Pyramid Party Favor Boxes For Everyday Cricut

Happy Saturday everyone. As most of you know, I usually have a guest spot at Everyday Cricut on the third Saturday of the month. This month the schedule did not work out correctly so I opted for the fifth Saturday!

As you all know, half of my mind is constantly focused on weddings these days – between my friend Kathy’s son’s wedding, my friend Beth’s daughter’s wedding and of course, my older son’s wedding next year I seem to be constantly having wedding thoughts. This week’s project is favor box that would be great for a party or, yes, you guessed it – a wedding!

For all of the details on how to create these treat boxes for yourself, drop by Everyday Cricut. It is Melanie’s, Joy’s, and Everyday Cricut’s anniversary so be sure to check out the FABULOUS anniversary giveaways while you are there!!

Patriotic Flowers with Flower Shoppe

Welcome to day two of my patriotic posts.  Today I am going to share the red, white, and blue flowers I used for my July 4th centerpiece.  The flowers were crafted with Cricut's new cartridge, Flower Shoppe!  I was very excited to see this cartridge - I love the 3-D items that can be created with the Cricut, so this cartridge provided me with the possibility of a 3-D flower garden!

One of the great things about this cartridge is the booklet included with the overlay and cartridge.  The book has photos of different flowers and then presents you with the recipe to cut all of the required elements for a single flower.  Nice, huh?

I started with the large red flower above.  I cut this at four inches.  Next, I cut the second from the bottom layer, the blue print petals.  These petals must be cut individually.  Next I cut the basic daisy-ish flower twice, in two sizes and colors.  Last, I cut the red swirl center.

I used quick drying Zip glue to assemble my flowers.  The Zip Glue really does dry quickly.  I began by applying a dab of glue to tab on the red flowers and adhering the tabs.  I used clips to hold the glue until it dried.

Once the glue was dry using my fingers only, I shaped the red petals to curl outward in an apparent opening of the bloom. 

 Next the blue petals were added, followed by the white basic flower and the blue dot basic flower.  I added large heavy-duty glue dots to the middle of the layers to hold the floral wire stem in place. 

The photo below shows how easily the curling flower centers remove from the cutting mat.  Apply adhesive to the back of the swirl cut and roll from the center outward to create centers for each flower.

After attaching the centers to the flowers I added pearls and buttons to the very center of the flowers. 

I cut the flower in different prints, but using the same cut sizes to create the bouquet below.  I can't wait to create another bouquet with the great cartridge!

Patriotic Picnic with Cricut

This is day one of a three day - three part post featuring our simple July 4th.  Doug, Ian and I started the day with a Red, White and Blueberry Breakfast featuring my favorite blueberry scones. 

I have shared the blueberry scone recipe previously, but now that so many of us are blueberry picking I will add the recipe again at the end of this post.  We LOVE these scones.... Sadly they are NOT light and lean so they are a true rare treat.

I am giving you a sneak peek at the projects we will be highlighting over the next two days.  The simple flatware pockets and the floral centerpiece - all made with the Cricut!

I thought our table looked very patriotic and perfect for our July 4th cookout.  Dinner included grilled BBQ chicken, grilled corn on the cob (I LOVE grilled corn on the cob), garden salad and homemade yeast rolls!

I covered the outdoor table with a disposable blue tablecloth and an antique white table topper (oxymoron tablecloths??).  I used red metallic chargers, white English china plates, and Spode blue and white garden bread plates. 

Tomorrow I will take you step by step through creating the flowers used in the centerpiece.  I used the new Flower Shoppe cartridge and I must say I LOVE IT!

Quick picnic note - my husband came up with the clever office supplies-turned-picnic hardware binder clips on the edge of the table (see below).  The binder clips are awesome in that they hold down the tablecloths in the wind and they clip to the edge of the plantation table!!!  Bigger clips would work great on larger tables!!!! 

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
1½ cups (7½ oz.) fresh blueberries
½ cup whole milk
½ cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. (I like to use my food processor for this – fast and easy.) Place the blueberries in the freezer until needed.

Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. Lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.