Cartridge Showcase: Create-A-Critter

Welcome back to Cartridge Showcase!  Our Design Team members will be featuring their favorite cartridges on Mondays and Thursdays each week.  It is our hope that you'll be inspired to drag out an old cartridge and find a new way to use it -- or be compelled to purchase a new cartridge 'cause you just gotta have it!  (Disclaimer:  Cooking With Cricut accepts no responsibility nor is liable for any "unauthorized" or "compulsive" purchases.  So don't sic your significant other on us when the bank statement or credit card bill comes in!!!!)

Today, Chef Jen is featuring an oldie but goodie -- Create-A-Critter. 

There is just so much cuteness on this cartridge!  And a lot of versatility too.  Great critter images, habitats for those critters, sayings, and so many extras.  I have used this cartridge for t-shirts, cards, scrapbook layouts, and most recently my sister's zoo-themed Baby Shower.    Here are a few of the projects I created for the shower.

"It's A Boy" Banner

The pennants were created in Cricut Design Studio using the Plantin SchoolBook cartridge.  I welded a square and two triangles flipped on their side together -- they measure 8" tall and 5 3/4" wide.  The text was also cut from PSB at 5" tall.  My cute little animals were cut from Create-A-Critter (zebra, monkey and vine) and Everyday Paper Dolls (lion and elephant).  I used Everyday Paper Dolls critters because the elephant and lion on CAC were too wide.

The zebra is cut at 5" wide.  The monkey is cut at 3 1/2" tall and his vine is cut at 5 1/2" wide.  The lion and elephant are both cut at 5" tall.  All of my card stock is from Recollections or Bazzill.

Diaper Cake

This diaper cake was made with 112 size one Pamper Swaddlers, 10 cloth bibs, a Monkey Rattle (on the back) , Elephant & Lion rattles, two pacifiers with paci clips, and an Elephant toy (topper).  It is sitting on a 16" Wilton cake base trimmed with a lime green and white 5/8" wide ribbon from Michaels.  The ribbon on each tier is also from Michaels and is 1 1/2" wide.  The monogrammed medallion and text on the front of the diaper cake was cut using the Cake Basics cartridge and measures 3 1/2" wide.

There are three Create-A-Critters on this cake.  An alligator measuring 8" wide; a lion cut at 7 1/2" wide; and the hippo cut at 6" wide.  I used Recollections and Bazzill card stocks.  They are stuck to the ribbon using the super sticky red line tape.

 

Door Sign

The door sign was my Cooking With Cricut challenge project on October 5th.  For more details on the cuts, please see my blog entry by clicking here.  The sign measures 12 x 12" and my sister has hung it on the baby's room door.

There are several other baby shower projects featured on my blog post that did not include the Create-A-Critter cartridge.  I hope you'll pop on over and check them out!

Here are some other projects I've created using the Create-A-Critter cartridge.

Have you ever seen so much cuteness in one spot in your life!?!  My daughter and her cousins are all wearing t-shirts or onesies, tutus and hair bows (just the girls, of course) that I made for them.  And, yes, we are all die-hard Gator fans -- win or lose, we love our team!  The girl's tops have a fabric gator cut on the Cricut using the Create-A-Critter cartridge.  The boy's shirts have "G" is for gator -- the "G" and the gator were also cut from fabric using the Cricut.

Here is a close-up of my daughter's shirt . . .

 I use "Heat 'n Bond" brand interfacing to attach the fabric to the t-shirt and Tulip fabric paints to seal the edges and do the writing.  The rhinestone eyes are adhered with a fabric glue.  We wash these inside out and hang them to dry and haven't had any problems with the design peeling. 

And here are a few cards and other projects - for details on these and lots of other projects, head over to my blog and search on "Create-A-Critter".



Thanks for checking out my critter-filled showcase today!  Make sure you check back on Wednesday to meet some more of our new Design Team members and see our latest challenge.  And don't forget to stop back by on Thursday to see what Debbie has whipped up using the Cricut Lite Handy Man cartridge!



