I just had hubby draw a name — and the winner of the $20 gift card from Michaels is……
Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com)
Congratulations, Nadia!!
Please contact me so I can get your gift card in the mail.
And a big thank you to all who took the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it.
Linda
Erin recently took and passed the exam to become a Certified Specialist of Wine. I am very proud of her — she studied so hard for the exam. Because of that, I have recently begun collecting some cute wine stamps. And then I found an svg file that I fell in love with, so my projects for National Scrapbook Day are about wine — and drinks in general.
My first project features an svg file from svgcuttingfiles.com. I fell in love with the pig in the barrel. Although their pig is in a beer barrel and holds a beer mug, it wasn’t hard to change the theme to wine. I simply replaced the mug with one of the wine glasses in the Kawaii Wine Glasses file.
My hubby wanted to know if my little piggy is a swino. No, this guy drinks responsibly.
Actually, this is the little piggy who had roast beef, but what is unknown to most is that he enjoyed his roast beef with a glass of red wine.
The barrel cuts in one piece and looks like this after coming off the mat.
I didn’t have any paper with a wood grain, but I did have this Heidi Swapp stamp that I recently picked up at Michaels.
The stamp is wide enough that I could stamp two barrel sections at a time. I masked off the other sections using blue painters tape and scrap paper. As I finished each section, I had to re-mask in order to not stamp over the image I had just stamped. It looked like this when I was through. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink.
I glued the barrel together using Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesivie. I tied twine around the middle of the barrel.
The stamps for the flag and the bottoms of the purple Hershey kisses are from jadedblossom.com. This was my first time using their stamps — and I really like them. There are more kisses inside the barrel.
I thought the purple kisses went well with my wine theme.
My husband had to get in one more pun about my pig in a wine barrel, remembering the memorable advertisement from a few years ago. In his best Orson Welles impression, he said, “We will sell no swine before its time.” Yep, I have been putting up with him for over 47 years now!
My next project also features a cut file from svgcuttingfiles.com. This is the Drink Shaker Matchbook set. I love shaker cards and these were fun to make. The patterned paper is from Doodlebug Designs. They look so festive.
I decided to add a pocket to the inside so that they can hold a gift card. I made the pocket by cutting a piece of cardstock 3″ wide by 4″ tall. I scored 1/4″ on each side of the long edge and used a 1 1/2″ circle punch to cut an opening in the pocket. I folded the sides under, ran adhesive down each side (using my ATG) and attached them to the inside of the card.
The gift cards fit nicely into the pockets.
I used 1/8″ Scor-Tape on the small bottom flap, right where the fold is. That was enough to keep the flap up and keep the top cover tucked in.
This is a side view, so you can see the matchbook shape — and also the layers of the shakers.
I used Doodlebug Designs sequins inside the shaker sections. I like that you get different shades of sequins in each bottle.
I used the candy stamps from Jaded Blossom on the charms for the card fronts, hanging them with twine.
Thank you for checking out my projects for National Scrapbook Day. If you will leave me a comment, I am going to have a random drawing on May 11 at 8 PM (EDT) for a $20 gift card to Michaels. All comments are welcome, but only one per person will go into the drawing.
Here is a list of some of my crafty friends who are also doing special projects for National Scrapbook Day. Be sure and check them out and join in the fun.
A Day in the Life of Horsebunny – http://www.horsebunny.blogspot.com/
http://creatingislikebreathing.blogspot.ca/
Croation Crafter – http://www.croatiancrafter.blogspot.com/
Multi Crafter Amy – http://multicrafter-amy.blogspot.com/
Paper, Craft, & Scissors – http://papercraftscissors.com/
Sara Andrews – http://sarawandrews.com/
Scrapping for More Fun – http://scrappingformorefun.blogspot.com/
With Glittering Eyes – http://www.withglitteringeyes.blogspot.com/
Tomorrow, May 3, marks the beginning of the Circleville National Scrapbook Day event on the Cricut Circle message board. Many are posting on their blogs, in addition to posting on the message board. Be sure you check out these very talented crafters and have a fun-filled weekend.
