Blog Celebration Thanks (last day to enter)

Thanks to everyone who has joined in over the past couple of weeks - it has been a lot of fun and this weekend I will draw the three winners.

I wish I had enough to send everyone a box.  I hope that you have learned some new things or enjoyed some of the stories that others have shared during the celebration.  For those of you who did sign up for the Newsletter there were a few technical difficulties at the service I am using but I should be able to get the first issue out next week.

I meant for this post to go out earlier - but I was distracted by the arrival of my new Cricut Explore.  I saw the truck and ran out with my camera.  The good-natured UPS man posed for me (even though I think he thought I was a little crazy!).

I have one last item for each box - stitched letters that spell out "thank you" from Papyrus.

They all are intact as they go into the boxes but I have a warning (and a little life lesson) for you.

I got these from a store that was clearing out older stock, and I have had them a while.  Some of the foam adhesive dots have lost their stickiness.  It doesn't really matter - you can just peel off the foam and adhere them with new adhesive.  I used some ScorTape.

The point is that you should use your "treasures" and when you use them and share your projects you will bring joy to others and you will also have room to bring in new things to use for your projects.  (That sounds like a license to shop, doesn't it!)

Here are the boxes with all of the goodies.  Since I didn't get to post this until dinnertime and many of you won't see it until the feed goes out in the morning, you have until the end of the day tomorrow (Saturday, March 1st) to leave your comments.  I will draw the winners Sunday and post them on Monday.

 How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is really more of a challenge -

Look around at your supplies and find something that has been sitting around for a long time.  Decide on a way that you can use it - and do it!  Tell me in your comment what you discovered and how you plan to use it.  Be sure to keep a photo of your finished project - I'll have a link up day in two weeks when you can share what you did.  Two weeks - the Ides of March!

Thanks again for all of the lovely comments and ideas that you shared during the celebration.  Have a great weekend.  I will be testing out my new machine and getting a review together.  So far I am very happy with it.  Did you see the tiny circles cut in the mat of the card?  Now that's what I'm talking about!

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.

Blog Anniversary Celebration Winding Up

Friday marks the end of February and the end of my 6th Anniversary Blog Celebration.  I have enjoyed the fun of collecting things for the boxes and reading your comments each day.  Today I have a quick recap of the contents of the boxes - I bet you have already forgotten about some of the early additions.

Here they are by day - if the item in each box is not identical there will be a photo of three similar items and one of them will be in each box.

12 x 12 20 sheet pack of Core'dinations Core Couture glitter cardstock

heart patterned washi tape

Garnet and Peridot Martha Stewart glitter embossing powder

Martha Stewart Hearts and Flowers Stamp set

all of the pieces needed to make this card (one card kit has a starfish instead of this fish)

also a full sheet and a cut up sheet of this printed cardstock

one of these three sets of special German gift paper for making wreaths (and other things)

Fabric Flower Florettes by Webster's Pages

a set of winter sparkles and...

...one of these sequin butterflies

Three yards of each of these three ribbons, ladybugs, gingham and birthday balloons

No photo yet (my machine should arrive on Friday) but the next item is a selection of scalloped shapes cut by my new Explore - I want to test out these circles and scallops!

This Friend stamp was added by my friend Joy - you can check out her blog, Obsessed with Scrapbooking HERE and her CTMH website HERE

some pretty charms from my local antique shop

Martha Stewart Birthday Brads

Five little muslin bags

a set of five bags and a sheet of the Square1 Iron on printable fabric (oh and a spare bit of ribbon tying up the bags!)

pink and blue baby borders for pages or cards

a sheet of Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium chipboard shapes

a dozen vintage look 2  1/2 x 3 1/2 inch cards and

one of these 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch matchbook notebooks by TIm Holtz

Today I am adding a paper album kit.  These were sold by Creative Memories and they are a lot of fun to put together.  You can use the paper album as an elaborate card for someone.

The kit comes with an envelope if you decide to mail it to a friend or family member.  All of these papers, die cuts and stickers are included.

