EC Design Studio

Post-it note holders using bind-it-all

2011-10-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Not once have I regreted purchasing my bind-it-all. It is a great tool and I use it alot. It does take some practice but is easy to master. I always keep the little book that came with it handy for quick reference.
I like to give small handmade hostess gifts. It takes alot of planning and work to organize a party and I want to show that it is appreciated. With post-it note holders being in vogue right now I put these together.

scrap chipboard covered in scrap paper and bound along the top with BIA


used mini monograms to personalize

Happy note cards

2011-09-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I think handmade card sets make for a practical and pretty gift. I can customize them for the recipient who can then use them instead of a store bought card. That's the theory anyway. There are some (my mom and sister) who will not part with them. They say they're too pretty to give away. Well...win some, lose some? It's great to know that my work is admired but I want it to be used. So I started to make simpler cards that I'm hoping are still cute but not so cute that they are not used for their intended purpose.
Here is a set of note cards measuring 3x3. I use this size as quick little notes for those everyday things that you want to acknowledge. I have a set I made for my son that I'll hide for him to find. It's fun for him and it's a way I can tell him I love him.

kraft cardstock base and scrap paper mats that I embossed with CB swiss dots

scallop circle is cut using cricut mini monograms at 2" with white galaxy marker used to dot and circle is a 1 5/8" punch

stamps are a Studio G set from Micheal's dollar bin

Altered Acrylic Frame

2011-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love an inexpensive but beautiful gift? I love that I can pick up a cheap acrylic frame from Walmart and add a flourish and a couple of flowers and have a boutique quality item at a fraction of the cost. My family seems to enjoy that as well since they're the ones usually on the receiving end. I made this frame for my in-laws.

The flourish was cut twice @ different sizes on Post-it CS I won from Joy's Life using the cindy loo cart.

Flowers are cut with SCAL and my cricut from a Penny Duncan rose file. I used white CS that I sprayed with homemade glimmer mist. I adhered them to the frame with glossy accents.

Fragment Pendants

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love Tim Holtz. He inspires my and opens my mind to new ideas. After seeing him use his fragment pieces on tags during his 12 tags of Christmas and some of the other youtube video, I thought I would play a little. These are some pendants I made for my mom and sister.

All images are from House of 3 which is sadly no longer operating :(

I print my images onto white CS I find in the printer paper aisle at Walmart or Target. Makes for a better pendant.

To make: add glossy accents to the back of fragment and smoosh over image to get a good grab and no air bubble. Note: you don't need a lot of glossy accents. A little goes a long way. Allow to dry and cut around the fragment to remove excess paper. I then use a nail file to smooth the edges of paper. For the back you can add a layer of glossy or matte accents, contact paper or vinyl, or felt.

Add a jump ring to finished pendants and voila! all done. Put them on a chain, keyring, charm bracelet, zipper pull... ok, you get the idea right? My fav: ball chain necklace.

Mixed Media Postcards

2011-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I love making postcards. It all started with the Happy Thoughts box I made for my in-laws last Christmas. I ended up with extra postcard blanks and thought my mom and sister would enjoy getting some as well. Postcard dimensions are 4x6 so you can easily find frames to display them.

Inspired by the Flo and Big Money commercial

No offense intended to any soccer moms out there. It's an inside joke between my steampunk goth mom and me.

What can I say? American Idol auditions were on.

Add caption

Mom claimed this one right away. Remember when everyone was getting butterflies on the small of their backs? this is what I imagine the punktorian version to look like.

Add caption

Happy Thoughts Box

2011-09-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

I made this for my in-laws last Christmas. The idea was from a Somerset Memories article. The artist had altered a cigar box and made a mini album to do inside. I altered a pencil case and added postcards inside. The idea is to right memories and happy thoughts on the back of the postcards and keep them in the box. My MIL decided to display them so everyone could see them. Probably a better idea.

Flower from the dollar store. Old book that was headed for the trash. 'happy thought' cut with SCAL and cricut. Metal duct tape from home depot was embossed with cuttlebug and sizzix texture plate, then embellished with Sakura glaze pens.

The box was painted with metallic gold and copper craft paint.

Postcard dimensions are 4x6. I found it easiest to cut another piece of 4x6 or 3 3/4x5 3/4 to do my design on then adhere to the postcard. This allowed me to emboss with my cuttlebug and still be able to have a flat surface to write on the back. And as an added bonus it reinforced the cards which came in handy when my MIL displayed them. I used a lot of different things from my stash. Distress ink, Tim Hotlz stamps, M's dollar bin stamps, glitter, flocking, wet embossing, handmade primas, brads, various printables from Printable Heaven, Graphics Fairy, and Google search.

Twilight crafts

2011-07-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

I aquired some Twilight cut files a while back and have been dying to do something with them. I can't remember where I got the files but the designer is fantastic! I love them to pieces. My MIL is a fan so for her birthday I altered a t-shirt and a tote for her.
I cut the designs from freezer paper using SCAL and my cricut. After weeding I transfered the design to the fabric and ironed it on. This was more tedious than I let on but well worth the effort. Apply fabric paint with a brush and let dry a little before removing freezer paper. Taa-daa!

Vinyl Wall Art

2011-07-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm trying very hard to get back into the swing of things. To find the positive and come out of this a better person. To help achieve this I've been doing some decor projects that I've been meaning to do for a while. We're a Disney family. My husband and I met while we were both working at the Magic Kingdom. On our living room wall we have a set of four Disney World prints. Each one represents one of the parks. I added a quote from Walt Disney along the top: 'To all that come to this happy place: welcome.' I thought it was very appropriate. I want my home to be a happy place and I want people to feel welcome in it. Looking at it reminds me to be happy.
I used white contact paper to cut out the phrase with SCAL. The fonts used are inspiration, orange grove, and waltograph. Once cut I colored the contact paper with alcohol inks before I weeded. I didn't have any transfer tape so I tried blue painter's tape. It worked but it was a massive pain to get the phrase to stick to the wall and not the tape. Have to de-tack the tape even more than I did. But after some patience I succeded. I'm thinking about adding some mickey heads but we'll see.

Dark days ahead

2011-05-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA. There's been a lot going on and I fear there's a lot more to go. I've begun a difficult time in my life. Don't worry, I'm strong, I'll survive. Thank goodness for all the support I have in my life. Without it I'd be wallowing in a deep well with no way out. As it is I find myself in a dark place at times and have reconnected with painting to express these deeper emotions. I have found it to help me focus. I anticipate more of my upcoming projects to be influenced by my darker emotions. Time heals all wounds and I'm waiting for mine to scar. Here's one of the pieces I've done.


Closed Door

The colors are washed out in the photo. It's a dreary day here and no matter what I did it still didn't photograph right. It's done on canvas board with acrylic paint. I used some dimensional fabric paint on some of the red so some of it would be glossy. I think I'm going to add some chain around the door and maybe a padlock. Time to go to Micheal's for supplies.

Easter Wordart Freebies Part Three

2011-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another Thursday freebie. The last part of my Easter wordart. This one I'm calling Spring Things.

To download click on links below.
spring time
flowers
april showers
for the birds

Cherry blossom frame

2011-04-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

I have a co-worker who I've become good friends with. Our situations are similar and we just clicked. Which is kinda funny since when I met her I thought she was creepy friendly. I lean more goth and she's more pep squad. Anyway, she is also creativity challenged. It's not something we talk about much and she's trying to get help. It's hard to find support groups and out patient treatment for this sort of thing. Long story short, I made this frame for her.
Take one $1 frame from Ms and apply 2 coats of glossy white acrylic paint. Cut 2 cherry blossom branches from Home Decor cart out of pink CS, 1@ 3.5, 1@ 4. Cut branch layer for cherry blossoms out of brown CS, 1@ 3.5, 1@ 4. (Note: the cherry branch is the one w/flowers, the layering branch is the next button over. Really they all go together. Take a close look at the designs and you'll see there is a lot of 'hidden' layering options.) Cut out single cherry blossom at .5 blackout. Put branches together, color leaves green (I used my BIC mark-its), and adhere to frame. Use an embossing tool and old mouse pad to make the flowers more real and add them to the frame. I used stickles in the center of each blossom.
Cut 2 butterflies from Indie Art. Mine is at 2.75. Bend wings up and adhere just the bodies together.
I added a piece of blue ribbon to tie the blue of the butterfly into the piece. The butterfly paper is from DCWV Mariposa.

Easter Tree and Big Boutique Box

2011-04-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I made a wire tree to decorate seasonally. I got the idea from a Valentines Day ad in a paper crafting magazine. I fell in love and had to make a version for myself. I took an old coffee can and added a pretty ribbon to it, put some floral foam in the bottom, and a paper circle to hid things. I'll eventually cover it with paper but kinda like the industrial feel of it. I grabbed some floral wire and got to work twisting pieces together and joining them until I got the tree feel I wanted. I curled the rough ends for safety and aesthetics. Now it's ready to decorate.
For spring, I used a butterfly cut I have for SCAL. I cut one .25" shadow for every two regular cuts. Keep the shadows flat and bend the wings up on all the others. Glue one regular butterfly to each side of the shadow only adhering the body of the butterfly so the wings are free. I punched small 1/16 holes to string fishing line from. I recommend either punching them on the wing tip of the shadow or the head. The middle causes them to fly upside down like kamikazi pilots. I used seed beads to string the ones punched through the head or body. I cut matching 5-pointed flowers, ran them through my cuttlebug with swiss dots, and attached them directly to the tree with wire.

