Cricut 360 DT Call

For those of you who maybe haven't seen the Cricut 360 blog yet- go check it out here.... http://cricut360.blogspot.com/

Cricut 360 is a new challenge blog that is starting up later this summer....they are actively seeking designers, so I thought "why not?" and made this card as my submission.

I try to keep my projects simple, so anyone can look at them and think to themselves "ya, I can do that too".

This is a 5x5 card. Heres what you will need:
1- 10x5 inch strip of paper for the card base
1- 4.75x4.75 inch piece of paper for the 1st layer
1- 2x4.75 inch piece of paper for the 2nd layer
Corner Rounder
Crop-A-Dial
6 eyelets
Cricut image of your choice
Scrappers Floss
Chalk Ink
Adhesive and pop dots
Stamp of your choice

You really could stamp just about anything on this card. I chose best wishes because someone I know will be changing jobs soon, and since caterpillars also experience change, I thought it appropriate.

Best wishes to all who enter the DT Call. I'm sure this blog will have many new and exciting projects for everyone to see!

All the best,
Sue-Ann

Congratulations to the Graduate!

Graduation Invitations Anyone?

One of the ladies I work with has a sister graduating from college this month, and they will be celebrating in June! I had brought a few cards of mine to work, and she asked me to make some invitations for her---45 of them to be exact! 

Here they are....

The graduation cap came off the Locker Talk Cartridge, which thankfully one of my friends owned - I put out the APB for it, and Meg responded right away!

The paper and ribbon was all bought at AC Moore, and the card bases from Joann's as I was a little short one time to make my own.  :)  I used the Sizzix Texture Boutique to emboss the large yellow paper cut.

This was my first large order of cards- and I'm not happy to say it took me longer than I expected it to... A lesson learned!

All the best,
Sue-Ann

My Pink Stamper National Scrapbook Day Challenge #11

Challenge #11 was to use Pink, Green and Black in a project. Be sure to check out all the projects on Robyn's page.....http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/05/national-scrapbook-day-challenge-11.html

We had a BBQ with friends a few weeks ago and I got to bust out my cheesy cheap paper deck lanterns for the first time this season! It was an awesome night with great friends, so I thought I would take the memory and turn it into a card for someone! (The Stickles are still wet in the photo.)

4 out of 12 challenges done- must do better next year!!!

Happy Scrapping!

My Pink Stamper, National Scrapbook Day, Challenge #1

My Pink Stamper Challenge Number 1 for National Scrapbook Day was.....anything Cupcake!

Here's a quick little tag to go on the box of a nice little sweet treat!

 I did a lot of "hiding" on my Gypsy for this project. I wasnt crazy about all the lines on the cupcake wrapper, so I "hid" every other one and also hid various other cuts so I could get all the different layers just the way I wanted them.  A thin pop dot helps give the "Stickled" Pink Frosting a little bit more dimension.

Be sure to head over to My Pink Stamper and check out all the other entries!  http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/05/national-scrapbook-day-challenge-1.html

My Pink Stamper, National Scrapbook Day, Challenge #6

Here is my entry for Robyn, My Pink Stamper's, 6th Challenge for National Scrapbook Day. This challenge was to incorporate a tag into your project. I made a card and matching tag to go with a small gift or flowers.

The stamps used on both the card and the tag are from MPS. The flower was a white double layer flower that I turned upside down on my Stampin' Up Ink pad and tapped it into the felt pad with a pair of tweezers. I think it came out neat!

Be sure to head over to My Pink Stamper and check out all the other projects!

http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/05/national-scrapbook-day-challenge-6.html

My Pink Stamper, National Scrapbook Day Challenge #4

Yesterday, May 7th, was National Scrapbook Day, and My Pink Stamper, Robyn, had 12 hourly challenges for her followers. Here is my entry to the 4th Challenge, Anything Mother's Day.

