New From Jetmax!

Well, new to me at least! I am really into the whole Jetmax storage cubes right now – this better not be a fade ‘cause I’ve spent way too much on them so it better last! - and I’ve been searching for the one piece that I can never find – the file cube with only one drawer. Well, after teaching my SDU class tonight, I went to the Jetmax section and there it was! I felt like I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or hit the Jetmax cube lottery! As I was grabbing my cube, I saw something that I had never seen before. A Jetmax Cricut storage organizer!

You can store your Cricut machine in this. And that’s an Cricut Expression on the box so it’s big enough for that. (Please excuse these photos, I took them with my phone.)

A closer look. Now, I like the place at the very top for the Cricut markers (I don’t have many of those anyway) and the little shelf at the back, but for storing Cricut boxes like they have done here – please, don’t make me laugh! That little space wouldn’t hold any of my cartridges! – does anyone really have only have THREE cartridges? – I guess I could use that area to store my Gypsy stuff.

Here’s a photo of it closed:

Nice, but I think that I use my Cricut too much to have to open this over and over again. – I may have to eat my words if you come by my house in a few weeks and see one of these in my scrapbook room! - But I do love that they are making more types of storage and also thinking about us Cricuteers! Thank you Jetmax! It costs $59.99 at Michaels but you can always use a coupon and my Mike’s only had 2 in stock.

Just thought I’d share. Michaels is redoing their entire scrapbooking department and I am told that there are a lot of new items coming soon. I’m looking forward to seeing new scrapbooking products and I hope they won’t disappoint. I’ll keep you posted!

PS – here’s a coupon, just in case!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Control Those Ink Pads!!!

In the process of redoing my craft room I realized that I had WAY too many ink pads –not that I’m complaining, mind you- and I didn’t have any kind of plan to tame my growing collection. Until I found these two tips. The  first tip was found at Rebel Inker. Stacey King has a pdf file that you can download with instructions for making this ink pad holder that uses only 2 pieces of foam core board. She used white foam core in her tutorial but I decided to use black and I got it at Hobby Lobby when it was on sale at 50% off- I’m ALWAYS looking for a good deal!

(Now I didn’t say that I was a master builder, ok? This is as good as it gets!)

This system was made to fit the Stampin’ Up! Ink pads but I found that with a little tweaking, you can use the basic pattern to create a number of configurations, not just for ink pads but for all kinds of storage.

It wasn’t that difficult to put together. I guess the hardest part was just cutting the foam core nice and straight. There are 5 compartments for the ink pads and each compartment holds 12 pads – again, these are SU pads. There is even a place to store your re-inkers at the top!

Because I bought the 2 pieces of foam core at 50% off, this project cost me about $5.00! Now what am I gonna do with the other 100 other brands of ink pads? LOL! More to come on that one. After I figure it out!

The other solution that I found was for my Tim Holtz Distress ink pads. –Hold on for a minute, AT! ok! I’m better now!

I like to use his inks with Inkssentials ink blending pads and Tim’s wooden tool. ok, did I just say that? That didn’t sound good -I’m really a good girl! But I didn’t want to get the inking pads & colors mixed up. So! I went back to Hobby Lobby –right, any excuse!- to purchase Velcro squares that were stick-on and some more ink blending foams.

I first stuck the rough side of the Velcro on the back of the ink pad and the softer side on the back of the blending foam.

Next step was to put the blending foam on the ink pad:

Now, when I need to use a certain color of ink, I grab it, take the blending foam off the back and stick it to the blending tool!

Even with the piece of Velcro between the pad and the tool, I have no problems at all getting a smooth, even color on my project. When I’m finished, I just reverse it – take the pad off the blending tool and place it back onto the bottom of the ink pad.

Easy as pie! Give it a try! If you do try either one of these storage tricks, please comment on this post and let me know. I just want to know if you like getting some tips & tricks on storage, scrapbooking and cricut related items also.

Dakota Bear, I hate to do this, but I can only give you until Wednesday, March 9th to contact me for your Blog Candy. After that date, I’ll have to pick another name!

