Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog

Fantabulous Friday #161 Oh Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Hello and happy Friday! I hope you are all having a Fantabulous Friday!! This week's challenge is Oh Baby - we want to see the projects you create for a new baby. I have some great projects to share with you this week that I hope will give you some ideas and inspiration!

First up is Dahlene who created this great spring card using the New Arrival cartridge. I think this is such a neat style and I love the multiple images she used!

Next up is Linda who made adorable onesie cards, also using New Arrival. She created the adorable elephant by quilling. Be sure to visit her blog and see the cute giraffe she made too!

And finally Grace made these fabulous baby shower decorations using the Creative Memories Stork's Delivery cartridge. A banner, a centerpiece and a gift bag - all fabulous!!

There are a lot of cartridges geared towards babies that are available these days. Here are a few of them you can choose from.......

New Arrival

Baby Steps - this cartridge also has a fun font and lots of phrases!

9 Months - this cartridge also has a lot of phrases on it!

I hope this gave you a few ideas for projects to create for this week's challenge! We can't wait to see your creations, so be sure to link them up by Sunday evening!! Scrappin' Saturday will be here tomorrow, so be sure to come back and check it out!

Thursday Tutorial - Photo Step Card

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Loesch) — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Hello! Rachel here from Cricut with Heart and today I have a fun card inspired by a fellow CTMH consultant, Nikki Ryks. This step card is a great way to send a Christmas photo to friends and family that they can display with pride when they get it. It's a great holiday decoration, too!

Here is a picture tutorial of the back so you can see how it's cut and scored. Start with a piece of 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" cardstock, then cut and score as shown.

This side view shows how fun and dimensional it is!

I used a stamp set that coordinates with the Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut out the ornaments for the front, and added "Noel" which is also a cut from Cricut Artiste. The photo mat is 3"x4". The papers and embellishments are from Close to My Heart.

Here is another version of this card made by my friend and blog partner, Mary Thompson. She cut the frame for the sentiment and the cute snowflakes from Cricut Art Philosophy.

I hope you'll try this fun card for yourself! Of course, the cards shown are designed for Christmas, but you can change up the decorations to make it for any occasion. It would be a great card/gift for Father's Day!

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday Winners Challenge #160 Congratulations Graduate

noreply@blogger.com (xxcalamityxx) — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good Morning Everyone !!
Welcome to this weeks
WEDNESDAY WINNERS

Challenge #160 Congratulations Graduate

THIS WEEKS WINNER

Chosen by random.org

with a prize from
The Trinket Track

of a $20 Gift Certificate

...IS...

NO 9
Created with 3 Birds on Parade
Michelle's Cricut Fun

Congratulations Michelle. To claim your prize please contact Robin at... fantabulous cricut @ yahoo . com (remove all spaces)

You have two weeks to claim your prize.
Remember to grab your "FCCB Winner" blinky to display on your blog, you can find the blinky code in the right hand side bar.

DESIGN TEAM TOP 5

We had 20 amazing projects to choose from this week.

Thank you to every one who joined us

No 1
Created with Pop up Cards
Melissa Sunshine Honey Bee

No 7
Created with Tear Drop
Tisha Sewell

No 8
Created with Teddy Bear Parade
Kim J

No 12
Created with Create a Critter
Diane Holzworth

No 15
Created with Create a Critter
Scrapping Girl

Congratulations ladies don't forget to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog!

You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

We hope you are joining us for this week's challenge #161 New Baby
As ever, please use a new project with at least one Cricut cut and tell us which cartridge(s) you have used.

Wishing everyone a Fantabulous Day !!

Quick Tip Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Angie's Paper Passion) — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Hello, it's Angie again from Angie's Paper Passion with another quick tip. Do you remember when you got your first Cricut and then started buying cartridges for it? I sure do! I started out with the 'Baby' Cricut which only had the George cart and over the next several months I bought a few more. No problem - they looked so neat and pretty sitting in their boxes on my shelf. When I had over 15 carts, I thought that was a lot! But then I remember reading posts on the Cricut message boards about people forgetting which carts they had, buying duplicates, and storage problems. What?!?! How many did these people have?!?! I was shocked! Well, many years and Cricut machines later.... let's just say that those people I had read about years ago don't seem so ridiculous to me now, lol! I never thought that I would ever take my carts out of their precious little boxes but I had run out of shelf space! Do you ever wonder what to do with your overflowing cart stash? Well, these suggestions may help.

