Labor Day Sale at SVG Cuts

Right now save 25% off your total purchase from SVG Cuts!  This kind of sale only happens twice a year over there.  So get em' while the gettins' good!  LOL

SALE INFORMATION

• Save 25% on your entire purchase! No minimum purchase required.
• Sale begins Friday, August 31st, 2012 and runs through Thursday, September 6th, 2012.
• No limit on the number of uses per customer (in case you decide you want to buy more)!

To get your discount, you need to visit SVG Cuts.  Load up your shopping cart with crafty goodness. During Step 2 of your checkout, there will be a Discount Coupon field.  You need to type in LABORDAY. That will apply the 25% discount to your order. Pay for your order then download your files. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Life's a Beach

Hey everyone, I'm back to bring you my Design Team project for the month of August over at Trendy Twine.  The theme for the challenge is beach so I thought I would continue on, and get a few more summery cards out there.  My inspiration came from my friend Brigit.  I just adored her card, and couldn't help making one just, well almost, like it.  I like her button better.  :p  Doesn't this make you want to stick your toes in the sand or what!

Look at that awesome Trendy Twine in Krazy for Kraft.  One of my personal faves!  I am really surprised I am digging how faded this card is.  Didn't plan on it coming out like that, but it's growing on me.

Hope you enjoyed my card, and are getting ready for the weekend.  Happy crafting!

Supplies:
Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket
Krazy for Kraft by Trendy Twine
Just Beachy by SVG Attic
GB8 & GB10 Spectrum Noir markers for sand dots
Wave Paper Crimper by Fiskars (sand)
Silhouette Cameo (cut files & sentiment)
ZIG Millennium pen (sentiment - smeared on purpose)
Compass Rose button poorly made by me using an epoxy dot with clipart I found for free online

Adorable Felt Flower Pin

Long time no see!  It's Becki here for the last and final time being part of the Boss Kut Design Team.  I am sad that my term is over.   I have been working with a great company, top to bottom, and some fabulous design team members.  You will all be sorely missed.  This project made me leave my comfort zone once again, and try out a new material - felt.  This is something I have never tried to cut before.  I am pleasantly surprised at how it turned out!

OK, Let's get to it.  Purchase a sheet of stiffened felt and a pin back from Hobby Lobby or your favorite craft store.  The felt usually comes in a big sheet.  Cut three circles in varying sizes (Five at 2", five at 1.5", seven at 1", and one at half an inch).  That brings us to 17 total circles.  The settings I used on my Gazelle were force 4, speed 3 with the deep cut blade raised to sit higher in the holder by stacking 25 post-its.  This helps the blade not drag over your material, and cause cuts where you don't want them.  It also helps to "punch" through thicker material to get a better cut.

Let's make the petals first. Lay aside two of the 1" along with the half inch circle.  We need to start with five of each of the sizes as shown below.

I used a hot glue gun for this project.  Hence, why it's a tad messy.  You can use whatever glue you feel will stick the felt together and keep it sturdy.  Glue the 1" to the 1.5" then the 1.5" to the 2" like this.  I didn't go all the way to the bottom because I wanted to see the inside petals better when it becomes folded. 

You should now have five petals stacked and glued, ready to be folded over.  Now to form the petal shape. Wrap the bottom half of the petal around your finger or a pencil to get your desired curve.  When you like how it looks, just place a small dab of hot glue inside the fold.  Be careful, the felt is thin and the glue hot.  It gets a little warm holding it.  But the good news is it dries super fast.

When you are done forming your petals, glue them together in a circular pattern.  You will see the flower shape appear.  Using one of the reserved 1", glue to the back.  This is a stabilizer so your pin has something to sit on when glued.  You can now glue the pin onto this piece.  Take your other 1", and glue the half inch on top of it.  The half inch can be the same color or an matching one.  Just something adorable! 

I wanted to add a little style without adding additional bulk.  I choose to glue very fine microbeads around the outer rim.  A simple button with bright, happy twine, and it's complete.

