What are you working on?

I get asked all the time what projects I am working on and though I would love to answer with the latest layout I can show off, I am a mom to start with and am usually working on something a little less luxurious then fun layouts but rather homeschool papers and tests.  However, last week I was given the opportunity work on something fun - the invitation for my daughter's birthday party.  She loves to cook so we decided on a Cupcake Wars themed party. No, not a war where you throw cupcakes at one another (which my youngest son with earnestly hoping for :)) but a bake off to see which team could create the tastiest and best looking cupcakes.

So anyway, here are the invitations...

Aren't they cute!?!  I love how they turned out!  I used Close to My Heart's Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut out the cards and pieces and fancied them up with  lots of  Gems, Sparkles, a little rick rack, and my favorite but retired - Liquid Applique.  This stuff is awesome. You squeeze it out and it looks like paint but when you heat it up it puffs up.  It gave it a great icing feel.

Once I got those invitations knocked out, I was off to work on my son's high school tutorial's formal invitation.  I had this great idea and in my head it would be so easy.... in my head.  Let's just say these were not the easiest invitations to make but they didn't look that difficult in the end either - trust me - it was all in the process!

The theme this year was Once Upon a Time as many of the seniors love and visit Disney as often as they can.  It's hard to tell it in the picture but the wording was done in silver foil and the castle was heat set in blue foil.  It's this new technique I learned about where the Deco Foil will adhere to anything printed in toner once put it through a laminator.  Though this is technically the truth, it helps if your font is larger then what mine was. After having the invitations specially printed and then foiling at home, the foil didn't adhere perfectly each time so I had to redo these a few times (ok a lot).  Once I finally got the foil to stick, I stamped the fireworks using the retired stamp set "It's a Party"  and heat embossed them in silver embossing powder.    I love that I can use my older stamps and supplies any time.  

What have you been working on?  Anything fun?  I'd love to see!  Anything with our amazing Cricut cartridges?  Don't have the one you want yet - just wait there is a great deal coming in April that might just help you get one.  Keep posted....