Spotlight Sunday

It's time to say farewell to our Guest Designer Amy Andrade. I want to thank her for sharing her creativity with us this week.  Her cake designs using the Cricut are so unique and I enjoyed seeing the many examples she showcased on her Blog All Things Beautiful.

Here is a parting post and project from Amy using Life's a Beach cartridge.

It's been a pleasure being a Guest Designer on Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. What a wonderful team to work with and I've had a blast!  Thank you so much for inviting me to be Guest Designer and what an honor it's been. I enjoy participating in your challenges because it encourages me to use all the cartridges I have. What a fabulous concept. Be sure to visit my  blog @ http:alllthingsbeautiful.blogspot.com

Join us tomarrow for our next Monday Challenge here at FCCB.  I will be showcasing another Cricut crafter next Spotlight Sunday so come back here to see who it is.

Bye, Bye for Now,
KIM

Sunday Spotlight

I would like to introduce our Guest Designer 

AMY ANDRADE

Help me welcome Amy to the Spotlight this week.

Let's get to know this interesting crafter. Amy is a wife, mother, full time educator and a part-time cake decorating instructor. She is a crafter who shares her "ART" with others and is a supporter of Operation Write Home, making cards for our Nations Heroes.  Check out her blog All Things Beautiful she has a counter showing her progress of making 150 cards for this wonderful organization.

While searching her blog I came across some projects I would like to share.



Here is a layout using the Quarter Note Cartridge.



This card is made using acetate, Amy has a weekly spot on her blog showcasing projects she has made "Using My Tools".  For this one she used Plantin Schoolbook for the flowers.



This spinner card using Life's A Beach won her a spot last week on the Design Teams Top Five.



This is one on the many cakes Amy has made.

Now I would like to share Amy's responses to our FCCB questionaire.

1. When did you start scrapbooking/papercrafting and why?

I bought my first Cricut in January 2011 to cut fondant and gumpaste. After about a year I thought I'd try scrapbooking. Since then, I've been off and running (to the craft store lol). I added cardmaking to my list of crafts for the simple reason I had so many paper scraps and wanted to put them to good use. That's when I found Operation Write Home, a non-profit organization where cardmakers can donate their handmade cards and OWH will send them to soldiers overseas so that those soldiers can have a pretty card to send home to a loved one for any occasion.

2. What is your favorite type of project to make (i.e. cards, layout, mini-albums, etc.)?  I like cardmaking the best because of the instant gratification. It takes a much shorter time for me to make a card opposed to making a layout. So cardmaking is usually my go to papercraft.

3. What is your favorite product to use on your projects? That's easy! Embossing folders. They are quick to use, add great texture and no mess to clean up like glitter, ink or embossing powders.

4. What is your favorite Cricut cartridge? That's a difficult decision. I own quite a few cartridges but I think the one I go to most is Gypsy Wanderings.

Hope you have enjoyed meeting Amy she will be joining us tomarrow for our Monday Challenge here at FCCB.  Enter the challenge by linking up your project and be sure to list the Cricut cut you used.

Happy Cricut Crafting

Bye Bye for Now,
Kim

Sunday Spotlight

This week has gone by fast. It's time to say goodbye to our Guest Designer the Scrappin Rabbit ,Tina Herbeck.  I enjoyed meeting this crafty lady.  To close out her week she has another amazing Cricut project to share with us. Now for a closing message from Tina.

Hello, this is Tina from The Scrappin Rabbit. I have really enjoyed being a Guest Designer for one of my favorite blogs! I'd like to say thanks to Kim for inviting me to participate and also to all the Design Team members for welcoming me this week and leaving me such sweet comments! I'm sure I will be joining in on many upcoming Fantabulous Cricut challenges.  When I am not papercrafting I am enjoying my job of teaching music and performing, reading good books, or spending time with my family, children and furbabies. I hope you all will stop by and visit my blog at http://thescrappinrabbit.blogspot.com/

I have one more project to share with you. Here is a card I made using my Imagine machine and my Enjoying the Seasons cartridge. I just love this little bunny in the balloon. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer!