~ Jen

Challenge #53: Apples & Honey

Today is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. While maintained to be a Jewish holiday, it is part of the "missed or lost understanding" of our Christian (Hebraic) roots. Among some of the items eaten during this festival, apples and honey are consumed to symbolize a sweet new year.  So happy new year or  L'shanah tovah!

Here are the sweet apple and honey projects our Design Team came up with!

Dalis used Doodlecharms and George & Basic Shapes cartridges to

create this super cute card.  Make sure you check her blog for the details!

Jen created two 12x12 scrapbook layouts for today's challenge.

 The first uses the "Just Because" Cards and Walk in My Garden cartridges.

The second uses the "Just Because" Cards and Doodlecharms cartridges.

Make sure you check out her blog for the "sweet" details!

Melin created this layout using the Heritage, Give a Hoot and Plantin School Book Cartridges.

 


Melin created this layout using the Plantin School Book Cartridge, a PIE SVG file from PaperCraftingWorld and a Lifestyle Crafts (formerly Quickutz) decorative border die.

Melin created this layout using the  Just Because, Forever Young and Lyrical Letters Cartridges.

Here is a close up of the little honey bee holding his honey pot. The honey pot is from the Just Because cartridge and the Honey Bee is from Lyrical Letters and George and Basic Shapes. I did use the Gypsy to do some welding but he could be reproduced without the Gypsy as well.



Now it's your turn! Link up your apple and/or honey of a project . . . Here are a few guidelines:

* Must follow the challenge topic.

* Must be a new project for this challenge…please no back dated posts.

* Must have a link back to this post on your blog.

* Must link your project post through Inlinkz and not just your blog.

* Must use your Cricut in some capacity.

* Must HAVE FUN!

Be sure to come back by tomorrow for another cute project!

Don't forget . . . we have a Design Team Call going on and would love to have you join our fun!  The deadline is Wednesday, October 5th -- here is the link with all the specifics.

 Thank you SO MUCH for joining us once again! We appreciate it so much! Have a wonderfully crafty day.

~ CWC Design Team

Challenge #51: Heritage/Grandparents

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Cooking With Cricut's weekly challenge!  In honor of Grandparent's Day (September 11), the Design Team was challenged to create a project about or for their grandparents or a heritage project.  Almost everyone has a fond memory of a grandparent or older adult who played that role in their lives.  Some are even lucky enough to have memories of or still have their great-grandparents in their lives.  They are our connection to our roots.  And if we ask the right questions, they will provide us with immeasurable wealth -- stories of their past -- of our past!

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. ~Alex Haley

Stacey created a beautiful Grandparent's Day card using Plantin SchoolBook

and Lovely Floral cartridges.  Make sure you check out her blog for the details.

Jenny used the George & Basic Shapes cartridge for this super cute card.

Stop by her blog for the recipe!

Madison made these cute photo frames of her older brothers using

the Create-A-Critter cartridge.  Hop on over to her blog for the details!

Jen created a heritage layout of her great-grandparents using the Accent Essentials

and Plantin SchoolBook cartridges.  Check out all the details at her blog.

Melin used the Heritage Cartridge to create this layout.

Melin used her Cricut and the Vintage Bear cutting file from PCW to create this layout.
This file includes a PDF printable pattern for those who need to hand cut the pattern.
There is also a Vintage Bear Digital Stamp version for those who can not use the cutting file.

Now it’s your turn!!!

Let’s see your grandparent or heritage project.  Here are our few guidelines:

* Must follow the challenge topic.

* Must be a new project for this challenge…please no back dated posts.

* Must have a link back to this post on your blog.

* Must link your project post through Inlinkz and not just your blog.

* Must use your Cricut in some capacity.

* Must HAVE FUN!

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us once again! We appreciate it so much!

Have a wonderfully crafty day.

~ CWC Design Team



Guest Designer Tuesday!

Welcome to Guest Designer Tuesday

at Cooking With Cricut!