You may have noticed the box it's sitting on. It's from SVGcuts.com. They have a Big Boutique Boxes kit that allows you to make BIG boxes. I used the octagonal box. These boxes are really easy to put together. They come with printable instructions and there's a how-to video on the site. It took me longer to choose the papers than it did to make the box. I made this one with papers from DCWV Mariposa and Elegant paper stacks. I do recommend using a heavy weight CS for these boxes. They are big and need the support. I may add some paper flowers and flourishes to the top and a ribbon on the outside but I kinda like the simplicity of it as is.

I love the birdcage paper and am happy I found a way to use it so I can see it everyday.

Easter Wordart Freebies Part Two

2011-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to make Thursday my freebie day. It could be anything depending on where my creativity takes me. That being said, here's part two of my Easter wordart. I think I'm going to call this one Basket Case.

To download click links below.
basket
grass
jelly beans
peeps
easter eggs

Rosette Cards

2011-04-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago I posted Mickey Rosettes. I made these the old fashioned way and they were a little tedious. I got the Accordian Fold Rosette SVG set from Lettering Delights and it was so worth it. I cut out two, one in glitter CS from target and one from a heavy weight pattern paper (can't remember whether it's from DCWV, M&MBI, or AC). They both cut nice and folded easily. I did have a little trouble with the glitter paper but that was mostly due to my inattention. Even with user error I was still able to assemble it faster than if done by hand.
Now that I had these two rosettes I needed to do something with them. I have a bunch of card blanks I make up when I run up against artist block so I took a couple out and my scraps and went to work.

Shape card is a blackout from storybook cart folded in half and embossed with swiss dots. edges inked with broken china. center medallion is made with UTEE, see this post for details.

Gate fold card. again the handy dandy swiss dots was used. center another UTEE medallion layered over a homemade 'prima' (how to will be in a future post but youtube is full of tutorials)

when I showed my son this was how you open the card he thought it was so cool.

Card Set

2011-04-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

I've been loving the Oishii SVG set from lettering delight. Seriously cute. While I was at Micheal's, without my husband and son (retail therapy, anyone?), I found a Studio G clear stamp set in the dollar bin that matched! They're tiny so I've dubbed them Oishii mini me. Perfect for 3x3 note cards. The sentiment is 'i think you are...' with a 'cool' popsicle, a 'sweet' ice cream cone, a 'hot' pepper, and some 'cheesy' swiss. I wanted to make a set of simple cards embracing the 'less is more' philosophy'.

Note card is 3x3. Mat is 2.75x2.75 and embossed with swiss dots. Blue scallop is from mini monograms and cut at 1.5 real dial size on. White circle is a 1 3/8 punch. To get a smooth surface to stamp, I used my fiskars dual sided embossing tool to smooth out some of the dots. I used prismacolor pencils to color stamp.

And, of course, I couldn't stop there. I had to pull out SCAL and do some matching A2 cards. Mat is 4x5.25 embossed with swiss dots. White CS strip is 2x5.25. Distress inks used to ink edges and Sakura pens to add a little something. Love the Sakura Stardust pen! Use it on everything.

cake cut at 3in. embossed with fiskars grass texture plate and sizzix diagonal.

cupcake cut at 4.059. wrapper embossed with fiskars swirl texture plate.

Popsicle cut at 4.634. Stick embossed with fiskars zebra texture plate.

Ice cream cut at 4.734. cone embossed with a homemade lattice plate. ice cream embossed with a sizzix plate from a valentine set.

And when you put them all together in an acetate bag what do you get? A fun gift! I kept the packaging simple to go with the simplicity of the cards. The topper and strip are scraps from the card making process. They had to get used sometime. It was inevitable, Mr. Anderson.

Easter Wordart Freebies Part One

2011-04-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with Inkscape and Gimp trying to get a better grasp on what I can do with them. It's Easter time and so I thought it would be good to start of with that as a theme and do some wordart. I can handle that. I designed them in Ink and converted them to PNG and JPG in Gimp. So to be clear, there are 3 files for each wordart. SVG, PNG, and JPG. Cut them, print them, use them on digital projects. I'm breaking them down into a couple sets. Today's is the Bunny Set.

To download click on links below.
bunny hop
bunny
chocolate bunny
easter bunny

look on the Sunny Side card

2011-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, another Lettering Delight project. And another Oishii SVG set cut. I loved how my sprinkled with fun card turned out and how easy it was to cut and assemble. Have I mentioned yet how really easy it is to cut and assemble LD SVGs? Well, it is. They also have lots of dimension built into the designs. If any of you are familiar with how the Cindy Loo cart cuts you'll understand. Back on track now. I turned to my son and asked which one I should cut next. He said the egg. I said which one. He said you pick.
This is an A2 card. Background is 4x5.25, strip is 2x5.25. Egg is cut using SCAL at about 3.5. I cut all the pieces out of white CS and used my Bic Mark-its to color. The cheeks were colored using Sakura souflee pen. I used Paper Glaze on the egg white and dried the top layer with my heat gun. I overheated the edges to make it look more cooked. I think it worked great. More experimentation necessary. The yolk I covered with Glossy Accents. After some research on egg puns I computer generated my sentiment and printed it out. 'Sunny side' got a coat of Sakura glaze pen. Egg and sentiment are adhered with foam tape. It still looks a bit naked to me so I think maybe I'll go back with a few rhinestone below the sentiment. Then again, maybe I'll just leave it be.

Sprinkled with fun birthday card

2011-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's another Lettering Delight project. I got the Oishii SVG set and have been going to town. At first I was like 'why does my food need to be happy to see me?' then I was like 'well, these are kinda cute.' then my son was like 'ha,ha those are funny!' so I asked 'do you want me to get these?' and he was like 'yes, get the food.' and I did. I like this set so much more than I thought I would.
This is an A2 card (4.25x5). I used SCAL and it's print and cut feature. The background piece is 4x5.25 and the oishii cupcake is about 3.7. I ran the cake part through my CB with Swiss Dots and the wrapper with a sizzix texture plate. Sprinkled with fun is from DB Hello Cupcake. I broke it apart in SCAL and cut it in 3 layers. Once everything was together I grabbed my BIC Mark-its, Sakura pens, and stickles to embellish. I also added some Elmer's 3D scented glue for the frosting to give it a more 'hand-frosted' look. The cupcake and sentiment is adhered with foam tape.

Baby Shower gifts

2011-04-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

I had a baby shower to attend for one of my friends at work. She's a great person and is going to be a great mom. She's someone who appreciates the thought behind the gifts she receives. Being a handmade gift giver, I had to make her something from the heart made with my two hands. It had to be gender neutral since the sex of the baby was a surprise for everyone. I applaud they're patience but it really made it difficult for the rest of us. Lol. I found out the color of the nursery was Tiffany/Robin Egg blue. OK, somewhere to start. I'll make a banner for the shower that she can use in the baby's room. Blue, black, white, and lets throw in some pink and bling (not too much, could be a boy). I made the banner so the medallions tied together with bows so they could be rearranged if the new mom desired. It turned out really cute and everyone thought it was great. It was hung in the nursery the next day. I also decorated an acrylic frame with leftover paper from the banner. I love how it turned out and am so glad I bought the Cindy Loo cart. it's fabulous! The card I made using SCAL and it's new print and cut feature. Love it!

Font is Cindy Loo, scallops and circles are mini monograms, sakura stardust pen to accent, eyelets to connect each medallion with ribbon

'miracle' from home decor, cutest deer in the world and tree from cindy loo, rose is a penny duncan rose cut using SCAL. For more Penny Duncan click here. She is a fabulous designer. Check her out.


Thought this little pregnant chic was perfect for my friend who worked as a hairstylist until a week before her due date wearing the most stylish maternity wear ever and at least 2 in. heels.

It's a girl! Eva Catherine was born healthy and happy. I've got a few ideas for future gifts...

Easter Milk Cartons

2011-04-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that I'm in charge of the annual Easter Egg coloring at Grandma's, right? Well I am and as such I feel like I should provide treat bags of some sort. Last year I made mini milk cartons for all the kids and filled them with candy. I'm not a big fan of loading kids up with candy so the mini size was perfect. It was a bit of a pain to score them all but I have recently acquired a SVG file from SVGcuts.com that has the score lines included so I'm hoping this years attempt goes much faster. The milk carton SVG is included in the Spring Birdhouse Set which is so cute. I have many plans for changing them up for the seasons. I think they'll be my go-to house files.

The scallop circle was cut using SCAL. The bunny and sentiment was computer generated and printed using GIMP.

The tops of theses cartons are sealed but the bottom opens to access the prize inside. On a side note, my son discovered that a hot wheel car fits inside perfectly.

Ethan's Room Sign

2011-04-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Lettering Delights came out with the cutest SVG sets called Weather Boy and Weather Girl. I HAD to have WB.

I've been meaning to do a sign for my son's room for ages and with him home sick yesterday I thought it would be the perfect time. He was able to pick out the font and colors and even which weather boy he wanted to be. I LOVE how it turned out! Really looks great on his door.

I used SCAL to cut everything out. I was able to lay out everything to make sure it fit. It's about 11"L x 6"H. Font is Minnie. 'Plaque' is a round corner square frame SVG I picked up on the net. I don't remember where but I'm pretty sure it was from the CraftEdge forum. Letters and WB attached with foam tape. Hair and cheeks were colored with BIC permanent markers and Sakura glaze pen was used on eyes and 'stitching'.

