Sweet Baby Card

I made this card for a colleague who is going to have a much awaited baby.  It came together pretty quickly with the Slice.  It is marketed for fabrics but cuts paper really well, too.   I was inspired by a card by Nichol Magouirk.  I liked idea of the stamp of the stroller in the circle frame but I don't have that stamp so I used the stroller image from the Baby Slice Design Card.


I Used:
- Making Memories Slice Design Card Applique Basics for the circles
- Making Memories Slice Design Card Baby for the stroller
- Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages - Sweet Baby sentiment
- Martha Stewart Edge Punch Stars


I used the little leftover stars and used them on the wheels of the stroller.

A baby is a bit of star dust blown from the hand of God.

- Unknown

Slice Elite Review

I jumped on the Slice bandwagon because everything was so CHEAP (a favorite word when the budget is tight).   I tested it out and this little baby can run!

The Pros: 
I have to say that it cuts really well. I used light and medium cardstock and there were no problems. (I haven't tried heavy cardstock, yet.) It is small and portable. You can use it without a powercord. Because they cut mostly silouettes, it cuts fast. But to be fair, even the words are cut pretty fast, too.  If you are in hurry, this will do it no time at all. It was also really easy to use.

I used the Vintage Findings design card to make the beautiful butterfly on my card. The silhouettes on the design cards are beautifully done and are a nice addition to the Cricut cartridges I have. For example, I have Old West by Provocraft. Great images and they are layered so they have a lot of dimension. I now have Happy Trails by Making Memories. The cuts are just silhouettes but they look more sophisicated. So, to me, they a more grown-up kind of feel. Here is what I mean:

Example of the people from Old West, Provocarft

Examples of the people from Happy Trails, Making Memories

Here is a frame using the branco rider, star, and alphabet:

From the Slice Inspiration Card that comes with the design card, Making Memories

It looks great to me!  I also feel that I have more options to make more "manly" cards now, too.

The newer design cards now have shadow and mirror features which give you more options.

Another plus: I used the Paris Apartment Applique design card to make the tea pot in my card. So it can make layered cuts. The Applique desgin cards are really for the Slice Fabrique marketed for sewing but worked quite nicely with my card :)

The downside of the Slice:

It can only cut to 4 inches with the regular slice cards. If you use the shadow feature, it will only cut to 3.5 in.  So that is even smaller.

BUT: The layered images can get bigger if you use the Applique design cards. The teapot was cut at 2 in but with all the layered pieces it measures at 2.75 by 3.75 in. The Applique design cards come with a booklet detailing all that infomation so you tell how big the image will be. So it can get a little complicated when you add the layers.

If you want the layered look, the Applique design cards are really expensive.  They can be about $35 to $45.  You get a lot less images in an Applique design card than you would in a Cricut Cartridge.

Another downside is that you can only cut one piece at a time. Whereas, with the Cricut, if you need 5 flowers, it cuts it all at once.  So mass producing can be a pain.

Bottom line:

I think the Slice is a nice addition to my craftroom. I can take it to crops - it weighs about 2 pounds.  It won't replace my Cricut but I am glad I have other options at a reasonable price.

Jane Austen Wall Decor

One of the reason I bought Wall Collage was the homage to Jane Austen. Love Jane Austen. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it is definitely mine.

I put it over my desk/workstation so I could admire it when I work. I put a postcard I got of the Notre Dame over it. I got that postcard when my husband and I went to France. And, well, truth be told, I love him even more than Jane Austen :D

I don't anything else to add except that I didn't have a transfer paper or contact paper but I wanted the letters to look just the same as in the booklet. Sooooo, I peeled off the negative space, used some invisible tape and that transferred the letters flawlessly. I didn't have to worry about the spacing between each letter. I just had to be careful of the spacing between each line. Does that make sense?

The wall decor is only 5 1/2 by 6 so it was not hard. I image for something bigger you would need that transfer paper.



“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.
Reminds me of my nerdy self... love to read!

Thinking of You

I got this beautiful set of stamps by Crafty Secrets called Sweet Kids about a month and a half ago after seeing this card by Heather.  I actually used that image for a birthday card for my mom.  But, I love the image of this little boy, too.  He kind of reminds me of my son with his mop of dark hair and full face.  I decided to make a "Thinking of You" card for one of my sisters.  I also decided to experiments with color by using the striped paper in the background.

I Used:
- Sweet Kids stamp set by Crafty Secrets - boy image and sentiment - the company has great vintage images!!!!
- Elegant Edges Cricut Cartridge - rectangular scalloped frame and shadow
- Road Trip Paper (the colorful striped paper) - Papertrey Ink (PTI)
- Old World Paperstack (light blue paper) - Die Cuts with a View
- Antique Linen Distress Ink Pad - Tim Holz
- Copics and Color Pencils

Here are some close-ups:

Isn't he sweet?  :)

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.  ~Isadora James

Birthday Dancer

My sister's birthday is coming up in early February so I decided to get a jump start on the card.  I have been waiting to Twinkle Toes and this was great opportunity.  She's not really into pink but I think she will not be able to resist this little dancer.

