Supplies – Page 3

My First Mixed Media Canvas — Cricut Southwest Contest

March 20, 2013 by Linda 5 Comments

I have been wanting to try my hand at creating a mixed media canvas for a while now. Cricut’s latest contest for their new Southwest cartridge gave me the push to get started. The inspiration for my project was a picture I pinned on Pinterest of a gorgeous white dream catcher.

I watched a lot of videos online trying to gather facts on what supplies I needed and how I wanted to proceed. I made a run to Michaels for supplies before I started. I needed a canvas and gesso, and I also picked up a few fun items to try. I think my favorite was the modeling paste.

I laid my design out in Cricut Craft Room. The first step was to paint the 8″ x 10″ canvas with gesso. After it was dry, I cut out the dream catcher at 7″ and border strips at .85″ from scrap cardstock so I could gauge where I wanted them on the canvas. I lightly traced around the cuts with a pencil.

Then I added some cheesecloth to the canvas using a gloss medium. When that was dry, I gave everything another coat of gesso. Then I used two shades of Martha Stewart metallic craft paint to cover it.

For my borders, I cut the design using repositionable vinyl and made stencils. I used the negative images for my stencils. The stencils are the polka dot material in the pictures. It is some vinyl I picked up on clearance. Using the first stencil, I laid down some gunmetal metallic paint. I would skip this step next time because I ended up covering that part of the design with some leather lacing. I didn’t like the dark paint — it was too much of a contrast.

In this picture you will notice the canvas looks different than the finished project. I had stamped some images on it that I decided to delete by covering with gesso and adding some more cheesecloth. I then painted the area to blend in with the background.

I laid down the turquoise color with the second stencil. I put a layer of gesso first and then added two layers of color. The final layer was a coat of Martha Stewart glitter paint.

The third stencil is where I got to try the modeling paste. I mixed some copper color into the paste and used a craft stick to smooth it over the stencil.

I was so happy with how it turned out — the design is raised and after it dried it reminded me of pottery.

Before doing the last layer of the borders, I cut a stencil of the shadow of the dream catcher and stuck it on the canvas. I mixed some glass bead gel with some glitter paint and spread it over the canvas. This layer was pretty wet and it had to dry overnight.

You can see the glass beads behind the web part of the dream catcher. They give a really neat effect.

The final border stencil was a little tricky. My first issue was weeding the correct vinyl — I kept pulling off the wrong areas. The I had trouble getting it to stick on top of the modeling pasted. It wanted to lift up, so I opted to add just a coat of copper glitter paint for the final coat, rather than changing colors completely. I was afraid the paint would bleed and be noticeable if I went for a contrast.

I was very pleased with the finished border. The last layer added a subtle glitter design on the modeling paste.

At this point I decided I did not like the stamped images I placed on the canvas earlier. I painted over them with gesso and then added some more cheesecloth. I went over the entire area with the metallic paint and blended the areas into the background. I also glued some leather lacing along the edges of the border, covering the dark painted layer I had first stenciled on. I was much happier with this look.

I used several layers to make the dream catcher. I trimmed one layer so all I had was a circle and used that to tie on the trim and beads. The top layer is also just the circle and I heat embossed it using a Fran-tage powder from Stampendous. The web part is also heat embossed using a holographic powder. I glued some small seed beads to it. I added several layers of feathers and sketched in some lines using a marker.

This is what it looks like all put together.

The flowers were cut at two sizes, 1.5″ and 1.25″. I inked the edges and curled the petals under. The flower centers are glass glitter from Stampendous. I glued some feathers behind the flowers. The owl was cut at 2″ and heat embossed with copper embossing powder.

The saying was printed using various fonts and cut apart into rectangles. I inked the edges and glued them on the canvas. It is actually a song lyric from Dream a Little Dream of Me, sung by Cass Elliott of the Mamas & Papas.

Here is a side view of the canvas, to give you an idea of all the texture and dimension it has.

While this project was very time consuming, I do want to try doing a canvas again. With all the supplies I now own, I don’t have an excuse not to.

