Hey y'all, I'm ready for Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about you???  My youngest step-daughter's birthday is tomorrow and for her birthday I wanted to give her a little taste of Spring.  She too is a cancer survivor and like me ever since she went through her treatments she just stays cold, so what could be more appropriate?  We are taking her out to lunch tomorrow and that is when we will give her the card...I sure hope she likes it!

Just recently I purchased an Elizabeth Craft Designs die set called "Curvy Leaves" and right about that time I came across a card by Pam Sparks that really caught my eye.  I think I was on Pinterest, but I can't remember for sure.  At any rate, she used a Memory Box die on it that was a leafy frame, called "Massa Leaf Frame" and it got me to thinking that I could cut some of my "Curvy Leaves" and scan them and make me my own leaf frame die.  I also thought why not make it the exact size of the leaves on my new die and then cut some die cuts and place on top of the cut file I made in my cutter software.....so that is exactly what I did!  Here is a link to Pam Sparks card that I cased....scroll down to the green one!  I added a lattice to my frame.  I used several Memory Box dies, including the Finn Butterfly, which was WAY too big for my card, so I scanned it, downsized it and cut it with my cutter to fit my card.  The pretty flowers were made using my Memory Box "Fabulous Phlox" dies that I've had for quite a while, but I think this may be either the first or second time I've used them...but I'm liking the look and will be using them a lot more!!!  I inked the edges of the flowers using "Crushed Olive" distress ink.  The enamel dots were made by me using cardstock, ultra thick embossing power and my heat gun.  I also used a little "Clear" Wink of Stella...seems like I just can't make a card these days without using some of it...LOL  Well, here is the card I made.

And here are several close-up photos.  One thing I want to point out is my little ladybugs!!!  I can't remember where I saw this, but you can make ladybugs out of red liquid pearls.  I used some black Stickles to make the heads and then used a black Sharpie to put the line down the body and the little black dots.  Aren't they adorable!!!  

I modeled my "Happy Birthday" after the Memory Box one using the "Crazy Girlz Blond BTN" font.  I made a base and then another layer with the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" cut separate and I used some of my Elizabeth Craft Designs Double Sided Adhesive to add some of their "Cool Diamond" Silk Microfine Glitter to the letters....love that stuff, they feel just like velvet!!!

For the inside of the card I used some more of my die cut leaves and "inlaid" them to make the border across the bottom.  I really like that look!  In this case, I "blocked" the personal message to Janice....for her eyes only!

For my "signature label" on the back of the card I used a Spellbinders die.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek and please hurry back!!!

Finished Card Size:  5.5" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 lb. "Ivory" and 65 lb. Colored Cardstock, DCWV "Black Glitter Paper" (butterfly body), Canson "Kiwi Iridescent"

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMarkWatermark"

Tools:  Pazzles "Inspiration Vue", Silhouette "Cameo",  "Milwaukee" Heat Gun, Sizzix "Big Shot"
Accessories:   "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Memory Box "Finn Butterfly" & "Fabulous Phlox"  Dies,  Spellbinders "Ironworks Accents" Die, Recollections Pearls, Elizabeth Craft Designs "Cool Diamond" Silk Microfine Glitter, "Clear Double Sided adhesive" and "Curvy Leaves" Die, Suze Weinberg "Uttra Thick Embossing Enamel", Ranger "Ruby Red Liquid Pearls"  & "Black Diamond" Stickles

Pazzles "Inspiration Vue" Review & Free File Giveaway!!!

Ok y'all.......some of you know that I just recently purchased the Pazzles Vue machine and it arrived here on the 9th and as soon as I received it, I started doing test cuts, so today I going to post my results!  First off, here is a photo of my new Vue!

 I call that my "Cutter Station" as I keep my Silhouette Cameo (the one that has the gorgeous black and white cover to match the decor of my craft room, that my friend Tammy made and gifted to me...love it!!!) on the upper shelf and then my new Vue on the bottom shelf.  Tammy is in the process of making me a cover for the Vue right now.

