So Long Summer!

When the sunlight starts hitting that angle through my windows that lets me know that it's fall, I get in an entirely different mood. The world just seems more romantic and mysterious. It's automatically time to start making Halloween projects and lighting spicy candles. I have a carton of Oregon chai ready to go in my fridge and rice crispy treats are on the counter. Best of all, the trail that I hike a couple times a week is laden with golden oak leaves and has that grassy berry smell of California.

The best part about hiking in this peaceful place is the weight loss! And it doesn't even feel like work!  But as I soak up the last bits of summer sunshine I can't help but look forward to the rainy, cozy days laden with baking and crafting. 

It is only one week until my Aunt and Uncle's wedding and I have been churning out the last of the wedding album pages.

The first page I created uses a super cute Jolee's hammock embellishment. The papers are by Making Memories, the Hawaii sticker is by Me and My Big Ideas, and the flowers are Prima. I was glad to finally be able to use all this cute stuff that has been sitting around looking good for quite some time.

The next page uses a K & Company paper from the Que Sera Sera stack. The Tree was cut using the Cricut and the Heritage cartridge. I painted over the tree with metallic green acrylic paint and then went over that with shabby shutters distress stickles. The sparrow was cut from the French Manor cartridge and embellished with stickles. The matt was from the DCWV Rockstar matt stack and was distressed and inked around the edges. The frame, blue bird and "romance" die cuts were all from various K & Co die cut packs. And I attached a random silk leaf under the corner of the photo matt.

The last page features Prima Mountain Lilly Vines at the top in Robin's Egg. The paper is Prima titled "Romance" from the Analee collection. The large matt is from K & Company Margo stack and was cut on the Cricut using the French Manor cartridge frame and shadow feature. The Quote reads "All that is good and sweet and true has come to me because of you." The photo matt is from the K & Company Ancestry Matt pad. The crystals are from ZVA creative and the ribbons and lace are scraps from the fabric stores.

Lastly I did a page for my personal album because my Disney pictures have been stacking up. The paper is Prima "Ashton" from the Analee collection. I cut the frame using K & Company Margo stack paper and the French Manor Cricut cartridge Frame feature. The flowers are the second piece of the Prima Mountain Vine Robin's Egg pack. The Crystals are Prima. The Circular matt is from Webster's Pages and the cherry branch was cut using Cricut Lite Botanicals cartridge and the remaining scraps of Margo paper against pink card stock.

I also received my new Tim Holtz embossing folders. Here are swatches that I inked to better reveal the detail:

Clockwise from the upper left quadrant the folders are "Bricked", "Woodgrain", "Damask" and "Regal Flourishes". As promised, the embossing is very deep and when done with thick cardstock and run through the cuttlebug several time can distress the paper and create small tears. I actually like this effect.

So enjoy the cool down and I'll be getting back to you with the final wedding album projects and details on the ceremony and beautiful Bride!

Exploring the French Manor and California Foothills

cSo as many of my crafting colleagues know, the past couple weeks have marked the launch of the Cricut Circle community and the receipt of the elusive French Manor cartridge (formerly European Decor). Now it has been fairly consistent of Provocraft to adhere to two styles (excluding fonts): cute/fun/cartoony and ornate/vintage/classic.

Examples of cute/fun/cartoony cartridges are:

• Create a Critter
• Disney Licensed Cartridges
• Cricut Lite Meow
• Mini Monsters
• Once Upon a Princess
• Life is a Beach

Examples of ornate/vintage/classic cartridges are:

• Storybook
• Nursery Rhymes
• French Manor
• Cricut Lite Botanicals
• Summer in Paris
• Heritage

Of course there are more and there are also cartridges that bridge the gap (Wild Card, Serenade, Cindy Loo) but these are generally the two main styles that Cricut art generally fall into. The big trick is making both work for your style. Seeing as the new French Manor cartridge is a very specific style and is an exclusive cartridge to members of the circle, many members who have received the cartridge are lacking inspiration. So after much soul searching and creative manipulation in the deepest recesses of my imagination I have come up with the following projects featuring French Manor:

The first is a piece of wall art I made for my Mom to hang at work. She loves to decorate her workspace and I love to provide the means to do that so here is her new welcome sign:

My inspiration was Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. The blues, golds and creams of the castle coupled with the ornate detailing fit perfectly with the European feel of this cartridge and the gorgeous font of the "Wilkommen" cut. I used Recollections Precious Metals card stock in the bronze and pearl /to make the cuts and mounted them on a 12" x 12" piece of paper from the DCWV Old World premium stack. The border pieces are cut using the Fit to Page feature and are from page 49 of the cartridge booklet and . The screen piece (page 54) and layer were cut at approximately 4 inches. Then the text was cut from gold card stock at approximately 1 1/2".

GLUING INTRICATE PIECES:
To adhere intricate pieces like the screen to the pearl backing I like to use Elmer's Craft Bond spray permanent adhesive. It is acid free and water resistant. I typically find an old box that I received a package in and spray in there in order to contain the mist of glue. Otherwise I might put it inside a garbage can with a new bag and spray there.

The next project I created is an addition to the wedding gift album for my Aunt and Uncle's upcoming wedding:

The paper is from K & Company and is in the Que Sera Sera 12" x 12" stack. I also used K & Company adhesive chipboard flowers from the Urban Rhapsody collection. The leaves are from the Prima Jewel Box Leaves collection in Faberge. And I used a large variety of stickles to embellish the cuts and the design of the paper, including the butterfly, berries and foliage. As for French Manor cuts I cut the peacock from pg 46 at 6" and the border to the photo is from pg 55 and was cut using the Fit to Length feature twice at 4" long and twice at 5" long.

ADHERING CHIPBOARD

I have found that chipboard that already has adhesive on the back tends to fall off pretty much immediately. So I always apply my own adhesive in addition to the factory applied adhesive. My go to glue is my ATG 1/4" which is what I used for the flowers above. Other than that, any glue runner or Scotch permanent double sided tape in the yellow package should work.

Other than racking my brain for ideas for the beautiful French Manor artwork I have also been continuing to love the Cindy Loo cartridge. I made the following double page layout but have not yet decided what photos to feature:

I have also embellished a little box that contained makeup brushes featuring the cut from Cindy Loo pg 59 at 4 3/4" on the lid and the cut on pg 60 at 4 3/4".

Also the flower in the box is handmade. I will look for the tutorial and share it in my next post.

In other life news I am currently working on some big things in terms of discovering what my new career will be, having ran like a bat out of hell from a career in accounting. It does involve design and embracing my creative side. I'll be sharing more in my next post. 

I have also been re-discovering the outdoors by hiking, swimming and kayaking by my home in the gorgeous, hot California foothills. My current favorite place to explore is Folsom Lake and have been absolutely loving and enjoying every bit of it. Here is a picture of me on a hike above the big, beautiful, blue lake. This is right after a hike and right before I went for a turn in the kayak's along the lake shore followed by a relaxing swim to cool down. Best part about it all? Losing weight and getting tan!

Talk to you all soon!