Fantabulous Cricut

Spotlight Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Beckie) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Spotlight Sunday! So glad you are here.

This week's spotlight is on Amanda of The Adventures of Goldilocks . Amanda was our Wednesday Winner for challenge #91 with this project.

If you take a look around Amanda's blog you'll find more of her craftiness...

Along with her talent, Amanda is a super sweetie. Let's get to know her a little better....

When did you start scrapbooking/paper crafting and why?

I started paper crafting about three months ago. It started with pulling out the Cricut machine I’d bought my oldest daughter for Christmas last year to help my youngest daughter with a school project. I then decided I’d use it make Christmas cards for my family this year. When I started searching You Tube and blogs on how to make cards and use the Cricut the obsession started. I had no idea the massive sub-culture devoted to paper art. I’m constantly inspired by the many, many talented folks that post their work, tutorials, and ideas.

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

I’m strictly a card maker and I’m sure to give them all away. Seems I never run out a reason to give a card.

What is your favorite product to use on your projects?

Anything glittery and sparkly. Rhinestones, glitter, shiny and glittery paper, sparkly ribbon, I could go on and on.

What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

I find myself using the Flower Shoppe and Lacy Labels cartridges lately. The Flower Shoppe cartridge because I love using different papers and textures together to create beautiful flowers for my cards, and Lacy Labels because it offers such a wide range of shapes to custom size. And I have to mention my old standards, Storybook and Don Juan.

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

Well, I’m mother to three wonderful children and a furry dog-boy. And I’m wife to a most patient husband that supports all of my obsessions. Besides paper crafting, I love, love, love my iPad. It hardly ever leaves my side.

Any other information you would like us to know about you?

I challenge myself with trying to create my cards on the cheap. I’ve found paper and supplies from discount and dollar stores to scrapbooking and craft stores. I come from a very artistic family, everything from paintings to graphic design and since my job as a Project Manager in IT allows me no outlet to express my creative side, producing paper art is a great de-stressor.

Thanks so much for joining us Amanda. Thank you for stopping by everyone! Jump over to The Adventures of Goldilocks and check out Amanda's blog. Also, be sure to check back tomorrow when Amanda Guest Designs with the FCCB design team for Challenge Me Monday.

Be blessed, Beckie
Spotlight Sunday Hostess

Scrappin' Saturday - Four Ways to Use Elegant Edges in Layouts

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday! Yesterday, Peggy showcased the Elegant Edges cartridge and how its versatile cuts work great for labels. I'm also a huge fan of this cartridge, so I wanted to share four ways to utilize its cuts for scrapbook layouts.

#1 - As a Background:

This layout from 6ichthusfish uses a scalloped circle to fill the entire background. What a great way to change things up when so many elements are rectangular!

#2 - As a Photo Frame

Attention is drawn immediately to the photo with a bold frame used this layout from Jackie's Scrapbook Layouts. I love how she continues the leaf motif by choosing a vine cutout for the frame.

#3 - As a Journal Space

Steph Ackerman uses a curved cut to provide a journal space on her teen boy layout. If you have lots to say, make a big cut; if just a few works, the label can be smaller.

#4 - As a Decorative Border

Don't have the perfect border punch to embellish your layout? Use the border function from Elegant Edges. OkieLadyBug adorns the side of her beauty layout with a beautiful repeating scallop.

I've used Elegant Edges for borders and backgrounds before, but now I'm eager to branch out and try my hand at using it for journaling elements. Any of these ideas caught your attention? Let us know how you might use a curvy or scalloped shape on your next layout in the comments section.

Have a happy, scrappy weekend,

Jessica

Fantabulous Friday - Label It

noreply@blogger.com (Peggy T.) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Good Friday Morning, Everyone. First let me apologize for not posting last Friday. All I can say is that life gets in the way
sometimes.

This week our theme is Label It. We were to create a project with a label other than a plain circle, i.e., a scalloped edge or something altogether different. Every time I need to a label I think of one of my favorites cartridges that Provocraft has ever produced. It is Elegant Edges. Granted it has more than labels but it is such a versatile cartridge.

Here are some of the shapes you can use for labels. Everyone can find a label on this cartridge to use for our theme.

Next is a photo of page 47. As you can see the features for each design are:
The featured shape & blackout
Frame
Border
Oblong
Oblong Frame
Book
Shadow

If you don't have this cartridge and you make labels or frames for your cards/projects, you should consider getting this cartridge. You will find yourself using it over and over.

Thank you for stopping by Fantabulous Friday. I hope you have a blessed weekend. God Bless.

Peggy

Thursday Tutorial at SSD - "Label week"- Three great tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

It's time for another Thursday Tutorial here at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. This week the challenge at FCCB is #95 – Label It!

Create a project using a label shape other than a plain circle (i.e., use a scalloped shape)

I actually found some great You Tube videos and a tutorial that I thought you would find helpful for using labels and die cuts.

How many of us forget some of the features on our die cut machines? How about The center cut feature?

On this video you will find a great tutorial all the way from England reminding you how to use the Center Cut. In this case it is around a picture but no reason you can't use it around sentiments too.

Center cut around an image- from You Tube Susy Dan www.craftysusy.blogspot.com

The second video is for those who have an Imagine.

