I absolutely LOVE my Silhouette Cameo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Y'all, I am so excited!  I received my Silhouette Cameo on Friday evening.....UPS always delivers out here last thing!  Everything was in the package and may I add VERY nicely packaged, and it took me no time at all to have it up and running.  During my playing over the weekend I discovered that my blade is defective..............but no problem as Silhouette America is sending me a new one and in the meantime I decided to use the blade system that I use with my CraftROBO (I named HER "Roberta") and it is working wonderfully........OMG I am so happy!!!  By the way, the Customer Service at Silhouette America is great!!!!  Oh and let me add that I named my Cameo "Sophie"....don't ask me why, it just popped into my head.  By tomorrow I should have a little project ready to post, but in the meantime here are some of my cuttings that I made while playing with my new toy!!!!  "Best Friends", "Chandelier", "Leaf Corner", "Flower Print & Cut" and the "Flower Medallion" are all files that you can purchase for $.99 a piece at the Silhouette America site and they are fabulous cutting files!

And here is a card that I made using a free cutting file by Tina Fitch and you can download the free SVG or GSD here!  Tina is in the UK and she is SO talented...I just love her and her designs!!!  I also want to point out that I used a "Silver" Pentel Slicci pen in the "Pen Tool" made by Sue Reynolds (aka/HotPaws) for the CraftROBO/Silhouette and it works great in the Cameo!!!  You can find them at her site here and she has them for many different cutters!  The good thing about her Pen Tool is that you can use a lot of different size pens and markers in it!  The red and green on the card is done with Silhouette "Sketch Pens"......they came in a number different colors including metallic which I still want to purchase!

Well, it's back to work...............I just wanted to share my excitement and joy with all of you!  Come back tomorrow to check out my project!

It's an Elmo birthday!!!!

I designed and created this card for my friend's son, Jared!!!

Here are some close-ups of "Elmo", the card inside and the label I made for the back of the card:

One thing that I used for this card is my take on an "Action Wobble"!  I made mine using some fun foam circles and some beading wire.  Here is a video of Elmo dancing:

I designed and cut  the little red t-shirt for Elmo and covered it with fluff and cut the letter "H" (for Huskers...Nebraska, that is!), all using my Craft Robo and my Pazzles Inspiration Studio Pro software.  I cut all of the panels for the card using my Pazzles Inspiration.  I decided to use "googly eyes" on the "Elmo" paper piecing.  A another really good friend of mine gifted me with the Tim Holtz Sizzix "Bricked and Woodgrain" embossing folders and this is the first time I've used them....love them!  Thanks Sue!  I also designed the "Jared You Rock!" using my PI Studio Pro software,  and the "Cooper Black".....the "Happy Birthday" is a Silhouette Studio file and both were cut using my Craft Robo.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  I've been very busy with company and a camping trip this Summer, but now I'm hoping to get back to creating craft projects, so please come back!!!

Finished Card Size:  5" x 7"

Supplies


Paper:  Bazzill, Recollections Black (card base), Darice Paper Crafter (red & orange)
Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"
Tools:  Craft Robo, Pazzles Inspiration Creative Cutter, Sizzix "Big Shot"
Accessories:  "Rockstar Red" Sparkly Fluff, "Black Diamond" Stickles, Sizzix "Bricked & Woodgrain" embossing folders, Googly Eyes, "White" Gelly Roll Pen

This is my very 1st Envelope Card!

My SIL"s (the one that was in the really bad accident where she lost her husband) birthday was yesterday and I had to come up with something really special for her and here it is:

My inspiration for this card came from a wonderful card maker at Splitcoast Stampers, named Cathleen....I often get my inspiration from her.  You can see her card here and she has a link there to a tutorial.  For those of you that might be a member of the MTC Forum, they had a challenge for these and  "CaseysAngel" (Christy) has made this video (YouTube) showing how to make them.  My SIL loves gardenias, so I made a couple just for this card and wanted them to be the main focal point.  The butterfly was designed by me in the Pazzles Inspiration Pro software and I used Funtime 2009 to cut it out with my Craft Robo.   I also cut all of the leaves with my Craft Robo using some Silhouette cutting files.  The tiny white flowers were cut using my new Martha Stewart "Hydrangea" craft punch.  The sentiment was computer generated.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit and by the way Merrylene loved her card!!!