Cricut Southwest cartridge
8″ x 10″ canvas
Liquitex Gesso
Liquitex Modeling Paste
Liquitex Glass Beads
Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (used to blend background paints)
Martha Stewart acrylic craft paints: Light Gold Metallic, Pale Bronze Metallic, Aquarium Pearl, Turquoise Glitter, Brownstone Glitter, Sunstone Glitter
Cheesecloth
Stampendous Fran-tage embossing powder
Stampendous Glass Glitter
Yarn
Beads
Feathers
Leather lacing (from Michaels)

Filed Under: Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Challenges, Cricut, Martha Stewart craft paint, Southwest Tagged With: Challenge, Cricut, Cricut Challenge, Embossing Powder, Glitter, Martha Stewart, Stampendous, Versamark, vinyl

Window Card Using Cricut Creative Cards

February 18, 2013 by Linda 3 Comments

There is going to be a new Cricut cartridge available on February 21, 2013 and it is called Creative Cards. For one week only, from February 14-20, there are seven cards and envelopes from this cartridge available to use for free in Cricut Craft Room. I was happy I found time to try one of these cuts — I chose to make the window card.

I really like this card, so much so that I will surely purchase Creative Cards. I think the window card is called a tri-fold card. I like this because the inside of the card, where I will write my greeting, is not visible through the window.

I made my card using spring colors and the first thing I did was decide what paper was going to show through the window. I wanted something that looked like wallpaper, so it would look like the inside of a house. I looked through my Imagine cartridges and found a striped print I liked on the Blossom cartridge. After picking out my wallpaper, I decided my card would be blue. All the small pieces were cut from scraps.

The card is cut at 5″ and the finished size is about 3.5″ x 5″. I cut an extra front panel and ran it through the Cuttlebug using the Distressed Stripes embossing folder so that it would look like siding on a house. I cut a piece of clear acetate and adhered it between the two front pieces to give the appearance of glass.

The curtain is a piece of vellum run through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder, backed by a piece of white cardstock. The outside window and flower box are white. I cut an extra window in a darker blue and used it on the inside because I wanted a finished look in there too.

The bird and butterflies are from Creative Cards and both were cut at 2.5″. The only other cartridge I used was A Child’s Year to cut the silhouette of the cat, which was cut at 2″. I inked and chalked all the pieces before assembling the card. I used Stickles for the centers of the flowers.

The sentiment below the flower box is from Whimsy Stamps and it is from their Celebration Circle Pennants set. I cut it out using the matching die. This was my first time using both the stamps and die, and I am very happy with how it turned out.

On the inside of the card, I added a white mat to write on. It is the inside of the window from the card cut — I just hid the outline for the card and cut only the window. I embellished it with a couple of the same flowers from the window box on the front.

The last step was making the envelope, and that turned out to be an easy task. I simply cut the envelope at the same size I cut the card, which was 5″. I scored along the two side flaps and then at both the top and bottom. I folded at the score marks and then inked all the edges. I glued the bottom to the side flaps and the envelope was done. I’ll seal the top flap when I send the card.

Cricut cartridges: Creative Cards, Imagine Blossom, A Child’s Year
Ink & Chalk
Whimsy Stamps
Stickles

Filed Under: A Child's Year, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Creative Cards, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Rubber Stamps, Stickles Tagged With: Cricut, Cricut Imagine, Cuttlebug, Imagine, Stickles, Whimsy Stamps

Winter 2012 – 2nd Day of Exhibition

January 14, 2013 by Linda 5 Comments

The show was a little more crowded today than it was on Saturday, but it was still easy to navigate through the aisles. Our first stop was at a booth where a line of people had formed. I figured there was either a really cool demo going on or a celebrity was in the booth.

The booth was Electic Products and they are the makers of E6000 Craft Adhesive. They are introducing a new spray version of E6000 that has no odor. In their booth was author, designer and TV host Mark Montano signing and giving away copies of his newest book, The Big-Ass Book of Bling. Of course hubby and I had to stand in line, and we both got an autographed copy.

It was funny because when Steve (hubby) first found out what we were standing in line for, he grumbled a tad. But while we were in line, they handed out some sample tubes of E6000. Steve started talking to the representatives about their various products and asked if they make any industrial adhesives. He found they may have an adhesive that will work for his latest project at work. Then he was a happy camper.

