ABC Coloring Book

This was a pretty big project!  It took a while to create, but it wasn't really all that hard.  It was just time consuming.  What is this project you ask?  It is a coloring book of the alphabet!

I used my Cricut and a whole LOT of cartridges to create this book.  I will take you through what I did and then let you know all the cartridges I used on this project.

 

I used Cricut Craft Room to create all of this.  First I created a template of the page size so that I would be able to lay out my letters and images in a way that fit on the page.  My book is 5 1/2"x8 1/2."  I sized a rectangle in Cricut Craft Room and then made sure I never actually cut it out or drew it when creating the book.  I simply used it to position all my elements.

 

I used the sneak peek of Extreme Fonts for my letters.  They are all sized at 4 1/2."  I used a variety of cartridges for my images.  I selected an image that started with each letter of the alphabet and added any layers that were necessary.  I then used the template I created to position the letters and the images on the page. 

 

I placed my cardstock on the cutting mat, using the position of my template as my guide.  I then replaced the cutting blade with a black Cricut marker.  I then drew out all my letters and images. 

 

I created a front and back cover using some cardstock from the Kidlet Stack by DCWV.  I adhered two pieces together for both covers.  I cut a title using my Cricut.  I named my book "My ABC Coloring Book."  Once all the pages and covers were done I used my Cinch to bind the book together.  See, it really isn't all that hard.  It just takes quite a bit of time to select, position, and draw your images. 

 

 

Now, here are all the pages and the cartridges I used for the images.  As a reminder, all the letters are from Extreme Fonts, these are the Big League feature.

 Alligator - Animal Kingdom (head feature)

Balloons - Celebrations

Cupcake - Doodlecharms

 

Dog - Doodlecharms

 

Elephant - Animal Kingdom (head feature)

Fire - Create a Critter

 

Guitar - Indie Art

 

House - Handy Man

 

Ice Cream - Birthday Bash

Jacks - Sugar and Spice

Key - Going Places

 



Ladybug - Doodlecharms

 

Moose - Animal Kingdom

 

Necklace - Forever Young

Ostrich - Everyday Paper Dolls

Parrot - Ole

 

Quail - Noah's ABC Animals

 

Rainbow - Noah's ABC Animals

Snail - Live Simply

Television - Nifty Fifties

Umbrella - Everyday Pop-Up Cards

 

Vulture - ZooBalloo

 

Whale - B is for Boy

 

Xylophone - B is for Boy

Yo-Yo - B is for Boy

Zebra - Everyday Paper Dolls



Welcome Home

I must say that the challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2 is perfectly timed! Their challenge is to use the word "welcome" on your project. Well, my husband has been deployed to Kuwait for the past six months and he comes home tomorrow (03/20). He called me today from Baltimore to say he was in the US, and that he would be flying in to Minneapolis on Tuesday. So, that is why the challenge at BBTB2 is perfect...I made him a "welcome home" card! :)

Three years ago I created a "welcome home" card for a friend's husband when he returned from Iraq. I really liked the look of that card and wanted to do something similar for my husband's card, but I didn't want to duplicate it. Also, I think my card making has evolved and looking back at that one makes me realize it looks rather plain. Anyways, you can see that inspiration card just below here. I used Jubilee to create the "home" part using the village feature on that cartridge. In the original card I used Cursive 101 for the "welcome."

For my current card I used Jubilee again, the houses were cut at 1 3/4." This time I used Phrases for the "welcome" part of the sentiment. It was cut at 2" using the real dial size feature since it is supposed to part of a phrase. The card itself is 4 1/2"x6 1/4," the white layer is 4 1/4"x6" and the blue polka dotted layer is 4 1/8"x5 7/8." I used a punch to create my grass trim, which I then wrapped with some polka dotted ribbon and then tied some hemp twine around it. I added it to the card, then layered my "home" on top. The heart is a piece of craft metal that I punched and embossed with the Diamond Plate embossing folder. I also added two silver brads to the top two corners to finish off my card.

I made this for the following challenges:

BBTB2: "welcome" using any cartridge

365 Cards: "Day 19" - three types of trim (grass punch, ribbong, hemp twine)

Guest Designer at Cooking with Cricut!

I am so excited to be a guest designer at Cooking with Cricut! They are such a great challenge blog, with fun challenges and an awesome design team. I am honored to have been asked and I can't wait to show you what I came up with!

