My cricut and three new stencils!

Hello again,
I watched a video from somewhere and the blogger used a stencil to start their card. I have never really been intrigued by stencils, and I don't own any. But for some reason, this stencil triggered something in me. I really liked the card that was created, and suddenly I wanted a stencil, like now!!
I thought "Why buy one, when I can create one?"  MY CRICUT! I located a pattern that pleased me, and I downloaded it, opened it in my SURE CUTS ALOT 2 program and had my cricut cut it out....and POOF! I now have a few stencils!
Take a look!

           

 

I am not quite sure what to create with them, but I am SO pleased that I was able to create them. If I can create these, what else can I create? SO many possibilities! I had some laminated card stock from a previous project. It worked perfectly for these stencils. More creating to come!

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter Everyone!

My husband and I are going to Sarasota to have Easter brunch with my Sister and her husband. I was itching to make something to give them as gifts when we arrive. I found these Easter basket buddies, and had to make them. Take a look:

How sweet are they? I had forgotten how much fun paper piecing can be. I even used my swatch book to help me choose the right colors of ink to shade all the pieces. That came in handy.  :)

I bought these at Treasure Box Designs. The bunny is one of a set of  8 designs to make. They can be tweeked for Valentine's Day as well. Unfortunately, they came with no directions and no eyes. I tried to make my own, but I think next time I will print out pre-made ones. My eyes look kinda sad-ish. I looked for an e-mail address to write the company about the eyes, but to no avail. I know my sister and Ross will love these!

Enjoy your holiday! Please leave a comment, it would make my day!

Organization of Dies Using my Cricut!

Hello!

I can't express how satisfying it is to envision an organizational idea in my head, and have it come to reality just as I thought it would! I created this WHOLE project myself. (I can be rather stubborn) when I get stuck on something. Here is the problem:

Problem: Need to set up a current organizational system to store my dies that is NOT expensive. and easy to update in the future. NO 3-ring binders or pages. I want something I can flip through and store upright. It must be expandable to incorporate all my future purchases.  I HATE labeling things with those stupid white strips. (everyone uses them - thanks Jennifer McGuire!) I refuse. I want images and pictures.

Solution: Using my cricut, and some magnetic sheeting that my loving husband uses at work, I DON'T have to follow every other card maker's system I see on the internet, and I can have a system that I can call my own. (and share with you).

Tutorial:

I ran across this pad of paper on the sale rack at Walmart. the sale sticker read: "$5.00" by when the check out girl rang it up it read: "$2.50". (what a deal!). This paper is very pretty and seems thicker than other paper I have. 

On the internet I found the SVG of a envelope I liked. It was 3.75" by  4.75", This was just big enough for all my dies. Here is a screen shot:

I put two to a sheet. The dashed lines are perforations that will make the folding easier.

Here are two yellow envelopes after the cricut cut them out. I love how the paper gets darker from top to bottom.

 I folded the envelope and used strong adhesive to seal the edges. The magnetic sheet is on the right cut 3.5" by 4.5".

 I placed my "hello" dies (large and small) together for one envelope. and slid it into the envelope.

 This is the original packaging that the large die came in. (I cut and taped the small die info on it). I cut the front of the package to fit on the front of my new envelope.

Here is the finished product. (only four pictured) I just have to find a container to hold them all now. (or maybe I will create one... lol) I have cut out 30 envelopes thus far all different colors. My collection is small, but I am sure it will grow. I hope I gave you ideas to make your system your own. I will be happy to share the SVG file with you or anything else you want to know, if you leave me a comment. 

Now, I can move on to a new clear stamp system and a system to organize and store my paper scraps too. Stay tuned for more to come!

Christmas and my Dependable Cricut!

Hello Everyone,
I am having a great time fooling around in my craft room. I have created  handful of cards I would like to share with you.
Duo Set: Christmas Trees: I purchased a paper stack that had this wonderful shiny striped paper in it. I popped it into my Cricut, and chose the basic shapes from sure cuts a lot 2. I love them!

Same paper, I used stars for a more masculine look. My husband said he liked this one. 

Who says that Christmas cards must be red and green, huh? I couldn't resist this adorable tree. Its from Katie & Co. for Studio G - 2010. I know you can't see the sparkle black embossing powder I used for the trees, but It looks fabulous in the sunlight!

Paper crafting is so much fun!

A friend of mine needed a banner for a high school reunion party. She found a sample on pinterest that she adored, and wanted something similar. She thought she'd find a banner kit at the local craft store. I told her I have all the supplies in my craft room, I would LOVE to create a banner for her. She was so relieved to hear that!
I asked her what her school colors were and what she wanted to the banner to say. Her school colors were orange and white, her mascot was the braves.


That weekend she posts a picture of the banner hanging in the venue of her class reunion! She was stoked that it came out so well. Here is a picture.

 I gave her a spool of white and a spool of orange ribbon, and decided to het her figure out how she wanted to hang it. I honestly thought she would hang the 1983 on a separate line, but it looks great! It was so easy! I had all the paper and ribbon on hand, and my cricut and sure-cuts-alot software did the rest! She had a great time at her reunion.