Thursday, February 4, 2010

Magnets and Mobiles for Sweet Treats Thursday


It's another "Sweet Treat Thursday" at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot.  Our challenge this week was to use  hearts from at least three different Cricut cartridges 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.

The first thing I tried was some magnet material.  I was at Staples looking for some vellum and noticed that they had the thin printable magnet sheets so I decided to try them out.  I thought that I could cut out decorations for these little mailboxes that could be changed for the seasons and holidays.


I used my Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 software to choose some cute dotted papers from the With Love Digital Kit and set up the page with three papers.


I carefully planned out the placement of a variety of hearts from the Sweethearts, Wedding, George and Plantin Schoolbook cartridges to maximize the use of the magnet material.


The Staples magnet material is for inkjet printers.  I had the full page set up but somehow I made a mistake in loading the magnet or setting up the print menu so I did not have a full edge to edge print.


I needed to revise my cuts to fit in the areas that were actually printed. I added some cuts from Paper Pups to the long narrow piece.


I used multi cut 2 with the regular blade at 6, maximum speed and pressure.  I also used a new mat to be sure that the adhesive was consistently strong.  The magnet material cut very easily - it is actually quite thin.  The small cut at the bottom was due to a "loading" error on my first test cut.


Here you can see the weeded red cuts.  I found out that the tiny hearts didn't really have enough surface area to cling well - the magnetic "pull" is not that strong with this brand of material.  I think it is intended for printing up larger solid shapes as magnetic business cards or advertisements.


I wanted to be sure about the cuts fitting in the magnet material so, even though I planned the cuts in Design Studio, I did a "trial" cut on plain white cardstock before cutting the pink magnets.

When I saw that the cuts were fine I did not unload the mat - instead I pushed "load paper" and carefully placed the magnet material in the same position as the paper.  By not removing the mat I knew that any "loading errors" would not impact my cuts.


Here are the pink cuts.  I couldn't resist adding in the tiny hearts to fill the space.


The larger hearts definitely stick to the mailboxes much better than the tiny ones.  These mailboxes came from Target but I have seen similar ones at other large craft stores.






I still like the idea of changing up the mailboxes with magnetic decorations but I need to try some other brands of magnetic material to see if I can find one that has a stronger magnetic quality.  There is magnet material available from Cricut so I will look into that for next time.  I couldn't find it locally and I didn't have time to order some for this project.


For my "big" project I decided to use lots and lots of hearts to make a mobile.


I used hearts from the Sweethearts, Wedding, George and Plantin Schoolbook cartridges.  I filled in the spaces with some smaller hearts that I can use for other projects.  Some of the hearts were slightly altered in Design Studio.


The paper I chose was from the K & Company "Sweet Talk" paper stack.


 I cut the same set of hearts from nine different papers from the stack.  When you cut the same items over and over be sure to rotate your mat to even out the wear and tear.  Pay attention to the paper designs that have a definite direction and be sure the top is "up."


The header of the mobile is from the Mother's Day mini cartridge.  I cut it at five inches.


 I wanted pink for the shadow layer but I didn't want the border designs on this paper to show so I used three sheets and cut the shadow from the center (I had several of these stacks on hand - there are only two of each sheet in a pack).


I could cut two of the top layers from a single 12 x 12 sheet.  I saved the cut out words (of course!) - they will show up just a little later...


When I put the layers together I used a glue pen around the letters and on the scallops and my ATG for the straight strips.


Here are the assembled sides of the topper.  Now I needed to figure out how to put it all together!


I set out all of the hearts and started working on a "random" order of the hearts to hang - mixing styles and papers of the hearts.  It took a while (I have the worst time with "random")!

I used a large needle and some silver cord and sewed through the top and bottom of each heart.  I cut the cord lengths at about 3 1/2 feet.  The tension of the front to back threading holds the lightweight hearts together.  If they were to slip at all, I could add a sticky back gem to the cord side to hold the hearts at the proper levels.


I tied one of these little flower embellishments at the bottom of each strand (I tell you more about these cute little flowers in a day or two).


The triangle shape works well - I just needed to add some holes and some ribbon.


I used my Cropadile to punch the holes and made sure to set the guide so they would be evenly spaced.  I punched them in pairs to make the fit work.


I cut ribbons at about 18 inches and tied bows to hold the panels together.  ( I trimmed the ends later).


Once the triangle was assembled,  I added more ribbons tied at the hole at the top of each panel.

 

I used a metal binder ring to hold the three ribbons and added an additional ribbon for hanging the mobile. 


To attach the silver strands to the topper I punched holes and added these pink brads - then I wound the cord around the brad several times and trimmed the ends.


I added one more set of seven hearts by suspending it from the hanging ring so it would "float" in the center of the other strands.


Here are a few more views - this mobile is about four feet tall so it is hard to photograph.



One more view with my red front hall in the background.



Finally - a little card to go with the mobile.  I trimmed the leftover pink from the bottom layer of the topper and adhered it to a piece of deep pink cardstock.  I used the Martha Stewart loop border punch on the top and bottom of the pink section.  The card edges are inked with the same red ink I used for the sentiment.




My stamping was a little light on the capital letters of "Be Mine" so I added a bit of Stickles glitter glue to even things out.  



I added the letters from the mobile header to the inside of the card - very bold and graphic.



I really like the contrast between the pink and girly card front and the bold stencil words inside!

Congratulations if you made it this far through all of the photos and explanations.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if I left anything out.  Happy Valentine's Day!

30 comments:

  1. wauw this is very pretty.tfs.gr anja

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  2. Very cute ideas! Looks like the SB+ paper printed very well for you. I'll have to try that! TFS.
    nancy sanders nansand@bellsouth.net

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  3. Diane, I love these cute Valentines Day ideas. And thank you for showing me how to cut magnetic material. I can think of a lot of uses for that. Look forward to your post each day.

