Glass Etching - Candle Bowl

I made this candle bowl for my grandmother Mamie for Christmas. (Yes, I know there are ribbon spools in the bowl.) Than bowl would not photograph well with the candle in it, so I added the colorful ribbon. This was the first etching I had done since high school, too many years ago to worry about. But it was fun & I will be making several more to Christmas gifts.

Details:
The scallop square is cut from the Mini Monograms Cart.
The M is from the Plantin Schoolbook Cart.
I used clear contact paper to cut the design out of & layered it onto the glass.
Armour Etch. I left it on for a good 30-45 min with great results. I knew I had to leave it on longer that recommended, so I really didn't time it. I put it on 7 started working on some other stuff then just checked it a while later. I scraped off as much as I could & put it back into the bottle. Then I rinsed it off thoroughly before removing the contact paper. Wash well & dry.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

4 Giftbags - Whitney & Courtney

My mom & dad's neighbor asked me to make 2 gift bags for each of his daughters. All he wanted was for them to have a Christmas theme and to have their names on them.
These first 2 were made using Okieladybug's idea. You can check out her video HERE.
Details:
A regular brown paper lunch bag
Plantin Schoolbook Cart for the letters
Paper Doll Dress Up Cart for the reindeer
Cuttlebug & the Divine Swirls Embossing Folder
Misc. Ribbon
2" square punch & 21/2" scallop square punch to make the handles


For these next 2, I used an idea that I found on the Cricut MB from TammaraCarr. You can see her project HERE. thank You Tammara for this wonderful idea. Here is my take on your idea.
Details:
A regular brown paper lunch bag (You have to cut some off the top of the bag so that it does not show over the DC bag cut.)
Doodlecharms Cart for the giftbag and layer (When you cut one for the backside - flip the image so that they match up evenly.)
Opposites Attract Cart for the names
Mini Monograms Cart for the circle & scallop circle
Studio G $1 Stamps colored in with markers
Misc. ribbon (I made the bows using my Cricut Cut Bow Easy.)
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

SCAL - Sure Cuts A Lot

Sure Cuts A Lot is a program that allows you to cut True Type Fonts and various shapes using your Cricut.
Click SCAL to find out more.
Well, I finally got SCAL. My dad bought it for me this weekend. He was asking how hard it would be to do something & if my Cricut could cut it. Well, I told him that i didn't have a cart with the image that he wanted with so much detail. I also explained to him about SCAL & that I would be able to cut anything that I could find on the internet as long as I could copy & paste it. So he told me to get it.
Now I have a ton of tutorials to read & watch. Because I have no idea what I am doing. I have figured out a little bit just playing around. But when it comes to importing, converting the files, & cleaning them up I'm hopeless. And don't even get me started with inkscape. I haven't been able to figure anything out with that.
Anyone reading this, if you have tips or links to tutorials please send me the link.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Happy Thanksgiving

I just want to take a little time to thank all of my followers. I just hope that I can inspire someone with my work as so many of you have done for me. Thank you to those that leave comments. Your comments really stoke the fires of creativity and make me want to share more.
Thank You & may you all have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

*News* Cricut A to Z DVD

Well, the 1st edition of the Cricut A to Z DVD from Above Rubies Studio is sold out. Megan is expecting the 2nd edition in by the 1st week of December. The only thing is that she cannot guarantee that it will get to you by Christmas. But, she is having a sale on Black Friday 2009 for the DVD from 8am to 5pm EST. And if you order within that time frame you will receive FREE SHIPPING to ANYWHERE!!!!!!
See her blog post HERE & enter to win the last DVD she is giving away before Christmas.
You can click HERE to find all about the DVD, if you don't already know
Oh, and did I say this before.......? ONE OF MY PROJECTS IS FEATURED ON THE DVD - YAY!!!!!
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

My First Mini Lunch Kit (Still Unfinished)

This lunch kit is still unfinished, but I wanted to show it just basically covered. I want to Thank Okieladybug for sharing her .cut files and video for this project HERE.

Like I said, this was my first one - so improvements are needed. But all in all, I think it came out well. I did cut out the holes for the handle & will probably wrap it with ribbon scraps. Okie's .cut files made it so much easier though. Thank You So Much!!!
I will post again when I get it all decorated. I still have to figure out what will fill it & who will get it.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Cricut Cut Bow Easy

Here is the Bow Easy that I cut with my Cricut. Narelle (GirlFromOz) from the Cricut MB was kind enough to share her .cut file HERE. It is post 8 of that thread. In that post she also has a link to the Bow Easy directions. Thank You So Much Narelle!!!

