Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Simple Card

I have a post with this card on the Cutters Creek Design Team blog today.  Head on over and check it out for details!

Spring Flower Card

Every time I use my Make The Cut software, I get so excited about all the things I can do with it!  This time around I knew I wanted to make a floral card, but I wanted it to be something different.  This particular card is going to a school secretary who helped get everything set for our Floral Show last week.  She always goes the extra mile, so I wanted a special card for her.  Here is my finished product:

I left the flash off when I took the picture, hoping you would be able to see the bit of dimension better.  (I just adhered the center of the flowers to the base and popped the petals up some.)  Now unfortunately, I can't share the cutting file with you for this as the floral design is not mine.  But I will tell you how to make your very own!

The floral design itself is from the Lettering Delights Yours Truly collection (design #1).  And as luck would have it, Dollar Days is still going  on, so all SVG sets are only $2!  The circle is just from the basic shapes in MTC.  Now, let me tell you how I did this:
  1. First, I "dummied up" a card base, by importing a basic shape rectangle and stretching it to 6" x 12".  I placed it at 0,0 (we're not going to cut this with MTC so it's OK to be outside the cutting area).
  2. Next, I imported a basic shape circle and stretched it to 4".  I moved it to be centered between 7 and 11 horizontally, and 1 and 5 vertically.  I selected all shapes on the mat and joined them; this leaves a circle cut out of the rectangle.
  3. I imported the SVG I wanted to use in the circle, then I sized it so it would touch the edges of the circle in spots.  I moved it to the bottom of the mat and used break to separate all of the shapes.  I grabbed to bottom piece and moved it back up into the circle, making sure to touch the edges in places.
  4. Next, I selected all three pieces on the top half of the mat and welded them.  
  5. Lastly, since we don't want to cut out the entire card base, I used break again then selected the outer rectangle only and deleted it.  This left only the circle and floral design in place, so when I was ready to cut I only had to place my 6"x12" cardstock on the mat and the design was cut out in the right place.
After I had the card base prepared, then I was able to separate the flower parts and group them on the mat by my selected colors.  As always, I changed the colors on the virtual mat to make it easier on myself.  To do this, you select the items you want to be the same color, right-click, and choose Change Color/Texture > Select Color...  This really helps me keep everything straight when working with more than a few pieces, and allows me to fit everything on one mat.  It's also great that I can use up my scraps because it's so easy for me to tell exactly what size of each color to place on the mat.

Finally, let me show you a little closeup of the flowers.  I sponged all of the edges with matching stamping ink for added dimension, along with popping up some of the petals.  All of the Cardstock and matching inks are from Close To My Heart - if you're interested the colors are Gypsy, Dutch Blue, Cotton Candy, Pear, Topiary, and Hollyhock.  All except the Hollyhock are "Summer" colors.  The Pear was used to line the inside of the card - I cut 2 pieces at 5.75" square and adhered them to each inside panel.  (I considered leaving the front "open", but didn't want the writing showing through, so I changed my mind!)

For just a little bling, I added some Stickles on the accents.  I used Cotton Candy on  the heart centers.  I didn't have a good matching green for the swirls, so I chose to go with Frosted Lace.  I added a stamped Thank You with a stamp from my stash.

Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about my tutorial / walk-through.  It's easier than it seems, and it may help to try it using some shapes from Basic Shapes first if you have trouble using a more detailed design!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Winner Day!

Happy Monday all!  I have a winner to announce from last weeks card sets on the cheap post.  Thanks to random.org, my winner is #6.  Beebeebabs said...

"Love this set!!!"

on March 23, 2011 12:12 PM

Please contact me with your mailing address before March 31, 2011 or I will need to choose an alternate winner.

Thanks for playing everyone!  I hope you stop back soon.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Cutters Creek Spring Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cutters Creek Spring Blog Hop! All of our designers have created some wonderful Spring projects featuring products that you can purchase at the Cutters Creek Store! If you would like to start from the beginning head on over the the Cutters Creek Design Team Blog. Each blog along the way will have a link to the next blog in the chain. Don't forget to make sure you are following each of our personal blogs and leaving comments along the way to enter to win a box full of CHA Swag!!!!