I went back to Jinger Adams’ booth to get some more information on her Over-the-Door Armoire. Her booth was pretty busy this morning. I found out the retail price — it is going to be $250.

I also asked where it will be available for sale. Kristy told me tthat the initial plans are to sell it first on HSN and then have it available in stores. She said to keep an eye on Jinger’s Facebook page and blog because they will make an announcement when they know for sure.

I found a couple of cool new tools today that I am excited about. The first one I found at Craftwell’s booth. I wanted to try their new eBosser machine and they had several out to demo. The nice thing about the eBosser is that it is automatic — no handles to crank. I got to run some cardstock through it with one of their embossing folders. The machine makes a nice, deep impression. Since the embossing folder I used makes a card, you can also see it makes the score line to fold it.

Here’s a picture of the eBosser and some felt flowers that were cut with the machine using a die:

After I did the demo with the eBosser, the lady showed me a prototype of Craftwell’s latest goodie — it’s an airbrush system for crafters, the eBrush. The nice thing about this is that the air compressor is the base of the unit — and it’s very compact. There is a spot in the top to hold the airbrush. It will take up little space on your work area. She mentioned a fun use for it — using food-safe colors to decorate cakes.

My second fun discovery was in the Zutter booth — they make the Bind-it-All, among many other products. They are introducing the Bow-it-All, a nifty tool to make bows of many styles and sizes. It is a board with metal pegs that you move around to make the sizes and shapes. The extra pegs and tools store in the sides of the board and it comes in a pink bag.

Here are 3 photos of the large display showing the Bow-it-All and many of the bows it makes.

Stacy, the lady who did the demo, is also the designer of this neat tool and I’m sorry to say I didn’t get her face in the photo. She is working with a black one — the pink version is what is going to be for sale and it will come with a pink case. The board measures 8″x 13″ and it comes with what she calls “helping hand” pegs. They are for holding the piece of ribbon in the back, if you are going to wrap it around a card or scrapbook page. There are little clips that go around the two “helping hand” pegs to secure the ribbon while you make your bow.

Oh, and the way you tie the bow off — Stacy said it forms a “C” shape in the back — ensures that the bow will not come untied. You can tug on the tails and the bow stays tied. That is a great feature.

Stacy made two bows while I was there, a small one and a larger double loop one. She made the small one with seam binding and it measures about 3/4″ — look at how pretty that tiny bow turned out. She did not put the extra piece of ribbon in the back of this bow — you will notice on the larger bow that it has the extra piece to wrap around. The ribbon on the large bow is 1 1/2″ wide and the bow is about 3 1/4″ wide. I got to bring both bows home with me so I photographed them on a piece of floral cardstock.

The suggested price on the Bow-it-All is $24.95 and they will be available in the spring. This is going to be another must-have tool for me. I love pretty bows and while I think I do a decent job of tying a single bow, the ability to make such a variety really appeals to me. And to be able to make such nice, tiny bows — that is exciting. My arthritic hands won’t be struggling with tiny loops.

We ended our day back at Craftwell’s booth. They were having drawing and were giving away an eBosser. They started by giving away four embossing folders first. These are large folders, 8 1/2″ x 11″. The lady standing in front of me asked me what would a person do with the folder if they don’t have the machine and we both chuckled. Then her name was called as a winner of a folder and my name was called next! It must be a sign that I need to purchase an eBosser at some point.

Filed Under: CHA, Craft Supershow, News, Supplies Tagged With: Bow-it-All, Craftwell, E6000, eBosser, eBrush, Eclectic Products, Zutter

Cricut Candy Corn Box and Totes

October 28, 2012 by Linda 7 Comments

My goal this weekend was to make a candy corn box, but then I had an idea and soon had candy corn boxes all over my craft room. I wanted to participate in two challenges, the 3D Halloween Treat Container challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2, and the 3D Treats challenge at Cooking with Cricut.

I have seen several versions of Cricut candy corn boxes using a cake box cut on the internet. Using Cricut Craft Room, I chose the triangle box cut from Sweet Tooths cartridge. I liked that it is a 2-piece box, with a separate top and bottom. The paper is Michael’s Recollection brand.

