The Altered Alice Week 4, Chapter 17: Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue

The White Queen gave a deep sigh, and laid her head on Alice's shoulder. `I am so sleepy?' she moaned.
`She's tired, poor thing!' said the Red Queen. `Smooth her hair -- lend her your nightcap -- and sing her a soothing lullaby.'
`I haven't got a nightcap with me,' said Alice, as she tried to obey the first direction: `and I don't know any soothing lullabies."
`I must do it myself, then,' said the Red Queen, and she began:

Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap!

Till the feast's ready, we've time for a nap:

When the feast's over, we'll go to the ball --

Red Queen, and White Queen, and Alice, and all!

-- Chapter 9, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

In the United States, we celebrated our Independence Day this month, so we have a patriotic Red, White & Blue color challenge for you at The Altered Alice! Of course here in Wonderland we know those colors are for the White Queen, the Red Queen, and Alice's blue dress! Enter your red, white & blue project by July 27 for a chance to win a prize from our sponsor. All entries are welcome, but those that feature Wonderland will have two chances to win instead of one.


Simon Says Stamp is offering a $20 gift certificate to one randomly drawn winner! Simon Says Stamp has over 100,000 items in stock. They have all of the latest releases from Magnolia, Whiff of Joy, Tim Holtz, Spellbinders, Copic and so much more! With great deals on shipping, it’s a great time to shop with Simon Says Stamp.



My project this month is a patriotic Hatter's hat cut with my Cricut using the Cricut Craftroom Exclusive Independence Day 3D Projects digital cartridge (thanks Paula Bee for drawing it to my attention with your fab project).  I used the small version of the hat and cut it at 5".  At this size was able to lay the entire thing out on a 12X24" mat and cut it in white cardstock.  I colored the pieces with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in in Faded Jeans, Festive Berries (from the Winter Seasonal Distress 3 pack) and Frayed Burlap.

All stamps for the project come from the Stampendous Wonderland set of Clear Stamps.  The main images were stamped with Memento Ink in Rich Cocoa, and colored with Copics, the rest with Distress Festive Berries.  The rosettes were cut with the Tim Holtz Sizzix Paper Rosette Flower Strip Die and again, colored with Distress Inks. The tiny red clothespin is from Canvas Corp.  The flag Alice is holding is a cupcake decoration.

Tucked in the hatband is the patriotic version of the Hatter's price tag (cut with Nesties Labels Seventeen) with the 4th of July date instead of the 10/6.  Many use those numbers to celebrate the Mad Hatter's tea party (October 6th in the US, June 10th in the UK) so I thought it would be fitting. The numbers themselves were cut on the Cuttlebug using the Curls and Swirls Alphabet.  The White Rabbit is telling us it's time to celebrate.

The hat is finished with ribbon from my stash and the starburst center (from the Rosette Die) stamped with hearts from the Stampendous set.  Please be sure to stop by The Altered Alice to see my DT Sister's fabulous projects from the previous 3 weeks and don't forget you have until July 27th to play along.

I'm also entering this in the I Brake for the Red White and Blue Challenge, Scrappy Frogs Red, White and Blue Challenge,  and Simon Says Stamp and Show No Rules.


 

BBTB2 Patriotic Project

Happy Monday!  It's time for another challenge at BBTB2, this time chosen by my dear friend and fellow MSU Spartan, Susan and wait 'til you see the FABULOUS challenge and project she has in store for you.  Susan chose a Patriotic theme which gives everyone the opportunity to create for the Fourth a full week in advance.  WooHoo!  We're so hoping to see tons of red, white and blue from you all!  I couldn't help but go to A Child's Year for a start since the adorable silhouettes really bring sweet memories of the celebrations of my childhood.  I love a parade!  But then I saw that little guy on the rocket and just had to use him.  (I love fireworks even MORE!)

Shaped front using the shadows of the boy, fireworks from Stand and Salute, and sentiment from Celebrations.  I took my colors from the fab striped DP with a little extra pop for the fireworks with gold and silver mirror CS.  I wasn't quite sure what color to cut the boy in.  All red didn't do it for me, so I cut him again in the light blue and trimmed a bit on both cuts and embossed and popped the layers to add a bit more interest.

