Another Fabulous Designer Sale @ My Grafico

Save up to 50% on select Designers now till Friday, September 30th.  Just click each image below to be taken directly to the Designer's page at My Grafico.

Once again this week's freebie comes from DreAmLoft.  Click the image below to grab it.

So Happy Autumn is Here!

Even though I am happy that Autumn is finally here, I couldn't resist making this card with the beautiful Black-Eyed Susan file from SVGs by Bee.  It's actually a border but I thought it would look cute as a shaped card.

It was actually a pretty simple card.  I just bought the flower file to the mat in Make the Cut and did a shadow with blackout.  Then I did a shadow of the shadow to make the base.  If you need a visual on how to make shaped cards, here is a video I found to give you the general idea.  I don't think it is with the latest version of the software but it would be the same process.

Here's a close-up of the pretty flowers with my favorite twine.  I have no idea where the stamp came from because a friend of mine picked it up at a yard sale.  Thank you Terri!  See, I knew I would use it for something.  The blue background was embossed on my Sizzix Big Shot with the Dot Daisies plate.

As you can see, while taking pictures, the old man decided to see why I was sitting on the porch.  Who knew dogs were so nosy?  My Great Dane was also there but cowering in the corner.  She is scared if you have anything pointed at her and I had my camera.  Done deal, she was keeping away from me.  At least she didn't get into the pictures too!

Supplies:

Kraft cardstock (base)
Recollections (flowers, blue background, tag & eyelets)
Trendy Twine in Blue Berry

Hope you enjoyed and happy crafting!

Challenges entered:

Whimsical Wednesday "Anything Goes"
Scrapalicious USA "Anything Goes" 

Lettering Delights New Club Teacher!

As most of you who read my blog know, I home school my two teenage boys and am always looking for inexpensive ways to jazz things up, from lesson plans, calendars, miscellaneous forms and even their grade reports.  We are also blessed to have our own room dedicated just to home school.  As such, I love to decorate our room with sayings and tiny tidbits of wisdom, here and there.

So I was very excited when I heard that Lettering Delights is starting Club Teacher!  Lettering Delights has always been a big fan of teachers and has a long history of wanting to help teachers get product for their students at really reasonable prices. They know that often teachers are spending their own money to supplement! That is why they have created the Club Teacher subscription.  Read below for all the glorious details:

Get hooked on UNLIMITED teachers-only access to thousands of fonts, colorful alphabets, graphics and clipart sets, printable tags and candybar wrappers, plus cut-it files for cutting machines at LetteringDelights.com all for just $130 for a whole year.

Hurry! This pilot beta program is available for a limited time and is reserved for a select number of professional teachers only**. Those eligible are teachers or student teachers of public, private, or charter institutions, or those who can provide proof of homeschooling their children. Please note, subscription will not be activated until proof has been received and approved.


Pay your annual membership fee to access the images you love in our easy-to-use online library. You can also download files directly to your computer to tackle all kinds of creative projects!


Build beautiful bulletin boards. Create darling student journals and scrapbooks. Personalize newsletters and notes. Design clever gifts and art. Customize practice pages and worksheets. Add colorful clipart and images to reports and assignments. And more!


Our teachers-only subscription allows you access to thousands of products in our current online gallery and dozens more added each month. This pilot program, available exclusively for teachers, will give you unlimited access for one full year to the following products:

• Over 600 fonts valued at close to $2000
• Over 700 colorful alphabet images valued at $2800
• Close to 300 dingbat fonts valued at almost $900
• Over 500 color graphic image sets (15 coordinating images per set) valued at $2100
• 1200 pieces of clipart (in both black-and-white and color) valued at $300
• Over 4000 cuttable files compatible with most electronic cutting machines valued at over $6000

Click here for the teacher subscription licensing information.

 
*Occasionally we will have licensed artists whose product will not be available via subscription.
**All sign-ups must provide proof of status as a professional teacher before online access will be granted. Burden of proof is on the teacher, we will accept proof of employment by written letter (submitted on letterhead), a copy of a teacher badge, paystub, teacher contract, etc.

To O-FISH-ALLY sign up, CLICK HERE.

Manic Monday @ Lettering Delights

This monstrously delightful bundle is the craftin' Halloweenie's perfect companion. With 8 fantastically spookalicious products to add to all your frightful projects for only 8 dollars! This crazy offer is only good until midnight tomorrow night MST.

