Today I wanted to share the gift I made for my sister and brother in law for Christmas. I always have a difficult time deciding what to get them for Christmas but this past year I knew what I wanted to make for them.
One day when I was in Goodwill I found 4 glass cabinet doors and I knew I could make something out of them, especially since they were only $2 each and I actually had envisioned the project in my head when I bought the doors although I wasn't sure about the vinyl design at the time.
My friend Karen was here when I made the project and she helped me out by doing the painting while I worked on a design I liked. I had gotten knobs at Hobby Lobby a long time ago for the project so at least that part was taken care of and I didn't have to go shopping for knobs.
When I do vinyl on glass I generally always put it on the back of the glass so the front can be easily cleaned when needed and the vinyl design is safe from somehow getting messed up. I cut some templates from white cardstock and used a re-postionable Herma Dotto roller to put them on the back so my sister could easily cut pictures to size. I used some double sided tape along the frames so pictures can be added, all she has to do is pull the paper off the tape and place her picture in the frame.
She and my brother in law seemed to really like the gift. I asked them a few weeks ago if they ever got it hung up and my sister said they hadn't and my brother in law said it was because she hadn't told him where she wanted it and she then said she did tell him...and then I was sorry I asked! *okie cracks up laughing*.
I gave one door to my friend Carmen when she was visiting one time and then I used another one for a wedding gift, which I will post later on and that leaves me with one more door to alter and I really wish I had a few more of these because they really turn out nice. So when you're out shopping in thrift stores always remember that even the oddest things can be made into something else!
As most of y'all know I try and keep things organized and often change organizational systems for things in my craftroom several times before I get things how I like them so why I haven't thought about making little tabs for my cards is beyond me!
I needed to get some recently made cards out of one of my drawers and put them in my card boxes and that is when I thought I should get my cards in a little bit better of order. I just cut some pieces of heavy cardstock and then separated my cards by category so I can quickly find what I want. I had the boxes already labeled but this will make it a little bit easier rather than flipping through all the cards to find what I want. I started to get out my label maker but there was a Sharpie just laying the drawer next to me so I opted to use it instead.
I got these boxes about 7 years ago I think at Walmart on clearance and they have been working quite well for storing my cards. I think I need to get busy on some birthday cards since that box isn't quite full. I have been doing a lot of cards that can be used for about any occasion and that box is rather filled up right now.
I have a hard time with where to put odd size cards, which to me is anything other than A2 size, because they can't go in the boxes lined up all nice and neat....and ya know that bothers the heck out of me!
I'll be working on some cards using dies soon since my Gemini is suppose to arrive today! After cutting with all the dies I did a few weeks ago my shoulder was so dang sore I could hardly move it and my dang wrist felt like it was on fire and I am hoping the Gemini will help take care of that problem because it sure sucks getting old and having arthritis and carpal tunnel.
When Carmen came to visit back in March she brought me a mini album kit she found at Goodwill because she said it reminded her of me and she likely wouldn't ever put it together anyway. I had posted this on Facebook and my Aunt Betty said she loved it and that gave me the idea to scour my computer for pictures, print them off and then give the to my Aunt Betty and that is just what I did. She LOVED it!! Of course the pictures I have of the album don't have the family photos I put in but at least you can see how it looks. Oh and since it was a kit Carmen brought me I only made one...yes you read that right...I ONLY MADE ONE!
Pretty much everything the album is decorated with came with the kit. I think I only added some twine, washi tape, a bit of ribbon and stamped a few things, which may sound like a lot but it really isn't.
I had the chicken wire ribbon from another project and it went nicely on this album with the garden theme. The cover photo was one I had of my Aunt Betty and Uncle Perk from a Thanksgiving probably 10 years ago.
I used my own ribbon on these pages but the other elements were in the kit, including the little charm. I think the seed packets were some of my favorite elements in the kit.
I tried to use as much of the kit as I could and there was a lot of chipboard elements that I could use and I still ended up with a few left over.
The gingham pocket was included and I used a Bo Bunny background stamp to it for a little more interest. One of the tags in the pocket has Maya Road twine and the other has some burlap ribbon, which I wish I could find more of....I really like that stuff! I like the elements that had open space so Aunt Betty can add a little narration about the photo on the page if she so desires.
