Create!

Okay,.. I know I am not visiting all of you as much as I should, but I have a really, really good reason!! I got completely and totally wrapped up in this project I have been working on!! It has been a project in the making the entire month!!! Are you ready for it?!!! Well here it is!!

The Cricut Circle Blog has a monthly challenge and this month the challenge was to make something (LO, card, project) that "Celebrates Creativity!" Well, I started thinking about what I was going to do and then one day, while cleaning out the remaining boxes in my garage, I came across an old frame that I was going to throw away. Then the idea hit me!! I wanted to make something for my new office!! And so... I went to work on it!! The requirements are that I had to use the Cricut with at least 2 cuts and use the shadow feature, I had to use patterned paper and use an embellishment!! Check, check, and check!!

I thought it would be cool to make the word "Create" really big and then include the definition!! Clever huh?!! The word was cut out using the Storybook cart. I distressed the cardboard I was using for the background and popdotted all the letters. I added some pearls to jazz them up a bit!!

As for the definition, I did a lot of distressing, inking and stamping... even though you can't tell in the photos!!

The rest of it was soooooo much fun to make!! I turned each of the little squares into my own little scrapbook canvases to work with!! I wanted to use a variety of colors while still making it something that would look good in the house. I had to control myself from adding too much bling... my favorite thing to add to LOs!!!! lol!! I just didn't think it would look too good in my office if it was glowing from all the bling!!

What?! You would like to see closeups?!! Of course!! Here you go....

The bird in the cage was cut using the French Manor cart. I pop dotted the layers to make it look more dimensional... then of course, added some stickles!! I heat embossed the background and added the paper/ribbon stripe across the middle!!

Is my bird not the cutest?!! I cut him from the Home Decor cart and pop dotted the layers again. But this time, I added some crackle glaze to the top layer to give it a cool, distressed kind of look!!  I found that lovely branch right in my landscaping!! How lucky is that?!! My husband was thrilled!! I hand cut some cute little leaves and added a few charms!!

My favorite part is the way I included quotes that had to do with creativity!! Talk about clever!! They say...

* All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. - Pablo Picasso

* Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. - Martin Luther King Jr.

* The world is but a canvas to the imagination. - Henry David Thoreau

Aren't those the best?!! I also loved this square! The film strip is Tim Holtz that I had left over from one of my Lucky Girl Kits and the tickets came from the kit too. I just inked them with distress ink and then sprayed them with water!! Love how it gives it that instant worn look!!

Sorry this was so picture heavy... there was just so much to it, I wanted you to be able to see all the details!!

But before I leave, I have a few things to share with you!! My good friend and design buddy, Pat, has started this really cool new blog, Scrapping The Moments, that has a forum and will be a great resource of information!! I am so excited for her!! She is currently looking for some designers for this new blog. Please stop by and check it out!!  I'm sure she would like some blog love!!! You can get there by clicking HERE!!

AND.... one of my other design teams, Sketches in Thyme is also doing a design team call!! Click HERE to check it out!!

I will be back tomorrow with a new design for Sketches in Thyme and a much shorter post!! Have a great day!!

Barb  :)

Girls Club

Hello everyone! I am glad to be back from vacation.... I think! It has been one very crazy week and I apologize that I have not been visiting any blogs for the past two weeks. My family went on a cruise over spring break and got back Sunday around midnight and then I just jumped right into life! I had a parent conference first thing (7:30) Monday morning and then spent the evening unpacking, doing laundry and all that comes with getting back! Tuseday was work, then a furniture delivery, followed by a trip to the grocery so that I could take in lunch for the staff at my school (everyone takes one day a year) so I was up until after one cooking and baking and then off to work Wednesday. After work I had to run out and buy my daughter a comforter for her room and then spent then entire evening putting the room together so that it would be ready for her birthday party Friday. Thursday it was off to work again followed by an evening of making decorations and putting together treat bags. In between I tried to clean my house that had about 5 inches of dust everywhere!! I know... I am beginning to sound a little whiny but I wanted you all to know that I really have been incredibly busy and can't wait to stop by and see all the great things you all have been up to!!

