St. Patrick's Day card with the Explore

It's a dull, grey rainy day.  (DH and I are going to cheer ourselves up with a run to Costco this afternoon for some retail therapy!)  Trying to take pics of my latest card would be impossible without the light box my DD lent me.   Thank you KJ!

Today, I have been figuring out how to 'attach' with the Design Space software so that my images cut as I have arranged them on the canvas.  If I don't 'attach' then the software puts the images all in the top corner and that, obviously, was not what I wanted!  I also played with the alignment on the X and Y axis to get them lined up.

Inside the card, the Explore used an American Crafts fine point Slick Marker to write the words from the St. Patrick's Day subway art in Word Collage.  The "Lucky Day" cut comes from the Phrases cart.  This was such a fun card to put together!

Today's challenge on the Exploring Cricut and More blog, is called "The Luck of the Irish" and we are asked to include a shamrock.  I guess I did that and more!

The challenge at BBTB2 blog, is a St. Patrick's Day project.  We're all using up our stash of green paper for sure!

Right!  Off to Costco, we go.  Hope you have a lucky day!  Thanks for visiting with me.
     : ) Christine

A Cup O' Cheer for St. Patrick's Day!

I loved this cocoa mug that Susan made for the CARDZ TV Valentine challenge and found it on the Silhouette store AND as an svg from Lori Whitlock.   I wondered if the Explore would cut the svg and so tried to import it into Design Space.   Apart from the funky score lines, it worked!

I love that the software separates out all the layers and allows me to add color so that I can get an idea of how it is going to look when it is put together.

I 'hid' the heart and the center petals in the mat and imported the shamrocks from Celebrate With Flourish.  (I have never been able to cut the left shamrock properly, and the Explore did no better. My 'work around' is to cut the right shamrock again with the card stock reversed so that I can flip the image over when I layer the cut.) So nice to have imported images and Cricut cuts in the same software and cut on the same machine.  Oh the possibilities!

I am linking my mug with the 3D challenge #2 at CARDZ TV.  It seems appropriate! 

Thanks for visiting with me today!   : ) Christine

Spring Wall decor with the Explore!

A year or so ago, I pinned a Spring wall hanging from Cricut Crazy Scrapper.  It had been entered in a BBTB 2 challenge and I loved it!   Unfortunately, I don't have the cart Nate's ABC although I do have Kate's ABC. 

Fast forward to this week and I was delighted to find that Nate's ABC was part of the HSN Design Space subscription.  I placed the images from both Nate and Kate on a 12 x 12 canvas and was able to arrange them to my liking.   It's much easier to do this when the images are colored!  (Sorry, Gypsy girl!)  The software grouped the images on the virtual mats and I went to cutting.  

Kate's ABC is one of my favorite carts because the images are cute without being cartoonish.  KWIM?  I have cut this little lady and her dog a couple of times before and have never made a satisfactory scalloped layer under her hat.  Look what the Explore achieved!  

  

Here's the finished cut: -

I am linking my Wall Art with the BBTB2 Favorite Cartridge challenge here.

It's interesting to see which carts are favorites.     Here's the finished project although I'm not sure if I'll remove the flowers or not.  Guess I'll wait for Spring!  

                      Thanks for visiting with me today. : )  Christine

And one last picture of my DGS who was sitting on my lap throughout the photography process and determined to get some part of himself in the picture!

Birthday Box

DH graciously allowed himself to be persuaded to go golfing so that I could play with my new Explore without being interrupted with foolish questions like, "What would you like for dinner?"
He is so sweet!

I have tons of left over DCWV pattern paper that is partially glittered.  I did not like using it because I always had to take my micro tip scissors to it to complete the cut - even after double cutting!  So, my goal today was to do a project using this cardstock and figure out the setting on the dial.

When I opened up Design Space to look for a box to make for the Exploring Cricut challenge here, I saw the boxes in the new cart, Box It Up and thought I would try the scalloped box.  I did not think that I needed this cart since I have similar carts, but this baby makes large, useable boxes!  (It's now on my list for when my 3 months trial subscription runs out. That Cricut is so sneaky!)

Here's what I learned:

Setting the dial between Fabric and Poster Board ensures a perfect cut of the DCWV cardstock.

I NEED the score tool!

That you CAN move the elements around on the virtual mat before you cut.   This is going to be a huge time saver.

Here's my box.  I love the detailed 'Happy Birthday' cut on the top, don't you?   Thanks for visiting with me today.  I'm off to M's to see if they have the scoring tool in stock!  : ) Christine

She's here!

My new Cricut Explore, I mean.  She came yesterday via UPS and the driver was quite taken aback when both DH and I went hurtling up the drive to meet him at the gate!  Cocoa was mightily relieved too because I made him sit on the porch, on alert for the delivery, all day! 

This is my first project and it's a 'sampler' since I used every brand of card stock in my stash, paper, DCWV Glitzy Glitter and the writing tool.  I only have a silver pen right now, so the writing is not as visible as I would like.  Didn't she do great??????

I have an idea for a card, so I'm heading back to the craft room.   Thanks for visiting with me today!
           : )  Christine

Shamrock Treat Boxes

    My poor Expression is tired out from overwork and I keep asking my Gypsy girl to do things she is not capable of and then I get frustrated with her limitations.  : (   So sad that they have to make way for the Explore and her new software, Design Space when they have served me faithfully for 5 years or so.  But it is what it is, as my sister says, and now, I'm waiting, waiting, waiting!  My new Cricut has shipped and is wending its way westwards from Tennessee complete with Anna Griffin projects ready to cut at the touch of a button! 

The crafting must go on!  This little shamrock box comes from the Silhouette on-line store and was resized to about 1 1/2 inches square.  Just right for 8 pieces of gold - well, Rolos really!  They are all ready for the reception area at OHM.  I just love making these little treats each month!

Thanks for visiting with me today and don't forget to stock up on Girl Scout Cookies!      : ) Christine

Thinking of you

Master J was here yesterday and we 'crafted' together.  He sat in his high chair and tried to decide which hand to hold the crayon in, dropped his paper on the floor (this is a good game Grandma!),  and discovered that if he put the crayon in his mouth, Grandma gave him a teeny, tiny Teddy Graham!   I sat next to him at the kitchen table and played with my February card kit from Simon Says Stamp.  Here's my "Thinking of you" card -

and here's the rest of the story!

My delightful DGDs were here on Sunday afternoon, (with Mom and Dad!) and S was wearing a beautiful, sparkly sequined shirt in a lovely color between teal and turquoise.  After they left, we found that S had shared her sequins with us upstairs and downstairs and all around the house!  LOL!  It was like following a trail as we picked up as many as we could find and I considered, briefly, doing the same thing with gold sequins for the DGDs on St. Pat's Day.

If you look carefully at the centers of the stamped and fussy cut flowers, you will see SOME of the sequins on their way back to Miss S!    Thanks for visiting with me today.  : ) Christine