Sometimes I have a hard time remembering it's okay for elements to overlap pictures and I had to accept this with the watercan chipboard image because I really wanted to use it! I tried to keep the picture areas fairly large so I could use just about any photo I had to put in the album.
I wasn't so sure about the fork and spoon chipboard image but it did work out okay on the pocket. I loved the image but wasn't sure it really went with the whole theme but since we eat what comes out of a garden I could justify using it.
Trying to keep things interesting in mini albums is sometimes hard for me and I think it is because of the small size as well has having to come up with so many different looks so pages don't seem redundant.
Another thing I had to watch for while using the chipboard images was placing them so they didn't stack on top of each other when the album was closed so it would cut down on the bulk, it takes a lot of finagling *okie is shocked that finagling is an actual word and knows it has to be because she didn't get a red line under it when she typed it* due to the different size and shapes of the chipboard.
On the back I tried to add something interesting but with no elements popping up so they didn't get torn off during handling.
My Aunt Betty looked through the album several times when I gave it to her and I think she liked all the pictures I chose. I tried to include her kids and all her grandkids in a picture somewhere in the album and I think I did a pretty good job overall. We were having family game day the day I gave it to her and she made sure everyone got to see the album and it made me feel good that she was so proud of it!
I saved the best for last! I absolutely loved this card when I got done with it and that is a rare thing for me as I am usually never totally pleased with a project when I finish it. There were a lot of dies used in this card and it was well worth the time it took to complete.
The background was done with the Tim Holtz Bricked embossing folder and I used Coredinations paper so I could sand it lightly and then I used some Colorbox Chalk Ink and lightly went over it. I love how it looks like the outside of a bricked house.
The leaves in the flower box are from the Aboscello Tree die and I cut it apart to make the viny looking leaves. The little flowers are from Flower Mound and I used one of my flower shaping tools and pressed down in the center on the foam mat to give them dimension and the centers are dotted with Liquid Pearls.
I couldn't figure out what kind of sentiment to use and how to add it but when I started looking through the dies again I found the oval from the Palace Oval Frame Set and it fit on the flower box perfectly. After that it was just a matter of finding a sentiment that fit the card and the oval and I found the "welcome" from one of my Stampin Up sets that worked well.
You may have noticed that some of the dies are linked and some are not. A lot of the dies I was gifted are retired and I can't seem to find a place where they can be purchased but if I do find a place then I link it in case anyone would want to purchase the die. I have done this in a couple of previous posts and thought I should explain the reason not all are linked.
You guys have a wonderful weekend and Happy Crafting!!
Most of y'all know I'm a little sneaky with giveaways and I don't always announce when I'm doing a giveaway but I will give little hints. This time when I posted the link to the Cricut Totes Review - Okieladybug Style in Facebook groups I said "make sure you read the whole post" that way people would know to read and find out about the giveaway.
I had to laugh at some of the responses I got about me being crazy for tossing my Explore in the tote off my porch and then tossing a few times around in the yard. I knew folks would think I was crazy but I wanted to give a TRUE TO LIFE test of the tote and how the machine would hold up during rough handling. I am pleased to say that the Explore is still working great and after a few drops of super glue to the dial it is back on the machine and fully functional, like it was never broken in the first place! Again I would advise that you put some tape on the dial and the doors to hold them in place if you feel your machine is going to get a rough handling.
I had a few thousand views of my post and videos but not nearly that many entries, which is a good thing for me because I didn't have to print off, cut and fold a ton of entries to get a winner. In order to enter all that needed to be done was to answer 4 questions and email those to the email link given in the post. I didn't think that was too much to ask to win but maybe some people felt it was not worth the effort or they didn't want a chance to win a fabulous Cricut Tote or maybe they just didn't read the full post and see that there was a giveaway. What ever the reason it doesn't matter now because we have a winner!!
My daughter came in and was thrilled to get to pull the name out of the bowl, although once she looked at the picture she said "Oh I look rough!". She had just gotten out of the shower and straightened her hair and was getting ready to get in bed and I didn't think she looked rough. At least she was clean and smelled good!
