A quick "catch up" post

 I wanted to catch up on a few things and to let you know what I have been up to lately.  I am finally getting over the cold that had me moving so slowly for a week or two. 

I know that some people are still having issues with the morning emails having text and images overlapped or arriving with the subject as ${latestItemTitle}.  I am sorry that I haven't been able to resolve this.  As far as I can tell, the issues arise only with certain internet providers - it doesn't seem to matter what operating system or web browser people are using.  Since I am sure you won't be changing your internet provider just to receive the Feedburner emails, my only suggestion would be to subscribe in a reader or become a follower if you want to keep up with what I am creating.  Thanks for understanding that I have no control over this and can't seem to fix it from my end.

I worked out a way to make a pretty eyelet border - I am really excited about this design so watch for it to show up here soon - here is a tiny peek at the edge.

 I have started a new series of post on the Cutting Above blog about Design Studio.  Many people are confused about whether to get the Gypsy, or Design Studio or both.  There are also a lot of people who bought Design Studio and then for one reason or another never really got comfortable with using the program.  Maggie at Cutting Above asked if I could do some posts explaining the basics of using the program - starting from the very beginning.  Here is a LINK to my first post.

On Tuesday, there will also be a short review that I did of the From My Kitchen cartridge on Cutting Above - I'll put a link here when it goes up.  I have enjoyed using the cartridge since I received it as my prize for being featured in the Project Corner and Spotlight in the Cricut Chirp in July.  I have a lot of ideas about things I want to try making with it.  While it is great for cooking and kitchen projects there are many "outside the box" ways to use the items on the cartridge.

I also have a few new projects that will soon be on the Custom Crops website so check my sidebar blinkie to see if they are available to view.  Here is a "sneak peek" at the Halloween card I made - the file and directions will be on the Custom Crops site.  I am ready to move on from Halloween now as you can see from the screen shot at the top of this post!

Finally, we do have some spaces still available in the Design Studio online classes this week so be sure to check the Let me Show you How to Do that blog to see if the times and topics suit you.

A few photos to share

I know we were all hoping to see the Mystery Challenge projects at Custom Crops today - I checked on and off throughout the day, but they still are not posted. I am sorry for the wait - I haven't heard from the owner, but there must be some reason for the delay. I hope that they will be available to view on the site tomorrow.

I had intended to give you a few more "insider" details about how I made my project today but I can't reveal it until the projects are available to view on the Custom Crops site.

I thought I'd show you a few recent photos that you may see appearing in one of my projects soon...



I love geraniums and this pink and white variety is particularly pretty.



Hmmm ... things are just not going my way today! This photo should be rotated 90 degrees to the left so the smaller blossoms are on the bottom, but, no matter how many times I upload it to Blogger, it is always rotated incorrectly. The flowers are still pretty but the lighting looks a bit odd at this angle. (I wonder how many people would have noticed that the photo looked odd if I hadn't mentioned the rotation problem...)

A few people have asked about the newest class we are offering at Let me Show you How to Do that - on Full Page Designs. I have been making this type of design for a long time - the effect is similar to the lace cardstock that you can buy, however, with Design Studio you can make custom designs that work perfectly for your projects.

Here are a few photos of some of the designs I have made - if you are interested in joining the class on Thursday (or the word book class on Wednesday) we do have some openings for each class. Directions for registering for classes are on the LMSYHTDT site.













I hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer schedules. I know many parts of the country have started with school and the fall routines already - it won't be long until we are complaining about the cold instead of the heat!

So tired of rainy weather!

Well, it was just one of those days - so many things to do and not enough time to do them all! Jen and I taught two classes today - the first time we have scheduled two for the same day. We were having a few issues with the internet - and I blame it on the rainy weather. A day or two ago the newspaper had a chart showing that this June has had the lowest amount of sunshine since 1903 - when they started keeping track. It has rained so much I think I have moss growing on my toes - everything is just too damp!

