A Very Wet Weekend!

It is still raining cats and dogs here!  We took our son to the train (which was a bit delayed by the weather), did a few errands and spent the rest of the day quietly at home.  He made it back to his college in New Jersey safely but there is a lot of flooding all around our area and the rain is set to continue through tomorrow.

I  spent a big chunk of time (hours in fact) reading through the comments that were left on the posts I did as Guest Designer for Everyday Cricut last week so I could answer any questions that were asked.  It took me so long to get through them that it is too late for me to finish up all of the answers tonight.  It sounds like the coming week will be a great one with lots of new cartridges coming out  on "Hello Thursday" so be sure to visit Everyday Cricut to find out about them and leave comments to have a chance to win some of the wonderful prizes this week.

Since I know there are some people who are new to my blog because of the Guest Designer week, I thought I would remind you about one of the Easter projects I did last year that was very popular.  These bunny candy holders are so simple and quick to make and you can do many variations.

Here is a LINK to the original post with the file.  The bunny is from Doodlecharms and I used the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to create the box part but you can substitute a rectangle from any cartridge.  This LINK will take you to a follow up post with some more information and show you a mistake and how to work around it!

These little bunnies are just the right size for the Ghiradelli squares - yummy!

Thanks for your patience.  I have several new projects to share but just want to finish up with last week's questions first!  I will try to post one of the new items tomorrow in addition to the Q and A post.  I am not quite finished with working through the emails so if you haven't heard from me, please don't think that you are being ignored.   It is going to rain all day tomorrow so I will be here finishing up on the email and comments.

I hope you are warm and dry wherever you live and that if it was a rainy weekend for you too that you were able to do some crafting!

More Doodlecharms Hearts

This is another of the designs I made while I was exploring the Doodlecharms cartridge for the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot Sweet Treat Thursdays team challenge.  It is similar to the leaf design I shared last fall (here is a LINK to that post).

This is a preview of the cut.   I set the file up with an extra page where the hearts are not welded so you can try previewing different color combinations (perhaps something less predictable than my preview!). Be sure to cut from the page marked "CUT."

 

Here is my trial cut on the mat.  I used a paper that is a little too soft for a perfect cut but it was good enough to keep.  Remember that with small cuts paper with a "hard" finish will cut more cleanly.

 

This picture shows the pieces removed from the mat.  I added the extra rectangle so you can create another card with the leftover pieces from this cut (you know I hate to waste anything - but I did toss the tiny dots).  The rectangle in the file is from George but you can substitute one from a cart you own if you don't have George. Just check the Shape Propreties box for the measurements and X and Y positions.

 

I used my glue pen to put adhesive in all the twists and turns.  When you put the glue on the frame be sure to add a dot at each point so they won't snag on anything once the frame is added to the card.

 

You have many options for the frame card.  You can add a heart in each corner...

 

Add four more hearts at the compass points for a total of eight...

 

Fill in the sides for a total of twelve...

 

or complete the entire border, using 20 of the little hearts. You will still have 15 hearts left over for other projects.

 

 It is easier to dot the adhesive in the spot where you want the heart and then add the heart than it is to put the adhesive on the heart and flip the tiny piece to adhere it to the card.

 

The frame version of the A2 card looks a bit  like a doily was placed on the card front.  It doesn't matter if the hearts are not lined up perfectly - they have a sort of wonky charm due to their irregular shape and a few crooked ones won't matter. In this example I have placed one heart "backwards" as you might do on a quilt.  (Quilter's sometimes make a deliberate error  for a so-called "humility block."   If you go to this LINK you can read an interesting article about "humility blocks" just scroll down the page a bit to find it)

 

Here you can see the two variations.  The framed card would be a great for a stamped image and you could add another cut with a sentiment to the lace front card.  There are a few other variations you can do with this type of design.  When I get back home, I will cut them to show you.