My project features the super cute Springtime paper collection from Echo Park, along with some Fun Flock and some American Crafts brads.


What I love about the Echo park collections is that they come with everything you need for a great project - just add cardstock!  It's a little hard to read my title, but it says "what the bunny brought", using the alpha stickers that come right in the package.  These are some of the few alpha stickers I enjoy using, as they are so easy to line up without any rulers, pencil lines, or whatever.  I also used stickers from the collection to create the little scene on the right page.  Allowing the tree to go slightly off the edges of the paper and trimming makes the whole thing feel more grounded instead of just floating there.  I have plenty of room for my journaling  in the pink section on the side of the page; I haven't included it yet because I finished this layout at a crop last weekend and I have a rule about no journaling at crops.  I have found myself in the past talking a little too much (I know, me?  Really?!) and writing what I'm saying instead of what I mean to write, so now the rule.

Now, for the extra embellishments on my page.  I anchored the thin pink strips with some American Crafts pearl brads.  Then I created a little bunny and added Fun Flock for his fur.

I chose to use a die-cut bunny from my Cricut, but you can do the same technique with a stamped image, simple die-cut, or sticker.  (Sorry the picture's a little blurry, but he looks really cute in person!)  Just cover the portion of the image you want flocked with a liquid glue (I used Glossy Accents, because it was handy) then sprinkle on the flock.  I press mine into the glue to make sure it holds, then knock off the excess and return it to the jar.

Products available at Cutters Creek:
Other products used:

After you leave your comment, hop on over to Vicki's Blog and check out the great project that she has for you!

Here's the line up of blogs:

Cutters Creek Design Team Blog - http://cutterscreekdesignteam.blogspot.com/
Mandie's Blog - http://mandiesscrappin.blogspot.com/
Kim's Blog - http://kreativekim.blogspot.com/
Mindy's Blog - http://www.scrappyandpiggy.blogspot.com
Laura's Blog - http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/
Melissa's Blog - http://www.ourmadhouseof4.blogspot.com
Lori's Blog - http://savingmine.blogspot.com/
Vicki's Blog - http://scrappyleopard.blogspot.com/

Hope For Japan



OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO THE VICTIMS OF THE EARTHQUAKE AND tsunami in Japan, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help. And helping has never been easier!

Through the end of April, purchase the exclusive “Hope for Japan” A-size stamp set for the special price of only $5 (retail value $7.95) and Close To My Heart will donate 100% of the profits to the American Red Cross efforts in Japan. This beautifully designed stamp set reminds us of how our hearts are hopeful for those who are in need.

Contact me today or order from my website to get involved in this heart-worthy cause.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Card Sets On the Cheap

Just a quick post today as I am busy with last-minute details for tomorrow night's floral show.  I thought I would share my door-prize donations with you as it is a quick & easy way to make sets of note cards.  Using one of the card "workshop" patterns in the Wishes book, I made 16 cards (2 sets of 8) with only 3 sheets of paper plus card bases.  I left my cards embellishment free, since it's likely the person winning either set may not be used to mailing handmade cards with embellishments.  But even with nothing other than paper, you can still crank out some lovely cards.  Here are mine (one set anyway):


As you can see, I used two colors of cardstock.  And, yes, only one sheet of patterned paper.  All Close To My Heart paper is double sided, so I used that to my advantage and used the monochromatic side for some of the cards.  I did use some scrap cardstock for my stamped images that I cut out and popped up.  If you're not a stamper, you can do the same thing using die-cuts from scraps.  Also, whenever I use white or near white card bases and a lot of it shows, I just can't bear to leave it plain.  It always feels more finished if I do something to define the edges.  Here I chose to use a more distressed look, but sponging, or even just running the pad along the edge are other options I've used in the past.

