BBTB2: Cricut - Intricate Nativity Candle - Away in a Manger

Happy Holidays to All my Followers!

The year has just zipped by for me.   From enjoying my 2 grandchildren, to taking a few long vacations, getting some improvements done on the house, and celebrating 35 years of marriage, it's been a great year.  I've enjoyed sharing my papercrafting and Cricut projects during the year - it keeps my creative juices flowing to know I have a deadline to submit a card/project almost each week.

This week our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge is to use a nativity scene or a menorah.  I found this SVG on a FB group I follow.  I do not know the artist, but I would love to say thank you to him/her.  I tried a new technique I saw a few weeks ago and it was so easy.   I printed the scene on tissue paper (taped tissue paper to a plain sheet of copy paper and then put in printer) and cut it out.  The tissue paper goes against the candle and then top it with waxed paper.  Holding it all together tightly, I ran the heat gun quickly over the project.  The wax melts a bit into the tissue and it appears to melt into the candle itself.

Join our end of the year challenge at BBTB2 and link up your 'Nativity' / 'menorah' card or project created with your Cricut!  Susan from Busy with the Cricky is hosting this great challenge, come see her and the other designers creations.  Merry Christmas!!

BBTB2: Christmas Star in 3D - Cricut

I was looking for a Christmas idea  for my Bitten By the Bug2 entry this week among the Make It Now projects in Cricut Design Space and came across this 3D star.  It took 3 pieces of 12x12 paper - silver would have been nice but I didn't have that much of the same paper - so I went with blue - it really turned out spectacular.  I used extra sticky tape to put it together and then as the instructions suggested, I used hot glue on the top sections and sprinkled on glitter.   I think this one will go over my nativity scene as the 'bright star in the night that lead the kings to the manger'.

Our hostess for this week's challenge is Emily, from Mollie's Motif, she is asking us to use an ornament or symbol of Christmas in our design entry for the week.   Come with me over to Bitten By the Bug2 and see all of the great inspirational projects the team has come up with.  Happy Holidays!!

BBTB2: Cricut Christmas Card - Peave, Joy, Love

I forgot to post my project from Bitten by the Bug to my blog this week.  So here it is, better late than never.  I was out of town so did not have computer access.  

My card uses several cartridges - Holly and Ivy, Hello Kitty Font, Extreme Fonts, and others.   Note the little bird on the letter - isn't he cute.  I almost never make a white background for my cards - got to look to expand my techniques.

Join us at BBTB2 to post up a project you create for our challenge - Using Christmas Words as part of the project/card.   Caroline from http://cardcreationsbycaroline.blogspot.com/ is our hostess for the week - I just love her cards - she's the best.   Happy Holidays.

Maureen

BBTB2: Cricut - Deck the Halls with a wreath

I love turkey and wish I could have a full turkey dinner at least once a week instead of once a year.  Of course, my waistline wouldn't be able to handle that much food.    Now on to Christmas!  I've been crafting some Christmas presents and cards for a while now, they will go to special people on my 'good' list.

Our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge this week is to use a 'wreath' in our project or card.  You can join in the challenge by linking up your 'wreath' creations at BBTB2 where Valentyna is our hostess.  Her style of papercrafting is to be envied. Check out her blog at http://flourishtina.com/.

My vintage inspired wreath card uses only one cartridge and some Skittles and brown ink as bling.  The wreath and' Deck the Halls' quote (cut twice) is from Teresa Collins - December 25th, my first time using this cartridge.  Enjoy!

BBTB2: Cricut - Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving

There are some days when I get depressed and I want more. More time, more money, more things, more cars, etc.  Then I reflect and realize that I am truly blessed with all I do have - Love, family, a nice house, a newer car, and money in my bank account.  There are many people who don't know where their next meal is coming from, or where they are going to sleep tonight.  I quickly get those thoughts out of my mind and thank God and my family for all the good things that I do have.  At Thanksgiving, we are reminded of things we are thankful for and we also give thanks, say thanks more often, and reflect upon the year.