As you can see the winner she pulled is Robyn Williams and in the email Robyn answered the 3 questions correctly and included her answer of how she would use the tote.
1. Mud hole
2. Fabric cleaner
3. Handy dandy little pliers
And 4.....to store Cricut when not using and to transfer when visiting daughter
So congratulations to Robyn Williams for winning the Cricut Tote Giveaway!!
I have seen the window dies used on quite a few projects when I do Google searches for ideas and I have always loved most everything I have seen but until now I didn't have any of the dies to make such things and when I saw window dies in one of the bags I was thrilled!
Supplies Used:
Memory Box Dies -
Grand Madison Arched Window, Flower Mound,
Swirly Tree
Stampin Up Punches -
Modern Label, Word Window
Clear Transparency Sheet
Various cardstock and paper
I usually see cards that it makes it look like you are looking into a window and I wanted to try something where it looks like you are looking out of the window and I came up with this card. I think I am going to have to step beyond my comfort zone of A2 size cards for some of these dies because of their size and it not leaving a lot of room for embellishing or sentiments.
You can't tell in the picture but behind the window frame I cut some clear transparency so it would look like the window has glass and in person it looks pretty cool *okie hopes people's imaginations are good enough that they can vision what she is talking about*. The hardest part about this card was gluing the tree. I love the fine detail and flourish the dies can give but dang it that gluing down is a pain, but I guess worth it since I keep using them! I can't remember what the little bird is from but I know it is from a die and I'm too lazy to turn around and grab my dies and look for it right now.
Tomorrow's card is my favorite of the die cards I have done so make sure to stay tuned!
This was the least favorite of of the die cards I have made so far and not really sure why I don't care for it, maybe it is because the bench is too big for the card or, the papers I chose just don't seem right.
Supplies Used:
Memory Box Dies -
Madison Park Bench, Estate Fence,Wildflower Patch
Tall Birch, Butterfly Sprinkles
Stampin Up -
Flamingo Lingo sentiment and die
Various cardstock and patterned paper
Let me tell ya that dang fence was a B I T C H to glue because of the fine detail and again I was glad I had my Fineline Glue Applicator to use and even then I got glue all over my fingers and the cardstock and afterwards I was glad I used it. The leaves on the trees are actually from a die I can't find the name of yet *okie thinks she needs to start that search again* but I did cut the leaves away from the branch to use with the birch tree.
I used some Colorbox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan *okie thinks that has to be her all time favorite ink to use for shading* and went over the bench seat lightly to give the bench a more wooden look.
I have two more die cards I will be posting and then I'll be moving on to something else. The next two cards I really liked!
I know some folks might be curious about how my Explore is doing after my CRICUT TOTE REVIEW where I threw it off my porch and then tossed it around my yard so I thought I would go ahead and get this posted before some other projects post. I am happy to announce that the dial is functioning just fine after I put a few drops of super glue on the shaft and then glued the shaft to the dial. You can't even tell it was ever broken! The machine cut wonderfully, although I did get a few shockwave errors during cutting *something that irritates okie to no end* and was scared the program was going to shut down during the middle of my cutting but I waited and it cleared up. Oh how I love my Explore Air 2 but hate that dang software!! Thank goodness I only use it for cutting!
I found some Onesies in my craft closet last week that my friend Carmen had given me quite some time ago and made up a few of them for my great nephew Lane. When he was born I made a BABY FRAME and a NAME BOOK and this is the first thing I've made him since then.
I admit I cheated and did a Google search *okie cheats like that a lot and thinks everyone else probably does as well* and found my ideas. I still have 4 more Onesies to do but not sure what I'll put on those. I think I have an easier time making girly stuff that boy stuff, especially since ya don't use glitter or rhinestones for boy things, at least not this little boy.
This is a picture of little Lane, it was taken a few months ago. He is such a happy baby and is always so good when we all get together for family day. He rarely fusses and is always smiling! I don't think I'm biased about how cute he is since I will say if a baby is ugly. After all, when my child was born I took one look at her and said "oh she's ugly" but luckily she got cute real fast, otherwise I was going to have to send her off somewhere! *okie cracks up laughing*.