Also, don't forget...Lettering Delights will only keep Dog Days of Summer bundles at these special prices until next Monday.  Get over 300 items for only $34, or the graphics bundle for just $17! This is one amazing offer you won't want to miss out on!

Big News from Boss Kut

My Pink Lil Baby

Here's the big news in Phyllis aka Mrs. Boss Kut's own words: 

"For some time now, we have been working diligently behind the scenes with our hardware manufacturer and our software developer to improve our print & cut method by implementing a 3 point registration system for the Gazelle. This involves improvements to both the software and the machine.
It was our intent to announce and release these changes for the upcoming Christmas season with the NEXT shipment of Gazelles.  However, to our big surprise the manufacturer implemented the updated improvement to the Gazelles in THIS shipment . This means that those of you who have received new Gazelles from the latest shipment, now already have the updated machines!
The software developer is working steadily to finish the updated software.
We do not have an exact date for the release, but we will keep you informed as the information becomes available to us. We are hoping it will be in the next week or two.
The only change to the Gazelle is the functioning of the laser. The laser applies only to doing print & cuts. While waiting for the software update, you will not be able to use the laser for print & cuts, however everything else is fully functional. With the updated software, your print & cuts will be easier and more accurate than ever before!!
We share your disappointment with having to wait for print & cuts, but we are also very eager and excited for the huge improvements occurring and hope you are too!!

The existing Gazelle owners who received their cutter BEFORE this batch are NOT being left behind!! You will also be able to upgrade your cutter. This part is not yet finalized, but it IS coming!! Please be patient, and we will share the info when we know the exacts of it. We do not expect the wait to be long." 

Can you say "HURRAY!"  I have been waiting for this for a long time.  I have never been able to get good Print N Cuts with my Gazelle.  That's why I was soooo happy when I won my Silhouette SD.  Now granted I don't do a lot of those but I love to have the ability when I need or want to. 

TerriM at the forum said the wait shouldn't be too long.  I just hope I have the patience to sit back and wait.  If any of you are looking into getting a new machine, the Gazelle is definitely one to check out.  More information can be found at the official Boss Kut website.  This baby will cut through anything I throw at it and with the ability to use Make the Cut, it is a Win-Win situation.  Now, I have to go bug Andy to remake the plug-in to include this feature.  ^__^

Witchy Shaker Card

Hi everyone!  I pray you are having a great Saturday.  I know I am.  The boys are out and I have the house to myself for a little while so I better throw this post up and get to cleaning.

I have had this idea "shaking" around in my head ever since I saw Lenae's shaker card.  She did an amazing job and has a great tutorial on how to put the card together with a free SVG template to download.  I won't go over it here when she explains it pretty clear on her blog.  I also am not that good at following directions, so mine didn't come out as great as hers.  But I tried.  Now I have a general idea of how it is to be assembled, next time I am sure my card will come out better.

As you can see I went with a Halloween theme.  I have been bursting with ideas ever since I saw Bee's new Bee Witching Halloween Collection.  There are so many elements in this set.  Almost everything you need to complete all your spooky holiday crafts.

For the background in the window, I printed out Bee's witch and the clouds that surround the mountains.  I had the mountains in there but it just made it too busy.  I used the print function in Make The Cut because the witch and clouds are actually SVG files.  That's the great thing about Make the Cut, I can bring almost any type file to my mat and use them in several different ways.  I also could have brought a texture in and added a little more pizazz to my witch.  But you guys know I am a slacker at heart.  So I kept her just the way Bee intended.  ^__^   The window itself is the tag from The Digi Bistro's Halloween Town set.  The original file has a shell for the window.  I used the new node editing feature to delete and replace with the tag file, then joined them together. 

I also used Bee's little bat to have them fly around in the clouds.  Since I was going to cut him so small, I took out his face (sounds kinda sick doesn't it?).  Using them in the shaker part, he would have lost all his features anyway.  Lenae used Shrinky Dink material for her butterflies.  I just cut the little guys out, threw them in and let them fend for themselves.  It is a thicker cardstock and I haven't had any bending of their wings.  So I think I am good.  My husband couldn't tell that they were bats, so I think next time I will use an orange or purple glitter to mix in depending on the color paper I use for contrast. Again, I had to use Lesley's super amazing Trendy Twine in Orange Licorice.  Perfect for all Halloween projects.  It's only available for a limited time so go snatch it up before it's gone!

