The Helicopter Ride

Well I'm still at Panama Beach but my family went for a helicopter ride. I promise you I waved with they flew over as I don't do helicopter rides! Don't worry I didn't get burnt as my umbrella boy kept moving the umbrella so that I was always in the shade! And I had Mike's hard lemonade in the cooler so I was in good shape! teehee

This is two more pages that I designed on Close To My Heart's free digital scrapbook program called Studio J. This is such a great program and this year it is helping me keep up with my photos. In less than an hour this page was complete. All I did was upload my photos, chose the paper, the layout and then dragged the photos on to the page. It doesn't get much simpler than that! And then it is affordable a 5 Pack is only $39.95, that is 10 pages! You gotta love it!

Look at these photos and the brilliant colors, I just love the quality of the pages. I love faces and the expressions on them, it makes you wonder what people are thinking. Just look at Justin I think he is mentally flying in that helicopter already! and poor little Gavin just doesn't want to wait anymore for their turn.

You will find there are so many variables that it is just like cutting the papers yourself as there is so much to choose from. The good news is that the papers you choose always matches! You can count on Close To My Heart for that!

Here are my 2 pages side by side. I love how everything lines up and it didn't take me forever to put it together! I have more time to do the things I want to do... you know like laying on the beach!

Thank you for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed our time together. Thanks for your sweet sweet words of encouragement you comments inspire me to continue sharing with you.

The Keys to my Heart

Hello, everyone, it is Jeannie from Nonnas' Scraps and I am so excited to be the guest designer on Sheila's blog today!

We renovated our downstairs a couple of years ago. and it has taken me until now to decide what type of "art" I want on my walls. My kids and grandkids are honestly the keys to my heart, so what better art for my home? Thanks, HGTV, for the great ideas for family photos!

Ingredients

8 x 10" canvas (Michael's or Wal-Mart)

Krylon spray paint

Square1 printable vinyl

My Sketch (or other photo editing software)

cardstock

Lettering Delights SVG files: Keys

Make The Cut Software

Assorted glue

Steps

Spray the canvas with the Krylon paint in a well ventilated area. I actually taped off an area in the picture, but later went back and sprayed the whole front of the canvas. Let dry

Adjust the photo in My Sketch (for more information click here.) Save the photo to be traced in MTC.

Select File: Import Pixel Trace and choose the photo from the correct file on your computer.  

Adjust the settings so that the entire photo is green. Set alpha to highest number, Threshold 255, scale so that the size is of your choosing--no larger than 8 x 10 and finally select Import

When prompted, select no.

Send the graphic to your home printer to be printed and then cut in the MTC software. I used my Zing and this vinyl cuts like butter! Zing settings: Speed 10, Force 8, Red blade with offset of 0.35, one pass. 

You can simply print the photo and trim with scissors or a paper cutter. 

Apply the vinyl photo to the canvas. Peel the vinyl from the backing; position as desired on the front (spray painted) canvas. Turn the canvas over and lay face down on a clean, firm surface. With firm pressure, roll a breyer/roller over the back of the canvas. 

Flip the canvas right side up. Gently roll the vinyl to secure to the canvas.

I was going to stop here, but decided this art needed more! So, I opened a set of keys in my MTC. Notice that I duplicated each of three keys so that each totalled three in number. I planned to cut these from cardstock so three stacks well and creates a thicker product. 

I then set up my cardstock for cutting: 

On the Zing I was able to cut the keys using the WYSIWYG mode with the following settings:

Force 80, Cut one time, Red blade offset at 0.35. The result:

Hmm....looks like I have some really cool corners for my photo from the inside of the heart keys!

I have to admit that in the end, I did not like the keys all the same size as pictured above. I recut one set smaller and was much happier with it. 

To complete the art, glue the keys and the corners around the vinyl edge. As I looked at it I realized that the next time I am in a craft store I will look for either a chain or a cord with tassel to add just a bit more dimension. And in the end, tying up those keys just ties up my heart even more! 

Artiste Purse Holder

Happy Wednesday to everyone!  Carolyn from "Carolyn's Creative Corner" posting today!

http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/

I was invited to attend a crop in North Carolina this past weekend.  What a wonderful time we had!  I was also asked to demonstrate an inking technique using Twistable Crayola Crayons.  To be sure everyone had what they needed, I provided all the equipment in a cute little purse holder found on the "Artiste" Close to My Heart Cricut Cartridge.

The Gypsy, "Artiste" cartridge, 12x24 inch Cricut Mat and Cricut Expression2 were used to create the Purse Holders.

The purse is on page 41 of the cartridge handbook.

The purse was sized to fit a 12 x 18 inch sheet of cardstock.  The pocket was cut from a 6 x 12 inch piece of coordinating cardstock.

The 12 x 18 inch cardstock was from a Heidi Grace paper pad purchased at "Tuesday Morning" retail store.  These themed based pads are full of good quality paper, templates, and projects.  A terrific value!

