Holiday Tomorrow

Tomorrow is World Card Making Day.  This holiday was founded by Paper Crafts Magazine and was first celebrated as National Card Making day on October 7, 2006.  In addition to celebrating the art of hand made cards, this day is a kick-off to the start of the holiday card making season (if you make holiday cards have you started yet?).

You can find lots of information about the holiday and cardmaking in general on the official website HERE.  There is a contest for cardmakers with a great prize package worth over $400.  Twenty of these prizes will be awarded (four in each of five categories - Birthday, Christmas/Season's Greetings, Hello/Thinking of You, Love and Thank You.  You can find details about the contest HERE, along with a link to the official rules.

Every year, I think I'll enter the contest but I haven't yet.  I am going to make some cards and enter this year.  I challenge you to enter as well - those prize packages are a great motivator!  The deadline for mailing your entries is October 15, 2012.

Have a great day - I'll be driving back from Pennsylvania today and after the rain I drove through a few days ago I hope that there is no rain for the return trip!


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Happy October!

It's World Card Making Day and I am away from home and my craft room.  I hope you will have a chance to do some crafting today.  For information about the World Card Making Day Contest you can click HERE.  There are 20 fabulous prize packages that you could win.

We drove to upstate New York on Friday and, since I was in the passenger seat, I finally got to take a photo of this sign on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90).  So... I am wondering if any of my readers live anywhere near Oacoma, South Dakota!

This sign is another that I always wanted to photograph - I have an idea about a way to use it for a scrapbook page.

The drive is long but there is some nice scenery along the way.  Unfortunately, the leaves are just beginning to show touches of color here and there - in a few weeks it will be much prettier.

We did see some amazing clouds - and only a little bit of rain.

This little bear has seen better days (one hand is missing) but he was a friendly ambassador at the rest stop.

I may use his face for another digital project.  The shapes are also a good inspiration for a paper piecing project.  I do take a lot of photos because I find inspiration in many places - and I want to remember it all!  Thank goodness for digital photography - I would never be able to develop the number of photos I take if they were on film!

In honor of the new month and World Card Making Day, I thought I'd link back to this cute and simple card that I designed a few years ago.  You can read the original post and download the Design Studio file at THIS POST.

You can cut this file with the free trial version of the Design Studio on the Original Cricut (baby bug).  You should be able to download the trial version HERE.  If you have an Expression or Create you can download the file and replace the shapes from the George Cartridge with shapes from Plantin Schoolbook (for the Expression) and Don Juan (for the Create).  Just check the size and "X" and "Y" positions in the Shape Properties box to help you place the shapes.

The Design Studio program had so much potential but it has been more or less abandoned - the only updates that are issued are to add cartridge content while the actual program remains as it was in May of 2010.  I still prefer it for most of the designing I do with Cricut shapes, however, the lack of continued development of this program has led me to investigate and purchase other programs and machines.  The Gypsy and the Cricut Craftroom online tool are the two design options that Provo Craft is continuing to develop.  The Gypsy is just too small and too slow for many people and the Craftroom is still in Beta and will always require internet access.

I still get many requests for help with Design Studio and I may find time this fall to update some of my videos and tutorials to help those of you who are new to the Cricut.  You can find Design Studio very inexpensively at various online sources - most recently I saw it for $16.95.  I could not find the program listed in the shopping area of the Cricut.com site so it may not be available for sale much longer.

If you have a Gypsy, I am adding a link for the Gypsy version of the file for the cat card in this post.  I converted the file but haven't cut the card from the Gypsy so please don't try it on your last piece of special paper (!) - do a quick test cut on ugly paper first.

Halloween Cat Card - Gypsy 


The October Deal and Kit of the Month from Creative Charms should be available on the Creative Charms website today - I'll add some photos and descriptions as soon as I can.

