Cardaholics Creative Block Inspirational Blocks

What do you do when you have a creative block?  You roll the dice!  Inspired by a magazine, I made up some inspiration blocks - each block representing something dealing with creating a card or layout; Color, Embellishment, Technique, and Theme.

Each block was made from the Artiste Cricut Collection (retired) page 45, 3D Object.  The finished block is 1.5" x 1.5" x 1.5".  Each block is covered with a different Fundamental B&T family.  I'll admit, I was short on time, and printed the items instead of stamping them.

On the COLOR block, the choices are: Black and White, Reds and Yellows, Blues, Primaries, Secondaries, and Tertiaries.

On the EMBELLISHMENT block, the choices are: Brad/Gem, Flower, Button/Sew, Ribbon/Twine, Glitter, and Distressing.

On the TECHNIQUE block, you'll find: Pattern/Pinterest, Monochromatic, Watercolor, Embossing, Fancy Folds, and Coloring.

And on the THEME block: Floral, Animal, Thank You, Blank, Birthday, and Beach.

The 3.5" x 6" bag topper was fun to make.  The word "CREATIVE" was stamped in Nutmeg (Z2830) ink using Jennifer's Hand (B1484) stamp set.  "BUSTER" was then stamped in Toffee (Z2828) ink.

"BLOCK" was created with the Marker Alphabet (E1034) and Bashful (Z2819), Blossom (Z2810), and Raspberry (Z2812) inks.  The entire word was inked in Bashful.  Then 2/3s of the word was inked in Blossom (leaving the very bottom as Bashful).  The top 1/3 of the word was then inked in Raspberry (the darkest red).  Then the image was stamped on the White Daisy topper.  Note: If you make more than one, you'll need to clean the stamp before going back to the lightest color.

A small bead of Liquid Glass (Z679) was used to adhere the bag to the inside back of the topper.  Another bead was used to keep the Enchantment Sapphire Twine (retired) in place at the fold of the topper.  Hook and Loop Dots keep front side of the topper down.  One hook dot is adhered to the bag while the loop dot is on the inside of the topper.

So, when I can't think of something to make, I whip out my handy blocks, roll them, and move forward with what they suggested.  No more creative block!

Artiste Cartridge Poinsettia Wreath

For our November 2015 gathering, my Cardaholics group exchanged ornaments.  Here is the ornament I made and exchanged:

I created the wreath using Design Space and one flower from the Artiste cartridge (retired).  Okay, the circle was a second image from the cartridge.

The flower is from page 80 and is on <Accent1> of the leaf.  There are three layers:
Small flower is 1.43" wide
Medium flower is 1.69" wide
Leaf flower is 2" wide

The easy way to create was to take one flower - the leaf.  I added a hole in each flower (it doesn't exist on the image).  Either ATTACH or WELD the two images together once you place the circle in the middle of the flower.  Copy the image.  Reduce the copied flower a little - that becomes the medium flower.  Paste the image again and reduce the size more to make the small flower layer.  I layered them and sized them until I liked the proportions (which is why I have odd sizes for the medium and small layers).  Then I GROUPed the three flowers together, copied and pasted the group 8 times (for a total of 9 poinsettias).  You can apply  9 on the cutting page, but I prefer to put the number of images within one wreath.  Then I adjust the number of wreaths I was making on the cutting page (hopefully that makes sense), that way I can cut my ring (see below), and white circle, at the same time.  I need 9 poinsettias but only 1 ring and 1 circle per wreath.

Once everything was cut out, I sponged the edges of the Cranberry cardstock (flowers) with White Daisy pigment ink.  Set these aside for some time to allow the pigment ink to dry.

After the ink dried, I used a large balled stylist to curve each petal.  I curved the New England Ivy leaf the opposite direction of the Cranberry flowers.

Assembly of Poinsettias:  I took a yellow chenille and curved the very tip just a little with some needle nosed pliers.  Then I put the flowers on from the smallest to the largest.  I bent the chenille a little underneath to keep the flower in place and clipped the chenille with wire cutters.  Repeat that 8 more times.

Creating the Wreath: I wanted the poinsettias to sit on a New England Ivy ring.  To make a ring, I made a 3.9" circle and a 2.9" circle.  I overlaid the small circle in the middle of the large circle and GROUPED  and then ATTACHED the two circles.  The inner 2.9" circle would be recycled.

The saying was stamped in New England Ivy on a 3.9" White Daisy circle.  Red Striped Twine creating a loop was taped onto the back of the New England Ivy ring so that when the stamped circle was glued to the New England Ivy ring the ends of the twine wouldn't show.

