True Stamp in March - Special Savings Now

 

Next month Lain Ehmann is bringing together some great teachers for a full day of online learning about stamping at True Stamp 2015.  I have attended previous True Stamp events and I always learn a lot and also have fun with the other online participants in the chat room too.  The great thing about these live events is that you can participate from the comfort of your own home (and for those of us that have been snowbound lately that is important!).

In addition to the six classes with lots of techniques and tips about stamping, there is a digital goody bag, a pre-event Pajama Party on Friday night and a chance to win some great prizes.  If you can't be at your computer all day on the day of the event, you can participate when you can and then review the parts you miss via the recordings that are available to you to watch over and over again.

Here are the classes that will be offered at True Stamp on March 28th.  You can read full descriptions by clicking HERE to visit the registration page.

All of these classes sound great to me - particularly the last one about using metallics.  I see gold everywhere these days.

Lain sent me a special discount code that I can share with you.  If you register by February 16th you can use the code STAMPLOVE and take $45 off the price of the event.  That's a savings of almost 50% so don't miss out on this deal.

Just click HERE to visit the information page and register.

Lain Ehmann is the producer of True Scrap, True Stamp, Layout a Day and other great online learning events.  I have enjoyed participating in many of her events and I know that I have "seen" some of my readers in the online classroom at these classes.  I am an affiliate for her programs and I appreciate your support when you use my links to sign up for events and classes.

Lain also offers free monthly webinars and the topic this month is "All that Glitters:  Making the Most of the Shiny Stuff" with guest teacher Windy Robinson.  You can sign up for the free Scrapinar on February 26th by clicking HERE.

If the date doesn't work for you, you can still sign up so you will receive a link to watch the recording.  The link will allow you to watch the class for a limited time (usually a few days after the Scrapinar) but you must register (click HERE) to get on the mailing list.

For those of you asking just how much snow there is - the simple answer is "way too much." It is getting harder and harder to shovel out because many of the snow piles are taller than my shovel.  They say we have had over 70 inches this winter and there is more coming later this week.  

Thinking about Spring...

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email.  

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.

60th Anniversary Celebration - Vinyl Monograms for Candles

Just a couple of days after Christmas my husband's parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  2014 was a big year - they both turned 80 last summer!  Our family is very fortunate and we are all so happy that they are healthy and were able to enjoy this milestone.

They hosted an afternoon Open House reception at their condo for their many friends and then we had a family dinner at a lovely local restaurant.  All of their children and nearly all of members of the next generations were able to be with them for the celebrations.  I'll share some other projects from the Open House in another post.

I made some simple candle holders for centerpieces at the restaurant.  We had very little time between the two events so I had to make something that could be assembled and placed very quickly.  The restaurant had Christmas decorations that were fine since the celebration was just two days after Christmas.  The little golden trees were very festive on the cake table.

I used the monogram font from the Art Deco Cricut cartridge.  This cartridge is included in the Image Library Subscription and in addition to the font, it has lots of great images from the era.

I will do another post showing how to set up the monogram in Design Space - there is a new update to Design Space 2 coming very soon so I want to wait until I can share up to date images (I have been previewing and testing the update and it has lots of nice improvements over the first version that I think Explore users will love!).

As you can see from these photos, when I am working with vinyl I like to add a box around the image that I am cutting to make it easier to weed (remove) the negative space parts of the cut.  Once I remove these, I use transfer tape to pick up the image so it will stay perfectly aligned for my project.  You can reuse the same piece of transfer tape several times - this one is curling at the edges because I had used it for several cuts already.

Just be sure to burnish the tape to the image using your fingernail or a tool and then peel it up from the shiny backing.  When you cut vinyl, you want to make a "kiss cut" that cuts the vinyl and leaves the backing intact.  Using the vinyl setting on the Explore dial works perfectly for me but you should try a few test cuts before launching into a large project.  I used indoor repositionable vinyl in a metallic gold.

I chose a simple straight sided vase to hold the candle.  The straight sides make it easy to add vinyl and it will stay nice and flat.  I had a couple of rolls of washi tape sitting on my table and placed the tape rolls on either side of the vase to keep it from rolling on the table when I added the monogram.