For those of you that don't know what a Bow Easy is: It is a tool to assist in making the perfect bow. You can make many different size bows & even make multi-loop bows. There are many videos on YouTube showing how to use it.

How I made mine: I used cardboard from the back of a paper stack. Using Narelle's .cut file, I cut it out twice. I glued the 2 pieces together with Mod Podge to give it a little more sturdiness (not sure if this is necessary or not.) Then just for me I painted it pink and gave it a coat of Mod Podge. I did make a bow to test it & it came out great, but I don't have a pic of it.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Completed Christmas Party Favors

These are the Christmas Party Favors all packaged up for my daughter's school party. You can see the details on all of the individual pieces here: Part 1 Wrapped Candy, Part 2 Santa Peppermint Patties, Part 3 Nugget Presents, Part 4 Kit Kat Wrapper, and Part 5 Ornaments.

This is what I consider the front side: Showing the Kit Kat Wrapper & the Wrapped Candy along with the tag (not showing to well.

For the tag I used Stretch Your Imagination for the snowman and the circle tags (I think). I made a shadow and regular cut of the circle tag. I used CDS to cut the snowman our of the green layer. I them used Pop Dots to adhere the positive snowman over the negative cut out. My daughter signed the back of the tags.

This is a pic of the backside: Showing the Ornament, Santa Suit Patties, and the Nugget Presents.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.

Lori

The Gypsy Spot

Well most of you are familiar with The Cuttlebug Spot. If not click on it's name to check them out. But now, it has a new sister challenge blog. It is The Gypsy Spot. It is going to be a challenge blog for Gypsy owners / users. They are trying to get the word out about their new site. Custom Crops has been very generous in donating a Gypsy for them to give away. So go check out The Gypsy Spot to see how you can have a chace to win a Gypsy. Contest ends Dec. 1, 2009. I really want a Gypsy!!!!!
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Party Favors - Part 5: Ornaments

Ok so this is the 5th element of my daughter's party favors.

Details:
Joys of the Season cart for the ornament.
Mini Monograms for the scallop circle.
Opposites Attract & CDS for the 2009.
Mod Podge
Diamond Dust - *See note at end of post!
Ink pads
Adhesive you choice.
For each ornament & cut it & the hanger piece out twice. Once regular & the other flipped. I adhered the 2 wrong sides together.
I inked around all edges & adhered the scallop circle to the front side of the ornament. I adhered the 2009 the the reverse side of the ornament.

Santa:
He was on some printed cardstock. I cut him out with my Tim Holtz scissors. I have to tell you, I Love These Scissors!!!!!!
Just on the white parts of Santa - I painted on some Mod Podge on then covered with the Diamond Dust. Then just on the Pom Pom & Santa's beard I added another layer of Mod Podge & Diamond Dust. Let dry. You can tell when it is getting dry b/c it turns more clear than white.

Now after all of that is dry:
I did this b/c I was giving this to kids & the experience I had with the Diamond Dust. I painted a coat of GLOSSY Mod Podge over the entire Santa, coating the Diamond Dust very well.
Reverse Side:
*Note: Just clean up this very well before moving about you house. I stepped on a piece of it & it was like having a little shard of glass in my foot. It came out easily, but very hard to see. Also didn't feel too good - LOL. This is the reason for adding a top coat of Mod Podge to keep any little pieces from falling off. And it gave a hard coat finish.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Party Favors - Part 4: Kit Kat Wrapper

I have seen so many different Kit Kat Wrappers on so many blogs & boards. Too many to give any one person credit. So let's just say that if you have ever made these & posted them somewhere - you can take some of the credit for this idea. Thank You!
Details:
Fits 2 mini Kit Kats
Doodlecharms Cart for the tree
Cuttlebug w/ Divine Swirls Embossing Folder
Snow-Tex
Opalescent Clear Glitter Glue
Terrifically Tacky Tape

Printed cardstock is cut at 5 1/8" x 3 1/2". It is scored at 1 1/8 and 1 7/8 from each end.
After cutting & adhering the tree layer to the base, I ran it through my Cuttlebug. I them stippled some Snow-Tex around the embossed areas of the tree (not being too careful, I didn't want to cover the entire tree top but I did want some texture & coverage). After that dried, I went of the edges & embossed areas of the tree top with the glitter glue. When that was dry I adhered the trees to the wrapper.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Party Favors - Part 3: Nugget Presents

OK so this is the 3rd part of the favor pack for my daughter's party.

