the Suburbia cartridge and the 'Happy Birthday' came from Create a Critter.

 The second card came from Paper Doll Dress Up.  I accidently cut the female cape but I liked the flowng look of it and kept it.  The 'superhero' sentiment came from the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge.

Cricut makes doing birthday cards so easy.  There are so many themes to pick from.  I hope you like them.
Have fun creating and, please, continue to check out Exploring Cricut each day for inspiration from out design team.
Rae Ann

"Christmas is July Blog Hop at Exploring Cricut

Welcome to our Christmas in July blog hop.  Our hop starts at Exploring Cricut so if you want to join in from the beginning, click here.  You should have arrived here from Georgiana's blog.

My card was created with the 'A Quilted Christmas' cartridge.

This cartridge can do phenomenal cut-outs at larger sizes.  For smaller cuts, like this 3 inch cut, the simpler version works well.  A hunt through Christmas paper scraps provided the colorful framing.

Please, join this challenge with your own Christmas in July project and enter it at Exploring Cricut.  Until then, enjoy the blog hop and the wonderfu projects created by each member of our design team.  You might find some blog candy along the way as well.

Your next stop is Emily.  Here is the list of the stops in case you get lost.

Sharon http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com

Donna  http://wwwkindredkreations.blogspot.com

Georgiana  http://carsonscricutcreations.blogspot.com

Rae Ann   http://joyinart.blogspot.com --- You are here

Emily  http://emilyqueenofallthingscrafty.blogspot.com --- Next stop!

Annette  http://mymindsdustbunnies.blogspot.com

Michelle N  http://justanutterpapercrafter.blogspot.com

Kathy  http://kathy213-kathyscorner.blogspot.com

Michelle S  http://cricutcrazyscrapper.blogspot.com

Liz  http://unikbyyes.blogspot.com

Diane  http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep cool.  Enjoy creating.

 

Rae Ann

 

A Card and Some Jumbo ATC's for my day at Exploring Cricut

Hello, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday week.  The hot weather is moving into my area these days so there is going to be a lot of staying at home.  The last time I did that I caught up with projects for the monthly swap group I belong to. 
Here's a card for the theme 'Wheels'.  I only slightly modified the card from the Just Because cartridge.

The next are jumbo ATC's with the theme, 'Manly'.  A jumbo ATC adds an inch to each side.
These came from the Art Deco cartridge, (although the word came from Forever Young), and the All Sports cartridge.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please continue to visit Exploring Cricut everyday to see more of the wonderful things that can be done with Cricut.  And, join us next Monday for a special blog hop.  Hope to see you there.
Happy Creating.
Rae Ann

A Challenge for Celebrating at Exploring Cricut

Hello, everyone!

Today at Exploring Cricut our challenge is to create a card, layout, or paper project to Celebrate the 4th or Canada Day; it must include a flag.  Here's my card:

The Teddy, of course, is from Teddy Bear Parade, cut at 3 inches.  I cut out the flag at 4 inches, in white, and colored it in with markers. The word "celebrate" is from a roll of ribbon I forgot I had  The striped paper is a freebie from Free Vintage Digital Stamps; they have lots of neat stuff available there.  The stars were given to me and found in my stash.
Thank you for stopping by.  Please, join us with your project and continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day to see inspiration from our design team. 
Have a happy week and a happy holiday, everyone.
Rae Ann

Last day before Google Reader is no more

I'm glad I realized that time is running out.  I managed to import all of the blogs I follow to Bloglovin so I can stay in touch with all of you.  But, PLEASE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW ME by using Bloglovin.  I know many people don't like to use Facebook for this, neither do I.  I only signed on with email and it works so those of you who are not signed on via bloglovin, please do so.  If I knew how to import followers I would but I can't find anything like that.

PLEASE RE-FOLLOW ME WITH BLOGLOVIN.  I'LL MISS YOU IF YOU DON'T.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

Some Cards and ATC's

Wow! It seems like such a long time since I've posted. How does so much fit into so few days?
I finally had a chance to catch up with things I need for a Yahoo group swap that I'm in.  Here's a look:
This swap is anything with butterflies on it.  I made good use of my cricut , Picturesque and Phrases, to create this one.

This next card needed to use watercolors on it.  I rubbed distress inks on a sheet of plastic and used them as watercolors with a wet brush.

And, last but not least, these ATC's are based on a favorite quote as a focus:

If felt good to be working on these.
Thanks for stopping by.
Rae Ann

Some Tree Cards for Exploring Cricut

Hello, again.  As I've shown in recent posts, I really enjoy making cards for people's preferences.  It's a fun challenge for me.  One of my friends told me she loves trees and she wished she could find more cards with trees on them.  Here's what I came up with, and they were so easy to do.

The tree cut came from the Tinker Bell and Friends cartridge.  I only did 2 cuts and used a different shade of green marker around the edges of the foliage cuts.  A background stamp with script worked very well behind the tree.  On the 2nd card, "Thinking of You" is a cut I love from George & Basic Shapes.  I thnk I cut it at one-and-a-quarter inches.

These cards can be adapted to so many needs depending on the sentiment and so many looks are possible with a change of paper or stamp.  (My friend loved them.)

Please, continue to visit Exploring Cricut each day to see the great ideas our design team continues to produce.  Keep an eye out for our challenges, too.

Happy Creating.
Rae Ann