Birthday Invitations

Today I decided to make party invitations for my little girl who is turning 1 at the beginning of March.  I originally wasn't going to make invitations because it's only family, but I was inspired by a new friend, Samantha :)

Here is the result:

Birthday invitation materials needed:

White 12x12 paper

6 sheets of 12x12 coordinating papers

1.5"x1.5" yellow tissue paper

Googly eyes

white pipe cleaner

paper trimmer

pop dots

foam tape

dry adhesive (I used Xyron)

liquid adhesive

scoring board

hotfix rhinestones and setter

hot glue gun

straight pin

Cricut Cartridges used:

Gypsy Wanderings

Once Upon a Princess

Wild Card

Imagine: Blast Off

Process:

Cut a piece of white paper to 5x12"

Score at 2" and 7.25"

The Paper will not meet exactly at the fold line

 Cut 2 patterned papers into 2 squares of each pattern 5"x5"

Cut a patterned paper to 5"x2"

Run the 5"x5" squares and 2"x5" rectangle through Xyron

Cut a piece of white paper to 2"x5"

On the 5" side of folded white paper, place a 5x5 square lined  up with the fold

Line the other 5x5 sheet of the same patterned paper up with the fold on the side opposite where you just adhered the first one.

Now both sides of the long folded side of the white paper should be covered

 Place the other patterned 5x5 sheet on upper side of folded white paper 2" above the fold

The adhesived side will be sticky below the folded white paper,  that's OK, it'll be covered up

Place the 2"x5" of white paper on the 2" that are sticky above the fold.

Place 2"x5" patterned paper so that it hangs down 1" below the patterned paper that you just placed on the front of the card

On the inside of the card place the other sheet of patterned paper to cover up the seam between the two different papers you've placed to show on the front.

These papers will NOT meet up, that's OK, just trim so that the piece of paper that hangs down 1" is even with the back piece of paper.

2"x5" paper covering up adhesive on back

This is what the front should look like after you trim up the paper hanging below the 1" line on the backside.

The reverse of the top flap

What the card looks like folded at this point.

Back of the card when folded.

Now for the fun part!  The cutting!!

From the Wild Card cartridge cut:

the invitation phrase that says: Event, Place, Date, Time, RSVP (I didn't use RSVP) @ 5" relative size

The phrase that says: You're Invited @ .75" actual height

From the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge cut:

Celebrate and it's Shadow @ 1" height

From the Once Upon a Princess cartridge cut:

the cupcake with a smile @ 1.5" height (I used my gypsy to hide the cupcake icing)

(Event, Place, Date, Time, RSVP, You're Invited, and the Shadow of "Celebrate" are all the same color)

Run all of these pieces through the Xyron

Attach a contrasting color paper to the back of the cupcake wrapper so that the eyes and mouth stand out (rather than cut one specifically for that purpose on the Cricut, I just backed mine with a square.)

backed cupcake

Place a piece of foam tape to the back of the cupcake wrapper.

Attach "You're Invited" and the cupcake to the front of the card.

Attach Event, Place, Date, Time, and RSVP to the inside of the card.

To make the icing for the cupcake, twist the white pipe cleaner back on itself about an inch, then make a 2" base and zig-zag the cleaner back and forth on itself, getting smaller each time.

Pipe cleaner bent back on itself

Finished icing

To make candle:

Cut a 1"x1" square of paper in the patterned paper used for the 1" strip on the front of the card

Roll the paper around a narrow pen

Adhere using liquid glue

Candle

Attach icing and candle to front of the card using a hot glue gun (be careful!)

From Imagine: Blast Off cartridge

Cut the number 1 twice @ 1" actual size

Cut the castle @ 1.5" actual size

(Change colors to match your chosen patterned paper)

Attach hotfix rhinestones to the lower right corner of the 1's

Attach castle to the lower right corner of the inside of the invitation.

Rhinestoned 1's

Inside of Invitation

Add Pop Dots to 1's and place on the inside bottom of the card.

Add Pop Dots to "Celebrate" and place between the 1's on the inside bottom of the card.

Wrap Tissue paper around the head of the pin.

