Side Step Card Butterfly Kisses

I have finally completed my first Stair Step Card File!  I designed this file using Plantin Schoolbook.  It is complete with scoremarks.  This file is compatible with the Baby Bug, Create and Expression.  It also is DS friendly because it is one page.  I have created a second file that works with my Stair Step Card.  It is for the matting.  I used the same file to make both my mats, the fuchsia and the black.  I just grouped them and sized them up and down as needed.  The matting has been designed to be flexible. The folding for this card is as follows:
ON THE RIGHT: Mountain, Valley, Mountain, Valley, Mountain
ON THE LEFT: It only has one Mountain fold in the middle
I used Straight From The Nest to decorate and embellish this card.  I am simply in love with this cartridge.  All the images on the mats have been cut from silver Contact Paper that was tinted using Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks.  I used Wild Plum, Shell Pink, Butterscoth, and Gold.  My settings for cutting the Contact Paper were:

Blade 3 

Pressure 3 

Speed I have no control over when cutting with the Gypsy

I also used my Asian Cuttlebug Folder for the embossing on all the Coredinations fucshia paper.  I then took white chalk ink and inked my edges very slightly.  My final embellishment was a strip of velvet ribbon on the bottom.

 I hope you enjoy the files.  Remember to download both! 

Thanks again for commenting and even better for Following!

Side Step Card Scored

Side Step Card Matting

Cricut.com Nursery Rhyme Challenge: Gypsy Jumped Over the Moon

This was my entry for the Gypsy Challenge on Cricut.com.  Each week we post a theme and a new technique to try and we were working on stretching and flattening.  Feel free to join in the fun in Gypsy Forum each week.  This week's theme was Nursery Rhyme based  I decided to try another Layout.  I am not sure about other people, but layouts like this take me forever.  Thank goodness for my Gypsy.  I cannot even imagine trying to cut piece this many items to fit together. This layout does have a lot of inking.  Of course I used a ton of Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I also explored to two new techniques in this layout.  One was Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) and the other was my new Martha Stewart Fringing Scissors.

Cartridge and Embellishment List

Disney Pooh and Friends

• Sun-Inked with Wild Honey
• Wooden Frames-Cut from Core-dinations Paper and embossed with Cuttlebug Folder Wooden Sticks
• Grass Clumps- Inked with Peeled Paint

 Disney Pooh Font

• "Old Mc Donald" Title- Cut from Cored-dinations Paper and embossed with Cuttlebug Folder Wooden Sticks

My World

•  Tractor-UTEE 3 layers
• Fence - UTEE 2 layers

Paper Doll Dress Up

• Horse- Inked with Frayed Burlap and Brushed Corduory and detailed with Black Micron 005
• Sheep- Inked with Antique Linen and detailed with Black Micron 005

Everyday Paper Dolls

• Pigs- Inked with Tatettred Rose and detailed with Black Micron 005
• Tree- Inked with Peeled Paint and Crushed Olive, then Glimmer Mist Lily Pad for the top and Walnut Stain for the trunk.
• Clouds- Inked with Antique Linen
• Barn-Inked with Fired Brick on red and inked with Antique Linen on white.  UTEE all of the white.

Just Because Cards

•  Chickens- Inked with Mustard Seed and detailed with Orange Bic Mark-it Ultra Fine

In this picture:

 You can see the details from the Core-dinations Paper.  I love the dimension when it is embossed and sanded.
In this picture:

You cans ee how beautiful the Antique Linen is for inking those white die cuts.  This always a challenge for me when it comes to light colored images, but this ink is just perfect!
In this picture:

 I love my new Martha Stewart Fringing Scissors.  If you look in the background, the olive tinged paper has been cut with the Fringing Scissors and then Inked with Forest Moss and Crushed Olive.  These Fringing Scissors are going to be so much fun for flowers and trim.  They look like 6 pairs of scissors bolted together.  So much more convenient than hand fringing!
In this picture:

This is a close up of the barn.  I cut the barn out in in red and white.  The white parts have had UTEE applied  in 2 layers.  I had never worked with UTEE before, but boy is it cool!  I usually use Glossy Accents, but with UTEE there is no drying time,plus you can get some really cool effects by layers.  I noticed as I applied one layer it look bumpy like rain drops.  But as I added the layers of embossing ink and then UTEE it became super smooth like glass.
In this picture:

I also applied UTEE on the fence and tractor.  It just adds so  much dimension.  So if you have a Michael's coupon and cannot find something to buy, get yourself some UTEE.  It is sold with the stamping supplies.  Be sure you also pick up an embossing pad too!

