Pinterest has Occupied My Free Time!

    Did you miss me?
 I discovered Pinterest and time just slipped away!
  Are you Pinning?
 Have you heard about it?
 Been trying to check it out and find you are not permitted?








   Here is what you are missing.  Imagine the internet is a stack of magazines. You have a pair of scissors. Cut out that recipe, cute hairstyle, decorating inspiration or anything else that makes you think ooooh !  Now place these clips onto your "boards". You create however many you like, their topic, their arrangement.  Now here comes the fun part...you glimpse other peoples boards. See something you like? Hit the like button. Or better yet "repin" it onto your board. Come up with new categories and give them fresh names.  Here is the best part, each Pin is an instant link to the original website, taking you to the recipe, blog site, originator of that image.    Follow your friends, or strangers with similar interest.  Before you know it you have beautiful boards and countless people are following you, to see what you will pin next.  It is highly addicting.  And you don't have to restrict yourself to repinning what others have pinned. Go to your favorite blog site, you may find a "follow me on Pinterest" tab, and you add them to your following list.  Right away you may want to add a Pin It button to the marquee of your browser ( Pinterest gives you the step by step)  then anytime something tugs at your heartstrings you are ready to pin it.
Soon you may have a following of your own.  So many inspiring, creative people out there sharing ideas, in one place. Pinterest.  Look to see which of your friends are pinning, ask them for an invite ( you can just request permission from P and wait for approval) and see what everyone is pinning about.

you are welcome to browse my boards http://pinterest.com/ginadecor/
It is addicting, you have been warned !


Follow Me !

What Is SVG Cuts?

This is the skinny on SVG Cuts. The site that offers tons of free SVG files plus some great projects that are very economical.  Mary has numerous "watch me make this" videos to view before buying kits.  I browse their site way too frequently!!!

 Happy Fall Y'all !

Today I found some Fabulous fall Subway art at Today's Fabulous Find http://todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-subway-art-prints.html. Janet has these as well as other seasonal Subway Art posters she has created for free download at her site and offers them in several colors. Thank you Janet!  Someone new to swing by and visit with! I am going to reproduce mine in vinyl on a store bought frame then put some subtle fall paper inside the frame. I suppose I could also put leaves in the frame. Hmmm....

                                                                 ..................Does anyone else seem to spend more time admiring other peoples creativity and not enough time  getting busy utilizing their own creativity? I am so guilty.  I spend hours looking through the idea galleries at SVGcuts or My Vinyl Designer or Lettering Delights to name a few. And then I have my daily blog list I go through with my coffee several times a week. Then I read the forums at Make the Cuts or Craftedge for Sure Cuts A lot. or Smart Buy Gal.  I learn so much ! But it does take away from my design time.

   This weekend I bought my first set of Letraset Promarkers. (Joann's with 50% off coupon). This set 1 has 12 basic colors and the blender pen. These are the permanent twin-tip alcohol based markers. Perhaps similar to Copics, but not refillable. But $15 for the set.  I stamped some fall images. Googled YouTube Promaster tutorials and practiced while watching others shading and blending with these great markers.  I discovered I need better cardstock to avoid bleed through, and probably order some Gina K  pure luxury as recommended by others.

   Next I got out my Koh-I Noor colored pencils and then blended using my new Promarker blender...Awesome! ( a tip from Gina K )  While in the past I have used odorless mineral spirits (OMS) or baby oil with Q-tip "stubs" the blender pen was effortless and I had such control without leaving a "wet spot" from the OMS.  I promise to post as I finish my images. Keep in mind I was practicing a new technique.

   Does this redeem me from too much lurking and not enough finishing my own projects? no. But tomorrow is another day. I gotta get busy !   

Enjoying the Summer

Brandon diving in ! 

Is everyone enjoying the summer ?  We added a new pool to the back yard, yeah ! Although it was a huge construction project requiring long hours especially for my sweet husband, the pool is now finished and we have been enjoying it almost daily ! Did I tell you I cut vinyl geckos with my Cricut and decorated the pool liner! Too stinking cute! And it brings attention to the drop off! I will post a picture next week!

    I have not put much time into my crafting. I worked with a client with SCAL2 lessons. She and I worked on 30+ multi-layer vinyl cuts on tumblers for her daughters cheer-leading and dance teams. This was an ambitious project for someone new to SCAL and new to vinyl but the results were AMAZING.  Way to go Sheri! I am available for private or group lessons for  SCAL2  and will teach basic  Make the Cuts if anyone is interested. ( I  less familiar with MTC but using it more lately)  My craft room or yours. I am still getting by with the Cricut Expression but am looking into a third party friendly new cutting machine down the road.
    Has anyone been to SVG.cuts blog lately?  Mary has wonderful detailed step by step tutorial videos ! I wish she was my neighbor! I would certainly invite her and Leo to the pool in exchange for some great paper magic tips! ( 3D flowers, pumpkins, pie boxes, lever cards... all too cute)
    Lettering Delights and Make the Cuts have a wonderful new relationship! And if you have the new MTC version 3 your Lettering Delights library is TA DA  right there, easy to utilize. Of course to use this with the Cricut you must keep the PCCPlugin.dll from your previous MTC version before MTC and Provo-Craft went through the ugly divorce ( lawsuit).