A Day in the Life of Horsebunny – http://www.horsebunny.blogspot.com/
Croation Crafter – http://www.croatiancrafter.blogspot.com/
Multi Crafter Amy – http://multicrafter-amy.blogspot.com/
Paper, Craft, & Scissors – http://papercraftscissors.com/
Sara Andrews – http://sarawandrews.com/
Scrapping for More Fun – http://scrappingformorefun.blogspot.com/
With Glittering Eyes – http://www.withglitteringeyes.blogspot.com/
I just participated in an altered book box and stick pin swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board. I had never altered a paper mache box before, so this was a new adventure for me. My partner (Maria) let me know some of her likes — I knew she liked bright colors and owls. Since I like owls too, I decided to use that for my theme.
The first thing I did was primer the book in gesso. Then I applied two coats of Martha Stewart Mother of Pearl paint. I let the last coat of paint dry overnight and then I brushed on a layer of Tim Holtz Rock Candy Crackle paint on the spine and the inside edges of the book. When that was thoroughly dry, I sponged on some blue and brown distress ink over the crackled paint.
The title was printed on the computer and adhered on the spine using Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish. I added a couple coats of the gloss medium over the crackle paint on the spine and on the inside.
I used Ranger Sticky Back Canvas for the cover of the book. Since this was my first time using it, I wasn’t sure if it need to be primed with gesso. I decided to go ahead and gesso it, but first I stuck the canvas to a piece of cardstock and sewed around the edges. After the gesso dried, I stamped a scene of the moon and some trees using Versamark and heat embossed it using white embossing powder. The stamp set is by Sheena Douglass and called Lakeside Shore.
Then I sprayed the canvas with several different colors of Starburst spray by Lindy’s Stamp Gang. As you can see, the colors are nice and bright. Since I had used gesso on the canvas, it acted as a resist to the sprays and I found they would easily wipe off. So I let them dry and then sprayed a coat of gloss varnish (Krylon) over the canvas to seal it. I was happy to see that I didn’t lose all the pretty shimmer when I sprayed the canvas with the sealer.
I purchased the crocheted owl from Tatiana, who I first found on the Cricut Message Board. She now sells her beautiful crocheted pieces on her Facebook page, Created By Tatiana. I picked the colors for this owl to match the book and also ordered several other owls in different colors.
I added a branch and some leaves that I cut from white cotton crinoline using a Martha Stewart punch. The leaves were sprayed with Starburst spray. The flowers and foliage at the bottom were also cut from crinoline using Martha Stewart punches and colored with Starburst spray.
The book has a ribbon closure.
The back of the book is my attempt at humor, a pun on the Looney Tunes “That’s All Folks”. The paper is from Doodlebug Designs and the owl is some clipart I got from the now defunct PC Crafter website. The image at the bottom is stamped and heat embossed using Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s embossing powder.
The inside of the cover is also Doodlebug Design paper and I added a clipart bookplate to it.
This is looking inside the book, showing the fabric book that I made to hold the stick pins. Since this post is so long, I am going to do a separate post for the stick pin holder.
I included two extra crocheted owls for my swap partner. The cards they are on were stamped with the Button Boutique stamp set from Papertrey Ink and cut using the coordinating die.
I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of the Valentine mini album and card I made for a swap I participated in on the Cricut Circle Message Board. The card features an embroidery design I purchased from Embroidery Library that is made for cardstock. The scalloped frame was cut with my Cricut using the Elegant Edges cartridge.
I found a mini album on Graphic 45’s blog that I really liked. It is made by Gloria Stengel and she calls it a flip album. And lucky for me, there is a tutorial on how to make it. I loved the papers she used, and since I had many of them on hand, my album is almost exactly like hers. I had to change a few of the dimensions on the album because mine was turning out to be a bit too chunky.
All the patterned papers are from Graphic 45, most from the Place in Time collection. The pretty red print on the cover is from the Bird Song collection. I love how you can combine their collections and they coordinate so well.
The roses were light pink and I sprayed them with Starburst spray from Lindy’s Stamp Gang to get the colors I wanted. The shimmer shows up pretty well in the pictures.