Thanks for looking and until next time, Happy Crafting,

More Stamped Cards to Share and The Winner from My Fabulous and 50th Birthday Blog Hop!

First I wanted you to know that I will start sharing my Design Studio and Gypsy files soon! I only have a few now but I am designing more and more and I’d be delighted to share them with you. I’ll keep you updated!

I wanted to share a few more of my stamped cards with you. The first two were stamped with Stampin’ Ups Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. I think that the sentiment on the left card was made with a hostess stamp set. I love these stamps and use them a lot!

 

In the next set of cards, the one on the left is very special to me – this is the very first card that I made with SU stamps and ink pads! When I saw this stamp set and the background stamp I was hooked – bought both sets on the spot! did you notice that the flower stem is upside down? You didn’t? Then I shoulda kept my mouth shut! lol It wasn’t long afterwards that I became a Demo for SU. The background stamp is En Français and I can’t even remember the name of the other set and since I am still re-doing my scrapbook room – yes, STILL -, most of my stamps are boxed up right now.  The card on the right was one of my demo cards using the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set and the Upsy Daisy set for the sentiment.

 

On the next card (left), I stamped the  flowers from the Petal Pizzazz set, punched them out and adhered them with foam dots. The sentiment is from the Sincere Salutations set – a great set! The card on the right was stamped with Bird on a Branch set.

 

The first card was done for a card swap and there are no SU sets used on it. I used an embossing folder on the background and a watercolor technique on the stamped image. I just love the next card. It was created with only punches! I used circles, ovals, a flower, and a heart to create this Easter Bunny!

 

The card on the right was made using Bird on a Branch again and Birds and Branches strip die cut from Sizzix. One of my all-time favorite stamp sets is the one that I used to create the first card – Baroque Motifs! The technique used on this is a faux 3-D shadow technique. You need the same color of cardstock and ink color (that’s one of the things that I like about SU – everything matches!), a white pigment ink pad and a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig! Stamp the image in the white pigment ink and let it dry. Then using the SAMJ tool, re-stamp the same image again with a dye ink in the same color as the cardstock , just a slight bit off center from the first one. (see the next photo for a close up) It looks very dimensional but without the bulk – great for mailing.

 

The next card (left) was stamped with the Bloomin’ Beautiful stamp set. I stamped the image on watercolor paper with a VersaMark stamping pad, sprinkled it with gold embossing powder, then heat embossed it. Then using my ink pads and an aqua painter (a plastic paint brush filled with water), I water colored the image in. I used the Razzle Dazzle set and a scalloped die cut to make the next card.

 

Ok, last set! I promise! First card – I stamped the image  - Inspired by Nature – with a VersaMark ink pad and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Second card – used my favorite stamp set again, Baroque Motifs, and the Baroque Border using the Stampin’ Around Wheel. Those two strips on the top left of the card were made with the Word Window punch – a very versatile punch!

Thanks for taking the time to look at my work. I hope that you enjoyed the cards and get some ideas from them!

Now for the winner of my Fabulous & 50 blog candy!!!

 

And the winner of a new Nifty Fifties Cricut cartridge is………..

(drum roll please!)

 

Dakota Bear!

Dakota Bear said...

Happy Birthday!
The box is beautiful. Thank you for the great tutorial. I'm looking forward to seeing how you did the glass.

Dakota Bear, please email your name and address to me so that I can get your cartridge in the mail! Thanks to everyone for the warm and wonderful birthday comments! I appreciate each and every one of them! Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Glass Block Tutorial

Hey guys, here is the tutorial for the Glass Block that I first posted on Saturday.

I started with just a clear glass block that I bought at Hobby Lobby. It has an opening in the bottom to place your string of lights. Instead of using my glass etching cream on it like I had originally planned, I decided to spray the entire block with this -

It’s a Specialty Frosted Glass spray made by Rust-oleum that I also purchased at Hobby Lobby. After the glass is sprayed it almost looks like it’s been etched or frosted.

(You can barely see the string of white Christmas lights inside the block in this photo.)

