A Tisket a Tasket - Such a Pretty Basket

 

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a great deal from Lettering Delights.  For the month of May, they are offering Great Gift Giving Bundle, a bundle of 40 Cut-It sets on sale for $40 - a 75% savings on the individual prices which would add up to $170 when purchased individually.  This basket is from the "Tiskets and Taskets" set included in the bundle.

I purchased the bundle and I couldn't wait to try out some of the cuts.  I liked the shape of these baskets and I was curious to see how easy they would be to assemble.

When you buy the Cut-It sets, you download a zipped file that has a number of cutting formats.  I have the Designer Edition of the Silhouette Studio software so I chose the SVG version.  The files also come in .dxf and .gsd - both of these can be opened with the standard free version of the Silhouette Studio software.

After you open the SVG file, you will need to set the lines to cut by selecting the shape and then clicking on "Cut" in the Cut Style menu.

This basket has a very intricate design and it took a while to cut the entire shape.  I used the settings for textured cardstock and just let the Cameo cut away while I tidied up a few things in my craft room.

You want to be sure that your blade is not clogged with any paper debris and it helps to have a mat that is fairly new and sticky.  Here you can see how easily the design lifted from the mat.  I think there were less than 10 spots where I had to push out a little dot or leaf that was clinging to the basket cut.

 Nearly all of the design cuts stayed on the mat.

One of the things that impresses me about the Cameo is the tiny accurate circles that it can cut.  While I do still use my Cricut machines for some things, I was never able to get perfect circle cuts like these - you can see how tiny they are in relation to the one inch grid on the mat.

Here are the basket and the handle after I removed them from the mat.  The machine also cut dashed lines for the scoring.

I went over the scoring lines with a bone folder on my scoring board.  The design reaches very close to the bottom of the basket and this made it easier to fold accurately along the line.  When I started to fold the sides up to match the basket front, I realized that the tabs would probably show through the cut design.

The files include a cut for a liner for the basket so I decided to add this to my basket.  I haven't tried the other baskets so I am not sure if some of them have a little more covered area on the front which would keep the tabs from showing.  You could also trim the tabs a bit to keep them from showing.  I think adding the liner makes the basket much sturdier.

I used a glue pen to add adhesive all around the design of the front and back panels of the basket.  The liner shape was easy to add and the contrasting color accentuates the cutwork nicely.

You may have noticed in the earlier photos that I used a Cricut mat.  If you place the paper just a bit higher on the mat, covering the white area above the 12 x 12 grid, the placement will work out to be about the same as it would be when using the Silhouette mats. 

I used 1/8 inch ScorTape along the edges of the basket front and back to hold the basket together firmly.  ScorTape will bend around the curves easily and can be ripped with your fingers when you reach the top.

The many tabs along the sides of the basket are necessary to form a smooth curve.  If you don't want the tabs to show on the inside, you could cut a second set of liners to add after the basket is assembled.

The final step is to insert the tabs of the handle into the slits in the basket sides.

This is just one of the nine baskets in one of the sets in the bundle.  The are 579 individual cutting files in the bundle so they are just under 7 cents a file - now that's a deal!

The basket as I cut it is about four inches tall and a little over six inches wide.  I may try cutting a smaller one - just to see how well it works!

If you add a little bit of tulle or other filling, the tabs are not noticeable.  These baskets would make wonderful table favors and are a nice size to hold all sorts of goodies.

There are just a couple of days left to get the Lettering Delights Great Gift Giving Bundle of 40 Cut It sets.  There is a huge savings of 75% when you buy the bundle.  The special pricing was just for the month of May and the deal ends Friday.  The bundle includes cards, pennants, boxes, envelopes, birdcages, baskets, and much more.  You can see everything that is included HERE.

Cut It sets come in the following formats - .AI (v.8), .DXF, .EPS (v.8), .GSD, .PDF (v.1.5), and .SVG so you need software and a machine that accepts these formats.  The bundle is only available for the month of May - and it will keep you busy for another month or so cutting everything out!  Click HERE to see the Great Gift Giving Bundle.

Remember, if you "purchase" the monthly freebie first (click HERE to see this month's freebies) you will received a code for 25% off your next purchase in your confirmation email - making this deal even more tempting.  You can also try the code "RhinoRebate" for 25% off purchases of $10 or more - I think this is still valid.

It's hard to believe May is almost over.  I have surprised myself by keeping up with the Layout a Day challenge all month - just two days to go.  I'll be sharing those pages every so often.

Father's Day is just around the corner and my friend Kristie at Artful Adventures is hosting a Father's Day Gift Ideas Link and Pin party.  You can join in by adding a link to a Father's Day project and then pinning the ideas you want to try.  I am away from home for a few days so I'll have to add my project next week.  Click HERE to visit the site and add your link.  The party continues until Father's Day.

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Graduation Card

Graduation season is upon us and I have several cards to make this year.  This simple design is great for a boy or a girl.  Once you set up a file in your software it is quick and easy to cut.  I got the free SVG design file from Kay at Clever Someday (she is extremely clever!) and you can find it on her site HERE.  Please be sure to leave her a comment to say thanks if you visit her site and download the file.