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  4. OH MY, Diane you were a very busy lady!!! I love everyone of the projects you did!! They are simply adorable! I believe I have the same paper stack, I found it at Tuesday morning, I really need to get started on my valentine projects, which will make my Hubby very happy (we are down to 1 laptop at the moment), he will get a chance to surf his pipe boards! LOL.

    take care,

    Lisa Sturgill

    PS. I was wondering if you received my emails, I know you are super busy, but was hoping I could post on my blog with a link to your site? If this is wrong, please let me know..I'm still knew to all this, and not quite sure of "proper" blog etiquette. :) Thanks again for all you do!!!!

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  5. Great work Diane especially the mobile it turned out great. TFS and a very Happy Valentine's Day to you too.

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  6. WOW! Just WOW! You continue to amaze me everyday!!! These are just awesome!

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  7. This was a huge project. Love it all, but the mobile is my favorite. TFS

    Donna C.

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  8. WOW! I love todays projects especially that mobile. I'm having a baby shower for my daughter on Valentines day and this could be the perfect project for the occassion! TFS

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  9. Love these two projects! What a great idea to use magnetic material to change out the decor on your mailbox and the mobile is to die for. TFS

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  10. Hi Diane. I am just in awe of you and all the detailed things you do. What a great project and you are wonderful about explaining each step, which is exactly what I need to do things. Thank you for all the time you take out of your busy schedule to share with us.

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  11. Diane: I am just amazed by what you come up with. Your imagination is wonderful. Thank you for sharing all of your ideas with us!!!

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  12. Once again, you completly amaze me!!!!! Awesome job! Thanks for sharing

    Kris

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  13. As a cubicle worker and lover of mobiles I'm SO excited about your mobile!

    This will be perfect, and easy, to "reamake" as a desk decoration leading up to each new holiday ... St. Pat's, Easter, Flag Day, Octoberfest!

    Ouuu ... gotta go ... time to make a clover and beer stein mobile!

    Tracy
    tocre8astar@yahoo.com

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  14. This mobile is so cute, you really come up with beautiful crafts. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  15. as always great project...i just love your blog, thanks for sharing

    chriswooten57
    mcwooten1999@carolina.rr.com

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  16. Whew, I'm worn out just reading how to make the mobile! When do you sleep? This is so beautiful and creative.

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  17. Adorable!!

    Thanks for sharing.
    Donna

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  18. Diane, these items are beautiful. You never cease to amaze me with your ideas. I do have one question, which may sound really stupid to most of your followers. I know you chose the paper designs for the magnets from your software. Did you just print it directly on to the magnet material before cutting? I have always wondered how you could have any color or pattern on the magnet, therefore I have just never tried anything with it. If you used an inkjet printer, does the ink smear if it gets wet? I was thinking of possibly making my granddaughter some magnetic paper dolls. I know you are terribly busy, so just answer when you can.
    Thanks so much, Karen Varney
    rkv@embarqmail.com

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  19. Great projects...thanks for all the detailed directions!

    Terry

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  20. Diane all your projects are awesome! I am loving the mobile!
    So many different ideas came to my mind for not only valentines day! Thanks tons for the inspiration!
    HUGS!
    Vicki

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  21. OMG! The mobile is beautiful! That took a lot of work and patience!! Thanks for sharing this, I might have to try it out.

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  22. Diane,
    I'm not familiar with the CM digital program but would like to give it a try. Did the dotted designs get printed right onto the magnet or a piece of paper and what size is it? Is your printer a larger then usual size because in the photos the magnet looks the same size as the 12x12 mat. (have never used the DS)
    what kind of printer/ink are you using to get the vibrant colors.Mine is a kodak and I'm not happy with its results. Do you have to use a special ink for photos or just regular printer ink?

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  23. Hi Judy,

    I hope you check back to see my answers - there wasn't an email contact on your blogger profile.

    The CM program is fantastic - as you know from reading my blog I use it all the time. If you don't already have a consultant who can help you, you can order it from my CM website - there is a link in the post to the page with the software and also a link in the side column. If you send me a direct email I can help you more with any questions (capadiadesigns@gmail.com).

    The dotted designs are printed directly on the magnet material. It is white and glossy like photo paper. The magnet sheets I used come 8 1/2 x 11 and were Staples brand. As I mentioned, the magnet hold is not very strong so the tiny shapes don't stick as firmly as I'd like.

    I don't have a larger format printer - just an HP all-in-one that is a few years old I think the model is 3680 but there is probably a more up to date version. I do use the HP inks and this printer has just two cartridges( black and color). There is a photo cartridge that adds two more colors to the black cartridge but I usually forget to change to it(!)

    You really should try Design Studio - it is a great way to get really creative with your cartridges. You can download the trial version to try it out and you will even be able to cut with the cartridge that is "native" to your Cricut - George for the Personal, Don Juan for the Create and Plantin Schoolbook and Accent Essentials for the Expression.

    I hope that helped - be sure to email me if you have more questions or need more information.

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  24. Diane, more wonderful projects -- I love them all. I do have one question about printing. Doesn't it use a ton of ink to do the scrapbook papers like on your magnet sheet? That is what has kept me from trying to use them.
    Thanks again for all you share with everyone! (carolyn in nebraska from Cricut message board)

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  25. That's a great idea to use the magnet paper on the mailbox & I just love the mobile!

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  26. Love the mobile. How long did this take? Great idea. Thanks for the info.
    Dianne Bell - Sewpro02@Aol.com

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  27. Such cute projects! I would LOVE to do the mobile but it would take me forever and Valentine's Day would be over before it was complete! LOL

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