Below is the Gypsy file.  Now this file may not make a whole lot of sense, but basically the images are grouped by paper color.  It is not DS friendly, sorry.  I has 5 pages full of all the images and unfortunately ProvoCraft has fixed the dumping issue.

Old McDonald Layout Gypsy File

ADDED a "DS Friendly" version
Because of issues importing Gypsy files, Design Studio will dump into one page any multipage Gypsy file. So Below I have added DS friendly Pages.  You will need to download all 5 pages to complete the layout.  The Pages and Images are grouped by colors.
Page 1 Farm Layout 
Page 2 Farm Layout 
Page 3 Farm Layout 
Page 4 Farm Layout 
Page 5 Farm Layout 

It's Finally Done! Easel Card File "Thanks A Melon"

Yes! I have finally completed an Easel Card file with my Gypsy.  Before I begin the tutorial, I just want to thank all my followers.  I crossed 100 this week and to me that is huge.  So to all who have been so supportive, THANKS A MELON!!!! 

Back to business!  I used Plantin Schoolbook for this file.  Originally this was designed for the Expression.  But I took an extra couple of days and made some adjustments.  This file is simply perfect! It will cut on any of the 3 machines : Baby Bug, Create or Expression.  I have also created a Design Studio friendly file.  The file is designed on a 4x8 card to allow flexibility for various users.  I hope that everyone finds this file very useful.  Below you will find the cutting tutorial as well as the embellishment and assembly.  For the files, there are 3 of them.  Please choose the one that is appropriate for your needs.  Thanks in advance for commenting and even better for following!  It keeps me motivated and happy!

Cutting

 After loading the file, start on page one. This page will cut the card itself.  

When cutting is complete, choose "Return to Design".  

Choose page 2.  Then cut.  Your scoremarks will now cut.

(This option is for Gypsy users.  DS users will have the card and scoremarks all cut at one on one page.  This is not by my choice.  There is a bug in the transfer of a Gypsy file to Cut file.  Everything will dump into one page)

Unload your mat.  Now you will need to cut the matting.  Choose page 3.
Click on the picture for an enlargement.

I wanted to have a patterned piece of paper to mount on my card face so I made a copy of the card face and pulled it to the top of the mat.

If you choose to cut an additional piece you will have 4 pieces of paper total.  If choose to cut the file as is, you will have 3 pieces of paper.

Assembly and Embellishment

Start with the card base.  Fold each of the two score lines with valley folds.  Flatten with a bone folder or use a score board to make smooth.

Round the corners of the patterned paper.  Using Tim Holtz Distress Ink,  ink all the edges of the cards with Peeled Paint (patterned paper) and Crushed Olive (solid cardstock).

Cut all the necessary embellishments.  I chose to explore my new Cricut Just Because Cartridge.  I used the sentiment "Thanks a Melon" and the watermelon.  I also created a scroll design to use for the base and the face of the card with two Heart Scrolls welded back to back. I also inked all my embellishment  cuts.  Tim Holtz Fired Brick was used for anything red, and Rusty Hinge was used on the scrolls.  To make my watermelon rind sparkle, I ran it through my Xyron upside down and the used Peridot Martha Stewart Ultra Fine Glitter to cover it. 

If you would like the file for the embellishments, CLICK HERE for THANKS A MELON FILE

Attach embellishments to the Face and Base of the card.

Attach the decorated pieces to the folded front and the base.

To make the card face stand up, a small embellishment is needed. I used a flocked brad.  There is a very tiny score mark where to place the embellishment.

I hope you have found this tutorial useful.  Below you will find the files to download.  

Please download the appropriate file for your Cricut. You do not have to download all 3.

Thank you again for commenting and following!

Easel Card File Baby Bug and Create

Easel Card File Expression

Easel Card File Design Studio Users

Weddings With The Cricut Decor-Favor Boxes

This is my project for this week at Weddings With The Cricut. I decided to do a very simple table favor that could easily be mass produced quickly.  I started by cutting the square box from Tags Bags Boxes and More from overhead transparency paper. I bought this at Office Depot, but have also seen them at Staples and Office Max.

I used the Fit to Page option since the transparency paper is 8 1/2 by 11. Once my image was cut, I took Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks in my selected colors.

I chose to use 4 colors plus a mixative.