This is how the SVG file opened in my Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software.  You need to select the image and then click on the scissors icon on the top right to open the Cut Style window and add the cutting lines.

I thought the letters were a little too heavy for the card I was making for a girl so I used the internal offset to create slightly slimmer letters and shapes.  Then I selected both the rectangle and the Class of 2013 shape, centered them using the Align menu and right clicked and chose "make compound path" from the drop down menu.

I planned the card in the program but only cut the top layer with the machine.  The rectangle with the cut out is sized at 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches and I centered the image within that space.  Then I selected both the rectangle and the Class of 2013 shape, right clicked and chose "make compound path" from the drop down menu.

The shape cut very neatly and I now have these "leftovers" to use on another card if I want to.   I kept track of the centers of the two "0"s and the "A" and adhered them to the card front (rather than using or creating a stencil font).

The card base is cut at 7 x 10 inches and folded in half to make a 5 x 7 card.  The gold layer of cardstock is cut at 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches to allow for a border around the edge of the card.

Since the card base is dark blue, I needed to add a mat layer inside the card for a greeting and to provide a good spot for signing the card.  I used a Martha Stewart Wide edge border punch on the two long sides of a 7 x 4 3/4 inch rectangle of white cardstock.

The word "Congratulations" is cut from the font Sweetheart Script.  This is a very thin font.  I probably could have cut it at this size in vinyl but it was a little too thin for paper.  So I did a slight offset of the word to make it easier to cut and attach inside the card. 

The school colors for our niece are blue and gold - hence the color choices.  I was lucky to have a gold envelope in the correct size for the card.

The weather turned out to be rainy on the day of the party but we still had one very happy graduate!

High School graduations are just starting here in the Northeast.  Have the students in your part of the world graduated already?  Do you have lots of cards to make and gifts to wrap?  
After the rainy weekend we are looking at weather that may reach the 90's this week !

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Memorial Day

Today is a day to remember all of the men and women who died serving in the US Armed Forces.  Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day and it originated after the Civil War to honor the fallen Union soldiers.  There is an interesting Wikipedia article HERE if you'd like to know more about the holiday and how it evolved.  There are parades in many places and people visit cemeteries and memorials.  The flag is flown at half staff until noon.

Memorial Day has come to be considered the beginning of the summer season and many people have a barbecue or picnic.  There are also sales at most stores so if you feel like shopping there may be bargains to be found.  Here are just a couple on online sales that you might be interested in...

Craftsy Memorial Day Sale. Craftsy is offering some of their classes at a discount of up to 60%.  For every class sold, they are donating a percentage of the proceeds to benefit a veteran's organization.  The sale ends at midnight tonight.

All digital images are on sale at Cricut.com.  This might be a good way to add a cartridge that is hard to find to your collection if you can use it in the Cricut CraftRoom.  Click HERE to see all of the cartriges and images that are available.  This sale will end on May 29th.

There is also a special deal on the pink Cricut Expression machine.  The machine with four cartridges (Plantin Schoolbook, Accent Essentials, Pink Journey and Happy Graduation) is just $179.99.  Click HERE to see the details.

Whatever your plans are - I hope you have a nice day.

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Memorial Day Weekend

 

This weekend marks the traditional start of the summer season even though the summer solstice is still about a month away.  In many parts of the country, schools are finishing.  College graduations have been happening for the past few weeks.  There are parades and picnics planned and we have some family parties to attend.

I thought I'd share this page that I did in the first week of the Layout a Day (LOAD) challenge.  The overall theme of the month is Mystery, based on the board game Clue and one day a week the prompt is the title of a mystery book or movie.  The prompt for this page was "And Then There Were None" which is the revised title of the Agatha Christie book originally called "Ten Little Indians."

I thought about something quite different than a murder mystery when I made my page.  The phrase made me think of the spectacular finale at most fireworks displays.  The sky is full of beautiful sparkly colors which then very quickly fade to nothing.  I knew that I had some photos that I had taken of the fireworks at our town's 375th birthday celebration.

I started by selecting photos and arranging the 16 best images in a grid pattern.  The problem with this arrangement was that they still looked like separate photos and I wanted to blend them together to simulate the sky full of multiple fireworks exploding at once when the show ends.

 With a lot of trial and error, I angled and resized my images and softened the edges of the photos.  I used an overlay file to add the swirls all around the page to add to the excitement and filled it with a gold color, adding a glitter effect.

When the black background is added, the blending of the photos comes close to making them appear to be all exploding at once.  The title was added with the color chosen from one of the fireworks and the glitter effect added.

 Here is another look at the completed page.  It took longer than I expected to put this together but it is the type of page that I could only do digitally in order to blend the photos into one big black sky.

The finished digital page reminded me of a design that I created last year around this time using the Silhouette Studio software.   I think this would make a nice background paper.

