Aquarium layout

 Happy Monday!  It's been a very emotional weekend for me....we moved my youngest to college and are now officially empty nesters.  After 23 years of having kids living at home (and ALL the kids plus extras living at home during the pandemic), it's quite a change!  

The challenge theme over at BBTB2 for the next two weeks is Under the Sea, and I found some pictures of a visit to the Aquarium in Chicago for the project.  I found the perfect background paper (which might be from Echo Park?) in my stash and found some great cuts on the Family Album image collection on Cricut Access.  I hope you'll be inspired by the design team projects over at BBTB2, where you can link up a project as well.

Cricut:

Family Album-all cuts

Paper-possibly Echo Park old collection, CTMH solids

St Pats Lucky Charmed layout

Happy Monday!  Our BBTB2 challenge this week is a St. Patrick's Day theme and you can also meet challenge requirements by just using the color green on a project.  I've made a St. Pats layout for the pics I'll be taking of Son#2, who will be conducting his high school marching band in a St. Patrick's Day parade, so he will be front and center in the pictures!  I used the Family Album cartridge for the clovers and downloaded a font from da fonts for the title.  Being able to use any font downloaded to my computer is another feature of my Explore Air 2 that I'm loving!  I'm telling you, I went crazy downloading fonts to my computer!!! I hope you will link up a project over the next two weeks and the design team has some charming projects full of the green for you to see over at BBTB2 for inspiration.

Cricut:
Family Album-clovers
Font-Noteworthy (downloaded to  cricut design space from da fonts)
Paper-Doodlebug Lots o' Luck print, CTMH solids

Deck the Halls layout

Happy Monday!  It's a very cold, snowy Monday here in Kansas City after a blizzard yesterday.  I feel like winter has arrived with a bang, as we have a lot of snow!  It was a lovely Thanksgiving day near 60 degrees and I got to enjoy having all the kids and my parents over for our Thanksgiving feast.  A turkey and a half was consumed, but at least there was enough for some leftovers this year (Jeff smoked two turkeys this year)!  Teen boys can really put away the food.  And then I got online in my comfy socks and stretchy pants after a post feast nap to do some online shopping.  Cuz that's how I roll!  No Black Friday shopping in person with crowds for me.  Plus I had to work Black Friday night, although I was surprised how many of my coworkers shopped anyway and then came to work all night.  So on to crafty things...

Our BBTB2 challenge this week starts us moving into the Christmas season with a Christmas ornament challenge.  I made a layout to hold six pics, as I take many many pictures at Christmas, between school events and all our extended family gatherings.  This Christmas ornament, tree, and title are from the Family Album cartridge.  You have two weeks to link up a project for this challenge and you can see all the wonderful design team projects over at BBTB2.

Cricut:
Family Album-all cuts
Paper-DCWV Holiday Collection stack prints, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink for edging
square punch for photo corners

Pizza Night layout

Happy Monday!  It's been a beautiful fall weekend in KC and I have been busy watching my all my boys perform at fall festivals, football games, and band marching competitions!  Needless to say, I took lots of pictures!  All those fall layouts are going to be filled up with photos for sure.

This week's BBTB2 challenge is Beer and Pizza.  We are a family who appreciates their pizza, so I had the perfect photos to scrap from a vacation trip to Chicago where we sampled Chicago style deep dish pizza.  Very different from pizza here in KC, but soooooo delicious!  I found a great set of cricut cuts for pizza on the Family Album cartridge for my layout and this checked paper from Doodlebug reminded me of a tablecloth.  You can see yummy design team projects over at BBTB2 and link up a project this week there.

Cricut:
Family Album-all cuts
Paper-Doodlebug prints, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Banner and Sign projects

Happy Monday!  I am hosting the BBTB2 challenge this week.  Our challenge theme is to use a sign or banner on a project.  There are so many amazing banner shapes on the Flower Market cartridge that it got me inspired!  However, you can select any of the many signs or banners on any cartridge, because there a lot to choose from!  I have several projects below to share and there are more from the rest of the design team over at BBTB2!

St. Patrick's Cathedral layout
This is one of my favorite of the banners on Flower Market-perfect for the titles.

Cricut:
Flower Market-banner
Family Album-decorative shape
Paper-CTMH solids

Ellis Island layout
The Destinations cartridge has some great signs like the one below for travel projects.

