Cupcake Birthday Card

I dusted off my Imagine this weekend and made a few things.  I have been using my Imagine primarily to print paper since I never have had good luck in getting it calibrated to cut a full sheet of images neatly.  If I print and cut just a few images at the top of the page, I can usually get acceptable cuts. 

My first cuts (the images on the left) looked very odd.  The color was off and I could tell that the black ink was missing.  I remembered having this problem before and tried cleaning the print heads (under "settings").  I did this three times but I could never get the black ink to work so I gave in and replaced the black ink cartridge.  That did the trick, as you can see in the images on the right above.

I usually skip over some of the "cute" images, but this cupcake with a girly face from the Better Together Imagine cartridge appealed to me.  I cut it quite large - at 3 3/4 inches tall.  I cut an extra layer of the frosting to add some dimension to the card.

I cut two mat layers for the A2 card.  The pink layer is 5 1/4 x 4 inches and the blue layer is 5 x 3 3/4 inches.  By cutting the top layer this size, I was able to use a 5 x 7 inch Cuttlebug folder and emboss the front with the pattern running horizontally.

 I was careful to line up the paper so the top row of cupcakes was complete.

This embossing folder is from the Once Upon a Princess Cuttlebug Companion set - this set of four is one of my favorites of the "Companion" sets.  I find that often there are two folders I like and two that I don't care for in the sets but I like all four of the options in this set.

 
The images on the Better Together cartridge are shaded to give an "inked" effect.  I wanted to add some more sparkle, so I used my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust glitter pen to emphasize all of the lines of the stars and the black contour lines.

The glitter from the pen makes the frosting look much more festive!

Some foam adhesive circles lift the top layer above the base and hold it tight.  I adhered the base layer of the cupcake directly to the embossed front.

Lifting the frosting from the base cupcake brings the image to life.  I also added an outline to the mouth with the Sakura pen and used two tiny gem stickers for the eyes.

I printed and cut the "Hey cupcake" phrase from the Better Together cartridge.  It also needed a bit of sparkle so I outlined the words with the sparkly gel pen.

If you look carefully, you can see the added definition given by the glitter pen.  I completed the sentiment with a stamp and colored the tiny crown with Promarkers with metallic gold on the circles and more glitter pen outlining to finish the image.

Here is the inside of the card before it was signed.

I placed the cupcake at a slight angle, making sure that the embossed cupcakes were covered neatly.

Don't you love those long eyelashes on the cupcake face!  I guess if you are going to do cute you need to "go big or go home" (as my Grandma used to say!).

If you don't have an Imagine, you can make a very similar card with one of the many, many cupcake images to be found on Cricut cartridges.  You can stamp or draw the face in the same style.

Once I got the Imagine printing sorted out this was a pretty simple card to put together.  I think I may take another stab at the advanced calibration.  If I could only get the entire sheet to print and cut correctly I would probably use this machine more.

Be sure to check out the information about the Spring Training 2012 course that Ella Publishing is offering from April 23 to May 4th.  Check the post HERE to get more details and to leave a comment for a chance to win a free spot.  Only the comments left on the original post will be included in the random drawing.  There are five great instructors and access to the videos will never expire.  

I'll be drawing a winner late tonight and will post the name on Tuesday.  If the random number generator doesn't pick your number, I think the course will be well worth the price - so go ahead and sign up and join in the fun!

We have a holiday today - it is "Patriot's Day" in Massachusetts so there will be a parade in our historic town.  The Boston Marathon is also today and I am worried about the runners since the temperatures are predicted to be in the high 80s!

Subscribe to Capadia Designs 

Printing Paper on the Cricut Imagine

Many people seem to be buying Imagine machines and getting very good prices recently.  I don't know how many of my readers have one of these machines, but I thought I'd share a bit about my experiences with printing paper with the Imagine.  There are some things about the Imagine that I like a lot and other things that frustrate me.  I have never been able to get the calibration to be perfect for an entire sheet of 12 x 12 paper.  I decided to try again to see if I can get my machine to produce the kind of results I expected from the start.  As the Cricut CraftRoom online design tool continues to be tested and updated I have high hopes that eventually I will be able to do some of the things I'd like to do with this technology.

