Joans Craft World » cricut expression

It’s Time For Our 2011 Handmade Christmas Cards using Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge

joanscraftworld — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:39:20 +0000

Time has been flying since we moved. Getting adjusted to the new town and even the new time zone for us has been exciting. But with all of the great distractions, it is time to get started and make time for getting creative and to make our handmade Christmas Cards.

This year I need to incorporate our new address along with a Christmas theme. So I decided to make a Christmas ornament using the Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge, and a We’ve Moved rubber stamp from PSX. (I just wish this stamp had two cats in the window to represent my two boys).

Now deciding what color to make the ornament and back panel. I choose………. Christmas green and red (how appropriate – LOL)

I used the Cricut Expression Machine to cut the ornaments. Then I used a Cutter Bee paper trimmer to cut the red back panel.

Some other supplies that I will use is Copic Sketch markers, Elmer’s permanent dot runner, pop dots, natural polished hemp rope, Memento tuxedo black dye ink, and some sea shells from our beach (if you don’t have a beach near by, then you can always purchase shell online or in a craft store).

I printed our address on blue cardstock and used an oval paper punch from punch bunch to cut them out. The reason why I had to do that was the space that the stamp provided was way to small for our address and if I did write that tiny, no one would have been able to read it. So when I stamped the image on white cardstock I just masked that part of the image so it wouldn’t stamp. Then to add some dimension I used a pop dot to raise the address from the card. The finishing touch was attaching the sea shell with the hemp rope along with our inside message.

Wishing All Of Your Dreams Come True This Holiday Season

Merry Christmas Everyone

My Favorite 2010 Cricut Cartridges

joanscraftworld — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 02:07:49 +0000

I can’t believe that it is New Years Eve and this will be my last post for 2010. Yesterday I made a post of my favorite Cricut Card Ideas for 2010, which made me think of all of the cartridges that I have and if I had to pick just one, which one would that be.

So after looking though my library of Cricut cartridges, I Love them all, but picking just one favorite would have to be… 3 Birds on Parade. I purchased this cartridge when it was an exclusive on HSN, but now you can buy this cartridge everywhere cricut cartridges are sold.

This Cricut Cartridge has a bird for every occasion, really fun phrases, accessories for each bird. Look how cute they are ~ I love the football one ~ Are you ready for some football?

Then there is another cartridge that I received with my Gypsy update, and it has got to be my next favorite. It is the Smiley Card Gypsy download cartridge. This cartridge is not available as a cartridge it was only available as a download as a promotion. I do hope that if you didn’t get this download because you don’t have a Gypsy or the you missed the deadline to get this cute download, that one day real soon, Provo Craft will make this a cartridge that everyone can have. The images on this cartridge can really make you smile that is how cute they are.

This past year has been a little crazy, with my health being not so good and just normal life situations that we encountered. So, I can’t wait for the New Year. 2011 is going to be the best year yet. I plan on making more cards using my Cricut Expression Machine,also my Cricut Gypsy and Cuttlebug and then sharing all of my Cricut Card Ideas with all of you. I am looking forward to a fun, happy, healthy and creative year.

Wishing You and Your Family A Happy New Year ~ 2011

Make if a Great Year and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!

My Favorite Cricut Card Ideas from 2010

joanscraftworld — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:12:02 +0000

I have had so much fun this year making and sharing the cards that I have made with my Cricut Expression Machine with all of you. I can’t believe all the Cricut Card Ideas that you can have with just one cartridge, then when you have alot of cricut cartridges the possibilities are endless.

But looking though all of the posts that I have made, I think that my favorite Cricut Card is….drum roll

This was the card that I made for Mother’s Day. I used the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge for this and some flowers from Walk in my Garden cartridge. Our Mom’s loved it I think because they were able to see our faces on a card.

My second place favorite Cricut Card is….

I made this birthday card for my brother-in-law after he ran the New York City marathon. I used the Paisley Cricut cartridge for the sneaker and for the background was a city border from Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I put his running number on the back along with the same medallion that he received on the side of the sneaker. It looked like a subway token.

I have always said that making handmade greeting cards is like you are giving a present too!

Make it a Great Day and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!

Merry Christmas Everyone

joanscraftworld — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:20:21 +0000

12 Days of Christmas with Joans Craft World

On the twelfth day of Christmas…

Twas the Night before Christmas and all though the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care….

I hope that Santa brings you everything that is on your list. Maybe a Cricut Expression machine, or a Cuttlebug. How about a Cricut Imagine or Gypsy, a camera so that you can take alot of pictures and then scrapbook all of those memories. Or how about a stocking filled with glue dots, tape runner adhesives, copic markers, rubber stamps, and some ink pads.

It doesn’t matter what the weather is like where you live, Santa will find his way through a blizzard or the clearest of skies. Just last week I thought that I was going to have a white Christmas, but the New Mexico sun came out and melted it all away. If I really want snow, all I have to do is drive 30 minutes to the east and I can see all the snow that I want on the Sandia Mountains.

Everyone celebrates Christmas differently. There are so many old traditions that are being followed down through generation and there are also new traditions being made. Today I have been listening to Polish Christmas Carols and singing around my house as I get ready for some friends to come over. My husband is not Polish he is Swiss/Italian, but after being with me and my family for 30 years he even knows some of the words.

