Time for the Bubbly!

Oh guess what I made! Yes another Diva Va Voom card!! *okie cracks up laughin* Even though the mermaids kinda freak me out I decided to use the one in the bathtub. I actually think I printed her too big but I wasn't reprinting so I went with what I had. After I got her on the card she didn't freak me out nearly as much!

I kept trying to think of a sentiment to go with it and then I remembered a My Favorite Things stamp set I had that had some sentiments that would work. I know ya'll might be thinking "now what can this card be used for" and believe it or not I have an answer and when I tell you, you are going to think I am a freaking genius! *okie knows she is a genius and gets tired of spending so much time trying to convince others* So are you ready for it?? Are you sure?? I think it is perfect to use for when giving a gift from Bath and Body works or such!! NOW SAY IT WITH ME!! OKIE IS A FREAKING GENIUS!! *okie listens and hears the crickets chirping* Well okay maybe not a genius but it is rather clever!

The paper is double sided Daisy D's paper that I got a few years ago. I chose it because I thought the colors worked well with the image. I used the orange colors to match the mermaids hair.

In the close up you can see the bubbles I made using Glossy Accents. I kept looking at the card trying to figure out what I could do to make it more interesting. I tried skittles, but that didn't work. I thought about more brads but that would be too much. I started digging in one of my drawers and came across my Glossy Accents and thought "THAT'S IT!" I think it really added to the card and image.

Okay I off to play with my Diva images and see what I can make next!!

Let's Party!

I got a box of goodies from my friend Carmen, aka ScrapperDelighted yesterday and in that box was a set of Inkadinkdo stamps. I just loved the little set and had to use it right away. So I took a break from my Diva cards and made a set of 6 of these. I wanted nice tropical colors and I had this wonderful lemon lime paper that was sent to me a few months ago and knew it should work for the card.

I broke out my rectangle Nestibilities to use for matting the globlet. I don't use those often because I always forget what the "recipe" is for using them. The border punch is a Martha Stewart, maybe double arch. I can't remember the name right off the top of my head.


I tried to take a very close up picture so you can see the glitter on the lime and the words on the glass but not sure it turned out to well.

I cut out the lime and globlet after stamping. And can you believe I forgot to ink the goblet! *okie hears the gasps in the crowd* Oh come on now ya'll! You know you forget things too!!

Make a Wish!

Since I printed off some Diva Va Voom's for my video tutorial I was able to get some cards made tonight with those that I printed. This one is called lingerie, but I think it should be called Hoochie Mama! *okie cracks up laughin*

The patterned paper is from a My Mind's Eye glitter stack. I used the Stampin Up ticket punch on the corners of the image and image mat. The scallop circle and the scallop border is also Stampin Up. I wasn't sure how the border punch would work with the glittered cardstock but it was very easy to punch and gave a clean edge.

Okay I have to tell you that the itty bitty wings on some of these ladies just crack me up! I mean seriously how hard are those babies going to have to flap to keep up those rotund beauties?? *okie knows if she had that wings that size they would be completely useless* Actually this image kinda pisses me off, I mean this chick looks better in lingerie than I ever would.

I tried to think of a clever sentiment for this one but my brain just wasn't working like it should *okie has a club ready to bonk anyone with smart comments* so I just went with one of my Just Rite circle sentiments. I didn't use a border stamp with it since I didn't want the sentiment circle to overtake the image. I did use a glitter pen to go over the word Wish and also fill in the stars.

I think I am going to run out of Diva's soon. And I am not sure what I will do then. I still have some that are like mermaids but they are kinda freakin me out...so will have to think about what to do with them! *okie just remembered she has some glitter paper that has ocean animals on it that might work and wonders if it is too late to start on another card*

PCCrafter Video Tutorial

I had a few requests to do a tutorial on how to work with the digital images that I got from PCCrafter so I got a tutorial made on how to open in a photo program and add a shadow to the image. It also talks about how to print the images where it is easy to know what size you are printing.

I LOVE LADYBUGS!!

Bet ya'll read that and thought "okie has lost her marbles...we know she LOVES ladybugs!" But what you might not know is that ladybug's love me. And not only do they love me, they love me and my beautiful ladybug red Expressions!!

I was sitting at the computer last night and turned to talk to my daughter who was at the craft table and I notice something on the back of my E. I quickly grabbed my camera off the computer desk and snapped a few pictures and while doing so I told my daughter "THERE IS A LADYBUG ON MY CRICUT!" My daughter couldn't believe I was going to take a picture of this and she rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. For some reason she tells me "you're out of control" quite frequently *okie blinks innocently* and I have no idea what she is talking about!