After the boxes started taking over my craft room, I used this to store my carts.

You can find the directions to make this yourself HERE.

It's just one of those ribbon storage containers that I got at JoAnn's. There is another larger compartment that I kept my overlays and handbooks in and that part snapped onto the bottom of the smaller compartment above. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of that part)

This is the inside where the carts are stored and it's simply made from that plastic craft mesh.

But then I outgrew that system and went to the one below and so far these boxes are working!

These are called Really Useful Storage Boxes and I have found them at many office stores. This is the 4L size and I have two that are filled. (Would need more if it weren't for the new digital carts that are now available, lol)

Not only can you store a lot of carts this way but they are clearly labeled AND...

if I take one out and don't put it back right away, when I check later I'll immediately know what is missing and where it goes! How perfect is that?

Here's the LINK for the directions make this one. She also has a video about it HERE.

But there's so many posts on Okie's blog about storage and organizing in her craft room so check out her blog!

Now that you have all of those carts organized, you also need a way to keep track of them! There is an app for that! The Cartridge Checklist is in the Apple App Store and there's a Cricut Cart Checklist from Joy's Life. She has every cart listed - you just click on the link, check off your carts on her list and print!

I hope these tips and links will help with your Cricut Cart storage solution!

Please stop by tomorrow and check out the Wednesday's Winners!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Challenge Me Monday #161 Oh Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin's Creative Cottage) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone, this is Robin bringing to you this weeks challenge, but first I want to give a huge thank you to Janea for being the coordinator here at FCCB, it is a huge job keeping everything organized and running smoothly. I'm so glad that Janea will continue to be a part of our fabulous design team. Thanks so much Janea!!!

#161 Oh Baby!
create a card or project for baby

Design Team Inspiration
Missy

Baby Steps

Cindy

Zooballoo

Emily

New Arrival, Birthday Bash

Kim

Ribbons and Rosettes

Heather

New Arrival, 9 Months

Heritage

Plantin Schoolbook

Nursery Rhyme

Elegant Edges

~This Week's Sponsor~

Robin's Creative Cottage

Gingerbread Holiday Stamp Set

We are looking for sponsors to full up our calendar for 2013, if you have a business (or know of someone who may be interested) in donating to our challenge winners, in return we display your logo here at FCCB to advertize for you. If interested please contact Robin at

fantabulous cricut @ yahoo .com (remove spaces)

To link your project for this week's "Oh Baby!" challenge, click on the blue "add your link" button below

This challenge ends at 7:00 PM May 26 (mountain time)

Sunday Spotlight

noreply@blogger.com (Arin) — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Happy Sunday All!

It is Arin here and boy do I have a treat of a spotlight for you all today! I am so excited and beyond thrilled to be able to feature one of our own FCCB DT alumni, Holly from Ribbons and Glue! Holly served with FCCB in 2011-2012. This past year she has been adding to her creative resume by designing for Jinger Adams, Buttons Galore, Paper Issues and Glue Dots to name a few! It is so much fun to see one of our own past designers reach such amazing creative heights, yet still have time to join in on the fun weekly challenges like with this project, that landed her a spot on the Top 5!

There are people that seem to have a six sense about things and in Holly's case crafting is just part of her DNA! Her projects are endlessly stellar and immaculately done with such originality. Her project photography is just icing on the creative cake! Check out some of the fun "bee" inspired cards I found while perusing her blog. It is really fun to see how a designer can have such different projects made with the same theme or image concept.

What's the Buzz

Bee Happy

That Bugs

Now let's meet Holly!

1. When did you start scrapbooking/paper crafting and why?

I've always been crafty but it wasn't until about 9 years ago that I learned how to Scrapbook, right after my son was born. I wanted to make him a baby album and craft passion has only grown from there.

2. What is your favorite type of project to make (i.e., cards, layouts, mini-albums, etc....)?

I love to upcycle items and find dollar bin deals to turn into something fun. My creativity has turned more towards card making, home & party decor and making projects out of wood.

3. What is your favorite product to use on your projects?

I love working with Kraft paper, texture embossing, burlap, twine and lots of buttons.

