Sunday, January 25, 2015

Can you believe it?

January is almost over! It feels like Christmas was 6 months ago instead of just one.

Time seems to be flying by and I seem to be getting nothing done!

Let's start this post out with some great news!

Congratulations to The Ohio State University Buckeyes on winning their eighth (yes that is 8th!) national championship!!!

Go Bucks!!!!!

As a proud alumni I felt the need to add something extra to my work environment (I already have a Brutus cut-out....see it below and a little sock monkey wearing an OSU hoodie).

I created this glass block for my work desk. I love how it turned out.
I frosted the block first with Amour Etch and then added the vinyl.
It is lit with a single C7 bulb. I used one of the cords you use to light those ceramic houses/villages at Christmas. They work great in these blocks. They don't get too hot and they put out just the right amount of light. This picture was taken when I had in a clear bulb, I switched it out for a frosted one when I put the block on my desk. It has a very soft glow with no glare.


And here is the Brutus I made last summer. He was the first SVG I ever created. (I don't like to start small lol) He lives on the bulletin board above my desk and is about 6 or 7 inches tall.


And have you heard the rumor? Valentine's day is almost here!

I made a card for my parents. I don't usually do that but I have a couple things I need to send them and thought What the Heck lol


I used Anna Griffin's Rosa embossing folder to emboss the card base and her Lovely Letterpress stamp set for the text. The roses cut-out was an image from one of my clipart CDs and I used the Print Then Cut feature on the Cricut Explore to print and cut it. I love not having to hand cut these things anymore!

And lastly, SVG Cuts has a new kit! It just came out this week. It is called Hearts Aflame and right now you can get it free with a $9.98 purchase.
It has adorable box cards for Valentine's Day or you can change the colors and use them for any time.

I used the Makeup Bag card to make a birthday card for my niece.

 

It is hard to see all the details and items in the photos but there is lipstick, mascara and a compact that opens and closes and has a mirror in the top.

The Happy Birthday stamp is from CTMH Just to Say set #D1629.


And then you have the sunglasses. I used Crystal Lacquer to make the lenses shiny.

I think it is adorable and I hope she likes it. But you never know. Well, I never know. I only hear from my Mom when she get's a card. No one else in my family ever acknowledges that they received them or liked them. I don't know if it is because they just expect homemade cards or what.

Am I alone? Am I the only one that sometimes thinks.....this is so cute and no one will appreciate it so maybe I should just hang on to this cute card and go buy them a card at the dollar store?

Oh well, I will mail it. lol

Hope you have a great week. Stay warm if it is cold and snowy where you are. Use this snowbound time to create!





Friday, January 09, 2015

Happy New Year!

2014 was a pretty good year for me so 2015 has a lot to live up to. Here's hoping for a great year!

But before we get into what's new, let me share a couple things that I did during the Christmas holidays.

I finally made the Christmas card for hubby (I was literally down to the wire lol)


I stamped this gorgeous cardinal from the CTMH B1403 To You and Yours set. I Colored him with watercolor pencils on a Cricut cut. I then cut a few more layers to go under him.

 
Here is the finished card.  I embossed the yellow layer with one of the folders from Anna Griffin's Joyful Expressions set.

And just a few days before Christmas SVG Cuts released a new kit. It was so adorable that I had to make a couple of the items.


Isn't this just the cutest little gingerbread boy? And he is a box! How cool is that?
He is from the Santa's Sweets kit AND the kit is still free! What an awesome gift from the great people at SVG Cuts! Here is the link so you can get your free kit before they switch it back to $6.99.


This is the Candy Cane house from the same kit. I didn't want to use it for candy canes so I removed the holes in the roof and cut a hole in the back to insert a tea light. It made an adorable decoration on the coffee table over the holidays.



And lastly, digi-playground has been having a sale (psst it is still going on) and I picked up this adorable barrel purse file. I reduced the file size so that I could cut it on a 12x12 mat and the purse is still about 4x7 and that is not including the handles. I have real purses that I carry that are this size lol  When I find some 12x24 paper I will make the full size purse....and possibly carry it around!

And now we can move into 2015!

I have been having crafting withdrawals since Christmas. Today was the first day since Dec 24 that I have been able to make anything. It was really starting to drive me nuts!

I wanted to make a couple Valentines. And then I got this idea. I think it was a good one but I tend to not always be in step with the rest of the world lol

I have a collection of vintage Valentines. Ones from the 50s and 60s. You know, the ones with the adorable graphics and corny sayings we got back in school....not the lame cartoon character and super hero ones of today that seem more like advertisements than sentiments.

Anyway, I got the idea to take those cards and try to recreate them in a more modern format. They make a great jump start for my brain lol

Here is the original...
And here is my remake...

The bee and hive are from Create a Critter. The honeycomb embossing folder is from CTMH.

Here is another original...

And my take on it...

The dancers, records and player are all from Nifty Fifties.

I may do a few more of these. I had a blast searching for images and playing around.

I have one more card to share today. I was on pinterest last night and saw a card. The original artist created it using the Stampin Up! owl punch...or so she said. I haven't bought any punches in decades and none of them are bigger than maybe an inch. You remember them, tiny leaves, flowers, hearts. They basically make confetti lol

Anyway, I ramble lol  I thought the card was adorable so into Cricut design space I went and found lots of owl cuts.


The pink owl is from Create a Critter 2. The blue one hails from Hoot n Holler. His branch is from Create a Critter. I embossed the front with Darice's woodgrain folder. The sentiment inside says " 'Owl' always love you"

So now that we have gotten the new year under way let's hope it continues with lots of crafting and lots of blessings!