I normally wouldn't show the back of any project I make because I am a messy crafter.  I thought you might like to see how I glued the pin.  Just ignore all the glue.  :P

Here it is in all it's glory attached to my Fifth Avenue purse in denim by Thirty-One.  Just an adorable accent to go along with my favorite purse.  Since it's felt, it should hold up really well if it gets banged around.  Especially with all hot glue I solder onto it.  LOL

Midnight Jamboree

New kit from SVG Cuts today.  This is their first Halloween kit of the season, and it is so cool.  It's called Midnight Jamboree.  This might be showing my age, but I remember my family having decorations very similar decorations when I was a kid.  o_O

Let me give you the kit description straight from SVG Cuts:  "Create a festive yet eerie Halloween season with vintage projects! Make a fabulous yet easy 3D project, or use one of the 20 "flat" elements to create something totally different! Hang the delightful banner at home for the Halloween season and get started on your Vintage Lantern. Create the Black Cat Bucket and fill it with shredded paper and caramels. Make the darling Candy Dish, which has a "one-piece" base, so it assembles in a snap. Wow, anyone with the Flying Witch, and of course, have a blast choosing what pretty paper you'll use!"

This kit is so reminiscent of my childhood, I am getting weepy-eyed.  Love it!  So, you want to get this awesome kit for free?  Follow the directions below to pick it up.

FREE GIFT INSTRUCTIONS

• Visit www.SVGCuts.com and make a purchase of $9.98 or more between now and Thursday, August 30th 2012.
• Add Midnight Jamboree 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!

You're Whale-y Great

Since the My Thoughts Exactly challenge this month is puns, I thought it only appropriate to make something with one of my favorite oldie but goodie sets: Under the Sea.  It was actually my first purchase from MTE, and what kicked in my sweet love affair with these stamps.  Let me show you why...

Isn't that card adorable and encouraging?  I love it.  I tried to make the sentiment background look like a scroll made out of parchment.  It's actually a little darker in person.  I went to use a baggie with some hair gel.  But for some reason, my gel is missing from my craft stash. (Let's just say my youngest son is walking around looking like Frisch's Big Boy) Hmmmm...wonder who took it?  So I opted for two pieces of transparencies with three different Distress Inks smooshed between them.  It came out better than I hoped.

Glad you stopped by today.  Hope you enjoyed this quick little card and come back to see me!

Supplies:
Under the Sea by My Thoughts Exactly
Porthole by SVG Cuts
Tropical Friends by SVG Cuts (inside PnC)
Recollections paper

Fruit of the Spirit Bookmarks

Remember I told you I had the Junior Church kids make some Fruits of the Spirit bookmarks?  Well, I forgot to take pictures of those cuties destroying...erm....creating the oranges and limes.  Lucky me, I had cut too many out, and there were three left over.  So, I decided I would take a couple pictures to show.

I only had limes left, but I am sure it doesn't matter to you guys.  Each fruit kit had one of nine die-cut "fruits" to glue on.  I didn't think at the size I cut them I would be able to fit all on one slice.  It was actually kind of funny to watch the kids dump their bags to see which fruit they were.  One of the more ornery boys got goodness.  Yeah, he got a few good-natured pokes in the ribs for that one.

As you can see, I am getting my moneys worth with this kit from My Scrap Chick.  Sometimes a kit is so perfect for your needs, you can't stop using it and it is your go-to kit for every project.  I mean, did you see how stinking adorable the orange slice box was?

Oh, in case you missed it, here is some exciting news for electronic die-cut machine users brought to you, in part, by The Happy Card Encouragement Factory.  ^__^

Supplies:
Slice of Summer boxes by My Scrap Chick
Twisted Lime by Trendy Twine
WorldWin DoubleMates card stock

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."  Galatians 5:22-23

Unbelievably Exciting News!

Wow!  I can't believe the day is finally here that I can let you all in on my big news.  It has been killing me these past six months not to give a hint here and there.  It is official that on September 1, 2012, I will be releasing with two friends our own online magazine dedicated to crafting with electronic die cutters. It is called....dum dum da dum......

How awesome is that?  Well, maybe you guys don't think it's cool but I sure do!  CuttingEdge Magazine has been a labor of love that has been a long time in the making.  It feels like this day would never get here, and now it has. Yea!!!  Here's a little about the magazine.  It is a bi-monthly publication that will focus on one electronic cutting machine per issue and it's native software.  There will be tips, tricks, tutorials, and excellent projects created featuring die-cuts from our Creative Team.