Lettering Delights is giving away a Silhouette SD

2011-04-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

That being said, expect a lot of new projects from me using Lettering Delights products. My inspiration run-ith over. For more information, contest rules, and details click here.

Cardinal Surprise

2011-03-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

I came into the living room of my upstairs flat to sit in the sun while I drink my coffee and saw this cardinal sitting on the corner of the porch roof outside the window. It was an OMG moment. I grabbed my camera and tried stalking up to the window like a National Geographic photographer but I guess I need more practice. Or a better zoom. He spotted me and I had to snap this picture fast. It doesn't capture how he was calmly sitting all fluffed up and content and scarlet. It doesn't capture how surprised I was and happy to have seen this little guy so up close. It does however capture the lingering memory of it for me. Spring has to be on it's way, right?

Swirly Easter Egg

2011-03-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

I found an SVG for this swirly egg somewhere on the net (probably the CraftEdge forum) and fell in love with it. This is my kind of Easter Egg. I made this one for a layout I was doing for our annual Easter Egg Coloring at Grandma's. All the grandkid's, well all but the two oldest, get together at Grandma's on Good Friday to color eggs. Somehow, I'm in charge of it. I have no idea how it happened but before I knew it I was setting everything up for all 8 kids. I was conned I tell you, conned! Anyway, so every year I have this LO to put together and after 5 years my inspiration was running a little thin. The I found this SVG and I could here the chorus of angels and see the light and all that other stuff that happens during eureka moment. I cut it out of white CS, coated it with glue and went to town sprinkling MS glitter in patches till it was covered. I let it dry and tapped off the excess and gave it a coat of glossy accents so the glitter wouldn't rub off. The shadow I cut out of cream CS and embossed with my CB and Swiss Dots. I think I cut this out at 3.5". I love it and can see smaller versions hung on my little wire tree as holiday decorations, or on a banner, or an egg shaped treat basket, or...(and I'm off to my art room)

tried to capture the glitter in this shot. glitter never photographs as well as it looks in real life. sigh.


i wanted to show the embossing

Mickey Rosettes

2011-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have yet to scrap our last Disney trip back in 2009. I can't believe I forgot. All the photos have been printed and now I just have to start scrappin'. Did I mention that it's 136 photos. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by it so I thought I'd start making embellishments. My theory: so when I finally sit down to put it together I won't have to stop to make anything thus being able to get more layouts finished at a time giving me a positive sense of accomplishment. Or maybe I'm over-thinking it. Happens to all of us, right?
So, paper rosettes are big now. I made a few. I really need to get the svg file on svgcuts.com for these. Doing it from scratch isn't hard if you're only making one or two. I made more than that. Need. That. File. They do look great, though.

used M&F cart for the mickey icon, PS for the circles, and MM for the scallops

i ran some of the circles through my CB with embossing folders to add a little something extra. studio g glitter glue was used over the mickey icons.

Custom Laptop Decal

2011-03-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

I wanted to decorate my laptop. It was so black and boring and wasn't me at all. So I grabbed my white contact paper and got to cutting. Then I grabbed my handy dandy alcohol ink and added some color and texture. Once dry, I carefully applied it to my laptop. It's still not as blingy as I want it but this was my first time doing this. When I get bored of this one I think I'll add some stickles to the next design. It's fun to be creative and express yourself.

Pictures a little blurry. It was a pain to photograph this without getting a glare. Frame is from HD cart and mickey is from M&F.

Classic birdhouse from svgcuts.com

2011-03-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here's my first go at the Spring Birdhouse svg kit from svgcuts.com. My son helped, well, he helped pick out the papers and pushed a few buttons. It was easy to put together,with or without my son's help. The toughest part was having patience to wait for the studio g glitter glue to dry. I doubled up the bird and flower bases to make them thicker and more sturdy. I used pattern paper for the roof but would suggest cardstock. The PP works but CS would be so much better.

Cloudy days do not make for the best photo days.

Tweet, tweet!

'A pink bird!?' is what my son said when he saw it all put together.

Packaging Card Sets

2011-03-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

I give a lot of card sets. I spend time to design and make them. I decorate envelopes to go with them. They look great! Now how do I package them to look professional and nice? I was watching My Pink Stamper and she was using cellophane treat bags and cardstock to package her card sets. Brilliant! -and easy. Take a bag, slide in cards and envies, cut a piece of CS to the width of the bag and long enough to fold in half to top the bag, place the folded CS over top of bag and staple together, decorate as desired.

Butterfly is from IA cart, scallop from MM

Scallop from MM cart, topper embossed with CB

Cutest 3D birdhouses ever!

2011-03-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

I've fallen in love with the Spring Birdhouse SVG kit from SVGcuts.com. It's $6.99 but if you spend $9.98 or more you get it free. So cute! I've been looking for the perfect house cut file and I found it! These are well structured and easy to put together. My favorite part, the roof. It's not just a rectangle folded in half and glued on. It's more like a box top which lets you use it as a box. They're easy to customize, it doesn't have to be a birdhouse. As a bonus, there are milk carton SVGs included in the kit. I love milk cartons. I don't know why, I just do. So head on over and check them out. There's a video showing you how to put them together and while you're there, check out the Big Boutique Boxes SVG kit. You can now make big boxes with your cutter. I have many plans for this kit...

My Art Space. Warning: photo heavy!

2011-03-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Million dollar question: What's the best way to set up your art space? Million dollar answer: Well, if I knew I'd be a millionaire. I'm not. I only know what works for me and it's constantly changing as I use my stash and acquire more. I reorganize my space several times a year and seem to be making small changes way more often than I need to. We moved back in November and I claimed our spare bedroom as 'the Studio'. I set up a make up table (more on that in another post), my art space, and an art space for my son that can double as extra room for me or a friend to create. I love my Studio and spend a lot of time in it (it's also the warmest room in the house and it's been really cold this winter.) So without further ado I present a bevy of pics depicting my much beloved space.

My son's art space, my sewing area, a place for a friend.

My art space.

I'm addicted to rubbermaid. There, I admit it. I use them for most of my organizing. On top of my drawer tower is my homemade light box. It's also a good place to set up my laptop when using CDS or SCAL.

The top drawer of my tower. All my punches and BIA wire coils.

My stamps. I use CD and DVD cases for my clear stamps. I can organize them better that way.

My inks and embossing supplies. I LOVE distress ink. I need more. Also the Studio G ink from M's, one of the best white inks I've used.

Pearlx pigments, glitter, flocking, perfect pearls, etch-all, melt art mold, alchol inks, rubber brayer, crop-a-dile, and misc. 'junk'

Stickers, die cuts, and run-ons organized by theme into ziploc bags and envelopes.

My paints

Extra glue, BIA, paper crimper, label maker, and misc supplies that I don't use much.

My PC station. It began life as a bathroom cabinet but is now the home of my Cricut and Cuttlebug.

It's also a great place to store those oversized items that just don't fit anywhere else. The top cubby is where I have my cricut cartridges and overlays. It has since been redone to fit into one photobox with CS dividers. I'll do a seperate post on that. The bottom cubby now holds by CB dies and embossing folders which live in a photobox. The pencil cases disney marker stamps are now on the shelves under my desk.

My desk and main workspace. I hang stuff that inspires me and quick references on the wall. I've found that having a sheet with all my pen and marker colors helps me choose the right color and size easily.

I found this mail organizer at a thrift store. It looks like ivory but is plastic. I found that clothespins are great when gluing things and a business card holder is a good place to keep them handy but out of the way.

I couldn't find a pen holder that could hold all my pens and markers close at hand. So I made my own out of a tissue box.

My homemade glimmer mists, glossy accents, scotch quick dry, gel medium, and a few other often used products live in a box top on my desktop. Another rubbermade holds adhesives, small tools, wire, and erasers. My photos are stored in an accordian photo box I found on sale.

Shoe racks that fit perfect under my desk with room for me to still sit at it. On top I store all my cutting mats and a bin that holds my color CS. I have a power strip set up so I there's plugs in easy reach.

My flower box. When I've got a creative block I'll put together flowers. I feel like I'm still doing something and I can grab a finished one quick to add to my projects.

My 12x12 color CS bin. I organize by color following the ROYGBIV standard.

A bin that I keep extra die cuts and blanks for altering.

My CB box which now lives on the bottom cubby of my PC station. I've embossed all my folders and plates onto white CS and put them on a binder ring so I have a visual reference.

My mat/card making box. I cut my scraps to a few different sizes to work as photo mats or be used in card making. They're organized by size. In the old cricut cart boxes I store squares in different sizes (1x1-3x3).

Buttons

Brads and eyelets

Rhinestones and dew drops

Fibers. This box is one my son stored his Hot Wheels in but then his collection got too big and he needed a rubbermade tower.

Prima type flowers which are now stored in a box like the one I use for my eyelets and brads. This side of my son's re-purposed Hot Wheels box now hold die cut alpha pieces. Makes my life a little easier.

Card box.

Cutters

8.5x11 CS and PP storage. Also holds scraps and smaller sized paper. Organized by color.

My 12x12 pattern paper collection. I can not close the lid. I think i need to buy more...paper. Organized by color or pattern.

This is where I store my themed pattern paper.

I fashioned heavy wire into hooks to hang my heat tool and glue gun. Also joining them is my new mini craft iron.


Storage for my CB plates, extra blades, templates, and to-go art kit.

