Fun stuff!....Creating a Card with My New Cricut Maker.

I can't believe how many weeks have passed since my last blog post.
It's been a very long time since I've sat down in my studio 

to enjoy some card making time.

When the Cricut Maker came out a few months ago...
I ordered one.
and finally... this weekend...I had some time to sit down

and enjoy giving it a test drive!
And...guess what?
I LOVE IT!

Perfect timing...because...
A friend asked if I could create a card for him 

to send to a a friends teen age daughter..who just passed her road test

and got her driver's license.
He asked if the card cold have the image of a car....and maybe a palm tree
being that the new driver lives in Florida.

Generally, I'd have stamped the card....

and colored or painted it...
But...

with my new found love of The Cricut Maker..

I thought that I'd create a die cut card, for a change.

I browsed through Cricut Design Space to find elements 

that I thought would be ideal for this card.
I designed/sized and cut all of the image pieces...
the car...sun...and palm tree
I inked and shaded them.
After they were inked...

I put them together...and set them aside.

Next...I cut the card..and matting layers..
I used Ken Oliver Stencil Brushes ...a light blue ink pad...
and the Heidi Pettie Cloud Stencil from Blue Knight Rubber Stamps

to create the cloudy sky.
I free-hand cut the two landscape (hill) pieces

and inked them a bit to add dimension.
I put the card together...sent a photo to my friend via a text message...
and this is the response that I got...

After I completed this card...I thought...

It was fun to create...

and...

I like the finished cards...

so....

"Why didn't I make more than one?"

Isn't the car great?
I love the flourish-y overlay!
I also liked the sunglasses on the sun...so cute!
I offset the palm leaves over the first cut layer (tree trunk and top of the tree)

to create a shadow.
The palm leaves were inked..and then topped with Clear Wink of Stella
I created 2 simple little landscape pieces..(cut freehand)
and layered them for added dimension.
The  car was positioned with foam dimensionals.

The Heidi Pettie Cloud Stencil is one of my favorite things!

I always had a difficult time creating cloudy skies...

I tried store bought stencils...

I crated some of my own...

I've tried using the negative space after cutting out a cloud die...

I've tried it all.

But never liked the finished result.

BUT...

Now..with this stencil...

perfect cloudy skies area a cinch...every time!

I'm thinking that I'll create a few more of this card sometime soon...

It was fun to create...got me using my new Cricut Create...

and...

it made my friend very happy!

Thanks for visiting today, my crafty and creative friends!
Have a wonderful Monday!
Michelle.