Heart Lace for  A2 card

Another Easy Background - Doodlecharms Hearts

I hope you enjoyed all of the Thursday Sweet Treats Team projects on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot- it is an honor to be on a team with such a talented group - and we are just getting started.  I told you that I did a lot of projects with Doodlecharms so I will share those over the next week or so.

Today I have a quick explanation about how I made this heart mesh background using my quick and easy method (I posted a winter snowflake version HERE a few weeks ago).

The Doodlecharms cartridge has a border feature which is very handy for projects like this.  Here you can see the key for the image set I chose highlighted. 

The element is the group of three hearts.  I made a row of four sets and adjusted the size and placement to about eleven inches set in one half inch from the mat edge. 

I copied and pasted  and repositioned rows of hearts to neatly fill up the center of the mat.  When you load the mat to cut the design your machine load may be a bit off (the "human factor") and the calibration tends to be off up to one sixteenth of an inch.  You can do a test cut to determine the small offset needed to perfectly center the group of designs - this will vary from one machine to another and is also affected by the amount of pressure you use when you load your mat).

Here you can see the full mat.  By copying and pasting and simply "sliding " the new images into position using the "vertical move" handle (top center) you can quickly make a perfectly spaced design.

There is an extra page with a 12 x 12 square for previewing the design and trying out various color combinations.

When you lift the mesh from the mat you will have dozens of hearts in three sizes.  It is best to lift the cut slowly and on an angle (peel it back from a corner across the mat).

These cute little hearts will certainly find a home on another project!  Here is the download link for the file.

Heart Pierced Background

One new cartridge was officially announced in the "Hello Thursday" email from Cricut.  It is called "Once Upon a Princess" and it is full of cute images and more 3D items - including a castle fit for a princess!  If you are not signed up to receive emails from Cricut you should definitely get on the list so you will receive these announcements and the weekly newsletter, "The Chirp."

Here is a LINK to the product information page with more information and images and HERE is a link to the PDF of the full booklet.  This is yet another "cute" cartridge - some people will be crazy about it but I suspect that a lot of others will be able to resist.

My blogging friends Joy, Tammy and Melanie are holding a blog hop showcasing this new cartridge.  Click HERE to go to Holidays with the Cricut and then visit each of their blogs for some fun and inspiration (and a chance to win some great prizes).

The Craft and Hobby Association show starts tomorrow - I can't wait to hear all about the new products!


(Our son arrived home from San Francisco safe and sound and the flight was actually early!  We have a lot to do tomorrow to get ready to drive back to college on Saturday - keep your fingers crossed for good weather!)

Sweet Treat Thursdays at Cuttlebug Challenge

I am excited to be part of the new "Sweet Treat Thursdays" Design Team at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot.  Two Thursdays each month, the team will be creating with Cricut, Cuttlebug, Your Story, Yudu, Gypsy and Design Studio.  I will also be doing a monthly series on Design Studio on the third Saturday of each month (the first installment posted last Saturday - here is a LINK).

Our challenge this week was to use the "Doodlecharms" Cricut cartridge to create items with a Valentine's theme.  Be sure to hop over to Cuttlebug Challenge to see all of the fantastic projects and visit each designer's blog to get more specific details on how they were created.  Today I will tell you how I made the items for the challenge (I actually made quite a few more "trial projects" that I will share over the next week or so).

These treat holders are simple and quick - particularly if you use the .cut file I made for them.  If you don't have Design Studio you can make a similar holder but it won't have a solid base.

The file is set up with multiple pages to make color preview possible.  Be sure to cut the base from the page marked CUT - this is the only one that is welded!  You will see that I used two stamp edged rectangles to make the base - I wanted the file to be complete using only the Doodlecharms cartridge and there wasn't a plain rectangle or square to be found!

After you cut the base you will need to score it at the five inch and six inch lines, using a Scor-Pal or other scoring tool (or measuring carefully).  This creates the base for the treat holder to stand on.