I'm still decorating and didn't even show you the closet. It holds my blank bin (a milk crate that holds 'gift blanks' that I have on hand), my reference books and magazines, and stores alot of my husband and son'd extra stuff. I love my space and am thankful I have a loving husband who understands and indulges me. It helps that my son is turning out to be just as creative in art as me and in music as my husband. He needs his space, too.

SCAL upgrade

2011-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

First I just want to say winter bugs suck! We've been passing illness around since Christmas week. I now carry around a tool belt loaded with Lysol, disinfecting wipes, tissue, ibuprofen, children's tylenol, and a thermometer. I'm going for rubber gloves and a face mask if we don't get healthy soon. I feel like some post-apocalyptic cowgirl.
Okay, now on to the reason for this post. This one is for those of you with a cricut machine. If you don't already know there's a few programs that allow you to design on your computer and use you cricut to cut it out. Cricut Design Studio (CDS) and the Gypsy are provocraft. Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) and Make the Cut (MTC) are from CraftEdge. As a seasoned user, I recommend having one from each company. The Gypsy from PC and I like SCAL from CE. If you already have SCAL, there's an upgrade 2.038. Those buying SCAL2 will get the most recent version.
So the two new features I'm most excited about are the ability to print and cut and rhinestones. Let's start with rhinestones. You can make your design, hit the rhinestone button, and have your design made into a template for placing rhinestones on your projects. Cut or print out the template, add stones, and voila, easy peasy bling!
Now let's talk about the print and cut. Are we all familiar with the Cricut Imagine? A printer and cutter all in one machine? Fantastic, right? With a fantastical price tag. After watching a few youtube videos demonstrating it I decided that some day I would have to have it. Well, no longer. With SCAL we can now place an image onto our mat, add a cut design over it, print with your home printer, and cut with your cricut. There's tutorials on youtube on how to do this and the CraftEdge forum is a great place to pick up tips and tricks. I can use my printer, which is a Kodak so the cost of ink is alot less. I love that I'm not limited to the images on a cartridge. Any jpg or png can be used. You can even take digi stamps and graphic, print them and cut them out perfectly. Think of all the money you can save! Happy dance!
Bottom line: SCAL is good and so worth the money. If your a new cricut owner, I suggest waiting for the warranty to expire before using third party software. It voids your warranty. But after the warranty expires...let the games begin! Until then, check out cricutmachine.com for deals on cartridges and accessories.

CricutMachines.com

2011-01-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to get another cricut cartridge so I've been haunting ebay. You can get some good deals, if you win the auction. For some reason I never manage to win the auctions. In frustration, and rising desperation as the golden ring is held just out of reach, I found myself at CricutMachine.com. I knew this was a good place to get cricut stuff for cheap but never really took a geed look. Well, I'm looking now. They're having a sale! A lot of full carts are 16.95! Solutions are 14.95! New releases are less than 35.00! I got Cindy Loo for 16.95 + 3.95 S+H. A full cart for 21.00! I can't wait for Mr. Postman. I also noticed that they had a Gypsy Special. 99.95 for the gypsy with the 2 gypsy cart and the cricut sampler and office help. And cricut is offering 5 more cart downloads if you register your gypsy by February something. 9 carts and a gypsy for 100.00! It's a shame I'm broke. Give it a look see. I will be visiting this site regularly from now on.

Christmas tissue paper candles

2010-12-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

Now that the gifts have been given I can show them off here. Here's a few tissue paper candles I did using Tim Holtz images. I really love these and had a hard time not keeping them for myself. I'll just have to make my own. You can see my first post on tissue paper candles for instructions or you can go to youtube. There's a lot of how tos out there.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2010-12-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

Quick Christmas gifts

2010-12-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

I made a few of these quick gifts for my son's teacher, bus driver, and to have on hand. They're easy and inexpensive to make. And my son was able to help me put it all together.

Who doesn't love chocolate? Just a regular Hershey bar wrapped in Christmas paper found at Big Lots.

Inside this festive pouch is a packet of hot cocoa. As you pull the ribbon the hot cocoa magically rises from the packet. This is double sided paper that I found at Big Lots.

2010-12-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is a card I made for my niece who is also my hubbie's goddaughter. She's at that age where money and gift cards are the best gift option for her. So here's a fun interactive card for her. It's a waterfall card. You can find full instructions for it here.

Plain A2 envelope stamped with a Micheal's dollar bin holly stamp and peeled paint distress ink.

Words are a stamp set from Micheal's dollar bin embossed with gold detail powder. Flourishes were stamped in peeled paint distress ink. Cuttlebug Swiss dots folder was used on card front.

It's hard to photograph a waterfall card.

Christmas gift tags

2010-12-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

Here's some gift tags I made this year. I was just playing around with my scraps and trying out different techniques. Sometimes it's nice to just do something and see what happens, and if it doesn't work out, no big. No ruined layout or project. Just one more thing in the trash can or recycle bin. My son usually takes away the offending pieces and creates his own stuff with them. My baby's an artist. What more can I ask for. Well, it would be nice if he stopped 'singing' the songs from Doctor Who (which are instrumentals!) at the top of his lungs. Yes, my baby is also a geek. What can I say. He's a product of his environment.

These three are Tim Holtz inspired. The two in back are cut from black CS using the tag from PS cart. Perfect pearl mist was sprayed onto my nonstick craft sheet and tags were dragged through building layers. The roses are from Penny Duncan. She has some great cut files and flower tutorials. Check out her shaplies as well.

This tag is my favorite. I cut a mask from acetate and tacked it down to a white CS tag cut from PS cart. I sponged on Distress inks in Broken China and Dusty Concord. The edges were inked with Tea Dye and a little Walnut Stain. A flourish stamp was used with white ink to add another layer. 'Hope' was a stamp I got in the dollar bin at Micheal's (love dollar bins!) and embossed with gold. It's going to be hard to give this one away.

The square tags were cut from red CS and corner rounded with a punch. 'Noel' and the snowflake (more dollar bin finds) were embossed with white detail powder. 'Warm wishes' was embossed with black detail powder. The side were inked with Fired Brick Distress inks. On the back 'To:' and 'From:' are stamped. The round tag was cut from chipboard and embossed with UTEE in 3-4 layers (you can see my post on UTEE medallions to see more). I'm thinking of doing a video on these. Before the last layer of UTEE is set I used a present stamp and white ink the 'deboss' the image. A coat of alcohol inks and the gift tag was done. I did touch up the image by re-stamping. Tha back has 'To: From:' stamped.

I won!

2010-12-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've been following Joy at Joy's Life.com. She's funny and creative and has a Zhu Zhu hamster named Zippy (I love Zippy). This year she had a 12 days of Christmas series and giveaways for each day. I was very inspired by here projects and the giveaways were really nice. I happened to win a Post-It 3M grab bag. I can't believe I won. I can't wait to play with it all. Sorry dear family, but you will not see me the day it arrives unless you join me in the art room. This really isn't any different than any other day so it shouldn't be a big deal for them. I'll be sure to do some follow up posts. Maybe a few videos.
Thank you Joy for putting everything together and all your work. Thanks for the opportunity to win some wonderful prizes.

Christmas cards 2010

2010-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

I started making my Christmas cards in the summer which turned out to be awesome. They've been done for a couple months which has allowed me to work on other holiday projects and not feel overwhelmed. I also took my time instead of rushing through just to get them done. I decided to a few different designs, four cards for each design. My card list is not that long so I ended up with 5 designs and 20 cards. All cards were made from white cardstock in A2 size. I created the front of the cards on a separate base then adhered it to the front of the card base. I think it gives a cleaner look and leaves the inside of the card untouched.

Gold metallic paint was used over green CS for the base, swiss dots cuttlebug folder was used on red CS and inked with fired brick distress ink, 'hope' was cut out of white CS using the cricut and HD cart in shadow then glimmer misted with pearl, hot glue 'dew drops' were painted gold.

White CS base was stamped with swirls and inked using peeled paint distress ink, artisan label was cut from white CS using the cricut and SB cart then stamped with archiver's ink and fired brick distress ink, gold glitter glue was used around label and dotted around the card front

Sizzix texture plate was used on red CS and inked with fired brick distress ink, artisan label and frame was cut from white CS using the cricut and SB cart then frame was glimmer misted with pearl and label was stamped and clear embossed with 'believe' and flourish with peeled paint distress ink and lightly glimmer misted, hot glue 'dew drops' were made over a dusting of gold perfect pearls on a non stick mat

white CS was used as a base and inked with broken china and dusty concord distress ink then glimmer misted with pearl, swirls were stamped using worn lipstick and broken china distress ink, snowflakes were stamped with dusty concord and corner flourishes in peeled paint, Martha Stewart double sided sticker snowflakes were added to the front and covered with glitter (used flocking on some but liked the glitter results best)

White CS was coated with iridescent medium and embossed with a snowflake texture plate, 'wish' was stamped onto white CS using a glue stamp pad and sprinkled with pink flocking then inked with worn lipstick distress ink and adhered with a pop dot, swirls are cut from white CS using the cricut and HD cart then watercolored with blue, purple, and iridescent medium, on each card I used different shades of glitter glue to add dots

YUDU giveaway!

2010-12-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Okay everyone, great news! House of 3 and provocraft have teamed up to offer a fantastic giveaway. Are you ready for this? A YUDU and a HO3 $100 gift certificate! Awesome, right? But wait, there's more! If 1200 comments are reached, another YUDU and gift certificate will be given away. So get on over to House of 3 to leave a comment and enter. Well, whatcha waiting for? You only have till Sunday night.