So here is the picture of the little ladybug thinking she found a new home!! I bet she thought it was the most beautiful home she could ever had! I am not sure where the little ladybug went to but she left shortly after that. I just hope she didn't go off to find friends to move in or they might all get smashed the next time I use my Cricut!

Well Behaved Women....

I just finished up another set of Diva Va Voom cards. Well okay I am not completely done with them all because I lost one of my champagne flutes! Not sure where that thing went to. I asked Lucy if she saw it and she just lifted her head up off the recliner and looked at me like "you silly woman I am a dog, I can't work a Cricut". Although I am not sure but I think I noticed a slight ornery gleam in her eye.

I think the color choices might be a little bold but it is what I am stuck with since it is all taped down now! Now be honest if you don't like my color choices because I went out on a limb here and put the colors together myself. That's right.....you heard me....I chose them myself without the use of a color wheel! *okie stands boldly with hands on hips as to challenge anyone who doesn't believe her*. I do have to admit it took me awhile to choose the colors and I did try to pick up colors that were in the image. Over all I think they worked out pretty good.

I will stamp or print something for the inside but not sure what right now.

I used a Versamark pad to stamp the little shoe on the turquoise paper. The sentiment is a Stampin Up stamp. The champangne flute is from the Wedding cartridge. The bubbles are Fiskar Zings. I am rather sad since I am almost out of these round ones. I still have quite a few of the tear drop shaped ones that I like to use for raindrops.

I was going to take the night off tonight and not do any crafting but I just couldn't resist doing another one of the Diva's! Maybe I will take the night off tomorrow.....maybe.......

Cheers To You!

I got another Diva Va Voom card made tonight *okie starts to say 6, but figures everyone knows that by now*. I used two of the Diva's for this one and was able to drag them both onto the area for printing. I got one made and decided I didn't like the papers I was using and of course I already had all the paper cut for 6 cards *okie makes a loud UGH sound*. But now that I look at it in the picture it doesn't look so bad. I think the picture must look better than the card in person because it sure looks ugly when I look at it!!

This paper was some I purchased when my friend Tracy was closing her scrapbook store. It is Sassafrass Lass. I think the sentiment is a little hard to read though.

The sentiment is done with the Wild Card cartridge. Cheers was already a welded word but I welded the "to you!" and the swirl to the Cheers.

I went back into my papers and I was on the phone with BFF Karen and told her "I never have the right shade of blue I need!". She said she figured red would be hard to get the right shade and I told her I have a lot of red papers, but never enough blue. And I also told her "I just don't have enough paper". She said something nonsensical like that couldn't be possible or something or another *okie is good at ignoring statements about thinking okie has way too much paper*.

I did finally find some that I thought I could work with. I think the paper selected for this one just makes the card look more "cheer"y and bright *okie cracks up laughin at the funny she made and realizes what a dork she is because no one else will likely think it is funny*. I think the sewing really added to the card too! I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy my Janome Sew-Mini! *okie wonders if she can get a contract as the Janome Sew-Mini spokesperson since she thinks she got 3 sold this week*. It is so easy to use, easy to store and the stitching is great!

Here ya can see where I used Stickles on the lettering. I think it will look better after it dries. The little martini glass brad was one I got from Eyelet Outlet some time ago. I remember ordering them because they were on clearance *okie sure can't pass up a clearance sale* and figured I would be able to use them some how. When I told BFF Karen "OMG! I can use my little martini glass eyelets!" she immediately knew which ones I was talking about. BFF Karen is good at remembering things when it comes to drinks...she especially remembers "NO MORE MOJITO'S!" But that is a whole notha story!! *okie cracks up and can just hear BFF Karen moan when she reads this*.

I still have a few more ladies from the collection to use and I am seriously thinking of ordering a CD that has more of my beloved fat ladies on it since I am just so diggin workin with these fluffly beauties!!

You're Aging Like Fine Wine

Okay you guys know that I posted the other day about the Diva Va Voom from PCCrafter and said to watch for more cards with this cute cute set, well I got another one done tonight!

I really like this one because my friend LGuild is into wine and I immediately thought of her, but let me make it clear Linda does not look like the lady riding the wine bottle *okie thinks Linda would probably think about riding a wine bottle though if they were made that big*. I was able to show Linda the Diva Va Voom set today when she came by and she loved it!

I found the sentiment on the internet and thought it was a great for turning this image into a birthday card. I used Microsoft Word using the Printing on Shape cardstock method to do the sentiment on the yellow mat. The inside was done just the regular way, but I do make a table so I can get the sizing right. The grapes are are from MSWord clipart. You can click on the picture and make the image bigger if you can't read it. I have had the wine themed patterned paper for awhile now and kept wondering what I could use it for and when I sat down to make the card I knew I could use it!

