Little Monsters Blog Hop

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Little Monsters Blog Hop

If you came from Jenny's blog (Crazy About Cricut) you are in the right place.

If you just came across this hop and would like to start from the beginning, please go back to Jenny's blog (Crazy About Cricut).

My project is a Reading Log Bookmark.  These would be fun for a classroom Halloween treat or a simple motivational fun for your young reader.

I created a PDF file that goes with this project. Please feel free to download the file. You are free to use it as much as you'd like for your personal projects, but it is not to be used for commercial purposes. If you'd like to post the PDF or this project on your own website or blog, please link it back to the Cards by CG blog (cardsbycg.blogspot.com).

This is a jpg of the pdf file.

I included three file share programs for you to download with. Hopefully you'll have no

problems, but please email me if you need me to attach the pdf in an email directly to you.


http://www.scribd.com/doc/35248427/Reading-Log-Bookmark-Cardsbycg
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/48837762/Reading-Log-Bookmark
http://www.4shared.com/document/1gHbShW1/Reading_Log_Bookmark_cardsbycg.html

On to the project:

Step 1: Print out the PDF onto card stock. I use white for my projects, but any color will do. You will have enough reading logs for two bookmarks each time you print the pdf file.

Step 2: Cut a book mark from card stock. The measurements are 2 1/4" x 8" - you can cut a total of four bookmarks from one sheet of standard 81/2" x 11" card stock.

Step 3: Cut out the reading logs and mount them on the colored card stock, there will be one side with a large blank spot at the top of the bookmark. This is where you or your child will add decorations (we chose to use Cricut Cuts from Mini Monsters). The second side (the long one) will be added to the back of the bookmark. - see second picture -

Step 4: My kids used the Crop-a-Dial to punch holes in the top of the bookmark to add ribbons.

Step 5: We set eyelets with the Crop-a-Dial.

Step 6: Cut ribbons to add to the top of your bookmarks, we used 8" for each bookmark.

Step 7: Cut your decorations. We used Mini Monsters and our Cricut Expression. All our cuts fit perfectly using 2 1/2" for all layers. Both my 7 and 10 year old sons love using the cricut (as you can see from the pictures)! :)

Step 8: Once everything is cut, assemble your decorations. We used a Zig two-way glue pen for the assembly of each monster cut.

Step 9: Attach the decoration to the top of the bookmark with Action Wobbles (super fun addition for small batches, you may want to use pop dots if making a lot of bookmarks).

Step 10: Have your child write his/her name on the bookmark. Here my 7 year old is using a Gelly Roll white gel pen.

Now my little monsters have their own little monsters to help them read. My 7 year old finished his bookmark and immediately went to his room to pick out a book to read.... if you ask me that is a wonderful result for this little 15 minute project!! :)

Thanks for visiting me today. 

Before you jump to the next stop, please leave a comment

(and don't forget your contact info) 

to be entered in my drawing for some blog candy...

a $20.00 gift card to either

Michael's or Joanns -- winner's choice!!!

Drawing will take place on Monday, November 5th, 2012.

FYI: I don't post winners to my blog, I email the winner(s) directly.

Your next stop in the blog hop is:

Sharon's Blog @ Simply Sweet by Sharon

Grinch Pills

My boys love our "Grinch Pills".  These could be perfect for that person on your Christmas list that just doesn't have the Holiday Spirit. They also make wonderful stocking stuffers.

I shared them last year, but really think they deserve another go... plus I had to make some more today, so they were fresh in my mind. :)

I have included jpg files for you to make your own double or single sided "Grinch Pills" and the Gypsy file for you to cut the tic tac wrapper with your Cricut. - Just follow the links (or click on the photos) to go to 4Shared to download the files.  If you have a problem, I can email them to you too.

Double sided and single sided "Grinch Pills."

Both sides of the double sided version of the project.

Here you can see how I added the ornament hanger (a length of ribbon would look lovely too).
I used the Big Pack of tic tacs for this project.

