Thankful Heart

Cricut  Circle Blog

NOVEMBER MONTHLY CHALLENGE: HOME SWEET HOME

My Entry

Here are the details:

The theme for this month’s challenge is all about cozying up your home with Handmade Home Decor! Please create a home decor project. Project must be newly created for this challenge and should include the following elements to qualify:

• Use atleast one Cricut Cartridge Cut
• Use the Cuttlebug in some way (embossing folder, Cuttlebug die, Quilling kit, etc.)
• Use Felt in some way
• Use the color GREEN somewhere on your project

{This picture includes all of the criteria}

The heart cut is from Gypsy Wanderings. I used white card stock and then hand cut the felt using the card stock  heart as a template. It is pretty much impossible to see but I did use the Cuddlebug to emboss the felt with script. It seemed the more I handled the felt the embossing slipped away. The texture is very subtle but still visible in person.  I think next time I will use a stiffening agent to help the embossing to hold better.

I had planned on having much more green in this project but as the creating process continued I found this small touch of green was the perfect fit.

{Alcohol Inks and Glossy Accents}

For the scroll I cut one layer of brown card stock. Then I used a transparency sheet to try out my Tim Holtz alcohol inks for the first time. I used his "cozy cabin" set and copper metallic.  I cut the scroll again out of that. Once I glued them together I used Glossy Accents to give it a shine. I think it turned out nice for my first attempt at alcohol inks.

{Splatter Stamp}

I just love this stamp. It's the "splatter" stamp I use to make things look aged. It's just a plan background stamp but it makes me happy when I use it.  

{Shadow and Scroll}

I was originally going for a more 3D effect with the phrase. It just wasn't working for me. I tried just altering the letters and leaving them at one layer of card stock but that wasn't right either. So I decided to do a darker layer and off set it from the top layer. This, along with the distressing and clear embossing, helped to give it more of the look I wanted. I wanted to so some kind of treatment to the "T" to make it stand out. It took me forever to finally commit to the scroll embossing folder. I thought it might help in case the embossing on the heart wasn't visible.


So one more challenge down and I am ready for the next one. This one took me longer than expected but that is my MO. I always have a completion date in mind but it always seems to come sooner rather than later. It makes me wonder how Design Teams, consistent crafters, and all the creative people out their who are continually posting their creativity on message boards and blogs find the  time. You would think that my projects are whipped out in no time. Well, just ask my family...it is a lot longer than it seems. I must say that I would be lost without my Gypsy. It allows me to start and stop my projects with no clean up. Then when I am ready to get down to business I am ready to go. But then there is always the constant evolving nature of all of my creations. I always have a design in mind but it is rarely as simple as is seems. But I find that part of the process and one of the things I enjoy about my "hobby."


Thank you for stopping by and listening to my babble. Look for my December entry, I can't wait to see what the challenge involves.

My first project post

Here is my first entry for the Cricut Circle Monthly Challenge.
If you are a Circle member, here is the link:

http://community.provocraft.com/Cricut-Circle_postsm347166_Mission-accomplished---Oct-Circle-blog-project-completed.aspx#post347166

If you are not a Cricut Circle member her is the post to help explain a bit:

"You will find my entry for the Circle Monthly Challenge below. I am going to try to take up a bunch of space here with a few details because there is a photo of me on my project and I do NOT want it to jump out and scare anyone as soon as this thread loads. Maybe a few of you will even give up with the long story and not even make it to the photo. Maybe that's my plan...

So here goes.

I was up until 2:30 AM working on this in the middle of the toy room floor. I had the TV on listening to American Pickers and Pawn Stars(Yes, PAWN Stars, get your minds out of the gutter) to keep me company. I had all of my stuff spread out surrounding me. I kept running around the house gathering up more things while everyone was sleeping. It was a mess. That is one of the many reasons why I would LOVE to win the awesome ScrapBox. I am currently in a temporary living situation and I have no room for my crafty stuff. It really stifles my creativity in so many ways. This then affects my overall mood and general well being. This in turn affects my immediate family…and so on and so on. I have not had my own spot for all of my stuff since having my last DD. But I love my 2 DD's more than I love my stuff.

Well, with the deadline approaching for this challenge I was determined to kick it into high gear and just finish it already. So I cut a few pieces yesterday during nap time but I did all of the rest between about 10:30 PM and 2:30 AM this morning. I had to stop when my 2 yr old DD decided that it was morning and refused to sleep until 4:00 AM. (An unfortunate frequent occurrence at my house) Therefore I am functioning on 2 ½ hours of "sleep."

My goal was to finish my project in one main sit down so I could have only one clean up time. I challenged myself to use the items I had on hand which helped me use some of my stash that had never been touched. I have plenty of that piling up all over. I am a collector of crafty things; rarely do I get to use them.

I took this challenge to push myself to complete something. I took it to make something for me. Just for me. I used…gasp…a photo of myself! This project helped me "remember why" I do this thing I do. It will stay in a special place for my eyes only. I will get it out when I need a little nudge in the right direction. It will help remind me that the time I spend on my craft is valid. It has a purpose and I should be accepting of each window of opportunity I have to spend being creative. Being me.

Oh how I wish I could be the winner of the ScrapBox…but I am already a winner bc I did what I set out to do. I completed a challenge that I set for myself and I feel pretty good about that. Good luck to all of you who have entered. The projects are inspiring and I am very fortunate to be a part of this great Circle we have here. Thanks PC.

For those of you who stuck it out, here ya go…don't go getting your hopes up though…remember it has my big mug on it so don't be afraid. Or should you be?"