Finished Card Size:  8 1/2" x 4 1/4"

Supplies


Paper:  My Mind's Eye "Wild Asparagus Lt. Pink Floral" #WA2027, Bazzill, Strathmore "Pink Pastel Vellum"
Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark" (on part of the leaves)
Tools:  Craft Robo

Accessories:  Martha Stewart "Doily Lace" border punch and "Hydrangea" craft punch, MarRichards "Crystal Sticers Pearls" (env. flap), Recollections "Pearl Stickers" (on butterfly body), Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent" embossing powder (on part of the leaves), Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Aged Mahogany" (base layer of butterfly), "Crystal" Stickles (center of tiny white flowers)

Rockin Birthday card for my 9 yr old grandson, Aidan!

My grandson will be 9 on Monday, if fact he and my oldest son (his uncle) have the very same birthday!  Aidan is into soccer and the guitar and music in general so I decided to use those interests in the theme of my card design.  For the background I used an image I found online and then I found an image of a "rocker dude" and I used Photoshop to remove the head and add my grandson's head instead.

For the inside of the card, I decided to keep it very simple and went with a "soccer frame" (Silhouette cutting file)!  I sure hope he likes it!!!

Finished Card Size:  5  1/2"x 5 1/2"

Supplies


Paper:  Bazzill (white) and Recollections
Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"
Tools:  Craft Robo, Ranger "Heat It"
Font:  Fluffy Slacks BTN (card front), Teckton Pro and CAC Lasko Even Weight (inside card)
Accessories:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent" embossing powder

Thank You "SuzieQ"!!!!

My friend Sue (aka/HotPaws) is so sweet.............she is always sending me goodies that she finds that she knows I will like or maybe something she has two of in her "stash"!  You know...."care packages"!!!  At any rate, she just recently send a bunch of embossing folder and I made this card to thank her and I just talked to her and she loved it and the little poodle stamp that I sent her!

All of the elements on this card, with the exception of the the pearls, "double arched" mat and the ovals, were designed and/or cut using my Craft Robo!  The smallest butterfly, Leaf Corner and white leaves are Silhouette cutting files.  The large butterfly was designed by me.  The flowers were designed by Teri Frank. This card by Selma at Selma's Stamping Corner was my inspiration.  If you've never been to Selma's blog, you should stop by for a visit and check out all of her gorgeous creations!

Finished Card Size: 6" square

Supplies


Paper:  Bazzill and Vellum
Ink:  Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"   
Tools:  Craft Robo, Ranger "Heat It" and Big Shot
Accessories:  Recollections "Pearl Stickers", Want 2 Scrap "Pearls" (in flowers), Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent" embossing powder, Provo Craft "Herringbone" and " "Birds & Swirls" embossing folders, Spellbinders Ovals, Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page "Double Arches"

This is not really the type of card I generally make.............

but my oldest son loves humorous cards so I had to change my ways!  LOL  I actually got the idea for this by surfing the web.  There are no stamps involved.  The dog, hat, and dog bowl with food are images I gathered from the internet and turned into what's called "print and cut" images using my Pazzles Inspiration Studio Pro 2010 software.  They were cut using my Craft Robo and my Funtime Deluxe 2009 software.  I also want to mention that that dog looks a lot like my youngest son's dog that is a mix of English Bulldog and Pit and his name is "Biscuit"!  I designed the "308" candle myself as well as the flames.  My son is going to be 44 which in dog years would be 308.  Here's the front of the card:

and here's a photo of the inside:

Like I said, it's not the best card I've ever made, but it will make him laugh and that's all that's important!