Once fall gets here I will catch up on my card making.  Have a  Happy Labor Day enjoying time with family and friends! Stay cool!

                                           

Summer Flowers through my Camera Lens

Tumblin' over Tumblers

   I stayed up all night finishing these before leaving for our vacation. I personalized 10 tumblers and 8 beer mugs. But they turned out just as I had hoped. And the girls got to use their tumblers at the lake.  The photos are not my best, but was taken just before handing them out!  H & H vinyl cut like a dream. I mixed some Lettering Delights floral SVGs along with a floral font, Saru's Flower Ding  and SCAL2 basic shape flower.  There were too many floral patterns to choose from!

cups with printed dots from Gordmans
These didn't need much more that flower w initial but I liked the spiral added

Cups from Gordmans
The white daisy design really popped on the dark blue tumblers!

Walmart Tumbler

Zebra print started with Denise's from Paper Pastime then made a few changes. The reverse has the flip flops for my Sis in law who spends the summer in her flip flops ( she must own 20+) including zebra!

Favorite Fonts Screen Shot

Someone said they had a difficult seeing my fonts previously displayed so here is a screen shot "Snip". Hope this works better. I am still learning this HTML jazz !  

 

Favorite Fonts for Papercrafting

I put together a list of my favorite fonts to use for die cutting ( using SCAL2), or just to print and cut for sentiments. I hope I can post it in the font depicted. I am giving a letter sampling as well. A size 16 is not consistently the same size as you can see. Font names are underlined. You can google for these, they were all free !  I have probably close to 1000 fonts but these are my favs.  Add your in comments please.

Favorite Fonts  bold   size 16   A B C D F G H J L M P R S T & 

                                 

aka Dora       A B C  D F  G H J L M  P R 

Amperzand      A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

ArtScript               A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

Algerian      A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

Balzac     A  B  C  D F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

Baskerville       A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

Beautiful                 A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  

Belshaw     A B C D F G H J L M P R S 

Blach Chancery     A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R

Balkeno      A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S     

    

Ballpark      A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S 

Boingo        A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T 

Cac Champagne    A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T  

Caslon Becker 540 Swash A  B C D F G H  J L M  P R  S

  

Curlz  MT   A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T

Caslon Initials ABCDFGHR     

CoffeeMilkCrazy     A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T 

Chocolate Box A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T  


Crazy Harold   A B C D F G H J L MP R S T 

Creampuff     A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S 

Duvall A B C D F G H J L M P R S T 

Edwardian Medium LET              A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T 

Fatso      A B C D F G H J L M  P R S T

FontLeroy Brown    A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T  

 Geselle                        A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T  

Good Vibrations  A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S 

Harrington   A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T 

Japan   A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T 

LD Filigree  A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T 

       

Nuptial              A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T  

Peach Sundress  A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T

  

Penguin Attack   A  B  C  D  F  G  H  J L M  P R  S  T 

Puritan Swash  ABC DFG HJ LMP R S T 

Lucinda Handwriting  A B C D F G H J L M P R S 

Regal A B D FG H J L M P R S T 

Rage ABCD FG H JLM PRS T

Shardee    A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T

Water  Street  A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T

  

Storybook    A B C D  F G  H J L M P R S T  

This is Embarassing

I multi task. But I don't stay focused on just one project at a time. I see a birthday card, graduation card, and gift for my mother-in-law all "under construction".  This photo is for Creations with Cristine. Yep, it's embarrassing.

Quick Birthday Girl Card

Quick and Easy Peasy card for a birthday girl of any age  

  I only had half an hour to devote to a couple of birthday cards. One for now one for later.   I grabbed my old time favorite Storybook cartridge and used the birthday girl phrase. I  placed this  on top of  the Accent Blackout cut. I used Design Studio to get proper sizing. I then grabbed my Marvy floral punch and EK Success leaf punch, my We R Memory Keepers Big Bite hole punch and ta da done.  DCWV Summer and Citrus cardstock made this June Birthday card pop. The bit of green use on the leaf helped to "ground" it a bit.  I couldn't decide if I liked the flowers centered or diagonal, so I made one of each. I use 5 flowers and curl or bend them for dimension. 

Tip - It only takes a couple on minutes longer to make 2 cards while you have all the supplies out. When coming up with a new card layout one may be your practice card but plenty good enough to give !