If you're interested, my papers are from the Wings paper pack.  Some of my stamps are from January's stamp of the month set Find Your Style, so they are no longer available, but read on to win your own set!  The smaller butterflies are from a set that was exclusively given to consultants at last year's convention, but there are lots of butterfly stamps available.  My sentiments are from various stamp sets and I didn't write them down before I put them away.  If you're really interested let me know & I can try to figure it out, lol.

Now, for the giveaway!  Find Your Style is a set of 9 stamps with a retail value of $22.95.  Here's what it looks like:
In order to win, please leave a comment before Midnight central time on Saturday, March 26.  I would love if you would become a follower, but it is not required for this prize.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Fun & Games

I fell in love with the Animal Crackers line from Imaginisce the minute I saw it. We don't really "do" the circus thing, so I had to think what I would use it for in order to justify buying more than a couple of sheets of paper. Then BAM! I remembered some pictures I still hadn't scrapped from almost 6 years ago. They are from our final time attending "Play Day" with my former employer - one of my favorite perks of working there. The kids had a blast, and I'd been waiting for just the right papers to use with them.


I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation as a start to my layout, changing the title location and adding some extra pictures.  But I may not have added them in the way you think (explaining  the need for sheet protectors that caused the glare on the pictures, lol).  Here you can see my little "trick":


I used a product called Flip-Flaps from Close To My Heart, in a 4 x 6 size, to add additional pictures on top of the ones in the layout design.  Since one of the matted photos is 4 x 4, I trimmed one of the flaps down to fit.  Since it lays sideways on the page, I'm not concerned about it sliding out.

Products used:

Monday, March 21, 2011

Oh Baby!

I'm playing along this week with the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog, and this week's challenge is all about babies.  Be sure to head over & check out the rules - enter ANY of this month's challenges and you could win an awesome prize package from me or another CTMH consultant!

Here's my card for this week's challenge:

I thought I would keep it sweet & simple.  I used papers from the Miracle line, our new Kraft Color-ready Borders, the  Baby Love stamp set, and ink pads in Heavenly Blue and Crystal Blue.  My rosette was made with a 1.5" strip, scored every 1/4".  I finished off with some simple embellishments, using the lightest green from the Sparkles Blue & Green assortment (currently on backorder until 3/28).

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you find time to play along with us!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Easter Eggs and Awards

I finally managed to complete this layout I've been working on!  It will likely be the only project I share this week as I now have to get packing for an all-day crop on Saturday, which will hopefully give me plenty of ideas to share with you.

Dying Easter eggs is one of my favorite traditions, and one of my favorite "messy" activities to do with my kids.  And at least a few of us always love the devilled eggs we get to make with them later!  I always go overboard taking pictures, so I was happy to find this pattern in the Imagine sketch book.  It's designed to hold sixteen photos!  I altered the left page just slightly for a landscape oriented photo instead of portrait, but everything else I left the same.

For this layout, I wound up using all Close To My Heart products: the new Mayberry paper pack (which is turning into one of my favorites) and the March stamp of the month, Sensational Season.  With all of those photos, I couldn't use mats but they needed to be grounded somehow.  I just ran a Chocolate ink pad along all of the edges of the photos and let them dry before adhering them to the page.

 I cut my title using my Make The Cut software and some fonts installed on my computer.  I popped "dye" up using dimensional foam adhesive.


I have a couple of tips on the stamped images.  First, I stamped the bunny stamp on white and two different patterns.  The bunny was holding a present, but I thought she needed to be holding more eggs to put in the basket.  So I cut the present out of her hands on the white cardstock.  Then I cut the entire dress/apron from the green, and the apron only from the yellow and adhered them all.  I then used a pink marker to color in the trim on the apron.  I stamped three eggs and the basket stamp on white CS, colored them all in with markers, and cut them out.  I stacked the eggs in the bunny's hands and adhered them.  I adhered the stamped images to the page with the dimensional foam adhesive.

Now, on to the Award portion of our show...  My friend and co-DT member Laura has given me the Stylish Blogger Award.

Huge thanks to Laura for thinking of me!  You can find her Stylish Blog at http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/ - I hope you'll go visit her blog as well!