The album has an organza ribbon closure.
The dark red lace doily was cut from a Spellbinders heart die.
Here are two pictures that show an overview of the album. It is an interesting album, with all its interactive pages.
This is what it looks like when it is first opened. The frame on the right is made with a Martha Stewart punch-around-the-page combo set. I think it is called Cherish.
The front pocket holds a photo mat.
This is with the first page flipped out. The wings are from a Cuttlebug Embossing Plus die called Vintage Collage. The heart borders are from Martha Stewart punches. The scalloped frame under the wings is from a Spellbinders die.
This is after you flip open the page with the wings. Another scalloped frame from Spellbinders, the heart is from a Martha Stewart die and the key is from Graphic 45. I think the “love” is also a Martha Stewart punch.
And another flip:
Here is a gate fold that opens to the back of the album.
And this what it looks like with the left gate open.
And here we are at the back of the album, with a photo mat held in place with a corner embellishment.
This was a fun album to assemble.
For several years I have wanted to participate in the Stocking Stuffer Swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board. Since this time of the year is usually the busiest for my embroidery business, I have never signed up. This year I decided I was going to give it a shot and I’m so glad I did. I had a wonderful time shopping and making gifts for my secret partner. I will post those later. Right now I want to show you what my wonderful partner sent me.
My partner for this swap was IrishDancer (her message board name). It was a secret swap, so I didn’t find out her identity until it was time to open the boxes. She was so very generous and I love everything she sent.
She sent me all kinds of goodies from Crate Paper’s All Bundled Up collection and from October Afternoon’s Silent Night collection.
I love the flag/pennant paper punch. I got some Memento ink in a pretty pink and blue, a glue pen, some Tim Holtz Distress Glitter in pink and blue (so pretty) and a box of Hero Arts tags.
You could send your partner a stocking or a Santa hat. IrishDancer sent me a Santa hat that is so sparkly and pretty. I received a Spellbinders snowflake die, a banner paper pad, a mini notebook that is covered in beautiful fabric, a candy cane pen, some yummy Ghiradelli dark chocolate, and a Jo-Ann’s gift card. Thank you so much, IrishDancer. You really spoiled me!
Erin asked me to make a birthday card for her to give to one of her friends and she requested something with an 80’s video arcade game on it, like Pac-Man. I found a print card showing Pac-Man eating dots and heading towards a birthday cake. So I did my version of that card using my Cricut.
I first printed a maze from the game that I found online. I thought it would make a neat background for the card. I designed Pac-Man in Cricut Craft Room, using the George & Basic Shapes cartridge. I used a circle and laid a triangle over it (not using the weld feature) to make the mouth. His eye is a black faceted stone from my stash — I think I got them at Joann’s.
The white dots are from an EK Success punch — I think it’s called Swiss Cheese. The birthday cake is from Life’s A Party and I added orange Stickles for the flames on the candles. Pac-Man, the white dots, and the birthday cake are all popped up with foam dots.
When I was laying out the card in Cricut Craft Room, I happened upon a really neat sentiment that I thought would be great with this card. It is from a project cartridge called Space Party. But wouldn’t you know it, it was one of the few cartridges that I didn’t have. I looked at other fonts, but nothing grabbed me like the Space Party sentiment.
So I went on eBay, found a Space Party cartridge that wasn’t being bid too high and placed a bid. I ended up getting it for less than $2.50 — can you believe that? Still, I hope I use it for more than just the sentiment on this one card!
This was a pretty quick and easy card to make — and Erin was very happy with it. I even made an envelope for it using my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.
I am going to enter this card in the Cricut Circle Challenge, which is to use or try something new. Since I have never used Space Party before, I figure that will satisfy the requirements. And I used the Swiss Cheese punch, which I have owned for some time and have never used either.
Yesterday I posted the mini album I received in a swap. Today I want to share the mini album I made for my swap partner. I took a ton of pictures — I think because after spending so much time making the album, it was hard for me to part with it. I felt like it was part of the family 🙂
I made several wonderful discoveries along the way while making the album. First and foremost, I discovered some wonderful mini album tutorials on Etsy. You can find them in Cathy’s shop, which is called SoMuchScrap.