How to print a sentiment with the Imagine - You Tube-The Paper Boutique

and last but not least is a tutorial I saw this past week on

Printing on tags with a computer by Kate

The Paper Variety

The tutorial is for printing on manufactured tags but could be used with Die cut tags also.

I hope you will find one or all of these tutorials helpful. Maybe you will even want to try one of the techniques on a project this week for the Label it Challenge. I hope you will join us for the challenge this week. Happy Craftin!

Wednesday Winners #94

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Happy Wednesday to all our Fantabulous Friends! Isn't it exciting to be midway through the week?!

Last week, Fantabulous Cricut was thrilled to be sponsored by E.A.D DESIGNS. E.A.D DESIGNS allows you to change the look of any room in just a few minutes. Their products can be used on more than just walls and on many surfaces. Customers are always coming up with new and fun ways to use the products from E.A.D DESIGNS.

Some of the Fantabulous Cricut Design Team received product samples from E.A.D DESIGNS and their projects are posted HERE. Kate's package took the scenic route from the US to Canada so she was not able to complete her project with the E.A.D DESIGNS samples. However, she was excited to play once the stickers arrived and made this cute little bag - just to show you all that the products really are quite versatile!

Kate

Winter Frolic, Elegant Edges cartridges

~This Weeks Winner~

Prize from E.A.D DESIGNS

#28 Sandy - A Little Piece of Heaven

Congratulations Sandy!!!

To claim your prize, please contact Marlene at: hearts0314 @ msn .com [remove 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~

#45 Debbie - Debbie's Dash of This and That

#38 Amy L. - Redheaded Crafter

#70 Karen - Simply Frenzied

#55 The Paper Artist

# 54 Gigi - The Cricut Bug

Congratulations Ladies!!!

Remember to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog! You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

Thank you to all those who participated in our challenge.

Come join us for this week's "Label It!" challenge HERE.

Create a project using a label shape other than a plain circle (i.e., use a scalloped shape)

Be sure to use at least ONE Cricut cut on your project.

XO ~ Amy Jo (Coordinator) & Kate

Quick Tip Tuesday - Embossed Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie Makes) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome to Quick Tip Tuesday! For today's quick tip, I was inspired by a wedding I attended this weekend. So I decided to give embossing fabric a try. Wedding dresses are so beautiful and I had some white satin fabric in my fabric stash that I thought would be great to make a card with.

Here is what you need satin fabric, big shot, & die.

I layered four pieces of white satin fabric and ran it through the big shot with the scallop die.

Once your fabric is cut out and separated you give them a good coat of hair spray. This will help stiffen the fabric up to hold the embossing. I am sure that you could use fabric stiffener as well, but I didn't have any on hand.

Next, we are ready to place all four layers of fabric in the desired embossing folder.

Run it through the big shot and this is the result you should get. I love the shine and texture.

Here is the card I made for the wedding. Check out my blog to learn more details on how I made it.

Be sure to come back tomorrow when we announce the Wednesday Winners.

Melanie

Challenge Me Monday #95

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Adding a fancy label to your project is such a great way to add interest to the overall look. There are so many wonderful shapes on our Cricut cartridges that the possibilities are endless! This week, we’d like to see you add labels to your projects BUT you must use something other than a circle.

#95 – Label It!
Create a project using a label shape other than a plain circle (i.e., use a scalloped shape)

Fantabulous Cricut is delighted to be sponsored by Simon Says Stamp this week.

With over 100,000 items in stock, Simon Says Stamps offers one stop online shopping for the best Rubber Stamp, Scrapbooking, Artist Trading Card, Altered Art, Card Making, and Paper Crafting products on the market today. We offer a complete selection of products from Tim Holtz, Hero Arts, Ranger Industries, Wendy Vecchi, Magnolia Stamps, Copic Markers, Promarkers, Penny Black, Lawn Fawn, and many others!

~ Design Team Inspiration ~

~Guest Designer~

Kimberly

Art Philosophy, Animal Kingdom cartridges

View Kimberly's Spotlight Sunday post HERE

Faith Abigail
Create a Critter, Elegant Edges, Mother's Day Bouquet cartridges

Jessica
Kate's ABCs cartridge

Jewels
Birthday Bash, Sugar & Spice Lite cartridges

Lisa
Elegant Edges, Phrases, Flower Shoppe, Straight from the Nest cartridges

Melissa
Winter Frolic, Create a Critter cartridges

Peggy
Paper Lace II cartridge (Front of card)

Elegant Edges cartridge (Inside of card)

Sabrina
Sweet Treat cartridge

Sarah
Create a Critter, Elegant Edges cartridges

Sherrie
Birthday Bash, Sweethearts cartridges

~This Week's Sponsor~

Simon Says Stamp has very generously donated a $25 gift voucher to be used at their store. (Winner to be drawn at random from all qualifying entries received for this week's challenge.)

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

This challenge ends at Midnight, January 29th (Mountain Time).

Spotlight Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Beckie) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Spotlight Sunday! We are so glad you're here!

Today's talented spotlight is on Kimberly of Paper Munch . Kimberly wowed the DT and got a top 5 spot with this project...

If you hop around Kimberly's blog you'll find awesome projects like these...

Along with her super cute creations Kimberly is gem. Let's get to know her a little better...

When did you start scrapbooking/paper crafting and why?

