Shrinky Dinks Meet Cricut Imagine

Yesterday I picked up some Shrinky Dinks from my local Michael's store.  They are the Shrinky Dinks especially designed for inkjet printers.  I also picked up some Grafix clear Shrink Film from Joann's.  I wanted to try both with my Cricut Imagine.  There was quite a price difference and some noticeable differences in results.  The Shrinky Dinks cost 12.99 for six sheets but then I used a 40% off coupon.  The Grafix brand was 4.99 for the same quantity.  I must say that I was a little more pleased with the outcome of the Shrinky Dinks.  I used images from Enjoy the Seasons and Lori's Garden Imagine cartridges.  I put my standard blade on 6 and did a multicut of 2.  The Imagine was able to cut the material without difficulty.  I did notice some differences in the printing.  The Grafix took longer to dry and thus the color smeared some as the machine was cutting.  I had to do some touch up with my Copic markers.  The rubber wheels that hold the mat in place smeared the ink on the Shrinky Dinks with only one image.  Both baked and shrunk as specified by the manufacturers for around 3-5 minutes between 250 and 300 degrees in the oven. I lined a baking sheet with wax paper for the baking process.  The clear Shrink Film gave the images a stained glass appearance.  The Shrinky Dinks made the images look just as if you had printed them on paper.  I plan to give the Shrink Film another try, this time I will use one of the manufacturer's tips of lightly cross sanding the surface before printing.  I took out my glue gun and added some pin backs to these images.  I think they make delightful little pins appropriate for wear with my favorite denim shirts!! Thanks for looking!
Patty

Fired up the Embroidery Machine for this Valentine Card!!

My Bernina embroidery machine has been feeling a little lonely lately.  I've been paying too much attention to my Cricuts!! Today I decided to dust her off and embroidered a sweet little bouquet of flowers to use as a Valentine's Day card embellishment.  I embossed the card with my Cuttlebug and a Sizzix heart folder.  I used my red Copic to color the stamped message.  I used ribbon from the Ribbon Boutique and the black and white paper is from DCWV.  Next I think I'll try to use some freestanding lace embroidery in a card!!  I just desperately need a snow day to work on my crafty creations!! Just an inch or two will do!!   Thanks for looking!
Patty

Winter Break Projects

Here are a couple of Winter Break projects.  The first is a tote bag I made for my niece.  She has been very sick and in the hospital.  I used the Cricut Imagine Baby Boutique cartridge for the monogram, bird designs, and swirls, which are printed and cut on fusible fabric.  I sewed a ribbon border using ribbon from the Ribbon Boutique.  I embellished with pink and clear rhinestones using my Easy Glitzer.  I created a matching bow also using ribbon from the Ribbon Boutique, I then found a cute rhinestone dragonfly pin to accent the bow.

 
The second project is an easy bookmark cut from the Animal Kingdom cartridge. This was my first wireless test cut using my Cricut Expression 2 machine and the Cricut Craftroom.  I embellished the bookmark with brads from All My Memories.  I add some coordinating buttons from Dress It Up. My name is formed from stickers from Colorbok. I colored my cardstock moose with my brown Copic marker.  I think I'll make a few more of these for friends and relatives!

Thanks for looking and Happy New Years!!

Thanks "Sew" Much Card

Here is a thank you card made for  my sister who gave me a really special birthday gift.  I used my Country Life Cricut Cartridge  for the die-cuts and my Best Friends Imagine Cartridge for the paper designs.  I used Bazzill Basics Paper Premium Textured Cardstock for the card. I then adhered a square of Cloud 9 Design Specialty Double-Sided Cardstock for the flowered background.  I then used a light blue precut photo mat by Heidi Grace.  I adhered my die-cuts to the mat using foam adhesive squares.  I shaded my quilt just a tad using my Copic Cadmium Yellow marker.   I then embellished the die-cuts with silver glitter glue, for the needle, and my white Gelly Roll pen for the stitching.  I cut my tag from the same Bazzill cardstock and border punched it with my Fiskars punch.  I printed the wording off on plain, white paper and then used some Pebbles chalk to add some color.  I used a regular ball point pen to create stitches around the tag and quilt.  I topped this card off with a few buttons from my sewing stash, which are adhered with Glue Dots.  I then added a bow made from ribbon from the Ribbon Boutique.  I hope my sister likes her card as much as I liked my present!!  Thanks for looking!