The first day, I ran some test cuts using some 65# Recollections cardstock...it is one of my favorite cardstocks to use with my cutters as in my opinion it cuts like butter!  The "Happy Birthday" is very tiny and I designed a mat to go underneath it.  I placed the quarter in the photo so that you could tell how tiny some of the test cuts were.  For the test, I set the blade at 2, pressure at 24  and speed at 4 and did one pass.  Since the "Happy Birthday" is SO intricate, I slowed the speed down to 1 and did 2 passes.  Here is the photo of that test.

The nest day I did my second batch of test cuts.  The largest heart frame was cut using some DCWV Shimmers cardstock and it too cut like butter!!! I found that image online, I think it was a free embroidery image, and I made a png out of it in Photoshop CS3, opened it in the InVue software and made me a cutting file....there is the outer frame (purple) and then an inner decorative piece (pink) and it is very intricate!  The 5" border is a file that I downloaded from the Pazzles Craft Room and downsized it to 5" and look how good it cut!!!  Someone was saying that they have trouble cutting the black Recollections 65# cardstock....but it cut perfect with the blade at 2, pressure 24 and 1 pass.

 This next test cut was done on paper versus cardstock.  When you cut paper you need to use an older mat that is not so sticky and I would recommend cutting a piece of paper a little bigger than the image so that if it sticks to your mat really bad, you have not wasted an entire sheet of designer paper!  I used a piece of paper from the Recollections "Black & White Paper Pad...the little chick image is less and 2.25" tall!

 One thing I want to mention here is that I am a "2 cutter person".  I also own the Silhouette Cameo and I did own the Sizzix eClips but sold it to my neighbor when I bought my Pazzles "Inspiration Vue", so I will be using my Vue and my Cameo and I feel like I have the best of both worlds!!!  I decided to do some comparisons between the two cutters and as you can see by my photo, you can hardly tell the difference!!!  For the comparison I wanted an intricate design, so I used one of my Sue Wilson die images, which I scanned and turned into a cut file.  The oval that I used was designed by me.  I noted the media that I used in red on the photo...and here it is!

 Y'all, at this point I want to address doing "double cuts/2 passes/cutting twice" or whatever you want to call it.  To me doing double cuts insures that I get a good smooth cut and that is what I like!!!  Here are close-ups of the "frame" test cuts I did.  For the Cameo, I set my blade at 2, Pressure at 33 and do a double cut......for the Vue I set my blade at 2, pressure at 24, speed at 3 and did 2 passes.  So, as you can see from the photos, by doing the double cuts I got good clean, crisp, smooth cuts!!!

For my next test cuts, I got even more stoked that I already was over my new Vue!!!  Look at the cuts I got using the Recollections 110# cardstock that I normally only use for my card bases...it is HEAVY cardstock like the Gina K Pure Luxury 120# and look at how intricate these cuts are!!!  The black rose overly (from the Pazzles Craft Room) is only 5.25", which gives you an idea of how small the "congrats" is!!!  All of the black cuts were done on the 110# and the blue "congrats" was cut on 65#.  I am SO impressed...........now Michael's needs to stock some more colors of the 110# as right now they only have it in White, Ivory and Black!!!

I ran another test cut last night for a friend who has some Tina Fitch's files and wanted to see how the Vue handled them.  The pink cuts are on 65# Recollections and the black cuts are on 110# Recollections..............did fantastic!!!

So, my final verdict of the Pazzles "Inspiration Vue" is that it is a fantastic cutter and I would highly recommend it.  I will add, if you ONLY cut the thinner media, like the 65# cardstock. then the Silhouette Cameo will do the job...........but why not go for the Vue and be able to cut all of the different media!!!  I have not tested any of it yet, but I will in the near future and as I do I will post the results here on my blog!

Now, for the free file of the Garden Trellis cut file that I made and used on my last card project.

You can find the free download here and I've included the following formats, so I hope this covers everyone:

.jpd, .pvg, .studio, .studio3, svg & wpc

Enjoy and thank you for stopping by..............check back real soon because there is more to come, including more free cut files!!!

"Pensant à vous" card.....

which in French means "thinking of you".  Now, I know you are wondering why I did it in French.  I did it for a "Ways to Use It" challenge (WT514) over at Splitcoast called ~Speaking "Foreign"~ and it is also for the "Try a New Technique" challenge (TLC516) called ~White Out~ (which is to represent our cold, "white out" winter weather).  I actually made this card to send to a very special friend and the challenges actually gave me the inspiration I needed to design it!  So here is my photo of the card front.