This image is better than than the lady in the shoe since I did some playing around with it and made it smaller and printed on a glossy paper. At least now I will know how I need to print the others when I get ready to use them.

I used the Stampin Up Ticket Punch on the corners at the top and a Stampin Up border punch at the bottom of the green mat. The ribbon is also Stampin Up.

I still have a few more of these adorable fat ladies to use so keep watching for the others in the set!!

Sweet Celebration

Okay I so totally lifted this idea from CARDS magazine! In the magazine it was a little different and they used a My Favorite Things stamp set. I used the Stampin Up Sweet Scoops stamp set for mine.

I wanted the scoops of ice cream to have more dimension than if I just stamped with one color so I used my markers and colored the outer edges with a darker marker and the inside of the scoop with a lighter color *okie wonders if she should tell her bloggies that she totally cheated there too and used the Stampin Up color wheel...and then decides NNAAHHHH, let them think okie is a genius with color*. I also did the same technique for the cone.

The patterned paper is Basic Grey and I used a variety of cardstock, just taking from my scraps of what would match the paper. The scallop border is a Fiskars punch. I also used a corner rounder on the sentiment strip.

Here you can see the coloring a little better on the scoops of ice cream. It really didn't take that long to color them and I think the effect is really good. I used heat set gems for the little bling at the top of the scoops of the ice cream and used an I-Rock to adhere them.

I know a lot of people are Copic crazy and while I have never tried the Copic markers I think for this situation my good ol' Stampin Up markers worked great!

Cuttlebug Challenge - Oh Christmas Tree!

I hope you guys have checked out the Cuttlebug Challenge by now to see all the wonderful Christmas projects that have been posted!

Tags, Bags, Boxes and More is such a great little cart and packed with some wonderful items. Sadly it is being retired and will no longer be available so when it's gone it's gone! While it is not one of my most used carts I do love having it to make cute little projects such as this CHRISTMAS TREE BOX. The pyramid cut was used to make this tree. Christmas Noel was used for the branches on the tree and the star is from Home Decor.

The box is big enough to hold some candies or trinkets for gift giving. It could even just be used as a small table decoration or place settings at your Christmas dinner filled with mints for your guests.



Supplies used-
Cricut Expressions
Cricut Cartridges - Tags, Bags, Boxes and More, Home Decor, Christmas Noel
Patterned Paper - Basic Grey
Cardstock - Prism, Stardream Mica


I took a picture looking down so you can see how the details are on all sides.

I did cut my branches in two different patterns but of course you don't have to. I used 3 branches on the bottom layer, two for the middle and one for the top. There are extra branches in the cut file so don't worry if you have a few left over. I wanted to make sure I had enough in case one or two didn't cut correctly. Working from the bottom up I glued only the top of the branches so they would have a more dimensional look to them. The bottom branches were trimmed even with the bottom of the box.

For the star I used a toothpick between the gold layers so the star could stick into the top of the box. I then glued the white layer on top of the gold.

I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas project!

Cuttlebug Challenge - Noel card

If you haven't check out the Cuttlebug Challenge this week then you should do so! We are celebrating Christmas in July and the Design Team has come up with some super fabulous projects to share with everyone!

Every time I see the word Noel the song just starts going off in my head, which is not a bad thing since I do like the song. For one of my Christmas in July projects I decided to use the Christmas Noel cartridge and make a shape card out of the NOEL cut. It is pretty simple to make, especially if you download the cut file! HA! I did have to weld the shadow cuts since I wanted the card to keep the shape.

I like the basic traditional colors in this card but it did make it look a little plain, so a little doodling really added to it. And of course a dash of Stickles can always make the drab look fab! *okie cracks up at her rhyming abilities*

The cut file is set to cut 2 cards at a time. Also on the base you will need do a hide contour of one of the diamond shapes so you have a solid back.

Wishing Shoe...

I was on the phone with my friend Carol with two hearts this afternoon and she was helping me figure out how to load CD's from the PCHugware collections. I had the October 2008 CD in and saw the Diva Va Voom set and said "OMG! I LOVE THE FAT LADIES!" and I knew I had to make a card with one of them.