When I first learned about the types of cartridges that could be used in the Imagine I was very surprised to find out that the "color and pattern" cartridges had only 20 items on each cartridge and that the suggested retail price was $59.99.  I thought this was far too much to pay for a few pieces of digital paper - particularly since there are usually repeated patterns in different colorways.  The suggested retail price seems to be $39.99 now (at least that is the price on the Cricut.com site) which is still too high for my liking.  I discovered that you can often find these cartridges on eBay and, if you are patient, you can get much better prices.  I have purchased three of these cartridges in the last week or so at an average price of $8.11  - less than I often pay for some scrapbooking magazines.

The cartridges have arrived and I decided to test them out and print some sample papers.  If you just want to print the full pattern on a 12 x 12 paper, you select the "print paper" icon on this screen.

Then you simply choose the paper you want to print and when it appears in the blank page, press next and follow the directions to proceed.  The machine actually does an overspray to insure that the paper is fully covered.  The instructions tell you to clean the mat after each printing - more about that in a bit...

One of the cartridges I bought was the Heirloom cartridge.  I printed a few 12 x 12 pages and I was disappointed in the printing - it looked odd and faded to me compared to the book.  I thought that maybe this was intentional but I was starting to regret my purchase (even though I had paid a low price for the cartridge).

Snapshot Everyday was the next cartridge I tried.  This time I just set up squares from the built in shapes on the machine and filled them with a few of the papers.  These were the results - not at all what I expected them to be!  When I looked at these images, I knew that something had to be wrong and I suspected that there was a problem with the black ink cartridge since the prints did not appear to have any black.

I went to the settings screen to check and see if either of the cartridges were getting empty but they both had a green thumbs up for OK ink levels.  So, I decided to try the "clean print heads" in the hopes that maybe something was just a bit dried up or clogged since I haven't used the machine for quite a while (since June I think!).

I printed the same sample squares again and the difference was obvious!  These images, when printed with the proper ink are very bright and really pop from the page.  Here are some side by side comparisons just to show you how different the print looks after the machine did the print head cleaning.

 I was very relieved to find that there was a simple solution to the problem and that I didn't have defective cartridges.  I never thought I'd like the Snapshot cartridges but I can see a lot of ways to use these images that I think will be fun to share.

 I decided to go back and reprint the 12 x 12 pages from the Heirloom cartridge and the difference was clear (first print on the left, print after cleaning on the right).

 Once again, the lack of black made a huge difference in the look of the paper.

 This was the only page that didn't have a dramatic difference when I reprinted - the design uses very little black ink.

I had convinced myself that it would be OK to print several sheets without cleaning the mat edges each time - and it was...until I managed to smudge ink on my clean paper.  The amount of overspray is small but it does stay wet for a while.  If you leave it too long it will dry and be harder to remove.  So, I think it is fine to do a few pages in a row without wiping the edges, as long as you are careful not to smudge, but you should not delay in cleaning the edge when you finish.  The dark lines created could confuse the machine when it is calibrating for a print and cut operation.

I went ahead and printed on my smudged paper.  Many of the papers available  in the Imagine cartridges are "distressed" and I thought the smudge would blend in - and it did.

All you need to clean the mat is some water on a paper towel.  The ink comes off easily and, even though I printed several times before cleaning, there were no problems.

I had fun printing off a few more papers.  This aspect of the Imagine was something that I didn't think would appeal to me but I really like being able to print full pages.  If I could use this machine as a 12 x 12 printer to print my digital scrapbook pages and my own digital papers I would be a very happy crafter.  I "imagine" that this won't happen since the closed system promotes the sale of dedicated cartridges.  If we were free to use our own digital content, either the price of the cartridges would have to drop significantly or a lot more content would have to be included. 

After my marathon printing session, I finally got this warning screen for low ink in the color cartridge.  I have never changed my ink cartridges since I got the machine last October so it really did last a long time.  I decided to keep printing until I see a loss of image quality since these warning tend to be premature and I don't want to waste any ink.  I was able to get some ink cartridges through the Cricut Rewards program so I will be ready to switch them when the printing is no longer acceptable.