As you can see, I did it all in white to represent winter time...even though here in FL it is definitely not "white out"...LOL  But, it is somewhere!!!  I just got my new Pazzles Vue on the 9th and this is the first project I've done using it.  I will have an entire separate post just reviewing the Pazzle Vue coming up real soon...so be sure to check back!  I found an image of a garden trellis online and turned it into a cutting file...I used the Recollections 110 lb. cardstock and my Vue cut it like it was butter!!!  The tree, seagulls, cat, bird, garden trellis and sentiment were all cut with my Vue or my Cameo.  I used the "Seriously Delerious" font to design the cut file for the sentiment and I did use white embossing powder and my heat gun to emboss the sentiment.  I used some white flock on the kitty and some "Clear" Wink of Stella on all the birds. The label, leafy images, and gate with fence were cut using dies.  The "bushes" in front of the fence were cut with a punch.   Here are a couple of close-up photos.

For the inside of the card, I decided to use my gate and fence die again and use the "inlaid technique".  I cut the gate and fence out of the bluish cardstock and I saved the tiny pieces of blue to do the inlay.  Then I cut it again out of the white cardstock, inlaid it and the tiny blue pieces to finish it off.  The text inside is computer generated and printed on my Canon Pixma, using the "Corinthia" font.  Here is a photo.

So, now I had to come up with an idea for the back of the card as I always add a "signature label" and since I had the blue gate and fence already cut, I decided to glue that to the back of the card and place my signature label above it....that way there was no waste!!!  Here is a photo....what do ya think of that?

So, now we are down to the envelope and I remembered a special envelope that I designed back in 2011 for another 5.5 inch square card and decided to use it for this card.  The front of the envelope is plain white...but check out the back!!!

When I did this design, I needed to use a piece of letter size card (because I don't have that particular paper in the 12x12 inch size) to cut it on my Pazzles so I had to make that top flap too short to make it fit...........so I just did a "flap extender" using another piece of card that I glue beneath the original flap and problem solved.  I used two different Martha Stewart punches to decorate both flaps!!!

This card was fun to make and I hope I captured the essence of winter and I hope my very special friend likes it!!!  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to come back by for my review of the Pazzles Vue!!!

Finished Card Size:  6" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 & 65 lb. White Cardstock & 65 lb. Colored Cardstock, Bazzill Smooth White Cardstock

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMarkWatermark"

Tools:  Pazzles "Vue", Silhouette "Cameo", Spellbinders "Grand Calibur", Ranger "Heat It"
Accessories:  Spellbinders "Labels Two" & "Garden Gate" dies, Memory Box "Small Olive Branch" die, Martha Stewart "Branch", "Cherish" & "Arch Lattice" Punches. "Clear" Wink Stella

A special birthday card for a special friend!!!

Hey y'all............I gotta tell you, I am running way behind on posting to my blog due to the holidays!!!  But, I want to post this card first...had to wait as my friend just received it in the mail today!!!  I also want to tell you that I cased a card that a good friend of mine on Splitcoast Stampers  made (you can see her card here) and she made hers from a video tutorial by Christina Griffiths and if you would like to try your hand at it, you can find her video here!  I did not have the same Spellbinders Borderabilities die....so I used the one I have which is the A2 Bracket Borders One by Spellbinders, but it worked out great and my friend loves her card and that is what counts!!!  I designed the "Happy Birthday" sentiment using the "Inspiration" font to cut with my Cameo as well as the flowers.  For the flower centers I just sculpted some circles of card stock and then used my clear Wink of Stlla.  I used some flourishes that I had on hand that I had cut with my Cameo and I'm afraid I can't remember whose file it is.  Here are a couple of views of the card front.

And here are a couple of close-ups.

For the inside, my embossing folder was not large enough (inside panel is 6" square), so I just cut two strips of the patterned paper and adhered them to each side to fill in the area and I used a labels die for the text and the text mat.  The text was computer/printer generated using the "Corinthia" font as well as the "Inspiration" font for the "Happy Birthday".