Now.. on to the real reason for today's post.... It's FRIDAY... and time for another Frosted Designs challenge!! This week you are challenged to use a tree in a card, layout or project! This was a great challenge for me because I wanted to do something I don't normally do, and that was to create a "scene"... The hard part of this for me was that I kept trying to add in more things. I found that the more I added, the less I liked it... sooo... I took it back to simple. The tree layers were pop dotted and then I cut out some extra circles/flowers to pop dot on top of that! I liked the dimension it gave. The base of the tree was heat embossed for the lines. I included a cute little bird in the tree but passed on the bugs and  butterflies I had originally planned on using. The fence and clouds were put through my cuttlebug to add a little texture. Lauren wrote the words "Girls Club" on the sign herself!! Isnt' it great when your kids can help with their LOs?! I chalked the clouds and fence and then added all the bling I thought I could get away with for this type of page!! I used stickles in several different colors and added a few rhinestones!! Remember... Lauren loves bling!! These picture were taken about two years ago when her older sister, Kristin, was playing in a tennis match. Lauren took her new American Girl twins (Zoe and Chloe) with her to the match, and of course, she had to dress like them!! She had so much fun hanging out and climbing in the tree!!

Now it's your turn!! Try making a project with a tree and then show us your work!! Link up your designs at  Frosted Designs! We would all like to see what you have done!! And while you are there, check out all the amazing things my design sisters have done!!

Supplies used:

Paper: K & Co. DCVW, My Minds Eye

Cricut: Home Decor, Paper Doll Dress Up, Stand & Salute

Stickles: Fruit Punch, Star Dust, Lime Green, Yellow, Cotton Candy

Cuttlebug

And fianlly... say a small prayer for me today... I have ELEVEN 8 year olds spending the night!! It sounded like a good idea when we were planning the party....  :) 

Think Spring...

Are you all as ready for spring as I am?!!! At Frosted Designs this week, it's all about SPRING!!!! So, create some LOs/cards/projects with flowers and link them up at FD! We would love to see what you create! And while you are there, check out my design team sisters.... they are so amazing and so talented!! I get so many ideas from them!! Hopefully you will too!

Have any of you seen Alice in Wonderland yet? Silly question... of course you have!!! Well.. I went with my daughters (18 & 20) and their friend. The movie was great and we enjoyed it, but the best part of going with them came at the credits. As they were sitting there chatting, they became completely mesmorized by the screen. As the credits are rolling, there is this dark garden gate that continues to change as vines grow, flowers bloom and the whole screen is turned into a beautiful garden! (At least this is the way I remember it!) But the girls were so fascinated by the changing flowers and colors, it really caught my eye and was the inspiration behind this LO! That is why I had to include a little blue caterpillar and mushrooms!! LOL!!

I don't know if you remember my family LO from techinique week at Frosted Designs, (you can find it by clicking HERE) but I had some flowers I had made from coffee filters and Glimmer Mist. Well, I made too many circles but kept them. Which was good because I pulled them out for the LO!! The flowers on here are those same circles. I spiral cut them, rolled them up and glued them. When they dried, I added a little liquid pearl to the petals and there you go!! A totally different flower for this LO!! I also used a punch to cut some of the smaller flowers with the rhinestones in the middle.

The vines and leaves were all cut by hand using felt as were the mushrooms. I thought the mushrooms needed a little more decoration so I added a lot of stickles!! I love the way they turned out!! The dragonflies have stickles and seed beads added to them for a little extra bling! The gate was welded together using my gypsy. Oh... and I guess I should give you a little info about the photo... I had Lauren at the zoo last summer and they were doing face painting! She insisted on a very large pink butterfly! When we got home, she insisted on putting on this fairy outfit and then going outside for a photo shoot! She was seriously cracking me up, but I did get some great photos!! They are only young once.... right?!!!!

Supplies used:

Cricut Carts: Easter, Gypsy Wanderings, Home Decor, Jasmine, Walk in my Garden

Papers: DCWV Pocket Full of Posies Stack, Shimmer stack

Stickles: just about every color

Glimmer Mist: Marshmallow (On the background for added sparkle!)

Misc. Fiber, Rhinestones, and Brads

Martha Stewart border punch 

Cuttlebug for photo mat