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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Thanks a Melon card

Did you check out the Dustin Pike graphics? I purchased the set and found this wonderful graphic that I just had to make up into a card.
And I got to use some of the Trendy Twine that I just received.
 See that magnet hiding under there?
This card has a flap closure with magnets to secure it.
This card was designed in MTC, then printed and cut from MTC to the Silhouette. You can download the MTC file (minus the graphic) here.

Last day for the $5 off $10 purchase at Lettering Delights.

Discounts end tonight!  Code is FiveforYou
If you have a bigger order, then the 40% off will benefit you more. Code is UndertheSea. Both end tonight.

Free envie file for the wedding card

I designed a lattice-like overlay for this envie.
It is designed to compliment the Wedding card that I had posted earlier.
 The MTC files for the envie and the overlay are available free here
.  And remember today is the last day for the code "UndertheSea" at Lettering Delights. But the FiveforYou ($5 off any order greater than $10) may be active a little bit longer.

Also, check out this great sale on graphics at Dustin Pike's site - grab it if it is still active! He has the cutest graphics.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Another wedding card, new paper, and a coupon!

I know it looks like the same card, but this one was made with a pearl paper, not card stock. I was also able to personalize it.
 This paper cut like a dream! I cut from Make-the-Cut to the Silhouette, using an OEM blade and mat (I had to reinforce the back with transfer tape) on  a setting of speed = 5 and force = 10 with the yellow cap. The best part - this paper is super cheap and easy to find. I found this Wausau paper "Royal Metallics" Champagne Pearl at Target in the office section for 50 shts for $9. That's only 0.18 a sheet for wonderful paper with an elegant sheen and super easy to cut.  The cuts were clean and accurate, and only needed one pass.
I even personalized this one. I was afraid that the ink would not stick to the pearlized surface but it did great. (You can see here where I forgot to split and weld the overlapping letters. Oops, I didn't notice it until I saw the close-ups.)

This paper has more of a yellow/beige tint to it. You can see the two cards together here to bring out the color difference.
The interesting thing is that when tilted to the side, they change colors! The white gets a gold sheen and this one gets a white sheen. It was hard to catch this change in a photo, this is the best I could do.
Oh yeah, my mat is about shot already. I reinforced it with a piece of clear transfer tape (like contact paper only a little thinner) and it is working well for now. I also went to the local Archivers armed with my 30% coupon and purchased 2 new mats for $20.50 ($14.35 after the coupon). They also carry the blades, so I will be printing out another coupon so I can get a blade for less than $9!
The jury is still out on the click blade holder. At first it worked OK (needed 2 passes but cut well) now it is not working so well. I have switched mats, and tried to see what was the variable. It seems to be the holder. I  am going to try a new blade next and see if that cures it. I so want this to work because it takes the Roland blades which I already have for my other cutters. We'll see. I am willing to try it a little longer before I decide to recommend it (or not!)

As always, have a blessed day and enjoy your crafting! I love your comments! If you need the MTC file for this card it is in this post. If you do not already have MTC, there is a link on the upper right (I am now an affiliate!). The download is free and you can use the trial version to see how it works. All updates and upgrades are free. Just remember that it no longer works with the Provo Craft cutters (Create and Cricut). Give it a try - it is a wonderful program.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Steph - this is for you.

Staph made a comment that she was going to use the cake card for a wedding. Thank you, Steph! I have a wedding to attend next week and this file would be great for a wedding card.

I have scraps of this wonderful paper, 3x6" and 4x6" of thick white card stock that has a gold shimmer to it in the light. It is almost iridescent but very subtle. But it looks white when viewed straight on. I thought it would be perfect for an elegant but simple wedding card.

I wasn't sure how to do all the fancy decoration on a wedding cake but I had designed a tile pattern that would make a lovely lace pattern. So I used it for the decorations, tone-on-tone on the wedding cake.