I choose the one with the shoe because I know so many women in my life that love shoes and I know I can use these birthday cards to send to them.
Supplies used -
PCHugware Diva Va Voom
Studio G stamp - shoe
Punches
Patterned Paper - Little Yellow Bicycle
Various solid cardstock
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Stampin Up ink and marker
Spareparts brads

I do have to confess that the image would have been better had I printed on the correct side of the carstock! *okie gives herself a V-8 smack on the head* I usually am good about checking to make sure I am printing on the smoother side, but this time I guess I was distracted *okie really needs to remember not to craft while on the phone but thinks this is a lesson she shall never learn since she loves the phone*.


I used Microsoft Word to make the sentiment circle that would punch out correctly with a 1.5" circle punch. The green scallop is the Stampin Up scallop circle punch and the larger one is a 2" scallop circle punch by EK Success.

There are some more of these luscious ladies in the collection so stay tuned for my next card!!

WHEW! Relabled posts!

I just spent almost 4 hours relabeling my posts. Now if you want to see cards I have made you can click on A2 cards or note cards. If you want to see layouts you can click layouts. Of course when I got over half way done I thought of other labels like Stamping, Stampin Up, etc. But for now this will have to do!

One Cool Chick

I just couldn't resist another Country Life card! I looked through the book and I liked the look of one of the chickens. I did use the sentiment of "cool chick" but added "one" at the front. And I did remember to save this time so I do have the ONE COOL CHICK cut file available *okie does a "yeah okie" dance*. The cut file is set to cut 4 cards at a time. Of course you can delete some cuts if you don't want to make 4. The sentiment is one piece and welded.

Supplies used -
Cricut Expressions
Country Life cartridge
Patterned paper - K & Co. and Basic Grey
Kraft paper for base
Cardstock - Prism, Bazzill
Spareparts Brad
Pop Dot for wing
Stampin Up and Cat Eye Chalk Inks

I did a little doodling on the card *okie can't seem to NOT doodle* and I think it always makes a card look a little better.

I decided to be daring and make that chicken with printed paper, which is a big step for me. If ya'll read my blog you know that I have a problem with making things that aren't appropriate colors. But I am trying to step out my little comfort box and walk on the wild side *okie finds this humorous that using patterned paper is wild side and decides she has definitely reached an older age*.

Oh also, one more thing. I did cut the grass twice to give it a some extra dimension. Well hope you guys like the card!

On the Mend

As some of you guys may know my neighbor Naomi is currently in skilled Nursing Care. She is doing better and I thought I would make her a card to give her tomorrow as I told her we would have lunch together. So not only does she get some of our favorite chicken livers she will get a nice little card to!

I recently acquired the cartridge Country Life and kept looking through the cuts to see what I could use. There wasn't a sentiment I wanted to use but when I saw the sewing machine I immediately thought of "on the mend" since Naomi's condition is improving. Now I want to tell you that I had every intention of sharing the .cut file but my computer locked up and the file was lost before I could save it *okie bangs head on desk since she usually always does save through out when designing a .cut file and feels stupid for not doing so this time*.

The patterned paper is some that my friend LGuild gave me quite some time ago, she had deemed it UGLY paper and while she couldn't think of a use for it I think it looks like fabric and works good for this card.

I do know the sewing machine was set at 3" when I cut it. I spelled out the sentiment and had it grouped as one and welded so it could be easily copy and pasted *okie sighs deeply* and of course all that work went down the drain! I am just glad I did get everything cut before the computer locked up!

As you can see I used small brads for the drawer handles and think it gives a little extra dimension. The little swirl on the sewing machine was a bit of a booger *okie giggles because she said booger* to cut and I did have to recut one that I tore taking up from the mat.

I hope nobody likes this card so no one will be upset that there isn't a .cut file available. I guess if enough people did like it I could go in and recreate it easily enough, but then again...as everyone knows I am lazy! *okie cracks up laughin*

Cricut Imagine

So from what I am hearing that is the new machine that Provocraft is coming out with. "So what" is that what you were thinking? Or was it "well what does it do?". Well from the sources I have found the Cricut Imagine will not only cut but it will print also. Yes you heard me....PRINT! Now how the heck this is gonna work I just don't know. But if you would like to read more just check out this article

Cricut To Introduce "Imagine" Machine That Both Cuts & Prints?

Merci - French Manor

Okay if ya don't know you know now that I did join the Cricut Circle *of course okie only joined for 3 months, the whole fear of commitment thing even haunts okie in her little crafting world*. I just had to see what it is all about *okie thinks her nosiness will one day get her into some serious trouble*. I have been dying to use the French Manor cart but couldn't ever decide what I wanted to make. I think I mentioned in a post before about having too many choices and then getting nothing done because I can't choose!