The guidelines for the  award include passing it on, with a few little rules:
Rule #1: I link back to the person who gave me the award (as I did above).

Rule #2: I share 7 random things about myself:
  1. I loved drama in high school, and still sometimes wonder if I could have "made it" as an actress.
  2. I hate coffee, but I can't make it through the day without my Diet Coke.
  3. I have two college degrees, Spanish (don't ask!) and Business & Information Systems, but I now work in retail.
  4. I hate mornings.
  5. My dream job would be scrapbooking all day (duh!).
  6. I love my kids, but freely admit that they drive me insane.
  7. I would rather clean all the bathrooms than wash dishes.
Rule #3: I award 7 newly discovered bloggers with this award.  I'm bending the rules a little and sending you to 7 blogs I think deserve to be seen, whether I've just discovered them or I've been following them for a long time.  So go check out.....
  1. Charity Wings - an awesome organization
  2. Christmas Cards All Year Round - a great way to get your Christmas cards done a little at a time, and maybe win a prize for participating!
  3. Epbot - because I don't care how many followers she has, a geeky girl blog always deserves more!
  4. Sketch Support - get your sketch on with a VERY talented sketch artist
  5. Stuck On U Sketches - more sketches, challenges, tutorials - a fun blog
  6. The Paper Midwife - talented, and just as random as I am!
  7. Haunted Design House - All Halloween, all the time - need I say more?
I'd love if it go give all these ladies some blogger love, and let them know I sent you!

    Wednesday, March 16, 2011

    News and Sales Bulletins

    First, I'd like to apologize for my extended absence.  Apparently The Boy brought a bug home from school, and it hit me even harder than him.  We spent a few days on the couch together, he is as obnoxious as ever, and I am finally finding enough energy to do more than struggle through the day!

    I don't have a project to share today, unfortunately.  Maybe the energy will stick around long enough today for me to finish a layout I have in progress, and I can share it tomorrow!  However, what I do want to share with you are a plethora of sales and special offers I've received in the last few days, as well as a bit of news which I imagine most of you who care will have already heard, but just in case...  Anyway, on with the fun stuff first!

    Blue and Yellow Make Green Sale
    Good through St. Patrick's Day only, www.PrintOnIt.com has all of their blue,  yellow, and green vinyl on sale.

    Marching On at Expressions Vinyl
    We know you love the coupon codes and this one will help you
    get stocked up on some vinyl.  This coupon will be good for
    15% off all regular and outdoor vinyl rolls.  That's for all
    9"x10yrd. and 12"x10yrd. rolls of regular and outdoor vinyl.
     
    The code is LUCKY and is good through March 22nd.
     
    Click below to start shopping!
    http://www.expressionsvinyl.com/#oid=1160_1

    Dollar Days is In Full Bloom
    Great sale items from LD, including fonts, graphics, and SVGs!  Here's the info from them:

    Spring has sprung and so has Dollar Days! It’s our biggest sale of the year, so buzz on over to Lettering Delights where savings are in bloom:
    • JUST $1: All fonts, alphabets, doodlebats, graphic sets, clipart, paper packs, candy wraps and more!
    • JUST $2: All SVG sets (it’s our first big sale on SVGs!)
    • JUST $3: Mini albums
    Dollar Days may last until April, but our best bonus savings are just here for one week! Shop now through Wednesday, March 23 and take advantage of bonus savings. The more you spend, the more you save with two offers to choose from:
    • Take an additional 10% off a $15 purchase with coupon code: InBloom
    • Or, take 25% off when you spend $35 or more with coupon code: BiggerBloom
     Scrap'n Tote Sale Through 3/20
    Everything is 20% off at Scrap'n Tote - pink and green Scrap'n Totes AND the new Scrap'n Easel!  (Easels are shipping from the factory 3/23 and all pre-orders will be shipped the following week.)  Just enter the code IHEARTIRISH at checkout to receive your discount.  And while you're there, don't forget to enter their Spring Is In the Air giveaway!