I cut the bottom at 6″, from orange cardstock and cut the top from white cardstock. Using George and Basic Shapes, I put a triangle on my mat and sized it to match the triangle on the top of the box. I then cut that from white cardstock.

I laid out two more triangles in CCR, one in yellow and one in orange. Using ovals from George and Basic Shapes to intersect the triangles, I got the shapes I wanted for the corresponding pieces. I then glued the orange and yellow layers onto the white triangle.

Using my Cuttlebug and the spider web folder, I embossed the entire front piece after it was glued together. I then adhered the piece onto the top of my box.

I sometimes forget about all the dies I have for my Cuttlebug, opting to cut with my Cricut instead. But this time I remembered I had some cute Halloween dies and that is what I used for my spider and the tiny candy corns on the front of the box. I used the 3″x3″ Cuttlebug Halloween die.

I painted the eyes on the spider and colored the candy corns using Copics. Then then applied Glossy Accents on the candy corn to give them some shine. I added pop-dots to the spider and candy corns and attached them on the top of the box.

The tags I used on all my candy corn boxes is a free printable I found on a website called HelloCuteness.com. The printable is from their old website, but you can get to their new site with the link I am sharing.

I hand cut around the tags, glued them onto some orange cardstock and again hand cut around the orange cardstock. For the cake box candy corn, I tied some twine through the hole on the tag and pop-dotted it onto the top.

While I was working on the cake box version, I got an idea to create a different type of candy corn box — one that is more like a tote. Using CCR and George and Basic Shapes, I started laying out triangles and rectangles to get what I wanted. It took a little time and several attempts, but I finally got it worked out.

Here is my final version, along with two of my better attempts. They look pretty much the same — the main difference is in the tabs where they attach together and how I assembled them. The base shape is cut from orange cardstock and then there is a yellow and white piece that attaches to the front and back.

I used a Peachy Keen face stamp, stamping just one side. I thought about stamping both sides of the tote but decided I didn’t want any two-faced candy corns! I used a black pen to add the stitch marks to the fronts and backs.

For the first tote, I put it all together and then realized it would be much easier to attach the white & yellow pieces, stamp the face, and punch the holes for the ribbon handle if the tote was still flat. The next two totes were done flat and it was a lot easier. I used Terrifically Tacky Tape to assemble the totes.

I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes in the side and 12″ of ribbon for the handle. After threading the ribbon through the hole, I tied a knot and used some hot glue to glue the ends down inside. The tags are hung using 1/8″ ribbon and I threaded it through the same hole as the handle before using the hot glue. Again, I did this on the first tote after it was assembled. For the next totes I added the ribbon before assembling the them.

Cricut Craft Room
Cricut cartrideges: George and Basic Shapes, Sweet Tooth Boxes
Copics
Glossy Accents
Ribbon

Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Cards and Projects, Challenges, Cooking With Cricut, Copics, Cuttlebug, George and Basic Shapes, Sweet Tooth Boxes Tagged With: Challenge, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Glossy Accents, Ribbon

Cricut Art Nouveau Hummingbird Birthday Card

September 23, 2012 by Linda 10 Comments

I wanted to make a card to enter in a couple of challenges and this is what I came up with. The first challenge is Things that Fly in Nature over at Bitten by the Bug 2. The second challenge is Texture at Cooking with Cricut.

I made a 5″ x 5″ card and the patterned paper was all printed on the Imagine using the Country Carnival cartridge. I love the paper selection on this cartridge and have been wanting to use the design that is on the background of my card for some time. The reason I bought this cartridge is because of the paper — and the very cool font that it has.

I cut the hummingbird (at 3″) from watercolor paper using the Art Nouveau cartridge and colored him with Copics. This is only my second time trying to color with Copics, and I have lots to learn. I discovered I don’t have enough green markers — I didn’t have enough in the same color group to do any blending.

After I colored the hummingbird, I used a crystal glaze (something I got years ago) to go over sections of his body to try and simulate the iridescence you see in their feathers.

Oh, dear — after looking at the close-up I’m not too sure I should be posting it. My coloring definitely leaves a lot to be desired! The circle behind the hummingbird was embossed using the Forest Branches folder.