My first introduction to scrap-booking was in 1992 when I went to a Creative Memories party. Like everyone else back then, all my pages were matted pictures with triangles, stickers and swirls. I have thought about redoing them, but I love looking back to see how far I have grown with this craft.

I took a long break when my daughter was growing up (15 years), as I was too busy with Cheerleading, swimming and all the sports she took. Now that she has grown I have found my love for it again. I have only recently started with cards (6 months), but I love how quick you can put one together. The reason I paper craft is to relax at the end of the day and to mark significant events that have happened in our lives.

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

I love making cards for friends and scrapbooking for my family. I haven't completed a mini album, but I have tried a couple of 3D items. My goals are to branch out a bit more and do a mini album... a sloppy one where you slap a bunch of things down but in the end it looks amazing.

What is your favorite product to use on your projects?

Right now I have been playing around with Copics and I Viva glass and pearl pens, so easy to use and they look like little beads (I used the red one on tomorrow's card).

What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

That is easy, right now I love my Close to My Heart Art Philosophy cart!!! You can stamp and cut, tags, boxes, cards... everything.

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

I love to travel, read, crochet, spending time with my friends and family (if my nineteen year old will spend anytime with me... hahaha). Any spare time I have you can usually find me in my craft room!!!

Any other information you would like us to know about you?

So... a bit about my self - well my name is Kimberly Clark - yes just like the toilet paper company!!! When I was born my mom actually wrote the company to see if we could get a discount. I guess it was the beggining of my sale and freebie obsession!

I am a mother of a 19yr old daughter, whom I have completely raised on my own, and I must say didn't do to bad ~lol. She is great only a little bit of attitude and sauciness... but I think that all children have that in them. Four years ago I moved to Hamilton Ontario (city of waterfalls) to purchase my own home. I love to scrapbook , read and according to my daughter I am a work-a-holic. I love my job... which I hear that is rare for most people!

I consider myself still new to the scrapping world and learning daily. I would say that I haven't completely found my style - I know that I enjoy the cutesy and a clean and simple style. I haven't tried the grunge or flourishly looks. I have also just started to have my embellishments pop off the page previously I was only a flat girl!! Boy have I grown within the past 6months... The other thing you will find out about me - I don't go in order .... so you will watch my daughter grow up over and over again... lol.

What inspires me... a picture, a paper, a sketch... just about everything. I even grab ads in the paper that catch my eye and post them all over my scraproom.

Thanks Kimberly! I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Kimberly of Paper Munch, and you should hop over to her blog for some more craftiness. Join us tomorrow when Kimberly and the DT put up some awesome inspirations for Challenge Me Monday.

Be blessed, Beckie

Scrappin' Saturday - Layouts are Snow Much Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday! I'm loving all the snow-themed layouts entered in this week's challenge -- so (or should I say, "snow"...?) beautiful! I especially appreciate seeing snowflakes on your pages since it's a sticky, icky 78º F in your hostess's location today. I envy all of you who'll see some white stuff this season.

That's why I love the layout featured today from FCCB Design Team member, Faith Abigail. Check out her beautiful winter scene below:

"Winter Woodland" by Faith Abigail Designs

I'm in total awe of Faith Abigail's attention to detail on this breathtaking two-page layout. My favorite details are the house -- great bricks and snow! -- and the ornate sleigh. Her cuts and backgrounds are all from the Cricut Imagine Snow Angel cartridge. The colors are so current, yet the patterns and traditional cuts combine to make it a timeless winter scene.

Check out Faith Abigail's blog for more details on this delightful layout and to see her other creations!

Is it snowing in your part of the world yet? If so, please share some of your snow photos and layouts in the comments section.

Have a happy, scrappy weekend,

Jessica

Thursday Tutorial for FCCB- "How to Learn from my Mistakes"

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:09:00 +0000

Hello everyone. It is time for the Thursday Tutorial at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. This week the challenge is "Snow Fun" and you are to use a snowman or snowflake in your project. I hope you are making a project to enter into the challenge. It is always so fun to see the different projects

and diecuts that people use.

So for the Thursday Tutorial I wanted to share this new paper by Tattered Angels (there are some other companies that make similar paper. I got the paper at my LSS where I have taken several classes on using Glimmer Mist. The paper starts out white with an embossed design and then when you spray it with the Glimmer Mist the pattern pops out. One of the designs I found was a snowflake pattern.

Now I am going to be honest with you my first project which is my tutorial project did not come out real well so I tore it apart and redid it into this finished product. When I realized how bad my project looked I was going to post a video or something else. But then the teacher came out in me and I remembered saying to my students "We learn from our mistakes too." I know we have all had times when our projects don't come out right for one reason or another so I am sharing my tutorial to show you what "NOT" to do.

For my original card I cut a card from page 47 of the Art Philosophy Cricut cart at 5 x 7 with a window.

I then repeated the cut with plain blue cardstock so I would have a liner.

The first two pics are my completed first card outside and inside.

The paper wrinkled as I glued the pieces together before the Glimmer Misted paper was really dry.

(Also its a lousy picture but that's another problem.)

Picture three is the cut on my E2. Picture 4 is the cover piece cut out. You can save the inside piece for the inside of your card or for another card later.