Each poinsettia got a 3D foam piece on the back and placed onto the New England Ivy ring.  And finally, the red striped twine was made into a bow and Liquid Glass adhered under the saying.

Pretty cool, huh?!

Zoe Artiste Birthday Card

Playing around with Cricut Balloons from the Artiste Collection, I put together this card in about 10 minutes.  Seriously, ten minutes. Okay, I guess that time doesn't include the cutting time.  It came pretty close to ten minutes, even with the cutting.

I had wanted to use the balloons on a card.  The colors of the balloons are Canary, Sweet Leaf, and Glacier -- all Zoe colors.  Originally I wasn't sure what I else I was going to add.  Then I looked at the stamp sets that come with the Artiste Collection.  Bam!  This banner was the solution!!  Cut with Cricut, stamped in black ink, and mounted with 3D foam.

A fun a quick card! : )

"I like you a Latte" Artiste Gift Bag

"I like you a latte".  What a fun saying to go along with a picture of a coffee mug.  That's exactly what this sample shows.
Cut from the Artiste Collection (Z3170) on page 79, using Crystal Blue cardstock.  It's as big as it gets (using a standard 12" x 12" mat) - 8.7" high (11.5" wide).  The finished size is 5.25" high, just over 3.5" wide, and just shy of 2" in depth.

The panel measures 3" x 3.5" for the Peacock cardstock; the White Daisy is 2.75" x 3.25".  The banners are from the Penelope Paper Pack (X7207B) - very vibrant colors - Thistle, Pear, Crystal (also Honey and Pixie).  The Thistle banner is 0.75" x 2", the polka dot one is 0.5" x 1.25", and the Pear banner is 0.5" x 1.75".  The Pear is butted up against the Thistle banner.

Treats of Friendship stamp set (C1616) loans the coffee cup and saying, both stamped with Black ink.  The cup was colored with Watercolor Paints (Z3132).  But because I used regular Black ink, I was careful to avoid the lines.  It would be safer to use StazOn (Z888) or Archival Black Ink (44751).

What colors did I use?

The cup is #4
The lid is #19
The band and bean are #29
The circle is #32
and the band on the lid is #30 (not much water)

The cup is mounted with 3D foam.  And the bag is finished with Thistle Extra Thick Twine (Z3040).

I think you could throw a coffee gift card inside along with some mints or chocolate.



Treats of Friendship set includes a cup of tea... here, let me show you the stamp set.  The tag can be cut from the Artbooking Collection.

You could add some tea bags to the bag if you used the cup.  If you wanted to use the donut, you could put a gift card to a donut shop inside.  Or any type of gift card, for that matter.  A couple of donut holes would fit in the bag...









By the way, this stamp set will be retiring at the end of July 2016.  If you'd like it, this month is a great month to purchase it.  Remember, the Buy Two, Get One Free is happening until the end of March 2016.

Cardaholics New Technique Challenge - Bokeh

This month's card exchange challenge was to use a new technique.  I've been eyeing the Bokeh technique for quite some time and thought this was the perfect time to pull the trigger.  Bonus was I found a card on Pinterest that I really liked and modified.  I have to say that Pinterest is amazing.  This card post is from August 4, 2014, and it's still circulating.  I can't remember if this is the site I learned the technique or not...

Anyway, here is the card I made.  : )

The technique in a nut shell.  Watercolor Paper (Z3146), Watercolor Paints (Z3132) and Paintbrush Set (Z3188), All-Purpose Mat (Z2045), water, Craft Heater (Z555), White Daisy Pigment Ink (Z2163), Sponge (Z697), stencil (traditionally circles, but I used balloons instead).

Cut your paper 0.5" larger (for both dimensions) than your finished size!  I found out the hard way my first try - I wasted some paper!!.  And I'm going to confess here that it took me some time to purchase the All-Purpose Mat, but am SOOO glad I did!  The mat saves your work surface for a project like this, and cleans quickly and easily.

You are going to tape around all the edges of your paper.  I used Washi tape rather than going to the garage and hunting for painters' tape.  This is why you want your paper 0.5" larger than your finished project (where the tape is will remain white - and it won't blend right if you try to paint after removing the tape - remember, I figured this part out the hard way).

Once you're taped, use your brush and spread water over the project piece.  Be generous. Next are the water colors.  I chose blue (#13) and yellow (#36).  With water, I picked up some yellow and placed it on the water soaked paper.  Some of the paint bled, and some didn't.  I put that on the paper in diagonal streaks.  After cleaning my brush, I picked up the blue and put it down next to the yellow.  If my paper was getting dry, I added more water to the area.  It didn't matter if paint was already down, I added more water so it would blend together.  Where the two colors came together are the green parts in the picture above.  Don't worry if the paper is wavy, it can be corrected (if need be).