I found these vases at the Dollar Tree store - here is the UPC label if you want to try to find them at a store near you.  The candles are wax with battery operated lights.  I found them at Costco and they are available at other stores as well.  The candles are three inches in diameter.  The six inch height is ideal but five inches will also work (I had some of each size).

The transfer tape allows you to carefully position the image and make sure that it is straight before you adhere it to the vase.

When you are satisfied with the placement, you can use your fingernails or a bone folder to burnish the vinyl to the glass.  You can see how the image appears darker after you burnish the vinyl.

To remove the transfer tape, it works best to pull the tape back on an angle.  If the vinyl starts to lift, just put the tape back down and burnish it a bit more.

Using the tape will help you to avoid bubbles but you may see a few tiny air bubbles like the one on the "P" in this photo.

Just rub the vinyl gently to work the bubble to the edge of the letter - it will then be smooth and flat like this.

 I rotated the vase to put the monogram on the bottom side and then followed the same procedure to apply the "60" to the other side.

I just "eyeballed" the placement so that the two sides would line up pretty well.  The candle actually hides any slight miscalculation on the placement.

 Once again, burnish the vinyl and peel away the transfer tape at an angle.

Here is the vase with both the monogram and the year added.  Now all you need to do is to turn on the candle and pop it into the vase.

The restaurant provided the circular mirrors and the smaller candles.  I brought some gold starry garland to circle the candles and create a nice reflection in the mirrors.

This is a quick cell phone photo showing the candles and some wedding photos on display at their condo.  Some of the candles you can buy have a timer so you can set them once to go on every day at a certain time and then "burn" for five hours.

We are having yet another snowstorm in New England - records keep getting broken and the snow just keeps falling while the snow piles are getting higher than ever.   I took this photo and shared a digital page I made on Facebook yesterday.

Here is the birdbath this afternoon - almost completely buried!

This is the view of our deck from the sunroom (trust me, there is a deck under all of that snow!).

If you are also in the midst of this crazy snow - stay warm and safe.  If you are living somewhere warm and sunny - enjoy it!

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email. 

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.

Free Scrapinar Today (and other free gifts!)

Valentine's Day will be here in just a couple of weeks - have you been making cards?  I love the combination of crisp red and white.  I designed this lacy lattice card and I'll be sharing the SVG file with my subscribers this week.

Since I have been out of the routine of posting daily, I just realized that  I haven't shared the information for the FREE Scrapinar for January.  These sessions are presented by Lain Ehmann of Layout a Day and I try to attend each month to learn something new and interesting.

The topic this month is Using 3-D Stamp Paints on Your Papercrafting Projects.  Bobbi Lemanksi of Raisin Boat will share her techniques and tricks for creating eye-catching dimension on your projects.

This is very short notice (sorry about that!) but you can still register for the session by clicking HERE.  The Scrapinar is at 1 p.m. Eastern time on January 28th - Wednesday - today!  If you can't make this time, there will be a recording available for a short time, however,  you must register in order to receive the email with a link for the recording.

A new kit from SVG Cuts

These amazing Valentine box cards were designed by Mary at SVG Cuts.  They are available as a free gift with a purchase of $9.98 or more from the SVG Cuts store until February 4th.  Just shop for some other items (there are so many great choices!) and then add the Hearts Aflame SVG Kit to your cart.  When you check out type FREEGIFT in the coupon field and the price of the kit will be deducted from your total.  I can't decide which one to make first!  Click HERE to go to the site and start shopping.  (This is an affiliate link - thanks for your support!)

An update on the storm...

We have survived the blizzard and today is supposed to be sunny - let the melting begin!

It took a while but the path to the front door is cleared.

 It is a bit tunnel-like but we are ready for any visitors (or packages) that arrive.

My husband worked hard to get our driveway cleared.  Nothing like shoveling and snow-blowing to give you rosy cheeks!  You can see how high the bank is - our snow sticks to mark the edges of the driveway are nearly buried.

We were so lucky that the power stayed on - it's not too bad to be snowed in when you have heat and all of the comforts of home.