Today is also the first day that the Cricut Expression 2 will be available to order from Creative Memories.  This LINK will take you to the page for the Cricut cartridges on my personal website  - I am not sure if the machine will be on that page and I couldn't check it Friday night since the sites had not yet been updated.   I'll be posting more about this in a few days.  The price is $299 and includes the two standard built-in cartridges (Cricut Alphabet and Cricut Essentials) and another cartridge exclusive to Creative Memories - the Best of Times Sampler cartridge.  Shipping within the US will be $8.50 for standard delivery.

We made it to the farm and the weather is a bit uncertain but we expect to have a great celebration of our nephew's marriage tomorrow - come rain, shine or the predicted high winds!  Please send a few positive weather vibes our way - we are celebrating in a tent!

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Weekend Update

Tomorrow is October 1st - it feels like September just flew by.  We have another wedding celebration this weekend - for our nephew and his new wife - at the family apple farm.  I expect to be able to check in and post as usual but things will be pretty busy!

I have just a few things to share today- one of them is my passion for digital and some information that may be helpful to you if you have been thinking about taking the plunge into the digital world.

 I got some exciting news today - the upgrade for the Creative Memories StoryBook Creator program will be available on Monday, October 3rd.  If you have the 3.0 program, you will be able to upgrade to 4.0 for $24.95 and the upgrade will include more than $60 worth of digital artwork.  You will not be able to upgrade from the 2.0 version - you will have to buy the new program for $64.95 or get the upgrade to 3.0 in the next day or two and then upgrade again to 4.0.

If you have the older StoryBook 2.0 version, you can purchase the upgrade to 3.0 for only $9.95 (half price) HERE until the new 4.0 program becomes available on Monday.  This upgrade also includes a digital kit and a set of 12 x 12 predesigned pages.  Then you could purchase the upgrade to 4.0 and be totally up to date (and get the new content included in the upgrade).

If you don't own the program  yet, you could purchase the 3.0 version on sale for half price ($32.98) HERE until the new program becomes available on Monday.  Then you could purchase the upgrade next week for $24.95 for a total of $57.93.  The new 4.0 program will cost $64.95 and it will not include the content that you will receive with the upgrade.  You will get different "starter" content"

The 3.0 program comes with over $80 worth of content:

Discover and Delight Digital Power Palettes

Discover Predesigned Pages: 7x5, 8x8, 11x8.5, 12x12

Delight Predesigned Pages: 7x5, 8x8, 11x8.5, 12x12

Black Predesigned Pages: 7x5, 8x8, 11x8.5, 12x12

White Predesigned Pages: 7x5, 8x8 11x8.5, 12x12

Silver Office Supplies Digital Embellishments

The new 4.0 program will come with:

• Cheerful Digital Power^® Palette
• Cheerful 12x12 Predesigned Pages
• Cheerful 11x8.5 Predesigned Pages
• Black & White Digital Power^® Palette
• Black & White 12x12 Predesigned Pages
• Black & White 11x8.5 Predesigned Pages
• 2012 Calendar 12x18 Digital Predesigned Pages
• 2012 Calendar 8x12 Digital Predesigned Pages

 The upgrade from 3.0 to 4.0 will come with:

• Serene Digital Kit
• Serene Digital Overlays
• Serene Digital Alpha Set
• Just Fun Digital Kit
• Just Fun Digital Overlays
• Just Fun Digital Alpha Set
• 2012 Calendar 12x18 Digital Predesigned Pages
• 2012 Calendar 8x12 Digital Predesigned Pages

You can see PDFs of all of the digital artwork content in the help zone on the website HERE  

I really enjoy digital scrapbooking but I often use the program for other projects.  I know that many of you are dedicated "paper scrappers" but the possibilities when you add digital to your paper scrapping are incredible.  Hybrid pages with some digital manipulation of photos and some paper layering and die cuts is a great option.  The page I did (above) for the Cruise contest last year was partially digital and partially Cricut cuts and paper layers.

Another thing that I find fascinating about digital is the changes that you can make with your digital papers - the paper at the top is one that I recently purchased (Autumn Digital Additions) and I changed it to completely different colors with just one simple adjustment in the program.  (These images are only screen size resolution).  You never run out of paper and you can change your papers to suit your needs.

