Paper Dolls Final Challenge

Thank goodness we are at the start of another week.  Last one about killed me.  I am so tired right now you guys are going to be spared my witty banter. (I know, you're all sad about that, huh?)  So, without further ado, here is my final project *sniffsniff* for the Paper Dolls.  You might have remember me saying last week Thienly and Tamara's Paper Dolls blog was in its last week.  I thought I would go out with a bang.

Not having a lot of time this week but wanting to get in this challenge, i didn't go simple.  It took me three days to make my parasol *phew*.  Oh, and two blisters from the glue gun.  I hope you enjoy.  How I suffer for my art. *snicker*

We were given three different rolled roses for the challenge.  I decided on the scalloped one.  I have always wanted to try my hand at them.  This was my first time and needless to say, it shows.  Details after the picture overload.

Beautiful, isn't it!  I normally wouldn't say that with something I made but I put a lot of heart and effort into this.  The papers are perfect for this project I think.  I just wish there wasn't kinks in the ribbon, I'm sure they will straighten out in time.  Sorry my pictures are a little off too.  I really need to stand out of my shots.  I see my shadow in a few of them.  LOL

I got this idea from Terry over at Mixed Muse-ings.  She also has the free parasol top SVG for download and put a lot of effort into the how-to video.  I won't bore you with how it was put together, please, go check out her site!  She has a video that takes you step by step with hers. Don't compare mine with hers, she did an amazing job.  I need practice.  You will see lots of great ideas from a fellow MTC-er.

The papers are from K and Co. Best of stack.  It is pretty thin paper, I would do it again with thicker except for the handle.  I think it worked better with thin.  I can't remember what ribbon I used.  It was wrapped around a cardboard hang tag.  The gem at the end of the handle I purchased in the dollar bin at Target and the glitter I put around the top and border at Michaels.  It was the Studio G glitter glue in an orange.  The border was from Lettering Delights Scalloped Borders and the butterflies too.

Like I said, I am so tired, I am sure this post doesn't make a lot of sense.  If you have any questions, just post a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Thanks for looking and happy crafting!

Final Days of Lettering Delights Clearance Sale!

Off on a permanent vacation...

Over 1,000 products at Lettering Delights are packed up and ready to say goodbye for good. It’s the final days of their Clearance Sale where popular fonts, alphabets, graphics sets and paper packs are all priced at just 50 cents each. These are the deepest discounts they’ll ever offer. You’ll save up to 85%. But hurry! The sale ends Sunday so grab them while you can.

As part of the sale, they’ve bundled together six sets of fabulous products. Each of these Super Bundles offers between 40-50 products at ridiculously low prices.

• Best of Lettering Delights Super Bundle, $10
• Jillions of Jill Super Bundle, $10
• Rani Day Super Bundle, $10
• Best of Cheryl Super Bundle, $10
• Ooh So Sweet Super Bundle, $10
• 50 Nifty US States Super Bundle, $20

Add these bonus savings on to your purchase and you’ll save even more! Take an additional $25 off a purchase of $60 or more. At checkout enter coupon code: SparkleSavings. You can use this coupon as often you'd like on both sale and non-sale products. ($25 savings does not apply towards the Simple Shapes Super Bundle). Both the Clearance Sale and the $25 bonus savings end Sunday, July 31 at midnight mountain time.    

Also, the Friday Freebie is now up at Lettering Delights!  It is the Black Tie Affair graphic set, get it here or the picture below for free till Sunday, July 31, 2011!!  

Something new I have found that would go great with the sale is the new Square1 adhesive fabric.  Have any of you guys seen this stuff?!?  It looks amazing.  What better way to get those adorable graphics from Lettering Delights up on your walls, laptops, backpacks, or your kids having their own personalized binders for this coming school year, etc.

SQUARE1 is a revolutionary new product with infinite possibilities. This printable, re-positionable and removable adhesive-backed fabric can be used for...