The block will need a couple of coats of spraying but it dries pretty fast. I measured my glass block at about 7.25” square. Now, I use my Gypsy or Design Studio whenever I can because an image that looks square may not always be a perfect square. So with my G or DS I can unlink the height and width proportions to make an image perfectly square. Two things to remember – make sure the little chain link is NOT highlighted yellow on the Gypsy to unlink the height and width proportions and you may also need to use the Real Dial Size to get the correct size. I used an image from the Paper Lace cartridge and sized it to 7.25”x7.25”. I also used pink vinyl and transfer tape, both from Provo Craft.

Using this transfer tape will save you from countless headaches – trust me on this one! I set the pressure on my Cricut to Medium (3) and my blade depth to 2 –remember, I used my Gypsy so I couldn’t control the speed but slow the speed down to 3 also if you’re just using your machine alone. You just want to do a ‘kiss cut’ – cutting only the vinyl and not the paper backing. After you have your vinyl cut out, you need to “weed” it. That just means to pull off all the negative areas of the vinyl and leave the image on the paper backing. The best tool to use is the dental looking tool that comes in the Cricut Tool kit! I love that little thing!It’s probably one of my favorite and most used tools! Now cut a piece of the transfer tape a little bit larger than your image. Pull the transfer tape layers apart – there is the part with the grid on it and a tacky layer. Place the tacky piece over your design. Here is what it will look like with the tacky layer over the design:

Now burnish the tape onto the vinyl image by rubbing it with the stick that came with the vinyl or the transfer tape. You can also use an old credit card or something similar – just make sure that you get a good seal between the vinyl and the tape.

Then gently peel the transfer tape away from the vinyl paper backing. The vinyl image should come up with the transfer tape. If it doesn’t, put the tape back down and burnish it some more.

Place the transfer tape with the vinyl image over your project, in this case, the glass block, making sure that the vinyl image is centered correctly.

Once you have it where you want it, smooth it down so that you seal the vinyl to the glass. Then slowly peel the transfer tape off. Go slow – you want to avoid air bubbles!

If you do find some air bubbles just keep smoothing them out slowly with your finger being careful not to rip the vinyl.

And here is the finished project -

Just add a string of lights and plug it in! What I like about this method of decorating a glass block is that you can easily take the vinyl off and redecorate it with different images and in different colors of vinyl – even use multiple colors of vinyl!

See how nice it looks with the lights plugged in -

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, please email me! Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Liebster Award! Thank You!

Tina from http://ollieanddextersmommy.blogspot.com/ has given me the The Liebster Blog Award! Thank you Tina. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

The Liebster Blog award is given to bring newer blogs into the light. It's a great way to share blogs that might not otherwise have been noticed and should be!

As recipient you must share the love and pass it along to others.  As well as these four things:
1. You must post on your blog and tell a little about the award and announce your 3-5 picks.
2. Let those know you have chosen them.
3. Copy and post the award on your blog for all to see.

I’ve decided to pass this award on to the following wonderful blogs:

1. Michelle at http://paperaffair.blogspot.com/

2. Nancy at http://lanancyworkshop.blogspot.com/

3. Normea at http://mmdezigns.blogspot.com/

4. Debbie at http://www.debseclecticthoughts.blogspot.com/

5. Monique at http://mixonthememories.blogspot.com/

These are some very talented ladies with some great projects. Stop by and take a look!

I am only 10 people away from 200 followers! Wow, this whole blog world is amazing! I have met so many people who have now become my friends. I am truly blessed!

Ummm, Cake Balls!

I just had to share this with you. I am NOT the cooking, baking, let’s hang around the kitchen type. I wish that I was – it looks so homey on those movies and TV shows that I watch. Oh well! So when I made these cake balls,  everyone was surprised! And even  more surprised that they were really good!

Even though this is not Cricut related, I did find this when I was reading different blogs about Cricut and paper crafting! who knew that Cricut would take me back to the kitchen – I thought I was finished with that Cricut Cake machine for good! I wish that I could thank the person that I got this idea from but I’ve searched and can’t find it. So if you know who posted the recipe please comment and let me know! Thanks.