Cricut:

Destinations-Ellis Island sign

Paper-CTMH solids, Carta Bella map paper

Sunshine layout

The sunshine banner is from the Artbooking cartridge and was ideal for some summer vacation pics from Estes Park, CO.

Cricut:

Artbooking-sun and sunshine banner

Paper-CTMH solids

washi tape-Doodlebug

Stamps-CTMH

Ink-CTMH pigment inks

Let's Get Lost layout
This sign is from the Camping Critters, just the thing for some hiking pictures.

Cricut:

Camping Critters-sign, moose

Paper-unknown

Concertmaster layout

And sometimes, you just have to make your own banner....like below.

Cricut:

Quarter Note-font, clef

handcut banner

Paper-CTMH solids, print CTMH

Ice Skate thank you card

Happy Monday!  It's been a busy weekend of work and I am so ready to have today off.   Our BBTB2 challenge this week is to use ice skates on a project.  It so happens that the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships were in Kansas City last week and I have watched quite a bit of skating on TV.   Makes me wish I knew how to ice skate!  For my project, I made a thank you card, using the skates from the Family Album cartridge.  You can see the other skating projects over at BBTB2 and enter the drawing at the end of the month for some cricut supplies.

Cricut:
Family Album-ice skates
Paper-Bo Bunny , CTMH solids
Ink-Stampin Up Early Espresso, Versamark Jumbo Java chalk ink for edging
Stamp-

Movie night layout

Happy Monday!  Fall is here with falling leaves and crisp, cool evenings.  What is more fun than having a movie night at home with some popcorn and apple cider?  Our BBTB2 challenge this week is movie night (or a movie themed project).  We do movie night fairly regularly around my house, bringing out the popcorn and root beer floats, so I made a layout for some movie night pics of the fam.  There's nothing better than being snuggled up on the couch in front of a roaring fire with my favorite peeps to watch something blow up (not a lot of chick flicks allowed with all my fellas around)!  I used a whole bunch of cartridges, but I love how it turned out!  I even hand-made my movie reel using circles from Plaintain Schoolbook!  Go see the projects from the design team and link up a movie project over at BBTB2 this week.

Cricut:
Family Album-row of stars
Artiste-Movie Night title
Locker Talk-ticket and clapper
County Fair-popcorn and soda
Artistry-filmstrip
Plaintain Schoolbook-film reel hand made using different size circles

Back to School layout

Happy Monday!  I am hosting the BBTB2 challenge this week and I selected a back to school theme.  Because if you took pictures from the first day, you need to get them scrapped, right?  Or here is your opportunity to make some cute little lunchbox cards for kids or grandkids.  Or something for a teacher-lots of possibilities here!  It's the "last first day" for all 3 of my boys together, as my oldest is a senior in high school this year.  I have taken a picture of them on the first day of school every single year along the way-hard to believe he is a senior.

My layout uses the Family Album cartridge for all the cricut cuts.  The spiral notebook paper shape is with the back to school title in the handbook.  The journal box shape and the 3 photo holder are on the Bug Safari page, in case you try to find them.  I added some school themed stickers from the Echo Park paper pack for some extra pizazz.  Go and check out the design team projects over at BBTB2 and link up a project this week!

Cricut:
Family Album-back to school title, background for 3 pics, journal block shape, notebook paper
Paper-Echo Park prints/stickers, CTMH solids
brown chalk ink

Sea Animals layout

Happy Monday!  I have spent the weekend in the very picturesque Eureka Springs, Arkansas sightseeing and listening to lots of great music for the finale concerts at strings camp (two of my boys are violinists and have had a week full of classical music).  So I'm a little wiped out today, after driving them the many hours back to KC!  Diet Coke to the rescue!!!!  Our BBTB2 challenge this week is to use a sea animal on a project.  I was scrapping some pics from swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman last summer and included several sea critters from the Family Album cartridge.  They (along with the anchor) come from the aquarium layout and the fishing layout designs in the handbook.  I was so happy to have a cartridge with a stingray!!!!!  In case you are wondering, the rays at Stingray City were very friendly, swimming all around us and eating food out of our hands!  It was my boys' favorite thing we did on our cruise.  The designers at BBTB2 have some super cute sea animals to share, so be sure to check them out and link up a project this week!