Yesterday I designed the card in Design Studio and had to do some welding on it for the frame, other than that it is simple cuts. But I didn't have time to cut it then. I was going to get home tonight and get it done but I decided to color my hair *okie knows her facebook friends have seen the non-gray okie now* before I cut the card. Of course I cut four of the card but only got one completely done tonight *okie wonders if anyone always gets everything done that they plan*.


Supplies Used -
Cricut Expressions
French Manor cartridge
Crate Paper Crush Collection
I-Rock
Hot set gems
SU Chocolate Chip marker
Cat Eye Chalk ink dark brown

I did hand cut the golden paper in the tail and wing. I didn't want to spend all that time clicking to do the hide contour and it only took me a few seconds. I also had to make a few snips in the flourish at the bottom of the frame.

Okay I might have lied earlier when I said it was simple cuts. Those dang peacocks and scrolls too FOREVER to get done cutting! It might not be so bad if I could just do one, but....I can't.

Here you can see the gems a little better. That I-Rock...well - IT ROCKS! I had been using a Hot Marks tool and I find the I-Rock much more simple to use. You can see where I added gems to his crown, eye and tail. The crown and tail are 2mm and the tail gems are 3mm. You can click the picture if you want to see more detail.


*******UPDATE*********
Someone asked for the .cut file for this card, not sure why I didn't post it before but here it is now! *okie grins*
MERCI PEACOCK

Sometimes stalkers

Can be a nice thing!! *okie cracks up laughin* There is a Cricut MB member by the name of JenH that is also on facebook. Well she and I have gotten where we correspond almost daily on facebook now. Just a few days ago she pm'd me on facebook

Jen: Hey I need your address.... NO not to stalk you! tee-hee!

Me: OH sure!! Get me all excited thinking you are gonna stalk me and then you say you aren't! LOL

Jen: LOL!! I will if ya really want me to! LOL!!! What I'm sending is better than me stalking you anyway! HAHA!!! Now you can stalk the mail man! Hope ya like it!! I saw it and had to grab it for you!

Well I won't post the rest of conversation but I questioned about what she was sending me. If any of you know Jen you likely would have asked the same question I did! *okie cracks up and knows if Jen reads this okie is gonna be in big trouble*.

So anyway today I get mail. And I get mail from Jen. And LO AND BEHOLD!! I got the most BEAUTIFUL AND BESTEST scissors ever!!

Who knew they made ladybug scissors?? I sure didn't!! But I have some now!

Thanks so much Jen! It was very sweet *okie thinks and maybe a little stalkerish* of you to think of me and send me something you knew I would just love!

Holiday Cakes Cartridge....I WON!

Last night I was getting ready to hit the hay and I got a message on my cell phone. It was from Provocraft's Twitter account saying they were going to have some giveaways during the Martha Stewart Cricut Cake airing on HSN. Of course me being the person I am *okie thinks cheap*, I had to stay up and see if I could win something. I also was curious about the Martha Stewart edition of Cricut Cake. There were some fabulous cakes aired that is for sure. My ability to make cakes that looked that well, I am not so sure about!

Well I didn't win the first cartridge which was Birthday Cakes. For that one we had to tell what our oddest wedding cake was that we ever saw. I said Armadillo, of course it was a Texas wedding so it kinda made sense to me *okie cracks up laughin*. Of course had it been an Oklahoma wedding the cake would likely have been an Opossum! I was watching the HSN airing and posting on the Cricut Circle board and the regular Cricut MB and decided it was time to head to bed when the segment was over.

I had just posted a message that I was going to bed and logged out of Twitter on my computer. When Provocraft Twittered that for the next giveaway of the Holiday Cakes the first person to answer the question won. The question was "Who originally said 'let them eat cake?' ". Of course in all reality no one really knows but it is usually attributed to Marie Antoinette. I quickly logged back in and Twittered my answer and POOF! I WON!

Now mind you I don't have a Cricut Cake but some of the cuts on the cartridge will be great for cards and layouts!! I can't wait to try out the haunted house!! And the borders are great!!

It will probably take a couple of weeks to get here so I have plenty of time to think about what I want to make!

HEEAATTTT!!

It is 105 degrees here today *okie wipe one hand across her brow* and with the heat index it makes it feel like a warmish 120 degrees. My daughter and I were going to go to Walmart and shop for a microwave but we are opting to go late tonight when it is cooler and less crowded. We did go to a restaurant here in town called Prairie Kitchen for supper. It is even too hot to stand out by the grill so there was no way I was cooking anything today!

Since it is so hot I think I will go lay on the couch and take my Gypsy with me and see if I can't get a better handle on how to use it. Maybe a second nap for the day is even in order!!

Hope everyone is keeping cool!

Sweet Treats Thursday! Back 2 School!