The printed cardstock is cut at 1" x 3" and wrapped around each nugget. I then stacked 2 nuggets together attached with a glue dot. (This made it so much easier to tie the ribbon around them.) Wrapped with ribbon, tied a knot of top & trimmed ribbon.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Party Favors - Part 2: Santa Peppermint Patties

I originally wanted to do the cute little scallop circle Peppermint Patty Sandwiches that I have seen on the blogs & boards everywhere. But when I opened my pack of Peppermint Patties that were not just wrapped in the regular foil wrapping. They were in a plastic foil baggie making it more a rectangle shape. So this is what I came up with. Another take on the Santa Suit candy cover.

Details:
George & Basic Shapes Cart
CDS
Fiskars Paper Trimmer w/ Scallop Blade
Cuttlebug w/ Divine Swirls Embossing Folder
Adhesive of choice

Standing on its side to show the sandwich.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Party Favors - Part 1: Wrapped Candy

This is the first part of the favors for my daughter's school Christmas Party.
Details:
TP Rolls cut in half to make the holders.
Wrapping Paper
Curling Ribbon
Heat Gun
UTEE mixed with (red) glitter
(?) Cart for the candy canes. For the life of me I can't remember which cart these came from.
CDS - used to hide the other piece of candy from the cuts.
Buttons & Ribbon
Adhesive of choice

Wrap the TP Rolls with the wrapping paper. Tie off one end with the curling ribbon. Fill with candy, toy, or whatever will fit & tie up the other end with curling ribbon. I put in 3 small individually wrapped candy canes. Curl the ribbon.

To decorate:
On the solid parts of the red candy cane pieces I used a Versamarker, covered with UTEE & glitter mixture & set with the heat gun. Repeat until you have the coverage you like (it took me about 3 times for solid coverage).

TIP: Zig 2-way glue works well too for the 1st application of the UTEE & Glitter. Then after heating - not long, go over that with the Versamarker & UTEE combo. one more time. I found that on the 1st application with the Zig glue - more of the UTEE & glitter was adhered.

Thread the button with ribbon & tie into a knot. Trim ribbon & adhere to candy canes. Then adhere the candy canes to the wrapped candy.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

I made these napkin rings for my daughter's Thanksgiving Feast at school. I got the idea from Brigit on the Cricut MB. HERE is the link to her turkey. Mine is made differently - but the idea is the same.

This 1st pic is showing the napkin ring standing up. (the colors are better in the 2nd pic. The orange feathers are not really so orange (more like a burnt orangey brown).

Details: (It seems like a lot - but was really easy.)

TP Roll cut in half for the ring.

Cardstock 4 x 5 3/4 (I think) to cover the TP Roll

Slit the edges & adhere to the inside of the TP Toll. They are long enough to pretty much cover the inside of the roll too. It gives it a more finished look.

Printed Paper 1 3/4 x 5 7/8 to wrap around the holder. (Optional)

Stretch Your Imagination Cart - Leaves (Feathers) (shift & black out) cut at 2" (about 13 per turkey)

Cut 1/2 of what you need flipped

Animal Kingdom Cart - Turkey orange (so the feet would show)

I cut off the feathers from this turkey. I also cut all of the layers in the appropriate colors & layers them.

Googly Eyes

I inked around the turkey body (also added shading between the body & wings) and all of the feathers with brown Color Box Pigment Ink.

I adhered the feathers to the back of the turkey in a pleasing pattern. They are all a little different. I made 14 of them.

In this pic they are laying down. I had to place 2 of them together b/c they rolled the the side.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

DVD News and Another Giveaway!!

DVD News:
The Ad is out for the Cricut A to Z DVD from Above Rubies Studio so go get your pre-order in. Also, she named ME as a Guest Star, OMG this is too much!! Not only that - Just look who I am in the company of:

The Christmas Wit The Cricut Girls - Joy, Melanie, & Tammy

Tracy - Craft Junkie Too

...and more to come!

Another Giveaway:

Megan with Above Rubies Studio is at it again. She has another giveaway thanks to Angie Liddiard. Angie sent Megan a Scentsy Decorate It Yourself Scent Warmer. Go check it out to have a change to win one.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Gift Bag - Paper Lunch Bags

Thanks to Okieladybug for this great idea. She has been making these gift bags for a little while now & I have been admiring them. Then she went & got picked to be a guest designer for Christmas With The Cricut and made a video on how to do them.