The StoryBook program also allows you to create your own digital content and to use content that you already have or that you purchase from other sources.  The possibilities are truly endless!

Creative Memories Rewards Club

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the new Rewards Club.  Today is the last day to sign up and get the instant $20 credit.  Beginning in October the instant credit will be $10.  I have copied and pasted the information from that post here.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am a Creative Memories Consultant.  I started as a consultant in 2005 to keep myself in supplies and to help friends and relatives with their scrapbooking projects.  I purchased a Cricut in 2007 and soon became totally caught up in the world of digital die cutting.  I started this blog to share my Cricut Design Studio files and tutorials and, more recently, I have been trying to keep my readers up to date on the Creative Memories products that I particularly enjoy using (such as the StoryBook Creative Plus 3.0 software for digital scrapping).

Last year, Creative Memories and Provo Craft began working together.  So far there have been four exclusive Creative Memories Cricut cartridges (Cheerful Seasons, Reminisce Accents, Stork's Delivery and Traveler - just click each name to see more information about each cartridge).  Next month, the Cricut Expression 2 machine will be available through Creative Memories and there will be an exclusive "Best of Times" sampler cartridge included with the Creative Memories E2 machines.  The price will be $299.

The cartridges retail for $55 and they are full of great content and well worth the price.  However...I know that some people find this price to be more than they would like to pay for a cartridge, so I have a few suggestions to help make the cartridges (and other products) more affordable.

Creative Memories is offering a new Rewards Club.  The annual fee is $39 and you get an immediate $10 credit that you can use to purchase Creative Memories products.  If you enroll in September, your immediate club credit will be doubled to $20.

If you join the Rewards Club, you will have access to exclusive products and promotions and every purchase you make will earn you a credit of 15% to be used for future purchases.  You can accumulate these credits to save for a more expensive item (such as the E2).  You could also use the immediate $20 credit to purchase one of the CM Cricut cartridges for $35.

You can read more about the Rewards Club and sign up as a member on my CM personal website HERE. 

If you'd like to earn even more credit, in addition to the Rewards Club, you could host a "party."  If you are located near me in Massachusetts this could be an "in person" get-together.  If you are at a greater distance, you could host a virtual party and earn hostess credit when the people you invite shop on my website.  The details of the host benefits can be seen HERE.

If you want to get even more products and purchase your items at the consultant discount (starts at 27.5% and increases depending on sales volume) you should consider signing up as a consultant.  The cost to start up is only $50.  My good friend and fellow blogger Joy Tracey (of Obsessed with Scrapbooking and Everyday Cricut) just joined Creative Memories through me and we would love to have some more of our online friends join us to create a great team!

There are additional incentives for new consultants who meet certain goals in their first months and if you join in September or October and complete the "Success Plan" you will earn this wonderful "Let's Create Pack" worth over $140.  If you are not a "party person," remember that you can sell through your Creative Memories personal website.  The fee for the first three months for your website is waived - what could be better than a free website to help you sell in the first months.

If you are interested in more details you can find them HERE on my personal website or contact me online by clicking the box on that page or emailing me directly at capadiadesigns@gmail.com

Thank you all for your responses to my question yesterday about your experiences with the world of die cutting - how you got started, which machines you have and use, and what you are interested in doing in the future.  I'd like to hear more of you and to let you know that I am definitely trying lots of new things.

I am very excited about some of the designs I have been able to make using the Silhouette software.  I am so happy to have some of the features that we all have been requesting for years in the Cricut software products with no results.  The intricate cut in the sneak peek above is something that I was able to make very quickly with the Silhouette software.

Tomorrow is World Card Making Day.  If you click HERE you can find out more about this event.  There is a card contest with 20 huge prize packages - to find out more about this click HERE.  Entries must be postmarked by October 11, 2011. You definitely should check out the list of prizes that the creators of the top 20 cards will receive - the total value is over $1,000!

Have a Great Friday - we'll be on the road most of the day...