Finished Card Size: 5"x5"

Supplies


Paper:  Bazzill
Tools:  Craft Robo
Fonts:  "Happy Birthday" and "ah dead" is Grilled Cheese BTN, "Happy Birthday Son" is CAC Lasko Even Weight and all the rest is Tennessee SF

I designed some great "designer paper"

using my Craft Robo, part of a Silhouette file called "Sketch Flowers_C00036_27011" and my black "Silhouette Sketch Pen".  By the way, I absolutely love the Silhouette Sketch Pens....they work so great!  At any rate, I think my designer paper looks as good as any designer paper I've purchased from the craft stores!  On the three largest flowers and the stamped sentiment I also added some "Black Diamond" Stickles.  To finish it off I added some satin ribbon and a bow and some half pearls.....very simple but elegant!

For the inside of the card I decided to use the black cardstock and a white gel pen to make a frame to tie it all together.  There is space in the center to add my personal sentiments!

The possibilities are endless for creating our own original "designer papers".  I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to hearing your comments.  Thanks for stopping by!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2"x5 1/2" Square

Supplies


Paper:  Bazzill "White Smooth", Ampad "Embassy Black", Best Occasions "Black Metallic"
Stamps:  Sentiment by Inkadinkado "Spring Blossoms Clear Stamp Set"
Ink: Memento "Tuxedo Black"
Tools:  Craft Robo, Ellison "Big Shot"
Accessories:  "Black Diamond" Stickles, Recollections "Black Half Pearls", Offray Ribbon, Silhouette "Black Sketch Pen", Sakura "White Jelly Roll" gen pen, Spellbinders "Labels Nine"

Now this is a "Man" card!!!

I finally got my friend's husband's birthday card finished and I have to say the "Man" cards are very difficult to design!!!  Here's a photo of the front of the card:

The "pick-up truck"  and "money bags" were images I located through Google Images and I turned it into a "Print and Cut" files with my Funtime software and then cut using my Craft Robo (they are now called Silhouettes) and it does a fantastic job of doing print and cuts due to its "optical eye"!  The sentiment was done in the Funtime software and I used the "Briquet" font and designed a mat to mount it on...all cut using my Craft Robo.  Now, here is a photo of the upper inside of the card:

Saul is on his way to becoming a professional poker player, so I found another image using Google Images of a table full of guys playing "blackjack"...............BUT Saul does not play blackjact, he plays "Texas Hold Em", so I used Photoshop to erase the blackjack items and I used a photo of Saul to add his "head" on the guy in the center with the pink shirt and I also added a BUNCH of chips in front of him!  The other two guys with "real" photos of their heads are pro pokes players Daniel Negreanu (green plaid shirt) and Phil Hellmuth (blue shirt on the right).  My friend says that Saul is absolutely going to love this!!!!  I designed and cut the circle frame using my Funtime software and Craft Robo digital cutter.

I put this card in the mail today and can't wait to hear how Saul liked it..........his birthday is next week!  Thanks for stopping by to see my finished project!!!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2"x5 1/2"

Supplies


Paper:  DCWV "The Shimmer Stack", Strathmore "Parchment"
Tools:  Craft Robo
Accessories:  "Briquet Font", Stampendous "Class a' peel Dot Sparklers Silver"

Examples of Print & Cuts done using the Craft Robo/Silhouette

My Craft Robo is an old original with the blue lid............BUT "she" (Roberta to be exact) still does an outstanding job on print and cuts as well as intricate cuts!!!  Here are some examples, using a project I am working on right now.  This is a card that I'm designing for my friend's husband's birthday next week....I will be posting the entire card when I get it finished....this is just for examples!

Card Front:

Truck Close-up:

Close-up of the Money Bags:

Close-up of the Sentiment:

So, as you can see Roberta does an outstanding job.  Back when I bought her, I paid $300 but now you can purchase a Silhouette SD (Silhouette, Craft Robo and Wishblade are now all Silhouette) for as low as $159 if you shop around and it's well worth it if you like to do print and cuts and in my opinion it's well worth it just to be able to do such small intricate cuts.  I have the best of both worlds as I also own a Pazzles Inspiration Creative Cutter, which will take care of large cuts and thicker media!

I hope this helps some of you that are trying to make a decision on this cutter. Thanks for stopping by and please be sure to come back and see my finished project!

This card is almost entirely made using................

my good and faithful old Craft Robo and some very nice Silhouette digital cutting files.  Next Saturday is my best crafting friends Mother's birthday and I wanted to make a special card for Patricia and this is what I came up with!

