Christmas in July Snowman Challenge

I was catching up on a couple of my blogs last night and noticed that Mary over at Cardz TV has another Christmas in July blog challenge going on until tonight.  Just make a card using a snowman (stamped, digi or Cricut cut image) - easy enough, right? 

This is one that was inspired originally back in 2008 from a stamped version I saw on the CardMaker Magazine website. I loved the idea but didn't have the stamp so I decided to create my own version using my cricut....Needless to say I've made a couple of them since then.

For this particular card I used:

George and Basic Shapes for the window pane cut at 5 1/2" (designed in DS)

Speaking of Winter for the snowmen cut at 4 1/2"

Back when I first got into the whole Cricut craze I was looking for the Christmas Cheer cartridge and couldn't find it anywhere.  Not knowing much about the carts that were available at that time I saw Speaking of Winter and thought there was no difference (i.e. I didn't pick up on the fact that it was a "font" cart) so I purchased it.  But did you know that some of these carts, like this one, can produce some really great images too?  That's all I use this cartridge for and I love it.

To create the window pane I glued a piece of clear plastic (I did not have any acetate so I used the packaging from a large set of stickers I purchased and cut to the size needed) to the frame. Once the glue dried I attached foam strips to the outer edges. (Before adhering the strips though sprinkle with powder or cornstarch to eliminate your glitter and snowflakes from sticking inside the window.) I also attached a small piece to the very center portion of the frame in order to add support.

Before placing the frame in place I sprinkled glitter and the snowflakes onto the snowman making sure to clear the areas where the window would be adhered. I then gently ran my finger along the edges to ensure that I had a good seal and then shook the card to make sure glitter did not escape.

Count Your Blessings - Altered Charger

Isn't it funny how sometimes you figure out a new "trend" before it even becomes one?  Case in point, I decided about this time last year to try my hand at altering charger plates like the ones you get from Michaels, AC Moore or any other craft store.  And now it seems to be the rage - I even have one that's being published in the November issue of Cricut Magazine.....

Today though I want to share with you a redo of the first one I created last year.  I used the same cuts:

Thanksgiving for my verbiage (Count Your Blessings)
Christmas Noel (Solutions cartridge) for the Christmas tree and the star
George for the Circle cuts
Speaking of Winter for the snowman

So what's different about this plate and the one I did last year you ask?

This time I decided to add a couple of different glitters for added texture on my snow covered ground.
The tree once again has textured snow from my snow writer's pen.  I sprinkled a little snow glitter while damp and once it was dry I came back with a layer of glossy accents.

I also decided to add a sentiment to the backside of the plate.

So now that you've seen my altered plate I'd love to see what ideas you come up with.  In the meantime, I have another idea or two running around in my head.  Fortunately I have several plates that I bought on clearance after the holidays last year......

Snowman Tri-fold Card

Christmas may be gone but winter is still here and with winter there's still plenty of snow.  And with that I give you this week's Cricut Cardz Challenge where our directive was to make a card using any colors and cartridges we wanted so long as we used a snowman cut.

I chose to use Speaking of Winter for my snowman cut.  Yes, it's a font cartridge but I absolutely love the snowman that these fonts create.  The card itself was also a cut from this cartridge which features a variety of card cuts including this tri-fold style.

The paper used for the card is from the Grinch mat stack that I found on clearance at M's for $3.  This was one of my favorite cartoons as a child and I still love it so I just had to have this paper - especially at that price!! 

Count Your Blessings - Altered Plate

I created this altered plate for a Christmas gift this year.  A while back I had made a card with a similar theme and really loved the way it turned out so this time I decided to add to it and this time make it into a decorator plate.

For this project I used:

Thanksgiving for the font - cut in vinyl

Speaking of Winter for the snowmen and hats

Christmas Noel for the Christmas tree and star

George for the circle background

Snowflake Pop Up

This week's Cricut Cardz Challenge was to make a card using one or more things that begin with the letter S. I chose a snowman and snowflakes. And I used a combination of Cricut and Sizzix this week.

A couple weeks ago I purchased one of the new snowflake pop up dies from Sizzix when they were on sale at 40% off. And this card was inspired by the picture that was included with that die.

For the outside of the card I used Winter Woodland.

For the inside I used

Doodlecharms for the snowman,

George for the window frame

and Speaking of Winter for the snowman's hat

Snowball Cookies - Gate Fold Card

Made this one using my Speaking of Winter and From My Kitchen cartridges.

The outside snowflakes are 4 and 3 3/4". The white snowflake is covered with MS crystal fine and carrara marble to give it a snowish texture/sparkle.

The snowman is 2 1/2" and the bowl is just under 1".

The inside snowflake is 5".

Bringing Home the Tree

After being on vacation for a week and trying to get the new craft room organized enough to create a card (still not complete and probably won't be until this weekend - will post more on that when it's done) I was finally able to do so tonight. I thought I'd go crazy since it's been so long. Not to mention the fact that my wonderful husband bought me four new cartridges for my birthday. So what do I do the first night I scrap in almost two weeks??? Why use all the old cartridges of course.

For this card I cut:

Truck from New Arrival at 3 1/2"

Snowmen from Speaking of Winter at 3 1/2"

Tree created using the new Martha Stewart branch punch

"Best Gift" Christmas Card

The inside sentiment for this card was found in a Jolee's sticker set I had purchased. I loved it so much that I just had to create my own take on it......It says, "The best gift around a Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in one another."

So for this card I used Speaking of Winter. The tree was cut at 5" and the snowman was cut at 3 1/2" with the image flipped. I embellished the treetop with my snow writer's pen and sprinkled with diamond dust while still wet. The ground was run through my Xyron Creative station and then sprinkled with a white/bluish glitter.

The background paper has more vibrancy to it than is pictured. For whatever reason my camera just wouldn't capture it. Perhaps if I ever get more table space I'll have to invest in a scanner printer so I can just scan my cards.....