I had used the paper lunch bags before for favor bags, see HERE, but nothing like this.

The only problem I had was that I had to go buy some punches. I really don't get punches b/c of my Cricut. However, I wanted to make the handle. *Note* This project can be done just as nicely w/o making a handle, but I had to blame Okie for me having to buy them. *LOL*

Details:
Paper Lunch Bag
Misc. Papers & Ribbon
Marvy Uchida 2 1/2" Square Scallop Punch
Marchy Uchida 2" Square Punch
Studio G December Stamp Set
Glitter Gel Pen
Cuttlebug w/ Fiskars Texture Plate
Color Box Pigment Ink

After decorating both sides of the bag, I punched a 2" square hole at the center top of the bag (all the way through. Then with the light blue paper I did the same twice. I then used the 2 1/2" scallop square punch, centering it around the 2" hole in the blue paper (twice). This gave me the scallop square frame. I adhered one to each side of the bag.

For the tag I just used one of the blue squares & stamped it w/ the Studio G stamp. I layered it onto a red 2 1/2" scallop square. I then used a dark red glitter gel pen to put dots around the scallop edge (hard to see). I also used it for the faux stitching on the blue layer, around the edge of the hat, & on the eyes, nose, & buttons (again hard to see in the pic). But it added so much to the tag in person.

Okie, I hope I did your project justice.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

WOW, I AM SO HONORED!!!!!!

I entered a project to be featured on the Cricut Instructional DVD that Above Rubies Studio is making. Megan contacted me today to say that she just loves my project & that it will definitely be featured on the DVD. Click on either link above in this post to see how your projects can be featured too. But hurry, the contest ends on November 25, 2009.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Ornaments

I made 10 of these ornaments for Christmas presents this year. I can see myself making many more in different designs. I had so much fun with these, I just want to keep going.

For the base I used wooden blocks that rubber stamps had been unmounted from. Thanks Kelly Scott from the Cricut MB for all of the blocks that yo did not want. Anyone else that wants to get rid of any of them, please let me know!!

I painted the blocks with acrylic paint. I screwed in the eye screws to the top of the block.
The front & back panels were cut from the Stretch Your Imagination Cart. I inked the light blue paper with white pigment ink to soften it a bit.
The snowmen were cut from the Doodle Charms Cart in blackout. I gave the snowmen a little dimension by edging them with light blue and white chalk. I attached the carrot noses. Using a Versamark pad, UTEE, and my heat gun I embossed the snowmen. This gave them a glass-like appearance. I then bent them to make them look like cracked ice. After all of this was set, I used black Liquid Embossing to dot on the eyes and buttons. The Liquid Embossing is shiny and raised giving even more dimension. I attached a ribbon "scarf" around each of the snowmen's necks. Thanks Tracy (Craft Junkie Too) for that idea.
I lightly painted Mod Podge onto the face of the block and the back of the blue panel & attached. When all of them were set, I added another light coat of Mod Podge and to the back of the snowmen and attached.

The 2009 is cut from the Alphalicious Cart. I used CDS to weld the numbers together. I attached the 2009 to the panel. Then used the same process as above to attach the panels to the blocks.

I then just tied a ribbon bow the the top of the block around the eye screw. I added a little drop of Glossy dimensions under the knot of the bow to make sure it stayed in place. (I am not the best decorative bow tying person .- LOL)

Here is a closer up view of the snowmen to show the crackled ice look. Not sure if it is showing up to good though.

And this is a close up of the back side. After the last layer of Mod Podge dried, I added some dots on the 2009 with a blue glitter pen. Again not sure if this is showing up to good in the pic.

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Blog Candy from Crafty Chatter

Crafty Chatter is giving away a Surprise Blog Candy. It will have be at least $100 in value, but you just don't know exactly what you will get. They do give hints as to what will be in the box, but you don't know colors or quantity of the items.

The blog candy will end when they reach 100 followers or November 22nd, whichever comes first. So go over & enter the contest.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Fleur-di-lis Pins/Necklaces

Well, we live in the New Orleans area. So right now, everyone is having Black & Gold Fever. Go Saints 7-0!!!!! My daughter's school was having a Black & Gold Day yesterday before the Saints vs. Falcons game. Her teacher is a huge Saints fan & already gives not HW on Monday if the Saints win. So this week it is Tuesday, Woo Hoo!!