We have been having a lot of fun in the classes and we are planning to add a word book class next week. If you have participated in either the Getting Started Class or the Basic Cards Class and haven't received the notes or files, please be sure to send a message to me at capadiadesigns (at) gmail.com so I can resend them. There seems to have been an issue with sending to a group using "bcc" but I did not receive any non-delivery notices (I just heard from a few people today that they didn't receive these so I wonder if there are more of you in the same boat).

I have a group of projects that will be appearing on another site very soon - I am eager to show you a few of the things I have been doing but I need to wait until they are made available and then I will give you a link.

So - about my quest to use my pretty paper - here are a few more simple examples.



I thought this "Taj Majal" stack was just beautiful when I first saw it - I still think it is but I have trouble actually using a page for a layout.



I wanted to use the center of this page to cut out a design in the shiny green damask. I trimmed the sides by cutting 3 1/2 inch strips. I then cut a five inch wide piece from the strip. When I placed this on my A2 card the margin at the top was too wide to match the other three sides.



So I added some beautiful satin ribbon across the top to hide the uncovered area. The areas where it crossed the cardstock at the corners loked a bit bumpy so I added two star eyelets as a design feature (and to hold everything in place). I could use this as a note card or add a sentiment - probably cut from glitter cardstock to match the glittered corner element.



Here is another example of a page from this stack. The papers have glossy, hard finishes and there is lots of foil detailing on many of them.



I cut a seven inch wide by ten inch tall piece from the 12 x 12 sheet. I centered the foiled motifs to fit the card. This makes an interesting base and I can add a sentiment or Cricut cut to the front and start making a special card.



One more example - this card was cut from a 12 x 12 sheet of glittered cardstock from the DCWV Spring Stack from last year. In the area you can't see in the photo (the lower right side of the page), it says "baby." I saved that part for another card and used this section as my base for this Father's day card.



Quick, simple and fun to make. by adding a coordinating rectangle and the Happy Father's Day sentiment I had a card finished in no time at all.

There are no classes tomorrow and the event I had set for the evening has been postponed so I hope to get lots of test cuts done and then I will be able to share more projects very soon

A bit of a preview...

Many people have been asking about the Design Studio online classes. You can get more info about them by visiting Let me Show you How to Do that (just click the name to go to the blog).

JenC and I have taught four "Getting Started" classes in the last two weeks. We will continue to offer these beginner classes, but soon we will be adding some more advanced sessions on how to make your own custom designs. I thought I'd share a few photos of a project I did for a friend's daughter to give you an idea of the types of complicated designs you can make once you have mastered the basics.



I created these standup word cards for her to give as gifts to her friends who were in a special summer camp group - they are called the "Scintillaides" for their sparkling service to the camp.



Here you can see the card flat on the table.



This is a screen shot of the design before cutting.

Designs like this require a lot of planning (and some math!) but they are very effective when cut. Her friends were very impressed when they received these custom cards. So be sure to watch for the sign ups for the next level of classes - we have lots of things to show you!


(Our older son and his girlfriend arrived today from San Francisco to visit for a few days, so I did not get a chance to complete the awards posting I started yesterday - I will find some quiet time tomorrow to finish that up - be prepared to spend some time blog hopping to visit all the people I am passing awards along to!)

Let me Show you How to Do that.....

Thank you to everyone for waiting so patiently while we have been trying to make our online classes a reality. JenC and I have finished our testing and have finally scheduled our first online class. This is really exciting for us and we hope everyone who has been asking for these classes will be able to participate.

You can check out our new blog dedicated to the online classes by clicking HERE. Since we're not sure yet what times or days will work best for everyone, we have made our first class available next week on two different days and at differing times. Please be sure to read through the entire post to get all of the information you need to take advantage of what we are offering.

Please note: To allow us to offer the best and most personalized classroom environment possible, we will be limiting the classroom size. Requests to participate in each class will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Please make all requests and responses to participate in the class of your choice by sending an email to StudioGoddesses@gmail.com. We will be happy to add additional sessions if we are oversubscribed. There will be more classes on additional topics posted soon so check back frequently to see what we have to offer!

Thank you for your support as we start this new venture!