I have also included a brand new mini tape runner so all you will need to make the album is some photos and a pen.

The album cover is printed with a shiny pattern - it show up more noticeably in bright light.

Yes, those boxes look pretty full - there will be one final little goodie on Friday.

I didn't receive my new Explore machine today but it is scheduled for delivery sometime tomorrow.  I had a quick look around at the Design Space and I will share my thoughts on that as soon as I can test a few things.

If you have a new Explore and have questions about it, be sure to see the very detailed and helpful FAQs on the Cricut.com site - you can find them HERE.


 How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is:

Do you prefer to create a project "from scratch" - choosing and assembling a variety of bits and pieces to create a unique result or do you prefer to have most of the decisions made for you and work from a kit or a set of detailed instructions.  Some people relax by having the creative freedom to "do their own thing" while others enjoy the process much more when they have a firm guide to lead them to the finished project.  Would you rather attend a class that taught you techniques that you could use on any project or one that takes you step by step through the creation of a really great piece of art?  No right or wrong answer - the whole point is to have your crafting time be enjoyable for you!

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.

Vintage Page and some Vintage style items added to the boxes

It has been such a busy month with the Blog Anniversary Celebration and LOAD (Layout a Day).  With so much going on, I haven't been able to respond to comments the way I usually do but I will get to them by this weekend to be sure that any questions are answered.

I have another digital page to share today.  The challenge for this one was to use a variety of different items - no two from the same designer - on your page.   I think the intent was to show how often you can mix and match products from different manufacturers.  I do this a lot with my paper products but I found it a little more challenging in the digital arena.  The papers I used were from different kits but they all had a vintage feel.  I did some recoloring to make them all blend together.

Here is a closer view of the photo and flowers.  The photo is of my sister and my mother and was taken March 1, 1951.  I love to look at these old family photos.  There are not a lot of them and that makes each one more precious.  This sister and I look more alike than our middle sister.  I remember asking my mother why there weren't many photos of me as a little one and she said. "You looked just like your sister - look at her photos!"

The flowers on this page are embellishments that I made from some of my photographs of the gardens.  I like to make my own embellishments for an even more personal page.  I use the Artisan software from Panstoria and it is not difficult to turn one of your photos into a PNG file that you can then use for many of your projects.  I haven't forgotten the request for a video on this - it will be coming soon, starting with an example with a simpler shape.

Cricut Design Space

The new Explore machine can only be operated from a computer with an internet connection. There is a new online program called Design Space that will finally be open to the public Thursday at 10 a.m. Mountain time.  You can find the log in page HERE.  Even if you are not getting a machine right now, you might want to see how things are set up - it looks very different than the CraftRoom.

Lettering Delights Sale ending soon

Lettering Delights has some special "Shop 'til you Lollipop" coupon codes that end on Friday, February 28th.  Be sure to check out their discounted bundles HERE to stack the savings.

Save $3 on a purchase of $10 or more
with the code Peppermint

Save $6 on a purchase of $15 or more
with the code Lemonade

Save $10 on a purchase of $20 or more
with the code Crackerjack

Save $15 on a purchase of $25 or more
with the code SugarBowl

There are graphics file to use with digital scrapping or printable projects and you can also buy lots of cutting files in a variety of formats.  I can't wait to try some of my SVG files with the new Explore.  I cut this intricate basket with my Cameo and I want to compare the tiny circles in the design after I cut it with the Explore.  You can find the basket set HERE - there are eight cut out designs for the baskets, one solid basket and one liner in the set.

 Blogoversary Celebration

So what did I put into the boxes today?  I had some interesting cards that are replicas of old school forms and other vintage ephemera.  I picked out a dozen for each box (all three sets are the same).  These are Artist Trading Card (ATC) size, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

I still have some left for me so you may see these popping up in a project sooner or later.

Speaking of vintage - of course Tim Holtz comes to mind.  These three matchbook notebooks are full of kraft paper (perforated to remove easily) and you can jot down notes or use the sheets to punch out shapes for you projects.  There are three different covers - one for each box.