I then lightly sprayed the card cut with Glimmer Mist. I used Patina , Blue Skies and a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds. I should have let the piece dry really well before gluing the inside lining to it. It also is good to flatten it with books or I use 12 x 12 tiles that I have in my craft room to put vinyl on to press the paper flat.

Even though I put a lot of ATG tape on the card it puckered and no amount of pressing it helped.

I then added Snowflake stamps and Quick Quotes chalking ink. I also heat embossed the stamps to give more dimension. I added a snowman stamp with some tiny buttons on the inside to pick through the window.

The stamp Friendship Warms My Heart is from Robyns Creative Cottage.

So after taking my pictures and realizing I would never use this card, I carefully pulled it apart.

This card was make using the backside, the ribbon and the inside piece. I also reused my sentiment piece.

The front window piece is now being pressed so I can salvage it too.

So there is my tutorial on "Do as I say and not as I do." or "Learn from my mistakes."

I hope you will find some time to craft this week and join us for the Challenge here at FCCB. It would be "Snow Fun" to see what you create.

Wednesday Winners #93

noreply@blogger.com (AmyJRockstar) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning Fantabulous Friends,

Alright, we are full on into the New Year and I hope things are going well for everyone! How are your resolutions holding up? I must say, I'm doing pretty well on my goals (I don't like to call them resolutions b/c that never works for me ;)). One of my biggest goals is to do more crafting and to keep my blog more active, my challenges entered and be more punctual and organized. So far, I'm pretty proud of myself! Have any of you made any resolutions or goals you would like to share with us? We'd love to hear them!

Well as always, with the New Year, every football fan is getting geared up for the Super Bowl and so many things are going on sports-wise that I know a lot of the men out there are holed up in their man-caves and staying tuned into as many games as possible! Now ladies, I know lots of you like to join them, but for today's topic, it's all about the men. :0) I must say, I'm happy that my hubby isn't one of those sports-loving men because I'm not really a sports fan either. However, I love making things that are outside of my normal realm, hence the word challenge! In case you missed it, last week was our "Man Time" challenge. Granted, the projects didn't have to be about sports, but some of our DT were lucky to receive some product from Boys Rule, which is an awesome scrapbooking kit company. I would like to thank Laura-Lee for her generosity! We enjoyed using her product very much and let me tell you, her kits are HUGE and full of great stuff! I was uber excited to use my kit which was chock full of sports-themed goodies. Well, as usual, the girls did a completely Fantabulous job with the challenge, as did all of our awesome participants! We'd like to thank Georgiana for being our fab guest designer! For those of you who missed it, you're gonna want to go back and check it out HERE.

You ready for the good stuff? Alright then! Onto this week's winner and Top 5 projects...

~This Weeks Winner~
Prize from Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits

#15 Melissa - Sunshine HoneyBee

Congratulations Melissa!!!
To claim your prize please contact Marlene at... hearts0314 @ msn .com (remove 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~

#23 Denise - Thru the Looking Glass

#7 Lisa - Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

#36 Paula Bee - Craft with Bee

#44 Amanda - Amanda's Crafts and More

#51 The Paper Artist Crafts

Congratulations Ladies!!!

Remember to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog! You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

Thank you to all those who participated in our challenge.

Come join us for this week's "Snow Fun" challenge - Here.

Include a snowflake or a snowman on your project.

(Be sure to use at least ONE Cricut cut on your project.)

XO ~ Amy Jo (Coordinator)

Quick Tip Tuesday - Using Ink on Vellum

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie Makes) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week's quick tip is how to use ink on vellum to give more dimension on your project. I used this technique on my Challenge Me Monday project this week.

Here are the steps:

1. First I embossed my vellum with the Stampin Up Snowflake Embossing folder.

2. Then I used a sponge dauber and ink to highlight the area around each snowflake.

3. I place some dimensionals on the back to give a shadow effect with the lighter blue background.

Here is a video where I got this technique from StampQueen101:

I hope you enjoyed this weeks quick tip. Don't forget to link up your Challenge Me Monday projects and come back tomorrow to find out Wednesday's Winners.

Melanie

Challenge Me Monday #94

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Depending on where you live in this world, it’s quite possible that your ground is covered in cold, white snow. We are celebrating snow this week at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog and encouraging you to use a snowflake or snowman image on your project.

#94 – Snow fun
Include a snowflake or snowman on your project

Fantabulous Cricut is delighted to be sponsored by E.A.D Designs this week.

E.A.D DESIGNS allows you to change the look of any room in just a few minutes. Our Products can be used on more than just walls and on many surfaces. Our customers are always coming up with new and fun ways to use our products.

Our Story:

E.A.D DESIGNS is a family owned and operated business. Emily Nelson (owner) started E.A.D DESIGNS in 2002 and in a few short years, the company has grown into one of the largest retailers/wholesalers for Vinyl Lettering and Wall Art. Our website launched in 2004. We started out with vinyl sayings and then offered our customers Wall Art in 2004. Our Design Center was added in 2005 and is one of our greatest website features, allowing you to create and design your custom quotes online. We recently launched a new scrapbooking rub-on line in 2009 and in 2010, started offering our AMAZING Stickerz and printed WallArt.

With our passion for Crafts & Design, we have been able to stay up on the newest and hottest trends. Selling directly online helps us keep our prices down so that everyone can afford our beautiful designs.