I really lucked out on the tiny stars.  They're glitter foam I had in my stash and they fit perfectly on the cut.  The dimensional stars in the center of the fireworks were also in my stash.  I managed quite a bit of dimension and finished off the sentiment with a bit of doodling.  My DT sisters have truly knocked this one out of the park, so be sure and visit BBTB2 and start waving your flag.  Can't wait to see what you create.

I'm also entering this in My Sheri Crafts "Oh I Love America" Challenge.

Have a Crab-u-lous Fourth! (BBTB2 Starfish Challenge)

Well, it's finally here! The Fourth of July is a big deal at our house so I took the opportunity to do one last patriotic project. When our fabulous team leader Heather chose the starfish from Life's a Beach for this week's BBTB2 challenge, all I could see was more red, white and blue. My red is the addition of the adorable crab from Create a Critter. Because all 3 starfish are one cut, I had to use alot of hiding contours in DS to get them positioned to weld, and of course they didn't include shadows on Life's a Beach (Grrrr!!!) so I did a little manipulating there as well. The starfish and crab are done with Bo Bunny card stock and the inside mat is a really old DCWV Summer stack.

Yes, it's a shaped front card and I couldn't resist adding a little toothpick flag in his little claw.

I had planned to make this really simple because of all the stuff I had to get done for our party this week, but in the end it did get pretty dimensional. Woohoo! Now grab some inspiration from the rest of my DT sisters and come and play along. Remember, you have two weeks to complete the challenge and new projects only, please. and be sure to mention and link to BBTB2 so others can join in the fun. Have a Crab-u-lous 4th and stay safe! I'm also entering this in the Fantabulous Cricut Pool Time (or Water-Themed) Challenge this week.

Happy Fourth Using the New Word Collage Cart

Okay, so I said I wouldn't be crafting. And I'm really not. I'm cleaning my craft room. Normally I wouldn't bother (LOL), but the door to my craft room is right across the hall from our guest room and although I'm inclined to just close the door, don't you secretly wonder, when you visit someone, WHAT exactly they could be hiding behind closed doors? (Unless it's a teenager's bedroom, of course), but really, aren't you curious? Oh, come on, fess up. There will be no secrets here, so while I'm organizing (meaning throwing crap in any box available to be shoved in a closet until they leave), I let my Cricut do some work cutting the Fourth of July Word Collage. It's a really simple one. I didn't even bother to open DS (OMG!). It did, however, take me about 10 minutes to figure out how to change the size of the cut using just the machine. LOL Isn't that pitiful? Seriously how embarrassing!

I did find that these cuts take awhile and it's best to turn down your pressure (to 3) and do a multi-cut, but I'm fairly pleased with the way it turned out. It's a bite to get off the mat, however, and for most of the insides of the letters I just didn't bother, especially because I intended to pop it. Now what? While visiting my friend Joy's blog, I saw her sweet vintage God Bless America card and was reminded of the silhouettes from A Child's Year. I loved the cuts she used so that's what I did too.

I glued strips of blue behind some of the words and popped the mat, then popped the kids on top, doodled a teeny bit, and stuck on a star and a few gems at the bottom. DONE! I'm entering this in the Craft Us Crazy Red, White and Blue (or Summertime) Challenge. But I'm not done shoveling this mess out or about a zillion other things so...later!

BBTB2 Watermelon Challenge and Blog Hop!

WooHoo! It's the last Monday of the month and you know what that means, don't you? It's Blog Hop time at BBTB2. I'm kicking off this blog hop, but if you get lost along the way, check back at BBTB2 for the full list of participants. This week our fabulous fearless leader, Heather, as gone "old school" and chosen the watermelon from one of the "oldies but goodies" cartridges, Stretch Your Imagination. Of course, if you don't own that one, any watermelon will do but please make it a "new" creation. My first thought was to have a little kid taking a bite so I welded the shadow of the face from another oldie, Doodlecharms, to the shadow of the watermelon. I was gonna stop there, but then thought of the coming holiday and decided to go all patriotic, adding the fireworks and flag from Stand and Salute. There was method to my madness, because I really wanted to join the Whimsicle Wednesday Let's Get Patriotic Challenge and didn't think I could get to it unless I combined. (Sorry Steph, one of these days...) I glittered the fireworks and added gems and a glittered foam star (from M's) and embossed the flag and added tiny adhesive stars by Recollections. The little dude looked mighty bald so I added a curly paperclip for hair, much better!