It is time for Sweet Treats Thursday once again at the Cuttlebug Challenge! The theme for this week is Back To School. My fellow designers have come up with some awesome projects so make sure to check those out!

For my project I chose to do something for a dorm room since my daughter starts college in the fall and has decided to live in the dorms. I am excited and a little sad about it all. She already knows who her room mate will be so I did include her room mate in the project as well. I thought they could always use a dry erase board and some cork boards on their walls. I went with a music theme for the items because the girls are music crazy! My daughter was very excited about the boards and even sent a picture to her future room mate who was also excited *okie thinks to self...SCORE!*

Supplies used-
Cricut Cartridges - Hannah Montana, Home Decor
Vinyl - black
Crayola holographic paper
Dry Erase board (purchased at Staples)
Cork board (purchased at Staples)

On the dry erase board I used the music note font from the Hannah Montana cartridge and also I used Home Decor for the swirls. I thought the music note font would be good with NOTES written for the top. I cut some very small notes to put on the magnets. I cut the layer hearts out of holographic paper and glued on top of the vinyl hearts.

You can see the magnets a bit better in this picture and see how I cut the notes under 1" so they could be put on there to carry on the theme.

The writing area of this board measures approximately 10x10 inches so there isn't a lot of space but there is enough to write on. And if I remember correctly there isn't a lot of wall space in a dorm room anyway. Well at least once you get your bed and dresser and other items set up!

I have to be honest and tell you that I did have some difficulty with the NOTES and luckily my fellow DT member Capadia had a great tutorial on how to make those letters work and be one. If you are having problems and need help with this one please see Capadia Designs for the tutorial!

For the corkboards I used the star font from the Hannah Montana cartridge. I cut the blackout layer from holographic paper and then the top layer with black vinyl. I really liked that there were music notes with stars on them so they matched the names on the cork boards. The vinyl stuck really well on the cork board but for the names I did have to use Zip Dry glue on the back since it was the holographic paper. I swear that Zip Dry glue will make anything stick!






Here is a close up of my daughters name so you can see the holographic paper better.

I was able to purchase the boards on sale at Staples for half price and if I remember correctly it was about $4 or $5 for the dry erase board and the same for the set of 4 cork boards.

I think this project would be great in the ol' craft room as well!!


I hope you enjoyed my project for this go around and until the next Sweet Treats Thursday...CRAFT ON!

Martha Stewart and Cricut Cake...

WHAT?? Yep, it's true. If you would like to read the official press release then just click HERE. It is in a Microsoft Word document so you might need that program to read it. But you might not *okie thinks she might need to learn a little more about computers*.

Ol' Martha got her fingers into Provocraft. I wonder if she has kicked EKSuccess to the curb now that she is collaborating with Provocraft. I personally really like a lot of EKSuccess tools and have quite a few of their punches. Oh yeah but this is about Martha and the Cricut Cake. Anywho, I posted about Martha not long ago about how she can tell me I can grow my own salad, butcher my own sheep, gather my own eggs and sew my own tablecloth all before my dinner party at 6pm for 30 guests. I guess now she is going to tell me I can make a 3 tier cake for the event also and have it elegantly decorate....*in her best Martha voice okie says* It's a good thing! So she says with her small army of staff! I just wonder how many times she will actually use the Cricut Cake machine and how much she knows about the cartridges available. I am kind of excited to see what her carts will look like since I do like some of the designs she has done. Her small butterfly punch is one of my favorites! However, I won't be getting them since they are exclusive to HSN. The debut is set for July 19th.

Here is a picture of the new Cricut Cake. Instead of red it is white this time. I have mixed emotions about the Cricut Cake. Although I haven't done so in quite some time I was a trained professional cake decorator and I believe this kind of decoration takes out the creativity and expertise of cake decorating. If you ever had to pipe out drapes of strings on a cake you would know what I am talking about. It ain't easy *okie remembers many fine strings breaking sending okie into fits of cussing like a sailor*. But with that said I think it is great for people who want to make and decorate their own cakes.

So tell me my darling readers *okie looks to see if anyone is actually out there and listening* what do you think about this?

My feelings about blogs....

A few years ago when I started my blog I started it for one reason. So people could easily download .cut files without me having to email the files to them. I remember one evening spending over two hours replying to email requests and sending files. I knew there had to be a better way. So I entered the blogging world.

How do I get followers? That is a frequent question on the Cricut messageboard these days. I recently answered as follows "I don't know how ya get followers. I am hateful to my readers sometimes and talk to myself. Personally I wouldn't follow my own blog as mean as I can be sometimes." I was being totally serious too! *okie still is amazed that people wanna read her blog since she is hateful and sometimes threatens her readers* However I am not really talking to myself, the thoughts in my head just sometimes find their way into my posts *okie wishes people would stop reading her thoughts so much and wonders how many mind readers there are in this world*.

