LET IT SNOW!

There is a snow drift eight feet high in my back yard. My neck of the woods has been getting pounded with lots of white fluffy stuff and bitter cold winds. This should not come as a surprise, because it's winter!

The storm front will soon pass and the sun will have its chance to warm things up to a tolerable winter temperature. I think I'll take some time to build a snowman with some of the younger members of my clan. We'll be sure to take pictures of the whole process and scrap a page or two about our day in the snow. I'm sure many of you enjoy the winter weather as well.

After you've had some fun in the snow, be sure to warm up indoors with a nice cup of hot cocoa and check out the wonderful holiday deals at cricut.com. With the holidays so close, be sure to take a look at the colorful limited edition Cricut Expression bundles! You might even "Have Yourself Some Merry Little Savings" when you purchase Cricut and Gypsy together in a special offer available at our website.

This week, be sure to enjoy clever crafty tips on handling delicate cuts and check out Crafty Kimber's cartridge exploration of the Christmas Cards, Christmas Village, Mr. Frosty cartridges. As always, I wish you well in your crafting adventures.

**Header project made by Joy Madison using the Storybook and Home Accents cartridges.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEATURED PROJECTS

SPECIAL GUEST EXPLORATION

My name is Michelle Van Etten, AKA Trendyscrapper Studios on Mixology Crafts, where I am one of the blog personalities. As a Provo Craft sponsored blog, we bring you exciting unique mixed media projects with full detailed instructions. You never know what will be mixing up in our craft labs!

With the holidays upon us, I am reminded everywhere I go about how diverse cultures are and how the decorations displayed during this time reflect each person's traditions and values. I have students from all over the world in the online classes I teach and asked my students about traditions. Each place has different traditions and ways of expressing those traditions. One thing they all have in common is love for Provo Craft products, as they are so universal, meeting and exceeding the needs of all their customers.

Mixology Crafts is an infusion of our love for mixed media and working with Provo Craft's amazing products. You will discover that, as artists, we all see a blank canvas differently. It is that diversity that shapes us and our style. We have four core categories for our projects: jewelry, fashion, paper crafts, and home. Each month we seek outside our comfort zone to bring you one-of-a-kind designs.

The Mixology Crafts girls embraced the spirit of the season, developed their own tradition: each mixologist entered their lab to create a stocking that reflected their personal style using the many different Provo Craft products. From working with premade stockings to creating the templates with the Gypsy, I think you will agree that the results were nothing short of amazing!


Baby Bird Stocking by Cyndi Coon

Cyndi describes her style as "brightly colored, tween wanna-be with a touch of wonky." Cyndi, not having a stocking for her new baby girl this year, made a bird for the little one because she reminds her of a baby bird. Cyndi used the Create a Critter cartridge and cut the felt bird out, then used the Tie The Knot cartridge to cut out the felt crown. She added lots of embellishments to finish it off.


Winter Snowflake Stocking by Sarah Spencer

Sarah describes her style as "hippie chick" and loves to use multiple mediums to create layered effects. The Winter Lace seasonal cartridge was used as a template. Sarah used that template to dab white paint onto a felt piece that she cut into the shape of a boot. Then she dripped white paint onto the main parts of the snow shape and quickly sprinkled glitter. She then sewed the two sides of her boot together.


Sparkly Snowflake Stocking by Becky Teichmiller

Becky describes her style as "fun, quirky, pretty, unique and sparkly"! The snowflakes and her name were cut out using the Winter Woodland and Christmas cartridges on the Cricut. Becky also used her Gypsy to weld the letters together. She added some fun, sparkly and pretty embellishments.


Whimsical Patchwork Stocking by Kendra Wiggins

Kendra describes her style "whimsically fun and folkart-ish." Kendra, who collects sock monkeys, wanted to continue the theme throughout her Christmas decorations. She used Happy Hauntings, George and Basic Shapes and the Gypsy to create the pattern for her stocking.


Elegant Boot Stocking by Michelle Van Etten

I describe my style as shabby-chic eclectic with a modern vintage influence. I created the pattern for this stocking using my Gypsy and the Heritage cartridge. Then, I used an old leather skirt and beautiful Japanese silks to make this stocking come alive.


Each of the projects featured here will be posted on our blog including detailed PDF instructions. From all the girls at Mixology Crafts, we want to wish you Happy Holidays!

Have a Super Creative Day,
Michelle

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You can find Michelle, Cyndi, Sarah, Becky, and Kendra by following the links to their personal blogs, or you can find them all at Mixology Crafts!