I cut a smaller version of the design and created this card.  You can see all of the details about the design at THIS POST.

It looks like we have a couple of rainy days ahead.  I hope there will be a few sunny spots through the weekend.  Do you have plans to travel over the long weekend or will you be staying close to home?  If it is rainy that may mean more crafting time - so it's not all bad!

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Music To Craft by - Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's latest album is called "To Be Loved."  This album was released in April.  I received a copy to review earlier this month and I've been playing it in my craft room.  I participated in this campaign for One2One Network and a free copy of the CD was sent to me.  The opinions in this review are my own.  By posting, I am eligible for incentives.

When I think of Michael Bublé, his interpretations of classic songs in the big band and nightclub style are the first thing that come to mind.  I addition to the covers of classic songs by Frank Sinatra, the Bee Gees and more, there are four original songs co-written by Bublé on "To Be Loved" which were inspired by his personal life.

The first song "You Make Me Feel So Young" gets your attention right away - you may start dancing in the craft room.  Next is one of the original songs on the album, "It's a Beautiful Day," which was released in March as a single.  It's a bouncy, upbeat tune with some funny lyrics (I'm glad you're the one that got away") and is also very danceable.  Two more of the tracks are also quite lively "Come Dance With Me" and "You've Got a Friend in Me."  "Come Dance With Me" is particularly fun to listen to - and you just have to start moving when you hear it!

The shift to "Close Your Eyes" seems a bit abrupt after you've been in a dancing mindset.  However, it is a lovely ballad, probably my favorite of the original songs on the album.  The sincerity in Bublé's voice is charming and the key change near the end helps the song build to a heartfelt ending.

The mixture of classics and original songs keeps you involved with the album since each song can vary greatly from the one before it.  When I am crafting, I usually prefer an album that has a more consistent playlist but I do enjoy the variety of styles when I am driving.

The final track, "Young At Heart," is my favorite of the classics.  I think this song is perfect for Bublé - his voice just seems to fit well with the lyrics. And I have to say - he does look very dapper in a suit!

You can find "To Be Loved" on Amazon or  iTunes  and Bublé is touring in the US beginning in September.    There are lots of videos and more information on the official Bublé site HERE.

One of the promotions for the album had Bublé singing "Who's Lovin' You" in the New York Subway with the group Naturally 7 (also featured on the album).  It's fun to watch both for the great singing and to see the reactions of the crowd.  You can see that video HERE.

What sort of music do you listen to while you craft?  Are there styles of music that you find make you feel more energetic or creative? 

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"Why" - another Layout a Day page

"Why?" is a question on many minds lately - particularly in the wake of terrible tragedies, caused by the actions of people or by the forces of nature.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Oklahoma who have lost loved ones or had their homes destroyed and also with the emergency workers who are doing all that they can to help.

The prompt was "why" and feeling a little contrary I thought "why not" and remembered a sign that we saw in a shop in San Juan Bautista when we were in California last month.

It was an antiques/craft/second hand shop with lots of tempting items.  As we were leaving, I saw this hand written chalkboard message and snapped a quick photo.  The idea of needing to go through many failures in order to get to a success is not a new one but it was something I had recently been discussing with some friends.

I hadn't planned on doing anything with the photo - if I had planned ahead I would have been sure to get down to the level of the board and take the photo straight on.

I used this template as a starting point - it's pretty basic but sometimes it helps to have shapes already on the page that you can click and fill.

I added a piece of beautiful digital paper and then starting making some changes.  I eliminated all of the vertical strips of paper on the left side and turn my background paper 90 degrees to make the lines horizontal.

I dropped in the photo and changed the shape of the image and the mat to a true square.  I had to zoom in very close on my photo to fill the shape with just the chalked statement.  I added a second horizontal bar to hold the second part of my interpretation of the prompt.  I fill the mat with a coordinating pink paper from the same kit and created a couple of notched ribbons to tuck behind the top bar and the photo for a little more interest.

Start with a sketch or template - and then change it all around...why not?

If you are a digital crafter, don't forget that it is "One Buck Wednesday" over at Jessica Sprague.   Every week you can find a selection of digital items for $1 or half price.  Click HERE to go to the site and you'll see the info about One Buck Wednesday on the right side as you scroll down.

There are some great bargains to be found every week and sometimes there are mega kits like this circus kit from Samantha Walker that are a steal at $1.

There will also be new items listed for sale today at Blitsy.  Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday they add great deals on craft items.  You have to join to shop but registration is simple and free.  Once you are a member, you can refer your friends and family and earn credits for future purchases.  If you haven't joined yet, please use my LINK to go to the site - thanks for helping me to earn some credits!

Items for sale on Blitsy remain available for just one week - or until they are sold out (this can happen very quickly).  Sometimes additional stock becomes available and an item that had been sold out will return, so it pays to check back every so often if there is something you really want.


Today is Day 22 of LOAD and I am up to date with my pages - hurray!  I'll be sharing more of them but I have something different planned for tomorrow and Friday...

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