The matchbook notepads are the same size as the little cards - 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

These boxes are looking pretty full - two more days to go before they are done!

 How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is:

Are you a fan of vintage style?  I have lots of "old stuff" and can't bear to throw any paper scrap away if it has interesting writing or images.  Do you find yourself sticking to one "look" or do you dabble in styles, clean and simple one day, Victorian another and geometric die cut shapes the next.  What would you say is your favorite style?

I may or may not get my new Explore on Thursday - it is in shipping but the UPS tracking number is not showing any progress. Oh well - it will get here when it gets here, in the meanwhile I can start making things in the Design Space to cut when it does arrive.  It's super cold here - we are really ready for Spring to arrive!

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Christmas Memories - Digital Page

There are just a few days left in February and my 6th Blog Anniversary Celebration and Giveaway is drawing to a close.  It's been such fun to read all of the answers to the questions.  If you have a chance, I hope you will take the time to see what some of the other readers have shared in their comments.

This is the digital page that I did for the Layout a Day  (LOAD) challenge today.  We were given an interesting challenge to mix up the order in which we ordinarily do things by throwing a die or drawing numbers.  There were six steps of the process defined and we had to do them in a random order.

My sequence went like this:
1. Design - chose a template.
2. Photo - found this old photo from my childhood.
3. Story - wrote out the story about our stockings.
4. Paper - it took a long time to figure out papers for the template and I made some of them myself.
5. Little Stuff - added the snowflake overlay.
6.Title - well that was pretty easy at the end!

Here is a closer view of some of the layers and the journaling.  It says
  
Mom made these huge red flannel Christmas stockings for our family with white rick-rack trim spelling out our names on the cuffs.  The stocking always contained fruit (including a large grapefruit at the toe) nuts and small gifts.  There might be a special chocolate bar but most of the other items were "things" like a hair barrette, small puzzle or some other game - she collected stocking items all year long.  Some years all of the individual gifts inside the stockings were wrapped but that didn't happen every year - it depended on the amount of cookie baking that was necessary that year. I don't know what happened to these stockings.  It would be great to find the pattern and make some for our family.

I have lots of fond memories of those stockings.  It's too bad that they have disappeared.  I wish I had better photos of the stockings in use (I might find some in my Dad's photos eventually).

I use the Artisan software from Panstoria for my digital pages.  This used to be sold as StoryBook Creator by Creative Memories.  It's easy to use but it also has lots of fairly sophisticated options if you like to try different designs and effects.

I realized that there were not any Christmas items in the boxes so I decided to add these chipboard tags from Graphic 45.

I really enjoy the nostalgic style of the Graphic 45 products.  If you don't use these on a project, you could just use most of them as gift tags in December.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, these might be a nice little gift for a friend who could use them.

I'll have to do a test pack of the actual boxes these gifts will be sent in (remember, I have to use the medium box to fit the large paper pad and the rest of the things will fill in around the edges).  Then I'll know just what else I can add in these last few days.

 How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is:

Is there a  holiday tradition from your childhood that you'd like your family to carry on?  Sometimes the rituals and customs from our holiday celebrations can be a great comfort as you remember the older family members who started the traditions.  Do your traditions center around food, activities or both?  Have you created any pages or albums to record these customs and traditions?


I hope you are having a great week.  They say more snow is coming - I hope it goes right past us! 

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation

Cute Baby Girl Card

All of this talk about the new Explore machine has made me go back and look at some of my Cricut cartridges that I haven't used for quite some time.  I remember when there weren't many cartridges and it was a challenge to find ways to use each cartridge to it's fullest potential.  It's funny, I spent a lot of time with the earlier cartridges making full pages of paper lace.  Now there are several paper lace cartridges and I am less likely to design with the Cricut shapes.

Baby cards are one type of card that you need from time to time.  I went totally cutesy with this card.  It is a simple design that could also be made in a much more sophisticated style but if you can't be cutesy with baby things, when can you?

