Win a Gypsy!

The new Gypsy Spot is giving away a Gypsy from Custom Crops.com. Visit the Gypsy Spot for more info!

It came!!!

FINALLY!! After a week of waiting it is here!! Wanna know what it is?? It's a................Jukebox!!! You thought it was a gypsy didn't you! I just tried it out, and just from the 3 test cuts I did, I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! Why did I wait soo long. So, now I must decide what cartridges I will keep in it! What carts are in your jukebox?

PAPER PAPER PAPER!!

I, along with just about everybody else I know, have too much of it! Today, I went to Joann's for there 5 for $.95 sale, and bought like 60 sheets. Like I really needed it. I love it though, ever since they started selling the core'dinations by the sheet I stock up every time they have a sale. Lat go round I bought 65 sheets. I also found some cute Christmas paper for cards and Halloween paper. Now, in order to justify my purchase I came home a went threw all my card stock and got rid of all the stuff that has just been sitting there. Hopefully it can find a new home soon!

And now my latest creation. I have been sick lately so haven't got much done but did manage to make my card for the whimsical scraps and bugs design team. It came out cute, the card base itself I made a few months back but never finished it. Well, I pulled it out and finished it!! It came out pretty good, definitely could have done better. This weeks challenge is to make a card or layout using a cupcake!! Love it!!

Halloween

is almost upon us! I have been more into decorating for Halloween this year more than any other. As part of my design team challenge, I made a layout using purple, orange and black. I also had to include 1 stamped image and 2 stars. I used the sketch from 52 sketches for the layout. I had fun making this especially since I don't have pictures to use. I also made a card using the same requirements. For that I ran my black sheet threw the cuttle bug then inked it with my white ink pad. The mummy stamp I got from Michaels in the dollar stamp section, those are the best ones sometimes!

Ok, Now I am going to go backwards a few weeks! I used my beloved cricut and some magnet material to make a set of magnetic alphabets for our fridge and Julia! She loves them!! I just need to make a few more of each letter.

Busy Creating!

I have been on a roll this week! I planned and had a surprise b-day party for Antonio even kept it a secret until 15minutes before people started showing up! I made a lovely chandelier, finished my design team layout and made a Halloween center piece!!! I would tell you my scrap room is a wreck but it is not! I have been cleaning as I go, very proud of myself! So quickly before my puter dies I am posting pictures of the things i have made this past week. Except for the Halloween bouquet I accidentally deleted my picture of it and did not get a very good one with my phone! I made the chandelier with ds and home decor. I will post later with more details on how to make if anyone is interested!

Design Team layout:

Chandelier:
Hanging from my ceiling

WIN A GYPSY!!!!

Enter to win a GYPSY!! You can enter to win a gypsy at Cartridge Helper, they have all the latest info on cricut machines and cartridges! Good Luck!!

Sign

A few weeks ago while looking threw a card sayings book, I came across this saying my house was clean yesterday, sorry you missed it". I thought it was perfect for my house! It always seems like I clean my house then it will stay clean for a few days, then it gets dirty and someone shows up! So, I finally got around to making it today!! I bought the blank sign from Hobby Lobby and the vinyl is Cricut. For the wording I used Lyrical Letters! Now, on to my next sign, its a NO SOLICITING sign!

New cartridges!!!

Well, as many of you know Cricut cartridges where on sale this week at Michalels! So, I went and got From my Kitchen and Sweethearts! Then decided I was not liking sweethearts too much so went to another M's and swapped it for the other one I really wanted Everyday Paper Dolls! LOVE THAT ONE!

I have to say the From my Kitchen one is cute but it really could have been better! Why is the mixer just a hand mixer, why isn't it a stand mixer or have to option to be a stand mixer??? That is the part that bugs me! Then it just seems like they didn't get too creative with some of the stuff. I don't know!

Then there is the Everyday Paperdolls, like I said above LOVE IT! I think Provo Craft did an excellent job on this paperdolls cart! I like that they didn't fill in spaces with multiple hair styles, shoes, etc.. I think everyone that I have showed it to has liked it! I think my personal favorite on the cartridge is the dog, she kinda looks like our Queenie dog!

WIN A GYPSY!!!!

Want to win a Gypsy?? Enter online at Cutting Above, the newest scrapbooking blog!!! Also, don't forget to watch the Gypsy debut on HSN September 24th!!

Photoshop

Well, this past weekend I took some no, alot of time and learned about a few things I have been wanting to learn. It took a few you tube video's, a few adobe video's and LOTS of practice but I got it!!

I learned how to make my signature, make a new header, and made the button you see to the right! The hardest part was figuring out how to save stuff as transparent. So, what do you think about all my cool new stuff??

testing

out my new signature.