I recently got the Art Philosophy cartridge, mainly because of the flowers I have seen so many crafters make with it. The roses on this card represent my first time using this cartridge. I cut them at 2″ and 2.5″ using some Recollections paper from Michaels. I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink. I used a quilling tool from one of my Cuttlebug quilling kits to roll up the flowers. I was surprised at how quickly they went together. The greenery behind the roses is also from Art Philosophy.

I wanted the sentiment to be subtle, so I stamped it in the upper right hand corner (using distress ink) trying to make it look like it is part of the print on the paper. I added a couple of pieces of lace across two corners and used my sewing machine to stitch around the card.

For the inside of the card, the white area is a shape cut using Art Philosophy. The corners are a 2″ square of vellum, cut diagonally, embossed with the Swiss Dots folder, and trimmed with lace sewn across the top edges. I then secured them to the card by stitching around the entire piece.

I originally planned on using the vellum corners on the front of the card, but when I laid everything out, I thought they hid too much of the paper on the front. So they got moved inside, which worked out fine because I had no plans yet for the inside of the card.

Cricut cartridges: Art Nouveau, Art Philosophy, Imagine Country Carnival
Cuttlebug embossing folders: Forest Branches, Swiss Dots
Copics
Vellum, scraps of lace

Filed Under: Art Nouveau, Art Philosophy, Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Challenges, Cooking With Cricut, Copics, Country Carnival, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Supplies Tagged With: Card, Card Challenge, Cricut, Cricut Imagine, Cuttlebug, Imagine

Cricut Create a Critter 2 Owl Witch Card

September 18, 2012 by Linda 2 Comments

I was able to use my new Create a Critter 2 cartridge last night to make a card to participate in the latest challenge at Cooking With Cricut, their Card Outreach Challenge. The challenge is to make fun Halloween cards (no scary ones) for the I Feel the Love Project.

The “I Feel the Love” Project for September is to make Halloween Cards to be given to the kids who live at Casa Pacifica. Casa Pacifica serves abused and neglected children and adolescents, and those with severe emotional, social, behavioral, and mental health challenges on California’s Central Coast. Each year the facility has an amazing Halloween party for the kids. It is IFTL’s goal to send a card to each of the 70 children who reside there. (For more information about Casa Pacifica please visit their website.)

I laid out my card in Cricut Craft Room, cutting the owl at 3″. The owl’s body was printed and cut on my Imagine, using the Bubblegum Stripes cartridge for the small purple stripes. I did not use CCR for this step, as it still is not compatible with the Imagine. I embossed the small tummy piece with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.

For the owl’s eye, I hid the cut that forms the pupil in CCR. On the mat in CCR, the circles look perfectly round. But when I cut the eyes with my Expression, they did not come out round. I had what looked like a cross-eyed owl. So I took black paint and a stylus (you can also use the round end of a paintbrush), dipped the stylus into the paint and then formed black circles on the white part of the eye. Once the paint dried, I put a white highlight on the black dot.

I added a moon behind the owl, which is a circle that I also cut at 3″. I embossed the moon with a new Cuttlebug folder I recently got, the bat folder from the Midnight Hauntings set. The phrase was cut at 1″. Because of the small size of the phrase, I cut it out of vinyl. The Cricut easily cuts vinyl. Vinyl is great for small pieces because it already has adhesive, so you don’t have to fuss trying to put glue on them.

I added Stickles to the band and buckle on the hat.

For the inside of the card, I lined it with a couple of pieces of patterned paper. I cut the pumpkin treat bag and candy piece, also from Create a Critter 2, at 1.5″. I cut the shadow layer from cardstock and the black and orange layers from vinyl.

The background paper and print paper inside my card are from a K & Company Halloween collection that came out a year or so ago. I picked it up on sale and don’t remember exactly when I bought it.

Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter 2, Imagine Bubblegum Stripes
Cuttlebug: Midnight Hauntings embossing folder set
K & Company Halloween paper pad
Stickles

Filed Under: Bubblegum Stripes, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Cooking With Cricut, Create a Critter 2, Cricut, Stickles Tagged With: Card Challenge, Cricut, Cricut Imagine, Cuttlebug, K & Company, Stickles, vinyl

Wee Wee Wee!! Pig With Pinwheels Shaped Card

September 9, 2012 by Linda 12 Comments

I wanted to make a birthday card for my sister-in-law and I wanted to create one that was very whimsical — and I hope I succeeded. I enjoy making shaped cards and when I found the All Shaped Up Challenge on Bitten by the Bug 2, the idea for my card was hatched.

I love the pig with the pinwheels in the Geico commercials. You can’t help but smile when one comes on TV, and I have been wanting to do something along those lines for while now. I decided to make my pig a girly girl and give her a fancy party dress, complete with a birthday party hat.

I started laying out my design in Cricut Craft Room. Unfortunately, the program still has issues and I ran into some of them while creating this card — and ended up wasting time. I find CCR so frustrating at times that bad words will just start popping out of my mouth.

When I got ready to cut my card, Cricut Craft Room was down and I could not log in. I kept getting a message that the program couldn’t connect to the internet. I kept trying and after an hour or so, I was able to log in and cut my layers.

All the solid color cardstock is from Bazzill, except for the glitter cardstock on the hat — that is from Core’dinations. The patterned paper I printed on the Imagine using the Blast Off cartridge.

I used Create a Critter for the pig and pinwheels and B is for Boy, a Lite cartridge, for the “wee” words. I welded them all together to form the base of the card. I used the Swiss Dots folder and my Cuttlebug to emboss the words. I found some eyelash-type yarn at Joann’s that I used for her dress, layering it so it looks like a fringe dress — reminds me of a flapper dress. I added some pearls at the neckline and a bow on both the dress and hat. I used Stickles on the center of the pinwheels.

The inside of the card features a computer-generated sentiment.

I hope this little piggy card brings a smile to my sister-in-law’s face. I need to make an envelope so I can get it in the mail. Since it is a over-sized card, I will probably send it in a padded envelope.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

Cricut Chirp Challenge #6 – Create a Critter Craft: use any animal Cricut cut on your project

Scrappy Moms Stamps – Terrific Tuesday Challenge – Shape Up: create a shape project

Cricut cartridges: B is for Boy Lite, Blast Off (Imagine), Create a Critter
Cuttlebug: Swiss Dots embossing folder
Bazzill cardstock
Stickles
Yarn, pearls, ribbon

Filed Under: B is for Boy, Bitten by the Bug 2, Blast Off, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Create a Critter, Cricut, Cuttlebug, Stickles Tagged With: Bazzill, Card, Card Challenge, Core’dinations, Cricut, Cricut Imagine, Cuttlebug, Imagine, Pearls, Ribbon, Stickles

Showering Thanks Elephant Card

August 26, 2012 by Linda 10 Comments

This week I was able to make a card to enter into two challenges. The first is over at Bitten by the Bug 2 for their Elephantly Speaking challenge. The requirement is to use an elephant from any Cricut cartridge — we can chose any theme we want.

The second challenge is at Cooking With Cricut, and this week it’s pretty special because they are celebrating their 100th challenge. They are doing a surprise thank you for their leader, Melin, and ask that you submit a thank you card to enter the challenge.

My card is approximately 4″ x 9″, made to fit inside a #10 envelope. All the paper and images for this card were printed and cut on the Imagine, using the Hey Diddle Diddle cartridge. The only piece I did not cut on the Imagine is the scalloped border across the top, which I cut on my Expression. I laid that piece out in Design Studio, welding together three scalloped pieces from Accent Essentials to form the border.

My card features an elephant from Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge. I colored all the detail on my elephant with Copics. The eye is actually printed and then I hand cut it out. I got the free file for the eyes from My Scrap Chick and was able to resize it small enough to fit.

The title is what lead to the inspiration for this card. I found it on the Everyday Pop-Up cartridge and when I saw it, I thought of an elephant spraying water. The style of the lettering reminded me of a circus-type font, so I thought it went well with my little pachyderm.

The spray of water is from the Cake Basics cartridge and the individual drops of water and the water splat are from Everyday Paper Dolls. I added some Stickles to the water. I kept the inside of the card simple, using some more water for accents.