2010-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Ranger products? Especially the Tim Holtz lines? Well I do! Where have these products been all my life? and why have I waited so long to get them? Seriously, I need no other inks but those made by this company. All my other ones were given to the care of my DS's craft carts. The distress inks are the bomb diggity and there's really nothing that compares to the alcohol inks. Since these inks can do many different things I wanted to learn all the techniques I could. I stumbled across this video and couldn't wait for Christmas to try it out! Once I got through the video, it's a little slow but hang in there, it's worth it. Here's the results I got.

They are translucent with a metallic shimmer that's not coming through in the photos. You can see the effect best on the red one. On that one I lightly coated the inside of the ball with the alcohol ink first, let it dry and then did the perfect pearls on the inside. The outside is has alcohol ink on it as well. I found that putting the coat of ink inside first allowed the perfect pearl to stick better. The ornament is more opaque than translucent. Both ways turn out beautiful in person.

Glitter ornaments

2010-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love glitter but hate the mess. I also hate the outrageous price tags of glittered ornaments in the store. And the glitter still gets everywhere! But I want pretty glitter ornaments to go on my fake white Christmas tree with the multicolored lights! So while cruising the net for Christmas ornaments I could do with my son I came across this video. If you do a search on youtube for glitter ornaments you'll find several that use the same technique but with different mediums you can use to get the glitter to stick. So first thing you need is a glass ornament. Any size, any shape. It just has to have an opening to get the glitter on the inside. Goes without saying, right? Next you'll need something to get the glitter to stick. I used Pledge with future shine but I've seen good results with Beacon Glitter It. It was easier for me to find the Pledge than the Glitter It. You'll also need some ultra fine glitter. Martha Stewart glitters for me (love the colors!) but any fine glitter will work. If you have older children who insist on doing it all by themselves I'd get the cheapest I could find so it wouldn't be a big deal if more ended up in the trash than in the ornament. Also gather a piece of scrap paper to catch extra glitter. A baby wipe and/or paper towel may come in handy as well.
Here we go. Add some Pledge (or sticky of choice) to your ornament and swirl it around coating the inside. Don't forget to get the neck. Pour out any extra, recycle it or discard. Pour a good amount of glitter into the ornament. Don't worry about using too much, all the extra that doesn't stick will come out and can be recycled. Swirl the glitter around the ornament until the inside is coated adding more if needed and remembering to get the neck. Dump out extra glitter, recap the ornament, and voila you have an ornament ready for the tree. Want to go further? Add ribbon and bow. More? Cut shapes out of contact paper or vinyl and adhere. Go crazy or stick with the minimal, they're beautiful either way.

The photos really don't do them justice. Especially without the use of a tripod.

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas 2010. Anyone else excited?

2010-11-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

Cake in a box

2010-11-27T07:50:00.000-08:00

What do you get the man who has everything? This is the question we had to ask for my FIL's birthday this year. It was a biggie bday, too. The answer, what he likes best. Gift cards. Usually I'm opposed to giving gift cards. I feel they're impersonal and a cop out. I do however love to receive gift cards myself. Conflicted much? Back on topic now. My FIL loves getting gift cards so on this occasion I made an exception to my normal rule and allowed the gift card to be given. However... I could not, would not, give it in an card. I could not, would not, give it in a envelope. I would, and could, give it in a box. Me an Dr. Seuss are tight as you can tell. So, what kind of box to make... a cake in a box box, of course. Perfect for my borderline diabetic FIL. He can have his cake and spend it, too.

This was super easy to make. Step 1: Take a piece of 12x12 paper, score at 4" and 8", rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Cut the corner pieces away and you'll have a cross shape. Fold the ends up to create an exploding box. Start the top of the box the same way using a smaller piece of paper, I used 8x8. Score at 2" and 6". This will leave you with 2" sides. Don't cut the corners out, just cut along one side to make a tab. Fold ends up and glue tabs together on inside of box top. Decorate as desired. Don't forget to make pockets for the gift card and a sentiment. Sky's the limit.

The cake is from the Sizzix 3-D three tier cake. My pieces were cut using my cricut. To see a video on it click here. Make the cake and decorate as desired. I like something like red line tape to adhere pieces together. It makes assembly a snap and you don't have to worry about your cake falling apart. It won't be doing it's pop up thing so you won't have to worry about what paper to use though I still use a heavy cardstock for the inner structure. After the cake is done adhere to the center of the center square.

Add the top and tah dah! your cake in a box is done.

Tissue paper candles

2010-11-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know what ya'll are saying. Tissue paper candles? What? Paper + candles = fire! I know. That's why we only use the paper to decorate the candles. The secret, using cheap candles that burn down the middle. No expensive beeswax here. The cheaper the better. So how do you do it? Take your garden variety gift giving tissue paper and either stamp on it or run it through your printer. House of 3 (love them!) has some Christmas images specially designed for this or you can use any digital image you want. Photo candles, anyone? Once you have your image on your paper, cut it out. I cut mine fairly close but don't go all anal and OCD about it. Perfection is not required. Save your efforts for something else. Now take the cut out image, add a little reposition glue stick to help hold it in place, and place onto your candle. Place a piece of wax paper around the candle leaving enough extra in the back to create a handle of sorts. Pull it tight. The wax paper will help to keep your candle smooth and keep you from burning your hands. Grab your handy dandy heat tool and go to work. The goal is to melt the top layer of wax enough for the tissue paper to soak in. You'll see it get shiny kinda like with heat embossing. Word of warning: don't heat the wax too much in one place or you'll end up with a hole in you otherwise smooth surface. It's a super easy craft that takes very little time to make. I'm a little addicted to it right now. I wish my dollar store would get in pillar candles... So here's a few I made as hostess gifts. There's more but those are Christmas gifts so their big reveal will have to wait.

Given to a BIL and SIL for having Thanksgiving at their house.

Given to my BIL and SIL who are Disney nuts and throw a Halloween costume party every year.

I found this The Nightmare Before Christmas movie promo and printed it.

I found this ornate frame ( I think at The Graphic Fairy Blog) and printed it twice so the design is on both sides of the candle. Glued on rhinestones for bling.

Digi stamps?

2010-11-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm really liking digi stamps. I love that I can make them any size I want and that each time I print them out they'll be perfect. Downside, no embossing unless I go over it with a versamark pen. Really not that big a deal for me. Another downside, finding digi stamps that I like is difficult. They're all too cutsie for me. I have a dark and tortured artistic soul that balks at using 'hallmark moment' stamps. I'd get kicked out of the cool moms with pink hair that wear a lot of black club. I'd get my goth card revoked. I wouldn't be allowed in Hot Topic anymore. Nooo! I guess what it comes down to is I haven't found the Tim Holtz of digi stamps yet. That being the case, I decided to start designing some of my own, in my own style. Who'd have thought all those art classes might come in handy? They're coming out really good and I'm thinking of selling them. Would anyone out in cyberspace be interested in purchasing digi stamps like these? Or should I not waste my time setting up an e-store? Any input would be appreciated.

Update: So I've talked with my mother and sister about all this. See if I can get them involved as well. It'll be a bonding experienced and we'll connect with our inner child and each other...Need more coffee...Ok, so anyway, they're on board. My sister has a more anime style and mom is going to put together some digi kits. We're aiming for steampunk, punktorian, emo, goth themes.

Fall word book

2010-11-23T07:40:00.001-08:00

Okay, so this final instalment of my seasonal word book is a little late but here it is anyway. You can find the others on my blog under the word books tag.

Waterfall Book

2010-11-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

This is a book I made for my DH. He's so hard to buy for but luckily he likes to get these little books to remind him how much I love him. I made this one for his birthday this year. The book is made like a waterfall card. It's a brilliant idea whoever came up with it out there in craft world. Very fun and easy. My DS loves to pull the tab and watch the pages shuffle back and forth. Just google or youtube waterfall books for in depth instructions and to see the concept at work.
The theme to this book is love and has some of our favorite photos, and the few of me in front of the camera instead of behind it. I used dingfonts and graphics I purchased at Lettering Delight to decorate. I printed some elements onto cardstock (ex. swirly frames) and cut out with and exacto knife. I then added some glossy accents over the top of those to give an epoxy sticker feel. The flourish phrases I cut using SCAL and my cricut from an LD dingfont. The flowers were cut with my cricut in various sizes and styles, I think they were all PS, and folded and curled to add dimension then joined together. Distress inks and copper foil tape were used to finish the edges of the book and pages. Add in some ribbon and a few extra embellishments I had in my stash and the book was done.
The box I made using the chart from my Martha Stewart Scor-pal. I really like this tool and am glad I got this one over the actual Scor-pal. The swirl on the top of the box is from the HD cart. I added some crumpled tissue paper inside the box to bump the book up for a better presentation.

Long time no post...

2010-10-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Why is it the older I get the more time seems to fly by. I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything. I have a slew of projects past to get up and a slew more from recent times. I really need to get a routine going or something. As soon as my house is in order (we're moving and everything is more chaotic than normal) I've got to do some catching up. My Christmas cards for this year are done. I did a few of several designs so there's lots of ideas.

