BBTB2: Cricut - Valentine Hearts for our Little Granddaughter

I spent more time than I wanted on this double page layout.  Haven't done a double in a long time, but didn't want to leave anyone out on these pictures from 6 years ago.  I'm cleaning my office, which is where I do a lot of crafting and finding all kinds of pictures to scrap.

Lots of layering and image cuts.  I inked the chain of border hearts, arrow, and swirls.   The Kisses and Simply Loved cuts are from Cricut Access and were print and cut.  The sideways hearts tag will be for journaling.  The paper is from a cheap pack at the Dollar Spot at Target years ago.  I double matted the pictures, the black really made them pop.

Join our Bitten by the Bug challenge for the next few weeks.  Our theme is Hearts.  Use Instagram, Facebook, or your blog to link your artwork.   Here is the link.


String of Hearts and Arrow - Victorian Romance
Heart Tag - Valentines Day
Heart flourishes - Flourishes
Love Simply - Our Love Story
Kisses 25cents - Little Sweethearts

Cricut - Love our Bulldog Shirts for Kids

I have a friend who just had her 3rd child - the ages are newborn, 1 1/2, and 3 1/2.  She has her hands full right now.   Plus they have two 85 pound bulldogs in the house.  My mom did it with three kids in 4 years.   I would go crazy.   Anyways - I made shirts for all three kids.  It was hard to think of a common theme with one boy and 2 girls..... so I let it go to the dogs.  Here is the shirts:   The lettering is Cricut Access - Cricut Outline Font.  The bulldog I pulled off the internet and made it an SVG in Design Space.  The mom used the saying 'party of 5' a few times on FaceBook so I put that saying really small on the sleeves.   I think they turned out fun for a quick project (ok not so quick, but easy enough for making 3 of something).

BBTB2: Cricut Dress Decor Designed by 7 year old

Hi all,   I would like to share a project that my 7 year old granddaughter and I made last week.  She did all of the designing, color choices, and loading of the Cricut.  I did the sizing and ironing.  It is a wonderful design, something that I would not have thought of.   I first asked her what design she wanted on her plain colored dress.  I suggested a Unicorn.  She said yes, then quickly changed her mind to 'flowers'.  She can scroll through Design Space flowers, which she did and picked two very different flowers.  She said she wanted 4 of this one and 1 of the other in the middle.  Very cleaver.  She then picked iron-on vinyl from my stash and we had this made in less than 45 minutes.

Our challenge at Bitten by the Bug2 these next two weeks is "Coming up Daisies/Flowers".  This project will fit the bill nicely.  I guess I can call my granddaughter a guest designer on my blog!  Link up your "flower" project at the Bitten by the Bug2 blog HERE.  You can use Pinterest, Flicker, blog, or Facebook to link back to your projects.   Have a great day!

Quilts: Bonnie Hunter's En Provence is DONE!

This quilt took me two years to make.  It has over 2,000 pieces, I lost count somewhere before I put on the two rows of borders.  It was a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  She  starts with a list of colors an yardage an gives 'clues' every week for several weeks.  Clues are the 'parts' of the quilt, such as making half square triangles in purple and yellow and how many to make.  She teaches tips on cutting and sewing along the way.  Her instructions were easy to follow.  We don't know until the last week how all the pieces are going to finish up in the design.

I started on about week 2 of the mystery, but I couldn't keep up with those fast ladies who got their quilt pieces completed each week.  I actually let mine sit for several months before picking it back up and getting it done.   It went to the quilter in the next town over for longarm quilting.  This finished up in queen size and it is shown on my guest bedroom.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  It's my first really big, intricate quilt.  I will make matching quilt shams as my next project.

Reference:  quiltville.blogspot.com  for the pattern.
Quilting by:  The Mad Quilters, Dublin, CA   http://themadquilters.com/
Material:  Scraps and a few purchases

BBTB2: Cricut Christmas Scene with Snowflakes and Toys

A visit to Santa where no one is crying?  This is a first for our grandkids.   I scrap this photo every year 1) so I won't lose it and 2) because it will be great to look back and see how they have grown.

Our Bitten by the Bug2 challenge for the next two weeks is themed "Snow".You can use several methods to link up your 'Snow' themed Cricut cut.  We now allow SVGs to be used on your project but they have to be cut with a Cricut machine.  Link up HERE to BBTB2.