For the "signature" label, I once again used my labels die and I used my envelope punch board to make my envelope!  

Thanks for coming by and I will try to post some of the Christmas cards I made in the next day or two...so hurry back!!!

Finished Card Size:  6" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 & 65 lb. White Cardstock, 65 lb. Colored Cardstock, DCWV "Fresh Florial Stack" Patterned Paper, Canson "Kiwi Iridescent"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Spellbinders "Grand Calibur"
Accessories:  Offray Ribbon,  Recollections Pearls,  "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Simon Says Stamp "Devonshire Buterfly" Die, Memory Box "Tender Leaves" Dies,  Spellbinders "Borderabilities Card Creator A2 Bracket Borders One" and  "Labels Nine", Anna Griffin "Rosa" Embossing Folder

I am SO loving my MISTI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Y'all, I have to admit that prior to purchasing my MISTI, I really was not very much into stamping......but I am now!!!  Iliana, at My Sweet Petunia and the creator of the MISTI is now taking pre-orders for this fantastic tool.  Here is link to her blog post telling all about it......so go check it out and order one............I promise you won't regret it!!!  I got mine back on October as a late (birthday is in September) birthday present and I love it more every day!!!

Believe it or not the card I just made and that I'm about to post photos of, totally started with this image of a holly stamp in the Recollections "Winter Wonderland" stamp set that I just purchased at Micheal's this week!!!

                           

This is the stamp set and it was on sale for 40% off!!!

                 

When I looked at the holly stamp I immediately thought of making a holly wreath using it.  To make the wreath, I stamped the image in black, scanned it and opened it in my Cameo software where I proceeded to turn it into a wreath by taking the image around a circle, making it a compound path and doing an offset and then I did another offset to get the "mat".  After cutting the wreath image out, I then used my MISTI to stamp the image around the wreath and covered the "berries"  with some pink liquid pearls.  The "mistletoe" is a Silhouette file and I added some white liquid pearls for the "berries" on it, added some punched branches and a tiny pink silk bow that I made with my "Bow Easy".  I recently purchased the My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" and I used the stitched rectangle and rounded edge label dies from the set on my card.  I used the edge label for my "Merry Christmas" sentiment which was stamped with another Recollections stamp from the "Merry Merry" stamp set.  Then I cut three more of the labels, glued them all together for dimension and used a green Copic marker to match the green metallic cardstock that I used, to "paint" the edges and I really like the way it looks.  I'm going to use this card for the Splitcoast "Try a New Technique" Challenge (TLC509), "Layered Die-cuts".   Here are some photos.

I want to point out that I used a pigment ink for the sentiment and then embossed it using clear embossing powder.

Y'all I want to mention once again how much I am loving my MISTI.....and no, I am not on her payroll or anything else....I just think it's the greatest tool around for stamping!!!  Do yourself a huge favor and go get one..............you won't be sorry!!!

Finished Card Size:  A2 (4.25"x5.5")

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 lb. Ivory (card base), 110 lb. & "Champagne" 65 lb. "Dark Green" DCWV "The Shimmer Stack"

Stamps:  Recollections "Winter Wonderland" & "Merry Merry" Stamp Sets

Ink:  Tsukineko Brilliance "Thyme" Pigment Ink

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", "MISTI", "Milwaukee" Heat Gun
Accessories:  May Arts 100% Silk Ribbon,  Hampton "Clear" Embossing Powder, Ranger "Petal Pink" & "White Opal" Liquid Pearls, Recollections "Pink" Pearl, Martha Stewart "Branch" Punch, My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13 Stitched Rectangle & Rounded Edge" Dies

Happy Birthday Sweet 16!!!!

Our oldest great grandchild, Jodi, is turning 16 tomorrow and I just had to make her a special card for this milestone birthday!!!  I totally cased this card from an image that I saw on Pinterest.  I did not have a pink rhinestone flourish (or any rhinestone flourish for that part) on hand, so I took a package of pink rhinestones by Offray that I had purchased from Walmart and made my own!!!  I used a pencil in my Cameo Pen Tool to made little pencil marks to guide me in placing the rhinestones and it worked out just great...........even if it was a lot of work!!!  I made the "Sweet 16" using the Samantha font and cut with my Cameo.  I used some silk ribbon to make the bow.  The tiny pink frame is just that....a tiny frame, so the card is actually one layer and is entirely black and pink.  I also want to mention that this is a "tall card" (4.25x8.5 inches) and really looks very elegant!  

