Baby Shower festivities

invitiations

A co-worker's wife is having a baby in December. We are throwing them a shower next weekend. I used my gypsy to create the invitations. The onesie is from New Arrival. I stretched it to make it a bit longer so the words would fit. Using an 8.5X11 piece of card stock I printed 2 invitations per page. I then cut each sheet in half so it was 8.5X5.5 inches. I then cut the onesie on the cricut create. I cut the trim 3/10X1 of an inch for the arms and 1/5 X .8 of an inch for the crotch. I then embossed using the cuttlebug (I can't remember the name but it has funky circles).

I'm in the process of making a diaper cake that will be uploaded later.

Happy Crafting!

Gypsy Review

I caved and ordered from the HSN special this past week. I figured I would eventually be purchasing it anyway, may as well take advantage of the extras! I am fortunate to have an E at school and a create at home, so this was yet another justification for purchasing. I got the Don Juan cart, travel bag, and car charger (although I'm not convinced I would purchase that other wise, it was a nice bonus). I'm not so sure about the extra 500 bonus points. I did not upgrade my shipping and it came in 3 days!! I was so excited to have it to play this weekend.

I have a few "unique" needs with my gypsy. First I am a lefty and second I am a mac owner. These were 2 concerns but after some research I determined they wouldn't be a hassle. I was pleasantly surprised and did not have problems setting up for either of these. The Gypsy even remembers that you set it to left (even though the screen starts out upside down). I was glad I wouldn't have to change this setting every time I used it.

It did not take me long to register my machine and link my cart collection.

I have designed several things and created a birthday card for my husband. His birthday is Monday. I can't wait to show it to him.

Features I like:

Long battery life (I played for several hours)

Able to design from several carts at a time

Welding (as a mac user I didn't own DS)

User friendly

Can use stylus or finger to tap screen (stylus is better for small nudges/buttons but finger works in a pinch)

Features that need improvement:

Wish the blue light came on when charging and or turned off when finished

Some of the overlay buttons are difficult to see even with the magnify button so you have to put them on to the mat then zoom

I also wish that you could have a list of just carts that are linked. I really don't want to see the whole library. Also wish you could search on just carts you own or the whole library.

Over all I adore this machine. I can't wait to really get the hang of it.

All about Me in my classroom

Well, it's that time of year again. I start back to school this week. We have an open house later on in the week. My friend who teaches elementary school mentions she makes a poster about herself and hangs it in her classroom for open houses. I really liked the idea so I decided to do my spin on it. I'm please with the way it came out.

The font used is Loop-De-Loo on Lyrical Letters (I believe cut at 2.5 inches)

The little background pieces are also cut from Lyrical Letters.

The tent and fish are from Camping Out! Solutions cart (cut at 2.25 tent, and 1.5 fish)

I also made some custom clipboards for myself and my little sister. She is an RA this year and I know clipboards come in handy. I think they came out quite cute. I traced the paper then trimmed it down. I mod-podged it to the clipboards.

Happy Crafting <3

Thanks a Melon

I made this card for a person from church. We just got back from our mission trip and people were sending us mail and emails it was great to feel the love.

The watermelon is cut at 4 inches from Stretch your Imagination . The core is embossed with the d'vine swirls cuttlebug folder.

Summer is melting away. I'll be posting bulletin boards soon!

Freezer Paper Ts

I have embarked on a huge endeavor. I am making freezer t's for my upcoming mission trip with my Youth Group. We are headed to Mescalero, New Mexico a week from Friday. Our theme for the week is "Reveal"

I purchased my freezer paper from Kroger's (Although I saw 2x as much for a little more money at Walmart the next day). This is not to be confused with wax paper. It is white and one side has a waxy finish.

I ripped sections of freezer paper then stuck it to the mat to cut it down

I used my cricut create on medium (3) speed, depth, and pressure. I put the wax side up and used the flip feature. Remember to type your word backwards so that when you peel it up and place it on your shirt it will read correctly.

Remember to save the center part of the letters (I needed to save the little center of the Es and A) I used a font that did not cut the center part of the R so I didn't have to save that since it was already attached.

I used Lyrical Letters and this is cut at 3 inches with the paper saver feature on.