• Walls
• Crafting projects
• Cell phones
• Laptops

…just about anything you can imagine.
SQUARE1 printable fabric is compatible with almost any ink jet printer and can be cut with your electronic digital cutters or even with a pair of scissors.

I am going to be ordering some soon and will put up a review to anyone interested. Have any of you even heard about this printable fabric or used it already?  I would like to know what you guys think.  Also, this product is pretty new and Square1 is looking for affiliates to help spread the word.  If you are interested, here is the affiliate link.

Garden Nouveau - New set from SVG Cuts

Come take a look at the fabulous new SVG kit by SVG Cuts.  So beautiful for those summer projects.  My sister and mother-in-law love anything with butterflies.  So this is the perfect kit.

Mary from SVG Cuts says to celebrate Summer now and make your own illuminated Butterfly Lantern, Watering Can Album and Art Nouveau style card!  Send Summer off in style with the enchanting lantern and have a blast making the photo album for someone special.  Each item in this collection echoes the earthy style of Art Nouveau with twisting vines, poppies and of course the Tiffany-style lamp.

In case you didn't know, the new set is free for the first week it comes out with a purchase of $9.98 or more.  Here's how to get it:

FREE GIFT INSTRUCTIONS

• Visit www.SVG Cuts.com and make a purchase of $9.98 or more between now and Tuesday, August 2nd 2011.
• Add Garden Nouveau SVG Kit to your cart.
• During Step 2 of Checkout, type FREEGIFT into the Discount Coupon section. Doing so will subtract the value of the SVG Collection from your total. This gift is a $6.99 Value!
• All of your files, including the free gift, will be available for immediate download after you complete your purchase!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Edited to add:  Free SVG file - Road Trip caption, get it here at their blog.

My Grafico 40% off today only!

My Grafico is having their end of the month sale for July.  Get 40% off till midnight, July 28th PDT.  If you are into Print N Cut, now is the time to stock up on those adorable graphics.  Click on the image below to be taken to their sale

Let me know what sets you picked up in case I might have missed them :)  My Grafico is also having a Facebook giveaway.  Here are the details:

Get the party on with 37 clear acrylic stamps from Pink Paislee, 2 Sets of Fancy Pants Chipboard Banner Shape Kits to create your own unique party banners, Beyond the Page MDF Cupcake Stand that you can embellish yourself!

You only have a few more days to enter.  Good luck and happy crafting!

Oh Hello Flutter

Ah, finally back in the good ol' State of Ohio.  It was an spur of the moment, have to do it now, kind of trip to Kentucky Monday morning.  Since our car was in the shop, not knowing when we were going to get it back, my mother-in-law lent us hers.  I am the worst traveler.  It just does not agree with me. I am tired and sick now.  It even gave me a good case of crafter's block too!

I threw away two cards that were absolutely hideous.  Just couldn't get the mojo flowing it seems.  Well, the third time's a charm it seems because I came up with this cute card and even made a file to share.  Don't you think it is adorable?  Hold on, picture overload!

 

Here's what I did - Kraft cardstock base size A2 with American Crafts paper from the Play collection.   The butterflies are from the Oh Hello Flutter SVG set by Lettering Delights with little trails of Viva Decor Paper Pen in Opal cut on DCWV Glitter stack in pink.  The "hello" is from the same SVG set. I don't know if you can tell but I added Glossy Accents by Inkessentials to the paper.  It gave it a nice glossy, dimensional look.

Do you like the threaded ribbon?  I made the file myself and thought I would share if anyone wanted it.  It's easier in file form than those big bulky punches anyway.  :)  I think it came out good.  If you would like the card trim for your crafting, I have it in SVG and MTC. 

I have a couple more in different patterns but I haven't tested those out yet.  Keep your eye on the blog, they should be coming soon!  Let me know what you think if you decide to use it.  It is my first time sharing any file I created.  If you make a card or LO with it be sure to share on my Facebook page here!  Happy crafting.