I have a love hate relationship with my blog.

I love being able to post what I create where my friends and family can see it without me having to email them pictures. When I tell one of my friends what I have been working on they will say "email it to me". But then I would have to email it to several people I tell them "I don't want to". So then they say "post it on your blog so I can see it". Well okay, that way I don't have to email it to several different people. Believe me there have been times when I didn't want to post something because I thought it looked like crap! But one friend of mine, I won't mention her name *okie thinks ScrapperDelighted gets on her last nerve with this though*, will tell me "I don't care if you think it looks like crap...I want to see it! SO POST IT!"

The hate part comes in because I am lazy! It takes time to take pictures to where they look good and then edit and then write up a post. That is one reason I don't do more video's. It literally takes hours to shoot the video, edit the video, publish the video and then upload the dang thang! *okie cracks up because she loves saying dang thang*

Now days it seems everyone wants to commercialize their blogs. They want a ton of followers and corporate sponsorship and will do giveaways to increase traffic on their blog. While I will do a giveaway every now and then I make it easy. You don't have to link my blog, post my blog, jump through hoops of fire or any of that crap; you just have to leave a comment on that post. Now don't get me wrong here, it does feel good to know people follow my blog and want to see what I make *okie is always amazed that people leave comments to let okie know they have stopped by* but for me I think my blog has now become an outlet for my own creative expression *and okie's thoughts*.

Overall I think blogs can be a good thing. I do like going to blogs of others and seeing how inferior of a crafter I am but it makes me strive to try and be a little better. Although, I don't spend a whole lot of time reading blogs because then it would cut into my time creating.

I guess what it boils down to is that I think blogs can be a good thing. I just dislike people always saying "go to my blog" so I can see a picture of what they made or what they think. Just post at least one picture and then let me decide if I want to see or read more!

And that's all I got to say about that!

The Create comes in....

BLACK?? Who knew? Well I didn't know! *okie wonders why she is the last to know these things and then remembers it is probably because she doesn't like to to to Walmart anymore*.

I had to go pick up some Cricut blades today and noticed this! I was surprised to say the least and had to whip out my phone to take a picture *okie thinks she might be a little addicted to her camera phone but won't admit it publicly*. I am not tempted at all about purchasing one of these since I have the original Cricut and my red Expressions and I don't care for the black color since it would likely show dust very easily.

I wonder if they make one in red.....hhmmm.

Wedding favors...

equal Sour Cream Containers!! I swear these are the easiest things to make for favors! And probably the most inexpensive of the paper crafting favors.

One of the ladies on staff of the agency I work for is getting married this month and I told her for my wedding gift to her I would make favors. She had seen the sour cream containers before and did like them.

Stacie's wedding colors are black, ivory, red and pink. When Linda and I were in Tulsa on Thursday I looked at Michaels and didn't find anything. Then at Hobby Lobby I did find some papers *okie so prefers HL over M's any day of the week*. I couldn't decide what color I should go with for the container. I first picked out some pink striped paper, and it was very pretty but I decided it might be too much pink. I then found some black and ivory paper but Linda and I decided the print was probably too big. So I settled on this smaller print of black and ivory.

I used MS word to print the circle sentiment. The circles and scallop circle are done with paper punches.

If you haven't seen it I did do a video tutorial on the sour cream containers and it can be found here -----> VIDEO TUTORIAL SOUR CREAM CONTAINERS.

Linda's RAK Winner

I am a little behind due to a busy schedule! Linda picked and notified the winner of her RAK from her recipe book project.

The winner is:

bandit said...

Great job! Thanks for sharing the rest of the pages, I really like it.

Congrats Bandit!

Always finish your projects....

in a timely manner! Okay word of advice that I need to follow!

I was looking for something to work on this evening and came across a plastic box full of stuff. I pulled it out, saw what it was and shoved it back in the slot really quick like it was a snake that was gettin ready to strike. I then looked at it again and slowly took the box out of it's slot and took it to the craft table *okie sighs deeply and closes eyes*. I sat there looking at it for quite some time deciding if I really wanted to open it or not. After a few minutes of staring at it *okie doesn't figure people will believe her, but okie knows it really was a few minutes* I opened the box. Fingering through the papers I realized I had gotten farther on the project than I had thought.

I got everything out of the box and laid it on the craft table. I soon realized why I should have finished the project two years ago. I had forgotten how I had planned on finishing this little project!!

