Love Struck Couple (mini cart review)

I made this simple card with one of the images on the new "Love Struck" cartridge.  I am so impressed with this cartridge.  It is a seasonal "mini" cartridge and available only while supplies last.  There are 27 images (18 with shadows) and four 3D items.  If you like intricate details,  I think this is a cartridge you will want to add to your collection.

There are no special features since this a mini cartridge.  I took some screen shots of the items on this cart to show you - remember you can click on an image to enlarge it.

Here are the first eight hearts on the cartridge. These are incredibly intricate and unique cuts - there is nothing like these on the current cartridges.

This preview shows the same hearts with the shadow layers added in pink.

.
There are two more hearts with shadows and then some very interesting designs with fantastic detail.  I have been cutting these at 3 1/2 or 4 inches and they are cutting well.

There are a couple more shadowed images and the rest are single layer. 

The word art is fun with a different style - the swirls and hearts are nice additions on "Love" and "Flirt."

Finally, there are a couple of "kid" valentines (a fairy and a pirate), an envelope, a three dimensional heart, a cute mailbox and a flat box with a heart cutout.

I think the delicate heart cuts are reason enough to buy this cartridge (they are similar in complexity to the snowflakes on "When it's Cold Outside"). If you get them soon you will have plenty of time to use these cuts to make some really special Valentines Day cards.

So - back to my quick card.  I used the third heart with the silhouette of a man and woman inside.  I cut the heart and the shadow layer at 3 1/2 inches.

The cut is so pretty that I did not want to overpower it with a lot of extra bells and whistles on the card.  I wanted an old fashioned look so I chose cream cardstock for the card base.

Last year, I picked up some of these packs of 4 x 6 paper mats (4 each of 8 designs) for 99 cents at Michael's.  The paper is by Making Memories and is part of the "Autumn Splendor" collection.

While several of the papers are clearly autumn papers, these three in particular can be used for many other purposes.  I chose the one with the writing to put behind my silhouette conversation heart.  (On close examination, the words do make a few mentions of autumn, but I don't think anyone will read it that closely!)

I cut 3/4 of  an inch from the short end of the paper mat so I had a 4 x 5 1/4 inch layer for my A2 card.  I inked the edges of the layer and the edges of the ivory card slightly with medium brown ink.

I adhered the shadow to the heart and then used foam squares to raise it up from the card front.

This was a quick card to make - once I decided on the background paper to use.  I could add a stamped greeting or a word cut to the front, but I will most likely just leave it as it is - simple and elegant, with a handwritten note inside.

I am looking forward to making some more complicated projects with these cuts - I hope that I will have some time this weekend to work on them.  Enjoy the long weekend - most people around here go skiing but we will be cozy at home!

Paper Cupcakes

Here is the other part of the Cupcake Swap I told you about yesterday.  The paper cupcakes are not exactly "tasty" but they sure are cute!

I used one of the cupcakes from the Sweet Treats cartridge.  By using Design Studio, I was able to set up my cutting mats very efficiently.  I made 18 cupcakes (a few more than I needed for the swap).  I wanted to use some of my older Creative Memories paper which is 12 x 10 inches so I set up my mats with this in mind.

The shadows for the cupcakes are larger than most Cricut shadows.  I was able to fit only six of them on the 12 x 10 cardstock.  I cut this page three times.

For the blackout layer of the cupcake I was able fit in two extras per page so I cut this page twice.

On another page of the file, I cut the two missing cupcake blackout layers from a 4 x 10 inch strip of cardstock.

I used glitter cardstock for the hearts and kept them on their own mat so I could cut them using multi cut two.

Eighteen frosting layers were a perfect fit on another mat with 12 x 10 patterned paper.

I had an issue with the cupcake paper layers.  I may have misinterpreted the designer's intention for this cut but it just didn't work with the frosting for me.

These are the three pieces (blackout cupcake and frosting and cupcake paper layers) and they are cut at four inches.

They each fit individually on the blackout base, but I couldn't see how to use them both and have a cupcake that worked.

With the frosting on top, the scalloped edge of the cupcake paper is hidden...

If you put the wrapper on top of the frosting, the cupcake looks very odd.

I ended up changing the shape in Design Studio by shortening the cupcake paper so the scallops at the top and the frosting edge would both show on my finished cupcake.

Once I worked out how to fit the pieces together in a way I liked, the rest was simply cutting and assembling.

When the cupcakes were put together, they needed a bit of spark so I added white pen stitching and some dots on the cupcake paper.

Over and over again I pen stitched...

 

---until they were all done!

I use a Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153 white gel pen to do my pen stitching - it is the best white pen I have ever tried.  I get mine from Jet-Pens.com .  I order a box of 10 for $21.50 and add another pen or two to get over $25 and then the shipping is free.  Here is a LINK to the page on the site for the box of ten (I have no connection with the site - just a happy customer and I think you would like these pens).  These also make great little gifts for your crafting friends.

I got an exciting package in the mail today.  In the box were the new Spring Mini cartridges and some other new things to try!  I'll be posting some projects with these here and on Scrappy-Go-Lucky over the next few weeks.