4. What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

Surprisingly, my favorite Font came from the Birthday Cakes cartridge and I don't even own a Cricut Cake Machine. Art Philosophy is another cartridge that provides a nice variety of cuts too. If you can get you hands on that cartridge, I'd definitely recommend that one.

5. What do you do in your spare time, when you are not paper crafting?

Ha-Say what? When I'm not cutting, gluing, or daydreaming about crafting, I love to hanging out with my kids and drag them all over town for various activities. I enjoy being active in my children's school along with my son's Cub Scout Den and my daughter's Daisy Troop. Fitting in a good workout is a must too. Some of my best ideas have came during a good workout.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Holly has an amazing reach in creating all different types of crafts. Her home decor is no exception! Here are a few project inspirations to enjoy!

Burlap Letter Frame

Butterfly Birdhouse

Canvas Photo Frame

With this being a time of celebration of dads and grads, here are some great ideas and inspirations to glean from!

Father's Day

Fun Graduation Project

Up cycled Man Gift!

Holly from Ribbons and Glue is just an amazing inspiration of how a ~~hobby~~ passion can catapult you into some amazing creative moments and opportunities. Being a Fanatbulous Cricut Challenge Design Team Member was part of her journey and having her continue to share her passion with us is just a wonderful treat. Be sure to head over to Ribbons and Glue and say "Hi" or LIKE her Facebook page to stay up-to-date inspired!

Before signing off I want to share some of my favorite projects I found!

You are my Sunshine

Paper Cone Wreath

Clothespin Wreath!

Until Next Week!

Arin

Scrappin' on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Vernon) — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:30:00 +0000

Hi everyone, Cindy here, I hope that everyone is ready for another Scrappin' on Saturday post! There is still time to join this week's challenge.

Challenge # 160 Congratulations Grad
Create a Graduation Project

I have a couple of graduates this year. My step-daughter is graduating from college and my baby is graduating from Pre-K and getting ready for kindergarten. These are important moments and what better way to remember that moment then to scrap it?

I found some lovely scrapbooking projects to share with you this week.

First, the DT submitted some fabulous layouts. The first is from Connie. She used Cricut Basic Shapes and Happy Graduation.

Another DT, Amy made this beautiful feminine layout using Happy Graduation, Wild Card, Disney Hannah Montana, A Child's Year.

Stacey made a really fun scrapbook layout for her son's high school graduation. She used Varsity Letter and Wild Card.

Sheri used Happy Graduation and Accent Essentials to make a layout for her son's graduation.

A mini album is also a nice way to remember the occasion and I have a video for you of a really cute one that I found on Youtube.

Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope that you all get a chance to scrap this weekend!

Fantabulous Friday #160 - Congratulations Graduate

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Hello and happy Friday! This is Heather and it's time for Fantabulous Friday!! This week's challenge is Congratulations Graduate and we want to see the projects you create with your Cricut for the graduates in your life.

Here are a few projects I found for some inspirations for you. First up is Vanessa, who used the Wild Card cartridge to create this neat card where the graduation cap on the front flips up.

Cassandra used the Hopscotch Imagine, Create a Critter and Happy Graduation cartridges to create this fun graduation card.

Cricaholic used the Everyday Paper Dolls and Lyrical Letters cartridges to create this card with a cute graduate on the front. The inside has a fun surprise in it, so be sure to visit her blog to check it out!!

There are a lot of graduation themed Cricut images out there for you to use, as well as a few cartridges that are a little more graduation or school specific.

The Happy Graduation cartridge is specific to graduation and has an image that is sure to work for all your graduation project needs!

Classroom June & July is a Cricut Craftroom Exlusive cartridge with a few graduation-specific images and phrases.

And an oldie but a goodie is Locker Talk that is filled with school-themed images and also includes a few graduation specific images - good for graduates of all ages!

We're looking forward to seeing all your graduation projects, so be sure to link them up to the Linky on Monday's post by this Sunday evening! And don't forget to check out tomorrow's Scrappin' Saturday post!!

Thursday Tutorial - 3D Star

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Loesch) — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Hello! Rachel here from Cricut with Heart, and today I'm sharing a tutorial that I made a while ago based on a 3-D Star that my friend Elvia Murray made. You can use this simple and easy trick to turn almost any of your Cricut cuts into something 3-D! Here is the star I made by using an ornament cut.

I started by cutting out the ornament from page 53 of the Cricut Artiste booklet. I used one sheet of double sided paper to cut them out. You'll also need to cut out a 2" circle for the base.

