Happy Birthday, Jen! Cooking with Cricut Blog Hop

Welcome to the CookingWithCricut.com and PaperCraftingWorld.com Designers June Blog Hop.Today is day two of great projects with each day showcasing different designers and projects. If you have come from Melin at Cooking with Cricut then you are moving along. If you would like to start from the beginning, please head over to CookingWithCricut.com.

This month our hop theme is all about Birthdays and one special one in mind. Our wonderful DT Coordinator Jen Hudson’s birthday just happened to fall on Saturday so we decided to make birthday inspired projects with a “Jen” theme in mind. Our go to gal is a die-hard Florida Gator Fan. So we decided to use elements on our projects that reflected Our GATOR FOR LIFE Gal’s FANCY;  Florida, The Florida Gators and anything that would make you think of the Sunshine State. Jen is the last on our blog line up so be sure to hop through and leave her some extra special love at the end!

Happy Birthday to Jen! She puts in so much "behind the scenes" work for Cooking With Cricut, and she has been dealing with a lot personally so I really hope seeing all of these projects inspired by the things she loves to be uplifting. First of all, how can I say no to a blog hop that is centered around alligators?? Jen and I like alligators for two very different reasons. She is a Florida Gators fan while I actually just like alligators.

When I was about 10 years old my family went to Disney. As I remember my grandfather gave me $10 to spend. We were at Sea World, which was like Heaven on Earth to me. We stopped at the gift shop and the only stuffed animal I could afford was an alligator with a Hawaiian shirt on. He's lost his Hawaiian shirt since then, but I still have him - he sits on top of my dresser.

My grandfather passed away about 2 1/2 years ago, so this little guy hold an extra special place in my heart now. My grandfather always bought me alligator stuff: cups, paper, toys, games. You name it, I got it. Once when I was pregnant with my daughter we had a scare where I hadn't felt her move in a while so we had to go the hospital to check on her. They saw a heart beat but weren't detecting any movement. He called me and told me to turn on the news: some alligator had gotten into a commercial parking lot in Florida and they were trying to catch it. He told me to watch it and to relax and that the baby would move. So I did, and she did move. He was right. He had a way of giving me the straight forward, no-nonsense advice I always needed to hear.


But anyway...I digress!


Here is the birthday card I came up with using the alligator, birthday, blue and orange inspiration!

The alligator is from Create a Critter ( as is the circle shape).

the card is another great fold I found on Split Coast Stamper. You can find the direct link to the "Joy Fold Card" here.

Thanks for stopping by to see my project. And again, the very happiest of birthdays to Jen!

 Be sure to head over to Cooking with Cricut and leave a comment for a chance to win some great blog candy! Now on to your next stop: xochitl at Cricut Critter Scrapping Heaven.