As you can see, the Explore Air2 survived my review process and did a fabulous job of cutting out the HTV for the Onesies, even the finest details were cut as if it had never been tossed off the porch or across the yard! GO CRICUT TOTE!!!
If you would like to purchase the Boy Onsies HTV Designs click the "Buy Now" button and follow the directions that are listed below. Purchase includes all 4 designs as pictured.
Once you hit the "BUY NOW" it will take you to Paypal where you can pay for the item. Once purchase is complete Paypal will redirect you to "Return to Merchant" where you will given the link to download the file from Google Drive.
Happy Sunday and I got something to show you today!!
So summer time is here and many folks will be heading off to the beaches and I have a little project that will be making you want Christmas to hurry up and get here! Okay, Okay I can hear some of you saying "OKIE YOU'RE NUTS!! WE DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT CHRISTMAS DURING THE SUMMER"...but wait!! Just hear me out and see for yourself....and at the end of the post I will remind you that you thought I was crazy!
So when I went on the first Cricut Cruise back in 2011 we were told to gather some sand from each beach so we could use on some of the projects, and for whatever reason I have kept that sand for years...like 6 years to be exact! *okie wonders who the hell keeps sand for 6 years in baggies in a closet* Anyway my friend Karen was coming for Christmas and I wanted to make her some gifts and I had to be careful about what I made to make sure she could pack it for the plane ride back home. I had been working on some glitter ornaments and it occurred to me that I had sand from the cruise and wondered how it would work in the clear plastic ornaments. I used the same method for the sand as I had the glitter, coating the inside of the ornament with Minwax Polyacrylic and the pouring in the sand and moving the ornament around so it would be coated well.
So go ahead and ask..."Okie how did it turn out?" and to you I say....I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!
Here is a close up of one of the ornaments. While gathering sand at the beaches I gathered shells as well and most of them where small, causing me much frustration because I wanted bigger shells but boy have those small shells came in handy for crafting projects!! I used some Maya Road twine to go around the top of the ornament because it mimicked rope well, then used a glue gun to apply the shells. I decorated each ornament differently at the top with shells and twine.
Here is a picture of the ornaments on the tree in regular light. It's pretty cool to see how each sand is different from the other. I thought San Juan had the darkest sand but oddly enough it was Megan's Bay that had the darkest sand! By using different point size with the fonts I was able to put the name of the beach and the location which is a nice touch because as I get older I tend to forget things a lot more easily.
At night time the ornaments almost change looks because of how the light hits the inside and almost illuminates the sand.
Karen loved the ornaments and I love the set I made for myself. We will always have a unique way to remember our first cruise!
Now remember at the beginning of the post where y'all thought I was crazy? Yeah ya don't think I'm so crazy now do ya!! So remember to take those baggies with ya to the beach and get ya some sand and shells while there and get busy making some Christmas ornaments when you get home and now y'all can be saying "IT'S SUMMER....HURRY UP CHRISTMAS!!"
First off let me say I know good and well that you can buy a lickable glue product to use when making your own envelopes. I also know good and well that you can use double sided tape *okie has used that method herself* as a way to close an envelope but I wanted to make my own glue dammit!! The reason I say these things is because when I shared on Facebook about making envelope glue I had people telling me I should do this or that and I didn't want to do this or that, I wanted to do what I wanted to do!
I also was told that due to the ingredients of the envelope glue was going to attract ants and then someone said that it would probably attract roaches but I am here to say that I have not seen one ant or one roach in my stash of envelopes. Oh yeah then someone mentioned "it's not vegan friendly". By this time I wanted to slap some people upside the head. I couldn't reach through the computer and do such a thing so I just called Carmen and yelled at her for a little while and I felt all better. Oh and Carmen yelled with me about the nonsense so it worked out great *okie thinks everyone needs to have at least one friend to whom one can vent and they will vent with you*.
Okay now that is off my chest I shall share with you about this awesome idea!
LICKABLE ENVELOPE GLUE
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Envelope unflavored gelatin
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon sugar
Use a small container that has a lid, I used one of the 4 oz Rubbermaid containers I had in my kitchen cabinet, and put the white vinegar in the container. Place the container into a microwave and heat long enough for the vinegar to start to boil. I believe I did mine like 45 seconds or so but it will depend on your microwave. Remove from the microwave and add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Add the vanilla and sugar and stir well to mix.