But anyway, I made these pins for my daughter's class & her teacher. Not sure if the boys (3rd grade) would wear the pins, I added yard so they would have a choice to wear them around their neck.

I sized the fleur-di-lis from the Wild Card Cricut Cart. in CDS. The larger one was 4x4 and the smaller one was 3x3. They are cut out of Shrinky Dink shrink plastic. I cut them using my Cricut w/ the deep cut blade set on 6 & on multi cut 4 (twice) and I still had to finish cutting them out with an exacto knife.

After they were cut out, I placed them in the oven to shrink (follow package instructions). I used acrylic paint to color them. The gold paint that I got was metallic & actually looked better on the wrong side of the piece, so that's how I put them together. I used E-6000 glue (recommended) to adhere the fleur-di-lis together and to attach the pin to the back.

The teacher & all of the kids really loved them.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Christmas Rectangular Album

Again the inspiration for this album came from Angie's video for her Rectangular Coaster Album. Instead of using coasters I used 140 lb. watercolor paper & cut everything on my Cricut.

Front:

Front Inside (4 sides):

Back Inside (2 sides): Oops - I forgot some of my doodling on the sides of these pages. I will have to fix that later.

Back:

Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Paper Flowers

Update: After I posted this, I noticed that they have a New Video for Donna's Layered Flowers. I could not go without adding it to this post. It is wonderful and Donna is so excited about them.

I just love these flowers. The inspiration came from This Video from Leah's Scrapbook Room Videos. I call them Donna's Flowers. I just love her style. She makes hers from old dictionary pages and the Accucut Die System. I used an old phone book and cut a 6 inch scallop circle with my Cricut, then just basically followed her instruction. I don't have glimmer mist or anything like that. So I just ran a pigment ink pad over my crumpled flower until it looked the way I wanted it to. Then I just lightly spritzed it with water to make it a little more pliable.
This is a single layer flower with an embellishment (adhesive backed) from a pack that I found at the Dollar Tree.

I sprayed them with Krylon Preserve It, just to help them keep. I also brushed them with some Mod Podge. This gave them a little shine & gave them a little more stability.


The next one is a double layered flower with a button in the center. I used it to embellish a sticky note holder that I made (see previous post).
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Sticky Note Holders

I made Sticky Note Holders in several different styles. The inspiration for all of theses came from Angie & her Chic'n Scratch Live Videos.

These first 2 holders are an adaptation from the Pocket Card. I just didn't put pockets on the inside, I added sticky notes. The cardstock measurements & score line measurements are just altered to fit the sticky noted.
1st one:
Mini Monograms Cart for scallops & circle
MS Doily Border Punch
Studio G December Stamp Set
Velcro for closure
ATG

2nd one:
Mini Monograms Cart for circle & scallop
Ribbon for decoration & closure
CAD to punch holes for ribbon
Stamp- ?
ATG & Pop Dots

I got the inspiration for this one from This Video of Angie's.
Crimper Book Style:
Fiskar's Crimper
Ribbon
ATG
Mini Monograms Cart for circle & scallop
Glossy Accents
Prima flower
Making Memories Bronze Snap
CAD to attach snap

I think this one is my most favorite of all. The inspiration for this one came from This Video of Angie's.
Coaster & Binder Clip Style:
4x4 140 lb. Watercolor Paper (chipboard or coaster work well too)
4x4 Patterned cardstock for both sides.
A small piece of matching cardstock to fit on the binder clip
Ribbon
Mod Podge to cover each side after printed cardstock is attached. I also put some on the edges. I think it helps to seal it a little better.
ATG

The back side. This sticky note holder can be used either way depending on the user's mood. Also the sticky notes are not stuck down, so no damage when they are finished. Just add a new pad of sticky notes.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori

Paper Bows

I made these paper bows using Tammy's Video Tutorial on the Christmas With The Cricut Blog. At the end of the tutorial for the Explosion Box there is a video on how to make these bows. Thanks so much Tammy. These were so much fun & easy to make.

This was my first bow. I made this just out of cheap plain cardstock (not knowing if this would be a successful attempt). I was very pleased with how it turned out so I added some dots of clear opalescence glitter glue to the bow.

This was the 2nd bow. I made this with some double sided Christmas cardstock. I wanted to try something a little different with this one though (narrower strips). I think I like the original one better, but the narrower strips might work better if you make a smaller bow (shorter strips).

Overall I am happy with them & will definitely be making many more for all occasions.
Thanks for looking. Questions & comments are always welcomed.
Lori