This is a time when Design Studio can be a life saver! I went through my files and sure enough I had saved a folder of files to finish the project. The only problem now is that I have so many cool cartridges and this could lead to endless possibilities.....and I need an end to this project! I left most of it the same but just tweaked a few things to make it go faster. I still have some things in DS that are saved and ready to cut tomorrow....or the next day, but definitely by the end of the week!

So what is the project??? A set of 4 recipe books that I had planned on making as prizes for my Girlfriend Christmas party!! You can see what I had posted almost two years ago here ---> RECIPE BOOKS <----. And hopefully next week I will have the whole thing completed and will be posting it!

WISH ME LUCK!! Oh and ya might want to say a little prayer for me also!

About the Gypsy....

Yep, it's true. I do have a Gypsy now. But I have to tell you folks.....I STILL LOVE MY DESIGN STUDIO MORE!! The Gypsy can have it's benefits for sure but there is no way I will give up Design Studio and making files for it. I like being able to see on the big screen. To me it is like going from a movie theater to a tiny tv to watch a movie. Heck DS is like IMAX compared to the Gypsy screen! LOL

Maybe I just need to play with the Gypsy some more so I can see that I do like it. But it will never replace my beloved Design Studio!

Ants!

I went to Stamp Club on Thursday and didn't take a thing with me to work on! I told my friend Linda I would likely just look through my new Stampin Up! catty while there. As I watched everyone make cards I couldn't resist. I went over to the stamps that were out for us to use and then to the paper pile and gather some stuff to make a card. I did have to use Linda's scissors, ATG gun, and markers so I could make the card. I did make 4 of the same thing.

For not having any of my own supplies I think the card turned out pretty good!

I think the second and third ant were suppose to be almost standing up. I didn't notice until I got them all stamped LOL.

Friends.....

I like the colors of this card but not sure if I like all the patterns. I do like the patterns but I think the card might be too busy!

I welded the "Friends" and the block together as a shadow. I then made another block smaller. For the butterfly and flower I used the hide contour feature for a middle layer since I wanted a different color than the shadow cuts.

The papers I used are from Kaiser and I have had them for a few years. I just love pink and brown together!

As for the file for the card....well I can't share it. I don't know how to upload a Gypsy file to my blog!!

Okay so now the cat is out of the bag. I do own a Gypsy now! But I am totally serious about the devil made me do it! Actually it was the Devil's Spawn!!

All I am saying....

is the Devil made me do it!! Stay tuned tomorrow to see what the Devil made me do!

Linda's Recipe Book - and a Giveaway!

My friend Linda, aka LGuild, made a recipe book and posted a few pictures on the Cricut Messageboard and was asked to post all the pictures. Linda doesn't have a blog and didn't want to take up MB space posting all the pictures so asked if I would post them on my blog *okie thinks Linda was just being lazy and wanted okie to take all the pictures and have to post them*. Of course I told her I would be more than glad to help her out *okie sometimes is not such an honest injun and might have lied a little about being glad about it*.

Linda came down for Stamp Club yesterday and we had some errands to run and then came back and took pictures of the pages. I think she did an excellent job on her book. Linda is not a scrapbooker, she is a card maker. So this was quite the stretch for her...matter of fact she said she had smoke coming out her head from trying to come up with ideas for all the pages *okie think the smoke was actually from Linda just using her brain and not stealing ideas from other people*.

Linda is also doing a giveaway of the items in the picture below. Just leave a comment on this post about her recipe book. She will do a random number draw on all comments left before July 7th at 11:00 pm. She is NOT giving away the recipe book it's self *okie already has dibs on it if Linda is gonna give it away*

Linda said "not every page has Cricut cuts on it but this was quite an undertaking for me since I make cards". She did use stickers, stamps and Cricut cuts. She also said "if someone asked me to make them one I would say 'YEAH RIGHT! Not in this life time'" *okie cracks up laughin*.

So without further ado here are the pictures!! Oh and remember you can click to make them bigger if you want to see more detail.

First three pages..the index is actually turned the other way, just turned it for picture taking.











Pages 4 and 5. Pages 6 and 7.











Pages 8 and 9. Pages 10 and 11.











Pages 12 and 13. Pages 14 and 15.











Pages 16 and 17. Pages 18 and 19











Pages 20 and 21. Pages 22 and 23.











Pages 24 and 25. Pages 26 and 27











Pages 28 and 29. Pages 30 and 31











Pages 32 and 33. Pages 34 and 35.











Pages 36 and 37. Page 38












Remember to leave your comment for a chance to win Linda's Giveaway!!