I Used:
- Cricut Twinkle Toes Cartridge - dancer3 and all layers; stfrght and stgfght-s
- Papertrey Ink (PTI) Mega Messages - Make a Wish sentiment
- Cuttlebug - Teresa Collins Timeless Embossing Folder
- Making Memories - pink ribbon
- Tim Holtz - Victorian Velvet Distress Pad
- Close to My Heart (CMTH) - Baby Pink Re-inker
- White ribbon, paper, and glitter from my stash

Here's How:
* I cut dancer3 at 4 inches and the stagfrght tags at 2 inches.  I cut an extra piece of the headband and cut out the bow so that I could fold it up and make it pop out.  But first I inked the edges with Victorian Velvet, added some glitter, and hot pink Jolee rhinestone:

* I added glitter to the little band on her outfit and put all the pieces together. 

* I inked the edges of the pink tag with Victorian Velvet and stamped Make a Wish on the white part of the tag.

* I thought the Victorian Velvet might be too strong for the edges of the embossed part of the card so I used Soft Pink by CTMH.  I squeezed a couple of drops on my mat and then used the Tim Holtz blending tool to give the paper a soft pink glow.

* I just embossed the paper using a folder from Teresa Collins Timeless Collection.  It is a set of four embossing folders.  I think they are so elegant. I think in this picture you can see it better.

* I took some white ribbon, Terrifically Tacky Tape and ruffled it up to make a ballerina skirt for my dancer.  Oops! One little piece is popping up. I'll go back to that stubborn piece later!

I added some ribbon and popped up the tag.  And that's all folks! :)

Dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt.

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth.

~ William W. Purkey

Party Time!

Today was my mom's birthday party.  She was so happy and had a good time :)  This is the first time I made toppers so I am really pleased with the results.  Usually I make things too small but I think the toppers were just the right dimensions.  I find myself using my ruler a lot for reference now.  It helps me a lot.

I Used:

- Sophisticated Cart - key tags

- Kate's ABCs - "M", I welded it onto the oval circle with my Gypsy

- Art Philosophy - oval scalloped circles

- Country Life - Scalloped banners

- Papertrey Ink - Menhdi Medallion

- Ranger - Perfect Pearls

- Versamark stamp pad

- Paper from my stash

Here's How:

* I stamped my hot pink paper using the Menhdi Medallion with the Versamark and then brushed on the Perfect Pearls.

* Next, I cut out my pieces and put them together. The front and the back of the toppers:



* I stamped "Enjoy" from Mega Mixed Messages from Papertrey Ink onto the key tags.

*  I added the sentiment "Absolutely Fabulous" from also Mega Mixed Messages onto the banners.

* Add some curling ribbon, sparklers and it's party time!

Another candle on your cake? Well, that's no cause to pout. Be glad that you have strength enough to blow the damn thing out. ~Author Unknown

Birthday Wishes

This is a birthday card for my mom. The weather here is so dreary here that I thought a bright, lazy day in the sun kind of card would be a nice reminder of spring days to come.

I Used:

- Crafty Secrets: Sweet Kids

- October Afternoon - Robot Blue Sprinkler

- Marths Stewart - Swirling Lace

- Papertrey Ink - Mega Sentiments: Birthday Wishes

- Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Antique Linen

- Ciao Copics and color pencils

- Webster's Pages - Coral Color Sparkler

- Clost to My Heart (CTMH) - Liquid Glass

- Ribbon, glitter, tag, paper from my stash

Here's how

* I stamped the image from Sweet Kids in dark brown on 5 x 5 card stock. Then I colored in using my Copics (my stash is very small) first and then my color pencils.  I added a thin line of the Robot Blue using a Fantastix tool under the hammock to add a shadow and to pick up the color of the ribbon.

* I filled in the hearts with Liquid Glass and added gliter.

* I punched the bottom of the card stock with Swirling Lace to create a border.

* I didn't have the color ribbon I wanted (I don't know how that happened since I have tons of ribbon... maybe I need more?) so I dyed a piece of ribbon with Robot Blue Sprinkler which is pretty muted blue-green. The color is very saturated and took only a couple of spritzs to dye it.

* I bought a paper crafting kit which had a bunch of tags so I used one of the tags and stamped "Birthday Wishes' on it. I punched a hole on the side and looped a piece of matching ribbon through it.

* I inked the edges of the tag and the white cardstock in Antique Linen.

* Last, I added the coral sparkler from Webster's Pages to the tag.

Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

~Author Unknown

Dove Sympathy Card

Unfortunately, I needed to make sympathy cards for two people. Their loved ones had lived very full and long lives. To make the cards, I decided to use white on white to give the cards a sense of quiet beauty. In this picture you can see the contrast of the warm and cool whites.

I Used:
- Inpsired Heart Cartridge - Dove and oval layer: <Dove>, <Dove-s>
- Co'ordinations Pearl Paper
- White paper from my stash
- Pearls from my stash
- Crafty Secrets - Card Sentiments: In Deepest Sympathy and May prayer strengthen you and Memories comfort you- Tattered Angels - Marshmallow Mist
- Cuttlebug - Script Folder
- Dew Drop Ink - Starlight Silver

Here's How:
*I cut the Co'ordinations pearl paper at 10 by 7 to make a 5 x 7 card. I cut the dove and layer at 3.02.

*The dove was cut with the pearl paper and the oval layer was cut with plain white paper.

*I ran the oval through the cuttle bug using the script folder and then spritzed it with Marshmallow Mist. I further inked the edges with the Starlight Silver Dew Drop.

*I put the pieces together and you can see the silver in the this picture:

*I stamped the bottom right hand corner with "In Deepest Sympathy" and added pearls next to the "I" and the "S."

*Lastly, I stamped the inside with "May prayer strengthen you and Memories comfort you."

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.  ~J.M. Barrie, 1922