"Red Bra Chic" 50th Birthday

     Welcome to the RBC ! Red Bra Chics . This ain't no Red Hat Ladies Club! This is for the 50 year old gal with spunk. Started by yours truly prior to turning 50, but just not ready for the Red Hatters. I had to come up with something for myself and friends because 50 seems to be the new 40 for us. Red Bra Chics it is. Wear it, flaunt it, hide it, you are old enough to decide. So we present the new 50 year old with a red bra usually at a party.
So here is the card I made for the newest RBC, my friend Linda.  This is a multi- opening card, with a front opening bra, the cleavage revealing the letters RBC.  The girls Loved It !

Gate Fold 4 x 6
Font   Riesling 

 

Opens to Retro Bats One font lady

Fold up to discover Red Bra from Princess font embossed with Spellbinder Flowers
This is a Gate Fold cut away to hint at "cleavage" 

RBC from Riesling font creates cleavage when shadowed 

Shows the folds and cuts of a 12 x12
verticals scores at 3 & 9
horizontal scores at 4 & 8

I started with a 12 X12 Gray cardstock, scored at intervals shown above. The red bra was cut in half, placed on the gate-fold and then cardstock trimmed to allow "cleavage to show. RBC letters placed just so the R & B tops peak through.( I removed the black s later to spell chic since it made the c look like an o.)
  Cardstock  used was Michaels Recollections and Jeweled Metallics collections.
 Fonts - Caslon Becker 540 Swash and  Riesling. Dingbat Fonts- Retro Bats One and Princess.
 Bling on ladies hat and earrings from Making Memories collection.
ATG and Xyron adhesives, Martha Steward Score-Board. SCAL2
Envelope  miscellanous patterned paper made at 5x7 size to accomodate thickness of folded card.
            Time Consuming : yes   Worth it : Definitely !!!

10 minute Graduation Card

 

   Yes, I knew about this graduation party for weeks. When did I make the card? Ten minutes before I needed to get in the shower. Which means:
No time to search for unique color combinations, grab something out of the "scrap" basket.
Grab the "congratulations" word design I made up last year and print it out.
Stamp a cap, forget the embossing. Handwrite 2011, Print inside sentiment with Word
Slice and Dice, no time for embossing plates, Cricut cuts, embellishments, just make it and run.
But I did take a second to scan it for future reference.

Office Max card stock  white & gray
"scrap basket" black and metallic silver cs
Stampendous Grad cap  rubber stamp

Fiskar trimmer, 2" Marvy sq punch
ATG & pop up adhesives

Sentiment      Don't Forget Your Sunglasses!
              You have a Bright Future ahead of you! 

Get It Done !    Yes I whipped out an envelope too A2 using my Martha Scoreboard.

Monogrammed Plate Vinyl

I was so busy finishing the plate for a wedding gift I neglected to get a photo taken.

I used the same plate I had used for Christmas presents, but personalized it with the bride and grooms names.

I used the Fontleroy-Brown font, Separated the W using SCAL basic shapes and then added the couples first names.  The W was cut using black vinyl, the first names with brown metallic vinyl, both sign vinyl from H&H.

When I separated the W the further apart they were, the more "off" the angles became, To keep them close I cut the first names at about 1 inch. They didn't cut well even at bold so I ungrouped them and shadowed some of the fragile letters like "e".  I wish I had taken a picture !  Next time I will.

Thanks for looking!

Gate Fold Graduation Cards

     These are cards I made last year. I had an assembly line going since my own son graduated from high school, we had quite a few of his friends to recognize. Each time I thought I had enough cards, I would receive another announcement! 

This was "lifted" from a talented contributer at Split-Coast Stampers. I'm sorry I don't have her name handy.

I will be making more of these next week and will add dimensions with scoring lines then.

I typed Congratulations a jillion times ( and then cut paste a jillion more) using various font styles and sizes.

Embossing was done with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder

Stamp   Stampendous

Embossing Powder Black Stampendous

Ink Memento

Card Stock  Black and White Value Pack from Michael's

Wedding Card

I am busy making cards this week for friends celebrating weddings, graduations,and birthdays this month.

Wedding card shown was made to compliment the brides colors. I also tried to imitate the font style used on their invitations. I think details like this really let the bride know you made the card especially for them. I say bride because the groom probably doesn't notice !


Card Details
size 5 x 7
white CS base       Georgia Pacific
Silver under-layer    DCWV Metallic Stack
Black liner             The Paper Studio
Deep Blue Metallic  Recollections Gemstone - Michael's
Patterned Paper      Making Memories Wedding
Bling                      Making Memories Gem Collection
Embossing Folder   Paisley  Cuttlebug
Martha Stewart Punches
Die- Cut Label from SCAL2
Inked edges - Brilliance Starlight Silver Pigment Ink.
Adhesives   ATG, Glue Dots, Scotch Quick Dry
Ribbon   Michaels       Martha Stewart Scoring Board
Fonts     Front:   Nestie-lookalikes, Garamond
Inside: Amperzand and DB Fleuries (Lettering Delights)

A lot of products for one card, but worth it!