I cut the scalloped circle with a Nestabilities die (don't get me going on the Cricut scalloped circles again!) and chose the girl circle sentiment on page 90.

Here are most of the pieces of the card sitting on my little Scor-Buddy.  I have the big Scor-Pal but this little version is perfect for cards and tucks neatly into my worktable.  I cut two sections of border to put at the top and bottom of the card (the white shine that you see at the bottom of the card is the reflection off the clear backing for the border before I peeled it off).

I decided that the sentiment looked too stark against the white scallop so I looked around and found some pink shimmer cardstock.

It is a subtle difference, but adding the pink circle between the sentiment and the scallop makes the card look more finished.

The two border  strips are cut from the longer pieces so that the top and bottom are a match in bunnies and flowers.  The pink card layers is the standard 5 1/4 x 4 inches and it was embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.  When you are trying to line up a layer on a white card on a white table it helps a lot to put a darker piece of cardstock on the table so you can see the contrast with the edge and center the layer.

I wanted the scalloped circle to stand up just a bit from the card front so I used three of the thin foams squares on the left instead of the more standard square on the right.

It makes a big difference when you use the thinner foam squares.  The shadow line is still created by raising the circle but there is less of a chance that the popped up medallion will snag on another card or project.

I added a pink pearl to the center of the flower that dots the "i" in "Girl" - it looks very pretty with the two types of shimmer cardstock I used for the medallion.

While we are on the subject of babies - remember that there is a baby themed sale on Cricut.com that ends Wednesday, February 26th.  You can save 30% on baby themed images - both digital and physical cartridges (this includes some that you might not think of off the top of your head like Pretty Pennants - click HERE to see the sale items).

Cuttlebug folders with a baby theme - once again including some more "generic" folders like Swiss Dots and Seeing Spots are also on sale for 30% off.  Click HERE to see the folders on sale.  This sale also ends on February 26th.

You can get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $35 by using the code FEBSHIP.

Don't forget, the FREE Scrapinar for February presented by Layout a Day is set for February 25th - that's Tuesday!  This month the topic is "Euphoric Ephemera: Adding Bits, Bobbles and Treasures to Your Papercrafting Projects."

These monthly Scrapinars are free and always interesting.  If  you can't attend live at the scheduled time, there will be a link to see a recording available for a few days after the event.  You must be registered to receive the link for the recording - just click HERE to register so you don't miss it!

When I was looking at the New Arrival cartridge, I remembered that there are some great card shapes on the cartridge. I used the card base along time ago to make monogrammed card sets for some of my friends.

You can see that post (from 2009!) HERE.  I think it is going to be fun to "rediscover" so many of my cartridges when the Explore gets here.  Would you like it if I featured an older cartridge from time to time?

Did you guess what I was adding to the boxes today?  I think almost everyone needs a baby card from time to time and I found these adorable borders on sale quite a while ago.

I am happy to be able to share a pink and a blue set for each box.

These boxes are getting pretty full - just a few more days to go.

Here is a closer view inside one of the boxes - I tidied up the ribbons that were unwinding all over inside.

 How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is:

What type of card do you make most often?  I imagine that birthday cards might be the winner since they repeat every year but there are so many other types - wedding, baby, get well, holiday, graduation, well, you get the idea!  Please tell me the kind you actually make the most often and the kind that you most enjoy making (maybe they are the same!).  Do you have any cardmaking questions that you'd like me to help you with?  Put them in the comments, please.

If you are a scrapbooker - just tell me what sort of pages you make a lot of - these baby borders would be perfect on a page, they are quite long.

I just saw that my Explore order has changed from "processing" to "packaging" - I thought it was going to be stuck on "processing" forever! Fingers are still crossed for arrival on Thursday - and the Design Space will also be available Thursday to start playing even if the machine is late!  If you are curious about the Design Space, the new log in page is HERE (there is a countdown display on the page until Thursday, (10 a.m. Mountain Time).


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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.