A freebie from me

If you are receiving this blog post by email through the subscription, keep an eye out for an extra email on Friday.  I will be sending everyone on the list the SVG file that I designed for this pretty card.  It can be used for a Valentine or another occasion.  To use this file, you will need the Cricut Explore or another machine and software that will cut SVG files.

If you aren't on the email subscription list and you would like the file, be sure to sign up before Friday.  The subscription form is at the top right of the blog, just below my photo, or you can click HERE to go to a page with the subscription form.

If the card with the pearls is too subtle for you - you could try this red foil and full bling variation!

Finally, I want to wish a very Happy "significant number" Birthday to our daughter-in-law Kelly.  Have a wonderful day!

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.

Snow Day (and an update)

How is your January going?  As you may have guessed by the lack of posts on the blog, ours has been more than usually busy.  Thanks to those of you who have let me know that you are missing my posts and emails.  I want to share some photos of the "epic" blizzard Juno from our house in Concord, MA.  I hope that you are safe and warm and still have power if you are also in the path of this storm.

We actually had quite a bit of snow over the past weekend - about 7 inches - but we managed to get most of that cleared away and the roof raked before "the big one" came to town.  This is the view out our front door around 1 pm on Monday.

The snow started falling lightly around Monday afternoon and by dinner time there was just a light coating.

 For some reason, this one brick in our front walk was rejecting the snow!

There was a good coat of snow at our neighbor's house across the street at 6 p.m. Monday.

Here is the same view today at around 11:30 a.m. - their front steps and most of the wall in front of the house have disappeared!

There was some snow on our back deck on Saturday, but the area under the overhanging roof was totally clear.

Around 6 p.m. Monday, snow was falling lightly and you could still see the bottom of the railings.

In the middle of the night (very early Tuesday a.m.) the snow was piling up.

By mid-day Tuesday, things had changed.  There is too much snow for me to get out on to the deck to take more photos.

The temperature isn't terribly low - but low enough.  This is actually a good thing since it means that the snow is light and fluffy instead of heavy and wet.  However, when the temperatures are colder, the light snow means that there are many more inches of accumulation.

I don't think we'll be doing any grilling tonight!

Our front door sits inside a sheltered entryway.  Usually this gives us a place to stand and look out at the snow but the winds have blown snow in to fill up the steps and the entry.

 Snow is clinging to the door handle.

There are mini snow drifts in the top window of the garage door.

 When I opened the door to the garage I saw a wall of snow and drifts against the house.

The snow is clinging to the door.

The shape of the door is molded into the snow!

These plant pots look like frosted cupcakes.

Our Adirondack chairs in the back yard are almost covered,  The little bit of green behind them is a rhododendron shrub that is nearly buried.  This photo was taken a few hours ago and the shrub is no longer visible!

My mother-in-law shared this photo of their outdoor table.  They are very happy to be living in their condo now and to have someone else responsible for clearing the walks and driveway!  After 35 years in the same house it was a big change, but a good one.

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging (I have made lots of things but just haven't had  the time to edit photos and write up directions!) is that we are also in the middle of a relocation.  Most people move away from the snow, but we are headed North.  My husband changed jobs last year and is working in New Hampshire and we have purchased a home that is just a short distance from his office. 

We are getting our Concord house ready to sell and this is a big job!  After almost 15 years here, the task of sorting and choosing what to take and what to give away is massive.  Of course, there is also a lot of "sprucing up" to do.  Isn't it funny how your house always looks best when you are ready to leave it?

I'll be sharing photos and more details about the move as we get things sorted out.  Here is a "sneak peek" at my future craftroom.  I am very excited about planning and organizing this space which was used as a work shop by the prior owners.  There are lots of windows at the far end of the room and even though this is part of the walk out lower level, the ceilings are 9 feet high.  I predict there will be some stacked Expedit/Kallax units from IKEA used here.  I am also very happy to have a sink in my new space - it will be easier to do some of the "messy" projects I have in mind.

Well - it's time to start clearing out.  This is what we saw when we opened the big garage door.

Our neighbors are out with their snowblower - I hope these machines can take on this mass of snow.

If you can't read the measure - there are 26 inches in our driveway (which was clear to the blacktop yesterday). 

And it is still snowing...

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.