Mania Monday - Tea for Two?

Super cute - I already have these sets but they are a great buy if you do not already have them

Remember this card and this post? The card and tag were made with this set.

Faith Lever Card

I am still exploring the possibilities of the Lever card designs from SVG Cuts. This one is for a sympathy card for a dear friend. I am not good at these, I always feel like I say or do the wrong thing. But my thoughts are right! Hopefully this will be OK.

I used a little bling to accent some spots.

There was a fine white line or edge to the cut-outs so I touched up the colors with a matching Copic marker to cover this and give dimension (LD almost always uses the basic Copic colors - I love coloring in with a complimentary color in the same tonal family). I added more dimension to the flat flowers shapes by rubbing them with an embossing tool. This really helped. Of course a rhinestone bling for the center. I also used Gelly Roll Stardust Clear pen on the flowers, the flourish and the word faith. (BTW if you are in the market for Copic markers, I included a link below).

I found an inspirational poem by Annie Johnson Flint "What God Hath Promised" to place on the inside.

I used the same papers as from the previous project (it was actually a trial for this one), Inch by Inch Paper Pack from Lettering Delights. The texture was resized using the method described here.

The blue color was color-matched from the blue in the paper by using the color picker tool in PSE. Ditto for the yellow and red hue. The white is actually an off-white taken from the paper as well.

Enjoy life - craft to the fullest! Thanks so much to all who sponsor me by purchasing through my links at the top of the blog - it helps with the cost of maintaining the blog and I appreciate it!

Oh yeah - Copic markers! I have been purchasing Copic Sketch markers one at a time, using the 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby. This brought the price down to $4.29 (including tax). But there is a site I found that has them for $3.95 each, and free shipping if you purchase 13 or more markers (the price is listed as $4.87 but drops when you place the marker in your basket).

No tax if you live outside of California. I heard that the price of the markers was set to increase soon so I just made my first purchase at Carpe Diem Store. I am not affiliated with them in any way but like to pass on a good price if I find one!

Another level card...with a twisty turn

I love the lever cards from SVG Cuts, too cute! I tried out a different paper this time, I used the Inch by Inch Paper Pack this time (not on sale but some great colors) for a more peaceful version.

And the pinwheel just needs to turn, doesn't it? So I put it on a wobbly spring!

I made my own using this tutorial, with 26 gauge wire, 3/4" circles, and  a glitter tube (about 7/16" diameter. But I think my Martha Stewart glue pen barrel may have worked as well).

I love the way the colors compliment each other - so easy with the Lettering Delights paper packs. And don't forget - many are on sale for 0.50 right now.

Why I don't do scrap pages....

...there really is a reason. I look at them and think, I need to change that, move this over a little, cut that out in a different color, etc,. etc. It goes on and on, the more I look at them, the more I fiddle with them. They are never finished, lol!

Before I forget it, let me post this coupon for $3 off at Staples (no minimum purchase required).

Now back to my problem.....Take for example the card from yesterday, I just could not leave it alone, I just had to go fiddle. (Of course it never helps that I think it looks better afterwards, just feeds the demon, lol!)

I just had to cut down the tux to make it a tailed tux. Got on the internet and googled "tux and tails" and went in and revised my design.

So here is my revised card. Still needs that red boutonniere, which I'll be adding soon enough. And then maybe there will be something else....maybe or maybe not.  I am giving it to him tomorrow. See why I like cards? Once I give them away I can let them go. Not so with those pesky scrapbook pages, they just keep looking at me, whispering about changing this or that....until I just gotta go tweak it a little here, change this embellishment. Like that boutonniere, should it be light red with dark red outline, or white with red outline?... sigh.

Here's the MTC file layout for those interested. (Yes, I remembered to uncheck "Outline Shapes" before printing!)

If you do scrap, you probably need some hand writing fonts, right? Well hop on over to Kevin and Amanda's blog for 11 free handwriting fonts. Great for journaling!

Engagement card (with a twist)

OK, so this one is not for a young lady -  rather for a young man. I don't know that I hav eever needed one for a man so this is a new twist for me. Off I went to look for something appropriate.