I would like to share a card I made for our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge this week, which is to use the words Thanks or Thankful on a card or a project using my Cricut.   I used the Celebrate With Flourish, Autumn Celebrations, and Lovely Floral for this very bright card.  Won't you join the other designers, including our hostess, Susan from Busy with the Cricky,  and link up your "Thank/Thankful" card on the BBTB2 blog this week.  Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy, Maureen

Here are a few other cards I made for fall/Thanksgiving.  Some use ATC cards and pieces from pocket letters  I received in swaps.  ATCs are for sharing - I don't put them in a book and never look at them again.

My Quilts: A Table Runner in Log Cabin style

This table runner has been 3/4 complete for the last year.  I don't know why I couldn't bring out my sewing machine, batting and backing and get it done.  It just sadly looked at me until I was determined enough to get it done and brought it to our annual Crafty Girls Retreat.  And ya know what?  It took less than an hour to finish -- so mad at myself.   This quilt was to be a gift a year ago to my cousins in France.  And now I am determined to get it packaged and mailed off before the Christmas rush at the post office.

My cousin has their dining room all in the rust colors, so I think it will look nice on their table.  It is a kit from Jordan Fabrics, so it comes pre-cut, and is easy to sew together.   I got the kit at a Sewing Expo where they have a booth.  I wanted to visit their store in Oregon but they were closed on the day I passed by.  Enjoy - Maureen

Thanksgiving Candle - Grateful and Blessed - Using Cricut Print feature

This is one of the first tissue candles I have created using a svg cut I got from Kimber and Dawn on Etsy.  There are two sides to the candle, which is only about 4 inches high.   I found a YouTube video on how to apply the prints to candles.  Basically you draw or print onto tissue paper (taping the tissue paper to a plain piece of copier paper).  Then apply the cut out tissue to the candle, add a piece of wax paper to the top and hold it all tightly together.  Then turn on a hair dryer or heat gun and watch the tissue 'melt' into the candle.  The results are really amazing for such a quick project.   Watch the blog for more of these candle creations.

BBTB2: Cricut - Turkey Day - Football Day

I think this card is hilarious.  I saw a different version on Pinterest and I just had to make it.  We have so many football lovers in this house.  Go Niners!  By now, you know we are lifelong SF 49ers fans.  They are not doing too well this year, but that doesn't stop us from being fans.  Last year, there was even a home game on Thanksgiving Day.

Yes - I am ready for some football.   I took the Simply Charmed turkey and deleted one of the layers and replaced it with a football from Life's A Party.  I made my own saying - isn't that writing cute, it is Chloe Whimsy, an Access font.

Join our football/soccer challenge this week at Bitten By the  Bug2.  There are some great masculine projects by our designers.  Aren't you always looking for inspiration for 'manly' projects?  Michelle, from Cricut Crazy Scrapper is our hostess.  Her layouts are amazing.

Also linked to HIMCR #275 (Hiding in My Craft Room - Saturday Scraps)

BBTB2: Cricut - Nature Calls - Pumpkin Card

I love making Fall themed projects with my Cricut.  I have made lots of Halloween/Thanksgiving cards, a Witches Hat, banners, decorations, and goodie boxes.

Today I tried a new technique by creating my own pumpkins from oval shapes found on the free shapes of Design Space.  I then ran them through the Cuttlebug and inked the edges.  The leaves are from Wall Decor and More and Disney Princesses.  Orange twine and a Skittle added the bling.  The banner is from A First Few Years, stretched to the right proportion and welded with the word THANKS.

I am hosting the challenge this week at Bitten by the Bug.  I have selected the theme "Nature Calls", meaning to use something found in nature on your Thanksgiving or Christmas card/project.  I would love to see you get a start on your Christmas cards and share them with us.  Link up your 'Nature Calls' inspired project or card at BBTB2 this week.  Enjoy, Maureen

BBTB2: Cricut Scary Halloween Card

This is by far my favorite Halloween card I have ever created.  I really hate to give it away.  I started with an idea of a gate with a cat in the front, simple and sufficient.  Then I got carried away, there were just too many Halloween related items to add to my card - an owl, a bat in the moon, a sign, and a tombstone.  Now I want to make more of these cards.   

My inspiration started with our BBTB2 challenge this week, which is to use a swirl on a card or project.  I immediately thought to use something from the Ornamental Iron cartridge.  I really can't believe how lucky I was that these cuts turned out perfect when cut so small.  That BEWARE sign is only about 1 1/2 inches and it cut it all so nicely, those spiderwebs  are paper thin.  I inked most of the cuts and pop-dotted them to get a 3D effect.