I have been researching minis on the internet for a long time and knew I wanted to make something with interactive pages. After finding Cathy’s tutorials, I knew this was the way to go for me. I purchased her binding tutorial and her Je’ T’ Adore tutorial for a 6″ x 6″ mini. All I did was change the papers to a fall theme. The tutorials are excellently written and have step-by-step instructions as well as pictures to guide you through each page. Another plus about purchasing from Cathy is that she readily answers any questions you might have. So, with big thanks to Cathy, here is my mini.
I used paper from BoBunny’s Forever Fall collection. The solid cardstock is all from papertemptress.com. The brown trim and ribbon are from Joann’s. Another discovery I made was book cloth — I used imitation suede book cloth to cover the spine of the album and a glue specifically designed for bookbinding. I was amazed at how easy it was to apply the cloth. I picked up these supplies at Hollander’s.
The title is from two Spellbinders dies, Labels 4 and Grommet Tags. I embossed the bottom layer with the Distressed Striped Cuttlebug embossing folder. I added highlights with a copper ink pad and sponge. The “Autumn Splendor” is from a Close to My Heart stamp set with the same name, heat embossed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s embossing powder.
That is another of my discoveries — Lindy’s Stamp Gang‘s products. I bought their Autumn Leaves Mega Set and I can’t say enough good things about it. I love their sprays and embossing powders — they are gorgeous. Look at the heat embossing close up — their powder not only embosses but also adds a shimmer, which you will see in the second picture.
The dragonfly is from a Martha Stewart punch and I sprayed him with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and dried him with a heat gun. I added a chocolate pearl to each side of the tag.
The rhinestone embellishment is from Michaels, from their Recollections brand. I made the three flowers on the front, using Spellbinders Jewel Flowers and Flourishes for the sunflower. The two smaller flowers are cut with my Cricut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge. I added Stickles to the centers of the small flowers and Flower Soft to the center of the sunflower.
On the spine I hung a charm on a Tim Holtz ring fastener that I made with supplies I picked up at Joann’s. This was my first time making a charm — and I love the way it turned out.
The pendant is glass and it reminded me of a leaf shape — so I figured it would go well with the album.
OK, let’s look inside the album. Here are pages 1 and 2.
The first page has a pocket and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on it. There is also ribbon running under the sentiment.
The sentiment is a graphic I got from the Internet and cut out with a EK Success punch. I made the leaves using a Cuttlebug die. I found this video on making leaves and they were really easy to do. She uses the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die for her leaves, but I found them to be too large for what I wanted. The Cuttlebug die leaves were just the right size. The leaf on the right has Crackle Accents on top of it and the leaf on the left has matte medium coating it.
I made two tags to sit inside the pocket, using Distress Ink, stamping, heat embossing , and seam binding ribbon to create them. The ribbon is colored with Lindy’s sprays.
The pumpkin is from a Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die, the sentiment is computer generated, and there is another dragonfly from the Martha Stewart punch. I kept the backs simple.
Page 2 is an interactive page, folding up and closing with a small magnet. I used Basic Grey magnetic snaps throughout the mini. The Scrabble letters are from a Whimsy stamp (Spell It Out), heat embossed with Lindy’s embossing powder. The sunflower is from a Heartfelt Creations stamp, colored with Copics and cut out.
This is page 2, partially open, revealing a tag inside. The flowers are Recollection from Michaels, sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst Spray and topped with Stickles in the centers. The pocket that holds the tag is a label shape from Spellbinders, cut in half. The rectangle on the mat at the right is attached only at the bottom and right hand side to create a pocket to slip a photo in.
I learned so much making this mini — like how to make tabs for tags using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board. I watched this video.
I made the backs of all the tags the same — I created a little spot for journaling. I used the Cricut cartridge Simply Charmed for the notebook paper, using colored pencils and a ruler to go over the score lines.
This is page 2, fully opened. I created corners by cutting a square in half and embossing them with Darice’s Fall Leaf folder. The stamps I used throughout the album are either Close To My Heart, Inkadinkado, or from Michaels $1 bin.