Blue #13 (second row) and Yellow #36 (last on the right)

You may need/want to go back and add more yellow or blue to the project.  Or more water.  Once you are happy with the look, you need to let it dry.  You can do this by walking away for at least a half an hour, or you can grab your craft heater and help the process along (this is what I did).

After it is dry, it's time to apply the White Pigment ink over the watercolor background.  What I read was having different sizes was ideal.  My balloons were cut at 1.5" and 1".  How did I do that?!  I used my Cricut Explore to cut them out at different sizes.  : )  The larger stencil, the lighter the pigment was applied.  I made the two sized balloons overlap sometimes too.  Then I finished the effect with a pencil eraser (those are the small circles).  I used my craft heater to set the pigment ink (instead of letting it air dry). And that's Bokeh!

For this card, I cut the finished Bokeh watercolor paper down to 5.5", and then cut 0.5", 0.75", 0.5" for the three strips.  I cut them in that order so that when I'd adhere them to the card front, the pigmented balloons would come back together.  I made several cards for the exchange, being careful to cut in that order and then keeping the strips together.  Remember that if you are mass producing cards and you want to maintain the continuity of the strips.

After I adhered the strips to the front of the card, I stamped Happy Birthday (Finding the Words D1646).

When I cut the balloons for the stencils, I cut some out for the front of the card too.  Using Design Space, I removed the highlight from the balloon image by right clicking the balloon and choosing "Hide Contours".  Click the area you want removed and then click away from the image.  No more highlight.  Those balloons were cut to the specification (1.75") of the coordinating stamp set - ARTISTE COLLECTION (Z3170).  One balloon I cut out from White Daisy cardstock and stamped on it with Crystal Blue (Z2117), while the second balloon I cut out from Pear Paper Fundamental (Adventure packet - Z3125).

The Pear balloon was adhered directly to the card front.  I then placed the Crystal Blue balloon where I wanted it and stamped the balloon string.  I then put 3-D Foam Tape on the balloon and repositioned it to look seamless.

The final step was to add the (retired) blue and green epoxy bubbles.  Current items to use would be the Enamel & Glitter Duos - Blue Dots (Z3122) and Clear Sparkles (Z1752)

Artiste's Cricut Collection - Rectangular Box revisited

Some time ago, I made this rectangular box, and I told you it would look good in Sangria!  I couldn't help but make them with both sides of the paper.  : )

Don't they look very different?  Same paper and same colors!

Let's look a little deeper, shall we?!

The boxes themselves are 11.5" in WIDTH (which in turn makes the height 10.85" by default) and can be found on page 44 in Artiste Collection (Z3170) Booklet.

The speech bubbles are cut at 1.75" (as per the holder) and can be found on page 65.  They are stamped with Cocoa ink (Z2114).  The stamp is one from the Collection, by the way.  And there are other very suitable choices.

The flowers and leaves are from the Art Philosophy Collection (Z3171).  The smaller flower is on page 39 and is cut at 1.5" while the larger flower is on page 29 and is cut at 2".  The leaves are cut at 1", found on page 59, and cut out of Fern cardstock (X5777).  I chose not to stamp them, but there is a leaf stamp in the Pretty Petals set that you can use.

On to assembling the boxes...  All of the leaves and the speech bubble are adhered directly to the box.  The smaller flower is mounted with Thin 3-D Foam tape (Z2060) and the larger flower is mounted with 3-D Foam tape (Z1151).  Having the different heights adds dimension to the project.  I like to adhere the decorations before I fold everything so I have a flat surface to work with, so I did that before moving to the next step.

I like to use our Base and Bling Adhesive Strips (Z1904) for constructing the 3-dimensional projects (in my experience this is the best thing to use).  The double-sided strip adhesive is super strong, and they can be cut to length easily.  There are four places that need this adhesive (you'll understand when you cut it out).

And that's where the two boxes' similarities end.  So let's look at the one on the left first.


 Instead of stamping the flower with Pretty Petals stamp set, I cut the flowers out using our Paper Fundamentals.  It's hard to see that the Eggplant flower has some texture to it (small squares).  I could have used the other side which would have shown the white squares.  Similarly, the smaller flower is cut using Pomegranate paper.  This time I used the back side and the double chevron shows.  The papers are very rich from this Enchantment (Z3126) Paper Packet.  You get 2 sheets of each of 10 colors - in this case, Eggplant, Sapphire, Peacock, New England Ivy, Fern Saffron, Goldrush, Poppy, Pomegranate, and Ruby.

The box is finished with Sequins from the Gold Sequins packet (Z2012).  The flowers got double sized sequins.