Thanks for checking out our website and we look forward to providing you with great service and our unique and creative products.

Some of the Fantabulous Cricut Design Team received product samples from E.A.D. Designs. Here are their wonderful creations made with the fabulous products:

Amy Jo

Holiday Cakes, Mr. Frosty, Wild Card cartridges

Crystal

Winter Frolic, Create a Critter cartridges

Melanie

Christmas Solutions, Accent Essentials cartridges

Robin

Tags, Bags, Boxes & More, Joys of the Season cartridges

Suzanne

Damask Decor cartridge

~ Design Team Inspiration ~

~Guest Designer~

Marcia

Winter Woodland, Speaking of Winter, Damask Decor, Campin' Critters, Christmas, 50 States cartridges

View Marcia's Spotlight Sunday post HERE

Beckie

Don Juan cartridge

Charlotte

Sweet Treats, Gypsy Wanderings cartridges

Glenda

A Child's Year cartridge

Jamie

Accent Essentials cartridge

Jennie

Winter Frolic, Christmas Solutions cartridges

Kate

Elegant Edges cartridge

Larelyn

George and Basic Shapes, Graphically Speaking cartridges

Sherrie

George and Basic Shapes, Sesame Street Seasons cartridge

~This Week's Sponsor~

E.A.D. Designs has generously donated this week's prize, to be awarded to one participant chosen at random.

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

This challenge ends at Midnight, January 22nd (Mountain Time).

Spotlight Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Beckie) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Welcome to Spotlight Sunday!

Today's awesomely talented Spotlight Guest is Marcia of Marcia's Memories .

Marcia was a Design Team Top 5 pick for Challenge #89 where she made this super pretty gift bag.

If you check around Marcia's blog you will find even more crafty stuff...

Let's get to know Marcia a little bit better....

When did you start scrapbooking/paper crafting and why?

I started paper crafting after my husband bought me my 1st Cricut about 4 years ago. I have always thought I had an artistic flair, and I just love to put my thoughts into designs that others may enjoy.

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

My favorite project to make are cards, with easel cards being my favorite. I make a special card for each family and friend’s special day and I tailor that design to fit that person’s personality. I also make all of our Christmas cards to give that hand-made personal touch for the holidays.

What is your favorite product to use on your projects?

I love to use Cricut cuts and Cuttlebug embossing on my projects. Although, I do use stamps and some digital images, my mainstay is individual cuts that are “popped” for dimension and embellished with items that give it that certain “bling."

What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

My favorite has always been Home Décor. This cartridge has some very pretty unique images that can be used in a variety of ways, and I always seem to turn to it when I get stuck for a certain cut. I am also a big fan of A Child’s Year and Winter Woodland. The font on WW is fantastic!

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

I enjoy camping during the summer months, and am also an amateur photographer. Much of my free time is spent taking photos of nature and landscapes. My second love for being outdoors is gardening and landscaping. I can’t wait for the spring thaw, so I can plant accent color annuals for curb appeal. I also have a fish pond that usually attracts some residents frogs for the summer. We also have a dog named Marley who refuses to grow up, so I guess that most of my time, when I am not in my craft room, is taken up being one with nature....either planting, photographing, or feeding it!

Any other information you would like us to know about you?

I am a new grandmother! My first grandchild, Maddix, was born in May. Although he lives a couple of hours away, we make it a point to see him as often as we can. One of his Christmas presents this year was a scrapbook, which is posted on my blog: http://marciasmemories.blogspot.com

I am married to my wonderful husband, Ron, and he is so supportive of everything I do. In fact, he is my biggest fan. Life is good and I enjoy every day.

YAY! Thanks Marcia. Please hop on over to Marcia's Memories and check out all her other wonderful creations.

Marcia will be joining us tomorrow for Challenge Me Monday. Can't wait to see you there.

Be Blessed, Beckie

Scrappin' Saturday - Boys Will Be Boys Layouts

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday! Since this week is all about the guys, I thought we'd check out some layouts made with my favorite boy Cricut cartridge, Boys Will Be Boys. I make lots of layouts for my toddler son, but these awesome inspiration pieces show how this cartridge can highlight boys of all ages.

Lisa of Crouchie's Getting Creative

Lisa uses masculine colors and geometric shapes to showcase an older son with her amazing page. I love the mix of color and black-and-white photos! Repeating the gear pattern with the photos is the perfect background, too!

Beth of Positively Passionate About

Beth combines distressed paper with twine to "boy-up" this page that also has rosettes! I've always used pastels for my little boys albums, but Beth shows how a sophisticated palette can work for infant scrapbooks also.

Ginger of My Sister's Scrapper

I'm in total awe of Ginger's boy album! Her ribbon, chains, and bold colors make this mini perfect for any boy -- infant to pre-teen.

Have you made any scrapbook pages with Boys Will Be Boys? Have another favorite "boy" cartridge? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Have a happy, scrappy weekend,

Jessica

Fantabulous Friday - Man Time

noreply@blogger.com (Peggy T.) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

How many times have you read or heard a cardmaker say, "Masculine cards are hard for me"? How many times have you said it? I have, many times. I have a tendency to put off making masculine cards
until the last minute. However, I found quite a few projects I wanted to share with you. These ladies did an outstanding job with their creations. If you click on the name of the cartridge underneath the pictures, it will take you to the posting.