Won't you join in our Swirl or Flourish challenge this week at BBTB2?  Link up your project picture here:   Bitten by the Bug2

BBTB2: Cricut - My Most Valuable Player

This is one of the best pictures my grandson took during our 'football themed' photo shoot last year.  I finally got around to putting it on a scrapbook page.  This page is really pretty simple this week, it only needs a little bit of journaling.

I used the contour feature on the shield cut.  I took out most of the middle, just leaving the outside outline.  The MVP came from Create a Friend, the trophy from All Sports, and the shield is from Team Spirit. I tried several background papers, including a brown toned football paper and a light green to represent grass.  Then I went through my stash and found this great repeating star textured paper.  It turned out awesome.

I love the choice for our challenge this week - FOOTBALL.  Join our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge and link up your card or project.  Also come and see what all the designers have created.

BBTB2: Cricut Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween All --  It's been a few weeks since I've posted - I was on an almost 3 week long vacation.  We went on a two week cruise out of Copenhagen and ended in Barcelona.  The historical buildings, the food, the exercise, the sun, and the people were all great.  It was so wonderful not to cook or clean.  But real life has set in, and I have unpacked, done the mail, the laundry, the shopping, and almost ready to go back to work.

My internet has been flaky the last few days, and getting anything done on the computer has been torture.  Must be rain related, we are having our first storm of the season.  Wow, just 3 weeks ago we were swimming in the pool, now it's cold and overflowing.   What did we do before the internet???

We are celebrating Halloween over at Bitten By the Bug2 and this week's challenge is Anything Halloween Related.  I selected to use the print and cut for the little trick or treaters and cut out the title.  It went together pretty fast.  I may add some bling later, but needed to get this posted while the internet is somewhat working.  Head on over to Bitten By the Bug2 and link up your Halloween creations and see what the rest of the team has posted.

Posted to Hiding in My Craftroom, challenge #271 - Spooky

BBTB2: Cricut Nifty Fifties - Crusin' Layout

This two page layout is a kit that I purchased from Monique Griffith when she was selling kits.  Now she sells her items on Etsy (taking a break for the summer).  I have purchased several of her items, this is probably my favorite.  I made it a while back, but haven't added pictures, but did add it to my photo album.  It uses the Nifty Fifties cartridge, and has lots of pieces, but worth the effort.  I bet a few of you out there that have been Cricuting for over 5 years have one of her designs.  She's all over Pinterest as well.

Emily, from Mollie's Motif is our hostess for a 50's, 60's, 70's challenge this week at Bitten By the Bug2.   This retro challenge is sure to get you doing the twist - in fact, my husband has music on in the other room as I post this, and what comes on but Blue Suede Shoes!  how cool.  So - get crusin' and link up your fun retro project on the BBTB2 blog for our challenge this week.

 

BBTB2: Cricut - An Apple A Day

Yes - Fall is in the air, it's been cooler evenings for a few weeks now.  I love the fall..... pumpkins, falling leaves, Halloween, and apples.  And that's our theme this week at Bitten By the Bug2, choosen by our design sister Caroline, from Card Creations by Caroline.  She has challenged us to use apples on our card, project, or layout.

My sign is going up with my fall decor. I have it hanging in the apple tree in my backyard for the picture.  My apples on this tree are ready in June and July, it's a treat since most apples are not ready until the fall.

The wooden arrow is from Michaels.  I painted the wood a whitewash (watered down white paint), and then made a stencil from my Cricut cuts - Plantin Schoolbook for the apples and Zoo Day for the font.   I dry brushed the burgundy red using the stencil.  Then I finished with a little burgundy around the edges.  This was really a simple project and I hope to make a few more wood signs for fall - I just need more time in the day.

Join us at Bitten By the Bug2 this week and link up your Cricut 'Apple' projects.

BBTB2: Cricut - Just the Boys Fishing

Our challenge this week at Bitten By the Bug2 is to make a project (card, layout, 3D object) with either a monster or an arrow in a manly theme.  I used two pictures of my husbands recent fishing trip and an inspiration from a layout I saw on Pinterest to put my layout together.  I actually cut some of the pieces twice, once to change the size and again for a different color - I even had 7 or 8 background papers swap outs - I think that really busy arrow overlay just threw me for a loop.   Well - you can see I used arrows several different ways - it's just a fun layout.

