Quick Tip Tuesday

Good mourning everyone! Angie from Angie's Paper Passion here again with another quick tip. This one just may save your Cricut machine! Do you remember when you got your Cricut? I bet that you were so excited that you tore into that box and starting taking all of your new goodies out, plugging cords in, and trying to figure out what to cut first and how. I bet you weren't worried about all that cardboard and packaging that came with your Cricut, did you? Nope, didn't think so!

Well, does this image jog your memory?

Now do you remember those two pieces of cardboard that were inside your 

Cricut when you first opened it? 

Did you throw them away? Most people did also so don't feel too bad about it. But what many people don't know is that we all should have saved them! They should always be put back into your Cricut whenever you are traveling with it - even to a crop! They protect the blade housing from being jostled back and forth (or side to side, I guess!) and possibly getting damaged. But do not worry if you have absolutely no idea where those cardboard pieces are. The next time that you get ready to pack up your Cricut to go somewhere, just grab 2 lengths of bubble wrap, roll them up, and place them on each side of the blade housing. Just remember when moving the housing, the Cricut should be unplugged and you should take care and move it slowly.

This is a great tip to pass along to any new Cricut machine owners that you may know or meet, too. Just tell them to not be so quick to throw everything away after they open their Cricut box. I knew a woman once who got so excited about her new machine that she just threw most of what was in the box away without checking. Well, she ended up throwing away the actual blade and blade holder!!! (That was an expensive mistake!)

So go find some bubble wrap, get it ready, and keep it handy for the next time you and Cricut go on a trip together to create!

Don't forget to come back and join us here at FCCB tomorrow for Wednesday's Winners!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Challenge Me Monday - #158 Paper Roses

Hello and Happy Monday!

Roses are Red, 
Violets are Blue,
We made flowers from paper, 
And you can do it too!

Now be very thankful that this blog does not have audio. You would be forced to endure my very own rendition of Paper Roses, which is no where near the same caliber as Marie Osmond. LOL

Our challenge this week is to use paper flowers on your card or project.  There are so many different cartridges with flowers on them I can hardly wait to see all of them.

Challenge #158 - Paper Roses

Use paper flowers on your card or project

 
Design Team Inspiration

Missy

Sugar & Spice, Flower Shoppe

Cindy
Hoot N Holler, Artiste

Catarina 

Art Philosophy cartridge

Amy

Flower Shoppe

Tammy

Mother's Day Bouquet

Connie

Fancy Frames, Old West, Flower Shoppe

Ro

Bloom, Cricut Essentials 

Arin 

Flower Shoppe

Kim

Elegant Edges and George and Basic Shapes

Heather

Flower Shoppe

Susie

Art Philosophy

 

  ~ This Week's Sponsor ~     

This week, Fantabulous Cricut is delighted to be sponsored by My Craft Spot!  Kimberly has very generously donated one of her very own stamp sets, you get to choose from over 40 stamp sets to be given to one lucky participant to be drawn 
at random from all eligible entries.

U.S. mailing address only  
Click here to go directly to her stamp page

I have loved paper crafting for as long as I can remember (since preschool, really!)  My Craft Spot started out as a place to share my ideas through pictures and video tutorials.  Then I discovered scrunched seam binding!  I started hand dyeing the seam binding and now I have over 30 beautiful colors in my store! (I think I am addicted!  LOL!)  I also have 50 yummy colors of Bakers Twine from The Twinery, Trendy Twine (3 colors twisted together!), Divine Twine, Traditional twine and my own hand dyed Vintage Twine!  Last year I started my own line of high quality photopolymer stamps!  Come visit My Craft Spot for lots of ideas and inspiration, videos and weekly challenges with prizes!

Shipping is always FREE at My Craft Spot within the US and Canada and only $5.00 outside the US and Canada!

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 Paper Roses" challenge,

click on the blue "add your link" button below!  
This challenge ends at 7:00 pm May 5th (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!

Hello and a Good Sunday To You All!

It is Arin here and I am thrilled to be showcasing a super-duper-fantastic crafter, Julie from Cricut Chirp, that is a total jack of all trades!  She is a wife and mother first, a bank compliance auditor by day and a fiddle playin', guitar strumin' piano pluckin' and tenor drum swingin' musician by night.  Somewhere in between all that amazing juggling and muscial talent she shines up her crafter's hat and lands a spot on the FCCB Top 5 with this fun project!

Julie's favorite projects to do are cards and it is no wonder since they are just AMAZING! Here are just a few fun finds!

Lazy Days

Mustache 

Man Card

Now let's get to know Julie more!

1. When did you start scrapbooking/paper crafting and why? I started papercrafting in highschool for an art class. Then I got even more involved when I had to make a scrapbook for one of my English classes. I became a Creative Memories consultant for several years after that. I loved teaching others how to preserve family memories for future generations.

