Happy Birthday Card for Kara

Today our sweet daughter Kara celebrates her 23rd birthday.  This is the first birthday in 23 years that we will not get to spend with her.  She's furthering her education so it's for a good reason. :)  We will see her soon and celebrate.  She already has an order in for an Oreo layer cake. ;)  She is such a ray of sunshine and has brought so much joy to our lives.  Happy Birthday Kara.  We Love You So Much!

Now for her birthday card that I mailed to her.  It's so simple, but I love the colors, papers and how it turned out.

Pattern papers are from DCWV.  Kraft colored paper is called Crumb Cake from SU!  Happy is a word strip from the Silhouette online store as is the banner.  The word birthday is a font from my computer.

I added a couple brads to the banner, a couple photo corners to the mats and a little ink along the edges.  You could easily add a few flowers or other embellishments, but I had to hurry to get in the mail so I kept it really simple. :)

Paper Pieced Card & Question of the Day Regarding Provo Craft...

These cute little paper pieced jewels can be found at Treasure Book Designs.  It's the I Love U Slowly file.  I couldn't resist adding them to my "Feel Better" card as I knew they could cheer anyone up...sick or not. :)

Know what I've been practicing???  Eyes...yes, I am still trying to get the hang of doing eyes with wispy long eyelashes.  I still have a long way to go, but I am improving. :)

Also...the bunny's nose is pink in person, but the picture makes it look white.

Question of the day - For those that are familiar with Provo Craft and the Gypsy...why do they allow some ebay auctions for the Gypsy with linked cartridges to sell and other auctions are ended???  If selling a Gypsy with linked cartridges is a violation of the EULA...shouldn't all auctions be ended???
  Also...shouldn't they provide a way for us to unlink our cartridges so we may sell it if we so choose???  Especially since they no longer manufacture it???  

Have I mentioned lately that I Love my Silhouette???  They have great customer service, too!   

String of Hearts - Valentine Card

My second project using the Silhouette Cameo.  I can't say enough... how much I Love it and Love how it cuts...AMAZING!  Not to mention the endless sources available for Adorable svg files.  So Fun! :) 

This cute little girl is from the Will U be my Valentine collection from Scrapping Bug Designs.  You can visit them HERE.  I must work on the eyes.  I would love to add  long wispy eyelashes, but that does not seem to be my talent at the moment, LOL!  I will keep practicing! :)  

I must admit I was very intimidated at the thought of going to a cutting system that operated without cartridges.  I was afraid I would get it only to find it frustrating, time consuming and hard to use.  I can now say...that's not the case at all.  There is a small bit of learning, but once you have the basics you will see it's not that difficult.  For this card I was able to load the mat ONE time and get all the cuts I needed to create it.  With the exception of the hearts on the ground that I decided to add as an afterthought.  A true time saver in the end.  

Paper Piecing Teddy - Valentine Layout

I am super excited to show you my latest layout.  You see...for months and months I've been ooohhhing and aaahhhing over all the ADORABLE paper piecing projects that are out there.  However, I only had the Cricut so I had no way to create them.  That is until my super thoughtful sweetie gave me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.  And oh my... it is AMAZING!  It has opened up a whole new world of paper crafting.  Here is my first paper piecing layout and boy am I hooked. :)

   This cute little teddy and rock girl out fit are created from svg files from Treasure Box Designs.  You can visit them HERE.  All other cuts are from the Silhouette online store.  They are very similar to images found on various Cricut cartridges.

I can't say enough about how much fun I had doing this cute little teddy paper piecing.  One of the things I am most impressed with is how the Silhouette cuts such small details.  See the skull on the teddy's outfit...those cross bones and teeth are very small and slender.  It cut them Beautifully.  It even cut them perfect on my cheap black cardstock and that is Amazing!

Now you are probably wondering if I will continue to post projects made on the Cricut?  All I can say is...when I received my Silhouette...I had my mind set that I would utilize it along with my Cricut.  I planned to use what cartridges I already owned, but would not purchase new cartridges.  However, I am finding that I love the ease of cutting from files on my computer vs hunting for the right cut on a cartridge.  It is much easier and more time effective than I thought it would be.  For now...I will keep my Cricut and see how much I use it.  If I find that it never gets used I will probably sell it.  The good news is...with the exception of paper piecings...you will be able to use your Cricut and cartridges to recreate most any project I do. :)

Sneak Peek...Clear Explosion Box...

Tutorial coming soon... Clear Explosion Box using Better Than Acrylic.  Of course it does not have to be an explosion box.  There are multiple ways to keep the sides from exploding.  I wonder if Washi tape would hold the four sides together???

There is no lid on the box in the picture, but I do have a lid for it.  For the picture I hot glued the corners together.  I kind of made a mess and got hot glue all over the BTA.  Along with all kinds of fuzzy bits of burlap.  In my tutorial I will include a few tips on keeping your BTA nice and clear and glue free. :)

I Love how the little tree with ribbon curls turned out.  Along with the pretty little gifts.  I will include all the details in the tutorial.  If you were giving this as a gift with a gift card you could adhere the burlap around the edges only to form a pocket to hold the gift card.  Then it would be a present under the tree. :) 

This would also be really cute with a fireplace and stockings.  Perhaps using a tea light as the fire and build the fireplace around it.  Wouldn't that make the perfect little holiday accent light?  I just might give it a try and see what I  can come up with.

FYI...the BTA did not split or crack when making the box.  It held up perfectly.  I think the trick is to fold by hand and not use a bone folder to make an extra tight crease.

I am going to put the ordering information for BTA in my sidebar shortly.  For now here are the details once again.

Better Than Acrylic - 12"x12" sheets

$2.45 per sheet with a 10 sheet minimum order

No handling fee's, but there is a $1.25 fee for the mailer that I had to purchase. 

I can ship USPS priority mail or Ups ground service.  I will be happy to quote both to get the best price possible.

If shipping USPS insurance is optional, but recommended.  It runs $1.85 for $50.00 worth of coverage and $2.35 for packages over $50.00.  I am not responsible for uninsured packages.

If you are interested email me at bugjunkie@live.com.  Let me know how many sheets you would like.  Be sure to include your zip code and I will get you a quote.  TFL!   

Better Than Acrylic Video Tutorial - Cutting on Electronic Die Cutting Machine & Heat Embossing...

Another video...I didn't realize how much I missed doing them! :)  You can find information on ordering BTA HERE.

Watch video to find out how to make this cute little snowman.

Better Than Acrylic - Video

Finally I have a video for you.  It's my first video in over two years so I'm a little rusty.  Just focus on the product. :)  

  This video gives you a better look at this Amazing product.  The next video I do will start my actual tutorial series using Better Than Acrylic.  You are going to Love this stuff!

Ordering information can be found HERE