The only items on the card that were not cut using my Craft Robo (I call her "Roberta") was the tiny butterflies and the beaded oval that I used on the inside of the card.

Here is a view of the inside:

I particularly love the tiny bluebird sitting on the fence.  Can you believe how well my "Roberta" cut out those tiny little legs and feet?  And just look at that fence..........it's just amazing!

Here is a  close-ups of the beaded oval containing the text on the inside of the card:

And last, but not least, is a close-up of the paper pieced gift on the front of the card:

I only used two different papers.  The cream card stock is some that I purchased from Walmart years ago...can't remember who makes it and the lovely blue is a piece of Wausau Paper.  I used my VersaMark "Watermark" and some "Star Dust Transparent" embossing powder on some of the blue paper which really changed the color and I like the contrast.  I sure hope Patricia has a wonderful birthday and likes her card!  Thanks for stopping by!

Finished Card Size:  5 1/2x5 1/2"

Supplies


Paper:  Wausau Paper Creative Collection "Classic Cardstock Pastel" (blue) and Walmart Cream CS
Ink: Tsukineko "VersaMark Watermark"
Embossing Powder:  Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent"
Tools:  Craft Robo and Provo Craft "Cuttlebug"
Accessories:  Spellbinders "Beaded Ovals", Martha Stewart "Classic Butterfly" punch,  Swarvoski "Chrystals", "Decorating Chalks" and numerous Silhouette digital cutting files

Booooo!!!!!

I'm not positive, but this may well be the first time I've made a Halloween card! Today for the "Limited Supply Challenge" (LSC241) we were supposed to do a "FALL-themed" card with stamps, paper and ink.....NO embellishments! It was alright to use diecuts, but the focal point should be something STAMPED. If you would like to join in the fun, you can find all the pertinent information here! For mine I used this adorable "mummy" stamp by Recollections, cut him out and used black fun foam pieces to adhere him with dimension. I also used a stamp for the "sentiment and I colored the pumpkin on it with some Neopiko markers. All of the background was done using die cut files from Pazzles and they were cut with my Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and my Craft Robo. For the creepy spider, I used some clear embossing powder and heat set it to give her a shiny, black widow look! Don't you just love that haunted looking house with the orange moon? I'm sure my little grandsons will love this!
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"
Supplies

Paper: Black, orange and blue grey CS (don't know brands...have had for years!)
Stamps: Recollections "Mummy" and "October Calender" by Studio G
Inks: Tsukinedo "Graphite Black" Brilliance and Memento "Tuxedo Black"
Embossing Powders: Old Town Crafts "Black Jewels" (sentiment) and Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Clear Transparent"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Graphtec "Craft robo", Ranger "Heat It" and Provo Craft "Cuttlebug"
Accessories: Spellbinders "Standard Circles & Scalloped Cirles SM", Neopiko Markers

Playing with my new SU "Petals-a-Plenty"!!!

Last week I placed my very first order of Stampin'Up products and they arrived later yesterday afternoon, so of course I had to play with one of them today! I've seen many cards done using the "Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions" embossing folder and I decided to order it. I also used the Splitcoast Stampers Wednesday Sketch Challenge (SC249) as my inspiration. If you want to play along you can find it here. As you can see by my photos, these images were very difficult to capture. They look much better IRL (in real life), particularly the beautiful snowflake.


Here is a close-up of the snowflake:


I cut two blue panels and ran them through my Big Shot using the Stampin'Up "Petals-a-Plenty" embossing folder. On the first blue layer I used the debossed side and brushed over the top of it with my Brilliance "Platinum Planet" and then used a silver glitter pen on the circles in the middle of each flower. I did the very same thing on the top blue panel and the top white panel, but I used the embossed side! The gorgeous snowflake is actually from the letter "E" of the font called "Faux Snowflake BRK" and was cut out using my Craft Robo digital cutter. I used white card stock that was stamped with the "Platiunum Planet" then covered with "Star Dust" embossing powder and heat set with my heat gun...did this twice and then added a flat-backed pearl! The "faux stitching" on the horizontal blue panel was actually done using the silver glitter pen in the Pen Tool on my Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter".

