Cricut cutting woes?

While the only issue I have had is when I needed to re-calibrate my cricut, and when the mats just don't hold out to holding the paper. However, sometimes cutting issues can arise when you are using different types of papers, cloth ect.

I wanted to take a moment to share a chart that was just shared in a facebook group I am in, by Michelle Funk.

If you were having problems cutting with your cricut, I hope this helps!

Never enough hours in the day

So I thought I would give a general quick update on whats been going on here. I can say that with my classes being down to just upper level core classes I have been very busy with just that. Then with both my boys and their schedules along with my husbands there is minimal me time.

Me Time is very important, and I have always been aware of this so I try to always make sure there is a little for me each day to unwind, and relax. However it is not always enough time to work on something in my craft room.... what not enough time!! yes that's what I said. Mainly because it's very short time, and my mind is running so much that I was having crafter's block for a while, and then I didn't want the limited time to just frustrate me more. So I looked for other things to do. Grab a quick show, soak in the tub, and read a book for pleasure.

So while I am in my craft room accomplishing things I don't always then have time to post about it... this is where the FUN starts! I am going to put an instagram widget on my blog, so in case i miss putting up my projects you won't miss getting to see quick pictures of them.

So keep a look out for up to date pictures of whats going on in my life both everyday  and crafty!

Use up your Stash! Blog hop- chipboard

If you are joining us for the "Use Your Stash Blog Hop" you are right on track. WELCOME! You should be coming from Tonya'sBlog.

There are 13 participants this month. If you get lost along the way you can see the entire list of hoppers on Rachel's Blog. Let's get started.

Today I am showcasing different ways to use up chipboard and dimensional elements. to do something different I did not focus on layouts. While many of my posts usually have at least one layout to show a technique I went more towards cards. This is in part to show other ways to use things, along with it is something different. (besides I need a lot of cards ASAP! so it helped me knock some cards out.)

As you can see I have MANY chipboard elements for accenting. Many of those stacks are 2 and 3 deep. I was able to find a use for 2 packs which will not be shown today, and finished off some lefts overs I had in a bag for this. 

These are the items I made.

I colored the two circle chipboard elements with honey to highlight the card since most of it is brown and blue. By using the ones I used they blend in well with designs on the hexagons.

I actually finished up what I had left of this paper making this piece and the tag coming up next.I used the chipboard in this card as the palette where my phrase/word was put. It says wish very lightly.

In this picture you can see the two tone I did on the chipboard. To do this I took 2 different sponge daubers that had honey and goldrush ink on them. With out putting more ink on them I just patted them on the piece till i got the color I desired. Starting with the honey and working down at an angle. Then the goldrush working up at an angle.

These tags work perfectly with the Art philosophy cartridge for cutting your paper to just the size of the tag. Which the finished piece is on a chipboard tag to give it dimension. This tag was designed for a future beach layout. It is only missing hemp, which seemed to grow legs and walk out of my craft room! The edges to give it depth were edged in chocolate. I then accented this tag with another piece of chipboard. I used a sponge dauber to get it to the orange color.

I love this card, it is cute, quick and simple. Yet that blue piece of chipboard really does the trick to add some character. The white spots were embossed on to the chipboard. While i have done this before, that was done to it when I purchased it.

 If you started with Rachel's blog you have now completed the Hop! If not please
hop on over to Rachel's Blog for more ideas of using up your stash.

Technique Blog Hop- Designs as embellishments

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 13 of us highlighting the “B&T Duos designs as embellishments ” Technique as shown on page#21 in the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book!  This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique. 

We would love to see what you’ve created using this month’s technique, please visit Technically Terrific blog where you can share your project and be entered in a chance to win great prizes.  You will also find a listing of all participants and their blog addresses if you should get lost or want to reference a blog along the way.  Let’s get started!

If you are coming from Lisa's Blog, you are on the right track!  

For this technique I decided to use the Florentine paper since I love so many of the designs that are on it, they are easy to use just to decorate stuff with.

This is the full layout. I didn't do a title because I have a habit of arguing with myself over it. While I know I am going to use the cricut to write Zoo Date, I am debating on what font.

