Craft 'N Chat

My friend C came up last Wednesday to work on the treats for the OHM children.  The theme was July 4th and obviously, I was a tad tardy in getting them out! 

Such a fun morning!  C was soon working my MISTI like a pro, while I learned to use my new toy, the Fuse, to seal the Jelly Beans in the plastic treat bags.  The cuts come from SVG Cuts Sweet Treat Bags set and I resized them in DS to accommodate the plastic treat bags.   The patriotic paper comes from Pebbles, and the sentiment stamp comes from Scrappy Moms.   My fingers were quite blue after curling all that ribbon!

 I didn't notice until I downloaded my pictures, that Cocoa was checking out the treats.   He doesn't usually pay much attention to candy, but he does like Jelly Beans!

Right!  Back to work.  I am giving Cocoa a hair cut but we keep having to come inside to cool down.  This heat is horrible and far too early in the Summer.  DH is prepping the site for my new greenhouse which comes tomorrow.  We'll probably have to fit it with an air conditioner!   Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )  Christine

Pop Up Photo Frame Card

Like most families we share photographs via social media, but just occasionally, I love to send a photograph to share a special moment.

Last week my sister mailed a giant box to our house containing Master J's birthday presents.  He ripped into that box and demanded that we open each and every toy as it emerged from the packing paper!

His favorite, however, was the Thomas the Train bubble blower and after dinner, we filled it up with bubble mix, found two AA batteries and sent him off to bubble the yard.   He bubbled his Dad and Mom, his Grandpa and me, and even tried to bubble Cocoa but that wise puppy would not stay still and be bubbled!

We took pictures and video, of course but I wanted to do something special as a 'Thank You' for my sister. I remembered seeing a cute photo card holder on Pinterest and decided to search for something similar in Design Space.  Aha!   I could not find a photo frame card but I did find a card with the right pop up mechanism.

I inserted the card onto my mat and resized it to make a 5.5 by 4.25 card.  Then I added a square and  unlocked the dimensions to make it 5.5 by 8.5.  Using the align button, I aligned the two images horizontally and 'ungrouped' the pop up card.  I selected the score lines and using the arrow keys, I moved them across until they were in exactly the same place on my card.  The pop up card (minus score lines) was deleted.

Next, I needed the opening for the photo and I kept it simple by just adding a rectangle centered in the top half of the remaining card using the score lines for guidance.  I selected the rectangles and hit 'slice.'  Then I selected the sliced image and the score lines and hit 'attach.'  Now all that remained was to choose a frame to make the opening look finished and I was done!

Now for the fun part - embellishing the card.  I searched for birthday images and arranged them on the front of my card and around the frame,  Time to cut and assemble.

Just FYI - the score line are at 3/4 inch, 1 1/2 inches, and 5 inches.  Here's how the score lines are folded.  (Actually, there are two extra score lines indicating the center fold line.  Ignore these.)

I cut a regular A2 card with my cutter, scored and folded across the center and lined up the two pieces of my card.  I attached the top and bottom edges and checked that it folded correctly.  (It will not be completely flat.)

Then I attached the sides together just beneath the opening and the card was ready to embellish.

Here's the finished card from the side:-

And inside:-

I'll write a note to my sister and have Master J. add his name.  I think she'll like it!

O.K.  Are you thinking how useful this will be for special Halloween pictures, or Christmas pictures?  How about Graduation pictures for elderly relatives who don't Facebook?  Or even on an interactive scrapbook page?   Oh the possibilities...

Thanks for visiting with me today.  Hope you find this a useful file : ) Christine

https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/28904416

Father's Day Cards

Just a quick post to share the Father's Day cards for my DS and DSIL.  They were inspired by the post by Adrienne here and I have to say that these CTMH Jackson papers are so gorgeous that I was spoiled for choice.  Enable me anytime, Adrienne!

Thanks for visiting with me today and please pop back tomorrow for my She's A Sassy Lady blog post.  : ) Christine

Yet Another Gift Card Holder!