Also, we will feature one fabulous designer and showcase a few of their files.  There may be a coupon code and/or free designs in there too.  But you have to subscribe to find out.  ;)  Another thing we are excited about is eventually we will be taking reader submissions.  Be on the lookout for information on how to enter.  We would love to showcase the creativity of our wonderful readers.  

Even though the magazine will not be accepting subscribers till September 1, we are having a launch party starting today going through the 1st.  See our Facebook page for details.  So, my partners Michelle, Trish and I would love you to join us in announcing our awesome Creative Team and come to the new Facebook fan page to win some great prizes.

See you there!

My Thoughts Exactly Stamps Back in Stock!

Hey everyone, I have some great news.  Your favorite My Thoughts Exactly stamp sets are finally back in stock!  I can't tell you how many people have asked me when these were coming back.  Why you ask? Only because these are some of the best sets to have in your crafting arsenal.  They are so unbelievably versatile.  Take a look:

Big Thoughts

Mini Thoughts

More Big Thoughts

More Mini Thoughts

There is a limited supply, so if you are wanting any or all of these sets, you better hurry.  My Thoughts Exactly now had free shipping on orders of $50 or more.  As if you needed more of a reason to purchase these amazing stamps.  ^__^

Don't forget about the August Puns challenge going on now at MTE.  There are only a couple of entries, the chances for a win are pretty, pretty good.  hehehe  Go get crafting and enter.  I would love to see some really punny projects!

Orange Slice Box

Isn't this the one of the most adorable things you have ever seen?  OK, maybe it doesn't have a cutesy face or anything, but I think it's wonderful.  I normally don't jump right in and purchase a new set from anywhere let alone make something from said set this quick.  Just so happens my husband and I filled in for Junior Church.    What do you think my husband taught on?  Yep, the fruits of the spirit.  Just goes too perfect with this set.  Watch out later this week for more from this set that I tweaked and made little tags for the kids to put together.  I forgot to get pictures of the children actually working on them, but did manage to salvage a few to take pictures of.

Since my husband taught the lesson, I decided to thank our Pastor for letting us help out and made this box for him.  I filled it with those yummy orange slices from the candy store.  Yum, yum.

Do you think this box smack of summer?  Love it?  Think it needs bling?  Let me know in the comments.  Have a great day and happy crafting!

Supplies:
Slice of Summer by My Scrap Chick
Peaches n' Cream DoubleMates by WorldWin Papers

You're Sweet Note Card

There's nothing sweeter than getting a homemade card from your friend unless it has an adorable ice cream cone on the front of it.  I really wanted to make a card to let a friend know I think they are the sweetest when Boss Kut released this ice cream cone recently.  I love the chocolate syrup and cherry.  Really makes this die cut.  Of course, the pop up layers are really cool too.  (See what I did there?  hehe)

I wanted to take a close-up of the ice cream cone to show the layers.  I also wanted to brag that my Gazelle cut the whole thing out at less than 3" high.  So you can imagine how small the cherry and stem are.  My Gazelle cut it out without a hitch.  Amazing!

Thanks for coming over here and taking the time to check out my latest project.  Feel free to leave some love.  I heart comments!

Supplies:
Ice Cream Cone by Boss Kut
Cakewalk by October Afternoon
Sweet Thoughts by My Thoughts Exactly

Ice Cream Sale at Lettering Delights

New sets and yummy sale from Lettering Delights.  Graphics sets and Cut-Its that will keep you cool the rest of the summer!

Save room for ice cream! Your digital projects don’t need to be “basic vanilla." With Lettering Delights new Ice Cream Funday graphics, papers, and cut-it sets, you can create something deliciously sweet! Dive in to this new collection and discover why ice cream is so much fun. See Ice Cream Funday now!

Treat Yourself to LD's Ice Cream Sale!

Stock up on other sweet sets during their mini Ice Cream sale! Ice Cream is cold but the savings are HOT on select products through August 15. See all the ice cream product on sale now!

Get these great sets and many more sweet treats to end out the lazy days of summer. Stay tuned for the Friday Freebie from Lettering Delights.  Coming soon!  Have a great day crafting.