For this accent I cut out the image from a sheet of B&T duos paper Shown above. Then I 3d foam taped it to the ribbon. I attached the ribbon with liquid glass after sponging the ready color ribbon with Creme brulee, twilight, and cocoa. Then I topped it with an opaque

I used the same image in the previous picture again topping it with an opaque, but the main focus in this are the hearts which I cut out of a sheet from the Flourintine paper pack. Then They were 3d foam taped for dimension.

Here I took the strip that is cut off the top of the B&T duos before you work with it. One side of that strip says Close To My Heart on it, the other side has a design. I took the design and then cut it so it was only the scallops.

 Using this technique allows for easy embellishments that don't cost extra, or take a lot of extra time for you to create. A big bonus is they already match the paper perfectly that you are working with since they are printed on the same paper.


Supply List: 
*The supply codes are linked to my webpage for easy viewing of price and shopping *
Florentine paper pack- X7153B
Mocha Opaques- Z1333
Florentine My Stickease Assortment- X7153C
Ready color ribbon- Z1732
3D Foam Tape- Z1151
Liquid Glass-  Z679
Bonding Memories Glue- 1512



Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Bethany's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

In case you get lost, below is the hopping list.

Michelle B  http://michelleshandmadeworld.blogspot.com

Lisa  http://lisastampinroom.blogspot.com

Tabbi http://stuckonscrappin.blogspot.com

Bethany - http://scrappingrandmabethany.blogspot.com

Ann-Marie- scrapsanonymous.blogspot.com

Judy Fay - http://Judyfaye.blogspot.com

Joy - www.studiowow-joy.com

Wendy  http://myscrapbookingblog.com

Tracy- http://gr8scraps.blogspot.com

Tonya - http://heartandsoulscrappers.blogspot.com

Melissa - http://mlisrobinson.blogspot.com

Shirley -  http://momnmescrap.blogspot.com

debi - http://debiistheothersister.blogspot.com

  The paper I used for this hop is the same paper featured on my blog. So if you want to see other ways to use this paper check out my Paper of the Month page.

March e-newsletter

Happy St. Patty's day to you! ok so it's not st.patrick's day yet, but it will be here before we know it! While the weather was icky for mardi gras here, I have already started to get prepped for St. Patty's day. I love Referals!- loyalty club I have punch cards for a loyalty club. For every $250 you spend with me you will recieve a free gift from me that will be personalized to you. Whether I ask what project you are working on or what colors you are working with, it will be a little something to help you on your current projects. For ever referal you send my way that places an initial order with me you will recieve a punch on your card getting you one step closer to free goodies! Here are a few pictures of some possible items you could recieve from this club.                     To make this experience even better for you, I will keep your card in a box at my desk so it isn't lost, and it can be punched for online orders or referals with out you having to be present. Constant Campaign  The Philosophy of fun Now is a great time to join Close To My Heart because when you sign up as a new Consultant between March 1–31, you’ll receive a FREE Cricut® Art Philosophy collection! The collection’s retail price of $99 adds incredible value to your New Consultant Kit and will give you hours of creative fun with the included exclusive Cricut® cartridge, three coordinating My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets, and three sheets of matching Dimensional Elements shapes. Already own the collection? You can always give your free one as a gift or choose to receive $100 in select product credit** instead. Now is the time to embrace the philosophy of fun—Consultant and Cricut® fun! *Offer available March 1—31, 2012. No additional tax is charged on the Cricut® collection when ordered during enrollment. **Additional requirements and limitations regarding the redemption and shipping of Select Product Credit apply. Select Product Credit is added to new Consultant account following approval of enrollment. So Join up to day as consultant or kit napper and take advantage of this great deal Here. Stamp of the month     This stamp set as shown in the picture can be used for a variety of things. You can get this stamp set for $5 with a purchase of $50. Go here to start shopping. Featured paper of the month- Flourentine This month I will be focusing on the paper Flourentine. It is great for so many things! So far here is some of the items I have made using this paper. Here is a layout I did for the technique blog hop. You can see other great ideas like this on my Blog. Once a month i am in a tehcnique blog hop , and  a use up your stash hop! Look below at my events to see when my workshop is for this paper. Events My events are being posted on my google calendar because not everyone uses facebook, and the RSVP deadline gets missed. I will post dead line reminders for RSVPing on my blog and facebook business page. These reminders will have a link to the calendar so you can RSVP, and it will go straight to my phone so I will know ASAP that you need a kit. Morning Crop- use up that stash! time: wed. 7th 9a.m.- 12:30p.m. Cost: FREE R.S.V.P: Tues. 6th Seating is limited. Flourintine workshop Time: Sunday 18th, 1p.m.-5p.m. Cost: $32 or $15 ( ask about free for all) R.S.V.P: March 10th Kit includes instructions, payment due day of event 6-8-10- easter/ spring cards Cost: $10 Time:Wed. 28th  9a.m.- 12:30p.m. R.S.V.P: by march 19th Kit includes instructions , payment due day of event ** there are events lined up for April, such as mother's day cards, easter layouts, and make your own Junk journal. Let me know if any of these interest you so prefered days and times can be considered when the events are finalized.** Technique of the month-Clustering I do this is alot of my work, and i have a video from Close to my heart on clustering below. Clustering allows you to use several acessories in one little spot making it a focal point as a person's eye runs across the page. Placement of this is important, because the cluster will catch the eye to help move it through the page. Typically a person's eye will go in a glance from the top left corner at an angle to the bottom right corner. Using a variety of elements such as, brads, ribbon, stickers, chipboard, and paper flowers will really spice up a cluster, and to please the eye remember to put them in 3's and 5's. This is a cluster of three and I used an accent to guide the eye to the cluster. Crafty Video

