Happy Birthday Dejah and Carousel Rubber Stamps

Feel free to just go check out the pretty pictures, but if you're curious how this came about by all means read on... ;)

My cricut has really taken over my cutting/crafting time since I got my Art Philosophy cartridge and since I added the Artiste one to my collection well it's been even more so.

The fact that I teach cricut classes has really been my excuse for using it so much and ignoring my poor KNK Groove and my craftrobo.

 I did use my craftrobo when I did my couisins baby announcements (more on those in another post) because of the ease of the print and cut feature on it. My KNK Groove got used a little when I did some vinyl text for a business for their vehicle.

 Well... Carousel Rubber Stamps where I teach most of my cricut classes at was celebrating their 18th birthday and the owner, Dejah's birthday is the same week as the store (we'll just say she was 29 again). ;) They hold demo days every month where the staff and guest instructors go in and demonstrate different products or techniques and on the weekend around the stores birthday they always have a larger demo day with cake and extra special make n takes and lots of fun to be had!! In addition this year they took all the cards that were brought in for the birthday of the store into a draw for a gift certificate. Of course I saw this as the perfect opportunity to use my software cutters. I really wanted the card to somehow symbolize the store and the fun had there, so I found a site that has PDF eBooks of pop up card patterns, one of which was a 3D carousel or merry-go-round. Perfect!!

I purchased the eBook and opened my funtime software to import the PDF only to discover that it was a secured PDF and funtime would not import it... grrrrrrr..... oh well.. KNK Studio to the rescue!! I opened KNK Studio and imported it no problem! :) After cleaning up the file a little bit here and there I cut out the 28 pieces required to assemble the carousel. In case at this point you're wondering what site I got the file from it was amazingpopup.com .

I used my gold pen to edge every piece in gold and then put it all together (took quite a while to really figure it out as I somehow had it backwards to what it should have been using the directions and had to take it all apart and do it again). I then realized I hadn't really paid any attention to the size of this template as sized how it is in the ebook you would need a card that was 8 1/4" x 7 with the fold being on the 8 1/4" side, this means you'd need 14" paper for your card base... (at least if you wanted it to actually be hidden inside thast is). Oh well, my gold pen made a bit of a mess on the first one anyways (note to self use this pen more often or it doesn't work properly right away)... resized the template and cut to fit a card 6 1/2" x 5 1/4"  much better. I also used thicker cardstock this time so the pieces were a little more durable.

Now nobody worry, my son quickly claimed the first one after all the work I spent on it to display on his table in his room as "Mommy, I don't like this card... I love it!"

Okay so, second one complete, card base cut, decorate front of card, go to decorate the inside... gold pen explosion everywhere!! 1 year old daughter awakens from her nap, I bring her out sand of course she immediately puts her hands in the gold pen explosion and starts making pretty handprints all over!! Thank goodness for rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle as I was able to clean the floor quickly this way, and spray a paper towel to use to clean her up.

I look at the clock and ACK!!! the store is closing and my card isn't over there yet. Quick call to the store to make sure they're still there and she assures me that there are still a few people there at the store so they will be a little while longer there. I look at my blank inside of the card (with the exception of my 3D carousel) and sigh as there is no way I have time to decorate the inside with gold ink and some stamps now (considering I have no idea where the stamps I would think to use on it are at the moment).. Oh well, hopefully noone will notice as they'll be distracted by the carousel right?!?!

If you made it through all that wow, thanks for your patience and I seriously hope the laugh at my disaster was worth all that reading. LOL

Without further ado... here is what I came up with:

oh and yes you caught me... I did use my cricut and the new Artiste cricut cartridge and stamps that come bundled with it for the Happy Birthday banner sentiment. 

and a few different shots of the inside:

see my blank inside around it?? :(

..and from the top

What do you think? I  have to say I LOVED this one!! It won't be one I'll ever mass produce as it was VERY time consuming but as a stunning card for a very special person I will definitely do this again.

Happy Birthday Dejah and Carousel Rubber Stamps!!

Learn to make your own embossing folders using your cricut!!!

Book now for Sunday April 15th class at Carousel Rubber Stamps in Dartmouth, NS!! Phone 464-9474 to reserve your spot in the class.

Learn how to make a traditional cuttlebug style embossing folder, make a card with it and take them home as well as learn to make an impressabilities style embossing stencil, make a card with it and take them.
I will also show another couple ways to make them as well.

November 13 Christmas cards on the cricut class at Carousel

Come join me at Carousel Rubber Stamps "http://www.carouselrubberstamps.com" for a card class (cost $20) on November 13, 2011.
All 3 cards use the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart which you can order here "https://darlah.myctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=6168&CatalogID=1740" and read lots more about in my previous posts.

The Santa card is an easel card and the whole "layer" is completely glitter with a stamped image of Santa.. and yes with the exception of the red card base it's all 1 piece!!! The pictures don't do it justice.