When done you should end up with a mixture that resembles something like this and it is ready to use!
I have had mine stored in my fridge now for a few weeks and am still able to pull it out and use it without any problems. But make sure you keep it in the fridge when not in use. It will set up but just pop it back in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it will be thin enough to use again.
I'm not sure how many envelopes one recipe will do but I can say I think I did over 300 envelopes with the one batch I made and I still have quite a bit left.
You will want to use a cheap stiff paint brush, don't waste a good paint brush on this, and then just apply to the top flaps of all the envelopes you made with yesterday's tutorial.
Be sure the flaps don't touch anything while wet because they will stick. Drying time will depend on how thick you put the glue on and mine dried within about 30 minutes or less. Once dry you can fold the flap down and store. When you are ready to use the envelope just lick like a regular envelope and close. Oh and you won't even taste the vinegar so don't worry about giving away your handmade cards and envelopes and people being disgusted by the taste. It actually taste better than most envelopes I have licked.
**For those expecting the making your own envelope glue post today I apologize and it will post tomorrow**
I was contacted by the Provocraft man a few weeks ago about reviewing their set of Cricut Totes and I agreed and told them "ya know I am going to put my machine in that tote and throw it off my porch don't you?" At the time I wondered if he took me seriously or not but I know when I posted on Facebook that I was going to toss it off my porch that folks there believed me and some folks thought I was crazy. One lady even asked "Why would you do that?" and I immediately knew she doesn't know me and how I like to review products. For those of you who don't really know me just know that when I do a review I am willing to make sacrifices if needed because if I am going to say I approve or recommend a product I am going to mean it.
There are a lot of reviews out there that show how nicely made the Cricut Totes are, how roomy, how stylish, yadda, yadda, yadda but I am not that reviewer. They are actually stylish and roomy though but, I'm the reviewer that is going to really put crap to the test and for this review it meant putting my machine in the tote and seeing how well it would fair under extreme circumstances.
There were 3 main reasons I wanted to toss the tote containing my Cricut Explore Air2 off the porch.
1. Because I wanted a true test of the durability of the tote
2. No one else that I know of has done this type of test with the tote
and finally...
3. Nail Provocraft for a crappy product and inferior craftsmanship
I apologize for having 3 segements for the video, I honestly tried for like 4 hours on how to get them all together and I finally did using the YouTube program but then they wanted me to buy the program because it was over 5 minutes long *insert angry emoji here*. Windows 10 has really messed me up on being able to edit videos because I use to have a program that was fairly simple for me to use but alas, I can't use it anymore.
Now on to the review!
Cricut Tote Review - Part 1
In this segment you see me throwing the Cricut Explore Air2 off my porch and then tossing it in my yard a few times and if it survived.
Cricut Tote Review - Part 2
This segment shows me unpacking the machine after I got it back in the house.
Cricut Tote Review - Part 3
The final segment shows if the machine was able to operate after the rough handling I gave it.
Now you might be concerned about my dial that broke off during the experiment but never fear I was able to find the collar pieces, one in the yard and the other in the tote, and using some Loctite Super Glue Gel I glued the color pieces together and then to the dial. Once I let it set I then was able to pop the dial back on the machine and it works perfectly.
Overall I would say the Cricut Tote line is a far more superior product than I expected. I honestly thought my machine would bust apart during the whole process. Now I know that if and when I do take my machine on an airplane I just need to tape a few things down before packing it in the tote. I would also suggest that you use some type of strap to keep the tote securely shut. I have no worries about it being tossed in the trunk of my car for trips.
I will give the Cricut Tote line a thumbs up on durability, craftsmanship and style. I have agreed to do a giveaway since I believe in the product *okie doesn't do giveaways of products she doesn't believe in or recommend*. In order to be eligible answer the 4 following questions and email to Okieladybug Giveaway and title your email Cricut Tote Giveaway. DO NOT COMMENT WITH THE ANSWERS HERE. ANY COMMENTS CONTAINING THE ANSWERS WILL BE DELETED.
