Exploing Cricut's Mother's Day Challenge & Blog Hop

Welcome to our Eploring Cricut Mother's Day Challenge and Blog Hop.  This is the first time I'm participating in one as a member of team and I'm looking forward to it. If you have not arrived here from Georgiana's blog, go to Diana's blog to begin the hop  so you won't miss any of the inspiration and prize possibilites.

My card is a litle different from usual Mother's Day cards.  For my contribution I was thinking of  the old show, 'Queen for a Day' (Am I dating myself or what?)  The retro look of the cut in Suburbia was just right.  I made the crown from the Create a Critter cartridge (the frog's crown) and the phrase came from Holiday Cakes.  The swirls were from a die cut I was trying out. Some red Studio-g glitter gives the impression of flowers.  I love how the silhouette looks against the floral paper.

Please join in this week's challenge by entering your Mother's Day card, layout or paper project at Exploring Cricut.  We look forward to seeing your entry.

I am so glad to have you stop by that I am offering some blog candy: a set of Inkadoo Celtic stamps, a set of clear journaling stamps called memory boxes,, and a Darice embossing folder called Swirls and a Bird.

To win, you do NOT HAVE to become a follower but I would be very happy if you would.  Just leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.  I'll announce the winner of my blog candy next Monday when I have my day at Exporing Cricut.

Here's our blog hop list.  Your next stop is Emily.  Thanks for coming; enjoy the hop!

Diana http://craftypeepdb.blogspot.com -- START HERE
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 P  http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com
Kathy  http://kathy213-kathyscorner.blogspot.com
Michelle S  http://cricutcrazyscrapper.blogspot.com
Liz  http://unikbyyes.blogspot.com
Diane  http://happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

 

It's My Day Again

Hi!  Welcome to my Monday at Exploring Cricut.  For today's project I was thinking of the wedding invitations that are making the rounds as June approaches.  I've wanted to use the gazebo on the Spring Cottage cartridge for a while now and this gave me the perfect reason.

 

I had fun with this.  The gazebo, as I said, is from the Spring Cottage cartridge.  The couple are from Paper Doll Dress Up.  The leafy vines are from Holiday Cakes and some glitter glue in red suggests flowers or berries.  The doves and "Congratulations" are also from the Holiday Cakes cartridge. It's hard to see in the photo, but touches of glitter are added to the bride's veil, headdress, and bouquet, and on the doves' wings.  The sparkle really livens it up.  This card came out so "cutesy" it makes me laugh.

Keep visiting Exploring Cricut for daily inspiration.  On May 6 we will be having a Mother's Day Blog Hop and hope you will participate.  See you then.

Rae Ann
Happy Creating.

An Envelope Mini-Album

I'm beginning to think I'm psychic.  This is the 3rd time recently that I've been working on a project and it turns out to perfectly match a current challenge theme.  This one will be entered in the Fantabulous Cricut 'Get Organized' challenge.  (I'M ALSO GOOFY! I NAMED IT INCORRECTLY.  I USED GREEN BAGS I BOUGHT AT MICHAELS, NOT ENVELOPES.  ENVELOPES I'LL USE IN MY NEXT ONE. Sorry.for the error.)

My sister moved to Florida last summer.  Every so often she emails me pictures which I save on the computer or sometimes print out.  They're not too handy to look at that way so I decided to make a place to collect them.  I used the envelope mini-album demonstrated by Steph Miller on You Tube.  It's definitely a work-in-progress because I have more to add and more will be coming.

Jennifer Rzasa was kind enough to explain how she created a picture collage for her site (Our Change of Art) so I can save you from scrolling through 10 photos.  I didn't want to display faces on the internet without their permission so I made little post-it-note cover-ups.

I'm finding wonderful phrases appropriate to pictures throughout the cricut cartridges.  So far, I've used Phrase, 3 Birds on Parade, Graphically Speaking, Holiday Cakes and Picturesque.
I had a lot of trouble getting these pictures in here today.  But, here they are.  Please go to Fantabulous Cricut to see the other great organizational projects being entered in this challenge.

Happy creating.
Rae Ann

A Sweet Card

Red Carpet Studio is presenting a challenge based on the theme "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".  This one tickled my imagination.  How could I make a card that actually paid homage to Willie Wonka?  Here's my attempt.

To make this I used a number of cricut cartridges: Art Deco for the frame; Teddy Bear Parade for the hat, Just Because for the word, ice cream and drink, and Holiday Cakes for the peppermints.  It took quite a while to gather all the elements.  I like how it turned out.

Visit Red Carpet Studio to see entries for this challenge.

Have a blessed and peaceful Happy New Year, everyone.
Rae Ann

Christmas Mini-Album for Multiple Challenges

Hello, everyone.  I made a paper bag matchbook album based on the tutorials by Kathy Orta on You Tube.  I made it for my sister who will be spending her first Christmas in her new home in Florida with her 16-month old grandson nearby.

I am entering this album in the following challenges.  Click on the challenge to go to that site and see other entries.
Pile It On - Theme: embellishments.  My album has glitter and ribbon and a poinsetta I made and borders and cricut cut additions ...  I think this fits.
Bugaboo's Catch the Bug Challenges - A Bingo challenge.  I used a flower, red/green, and ribbon.
Little Scrap Pieces - Theme: A Holiday Project.
Come and Get It Chalenges - Theme: Anything Christmas.
Cupcake Inspiration - I focused on the red, green, and white cupcake.

Please visit these sites.

Here comes a number of photos to show different views of the album.

This is the front of the album.  Note the tiny string of light I put around the tree trunk.

This is the first page you see when you open the matchbook flap.

As you flip sections forward you have room for pictures and/or journaling.  Note the tag on the top of the insert.  I cut 2 designs from one of the cardstock papers and glued them back-to-back at the top of the insert.

Another view of inside.

I put the album on its side to show the 6 bags, each with an insert.  The front flap is the red to the right of the picture.  Each section was made from a black bag bought at Michael's.

This shows one of the inserts and the tag I put on each one.  I alternated red and green designs for the inserts.  I placed the tags left, middle, right, left, middle, right in the 6 bags.

I wanted to show the glitter on the flower but it was hard to photograph  Here you see some of the diamond stickles on the flower as well as the green studio g glitter on the curls and as seams in the palm tree.

 

Because of Kathy Orta's tutorial this album went together easily and quickly.  It was the decorating that took the time.

Product info.:  I used Recollections Winter Whimsy collection and PebblesInc. Welcome Christmas for my cardstock.

Cricut cartridges that I used: Flower Shoppe, the flower, of course; Paper Doll Dress Up for the palm tree and little plant next to it; Holiday Cakes for "Christmas" on the cover and "Merry" and "Happy Day" on inner pages.  The numbers came from George and Basic Shapes.  I always seem to use Picturesque for the curls.  The tiny string of lights is in the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge.

Other than a few index cards, the journal cards and tags were found at free sources on the internet; I'm sorry I didn't write down their names.  I just searched for 'journaling tags'.

 

Wow!  This is a long entry for me.  I hope you like it.

Happy creating and Happy Holidays.

 

Rae Ann