Here are the pieces of the holder - the file will cut two scalloped hearts and two plain hearts on separate pages.  You do not need to add them both - it is fine to leave the back side in the pretty patterned paper without the extra layers.  The plastic ziplock bag is the size I use for ATCs - 3 x 4 inches and easily purchased at a craft store.  You may find them with the candy items or in the art section.

Here is a side view of the base after scoring and folding.  Double sided heavy patterned paper works well for these.  I used a K & Co. paper from a Valentine stack I bought last year.  I embossed the plain heart layer with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and adhered the heart to the scallop heart and the two of them to the base.

When I add embossed pieces to a project, I apply the adhesive to the base layer to avoid flattening the embossing with a tape runner.

When the layers are put together, stack the plastic bag between the two paper layers and punch through all three using a Cropadile or similar strong punch.

This view shows how the ribbon will be threaded through the holes to keep the candy holder together.  Do this after filling the bag with candy!

Pretty ribbon (this is by Martha Stewart) makes the holders cute.  You can add many more embellishments or keep them clean and simple.  I did add some white pen dots to the "opposite" version of the heart topper.

The file is set up for the 6 x 12 mat.  You can turn a 12 x 12  mat to cut two holders from one piece of paper - just pay attention to the paper orientation if there is a definite direction to the design.

Here is the link to download the file.

Candy Holder with Scalloped Hearts

The next project I made was these paper lanterns.  They should be used with the battery operated tea or votive lights - please don't let them near an open flame!

The file is once again set up for the baby bug but you can cut two by turning your mat - if your paper is directional you will want to lift and turn it so the pattern makes sense.  There will be lots of heart cut outs and you can even use the edge as a border (you'll see that on the card).

I tired a couple of variations - for one I used the packing tape method for adding glitter to the cutout areas.  I put the paper lantern on an old cricut mat and carefully smoothed on two strips of tape.

I left the top hearts as open cutouts.

I flipped the paper so the sticky side of the tape was up and added lots of fine glitter.  There is no way around it - glitter will make a mess so just enjoy the sparkles you find in odd places!

Be careful to brush off all of the excess glitter so it won't interfere with connecting the sides of the lantern.

The glitter will leave the windows fairly transparent which isn't as pretty when the lantern is lit but makes it look more attractive when unlit.

I used vellum to line the second lantern.  I covered all of the openings and since the vellum is translucent but not transparent the effect is much softer.

I rolled the paper with the vellum adhered around the glitter container to "train" it to curve in a circle to form the lantern.  You could also make a separate liner of vellum and slip the heart sleeve over it.

I added Scor-Tape partially under the edge between the heart cutout and the vellum.  You need a very strong adhesive to keep the lantern together.

I peeled off the paper liner and trimmed the vellum next to the tape.  Then I rolled the cylinder and stuck the lantern together.

For the glitter lantern I adhered the 1/4 inch Scor-tape directly to the inside of the lantern, rolled the cylinder and adhered the opposite site with the ends flush.

I removed the liner from the tape and added a strip of matching paper from the offcuts to cover the sticky adhesive on the inside of the lantern.

Here is the download link for the file.

Heart Lantern

I try to use all of the pieces of paper from a design - I hate to waste things!  This was my first idea for a card using some of the remainders.  The border strip is half of the edge that remains from the top cut of the lantern.  There are lots of leftover hearts in three sizes to work with.

I decided to "dress up" the card a bit with some embossing.  I just got the new "Romance" Cuttlebug folders from HSN.  The candy heart folder is a 5 x 7 so I could use it to emboss a full top panel for my A2 card which I then attached flush to the edges.

I added the border, and just three hearts popped up with foam squares.  A few white pen dots give the card a bit more personality.

I hope you enjoy these projects - be sure to check in frequently at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot to see what we are up to.  There are also some great prizes to be won - this month you could win an "Everyday Paper Dolls" or a "Simply Sweet" cartridge.  For details on how to enter, click HERE.