Using the inking tool, I dabbed the acetate to get a nice layered coverage. Then I took a small amount of Blending Solution to melt the colors together.

 
I then folded the box along the score lines and used low melt hot glue to put the box together, leaving the bottom unglued to allow a LED tea light to be place inside the box.

When the box cuts, there are two slits on the sides.  I used the two slits to feed a small ribbon through and tie a beautiful bow.  

By using wired edged ribbon I could shape my bow to look fuller. To finish the top of the box I used a small flower from a silk floral bush from the craft store.  All I had to do was pull the flower off the step and hot glue to the ribbon.  

These little boxes would be great for an eveing wedding as an alternative to candles.  They could also be used a favor.  This cartridge was recently listed as a discontinued cartridge.  If you own a Cricut Expression, make this your next cartridge fast.  It has many uses besides weddings.

3Birds Straight From The Nest Lace Paper Layout

I usually do not do 12x12 layouts.  In fact this is my first one ever.  I could not bring myself to cut the beautiful lace paper that I had cut yesterday.  So I branched out into a new area.  I must say, I was a little intimidated.  There is so much space to fill on a 12x12, but as I continued on I found that I could really begin to appreciate how much my Cricut Expression has changed the way I craft.  I took several pictures to give several different views of this layout.  All the images are from the HSN exclusive from 3Birds Straight From The Nest.  The middle embossing on the scallops is from the Asian Cuttlebug folder Japanese Scales.

I used the embossed scallops on the debossed side.  

All the images and embossing was inked using Tim Holtz Wild Honey Distress Ink.  The turquoise ribbon is a from Michael's bargain ribbon.  I cut a strip 12 inches long and adered it to the layout.  The turquiose flowers were cut form the same ribbon.  I hot glued the cut flowers to the paper and then adhered my tinted rhinestones.  These rhinestones were tinted using Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink in Terra Cotta and Peach Bellini.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and as always, I love followers!

3Birds Straight From The Nest Lace Paper

This is a heavily welded image.  It took my Gypsy about 20-30 min to render and 20 min to cut.

This is the first of two posts for Saturday.  I made this file using the new Cricut cartridge from 3Birds called Straight From The Nest.  This cartridge is truly packed full of goodies.  I am really happy with not only with the overall feel to this cartridge but also the content.  If you have not bought this cartridge yet, you need to go to HSN.com and order it today.  You will not be disappointed.

I will show the new creative home for this file later today. But I wanted to give you the file now so you too can play with your Cricut on Saturday with this fab file!  The settings are the same I used on my other lace papers. Since I cut on Gypsy, I do not have control over speed, but it is equivalent to high.  Blade Depth 6, Pressure med- high depending on your paper.  This was cut on DCWV Flower Shower stack, which has a thicker texture although this is not a textured piece of paper. Stop back by later today for a peek at my layout using this file! 

This is a heavily welded image.  It took my Gypsy about 20-30 min to render and 20 min to cut.

Straight From The Nest Lacepaper

Ashlyn's Alphabet Lacepaper

This is a heavily welded image.  It will take about 20-30 minutes for the Gypsy to render this image for cutting.  The cutting takes another 20 minutes.

Here is a second lacepaper file.  I made this one using the Cricut cartridge, Ashlyn's Alphabet.  I took the same image an welded it over and over until I had a uniform image.  I made this using my Gypsy, but the file will import into DS just fine.  I hope you enjoy it.  Thank you for leaving comments and following!

This is a heavily welded image.  It will take about 20-30 minutes for the Gypsy to render this image for cutting.  The cutting takes another 20 minutes.

Ashlyn's Alphabet Lacepaper

Heritage Lacepaper

This file is heavily welded and will require your Gypsy to work hard.  It took mine upwards of 20 min to render and 10 minutes to cut.

I made several of these lacepaper files this week.  As usual, I am unsure of a creative home yet, but I wanted to share this file with all of you. It was made with the Cricut cartridge Heritage.   It cuts perfectly.  Now I cut with my Gypsy and she likes to cut fast.  Here are my Gypsy settings on K&Co Designer Paper:

Depth 6

Pressure Medium

Speed  My Gypsy cuts a mile a minute! It is probably equivalent to high.

This file will transfer perfectly into DS, so feel free to download the file.
This file is heavily welded and will require your Gypsy to work hard.  It took mine upwards of 20 min to render and 10 minutes to cut.