Patty

Walk With Nature......

I love the images on the Cricut Lite Wildlife cartridge.  The animals on this cartridge are so realistic.  Even though this cartridge doesn't have all the "bells and whistles" as a full cartridge, I can immediately see that it is going to be one of my favorites and most used!  Today I created a nature-themed birthday card.  I used paper from atd.  It is from their Retrospection Specialty Collection.  I think it matches nicely with the deer featured on this card.  I used brown and black cardstock to cut my doe and fawns.  I cut the image and shadow at 4.5 inches.  I then used Pebbles chalks, my Copic markers, and my Gelly Roll pen to add some highlights to them and the grass.  I used pop-up Glue Dots to make them stand out from their nature-themed background.  My stamped phrase is from a Close to My Heart clear acrylic stamp.  It comes from the Animals, Outdoors, Travel collection.  I used Adirondack Cabin Fever Ink to stamp the phrase. I then sprayed the card with Shimmer frost spray.  I can't wait to try out some more animal images from this cartridge.  Have a great weekend!

Patty

Happy Birthday to My Mr. Fix-It!!

This has been a busy past few weeks for me and my husband.  We have been doing major home repairs and my husband even chose to take a week of vacation to work on our house.  His birthday is next week, so I thought this card would be very appropriate.  I used paper from the Premium Photo stack from DCWV and layered it on black cardstock.  I then used my Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge to cut my little Mr. Fix-It.  He, his little overalls, and hat are cut at five inches.  I antiqued the overalls a bit by coloring them with my Copic markers and then spraying them with frost Shimmer spray.  I crafted his little tool belt and shoes from some real leather scraps (my husband's hobby is leather-working and stamping).  I used a little bit of ribbon to create his handkerchief.  The sign was created from the Camp Out Cricut cartridge and the lettering for "Mr. Fix-It" is from the Printing 101 cartridge. I accented the card using my white Gelly Roll pen. I used some "screw" brads in each corner from the Paper Studio and my little heart was formed with my Fiskars punch.  I think my Mr Fix-It will be very happy with his birthday card

A Card Created Using Cricut Markers

While waiting for the storm to pass last night, I sat down with my Cricut and a new set of markers that I had recently won on Ebay.  I was browsing through my cartridge library and the Freshly Picked cartridge caught my eye.  This cartridge brings out the gardener in me!  I quickly spotted a beautiful planter box of tulips and thought I would give it a try.  I drew the design at three inches in size, using a black Cricut marker, onto white cardstock.  The markers were much easier to use than I had expected and directions for pressure and speed are included with each package.  After trimming the cardstock, I colored the design using my Copic markers and watercolor pencils.  The kid in me just loves to color!! I then adhered the design to a piece of yellow cardstock and glued it to a precut, lime green card.  I added some garden-themed K & Company embellishements and a "Happy Birthday" tag from the Tapestry company.  I cut a small piece of jute twine for bow and stuck it on with some Glue Dots. I finished the card by adding two tiny pale blue brads in the corners of my floral piece. The brads match the birthday tag perfectly. It was a quick and easy card to make and I had fun creating it!

My First Use of Digi Stamps, Copics, and Chalk!!

 

The Easter card I created today contains many firsts!! It was my first use of a digital stamp, which comes by way of Fred, She Said Digital Designs. http://fred-she-said.blogspot.com/2010/07/card-happy-birthday-little-chicky.html I used another first, Copic markers and Pebbles Metalllic Cream Chalks, to color my cute little chick. I then lightly spritzed it with some sparkle Shimmer spritz. The card is from the bargain bin at Michael's. They have these wonderful window cards, in a package of eight with envelopes, for only one dollar!! I used paper from the DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack on the front of the card, cutting out the small circle to keep my window.  I used paper from Heidi Grace on the inside of the card, as the background for my spring chick.  The ribbon and decorative trim on the front are from Hobby Lobby.  I cut my Easter message, on the front, from my Cricut Wildcard cartridge and cut the background frame, on the inside, from my Spring Holiday Cards Cricut cartridge.  I glitzed the lettering up a little bit with some clear Stickles.  The inside sentiment is from a clear stamp from Studio G, that I also found at a bargain at my local Joann's.  I hope you like my card containing several "firsts"!! Thanks for visiting.   Patty