Cricut cartridges: Accent Essentials, Cake Basics, Everyday Paper Dolls, Everyday Pop-Up
Cricut Imagine: Hey Diddle Diddle
Copics
Stickles

Filed Under: Accent Essentials, Bitten by the Bug 2, Cake Basics, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cooking With Cricut, Copics, Everyday Paper Dolls, Everyday Pop-Up, Stickles Tagged With: Card Challenge, Cricut, Cricut Imagine, Stickles

Pull the Udder One, You’re How Old?

August 12, 2012 by Linda 7 Comments

What a stressful weekend — and we found out the hard way that stress can have an adverse effect on dogs too. About two weeks ago we found an abandoned kitten in our backyard, and it had a cold. We started feeding it and even got antibiotics from the vet to give it. We also started contacting every cat rescue organization in our area and always got the same answer — they could not take in any more cats.

Yesterday around noon we took Fifi, our 10 year old rescue Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix, outside. She does not like cats but we thought she had been tolerating the kitten being in the yard. The kitten was becoming tame and yesterday it came up to Fifi and started wrapping itself around her. I could instantly see that Fifi was stressing out.

We knew something was amiss because Fifi had been having some digestive issues. Seeing her reaction to the cat, I was sure it was coming from stress. After that incident, Fifi refused to go back in the backyard. She would only go out in the front yard, which requires us taking her out on a leash.

When it came time for Fifi to eat, she did not finish her dinner. We started keeping a close eye on her. About an hour later she threw up. Around 1 a.m. we knew something was seriously wrong so we took her to an emergency animal clinic. Fifi had intestinal bleeding and a temperature of 105 (normal for dogs can be up to 102). They started her on an IV, antibiotics and gave her some medication for her stomach.

The dr. said it is not uncommon for small dogs to get so stressed out that it causes intestinal bleeding. We were able to talk to our regular vet today (even though it is Sunday) and she suggested we have the cat out of the yard when Fifi comes home. We are hoping we get to bring her home around 7 p.m. tonight.

Luckily the animal shelter is open today and we planned on loading up the poor kitten and taking it in. Steve called a rescue lady that he had talked with yesterday (before Fifi got so bad) and when she found out we were taking it to a shelter she came over and picked up the kitten.

So the kitten stressor is gone and we hope Fifi will come home and be able to recover completely. I will be taking her to see her own vet tomorrow and hopefully gain some insight to keep this from happening again. This has been such a huge ordeal on the whole family — we were trying so hard to find the kitten a home. I had no idea we were harming our dog in the process. I so wish everyone would spay and neuter their pets.

OK, now on to my card. I was able to put this together but wasn’t sure I would get it posted in time for the challenge I am entering it in. Luckily I made it with a few hours to spare.

I made this birthday card for the On the Farm Challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2, which requires you to use any farm animal cut from any Cricut cartridge. I selected the girl milking the cow from the Country Life cartridge. My main reason for choosing this cut was that I had a sentiment stamp that I thought would be perfect with it. The sentiment is from a set by Elzybell, who sadly is no longer making them.

I printed the checked background paper on my Imagine, using the Best Friends cartridge. The fence and sun are from Pooh & Friends. I printed the wood design on the fence, again with my Imagine, using the Snapshot: Nature cartridge. The girl milking the cow and the sunflowers are from the Country Life cartridge. The thought balloon with the sentiment is from Cuttin’ Up. All cuts, with the exception of those printed on the Imagine, were made using scrap cardstock. The girl and cow, sentiment and the flowers are popped up using foam dots.

And to show I learned something from this challenge, let me tell you about my cow. She is a Brown Swiss. The breed originated in the mountains of northeast Switzerland and was declared a dairy breed in the United States in 1906. I’m not sure that the dark brown marking on her back is accurate, but if not then my Brown Swiss has a dark chocolate beauty mark on her.

After seeing the card assembled, it makes me wonder if there are many women working around cows who wear pink boots! Well, my milk maid likes her stylish pink boots.

For the inside of the card, I printed another square of checked paper on my Imagine and added some sunflowers to the lower corner.