Here are all the pieces, and by turning over the 2 1/2" pieces, you can show the color on the other side.

I used my Martha Stewart Score Board to score a line down the middle of each piece.

This is how the pieces will be glued together once they are scored. Notice that the green ones have 3 pieces to them, and the others have only 2 pieces.

I inked the edges of all the pieces and glued them to each other to make 5 points for each of the 3 layers. then I began to assemble the ornament by adhering the 3" points to the base circle to form a star shape.

Then the 2 1/2" green points get glued to the base in between these.

Finally, the 1 3/4" small points get glued on top. I rotated my layers a little bit. I used liquid glue to make sure it held together nice and strong.

I added a pearl to the center and on the tips. You could even glue two of these back to back to make a totally 3-D shape! I hope this inspires you to turn some of the fun Cricut cuts into something 3-D. Leave me a comment with a link to your project, and I'd love to check it out!

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday Winners Challenge #159 Mothers Day

noreply@blogger.com (xxcalamityxx) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good Morning Everyone !!
Welcome to this weeks
WEDNESDAY WINNERS

Challenge #159 Mother's Day
We have had some absolutely beautiful cards and projects to celebrate our wonderful Mums all around the world this week. The love and care that goes into each and every one blow's me away every time !! x

THIS WEEKS WINNER

Chosen by random.org

with a prize from
our very own Catarina
of
Docerela Creations

with a prize of her beautiful stamp
Word-Heart Mother

...IS...

NO 43
Created with Ornamental Iron
Jo.M.

Congratulations Jo. To claim your prize please contact Nikki at... ragbag 50 @ hotmail . com (remove all spaces)

You have two weeks to claim your prize.
Remember to grab your "FCCB Winner" blinky to display on your blog, you can find the blinky code in the right hand side bar.

DESIGN TEAM TOP 5

We had 47 amazing projects to choose from this week.

Thank you to every one who joined us

No 9
Created with George and Basic Shapes, Doodle Charms and Flower Shoppe
Holly

No 23
Created with Flower Shoppe
Vickie Bryan

No 38
Created with Paper Dolls Dress Up and Tie the Knot
Shelly

No 40
Created with Cricut Craft Room, Flora'ls Embellished, Cindy Loo and Mother's Day Bouquet
Glenda Boyd

No 43
Created with Ornamental Iron
JO.M

Congratulations ladies don't forget to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog!

You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

We hope you are joining us for this week's challenge #160 Congratulations Graduate
As ever, please use a new project with at least one Cricut cut and tell us which cartridge(s) you have used.

Wishing everyone a Fantabulous Day !!

Quick Tip Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Angie's Paper Passion) — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Good morning crafty friends! This is Angie from Angie’s Paper Passion with another Quick Tip. I’m still sharing tips about craft storage and organization this month. Today’s tip is about storing those thin metal dies that we all love! I really love using these types of dies when I need something really quick. But storing them was a problem since they are so thin and some sets have a few pieces. Well, I think that I have solved my problem (for now anyway! It seems that I’m always RE-organizing my stash!) I ordered these DVD holders online at a very good price. They were bought to help me contain my growing stamp collection but I never got around to doing that completely – that’s a whole different post! So when I needed to find a way to store my thin dies, I pulled these out and used them for dies instead.

(my advice is to order more than you think that you need because they really come in handy for storing so many more scrapbook supplies than you can think of at this moment and they are so inexpensive!)

I ordered them from here:

Tapes On Line

I just added some adhesive backed magnet material to the inside to the case and then placed my dies inside. I used a label maker to add the manufacturer and name of each set on each case. One day I plan to cut out each die to place in a file so I can see them all at a quick glance!

Here’s a sample of what it looks like:

I can even get two sets in one case by nesting them. Or even more if want to use both sides.

But I wanted to be able to see inside the cases (if I can’t see my supplies I never use them! Maybe that explains all the duplicates in my stash)

Now let’s see how you can dress up those dies – either regular dies or your Cricut dies!

These flowers were cut with my Flower Shoppe Cricut cart. I used a mat (like a mouse pad) and stylus tools (I have the ones from McGill that have different sizes of stylus) and after I inked up all of the edges I started molding each flower layer. It’s very easy and fascinating to watch the petals almost ‘come alive’ while doing this! Layer the flower on the mat and use a stylus by rolling it in a circular motion over the petals. This gives your flowers and leaves so much dimension! I then adhere my flower layers together with either Scotch Quick Dry adhesive or Glossy Accents.