Tina Herbeck

Thanks for joining me in wishing Tina a fond farewell and check back here tomarrow for a new Monday Challenge.  Next Sunday I will be introducing you to our next Guest Designer. See you then and have a crafty week.

Bye Bye for Now, 

Kim

Challenge #214 Celebrate Dad

Welcome to another Challenge Me Monday...

 Happy Monday and welcome to another Monday challenge!

Challenge #214 Celebrate Dad
Create a project for dad OR a masculine project

This Weeks Sponsor

$50.00 Giftcard to SVG Cuts and a BIG SHOT!

While you may use stamps, SVG cuts and die cuts, you must use at least 1 Cricut cut to qualify for the prize, please list the cut used in your description.

~Design Team Inspiration~

Amy T

Nifty 50's, Mustaches & Glasses, & CTMH Artbooking

Anita

Create a Friend

Kim

Elegant Edges

Cindy

SVG Cuts (Surf Shack), Art Philosophy

 

 

Clare

 Cricut Craft Room , A Child's Year

Michelle
SVGcuts.com (Cliff's Clubhouse), Art Philosophy

Liz

Chalkboard fonts

Amy HS

SVG Cuts-Leaves Are Falling, Cricut Craft Exclusives Father's Day Daddy, Artbooking

Karla
Heritage, Art Philosophy

Heather
Summer Celebrations

Emily

Summer Celebrations

L.B.
Holiday Cakes

 

Cindy

Art Philosophy, SVG Cuts (Surf Shack)

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hey there guys! Are you ready for another helpful quick tip today? 

Have you ever gone through your Cricut handbooks and found a couple that might work out great for your project IF... this was a little different or that didn't look so, uh, well... strange! Come on guys, let's use our imaginations with a little help with our own two little hands and a simple pair of scissors.

Here's my example:

Did you see my Pirate Joke card from yesterdays Cricut Crawl? If not, check it out HERE. Go ahead, we'll wait for you! 

See, I told you we'd wait! As you read, I was going for that 'Jack Sparrow" look. But the original pirate image from Paper Doll Dress Up looked like this:

Cute little guy but definitely NOT Jack Sparrow, right? 

So here's my tip - If something's not quite right, change it up yourself!

For my pirate, I picked another hair style from the same cart. It was the lady vampire:

I took my scissors, made long cuts up through his hair, roughed up the cuts, and trimmed down his mustache. I even hand cut a bandanna for him to wear around his head and under his hat! 

Still lacking the whole Jack Sparrow vibe but he did turn out a little closer than the original image above, don't you think so? So don't be intimidated by what you think you can't do to your Cricut images! We are all artists in our own way and you'll be surprised by what you can do once you get started! 

Take a look at this incredible lady's blog. Her name is Nadia and although she always used her Cricut, she also makes alterations here and there just to enhance her pieces - all with just a pair of scissors!

Click here - With Glittering Eyes - to see some of her "alterations!"

Thanks for dropping by and please come back tomorrow to check out our Wednesdays Winners!

Until Next time, Happy Crafting,

Quick Tip Tuesday

Hello again, it's Angie from Angie's Paper Passion with another Quick Tip Tuesday! This tip is one that I use all of the time because it saves me time, my sanity, and, most importantly, MY PAPER! 

It's a paper cutting guide from Above Rubies Studio. 

This is a wonderful site that is run by the incredible Megan Elizabeth. She has so many great posts and videos on there but her cutting guide is the best. I'm sure you recognize this scenario - you press CUT on your Cricut, and as the blade starts cutting, your paper starts shredding! Well, after you start using the ARS cutting guide, that will be a thing of the past! It has over 500 cut settings on many of the most popular cardstock and paper companies, fabrics, and other materials. Before I make any cut on my Cricut, I first look up the brand and type of material that I'm going to cut in the cutting guide and it will let me know which settings to use on my machine such as Blade Depth and Pressure. 

Now I don't waste as much paper as I use to! 