Cricut cartridges: Best Friends (Imagine), Country Life, Cuttin’ Up, Pooh & Friends, Snapshot: Nature (Imagine)
Elzybells stamps

Filed Under: Best Friends, Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Country Life, Cricut, Cuttin' Up, Pooh & Friends, Rubber Stamps, Snapshot: Nature Tagged With: Card Challenge, Challenge, Cricut

Enjoy the Season Winter Window Card Luminaria

July 20, 2012 by Linda 13 Comments

I’m not sure what to call my latest project. I like to think of it as a hybrid — a cross between a window and diorama card and a luminaria.

It all began with the Window to My World Challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2. I knew immediately what window I wanted to use for this challenge — the cute little dog and cat looking out the window at the snow on the Enjoy the Seasons Cricut Imagine cartridge. Then my brain started spinning with what I could do to make the card unique. For a couple of days that’s all that happened — my brain spun and not one good idea. Then it hit me — I wondered what it would look like if I printed the window part on vellum and lit it from the back.

That is where the diorama card comes into play, as it has sections. I used the tutorial for a diorama card posted on splitcoaststampers.com as my guide.

I altered the measurements so that a battery operated tealight candle would fit in the back section. My two print papers I used on the diorama were printed from the Elise Imagine cartridge. I wanted a print that was not necessarily holiday looking and thought the prints on Elise went well with the cat and dog image. My finished card/luminaria measures about 6″ x 6″x 2.5″.

I cut my print paper so that the two blue pieces (the outside) were 11″ x 6″, cutting an oval from George & Basic Shapes out of one section for the front. I scored 2.5″ from each end and folded on those marks. Because the oval takes a huge chunk out of the front of the card, I found I had to stabilize it. I cut a piece of plain white cardstock with the oval, this time a little under 6″ wide, and glued it to the inside center to give it some strength.

The middle section was cut from the mocha print at 9″ x 6″ with a 2.5″ x 1.5″ window cut from the center. I scored each end of this piece at 1.5″ and folded. This is what my pieces looked like.

I printed the cat and dog on the Imagine at 4″, printing it on vellum and then in layers on regular white cardstock. I took my craft knife and cut out the sky between the window panes from the cardstock piece, so that the vellum sky would show through. This pictures shows both the vellum print and the piece with the sky cut out of it.

I added some Stickles to the snow on the vellum and let it dry. I trimmed the vellum and glued it on the mocha piece, lining the sky up with the cut-out rectangle. Then I attached the cardstock piece with the cut out sky over that. I did two layers of the love seat and attached it, then layered the cat and dog twice and attached them with pop-dots. I printed a little sign from Enjoy the Seasons to hang above the window and added a blue pearl on each side.

I started assembling my pieces, putting the mocha and back section together first. Before attaching the front, I cut a snowflake frame from Lacy Labels that I adjusted in Design Studio to fit the oval on the front. I cut two layers, the top layer from a glittery cardstock and attached the frame around the oval. I cut extra stars and snowflakes and popped them up on the frame. Then I attached the frame to the other sections. I used a tealight with a white LED flame, which I ordered online. All I could find at my local stores were tealights with amber flames and I didn’t want an amber cast to my snow. This picture shows the card from above, showing the different sections. The tealight sits right below the vellum window. Because there is no bottom to the card, you just have to set it over top of the tealight.

This picture shows the card from the side, so you can see how the front and back overlap each other.

It was hard trying to take a picture showing the lit window, but I think this one gives you a good idea of what it looks like. The card will fold up, but it doesn’t go completely flat. I think I stuffed it too much. I would not send it in an envelope — it would have to hand delivered or sent in a box. But this one I plan on keeping for myself!

I had a lot of fun creating this card — it’s a little different from what I usually do. I am already thinking of other projects using this concept.

Cricut cartridges – George & Basic Shapes, Imagine Elise, Imagine Enjoy the Seasons, Lacy Labels
Glitter cardstock
Stickles
Battery operated tealight candle

Filed Under: Bitten by the Bug 2, Card Challenges, Cards and Projects, Cartridges, Challenges, Cricut, Elise, Enjoy the Seasons, Lacy Labels (Lite), Stickles Tagged With: Card, Challenge, Cricut, Glitter, Stickles

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