Sunday, May 27, 2012

Unfrog-getable

I think this card is my favorite of all the thank you cards I've made thus far. As the first image on the Create a Critter cartridge, this little froggy has a special place in my heart. I also fondly remember this classic toy from my own childhood--not so much stacking the rings, but chewing on them. Nonetheless, it is a toy that every child has to have (hopefully the plastic will be BPA free ;). I used some miscellaneous paper from my stash. I think the green is from an old DCWV mat stack and I have no idea where the dots came from, though I wish I had more. I neglected to take a picture of the inside, but it says "Many Thanks" and has a mat with edging like a postage stamp also from the B is for Boy cartridge.

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Materials:
Papertrey Ink cardstock, misc paper
Create a Critter and B is for Boy cartridges
My Pink Stamper "More Punny-licious"
Inkadinkadoo "Thanks"
Misc ribbon
Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Forest Moss"
EK Success punch

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Whisking You Well Card

Have you see the new Wild Card 2 cartridge? It's awesome. I don't have the first Wild Card cartridge, but this one combines the best of a number of cartridges. It also reminds me of the Just a Note cartridge which is only available (to my knowledge) pre-installed on the E2. Only a few are trifold cards, but tons of shape cards and fun, every day sayings. I made this card for someone who was feeling under the weather. She loves to cook, so hopefully it hit the right note.

Once it was assembled, I thought the front looked a little bare. (It's possible that the sentiment was supposed to go on the front, but it was too large in my opinion.) Thus, I had this cute little puffy sticker--I think they're called "felties" that matched the colors used perfectly.


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As of this posting, the Gypsy hasn't been undated to play with Wild Card. Thus, some of the sizing might not be perfect. Just exercise some patience and use trial and error.
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Friday, May 25, 2012

Caterpillar Onsie

This adorable caterpillar is found on the 9 Months cartridge. Who knew when I bought the cartridge last year for the cute baby images, that I would actually likely use it to scrap about my own pregnancy? (That album is still in progress, but I'm excited to use more cuts from this cartridge.) I love onesie cards, which is one of the reasons I'm thrilled that Provocraft included a onesie image in their free Cricut Craft Room Basics images. If you don't use the Cricut Craft Room which is a program similar to Design Studio or using your Gypsy (except it's free and requires an internet connection), several cartridges have onesies for you to choose from, e.g. B is for Boy, New Arrival and Wrap it Up, to name a few. I don't remember which font I used for this card but I think it might be from Baby Steps. You can weld letters (and shapes) together using your Gypsy or the Cricut Craft Room. I was also excited to use my Sew Easy to add a little trim to the sleeves.

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Materials:
Papertrey Ink cardstock
Bo Bunny Blast Off paper
9 Months, Cricut Craft Room Basics cartridges
Twine
Snaps from the sewing aisle
Sew Easy

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Toy Airplane Thank You Card

I absolutely love the B is for Boy Cricut Lite Cartridge. It's definitely not just for boys and has some great toys on it. I was hoping that I had a sentiment along the lines of "flying by the say thanks" or something like that, but I didn't. However, I love the plane and had to use this image.

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Materials:
Kraft cardstock
B is for Boy Cricut Cartridge
Inkadinkadoo "Thanks"
Twine
Stickles

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Huge Thanks

As I make more thank you cards for our baby shower, I'm really turning to what's probably described as a classic cartridge--Create a Critter. Incidentally, I'm decorating the baby's room mostly in animals from this cartridge, as well. Since I haven't decided whether I like purple anymore, let alone whether it falls in the "girl" or "boy" category of the universally accepted baby color scheme,and didn't have a gray pallet, I opted to go with blues. (Note: In my opinion, blues, greens, oranges, and yellows are gender-neutral. Thus, the absence of dresses is pretty much the only thing that differentiates the wardrobe I've purchased for my baby boy versus what I would have bought for a girl.) Anyway, I like how this one turned out, even though I thought Mr. Elephant was a little dark at first. My goal is to make at least six of each card to build my stash quickly. Here's the card:

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Materials:
Recollections paper and cardstock
Papertrey Ink cardstock
Create a Critter cartridge
EK Success 2" Scallop Punch
Fiskars 1 3/4" Circle Punch
My Pink Stamper "Even More Punnylicious"

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Thank You Monkey Card

With a new baby on the way, I'm ramping up my thank you card production. So far I've made four different designs. However, given my attention span limited, I've only made 2-6 of each design. Thus, I expect I have many more to make (which isn't a bad thing). Today's card is a standard A2 sized card.

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Details:
Wrap it Up Cricut Cartridge
Papertrey Ink cardstock
EK Success punch
twine
Inkadinkadoo "Thanks" - note, these are crap if you've been using the "high quality" photopolymer stamps sold by bloggers. However, expect to see them a lot as I bought them expressly to make all my thank you cards.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Kathy's Cozies

Kathy of Kathy's Cozies has long been the queen of Cricut machine covers. She makes them for Cricut Expressions (both the original and the E2), Cricut Imagines, Cuttlebugs, and even for other non-Provocraft machines. Last year, my Cricut machine collection exploded from a little Cricut Create to two Expressions, a Cricut Cake Mini, and an Imagine. Though I had heard wonderful things about Kathy's Cozies, I just wasn't ready to take the plunge as you pay for her quality. Now that we've moved for the third time in 2 years, I'm finally ready to start my collection.

At her Etsy store, you select the type of cover you need, then follow a link in her product description to see her fabric collection, which is quite extensive, and put your selection in the message to seller box before checkout. It takes about 1-2 weeks for her to make your cozy and pop it in the mail. However, she communicated me to let me know my first choice of fabric was available within a day or two, then sent me another message that it was in the mail. Very nice person to work with.

Here's my first cozy for my Cricut E2. I think it's absolutely beautiful!

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Here's a closeup of the detail:
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I picked the main fabric and asked Kathy to choose the trim. How she knew I'd love this checked lime green, I don't know. But it's absolutely perfect. I especially love the crochet daisy. Though I don't sew or quilt, the cover looks sturdily put together and will definitely keep my Cricut E2 nice and clean.

Now I just have to save up a bit so I can order covers for my other machines! (I understand from other crafters, that she'll do custom work and put together matching set at an affordable price, but I think I'll just take my time and order the rest when I feel the urge.)

Thanks so much Kathy!