Another thing you guys might like to know:  I can't stamp for the life of me!  I never used stamps before now, not even the foam ones as a child.  I have just started using stamps since my husband gave me a Teresa Collins Stamp maker for our anniversary.  I never use it or the stamps but I am trying to get into the habit.  But as you can see from the picture above I need lots of practice.  I guess it could have been crookeder (is that even a word?). Haha, but I think the recipient of this card will get the point.

Here is just another shot.  Even though I didn't follow Lenae's directions to a "T", I think my little shaker came out pretty good.  Please go check out Lenae's adorable blog: SugarGems Crafts.  She has tons more of ideas and pretty cards.  She makes a lot with cupcakes, one of my favorite things.  Well, sugar in general is but I won't get into that now.

If you guys ever need help with all the cool new features of Make the Cut, there is a great Yahoo! group called MTC_Tuts and the official Make the Cut forum.  Both are wonderful for getting the most out of this great program.  Andy has added so much recently I know I am not using it to it's full potential.  Hope you had fun looking around and have been inspired.  It was great to have your here!


Supplies used:

Recollections Midnight Magic stack (base card)
Bee Witching Halloween Collection by SVGs by Bee (witch, clouds, bats)
Martha Stewart Glitterin Onyx
Trendy Twine in Orange Licorice
Halloween Town by The Digi Bistro (tag shaped window)


Entered in:
Things with Wings at Crafty Boots
Anything Goes at Lollipop Crafts

Lettering Delights Friday Freebie

For those of you who haven seen yet, here is Lettering Delights Friday Freebie just in time for those Halloween projects.  Scare up some fun this Halloween with a delightfully creepy font. Create some eye-catching wording for your October paper creations with Oogly Googly FREE until Sunday at midnight MST.   Happy Friday!

12 and Swell

Here is just a quick card I made for my niece's 12th birthday. Her favorite color is purple and she loves video games as much as my boys do.  So I just had to use my Generation Tech stack by DCWV.   And because I love her and can't be with her this year I wanted to send her some birthday kisses.  The sentiment stamp came from my friend Alyssa of My Thoughts Exactly's Sweet Thoughts set.

As you can see it is an adorable stamp set.  It contains over 50 phrases!  If you wanted to check out Sweet Thoughts and see the other cute sets, just click here and it will take you to Alyssa's blog.  While there also check out her design team's creations.  You will get some really creative ideas.

Other supplies used were Martha Stewart glitter for the numbers, a punch for the little butterflies and purple sparkly cord found in the clearance rack at Michaels for the trim.  That's pretty much it.  Hope you enjoyed my card!

Kate's Holiday Silhouette SVG Collection

Adorable new SVG collection from SVG Cuts.  I really love the original Kate's Silhouettes.  I used that collection for a baby shower that was a smashing hit.  They really add that special touch to projects.

Here is the description on Kate's Holiday Silhouette Collection:  Create projects with all things girly this holiday season!  Whether it’s shopping, decorating, baking or skating, girls are busy!  Use any of the 12 different silhouettes on any paper project or any of the many “extra” elements, such as the poinsettia flower, the cute Scottie dog or the yummy cupcake!  You can also create three different pre-designed cards with envelopes.  Each card works with stamps from the Holiday Traditions stamp set from Punkin’ Patch Stamps.  Special SVGs fit several of the stamps perfectly, but alternate SVGs are also included so you can make the cards without the stamps too!

 Right now you can get this adorable set free with purchase.  Here's how:

• Visit www.SVG Cuts.com and make a purchase of $9.98 or more between now and Wednesday, September 28th 2011.
• Add Kate’s Holiday Silhouettes SVG Collection 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!

I also want to say Congratulations to Leo and Mary from SVG Cuts on their new business undertaking and wish them all the best.  This week was the Grand Opening of Punkin Patch Stamps!

They started with 9 sets out of the gate.  And at a good price, just $14.99 a set.  Here is a peek at the Holiday Tradition stamp set that goes lovely with Kate's Holiday Silhouettes.

Aren't they gorgeous?  These are high-quality photopolymer cling stamps that you would mount on an acrylic block.  I like these better because they take up less room than traditional wood-mounted rubber stamps.

To celebrate their Grand Opening, they are having a sale. Use coupon code FALL2011 to save 10% on your entire order!  Offer is good through Sunday, September 25th.  It's such a great deal they ask to please allow a few extra days for them to process your order and ship during their grand opening.

Have a good time looking around both sites and try not to spend too much.  ^__^  Have a great day and happy crafting!

50% off Sale at My Grafico

For today only, My Grafico is having their End of Summer 50% off sale.  You only have till Midnight PDT tonight to google up this offer!  Click the banner above to be taken directly to My Grafico's sale.

