Birthday Card for my Daughter

Since I first learned my daughter likes owls, she's been inundated with papercrafts featuring the feathered creatures.  I decided she needed a short break, so I reverted to her previous favorite--dragonflies.

 

I enjoy trying new techniques when I have a couple of extra minutes, so I decided to use a stamped acrylic overlay on this card.  (Truth be told, the glittered background paper I used was making a complete mess in my craft room, so I decided to put it under a protective cover.)  The script was stamped on the acrylic with Stazon metallic ink.  The frame was designed in Cricut Craft Room using shapes from Cricut Craft Room Basics stretched to fit the card base dimensions.  The dragonfly is from the Cricut cartridge Disney Pooh and Friends (who would have guessed?).  I cut the dragonfly base from vellum and the body accents from metallic cardstock.

 

Butterfly Birthday Card

This is a birthday card I made for my sister.  Now that she's also a Cricuteer I don't even try to impress her.  I just keep it simple and try to stay in my comfort zone so as to not embarrass myself.

 

I cut a frame from the Cricut cartridge Lyrical Letters and brushed on a layer of Ranger Perfect Pearls to dress it up.  I then glued it to a piece of patterned paper cut to the same size.  The butterfly is from the Cricut cartridge Lovely Floral.  I cut the base layer from light blue vellum and the top layer from shimmer cardstock.  The body was cut from black cardstock, embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, then sanded to show the detail.  To finish I added small gems to a couple of the flowers and glitter glue to the four holes in the wings.

 

 

I apologize upfront for any potential inaccuracies in my description.  It has been more than five minutes since I made this card and my memory isn't what it once was.  I really should post to my blog in a more timely fashion if only for my own peace of mind.  And a photography class wouldn't hurt, either.



Masculine Birthday Card

From reading other blogs and messageboards, I know I'm not the only crafter who struggles with ideas for men's cards.  This card was no exception.  It was one of those I'm-out-of-time-and-must-make-something desperate creations that came together better than I expected.

 

The embossing was done with the Tim Holtz Texture Fades folder Pocket Watches onto some Core'dinations cardstock, which was then sanded to reveal the core color.  I added some washi tape from Michaels' Recollections line to fill in the gap at the bottom since my card base was larger than the embossing folder. (I rarely plan ahead, so I often find myself "filling in the blanks" as I try to pull a project together.)  The sentiment was stamped on a label cut from a Spellbinders set, and I added brads to each corner as a final touch.

 

 

This card was made for my brother-in-law's birthday in November, and imagine my surprise when I saw it displayed in my very-talented sister's craft room at Thanksgiving.  That made my day!



Simple Nativity Display

Last week Provocraft offered free cuts from the Cricut cartridge Christmas Village. At the last minute I took advantage of this generous freebie.  And now, included with your admission fee, I give you a sneak peak at my nativity scene.  I can't stress this enough; with my blog you get what you pay for.

 

 

 

 

I was really just playing without much thought to details, but surprisingly I like the final product.  I plopped the pieces on the table randomly, certain I'd be tossing the whole lot into the trash, but when I got positive feedback from the family I left everything as-is.  I'm sure I would have made a few changes to the pieces and layout if time (and energy) permitted, but that never happens.

 

I have a lot to say about this cartridge.  I love the concept.  There are so few Christmas items that actually reflect the true meaning of the holiday, so I applaud Provocraft for creating a cartridge that depicts the birth of Jesus.  However, did anyone give thought to providing some instructions to help us see the designer's vision?  For example, the four images used to create the town of Bethlehem appear to be intended for an Advent calendar, but I only count eight windows.  Admittedly, my math skills are in rapid decline, but even with a calculator it didn't add up.  Also, in the case of the people and animals, the proportions seem a little off.  While I commend the designer for giving the baby Jesus a powerful presence, I'm not sure He should tower over His parents at such a young age.  Also, the shepherd was giving the baby Jesus a run for His money (size-wise, at least).  But then again, his sheep was the size of building so maybe where they come from there was something in the water.  (The sheep didn't make the final "cut".  He was scary.)  Mary was bigger than Joseph, and I'm not talking about her place in history.

 

If you choose to cut a similar decoration, I suggest you use a very heavy cardstock, or maybe even adhere your cardstock cutouts to thin chipboard for stability.  All I can say is that when I woke up this morning it appeared Bethlehem had been under siege while I slept.  Buildings were toppled, and one kind-hearted wise man was carrying his fallen comrade on the back of his camel.  The poor oversized shepherd, despite his hefty appearance, was no match for whatever enemy had attacked overnight.  It was a bloodbath.

 

The backdrop of Bethlehem was cut at 12 inches, and the characters were cut at 6 inches.  And believe it or not, I had relative sizing selected when I designed the pieces in Cricut Craft Room.