Cricut:
Family Album-fish, stingray, anchor, turtle
Paper-bg paper/stickers is Carta Bella, CTMH solids
square punch for photo corners

Disney layout day!

Happy Monday!   Our BBTB2 challenge today is to use an imaginary character-well, I think ANY Disney character would qualify, right?  This makes it a Disney layout day for me, so if you love the Mouse and have a million pictures to scrap, hopefully you will find something fun to scrap lift.  And since I had several Disney projects to share, you are getting all three, although only two have imaginary characters.  These were so much fun to make, although I will admit to a bit of swearing while putting Buzz Lightyear together (DO NOT cut him small….unless you want to lose your mind!).  Please note:  for the BBTB2 challenge, any imaginary character will meet the challenge requirements-it does not have to be Disney related.  Go check out the design team projects over at BBTB2 and link up a project this week!

Hollywood Studios layout:

Cricut:
CM Traveler -Beach Bum font
Mickey and Friends-Disney and Mickey Mouse
Artbooking-vertical photo frames
Paper/chipboard piece/sticker-Simple Stories Say Cheese II collection prints, CTMH solids
square punch for photo corners
brown chalk ink

Epcot layout:

Cricut:
CM This and That-globe
Mickey Font-font
Paper/Chipboard-Simple Stories Say Cheese II collection
brown chalk ink

Buzz Lightyear layout:

Cricut:
Plaintain Schoolbook-stars
Toy Story:  Buzz Lightyear and title
Paper-CTMH solids

Dance your face off layout (for BBTB2)

Happy Memorial Day!  While I have to work a shift tonight at the hospital, I hope most are getting to relax and enjoy a 3 day weekend!  The BBTB2 challenge theme this week is "dance".  The only dancing around here is at school dances, so I made a layout for the pics of the 8th grade end of year school dance with Son#2 and his friends.  I used the Family Album cartridge for the "Dance your face off" title and all the other cuts.  I love the journaling cut-I will definitely be using that again!  I stuck with neutral colors, since the girl's dresses have a lot of color.  It looks kind of plain without the pics, so I included a shot it with the pics as well.

the layout:

with the pics added (I'll add the journaling):

Cricut:
Family Album-title cut at 2 1/2 inches, record and music notes cut at 1 inch, journal box cut at 6 inches
Paper-Simple Stories Story of Us collection background paper, CTMH solids

Lucky card (for BBTB2)

Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!  Our BBTB2 challenge this week is to use a shamrock.  I used the card feature on the A Child's Year cartridge, cutting the first piece (the print paper) which has the cool scalloped edges and shamrock cutouts at 5 1/2 inches and then used the shift key to cut the solid green undercard.  I added a little shamrock (one of the icon cuts) to the inside.  The sentiment Lucky comes from the Family Album cartridge, cut at 3 inches.  I hope you all have a fabulous week with some spring sunshine and fun!  My boys are on spring break from school this week, so I am really looking forward to hanging out at home with them.  :)

Cricut:
A Child's Year-card with both inner and outer pieces cut at 5 1/2 inches,  shamrock cut at 1 inch
Family Album-sentiment cut at 3 inches
Stamp-Hero Arts
Paper-DCWV All Seasons stack print, CTMH solid
Versamagic Jumbo Java chalk ink for edging

Hitting the Slopes layout (for BBTB2)

Hi everyone!  I am hosting the BBTB2 challenge this week and I selected snowflakes for the challenge theme, since it has been ridiculously cold and snowy here.  You can link up any new project with a cricut snowflake over at BBTB2 this week for a chance to get picked as the project of the week.  There are a ton of cricut snowflakes to choose from for your project.  The design team at BBTB2 has some beautiful snowflake projects for some inspiration!

My project is a layout for snow skiing pictures.  It was inspired by this fantastic paper from the Carta Bella Warm and Cozy collection.  I was going for kind of a mountain lodge feeling-like when you are stepping into the ski lodge for some hot chocolate after getting off the lift at the top of the mountain and peeling down to just your sweater.  My snowflake is from the Family Album cartridge, which I just got for Christmas so of course I HAD to try it out!  The fun quirky font is from the CM Stork's Delivery cartridge.   The skis are from Winter Woodlands.

Cricut:
Winter Woodlands-skis
CM Stork's Delivery-Frogs and Snails Font
Family Album-snowflake

Be sure to share your winter snowflake project with us at BBTB2!