Our special Guest Designer this week is Amy Voltz from Love to Crop and Decorate to Celebrate blogs.  She is showcasing the Cricut Traveler cartridge today with four -- yes, FOUR, incredible projects!   Take it away, Amy . . .

I am "The-Mom" to two wonderful teenagers (lovingly referred to as "The-Girl-Child" and 'The-Boy-Child") . . . I am quirky and silly, I love to make people laugh, and I like exclamation points and :) smiley faces!!! :) :) :)  I'm more than a little OCD, especially when it comes to my creations -- I like clean lines and balance; however, my craft room (or living room or office) doesn't count for that! :) I am extremely blessed, even if I forget that from time to time . . . I've been 'crafting' for as long as I can remember -- my parents are extremely talented creatively and that's something they've passed on to my siblings and me!

I started blogging about a year ago, and I have been so amazed at the talent I have seen in the blogging community. I have also been extremely pleased to "meet" so many friendly and wonderful people by participating in challenges and blog-hopping around.

I am so honored to have been asked to participate in this wonderful opportunity at Cooking With Cricut!! Thank you SO much!! :)

The first project I'd like to share is a 12" x 24" layout (2 - 12" x 12" pages).

The paper is all from Creative Memories Cheerful Power Palette. All of the cuts (including the photo mats) are cut from the Traveler Cricut Cartridge.

My next project is a standard A2 card. All of the card stock is Creative Memories -- Raspberry, Butter, Orange, Mediterranean, and Royal Blue. The embossing is a Sizzix folder.  Iridescent stickles, a white Signo pen, black marker, and K. Andrew's Splashtastic Summer Stamp Set finish off this project.  The title bar and yellow fishy are popped up with fun foam. :) All cuts from the Traveler Cartridge.

This is another 12" x 24" (2 - 12" x 12") layout. The paper is from Creative Memories Cheerful Stars & Stripes Additions Kit. The font is the Road Trip font from the Traveler Cartridge. The Statue of Liberty is also from the Traveler Cartridge.  The stars are from Plantin SchoolBook cartridge.  

This last project is vinyl wall art/decor.  I used white, orange and pink vinyl.  All of the cuts are from the Traveler cartridge.

Amazing projects, Amy!  Thanks so much for sharing with us and for your  continued support of Cooking With Cricut -- we love seeing what you cook up each week.

Please take the time to go over to Amy's blog and show her some crafting "love!" She is giving away this cute vinyl wall decor to one lucky winner who comments on her Guest Designer post at her blog.  And she's also having a drawing for a Traveler Cricut cartridge -- so head on over and check it out!

 

See you back here tomorrow for our weekly challenge. You won't want to miss it!

~ Jen

Challenge #45: Sailboat

Good morning, crafty friends!

In honor of Columbus setting sail on this date in 1492, the Design Team was challenged to incorporate a sailboat or sailboat inspired theme into their projects. 

On the evening of August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, with three ships; one larger carrack, the Santa María, nicknamed Gallega (the Galician); and two smaller caravels, the Pinta (the Painted) and the Santa Clara, nicknamed Niña after her owner Juan Niño of Moguer.   During this first voyage, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador.

OK!  History lesson over . . . take it away, ladies!

Stacey created this sweet card with the "Just Because" Cards cartridge.

Make sure you hop over to her blog to check out all the precious details!

Jean's layout was created using the Once Upon a Princess, Wall Decor & More

and Storybook cartridges.  Don't forget to check out the details on her blog!

Maria Elena created her "Best Wishes" card using the Plantin SchoolBook cartridge.

Sail on over to her blog and check out the details!

Jen created a pirate party invitation using the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.

Make sure you head on over to her blog or she just might make you walk the plank!

Roberta used "Just Because" Cards and Life's A Beach to create this cute card.

Make sure you stop in at her blog and check out the details!

Now it’s your turn, let’s see your creative, Cricut best! Remember our guidelines . . .

1. It must be a new project with a Cricut cut.

2. Post your project on your blog and include a link back to CookingWithCricut.com

3. And the best rule of all -- you MUST HAVE FUN!

An as always, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it so much!