1) is the design, 2) and 3) is the design applied to the cake outline, and 4) is the tiled design. I included these in the file in case you wanted to resize or modify.

The cut was done with mutilcut and a very slow speed. I taped the scraps to the cutting mat so it would not move and went upstairs to do something else while it cut. I think it probably took 10-15 minutes to cut the two lacy pieces (I had it on a very slow speed). Here's what my mat looked like after pulling off and weeding.
The very edges were a little hard to weed but most of the inner cuts fell out. They were tiny pieces, less than 1/8" at the largest diameter. The blue lines are 1 inch squares, to give you an idea of the size. The Silhouette cut this perfectly, even though it was very thick card stock.
I used a glue pen to adhere the lace to the cake. I debated about the frosting swirls and then realized that the little leftover pieces from weeding looked like flowers....so I salvaged some of them for the cake. And added just the tiniest bit of discreet bling for the flower centers.

 So Steph, feel free to snag this file if it meets your needs for a card. MTC file is here.  

Sorry - The file was removed due to a complaint. I did make this file completely in MTC using Basic Shapes, with welds and joins. But due to this comment (in a completely different post - what's with that?)
I removed it. As I have said many times, I appreciate the aspect of copyrights and I enjoy designing (BTW - did you know that ideas cannot be copyrighted. Neither can templates or patterns - see this.  The law is very clear).  But I do not find that I have to "work hard" at it. (She must be using the wrong program for designing -  MTC makes this so easy!) So here is exactly how these shapes were made.  Hopefully you too can learn how to do simple designs like this in MTC.
"Ah!" you say - "but the cake is rather boxy and I can see the shapes. What about the cake stand - isn't that drawn?" No! It can also be made easily with Basic Shapes, joins, and welds as well. Here is the process.
So you can see here that you just need to look critically at desired designs and start putting them together with Basic Shapes. Even curves are rather easy. And with the new node edit options, fine-tuning can be done as well (a little tedious but possible). So give this a try!

The next time I have a need for a cake file I will redesign this again - with more or less loop-de-doops and re-post it. Or maybe alternating large and small ones? Whatever suits my fancy - because I am doing the designing! This action is an annoyance but it is not hard to re-design in MTC when you are the original designer.

Under construction

Honk, honk! Beeep! Coming on through...

Boys and their toys! I needed a shower card for a new baby boy and thought this would work. I used the Big Truck graphic set from LD and came up with this.

And even though it was for a little boy, I needed a little bling....
The inside sentiment followed the construction theme.
I nabbed the feet off the internet and made up my own sentiment. If you have boys in your life, check out the Big Truck graphic set at Lettering Delights.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Silhouette Registration marks (file for MTC)

I have been requested to make my "base layer" file available for the registration marks for the Silhouette. The registration marks do not automatically print in MTC (they will in the next version). But it is easy enough to start with this file as the base and add your designs to the upper layers.

Remember to keep MTC and your printer in landscape setting. Remember to keep the registration layer always open (not hidden).  I even named the file that.

The layer below it shows the "no cut" zone area. It is closed but you are still able to see the shadow of the outline so you know how to place your images. Download the file here. Let me know of your problems or successes.

Huge Freebie bundle "American Pride" at Lettering Delights

Lettering Delights is giving away an American Pride bundle with 14 different files in it - it's too big for me to show you all of them.  Check them out by clicking here or on the graphic.

Free Card file

OK, I saw this somewhere and thought it was cute, so I made my own. I am sure it is nothing like the one I saw but I like it. Of course I added some bling as well.

They were so fun and easy that I made two of these. The second one (the yellow and white) was designed, printed, and cut completely in MTC using the new Silhouette plug-in. It works great! I used a silver gel pen on the cake stand and the texture is one I designed myself.
 There are a few tips to remember:  be sure you watch Andy's video and also read this post. The two things I have to remind myself to do: 1) use landscape for everything (my printer defaults to portrait so I have to change it every time) and 2) leave the eye open (unhide) the layer with your registration marks when you are cutting. I turned by eye off (hid the layer) and it would not cut correctly - took me a while to figure out why!  It is really easy to use if you remember these tips.