You can buy a copy from Megan's website at Above Rubies Studio or do what I did and download a version right to your desktop for FREE! She even has an App for the cutting guide available for the iPhone and iPad in the iTunes Store, and for Android users. 

I also have the App on my phone so no matter where I am - a crop or retreat - I can always find the correct settings before I start cutting with my Cricut!

I hope this tip will help you save all of that valuable paper in your stash, too!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to come back tomorrow for our Wednesday's Winners!

Carts with Fonts List

Hello everyone and welcome to another Quick Tip Tuesday! 

Have you ever wanted a list to help you see which fonts are in a specific cartridge, including those full cartridges that have a font feature? If so, this tip is for you! 

The Cricut Lover's Guide to Design Studio blog has a pdf file that shows all of the Cricut fonts, including the ones that are just a feature on full cartridges. 

You can find it HERE. 

Below are screenshots of the files. 

Click HERE for the original post for more info! 

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the Wednesday Winners! 

Have a fun, crafty day! 

Martha Stewart Scoreboard for boxes

Hello everyone and welcome to another Quick Tip Tuesday!

Recently I had a friend ask me how she can make Cricut boxes look better and I immediately thought of the Martha Stewart Scoreboard. In case you didn't know, this scoreboard will help you score lines so that when you go to fold the box it will be easier and look better. 

Here's a video from Katina Martinez showing you how to use it. 

To view the original video, click HERE. 

I also wanted to remind you Cricuteers, Fantabulous Cricut is having a design team call and it ends this Friday. For more details click HERE! :-) 

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the Wednesday Winners!

Have a fun, crafty day! 

Quick Tip Tuesday - Recondition Your Cricut Mat

Hello Fantabulous people, my name is Jamie and I am taking over as your Quick Tip Tuesday Inspiration gal. I am so excited to be doing this job and can't wait to start dishing out some great tips! This will be my second term on the FCCB Design Team and my first with the Tuesday tips! Thank you Melanie for all the great tips you provided, you gave me some big shoes to fill!

Now, on  with todays Quick Tip Tuesday! I don't know how you gals are with your cricut mats, but mine get's used and worn out pretty quickly. It was starting to cost me quite a bit just stay in business with the mats. Fortunately, I have an aquaintance that used to work for Provo Craft and she told me that she has only used two mats for four years. So, I asked her what her secret was - I figure if she worked for the company and used this tip than it must work pretty good.

Disclaimer: Using the following to recondition your mats may void the warranty.

With that said, I have been doing this to my mats for quite awhile now, and personally I think my mats work better than when I originially bought them. Ok, details now :)

What you need:
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Zigs Two Way Glue - wide tip
Water

Step 1: Get your magic eraser wet and begin to wash your matt. I usually swipe one 6x6 square at a time until the matt is clean, using the other side of the eraser to finish cleaning. Sometimes, if you have trouble with getting all the bits of paper off the mat with the eraser you can use a baby wipe after your done with the eraser.

Let the mat dry completely.

Step 2: Take your Zigs two way glue and begin to cover the entire matt. The great thing about this glue is that when you first put it down it comes out blue so you can see where you have glued and where you haven't.

Once the glue has dried completely your matt will be as good as new!

I hope this tip was helpful and I will be back next Tuesday for another quick tip!

Please be sure to come back tomorrow to check out our Wednesday Winners.

Quick Tip Tuesday - Center Point Conversation Bubble

Hello everyone,
This week I wanted to share with you a tip on the Cricut machine.  Have you every used the "Center Point" function?  I have used it, but only for photos in my scrape book layouts.  I found another wonderful way to use it with sentiments for cards.

For this week's "Challenge Me Monday" I wanted to use a conversation bubble for my punny quote.  I don't have any stamps with punny  phrases, so I printed out my sentiment several time on some card stock.  I then used the "center point" feature on my Cricut to cut the blurb around my sentiment. The blurb was cut from Create a Critter, it was cut at 1.75".

Here is my card using this tip:

Please be sure to come back on tomorrow for our Wednesday Winners.
Thanks,

Melanie