First, I want to present Paula Bee of Craft With Bee. I had chosen one of her cards and when I looked at her blog, I found another. As you can see, she doesn't seem to have a problem with masculine cards. She's very creative.

Designer's Calendar & Cuttlebug

Sports Mania

Another blog I found a couple of masculine cards on is Clover Rose Creations. Mary is very talented and I think you will enjoy her work.

Wrap It Up and Cindy Lou

Plantin Schoolbook

Gabriell of My Paper Passion is another gifted lady. She created this card for her hubby for their anniversary. I am sure he loved it.

Potpourri Cartridge

Maggie Klein from the Cricut Message Board made this card for one of her 5 brothers. I used to love that TV show Route 66. This one brings back memories. Oops, I think I'm telling my age. LOL

Nifty Fifties

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope these lovely ladies provided you with some great inspiration for your next masculine project. Also, check out the FCCB Design Team's projects on the Monday Challenge. Be sure to post your creations to the challenge. Till Next Time.

Peggy

Thursday Tutorial for FCCB- Three Ways to make a shape card

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone it is time for another Thursday Tutorial. Thanks so much for stopping by to see what we have today. This week I would like to share this wonderful video I keep in my Favorites. I love making shape card and this video gives you three ways to do that. The first two are without the Gypsy and the third is using your Gypsy to weld the shapes.

The video is from Linda at The Paper Boutique and here is one of her lovely shape cards. Linda puts so many details into her work which I love.

Here is the link to the post

Three Easy Ways to Make a Shape Card with or without a Gypsy

and here for your viewing pleasure is the You Tube Video.

Maybe you might like to try out one of these techniques for one of our weekly challenges.

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, the challenge is Man Time. We are thinking of the men in our life and are challenging you to create a masculine project. You can make a card, layout, altered item – or anything you choose! Just remember to include at least one Cricut cut on your project.

I hope you will join us for the challenge and leave a comment if you liked this tutorial.

Wednesday Winners #92

noreply@blogger.com (AmyJRockstar) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Good morning Fantabulous Friends,

I hope everyone's getting a little more free time to do their crafting and have a little more fun than frenzy! Is everyone getting ready for Valentine's projects yet? I know it will be coming up sooner than we think! I've already been checking out the Valentine product out there (not that I need any more stuff), and it's great! There's a lot of pretty new lines that I'm super excited about. I'm a sucker for every holiday it seems. Love a good reason to buy some more scrapping goodies! ;)

Anyways, enough about Valentine's day, the real reason we're here of course is to announce the winners of our yummy "Warming up with Hot Cocoa" challenge. Mmm, doesn't that sound like a perfect way to start off our day? I love that idea for a challenge too. Coffee/cocoa have become huge in the scrapbooking industry and why not show off some of the things we can do with that topic? For those of you who missed it, please check it out HERE. I must say our DT has just amazed me with each challenge and this is no exception! I'm also so proud of our participants and the number of entries we've been getting. We appreciate you all so much!

Again, we have another amazing sponsor, My Creative Classroom. Have you checked out their site yet? They provide great online classes for those of use who want to hone our skills. I just love that there are companies out there that do this for us. I am hoping to have some free time this coming year (health pending, of course) and join one of their classes so I can really learn some techniques that I've been wanting try out. They take all the hard work out of it and make the learning process fun! :0) Now let's get on to our lucky winner and top 5s for the week!

~This Weeks Winner~
A free seat in the classroom of choice from My Creative Classroom

#8 Barb - Bug Bites

Congratulations Barb!!!
To claim your prize please contact Marlene at... hearts0314 @ msn .com (remove 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~

#39 Lisa - Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons

#28 Tiffany - Tiffany's Creative Ideas

#12 Diana - Daisylove Creations

#45 Cindy - Cindy's Scraptastic Designs

#44 Karen - Kaleidoscopic Sparkles

Congratulations Ladies!!!

Remember to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog! You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

Thank you to all those who participated in our challenge. This was one of our hardest (in my opinion) to decide on!

Come join us for this week's "Man Time" challenge - Here.

Make a masculine project.

(Be sure to use at least ONE Cricut cut on your project.)

XO ~ Amy Jo (Coordinator)

Quick Tip Tuesday - Paper Punch Alterations

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie Makes) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Have you ever been working on a card and you just don't have quite the right punch for the job, well this week's "Quick Tip Tuesday" will help you discover more options. I was working on some quick 3" x 3" Valentines cards and wanted to punch out my sentiment with Stampin Up's "Word Window Punch". It was too large from my small 3" x 3" card, so I altered the size of the punch. Here are the steps to how I did it:

Stamp you sentiment, in my case it was the saying "Be Mine".

Next I place into my punch where I wanted the front part of my sentiment to appear.

Punch Out.

Take a sticky not and attach sentiment to the tip.

Place back into punch from the top and work it to your desired location.

Punch out. Here are the two pieces that I ended up with.

Finally, place sentiment on you card. Below are several examples that I used this technique with.

Here is a video from, Dawn's Stampin Thoughts, that explains using punches in alternate ways.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tip and be sure to come back on Wednesday to find out our winners.