The flowers were cut from Colonial White cardstock.  I chose the "darker" of the whites because of the Sangria paper.  The tones within the paper call for the Colonial White.

The Pretty Petals stamp set (C1599 - and only available through July 31, 2016) was used for the flowers.  The larger flower was stamped using Poppy (Z2652) ink while the smaller flower was stamped in Eggplant (Z2647) ink.

This box was finished with the Red Enamel Gems (Z3090) at various places.





And there you have it!  Put a little treat inside, give it away, and brighten someone's day.  : )

Easter Box from Artiste Cricut Collection

How about this adorable Easter box?  Would you like to make this for your kids, friends, coworkers, and neighbors?  It's simple... let me show you how I did it.

 Like the title says, this comes from the Artiste Cricut Collection.  It can be found on page 73 of the book (the "Spring" key).

This guy is 9.5" high.  I cut it out with White Daisy for the bunny to be white.

The pink, purple, and green tape you see is from the Limeade Washi Pack (Z3198).  That is a three pack with 1/4" Thistle, 1/4" Pixie, and 1" Pear striped pattern.

The Pear polka dots are from February's Stamp of the Month (believe it or not).  And the "Happy Easter" is from the Artistry Cricut Collection (that one has lots of words), and is stamped in Canary ink.

After my Cricut cut out the piece (it's one piece), I folded along the score marks.  The Thistle washi tape was placed just under the scored part of the side (see above picture).  Under the Thistle, I added the Pixie washi tape, butting them next to each other.  I then folded the sides of the box and trimmed the excess washi tape.  I repeated the process for the other side.

Next, I folded the curved flaps up and placed a post-it note across the flap to mark where the Pixie washi tape hit.  I kept the note there while I stamped the dots in Pear (the dots would show up under the washi tape if I hadn't masked the area with the post-it note).  After I removed the post-it note, I had a line for where I could add the Pixie (and subsequently Thistle) tape.  The two colors wrap around the whole box. Repeat for the other side.

The Pear washi tape started where the Thistle washi tape ended, but I applied it perpendicular to the Thistle tape (it will make sense if you look at the direction of the stripes).  There is a slit in the flap for the bunny to fit, and I chose the size of the box so that there would be 1" on either side of the slit.  That way I didn't mess with another strip of washi tape.  (This isn't to say you can't make the bunny larger and just line up more tape.  I just didn't want to do it.)

Being me, I lined up the stripes of the washi tape when I layed the second side of tape.  The last part to finish the flaps was to turn over the flap and cut off the excess washi tape.

Last thing I did was add a Pixie nose to the bunny by inking up the same dot stamp.  Most of the stamp is off the bunny.  I had added an eye with the same method but it was out of proportion so didn't do it again.

That's it!!  Fill the box with little goodies (chocolate is a favorite) and then nudge the bunny through the slits.

For this, I put the nose and ears through first (the tail wants to take cuts).  I found this the easiest (and less frustrating) way to do it.


I hope your try making one today!

Artiste Cricut Collection - Rectangular Box + Art Philosophy Flowers

I'm so sorry I didn't share this with you when I made it (that was quite some time ago when I wasn't posting as consistently).  Anyway, you'll use the technique with different paper (if you don't have Brushed paper left).

The box came from the Artiste Collection, as did the saying.  The flowers are stamps from the Pretty Petals (C1599) set.  The flowers were stamped in Canary and Cranberry, but cut from the Art Philosophy Collection.  The saying was also stamped in Cranberry.  The leaves are cut from Juniper cardstock (from Art Philosophy).

The paper and Topiary Chevron ribbon are both retired.  The flowers are finished off with Green Enamels (also retired).

I think this would look just as good in Sangria colors.  I'm going to have try that!

Cricut Cupcake Pullout Cards

I had some fun with these cards I made for my some of my nieces and nephews.

These came together relatively quickly, and looked in person how I envisioned them (always an added bonus).  : )

The cupcake is from the Artiste Cricut Collection.  In Design Space, the three parts (cupcake wrapper, icing, and back) come as one image.  Before I ungrouped them, I sized the image to be 5.25" in height (I may have unlocked it the height and width and made the width 4.25").  I wanted it to take the entire A2-sized envelope.  You can change the size to whatever your needs are.

After ungrouping the three images, I copied and pasted the back.  Then I shrank the copied back a little (I eyeballed this) so that it would fit nicely inside the cupcake wrapper.

I cut the images out - the back in Bamboo, and wrapper with Zoe paper collection, and the icing in Canary.  Done with the Cricut machine.