Where have I been?

It has been a crazy year, and despite the constant things happening in jan. I can say i was on top of it all. My creative juices were flowing and it was great! Then my love for personality theories and behavior annalists became available for my reading enjoyment in February with my class this month which has taken me away from my craft room some.
However, my class has never kept me consistently away from the craft room as I always have at least 1 day a week that is free enough for me to go in and be crafty. Crafter's Block! It is a horrible thing that I have been muddling through.

Here are a few things I have done to help me get over the hump:
Re-arranged my craft room
Took a break
Looked at other people's work for ideas
organized photos with papers
last but not least looked at layout design books.

The last thing is probably the most important because it will cause me to DO something.
So I thought I would take my crafter's block and share with you the six books that Jennette Lynton wrote, 2 are for card making and the other 4 are for layouts. In a rut I have found just using these for the purpose of being productive and getting back in to the flow will help me get ideas and get away from the daily hustle and bustle that probably caused my block.

this book is filled with 2 page spread layouts, with measurements on how to replicate them. Tips/ ideas on how to spice up your layouts can also be found through out this book.

This book as far as what is contains is very similar to cherish, however the layout designs are different,which by having both gives a bigger variety to work with. This was the first one of the books I purchased and I have to say it is one of my favorites just for variety that can be found in it.

This book focuses on 1 page at a time, so if you are like me and like to create your own work, but perhaps you only have 1 page done of your 2 page spread and are stuck this is handy because the layouts in this can work well with each other or as a stand alone.

This book is jammed pack with ideas on how to get more photos on that layout that is only designed for a few photos but is oh so cute. Most of these ideas also make it so the viewer of your scrapbook can enjoy it even more because instead of just flipping through pages they will interact with the pages to see all the memories!

This book contains ideas with instructions for card layouts. What i love about this book is that for holidays like Christmas when you need to make a lot of cards. This book contains workshops that contain several designs to do for the cards so they are varied but simple and cute at the same time so they aren't time consuming.

For what can be found in this book it is similar to wishes. However both the originals and wishes also have ideas/tips/techniques spread through out them like the scrapbook layout books which I use all these ideas for both cards and layouts.

All of these books can currently be purchased on My Website, or contact me directly to get them. The current Idea book is the last one they will be in, so if you think these may be handy for you for a crafter's block or to help you cut down the time it takes to make a layout make sure you get them before August when the idea book changes!

Here are the item codes for each book:
Cherish-9029
Imagine-9030
Magic-9034
Reflections-9031
Originals- 9032
Wishes-9033