1. In segment 1 of the review what kind of hole did the tote hit?
2. In segment 2 of the review what did I say might clean up the tote?
3. In segment 3 of the review what did I use to change material settings for cutting?
4. How would you use the Cricut Tote?
Entry deadline is Wednesday, May 24th 2017 at midnight Central time. All directions must be followed or entry will be deleted. Multiple entries will be deleted. Winner will be notified by a post on this website on or before Saturday, May 27th 2017. Prize will be shipped directly from Provocraft, they will determine the date of shipping after receiving winner information.
***REVISED*** After this was posted in a Facebook group a lady named Bev told me an easier way and I tried it and POOF! Yep a lot easier and faster so the instructions have been revised and post has been updated. Shout out to Bev for sharing her instructions!!
I had another card scheduled to post for today but I decided to share how this information instead. I had posted about making envelopes on Facebook and several people asked me to make a blog post with instructions and I'm just now getting around to doing posting it so to those who asked I apologize for the delay!
I'm not quite sure when I got my We R Memory Keeps Envelope Punch Board but until recently I hadn't really used it but a few times. One of the reasons is that it doesn't make a true A2 size envelope and according to postal codes the size it makes will cost extra postage. I determined that by using my handy dandy Mailing Template that I got from the post office years ago. I have used it for square envies and loved it for that purpose.
When Carmen was visiting we decided to sit down and figure out if we could actually make a true A2 envelope and I knew there had to be some way to do it! After a few failed attempts we finally figured it out and got the measurements down. Now it might seem like a lot to do in order to get a true A2 envelope but once you get in the swing of things it goes fast and if you are using 20lb paper like I did then you can actually score, punch and clip 3 at a time and I thought the paper actually scored and punched better when doing 2-3 sheets at a time. Generally I like to use 24lb paper but I got a steal of a deal on some reams of blue and ivory Hammerhill copy paper, $1 a ream!! The ivory was actually long enough that I could get 2 envelopes out of one sheet and the blue was long enough that I was able to make an A2 envelope and 3x3 envelope. I can't remember how many envelopes I made in a week while just watching TV but it was around 400.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Start out with cutting your paper at 8", NOT the 8 1/8" as printed on the envelope board and make your first score as at 3 1/2" and punch, or you can punch first and then score, just which ever you prefer. Then just continue to turn, punch and score as normal.
After you have your paper scored and punched you will have a piece of paper that looks like this. The flap that is punched will be the flap of the envelope and you will use the back side of the board to round the corner.
This step is a personal preference since I don't like the tip of the bottom flap going above the line of my side flaps. Fold in the sides and the top flap, and using your trimmer line up the top of the envelope and trim at 6 3/4"" which will give you a nice straight edge where your sides and bottom flap meet. I usually trim 4-6 at once to save time.
Unfold the top flap straight and keep sides folded in. You can use tape, glue or whatever is your preference for making the envelope stay closed.
I used my Fineline Glue Applicator bottle to glue my envelope together and you can tell in the picture where I left a little area in the middle of the bottom flap without glue and the reason is that if you do put glue there then you are going to glue the bottom flap to the front of the envelope *okie isn't sure that just made sense*...Um...just don't glue in the middle, do like the picture shows.
Now all you have to do is fold the bottom flap up and POOF! Your envelope is done! A lot of people use Score Tape or other types of things to put on the flap so the envelope can be sealed but I went a different route and made envelope glue! I found a recipe on the internet and it works great. If you think you are interested in making your own envelope glue just come back for tomorrow's post!
We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Post To Bring You....
Okay it's not late breaking news but it is good news for me!
I think the first time I remember stepping foot in a Hobby Lobby was when I was probably about 9 or 10 years old and I went with my mom and my Aunt Carolyn to find some macrame rope, wooden beads and little ceramic owl beads. Macrame was all the rage back then and any woman who was worth her salt knew how to macrame and if you were really good you would have a macrame hanger with a glass table top that hung from the ceiling! I see some of y'all in the back nodding your heads because you know exactly what I'm talking about!
Anyway, now you know when my love for Hobby Lobby started...about 40 years ago! So can you imagine my excitement when it was like legally official that Hobby Lobby was finally coming to my town?? I heard the news back in the late late fall and we still have to wait until August before it opens but at least I have signs that it is really going to happen!