The frames are from Artbooking, the Wish You Were Here is from Going Places, the little critter behind a tree is from Campin' Critters, the overlay is from Edge to Edge, and the Awesome title is from Boys Will Be Boys Arrow font.  The 2nd font is one of the new ones Cricut recently released, which I can't remember.

Join our challenge by using a cute little monster or an arrow on your Cricut inspired card or project.  Link it up to our blog over at Bitten By the Bug2 and see what the design team has made for you this week.

BBTB2: Play On Little One - Cricut Glasses

Our beautiful leader, Susan, from Busy with the Cricky, is hosting our challenge at Bitten By the Bug2 this week.  Our theme is 'glasses'.   There are a lot of cuts to choose from, and while glancing through Design Space, I came across several actual pairs of glasses that I could make.   I decided to make a small pair just for my grandson, who is always taking someone's glasses and trying to wear them.   He was thrilled to put them on, look in the mirror, and at the pictures I took of him.

The cut is from Life's A Party, and was very simple to assemble.  Taking a good picture of a moving target was a different story.   Join us for our 'glasses' challenge at Bitten By the Bug2 by linking up your project or card this week.   Enjoy!

BBTB2: Cricut Back to School Layout - First Day of School

My granddaughter was two weeks short of the deadline for kindergarten, so she is going to Pre-K at the elementary school.  She is so excited and says her school is the most awesome-est place.  She is really having fun and meeting new friends.  Her mommy, my daughter made a sign and snapped a picture of her and that gigantic smile.

Michelle, from Cricut Crazy Scrapper, is our hostess this week.  She is a master artist in making layouts, and I'm sure she will have a great layout for you to view over at Bitten By the Bug2.  The other designers have some 'school is cool' projects too.  Come join us for our 'Back to School' challenge and link up your card, layout or project this week.   Enjoy!  -- Maureen

I used a lot of cartridges from Design Space for this layout. - Backpack is Doodlecharms, spiral paper and pencil are Family Album, 1st Day and Nametag are Artbooking, school house is Autumn Celebrations, ABC is Recess, apple is Paisley.  I added a strip of washi tape at the bottom and inked all the edges.

Also linked to Fantabulous Cricut blog challenge 284, back to school.
Also linked to the Heart to Heart challenge blog, For the Girls challenge

BBTB2: Cricut Flower Shoppe - Gift Box

My granddaughter started Pre-K this past week.  She missed getting into kindergarten by 2 weeks, so they have this Pre-K, aka D-K at the same school that is run much like kindergarten.  She is such a big girl now, in fact her backpack is almost as big as her.  You'll see her picture next week.  I wanted to buy her an outfit for school, but mom had already done the shopping, so I will wait until all the winter clothes are out and get her something.  I was out and about and found a little jade heart necklace that I know she will love, and put it in this box.  My wrapping had to be in her favorite color  -  pink.  Since Melanie, of Courtney Lane Designs is hosting our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge this week, I made a 3D flower from the Flower Shoppe Cartridge to decorate the gift box.

Our challenge theme is 'summer flowers'.   Mine is supposed to be a dhalia.  It actually did look like one before I smashed it to flatten it a bit so I could glue it down.  I make it hot pink but inked the edges in an orange.  It takes on a little iridescence.  Skittles and Stickles for the middle and it was done.  Join us for a fun challenge and link up your 'summer flower' project to BBTB2.

 

BBTB2: Cricut Layout - Cheers to 35 Years, Happy Anniversary

I really can't believe it's my 35th wedding anniversary today!  What a coincidence that my week to host on the Bitten By the Bug2 blog was today.  Instantly, I knew what the theme would be - Wedding or Anniversary.   I took a week or so to get this layout together - it just doesn't come easy sometimes.