Next up are pages 3 and 4.
The leaf is from a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed. The square the leaf is on is only glued at the bottom and left hand edge to the page — to create another pocket. There is a mat that pulls out with a ribbon tab.
The mat is good sized. This is the back, which I stamped with a Close To My Heart Stamp. I used Memento Rich Cocoa Ink for the stamps that aren’t heat embossed.
Page 4 is another interactive page. The title is from the Simply Scarecrows Cricut cartridge and sprayed with Lindy’s Starburst sprays. The small leaves are from a Martha Stewart punch. The ribbon opener features a brad from the BoBunny Forever Fall collection and closes with a magnet.
And here’s what it looks like open.
Now were moving on to pages 5 and 6.
Page 5 has a mat that pulls out of a pocket and folds over, forming the front. It is held in place with a magnet. I kept the front simple, adding a couple of leaves and another dragonfly.
This is page 5 open. There is a tag inside. The pumpkin on the mat is from the same Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss die that is on the tag in the pocket on page 1, with the leaf cut off. It is attached only at the bottom and left side, so a photo can slip inside.
Two pictures of the mat, front and back.
Page 6 has a waterfall feature. The BoBunny charm sits on two Spellbinders ovals. The brad is also from the Forever Fall collection, using dyed seam binding to wrap around it as a closure.
Each layer of the waterfall has an embossed trim strip at the bottom and a pocket with a tag at the top. This is the uppermost layer.
Here is the tag, partially pulled out.
The second layer of the waterfall.
This is a close-up of the brad. I again used the Martha Stewart border punch for the leaf border.
This shows how the waterfall closes. You will also notice two brads in the spine of my album. Cathy’s binding tutorial shows how to add strength to your binding system by not only taping it to your spine, but by adding brads.
We’re getting near the end. Here are pages 7 and 8.
Page 7 has a pocket at the bottom. The label is a Spellbinders die and the sentiment is heat embossed. There is another pull out mat in the pocket on this page.
Page 8 features a mat that folds around to the front and is held in place with a magnet. There is a pocket at the bottom and the curved oval shape (a Spellbinders die) is attached at the bottom to the pocket only. The embossing is from the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder and is highlighted with gold metallic ink. And there is one more of those little dragonflies on this page.
This picture again shows how wonderful Lindy’s Stamp Gang products are — look at all that sparkle. I used more than one color on the dragonfly.
This is page 8 with the mat partially out.
And we’re to the last of the pages, pages 9 and 10.
Page 9 is a fun interactive page. It has a brad and seam binding closure.
The sentiment is attached at the lower and left edges only, forming a pocket. The small leaves are the negative cuts from the Martha Stewart border punch, sprayed with Starburst Spray.
Page 9 opens to reveal another tag.
The left side of the page then opens up to reveal two more spots for photos.
Page 10 is the inside of the back cover. It has a pocket at the right hand side with a folded photo mat tucked inside.
I again used some Recollection brand rhinestones on the pocket.
The photo mat features a hexagon made with the BoBunny paper using an Epiphany Crafts tool and bubble cap.
How cool is that hexagon?
This is the inside of the mat.
And, finally, we are to the back cover of the album.
Thank you for taking a “tour” of my mini album. And I want to share my last discovery — I discovered that I love to make mini albums. I am already planning my next one.
I joined a Fall Mini Album Swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board. We were to make a mini for our partner, as well as do some shopping for them.
I want to share the beautiful mini album I received, plus a lot of goodies. My swap partner was Barb, Oswaltb on the Message Board. The album she made is not too mini — it’s pretty good sized. She used BoBunny’s new Autumn Song collection. I took a lot of pictures — so I can show each page.
And here are a couple of pictures of the goodies Barb sent me. She made a card and a tag, too!
Thank you so much, Barb. I love my mini and all my gifts.
I made this card a while ago to send to a lovely lady on the Cricut Circle Message Board who was celebrating her 65th birthday. I wanted to create a special card for her and first set out to make one using a Bookatrix Board. I picked one up on eBay a long time ago and have yet to use it. It’s basically an embossing board and you emboss the edges of the pages for the book and then cut them out by hand.