In my never - ending search for new ways to give gift cards, I found this pin on Pinterest.  After following the directions, it seemed to me that it would be easy peasy to recreate this card / box in Design Space.  Wrong!  

After several frustrating hours, I hand cut it myself.  I could not get the score lines and cutting lines in the right places.  Ughh!  I developed EVEN more respect for the people who CAN do this.   : )

 The embellies, however, cut beautifully.  Don't you love the lace panels from the Cindy Loo cart?  Here's the box open.  Don't like the edges and might have to play some more to get it right.  LOL!

Thanks for visiting today.  : ) Christine

Birthday Banner

I really, really, really wanted to finish my Birthday banner for Master J. in time to link it with last week's challenge on the Bitten By The Bug 2 but... life and log splitting got in the way!

Anyway, here it is and it was so much fun to make.  Like many a 3 year old, Master J. is fascinated with transportation from cars, trains, planes, to helicopters and, of course, Grandpa's tractor! 

The vehicles come from the Boys Will Be Boys cart and I used the rounded square and its shadow on the helicopter cut, to make the banner pieces.  The traffic signs are from the Cars cart and because they are so small, I used the 'print then cut' option on my Explore.   Master J.'s name was cut from the Mickey font - lovin' that font!

Happy Birthday Master J.   You are not allowed to get any older than 3.  Seriously.  Grandma has spoken.

 Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )  Christine

Gap Cards - The Wedding Version

Hi!   It's Christine from iamcocoasmom.blogspot.com stopping by to share my easy peasy gap card technique using Cricut Design Space. Warning - looooong post!

We've called this little corner of the Pacific Northwest 'Home' for longer than DH and I have ever lived anywhere including England, where we were born.  We've also had homes in Bahrain, Singapore, New Brunswick and Alberta, (Canada) Tennessee, Maryland, Utah, and of course, Washington State.  This means, of course, that many of the cards I make have to be flat enough to pop in a regular mailing envelope.  This presents a problem for the resident cardmaker - moi - who is a big fan of bling, dimension, embellies, ribbon and layers!   Enter the Gap Card which allows me to add dimension, visual interest and that personal touch, without costing $15 to mail.

Here's my latest gap card designed for the wedding anniversary of a couple of friends, but it could just as easily be for a wedding or for a bridal shower with different die cut embellishments.

Deep breath!   Here we go!  In Design Space, use the 'Insert Shapes' button to add two squares and a score line to the canvas.  Resize one of the squares to the size of the finished card - in my case 5.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall.  Change the color of the square.  Rotate the score line 90˚ and change the height to a little longer than the width of the card.  Select the card and the score line and click on 'center' under the 'align' button.

Next, take the second square and resize it to a little longer than the width of the card (5.75) by 1.5 inches.  Position the rectangle over the card below the score line and with the edges beyond the sides of the card.  This will be the gap.  Try the 'gap' near the score line, near the bottom of the card, or anywhere in-between until you get the look you want. 

 The next step is to insert the text.  Type in the word(s) you want to fill the gap and experiment with the font until you find one that suits the mood of the card AND has a shadow layer.   Activate the shadow layer by clicking on the eye in the Layers panel.   Position the text over the gap and resize it so that the shadow layer is slightly larger than the gap.

You can see that I added two more text boxes to my design outside the gap and resized them to complement the gap word.   Move the gap word to the side and 'ungroup.'  Select the shadow layer only, and duplicate.   Save, save. save!

Slicing time!  Select the card and the gap rectangle and 'slice.'  Now the gap rectangle will become the same color as your card.   Move away the 'gap' and the extra ends and delete both of them.

Welding time!  Select one of the gap word shadow layers and position it over the gap in the card.  You can use 'align' to center it if you need to.  Select the card and the shadow layer of the gap word and 'weld.' Once again, everything will be the same color.  Perfect!

