OK y'all, I've got lots to talk about and to show...........

you!  First of all, a couple of weeks ago I was introduced to the Wink of Stella Brush Tip Markers and WOW...I love them!!!  My introduction was from this video and blog post by Jennifer McGuire, which also got me to yearning for some Tim Holtz Distress Markers and Watercolor Paper!  I went ahead and ordered a set (Clear, Silver and Black) of the Wink of Stella Brush Tip Markers from 7 Kids College Fund and had a blast with them when they arrived about ten days ago and I particularly LOVE the Clear one!!!  By the way, 7 Kids is a great site to purchase from, their customer service is great and my order arrived quite quickly!  Then this past Saturday I stopped by my local Joann's, armed with one of their 50% off coupons, plus a Michaels 40% coupon and guess what?  They had the Tim Holtz Distress Marker Sets (5 per set) on 40% off, so I picked up a couple of sets...love them.  They coordinate with the Distress Ink pads.  Don't have the watercolor paper yet, but it's on my list...LOL

Now for the other thing I've been into.....there is a site online called all-free-downloads.com and you can download some really cool vector images and after looking through them, my imagination started running wild with ideas for using them on cards.  A dear online friend of mine and her husband just purchased a new home and I wanted to send them a "congrats" card...so when I saw this image, my card started coming together!  The images at their site are .eps format, so I took it into Photoshop and copied it to a new image and saved it as a JPG.  Here are some photos of what I came up with.

Close-up of the little bird.

And an inside view!  I used the "KG Somebody the I used to Know" font.

Please excuse my photography skills but I think you can get the idea!  What is so cool is that you can make a really fantastic card just using the vector images you can download.  Everything on this card is done using my Canon Printer and the "print and cut" technique on my Silhouette "Cameo".   I went into my software and traced the little bird's body so that I could prop her up on pop dots and the only other thing I added, which you can't really see in my photos is that I used the Clear Wink of Stella Brush to add some glitter, plus I created the text on the card front using my Silhouette software and the "2 Peas Mr. Giggles" font and cut it with my Cameo and then added some more of the Wink of Stella Clear to give it so much glimmer!  Also I did emphasize the eye on the little bird with my Black Wink of Stella Brush Tip marker.  My friend loved it!

The other great thing about the vector images you can download is that you after you take them into Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and make them JPGS, you can import them as patterns into your cutter software.  When you look through all of the vector images you will be amazed at what you can choose from!  Go check it out!  I've made another card using one of their images, but I cannot post it until the end of the week............so hurry back and I will see ya then!

Finished Card Size: 5.5"x5.5" Square

Supply List

Papers:  Bazzill "Smooth White" and Bazzill
Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo"
Accessories:  ZIG "Clear Wink of Stella Brush" and "Black Wink of Stella Brush" (bird's eye)

A "free" flower file for y'all.................

as I've been playing today and I want to share it!  One of the YouTube channels that I subscribe to is Glenda Cairns and after watching one of her latest videos today, I decided I wanted to make a cutting file for one of the flowers she was showing.  If you would like to see her video, you can see it here and I've also put a link to it in the files.  Here is a photo of the quick sample I made.

In the zipped file, I've included Studio, SVG and MTC files...........you can download the files here.  I hope you enjoy...hurry back soon as I'm on a roll LOL!!!

Someone special is turning 25 (& another envelope file).......

in fact, tomorrow!  It is so hard to believe that my little niece Ashley (my youngest brother's only child) is going to be 25.........gosh, I'm getting old...LOL!!!  Here is a photo of the front of the card I designed just for her and then I will go into some of the details.

I used a border from one of the designs I've been working on, which I call my "Art Deco Shell Ensemble".  How do you like it?  I got the birthday title idea from something that I saw on Pinterest and I used the "2 Peas Mr. Giggles" font, which was introduced to me by Julie Flanagan at the Makes the Cut forum....love it!  I have to admit that when I was trying to glue the title to the white panel I goofed and had to remove it which caused some damage and since I had already adhered the delicate cut border and did not want to start over, I had to come up with a fix, so I came up with this idea!

I cut the panel with my Cameo and then used an Anna Griffin embossing folder on it and walla...you would never know that I did a huge boo boo...LOL  I also want to add that I actually cut the title twice and then glued it together to add some depth.  Here is a close-up of the title and the embossed panel.

Now, for the inside of the card!

For the "25th border", I used Kerri Bradford's "Mix+Match Series Lines & Letters" video to create it...you can view it yourself here.  I actually wound up doing the 25th border in two pieces...the black base and then the inner part of the "25th" in the pink bazzill.  The rest of the inside is actually just one panel that I created in the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software and then printed on white bazzill and just added some pink liquid pearls.  Here is a close-up view.

I just want to add that the font I used for the message was "KG Somebody that I used to know" and for the happy birthday I used "LDT Swirls".  I hope Ashley likes her card as I am actually very pleased with how it turned out!

And now for the free envelope file....I made this to fit a 5.5x5.5 inch card and it is roomy to allow for some embellishments, but if you add too many you may have to re-size it a little.  There are score lines, but if you prefer them, you can change them to "dashed lines".  The download includes a .studio as well as an SVG format.  You can download it here.  Hope this will be useful to you!

Thanks for stopping by and now I've got to get back to work!!!

Finished Card Size:  5.5"x5.5" Square

Supply List

Papers:  Bazzill

Inks:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat-It", Sizzix "Big Shot"

Accessories:  Recollections "Black Pearl Sticker",  Offray "Pink Adhesive Gems", "Petal Pink" Liquid Pearls,  Anna Griffin "Poppy" Embossing Folder

WOW.....this old girl has been busy!!!!!

Ok....I know it's been a while since I posted anything, but trust me I've been crafting.  For one thing I've got three family birthdays this month, plus I've been doing some designing and trying to re-learn Makes the Cut!!!  I love my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software, but it is missing some features that I can get in Makes the Cut, like "wrap object around a shape"!!!  At any rate, here is some of what I've been up to!

My youngest grandson's birthday was on October 2nd, so I talked to my son and he told me that Brady was going to get the "Disney Infinity" video game for his birthday and that right now, that is what he is into, plus his favorite colors are green and blue, so I used this information to design his birthday card and here is a photo of it!

Then on October 5th Brady's Dad (my youngest son), Chad turned 40!!!  Well, needless to say, I had to come up with something very special for that one!

And here is a close-up so that you can read the "conversation bubble".

The "mirror stand", "vase" and "flower" are all Silhouette America cutting files and I think I made the conversation bubble from an image I found online.  The man's head, nose and hands were made by me.  Of course, I just had to add some of those googly eyes!  The "mirror" file was taller and skinnier so I altered it to fit my card.  I used Tim Holtz Distress inks with a stencil brush to make the "wood stain" on the mirror frame and a silver mirror sheet for the "mirror".  For the floor at the bottom of the card front I used a textured wallpaper sample.

Here is what I did for the inside top of the card.

  

 And here is what I did for the inside bottom of the card.

My son loved his 40th birthday card!!!  For the third birthday card, I'm going to start a new post.  Thanks for stopping by!!!