All the pieces in all the cards were cut with the cartridge (except the plain card base of the poinsettia card).

Here are the cards we'll be making...

Gift bag from Art Philosophy cartridge

Okay so sure there's some boxes and a regular gift bag ON the cartridge but how about one made from one of the label shapes???

I cut one of the many label shapes from the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge and measured 3/4 inches from center on the long side each way and scored a line. Then I measured the same distance in from each edge on the short side and scored. Fold up and you get a cute little gift bag!!
I have done this before with my Spellbinders grand label dies but this is so much easier!!!
To get the white edge like you would with a spellbinder die simple cut the same shape a little smaller and then use the negative over your bigger cutout and sponge ink onto it through the opening. (hope this makes sense).

I finished it off with a strip of red and a 3D flower (there are 6 different ones on the cartridge and they take less than a minute to assemble!).

I made this at the demonstration day for Carousel Rubber Stamps for something to do in between people watching the actual demonstration of the cricut itself.

Oh and I couldn't help but add the picture of that cute little girl I cut from the once upon a princess cartridge out of magnet forever ago! I have been making these cuties up to package up as gifts for all the little girls I know. They are cut from magnetic sheets from the dollar store (they have adhesive on top meant to stick a photo onto so you can just stick your cardstock down on it!). I plan to cut the clothes to fit the dolls to go in the package too and the girls can "dress" them up. :)

Next class scheduled

Just an update on the cricut classes.
The next class is scheduled for May 28 @ 1pm at Carousel Rubber Stamps in Dartmouth. This will be the absolute beginner one again for those that missed it.

Also for the extra advanced people out there I have received a copy of Fairycuts software to teach those who might be interested. I Wouldve taught MTC or SCAL but MTC is no longer available for the cricut and SCAL is probably not around much longer for it. I currently use another program for my other cutters called Funtime and it is an almost identical program to fairycuts and I LOVE it!! Very user friendly, lots of features, tutorials, etc etc etc. If you were looking to get a 3rd party software I would suggest doing it sooner rather than layer as provocraft I'm sure will be suing fairycuts before we know it as well. A warning for it though, it is not sanctioned by provocraft which means if they win their lawsuits and those 3rd party softwares are taken off the market you will probably run into problems if you update your cricut firmware downthe road (which you need to do if you use Design Studio of the soon to be released cricut craft room as new cartridges come out and you want to use them withthe cricut programs or they wont show up in the programs). If you're not concerned about the ability to use new cartridges as they get released with the cricut software (you will still be able to use them in the machine alone) then you won't have any issues.

How to use your Cricut class

Do you live in Halifax/Dartmouth area? Do you own a cricut machine but either don't know how to use it or are looking for more ways to use it? Have something specific you want to learn, etc???
I am teaching cricut classes now at Carousel Rubber Stamps in Dartmouth and would love to help getting you to use your machine more!!!

Please email myself darlamcc@eastlink.ca or contact Carousel 902-464-9474 for more info or to let them know you're interested and exactly what you're looking to learn at a class. We need this info as I am trying to tailor the classes to those who want them.

There has already been 2 classes for the absolute beginner who has a machine but is not sure where to start. This class covers basics like keeping your mat useable for a long time, changing blades, how to use a cartridge and which buttons to press to get it to cut everything you can from the cartridges, what orientation to expect the images to cut, how to adjust the size for what you want... It also covers how to cut your layered images so the fit together properly. Lots more is covered in the class but it truly is a "basic" class and is not intended for more experienced users. This class will be offered again if there is enough people interested. You will see how to create a simple card with a layer during this class as well.

I am in the process of developing the second class in this series for the next step.... So far I will be including topics such as your extra function buttons and when/why to use them (these are the fit to page,fit to length, auto fill, quantity, etc buttons as well as the multicut feature, center point, etc. Basically all of those buttons between the display and the keyboard overlay.

Looking to develop more advanced classes as well... Perhaps a class on using Design Studio?? Maybe you know how to use the machine but are looking for ideas we could do a class on making embossing folders from cereal boxes? Maybe you want to see other materials cut such as magnet, vinyl, chipboard, stencil plastic, acetate, etc with some tips and tricks??

The classes will be made to suit those interested so speak up!!!!! :)

Lots of new stuff being posted

These first 3 are from a twinkling H20 class I took at Carousel Rubber Stamps.. the same place that Faye works from the video of the mini cuttlebug roses I posted.

This last card is last years Christmas card (I know REALLY old!!) It was originally a make and take from Carousel... can you tell I really like it there?? The top version is the one we made there and the 2nd one is the one I mass produced for my Christmas cards.

So I realized how many cards I have now that aren't posted so I am on a posting frenzy to get myself caught up since I intend to make ALOT more cards this year (and so far it's going alright). I'm going to keep my details short and to the point so if you have questions just ask.