Only the watermelon portion of this card opens because of the weird design, but it was fun to do something a bit different for a change. The bite was done with a simple hole punch. The rub-on sentiment is from Melissa Frances. There's not a ton of dimension, but I got a kick out of popping his mouth open so he looks like he's taking a giant bite. Now hop along to my sweet and beautiful DT sis Krista has in store for you. I'm sure it's just yummy! But don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a $40.00 gift certificate from Custom Crops. They have some cool new products that I have't seen elsewhere, so be sure to check it out. I'll be drawing the winner using Random Org on Friday, July 1.

Happy Fourth of July!

Well it's the big day for my party and I'm doing pretty well for a change. Still have loads to do but at least I think I may make it before the guests arrive. LOL I saved this week's Cuttlebug Spot card for today because I thought I may not have time to do much crafting this week (and I was RIGHT!) and it's an Independence Day theme. Again I apologize for not making it around to all of my fave blogs but I promise to catch up after my company leaves next week. Anyway, here's my card.

I usually try to make my Design Team cards for The Cuttlebug Spot using Cuttlebug only, not because it's a requirement, but because I think many of the followers may not have another kind of die cutting machine. That didn't exactly work out this week because when I went to make the flag just rectangular, it just plain looked BAD so I cut this pretty one with my Cricut Expression and the Stand and Salute cartridge. It's embossed with the stripes Cuttlebug folder that may be an exclusive from Oh My Crafts. (Crap, I have so many know it's hard to keep track! LOL) I used white core paper on both the flag and the stars embossed background and sanded it. After sanding I realized that white paper was just TOO WHITE against the sanded bits so I chose to do the rest in creme instead (and it then looked pretty fab with this striped paper from My Mind's Eye).

The Stars are cut with my Spellbinder's Nested Stars run through my Cuttlebug. The creme star is then embossed with the Cuttlebug Limited Edition Christmas Stars folder I got from Custom Crops (hurry, on sale NOW!). I then scored and folded the star to make it 3D. It really needed a shadow to make it stand out, so I cut another star using the same size Spellbinder's die in gold metallic which made it pop and worked because of the dimension of the top star. It was attached with rolled up glue dots at the edges underneath.

The sentiment is also cut with the Stand and Salute Cricut cartridge and embossed (carefully) with the tiny dotted butterfly folder from the Cuttlebug 3x3 duo.

The card was still a bit plain so adhesive beads to the rescue! LOL I think they REALLY jazzed up this card! Now if you haven't already, be sure to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot for more patriotic inspiration. There is a fabulous prize of a $50 gift certificate from Simon Says Stamp for one lucky participant. So for all of you celebrating, have a safe and FABULOUS 4th!

Happy 4th of July, BBTB Blog Hop Winner and Let Freedom Ring .cut file Available

Well sorry folks, I've been scurrying around trying to get ready for our annual 4TH of July party, so again I've been slow on the crafting front. There is good news, however. The winner of the BBTB Blog Hop is Piali! Congratulations and thank you for participating! Please email me and I'll be happy to send your candy right out to you.

Also, for those of you who liked my Let Freedom Ring card, the . cut file is now available HERE at Custom Crops, with more detailed instructions on how it was created. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE! Hugs! D

Let's Hear it for the Red White and Blue!

This week we're celebrating our country at The Cuttlebug Spot. I was trying to make a sort of rustic looking flag using white core paper and sanding the Distressed Stripes embossing and framing a large star (embossed by running chipboard through the Cuttlebug under a plumber's gasket ) using my Nesties. I thought the frame was a perfect place for Tilda to perch holding her toothpick flags.

This adorable Patch Tilda image is from Simon Says Stamp, a previous sponsor for The Cuttlebug Spot. They have just TONS of adorable Magnolia stamps as well as all sorts of other scrapping goodies so be sure to check them out. I really enjoy coloring these images with my Copics but of course am too new to it to remember to photograph the colors I used.