Just looking at the pictures is making me drool – I can’t believe that I said that in front of all of these people! They are so easy to make, too.

Just bake up a regular red velvet  box cake. Follow the directions for the 9x11 sheet cake. After baking, let it cool completely. After it cools, start to crumble it up (you might have to use your hands for this part) and add a 16oz can of Cream Cheese frosting – your hands will be a mess after this but just think of the fun you’ll have licking your fingers when you’re finished! The frosting will help the cake stay together. Now just shape the cake into small balls either with your hands – more licking! – or with a small scoop or spoon. Lay the balls out onto foil (I just covered my cookie sheets with foil). It makes quite a few balls - or else I was rolling my balls too much and made them too small! Once you have them all rolled out – mine looked like I had two cookie sheets of meat balls! – place the sheet in the fridge for several hours. Now the fun part! I purchased some candy sticks at Michaels but you don’t have to use them. I melted some chocolate almond bark in the microwave -  I added about a tablespoon to Crisco to it first. I put the sticks into the cake balls and when the chocolate was ready I dipped the cake into the chocolate (I double-dipped!) and then put them on wax paper to let the chocolate cool and harden. I went an extra step and melted some white chocolate almond bark and drizzled some over the top of the cake balls.

Great snack and nice for a get-together! Maybe at the next crop!

Now don’t go away, tomorrow I’ll be giving you the tutorial on the Glass Block that I made for my Fabulous & 50 Birthday Blog Hop last Saturday!

And I’ll be announcing the winner of the Nifty Fifties Cricut cartridge soon! So until next time, Happy Crafting,

Some Vinyl Projects!

What a great day I had yesterday! The Fabulous & 50 Blog Hop was so much fun and everyone involved had great projects! I can’t stop thanking them enough – so here we go, just one more time: Dawn, Janice, Normea, Nancy, Michelle, Barbara, Debbie, Marcia, Veronica, Tina, and last but not least, my girl, Monique. Thanks again to all of you for celebrating with me and being great friends! Scroll down to yesterdays post if you missed it!

I will get the tutorials made this week about the Glass Block that I made and the Origami Mini Book also. So keep checking back or better yet, subscribe to my blog and you will automatically receive my blog posts! But today I just wanted to share a couple of projects that I made back in BC – that’s Before Cricut! I had the Baby Bug but I also wanted something that would allow me to do more and design – so DH bought the Wishblade for me! More on that later!

In the first design, I bought the file from Paper Threads but I’m so sorry that I can not remember the actual designers name.

Jesus’ face is so detailed. This was a gift for a friend so I purchased an inexpensive clear glass plate and placed the cut black vinyl on it. She loved it!

Look at this – isn’t it amazing! If you know the designer please leave a comment. This was a very simple gift to make. I love working with vinyl so much!

This next project is all mine! I knew her family’s names and the fact that family was extremely important to her.

So easy to do with vinyl! Ok, now back to the Wishblade – I loved my WB and my little Bug just sat in the corner of my craft room. That was until I discovered the Gypsy and the Design Studio! I {HEART} my G & my DS! And that’s when I found out that I could do many of the things that I did in my WB program but with the G & DS it was SO MUCH EASIER! Yes, I know that with the WB I could use all of the fonts on my computer but between all of the carts that I own, surely I can find at least one font that will work with my projects! So even though I still have my WB (and I’ll never part with it) I absolutely {HEART} my Cricut family. Since then I have adopted a Cricut Expression, a Cricut Cake, the Design Studio, too many carts (lol, but the next one is just around the corner!), and my precious Gypsy! My little ‘family’ is very close and we spend a lot of time together! Maybe too much if you talk to some others, like those real people that stay here too! But with your Cricut, you can design the second project above in just minutes! You don’t need the G or DS but let me tell you, those two make my life so much easier! And if you get a Gypsy NOW and register it by tomorrow, you’ll be able to download extra cartridges – FREE! Now that’s a deal!

Well, time to go play with my family! Until next time, Happy Crafting,