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A very busy weekend for crafters

This weekend is a weekend full of internet activities for Cricut fans.  The Cricut Circle blog launched on October 1st and it is open to everyone for the first week (until October 11th).  On the launch day the designers were introduced and they shared some amazing projects.  Today was a fabulous day of giveaways for Circle members - one each hour for 16 hours!  Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to Jana and ProvoCraft for getting things off to a great start!  You can visit the Cricut Circle blog HERE

Christina (Creations with Christina) held an all day celebration for Word Card Making Day ably assisted by Teri (TeriBeri's Creations).  If you go to THIS POST on Christina's blog you will find links to all of the challenges and giveaways.  You can leave comments to enter the giveaways until October 4th - the challenges have no time limit.

There are also a lot of blog hops going on - here are a few to check out.

Sarah at Pink Cricut organized an Imagine blog hop - I can't wait until my machine arrives so I can try some of the ideas.  There are lots of great prizes - ProvoCraft has donated a Gypsy and six imagine cartridges, Pink by Design is giving away three $20 gift certificates and there are prizes on each of the participating blogs as well.  If you click the blinkie below you can get started hopping!

Halloween is a popular theme for bloggers right now and you can check out lots of ideas and inspiration - Halloween has become such a big holiday for crafting and decorating.

Nicole (Canadian Nickel Scrap'n) organized the "Little Hop of Horrors" which took place on Saturday.  You can still check out all of the projects but I am not sure when comments close for the prizes.  You should start at Barb's blog Haunted Design House - where it is all Halloween all of the time!

Another three day Halloween blog hop  can be found beginning at Jen's blog (Purple Scrapbooker).  This is a three day hop and today is the last day but you can check out the projects from the first two days on each blog that you visit.

 Blog hops are a great way to find new sources of inspiration and see what crafting trends are popular.   I haven't been able to check out all of the blogs in these hops yet but I intend to try!

A few days ago I told you about the Paper Crafts Magazine World Card Making Day Contest with the fabulous prize packages worth over $600 for 20 winners.  This LINK will take you to the details for the contest.

Well...if you don't have the time or the inclination to enter the contest you can try for a chance to win one extra set of the same prizes just by leaving a comment.  Go to the Paper Crafts Connection Blog (here is a LINK to the post) and leave a comment about why you like to make cards.  You should also visit the Paper Crafts Moxie Fab World for more chances to win even more great prizes - comments must be left by midnight October 3rd.

Whew!- so much to see and so many comments to leave - good luck!  I have some fun Halloween projects to share tomorrow - featuring Creative Charms Vintage Halloween Kit.  (There is a sneak peek of one of them at the top of this post).


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Another A2 Card Border - Fall Card

 A couple of years ago the Fiskars "Threading Water" border punch was extremely popular.  I remember working for hours to create a similar .cut file using circles and tiny circles and nudging them all into place.  There are many more cartridges available now and some of them have borders that can be used to quickly and easily make a "Threading Water" design.

I used this element from the Straight From the Nest cartridge.  (Remember, you can click on any of these screen shots to make them larger and read the notes).

I entered four of the strips in one group and nudged them together, then adjusted the size to fit an A2 card.

This is a punched strip centered on a 5 1/2 inch wide piece of cardstock.  As you can see, even though I took care to center the punch, it doesn't fit perfectly - there are tiny returns on both edges.

The first file I made had 11 "bumps" so it wasn't a perfect match - the scallops were slightly larger than the scallops formed by the punch.

I used a very heavy Martha Stewart cardstock and set the multi cut to 2 times.  This is usually enough for this cardstock but I had a bit of trouble.

There were two cards in my file and on one of them a couple of the tiny circles did not cut through. 

I checked my blade and discovered that the tip had lifted and carried another circle cutout and this kept the subsequent cuts from working properly.  I might have been able to "save" the cut by checking it before unloading the mat, removing the blade to find the problem and then re-cutting just the circles (by altering the file and using "hide selected contour") but I didn't notice until it was too late.  It is almost impossible to reload the mat and get the same alignment.