Click here to get the Gypsy Cut file for the Tic Tac Wrappers 

http://www.4shared.com/photofile/grinch_DOUBLE_SIDED_4x6.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/UlFBDM8G/Grinch_Pills_8x10.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/AByyX07f/grinch_SINGLE_SIDED_4x6.html

http://www.4shared.com/photo/r8JRQRa0/Grinch_Pills_single_sided_8x10.html

  The Gypsy files use "Just Because Cards" for the rounded rectangle and "spine" of the tic tac wrapper (but you could substitute any rounded rectangle if you need to).

Elf on the Shelf Printables

Today is another Craft Junkie Too Design Team day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being on Tracy's Design Team!! Her awesome assignments are just a small part of it.  The challenge for this week is to make a project to help kick off the holiday season.

To read the complete story of "The Elf on the Shelf" hop by the website, but the general idea is that when your "assigned" elf arrives, you must name him or her and set her on a shelf in your home. Your new elf acts like Santa's little spy, watching to see if your child/ren have been behaving and will earn Santa's gifts. Each night your Elf will return to Santa and report any naughty or nice news. Every night when the elf returns, he or she may choose a new spot to sit. You may not touch the elf after that first day, you don't want to rub off any of the Christmas Magic, do you??  But don't forget, your little elf must be under the tree or by the stockings on Christmas Eve night so s/he can hitch a ride home with Santa.

As much as I love the story of "The Elf on the Shelf" I just knew I could re-create the wonderful story at a fraction of the price. My version includes a printable letter from Santa. He tells a little about the elf, that you must name your elf etc. I've also included the elf passport, this is where you assign your elf it's name.

Here are the parts of my printable kit. For this sample, I used the 1st letter download. This letter includes margins in case you'd like to print of holiday paper you may already have in your stash.

I love that Santa "signed" the letter too! The second letter file is a full page and doesn't leave any margins. You could print it on any paper or full page patterned paper too.

Here is the elf's passport. It's complete with date of issue (please note; we put our Elf on the Shelf out December 1st), date of birth etc. The back includes all the passport stamps your Elf has collected from all over the world.

Here is the little Elf we are using this year. It's a cute little shelf sitter I picked up at a Craft Bazaar.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/Xf18fHdd/Elf_on_the_Shelf_letter_1.html

This letter is the one that has 1" margins all around.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/nbbaeu0Y/Elf_on_the_Shelf_letter_2.html

This is the letter with no margins (for use on full patterned paper or blank paper).

http://www.4shared.com/photo/FZ-txtPN/Elf_on_the_Shelf_passport_-_si.html

This is a single passport. It will print to a full size of 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", fold it in half and seal to complete your passport. I will be laminating ours to keep it from year to year.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/pbzG7zSq/Elf_on_the_Shelf_passport_-_do.html

And in case you have multiple families or grandkids etc you'd like to gift this story to, this is a double passport. It has two per page and each has a different passport number too.

That's it, please head over to Tracy's blog and see what

 her other Crafty Designers  have come up with to share today.

My wonderful fellow DT members

Indira ~ Crafty Homemade

Kadie ~ Kards by Kadie

Kristy ~ Craftin-on-my-Door

Roberta ~ TX Scrapper Mom

Shawn ~ Shawn's Fireside Crafting Room

Shelley ~ Carleys-Closet

Tanya ~ Tanya Isis Creations

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Party

As promised, here are the last few goodies that I created for Bryce's Diary of a Wimpy Kid Party. In case you don't know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a book series for kids. My son LOVES them... he'll read a whole book in a day or too (non-stop if I let him).

Here is his gift bag. I created it with the same "Greg Heffley" character cut I used for the card and the cake.

Here is the SVG file, if you'd like to have a Wimpy Kid Party, you'll NEED this file!

I bought these bags at Dollar Tree (2 for $1).  I cut a piece of notebook paper to fit (mine was about 7 3/4" x 9"). I glued the Greg cut to the notebook paper and then just attached the whole thing at a angle. I love how simple it is, yet it was PERFECT for the party!! :) 

I made two more of these.  I stuffed all the Goody Bags in them so Bryce could hand them out to all the kids after he opened his presents and said his "thank you"s.