What do you think??

I did it! I did it!!

Yay for me!! I finally learned how to make a watermark brush for my pictures!! Thanks to this you tube video and another photoshop video!! I am so excited! Now to figure out how to make my signature!

DONE!

I finally finished my design team challenge for Whimsical Bugs. I have been putting it off for days now, because I just did not know what I wanted to do. I finally took the plunge and started working on it about 2 hours ago. I had one card made then saw a card sketch that I printed from Mojo Monday and it was perfect for what I needed to do!!!

The challenge was to find inspiration from this picture:


Well, I had a hard time with that. The only thing that stood out to me was the colors. Once I found the sketch, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I went thru my scraps, cut them up and stuck them on! Then I cut the needle and thread from the Happily Ever After cartridge. I like the way the card came out cause to me it looks like fabric swatches. OK off to bed!

My take on the challenge:

A little bit of everything....

that is what I have been working on. Last week with the help of my mom and brother I kicked Julia out of my scrap room, well not really just her stuff. She had a dresser in here that I kept her clothes in and at some point started piling my junk on. I realized one night while laying in bed that if I moved it into her room and some of her toys not being played with out I would have more space. And what do you know I do!! It's like I got a whole new room! After I moved her stuff, I then realized I needed to move my room so I did. I have been happy with it so far, it only took 2 hours to get it the way I want.

As for scrapbooking, I am working on a 8x8 album of Julia's 4th b-day party. I need to finish it before she turns 5!! I'm almost done, just need 1-2 more pages then my title cuts and stuff like that. Its hard to adapt to 8x8 when I am used to 12x12. I made another card, for my cousins b-day coming up. I like the way it turned out, just have to remember to sign it!! The card I made a few weeks ago for my nephew, I forgot to sign and gave it to him blank! lol that's ok he still liked it,.........I hope. Now I have 2 more to make one for Antonio's 30th b-day and one for someone else! I am starting to like this card making thing. I like it even more that I am making the card when I need it to customize it for the person instead of making cards, storing them and pulling one out a few months later. Does that make since?? I have not yet started on my Whimsical Bugs DT challenge for this week. I am so lost on what to do. think, think, think......

I don't have any pictures of my current work, so I leave you with this picture I took last week. I walked by the bathroom and saw this:

Have you ever?

No, we are not playing a game! Have you ever started creating something that from the very beginning starts out wrong, yet you keep working with it because you can make it work? Well, that is what has happened to me! I started a card last night, and from the very beginning cut it wrong! But thought, no just go with it so that I did. Well, after putting paper on the card, trying to figure  out a “theme” I have come to this point:

 

Yep it is in the TRASH!! Why, you ask? Because I am fed up with trying to make it work! I have decided to trash it and start over! Hopefully the second time around will start out better!

Cards…….

I have never really considered myself a card maker, but lately I have been making alot of cards. It seems that for every layout I complete I want to make a card. Like now, I am going to finish this post, and start on a card, when I should be going to bed. Oh well! Who needs sleep when you have a four year old to keep you awake! And I am certain that this ice cold glass of dr pepper isn’t going to help me sleep!

I have been working on clearing a few things off my scrap board the past few nights. Last night I made a bday card for a cousin. I used the hello kitty shape cartridge. I had a very hard time accepting how much space there is when layering stuff. I cut my layers out a quarter of an inch bigger. I am sure that is the way it is supposed to be, but I don't like it!

Tonight, I checked off cleaning out my scrap box. Although all I did was organize my scraps. You would never believe how much pink paper I have. Well you would if you knew me! I have enough pink scraps to last the rest of the year. I did good though got all the solids organized and put away. For the patterned paper I just stuck all that inside one section. Figured it was too much,. Ok, well I am going to work on my card now, or maybe just go to bed. Not sure yet! Happy Scrapping!

-Rachel

Still under construction

I am still trying to get a few things added to my blog. As some of you may or may not have noticed the Cards link at the top does not work. I am still working on that! I am hoping it will work soon!

This past weekend, I got together with my scrap pals and we scraped, talked, laughed, ate pretty much everything we normally do! I had a blast as always!! I was able to work on my design team challenge, this is the second one for this weeks challenge. I made a bday card but sent it out with out taking a picture so I made another card for a special little boy who is growing up too fast! After I finshed it I realized I shouldn’t have inked the edges and should have embossed the orange. Oh well it’s still cute! 

Blog Construction

I am doing a few things to my blog. Please bare with me while I make my edits, hopefully I can get it done tonight!

Recipe holder, Note pad holder

I don’t know!! I altered this clipboard today for the Whimsical bugs challenge. I made it to match my kitchen, but not sure what I will use it for.

A little more sewing….