Make the Cut upgrade 3.3.2

It is here, finally here!!!  The long-awaiting Make the Cut upgrade to version 3.3.2 and with it comes an unbelievable amount of new features.  Too many for me to have found on my own.  Andy, the creator, is awesome!  He has a post on his forum for features we would like to see in new upgrades, he really listens and most of the time he puts them in.  Talk about great customer service! So here is an exhaustive list that he posted on the program forum for us -

Here is a reference of new features:

Your Lettering Delights™ Cut-It™ content available inside the program along with a free set of Cut-Its courtesy of Lettering Delights™: That's right! You can now access your Lettering Delights stuff from right in side MTC! No matter where you are, what computer you are on.. as long as you have an Internet connection, your content is right at your fingertips.

Conical Warp!: Create cupcake wrappers and tumblers with ease! Includes a really cool 3D view. Check it out!

AutoSave: Allows you to select a directory where your files will be periodically backed up to while you are working on them. To enable, go to Help>>Advanced>>Automatic Saving...
Long Layer Names: You can now have long names in your layers view and they won't keep you from clicking on the layer buttons.
New Raster Export: You can now export to PNG or JPG with many cool, new options, including dropshadow, watermarking, clipboard copy and printing.

Hot keys for aligning and spacing: No more having to right-click over and over!
SVG export in layers and colors: You can now export your work in colors and layers in SVG format.
Right click menu in layer properties to send a layers to their own pages: Quickly set up pages in your project.
Dashed Line options: Created dashed shapes as design accents or score lines

Hue,Saturation adjustments for textures: You can now make your textures any color!

Cut/Copy and Paste from KNK Studio: Move your designs from KNKStudio over to MTC with simple clipboard operations.
Import EPS, PS and AI Files version 9 and newer: Title says it all!
Back up shape directory and restore: Moving computers? Easily backup your saved basic shapes and restore with ease.
Import SVGs with colors and layers: Import your SVGs in the color and layers they were created with.
Import multiple SVG files at the same time: Have a set of SVGs you want in MTC? Import them all at once!

View the font names in their own typeface in Font Tab: View your font names in their own typeface in the Text and Font tab
Silhouette (8.5"x12") mat added
Silhouette Regmarks are now automated: No more placing registration marks around your designs. Just turn them on from the File>>Print Options menu item.
Silhouette SD Plug-In pulled from BETA: Now everyone should be able to use it without problems!
Trace has been reworked to be the best trace ever made in the history of the world: Trace by color, by palette, by alpha channel, by threshold... import multiple layers, texturize, etc, etc... the sky is the limit.
Print options updated to turn on/off printing of outlines: Now you can choose to print outlines using the File>>Print Options window.
Basic Shapes dialog has been reworked: Now using a combo box to display categories instead of tabs. Allows for expanding in the near future.
Notes Window allows you to attach and embed files into your projects: Want to show off what you have made with the project? Attach some pictures! You can attach and embed any file into your projects (with the exception of executable code)

Path Thinning: We weren't the first to the Path Thinning (Centerline Trace) party, but I believe we implemented it the best. Check it out in the Shape Magic>>Advanced>>Thin Paths menu (Examples on the main page of http://www.make-the-cut.com and here is a finished project) This feature works great with Amy's Pen Holders!
Shadow Layers can now go up to 1 inch: Previous there was a 1/2" limitation.
Add Text has been updated to allow multi-line, aligned text which previews on the mat as you type: Now you can type out full paragraphs and align them any way you want. Also, it updates your mat as you type.

View shapes on mat with just the outline: Along with viewing shapes with/without outlines, you can now view without fills!
Cutting paths are sorted Right to Left: When cutting, the MTC will sort your cutting paths from right to left. This helps when cutting wider projects.
Jigsaw Puzzle Generator included as separate program: As previously released, you can now generate Jigsaw puzzles in SVG format. (Here is a link to the previous post about this). To access the program, click on your Start menu then go to Programs and find the Make The Cut! section.
Control Key + Arrow Keys does a nudge x20: Need to move a shape around quickly? Hold your control key while using your arrow keys.