Next I went to my Cuttlebug.  I used the Chevron embossing folder on the wrappers.  Oh, if you look closely at the picture, you'll see the cupcakes are mirror images of each other.  The wrappers are both sides of the same paper, so I reversed the icing and the backs.  This is important for the sprinkles on the icing.  When you run your icing through the Cuttlebug, you want them in the correct orientation so the sprinkles are going outward instead of inward.  With the correct orientation of the icing, I used the Confetti with the Circle Diffuser (so I'd have a flat space for the saying).  I chose the Confetti embossing folder over the Dot folder because I wanted the sprinkles to be more random.  Done with the Cuttlebug.

Next, I sanded the embossed bumps of the icing with the Sanding Kit.  You can see I left some of them white while I colored the rest.  I colored sprinkles with Leaf Green, Tender Pink, Golden Yellow, Turquoise Blue, and Lavender.  I stamped various "Happy Birthday"s from the Joyful Birthday set (B1419) in either Sorbet or Glacier, whichever corresponded with the wrapper color.

Assmbly: I added scor-tape (1/8") along the outside of the larger back.  I adhered the wrapper to that strip to create a pocket.  Then I slid the smaller back into the pocket, after adding some scor-tape to where the icing will go.  I aligned the Canary icing to the card and then adhered it to the smaller back.

Last thing to do is to write something on the pull out and there you go!  You could add a gift card or cash to the backside of the pull out if you'd like for an extra treat.

Holiday Gift Basket

For the past three years, my daughters' middle school has put on a Holiday Party and Auction to raise funds for technology on campus.  This year I decided to assemble a basket of gifts and holders.  I also included a workshop certificate.

Hopefully the basket sells decently!

Several of the items were cut on the Cricut, with Art Philosophy, Artiste, and Artbooking.  The rest were cut the old fashion way, with a paper trimmer.  : )

Art Philosophy:
Tissue Box Cover Saying (upper left)
Mini Bags (winter and fall themed)
Pillow Boxes
Banners on Gift Card Holder ("FOR YOU")
Postage on large pillow box
Saying on Fall Mini Bag (bottom left)
Flowers on Clipboard (bottom right)

Artiste:
Gift Card Holder
Mitten Holder including Mittens and Snowflakes
Floral Box
Owl pieces on small pillow box

Artbooking:
Snowflakes on tissue box cover and winter mini bag
"notes" on Clipboard

Paper Garden Crackers with Nevermore

Before September ends, I'd like to share a couple of crackers I made with our Stamp of the Month and Nevermore paper.

This one I thought specifically for Halloween with the black flowers and leaves.  The entire cracker was sponged with Black ink.  Black Shimmer Tape and Silver Sequins finished off the look.

My second one doesn't scream Halloween to me.  I think it's a little nicer (that's not the right word, but I can't think of a better one right now).  Here, the "for you" was heat embossed on the Nevermore background paper.  I actually cut the Silver Shimmer Tape in half lengthwise (yes, I'm a penny pincher!) since not much was going to show.  Slate ink was used to stamp the chicken wire image and  to sponge around the inner edges.  Sunset is the flower; Pear the leaves; Bitty Sparkles are in the center of the flower; and Thistle Extra Thick Twine keeps this cracker closed.

These are two more samples for why Paper Garden (S1509) should be in your possession!  This is one stamp set you will use again and again.  Don't be sorry you don't own it - order yours before 10:59pm (PST) Wednesday September 30, 2015

Project My Life cards into Greeting Cards

I thought I should share with you some of the cards we'll be making at this month's workshop.  We will be transforming many of the Project My Life (PML) cards into greeting cards.  Would you like to join us?

Workshop dates are Monday April 27th and Tuesday April 28th from 7 to 9 pm.  We will start making our 25 cards, but I highly doubt anyone will finish.  Even Miss Speedy ;)  That's why I'll be emailing those who buy the kit a file with instructions so the cards not finished can be completed at home.  Heck, you don't need to come at all if that's your desire.

Here are 12 of the 25 cards you'll be making. Your kit will contain the whole Hopscotch PML cards, 25 card bases with envelopes, and the paper pieces cut (you'll be cutting the PML cards) so all you have to do is assemble (don't get too excited... you'll have to cut some of the cards up -- like the stars on the upper left card).  Cost to you is $45 (plus shipping if appropriate).

What are you waiting for?  Let me know you'd like a kit by Saturday April 4th.

BOO is Ideal for October

Here is a timely picture for October.  Thank you to Dawn Heuft who shared this Cricut file with me.  She used a purple glitter paper for the background whereas I used the green glitter paper (Z1847).  This banner features the Artiste Cricut Cartidge (Z1790)

I think I'll hang these outside on our door.  I'm not feeling very spooky this year.