 I had so many ideas going through my head for layouts, but I thought I'd better get this one done.  It came together really nicely.  The overlay of the night scene is purposely edged in a wonky fashion, not really my style, but I went with it.   I added the toys and bunny using the print and cut feature.  Stickles and inking used to highlight several areas.  I could have easily added a lot of toys and went wild.  The font is from DaFont.com.  I put another Cricut font in the DS file so it will work correctly.

https://design.cricut.com/#/design/124640457

Cartridges Used:
Overlay:  Zooballo
Trees: Holly Jolly Christmas and Home Organization
Santa across the sky: T'was the Night Before Christmas
Toys and bunny: Santa's Village
Snowflakes: Very Merry Tags and Family Album

Quilts: A Christmas Present to Myself

I am sharing another quilt that I finished up right before Christmas.   This quilt was a block of the month that a friend and I started together back in 1999.   Yep - that long ago.  I'm happy to say she is still my friend, but has moved out of state.  The store where the pattern and material was purchased has long closed up, but they do quilt shows and retreats locally.

I hand cut each piece of material using the paper pattern provided.  The pieces were backed with fusible interfacing and ironed together.  I then almost lost a finger sewing a buttonhole stitch around each piece, sometimes going through 6 or more layers of fabric.  The embellishing with buttons and charms was the fun part.  I machine quilted using my own machine as the long arm quilter won't touch it with the embellishments.  I love how it finished up, but hate myself for taking so long to complete it.  I won't be giving this one away, and I'll proudly display it throughout the Christmas season.

BBTB2: Cricut - Tags for Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas week everyone.  It's been totally wacko busy this week, and I am not ready to host Christmas Eve dinner at my house for nearly 20 people.  But somehow, it will get done.  Maybe I did too much sewing and crafting lately and let the housework go...... no, couldn't be.

Time for our last Bitten by the Bug2 post of the year.  Remember these now run for 2 weeks, so you have more time to submit an entry into the challenge.  Challenge post at BBTB2 is HERE.

My entry showcases two tags entirely from the Cricut Access collection.  I used the 'print and cut' and cut image features.  They came together really easily.  Three cartridges used are:  Santa's Village, Season to Sparkle, and Season's Greetings.  All three are fairly new to Cricut Access.  I just keep finding great images to use on my projects.  Not like the old days when we had maybe 2 or 3 Christmas cartridges to select from and each one cost over $50.    Ho, Ho, Ho, enjoy.  ---Maureen

BBTB2: Cricut - Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

It's time to get out the Christmas Cards you made in July...... ooops, you say, you didn't make any in July?   I think I only made one for a challenge.   I send photo cards, so I don't handcraft my Christmas cards except for a few people.

This card for the Bitten by the Blog2 challenge came together really fast, thanks to the print-n-cut feature.  The lettering was just too small, but I loved the sentiment.

Join our Christmas Card Challenge at Bitten by the Bug2 HERE. You have 2 weeks to post your cards, we love seeing the diversity and interpretations that you and your Cricut can create.

Cartridges:

A Quilted Christmas, Country Christmas

BBTB2: Cricut - From the Movie Frozen, Sister's Forever

I love to make a few personalized ornaments each year, mostly for kids or someone's first Christmas together.  This year I have a few planned but have only made one so far.  This one is for my sister, I might add a picture of the two of us inside if I can find a good one.  Maybe one from our childhood.

At the Bitten by the Bug2 blog, we are having a challenge for the next two weeks and the theme is "Ornaments".  You can make a card, layout, or an actual ornament.  Here is my contribution to the wonderful ornament related entries from our design team.  I used an image from the Disney Frozen cartridge, which I brought a few years ago, when my granddaughter was into that movie.  I used purple vinyl and the cut is only 2.5" x 2".  I had to cut it twice as the tiny swirls came up on the first one and stuck to other parts of the vinyl.  It was the smallest weeding of an image I have ever done, some of the cutouts were just a tiny blip of vinyl.

BBTB2: Cricut and Stampin' Up Birthday Card

This year marks the 8th year I have gone with the same crafty girls to our annual crafting retreat.  This year we are doing a 'card swap' among the 10 of us.  We bring 10 cards, and go home with 10 different cards.  We are going to have a contest to see if we can ID who made what card.  We know 8 of the 10 participants pretty well, and know their styles, so it might or might not be easy.  However, this year, mine is a little different than my usual.  The give-a-way may be that I used Cricut cuts and most of the other girls do not.

Our Bitten by the Bug2 challenge for the next two weeks has a theme of "BIRTHDAY".  My card leans a little bit to the masculine side, but I just gave one of these away (I made 12 of them) to my neighbor who loves wine for her birthday.  I used the Ornamental Iron Cricut cartridge for the 'gate' behind the wine jugs and the free circle for the round cut.  I stamped and embossed the word 'friend'.  I used colored pencils to highlight a bit of the olives and jugs.  Ink all around.

Join our challenge and show us your birthday cards, projects, or layouts.  Have a great day.