I know for a lot of you this is no big deal and you might have 3 Hobby Lobby's in a 10 mile radius but for me it is super exciting because it means I won't have to plan an all day trip when I need one simple little thing!
Okay granted there might not be a lot that I need at Hobby Lobby but "wants" are a all together different story and whether I am needing or wanting it will only be across town, which is only like 3 minutes!
It took me awhile to find the name of this die set because I kept searching in Memory Box but when I shortened my search to bird house die I was able to find the name!
I'm trying to make more generic type cards such as thinking of you and such so the cards can be used for any occasion and I thought this sentiment fit the card rather well.
Supplies used:
MFT Homespun Birdhouse die set
Memory Box Dies
Tender Leaves & Grove Branch
Cuttlebug folders
Distressed Stripes, Birds & Swirls, Swiss Dots
Stampin Up Punches -
Word Window, Modern Label, Itty Bitty Flower
Stampin Up sentiment
Viva Decor Pen - dark brown
K & Co paper
When I thought the card was done I felt like it was missing something and that is when I added the little punched flowers, made from something similar to vellum, and dotted centers with the Viva Decor Pen it seemed to be what the card needed. I'm always amazed at what adding just a little extra can do!
This was the first card I made after receiving all the dies from my friend and I actually did it first because I had already printed off the dogwood image and was using it to make some cards.
I have printed images with my regular printed and tried coloring them but they never turned out very good because the ink smudged so I thought I would try my laser printer, which also was sent to me by the same friend who sent me all the dies, and it didn't smear quite as bad when coloring so I might try this method again in the future.
I cut out two of the flowers from some extra images I used and used my flower shaping tools to give them some dimension and then pop dotted them onto the flat image I had colored. Doing that really added a lot more to the card. I was too lazy to get up and go to the craft closet and look for matching ribbon so I just cut a strip of paper that I had used for the pink stitched circle layer and added it at the bottom with the sentiment.
First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all out there and I hope you have a wonderful day! The kids are taking me to a movie of my choice, which happens to be Guardians of the Galaxy 2 *okie wonders if anyone can get enough of baby Groot*, this afternoon and Chuck is going to come mow my yard for me. Yesterday Shiane helped me with starting to make flowerbeds around my deck and getting an area ready in the back yard for my outdoor fireplace. I feel very blessed to have this time with the kids and it makes my heart happy!
Now about the card....
I have quite a few butterfly stamps and a few butterfly punches and dies from Stampin Up that I have acquired over the years and I love every one of them. When I opened one of the bags of dies my friend sent me I immediately was drawn to this butterfly die and couldn't wait to use it.
I wanted to make a fairly simple card just to see how well the butterfly worked but also to challenge myself to just use a few elements and not go overboard with papers and design. I had made a few other cards using dies before this one and they were rather labor intensive. I was surprised that I was pleased with the card when it was finished and also how fast I was able to complete six of these...ya'll know good and well I don't make just one!
Recently I actually thought about cutting back to making only 4 of a card but then my friend Carmen reminded me rather quickly that I wouldn't have enough for myself since I have to send her two of every card I make, it's the price I pay for her personal crafting shopper services since she has a more sources available to her than I have here in this lil' ol' town.
Supplies Used:
-Memory Box Chloe Butterfly die
-Memory Box Valerian Flourish die
-K & Co patterned paper
-Various Cardstock
-Stampin Up sentiment stamp
I am certainly glad I had the Fineline Glue Applicator working with these delicate dies, and even then I had glue all over my fingers but I know a lot less than I would have with just using my regular bottle of Scotch Quick Dry glue. I have the Fineline Glue Applicator Standard Tip and the Fineline Glue Applicator Standard Tip and they sure are some handy little things and I highly recommend them!
Years ago I got some sets of the Nestablities dies and I quickly decided it was way too much work to cut and emboss those suckers and they sat in a drawer until I decided to sell them. That was about the only experience I had with dies until I got a few Spellbinders last year when I was in Florida and I really liked them because it was just cutting them out. I also got a set of My Favorite Things stitched circle dies that I loved. Well I certainly am learning to love dies even more now!