Here is what the MTC file looks like. I have "outline shapes" checked so that you can see the design - remember to turn this OFF for printing.
And here is the file that you have been waiting for - click here for the MTC file for this card\ and here for the Silhouette Studio file.   Enjoy! And I would love to see some of your cards if you make them.


Files removed because of a complaint. I will be posting directions on how to make this ever-so-simple card in the future. It is so easy to make with MTC with Basic Shapes, joins & welds, and your imagination! I showed a little of the process in this post.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

First cuts with the new Silhouette plug-in for MTC

Awesome work, Andy! He never fails to come through for us. We have been waiting for the beta version of the plug-in and here it is. And there's even more coming with the next version - Silhouette users will have their own mat and it will be even better. But I am a happy camper right now, as it is.

Andy has a screenr video cast here that discusses using the plug-in, check it out and them get started cutting!

And here (drum roll please...) are the results of my very first cut after watching the video.

This is graphic #8 in the Big Truck graphic set. I cut it at just a little over 4 inches. I was amazed at how well this was cut out - it was perfect (well, except for my mistake - more on that later). Even the little space between the cab and the dump bed was cut perfectly. Take a look at the graphic set and you will see that the outlines are every thin around the graphics. The trace is that good and the cut that accurate.
 And notice with black window trim - it is about 1/32" wide (less than 1 mm), and it cut perfectly as well!
Oh yeah, above, you may be able to see that the black line is thicker where I've marked it wit red? Yeah, that's my goof-up. I placed a cut line to cut out the window and did not align it correctly (see below). Let's just say that a little Copic marker goes a long way in covering up some mistakes!
If you have a Silhouette (or another cutter) you need to check out Make The Cut software.

Just Be-Claws

Everybody  is lovin' the new Something Fishy graphics from Lettering Delights. I just couldn't resist making a card with the little crab because it was so cute and would make a great "anytime" card. You can never have enough of those!

The paper was from the Something Fishy set as well. This shaped card was designed and cut in Silhouette Studio.  But not to worry - the MTC plug-in for the Silhouette is coming soon - look for it in the next few days!

Here's the rest of the set - they are all so cute and cheerful. Grab yours today at Lettering Delights! There is a graphic set, an alphabet, a paper pack and an SVG set. You can pick up the collection like I did here. It's on sale for $6 right now - and don''t forget to use your coupon UndertheSea to get 40% off!

Monday, May 23, 2011

New Ninja set at LD

Have you seen the latest? LD has added a Ninja set! They have a graphic set, paper and SVGs.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Something for the men in your life (think Father's Day)

Lettering Delights Friday Freebie is perfect for Father's Day cards. So if you need a little inspiration, head over there for their freebie. (image is linked)

Shhh Secret Sale at Lettering Delights

Get 40% off your purchase with this code UndertheSea at Lettering Delights. (image is linked)
I just picked up the Something Fishy collection that I have been eyeing. 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Toadally Awesome...

...even if I do say so myself. This is another Riddle card for Dylan. I just fell in love with the cute little frog in the  Frog graphic set and papers from Lettering Delights. The white that you see around the edges of the popped up pieces is actually the edge of the paper. The PnC is so awesome with the Silhouette cutter that I rarely ever see even a small margin around the image.

 Here is the layout in Silhouette Studio for the card:

The inside has riddles on the left side to entertain Dylan.

Here is a link to the graphic set in case you would like to replicate the card.
Don't you just love this playful little froggy?
Yes, I did layer his tongue! I tried to use a wobbly on the fly to make him wiggle but it didn't look right so I ended up just using pop dots. Hope you have as much making this card as I did.

(PS: Andy,. I am still waiting for the Silhouette plug-in, hint, hint!)