Each Purse Holder held a package of Twistable Crayola Crayons, cotton jersey, white paper, spiral flowers, and assorted embellishments.  For directions to use the Twistable Crayola Crayons for inking, please follow this link....

http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/2012/07/inking-with-crayola-crayons.html

The pocket was perfect for holding the white paper used to stamp sentiments and then ink with the crayons.

Ribbons and a rosette were used to decorate!

The rosette was created using Tim Holtz small rosette die

http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-easy-is-this.html

A stick pin was added to each Purse Holder

Stick pins are easy and quick to make.  Here is a link showing how I make stick pins...

http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/2011/11/super-easy-super-quick-stick-pins.html

 

 

Thank you for visiting!

There is more about the weekend crop on my blog today!

http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/2012/08/artiste-purse-holder.html

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Crafty friends.....

Sherri here from Sherri's Crafty Place I can't believe summer is almost over, the leaves have already started to fall :( I LOVE summer....and this has been a great one....well let's get to it.......

Today I have made a 3D Robot, made from the Robotz Cartridge, I just recieved this in the mail...a free cartridge from Cricut, they had a little promo going on a  bit ago, where if you buy 2 carts at Michaels you could one free, I had a few choices, now this was not my first choice but I think I will have fun with it just the same....

I cut it out using my Gypsy, he is cut at 8. you will need to angle the image on your Gypsy to get it that big or use a 12x24 mat, I made it for a friends son, it was so much fun to make, and not hard at all, I was a little worried at first, but it was really pretty easy.....let me show you....

here he is all done, I used a craft knife to cut his mouth open and stuff some birthday money in it, 

Isn't he cute..... here are all his parts....

 and here is the robot pieces, you definitely want to use a bone folder to get nice tight creases...

 I used this red sticky tape to keep him together, it is for an 8 year old boy....

I inked all of my edges....

                     

here is the robot body and the green piece is the middle of the robot, what you use to stand the robot up, 

 here he is, all done...

 side view

I thought he needed a little more, something....so my buddy is turning 8 and I thought I would add his name.....this cartridge also has a GREAT font...I love fonts.....I also decide to give my Robot some goggley eyes...in 2 different sizes....

here is my little buddy with his Robot...he loved it!!!!

and here is the beautiful Niagara Falls, Houseshoe Falls(Canada side) we had his birthday party on top of the Fallsview Casino, at the Indoor Waterpark, yes a waterpark ON TOP of the Casino, I think it is on the 8th floor which is the top floor, I took this photo from up there...what a view, I am so lucky to live so close to this amazing place....I don't live in Niagara Falls, but I am pretty close at only 20 mins away...  

I hope you enjoyed my Project today, I would love to read your comments.....

Thanks for stopping by today and thanks again to the Fabulous Sheila.....

❀Sherri❀

Gypsy Made Simple - Creating A Box

Good Day. Well it is back to school time. I can't believe that this summer went so fast. I hope you all had a great time, maybe took a little vacation and went someplace special. I actually was blessed and got to spend a week on the beach as well as a short trip to Chicago to see my family! There is nothing better than spending time with family, is there?

Well today we are going to make a box.... not from TBBM but from any cart that you have a square on it. I used George, you can use what ever you have on your Gypsy. I have received a couple of requests on making boxes in this fashion as once you learn how to maneuver this yo can make just about anything on your Gypsy! So let's get to work. Turn your Gypsy on and grab a cup of coffee...

I know this is a lot to take in, but hang in there you will get it. If you got lost in the tape, rewind and start back where you got lost. It is important to just take this step by step. ONE ADJUSTMENT PLEASE! When you get to making your lid use a measurement of 3.12 instead of the 3.2 that I used. My lid is a little looser than I like it and I think you will enjoy your box more if it is a little secure... not tight, just secure is how you want it.

I enjoyed putting this box together. I must say I spent a lot more time on the lid but I just love how it turned out. Now you can leave yours plain of course or decorate it. Make the box to your taste. Also if you are unsure of how you did, cut it on paper you don't really like for a test and put together. If it fits and looks just the way you want it, then do your final cut on beautiful card stock.

This week I challenge you to make a box and link it up. You can leave it plain or decorated, acetate window or no window. Just make the box and link it up.

Here is a close up of the lid I decorated. Don't you love it? It is so feminine and just sparkles, yet you can still see in the inside of the box.

Now I just used a one sided paper, but for added contrast do a double sided paper. You will love the dramatic effect especially if your paper is a coordinating paper rather than just one color.

See what I mean about the lid.... I really think that I should have made it just a little smaller so it would have a secure fit to it.

Here is another close up of the box, as you can see it came out just perfect. Always remember to score those edges so that you have nice crisp folds like this has.

I hope you enjoyed today's post and will take a little time to watch the videos and make a box of your own. Making a box will give you the skills you need to make just about anything with your Gypsy. So please take the time to make a box of your own. Then don't forget to link is up.

Thank you for joining us today, I hope I have helped you a little along the way. Thank you for your sweet sweet words of encouragement. Your comments inspire me to continue sharing with you! Have a blessed week.

Simply B

Well I hope you're having better weather than I am today. I think the rain has stopped for about an hour so far.To cheer up the day I'm sharing with you a card I've made using a Simply B digi.