I used my Gypsy to plan out the project, and was able to fit everything for the flower pot on one 12x6 cricut mat, and then did a quick second cut for the sign. Love my Gypsy!!! I used a few of the "thinner" pop dots just to one or two of the flowers a little extra depth. And I have taken to using my 3 in 1 Craft Glue from Beacon for making the layers on the cards.

Be sure to head over to My Pink Stamper to see all the other entries and awesome give aways she has going on! http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/05/national-scrapbook-day-challenge-4.html

Whats Flopping?

Wow! Its been a while since I posted! Some times life really gets in the way!!

Good news is I've got an all day crop coming up soon- so I'll have lots of time to get some projects done!

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who hopped over for the New Season, New Skill Blog Hop and left a comment. I love reading the comments and they were all very sweet!

Here is a card I had planned and had stored on my Gypsy for a while- Love the flip flops especially since we are headed for warmer weather soon!

Hope you are all doing well, more to come soon!

Cricut Inks

For the very first time today, I used the ink inserts for my Cricut!! This is the finished product...

I used the Paper Lace Cartridge that I got last week (finally!) and I'm really loving it.  I should have got the cartridge a long time ago- just kept waiting for a better price on it... I have a hard time spending a lot on cartridges....if anyone has any scoop on the best place to get them cheap let me know!

Since the pattern on this card is rather busy, I decided to keep it super simple and just tie a little bow with some orange ribbon to match. It was super easy to use the inks- I'm not sure why I was so intimidated by them....will have to use them again for sure!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  More to come next week..I've been working on 2 big events for work, one we completed yesterday, the other will be tomorrow...so shortly I will have a lot more time to make some stuff- and I've got some great ideas floating around in my head!

A New Season, A New Skill Blog Hop

Hi There! Welcome to the A New Season, A New Skill Blog Hop.Welcome to our blog hop!

If you have come from Melissa's Blog then you are in the right place.  If you have just arrived here from somewhere else, please head over to Crafting Misfit's site and start at the beginning.  There's a giveaway happening there so you will want to check that out for sure! You can also link up your own project there.

For this hop challenge we were asked to do something we had not done before.  Either a new project, a new technique, or a new material/supply.Today, I have two projects for you. I planned one project and then got a shipment of goodies so I had everything I needed to do a second project for you! Thank you in advance for all of your comments!

Here is my newest project- I used Stampin' Up Ink and a brayer to coat the inside of an embossing folder and then embossed a piece of white card stock. I chose to use 2 colors, rolling 1/2 the brayer in the light green ink, and then rolled the other 1/2 in a purple ink. I wiggled the brayer back and forth a little on the folder so I wouldn't have a line down the middle. If you were to roll the ink on the other side of the folder you would have the opposite effect- the Fleur de lis would be inked, and the rest of the paper would be white still. Pretty Cool!

Lessons Learned:  Use more ink for a more solid look! I used Stampin' Up Ink, and it came right off the embossing folder when placed under running water- I can not say the same for any other ink since I did not try it with any other brand- ink at your own risk :)

This next image is the first project I did for this blog hop.  The silver in the stars is actually pieces of embossed soda cans! My friend Meg's mom Jo Ann first showed us this idea a few months back when we were all scrapping together. I think she had seen it a magazine, and came prepared with cut open soda cans for us to try. So I finally tried it. The can is soft so it feeds through the Sizzix Texture Boutique very easily.

Lessons Learned:  When using the embossed soda can, you need to have a wider border around the edges to hide the sharp edges. The edges of the stars need to be a little bit bigger to hide the edges of the sods can safely. And I personally dont like how the inked edge came out on this textured card base. But thats how we learn right? Trial and Error...Just goes to show that many of us never make the perfect product on the first try!

Here's the line up- enjoy everyone's projects~

Crafting Mistfit

http://teachdanz.blogspot.com/

Melissa at http://craftygator.blogspot.com/

Sue-Ann at http://sueannscrafts.blogspot.com/ ( You Are Here)

Lolis http://lolis-mycorner.blogspot.com/ (Your Next Stop)

Tammy http://cuttinandstampin.blogspot.com/

Meaghan http://craftingwithmeg.blogspot.com/ 

Amanda http://www.whiteruffles.blogspot.com/

Dont forget to head back to the start to link up your project at Crafting Misfit

Hope you guys all enjoy the Blog Hop! Thanks for stopping to look at my projects!

