Use It or ...

This is my first post in 2011 here at the Midnight Rooster blog, so I want to wish everyone a very happy new year! 

Now I'm not much of a new year resolutions type of person, but since it's my week to put up a challenge, I will share one that I threw down at myself a couple of months ago: use my Cricut!

I bought my Cricut Expression two years ago around Thanksgiving.  I went to Walmart and stood there waiting like a complete fool for an hour for the salesperson to check the back for more Black Friday deals. Never mind that, apparently shopping at Walmart at 6 a.m. on Black Friday is just too late for the really good deals!  lol.

In the last year, the cartridges that appeal to me are coming in great abundance! I have added to my collection considerably.  So I challenged myself to incorporate Cricut cuts into my projects more.  And I did just that with two layouts using the just released January kit, Farmer's Daughter.  

Here I have a 2-pager about strawberry picking, a frequently scrapped subject in my books :)  I used the Country Life cartridge (bought it at $20, what a deal!) to cut the bucket load of strawberries you see in the close-up.

The strawberry image on the Country Life cartridge is a single berry.  I just cut six and clustered them together to evoke the look of the bucket filling up.  While we are here looking at the close-up, please notice the gorgeous hand-made flower that come JUST LIKE that in the kit!  Gosh, it looks good! You need it! Get it here -> click here -> click it -> just click, click, click, you know you want to click...

All right, next up is a layout about my DD and her love for puzzles a couple of years ago.  I used the My Community cartridge to cut the puzzle pieces.  This cartridge I got for free with my purchase of Cricut and I really haven't used anything from it at all, until now...

So yes, I am using my Cricut more and more, in fact, I think there will be at least two projects next month using my Cricut cuts again ;)   I think what held me back for so long was actually the vast library of potential cuts available to me through a single cartridge!  No more being afraid for me.  After all, didn't Confucius say, 'the journey of a thousand Cricut use begin with a single cut?"  Well, did he?   

So here's my challenge to you... Do you have a Cricut, a Big Shot, or some kind of die cut machine?  If you do, create a project using your machine, and post it to the Midnight Rooster's Facebook site.  Who knows... there might even be a prize? :)

Thanksgiving Week Sketch Challenge

We are now deep into the heart of fall, almost Thanksgiving...  How appropriate is then this particular palette and sketch from the Color Room by my uber talented friend Lydell Quin.

These colors speak of pumpkin patch to me and I decided to layer several sheets of patterned papers and follow the sketch pretty closely.  I used a sheet of core'dination cardstock and embossed it with a Tim Holtz folder that I got from Tim himself at CHA summer!  After sanding the embossed cardstock, I then layered it with a sheet of Crate Paper from its Restoration line. I thought the end result looked quite lovely. 

The "pumpkin girl" stamp from Pure Innocence stamp from MFT is new as of October.  She is so cute and will be perfect for these fall pumpkin layouts that involve my girls :)  This much is sure, none of the girls in my house can lift a pumpkin up like that, no one is that strong around here, except Daddy, lol.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. I want to wish you and yours a happy and yummy holiday!  I plan to work out at the YMCA for a couple of hours before diving into my host mother's sweet potato casserole.  There will be no room for turkey, at least, not for my stomach :)

xxoo, Jing-Jing

Do You Die Cut?

It was two years ago around Thanksgiving time that I finally decided to purchase a die-cutting machine.  I had to be honest with myself that I didn't need one, I just wanted one :)  Two years later, I am still very happy with my Cricut Expression purchase, but there is always that nagging feeling that I don't use it enough.  One thing I can tell you for certain is that the #1 thing I used my Cricut to cut is.... circle!!  LOL. 

In the last couple of months, I decided to incorporate more Cricut cuts into my projects.  It is becoming ever more evident that the cartridges are getting cuter, and I will be buying more in the future, so I might as well use them!!  So here I will share a recent layout I did for AdornIt. There are three "cuts" if you will, all of them from "Give a Hoot" cartridge. The most obvious die cut is the title of course.  The "clouds" were cut to house my journaling and the stamped images (My Favorite Things) about gardening.  Then the grass is a border cut from the cartridge. 

My challenge to you is to break out your die cutting system, whatever it may be, and use it on your next project!  And for those of you who have a Cricut machine, Scrapbook Trends will be publishing an idea book of all Cricut projects early next year!  I can't wait to get my copy and be inspired and challenged to use my machine even more!

Thank you for visiting and have a great week!

Jing-Jing

Sending out an S.O.S.

I hope that someone gets my I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Small card in the mail, yeah
Small card in the mail, yeah...

So... this is what I did with some scraps left over from the First Midnight Run kit. I admit to being an extreme hoarder. I have the biggest problem with throwing away the tiniest pieces of scraps. It is a sickness for sure. Once in a while, I do take advantage of these extremely small pieces though. I added the gorgeous trim from the kit to the card as well. It is frankly unbelievable that these hand-made items come with the kit, I mean, crocheted trims!?  Who does that?  Midnight Rooster, that's who! 

Midnight Rooster First Sketch Inspiration

Hello everyone, welcome to the grand opening of the Midnight Rooster blog!!  I am very exited to be the first DT member to post something that will hopefully inspire you to get creating. 

I am big on sketches.  One of my favorite sketch artist is Becky Fleck. Her Pagemaps are world-renowned for their total awesomeness. I used this sketch of hers to create my layout.

Of course, I used the Midnight Rooster's "First Midnight Run" kit and add-on and a few things in my stash for this layout.  I love how easy it is to get started with a project with a sketch, I just need to find the photos in this case, because the supplies are already waiting for me in a box!

This is the time and place for me to go completely gaga over the Rooster stamp.  What can I say, that rooster is beyond extremely cute. Since it is a solid silhouette, there is very little work involved, meaning, I don't have to color it. I just stamped on my layout as seen here. 

I hope you enjoyed this little post and will now be itching to get your First Midnight Run so you can start your First Midnight layout :)