UTEE fun medallions

2010-05-30T18:21:00.001-07:00

I've been playing with my embossing powder and alcohol inks and came up with these fun medallions. I punched 1 3/8" cricles out of chipboard, it needs to be a strong material, cardstock didn't work as well. I made an embossing 'handle' out of an extra piece of 5"x1/2" chipboard bending it at an exaggerated 'L'. Apply temporary adhesive to the little end of the 'L', this will be where the circle will go so you don't burn yourself while heating the powders. Apply embossing ink to your circle and coat in UTEE, heat, dip in UTEE, heat, and repeat. I found 4-6 layers to be enough. The UTEE will look like citrus peel at first but it does even out. After the last coat let the circle cool a bit then take it off the handle and place on a heat resistant nonstick surface. Apply embossing ink to a stamp to act as a release, heat your circle up until the UTEE is gooey and place the stamp on top. Leave the stamp while the UTEE cools and then remove it. I experimented with adding colored powders to the mix and found that adding the color first gives a more colored glass feel, but if you put the colors on as your last layer it's a solid color and your stamped image will be that color. The glass like ones have the stamped image as clear. And that's the best I can explain that so I hope you get what I'm saying but I think it's something you have to see for yourself. Check out the photos of the gold and silver medallions, they show the glass vs. solid difference the best. So once I had my medallions I applied alcohol inks to some using the applicator for the raised part and the depressions with a paintbrush my prepared alcohol ink paint tray. If you have alcohol inks I highly suggest making a paint tray. Drop a few drops, 3 max, into each paint tray bubble, a different color for each bubble. Let dry and add a few drops of blending solution to reactivate the inksfor paintbrush application.

More freezer paper tees

2010-05-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here's two more freezer paper tees I made for my boys. My son picked out the Flash symbol and my hubbie picked Carl Sagan... yes, my boys are geeks. I'm okay with that. It keeps them out of trouble. Most of the time. I cut out both designs using my cricut and SCAL. The Flash symbol is part of a dingbat set and Sagan was found online. I had to do some editing of Sagan for it to cut just right. Just a quick tip: I found it easier to iron the entire cutout, positive and negative pieces, to my shirts and weeding out my pieces to paint. Wait for the paint to dry and you can reapply the paper over the area so you can use a different color.

Dew drop follow up

2010-05-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I finally got around to further experimenting with hot glue dew drops. I tried to take photos of my results but couldn't get the focus and light right. So here's my result. Pearlx or perfect pearls applied to my non-stick craft mat first, then placing drops on top: it worked but the result was very subtle and the warmer golds, bronzes, and coppers showed the most. Pearlx or perfect pearls sprinkled on top of drops while still gooey: splotchy and uneven but still an interesting effect. Glitter applied to craft mat first: overall subtle but less so with more vibrant colors. Glitter sprinkled over top while still gooey: my favorite effect, the drops looked like flat gum drops that I had a hard time not eating. I can see these as decorations for the paper houses that aer the rage to make and decorate. For gift tags and cards, too. So many colors of glitter...which one next?

Homemade dew drops experiment

2010-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

After watching several videos on youtube about how to make your own dew drops I wanted to give it a try. My son has been into science experiments lately so I thought I might as well treat this endevour as one so I can find what works best for me.
There are several methods and techniques for achieving dew drops. I got out freezer paper, wax paper, parchment paper, and my non-stick craft mat. Gathered my collection of clear dimensional glues (glossy accents, paper glaze, sepia, and antique glass). I even pulled out some glitter fabric paint. Plugged my hot glue gun in and I was ready to start. I applied dots of each product to each surface and waited. Nothing like waiting for glue to dry.
Let's start with what's the best surface to work on. The non-stick craft sheet was by far the winner with every product. If you don't already have one, get one. It's worth it and if you're in to saving the planet, the reusable nature of it really ups the ante.
So now what product works best. While the clear dimensional glues worked, they ended up very flat. You can build them up but you would have to wait for each layer to dry and weeks later when you finally have enough layers to reach the height you want, you can finish your project. If you needed something thin, these would work. I did like how the sepia and antique glass looked but again, thin. Hot glue was my favorite. These drops looked the most like actual dew drops and you can whip up a whole bunch in a few minutes. It might take longer for the gun to heat up than to make them. I do suggest using high temp so the glue has time to self level and ONLY the craft mat. They stuck to everything else. Not fun to peel off. There may be strings but they come off easy once the drop has set up. They do kinda stick to each other in storage but they come apart easy with no damage.
Now that you have your homemade dew drops you can use them as is or color them using alcohol inks. I want to try sprinkling glitter and pearlx on my craft sheet before adding the drops to see what will happen. I'm hoping it will work well because I don't think trying to sprinkle over the top will be easy with the quick drying time of the hot glue. But that's an experiment for another time.

Star Wars freezer paper tee

2010-05-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of the first projects I did with my new SCAL software. Custom tees for my DS using freezer paper. I found some great dingbats online and used these for the designs. When ready to cut, use freezer paper on your mat, shiny side is what will later stick to shirt, important to note so your design doesn't end up accidently reversed. Once cut, use a hot iron to temporarily adhere freezer paper to shirt. I've found it easier to try to get the entire sheet off the mat as a whole, iron both positive and negative pieces to the tee, then go back and pull off the positive pieces to leave the spaces for the paint. For simple designs it doesn't make too much difference but for more intricate pieces I found this to save my sanity. It also makes it easier to use multiple colors by keeping the other areas masked. I use the fabric paint that comes in bottles with small nozzels so I can squeeze onto a pallet or the use the nozzel. There are tons of colors and textures to choose from. Once all paint is dry, I heat set and it's ready to wear.

A few cards

2010-05-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

My mojo has been missing. I'm taking advantage of this time out of my craft room to clean and organize. All those things that go by the wayside when we enter our creative world. I'd rather be crafting but I have got a lot done. Collected more files, gathered more supplies, added to my idea folder... I should be ready to get my hands dirty again but... I have lots of ideas buzzing around in my head like annoying little bees. I can't blame them. They want me to make them real. I just have to wait for them to get a little more fully formed. I need to stop stressing about how behind I am on my scrapbooking. I'm not sure how it happened but I am and I need to stop feeling guilty about it. So to help inspire me I got out some of the cards I've done from scraps to post here. Cards are easy little projects to start getting the creative juices flowing. All are made from scraps; the first two are joy fold, and the others are A2.

My solution to ribbon storage

2010-04-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

I've been searching for a storage solution for my growing ribbon collection. After scouring the web I decided that I could male my own. I punched holes in the top of a photo box with my anywhere hole punch. This allows me to keep all my ribbon in one box and easily see them all. So far, so good. I've had no problems with ribbons tangling and I still have room to grow. Time to go shopping.

Easter Eggs

2010-04-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

One of the project that my son and I did over Feb break was to decorate foam easter eggs. We painted them then covered them in tissue paper using watered down white glue. Once dried we decorated a few each. I have them all in a white wire basket in my living room.

Feb Break Project

2010-03-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

One week off school. What am I going to do to keep my sanity with my son home? How am I going to keep him from bouncing off the walls? Time to plan some projects. Armed with a supply list and with my son in tow, we enter Michael's. One of the projects he chose to do was to make a treasure box. We bought a wooden box for him to paint and decorate and while he was doing that I made this box. I cut out squares of chipboard and covered with pattern paper. Using my BIA machine, I punched holes in the sides and then threaded ribbon to join the sides together. A little wire to form a latch and I have a working box. Now that I have it, what do i put in it?

Valentine for my hunny

2010-03-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

So I know Valentine's Day has come and gone but here's the card I made for my DH anyway. I wish I could have posted it before Vday, but knowing my DH, he would have visited my blog and ruin the surprise. I designed the whole card in DS using the heart from IA and 'love' from HD. I have found that using DS and pages feature makes it so much easier to get everything sized right, and to decide what embellishment to add. I wanted a unique package for the card, my DH always makes fun of me for never making envelopes. I get so caught up in making the card that I usually just forget to make one and then it's too late. So using my new Martha Stewart 'scor pal' and the measurements it provides, I made a box for the card to nest in. I was very pleased with the results.

Spring word book

2010-03-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

This was something I made as a set for my in-laws as Christmas presents. I made one for each of the four seasons. Here's spring and with this maybe we'll get some warmer weather up here in NYS.

To busy playing with new toys.

2010-03-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I got Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL), inkscape, and gimp software and have been busy trying to master it. I still haven't but I'm weel on my way. For those of you who don't know what this software is let me give some brief descriptions. First up, SCAL. This software allows you to be able to cut any true type font and .svg files with the help of your cricut machine. It may also work with the other cutters out there, I'm not sure, I love my cricut and I don't look at other machines. And yes, my cricut gets jealous, so I try to treat my baby right so he'll treat me right. And yes, my machine is a boy. I'm already surronded by males, it only seemed right. Back on track, no more expensive font cartridges. That in itself, pays for the software. Have I mentioned all the free fonts and dingbats out there? My font library is overflowing with options. With SCAL you can also create your own designs, similar to how you would with cricut design studio only you're not limited to what's on the carts. With the assistance of inkscape and gimp you can do even more. Both are great programs in their own right, and this is where I'm still learning, when paired with SCAL you can do so much more. Want to turn a coloring page into a cut file that you can layer? With the help of inkscape you can. Inkscape and gimp can be compared to photoshop or paintshop but they work with vector graphics while the others are bitmaps. There's a wealth of video tutorials on youtube explaining in more detail and better than I'd be able to do. I've been newly inspired and now I have to go play.