My crafting benefactor that has sent me so many things over the years recently sent me some of her dies, actually two different batches!
This is the first batch and it had a windows, doors, trees, flourish, branches and other different dies. I don't think this included all the dies she sent but you can see there is a large assortment of dies for me to use.
The second batch she sent had a lot of Christmas dies, enough that I could probably make a different card every year for the rest of my life and still not use all the dies! I told my friend Carmen that she needs to come for a visit this summer so we can make Christmas cards. There were also several sets of frame dies and numerous others.
My dilemma was trying to figure out how to store the dies and also looking up all the names for the dies because, well we all know I have to know the name so I can inventory the dies *okie's need of organization is such a curse at times*. I bought a package of comic book boards thinking I could use them for making mini albums and pulled those out to see how they would work, and they worked great! The only problem was that I had already cut every die out of white cardstock so back to the craft closet I went and got out some brown Neenah paper that I had bought for making envelopes, which will be another post sometime soon, and pasted the paper onto the comic book boards...problem solved!!
I used magnetic vent covers, cut to size and adhered those to the back of the boards for the dies to stick to. The plastic cases they are in are Iris storage cases that I got at Staples years ago and I think I paid like maybe $2 each for them and they work great!
I tried to label all the dies with the manufacturer and the name of the die when I could find the names and I did find the names for most of them. This way when I want to use it I know what I am using and if I need an idea I can do a Google search with the name.
The containers fit in one of my Closetmaid cube storage units that sits right behind me when I'm at the craft table. It makes it nice being able to turn around and just grab a container and flip through the dies.
I'll be posting some cards that I have made using some of the dies and I can tell ya that after making those cards my addiction for dies is pretty much set in stone now!
A few weeks ago there was some type of mass loss of internet connection in my area causing quite a havoc of problems. As most of you know the Cricut Explore Air 2 uses the Cricut Design Space software and it is an internet dependent which meant and I was left dead in the water for doing any cutting. Of course I was able to design just fine since I use Make The Cut but no cutting was gonna be happening at my house...or was there?
Back I 2014 I purchased a Pazzles Vue and at the time I got the machine I was busy doing a lot of other things and never really used the machine and then I was busy getting ready to move and after I got moved I had been sent the Explore to review so the poor Vue has been housed in my craftroom closet. Since I was able to easily upload the SVG's I designed and cut with the Explore I just never took the time to learn the Vue. I had opened the software a few times and it looked a little overwhelming and I admit I am lazy. I usually stick with what I know and I didn't want to learn a new software. The whole internet dilemma made me panic a little about what would I do if I had a project that needed to be done and I couldn't cut with the Explore so I decided to pull out the Vue and try and figure it out!
I felt like saying "DUH ME!" and I probably did say that when I figured out I could easily upload the SVG's I do in MTC in the Pazzles software and cut. When I got ready to cut something I noticed that all the settings were there for me, much like the Explore, I just had to choose the material I was cutting and the pressure and speed was set for me and it gave me a suggested blade depth setting. It also has the ability to save my own settings as well and I did for a few things I cut over the next few days. This is a big improvement over using the Pazzles Inspiration where I had to figure out all my own settings and write them down.
Now I know the Explore machines will cut some very delicate things and will cut them with wonderfully accuracy and I admit I held my breath a little bit when cutting the image of the butterfly. I left it on the mat so you can see how thin some of the lines are and the little ovals in the wings of the butterfly. An accurate description of my feelings when I pulled it out of the machine is probably OVER THE MOON!
Now this doesn't mean I am giving up my Explore *okie wonders if she should say that at this very moment the Explore is in the craft closet* but I feel beyond blessed to know I have two machines that cut wonderfully.
I haven't used the Pazzles Vue enough to do a pros and cons list of it and the Explore in a side by side comparison but I know a few things I like about each that I will list and even though there are more things about the Explore I like the fact that I don't have to depend on the internet with the Vue is worth every item and more in the list of the Explore.
Pazzles Vue
More cutting force
No internet needed
Explore -
Bluetooth, no cord needed
Smaller footprint
Closes completely
Quiet when cutting
I'll try to keep posting about the two as I use them so I can keep track of what I like and don't like about the two.