MESSAGE BOARD HIGHLIGHTS

This week's highlighted threads are:

• Winter Woodland Layout
• Pooh-Themed Scrapbook
• Snowflakes are Kisses
• 2 Page Penguin Layout
• Reindeer Crossing Layout

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Enfys Cashmore
About: I am a Cricut addict! I am from the UK, but we also have a home in Florida, so we hop backwards and forwards across the Atlantic--truly the best of both worlds. I am mainly a cardmaker, but love using my Cricut for other projects. This advent calender is for my (grown-up) daughter, who has a birthday in December. I made her a matchbox advent box last year, and she loved it so much she begged for another one this year. I came up with this fun idea for her.

Enfys' Project: Christmas Shopping Advent Calendar

YOUR NOTABLE TIP

Today's tip comes from message board members gregsgirl23 and sweetpea1030!

Q. "I am fairly new to Cricut and I am finding it difficult to get the delicate cuts off the sticky mat without them ripping. I do have the tool kit with the spatulas that lift the cuts off the mat, but they are so delicate that the paper rips. Does anyone know of a way to stop this from happening?" -gregsgirl23

A. "I love the delicate, intricate cuts. They do take time, patience and, most of the time, a sample. Each time I make something, I get more of a sense of what I'm doing, which is why I do a sample. I know time is precious, so you can just cut the pieces you think will be a problem for the sample. Use scrap paper instead of your good paper. Even if it's a different weight, you will still be able to lay out the pieces in the right place, kind of like a puzzle.

Your mat may also be too sticky. Some suggest you put the palm of your hands on it and that will make it less sticky.

I have several different spatulas. Some work best with certain papers, some work best for working with small pieces. I usually keep a spare mat or a portion of the mat I'm using to keep from losing my tiny, tiny pieces.

I hope you stay with it. I find these types of cuts to be the most interesting." –ssweetpea1030

CARTRIDGE EXPLORATION

This week I was able to explore the Christmas Cards, Christmas Village, and Mr. Frosty cartridges.

Mr. Frosty is a wonderful addition to the Cricut Imagine cartridge family. This particular cartridge is full of solid colors and patterns that can be used in cards, scrapbooking, or décor projects that are centered on a Christmas or winter theme. Some examples of the patterns are: mittens and snowflakes background, snowflakes and Christmas balls on a string background, candy cane and hearts background, blue and white snowflakes design, holly leaves background, and green and white stripes. There are fourteen solid colors that complement this cartridge and they are centered around red, green, burgundy, gold, cream, blue, yellow, and pink. If you know someone who is making plans to work on any winter scrapbook pages, this is a great idea for a Christmas stocking stuffer. Craftsmore from the message board created this adorable Christmas card using Mr. Frosty for the background and Joys of the Season for the shapes (see pic or click here).

Christmas Cards is exactly what the title implies: it helps you make some quick easy cards for Christmas. This cartridge comes with 18 cards and 2 envelopes that will fit each of the card designs in this cartridge. I hate it when you finally get a special card finished, and then go to find a envelope only to find that there isn't an envelope that will fit it. This cartridge lets you make your cards and envelops all at the same time so they will fit together perfectly. I made a quick card (see pic) to show you how easy it is. This card took me only 15 minutes once I picked the design I was going to use. Some of the phrases included on this cartridge are: "Happy Holiday", "Peace", "Season's Greetings", "Merry Christmas", and "Let it Snow". A few examples of the images are: snowman, snowflakes, mistletoe, stocking, bird, tree, and a sleigh with a horse.

Christmas Village lets you cut a whole village scene in 3-D. You can also cut a reindeer, a ballerina, an ice skater, carolers, a snowman, and a Santa in 3-D. Some other examples of images that come with this cartridge are: presents, tree, wreath, stocking, candy cane, gingerbread man, and a Christmas ball. Want to have your own personal cardstock nativity set? Well, now you can. You can even cut a cow, horse, angel, camel, sheep, wiseman, Mary, baby Jesus, and Joseph. The images that come on this cartridge would be great for use on cards or scrapbook pages, too. This is such a cute cartridge! Ksderby from the messageboard used this cartridge and created this adorable cardstock village (see pic or click here).

I hope you enjoyed reading this exploration. I'll be back next week. Happy crafting and may the holiday spirit be contagious!

Crafty Kimber

WEEKLY SURVEY

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HELP FROM THE EXPERTS

Customer Service is Hopping!

We are happy to help each one of you as you call in. Please know that there are times of the day that are more busy than others. Here are some things that would help us to better help you:

- Be sure you are near your Provo Craft product that you are calling about
- Are your products registered (if that applies)?

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Need some help? Provo Craft Customer Support is here for you! Never hesitate to call in (1-888-922-4725 or 1-888-92ccircle for Circle questions); we have people ready to help you! We are currently open Monday through Friday 7am to 6pm Mountain Time. If these hours do not work with your schedule, please send an email to support@provocraft.com.


Have a great week!

From your Customer Support Sweeps:
Mark, Colby, Brittany, and Becky, "The Floor Sweeps"

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."
~ Ruth Stout