I am featuring the Campin' Critters cartridge. When this cartridge first came out I couldn't wait to get it. My husband and I love to camp and the images on it are so cute! For my first project I created a double layout showcasing some pictures of a trip we took to Valdez, AK with some friends of ours. The background paper is from Debbie Mumm. All the pictures are 3 1/2"x5" and I double matted them with red and blue cardstock. The mats are 1/8" larger than each layer. I used Campin' Critters for the moon, sun, bear and wolf. The moon and sun are cut at 3" and the bear at 3 1/2" and the wolf at 4." I embossed the dark blue layer on the moon with Swiss Dots, then used some flocking on the light blue portion of his hat. I added a light blue pearl and some orange Stickles on the star, then finished him off with some black enamel accents for his eyes. I used the black enamel accents on the eyes and nose of the bear and also pop-dotted him for some dimension. The sun has orange Stickles, glossy accents on the bugle and black enamel accents for his eyes. The wolf has glossy accents on the triangle and his nose, white flocking on his hat and black pearls for his eyes. The picnic table is from Camp Out, cut at 2 1/2" and the title is from Pooh Font Set, cut at 1 3/4." I used pop-dots on the title as well. The "dinner" and "breakfast" parts are from Cursive 101, cut at 1," and welded together with my Gypsy.

For my other project I created a birthday card. I actually made two of these, they are for my cousins. They are both born on the 30th of a month, so their golden birthdays are coming up. My mom requested a couple of cards for them. I decided to use one of my favorite cuts on Campin' Critters....bigfoot!

The card is 4 1/2"x6 1/4." The two patterned cardstocks are from The Guy Stack by DCWV. The tan piece of carstock is cut at 5 3/4"x4." The green plaid piece is 1/4" smaller. Bigfoot is cut at 3 1/2." I used Birthday Bash to cut the numbers at 1," which I then covered in gold Stickles. For the inside of the card I used the same green plaid and tan cardsocks. I used my computer to do the sentiment, then cut the paper to size. I covered the word "golden" with gold Stickles, I also drew gold Stickles around the edge of the tan cardstock.

Flaunt It Fridays Challenge #21

It is time for another Flaunt It Fridays challenge!! This is challenge #21 and our challenge is to flaunt the Nifty Fifties cartridge, specifically, the car cut.

I decided to make a couple of altered frames for my design team project. I got the frames at Miachaels and I stainted them with a cherry finish. Both the car and the truck are cut from Nifty Fifties. I cut the car at 2" and the truck at 2 1/4." The brown panel on the bed of the truck was embossed with the Woodgrain Sizzix folder, then inked with a reddish brown ink. The "classic" senitment is cut from Cursive 101 on the car frame and Don Juan on the truck frame. I cut it at 1 3/4" out of Cursive 101, using my Gypsy to weld the letters and at 2" from Don Juan. I then adhered everything to my frames once the stain was dry and covered it all with a clear sealant.

Head on over to Flaunt It Fridays and get some more inspiration from the rest of the design team. Then create your own project and enter it in to win the prize ($20 gift certificate) from our fabulous sponser, www.scrapbuck.com! I can't wait to see how you flaunt it!!

Drinks Anyone?

Happy New Year!!

This was my big project for the New Year. I started this on New Year's Eve and finished it this morning, New Years Day. It is my first shaped book and I think it turned out really great. It took a lot of time, but it was definitely worth it. I decided to make a drink recipe book for all the fun drink recipes I have collected here and there over the years.

I made this for the challenge at Flaunt it Fridays, which is to use the martini glass from the From My Kitchen Cartridge. I am also going to enter this into the weekly challenge at the Cricut Circle blog. The challenge there is to create something that is not the regular square or rectangle, to include a number somewhere and some bling.

I designed this book in my Gypsy. I used the squished circle that is on George and Basic Shapes for the base of my book. It is cut at 5." I then welded the different drink shapes to each page, they are all at 4." The martini glass and glass with straw are both from From My Kitchen. The pineapple drink is from Life is a Beach. The wine glass is from Celebrate with Flourish. The mug is from Ashlyn's Alphabet. I cut the book sections from chipboard and covered them with cardstock from DCWV, their Citrus Stack. I then cut all the pieces for the drinks out of cardstock and decorated them with bling, Stickles, glossy accents and ink. I used glittery stickers to number each section and some DCWV stickers for the last page. I also cut out the titles. "Martini Madness" is from Cuttin' Up; "Creative Cocktails" is from Makin' the Grade; "Fun 'n' Fruity" is from Life is a Beach; "Classic Cordials" is from Cursive 101; "Winter Warmers" is from Once Upon a Princess. I cut pages from white cardstock and stuck two pages in each section for writing in drink recipes that I have picked up over the years, or for new ones I will pick up in the future. I used my Crop-a-dile to punch holes in everything and put it all together with a couple of metal rings.