My husband and I met through a mutual friend while bowling.  And the rest is history!  We have 2 kids, 2 grand-kids, have lived in 3 houses, had 10 cars, two motorhomes, traveled most of the United States and about 20 countries.  We are both retired from our main jobs, and I work part time.  Yesterday, Sunday, we made a day of celebrating in San Francisco, attending the church service at St.'s Peter and Paul, where we were married, going to Beach Blanket Babylon (comedy dance review), and dinner at Firenze by Night, a restaurant that we saw reviewed on TV.  In the fall, we'll take a trip with my sister and her husband, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary.

Join our Wedding and Anniversary themed challenge at Bitten By the Bug2 by linking up your Cricut inspired card, layout, or project this week.   Overlay is from Edge to Edge, hearts were free,  green flourish behind the flower is from Damask Decor, and can't remember where the flower is from.  Some embellishments from my G45 stash and a few Skittles.   ---- Enjoy, Maureen

 

 Our wedding color was 'peach', I wanted to show a 'then' and 'now'

 This is a display I made with all our wedding 'stuff'.  My flowers were silk, very popular at the time.

BBTB2: Cricut Andre's Aquarium and a Mermaid

My husband's main hobby these days is working on his aquarium and the salt water fish they contain.  Sometimes it's an all day project and other times he just likes to look at the tank.  He is always changing something or getting a new fish.  He doesn't name them, but we do have two "Nemo" clown fish.

I thought about our challenge at Bitten By the Bug2 this week, hosted by Laurie, from My Cards N Stuff,  which is in the theme of Ocean Creatures and it didn't take long to get an idea in my head.  Getting it on paper was another thing.  I put these pictures and cuts so many different ways on the page and with at least 7 background papers, that I almost gave up - it was one of those layouts which did not come together easily.  Even when I was done, I looked and thought - wow this looks unbalanced.  I do love the colors and used the 'print and cut' feature for the sea creatures - the fish, starfish, coral, and seahorse came from the Sea Life Cartridge.  The rock is from Disney Princesses, and the word Aquarium is from Family Album.

Join us in our Sea Creature challenge at BBTB2 this week by linking up your project to the blog.  Enjoy!

BBTB2: Just for You - Cricut Birthday Card

I always need  birthday cards - and my supply is a little low.

So I am  glad my design team sister Laurie came up with a birthday challenge this week at Bitten By the Bug.   Laurie's birthday just happens to be this week too - you can wish her a happy birthday at her blog  Crafty Sisters Creations

My birthday card is really neat and was fairly easy to cut and assemble.  It is a Make It Now project on Cricut Design Space, so there was no thinking about design and size, I just had to pick out my paper colors and cut!  How great is that! The top layer on the flowers has a nice shimmer to give my card that extra little touch.  I had the setting on intricate and the Explore drew the words twice - which was perfect for this large size print.

Join our Birthday themed challenge this week at BBTB2 

 

BBTB2: Cricut - Day at the Fair

Thanks to L.B. from http://coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/ for selecting our theme for the challenge this week at BBTB2.  The theme is travel,  whether it be near or far, we would love to see what you come up with.  I decided to highlight our trip to the county fair with our granddaughter.  She was in heaven riding the kiddie rides, licking ice cream, and grooming animals at the petting zoo!  What a fun day.

I used a large cut for the Ferris Wheel, using most of the pieces, from the Artiste cartridge, and lettering from the Carousel cartridge.

Join our challenge at BBTB2, here is the web address:  http://heather-bittenbythebug2.blogspot.com/

BBTB2: Playing in the Sand - Cricut layout

Would you believe these pictures at the beach are from February?  We went to Pismo beach (Southern CA) for a camping trip and hit 74 degree weather at the beach.  My granddaughter was in heaven, having really never played in the sea before.  She ran in the waves forever, pulled seaweed for a mile, and built sandcastles.  It was a great weekend, and I happen to catch a few pictures with my old iphone.

MyScrapChick was used for the Playing in the Sand cut and the footprints - boy it was a lot of pieces - but came out nice.  The sign will have my destination journaling. A Child's Year was used for the girl playing.

Join us at BBTB2 this week with our pool/beach theme.  Include a Cricut cut in your card or layout and link it up at Bitten By the Bug2.

BBTB2: Cricut - Thank you America

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

For this great occasion, I like to decorate the family room with red, white, and blue.  But this year I can't seem to find my quilted table-runner.  Will someone please help me find it??