How wonderful is this program?  Very!  A must buy!  Don't have the best cutting program on the planet yet?  Get it here.  Would you like to try the trial version first?  Get that here.  Then come back here and let me know what new feature is your favorite!  See ya on the flip side and very happy crafting!

Hoot Hoot Hoo-ray!

Whew! Back again after a super busy weekend. Now on to another super busy week. My 07' Nissan Maxima is still in the shop over the same problem we had fixed in February.  Stupid car.  Love it and hate it.  I won't go into a rant on how Nissan knows about the widespread problem and won't do a recall.  This is my third and final Nissan.   But I digress, you all didn't come here for complaints about shoddy craftsmanship.  On with the craftiness!

My card today is a super easy birthday sent to a dear friend.  I don't know if she likes owls or not but I think she will love this little guy.  Isn't he the sweetest?!?

I have been on a time crunch to create anything for a couple of weeks.  So I guess most of these projects can be labeled as quick to put together, last minute ideas.  Using kraft paper as my base I decided on using the Green stack by DCWV.  The adorable owl was made using the Give a Hoot set by SVG Attic with WorldWin in Peaches n' Cream.  I added twine from The Twinery to give some dimension to the leaves and the sentiment is from the Birds and the Bees stamp from My Thoughts Exactly.

If you haven't checked out either of these websites and grabbed their sets, it is a must!  Both ladies do an awesome job at their respective crafts and I love them! Hope you enjoyed it and have a great week!

And we have a winner!

First thing this beautifully hot Saturday morning I want to thank everyone who entered my giveaway and say "hello" and "welcome" to all my new followers.  I am so very grateful you guys liked my little page enough to hit the "join this site" button.  It is a pleasure to have you here and I hope I can have cute projects to keep you coming back for more.

With that said, let's get on to the winner of the $5 Lettering Delights gift card!  Here's what Random.org had to say:

So that makes our winner, Jennifer with the cute Cookie Monster avatar!  Jennifer, please email me at happycardfactory@gmail.com with the email address you would like the certificate to be sent.  Congratulations and thanks again for entering. 

It was so nice to read all of your entries and you guys have such beautiful memories.  I got all teary-eyed reading them.  Thank you all for sharing your precious stories with me and my readers.

Well, this is a real busy weekend with my nephew's first birthday, have to travel a few hours down south tomorrow after church.  I haven't even purchased his gift or made a card so I better leave off here and get a cracking.  See you all next week and have a safe and cool weekend!

Christmas in July Challenge

Back with another project that was done for the Paper Dolls Christmas in July challenge.  The files this week come from Melissa over at KaDoodle Bug Designs.  She donated a very full set for us all to use - it has a reindeer in a hammock sipping on a frosty beverage, two palm trees, a candy cane waving penguin, sandy beach, a crab holding a present and a few other elements.  Wow, what do I use?  So many cute files to choose from!

On a side note. I was so sad to hear that the Paper Dolls are going to be shutting down their blog next weekend. They are the ones who inspired me to just jump in and create one.  I actually started my blog by doing their challenges every week.  They handed me a tool and told me to use my imagination to make something from my heart.  I will forever treasure their kick in the pants. ^__^

 

Back on topic, I chose to use just the beach, tree, starfish and crab with the present.  I ended up sending this card to my brother-in-law for his birthday.  I'm just waiting for my sister to complain I was giving her husband the googly-eyes.

Hmmmm, just chirping of crickets, OK, I'll move on.  Recollections solid cardstock for all, I misted the background in blue for the sky which is not showing up in the picture but you can see the blue-green for the water.  The sentiment came from my new stamp set by My Thoughts Exactly called Under the Sea.  I normally don't buy stamps, I make them myself but couldn't pass up a chance to try out a fellow bloggers product.  I am here to tell you you must get both of her sets.  These are high quality stamps at a good price!  Love, love, love them.  You can't go wrong and the fact that they match my new favorite SVG maker's sets.  Bonus!

Well, that is pretty much all I have today.  If  I missed anything just give me a holler in the comments!  Have a great weekend and happy crafting!