I started with these simple cut outs...

and by using different sizes of stylus they start to look like real flowers!

All I have to do is adhere them together and they come out like this:

Keeping your dies organized will help you make some incredible images for your next card or layout.

If you'd like to see my finished project with these flowers, click HERE to go to my blog. For some more OUTSTANDING work, you must visit my Cricut Sister, Nadia! She can take most of the Cricut images and do some wonderful things with them. Browse her blog to be Amazed! Visit her blog HERE! You won't want to leave! Oh, and tell her that Angela (TiffysMom) sent you!

I'll be back next week & show you some ways to ~~control~~ ah I mean store and organize all of those Cricut cartridges!

Until next time, Happy Crafting.

Challenge #160 Congratulations Graduate

noreply@blogger.com (xxcalamityxx) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:08:00 +0000

CHALLENGE #160

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATE

The DT have been really busy, as always, and here are their fabulous creations...
please pop over to their blogs and leave them some love...x

Cindy

Teddy Bear Parade

Emily

Wrap It Up

Connie

Cricut Basic Shapes and Happy Graduation

Amy

Happy Graduation, Wild Card, Disney Hannah Montana, A Child's Year

Tammy

Create A Critter 2

Create a Critter, Doodletype

Catarina

Hello Kitty Cartridge

Arin

Everyday Pop-Up Cards

Susie

Artiste, Everyday Pop-Up Cards

Heather

Wrap it Up

Missy

Happy Graduation

~This Week's Sponsor~

The Trinket Track

$20 dollar gift certificate

To link your project for this week's "Congratulations Graduate" challenge, click on the blue "add your link" button below

This challenge ends at Midnight June 5th (mountain time)

Sunday Spotlight!

noreply@blogger.com (Arin) — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day!

What a great day to share this amazingly talented lady, Reesey from Created In NY! She has so much life to her blog and her actual life! She has quite the taste for adventure since her husband and her BOTH own motorcycles and rides every chance they can once the weather warms and the snow thaws. And when the snow is falling she hops on her snowmobile! This thrill seeker does have an elegant edge when it comes to crafting and that talent landed her a spot on FCCB's Top 5 with this amazingly detailed and very elegant project!

Check out her great tutorial on this project HERE

Reesey has only been blogging for a little over a year, but has been a cafter for over15 years and it shows in spades! Check out some of these great cards she has made!

Dress Form

Boot Card

Butterfly Card

Now let's meet this fun full of adventure crafter!

1. When did you start scrap booking/paper crafting and why?

I don't really remember when I started. It was so long ago, when I did my first scrapbook page of a trip to Florida with my then boyfriend who is now my husband. I would have to say in 1998 or so. I just recently got into making the cards and the shadow boxes. I get an idea and I have to run with it!

2. What is your favorite type of project to make (i.e., cards, layouts, mini-albums, etc....)?

I love to make anything 3-D. My first scrap booking page of the Florida trip had an alligator on a homemade spring so it would pop up when you opened the page. I like cards that fold and show a scene like the monkey slider and the Ghost on the Fence Halloween card. But my all time favorite is the shadow boxes.

3. What is your favorite product to use on your projects?

I have a million different products but I would have to say my go to item is my Sakura Stardust Glitter Pen. Everything needs a little sparkle and this pen allows me to write over the top of stamped or Digi words without the mess of glue bottles or stray flakes. A great example is the "Dream" shadow box. The words looked nice printed from a computer but when I added the Stardust Glitter...WOW!

4. What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

My husband says there is no way I know what cartridges I have because I have so many but I always go straight to the Storybook Cartridge. It has delicate leaves and swirls and the letters cut perfectly pretty.

5. What do you do in your spare time, when you are not paper crafting?

My husband and I have motorcycles, so when the weather is at all nice, that's what we do. In the winter, it's snowmobiling. Truthfully, the only time I get to craft is when it is raining! My daughter calls me "Last Minute Lisa" for obvious reasons. When I have a birthday or holiday to make projects for, you will find me up at midnight the night before working that Cricut and glue furiously. But it seems to work for me. She says that's when I do my best work!