I have to say that I LOVE my new Stampin'Up embossing folders (I also ordered the "Elegant Bouquet" and the "Finial Press")...you will seeing lots of cards made by me using them!!!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!!!
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"
Supplies

Papers: Bazzill and GA Pacific White CS
Stamps: Studio G "December Calendar Stamp"
Inks: Tsukineko "Platinum Planet" Brilliance Pigment & VersaMark "Watermark"
Embossing Powder: Old Town Crafts "Ultra Fine Silver" and Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Graphtec "Craft Robo", Ranger "Heat It", Sizzix "Big Shot" and Provo Craft "Cuttlebug"
Accessories: Martha Stewart "Floral Lace Edge" Border Punch, Spellbinders Nestabilities "Standard Circles & Scalloped Circles SM", Mark Richards "Pearl Perle", Michael's "Silver Half Pearl Stickers", Beifa "Silver Glitter" Gel Pen, Ribbon (remnant that I had on hand, but looks much like the "Bridal Elegance" from Michaels)

Check out the UK "Innies" & "Outies"!!!

Well, I don't know if I have them spelled right, but I've been watching some of the "Create and Craft TV" shows at their website in the UK and the other day one of the guests was demoing cards using the negative and the positive of cut outs. I'm probably wording this all wrong and I can't remember which guest it was, but I decided to play with the idea using my Craft Robo "Print and Cut" feature and I see all kinds of possibilities!!! I found this vintage image by doing a Google search of images that are Public Domain and I thought it would make a pretty Christmas card. These were some that I made just for practice and I did the sentiment using my Pazzles "Inspiration Studio" software and the Pazzles "Alte Swabacher" font. I used a white gel pen in the Pazzles "Pen Tool" and I love the effect I got with it!!! The image was printed on my inkjet printer.

Innie


Outie


What do you think?
Finished Card Sizes: A24.25"x5.5"

Supplies

Paper: GA Pacific "White" Cardstock (card base) and black and white CS
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Canon Pixma MP530, Craft Robo
Accessories: Sakura "White Gelly Roll" gel pen

I'm finally getting some of my "Mojo" back!

A very special friend of mine had a birthday yesterday and thanks to Lynn's Splitcoast Stampers "Try a New Technique" challenge for this past Monday, I was able to come up with a design for her birthday card. If you would like to check out the challenge, which is called "Stand Up Card" (TLC228), you can find the information here. This card design was introduced by Penny Wessenauer.....thanks for a lovely design Penny!



As most of you know, I have a Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and serve on their design team as well. The other day I was playing around with label designs.....like the Nestabilities and came up with the label that's on my card design. I used my PI to cut what I call "Next Besties" (saw this somewhere online while surfing the net) out of acrylic and then I cut larger pieces out of card stock, used double-stick tape to adhere them to the acrylic and ran them through my Cuttlebug and got the same effect that you get when using the Nestabilities, which I own quite a number of. It worked like a charm! I used my Funtime software to design the borders which I cut using my Craft Robo...it's also a digital cutter.

I want to add some notes here regarding the Canson metallic papers that I used. The "Galvanized" is silver but in my photos it kind of looks blue...sorry but this sucker was difficult to photograph. Also, the "Iced Gold", as Canson calls it, is actually like a metallic white. They are really lovely papers, but difficult to capture in a photo!

I used Photoshop to do the card's inside and the font I used is "LD Hallmark".



Here, I've included some close-ups of my card:



Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"



Supplies

Papers: Bazzill Bling and Effects Papercraft "Galvanized", "Gold Leaf" and "Iced Gold" by Canson
Stamps: Lotus Greeting Stamps by Amy Butler for K & Company
Inks: VersaMark Watermark by Tsukineko
Embossing Powders: "Super Fine Detail Gold" by Ranger
Tools: Gold "Peel-Offs Stickers" by the Paper Studio, Silver & Glitter "Peel-Offs" by Mark Richards, Swarovski Crystal Bead, Martha Stewart "Pearls", Michael's Gold & Silver Beads, Anna Griffin "Gold Rectangle Label Holder" and "Gold Brads" and Offray Ribbon