Melanie

Challenge Me Monday #93

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:21:00 +0000

This week at Fantabulous Cricut, we are thinking of the men in our life and are challenging you to create a masculine project. You can make a card, layout, altered item – or anything you choose! Just remember to include at least one Cricut cut on your project.

#93 – Man Time

Create a masculine project

This week, Fantabulous Cricut is thrilled to be sponsored by Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits.

Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits is a monthly scrapbook kit club for those of us who love to paper craft boy subjects. Care and consideration is key as each kit is assembled for the boys. Cool embellies are paired with handsome papers you will love to play with each month.

Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits also has exclusive embellies with each kit....They are all different and very unique, and are included each month just for you.

It's fun to create when you have a complete kit that is designed for the memories of dirt, grunge and smelly things!

Some of the Fantabulous Cricut Design Team received product samples from Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits. Here are their wonderful creations made with the fabulous kits:

Amy-Jo

Birthday Cake Art cartridge

Jessica

3 Birds on Parade, Boys Will Be Boys cartridges

Jewels

Sports Mania cartridge

Lisa

All Sports cartridge

Melissa

Plantin SchoolBook cartridge

Peggy

George and Basic Shapes cartridge

Sarah

Baseball Solutions cartridge

Sarah

Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge

~ Design Team Inspiration ~

~Guest Designer~

Georgiana

Father's Day cartridge

View Georgiana's Spotlight Sunday post HERE

Beckie

Zoo Day cartridge

Sherrie

Once Upon a Princess, Create a Critter cartridges

~This Week's Sponsor~

Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits is providing this week's prize at FCCB - to be awarded to one participant drawn at random.

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

This challenge ends at Midnight, January 15th (Mountain Time).

Spotlight Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Beckie) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:07:00 +0000

Great Sunday to all our crafty friends. Welcome to Spotlight Sunday!

Today's Spotlight Guest is the super crafty Georgiana of Carson's Creations . Georgiana was the awesome Wednesday Winner for Challenge #88. Here is her winning entry.

Here are some of Georgiana's works you will find on her blog.

Georgiana is super sweet along with being so talented. Let's get to know her a little better...

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

I started paper crafting last year around May 2010, after a friend told me how great her Cricut Expression machine was. I decided I had to give card making and blogging an opportunity and have been hooked since.

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

I definitely prefer to make cards, but will dabble in other projects. I will try new folds and techniques, especially if it is for a challenge.

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

I love to layer papers and use a variety of embellishments...ribbons, buttons, florals, and gems.

4. What is your favorite Cricut cartridge?

I do not have a particular favorite cartridge since there are so many wonderful ones to choose from. I own about 70 cartridges with a "wish list" still growing. I like variety, so I try to pick ones I haven't used in a while. There are a lot of popular cuts, but I like to look for the less common ones too. I think it is important to remember to combine cartridges to get a unique project.

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

I teach 5th grade, so much of my "other" time is spent teaching, planning, and grading papers.

Thanks so much for stopping in today. Please go check out Georgiana's blog Carson's Creations to see all of her craftiness.

Georgiana will also be joining us as Guest Designer for tomorrow's Challenge Me Monday. Be sure to stop by and see what inspiration Georgiana and the rest of the very talented Design Team have in store.

Be Blessed, Beckie

FCCB Spotlight Sunday Hostess

Scrappin' Saturday - Scrapbook Retreats

noreply@blogger.com (Jessica) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday! It's our first weekend together in 2012 -- so, have you made any scrappin' resolutions? If you're like me, you've probably set a goal to finish a certain album or complete a set number of pages each month. I definitely want to get more done in 2012 -- and to make that happen, I'm at a retreat this weekend!

I love scrapbook retreats! I attended my first retreat a year ago and was amazed at how much I accomplished in just 48 hours. If you've never attended a retreat, I encourage you to consider giving it a try. It's a wonderful way to knock out a big project, make new crafting friends, and maybe even learn some new techniques.

Before you book a retreat, here's a few important things to consider:

Location - How far are you willing to travel? Depending upon where you live, you may be able to find a retreat in or near your city. If you're looking to be far enough away to avoid distractions (but still reachable in an emergency) a few hours' drive might be for you. You can even attend scrapbook cruises or international crafting vacations! For me, I usually travel a distance of two hours or so -- far enough to justify an overnight stay so I can crop as late into the evening as I wish. If you can't get out of town, look into a day retreat or crop party at a local scrapbook or craft store.
Crop Room Accommodations - Will you have adequate room for all your scrapping supplies? Are power outlets available for your Cricut? Is internet access available, if needed? Are attendees limited to a certain number of boxes or totes? Will a supply store be available for any unexpected needs? You'll be spending the majority of your time in the crop room, so be sure you're happy with what is available and any limits on your space or supplies. I've found the most comfortable crop rooms are found at retreat centers specifically designed for scrapbookers. Those hosts think of everything -- individual wastebaskets, lumbar supports, and even access to Cricut cartridge libraries!
Survival Accommodations - You may be scrappin', but you've still got to eat and (maybe) sleep. Do you want meals prepared for you? Full-service retreats provide meals and snacks so you don't even have to step into a kitchen, but you'll still want to pack some treats if you have a late-night craving or need a morning soda or coffee. What are your preferences for sleeping arrangements? These accommodations vary greatly -- from single-occupant rooms to cabins for you and your friends to dormitory-style setups.
Extras - Do you want to learn a new technique during your retreat? Some hosts offer classes or even individual guidance for beginning scrapbookers. Want a massage? Every retreat I've attended has featured this special extra! (And it's worth it by Saturday afternoon for those sore shoulders and neck!) Depending upon your locale, the retreat may even have some non-scrapbooking fun available. The retreat I'm attending this weekend has horseback riding and canoes!