The base is Whisper cardstock (X5929) that was run through my machine with the Dot embossing folder (Z1924). I ran all three pages through at once to save time.  The papers were then sanded (Z1294) so the dot pattern could really stand out.

The cobweb border can be found on page 76 of the Artiste booklet.  This key is in the 6th column and 5th row of the pad and is under the Accent 4, Shift key.

The word "BOO" is on page 77 just under the Shift key.  This is the 7th column, 5th row key of the pad.

The glitter paper and black accent paper can be cut using the Accent 3, Shift key (found on page 67 of the book), which is the 6th column, 4th row.

Finally, the white mat under the letters are from page 80, under the Accent 3, Shift key corresponding to the 10 column and 5th row key.

I raised the letter of the word with mounting tape.  You can't see it very well in the picture, but it does add some additional dimension.

If you want, you can add some spiders or skeleton to your scene.

Happy Haunting!

2014 Bat Mitzvah Card

Yesterday my family went to our neighbor's Bat Mitzvah and had a wonderful time.  Our neighbors know how to throw a GREAT party!

I was inspired to make one of CTMH's gift holder card from the Artiste Cricut cartridge but needed to modify it for cash.  If you'd like to do the same, you'll need the Cricut Craft Room (for Expressions or earlier machine) or Cricut Design Space (for Explorer).  I chose the gift card holder found on page 59, dropped it on my canvas and stretched the image until the opening was long enough for cash.  I also, independently, stretched the width of the card to accommodate the height of the cash.  When it was done, the card measured about 8" by 3.5".

As you see, I stamped on the inside of the card.  By doing so adds a little more interest to the expanse of yellow.  The swirl stamp set used is D1482 Love Life.  It can be found on my website.  The front saying is from B1438 Banner Wishes.  It was stamped and cut into a banner shape and raised with foam tape.

Her favorite color is pink so I kept with that theme.  The card was cut from Buttercup cardstock and stamped with Creme Brulee (both colors are retiring at the end of July).  The gems are from the Base and Bling Pink Jewels collection (also retiring at the end of the month).  The large flower is from a long retired Just Blooms collection - it came white.  I sponged it with Cotton Candy and Pixie (a new color coming August 1, 2014).  Sponging it in two colors adds a little more depth to the flower.

I'm sure our neighbor will appreciate the homemade card.  I know I enjoyed making it, and will make this type of card again.  : )

Timberline "Hello" Card

Today I thought I'd show you my masculine hello card.  This fun card is from Make it From Your Heart Volume #1 and is pattern #24.

If you  look at the pattern in the book, you might not recognize it.  I turned the pattern upside down!    The "hello" shape and stamp are from the Artiste Cricut Collection, as is the downward arrow.

All but the arrow and the base have been edge distressed with the edge distresser.  At first all I added was the "dot" after the salutation, but then I auditioned the triangular durables.  As you can see, they got the job!

Twilight and Bamboo ink were the two colors I stamped on the Colonial White cardstock.  And that's Creme Brulee behind the focal "hello".   Finally, the hello and the arrow are foam mounted to give the card some dimension.

"Emergency Use Only" Gift Bag Topper

I had an event this past weekend and made these survival bags to pass around.  I wanted to make sure everyone would be okay.  : )

I made 25 bags in a short period of time.  One of my recipients asked if I stamped each of the letters at a time.  I told her, "No, no no.  I'll be blogging how I put this together."  : )

I'd like to think I work smarter than harder -- even if the results don't show that.  So let me show you how...







The bags I used are from Joann's.  They are the Wilton bags, but you could use any bag.  I determined what size would look good for the bag size.  In this case, finished 4.25" x 2" which means for each topper I needed a 4.25" x 4" piece of paper.  Since I have 12" x 12" paper, I calculated that I could fit 6 toppers on one sheet of 12" x 8.5" paper.   I cut my 12" x 12" White Daisy cardstock to those dimensions.

Next, I "randomly" stamped my whole paper.  "Random" is in quotes because as I stamped, I created triangles with the image.  And I started with the largest stamp image.  Once my Cotton Candy large circles (Oodles of Doodles) were stamped over the paper, I repeated the process with the medium circle with Pear ink.  If you can't tell, my colors were inspired by the Lollydoddle paper.  Finally, I completed the random stamping with a small circle (from Hooray Bouquet) in Twilight ink.

I'm going to inject here to say that I HAD to buy and use Oodles of Doodles stamp set just because of the name!!  I'm super excited that I like the set!  : )

So now that my paper is stamped, and to cut down on time, I scored the paper where it's going to fold before I cut it.  This way I only have to score 3 lines -- one at 2" (not shown), 6", and 10" (along the 12" side).  Now it's ready to cut.  I cut along the 8.5" side at 4.25", rotated the paper and cut at 4" and 8".  Done.  I now have 6 pieces ready to be layered upon.

