Martini Birthday

Oh boy, did I have fun today! I was sort of procrastinating on this one, but I *had* to get it done today and then inspiration hit me! Thankfully! 'Bout time, lol! But...I think that ultimately, it was well worth the wait, and I hope you do, too!

This is a 40th birthday card for a co-worker. She turns 40 on Tuesday and of course, we're doing it up for her. I've never been asked to make a card for anyone at work, but they know I make cards and this was a special occasion.

I did everything in Inkscape and SCAL. The "40" font is Showcard Gothic. The "you're not" is 1 BeanSprout DNA. That one was really tricky to cut. I welded the "40" in Inkscape and then created the three additional layers. I could have done this in SCAL alone, but I wanted to size everything and make sure it looked pleasing to me before cutting. Similarly, I could have typed, welded, and shadowed the "you're not" in SCAL alone.

I thought I had some martini paper, but after reorganizing my paper on Saturday, I couldn't find it. Boo hoo! So I was contemplating whether I should just make a martini glass and if so, out of what, and then it hit me! Why not a 3-D martini glass? I have GBC plastic covers...they're pretty thick, but they cut with my Cricut using multi-cut. But how to design the glass so that it sticks out but is still adhered to the card? Maybe if there are a couple of tabs on each end, they can be inserted through the card and folded so they stay put? So...off to Inkscape to design the glass.

Hmm....wonder what I could use to make it look sort of like there's a drink inside? I have transparencies...I could print the glass on a transparency and cut it out. If it has the same curve as the glass, it should more or less stay put. But I could put an olive in there, too, and maybe somehow camoflauge any adhesive I use to keep the "liquid" in place. And hey...look...I have this paper that looks kind of like a toothpick so I can just cut this sliver, stick it on a green oval so it looks like it's coming out of the oval, cut a tiny red oval and voila -- olive on a toothpick!

So anyway...this is the final card. I really had fun making this. Now I have to figure out how to make a 1" thick envelope to accommodate the glass!

Oh! The inside of the card says "You're 22 with 18 years of experience! Happy Birthday!" I really hope she likes it!

And a birthday card

I've been trying to use the supplies I have, because I am apparently a serial collector. :-) I know there are people who can identify with that. And so far, I haven't been too good about resisting buying new stuff. But...back in December, I placed an order with one of my favorite online sellers, Cutters Creek. Kim, the owner, was running a promotion offering freebies for certain orders. I ended up "winning" one of these freebies, and she graciously sent some laser-cut borders with my order. I hadn't used them yet and it's FEBRUARY!!! So I thought it was long past due. I actually did this on Sunday, but haven't had time to take pictures until now.

The patterned paper on the card is from a paper pack that was sold just before the holidays at Costco. The gold metallic strip across the front is Fresh Paint Gold Pearlescent Paper from Marcella K. I embossed it using a Sizzix Texturez plate through my Cuttlebug. The green scalloped strip is from the freebie pack. The stamped image is from a K & Co. stamp set called AB Lotus Greeting Stamps that I got from Michaels for $1.99 on clearance. Woo hoo! :-) This clear stamp set contained about 9 main stamps plus 8 smaller complimentary stamps. So, great deal for $1.99! The main image is stamped in Hint of Pesto Versamagic chalk ink. I used one of those complimentary stamps inVersacolor Sand pigment ink on the off-white card blank.

I cut the main stamped image and the blue scallop using my oval Nestabilities. I trimmed the card blank and added a blue border punched from the Fiskars Threading Water border punch. The blue is Bazzill cardstock from a winter pack.

Thanks for looking!

Decorated bag for Papertrey

Hey everyone! Papertrey's 2nd Anniversary is being celebrated this month, and they have events scheduled for every day up until their traditional "new release" day of the 15th. Today's event is the possibility of winning a Papertrey tote with a $100 gift card inside. Details can be found here. The deal is this: you decorate a bag and post it for them to see and they randomly choose a winner. So...I rushed home to decorate my bag and here it is! Hooray!

I used my Cricut Expression to cut the bag from Plantin Schoolbook. It's the key using the Tall Ball feature. I cut it to fit the page out of generic pink cardstock from Michaels. I used the Papertrey Ink Around & About Sentiments set to stamp the heart border in Colorbox silver pigment ink, and then clear embossed it. Then I added the "happy everything" circle sentiment from the set in red dye ink. I used the solid circle center from the set and stamped the centers with Versacolor white pigment ink and then white embossed it. I stamped the larger heart from the set on top of the embossed circle in Rose Coral Color Box chalk ink. Oh, I almost forgot, I then stamped a bunch of the little hearts in black.

I also used Dan's flower SVGs to build a flower. I cut the flowers using SCAL from paper in a Making Memories Black & White Scrapbook Basics mat stack. I inked the edges and slightly curved the petals with a bone folder, and then stacked them using foam squares between each layer. The top "button" is actually five circles punched from black paper (just for bulk) and one circle punched from a GBC plastic cover, and all punched with a button hole punch. I strung white DMC floss through the holes and tied a bow. I placed a couple of half-pearls in the center of Prima flowers, and arranged the Prima flowers with my homemade, layered flower on the front. Lastly, I wrapped some black BasicBasic ribbon around the bag and tied a knot.

It would be great if I could win the prize, but it was worth it to participate because now I have something I can send to school with my son for his teacher's Valentine gift. I hope she likes it! :-)

I assembled the bag using Scor-Tape -- that stuff really holds well! Then I wrapped some BasicBasic ribbon from Michaels around the bag.

A New Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) group

Hey everyone! A friend of mine just started a new group to talk about Sure Cuts a Lot. It's software for the Cricut that allows you to cut any True Type font on your computer as well as cut SVG files, which you can find for free, for purchase, or you can make your own with Inkscape! (Inkscape is a free vector art program, by the way, that can be found at www.inkscape.org.) Just the sheer amount of dingbats available for FREE (or purchase....www.scrapnfonts.com has a ton of good ones, reasonably priced) is mind-boggling in terms of what you can cut with your Cricut! If anyone wants to check it out, go here! It just started, so it may take a while to get hopping, but hopefully it will be a great place to share hints about SCAL and learn more!


About Me

I'm a 40-something (WAIT...40-something? When did THAT happen?), married mother of two boys. I work full-time outside the home, but spend the little "me" time I have crafting. Oh, and collecting supplies, lol.

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I post this stuff just to share what I've done, but all content included on my blog is copyright Heather Kosinski, unless the images themselves belong to others. You may copy my ideas to make and sell at craft fairs or to give away, but please give me credit if it was my idea, and please don't submit my ideas for publication, classes, or design contests.

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January 17, 2010

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