The patriotic sentiment is from the 4th of July printable stamp set 1 available at The Cutting Cafe. These downloadable stamps are easy to resize for any of your projects and until midnight PST on July 4th if you purchase either of the 4th of July stamp sets you get the coordinating background stamp ABSOLUTELY FREE! No waiting for shipping either, so there's still time to make fabulous goodies for the upcoming holiday.

The papers are from DCWV and Creative imaginations and the dimensional star embellishments from EK Success. The small stars adorning The Cutting Cafe sentiment are from Darice. and of course it wouldn't be MY card unless I used a pop dot or two for dimension. My fabulously creative Design Team sisters have outdone themselves this week so be sure to stop by The Cuttlebug Spot and see their work. And if you're feeling patriotic, please come and play along. Happy 4th!

Let Freedom Ring BBTB Challenge and Blog Hop

This week at Bitten By the Bug Regina chose the Freedom jumble from Graphically Speaking. I immediately thought of "Let Freedom Ring" and set out to find a bell. The best I could do was the double Bells on the Wedding Cartridge and lo and behold when I cut them at 9" on shadow and scored them where they met I ended up with an almost perfect shaped card. It wasn't exact so I did a little trimming but no welding or nothing. Cool! I of course wanted layers though so I did use Design Studio to position the bells so one was nearly off the mat to get a single bell and trimmed a bit again. Then I repeated that step with a smaller shadow and finally the printed regular cut.


Then I thought wouldn't it be cool if they would ring? (Not audibly of course, but move back and forth). Notice the top layer in this picture has moved.

I punched a hole in the 1st layer, popped it with dimensionals then made a penny sandwich like you do for a spinner card and attached it to the blue layer so it would swing back and forth. Then popped the printed bell on top of that. I welded "let" and "ring" to the Freedom cut and layered it several times as well. (This is a really thick card. LOL) No surprise there, eh?

Embellishments included gold adhesive beads, gingham ribbon and some cool dimensional stars by EK Success. Be sure to stop by BBTB to see what all of my amazingly talented Design Team Sisters have done with this cut and we invite you to play along. As you may know we are also doing our monthly Blog Hop and below is the candy I'm offering this time. It's a mini album complete with embellies and a set of neat epoxy stickers. Please leave a comment and I will pick a random winner on Friday July 3. Now get hopping to my dear and SUPER TALENTED friend SHELLY'S BLOG and prepare to be blown away by her fabulous style and creativity. (She's got goodies too) . Have fun and thanks for participating!

Paper Blooms Red, White and Blue Challenge

In honor of Memorial Day this week's Paper Blooms challenge is to use red, white and blue. I used a premade red 5x7 card, matted it in blue and then cut a light blue stars mat and coordinating strips from 2 different designer papers from Creative Imaginations. The flags are toothpicks, the dimensional star stickers are EK Success, the small star flower centers are raindots, and of course the gorgeous hand crocheted flowers are Paper Blooms. I love these challenges at Paper Blooms and am happy I was able to participate this week. Check out the gorgeous Design Team creations HERE, and remember you don't have to use Paper Blooms to join in but once you get some of these gorgeous flowers you'll be hooked just like I am.

Celebrate America

In this card the paper did most of the work. I used scraps from the DCWV Summer glitter stack again. The cupcake is from Doodlecharms, the frosting is white glitterstock cuttled with the divine swirls folder. I ran the bottom through my paper crimper. I stuck a flag pick on top and used real sprinkles (which I don't recommend since the colors have a tendency to run). America is cut from Beyond Birthdays and stickled. I lined the inside with patriotic note paper I had in my stash, and the happy (and th) is from Walk in my Garden and the 4 from Celebrations. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found that this card was a highlighted thread in the Cricut Chirp Newsletter. (My First!)

July 4th Reminder

We host a party on July 4th every year so I never sent out invitations but I couldn't resist sending out reminders. This was another opportunity to try a different card style, a double slider. The cute little elephant is from Zooballoo, his hat from Paper Doll Dress Up banded in ribbon. He's holding a party pic flag and his trunk is tied with a "Don't forget" bow. The paper is from the DCWV summer glitter stack.