Also, don't forget to snag the weekly freebie above!  Isn't it cool?  It was generously donated by DreAmLoft.  It would be great for Print N' Cut on my Silhouette SD.  They have some rather adorable spooky delights on sale right now too.  Click here to be taken directly to DreAmLoft's page.

Sale at the Silhouette Store

75¢ Shape Sale

It's sale time on the Silhouette Online Store. Today through September 28 all shapes normally listed at 99¢ each will be just 75¢ each. Whether you're hand-picking your favorites one by one or downloading in bulk through a subscription, you'll get more for your money this week from Silhouette.

Check out the store through here or in your Silhouette Studio software!

Batty for You and A Big Announcement!

Yes, yes, I know you, have all been on the edge of your seats since yesterday wanting to know what my big announcement is.  Well, I finally can reveal all.  Someone finally liked my work enough to ask me to be on their Design Team.  It is the lovely Belinda from SVGs by Bee!!!  My newest friend and co-conspirator.  ^__^  Bee (as she is known in some circles) has just recently opened her own online shop with the most amazing SVG files.  I started liking her creations a while back with the Vintage Bee set she posted on her blog.  They are so classy and glamorous.

I am so happy to be working with her and the two other wonderful ladies.  The two other members helping to round out the new Design Team are Alyssa from My Thoughts Exactly and Bee (the other one) from Dare to Bee Creative.  Of course, Belinda will be showcasing her files at her personal blog, Bee's Hive O' Drama.  Go check them out.  They humble me with their talent.  I hope it rubs off just being around them so I can make such amazing creations one day too.  Now on to my first DT creation.

Take a look at this adorable little bat.  Is he not the cutest?!?  He won me over with his darling little face. I shall call him Charlie.  Charlie comes from the just released set called Bee Witching Halloween. 

I thought he would look good on a spooky tag.  I cut his base out using Make the Cut and Lettering Delights Basic Tags set with the new Midnight Magic stack by DCWV and Recollections.  The paper on little Charlie is WorldWin DoubleMates paper.  It is black on one side and grey on the other.  That's why his wings look sooooo gooooood.

Oh and Charlie has a little surprise.  When you open his wings he says BOO.  Again isn't he the cutest?!?  The BOO is also from SVGs by Bee, it is her free-bee.  And no project would be complete without a little Trendy Twine and some homemade embellishments.  They are just hot glue dots colored with Bic markers.  Up close, they have a  swirly, mystical (O_o) look to them.

I think I have run on enough.  So do me a favor and go look around SVGs by Bee.  She has great collections at great prices and a few freebies thrown in there as well.

Oops, I almost forgot the other exciting news.  In another first for me, I am participating in a blog hop!  Alyssa invited me to her Fang-tastic Blog Hop on October 7 - 10.  I am so excited!  There will be amazing prizes for some of our lucky followers!  We all hope to see you there.  Have a great day and happy crafting!

You Need the Right Tool

My sister-in-law is always saying that I don't make enough craft goodies for her.  I just never know what to make, what is she going to like.  She is not as easy as her mother to craft for.  Melissa had mentioned that she was going to be redoing her son Logan's room but didn't have any idea what theme she was going with.

I told her I had just purchased a set of 4 small frames really cheap at The Home Depot and if she was interested in me making something with them for his room.  She said yes and was picking through my vast array of SVG files and settled on the Cut Its Tools set by Lettering Delights. 

She wanted the frames kept in brown and the etching to be around the tool.  So I masked off the frame and opened my SVG in Make the Cut.  The images are about 4 inches high.  I used my Boss Kut Gazelle to cut out the tools on your standard clear Con-Tact paper.

I then took the frames outside and used the Rust-Oleum Frosted Glass spray that can be picked up for about $7.  I believe I used about two coats.  This stuff is pretty resilant, I felt I didn't need a sealer.  I know kids can be rough on things but I am not worried about these as they are going on the wall.

Here is the finished product.  Didn't they come out cute?!?  I had my doubts at first but the images are crisp and clean.  If you see some spots or speckles on your finished project where they shouldn't be, all you have to do is wet a paper towel and lightly rub the mistakes.  They come off pretty easy without messing with the image. 

Hope you enjoyed my project for today.  If you have any comments or questions, feel free to add them here.  Oh and be sure to come back tomorrow for the big announcement I have been dying to share with you.  I have some exciting things ahead for me and for you guys!  Have a great day and happy crafting.!