Blog Award

2010-02-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here's my first blog award. Thank you Stacy from Love That Bug for giving it to me. She has a great monkey-licios papercrafting blog. Lots of great ideas. Check it out. Since this is my first award I think i'm going to ham it up a bit. I'd like to thank all the little people who helped make this possible. My DH for supporting my habit, I mean hobby. My DS for creating with me and helping me with tough design choices. My high school art teacher for teaching me the basics and my graphic art teacher for teaching me how to put it all together. All the craft companies who make the supplies I need and the stores that sell them. Last but not least, I'd like to thatnk all the creative bloggers who inspire me.

So along with the award I have to tell everyone 7 things about me.
1. I was born just outside of Washington, DC.
2. I attended 3 elementary schools. One of them Flintstone Elementary. That's really what it was named. They had the Flintstones painted on the walls.
3. I moved to Central Florida with my family when I was 6.
4. I love Daytona Beach at night, in the off season.
5. I worked at Walt Disney World as a pirate and a jungle cruise skipper.
6. I met my husband while we were both working at Disney. That's right, I got a paycheck, a prince, and a happily ever after. Wishes do come true.
7. I dislike the cold. Why did I move to NY? I must really love my husband.

I also have to pass this award on to 15 followers/friends.
1.   http://lulus-creations.blogspot.com/
2.   http://pgmdesignz.blogspot.com/
3.   http://kreativekristina.blogspot.com/
4.   http://brendasjoy.blogspot.com/
5.   http://217creations.blogspot.com/
6.   http://jenthemadscrapper.blogspot.com/
7.   http://inkingpink.blogspot.com/
8.   http://blueyecicle.blogspot.com/
9.   http://okieladybugsscrapnmore.blogspot.com/
10. http://livingorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/
11. http://shimmybeancreations.blogspot.com/
12. http://myimajennation.blogspot.com/
13. http://oakcreations.blogspot.com/
14. http://www.paperscissorsinc.com/
15. http://thescrapbeach.blogspot.com/

Now with great power comes great responsiblity, or so they say, and this award comes with strings.
Say thanks to one who sent it to you.
Tell us 7 things about you.
Pass it to 15 followers/friends.

Light box: it's a good thing.

2010-02-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

So I finally got around to making my light box. You'll find the instructions here. I used silver duct tape instead of the white or clear they suggested because that's all I had lying around and parchment paper instead of the fabric. It works great! Really is the best way to take photos of your arts and crafts and makes a huge difference. My tips: The measuring was a bit time consuming but you don't have to be exact just close. I sugest using a metal ruler and a utility knife with a fresh blade to make the cuts. Be careful of your cutting surface as the knife cuts through like butter. On to bottom, the small side pieces to make the lid should go on the outside of the 15" square so your 15" side pieces will fit on the three sides. I wouldn't worry about it being pretty, no one's going to see it. All in all, for under $15 I had a collapsible light box that took about 45min to construct. When it comes time to photograph, it assembles in a minute. A good investment and space saving. Before and afters below.

Coming soon: Light box

2010-02-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

Obviously my photography work sucks. In an effort to improve the quality of my photos, I have been searching the internet for tricks and tips. I found quite a few good suggestions but the most useful information for me was found at deviantART. It's a great site and worth browsing through. There are some really talented artists there. One of the suggestions was to make a light box so I don't have to use my flash and get hot spots and glare. There's instructions to make a collapsable box/tent that I'm going to try. Craft store here I come. I should probably stop and get some first aid supplies, too. Foam board is hard to cut through...
If all is successful, I'll post the how-to and the results.

Alice in Wonderland Cards

2010-02-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

I love the art from Alice in Wonderland. The book, though Tim Burton's looks really visually pleasing. I found clip art of the etchings and printed out a few of my favorites. The with the Beyond Wonderland font I printed out some appropriate phrases. Put together some paper flowers, cut a few butterflies from accetate, embossed some card fronts. In no time I had the makings of a card set. The pics are not the best but they look so much better in real life. Time to learn more patience when photographing my work.

My version of the Tim Holtz grungepaper rose

2010-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do some paper flowers and so did a google search for how to's. One that kept coming up was the Tim Holtz grungepaper roses. He has instructions on his site and there's a few videos on youtube. After doing my research I turned on my cricut and got out my tacky glue and went to work. For the paper I pulled out some old patterned paper and used ink and pearlx powders to make it look old and grungy but with some metallic sparkle. I also painted the top with gel medium to seal in the pearlx and give some flexibility. These roses look so much better in real life.

Here's a pic of the finished flower.

Step one: Cut out four flowers. I uses the shift shadow shape for the 7 petaled flower on my home decor cart. I like this one the best though I did try the flower from plantin on shadow as well.

Step two: Cut small slits in between each flower petal. This will help in rolling the petals later.

Step three: Cut a slit to the middle of flower 1. Cut one petal out of flower 2. Cut two petals out of flower 3. Cut 3 petals out of flower 4. Do not discard any pieces. You will need them all. So you'll be left with one flower with 7 petals, one with 6, one with 5, one with 4, one with 3, one with 2, one with 1.

Step four: Take single petal and roll the curved tip over a toothpick, then roll entire petal loosely around toothpick to make your flower center. Glue ends with a fast drying glue. Tacky glue worked fine for me.

Step five: Repeat step four on 2 petal.

Step six: Next take 7 petal flower and overlap petals on either side of the slit lining them up as best you can to join the flower together making a cone like shape. Glue together.

Step seven: Repeat step six on remaining flowers. You should have something like this. The 3 petal takes some work to get right. I find the folding it over 2D to glue it then pulling it out to 3D works best for me.

Step eight: Using the end of a paintbrush, roll the ends of the petals.

Step nine: Cut off the base of all flowers but the smallest three or crush down the points of your cones by pushing the point flat on a flat surface. Be careful, it's only paper and will tear. I like to crush the points over cutting them.

Step ten: Place the flower center into the 2 petal, then that into the three petal. The bottom will have to be cut off but wait till it's time to place in the rest of the flower.

Step eleven: Glue 6 petal onto 7 petal. 5 petal onto that. 4 petal onto that. Cut middle from step ten and glue to the flower.

Step twelve: Fluff and fuss with your flower till you have it like you want it and let dry.

A few of my favorite photo shoots.

2010-02-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

I'm a hairstylist and I have a friend who is a photographer. Occasionally we work together. Here's a few pics of our work and to see more please visit my blog CheyenneMarie: Hairstylist

I consider myself first and foremost an artist. An artist who is also a cosmetologist and lucky enough to be friends with a photographer. I love doing photo shoots. It's wonderful to be creative and let my imagination run wild. It's also fun to work with other creative people to achieve a piece of art.

Bite Me

A look at Adam's temptation.
Photographed by CJ Stanley. Model Jenaleigh.

Wishful Thinking
Why do we always long for what we don't have?
Photographed by CJ Stanley. Model Lauren.

Chocolate Survival Kit

2010-02-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

I can't take credit for this idea. Wish I could because it's a great idea, but this is the brain child of one of the ladies on the cricut MB. To see her post click here. I thought it would be a great thing to make for the girls at work. I'm still kinda new and everyone at the salon was very welcoming when I first started. So it's really a big thank you to them. I brought it in yesterday and they all loved it and thought it was so cute. We all agreed that the raspberry Hugs were too good and highly addictive. It was a quick and easy project with big time pay off. I used PS for the letters. In CDS I welded the oval and 'chocolate' to cut in one piece and glittered the letters. The ovals and frame are from FMK.

Cards made with A2 heart lace.

2010-02-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

My cuttlebug came Monday! I wasn't expecting it till Friday. I couldn't wait to get it out of the box and craft. Here's the cards I made with the A2 heart lace cuts and my new CB.

Heart lace for A2 cards: easy valentines anyone?

2010-01-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

I can't take full credit for these cards. It all started when I saw a version on the Capadia Designs blog. She's really talented and was sharing a .cut file for this project. I couldn't get the file downloaded so I broke down and made my own. To see her creation click here. Before I got started on the file I was browsing at Micheal's and saw this hot pink glitter 12x12 lace in a similar design but with the hearts going different directions. I thought while I'm at it I might as well do this too. Then I was just having fun with all the different hearts on my carts. Currently I only designed in A2 size but I plan on going to 12x12. As you'll be able to see when you visit Capadia (you are going to visit, right? really, check it out, she inspires me), you can end up with two cards out of one file. It does take a little time for the cricut to cut them out. There's some intricate and small cuts, so I would advise against using a brand new mat. It can be done but trust me it takes a lot of patience. Yes, I'm talking from personal experience. In the photos you may notice that the pieces are not adhered. I'm waiting for my new cuttlebug to arrive so I can emboss the front of the cards first. You'll end up with lots of little hearts left over. I plan to use these on the inside of the cards and on the envelopes. For .cut files click here.

Made with PS and DC. I fixed the corner in the file.

Made with PS. Last one made with PS,IA,HD,MF,DC,SB

Hello. My name is Cheyenne and I'm an addict.