I picked these 'red, white, and blue' (ok it's purple, but it's as close as you can get) flowers from the yard a few days ago so I would have a nice arrangement for the holiday.  For our Bitten By the Bug2 challenge this week, we are using fireworks cuts.  I thought a few of the flowers actually could be firework shaped.  I added 4 fireworks pieces, cut at about 3-4" and put on a stick for accents on my arrangement.   The 4th of July soldier cut is one of my favorites, and I put it on the base of the vase.

Join us at BBTB2 this week, where Caroline from http://cardcreationsbycaroline.blogspot.com/ is our hostess.  We all invite you to link up your 'fireworks' projects to the blog.

I finally got a new ipad, and am able to download new apps, I edited this picture with PS Express.  I like the soft edges.   --- Maureen

BBTB2: America the Beautiful - Stars Layout

Oh beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain

America, America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

I took this picture on our trip to Utah last fall, capturing the late afternoon sun in Canyonlands National Park.  We had stopped to see an old log cabin, pick apples, and get an ice cream when we came by this wonderful view.  It is one of my favorites from the trip.   I knew it was perfect for a scrapbook page this week, it really doesn't say 4th of July - it just says AMERICA! 

Susan, from Busy with the Cricky is our hostess for the week and announced that our challenge will be to use a Cricut Star or Stars in our projects.  This layout was going go be super simple, but it evolved, and the end result is something I really like.   The 'air mail' label is actually an old label from maybe the 40' or 50's that I found in some of my dad's old papers.  I will journal on it soon.  I had a brilliant idea to add splatters on the page, something I have not done before, and the effect was perfect.  Thanks for looking and please join in our challenge fun by linking up your STARS project to our Bitten By the Bug2 blog.  We'll be looking for you.

Cricut cuts:  Big Stars - free

                   God - Quarter Note

                    "Shed his....." Chloe

                   Wheat - Country Life

                    United States - Going Places

                    Stars banner - Holiday Cakes

linked to:   anything goes challenge at:  https://creativeartiswww.creativeartistemixedmedia.blogspot.com.au 

linked to:  Stars and/or stripes challenge at:
https://doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com   

BBTB2: One of a Kind Phone Case

I've been wanting to decorate my phone case for a year and just didn't know what to put on it.  I knew I wanted a Cricut cut but nothing ever called my name  (haha get the pun?).   Then I saw this modern flower collage from the Cricut Make It Now projects and thought that would look nice and really easy to make.  It turned out pretty good and only took about 10 minutes to complete - the weeding was the hardest part.  

This week at Bitten by the Bug2 we are celebrating Gemini's by making a project with two of something on it.   Mine has two big flowers, and several small ones, so I think it qualifies.  Come on over to BBTB2 and link up your '2 of something' card or project to the blog. Thanks to our hostess Lynn from My Cards N Stuff for hosting our challenge.   Have a great week. ---Maureen

BBTB2: Awesome Father's Day Cards - (Gearhead, Golf, and Fishing)

It seems like yesterday was Mother's Day, and now I look around the corner and Father's Day is here.  Between these two holidays alone, I made about 8 cards, all unique.  My 'gearhead' Father's Day card is an inspiration from an old CTMH catalog featuring the Artiste cartridge.  I used the accompanying stamps for the 'love bubble' and 'arrow'.   I grunged it up a little too much, it's easy to get carried away.  I am posting this card at Bitten By the Bug2 as my designer project this week, come on over and post your Father's Day/masculine cards or projects by linking them to our blog.  Michelle, from Cricutcrazyscrapper is our hostess for the week.

My other cards are a golf themed (for the grandpa in-law) and a fishing theme (for nonno) for the grandkids to decorate and sign. (ok - the 17 month old just gets to add his scribbles!!). 

Happy Father's Day!

Linked up to Hiding in My Craft Room #255 Masculine
Linked up to DoubleClick #50 Man or boy

 

Yes, this is Nonno's fish tank in the background, I just happened to capture the right moment.  The granddaughter wanted to glue and assemble this card all by herself, with a little trimming, it looks great! This is from the Father's Day - Gone Fishing digital image.

This is for the in-law grandpa who loves.......... golfing.  How did you guess?  This card is from the Summer Celebrations cartridge.