    Lawsuit News
    Most of you affected by this have probably already heard the news, but I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of this.  If you own a Cricut and use third party software with it, you will want to be aware of some legal news regarding Make The Cut and Sure Cuts A Lot.  You can read the full details at Scrapbook Update, but the short story is that ProvoCraft is suing Sure Cuts A Lot, and Make The Cut has already settled with PC.

    My personal views are such that I will continue to use my copy of MTC with my Expression, simply because I have a newer machine that I can continue to update while leaving my E update-free.  When that machine dies, I will be researching alternate cutters from other manufacturers.  I love my ProvoCraft products, but I also love the flexibility allowed by being able to cut images from other sources.  I respect PC's rights to use legal means to protect their products as they desire, and I will not join in on the boycott that several have joined.  I knew when I purchased my machines that they were cartridge-based only; I just didn't know there was another option available.

    I encourage everyone affected to read the articles for themselves, and make their own decision regarding their personal situation.
     

    Wednesday, March 9, 2011

    Buy One Get One Free!


    Now through tomorrow at midnight (Mountain),all SVGs at Lettering Delights are buy one get one free!  Just use code SVGBOGO at checkout!

    Tuesday, March 8, 2011

    Hedgie Welcomes Spring!

    I had great fun making this cute card for the Cutters Creek blog! As usual, it took me a while to think through what I wanted to do, but actually making the card did not take long at all. My finished card is 8"x3.5", perfect for a gift of money, or just a card that's easy to mail.



    To begin, I pulled out the new Spring collection from Echo Park and a set of cute little hedgehog stamps from my stash. Using my Make The Cut software,I imported a Vector PDF for the "hill" piece from the Wishes sketch pattern book from Close To My Heart. (I love that I don't have to print the PDFs and cut them by hand!) I will point out that if I were making this card again, I would have found a scrap piece of a different green for the straight piece, as they blend together a little too much. I did define the edges some by sponging some green ink on the top edges.

    I cut one of the trees from the paper that has the strips of various patterns, and placed it on my hill. I selected my hedgehog stamp and stamped him once directly on the card, and once on a scrap of white CS. I colored in his body, then adhered it over the stamped outline on the card. I filled in the quill area with my Flower Soft glue, then covered him with Nut Brown Flower Soft. While I let that dry, I stamped the kite portion of the image on various patterns of the paper, cut them out, then adhered them to the kite stamped on the card front.



    Once the Flower Soft glue was dry, I rubbed off any excess Flower Soft and returned it to the container. Lastly, I peeled off a sticker sentiment from the sticker sheet and stuck it to my card front. I'm currently thinking this will make a cute birthday card for my daughter (she turns 8 near the end of March), but if I change my mind I'm sure I will find something else fun to use this for!

    The Echo Park papers and Flower Soft products are all available in the Cutters Creek online store!

    Friday, March 4, 2011

    Free Sample This Weekend!


    Do you own a Cricut or other cutter?  How about an Imagine?  This weekend, you can get a free sample of a product you can cut with your cutter and color with markers, or print and cut using your Imagine.  I have used Cut Color Wear in the past and I LOVE it, and I hope you will too. You can see my previous projects here.

    Just click here to get your free sample, including free shipping.  Enjoy! 

    Wednesday, March 2, 2011

    Calling All SVG Lovers!

    Do you own (or are you considering buying) Make The Cut or Sure Cuts A Lot for your Cricut or other cutting machine?  If you haven't already heard, today and tomorrow only are the days for a huge bargain bundle from Lettering Delights!  And I'll tell you how to save even more money on this already great discount!


    Now, even at $100, this is a great price - about 7 cents per image... but you can save another $25 easy.  If you've ordered from LD in the last month, your thank you email contains a coupon code for 25% off your next order.  If you haven't ordered from Lettering Delights before, just click over, create an account, and buy any one item - like a font - for $2-$3 and check out.  Wait for that email to arrive with your code, return to the LD website, and order your bundle.  Voila- you've still saved $22 from the bundle price!  Now you've got 10 new alphabets and over 1400 other images all for less than the retail price of one Cricut Cartridge!
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