Sure Cuts a Lot 2 Discontinued

      Craft Edge no longer offers Sure Cuts A Lot 2 which was compatible with the Provo-Craft Cricut die-cutting machine. They do offer SCAL 3 which is compatible with other die-cutting machines BUT NOT CRICUT.
     This may in fact be due to Provo-Craft's recent legal actions against third-party software programs.
I am sorry if anyone delayed in purchasing this program, and planned on using SCAL2 in the future.
     If you already own SCAL2 and are using it with a Cricut machine do not upgrade to SCAL3. Continue to use it as you presently are.  If I had a choice between using SCAL or getting a different die-cutting machine, I would be saving for the new die-cutting machine. Seriously.  Fortunately my old SCAL2 is working great with my Cricut Expression.
                     Sorry Guys!

Which Cricut Cartridge to Buy?

     Which Cricut cartridge is your favorite and which one collects dust?  Of course we all are at different stages of our lives and are involved with various activities.  The mom of little girls on soccer teams will reach for cartridges I don't own. I am the mother of teenage (and college age) son's.  I am past the "Room Mom Diva" stage, although they must still have my photo on the room mom wall of fame for best parties ever LOL.

I use my Cricut for vinyl projects, card-making, home decor and finally scrapbooking.
You know already that I usually start my Cricut projects at my computer. I use SCAL for anything involving a font. I have hundreds of SVG files neatly organized on my computer. Most of these were free or under $5 for a collection.   Often I use SCAL2  for the whole project. SCAL gives me total control of any SVG image I want to cut. I can see it on my mat before cutting.  "Measure twice cut once"  is my motto And there are thousands of free designs / fonts to use. Google SVG which stands for scalable vector graphic.
      If I am using cartridges I usually go to Design Studio, I can utilize the Key Word function to find the design I need and then place it exactly where I want it to cut on my mat. This lets me know where to place my paper.  Design Studio. I can resize, skew and stretch and weld the Cricut designs and then cut - AS Long As I Own that Cartridge.
     I shop for cartridges with Design Studio. Even with the free trial software you can examine cartridges and truly evaluate if it is cartridge worth purchasing. You can see the feature keys and overlay. You just can not cut with it until you purchase it.  This is one of my favorite ways to use Design Studio.

My favorite Cricut Cartridges......
don't hold me to this as I am fickle.

A Child's Year
Storybook
Home Accents
Martha Stewart Elegant Cakes - (and I don't own the Cricut Cake )
Give a Hoot
Sweethearts
Winter Wonderland or Joy's of the Season ( year round)
Life's a Beach
Plantin Schoolbook or Calligraphy for fonts
Cindy Loo
Sports Mania  ( mom of athletes )


Non-Cricut designs (I cut with SCAL2)

Lettering Delights SVG collections ($4 collections)
SVGcuts    free SVGs and nice under $8.00 collections
 free font sites with dingbats like Dafont
and more too numerous to mention


Comment on your favorites please, and what you use them for.

Sugar's Suggestions for a Happy Mother's Day

Sugar wishes all her lady friends a Happy Mother's Day.

 Here are her ideas for a perfect day.

Spend time relaxing with family.

Count your blessings as you think about your mother.

Take a nap. 

Happy Mother's Day

I'll be missing you, Mom.

gina

Easter Tumblers

Easter Tumblers 

      The Webbe cousins and aunts all received embellished tumblers filled with Easter candy from me this year.  I tried to make each one unique for the special lady they were intended for.    The best selection of tumblers came from Home Goods, while the solid color ones came from Walmart. I used the H&H GT5 vinyl so they could be hand washed and remain intact without curling, peeling or fading.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Direct Link to H&H

Sure Cuts A Lot Version 3 Update

     A new version of Sure Cuts A Lot has been introduced for those cutting with die- cutting machines other than Provo Craft's Cricut machine. This is version 3. It will not be compatible with Cricut.
However.......
     Sure Cuts A Lot version 2 is compatible  with Cricut and is still available. Don't miss the boat!
If you have been in my classes you know how much I utilize this program to create unlimited designs and I can cut any True Type font from my computer.
    You will need a USB cord to connect your computer to your die-cutting machine.
     Click on my SCAL2 link for more information.  The forum at this site will answer many of your questions.
If you are a visual learner Google SCAL tutorials on YouTube and watch what all this amazing software will allow you to do.  Believe me you do not need to be that computer savvy to reap the benefits of this program, not do you need to use Inkscape anymore.

 Have fun!   

Create something beautiful today!