  I went into my scrap room about an hour or so ago to work on my Whimsical Bugs challenge and came out with pictures’ of the cover I made for Miss. Cricut instead! It was VERY easy to make, especially since I messed up but my mistake ended up helping me more than hurting me! Now tomorrow I HAVE to work on my challenge!

 

Front and Back:

Sides or where I messed up:

A little sewing….

Well, I decided to make a cover for my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer! It only took me 2 try's and about 24 hours to complete it. I must say for having no pattern and very little sewing experience I did a good job…at least I think so! I even sewed ribbon on to it as well as the binding. Now, i just realized that my mixer is named Mr. Mixit but has a girlie cover..oh well it’s pretty! I am considering adding a pocket to it. Now, to start on my Cricut mixer and my design team challenge.

Calendar

Lately I have been reorganizing everything in my house. When I do this I have a habit of throwing things away, moving things from one room to another or just shoving it in the closet. I recently did this with a memo board I bought from hobby lobby on clearance last year. Half was a chalk board and the other was a cork board. I was tired of  it hanging there on the wall not being used, so I fixed it into something I knew or thought we would use. I took the middle piece of wood out, and made it one large calendar. I used a dry erase board I bought from hobby lobby, then cut strips of vinyl to section it off. I cut the words from the Don Juan cartridge. So, now hopefully we will use it!

 

Brothers and Sisters

A few months ago, my mom and her siblings took a group picture. This is probably the first one they have taken in a few years. So, for my design team challenge I used this picture, with the title brothers & sisters. The challenge was to use the & symbol from any cricut cartridge. Mine came from Alphalicous. I used the color core paper from coredenations (sp?), I ran it thru the cuttlebug using swiss dots then sanded it. It came out soo super cute! I also added a few pieces of bling! I mated the picture on a scallop frame that I made using ds and George. Then I added white to the edges to make it look as I had put sewed (sp?) it, but as with my own sewing it did not come out straight! Hope you enjoy the layout! I will be back later this week with my altered calendar I am currently working on!

Zoo layout

We went to the zoo a few months ago. Leading up to the day it was nice breezy weather, that day it was COLD! We did have a good time though. In this layout I also used it for the WSB DT challenge I used animal kingdom, zoobaloo, and lyrical. I had fun with this layout because I got to use the different animals. dinner!

The “Dark Side”

Well,  not long after I posted how I was contemplating SCAL I did it! I took the plunge downloaded it and not long after watching a few video’s hooked it up to my beloved Miss Cricut. She cut a few things last night and is still alive!! I think I am going to like the dark side! I like that if I don’t have a particular cut on a cartridge I will be able to find it *hopefully* as a svg file. Now to bring my fellow Cricut users over to this side with me!

The layout I am posting today is from the WSB dt challegne 19! It was a themed challege using the letter S. I waited until a few days ago to get started and finsihed a few minutes ago. I was looking for a bathing suit cut to use not sure why I wanted it on this page but whatever! I did not find one so I made one copying the one from Life’s a Beach. The only problem I had was with the neck peice, so I used the egg from Doodlecharms! And the font, is one that I LOVE but have not used in a while Mickey Mouse font.

If you would like a copy of the ds file for the bathing suit leave me a comment with your email address and I will send it to you!

Have a great week!

*****Rachel*****

  

Sure Cuts A Lot

I have spent the majority of my Cricut owning life totally agianst this program. Well tonight I was given the opportunity to have and use it. Thanks Boy Scrap’r! I was and still very unsure if I want to use this program that is until I came across a few You Tube video’s from www.svgcuts.com,  and the FREE svg files they offer that I thought about crossing over to the dark side.  Do you have SCAL?? Do you like it??

A manly card!

So, I finished my latest card! It was a WSB design team challenge! I had a  good time making this, since I was going out of my element making something that is not girly.

Be sure to check out the WSB blog to see the newest design team members! 

 

~~~Rachel

Testing

So,  my brother told me about this windows live writer program, that he downloaded for me tonight. What it is, is a program that links to your blog and you can upload your post from there. I am going to give it a try and see how I like it. I’m thinking I will like it, since I can just open this up, type and upload!  As for the picture its just a random one I took of Julia last weekend, and wanted to upload to test out the program.

Layout

Here is a layout I did for the last Whimsical Bugs challenge. The paper I used is from a Close to my Heart paper pack. THe wording, and cuts are from lyrical letters, and the scallops are from accent essentials. I liked this challenge, it gave me a chance to use pictures that I normally would not use on a layout. But since it was about WHy I scrap, I found it fit to use pictures of our everyday lives. Have you used the new Lyrical Letters cricut cartridge?? I LOVE it! It is my new go to cartridge!

So, Why do you Scrap??