2. What is your favorite type of project to make (i.e., cards, layouts, mini-albums, etc....)? Right now my favorite type of project is card making. I love the instant gratification of a finished project that didn't take weeks to complete.
3. What is your favorite product to use on your projects? I'd have to say that my favorite product is my ATG tape because it holds my little paper world together.
4. What is your favorite Cricut cartridge? My favorite Cricut cartridge is Create a Critter. It has amazing versatility for so many different projects.
5. What do you do in your spare time, when you are not paper crafting? I work full time as a compliance auditor for a bank. I am a married mom of one 3 year old daughter. I love to do crafts with my little girl! I play piano, fiddle, guitar and recently joined my husband's bagpipe competition band to learn the swinging tenor drum. Our family stays pretty active in the Irish and Scottish community.

Julie may say her favorite thing to do is cards, but that is not the only craft projects she shines in! Check out these fun and very creative projects she has done. 

Doctor Kit

Fun with Duct Tape!

Scrabble Wall Art

Before I sign off for the day, I wanted to say how honored I am to be doing these spotlights each week and meeting some amazing crafters that just keep me in awe just as Julie from Cricut Chirp, has managed to do this week!  Be sure to pop over and check out Julie's BLOG, there are so many more "fantabulous" morsels of amazing creativity to be enjoyed. I will leave you with some fun and very pretty project she has made.  You can find these beautiful pins over at her Ebay store, which I just think are fabulous!  

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

Until Next Week, 

Arin 

Scrappin' on Saturday

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.

 

#157 3D Projects

There are so many 3D projects to choose from. I tried to focus on projects that would include pictures to keep this week's post all about scrappin'.

 

DT member Rachel and her blog partner Mary from Cricut with Heart has tons of fabulous Cricut projects on her blog. This fabulous designer tray using the Art Philosophy cartridge caught my eye.

 

 

 

Dawn from Stamp Til Dawn used the My Creations bracket frame from CTMH to make a lovely home decor piece.

 

 

Melanie from Courtney Lane Designs made this super gorgeous frame!!! Absolutely love it. She used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.

 

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope that you can fine some time to do some scrappin!

 







   

Fantabulous Friday #157 3-D Projects

Good morning!  It's Fantabulous Friday!!  We have a fun challenge for you this week!  We want to see your 3-D creations.  The 3-D object does not have to be cut from a Cricut cartridge, but you do need to include a Cricut image somewhere.  So let your imaginations run and have some fun with this week's challenge!!

I found some great projects  that will hopefully help spark some creativity.  First, we have Tina's fun candy boxes that were cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2.  These could easily be modified for any holiday or celebration.

 

Next, is Faith-Abigail's Eiffel Tower.  She cut the Eiffel Tower from Summer in Paris, the flowers from Mother's Day Bouquet, and the butterflies from Home Accents.

 

 Emily recently picked up a Top 5 mention with her cute cake box cut from Sweet Tooth Boxes.

There are some cartridges that are full of 3-D creations for you to choose from.  One is Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2.  Check out all the fun cuts on that cartridge!

Another cartridge full of 3-D creations is Sweet Tooth Boxes.  So many fun treat packages to choose from!

And don't forget about all the 3-D images that are included on other Cricut cartridges too.  One example is the Campin' Critters cartridge with the cute tent and backpack images.

 

 

 Like I mentioned before, your 3-D object does not have to be a Cricut cut, just be sure to include a Cricut image somewhere on your project!  We're looking forward to seeing all your fun creations!!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Scrappin Saturday!!

Thursday Tutorial - Paper Saver Tip!

Hello! Rachel here from Cricut with Heart and today I'd like to share a paper saving tip for cutting photo mats. I was on a Close to My Heart consultant retreat this past weekend, and my friend a fellow team member, Shauna Nuttall, showed me how to get four full 5" x 7" photo mats from one sheet of 12"x 12" paper!

You begin by setting your paper in your cutter and line it up at the 7" mark.

Then pull down the cutter to the 7" mark on the cutting ruler.

Lift the cutting ruler and rotate the paper counter-clockwise, lining it up again at the 7" mark. Pull the blade down again to the 7" mark on the cutting ruler, and you now have your first 5"x 7" photo mat.

Simply repeat the process! Lift the cutting ruler, rotate the paper, line up at 7" and pull the blade down to 7". Now you have your second mat. 

The final cut will get your final two mats! Just lift, rotate, and cut down to 7".

Now you have four photo mats at 5"x 7", and the scrap piece from the middle is 2"x 2"! Easy, huh?

This method will also work for cutting 4 1/2"x 6 1/2" mats by starting out with an 11"x 11" paper and cutting at 6 1/2".  I hope you'll find this tutorial as useful as I did!

Happy Crafting!