I went back and revised my file to make the border strip have 13 "bumps" and created two more card bases.  I used this square from Straight From the Next to form my card base.

I adjusted the size of the rectangle and then rotated my border strip to add to the right side.  All of the measurements are given on the image above.  In Design Studio it is very easy to adapt and fine tune a shape by using the handles - this is something I miss when I work on the Gypsy.  On the Gypsy, when you enter a new width the rectangle will recenter and you have to keep putting it back in place on the x axis as you try to guess at the final size you need.  The handles are much quicker for this function.

Here is the comparison of the punched edge and the second version of the card cut by the Cricut.  I was able to make the fit exact so the edges are smooth.  However, the smaller the size of the circle, the more likely you are to get some distortion.  These are acceptable but slightly oval when compared to the punched circles.  I have had two Expression machines and they do not cut perfect scallops and circles at small sizes.  I am eager to see how the Imagine does with these types of cuts.

I decided to go ahead and make a quick card with the "11 bump" version of the card.  I cut some patterned paper from the Making Memories "Autumn Splendor" 4 x 6 mat pack to fit.  The first layer is 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches and is placed at the top of the card along the fold.  The second layer is 5 x 3 1/4 inches and is centered on the yellow layer.  I inked all of the edges with brown ink.

The "Fall" chipboard embellishment is from the Creative Charms Thanksgiving Multi-Dimensional Chipboard Sticker set.  There are six substantial embellishments in the set.  (I used the Turkey on the card I posted a week or so ago - here is a LINK to that post if you missed it).

There is a lot of glitter detailing and even some twine bows on a couple of the items.

I wanted to make the border stand out more when the card is closed so I used the strip that I cut off to create the top layer, inked it and added it to the inside along the bottom.  I inked three sides and then adhered it to the card.  Then I could snip off the extra bit to have a perfect fit and ink the final edge.

Here you can see the card flat on the table - the contrasting strip shows through the holes. 

A2 Card with Threading Water Edge   The file in the download is the "13 bump" version.


Happy World Card Making Day!  Don't forget to visit Christina at Creations With Christina - she has a great day planned.  This is a busy weekend full of  blog hops and special events - I hope you have time to enjoy at least some of them!

I also want to let you know that the new Cricut Circle Blog is open to everyone for a limited time.  There are some fabulous projects posted by each of the Design Team members.  If you are not a Circle Member you can't enter the contests and giveaways but you might like to take a look to see a bit of what the Circle is all about.  If you are not a Circle member you do have lots of chances to win some great prizes by visiting the blogs of the Cricut Circle Blog Design Team members - and you won't want to miss the inspiration or the chance at amazing prizes!  The list of Design Team members is at the top of the Cricut Circle Blog home page (or you can try this LINK to see the list).


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World Card Making Day - October 2, 2010

Pick a card - any card...(but be sure it is one that has never been published!).

October 2 is World Card Making Day. World Card Making Day began in 2006 and is celebrated annually on the first Saturday in October.  If you visit the Paper Crafts Moxie Fab World blog you will find a week of international inspiration beginning on Monday.  If you go to THIS POST you can see all of the cards from last year's inspirational tour and leave a comment for a chance to win a prize as well.  There are lots of activities planned in local shops and on the web. Be sure to visit Christina at Creations with Christina  - she is planning a day full of challenges and giveaways.

I wanted to let you know about the great contest that Paper Crafts Magazine is hosting.  There will be 20 winners - four in each of five categories (Birthday, Christmas/Season's Greetings, Hello/Thinking of You, Love and Thank You).  The prize is a package of card making products from 19 sponsors (including Creative Charms) and each package is worth over $600!  The winners will also have the opportunity to be published in the March/April 2011 issue of Paper Crafts.

You can get all of the details about the contest and see the official rules on the Paper Crafts site - here is a LINK.  I hope that I will have time to make an entry or two - you can enter in each category (but can only win in one!). 

The cards at the top of this post are some that I designed earlier this year.  If you would like to see how I made them and learn all about using "hide selected contour" you can see the original post HERE.

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