I found an image in the Silhouette Store (tuxedo_shape_card_C00211_21585) that I brought into Make-the-Cut! software (MTC) and used to design a slightly different card than what they offered. I wanted a white outline shaped card, so I altered it. The Silhouette cut those little black buttons just fine but I replaced them with black rhinestones for just a discrete touch of bling.

The inside sentiment was simple and to the point.

I cut the base from GP white card stock (cut at force of 20) and the layers from HP Premium Presentation Paper, 32# (cut at force of 5) from MTC to the Silhouette with the OEM blade and mat. I added a slight shadow (about .10") around the colors to make PnC easier (something you can only do with solid colored objects). Here is my MTC layout for the layers:

You can see I added a rose afterwards - I may just have to cut it out, I think it needs a little pop of red on the lapel, don't you? And don't you just love a man in a tux?

A Melon Thanks! (and a free texture)

OK, I admit that I love puns! And since I had this pun in mind, when I saw the new Backyard Fun graphic set and the SVG set at Lettering Delights, I knew I had to make another card using it.

 I used the HP Premium Presentation Paper that I bought on sale at Best Buy last week. The paper handles color graphics awesomely - these pictures are straight out of the camera (they were resized) - no photo-shopping needed to get that vibrant color. Since this is a heavy paper - but not thick enough for the card base - I had 2 cut pages. Here is what the MTC page looked like, ready to print to the HP paper (of course I turned off "Outline shapes" for printing):

Yes! I even made watermelon seeds. They turned out great - don't you think they look like real seeds?

After cutting, the seeds I drew over them with my new Atyou Spica Clear twinkle pen, then dolloped them with Dimensional Magic.  Then I cut the base out of plain white Georgia Pacific card stock. Both papers cut very well on the Silhouette.

Layering was easy - the watermelon and the Thanks! were popped up with foam squares. So pop on over to Lettering Delights to pick up one or both of these sets. You might want to check out the other new SVGs while you are there.

The green polka dot texture is on my own design and I am happy to share it with you. It is small enough to be used in MTC without slowing down your system. Download here. 

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.

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.

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!

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!)

Fish card

I just love LD's latest Something Fishy collection. I don't have it yet but I went searching through the files I do have and found this cute little fish in the Seven Seas graphic set. He looks like a Freddy, don't you think?

I designed this card in Silhouette Studio. It is a simple shaped card. The little guy was facing the wrong way (at least I thought so!) so I just mirrored him before making the shadows. I welded a rounded rectangle to the base shadow to get a flat bottom card with the shape to the side and top. Here is a screen shot of my SS layout:

And the card:

After I made this card, I changed some of the elements of the design, specifically the back shadow for little Freddy. I also added the hat so that I could pop it up next time.  Here is the new design:

For the final card I could not resist giving Freddy some goggle eyes! He has such a happy personality that they fit him well.

I found some pop-up squares that are not quite as thick so I was able to layer both the blue background as well as Freddy himself. A little Glossy Accents on his hat and he is ready to go swimming off, hopefully to add some cheer in a little boy's day.  I added fish riddles inside (This card is for Dylan, you can check out one card drive for him here: http://dustinpike.blogspot.com/2011/05/freebie-and-call-for-cards.html).

Butterfly card

I love these bright colors. This is a simple shaped card. I wasn't sure what to do for the antenna but I decided to use my new bakery twine. I purchased it at The Twinery. The price was good and the shipping was quick. Check them out!

The butterfly was the third one from LD's Sweet Spring SVG collection.

It was a simple card with a shadow for the background fill and then a shadow for the base.

I designed the card in MTC, and then exported to png, and printed and cut from Sil Studio on the Silhouette.  Here is a screen shot of my layout. Notice that there is a cut shape within the greyed area at the left. I have found that I can cut from that area (just stay within the red line) as long as there is nothing printed in the grey area (notice that the blue printed area does not cross over into the grey-shaded area). I have also moved the registration marks to the smallest margin (0.395) and reduced them in size to 10 mm. This gives me a little more real estate on my page.  And I still get very accurate PnC cards!

The card is joined at the top and the yellow butterfly is popped up. 

And Lettering Delights has released some new svgs today. Don't they make you think of warn sunny days at the beach? Just in time for summer cards or summer scrapbook layouts. The Something Fishy collection is even on sale now. These are definitely on my wish list!