Happy Birthday, Teresa

Today my older sister, Teresa, turns 60. It's a bittersweet day because she has been in a vegetative state for 17 years, but as long as she's alive I won't stop asking God for a miracle. And if that isn't His plan, I pray He will give her comfort as long as she's here.

Teresa has loved giraffes since she was a teen, so I try to use them in her cards as much as possible. This giraffe was cut on my Cricut Explore using the cartridge Bits and Pieces, the tree was cut from the Heritage cartridge, and I hand-cut the grass along the bottom.

I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks to create the sunset background (or sunrise, if you prefer). I die cut the sun using my Sizzix Big Shot and a circle die, then backed it with shimmery paper. I used craft foam to create dimension between the sky and sun, but because I used a good bit of liquid glue to attach the front panel to the card base, I inadvertently caused a reaction with the distress oxide inks. (I tried to minimize the damage by adding a little more ink and pretending it was all intentional.)

I wanted to acknowledge Teresa's milestone birthday, but in a subtle way, so I simply stamped "60" in VersaMark ink on the tree trunk and embossed it with clear embossing powder.

As always, I really appreciate that you took a few moments to visit!

Whimsical Lovebird Wedding Card

I combined a few different ideas from Pinterest to create this wedding card.  The birds and heart were cut using my Cricut Explore.  I created the wreath by cutting a large number of branches from a Martha Stewart punch, then gluing them into the shape of a heart.  The white background was embossed using my Sizzix Big Shot and a folder from the Cuttlebug Decorative Tile set. I tied some sheer white ribbon around the bottom before attaching the completed card front to a kraft paper card base.

Thanks for visiting!

Masculine Birthday Card using Cricut Explore Writing Feature

I've been a mess lately.

Raising teenage girls will do that to you. Raising kids for decades without a break will definitely do that to you. But God continues to carry me through from one crazy moment to the next, so here I am to share something I made when I wasn't busy sharing my angry thoughts on the World Wide Web.

I love the Cricut cartridge Chalkboard Fonts, especially the font called Extended because to me it's exactly what I picture when I think of a fancy chalkboard font (and the primary reason I bought this cartridge). However, trying to piece those tiny bits together from cardstock is not my idea of chalkboard font fun.  So for this masculine birthday card, I decided it would be the perfect time to let my Cricut Explore write the sentiment with a pen instead of cutting it.

After the Explore had cut a rectangular card front and written "Happy Birthday!" (yes, just like that all by itself like magic), I punched a design across the bottom with a Martha Stewart border punch. I then added a couple of layers of washi tape above the punched edge and tied black twine around the middle of the card front. I cut a slightly larger rectangle from black Core'dinations cardstock to create a mat, ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot inside an embossing folder, then sanded it to reveal the blue core. Finally, I adhered the card front to the mat and attached the finished front to a black note card.

I'm sure tomorrow will bring a new set of challenges, but for now I'll try to be thankful for the good things God has provided.  (Although He didn't bless me with massive amounts of creativity, He did provide me a little time during my day to pretend I'm creative, and for that I am truly grateful.)

Thanks for visiting!

Mason Jar Tumbler

I had seen so many cute Mason jar ideas that I decided to save my empty Classico spaghetti sauce containers, which just happen to be Mason jars.  We must eat a lot of spaghetti because I have amassed quite the collection.  I wasn't sure what to do with them all.  But then I saw the cutest Mason jar tumbler for sale, complete with a flower cutout in the lid, and an idea popped into my head:  Maybe I could use a steel-rule die to cut a design in the lid of one of my many jars.  Unfortunately, they were all the really large 32 ounce containers from Costco.  Oh well, this was just an experiment.  I can always save the finished product for those really bad days when I need a Cougartown-size glass of wine.  (Yes, Doctor, I allow myself the recommended one glass of wine per day for health benefits.)

Looking at the depth of the lid (these aren't the two-piece lids that come with empty canning jars), I decided the Movers & Shapers dies from Sizzix would probably work best. The only one I had that might possibly work for my project was a small keyhole die. It was almost the same depth as my lid, which was about the depth of an original Sizzix die, so I knew I could safely feed it through my Sizzix Big Shot.