My family in New Jersey are going to the Christmas mass at 4 o’clock to worship and listen to my niece sing in the choir and my nephew/Godson is going to be an alter server at the same mass. Then my husbands family is going to mass together to worship and Celebrate Jesus birth. I wish we were there to celebrate, but we are so there in spirit. No amount of miles will keep us apart, we are always in each others heart and even more during the holidays. Paul and I will be watching midnight mass of television tonight from the Vatican in Italy. Since I just had my last chemo treatment in the beginning of the month, I still cant be around alot of people so we will be celebrating Christmas mass at home.

After church my family will go back to my sister house for dinner and then opening of presents. Paul’s family is going to his sisters, to eat lots of Italian appetizers (fresh mozzarella cheese with soprasata) my mouth is watering just thinking of that platter. Oh can’t forget the black olives. These are the traditions that memories are made from.

However you choose to enjoy this holiday season, just be kind to your fellow man. Just a simple smile can really make someones day.

Wishing You and Your Family a Very Merry Christmas!

Wrapping Presents Can Definately Get You In The Christmas Spirit!

joanscraftworld — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:14:55 +0000

12 Days of Christmas with Joans Craft World

On the tenth day of Christmas…

I hope that you all are having a great day. Today I have to stop crafting with my Cricut Expression and my Rubber Stamps and start a different kind of Christmas Craft. The craft of wrapping Christmas presents. That’s right, I haven’t started wrapping presents and that means that I haven’t shipped our gifts to our family in New Jersey yet either. Doing this at the last minute makes it more fun. HoHoHo!

I have the ABC Family channel on watching “A Dennis the Menace Christmas” while I am surrounded by Christmas wrapping paper and presents. I thought Christmas tree paper would look really cute with the gift tags that I made the other day with the Christmas Cheer Cricut Cartridge and my Cricut Expression machine of different colored Christmas lights.

The small gifts are all wrapped, now it’s time for the “real” presents to be wrapped. Sorry can’t show you what’s inside just in case my family is reading this. As soon as I am done wrapping, we will be off to the Post Office to use Priority Mail shipping and hoping that they get to our family in time for Christmas Day.

Make it a Great Day and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!

Cricut Christmas Crafts ~ Making A Family Snowflake Wreath

joanscraftworld — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:25:42 +0000

12 Days of Christmas with Joans Craft World

On the eight day of Christmas…

We are at the final stretch until Christmas and today I am making a Family Snowflake Wreath. I will be using two Cricut cartridges and my Cricut Expression machine.

For the base of the wreath, garland and bows I used the Christmas Noel Cricut solutions cartridge . I cut the wreath at 6″ using the shadow function key. Then for the garland and bows I cut them out at 2 1/4″.

I then decorated the wreath with Snowflakes. I used the Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge. There are a few snowflakes on this cartridge but I really liked the one that is called Snowflk4. I used the layers function key and cut this snowflake at 2 1/2″ on white cardstock. I also cut some out at 1″ to fill in the blank spaces on the wreath.

Now for the really fun part. I want this snowflake wreath to be my family wreath, so I wrote the names of each family member on a snowflake. Then on the garland I decided to write Our Family ~ A Bunch of Flakes. I wrote this with a Zig 05 Millennium black marker.

I glued each flake onto the wreath with a Zig 2 way glue and finished it all off with some Stickles at the end of each Snowflake for that special shimmer.

I Love the way this Christmas Snowflake Wreath turned out, and I don’t mind being a flake as long as my family is with me.

Make it a Great Day and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!

Quickutz Nativity 2×2 Dies vs Cricut Cutting Machine

joanscraftworld — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:56:44 +0000

12 Days of Christmas with Joans Craft World

On the fifth day of Christmas…

Many years ago, before I got my first original Cricut machine, I had (and still do have) a Quickutz Squeeze. I started with the original blue one then of course upgraded to the pink (easier to use) one. Anyway, I was going through all of the 2×2 metal dies that I have and came across the set of the Nativity.

So I decided for this Christmas craft that I would put this Nativity scene together.

I need to tell you all something I LOVE MY CRICUT EXPRESSION MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cut each image out by using the pink squeeze and my hand hurts already. I know that I could use the Cuttlebug with the A, B and C plates to cut with these dies, but I want to make the entire Quickutz project with the Quickutz. I have these small pieces of paper that fit perfectly over the metal dies so I’ going to use them and save paper.

The cutting part worked out OK, but holy cow, it’s really hard putting this all together since it is sooo small, and you have to figure out what piece to use over and over again for different parts of the scene. If I didn’t save the piece of cardboard with the picture on it of what each image is suppose to look like, I would never have been able to put this together. Well I gave up and only made Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. I don’t even think that I put them together correctly.

That is why I love the Cricut Expression machine because you can make the shapes any size that you want. Also the images are so much easier to put together. Cricut takes the guess work out of how to put images together.

I’m not saying that the 2×2 Quickutz shapes are bad, I’m just saying the the Cricut cartridges are the best!

Make it a Great Day and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!