 I scanned these smaller pieces and filled in some gaps with the colored circle stamps.  When I cut the paper, some of the white space turned out to be too large for the smaller paper.



 The next layer was the Whisper paper.  This measures 1.5" x 3.75".  Again, I calculated how many I could get from a 12" paper.  I cut strips of 3.75" width from 12" cardstock.  I'd get 8 finished pieces from one 1.5" x 3.75" strip.  I placed the strip in my Dot Embossing Folder (z1924) and ran it through my embossing machine once.  The folder is only 7" long, so I took it out and moved it up in the folder (there is a slit at the fold - how awesome is that!!), I lined up the circles, and ran the strip through once more.  So two passes for 8 pieces -- not shabby.  Before I cut the paper to proper size, I sanded it with our Sanding Kit (z1294).

Next layer is the banner.  I took Oodles of Doodles banner for that.  When I stamped with the scribble, it was too much scribbling for my taste.  But I liked the look the banner provided.  I enlarged the banner to 1.25" and cut those out of Twilight cardstock.  The image can be found on Artiste Cricut Cartridge on the Accent 3 Shift key (<Ac3><Shft> Column 8 Row 3).  Got the banners cutting and got ready for the next step -- the words.




A Typeset (A1117) was the font I went with.  To assure my words fit, I took a cut banner and laid the letters on the banner as they'd appear after stamping.  When I came to a letter that repeated, I moved the letter after the following letter was placed down.  In essence there was a hole left.  Once I was satisfied with the placement of the

 letters, I took my block and attached my saying to the block!  It was then easy to stamp the saying on all of my banners in Twilight ink.  When that was done, I went back and filled in the missing "e" and "y".  The beauty of clear stamps and blocks!!

Finally, I sponged the banner and mounted it with foam tape.  I glued everything together and I finished my topper!  How's that for working smarter, not harder.  : )

Base and Bling How-to Video

Today I want to share with you a video showing you how easy the Base and Bling necklaces can be made.  Kristine does a good job walking you through the simple steps.  Then she shows you how you can present your newest creation to a friend.



As Kristine said, the Cricut cut you'll want to make is on the Artiste Cartridge on page 57.  You'll cut the paper at 2.5" Real Dial Size.  The correct key is <card> 7th column, 3rd row (the <j> key).

If you noticed in the video when Kristine put the necklace "into" the holder, the bottom tab isn't utilized.  When you use the Cricut Craft Room to cut the image out, you can eliminate that tab.  Let me explain:
In the Craft Room, place the image onto the mat.  At the bottom left corner you'll see a green box that says "Hide Contour".  Click on that.  Once the window opens, you'll click on the two bottom tabs that create the slit.  The cut that will be eliminated turns red before you click on it.  Finally, hit the "exit" button.  You'll now notice that the bottom tab is gone!

Don't want to go through those steps or Craft Room?  You have a couple more options for the necklace holder that doesn't have the bottom tab.  The first one would be perfect as a thank you because it says "thanks" across the top! "Thanks" is found on page 65 and can be found on the <b> key; <card>C5R4.
Another flap card is found on page 53 and has a little flourish at the top of the card.  That one is the <d> key; <card>3rd column 3rd row (C3R3).

I've got one more suggestion for you, so you don't have to wrestle with the chain.  I suggest the envelope card found on page 67 of the Artiste cartridge.  That is found on the <M> key; <card><shift> C7R4.  Cut the top slits (as in the video) to hold the chain and stash the chain into the envelope created when you fold the flaps inward.

However you present your homemade necklace, your recipient will love it (even if it's for yourself)!!

Burlap or Ribbon Swap - My Creation

I don't remember if I've told you that I belong to a group of card swappers. We meet every other month and have a challenge (but we don't have to) for the card.  This month's challenge was to use either burlap or fabric on the card.

Sometimes I can see my card clearly -- this was one of those times.  I had to look around my craft room for Twitterpated paper and my owl set, but I found them!  My card with it's Cricut envelope:

I used the burlap as my accent piece behind the owl. The Artbooking Cricut Cartridge was used to cut the branch and leaves.  Old fashion cutting got the Chocolate owl off the page.  I did stamp the owls stomach on another piece of paper in Champagne, cut it out, and sponged it with Chocolate.  I then glued it to the owl.  And notice the eyes?  I added some Cocoa Opaques!

I really liked this card so I made a couple more.  However, I ran out of trunk paper so I substituted the lined paper instead.  Still like it a lot!  By the way, the striped paper is narrower than the trunk paper.  I was going to use it originally for a standard card but went with the trunk paper on a 5"x5" card instead.