Once of her favorite projects to do is shadow boxes and boy does she deliver in originality and detail! Check out a few that I found that just had me in awe!

Shadow Boxes

Daisy Shadow Boxes

Reesey from Created in NY is such a fun crafter that is full of such fresh and new ideas. Not only is her work done with such flawless perfection that just draws you in, but her narrative to her readers is so friendly and warm. She is someone that you will want to add to your blogroll and see where she goes with her adventures in and out of her craft room! Make sure you head over and say "Hi" and wish her a Happy Mother's Day, since she too is a mother of two and a grandmother of three! Since it is Mother's Day I will leave you with this one last project Ressey made for her grandmother last Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Card

Until Next Week!
Arin

Scrappin' on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Vernon) — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Hi everyone, Cindy here, I hope that everyone is ready for another Scrappin' on Saturday post! There is still time to join this week's challenge.

Challenge # 159 Mother's Day
Create a Mother's Day card

Mother's Day is special and what better way to remember our mother's or our children's mother's than by scrapping them?

I found some beautiful projects commemorating moms'!

First, is a beautiful layout from Cricut Crazy Scrapper. She used Celebrate with Flourish for all of her cuts.

Kimberly from Paper Munch Designs made this gorgeous layout using the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Rosie from Cr8ing Memories with Heart made this beautiful wall hanging.

Sandra Rosario made a video for her Mother's Day layout.

Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope that you all get a chance to scrap this weekend!

Fantabulous Friday #159 Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Hello! It's time for another Fantabulous Friday post! Can you believe it's already the middle of May and Mother's Day is just two days away?? Are you ready with cards for the mothers or mother-figures in your lives? This week's challenge is all about Mother's Day and we want to see the cards you create!

I found a few neat cards for a bit of inspiration for you.

Maria used Kate's ABCs, Lovely Floral and Celebrate with Flourish to create this fabulous card.

Glenda used Bloom, Lacy Labels, Mother's Day, Paper Doll Dress Up and Walk in My Garden to create this great stairstep card.

June used the Bloom cartridge to make this fun flower pot card.

There are a number of Mother's Day specific cartridges to help you with your Mother's Day creations. There is the Mother's Day seasonal cartrdige that has phrases, images and shapes for making banners, cards and more.

There is the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge is perfect for creating paper floral bouquets or layered flowers on cards or scrapbook pages.

There are also a couple of Cricut Craft Room exclusives. One of these is Mother's Day Phrases with beautiful images that would be great on scrapbook pages or cards.

Another Cricut Craft Room exclusive is Mother's Day Moments with a handful of fun images for your Mother's Day projects.

I hope this has helped give you some ideas for your Mother's Day cards and projects! Be sure to link up your Mother's Day cards to this week's challenge by Sunday evening and don't forget to come by tomorrow for Scrappin' Saturday!!

Thursday Tutorial - Swing Cards!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Loesch) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Hello! Rachel here from Cricut with Heart, and today I'm sharing a fun tutorial/chart made by my friend and blog partner, Mary Thompson.

Did you know that the Cricut Artiste Cartridge has 9 different Swing Cards on it? Here are all nine of the Artiste Swing card shapes, and the cards that Mary made using them.

The possibilities are truly endless! The best part is, they are quick and easy to make with the Cricut. If you have both the Artiste and Art Philosophy cartridges, you can cut out the matching shapes to decorate these swing cards.

Below is a chart that Mary made, and it shows the companion shape for each card and which cartridge to find it on. You will also find the page and size needed for each shape.

Give these cards a try, they are fast and easy to make and turn out so cute!

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday Winners Challenge #158 Paper Roses

noreply@blogger.com (xxcalamityxx) — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good Morning Everyone !!
Welcome to this weeks
WEDNESDAY WINNERS

Challenge #158
Paper Roses

THIS WEEKS WINNER

Chosen by random.org

with a prize from
Kimberley at

OF
1 stamp set

...IS...

NO 8
Created with Flower Shoppe
Karen

Congratulations Karen. To claim your prize please contact Janea at... recollection alley @ gmail . com (remove all spaces)

You have two weeks to claim your prize.
Remember to grab your "FCCB Winner" blinky to display on your blog, you can find the blinky code in the right hand side bar.

DESIGN TEAM TOP 5

We had 29 amazing projects to choose from this week.