Here is a close-up of the "sweet 16".

For the "signature label" on the back of the card, I used a cutting file by my friend Teri Frank, using the "LD Dainty" font.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  I probably will not be crafting very much in the next couple of weeks as I have a lot to do to prepare for Thanksgiving....I will be having a lot of family coming in and I'm really looking forward to a fabulous family "get together"!!!  I want to take this time to wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Finished Card Size:  4.25"x8.5"

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 lb. Black (card base), 65 lb. Black and Pink, DCWV "Pink Glitter Paper"

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMarkWatermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat It"
Accessories:  May Arts 100% Silk Ribbon,  Jolee's Boutique "Dual Tone Prizm Spinel", Offray "Gems", Suze Weinbert "Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel", "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker

Sending Lots of Hugs for Alyssa!!!!

Hello everyone!!!  Our son-in-law's sister's middle child, who is just 15 years old and has MS just started a series of four surgeries that she is going to have to go through.  I'm not sure what all they will be doing in the three upcoming surgeries, but in this one they broke both of her ankles and she is in casts almost up to her knees and in a wheelchair, not to mention in quite a bit of pain and I wanted to make not just a "get well" card, but an "encouragement" type card.  I knew I wanted to send her "hugs" and my first thought was it had to have a little bear, so it all started by me looking for a bear image on Google that I could color with my Copics and I found one that I think is absolutely adorable!!!  I made it into a "print and cut" file to cut with my Cameo and I used the colors for the Splitcoast Color Challenge (CC504)...or least as close as I could get and instead of using white for the card base, I used a cream card.  I used a rectangular stamp ("Extravagant Frame 477" by SweetStamps.com - you can find it here) to make a square frame cutting file for the card and then I took some of the elements in it and made an oval for the aperture in the frame.  I used my Simon Says "Sending" stamp from the "Sending Happy Thoughts" set....which I made a cutting file for and cut several so I could glue then together and prop them up on the oval.  I also used some ultra thick embossing enamel on it.  I made a cut file for the tiny flowers to place on top of the cute bear's bows, covered them with Glossy Accents (also used the Glossy Accents on the bear's nose and eyes) and placed a tiny pearl in each one which I colored to match my design using one of my Bic markers.  I also used the ultra thick embossing enamel on the little hearts.  Of course, I just had to use my Wink of Stella to enhance the bows, flowers on the bear's outfit and on the butterfly plus the little hearts on the oval frame.  The "you lots & lots of bear hugs!" was computer generated using the "2 Peas Mr. Giggles" font. Here are a couple of photos of the card front.  

For the inside of the card, I designed a matching border to cut with my Cameo, found a very appropriate poem online and used the "LD Pretty" (Lettering Delights) font and added a few more flowers and hearts.

I had cut an oval in the early design process that I wound up not using on the card front, so I just used it to make my "signature label" to cut using my Cameo and it worked like a charm even though it is a little large .....but that's okay!!!

I found a piece of Recollections patterned paper that had colors that I liked and made my envelope and even cut some little strips of it to decorate the envelope flap!

I will be getting this in the mail to Alyssa tomorrow....I hope she likes it and that it cheers her up and encourages her!  Thanks for stopping by and please don't forget to leave your comments below as I love reading them!!!

Finished Card Size:  5.5"x5.5" Square

Supplies List

Papers:  Recollections 110 LB "Ivory", 65 LB "Cream" & "Garden Floral Paper Pad", DCWV "Cotton Bloom Stack", Bazzilll "Smooth white"

Stamps:  Simon Says "Sending Happy Thoughts" 

Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"

Tools:  Silhouette "Cameo", Ranger "Heat It"

Accessories:  "Clear" Wink of Stella Brush Tip Marker, Suze Weinberg "Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel", Recollections "Pearls",  Copic Markers