Select the card and the score line and 'attach.'  Choose any other die cut images that you would like to add.  I chose wedding bells and intertwined rings, added them to the canvas and resized.  Lastly I used 'sync' to consolidate my color scheme and SAVED!

Here's another look at my finished card.  The color palate is subdued for this card.  But I really, really want to try this card in teal and cream, or fuschia and pale pink.  Mmmmm.

And the innies:-

Bonus card for reading to the end of this post!   Here's a gap card I created for my DH's fishing buddy, Dan.  I used the Mickey font for this one but we won't mention that!  Love how we personalized this card including a genu-wine fly tying knot tied by DH to embellish the front.  Cool!

Thank you Sheila for allowing me to share today.  Do try an easy peasy gap card.  You'll be addicted too!   : ) Christine

Create A Critter Butterfly Treats

Our last camping trip took us back to Offut Lake Resort with our good friends S and C.  While the 'boys' fished and Cocoa napped, C and I put together the June treats for the OHM kids.

 

I cut the butterflies from Create A Critter and we added googly eyes to the front and a mini chocolate bar as the 'body' on the back.  OK!  I admit there was some snacking going on as we worked.  We added Stickles for a little extra bling and it amused me to see that  C could not make any of the butterflies look exactly the same but kept trying different designs and patterns!  (I know how that goes - I can't do it either!)

We visited some of the parks in the area including Tumwater Falls Park where we enjoyed a lovely stroll besides the falls and fish ladders with Cocoa, as always, out in front of the group. 

Thanks S for the great pic and thank you for visiting with me today. Be sure to visit She's a Sassy Lady tomorrow for my Gap Card tutorial blog post.  : )  Christine

Hello Kitty Gets Foiled

Last Saturday was the 8th birthday of my Hello Kitty lovin' youngest DGD.  Like her older sister, Miss G asked for gift cards and I was happy to agree since who knows what is tucked away in their closets and toy boxes?

I cut a couple of little purse gift card holders from SVG Cuts 'Luxury Handbags' in pearlized paper and trimmed them to fit inside the clutch purse.  Looking through the Hello Kitty carts for something to embellish the card holders, the idea of a foiled Kitty popped in my head.

I selected an outline of Kitty holding a heart and placed it on my canvas.  I changed the color to black and then flattened.  I printed Kitty out on my laser printer and cut the outline with my Explore.  Carefully, I moved the outline into the carrier and added the dots for the nose and eyes.  Using a pretty pink foil, I ran it through the Minc and adhered it to the card holder.   How cute is that?

  And the inside:-

For my second image, I chose Kitty holding a flower.  I added the flower centers as the image looked unfinished without them.

Here's Miss G's little purse made from Recollections glitter card stock, which although sturdy, is very difficult to adhere together even with scor tape!  (I ended up using a ton of glue dots.)

Hope you had a lovely birthday, Gabby!  : )  Grandma Christine

Thank You, Charlotte C!

A quick post today, as I'm feeling SO much better and eager to show you some of the things I've done, but not shared. 

One of the things I loved about the Gypsy was that it stored files so that I wasn't always starting a project from scratch.  The same is true for Design Space, but even better, is the fact that (Cricut) files can be shared with other people.

My Sassy Sister, Charlotte C, shared a tutorial here, that was SO easy to follow and just perfect for a couple of little gifts that I needed to make.  (Unfortunately, my own Mr. Mojo has taken a hike over the last few weeks!)

Following Charlotte's directions I made this split butterfly and vinyl-ed it on a cold drinks jug.  Perfect!

A few days later, I went back into the file and changed the name and vinyl-ed the butterfly on this milk bottle from Michael's.
 

As you can see, my butterfly is much simpler than Charlotte's and was consequently easier to weed!  Here is my file, if you would like to use it.   Simply 'detach' after selecting the image and click on the name to edit.  (More detail here.)

https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/28033126


Thanks for visiting today, and thanks again, Charlotte!