Dress ATCs (and a Gypsy Update)

 My second ATC swap group had the theme "Dress" for the month of October.  This group varies in size each month and there were six of us participating for this theme.

 I used paper from the DCWV "Crafty" stack.  This paper has a linen-like textured finish.  The designs have an old fashioned feel and many feature sewing motifs, including one with little scissors and one with sewing machines.  I bought this at Jo-Ann's a month or two ago and hadn't had a chance to use any of it until now.

I particularly liked the papers with buttons - there are a couple of colorways of the same design.  The lighter color background that I used for the base of the card was from a stripe on one of the 12 x 12 sheets.  The group of six ATCs was photographed on the button paper with a red background.

I added two layers of ribbon  layered on the button paper.  I then cut heavy watercolor paper to ATC size (2.5 x 3.5 inches) and sandwiched them together to hide the tails of the ribbons. I hand wrote the information on the backs.

The little "dresses" were made using the third from the smallest die from the large petite scalloped circles Nestabilities set.  I cut away wedges on each side, wrapped the "waist" with ribbon, and added Stickles across the "bodice."  The dresses are adhered with foam squares for a dimensional effect.

I have quite a collection of ATCs from the swaps I  have participated in - some are neatly organized in a binder in baseball card page protectors and some need a "home" beyond the box they are sitting in right now.  My friend Kay hosted this swap this month - she is a fabulously creative person and always makes incredible ATCs - and then puts us all to shame with her clever ways of saving and displaying the cards.  You should click this LINK to see the adorable book she made to hold this set.  Fair Warning - once you get started looking at Kay's blog you will have a hard time leaving - enjoy her work and leave her some comments!


On a completely different topic...I am not sure how many of the people who read my blog regularly also read the Cricut.com message board so I thought I would give you this update about the Gypsy that I posted to the message board last night.  If you don't read the message board - here is a LINK to the site. The Board is a great source of up to the minute information about all things Cricut and you can read without posting (lurk) if you are a shy person.

I hope that there will be at least a partial update to the Gypsy software available in the next few days but there are many factors that enter into the decision to release these updates.  I do believe that Provo Craft is moving ahead as quickly as they can to make the improvements needed and that they are keenly aware of the need to deliver the functionality that was expected to be available at the intitial release date.  Here is my post:

I wanted to let you all know that I had a lengthy conversation with several people from Provo Craft today, including Matt Strong who is the Director of Product Development.

We talked about many of the issues with the Gypsy and Design Studio, including the frustrations that many of us have been having with features that are not yet working.

Matt told me that all of the known welding issues have been fixed and they are still wrestling with the file transfer/compatibility between Gypsy and Design Studio.  Apparently it was working and then final testing revealed problems that they have been trying to resolve.  He said they have about 70% success with the transfer but want to have it working as perfectly as possible before releasing an update.

Fixing all of these problem is their #1 priority right now - he told me there were 12 people working on it and testing the fixes.

I strongly suggested that it would be a good idea to release an update with the welding fixes and other changes if the file transfer is not fully functional yet - this would show everyone that it is being worked on constantly.  I also stressed that communication is a key issue - if people know what is going on - even if a date certain for the release can't be given - it will go a long way to creating happier Gypsy users.

Matt said that the updates include other fixes including being able to move large groups of items more smoothly and to zoom while in preview - previews are also building much more quickly (one of the problems I have mentioned before).  There is also a completely new keyword database and better functionality in the search feature.

Some news that I am very excited about is that Matt confirmed that grouping will be added to Design Studio - the goal and intention is to have complete "design parity" between the two programs (so "hide selected contour" would be available on the Gypsy too)

I am going to be tied up teaching a class for the next couple of hours but I will come back to the board later this evening if you have more questions - I don't know if I can answer them all but I will collect them and communicate them to Matt and his team.

If I learn any more about the updates I will pass along the information.  Be sure to watch the message board for any official statements about the release of updates.  If you have problems or suggestions that you would like me to pass along, please leave a comment or send me an email at capadiadesigns@gmail.com and I will consolidate the requests and send them along to the Product Development team.