Pretty in Pink Monogram Card

This is a monogram card I made for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop which is featuring monograms. This is the first time I have participated so I am pretty excited to see how this works out.

For the monogram and frame, I broke out my Slice and the Grandama's Attic desgin card.

The sentiment and accents are from the Simply Jane stamp collection by Papertrey Ink.  The card and the tag are made with Sweet Blush cardstock also from Papertrey Ink.

The monogram, frame and map cardstock are from Promise Me by SEI.  I inked the edges of the map cardstock with Mix'd Media Inx in Chiffon which cooridinated pretty well with the Sweet Blush cardstock

Dreaming of Summer

I made this recipe card for a friend and for some reason it reminds of summer.  The ebb and flow of the waves, clear skies, sand under my toes and yummy seafood after spending the day at the beach.

I used the From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge.  The pot die cut (p 36) comes with the lid on but I cut the lid off so I could the lobsters kind of popping out.  I used Tsukineko Brilliance Red Rocket on the 3 lobsters cuts (p. 70) for that orange-red color.  I also used Glossy Accents to give the eyes more dimension.  The recipe card, sticker, rub-on, and the pattern paper are all from Melissa Frances.  The recipe is from the food network and it is pretty yummy if you like seafood. 

I entered this recipe card on the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog: Kiss the Cook.

I made a pccket for the recipe card.



The back of the recipe card

A Rustic Valentine

This is a card that I made for a Valentine's Day swap.  I used white cardstock from Recollections and inked the edges with Antique Linen. The sentiment is from the Tiny Wishes set from Stampin Up.

I ran the kraft paper (PTI) through my Cuttlebug with a cool folder from Stampin Up called Square Lattice.  I saw my demonstrator use it on one of her cards and I had to have it, of course.  I think it made the kraft paper look like burlap, which was a really nice effect.  I am going to use it again like this.

The frame is from the Holiday Frames & Tags Cricut cartridge.  The pretty pink paper is also from Stampin Up.  I laced through some sheer ribbon and stamped an image of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.  The stamp is from the Jane Austen collection from Papertrey Ink.  I love this stamp set.  Pride and Prejudice reminds me of my wonderful hubby.

I am entering this card in the Fantabulous (gotta love that word:) Cricut Challenge Blog.  Be My Valentine.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1811

Harry Potter Altered Spool

I joined an altered spool swap on the Cricut message board.  It was a partner swap and I always get nervous about making something for someone because it can go all wrong.  Before I made it, I talked to my sister about it.  She said: Hey, she likes Harry Potter and you do, too.  Make something with Harry Potter.  Well, that was all she had to say because the idea just took off!  I even made in Pinterest Board for inspiration called Harry Potter Crafts/DIY.

I really liked the idea of doing a grown up Harry Potter Potions Class.  I didn’t want anything too cutesy because my partner is not into that.  Enter Tim Holtz.  I am going to single-handedly make that man rich.  I used almost Tim Holtz everything. 

The Bottle

My spool is actually a baby bottle that I altered to look like a spool.  I used Latte alcohol ink to age the bottle and then wrapped it with some red leather like paper that I bought a long time ago.  On top of the red paper, I pasted an “aged” image from a book by Nicholas Flamel, who is spoken about in the first Harry Potter book. To age the image, I used Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Pads

I wrapped seam binding around the bottle.  The seam binding was inked with Fired Brick and Wild Honey Distress Markers and combined with water.  They looked like Gryffindor colors to me J

The Top

I cut out 3 circles using my spellbinder dies.  They are pretty thin but tough little dies.  The die cut right through a cereal box carton with no problem.  The two other circles were from cardstock from the DCWV Safari Chic stack.  I pasted them together and ran through the embossing machine using a woodgrain folder by guess who? Yeah, Tim Holtz.  I wrapped Paris washi paper by Cavallini & Co. around the sides of the top.  Nicholas Flamel was a Parisian for many years.

I made the book using text from a alchemist book I found on the net.  The cover is made with the same red paper that is on the bottle.  I stamped the front and back with a Stampers Anonymous angel stamp from a set called Classics #9.  I used the Tiny Attacher to hold the pages together.

Back view

The vial and cork are from Ideo-ology.  I made it look like the mixture spilled on the book.  The “mixture” is made with Glossy Accents and Forever Red Perfect Pearls.  A wire pin holds glass beads and the other bottle also made with a Glossy Accents and Perfect Pearls mixture.

The bookmark is seam binding inked with Latte alcohol ink and Squeezed Lemonade.  Because they are different types of liquids, there was sort of marbling effect.  It was totally unintended by super cool so I kept it.

The Recipe

One of the more famous potions used in the Harry Potter series is the Polyjuice Potion.  I got it from Harry Potter Wiki.  That site has almost everything you could possibly want to know about Harry Potter.  I aged the recipe with Peeled Paint and Black Soot Distress Pads and my awesome precision files by Basic Grey (I know! Not Tim Holtz!!). I rolled it up and hid it in the bottle.

The Cauldron

I made the cauldron totally by hand using air-dry clay by Crayola.  I painted it black and added jewelry wire for the handle.  I also added little black beads for some detail.  The “mixture” is made with glitter and Glossy Accents.

So that’s it.  My partner is lucky because I almost kept it!  lol

Chalkboard Valentine's Day Card

My husband is a no frills kind of guy so I needed a Valentine's Day card that was simple.  Enter the chalkboard technique.  I had been seeing this trend all over the internet and thought: Hey!  I bet I could do that with the Cricut!  The added bonus is that my husband is teacher so the chalkboard technique is something I have been itching to try.  This video by Tammy White was really helpful in teaching how to do the chalkboard technique.  I just adapted it for use with the Cricut instead of stamps.


1.  For this card, I used Carousel for the ticket diecut and Martha Stewart Elegant Cakes for the Dinner at 8 Uppercase font.

2.  The ticket diecut was cut at 3.5 x 5.75.  The letters were cut at 1.5.

3.  Before laying the letters on the ticket, I used a white pencil to create a border.  Then, I pasted the letter onto the ticket.

4.  Next,  I added the hearts and numbers with a white pencil.  One heart is done with a pink pencil for the color chalk effect.

5.  I added some talcum powder randomly on the ticket and shook off the excess.  The video shows the Embossing Buddy. With a new baby in the house, baby powder is much more accessible :)

6.  Finally, I added some more little hearts and 021413 on the sides of the ticket to represent Valentine's Day.

Here is close-up so you can see the chalkboard effect:

So there it is!  It is not just for stampers.  You can do the chalkboard technique with the Cricut, too!

Have a great day :)