JANUARY MONTHLY CHALLENGE: The Year In Review!

I have been working, slowly on how to complete this challenge for the whole month, and yes, I just finished it. My initial thought was to design a front page of a newspaper : Extra Extra, 2011 in Review. However, I couldn't get the pictures I wanted to include to fit properly, so at the last minute I decided to make a go at a mini album. I hate cutting fonts with my Expression, especially when I need them small because I can never get them to cut correctly - I have used new blades, old blades, new mats, old mats, changed the pressure, depth, speed, etc. Nothing seems to work because the fonts are too thin. So . . . I used the CCR and my Imagine to print out my titles for each major event of 2011. I did cut the Pooh marker font on the cover because it is a thicker font (I love this font!)

We didn't have a major, or even minor, event each month as we tend to pile everything together. We crammed two Twins games, a family reunion, moving into our new house, the baby's Baptism, a birthday and one of two surgeries into about 2 months while we were hosting Flat Collin and showing him the sites in the area! Crazy, huh! Apparently if I am not being pulled in every direction, I can't get anything accomplished.

Circle Weekly Challenge #50: Under the Weather

I was initially planning to make my dad a card and collect some things to give him for his knee replacement surgery in March, but as I was lurking on the Cricut Circle Message Board, I saw a post that broke my heart. One of my fellow Circlets made a request for cards to send to a 10 year girl named Trinitie. Trinitie has recently been diagnosed with brain tumors and just had surgery.
The challenge was to Create a Get Well card or gift set for a friend, family member, or acquaintance. Be sure to incorporate a Cuttlebug embossing folder, kraft cardstock, and string somewhere on your project.
I created a easel card for Trinitie using cardstock that I had in my stash, along with pink Close to My Heart embroidering floss and cut the butterflies using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge (I love this cart!) and ran them through my Cuttlebug. I sanded the brown cardstock after running it thru my Cuttlebug to bring out the pink undercolor.
My hope is to make two more cards to send to Trinitie's siblings, just to let them know that they are all in our thoughts and prayers as they deal with this difficult time.

Cricut Craft Room Magazine Contest

For the last 3 years I have made calendars as Christmas gifts for both my parents and my husband's. The first year, I was cricutless (I got the original Expression for Christmas) so I bought two kits and printed some pictures and that was that. The second year, I used my Gypsy and the Designer Calendar cartridge to cut the boxes out of patterned paper and glued it to white paper that I had used Cri-kits pens to write the numbers/holidays (again with my Gypsy and Designer Calendar cart). Let me tell you, it was a pain.

So this year I was so excited when I bought my Imagine, and then the Cricut Craft Room came out, I was in heaven, thinking about how easy my Christmas gifts would be! It was so much simpler!! I used Designer Calendar (again) to create the calendar layout. I spread the calendar grid and then welded the boxes for the days of the week along the top. I used my various Imagine carts to flood fill the grid and then placed the numbers in the boxes, along with holidays (I used a couple different carts to type out the holidays or used some of the pre-written ones for different carts). I thought about putting in birthdays, but as I didn't get started on our parents' calendar until a week and a half before Christmas (I know, nothing like procrastinating, although in my defense, I was making gifts for my older two boys preschool teachers/aides). Anyways, I hand wrote the birthdays as I was putting them together. 

Using the CCR was so much easier that I decided to make a calendar for our house - after the new year had begun! I used flood fills for the bottom of the calendar and then found paper to match for the top, added some photos of my family and embellishments, used my Cinch to punch the holes and bind it together, and ta-daa! Hope you enjoy - this was a fun and fairly easy project to complete.

Circle Challenge: Function Meets Fun

About a month ago, I decided it would be nice to have a board in our mudroom with the weeks' schedule on it. My husband picked up the whiteboard, hung it and that's as far as I got. This challenge gave me the perfect reason to complete it!
I used my Cricut Expression with the Designer Calendar cart on my Gypsy to create the days of the week. I then thought about different things we have to keep track of on a regular basis. My oldest two are in preschool - the oldest, 3 days a week and the younger one, one day a week. For simplicity I cut apples out with magnet material and then covered them with vinyl and wrote their names on the apples. I did the same thing with cupcakes for birthday reminders, doctor visits, massage appointments (I try to go at least once a month). The wonderful thing with this is that, as my boys get older, I can use my cricut to create sports symbols or designate who gets the car. There are endless possibilities and it will definitely help my family keep up with our busy schedule!

Good Evening! I have no idea what I am doing, but want to start posting some of my creations to share with others.