Add liquid glue.

Stuff the glued tissue inside the candle tube.

Lit candle.

Use liquid glue to attach googly eyes to cupcake

Finished product inside

Finished product outside.

My daughter's invitations

Inside of my daughter's invitations

Guess What? Card

Here's the other card I was working on.  I LOVE this one because of the phone on the front... it moves when you flick it, so it looks like an animated ringing phone!

Everything from this card was made from the Better Together cartridge (Cricut Imagine).

Card Front:
The Background was cut at 8:10 on the Imagine, then trimmed to 7:10 to make a 5x7 card when folded.
The girls were cut at 3" true size, as was the title.
The girls clothes and the hair bows on the second girl were re-cut using the "layers" feature, then adhered using pop dots, for dimension.
The phone was cut as part of the title, then again using the "layers feature" and with the dial cut separately.
I pop-doted the dial on the layered phone.
I made a small spring out of 24 gauge wire wrapped around a narrow pen (spring is about 1/4" high") and attached it to the phone printed on the title, right on the dial.  Once the glue dried enough, I attached it to the pieced phone underneath it's dial.

Inside:
I used a matching deep magenta color, chalked around the edges.
The parrot and "Hello" message were cut as one piece from the Better Together cartridge at approx. 2" true size.

Ring, Ring!

Friends forever card

As promised, here is a couple photos of one of the cards I made yesterday (the other one is still being worked on).

Front of the card  (entire card was made using the Cricut Imagine):

The base paper is printed at 8:10 from the Blossom cartridge and cut down to 7:10, so that when it's folded over, it makes a 5x7 card.
The Girl with the dog and the "friends forever" saying are all from the Better Together cartridge, cut at 3" relative size.
The speech bubble and her hair were cut a second time from the same cartridge, but this time using the "layers" selection, those were then adhered using pop dots for added dimension.

Inside of the card:

I simply chalked the edges all the way around using a base of brown, then adding mauve to reflect the outer color of the card.
The branch cutout is also from Better Together, cut all at once, at a 2" actual size.

I think it turned out rather cute, what do you think?

New day, new life

I've been trying to finish up some classes that I took incompletes in while I was pregnant.  This is my last semester to do so.  I've tried contacting my professor several times in the past with no response, so I pulled out all the stops this time.  I sent him an email and one to the department advisor, in hopes I'd hear from someone.  I got responses from both, YAY!!!  I went to my first class tonight... In Lawrence.  It's about an hour drive there and an hour back (if you include parking time).  I wasn't planning on going tonight, but hey!  Why wait?  It'll add another element to my already busy life, but it needs to be done.

In other news, I received THREE Cricut Cartridges that I purchased off eBay today!  I got (all for the Imagine machine) Better Together, Blast Off, and Blossom.  Naturally, I had to play with them when I got home from class, so now I'm REALLY tired, but I made two cute cards using Blossom and Better Together, and I'll post pictures of them tomorrow along with the recipe.  I'd do it tonight, but there's one more element I need to work on.  Get ready, they're REALLY cute!

I'm also excited about this new blog deal.  Way more than I thought I would be.  If you're stopping by, please leave me a comment so I know who's reading, and if you know anyone interested in crafts, please send them a link.

First Post

Welcome to my new blog.  I've avoided doing this for a long while based on the premise that it would be too difficult for me to do by myself.  We shall see.  I hope to use this to share with friends and family my new crafting endeavors and some stories about my life that are sure to make you laugh.  I'm frequently told by outsiders that the goings ons in my life are often funny enough to warrant a movie.  Until my big break in Hollywood, this will be my avenue to share them with you.

I don't anticipate this blog being updated daily, I'll start with an attempt at 3 days a week and see how that goes.  Who knows?  It may be updated daily with what I've blown up in the kitchen, what my daughter tried to shove up her nose, or what I've done to accidentally lock myself in a room in our house (don't think that hasn't happened).  The possibilities are endless!

I'd really like to make this something interactive in the future, after I've gotten a few followers, so I can offer give aways and the like.  I enjoy the contests offered on other crafter's blogs and hope to follow that format, but first things first.  I need people to read this.