Sue-Ann

There's a blog hop coming up!

Hello! Hope everyone has had a good weekend!  Its Sunday evening and the weekend hours are winding down- trying to get geared up for another busy week at work. I've got two huge work events this coming weekend, which is why I haven't been around much..but that will all be changing soon!

Tomorrow night at 5pm is the "A New Season, A New Skill Blog Hop" and I've got 2 projects that will go up for this. Check back tomorrow night!

I was lucky to take a break yesterday and spend the day crafting with my friends so I'll have a few more projects to post for you later this week!

Inspire Change

Guess who got a new border punch? 

ME!

I love it!

I whipped up this card on my Gypsy in no time flat!  I love being able to make things and store them for later... and I have perfected the art of arranging the cuts on my mat...you wouldn't believe what I cram on there! And I use a ton of different colors on some of my projects and still manage to get it all on one 6x12 mat for my Cricut Create! 

Get out there and Inspire some Change!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Stars and Buttons

Guess who is gonna get this card??

Off it goes to my favorite USAF JAG Officer!

The blue stars and the ribbon came from the Stand and Salute Cartridge, I got this huge bag of multi-size clear buttons for next to nothing and used some white scrappers floss for the bows. Now the buttons will make this card "un-machineable" for sure. So its either got to go in a care package or I'll have to pay a special visit to the post master for correct postage......but knowing me, it will probably go into a care package....got to go back to my roots as a Army Wife and spoil my servicemen who are deployed or stationed away from family!

Across the distance...

One of my best friends is currently serving in the United States Air Force, and while this is floral paper, I think its a manly floral that was OK to send him!

I love my Sizzix Texture Boutique- It can add SO much dimension to your projects, for a very reasonable price- especially if you are shopping with Meg and I at Michael's!

The "Love U Much" Embossing folder came from the Sizzix Valentine's Day folder set and at regualr price probably sold for $11+ dollars. Meg and I each scooped up a set on clearance for..............$3!!!  WOW!!  And clearly- they are good for much more than just Valentine's!

A Flower Soft Thank You!

Have you used Flower Soft? If not, I suggest you try it!  I love it!

Flower Soft is shaved foam that comes in solid colors or color mixes. You can also buy it in ultra fine or regular. This is the lavender mix and it is the regular type, not ultra fine. Meg and I picked this up when we were at Life Memories & More, a small scrapbook store in Palmer, MA. It was like $5.99 for a little pot of it and let me tell you....it was JAMMED in the pot. I could take the lid off and turn the pot upside down and it didn't budge!

You have to fluff the Flower Soft before using it- just take a little bit out of the pot and rub it between your fingers a few times to separate the pieces. Use a glue that has a low water content- like tacky glue, Sprinkle on the Flower Soft, lightly tap it and shake the excessive. I repeated it a few times and before the glue dried I took a fine glitter and sprinkeled it on top. The fine glitter sneaks in between the pieces of flower soft and give a nice sparkle to the project. Of course, I coudnt catch that on film though!



I snagged these metal "thank you" on clearance at the craft store for next to nothing! And since I dont have cropic markers and wanted something just a little softer, I used some artist grade colored pencils.

Hope you like the Flower Soft!

Another quick card off my Gyspy...

Just a quick little card to go with a little something.....

Front:

Inside:

Back:

Quick Card...on my new Gypsy!

So I've been playing on my new Gypsy here and there when I can sneak some time this week- and I just LOVE IT!  I've got 6 projets saved on it and I really feel like I am getting more out of my cartridges. Which, for the amount of money spent on them, is a really really great thing!

Here is a quick card I made to send across the US with an order of Girl Scout Cookies...

I think the thing I love most about the Gypsy is that you can lay out all the paper and know exactly where the image is going to cut. There is NO guessing!  I got every piece of paper I needed onto this 6x12 mat for my Cricut Create.