As I sat reviewing videos on YouTube on how to use the Bookatrix Board, I couldn’t help but wonder why I couldn’t do something similar with my Cricut and not have to cut everything by hand. So this is my attempt at “Cricut-izing” a Bookatrix card. And I have to say I am very happy with how it turned out.
The solid cardstock is Bazzill and the printed papers are all from Graphic 45’s Secret Garden collection. And because I want to remember how I made this card, I am posting a little tutorial.
The book is from the Summer Celebrations Cricut cartridge and is the card feature. I put it on my mat in Cricut Craft Room (CCR) and made the measurements 8″ wide by 5.5″ high. I took two lower case “v”s from Cricut Craft Room Basics, turned them upside down and welded one into each upper corner to hide the notches that are in this particular cut. I also hid the score marks that are in the center of the book. This is layer one (the back layer on the card) — I guess you would call it the cover.
Next is the middle layer. I copied and pasted the first (cover) layer onto another mat and made it 7.75″ wide by 5.25″ high. I did the top (third) layer the same and it measures 7.5″ wide by 5″ high. I cut out all three of the layers.
I laid the top and middle layers (the pages) on my scoreboard along the width and found the center. Then I scored a line 1/4″ on both the left and right side of center. This enables you to fold the pages up slightly and have them sit away from the cover. It is also the area that you will be gluing to attach the layers together. I distressed the edges of the pages only (the middle and top layer) and then inked them. I took a dowel about 1” in diameter (from Lowe’s) and curled the pages under, curling one layer at a time.
The base for the easel card is a piece of solid cardstock that measures 7″ wide by 10″ high. Lay the 10″ side on a scoreboard and score at 2 1/2″ and at 5″. It should look like this unfolded.
And here is how it looks folded.
Cut the remaining pieces. The frames on the pages (for the owl and verse) are from Elegant Edges and cut at 3″. The label where I heat embossed “Happy Birthday” is from Cricut Craft Room Basics and I fiddled with the dimensions to get something that would fit in the area I had to work with on the base of the card. The bottom layer measures 5″ wide by 2.75″ high. The middle layer is 4.75″ wide by 2.5″ high. And the top layer is 4.5″ wide by 2.25″ high.
The mat for the easel card base is 6 3/4″ wide by 4 3/4″ wide. I used a corner punch on the front two edges. This is what your pieces should look like.
To assemble the card, I first attached the book cover (layer one) to the easel base. I centered it across the width and had the bottom edge of the book even with the edge of the base.
Adhere the middle and top layer together, putting the adhesive in the 1/2″ center area created by the two score marks. Before attaching the pages to the cover, lay ribbon down the middle and attach it on the back of the pages at the top and bottom. Adhere the pages to the book cover in the center only.
Assemble the frames, using whatever cuts/designs you wish in the middle. I used the dowel to curve the frames just a little so they would conform to the pages. The computer-printed verse is a layer of the frame. I adhered the frames to the pages before adding the owl. I used the owl from Disney’s Happily Ever After, cut at 2″, and attached it with foam dots.
The daisies are from the Flower Shoppe, cut at 1″. The roses are from the Paisley cartridge. I posted a card here where I give the measurements and a link to a tutorial on how to make the roses. Both are cut from cream-colored cardstock and I inked the edges with distress ink to add color. The center of the daisies are Stickles.
This is what it looks like up to this point, lying flat and minus the owl.
The “Happy Birthday” label is popped up on foam dots and is what holds the easel card up. I added a bow at the top of the ribbon in the center.
The greenery around the flowers is from a Martha Stewart punch, as are the butterflies. I attached a little gold key charm on the “Happy Birthday” label, which you can barely see in this picture. Oh, I also added a pearl to each corner in the front.
This is a side view of the card, so you can see how it stands.
And this is what the completed card looked like folded flat.
Because my card would not fit into a standard envelope, I made a little box for it to sit in.
At some point I will probably post this in Cricut’s Project Center and will attach the file. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little tutorial.
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