I made these little pics to decorate the food table.  For party colors, we went with the book cover colors (red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange). I just printed these on my computer, cut them to size, added an orange mat and hot glued them to a bamboo skewer. 

Here they are nestled into the utincels and napkin baskets (these baskets and the majority of the party goods are from Dollar Tree too).

I love how is sticks up... and Bryce loved it too! He wanted to keep these after his party.

 

Here is a LARGE piece of cheese. This one is a 12" x 12" piece of Bazzill card stock. I used my Gypsy to place a variety of circles on the "cheese" and cut it out.  I then took an olive green, grass green and brown ink and smudged up the "cheese" to resemble the old molded, rotten cheese in the book (and movie). I think I did a pretty good job, but the texture in the Bazzill card stock sure made a difference tool.

I hand stamped the sentiment "Beware of the "Cheese Touch"" to the front.  I "laminated" it using clear shelf paper to protect it and placed it out on the walk to the front door.

I love making these fun window decorations!! I used black and red vinyl ($1 for a 12" x 24" sheet at Craft Warehouse). Again I used the "Greg" cut for the black layer and Robotz Cricut Cart for the text (cut a 2" and 2 1/2") in red.

I used a dry erase maker to trace a pizza tray to get the perfect arch on my window. Then, I just placed each letter by hand. I find it easiest with these fun chunky letters.

I used some more of the clear shelf paper as a transfer sheet to move this whole cut onto my window at one time. It's nearly 12" tall and would be quite hard to get it straight without the help of transer tape.

Here is the cake... we made cupcakes for all the kids (with red, blue, green, yellow or purple frosting) but I wanted a larger cake for Bryce to have his candles on, so I made a 9" round cake too. This one features one last "Greg" cut.  I simply used black cardstock and placed it onto the frosted cake. It turned out perfect!! Adding the sugar letters (Wilton Brand from Walmart - $1.15) was quick and easy too.

Bryce loved his cake and his party too! :)

I hope you liked my mini series featuring Bryce's Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  If you have any additional questions about this party, need any more files etc, feel free to let me know. :)

You can simply leave me a comment on any of these party posts or used the "contact me" tab at the top of the page.

In case you missed any projects in this series, 

feel free to scroll down or click on the title:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Goody Bags

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Cheese Touch

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Card

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The invitation

ALL OF THE PROJECTS CONTAIN FREE DOWNLOADABLE FILES!!!

 

Pencil Lunchbox Note

Today is DT day for the Thankful Thursday team over at Crazy About Cricut.  This time, Jenny is presenting a Back to School Challenge to make a lunchbox note for your kids!

 In all my time on the TTDT, I've never made a project without my kids... until now.  I really couldn't surprise them with a note if they helped me make them!!

I cut the pencil out using Locker Talk, I sized it to 6" long (it ended up about 1  1/2" tall). The card is created by welding two of the shadow layers using my Gypsy.  All the parts are cut out to match. Before I assembled the pencil, I wanted to print the sentiment onto the pencil body.

I set up the sentiment on the computer (using Photoshop) so I could print onto the yellow layer.  First I printed onto plain white 20 lb. paper, then I attached yellow layer to my paper using ATG tape.  Then I ran it back through the printer! Really, it sounds harder than it is! :)

 I added some of this red and black 1/8" ribbon from my stash. A cute little brad holds it all together.

I added a little black ink to the pencil tip so get more or a lead look. 

I made a pair of these so each of my two sons will get one.

See how cute the shaped card is... both of my boys love crafting with me, but it sure will be a nice surprise to open up their lunch to find this inside! :)

Here are some free files for you to download:

This is the JPG file, feel free to click on it to open the large version of the file.  Then you can right-click on it to save it to your computer. 

This is a PNG file (it has a transparent background).

Enjoy the free files, please jump over to Crazy About Cricut and take a look at what Jenny and the other Thankful Thursday Designers have come up with.

Challenges:

Sentimental Sundays : Shaped Card

Die Cuttin' Divas : Back to School