I pre-washed all of the shirts.

Then I ironed on the decal and center parts of the letters.

Make sure you put the waxy side down when you iron. Also make sure you seal the edges well so the paint won't seep to other parts.

The freezer paper is much wider than what the create needed so I saved the scraps to put inside the shirt to prevent bleeding.

Next I painted since I wanted a fade effect I used 3 colors starting with white.

I used a foam brush with a dabbing motion rather than a painting motion.

Then I painted the periwinkle color

Then I used the navy blue on the bottom

I let it dry for 15-20 minutes and added a second coat and third later if needed. The lighter colored shirts did not need quite as much paint.

I couldn't wait for the black shirt to dry so I took a picture of one I did last night. You need to wait for the paint to dry completely before peeling the freezer paper off. I let the yellow shirt sit over night but I wait at least an hour after applying the last coat before peeling the paper off to "reveal" your design (sorry couldn't pass up on a theme joke).

Little Card Set Life's a Beach

I made this little card series using the Life's a Beach cartridge.

The phrase/picture is cut at at 2.5 inches. I used raffia for a little extra detailing.

These simple little cards are being mailed off to a few of my girls from our Youth Group who are at summer camp this week.

Joy Fold

The "Joy Fold" Card has been really popular on the Cricut message boards recently. I decided to take a go at it and turns out they are easy and I really enjoy making them!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card/ (Visit this site for complete directions) I cut a slit through the pink on the left and pushed the cream slip through the slit.

I made this card for my brother in law and his (future) wife. They are getting married July 11th. I am so excited for them.

I submitted this card in my first card challenge hosted by Oh My Crafts. We'll see if I win!

Carts used:

Lyrical Letters (Loop Dee Loo font) for lettering

Stretch Your Imagination for the glasses

CB Folders:

Swiss dots

D'vine Swirls

Have a great day

Small Summer Update

Happy Summer Time

I have a few updates. I upgraded to the create and sold my personal. I had personalized the personal with some vinyl and liked it but can't decide what I want on my new machine.

I created this little layout for a friend. The turtle is from Life's a Beach. The frog, moon, and hook are from Camp Out. The scallop is from Mini Monograms. Embossing folders are swiss dots and the circle. The frog is popped with a little pop dot.

A little craftiness

School is out for summer!  That only means one thing...more crafting.

These pictures are off my phone so not the best quality unfortunately.  My brother in law is getting married in July so I made this little hoodie for his fiancee's bridal shower next weekend.

I made this card using the lyrical letters cart and swiss dots cuttlebug.  I was pleased with how both of them came out.

Busy busy

So as you can tell I've not posted much recently.  I have made several cards.  Most of these cuts are from the new Lyrical Letters cart.  I also got mini monograms.  I am quite pleased with how they have turned out.

Some tricks I have learned in my small time being a cricut owner. 

~ If you cut aluminum foil it sharpens the blades.

~ You can cut cereal boxes (thin cardboard) without the deep blade which is awesome.

oh, baby!

I have a few friends having babies this spring.  I had a fantastic time using the cricut to make gifts for the new little bundles of joy!

I had a hard time with the layout of this and tried a bunch of different things.  I was worried the colors were too boyish but I really like the final product.

tried cutting vinyl

Since I am relatively new to the whole cricut thing there are so many things I want to try.

I am a huge fan of searching youtube for "how to" videos!

I had been intrigued by the vinyl idea.  My sister had just painted her room this fantastic royal blue color and we were hoping to do some wall art but could not find any white vinyl.  I ended up getting some black and decorated my baby bug, I must say it turned out quite cute.  Will post pictures later!

I also purchased the Home Decor cart from Michael's when they had them on sale this past week.  I am looking forward to playing around with this.  I have also found that the Cricut consumables are much cheaper at Walmart which is good to keep in the back of my head.

Learning the cricut

Well, I have had several blogs in the past.  I did a blog for my university several years ago but I just never got into it.

I am hoping to share my craft explorations.  I mostly scrapbook and have recently purchased a cricut personal that I have been exploring.  I must admit I'm already addicted!  I need to figure out how to post and share pictures of my creations.