BBTB2 Easter Egg Challenge

Happy Bitten by the Bug 2 Monday!  This week's challenge cut was selected by my design team sister, the lovely Krista.  Krista selected any Easter egg cut from the Easter 2010 cartridge - or if you do not have Easter 2010, as some design team members did not, any Easter egg from any cartridge will work.

I have the Easter 2010 cartridge - and I love it.  The eggs on this cartridge are so pretty and there are so many other fun Easter cuts.  I chose the floral cut out egg for my project.

I started by creating a basic egg shaped card, using Design Studio to weld two eggs together.  I then sized the scalloped egg background cut, the floral front cut and decorative inside eggs to fit the base card.

As I assembled the layers of the card, I added green inserts behind the leaves, lavender strips behind the small dots, and purple cardstock behind the large flower cut out.  I added white and brown doodles and pink flowers with pearl centers and green leaves.

Using the same floral egg cut, I created additional pages in the cut file to cut eggs for the Easter egg tree.  I made the eggs double sided since many can be seen from both sides.   I added the Easter 2010 eggs and sparkling eggs both to the tree and placed it in my entry way.

This is a look at the upper tier of the Easter egg tree.  And below is a final look at my BBTB2 Easter egg card.  Be sure to go by Bitten by the Bug 2 and check out the great projects the design team made this week.  Also please do play along on the challenge - you can post your project in the Mr. Linky at BBTB2.

I will be back tomorrow with another new project to share, and later in the week we will begin a new contest!!!

Easter Silhouette Card

Have I told you that I love the Martha Stewart Seasonal Art Cake Cartridge?  I really, really like this cartridge a lot, though I have not used it once for cake making!!  It has a lovely font and art work for every major holiday. 

Purple is not a color I work with often - and there is a reason.   Short story, I once had to do an entire scrapbook in a purple palette.  It wore me out on purple for quite a while.  :D

My daughter told me told me that the bunnies are creepy!  What?  Creep?  No way.  But yes, apparently the clothing on the bunnies that makes them creepy.  And of course my husband agreed with her, only he claims the creepy parts are the eyes.  Everyone's a critic!!  But okay, I probably should not have drawn in eyes....... Or the ears......?

My favorite part of the card is the background paper.  I like all of those Easter eggs.  In fact, I liked them so well that I cut out six of them to use the in the silhouette basket and the bunnies'  hands. 

The flower embellishement was created by layering two large white flowers with two lavender flowers and topping them with a crocheted flower and button. 

I stamped the inside of the card with a stamp I picked up at Hobby Lobby last year. 

This probably is not my best card every - I think it is curse of the purple.  After that purple scrapbook, purple and I just do not work well together!! 

Cricut Craft Room - First Project

If you read my blog last Saturday you may remember that I was having a difficult time with printing and cutting on my Imagine in the Cricut Craft Room.  Well... now having actually READ the information on the Craft Room, I discovered that it was a ID-10-T error (idiot) - the Imagine is not yet linked to the Craft Room.  Duhh.  So sheepishly I went back to the CR and selected Cricut Expression as my machine and VOILA! It worked wonderfully well!  I cannot wait to link up my Imagine also.

I used Lacy Labels exclusively to create this card.  The base card was created by welding two of the same shape together and was then cut in a double sided cardstock.  I then cut two toppers, in the same shape, in a dark brown cardstock and a reverse of the base card cardstock.  Finally I cut the branch with bird cut and the word Bliss.

After using my ATG gun to assemble all of the large pieces I got out some Copic markers and attacked the foliage branch and the word Bliss.  First I added two different greens to the leaves and then tan to the branches.  I finished the branch with a thin brown marker, adding dots and dashes to highlight random stem areas and leaves.  I used both green and blue markers on the work Bliss, and finished the word with white ink dots.  I chose to leave the bird solid cream so that the stark simplicity would pop off of the card. 

Before I affixed the branch to the base card I found a little bag of goodies that I received in the goody bag swap at the Cricut Circle Crop in Atlanta.  The package contained the great aqua colored trim and two coordinating buttons.  I attached the trim to the branch and then, adding two brown flowers, I sewed the buttons onto the branch sides.

I finished the card by adding an aqua-ish flower behind the bird to frame him.

I think you are all going to love the Cricut Craft Room when it goes public later in the month.  To me it takes the best parts of Gypsy and Design Studio and combines them into a great piece of software.  Oh, and for those like me that love DS but HATE the tiny images - the images are bigger too!!!  Woo-hoo!!!

Mother's Day 2010 Phrase Challenge

Happy Bitten by the Bug 2 Monday!  This week we are jumping ahead into mid spring with the Mother's Day 2010 Cartridge.  My sweet Design Team sister, Lori, chose this week's challenge cut - any phrase from the MD2010 cartridge.  I selected the word "Mom" as that is what I call my mother.

Using Cricut Design Studio, I cut "Mom" in two layers - the icon cut and the shadow.  The top layer (icon) was cut in a subtle print pretty pink; the shadow was cut in an aqua blue cardstock (though in the photo above the cardstock appears more blue than aqua).  I glued the cuts on a Bo Bunny oval, also cut with MD2010, and the corresponding base layer.

I used a dark cream cardstock and cut the top layer of matting, added scallops and tiny circles to create a semi-lace edge.  This was matted on an aqua blue rectangle, which was then matted on a lime green rectangle.  And finally all of the layers were matted on a smooth white cardstock card.

I embellished the card with white and brown pen dots and something new - Cuttlebug Quill Daisies.  When I attended the Cricut Circle Crop in Atlanta a month ago one of the two purchases I made was this great set of Cuttlebug plates to create daisies.  Provo Craft has come out with three sets:  Daisy, Chrysanthemum, and Carnation.  I trusted my table mate, Madge, to select a set for me.  And she chose well as I love this Daisy set.

The quill sets are very easy to use - I may do a video later to show you how wonderfully easy this flowers cut and go together.  You cut the pieces using the dies in your Cuttlebug.  Then using the quilling tool you wrap the three layers one at a time, smallest to largest, to create this awesome flowers!!  Easy - easy!

I completed my card by adding a rectangle of the dark cream cardstock and a rectangle of the lime green cardstock to the inside of the card, along with a pink strip.  I used two different circle punches and punched four flowers from the Bo Bunny print used on the front to create flower embellishments.  I the used dark brown ink and stamped a Mother's Day sentiment.  I colored the flower and edge of the oval with Copic markers.

I will back with some fun new projects this week - cards, a layout and hopefully I will find time to make a video using the Cuttlebug Quill flowers.