I just had to share my first trial cut.  This intricate heart from the "Love Struck 2010" cartridge was cut at four inches on heavy cardstock and it cut very nicely.  I have been trying various designs with these images - I think this will be one of my favorites!

Cupcakes again

I thought I'd show you how my recipe cards turned out.  These are for a swap where we made paper cupcakes and also sent along a recipe for a real cupcake.  Last week I showed you the cupcakes and shared the recipe.

This was my original photo of the cupcakes.  I am trying to making a set of family recipe cards and one of the trickiest things is remembering to take a photo of the food before it is eaten!  To make the recipe card I brought my photo into the CM StoryBook software, cropped it to focus on the cupcakes and used the "magic wand" to drop out the red tablecloth in the background.

After I altered the photo, it looked like this.  I chose background paper, added the recipe name with some "virtual vellum" behind it and created the front of the recipe card.  I sampled the color from the background paper for the title color.

I applied an effect to soften the edges of the photo slightly so it would blend a bit better with the background paper.

The cards were supposed to be 3 x 5 inches and I couldn't fit the recipe and the photo on the same side - so I did a front and back.  I used the same background paper but changed the opacity to 33 percent so the recipe would be easy to read.

  

I chose the background paper to coordinate with my paper cupcake.  Here is a little peek at the paper cupcake.  I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.

(Our house is a bit quieter since our younger son flew to San Francisco today to visit his older brother - I am sure he will enjoy the warmer weather, it is still really cold here!).

Tiger ATCs

The theme for one of my Artist Trading Card (ATC) groups this month was "tigers" (or "lions and tigers" - but definitely not "lions and tigers and bears - oh my!").  My thoughts turned to travels to exotic lands and I started to look for some images I could use to make the card.

I found some great vintage luggage labels at Twisted Papers.com.  This tiger image is on a collage sheet with twenty five labels so I will be able to do many more projects with these.  Here is a LINK to the information page for the label collage sheet (a great value for only $2).

I imported the image sheet into my Creative Memories StoryBook software and started creating my ATC front.  I really enjoy manipulating images and using all of the special effects.

The original image is a flat paper image.  I wanted it to have a raised effect so I applied  a filter for a 3D edge.  The program contains all sorts of filters and effects and it is fun to try them out to alter your results.  At this point, I was thinking of my card as a piece of luggage.

I decided to add some background color and texture.  I chose a burlap weave and a light orange/tan shade to simulate a suitcase.  I also added a black frame to give a strong defined edge. I set up the file to print the ATCs in the correct size (2.5 x 3.5 inches).  After I printed my cards, I got a bit more ambitious and decided to try using Paper Glaze to make the label shiny and glossy.

I had never tried using the Paper Glaze on such a large area and I really made a mess of it!  It was difficult to get a smooth layer and I ended up with air bubbles, smudges, and actually started to lift the print from the matte photo paper.  So I abandoned that idea and convinced myself that the label didn't need to be shiny after all!

I thought I needed something else to convey the idea of luggage and travel,  I decided to add some brads to give the impression of rivets in old fashioned luggage.  I punched the holes with my Cropadile and inserted the brads.  Then I layered the card fronts on brown Bazzill textured cardstock and added my details on the back.

ATCs are fun to make - you can do so many different things and I often do them digitally so I can explore new ways to alter images.  The only rule is that they must be 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  Do you make ATCs?  If you have never tried one, you can find lots of information and inspiration online.  If you want to see other ATCs I have created and shared, here is a LINK to all of the posts for ATCs.

Heart Medallion Card

I spent much of my day assembling multiples of several items - most are swaps that you will see here soon and a few are surprises that you "might" see somewhere else.  I did take the time to cut out the card design I showed you yesterday and I used the papers that I had tried out "virtually" for everything but the small heart in the center which is pink glitter cardstock.

I set up an additional page in the file and copied and pasted the items I needed for the card front, segregating them by paper choice.

Here you can see the actual pieces of paper on the mat.  I used the 12 x 12 mat (I usually cut with the Expression at home and travel with the baby bug).  I did make sure that the file would work for either machine - the "cuttable" area is slightly different on the 6 x 12 mat and the 12 x 12 mat.

After I did the sample with the Creative Memories papers, I set up the cutting page make full use of two 4 x 6  pieces of paper in pink and red.  I added extra hearts - we can all use extra hearts!  When you cut these be sure to first hide the center of the top layer or your tiny heart will not be large enough to cover the center cutout.  I did put a note on the tab of the file to remind you to do this.

I put together the layers and then used foam squares to pop up the large heart medallion.  When you remove the heart medallions from the mat be sure to mark the top of each piece so you can get them to line up properly when you stick them together.  They appear symmetrical but there is a slight variation which will make the layers uneven if you don't layer them in their original positions.

Here is one more view of the card.  I used plain white cardstock and cut a piece of the background paper to 4.25 x 5.5 inches and adhered it to the top of the card.

The file has all of the extra pages I set up for the previews.  You actually need to cut from one page only for the card elements.  If you want to cut the card base instead of using a standard half sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, you can cut the template page from your choice of cardstock.

Heart Medallion Card