Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tall Ships


This weekend we went to see "Pirate Ships"...OK, actually Tall ships, but close enough... WE THOUGHT. The boys were very upset when we got there and informed us that (In my sons angriest tone) "they are NOT pirate ships!". Why? No flag. We solved the problem by telling them it was too dangerous to fly the flag in port- they would get their treasure looted - so they had the flag hidden away. How long to we get to make up stories for our kids? Eventually they are going to be on to us. I actually love to make up stories, so having children has been like a creative outlet for me. We love to make up stories before bed, but I'm sure that these other little tall tales are going to catch up with me soon. I guess I'll just enjoy the moment and worry about reality when they force me to.

A couple of cards.....



I will not buy any more stamps


I will not buy any more stamps


I will not buy any more stamps


I will not buy any more stamps




OK, BUT have you SEEN the Penny Black stamps? They are so stinkin' cute! I don't normally go for cute, but these are cuter than cute, which makes it OK. My new frog stamp is called jump for joy, I'm going crazy with it. It was way too expensive for a single stamps ($12) but I HAD to have it, so now I must make 12 cards to justify it...I'm nearly done :) And then there is Northwoods stamps, I love those. I only wish I could get them to look like they do on the web site....practice I guess, or magic, or enough wine to think that they look like the ones on the web site. I've actually had the Northwoods one for a while and didn't want to ink it (so it still feels new to me) At least this one I got on clearance - LOVE those clearance racks at the Craft Outlet.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Summer Popsicle Card with Cricut DS



This is a "cased" card (thats the nice way of saying copied), I originally saw a similar card in PC magazine, I think they had "Enjoy" stamped on the front instead of using as an invite. At the time I had doodlecharms but I had to cut the base by hand (GASP), thankfully we have DS now so with a quick push of the button (pattern below if you'd like it) you can make a fun summer card or Popsicle party invite. I added some ribbon, glitter and chalking for fun. Stamps are from Stampin Up! Enjoy!

Popsicle card

Sticks are glued between base and insert, be sure to use a strong adhesive, I used that red sticky strip (glue dots don't work, I tried and that last year and it fell apart ).

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Explore Racehorse Falls


This is a totally digital page. I actually made the first one with my cricut in mind and planned to add a title from Home Accents, but then I found that it just wasn't needed. My background paper (ferns) was actually a photo of the ferns on the trail, then I put the opacity at 50%. The berry is also from the trail. We set off to do a geocache, which we didn't find, but we had a wonderful day together.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Cricut Card Topper 2, Floral Glitter window






This is a simple card topper, but I'm including the pattern anyway-no sense reinventing the wheel. It is from George, although when I cut it also asked for Home Accents - not sure why, maybe my cricut just likes that cartridge - The first card is done with the topper "as is", center stamp is from Stampin Up, and I used crystals in the flower centers, and after stamping the center cutout, I put it on pop dots. The second card I made into a glitter window below, stamps are from Stampin Up and My Favorite Things. It looks faded in the photo, but its quite sparkly in real life. The second page of the pattern includes the frame for the glitter window, which is conveniently they same width as packing tape. If you would like to make the glitter window then here's what ya' need to do:






  1. Delete the inner most rectangle from the first page of the .cut file. It will still cut one rectangle for you to stamp on and then put back. If you are sure of your skills you could eliminate the second rectangle too and stamp directly on the card topper, but I figure its easier to re-cut a new center piece should I have stamping issues, then to re cut the whole thing.

  2. Cut the frame (second page of .cut file) in contrasting color

  3. Lay a piece of packing tape (sticky side UP) on your work space and lay frame on top, trim excess tape (I've made it the same width as standard packing tape to make it easier)

  4. Cover sticky side with fine iridescent glitter -I use Stampin Up dazzling diamonds

  5. Adhere glitter window over your stamped image - VOILA!

Here is the file: flowertopper.cut

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Card Topper #1, Fall mesh


A couple months ago I saw an ad in PaperCrafts Magazine for card toppers and knew I had to make some with my cricut. I put it on the "to make someday" list - which is long and gets forgotten - but when everyone started making the meshes I decided it was time to revisit the idea. This is the first one I've made - I have another in the works (maybe for tomorrow if I'm lucky). These will be designed to fit on an A-6 Card, because thats the envelopes I have. To use this card topper you will need:

1- Cardstock base, 6.25 inches by 9.5 inches, fold in half (card size is 6.25 by 4 .75 inches)

2- Cut mat (optional) slightly smaller than mesh for contrast (mine was 6 by 4.5)

3- Cricut with DS, Doodlecharms and Home Accents, pattern below


I have inlcuded extra leaves in the pattern for either adding with dimentional pop dots on top, or for decorating the inside of the card. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Cricut Mesh Challenge : Back to School


Woowza, this took more time than I thought it would. I sure hope some of you can use the file. After I put it all together I realized I had forgotten the base for the apples, so now my leaves are black, oops. I'll have to go back with a gel pen but heaven only knows where they are right now, so it will have to wait. Final size is just under 12 x 3, carts are Pl Schoolbook and doodlecharms. Cut file is below. When you layer, I suggest doing busses, backpacks, apples, letters, starts - in that order. Thanks for looking!