 

 

Here's a close up of the image

 

 

She's a gorgeous image. Here are the copic colours I used to colour her in

 

 

Well I hope you like the card. I think I need to go away from pink for a bit as that's what I've been using a lot lately to colour. Thank you Shelia for having be today.

 

I should have another creation on my blog for you tomorrow.

Take care

Kelly x
Kam's Crafty Place





 

Cricut Couple will have you in Stitches!!!

Hey Ya'll,

Sassy Dude day today.  Bobby here from Cricut Couple.  Well, normally, I really try to come up with something really cool for Sassy Dude day, but this summer has been just wacky.  So... I hope ya'll don't mind, but I am going to share an organization project with you today.  As some of you know, I got a dream machine recently and then found a deal on e-bay that I just couldn't pass up.  So... here is the story.

 So... with getting the new embroidery machine, I thought I should get a couple more colors of thread to add to the stash.  I already had quite a bit of Sulky, so I really probably only needed a couple more colors.  Well... after doing a little bit of shopping, I thought I would check e-bay.  So... I am shopping around on e-bay and I come across this auction for 260 spools of thread.  It was at about $60.00.  I put in a max bid for $90.00.  Why I picked that amount, I have no idea.  Well, guess what?  The next morning, I find that I won the auction for $88.00!  Holy Cow!  Really?  Only $88.00.  Then it hits me... What in the WORLD am I going to do with 260 spools of thread???  I did a little bit of searching online and I come across this really great idea!  Peg board!  I am sorry to the person who inspired this because I don't remember your blog, but I am SO Grateful!

 So... this is the haul in all it's glory!  Packaged glory that is.  Hee! Hee!  I even got an extra box of bobbin thread too which made it 280 spools of thread!  I called my dad and we met up at Lowes.  I picked up 22 - 1/4" dowels at 48" long and a 24" x 48" piece of 1/4" peg board.  I ran to Dad's house and borrowed the chop saw and about 3 minutes later, had hundreds of 3" dowel piece.  That was well worth the drive over.  Hee! Hee!  I then cut some foam board and added it to the back of the peg board with some wood glue.  This way, I could glue in the dowels and not get glue or any uneven dowels sticking through the back.  Then I laid out all of the dowels and glued them in one by one with that 20 year old giant bottle of elmers that was sitting in a cabinet.  You know the one... you have to take the lid off and pick at it for about a half an hour until the glue will go through again, but for some reason, it's still good.  Go ahead and laugh... you know you have one.  Hee! Hee!  This is what it looks like with all the pegs in place.  (mounted to the wall of course.  Hee! Hee!)

 This is how the thread arrived.  Each one is individually shrink wrapped and has the number of the thread stuck to the top.  The dowel comes through the end of the spool where this sticker is, so I had to figure out how to know what the color number is so that I can reorder when I need it.  So... I removed the shrink wrap on each one and removed the sticker.  Then I replaced the sticker on the inside of the spool.

 Then I made HUNDREDS of these tiny labels and stuck them to the peg board at the end of each dowel.  This way, all of them are in order and I know what I need when I run out.  Did I mention that there were HUNDREDS of these?!?

 Now, looking at the picture below, can you hear the angels start to sing?  It's all loaded up and ready to go!!!  I thought that I should have painted the rack for a while, but once I had it all loaded up with all of these pretty colors, I think I am going to leave it the way it is.  I really like it!

 And... here is the finished rack in the craft room with the lovely new machine right under it and all setup!  YAY!  Something I learned about this experience.  Do you have one of those old laptops that is so slow that you never use it so you just put it back in a closet for the last couple of years?  Well, if you get a Singer Embroidery machine, drag that sucker out!  The software for the machines is a really old format.  It works beautifully with new computers, but it works fine and without slowing down in the older ones too!  So... I already had a computer in the closet to keep right next to it at all times.  Hee! Hee!  Who knew?

So... now that it's all setup, I had to take it for a test drive.  I found this stitch file in a collection of Raggedy Ann and Andy files.  Jill has a think for Raggedy Ann.  Believe it or not, this was one of 36 images that I found online that they e-mailed to me for just $4.75!  Can you believe that?!?  My old embroidery machine was $90.00 per card and each card only had 20 images... most of which I hated.  Hee! Hee!  So... here is Cricut Couple Embroidery Project #1!

This is the first design that will be stitched on recycled denim.  These will all be put together for a very special gift for Jill that I hope to have done by Christmas.  Just don't tell her, ok?  Hee! Hee!  It will probably take me until then to finish it, so you will just have to check back to see the progress.

So... in summary, it's not super cool, it's not paper, I didn't make my Gypsy simple, but it was something that really helped me organize my craft space and thought there may just be someone else who got that fancy machine for embroidery or sewing... or has 300 spools of baker's twine and needed to know a cheap way to organize it.  I thought I would take a shot.  Hee! Hee!  So... thank you so much for letting me share today.  I hope you enjoyed it anyway.  By the way... This entire rack costs less than $20.00 to make.

I hope you like what you see today and thank so much Sheila for letting me play today!  I would love to hear your comments!