And here it is all together:

For some reason the picture is a little out of focus, and since I already packed up the cookies and the card, I cant take another photo! 

I thought I had the word "cookies" welded correctly, but my C and 1st O didn't weld so its a little not right there, but it add character, right? And belive it or not, this whole card was made from scraps. Yep. that 5x5 brown and green paper were in the scrap pile. Im THAT girl that cuts 2 inches from a 12x12 and considers the 10x10 thats left a scrap! You should see my scrap pile!

Tags

While trying to clean up my posting history, I found this post from last month that I thought I had posted, but I guess I didn't.

These were just some tags I had made for a few different Valentine's Day Projects.

The first is the tag that went on the Memo Boards I had made for the girls in my office. These were done at 3 inches, the bright pink layer was sprayed with some shimmer mist, and the heart had a pop dot behind it. I lucked out at Michael's and got a set of heart eyelets. While this one came out OK, I wouldnt buy them again- regarless of the setting I used, the eyelet either cracked, the paint chipped off, or it lost its heart shape! Lesson to be learned in there somewhere!

These tags went on all of these Memo Boards:

The following tags were made for the cookie bags the people in my surrounding offices, and for the staff at my husbands job.

 Super easy- A banner cut from the Cricut Sampler Cartridge, a heart made with a Creative Memories shape punch, and a My Pink Stamper Stamp. I chose to use a large silver eyelet on these tags becuase I was using 3 peices of curling ribbon and wanted to make sure the tag wouldnt rip when I tied the bags.

Cricut Bags by JoAnn

I'm super lucky to be able to surround myself with many crafty ladies!  Meg's mom, Jo Ann, recently started paper crafting with us having sewed for many years. For the longest time Meg was the only scrapper with a Mama Cricut- the rest of us just had babies. So Meg would tote Mama to and from home and here there and everywhere without a bag. For the amount of traveling Meg did, and how much she used it at home, it didn't make sense to spend a lot of money on one of the fancy travel bags that are marketed for the Cricuts. It would never be in the bag!  Now, Jo Ann starts paper crafting with us, gets her own machine, and the ideas just start flying!  Meg actually surprised me with this bag one night when we were out to dinner with our husbands..I was SO excited!  Its so cool!

I believe this is left over fabric from the cover Jo Ann made for Meg's Papazan Cushion and Jo Ann even made name tags for the bags!  The reverse side of the tag has my full name on it, and even a 3D embellishment to make it POP!

Now, I own the Cricut Create, if you want to see the larger bag she made for the Expression Machines, click on over to Megs Blog Post : Cricky Travel Storage

I haven't tried it yet, but I think theres even room for 'Lil Miss Gypsy in there too!

THANKS JO ANN!!!  I LOVE MY BAG!!!!

My Gypsy is HERE!!!

The long wait, and the LONG update is finally over!  My Gypsy made it here safely, is finally all updated, has all the cartridges linked to her and has her fancy new "skin" on!  I'm so excited. I waited forever and went back and forth on my decision to get one, to the point where I am sure I drove Meg NUTS!!! 

I'm not joking when I tell you it took forever to update this baby! I started right away when I got it Saturday afternoon- around 1pm. I thought the updates were finished around 5:30pm but when I went to link my cartridges, there were 5 that wouldn't link and I kept bring told to go the website for instructions on how to update it.

So I hooked it back up, let it chill with the laptop all night and this morning it was STILL not taking the update. So I tried one more time- hooked her back up on the little computer so Stan could use the big one,  and went and ran some errands. Much to my delight when I got home she appeared to be all set and I was easily able to link my last 5 cartridges to her at 10:30 this morning- 21 HOURS LATER!

And since then, I have designed and saved 4 projects on her!  So happy ~ and I LOVE the welding feature.

And a shout out to everyone who has posted How To Videos on their blogs and on You Tube. You have made learning how to use the Gypsy so much easier! Thanks!!!!