Thank you to every one who joined us

No 11
Created with Pagoda
Erica

No 18
Created with Stretch your Imagination, Artiste and Celebrations
Reesey

No 20
Created with Mother's Day Bouquet and Home Decor
Glenda Boyd

No 22
Created with Happy Hauntings, Formal Occasion and Rock Princess
Evelyn

No 27
Created with Every day Pop Up Cards, Flower Shoppe and Sweethearts
Jenny

Congratulations ladies don't forget to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog!

You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

We hope you are joining us for this week's challenge # 159 Mother's Day
As ever, please use a new project with at least one Cricut cut and tell us which cartridge(s) you have used.

Wishing everyone a Fantabulous Day !!

Link to challenge

noreply@blogger.com (recollectionalley) — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:55:00 +0000

Hi Cricuteers!

Just wanted to let you know that the link is now working.

Apparently our Linky was Wonky....LOL

Click here to link your Mother's Day cards today!

Quick Tip Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Angie's Paper Passion) — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Good morning everyone! Angie here from Angie’s Paper Passion with another Quick Tip for you. As promised, I will share a few small organizing tips this month along with a crafting tip, too!

If you are anything like me, you are always looking for new ways to organize your stash of scrapping supplies. I remember when I started this journey many years ago, my entire stash fit into a small 8” x 10” container, LOL, but today not only do I have an entire craft room but supplies from that room have somehow started overflowing into others rooms! (No, really, I have NO IDEA how that happened!!!)

So my first quick tip has to do with brads and eyelets. Yes, I think we all still have them in our stash whether you want to admit it or not! I personally like to keep my brads and eyelets in containers that I can grab and go. So I separate mine by color (or color family) and put them in those little Tic Tac containers then those go into a slightly bigger clear box. I have one clear box for big brads and one that contains mini brads. I use this same system for my eyelets.

If I’m going to a crop, I can just grab the box that I want or just take a few of the smaller boxes containing the colors and/or sizes that I need.

And speaking of brads, did you know that you can take plain silver or gold brads and change them to any color that you want? Well, as long as you have some different colored embossing powders and VersaMark!

First, take your plain brad and dip it into your VersaMark pad.

Next dip it into your color of choice of embossing powder.

Now heat your brad with a heat gun. Make sure you use a pair of crafting tweezers to do this last step! After it’s heated, you can dip it again into the embossing powder while it’s still hot and heat it again to create a thicker coating.

Now you have a brad with a custom color! Try experimenting with different colors of embossing powders.

Here are a few different colors that I tried. I used Platinum, Green, and Interference Blue.

How do you store your brads and eyelets? Comment below and share your storage solutions. Next week I’ll be back with another organizing and crafting tip.

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Challenge Me Monday - #159 Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (recollectionalley) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:20:00 +0000

Happy Monday! It's almost Mother's Day, so let's celebrate Mothers. This weeks challenge is to create a Mother's Day card. Don't forget to use your cricut and let us know which

cartridge you used.

Challenge #159 - Mother's Day

Create a Mother's Day card

Design Team Inspiration

Cindy

Elegant Edges, Kate's ABC's

Emily

Create-A-Critter 2

Nikki
Artiste

Missy
Kate's ABC's

Brianna

Country Life & Elegant Edges

Lynn B.

Cricut Craft Room - Mother's Day Card

(free this week)

Kim

Country Life

Heather

Lyrical Letters, Tie the Knot

Angie
Bloom, Serenade, Artiste

Diana
Elegant Edges, Hello Kitty Font, Walk in my Garden

Rebecca

Wild Card

~ This Week's Sponsor ~

This week, Fantabulous Cricut is delighted to be sponsored by our very
own Design Team Member Catarina! She has very generously donated one
of her very own stamp sets, Word Heart - Mother
to be given to one lucky participant to be drawn at random from all eligible entries.

If you would like to be a sponsor for Fantabulous Cricut

please contact Janea via the Contact Me tab.

To link your project for this week's "FCCB's Mother's Day" challenge,

click on the blue "add your link" button below!
This challenge ends at 7:00 pm May 12th (CST).

As a courtesy to our design team, please consider turning off the word verification on your blog. With the new system, it has become quite difficult to leave comments for our FANTABULOUS followers.

When linking your project, please remember to list on your blog what Cricut cartridge you used.