If you're convinced, enter "scrapbook treat" and your location into a search engine and see what's available in your area. Here's a couple resources for finding a retreat in North America:

Scrapbook Retreat Directory (directory of paid sponsors)
Scrappin' Retreats via Squidoo
Crop Across Canada: Scrapbook Events

Have you attended a retreat or plan to in 2012? Tell me about it in the comments! I'd love to hear what you enjoy most about retreats or even some of your favorite retreat memories.

Have a happy, scrappy weekend,

Jessica

Fantabulous Friday - Warm Up With Cocoa

noreply@blogger.com (Peggy T.) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I hope you have entered our current challenge which is "Warm Up
With Cocoa". The title conjures up visions of a cold snowy day, building a snowman and afterwards a nice frothy cup of cocoa to warm you. This is a scene we don't see too much in the South.

I searched Cricut Cartridges to see how many had an image of a cup. I found there are too many to post here. However, I chose some of my favorites.

Christmas Cheer - Page 67

Damask Decor - Page 61

Imagine Cartridge - Better Together - Page 9

Imagine Cartridge - Kate's Kitchen - Page 17

Smiley Cartridge - Page 26

These are just a few that are available. Please let us see what you create following this theme. I look forward to your creations.

Peggy

Thursday Tutorial for FCCB- Pocket Card for tea, cocoa or cider

noreply@blogger.com (Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:52:00 +0000

Hello everyone its time for the Thursday Tutorial at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays. This week the challenge is "Warming Up With Hot Cocoa". I hope you are eager to join us for the challenge after two weeks off. We would love to see your projects.

So for today's tutorial I tried out a project and tutorial I would like to share with your from Sheila at She's a Sassy Lady. I am going to make these for my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group next week. I try to take a little something every time we meet. When I saw Sheilas challenge and video I thought it was perfect. Her project is called the "Tea Time Pocket Card."

Video Tutorial

This is the first one I made using Sheilas Gypsy file available on her blog.

I used a MS punch across the bottom.

This is the inside. The bottom has flaps that fold under to make the pocket.

Next I took one of the tea pot cutouts and made another "Iris like" card. The reason I called it "Iris like" is I made the pattern but didn't fold the paper. I used scrap paper and cut it into strips. Glued to pocket, added ribbon and buttons.

Also I wanted to let you know since the card is A2 size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 a Spiced Cider or Cocoa packet will fit inside the pocket too.

So check out Sheila's videos and Gypsy file at Shes a Sassy Lady. Let her know I sent you.

Happy Craftin this week.

Wednesday Winners #91

noreply@blogger.com (AmyJRockstar) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

I am hoping everyone had a great holiday season. As usual, I'm both sad and happy that it's all over with. Did anyone else notice this year's awesome product out there? I was amazed by how many great paper lines there were and I was overwhelmed by all the different stamp sets from so many of our wonderful sponsors and some of the big companies out there as well. Since we didn't have a family Christmas this year :( I ended up Christmas shopping for myself! LOL Ok, even if we did have a family Christmas, I still would have probably done some "Christmas" shopping for me... You know, the one for you, two for me deal? ;) That's how I shop!

I am very happy to share with you one last challenge that could be considered "Christmasy" and that is last week's "Trimming with a Tag" challenge. We actually allowed two weeks for this challenge and I'm thrilled with the amount of entries we received! Wow, not to toot our own horns over here, but did you happen to catch the awesome work by our DT? I am amazed! Especially amazing is that awesome Core'Dinations Colorcore Cardstock! I absolutely must have some. I have been wanting to try it for a while now, but after seeing the creations our gals did, I now realize it's a must-have! I just love the awesome versatility of this product. If you missed this, you will want to check out our DT's projects, and all of the gorgeous projects created by our challenge participants, located HERE.

I'm so happy to be back from vacation & to rejoin FCCB for the new year. Hope everyone else is ready too because we have some awesome challenges lined up this year! So happy to have you all join us. Now let's check out our winners from this past challenge.

~This Weeks Winner~
Two Paper Packs from Core'Dinations ColorCore Cardstock

#31 Amanda - The Adventures of Goldilocks

Congratulations Amanda!!!
To claim your prize please contact Marlene at... hearts0314 @ msn .com (remove 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~

#37 Saundra - Luv Scrapping Together

#19 Karen H. - Kaleidoscopic Sparkles

#10 Jenny - Cookie Adventures

#3 Laurel - Seabrook Designs

#9 Gigi - The Cricut Bug

Congratulations Ladies!!!

Remember to grab your "FCCB Top 5" blinky to display on your blog! You can find the blinky code on our right-hand sidebar.

Thank you to all those who participated in our challenge (aren't the projects just Fantabulous?)!

Come join us for this week's "Warming up with Hot Cocoa" challenge - Here.

Use a cup or chocolate or even the color brown on your project.

(Be sure to use at least ONE Cricut cut on your project.)

XO ~ Amy Jo (Coordinator)