Increasing the card size put me out of the standard card sized envelope too.  That's okay because I have the Artiste Cricut Cartridge to rescue me.  : )  I sized this non-traditional envelope at 5.5" to accommodate the branch and leaves extending past the card face.  The envelope can be found on page 43 of the booklet, and under the 3D Object (key in the 3rd column, 2nd row).

If you don't have an owl stamp, and you do have the Artbooking Cartridge, then you can use the owl on page 84 or page 85.  If you don't have Artbooking, you should!  : )

2013 CTMH Convention Roomie Gifts

I gave potted flowers for my roommate gifts this year.  I had been inspired by something similar when I was at a physical therapy appointment.

Okay, the coloring isn't the greatest because the paper I used was from Dream Pop.  Bright pinks and yellows!

Everything came from the Cricut cartridges Art Philosophy and Artiste.  The candies are Rolos, Hershey Milk Chocolate kisses, and Hershey Cookies 'n' Cream kisses.

There are two "types" of flowers.  The Kisses flowers are the same but with different paper.
It looks like I goofed and didn't write the cut sizes in my notes so I'm going to guess - you will want to verify for yourself though -- sorry about that!

Kiss flowers: from Art Philosophy
Inner flower: <flower1><shift> or Column 1 Row 1 (= C1R1) <shift> at 1.75" (pg 21)
Middle Flower: <flower7><shift> or C9R2 <shift> at 2" (pg 39)
Outer Flower: <flower6><shift> or C9R1 <shift> at 2.25" (pg 29)
Leaves: <leaf1><shift> or C2R5 <shift> at 3.5" (pg 62)

I colored skewers Juniper (leaves were cut from Juniper paper) and then glued the leaves around the skewer with liquid glass.  The flowers were glued together and then glued with liquid glass to the top of the skewer.  I held the skewer until set.  The following day I glue dotted the candy on.

Rolo flowers: from Art Philosophy
both are the same shape - <flower3><shift> or C7R4 <shift> at 1.5" and 2" (pg 57)
stem: <flower3><LAYER><shift> or C7R4 <layer><shift> at 3.5" (pg 57)

These skewers were colored Sweet Leaf to match the paper.  The flower and stem were glued on with liquid glass, and then the Rolos were added the next day.

Flower Pot: from Artiste
<f><3D Object> or C4R3<3D Object> at 6.25" (pg 54)

Other items:
I've already mentioned the skewers.  Mine were 8" long thaen cut in half.  Modify yours as you see fit.  I grabbed some florist green blocks that I cut down to size for the pot, then glued some brown crimped paper to the top of the block.  Insert skewers.

I don't recommend traveling with this project.  They weren't as pretty as pictured here, and were a little tattered.  I had taken them apart for the flight and assembled them at the hotel.  It wasn't my problem as to how my roomies got them home!  ;-)

Paper Cupcake Blog Hop

If you are coming from Patty Smith's blog, your right on track.  And you'll know that we are working with the "Happy Father's Day" key (page 75) on the Artiste Cricut Cartridge. I've been inspired so far!  My project is the bag (in Sky cardstock) cut from <3D Object><FtherDay> (or C5R5 - 5th column, 5th row)

After I cut it out, I scored the front and the back every 1/2" to make a pinstripe pattern.  Make sure you score on the backside (although the bag can be folded in either direction so in this case it doesn't matter).  I then stamped my saying on the front (in Pacifica) -- this is the part of the flat bag that does NOT have the collar on it.  Next, I sanded the stripes, avoiding my stamped image.

The inner part of the saying was stamped a second time on White Daisy, and then "grandpa" was added with Sky ink.  I went with Grandpa, honestly, because my "DAD" was defective and I needed this sample to be completed.  I did get a hold of Close to my Heart and received my replacement stamp by the end of the week (thanks, Mirissa)!

I digress.  The inner part of the stamp was cut out and then popped up with 3D foam tape.  I stamped the tie in Sweet Leaf and cut around it.  I know, the Artiste cartridge has the tie image, but I wanted the entire tie in one piece.  The top part of the tie was stamped a second time. I used Scor-tape to adhere the top part of the tie to the flap part of the collar, then glued the whole tie aligned with the top part.  Our velcro dot keeps the collar down.  The shirt was finished off with some White brads in the collar.  As you see from my picture, I hadn't snipped the excess brad yet -- you will.  ;-)

Okay, enough said here.  Now continue along to Katy Martin's blog.  See you soon!

That was soon!  I forgot to tell you the size of the bag was cut at 8.25".  Also, I used the stamp set Perfect Fit -Dad (C1542) which has several great stamps.  Now go!