Sunday Spotlight!

noreply@blogger.com (Arin) — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone! It is Sunday and it is Arin here I would like to change it up a bit this week and just revisit some of of the amazing Top 5 projects that landed talented crafters a spot on FCCB's Spotlight Sunday the past few months! Just sit back and be re-inspired by some creative ladies!

1 Creative Mom and 6 Silly Kids

Kim's Kreations

Toodle Noodle Creative

Amanda's Crafts and More

Mollie's Moffit

Purple Paradise Creations

Marcia's Memories

Creating Lasting Memories

Craft Bug Mum

Craft with Bee

Designs by Tisha

Raggdey Annie Crafting

Just ANutter Paper Crafter!

Creations of an Army Wife

Until Next Week!

Arin

Scrappin' on Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Vernon) — Sat, 04 May 2013 05:30:00 +0000

Hi everyone, Cindy here, I hope that everyone is ready for another Scrappin' on Saturday post! There is still time to join this week's challenge.

Challenge # 158 Paper Roses

There are so many cartridges with flowers on them and I found some fantabulous bloggers who used them on their scrapping projects.

Melinda from My Paper Crafting made a beautiful layout using the Sugar and Spice cartridge. I didn't know that this cartridge had these flowers on it!

Sukie from Scrappin' Dhilly used the Flower Shoppe cartridge for her layout.

Mary from Cricut with Heart made this super fun circle book using Artiste and Art Philosophy.

Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hope that you feel inspired to use some paper flowers in your scrapbooking!

Fantabulous Friday #158 Paper Roses

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:30:00 +0000

It's Friday, which means it's time for another Fantabulous Friday post!! Have you created a project yet for this week's challenge?? If not, do you have some ideas for a project?? Well, if not, maybe this post will help get those creative juices flowing!

This week's challenge is Paper Roses. We want to see your projects with paper flowers! Here are a few neat cards I found with paper flowers on them.

Amy

Flower Shoppe

Aphra

Mother's Day Bouquet

Corri
Freshly Picked

There are a number of cartridges that have flower images on them, but a few of them are even more flower specific.

Flower Shoppe

Giant Flowers

Florals Embellished

There are tons of flower images to choose from on lots of Cricut cartridges! Pick one of your favorites and join in the fun with us this week! Link your project up by Sunday evening, and be sure to tell us what Cricut cartridge you used! Come back to see us tomorrow for Scrappin' Saturday!!

Thursday Tutorial - Banners made Easy!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Loesch) — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Want a cool tip on how to make the popular banners in just a couple of easy steps? Check out this easy tutorial made by my friend, Mary Thompson...

Here are some fun cards she made using this cool banner technique!

And here is a layout that I made using banners.

I hope you'll try this easy technique to make some banners on your next project!

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday Winners Challenge #157 3-D Project

noreply@blogger.com (xxcalamityxx) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good Morning Everyone !!
Welcome to this weeks
WEDNESDAY WINNERS

Challenge #157
3-D Project

I has to step down from this weeks challenge due to work commitments :-(
but I really enjoyed a very quick wizz round the fab projects while writing up this post
It truly shows that Cricut crafter's really are the most imaginative creatures :-)

THIS WEEKS WINNER

Chosen by random.org

with a prize from
Bugaboo Digi Stamps

OF
7 free images

...IS...

NO 7
Created with Camping Critters
Michelle's Cricut Fun

Congratulations Michelle. To claim your prize please contact Janea at... recollection alley @ gmail . com (remove all spaces)

You have two weeks to claim your prize.
Remember to grab your "FCCB Winner" blinky to display on your blog, you can find the blinky code in the right hand side bar.

DESIGN TEAM TOP 5

We had 23 amazing projects to choose from this week.

Thank you to every one who joined us

No 7
Created with Camping Critters
Michelle's Cricut Fun

No 9
Created with Platinum School Book and Pooh Font
Megan C

No 11
Created with Kate's ABC, Billionaire and many many more!
Designs by Dragonfly

No 19
Created with Bags Tags Boxes and More
Miranda H

No 21
Created with Robotz
Sandy

Congratulations ladies don't forget to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog!

You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

We hope you are joining us for this week's challenge #157 Paper Roses
As ever, please use a new project with at least one Cricut cut and tell us which cartridge(s) you have used.

Wishing everyone a Fantabulous Day !!