Bitten by the Bug 2 has an Easter challenge this time.  This year Easter will certainly be different with all of the COVID 19 restrictions in place.  Last week I participated in a virtual crop since groups are not supposed to meet to help keep the virus from spreading.  It was different, but fun and I was able to get this basket done during the time I participated.

The pattern is from svgcuts.com and is called Hippity Hoppity Basket.  Mary offered this basket svg file for free a couple of weeks ago, so I grabbed it.  The patterned paper was from a DCWV pack called Just My Type.  While it isn’t a typical Spring pack, the colors in it seemed to work well.  The base was white cardstock and I chose a solid green to match the patterned paper. This stack also had a page full of “happy” words and a page of shadow letters, so I used those to decorate the band at the top of the basket. The basket itself really went together pretty quickly and I will be making a few more to send to my grown children since we will not be able to get together this year.  My husband will get the other one so that he doesn’t feel left out.  He is 69 and still expects his basket, lol.

   Here is the side view.

I hope that you all stay safe as we navigate through this pandemic.  If you have extra time while staying home join our challenge with your own Easter basket, box or bags using your Circut and post the link at Bitten by the Bug 2 – Denise

Anything but a card is the challenge starting today on Bitten by the Bug 2.

I love the projects found on svgcuts.com, but seldom do anything but cards from there.  Last month they came out with these really cool 3D stars that light up.  I loved the look and thought they could be a great decorative element for my daughter’s upcoming engagement party. Below is the star in a dark room when it is lit up.

This star is large (about 21 inches across) and really makes a statement.  The pattern calls for 16 sheets of 12 x 12 paper.  I didn’t have that many white sheets in a heavier cardstock, so I downsized the pattern to so that each piece could be cut on an 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock.  There wasn’t that much difference from the original. I have 110# Georgia Pacific Card paper that I purchased in a ream from Walmart awhile ago and still had several sheets left.  Even though it says it is 110#, it feels more like an 80# cardstock and not as thick as my other 100# cardstock.  One of my pet peeves is that it is sometimes hard to tell exactly how thick a cardstock will be as there doesn’t seem to be a consistent scale across different brands.  That is one reason I like to actually feel cardstock.  Since we have to depend more on online shops, I am trying to come up with a couple of basic cardstocks that I can order with confidence.

I ended up going over the score lines manually after my Cricut scored them because it wasn’t folding as easily as I wished it would.  I will have to say that it was a real job to get everything glued together and keep things in line and neat.  In fact the center point had a gap in the middle, so I ended up cutting a small circle and used a zot to attach it to the center to cover the gap.  Mary always has wonderful videos on assembly of her svg files which is a must with this star.  She also had recommendations on the lights for in the star, but I am pretty cheap, so I found a different kind of LED light that runs on batteries from Amazon called lantern lights by Yunlights.  They seem to work well so far and I used two of them inside this star.  Below is the star in the light.

You can find this star with two others on svgcuts.com here.  It is also available separately.

I did enjoy this project even though it isn’t perfect and will probably do a couple more in the other patterns before the party in April.

Go see the other projects by our designers and link up your own project at Bitten by the Bug 2.