If you have an Imagine machine or are thinking about getting one and have questions, please leave me a comment and I'll do my best to help.  I will also share my experiences with the Silhouette SD machine which is excellent for printing and cutting.  With the Silhouette, you print on your regular printer and the machine uses three registration marks to align the cutting path.  I have had great results with this system and I can use my own content but the size is limited.  If the new 12 x 12 Silhouette Cameo machine coming out this fall has an equally accurate print and cut capability it will be tough competition for the Imagine.


Hello Thursday - one new cartridge...

After a few months with an overwhelming number of cartridges released, the August Hello Thursday announcement was a bit of a surprise.  The only cartridge released this month is a new Teresa Collins Halloween seasonal cartridge called "Chic and Scary."  You can see the Look Book and other information about this cartridge HERE.  Click on the orange cartridge box on the shelf near the top left.

If you click on the shelves in the center you will find eight cartridges that "may be retiring forever" - the cartridges are My World, Playtime, Sesame Street Friends, Disney Hanna(h) Montana, Jolly Holidays, Disney Princess Dreams Come True, Cupcake and Inspired Heart.

When I checked last night there was still no update in Design Studio to add the cartridges after the June 23rd release.  I'll let you now when I see them added - I check every few days.

Have a great Friday - I will have some company today and I think we may do some crafting together...

Subscribe to Capadia Designs

ATCs - Flying

 I haven't posted many ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) lately.  The groups that I was in with a regular monthly commitment ended, however, I still participate in a group where the members sign up on a month to month basis depending on the theme and their schedules.   The theme for June was "Flying" and all sorts of ideas popped into my head when I first heard the theme.

The idea that wouldn't go away was based on the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from the movie version of Mary Poppins.  When I was in grade school, I got a "record player" for my birthday (long before mp3s were ever heard of!).  The record album that came with it was the soundtrack from Mary Poppins and I played it over and over again.    I remembered the kite on the "Imagine More" cartridge that came with the Imagine machine and decided that it would be perfect for my cards.

I took this photo of the sky one day when it was particularly beautiful and I have used it as my desktop image on my computer for quite a while now.  So I had the perfect background ready for my kite to fly.

I brought the photo into my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software and dropped it into a photo frame set up at 3 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches.  ATCs are 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches and I wanted to layer my image on a background of cardstock.  Then I added the text, using the "Freestyle Script" font.  I put the "Let's Go" at the top and placed the words "fly a kite" on a text path that I drew, repeating the phrase twice.  The words are white to fit in with the clouds in the sky.

I grouped the text and photo and copied and pasted to create a full 8 1/2 x 11 page with nine copies of the top layer for my ATCs.  I printed this on my home printer on matte photo paper and cut up the layers.

Next I printed and cut some kites with the Imagine on textured American Crafts white cardstock (this cardstock works very well in the Imagine).  There is still some "creep" when I print and cut with my Imagine.  Items that are at the top left of the mat print and cut almost perfectly aligned but as you get further to the right and lower on the page the alignment is off.  I think I have to do some more work on the advanced calibration.  In this case, the kites were small enough that they did not print too far down the page so the difference in alignment, while noticeable, was not bad enough to cause a problem for my little cards.

I used the custom setting to eliminate the extra border around the image and here you can see the detailed cut around the kite's tail.  I used my bone folder to help lift it from the mat without tearing.

I used a light green cardstock that coordinated with the color in the kite as the card base (cut at 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches).  It looked a bit too plain so I added an additional layer in bright yellow/gold cardstock cut at 3 3/8 x 2 3/8 inches to add a fine line of color and create a frame for the sky.

A couple of foam dots allow the kites to "fly" in the sky.

I let the thin tail just drift over the words.  A little orange gem sticker adds a bit of sparkle in the center of the kite.

The group was small this month so I only needed to make seven cards.  I always print a few extra images to allow for errors in cutting or assembling and I may use the extra pieces on other projects.

ATCs are supposed to be limited editions and are signed and numbered on the back - since the group was small this month I simply hand wrote all of the information (sometimes I create the backs digitally as well - particularly for a larger group).

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - maybe you'll have a chance to fly a kite!

Subscribe to Capadia Designs