BBTB2 - **Dig It** - Garden theme Layout

This week our theme at Bitten By the Bug2 is 'garden'.  I have lots of pictures of flowers but this time I thought I would scrap a few of my son and his community garden harvest.  This is from last September when he picked a few boxes of tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and basil.  I don't get many pictures of him - he's elusive most of the time.  

I used cuts from Freshly Picked cartridge for most of the veggies, using the Contour Feature in Design Space to remove parts of the cut.  I had the pumpkins already, so I just added a altered sign for  produce and a shovel, also from Freshly Picked.  The bracket is from Give a Hoot and just added some interest to the project.  Of course, Ole was used for the peppers.

Link up your garden themed card, layout or project over at Bitten By the Bug this week.  Melanie, from http://courtney-lane.blogspot.com/ is our hostess for the week.

BBTB2 - High School Graduation Masculine Card

I am late in posting this graduation card for Bitten By the Bug2 this week.  I made the card from several cartridges and used the school colors of the graduate.  Diploma from Hello Kitty Greetings, hat from Something To Celebrate.  The candy bar grad coffee cup is a little extra - for girls I put in silk flowers instead of candy.  Link up your graduation or thank you cards at BBTB2 this week.  Enjoy!

BBTB2 - Hot Mama, Big Daddy Towel Card

Lynn, from My Cards N Stuff, is our hostess for Bitten By the Bug2 this week and she has selected a "towel" theme - kitchen, bath, or beach.   I used the Sweethearts cart to make the towels, but instead of his and hers - I put on my own twist using the hide contour feature of the Explore.  I then added a Happy Anniversary sentiment with a frame and a little Stickles to finish off my card.  Join us at Bitten By the Bug2 to link up your towel creations this week.

BBTB2: Dreams of Palm Trees and Fresh Air

Once you have been somewhere tropical, you always want to go back - next time just to relax and enjoy the scenery, and stay for a month!  Well, a girl can dream, can't she?  Today our hostess is Laurie, of Crafty Sisters Creations. Because it is Love A Tree Day,  she asked us to make a project or card with a tree.  

My card is rather simple, just 2 cuts.  The palm trees are from Cricut Iron-On, Palm Trees, and the Dream bubble is from Simple Cards.  The palm leaves cut beautifully, I was surprised, but I also used a good quality cardstock.  Join us at Bitten By the Bug2 and link up your "tree" card or project.

BBTB2: Cricut Heart Bouquet Mother's Day

With Mother's Day approaching, our leader at BBTB2 for this week, Emily, from Mollie's Motif has selected our challenge which is to use a bouquet of flowers, or flowers in a vase.  Wow - perfect as there is lots of choices from the Cricut Access I found a great cut of a heart decorated with flowers from the Love Struck cartridge and thought I could do something with it.   Thanks to Emily, I am getting my Mother's Day cards done ahead of time.  I made several of these cards - a few I may even leave off the sentiment and use for another occasion.   I used Artiste for the 'Happy Mother's Day" sentiment and Flower Shoppe for the small flowers.  I inked the edges in a light beige/brown of the base and the white flowers, used gems in the centers, and Stickles on the background flowers.  I popped up the flowers by curving the petals and popdotted the heart off the background.  Overall, I love how it turned out.  

My 4 year old granddaughter wanted to craft today so I let her make a Mother's Day cards for her mommy and other grandma using the same heart.   I let her pick out 2 colors of pink and she helped cut out the heart/background heart and picked a base for the cards.  She likes to press the buttons on the Explore and thinks she is creating all on her own.   She glued on pre-made paper flowers onto her hearts and used a 'little too generous' supply of Stickles on the project.  When the glue bottle was glued shut she said "wait, I know what to do" and went and got a corncob holder from the kitchen drawer and brought it over.  How smart is that = I have never used a corncob holder, only needles and pins.  And I think the Tape Gun is heavier than her hand can handle but she wants to do it all on her own.  On the inside she stamped flowers all over and then wrote I Love Mom.  The cards were really pretty and I am sure they will be loved forever.  Sadly, I did not take a picture before they were sealed in an envelope.  I'll have to post later.

Join us for our 'bouquet of flowers/flowers in a vase'  challenge this week at Bitten By the Bug2 by linking up your project.   Happy Mother's Day to all mums, moms, mommy's, grandmothers, etc.!!!