2010-01-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

I've been using a lot lately. Everyday really. I just don't feel right if I don't. I can't help it and I don't think I want to fight it. That's right. I'm a bareminerals addict. Well, if I'm being honest it's all forms of makeup. I'm totally lost in the world of makeup. Recently however I've gotten worse. A Sephora opened in a mall close to me. For a good year I fought the pull and refused to enter, knowing that it would be a long time before I came out again. Well, one day I broke. I walked through the door into paradise. I want it all. Now I was using bareminerals before that. It truely is a wonderful product and if you haven't tried it yet, run out and get a starter kit. Some places that sell it will apply it to you before you buy it so you can see and feel the difference. It is worth the money. I will never use another foundation, ever. Fabulous stuff. Back on track now. I slowly built my collection of makeup. I tried other products in the bare essentials (BE) line and loved every one of them. This Christmas I got as a gift the sweet decadence eyeshadow collection. I didn't think I could love BE anymore than I already had but my heart grew two more sizes. I can't say enogh good things about BE. Or makeup really. I also was gifted an eyeshadow pallette inspired by the colors of the eastern cultures. I think it's called hand of hope. They are beautiful colors and it's a tough choice in the morning whether to use these or BE. In closing, My name is Cheyenne and I'm a makeup addict.

Border Punch .cut files

2010-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Not that long ago I was cruising the Cricut message boards and came across a post I found inspiring. In the post the writer posed the question, Do we use our cricuts to their full potential? They went on to point out that one of the many reasons we justify the purchase of these expensive machines is that it will save us money in the long run. We will no longer need to buy punches. Pre-made embellishments, stickers, chipboard cutouts are things we could make for ourselves. But how many of us still find ourselves in the checkout line with these supplies? I like to think I make good use of my cricut but even I found myself purchasing things I could easily make with my cricut. Border punches are big on the MB these days. It seems like every project I come across uses one. I had always intended to try to replicate some of the ones I've seen. Here's what I have so far.

From top to bottom: scallop, scallop lg eyelet, scallop sm eyelet, scallop lace. Carts: PSB (I had to redo these since the file corrupted. They're a little different than in the pics but close enough to get the idea.)

From top to bottom: fancy, fancy 2. Carts: PSB, SB

From top to bottom: heart 12 in top edge, bottom edge. Carts: PSB

From top to bottom: numbers, ABC123 uppercase, ABC uppercase, abc123 lowercase. Carts: PSB, P101

Birthday. Carts: PSB, DC

From top to bottom: zigzag, zigzag 2, zigzag 3 zigzag w/diamonds. Carts: PSB, IA

The bottom edge heart needs a little work. The heart cutout is a little to high. Same with the zigzag diamonds. All are set up to cut the max available on the cricut 12x12 mat. Some of the file also have pages sized for A2 cards. I'll post photos of those as I complete cards to showcase them.
To download .cut file click here.

Winter word book

2010-01-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

I made a set of four word books for my parents-in-law for Christmas. One for each of the seasons. They are so hard to buy for that I make them something each year. It's been scrapbooks the past few years but I wanted to do something different. I still left places to add photos but they can stand without them. Heres's the winter book. For .cut file click here.

Masquerade

2010-01-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

Every so often my DH invited over his BFF and we have dinner and hang out. These guys have been friends almost longer than I've been alive. They go way back. Sometimes they get into conversations and I swear they're not speaking english. During these times I find other things to do until they come back to earth. One night while they were off in their own little world I pulled out my sketch book and went to town. The sketch turned out better than I expected and I thought it would make a great hostess gift for the halloween party we attend annually. I made this based on my sketch and almost didn't give it.

2010-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas gifts I whipped up a couple of stationary boxes based on the design of Jackie Topa. One of the talented ladies from the Cricut Message Boards made a .cut file for it. Her blog is here and it has some photos of the whole set together. It really is a great little box able to hold A2 cards and envelopes, note cards/love notes, tags, stamps, and an address book. I designed one set each for two of my sisters-in-laws to add to their secret santa gifts.

Box 1 when closed

A2 Cards 1-4

A2 cards 4-8

Envelope

Notecards/lovenotes

Gift tags

Box 2 when closed

A2 cards

Envelopes

Notecards/lovenotes

Gift tags

Joy fold card instructions.

2010-01-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

A few posts back I made some joy fold cards as gifts. I thought I would post the instructions I used from the Cricut Chirp. Everyone loves to make the most of their supplies and I'd like to thank these ladies for taking the time to figure out the most efficient way to make these fun cards. Here's the instruction but if you want to see the diagram or more examples of JFCs click here.

From the Cricut Message board member ClaudiaHolcombe has shared some clear instructions for making a joy fold card and DawnHendrix has provided a diagram of this fun card. Thanks Claudia and Dawn!

Our group of 3 got together today and made lots of JFC's. We even worked out how to get the most out of a 12X12 sheet of cardstock. If you are interested here goes.
1. Cut 12 X 12 card stock into an 8 1/2 X 12. Turn it where the 12 inch side goes horizontally and cut 4 1/4 X 8 1/2 piece.
2. Repeat cut...4 1/4 X 8 1/2
3. Cut a 3 inch by 8 inch strip
4. From the strip you had left from the original cut in step 1, cut an 8 inch strip. Then cut this strip 3 inches wide. This will give you the card stock pieces for 2 cards with a 3 1/2 inch by 4 inch piece to use for use in embellishing.

Is this as clear as mud? Try drawing a diagram and it will help maximize paper use.

Additional Instructions and information about Joy Fold Card's can also be found at:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card/
http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Techniques/Cardmaking/1964.php

Not enough hours in the day.

2010-01-28T08:54:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or has time just sped by? Last I remember it's the beginning of October and now it's the end of January. Where did the time go? I still feel like I should be getting my Halloween costume ready! Well, it's never too early to start on plans for Oct. 2010. Maybe by being this proactive I'll experience the holidays in real time. Maybe I'll start Christmas plans, too. Yeah...nice thought but not going to happen. I need a time machine.

Mixed media post cards

2010-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I made these 'post cards' for my mother and sister. We're all artist so I thought they would appreciate these. We are also collectors and I can totally see them putting these on their walls. Now we have a strange sense of humor. Very dry and sarcastic. None of us are what you would call traditional or conservative. We're all a little goth. Go figure. That being said, please don't take any of the sentiments seriously. They are for my family and our humor. They're meant to be funny and everyone gets a good laugh and we all move on with our lives with a smile. I contemplated taking the photos without the sentiments to avoid possible offense but they looked incomplete to me. I guess what it comes down to at the end of the day is: this is who I am. Love me or hate me, I'm being true and honest. Now I'll get off my soap box and share my art with you.

Gel Medium: My new Best Friend

2009-09-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

As an artist I'm ashamed that it took me so long to discover the wonders of gel medium. Seriously. Why did I not listen to the hype. So many years of frustrated paper collage. So many painting that could have been brought to the next level. All those composition books that I altered with bumpy covers. The list goes on and on and on. Ok, starting to get lost in my morose thoughts of regret and sharp desire to do it all over. Did I mention that would take years and I'm already so behind in my crafts. So not a good idea to linger so let's move on to why I'm very in love with gel medium.

Project one: making pretty magnet by covering clothes pins with pretty scraps.
Cut paper to cover top, apply gel medium to paper or clothes pin, add paper, top coat with gel medium, add magnet to back, viola-pretty magnet great for holding papers. No bumps in paper. Dried clear. No need to add protective coat. Quick and easy. I whipped up a small army of them in less than 15 minutes.

Project two: covering a chipboard word book with decorative paper.
Have I mentioned that I love my cricut expression. I do. Especially when paired with design studio. So after designing and cutting out all the pieces of a word book (chipboard base, decorative papers to cover) the problem becomes how to adhere paper securely. Solution, gel medium. Apply gel to paper or chipboard base, add paper, smooth with a bone folder or old credit card, top coat optional. No bumps. Securely adhered. Everything I want in my paper covering. The books look great, well, a little naked at this point but easily fixed with embellishments.

So if you're like me and have tried all the other paper adhesions (is that a word?) for papers and collage this is the stuff to try. I think it works better than other glues and decoupage mediums because it a heavier body but still has some slip. Doesn't really matter to me how it works just that it does. Let's not forget to mention all the other things that can be done with gel. Altered book, absolutely needed for adhereing pages together. Image transfer, ok so I don't know too much about this but I can't wait to try it. And of course it's original use in painting, to add more body to the paint and extend drying time. So many more uses and thanks to the internet all at our fingertips. Let me close by saying that I will never be without gel medium again. It has become a permanent fixture in my crafting supplies. Do you think I'll get funny looks if I make a little bag to carry it around in. You know, like the ones for dogs. Just a thought. Guys have duct tape as a fix all, women have clear nail polish and now gel medium.

Disney Vacation

2009-08-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

In a few short weeks we'll be making our annual pilgrimage to WDW. My hubbie and I met while both working there. Yes, that Pirate wench who sent you off on a boat to the carribbean was me and yes, I was your skipper, crocodile wrestler, snake charmer, and marriage counselor on the Jungle Cruise. Fun times...
So as you can imagine it's an important place to hubbie and I. This year we're going a couple days after our son's birthday. My baby's turning 5 and he's going off to kindergarten and I'm going to be a complete mess but that's not till we get back. In the meantime we'll be celebrating his birthday at Disney. A special dinner at the T-Rex cafe has been planned and greatly anticipated. We're also celebrating my dad's birthday while there. A family dinner at the Garden Grill has been planned and greatly anticipated. He, and the rest of my immediate family still live in central florida, so I don't get to see them as much as I used to. I made up some handmade gifts for them and will blog about them when I get back so as not to ruin the surprise. It's not much but I'm happy with how everything turned out.
Needless to say I'm excited to go on vacation and spend some quality time with my family at the happiest place on earth.