Once I had the Movers & Shapers die in place inside the lid, I realized it wasn't as tall as the sides of the lid, which meant it wouldn't make contact with the die cut machine.  I knew I needed some rather thick shims, so I reached for another Sizzix die to cut a few circles from heavyweight chipboard.

 

One pass through my Sizzix Big Shot provided enough circles to create the height I needed.

 

I placed the lid and keyhole die between two cutting plates and ran them through the Big Shot.  It cut through the lid pretty well with just a small piece that didn't cut completely.  I used gentle force to separate the stubborn areas.

 

Now for a word of caution about using the die in this manner.  The steel-rule shape in my die pushed through the wooden die base slightly, either because the total thickness of my shims created too much pressure (looking at the picture above, I think I got carried away with the circles) or because I needed to use a more solid shim to provide a sturdy base for the die (or both).  My die still works fine, though. 

  

 

The cut edges of my lid were a little rough, so I used a file to gently smooth them.

Since my lid was gold, I decided to use Martha Stewart Craft paint in gold to cover the lettering.  Nobody really wants to know they're drinking from a spaghetti sauce jar.

A few coats of paint later, my jar was ready to serve as a very large tumbler.  I make no claims as to how well this will hold up to repeated uses (or the dishwasher), but it was fun to experiment. 

I think these would be cute to make for an outdoor summer party.  The lids would help keep those pesky bugs out of the lemonade and iced tea.  I would suggest using a smaller jar, preferably one that can be safely gripped with only one hand.

Sadly, the Classico Spaghetti Sauce at Costco is now sold in a slightly different style jar.  Time to move on to a new obsession.

Birthday Card for a Young Man

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My nephew was turning 18 and I couldn't come up with any ideas for his birthday card.  I knew I wanted to emphasize this milestone birthday, which eventually led me to the numbers theme.

 

Using Cricut Craft Room (CCR) and the free cuts available in Cricut Craft Room Basics, I welded numbers from 1 to 17 in different sizes and orientations to fit on a 5x7 card front.  It was a little tricky because after welding quite a few numbers together the program started to act a little unpredictable.  I think I saved my project and exited the program a time or two in order to get it to work correctly.   Also, to help me size my number shape to fit the card, I added a 5x7 rectangular shape from CCR Basics on a separate layer prior to beginning my number shape so that I would have a visual aid to help me plan my design.

 

After I was pleased with my number design (or when I began to fear that CCR would lose all functionality if I kept tweaking the numbers), I cut just the layer that held the number shape.  I wasn't satisfied with the color of the cardstock I had chosen so I used a brayer to roll ink onto a Darice embossing folder called Dot and ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot.  I cut the number 18 from the Cricut Cartridge Calligraphy Collection.

 

To assemble the card I glued the number shape onto a patterned cardstock rectangle from the DCWV Timeless Type stack, which I cut at 4 3/4 x 6 3/4.  I then wrapped hemp cord around the middle of the rectangle a few times and knotted it on the left side of the card front.  I adhered the number 18 to the right side using foam dots, then glued the card front to a 5x7 kraft paper card base. 

 

Thanks for visiting!



Giraffe Wobble Card

 

 I'm running out of giraffe designs to use on Teresa's cards.  I found this one on the Cricut cartridge Life's a Party.  It's one of those cuts you might never notice.  You can find it on the card/shift creative feature from the Mother-to-Be hat, which is on page 59 of my handbook.  The handbook shows it as what I would call a "negative space design", in which you would actually discard the giraffe cuts and use the window shape that remains.  Instead I used Cricut Craft Room to hide the rectangular border (a step you could skip if you don't use a computer design program with your Cricut machine) so that only the giraffe pieces were cut.

 

Because the giraffe shape didn't have layering pieces, I decided to ink an embossing folder (from the Cuttlebug set Animal Print) and run the head and body through my Sizzix Big Shot for added color and dimension.   Admittedly this print probably belongs on a cheetah, but sometimes you have to work with what you have.  I'll obsess over acquiring a giraffe embossing folder later.

 

Since the head and body are two separate pieces, I thought it would be fun to put the head on a wobble spring (you can almost see the motion in the second photo).   I found a tutorial to make my own on Linda Kaiser's blog, The Paper Boutique (thanks, Linda!).   To complete the card I stamped "Happy Birthday" on a balloon shape, added some cording, and tied the balloon to the giraffe's tail.  A little ribbon along the bottom "tied" it all together.