Heritage Lacepaper File 

Tye Dyed Butterfly Card-"Going in Circles"

This card was inspired by a challenge that myself and my good Cricut.com Message Board friend Shelia (aka SassyLady) are hosting on the weekends.  The challenge was created by our dear friend Pam (TheBugBytes).  The challenge runs Friday through Monday.  Each week we will feature a new theme.  All that is required is a Gypsy creation of your own interpreting that week's theme.  This week's theme is "Going in Circles".
I decided to make a card for my sister.  She is very trendy and loves funky bright colors.  I began by welding two butterfly photo corners from Straight From The Nest together to form a circle.  I also welded the blackouts to both of those photo corners to create the background.  This welding drove me crazy! The original image itself is sort of off shape a little, which resulted in a somewhat wonky circle.  I kept attempting to weld to get it perfectly symmetrical.  After about 1 hour, I decided it was a no go and that I would have to be happy with this shape.

Once the file is cut this card is super easy to assemble and has many possibilities. I first cut the overlay of the butterflies out of transparency paper.  Then I took Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks and began tinting the transparency.  I really love how this turned out!
Next I cut the card base from a light lavender cardstock and set that aside.

Finally I cut the butterflies in various sizes out of glossy white cardstock.

Once again I used the alcohol inks the color the butterflies in.  I used many different techniques, just experimenting. I tried embossing, stamping with texture and distressing over embossing.

The outcome was better than I hoped.  The mixture of techniques really brings this project together.  I then took a glue gun and layered my butterflies together , gently folding them very slightly inward.  I also tinted the rhinestones with the Alcohol Ink. (CLICK HERE FOR RHINESTONE TUTORIAL)
The inside Sentiment is from Sentimentals and cut at about 1.5 inches.  I also dry embossed the shadow with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder.

Click Here to download the Gypsy File:

 Butterfly Circle Card

Weddings With The Cricut Magnetic Save the Dates

Here is a new trendy way to make a Save the Date that is sure to catch your guests eye!  One of the hottest trends for Save the Dates are magnets.  They can be pricey. So here is a cost effective, fun way to let everyone know about the big day.  Plus they are very easy to mass produce with the help of a Gyspy/DS file.

Shopping List:
Blank CD's
Vellum
Vinyl
Cardstock or Thicker Patterned Paper 12x12 (each piece of 12x12 will Cover 2 CD's front and back)
Corner Rounder Punch
Gypsy/Design Studio File for CD Covers (available for download at the bottom of this post) 

Love Struck Cartridge
Painter's Tape
Magnetic Strips

Hot Glue (Low Melt)

Wet Adhesive
Computer with Word Processor

First use a word processor to type your saying.  If you are having trouble with the wording, here are some helpful sites:

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/save-the-dates.aspx?MsdVisit=1
http://www.aminvitations.com/pages/wording-save-the-date.html 

Some couples choose to showcase their wedding style, while others choose to have fun and be casual.
Fill an 8 1/2x11 piece of paper with your sayings and print on Vellum.
Let the Vellum dry and cut to fit your CD's.  I used a corner rounder to finish the edges.

Next cut your Gypsy/DS file that you downloaded. (You can download this file at the bottom of this post)

This file has four circles which will cover the front and back of 2 CDs.  The file was made with Planitin Schoolbook and designed on a 12x12 piece of paper.

Then cut your Vinyl.  For a cost effective metallic vinyl, buy Contact Paper on a roll from Lowe's or Home Depot.  They sell many styles of metallic vinyl.  Using the vinyl, the images can be more intricate.  Love Struck was used to create the scrolled heart. I used my "dental pick" tool from my Cricut tool kit to remove all the tiny pieces.

Transferring the Vinyl

Take small strips of painters tape and cover your image, pressing firmly. Once the vinyl image is covered,

gently lift the painter's tape off .

Then place the image on your CD cover smoothing the vinyl down.  Gently pull the tape off one piece at a time.

Then adhere your saying.

Assembling the Save the Date
 Using wet adhesive, take the front of the CD cover and adhere it to the CD.  Then adhere the back of the CD cover.  Hot Glue the magnet to the back of the CD.  Finally, take a Crop O'Dile Punch tool and punch the hole in the top of the CD and tie your ribbon. 

The Save the Date CD's will fit into a square envelope for mailing.
To download CD cover file, click below.

Plantin CD Cover 

For more wedding ideas and tips, visit www.weddingswiththecricut.blogspot.com